Film Review: POLTERGEIST (2015)

It’s hard to look at a remake and not compare it to the original film.  For those of you who love the original it will be really hard to not compare the remake of Poltergeist (2015) with its predecessor.  The story is for the most part the same as the original.  Eric and Amy Bowen (Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt) move their three children into a new home after he is laid off from his job.  Before the first day is even done the youngest of the Bowen brood daughter Madison (Kennedi Clements) starts experiencing the haunting as a force in the house is immediately drawn to her innocence.  Her brother Griffin (Kyle Catlett) is scared of just about anything while the oldest daughter Kendra (Saxon Sharbino) is more concerned about the fact that she’s been uprooted and moved to the middle of nowhere. 

When little Madison is abducted by the spirits inhabiting the house the family realizes that they need help and turn to a trio of paranormal investigators lead by Dr. Brooke Powell (Jane Adams).  When she realizes that the situation is unlike anything she’s ever encountered she calls in special favor to Carrigan Burke (Jared Harris), a reality TV host known for being able to exorcise ghosts.

The film has no shortage of CGI manifestations as for the first time audiences get a look into the other side of which the spirits inhabit and little Madison finds herself trapped.  The ghosts are also more violent in this film but the reliance on CGI downplays the suspense for the most part.  There are several really effective scenes that happen early in the film especially Griffin’s encounter with the clown dolls (an homage to the original film) but the family dynamic which grounded the original film is lost in this film especially when it relies on Griffin to save Madison.  Rockwell as the patriarch of the family does a fine job as does DeWitt but it is Harris who steals the show (as Zelda Rubinstein did in the original).  Harris’ Burke is not nearly as interesting as Rubinstein as a character but Burke has his war stories to tell from his various ghostly encounters and he’s not afraid to tell the stories.  Anyone expecting Rockwell to be his usual scene stealing self (because he’s such an accomplished actor) will be sadly disappointed as he really does disappear into the father figure just trying to find a way to support his family.

For many audience members who have never seen the original film this film plays fast with the material and plays up the jump scares which most audiences expect but for those of you who know and love the original film this pales in comparison.  It’s a well-produced film for modern audiences that don’t have the history of the original film to fall back on.  The only problem is that there are hundreds of ghost and haunted house films being produced every day and it’s hard for this one to be distinguished from the rest.

Film Review: JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

I will definitely be in the minority when I say I did not enjoy the film Jurassic World (2015).  The forth film in a franchise thought dead, this new film is a means to expand and reboot the franchise for a new audience.  The only problem is that it recycles the plot from the previous films without adding anything new. 

In the new film they actually (finally) got the park open to the public and people visit it like they do Walt Disney World.  Every dinosaur is a major attraction but even though it is highly successful, the shareholders want more and now the scientists who brought the dinosaurs back from extinction have genetically something new that no one has ever seen before.  This new dinosaur is bigger, stronger, and smarter than anything anyone has ever seen and once it gets lose in the part it is up to rogue velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and his boss Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) to save the day (and her two nephews who have managed to get themselves lost in the park).

The film’s biggest problem is that it borrows entire plot and themes from the original film but does it less effectively.  Whereas the original film had the pleasure of being the first and inspiring awe and wonder in audiences this film has none of that and has a feeling and tone of “having been there and done it before.”  Two kids get trapped behind enemy lines and have to be saved only these two brothers (who are Claire’s nephews) are not nearly as interesting as the kids in the original film and come off as very cliché for the most part.  Howard as Claire seems miscast from the very beginning as she has little chemistry with Pratt and really doesn’t come into her own until half way into the film when the dinosaurs are more interesting than she is.  Speaking of Pratt, he’s not given as much freedom as he had in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) so his performance seems as if he’s holding something back.  There is a welcomed return for character actor B.D. Wong as Dr. Henry Wu from the original film who created the technology to clone dinosaurs.  He’s given more screen time in this film as this is the beginning of a new franchise that hints at more things to come.  Irrfan Khan (so memorable in The Namesake and Life of Pi) is underused as Simon Masrani, this film’s version of John Hammond, who runs the park, and Vincent D’Onofrio is slumming it as Hoskins, the N-Gen representative looking to militarize the velociraptors.

