tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73854373365449634252024-03-04T23:54:48.719-05:00The Horror BlogStalkers and slashers, thrillers and chillers : nothing is too scary for The Horror BlogHorror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-50782917061244657812020-07-29T16:39:00.001-04:002020-07-29T16:43:22.111-04:00Relic (2020)<font color="#ff0000">GENERAL INFO: </font><div>Director: Natalie Erika James</div><div>Studios: Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Nine Stories Productions, AGBO, Carver Films</div><div>Starring: Robyn Nevin, Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote</div><div>Tagline: Everything Decays</div><div>MPAA Rating: R </div><div>Genre: horror, terror, family drama, psychological thriller, suspense, haunted house, foreign film</div><div>Scare score: B/ B+ </div><div>Rating: A</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuV_1RytKOqa7rL5xS9o50GeApZffRL9dnv1uIxpmcvcAeoBv6TbRxEBTk47ghhKUT0syrDwXHSI1wgfxDlTnifpLm94jAJz424iLZrkgTu7z4D5dVIiwdwonDgcNj0LqRQSmJgnVDdn8/s383/Relic_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuV_1RytKOqa7rL5xS9o50GeApZffRL9dnv1uIxpmcvcAeoBv6TbRxEBTk47ghhKUT0syrDwXHSI1wgfxDlTnifpLm94jAJz424iLZrkgTu7z4D5dVIiwdwonDgcNj0LqRQSmJgnVDdn8/s320/Relic_poster.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#ff0000">Plot overview: </font>After the elderly Edna (Nevin) inexplicably disappears for several days, her daughter Kay (Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Heathcote) return to the family home to help search for her. When she returns, the women are concerned for her health and mental state, but Edna's battle with dementia and the resulting strain on the family are even more horrifying than anybody could have predicted.</div><div><br /></div><div>I had been hearing a lot about this movie online after it was released earlier this month, and I knew I had to see it. Needless to say, I was not disappointed by it in the least. I am not familiar with director Natalie Erika James's other work, but I expect to see more of it after this fantastic accomplishment that is her directorial debut.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Relic</i> is beautifully dark and haunting. At its core, it is the story of family—more specifically, the intergenerational story of women, as well as the bonds and burdens they carry. I have been loving this turn towards domestic dramas in recent horror (<i>The Babadook</i>, <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/hereditary-2018.html" target="_blank">Hereditary</a></i>). Before we even consider the more 'supernatural' or ghostly elements of the movie, we must face the horror of what is really happening: A matriarch lost in her battle with a rapidly progressing dementia and the unraveling of a family that follows. In many ways, the more thrilling and terrifying horror that enters towards the end of the movie is a welcome distraction from the film's true terror, one that many of us have and many of us will face.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cannot speak for Australia, but in the United States we are victims and perpetrators of a death-denying culture. Across the nation but especially in cities and large towns, we hide away senior citizens in homes, communities, and developments specifically designed for older folks to the point that many of us do not regularly see them in our day-to-day lives (think about the scene in this film when Kat is showed the room at the nursing home with an "ocean view"). The devastating health effects of such isolation on these individuals has been proven to kill. We praise youth and vitality in media, fashion, and technology, we push rejuvenating lotions and creams to give the appearance of being younger, we thrive on surgeries and procedures to wipe away the years from our faces and bodies, we do not talk adequately about aging and dying, and we certainly don't support our older citizens when it comes to caring for their health and dignity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cognitive decline, especially a rapidly progressing dementia, is among the greatest unspoken horrors in our individualistic and youth-worshipping society. If you or a loved one have ever experienced it, you may be familiar with the pain, suffering, and loss that comes with watching a grown, capable, and once-independent adult start falling apart from the inside out. It is slow death, it is change, it is metamorphosis. Enter <i>Relic</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This movie beautifully blends human suffering with a psychological thriller that drifts into audience-pleasing horror with ease. Although this original shift felt somewhat clunky for a second, I found myself accepting the twist and allowing myself to go along for the ride that is this movie's third act. I read in one interview that the producers (including Jake Gyllenhaal) had called for more terror in the finale, but I am happy that it remained fairly subdued in a more bizarre way that may not please every viewer but which I think will remain very memorable. Perhaps my favorite thing about this film was the way it blended Eastern and Western horror in a deeply personal way, as director James is Japanese-Australian and also had a grandmother with severe dementia. This largely presents vis a vis the supernatural feel of legacy around the home, which ends up straddling the line between haunted house/ malevolent entity as an allegory for familial drama and history (think <i>The Grudge </i>or even <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2015/10/crimson-peak-2015.html" target="_blank">Crimson Peak</a></i>).</div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#ff0000">*SPOILER ALERT*</font></div><div><br /></div><div>The title holds multiple meanings in the film. First and foremost is the idea of age and decline, with older folks turning into relics compared to younger generations, or simply as relics of their former selves. This ties into the films shocking ending, where Kay peels away Edna's skin to reveal an ancient-looking creature, a true relic of the supernatural. Lastly, and perhaps my favorite, there is the octagonal window in Edna's front door that was taken from Kay's great-grandfather's cabin on the property after his death. In the realm of haunted houses or Japanese-style horror, we can imagine this relic as being the source of the rot consuming Edna's home (AKA the decay destroying the family), or simply a reminder of past transgressions, specifically the family's neglect of the old man before and certainly after his death.</div><div><br /></div><div>How did you interpret the film? After it ended, I found myself very happy with the experience but also very confused, and even after a second watch I was still exciting to explore the many avenues of interpretation this film can have. On the binary, I think we can understand the events of the movie as purely plausible or purely supernatural. The former—and I think the most likely—is simply that Kay and Sam return to Edna's home to look for her after she has gone missing, and then struggle to decide how to care for her once she returns. The state of her dementia is so bad—and at times disturbing and violent—that the younger women begin to see their own relationship tested, and perhaps their own judgment questioned. This movie does a fantastic job of playing with the characters and the audience, flipping the mother-daughter (or parent-child) dynamic on its head (Edna forcing Kay to check under the bed for monsters), and heightening the tension and competition between the characters (Sam being gifted her grandmother's ring; Kay finding her school progress reports tossed in the garbage; Edna thinking Kay and Sam are conspiring against her). The woman-centric human drama is excellent.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the second scenario, the house and family are being haunted by a supernatural decay stemming from the death of Kay's great-grandfather. The entity has begun taking over the house and has likely infiltrated Edna by the time of her return, even replacing her completely. Going a step further, a portal of sorts has been opened in the house that connects it to a much more sinister version of itself that traps its victims inside as the house closes in around them.</div><div><br /></div><div>My preferred interpretation is somewhere in between. I think that this is mostly a story of human suffering and of cognitive and relational change/loss. Edna's battle with dementia means that she sometimes 'changes' and becomes forgetful, confused, suspicious, or irritated. This is challenging for her daughter and granddaughter, who suffer silently in witnessing these lapses and do not agree on the best way to care for Edna. As tensions heighten and Edna worsens, the women experience the full terror of this metamorphosis, themselves becoming engulfed in the disease and the house that Edna herself has described as feeling less familiar and somehow bigger (in her late husband's absence). Naturally, this explanation does not fully cover the breadth of Sam first finding herself trapped in the nightmarish labyrinth between the walls of the house, nor does it fully account for the final scenes of the film. I enjoyed the pursuit through the maze because of the level of more accessible horror it brought to the film. As for the ending, I think this can be seen several ways simultaneously: Kay's decision to put her own interests/ fears aside and care for her mother (thus correcting the family's neglect of her great-grandfather); Kay and Sam's choice to cope with Edna's disease/ struggle; the completion of Edna's "transformation" through cognitive degeneration (loss of former self; shell of her former self); foreshadowing of dementia's genetic components as Sam sees the same rot on her mother's back. Will this be all of their fates?</div><div><br /></div><div>Story aside, the acting in the film is not only strong but enjoyable. I was just rewatching <i>Match Point</i> the other week and was wondering about Emily Mortimer— I wasn't expecting to see her starring in a new horror film! I found Robyn Nevin great in the role of Edna, there was something imposing and silently scary about her. I especially thought Bella Heathcote was great as Sam, maybe because she is actually permitted some depth when moving between frustration, compassion, and terror. I was very surprised by the look of the movie, especially when it takes its more supernatural turn towards the end and the walls and floors start twisting and stop making sense. Some of the eerier scenes that stick out to me are the sequence of Kat following her mom into the woods (the photo album), Sam witnessing the innocuous and horrifying progression of Post-It notes, and Edna's skin in general. </div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#ff0000">Final critique: </font>Simultaneously subdued and psychologically thrilling, <i>Relic</i> is raw, beautiful, female-centric horror. With notes similar to <i>The Grudge,</i> <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-pact-2012.html" target="_blank">The Pact</a></i>, <i>The Babadook, </i>and even <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/absentia-2011.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Absentia</a>, this movie is filled with a certain hazy kind of dread that sharpens into terrifying clarity at several climaxes throughout the film. Like to leave many audience members scratching their heads (or avoiding scratching their skin at all costs), <i>Relic</i> is a refreshing debut from director Natalie Erika James, and this blogger looks forward to seeing more.</div>Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-41626901996502542582019-07-04T12:50:00.001-04:002019-07-04T13:10:44.169-04:00Midsommar (2019)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Ari Aster<br />
<b>Studios:</b> A24<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren; ft. Will Poulter<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Let the Festivities Begin.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> thriller, drama, psychological thriller, folk horror, Americans abroad, cult<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> D+<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A-<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMau6E0LmHXLeJHPbjHCfWV9wFKKREa3H0AOtAsKOx4lk404Cml4tQ3ifdxjBx1pcokNIAlXS6mKsOEg3zeE5xHSDKAMBrqHlW6bs4Eak5xF3KtUkH2b5fO3zBldVVoD6mp5IuTG7CRwu/s1600/Midsommar_%25282019_film_poster%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMau6E0LmHXLeJHPbjHCfWV9wFKKREa3H0AOtAsKOx4lk404Cml4tQ3ifdxjBx1pcokNIAlXS6mKsOEg3zeE5xHSDKAMBrqHlW6bs4Eak5xF3KtUkH2b5fO3zBldVVoD6mp5IuTG7CRwu/s320/Midsommar_%25282019_film_poster%2529.png" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Plot overview:</b> </span>Following a terrible family tragedy, grieving Dani (Pugh) tags along with distant boyfriend Josh (Reynor) and his fellow anthropology graduate students on trip to partake in a once-in-a-lifetime traditional Swedish solstice festival at the invitation of their friend Pelle (Blomgren). Upon arriving to Hårga, Pelle's isolated commune in northern Sweden, a mix of psychedelic drugs and the delirious effects of the midnight sun soon turn the visitors' search for unique folk traditions into a bad trip of much darker pagan rituals.<br />
<br />
This film was gorgeous. I rushed to see it in theaters on opening day, which means that I saw it in a much more crowded theater than I am used to attending. Being surrounded by teenagers took away from much of the film's mastery— especially in the more <i>mature</i> (read: nude) scenes. In many ways, this is a subtle film, filled with stunning shots, quiet beauty, and a storyline that allows you to slowly settle in and experience the characters' pain. In other ways, the film is not subtle and gives the audience all the tools we could possibly need to know exactly what to expect (mostly through the illustrated exposition in the jaw-dropping murals and folk art we see throughout the movie). I was reminded of <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/hereditary-2018.html" target="_blank">Hereditary</a></i> in this sense, which was filled with more than a fair share of Easter eggs, often in the form of small visuals and art that becomes easier to pay attention to and feast upon in second or third watchings. Some of my favorite bits included how the audience is invited to take place in the mushroom trips, including some funky camera work (such as the aerial shots when the larger group first heads to the commune) where the twisting camera makes us lose our own balance for a moment. I would love to watch it again as soon as possible in a deserted theater where I can get lost in the film's artful cinematography and careful details in order to keep reliving what I saw tonight.<br />
<br />
Aside from the shots and excellent editing—I will never be over these rich visuals—the acting was fantastic. Florence Pugh was perfect for the role of Dani, especially early on when we get to experience those animalistic groans coming from her. There was something very important in this film about how bereft she often was, how heavy her depression weighs on us—much like Toni Collette's character in <i>Hereditary</i>—as well as the relationship dynamics that play out in the first third of the movie. Is Dani just an overly sensitive, overbearing girlfriend? Jack Reynor as the one-foot-in, one-foot-out boyfriend adds fun dynamics to the movie, especially towards the end as his character experiences a climax and denouement more typically assigned to females in horror. I have long said that I enjoy few things more than well-placed nudity in horror films, and <i>Midsommar</i>, like <i>Hereditary</i>, has it in spades, including plenty of Reynor such that a modern audience is bound to react to this perversion of mainstream movie "rules" and tropes. I also very much enjoyed the aesthetics and performance of Isabelle Grill as Maja, a younger adolescent in the commune who has been selected to take part in a very special ritual during the nine-day solstice celebration.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
This movie is gorgeous but it is not scary. It is a slow-burning movie that makes us often forget we are in a "horror" movie because, aside from some moments of tension and some flashes of disturbing imagery (so well done), there is no extreme suspense such as we encountered in <i>Hereditary</i>, or even in an older film like <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-wicker-man-1973.html" target="_blank">The Wicker Man</a></i> from which this movie so clearly pulls (including a nod at the end with the character of the fool... even Dani's floral gown reminded me of that large horse costume). I usually love horror movies about travelers in the abroad, and while I wonder if <i>Midsommar</i> will have the effect on Sweden that something like <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/04/hostel-2005.html" target="_blank">Hostel</a></i> had on Eastern Europe, this movie was not as frightening as as the Netflix's wonderful <i>The Ritual</i>. Many of the "scary" scenes are presented so fantastically that we, too, become students of anthropology, more interested in the culture and in what is going to happen next than in the inevitable darkness of it all. I knew the movie felt long—rarely dragging, however—but I was shocked that I didn't know about the film's near-two-and-a-half-hour run time. That said, I just want to watch it again and again. I think the gore was surprisingly fine, not nearly as jarring as my fellow audience members made it out to be, and in fact I was surprised as how many major deaths happen offscreen without explanation or closure, and with fairly little emphasis given to the body discoveries that so often shape the third act of horror films. What sticks with me most is the murder-suicide from the beginning, which we are unwilling shown flashbacks to throughout the film in the most excellent ways. I think those are the most purely disturbing images that will stick with me, so painful, so contrasted in a cool palette set in <i>midvinter</i> (ha ha) from the rest of the film's near-blinding white and florals.<br />
<br />
Some of my other favorite moments were the shared emotions among the members of the commune. The importance of a collectivist expression of pain, suffering, sorrow, and also joy morphed into such fantastic moments in this movie, especially during the <i>ättestupa</i> suicide ritual, Dani's final breakdown after the brilliant keyhole moment, and the emotionally whelming ending. As far as critiques go, I suppose we always knew where the movie was headed, so it was more of a matter of how we were going to get there.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Horror Hot Take:</span></b> <i>Midsommar</i> is not a horror movie. Sure, some horrible things happen and there is fantastically beautiful and often gory imagery that we typically see in horror films, but this second feature from Ari Aster is not as steeped in the horror genre as its predecessor. Aster himself made it clear that while he was approached by producer Patrik Andersson to make a Swedish slasher film, he ultimately decided to make a movie about a breakup filled with as much pain and sorrow as the one he was then experiencing in real life.<br />
<br />
That said, <i>Midsommar </i>(like <i>Hereditary</i>) is a movie about grief. There is a process, an arc, a journey that we ride along for as Dani grieves not only the shocking murder-suicide of her sister and parents but of her dying relationship and dying (and soon to be reborn) sense of self. A student of psychology herself, Dani's care-taking tendencies are obvious as she puts everyone else before herself to the point of having no ego strength, no boundaries, and no identity that is not in relation to others. Her relationship with Josh—himself a coward on many levels—is the definition of codependency as they shy away from fights and often apologize for each other's misgivings. Dani even gaslights herself and questions her own reality (forcing the audience to question <i>our</i> reality throughout the film). Truly it is a pitiful sight to watch: We feel sorry for Dani and her trauma, but foreshadowing already tips us off early on about the changes waiting to take place inside of her. Often dependent in nature, does Dani even exist if alone? This question explains her choice to find a new community, one that supports her unlike other people in her life, others who are now all gone.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique:</b> </span>This is a visually stunning and emotionally gripping movie. It does not rely on musical cues or cheap scares by any means but rather uses striking visual after visual after visual to sink its way into the viewer's brain, pairing beautiful sights with more disturbing images and testing the audience insofar as what they are able to sit and watch. In the case of my crowded and mostly adolescent audience, the desire to react vocally to express even adjacent discomfort at some of the scenes and themes helped show just how rare and powerful Aster's critique of modern American masculinity vis a vis his inclusion of full frontal male nudity is in mainstream film. It was such a fun treat to watch a horror film that takes place primarily in bright—often blinding—light and does not rely on nighttime and shadows to show us the darker sides of humanity (especially following a film like <i>Hereditary</i> and its dark palette).Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-77583264856978513532019-04-16T23:45:00.001-04:002019-04-19T17:04:25.347-04:00Pet Sematary (2019)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Di Bonaventura Pictures, Paramount Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jason Clarke, John Lithgow, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Sometimes dead is better; They don't come back the same.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, supernatural thriller, zombie, haunting, family drama, remake, Stephen King<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> B-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B+/B<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hqf3VjifteIQasTho5qzmgUwE77XNxuJKSp24Byns5vhZciWwRNwEwd_KGjmcBL6QULSlnip9_WNEwzROAE45atSjyNHiariB-_EBR4Gl4KZVQhG7i2KIzDMOQRDxAsaSKuzH0aJXMdk/s1600/Pet_Sematary_%25282019_poster%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hqf3VjifteIQasTho5qzmgUwE77XNxuJKSp24Byns5vhZciWwRNwEwd_KGjmcBL6QULSlnip9_WNEwzROAE45atSjyNHiariB-_EBR4Gl4KZVQhG7i2KIzDMOQRDxAsaSKuzH0aJXMdk/s320/Pet_Sematary_%25282019_poster%2529.png" width="204" /></a></div>
<br />
<b style="color: red;">Plot overview: </b>After moving from Boston to Maine, Louis Creed (Clarke) and his wife Rachel (Seimetz) are hoping for a more calm way of life so that they can slow things down while raising their two kids. Shortly after settling in, however, the family begins to be plagued by strange events, culminating in the death of their beloved pet cat, Church. The Creeds' new friend and neighbor, Jud Crandall (Lithgow), decides to help with their grieving, so he takes Louis beyond the local pet 'sematary' to a dark and ancient place to bury Church, who comes back home later that night, seemingly alive but fundamentally changed. When disaster strikes the family again shortly thereafter, the temptation to bring the dead back to life proves too strong for Louis, even though he knows that whatever comes back will not be the same as what was lost.<br />
<br />
I waited a few weeks to see this movie in theaters, and I ended up having an afternoon showing all to myself. The projectionist even fast forwarded past all the previews so that I could get straight to the movie. Sometimes living in a small town has its perks for Horror Buff.<br />
<br />
I've said it before and I'll say it again, but considering his prolific and unmatched impact on horror as we know it, the majority of Stephen King's body of work that was adapted to film fell victim to the era of production, that is to say so many of his books became movies cursed by the production quality of the '80s. I think <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-shining-1980.html" target="_blank">The Shining</a></i> is a stunning exception to this, but when you think about movies like <i>Thinner</i> (which is still fun) or especially <i>Graveyard Shift</i>, even <i>Cujo</i> and <i>Christine</i> to a lesser extent, I think it becomes more apparent. Anywho, nothing a remake can't fix... enter <i>Pet Sematary</i>.<br />
<br />
The original movie from 1989 was one of the earliest horror movies I was continuously exposed to while growing up, and it has had a very lasting impression on me. It felt like it was always on TV, and some of my earliest memories of horror are from this film. I think one of the images that has scared me most throughout my life, all because of how young I was when I would see it on TV, was that of Rachel's sister and her case of spinal meningitis from hell. That being said, my interest was piqued when I learned that this new version was coming out.<br />
<br />
My general thoughts are that this was a fun adaptation but not groundbreaking. It had a lot of familiar elements with some other scattered references to King's mythos (e.g. Derry sign while Rachel is in traffic), but it also made some bold choices to change the plot of the book and the original. Even though Horror Buff feels like a purist so much of the time, I didn't see the harm in freshening up the story with some of these new or altered bits of plot.<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed the production quality and I thought the film was pretty lovely to watch, including all that beautiful Maine wilderness. I especially loved the creepy animal masks the local children would wear on their processions into the Pet Sematary when laying a lost loved one down; this was one of those eerie things just believable or fun enough that a small town might do and that would look as terrifying to outsiders like Rachel as it did to us as viewers— but that might be totally normal to locals who had observed the tradition for generations.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
