Category Archives: mystery

1970s, 1974, A+, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, slasher, Thriller, Year

Review: Black Christmas

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Director(s)Bob Clark
Principal CastOlivia Hussey as Jess
Margot Kidder as Barbara
Keir Dullea as Peter
Marian Waldman as Mrs.MacHenry
John Saxon as Lt. Kenneth Fuller
Douglas McGrath as Sergeant Nash
Release Date1974
Language(s)English
Running Time 98 minutes

If you’ve been keeping up with the site since the Halloween 2k19 Marathon (also known as when I first started this whole shindig), you’ll know I’m not the biggest fan of slasher movies. Growing up the only one I ever saw (and am a huge fan of) is John Carpenter’s Halloween. Thankfully, after taking a dive into the slasher cannon (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream) , I’ve gotten fonder of them and wanted to catch up on the basics. After the mess that was Black Christmas (2019), I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and watch the original Black Christmas, often hailed as one of the most important slashers from a technique standpoint. I went in curious and have come out a true believer. I’m happy to see that Black Christmas is not only my number one Christmas horror now (replacing Krampus) , but it deserves even more recognition and fandom than it currently gets.

From the moment the movie starts, you know something is wrong. The camera surveys a sorority house from the outside, like a voyeur. It’s made clear that we’re following the antagonist’s point-of-view through the beautiful and impressive at the time, first person shot. Just within the first few scenes, it’s clear there’s a very real danger waiting for the girls in the comfort of their own home. Soon after, the telephone rings as all the girls listen to the apparent ravings of some psycho-sexual pervert. As the night goes on, the girls are targeted one by one as they attempt to navigate the harrowing events they’re facing. It’s a setup that thrives because of its unsettling atmosphere. No gore. No awful jump scares. No absurd exposition. Every scare is well set-up, well executed, and well earned being viscerally jarring enough to shake you without disrupting the tension that’s building in the background. The movie dumps you straight into a state of anxiety and leaves you there from start to finish.

Unlike the 2019 sequel/remake , the original takes its time exploring women’s agency from smaller issues like being told in patronizing fashions how to be secure to larger issues like whether or not abortion is morally okay. The genius comes from how subtle the social commentary comes of. Nothing hits you over the head screaming “MAN BAD” or “WOMEN MOST OPPRESSED GROUP EVER”. Instead, the story generates its thematic discussion by juxtaposing the differences in the way agency is accorded to men versus women in similar circumstances. For example, when the girls initially put in their call for assistance they don’t get a real response until things start becoming more serious. Meanwhile, when an elder gentlemen literally SHOOTS a police officer, he gets a slap on the wrist. Moments like these are littered throughout to constantly highlight the hypocritical standards by which women are judged. Whenever one of the girls ends up getting killed, their murder often transitions into a joyous, everyday, playful kind of scene. It’s almost like an sick demonstration of how violence against women gets crowded out/erased and the way the technique consistently used makes that all the more apparent.

Now what pushes the movie over the top is the wide array of fleshed out and memorable characters at its disposal. Jess is our no-bullshit, cooperative protagonist who’s trying to live her own life and keep the peace. Barbara is the foul-mouthed , highly independent, deviant lifeblood of the sorority and has some of the best comedic moments in the movie. She takes the role of the traditional “sex-d” up male side-kick and makes it fully her own. Speaking of funny, Waldman absolutely knocked it out of the park as the house mother, Mrs. MacHenry. She’s the perfect blend of sardonic and fake sweet and watching her put on her airs is a delight. I was surprised at how much I was laughing in the first and second acts , but with characters this funny it’s not hard to tell why. What surprised me is how likable,diverse, and developed the male characters are. Sure, there are your generic domineering chauvinists like Sergeant Nash. However, there are also well-meaning people like Lt.Fuller, who outside of his thematically necessary blind spots, acts like a decent human being.

REPORT CARD

TLDRIf you love horror movies or are a big fan of the slasher genre and haven’t checked this gem of a movie out you’re doing yourself a disservice. Black Christmas blends together a compelling story, layers of mystery, memorable and likable characters, and ties them all together in a way that demonstrates the trials and horrors of women’s’ agency without being preachy or too on the nose.
Rating10/10
GradeA+

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2010s, 2016, B+, Drama, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, supernatural, Thriller, Year

Review: Ouija: Origin of Evil

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Director(s)Mike Flanagan
Principal CastElizabeth Reaser as Alice
Annalise Basso as Lina
Lin Shaye as old Lina
Lulu Wilson as Doris
Henry Thomas as Father Tom
Release Date2016
Language(s)English
Running Time 99 minutes

I actually watched this movie before Ouija, the ill conceived first movie, in the hopes of better understanding incongruities that appear in the last 20 minutes. After having finished the first movie, all I can say is Mike Flanagan deserves a lot of credit for giving one of the most vapid and forgettable horror movies of recent years an emotionally resonant backstory that somehow makes the original movie a little bit better. It’s hard enough to make a good movie let alone one that elevates a poor one which makes this sequel-prequel all the more rare.

