Welcome to this year's Reviewz! Today's contemporary horror films and thrillers continue to
reflect the subconscious of our popular culture, particularly over
concerns of fundamentalism and spiritual identity, current wars and
troubled foreign affairs and our ongoing struggle to understand our
ethical selves psychologically, socially and nationally. The "Pain Cinema" sub-genre (aka: "Torture Porn")
continues on with full steam as does the tried and tired "Vengeful
Ghost" cliche. What's interesting is the cross sub-genre pollination of motifs that today's horror spectrum seems to be sharing. Obsessive
numerology, body evisceration, vampirism and the threshold between the
living and the dead dominate this year's selection of films.
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[REC] (2007) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Jaume Balagueró (FRAGILE, THE NAMELESS, DARKNESS)
Wow, really intense! Balaguero delivers on this one. In the vein of CLOVERFIELD (see review) and THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, [REC] uses the pseudo "reality-video" device to portray a really creepy fright fest. [REC] is the film that was remade in the U.S. this year as QUARANTINE. While shooting a television spot, a news woman and her camera man are caught up in a quarantine situation at an apartment complex where a mysterious illness has broken out. What follows is the fight for survival of those locked inside the building and their quest to solve the mystery of what has happened. The ending was truly scary and brings in- quite at the last minute- overtones of conspiracy, evil science and the supernatural all rolled into one. Well directed and acted, [REC] manages to weave a successful horror drama and comment on the nature of our modern media at the same time. As with BLAIR WITCH and CLOVERFIELD, the characters use their video cameras as means of gathering present info, documenting the hidden stories and as a physical tool or weapon as well. Unlike in CLOVERFIELD however, when the characters decide to look at something they've taped, we see the camera rewind and replay it- rather than jump forward in time. The on-camera video light is used in the dark as well as the infra-red lamp, which both lend an easily eerie visual element. There is also the beginnings of a thread of a sub-theme about the ethical issues of freedom of speech/press and home video as a social weapon/defense mechanism. In this area, the film hints toward the deeper essay that was the central premise of Romero's recent DIARY OF THE DEAD (see review). The special effects in the ending sequence of [REC] are wonderfully rooted in realism and the absence of any musical score throughout the film adds to it's edginess. My one complaint is the lead actress screamed way too much in the last act and I spent a lot of time thinking how I would have reacted to her if I where there in the story. ("SHUT UP!") The film is not for anyone who can't take the handheld-camera style of reality shooting, especially at the end when the pace really cranks up. A sequel ( [REC]2 ) was made this year and picks up where this one ends.
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PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Oren Peli
I'm surprised at how many films i liked this year, including this one. Interesting, well performed and actually scary. A young suburban couple set up a video camera to try and capture odd bumps-in-the-night that have plagued the woman since childhood. Not only do they capture evidence on tape, but the occurrences escalate toward a freaky climax that I didn't see coming. Directly in the vein of BLAIR WITCH, CLOVERFIELD and [REC] / QUARANTINE, this feature uses the home-video "caught on tape" angle once again. Writer/Director
Oren Peli got the idea for his script after a box of detergent
mysteriously fell off a shelf in the middle of the night at his house. Although
the film does it's best to appear as though it's real police file
footage, it's just a movie- made in one week for $15,000, shot in the Peli's own home. The performances of the actors are very realistic- with all the little trite idiosyncrasies we're used to seeing on home video. This element of realism really helps to set-up for the refreshingly under-stated supernatural events that begin to unfold. There is a tremendous sense of anticipation created simply by watching from the angle of a lone video camera on a tripod in the middle of the night. By aiming the camera out the open door of the couple's bedroom, we see down the hall past the stairway and toward other rooms. This depth of field is achingly tense because you just know something is going to move in the field of view- and you can only watch and wait...
PARANORMAL
ACTIVITY has broken some independent film box office records this
Halloween, the same as BLAIR WITCH did back in 1999 or John Carpenter's
HALLOWEEN did in 1978. All of these films were made on shoe-string
budgets with a quick production turn-around.
