The French-language horror film RAW has been called a coming-of-age story and, in a way, it is – if you might be a cannibal. Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, RAW is one gripping horror film. In her debut feature, the writer/director does an excellent job creating an unnerving scary atmosphere, and inserting layers of symbolism under the horror.
Gruesome, gory and intelligent, cannibalism is a central part of this disturbing thriller set in veterinary college in a French rural location. The film can be seen as a metaphor of sorts for the excesses of college freshman, once parents are far away, but few party schools can match the excesses of this vet school. Unlike horror movies where the gore is the whole show, RAW adds in layers of depth that make it a much higher caliber of horror. This is one scary, disturbing movie, but one that gives the audience something to think about too.
Young, innocent and brilliant Justine (Garance Marillier) is a committed vegetarian like her doting parents. She is the family’s star, the brilliant straight A student who is about the start schooling to become a veterinarian. Her older sister, the family rebel, is already studying there, also training to become a vet like their parents.
When her parents drop Justine off at the college, which is in a remote location, her sister is not there to meet her as she had promised. Still Justine makes her way to her room, and meets her assigned roommate, a gay man named Adrian (Rabah Nait Oufella). Once in her room, her wilder older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) does appear, both teasing Justine and helping her.
Classes start right away, and so does the hazing that the freshmen are expected to endure. Unlike in American schools, hazing is still an old tradition new students must endure. Since these student are studying to be veterinarians, it shouldn’t be surprising that gory stuff is part of that hazing.
Being doused with animal blood (evoking images of CARRIE) and then photographed for a class photo in their blood-soak lab coats is one the hazing traditions Justine’s parents told her to expect. A strict vegetarian, she is less prepared to be expected to eat a raw rabbit kidney. She has never eaten meat before, and the taste of raw flesh brings out a strange reaction in Justine, sending her to the health clinic. It also awakens a hunger she has never known.
There is a vampire-type theme to this tale along with the cannibalism that crops up. There is also the usual coming-of-age experiences that expects at college, and the kinds of excesses that the over-protected are especially prone to.
Besides the hazing, veterinary education includes plenty of gory stuff – hands-on lab work including surgery, treatment and dissections of animals such as horses, cows and dogs, besides the lectures on physiology and all the tests. Justine’s reputation as a scholar has proceeded her, raising expectations from faculty but doing nothing to impress her fellow students. She’s just another freshman who has to endure the hazing.
Her sister Alexia seems to show little sympathy – she already endured it herself – but eventually takes little sister under her wing, in her own brash, rebellious way. Still, the sisters retain a kind of sibling rivalry, and the older one alternates between ignoring the younger one and showing her the ropes of college life, Meanwhile, Justine bonds in particular with her handsome roommate Adrian, who becomes her study partner, and goes clubbing with her and on runs to a local convenience store/ truck stop to get fast food.
With the remote location and the vet school’s inherent carnage, sheltered good girl Justine starts to lose her footing. Marillier’s delicate, innocent face helps in drawing us into this unfolding nightmare, and her reserved demeanor is perfectly contrasted by Rumpf’s more demonic character. When midway through the movie, Justine becomes what we would call a monster, Marillier has built up such sympathy for her with the audience, that we are torn by the change, just as Justine herself is.
Alexia has developed some unsettling habits at school, and after an accident in which Justine discovers a horrifying craving, Alexia decides to introduce her sister to her new hobby. The scenes are some of the most chilling of an already chilling film.
Throughout, Ducournau shows herself a master of pacing, and of what to reveal and when. Visual imagery adds to the eerie feeling, whether open, empty landscapes, stormy skies, or claustrophobic darken night spots or sterile cavernous dissection labs.
It is hard to find a fresh take in the horror genre but RAW succeeds in doing just that, in grand creepy fashion. One thing is certain after seeing RAW: you will never look at vegetarians the same way.
RATING: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
RAW opens in St. Louis March 31st exclusively at The Chase Park Plaza Cinema
The science fiction/horror film LIFE sends a team of astronauts to Mars on a mission to retrieve a robotic capsule containing what may be the first life form found on Mars. They are supposed to analyze this single cell, in the safety of space, but everyone who saw the movie ALIEN knows collecting extraterrestrial life forms is risky business.
So we are already braced for a scary ride when the little organism they name Calvin turns out to be less cute than it seems, despite reaching out a finger-like appendage a la ET. The accomplished NASA crew on this interstellar mission is an international mix of scientists and specialists, mostly with multiple skill sets. The six crew members include physician/pilot/seasoned space veteran David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), hotshot engineer/spacewalk pro Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), physician/safety officer Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), pilot/engineer Sho Murkami (Hiroyuki Sanada), exobiologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), and commanding officer Ekaterina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya). The multinational crew fits the international nature of the space mission to Mars, as well as giving the film extra global appeal.
Not surprisingly, there are some parallels to the original ALIEN but both the nature of the crew and the location make some significant differences in this thriller, This crew in LIFE are all NASA astronauts – polished, highly educated, the best-of-the-best – versus ALIEN’s more rough-edged, even working-class, commercial mining crew – the difference between a spit-and-polish, Navy battleship and a rusty commercial container ship. The other difference is the distance from Earth. ALIEN’s Nostromo is far out in distant space, LIFE’s space ship is orbiting just above Earth.
