Movies I've rated and reviewed.
Since IMDb wasn't a fan of either version of the first review I wrote, I'll keep a list of future reviews and ratings here. SPOILERS!
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- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.Despite the ensemble cast, there are only a couple of interesting characters here, mainly the ones whom the film spares time to focus on. Eversmann is the obvious protagonist, a reluctant leader who keeps morale up but feels guilty when some of his men die. There's also Grimes, who can feel overly comedic at times, but it's nice to see him grow from the out-of-his-depth coffee boy to a reliable team member. Most (not all, but most) of the others are recognisable only because their name is scrawled on their helmet, so really this is a movie about the situation, not the characters.
It's pretty detailed in that regard. The jargon-heavy dialogue and cold radio chatter set the tone, and there are some very memorable moments like when Blackburn falls from the helicopter or when Othic pockets a severed hand he finds on the ground (the movie literally pauses for a second in surprise at that one, which is a nice touch of editing). It's a shame that so much of the runtime is people shooting at each other, which lost my interest when it wasn't moving the characters along through the plot.
The score blends typical elements like synthesisers and drums with traditional African choruses and instruments, which is cool, though some of the guitar-driven rock music would feel more at home in a video game cutscene. Visually, there are lots of sickly greens making the very environment look unwelcoming, but the cinematography isn't too memorable otherwise, and there's too much headache-inducing editing and camerawork. The soundscape, overall, is very nicely designed.
Repeated throughout is the message that "no man gets left behind", but that patriotic sentiment is contrasted with horrific injury detail (poorly imitating "Saving Private Ryan" [1998]?), as well as dialogue from Somali characters criticising the Americans for getting involved in their civil war. It all feels like an effort to mask the otherwise nakedly patriotic portrayal of Americans and unsympathetic portrayal of Somalis, whose militia come across like a savage horde of zombies. I do like the symbolism of Garrison mopping up blood in the hospital.
I guess you're supposed to come out of this film feeling like you've just witnessed a tale of true camaraderie, but to me it felt more like the tale of a cock-up of American interventionism. It's mostly well-made, but it's not as heady or insightful as it thinks it is.
6/10. - DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.Though it establishes the classic horror movie formula of a group of teens driving out into unknown territory and being killed, one of the weaker aspects of this film is its plot, which is no more than what I just described. Here's a film that's really about two groups of characters - four vapid teens who are on a road trip with their cynical wheelchair-bound friend Franklin, and the completely insane Sawyer family.
Franklin is the only good protagonist - he's talkative and confident, thus actually likeable, and his use of a wheelchair makes him surprisingly progressive. The Sawyers, on the other hand, are all very charismatic. Gunnar Hansen does an excellent job as Leatherface, who is mentally handicapped, with touches like cowering from his imposing family members or panicking after the murders build up. The hitchhiker, while annoying later in the film, is subtly unnerving as that first scene with him escalates.
One of my favourite things about the film, though, is the production. Score is limited to isolated noises like the rumbling of a piano chord or the tapping of a drum, while the soundscape is immensely detailed, full of scuttling, scraping, clattering and rumbling noises - the stinging camera noise is terrifying (though overused a little). It's also a visual masterpiece, showcasing lots of grainy and atmospheric shots of rural and industrial scenery, as well as uncomfortable close-ups of animal carcasses, taxidermy, Sally's eyeball and a spider nest. Heavy sunlight makes the environment warm and oppressive.
My other favourite thing is the thematic depth of it all. Most obviously, it treats our human protagonists like meat as they're bashed on the head, hung from hooks, refrigerated and eaten. But there's also the opening narration, followed by forensic photography and news reports, creating the illusion that these are real events - a reaction by the screenwriters to contemporary politics and news in America. Further, the Sawyers' situation represents the dead end of American industrialisation, as technology marches on and leaves behind a stagnating world of unemployment. There's even ritualistic imagery behind the hitchhiker encounter - burning the photo, cutting himself then Franklin.
It's admittedly a little slow sometimes, but "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is a descent into madness that's two-thirds shockingly brutal and one-third dementedly funny.
9/10. - DirectorJohannes RobertsStarsDavid SchofieldEliza BennettRuth GemmellA group of teachers must defend themselves from a gang of murderous youths when their school comes under siege after hours.David Schofield stands out here as the instantly sympathetic Robert, a no-BS teacher who's encouraged to turn the other cheek when a slacker student hits him and his mother threatens to sue for her son's poor grade. While Schofield does a good job, it's the writing that lets him down as his character goes though the usual melodramatic motions - he develops an alcohol problem, and his daughter and colleagues seem to hold a vendetta against him for no reason. The dialogue is also generally lacking, despite a sweet scene where Robert and his daughter reconcile.
The film employs silence to good effect, although there are a few unnecessary (though not overbearing) musical cues. On a visual level there's also not much to speak of, save for some neat shots like the basketball bouncing in the empty gymnasium or most shots of the hoodies moving in the background. Otherwise, there are lots of clinical greens and ugly shallow focus shots. Gore is sparing, which is good, but usually shown in awkward close-ups.
The faceless hoodies are pretty creepy villains, whose identities we never learn, meaning they may or may not be connected to the F-grade Robert awards at the beginning. I like that Robert has become paranoid of violent youths since that opening scene, but the film spends no time exploring the potential of that idea.
It's got a likeable lead, a cool setting and some memorable kills, but there's nothing really to it.
4/10. - DirectorSteven ChamberlainStarsSteven ChamberlainFour seventeen year-olds end up trapped in a terrifying situation they cannot seem to escape.A found footage short posted on YouTube in 2009 that wears its influences on its sleeve. Like "The Blair Witch Project" [1999], this comes across as genuine footage complete with 'missing persons' captions, with the added bonus of having been posted on YouTube and not released theatrically like the former. Save for a couple of shaky moments, the performances are mostly genuine and dialogue feels naturalistic and probably improvised.
