Horror – Page 4 – We Are Movie Geeks

M3GAN – Review

If 2022 could be known as the year of the male puppet, with two different versions of the fairy tale classic PINOCCHIO, then 2023 is shaping up to be the year of the female doll. A few weeks ago the internet nearly broke with the first teaser for BARBIE, which looks to be a candy-colored comedy. Oh, but that’s still months and months away, isn’t there any new toy-themed flicks out right now? Oh yes, there is, and she’s a terror. And though she looks like the kid cousin of Mattel’s queen she’s closer in spirit to Chuckie. Well, she’s lifesize and like last year’s movie subject, she’s “got no strings” on her. And unlike “Talking Tina” from TV’s Twilight Zone, she doesn’t just whisper threats. The “follow-through” is one of the upgrades on the interactive, and homicidal, doll called M3GAN.

To throw us a bit off-kilter, the story starts with a commercial for another toy. A talking fuzzy troll-like, puppy-sized toy has the kids flipping out, and their parents doling out the dollars. One of the toy’s fans is ten-year-old Cady (Violet McGraw) who is driving her parents crazy with its constant chatter. Mom’s regretting that her sister who helped invent the toy gave them such a good deal on it. But that’s the least of her worries as hubby can’t seem to navigate a curvy mountain road during a snowstorm. Which leads to a horrific tragedy. Meanwhile, the sister earlier mentioned, tech inventor Gemma (Allison Williams), is prepping her newest invention to show the toy company’s prickly prez, David (Ronny Chieng). It’s a life-size (for a preteen) human-looking doll dubbed M3gan ( Model 3 Generative Android). The unveiling is a disaster, so she’s tasked with making the current furry toy cheaper to produce until…she gets a fateful call. Gemma’s now the guardian of Cady who survived the crash that claimed both her parents. Unfortunately, the two just aren’t “bonding” until Cady sparks up when Gemma shows her an old robot she keeps in the garage. Cue the light bulb above Gemma’s head. In secret, after hours at her work lab, she and her team complete the repairs on M3gan. Soon Cady is introduced to the “project” and the toy “bonds” with the child in order to fulfill its main function: protect Cady. All’s going well until several odd disappearances and accidents begin popping up in the area. Could M3gan’s advanced programming include murder?

Williams shines in a modern female spin on the Dr. Frankenstein persona. Her Gemma has the best of intentions which indeed “pave the road to Hell”. Facing pressure at work, she’s thrust into parenthood and is terribly ill-prepared. The toy’s a quick fix, but it also bonds her to the new daughter in unexpected ways, developing real empathy. With this role following her great turn in GET OUT, Williams could be part of a new era of “scream queens”. She’s got a good rapport with McGraw, who ably handles Cady’s emotional shifts, going from a grief “numbness” to her euphoria over her new pal to an obsessive mania when Cady tries to become the defender of the bot. Chieng scores some solid laughs as the profit-minded big boss with a really short fuse and little time for considering the consequences of what he’s sending out into the world. And praise must be given to the people that bring the title character to life. Annie Donald gives M3gan an interesting style of movement, opting for brisk fluid moves with any mechanical stiffness, even making her rampages into aggressive dance steps and motions. Jenna Davis supplies her calm, sing-song-type voice which helps makes M3gan’s “descent’ more disturbing as she tosses off an oddly cheerful threat. And all this works due to the tech artists who give real expression to the vinyl-like doll’s head with those expanded glowing eyes.

Director Gerald Johnstone smoothly steers the story through bits of satire and into moments of real suspense. And much of the comedic beats from screenwriters Akela Cooper and James Wan do land, especially in their swipes at marketing with TV ads that seem right from SNL. Unfortunately, many of the characters feel a bit cliche such as a nasty neighbor who feels out of place on Gemma’s upscale block (she’s a modern Mrs. Kravitz from TV’s “Bewitched” with a vicious pet and a “Karen attitude”), and a school bully straight outta’ “juvie”. The sequence with the latter had real terror potential, but the filmmakers seemed to back off in order to hang on to the “PG-13” rating (it’s rumored that several reshoots were needed to keep the flick away from an “R”). This may be a problem for the hordes of horror fanatics who also may be put off by the “slow burn” of the set-up. Several awkward family dynamics are presented before the doll goes “wonky”. Luckily some interesting ideas involving connected tech liven up the action-packed finale. It all makes for a fairly good modern cautionary fable about keeping off “the screens’ and making human connections rather than bonding with algorithms. By that fiery finale, most viewers will be happy that they didn’t look under the tree a couple of weeks ago to see those yellow glowing orbs from the face of M3gan.

3 Out of 4

M3GAN is now playing in theatres everywhere

BONES AND ALL – Review

(L to R) Taylor Russell as Maren and Mark Rylance as Sully in BONES AND ALL, directed by Luca Guadagnino, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Photo Credit: Yannis Drakoulidis / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures. © 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.