Director Daniel Espinosa does a terrific job getting us to terrifying in short order, and LIFE quickly looks like it will be a top-notch nail-biter. There is suspense and action, and some gruesome moments with a few images that may stick with you. The action takes place in the cramped quarters of the space ship, where the claustrophobic will feel the pressure, and the vast, hostile emptiness of space just outside. The director makes good use of both to build up the dynamics.
But once the audience is hooked, the director sometimes lets the fishing line to terror slacken a bit. Problems develop, not just for the beleaguered crew, but periodically in maintaining the dramatic tensions and suspension of disbelief. When the pace drops or events start to run in circles, we begin to notice the flaws in logic or when crew members do things that do not make much sense. Then director Espinosa gets the action rolling again, tensions pick up and we are back in the terror. Mostly, the film keeps us in its horror grip but when the pace slacks this way, the film loses its grip on suspense. Particularly in the film’s final sequence, a quicker pace would give the audience less time to think and figure things out. Too-slow pacing really hurts the film’s ending.
The actors do a fine job in this film, but there is little time for character development. Ryan Reynolds manages to quickly carve out a macho comic persona and Jake Gyllenhaal works to make his wistful doctor, who has spent a bit too much time in space, connect with the audience. But others in the fine cast, notably Sanada, do not really get the space to make the most of their parts. Too many characters and the different accents get in the way as well, but really, the horror and suspense are what the audience wants here anyway.
The visual effects are excellent, and the claustrophobic nature of the spaceship helps boost the mood. The creature grows and evolves as the story unfolds, but generally takes the shape of a semi-transparent jellyfish/starfish/octopus – eventually with a sinister face. The filmmakers deserve credit for departing from the giant alien form, and going in a new terror-inducing direction.
Overall, LIFE is a a good science fiction/horror film, leaning more to the latter, even if there are a few times when it is a bit too transparent.
An Ouija board is meant to be a tool or toy, depending on how you view it, to communicate with the spirit world. It’s a device that conjures messages from the “magically moving” wooden or plastic planchette while participants nervously sit in a circle waiting to see if someone will reach out to them from the other side. Often in situations like this (trust me, I have tried this as a kid) you hunch over the board with scared friends and jump at the slightest noise that breaks the silence. So, even though the triangular guide didn’t move an inch, it was the silence that scared us. It’s the possibility that something could call out from the quiet stillness. It’s essentially the fear of communication, and unfortunately for OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL, it’s the over abundance of talking that kills the mood in this 60’s seance.
Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) is the mother of teenager Lina (Annalise Basso) and young Doris (Lulu Wilson) – a girl cut from the same innocent but curious cloth as Carol Anne from 1982’s POLTERGEIST. As a widower, she struggles to make ends meet as a phony medium, complete with the two girls helping by rattling pictures and playing dress-up as the customer’s deceased relative. One night at a party at a friend’s house, Lina plays around with an Ouija board. The toy spirit board sparks intrigue in Alice who feels that this could be a new addition to the act. Once Alice brings a board home, Doris becomes drawn to it and attempts to speak with her dead father. However, he’s not the only one communicating with the young girl.
Split focus diopter shots, “cigaretteburns” in the top corner of the film, and a retro title card are just some of the 60s-70s aesthetic Mike Flanagan playfully injects. The art direction is top notch and is made even better with the perfect house fitted for the time period. This colorful trip down polyester lane unfortunately is also layered with modern effects, like several scenes of the girls’ mouths widening or disappearing completely. These visuals leave a bittersweet taste in this horror fan’s mouth since it doesn’t blend well with the time period that Flanagan is invoking. Incorporating a little bit of modern effects into a retro-styled film can work, as can be seen in both CONJURING films. OUIJA is successful though when sticking with the more minimal scares. A sequence where our young “Carol Anne” describes what it feels like to be suffocated is downright chilling (evoking nervous laughter from my audience after Lulu Wilson’s well-delivered speech).
Flanagan clearly cares about his characters and incorporates scenes throughout for the audience to better connect with them on a personal level. He usually excels in these moments, but only does on a few occasions here. But unlike his last film HUSH or his earlier film ABSENTIA – a low-budget horror allegory about loss, grief, and escaping the past, that I can’t recommend enough – our sympathy for the family’s circumstances aren’t entirely there. It’s interesting and unique that he poses a family as frauds and then asks us to sympathize with them, but the level of sympathy we feel for them is inhibited by a heavy dose of melodrama. The way the script handles motivations and emotions often feels heavy handed or even forced.
Coincidentally, HUSH was released earlier this year with very little dialogue. That film uses subtle shifts in tone and visuals to detail the struggle of a deaf woman to survive. OUIJA spells everything out for the audience. An emotion is expressed verbally instead of shown or implied. Every trait is worn openly on the character’s sleeve. Just to make sure everything is properly understood, there’s even a scene later on where a priest has to explain what’s going on in an awkwardly staged info-dump. The priest basically describes in grave detail what could have been the creepiest scene in the entire film.
