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Abigail (2024)
Marketing Hurts the Reveal, Still Fun Movie
This was a movie that I saw was coming to the Gateway Film Center and I was intrigued. It has a solid cast with Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand and Giancarlo Esposito. I also like our directing team from Ready or Not and Scream from a couple years ago. I saw too much of the trailer which gives the reveal. It was also all over the Internet Movie Database site. This would have been more fun if it wasn't spoiled, but I digress.
Synopsis: after a group of criminals kidnap the ballet dancer daughter of a powerful underworld figure, they retreat to an isolated mansion, unaware that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.
We start this off with good filmmaking. The team of criminals are getting into place. Joey (Barrera) is picked up by Peter (Durand) and Frank (Stevens). Another team is at the destination. Rickles (William Catlett) has a sniper rifle; he's watching the house. The getaway driver is Dean (Angus Cloud) and Sammy (Newton) bringing down the security system. The target is Abigail (Alisha Weir) who is practicing. They are waiting for her to come home.
Their plan goes on without issue. They take her to the remote mansion that is creepy. She is taken up to a room with a blindfold on and handcuffed. At the place, they're met by Lambert (Esposito) who wants them to stay on guard. They need to hold her for ransom for 24 hours. There is food and drinks stocked for them.
Now the only one who comes in to see and talk to her is Joey. She calms the girl and even makes it more comfortable for her. She removes the blindfold and handcuffs her in the front. Joey does wear a mask. This group isn't supposed to share personal information, but while they are having drinks and playing games, Dean tries to guess everyone's backgrounds. Joey points out that he's wrong and then she guesses everyone correctly. Frank reveals a dark secret about her.
Abigail has one of her own as she alludes to her father being powerful. Joey doesn't want to know, but she tells Frank about her concern. He goes into her room for information, not realizing that she isn't blindfolded anymore. This is just the start of fear he has. She reveals to him who her father is. He's ready to leave and give up his cut of the money. That isn't as easy as he thinks as Abigail has an even darker secret of her own.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with a movie that I saw praise being given to from voices in the community that I respect. It was interesting as well because it was from professionals and other podcasters. That made me excited to give this a watch. What I'll say here is that this is a popcorn movie. We have a good premise where we strand a group with something that is faster, stronger and more deadly than them. We then show them fighting for their life.
Something to then bring up was that a buddy in a group chat said this feels like Ready or Not. Seeing that the directors of that helmed this, makes sense. We have a large mansion where are characters are looking around for whatever is killing them. These are also professional criminals. Rickles is a former marine. Peter is muscle. Frank was a former detective. It turns out Joey was in the army. Sammy is good with computers, which doesn't play here. Dean is the only non-professional, but he's a great wheelman from what we see. I'm a fan of playing with the idea of going up against something that is too much for people that are better equipped. I'll also say that I love the isolated setting and trapping the characters inside. That reminded me of Demons and its sequel.
The next bit is something that I'm going to go vague as I won't spoil what Abigail is. I'm guessing that anyone reading this knows though. What I'll say is that she's a creature. I do like how they manage the lore here. Joey knows what she is first. Sammy saw what this thing could do but doesn't believe it. Rickles and Frank know that something is wrong and it doesn't make sense. Peter refuses to believe. I love that everyone tosses out what they know and they use these elements. I'm a fan when something with established lore is used and then a movie gives what their rules are. I also love the look as well.
I think then I'll shift to acting next. I'll say again that we have a good cast here. Barrera is fine as our lead. She doesn't necessarily stand out to me though. Not bad by any stretch though either. Stevens was good as this detective turned criminal. I love that his back-story is muddled. Catlett is good as this former marine. I like Newton as a rich girl who decided to do crime for the thrill. Durand is funny as this big dumb muscle. Cloud adds levity with being a street criminal who is good at what he does. I like Weir in her role. The use of ballet dancing adds an interesting element. This is something that is beautiful and graceful while combining it with the brutal. I like that dichotomy. Other than that, I like the cameo by Esposito and Matthew Goode as well.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good to capture this location and bring it to life. The isolated location and not being able to get out raises tension. Then having something hunt our characters builds even more. I thought that the attacks were framed well. This is a combination of CGI and practical effects from what I could tell. I don't love the former, but this had a budget so it doesn't look bad. What is intriguing is that an effect from Ready or Not was brought over here with exploding bodies. That ramps up the gore. Other than that, I love the classical music used, especially when Abigail is dancing. That makes it even more eerie with what happens from there. No issues here.
In conclusion, I thought this was a solid movie that I enjoyed my time with. This isn't doing anything new necessarily. There are good elements like using something that is tender like ballet dancing and having vicious attacks works for me. We have a solid cast here. This is well-made. I thought the setting, cinematography, framing and the music were good. If I have nitpicked, it is with the computer effects. Doesn't ruin this by any stretch though. I'd say to give this one a watch. I had fun watching this one.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
Strange World (2022)
Great Message and Interesting Ideas to Show
This was a movie that I saw streaming on Disney+ but didn't know anything about it. My wife had our niece and nephew over to stay with us. They picked this movie. What intrigued me was seeing that this features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Dennis Quaid, Lucy Liu, Karan Soni, Alan Tudyk and Abraham Benrubi.
We start this off with Jaeger Clade (voiced by Quaid) leading an explorer party. There is a theme song to fill the story. With them is his son, Searcher (voiced by Gyllenhaal). His father is an explorer where his son wants to be a farmer. They are crossing mountains and Searcher notices glowing plants. He thinks this could change things as a power source. Jaeger wants to continue, which he does.
This then shifts into the feature where Searcher is now married to Meridian (voiced by Union). Together they have a son, Ethan (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White). He is different from his father, wanting to explore like his grandfather. He also has different views on the environment.
They run into problems where the plants they're using aren't producing as much power. This brings a member of Jaeger's party to need Searcher's help, Callisto Mal (voiced by Liu). He is convinced to join the party to see what is going on. Ethan sneaks onto the ship which causes Meridian to look for him. They find a crater that leads to a new, uncharted area. This seems like the hollow Earth conspiracy theory. This is just the start of a journey to heal the land and discover the truth of their strange world.
Where I want to start are the things that set this apart for me. The first is that I read this was one of the first from Disney to feature an openly gay teen, Ethan. He has a crush on Diazo (voiced by Jonathan Melo), but he doesn't know how to tell him. It is obvious thought that this other boy has feelings back. What I like here is that it is normalized. Searcher, Meridian and even Jaeger don't make a big deal out of it which is great to see. That was something I wanted to bring up first.
This is also a veiled allegory for how we treat the environment. Jaeger is a hunter and an explorer. He is ready to kill anything he perceives is going to kill him. Searcher is a farmer, which is good. He also has similar beliefs as his father in that, if he thinks a lifeform is going to kill his crops, he will protect. Ethan is a big fan of a card game where the goal is to find ways to coexist with the plants and wildlife around you. I love this approach as it makes the most sense. You also aren't changing the environment but adapting. This outlook helps as this movie goes on as well.
Now I'm not going to go into spoilers, but this features Native American and Asian lore. It is wild that I looked it up while watching this movie and it made sense. What I'll say is that if you pay attention to the 'hollow Earth' environment of the movie, it mimics life under the water. There is a reason for it and goes to other works I've read as to the explanation. Jaime and I were picking up things that we noticed as well. I love what they're doing there and what the major reveals as to the world they live in. It did cause my niece and nephew to argue with me until I could show them what we were saying. They aren't ready for these big ideas.
I've said that our voice acting talent is great. Gyllenhaal and Quaid work as the opposite side of the same coin with how they deal with things. What is great there though is that Young-White takes on a character who is better than his father. I love this idea as it shows growth and making your children better. Union is good as the mother. I didn't recognize Liu's voice, but she is great along with Soni and Tudyk. To be honest, everyone fit what was needed.
I'll finish out that this lacks the charm of what the hand drawn animation of the past had. That's not to say this doesn't look great, especially if you're streaming in 4K. I love the things they do to bring this alien world to life while also making it feel similar to Earth. The different worlds they go to and what they do there is great. I love the message that this conveys through it as well. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. I do have to give credit to the cheesy theme song to tell us about the Clade family as well.
I'd recommend this one for sure. What is interesting is that I don't remember this one coming to theaters. This one I had fun with for sure.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
The Killing Mind (1991)
Decent Police Procedural Made for TV
This was a movie that I learned about thanks to a movie set that I won from a podcast. It was part of the 8 Midnight Horror Movies - Hatchets & Cleavers, even though almost none of the movies' feature either. The Killing Mind is a mystery thriller television movie. If anything, this is closer to a police procedural.
We start this with a young Isobel (Danielle Harris) seeing a woman, dressed as a ballet dancer, dead on a fence. She screams. We then shift to the present where Isobel Neiman (Stephanie Zimbalist) is returning to Los Angeles. She used to work for the FBI but has decided to take a position with the LAPD. She is met at the train station by Sylvia (Candy Ann Brown), who allows her to sleep on the couch until she can find a place.
There's a specific reason for the career change. Isobel wants to solve this case that traumatized her as a child. It has gone cold. She joins an investigative unit that is led by Captain Harris (Stan Ivar). On the team are Dennis Jepson (Daniel Roebuck), Fred Robinson (K. Todd Freeman) and Ron Donoho (Lee Tergesen). They don't think that Isobel should waste her time on this specific case, but she is determined.
Isobel gets herself in hot water when she meets Thomas Quinn (Tony Bill). He's a reporter. He reveals in his column what she is working on and this draws scolding from her captain. That doesn't stop her though. Updates in technology creates a lead in this ballet dancer murder, but it also could make her a target of the killer.
That is where I'll leave my recap and where I want to start is that this has interesting ideas. I know that criminal profiling started back in the 1970s. Being that this is 1991, it was already done in movies like Manhunter. I like having Isobel move from a job like the FBI to take her talents to the LAPD. She has this case that has haunted her and she's now ready to take it on. I like that by doing so, she gets in over her head. She also does things differently, which draws issues with her new co-workers. I did think this worked in its favor though.
I do have an issue. I guessed who the killer was almost at once. Now I'm not going to spoil it, but there were things that Isobel said that made it click for me. There is a couple red herrings that get brought up, but I just felt they were there to help pad out the runtime for the movie. Knowing that this was made for TV, I'm not shocked there. There's a limited budget. You can do less, especially since this came out in the early 90s.
What shocked me was this cast though. We have character actors I recognized here like Roebuck, Tergesen and Tim DeZarn. They were all young at the time, so that makes sense. There's also small roles here by Gordon Currie and Harris. Crazy to see her so young since this would have been not too long after the Halloween sequels she was in. I also thought that Zimbalist and Bill were solid for what was needed. The acting isn't great, but it works.
I'll end this out by saying that this is made well enough for the resources they had. It does feel like this was shot in LA. They do well with exteriors. I also liked where this unit that Isobel joins is set up. It is in the basement and quite huge. They feel like a group that is a dark secret, which we learn was set up to fail, but they've been able to solve cases due to the resources. This has limited effects. It also doesn't need them as it isn't that type of movie. A drawback though, this comes off as a boring. I think for me, since I guessed the reveal, this doesn't do enough to sway me and hook me back in unfortunately.
Not the worst in this set of movies, but not great by any stretch. Tweaks and this would be better. Still worth a watch if you like these films and want to dive a bit deeper.
My Rating: 5 out of 10.
Black Box (2020)
Concepts We've Seen Before, Good Performances to Carry It
This is a movie that I forgot about. Back in 2020, this is one that I heard multiple podcasts talk about. It then clicked that this was Blumhouse teaming up with Amazon where they did four movies. What made me select this was looking for horror films that have a Black cast or director. This was done in celebration of Black History Month. Other than that, I came into this one blind.
Synopsis: after losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he is.
We start this with seeing a mother and father bringing their daughter home from the hospital. There is Nolan (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Najah Bradley) with their daughter Ava. It then turns out that this is Nolan watching an old video. There has been tragedy since that time. Rachel passed away in a car accident. Nolan was brain dead and no one thought he was going to make it. That was until Dr. Lillian (Phylicia Rashad) saved him with experimental treatment.