With no music, professional lighting or attempt to
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create a cinematic
visual feel, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY relies solely on amateur home-video
shooting to tell a successfully scary story. Even the end credits are
skipped in order to not look like a movie, but an actual tape
found by police. I am fascinated with this new era of feature film
shot on video. It's interesting how the most successful video features
have been horror films. Starting with THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, these
movies have opened a whole new doorway to our sense of storytelling in
film (see CLOVERFIELD review here.) These films in many ways do the opposite of what big-budget films try to achieve- by specifically not
trying to suspend our disbelief with cinematic illusion and production
value; but instead, by exploiting the realm of the "reality" feel of
the world we actually inhabit. It is profound the utterly creepy
ambience that is created simply by leaving a camera on in an empty
room. Perhaps we've run out of traditional ways to be scared and this
is one of the few new frontiers we have. It seems not at all
coincidental that the mode of storytelling seized by this new genre is
that of horror, since our first reaction to any unknown frontier is
that of fear. Besides playing up the realism of videotape, these films
also conjure a level of self-awareness in both our ways of seeing and
of the technology we use to do so. (see again, George Romero's DIARY
OF THE DEAD see review.)
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THE FOURTH KIND (2009) dir: Olatunde Osunsanmi (WIthIN aka: The Cavern)
CHARIOTS OF THE GODS meets FIRE IN THE SKY meets COMMUNION meets THE X-FILES. In terms of "Form versus Content," in this project, form wins because the form mostly IS the content. Somewhere underneath is a story that might have stood on it's own, but ultimately is buried under the weight of the films' choppy and overbearing style.
In keeping with the current trend of "reality video" horror films, THE FOURTH KIND tries to push the envelope a step further by claiming to have actual footage and audio of creepy events caught on tape. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT'S pseudo-documentary style was criticized for claiming to be true footage even though it never made such claims (this assumption was only imported by a confused public during the films' ad campaign.) This year's theatrical release of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY does a shrewd job of purposefully making itself less like a movie and more like a home video, and although clever, also never actually claims to actually be real. THE FOURTH KIND however, steps over an ethical line by actually claiming it's story and found footage to be true, even though it is not. Although i can appreciate the trend of today's mixed-media efforts to try and explore new frontiers in storytelling- this film is the first to actually outright lie to it's audience. What's most disappointing about this is that the filmmakers are almost saying to us that they don't think their content is strong enough to hold our interest unless they lie about it's origins. This is too bad because I thought the story was sufficiently frightening to be a good horror tale, if they'd only left it at that. Apparently the studio responsible for the film had actually posted pretend websites to try and validate the claims of the film, but they were taken down shortly before the films' release.
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The
story centers around a series of unexplained disappearances in the
remote town of Nome, Alaska. A psychologist named Abigail Tyler (Milla
Jovovitch) records a series of matching accounts from her patients that
seem to resemble alien abduction scenarios. These events take place
shortly after the mysterious death of the Dr. Tyler's husband- also a
shrink- who was in the midst of studying the abductions himself.
During a series of regression-hypnosis sessions, Dr. Tyler's patients
recount seeing an owl staring at them from their bedroom windows- and
eventually at the foot of their beds! Something is blocking the
remainder of the memories however, although the patients seem to
realize that the owl is not really an owl and that something also
happened that has been purposely blocked from their minds. SPOILER
ALERT: we never see any aliens, it's all inference and storytelling.
However, the scenes in the victim's bedrooms- doors slowly opening and
shadows moving around- are quite horrifying! There is something truly
terrifying about individuals recounting repressed memories through
hypnosis. Perhaps it's the sound of their childlike voices as they are
guided through memories they shouldn't be having. Maybe it's that
narratives that have storytelling episodes within them, are just
especially captivating. Cue in some spooky suspense music and we're
riveted to our seats. The film COMMUNION (1989), based on the Witley
Strieber best-seller, did much of the same only much more graphically.
However, that story was much more a psychological "Heart of Darkness"
quest of one man's sanity than the expose THE FOURTH KIND postures to
be.