Flanagan’s films intentionally move at a slower pace that some will find too tiring, but OUIJA’s finale has some striking imagery, even if one scare is clearly a direct nod or ripoff to a scene in the recently rediscovered EXORCIST III. Expectations will play a huge part going into OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL. As a prequel to a generic cash grab from 2014, it works much more effectively and tells a story worthy of incorporating the iconic toy board. However, when you have a now accomplished name guiding this 60’s seance, one can’t help but feel let down by the lack ofresponse and magic from the wooden planchette at his fingertips.
Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5
OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL is now playing in theaters everywhere
I don’t like speaking ill of the dead, especially icons who’ve defined an entire genre, but name-dropping is a marketing tactic best left for the living. Director Nick Simon’s newest feature film is titled THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS and I honestly believe I see Wes Craven’s name pop up in connection with this film more than Simon’s. Naturally, with Craven having passed in August of 2015, he’s likely to have had little [if anything] to do with the marketing of this movie, but it would certainly seem like he’s calling the shots from the gave.
Sadly, THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS is not the shining example of groundbreaking genre filmmaking for which the legendary master posthumously deserves credit. For a man so synonymous with influencing the slasher horror genre, the executive producer credit should have been given more of a backseat while the “For Wes” title card before the film’s opening was a much more appropriate touch. Regardless, the film does not do much to maintain the flame of the torch Wes Craven once helped to first set ablaze for moviegoers.
The story revolves around a young woman named Colleen (played by Claudia Lee) working as a grocery store clerk when she starts finding photographs of recently murdered women placed around her workplace. The images themselves are gory, but sloppy and nothing you would come to expect from more seriously devoted killers as we’ve become accustomed to in serial killer films. There is a level of ambiguity toward the pictures at first, as even the police are not certain if they’re genuine or elaborate fakes. Nonetheless, they begin to make the clerk nervous and she doesn’t seem to be getting any support of law enforcement. Convenient.
As the photographs begin to add up, one has to wonder where the film intends to go with the awkwardly devised setup. Does the killer have a special place in his or her cold heart for this young woman, or is she the key audience for which this twisted maestro creates such gruesome artwork? Coincidentally, neither seems to be the case as we’re introduced to Peter Hemmings, a cocky photographer, and his posse of models who show up as a result of the killers’ growing notoriety.
Kal Penn plays Hemmings with great effect. It’s just too bad it’s the wrong effect needed for the film. Penn as Hemmings is like a more arrogant, slightly nerdy Ryan Reynolds. Hemmings is sarcastic to a fault, self-involved and just plain disrespectful, He shows up claiming to be influenced by the killers’ work, hoping to find art of his own amidst the bloody chaos, and perhaps he does, depending on how loosely that success is defined.
Ultimately, Penn’s testosterone-fueled performance is over-the-top and unnecessary, taking away even more hope from THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS actually amounting to anything substantially rewarding. I found myself actually getting annoyed by Penn’s blunt abrasiveness and utter disregard for the film as a whole, instead perhaps mistaking this for yet another installment in the HAROLD & KUMAR franchise. Penn, more than any other element, drew me out of the story and disrupted the cinematic experience. This sort of faux pax is devastating to the horror genre as it feeds so much off an effectively engaged emotional feedback from it’s audience, one which is severely lacking in this example.
Stylistically speaking, THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS fails to take itself seriously enough to become a truly frightening film. The movie suffers from being a half-cocked idea driven by a potpourri of influences from other films and no real, clearly defined voice of it’s own. The one positive element, albeit not a strong enough perk to save the film, is how the killers are portrayed as sociopaths resembling a twisted, modern version of George and Lennie from John Steinbeck’s classic Of Mice & Men. This relationship is unnerving and creepy, but not quite menacing enough to measure up to other more diabolical recent films that nail the approach and stick the landing.
Be honest. We’ve all done it. Some of us willingly and with no apologies, while others of us are closet fans, but those reality real estate shows are popular and addictive. Perhaps it’s because they tap into a core element of the American dream, but whatever the reason, they’ve made an impact on what television looks like these days. With that said, it only seems logical that some creative soul would take this phenomenon and mash it up with another modern cultural trend.
The graphic novelists and animators Jay Lender and Micah Wright have done just that, they wrote and directed this melding of reality-based home shopping shows with found footage, faux-documentary style horror-comedy. That’s right. No, I didn’t stutter or lose my mind. This is a thing. A real thing. I know, your reaction right now is probably quite similar to mine when I first heard of this film, but after reading a bit more about the plot and then watching the trailer, I saw an intriguing level of potential just under the surface.
THEY’RE WATCHING, despite our most instinctual better judgment, is actually a fun, smart and entertaining romp. Blending a filmmaking influence from the Raimi brothers with tongue-in-cheek humor and a subtle knack for the breaking of the fourth wall, the film makes fun of it’s multi-faceted genre base, makes fun of itself and makes for a good time. The story takes place in Moldova, which provides a setting and a backdrop combined with it’s sense of humor that will please any fan of Bruce Campbell’s THE MAN WITH THE SCREAMING BRAIN. I realize that’s a double-edged sword, but take you’ve got to take this film with a grain of salt and appreciate it for what it is, by design.