There are side effects though. Nolan has problems remembering. Ava (Amanda Christine) is doing more than she should as a child her age. She is trying to help her father get back to the person that he was. We see that he gets angry and that scares her. He even punched a hole in the wall, which was out of the normal for him.
Nolan does have help though. His best friend is also a doctor, Gary (Tosin Morohunfola). He thinks that his friend is doing too much and rushing things. Nolan also keeps getting calls from Dr. Lillian who believes she can help him. This makes Nolan leery, but he keeps forgetting things. He is scolded by a teacher at Ava's school for forgetting to pick her up. He also cannot get the publisher to agree to using his work. This doctor claims she can help get him back to being who he was. There could be something more to what she is claiming though and help explain why Nolan doesn't feel like himself anymore. It involves hallucinations that he has as well as using this experimental treatment that allows him to explore memories. They might not be his though.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this does things well. It is fitting that this came out from Blumhouse as this shares a concept with another of their movies that is considered a classic. That's all I'll say there to not spoil this or that movie if you haven't seen both. While you are watching this though, it makes sense. Another thing that I enjoy here is the heart that it develops with Nolan and his struggle about how the accident changed him.
I believe that is where I'll start. Nolan was a photographer. He was quite good as well. We learn through him talking to Gary that he and Rachel were happy. They never seemed to fight and their lives were perfect with Ava. That is when this accident messed up everything. Now he cannot remember little things, like his secret handshake with Ava or even picking her up from school. My thoughts were that the accident messed with is short term memory. That is part of it, but there is something more. I thought that Athie does a great job here with his range of emotions. He has frustration that leads to anger. There is love that he has for his daughter and then as he starts to discover the truth about himself, he changes into a different person. This worked for me.
Now I want to talk about the people that surround him. Ava is doing everything that she can to help. What bothers me here is that she is being too grown up for a child. That's too much responsibility for someone her age. What I love though is that she wants them to stay together. Kudos to Christine here for her performance. I love that Gary is there to help as well, but Nolan is proud and refuses. There is also Dr. Lillian, but there could be ulterior motives there.
That leads me to the next point. This is a mad scientist sort of movie. She has created this technology that allows her to investigate the minds of patients. This is how she got Nolan to wake up. There's more to this though and she might even be able to save the consciousness of patients as well. This is how Nolan came out of his coma and needs to work through memories to cure his condition. It is doing this that he runs into the Backwards Man (Troy James). This is done by a contortionist and is quite creepy if I'm honest. I liked how that built tension.
Now I've pretty much run through all the stars of this movie. I'll reiterate here that Athie, Rashad, Christine and Morohunfola are good. They carry this movie as it is a character study of Nolan and his life. I'll also credit Charmaine Bingwa who is Miranda. She factors into Nolan's life through memories, but he isn't sure why. There is also Thomas who is played by Donald Elise Watkins. I like how he factors in here. Bradley is good along with Nyah Marie Johnson. There isn't a bad performance here as they all push Nolan to where he needs to go and help build the emotion.
I'll end this out with filmmaking. I thought this was well-made. The cinematography and framing are good. I love that Nolan is exploring memories to fix his problem so that brings a dreamlike feel. Then going along with this, he can't remember faces. That is what he needs to solve to help himself, but this could also be what hurts him. How the Backwards Man factors in was good there as well. There is CGI here, but it was fine. Since we're in the mind for this, it makes sense since it's like a dream. I'd also say the soundtrack was solid. My issue is that this isn't exploring new ideas. We've seen this done elsewhere using different concepts so it feels a bit generic. If it didn't bring emotion through the character development, this would be forgotten.
In conclusion, this movie is fine. I want to like it more than what I did. That is because Athie was so good as Nolan. I love how the characters around him push him to where he ends up. This movie tugged at my heartstring seeing certain decisions. We get mad scientist aspects, which I'm a fan of. The problem is that there are concepts and things done that we've seen elsewhere to this just doesn't feel original enough. I'd still recommend it though if you're a Blumhouse fan. This isn't a bad movie and worth at least a watch in my opinion.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (2017)
Great Companion Piece for Fans of this Classic
This was a documentary that I watched while working. I treat these like a podcast where I'll follow what they're saying and if I don't have anything pop up, I'll watch the accompanying video. Pet Sematary is a movie that my sister and I would watch regularly. It always seemed to be on the movie channels. It is one that I've also gotten the chance to see at the theater, thanks to the Gateway Film Center.
What I like about this documentary is that tracked down both actors and people that worked behind the scenes to make this movie happen. We are getting things that happened during pre-production. Something that I never knew was that this had struggles being made. It was thought that Stephen King properties wouldn't sell. Due to a writer's strike, Paramount said they need scripts that were ready to go. The producer who was pushing this to get made saw her chance and it still took convincing.
Something else I didn't know was that Mary Lambert was selected to direct this because she was the 'it' person from her music video work. I'm glad she did as she brings a unique perspective. We hear from her about things that she decided as well as other behind the camera crew members. This includes people who selected locations, special effects people and the like. I also didn't know that King helped push to get this filmed in Maine. They also used local people for extras and other positions which was cool to learn.
Now a big thing here as well as the actors that were interviewed. Brad Greenquist, Susan Blommaert, Denise Crosby, Miko Hughes and Dale Midkiff, just to name the major people in the film. There is also Blaze Berdahl, who I didn't realize had a twin who helped out with taking on the role of Ellie Creed, Beau Berdahl Oliver. We even get interviews with Heather Langenkamp, whose now-husband, worked on this film. They also talked to Marky Ramone.
I'll say to end this out that it was well made. I love hearing stories about how they did certain things to help bring this world to life. Lambert was strategic and it seemed like had a good team. This is constructed well. The flow of pre, during and post-production makes sense. If you're a fan of Pet Sematary, I'd highly recommend giving this a watch. It gave me a deeper appreciation for sure.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Arcadian (2024)
Concepts and Ideas that We've Seen Before, Solid Output
This was a movie that my buddy, who isn't a horror movie fan, asked me if I heard about. Charlie is a member at the Gateway Film Center so his excitement for this intrigued me to check it out. I caught the last showing before this movie left the theater as well.
Synopsis: a father and his twin teenage sons fight to survive in a remote farmhouse at the end of the world.
We start with what I'm assuming is the world ending. There is gunfire, but we don't see what they're shooting at. We follow Paul (Nicolas Cage) as he navigates the landscape, trying to avoid being seen. He goes into a cave of sorts where there are two babies. They're the twins from the synopsis. He comforts them the best he can.
This then shifts into the present. The two boys grow up to be Joseph (Jaeden Martell) and Thomas (Maxwell Jenkins). The former is clever and might be a genius. It is difficult though growing up in a post-apocalyptic world as he must teach himself. His brother craves more human interactions. He volunteers at a local farm due to having a crush on their daughter, Charlotte (Sadie Soverall). This causes him to be late as they need to be inside before it is dark.
Paul and his sons secure the house. Once done, they settle in to have dinner. They then need to go about entertaining themselves. We see that the brothers butt heads and Paul does what he can to calm them down. They get spooked when something tries to break through a door. Thomas is annoyed that Joseph doesn't help. It turns out though, he was recording the attacks. There were three. The first one was assessing durability. The second to get in and when asked about the last, it seemed to be frustration.
Things all change when Thomas takes too long to leave. In his haste, he falls and becomes trapped. There isn't time to get out before dark so he must bunker down. Joseph is also late due to the vehicle he put together having issues. Paul can't leave Thomas out there, so he goes out to find him. Joseph also has a plan to capture one. Tonight start a series of events where these creatures that come at night might be smarter than they realize.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that even though this isn't the first time that we've seen a story like this, I'm still a fan. This does well in setting up our world. It is a rural setting, so we know that means limited people to start. We have Paul doing what he can to keep himself, his sons and their dog alive. Nearby is the Rose farm, where there are the parents, played by Samantha Coughlan and Joe Dixon, their daughter and helpers surviving. This was reminiscent of A Quiet Place. That had the gimmick of needing silence though.
Let me then shift over to the creatures. This is something that we get interesting aspects about, but I want more. There is dialogue that felt like a poem that these creatures came after humanity due to pollution. I'm not sure if that's true, but these things look like trees. We only get glimpses at first and then as this goes on, we get more. I'll be honest, they look to be done with CGI. It wasn't great. I would have preferred a practical approach, but I can't fault them either. There's a point where it looks like they swallow a character. They also move their head fast where it vibrates before attacking. These monsters aren't explored, but I think that's because our characters don't know. We only get what they figure out so I appreciate that. I'd be good with a sequel to learn more. Something to share, these things bring cockroaches with them which made my skin crawl.
I'll finish with filmmaking. Even though I want practical effects, the cinematography and framing were good. They give quick glimpses until later in the movies. That helps to hide them. It also allowed my imagination to fill in what I thought I saw, which was good. There is solid blood and effects for wounds that happen. That worked for me. I thought the sound design was good to help ramp up tension. This world is also dreary so credit to them as well. Being filmed in Ireland was well done to capture the countryside. No other issues.
All that is left then is acting. Cage was good as this single father doing what he can to raise his two sons the best that he can. We see that he's afraid, but he also has confidence to keep the boys from getting freaked out. As a father, I commend that. Martell works as the smarter of the two. He comes up with plans and works on technology that is available. I like Jenkins as the one that craves human interaction. Soverall and him are cute together. I like Coughlan and Dixon as the farm owners who have more. With the state of the world, they must worry about themselves, making it difficult to share. I thought the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this movie for what it is doing. It isn't the most original. I can think of a couple movies that I've seen in the last few years that are similar. Having the creatures come at night is good. There is something about having the safety of daylight and as it is sets, fear grows. The acting was good across the board. I thought this was well-made with credit to the cinematography, framing and sound design. I didn't love the CGI used, but the practical effects were good. I have a bad feeling that this movie is going to get forgotten though. It doesn't do a lot to stand out. That's not to say it is bad by any stretch. If you like these types of movies, I'd recommend it.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Classic Take on this Fairy Tale
This was oddly one of the early Disney films that I had never seen. Part of it was that we didn't own this on VHS. I'm not sure why that was the case. I'll include here that I had a weird childhood where I was watching movies for adults earlier than most. It then got to the point where I knew that I would eventually watch my blind spots once I had children or a significant other wanted to. The case here was that my wife, Jaime, loved this movie and watched it growing up. We decided to put this on to see if our daughter, Mackenzie, would watch this.
Now this is a classic story. Even though I never saw the Disney cartoon version, I know the story decently well. I will admit, I get aspects of this, Snow White and Cinderella confused. It takes me time to sort them out. What we're getting here is King Stefan (voiced by Taylor Holmes) and Queen Leah (voiced by Verna Felton) have a daughter, Princess Aurora. They invited three fairies who bestow gifts on her. The first is Flora (also voiced by Felton), Merryweather (Barbara Luddy) and Fauna (voiced by Barbara Jo Allen). They are to make Aurora beautiful, have an excellent singing voice and before the last one can, a fairy that has turned dark shows up. This is Maleficient (voiced by Eleanor Audley). She is annoyed that she wasn't invited so she places a curse over Aurora, that before the sunrise rises after her sixth birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. This causes the last fairy to use her gift to make a clause, she will fall asleep and a true love's kiss will save her.
To protect her, the three fairies have her leave with them to live in the woods. Flora also wants them to give up their magic until after her 16th birthday. Aurora grows up to be a beautiful young woman. As this fateful birthday approaches, the fairies get lax. Maleficient is turned on to where she is and uses her own magic to make the prophecy come true. Before returning to the kingdom, Prince Phillip (voiced by Bill Shirley), fell in love with Aurora. He doesn't realize that she isn't a peasant girl and the one he's betrothed to.
Now I'm guessing anyone reading this knows the story and probably has seen this at least once in their life. What I want to commend here was how good the art looks for the backgrounds. Seeing this streaming on my 4K, it looked amazing. My daughter didn't appreciate it as much as I did, but Jaime did. There is charm to Disney from this era.
Then going from there, this film is dark. Maleficient is the most powerful of the fairies and that has turned her evil. She is out to kill the princess due to the slight of not being invited to her birthday. I love her look and there's a dragon in this that looks good as well. That fits what we think when it comes to fairy tales so I wanted to give credit there. They do well in bringing this story to life.