I also thought the acting was pretty solid throughout the movie, or at least in lazier scenes that it never got into that <i>awful</i> family drama aspect that we've seen in so many horror movies focused around the family unit. I recognized Clarke's face but I'm not too familiar with his other work; he could have fooled me that he's Australian! I didn't love him in the beginning but he grew on me during the film. Amy Seimetz (<i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-possession-2012.html" target="_blank">The Possession</a></i>, <i>Alien: Covenant</i>) was given a sort of strange role with Rachel, who really misses out on most of the action. I liked her but I didn't feel especially moved by the re-exploration of her childhood trauma, which I felt she could have acted more strongly. She was great in her final scenes, however. I think one of the smartest plot change decisions this movie made was to kill and reanimate Ellie (Laurence) instead of Gage (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie). I thought the young Laurence has a great look about her and I wonder if we will see more of her, and it felt more natural to utilize a more mature actor—even though she's still a little kid—to play such a crucial role in the movie. I laughed out loud at the early scene when she comments how "cemetery" is spelt wrong on the sign at the pet sematary. ELLIE IS ALL OF US. Especially as her undead version, Laurence brought a lot of morbid fun to the movie— there was something mature about her contemplative nature upon realizing her own deadness and incompatibility with the natural world. I could have done without that demented ballet scene, though.<br />
<br />
Pretty much the whole time, I was expecting the infantile Gage to get killed, and as the first movie showed us, there is only so much you can do with a child that young coming back as some demonic zombie. I was even nervous that it would become special effect heavy to carry that all out, given how young Gage was. So as my stomach was all in knots anticipating the inevitable during the birthday party scene, it's fair to say I was really surprised with how that all ended up. Why wouldn't these people have built a giant fence along their property line? Forget the creepy cemetery and ancient Indian burial ground (*yawn*)— that highway was a nightmare! Admittedly, I jumped pretty hard the first time a truck sped by early on in the movie. After that, I really didn't think this movie was too scary. There was some classic suspense, and even just the right amount of gore between the flashback to Zelda's (Alyssa Levine) death, Ellie attacking Jud (Achilles tendon iconic to the original), and that particularly enjoyable early scene when Louis tries to save former college student and future ghost Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) following an accident. I chuckled during Jud's death scene as we see demon zombie Church licking his little cat lips in anticipation— that was great.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: red;">Fun fact: </b>Stephen King was inspired to write this book while working at the University of Maine (much like Louis) after his family cat was killed by a truck on a busy nearby road. He had to bury the cat and explain what had happened to his daughter when he started to wonder, what would happen if the cat could come back, only different?<br />
<br />
Otherwise the horror here was kind of odd at times. I think it's almost more that I found myself too busy questioning the logic behind everything that I couldn't focus on what exactly was happening. Why does Victor get to haunt Louis? Especially when there is a special burial site to reanimate the dead, where does a random ghost come into play? Why in the world did Jud ever think that bringing Church back to life would be a good idea, especially given his story about his pet dog and the implications about his late wife? Are the dead simply brought back to life with a grudge, or is this more of a demonic possession happening? While the end of the movie is being considered shocking now, I felt the last couple of minutes were not wholly satisfying and that the movie even ended on a strange note. (Not to mention it breaks my first <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-rules.html" target="_blank">Cardinal Rule</a>!)<br />
<br />
I know the Indian burial ground trope is tired and has received its fair share of due criticism, but I enjoyed this movie's quick references and short sighting of the wendigo, a prevailing piece of Native American folklore that scared me a lot as a kid. I think this movie examines the breakdown of the nuclear family unit, exploring not only death but grief and loss in general. I wonder if there is commentary on the guilt so common in grief, and if that guilt can be extended to America's bloody colonial history. As Jud mentions, perhaps burying Church in the burial ground in the first place started a string of events that would ultimately lead to the Creeds' demise, or maybe the events were totally random. Is there an element of revenge here? Who are the demons returning in the dead's bodies, anyhow? Or am I overthinking it?<br />
<br />
<b style="color: red;">Final critique:</b> This wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't the amazing remake you might anticipate after almost exactly 30 years (the original was released April 21, 1989). Then again, the actual material here is pretty specific, and I don't think there was much more you could have changed without losing the story, or without losing the audience who is first and foremost dedicated to King. Though not a terribly scary movie, the combination of jump scares, brief violence/ gore, and the generally dark mood of the film might mean some people will have to sit this one out. The moral dilemma here is enough to have you thinking about this movie for a while after. How far would you go if you had the power to reverse death? Or is it better to accept that the loved one you lost can never come back, at least not as their original self?Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-7658877557688950342019-04-15T12:09:00.001-04:002019-04-19T16:56:44.085-04:00Hostel (2005)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Eli Roth<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Next Entertainment, Raw Nerve, Lionsgate, Screen Gems<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eypór Gu∂jónsson<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Welcome To Your Worst Nightmare.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, thriller, psychological horror, body horror, torture, drama<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C+/B-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B+<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGngLkaf9W31okeh658iOm3hi5quZJz_vSnbktNkTXMvSnoudmZUxYh_LnQDg0_ZmO5rtE7VE7y_HGnKzncIys_bvNueAuWMbOukcu0Gxkxe70XnMhO7yctrSOuQzgDPQL71qE6F8foDE/s1600/Hostel_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGngLkaf9W31okeh658iOm3hi5quZJz_vSnbktNkTXMvSnoudmZUxYh_LnQDg0_ZmO5rtE7VE7y_HGnKzncIys_bvNueAuWMbOukcu0Gxkxe70XnMhO7yctrSOuQzgDPQL71qE6F8foDE/s320/Hostel_poster.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Plot overview:</b> </span>Three friends are traveling Europe in search of forgettable girls and unforgettable adventure. When they're promised the best parties and hottest women, they travel farther east on their hunt for hookups. When they arrive to Slovakia, however, they unwillingly wind up in an international scheme where they become the hunted.<br />
<br />
Who hasn't seen or heard of <i>Hostel</i>? This was released a year after <i>Saw</i> and in many ways the two films heralded in a new era of body horror and, more specifically, torture porn, which I feel many modern audiences most heavily associate with the horror genre today. Eli Roth made a name for himself several years earlier with the enjoyably bloody <i>Cabin Fever</i>— a movie which perhaps better bridges the gap from early 2000s horror into more body-centric terror. I would argue it's also no coincidence that the teen comedy <i>EuroTrip</i> was released in 2004, because in many ways <i>Hostel</i> is a perverted and nightmarish version of that film, complete with Josh (Richardson) moping over an ex-girlfriend, Amsterdam nightclubs, feisty strangers on a train, and winding up in Bratislava. Tell me that's a coincidence. Which leads me to my next point...<br />
<br />
Above all else, <i>Hostel</i> is an exploration of the role of America (and Americans) in a post-9/11 world. The Bush era was a time when American backpackers were not welcome many places, when Americans abroad posed as Canadians to avoid the recently-marred reputation on the world stage. While it exploits some of the stereotypically obtuse nature of American tourists, it also serves as a commentary of American violence when we meet the fantastically creepy Rick Hoffman as the American client later in the film. In general, setting the majority of the film in an impoverished and third-world-looking version of the Slovakian capital of Bratislava drew major backlash from government and audiences in that country, which went on to invite Roth for an all-expenses-paid trip to show him their true beauty and culture. Roth explained that the film was not meant as an insult to the country or its people, but rather to make a point that most Americans wouldn't know Slovakia was a country, or at least that they wouldn't be able to place it on a map. While our main characters are fairly bright, this ignorance and the ensuing loss of innocence are explored in the film.<br />
<br />
It's not a coincidence that the victims we see explicitly in the film are American and Japanese, or that German plays a large role, because I feel that this, too, is a commentary on power: Taking citizens of the world's most powerful and industrialized nations and subverting them into victims in a nightmarish pay-per-victim business in what is clearly portrayed as a developing country. Since the Cold War, Eastern Europe has long been viewed in the American imagination as some broken down and eternally foreign place lost in the past. I can see how this film certainly would have perpetuated those feelings. A major moment in the film comes when the formerly cocky and ignorant Paxton (Hernandez) begins speaking in fluent German to his torturer, thus tapping into the masked butcher's humane side and allowing Paxton to buy himself some more time to formulate a plan. To me, this represented the importance of culture and multicultural/ multilingual education as a path to salvation for Americans, who are stereotypically monolingual and ignorant of cultures other than their own state/ city/ family.<br />
<br />
I really enjoy this film. I remember the first time I rented it with a friend back in high school and we just sat there half laughing half terrified at what was happening before us. The first half of the movie plays almost as an adult film until we are ushered into a dark transition. I absolutely adore the juxtaposition of these young men looking for sex and speaking poorly of sex workers, only to then find themselves as the meat or merchandise being sold to wealthy international clients. Natalya (Barbara Nedeljáková) explicitly points this out with a great line to Paxton later on: "I get a lot of money for you, and that makes you <i>my</i> bitch." There is something so crucial to the genre about this subversion of independence and agency into total obedience— and then enter the body horror as their physical forms get slowly mutilated. I think that is what differentiates body horror from splatter films: There is a larger focus on the physical mutilation than simply on the bodily fluids to follow. <i>Hostel</i> offers plenty of that as well, and if there was one scene most representative of the movie, it would probably be the infamous bit with the eyeball. Another great sequence is when Paxton is being dragged past the doors of different rooms in the factory (why are the doors open?) and we get brief glimpses into various snapshots of torture. My favorite scene may have been when Paxton is in his torture room and his vomit starts erupting around the ball gag that has just been put into his mouth. So excellent.<br />
<br />
Another interesting theme the movie touches on not-so-shyly is that of a gay subtext. I recently listened to the <i>Hostel</i> episode of the usually fun and insightful <a href="https://horrorqueers.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">Horror Queers podcast</a> that brought this back to my attention since I had not seen the movie in years. Going back to American relations, I think another major stereotype/ reality we have is that European men are more "feminine," as we have come to understand that word in Western societies, meaning they are more openly sensual or comfortable with their bodies or in expressing themselves. Óli (Gu∂jónsson) shows off his butt more times than I can count and is openly interested in heterosexual couples copulating, as well as other kinks. Horror movies in the early 2000s are usually ripe with overt homophobia, and <i>Hostel</i> is no different. Our three brochachos are galavanting around Europe looking for "poosay," and it's primarily Josh who becomes a target for Paxton and Óli's homophobic remarks regarding Josh's use of a fanny pack (trendsetter!) or his reluctance to try and sleep with every single girl they encounter. One of the most interesting bits from the film is when the Dutch Businessman (Jan Vlasák) places his hand on Josh's thigh during the train ride, and Josh immediately freaks out. When they meet each other again, Josh tries to atone for his outburst by buying the businessman a drink at a bar, and he reciprocates the man's original gesture by placing his own hand on the man's thigh. This prompts the man to admit that he had to ignore his urges and start a family, but that Josh still has time to do what is right for him. There is really no other way to read this except that the man is admitting he is not heterosexual, but was forced into a heteronormative lifestyle, and that he acknowledges homosexual feelings in Josh and wants the adolescent to follow his own path (AKA telling Josh 'Gay is okay.') Josh seems confused by this exchange, and we don't really see too much more of it because at that point it's already too late for him anyway. While Paxton starts off the film as a pretty unrepentant homophobe, part of his arc is to get more in touch with his feelings as becomes more human and tries to survive his ordeal. The idea of these men tied up and made subservient is one aspect of that, as well as some of the general torture/ BDSM equipment we see in the factory, including the ball gag used on Paxton. At the end of the film, the bathroom kill scene is also heavy on the gay allusions as cruising in bathrooms was historically (and still remains) a way to rendezvous with or meet other men. (We have seen this touched upon in other horror movies, such as the <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-2007.html" target="_blank">2007 <i>Halloween</i> remake</a> or even the latest installment from 2018.)<br />
<br />
In general, I think the acting is pretty solid in this movie, more so in specific scenes than in general. I do like the hunky Hernandez as our final boy Paxton— bet you didn't see that coming when the movie started. Surviving the ordeal becomes fairly ridiculous, especially when he's an inch away from escape and hears screams coming from inside the factory (how?), triggering him to rescue Kana (Jennifer Lim) as redemption for the little girl he didn't stop from drowning in that minor backstory you might have missed in the first place. Facing the trauma of the moment, it's wild that his brain even allowed him to process that, whereas most of us would be in full-on flight, fight, or freeze. I feel so-so about Derek Richardson as the more empathetic Josh, but he has perhaps the biggest standout moment of the movie when he first comes to in his torture cell. This is our first introduction to the reality of the movie as well, and his realization/ begging for mercy/ suffering is one of the best sequences in the entire film.<br />
<br />
Overall, this movie is not very scary. Violence and gore are very separate from actual scares to me, so while they are certainly heavy in those departments, the film itself is more terrifying psychologically in the reality of what is happening with the Elite Hunting organization. That name also cracked me up, what with an ego-boosting suggestion that these butchers were "hunters," when in reality their prey is being handed to them. Maybe some commentary on big game hunting there as well. The first half of the movie is all setting us up for the second half, and there is really very little horror in the beginning at all, which is interesting. A few scenes end up fairly silly, like the most dramatic low-speed hit and run we've ever witnessed (RIP Eastern European accomplices) or that other classic scene on the train platform at the end. (AMAZING blood splatter on random women. LOVE that.) The movie also ends on a really weird note, I was almost surprised that that was it.<br />
<br />
I also picked up on some great <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-shining-1980.html" target="_blank">Shining</a> </i>references throughout the movie, from the presence of the number 237, to the camera angles approaching the factory (similar to approaching the Overlook), even to the string-heavy music in some scenes. That was fun to see throughout. The music, however, is pretty corny, and I think that hurts the scares in otherwise dark scenes. There is a great soundtrack in the beginning of the movie, but by the time the terror kicks in, the score sounds very outdated and overdramatic. Was a bit turned off by that as well.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique:</b> </span>This movie is a wild ride that many audiences are sure to enjoy. This came early on in the years of modern body horror and torture porn, with just a few explicit scenes but plenty of special effects, makeup, props, and bodily fluids to add to the overall feel. If you can't do gore, there is no reason why you should even attempt this movie. Otherwise, it's quirky in its own ways, but mostly a quick and enjoyable watch with plenty of deeper subtexts that helped boost Eli Roth to major fame in the genre.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-85229435992134341952019-04-14T14:40:00.000-04:002019-04-14T14:40:38.580-04:00Evil Dead (2013)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Fede Álvarez<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Ghost House Pictures, FilmDistrict, TriStar Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Fear What You Will Become<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, supernatural thriller, psychological thriller, possession, drama, action, gore<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B-<br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WxjIXr-uH_bafTB0FBLnDl9AJcmGKJAs9zAc61XnZ0UAGqyCNVgrAb39PWDEsz_IAneOyogR6gVhOfO4HQhWJXRUIi4S-Uep0J39gSouTq6AtbdI8xgr1I_0k3Hj-BMZ4IB4ILB5bcH7/s1600/EvilDead2013Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_WxjIXr-uH_bafTB0FBLnDl9AJcmGKJAs9zAc61XnZ0UAGqyCNVgrAb39PWDEsz_IAneOyogR6gVhOfO4HQhWJXRUIi4S-Uep0J39gSouTq6AtbdI8xgr1I_0k3Hj-BMZ4IB4ILB5bcH7/s320/EvilDead2013Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Plot overview:</b> </span>Five friends arrive at a secluded cabin in the woods to help Mia (Levy) quit and overcome her withdrawal from heroin. After discovering disturbing animal sacrifices and a mysterious and ancient text in the basement, a demonic force begins to possess and kill the group one by one.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This movie is tricky. Described by the director as a continuation of the <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-evil-dead-1981.html" target="_blank">original classic</a>, my biggest complaint about this film is that in many ways it feels like another gritty, early 2000s revamp of a horror classic and yet doesn't have any of the bizarre humor that made the original stand out in the first place (although acting and effects are up to par with 2010s horror). For that reason, I feel this movie isn't super memorable. Case in point, I was watching it last night and it wasn't until about halfway through that I realized I'd seen it once or twice before. My bad.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
That being said, lots of things about this not-quite-a-remake, 4th installment in the <i>Evil Dead</i> franchise are awesome. It's not for everybody, to be sure, but there is something so unrelenting about this movie—and about the nature of the horror which manifests in it—which keeps hitting you again and again practically from start to finish. The best thing this film does is maintain the gore-heavy nature of the original. Using really fun makeup and special effects—and only very minimal CGI—we are treated to tons of bloody, dirty, sharp, gut-wrenching gore that is pretty similar (if less campy) than the original's. There are also tons of great nods throughout the film, which isn't too surprising given that the producers of the original films were on this project as well (Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Robert G. Tapert). It's a rehash of the original in many ways, but even Ash's car is still there, the chainsaw of course, and at one point we see a Michigan sweater, like in the original, because Raimi and Tapert both went to Michigan State, Campbell also went to college in Michigan, and all three were born in the Great Lakes State. I love when creators pay homage to their own upbringings, and Michigan specifically seems to be hot in recent years, such as in <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/it-follows-2014.html" target="_blank">It Follows</a> </i>or in another Fede Álvarez-directed thriller (also starring Levy), 2016's excellent <i>Don't Breathe</i>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I didn't think this new take on <i>The Evil Dead</i> was scary whatsoever, and I was going to give it a lower Scare Score, but then I thought more specifically about some of the action-packed scenes in this movie that, while not scary in your typical sense, were kind of horrifying in their brutality. Like the first film, the horror-action is pretty relentless once the incantation is read from the <i>Naturom Demonto</i>, this installment's version of Lovecraft's infamous <i>Necronomicon</i>. Unfortunately it all feels a lot more pointless than the way the first movie did it, and while I enjoyed watching all the projectile vomiting and cutting or tearing off of various limbs, I really didn't enjoy the so-called Abomination. Sort of fell flat and felt like stuff we've seen in other films like <i>The Ring</i> or <i>The Grudge</i>. On the other hand, I enjoyed when the characters were becoming possessed. That to me was creepier than the evil entity itself, and in some ways more well done than the original.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I really thought there was some strong acting in this movie. I wasn't anticipating this, because the setup and mood really felt a lot like some of those subpar 2000s revamps of other horror classics, and the horror culture at that time certainly did <i>not</i> emphasize acting compared to other things like looks. Really enjoyed the handsome Shiloh Fernandez as the calm and caring older brother, even if he got a little dim at parts. As in most movies like this, each character got a bit conveniently dumb (feels like <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-cabin-in-woods-2012.html" target="_blank">Cabin in the Woods</a></i> at play) at times, including the heavily-criticized Eric (Pucci)—who was probably my least favorite of the bunch—who immediately reads from the <i>Naturom Demonto</i> even though he knows it's an awful idea. The real star of the movie is Jane Levy as Mia, who keeps us entertained the whole time as she moves from emo/traumatized to violent withdrawal/psychosis to demon-possessed to badass final girl.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As in the original, this continuation employs unrelenting horror to disgust and terrify audiences. Does it work? In some ways, it's more refreshing than the first, which is admittedly cornier with more syrup-heavy fake blood and colorful gore. This version wanted to go darker, and it certainly did that, but I feel it missed out on the great cinematography and creative violence of the first. The film ends up serving as a sort of grittier tribute that takes itself too seriously (I hate the movie poster so much). Still, I appreciate the sheer volume of violence and gore it offers once the demons are released. When it comes to the sexual violence in the film—which has taken a thornier turn for the worse—the same questions are raised: What is the purpose of the violence? Is it to terrorize us further or is it simply a shock factor? This time around, it was less explicit, with more of a sci-fi possession twist going on.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique:</b> </span>It's no surprise that a modern take on <i>The Evil Dead</i> was going to happen eventually, so it's a good thing it was done with as much respect and detail as this version, which had the guidance of the original team. At first it may feel like a forced and darker version of the original, but eventually the sheer action and gore help stand this film on its own two feet, although fans of the first will miss the dark and slapstick humor that made it a cult classic. If you can't do gore, stay away from this film, which has it in spades. Otherwise, this movie isn't spectacularly scary, and if it weren't for the name and history attached to it, it feels pretty forgettable.</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-81612470707045055742019-04-01T00:42:00.002-04:002019-04-01T12:21:34.771-04:00Sleepaway Camp (1983)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Robert Hiltzik<br />