Writer/Director Osunsanmi begins his film by having the
actors talk directly to the camera as themselves, explaining that the
movie we are about to see is all true and what we take away is "up to
us" to believe. The film then uses the technical approach of switching
between "actual" footage and the remade footage with the actors. There
are plenty of subtitles and graphics to explain which is which as we go
along. Immediately I found these techniques distracted from the
storytelling and wished they would stick with just one or the other,
but stop switching around so much. At points, the different footage is
actually displayed split-screen, side-by-side. Between the actors and
the characters they played- whose names were changed and the word
"[alias]" is attached- and the supposed "actual" footage of the real
people- i got confused who was who.
As for the films' premise
and it's themes- I found some compelling ideas at work. Some of the
themes are familiar and some new. Interestingly,
THE FOURTH KIND does what many horror films are doing currently, by
merging genres a bit. Alien abduction starts crossing over into
demonic possession- as if the two were perhaps one in the same.
Similar themes like this were offered in this year's KNOWING as well as
[REC]/QUARANTINE. All
in all, I felt the film would have been better served had the makers
just had confidence in their story and played it as a straight up
docudrama. Unfortunately, it's hard to get to the story with all the
multi-media going on- and certainly the film will be remembered far
more for it's provocative approach and controversy than it's story
content. As far as leaving us to ponder ideas of FBI cover ups and
suppressed media... look- we've seen the X-FILES already, try something
else please!
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TURISTAS (2007) (RECOMMENDED) dir: John Stockwell (BLUE CRUSH, INTO THE BLUE)
Took me a while to finally see this one but definitely worth the wait. Surfer movie director Stockwell creates the best of the "pain cinema" milieu with this smart, haunting and incredibly graphic thriller about foreign tourists-turned-prey. Exquistely photographed by Enrique Chediak (28 WEEKS LATER, HURRICANE STREETS) with a climactic underwater sequence that rivals the claustrophobia of THE DESCENT (see review).
Gore warning: This film is about as graphic as it gets. Although the violence is matter-of-fact and not exploitative, it's intense folks- so be warned!
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LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (2009) aka: Låt den rätte komma in (RECOMMENDED) dir: Tomas Alfredson
What I love best about vampire stories is how they serve as metaphor to our own realities of want, need and addiction- and allegories about the nature of good and evil. These are eternal human themes that offer an endless variety of dramatic treatments. LET THE RIGHT ONE brings the vampire concept into a Truffaut like childhood drama to meditate on issues of identity and co-dependancy. With crisp photography, strong performances and under-stated direction, Tomas Alfredson trumps the recent list of vampire entries with an offering of sound dramatic storytelling. Contemporary vampire flicks like 30 DAYS OF NIGHT (see review), TWILIGHT and the HBO series TRUE BLOOD, hyper-stylize their vampires with special effects and rockstar glam, or turn into teen soap operas.
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TEETH (2008) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Mitchell Lichtenstein (RESURRECTION)
Fantastic indy film about a modern case of "Vagina Dentata" as social teen-angst allegory. great performances and directed with wit and humor. Key to the films' success was the casting of actress Jess Weixler in the lead role of "Dawn," a young christian girl caught between the pressures of her blossoming sexuality and her moral convictions. The dichotomy of two conflicting ethical universes creates a monster- literally! Lot's of tongue-and-cheek dramatic fun and over the top allegory here that felt like John Hughes meets David Cronenberg meets HEATHERS :-)
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THE ORPHANAGE (2007) aka: El orfanato (RECOMMENDED) dir: Juan Antonio Bayona
Very well made and acted ghost story about a haunted orphanage and one woman who refuses to be scared away. Although, the premise has become very worn out in recent times, the element that makes THE ORPHANAGE stand out is that it's story serves interesting ideas about death and the afterlife. Following a trail of clues, Laura (Belen Rueda) uncovers a supernatural legacy and finds herself in a position where she must make extraordinary choices. With a similar feel to THE OTHERS, THE ORPHANAGE offers a different sort of ending than we've come to expect from recent ghost stories. Very similar to Balaguero's FRAGILE (see below), but with more character and depth, Bayona weaves a suspenseful, engaging tale that rises above contemporary "vengeful ghost" flicks (THE RING, STIR OF ECHOES, THE GRUDGE, etc.) Unfortunately, if you've seen all the others, this one probably won't stand out as much as it would if it had come first. Once again, Spain and Mexico dominate today's horror offerings, with Guillermo Del Toro executive producing this first time effort from director Bayona.
