Horror Film (2020) Review #13

Debuting on the 40^th Anniversary of the original Halloween, is the first of a planned trilogy. Directed by David Gordan Green,  with Danny McBride and David Gordon Green as its writers and one of the many executive producers, to this booted franchise.  It begins as a direct sequel to the 1978 original, this film recons every sequel that ever existed, and tells the story in the present day, 40 years later.

The Premise – Michael Myers as young boy kills his sister and goes mute and is institutionalized, 15 years later he goes on murder spree back in his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois until he was shot and re- institutionalized, until another 40 years later still mute but always able to talk a now 61year old Michael Myers escapes while on a bus transfer to a more notorious institution where he was expected to spend the rest of his days. 

Coincidently escaping again on Halloween, and each time he enters Haddonfield he is leveling up, racking a higher death toll from his previous engagements and is doing so with more ferocity. It seems being aware for all those passing years he was probably getting angrier.  Something his psychiatrist Dr. Sartain, hypothesis but could not determine, as the next Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence character) Dr. Sartain was Loomis’s protégé  and has been obsessed with seeing this caged killing machine let loose in its natural environment to further his curiosity. That curiosity would have its own self cultivation for a killer’s mentality.  Meanwhile Laurie Strode the survivor of the 4 decade old murder spree has suffered PTSD, which has affected her coping and moving forward in life. Having 2 failed marriages and an intervention of child services removing her then 12 year old daughter claiming the harmful environment would pose a threat, is now estranged and is kept away from her teenage granddaughter.  Has turned to alcoholism, but relishes the opportunity to kill Michael herself.  The deputy at the original crime scene 40 years ago who stopped Loomis from shooting Michael Dead, is now the local sheriff and knows firsthand the depth of evil that has befallen his town. 

Battle ready like Terminator’s Sarah Connor, Laurie Strode and Michael Myers are destined to battle it out and end their differences with the only difference being Laurie has also been waiting patiently and quietly for 40 years for her  own brand of judgment day.

With an accredited writer’s acknowledgement, for both John Carpenter and Debra Hill who serve as Executive producers to the trilogy along with Blumhouse productions, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Malek Akkad whose father was a producer on the 1978 film.  The film began a 28 day shooting schedule on January 13, 2018 and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, that quick production turnover is due in part by it was the first Halloween movie to be shot digitally and not on film.  TIFF is mentioned in this summary because Director David Morgan Green has debut his previous films at this festival before giving them a theatrical release to the world.

Bloodshot

Bloodshot marked his first appearance in two different Valiant publications in November 1992 (Eternal Warrior #4 and then a week later in Rai #0), before venturing onto its own self title series in February 1993. Issue one has a street value of about $65, where-as-the November issues have a value between $30-45 depending on the quality of the issue.
The comic book's first few original issues shares similarities with the 2020 motion picture, A Soldier named Ray Garrison awakens each time with his memories wiped by a corporation  called Rising Spirit Tech / Project Rising Spirit.  A program that creates the ultimate soldier, injecting powers of regeneration and meta-morphing made possible by nanites in his blood, that also allow him to telekinetic or Wi-Fi connect to any technological computer or A.I. nearby and override and download any computer systems at his will.

Guy Pearce plays Dr. Emil Harting who was the CEO of Rising Spirit Tech. The person responsible for re-animating Vin Diesel's character Ray Garrison. Bloodshot awakens on a mission that is of personal revenge which motivates him to complete his mission with complete conviction. Garrison eventually teams up with a military medic or in this instance a hacker named Wilfred Wigans played by Lamorne Morris and another progeny of the Rising Spirit. Who venture to stop the corrupt organization from the killing of select targets and free Bloodshot from Harting's control.  The film in this manner is similar to Iron Man 3 with the extremis Program.  Guy Pearce once again plays a tech genius, this one named Aldrich Killian who is looking to establish military contracts for his new enhanced super soldiers who's blood has Extremis; a DNA rebranding that he has not perfected yet without the help of Tony Stark; and with Ray Garrison until the mix of man and machine became perfectly symmetric.

The film is directed by Dave Wilson who's body of work encompasses video effects and directing  video games & game trailers.  Has the climatic fight sequence shot and stylized like an action sequence from out of a videogame. There are very little to no civilians seen in the entirety of the film which holds superhero type characters who possess amazing stamina and durability, which comes across like a fully working videogame sequence.  Though this is merely an observation does not detract from the visual effects team, Dave Wilson nor production crew from pulling off top notch set of action sequences.

Horror Film (2020) Review #12

Mandy, co-written, directed, and co-produced by PanosCosmatos, an up and coming director his first film Beyond the Black Rainbow, a psychedelic horror film about a young woman heavily sedated  trying to get out of an institution, shares some common elements to Mandy his second film. Having a hallucinogenic vibe, it’s a slow burn in the first act and the both take place in 1983. However with Mandy, it feels like it has a 70s cult vibe. The film is cut into 3 parts each acts comes with a 70s Heavy metal Album cover graphic. The Shadow Mountains is an introduction; the opening shares with the viewer the love of the two main characters before their lives our tragically ripped apart through senseless violence.  Nicolas Cage plays red, a logger who lives in a cabin in the quiet rural area of the Shadow Mountains, with his love Mandy, played by Andrea Riseborough a store clerk by day and an illustrating artist by night who creates images of sci-fi fantasy.   The album graphic displays the year 1983, and on the radio of Red’s pickup truck we hear a speech given by President Ronald Regan. According to the director, 1983 is a mystical mysterious time for him, it was the introduction of the video store, he would see all the incredible VHS covers from D'Argento & Romero's Horror to Craven's slashers' and Friedkin's The Exorcist, but at 9 years of age he was never allowed to watch them, so 1983 was a mysterious time, a wall that he could not see past and know beyond the pictures.
In the first act we  learn that Mandy had a difficult childhood, and by living a quiet secluded life it  has benefited her and Red. One day while walking along the road Mandy passes a vehicle carrying Jeremiah Sand and his followers the Children of the New Dawn. It’s here that sparks the childlike desire as if seeing a shiny new toy when gazing upon the sight of Mandy, as Jeremiah played by Linus Roache feeling he must now possess her.