<b>Studios:</b> American Eagle Films, United Film Distribution Company<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Christopher Collet, Karen Fields; ft. Mike Kellin, Robert Earl Jones<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> ...you won't be coming home!<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, thriller, slasher, serial killer, mystery, teen, surprise ending<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C+<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUjICt8dLKlfZha1JBjD4figD7na6b29TnSP6D8L6smb53kCLXas5nEHhkskVr8B3VNdoHEb5HVUxK764nXVmZ8xRw0vXP5BZD7cYVT45Z89aQqycIOM2wJrcGV2EZ9hOx2w7miZgbR5k/s1600/SleepawayCampposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUjICt8dLKlfZha1JBjD4figD7na6b29TnSP6D8L6smb53kCLXas5nEHhkskVr8B3VNdoHEb5HVUxK764nXVmZ8xRw0vXP5BZD7cYVT45Z89aQqycIOM2wJrcGV2EZ9hOx2w7miZgbR5k/s320/SleepawayCampposter.jpg" width="208" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUYyRVkPS_nfshLB2WTr9NPdDz663eWWvMENBLmy2c6uqM-wiaE38KSIEE3N3ZWVae0UH-QnRX90U8FJ99ewLEbaTPSvz2LsPSbotmcdMGTvbFYiTFrjtEo6JfHEPRPSwJdILZ321swcy/s1600/da4pli3l5vc0d.cloudfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQUYyRVkPS_nfshLB2WTr9NPdDz663eWWvMENBLmy2c6uqM-wiaE38KSIEE3N3ZWVae0UH-QnRX90U8FJ99ewLEbaTPSvz2LsPSbotmcdMGTvbFYiTFrjtEo6JfHEPRPSwJdILZ321swcy/s1600/da4pli3l5vc0d.cloudfront.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Plot overview: </b>Years after watching her family die in a tragic boating accident, the incredibly shy Angela (Rose) is sent to summer camp with her popular cousin Ricky (Tiersten). Although she begins to grow comfortable with Ricky's best friend Paul (Collet), most of the other kids at camp insist on bullying her. Unfortunately for them, there's a killer on the loose. Can these kids survive sleep-away camp?</div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
All I wanted before bed tonight was to cuddle up to some classic '80s horror, and I'm so glad I found this movie. Reviews online about "that twist ending" piqued my interest, so I decided to give it a shot. You can't beat those great movie posters either, I had to include the second one because I thought it was just perfect.<br />
<br />
To be fully honest, I was nervous at first. I wasn't expecting any great production quality, but the first 10 or so minutes of the movie were pretty rough in terms of the over-acting and melodrama. As you give the movie time to progress, however, its standard slasher plot becomes filled with ridiculous details that make it obvious why this movie has such a strong cult following. First and foremost, this movie is CAMP— pun intended. It has plenty of on-the-nose '80s cheesiness that might not be for everybody but certainly works for Horror Buff (sometimes). Some parts of the movie become so unrealistic that you truly have to suspend your belief and go along for the ride, and if you stick through it, you will be happy that you did.<br />
<br />
Even when the acting was subpar or the plot seemed a little weird, the gory deaths in this movie made everything worth it. The makeup team did an <i>amazing</i> job here, and the gore alone elevated this movie so far up in my book. While the majority of the movie isn't super scary, the gore alone carried the movie forward, making it even more memorable.<br />
<br />
The most obvious thing about this movie is that it's a <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-13th-1980.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Friday the 13th</a>-inspired pastiche from start to finish. The '80s were the golden era of teen slashers, and <i>Sleepaway Camp </i>seemed to just lower the ages of its victims, stay a little less raunchy, and add some Freudian motives to the plot. I was shocked to see how young most of the cast was, and while none of the acting in the movie is anything to write home about, some of the younger actors were leagues ahead of the adults in the film. And how cool is it to see the late Robert Earl Jones, father of the legendary James Earl Jones, making an appearance? Regardless of its very literal camp quality, there is something so alluring about '80s slashers—or about the perversion of places like summer camps, which should be happy—that helps keep the plot enduring even 36 years later.<br />
<br />
What struck me most about this movie was probably the character of Dr. Martha Thomas (Desiree Gould), Ricky's mother and Angela's aunt. Any scenes including her—as well as the strikingly psychoanalytic and dreamlike flashbacks featuring Angela's dad—were visually and aesthetically incongruent with the rest of the film and added such a fun dimension to the otherwise straightforward plot. I don't know if it was Gould's personal choice or the director's, but the way she acted Aunt Martha was so alarming and unsettling, like something out of a Tim Burton film. In general, the subplot of Angela's past added a psychodynamic level to the movie that only adds to what seems like a fairly obvious whodunnit mystery.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>
This movie caught me off guard a few times. I had a really hard time with some of the characters/ subplots, especially the camp's head chef (Owen Hughes) being an unabashed pedophile. I don't think we would ever even see that in a kitsch movie today. Watching the film is like looking into a time capsule of cinematic oddities: There are a few things between nudity and implied violence that I don't think would fly today. For what it's worth, the movie is a wonderful exploration of the terror of puberty and adolescence, as well as a commentary on the stark contrasts between your All-American summer camp setting and the hectic reality of teenage life, not to mention the ensuing struggle to establish an identity. Throw in some selective mutism, a repressed Oedipus/Electra complex, and some definite PTSD, and you've got a lifetime of therapy wrapped up in this film.<br />
<br />
They really weren't kidding about that twist ending, huh? I love slashers where the identity of the killer is a mystery, because so often even the simplest answer is hiding a truth that you never would have guessed. The resolution in this movie was not what I was expecting, and while it opened up so many questions for me (I want to learn more about the pathology going on here), it's just that sort of ending you will honestly never forget. The best part was that awful, animalistic noise. So great.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: red;">Final critique: </b>This movie is not for everybody, but if fans have kept something popular for 36 years, I think it's a huge credit to a film's reputation. This hit my sweet spot for a cheesy '80s slasher, and it brought with it psychological dimensions I was never expecting to watch. Between the fun mystery in the plot and the roller coaster of melodramatic acting, questionable script-writing, and that amazing surprise ending, this movie would is a perfect watch to pair with a fun group of friends and a big bowl of popcorn for a relaxed movie night. The movie really isn't very scary—just a few jumps scattered over a fairly suspenseful storyline—but the death scenes bring out gore that will have some people covering their eyes and trying to hide. Campy to be sure, and by far not the best the '80s brought us, but an enduringly curious horror movie that you can appreciate nonetheless.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-73201097345425973112019-03-31T13:29:00.003-04:002019-03-31T13:30:38.129-04:00Happy Death Day (2017)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Christopher Landon<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Get up. Live your day. Get Killed. Again.; Make Every Death Count.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> PG-13<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, thriller, slasher, masked murderer, serial killer, mystery, black comedy<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C+<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B+<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIHMHV6N9SOOHTQ2Xe5WSe2Ha3A1dk5fZSaZ61SlcjF0WQTfNh79DhiuTw7KhShKGKxLyRTkuQ1lGZRGup_qTflz97Z-stmlDy1WKoAjjF3hE2p4PFd3PSMQe5ZcVm4LaxQDRRxiXxJBn/s1600/Happy_Death_Day_poster.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIHMHV6N9SOOHTQ2Xe5WSe2Ha3A1dk5fZSaZ61SlcjF0WQTfNh79DhiuTw7KhShKGKxLyRTkuQ1lGZRGup_qTflz97Z-stmlDy1WKoAjjF3hE2p4PFd3PSMQe5ZcVm4LaxQDRRxiXxJBn/s320/Happy_Death_Day_poster.png" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Plot overview:</b> </span>College student Tree (Rothe) wakes up in a strange dorm to an even stranger birthday. That night, she is stalked and killed by an ominous hooded figure wearing the mask of the school's mascot— a very unnerving baby face. Suddenly, Tree wakes back up in the same dorm room on the same morning her birthday. After several more horrifying encounters and deaths, Tree realizes she is trapped in a bloody time loop and must stop her own murder before it can happen again.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Critics have described this movie as <i>Groundhog Day</i> meets <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/search?q=scream" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Scream</a>, and truly that is the best way to sum it up. The creative team clearly had a fun time mixing a classic slasher film with some more lighthearted '80s influences, and the result really was an enjoyable movie. I wanted to see this really badly when it first came out, but never got around to it for whatever reason, so here we are two years later. Of course, that's nothing compared to how long this movie actually took to get off the ground:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Fun fact:</b> The idea for this movie was first announced in 2007. It was called <i>Half to Death</i> and was set to be produced by Michael Bay and star Megan Fox (oh, the early aughts). I'm glad it took so long to get green-lighted.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Happy Death Day</i> toes the line between serving the audience a fairly engaging mystery/slasher/thriller and also having a lot of fun with itself while introducing us to the overtly stereotypical Bayfield University and exploring new ways to kill off Tree. I will quickly say that I don't personally know any Theresas, and I've never heard of a Theresa going by "Tree" so I thought that from the start I was distracted by our leading lady's name because I was trying to figure out what they were saying. Kind of felt like they were really going out on a <i>limb</i> (Sorry).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One thing that immediately caught me off guard as we got into the swing of things was the similarity between this movie and the fantastic Netflix original <i>Russian Doll</i> starring an incomparable Natasha Lyonne. If you haven't seen that yet, I highly recommend it because it's an artistic, quirky, and beautiful metaphysical exploration of mental illness, relationships, and meaning. At the time, I thought it was so original, a darker turn on <i>Groundhog Day </i>to be certain, but while watching <i>Happy Death Day</i> it became clear to me that <i>Russian Doll</i> must have taken a few pointers from this movie as well. Still really worth a watch if you are looking for an easy show to binge. Moving along...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I really found myself enjoying this film. While it did not live up to the expectations I had for it, I thought it was easy to watch, with its fair share of thrills and scares mostly concentrated in the first third of the movie while the rest of the film becomes more focused on Tree solving the mystery of her own repeating and impending murder. By the point, the scares dwindle rapidly and the true action of the movie sets in.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Like most other films and shows about time loops, this becomes a movie about character agency and personal growth. For whatever reason we choose to believe, Tree is given a chance to save not only herself but to mend some broken relationships along the way. I thought Jessica Rothe did a nice job as Tree, turning a fairly one-dimensional role into a more entertaining and strong lead. We've seen 'bitchy popular sorority sister' done a million times, typically as a victim, so it was refreshing to see a slasher film turn that on its head as she overcame fat-shaming, slut-shaming, and—you know—murder. She refused to become a victim, unless it was for somebody else's sake. That being said, we see Tree in neglige countless times while every male in the film remains completely covered, there is a subplot of a closeted gay guy who is ultimately reduced from being a potential threat to being "cute"— as one might treat a pet—and finally there is a murder scene staged as an allusion to sexual assault in fraternity culture. Some of these felt a little too cheap to me in a movie that is otherwise about empowerment.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I thought the creative team did a great job with the Baby Face killer. Horror Buff loves a good masked murderer, and this mask really found a good balance that mirrored the movie's comedic lightness while still being a horror film. It was irritating and eerie at the same time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Fun fact:</span> </b>The mask in this movie was created by Tony Gardner, who also designed one of the most famous faces in horror: the Ghostface mask from the <i>Scream</i> franchise. He was inspired to use the image of a baby because his wife was carrying their first child at the time of production.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There was also some nice filming going on here, which is especially important to slashers. I was happy to see the lovely campus of Loyola University down in New Orleans: It helped set the scene of your typical southern college experience, which was further enriched by all the shots from the quads (filled with potential suspects!) as well as that great sorority house. I enjoyed most of the chase scenes, even when they became a little ridiculous, and perhaps one of the most fun things this movie was able to do was reinvent Tree's perpetual death in new and wild ways. My favorite shot from the film was towards the end of the movie when we see Tree blow out the candle on her birthday cupcake, and that gorgeous red candle drips a little wax like blood while the smoke still lingers in the air. Really nice.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I liked that this movie offered up so many suspects as we joined Tree in her nightmarish birthday whodunnit. I personally was more suspicious of Dr. Gregory Butler (Charles Aitken) and/or his wife Stephanie (Laura Clifton), so while I didn't even like roommate Lori's (Ruby Modine) look from the start, I didn't really see it coming. In retrospect, there were a ton of clues, from the promotional material of the cupcake all the way through her sketchy way of finding out Tree's birthday and even her questionable overtime at the hospital. All in all, it was a neat way for the entire plot to come together and add that twist at the end.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique: </b></span>This movie asks us to buy into a very curated and stereotypical college experience, but it advances the slasher tropes slightly by giving our final girl the agency to save herself. The movie is a mix of black comedy and thriller with some added unexplained phenomenon and lots of action, so it's definitely going to be appealing to a wider range of audiences than a horror movie alone might be. (This thing KILLED at the box office. 2017 was a huge year for Blumhouse between this movie, <i>Split</i>, and <i>Get Out</i>.) Now that I've finally seen it, I guess I can look forward to the sequel, although I've heard it's even less scary. Overall, this was an enjoyable watch, easy for anyone looking for a few scares but otherwise a genuinely fun film.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-46182140283430060442019-03-30T01:07:00.000-04:002019-03-30T14:21:22.153-04:00Dial M for Murder (1954)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Alfred Hitchcock<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Warner Bros.<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Is this the man she was waiting for... or the man who was waiting for her?<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> PG<br />
<b>Genre:</b> thriller, mystery, crime, drama, suspense<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> D-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B+<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCwLxNciIq-SFFY_iCY7VLmR6az_S2HK8pjYEc9FuXrWmOOOhE-sxQwSnsYgUsp1EUry0-9MXMZBG3oR8k7o-xPyyQC8nrUKNp9qQho7Psbw5kS3m1glvkW-bjCoqSoIHp4w4IJlR_LRf/s1600/Dial_M_For_Murder.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkCwLxNciIq-SFFY_iCY7VLmR6az_S2HK8pjYEc9FuXrWmOOOhE-sxQwSnsYgUsp1EUry0-9MXMZBG3oR8k7o-xPyyQC8nrUKNp9qQho7Psbw5kS3m1glvkW-bjCoqSoIHp4w4IJlR_LRf/s320/Dial_M_For_Murder.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Plot overview:</b> After learning about his wife Margot's (Kelly) affair, English tennis player Tony Wendice (Milland) blackmails an old school chum (Dawson) into murdering her. After his seemingly perfect scheme goes awry, however, Tony must frame his wife instead.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I love Hitchcock. What an expansive career this Master of Suspense had. That being said, this may be one of the first times I've reviewed one of his movies that I wouldn't actually consider a horror. Based off of the play by screenwriter Frederick Knott, this movie makes the horror blog with a whopping PG rating. Talk about amateur hour. Unlike <i><b><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/04/strangers-on-train-1951.html" target="_blank">Strangers on a Train</a></b></i>, <i><b><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-birds-1963.html" target="_blank">The Birds</a></b></i>, and especially <i><b><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/psycho-1960.html" target="_blank">Psycho</a></b></i>, <i>Dial M for Murder</i> is more similar to his films like <i>Rope</i> or even <i>Rear Window </i>(my personal favorite) in that they deal more with the suspense, meticulous planning, and repercussions of a crime than the actual horror of it (not to mention the majority of the action taking place in a single room). Regarding <i>Strangers on a Train</i>, both films share the 'perfect murder' and blackmail concepts, as well as two main characters both being professional tennis players (think doubles and double-crossing).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hitchcock loved few things more than the perfect plot and 'wrongfully accused' scenarios, and these themes are exactly what this film ultimately comes down to. We have strong performances from all of our leads, with an especially creepy Anthony Dawson as the hitman and a wonderfully British Chief Inspector in John Williams— not surprisingly, both of these actors played the same roles in the 1952 Broadway production of the show. Ray Milland plays a fantastically eerie and calmly maniacal husband who remains fixated on manipulating and deceiving all those around him until he can exact the perfect revenge on his unfaithful—yet still dedicated—wife. Speaking of which, this was Kelly's first time working with Hitchcock, and apparently he enjoyed her work so much that she would go on to star in <i>Rear Window</i> (that same year!) as well as 1955's <i>To Catch a Thief</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The most notable aspect of this film is the cinematography. The movie was originally filmed to be shown in 3D, but due to technical issues and poor audience reception, it was released as your regular flat movie and went on to achieve general acclaim at the box office. Shot almost entirely inside the Wendices' apartment—and with that one fantastic "God's eye" view from above the scene—the suspense of this movie is established more through plot that any trick of the camera. Hitchcock was a professional at perverting his audience into not only witnessing crime but partaking in it. As <i>Rear Window</i> becomes a shocking lesson in voyeurism, so <i>Dial M for Murder</i> finds us practically rooting for Tony and his hired man Lesgate/ Swann to get away with the seemingly perfect crime. Indeed, the suspense in this movie comes in the form of us expecting—but not knowing if—the murder will go off without a hitch— until Tony's watch stops and the whole things seems to fall apart before our eyes. As Hitchcock himself said, "The best way to do it is with scissors" (I see you, <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/us-2019.html" target="_blank">Jordan Peele</a>). At the climax of our suspense, we witness an accidental death marking one of very few times we actually witness something so visceral in a Hitchcock movie (most of the action usually takes place just offscreen and is implied). Though Grace Kelly shines brighter in <i>Rear Window</i>, her character's progression in this film is marked in beautiful ways, such as her wardrobe changing from whites, to blues, to greys, to black, or during the almost dreamlike (nightmarish?), hallucinatory courtroom scene and the lighting therein.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you're a fan of Hitchcock, you're likely to enjoy this film: The theme of control, common in the director's filmography, runs strong in this movie, especially as demonstrated by the maniacal Tony. It is this strong need for control that ultimately creates even more suspense as the pieces—just seconds beforehand so perfectly aligned—start to fall apart. My biggest qualm from a realistic point of view is that, while the clever Chief Inspector Hubbard uses wisdom, insight, and luck to hypothesize his solution to the crime, it seemed to me that none of his investigation was actually very legal, at least in terms of his swapping coats and keys or sneaking into the Wendices' apartment as he pleased. Love a perfect crime puzzle to be so expertly solved, but it left me wondering just how ethical his approach was.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Final critique: </b>This is a lovely and enjoyable film, even if it's not one of Hitchcock's absolute best pieces of work. To clarify, I make my ratings based on what constitutes a good horror movie, so that is why this film only gets a B+ from me while other, arguably much poorer quality movies have gotten higher ratings in the past. With a dazzling cast and even better suspense, we see a movie flipped on its head halfway through, and we continue to go along for the whole unexpected ride. In terms of the scare score, as I stated earlier, this really isn't a <i>horror</i> film as I'd traditionally define it, so while the suspense might have you holding your breath as the 'perfect crime' comes to a climax, I don't think anyone is going to get too scared by this film. Instead, it's a perfect watch when you want something suspenseful or creepy, but with more of a crime drama feel instead of anything too horrifying.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-70348631599221963912019-03-24T23:09:00.000-04:002019-03-25T11:52:37.746-04:00The Wicker Man (1973)<span style="color: red;"><b>GENERAL INFO:</b></span><br />
<b>Director: </b>Robin Hardy<br />
<b>Studios:</b> British Lion Films<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Diane Cilento; ft. Ingrid Pitt<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Flesh to touch... Flesh to burn! Don't keep the Wicker Man waiting!<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, psychological thriller, mystery, drama, suspense, cult, occult<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>C-<br />
