Film Review : the Shape of Water

Remake the Creature From the Black Lagoon with the same thoughtful quirk of "Amelie" and you are sure to win over the critics and win every award. Guillermo del Toro has made it no secret that he pulled inspiration from the Creature, but it is almost impossible to make a movie about a "mer-man" and not. While the Creature in this movie is as stunning visually as any of the things that go bump in the night, this is about as much of a horror movie as "Twilight", This time the forbidden love is not necrophilia, but bestiality.  I am sure it will be implied that this is making a deeper social commentary, about racism, what it really asks is ..."is it ok to have sex with animals?" The movie insists he is more human than his looks might suggest. Is he really more sentient than a chimpanzee? By he we are referring to the monster and not the director. While I am not opposed to human on monster sex the context here is a little more awkward as it's not just getting raped by tentacles.

The acting is great with Michael Shannon pretty much stealing the show with his fingers rotting black. The story is endearing, though the movie  gambles with your suspension of disbelief. Would the bathroom really fill up with water like that ?Who would have thought the cold war was really a race to send a mer-man into space? The movie is well paced. It keeps things tense when needed as the clock begins to tick. This is not the first time we have seen the role reversed and the audience was asked who is the monster and the answer has been the human. The most horrific thing the monster did was eat a cat and someone got scratched by mistake. I think he defended himself as needed in fact like the Hunchback he probably took too much shit and I do not think it was a coincidence he was chained on the dais like he was in the one scene. There are plenty of winks to the old classic monster movies . Like this movie most of which are not considered horror movies by today's standards.

The only mis-step was the musical fantasy. I am not sure if that was a wink to the Creature from the Black Lagoon musical that tanked or Jackson's King  Kong. It was silly and I was the only person laughing out loud in the theater at it. I went to an art theater so every one else was watching it like they were in an art gallery and trying to ponder the deeper racial issues before going homse to wank off into a PBR. So was it a good movie? Was it worth the wait? I can say unlike most movies I am glad I paid the $ 11.00 ticket, I think this is my new movie rating system how much was it worth. it's an endearing and cute $11.00, $15.00 might have given me buyers remorse. I have a friend who said it was one of the 20 twenty movies now , that is an exaggeration as I can think of at least 50 that are better.

Movie Review : "Blade Runner 2049 "

The fact this sequel came decades after the fact is weird. They are large shoes to fill. The first film is one of the best Sci-fi films ever made. That's an impossibly high bar for a film to live up to.It drags, ins some place so this film is far from flawless. It is Beautifully filmed. This time around there is a stark more post-apocalyptic feel, than the dark sleek landscape that was bleeding neon on the screen in the first film. There is a little of that urban landscape, but they wander much further from in this movie and it begins to feel more like an installment of Mad Max. What I liked the most about the first film is how it feels like a Phillip K Dick book reads. “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” was the first Dick novel I read so that factors into the nostalgia.

The acting was hit or miss. Harrison lived up to his legacy and steals the show. Ryan Gosling makes more sense as a robot. His action is just as stiff , but here it works. Jared Leto feels like he wants to be Robert De Niro from Angel Heart, and though I nodded off a few times his motives in regards to what he was going to do once he got this child, were unclear. It was a better performance than ‘Suicide Squad” , but he seems to have been on auto pilot since “Dallas Buyers Club”. The relationships with the a.i’s is strained at best. The synching of the two girls was a great spectacle that I wish I had been high for , but didn’t carry much emotionally. Perhaps that was the point, for cyborg relations to be detached.

