Flanagan's second Haunting series is nearby unrecognizable as a follow up to his first when it comes to jump factors and mania, and that's why it works. Whereas Hill House is firmly rooted in modern horror, Bly Manor is reaching back to its source material, a Victorian novel meant to unsettle and unshackle the mind from the mundane and logical. Here in this series, we find ourselves in a slowly dissolving time stream, developing its stories slowly so as to display the dismantling of these people's lives as they care for these children. Victorian horror is never meant to frighten, but to disturb. And Bly Manor is a truly disturbing series. We see internal conflict within characters conflicting externally with others, never anyone treading close enough in relationship to truly be honest to one another. More psychological and neurological than his first outing, Flanagan isn't about the jumps scares or the overt horror imagery, Bly is full of artistry and melancholia. What is the loss of innocence? How does one lose it? Regain it? Regain hope? Can one regain hope and wonder in their adulthood, or will they be resigned to shadows and cobwebs in the corners? Who are these characters beyond their messy decisions, and their employment surrounding these children? Are they real and realized individuals, or are they just the playthings of their time, the dolls residing in the dollhouse? Are you the sum of what your life revolves around, or are you lost and trapped in the chains of a life unlived?
Reviews
3 Reviews
Emergence
(2019–2020)
ABC coulda held on for another season...
4 October 2020
Much like Clea DuVall, Alison Tollman needs to be in a lot more than she's been given. She speaks with quirk and wit, with a rapid fire delivery only Lauren Graham used to possess. She's lovely to watch, from a beauty standard and an acting one, with an expressive face that draws you in, and keeps you captive and loving it.
Emergence could have been her takeoff, and it should have been. Here Tollman is in a heroic role and playing the everywoman. Her maternal motives are clear and never wavering on any moral angle. In fact, primarily the rest of the cast are to deal with the moral implications this show raises, while Tollman is driving the boat on nerve and emotion. It's such a treat!
The series itself, as a stand-alone season, is impressive in that it takes a concept told a hundred times and finds the other hundred ways that story could be told. This one season feels so much like three, with so much plot packed in, but the viewer is never lost or questioning why Tollman is making the decisions she is. That's a testament to the writers as well. Solid dialogue in every episode, along with great editing, keeps this jam-packed show moving at a quick pace.
It might only have enough for a one-day binge, and it might leave you absolutely yearning for more, or just more of Tollman, but Emergence is American science fiction done well, and done right.
It even goes so far as fix the Haley Joel Osment quandary from AI: how far can you stretch one child actor's wonder and innocence far enough it won't totally ruin what you're watching?
The answer: Tollman, and really good writing.
Emergence could have been her takeoff, and it should have been. Here Tollman is in a heroic role and playing the everywoman. Her maternal motives are clear and never wavering on any moral angle. In fact, primarily the rest of the cast are to deal with the moral implications this show raises, while Tollman is driving the boat on nerve and emotion. It's such a treat!
The series itself, as a stand-alone season, is impressive in that it takes a concept told a hundred times and finds the other hundred ways that story could be told. This one season feels so much like three, with so much plot packed in, but the viewer is never lost or questioning why Tollman is making the decisions she is. That's a testament to the writers as well. Solid dialogue in every episode, along with great editing, keeps this jam-packed show moving at a quick pace.
It might only have enough for a one-day binge, and it might leave you absolutely yearning for more, or just more of Tollman, but Emergence is American science fiction done well, and done right.
It even goes so far as fix the Haley Joel Osment quandary from AI: how far can you stretch one child actor's wonder and innocence far enough it won't totally ruin what you're watching?
The answer: Tollman, and really good writing.
Smiley
(2012)
It Was OK(?), Until the End
22 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Should anyone ask me the reason why I watched this movie, my response would be, "It was on... and it seemed interesting."
This movie seemed to be some kind of cross between "Pulse," "Cry_Wolf" and "Hackers," but had none of the suspense, complexity, sincerity or, quite frankly, the depth. Jump-out-of-your-seat scares were minimal, but I'll disregard that as not all horror or slasher movies need to be scary to be good.
It wasn't the acting that made the movie bad. The acting was fairly decent, but it was the script and plot that needed the most work. You could tell by the end of the movie, some of the main cast were bored to tears. And it's understandable why as there seemed to be only four scenes in the movie, just recycled and repeated. Party-scare scenes-Main Girl is going crazy-class scenes. There is absolutely very little plot and what are supposed to be scares, are pretty much just the same jump sequences over and over again. It's repetitive, and by the end, arduous.
Now let's talk about the ending. The last three minutes of the movie are devoted to explaining a "Cry_Wolf"-esque practical joke... except that it's not a joke and everyone around her is just a psycho who would be better off as tertiary or background characters in "The Following." Adding insult to injury, the group is apparently a a distant branch to the hactivist group Anonymous (also making references to popularized memes from 4chan). While Anonymous and 4chan have made some fervent, rather amoral, attempts at justice, killing for the sake of creating a viral serial killer seems just a tad of a stretch. A rather insulting stretch for those of us well-versed in recent media.
And now, after considering this movie all over again, my final thoughts on this movie are, "Go find a stream site that's playing 'You're Next.' It won't insult you're intelligence too much, and it's a lot more fun to watch."
This movie seemed to be some kind of cross between "Pulse," "Cry_Wolf" and "Hackers," but had none of the suspense, complexity, sincerity or, quite frankly, the depth. Jump-out-of-your-seat scares were minimal, but I'll disregard that as not all horror or slasher movies need to be scary to be good.
It wasn't the acting that made the movie bad. The acting was fairly decent, but it was the script and plot that needed the most work. You could tell by the end of the movie, some of the main cast were bored to tears. And it's understandable why as there seemed to be only four scenes in the movie, just recycled and repeated. Party-scare scenes-Main Girl is going crazy-class scenes. There is absolutely very little plot and what are supposed to be scares, are pretty much just the same jump sequences over and over again. It's repetitive, and by the end, arduous.
Now let's talk about the ending. The last three minutes of the movie are devoted to explaining a "Cry_Wolf"-esque practical joke... except that it's not a joke and everyone around her is just a psycho who would be better off as tertiary or background characters in "The Following." Adding insult to injury, the group is apparently a a distant branch to the hactivist group Anonymous (also making references to popularized memes from 4chan). While Anonymous and 4chan have made some fervent, rather amoral, attempts at justice, killing for the sake of creating a viral serial killer seems just a tad of a stretch. A rather insulting stretch for those of us well-versed in recent media.
And now, after considering this movie all over again, my final thoughts on this movie are, "Go find a stream site that's playing 'You're Next.' It won't insult you're intelligence too much, and it's a lot more fun to watch."
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