The idea of a looping road in the middle of nowhere is really spooky, and the visual of the car coming back to the same road sign over and over is nice. Most memorable is when the car seems to teleport from the safety of the characters' hometown back to the creepy tunnel where this all began - and then a figure appears in a mask and trenchcoat.
Old camcorder footage interspliced with what is currently happening, as in "Cloverfield" [2008], is a nice touch. Re-using the creepy song from "The Strangers" [2008] seems lazy though.
Overall, a better amateur effort than any number of big-budget found footage cash-ins.
7/10. - DirectorBill BaggsStarsColin BakerNicola BryantNicholas BriggsSomething has traveled across space and arrived at a deserted railway station. A train arrives with a single passenger, a woman waits on the platform. Why is the station patrolled by sinister robotic Drudgers?Here's an oddball: it's a direct-to-video no-budget spin-off film based on the original 1963-1989 run of "Doctor Who", written by super-fan Nicholas Briggs and starring himself, Colin Baker (who played the 6th incarnation of the Doctor) and Nicola Bryant (who played his companion).
The incredibly low production value is a big part of what lets this down. Most interesting is the premise - two strangers find themselves stranded on a foggy train platform, with only an idiosyncratic man in a suit and a floating robot for company. That basic premise is neat, but there are far too many other ideas floating around - the various explanations for what this place is include some kind of purgatory for people who want a vacation from their lives, the site of a science experiment, and the holographic manifestation of a dying space marine's dream to return home. These myriad explanations are another big let-down.
The acting's passable, the dialogue is mostly dull, and the sound is just awful - lots of static-y video sound with generic and uninteresting score. It's also got a very cheap video look, but there are a couple of nice visual moments, like some wider shots of the brightly-lit platform in the pitch-black void, or a cut from the face of a mannequin to the eye of a human.
At first this seems like a creative metaphor for the simple horrors of everyday modern life, realised using an oppressive train platform and a robotic train conductor, but the explanations step on that. You'll only like this if you're a big "Doctor Who" fan, which is why I personally have a soft spot for it, but I'm judging it as a film on its own merit. So...
3/10. - DirectorJeremy LoveringStarsIain De CaesteckerAlice EnglertAllen LeechDriving to a music festival in Ireland, a new couple become lost and are then set upon by a tormentor with an unknown motive.A psychological horror with a main cast of just three, this is a film that really gets quite a lot out of quite a little. The performances are great at first, with great chemistry between Tom and Lucy as a fresh couple who slowly become frustrated with themselves and one another as their situation puts them on edge. It's the subtleties that thrive, while the more obvious parts of horror-acting like screaming and hysterics are the weaker parts later on.
The mystery of the situation is intriguing. Things become clearer when Max turns up and begins toying with Tom and Lucy, but even then it's never clear to what extent he is responsible for what's been happening. After spilling someone's drink in a pub earlier on, Tom and Lucy become lost as the country roads seem to shift around them and figures are seen watching them. Max makes it clear that everything from the moment he turns up is down to him, but there's an uncertainty behind everything else that's spooky and almost unnatural.
For such a small film, it sounds and looks wonderful. The sound design and score are very lonely and subdued at first, but escalate nicely with buzzing and stinging noises later. The cinematography makes great use of both natural (during the daytime) and artificial (during the nighttime: most of the film) light, and some of the scenery, landscapes and weather really add to the grim look of the film.
Like "No Through Road" [2009], it plays on our fear of the unknown, specifically the disorienting emptiness of the countryside. Most thematically relevant are the bathroom graffiti at the start - "he who shits gets shat upon" - and Max's fight with Tom in the mud, after which he says "violence is the mother and the daughter". The untouched country is a primal place, and Max is a local who embodies the carnality of this place where he lives. I also wonder if the story is an allegory for the fears that come with a new relationship, like commitment and honesty, which are both touched upon.
It's a very well-made film overall, with lovely cinematography, eerie sound design, and mostly good performances. It's just ambiguous enough, and it has a perfect final scene.
8/10. - DirectorMarcus NispelStarsJessica BielJonathan TuckerAndrew BryniarskiAfter picking up a traumatized young hitchhiker, five friends find themselves stalked and hunted by a deformed chainsaw-wielding loon and his family of equally psychopathic killers.It's never a good sign when a horror film gives you a completely unlikeable cast of lead characters, especially when they undergo absolutely no development or change throughout the story. Our leads here are five horny stoners with neither chemistry as a group nor charisma as individuals. The villains are written so as to be completely vile and hateable. It's not only a lazy trick, but it means nobody's gonna enjoy the time we spend with them like we do in the original 1974 film. Not even R. Lee Ermey can save the film.
I don't want to compare it too much to the original, but it has to be said that this remake is nothing more than a lazy and unimaginative cash-in. The family (now the Hewitts rather than the Sawyers) remind more of those crazy ghouls hanging around the graveyard in the original film than the actual family from that film. The story is dull, and many of the beats and scares are predictable, right down to the final jump-scare.
Smoke caught in light-beams is pretty much the only interesting thing going on visually, which is a surprise considering Daniel Pearl also shot the original film (which was gorgeous). The score is bland and sometimes overbearing, and sound effects are re-used from the original. They even dug John Larroquette up to repeat the opening narration.
The climax of the film is at least entertainingly bad. It takes place in a literal meat factory, complete with pigs hanging from hooks, a cheap attempt to draw on the humans-as-meat metaphor of the original. Leatherface's arm is cut off with a meat cleaver, which hilariously results in him chasing after his chainsaw as it spins in a pool of blood on the ground. Final girl Erin kills the Sheriff and rescues a baby from the Hewitts, which is at least a satisfying resolution.
There is no point to this film, and it can't be understated just how lazily it relies on the original. Judged on its own, it's the worst kind of horror movie - vile villains, horny stoner protagonists, and cheap scares.
