Film Review: THE LAST SUPPER (2005)

Based on the novel by Kei Oishi, The Last Supper (2005) is a psychological horror film in the vein of anything that you might find in a Hannibal Lector film…except on a much smaller budget.  This Japanese bargain basement production (with a budget of barely $400,000) tells the story of Dr. Yuji Kotorida (Masaya Kato) who is a renowned surgeon who also happens to kill and eat people.  When a co-worker asks him to provide the meat for her wedding, Kotorida sets about to craft the most exquisite meal anyone has ever set their eyes on.

Written and directed by Osamu Fukutani the film suffers from its low budget as it tries to straddle the fence between psychological thriller and gore film.  At times it suffers as it uses flashbacks to show how Kotorida got to where he was and if you’re into the slow burn then this film will be right up your alley.  If you are not, then a lot of the elements that I just described may have you turning off the remote before the end of the film but I have to say that the ending is definitely worth the buildup as it is something you won’t soon forget.   

The film lacks refinement and is pretty sub-par when compared to any of the films in the Hannibal Lector franchise but those looking for something different and can look past the low budget may find an engaging film.

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR - “HALLOWEEN and a New Legacy of Horror”

“HALLOWEEN and a New Legacy of Horror”

Master of Horror John Carpenter returns to the franchise that made him an International celebrity with the release of HALLOWEEN (2018) but instead of writing and & directing this latest sequel he is an Executive Producer and provides the score (with his new collaborators Cody Carpenter and Daniel A. Davies).  There is this idea that there is a need or “want” by audiences that the franchise needs to go “old school” and back to basics so returning with Carpenter is star Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle (as Laurie Strode and The Shape, respectfully).  Helping to get back to this old school vibe are Danny McBride, Jeff Fradley, and David Gordon Green as the screenwriters and Green who directs.  Green made a name for himself with his debut feature George Washington (2000) but is better known for his comedies Pineapple Express (2008), Your Highness (2011), and The Sitter (2011); he soon moved on to the more interesting films Joe (2013), Our Brand is Crisis (2015), and Stronger (2017).  McBride is more known for Eastbound & Down but has shown his horror film creed with Alien: Covenant (2017).

I only mention McBride and Green as they are the key people responsible for putting this film together along with uber producer Jason Blum who came aboard to shepherd the film in a direction for a new era and audience (along with producers Malek Akkad and Bill Block).  As much as I want to say I love the idea of film-makers, in hindsight, claiming that some films/sequels/remakes/re-imaginings/etc. stray too far from the source material, there is no denying that a lot of time has passed from the Carpenter ’78 Original to the more recent Rob Zombie directed Halloween II (2009) and audiences from the ‘70s are completely different from those of the ‘00s.  Blum and company claim that there was a need to return to that ‘70s mentality of horror film that they believe audiences want instead of the more current crop of darker horror film that has a lot of gore and relies less on suspense and subtly.  Franchise films like Insidious, The Purge, Final Destination, Hostel, Saw, and Sinister have replaced the slasher films of the ‘80s and ‘90s which have continuously upped the ante on horror and gore and become huge Box Office draws.  Smaller and sometimes more critically adored films like It Follows, The Babadook, and Oculus have been critical darlings that relied more on atmosphere and mood (and less on gore) have rarely been huge Box Office draws leaving the impression that the more low-key style horror films no longer have a place with mainstream audiences.

So, how do you craft a remake/re-imagining of a beloved classic film that retains the atmosphere of the original while also appealing to modern day audiences who flocked to see the remake of Stephen King’s It (2017) and not the remake of Poltergeist (2015)?  That was the goal of the film-makers behind the ’18 Halloween.   Bringing Carpenter, Curtis, and Castle back was a great marketing gimmick to start but would the resultant film be what audiences really wanted?

