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timtuch
Reviews
Terrifier (2016)
Unapologetic, consistent gorefest
I'm a sucker for consistency. This film is a great marriage of look, tone, performance, & score. All the elements compliment each other in an odd way. It's cheesy, gory, cringy, dirty, grating, over-the-top & raucous throughout. ART the clown, the antagonist, is as brutal as they come... But he's also funny and sweet in parts... which makes for a very interesting psychopath. This film teeters on the edge of extreme. It's bad taste throughout, but never crosses the line. Even the most offensive scene is shot in a way that allows you to escape with a nervous laugh, because it's so preposterous and ridiculous! This movie, for what it is, is a well-crafted assault to the senses. A hearty, gore-filled breath of fresh air. Prepare to be smacked in the face with the ridiculous little devil that is Art-the-clown.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Had potential
The production was there, the score was good, the new "skin mask" was effective... but this movie was just misguided and dumb. There were these subplots that were so unnecessary and distracting, I was constantly getting pulled out of the movie. The direction was inconsistent in tone. And what a total waste of Sally's story. Pointless and frustrating. Skip this one.
Saint Maud (2019)
Very slow, but ambitious piece that just misses
I like slow burns when it comes to film, but I almost turned this one off about 40 mins in because a lack of progression. I see what the filmmaker was going for as far as internal message, and I do believe she succeeds, but the execution is too laborious... The could've been a 35 min short.
And the LAST SHOT... which could've been a shocker that really stuck with you (consistent with an A24 product), succumbs to a poorly crafted 10 frame (or thereabouts) FX shot that made me laugh out loud. I wanted to like this, but it was just too hard to watch... and not in a good way.
Extraction (2020)
Lite Snack But Very Good
It is a simple story, with little plot, but entertaining as hell. Great action sequences, very good characters (and not entirely predictable when it comes to the fate of some). In a time when we are given 8-10 hrs of limited series material to digest (which is good), it's still refreshing to see a two-hour movie deliver the goods in such a short period. It has heart, good performances, and again... amazing action scenes.
Cursed Films (2020)
Very effective. Left me wanting more.
All the episodes are very entertaining/intriguing. A couple episodes have moments where they go on misdirected tangents, but it all still works. That said, I thought The Crow episode was the most effective. And that shot in the Twilight Zone episode... Holy crap. I'll remember that footage for the rest of my life. I'd love to see another season of this show. Jay Cheel is a talented filmmaker.
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
My Favorite Annabelle film
The Conjuring universe movies do tension very well, and ACH is no exception. While not perfect, this one is my favorite of the three Annabelle movies, because it's a freakin' funhouse of horror. It doesn't stop. The tension was murder on my gut. I love the dimension that the characters have. It's so easy to put throwaway teens in roles like this, but these kids were great... mainly because of the way they were written. I hope these movies never get "lazy". I will keep seeing them in the theaters as long as they keep delivering.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
"Manchester" trailer more accurate to what movie should be
I loved the trailer to this movie! I love a good drama with a great cast. This movie, however, is NOT its trailer. The actual film feels like an experiment gone wrong. It has bits of awkward/ineffective humor where it does not belong... Not good/witty bits like a Coen bros or Alex Payne movie, but more like a student film. The directorial and editorial choices seem like a movie that hasn't moved out of the assembly phase yet. And the score... oh man... The score feels like terrible temp drop-ins. I can't blame the script, because the script can ultimately be honed in by the director during shooting. This movie is just ineffective and way too long. I'm not exaggerating when I say this film's run time can be cut in half. The worst part about all of this is that you can see there is a very moving film buried in the contents somewhere. Very frustrated by this piece.
The Shallows (2016)
Needed to go deeper
I like isolation movies. I like smart isolation movies. I really wanted to enjoy this movie, but I did not. First off, it went to great lengths to fill screen time. From the frequent text messages that over-explained the reasons why are heroine was destined to spend her time alone on a "beach with no name", and all the family and career-oriented turmoil that she had recently suffered that, I suppose, makes her more vulnerable to sharks? Too much unnecessary (& CONTRIVED) back-story here screamed desperation, and made us think we were watching something that was much deeper than it was. This is an isolation movie about survival, that's it. Spend another four days on the script and think of some smart motivational twists that work within the given space. Watch a movie like "Buried" 2010, or "Open Water" 2003, or even "Open Water 2" 2006 for gosh sake, to get some good ideas. And please, PLEASE don't beat us over the head with the main character's monologues of EVERY single thought she has. It's insulting. We all know she is scared, and that she would like to get to safety. More acting, less dumb dialog. And we were all very impressed with the music video-esque surf footage, but it went on too long and contributed to the boredom of the piece.