A fascinating independent entry, drenched in themes of guilt, remorse, damnation and sacrifice. Somber and methodically paced, this film makes excellent use of a pervasive sense of dread, genuine psychological creep and stylish hallucinatory sequences to tell a stark horror story drenched in style and hinting at deeper waters. The filmmakers being a family unit (the Adams family), the directors, writers and actors all evidently poured their souls into this production, the resultant film being a unique vision and voice with a level of passion lost in the majority of budget productions. Make no mistake, this is beyond low budget, this is minimalist, yet the camera work, the acting, and disquieting atmosphere have resulted in a genuinely watchable gem, hindered only in the areas where its ambition clearly outstep its budget. The ending is surreal and ambiguous, even while the last act gets brutal on physical and emotional levels. The slow burn and certainly scenes languid pace will infuriate a number of viewers, and art-house elements confuse or confound. There are hints at deeper layers and levels to the characters and concepts presented that are ultimately unexplored, but for those with patience and appreciation of effective micro-budget filmmaking and storytelling should not miss this.
Followed (2020)
The flip side to a film like Host is this insipid entry. There are so many paint-by-numbers variants to this ‘film, were I to begin counting them on my digits, I would run out of my own and soon have to appropriate others. This is every paranormal activity retread, reskinned with a youtube interface utilizing every worst weary trope imaginable. In a film featuring a hotel full of jittery technophobic ghosts, the greatest suspension of belief required is imagining the main character has the wit or charisma required to maintain his level of social media followers. His literal gimmick is insulting his follower (ie: the viewing audience) so quickly you may begin hoping the supernatural entities will have their insidious way with him, slow and leisurely. Alas, slow is certainly the measure of the pace and wit of the writing and direction involved in this film. There’s the attempt at a wraparound gimmick, but the whole exercise comes off as indulgent and groan-worthy. Where Host represents a gimmick utilized effectively and adheres to the rules established from the onset, this film has no such restraint or even respect for the viewing audience.
F
Relic (2020)
This Austrailian film is a thinly veiled metaphor for dementia in j-horror trappings. Dark and brooding, the one-two punch of existential mental horror and disquieting visuals create a pervasive sense of dread and growing certainty: this will end badly. A slow build allows the characters to earn audience sympathies and understanding, which is essential for the intimate horrors that follow. In every scene, there is an insidious and creeping rot slowly overtaking and staining all it touches: a perfect visual representation for the mental illness and corruption of cherished memories and bonds of blood. The acting is all excellent, with Robyn Nevin giving an unnerving performance as the matriarch whose mind is slowly decomposing. She alternates on a dime between sympathetic and heart-wrenching to malicious and violent, mood shifts familiar to any who have dealt with dementia. Emily Mortimer expressions of resigned heartbreak and grief made me want to send her a kitten STAT!. While overall well filmed, muted color palates and pervasive shadows make it difficult to distinguish the onscreen action and setting. At least once a visual that should have provided a decent fright was indistinguishable from the desaturated background colors. While the slow pace may turn off many, the last act escalates nicely before culminating with a touching yet disquieting close which silently expresses volumes about the genuine horror and tragic impact of this illness upon families.
B+
The Owners (2020)
A rote and uninspired retread of better home invasion films, this movie tries very hard to mimic the far superior “Don’t Breathe” but serves only to remind one of that film’s vastly better execution. Criminal invasion films share similar complaints, foremost being: it is hard to sympathize or be sympathetic towards people choosing to commit violent criminal acts against victims. While inevitably the ‘victims’ unveiled are far more heinous than the criminals themselves, it’s hard not to feel some sense of comeuppance when the tables are initially turned. There’s often an attempt to draw distinction between levels of criminal complicity and sympathetic motivation with the ‘heroes’ of this scenario, but there’s always an initial hurdle, which can be overcome with a good script this film unfortunately lacks. The younger cast attempts to act as if they are in far better films, while the veteran actors relish the opportunity to ham up their villainy. Watching Sylvester McCoy got absolutely bonkers in this role is almost worth the price of admission, but ultimately, its a cheap knockoff of better fare.