2/10. - DirectorJames GunnStarsChris PrattVin DieselBradley CooperA group of intergalactic criminals must pull together to stop a fanatical warrior with plans to purge the universe.Why are cocky, quippy superheroes so annoyingly popular right now? Of the protagonists, Rocket and Quill are the worst for it, where it feels like every scene (no matter how serious) must come bundled with a dumb joke. The characters and performances in this film are fine at best, and at worst they're Chris Pratt, who clearly couldn't care less. Genuine character moments are either forced, like when Rocket gets drunk and gives his sob story, or deflated by a joke, and it feels like the characters don't really change beyond Marvel's usual learning-to-work-as-a-team arc. It's a shame, because on paper the Guardians are a colourful and varied cast of characters.
The story is also kind of lazy, and it's the sci-fi world-building that holds it up most, with lots of "Star Trek"-esque aliens and cool locations. I like Nebula and Gamora's sibling rivalry, and the separate directions in which it takes them, but I don't like the awkward love story between Gamora and Quill, the mostly unfunny dialogue, or the cheap dead parent backstory. There are far too many moments that want to be epic or cool, but moments like that come naturally, not because you force them. The only people who feel like they're in danger are nameless Nova pilots or Xandar citizens, but never the protagonists - despite moments where they seem like they're about to die, Gamora and Groot each survive once and Quill twice, so there are no stakes.
The soundtrack is something people love, but it's just a playlist of recognisable songs, and most of them only fit the scenes they're playing over in the vaguest sense of mood. It's a cheap tactic to make the film seem quirky and colourful. Speaking of colourful, the cinematography can be gorgeous to look at, though it's let down by poor-looking energy VFX (lasers, holograms, etc.) and too many things cluttering the screen during action sequences.
Marvel's tried-and-tested formula is just repeated here, but with extra pizzazz. It's a story about people working as a team to defeat a one-dimensional villain, and it has all the beats of the most average adventure film imaginable. A handful of beautiful visuals and some neat sci-fi world-building aren't worth it.
4/10. - DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.As is often the case with horror movies, one of the weakest aspects of this film is the acting, which is serviceable at best with the exception of Robert Kerman as the lead, Monroe. It helps that the character he plays is a very likeable one, who leads this expedition in search of the missing filmmakers with the best intentions - he immediately sympathises with his Yacumo guide, and respects the Yąnomamö enough to strip naked and wash in front of them and even to share human meat with them. When he returns home to view the footage, he becomes, both literally and symbolically, the audience and the filmmaker at the same time.
Seeing the story from Monroe's perspective means we see the aftermath of the missing filmmakers' expedition during the first half of the film, and the footage of the expedition itself during the second. It was a neat touch to show Monroe in between his reviews of the footage - at first he's eagerly trying to interview the deceased's families, but by the end he's advocating the tapes' destruction. One thing that doesn't add up, however, is why the filmmakers would have recorded themselves committing these awful acts if they were trying to stage everything - why film themselves raping a woman?
In addition to some great gore and cadaver effects there are lots of haunting visuals, including the shrine made from human bones wrapped in recording equipment, the raped girl impaled on a wooden pole, and the numerous animal killings (which were genuine, and are VERY hard to watch). These contrast effectively with the more beautiful shots of nature and wildlife. The sound design is gritty, with the volcanic gunshots being most noteworthy, and the score is just amazing - from the beautiful yet subtly eerie opening theme, to the quiet, foreboding ambience of tribal drums, to the track "Adulteress' Punishment" which is beyond words.
There's some great, albeit on-the-nose, dialogue throughout that puts the film's lofty message across nicely - that perhaps we're worse than the 'savages'. This is a film about "children of the space age" being consumed by a primitive world they thought they could conquer, as well as about the ethics of journalists that exploit the less fortunate for entertainment.
I wasn't disappointed when I first watched this film. It's as shocking, graphic and hard-to-watch as you'd expect, but it's far more intelligent than people give it credit for.
9/10. - DirectorSylvain WhiteStarsJoey KingJulia Goldani TellesJaz SinclairIn a small town in Massachusetts, a group of friends, fascinated by the internet lore of the Slender Man, attempt to prove that he doesn't actually exist - until one of them mysteriously goes missing.The characters in this movie are boring. They're maungy and melodramatic, and the generally shaky performances are okay at best. At worst, it's Wren during the second half when she's always panicking or crying. The dialogue the leads are given usually sucks, especially during those first few scenes where they're basically speaking in teen angst mode.
The whole plot kicks off because the girls watch a clickbait video on some shady message board, for no reason, and we're supposed to believe that this successfully contacts Slender Man (it actually comes across more like a hypnosis or brainwashing video, curiously). Katie allows herself to be taken by him, then the rest of the girls accidentally let him in by performing a ritual to try and get her back. Most of the film, then, is just spooky scenes and situations - Slender Man hacks into the girls' Sony phones and gives them video calls (twice!), but mostly he just torments them with hallucinations.
The hallucinations and nightmares at least have some creepy imagery like Hallie lying naked in pieces under piles of leaves, a girl in a bathtub with a caved-in face, and tentacles coming out of eyes and mouths. Not like any of that means anything. There are also some nice shots of scenery around the town and in the woods, lovely camera movements, and beautiful shots like Hallie looking out of her bedroom window, illuminated by police lights. The music video-like editing is a problem, though, and it makes the sexual angst scene between Hallie and Tom look really stupid as he writhes about with a monster face.
This is a movie that really plays on those horror tropes, without understanding what makes those tropes work. Jump-scares abound, characters have angst, and the sexual undertones of films like "Halloween" [1978] and "It Follows" [2014] are badly imitated.
3/10. - DirectorBen WheatleyStarsNeil MaskellMyAnna BuringHarry SimpsonNearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.From the first moment, the lead performances in this film are great - Neil Maskell and MyAnna Buring are an argumentative but tender couple, and Michael Smiley and the former are soldiers-turned-hitmen and clearly close mates with a history. Everyone other than the three leads is just alright, but they only get one or two scenes each anyway.
