Film Review: NADJA (1994)

Writer/director Michael Almereyda’s art house take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula called Nadja (1994) is a black and white experimental film that won’t be for everyone.  Elina Lowensohn is Nadja, a vampire with family ties to the infamous Dracula clan, living a bohemian existence while killing people and drinking their blood to surface.  She is estranged from her twin brother Edgar (played by Jared Harris) and their father has just died at the hands of Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda).  Thrown into the mix is Helsing’s nephew Jim (Martin Donovan) and his girlfriend Lucy (Galaxy Craze) whom has become the object of Nadja’s current obsession. 

The film loosely follows the events of the novel as Helsing must destroy Nadja before she completely turns Lucy and true evil is set upon the world.  Almereyda’s style for the film is very minimal and highly stylized as he makes the best of his limited budget and locations.  The true allure of the film is Lowensohn’s performance as she holds the whole film together amidst the eccentric Fonda and his hammy Helsing or the too subtle Donovan who seems more undead than Nadja herself.

Almereyda manages to keep the proceedings going amidst the film’s shortcomings and he provides enough original ideas to make it worthwhile but the style may turn off a few fans of the vampire genre wanting something more.   The film is more concerned with trying to tell a modern vampire story using an old story and it does so without becoming too campy or buried within its excesses.  It’s an interesting little oddity of a vampire film that may not be for everyone but it is an interesting little film.

Film Review: SHADOW ZONE: THE UNDEAD EXPRESS (1996)

Fourteen year old Zach Kincaid (Chauncey Leopardi) is a card carrying fan of Fangoria magazine and classic horror films but when he discovers that vampires live beneath New York City he sets out to prove their existence to his friends who don’t believe him.  This is the premise behind the very kid friendly horror film Shadow Zone: The Undead Express (1996) in which Ron Silver stars as Valentine, the leader of a group of vampires who live in the old subway system of New York traveling on the Undead Express and unable to venture out into the world above.  Zach is a perpetual liar to his friends and parents.  It is only to his psychiatrist (played by horror director Wes Craven) that Zach truly feels free to tell the whole truth.  

 

While traveling between his separated parents homes he accidentally takes a wrong turn and finds himself on the Undead Express where a charismatic vampire by the name of Valentine decides to take the young troubled Zach under his wing.  It is not long before Valentine’s charms take their effect on Zach who has been cast apart from his best friends who disbelieve his stories about vampires living underneath the city.  Valentine decides to show Zach the history of the underground subway system in exchange for Zach showing him the world above, but once Valentine gets a taste of the above human world what is to stop him from returning to the underground subway system which has been his tomb for so many years.

As a kid friendly horror film it has that vibe of a film about a young boy on the verge of becoming an adult whose mentor may not be the best one in the world but Valentine’s charm is hard to deny and even though he is a vampire he has an allure that Zach can’t help to be captivated with especially during a time in which his parents are separated and always fighting and his best friends believe he’s a compulsive liar.  The film is light on genuine scares but is very creepy for the younger horror fan which is exactly what it should be.  The real draw for the older horror fan is to witness the rare occasion of horror icon Wes Craven as an actor.  This film is for the Goosebumps crowd and therefore is just an entertaining vampire romp for us adults.  It is a safe film to get the young ones associated to the horror genre.

Film Review: THE HAUNTING OF FOX HOLLOW FARM (2011)

I’ve seen bad paranormal investigation films but nothing is as bad and horribly cobbled together than the anemic The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm (2011).  This amateur film is made worse by the frantic MTV video style editing that immediately takes you out of the film but more on that in a few moments.  First of all the film concerns the property of serial killer Herb Baumeister who supposedly killed himself after over 17 bodies were discovered buried on his property of Fox Hollow Farm.  The film is a collage of several different investigations to the property, police footage, and interviews with various people with knowledge connected to the story. 

The film not only delves into the Baumeister’s history and possible motivations for his crimes but to the mystery surrounding his apparent suicide as well as the possibility of the spirits of Baumeister’s victims still haunting the property.  With so many avenues to choose from to focus on producer/director Dan T. Hall decides to just cobble them altogether in a haphazard way from the many different investigations that took place on the property.  From EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena) to séances to your typical paranormal devices no stone is left unturned when trying to get to the truth.  The only problem is that there is no through line with the material therefore it feels that Hall is just throwing info at the audience to see what sticks when in reality none of it does because Hall allows only 1-3 sentences to describe each of his thoughts before moving to the next one as though there is a set time limit to how long he can stay on any one given idea.