Unlike the first movie, the prequel sequel makes full use of its first scene. Alice, the matriarch of our main family, is in the middle of a seance with an elderly man and his daughter. As the ceremony continues, things become more fantastical and it feels like a supernatural presence is there. Every time the daughter expresses skepticism, the presence grows along with her father’s faith in the process. It’s a tense introduction that’s made all the better when you realize that Alice is running a con service. All the paranormal events are just the result of a tricked out room and the help of her two daughters. It’s effective because it baits us into expecting scares from the start, while establishing our main family’s background as well-meaning con-artists. In 10 minutes, Flanagan manages to give his characters more of a backstory than the entirety of what Ouija does to develop its main lead.

In fact, the story takes its time establishing character motivations, essential relationships, and sources of conflict to ensure that subsequent scares have significance. When things get first get harrowing close to the 40 minute mark, you’re already invested in the family and their tribulations. They may be running a con, but they don’t do it maliciously. They’re just struggling to get along, weighed down by tragedies from the past and the financial struggles that accompany them. After the supernatural events turn more sinister, you feel for the family and root for them, even as the twists and turns start to get more ridiculous by the end of the movie. Because Flanagan doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares , there’s always a palpable sense of tension looming in the air. There’s no cheap outlet for that anxiety to so when something terrifying does happen it hits with a real momentum.

Every single main performance is on point. Even exposition scenes feel less boring and artificial because of how serious and solemnly the information is delivered. When the nature of the main horror is revealed, it definitely feels nonsensical and less developed in comparison to the well-crafted family story at the heart of the movie, but I found myself caring in spite of all of that because of how much energy the actors take in conveying the situation. In particular, Lulu Wilson absolutely kills it as Doris. She starts off innocent, not even aware that her family’s main source of income is a scam. She genuinely thinks the spiritual services her mother offers and that her sister and her help with are real. However, after she becomes influenced by the dark presence in her house, she’s actually scary. I mean legitimately frightening. She has one monologue in the latter half of the movie that still hasn’t left my mind and chills me to my bones every-time I watch it.

Now in spite of my praises, I did think the movie suffered from serious story issues in the last chunk. Because it has to set up the first movie, it’s forced into story choices that undermine a lot of the overarching themes and the logic of the supernatural events occurring. While some of these decisions could have been done better (I personally think the underlying source of the haunting is hackneyed and disappointing), I don’t think they ruin the movie. If I had to describe the situation, it’s similar to Wonder Women in that its great first and second act are marred by a less than satisfying third act. It’s not that the movie is bad. It’s just disappointing because of where it could’ve gone. If anything, I wish that this was an independent movie that had nothing to do with Ouija so the third act could’ve developed in a natural way unencumbered by any storytelling restrictions.

REPORT CARD

TLDROuija: Origin of Evil is a surprisingly well thought out family drama turned supernatural horror that’s less about the ouija board than the title would let on. Though it’s hampered by having to set up it’s predecessor, Ouija, it somehow manages to still deliver some shocking and scary moments that’ll keep you invested in what’s to come.
Rating8.6/10
GradeB+

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2010s, 2014, F, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, supernatural, Thriller, Year

Review: Ouija

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Director(s)Stiles White
Principal CastOlivia Cooke as Laine
Afra Sophia Tully as young Laine
Shelley Hennig as Debbie
Claire Beale as young Debbie
Ana Coto as Sarah
Izzie Galanti as young Sarah
Release Date2014
Language(s)English
Running Time 89 minutes

Unlike most people who had to suffer through Ouija’s theatrical run, I came into the movie after having seen the MUCH better sequel-prequel Oujia: Origin of Evil. I loved that movie up till the last 20ish minutes and couldn’t fathom how strange this section felt in comparison to the rest of the movie. I thought if I watched the original movie, it’d help make sense of where Flanagan’s sequel-prequel needed to go, given that his conclusion had to be able to lead into the beginning of this. After watching Oujia, all I can say is Mike Flanagan deserves serious recognition for even attempting at fleshing out a backstory for this horror aberration. Oujia is painfully slow, packed to the brim with cliches and cheap scares, and constantly undermines its own rules and setup culminating in one of the least satisfying horror blockbusters in recent years.