The only other thing to bring up is how good the voice acting is here. Costa is what I expect when hearing the adult Aurora speak. Audley conveys such an evil feel to Maleficient that fits. Felton is someone I didn't realize was in a few of these early Disney films. She works taking dual roles. Luddy and Allen do well in playing off her as the other two fairies. Holmes and Bill Thompson are good as the two kings who are marrying their children together, making their alliance stronger. Other than that, Shirley also works as our prince. He does have a limited role in my opinion despite being the 'hero' to save the princess. Everyone fit what was needed.
Despite how long it took me to finally see this movie, I'd recommend it. It is a classic for sure and having now seen it, I can see why. This is a good one for children. It is also an interesting version of how they bring the story we all know to life.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Invader (2024)
Intense, Tight, Home Invasion Film
This was a movie that I saw was being shown at the Gateway Film Center. Now I went to another film the night before that was hosted by a local podcast, Fright Club. They revealed that producer and co-star of this, Joe Swanberg, was going to be in attendance, so I made that showing. It wasn't until settling in to watch this that I noticed it was the new film from Mickey Keating.
Synopsis: a young woman arrives in the Chicago suburbs and begins to suspect that something terrible has happened to her missing cousin, but soon realizes that her greatest fears don't even begin to scratch the surface.
We have a simple story here and it is effective. It starts with a house being destroyed by Joe Swanberg. His character doesn't have a name from what I can see. I'll refer to him as the Invader. It is from the destruction that we see him in an upstairs room asleep. He hears sirens so he leaves.
The movie then shifts us to a young woman getting woke up on a bus. She fell asleep and it arrived at the terminal station. She is played by Vero Maynez. They hit traffic so instead of arriving at midnight, it is four in the morning. She tries to get ahold of her cousin, who she is staying with, but there's no answer. She calls who I'm guessing is her father and he says that he'll try to get in touch with them. He does give her the address.
Something to include here is that Maynez's first language is Spanish. She is in a major city that she's never been to. It is the early morning hours. Her phone doesn't have a full battery. She decides to call a cab and the driver freaks her out. She flees from him, which makes for a terrifying sequence. Our young woman then decides to walk. When she arrives at the address, it doesn't seem like anyone is home. Maynez goes about trying to figure out what happened to her cousin and it becomes a fight for survival she wasn't expecting.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that listening to Swanberg talk about behind-the-scenes aspects helped me to enjoy this more. What makes this work for me, we have a tight 70-minute movie. There isn't any fat on this. We get subtle things that are introduced that help us understand the Invader, our lead and then another character played by Colin Huerta who wants to help. This has a breakneck speed to it as well that made me anxious in the best way possible.
What was interesting to include here was listening to Swanberg answer questions about the making of this. It sounds like he challenged writer/director Keating about different things and figured out why decisions are made in the world of the movie. An example is that the Invader later wears a leather gimp suit. He found this in the opening house he was destroying. That makes sense then why he's wearing it. What makes this terrifying is that we never learn why the invader does what he does, outside of a very The Strangers explanation that you were home. That unnerves me in a good way.
There's another aspect here with Maynez and then even a bit of Huerta. For her, she isn't from Chicago. She arrives and there is no one there to pick her up. She also cannot get in touch with them. Swanberg revealed that he helped push for this because much like me, he has traveled to a different country, alone and where you don't know the language. If I went to Chicago, New York or Los Angeles, I could get around since I speak English. Maynez's character is limited to her understanding and vocabulary. This feels like when I went to Barcelona. Like the character here, I needed to rely on my phone to help get around.
The last bit for the story that I want to include is that I love the tone that is set with the opening scene. Seeing the invader just destroy this house with no reasoning is terrifying. It makes you see how unhinged he is. We don't know what the limits that he's capable of. I'll pull in filmmaking here as well. The cinematography is tight on the characters throughout. That makes it feel like you are there with them. They will also use long shots where we are looking through a window at what characters are doing. It is swaying so it feels like we are standing there just watching and not doing anything. What they do with how this is shot and framed, that adds tension. Another aspect is sound design. The Invader walks with heavy footsteps, which makes him seem bigger than he already is. The soundtrack is also effective since there is a sequence with loud music where the base almost hurt my chest. That worked well for tension. Other than that, we have limited effects, but it doesn't necessarily need them either. What we got looked real.
There isn't much more to go into here, so in conclusion, I liked what this movie does. We have a simple story that is terrifying. We have a tight runtime and with how this was made, is just an assault in the best way possible. It made me uncomfortable. Part of that is the performances. Swanberg in what we see is terrifying and I want to help Maynez from the opening scene of her bus arriving. This works so well for what it is trying to do. I think people might have issues with the almost found footage filming style. It can be hard to see things, but that is by design. I'd recommend it if what I said sounds good.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Sting (2024)
Fun Premise, Great Set Up and the Right Amount of Camp
This was a movie that I knew was coming out, but not when. I saw a review was out from a local critic, who I respect their opinion on horror films. It was one on the list to keep an eye out for. Since I don't watch trailers, I didn't know if this was following a spider or a snake. Regardless, I got to go to the Gateway Film Center to check it out.
Synopsis: after raising an unnervingly talented spider in secret, 12-year-old Charlotte (Alyla Browne) must face the facts about her pet and fight for her family's survival when the once-charming creature rapidly transforms into a giant, flesh-eating monster.
Now this starts in a way that I'm not always a fan. It jumps in the middle of things going on. Helga (Noni Hazlehurst) hears something in her vents and walls. We see that she has dementia or Alzheimer's. There is a note on the wall by the phone that says her name and address. She is called Frank (Jermaine Fowler) who is an exterminator. The page in the phonebook is earmarked so this isn't the first time. I should say here that he knows this building and that there is also a horrible winter storm.
We then shift days into the past to show us what led there. Charlotte uses the vent system of this rundown apartment building to get around. Her grandmother is Helga and she lives with her sister, Gunter (Robyn Nevin). This one owns the building and she's cheap, so everything is in disrepair. There is also an infestation of cockroaches. We saw prior to this girl sneaking into the room, a tiny meteor breaking through a window and landing in the dollhouse. It hatches a spider. Charlotte finds it and takes it with her, making it a pet that she names Sting. I'll come back to this.
Also living in this building is Charlotte's mother, Heather (Penelope Mitchell). She is seeing Ethan (Ryan Corr) and they have a son together. There is tension here as Ethan isn't Charlotte's dad. He loves her though and she feels similar back. They're working on a comic book together. There is friction here as one of the characters is based on her real father who she adores. He isn't showing up for her though. Also in the building is Maria (Silvia Colloca), who we get the idea that her family died and she's all alone with her dog. There's also Erik (Danny Kim), an odd biology student doing experiments with fish, as well as the two sisters. Ethan serves as the building's super.
Charlotte puts Sting in a jar and feeds it cockroaches. We see that it is more intelligent than any spider should be. It mimics a sound that Charlotte makes, ensuring that it knows when feeding time is. We see when she sleeps, that it can open its jar. It goes to Gunter's room and kills her parrot. It doesn't stop there. It continues to get bigger and sets itself on larger prey, the humans living in this building.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Now as I said, coming in I knew that this was going to be an animal attack movie. Confirming that it was a spider ahead of seeing this, I was wondering how they were going to use this idea. Being that it comes from space, which is all I needed to know for this to work. I don't know if this is given in the trailer, but we learn this within the first 15 minutes of the movie. Another thing to set up here, the title has a double meeting. This spider uses a sting to inject venom, but its name also comes from the sword in The Hobbit to kill a spider. It doesn't necessarily fit. It still works though.
Let me then shift over to talking about this family dynamic. This is where the heart of the movie comes from. Charlotte is in a tough spot. Children that are in this position their parents break up also do. She loves Ethan, but he's still not her biological father. He doesn't think he's doing a good job and still learning. Heather points out true indicators that she does care. He still doesn't know. There are little comments made between Ethan and Heather about him caring more about the infant, since that is his biological child. This creates tension as stress mounts on Ethan. That causes him to lash out. It doesn't help that Gunter is rude to him and everyone else. There's also the added stress of Helga as well.
I think then I should get back over to what everyone is watching this for, this spider killing people. First though, I love that we're in this rundown apartment building. That gives us cannon fodder in other apartments. There is also this large vent system so Sting can move between floors and rooms with ease. I even like that it sets up that Charlotte does this before the spider even comes into the picture. Then we have this horrible winter storm so we are trapping our characters inside. They can't leave. It is interesting that the way this spider acts is in the normal range by creating webs, liquifying its victims and eating them while they're alive. That is terrifying. We are then giving it supernatural abilities being from space where it grows faster than it should and can mimic sounds. That also made this scary. My only issue here is that this comes off campy. Part of that is just the concept. This doesn't ruin it by any stretch, but just wanted to warn you.
Where I think I'll go next is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good here to set up this apartment building. There's almost a labyrinth vibe to it with the duct system and the basement. Also, that creates places where Sting can hide victims who are trapped in webs. What is good there is that it continues to hunt, even when it has captured people. It doesn't want them to get away, which is good. Let's shift to the effects. CGI is used to bring this spider to life. When it is tiny, that makes sense. What I'll say is that this looks fine. They don't linger on it, which works in its favor. That makes it harder to critique. I love using the frame where we see it in the background, blurry before our characters do. I'm a fan there. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack was fine. This did good things with sound design, especially Sting mimicking things, which is messed up in the best way possible as we get deeper into this.
All that is left is acting. I like Browne as our lead. We see that things are confusing and tough when you're a young teen like she is. She starts feeding Sting, which I can't blame her. This makes her feel bad though as it gets larger. Corr is good as her stepfather. I feel bad for him and the stress that he goes through trying to make things work. Mitchell is good as our mother and significant other. She loves Ethan, but her children are her focus. Nevin works as this 'slumlord'. Hazlehurst creates issues with her mental state. Kim and Colloca are good as tenants. I also like Fowler as this exterminator. The acting here isn't great, but it creates quirky characters that feel real.
In conclusion, I thought this was a fun film. It feels like it is borrowing from The Giant Spider Invasion, just on a smaller and contained scale. We get a solid group of characters. They are trapped in a good setting, ramping up tension since they can't leave due to the winter storm. Then from there, I love the idea of this spider growing large and attacking them. This is well made. They needed to go CG, but it looks good enough. There is emotion underneath that helped me. This also stressed me out at a pivotal scene, so credit there. This could be too campy for people, but I enjoyed my time here. I'd recommend it if what I said sounds good.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
The '78 Slasher: A Halloween Fan Film (2024)
Solid Fan Film that Works as a Companion to the Classic
This was a short that I got the chance to see thanks to Timothy J. Cox. He's an actor that I've seen in a couple things so I trusted that I would at least enjoy this. Seeing that this was a fan film around Halloween intrigued me. It's not my favorite of the slasher franchises, but there are great films within it. I was wondering what we'd get here as this is going back to the original. Other than that, I went blind.
Synopsis: after being shot 6 times at gunpoint by his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Joe Sutton), Michael Myers (Mark Murtha) gets up and continues his night of terror. He stumbles across a babysitter doing her job which eventually leads to a Halloween house party. Are these party goers ready for the Boogeyman?
We start this right before the murders happen in 1978. It gives us Michael attacking the guard at the mental hospital and then escaping. We see that he uses a button to do so, releasing other prisoners like in the original movie.
It is from there that we jump into Haddonfield. I didn't realize that this was taking place right after the events of the first movie. It clicked reading the synopsis and the opening credits are paying homage to the theme, the pumpkin and in the background are clips from the movie. That makes sense now as to why they're shown.
Then like the synopsis says, Nancy (Alexis Nichole Neuenschwander) is the babysitter. She is supposed to be going to a party at Mike's (Timmion Lichtenberg). Ben Tramer (Louis B. Hauff) stops by to see if she is. This causes a funny scene where the girl she is babysitting pops out when she hears that there is drinking. Ben is dressed up as a variation of Michael, which makes sense as well. He heads off to the party. Not far behind is Michael, looking for others to kill.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I love this idea. There are parts of this short that feel like a companion piece to the original. We are seeing from the point of view of Michael when he is in the mental hospital. We see what he does to escape and why there are other patients when Dr. Loomis and the nurse show up. I'm a sucker for that. I'm even there for this taking place immediately after the events of the first one when Michael is shot and leaves. It is a cool premise that he kills others.