The Children of the New Dawn are Jeremiah’s cult followers; they do his bidding and would die for him, as the youngest demonstrates by playing Russian Roulette with a service revolver in front of a helpless Red.  Mandy refuses Jeremiah’s advances and he has her killed and burned alive; in front of a beaten and tied up Red who is left to die.  The Cinematographer Benjamin Loeb descends into a psychedelic atmosphere with saturating the screen with blood red and astral purple, and to make sure there is no misgivings the pupils of the eyes become dilated when the screen is in this state. The film is a tale of bloody revenge, but it's based on tragic loss, and as the gore intensifies in every scene, so does the realization that this film is a tragedy, the film does not relish in the violence, though it is very much fueled by it. 

Jeremiah looks like the silence of the lambs Buffalo Bill, fused with Charles Manson and Red States’ Abin Cooper.  
The Premise: A cult leader calls fourth LSD  ridden demonic bikers to capture the object of his desire Mandy. Hoping to sway her affections with a hallucinogenic cocktail, Mandy's strength of will belittles him, and in a scorned rage he burns her alive in front of her significant other played by Nicolas Cage, who was tied up and left for dead. The few scenes of non psychedelic haze is to inform the audience the reality of the situation and to provide some exposition.  Reeling from the trauma of witnessing Mandy's demise we see a man coping with crushing loss and grief while being fueled by growing rage.  The cameo appearance of Bill Dukes as Caruthers is the only verbal exposition, we get a hint of some dark past backstory of Cage's character, and a quick overview of the biker gang and where to begin Cage's path for revenge.  During his elimination of the bikers, he comes across their Demonic LSD laced elixir and all semblance of his humanity gets eradicated as he enters an apex killing mode to fulfill his Bloodlust. If this was a videogame, Cage has just levelled up to demigod mode.

Horror Film (2020) Review #11

The Turning is based on the novella by Henry James called ‘The Turn of the Screw’, published in 1898.  The story has been adapted multiple times in its 200+ years, this includes ballet and opera, and has inspired other gothic pieces of storytelling, like Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak.   

In 1961, a movie starring Deborah Kerr titled ‘The Innocents’ was more of a psychological horror in comparison to this film and was more clearly defining of the adaptation to James’s work.   There is apparently an alternative ending to the Turning , that has Kate (Mackenzie Davis) fleeing with the children,  with Miles (Finn Wolfhard) unable to shake his possession of the spirit of Peter Quint, and the film would leave us with the cliffhanger of him being  over taken.

The Premise: Jessel the children’s Governess flees the estate one night, and appears to be captured by Quint the grounds keeper.  Some time has passed and new hire Kate Mandell quits her teaching job to become a private tutor to a wealthy young heiress’ Flora who had witnessed her parent’s tragic death years prior.  Before she arrives, Kate stops to say goodbye to her mother who has been placed in a care facility, and appears to be suffering from some form of mental deterioration, we learn her mother has a passion to pastel drawings. Soon after her arrival to the estate Kate meets Miles, Flora’s older brother who has unexpectedly returned from boarding school. As the film progresses, Kate as trouble connecting with Miles and finds the children becoming more distant as strange images begin to plague the estate’s dark corridors and pools.

The Turning was released in theaters at the beginning of January 2020, with mainly under whelming reviews by critics and audiences, as its conclusion was left very open ended. Directed by Floria Sigismondi who is known for directing music performance videos, has directed a few episodic television shows including The Handmaid’s Tale, American Gods, and an Episode of Marvel Netflix’s Daredevil.  The goal of the ending was to leave the audiences to draw their own conclusion, if there were spirits plaguing Kate and the Children, or was Kate losing her mind, as a predisposed inheritance from her mother’s degenerating condition.  The film also sets up an unreliable time frame, on how much of what we are seeing is taking place or if any  at all, as to show intent of reality is caving inward.

The story has over a dozen film adaptations, Director Mike Flanagan who completed the Haunting of Hill House Season on Netflix, is in the process of a second season called The Haunting of Bly Manor, which has direct connection to the Novella as being the backbone to the series.   Films like ‘The Others’ and ‘In a DarkPlace’, as well as having the same title ‘The Turn of the Screw’ has been made into a film and tele-film,  All sharing a similarity of atmosphere and connection of losing one’s mind or being haunted by  ghosts.  This film is different from all pre-existing creations as nothing is presented on screen to warrant  its conclusion. The acting by all three primary characters are stellar as they hold our attention, but half way through the film you begin to feel that this film is not going anywhere in its plot, once you discover and explore the environment, the film loses traction and then the film really stops to a stand still and leaves the rest to your own imagination.  