<b>Rating: </b>B+<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3VJ0keetHtVrHR2i-BSCUPnGVqbvTtVeyC8TTWD4igTPGEAWQSz7o3aCRIs6IyWHbgqW1W5CgxCMB8mZueUSdGXrWz3hTb_0yzB0poRlN1kgoYOds8Th9j8crl-EYPqiO7GMsXVIAVqR/s1600/The_Wicker_Man_%25281973_film%2529_UK_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr1o3eQSa3rC8KGLu9baw9CmqqdtjB4ERtldIMO57WZwy8prHfzne6Zp6azBWkCNDoQt0tg5fcxI7swkv-7g1xQslkBwYVd56A2aZ_sUeptqzruIeLmZ60-jhJkSOOGpnWRkUj2oubrsg/s1600/MV5BOWIzY2QyNDQtOWI3Ni00MjEwLTlhYTgtZTgyMThiY2JkMTY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C682%252C1000_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMr1o3eQSa3rC8KGLu9baw9CmqqdtjB4ERtldIMO57WZwy8prHfzne6Zp6azBWkCNDoQt0tg5fcxI7swkv-7g1xQslkBwYVd56A2aZ_sUeptqzruIeLmZ60-jhJkSOOGpnWRkUj2oubrsg/s320/MV5BOWIzY2QyNDQtOWI3Ni00MjEwLTlhYTgtZTgyMThiY2JkMTY4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI%2540._V1_SY1000_CR0%252C0%252C682%252C1000_AL_.jpg" width="218" /></a><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3VJ0keetHtVrHR2i-BSCUPnGVqbvTtVeyC8TTWD4igTPGEAWQSz7o3aCRIs6IyWHbgqW1W5CgxCMB8mZueUSdGXrWz3hTb_0yzB0poRlN1kgoYOds8Th9j8crl-EYPqiO7GMsXVIAVqR/s400/The_Wicker_Man_%25281973_film%2529_UK_poster.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Plot overview:</b> After receiving a mysterious letter alerting him about a missing girl, police Sergeant Neil Howie (Woodward) ventures alone to the remote Scottish island of Summerisle. His investigation is steadily thwarted by the townspeople, who first deny that the girl, Rowan (Gerry Cowper), ever existed and then claim that she passed away. Howie, a devout Christian, is further put off by the locals' pagan beliefs and traditions, headed by the genteel but unsympathetic Lord Summerisle (Lee). As Howie grows closer to solving the mystery, he becomes part of the town's May Day celebrations and soon learns the horrifying truth about the island and its people.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I have mixed feelings about this movie mostly because of the time period and because of how much thrilling potential the film ultimately fails to live up to. That being said, it was shot on a small budget and was a fairly rushed production, and given the general kitsch of the genre in the early '70s, it's incredible what a lasting impact this movie has had.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>The Wicker Man</i> is equally imaginative and macabre, well-researched and well if dramatically acted, and it includes some truly beautiful shots of Scotland and the Hebrides, especially in the stunning opening and final sequences. Even with the beautiful open landscapes, we feel a sort of claustrophobia as Howie enters the tiny island community, remaining an outcast in every sense of the word throughout his investigation. There is something frustrating about trying to take something seriously—especially the alleged disappearance of a child—only to be met with folly, ridicule, and condescension, and Howie encounters that in spades.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Aside from its great plot—adapted from David Pinner's novel <i>Ritual </i>and in many ways recreated in the Netflix original <i>Apostle</i>—this movie relies on strong acting to carry us through the deepening mystery. Edward Woodward forces us to take him as seriously as Sgt. Howie takes himself in the movie and delivers some especially wonderful scenes closer to the end. How special is it to see the late, great Christopher Lee? Hot off his success with Hammer Horror (which I grew up on but haven't reviewed yet!), a younger-than-we're-used-to-seeing-him Lee takes on a more cerebral role as the lofty and manipulative Lord Summerisle. More like Lord Exposition amirite? Still, a great performance from him. Individual characters also stand out throughout the film in varied and creepy ways, most notably the Swedish beauty Britt Ekland as a pagan temptress, her creepy father played by Lindsay Kemp (a lover and muse of David Bowie), an especially sinister Aubrey Morris as the gravedigger, and a very formidable Ian "Mammoth" Campbell.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Fun fact: </b>In a 2005 interview, Christopher Lee would consider this his best film. Saruman and Counts Dooku and Dracula can take a hike.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Though the editing feels choppy throughout and I don't think the mystery meets its full potential, this movie has a lot of positive points. Designed specifically to deliver more drawn out suspense and not to rely fully on jump scares or gore unlike other horror movies of the time, <i>The Wicker Man</i> is an enduringly <i>creepy</i> movie. The disturbing norms and traditions of Summerisle start early in the movie and don't stop coming, more often than not based around or in the form of music and dancing. The filmmakers did a great job at researching paganism and representing it in a fairly unbiased way throughout the movie— in fact, the only judgments we see made upon these traditions come from the zealous Howie. The film features plenty of mellow '70s music—I felt like I was listening to Nick Drake half the time—but there is some really beautiful traditional music as well. Some of the most memorably unsettling musical scenes are the May pole, birds-and-bees-style song led by children and the schoolmaster as well as some horrifying chanting and arm-swaying at the end.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique: </b></span>Overall, this is a <i>weird</i> movie that remains eerie and impactful nearly 50 years later— it really does put the "cult" in cult classic. Part of me wishes it were made in a different time period or with a different production quality, but at the end of the day, it all came together to make something very digestible for general audiences without being too scary to watch. Really it's hardly scary at all, but the questions it raises are where the true terror comes in. While watching, you know you're uncomfortable or frightened, even if you can't put your finger on it, and the suspense builds beautifully right up until the last shot.</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-16871574345990396852019-03-24T20:31:00.000-04:002019-03-25T11:43:40.139-04:00It Follows (2014)<span style="color: red;"><b>GENERAL INFO:</b></span><br />
<b>Director: </b>David Robert Mitchell<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Northern Lights Films, Animal Kingdom, Two Flints, RADiUS-TWC<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> It doesn't think. It doesn't feel. It doesn't give up.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, supernatural thriller, psychological thriller, drama, teen<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>A<br />
<b>Rating: </b>A<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bjXSnXlG81KPfyg2IfnMqI0HlKhY3R4BU_b0sjmogNI5SPnooM2DH7pZamuoAQww26bsCYxQ8UmglRHfcux4OMpSPoeQ0CJeT-zcFwSHcexW-3SgW34USDDFhagUIgeVGv4aRXxI2dca/s1600/It_Follows_%2528poster%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bjXSnXlG81KPfyg2IfnMqI0HlKhY3R4BU_b0sjmogNI5SPnooM2DH7pZamuoAQww26bsCYxQ8UmglRHfcux4OMpSPoeQ0CJeT-zcFwSHcexW-3SgW34USDDFhagUIgeVGv4aRXxI2dca/s320/It_Follows_%2528poster%2529.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Plot overview:</span></b> After finding out her new boyfriend Hugh (Weary) isn't who he claims to be, college student Jay (Monroe) learns she's being followed by a murderous force that will track her down unless she "passes it on" by having sex with somebody new. Jay is skeptical at first but soon finds herself plagued by something horrendous taking the forms of loved ones and gruesome strangers. As she tracks down Hugh to learn more about the entity with the help of her sister (Sepe) and their friends, Jay must make the terrible decision: keep running, or pass it on.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I adore this movie. After seeing it in theaters a couple years back I was aware how important it felt; I've watched it countless times since and it's frequently at the top of my list when recommending newer horror movies to others.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Of course I'm biased because <i>It Follows</i> has some of Horror Buff's favorite components, namely a retro feel, a healthy monster-mystery ratio, and a stunning synth soundtrack giving me the '80s vibe I crave in movies.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let's start with the worldbuilding because it's the first thing that stood out to me upon seeing this film, and I feel it's one of its strongest suits. At first we are handed a seemingly standard middle America filled with split-level houses and backyard pools— and that certainly is the reality that <i>It Follows</i> takes place inside of. There is a huge commentary on urban decay and division, specifically around the Detroit metro area (similar to <i>Don't Breathe</i>, also with Daniel Zovatto), which I feel ties into the loss of innocence theme I will explore later. In many ways, writer and director David Robert Mitchell made his sophomore movie as a love story to his home state of Michigan, from the suburbs to Detroit to the Great Lakes, and I really appreciated that.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Where the reality we're given starts to take a more interesting turn is in the mix of modern and retro, as well as futuristic. One of the most fantastic details in the movie is Yara's (Luccardi) Polly Pocket-meets-Kindle tech, a savvy reimagining of modern E-readers (flashlight included!) that I couldn't get enough of (and she uses it to read Dostoevsky, nonetheless). We also see a mix of retro cars, black and white TVs, movie theaters with organs, and old fashioned furniture that flood this film with Americana ranging roughly between the 1960s and the 2030s. This is complemented by the retro synth soundtrack and the very, very cool poster seen above.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is truly some of the best horror I can recall seeing in recent years, even if the movie loses its way a little towards the end. I think one of the best things this film has going for it is that the horror here is twofold: both supernatural and very real and present. In terms of the latter, and like many horror movies set in suburbia, the concept of small neighborhoods and teenagers being terrorized means the home is no longer safe. In this case of this supernatural entity, even friends and family may not be who they seems, and so this curse of sorts—and the real or imagined stigma around it—isolates you. We see how Jay is still paranoid and locks herself in her room even after she knows she is temporarily "safe."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Strong acting from this movie's young cast makes things even more enjoyable, specifically thanks to the unassuming Maika Monroe (a budding scream queen in her own right, she also stars in the fun thriller <i>The Guest</i>) and the perfectly dorky Keir Gilchrist, who I'm sure we will continue to see more of. I also really liked Olivia Luccardi as the dry and precocious Yara; she added a fun dimension to the group.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The movie's fantastic cinematography echoes this sense of paranoia and stays true to the film's title: the camerawork constantly makes us feel like we are being followed. This voyeurism begins in innocent ways—the neighbors watching Jay in the pool at the beginning, Jay's game of picking somebody in public to trade places with—but steadily grows more sinister when we feel like we're watching or being watched from the back seat of the car or being spied upon during the initial sex scene. These creepier shots are complemented by the film's use of beautiful widescreen and even 360 degree captures that show off both interior sets and the stunning Michigan landscape; either way they remind us that someone or something is always watching. I also loved the shots of Jay in (above and below) the pool towards the end, as well as the many shots of the kids throughout the movie, so often lounging around, whether in spite or unaware of the looming terror. To me, this also represented the sort of innocence experienced by Kelly, Yara, and Paul (Gilchrist) even after Jay has lost hers.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I really can't stress how much I enjoy this movie and all the questions it raises, especially in terms of what the evil entity is. The film strikes a great balance between showing us the various manifestations of 'it' and leaving us searching for something onscreen that may or may not really be there. Few things are scarier to me than something in the distance steadily getting closer, and this movie has that in spades. How terrifying are the actors/makeup chosen for the scenes where we <i>do</i> see 'it'? I think for this reason alone it's some of the best horror we've seen in years. This movie uses nudity so, so well (similar to 2018's <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2019/03/hereditary-2018.html" target="_blank"><b>Hereditary</b></a></i>, both with cinematography by Mike Gioulakis). It makes sense here given the sexual themes of the film (are some of these deformed bodies former victims?), but it also terrifies and disgusts us, even in taboo ways (incarnations of naked and/or wounded parents, the big naked man on the roof, and my favorite, the woman peeing in the kitchen— few things are more horrifying than a wet sock). It's almost a shame that these manifestations sometimes come and go too quickly or before we meet certain characters, because ultimately we see 'it' appear as both Hugh and Greg's moms as well as Jay's dad. In terms of casting, the scariest part of this movie to me is when the coast seems clear until the 'Giant' enters Jay's bedroom looking like some version of Lurch straight out of hell. This was also a lovely nod to Michigan since that actor is the late Mike Lanier, former basketball player and Michigan's tallest man, who passed away in 2018.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Speaking of theories and themes, we have the obvious statement about STIs, which I think is the most accepted form of what the entity in the film represents. There is something to be said about risk taking behavior, especially in adolescence, being constantly reminded or educated about the danger of something and still not taking precaution. The younger kids are even seen playing Old Maid while Jay is out on her nightmare date, an innocent childhood game where the loser is left with the card of the unmarried woman. Then there is the big loss of innocence theme, starting early in the film from the neighbors innocently spying on Jay in her bathing suit, to her being too cool or mature to hang out with her sisters and friends (who discuss crushes and laugh at their farts), to Jay's virginal pink dress and modest, retro bra/underwear on her dates with Hugh. Even after sleeping with Hugh, Jay comments on how she "used to daydream about being old enough to go on dates and drive around in cars," and in the follow moments that innocence is stripped away. The idea of sex (Jay's first time?) becomes something dangerous and suddenly represents violence as it becomes quickly weaponized. "Just sleep with someone as soon as you can," Hugh warns her, later commenting that it should be easy for her because she's a pretty girl. This careless and dangerous sexism continues both with skeptical player Greg (Zovatto) and even the dorky and innocent Paul— is he really trying to protect Jay, or is this all a chance for him to finally sleep with her after years of pining? In the movie's most quietly defeating scene, Jay strips down a swims out to a boat filled with three men, implying that she will have sex with all of them to buy herself more time.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In many ways, this movie is also about duplicity, from Jay and Hugh going to see <i>Charade</i> on their movie date to Hugh lying about his identity to Greg, Paul, and Jay's equally questionable behavior throughout the movie in regards to sex and self-preservation. Does Paul really sleep with those sex workers or is he just scouting out potential victims to help himself?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
On the other hand, the movie may not be about sexually transmitted infections so much as the general existential view that death is inevitable and constantly getting closer. Sex (or love) is but one thing we can do to give our time meaning or make life feel like it's lasting longer; still, nothing changes our ultimate fate. This theme is paralleled by Yara's reading of <i>The Idiot</i>—ripe with messages about morality, fate, and losing your personhood—as well as when Jay's teacher reads from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"— a poem filled with beautiful and haunting lines like "Do I dare/ Disturb the universe?/ In a minute there is time/ For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, we have the idea of water as purifying, from Jay floating in her backyard pool to the group escaping to the lake to finally fighting 'it' in a pool. Ultimately, I'm not sure what gives the kids the idea that this force, which we haven't seen anyone but Jay and a half-assed Paul show any real reaction to, can be killed via electrocution. I thought this scene became a bit of a cop-out—in general any of the scenes where the kids try blindly to shoot 'it' but are actually shooting towards their friends became a little wild and annoying—but I did love that the man at the pool is implied to be their absent father, which is why Jay is hesitant to tell her friends too much. Like all good ghost movies, I love when 'it' materializes under the sheet they throw on top of him and suddenly open air has a frightening human shape. One final thing that bugged me that I can't really get over is when Jay sleeps on the hood of her car in the middle of a forested road, which seemed out of character and frankly asinine for somebody who has fought so hard to stay safe the entire movie.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: red;">Final critique:</b> All in all, the film does have a few small holes and overly dramatic moments, and it loses its way a bit towards the end. In spite of these weak points, this movie is fantastic and one of the strongest examples the horror genre has had in years. I would recommend this movie to anybody, but I think it really is quite scary, both in its lingering moral and supernatural questions. How great would this movie be to watch in a drive-in somewhere? Can't beat that retro feel with modern techniques, plots, and special effects. Be safe out there!</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-717266440819280502019-03-23T01:52:00.000-04:002019-03-25T11:42:41.990-04:00Hereditary (2018)<span style="color: red;"><b>GENERAL INFO:</b></span><br />
<b>Director: </b>Ari Aster<br />
<b>Studios:</b> A24, PalmStar Media, Finch Entertainment, Windy Hill Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Toni Collette, Ann Dowd, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Every family tree hides a secret.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, supernatural thriller, family drama, mystery, occult, witches, cult<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>A<br />
<b>Rating: </b>A+<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj8GaqVHoodBQjqvEuE8rkNy2qgkY_UE2ukpdPA2Jv7AmHaU7hVseA5UKdj823QN4T9QbVsJHFWYBJ6Ay8a_D-M3JWH8pAL9lDFZtFRN6cPriSlqo7Ow91xVe4ZGzmF3mq4v2vzFjl3ST/s1600/Hereditary.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimj8GaqVHoodBQjqvEuE8rkNy2qgkY_UE2ukpdPA2Jv7AmHaU7hVseA5UKdj823QN4T9QbVsJHFWYBJ6Ay8a_D-M3JWH8pAL9lDFZtFRN6cPriSlqo7Ow91xVe4ZGzmF3mq4v2vzFjl3ST/s320/Hereditary.png" width="215" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Plot overview:</b> </span>After the death of her secretive mother, Annie Graham's (Collette) family begins to be plagued by suspicious and tragic events. Stricken by grief, Annie falls farther away from her family: strained husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), withdrawn son Peter (Wolff), and distant daughter Charlie (Shapiro). As the family continues to unravel, Annie finds solace in Joan (Dowd), a woman from a grief support group who tries convincing her that the dead may not really be gone after all.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is a stunningly horrifying film that I would recommend to anyone. If you want to truly spiral into terror and insanity and spill your popcorn all over the place, this is the movie for you.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I think what I love most about this movie is that it keeps on taking you where you do not expect it to go. It's really not a genre bender, but I swear, even the second time I watched it I was so impressed and delighted with the twists and turns it takes. This movie constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat as its horrible reality unfurls.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We start with the Graham family, currently faced with the loss of Annie's mysterious mother, Ellen. Though grief-struck, we come to realize that it is not at the loss of the old woman but at something deeper and perhaps long gone. In fact, the only person who seems truly upset with Ellen's passing is young Charlie, a seeming outcast who is often silent save for her habitual tongue click. Her fixation with building toys and models with mismatched heads feels somehow disturbing but pales in comparison to her mother's works: Annie is an artist renowned for her work crafting miniatures, impeccably created scenes from her past and present all on display in smaller scale in her workshop. Her art should be for the world to see, but with an upcoming exhibition looming on Annie's mind and feeling ever more unlikely, the miniatures instead become for Annie alone. They provide what she calls "a neutral view," but we come to learn that these fastidiously-made models are a way for Annie to reflect on her own choices and memories and control everything therein.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Despite their troubles, the family maintains a semblance of normality until another freak accident spins everything out of control. More on that after the Spoiler jump.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The acting in this film is fantastic. There is something sinister about Collette throughout the movie that makes you question her at every turn, even when it feels like she is the only person so desperately trying to keep her family from falling apart. The movie provides beautiful commentary on grief, mental illness, and family, especially between children and their parents. It forces us to ask what is the meaning (or purpose) of family? What do we inherit aside from names and traditions? What things do we carry with and inside of us, even if we would rather not? I'm definitely on the bandwagon that Collette was snubbed for major award recognition because her performance here is wide-ranging and superb and should go down as a classic in the horror genre. I was equally impressed by young Alex Wolff, a former child star on Nickelodeon and now a budding actor and director. The role of Peter is crucial to the film and Wolff portrays the reserved, greasy-haired, pot-smoking teen so naturally. I thought it was especially wonderful how vulnerable Peter was, and the scenes were he is clearly terrified or left crying really stuck with me. Ann Dowd was also a treat, and I thought her voice was really perfect for her role and the lines she has in the movie.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Furthermore, the cinematography is beautiful. The shots in and around the Grahams' home were fantastic, as were the many scenes taking place in and around cars: I especially liked the use of the rearview mirrors. There is also the terrific use of the color red: From heat lamps to break lights to bloody eyes, there is something haunting and demonic about it. Toward the end of the film, we are treated to some really spectacular camera work as an unsteady, wavering camera follows characters around the dark house. The movie plays with the concept of Annie's miniatures vs. real life and several times we're not sure if what we're looking at is real or an imitation— or if it matters either way. Is this Annie's perspective and can we trust it? Or are the lofty, overhead shots supposed to be from God's eye (or something else floating above)? Lastly, the film has some delightfully unexpected transitions, such as when day suddenly turns to night in the same frame or when ominous bodies and figures are teased just in or just out of focus.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I also thought the movie had great music, most of all the stunning orchestrations in the final sequence, and a lot of the soundtrack reminded me of <i>The VVitch</i>, which is also distributed by A24, one of my favorite production companies of the moment both for horror and other genres. I'm currently counting down the days until Ari Aster's next movie (also with A24), <i>Midsommar</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I love how quickly things start to fall apart for the characters in this movie, and with most of the action concentrated in the first and third acts, plus plenty of scares and drama when you least expect it, you're pretty captivated for the entire thing. We have the classic case of an unreliable narrator potentially slipping into madness, which means we're never quite sure who or what to believe as events start to spiral out of control. We learn early on that Annie's family has a history of severe mental illness, especially disorders with high rates of heritability such as schizophrenia or depression. There is horror in the film long before the thrilling end, and that is in the death of the family unit. As the Grahams continue to fall apart, evil continues to gain a stronger hold. I thought one of the saddest moments of the film was when a manic Annie tries comforting Peter by acknowledging that something terrible is happening, reassuring her terrified son and saying "I'm the only one who can fix this." At this point, we already don't believe her. But is mental health really any explanation for what's happening here, or is it something more supernatural entirely?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I adore this movie. If you pay close enough attention, you'll realize that something is off from the earliest scenes, perhaps starting with the man at Ellen's funeral smiling so intently at Charlie. I loved how these unnerving and suspenseful moments grew in frequency and scale throughout the movie, ultimately leading to the climax of the cult moving in on the Graham household. Shots with ominous figures just in range but still obscured are some of my favorite in horror, and this movie starts with single figures before giving us that incredible shot of dozens of naked bodies surrounding the house. I think the disturbing use of naked bodies in horror is incredibly effective, especially if done the way this movie or <i>It Follows</i> does it. We're so used to the hypersexualization of bodies in horror that their unwanted appearance perverts the entire process and makes already-scary scenes all the more frightening.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Other details I loved in this movie were the awesome seance scenes and the unforgettable finale with Toni Collette lingering in the shadows of the ceiling. I'm always into a classroom scene that mirrors the plot (à la <i><b><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-1978.html" target="_blank">Halloween</a></b></i>), and we get several of them in this movie if you know to pay attention to them. At one point we can read "Punishment brings wisdom" on the blackboard in Peter's classroom, and we also hear a teacher explaining that a character's "murder was commanded by the gods." Little does Peter know while zoning out in class and staring at his crush's butt that he, too, is involved in a much larger and sinister plot with otherworldly beings taking control. I thought the tongue click may have been the single most ingenious thing this movie did (who knew how scary it sounded?), and I love that something as simple as a nut allergy was enough to take down a demon, or at least his weak human form. The car scene with the two kids in the middle of nowhere is just such a treat, because it breaks my number one <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-rules.html" target="_blank">cardinal rule</a> and takes you so by surprise you almost can't believe it's really happening. Though I find it hard to believe that even a traumatized teen would be able to simply drive away and go to bed without telling his parents, Collette's reaction to this untimely (and familiar) loss is fantastic. As the story comes together, it makes sense why Annie described it as feeling like she "gave up" Charlie to her mother (never let grandma breastfeed the kids), or why her brother committed suicide and blamed his decision on his mother for "putting people inside" of him. It's no surprise that in the West, the medical model is preferred over supernatural explanations, and mental disorders are diagnosed in cases that other cultures might attribute to spiritual causes. <i>Hereditary</i> shares that theme with <a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-exorcist-1973.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The Exorcist</a>, not to mention the whole possession of innocent children by demon kings of the west.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The ending of the film is one of the most memorable things to happen to horror in recent years, and I truly hope the movie goes down in horror halls of fame far outside of Horror Buff's own blog.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique:</b> </span>This movie is a treat and I would recommend it to anybody, but I would warn them that they are really in for a wild and scary ride. <i>Hereditary</i> takes twists and turns unlike we've seen in a long time, and it masterfully mixes classic horror themes and tropes with new and refreshing characters and situations. Hats off to Ari Aster on this screenplay; this is the kind of horror movie that can redeem the entire genre for mainstream audiences. I look forward to rewatching this time and again.</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-56298230827866513792019-03-22T17:44:00.000-04:002019-03-25T11:41:35.457-04:00Jacob's Ladder (1990)<span style="color: red;"><b>GENERAL INFO:</b></span><br />