It is from there that it becomes its own movie. I do like that Ben Tramer is a character. He interacts with a young lady at the party, Lisa (Zolie Horvath), who likes him. She is trying to ask him to the upcoming dance. It is great that a movie reference pops up that he's going with Laurie Strode. This upsets her and causes her to venture off by herself. This is an easy reference to do, but having Ben as a character, I like it. A negative is that I don't love that this ignores Halloween II. What I'm forgiving about though is that this whole franchise is a mess so I won't hold it against it either. I'm just a fan of that sequel is all.
Where I think I'll go next is to discuss acting. Our cast works for a movie like this. Being that it is a slasher, they just need to be distinct for me. Hauff plays the character in a different way than I was expecting. It is funny to be honest and I enjoyed it. Neuenschwander works almost like our new Laurie. We leave her for long stretches is the only issue. Lichtenberg, Horvath, Jaylen Falls, Paige Hoover, Abigail Murray and the other party goers were fine. What is interesting is that there aren't a lot. How they frame it and the cinematography helps hide it so credit to them. Sutton is fine, taking on Dr. Loomis. Murtha works as the shape here. I love it when he's just in the background and you see him. That's creepy. He also has the moves down to mimic the character.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I've already said that I thought the cinematography and framing were good, especially with having Michael in shots where you don't expect. This is also well done to help hide the seams of attack scenes. There is a filter to make this look like it is shot on film. I'm not always the biggest fan of that, but I acknowledge that is a preference and a nitpick. Another gripe is that this is supposed to be back in 78. I did see that a house used had a Ring doorbell. That doesn't ruin this by any stretch though either. The effects went practically where they could. There is CGI that isn't great, but there isn't a lot of it so that helps. Other than that, I did love that they're using the original soundtrack in places. I'm a fan there.
In conclusion, this is a solid fan short film for the Halloween franchise. This marks the first one that I've seen for this series. There are elements I love, like showing us Michael escaping and taking place right after the original. I thought that Murtha was a good stand in as the shape. The rest of the cast works for their characters. I thought that this was made well enough. Cinematography and framing are the bright spots. I don't love the CGI and if they could have worked this into being a bridge to part 2, then I'm all in. I can't fault the short for what I want though and judge it for what we get. If you are a fan of the series, I thought this was a solid take on it.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
Dead Man (1995)
An Interesting Coming-of-Age, Western Film
This was an interesting film to cover. I remember seeing the cover in the video store growing up. I'll be honest though; I had no interest in seeing this. Even after learning that it was Johnny Depp, which wasn't enough for me. Jaime had never heard of this film and we decided on it due to it being next in line for our podcast, Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny's Feature Filmography.
As we were settling in to watch this, I learned that this was a Jim Jarmusch film. I've seen two of his that border into horror with The Dead Don't Die and Only Lovers Left Alive. I warned Jaime that this was going to be surreal and an arthouse movie. That is what we're getting here. William Blake (Depp) travels from Cleveland to the wild west to take a job as an accountant. The problem is that by the time he arrives, that position has been given to someone else. He tries to reason with the owner, John Dickinson (Robert Mitchum), but to no avail.
He doesn't have much money left so he buys a bottle of alcohol from the local saloon. Leaving that bar, he meets Thel Russell (Mili Avital), who invites him to her room. They're interrupted by Charlie Dickinson (Gabriel Byrne). This ends in tragedy as Charlie kills Thel for a comment that she made about not loving him. William fires her gun back, killing the man. Charlie is the son of John, who hires bounty hunters to find William. He's wanted dead or alive.
What we're getting here is a coming-of-age story for William as he's hunted by Cole Wilson (Lance Henriksen), Conway Twill (Michael Wincott) and Johnny 'The Kid' Pickett (Eugene Byrd), amongst others. William gets help from an odd Native American named Nobody (Gary Farmer). His time out here hardens him and the more he kills, the more ruthless he becomes.
Now everything that I've given here is like the first thirty to forty minutes of this movie. This runs for almost two hours and I don't know if we need all that. I get that this is artistic and surreal. It is filmed in black and white. The stories and things we're seeing are given almost like vignettes. Jaime wasn't a fan, but I could work with it. My issue here is things drag on too long and it doesn't necessarily hold my attention. I enjoy the story. I love seeing the development of Depp's character. The problem though is that there's a bit too much fat on the bone here.
What is also great is that we're getting another movie with Depp and a great supporting cast. I like Farmer and his character. It did feel odd him playing a Native American, but how they explain it makes sense so no issues here. There's an appearance early here of Crispin Glover that is odd. He sets the stage for William before he arrives in the town that he's headed to. I like Henriksen, Wincott and Byrd as this group of bounty hunters. John Hurt plays John Scholfield who is the secretary to Mitchum. We also have Iggy Pop, Jared Harris and Byrne. Everyone plays such odd and quirky characters, but it just seems to work. That helps my enjoyment.
I'll then finish out with the filmmaking. I've already mentioned my issue with the length. That's the biggest gripe. I thought that cinematography does well in capturing the wilderness. What is intriguing there is that it feels like every time our characters turn a corner, they'll run into another group. That made me feel like something would come after the Coen Brothers with O Brother, Where Art Thou? Since I'm a fan of that movie, I like that journey and almost mythological feel. There are limited effects, but what we got there looked good. The soundtrack and design also fit what was needed without necessarily standing out.
What I'll say is that this isn't one that I can recommend to everyone. If you like movies like this or you're a Jarmusch fan, then give this a god. There are flaws, but on the whole, I enjoyed what we got here.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
The Beast Must Die (1974)
A Different Concept of Combining Murder Mystery with Creature Feature
This was a film that I found due to it being in the Horror Movie Encyclopedia. I watched it years ago and thought it was solid. Something that struck with me was that this is a murder mystery where the werewolf is doing the killing. I remember that the main character was trying to figure out who it was before it was too late. This feels like an 'Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None' take. I also remember that it featured one of my favorite actors in Peter Cushing. There is also Charles Gray, Anton Diffring, Marelene Clark and a young Michael Gambon.
Synopsis: eight people are invited to an island estate for the weekend. One of them is a werewolf. Can you guess which one?
This begins with letting us know that someone in this film is a werewolf. This is a detective film where the viewer is taking on that role. Evidence is presented and then there will be something called a 'werewolf break' to allow you to decide who the killer is.
It then shifts to a man running through a field and into the woods. His name is Tom Newcliffe (Calvin Lockheart). He is followed by a helicopter that is piloted by Andrew Lodge. There is a man watching a map and tracking Tom. He is Pavel (Diffring). We see that there are cameras mounted in the trees and microphones set up on the ground as well. Tom is caught by a couple of hunters. He got out of the forest, made it to the lawn of a manor and held at gunpoint. They fire at him and we learn they're loaded with blanks. It is here that the group that was watching comes over and that this is staged.
We then learn that Tom invited all these people here. We have Dr. Christopher Lundgren (Cushing) who is an anthropologist that is an expert on werewolves. Lockheart's wife is there, Caroline (Clark). There is Jan (Gambon) who is a concert pianist and his love interest is Davina (Ciaran Madden). We also have Bennington (Gray) and the eccentric Paul Foote (Tom Chadbon).
It turns out that Tom has reason to believe that everyone here could be a werewolf. There is evidence of these individuals being in different places where attacks happened. He doesn't know who for sure, but he will have everyone stay here during the three nights of the full moon. Also, Dr. Lundgren has never seen a werewolf in person.
The people we saw earlier are helping Tom track the potential beast. There is a perimeter for cameras and microphones. A pressure plate also surrounds a set area to help as well. Pavel is there to look at the maps as well as the screens and to have the helicopter with its pilot on standby. The guests don't believe, but when violent attacks start, they start to change their mind. Like the synopsis said, who is the werewolf?
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start with an Amicus production. They tried to do something a bit different here. The gialli film would already be popular in Italy. Plus, murder mysteries were popular since the beginning of cinema. The United Kingdom would know how to do them well by this point. The detective film would also have been something that had been done for decades. Werewolf films would have been out as well, just not as often. I like the combination here since it is something a bit different.
Let's delve deeper into what we're getting here. First, let's start with Tom. It is interesting that he's black. He is rich and that fortune was self-made. He has important friends as we see. There's an intriguing dynamic here for the fact that from the beginning, Tom seems insane. He's convinced that one of his friends are a werewolf. There are facts that he uses. It seems like vicious attacks follow these people. Whether it is a coincide or they are the ones conducting the attacks, there isn't evidence. Tom hopes to prove that he's right. He is also a hunter so he wants to bag a creature that no one else in the world has. I like that the more we learn and as events unfold, he might not be as crazy as he comes off. Lockhart works so well in this role. He drives this film for sure.
Then going from there, I like how the rest of the group comes off as red herrings. I'll go ahead and discuss the acting since that helps bring the characters to life. Bennington thinks the tests are childish. He partakes only to alleviate the tension. Madden comes off as scared of Tom, for good reason. This makes her seem guilty to me. Plus, she can't always be accounted for at Jan's performances. Gambon works in his role. Wild to see him as young as he is here. One of the better performances is Chadbon. He loves to push Tom's buttons. It isn't smart, but enjoyable for what we're getting. Cushing is great as well. He's an expert on these monsters so that could allow him to hide in plain sight. Clark is also good in a more subdued role. I saw this before Ganja and Hess, so I like seeing her range.
I think I'll then go into the rest of the cast. Diffring works as this guy who is running the security system. There's confidence there that gets him into trouble later. I also thought that Lodge works as the pilot who takes Tom around. The cast here is solid across the board, including those that I've already brought up.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that this was well made. I love the isolated location. It makes it hard to get away. It doesn't help as we see that Tom will hunt those down that try. That adds to the tension here. The cinematography and framing were good to capture this place so credit there. If I have a gripe, it is with the effects. I don't love that they're using a big black dog to be the werewolf. That confused me a bit. I did like going with the feral version though. We do get a de-transformation scene though, so that worked. Other than that, I thought that the soundtrack fit what was needed. The design of the wolf calls was good.
In conclusion, I'm glad that I gave this a rewatch. What I'll say is that I didn't remember who the werewolf was so that felt like a first-time watch. I didn't guess who the monster was either time. We have a solid cast here, being led by Lockhart. Cushing, Clark, Gray, Diffring, Chadbon and Gambon working in support. I love the setting and how that is captured with cinematography. My only gripe is with the werewolf not looking more menacing. This is an interesting concept film though. I'd recommend it on that alone. Being that this is from Amicus, which is another perk for me so if you're a fan, check this out.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
More Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)
Great Insight to the Behind-the-Scenes of this Cult Classic
This was a documentary that I learned about a few years ago but hadn't gotten around to seeing. I believe that I have this on the Blu-ray disc that I own. I ended up streaming this on Screambox while at work. To give more background as to what drew me to this, I love The Return of the Living Dead, the basis.
Where I want to start then is that this is a blast. It is amazing to see all the cast members and crew behind the camera that they could. There are the likes of Clu Gulager, James Karen, Thom Mathews, Don Calfa, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., Linnea Quigley, Beverly Randolph, John Philbin and Jewel Shepard for the actors. We then have Jules Brenner, James Dalesandro, Graham Henderson and others who managed the production. What I'll say here, I'm glad that they interviewed the older members for sure. This record is something that is great to have for a cult classic like this.
Now I've said that it was interesting to hear the different stories of the production and hearing their sides of it. It gives an intriguing perspective to these young actors and their interactions with Dan O'Bannon who co-wrote/directed this film. Hearing how to be butted heads with someone who was proven like Gulager was interesting. Despite the rigorous shooting schedule and the budget, they worked with, they created magic. That unique perspective helps me to appreciate the movie even more.
I'll say that this documentary is well-made. I like that it progresses pre-production, what went into getting this set up and the casting. They then progress through the movie, going into stories and what made the shoot difficult. It then goes into, briefly, how well this did and its legacy. I do like that they set up effects with almost a comic book feel as it fades out of their topic to the next. It feels a bit cheesy, but it fits the vibe of the film for sure. Incorporating in the soundtrack at times made me smile as well.
