Dir - Issa López
Overall: GOOD
A strong offering from Mexican filmmaker Issa López, Tigers Are Not Afraid, (Vuelven), is an unflinching and dark fantasy/narco-crime film hybrid. The title is frequently referenced throughout and serves as the steady theme of overcoming extreme childhood trauma. The cast is almost exclusively focused on orphaned kids whose parents have been picked-off by the cartel and now have to rather brutally fend for themselves. Referencing the Narcosatanists and top to bottom corruption, López does not shy away from the very real and disturbed lifestyle these children find themselves unwillingly in and it is all quite heartbreaking and uncompromising in its depiction of hopeless violence at the hands of nearly every adult they encounter. The movie certainly works best in this very grounded context. When it comes to the supernatural fantasy elements though, things are very ill-defined and almost haphazardly thrown in. Thankfully the presentation is so strong and the movie is emotionally powerful enough to forgive certain moments where it does not seem to know how to logically weave its horror genre components into things.
Dir - Brian Taylor
Overall: GOOD
This genuinely fun and gruesome comedy from Brian Taylor has him reuniting with an always gonzo Nicolas Cage after Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance from six years prior. Working away from his frequent collaborator Mark Neveldine this time, Mom and Dad is still done in the trademark frantic, combative style of Taylor's other works. It perfectly suites the material in this regard where the majority of the film indulges in delirious violence, this time set in the white picket fence, soccer parent-friendly suburbs. Cage of course is ideally present and doing essentially what people hire him to do at this point which is to dial it up to eleven and perform as if he is trying to simultaneously terrify and amuse every other character in the movie as well as everyone at home watching him. Taylor's screenplay only offers up a vague, deeper meaning of domesticated stress and crushed dreams manifesting themselves in a blind rage towards the objects of such torn feelings of disappointment, meaning one's very own children. It is more focused on clever set pieces and a consistent tone of dark humor that forgives its rather bare bones narrative and borderline sudden finale. For Cage fans alone it is a must and thankfully there is enough else present to warrant sufficiently disturbed giggles.
Dir - Demián Rugna
Overall: GOOD
The latest and somewhat unique, supernatural genre film Terrified, (Aterrados) from Argentinian writer/director Demián Rugna, plays many of its cards rather interestingly. While it does feature some standard poltergeist activity, psychic experts, a conventional horror movie score, and a jump scare hither and tither, Rugna's script fuses these with a rather singular premise. The story is not concerned with properly explaining any of the highly spooky goings-ons, but the idea of multiple hauntings on a single block bringing in multiple paranormal researchers and detectives on board and then told at various intervals in flashback does not really follow the standard point A to point B plotting for such films. The set pieces themselves are frequently creepy and benefit the keen viewer who does not blink often and pays particular attention to what is lurking in the background. Besides parts of it coming off rushed and a few curious reactions from actors who do not seem to be as terrified as they logically should be, it is impressively a few notches above average and done with enough unorthodox tweaks to recommend.
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