If you’ve read my reviews before, you know I love slow burn horror movies. However, that’s only if they’re done well. If a director is going to make me wait, there needs to be a huge spectacular visceral payoff or a poignant thematic resolution. Unfortunately, Ouija has neither and only ever manages to do the bare minimum to elicit scares. From the moment the movie started, I knew something was off. There’s a prologue/flashback of two young girls, Laine and Debbie, playing with a spirit board. After this the story goes to “present” day and the way the transition happens makes it obvious that Debbie is one of the girls from the flashback. There’s no tension or mystery about what the flashback meant which makes its presence just feel unnecessary. After meeting with Laine in, Debbie “kills” herself after being possessed. Laine, in her desperation to figure out what happened, tries to use a ouija board with a group of mutual friends to contact the deceased Debbie. Unfortunately, just like the first two scenes, what follows is a movie that feels empty and unexplained.

It always feels like there are weird exposition dumps instead of attempts at naturally developing the story. Information is always revealed at the most convenient times by characters the movie never wants to flesh out. For example, Laine’s grandmother appears early on to help Laine deal with her grief over Debbie’s death but randomly exhibits a profound knowledge of the occult in later scenes exactly when her granddaughter needs advice. I feel like these character traits could have been hinted at earlier and better integrated with the story, but instead of that, they’re haphazardly shoved in to keep the story going to the next telegraphed scare. At some point I felt like I was just watching generic scares from a grab-bag of supernatural horror scenes, tacked together with a contrived and emotionally vacuous plot. There’s never a reason to care about any of the characters. The inciting incident for the movie is never explained in a way that makes you care. Scares have no overarching purpose tying them together and don’t accomplish anything thematically. The worst part is they rarely made me feel anything, let alone fearful of some supernatural entity. The movie sets up that the spirit can only act in certain ways to create a sense of tension, but actively breaks those rules at every moment so there’s never a reason to think the supernatural presence is threatening.

The only redeeming part of this movie is Lin Shaye’s performance. I won’t spoil what her role is because it’s relevant to latter portions of the story, but the moment I saw her, both in my initial watch and re-watch, I felt like I cared about what was happening. She doesn’t get a lot of on-screen time, but she absolutely gives the movie a much needed pulse when she does show up. With her performance in this and The Grudge, I’m convinced you can chuck her in any horror movie and have at least some good moments. Unfortunately, everyone else in the movie came off anywhere from outright unbelievable to kind-of passable. There are definitely some “emotional” moments that feel like first takes that were just given the thumbs up with no attempts at revision.

REPORT CARD

TLDROuija is as boring as it is contrived. The story is slow,boring, and never manages to deliver effective surprises because it undermines it supernatural set-up at every point. Outside of a great performance from Lin Shaye, there’s nothing here, even for ardent lovers of the supernatural genre.
Rating3.2/10
GradeF

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2015, A+, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, Thriller, Year

Review: Goodnight Mommy

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Director(s)Veronika Franz
Severin Fiala
Principal CastElias Shcwarz as Elias
Lukas Schwarz as Lukas
Susanne Wuest as the Mother
Release Date2014
Language(s)German
Running Time 100 minutes

After I saw the trailer for this movie back in 2015, I knew I had to watch it. The trailer by itself has everything you’d want in a movie: evocative and eerie imagery, unnerving music, and a general sense of dread. When I first watched the movie I was super into it but felt like it showed its hand a bit too early. However, on subsequent watches I think the decision made make the entire piece unified in what it’s trying to convey, even if it takes out some of the ambiguity I’d have wanted.

The story starts off with an interesting enough premise; a pair of twin brothers, Elias and Lukas, grow suspicious of their mother’s identity after she exhibits eccentric behavior post facial reconstruction surgery. The way the mystery builds up is interesting in how it’s predicated on what’s not being shown on screen more so than hints and cues from what is being shown. This is a story that seems like it’s obvious, but upon closer inspection the obvious clues are left to invite more thought about background affairs. It gives the original mystery at the heart of the movie a kick that’ll have you coming back to watch over and over again. The first time I saw the movie, I was surprised at how much my allegiances to each character shifted and changed. This is in spite of “figuring out” what the movie was about.

Everything only works because of how well the family dynamic is set up and acted by the principal cast. Wuest exudes ambiguity and enables the first level of mystery- whether or not she really is the pair’s mother- to operate seamlessly. I have my own interpretation, but the way that she responds to certain sequences is commendable. One of the more apparent twists in the movie wouldn’t work without her ability to effortlessly sell her character’s perspective. Likewise, both Elias and Lukas bring life to the twins they play and the suspicions the duo have. You can feel the love the two have for each other. They practically feel like one unit, connected at the hip. Their response to the increasingly uncertain circumstance is not only justified, but done in a way that makes you forget you’re watching child actors as opposed to children going through a terrifying,mysterious situation. The dynamic between the whole unit feels authentic and dripping with tension and ambiguity which makes the hellscape the movie turns into that much more impactful.