D
Color Out of Space (2019)
I claimed that Annihilation (2018) was the best Color out of Space film adaptation, but here I stand corrected. Vibrantly hued, psychedelically delirious, this is a simultaneously intelligent yet gonzo adaptation of the source material, taking its cue from earlier Stuart Gordon Lovecraft films. (The namesake color itself comes arguably ‘From Beyond’). This film is utterly faithful to the source while expanding and expounding upon the short story’s limited characterization and framework to create a fantastically fun pulp horror romp. The director takes his time in setting up the family unit and allowing us time to understand their quirks and sensibilities before the madness descends from beyond the stars. There is a well paced introduction of wonder and beauty from the strange new spectrum and resultant creations before a stark descent into terror. This movie never hesitates in showing the viewer amazingly grotesque sights, but still manages to hint at terrors beyond what we are witnessing. There is a moment where the characters describe how time itself breaks down in the presence of the color, a self-perpetuating singularity that may or may not be ‘alive’ as we understand the term. The last act goes absolutely crazy, aided in no small part by an inconsistently lunatic Nic Cage, serving best he can as a wacky caricature of Nic Cage. What hinders the film is an oddly inconsistent tone, which alternates from serious horror to outlandish and nigh comedic. The tonal disparity often sits squarely on Cage’s shoulders, as his performance can become nigh farcical and drags the whole movie along with him, especially when the tonal whiplash then demands serious empathy. Despite this tonal inconsistency and pacing issues, this film still provides some lunatic fun times, and one of the better direct Lovecraft adaptations to date.
B
You Should Have Left (2020)
Once upon a time, Kevin Bacon and director David Koepp made a great ghost film together called Stir of Echoes. Here they reteam, and everything about their latest film seemingly wants to remind you how good a Stir of Echoes was, in hopes you might retain and carry the positive association from that film into this one. Unfortunately, this film does not carry an iota of the quality of writing or script. Where the former was adapted from a novel by Richard Matheson, this film seems like it read the cliff’s notes on House of Leaves and called it a day. To be fair, this is a competently made film, while completely bland and average in every respect. Predictable, telegraphed, and without hint or aspiration of providing an actual scare or original notion. While the sets and set direction is pretty nice, there’s little else inoteworthy. Even the actors seem bored, going through the motions seemingly resigned to the understanding this film will be doing n one’s careers any favors.
D
Fantasy Island (2020)
Garbage.
It is amazing how many millions of dollars Blumhouse productions will throw at the blandest of pitches and the wretchedest of sketchy scripts. I suppose the principle of 1000 chimps with typewriters applies here. Eventually they may invest in a pitch and invest in a quality script behind it. Unfortunately, it is not this day, and not this film. In fact, it is possible I may need to assess Maggie Q as a new barometer of crap. A decent actress, but needs some serious counseling in vetting projects. Oh yeah. About this movie. Its bad. Insipid, joyless, simultaneously nonsensical and predictable. Characters are unlikable, even the ludicrously charismatic Michael Pena, motivations imbecilic and mythology inane. The level of production values and polish elevate this slightly, but only into the realms of slightly above the worst. For all the resources thrown at both casting and locales, not a dime went into hiring decent writers. At least the pace moves fairly quickly. This was not worth the time it took to watch and I am not about to invest more time into this review than the writers spent on this script.
D
Sputnik (2020)
This Russian made scifi/horror gem presents a unique spin on alien tropes, simultaneously providing a unique perspective on Cold War events. There are heavy riffs off Alien, Silence of the Lambs and the Shape of Water, but with harsher sensibilities and far more grotesqueries. There’s a coldness and sterility conveyed throughout the film that extends to the behaviors of many of the characters, hinted as a combination of austere upbringing and living under the soviet regime. This certainly works for the story they are telling. If the most empathic creature you can envision in your culture is an alien parasite, then something has perchance gone wrong. It may be that all the characters are military conditioned and state loyal, but I suspect there are metaphors and meaning throughout lost upon international viewers, including myself. Despite a language barrier and cultural distance, this film is enjoyable on numerous levels, evolving the nature of the horror at a steady pace during the final act. There is an excellent charisma between the leads, and all the actors overall deliver fantastic performances. The film excels at crafting an atmosphere of palatable dread, even before the reveals. The film is a methodical burn, crafting relationships and personalities before the last act embraces the pure visceral horror of a truly alien enemy. There are some strong and very unique ideas at play in this film, and I suspect certain critiques I might level are more of a result of a cultural mistranslation. Regardless, this is a fantastic B movie, elevated by strong performances and writing.