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THE STRANGERS (2008) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Bryan Bertino
Seemed like an American remake of last years' French film THEM (aka: "ILS") (see review) combined with Wes Craven's original LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. I really liked the eerily silent tone the film sets up in the first act. Very John Carpenter in it's visual nuances and physical blocking - terrific scares here. Bordering on the "pain cinema" of recent years and slightly reminiscent of Japan's Takashi Miike (AUDITION) (see review), THE STRANGERS meditates on the fractioning of intimacy and the violation of suburban norms by nihilistic chaos. Very little is explained about the antagonists in the story other than a a stark portrayal of a threesome of roadsters who seem to be acting out thrill killings. I was instantly reminded of Wes Craven's existential thematics of empty people pushing the boundaries of the human condition through murder and other depraved acts of experimentation. The focus of the film, however, is not on the psychology of the killers but a meditation on the struggle of the victims. Standard to many thrillers of this type, the story begins with the end of a relationship. A marriage proposal that goes down in flames seems to invite chaos into the insular world of a pair of lovers staying at a friends summer house for one night. As she dies, Kristen (Liv Tyler) asks one of the strangers "why us?" to which her female killer replies "because you answered the door."
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FUNNY GAMES (2007) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Michael Haneke (FUNNY GAMES {1997 version} )
Very creepy tale of modern classicism turned against itself. Michael Haneke remakes his own 1997 European feature for a 2008 American audience. A terrific meditation on the boundaries of social mores the likes of Bunuel, only with the existential fatalism of Wes Craven. Starring Naomi Watts (executive producer) and Tim Roth. Immediately reminiscent of Hitchcock's ROPE (1648). A young upper class couple in a gated community are visited by a pair of seemingly amiable young men. The insular reality of upper class culture is fractured and humanism is put to the test, as the young men push the envelope of "hospitality" to fatal levels.
There are comparisons between the basic plots of FUNNY GAMES and THE STRANGERS (see above), although the dramas in each serve different ends. The antagonists in both films suddenly arrive into the presence of the every day and ordinary, torturing their victims and forcing them to make horrific choices. The young men in FUNNY GAMES seem to do this to challenge and mock the conscious and subconscious structures of our social existence; whereas the travelling band of criminals in THE STRANGERS act out in some empty, vacuous nihilism.
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ROGUE (2007) (RECOMMENDED) dir: Greg McLean (WOLF CREEK (see review), ICQ)
A decent drive-in flick with flawless special effects. Smartly done and never ridiculous, even though it's a monster movie about a giant crocodile! Great metaphor about the "descent through hell" and facing one's demons. In the grand tradition of JAWS, ROGUE goes along with other recent "when jungle animals attack" flicks like ANACONDA and PRIMEVAL. There is also a nice NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD element as an unlikely group of characters are trapped and forced to work together. This theme seems to be prevalent in contemporary horror right now, with films like TURISTAS, SAW, THE RUINS, THE DESCENT, etc.
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KNOWING (2009) dir: Alex Proyas (DARK CITY, THE CROW, I ROBOT)
Well produced and smartly directed end-of-the-world tale that maintained a strong, rivetting pace. KNOWING starts out like many contemporary thrillers with a young child who posesses clairovoyant powers- then jumps forward in time for a present day mystery tale that may or may not have supernatural elements. By the third act, the film takes a HUGE left turn and becomes almost a separate movie, but maintains a strong enough thread to stay together. However, the Hollywood ending- although fitting in another film perhaps- served as a bit of a let down. The performances were strong and some of the dramatic twists were strong. The end-of-the-world angle was actually somewhat refreshing (solar flare burning the earth) and had much the new-age feel of DEEP IMPACT and CONTACT.
Underneath it's plotline, KNOWING offers a rare and provactive bridge between the traditions of religion, science and superstition. What if all are mutually compatible? What if angels and aliens are the same thing? This question underlies the drama of KNOWING and although not very allegorical, has an eerie and tense mood throughout. There's also some seriously creepy alien-abduction-in-the-woods scenes as well.
