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 – “2015 – A Year in Review…in Hell”

I would have loved to have said that 2015 was a great year for the horror genre, but sadly it was far from it.  2015 was a bad year for traditional horror films unless you were producer Jason Blum and the production costs for your films were so low that you couldn’t help but turn a profit.  Last year was a great year for non-horror, horror films which are all those films that have horror elements but would rather be action-horror (Jurassic World), animated-horror (Hotel Transylvania 2) or YA-horror (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) or comedy-horror (Goosebumps).  Remakes were shit and found footage films no one cared for (unless, oddly enough, your name is Shyamalan) and no one wanted to see sequels.  Here’s a play-by-play of how I saw 2015 in the world of horror. 

Jurassic World was the #1 grossing (action-)horror film with over $652.3 million domestically!  Some people loved the film but I thought it was mostly a rehash of the first two films done worse by two actors that had no on screen chemistry and the tired plot thread of putting stupid kids in danger (the plot of all the previous films).  Chris Pratt wasn’t given enough room to breathe like he did in Guardians of the Galaxy and the dinosaurs (which looked excellent in 3D) were the only reason the film wasn’t complete shit.  They should have stopped as The Lost World: Jurassic Park but now we are assured more braindead sequels to come.

 

Next up is Hotel Transylvania 2 (with $167.8 million domestically), which unfortunately I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing just yet.  I loved the first film and thought it was quite inventive but I didn’t hear much good about this film so I just skipped it.  That’s all that managed to gross over $100 million at the Box Office in 2015 which is a sad indicator of things yet to come over the course of the rest of the year.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (with $81.7 million) was one of the few stand-outs of the year in my opinion as it took the adventure aspects of the original film and amped up the horror elements with its zombie-like carnage of terror.  I really enjoyed the first film and loved what they did with the sequel and hope that subsequent films are just as inventive with their horror elements.  Goosebumps ($79.3 million) did decent business but wasn’t a huge breakout film.  I must be one of the few people who have never read the books nor seen the original television series so I didn’t bother watching this film that looked like Jumanji with Jack Black.  

We finally get down to our first real horror film which is The Visit ($65.2 million) which was M. Night Shyamalan’s return to great form as he not only managed to craft a suspenseful found footage film but also made audiences believe that he wasn’t done yet as a capable film-maker.  I for one enjoy most all of his films but audiences have been left with a bad taste after several of his prior films.  Also, because he produced the film himself with his own money with a budget of only $5 million, this became one of the big success stories of the year.  It also happened to be one hell pretty damn good film as well.

Insidious: Chapter 3 ($52.2 million) and the remake of Poltergeist ($47. 4 million) were big disappoints for different reasons.  Insidious had a lot to live up to because of the success of the previous two films but since most of the cast were not returning and director James Wan jumped ship to go do the Furious 7 film, new director Leigh Whannell was going to have a lot to do in order to make audiences come back; unfortunately, only the die-hard fans showed up.  The film was still financially successful but a disappointment nevertheless.  Like most horror film remakes, there was no reason for Poltergeist other than it was a beloved film that hadn’t been given the remake treatment yet.  This film arrived D.O.A. despite the star power of Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt.  I enjoyed Insidious but hated Poltergeist.

Next down on the list is the better than expected The Gift ($43.8 million) which is a character based thriller that had many twists and turns throughout.  With only a $5 million budget this did excellent business and played well with audiences throughout its run.  This is one of my favorites of the year.  A different kind of gift was on display with the holiday film Krampus ($42.5 million) which got mixed reviews from audiences expecting another Trick ‘R Treat from director Michael Dougherty.  This film didn’t make any waves and was unfortunately quickly forgetten despite the fact that I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The suspense thriller The Boy Next Door ($35.4 million) did really good business for a film whose production budget was a meager $4 million but so did producer Jason Blum’s other film Unfriended ($32.5 million) except the former is not as well remembered as the later.  Unfriended had a budget under $1 million and had one of the best profit gains of the year of any film.  I thought The Boy Next Door was effective yet highly forgettable and enjoyed the hell out of Unfriended when I saw it on the big screen in front of packed audience.