This is not an action movie or space opera. The violence that does occur works best when it is on a smaller scale, like the murder in the police office. The larger scale the violence is the more hollywood it feels. The deliberate fake outs work into the overall story they are trying to tell and doesn’t feel contrived in it’s ah-ha reveal. It ends with hope rather than bleakness, which might not be what I prefer from my dystopias , but it works for the movie. Scott has said that the world of Alien ties into Blade Runner. He also said of the next Alien installment that will tie Covenant into the first film, that he wanted to focus more on the a.i’s so this is the perfect chance for him to blend those two worlds. But as far as how this movie stand on it’s own. Perhaps it is not worth the sting of 16 dollar tickets, but is certainly worth seeing for the cost of a matinee as it lends itself to a big screen, there are some scenes that would be worthy of IMAX. Not the best movie ever made, and the jury is still out on how it will fare against other movies 2017 still holds. If you are a fan of the first film then it is highly recommended, even if you are suffering from re-boot, re-make fatigue.

Movie Review : "mother !"

Though the trailers I saw in theaters for “Mother” tried to sell this as a horror movie  with lines like “You won’t forget where you were when you saw Mother” (of course not you were in the god damn movie theater) it is not a horror , though it plays on similar sensations as a horror movie. The buzz surrounded the film due to the fact it was directed by Darren Aronofsky , who also brought us “Requiem For A Dream” and “the Black Swan”. The latter being almost more of a horror movie than this film. It feels more like a Lars Von Trier film and has a similarly unsettling chaos in the surreal narrative as “Antichrist”. Funny enough the heavy handed religious layers make Jennifer Lawrence seem like the Anti-christ when she pretty fuck says “Fuck You” to the concept of forgiveness and burns it all down.

I am sure the Bible Thumpers who also double as hipsters will start trying to make the most out of a bad situation when they are sorting through the Biblical outline, that will have you going “Ok, there was Cain and Abel, now when is the flood coming?” But the the films real message is actually what makes it endearing to me. It gives Christianity the middle finger and asks the dumbfounded audience “Do you see how fucking crazy this concept of religion is?”  when you take those concepts and apply them literally rather than metaphorically, they whole things is beyond nuts and this film paints a picture of that. So in this rejection of the Christ concept it’s almost as satanic as “the Witch”, but is far from being as good as that movie.

So what of the horror elements? Well there is an element of the invasive neighbors from “Rosemary’s Baby”. Aronofsky even admitted that “Rosemary’s Baby” was an influence on this movue.  If the thought of having tons of uninvited guests makes you have an anxiety attack then this movie will terrify you. There is some psychological terror as Jennifer Lawrence’s character loses her shit. I did like the Madonna to whore descent, which was almost a rape scene, and there was a dynamic at times that reminded me of ‘Straw Dogs” until Javier  Bardem’s character begins much like the path the Church took to believe his own hype. Even though this was not a horror movie, it was not a bad film as it made me feel something, bad movies don’t make me feel anything. I support the fact this movie is a middle finger to Christianity and think more movies should have the balls to step out and do that. So it was a success in that regard. If you are looking for an art house horror movie , you will have to wait until Lars Von Trier releases  his serial killer film “the House that Jack Built”.

Movie Review : "Cult of Chucky"

I will be the first to admit the Chucky movies have not always been my favorite. The first Child’s Play was good for what it was, when I saw it. Bride of Chucky for all it’s cheese was still the only sequel of note up to this point. Now fast forward to current day where I have a 7 year old little girl who likes Chucky as of all the other slashers or as she called them as a child “trick tricks” he is the most digestible to her, though she does have a fascination with Ghostface from the Scream movies, yet another horror franchise that panders to people who might not normally like horror.  So I watched the Curse of Chucky with her and noticed it was well made and I would add scarier than Cult of Chucky.

Cult of Chucky in terms of cinematic quality or eye-candy is exceeds the previous film. There a moments of camera that are quite pretty, some slow motion scene and bright vibrant blood. Yet there is never a sense of menace. I am not sure if I just could not get invested in the characters. But the stakes never felt high enough to get scared. This was an entertaining movie. It falls quite short of another retro revival in “Leatherface”, but for what it is went above and beyond in terms of technical ability. The premise of the movie, I suppose if I did spoiler alerts this would be one, is that they supernatural element is dialed up as the Spirit of Chucky and inhabit humans or multiple dolls at once. The franchise winks at itself bringing Jennifer Tilly in to reprise her role as Tiffany, though she does more in her human form.

