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The Clovehitch Killer (2018)
Liked it until....
I have just finished watching this movie, and I must say that I would have loved it despite it not being an intense thriller or gore-filled horror. That's not what the makers were going for anyway. The movie is meant to be emotional, perhaps slightly brooding and dreamy, which makes for a different kind of attempt at telling a serial killer story. This will not suit everyone, and those viewers expecting something violent or frightening will be disappointed. I personally wasn't expecting anything at all and, because I immediately cared about the protagonists, enjoyed watching it almost from the outset. But why, oh why did they botch the ending like that???
On the plus side, there are a few things to mention. First of all, the fact that the family in question is a Christian one makes all the more believable. Statistically, whenever serial killers do not come from a violent and traumatizing environment, they tend to grow up in loving homes where everything is just too "perfect" and (from their perspective) bland. They have desires and needs that those around them do not and could not understand. And they learn to keep their violent inner (and outer) life a secret from their loved ones. In time, this becomes an "art" and they lead a double life: a "normal" family life for the world to see, and a secret one that only they know about. In their innocence, their family members could never suspect anything. And neither does the son in this movie, and when he does become suspicious and begins to realize that his own dad might well be the clovehitch killer, it is something that he isn't prepared for, simply because neither his upbringing/environment nor his own identity (as a Christian, etc.) could ever enable him to digest such a realization. This brings me to the second positive, namely the performances. The dazed, almost spaced-out expression one sees on the son's face is entirely intentional, because that's the look one would expect to see when faced with an innocent Christian teenage boy. Definitely well-acted. And the chemistry between the two young leads is, in my view, quite palpable, which adds to the intended emotional experience and makes you care about the characters. Once the son finds all that evidence and his father blames someone else (won't spoil this bit), most of us will say: I would not have bought my father's story if he had told me such a thing. None of us, however, are as innocent-minded as the main protagonist, and seeing things from his perspective, it makes perfect sense that he was both gullible enough and so very eager to believe his dad, as such abhorrent behavior wasn't something he was willing to connect to his own family, and if so, not to his immediate one, including his father.
As I have already written more than I originally planned, I'll be as precise and concise as I can about why I dislike the ending. Supposing that I were ready to accept the fact that the son was immensely selfish, only cared about his own kin and decided that closure for the victims' families did not matter at all. This would still not resolve the plot holes and illogicality. The first issue is that the girl, Kassi, would have dialed 911 BEFORE joining Tyler (the son), who already held his father in check and at gunpoint. In the event that she had chosen not to do so for some obscure reason, she would not have allowed Tyler to stop her once his dad was knocked out. After all, her own mother was among the victims and she would never have gone against her own character (in both meanings of the word) and accepted a lack of punishment and closure! Secondly, if I put myself in Tyler's shoes, how is the shame of having a serial killer dad behind bars or sentenced to death worse than killing him yourself and having your mother, sister etc. suffer as a result? Not to mention the fact that instead of being seen for what he really was, the father would be remembered as a good, kind and loving husband, parent, neighbor and member of the community. However, the thing that bothers me most about the ending is the intended final victim: I know that the movie states she had not seen the perpetrator's face, but seriously, she would have reported the events to the police! Or are we to believe that Tyler and Kassi left her tied up there so that she would have no idea who the people in her house were? Tyler even calls his father "dad" in front of her, so she would really have to be in the dark about all of them, wouldn't she. Last but not least, did Tyler's dad also strike himself in the head twice before "shooting himself"? I mean, he was bleeding from a wound to the head caused by those two blows. How could the police miss that? And don't even get me started on the forensics issue!
In short, the movie could have been great for what it set out to be, but the ending is completely preposterous. This is no longer a matter of suspending your disbelief, but one of suspending any thinking and analysis.
Backcountry (2014)
Very good movie until...
Up until the last few moments, I was ready to give this movie an 8-star rating. Having seen the end, however, i just can't do that. I even feel that a mere 3-star deduction is highly generous. Why? Because I feel cheated. Not only as a movie buff, but also as a man (and I'm not ashamed to say it). Obvious spoilers ahead.
I chose to watch this movie to have a break from all the supernatural / run-of-the-mill thriller-horrors out there. I was glad to have found something that is (loosely) inspired by actual events and isn't filled with shallow teenagers acting annoyingly dumb during the first half hour, until things get going at last (I'm usually happy when they start getting offed one by one). In this movie, we witness the ordeal suffered by a man and his girlfriend while in the woods, and we are made to sympathize with them whenever things take an unpleasant turn. First, the girlfriend makes the mistake of talking to a sleazebag and kindly invites him to stay for dinner - the guy, who says he works as a tourist guide, then proceeds to taunt, humiliate and threaten her boyfriend (however subtly), before provoking him in front of her by picking up her panties and making her take them from him with a smirk on his face. I do not think there's a guy in his right state of mind who would not feel repulsed by such behavior. Luckily, the jerk soon leaves and the movie gets straight to the point, as the couple lose their way and end up in the midst of a sea of trees. It does not take long for a huge black bear to show up and begin hunting them. The boyfriend gets massacred quite gruesomely and the girlfriend wanders through the woods, trying to escape. In the end, she uses the last bits of her strength to crawl towards a group of people preparing to enter the woods themselves. Yes, they were tourists, of course. One of them, a young girl, notices the girlfriend and attracts the others' attention to her presence. And guess who turns around and dashes to save her in slow-motion, like the hero that he is (not!)? Our favorite sleazebag tourist guide, obviously!