“My Cannibal Romance” or “The Fine Young Cannibals” might be alternate titles for this film except that it suggests comedy rather than the high-concept horror film that BONES AND ALL really is. Starring Timothee Chalamet and Canadian actress Taylor Russell as a very different kind of star-crossed lovers, BONES AND ALL does two surprising things: combining romance with horror in a very different way and creating a new kind of monster beyond the usual vampires, werewolves and zombies. The characters at the center of this tale are born as cannibals, compelled to eat human flesh the same way vampires are compelled to drink blood. However, despite the image that evokes, BONES AND ALL is surprisingly restrained in what it shows on screen. There are bloody scenes, but the like in a film where the gory is the point. That will probably disappoint the torture porn crowd or those looking for buckets-o-blood violence. There are no Jeffrey Dahmer-like bone-cracking or cooking scenes. Instead, these compulsive cannibals are treated more as people with an unfortunate affliction, something they have no say in. The focus is on people living lonely, isolated lives, people who have a compulsion they would rather not have, but something they unfortunately must do, periodically, in order to live. Their only choice is when, and who. That gives this unusual horror story a completely different tone.

Set in the upper South and Midwest of the mid-’80s,Maren (Taylor Russell) is a lonely high school senior living with her dad (Andre Holland), who is “the new girl: who doesn’t fit in at her new high school – again. The father and daughter have moved around a bit but Maren longs for friends, and here she is finally forming some tentative friendships. Yet we get a sense she is hiding something, although it might just be that she is living a trailer park, unlike her new friends.

Her dad sets strict rules for her, including no nights out, but one night she sneaks out anyway, to go hang out at her new friend’s sleep-over. All goes well as first, until it doesn’t. What happens sends daughter and dad on the run.

In her new rundown rental home, she wakes one day to find dad gone, but an envelop of money and a tape and recorder left behind. Dad’s tape answers some questions about why she is different, while leaving others unanswered. Maren decides to seek those answers by finding the family of the mother she never knew.

Already you see the parallels to any young person who is different in some way, where bi-racial (as she is) or from a different country or religion, or born with a “condition” although not likely to be like her particular affliction. On the road, she is surprised to meet others like her, such as Sully (Mark Rylance, in another striking performance), an oddball, colorfully dressed man with a Southern drawl, and later another young person with the same affliction, Lee (Timothee Chalamet).

It’s Timothee Chalamet, so of course, they will fall in love, although it takes awhile. Also in the fine cast are Michael Stuhlberg, Chloe Sevigny, Jessica Harper, Jake Horowitz and David Gordon Green. Director Luca Guadagnino’s impressively varied credits include CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, SUSPIRIA, A BIGGER SPLASH and I AM LOVE. Here, the director shows a firm hand and fills scenes with tension, sadness, yearning, and a sense of the tragic by turns, always making the most of his fine cast.

Like all horror films, realism and the plausible are not priorities. The acting is the film’s standout strength, but the concept deserves credit. as a fresh way to show people who exist on the fringes of society, as these people, as well as a new horror creation. By making these characters into people rather than monsters, the film turns the usual horror film structure on its head. Other than their compulsion and “dietary needs,” and how that forces them to live, they are completely ordinary people, who would rather not do want they must. They are filled with revulsion by encountering an ordinary human turned cannibal, as they do at one point. The young couple try to create something like a normal life for themselves, with starry-eyed dreams of avoiding their need to eat, as they inevitably must.

It makes for an unexpectedly heartbreaking story, and the film is in many way more a tragic romance of star-crossed lovers than a horror film. Timothee Chalamet and Taylor… as the star-crossed lovers, who are what they are without choice, give marvelous performances. The two develop a convincing chemistry, and their shared problem

But the most unforgettable performance is Mark Rylance’s. The already lauded British actor, who some may recall from BRIDGE OF SPIES, is having quite a year – with wide ranging performances. He plays a charming British eccentric, a sparkling comic role, like the delightful PHANTOM OF THE OPEN, and a shy unassuming tailor bullied by gangsters in the twisty mystery thriller THE OUTFIT. Here, Rylance plays Sully, whose smooth Southern accent and mix of menace and loneliness sets us on edge in very scene, and a performance that sears its way into our memory. Whenever he is on screen, we are uneasy, even though what he says is often pitiful. When he pops up unexpectedly, “stalker” is the word that comes to mind.

Any film that makes these kinds of bold choices deserves credit for creativity and courage, even while the film’s subject is inevitably squirm-inducing. There is blood and blood-covered faces, and we know that these folks are doing, but it is less about that, about gory effects, than the complicated characters at the center who were born with this awful curse. That makes for a fresh kind of horror film, one that invites thought about something more that how they did that effect.

BONES AND ALL opens Wednesday, Nov. 23, in select theaters.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

HALLOWEEN ENDS – Review

Michael Myers (aka The Shape) in Halloween Ends, co-written, produced and directed by David Gordon Green.

Wow, that time of year snuck up on us once more, much like the creeper of this looooong-time horror franchise. Yes, Fall is fully here and that big holiday is mere weeks away. And this is the (unlucky) thirteenth entry in the series that began 44 years ago (feels like we just marked its big 4-0). As though we’ve not been bombarded with horror flicks the last few weeks, from THE INVITATION to current box office champ SMILE. Ah, but this is different since it’s being treated as a major release from a big-time studio, and it stars the original’s “break-out” actress, who has had a career way beyond that early label of “scream queen”, though many genre stars proceeded her. But this was a true “game-changer” back in 1978. But will its implied “conclusion’ tingle the spines of twenty-first-century moviegoers? More importantly, will they accept the idea that HALLOWEEN ENDS?

