Welcome to this year's reviewz. Enjoy the list and keep watching movies!
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BIRD BOX (2018) recommended!
Dir: Susanne Bier (THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE)
Based on the novel by Josh Malerman. This film is off the charts in terms of its subtext and layers of metaphor. The entire story acts almost as a fable or dark WIZARD OF OZ tale that is the dream/nightmare of the protagonists inner emotions. At both the surface story level and the subtext, the film is a terrific tale of deliverance and transcendence. Classic to horror, the enciting incident is the fractioning of a relationship which brings on an inner apocalypse. Sandra Bullock stars.
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ARCHONS (2018) recommended!Dir: Nick Szostakiwskyj (BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE)
From the director and producers of BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE (2014)(see review) and with a lot of the same concepts and feel. Very underscored and taking it's time, this film reveals its story and information slowly over three distinct acts resulting in a tremendous ending twist. Much like the weirder, trippy sequences of BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE (think of the talking deer!) only without the ghoulish body horror.
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VIVARIUM (2019) recommended!
Dir: Lorcan Finnegan (WITHOUT NAME)
A mixture of David Lynch meets Peter Weir's THE TRUMAN SHOW(1998) meets TV's The Twilight Zone. A young couple visit a realtors office and follow him to a new housing project to look at a house. Suddenly, the realtor is gone and the couple are stuck behind in this empty neighborhood of cookie-cutter houses. When they try to drive away, they end up back at their house every time! Alien Conspiracy motifs serve as subtext for young adult relationship enui.
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VERONICA (2017) Dir: Paco Plaza (REC 3, THE GRANDMOTHER)
Jaume Balagueró's co-director on REC(2008)(see review) and REC 2(2009)(see review) brings a haunting coming-of-age tale about a young girl tortured by supernatural forces.
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THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (2016)Dir: Colm McCarthy
Based on the novel by Mike Carey, this post-apocalypse zombie flick adds some interesting conceptual elements to an all-too-tired genre. Parts ANNIHILATION(2018)(see review), I AM LEGEND(2007)(see review), and WORLD WAR Z(2013)(see review). Particularly captivating is Glen Close's portrayal of an ill-fated doctor trying to save the world. By spending the first act in the point-of-view of one of the monsters, we get a bit of a plot-twist when the POV of the characters and the wider story is revealed. Effects are solid and the electronic music score is excellent. The filmmakers stayed away from laboring over too many of the standard motifs of zombie films and got right to the point. Nothing earth-shattering here but a solid conceptual entry to the genre.
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PREMATURE BURIAL (1962)
Dir: Roger Corman
Another Edgar Allen Poe adaption from Corman/AIP. Ray Milland stars as a tortured man who cannot stop fixating on the concept of being buried alive. With a history of strange deaths in the family and a seemingly cursed crypt beneath the family mansion, will his nightmare become reality? Will the acts he takes to avoid such a cursed end, be the exact things that make it actually happen? Very effective set design creates a dreamy and claustrophobic world for this stylish horror/mystery tale.
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BLACK SUNDAY (1960)
Dir: Mario Bava (BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, LISA AND THE DEVIL, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, BARON BLOOD)
Classic horror from Maestro Bava (not to be confused with John Frankenheimer's 1977 terrorism drama of the same name.). Gorgeous black and white with all of Bava's terrific lighting and cinematography in the film that made Barbara Steele an icon of horror.
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BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964)Dir: Mario Bava (LISA AND THE DEVIL, PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, BLACK SUNDAY, BARON BLOOD)
Another orgy of technicolor visuals from Director Mario Bava. Less horror and more of a standard who-dun-it Giallo thriller, Bava's camera moves us through the insular and surreal world of a fashion designers showroom over a period of days where several murders take place. The set design, articulate lighting scenarios and camera movement are vivid enough to be another character in the story. As with his masterpiece LISA AND THE DEVIL(1973)(see review), Bava sculpts a sort of dreamscape where the paranoia of the characters matches the physical landscape they move through.
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A BUCKET OF BLOOD (1959)
Dir: Roger Corman (THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM)
Roger Corman's low-budget masterpiece, this time not from Poe or other classic literature, but from an original screenplay. Special needs adult "Walter" (Dick Miller) works as a waiter at a local hipster cafe where he's over-his-head with the local intelligentsia. Lacking the mental skills and social nuances, Walter cannot separate the literal from the implied. Cruel tauntings by the locals and the lure of a girl push Walter into horrific acts that make sense only to the world as he interprets it. A wonderful social-satire on the intellectual excesses of the era, Corman weaves a "but isn't this what you wanted?" tale of society gone wrong. Wonderful lead performance from Corman regular Dick Miller in the role of his career.