I'd highly recommend this if you're a fan of this movie. There is fun perspective and insights that you can get. I'd also say, if you like documentaries about how movies are made, this one doesn't go too deep into it. They do discuss challenges and work arounds that they did. This is more about hearing the stories of those that made this movie possible.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
One of the Better from this Era of Disney
This was a movie that came out while I was in high school. By that time, I was no longer watching cartoons, especially Disney. Now a funny story is that I did catch part of this on a movie channel growing up. I figured out that I could make a decent impression of Stitch. Jaime suggested we watch this with Mackenzie to see if it would hold her interest. It did at times, but I was glad to tick this one off the list.
We start this on an alien planet. Dr. Jumba (voiced by David Ogden Stiers) is on trial for creating a new species. This is the one that will be known as Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders). This experiment is sentenced to exile on a deserted asteroid but flees and steals a spaceship. Agent Pleakley (voiced by Kevin McDonald) is sent with the doctor to capture it.
Stitch crashes on Earth. To be more specific, Hawaii. It is here that we meet our other title character of Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase). She is struggling with fitting in and part of that is her parents have passed away. Her sister, Nani (voiced by Tia Carrere), is doing everything that she can to keep custody. It doesn't help that Cobra Bubbles (voiced by Ving Rhames) is keeping a close eye on her. Nani begs Lilo to stay on her best behavior. It doesn't help when they go to the local pound and Lilo adopts Stitch, thinking he's a dog. This draws the attention of the aliens that are out to bring the experiment back.
That should be a good recap and what I'll say is that this movie has good heart. We are getting that classic Disney set up. This is a broken family. Nani is struggling with doing everything that she can to keep her sister. It doesn't help that due to Lilo and Stitch, she loses her job. This makes her case even worse with Children Protective Services. That's complicated even more when the aliens show up and cause mayhem. We see that their house is destroyed and Lilo accidentally gets kidnapped. This is for children, so it has a happy ending. It is also heartwarming and made me tear up as well. I could connect with Lilo and Stitch when it comes to the idea of having a 'pet'. There are also fun reveals that I appreciated.
What also helps here is the great voice talent. It always shocks me to learn that Chase, who did the voice for Lilo also was Samara in the American remake of The Ring. She's also the little sister in Donnie Darko. She brings the character to life. It is interesting as well that Sanders is the co-director and co-writer taking on Stitch. That makes me feel like why this works so well since he's a driving force. I like Rhames as this quirky Cobra Bubbles character who has an interesting backstory. Carrere is good as the older sister who is stressed by everything. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
Let's then finish with filmmaking. I prefer the older style of animation. This is still hand drawn from my understanding so that's a perk in its favor. They seem to just use computers to help speed up the process. This looked great on my 4K television so credit to Disney+. I like what they do here to bring the alien worlds to life and then give us a version of Earth that is a bit different. This feels like it could fall in the world of Men in Black to be honest. This was well-made for sure, as this was a fast watch.
I'd recommend giving this a watch if you haven't seen this or it's been a while. One of the stronger films from this era of Disney.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Savage Weekend (1979)
Interesting Proto-Slasher
This is a movie that I'm not sure when I first heard about it. My guess would be through podcasts. It has been a while and not one that gets discussed much. This was one that came up on that list of recommendations so I tossed this out for an episode of Side Quest Podcast to discuss with my cohost Jake.
Synopsis: multiple couples head upstate to the country to watch a boat being built. Unfortunately, they are stalked by a murderer behind a ghoulish mask.
We start this in the country. There is a woman running through the woods as someone chases her. It turns out to be a man. We then see a running chainsaw that is picked up and he walks it toward the woman. This scene will be revisited later so I'm not sure if this was a dream or foreshadowing.
It is then in the city. We are in the apartment of Marie Sales Pettis (Marilyn Hamlin). She lives there with her son Jeremy (Adam Hirsch). Hanging out with her is her sister Shirley (Caitlyn O'Heaney) and her boyfriend Robert Fathwood (Jim Doerr). The boy's father is Marie's ex-husband. He shows up to pick up the boy for the weekend. His name is Greg (Jeff Pomerantz). There is bad blood here and he doesn't much care for Robert, for good reason.
Marie, Shirley and Robert are going upstate for the weekend like the synopsis said. Robert is having a boat built. It sounds like he bought it as part of an estate as the earlier owner was building it himself but ran out of money. Otis (William Sanderson) is overseeing the construction of the boat, but from dialogue, I get the idea that he's behind on the work. Robert has hired his friend Jay Alsop (Devin Goldenberg) to take over. He is coming up this weekend as well. Also joining them is a friend, Nicky (Christopher Allport). I get the idea that he's gay.
They make their way north and stop off at a local store for gas. It is inside that Shirley finds a creepy mask. Nicky heads over to the local bar where he makes inappropriate comments to the bartender and then gets in a tussle with two lumbermen. This gets him kicked out. He messes them up before that happens though.
From here, they arrive at the place where they're staying. They're given the lay of the land by Otis as well as a local lumberman, Mac Macauley (David Gale). The sexual tension ramps up. Jay is married or he could be divorced, but he catches the attention of Shirley. She soon realizes that he's a jerk. Mac is attracted to both sisters but comes on to Marie. Otis all the while is not happy with Robert for bringing Jay to take over the work on the boat. This is the least of their worries. Someone wearing the mask from the store starts to attack this group and picks them off one by one. Motives are generated as tensions raise as to who the killer could be.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is an odd slasher. There are good things here like the setting. I also like that it is a group of adults and not teens. That's not to say that they don't act like children at times, but I digress there. I like the mask the killer is wearing and the deaths are solid. We don't necessarily get to see them all, but I come to expect that with slashers. I do have issues here that I'll get into later.
Now that I've set that up, I want to delve deeper into this. The set up as I've said is good. We see that Marie needs a weekend away. She and her ex are tense. It seems that he was the press secretary for a disgraced politician. That stress contributed to their divorce. They have a son so I'm sure custody is another thing that has been argued about. She needs to get away. I'll say that Hamlin was solid in her portrayal here.
Let's then get into the group around her and why they could be the killer. Nicky is interesting in that I feel this is showing he's gay, but there's also an interaction with Shirley later that had me questioning that. It could be that he's bisexual or even just metro where he likes to push buttons. There is quite a bit of him watching people from afar that made me wonder if he was the killer due to being 'left out'. There is also Robert, just because he's the new boyfriend. Jay is a jerk and a bit rough with Shirley at times, which made me think that there's more to that. The best performance of these men to me was Allport. I've seen him in more things lately and I think he's a solid, character actor from the era. Doerr and Goldenberg are solid as well.
Now there are two other potential killers that I want to include. First is Mac. He's a lumberman. Seeing the chainsaw that he's working with and then going back to the beginning sequence; I could see it him. He says weird things and comes on to Marie at one point forcefully. I know Gale from Re-Animator as the jerk professor so it was intriguing to see him in this role. There is also Otis who was the logical person that the movie is pushing as the killer. He has similar spying scenes like Nicky, but he's also upset at Robert for bringing Jay to take over the boat construction. I thought Sanderson and Gale were solid in their roles as well.
I'll then shift to filmmaking. What is interesting here looking at the date of release, this is a slasher film that came out after Black Christmas and Halloween, but before Friday the 13th. It makes sense to me now why the pacing is as slow as it is. It is closer to being a proto-slasher or gialli to be honest. It is a 'who-done-it'. Personally, I found the pacing to be uneven. I like the sequence to start this and then it hits a wall pacing wise. It isn't until the kills start back up that I got interested again. We focus too much on getting to know these characters who I don't care for. I think they're intriguing enough so I'll give credit there since that is one aspect, I grade slashers. The other filmmaking parts are that the cinematography is fine. They don't show many of the kills, but I'm guessing that could be budgetary. I think the array of weapons was good. I also thought the soundtrack was solid with that synth-wave feel it has.
There isn't anything more to go into so in conclusion, this is fine. We get a good set up with isolating our group of characters in the country. They need their car to get away and that gets taken away later. I don't necessarily like the characters but they're distinct enough. I want more from the kills, but I like the array of weapons used. The look of the killer was good as well. There is a reveal that I guessed a couple minutes ahead of it and I thought it worked to be honest. This feels more like the early slashers or a gialli than ones that would come after Friday the 13th. Not a great movie. There are good things and others not so much, like the pacing. I'd still recommend it for when it came out regarding the slasher boom. Not for those that dislike that subgenre though.
My Rating: 6 out of 10.
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
An Absurd and Wonderful Disney Classic
This was a movie that I had never seen all the way through. It is one of Jaime's favorites. We decided to put this on for Mackenzie, to see if she would enjoy it on a Sunday. My sister and I did have this on VHS, but I'm seeing now that it was missing parts for whatever reason. Our father recorded it off television.
An easy breakdown here is that we have Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) struggle to listen to her lessons from her sister, voiced by Heather Angel. She is playing with her kitten and notices a white rabbit fleeing into a hole. What is peculiar is that he is dressed in fancy clothes and says that he's late. She follows him inside. This leads her a down a rabbit hole, pun intended, to another world. Her journey leads her to meet the Mad Hatter (voiced by Ed Wynn), a hookah smoking caterpillar (voiced by Richard Haydn), the Chesire Cat (voiced by Sterling Holloway) and the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), to name characters that stood out to me.
It was now sitting down to watch this all the way through that I realized, the copy I watched wasn't missing a lot. It was fun seeing this with Jaime, who knows this much better, and Mackenzie. Now my daughter didn't pay attention much, but there were certain songs that caught her attention. Seeing her dance at those times made me smile.
Something that struck me was how absurd this is. That is the point. I'm not shocked to learn that the writer of the source material, Lewis Carroll, wrote this from a fever dream. If memory serves, it was under the influence of drugs. We have talking animals, crazy people and the logic in wonderland doesn't fully make sense. It translates well to a cartoon and the hand drawn animation is great. It also presents itself as vignettes, which I'd bet will hold my daughter's attention when she' a bit older, better than other movies.
The voice acting here is great. Beaumont fits so well for Alice. I love that Wynn's Mad Hatter was drawn with him in mind. He fits so well and has iconic lines. Haydn, Jerry Colonna, Bill Thompson, Angel and Joseph Kearns fit their characters so well. I liked noticing Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley and Verna Felton from other Disney movies. Most recently, The Jungle Book. This is all on point to bring the characters to life.
I'll end this by saying to check this out if you haven't or even if just haven't for some time. I can see why this is a classic. This is one that I'd be excited if Mackenzie or Jaime recommend again for sure.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
La mesita del comedor (2022)
Dark Subject Matter with Great Atmosphere and Stress
This is a movie that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Scott from Cinephobia Releasing. The title caught my attention. When I figured out that this was a horror film, I knew that I'd check it out. What I found interesting is that this got its official first screening at a film festival back in 2022. It got its wide release in 2024, so that gives me another to add to my list.
Synopsis: Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos) are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.
We jump right into this with our couple from the synopsis at a store looking at a coffee table. I'll be honest, it is hideous. The salesperson is played by Eduardo Antuña. He is making the table sound better than it is. To give more information about it, it has two golden women, who are naked that are holding up the glass. This couple bickers in front of this salesperson. We learn that Jesús might not have been fully ready to have a child. María mostly decorated their house, with Jesús getting little details here and there. He was told that he could pick out any coffee table. Because she hates this one so much, he wants it even more. That is the one that is bought.
The movie then shifts to Jesús putting it together. It turns out that he's missing a screw. He called the store, saying that it wasn't in the box and that he needed it brought to him today. He cannot come back to get it. María decides to go to the grocery store since Jesús' brother and his girlfriend are coming over to meet the baby. The child is left in the care of Jesús.
