Film Review: SPIRAL (2019)

Same-sex couple Malik and Aaron (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Ari Cohen, respectfully) move into a new house out in the suburbs with their daughter Kayla (Jennifer LaPorte) in the film Spiral (2019).  They are looking for a place of peace and quiet to raise their family and Malik hopes to jump start his writing project.  It’s not long before Malik discovers that there is a shady part to the seemingly quiet neighborhood when he discovers that someone has broken into his house and painted racial slurs on their walls.  He is able to clean up the vandalism before his partner or daughter can see it but it prompts him to get a security system to the confusion of Aaron.

 

Soon Malik starts to discover other strange things going on especially in regards to his neighbor Marshal (Lochlyn Munro) who claims to be progressive in his thoughts about same-sex relationships but hides something deeper and darker.  When Malik starts discovering spiral patterns everywhere he soon comes to conclusion that Marshal and some of the other members of his neighborhood might be part of some cult.  Now he has to convince his partner of the danger before it is too late but the growing suspicion and paranoia may be too much for Aaron to understand.

 

The thing I love about this film is the fact that the relationships all seem authentic and how you would expect people to act in the situation.  It’s a mystery that also is a story about relationships and how paranoia can turn deadly and dangerous.  Written by Colin Minihan and John Poliquin and directed by Kurtis David Harder this is a very effective and suspenseful film even if it lacks the gore.

Film Review: IN THE TALL GRASS (2019)

Writer/director Vincenzo Natali takes his first stab at Stephen King and Joe Hill material with the film In The Tall Grass (2019) for Netflix.  Siblings Becky and Cal (Laysla De Oliveira and Avery Whitted, respectfully) stop their car on a desolated road due to the fact that Becky is pregnant.  While on the side of the road they hear a call of a small child coming from the tall grass which adorns both sides of the road.  The voice claims to be lost in the tall grass and needs help so Becky and Cal enter into the tall grass to help.  But unbeknownst to them, getting back out of the tall grass proves problematic and once Cal and Becky separated from one another trying to find each other also becomes an even bigger problem.  As they wander through the tall grass Becky and Cal meet the small child Tobin (Will Buie Jr.) as well as his father Ross (Patrick Wilson), who has been “infected” with something that lies at the center of the tall grass.  It seems that fate has brought these two families together for something ancient and primal.

This is a concept that could have easily over stayed its welcome but Natali has crafted an engaging film with a talented cast that holds the premise together as it is presented in sections that progress logically from one section to the next introducing more characters while continuing to establish and elaborate on everything that came before.  I can’t reveal any more without revealing key plot points that are better left unrevealed. 

I have yet to read the original King/Hill short story on which the film is based but I will assure horror fans that Natali has crafted a film that holds its own against other King adapted films. 

Film Review: READY OR NOT (2019)

Family doesn’t get more sadistic than the one featured in the film Ready or Not (2019) from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.  Grace (Samara Weaving) just married Alex (Mark O’Brien) at the family estate and it is tradition that on their wedding night that the family must play a game in order for the new member to be inducted into the family as part of initiation.  Unfortunately for Grace, she picks the game “hide and seek” which at first seems harmless enough but while Grace is “hiding” the rest of Alex’ family which includes his mother and father, grandmother, siblings and their spouses, gather up weapons to maim and kill.  Grace soon discovers that she is part of a ritual sacrifice that the family members believe will ensure their hierarchical status in the outside world. 

Grace must be sacrificed before sun up our all family members will die.  Unfortunately, for the family, Grace isn’t going to take it sitting down and she will arm himself and protect herself against anyone that gets in her way.

The film works as both a comedy and horror film in that the film can get graphic in its horror elements but it especially does a great job balancing the comedy both visually and through the characters and story as you never know whether the family members ever truly believe in the ritual they are doing or if they are just doing it out of tradition.  Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett do an excellent playing against horror conventions and expectations to deliver a suspenseful and action packed film that engages and entertains audiences from beginning to end.

There are some especially amazing performances from Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, and Andie Macdowell, to name a few.  It is the performances that hold the film together and which sets this film apart from other horror films as the entire cast is shooting their A-Game.  This is a fun and exciting film that also audiences will enjoy from beginning to end.

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: SERVANTS OF TWILIGHT (1991)

The novels of Dean R. Koontz have amassed as big a cult following as Stephen King and like King many of his novels have been adapted to film with varying degrees of success.  Servants of Twilight (1991) is adapted from Koontz’ novel “Twilight” and stars Bruce Greenwood as Charlie Harrison, a private detective who is hired by Christine Scavello (Belinda Bauer) to protect her son Joey (Jarrett Lennon) from a fanatical cult that believes that he is the Anti-Christ reborn. 