David Cronenberg ‘s history of violence had an abrupt stop, but the film was fully fleshed out  for the audience to be invested and make their own conclusion, The final moments of the Sopranos , leaves the audience bewildered, but  dialogue given in the initial season of what is taking place fills in the gap of the show’s finale, as the film comes full circle and the audience can draw a definitive conclusion.  The Turning will be a bench mark, and a head scratcher, as solid acting, beautiful composition in cinematography, but lacking a plausible direction of its deliberate ambiguity. There is nothing in three quarters of the movie to suggest the sudden dramatic shift, unless the beverage Kate ingested altered her reality the day her mother’s letter arrived.

Horror Film (2020) Review #10

Vivarium is Latin for “place of life”–by definition it is an enclosed structure or container for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation, to study, or as pets. An example is an aquarium or terrarium (recreated habitat at the zoo).  Written by Lorcan Finnegan and Garret Shanley, and is revamped extension of their short film ‘Foxes’. The film was directed Lorcan Finnegan and could easily be described as feature length version of a twilight zone or black mirror episode. Partly inspired by the ghost estates of Ireland, and the housing crisis, Vivarium is described as a fever dream turned horror. For a person entering adulthood circling the fears of buying a home, raising a child, and having a committed relationship, by warping those life transitions.

The Premise: A couple played by Imogen Poots (Gemma) a school teacher, and Jesse Eisenberg (Tom) a gardener, are financially conservative but decide to window shop for a house.  They meet Martin played by Jonathan Aris, an attentive yet a skewed personality who pitches them a home in a community called Yonder.  Martin gives a tour of this home in a distant community; that appears identical to every other house on the lot, as they are shown the backyard Martin disappears and drives off. The couple becomes stranded in the neighborhood as the road always seems to lead them back to the same house.  There is a very strong hint of the nature of this movie at the beginning when Gemma approaches a student after class and spots two dead baby chicks. We see in the opening credits a cuckoo bird, and learn that a Cuckoo sneaks their egg into another bird’s nest while the parents are not around, their egg hatches before other birds so their chick can push out the competition before the parents arrive, they can mimic the sounds of the parents giving the impression that they are the original offspring and can be feed and nurtured by the fooled parents,while the parental cuckoo birds can fly away worry free.  Tom and Gemma are given a baby boy delivered in a box and according to the description on the box if they raise the boy they will be released.

The trailer gives the impression of a psychological thriller, and comedy. It is not really a comedy nor does it function as a black comedy.  The true thrill comes in the final act when what is beneath the exterior is pulled back.  The rules of this community’s universe are undefined, Tom and Gemma are stuck in this haunted urban area, but the only thing creepy is the boy. As he ages at an unnatural rate and like the cuckoo bird he can imitate their voices and mannerisms.  Something malevolent begins to be sensed as the second act draws to an end, and the physics of their reality turn to that of a Beetlejuice movie.

Horror Film (2020) Review #9

Gretel and Hansel is based on the Brother's Grimm fairy tale published in 1812, which means copyright law is no longer applicable and the film's writer Rob Hayes had carte blanche to reinterpret and reimagined the story any way he saw fit to choose. He made the film's narrative feminist, Gretel in this version is much older than Hansel, of about several years, and as such oversees her brother as he loyally follows behind her. Its is a coming of age from childhood to womanhood both symbolically and by the maturation of the films inevitable conclusion. The Director, Oz Perkins is a relative newcomer to cinema, Gretel and Hansel mark's his third film. 

What make Perkins a stand out is the scenery,  and the cinematography. The framing of the shot is mostly centered giving space all around the focal object or person, giving a sense of isolation and uneasiness. The color scheme is just fantastic because Perkins chooses to film his subjects relatively close as the camera lens appears fully extended wide so you see the landscape and the changing of colors in the fall, and the colors of the ground and the mud or dirty or water stream with a level of tree trunks and branches all of which giving a completely different horizon of hue of color, though all but perfectly layered. Cinematographer Galo Olivares, had just come off work With Alfonso Cuaron's Roma as a camera operator and cinematography collaborator and the experience he gained from working closely with Alfonso is shown here in Gretel and Hansel, the movie plays almost hypnotically to its viewing audience.

The Premise - Gretel and Hansel  have been kicked out of their home by their insane mother a widow or single mother; there was a severe economic down turn and she cannot support her children, In brother Grimm fashion  the mother tells Gretel to take Hansel and go out and dig two graves as they will surely die out in the wilderness, and if either should return back she will chop them up with her axe.  Gretel had tried to find work, but their perspective and wealthy employer would have implied intentions on her maidenhood.  So forced to be on their own in the woods the duo meet a woodsman who gives them shelter one night and gives them a food and directions, but warns of  the dangers in their journey. Ultimately the children arrive at the home of Holda who invites them to eat her over abundance of food and provides refuge, Gretel offers her services of work in exchange of the their temporary room and board.  Gretel begins to have visions and senses things are not as they seem with Holda, while coming into her own as a woman.   There is a childhood fable that Gretel tells Hansel that comes to light and the visions begin to ramp up all around Gretel and Hansel.

Its a slow burn, with a single jump scare,  the gory and graphic nature of the film is relatively subdued for a more focus with the mood of a scene, and how the score by Robin Coudert gives the film its incredibly intense uneasiness. It was one of the first films to be released in January 2020, and  in time Gretel and Hansel could possible have a cult like following.

