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Reviews
American Murderer (2022)
A dark-side-of-humanity story ACTUALLY about humans for once!
I saw this last night...and it was absolutely one of the best filmic surprises of the year for me! 🙂 Not only is it probably one of the most casually-grim character study films you'll ever watch (in a way that even supersedes movies like "Joker" and "Pearl" because it's based on a true story, and it's all deeply, indelibly grounded in reality), but it's also an amazingly-confident experiment in sprawling non-linear storytelling, attempting a timeline that not even Stephen Gaghan would dare, lol. In a lot of ways, it's like what would happen if Harmony Korine made a modern-day American spin on "La Dolce Vita"...and I'm so, so psyched that Matthew Gentile was able to achieve ALL of this for his very first full-length film with nothing but hard work and lots of persistence! 🙂 Deeply, deeply-inspirational stuff...
E-Demon (2016)
An exotic and risk-taking cyber-film! :)
I thought this movie was really, really good...it definitely pushes not only the "computer-screen genre" in a lot of cool new directions, but also the possession-horror genre! For one, I haven't seen too many horror films that dare to suggest that possession isn't a "perfectly-nice human being becomes a totally-unlike-him-or-her devil, and then snaps out of it by the end of the film" kinda thing...but that it's actually just people forced to give into their savage, willfully-ignorant, submissive natures a *lot* more than they would if they weren't possessed. The film also plays with tone and suspense very well; at some point, it diverts from a millenial-Michael-Haneke vibe to a gothic-anarchy sort of vibe, with some jazzy tonal diversions here and there (which could very well be likened to blaxploitation, flicks considering one of the main characters is black)...but, it never goes too far off the rails of what the film actually is in the end, which is a bleak, socially-damning tragedy with lots of horror in the mix. The film is also very skillfully made, specifically in the way it cuts between the myriad of computer screens, in a way that is both dramatically-satisfying and unexpected in forcing you to decide what you want to look at sometimes, and then forcing you to look at something you didn't expect to looking at other times (but never all-out indulging in the gore or the potential-campiness as some lesser films would have done). The VFX are also pretty classy and well-done, especially all the lights going out everywhere in the final act, and the acting from all involved was pretty great, too! 🙂 Highly-recommended!
The Midnight Swim (2014)
"The Midnight Swim" - An Unforgettable Dive!
This is a FANTASTIC new suspense film (a drama of spiritual decay, a visual/aural/tonal pastiche, one could say) that I really, truly think many of you will love...I'd say probably the most efficient way to sum up this movie and its emotional impact is to describe it as "The Big Chill" meets "The Shining", that is completely unafraid to take its time to get where it's eerily going (but not TOO much time, with a highly-tidy 90-minute run), with a fine improv-mumblecore glaze of "Paranormal Activity" as well...but the incredible feminine-driven substance, its brilliantly-evocative/symbolic cinematography and artfully-potent editing (easily the best I've ever seen in a "found footage movie"), and its deft and incredibly-memorable uses of great emotional acting and sudden/subtle tone shifts is what *really* gives this film its heart that will stay with you beneath all the ambiguous Kubrickian/Lynchian suspense. It also passes the famed Bechdel Test with flying colors for once! So let's all help this soon-to-be cult favorite for far more than just suspense/horror buffs earn its place! You'll be very happy you did! :)
Gut (2012)
The Highly-Enjoyable "Gut" of the Suburban-American Beast
Hello, everyone! If all you horror buffs out there are on the prowl for the kind of interesting, compelling, and innovative horror-thriller that really isn't made anymore, that dares to *involve* the viewer in its horror (and not just splay it all out there graphically for the viewer to revel in), then "Gut" is absolutely the perfect movie for you! :) It's a terrific socio-psych horror film...think of it as "Fargo" with a Todd Solondz spin for the first half (with all the occasional dark humor that implies), with really great character development and humor, and an building sense of ambiguous mood/dread throughout (with Kubrick-esque sound design) that leaves your mind racing faster and faster. It has a Western/Jarmusch-esque alternation of quick cuts and long takes, but never in like a distancing or showstopping sort of way like Michael Haneke. And to top it all off, the underlying issues/theme of the movie are always clear and 100% relatable, about the neediness and isolated dependency and suppressed hostility of American suburbia, and the arrested development and uncommunicativeness that can result. The plot may revolve around snuff films, that is true (only VERY rarely seen on screen in slivers), but the film is REALLY about all the suppressed emotions and urges that get manifested *through* them. If you like movies like "Fight Club" and "Cape Fear", but on a smaller, more human indie-horror scale, this is most definitely the movie for you! Enjoy, everyone! :)