Oddly, this ending begins with a flashback to 2019. It is that holiday setting, and another teenage babysitter Corey (Rohan Campbell), a fella’ this time, endures a deadly prank that will impact his life. Cut (natch’) to today. Well, here’s where it gets a bit confusing as it is four years since the events of KILLS which was released a year ago (wonky movie timelines). That original sitter, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), seems to be on the road to a healed psyche. She’s not training in a wooded “bunker’ any longer, instead, she resides in a nice cozy house (the old family “house of horrors” was torn down) with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), who has begun a career as a nurse. And much of Laurie’s time is taken up with her writing as she types away at an inspirational memoir. Things are pretty quiet since it has been a few years since “you-know-who” stalked Haddonfield, Illinois. But there’s lots of drama left there as Laurie befriends Corey when some local hooligans gang up on him, which leads him to a “bloody cute” (literally) meeting with Allyson. They even hit a pre-holiday party at a local bar. But then he takes off his scarecrow mask and the “haters” break them up, which leads to him taking a tumble off an overpass. When he wakes up Corey hears grumbling from someone in a drainage tunnel. This empties into an underground level that is now the lair of a very weak “shape”, or “boogeyman” Michael Myers. Yet somehow he spares Corey when their eyes meet and they seem to share a twisted spiritual connection. Soon this unlikely duo is erasing names from Corey’s “s*#t list” as his romance with Allyson heats up. But Laurie sees a change in his eyes and fears that the “evil” may have a new host. Can she save her family from the new threat and a very old enemy?

Aside from “the Shape” the main reason for this “new trilogy” is the white-hot stat power generated by the formidable Ms. Curtis. And for her many fans, well to put it bluntly, she brings it, all of her skills and strength, to what she insists is her final waltz with Laurie. The last entry was a bit of a letdown as her character was mostly confined to a hospital room (much as in that second flick from 1981), happily here she’s in the “thick of it”, action-wise. But she’s more than the grim avenger of four years ago. We see her sweet side as Curtis lets a shy smile emerge while flirting with the charming Will Patton, who’s back as Hawkins. Plus there’s the maternal dealing with Allyson, pared with lots of conflict and remorse (Laurie’s not going to blow this second chance at parenting). Matichak captivates as the “final Strode sibling”, though too often she’s regulated to being the “good gal” defending the “bad boy” she adores because nobody else “understands”. Until it devolves into a cliched angsty star-crossed romance, she has a nice initial rapport with Campbell’s Corey who deftly turns from dweebish teen to haunted twenty-something as he slowly succumbs to the darkness of the small-town taunts and torments. Ultimately the script calls for him to emote via sneers and snarls when away from Alyson and as he falls fully under the spell of the Shape.

The best thing say of this “finale” is that it does indeed feel like one, and it’s miles above last year’s dreary. overwrought “message-y” misfire (none of this “the town is the real evil” hoohah). It’s odd since most of the same creative team made this one, led by director and co-writer (it took a quartet) David Gordon Green. He keeps the third act moving briskly, from one gore-fueled set piece to another, which should satisfy the fans who may grow restless waiting for their masked “hero” to do his “business” after the Corey subplot and the more “mellow” Laurie. Actually, this one’s main problem might be a script that’s too ambitious as it tries to meld a thrill ride with bits of family drama and an unlikely mentoring saga. Plus the final “throw-down” is marred by the off-kilter actions of a major player. Well, at least the “hit list” is made up of some really awful folks (though maybe not deserving of such extreme reprimands). Another plus is the always sinister musical themes that have been given a tweak or two by the master, John Carpenter, and his audio crew. And as I said, it feels like a final farewell, but only the box office can guarantee that HALLOWEEN ENDS.

2 Out of 4

HALLOWEEN ENDS is now playing in select theatres and streams exclusively for 60 days on Peacock beginning on 10/15/2022

HELLRAISER (2022) – Review

Jamie Clayton as Pinhead in Spyglass Media Group’s HELLRAISER, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of Spyglass Media Group. © 2022 Spyglass Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

So, we’re now officially a week into October. Ready for a spooky flick? Well most hardcore “horror hounds’ are game any time of the year, but this month is…special. And what better way to get “in the mood” than revisiting some iconic and shocking characters in a big reboot, though their creator calls this a “re-imagining” (um, okay). Oh, and we’re not reaching back to the Universal icons of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. They skip a few decades to get into the scream kings (and queens) of the 70s and 80s. It just feels like all of them have gotten a nice new coat of gore. Hey, even Michael Meyers will be back in a week for his final rampage (heard that before). And much like Chucky, these horrors spring from a toy, a puzzle box specifically. As we learned 35 years ago, and over ten flicks, when you solve this puzzle you don’t get a prize because it’s a real HELLRAISER.