Horror Film (2020) Review #8

Becky, a film that can be drawn from lineage of revenge horror films, like the Australian 2018 indie movie called Revenge, to classics like Avenging Angel, Ms. 45, I spit on your grave, Mikey, and The Good Son;  the list could go on.  It’s the casting that is on point with its star Lulu Wilson, a veteran horror genre actress, who gives a wide-eyed tension building performance.  The directors of Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion who have collaborated together on all their films like Bushwick and Cooties, have Becky seem like it’s an evolved amalgam of their previous works.  Kevin James is in a role completely removed from his previous work, its his very first role as villainous character  and is mesmerizing to watch. Its not as intense as JK Simmons role in the series OZ, but the acting muscles being flexed by this comedic actor is terrifyingly awesome. Becky could be Kevin James' foot in a host of variety of new roles including Oscar worthy performances in his future.

The Premise: An escaped Neo-Nazi named Dominick and his 4 men head to a lake house in the woods to find a key he has hidden 9 years before his incarceration.  Becky a bullied 13yr old high school student whose mother passed away a year ago has a strained relationship with her father; making matters worse she is taken to the family lake house home to discover that her father is now engaged to his girlfriend Kayla.  The situation hits a new level when Becky’s dad and her unwanted family have been taking hostage and she is the only thing standing between Dominick and what he wants.

Becky sets up a story of typical angst ridden youth, dealing with personal loss, and trying to reconcile with her new reality.  Its sets up a hyper surreal set of circumstances that would push Becky to take action, The film shows a natural sense of empathy and understanding  then quickly removes those emotions to bring fourth revenge.  The writing is good enough to understand Becky’s motivations, and to know that this young girl is fundamentally disturbed, a calm calculating monster of the neo-Nazi and Becky are now indistinguishable monsters on how far they are willing go.  In one sense it is a matchup of the wolf in sheep’s clothes versus the big bad wolf. 

Horror Film (2020) Review #7

Gerald's Game is based on a Stephen King novel published in 1992 that was initial meant to be a companion piece to
 Dolores Claibourne  as both stories are connected by women caught in crisis  in the path of an eclipse.

Directed and written screenplay was by Mike Flanagan, who three years prior had released Hush, the widely popular home invasion thriller on Netflix. With Gerald's Game, Flanagan shares a co-writing screenplay credit with Jeff Howard who has worked with Mike being a writer on the Netflix series  The Haunting of Hill House. Gerald's Game is one of three films Mike Flanagan has adapted from a Stephen King novel, the most recent would be Doctor Sleep with Ewan McGregor.

                                                     
The Premise Jessie played by Carla Gugino travels to a secluded lake house in Western Maine with her Husband Gerald. Gerald is a successful and aggressive lawyer played by Canadian Actor Bruce Greenwood.    The story is about Jessie handcuffed to a bed as her Husband dies on top of her from a heart attack, followed by the subsequent realization that she is trapped with no hope of rescue for at least a whole week,

The film takes form at the sight of a stray dog mauling at her husband's copse at the foot of the bed, which causes Jessie to experience trauma induced hallucinations that plague her mind which serves to help her cope in her new reality. It serves similar to the understanding of having an angel and devil on your shoulder that talks to you conveying your decision making process.  In the period of the film we as the audience are beside Jessie as the event unlocks buried traumatic events of her childhood that connects to her relationship and marriage to Gerald. There is a horrific figure that presents itself to Jessie at night, unsure if its real or imaginary Jessie only knows she must escape before falling victim to it or the dog who will desire fresh meat once it tires of her Husband's dead body.

Gerald's Game is an intense psychological drama, and a showcasing of a woman's internal strength and resilience to an extreme situation(s). This film shares a couple of scares but it relies heavily on presenting an atmosphere of entrapment and seclusion as it offers travels down memory lane to showcase the tools one needs to survive as it faces hard difficult truths. How it presents itself and what it reveals is slow and not entirely clear, so the visual representations of the moon and the use of red is very important to keep the viewers attention.
As a recommended follow up, there is a Stephen King novel that became a 2 part Television movie on A&E called Bag of Bones (2011), which has no direct relation to this story, but shares a plethora of similarities in characters, settings, and storylines to Gerald's Game. 

Ninjak vs the Valiant Universe

The characters of the Valiant Universe are a mix of different and well known IPs, Applying the Schwarzenegger 80's archetypal characters from Commando or Predator to the mixture of either  Batman, Wolverine or any comparative superhero. In the story of Ninjak we are introduced to Colin King, a British aristocrat, who is a derivative of both James Bond and Batman. First seen in issue #6 of the bloodshot comic book on July 1993, the character quickly drew the interest of fans playing to a base of Batman & James Bond followers. His alter ego Ninjak would be first introduced in Bloodshot issue #7 on August 1993. The success of the character allowed Valiant to run a self tile series the following year; issue #1 of Ninjak sold 1 Million copies alone. The eventual success of Valiant's stable of characters established it apart from its pool of growing competing  publications, like Malibu, Image, Impact, and Dark Horse comics. The publications would be purchased by Acclaim Entertainment a few of years later who were known mainly for its videogames. It was Acclaim who decided to retcon Ninjak's origin story and story arc.  Having a teenager gain the powers of Ninjak through a videogame; well acclaimed went bankrupt in 2004 and Valiant went silent as properties of Acclaimed were auctioned off; That was until Valiant remerged once again as an independent publication in 2012. By February 2020, Valiant comics became the 3rd largest comic book publication,  trailing behind the established Marvel and DC comics.