Interestingly, this is a story in three clear sections, each one more tense than the last. The first is a grounded English drama about a depressed man dragging himself back to work, containing dialogue that nicely foreshadows later events. The second is a crime-thriller in which Jay starts going off the rails, all while sinister and unexplained things are happening around him and Gal. The third is folk horror straight out of "The Wicker Man" [1973], and things start getting crazy-weird. That weird side to the film, while undeniably intriguing, is sometimes what drags it down, because the dialogue can be way too vague and the ending is a huge curveball.
The production is mostly good, with a couple of oddities. The score is mostly ambient, with drums later on. The sound design is also good, but I heard a Wilhelm scream at one point. It's also a nicely-shot film with beautiful scenery and some grotesque and shocking violence, which is why it's so odd to see an obvious digital blood splatter early on. The editing, too, can be odd - there are deliberate black frames that create a cold distance between earlier scenes, hard cuts where they're not needed, and an intertitle before each killing.
The way the film cycles genres allows for a lot to happen both to and around the characters, and there's much foreshadowing in dialogue. There is a lot of subtext to this film, and primarily it's about something invading your life that won't go away: this is shown by Jay's infected hand, Fiona carving a cult symbol in Jay and Shel's home, and the family cat (which represents Jay's ideal family life) being murdered.
The ending comes across more ambiguous than it was probably meant to, but the characters and the plot are interesting enough to mostly distract from that and some of the aforementioned issues.
8/10. - DirectorFede AlvarezStarsJane LevyShiloh FernandezJessica LucasFive friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.Probably the least interesting thing in this film is the cast of characters, who are basically just there to be put through the wringer then killed. The performances are fine, but it's the dialogue the characters are given that lets them down, because it often feels forced or melodramatic - sometimes the dialogue is deliberately perverse or profane, à la "The Exorcist" [1973], but it's more silly here than shocking.
The premise that Mia has come to the cabin to go cold turkey is a decent justification, but then no justification is given for why Eric reads ancient text from a book wrapped in barbed wire that he finds in a basement full of dead cats. Nevertheless, it allows for some awesome, over-the-top horror set-pieces, including self-inflicted mutilations and amputations, brutalisation, and chainsaw skull-fucking (yep).
And these horror scenes look great - there's awesome makeup and prosthetic work, and when the blood really comes it's just magical. The cinematography is lovely with both fixed and moving shots, though some of it feels like it's trying to imitate the original "The Evil Dead" [1981], particularly the handheld quick-cut stuff. The score is okay but generic, but it's the sound design that annoys me - it's mostly pretty good, but the unnecessary inclusion of a ghost girl in the film means there are at least three occasions where the audio will completely drop out for a couple of seconds (good use of silence), only to be followed by an obnoxious demon scream (cheap and lazy).
Really this film is about the spectacle of absolute carnage, and while I appreciate the attempts at emotional hooks and arcs, they really do just fade into the background when people start puking blood and tearing off their own limbs. In other words, it's just good fun.
7/10. - DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsMaika MonroeKeir GilchristOlivia LuccardiA young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.While the lead performances here are fine, I must say the characters in this film are pretty dull. A couple of them have silly quirks - Jay plays with grass a lot and Yara has an e-reader shaped like a clam - but that's it. The premise of Jay being stalked after inheriting a demon through sexual intercourse is neat though, but the problem is in the execution.
I think this film is boring. It screams teen angst, and it's full of awkward teenager stuff like sitting around cross-legged drinking beer, smoking, and talking about first kisses and running away. 'It' is a clever horror concept with clear rules that also encourages you to watch the backgrounds of scenes, but I don't understand the reasoning behind the forms It takes - why does It look like naked people, or a woman peeing herself? I'm also not sure I understand what the climactic swimming pool scene was all about - what was Paul's plan with the electrical appliances (and why didn't it work?), why does It survive, why do Jay and Paul have sex after, and why does this film have so many swimming pools anyway?
On the plus side, the production is incredibly slick. It's very nicely shot (with some impressive 360° camera shots), and the score is wonderfully eerie and not relied upon too much - very good use is made of silence.
Obviously there are sexual undercurrents to It, which reminds of an STD, but I feel like I'm missing something else. There are a lot of quotations from books that the writer probably thought sounded deep, and water seems to be a recurring motif with numerous scenes at either swimming pools or the coast. I'm not sure what the deal is with that kid that keeps spying on Jay either.
The gorgeous cinematography and score are the only things that make this film worth watching for me. It has its moments, and there is a fairly unsettling atmosphere, but it's also pretty boring watching teenagers talk about sex and their childhoods in between those.
6/10. - DirectorDavid KeatingStarsAidan GillenEva BirthistleTimothy SpallThe parents of a girl who was killed by a savage dog are granted the opportunity to spend three days with their deceased daughter.Despite the emotionally-charged premise of a couple bringing their daughter back to life for three days, it's the performances and emotions that are the weaker parts of this film. There are good moments, but usually the performances feel quite flat and lethargic.
The horror atmosphere is where the film's strengths lie. There are a number of incredibly macabre scenes including Mick being crushed to death by a bull and Patrick and Louise digging up Alice's corpse, as well as grotesque scenes of birth including a calf being born via caesarean section and the eerily similar ritual that the village use to bring Alice back to life. The ritual is really the high point of the film - it's sweet to see life being restored, but it's also horrific to watch. As in "The Wicker Man" [1973], horror is also derived from the villagefolk and their ways - not just their ability to resurrect the recently deceased, but the near-absence of modern technology within the boundaries of the wind turbines, and the debts one seems to owe the village by living there.
Exterior scenes are nicely shot, though interiors often feel confined and are sometimes very brightly lit in an ugly way. The score is mysterious and spooky, but there are unfortunately some issues with sound - dialogue is sometimes too quiet, and scary noises are sometimes way too loud. Gore effects are generally great, save for a couple.
In a way, this film is as much about birth as it is about death. It's clearly about a grieving couple who desperately want their daughter back, but it's also about the visceral horror of birth and the fear of death that follows. Early in the film Patrick gives birth to an animal, and towards the end he has to put another animal down, which is wonderful symbolism.