In memory of Dick Miller, 1928-2019
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A QUIET PLACE: PART ll (2020)
Dir: John Krasinski
More of the same from Part 1- paranoid, creepy and tense. Krasinski gives solid direction, this time without the double-task of being both actor and director. In this extension of the story, which takes place immediatelty where the last one leaves off, the focus is much more on the kids (think Netflix's STRANGER THINGS) as they take on the burdens of survival in their own coming-of-age right of passage. An impressive one-take, moving camera shot opening scene (think Vargas' TOUCH OF EVIL(1958) or its imitator, Altman's SHORT CUTS(1993)) flashes back to just before the first film to show the arrival of the monsters into the town.
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DON'T LOOK UP (2022)
Dir: Adam McCay (STEP BROTHERS, TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY)
Fantastic satirical comedy about two scientists who discover an asteroid on its way to destroy Earth- and no one cares! Not horror but a must-see laugh fest of absurdist social satire. Jennifer Lawrence and Leonard DiCaprio are both amazing, as are performances by Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill.
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COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)
Dir: Bob Kelljan (RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM)
This one is a bit special. On one hand, it is an unbearably bad Ed Wood level grinder; yet has become a cult classic (and spawned a sequel!) because of a certain innocent charm. There are actually quite a few moments in this movie that stay with you, not the least of which are the shooting locations and the haunting performance of Robert Quarry as the evil vampire. Thrown together for a few thousand dollars by a small group of indy makers in L.A., COUNT YORGA brings the classic motifs of ancient-European-vampire to modern Los Angeles. Of special note is the dialogue scene in the Count's living room when the heroes finally confront him. Sometimes the limitations of a project has the opposite effect of having you appreciate what they pulled off, rather than mulling over the short-comings.
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MONSTERS OF MAN (2020)
Dir: Mark Toia
Thought this would be dumb but was intelligently made. Maturity of direction, good acting performances and an efficiency of story-telling made this compelling beyond just its good special effects. Film was written and produced as if its makers actually cared what they were doing- too much to ask for most of the time nowadays. The story focuses on the inhumanity of virtual decision making from a distance; and where culpability resides in the mix. When military robot soldiers are field tested on a small drug-running village in Cambodia, hubris reigns the day. When everything that could go wrong does go wrong, "solutions" only double and triple down on bad decisions, making for an inescapable and increasingly immoral cycle of choices. Parachuting into the jungle, one of the four robots crash lands and his learning restraint is de-activated. This unit is now a "AGI" (artificial general intelligence) which means his learning curve becomes limitless, allowing him to go rogue. This is only one of many problems that ensue but begs the question, how do you put the contents BACK into Pandora's Box after you've spilled them? The sentient A.I. sub-plot seemed a little unnecessary, but I get it. Music was also good.
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PROJECT GEMINI (2022)
Dir: Serik Beyseu
Compelling if not completely original Sci-fi tale about the beginnings of evolution and our human origins. On the verge of extinction, humans coincidentally find alien inter-galactic technology buried in the ground. A mysterious orb seems to "terra-form" young planets into habitats for Life to exist. A mix of hubris and happenstance leave us to wonder how much events are perhaps pre-destined and inescapable. When an away team thinks they've jumped hyperspace to a new galaxy where an exoplanet might serve as a new Earth, they only jump back in time with the real Earth. Finding themselves at the moment of creation, we discover the alien technology was meant to make the Earth a habitat for these bizarre bio-mech creatures- but an error made humans instead. We're all just a big mistake! However, the orb also holds the formula to cure the apocalyptic virus that threatens humanity in the (now merely possible) future, so the mission is a success in a very different way than planned. Lots of ideas about self-sacrifice and individuals vs. the whole of society.
A Russian production, the dubbing of the dialogue renders the probably completely-fine acting performance atrocious. Also, there is very little screen time given to the creature, no doubt to spare effects budget and toil. Perhaps the effects just didn't work out and ended up on the cutting room floor. All-in-all a solid production. Compared with LIFE(2017)(review below) its CITIZEN KANE.
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LIFE (2017)
Dir: Daniel Espinosa
TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT. Fantastic production, but story logic broke down and plausibility went AWOL. Watch PROJECT GEMINI(2022) instead (see above).
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THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH (1959)
Dir: TERENCE FISHER
Solid entry from British Horror Maestro Fisher. One man's hubris becomes his downfall when a scientist who develops a serum to stop aging goes too far. Needing human blood in order to make the serum, the desperate scientist becomes a conniving murderer in order to survive. An old colleague who knows his secret, pleads with him to stop and puts ethics before friendship to bring the madness to an end.