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VACANCY (2007) dir: Nimrod Antal
Quite well done and not what I expected. Ultimately, however, the film has no real subtext or far reaching thematic concerns and is just a throw-away thriller. From the terrific opening credit graphics, we are treated to a Hitchcock homage that roughly mimics the opening of PSYCHO complete with Herrman-esque fanfare by Paul Haslinger. Sure enough, a loveless married couple lost during a rural road trip find a spooky old hotel where they must stay for the night (sound familiar!?) From this point however, the PSYCHO homage ends and the film joins the ranks of all the recent "torture porn" features (HOSTEL, TURISTAS, etc.) In
keeping with standard horror premises, the couple are on their last
outing before divorce proceedings. After the loss of their child, the
marriage has stalled. The story serves as a test for which the mother
(Beckinsale) atones for her guilt and the husband (Wilson) gets to
prove himself.
Although full of scares, the film nicely stays away from cliches and dedicates itself to realism as the characters test their limits of resourcefulness and trust in order to survive. I was reminded of the recent films THEM (see review,) THE STRANGERS, JOYRIDE (see review,) and WOLF CREEK (see review.) The end of the film was a bit off rhythm and felt abrupt, but overall I was glad the film stayed smart throughout. The performances by Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson were solid, but it's Frank Whaley who steals the show with his ultra-creepy performance of the hotel's sadistic manager.
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THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT (2009) dir: Peter Cornwell
Although it does not claim to be, it is entirely obvious this movie is another telling of the AMITYVILLE HORROR films, which were based on an original story by George & Kathy Lutz and the subsequent book by Jay Anson. However, the screenplay credits it's basis on the story In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting (1992), co-authored by horror writer Ray Garton, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, and Al and Carmen Snedeker. (The film is also not to be confused with A HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT (2005) which features the supposedly true Garten story in one of it's episodes.) I'm totally confused here- but to anyone familiar wth the AMITYVILLE movies, you'll instantly see what I mean.
Terrific scares and cinematography create an intensely spooky world as a family is haunted by evil ghosts. I found this telling to be much better than the AMITYVILLE stories. Matt (Kyle Gallner), The eldest son of the family, is dying of cancer and makes his bedroom in the basement where a history of demonic rituals once took place. Because the boy is close to death, he can see "the other side" and is plagued by visions of dead souls. Befriended by a priest who is also terminal, the two discover the tragic nature of the lost souls and set out to make things right. Here the film shares themes with other recent horror tales like this years' FRAGILE and THE ORPHANAGE. There is a Hollywood ending that, although keeps true to the original story, deflates the drama a bit. With a look and feel similar to THE SIXTH SENSE, the best parts of the movie are the creepy camera angles showing dead bodies walking around behind the characters when they aren't looking. Virginia Madsen does a solid job as the skeptical mother and Elias Koteas (THE FOURTH KIND) is terrific as the superstitious priest.
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DRAG ME TO HELL (2009) dir: Sam Raimi (SPIDERMAN 1-4, EVIL DEAD 1-2, DARKMAN)
Well, this film is a full-on-camp horror/comedy that is neither the mainstream prowess of Raimi's SPIDERMAN work, nor the masterful schlock of EVIL DEAD. Borrowing from today's headlines, a young loan officer denies an old woman an extension on her home loan, which puts the house in foreclosure. The freaky old woman puts a curse on the girl, giving her three days until a goat demon comes to take her soul. What ensues are some really silly fight scenes and monster FX, culminating in a nifty seance complete with with talking goat head and other cartoonish action. Obviously produced for a fan audience, DRAG ME TO HELL has all the EVIL DEAD 2 style cheezy special effects and sound editing. A lot of time and attention is spent on the freaky old gypsy woman's false teeth coming in and out of her mouth, complete with squishy sound FX. There is a funeral scene where of course the corpse falls out of the casket and onto the girl; and a cemetery scene where a body is dug up in the rain, etc, etc. The ending offers a sinister plot twist that spares no one, which is nice considering all the characters are sufficiently annoying to want them all to die.
