Dir - Billy O'Brien
Overall: MEH
This adaptation of the Dan Wells novel of the same name, (which was the first in the John Wayne Cleaver series), suffers unfortunately from too extreme of a logical leap on the part of the audience. Nearly all of the events that transpire in it are hinged upon the believably that a person would witness a wanted serial killer in action and then proceed to tell absolutely nobody about it, (least of all any authority figures, for months. Granted it is established that said character is a diagnosed schizophrenic with an already existing fascination with murders, but he still seems horrified, concerned, and makes a number of attempts to stop him. Sooooooo why exactly are you just quietly profiling him instead of turning him in? Granted the serial killer in question is not "normal" in more ways than one, but it is still an aggravating nag that gets in the way. The tone doe not really work either as more moments are awkward than darkly amusing as intended and most of it is played deadly serious. Making the supernatural mythology of what is actually happening more of an afterthought than a primary focus does not really work since the main character we spend the entire movie with still comes off as underwritten in the end. This just kind of leaves I Am Not a Serial Killer in a murky, conflicting state.
Dir - Na Hong-jin
Overall: MEH
Quite a bold offering from South Korean writer/director Na Hong-jin, The Wailing, (Gokseong), gets a bit messy and not just from the amount of blood and filth that it routinely throws onto the screen. Surpassing the two and a half hour mark, juggling tones somewhat clumsily at times, and very gradually shrouding its narrative in ambiguity, it leaves a lingering impression that is equal parts frustration and confusion as well as fascination over its construction. The extensive running time is certainly felt with bothersome dialog involving practically every character not giving straight answers to any questions. This brings a level of monotony to the proceedings where the plot stagnates instead of moving forward. The fact that much of the earlier half is awkwardly comedic and even one scene near the end involving a battle with a zombie, (or something), comes off as slapsticky both make for a confusing clash against incredibly tense and heart-wrenching moments everywhere else. It is not so much that the film is more problematic than successful, it is just that its issues are complex and make for an end product whose strangeness cannot be positively classified as intentional.
Dir - Gore Verbinski
Overall: MEH
Returning to horror after a decade and a half of several blockbusters, (including three in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), Gore Verbinski's A Cure for Wellness is an over-long smorgasbord of various films that reference everything from classic mad scientist romps, to Roger Corman's Gothic works of the 60s, to The Marathon Man, to some of the elaborate visual design on Guillermo del Toro, to good ole despicable torture porn. Even as the script revs up and gets more and more ambitious as it goes on, it is still a lot to take at a hundred and forty-six minutes. As you could guess, the set-up is more intriguing than the pay off; a lot more in fact. By the time the third act starts, the monotony of stumbling around a clearly diabolical wellness retreat whose mostly elderly and filthy rich residents cannot/will not leave is ultimately revealed to have been pointlessly dragged out. It certainly does not help that the twists are predictable virtually the whole way through. Since there keeps being lots of minutes left whenever the film tries to sway you, any tension evaporates as we grow tired of waiting for it all to actually wrap up. It is a very common structure with a very common, underwhelming outcome, all of which you could admit at least looks sleek and fancy along the way.
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