Film Review: CONFESSIONAL (2019)

 

After two college students commit suicide on the same day, seven fellow students with ties to the two are forced to reveal their deep and dark secrets in a confessional booth in the thriller Confessional (2019) from director Brad T. Gottfred.  Someone is manipulating these seven college students with proof of blackmail to get them into a confessional booth surrounded by cameras and they are unable to escape.  Each person, now isolated, is forced to open up to a candid conversation about their two friends that killed themselves because their captor doesn’t believe that they committed suicide but that all seven of the captors had something to do with the “murders.”

 

The single location story lets up the completely ludicrous situation and set up but it looks good while doing it.  It seems that their captor is filming everything and also has incriminating evidence against each of them so if they don’t tell the truth they will face the consequences which can turn lethal.

 

The film itself can be seen as a modern take on the found footage tropes that have been established in films over the last couple decades but the captor gives a reason for filming the subjects and why the film itself exists.  Unfortunately, the concept wears itself thin very soon despite the many twists and turns in the script which is where the magic of editing comes into play.  As one character starts to get boring and less interesting it cuts between characters because there are definitely some stories that are more interesting than others.  The good thing is that the entire film does come together by the end with an interesting and surprising amount of revelations.

 

This being said, some audience members may tire of the film before they get to the end.  Written by Jennifer Wolfe a lot of millage is dragged out of the concept which would’ve been better serviced by a much shorter run time but if you’re not a fan of found footage films then this film will not change your mind about the genre.

Film Review: VEROTIKA (2019)

Rocker Glenn Danzig (of The Misfits and Danzing) takes his hand at directing with his anthology feature Verotika (2019) based on stories from his comic book.  I would like to say that there is something to be had in this mixed bag of sexually charged and gore filled film but that is not the case here.

 

Including the wraparound there are four stories that test the audiences’ endearment of bad acting, mediocre production values, and shoddy directing and writing that can’t be saved by much of anything (unless of course you happen to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol).

 

In “The Albino Spider of Dajette” Ashley Wisdom is Dajette, a woman with eye balls as nipples and has a co-depended relationship with an Albino human spider creature that comes alive when she is asleep to kill random people.  There isn’t much to the story and even the brief nudity can’t hide the fact that Wisdom was probably the wrong person to lead this film.  In “Change of Face” Rachel Alig is Mystery Girl a Phantom-like stripped who hides her face while killing people in her spare time.  Alig does a better job with her role but is hampered by a predictable story with little in the way of surprises or suspense.  In the third main story “Drukija Contessa of Blood,” Alice Tate is Drukija a countess who buys young virgins from the nearby towns to sacrifice and kill so that she can extend her own life.  Inspired by the Elizabeth Bathory story this is a period set story that shows a little more risk than the other stories but nevertheless is hampered by the same issues.

 

The surprise of the entire film comes from Kayden Kross who is Morella in the wrap around segments who actually makes for an entertaining host for the entire film.  She actually gives the best performance and looks as she know exactly the type of film that she has stepped into.

 

The biggest problem with the film is that with Danzig on board, you expect a much better film instead of something that looks like in was made with $1 and done in a garage.  There is plenty of nudity and gore on display in the film but the film offers little else other than that.

 

Film Review: LYLE (2014)

Stewart Thorndike writes and directs the film Lyle (2014) which is about a couple Leah and June (Gaby Hoffman and Ingrid Jungermann, respectfully) who move into a new building with their toddler Lyle (Eleanor Hopkins).  They are greeted by the building manager Karen (Rebecca Street) who also has a room in the same building.  When Leah reveals that she is pregnant with another daughter, Karen also reveals that she is pregnant which throws Leah off due to her age and the fact that she is single.

 

It’s not long before Leah starts to believe that Karen is lying about her pregnancy among other things and when the isolation from other friends and family causes her to become distracted her daughter Lyle dies in an accident.  The grief of losing her daughter causes Leah to become more paranoid of Karen and everything around her while her partner June sinks deeper into distractions.  Leah refuses to take meds for her grief and depression which may harm herself and her unborn baby.