Rob Zombie’s very divisive two Halloween films ’07 and ’09 was a means to ground the franchise in a “Zombie-colored” real world in which The Shape was less a Boogieman and more a human being by the name of Michael Myers, a misunderstood and abused child from a broken family that becomes a relentless serial killer.  Gone is the mystique of Carpenter’s faceless killer that was given no meaning or method to his madness; Zombie wanted to present a killer you could understand and empathize with just as much as the heroine Laurie Strode (played in his films by Scout Taylor-Compton).  The ‘00s was a time in which the faceless serial killer was passé replaced by the Dexter Morgan and Hannibal Lectors.  Zombie’s films were loathed by some but cherished by others due to his style and his need to create a Michael Myers who wasn’t simply “evil” by nature but was raised that way.  These films went against everything from the previous seven sequels but then again this wasn’t the first time the franchise was rebooted.

After a less than satisfying part V: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) and part 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) the franchise was again rebooted to dismiss all sequels except for Part II.  For Halloween: H20 (1998), Curtis returns to reboot the franchise in one of the most satisfying of all the sequels in which Laurie Strode has changed her name to hide away from her past.  This film was extremely well liked by both fans and critics as it presented a more three-dimensional heroine than had ever been presented in a Halloween film while also appealing to modern audiences with slick visuals and a young and attractive cast with seasoned professionals and comic wit.  These achievements were short lived as Part VII: Resurrection (2002) became one of the most hated sequels in the franchise. 

After the dismal reception of the non-Michael Myers starring Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1983), gears were shifted to bring Myers and Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasance) back from their fiery deaths in Part II (1981) for Halloween IV: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).

This all being said, the Halloween franchise as a whole was rebooted three times before McBride & Green, Carpenter & Curtis & Castle, and Blum decided it was time to once again break the mold and revisit the iconic franchise by making a sequel that directly takes place after the original film and ignoring all of the past 40 years’ worth of continuity and story.  This new story had to appeal to fans of the franchise who had seen all the previous films (or at least some of them) in addition to those who had never seen a Halloween film.   Laurie Strode is a woman suffering from PTSD after the events in the ’78 Original film and been preparing for The Shape’s escape from a mental institution for forty years.  She has a daughter whom she has alienated and a grand-daughter who barely knows her, and her world comes crashing down upon her when a bus carrying The Shape and other mental patients crashes releasing The Shape to menace Haddonfield once again.

I will try not to reveal to many details of the film for those who have not seen the film but despite being a well-done slasher film there is nothing remarkably new or intriguing in this latest sequel that takes the best bits of all the sequels and mashes then together in this “best of” film.  Curtis does her very best to keep the film together but Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer) is no Dr. Loomis and Will Patton is slumming as Officer Hawkins, who is trying to capture The Shape once he realizes that he has a serial killer in his town.    The bumbling cops from the abysmal Part V seem to still be working in Haddonfield now in this new film where there is an extended scene of cop banter that is completely out of place.   There is a child that believes in the Boogieman and a babysitter, but their scenes are so short and haphazard that you wonder the logic of why they are even in the film other than to have an homage to the ’78 Original and Part IV.  Curtis’ character pulls a lot from H20 and there are several nods to that film but there are a few details about the ’18 film that just had me feeling empty about the entire film.

H20 already presented Laurie Strode as a woman with PTSD but one that for the most part has moved on with her life unlike the ’18 film which presents her as a survivalist with a fortified home and a menagerie of guns.  Unfortunately, for the forty years of preparing for the eventual arrival of Michael Myers she’s a horrible shot and she never logically responds to the presence of Myers like you think someone who is obsessed with killing him would be.  She acts and reacts more for plot than logic.  Strode’s daughter Karen and granddaughter Alysson (Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, respectfully) are the best story point of the entire film that is squandered in clichés and bad memories of The Curse of Michael Myers.  I love the fact that this film wanted to present three generations of women effected by the trauma of Myers but there are too many bad decisions and character points that just seem to be there for plot rather than character.  Some of these same relationship issues were developed in Part VI and the Strode family in that film.  The ’18 film had a great opportunity to present three great women characters from different generations, but they ended up coming across as cyphers for Laurie’s familial problems rather than genuine character moments.