This “new take” begins on the streets of Serbia as a woman named Menacker (Haim Abbas) does an exchange in a dingy alley, handing over a briefcase full of cash for a nondescript box, which its former owner warns her not to open. Cut to the impressive mansion of a pleasure-seeking reclusive billionaire named Voight. There’s a party in progress, clothes optional. Menacker meets a handsome young man at the bar and invites him to a private audience with Voight, in his secret gallery. Inside a case, he spots a detailed puzzle box, the Lament Configuration. Voight appears (Goran Visnej) and instructs his guest to solve the puzzle. When he does a spring-triggered needle pops out and punctures his hand. The box seems to suck up his blood which initiates a portal to another dimension that shoots out long chains with sharp hooks that dig into his flesh before hoisting him up. From there the story shifts to a grungy bedroom as Riley (Odessa A’zion) and her new beau Trevor (Drew Starkey) enjoy each other’s company. As they leave the sprawling apartment they’re confronted by her straight-laced brother Matt (Brandon Flynn) He’s angry that she’s dating somebody she met while in rehab and thinks she’s using again. Oh, and she’s behind in her share of the rent. Back at Trevor’s place, he suggests a way to make some quick cash. He makes delivers to a warehouse owner by some “rich dude”. They could use the security code and take something in his safe. And they go through with it, acquiring, yup that deadly puzzle box. Later, when it whisks away Matt, Riley is on a mission to find out the secrets of the box and rescue her sibling. But will she along with Trevor and their friends become victims to the box and the other-worldly demons known as Cenobites?

In an interesting spin on your typical horror heroine. or scream queen, A’zion as Riley is a woman who seemingly has her hands, and mind, full battling her own inner demons, let alone some true terrors from another dimension. And she’s up to the challenge even as the script has her screeching in her opening act like a spoiled petulant pre-teen. But her missing bro forces her into detective mode and A’zion is a formidable force as she slowly uncovers the truth about the “box”. Starkey has a low-key seedy charm as the tempting “bad boy” of many fantasies. But he’s a piker compared to Voight who is given a sinister grinning snarl by Visnej, whose leading man looks mask his perverse machinations. And making a mark (in more ways than one) is Jamie Clayton as The Priest (often referred to as “pinhead” which irks its creator), her passive aggressive delivery, much like one of those home AI devices, clashes with the sadistic punishments it unleashes.

So, has director David Bruckner (THE NIGHT HOUSE) delivered a terror trek that surpassed the 1987 original? Well, there are a few new interesting spins (the attire of the Cenobites particularly), but there is little of the campy fun of that trippy late 80s flick that surprised us. And the new script from Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski, and David S. Goyer (yup, it took a trio) doesn’t deliver new shocks, but rather tepid variations on familiar scary set pieces inspired by the Clive Barker classic. It’s amusing that Voight’s mansion itself is also a puzzle box, but its contrivances just feel…contrived, though the art direction is done well. This is something like the tenth film in this series, but it just might be time to put that nasty puzzle box in storage until someone can twist and turn it until it becomes a truly horrific HELLRAISER.

1.5 Out of 4

HELLRAISER is now streaming exclusively on Hulu

DEADSTREAM – Review

*Joseph Winter as Shawn Ruddy in DEADSTREAM. Photo Credit: Shudder.*

DEADSTREAM is a little comedy horror flick that looks as if it were made on the cheap (which it probably was) but which turns its limited budget into an asset. Joseph Winter wrote and directed with wife, Vanessa Winter, and stars as an internet celeb named Shawn Ruddy who’s made a living by putting himself in danger. In each episode, he faces one of his fears for fun and profit. Apparently, that kept food on the table until he went too far in one adventure and lost his sponsors in disgrace. For his comeback after a six-month exile, he chooses to live-stream his night alone in a reputedly haunted house. That makes up the entire movie.

On the plus side, Winter makes this more visually interesting than most of the hand-held camera productions flooding screens ever since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, by using multiple cameras. He’s got a POV on his head, plus a selfie stick so we can alternate between what he sees and his reactions. He’s also planted cameras around the house’s reported hot spots (alleged previous deaths and spectral sightings) which he and we can follow on his tablet. We can also read his audience’s comments as they scroll, and even watch some of them talking to him.

As expected, spooky and gory things occur. A couple of people turn up who may, or may not, prove helpful. Winter’s character scares easily, and overreacts to the slightest sound and movement. A lot. Your enjoyment of the film will turn on whether he holds your empathy, or just becomes annoying. There’s nothing subtle or low-key in Winter’s performance. He’s wired electronically and emotionally throughout, which befits his character in the situation, but might prove as exhausting to follow as it was for him to film.

Be prepared for more blood, guts and jump starts than giggles as the protagonist’s long night of terror unfolds. It’s not rated by the MPAA as of this writing, but serves up enough frights and icky sights for an R. In his acting hat, Winters shoulders a big burden, since he’s almost always in frame, and delivers most of the lines in the spouses’ script. There are elements of humor and some social satire in the feedback from his fans’ and detractors’ reactions to what they’re witnessing in real time. The F/X part of the budget was spent wisely, providing plenty of scary and yucky bits of bang for the buck.

It ain’t great cinema but that was certainly not the goal. Enjoy this piece of escapism on its own terms. The Winters are early in their careers, and seem clever and resourceful enough to attract investors and keep their production wheels turning.

