Horror Film Review #5

I Spit on your Grave 3
  Vengeance is mine





Before I begin, for the record I feel this movie should not be considered as a horror genre, more thriller or abstract drama.  In the most simplest of terms this film revolves around sadistic torture violence and suggestive rape.  Eli Roth movies are now synonymous with torture porn, this movie could easily fall into that category, but it shouldn't.  The movie is about vengeance and as we learn in early portion of the movie, The main character's birth name is derived from angel of unique circumstance.
So lets start with The premise, the main character is a survivor of a very brutal rape attack which is shown in quick images or flashbacks to the original movie.  The result of which puts her through the school of Liam Neeson, as she as developed a set of skills that make her an unusually dangerous woman and good at dishing out vengeance to those who deserve it.  In this instalment, we see what happen to the heroine after the first movie concluded, and how she has been able to move on and cope. Seeing a therapist our heroine tries to fit into society, but is surrounded by aggressively evil men, or people with no virtues' intentions. She joins a rape counselling session group and befriends a member, but goes back to her old ways when tragedy hits, and thus dispatches vengeance when justice is not delivered.

For those who are unfamiliar with this particular movie and its original movie staring the its lead actress Sarah Butler, is based on a remake from a 1978 film of the same name.  Which is why my comparative references will be films from 1980's for those seeking out similar themed movies or shared constructs.

For mainstream comparisons you can stop at Charles Bronson Death Wish movies, a quintessential vigilante themed sub-genre.  As I began to watch Grave 3,the earliest connections to other themed based films was to the Avenging Angel Trilogy of movies, which the near end of this movie kind of takes direct reference too.  I recommend for those interested into the psychological end of a similar theme film, seek out ' Ms. 45' ,  Sudden Death, and/or Dressed to Kill.

Spit on your Grave 3 is a direct sequel to the original, it is not as gruesome in comparison, but offers flashes of suggestive violence. Giving account the potential of violence in us all, almost vicariously if allowed; to runaway with our own imagination to extract vengeance or pain on to others. This movie is a reflection of that pool of thought.  The actual descent into vigilante mode takes place in the middle of the second act and the consequences of doing so in the real world, a vigilante with justified intentions is looked upon by the law as no different from the offenders who do harm onto others.  And the final act actually fleshes out that reasoning with some cause and effect stages to drive the point home.  Overall its a homage to 80's films and to its 1978 original, but elevated more to suit todays audience.

Its definitely worth looking at for those who saw the 2010 movie, to get some residual closure, but its a half decent stand alone movie, and empowering in a malevolent way.

Horror Film Review #4

Cooties

If the tagline read an infectious good time,  Cooties would fits the bill; The movie features an all star of television actors stemming from Hawaii 5-0, The Newsroom, Wilfred, and 30 Rock and it features one of the creators of the Insidious and Saw movies.
The Premise is pretty simple a small town in the Midwest is faced with a viral pandemic affecting its children, Its Children of the Corn meets The Walking Dead, thanks to a shipment of tainted Chicken nuggets which at a certain point in the movie serves as a double entendre.  The adults represent a cascade of middle american stereotypes, of whom also represent the teaching faculty.  The children at the beginning of the movie were not portrayed as a wholesome bunch either, they were more reminiscent to the feeding of a cute Mogwai after midnight and being plagued with Gremlins in the wake of such an action.  The pace of the movie picks up to a frenzy, and allows the core audience, to feel the tension as teacher's window of escape begins to dwindles as the night begins to fall.









There is strong language and graphic violence,
13 and older is the general rating or adult accompaniment would best describe the choice of the ratings board towards this film.   Its a pretty decent film to watch with the family, and has a smooth and tight script that doesn't drag or feel like low point.

Horror Film Review #3

POD

 The film had a limited run in select theatres this past August, and was easily missed by a mass audience.  Its Director Mickey Keating is a relative new comer, with 3 films under his belt in the past five years and another project in the works 'Carnage Park' . Starring Alan Ruck which is soon to be released; Keating is an artist who is slowly coming into his own.   On the surface POD is a low budget, independent movie, that can be dismissed as  nothing more than an film school art project. It has a good script with talented no name actors, who may one day surprise you down the road.

The Premise: Three siblings reunite at the family cabin in the woods when their brother Martin a shell shocked war vet leaves a questionable message that would ultimately forces an intervention.