My next fault with the film, and this is a big one, is the presentation of Myers.  From the trailer and the vocal aspirations of the film-makers you’d be in the belief that the idea of this film is to go back to the basics of Carpenter’s film regarding how Myers was presented as a Boogieman/The Shape.  Instead, this film rehashes the brutality of the Zombie films without the since of fun or style.  Myers kills everything in his path with complete disregard and it is only by happenstance that he ultimately finds his way to Laurie’s fortified home in the final act.  It never seems like he has any purpose other than to kill-kill-kill which is unlike the ’78 Original or even Zombie’s film.  For gore fans there are plenty of deaths to add to Myers body-count but to fans of the suspense filled original it’s a bit of the same from previous films except less creative as there are many nods to deaths from previous sequels. 

There are various other faults I have with the film but the final element that I’ll discuss is simply that the film lacks any real suspense and when the characters are as hollow and uninteresting as presented her even the high body-count can’t masque what a mediocre film the final product actually is.  Now, I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with me especially considering that the film has grossed over $250 million worldwide on a $10 million production budget but I believe this is more serendipity than anything else due to the involvement of so many people from the ’78 Original.  

Now, to put this all in perspective, I must also add that I saw the far superior Suspiria (2018) the night before and the Korean language Rampant (2018) on the same day as I saw Halloween and both films were shining examples of character based horror films that had style and presented either creepy and unnerving atmosphere (Suspiria) and or action-suspense-zombie-demon horror (Rampant).  Both took clichés and standard horror conventions and presented them in new and surprising ways whereas Halloween ’18 presented the exact same thing that I’d seen before countless times.

I’ll concede that I may be a little biased since I didn’t think there needed to be another Halloween reboot especially with Curtis rebooting her own franchise, again, but the trailer did give me hope that the film would have at least been interesting having Carpenter, Curtis, and Castle involved but the only real thing of brilliance in the film is the musical score from Carpenter (and his collaborators).  The score wasn’t a retread of what came before but an evolution and attribute this to Carpenter and his team as he has found new life in his musical career having produced over the years the amazing Lost Themes I and II not to mention the Anthology album.  The music is the true highlight of the film!

Carpenter’s film career may have stalled after the release of The Ward (2010), which didn’t even get a large Theatrical release, but his music career has been nothing short of brilliant and I’m ecstatic that he’s producing better music now than he has in years.

Halloween ’18 is a monumental success story that has resurrected a fairly forgotten franchise (except for hard-core horror fans) for general audiences and there will definitely be another film which the customary result of many of producer Blum’s films has been (The Purge, Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Unfriended, etc.).  Even though I’m no fan of the film, I am more than happy to admit that the greatest result of the success of the film is that there is a renewed interest in everything “John Carpenter” and I hope that He becomes a new contributor to the expanding horror world of Blumehouse Productions as they continue to allow visionary film-makers to present their visions without studio interference which is the one thing we can all be thankful for.

Indie Film Review: MR. LOCKJAW (2015)

It has been a long time coming but director Byron C. Erwin’s latest production is a pilot for the show Mr. Lockjaw (2015), which is now available VOD (http://mrlockjaw.com/).  The pilot is written by Justin Craig and is a crime drama about Miles Brimley (Troy Halverson), a struggling children’s entertainer who also just so happens to have a split personality that manifests itself through his ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Lockjaw. 

While Miles struggles to make ends meet, Mr. Lockjaw excels as an extremely skilled interrogator for a mob boss.  This initial episode sets up many stories and subplots that will play out through subsequent episodes but in addition to Miles’ continuing struggle to grapple with his sanity and just trying to get through each day of life there is a phalanx of drug dealers, dirty cops, blackmail, and corruption that threatens to bring everyone down with only Mr. Lockjaw in the center who can fully grasp the whole picture.

Shot in and around all parts of Atlanta, Georgia, Erwin and his production team have crafted a unique and dark underworld of Atlanta unlike any other independent production.  Production values are first rate on par with a Hollywood television series.  They’ve actually made Atlanta a character in the film that Miles just happens to be trapped in.  