DEADSTREAM is available for streaming on Shudder starting Thursday, Oct. 6.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

SMILE – Review

*Caitlin Stasey in a Paramount Pictures Presents, in Association with Paramount Players, A Temple Hill Production “SMILE.” Courtesy of Paramount Pictures*

October is the perfect month for scary movies, and horror fans can get their fix with SMILE, a creepy tale in the style of haunting “contagion” horror flicks like THE RING. While the horror film SMILE might make scary-movie audiences happy, seeing this particularly sinister smile is not a happy thing for the unfortunate characters in this new horror genre offering.

This horror film is getting some buzz among horror fans, and SMILE deserves credit for a being fresh scare and not just another horror-movie sequel (how many HALLOWEENs are there, anyway?). But to be clear, this near-October release is basic entertainment, not a high-concept chiller like HEREDITARY but SMILE does offer some good jolts although it breaks no new horror ground.

Now, full disclosure, this reviewer is not a fan of the modern horror genre, preferring psychological thrillers and more classic monster movies, so serious horror fans may have a different take on this one. That said, SMILE did offer some scares, with jumps and some blood, but without more the gruesome “torture porn” scenes of some horror. Further, it deserves extra credit for offering something different from the endless sequels. SMILE should please those who like a good popcorn-tossing jump for most of its nearly 2-hour running time, although its failure to pick up the pace and tension in the second half makes the film feel longer than it actually is.

There are no big names in this scare-fest, apart from Kal Penn who appears briefly as the main character’s boss. Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) is a dedicated psychiatrist who works long hours in a mental health hospital that takes in patients in crisis, instead of running a cushier private clinical practice with more regular hours. The film opens with a unsettling scene that gives us insight on the good doctor’s dedication, as she awakes from the nightmare sparked by her childhood memory of finding her drug-addicted mother, who died from an overdose. We see Dr. Colter in a therapy session with a frequent patient, Carl (an excellent Jack Sochet), who obsessively repeats that everyone will die. Carl is a “regular” at the hospital, considered harmless, as his morbid litany just part of his periodic manic phase.

But a new patient Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) comes in who presents something different. When the therapist enters the room, the patient is cowering in a corner, terrified. She had witnessed a gruesome suicide a few days earlier, and the assumption is that she is reacting to that trauma. But the frightened patient is a young woman, a graduate student, who insists she is rational, but that she is being harassed and attacked with a being that takes the shape of people around her, revealing that it is the creature by smiling the creepiest of smiles. The patient becomes angry and hysterical when the doctor makes the reasonable assumption that what the patient is seeing is a hallucination. The young woman vehemently insists that what she is seeing is real and a danger that threatens not just her, but everyone. Then she screams as she sees the presence. The doctor turns, seeing nothing there, but when she turns back to the young woman, she is smiling, a remarkably creepy smile, and then a gruesome suicide takes place.

While there is little realistic in this hospital scene, it sets the pattern for the what unfolds, with the “infection” of the thing that was haunting the young woman now “transferred” to the therapist. After her rough day, the doctor goes home to her modern house in the country, where she is greeted by her purring cat. When her live-in fiance Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) comes home, she is somehow startled and drops the glass of wine she has poured herself. It is not the only broken glass in this scary movie.

Jump-inducing scares like that happen throughout this movie, and writer/director Parker Finn has a little extra fun throwing in little scares with camera shots and weird angles, including some clever ones, plus a nerve -jangling musical soundtrack.. The little scares sent waves of nervous laughter through the audience at the preview screening, although there is little direct comic relief here. There are some bloody scare scenes but it has more psychological jumps, as neither we or the character can be sure what is seen is real.

Another thing the film gets right is rejecting the usual Victorian haunted house or cabin in the woods settings, going instead for an isolated and run-down low-cost mid-century ranch house for some spooking doings, which is both refreshing and more believable.

Despite the disturbing things she is experiencing, Rose is determined to figure out what is really happening to her. Most of the people around her have to same reaction to her seeing things that most people would – they believe she is delusional. But like in a classic 1940s film noir, she does find one ally who believes her and she is able to uncover some facts about the smiling “entity.”

Sosie Bacon, who is in nearly every scene, does a nice job as the distressed doctor, alternatively vulnerable and confused or masterful and determined to find a solution. Kal Penn isn’t called on to much more than look alarmed but other actors get more of a chance to show off their stuff. Caitlin Stasey, in her brief scene, gets things rolling with a big splash as the troubled patient haunted by the smile. Gillian Zinzer is a scene-stealer as Rose’s neurotic sister, adding a touch of comic relief along with Nick Arapoglou as her sister’s equally hysterical husband. Young Matthew Lamb is touching as their young son.

Jessie T. Usher underplays as Rose’s emotionally cool fiance and Robin Weigert has a more pointed presence as Rose’s ex-therapist. Kyle Gallner plays a cop who is also Rose’s ex, with a mix of romantic longing and detective efficiency. Jack Sochet shines as death-obsessed patient Carl, and Rob Morgan makes a memorable impact as a prison inmate with some insight into what is happening to Rose.