The movie is set in a mental institution which makes most of the characters ripe for the picking. The depictions of mental illness are pretty stereotyped and I think by taking a more clinical approach they could have given the movies more depth and had you more invested in the characters. The movie instead chose to run off of the novelty in the concept. When things take a turn in the films final act, there are somethings that are not totally resolved. If it sounds like I am being harsh on the film , the truth is this movie was better than it had any right to be considering the premise and the legacy of the other films. The door was of course left wide open for yet another sequel which I would be fine with considering how well they did with this one. I would be highly suspect of anyone who puts this at the top of their horror movie of the year list, but think it certainly holds it own against things like Insidious sequels.

Movie Review : "Leatherface"

It makes me happy that there is more worth writing about in horror over the course of the past month. This gives me hope that I might not be sitting here staring at a blank page when it comes to making an end of the year list. Reboots, and Prequels are normally not worth a shit. This movie however was fun, well-written and did not re-spin the same shit some of the other Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies have. We have even been done somewhat of an origin story before with the re-make. I think this movie falls in line with the established mythology of the character and doesn’t try to to give it any kind of a spin or shove some modern message down your throat. They gave just enough of the perverse twist this movie needed without trying to hard or playing it too Hollywood. It holds up to my no survivors rule when it comes to horror. Horror needs to be hopeless and the tension is waiting for the other shoe to drop. They fake you out in terms of who you think is going to become Leather Face until the film’s third act. The fake out is pretty heavy handed , but well done.

The gore is well done. Perhaps even more for gore hounds than not , as sometime in the original movie the violence was more implied where things get pretty graphic here. I think the ruthless nature of this film is what helps keeping this in perspective and helps with the story that they are trying to tell. While I like torture porn, I don’t feel this falls into that sub-genre, though it is firmly a slasher. The only obvious thing about the movie to me is that it feels a lot like “the Devil’s Rejects”. Granted those Rob Zombie movies were heavily influenced by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, it feels like those albums where Black Sabbath was trying to sound like Alice in Chains .Even to the point of having a bad ass demented female Anti- Hero like Baby.  This did not diminish my appreciation of the film.

The damsel in distress,who is the film’s by definition protagonist.Can be a mixed bag when you are sorting through how and when you want her to die. I think her fate could have held a little more impact in regards to the psychological journey of becoming Leatherface. I can always judge how effective the flow of a movie is based on how fast I get through it when watching it casually at home and I plowed through this in two sitting. I think some of the menace could have been increased in regards to what the protagonist endures and that she should have been broken down on more levels , but that is just my wishful thinking, the reality is I don’t have any major complaints with this movie and think it does what it set out to do very well.

Film Review : "Raw"

Here is the problem I run into when prospecting horror movies. I read something that says people are passing out at film festivals and being carted off in ambulances because it is so gruesome and then when I go to watch it the movie is border line horror more of a dark independent film. So what I have to remind myself is that the people who go to film festivals like Cannes to begin with would not know a horror movie unless it fucked them up the ass and are such goddamn pussies they could sit through the first Human Centipede. So needless to say my hopes and dreams in regards to “Raw” were very high. The French film was well made. The acting was above average even for art house fare. It would be hard to call this a horror movie if it were not for the subject matter . Cannibalism.

It is really more of a coming of age film. The liberal veterinary college they go to is filled with all of the people I detest in southern Europe. Lots of pretense. They make terrorism seem like a good way to thin the herd. So they are fodder fit to be eaten. I am not sure if this was the point of the movie, but it was one of my take aways. I need horror to be scary. Sometimes this comes by way of tension. There is a tension to the movie. Sometimes they hyper realism, adds to this and makes you feel a little uncomfortable at times. So it is hard for me to say this is a bad movie, though it does drag at points, but it does illict that feeling from you so it that way it certainly succeeds when not being full of it self in the way you almost expect french films to be.