B+
Broil
A nice independent entry into the surging category of satanic one-percenter films, it is advised to not even read a description before viewing. Unlike more bombastic entries in this subgenre, this movie is sparse on action, mostly relying upon solid writing, interesting dynamics and a twisting plot. This movie plays initially as an examination of dysfunctional wealth/status obsessed family dynamics before veering into darker places. Intelligently plotted and slickly executed on a minuscule budget, the cast are all decent, even if there’s nothing particularly memorable about direction or cinematography. The script is dense and dialogue-heavy, jumping directly into the middle of myriad interpersonal dynamics, fleshing out the characters through their interactions. Unfortunately, there is a large cast of characters, and they introduce new ones late into the film, so some are far less developed than others. The film is structured into titled chapters and each chapter jumps around in time, and while an ambitious idea, comes off confusing in execution. While there are horrific elements and some extremely tense moments, there are few frights to be had. Despite these flaws, and a far too enthusiastic soundtrack that often overwhelms the dialogue, this movie is a wonderful and unique indie gem that manages to stick the landing on a rather uplifting emotional beat.
B+
Death of Me (2020)
A prime example of a good pitch gone bad. A vacationing couple wake with no memory of the prior night’s events, but with a video tape depicting one killing the other. Sounds intriguing yes? Nope. You’re watching Maggie Q and a Hemsworth clone running around pristine beaches being creeped out by the locals. To be fair, they hint early this is an isolated island culture adhering to its own traditions, but far too of the supposedly atmosphere relies on xenophobic visuals and far from effective ones. It feels like the type of movie made to write off a to a gorgeous on location Thai vacation. There are one or two gruesome and nightmarish hallucinatory sequences, but somehow no scares, despite menacing specters and some pretty bad travel flu. Exposition dumps are a‘plenty, trying to deliver a semi-ludicrous mythology behind island events, but let me spare you: incoherent and inconsistent. Trying to sell a film like this right now seems rather tragic, as I’m guessing most would risk bouts of supernatural dysentery for a tropical vacation getaway. It would certainly be more pleasurable than the film itself.
F
Blood Quantum (2019)
Zombies have been covered in every imaginable format and scenario, from quiet drama to comedy-musical. To find a vaguely original zombie premise takes work, and Blood Quantum at least succeeds in finding a hook. The movie takes a bit of time introducing a large cast of characters and life on a modern reservation as the dead begin returning to life in effective and grisly scenes. After initial world and character building, the script jumps into a mid-apocalyptic breakdown where the reservation is one of the last remaining societies, turns out Native Americans are immune to the plague ravaging the world. Unfortunately, from here the plot lurches and lumbers along, wasting the potential of the setting and setup with your standard arsenal of dystopian society tropes and predictable patterns. There is often a tonal shift, interspersed between discussions of ecological and social disparity are wild over-the-top weaponry and strange comedy. There is plenty of gore for aficionados, but the characters aren’t particularly engaging and the ending ridiculous. On the whole, an average zombie entry slightly elevated by the hook.
C+
The Pale Door (2020)
Opening a bad film with a quote from Edgar Allen Poe is an immediate and pretentious invitation to disappointment. This is one step above amateur hour in terms of production but founders in everything else. If you found Meg Mucklebones from Legend a terrifying figure, then this movie might appeal 10 minutes of a seemingly endless runtime. There appears to be a modicum of talent compiled in both cast and behind the scenes, but each and every potential is squandered. The writing is atrocious, the characters refugee archetypes from better films and pacing abysmal, even adhering rather lavishly to screenwriting 101. From the opening titles, a rather indulgent After Effects demo with only passing relevance to the plot, everything about this film requires the sweetly cruel judgement of a sadist editor. The pitch is a western-set from Dusk til Dawn, replacing vampires with witches, but substituting character likability with failed attempts at depth and far more misogyny. Everything comes off wretchedly cheap and horribly rendered, from the sets and lighting to the lack of dirt on the fresh-pressed . While remotely based on the actual Dalton gang, animatronic gunslingers from the 1973 Westworld would be far more authentically western and infinitely more charismatic. I try and honor the fact, no matter how bad a film may be, someone is achieving their dreams. I respect the amount of work and difficulty that goes into filmmaking. Unfortunately, these filmmakers ((one of whom full disclosure at time of this writing is a friend)) have made a very bad film and I hope they commit their future resources into crafting a better script.