The most beautiful horror film of the year award goes to Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak ($31.1 million) but it’s gothic romance over horror vibe turned away many audiences.  Because of the budget of the film and the fact that this was built up to be one of the biggest horror films of the year, instead it became one of its biggest disappointments.  This is still one of my favorite films of the year that I believe time will shed a new light on for audiences.

Blum returned again with sequel Sinister 2 ($27.7 million) but this was a huge disappointment compared to the previous film and the hefty production budget of $10 million (high for a Blumhouse Production) means that this franchise is probably dead.  Another disappointment was the projected franchise starter The Last Witch Hunter ($27.4 million) which was one of the biggest box office duds of the year with a production budget of $90 million.  This was supposed to be a franchise starter and not a franchise killer.  I missed both of these last two films as I didn’t really care for the original Sinister film and Vin Diesel has starred in more crap films than good ones (i.e. Babylon A.D. and XXX) so I had no interest in his latest debacle (and neither did anyone else).

Another unneeded sequel arrives with The Women in Black 2: Angel of Death ($26.5 million).  Although an interesting concept the film should have been a stand-alone film rather than be forced to work within the confines of the original Woman in Black film.  Not a terrible film, but not a very memorable one either.  The same can be said for The Lazarus Effect ($25.8 million) which had a great cast and interesting concept that is blundered by being a CGI heavy slasher film in the third act.  Not a film worth seeking out as it borrows so much from the film Flatliners that it’s just better to go back and watch that film instead.

I might be a little biased since I come from the theatre world but I really enjoyed the low budget film The Gallows ($22.8 million) which was criticized not only for being a found footage film but also being predictable and unoriginal.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to be original with a found footage film as the market has been flooded with them but setting the film in the world of live theatre is why I liked it so much.  On a budget of only $100,000 this film was another huge financial success despite audience apathy.    This film was also produced by Blum as was Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension ($18.3 million) which is the lowest grossing film of the franchise.  Advertised as the final film, it was presented in 3D but was only given a moderate release because it was released simultaneously on VOD which is still highly controversial to most theater chains, so it didn’t get as wide a release as previous films in the franchise and kind of died quickly.  I loved seeing the film in 3D but it lacked the punch of previous films in the franchise which were suspenseful because of what audiences didn’t see rather than what they did.

Another high profile (action-)horror film to arrive D.O.A. was Seventh Son ($17.2 million) which had a $95 million price tag and nothing to show for it.  It wasn’t all that interesting of a film and was quickly ignored and forgotten.  

One of the most well received indie horror films It Follows ($14.7 million) almost didn’t get a theatrical release but when it did it found its audience.  The under $2 million production was a breath of fresh air from all the Hollywood horror films that just weren’t cutting it.  Like The Babadook a year before it, It Follows was the horror film that no horror fan should miss.  I loved the originality of the film and even though I didn’t think it was as good as The Babadook it was definitely one of the highlights of 2015.  The Green Inferno ($7.2 million) sat on a shelf for several years before finally finding release and unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see it as yet. 

Victor Frankenstein ($5.8 million) was another high profile box office dud that found no love from audiences.  I rather liked the adventure-horror film that was more The Mummy (1999) and less Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994).  It was fun and exciting and had a great cast that really got the film that they were trying to make.  Not for the traditionalist, this version of the Frankenstein story owes more to Peter Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein from the Hammer franchise than from the book.

There are tons more films that were released last year but since I didn’t see any of them (yet) I can’t comment on them.  Instead, I’ll just list some of them with their domestic gross and keep in mind that many of these films received limited theatrical release at the same time as a VOD release.

*Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse ($3.7 million)

*What We Do in the Shadows ($3.5 million)

*The Vatican Tapes ($1.8 million)

*Goodnight Mommy ($1.2 million)

*Dark Places ($208,588)

*Maggie ($187,112)

*Cop Car ($132,552)

*Turbo Kid ($67,132)

*Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World ($61, 044)

*Spring ($49,970)

*Knock, Knock ($36,336)

*The Nightmare ($28,281)

*Zombeavers ($14, 947)

*The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence) ($14, 562)

*The Hallow ($8,967)

*Hayride 2 ($2,571)

*L.A. Slasher ($2,421)

*REC 4: Apocalypse ($837)

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 31: “The Horror of Jason Blum”

Week 31: “The Horror of Jason Blum”

Anyone who has been following horror in the last few years will know the name Jason Blum as he has been a force-of-one in regards to low-budget horror that gets wide (and even limited) theatrical release while also turning huge profits  against extremely low budgets.  He’s behind some of the most profitable franchises still going now from The Purge to Insidious to Sinister to Paranormal Activity and has just added Ouija to that list.  Whether you like the films he produces (or in some cases acquires for distribution) there is no denying the impact that he is having on the horror genre.  Having already released nine films this year and (at least) two more before the year is out he has one-handedly kept the horror genre alive in 2015.  I decided that it was a good idea to catch up with some of his films from this year.

In January Blum had his first release which was the Jennifer Lopez starring thriller The Boy Next Door.  This is a thriller very much in the tone of Fear (1996) or The Crush (1993) except from the perspective of a teacher and her younger student.  Despite being directed by Rob Cohen – The Fast & the Furious (2001) and XXX (2002), this is a very dry erotic thriller which doesn’t really break any new ground.  The entire cast does a good job and its interesting seeing Cohen do a smaller film after so many big budget event films.  The big did extremely well at the Box Office grossing over $50 million worldwide against a $4 million production budget.  Also, of note is the fact that Lopez is a producer on the film (who is better known for having produced a lot of television rather than films) something she has done since Feel the Noise (2007) and El Cantante (2006), neither of which are thrillers.

In February Blum’s The Lazarus Effect was released.  This is a film more in line with the expectations of his company Blumhouse Productions.  Scientists experimenting with life after death get more than they expected when they resurrect one of them after being recently killed.  Needless to say, the scientist doesn’t return from the dead normal but rather a non-stop killing machine.  This film has an excellent concept and setup but in the third act becomes a senseless slasher film with echoes of Lucy (2014).  This being sad it’s very entertaining and all the cast do an excellent job with the material.  Do to the enormous amount of visual FX on display you’ll be forgiven if you don’t realize that most of the film is in a single location (to keep production costs down I’m sure).  This film was also a modest success grossing over $36 million worldwide against a production of only $3.3 million.

Blum took a break in March with no films released but returned in force in April with the better than expected Unfriended (for which he was an Executive Producer).  This is a concept driven film as it is told completely from the perspective and style of a chat room and found footage.  It has a very relatable and convincing cast of young unknown actors which drives the film and is suspenseful and engaging in the same mood and tone as displayed in the Paranormal Activity films.  This film did phenomenally well at the Box Office pulling in $62 million worldwide against a production budget of only $1 million.  There is talk of a sequel which may or may not have Blum’s involvement.

In May Blum gave his pal Oren Peli’s (director of the original Paranormal Activity) latest film Area 51 a limited theatrical release at the same time as its VOD release.  I have yet to see this film but it grossed $7,556 domestically (as it was not released theatrically in foreign markets).  

June saw the release of the sequel to Blum’s most successful franchise outside the Paranormal Activity films which is Insidious: Chapter 3.  This has been an extremely successful and popular franchise with horror fans around the world and with the general public who have been craving something new from your typical haunted house story.  I’ve enjoyed all of the films in this franchise not only because of the suspenseful stories that keep you on the edge of your seat but also because of the cast of characters and the great acting as well.  These are high value horror films done on very small budgets.  This film follows the secondary characters of the paranormal investigators from the previous films in a prequel story that adds to the mythology crafted by writer Leigh Whannell who has been with the franchise since the beginning and who made this film his directorial debut. Despite grossing less than the previous film in the franchise this film was still a huge success grossing $109 million worldwide against a $10 million production budget.