This film has more short-comings than all the other films combined and they manage to masque most of them with flashier SFX and more dinosaurs but the heart of the original film is long gone and replacement with an extended fight sequence between man and many dinosaurs for the finale.  I thought I was watching one of Michael Bay’s insipid Transformer films by the way in which what could have been a good film is turned into a franchise starting entertainment mess.  Unfortunately, that’s what audiences crave in this time of summer (as indicative of the huge Box Office opening of the film) so instead of a film that will stand the test of time Jurassic World is another (in a long line) highly forgettable SFX extravaganza with nothing new to say.

"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 21: “The Magic of a Lucky McKee Film”

Week 21: “The Magic of a Lucky McKee Film”

Lucky McKee is a brilliant writer and director of some innovative and personal horror films!  Who is Lucky McKee you might ask?  Well, he’s one of the horror genre’s success stories in terms of crafting some of the best horror films in the last 15 years.  If you’re among the female audience then I’m sure you know his name well as most of his films are anchored by strong female characters with strong performances from some unlikely actors.

McKee hit the ground running with his first feature May (2002) which introduced the world to Angela Bettis, one of the genre’s greatest actors right now.  Bettis plays a recluse of a woman who tries to create the perfect boyfriend of her dreams when the real world just doesn’t live up to her expectations.  She just decides to take the best parts of living people to do so.  It was not only a breakout performance for Bettis but also an atmospheric debut film from a director wanting to tell a personal story in a very psychologically gruesome way.  It’s a slow descent into madness for Bettis’ character that the audience is forced to endure and (hopefully) empathize with by the end.  

It would be four years before McKee would again step into the light but this time it was a one-two-three combo punch starting with his Masters of Horror episode “Sick Girl” which reunited him with his muse Bettis in a monster film that was unlike any other.  This well received episode was a highlight of that season of the series and cemented these two creative minds as a force to be reckoned with.  They would again collaborate in a different way by switching roles with the feature Roman (2006), in which Bettis would direct McKee (who also wrote the screenplay) as the loner recluse whose life would fall into a dark abyss similar to the fate of Bettis’ character in May.  May and Roman are companion films in which these two creative genius’ would experiment with similar themes just from different gender perspectives.

McKee’s next film would veer into more supernatural territory with The Woods (2006).  Despite the realistic nature of his previous films this film would feel more like his first short film All Cheerleaders Die (2001) mixed with a little of Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977).  This film may not star Bettis (although she does lend her voice in the film) but it is anchored by a powerful performance from Agnes Bruckner.

McKee wouldn’t fare as well with his next film Red (2008) in that he would be replaced as director during filming by Trygve Allistar Diesen.  Despite this set back the film still retains enough of McKee’s style and it is anchored by a powerful performance by Brian Cox.  This is McKee’s first film not anchored by a female star but it does show that he’s just as adept with male actors as he is with the female ones.  The biggest note to make of this production is that it was the start of his collaborations with novelist Jack Ketchum of which the film is based.  The two had such a great working relationship together that The Woman (2011) became their next production.  Ketchum and McKee also co-wrote the novel for the film as well.  This is the sequel to a previous novel but it is completely self-contained.   Bettis returns for this film but in a smaller role and this film is filled with great performances by an ensemble cast.  It should also be noted that McKee also produced the film adaptation of Kechum’s novel The Lost (2006), directed by McKee’s friend Chris Sivertson.  

After the heavy subject matter of these previous films McKee decided to have a little fun by collaborating with his friend Sivertson on the feature version of All Cheerleaders Die (2013) which is one of the most creative modern witchcraft films since The Craft (1996).  It’s unlike any film he has ever done before but McKee manages to continue supporting a large female cast that are better than expected.

McKee is now putting the finishing touches on his part of the anthology film Tales of Halloween which is sure not to disappoint.  His films present audiences with strong female performances, sharp wit and atmosphere.  He doesn’t present easy stories but delves into the darker desires of his characters which can mirror our own.  Even when faced with many challenges (i.e. Red) he’s able to overcome and present a great film which not a lot of directors can claim.  There’s a magic to his films that is undeniable, so, if you’ve never taken a chance on any of his films, now’s a good time to try.