Its ending resembles an generic episode from Tales of the Darkside, it can wet your appetite for the up coming X-Files Series set to debut on January 2016.  The overall consensus towards the film, is lacklustre,  It's poster appear to be more thrilling than the movie itself,  There are some gems, like the Martin's behaviour, its reminiscent to Brad Pitt's performance in 12 Monkeys.  However,  their sister Lyla has an over the top performance near the end of the film which I found misplaced.    Its on an obvious shoe string budget with local talented performers, which can be easily overlooked, but the film has a quick wrap up that felt  to me unfulfilling and sour.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Horror Film Review #2

The Gallows

A horror film set in  a contemporary High School environment, in some small town in Nebraska.
The premise: 20 years after the accidental hanging of a student Charlie Grimille, during the failed stage production of 'The Gallows, The Schools attempts a revival of the same production. Its lead actor has stage fright and decides to sabotage the set the night before the grand opening. Once he and three other classmates enter the school on the eve of the revival, a vengeful spirit is awaken.

A couple of year ago, a Horror movie 'Stage Fright' hit theatres, its opening synopsis was similar.
A musical camp revives a decade old play, after the original play closed abruptly due to its lead star being found murdered.  Fast forward to the present, the daughter of the deceased starlet has taken over  where her mother left off.   The movie was hokey with an over the top villainy. But the musical numbers were outstanding 80% of the time, and the play 'Phantom of the Opera' was given a creative re-tooling by having it taking place in Japan, and the phantom being a Kabuki Phantom.  It was a refreshing retelling of an old concept.
The Gallows villain is the spirit of teen who lost his life accidentally, and is evoked when callous teens desecrate his memory and the tribute.  The trailer was edited to make the movie feel exceptionally scary.  The movie was shot documentary single camera POV style. its the only way to minimize the audiences' view of what is taking place and keeping fear of the unforeseen, become the canvas of the actual film as the movie unfolds.  The style, or trick, or concept of film worked  for the Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, The Visit, and even 'Into the Storm.
It fails here.  The ambitious directors of 'The Gallows' breaks away from their own rule book of which they designed. By leaving the single camera and going back and forward between camera phones and documentary camera to tell the full story Arc., Then goes from a haunting or stalking movie to being able to possess an individual  to role play for no apparent reason at a climatic scene, without a build up or hint of possession prior to the film's climax.

The possession and lack of explanation, can anger the audience, as with Dr. Doom in the failed Fantastic Four Reboot, Die hard fans and intellectual audience members would not be able to tell you  what all the powers Dr. Doomed possessed in the movie because it kept changing and adding on to itself.  And where Cloverfield's hand held camera began to make the audience nauseous with the shaking and uneasy swaying. People were equally disappointed with the irritating narration of the cameraman aka best friend/sidekick in The Gallows.

Horror Film Review

The Visit

It has been a while since I wrote on my blog, and even longer since I had written a film review.  So no one is more surprised than me to find that it took a M. Night movie to have me sit in front of my desktop and type out my opinions. (Metaphorically put pen to pad)
Sixteen years ago M. Night Shyamalan became an overnight success with the Sixth Sense.  The only theatrical experience I ever encountered where the audience sat in their seats past the closing credits and long after the lights had turned on.  The legendary twist that made M. Night a superstar director/writer became his last crowning achievement. No one can argue the fact that every succession of film he created in the last 16 years have been almost degrading than it predecessor.

Welcome to M. Night's comeback movie.  The audience weight-in is simple he created a movie that delivered a swerve, that was done in the same structure as Sixth Sense.  M. Night's last project was the Tv series Wayward Pines that aired in the early summer;  An All star cast with a promising start, with the buzz of Twin Peaks becoming a series on showtime the following year,  The series was highly anticipated and was given the 3rd largest simulcast launch in history at that time. Airing in 159 countries worldwide for it's pilot episode.  A Ten episode series with the big reveal or twist being discovered by the 5th episode in.  To call the reveal ludicrous would be too kind, So the general viewing audience on The Visit's opening day weekend had low expectations,  which might be why this film is heralded so greatly.  On the surface, everything we are watching has a plausible logical explanation.  Looking at the trailers and watching the movie and thinking there is a twist and  trying to figure it out as I watched.  Is in the audience as well as my own subconscious, a stigma of a M. Night film., but being a bitter audience member discourage by a decade of disappointments I was just looking  for logical progression in the movie so I can justify paying to see this movie.

The Premise: Two kids go to see their estranged grandparents, for a week, uncover why their mother parted ways, and rekindle a family bond.  The daughter decides to video document their journey; Which proves the basis of the audiences point-of-view.  The Odd behaviour of the grandparents can be explained right to the very end , even the scenes of kids scared under the house, we as the audience know exactly what is going on and are ok with the understanding premise.  M. Night's power of subtlety is almost overtly bludgeoning, if you pick up on the twist early, some say they caught-on within twenty minutes, others like myself discover the reveal at the end where the reveal is actually laid out.   Thinking about the movie in hindsight you have deja vu of Sixth sense, and trace the movie backwards to see where we could have or should have caught on.  Here is hoping we don't wait another decade for an excellent movie,  that would and could  be the worst twist of all.