Dir - Oz Perkins
Overall: GOOD
Three films into his directorial career and it is safe to say that Oz Perkins has established an auteur style of his own. Working exclusively in the horror genre thus far, his shamelessly stylized take on the Hansel and Gretel Grim fairytale, (here changed to Gretel & Hansel), is arguably the grimmest cinematic interpretation yet. Hauntingly photographed with some inventive set design, cinematographer Galo Olivares makes imposing use out of literal darkness, which is only contrasted by Autumn colors, (sans one barren and effectively creepy cement basement). The story primarily focuses on the Gretel title character who is twice the age of her brother Hansel and Sophia Lillis' narration helps provide the film with its story-like vibe. Alice Krige's diabolical witch is the most imposing figure though, unmistakably creepy from the moment she emerges and only growing more so as things ominously progress. It is perhaps a little too heavy on its sonic and visual aesthetics at the sacrifice of a more relatable story, but it is still properly eerie and effectively put together.
Dir - Egor Abramenko
Overall: MEH
While not particularly brimming with originality, Russian director Egor Abramenko's alien horror debut Sputnik is at least respectably made. Set in the early 80s during the still-swinging Cold War, Oleg Malovichko and Andrei Zolotarev's script features the standard premise of a joyless, self-righteous military doing top secret experiments on a parasitic alien to use it as a weapon. The plot then unfolds without any real surprises. From a production standpoint, the unmemorable creature design and stock soundtrack could fit into any other contemporary film of a similar ilk and the diluted color pallet likewise dates it to the present era. The performances are uniformly good though and Abramenko manages to muster some suspense within the conventional framework, particularly in the opening scene. The story is less-focused with gore-ridden action or horror set pieces than it is with the emotional drive of the characters. Yet this is somewhat of a problem as it inflates the running time a bit too much, becoming a little under-cooked and underwhelming in the process.
Dir - Thomas Robert Lee
Overall: GOOD
The second full-length from Canadian filmmaker Thomas Robert Lee is the relentlessly despairing The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw. Focusing on an isolated Irish commune in the 1970s, the film may as well be a period piece and the plague-ridden, bewitched characters suffer everything but the modern day comforts of the era they are technically in. Lee uses rather familiar narrative components besides just a cursed village, with nods to something iconic like Rosemary's Baby to modern day masterpieces like The Witch. Some of the occult-fueled set pieces may come off as a bit arbitrary to some, but the film does a handful of things decently with such material. The supernatural mythology is kept completely vague which is admirable though it also teeters on the verge of frustration. The performances and photography are as uniformly good as any other humor-less horror drama from recent times, but the musical score is quite overbearing. While the soundtrack does give it an unshakable aura of ominousness, little suspense is gathered as several moments could have eerily benefited from a more quiet, subdued approach. It is not the most clever film of its kind, but it is oppressively atmospheric enough to largely succeed.
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