 

What follows is a descent into paranoia for Leah and the audience as they try to discover whether or not Karen is bewitching her to steal her unborn child.

 

The film wears its influences of Rosemary’s Baby very thin but its direction is not as assured despite decent performances.  Unfortunately, the film will overall look like one of the many Rosemary’s Baby clones out there without bringing anything new to the story or genre.  With the exception of following a lesbian couple (very well played by Hoffman and Jungermann) the film lacks the suspense of a good horror film relying more on drama than anything else.  It is interesting to see Hoffman in a starring role but other than that the film is pretty forgettable.

Film Review: HACK-O-LANTERN (1988)

It’s Halloween and it’s the season for costume parties and playing pranks…and worshipping Satan in the film Hack-o-Lantern (1988).  Tommy (Gregory Scott Cummins) has been groomed by his Grandpa (Hy Pyke) in the ways of Satan ever since his father met an unfortunate early death during his childhood.  Tommy is now all grown up and this Halloween season, while his sister and younger brother prepare for the Halloween party, Tommy is getting his mind and body ready for the impending sacrifice that he must take part in so that he can become the Satanist he was born to be.  Unfortunately, when Tommy discovers his sister is to be his sacrifice he must make a chose a side and discover his true destiny.

 

I make the film out to be more interesting than it actually is.  The story is by Dave Eisenstark while the screenplay was written by Carla Robinson and the film was directed by Jag Mundhra .  The film itself is a pretty basic and by the numbers ‘80s slasher film that borrows very little from the Halloween horror traditions other than to take place on the actual day.

 

The film is a product the ‘80s video traditions and has aged horribly because of the poor cinematography and acting and the very few actual kills in the film which has made other ‘80s films cult classics.  This is a film that has been forgotten and for good reason with only the title being the curiosity for most horror fans who may have missed the film upon initial release.

 

A MONTH OF NON-FICTION FILMS

After a month of animation (November), I wanted December to be a little different so I decided to focus on non-fiction films and series.  Due to the fact that there were so many series that I wanted to catch up with I focused more on those than films.  I managed to get in a few films but there were so many series that I needed to watch and that seemed more compelling.

 

FILMS:

I actually only managed to view three films which included Born in Gaza (2014), American Factory (2019), and FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019).  Born in Gaza was a blind watch whereas American Factory I had heard a lot of great things about and was one that I missed from the previous year.  FYRE I watched due to a lot of my friends who had recommended it to me in addition to the fact that I knew a little about the topic of the film prior to seeing it.

All three were great films that were different from each other.  Born in Gaza was the story of children trying to survive a war torn Gaza which had some of them supporting their own families.  It was a harrowing look into survival.  On the other hand FYRE was a look into having too much money and excess in regards to the greatest party that never happened due to corruption, unrealistic goals, and other things.  Both films get into the reality of the situation with footage and candid conversations with the various subjects. 

American Factory on the other hand depicts cultural relations as it pertains to American and Chinese factory workers trying to find a common ground.  It takes a look into cultural and work habits as well as integration of ideas and efficiency. 

SERIES:

This is where I viewed the most content and I will separate this into two sections which will focus on docudramas and competitions because I consider both to be non-fiction but they are their own separate animals.

First up are the competition shows that I viewed which include – The Great British Baking Show (Season 11 of the regular show and Season 3 of Holidays spin-off), Sugar Rush Christmas (Season 2), Million Pound Menu (Season 1-2) and Floor is Lava (Season 1).  I love competition shows but as you can tell from this selection that I enjoy cooking shows.  I like to keep up to date on my regular shows but added Million Pound Menu this year which I enjoyed more than I was expecting.  British Baking Show is a brilliant show and unfortunately I’ve now seen pretty much everything that is available on Netflix.  I had heard a lot of great things about Floor is Lava which is why I took a chance on that one and I wasn’t disappointed; my only criticism is the fact that they change the format several times during their “Level 2” episodes as if they are experimenting with the format.