As bodies keep piling up around Charlie he must decide how far he is willing to protect Christine and her son when everywhere they turn they are hounded and hunted down by the cult and their leader Grace Spivey (Grace Zabriskie) who knows there every turn.  As tension mounts, Charlie finds himself getting closer to Christine and he finds it harder to keep his perspective as Spivey and her followers will stop at nothing to kill Joey and anyone that gets in their way.

There is no real mystery to the film although the road trip chase film scenario works really well keeping the film following at a brisk pace and the tense and suspense high.  It there is any real problem with the film it is that the Twilight cult that Spivey runs comes off as fanatics and cartoonish but Zabriskie knows how t o play this up having come from David Lynch’s Twin Peaks.  This film has actually aged better than some of the other Koontz adapted films and movies about the Anti-Christ (i.e. The Omen franchise and Rosemary’s Baby) usually age better than expected.

Film Review: SHACKLED (2010)

There is no hiding the fact that director Dave McCabe’s Shackled (2010) is an indie and low budget film.  It has a very drab look as if shot of video or mini-DV and the cinematography and direction are uninspired and barely adequate not to mention that the acting is subpar but I’m not sure if this is because the actors just aren’t good enough or if the script by McCabe and company just isn’t any good.  More than likely it’s a mixture of both. 

The story concerns Sarah (Donna Bradley) who is trying to solve the murder of her brother Brian but gets entangled in a mystery and conspiracy that delves into her families past and threatens to destroy her future with a cult like religious sect.  All this could have made for a very interesting little film if not for the inept production itself.

What a difference a couple more script rewrites and better actors and higher production values could have done for this film.  Action sequences are generically filmed with no sense of immediacy, characters telegraph what they are thinking and about to do before they take action and this is just the tip of the ice berg.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a good indie (or no budget) film as long as it doesn’t pander down to the audience or seems inept in every possible way.

This comes off as the student film that should have never been screened for the public, which may seem harsh but I have to have at least something to recommend a film for in order for it to be watchable but sadly there is nothing here in this film that will allow me to do so.

Short Film Review: AT THE FORMAL (2010)

A teenager’s formal has never been as deadly as depicted in writer/director Andrew Kavanaugh’s film At the Formal (2010).  Despite having a simply story structure the technical feats of the film are anything but.  The film opens with a young boy being held in the air by fellow classmates as he is reluctantly lead to the house of where the formal is being staged.  This isn’t a school but a regular home which looks even more out of place from the very subtle things that you wouldn’t normally see at a formal which is alcohol for the kids, people pissing in the bushes, grown men grabbing onto teenage girls and goats that have their way in the yard.  Everything appears normal but underneath really isn’t until the young boy is finally brought to the alter of the house at which point an older man strips and brandishes a large ceremonial knife before the boy.  Nothing is as it seems in this film. 

The film is at its best when it is shaping and showing the viewer the world that the young boy finds himself in.  The first four and a half minutes is done in one continuous take with very methodical and repetitive music motif that keeps the viewer on edge waiting to know what will come next.   Passing from one character to the next, the camera peaks into the lives of each of the guests of the formal.  It isn’t until the camera finds its way back to the original young boy that the camera cuts.  It is also at this point where the music also takes a turn for the dreadful and the true horror of this formal is finally revealed.

The trick of this film is getting to the punchline at the end which could have been very mundane but Kavanaugh’s instincts to do the first half of the film as one continuous take pays off creating a truly unique short film that relies on its visuals rather than dialogue (which there is none in this film).

You can watch At the Formal on FearNet here - http://www.fearnet.com/shorts/formal

Film Review: THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH (2012)

Good independent horror films are hard to come by these days especially considering how many derivative films are produced every year so it is always good when an excellent film surfaces such as The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (2012).  Written and directed by Rodrigo Gudino this is a moody and atmospheric film that’s haunting in its simplicity and execution.

The story concerns Leon Leigh (Aaron Poole), an antiques dealer, who inherits a house from his estranged mother.  When he goes home to appraise his inheritance he discovers a past in himself that he had tried to keep buried but resurfaces underneath the strange revelations about his mother who may have been part of a mysterious cult.   The longer Leon stays in the house the more the house takes on a persona of its own that will have a profound effect on his psyche.

Poole does an amazing job as the haunted Leon as he carries most of the film on his own because of the small cast.  This is a film in which Leon and the house is very much the characters that carry the story.  Much of what we get about Rosalind Leigh is brought to life via voice over from the always charismatic Vanessa Redgrave who narrates much of the story in a hypnotic and haunting way.  Gudino and his production staff do an excellent job creating a chilling atmosphere of dread that permeates throughout the whole film. 

Despite the film having no overt horrific elements the film is a great film in the tradition of the original The Haunting (1963) which it relies on mood and atmosphere verses actual blood and guts to carry the story.

This film also doesn’t rely on cheap theatrics or jump scares which further elevate the film above the other cannon fodder out there.  Fans of the moody and atmospheric horror film will enjoy this slow burning character driven film.

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.