Dir - Denis Villeneuve
Overall: GREAT
By a knowingly broad, somewhat overreaching definition, Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of José Saramago novel The Double is a horror-ish movie. Canadian Villeneuve has been hitting the big time as of late, working with A-listers and taking on the Blade Runner and Dune franchises now. Enemy was a ways into his career and his second film in a row to feature Jake Gyllenhaal. Though it was critically appreciated like pretty much all of Villeneuve's works have been, it has slipped a bit under the radar in the realm of "WTF" movies. There is plenty to talk about here but that is really only if you are having a discussion with someone who has seen it already. Javier Gullón's screenplay spells nothing out in plain English, but the mindfuck that the film is stays consistently interesting as opposed to pretentiously aggravating. Clues are all over the place, (none of which seem haphazardly put there to make film-goers endlessly chaise their tales), with musical and visual cues signifying when things are more sinister than they appear. Repeated viewings will reap rewards in this case and the slow, surreal, and challenging pace makes it quite psychologically pleasing to say the least.
Dir - Marina de Van
Overall: MEH
Another "little girl with evil powers" movie, French filmmaker Marina de Van's Dark Touch is rather unremarkable. It comes down to insipid specifics that apparently seem unavoidable when children are your protagonists. Eight-year-old Niamh, (which is Irish for "Neve", judging by everyone in the movie pronouncing it that way), is traumatized and quiet with everyone, which makes her that creepy kid that all the other kids make disapproving glares at. Because her abilities are what they are and manifest the way that they do, it is very, very difficult to find it interesting to see this yet again in a horror story. By comparison, there have been hundreds if not thousands of slasher movies and even more ghost stories endlessly told yes, but the premise here just hits too many exact points to be absorbing. Making matters worse, the final act is not sufficiently built-up and comes off as very random and unfocused. Throw in a few other questionable choices, (how do two kids in the same town stay missing for days when Niamh goes missing and gets located almost immediately and isn't it illegal to film those bathtub scenes?), and you get a hefty pile of scripted errors. Both Stephen King adaptations Firestarter and obviously Carrie are two other films that play the same sport and are worth one's time far more if we were to choose.
Dir - Andrés Muschietti
Overall: MEH
Another largely disappointing horror film with Guillermo del Toro's name attached in executive producer form is Andrés Muschietti's debut Mama. Sure there is one really good scene in it, (involving some playful spookiness), the cast is admirable, (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones and Jessica Chastain are always a good idea), and the initial premise is fine, but the ball is dropped nearly everywhere else. Obnoxious sound design and startlingly poor visual effects usually do not thwart a film by themselves, but they come as close as possible here. With such issues in place, it is not to Muschietti's benefit that the ending almost beats you in the head with said problems. When most horror movies build up to the make-or-break finale then, this one was simply doomed. Though the more overarching setback largely lies in the film's staleness as a safe, genre excursion as well as too many million-to-one details that only lazily-written fiction partakes of. Imaginary friends, identical twins, mental asylums, digging up dead bones, major plot points coming via dreams, and so on and so on. None of that stuff is horrible, but everything else going on had to be of a much higher caliber to give this a pass.
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