With that French atmosphere comes a sexual element. Here the blood is almost a lubricant for the complicated social circles these two sisters have . There is a love hate relationship with these two sisters and the fight they eventually get it feels like a little bit of a release. We have seen cannibalism portrayed on screen in various ways, but not in this same way. To compare it to the Green Inferno, would be absurd though both movies have cannibals . so a movie like “We Are What We Are” might be more fitting though the latter is more of a horror film. 2017 has been more sparse in terms of horror. I was not able to even cobble together much of a top ten list last year, but might have more hope this year, so you take what you can get. It depends on how much you like French Films and what you want from horror when it comes to asking if this film will give you what you want. I am glad I did not pay 11 dollars to see if ,but it was not a bad movie, just not the kind of movie I was hoping for.

Movie Review : "It"

Friday night my daughter and were talking about what her mom was going to do I told her she was going to go see “It”.Because 7 year olds know everything My daughter replied “No she is going to see a movie about a scary clown. I then tried to explain to her what the title of said scary clown movie was . But if you are wanting to see a movie about scary clowns you might be better off with the current season of American Horror Story. As “it’ doesn’t limit itself to just being about a scary clown and the bigger more sinister picture is well painted . itself among the some of the better Stephen King adaptations to film, this movie falls short of the Shining or the Mist in terms of scares , but has a lot of heart.This is only the first chapter so if you go in wanting to for them to return to Derry as adults then you better stock up on pop-corn and wait for the next movie. Generally speaking I think the director nailed the personalities of kids. This was the studio putting a ton of faith in a director whose other work “Momma” was luke warm. This film does a better job than the Tim Curry tele-vision miniseries. The big question you are really going to ask here is how does Pennywise stack up?

So you are asking Bill Skarsgard to stuck up against Tim Curry. If you strip away any cgi that was augmenting Skarsgard’s performance and kept it do who delivered their lines better than Curry would win.This also outline’s one of the movie strengths that blows the nostalgia horror fans are known for hanging onto out of the water. That is no saying we need to re-make “The Exorcist” of “the Shining” with today’s effects. In fact since this was originally a made for television mini-series and not a full length theatrical release then technically it’s not a remake. So it’s 2017 and has a bigger budget than the televised version, so it looks better. This is not just from a effects perspective there are some well placed shots, most of these you have seen in the trailer. Though a few like right before Pennywise starts dancing in his lair, so effective.

Pennywise never goes full out bug in this version, just like we are once again not shown the kids giving it to Beverly in sewer, I think that is something you can only see in Second Life. The sexual tension was more present. Not just with the kids, but a few of the townspeople and her father. Much like the lesson Joss Whedon taught us in Buffy that highschool is a terrifying place. The early adolescent world of these kids is just as scary as anything they encounter in the sewers. So it is much truer to King’s vision in this regard. I think the maniacal head shaking charge we see repeated by Pennywise was the only part of the movie I did not like, though the inclusion of the Wolf-man the protagonist sees in the book would have been a nice touch but perhaps Universal had too tight a reins on those rights. I haven’t read the book since it’s release in 1986. But the impact the book had still made me able to weigh it against the film and able to chant”he thrusts his fist against the posts, and still insists he sees the ghosts” which could have been given a little more context. So even the overblown drama of the Hollywood moments was not able to diminish the films entertainment value. If you are a horror fan you might find it lacking in the scares department, but it’s still a fun ride for Stephen King Fans.

Movie Review : Split

Not too far removed from "Silence of the Lambs" in terms of the depth of horror. It is a much more intense character study than the Hannibal films. The intent is unclear where Hannibal is more calculated and some of this uncertainty is what makes the movie more unnerving.   M. Night Shyamalan comes pretty close to breaking away from the Rubix cube like formula we find in most of his films and finally delivers a horror movie. He got scary with "the 6th Sense" but takes it in a more disturbing direction that could have easily gone the way of torture porn, which at times I hoped for. It was very reserved when it comes to the violence. In truth the movie really hangs upon James McAvoy's career defining performance that has changed the game as to how you will see him going forward. Insanity is a key component to his character who has a multiple personality disorder . We mainly see the more dominant ones.