The second part of my series focuses on docudramas which are what most people would be thinking about in terms of non-fiction series.  My interests are huge in regards to the style and subject matter and this month’s viewing selection is no different.  What I managed to get through were Trial 4 (2020), Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019), Challenger: The Final Flight (2020), and all three segments of the Surviving R.Kelly franchise [Original (2019), Impact (2019), and Part II: The Reckoning (2020)].  Although the Challenger series alludes to a crime having taken place in regards to the tragedy, all the other series are true crime series.  All were excellent!  There wasn’t a weak one of the bunch.  They each presented compelling and interesting stories over the course of many episodes.  Even Surviving R.Kelly, which is mostly talking heads, managed to craft some captivating personal stories.

Netflix is known for some amazing true crime series (although they had nothing to do with Surviving R.Kelly franchsie) of which those listed above are no exception.  I’ve actually started watching more of them over the last year due to the COVID lockdown.  Before this year I only watched a handful but I’ve now seen most of what is on Netflix as they have one of the largest selections of true crime series.

*****

Overall, December was a good month for catching up on some series although I wished I had spent more time on some films.  I also wished I had a broader interest in competition series as well.

A MONTH OF ANIMATION

 

Last November I spent the month catching up with the various animated films and series that had passed me by mostly due to there being so much content out there.  My original intension was to get through as many films that I had missed as I could but instead I actually got through a lot more series than I was expecting.

 

SERIES:

To start off, I took this month to, finally, get through season 2-3 of the original Beetlejuice: The Animated Series.  I didn’t actually watch a lot of this show when it was originally released but found myself purchasing the entire series on DVD.  I used this month to get through two of the series’ for seasons.  The best thing to come of this is the fact that it is now one of my son’s favorite animated shows.  Being an Ultraman fan I decided to watch the first season of the Netflix Ultraman series based on the current manga series.  It follows closely to the manga and overall is an excellent update to the character and series.

Next up I decided to catch up on Ghost in the Shell with the SAC_2045 series (also on Netflix) and the first three films in the ARISE collection (Border 1: Ghost Pain, Border 2: Ghost Whisper, and Border 3: Ghost Tears).  I enjoyed the SAC_2045 series but wasn’t a big fan of the ARISE series; I still have the final two films in the ARISE series to watch and previous animated series in the franchise but both contain some interesting ideas and concepts.

This brings up another manga and classic series that got a facelift which is the Cyborg 009: Call of Justice series from 2017 which is actually a really good update on the old series and manga.  The next show based on a popular manga I managed to get to is Parasyte: The Maxim which is one of my favorite manga and since the show follows the manga pretty closely I ended up loving this one as well.

On a different level are the animated series Dragon’s Dogma and Netflix’s Blood of Zeus both of which are violent and exceptionally good in their own right.  But my favorite series of the month happens to be Japan Sinks: 2020 but if you’re not in the mood for a series that gets increasingly bleak and somber before the final episode then this one is not for you.

FILMS:

Unfortunately, due to all the series that I watched I was unable to watch very many films but the ones I did manage to view are the following – Seoul Station (2016), Mirai (2018), Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008), Arthur Christmas (2011), and A Creepshow Animated Special (2020).  Of particular notice were A Creepshow Animated Special and Seoul Station which were the two horror films viewed despite some of the other series containing a lot more violence.  Creepshow was an interesting way to do a film during the COVID pandemic while Seoul Station adds tremendously to the Train to Busan franchise.

My favorite film ended up being Arthur Christmas despite my not being a big fan of Christmas films.  This was just an amazing film that I had been missing for far too long.

*****

I would have liked to have seen more animated films as my watch list continues to grow each year but I did manage to shorten my series list tremendously.  I think that when another animation month comes around I’ll focus on either series or films but not both.

