Dir - Scott Derrickson
Overall: MEH
A schlock-fueled cliche fest from writer/director Scott Derrickson, Deliver Us from Evil fuses demonic possession with detective action in a loud, ugly, bloated mess of all genres involved. An adaptation of Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool's novel Beware the Night, (be it in the loosest of senses), this is a typical Jerry Bruckheimer production where subtlety is not invited to the party yet big, dumb, and stupid gets a front-row seat. Eric Bana lays on the Boston accent to parody levels, (perhaps because Mark Wahlberg was initially slated to have the same role), yet he and an impressively cut Joel McHale make for an amusing buddy cop duo that partakes of the usual crude banter with each other for comedic purposes. Each other plot point continues to read like a laundry list of hackneyed tropes like the PTSD-jaded officer who has turned his back on god, his neglected family that comes second after the job, screaming possessed maniacs who look like they are auditioning for a haunted house attraction, volume-jacked screechy monster noises, a black guy shoehorned in to deliver the equivalent of a "Ah, heeellll nah" quip for the audience, and a ridiculous exorcism on steroids that is laughable instead of remotely frightening. It is crap that is also played straight, (which is usually the worst kind of crap), but the production is slick and everyone on board seems to be enjoying the paycheck at least.
Dir - Casey La Scala
Overall: MEH
Clumsily fusing found footage motifs with dogmatic preaching and an end of days scenario, The Remaining is neither scary nor thought-provoking. The second directorial effort from producer Casey La Scala, it begins exactly the way that Paco Plaza's REC 3: Genesis did with a video diary from a wedding; a wedding that is interrupted by the biblical Rapture instead of a zombie outbreak. Granted, such a set-up may only seem derivative to genre fans who are privy to Plaza's then recent movie and in that sense, the sudden, otherworldly shift here makes for a sufficiently apocalyptic jumping-off point. Unfortunately, the film spins its wheels from there, with the standard cinematic structure occasionally broken up by characters making confessions into video cameras or filming things in night vision. This is a daft choice, as if La Scala wanted to make a found footage movie, could not wholly justify it, and instead of just abandoning the gimmick entirely, decided to shoehorn in several scenes with it anyway. Things progressively get heavy-handed with generic musings and decrees about faith and "making a choice" to serve the lord or whatever, leading to a clunky climax that seems more like a Christian PSA than a fittingly gripping proclamation of mankind's doom.
Dir - Nick Szostakiwskyj
Overall: MEH
Not to be confused with the Led Zeppelin song of the same name, Black Mountain Side is the sophomore effort from independent filmmaker Nick Szostakiwskyj and it wants to be John Carpenter's The Thing too much to uniquely carve out its own niche in isolated snowbound horror. Shot on location in remote cabins in British Columbia, any Carpenter fans will put together where the story is going long before it gets there as Szostakiwskyj plays off of identical paranoia themes where a group of men, (and only men), are miles cut-off from civilization and begin turning on each other, with body mutilation also playing a significant role. More supernatural and/or psychological in nature, the particular brand of madness that befalls this group of archaeologists seems to be related to an ancient artifact, but the specifics are kept murky as everyone is effected differently. The most puzzling aspect is a walking deer creature that speaks like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, ominously prattling on in certain character's ears in a fashion that would drive anyone bananas. Everything is played straight from a stylistic standpoint which unfortunately gives the movie a sterile presentation that never leans into its more disturbing and would-be surreal elements. The ending is abrupt and perhaps unintentionally silly as well, making the whole thing competent yet unremarkable.
No comments:
Post a Comment