I'll be honest. I found this movie truly engrossing, and I genuinely felt for both the boyfriend and the girlfriend. I can therefore only applaud the film-makers for having achieved that, but would also love to bash their heads in for presenting us with an ending that is not only counterproductive, but even insulting to anyone that sympathizes with the two main characters. It makes me sick!
The Purge: Election Year (2016)
Sheer propaganda
I would like to clarify immediately that I am not an American, just someone whose intelligence has been insulted. This does not even come close to rivaling the first Purge, which I see as a great movie. In fact, objectively speaking, this is a propaganda effort. And here is the evidence.
1- All the villains are white. Not only that, they are often white supremacists with no redeeming factors or circumstances. And they are the ones who run the country, wanting to get rid of everyone else, particularly the poor and destitute (who just happen to be mostly immigrants and people of color). In other words, the rich whiteys are rotten to the bone, only immigrants and other races have a heart.
2- For economic and dogmatic reasons, these evil whites are all in favor of the Purge, although logically speaking, it is obvious that it should be criminals who rejoice at being able to break the law at will, committing the crimes of their choice. Since, statistically, most criminals in the US are not whites, the movie is clearly trying to deceive its viewers.
3- Quotes (not necessarily word for word) : 'Never sneak up on a black person on Purge night' = this implies that they are being victimized. 'he was shot by a rival gang, but he's a good boy' = used in reference to a black kid, in an effort to say that even the members of a black gang are actually good people somewhere deep inside (6 feet under the surface, I guess?). 'I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to have my son taken care of' = a crips (gang) member that shows us all that crips are actually good people and are merely forced into a world of violence against their will. Ahem...
4- The only white 'good guys', who are fighting to end the purge, team up with a lot of black and Hispanic people, who represent most of those that oppose the horrendous yearly tradition. They run ambulances, secret hospitals, and any humane endeavor. As for white people, they are of course still as bigoted and heartless as ever.
I could go on, but I will let everyone judge for themselves. Watch this movie objectively and dig below the veneer of an entertaining action/thriller/horror: you will thus find nothing less than a blatantly deceptive attempt at manipulation and brainwashing. I realize that this review is likely to make me the target of negative reactions and hate, but honestly, I am only writing this for the intelligent and aware viewers out there.
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
I'm still laughing while writing this review!
After over 3 decades of watching horrors, I know better than to watch trailers or expect something Oscar-worthy. 3 hours ago, I went into The Conjuring 2, expecting nothing but standard horror fare, and hoping that the movie would not be as ridiculously awful as Insidious III, which was laughable at best. And although it did have a few strong points, I felt that I just had to share my experience with those who have not seen it yet.
First of all, as hinted in the title, I've been laughing like crazy for nearly 2 hours straight now. You see, if you want your horror film to impress and scare the viewer, there are a few mistakes you simply must not make. It does not help, however, when the 'demon' appears in the form of a nun that bears a striking resemblance to Marilyn Manson on a bad make-up day! I was willing to look past that, despite the laughing fits every time the nun was shown, but then came the 'crooked man', who, in addition to being very badly made and looking completely fake, looked rather similar to Jim Carrey in 'The Mask'! So there was no need for any comic relief, as there already were plenty of opportunities to laugh, yet such relief was still deemed necessary. Not to mention a pointless scene with Patrick Wilson imitating Elvis and singing, probably intended to be funny and / or moving, and an awkwardly scripted negotiation sequence between Wilson and the demon...
Another issue is the fact that The Conjuring 2 'lifts' a lot from other, mostly better movies. I mean, what's the deal with the 'tent' inside the house? How many movies have used this idea since The Others? Boring and utterly cliché. Then there are the toy scenes, stolen straight from Poltergeist (pick your part), the possession sequences 'inspired' by The Exorcist, and numerous other 'inspirations'. That was the very first thing I noticed and that bothered me.
Of course, it is never helpful when a horror relies too much on computer generated effects and bland repetitive jump scares. This is always a negative, and most modern horrors look silly as a result.
Are there some positives? Sure. The camera work is skillful enough, and colors are used efficiently to create the right mood and atmosphere. But that's just about it.
On the whole, I am certain that I will never want to see this movie again. There are simply too many better ones out there, especially the cult classics. If, on the other hand, you are willing to look past the major flaws that The Conjuring 2 suffers from, then it might be worth watching, especially if you're a fan of Jim Carrey or Marilyn Manson!