Well, I hope this list provides you notice of new films to seek out.  I didn’t actually see anything that was truly horrible but I’ll let you be the real judge of that.

 

RANTS & RAVINGS ABOUT HORROR - "HOW I CELEBRATED 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2020!"

 

“HOW I CELEBRATED 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2020!”

So, Halloween 2020 is over now and I’ve had a month to reflect on all the films and TV series viewed during my 31 Days of Halloween – 2020 version!  I tried my best to view something new each day but when I didn’t, it was always spurred on by family (like on October 10^th when the family wanted to do a double feature of The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) after having seen both numerous times).  This year was a mixed bag of both films I had repeatedly overlooked (Cargo, Death Note, Gerald’s Game, and The Invitation) and films that I watched on a whim (A.M.I., House of the Witch, Train of the Dead, The Dybbuk) but what I most enjoyed about this year’s viewing list is the amount of foreign films I decided to view (Betaal, The Ghoul, The Doll 2, Sabrina, The 3^rd Eye 1&2, Train of the Dead, etc.).  This month was definitely a month for me to explore lots of different films both fiction and non-fiction.

 

First up I’d like to list the films and TV shows on the bottom of my list.  Most of these are barely watchable but you’re more than welcome to seek them out for yourself but don’t say I didn’t give you a head’s up.

 

WORST FILMS & TV SHOWS:

Train of the Dead (2007)

Jinn (2019) Season 1

The 3^rd Eye (2017)

The 3^rd Eye 2 (2019)

Alien Vs. Ninja (2010)

Betaal (2020) Season 1

 

In terms of animation I did view several great films of which I recommend which include:

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)

Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

 

What I was really surprised was the list of non-fiction films and series I managed to squeeze into my watch list this year.  I normally stick to films that are mostly fiction but this year I took a chance that paid off:

 

NON-FICTION FILMS & TV SHOWS:

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Search for the World’s Next Drag SuperMonster Season 2

Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017)

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019)

Rewind This! (2013)

American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)

Dream/Killer (2015)

Scare Tactics Season 5

 

In addition to having to rewatch The Addams Family and Addams Family Values I also had the chance to rewatch the amazing films of Dick Maas with The Lift (1983), Amsterdamned (1988), and Down (2001).  Amsterdamned is one of my favorite films of the ‘80s and my favorite of Maas’ films.  The Lift still holds up extremely well but Down actually feels dated having been an American remake of The Lift.  I was able to see all three on Blue Underground’s amazing Blu-Rays which present the films the best that I’ve ever seen them.  The upgraded purchases were definitely worth it (especially The Lift which I had a poor bootleg of).  If you’ve never experienced the amazing films of Maas, these three are worth seeking out.

 

This now brings me to the best films and TV shows I viewed during this year’s 31 Days of Halloween!  This year was actually probably the best in terms of diversity and quality.  I’m not going to go into each of the films individually but I will put them in a list of Top 10.  These are all films I would recommend others seek out!

 

BEST FILMS & TV SHOWS:

1. Apostle (2018)

2. No One Lives (2012)

3. Rewind This (2013) – Non-Fiction

4. Gerald’s Game (2017)

5. Cargo (2017)

6. The Invitation (2015)

7. #Alive (2020)

8. Would You Rather (2012)

9. Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019) – Non-Fiction

10. The Golem (2018)

 

Now comes the films that were neither great nor horrible but lie somewhere in the middle.  Seek them out based on your own taste and interest:

 

The Dybbuk (1960)

The Car: Road to Revenge (2019)

Death Note (2017)

1BR (2019)

Still (2010)

Truth or Dare (2017)

Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020)

House of the Witch (2017)

 

With this ends my 2020, 31 Days of Halloween viewing list!  I’m already looking forward to 2021 but I know that next year will be just as interesting and diverse as this year due to the fact that there are still so many international films and TV shows that I still need to view.  I hope you had a get October 2020 and feel free to let me know what you watched and what you would recommend.