Dir - Nikyatu Jusu
Overall: GOOD
The full-length debut Nanny from Sierra Leonean-American filmmaker Nakyatu Jusa is a strong, female-centered examination on the back-breaking struggles of motherhood and the ravishing anxiety that comes with it. Gaining some horror mileage out of the Mami Wata from African folklore, (specifically centered around the West African Wolof people), Jusu's story paints the water spirit as a neutral force that can be terrifying to encounter yet only when the beholder is undergoing extreme emotional distress. Anna Diop's title character suffers from the overbearing guilt of leaving her only child back at home while she dedicates herself with a caretaker position for a detached, less than happy Upper East Side, New York couple and their daughter who she has an instant, mutually loving relationship with. Wisely, the film does not make obvious commentary on simple white and black racial dynamics, comparatively focusing more on women's hardships with both Diop and the mother that she is employed by, (played by Michelle Monaghan), experiencing their own remorse over the lack of time spend with their own children. Jusu takes a slow-boil approach to her material here which is necessary in both establishing and soaking in the richly emotional complexities at hand, which makes the very gradual, intensified tension and otherworldly elements hit their intended impact.
Dir - Luca Guadagnino
Overall: GOOD
For his follow up to the surprisingly, (and profoundly), excellent Suspiria remake, Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter David Kajganich have adapted Camille DeAngelis' novel Bones and All into a beautiful, grotesque genre mash-up. The criminal road movie ingredients may bring deliberate whiffs of Badlands or Bonnie and Clyde, while the metaphoric horror aspects recall Let the Right One In or Thirst, but the film is both stylistically enthralling and impressive in its focus. By presenting the horror aspects matter of factly save for a few
rapid-fire nightmare montages, Guadagnino mostly focuses on the detailed
characterizations of his two leads in Taylor Russell and Timothée
Chalamet, though every other person that we meet is treated sympathetically enough to resonate with, at least on some level which keeps the grounded tone in check. It is consistently nuanced in its exploration of outcasts who find themselves in a world where extreme bonds are forged between the people that share their burden of loneliness and a biological need that is both helplessly unavoidable and horrific. The musical score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor is equally on point, (plus a hilarious Kiss reference is always appreciated), and thankfully its borderline excessive length proves justified as nothing feels rushed and the full tragic, yet empathically melancholic atmosphere is properly in place.
Dir - Gerard Johnstone
Overall: WOOF
Though James Wan is merely relegated to providing the story concept along with screenwriter Akela Cooper, the latest collaboration M3GAN between he and producer Jason Blum continues in both party's trajectory of delivering the most textbook, unoriginal horror films of the modern age. It is the usual stew of tongue-in cheek humor, actors taking the material way too seriously, on-the-nose social commentary, and every form of predictable storytelling humanly possible which utilizes foreshadowing and standard genre cliches that mere casual horror partakers will still immediately notice. Even though the finale gives up and goes for full black comedy and awkward, dumb for the sake of dumb set pieces, the one-dimensional characterizations and emotional hooks are borderline insulting in their simplicity and make for a tonal conundrum that is nauseating at worst and eyeball rolling at best. Defenders of such tripe will probably utilize the ole, "It's a stupid horror movie about a killer doll, what do you expect?" excuse and that is all fine and good for those that just want to see how silly it will all play out while ignoring that way better such movies exist out there. Christ, even Child's Play's concept of Brad Dourif using black magic to cheat death and jump inside of a Good Guys doll is less idiotic, let alone more interesting. For the rest of us who uncomfortably cringe while a creepy doll sings and dances out of nowhere while trying to be threatening at the same time, this is some highly avoidable crap.
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