At the heart of the mystery is a tale about trauma, it’s role in shaping our identity, and the way those fractures affect our ability to gauge and interact with the world. We spend time with both sets of characters, the mother and the boys, in isolation dealing with their own agendas and issues. Their interactions together compliment what we know and paints a whole picture of both sets. Each twist in the story adds a layer to that discussion and it culminates in an jarring but resonant way. The movie does a great job visualizing these ideas in the scares. From the abstract nightmare sequences to the very real visceral moments of violence, the movie never lets up with ramping up the terror. There’s more than one moment that had me watching everything from behind the slits between my fingers.

While I love the way the movie approaches most of its elements, I think its use of ambiguity is uneven. There are certain character decisions that I think are great and manage to work at every level of the story, but then other decisions only manage to fulfill one level while missing the mark elsewhere. For example, there are moments that had me going “No way. X should’ve done Y at an earlier point.” Yes, technically X being done at a certain moment is fine and works at a thematic level, but it hurts the movie from a realism level. Thankfully the theme and story work so well that I could forget some of the incongruities and “what about” moments, but hardcore sticklers for movie logic might not be as forgiving.

REPORT CARD

TLDRThere’s more than meets the eye in this story of two boys trying to figure out if their mother is really who she says she is. Goodnight Mommy‘s balances visceral scares with a deep dive on the way trauma affects our identity and relationship with others. If you’ve seen it and thought it showed its hand too early, watch it again and focus on what’s not being said. You may find something more to appreciate in this thought provoking gem.
Rating9.5/10
Grade A+

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2010s, 2015, A, Drama, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, Thriller, Year

Review: The Invitation

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Director(s)Karyn Kusama
Principal CastLogan Marshall-Green as Will
Tammy Blanchard as Eden
Michiel Huisman as David
Emayatzy Corinealdi as Kira
Release Date2015
Language(s)English
Running Time 100 minutes

As someone who enjoyed Jennifer’s Body quite a lot on release, I was excited when I saw that the director, Karyn Kusama, was making another horror movie, The Invitation, and eagerly waited for it to get a wider release. I thought the movie was interesting the first time, but felt slightly let down by the time the mystery at the heart of the story was fully revealed. However, on subsequent watches I’ve come to appreciate just how meticulous the twists and turns of the story are hidden and revealed and genuinely love the way the whole thing plays out.

The story follows Will and Kira, a couple on their way to visit Will’s ex-wife, Eden, at the former couple’s old house. Immediately, the story feels off. The idea of an ex inviting their former lover and respective partner just feels strange and the story makes that feeling pronounced before we even get to the house. When Will and Kira arrive, the former is greeted by a host of familiar faces and it’s clear that there’s a lot of shared history between the people present. As initial conversations play out, it’s made apparent that the group split apart due to some traumatic event and the night is a kind of reconciliation of sorts. Except something is wrong. Or maybe nothing is wrong.

The movie takes its sweet time getting to the answers and prefers to steep in mystery and misdirection. There are multiple scenes where instinctively it feels like something is horribly off. You can feel the horror set-up, but the movie never gives you the satisfaction of letting you know if the set up was obvious on purpose to misdirect or if it’s the cliche proper. The ambiguity never lets up. This mystery is made more immersive because Will, our protagonist and main point of contact, shares the exact same concerns. It’s almost like he’s watched horror movies and gets antsy in the situations we’re nervous in. We don’t need to scream at the characters, when a character in the movie is willing to do it for us. Except it’s made apparent early on that Will may not be as reliable as we’d hope. The use of dream sequences, cuts from the past to reality, and the constant juxtaposition of Will’s uneasiness with the rest of the group’s general lax and nonchalant attitude to the situations presented had me questioning if I was the crazy one for relating to him.

This is a movie about survival in more ways than one. Given the circumstances leading to the fated gathering, it’s not hard to imagine that certain parties would be nervous about attending, especially Will. As certain moments unfold, that suspicion gets stronger. However, just like most of us are taught in real life, the characters politely disregard stranger moments in favor of maintaining social unity. If nothing’s too off, then it’s okay to acquiesce to some oddities to keep the peace. The question is just how odd to let things get before acting. Has society made us so fearful that we take even innocent actions as suspicious enough to pull the trigger on or are we so polite that we’d let people get away with blatantly problematic behavior without ever butting in? Both sides are real and something a lot of us have had to deal with. The movie toes the line between the concepts in a way that’s somehow tense in the moment but poetic to think about.

Despite being a movie mainly about a series of conversations, the movie never feels boring or uninteresting. The off-putting characters are strange enough to make you look twice but never do anything to verify suspicions. The more relatable characters constantly ease and mellow out suspicions, even if their outlook on events feels a bit absurd at times. It adds up to a slow, atmospheric mystery that builds to a sudden reveal at which point the movie goes at a breakneck pace to a stunning, well-earned conclusion.

