Film Review: INCARNATE (2016)

I’ve never been much of a fan of director Brad Peyton’s films which includes Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), and San Andreas (2015), so I’m not surprised that I didn’t really care for his film INCARNATE (2016) which has an interesting premise.  Dr. Ember (Aaron Eckhart) has a unique ability which is he can go into dreams and mind possessed people to help exorcise demons.  This is a great idea on how to modernize the exorcist film through science instead of religion and faith.

Ember is brought in by a colleague Camilla (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who believes a young boy Cameron (David Mazouz) is possessed by a demon.  Ember is a haunted man who with each demon he exorcises he gets weaker and weaker, but he takes on Cameron’s case when it’s clear that the demon possessing him is a demon he’s confronted before.  Ember will sacrifice whatever he has to in order to confront the demon one final time no matter the cost.

Peyton does a great job setting up the film’s key set pieces, but they all feel rushed like an action film (something all his other films have key to) and lack the nuance or suspense of a horror film.  One wonders why he decided to tackle a horror film in the first place.  Eckart does an amazing job (as usual) and does the best he can with the material but there is no denying that the tone and pacing of the film is that of an action film which weakens the most horrific elements making this a merely adequate film and nothing all that special.

Film Review: CARNAGE PARK (2016)

Mickey Keating has made a career of crafting some tense thriller films about a limited cast trapped in harrowing circumstances such as Ritual (2013), Darling (2015), and Pod (2015), to name a few so it is with no surprise that he continues this trend in CARNAGE PARK (2016).  Vivian Fontaine (Ashley Bell) is having a bad day.  While she is trying to get a bank loan, two thieves rob the bank and take her hostage after the robbery gets botched and one of them is mortally injured. 

During the getaway the bank robbers find their way to an abandoned road where they try to plan their next mood.  One of them dies from their fatal wounds while the other decides to keep Vivian as insurance.  Vivian’s situation seems bright at first when a shot rings out of the air and kills the final robber but the man responsible is a deranged ex-military sniper who doesn’t take too kindly to people who trespass on his land no matter what reasons.  Vivian then finds herself as prey to the sniper as she is now trapped on an open range where there are few places to hide and there are more horrors in store the deeper she explores.

Bell does an amazing job carrying the film while Pat Healy is the psychotic killer Wyatt Moss.  Bell continues to make interesting choices as an actress and constantly surprises.  I particularly love her performance as Nell Sweetzer in The Last Exorcism (2010) and The Last Exorcism Part II (2013) as well as The Day (2011).  The film itself is just okay as Keating knows how to stage some suspenseful scenes but it just doesn’t intrigue as much as some of his previous films. 

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 24: “The Horror of Eli Roth”

Week 24: “The Horror of Eli Roth”

On the eve of such great news that The Green Inferno (2014) is finally getting a theatrical release after being shelved at the last minute last year and the excellent news that he is in pre-production on the long stuck in development hell adaptation of the hugely success novel Meg (novel by Steve Alten), what better time is there than now to take a look at the films of writer/director Eli Roth?

Although he started as an actor (uncredited) in various films like The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), it was his debut feature Cabin Fever (2002) which really put him on the map.  He also wrote and acted in the film about four friends who encounter a stranger suffering from a flesh eating virus which not only threatens their own lives but their friendships as well.  The low budget horror film was filled with plenty of gore and sex and ushered in the so-called “torture porn” genre (despite there being more extreme films before it).  It was a huge success especially considering the low budget of the film.

Before going back behind the camera Roth decided to continue on the sidelines as an actor in Tales from the Crapper (2004) and 2001 Maniacs (2005).  Despite elevating to director he also managed to star in Terror Firmer (1999) and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000), so, you should see, Roth’s passion would remain in front of the camera as well as behind it.  His next film was Hostel (2005) which shocked the industry with its uncompromising violence and its commentary on the world of underground killing for money.  Like his previous film this is a gritty look at two American tourists and their friend who run afoul of a murder syndicate.  This film was unlike anything American audiences had ever seen and it was extremely successful with more mainstream audiences.

Roth quickly followed up the success of Hostel and the good will and popularity of his faux trailer “Thanksgiving” (part of the film Grindhouse) with Hostel: Part II (2007).  This was a much more refined film in terms of screenplay, style, art direction, and execution.  This was the film that would show audiences that Roth was becoming a better director with style and something to say.  Unfortunately, the torture porn cycle of films was quickly dying down and this was a less successful film than its predecessor.

Following Hostel: Part II’s poor performance at the Box Office Roth would turn his talents to producing, writing and acting.  Over the next several years he produced The Last Exorcism (2010), Aftershock (2012) – which he also acted in, The Man with the Iron Fist (2012) – which he also wrote, The Last Exorcism Part II (2013), The Sacrament (2013) and most recently Clown (2014) – which he also acted in.  As an actor he was also in Death Proof (part of the film Grindhouse), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Piranha 3D (2010), and Rock of Ages (2012).  As a writer he also wrote The Green Inferno in addition to The Man with the Iron Fists.  

The Green Inferno would be Roth’s next feature film behind the camera more than five years after the release of his last film.  This would be a return to form for the director who was now tackling the cannibal genre of horror.  Unfortunately, for Roth and audiences the film would be shelved before seeing release in 2014.  This did not deter the visionary director who forged ahead with his next film Knock Knock (2015) which is also scheduled to be released this year.  This film stars Keanu Reeves and is a big departure for Roth whose films usually have character actors or no stars at all.  The film is getting great reviews from early screenings and should propel him to more mainstream films, which is where his latest project Meg comes into play.  Based on the bestselling novel Steve Alten it is believed that Roth will finally get this film out of development hell which is where it has been since the rights were purchased the year the novel was originally published.

Roth’s career is something he redefines at any given moment.  In addition to acting, writing, and producing films he executive produces several television series and he’s also created a horror attraction in Las Vegas, among many other ventures.  The one common element between all of Roth’s many ventures is that he loves horror and as an audience member we can be assured that he will never be predictable and always be innovative.

Film Review: THE LAST EXORCISM PART 2 (2013)

It would be easy to dismiss many sequels to popular horror films as nothing more than an easy cash-grab for studios especially if the sequel in question is called The Last Exorcism Part II (2013).  Most of the time the Studio will just rehash everything from the first film that made it popular in order to entice audiences about the sequel.  This is not the case with this film as it takes a completely different approach to the subject matter from the previous film.  The previous find was in the style of a documentary or “found footage” type film and the protagonist was the faux exorcist but this new film is done in the style of a typical “film” while focusing on the object of the first film – Nell (played to perfection by Ashley Bell who reprises her role). 

This film finds Nell after the events of the first film in which she is unaware of everything that happened.  She is taken in by the state and put into a half way house with several other young girls where she tries to piece together her new life.  She finds new friends and falls for a co-worker but deep down inside something monstrous lives and stirs just beneath the surface waiting and wanting to get out.  This is a coming of age film for Nell and the evil that lies beneath.  Written by Damien Chazelle and Ed Gass-Donnelly (who also directs) this film is a slow burn in the fashion of Carrie (1976) or Rosemary’s Baby (1968) which works well for the material.  This allows for Bell to shine as she takes to Nell like Sissy Spacek took to Carrie White but unlike that film there is no payoff at the end.

One of the most memorial parts of Carrie is the fantastic ending in which all hell breaks loose.  This is the big payoff for a film that had up to then had been very subtle.  The first The Last Exorcism was very much like this in which the ending was something that no one saw coming and it was larger than life.  This is the failing with this sequel; after all this great build up and execution the ending fizzles out opting to have most of the carnage seen off screen rather than actually showing it in order to have that good punch at the end that all slow burning films must have in order to get their point across.  For some unexplainable reason all the real moments of payoff for Nell’s character are shown off-screen which diminishes the film’s overall impact.  Bell is good but she can’t save the horrible and unsatisfying ending to the film.  I’ve never seen such a complete let down of a climax of a film.

This being said, Bell still does a fantastic job and if you are a fan of hers than the film is worth taking a look at but overall this film has a great set up with one of the worst ending for a horror film in recent memory.