<b>Director: </b>Adrian Lyne<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Carolco Pictures, TriStar Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Tim Robbins, Elizabeth Peña, Danny Aiello; ft. Macaulay Culkin (uncredited), Jason Alexander, Lewis Black<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> The most frightening thing about Jacob Singer's nightmare is that he isn't dreaming.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, psychological thriller, mystery, conspiracy, drama<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>B+<br />
<b>Rating: </b>A<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRkcb1LQbFcGUc5n96wsyLuVCoungVILJy_tdSvQ9dGYIbEH8HCNHutwWowFkN8BnBFCsMMIpzluxMl3oI_tuZuuuuWqnqkOVloEaUaOLMtUb_Bmn8XG5f8cKs3jPME5efwSNutaDAaCt/s1600/Jacobsladderposter.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRkcb1LQbFcGUc5n96wsyLuVCoungVILJy_tdSvQ9dGYIbEH8HCNHutwWowFkN8BnBFCsMMIpzluxMl3oI_tuZuuuuWqnqkOVloEaUaOLMtUb_Bmn8XG5f8cKs3jPME5efwSNutaDAaCt/s320/Jacobsladderposter.jpg" width="216" /></a><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Plot overview:</span></b> Several years after his deployment in Vietnam, Jacob Singer (Robbins) still has flashbacks to a traumatic battle that left him gravely wounded. Now living in New York City with his girlfriend Jezzie (Peña), Jacob misses his ex-wife and children and continues to dream about them, especially the youngest boy, Gabe (Culkin), who died in an accident. Around this time, Jacob begins to have nightmarish visions of "demons"— vibrating, featureless faces and slimy, tentacled monsters. After several near-death encounters, Jacob reunites with several former members of his platoon and the men begin to seek answers from the army about what really happened in Vietnam.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The first time I tried watching <i>Jacob's Ladder</i> was back in high school with a friend who shared my love for horror movies, but I regret to say I fell asleep. I don't know what took me so long to finally come back to it, but I'm so, so glad I did.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This movie is excellent. Written by Bruce Joel Rubin (<i>Ghost</i>— also from 1990! Big year for him.), it took a while for the project to get off the ground given its graphic and niche metaphysical, religious, and military nature. Rubin said the general idea for the film came from a dream he had about being trapped in the New York City subway, but it's clear how his experimentation with LSD and subsequent time spent hiking and meditating in countries like Tibet and India helped inspire the final project. The title is a reference to a Biblical story about a ladder leading to heaven, and themes of both life, death, purgatory, heaven, and hell are constant throughout the movie. Perhaps this is most emphasized during the scene where Jacob's trusted chiropractor and friend Louis Denardo (Aiello) imparts some wisdom from 14th-century mystic Meister Eckhart:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
"Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: 'The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you,' he said. 'They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and ... you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth.'"</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The underlying themes of the movie may be deep, but if you're looking for a good scare without having to think about it, this movie is still an excellent choice. From the first scenes of the film, there is a near-constant juxtaposition of action and stillness, violence and peace, gore and sex that will leave you unsettled during the entire viewing. The filmmakers do a wonderful job of transporting us back to the New York City of the 1970s: a grungy, frightening place even without hallucinations and demons. In many ways, this does feel a bit like <i>Ghost</i> and even <i>Fatal Attraction</i>, which Lyne directed three years earlier, but the horror here is different and much more pervasive and not for the faint of heart. In fact, they had to cut upwards of 20 minutes that were considered too disturbing or depressing for audiences. I NEED to find these and watch them all!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One of my favorite movies of all time is <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i>, so it was great to see Tim Robbins in a different kind of role. In fact, I couldn't help but think how great it was to see him in a movie that didn't hide how tall he is (6'5"!). Robbins is an excellent actor, and his subdued manner often allows the audience to process the horror of his present situation right alongside him as the mystery of the plot continues to unfold.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
At first, the horror in this movie appears in the form of suspenseful situations (now I will think of this every time I'm on the subway) and the masterfully done demons. Faceless and pulsating, and always out of frame before we can get a closer look at them. The gory imagery of the movie was inspired by the works of artist Francis Bacon and would go on to play a huge impact in the development of both <b><i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/silent-hill-2006.html" target="_blank">Silent Hill</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/american-horror-story-s2-e1-2012.html" target="_blank">American Horror Story: Asylum</a></i></b>. Next, we are handed a conspiracy theory so apropos of the Cold War and Vietnam era that adds to the growing paranoia of the film. Little by little, however, we start to lose touch with reality along with Jacob until we are truly faced with the decision of just how horrifying—or liberating—the truth may be.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">Fun fact:</span> Tom Hanks almost played the role of Jacob. I think he would have been great, too.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This film is really excellent. There is something about the grungy and desolate feel of New York in the '70s and the absolute existential failure that was Vietnam that adds a sort of desperate emptiness to the movie and leaves it characters searching for life and answers through parties, music, sex, palm readings, and ultimately through the final mystery of what really happened to Jacob's unit in Vietnam.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Inspired in part by Ambrose Bierce's American classic "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", the film comments on the horrors of war and the manipulation of the people by the government. On a more metaphysical level, the movie draws from <i>Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State,</i> also known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. In Buddhism, the intermediate state, or <i>bardo</i>, refers to the transitional period between death and rebirth when one's consciousness reigns free of its physical limitations and experiences phenomena that may resemble reality but may also drift into unfettered and horrible hallucinations. For those prepared for death and rebirth, the intermediate state can offer a chance for great liberation.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you've seen the movie and understood its twist ending, you can see just how influential this particular aspect of Buddhist mysticism played on Rubin's development of the film's plot and resolution. I especially loved the references to the Eckhart quote and how it suddenly becomes clear the role various characters and actions—Jezzie and when she burns the old pictures of Jacob's family, Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and his exploding car, Gabe especially in the final scene—play in representing this idea of purgatory. It leaves you wondering what's worse: visions of hell after death or the hell that is our reality while we're alive? Is the truth more terrible than the knowledge that can set you free from this intermediate state? Is there hope in hell? What about in life? And will you be ready to go when your time comes? It may be complicated and it may not be for everyone, but it's a poignant question and makes this film worth rewatching time and again.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Final critique: </b></span>This movie is frankly terrifying, and it becomes even more dark the more you think about it. The demons are disturbing in such a pure and imaginative way that you start to feel unsettled in the first few minutes of the movie and stay that way pretty much the entire time. Coupled with gruesome flashbacks to Vietnam and a truth that's even more horrifying than what Jacob could have imagined, <i>Jacob's Ladder</i> will scare you silly and leave you questioning what's real and what isn't.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Keep an eye out for an updated remake of the film set to release this year! That makes the timing even better to check out the original if you haven't seen it already. I'm interested to see how a modern reimagining of the film, drawing from ongoing wars in the Middle East and dealing with themes of PTSD, changes or honors the story. Life is but a dream...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-5569684123398485232019-03-22T11:40:00.001-04:002019-03-25T14:19:48.700-04:00Us (2019)So it's been almost 3.5 years, what can I say?<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<span style="color: red;"><b>GENERAL INFO:</b></span><br />
<b>Director: </b>Jordan Peele<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Blumhouse Productions, Monkeypaw Productions, Universal Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Lupita Nyong'o, Elisabeth Moss, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Watch Yourself.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, psychological thriller, home invasion, family drama, conspiracy, suspense<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>C-<br />
<b>Rating: </b>A-<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcA1i8N6BUD22Q6Axn2WkkYqliyq01G95KlrtlwCH4-9-UN3xxqEhtttxyydpV38p7jw7lnT89RIa3aO9Y7zGUsUKvOi5YGXDXu_buOF0Rjaa2hxPYEKd6iFRjROi4CREHkpKspOIE2Lu5/s1600/Us_%25282019%2529_theatrical_poster.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcA1i8N6BUD22Q6Axn2WkkYqliyq01G95KlrtlwCH4-9-UN3xxqEhtttxyydpV38p7jw7lnT89RIa3aO9Y7zGUsUKvOi5YGXDXu_buOF0Rjaa2hxPYEKd6iFRjROi4CREHkpKspOIE2Lu5/s320/Us_%25282019%2529_theatrical_poster.png" width="202" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Plot overview:</span> </b>As a young girl (Madison Curry), Adelaide (Nyong'o) encounters a frightening double of herself in a boardwalk house of mirrors. Years later and now with two young children of her own (Wright Joseph, Alex), Adelaide still can't shake the fear of her lingering shadow. She is forced to take a good look at herself after a family clad in red jumpsuits and armed with scissors shows up in the middle of the night.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I stand by my feelings that <i>Get Out</i> changed the horror game and breathed new life into our favorite genre, which I feel has grown more popular in recent years for a few reasons. First, I think we are experiencing a generation of writers and directors/producers who grew up during a beautiful age of horror movies (the '80s) and are now bringing their own dreams to life, filled with nods to the past. Secondly, I think Hollywood is more comfortable with the idea of well-made and even niche horror movies with a message, not just the sensual slashers that plagued (and pleasured) us in the 2000s, and not to mention there are more small studios who can work to take on these projects. Finally—and I have to look into statistics or data on this—but I feel that more audiences want and enjoy horror today, if only because for many people, the real world at present is even more horrible than what they're seeing onscreen.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
That being said, don't go into <i>Us</i> expecting it to be the next <i>Get Out</i>. They are different films made for different purposes, and in many aspects I felt they have some different messages to share. Now back to the film at hand.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Us</i> is a freaky, fun, and dynamic movie that plays first and foremost with the themes of division, duplicity, and the doppelgänger. As teased by the movie poster, the viewer should know to go into the film expecting us to "watch ourselves," or know that "we are our own worst enemy" while questioning what lies beneath. As many famous horror movies allow the killer to take on a new identity while masked, so <i>Us</i> forces us to think about what masks we wear on a daily basis to get ahead, to thrive, or merely to survive. The first foil we encounter is between the Wilsons—Adelaide's family—and their friends the Tylers. Headed by "it's vodka o'clock" wife Kitty (Moss) and one-upping husband Josh (Tim Heidecker), the Tylers and their bratty twin daughters are everything their respective Wilson counterparts are not: proud, overly talkative, selfish, and entitled. These families ultimately represent a larger message in the film that Peele tries to make with a Biblical subtext: It doesn't matter who you are, what you look like, or what you have, because when the oppressed masses rise up, we'll all be subjected to the same fate. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This looming thought is introduced several times via the local doomsday man beckoning a sign saying "Jeremiah 11:11." If you don't have your pocket Bible handy during the movie, you'll have to wait until the end to know that this passage reads "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them." But what evil could this possibly mean? We'll explore after the Spoilers jump.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For those of you who don't want anything spoiled, I will say that I enjoyed this film. The scares were underwhelming but Peele in his own right has become wonderfully adept at suspense flavored either with humor or very human fear. As in <i>Get Out</i>, the audience and characters alike discover absurdity in the most terrifying moments, and while this trick helps treat the viewer as more intelligent than the plethora of on-the-nose horror films of the past (and present), it makes things no less horrifying for everyone involved. Again, this is likely part of Peele's commentary on our world today, where things feel topsy turvy and equally terrible.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I thought Lupita Nyong'o and Elisabeth Moss were brilliant in this film—Moss as her doppelgänger specifically has a memorable silent scream we see via a reflection. Winston Duke as Adelaide's husband Gabe adds a charming levity to the movie and both Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex as their children do incredible jobs. Nyong'o especially explores her duality of light and dark, smooth and jagged, evil and not in a performance that deserves major award recognition. The casting for this film was excellent, especially because of the task that was asked of each actor. The cinematography was also gorgeous, with the many and varied scenes of public and private spaces, light and dark, above and below inviting us in to a visual feast. I'm still dreaming about the house of mirrors and that escalator. No surprise that this was the handiwork of Mike Gioulakis, who brought us <i>It Follows</i>, one of my favorite horror movies of all time that I still haven't blogged about because I took a casual 3.5-year hiatus.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
References to some of our other horror favorites abounded, including nods to <i>The Twilight Zone</i>, <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-shining-1980.html" target="_blank"><b>The Shining</b></a></i>, and I think especially to <i>The Strangers</i>, to name a few. I even loved how this was pitched as "a new nightmare" à la Wes Craven but now from Jordan Peele. From the opening overhead view (God's eye?) akin to Kubrick's famous opening credits, to the concept of twins to the tight interior angles, <i>The Shining</i> was the film most referenced as helping inspire Peele for his second major horror picture, so I was surprised to see just how much time was spent feeling like your standard home invasion.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">*SPOILER ALERT*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I didn't know what to expect going into the theater. Trailers certainly teased the concept of the dark doppelgänger, but this film packed much more into its 116-minute run time. In fact, I think the movie's biggest fault is that it packed too much into its ambitious plot.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I am obsessed with the '80s and also with amusement parks in movies (<i>The Lost Boys</i>, <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/04/strangers-on-train-1951.html" target="_blank"><b>Strangers on a Train</b></a></i>, even <i>Teen Witch</i>, to name a few), so I found many scenes from this movie practically magical, especially when Adelaide discovers the underground world beneath the boardwalk. The '80s kitsch was also so good, especially with the Hands Across America plot, because Peele uses it to provide commentary on the parallels between the Regan '80s and our current world: There is a sense of hollowness or superficiality that makes even kind or humanitarian gestures seem fake. Here again we see our theme of duplicity: public and private faces, doublespeak and hidden messages, behavior vs. intent. Who are we really? How do you categorize between "good" and "evil" when some people are just trying to survive? And will we pay for it all?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I was <i>not</i> expecting the eerie (and slightly irrelevant?) opening title message about vast unused tunnels under the United States, which immediately threw me for a curveball upon seeing the movie. As it turns out, this would become one of many aspects the movie included to feel spookier, but that I feel didn't fully pan out. At the end of the day, I really enjoyed this movie, but the myth it wanted us to buy into was too big and too vague for me to feel totally comfortable with it. Sure, most horror movies are based on ridiculous plots, and even <i>Get Out</i> was *impossible*, but there was something about the idea that some government (?) agency cloned us all and forced our Tethered doubles to mimic our every moves in their subterranean classrooms and hallways all while feasting on raw rabbit. I enjoyed the concept of the "puppet masters" and the "puppets," mostly for how this complements the theme of doubles, and even though I found myself adoring the scene where Red explains this all to Adelaide, it was just too much. Regarding the Tethered doppelgängers, I loved their sort of nonspeak (except for Heidecker, who I thought went overboard with the sounds/ was too comically animated more so than the others), and I think that raspy, breathing-in-to-talk choice was really effective.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As far as the twist ending goes, I wish I could say I saw it coming but I didn't until closer to the end. There were times during the film—especially as we see Adelaide embrace the violence and become more animalistic, even through her son's eyes—when I wondered if she had somehow been swapped without us knowing, but of course it was all much more sinister than that. I would love to rewatch the film knowing what I know now in order to pick up on all of those delicious clues. I think it would have cued me in sooner to the concept of the secrets we keep, the truths we ignore, and the masks we wear to live the lives we think we are supposed to live or that we think we deserve to live, even at the expense—whether we know about it or not—of many other people. Are we innocent of the suffering of these Others, who in many ways are just like Us? Or are we guilty, even if we are unaware of their existence in a Sunken Place of sorts, of all that we did not do to right these wrongs? And furthermore, what price to we pay to rise out of those dark places and join the happy majority above ground? I viewed this transition as the "invitation to whiteness" so prominent in the United States by which many peoples and cultures that were once considered minorities were invited to join the white group in power (think women, the Irish, Italians). Some people, such as dark-skinned black Americans, may never be formally invited to join this group, but over time, the decreasing white group realizes its power is slipping and thus invites another marginalized group to rise either to real or imagined power. And of course, many formerly-non-power individuals jump at this opportunity to live out their own American Dream— but at what price? This is the fear 'Adelaide' lives in constantly, knowing that she has abandoned her people beneath the ground to advance only herself, and it provides major commentary about what it's like to alternate between power and non-power groups in the United States. Ultimately it's the real Adelaide-turned-Red who teaches the other Tethereds what it means to have true agency and to have to truly fight, unite, and join hands to make a statement that the world will finally listen to. It's a revolution, and it's no coincidence that Adelaide knew what she was missing from the world above in order to stay determined, inspire the other Tethereds (via "the dance"), and ultimately fight back and educate/moralize the 'Adelaide' we know on the concepts of reparations, revenge, and justice.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
All in all, I think the most impressive thing about this movie was the challenge handed to the actors who all had to play two versions of themselves. This added such a richness to the film and at many points I found myself questioning if they truly had found other actors to play these roles. Nyong'o especially delivered in her two roles, and that final fight/dance scene was absolutely stunning. Her physicality throughout the film as both characters was excellent.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Final critique:</span> </b>I enjoyed this film, but I find myself describing it to others as "freaky" and not scary. I didn't feel disappointed at the end, but I do think it was ambitious to the point of feeling a little unfinished or hazy around the edges. Still, the plot was fresh and fun, and the commentary on the oppressed masses rising up is Peele's clearest commentary reminding us that, especially in today's world, we are our own worst enemy.</div>
Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-86171668229615439972015-10-16T00:22:00.001-04:002019-03-25T22:37:48.861-04:00Crimson Peak (2015)It embarrasses me to say that I've not blogged in almost a year. I've seen dozens of excellent and awful horror movies over the past few months, which I hope I can find the time to review. I just saw <i>Crimson Peak</i> on opening night though, and it was so good I was driven to write about it immediately.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director: </b>Guillermo del Toro<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Legendary Pictures, Universal Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Beware Crimson Peak<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, supernatural thriller, ghost, Gothic, romance, mystery, drama<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>B-<br />
<b>Rating: </b>A<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TeV4nyzaZLc2HeLXmh2ronm_Pa796rniulVI8nVLi6Hb8rxFFVlDQ9O-eG352BGfV2lNNm_4bw74Iz0I9nEJUnIffYPqkYTxuaOR5Yb4g9kcHwXSwgKXi1CixXgm0dt6S1oJ39tCQ4MO/s1600/horror+blog+crimson+peak+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TeV4nyzaZLc2HeLXmh2ronm_Pa796rniulVI8nVLi6Hb8rxFFVlDQ9O-eG352BGfV2lNNm_4bw74Iz0I9nEJUnIffYPqkYTxuaOR5Yb4g9kcHwXSwgKXi1CixXgm0dt6S1oJ39tCQ4MO/s320/horror+blog+crimson+peak+poster.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
<u><br /></u>