REPORT CARD

TLDRThe Invitation is a mystery that doesn’t stop surprising till its very end. You know the story of a man and his girlfriend being invited to his ex-wife’s (and his former) house for a shindig after a traumatic event left the couple and their friends devastated is going to deliver something different, but the movie excels in making you ask what that is. The movie’s discussion of survival in relation to trauma and suspicion is interesting and has only become more relevant in our increasingly diverse society. If you can handle a long build-up and enjoy atmospheric horrors, this is for you.
Rating9.3/10
Grade A

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2020, 2020s, A+, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, Science Fiction, science fiction horror, Thriller, Year

Review: The Invisible Man (2020)

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Director(s)Leigh Whannell
Principal CastElisabeth Moss as Cecilia
Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Adrian
Aldis Hodge as Detective James
Harriet Dyer as Emily
Storm Reid as Sydney
Release Date2020
Language(s)English
Running Time 124 minutes

Leigh Whannell has never made a movie I haven’t enjoyed either as a screenwriter or director. The Insidious series is one of my favorite horror franchises and wouldn’t have been possible without him. 2018’s Upgrade made me appreciate how well he could move behind the camera and I was hyped up to see what he was going to do next. Then I saw the trailers for his latest feature, a remake of the iconic The Invisible Man. I’ll be honest when I say that I didn’t have faith the movie would be good. I thought the trailer spoiled too much and I thought the movie would be schlocky or boring as a result. If it wasn’t for my love of Whannell’s past works I would’ve given this a sit-out till reviews came out, like I did for Fantasy Island . Thankfully, I ended up seeing this opening night and left the theater blown away. Whanell has taken the core components of H.G Well’s beloved story and fitted them into a #MeToo movie that’s topical and nuanced without being patronizing.

The story follows Cecilia, an abused women who decides enough is enough and attempts to escape from her controlling and manipulative husband. Despite knowing that she’d escape based off the trailers , I still felt my knuckles clench during the opening sequence. It is pin drop silent as Emily Moss tip toes around the mansion that serves as her castle. You can feel her tension in every action, in every moment, in every hurried look around her settings to make sure that her husband isn’t near. Thankfully for the audience, it’s only an appetizer for what’s to come. After she manages to get out of the situation, she receives the news that her husband has apparently died from suicide and has left her a huge sum in his will. Soon after this, she settles into an apparently peaceful life, that is, until she realizes that her husband may not be dead and instead might be stalking her as an invisible man.

Whannell gets what makes invisibility scary and manages to push the concept in new, bold ways. There are moments where the camera pans from a character to a supposedly empty area. It lingers there almost hinting that the invisible assailant is in the same space. It’s almost like Whannell is taunting you to pick out where the man is. Sometimes there’s a discernible sign something is there. Other times there’s nothing. I felt myself becoming more paranoid and off kilter as I desperately tried to find him in the frame. It’s brilliant move that places you in Cecilia’s frame of mind. Once she realizes she’s being stalked, no space is a safe space. Any space could house “him” in it and she constantly has to be on high alert at all times. The ingenuity of panning to different kids of empty settings is we’re never made aware if the titular antagonist is actually there. We, the audience and Cecilia, might just be staring at nothing, scaring ourselves at the idea of what’s there. It creates an immersive atmosphere that should pull anyone in , regardless of gender or sex.

What gives the movie it’s unique subtext is also one of the main differences between it and the 1933 original- the focus on the perspective of the victim and not the assailant. We follow Cecilia the whole movie, so the fear of being pursued by an invisible assailant feels more personal as opposed to detached. There’s a stronger sense of culpability which makes us even more sympathetic of the main character’s plight. That’s why it feels so frustrating to see her rebuffed at every opportunity. Of course it would sound crazy to talk about how you’re being stalked by your invisible dead husband. Even when the malevolent entity is literally in the room invading her space and psyche, no one believes her. It’s a poignant #MeToo call , as Cecilia desperately tries to get anyone to believe her abuse and help her. The fear of losing ones mind from constant gaslighting compliments and accentuates the fear of invisibility. It gives the movie layers of textured horror.

At the heart of all of this is Elisabeth Moss’s performance as Cecilia. Holy shit. Moss is asked to do so much this movie and delivers on all fronts. Early on when she’s just escaping, she nails the dread and anxiety of leaving her abuser. The uncertainty of her precautions working shows in her face and her constant glances. When she thinks her husband is dead you can see her body language change. Her face brightens and you can feel the hope set in, which is why when she realizes that he may not be as dead as everyone says, it hurts. You can see the confidence tear as it’s replaced by anxiety and paranoia again. The fatigue, the weariness, the feeling of being absolutely done; it’s all there. There are huge scenes where she’s literally talking to nothing visible in the room, but you feel like someone else is there, because maybe there is. When she starts to fight back, you can feel the fight or flight in her desperation and/or her tenacity. She’s the emotional core of the movie and without such an amazing performance, the story would fail to be as effective of compelling.