This is when tragedy strikes and it rocks Jesús to his core. He can't even move. He doesn't know what to do. There is a couple of storylines that complicate things further. I've already brought up that Jesús' brother Carlos (Josep Maria Riera) along with his vegan girlfriend Cristina (Claudia Riera) are coming over. There is also Ruth (Gala Flores) who is 13 years old. Her mother tells María that she's been moody about a boyfriend. This turns out to be Jesús. This teen is convinced that she is in love with him and that he feels the same back. This day cannot get any worse and tragedy looms.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Where I want to start is re-iterating that I came into this one blind. This movie was uncomfortable for me in the best way possible. It sets the stage about where this couple is currently. I've been here before with my wife. You just get in a rough spot and bicker constantly. Then this takes a nosedive into a dark event that rocked me to the core. I should say here, this affected me differently than most people, I'm sure. Please keep that in mind when going forward. I will also avoid spoilers.
Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this becomes a character study of Jesús for the most part. He knows everything that has happened. I could feel the weight of the pressure mounting on him. Things aren't good with María. By having their son, he has lost himself. A newborn completely changes things and we see that it has strained their relationship. What is interesting is the first reveal of what Ruth thinks, Jesús is annoyed and doing what he can to make her stop. She is misreading things. This is just another added wrinkle that complicates Jesús' life as he tries to figure out what to do after the event.
I'm going to shift over to talk about Pareja's performance here. He was great. Despite the bickering with María, I get the sense that he has a good sense of humor. He delicately manages talking to Ruth, keeping his cool there. After the event though, the amount of stress he's doing to not only hide what happened but try to figure out a way to reveal it. I've held on secrets and it can feel like the weight of the world on you. How this is presented made me feel that. I'm not always the biggest fan of comedy in my horror. Since this goes into the realms of dark comedy, it is perfect to help alleviate tension. It was well done.
Since this mostly focuses on Jesús and doesn't have the deepest story, let's shift to this to the other cast members. They push things to where it ends up. De los Santos and Pareja feel like an old couple. That helped me connect since I've been in that spot of a relationship. It feels real. The Rieras help complicate things even more when they come over. They are fun while also making it more difficult for Jesús to think. Antuña, Flores, Dilla and the rest of the cast also add their own quirky characters to this as well.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought this helped to build that atmosphere. We get the idea that the place they're living isn't big. That becomes even smaller when Jesús becomes stressed. I wanted to credit the cinematography and the framing there. Then to go along with this, they do good things with the sound design. There is a baby monitor that relays different conversations from earlier. They are almost haunting Jesús. That was good. We also have limited effects. They were good though. The blood looks real, which I appreciated.
In conclusion, I know I'm going to higher than others on this. This movie has a simple story. It sets up the characters and then tragedy strikes. From there it becomes a character of Jesús as he tries to come up with a plan of what to do with different complications. Pareja carries the weight of this film on his shoulders. The rest of the cast help push things to where they end up. This was well made with the cinematography, framing, sound design and effects helping there. I don't think this will be for everyone. It just hit me perfectly.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
The First Omen (2024)
Solid Prequel to a Classic
This was a movie that when I saw was coming out, I was intrigued. I'm not the biggest fan of prequels, because they have a definite ending that they must do or it doesn't work. Ahead of seeing this, I saw people were loving it. I did sit on this before writing my review to make sure that I was being fair.
Synopsis: a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin her life of service to the church but meets a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the evil incarnate.
We start this with Father Harris (Charles Dance) meeting Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson). There is an ominous way of filming the opening that harkens back to the original. It appears that these two have uncovered a plot that involves a young woman named Scianna. Their information is limited though. We also see that there are dark forces trying to stop them.
That is when we shift over to meeting the woman from the synopsis, Margaret (Nell Tiger Free). She has come to Rome to become a nun at an orphanage. She is met by Father Gabriel (Tawfeek Barhom) who then takes her to Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy). These two met when she was a child. He is the reason that she has come to Rome to take her vows. She looks at him as a father figure.
She arrives at the orphanage and is given a lay of the land by Sister Silva (Sonia Braga). It is during this tour that we see that this place also has a wing to help expecting mothers. During this tour that she meets an odd nun, Sister Anjelica (Ishtar Currie-Wilson). She also meets a young woman who is isolated, Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace). Margaret is staying in an apartment with Luz (Maria Caballero), before they both take their vows. It is off the orphanage grounds.
Something I should include here is that this takes place in the early 1970s. There is unrest in Rome as the younger generation is turning their backs on religion. They are also rioting. What is interesting is that this is based in fact. This makes Margaret uneasy. She also doesn't like the way that Carlita is treated by the sisters. Then to complicate her time further, Luz takes her out. She gets drunk, blacks out and doesn't remember what happened. Father Brennan also approaches her, wanting her to help him uncover the truth of the orphanage she is working at.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I'm a big fan of the original movie in the series. It is up there as one of the best religious based horror films in my opinion. The second one is a good follow up and I thought the third did interesting things. I don't even hate the fourth movie even though it was made for TV. It is just the remake that I feel doesn't hold up. This is information that I felt important before diving into this one.
Where I'll start then is continuity. I'm glad that this one doesn't do anything to violate what the original or the sequels did. It synced up well, which is what I'm looking for. In a group chat that I'm in, it might even tie into part four, but it's been a while since my last viewing of that one and I don't remember a lot. This shouldn't come as a spoiler, but I thought that this one did well to show how Damien was conceived and then ended up in the care of the Thorns.
I'll even credit this one as being creepy at times. I'm a sucker for religious based horror, especially when we're looking at the corruption of the church. That is what we're getting here. It is wild that this came out the same year as Immaculate as we're following similar stories. They just end up in different places. I'm not fully sure that the plan of our villain makes sense here. It could do what they want, but it also could spell the end of the world. I see the logic being that as they're so convinced that no matter what, good will triumph. Just seems a dangerous move to play. It also lessens what the movies that follow and their story concept. I will still say that this does give a solid atmosphere. Messing with Margert, who has a history of mental illness. We can see that logically; she could be misinterpreting things. I like playing with this idea.
Now I've seen people rating this high and heaping praise. I can't do that though. My biggest issue is that this borrows from other movies that do it better. This directly takes the shocking moments from The Omen and uses them here. I can't credit this movie for that. I get the idea that this is banking on younger audiences not having seen that. There is also a big plot point that is from Rosemary's Baby which is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also takes its most shocking moment from Possession.
Since I went hard there, let me go over to filmmaking. I still think is well-made. The cinematography was good. I like how they frame things, even if they're nodding to the original. Setting up this where we have Margaret who is a fish out of water is good. She doesn't speak the language so that's scary. On top of that, she has the history of mental illness. I like how we don't know if we can trust her. I think that the effects for the most part are good. It looked like they went practically where they could. There was CGI used which was fine as well. Other than that, I was bummed that we didn't use more of the chanting or choir style music from the original. It does at a pivotal point that worked though. The sound design was good though.
All that is left is acting. I thought that Free was good as our lead. She can balance that maybe she isn't crazy, but we have history and facts that contradict that. I also thought she showed good fear. It doesn't help that she is taking on the higher ups at this orphanage, when she is new which is stressful too. Ineson is solid as our priest who is out to prove what is happening. His performance matches up with that character from the original from what I remember. Braga is good as our head nun. We should trust her, but we don't know if we can. I like Barhom and Caballero in their roles. What I like there is that as things go on, we don't know who we can trust. I'd also say that Dance, Nighy, Sorace, Currie-Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli and the rest of the cast worked for what was needed.
In conclusion, I thought this was a solid prequel. My issue with movies like this is more that they tend to feel predictable to me. What they do here story wise is good. It fills in what we know from the original. It also incorporates elements from the sequels. The acting was good across the board. This was made well enough. The biggest issue that I have is that it borrows major scenes from other movies that I personally think did it better, including the first movie in this franchise. Another gripe is that this runs too long. Getting it down to at least one hour and forty-minute minutes, but preferably 90 minutes would help. I'd still recommend giving it a viewing, especially if you like the series.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live (2024)
Great Send-off for Rick and Michonne
Film: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived
Year: 2024
Directors: Bertie Ellwood, Michael E. Satrazemis, Michael Slovis and Amber Templemore
Writers: Scott M. Gimple, Danai Gurira, Nana Nkweti, Gabriel Llanas, Matthew Negrete and Channing Powell
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira and Pollyanna McIntosh
Review:
This was another off shoot of The Walking Dead. I was a fan of season 1, aside from the ending. I thought that season 2 and what followed was good for a solid stretch, but I lost interest after the Saviors came. Even when the Whisperers showed up, I was there. The problem for me is that it got too repetitive. Upon competition of watching this, I learned that this was the movie they were going to do. It then shifted to a trilogy and they ultimately decided to do it as a mini-series. Since this is listed as a film on Letterboxd and it doesn't look like they're going to continue it, I'm doing a review.
Synopsis: the love between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Changed by a world that is constantly changing, will they find themselves in a war against the living or will they discover that they too are the walking dead?
What we're getting here starts with what happened to Rick. We see when he was taken on the helicopter to the Civic Republic Military. He's depressed so he's trying to find a way to escape. He was brought here by Jadis Stokes (Pollyanna McIntosh). He started with Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt) who was in a similar place to him. She sees what the CRM can do for her and buys in. Rick gets to meet Major General Beale (Terry O'Quinn), who changes his mind. There's also Donald Okafor (Craig Tate). He's the first commanding officer for Rick and Pearl. He knows that the CRM is doing horrible things and wants to change it from the inside.
We then see that Michonne has never given up and is still searching for Rick. I love how these two come together in this series. She almost dies multiple times. It also becomes dangerous for him if their superiors learn the truth. There's also a complication that if the CRM finds out about Alexandria, they will wipe it out. Even more so if Rick and/or Michonne flee back to it now. There are layers under this as well.
Since this is a mini-series that I'm assuming is concluding Rick and Michonne's tale within The Walking Dead universe, I'm going to leave my recap here. There are years and seasons from the start to where we end up here. What I like about this is the heart that is brought in here. Lincoln can showcase even more Rick's psyche and how every decision he's made wears on him. The thought of not getting to go back to Michonne, Judith and he doesn't even know about RJ until Michonne finds him. The thought of Carl keeps him going, but that is wearing thin on him as he can't remember his face. Seeing him deal with depression, the fear of the CRM wiping out Alexandria and then seeing the love between him and Michonne was good. It caps things well for the character.
I'll also commend Gurira. I love how difficult she is and won't listen to things that she doesn't agree with. Rick sets up a plan for her to escape, but she can't leave without him. I forgot that she made a promise to Judith that she would bring her father home. It tugs at heartstrings that if they don't get out alive, these children are orphaned. There are good people around them, but it isn't the same.
Let me then shift to the villains here. My issue with the show is that we get great groups and leaders like the Governor, Negan and the Saviors as well as The Whisperers. I know the last season had the corrupt government. This group that we're seeing here is the CRM who were introduced in The Walking: The World Beyond. We know their corrupt already. This feels on par with the last couple seasons of the OG The Walking Dead. I guess you truly can't top government corruption as the villain. I like Jadis as someone who is a grey character. The true villain though is Mjr Gen Beale. He seems nice, but there is that dark side underneath. Part of that is credit to O'Quinn. I also like that he has blind followers like Pearl under him. I don't find this as exciting or tense though as earlier villains.
There is one last thing for the story that I wanted to tell. Beale does give what the CRM scientists believe to be the timeline for the walking dead. I thought that was an interesting concept to toss out there. It makes me wonder though if this is going to be like the novelization of Night of the Living Dead, where anyone comes back after that and if precautions need to be taken.
I've already been discussing acting performances so let me say that Lincoln, Gurira, McIntosh and O'Quinn are great. I'd also say that Brandt plays a solid character that gets introduced. I love how she complicates things late in this series. I liked the appearance by Seth Gilliam as Gabriel Stokes and how he softens Jadis. I also liked Matthew Jeffers, Breeda Wool, Cailey Fleming and Antony Azor to round this out as well.
All that is left then is filmmaking. The cinematography here is good. They know how to capture the world we're in and the framing helps there. We get different locations around the United States since the CRM has that capability. Also, how these ties in with events from other storylines as well. I love the effects. The zombie make up is great. There is CGI that I don't love, but it at least looks good. This has the budget there. Other than that, the soundtrack was fine for what was needed. More credit to the sound design, especially for the zombies.