Because of the editing style the film is a complete mess and instead of cementing any concrete ideas about Baumeister or the paranormal the film simply regurgitates a lot of info from a lot of different people whom the audience never believes have any real authority in their field.  If nothing more the film will showcase how NOT to conduct a paranormal investigation (or film).  This film is such a mess that it would be hard for a fan of paranormal investigations to find anything worth complimenting the film on.

Film Review: BAG OF BONES (2011)

Writers are a common trope in Stephen King’s work and sometimes they work such as in Misery or 1408 while at other times it seems like a crutch such as the story for Bag of Bones.   I’ve read many of King’s novels but unfortunately, Bag of Bones is not one of them and therefore I came to the adaptation of the book as a TV mini-series with a little trepidation.  In the right hands King’s novels can be made into classic films such as Sand By Me (1986), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), or The Shining (1980), while other times they can become a travesty of cinema such as The Graveyard Shift (1990), the various Children of the Corn films, or Trucks (1997).  His made for TV movies are always a mixed bag such the infamous ending to It (1990), Desperation (2006), Rose Red (2002), and countless others.  

 

Bag of Bones stars Pierce Brosnan as novelist Mike Noonan whose wife Jo (Annabeth Gish) has just recently died and he decides to visit their vacation home of which she spent a lot of time at.  He has suspicions of his wife having had an affair but as he investigates this he becomes drawn into a child custody battle involving a local widow Mattie (Melissa George) and her child’s wealthy and influential grandfather.  Mike also learns that there is more than meets the eye with the residents of the town which may have a profound effect on his own family history that may have dire consequences for himself.

Bag of Bones is one of the less effective King adaptations and offers very little new to the haunted and ghost genre that hasn’t been better explored in previous King stories or films.  Part of the reason why the film does not stand out is because there are no new ideas despite the better than expected cast.  Like many TV mini-series based on King’s novels this one feels too long and that an hour should have been cut from the final film (as the film was a 2-part 4-hour mini-series with commercials).  Where many of King’s novels excel at the long length and leisure pace, the film needs to be trimmed down and fine-tuned in order to showcase a stronger story.  This being said, Bag of Bones will not offer anything new that the general audience hasn’t already seen better done in other films.  This is a film for the die-hard King fans.

Film Review: THE LOVED ONES (2009)

The high school prom can mean everything to a teenager especially one with a deep seated obsession as Lola (Robin McLeavy) does with troubled teen Brent (Xavier Samuel) in The Loved Ones (2009) a new look at the high school prom that hasn’t been explored since Carrie (1976).  In The Loved Ones, Brent is trying to get over the accidental killing his father in a car accident by burying his troubles in drugs and heavy metal music.  Only his girlfriend Holly (Victoria Thaine) is able to ground him and prevent him from any further despair.  

 

Too caught up in his own problems, Brent rejects Lola when she asks him to the prom.  Unbeknownst to Brent Lola has an uncontrollable obsession to him and she will do whatever it takes to have the perfect prom even if it means having her Daddy (John Brumpton) kidnap him and bring him to their home.  Now Brent finds himself trapped and subjected to all types of torture from the rejected Lola and her Daddy who will do anything for his little “Princess.”

Written and directed by Sean Byrne The Loved Ones is a very smart and clever film with some really stellar performances by its cast.  The film is even more elevated by Byrne’s command of the material and the way in which all the lives of all the characters become interconnected by the film’s end.  McLeavy gives a great performance as the female version of a Norman Bates who has Daddy issues and an unnatural relationship with her father.  Overall, this film is a strong film because not only is the writing and directing strong but all the performances are equally captivating delivering a film that never feels like it’s something you’ve seen before.  It continues to defy expectations from beginning to end and is quite shocking while also delicately balancing the humor with the horror (and gore).

This is not just a highlight of modern Australian horror cinema but of the horror genre in general and a film that you should not pass up.