Film Review: ROSEMARY’S BABY (2014)

Agnieszka Holland directs the television remake of Rosemary’s Baby (2014) as a two-night four-hour event.  Holland does more than a capable job of handling the original novel from Ira Levin which was most famously brought to the screen by Roman Polanski in 1968.  Writing this version is Scott Abbott and James Wong and they’ve brought the story to the modern era with style and relevance.

Zoe Saldana plays Rosemary Woodhouse who has just experienced a miscarriage.  She and her husband Guy (Patrick J. Adams) are middle class citizens.  Guy suffers as a writer so he teaches as a university so that he has time to focus on his novel.  When her purse is stolen by a thief, she manages to catch the thief who happens to have been a habitual purse thief and she finds herself in possession with another woman’s purse.  When she returns the other woman’s purse, Rosemary meets Margaux Castevet (Carole Bouquet) a member of the elite class whom takes a liking to Rosemary and soon her husband.  Rosemary and Guy soon meet Margaux’s husband Roman (Jason Isaacs) and soon their lives are turned upside down.  The Castevet’s give them a new home completely furnished in their apartment building after a kitchen fire leaves Rosemary and Guy homeless.  Guy’s luck soon changes when he gets a better life at work and he soon gets his novel finished when he had previously been suffering from writer’s block.  And soon, Rosemary finds herself with child once again!  This would all seem great if Rosemary didn’t have suspicions that their good fortune comes at a cost which is usually other people dying.

The deeper Rosemary tries to discover the truth about the Castevets the more she discovers an elaborate ruse and she becomes to believe that the Castevets are part of o Satan worshiping cult that wants to kill her baby.  Rosemary will stop at nothing to protect her unborn child but the truth of what is going on won’t be fully revealed until after the baby is born.

Abbott and Wong craft a relevant and modern take on the material that actually works not only under the guise of a Satan worshiping cult (or as an secret cult society in general) but also with themes of class struggle and division and the motherly bond between mother and child.  The film also delivers the goods when it comes to the horror aspects as well but it is Holland’s assured direction that really allows this film to stand apart from Polanski’s original film.  This is one of the best remakes to come along and I suggest it to anyone who enjoyed the original.  There is enough contained in this version to fully be appreciated and there is no padding.  There was probably no real need for a remake but this version definitely makes a case for itself.  I would even be interested in Levin’s sequel novel “Son of Rosemary” to be made into a film as long as this same creative team is reunited.

Film Review: SATAN CLAUS (1996)

Satan Claus (1996) is one of those DV films to avoid at all costs due to the complete lack of anything in the film resembling competent film-making.  I hate to say this about any film but every problem that a film-maker can make when making a low (or “no”) budget film is present in this film.

A killer Santa is on the loose and is cutting up bodies and taking parts for souvenirs while taunting the local police department.  Steve (Robert Hector) is wearing a Santa Claus suit and trying to raise money for a local charity when he gets entangled in the murders when his friend almost becomes a victim.  Time is running out and the body count rises the longer it takes the police to figure out the identity of the killer.

The film lacks any production values at all.  The lighting is too dark (with much of the first ten minutes too dark too even see what’s going on).  The police don’t seem to have any lights in their offices as every scene is lit blue as if from outdoors but you can tell the lights are inside the room.  The sound is atrocious and the film-makers must know nothing about ADR.  There isn’t a competent performance in the entire film.  This is a hard film to get through as the plot is so simple and predictable that it’s like any other generic slasher film.  Written by Simonetta Mostarda and directed by Massimilliano Cerchi this is an incompetent film that doesn’t entertain in any way.  There are no redeeming qualities in this film and even less to entertain horror fans.

Film Review: DRIVE ANGRY (2011)

It’s hard not to look at the trailer for a film like Drive Angry (2011) and not wonder how cheesy the film really is.  The film is exactly as cheesy as it looks.  Nicolas Cage does his best over acting in this film from director Patrick Lussier who has made a career out of cheesy horror films such as Dracula 2000 and the My Bloody Valentine 3D.  This film was also made in 3D (although I didn’t get to view it that way) and the lack of 3D in the 2D version is very evident as the obvious 3D sequences fall flat in 2D.

The film concerns Milton (Cage) an undead felon who has escaped Hell to not only avenge the death of his daughter but to save his grandchild from the clutches of a deranged cult leader (Billy Burke) and his followers who wish to sacrifice his granddaughter to Satan on the next full moon.  Hot on Milton’s tail is The Accountant (William Fichtner) who will return Milton back to Hell even if he has to masquerade as an FBI agent.  Milton has much help on his vendetta especially from the tough-and-badass Piper (Amber Heard).  Milton will stop at nothing to save his granddaughter even if it kills him…again.

Despite the amazing action sequences and standout performances (at least for this type of film) from Heard and Fichtner, the film is hampered by bad dialogue, Cage’s less than thrilling performance, and mediocre death/horror sequences and little gore (especially coming from the guy who also brought us the better than expected remake of My Bloody Valentine 3D).  There is some entertainment value to be had from the film as it never takes itself too seriously and comes off as an homage to late ‘80s fantasy action films like The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, The Ice Pirates, or Big Trouble in Little China, so if you’re a fan of those films then buckle up for one hell of a ride.