2022 Horror Part Eight

SKINAMARINK

Dir - Kyle Edward Ball

Overall: MEH

For those craving out of focus close-ups, ole timey public domain cartoon music, and characters only speaking three words at a time every fifteen minutes and never answering each other's questions, Kyle Edward Ball's low-fi debut Skinamarink has you covered.  All kidding aside, this is a purposely challenging work by a mile, a movie that follows no conventional storytelling tactics whatsoever and very few if any conventional movie-making tactics either.  For anyone who feels a sense of panic within the first five minutes, it is highly advisable that they quit while they are ahead because the next ninety-five minutes will play out exactly the same.  As an experimental film which this solely is, Ball can be commended for his insistence on making his audience uncomfortable and giving them a fly on the wall point of view that utilizes pure frustration and confusion as fear.  That said, it sacrifices its proposed goal of presenting a child's nightmare by being so relentlessly comatose in its execution.  In other words, a real four and six year old would be running around hysterically sobbing after waking up in a house where their parents have disappeared, the phone does not work, objects and furniture vanish and/or end up on the ceiling, and a demon mumbles cryptic and unwholesome things to them.  It is not impossible to sit through because it is disturbing; it is impossible to sit through because it is visually headache-inducing and an unapologetic example of style over substance that would have worked ideally as a short film instead of one that is only twenty minutes shy of two hours.

INCANTATION

Dir - Kevin Ko

Overall: MEH

 

Taiwanese filmmaker Kevin Ko's latest horror outing Incantation, (Zhou) is his first in the genre since his 2009 debut Invitation Only, though it is a shame that this is one the many to wrongfully utilize the found footage gimmick and become a bloated, obnoxious mess in the process.  Simply put, this should not be a found footage movie as Ko stubbornly sticks to two asinine decisions which are A) adding scary music to the entire thing and B) constantly breaking the "Wait, where is that camera coming from?" rule.  Considering that both of these massive faux pases should be the most obvious to be avoided, it is a baffling, frustrating viewing experience that undermines all of its creepy potential.  There is plenty of such potential by the way as Ko's story weaves enough cliches and faux-mysticism from numerous Asian regions as to appear authentic, with excellent locations and production design that convey an aura of ancient, well-worn eeriness.  The detrimental presentation is made more so by the non-linear structure, bouncing all over the place while frantically cutting, begging the always laughable question as to who is editing this footage and serving it up like a conventional horror movie in the first place.  Either ditching the hand-held gimmick or ditching all of the conventional cinematic devices that are jarringly added to it, (as well as taking out all nine-hundred and forty-seven jump scares), would at least be a start to massively improve the overall whole here. 

 

SIGNIFICANT OTHER

Dir - Dan Berk/Robert Olsen

Overall: MEH

For their follow-up to the mostly enjoyable Villains, writer/director team Dan Berk and Robert Olsen once again join forced with modern day scream queen Maika Monroe in Significant Other; a movie that is unable to unify its small handful of themes.  The most prominent issue is the tone malfunctions.  While Villains played its dark comedy angle sufficiently before taking a chance with a dour ending that tugs at the audience's heart-strings, Berk and Olsen go for a more jarring about-face here, and much earlier at that.  We are given plenty of explanations as to the sudden confusion, but none of them are remotely satisfying and seem downright rushed as well as poorly thought out, all while the music consistently conveys dread, Monroe seems traumatized and terrified, and the story's otherworldly threat becomes more goofy and monotonously invincible.  Though the first act sets up an interesting, troubled couple dynamic, the rest of the film's attempts at plot-twisty, slight-of-hand maneuvers and diabolical science fiction ideas persistently get in the way of it.  To their credit, the filmmakers are certainly going for something unique here and Monroe's natural, charismatic aloofness on screen is ideally utilized, but all of this can only go so far when the script is a half-baked mess.  That said, more movies can always benefit from Badfinger songs though.

2022 Horror Part Seven

HELLRAISER

Dir - David Bruckner

Overall: MEH

Though assuredly pleasing for fans of what was once delightful about Clive Barker's Hellraiser, the 2022 relaunch by David Bruckner still has unmistakable imperfections that tarnish it.  Lingering in development hell, (nyuck, nyuck), for quite some time, what came out of various directors, writers, producers, and other studios brainstorming a new angle to take is a story that is completely unrelated to Barker's initial The Hellbound Heart novel.  In this respect, it should be seen not as a reboot but as the franchise's first sequel in decades to bypass decades worth of sub-par, direct-to-video installments that kept the brand alive only with increasingly diminishing returns.  Even with the non-major company Spyglass Media Group behind it, this Hellraiser is a slick, high-end production and it follows in director Bruckner's trajectory of critically favored works in the genre.  As is all too often the case though with horror, the opening is expertly handled and sets up the property's familiar components in an enticing way only for the wheels to start flying off as convoluted plotting gives way to a predictably bloated finale that seems to back itself into a grandiose, meandering corner.  Visually it is quite exceptional with a more seamless blend of digital and practical makeup effects than usually seen, plus the updated Cenobites still make an appropriate, enticingly grotesque impression.  It is a shame that the story was not allowed to scale itself back to win us over in a more rewarding way, but the low risk, "go big" approach is at least understandable if not altogether ideal.