The 6 part web series titled Ninja vs the Valiant Universe launched in April 2018 and can be viewed in it's entirety on Youtube. There are some recognizable actors assuming the roles in this web series John Hennigan (WWE wrestler), Jason David Frank (Power Rangers), and Derek Theler (Baby Daddy). The series is produced by Bat in the Sun Productions,  a father and son duo of Aaron Schoenke and Sean Schoenke, overseeing stunts, musical score, directing, and producing.   They have an established YouTube following with Millions of views for their Superhero Beatdown Series. The special effects and production style stems from their experience in producing the beatdown series which continues to be produced today.


A character that get's introduced in the third act of the web series is
 Shadow-man, a successful Valiant character who began a self title run in 1992 and sold over 5 million copies.  Videogame enthusiasts will remember Shadow-man from the Nintendo 64 system of the same name, as it was a property of Acclaim.

Horror Film (2020) Review #6

Making its debut at the 2016 SXSW film festival, Hush is a home invasion movie ratchet up to horror suspense thriller. Working solely on the premise of the protagonist's particular disability, the film has you empathise with the character and her condition, which presents a situation relentlessly.  Written and Directed by Mike Flanigan, and co-written by Kate Siegel who also is the star the movie. Hush presents a series of very believable or plausible scenarios that can take place in a home within the real-time set up of the movie.  The writers who are also a real life couple, had rented a cabin one summer and ran through multiple practical scenarios in the course of the writing the script for the movie.  Flanigan is no stranger to Horror/Suspense with his breakthrough film being Oculus, a film promoted heavily by one of its producers the WWE back in 2013. Went into this film with a clear vision and structure of how to present this film.  Producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse productions, signed on as the producer as it falls into their working model, and shopped the film to Netflix for its worldwide distribution deal.
The Premise   Maddie is a writer, who has retreated to the woods to live a solitary life to focus on her next novel.  While she is deaf and mute, her only neighbour Sarah gets killed trying to flee a murderer, which unintentionally brings the masked killer to her window.  This begins a game of cat and mouse as the murderer begins to understand his next victim a little better.

Winner of a iHorror award and Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award; Hush is 82 minutes of sheer thrill,  a perfect amount of time to tell a complete story with virtually no dialogue. It keenly sets up visually cues and follows though with its set up in surprising and unsettling ways.  The film works from the perspective of Maddie on how she copes and navigates her way in this new found situation,  As a viewer, I felt I was put in a lock box with a peep hole view of the outside world trying to figure out how to get free.  The film remains intimate and isolated the key ingredients to tell a story of home invasion in the best way possible. The film does hit a third act and increases the stakes with gore as the outside world breaks in and we reach the climatic conclusion.
For a younger audience the film will bring comparisons to movies like 'The Strangers', and 'Don't Breathe' as it shares many like minded tones.  As for more historical context, the movie was inspired by Audrey Hepburn's 1967 film 'Wait until Dark', in which the director and his co-writer did acknowledge as one of the source materials of developing this film.

Horror Film (2020) Review #5

The Invisible Man, originally penned by H.G. Wells and was first brought to the big screen in 1933, starring Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart.  This latest re-imagination has this invisible man less verbal than its predecessor and  much more sinister.  It is brought to you by three co-production companies Blumhouse  belonging to producer Jason Blum whose well known for creating a successful business model by having a film with a very modest budget paired with an established distribution. His films tend to make much less than most tent pole blockbuster films, but consistently  turn a profit of making more than double its initial budget on its opening day weekend. The second set of producers are an Australian based company called Goalpost Pictures, they're comprised of the remaining names listed as producers on this film, minus Leigh Whannell the Director and executive producer, the two line producers, and 2 executives  Beatriz Sequeira and Jeanette Volturno who represent Nervous Tick Production; an extension of  Universal Pictures who oversee the films distribution.
The Director Leigh Whannell is primarily known as writer, who  makes small appearances or a recurring lower tier characters in some of the films he has written. He is the writer of the original trilogy of  Saw movies and their respective shorts, and all Insidious films; Whannell  only tried his hand recently in directing starting with Insidious 3. The Invisible man marks his 4th time to the helm the director's chair, while his last film a movie called Upgrade found both critical and financial success at the box office, and was also a distribution of universal pictures and nervous tick productions along with Blumhouse.

Aldis Hodge (James Lanier) & Storm Reid (Sydney Lanier)

The Premise - Cecilla Kass played by Elizabeth Moss carefully plans her escape from a violent controlling relationship with a scientist who specializes in optics. With the help of her sister played by Harriet Dyer, Cecilla takes refuge with a childhood friend police detective James Lanier and his daughter  played by Storm Reid  (known for her role in 'A wrinkle in time). Constantly in a state of fear from her abusive ex' Adrian played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen.  Cecilla receives word that he has committed suicide and leaves her a significant portion of his earnings. Cecilla  suspects his death was a hoax when a string of coincidences turn lethal and Cecilla's sanity begins to call into question. As the trailer suggest she is being hunted by someone that nobody can see.

With a budget of $7 Million Dollars, the Invisible Man has taken in a worldwide gross of over $60 million dollars, summarizing the film has made back 8.5 times its initial budget.