Stereotypes abound. Akin to Sasha Baron Coen’s BORAT, but less extreme, the Moldovan town folk in the film are simple, creepy and primitive in comparison to the western crew. The town’s constable is a stern, dictatorial man resembling Stalin and the town’s one and only real estate agent, aka “broker,” is an Eastern European mix of Johnny Bravo and Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon’s VACATION films. All the town folk are heavy drinkers and are afraid of the cameras, but in the end, they are merely play as pawns and fodder, as the plot slowly unveils their secret about a witch that must never be mentioned.
Becky (played by Brigid Brannagh) is the latest client on a popular real estate reality show, an artist who wishes to settle down to a simpler, slower life in Eastern Europe. Six months after Becky decided to buy a fixer-upper deep in the backwoods of a small, rural town in Moldova, the production crew of the show returns to shoot the second half of the episode and see what improvements Becky has made to the property. Fully expecting disaster, the crew arrives to find she’s pulled out a miracle and the property looks great. Seems like it’s going to be an outstanding episode after all…
That’s about the time things start getting weird. THEY’RE WATCHING is a title that has a duel meaning, referring both to the Moldovan town folk, and [of course] acknowledging the meta element of the film, about a reality TV show, that has an audience separate from those of us watching this film. Follow that? Anyway, Lender and Wright make no effort to be taken seriously. That’s not the goal. The entire film feels like an inside joke, and for the most part we get it. And it’s funny. The production looks like hi-definition digital video because it’s supposed to, and most likely is as it’s not a big budget film. On the other hand, it looks good, as good as any well-made respectable TV movie. This is higher caliber production than the Syfy Channel but not quite prime time. For the most part, the acting follows this same scale.
As the plot thickens and the tension increases — for the characters, not quite so much for the audience — THEY’RE WATCHING prepares for the money shots… or, shots, as the film’s final act is the cherry on top. Whatever minor flaws and discrepencies may exist are easily forgotten once the rib-jabbing jokes and cliche horror movie tendencies segway into the big showdown with the witch at the end.
If you thought witches were boring 17th century borefests or cheesy kids’ fare, beware. The film ends on a high note with a bloody, goretastic, over-the-top splatterfest that will make genre lovers proud, or sad, depending on what expectations you had going int the film. For those who enjoyed TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL and CABIN FEVER, you should most likely find THEY’RE WATCHING to be a satisfying, lower-calorie samplng of cinematic junk food.
Coming this Halloween is the new film SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. Part comedy, part horror, director Christopher Landon’s latest movie has Scouts saving the world from the Undead. Landon says audiences will be “screaming and laughing their heads off. This movie is an amusement park ride.”
What’s better than the mashup of comedy and horror to get you shrieking in fear! Just like a Reese’s cup – peanut butter and chocolate – the two just go together. Making scary themes into funny romps, while doing it cleverly, is a hard act to pull off. The films that have done it well have become part of the zeitgeist with fans of both genres.
Before you catch SCOUTS vs ZOMBIES, check out our list of the funniest horror films.
ZOMBIELAND
Tallahassee: My mama always told me someday I’d be good at something. Who’d a guessed that something’d be zombie-killing? Columbus: Probably nobody.
Nerdy college student Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has survived the plague that has turned mankind into flesh-devouring zombies because he’s scared of just about everything. Gun-toting, Twinkie-loving Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) has no fears. Together, they are about to stare down their most horrifying challenge yet: each other’s company. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin co-star in this double-hitting, head-smashing comedy. A Zombieland 2 is in the works. The two have devised a laugh-riot rule book to survive the zombie apocalypse.
BUD ABBOTT AND LOU COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
Wilbur Grey: Mr. Talbot, and I thought you were such a nice man too. Look at you, you’re a mess. Larry Talbot: Last night I went through another one of my horrible experiences. Many years ago I was bitten by a werewolf. Now, whenever the full moon rises I turn into a wolf myself. Wilbur Grey: Oh pal. That’s all right; I’m sort of a wolf myself.
It seems that Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), in league with a beautiful but diabolical lady scientist (Lenore Aubert), needs a “simple, pliable” brain with which to reactivate Frankenstein’s creature (Glenn Strange). The “ideal” brain belongs to the hapless Lou Costello, whom the lady doctor woos to gain his confidence and lure him to the operating table. Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), better known as the Wolf Man, arrives on the scene to warn Costello and his pal Bud Abbott of Dracula’s nefarious schemes. Throughout the film, the timorous Costello witnesses the nocturnal rituals of Dracula and the Monster, but can’t convince the ever-doubting Abbott–until the wild climax in Dracula’s castle, where the comedians are pursued by all three of the film’s monstrosities. As a bonus, the Invisible Man (voiced by an unbilled Vincent Price) shows up for “all the excitement.”
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: You know, I’m a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I can help you with that hump. Igor: What hump?
Mel Brooks’ monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley’s classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather’s castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) soon discovers the scientist’s step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the curvaceous Ings (Teri Garr), he creates a monster (Peter Boyle) who only wants to be loved.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Ed: Any zombies out there? Shaun: Don’t say that! Ed: What? Shaun: That! Ed: What? Shaun: The zed-word. Don’t say it! Ed: Why not? Shaun: Because it’s ridiculous!