Despite weak acting and kinda uninteresting characters, this is a good horror movie with scares on both a psychological and a carnal level.
7/10. - DirectorJay DahlStarsSteve ArnoldKristin LangilleKeelin JackGarth and Maddie are about to host a dinner party when they see a strange little girl in their backyard. She is the first sign that the world has suddenly and inexplicably changed.There are a couple of good things in this horror short. The opening shot of someone's perspective in the snowy woods is nice, bright with daylight yet unsettling. Then there's the first jump-scare, which is pulled off really well thanks to blunt sound design and very sharp editing. The piece of score that recurs throughout is also foreboding.
Unfortunately, everything else sucks. The acting is pretty awkward and that dinner scene is just unnatural, with badly-written and badly-delivered dialogue: "There ARE monsters ... and they ARE coming to get me". The scene in the shop is also very stilted, and it doesn't help that the thing we're supposed to be unnerved by is a silly-looking "creepy" grin.
Aside from that lovely opening shot the camerawork is usually very ugly, constantly zooming and focusing in and out, particularly on people's faces but also on silly things like a half-empty glass of wine or that black hole article the husband is reading. A lame-ass Photoshop effect is used to give the monster-people scary faces, which looks laughably obvious.
No explanation is given for the events, but ambiguity isn't automatically a good thing - the horror of not knowing has to be earned, and this short really doesn't earn it. I feel like the black hole article was only shown as a way of avoiding exposition, but that somehow feels just as lazy as spoon-feeding the answer to us in dialogue.
A pretty bad effort overall, and despite pulling one off pretty effectively earlier, the short ends with a hilarious jump-scare complete with demon face and monster sound effect. Perfect.
1/10. - DirectorJon KnautzStarsTrevor MatthewsKyle BrydgesJoe NewtonA pill-popping, over-caffeinated driver accidentally hits something. Panic-stricken, he searches for help in a strange and desolate town that offers very little in the form of human kindness.I'm a little bit in love with this short, which proves that short films can be just as cinematic as features. The first thing we see is a dozy-looking driver sipping coffee and knocking back pills while sleepy country music plays on his car radio - an efficient way of indicating this character's fatigued state of mind early on.
I really like the way this character responds to the events in the town, like he's scared but also puzzled and a little unsure of himself. The climax in the family home is great, and the final twist might be predictable, but it's still somehow shocking on repeat viewings.
The score effortlessly reflects the protagonist's state of mind throughout - tense and scared at first, then baffled and bemused as the situation becomes more absurd, then finally shocked at what's really been happening. I love the sound design too, where despite never seeing the mannequins actually move, we can always hear what they're doing just before we see the new positions they're in. Even the camerawork is lovely, with broad day-lighting adding to the discomfort and some really nice pans (like when the car first drives into town).
The whole thing is incredibly simple and even obvious, but what really matters is just how well it's all executed.
9/10. - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsMatthew McConaugheyEmile HirschJuno TempleWhen a debt puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil mother in order to collect the insurance.Something I respect about this film is the way it makes a cast of mostly despicable characters likeable. They're basically a family of abusive, back-stabbing, amoral trailer trash, and yet the chemistry they share with one another, their often deadpan delivery of crazy dialogue, and their complete lack of moral compass all make them enjoyable to be around. This is helped by some very strong performances, particularly from Juno Temple and Matthew McConaughey.
The premise of killing someone for their life insurance is hardly original, but that's basically just a canvas for these characters to fill. Their situation escalates quite naturally until it reaches a ridiculous (but incredibly enjoyable) breaking point during the final scene, which lasts an intense 20 minutes or so. I also like the scene where Chris' employer Digger confronts him and has him beaten, after which Joe (a police detective) reveals that he knows and even likes Digger (a local gang boss).
The use of country music, like "Strokin'" by Clarence Carter over the end credits, sets the scene well. The film looks lovely, with particularly atmospheric lighting during nighttime scenes. I also like some of the more abstract moments that we see from Chris' perspective, like when he has an oddly sexual dream about his sister Dottie or when he sees Adele's car exploding on TV.
This is a black comedy, in which most of the humour comes from two places. One is the morally dubious nature of everything that happens, and the way the characters talk and act during the whole thing. The other is the twisted family dynamic, and the way in which Joe inserts himself - this is best shown during the final moments, as the family lie around covered in blood, in various states of injury, while Dottie declares that she's having Joe's baby.
I will say that there are issues with dialogue, which sometimes feels aimless or unfunny. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable black comedy with a very unique cast of characters.
7/10. - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsDaniel AuteuilJuliette BinocheMaurice BénichouA married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.I'm not a huge fan of plain-old drama films, because I usually like films with a bit more excitement or some layer of unreality to them - horror, sci-fi, and so on. "Caché" is basically just a family drama, but it has this extra layer that's almost meta in which the family are terrorised with video recordings from an unknown sender. The videos are a fascinating plot device, but somehow this film works without explaining where they came from, almost as if the film itself conjured them up.
The performances throughout are very real, as is the dialogue the characters are given, and I think the highlight is Georges' initial confrontation with Majid. The way the mood can quickly change from scene to scene is also very good and reflects how things happen in real life - the tapes are really the only element of movie logic, while everything else is real drama. There are a couple of short flashbacks throughout, and some nice foreshadowing earlier on, which combine with the tapes to add an element of psychological horror.
Adding to the grounded, realistic feel are the sound, of which there isn't much, and the score, of which there is none. The camerawork is very smooth and crisp, with mostly stationary shots and the occasional handheld. The cinematography in a number of scenes conveys pretty effectively the feeling of spying or intruding on the characters, where we're basically just seeing places with the characters in, rather than seeing the characters specifically. This is epitomised by the final four-minute shot, in which it's easy to miss Pierrot speaking with Majid's son.
All of this, together with Majid's background as an orphan of the 1961 Paris massacre, make for a dramatic and gripping movie about guilt on both the individual and the collective level.