Horror Film (2020) Review #4

Fantasy Island was Co-Produced by Blumhouse and
A Tower of Babbel production, and distributed by Sony pictures, it seems like producer Jason Blum has developed a strong strategy of getting his next venture off the ground. Co-written and directed by Jeff Wadlow, starring Maggie Q (Nikita), Lucy Hale (Katy Keene) and Michael Pena (Ant-Man).  Fantasy Island the movie got released on Valentine's day, and was marketed with a hint of horror. The film was brought to you by the same team that brought you Blumhouse's Truth or Dare. Which was released two years prior, Featuring the same director and three quarters of the same writing team, and returns it's leading starlet in the form of actress Lucy Hale  who was coming off her long stint on pretty little liars at the time.   Both films have been panned by most critics but enjoyed by the target audience. Fantasy island had twice the budget, but percentage wise the film did under perform. When compared to Truth or Dare - there is 50% drop in ticket sales both abroad and domestically in just the film's opening week.  None-the-less with Blumhouse's  production model the film has made its return and over 5 million dollars gross profit domestically in its opening day weekend.

The Premise -   It is a remake of the 1977 television series which was an Aaron Spelling production that ran for seven seasons and a little bit of the rebooted (1998) series which ran for only one.  Sticking with Spelling's model, of usually 2 or 3 groups of visitors come to this island to be granted their fantasy of  a missed opportunity or regret; With the condition that the participants must see their fantasy concluded  to its very end. Mr. Roark the Island's host does not mention that the island has designs of its own when giving these fantasy which everything comes at a cost. The motif of a snake or serpent and the dripping of single drop of blood is not fully explained, nor how water  runs throughout the movie acts as a catalyst.  The film begins to pick up pace when Michael Rooker's character  Damon appears and sets the stage by revealing  something sinister lies beneath the surface. And all 4 sets of guest have something particularly unbeknownst to them very much in common. Clues are dropped and an explanation is given to how the island does work, the final act gives a twist that explains some of the imagery we see throughout the film, and provides the thread of that underlining link. However many of the island's machinations is troublesome and rules that the film creates for a frame of reference is all but completely discarded  for the sake of building climatic conclusion. The elements of implied horror is merely obstacles for each guest to overcome, nothing gory or visceral to  leave an impression for the general viewing audience. Fantasy Island was rated PG-13  for violence , terror, drug content, suggestive material and brief strong language.

If I had one question to ask the writers or key actors, that would be how self aware are all the guests particularly the brothers at the end of the film's run. And if I could end on a follow up question, Why pick an intellectual property that fans who remember the series would have not seen an episode in 36 years, when the final episode aired; and the young audience to whom are the intended demographic will have no context or understanding of the source material. There exist a danger of missing the opportunity of getting a much larger audience to see the movie by mining such an old property.

Horror Film (2020) Review #3

The Lodge, the first English speaking film from Austria's writing/director duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz. Their last film Goodnight Mommy was a well received horror caricature, following twin boys acceptance of a mother whose been away for 5 months. Now bandaged up from reconstructive surgery and not act like the mother they once knew. It's particular third act ramps up and takes it on the chin for being eerily compared to funny games, as it unravels the psychological nature of one of the boys.
The Premise of  'The lodge' is an organic evolution from Goodnight mother, where it follows the relationship of a very close brother and sister spending the holidays with their soon to be step-mother following a recent tragedy. It's hard not to compare the film to the successful breakout horror movie Hereditary as it shares a key element, but uses that device in a completely different manner. In the trailer, the father drops off his new family-to-be to spend the holidays together for about a week, where he will rejoin them on Christmas day.  Forces seem to be working against them as they are robbed of food and heat, with the step-mother trekking out into a stormy winter to find help.

Lia McHugh (Mia) and Jaeden Martell (Aidan)

The film's ability to stay lingering on a shot and use of score (background music) to emote tension in a scene is relied on too heavily, its not long after they are left alone in the lodge do see where the film is going. The filmmakers left a lot of breadcrumbs to set up the circumstances without requiring any verbal exposition, It's theme of purgatory is suggested throughout from daughter crying in bed with her father, a balloon tied to a doll, and mirror reading repent. The satisfying pay off is in the final minutes of this movie, where you as an audience member could be grinning widely eating popcorn like in Michael Jackson's thriller opening as Michael is watching a horror movie intensely, or you could be a gasp of what will happen to the all characters.  The movie is filled with misdirection and  gas-lighting  and is positioned to be much more of a psychological thriller filled with dread, than a horror. As a main character is dealing with mental health from a post traumatic event is explored. Actress Riley Keough when approached by the directors was told  not to prepare for the role, but to play the character of Grace really with a blank slate and then go from there, the plan worked as she gives a solid performance and nothing she does leads into or shapes an audience interpretation of what is to follow; you are constantly in the moment as she goes through all her experiences. The filmmakers shot the movie in sequence which is rare, but beneficial to its actors  so they can really tune into the dark journey of each their characters as they reach the epic conclusion. The movie is refreshing in the sense that it does not go for jump scares, but tries to see things through the eyes of its characters through the directions they take of veering left or right, but be prepared for a very slow burn.