We were having a laugh with Edgar Wright’s movie! Starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, audiences were treated to a gut-busting, bone-mashing good time in this hilarious horror comedy about two slackers out to save their friends and families from flesh-eating zombies.
TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL
Tucker: Oh hidy ho officer, we’ve had a doozy of a day. There we were minding our own business, just doing chores around the house, when kids started killing themselves all over my property.
The movie is a hilariously gory, good-spirited horror comedy, doing for killer rednecks what SHAUN OF THE DEAD did for zombies. Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.
SCREAM
Phone Voice: Do you like scary movies? Sidney Prescott: What’s the point? They’re all the same. Some stupid killer stalking some big-breasted girl who can’t act who is always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door. It’s insulting.
Okay, maybe it should be filed under the horror genre, but Wes Craven’s movie is really cheeky in some parts. Empire ’s Adam Smith called it “Clever, quick and bloody funny.” Its original working title, Scary Movie, became the title of the 2000 parody film by Damon Wayans.
HOUSE (1986)
Aunt Elizabeth: It won Roger. It tricked me. I didn’t think it could, but it did. It’s going to trick you too, Roger. This house knows everything about you. Leave while you can!
Called a “refreshingly unpredictable horror comedy” by the LA Times, this 1986 film was directed by Steve Miner. Not exactly a straightforward haunted house movie, the unexpected ending with the zombie commando is too awesome for words. HOUSE’s writer Fred Dekker directed the cult classic THE MONSTER SQUAD.
CABIN IN THE WOODS
Hadley: [sighs] These fucking zombies. Remember when you could just throw a girl in a volcano? Sitterson: How old do you think I am?
Teenagers, zombies and monsters – Drew Goddard’s masterpiece is one of our absolute favorites. In his WAMG review, Travis Keune wrote, “THE CABIN IN THE WOODS is smart, witty, fast-paced, comedic, horrific fun.” The End-of-the-World pandemonium had us chuckling!
GHOSTBUSTERS
Man at Elevator: What are you supposed to be, some kind of a cosmonaut? Dr. Peter Venkman: No, we’re exterminators. Someone saw a cockroach up on twelve. Man at Elevator: That’s gotta be some cockroach. Dr. Peter Venkman: Bite your head off, man.
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts & Rick Moranis star in this wildly funny movie about paranormal investigators. Not only were Stantz, Venkman, Zeddmore and Spengler the ghost hunters you’d want coming to your town to battle the Stay-Puft Mashmallow Man – packing their zippy one-liners and proton packs – but the supporting characters of Louis Tully and Janine Melnitz are equally hilarious!
BEETLEJUICE
Juno: [as Adam and Barbara come back to the afterlife] You two have really screwed up! I received word that you allowed yourselves to be photographed, and you let Betelgeuse out and didn’t put him back, and you let Otho get hold of the handbook! Adam: Handbook? When? Juno: [rolls her eyes] Never trust the living! We cannot have a routine haunting like yours provide proof that there is existence beyond death.
On March 30, 1988, audiences were introduced to the afterlife’s leading bio-exorcist, the Handbook for the Recently Deceased and dancing football player ghosts. Featuring a terrific score by Danny Elfman, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis and Michael Keaton starred in the rambunctious horror/comedy from Tim Burton.
ARMY OF DARKNESS
Ash: All right, you primitive screw-heads, listen up! See this? This… is my boomstick!
Hoo boy! Skeleton armies in the same vein as Ray Harryhausen’s fighting skeletons in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS and a campy script had us howling. Featuring Deadites, witches and the Necronomicon, Sam Raimi’s hilarious movie tops our list. Along with another horrific score by Danny Elfman, the composer’s “March of the Dead” theme is icing on the cake.
Tye Sheridan, David Koechner, Cloris Leachman, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont and Patrick Schwarzenegger star in SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE.
The must-see horror comedy film of the year opens this Thursday, October 29th.
Check out exclusive red band content from the film at:
An original idea is not necessarily enough on its own to ensure a successful film, but it certainly is a good start. Let’s call this half the battle, while the other half is the execution. This is where THE DIABOLICAL falls short. Despite this unfortunate set back, this debut film from writer-director Alistair Legrand has some commendable elements that make experiencing the film a worthwhile endeavor.
Aside from having a super cool name to plaster onto the title sequence of his film, Legrand also has some intriguing ideas. THE DIABOLICAL is, for lack of a more refined terminology, a mash-up of genres, namely horror and science-fiction. This is certainly not the first time these two genres have collided, but never quite like this.
THE DIABOLICAL stars Ali Larter (from TV’s HEROES) as Madison, a single mother raising two adolescent children while struggling to make ends meet. Her son Jacob, played by Max Rose, is trying to cope with some aggression issues, while their house seemingly is haunted by some pretty grotesque entities that come and go sporadically. She’s tried everything from the police to doctors and paranormal experts, but no one believes her story.
The audience, on the other hand, does get the pleasure of being thrown head first into Madison’s dilemma as Legrand wastes no time in establishing empathy in the viewer. In the first 5 minutes of the film, Legrand puts us face-to-face with a far from pretty apparition and we immediately expect to have a wild, terrifying ride. Shortly thereafter, the pace slows and the heavy burden of developing the mystery without giving away its golden cherry too soon begins.