In conclusion, if you know me then you know that I'm burned out on all the Walking Dead. It doesn't capture that spark for me anymore. I still enjoyed what they did here. This would be a good send-off for the Rick and Michonne characters if that is truly what we're doing here. I like the story that this tells and how it wraps up things from the show. The acting is great with special credit to Lincoln, Gurira, O'Quinn and McIntosh. This is well made from the cinematography, framing and the effects. Just slight issues with CGI here and there. If you love these shows or a completionist like me, then I'd recommend it. If you've fallen off, I can't blame you for avoiding this.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Civil War (2024)
Terrifying Look at Reality, Told with a Unique Perspective
This was a movie that intrigued me when I saw that it was coming out. I'm a fan of Alex Garland, from writing 28 Days Later to directing Ex Machina, Annihilation and Men. He knows how to convey interesting ideas through allegory. Knowing that he is foreign and making a movie about the United States falling into a second civil war, I knew he'd have a unique perspective.
Now to my knowledge, we aren't given what started this war. California and Texas have seceded from the union and they're fighting across the United States toward Washington D. C. Something that is said is that the president, played by Nick Offerman, has been elected to a third term. That part of the amendments has been ignored and something we haven't seen since Franklin D. Roosevelt. It also seems that Florida has rebelled and is trying to get the Carolinas over to their cause.
Something that I saw before seeing this was by a buddy who was commending that this is told from the point of view of the press. Lee (Kirsten Dunst) is a legendary war photographer. She is with Joel (Wagner Moura) who is a reporter. They're in New York City where the police are trying to keep the peace. They meet Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) who is an aspiring photographer. One of her heroes is Lee. Later that night, this couple talks with an older reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). He wants to go to the frontlines in Charlottesville. Jessie also hitches a ride with them.
Now what I'll say is that I love that this is told from the perspective of the press. They're on the frontlines, but they don't have a side. They are there to tell the story to us. Another thing I was warned about was that it was a left leaning movie. I can see that to an extent. What works in its favor is that the president's political party wasn't revealed or I don't think it was. It is also strategic to have Texas and California teamed up. We have one of the most Democratic states teamed with one of the most Republican. That helps to blur the lines as well. What clicked for me is that this could be read that the rebels were inspired by the events of January 6th. I think that event helped formulate this idea.
To explain more, I'm not convinced that this is taking aside other than, Americans shouldn't fight Americans. It feels to me that this is showing we have a corrupt president who needed to be taken down. Neither side is necessarily right, outside of their believers' eyes. There are also people who are taking advantage of what is happening or just ignoring it. This last bit is great when your group goes to a small town that is carrying on like nothing is happening. That goes back to Lee and Jessie saying how their families are just farmers who are pretending it isn't as well.
There is also this story of Jessie as she comes of age as a photographer. Lee is hardened to the point where she is emotionless. She scolds Jessie for showing emotion. Sammy points out that this younger woman reminds him of Lee at that age. I get the feeling that she knows it. She just doesn't want her to end up empty she is. We see Jessie grow during this ordeal. She sees things that people should never have to. This is all under the idea that America and the world needs to see what is happening. This human touch to the story makes it higher for me.
Speaking of the characters, the acting here is great. Dunst just conveys someone whose life has been beaten down. There is only one scene I remember her smiling in. Other than that, she just looks rough. It fits and is powerful. I like Moura who gets excited over things that he shouldn't. He is wired differently and it's good. Spaeny is good as this younger woman who wants to be like these other reporters. Henderson is good as this wise older man. He's been doing this awhile and he knows the score. Offerman works as the president. We don't see him much, but what is good there is that we hear his voice over the radio. He is telling lies to keep morale up but we don't know if it is the truth or not. I like Jefferson White, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai and the other reporters. I'd be remiss to not credit Jesse Plemons in his role for the stress he causes in a scene.
All that is left is filmmaking. They do so well in capturing the stress of what it would be like to be at war. It is America, but it doesn't feel like it. There's no safety. I love the scenes of gunfights. They're stressful. What's also good though is that we see soldiers or rebels helping the press and protecting them. It's almost like both sides know the score there. Cinematography helps capture this and the effects bring it to life. Other than that, I love the sound design here. The sounds of gunfire and the echoing. It just adds realism.
In conclusion, I'd recommend seeing this movie. This can be tough subject matter, but it is terrifying to think that in recent memory we've been closer to this than fiction. There's an interesting message here. To me, this feels like it is blurring the lines of political parties, but I can see how people see it one way or the other. How this is told is great. The acting is on point and this is master filmmaking. The stress of what these characters go through to get the images out to the people is great. I'd recommend giving this a watch for sure.
My Rating: 9 out of 10.
Protanopia (2024)
Atmospheric from Visuals and Sound Design
This is a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to the star, Timothy J. Cox. He sent me over a screener. Seeing that this was released in 2024 and in horror, I knew that I was going to check this out. Part of it is that I strive to have a well-rounded look at the year so checking out an independent film that I'd otherwise not know about helps there. I came into this one knowing as little as possible as well.
Synopsis: a surreal horror film about greed and masculinity in American suburbia.
We start this off with a quote from the bible from the book of Leviticus. It is about a house having leprosy and needing to be cleansed. From there, we see a woman running through the woods. It is distorted which isn't shocking seeing the synopsis. Her name is Mallory (James Chase). She goes missing.
After the opening credits, we then shift to a detective asking questions to Luke (Anthony Carey). Our detective is played by John Heerlein. Luke is Mallory's half-brother and guardian since their father died. She is 19 years old though. Throughout this interview, Luke is staring at the gun on the detective's belt. Luke is also a writer, which is something that is said.
We then go over to Alan Roscoe Jr. (Cox). His father recently passed away and he's stepping into the shoes of a local council. There is voice-over narration here about routines and we see him getting ready as well as making a blueberry pie. The rest of the council shows up and this includes Janice (Paula Mahler). There is friction here as she also brought a dessert, saying that she always does. She also constantly interrupts Alan as he isn't doing things like his father or how the council is used to.
This disappearance of Mallory factors into this community's life. Janice comes back over saying they should start a search party. Alan thinks it's better to wait until the next morning. He is adamant about it. She also comes back over for her pie pan. Alan claims to not have it and Janice comes in to search for herself. There is something not quite right about his house or this could be something within him. He starts to see his deceased father at the piano in the living room.
We also come back to Luke who is conversing with someone named Jack (Matthew Mahler). He tells him that he needs to write. This is a struggle though since Luke is having vivid dreams. The detective thinks he had something to do with the disappearance of Mallory, but he needs proof. There is something more going on here though that will change the lives of everyone forever.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that this is a difficult film to talk about. I'm not sure I fully understood everything that I saw. This does interesting things with the visuals and sound design that I appreciated. I found myself getting lost in it and it gave me an unnerving feeling that I'll credit. I don't think that this has the deepest story, I'm not sure that it necessarily needs it though. Now that I'm truly living in a suburb, this made me uncomfortable as well.
Filmmaking is where I'll dive first then since that is the important thing here. I knew from the opening scene with Mallory and then the credits that we would be getting an arthouse film. The synopsis even braces you for that. The distortion of the images with colors or slowing the footage down where it blurs was interesting. I loved it. It feels like the filmmaker was inspired by Mario Bava or Dario Argento with the use here. I'll also credit the cinematography to capture these visuals. That surreal feel also helps build an eerie atmosphere. The sound design and music selections worked there as well. All of this worked for me.
Let me then get over to the story. I don't mind what we have. We set the stage that something odd is here and Mallory disappearing turns the police on to it. Alan sees his dead father in his living room and it seems that Alan Sr. (John Mahler) needs him to do something. What I like is that there could be something supernatural or maybe Alan Jr. Has lost touch with reality from grief. He hears something in the basement that he needs to either feed or must appease.
There's also this character of Jack. He tells Luke to do things. He also says that Mallory is fine and that she will turn up. It is something along those lines. This person we get to see, but never fully. An example is that it would be part of their face while they're lying down. The framing there was well done. Jack has a correlation with Alan and that house which I found interesting. Where this ends was something, I wasn't expecting. I also enjoy that there is commentary on the area where they live and how behind closed doors, we don't know what is happening.
What I think helps here is the acting. I'm not going to say that it's great. It fits what we need from the characters and not asking them to do too much. I'm not just saying this since Cox since me the screener, but he was good. I like that he seems to be holding on to his sanity by a thread and someone like Janice is trying that patience. We get glimpses behind that curtain which is eerie. Carey was good as Luke. I think I need to be a bit more fleshed out for him to work better. Matthew Mahler was good as this individual that we hear but is ominous with what we don't get. I like Paula Mahler as Janice. This feels like women I've met who run little groups like this. Heerlein was good as a detective. Chase has an interesting musical number that fits the surreal vibe. Other than that, I thought the rest of the cast worked in their roles.
In conclusion, this is a solid little film. We don't get the deepest story, but what we do flows well. This is more about the visuals though. There is a surreal, arthouse vibe here that made me uncomfortable in the best way possible. The acting fit what was needed for the characters. I hate to say this though that it won't be for everyone. I do think there is an audience out there that will appreciate what is being done with the cinematography, editing, lighting and the sound design for sure.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (2022)
Great List of Horror Films
This was a show that went to Shudder and I believe showed on AMC in October of 2022. At least, that is my understanding. What we're getting here is an updated version of what was shown on Bravo back when I was in college. There are updated movies from that one, which was called The 100 Scariest Movie Moments from 2004. This one also features different voices from critics, historians, actors and filmmakers.
There is a lot to go through so I won't. We have 101 movies covered here. The ranking of them is subjective in my opinion. I will say though, the top ten is spot on for what they're looking at. I did see someone else review this and say that there are cheats here. The talking heads will talk about the movie instead of a scene or sequence. I agree and, it is what is it. There are a couple movies that I also think were left off and ones that were included that I don't necessarily agree with. No major issue there though either.
What is impressive is the list of people that were included. We have legends like Greg Nicotero, Joe Dante, Tom Savini, Tony Todd, Keith David, Mick Garris and Tom Holland. There are also current filmmakers/actors like Alexandra Essoe, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Fede Alvarez, Edgar Wright, Brea Grant, Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel and David Dastmalchain. We also get people who know what they're talking about like Tananarive Due, Heidi Honeycutt, Rebekah McKendry, Nathaniel Thompson, Todd Kushigemachi, Amanda Reyes and Lea Anderson. Again, this isn't everyone as there are a lot of people here who are interviewed.
Something that I put a feather in my cap about is that I've seen every movie referenced here. There are television shows that are on my list to check out that are the only blind spots. That feels good as a horror fanatic to know exactly what they're referring to for most every selection. This is hard to recommend if you're new to the genre. This gives you a great list of movies to check out, but it does contain spoilers as well, so keep that in mind. I'd highly recommend it if you're looking out eliminate blind spots before diving deeper.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.
Madhouse (1974)
Interesting Early Meta Slasher
This was a film that I had never heard of and sought out, because I saw it had Vincent Price and Peter Cushing in it, two of my favorite actors of all time. I didn't even know what this was about and came into seeing this one without additional details aside from what I provided. I've now given this a second watch as part of my Foray through the Fours.
Synopsis: a horror movie star returns to his famous role after years in a mental institution, but the character seems to be committing murders independent of his will.
We start this by learning through this first sequence that we're in the past and in Hollywood. They're at the house of Paul Toombes (Price). They're celebrating his latest movie being another success. He's the horror movie star from the synopsis. His iconic character is Dr. Death. At this party, he reveals that he's marrying Ellen Mason (Julie Crosthwaite), much to the displeasure of Faye Carstairs (Adrienne Corri). She hoped her career would take off after staring in one of the Dr. Death films. Also at the party is the writer of the Dr. Death character, Herbert Flay (Cushing). Oliver Quayle (Robert Quarry) reveals information that upsets Paul about his fiancée. She used to star in pornography. Paul is rude to her and he goes up to his room. She does the same, but someone dressed as Dr. Death murders her.
The film then shifts into the present of the movie and in London. Paul has been in a mental hospital since the incident. He is freshly out and Oliver is going to do a Dr. Death television show starring Paul. He has Julia Wilson (Natasha Pyne) meet him at the docks when his ship arrives. Paul agreed to help out his friend, Herbert, who he thought was struggling since that fateful night.