SMILE is a moderately entertaining scary movie that might satisfy the itch for horror fans. While it stays within the lines of the genre, it has the bonus of not being a recycled story or another sequel.

SMILE opens Friday, Sept, 29, in theaters.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

PEARL – Review

So, it’s looking like 2022’s box office final returns will be dominated by a film that’s already nabbed a spot in the all-time “top ten” earners, that’s TOP GUN: MAVERICK of course. Ah, but will the year be mainly known for one big sequel? No, perhaps not since a prequel did very very well, the last Gru/Minions outing while another did, hmm…not so well (LIGHTYEAR). But we’re about to get another prequel that’s not animated and it’s from a flick that was released just six months ago. And since its focus is on a character from the earlier film, it could also be considered a “spin-off”. Oh, that March film was titled simply X. And I have not seen it. So this puts one of my staunchest movie beliefs to the test: you shouldn’t have to see the original to enjoy (or not) a follow-up. Naturally, I hold the same belief for novels, plays, and even old TV shows (never saw a single “ep” of “Downton Abbey”, but liked the first feature film). So I’ve got “fresh eyes’ to gaze upon the gleaming gem that )maybe) is PEARL.

The A24 logo fades into an idyllic Texas farm, bathed in, some might say, oversaturated colors, way back in 1918 (maybe the pseudo-Technicolor evokes nostalgia). Oh, but the gloom in the house offsets the rosy hues. Eighteen-year-old Pearl (Mia Goth) has dreams of worldwide fame and fortune, but for now, she has to deal with her “uber-stern” German-born mother Ruth (Tandi Wright) and tend to her near-comatose mute quadriplegic papa (Mathew Sunderland). She also has to tend to the animals in the barn that she’s named after movie actresses (the lamb is Mary, natch’). And there’s another animal she “provides” for, a ravenous alligator named Theda, who glides through the nearby pond in the woods. Luckily Pearl has one human friend that occasionally visits, her upbeat blonde sister-in-law Misty (Emma Jenkins-Purro). Yes, sister-in-law. Pearl’s married to her brother Howard who’s serving his country in the last months of WWI, while back home everyone’s in a panic, or pandemic, over the Spanish Flu outbreak. Yet somehow Ruth allows Pearl to bicycle into the nearby town to pick up medicine for papa. Of course, Pearl has to take in the newest “flicker” at the movie palace where she can dream of being one of the chorus girls on the screen. It’s there that she encounters the theatre projectionist (David Corenswet), whose matinee-idol smoldering looks inspire more fantasies. Soon, Misty tells Pearl of the auditions at a local church for a dance troupe that will tour the country. But when word of it reaches Ruth she forbids Pearl from trying out and promises to keep her locked in her bedroom. Oh, she doesn’t realize that nothing’s going to stand in the way of Pearl’s quest for stardom. Nothing and no one, so Pearl will take whatever steps, even….

Well, you can probably guess, even if you were in the dark like me. And that’s just one facet of the “go for broke” performance in the title role by Goth (what an apropos last name for someone doing horror flicks). In nearly every scene, her animated face nearly leaps off the screen (no 3D needed), so you can imagine that Pearl would be a silent screen siren. Her upbeat smile adds to the comic interludes while her tears elicit sympathy for the put-upon heroine. But then the light goes out of those eyes and Pearl switches into a relentless being of chaos and sends chills down our spines. Her energy is almost matched by Wright, who seems to spew Old World venom (much of her dialogue is in German) as she unleashes her anger over “the bug” and the hatred towards her birthplace on her daughter. Counter-balancing that intensity is the “laid-back” laconic delivery of Corenswet who tries to trap Pearl in a web of his lusty charms. His cool, yet creepy demeanor doesn’t result in the “love em’ and leave em'” scenario that may have worked in other tiny burgs. Jenkins-Purro is the light to Goth’s darkness, a kind soul who only wishes to offer a helping hand and is dragged into the mire instead. It seems there’s no room in this world for her warm glow. And several scenes work due to the restrained work of Sunderland who gives weight to the adage that “the eyes have it”. His widened moist glare says more than any histrionics.

Word is that director Ti West concocted the screenplay via Zoom with Goth during the making of the first flick, X. This enabled them to go right from the previous one to this in a matter of days, which is pretty unique. And I’m thinking that the “behind the scenes” story might make for a more compelling film. Despite my admiration for Goth’s emoting, the rest of the flick just seems “all over the place” in tone and style. It starts as “high camp” with Golden Age Movie titles superimposed over the candy color farm and enhanced by the overly-lush orchestral score by Tyler Bates and Tim Williams. Then there are the tragic dramatic elements of soul-draining family life as Ruth squelches the joy from Pearl’s spirit. It’s then a sharp turn into an erotic thriller as Pearl watches a real silent “stag film” while the projectionist looms over her to savor her reactions. This all builds up to a third act packed to the gills with patricide, “gross-out” imagery (that pig), and mean-spirited cruelty in lingering close-ups, proclaiming once more, that in the “edgy” modern horror flicks, evil must triumph and the good are punished for their compassion. And to nitpick a bit, what 1918 theatre had a synchronized record for their feature.?And why do the audition judges dress in old wild west costumes? To sum it up, Goth’s great didn’t need to see the original (if it’s streaming on a rainy day…maybe I’ll catch up), wildly uneven, though it’s got more style than most of these thrillers. It’s not unflawed, but there are a few sparkles found in PEARL

1 and a 1/2 Out of 4

PEARL is playing in theatres everywhere

MEN – Review

A woman alone in a secluded old house, who is being terrorized, is a standard of horror films but director/writer Alex Garland crafts a far different, mind-bending film from that familiar premise. In MEN, toxic masculinity and patriarchy play a major part in the horror.