10/10. - DirectorWes CravenStarsHeather LangenkampJohnny DeppRobert EnglundTeenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.In typical horror movie fashion, the characters in this film are boooring. Heather Langenkamp does a good job developing Nancy as she goes through the grief and distress of the film, but the other performances are just fine, nothing more. Even Robert Englund's iconic Fred Krueger is just a hammy villain with goofy dialogue.
Fred's backstory is more interesting than Fred himself, and Marge's involvement with Fred's death is a nice reveal. Generally, the plot unfolds at a good pace and doesn't really slog at any point - the film opens with a nightmare, and soon after we see the first murder. The murders after that cross over with Nancy herself being haunted by Fred in some pretty creative (and visually compelling) nightmare sequences. I admire the way the film seamlessly and unpredictably blurs the line between dreams and reality, although the dream-within-a-dream ending stretches things and becomes incoherent.
While I don't like the silly nursery rhyme (in fact, horror movies making children's things creepy in general is just lazy), the film has a neat synth score. I wasn't blown away by the cinematography outside of specific set-piece moments (Fred looming over Nancy in bed, Tina appearing to Nancy in a bloodied body bag, the whole bathtub scene), and some of the special effects were crappy but admittedly charming (mannequin Marge being dragged through the window, Fred's super-long arms). The revolving room effects sequences are deservedly iconic though.
There are some religious and sexual undertones to be found, but they're too vague and don't amount to much. The least a slasher movie can do though, no matter how boring the characters, is at least have fun and creative kills, and that's something this film has in spades.
6/10. - DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.There's something about this film that stops it working for me, and I think it's probably the pacing - let me clarify. I think the performances from Heather Donahue and Joshua Leonard are good (though Mike Williams relies a lot on pantomime stuff like rocking back and forth or laughing manically), and the interviews at the start all feel genuine aside from the fishermen. The premise of recovered footage (à la "Cannibal Holocaust" [1980]) from a student documentary about an urban legend is fine too.
But it's the way the plot unfolds as drama about getting lost in the woods that's the problem. There really isn't much variety in watching people argue about who lost the map, or why Heather is still filming, in between scenes of inane conversation about burgers and getting your shoes wet. It all comes down to people talking in the woods, except half the time it's filler dialogue and the other half it's just swearing and shouting.
I can at least respect it for being one of a few films to really treat the found footage style seriously. The audio seems to be recorded from one microphone, so half the dialogue is inaudible, and the camerawork is often shaky and imprecise. While these can be good ways of conveying that this is genuine, raw footage, they also limit your film, and a savvier FF film would find ways of working in spite of those limitations.
One way this film does at least accomplish that is via its filming style, in which the actors were given cameras and told to basically shoot the film themselves using a vague plot outline. It would've been better, though, if the plot were less padded and there were some variety in the visuals other than leaves, twigs and faces. Attempts at social commentary about Heather using a camera to distance herself from reality don't help.
For a film that's trying to look like real footage, the end product feels distinctly unnatural and messy, almost like it was just improvised by a bunch of people in the woods...
5/10. - DirectorDominic HailstoneA short horror film about an eel that escapes from it's tank.I can't tell if this is a music video or a straight-up horror short, but either way it's something special. It's an eerily lit scene of an otherworldly eel breaking free from its tank and metamorphosing into some kind of twisted but vaguely human form.
Apparently no CG was used so this is all prosthetics and puppetry, which is nothing short of incredible considering the eel, the microbes it spawns, and the things they all become look disturbingly real. The song is pretty cool and I like the way the sounds from the monitor on the eel's tank blend in with it.
For some strange reason this short has a great atmosphere. It's nothing more than a showcase of amazing special effects, complemented by a cool song, but it's worth checking out. The director has since worked on the films "Inbred" [2011], "Possum" [2018] and "Alien: Covenant" [2017], so hopefully his work will continue to be recognised.
7/10. - DirectorJohn SmithStarsJohn SmithAnna HattA man finds himself haunted by a mysterious black tower that appears to follow him wherever he goes.An experimental 20-minute short made up of two primary elements: numerous fixed camera shots, and a blasé but engaging narration. Despite the narrative structure of a man being gradually tormented by the ominous presence of a black tower wherever he goes, ultimately leading to his consumption by the tower, this is still a very unconventionally made film that toys with the viewers' perceptions.
The mundane (sounds of birds chirping and cars passing by, images of washing-up and folded clothes) meets the extraordinary (secondary narration played in reverse behind primary narration, shots of the tower looming over landscapes where it shouldn't belong) as the narrator's mind breaks down, and editing tricks are employed to convey this further (cars seem to disappear when passing behind a tree, spooky single frames are edited in with more mundane shots). Sounds and images are used to trick the viewer into expecting one thing, before revealing another - these include colour frames (a nightmare about the tower is followed by a foreboding red, which is actually just a red bedsheet), intangible noises (sinister burning noises are actually just the fireplace), and. most importantly, black frames (seemingly innocuous until the narrator begins dreaming about the black walls of the tower pressing against his face).
The whole thing looks gorgeous, with its shots of the symmetrical tower standing centre-frame that were taken from various angles around director John Smith's neighbourhood. The experiment here was not only to misdirect the viewer with verbal and visual cues, thus illustrating the toolkit a filmmaker possesses, but to thread a narrative across various related and unrelated images - in this case, photography of Smith's home and neighbourhood, some of which included the black tower. The meaning behind all of this is up to the viewer - themes and symbols are planted, which include paranoia, surveillance, dreams and rural decay, but they only develop when the viewer engages with them.
Functioning as both a cinematic experiment and a psychological horror short, without being either pretentious or derivative, this is a wonderful film that deserves to be better known.