There are a few story issues that threaten the underlying logic of the movie, but I didn’t notice them in the moment. Some of them feel like more serious realism issues . Others are more nitpicky. However, none of them detracted from my enjoyment or from the story in a meaningful way. If you’re someone who can’t turn the “but how could they even” part of your brain off, you might get frustrated with some of thriller sequences in the second act. Thankfully, I was able to ignore that inner voice and just let myself be transported into Whannell’s world.

Report Card

TLDRThe Invisible Man knocks it out of the park. It captures the essential ideas of the original movie, but manages to make them more topical for our day and age. The story of an abused wife being stalked by her supposedly dead, abusive husband manages to surprise more than the trailers would let on. Whannell manages to deliver some well earned scares alongside an incredibly relevant message in the #MeToo era.
Rating9.5/10
GradeA+

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2010s, 2016, B, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, science fiction horror, supernatural, Thriller, Year

Review: The Void

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Director(s)Steven Kostanski
Jeremy Gillespie
Principal CastAaron Poole as Daniel
Kenneth Welsh as Dr.Richard Powell
Kathleen Munroe as Allison
Daniel Fathers as Vincent
Mik Byskov as Simon
Release Date 2016
Language(s)English
Running Time90 minutes

When a group of people find themselves trapped in an isolated hospital , surrounded on the outside by hooded cultists and on the inside by grotesque Lovecraftian abominations, they’re forced to work with each other to survive the night. Even though the resulting story feels a bit contrived and convenient in how it plays out, it’s a satisfying homage to 80’s B Horror movies and knocks it out of the ballpark with its creatures effects. If you’ve been itching for cosmic horror that nails the aesthetic, this is it.

The movie shines when it comes to its presentation. It’s obvious how much effort when into the creature animatronics/effects. They’re dripping with that otherworldly dread that manages to get under your skin. The camera doesn’t shy away from showing these mangled monstrosities in all their glory. They’re not hidden away in the shadows or obfuscated by some lighting/visual effect. Likewise the makeup/prosthetic work done for the antagonist is captivating and perfectly feels otherworldly but serious. Once the third act starts, things just go fully bonkers and it’s a joy to watch the chaos unfold on the screen. There’s always something that catches your eye in how strange or revolting it looks. I’m not lying when I say that the aesthetic work here is on par with The Thing, and if that’s not an endorsement nothing is.

The story oozes with mystery from the way that character relationships are revealed to the meaning of certain images/visual motifs. It’s cool and provides for interesting discussion afterwards, but I thought that the story was missing too much of a solid base for the mystery to add nuance. The movie flirts with ideas about death ,rebirth, and moving forward but they’re barely given anytime to marinate , because they’re shrouded in imagery and never examined in a way that unfolds naturally. If the movie had spent just a few more moments explaining certain character decisions, then I think the the whole piece would have felt more connected in what it’s trying to accomplish. It’s not like the movie is shy about utilizing exposition. Most of the relationships between characters are told between strange expository dialogue and the majority of the “mystery” is revealed by the antagonist in the third act. However, in spite of giving us so much information, none of it ever amounts to anything that’d push the movie over the hump into something amazing. If you’re going to tell us this much, you might as well tell us just enough to feel like the story did it’s own unique thing. It’s a shame because I liked a lot of the surface level ideas the movie wanted to talk about but just couldn’t get into how vague and the sloppy the themes came across.

REPORT CARD

TLDRThe Void tells the story of a group of strangers who are forced to fend off a hooded cultists and Lovecraftian monsters. Thought the movie doesn’t push the genre forward and feels like it relies on mystery too much , it’s so visually stunning and well put together that you won’t find yourself nitpicking too much. This movie has some of the best creature effect work since John Carpenter’s The Thing, so if you’re looking for a fun and quick cosmic horror movie, look no further.
Rating8.1/10
Grade B

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2010s, 2017, B, Drama, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, supernatural, Thriller, Year

Review: Pyewacket

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Director(s)Adam MacDonald
Principal CastNicole Munoz as Leah Reyes
Laurie Holden as Mrs.Reyes
Release Date 2017
Language(s)English
Running Time90 minutes

Pywacket takes a family drama about the agitations of growing up and dealing with grief and combines it with slow burn supernatural horror in an attempt to highlight the consequences of emotional decision making and communicative mishaps. After a series of tense and emotionally fueled agitations with her mother, Leah decides enough is enough and wishes for the former’s death. Unbeknownst to her, dark forces were listening and she’s forced deal with the consequences of her ill-begotten wish.

