RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER BECAME ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR!”

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER BECAME ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR!”

It may come as a shock to many people (even horror fans) but Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017) became one of the highest grossing traditional horror films of 2017 (with the exception of the monster hit remake of Stephen King’s It).  With $312.2 million at the Worldwide Box Office the final chapter in the long running zombie-action-horror franchise comes to a satisfying conclusion.  This film is the highest grossing of all the others in the franchise proving the extreme popularity of the films with fans of the actual game and general horror fans (and franchise star Milla Jovovich).

 

With this closing chapter writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson went back to basics in terms of style with the grittier action sequences and look of the zombies and monsters; he strayed from the more colorful visual palette of the past two films to return the franchise to the roots of the look of the original film.  Despite some questionable story elements, the film does a fantastic job putting all the pieces of the franchise together into a complete puzzle which fans, who have stuck through the duration of the films, will appreciate.  This is one of those few horror franchises where the same person has hung in there with each of the films till the end.  Anderson may not have directed all the films (just the original and the last three) but he has written them all and was producer for all of them over the course of fifteen years!  Some of the only other franchises to have a similar track record is writer/producer/director Don Coscarelli with the Phantasm franchise (37 years), writer/director Victor Salva and Jeepers Creepers films (17 years), writer/director Don Mancini with the Child’s Play franchise (29 years), writer/producer/director Sam Raimi and producer Rob Tapert with the Evil Dead films & television series (34 years) and writer/actor/director Leigh Whannell with the Insidious films (7 years), to name a very few.

 RE fans and general audiences have enjoyed watching the journey of the main character Alice (Jovovich) or “Project Alice” as she is also called in the films.  She has changed and developed from film to film gaining and loosing friends and allies on her quest to stop the Umbrella Corporation from destroying all of humanity on Earth.  The franchise has become one of the most ambitious horror franchises in history with characters from all over the world interacting in this zombie infested world.  The franchise has not only showcased some amazing fight choreography and action sequences but delivered the goods when it comes to the numerous monsters on display and death throughout.  Very few long running horror franchises have been able to have a protagonist as engaging and dynamic as Jovovich’s Alice and that is a testament to the commitment of the actor to the character and the Anderson’s writing to continue to test the character with new obstacles.

In terms of Box Office, all the films have grossed over $100 million at the Worldwide Box Office with the distinct oddity of The Final Chapter being the lowest growing Domestically (whereas Afterlife (2010) has the highest Domestic gross of the franchise with $60 million).  Obviously, the franchise is more of an International Box Office phenom then a domestic one.  By the time The Final Chapter was released earlier this year, interest in the franchise here was gone; only the die-hard fans came out to see how the franchise would finally end.  Internationally, the film did extremely well with over $285 million (a franchise best)!  With these numbers, even though the current run of Anderson films has come to an end, there is already talk of rebooting the franchise and starting over.  It should also be noted that the third film in the animated franchise Vendetta (2017) was also released this year (but Anderson has nothing to do with the animated films that stay more faithful to the games).

I don’t particularly like all the films in the franchise myself.  I still love the original film which is straight forward and retains the simplicity of an action-horror film that showcased both Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez’ talents for kicking ass and looking good while doing it.  I hated the Apocalypse (2004) as the cast was not nearly as strong as the original but it did add Oded Fehr and Jared Harris to the otherwise forgettable cast and I never liked the look of Nemesis.  They were back in form with Extinction (2007) but I think it’s because director Russell Mulcahy gives the film a great visual look and style with the desert looking apocalypse landscape (he did, after all, direct Highlander, Tale of the Mummy, and Resurrection, to name a few) and they added Ali Larter to the franchise (one of the great additions).  Anderson returns behind the camera with Afterlife (2010) which is the first to film in 3-D (with the same cameras used for James Cameron’s Avatar); all subsequent films would also get the 3-D treatment (I should know as I saw them all in 3-D on opening weekend).  Afterlife would bring new life into the franchise with its bolder color palette and more balletic fight choreography as the fights would become even more dynamic then in previous films.  Anderson’s cinematography would be the best here than in any of the previous films as the film took the strengths of the previous films and amplify them more.  Retribution (2012) would be a step down (in my opinion) as it focused more on the action sequences and less on the story as the whole film didn’t really seem to go anywhere as if it was a filler film for the next impending film (needless to say, Box Office for this film would dwindle tremendously from the previous film which became the franchise high domestically).  The tepid Box Office and audience response to this film meant that it was time to call it quits and thus The Final Chapter was released with a whimper domestically but to enthusiastic response Internationally.  This is one of the stronger films in terms of the actual story and plot as you see a lot of the stories of characters you’ve come to know finally come to a satisfying end.

 

In terms of longevity and profitability, the RE franchise is one of the most successful despite the quality of some of the films which is typical of any franchise that’s run through six films (and three animated films) over the course of 15 years.  Anderson was able to have actors come and go throughout the run of the series keeping continuity and consistency which is also rare with horror franchises (or any franchise).

I’ve always been a huge fan of the films and will continue to be one even when the franchise is finally rebooted for the next generation.  This was a franchise by and from fans to and for the fans and that is a rare thing indeed.

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “The Return & JEEPERS CREEPERS 3”

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “The Return & JEEPERS CREEPERS 3”

It’s been over a year since the last “Rants & Ravings About Horror” as I took some time away to focus on my film festival – Something Wicked Film Festival, which focuses on animation, horror, fantasy, and science fiction shorts and feature films.  Now that we’ve completed out second year, I thought it’d be a good time to get back to pen & paper (or computer screen) as I just came back from a special screening of JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 (2017) which marks the return of The Creeper from a fourteen-year absence and writer/director Victor Salva, who has been behind all the films in the franchise thus far.