10/10. - DirectorJack SholderStarsRobert EnglundMark PattonKim MyersA teenage boy is haunted in his dreams by deceased child murderer Freddy Krueger, who is out to possess him in order to continue his reign of terror in the real world.Where previously Freddy Krueger was kind of a boring villain with an interesting backstory, here it feels like Freddy is not only more expressive, but has more of a purpose - literally to return to the real world, and symbolically to torment Jesse with his buried homosexuality. Freddy's still not that great, sometimes feeling like he's just there, but his presence is a little more sinister this time around. As in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" [1984], the only good protagonist is the lead, in this case Jesse.
The pacing of this film feels aimless at times, where Freddy only kills one person during the first hour or so before finally entering the real world, at which point he kills another main character and then simply kills a few extras at a pool party. The first and last scenes of the film poorly imitate those of the first "Nightmare" (the initial nightmare with Freddy, and the final twist that Freddy's still around), and everything inbetween is basically waiting around because Freddy doesn't seem to have much power in dreams any more - so his gimmick from the first film isn't put to use, and the alternate approach of putting him in the real world just leads to a bunch of goofy deaths at a pool party.
The score is bland, and the cinematography only stands out a couple of times - mainly in the power plant where Freddy used to work, but also Jesse's transformation into Freddy. The recurring heat motif is a nice visual throughout. What this film really does best is conveying Jesse's repressed homosexuality through his interactions with both Grady and Schneider, as well as their sweaty, naked death scenes which Jesse sees through Freddy's eyes.
While this beats the first "Nightmare" on a thematic level, it really isn't a very good slasher movie. As a sequel it nicely references the previous film's Nancy and builds on Freddy symbolically, but it doesn't take full advantage of what he's capable of, and so the first film's strongest aspect (its creative and well-paced kills) is almost completely missing.
5/10. - DirectorClive BarkerStarsAndrew RobinsonClare HigginsAshley LaurenceA woman discovers the newly resurrected, partially formed, body of her brother-in-law and lover. She starts killing for him to revitalize his body and escape the demonic beings that are pursuing him after he escaped their underworld.Some of the acting here just sucks - the sole exception is Ashley Laurence, whom this film introduces, giving a very promising first feature performance. It's not that the rest of the acting is all bad, but sometimes it really can be quite awkward, particularly during the scenes where Julia is seducing either Larry or other men. The situation isn't helped by some of the awkward dialogue ("nothing personal, babe", etc.).
The star of this film is the hellish plot, set-pieces and special effects, which have stuck in my head since I first saw the film. The Cenobites are awesome movie villains, and they're accompanied by a menagerie of other creatures like the Engineer, that homeless guy that turns into some kind of dragon at the end, and Frank. The love affair at the centre of it all, while not the most convincingly acted, is a good place from which to launch this story about resurrection and BDSM demons. There are some boring lulls, though, and it seems silly that Frank would betray Julia near the end.
Christopher Young's score really makes all the romantic, sexy melodrama kind of epic in its own way. There's also some wonderful imagery in the more surreal sequences, as well as intensely-coloured blood and gore that's kind of beautiful to look at in its own way. Of all the great special and makeup effects, my favourite is Frank's horrifying resurrection early in the film. I also love the editing in the scene leading up to that, cutting between a flashback of Julia and Frank's first sexual encounter and Larry cutting his hand open and spilling blood everywhere.
The theatrical and gothic tone is complemented well by heavy doses of horror and sexuality, making this a carnal viewing experience with an edgy, sacrilegious streak that manages to avoid feeling juvenile or angsty.
8/10. - DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.A fairly progressive movie for the 1960s in which the lead is a black man - not even by design, but simply because he was the best actor for the job. It shows, because Duane Jones is great in this film, as are most of the other cast, although Judith O'Dea is understandably limited by the hysterical and useless character she's playing. The dialogue is also well-written and snappy, and feels like real people talking.
The zombies are the most obvious aspect of the film, but really they themselves are the weakest part of it. It's more interesting to see people actually confused about what's going on (in a world yet to be saturated by zombies in media), and it's eerie to hear people on the radio and TV call the zombies "ghouls", describe them as murdering people, and speculate that they were mutated by radiation from a NASA probe. Ultimately, the drama and tension between the humans trapped in the house is the strongest aspect of the film, where people's differing reactions are both showcased and put to the test.
The score isn't great, but it does the job of providing a fairly spooky (though sometimes kind of melodramatic) atmosphere. I like the often simplistic photography, and good use is made of claustrophobic angles and lighting during some scenes in the gothic house. It also looks very nice in colour.
Something George Romero would carry forward from this movie was the theme of an old society with outdated norms being replaced by something terrifying and new - in this case, a new breed of people who eat the old breed. Even some of the talk about traditions surrounding death (Johnny complaining about being obligated to visit his father's grave, an expert on TV insisting that people quickly burn the deceased and not dwell on funeral rites) serves as a cynical jab at people's old ways. Like "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" [1974] after it, it uses radio and TV-style reports to lampoon contemporary media, wars and politics.
Of course it's outdated in ways of its own, but "Night of the Living Dead" is way ahead of its time, both unknowingly (in the implications of its sudden, shocking ending) and knowingly.
8/10. - DirectorAlexandre AjaStarsTed LevineKathleen QuinlanDan ByrdA traveling family falls victim to a group of mutated cannibals in a desert far away from civilization.Having never seen "The Hills Have Eyes" [1977], I can't say whether this is a good remake - what I can say is that this is a solid exploitation film. Importantly, our protagonists are fairly likeable and only irritating in the ways that normal people are. Their chemistry with one another is good, and the actors convey their characters' distress later in the film very well.
The story is well-paced, dedicating a good chunk of its running time simply to introducing the protagonists and their family dynamic, as well as building up the tension with hints of something wrong. Halfway through the film descends into chaos, and the attack is an awesome sequence that flips everything on its head and turns this into something of a revenge flick. This film is trashy and definitely not high art, but it's fully aware of that fact and embraces the exploitative nature of the original film's subject matter.