Simply stated, this film is really dumb, however, it is dumb fun if you're into this sorta thing, which most EVIL DEAD fans probably are. Don't look for much here except for a tongue-and-cheek guffaw. If you want mainstream Raimi, rent SPIDERMAN; if you want quality schlock, rent EVIL DEAD. Other than that, wait till next year when Raimi delivers his 2010 EVIL DEAD remake.
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A PERFECT GETAWAY (2009) dir: David Twohy (THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, BELOW, PITCH BLACK)
A big plot twist is at the core of this story driven murder mystery. I liked the performances and the narrative, but most of all, i loved the location- the Kalalau trail leading to the famed "hidden beach" on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. (This is the amazing location used to create "Skull Island" in the 1976 KING KONG.)
When a honeymooning couple arrives in paradise just as other newlyweds are being murdered by a young married couple- a wonderfully tense game of "Who's Who?" begins. The film delves deep into the characters before delivering it's big twist in the final act. Not much going on here except a very noir-era drama, although when the nature of the true killers is finally revealed, we are left with some really haunting psychology to ponder. Milla Jovovitch and Steve Zahn star, but it was Timothy Olyphant who steels the show as "Nick," a quirky ex-marine with an inflated sense of "environmental awareness." The film creates a lot of the same "tourists helpless in a foreign place" feel as TURISTAS and WOLF CREEK in it's set-up, although the story is very different (and far less gruesome.)
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THE NUMBER 23 (2007) dir: Joel Schumacher (FALLING DOWN, BATMAN FOREVER)
A surprisingly restrained entry from flamboyant director Schumacher. Jim Carrey holds together a strong performance in this psychological thriller of one man's journey out of insanity. Very much the same tale of guilt and redemption as Brad Anderson's masterful THE MACHINIST (see review.) Although, I find little fault with the film, Anderson's film is far better. My final word is: "go rent THE MACHINIST instead."
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THE SIGNAL (2008) dir: David Bruckner, Dan Bush & Jacob Gentry
A bizarre and wonderful mix of styles - three chapters (acts) by three different directors - all of whom co-wrote the film. Sort of RUN LOLA RUN meets 28 DAYS LATER. Stories intertwine over a few short days as the world goes mad from a TV broadcast that causes everyone exposed to have delusions of persecution and go on violent rampages. The film is a meditation on points-of-view, as we witness each characters differing viewpoints, often over the same event repeated several times. We begin to realize that as each character is struggling to survive the mass slaughter, each is themselves guilty of taking part in causing the rampage. Each person is trapped in a twisted view of reality of their own reality. Trying to protect themselves or their loved ones seems logical, but from another's point of view, we see the acts as irrational fits of unperpetrated violence. Very interesting ideas here, even if the weird mix of comedy and gore in the second chapter falls a bit short. The ending of act three is a bit incoherent in it's visual telling, but overall the film stays locked into the emotional landscape of it's characters and presents an engaging angle of study on human perception.
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INSIDE (aka: À l'intérieur) (2007) dir: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury
Well made feature from France, oozing with allegory, but certainly the most disturbing images since Takashi Miike's thriller AUDITION (see review). Hard to recommend based on the visceral gore level, but certainly smart and stylish. A pregnant woman is stalked by an unseen intruder who seeks to take her unborn baby. Similar to THE STRANGERS (see above) in that an outside force comes calling to violate the safety of home and the security of the normal and everday. However, there is symbolism in the element of the unborn fetus. There seems to be a wave of contemporary thrillers that center on the idea of unborn human life. (THE UNBORN, THE ORPHAN, THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE.) INSIDE follows the recent trend of intensely graphic films that feature evisceration of the human body as a threshold point between preception and reality, life and death, real and unreal. TURISTAS, TEETH and THE RUINS all deal with some element invasion into the physical body, or the necessity of self-mutilation to rid the body of foreign matter. This psychological violation is in keeping with the tradition of Wes Craven's original LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1977.)