Before we get started, let me clarify one thing… I hate the title of this film. Sadly, it’s yet another example of a title that not only has nothing to do with the film, but also presents the film in a false light. Granted, there’s a surprise twist to the ending that needs to be protected [no spoilers here] and perhaps the filmmakers chose the title to be typical of the haunted horror genre as to not give anything away.
THE DIABOLICAL is a film that suffers from its own setup. The first two acts are slow to develop. There is little of any significant interest in the first two-thirds of the film, while we watch and wait for some glimmer of hope that something cool and unusual will unfold… and it does, but you need to be patient for the payoff. In short, its like waiting in an hour-long line for that burger everyone is talking about, then once you finally get to eat the thing you realize its far from the best you’ve had, but still pretty good.
One of the biggest downfalls of THE DIABOLICAL is that the character development is weak. Legrand had such a cool concept for a story that he seems to have forgotten that a story needs good characters, even if the plot is spectacular. On the flip side, Legrand manages to start out with a fairly straight-forward, standard modern haunted house template and injects it with a wonderfully creepy, science-fiction undertone that builds gradually toward the final act.
THE DIABOLICAL has some decent jump scares and does build some baseline tension, but I would not go so far as to say the film is “scary” by horror fan standards. The most deliberate and readily available terror comes from piecing together the mystery and discovering the truth of what’s happening, not unlike watching an 86-minute long episode of THE X-FILES. Sure, Madison and her family are being terrorized by something unexplained, but that’s almost occurring in the background as we look past the primal fear factor and looker deeper into the clues and the curious differences in how the entities present themselves. That is key to getting the most out of this film.
The special effects in the film are pretty good, not spectacular, but well-done for what this film is and becomes. At first, the effects may seem confusing or misplaced at times, but stick with it and it all makes sense. I found myself frequently reminded of past classics throughout the film, from Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME to Wes Craven’s SHOCKER and even Geroge Lucas’ THX-1138, but they’re all small winks and nods, nothing major or heavy handed in how much is borrowed. Viewers will undoubtedly find other influences, but I’m purposefully refraining from revealing these as not to leak any of the film’s fragile leverage on the first-time viewer.
There is so much I want to discuss with you about this film, that while not flawless, is certainly a film I think will have people talking, especially genre fans. THE DIABOLICAL is the kind of film presents ideas that engage certain overactive, creative minds to discuss and speculate. As a first film, I admire what Legrand has accomplished in concept and shows me that, with more experience under his belt, could become a filmmaker to watch out for in the future.
THE DIABOLICAL releases in Theaters, on VOD and iTunes
on Friday, October 16th, 2015
Making all of your nightmares come true … Varèse Sarabande will be releasing A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 8-CD box set (limited 2000 units) on October 16, 2015.
This deluxe package contains all 8 soundtracks from the original series, over 8 hours of music including almost 3 hours of bonus tracks. New artwork has been commissioned for the set (by artist Shawn Conn, http://atomicdeadguy.com/), and configuring the sleeves together forms a larger piece of art. Before you have any nightmares, please don’t worry … the original Matthew Joseph Peak creations are included in the packaging.
The set comes complete with the trademark knitted Freddy sweater encasing the outer box.
The world was introduced to Wes Craven’s Freddy Krueger (portrayed by Robert Englund) in 1984 with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Krueger was a former child killer seeking revenge against the parents who burned him by haunting the dreams of their teenage children and killing them in their dreams. The series has earned almost half a billion dollars, worldwide, and boasts some of the most beloved, nightmarish themes from composers including: Charles Bernstein (Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street), Christopher Young (A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge), Angelo Badalamenti (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), Craig Safan (A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master), Jay Ferguson (A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child), Brian May (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), J. Peter Robinson (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare), and Graeme Revell (Freddy Vs. Jason).
Also included in this set is a suite from the video game featured in the film Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and the theme from Henry Manfredini’s FRIDAY THE 13TH series, as heard in the film FREDDY VS. JASON (with performances by the band Machine Head).