<u>Plot overview:</u> Around the turn of the 20th century, young and driven Edith Cushing (Wasikowska) is a Buffalo socialite with no interest in parties or the petty competition between the girls of her class. Instead, she aspires to be a writer like Mary Shelley, and is currently working on her manuscript for a ghost story. With the ability to see ghosts from a young age, Edith feels most comfortable in this genre. Her life changes when a young, handsome, and wealthy baronet Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) and his gorgeously severe sister Lady Lucille (Chastain) come to town, looking to raise funds to reopen the red clay mines underneath their ancestral home, Allerdale Hall, located in the barren countryside of Cumbria in northern England. After Edith and Sir Thomas fall in love, she moves into the Gothic English mansion with nothing to lose, finding it in a dilapidated state as the Sharpes try to regain their family fortune from the red earth, which has earned the home the nickname Crimson Peak. Her new husband and his sister, however, are not as they seem, and Crimson Peak can barely conceal its bloody past, which Edith must now bring to light.<br />
<br />
Every once in a while, a horror movie comes along that changes the game. <i>Crimson Peak</i> is one of those films. Finally, del Toro has done it again, bringing to life a magnificent Gothic tale filled with equal parts romance and terror.<br />
<br />
I've seen the trailers for this movie for months, and obviously what captured me the most was the incredible visuals. If nothing else, I knew I had to see this movie to see the house. What I didn't know until seeing the film, however, was what a central role Crimson Peak would actually play in the plot, not only as a setting, but as a living, breathing, and bleeding character.<br />
<br />
Now I don't think I've ever properly read "The Fall of the House of Usher," but from the second the characters arrive at Allerdale Hall that's what I was forced to think of: a plot where the home itself becomes as important as any of its residents. True to the trailers, this set was incredible, truly a work of beauty. I don't know what was physical and what was CGI, but entering this house was like entering some fantastic and slightly spooky fairy tale mansion, as we've seen before in works of del Toro such as <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/01/dont-be-afraid-of-dark-2011.html">Don't Be Afraid of the Dark</a></i>, only to a much bigger extent here. It was so gorgeous it makes me upset. On top of that, the props and costumes were amazing, too. For the entirety of the movie, you get sucked into this Gothic world filled with flowing gowns and overstuffed pijamas, long capes and elaborate hair. From the beauty to the blood, this movie was so pretty.<br />
<br />
There was certainly a lot of del Toro flair to the film, starting with the storybook opening. The entire ghost plot was extremely reminiscent of <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/11/el-espinazo-del-diablo-2001.html">The Devil's Backbone</a></i>, another beautiful, beautiful ghost film. Movies like these remind me why I'm so obsessed with ghost stories: there is a sadness, a lasting sorrow, a pervading beauty behind the metaphor of ghosts and their presence between the physical and spiritual worlds. Del Toro loves working with this theme, the idea that a ghost is a spectral apparition of the past, of some emotion that was too strong to fully leave the Earth, and we love watching it.<br />
<br />
The characters were beautifully cast and I'm happy the original choices of Emma Stone and that annoying British actor who I won't name didn't work out, although I think Emma would have done a nice job. I actually haven't seen much of Wasikowska, but the audience should fall for Edith immediately. In fact, the audience should fall for everybody; Hiddleston is dreamily charming albeit creepy as Sir Thomas (it's nice to see him not so done up as Loki) and Chastain–one of my favorite actresses of the moment–is eerily beautiful. She didn't deliver the strongest, but she kept the movie creepy. New(ish)comer who you should expect to see more of Charlie Hunnam as Edith's childhood friend Dr. Alan McMichael was also very pleasant in his very standard role, which rather reminded me of Raoul in <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-phantom-of-opera-1925.html">The Phantom of the Opera</a></i>.<br />
<br />
Horror wise, the movie is spooky and at times unsettling but not terrifying. What got me the most was the surprise gore and violence that would pop its head up occasionally, causing the audience to jump back in surprise from an otherwise tranquil plot. I was so shocked, in fact, at some of the gore, which isn't nearly as bad as what we're used to, but strangely poignant and used in effectively small doses. The ghosts themselves were especially gross because aside from being mere apparitions or floating sheets, they were in fact quite corporal, hollow specters of corpses, skeletons, rotting flesh, and so much blood. They really spice up the movie.<br />
<br />
In terms of faults, there are a handful. The pacing was a little off, some exchanges and maybe scenes felt unnecessary, and all in all, the script probably could have used one more look through and the film maybe could have been edited one more time. The biggest problem of all, however, is the lack of a motive. I thought the plot was a little unfounded, despite a brief explanation by some characters and a lovely monologue by Chastain. I don't know; I just didn't see the need for all the horror and gore taking place after we got the 'big reveal.' Fortunately, the movie is so pretty that you almost forgive any oversights.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I need to point out the score. The music, composed by Fernando Velázquez (<a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/03/devil-2010.html"><i>Devil</i></a>, <i>The Orphanage</i>, <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/12/mama-2005.html">Mama</a></i>) was so entrancing and moving I couldn't stop listening to it and stayed through the final credits just to hear more. The main romantic theme throughout the movie was so beautiful, I tried looking for it online but it's not up yet. The score alone was enough to make me want to buy this movie the second it comes out; add in the sets and costumes, and I was totally sold.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> This movie was so fantastic. I think it will join the ranks of other del Toro classics like <i>The Devil's Backbone</i> and <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i>, although it may not be taken as seriously since it's so heavily horror. <i>Crimson Peak</i> is the perfect ghost story (with its own modern twists), the perfect Gothic romance, the perfect mystery. The most dynamic character is Crimson Peak itself, filled with secrets living and dead; a visually stunning foreground and background to the movie's events. I highly recommend this movie, especially before Halloween. Again, it's not too scary, but the scares are enjoyable. Mainly just eerie with some good scares spread throughout, and the violence/ gore that will catch you off guard. Seriously, bravo.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-67239628481640881752015-01-18T21:19:00.001-05:002019-04-09T09:30:12.397-04:00Gothika (2003)<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Mathieu Kassovitz<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Dark Castle Entertainment, Warner Bros.<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Penelope Cruz<br />
<b>Tagline: </b>Because someone is dead doesn't mean they're gone.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, psychological thriller, mystery, drama, ghost, supernatural, possession<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C+<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w6JavaUeEchWPHYTV8VvS7_UbBPAohRe_CTQtjn_ukU4Mq-NeVvy7OY7o1dq6zwjYnMXeSWErEopyZd7mKqrqrHgVHKsXa17t6SjogKvzzak9zgPD4QAaHhYgbA2aUmKLqAINIQ9cPpS/s1600/215px-Gothikaposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w6JavaUeEchWPHYTV8VvS7_UbBPAohRe_CTQtjn_ukU4Mq-NeVvy7OY7o1dq6zwjYnMXeSWErEopyZd7mKqrqrHgVHKsXa17t6SjogKvzzak9zgPD4QAaHhYgbA2aUmKLqAINIQ9cPpS/s1600/215px-Gothikaposter.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Plot overview:</span></b> Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry) is an intelligent, driven, and happy psychiatrist that relies on fact and logic to do her job. One night while driving home from the mental hospital in a thunderstorm, Dr. Grey narrowly avoids hitting a girl who is standing in the middle of the road. When she goes out to help, however, the girl seems to burst into flames and take over Miranda's body. After Miranda comes to a while later, she is back in the mental hospital but as a patient. To her horror, she learns that her husband has been brutally murdered and that she is the primary suspect based on overwhelming physical and forensic evidence. With some supernatural help, Miranda must not only show that she's not crazy, but she must also prove her innocence... or someone else's guilt.<br />
<br />
This movie is funny to me because I think I first caught the beginning of it when I was about 13. It's been over a decade, but I still was never able to finish it until recently (this movie used to be impossible to find online). When it was on TV one night in December, I dropped everything to watch it, and I'm glad I did.<br />
<br />
<i>Gothika</i> might have a bad reputation, but I don't think it's a bad movie. It's very 2003 in nature, but I was extremely impressed by Halle Berry's performance. Like, legitimately– she does a good job in this film. She is supported by Robert Downey, Jr. who I generally like a lot as well. Penelope Cruz is also a stunner both in physicality and as an actress. Her career is very interesting, and it's fun to see her in a supporting role 2 years after a major movie like <i>Blow</i>. She's so fantastic in Almodóvar films; if you haven't seen <i>Todo sobre mi madre</i> and <i>Volver</i> I highly suggest you go watch them.<br />
<br />
Anyway, this movie is pretty much just fun, filled with plenty of chills and thrills. I'm really pretty surprised that people don't like it. It's very dark, and if you look at the poster you'll get a good vibe for what the cinematography is like, sort of a blue black tone the whole time. There are some wildly frightening scenes thanks to invisible ghost forces, so that makes for some scares as well as awesome displays of physical acting. Mainly I am thinking of the shower scene and also when Berry is being tossed around that cell.<br />
<br />
There's an enduring mystery here, as in most ghost films, and who doesn't love that? In fact, the strange blend of science and supernatural is fairly unnerving; we never know quite where this film is headed. Luckily there is enough stability due to steady acting and screenplay, that even when we are drowning in unanswered questions, we're not ready to give up on the movie. Things certainly are more than a little silly, both in plot and dialogue, but we're given enough action and delivery to keep up with Dr. Grey's roller coaster ride.<br />
<br />
I did like when the plot takes a major turn towards the end. When the truth comes out, everything is flipped on its head, and suddenly the fear becomes so much darker and more real than ghosts and possession. Everyone wants to see their protagonist vindicated, especially after things get so gritty and sexual. I was very surprised with how dark the movie gets during these moments when the truth comes out about the other characters. You'll have to watch to find out!<br />
<br />
There was some good gore in this film, which was just sort of the icing on the cake of what is otherwise a rapidly paced and sometimes confusing wild goose chase. Most of all, I like how <i>Gothika</i> had moments that sort of tied everything together and brought everything back down to a playing field that as an audience we could handle.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Final critique:</span></b> You may have heard bad or mediocre things about this movie, but I say give it a chance. It's a fun flick to watch with friends, and it's easy to pause and take a break from if you want to go make popcorn or something. You may not be at the edge of your seat, but I think <i>Gothika</i> has a lot to it. All the plot twists are very exciting, so that along with the surprising terror both in lies and in truth make for a nicely rounded out if fanciful film.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-24812964729835013592015-01-10T19:07:00.002-05:002015-01-10T19:07:27.696-05:00Black Christmas (1974)Also released as <u>Silent Night, Evil Night</u>.<br />
<br />
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Bob Clark<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Warner Bros.<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea, John Saxon<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... it's on TOO TIGHT.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, slasher, stalker, psychopath, mystery, holiday<br />
<b>Scare score: </b>A<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiteHACARdUTu7hT8ZlfNvqbM-DJYdeJ6m7sogZWwm_2u0cdLR0pd-ZwX_Uu4kjHEwJhvthG76BysMmDZxQcTxsMrX93F6ma9WNwmgkPaIxR9HXkfNyiqKAS3uxBLg5IS_n3sUROqNmxk/s1600/Black_christmas_movie_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiteHACARdUTu7hT8ZlfNvqbM-DJYdeJ6m7sogZWwm_2u0cdLR0pd-ZwX_Uu4kjHEwJhvthG76BysMmDZxQcTxsMrX93F6ma9WNwmgkPaIxR9HXkfNyiqKAS3uxBLg5IS_n3sUROqNmxk/s1600/Black_christmas_movie_poster.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> It's the start of Christmas break, and the various sisters of a sorority house are preparing to go home for the holidays. A male intruder – who we do not see but whose point of view we are shown – climbs up a trellis and enters the attic of the house, shortly thereafter killing one of the girls, Claire (Lynne Griffin). Another sister, Jess (Hussey) then receives a bizarre and threatening phone call from what sounds to be like several strangers; fellow sorority sister Barb (Kidder) is quick to curse off the caller and hang up. The phone calls, however, do not stop, but grow increasingly more concerning and scary. The situation at the sorority house gets worse when Claire's father (James Edmond) arrives, and Claire is nowhere to be found, leading to a police investigation that results in the discovery of more missing girls' bodies.<br />
<br />
First off, Happy New Year! Hope that your year has been off to a wonderful start. Sorry again for the lack of posts over the past few months. Moving right along...<br />
<br />
This movie was so fantastic. Like shockingly, inspiringly good. Shame on me for never seeing it until this past Christmas season, when it was an obvious – and perfect – choice. The original <u>Black Christmas</u> remains famous and significant to this day for serving as a clear and important precursor to the modern slasher genre, predating <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-1978.html">Halloween</a></u> by 4 years. But if John Carpenter's classic is the first true slasher film, then <u>Black Christmas</u> is a pioneer for the genre.<br />
<br />
What struck me most about this movie is how truly scary it is. By this point, we're used to unseen killers lurking around corners and stalking their prey, but the proximity of this murderer to the girls was especially eerie. The most terrifying aspect of this movie is hands down the psychosis of the killer, specifically as heard in the phone calls. From the first phone call at the beginning of the movie right up through the end, we are subjected to an uncomfortable, chilling horror via what we hear over the phone. These calls legitimately gave me chills; they were just that disturbing. The graphic nature of the calls surprised me as well, given that this movie was from 1974. Then again, this is a fairly racy movie, mainly thanks to Barb, who is super sassy and angry. I love Margot Kidder, and seeing her bring on the attitude was a treat.<br />
<br />
I was also really surprised to see Olivia Hussey in the lead role of Jess, a kind, understanding girl caught up in troubles of her own. Hussey, who came to great fame in Zeffirelli's 1968 classic, <u>Romeo and Juliet</u>. A few years later, Hussey provides us with what I thought was some serious overacting in this horror film. Her foreignness sort of bugged me; I really thought she was too overdramatic, which says a lot given that she's the 'final girl' prototype.<br />
<br />
Other familiar faces are John Saxon (<u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1984.html">A Nightmare on Elm Street</a></u>, <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-3-dream.html">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors</a></u>) as the stoic police lieutenant, Andrea Martin as sorority sister Phyllis, and Keir Dullea as Jess' manic boyfriend. Another noteworthy performer is Marian Waldman as house mother Mrs. Mac, a lush who provides some serious comic relief.<br />
<br />
The screenplay was written by Canadian A. Roy Moore, who claimed that he based it off of a rash of Quebec-area murders around Christmastime. Critics, however, argue that the story is based off of the urban legend of the babysitter and the caller upstairs. Director Bob Clark is, of course, the famous co-writer and director of <u>A Christmas Story</u>. Together, both films make for some serious Christmas film cannon.<br />
<br />
<u>Black Christmas</u> kept me interested the entire time. I was so fascinated by the various characters, Claire's weird father, the various sorority girls, Jess' boyfriend Peter. I wasn't sure who was safe and who was not, and I loved all of the point of view scenes we got from our anonymous killer. The phone calls, I will stress again, we absolutely thrilling and creepy. Towards the end, when we're subjected to the police's phone technician trying to trace the call, the suspense is both irritating and cathartic. This film is masterful.<br />
<br />
The deaths in the movie are varied and creative, ranging from some deaths that are brutally up-close and personal to others that happen offscreen. The gore is present but minimal but satisfying; the film does not center on blood, but it is certainly there. Plot twists lead us to the verge of sanity and security as we dwindle into despair and back again, worried about who the killer is and just where he may be at any given moment. It is a veritable roller coaster ride of emotions.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> I can't stress enough how fantastic this movie is. While it's certainly perfect for the holiday season, I would recommend it for a good scare throughout the year. Those who scare easily should simply stay away because this film is packed with terror, suspense, and a looming sense of danger and death. Both while watching and immediately afterwards, I was aware that <u>Black Christmas</u> had earned itself a spot among my favorite horror films.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-41689776483955823642014-12-22T20:02:00.001-05:002014-12-22T20:03:09.207-05:00Mama (2005)I get it: I missed a month and a half. That doesn't mean I wasn't watching horror movies, it just means I wasn't blogging about them afterwards. October really pooped me out. Started a new job recently as well, so while that's great, it definitely means I need to be conscious about when I can blog. No worries though, the Horror Blog lives on!<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Andrés Muschietti<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Universal Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> A Mother's Love is Forever<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> PG-13<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, thriller, ghost, haunting<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> B-<br />
<b>Rating: </b>B<br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHE5qFcq0CvbKaWiKlUg2vYblF6jdN8AWFQ_TaNj6EFhE-OrB6B8Mv-9aidp5O-18z6tXqu3pGolDdF6cjXX6y7qLr0sArmLol-cMv75Or_j8xgq9llIEsw_DfJbdALzCWBmXHo3tgqFpn/s1600/220px-Mama_2012_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHE5qFcq0CvbKaWiKlUg2vYblF6jdN8AWFQ_TaNj6EFhE-OrB6B8Mv-9aidp5O-18z6tXqu3pGolDdF6cjXX6y7qLr0sArmLol-cMv75Or_j8xgq9llIEsw_DfJbdALzCWBmXHo3tgqFpn/s1600/220px-Mama_2012_poster.jpg" height="320" width="202" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<u>Plot overview:</u> After having a breakdown, Jeffrey Desange (Coster-Waldau) kills several people and kidnaps his daughters, planning to kill them as well. After crashing his car, however, he and the girls end up in a cabin where he is killed by a dark specter. Years later, Jeffrey's twin brother Lucas tracks down his now-feral nieces, Victoria (Charpentier) and Lilly (Nélisse), and wins custody over them. Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel (Chastain) take in the girls and move into a new home, all sponsored by the local clinic and Dr. Dreyfuss (Daniel Kash), who visits the girls in order to study them. Shortly thereafter, the dark specter begins appearing again, stopping anybody who tries to get close to the girls.<br />
<br />
Strange. Dark. Beautiful. Those are the words that come into mind after watching <u>Mama</u>. I missed the very beginning of the movie as it was on TV, but I stuck it out till the end and generally enjoyed what I watched. Let's break it down.<br />
<br />
This movie is nothing we haven't seen before, with plenty of aspects borrowed from here and there, twisted and contorted and turned into something interesting but not entirely original. Still, does any film or literature exist outside of previously existing themes, cliches, and plots? <u>Mama</u> tells a story with fairytale facets, much like <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/01/dont-be-afraid-of-dark-2011.html">Don't Be Afraid of the Dark</a></u> or <u>Pan's Labyrinth</u>. This movie has Guillermo del Toro written all over it: the dark cinematography, a child in danger, and an evil (contortionist) creature. There is a cartoony aspect to <u>Mama</u>, with painted, sepia flashbacks, numerous dream sequences, and swirling black nothingness oozing from the walls. Fairly often throughout the movie, I was reminded of Tim Burton. Still, this odd combination that pushes the boundaries of reality and fantasy tells a new take on an old tale, and the result works.<br />
<br />
The actors in this movie get the job done. I love Jessica Chastain, so it was interesting seeing her in the role of an unmotivated mother-by-accident – it was weird seeing her with black hair, too! I am a huge <u>Game of Thrones</u> fan, so it was cool to see Nikolaj Coster-Waldau outside of the role of Jamie. Both actors did pretty well, considering that I don't think Lucas had much to work with and Annabel is a cliche role. The fact that Chastain's Annabel wasn't annoying is a success in my book. The child actresses Megan Charpentier and Isabelle Nélisse both did commendable jobs. I liked Daniel Kash in the role of Dr. Dreyfuss; he wasn't too evil or sleazy, so that made him more likable. Finally, Javier Botet (<i>REC</i>) as Mama was a creepily, well-played physical role. Botet's Marfan syndrome make him a perfect character actor for roles like this one.<br />
<br />
Scares in this movie are pretty well done; again, nothing we haven't seen before. There are a fair amount of jumpy moments as well as some thought-out suspense. Creepier moments in the film involve the shadow in the mirror early on (I love reflections and shadows in the background) and any twisted moment with Mama, such as when she crawled down the hall à la <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-exorcist-1973.html">Exorcist</a></u> spider walk. As much of the film is melodramatic, scares become intertwined with humor and drama, resulting in an overall mellow tone behind the frights.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
I was interested in the film while watching, but I think it was the ending that really tied everything together for me and left me with a favorable taste in my mouth. There is this whole vengeful, offended woman plot – in this case Edith Brennan, who had her child taken away when she was sent to the mental institution – who is wronged in her death and remains as a ghost. The fact that this is not an original ghost/ haunting plot is fine by me, because the more we instill the theory that ghosts are wrong humans bent and twisted in misery, forced to relive their misdoings, the more people believe that ghosts exist. It's a cool thought for social theory. Anyway, like any wronged female ghost (<u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/03/darkness-falls-2003.html">Darkness Falls</a></u>, <u>Dead Silence</u>, <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-woman-in-black-2012.html">The Woman in Black</a></u>), we expect their to be some sort of simultaneous redemption/ banishing at the end. <u>Mama</u> tricks us into thinking that that final moment is at hand, when Mama herself gets angry all over again and tries to kill the two little girls. Most shocking moment? She half wins. Going way against one of my most founded <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-rules.html">cardinal rules</a>, Mama gets away with Lilly at the end, sweeping her away into some sort of beyond. I was totally shocked that this happened, but at the same time, I was okay with it. Mainly because Lilly was so feral and I didn't like her, but also because there was this beautiful moment of serenity and love when Mama and Lilly are falling together, laughing in each other's presence. Then they burst into a thousand moths, at least one of which is light blue and lands on Victoria, as if to say that Lilly were still with her.<br />
<br />
Finally, at the very end of the movie, we truly appreciate Fernando Velázquez's (<u>The Orphanage</u>) powerful score as it plays over the end credits. It really tied everything together right there in the final moments.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> This movie had a lot to it, but it tied all of the plot details together and worked out in the end. I need to sit and re-watch this at some point to take it all in from the beginning and also to see if I agree with what I feel now. This movie did very well reception-wise, so it would make sense that there's a lot of heart and creative flare to the final product.<br />
<br />