Halverson shines as the emotionally malevolent Miles whose sanity is always on the brink of collapsing and brings to mind Anthony Hopkins’s magnificent performance in the similarly themed film Magic (1978).  He is supported by the equally good Mark Ashworth (as mobster Mr. Stanley), Keith Brooks (as Balto, the clown), and Tomi Lavinder (as Gwyneth Peters), among others.  It is very interesting how all the characters’ stories intertwine in this complex crime drama that borders on the truly horrific.

Writer Craig does a nice job balancing the many different stories and subplots and even though they may not all completely connect, by the end of the first episode you are drawn in and want to find out more and what will happen next.  

Horror fans will be able to rejoice in the onscreen violence (and there is plenty of it) as well as the dark comedic touches sprinkled throughout.  This is a disturbing new kind of crime drama that fans of more cerebral shows like Hannibal, Bates Motel, or Dexter will enjoy.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this series.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 22: “The Best Horror of 2014!”

Week 22: “The Best Horror of 2014!”

I know its 2015 and we’re seeing some great horror films coming out this year – i.e. It Follows, Insidious: Chapter 3 and What We Do in the Shadows – and there are plenty more on the way but I was reading a recent issue of the magazine Fangoria (one of my favorites by the way) and in issue #339 (the one with the amazing article on the music of John Carpenter) they had the ballot for the 2015 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards which they do every year honoring the best of the best in terms of horror films from the previous year as chosen by their readers (and not a bunch of people in suits).  Reading this article got me thinking about what some of my favorite horror films of last year were as well as made me realize how many more I missed out on and still need to see.  So, I’ve dedicated this week’s article on going through this ballot and seeing what I come up with.  So if you want to vote for this year’s event go to their website (at www.fangoria.com) and see if you can still vote.

BEST WIDE-RELEASE FILM

(As Above, So Below/Dracula Untold/Godzilla/Oculus/The Quiet Ones)

Hands down, my favorite offered in this category is Oculus.  This was an amazing film superior to all the other films in this category.  I got to view them all on the big screen and this film played extremely well with its clever and smart script and amazing art direction and cinematography.  My second choice would have been Dracula Untold which was better than I expected.  I not being a fan of the vampire film this brought something new and interesting to the over-told tell of Vlad the Impeller.  Godzilla was a great movie that suffered from having too many amazing actors having nothing to do other than stand around with their jaw dropped and the fact that whenever Godzilla wasn’t on the screen I wanted to fall asleep.  As Above, So Below gets points for being one of the more original ideas for a found footage horror style film but it also loses points for being a found footage horror film.  I don’t know why The Quiet Ones even made the list as this was a film with a great set up that falls apart half way through due to bad choices by the characters and a third act too dependent of mediocre CGI.

BEST LIMITED-RELEASE/DIRECT-TO-VIDEO FILM

(The Babadook/The Battery/Housebound/The Sacrament/Under the Skin)

Hands down the best film of this category and of all horror films released last year in general is The Babadook.  This was a refreshing original horror film that hand something to say and didn’t pander to audiences.  It’s smart, well executed and has two amazing performances – one by a child actor.  There was no film that could compare.  I loved the subtle slow burn of both The Battery and The Sacrament which are both amazing films about two completely different things done in two completely different styles.  The Battery breathed new life into the zombie genre while The Sacrament proved that a found footage style film can work if in the right hands.  Unfortunately, at this time I’ve yet to see Housebound or Under the Skin although both are at the top of my list.

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

(Big Bad Wolves/A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night/The House at the End of Time/The strange Color of Your Body’s Tears/Witching & Bitching)

I regret that for the first time ever since I’ve been following the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards I’ve not seen a single film that was nominated.  Every one of these films are on my must-see list but I’ve yet to sit down and view any of them and I must apologize to my readers for this.

BEST ACTOR

(Liar Ashkenazi/Nick Damici/Jake Gyllenhaal/Jared Harris/Daniel Radcliffe)

I’ll have to abstain from this one since I’ve not seen Ashkenazi’s performance in Big Bad Wolves, nor Nick Damici in Late Phases nor Jake Gyllenhaal in Enemy.  Enemy is the one film I hadn’t heard about until now and Damici was phenomenal in Stake Land (2010) and Mulberry St (2006) and he even has a role in The Sacrament, so, I’m sure his performance in Late Phases is just as good if not better.  Jared Harris steals The Quiet Ones for the most part but I’ve seen him in better and Daniel Radcliffe gives another great performance in Horns (as is par for the course with him since leaving the Harry Potter franchise).