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FRAGILE (2005) (aka: Frágiles, aka: FRAGILE: A Ghost Story) dir: Jaume Balagueró (THE NAMELESS, [REC], DARKNESS )
Disappointing effort from the director who gave us THE NAMELESS (see review.) FRAGILE is just another angry ghost tale in a haunted hospital/orphanage/asylum, etc; similar to THE RING or THE ORPHANAGE (see above.) This time it's Colista Flockheart (TV's "ALLY McBEAL) playing the obsessed and emotionally unavailable caregiver overcoming a tragic past, who's love finally conquers all. The standard ghost mystery is at play here- complete with grainy old photographs that offer clues, freaky children and jump-cut camera shocks. The performances are mostly off and needed much more contouring. There is one interesting scene where kids are watching Disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY and the cartoon's soundtrack plays as we watch through the window into the next room as the adults learn the news of a shocking murder. Decent score by Roque Banos (THE MACHINIST, SEXY BEAST). I waited a long time to see this and really wanted to like it, but unfortunately my final analysis is: "pass."
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THE UNBORN (2009) dir: David S. Goyer (THE INVISIBLE, BLADE TRINITY)
Refreshing first half leads to disappointing second half. As with many of this year's films, the main theme is about the threshold between this world and the world of the dead. I liked the compelling motif of mirrors as windows between worlds. Many of the standard shocks were pleasantly absent from the first 2 acts of this drama, allowing for the weight of the story to shine. There are some nice dream images and the obligatory "freaky-pale-faced-little-kid" running around (which, out of all the recent vengeful ghost flicks, is probably the only instance justifiable in context of the story.) The final act, however, lost its sense of pacing and plausibility and kinda felt like a fly-by. The casting was also a little off. Gary Oldman plays an odd Jewish rabbi who organizes an exorcism and Odette Yustman (CLOVERFIELD) seems a bit too super-model-esque for her role as the lead. I have watched Goyer's career develop from screenwriter to director and I appreciate his writing more. BLADE: TRINITY was a well documented disaster that resulted in its star (Wesley Snipes) actually suing the production company for ruining the franchise. Although THE UNBORN was aptly produced, its faltering third act and its absence of any lasting thematic subtext leaves the effort somewhat stillborn.
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MY BLOODY VALENTINE (2009) dir: Patrick Lussier (WHITE NOISE 2: The Light, DRACULA 2000, THE PROPHECY 3: The Ascent)
Fun 3-D schlock! ROGUE is my "drive-in" pick for this year, but MY BLOODY VALENTINE comes in second. A silly remake of an even sillier original 80's "holiday slasher." This film does what this years' FRIDAY THE 13th did not even try to do; namely, justify the re-telling (or sequel) of a distant original franchise. When a prodigal son returns to a town marred by a decades old tragedy, old wounds are once again opened. A crazy slasher long since dead, seems to re-appear and bizarre murders begin again. When the truth is uncovered about the supposed death of the murderer from years ago, the possibility of his return suddenly becomes plausible. However, with the economic fate of the town hanging in the balance, could it be someone pretending to be the killer in order to influence local politics? In spite of its B-movie status and ridiculous camera gags for 3-D, MY BLOODY VALENTINE was engaging in its plot and characters and well thought out overall. There's even a funny scene where a naked girl almost survives an encounter with the slasher (spoiler alert: i said "almost") which goes on for almost 10 minutes with the actress fully nude! Carpenter fans will also enjoy actor Tom Atkins in one of the films leading roles. I recommend this one with a six-pack and WRONG TURN.
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WRONG TURN (2003) dir: Rob Schmidt (CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN SUBURBIA, SATURN)
Tense and engaging throughout. Following similar themes as DELIVERANCE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, a group of young people get lost in backwoods West Virginia and become fodder for inbred mutants with a thirst for butchery! What could easily be a hokey premise is actually played smart, with mostly realistic logic and lots of creepy camera angles. This is one of those survival films where you start thinking "what would i do if it were me?" and conjures thoughts about hidden frontiers in our own modern world; and the thin line between humanity and chaos.