It's good to be back, folks.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-42899466695188219342014-10-31T12:00:00.002-04:002014-10-31T12:05:55.502-04:00The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820) - short storyHappy Halloween, horror fans!<br />
<br />
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Author:</b> Washington Irving<br />
<b>Caption:</b> "The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head [...] and the spectre is known at all the country firesides, by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow."<br />
<b>Genre:</b> short story, legend, folklore, American fiction, psychological thriller, thriller, ghost<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> D-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpPlDVGEkQPrWDbwA2C6VsbQ8NdgV25zNtiXdQEWxZ04UkszCD1Y0j7O1g-rQcOlFVsWfdBHUbHVdEJbpN9sofk9fxxRiejtKKCWm5NHb_p9xdNt_p3AGHvPHj4cpmLHyrTTY3B3qE158/s1600/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow-and-other-stories-from-the-sketch-book-signet-classics-14694058.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYpPlDVGEkQPrWDbwA2C6VsbQ8NdgV25zNtiXdQEWxZ04UkszCD1Y0j7O1g-rQcOlFVsWfdBHUbHVdEJbpN9sofk9fxxRiejtKKCWm5NHb_p9xdNt_p3AGHvPHj4cpmLHyrTTY3B3qE158/s1600/the-legend-of-sleepy-hollow-and-other-stories-from-the-sketch-book-signet-classics-14694058.jpeg" height="320" width="199" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> In the late 18th Century on the banks of the Hudson about 30 miles north of New York City, in the small village of Sleepy Hollow, the superstitious schoolmaster Ichabod Crane is actively courting the beautiful young daughter of a rich landowner. After a party at their farm one fall evening, Ichabod is returning home when he encounters the ghastly specter that is said to haunt the roads at night.<br />
<br />
I've always loved this story. Who doesn't know it? Or, at the very least, who isn't familiar with the idea of a headless horseman hurling a sinister pumpkin through the air? This is a pervading tale, and one of the founding fathers of American folklore. With its short length, it is the perfect bedtime story during the Halloween season.<br />
<br />
This story isn't necessarily <i>scary</i>, but it is certainly creepy. Originally published in the collection of <i>The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.</i>, (along with "Rip Van Winkle"), this is among Irving's most famous and lasting tales. You may be wondering, if it isn't scary, why bother reading? Well I have two reasons for you. First, you should familiarize yourself with this important work of American literature. It is beautifully written and filled with lifelike descriptions of the Hudson Valley. There is plenty of rich vocabulary that you should learn to impress your friends. Secondly, this is an essential piece of scary literature. Everybody should read it at least once.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
What gets me most about this short story is its spooky ambiguity. We are presented with Ichabod Crane, a lanky, superstitious type who we aren't made to be necessarily fond of. We are given a full account of the local characters, their nature, and their beliefs in ghosts and demons that haunt the area. In fact, the majority of this short story is just exposition. There is positively nothing scary about 95% of this piece of literature. Then we get to the final few pages. The chase scene that happens through the woods isn't very scary, but it's a compelling read, and the pace certainly picks up. Any keen reader will, of course, realize the instant we are presented with a "horseman of large dimensions, and mounted on a black horse of powerful frame" that it is probably just Brom "Bones" Van Brunt playing a prank. But what if it's not? Either way, this is the true horror of the story:<br />
<br />
Say there really is a headless horseman. Irving pulled this idea from the preexisting concept of a ghostly headless figure in European folklore. If this is the case, Crane has always been right to be worried about superstition and things that go bump in the night. Then, we are led to believe that the horseman comes down upon Crane and either murders him and dumps him in the river, or murders him and spirits him away, as the locals go on to believe. Ah! Ghost story! Spooky!<br />
<br />
But if not, my friends, if there is no headless horseman and no ghosts in the village of Sleepy Hollow, the story suddenly becomes much darker, and much more frightening in my opinion. This version of the tale, which is the one I believe in, is that the horseman was just Brom dressed up to frighten Ichabod away from courting Katrina, their mutual love interest, who is described as being as plump as a peach. If it is Brom all along, then Brom violently throws a pumpkin into Crane's face, which we can understand knocks him from his horse. Two things can now happen: Crane falls into the river, injured or already dead, and gets washed out into the Hudson with the other garbage. Either that, or Crane falls, and then is <i>murdered </i>by Brom, who then tosses his body into the Hudson with the other garbage. Either way, Brom murders Ichabod Crane, which is terrifying and sinister and just downright evil. <br />
<br />
I suppose you could argue that Brom just terribly frightens Ichabod, who then leaves town in his embarrassment and shame from being rejected by Katrina, who is probably just an early American bimbo. But then again, Ichabod is just a gold digger, so who's to say who is morally superior. But I digress. I don't think Ichabod just leaves town since we know he only owns like one bag full of stuff that he highly treasures as he is material and vain, and very much a fan of earthly delights. So, horror fans, it is my belief that Abraham Van Brunt is guilty of murder in the first degree. And you know what the scarier part is? The town just shrugs it off. Not a single soul is concerned for Ichabod. Either they assume he ran away, or they are <i>totally okay</i> with the fact that he has been kidnapped by some evil spirit. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why this short story is truly freaky.<br />
<br />
Fun fact: A teenage Horror Buff once went to Sleepy Hollow for a quick visit. Not only is the area beautiful (I love the Hudson River Valley), but the little village has headless horseman stuff everywhere - it's awesome! If you ever get a chance to visit, I highly recommend checking out town hall, which has some awesome murals depicting the chase scene from the story. While you're there, you can also check out the Old Dutch Church and the grave of Washington Irving, as well as some other famous Americans.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> Read this short story. It will take you know more than an hour. Read it by a cozy fire, or by candlelight to friends or family. Take turns reading. Look up the big words you don't know (I learned whilom, supernumerary, peradventure, and erudition). It's Halloween, folks, so this is the perfect time to check out this easy read. After you finish, you can be the judge of what's truly scary in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-88957057235282700002014-10-30T23:30:00.003-04:002019-04-01T09:16:13.120-04:00Ouija (2014)(Preliminary note: during the previews, I saw an extended trailer for <i>Insidious: Chapter 3</i>, set to release in 2015. It looked pretty fun.)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">GENERAL INFO:</span></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Stiles White<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Universal Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Olivia Cooke, Daren Kagasoff, Ana Coto, Shelley Hennig, Douglas Smith, Bianca A. Santos; ft. Lin Shaye<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Keep Telling Yourself It's Just A Game.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> PG-13<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, supernatural thriller, ouija board, haunting, ghost<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> B<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A-<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5aVRN_nBhk4AjnHId87sMOeyJI0LxGZK8KxIHyiWIduLy5ELO5jWIGj2mIweAM5-Dgcdy0CPjsPH2h5nTnwvctZ-Kgo1q9e0MZRV02TtCAUIUQjEzAa-hwDKRsINL4WOAriJyviAWVJEN/s1600/Ouija_2014_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5aVRN_nBhk4AjnHId87sMOeyJI0LxGZK8KxIHyiWIduLy5ELO5jWIGj2mIweAM5-Dgcdy0CPjsPH2h5nTnwvctZ-Kgo1q9e0MZRV02TtCAUIUQjEzAa-hwDKRsINL4WOAriJyviAWVJEN/s1600/Ouija_2014_poster.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Plot overview:</span></b> Following the apparent suicide of her best friend Debbie (Hennig), college student Laine (Cooke) is left with questions she thinks only a mysterious ouija board found in Debbie's attic can answer. Once she and her friends make a connection through the board, however, they realize that the game isn't so easy to end.<br />
<br />
*Quick funny story: During a fairly scary moment of this movie, the screen at the movie theater I was at went totally dark, leaving myself and the only other two people in the theater in the pitch black beneath the sounds of screaming coming from the scene. Talk about freaky.<br />
<br />
Following a few years of development, <i>Ouija</i> finally debuted just in time for the Halloween season. I went to see it tonight, and while the critics might be saying otherwise, I found it to be very enjoyable. Like most horror movies these days, <i>Ouija</i> relies heavily on the well-timed, dumb scares that are sure to make eager teenagers scream with delight while veteran horror-goers frown in their cynicism. I found that if I lighten up and allow myself to enjoy it, it makes the whole experience better. In doing so, you'll find a lot of reasons to walk out of <i>Ouija</i> with a smile on your face.<br />
<br />
This isn't the first movie we've seen involving a ouija board (think <i><a href="https://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-exorcist-1973.html" target="_blank">The Exorcist</a></i>, or <i>Witchboard</i> and the sequels it spawned). One thing I can appreciate is a horror movie that cleverly creates merchandise to go along with it (like masks or costumes). Creating a fictional horror and then manifesting said horror into something tangible—and sellable—really helps bring that horror to life. A good example would be <i>Friday the 13th</i> or <i>Halloween </i>with the old school hockey or Captain Kirk/Michael Myers masks, respectively. In this case, the inverse is true, and Hollywood has taken a century-old toy (conveniently owned by Hasbro today) and decided to revolve the horror around it.<br />
<br />
The babysitter I went to as a kid had an old ouija board buried among the stacks of old games in the playroom, and as very small children, we tried our hands at it more than once. Someone always cheated, but it was fun to pretend that we were making some sort of contact with **the beyond**. We never did, but after seeing this movie, maybe that was for the better.<br />
<br />
<i>Ouija</i> is no different than most horror movies we see these days. But the important thing to remember is that <i>that is not a bad thing</i>. Across all genres of film and literature, plots have held countless parallelisms since mankind first started telling stories. Most stories share similar characters and teach the same lessons. With Hollywood pounding out movie after movie after movie and with TV going through a golden age, what's important in film today are the nuances that differentiate one movie from another. <br />
<br />
Sure, <i>Ouija</i> presents us with another group of good looking, "college-aged" kids (even misfit kid sister Sarah (Coto) is always perfectly coiffed) who meddle into something bigger and badder than them, and it's only a matter of time until they get knocked off one by one. Okay, so we've seen it. So what? Horror films are becoming less and less about the <i>what</i>, but instead about the <i>when</i> and <i>how</i>. How is this board game going to kill these 20-somethings and when? For better or for worse, creative deaths are what keep so many horror films going these days.<br />
<br />
It's for this very reason that I am a staunch supporter of predictable and corny scares. We all live for those *boom* moments that turn out to be nothing. <i>Ouija</i> is filed with them. Chock-full. I don't <i>care</i> if these are "cheap scares" or not— at the end of the day, a scare is a scare, and not every film is going to be a new masterpiece anyway. More power to the movie that can create new, truly terrifying scares (there's plenty of them all the time, and plenty more to be done), but if audiences are going to see horror movies to get some kicks, then I think there should be plenty of "cheap scares" that will at least ensure these people have a good time. <br />
<br />
While <i>Ouija</i> perhaps does the boyfriend-lurking-around-the-corner-whoops-didn't-think-it-would-scare-you-sorry-babe-lol one too many times, all of these small scares are fine details that maintain a sense of thrill and terror throughout the film. <i>Ouija</i> not only gives us these, but it gives us plenty of teases, too. From pretty early on, there is some <i>major</i> foreshadowing that might get us anxious in the moment, but ultimately ruins the surprise. <br />
<br />
Okay, so I've defended the heavy usage of flashlights rolling off and illuminating things we'd rather not see, or creepy reflections or shadows cast against the wall— so what else is there to this film? <br />
<br />
I mean, the plot is fun. We have a pretty decent mystery here with an expected, whoops I mean unexpected twist that keeps the evil board in our lives just so much longer. While I wasn't surprised by some red herrings in the plot, I thought it was really fun, and who doesn't love a fun appearance by Lin Shaye (<u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/insidious-2011.html"><i>Insidious</i></a></u>, <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/09/insidious-chapter-2-2013.html"><i>Insidious: Chapter 2</i></a></u>)? <br />
<br />
If you were to ask me about acting in this film, I would probably smile and shrug. It's exactly what you expect. I like Olivia Cooke in <i>Bates Motel</i>, and I liked her in this. She has a certain collected coolness about her —along with an undeniable macabre—that I think will keep her popular in horror as time goes on. Our other characters were fine, paper thin, and trying desperately hard to be realistic. Hey, Hollywood— you want realistic? Try casting less hot people all the time. In a horror movie, girls' hair should not always be perfect. People should not always be beautiful and muscular and perfectly dressed. This needs to stop. We want more realistic films and we want them now!<br />
<br />
There is legitimately zero diversity in this film. Aside from a weak attempt of the casting of Vivis Colombetti in the role of "Nana," thus leading us to believe that Laine and Sarah are perhaps Latina, there is just nothing. Even Bianca A. Santos as capricious friend Isabelle seems pretty whitewashed. I don't know what's worse: Forcing one unimportant minority friend into a white-horror plot, or just leaving them out completely. Do better, casting team. Not too great for 2014.<br />
<br />
The settings, however, were very cool. While the scariest thing about Debbie's house is the overpowering wallpaper that changes in every room, I thought it was an equally pretty and eerie home in which this movie could take place. But I digress.<br />
<br />
Somewhat surprisingly (?) this movie ends up being largely about sisterhood and the bond shared between females. We've been seeing a lot of this lately, and the more I see it, the more important I think it is. Females in horror have long been pretty limited to their roles. On one hand, we've always had the scream queen star or kickass final girl. On the other hand—and perhaps the dominant one that most people focus on—we have the sexploited, dumber girl that gets murdered while in a bra and panties (or less). And more often than not, even the nerdy girls are usually very attractive underneath their deceptive outfits or bad glasses, and they get exploited as well. Lately, however, horror movies have started focusing on female characters in the roles of mothers, sisters, and daughters, stressing the importance that family has in overcoming horrifying or even supernatural circumstances. I'm talking about taking a step further than letting a teenage girl fight back against her victimization (<u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-1978.html"><i>Halloween</i></a></u>, <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-13th-1980.html"><i>Friday the 13th</i></a></u>, or <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1984.html"><i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i></a></u>) and entering the realm of <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/search?q=alien">Ripley</a>, or <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-silence-of-lambs-1991.html">Clarice Starling</a>, or especially a character like <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/search?q=carrie">Carrie White</a> who takes the horror into her own hands. Why is it that horror movies, perhaps even more so than any other genre, are constantly coming out with new blockbusters with a woman in the lead role(s)? Sure, there's a sense of empowerment behind it, but I honestly think it makes the story more relatable to the audience. We can sympathize more easily with female characters because often they are acting out of love, especially when playing familial roles. It is this love, furthermore, that usually combats the evil at hand most efficiently. Let me work more on my feminist theories. In the meantime, let me say that what we need more of is female antagonists. Bring 'em on!<br />
<br />
<i>Ouija</i>'s other strengths lie in the beautiful cinematography by David Emmerichs and what I thought was a quaintly powerful score by Anton Sanko. Even if the acting is only so-so, at least we get to see and hear some pretty—and creepy—stuff.<br />
<br />
My biggest problem with this movie is that everybody and their (grand)mother knew the word "planchette," referring to the sort of iron-shaped, mystic tool that moves on the ouija board. I understand that this is what the ouija accessory is called in real life, but why in the world would every character in the movie know that, too? Have you ever heard someone use that term in casual conversation? When we first hear 8-year-old Debbie (Claire Beale) so keenly pronounce the word "plan-chette" my skin crawled. We heard it at least four of five more times in the movie, and each time I wanted to throw my small popcorn at the screen. I speak Spanish, I know "plancha" for iron, I get that we use a lot of French in English— but <i>planchette</i>?? Spare me. This is a smaller detail within a larger problem— the script. For once in my life, I just wish horror movie writers would run the script by a group of 20-somethings to approve of the script before filming. (And maybe, just maybe that 20-something could be me). More than a few lines and scenes of this movie cause a younger audience to raise an eyebrow. It's a fine line between saying "my folks will be home any minute" and saying "hey you wanna' come over for a game night? hashtag ouija hashtag planchette." At least these characters seemed modern; I thought the heavy use of Macs and iPhones—especially the flashlight—was very good and relatable.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Final critique:</span></b> Don't let the critics dissuade you from seeing <i>Ouija</i>. Or, if you feel like waiting, definitely rent this movie once it comes out, and have yourself a merry little scary movie night at home with friends— I know I will. This movie is filled with plenty of *boom* moments and playful "cheap" scares that will make it worthwhile for the thrill seekers amongst you, but even the scariest moments shouldn't be too much for the scaredy cats out there. If anything lasting will haunt you after this movie, it'll probably be that you'll never want to floss ever again. Not that you do already. Besides, if <i>Ouija</i> proves to be too scary for you, just remind yourself it's only a game. Or is it?Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-24759771134322211142014-10-28T22:25:00.002-04:002014-10-28T22:26:44.505-04:00Damien: Omen II (1978)<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Don Taylor<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Twentieth Century Fox<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jonathan Scott-Taylor, William Holden, Lee Grant; ft. Lucas Donat, Sylvia Sidney, Lew Ayres, Lance Henriksen; introducing Meshach Taylor<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> The first time was only a warning.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, thriller, suspense, devil, spawn of satan, religious occult, family drama<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> B-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A-<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBI6JP3t5215seAkDtyLn9acEN66zs5mhbFB1TmNCIQBQEXtcXGdxvQHgo5f9HzDI6iWk6x5Sg0tF2sqkERtGaR4mD5sJyGXD2mFV3BKBcp9bE8sKsBPN8wJV_tZhKGYR0572lqCTPJGt/s1600/220px-DamienomenII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBI6JP3t5215seAkDtyLn9acEN66zs5mhbFB1TmNCIQBQEXtcXGdxvQHgo5f9HzDI6iWk6x5Sg0tF2sqkERtGaR4mD5sJyGXD2mFV3BKBcp9bE8sKsBPN8wJV_tZhKGYR0572lqCTPJGt/s1600/220px-DamienomenII.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> Sevens years after the events of the <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-omen-1976.html">first film</a>, Damien (Scott-Taylor) is now an adolescent enrolled in military school with his cousin Mark (Donat). Having been raised by his aunt Ann (Grant) and uncle Richard Thorn (Holden) - a majorly successful industrialist - Damien is being set up for great things, but he is still unaware of his darker purpose.<br />
<br />
(What a beautiful poster, am I right? I want that framed in my house.)<br />
<br />
This sequel practically blew me away. It is filled with compelling acting and plot - and not to mention a multitude of creative and memorable deaths. My favorite thing about this movie is that Damien - who is very cooly acted by a young Jonathan Scott-Taylor - isn't inherently evil. Well, I suppose he <i>is</i> inherently evil, only he is not aware of it. This was such a good change for me, because by the end of the first movie I thought that the little Damien was just too annoyingly evil; I never liked that on top of how he was impossible to beat. This teenage Damien is much more, well, human - not that he <i>should</i> be, but I certainly love a new take on the spawn of satan plot. I loved how Damien is simultaneously a hero and an anti-hero; I really wish we had more horror films were the protagonist is bad.<br />
<br />
Jerry Goldsmith (<u>The Omen</u>, <u>Poltergeist</u>) is back with the same great musical theme, which he has significantly developed to make distinct for the sequel. The music in both movies is probably one of the most memorable aspects of the franchise, so it's very important that our composer was still along for the ride.<br />
<br />
Acting in this movie is very very good, which should be no surprise given big names like Lee Grant and William Holden (<u>Sunset Boulevard</u> is one of my favorite movies). This movie has a very interesting way of featuring and including its varied cast of characters, resulting in a wide showcase of talent. <br />
<br />
What's especially interesting about this film is the continuation of the first movie's criticism of modern issues facing America and the West. Whereas the first film focused primarily on politics, this sequel is filled with anti-capitilst commentary. Damien - the son of the devil - now finds himself in a powerful, wealthy, industrialist family. He also finds himself in a military academy, which leads me to think that the creators of <i>The Omen</i> wished to include criticism on all of these very American establishments, thereby implementing a very supernatural power into these very real institutions, which many consider evil to some extent.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
Let's talk about some deaths! First off, I loved the usage of the crow as the harbinger here. Whereas we saw more of the dog in the first film, I enjoyed seeing another typically sinister animal used throughout this movie. The scene where the crow attacks and indirectly kills reporter Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shephard) is possibly one of the most memorable of the film. I especially love the color of her coat set against the dreary highway landscape. I was extremely impressed by the entire sequence where Bill Atherton (Ayres) falls through the thin ice and drifts along under the frozen lake as the rest of the party-goers try desperately to help. Then the doctor (Taylor) who becomes too suspicious of Damien's cell composition gets into unlucky elevator #23 (hmm) only to plummet to his death. That was a truly awesome death scene. Who thinks of these things??<br />
<br />
My only real issues with this movie are slight continuity ones. I also thought it was a little silly that Damien is told to read one Bible passage which drives him almost immediately to believe that what he was told about his identity is true. I suppose finding a unique scar doesn't help (PS I loved that scene because it looked like a teenager trying to find the perfect selfie angle in a mirror), but it was still a pretty dramatic response to what otherwise could have been coincidental. <br />
<br />