BEST ACTRESS

(Essie Davis/Alexandra Essoe/Scarlett Johansson/Marta Milans/Tilda Swinton)

This is a tough one even though I’ve yet to see Johansson’s performance in Under the Skin not Alexandra Essoe in Starry Eyes nor Marta Milans in Devoured.  Tilda Swinton’s performance in Only Lovers Left Alive sees her at top form (as usual) because this woman never does wrong.  She usually steals every film she’s in but this film she is the star and she gives a performance that shouldn’t have been overlooked even by The Academy.  This being said, Essie Davis came out of nowhere with her performance in The Babadook as a broken mother taking care of a “special” child that drives her over the edge.  Davis’ performance sends chills down my spine every time which is why she springs to the top.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

(David Asavanond/Tzahi Grad/Gene Jones/Michael Parks/Noah Wiseman)

Again I’ve missed three of these actors’ performances including Asavanond in Countdown, Grad in Big Bad Wolves, and Parks in Tusk.  Jones does give a great turn in The Sacrament but he is easily overshadowed by Noah Wiseman’s stellar performance in The Babadook especially coming from a child actor.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

(Olvia Cooke/Anne Ramsay/Katee Sackhoff/Rima Te Wiata/Mia Wasikowska)

I missed Ramsay in The Taking of Deborah Logan and Wiata in Housebound.  Cooke was good in The Quiet Ones which was, unfortunately, such a mediocre film and Wasikowska (whom I usually love in everything) is over shadowed by all the other great performances in Only Lovers Left Alive, so Katee Sackhoff in Oculus goes home with this one this year.  Her performance in this film is a far cry from her other performances and worth taking a look at.

BEST SCREENPLAY

(The Babadook/Housebound/Life After Beth/Oculus/Proxy)

I should abstain from this one as I’ve only seen two of the three films.  As I’ve said before Housebound is on my must-see list as is Life After Beth and I’ve since added Proxy to that list.  Unfortunately, for me, my favorite two horror films of last year are up against each other but I have to go with Oculus because the film hinges on the suspense of all the time jumping and visual jumps that pull you into the film and never lets you go.  The Babadook also has a great script but it is the performances by the actors that keep your eyes glued to the screen.  

BEST SCORE

(Big Bad Wolves/Oculus/Only Lovers Left Alive/Starry Eyes/Under the Skin)

I’ve not heard the score for Big Bad Wolves (Frank Ilfman), Starry Eyes (Jonathan Snipes) or Under the Skin (Mica Levi) but Oculus has an amazing score by The Newton Brothers as does Only Lovers Left Alive, with music by Jozef van Wissem and SQURL. It is only with Only Lovers Left Alive in which the music itself is a character in the film and the score creates a very lush atmosphere and mood.

BEST MAKEUP/CREATURE FX

(Afflicted/Dead Snow 2/Horns/Late Phases/Starry Eyes)

I’ve not seen Starry Eyes (Hugo Villasenor & SOTA FX), Late Phases (Robert Kurtzman & Brian Spears) or Afflicted (Tamar Ouziel) but it doesn’t matter because I love the zombie and bloodshed and chaos of Dead Snow 2 (Steinaar Karstein & Mike Elizalde)! Gregory Nicotero and Howard Berger’s work in Horns was amazing but Dead Snow 2 was one of the most entertaining zombie-war films ever made with excellent makeup FX and visual FX and mayhem that once started never stopped.  This was an amazing display of independent film making where quality was never sacrificed. 

