Dir - Daniel Goldhaber
Overall: GOOD
Despite one or two semi-annoying plot conveniences present in order to propel things along, Cam, (the debut from director Daniel Goldhaber and screenwriter Isa Mazzei), is an effectively creepy tech horror outing. Apparently, Mazzei originally intended to make a documentary about the camgirl industry, (herself having previously been one), yet as there has already been an influx of those in recent years, her and collaborator Goldhaber wisely chose to craft a horror movie around such a premise instead. The script does not quite convincingly sell us on the fact that no one will help the odd yet easily provable predicament that Madeline Brewer's protagonist faces, but this does lead to concerning questions revolving around the sex industry in general. When not taken seriously, women in it can be easily preyed upon and left hanging without a safety net and parallel to this, one's identity can be lost amongst such a competitive, toxic environment. Mazzei maintains a strong, feminist angle and the movie does not exclusively denounce the camgirl lifestyle. Instead, it is part cautionary tale, part social commentary, and part good ole spooky and disturbing horror movie, all done rather inventively.
Dir - Claire Denis
Overall: MEH
The latest from French writer/director Claire Denis, High Life is the type of tranquil science fiction that unmistakably hearkens back to Andrei Tarkovsky's landmark Solaris. Rather exclusively concerned with weighty, human-centered themes in place of compelling storytelling, Denis indulges in a profound level of patience that will easily perplex most viewers. The film is not dialog heavy to begin with and when most of it is spoken in a barely intelligible mumble, this coupled with the ethereally vague, non-linear plotting makes for a challenging ordeal. Denis is too good of a filmmaker to let such a lackadaisical approach to her material be for naught though. Concerning the characters' hopeless isolation and crumbling turmoil under such a strain, the fact that the movie assuredly feels its one-hundred and ten minute running time is entirely intentional. It is beautifully photographed by Yorick Le Saux and the design work by Danish/Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is appropriately lived-in and unassuming. The film ultimately does not have enough unique ideas to justify how demanding it is to experience, but it is a commendable work that may reward those with the diligence to try and unearth what its layers may be hiding.
Dir - Anthony Scott Burns
Overall: MEH
While it seems positively ridiculous that we have arrived in an era in horror banality that film's are getting remade in their native country a mere eight years later, the Ghost in the Machine redo Our House is not altogether regrettable. Ignoring the fact that its mere existence is rather unnecessary at best, there are the standard issues with modern horror in a staggering amount of loud jump scares, predictable supernatural set pieces, and a severe lack of anything remotely frightening taking place. Some of this may come down to the user-friendly, PG13 rating which is conventionally streamlined to follow most of the rules. That said though, director Anthony Scott Burns and British screenwriter Nathan Parker offer up a few somewhat surprising upsides. For one, the characters actually let each other in on the ghostly activity they witness almost immediately, making for a consistent stream of logical behavior from them. Though it takes quite a long time for anything spooky to start happening, this benefits the story as it provides ample opportunity to make everyone likable which they thankfully remain throughout. It stays too cookie-cutter to make it anything close to memorable, but there are far worse offenders being regularly churned out so it is also not nearly as big of a waste as it easily could have been.
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