The story takes a while to build up and the supernatural elements don’t really ratchet up till the third act. The core of the movie is the drama between Leah and her mom and their inability to deal with the loss of their father/husband. Each party has valid grievances but can never find a way to gauge the other on it. Watching them struggle to communicate hits real emotional nerves because it feels so real. Their disagreements feel commonplace and easy to locate in our own lives. It also helps that Munoz and Holden bring vulnerability and volatility in all of their interactions, so its easy to get lost in the emotional ebb and flow at the heart of the movie.

Parent-children relationships always involve a level of friction because of the nature of the bond. Parents have to love and care for their children while maintaining their own well-being, and children have to listen to their parents, grow, and figure out their own path in the world. Clash is inevitable and sometimes when passions get too heated, we want awful things to happen to the other person. It’s scary to think about how dark our heads can go with enough stress and damage . Thankfully for us, the passions are usually momentary- fleeting moments of malevolence lost in transit. The reason the horror in Pyewacket works is because it forces us to confront our worst fears- what if that awful thing we wished on someone actually happened?

Unfortunately, as interesting as the concept of the movie is , it’s executed without a lot of creativity. Supernatural events happen whenever the story determines they’re convenient and nothing is ever that jarring as a visual scare. I’m someone who likes scary sequences to have some kind of purpose or explanation, but the malevolent entity in this movie just acts when it wants to in random ways, so its hard to distinguish it from other scary oddities in other movies. Like, Pywacket is a witch’s familiar. There’s so much potential there, and instead it’s just creepy supernatural entity #945. Now to Macdonald’s credit, the third act has some tense sequences and terrifying moments of realization at what’s actually going on, but it feels a bit formulaic given the cool set up the story has going for itself. Sure there are no jump scares, but there’s also not some batshit super fun absurd out there ending like The House of the Devil. That feels like a shame.

The movie also tries to incorporate Leah’s friends into different scenes but none of them feel fleshed out or close to her at all. I was left wondering how any of them were friends or what the dynamic between them was. Especially with how some of the scenes progressed, I figured that they would be better incorporated into the scares or the themes, but they’re just kind of cast aside.

REPORT CARD

TLDRPyewacket is family drama about grief amplified with supernatural consequences. It’s a story about the dangers of emotional decision-making and the pitfalls of not communicating effectively. If you’re okay with a slow burn without any huge visceral payoffs, this is the movie for you. It may flub the third act a bit, but it tackles some very real fears and issues we all thinnk about.
Rating8.2/10
Grade B

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2010s, 2015, B+, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, Science Fiction, science fiction horror, supernatural, Thriller, Year

Review: The Similars

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Director(s)Isaac Ezban
Principal CastGustavo Sanchez Parra as Ulises
Cassandra Ciangherotti as Irene
Humberto Busto as Alvaro
Carmen Beato as Gertrudis
Santiago Torres as Ignacio
Fernando Becerril as Martin
Catalina Salas as Rosa
Release Date2015
Language(s)Spanish
Running Time 90 minutes

When 7 people find themselves trapped in at a bus station during a hurricane, tensions run high as eerie disturbances racket up. As the characters get more desperate to leave the situation, they realize that an “illness” is slowly spreading, threatening to infect every member of the group. What follows is a series of harrowing encounters and communicative breakdowns as the group tries to figure out the best way to weather the storm- physical and supernatural.

I’ve seen a lot of reviews compare this to The Twilight Zone, and while I can certainly see the references (hell Ezban talks about how the show influenced him), the movie has its own distinct voice and flair. The first half of the movie is tinged with a sense of mystery as the different members of the group slowly make their way into the situation and introduce themselves. As things go wrong, it’s hard to determine exactly what’s happening and why what is happening is happening the way that it is. When answers are revealed, the movie takes on a more direct horror like feeling with some genuinely chilling scenes of violence. By the time the movie ends, the realization of what happened truly hits, and the piece shines as something unique.

The movie has a lot to do with difference and the way we categorize people based on our perspectives of the world and the levers of power we have access to. Character groupings/alliances constantly change as each member learns more about others or gains a tactical advantage that lets them dictate the group’s pace. It’s an interesting exploration of human social interaction and the horror comes from determining at exactly what point the parameters for those interactions break. Are people a reflection of our perception along with some identifiable “objective” knowledge or is everything really just a matter of perspective and power? It’s an interesting topic and the movie broaches it from a terrifying vantage point.