F
Peninsula (2020)
A soulless followup to 2016’s Train to Busan, this sacrifices the first movie’s emotion and depth in favor of over-the-top spectacle and tiresome tropes. There is some good camera work, quality performances, one or two decently drawn characters and a fun arena sequence, but that’s the exhausted list of good points. The writing is mediocre, the villains cartoonish caricatures, there are iterative leaps in logic and loops of ludicrious reason and plausibility, where you watch characters do the same dumb mistakes repeatedly. In addition, there are ludicrously indulgent driving sequences where precocious children mow through a city of zombies with leet drift driving. The annoyance and boredom evoked is impossible to overstate, and it happens multiple times. The zombies themselves are variants of the rage virus with some of World War Z’s swarming, but somehow… dull. There’s nothing exciting, inspiring or remotely original presented in this film, and less to find frightening. It’s mostly humans being horrible, despite a core redemptive arc. Everything is certainly bigger and more bombastic, but empty, joyless and ultimately missing the point and poignancy of the original’s intimate setting and polished script. There was no need for this followup, and there should be no need for further films.
D
Ghosts of War (2020)
There are many places this movie falters, but not for lack of ambition. This feels like a number of partial high concept films fused into a contemplation about the price of war. To be fair, this was adding up to a decent movie, despite a ton of gaudy, gibbering frightless ghosts. If anything, there’s a macabre humor in the combat between the hardened soldiers and the spectral opposition.The true terror lies with an undercurrent of existential dread, as the characters are confronted and corrupted by atrocities witnessed and committed. The acting is above average, a bunch of vaguely recognizable c-listers even shackled with stock rote characters, the vaguely recognizable c-list actors are invested and deliver. Unfortunately this movie gets so overstuffed with ideas, explorations and twists it feels like the writers skimped on necessary setup elements, and thus resort to long bouts of exposition. The last act goes legitimately bonkers, dropping rapid fire game-changing twists and exposition dump before ending abruptly with no pretense of resolution. This last bit is extra infuriating, as everything had reached an interesting development amidst the crazy chaos and might have made the investment of time worthwhile. As it stands, this is almost a decent movie, filled with talent, excellent production values, a number of intriguing notions, genuine thought and almost manages to deliver, but then gives up and goes home. As it stands, I might still be intrigued enough to consider watching a sequel, if only to get my desperately needed closure.
D+
Host (2020)
Social media movies are the evolved found footage, carrying all the baggage, yet arguably more immersive particularly in a COVID driven world. The pitch is simple: a group of friends host a Zoom seance, and offer an open invite to the meeting. This feels low budget, yet the script doesn’t require much, effectively wielding the novelty of the gimmick and timing with inspired direction and performances. The plot is terse, runtime minimal and dialogue curt, which all play to the movie’s benefit. The interactions feel legitimate, most characterization achieved through actors riffing naturalistically. It feels like all have a genuine chemistry with telling personal reactions and silences informing far better than exposition dump. Another boon to the setup is the well illustrated potential for deception, which allows a moment of curiosity about how much might be staged for the benefit of an audience. Once things get beyond setup, the pace is relentless building to excellent scare sequences with cleverly played plot payoff and earned jolts. Some baggage catches up in the third act, where the rationale for continuing the gimmick wear, but the runtime masks this problem. The end reveal is not particularly inspiring, and the movie is wise enough to allow our minds to do most of the work, to this degree the found footage perspective also serves as an unreliable narrator. The film plays with our expectations and limited perspective, placing us as silent participant to the events as they unfold. Despite few flaws, and certainly not re-inventing the wheel this is an exemplary illustration of the subgenre’s potential and the value of a streamlined script.
B
The Turning (2020)
This is an soporific attempt to do a contemporary version of the “Turn of the Screw”. As Mike Flannagan is currently adapting the same material for season 2 of The Haunting of Hill House (Bly Manor), I urge anyone to avoid this film as anything other than a sleep aid.