Alex Garland, whose credits include the scripts for 28 DAYS LATER and SUNSHINE, is a visionary filmmaker who has previously used science fiction to delve into philosophy and a dark side of technology in EX MACHINA, a film that touched on the classic theme of the male creator controlling a female creation, with references to Frankenstein, Pygmalion and the mechanical doll of The Tales of Hoffman. Now Garland turns to the horror genre and, likewise, MEN is no ordinary horror film, although it plays with many of the familiar tropes and types of the genre. On one level, it is a feverish nightmare, an unforgettable, queasy experience, but on another it is a symbolic-laden exploration of patriarchy and toxic masculinity, along with references to ancient folk symbols and myths surrounding lust, sex, fertility and birth.

The film opens with a shocking sight, of a man falling past a window. The falling man is James (Paapa Essiedu), the husband Harper (Jessie Buckley) was in the process of divorcing despite his emotionally-manipulative threats of suicide, although we don’t know if what we see is an accident or a suicide. Seeking a place to heal and grieve, Harper rents a manor house near a tiny village in the quiet English countryside, to be alone and process what has happened.

The stately old house is beautiful and the landscape around it is lush, green and idyllic, the perfect spot. Strolling up to the front door, Harper plucks an apple from a tree in the front yard. The biblical reference is not subtle and as she takes a bite from it, we feel a momentary disquieting shift. She enters the old mansion and begins to explore, and normalcy seems to return with the arrival of the genial owner of the house, Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear), a slightly awkward but likable country aristocratic type. As Geoffrey shows her around the house, he asks slightly intrusive questions about her personal life, questions she deflects while implying she is divorced rather an widowed. When the owner spots the partly-eaten apple on the kitchen counter, his ever-present smile fades, followed by the words “forbidden fruit,” but he quickly adds that he is joking, as the smile returns. We feel he isn’t and, in fact, disturbing things quickly follow.

Harper decides to take a walk in the intensely green woods around the mansion, which leads her to an abandoned old railroad tunnel, where she lingers, playing with echos. That is until she spots a strange man, naked and scratched, at the other end, who then follows her back to the house. Although the police take him away, the incident starts a chain of disturbing events, as the film ratchets up the tension.

What unfolds is a surreal, head-spinning horror film experience steeped in myth and archetypes of masculinity while exploring aspects of the connections between men and women. Garland keeps the tension high throughout, as events become increasingly disturbing and nightmarish, heavily laden with symbolism, much of it drawn from folk traditions, particularly the ancient Green Man and mysterious sexual female image Sheela-na-gig.

The acting is superb, particularly Kinnear, as is the film’s masterful use of framing, the wildly lush sets and locations, and gorgeous photography, all suffusing a film of unrelenting tension. Some scenes, particularly the mind-bending climax, are disturbing to watch and graphic. although not in the usual horror film way.

After the encounter in the woods, Harper faces a series of increasingly unsettling encounters with men in the village, who demonstrate an array of sexist, patriarchal and toxic masculinity behaviors. They all share a version of the same face, including a malevolent 9-year-old boy. While the manor owner is merely awkward, others are more offensive, with a police officer who dismisses Harper’s fears, or even sinister, like the threatening boy and a vicar who seems at first to offer sympathy but quickly shifts to sexist critique.

The men in the village are all played by Rory Kinnear, with the aid of various prosthetics, wigs and false teeth and plenty of nudity. It is a brave, impressive multiple role performance by the lauded British actor, who crafts distinctly different characters for each role and endured some daunting physical challenges for them. Kinnear is famous in Britain for his stage work and as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company but he may be most familiar to movie audiences from his role in the Bond movies as Bill Tanner or supporting roles on TV shows like “Penny Dreadful” and many others.

Jessie Buckley, whose career is soaring, especially after her Oscar nomination for THE LOST DAUGHTER, is on screen nearly throughout the whole film. The film is a real acting tour-de-force by both Buckley and Kinnear, but while Buckley is excellent, this film may be a star-making turn for the gifted but lesser-known Rory Kinnear.

Although Harper is alone in this rural house, she frequently chats with her supportive friend Riley (Gayle Rankins) who sometimes offers to join her. Periodically, we see flashbacks to Harper’s troubled relationship with her late husband James, in a nice performance by Essiedu. Both sequences add to our understanding of Harper and the trauma she suffered, but her character is explored in less depth than might be expected.

Of course, as the title indicates, this film is about the men who surround and menace her, men who are symbolic, facets and archetypes rather than real individuals, representing aspects of masculinity and patriarchy. The film offers up both presentations of toxic masculinity and male privilege that have current day and recent historic reference, and ancient symbols of nature, sex, fertility and birth. But what exactly writer/director Garland is saying with all that is unclear, leaving it all to the interpretation of the viewer. The film is disturbing yet haunting, and puzzling, while it is also a polished, terrifying horror film.