How do we feel about the ending of the film? From early on, my guess was that Damien would kill his cousin and best friend Mark, which would then lead him to deny his fate and freak out in some way, preventing the completion of the satanic prophecy. I suppose this happens to an extent? I love the twist at the end when we find out who is and who isn't a satanic follower, but does Damien's reaction and response surprise us? Is he denying his identity, or is he wiping the slate clean as he moves forward as the protagonist of an evil plot to destroy mankind? I think it's up to the audience to decide.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> This movie is a really fantastic sequel. Of course, everybody should see the original before seeing this, but I do suppose that one movie doesn't ruin the other in terms of plot. I loved the continuity of the Seven Daggers of Megiddo, which were introduced to us in the first film. In terms of sequels, this is probably one of the absolute best I've seen, and I highly recommend it to anybody. Prepare to be just as freaked out by this movie as you were by the first! If you're up for it, watch them back to back, and you'll be in for one <i>hell</i> of a ride.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-8582949598429215312014-10-28T21:15:00.000-04:002019-03-31T23:46:18.967-04:00Friday the 13th (2009)Final installment of my <i>Friday the 13th</i> marathon from last week.<br />
<br />
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Marcus Nispel<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema<br />
<b>Starring: </b>Amanda Righetti, Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears; ft. Ben Feldman, Nick Mennell,<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Welcome to Crystal Lake.<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> remake, horror, terror, thriller, slasher, stalker, serial killer, masked murderer, teen<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> B<br />
<b>Rating:</b> A-<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZvCb54dFeC8ywEij0lYjy6FAo_W6xx0lwUEDN4ZAVQwrCuCrA16gyoWZfhs7Edqrrz5466_8FLXdIrN0pYExNAcdYWYKDXQDOWNjmwZrb0A-uuVvbgP3xMomYHTCj1IufYvMp8zN_q1L/s1600/220px-Fridaythe13th2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZvCb54dFeC8ywEij0lYjy6FAo_W6xx0lwUEDN4ZAVQwrCuCrA16gyoWZfhs7Edqrrz5466_8FLXdIrN0pYExNAcdYWYKDXQDOWNjmwZrb0A-uuVvbgP3xMomYHTCj1IufYvMp8zN_q1L/s1600/220px-Fridaythe13th2009.JPG" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> 30 years after the events of the <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-13th-1980.html">original film</a>, new groups of teenagers start returning to Crystal Lake without any idea of what they are getting themselves into.<br />
<br />
(Really awesome poster.)<br />
<br />
Somehow, some way, I don't know where I was in 2009 for the release of this film. It squeezes right along with all of our snazzy 2000s remakes: Rob Zombie's <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-2007.html" style="text-decoration: underline;">Halloween</a> (2007) and <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/11/halloween-ii-2009.html" style="text-decoration: underline;">Halloween II</a> (2009), <u>When A Stranger Calls</u> (2006) [I've seen it half a dozen times I'm shocked I haven't blogged about it], <u>A Nightmare on Elm Street</u> (2010), and Nispel's own <u>The Texas Chainsaw Massacre</u> (2003). In fact, I believe that this remake/ reimagining of the 1980 classic has been the most financially successful out of all of these - and that should be no surprise, because I think this movie is fantastic.<br />
<br />
This truly is a <u>Friday the 13th</u> for modern audiences. Slasher fans should be thrilled with this reboot, which takes most of the original plot and amps it up into a more fast-paced, blood-soaked contemporary butchering of yuppy millennials. While this movie has a pretty 2000s feeling about it (like the aforementioned remakes from this decade), there is also a sense of the '80s that the other movies lost in the remake process. Although this version introduces all your stereotypical teens, we do not forget our roots. In fact, I felt there were a good amount of tie overs to the original film (e.g the wheelchair we see in Jason's (Mears) lair could have been Mark's (Tom McBride) in <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-13th-part-2-1981.html">Friday the 13th Part II</a></u>. Details like these are so important throughout lengthy franchises because it gives everyone - characters and audiences alike - a sense of home and comfort, familiarity and reassurance. <br />
<br />
The deaths in this film are pretty fantastic. On one hand, many of them are taken off-camera (which of course I wasn't crazy about). On the other hand, 1980's standards have been long forgotten, and the thrill-seeking, gore-hungry audiences of the 2000s are being appeased. This film is gritty, dark, and unafraid to show off the reinvented Jason. Our old friend Jason Voorhees may be older, but he has become even stronger, less human, and more wrathful. He is swift, creative, and unforgiving, and his iconic mask has been included to all of our great pleasure. There are some really fantastic death scenes in this movie as Jason has graduated from machetes and knives to much more savage tactics - or even just his bare hands. That's not to say he doesn't still pick up a classic weapon (after all the machete has a lot of significance to this franchise), but we get to witness some pretty powerful stuff here, such as a sleeping bag turning into an oven for humans, which no audience member is soon to forget. And if you've read my <i>Friday the 13th</i> write-ups before, you know how much I love a good tent or sleeping bag murder.<br />
<br />
Overall, in terms of cinematography, acting, action, and deaths, this movie is very akin to <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-cabin-in-woods-2012.html">The Cabin in the Woods</a></u>. Throughout the movie, I was constantly reminded of the clever yet dark (and still very teen) nature of the 2012 horror satire. All of our characters are pretty so-so, and I personally didn't care too much about Clay's (Padalecki) plight. If you've seen any <i>Friday the 13th</i> movie before, you should know what's going to happen, and what's in store for all of our new, unsuspecting teenagers. Like any modern teen slasher, the question isn't so much <i>who </i>will get killed or <i>when</i>, but rather <i>how</i>? How indeed, Jason? <br />
<br />
In fact, watching this will probably inspire me to blog about more of those 2000s remakes. Check back in November.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> I watched this film about a week ago (*cue the music*), so I don't remember every detail and I won't drag on my review. All I know is that I was very pleasantly surprised by this remake/ reboot, and I hope to see it again soon. I would recommend this movie to anybody (although I would have them at least <i>try</i> to watch the original first), but be warned about a decent amount of gore or off-screen gore. The best way I could describe this movie, as taken from the brief notes I took while watching it, is "badass." I highly recommend this modern retake on a horror staple.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-90618655733548612202014-10-24T17:52:00.004-04:002014-10-24T17:52:46.386-04:00Jason X (2002)(but is it <i>really </i>that surprising?)<br />
<br />
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> James Isaac<br />
<b>Studios:</b> New Line Cinema<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Kane Hodder<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Evil Gets An Upgrade; Welcome to the Future of Horror<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, thriller, science fiction, slasher, stalker, serial killer, masked murderer<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> D<br />
<b>Rating: </b>C+<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6zQoh2KnvUD8ync9ck4czFGxoStmyx-ZpVpvRjTalIveqL5EPlY_Htw8TgS-Lp5-lZrNBssJ_X0IrxPob5tHZTFRmSRtM2UQ3upGysnkH-zn43bTZ-YvS2q4GP6WMzwz5GT3REmaD-yk/s1600/220px-Jason_x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6zQoh2KnvUD8ync9ck4czFGxoStmyx-ZpVpvRjTalIveqL5EPlY_Htw8TgS-Lp5-lZrNBssJ_X0IrxPob5tHZTFRmSRtM2UQ3upGysnkH-zn43bTZ-YvS2q4GP6WMzwz5GT3REmaD-yk/s1600/220px-Jason_x.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> After breaking out of confinement in a government center that has been studying Jason (Hodder) to learn more about his heightened cellular regeneration, government agent Rowan (Doig) accidentally seals herself along with the masked killer in a frozen stasis chamber. 445 years later (how often do you say that?), both bodies are discovered by students and researchers who have returned to Earth for investigation. They unfreeze and totally restore Rowan, who warns them about the danger of taking Jason onto their ship. Unbeknownst to them, Jason isn't the only one who's been rejuvenated; he hasn't forgotten his murderous instinct either.<br />
<br />
You know how some movies just give a franchise a bad reputation? This film isn't <i>awful</i> -it's just wild. Like hands down, any way you look at it, flat out ridiculous. While <u>Freddy vs. Jason</u> was in production hell, someone brainstormed a wacky way to bring the franchise back onto the silver screen so that people wouldn't forget about it. I mean, we're talking almost 10 years since the last movie! The result of a crazed attempt to keep the series relevant and impatient fans satiated? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you <u>Jason X</u>, aka "Jason Takes Space".<br />
<br />
If something nice has to be said about this movie, it <i>is</i> pretty entertaining in a wild, "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century" kind of way. Picture lots of outdated ideas about the future and a very synth-heavy soundtrack (but still by Manfredini!!). In a way, this whole movie is about rejuvenation, about taking something from the past and revitalizing it (as we see throughout the movie via nanite medical stations). This mirrors the fact that <u>Jason X</u> really was a revitalization of one of horror's most well known (and top 5 most successful) franchises. To treat fans, this movie even gives Jason a new, epically badass look. We appreciate the gesture.<br />
<br />
Anybody watching this movie is just going to have to accept how ridiculous it is, and then either run with it or turn it off. I think that putting this film so far into the future in order to avoid continuity issues was a super clever idea, especially because I think the <i>Friday the 13th </i>series already had some confusing dates and events for those who take the time to map everything out on a timeline... imagine that... ha ha .... On another cool note, out of all the movies you've seen, this is probably one of the ones that takes place most into the future. Of course, it's beaten out by both <u>Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey</u> and <u>Excellent Adventure</u>.<br />
<br />
One of the things that truly impressed me about this movie was one of the first deaths we see. When Jason fights Adrienne (Kristin Angus) early on in the movie, he dips her head in liquid nitrogen and then proceeds to smash it against the counter. While even <i>Mythbuster</i> busted this myth, it was still really awesome to watch.<br />
<br />
Another death I really appreciated watching was when Jason was inside of the holographic projection game thing that the crew members use and found himself at a simulation of Crystal Lake. We see him catch a girl inside of a sleeping bag and bash her repeatedly against a tree. This is a really great nod to the earlier films, as I'm pretty sure he's actually killed someone this way before. Looking through my blog entries right now though, I unfortunately cannot find when. Maybe I'm mistaken, but it's such a badass move I associate with Jason. I love any killings involving tents or sleeping bags, or Jason taking innocent campers by surprise. The holographic simulation also plays heavily on the very stereotypes (and breaking of <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-rules.html">my rules</a>) that the earlier films in the franchise depended on for victimization.<br />
<br />
A nice throwback to the earlier films was especially nice in this film since it's so different than the other <i>Friday the 13th</i> movies. As this franchise moves along, we see a lot of changes that we don't always love. Taking Jason away not only to space but to 2445 really distances us from the killer we love and remember. On the flipside, the upgraded, futuristic Jason is certainly a cool thrill for audiences. The fight between Jason and the Android Kay-Em14 (Ryder) is also probably my favorite part of the movie.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> I don't know what else I could say about this movie. The acting is not great, the plot is actually ridiculous, but at the end of the day I suppose it's just another crazy installment into the <i>Friday the 13th</i> franchise. We've come a long way from Crystal Lake, folks. Not to scary of a movie (at all), more nerve-wracking in action scenes than anything in terms of fear. I could see where most people would think this is just a stupid movie (which have always been my thoughts on it), but I have to say now after watching that, while silly, this movie isn't that terrible.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-58900519530521594102014-10-24T15:47:00.002-04:002014-10-24T15:52:26.569-04:00NewsflashHey Horror Fans,<br />
<br />
I've never done this before, but here's a really interesting article about horror films (it stretches the idea a bit) that I think is really worth reading. It's pretty much everything I stand for.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/horror-movies-in-the-time-of-ebola.html">Read the article here</a><br />
<br />
Stay scary,<br />
<br />
-Horror BuffHorror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-61923792830539273602014-10-22T21:42:00.000-04:002014-10-24T16:58:12.674-04:00Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Adam Marcus<br />
<b>Studios:</b> New Line Cinema (oops looks like Paramount sold)<br />
<b>Starring:</b> John D. LeMay, Kari Keegan, Steven Williams, Kane Hodder<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> Jason Goes to Hell, and He's NOT Coming Back!; Evil Has Finally Found A Home<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, thriller, slasher, stalker, serial killer, masked murderer<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> C<br />
<b>Rating:</b> B/B-<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpJXdALOcYZM8jjfeDhqYTh4m-lKTnmDHqE-lTBYm6xjd2MUgjaSTZDv7xNgSqw7I3hx00ERiGl1EYOr3uBk224cDjO7XEJkrMetexKujUTtjLGGViZIqUl4ngpRyC73IFkShL-wz2wJ6/s1600/220px-Jason_goes_to_hell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpJXdALOcYZM8jjfeDhqYTh4m-lKTnmDHqE-lTBYm6xjd2MUgjaSTZDv7xNgSqw7I3hx00ERiGl1EYOr3uBk224cDjO7XEJkrMetexKujUTtjLGGViZIqUl4ngpRyC73IFkShL-wz2wJ6/s1600/220px-Jason_goes_to_hell.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> Although his body has been destroyed, Jason's (Hodder) heart begins to possess the bodies of innocent victims in a quest to return to the Vorhees bloodline so that he can rise again.<br />
<br />
This is going to be a brief review based off of a few notes I took while watching this movie yesterday on AMC's Fear Fest. I was simultaneously cooking a large roast pork loin (Horror Buff is such a renaissance guy), so I'm afraid my heart was not 100% in the movie.. unlike Jason's! *ba da psh* Anyway, as soon as this film came on I realize that I saw it just a few years ago, so I remembered a lot of the plot and whatnot.<br />
<br />
I think this is a pretty fun installment in the <i>Friday the 13th</i> franchise, and if one thing is for sure, it's better than <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/10/friday-13th-part-viii-jason-takes.html" target="_blank">Jason Takes Manhattan</a></i>. That last bomb was the reason Paramount sold the franchise to New Line Cinema, which says a lot. I can see where a lot of dedicated fans wouldn't be happy about this movie since Jason is gone for most of it; any film that takes a big step away from the familiar plot is sure to upset people, regardless of the caliber of the movie (think <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2012/10/halloween-iii-1982.html" target="_blank">Halloween 3</a></u>). Horror Buff for one likes the idea of Jason's heart being its own reanimated, automatic monster, reminiscent in a very creepy slimy way of <u>Slither</u> and even <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-faculty-1998.html" target="_blank">The Faculty</a></u> given its parasitic nature. I think that the prop/ puppet is equally gross and awesome.<br />
<br />
The intro to this movie is super random and opens up a lot a lot of questions as to how the government could have tricked Jason like this. Setting up the girl in a cabin is all pretty meta, and then when the very '90s action and gunfire and explosions set in, I think most dedicated <i>Friday the 13th</i> fans will find themselves unsure about what they've gotten into. Also, his body certainly blows up, but then I think I remember we see a pretty intact corpse on the table in the morgue... maybe I'm wrong.<br />
<br />
The movie is fairly plot heavy and involves a lot of returning to where it all started, going back home, and involving family - which we've 100% seen done time and time again in horror movies regarding killers' pathologies. In fact, the <i>Halloween</i> franchise also did this later into the series, and one can extract that its just a way to keep pounding out plot and movie scripts. The idea of giving Jason living family members is also pretty interesting, though we've seen the whole killer-hunting-family members-unbeknowst-to-them thing before, namely in <i>Halloween</i>.<br />
<br />
One thing that can be said about disembodying Jason here is that it takes the terror out of its typical, predictable form and unleashes it. It's one thing to be scared of the masked figure smashing into your home and a totally different thing to have your significant other suddenly attack you and try to vomit a giant black bloody mass down your throat. What's important here is the <i>soul</i> of Jason, which is a breath of fresh air after 8 previous movies that play with his body in child form, adult form, and numerous reanimated zombie forms. While we might miss our dear friend in the hockey mask, it's not bad to see the plot get switched up for once. Plus, we get plenty of really gross scenes involving characters throwing up that pulsating, serpentine heart. Think lots of black blood, physical violence, and of course an unidentified black mass slithering around the floor. Nasty!<br />
<br />
I have to say special shout out to Rusty Schwimmer in the role of Joey B. at the diner for looking so darn ridiculous - just as I imagine a diner waitress in western Jersey might look. She's legitimately what I remembered most vividly about this movies. Lastly, she's also very entertaining in <u>A Little Princess</u>. There, I said it.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>*SPOILER ALERT*</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
The most shocking thing about this entire movie is, of course the very ending. The last 5 seconds of this movie probably left audience members with their mouths gaping and their jaws stuck to gum on the floor of movie theaters. Others I'm sure probably left the movie super super excited for what was to come. Little did audiences know then what production hell can do to a film and franchise. I won't ruin this surprise ending for you here, you'll have to go watch to find out! And then wait 10 years for anything to come of it.<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique:</b> Like several other movies in the franchise before this one, <u>Jason Goes to Hell</u> was sincerely intended to be the final movie in the franchise (not withstanding any spinoffs or combinations with other super villains). And, like several other movies in the franchise before this one: that was not the case. <i>Friday the 13th</i> is a pretty awesome example of a movie franchise that didn't know just when to quit, but luckily for them they didn't suffer too much for it. While <u>Jason Goes to Hell</u> takes a big step away from our typical stalker in a hockey mask plot, I really think this is a pretty creative film that through its difference provides us with some creepy horror we aren't used to seeing in this franchise. This film is pretty disgusting at times, but overall I wouldn't say it's that scary. Certainly a fun watch, and keep those eyes peeled for the last few seconds of the movie!Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7385437336544963425.post-4975824579449825442014-10-22T18:41:00.002-04:002014-10-22T18:41:25.832-04:00Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)Fair warning: It's that time of year again! AMC Fear Fest is in full swing, and I've been away from it for so long that now it's the only thing I've been watching. This week they were doing a <i><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2013/10/friday-13th-1980.html" target="_blank">Friday the 13th</a></i> marathon, and I watched parts VIII through the 2009 reboot (still missing <u>Freddy vs. Jason</u>) - so just be prepared for the next few posts!<br />
<br />
<b><u>GENERAL INFO:</u></b><br />
<b>Director:</b> Rob Hedden<br />
<b>Studios:</b> Paramount Pictures<br />
<b>Starring:</b> Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves, Peter Mark Richman, Barbara Bingham, Kane Hodder<br />
<b>Tagline:</b> New York Has A New Problem; The Big Apple's in BIG Trouble!<br />
<b>MPAA Rating:</b> R<br />
<b>Genre:</b> horror, terror, thriller, slasher, stalker, serial killer, psychopath, masked murderer, teen<br />
<b>Scare score:</b> D-<br />
<b>Rating:</b> C+<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT93Fv4K5kEQpv5DBYFY6MksC4w8tifP-GhCYZDe3R4nu1L5EFZx1bB7HD9vflR9YjNQgAKuar4vk7FVKAL4mScGnum9MuPnrr7A1JiFeP8pRH_xAklGCNB2zmnmkbq0SR3O_veeZf1Ik9/s1600/220px-Friday8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT93Fv4K5kEQpv5DBYFY6MksC4w8tifP-GhCYZDe3R4nu1L5EFZx1bB7HD9vflR9YjNQgAKuar4vk7FVKAL4mScGnum9MuPnrr7A1JiFeP8pRH_xAklGCNB2zmnmkbq0SR3O_veeZf1Ik9/s1600/220px-Friday8.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<u>Plot overview:</u> After being resurrected by a surge of electricity, Jason (Hodder) climbs aboard a boat full of high school seniors sailing to New York to celebrate their graduation, making it a trip they'll never forget... or survive.<br />
<br />
I'm glad that this movie is from before my time. Even as a child, I would shun this movie while pacing through the aisles of Blockbuster. Anyone would tell you the same thing: the concept here is stupid. That being said, there's still something funny about the entire plot here, namely that it is ridiculous. Like hands down.<br />
<br />
First of all, this movie totally revamps young Jason from when he is drowning. Instead of using stock footage of Jason in the lake, they brought on new child actor Timothy Burr Mirkovich who becomes fairly important to the plot here given our star Rennie's (Daggett) pathology. To me, however, totally redoing the Jason drowning separated this movie from the original and even from its predecessors. <br />
<br />
Next, while the intro to the film looks like the Crystal Lake we know and love, the exposition that introduces us to the boat and cast of future victims clearly takes place in the Pacific Northwest instead of in the Western Jersey/ Pennsylvania landscape it should; Horror Buff really dislikes continuity errors like that. Also, like where in the world are these kids setting sail from? What high school goes out to sea to sail on a ship called Lazaurs (ugh real original) to New York City for a senior class trip with only two adult chaperones (not counting crew - one of whom is our go-to harbinger of doom)? It's bogus. <br />
<br />
In fact, the students themselves are pretty bogus caricatures of '80s teen stereotypes - and by stereotypes I mean extremes: the all-out rock star and her guitar, the dedicated boxer (V.C. Dupree), the super bitchy popular girl (Sharlene Martin) and her wannabe... the list goes on. I guess it stands to argue that most teens in horror movies are extreme stereotypes (epitomized by the satirical <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-cabin-in-woods-2012.html" target="_blank">The Cabin in the Woods</a></u>), but still, this is pretty wild. The main mean girl, I must say, is super ridiculous, going so far as to <i>push Rennie off of the boat</i> and <i>hook up/ frame the jerk biology teacher</i> (Richman). Whattt? Like classic prank I guess. Also congrats to Mr. Richman for being the absolute worst teacher/ character of all time as Mr. McCulloch. <br />
<br />
Furthermore, even when they do arrive in some pre-Giuliani NYC (they're only there for maybe half an hour of the film - the rest takes place in and around the ship that looks an awful lot like <a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1984.html" target="_blank">Freddy's nightmare realm</a>), it's depicted as a totally run-down town filled with gangs and toxic waste in the sewers (thanks A LOT for the stereotypes, Paramount. At least there were no crocodiles), and at the end of the day, we realize it's clearly filmed on sound stages and in Canada. At least there is a cheesy Statue of Liberty necklace that tourists probably rushed to stores for afterwards.<br />
<br />
Luckily this movie offers us some fun and creative deaths, specifically in the sauna scene that ends up looking like something out of <u>Indiana Jones</u> *Aum Namah Shivaya* I also loved Julius' downfall after attempting to box with Jason. Silly kids!<br />
<br />
<b>Final critique: </b>But aside from some really bad acting and a really terrible plot, this movie is still pretty enjoyable, it just needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A large grain of salt. This movie is just about as ridiculous as the title implies, and a lot of it ends up looking like something out of "Goosebumps." Zombie Jason is pretty foul, as per usual, and with the inclusion of a needle scene (much more tame than in <u><a href="http://thehorrorblogg.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-3-dream.html" target="_blank">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3</a></u>), I think there is plenty to be grossed out by. I would say most audiences could handle the movie - it generally isn't very scary or gory - it's more so a matter of having the patience to sit through it.Horror Buffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10592706050603438970noreply@blogger.com0