Something to bring up as well was that on the ship Paul met Elizabeth Peters (Linda Hayden). She wants to be famous and thinks sleeping with him will help her career. He kicks her out of his room. Before she goes, she steals a gift from his late fiancée. Elizabeth is persistent even when they arrive in London.
Paul goes to Herbert's house first. It is there that Paul learns his friend married Faye, but she has lost her mind after she was in a horrific attack and car accident. She stays mostly in the basement where she raises spiders. Her relationship with her husband soured even before what happened to her. She is still in love with Paul.
The murders start up again in London with Paul being the prime suspect as it is his character that is doing the killing. The murders are also taken straight from his old movies. The police aren't convinced he is behind them, but they tail him since they revolve around wherever Paul is.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now where I'll start is the first thing that struck me is that this film has the feel of a United Kingdom/United States giallo. I know the purist of that subgenre think that's blasphemous, but we have a blacked glove killer. It is a murder mystery, has a meta feel and there's some red herrings. The only thing is that the main character isn't working with the police or trying to figure out who the killer is. Paul is literally just trying to keep from losing his mind while this is happening around him. You could also call this a proto-slasher.
Where I'll go from there is that I like the mystery here. I love that they mirrored Paul around Price. They even use clips from his old movies when they're showing films in the movie itself. It is such an interesting meta thing to do and it adds a layer. It works even better that the killer is using deaths from his movies, which in turn makes him a suspect as this is also the character he was in these pictures as well. I will say though that I guessed who the killer was halfway through and ended up being right. The problem is there aren't a lot of people it could be and they kill off the suspects them. It hampers the movie, but I'll give credit that it isn't a cheat. I do think this might have worked a bit better to have another red herring or two.
Even though I guessed the reveal, I do like how this is paced. It doesn't take long for that initial kill and we don't have to wait for them to start back up either. That keeps it interesting and the mystery itself had me hooked as well. The reason these kills are happening makes sense so that was good. The ending is interesting and makes me wonder if another character knew of the plan. It is dark what is done for sure.
That moves me to the acting, which I'm going to be honest, is great. Price and Cushing are both just experts in their craft. We don't get a lot of the latter, but when we do it is great. Price though just commands the screen when he's on it. He has such an arrogance to him that fit this role. He is shaky in his mental state as well which makes for an interesting duality within the character. Quarry was also good. He's a snake as this former producer for porn turned to TV. He made me dislike him, which is a good reaction. Corri loses her mind after the trauma that happened to her, which I liked. We see she was unstable before the accident and it's gotten worse. She has an interesting look too. I also thought that Pyne was good in the role that she had. Hayden is quite attractive and we see her half naked, which I enjoyed. I'd say the rest of the cast rounded this one out for what was needed.
I'll end with filmmaking. The effects, which I was slightly disappointed by. We don't get a lot of them, which I can forgive, but the ones that we do I had some issues with. The blood looks good, but the wounds don't. We can clearly see a death by a pitchfork doesn't pierce the skin. I think they probably should have hidden them a bit better if they couldn't make them look better. They were done practical so I will give them that. There's also what looks like a dummy that was obvious. I'm not going to harp too much on that, but I also think that before that we can see the person breathing when they shouldn't be dead. Dummy deaths make me smile though. This does slightly hurt the cinematography to not hide this better. I know this was an American International Pictures that was co-produced with Amicus. They weren't working with a large budget, so there's that as well.
In conclusion, this has a good mystery and that sucked me in. This is giallo like, but it does lean more into a proto-slasher. It did come out the same year as Black Christmas. I did predict the reveal, which hurts it slightly. Another red herring or two would have fixed that. The acting is great, especially by Prince and Cushing. This is made well enough. I thought it moved at a good pace, we have solid kills, it is just the framing that is an issue for not hiding when an effect couldn't be made to look better. It could also be an issue watching this on a 4K TV. There's also an earlier meta feel with Paul being a horror movie actor and the deaths mirroring his movies. I'd recommend this if you're fans of these legends and want to see an interesting early slasher film.
My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Don Juan DeMarco (1994)
Interesting Blend of the Surreal and Realism, with a Comedic Twist
This is an interesting film to say the least. I feel like I've seen the poster or knew that it existed. Jaime and I decided to watch this as part of JwaC Presents: Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny's Feature Filmography. What intrigued me was that before seeing this I saw it featured Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway, Rachel Ticotin and Talisa Soto.
Now Johnny Depp is our titular character, Don Juan DeMarco. He is the self-proclaimed 'the world's greatest lover'. This is of course, based on the story by Lord Byron. Juan lost his great love. He makes love to a woman he meets in a hotel restaurant and then climbs on top of a billboard, waiting for his rival to duel to the death. Dr. Jack Mickler (Brando) is called in to help.
Jack is close to retirement. During a staff meeting with his boss, Dr. Paul Showalter (Bob Dishy), he pushes him to help Juan. Instead, this patient is assigned to Dr. Bill Dunsmore (Stephen Singer). He gets upset when he learns about the lie that Jack told Juan to get him down. He demands that since Jack played into the delusion, he fixes it before he leaves.
This is part of Jack's plan. He sits down with Juan and allows him to tell his tale. This includes talk about him mother, Doña Inez (Ticotin) who is now a nun. There is Doña Julia (Soto), who leads Juan leaving his small village in Mexico and to his greatest love, Doña Querida (Patricia Mauceri). The more Jack talks to Juan, the more he starts to believe he could be telling the truth and learning a thing or two who help his marriage to the love of his life, Marilyn (Dunaway).
Now I've already said that I didn't know what to expect here. Having now seen this, we have an odd movie. This is surreal. As Juan tells his story, we see it playing out. We can tell that there are delusions here. It also made me think of where the truth is with what the stories he tells and how much of that is from the novel that his character is from. I've never read it, but having seen this now makes me intrigued.
This also creates an interesting predicament with Jack and his colleagues. They all want him to start Juan on medication. I think that using meds is a good thing, but I also hate that is where we go first. There are issues in the United States with overmedicating and not trying to solve the root problem. This goes to capitalism, but I'll digress there. There are things that Juan is able to back up though which makes Jack wonder where the truth ends and the delusion begins. He also takes advice from this patient which helps him with his marriage. Jaime and I did have an issue at the end though. It seems there could be a detriment to Juan's mental state.
What makes this work though is the acting. I'll be honest, it was hard to understand Depp at times due to the accent he talks with here. He also talks low, for good reason. He can seduce all these women working at the hospital. He even softens Tom Lister Jr. Who had a fun cameo. I like Brando and Dunaway as this married couple. It is cute. Pailhas, Ticotin, Soto, Jo Champa and Mauceri were all good as women who shaped Juan into the man he becomes. Dishy and his team were solid as well. We also have cameos by Carmen Argenziano and even Selena as a singer. The acting brings the characters to life.
Where I'll end out is filmmaking. There is an interesting combination here of realism and the surreal. I dug that though. In the hospital, which is the former. It is when Juan can tell his story, we go into the surreal. I like though that the deeper we get; they start to bleed over and blend. That's a good touch. The tone of this film is also interesting. It is comedy and absurd at times. There is also romance and drama here. I don't know if it fully works for what it is set out to do, but I didn't hate my time here.
I'd recommend it if you're a Depp have and want to see another one of his quirky roles.
My Rating: 7 out of 10.
Pamyo (2024)
Good Blend of Rituals, Religions and Sins of the Past
This was a movie that's poster was displayed at the Gateway Film Center and they were showing the trailer on the televisions above the ticket center. While I was waiting, I looked this up to learn that it is a 2024 film and in the horror genre. It went on a list of movies to check out. Decided to make it a Featured Review since I tend to enjoy films from South Korea.
Synopsis: the process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes dreadful consequences buried underneath.
We have multiple moving parts. There is a duo that are shaman in Hwarim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong Gil (Lee Do-hyung). We see them doing a cleansing to start out. It then takes over to a geomancer, Kim Sang Deok (Choi Min-sik). He works with Ko Young Geun (Yoo Hae-jin). What is important to note here is that they work with rich families to find the best plot to get their loved one to the afterlife. Kim is the best at what he does, but he makes a comment later that it is also a scam.
There is then a rich family that needs help. Part of them live in the United States. One of which is a president of a company, Kim (Hong Seo-jun). He has a newborn son and there is something wrong, but the doctors cannot figure out why. This leads him to seek out the aid of the shaman. What they learn is that they have an ancestor they believe is coming after the baby. This ancestor is buried on a plot of land that is overlooking the border of South and North Korea. Kim and Ko are called in with the former thinking it is odd.
The family doesn't want to reveal too many details. It turns out that this ancestor in question was a Japanese sympathizer. He was working with someone from this rival nation during World War II and a monk at a nearby temple was the reason this plot was selected. It seems the monk was also a geomancer. Dark secrets need to be revealed before it is too late. There could also be a darker, more evil spirit at work here.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I should reveal here that I wrote this review days after seeing this. I will play my hand a bit in saying that I want to watch this again before doing my end of year list. This one has vibes of The Wailing for me. I'll get into why and I'm not ready to say this is as good. There are just story elements and atmosphere.
I do compare this to that other movie because we are in a modern world while still using pagan beliefs. There are elements of Christianity as well so we're seeing how these differ. This family that is plagued in the beginning has moved to the United States. I get the idea that they're converted to Christianity, at least the younger members of the family. There is a grandmother who remembers this ancestor that is haunting them, back when he was alive. She still seems to cling to beliefs of the past. Not fully though, because she pushes back against Hwarim, Bong and Kim. I can't fault her. Looking at things logically, it doesn't make sense. When there is a child at risk, I would fall into beliefs that I don't currently hold for help if everything is failing around me. As a newer parent myself, I'd do whatever I needed to protect them. Just an idea I needed to explore here and I liked this aspect is part of the movie.
Getting back then to that original thought, we also have the shaman and geomancer needing to do pagan rituals to defeat this evil spirit. What I love here, that also goes back to The Wailing, we don't know if it will help. They are in over their head and try to do what they know has worked in the past. I love that. Going against something that is stronger than you helps build the atmosphere here. There is also the idea of other cultures coming into play against Korean. Japanese at the time the ancestor died were the enemy. This spirit still holds on to this idea. I love the look of it and I'll come back to that. We also have the US looming with the modern belief system as well.
Something I want to say here is that I'm not going to spoil this movie. I'd need to watch it again to do that as well. This doesn't have the deepest story. It is more about revealing hidden secrets with the main story and we get that as we go. Kim, Hwarim and Bong find clues and that leads to more evidence they need. I do like stories structured like this so that helps.
Shifting from this, I'll say that the acting helps here. I believe these characters are who they're supposed to be. Go-eun is attractive and I like her as this female shaman. She works well off Do-hyun. There is something interesting here where he is hospitalized so she needs to do what she can to save him. I also liked seeing Min-sik. He's an actor that in the limited roles I've seen of his, he has been great in all. I like Hae-jin as his sidekick. He doesn't seem to believe as much so he's worried about how it helps or hurts them financially. Other than that, the rest of the cast fitted what was needed. Special credit to the voice for the Japanese spirit. That was terrifying.
All that is left then is filmmaking. Where I'll start here is cinematography. I love how they capture the different locations we are at. It could be a small-time morgue in a village. There's the temple where a terrifying encounter goes down. We get a glimpse of a hospital room in the US. The best though is this remote gravesite where things go down. I love how they captured this so credit as well to the framing. Then to talk about the effects. These are limited, but what we got was good. There is blood that looks real. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. I'll bring up again the sound design when it comes to the voice of the Japanese ghost, which was creepy. All this helps to build the atmosphere that was needed.
In conclusion, this is a movie that I'm not hearing about. I'm guessing that is due to its limited theatrical run. I'm hoping this gets a streaming service so I can rewatch this and the word spreads. I'm a fan of the premises here. This being pagan vs. Religion, traditional vs. Modern and having the elements of a haunting. It also being Korean helps here. I thought this was well-made from the cinematography, framing, the look of the spirits and the sound design. The acting also helps to bring the characters to life. This won't be for everyone, but if what I've said sounds good, I recommend giving this a watch.
My Rating: 8 out of 10.