Pre-orders for the Varèse Sarabande A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET limited edition 8-CD box set will be taken beginning Friday, September 18 at www.varesesarabande.com. The boxed set will ship on October 16, 2015
Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street
Music Composed by Charles Bernstein
1. Prologue (:34)
2. Main Title (3:32)
3. Laying The Traps (2:06)
4. Dream Attack (1:20)
5. Rod Hanged / Night Stalking (4:44)
6. Jail Cell (1:13)
7. Confrontation (1:41)
8. Sleep Clinic (2:25)
9. Terror In The Tub (:59)
10. No Escape (2:15)
11. School Horror / Stay Awake (4:02)
12. Lurking (1:02)
13. Telephone Terror (1:08)
14. Fountain Of Blood (1:03)
15. Evil Freddy (:50)
16. Final Search (3:57)
17. Run Nancy (1:08)
BONUS/UNRELEASED
18. Horror Movie (source cue) (:43)
19. Nancy Glen (2:30)
20. Funeral (:56)
21. Freddy’s Hat (:59)
22. Bridge Talk (1:08)
23. Bars On Windows (1:00)
24. Freddy’s Glove (:22)
25. Dad At Glen’s (:45)
26. Boiler Room (1:22)
27. Show Yourself (:45)
28. Morning After (1:23)
29. Stingers (:46)
DEMOS
30. Freddy #1 (mono) (3:32)
31. Weird #1 (stereo) (2:59)
32. Chase #1 (stereo) (1:06)
33. Chase #2 (mono) (2:10)
34. Rhythm #1 (stereo) (1:30)
35. Theme Sketch (stereo) (1:55)
36. Concert Overture: A Nightmare On Elm Street – Charles Bernstein (Composer’s Home Mockup Sketch, Summer 2015) (stereo) (5:25)
A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Music Composed and Orchestrated by Christopher Young
1. Main Title (2:32)
2. …And Leave The Driving To Us (2:01)
3. Furnace Flare-Up (2:17)
4. Kissing Freddy On The Catwalk (3:21)
5. Chest-Burster (3:53)
6. Jump Rope (1:45)
7. Fire Bird (3:12)
8. Dream Heat (1:11)
9. Necromancer’s Spell (2:31)
10. “Kill For Me” (2:35)
11. Sports Attack / Threatening Angela (2:35)
12. Freed Of Her (1:29)
13. Snake-In-The-Class (:56)
BONUS/UNRELEASED (mono & stereo)
14. The Horror In My Head (1:29)
15. Wake Up (1:48)
16. My Sick Toaster (1:31) (stereo)
17. Any Dream Will Do (:39) (stereo)
18. Daymare (:42) (stereo)
19. Splashdead (:26)
20. Which Witness (1:39)
21. Not Again (2:04)
22. Wrong Turn Right (2:34)
23. Head On Fire (1:12)
24. Feet On Fire (1:22)
25. Sting Thing #1 (:20)
26. Sting Thing #2 (:28)
27. Sting Thing #3 (:22)
28. Sting Thing #4 (:18)
29. Hells Bells (:12)
30. Nightmare On Elm Street Suite – “Suite Dreams” (15:49) (stereo)
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Music Composed By Angelo Badalamenti
1. Opening (1:52)
2. Puppet Walk (3:19)
3. Save The Children (1:24)
4. Taryn’s Deepest Fear (2:48)
5. Deceptive Romance (2:47)
6. Snake Attack (1:46)
7. Magic Butterfly (1:21)
8. The Embrace (:43)
9. Quiet Room / Wheelchair / Icy Bones (2:42)
10. Rumbling Room (1:15)
11. Dreamspace (:46)
12. The Dream House (2:02)
13. Is Freddy Gone? / Trouble Starting / Prime Time TV / Icy Window (4:38)
14. Grave Walk (1:14)
15. Nursery Theme (1:56)
16. Light’s Out (:57)
BONUS/UNREALSED MUSIC (mono)
17. Main Title (Film Version) (2:18)
18. Dreaming / Basement Chase (4:05)
19. Bathroom Attack / Computer (1:41)
20. The Snake (Film Version) (2:14)
21. Sleepwalk (Film Version) (3:38)
22. Prime Time (:26)
23. Junkyard Intro / Mom’s Head (1:33)
24. Alley Part A / Alley Part B (Film Version) (2:11)
Bruce McDonald is a name with whom few readers will likely associate with anything, but for those few of us who do, we know this Canadian-born filmmaker has some under-appreciated talent. Perhaps his best-known film, McDonald wowed genre film fans in 2008 with his groundbreaking PONTYPOOL. Since then, rumors and theories about a follow-up sequel have endured endless revivals in smaller circles of horror fandom. So, despite having a few lesser-known non-horror films to his name since 2008, I and others were excited to see McDonald return to horror just in time for Halloween.
HELLIONS is McDonald’s latest film, written by Pascal Trottier, best known for screenwriting THE COLONY (2013), combines McDonald’s unconventional storytelling sense and Trottier’s knack for cerebral flair. The film stars Chloe Rose as Dora Vogel, an apathetic teenager who unexpectedly discovers she’s pregnant and must survive Halloween night when her home is invaded my trick or treaters wanting much more than candy. An overbearing mother and a lack of direction in her life are quickly the least of her worries as she stays home alone on Halloween night and finds herself the target of some creepy child-like tormenters.
The first thing I noticed about HELLIONS was how familiar it felt. The film serves up a number a standard features for Halloween-themed horror films. The devilish trick or treaters often reminded me of the beloved Sam from TRICK ‘R TREAT (2007) but also, as the film progresses, brought back nostalgic memories of watching Stephen King’s CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984). The film takes place in a small town, one which certainly evokes that of Haddonfield, Illinois. There’s even a moment when Dora cracks a joke about how the town would probably disappear from the map if not for Halloween.
These are all things that lead one to believe HELLIONS is McDonald’s ode to the cherished holiday of horrors. We can read even further into this, if we like, including connections to such films as Roman Polanski’s 1968 classic, or as a stretch, even to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece, as Dora lives on Overlook Road. I’ll refrain from digging any deeper at this time, given the spoiling nature of such a pursuit. Ultimately, all of this alleged homaging is not the purpose of the film.