MEN opens in theaters on Friday, May 20.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

THOSE WHO WALK AWAY – Review

As low-budget horror flicks go, THOSE WHO WALK AWAY, begins intriguingly as it establishes the two lead personae via their awkward chatting during the first meeting, resulting from their on-line dating connection. Booboo Stewart plays Max, a shy lad tentatively re-entering the social scene after a long preoccupation with caring for his mother during a severe illness. Scarlett Sperduto’s character Avery is relatively cool, though carrying her own set of baggage, as the two verbally circle each other like wary boxers at the start of a match.

As they wander through their small town, gradually opening up to this new potential partner beside them, it soon becomes apparent that Avery will be the Alpha if they become a couple. She persuades him to join her in exploring a reputedly haunted house. Odd choice for a first date but it’s one way to skip past the usual facades people bring to such encounters. So far, so good. We’re getting to like them as they are warming to each other, thanks to believable dialog and spot-on body language.

Once they enter the creepy dwelling, events turn ugly for the characters and the audience. The place houses a hideous creature with a homicidal agenda. We’re supposed to be scared by what happens, but mostly I found myself disoriented.

Apparently working on a low budget called for camera and lighting gimmicks that cost little and achieved less. Even worse, they didn’t invest what they saved on the filming in further writing efforts to make the script more coherent. I can’t be more specific without spoilers but I’d have remained more emotionally engaged with better understanding of how this all came about, including more of the backstory and abilities of the evil entity driving the whole thing. Three credited writers, including director Robert Rippberger, needed more time together. Or a fresh fourth set of eyes before they started shooting.

Whatever energy the latter half might have contained was dampened by a combination of pointlessly weird cuts and angles within the house, and excessively lingering shots of nothing in particular happening. The two leads were well cast. Stewart is presumably popular with younger viewers, since he was featured in the TWILIGHT series. I have no idea what his career aspirations may be but choosing the name of Yogi Bear’s sidekick over his birth name (Nils) and limitless alternatives seems to indicate a lack of ambition. “The name’s Bond; Booboo Bond” would only work on “Saturday Night Live.” Sperduto could clearly carry her weight in better films, and most certainly will.

Bottom line, Stewart and Sperduto are worth getting to know. She impresses me as a younger version of an Aubrey Plaza. I’m mildly curious about what Rippberger, whose directing career has been mainly shorts and documentaries, may yet accomplish with better scripts and bigger budgets. This effort is a reasonable choice for a mildly gory horror flick when you’re in that mood. But nothing here is particularly unique or memorable.

THOSE WHO WALK AWAY is available streaming starting on Friday, Feb. 11, on Apple TV, Amazon, Hoopla, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and Microsoft, and in theaters in selected cities.

RATING: 1 out of 4 stars

THE LONG NIGHT – Review

*Scout Taylor-Compton and Nolan Gerard Funk in THE LONG NIGHT. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment*

In director Rich Ragsdale’s THE LONG NIGHT, Scout Taylor-Compton stars as a woman engaged to a rich city lad (Nolan Gerard Funk) and on the threshold of a much larger life than she could have imagined growing up in a Deep South orphanage. She’s long been trying to learn who her birth parents were, and as the film opens she gets her first solid lead, requiring the couple to drive to the investigator’s isolated house in the boonies. What could possibly go wrong?

Upon arrival, their host is missing but he’d left the key for them with permission to settle in. A few things start to feel a bit hinky, including the intrusion of a couple of large snakes. But once the sun sets, the real mayhem starts to kick in. They are soon surrounded by silent folks wearing black robes and cattle and deer skulls, denoting some kind of cult. At least one seems to have supernatural powers, including the ability to block all means of communication and escape.

Most of the early going proceeds slowly, creating an eerie atmosphere that bodes ill for our young protagonists. Reliable character actor Jeff Fahey shows up to add another level to the mystery. Without divulging who does what to whom in which gory manner, I’ll just say that the couple scrambles frantically for survival for about an hour before anyone starts to learn what’s behind all of this. If taken seriously, orphans will think long and hard before searching for their roots. Horror fans already know to be wary of nights in dwellings in woods far from other humans, but none were around to give these two a heads-up.

Genre fans should be satisfied with the visceral component of maimings and killings. Some may find the prolonged escalation phase allows too much time to think about inconsistencies and other plot flaws along the way to “the reveal.” Taylor-Compton does well as the prototypical endangered heroine of such tales, doing most of the heavy lifting. Her fans should be pleased with how she handles this gig. Funk is convincing as a spoiled yutz who does manage to overcome his snobbery enough to actually love his partner. The few other cast members with speaking parts adhere to the tropes for their roles. The net result is a so-so bloody horror flick that’s OK if you’re in the mood for one, but won’t stand out from those you’ve seen before.

THE LONG NIGHT opens Friday, Feb. 4, in theaters in select cities and digitally on Apple, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, and Xbox.

RATING: 1 out of 4 stars

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