July saw the release of The Gallows, a found footage film that takes place in the world of a haunted high school theater.  This film had a lot of good will coming off some success screenings at film festivals.  Unfortunately, found footage films have been ignored by mainstream audiences of late and this film only grossed $38.2 million worldwide but because the production budget was only $100,000 this is an enormous success for the film and Blum again.  This is a guilty pleasure film for me as I’ve worked in the theater industry for almost two decades so seeing a horror film that utilizes that allowed me to enjoy the film probably more than most people with no background in theater.  I found it very entertaining and suspenseful which is the hallmark of a successful low budget horror film.

August saw the release of my favorite of the 2015 Blumhouse Productions which is The Gift.  This is a film that gets it right on so many levels.  Despite playing as a thriller there is so much going on in this film that I don’t want to ruin it but needless to say that nothing is as it seems in this thriller about former school friends who confront each other in the present bringing up the past that one of them had thought forgotten and buried.   Written, directed and starring Joel Edgerton this is a tight thriller that’s also atmospheric and suspenseful in a subtle yet eerie way that makes your skin crawl.  Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall (one of the most underrated and phenomenal actresses working today) are fantastic together.  This is not just my favorite of Blum’s films this year but one of my favorite horror films in general this year.  Great word of mouth pushed this film’s success to the tune of $46 million worldwide against a $5 million budget.

August also saw the release of Sinister 2.  Unfortunately, I was not a huge fan of the original film and missed this one at the Box Office.  I’m sure I’m not the only one in that camp as the film only grossed $27.5 million at the domestic Box Office (no foreign release) against a much bigger budget of $10 million, so this is not one of Blum’s more successful films and I doubt there will be an additional sequel anytime soon.

More recent is the release of Blum’s acquired film The Visit which comes from M. Night Shyamalan.  This film has gotten some of the best reviews of Shyamalan’s recent films with many claiming that he has returned to form after the abysmal The Last Air Bender (2010), The Happening (2008), and After Earth (2013).  I have yet to see this film but I am looking forward to it because I’ve heard good things about it.  Generally speaking, I’m still a fan of Shyamalan and enjoy the fact that with each new film he strives to tell stories different from everyone else in the same vein as watching a David Cronenberg or John Carpenter film.  This film is still in active release but has grossed over $67 million worldwide against a $5 million production budget.

Blum has two more films being released this year which are both this month which are Jem & the Holograms and the final film in the Paranormal Activity franchise Paranormal Activity: The ghost Dimension (which will be released in 3D).  Blum usually releases at least one non-horror film a year (last year’s film was the highly praised Whiplash) so there shouldn’t be much surprise in regards to Jem & the Holograms.  What will interest horror fans more is the final entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise which has been one of the biggest horror franchises in history.  This last film will be in 3D and finally explain everything that has come before in the five previous films (excluding Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night).  Being a huge fan of the franchise I am very much looking forward to this film.

The one thing to remember about Jason Blum is that he may produce low budget films but they are films shepherded by the creative minds behind them instead of being dictated by the studio system.  This is the reason why he can command so many talented artist to work on these films for virtually nothing or backend percentage points.  Keeping the production costs of his films down have allowed him more financial success and less overall stress.  Audiences all over the world have been subjected to all types of new and innovative horror films for which I hope he is able to continue to do so.

As a final note I’d like to list a few of his upcoming films in order to give you an idea of what is next on his list for 2016 – Amityville: The Awakening, Ouija 2, The Purge 3, Delirium, 6 Miranda Drive, The Veil, Stephanie, In the Valley of Violence, Viral, and Hush, just to name a few. 

All box office information was obtained from Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com).