Horror Film (2020) Review #2

Midsommar is the second feature length motion picture by writer, director Ari Aster. Similar to Jordan Peele, he too has amassed critical praise and a bonafide audience. Who on the merit of his name, cinephiles and   casual fans will go and flock to see his next venture. According to Aster the film is a sub-genre of folk-horror, which was why there are no subtitles in the dialogue of when characters would speak Swedish to each other, to give the audience the added experience of isolation. To note, when the film was screened in Sweden, the audience laughed, and referred to the film as a black comedy, to which Aster aptly replies was the intention, as it reconciles to being an operatic break-up movie.

To expand on the notion of operatic; similar to Hereditary, this too is a slow burn of a movie, everything you are seeing and experiencing is building up to something, a crescendo of when it will all come together in the final half hour, as the idea of the break-up is firmly planted at the beginning and that the relationship was not going to work out.  Giving a brief look at the trailer, the film is taking place in pure sunlight, there is no darkness, every corner is illuminated.
The Premise, Dani played by up and coming starlet Florence Pugh, has experienced a personal tragedy and emotional trauma, her boyfriend Christian unwillingly invites her to join him and his university friends to Sweden. To visit a fabled once-in-a-lifetime mid-summer festival with deep pagan roots. what was meant as fun a carefree holiday of exploration and cultural learning comes something more bizarre on each passing day of the 9 day event.

This film breaks away from traditional horror films, by avoiding the dark, the unknown, the supernatural, or 'The Monster' as its driving force.  Aster has placed clues on the walls, in both drawings and images throughout the film to help you brace for what is to come. The element of horror is mirrored similar to that of Jordan Peele's Get Out, the township is different and as an outsider you are not going to connect with the people, Peele goes further and plays on what if those fears of an outsider were all true, this film uses the strange traditions and rituals, as a means to keep a divide as the outsiders continue to learn the culture. Like Daniel Kaluuya's character of Chris, he continues to try and be understanding and level headed to everything  he is witnessing and exposed to regardless of how awkward the instances become, that should draw cause for concern.
To give only one insight, a tactic of a cult in which to keep its members tightly together is to smother one with love and make them feel they are loved, with verbiage and echoing sentiments as a means. We see the effectiveness of this transgression at a point in the movie . As with the communal  reach it can have in the context of the movie, which may not be outright spoken out, but it is implied.

Horror Film (2020) Review #1

The Babysitter, is directed by McG the director of the original Charlie's Angels movies starring Drew Barrymore, and is written by Brian Duffield,  whose recent screenplay adaptations were Insurgent (divergent series), Underwater (a horror film starring Kristen Stewart) and Jane Got a Gun (a Western starring Natalie Portman).  Exclusively distributed  by Netflix; Babysitter 2 is slated for a fall release later this year and returns the original Director and 90% of the original cast.

The Premise - Cole, played by Judah Lewis is for the first two-thirds of the movie a socially inept and introverted 12 year old boy, the film goes through great detail setting up all the neighboring characters including his parents, and the conflicts that Cole contends with on a daily nature.  He is the only 12 year old in town who still has a babysitter, whose name is Bee played by Samara Weaving; Bee is a statuesque dream girl for any young boy.  The night his parents goes away for the weekend Bee's past comes into light . Cole has to overcome his every fear which has been carefully laid out throughout the movie if he a chance to survive the night and ultimately Bee herself.

The action, gore, and unusual dark comedy, comes across almost seamless as the revelation presents itself to Cole . What is presented in the trailer is what is provided in the movie, but it is given to you in the final act, its a very, very slow burn from the threading of all the in and outs of social expositions which does eventually pay off. As for McG, he goes full throttle with pitting a league of 5 psychopathic teenagers vs 1 boy. The criticism is that the reveal is not greater than the sum of its lead up.  The movie becomes too easy to tune out, when its leading premise is trivial adolescent angst and awkwardness; before we get to see a  single drop of blood, which occurs past the one hour mark.
The biggest surprise was the script, learning it was shuffled around for quite awhile back in 2014, before getting picked up, and was surprising to learn it was on Hollywood's Blacklist.  Meaning it was one of the 'most liked', unproduced screenplays of the year.  It finally got filmed the following year with intention of having a theatrical release when Netflix acquired the rights for streaming and gave it a Friday the 13th  (October (2017) release.

I - Man (1986)

I-man was an obscured superhero film, not related to any comic book property, a made-for-television movie that saw the rise of one up and coming star and the fall of a would be veteran actor.  A Wonderful World of Disney’s Sunday Night movie of the week, that was designed to be a pilot for a potential television series.  Starring Scott Bakula, who was an unknown actor, according to imdb, I-man was his first feature acting job.  Before I-man, Scott did mainly theatre and appeared in commercials,  a  spot for Ginger Ale was one the commercials that would have been seen in 1986, the year I-man was released.  Bakula, was 31, when I-man debuted on its original air date of Sunday April 6, 1986, had found gradual work in guest spots on television shows, failed tv pilots, one short lived 1^st season , and a couple of television movies before landing his first theatrical released film Sibling Rivalry (1990), and landing the role that changed the trajectory of his career Quantum Leap (1989 – 1993). 