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FRIDAY THE 13th (2009) dir: Marcus Nispel (PATHFINDER, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2007) )
Skip it please. Sort of a re-make / re-telling / sequel- but none of the above. As if the original films weren't stupid enough, the makers of this one discard any attempt at a clean-slate approach for a new, hopefully more clever franchise and instead, create a modern version of the same old nonsense. The pretty people live because they are pretty and anyone who has sex, gets naked, smokes weed or drinks a beer gets butchered. A few fart jokes are thrown in along the way. Made "in association with" Michael Bay (yawn) this flick is a total wasted effort, with one exception. The awesome electronic score by Steve Jablonsky pays homage to the Carpenter/Goblin-esque era of 80's slasher-dom that the original FRIDAY THE 13th franchise was spawned from. If you were hoping this would be a serious homage in the way that Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN tried to be, you're out of luck. Skip the film, buy the soundtrack.
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THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008) dir: Scott Derrickson (THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, HELLRAISER: INFERNO)
In a word: Typical Hollywood. Does not in any way hold up to the majesty of the original classic. In the first act I was reminded of the quite scary feel and tone of the flashback sequences in I AM LEGEND. Although it sets up it's premise very well at the beginning, the film plays out as a shaggy-dog allegory about global warming and the environment. PLEASE! The performances were solid enough from Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly. I particularly liked John Cleese as Professor Barnhardt and Kathy Bates as a no-nonsense Defense Department liason. The score, effects and pacing were all ok, but really the whole film was a waste of time. No matter how competent the CGI, it still doesn't hold a certain verisimilitude- and ultimately feels cartoonish.
Please skip this one and rent (or purchase) the remastered DVD of the original 1951 Robert Wise classic starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal; featuring masterful score by Bernard Herrman. Although not the "the best sci-fi film ever made," as it is often touted, I still consider it a must-see. KLATU - NICTU, BARATA - NICTU!
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THE RUINS (2008) dir: Carter Smith
Definitely an entry in the "pain cinema" milieu of late. Although stylishly made and well directed, this film seems to be an exercise in watching people suffer and die. I'm not sure what the purpose of the drama is here, but it was painful to watch. Taking it's cue directly from TURISTAS and similar in themes to THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT or WOLF CREEK (see review), a group of American travelers stumble across an ancient temple full of carnivorous weeds that would seem a forgotten and deadly step in earthly evolution, somehow preserved in the depths of the jungle. Local tribesmen vigilantly protect the temples' evil secret and do not allow anyone who comes in contact to leave. Like spectators at a sporting event, the tribe watches as the young travelers slowly become infected and struggle through a slow death as the animalistic plants invade their bodies and they mutilate themselves in effort to stop the spread. Although I usually find the "group trapped in a small space" motif to be a great horror premise (THE THING, THE MIST see review) this film didn't offer much thematically that hasn't been explored in other recent works- and at the price of some really haunting gore that I really didn't need to see. I have to give the filmmakers credit for the stylish production and for their restraint at not going "full tilt CGI", etc. - but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one.
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TAKING LIVES (2004) dir: D.J. Caruso (DISTURBIA, THE SALTON SEA)
Clever, dark psychological cop thriller starring Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke and Kiefer Sutherland. An expert profiler (Jolie) is brought in to help solve a recent string of serial murders (sound at all familiar?) Less than SEVEN and more than your standard CSI episode, TAKING LIVES falls around the same speed and feel of say, KISS THE GIRLS or some such. Although aptly made, not much is memorable save for the clever ending twist and Angelina serving as terrific eye-candy throughout.
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DOOMSDAY (2008) dir: Neil Marshall (THE DESCENT (see review), DOG SOLDIERS (see review))
Marshall's big-budget, Scottish remake of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK and THE ROAD WARRIOR. I wanted to like, but what Marshall achieved with limited resources on DOG SOLDIERS and with clever allegory in THE DESCENT; he forsakes with nonsensical production value in this feature. Could've been smart and fun, but was overdrawn and too implausible for even a silly drive-in flick.
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QUARANTINE (2008) dir: John Erick Dowdle (THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES, THE DRY SPELL)
American remake of the 2007 Spanish film [REC] by Jaume Balaguero (see above.)
(full review coming soon!)
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