In returning to the meat of the film, HELLIONS also stars veteran actor Robert Patrick as the town’s sheriff Corman, who has a close relationship with Dora. Corman serves as a crucial supporting role later in the film, but Dora is not just the central character in the film but also damn near the sole focus. In many ways, HELLIONS is a single character-driven psychological mind-screw as we travel through the fears and nightmares Dora endures. McDonald does not spoon-feed his audience, shying away from any traditional horror formula, even if the film as a whole fails to present any truly original idea of its own.
Once the film comes full-circle, certain to have lost some viewers and engaged others into giving birth to a far-reaching tangent of theories and side stories connected to the film, HELLIONS is a sonically and visually captivating horror film that will serve well for Halloween viewing, given its relatively short 80-minute run time. Anything more and the meat of the film would have rotted off the bone, leaving just the skeleton of a good idea. McDonald successfully pares down the film, keeping it smart and spunky.
HELLIONS also co-stars Rossif Sutherland as Doctor Henry and Rachel Wilson as Dora’s mother Kate. Once again, these characters have minor significance in the grand scheme of the film, but rather serve as pawns in McDonald’s game of gory chess to setup the ensuing insanity. The film boasts some respectfully accomplished special effects that are low-key but highly effective and also an eerie, intensely-disturbing score that is beyond creepy, if not somewhat repetitive in its recycled usage. I will give special acknowledgment to cinematographer Norayr Kaspar, who captured Dora’s tormented mind and soul as an external interpretation on film. This goes a long way in making McDonald’s vision an intriguing experience, despite the film’s flaws.
HELLIONS opens in theaters and VOD on Friday, September 18th, 2015.
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM is a hauntingly beautiful character study about three half-sisters who return to their mother’s lake house to handle her affairs after she was deemed drowned in the mysterious Spirit Lake. Technically classified as horror, the film can be psychically disturbing at times, but this does misrepresent the film’s true nature.
Writer and director Sarah Adina Smith presents her film in a semi-faux-documentary style, allowing the viewer to get close and personal with the characters as we learn about them and feel how they’re coping with the relationship flaws and loss of their mother. THE MIDNIGHT SWIM feels like a deeply personal film, but with an edge of having experienced something with which we never should have been given access.
Dr. Amelia Brooks, played in retrospect by Beth Grant, was a researcher and activist in support of saving the lake. She frequently dove to take samples and explore, as no one has ever reached the bottom of the endlessly deep body of water. On her last dive, she never returned and was not seen again. Officially pronounced dead, her three daughters spend time in the house together, coming to terms with each other and their mother.
Annie, played by Jennifer Lafleur, is the eldest daughter and a mother. Isa, played by Aleksa Palladino, seems to be the youngest, free-spirited and fun-loving, new age hippie out of her time. She rekindles an old flame with Josh, played by Ross Partridge, with whom she spends time when not with her sisters. Isa is also the most interesting character in the film. June, played by Lindsay Burdge, is a photographer and is shooting a documentary on their experience. We see and hear the least from June, given she is in part telling the very story we’re watching on screen, but she also has reflective and revealing moments on screen, some of which are entirely silent but equally unnerving.
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM is not a traditional horror film. Instead, the three sisters find themselves exploring their own states of mind and each others’ as they talk, argue and reminisce about their late mother. Occasionally, their is a slight, thinly-veiled breach of the fourth wall as if the characters are interacting directly with the audience, due to the faux-documentary style, but because this is not maintained consistently throughout the film, we’re caught off guard. As the story develops, strange occurrences do begin to raise concerns amongst the sisters, at first assuming pranks being played in poor taste, later seen as signs of something more paranormal in nature.
Sonically, THE MIDNIGHT SWIM almost seems to occur in a vacuum, with little music and laid over mere natural sound and white noise. Occasionally, and usually when cutting to or featuring the lake itself, we are given hauntingly, unearthly soundscapes as an ethereal audio pathway leading us into the unknown. Tempting us to take a swim. Equally alluring is the picturesque quality given the lake, especially at night, dark and enchanting, calling for us to submerge within in abyss.
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM contains several small, easily missed moments of finely crafted detail, much of which suggests theories and clues as to the events being portrayed on film. From microscopic views of their mother’s lake samples, revealing creepy natural beasts invisible to the naked eye to hand-written research notes indicating strange anomalies within the lake as she ventured deeper with each dive. Carefully placed bits of dialogue are also integrated to suggest connections to things larger and beyond our normal comprehension. These are the textures that help create layers of curiosity, avoiding the pitfall of being just a film about three sisters and their drama. This helps create the mystery.
Roughly 45 minutes into the film, the experience whiplashes the viewer out of the pleasantly coma-inducing family drama into a surreal, music-video like scene that injects a surge of joyous adrenaline into the previously sedated mind. This excursion from the tone of the film is never truly explained, in any conceivable way, but aside from this moment, all makes sense in the end. For viewers of THE MIDNIGHT SWIM that enter into the experience without preconceived notions or misguided expectations, this may prove an enlightening, even oddly uplifting film.
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM is slow at times, can be disorienting or slightly confusing, but is best described as an uncomfortable, intimately personal invitation to invade the emotional psyche of these three women at their most vulnerable. Its equally off-putting and tantalizing, philosophically and spiritually suggestive, making for a film that is not perfect, but far from boring.
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM Dives Into Cinemas and VOD Nationwide on Friday, June 26th, 2015.