Until the end he really doesn't use much in the way of make up to change personalities, in fact he might wear a woman's clothes , but it is all in how he uses the nuances of her personality to transform him self. He captures the energy and innocence of a child and really makes you forget about Professor X or any other of his roles. They get right to the dirty work and prove you don't have to waste too much time trying to make you sympathetic to the victims in order to make you feel the danger. Even the more don't go in the basement escape moments are fluid and make sense given the protagonists are mainly teenager's aside from his therapist.

One thing I feel separates great horror movies from mediocre is the ability to make the most out of beautiful shots and create something more compelling than a blood bath.  Shyamalan proves that "the 6th Sense" was not a fluke, and despite the movies pg-13 rating creates something that draws you in visually as well as emotionally. Sure it was a little cheesy to tie it into "Unbreakable". Some times the over the top transformations McAvoy makes are even a little funny though it is disarming to the character in the story being told. If you like the more suspenseful side of horror , I think this movie will be dark enough for you and if you like "psycho" characters then this is a must see.

the Top 10 Horror Movies of 2016

Here are my top 10 horror movies of 2016. This year the terror was much more human. Also there is some hope for the genre as last year was not able to scrape together enough movies to even make a list, so while the small screen is still more dominant there might be some hope for the years to come.

10 - 31

This movie was fun , which is much more than you can say for "Lords of Salem". I sat and watched this all in one sitting and like the fact the ending did not play by the rules. Rob Zombie was starting to get his groove back, so here was his take on the Purge or Saw type films. 

9- Hush

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was how the maniac's motives were so unclear. Otherwise it took the home invasion trope and did some interesting things with it. Think it worked better for me than "Intruders". 

8- Jeruzalem- 

I liked how this movie updated the whole found footage thing. Sure some of the CGI needed some work when it came to the monsters. In many ways it owed more to "Hostel" than other horror movies , but some how it all kept me watching , which says more than the other horror movies I slept through this year. 

7- Under the Shadow

While nothing like "It Follows" it did follow the path that things are not going to work out so well for every one and created a looming sense of unease and dread, that went much further than some of the pop fare that worked out CGI and jump scares. 

6-Holidays

When this anthology worked it really knocked it out of the ball park, Christmas, Easter and St Patrick's day all earned it this place on the list. Halloween was one of the more disappointing moments. But overall it earned multiple feelings of discomfort which is what I want from Horror. 

5- Neon Demon 

If David Lynch had decided to re-make "Black Swan" with a few changes like, turning the ballet dancers to models in Hollywood, then I am sure the results would have been very similar. If you are getting compared to David Lynch you are doing something right. It didn't get into the more typical horror moods until the 3rd act, but earned it's spot here. 

4-the Purge : Election Year

This could have been a worse political statement. Instead it worked off what made 'Anarchy" work without trying to hard to re-create it or shove "Black Lives Matter" down your throat. It was hinted at , but despite the title handled in a very tasteful way. 

3- What We Become

The sole zombie movie on here, as predicted the zombie genre is pretty much dead in theaters with the Walking Dead as the only real source for that. This film did manged to breathe a little life into the genre and did something that we have not seen done to death. 

2- Southbound

This anthology was not done in the manner we saw in the VHS films. They tied it together much like "Pulp Fiction" . Sure the specter things could have been better , but all the other elements brought together the dread in a very creative manner. 

1- The Witch 

There was no contest here, this wasn't just the best horror movie , but the best movie. It measured up against anything I saw and could be more deserving of an Oscar than any of the movies we saw at the Golden Globes. Black Phillip was tremendous and better than most of the actors in Hollywood.