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KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1962)
Dir: Don Sharp (RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK, WITHCRAFT, CURSE OF THE FLY)
Review coming soon!
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THE CURSE OF THE LIVING CORPSE (1964)
Dir: Del Tenney
Review coming soon!
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CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964)
Dir: Warren Kiefer
Review coming soon!
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NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1966)
Dir: Allan Grunewald
Review coming soon!
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THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS (1959)
Dir: Irvin Berwick
Review coming soon!
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SHARK BAIT (2022)Dir: James Nunn (ONE SHOT, ELIMINATORS, TOWER BLOCK)
Another straight-to-streaming wonder about drunk co-eds on Spring Break doing dumb things and getting into trouble. The difference here is that this set-up is fully intentional, so as to launch into a drama to test what these dorks are really made of. If you want them to suffer- don't worry, they do. Reminiscent of Larry Fessenden's BENEATH(2013)(see review), relationships break down and secrets are revealed as these college kids basically go from childhood to adulthood in a matter of hours.
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DEEP BLUE SEA (1999)
Dir: Renny Harlin (DIE HARD 2, CLIFFHANGER, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4)
Big budget "meh". Over-zealous scientist girl with the British accent cuts corners on research ethics in her attempt to "save the world." The results of this hubris are intelligent mega-sharks who destroy the ocean-bound research facility and make for a POSEIDON ADVENTURE(1972) styled actioner as the trapped characters try to escape. Samuel L. Jackson plays a rich benefactor who gets caught up in the drama while visiting on an inspection. Of note is how his character gets killed mid-sentence while giving a big motivational speech in the middle of the second act! Hilarious!
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UNDER THE BED (2012)
Dir: Steven C. Miller
Slow pacing killed this one. Story of two brothers facing a demonic presence in their bedrooms had a certain charm (a la Netflix' STRANGER THINGS). No one believes the two and the older brother was even sent off for two years of rehab. Reuniting again at home and with Dad's new wife (Mom died in a fire protecting the boys from the demon). Effects and final happy ending were a bit much.
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RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER (2016)
Dir: Paul W. S. Anderson
Terrific production value- sets, landscapes, CGI environments, creatures, guns, explosions and all-around dystopic design. Story sucked. Edited with all the restraint and pacing of a two-week old puppy.
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REDCON 1 (2018)
Dir: Chee Keong Cheung
Could have been worse. How's that for a review? Wanted to be 28 DAYS LATER- Nope!
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DARKENING SKY (2011)
Dir: Victor Bornia
Straight-to-streaming alien abduction drama that has a bit of an interesting angle on the genre, but too amaterurish to really enjoy. A young man researches alien abduction phenomena to the point it strains his romantic relationship. When his girlfriend disappears, he is tempted to start believing she may have been abducted. A new neighbor girl supports his search for answers until it is revealed the young man is murdering all the people who are disappearing. The neighbor girl turns out to be an alien informer who is there to influence him. The aliens are using people to commit murders to cover their tracks. Turns out our boy was in an asylum and is a serial killer. Is he a killer becuse of the alien influence? or is the alien influence part of his psycopathy?
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CRYSTAL'S SHADOW (2019)
Dir: Ilyas Kaduji
Another straight-to-streaming alien abduction drama that is way to amaterurish to sit through (bit I did.) Meandering story that tries to throw all sorts of supernatural phenomena into one reality and then end by announcing that, "maybe someday we'll have a unifying theory for all of it." Acting and editing were painfully slow and bad and all for nothing in the end. Also, had one of those airy-fairy new-age songs over the credits. UGH!
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RISEN (2021)
Dir: Addie Arya
Wanted to be ARRIVAL or THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - Nope!
Pacing rendered this a complete disaster. The film was obviously going for a certain pondering, ambient style for dramatic gravity. However, this kind of treatment only works if the drama is in place first. Unfortunately, the style blocked the drama in this case. We are treated to minutes upon minutes of characters staring off and doing nothing while we have no idea what is going on.
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THE QUIET ONES (2014)
Dir: John Pogue (QUARANTINE 2: TERMINAL, DEEP BLUE SEA 3)
Review coming soon!
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2149: The Aftermath (2016)
Dir: Benjamin Duffield
Review coming soon!
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VENOMOUS (2001)
Dir: Fred Olen Ray
Drive-in grinder about military enhanced snakes escaping from a desert lab and terrorizing a small town. Treat Williams Stars! Total mindless fun you cannot hate!
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