This is the first movie I’ve seen with such a desaturated color palette. I was sure it was black-and-white to begin with, but after a few scenes realized that there were tiny splotches of color everywhere. It gives the already dreary movie an even bleaker feeling. The movie is left feeling gray with slight signs of life, and that aesthetic perfectly compliments the subject matter. The practical effects/makeup department also deserves kudos for nailing the aesthetic of the horrifying transformation the characters are trying to avoid. It feels distinct and real enough to get under the skin, without being so over the top so as to distract from the situation.

Given that the story is set during the Mexican student protests of 1968, before the Tlatelolco massacre, I expected politics to be more of a major feature of the movie. It’s not that it’s not utilized. Story beats line up with the beats of the protests and the parallels between the situations are definitely there. Character’s make mention of the turmoil and it’s even featured on the radio. However, it’s kind of cast aside to the background of the story, as another general way we otherize/categorize people. Its utilization feels more generic which is a shame, because the tidbits of intersection we get between horror and politics is interesting to mull over. I only wish the movie took the next step.

REPORT CARD

TLDRThe Similiars feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone with a distinct Mexican flair and sense of intrigue. The story of individuals trapped in a bus station, unable to leave and desperate to avert a mystery illness should keep fans of the genre intrigued from start to finish. Though I wish the movie went farther in incorporating its distinct political setting into the story, its exploration of the human element and what makes relationships tick is more than interesting to mull about by itself.
Rating8.9/10
GradeB+

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2010s, 2018, A+, Action, Fantasy, Grade, Horror, mystery, Review, review-movie, Thriller, Year

Review: Mandy

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Director(s)Panos Cosmatos
Principal CastNicholas Cage as Red
Andrea Riseborough as Mandy Bloom
Linus Roache as Jeremiah Sand
Release Date 2018
Language(s)English
Running Time121 minutes

This is a hard movie to review and not spoil because so much of the experience requires thorough explanation to properly make sense of the sheer scope of what’s being communicated. Mandy is almost best understood as two separate stories: one about a couple, Red and Mandy, and their tranquil domestic experience being ripped apart by a drugged out cult; second about Red’s revenge tour after the events of what happens. Both stories work to give each other weight and you come to appreciate how the movie is laid out after subsequent re-watches.

Cosmatos relishes in provoking the audience to think without ever preaching a lesson to them. There are strange, unexplainable images that’ll have you asking what everything really means. Certain shots bleed into other shots creating a surreal experience, as reality and fantasy switch without warning. In spite of this ambiguity, the movie never forgets to tell a compelling story, so the events that happen always make sense. The allegory/meaning never comes at the cost of the story, which gives the movie an edge over something like mother!, a movie I think tackles very similar subject matter. Yes, there’s a clear thriller revenge story, but underneath the surface Mandy is an exploration of humanity’s relation to transcendence (God) and Nature. Mandy, Red, and the leader of the cult, Jeremiah are all stand-ins for different explorations of these ideas and watching them clash and evolve seems to be a Cosmatos’s prophecy for our future. Saying any more would spoil the movie, but if you enjoy discussions of this sort or liked mother! ,this movie has a lot to offer.

The movie is a stunning audio-visual experience that’s dripping in personality. There are very distinct colors and hues that appear during key moments and the way those colors are tied and utilized in relation to each other lends itself to an poignant style that conveys a lot of meaning at the same time. During the third act, there are evocative animations that make use of the color scheme but also give the movie a distinct fairy tail feeling. There are fun over-the-top action scenes that make full use of the R Rating. Sound design is mesmerizing and the score always manages to lull you into the screen, no matter the circumstance.

Cosmatos is one of the few directors I’ve seen who seems to know how to channel Cage’s ferocity and absurd antics. He gives the actor the room to breathe and really take over the movie in the latter half of it. To Cage’s credit, he’s reserved, calm, and seems like he’s trying to recover from trauma in the first half of the movie, so his snap into his more familiar high energy acting patterns feels cathartic. Watching him absolutely lose it and throw all his energy into his revenge scheme is a hell of a lot of fun and is well worth the slower first half. Similarly, Riseborough gives off an life-affirming vibe from the moment she’s introduced and compliments Cage well. Their relationship is authentic and cute to watch develop, so later developments hit as hard as they need to.

My only issue with the movie is this one sub-plot that feels incredibly out of place. It’s the transition point between the two stories and ruins the immersive hypnotic feeling the movie had been building up till that point. It also dumps a lot of exposition which I thought was a bit too much information. It’s not all bad and has some funny moments, but I wish it didn’t happen so I could have just stayed in the zone from start to finish.

REPORT CARD

TLDRMandy is a neon infused revenge thriller about a man on a quest for vengeance looking for members of the drugged out gang that intruded on his peaceful, loving relationship. It’s entertaining, stylish, and dripping with subtext about humanity’s relationship to religion and the environment.
Rating9.7/10
Grade A+

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