BEST TV SERIES

(American Horror Story: Freak Show/Hannibal/Penny Dreadful/True Detective/The Walking Dead)

Right now, of this list Hannibal is my favorite show but I’ve not watched the current season on any of them.  Unfortunately, I’m a Netflix and bindge watcher so I watch the entire season once it has aired.  I’ve yet to see True Detective or Penny Dreadful but I’ve only heard great things about them.  In my opinion, The Walking Dead is a pale comparison to the comic book series and you never know what to expect from American Horror Story from season to season (which hasn’t stopped me from being addicted).

BEST TV ACTOR

(Hugh Dancy/Josh Hartnett/Andrew Lincoln/Matthew McConaughey/Mads Mikkelsen)

Hartnett (from Penny Dreadful) and McConaughey (from True Detective) are out of the running since I’ve yet to watch their shows (but I will).  The best thing about The Walking Dead is the acting so you might think that Lincoln would be in the running but the show (for me) is inconsistent and not always strong, whereas both Dancy and Mikkelsen are amazing in Hannibal.  It’s hard to determine who is better as Dancy is the unhinged police detective whereas Mikkelsen is the more subtle and refined Hannibal.  It I had to make a choice it would be Dancy as he is given so much more range and levels to play off of than Mikkelsen.  Dancy also easily replaces William Peterson and Edward Norton in the role whereas Mikkelsen is good but he’s no Anthony Hopkins (yet).

BEST TV ACTRESS

(Nicole Beharie/Eva Green/Janet Montgomery/Anna Paquin/Sarah Paulson)

I should abstain from this one as I’ve never seen Sleepy Hollow (Beharie), Penny Dreadful (Green), Salem (Janet Montgomery) or True Blood (Paquin) and I’ve not seen Paulson in the latest American Horror Story: Freak Show.  Unfortunately (for everyone else in this group) I’m voting for Eva Green!  She is currently one of my favorite actress’ and I’m sure she outshines everyone else by a mile like she does in everything she does.  I look forward to the day (soon) when I can binge watch all of Penny Dreadful.

BEST TV SUPPORTING ACTOR

(David Bradley/Zane Holtz/Rory Kinnear/Norman Reedus/Finn Wittrock)

 Just like the previous category, I’ve not seen Bradley in The Strain, Kinnear in Penny Dreadful, or Wittrock in American Horror Story: Freak Show but Holtz is fantastic as Richie Gecko in From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series and Reedus…well, is Reedus in The Walking Dead.  The Walking Dead has yet to erase my opinions based on the comic book series but From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series easily is superior to the original film and this is partial because of the stellar cast.

BEST TV SUPPORTING ACTRESS

(Gillian Anderson/Madeleine Martin/Melissa McBride/Billie Piper/Deborah Ann Woll)

I’m very familiar with Anderson in Hannibal and McBride in The Walking Dead but I know nothing about Martin (in Hemlock Grove), Piper (in Penny Dreadful), and Woll (in True Blood) but because I love Anderson more in her other show The Fall, I have to give this one up to McBride who since the start of the show has elevated her character further than anyone else has.  She’s one of the reasons I continue to watch the show (when I bother to).

BEST TV MAKEUP/CREATURE FX

(Hannibal/Penny Dreadful/The Strain/True Blood/The Walking Dead)

One last time, I get to say I’ve yet to view Penny Dreadful (Nick Dudman), The Strain (Steve Newburn & Sean Sansom) or True Blood (Todd Masters & Dan Rebert).  The Walking Dead (Gregory Nicotero & Howard Berger) has some of the most amazing makeup FX on television but doesn’t hold a candle to what crazy monstrosity will show up next in Hannibal (Franchois Dagenais) which never ceases to amaze me by being clever and original and contributing to the story at the same time. 

WORST FILM

This category they let you put down your own film.

The worst film of 2014 was The Pyramid!  This is a monstrosity of a found footage film that breaks all the rules for no reason and has extremely subpar special visual FX not to mention a cast of characters that do the most dumb things from moment to moment to moment.  It was the first film in decades that I almost walked out of at the theatre it was so bad.  Avoid like the plague.

***

Well, there you have it.  A look into the great horror films of 2014 (as given to me by the 2015 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards!  I hope you enjoyed this list and feel free to drop me a line and tell me what you chose.