There's a sort of grainy, grindhouse look to the orange-y desert landscapes that really suits the atmosphere. Good use is also made of the environment, including the desert and hills, a huge bomb crater full of old cars, and the bomb-testing village littered with scorched mannequins. There's also some good makeup and prosthetic work on display, most notably the hill-person known as 'Big Brain', and good sound design around the violence (gunshots, rattling chains). Even the throbbing, bass-y score is good, and mixed in nicely with some old-timey "Fallout"-esque music.
The nuclear themes are outdated and portrayed in an over-the-top way, but they're still kinda creepy for what they are. There's some neat symbolism to the protagonists' use of guns too, as the nuclear American family brings weapons into the wilderness. Not a particularly deep movie overall, but a thoroughly enjoyable and distressing exploitation piece.
8/10. - DirectorSatoru OguraA duo of guys capture and brutally torture a young girl to the point of piercing her retina.The first in what could be described as a series of direct-to-video torture porn films, and from the beginning this is clearly presenting itself as a snuff film, with an opening text crawl from whomever 'received this tape in the mail'. Unfortunately the acting isn't usually very convincing, and I only really started to feel the victim's pain during the fifth segment (of ten).
The ten segments are different kinds of torture, which escalate from the victim being repeatedly slapped to having a needle pushed through her eyeball. I think the point of this video is simply the feeling of watching the pain being inflicted on somebody, and in that sense the most effective segments for me were 'sound' (torture by loud noise), 'skin' (torture by damage to hair and nails) and the aforementioned 'needle'. Worst were 'kick', 'worm' and 'guts', which all felt lazy and like nothing was happening - they also went on for too long, a problem which other segments had avoided by wisely cutting away early on.
Despite its cheap production, there are none of the noise problems you'd expect like loud camera fans or other background noise, although there's not really much noise to speak of otherwise. An issue is the way this is clearly supposed to be a snuff film, and yet there are far too many camera angles presented for that to be the case.
Despite the issues with filming, I think the strongest aspect is the way this is presented as though it were some kind of torture experiment, complete with on-screen captions monitoring number of punches, length of time being tortured, and so on. Combine that with good special effects like the needle scene, as well as various bruises, burn marks and blisters the victim acquires, and there's at least some kind of illusion being maintained here. There really is nothing more to it, though, than forty minutes of torture.
4/10. - DirectorAndy MuschiettiStarsBill SkarsgårdJaeden MartellFinn WolfhardIn the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.After the fantastic opening sequence in which Georgie meets Pennywise in the sewer, has his arm bitten off and is dragged away bleeding and screaming, this film goes downhill. Just like "Insidious" [2010], "The Conjuring" [2013] and any number of recent supernatural horror movies, the plot here feels like a series of disconnected spooky set-pieces with no real progression - the only real direction the plot goes is from beginning to middle to end, but everything inbetween is just spooks.
Admittedly the scares are quite good at times, as they usually feel tailored towards their specific character or situation (Bev is attacked by her own hair which she cut off and nearly drowned in blood, symbolic of menstruation, for example). Pennywise himself is kinda creepy-looking thanks to some of the contortions his body ends up in and the way one of his eyes is almost always looking right at the audience, but he shows up too often - instead of staying in eerier forms like Georgie or the headless kid in the library, he quickly turns back into a stupid clown, and that's just not scary to me. It doesn't help that his voice sounds like Scooby-Doo.
The performances aren't really that great, aside from Jaeden Lieberher as Bill and Sophia Lillis as Bev - the other kids are either uninteresting or super cheesy, though the dialogue they've been given is charming and feels just dated enough. There's something very off-kilter about the sound and look too (and not in a good way). The score is a strange combination of orchestral and electronic which doesn't work for me and the sound design is full of recent clichés like screeching, jump-scares or ambience whenever ANYTHING even remotely spooky happens. Cinematography is usually fine, but during the scenes with Pennywise there's usually some kind of distorting effect going on around him which makes him look superimposed into the scene.
Overall, the horror sequences are fairly good and sometimes creative, and there are a couple of good performances among the kids. I just don't like the lack of direction with the story - I can't even remember which order the scary bits happen in because they're interchangeable around the few important story beats.
5/10. - DirectorPanos CosmatosStarsEva BourneMichael J RogersScott HylandsDespite being under heavy sedation, a young woman tries to make her way out of the Arboria Institute, a secluded, quasifuturistic commune.Here is the definition of a slow-burn film. It's intentionally slow, but in my eyes it's never too boring to take - the boring parts give the viewer time to think, and the atmosphere hypnotises them into doing so. There's not much in the way of dialogue, and the only character worthy of being called a "character" is Barry Nyle, the misogynistic antagonist. His presence is subtle and cold, and his sheer power unsettling. Aside from his short-lived minion Margo, everyone else is boring and nothing more than a plot device.
There's also not much to the story - significant things DO happen, but they're spaced out so the viewer can soak in the atmosphere through the sound and visuals. The score mostly serves as wallpaper, save for the opening titles song, which is a fantastic and memorable theme - it's exactly like a John Carpenter soundtrack in that way. The drone of the mind-control prism is omnipresent, and pretty spooky.
Most notable is the cinematography, which is knowingly derivative and yet uniquely beautiful. Influences include the colour palettes of "Suspiria" [1977], the production design of "THX 1138" [1971], the deliberate and often symmetrical framing of Stanley Kubrick, and the wide-angle and showy lensing of John Carpenter. There's also a ton of imagery conveying the film's main themes - control and identity - which includes lots of mirrored surfaces, the framing and blocking of Nyle relative to other characters, and the motif of boxes as control symbols. Box/control imagery includes the interview room, the drawer containing Nyle's case notes on Elena, the Sentionaut's chamber, the TV in Elena's room, and finally the endless rows of houses Elena sees outside the institute.
My issues with this film are only minor. The "hesher" scene is completely out of place because, despite having some neat kills and gore, it's a trademark slasher scene in a non-slasher film. The characters are mostly boring and the pacing requires some mental effort. Nevertheless, this film is artistically and intelligently made, and very promising.
9/10.