There was great anticipation for this film on my part as I thought JEEPERS CREEPERS II (2003) was an improvement over the 2001 original film.  I won’t get into the controversy surrounding director Salva as I’m under the impression that a person’s personal life should be separate from their art but I will get into the significance of these films.  In 2001, Salva’s original film was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public and even though it only made a little over $37 million at the Box Office (on a $10 million budget) it was very popular with audiences and The Creeper became an instant sensation.  The original film was dark and mysterious and centered on a brother and sister who see something unbelievable that gets them stuck in battle for their lives against The Creeper, an ancient creature that gets to kill for 23 days every 23 years.  The Creeper was unstoppable and an original creature that acted more human than monster with fantastic weapons at his disposal.  No one was safe especially those it smelled the unique fragrance of fear that it craved.  It also contained a unique twist ending no one was expecting.  The film played more like a slasher film with an unstoppable monster at the center which made it fresh and innovative at a time in horror that was dominated by torture porn and PG-13 horror.

When the sequel was released in 2003 Salva added a taste of revenge thriller to the mix as The Creeper went after a bus load of basketball players.  Character actor Ray Wise is Jack Taggart who wants vengeance against The Creeper and gets entangled with the creature on the last of its 23 days to kill before it goes into hibernation.  This film is better written and executed than the previous film, which had been hampered by a lot of common horror film conventions.  Wise was the crown jewel in this film because he brought so much weight to a film that could have otherwise been nothing more than a run of the mill monster film.  With a bigger budget that almost doubled that of the original at $17 million the film only managed to gross $35 million at the Box Office which was less than the original.  This film was better received by audiences and critics but the fact that it essentially made less than the original put any future sequels on hold.

The road to JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 was an extremely long one as there were rumors of a sequel for years and audiences were held in limbo.  The original proposed sequel CATHEDRAL would get a poster and teaser trailer but very little news about the film itself surfaced until 2015 when Salva official revealed he was working on a script.  Then the film went into production and the controversy surrounding the director’s past resurfaced even though it had been a problem that came up during the original film’s production process.    The question of how to divorce the art from the artist has been a debate for eons from the controversy surrounding such acclaimed directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, Mel Gibson, Roman Polanski, and more recently Nate Parker and Bill Cosby, to name a few.  This controversy is probably one of the reasons why JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 is not getting a wide theatrical release as with the previous films but a limited screening through Fathom Events.  A limited number of cities and theaters will screen the film and a small number of fans will get the chance to see the film on the big screen before it finds its way on DVD/BD and digital download and streaming.  I happened to be in luck as the local theater was a Fathom Events supporter and was getting the film. 

When I got to the theater for the advertised 7:00pm screening, I was shocked that it had already been “Sold Out” but I was lucky in that they added an additional for 7:10pm.  I immediately bought my ticket and waited the forty minutes for the film to start.

Being a huge fan of the first two films I likened the anticipation for this film with the same as I felt for PHANTASM V: RAVAGER.  The remarkable thing about the JEEPERS CREEPERS franchise and PHANTASM and I’ll even include CHILD’S PLAY is that the original creators have all been involved in the subsequent sequels (and in the case of CHILD’S PLAY it is original writer Don Mancini who now directs each sequel as well).  This gives the franchise a sense that each subsequent film is an official continuation and fans the belief that the films are uncompromising by studio interference. 

JEEPERS CREEPERS 3 is a long time coming but for fans of the franchise it doesn’t disappoint.  It takes the elements of the first two films and expands them and twists them into something new.  The film takes place directly after the original film (but before Part 2) in which a ravaged police precinct must deal with The Creeper who have killed their own.  Joining the police is Sheriff Tashtego (Stan Shaw) who has history with The Creeper from the last time it showed up.  Tashtego has assembled a group of bounty hunters with one purpose which is to kill The Creeper once and for all.  The Creeper may have managed to slip through his fingers this time but he seeks out the help of an old friend Gaylen Brandon (Meg Foster), who has been recently seeing the haunting image of her son Kenny (Jordan Salloun), who was killed by The Creeper twenty-three years earlier.  He hopes that she holds the key to finding a way to kill the monster once and for all.  Gaylen has problems of her own as she is told by Kenny that The Creeper is heading her way to settle old debts before disappearing again for another 23 years.  Also caught in the middle is Gaylen’s niece Addison (Gabrielle Haugh) which The Creeper soon takes a liking to.

One of the big differences between this film and the previous films is the fact that most of the film takes place during the daylight hour so audiences get to see The Creeper in all his gruesome glory.  This deflates and sense of suspense in the film which is okay since audiences are now accustomed to The Creeper anyways.  The other addition to the franchise is the overwhelming presence of the police and the action elements that police customarily brings with it.  There is more fire power and guns on display in this film diminishing the horror elements that made the first two films so interesting.  The film takes a page from the UNDERWORLD and RESIDENT EVIL playbook in this regard.  Even though these elements seem like a natural progression since the last film was released over a decade ago, old school fans will not like it.  I heard laughing in the background during some sequences when there shouldn’t have been and some people walked out before the end of the film.

 

I’m of the camp that enjoys these films because of the demanding work and autonomy of the film-makers and respect their passion for their own projects.  PHANTASM IV: OBLIVION may be director Don Coscarelli’s worst film because there is so much passion in the film that you can’t simply dismiss the result.  The same can be said of this film.  Director Salva has been living with the franchise for a very long time and by the end of this film you realize he has a definite direction on where to go next which is great for the die-hard fans.

This being said, random film fans (not the die-hard fans) will probably not agree with my assessment but there are some amazing new toys from The Creeper and he’s given more screen time in this film then both of the previous films combined so there is a lot to be thankful for.