I-man Co-star Joey Cramer, was not a household name, but in the 1980’s he was a familiar face and believed to a rising star. A native of British Columbia, this Canadian child actor saw 1986 as his most stellar year.  Audiences would recognize him for playing Tom Selleck’s son in the 1984 Sci-Fi Action Movie Runaway. He became the most recognizable child actor of 1986 with three films, a small part in the Daryl Hanna’s movie Clan of the Cave bear that hit Theatres in January to very luke warm reviews.  I-man that spring, and in October, the Film that became his starring vehicle ‘Flight of the Navigator’.  Cramer did two guest spots of Murder she Wrote that year and returned to Canada to film a television movie in British Columbia before retiring in 1987, The official reason of him leaving the business, is not clearly outlined, but Joey Cramer had a number of run ins with the law, he was in and out of the legal system before he was twenty-one from possession of firearms to offences of drug trafficking.

The film’s Antagonist reclusive millionaire Oliver Holbrook played by veteran actor John Anderson has 244 credits to his name according to imdb (Scott Bakula in comparison has 76 credits in his 34 years of actively acting) would co-star again with Scott, on his show Quantum Leap.

I-man as the film points out about several times throughout the movie stands for indestructible man, the man can’t die.  Shoot him, burn him, and break all his bones Jeffrey Wilder (Scott Bakula) can’t be killed or get tired. A simple Huston cab driver gets exposed to a canister carrying a strange gas from outer space when a NASA truck crashes near Jeffery, the truck explodes causing third degree burns all over his body.  Jeffery miraculously heals and walks out the hospital. Made on a very modest budget for its time and intended for a general audience, this film was a little campy but can be considered a beloved gem suitable for everyone in a household.

DareDevil (2003)

DareDevil: the Motion Picture, a film released in 2003. Will Marvel release a 20^th anniversary 4K/Blue Ray Edition to commemorate the movie?  I feel the answer would be no, that’s not to say there would not be any interests in such a venture, it’s just not their way of thinking, that has become an old model.  Disney has been leading a charge to do away with physical media, by pushing its streaming platform; offering a catalogue at your fingertips. Disney has been known to provide a special features portal on their service for select movies, so maybe Daredevil 20 will perhaps introduce extra content.

In the meantime, let’s look back:              Written and Directed by        Mark Steven Johnson who has championed the project for a number of years before getting 

the green-light to go with his auteur vision.  Johnson was given a set number of days of principle photography; that would had to include  the challenges of stunts, green screen, CGI along with the time to blend them all into a great deal of balance and believability on a final product of a movie; in which in my opinion was generally outstanding, but there was a trout in the milk.

After critics and audiences did not give favorable reviews of the movie in its initial theatrical run, It's Star Ben Affleck refused to reprise the role; even though it was a mildly successful, it turned a profit of a near $40 Million after marketing, budget and paying a percentage to its exhibitors had been doled out. 

 On a featurette, reveals the wire work in the playground sequence took a considerable amount of training and attention, but alas did not sell the right tone of believability in spite of its intention of showcasing their supernatural levels of athleticism.  Conversely, the look of radar sense – moving sound is a hard sell;  luckily it was done sparingly and the scene at the subway tracks was where the application had the chance to shine the brightest, to illustrate its functionality when trying to pin point his target.   It was the film's producer Gary Foster who picked the parts to cut out to make time for a suitable theatrical release, so the explanation on how the authorities came to know Fisk was the Kingpin and arrest him only becomes clear in the director’s cut; Leland’s betrayal was never shown in the theatrical release.

Shooting in Vancouver over Los Angeles could have made a difference.  The financial incentives would offer the means  to give Mark Steven Johnson an opportunity to take some more chances  and have more room to provide digital touch ups that could be afforded and improve upon. If Affleck hadn’t made it a clear he did not want to shoot in Canada after his experience with the film ‘The Sum of All Fears’.

Michael Clark Duncan was the best man for the job; he really embodied a physical and imposing presence of the Kingpin.  Colin Farrell played a character who spoke in an Irish accent, his natural dialect, a first for the actor; and his character had the right level of sinister and threat, but some critics would argue that he leaned too much into an over the top clown.  Jennifer Garner’s blue contacts was not as creepy as Jessica Alba’s Invisible Woman’s Rise of the Silver Surfer, but knowing it detracts on close ups for all the wrong reasons, something that was evident and should have been addressed at the first test audience.  Lenses aside. Garner gave a solid performance, and her role on Alias brought credibility going in, Stunt coordinator Jeff Imada had less work and supervision as she put in the work before coming to the set on day one, with handling the Sai and grasping the fight choreography quickly.   

There were some things a stunt man or a human could not do, and a CGI daredevil was used, for the most part it was pretty seamless when providing the right digital shading, but there were a few cityscape jumping and cathedral maneuvers that could not be escaped. They were an eye sore, but a forgivable couple of seconds, what’s not forgivable is the character getting unmasked 3 times by 3 different people, and was figured out by a reporter, within the course of a single movie. With the exception of Foggy, the Coroner, and maybe Bullseye, his identity is destined to be common knowledge by the second film if it got to that point.  In Spiderman 2, Mcquire unmasked himself in a subway car and no one took a cell phone photo as the people of New York helped him, Sandman smashed his mask to bits, venom took a pole and smacked his mask clean off, but the environments were contained and part of one set piece.  The problem was DareDevil had multiple reveals in one movie which lessens the stakes and significance of a character regarding his secret identity.

On the positive you got the Stan Lee Cameo, it was also the first film to use that rapid pages flipping for its opening.  The director’s cut offered a more comprehensive and expansive story, and the film paid homage to the comic book history of writers and illustrators who developed the character and carried on its mythology since it was first created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett.