Film Review: UNDERWATER (2020)

When an underwater earthquake devastates a deep sea drilling and research facility, the survivors must band together to relocate to an alternate location before they can make their way to the surface in the thriller Underwater (2020).  Norah (Kristen Stewart) is one of a handful of survivors after the earthquake unexpectedly destroys their original facility.  Captain Lucien (Vincent Cassel) informs Norah and the rest of the survivors that they are going to have to make a deep sea walk on the ocean floor to an alternate facility that was originally used to build the state of the art drilling facility in order to find a vehicle that can get them safely to the surface.  Against a ticking time clock and other natural disasters that befell the main facility, Norah must help them all get their safely but they soon encounter something else in the ocean never before seen by mankind that they believe may have been released by the drilling in the ocean floor.

Time is running out as the facility around them crumbles apart and deadly creatures seek them out as if they were food. 

In less than five minutes from starting the earthquake happens and its go, go, go from there as the film never lets up from beginning to end.  It’s a disaster film that just also happens to be a horror film with an underwater creature that will not disappoint.  Stewart, who hasn’t done a horror film in some time, is at home in this film and does an admiral job leading the cast and crew through it all, which includes T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick, Mamoudou Athie, and John Gallagher Jr..

There is also a third act reveal that is too good to reveal that has to be seen to be believed which will delight horror fans.  It’s a shame that the marketing campaign didn’t take into account to market the film as both a disaster film and a horror film instead of a disaster-thriller style film as they truly missed the mark with this amazing film.  Written by Brian Duffield and Adam Cozad and directed by William Eubank I’m definitely looking forward to what they come up with next.

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW MONSTER FILMS DEFINED MY LIFE”

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR – “HOW MONSTER FILMS DEFINED MY LIFE”

Early this year during the 2017 Something Wicked Film Festival (www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com), Festival Panel Moderator Jim Adams created a panel discussion that would forever define the future of panel discussions for the event (especially since I’m the Festival Director and I just hired him to be the Official Festival Panel Moderator.  One of Mr. Adams’ first duties were to come up with some original ideas for new panel discussions and thus “How Monster Films Defined My Life” was born. 

Now I know part of the reason why Mr. Adams decided on this topic for a panel discussion is because he has the podcast “Monster Attacks!” where he has spoken at length about his love for monster films.  For many people, monster films from the Universal horrors of Dracula and The Wolfman to Hammer Studios’ Frankenstein and The Mummy were defining characters of fear from childhood.  For more modern audiences there is Leatherface and that dream demon Freddy not to mention the likes of Ghostface Killer and The Jigsaw Killer.  No matter which decade, audiences have their own nightmare monster that haunts them or fascinates them to no end.

I was one of the film-makers on this panel discussion and one of the films that defined my childhood was the Joe Dante film Gremlins (1984).  I saw this in the theater in ’84 at the early age of 8 and it left an undeniable impression on me.  The monsters were both cute and cuddly and dangerous and fun at the same time.  It was like watching a bunch of unruly children at play able to do whatever they wanted.  It also had an amazing soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith (who became my all-time favorite music composer).  The film was dark and horrifying as well as funny and entertaining.  It had the perfect mixture of comedy and horror and part of that is due to the very dark photography of the film and the fluid cinematography.  It truly became one of my all-time favorite films for which my love for other monsters would grow.

 

I didn’t grow up with the black & white Universal monsters nor had I seen many of the bloody Hammer Studio films until I became a big horror fan in my teenage and college years.  The next monster I gravitated to was that of the Good-Guy doll Chucky.  When I saw Child’s Play (1988) I had never seen anything like it before.  A serial killer uses Voodoo to possess a doll and to continue his killing spree.  Even though this film played straight into horror (unlike the more comedic sequels) it still was quite fun and entertaining.  By ’88 when this film was released and I was eleven years old I had already become a horror fan but nothing had defined my true love of the genre just yet until this film.  I got the poster for the film from the nearby Video Store (how I miss these establishments) and I placed it lovingly on my bedroom wall (where it was later joined by posters of the second and third films).  It was the first poster I ever put on my wall but it would not be the last.

I followed the continuing exploits of Chucky to cinema with Child’s Play 2 (1990) and Child’s Play 3 (1991) which I had to beg my Father to take me to since I was too young for the R-Rated horror.  At this point I did come to realize how much I loved horror films but more importantly – monster films.

At this point you could say I went looking for monsters as I learned to love all monsters big or small.

It wasn’t until Clive Barker’s Nightbreed (1990) that I wished I was one of the amazing monsters that populated our magnificent world.  Barker crafted a story where the monsters were the good guys while man was the bad guy.  This film defined the idea of what a monster could truly become.  The monsters in Barker’s film were deformed and misunderstood as well as dangerous and fascinating.

It was after this that I became a true and everlasting monster fan.  From the films featuring Godzilla and his rogue’s gallery to the Cenobites of the world of Hellraiser I loved monsters both other-worldly and those more human.  My favorites were monsters not easily described or defined like those in Christine (1983), The Thing (1982), Puppet Master (1994), Critters (1986), and especially Killer Clowns From Outer Space (1988), to name but a small few.

I most certainly enjoyed the exploits of Michael Myers and Leatherface (and family) and even those Freddy films but it was with these non-human monsters that I enjoyed more and would later define my love and appreciation of horror.  For me, monsters aren’t defined as either good nor evil but in most films, they are simply just trying to survive and do what comes naturally.  This is the defining trait of King Kong and Godzilla as well as many other timeless monster films.

Serial killers and mass murders are interesting but monsters are something from the imagination where anything that can be dreamed can become a reality.  Therefore, they’ve had such a profound effect on me as not only a film maker but a storyteller and a film lover.  If nothing else, I implore others to seek out monster movies not just for pure entertainment and enjoyment but to understand oneself and the world in which we live (and the one created for the monsters to live in).  It’s never too late to enjoy a good monster film.

To view the entire “How Monster Movies Defined My Life” panel discussion go here - https://vimeo.com/238990857

FILM REVIEW: THE FLYING SERPENT (1946)

Dr. Andrew Forbes (George Zucco) has just recently discovered the greatest treasure anyone has ever known and he will stop at nothing to protect it and his secrets in the film THE FLYING SERPENT (1946).  Through an unfortunate accident Dr. Forbes discovers the existence of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, a flying serpent, and the treasure it has been protecting.  When outsiders begin to jeopardize his secret, Dr. Forbes sends the flying serpent to deal with them fast and quietly.

Although a cheaply crafted creature Quetzalcoatl is the main attraction of the film.  As a film of the ‘40s I’m sure the monster was very impressive because of how new and different it was but the story is very like other films of the era and leaves a lot to be desired.  This being said, because of the short running time of only 77 minutes it’s a quick time waster and a film worth the nostalgia factor alone.

If you’re a fan of old school horror films – enjoy!

Film Review: HARBINGER DOWN (2015)

Special effects and creature creator Alec Gillis takes to directing with his debut feature Harbinger Down (2015).  Having worked on such creature features as Alien Nation, Leviathan, Evolution, and the Tremors and Alien franchises, Gillis is no stranger to monsters of which Harbinger Down has an interesting one.  

 

Graff (Lance Henricksen), captain of a crabbing boat takes his daughter and her group of student researchers into the Bering Sea to study the effects of global warming on a pod of Belugas.  When they come across the wreckage of a Soviet space ship, which until recently had been buried in the ice, greed sets in because of salvage rights but that will be the least of their worries as the Soviets were experimenting in deep space and the organism that they created has thawed out and seeks blood.  Now everyone on Graff’s ship is in danger especially considering that the creature is constantly mutating and getting stronger and smarter as time goes on.  

If you’re looking for originality, then this film is not for you as this film has borrowed from many other films that came before it but there is no denying that the film is very well done and anchored by Henricksen’s always dependable performance as he gives 110% even on the lowest budget of film.  The film is also given better than expected SFX for the monster and the film is never boring as Gillis (who also wrote the screenplay) has learned a lot from all the directors he has worked with over his long career.  This may be his first film but he is definitely not a first time filmmaker as this film is very polished and looks great.

A lot can be said for a monster film that delivers on all that it promises and what is expected by audiences.  Gillis knows what horror fans expect and isn’t afraid to deliver the goods.

Film Review: KILLER MERMAID (2014)

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes but it’s a rare treat when it comes in the form of a mermaid or better known as a Nymph (2014) also known by its US title of Killer Mermaid (original title Mamula).  Kelly and Lucy (Kristina Klebe and Natalie Burn, respectfully) are two Americans on a Mediterranean vacation catching up with old friends when a trip to an abandoned military base turns deadly when they discover that someone is feeding a creature trapped in a well deep in the bowels of the structure. 

The closer they come to discovering the dark secrets that have been left hidden the more danger they find themselves in as Kelly and Lucy and her friends are picked off one by one not just by a deranged killer but also a creature that can lure men to their deaths while playing on their wildest fantasies.

Despite having a very predictable story structure there is great millage that comes from the exotic local and the actual location itself is rich with atmosphere and production value.  What could have easily been a derivative killer monster movie is something a bit more especially when adding in local legends and background in Nazi Germany (they always make for good villains).

Mina Sablic is the Creature otherwise known as a mermaid and she is represented in a very traditional way especially as a siren to call men to their dooms and to change into a deadly creature that devours them as well.  The only problem is that the CGI for the film is sub-par and laughable in many parts.  The first two-thirds do a good job of building up the film which is then rendered laughable by the CGI effects.  This aspect of the film will ruin it for most as most horror fans have grown tired of the bad CGI in films and therefore this film will be easily forgotten as well.

Film Review: INDIGENOUS (2014)

I generally love a good monster movie and even when it’s a clichéd premise in which tourists go into a house, forest, place, etc. that they shouldn’t have (and were warned against) and encounter a creature that picks them off one by one for no real good reason other than they stepped into the wrong place at the wrong time, I can still generally enjoy and be entertained.  This is the entire premise of Indigenous (2014) which finds some Americans in Panama on vacation to enjoy the beach and sun but when a local legend peaks their curiosity to a forbidden waterfall they set out into the jungle to see for themselves. 

It’s not long before their guide is abducted by something from the jungle leaving the Americans without a way out.  Lost and alone they soon discover that their paradise has turned to a nightmare as they are hunted one by one by something in the dark that can hide behind every shadow and every fallen tree.

The film is extremely well done with a very capable cast but unfortunately there is nothing original or interesting in the film which is problem considering how much work went into pulling off a production which such high production values.  The third act does take some interesting and original turns especially when it wants to be relevant to our growing obsession with social media but I kind of wished that it had more of these types of ideas earlier in the first two-thirds of the film, which is a by-the-numbers monster film.

The makeup FX are pretty good but unfortunately don’t do much for crafting a satisfactory monster which is too human-like especially when it could’ve been something more special considering the exotic location.  Overall, the film is entertaining but not one you’ll bother to remember in the long run.