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT

Dir - Michael Giacchino

Overall: MEH

Dubbed the first "special presentation" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the brisk, fifty-three minute Werewolf by Night adapts the 1972, Jack Russell version of the character which originally ran for five years as its own title.  It is also the studio's first unabashed horror excursion, shot in black and white and focusing on a group of monster hunters who are gathered together in competition to wield the Bloodstone; an amulet which seems particularly useful against otherworldly creatures.  Man-Thing also shows up which is fun.  As the title character and Elsa Bloodstone respectively, Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly are well-cast and likeable, taking the material serious enough with one or two mandatory quips thrown in for good measure.  The same cannot be said for Harriet Sansom Harris' camped-up, one-note villainess, but most of that character's lackluster obnoxiousness is due to the underwritten nature of the running time and not so much the actor's performance.  It does take a damn long time to finally unveil Russel's lycanthropian form and despite practicle makeup being used which is always appreciated, it comes off a little half-cooked, as if they stopped one step before the full-blown, totally beastly transformation was complete.  Besides the only surface level, Golden Age of Hollywood presentation and more strict horror genre adherence, this is the same ole MCU stuff for better or worse, where mild violence, one or two swear words, CGI, incessant music, a few tears, plenty of jokes, (and plenty of schlock), hit all of the requirements.

OLD MAN

Dir - Lucky McKee

Overall: GOOD

Indie genre filmmaker Lucky McKee's latest Old Man is an understated bit of psychological madness that makes the most out of its single, log cabin location and almost an exclusive two person cast.  Remarkably simple premise wise, such a troubled character study hinges on the two leads with Stephen Lang and Marc Senter expertly delivering a series of emotionally complex monologues to each other that play with the audience's expectations.  Throughout his entire career thus far at least when not penning the script himself, McKee has worked with a different screenwriter for all of his projects and the one here by relative newcomer Joel Veach finds a way to make this type of unnatural movie dialoging seem eerily in place since there is a mysterious tone that basks in its patience to unease.  Humor and good ole fashion suspense building are played with, often at the same time and just as the audience can almost relax when the characters do, there is still an unshakable aura of Twilight Zone-esque mystery that cannot be shaken off.  The musical score is a bit too manipulative at times and the narrative reveal at the end is probably easier to spot than intended, but this is still an impressive, no nonsense slow-boil offering that works both as a performance piece and as an unsettling enough head-trip.

2022 Horror Part Six

SPEAK NO EVIL

Dir - Christian Tafdrup

Overall: WOOF

 

The third full-length from Danish actor-turned director Christian Tafdrup, Speak No Evil suffers from an aggravating, implausible script and unnecessary unpleasantness, so much so that its admirable technical qualities fail to redeem it.  Written by Tafdrup and his brother Mads, the plotting unfortunately resolves around an increasing number of glaring red flag to emerge that keep the characters in place so the movie does not logically end after the first or second act at best.  It is even worse though that it all builds up to a predictable, obnoxiously miserable conclusion where the villain's eye-brow raising behavior is both pointless and stupid, only serving some sort of insultingly vague critique on middle class social niceties. The artful, mostly reserved approach ultimately shows an atrocious side of humanity for the mere shocking sake of it, begging the audience to care about something that is as far from thought-proving as it is tolerable.  Each of the four adults are given some emotionally revealing moments though and the small cast deliver strong performances despite the material's inherent flaws.  So for anyone who wants their night ruined just because why not, knock yourself out.

PEARL

Dir - Ti West

Overall: GOOD

 

Aside from the director-for-hire gig Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, Pearl is the first of Ti West's films to utilize a different screenwriter besides himself and perhaps unsurprisingly because of this, it in effect becomes his first fully realized and downright exemplary work.  Shot in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic and immediately following principal photography on X, this prequel to said movie finds Mia Goth reprising her role as the youthful version of the title character; a highly troubled farm girl with big Hollywood dreams and emotionally unsupportive parents.  West's stylized direction here presents things at times like a demented Technicolor, Golden Age throwback and feeds into his career-long penchant for propping up genre cinema in a knowingly tongue-in-cheek fashion.  His other trademark for well-executed suspense sequences is also thankfully on point, with his usual script blunders presumably sidestepped by Goth's involvement in the writing, which is a wonderful sigh of relief for those of us who have grown aggravated with various narrative faux pases in his films.  Truly though, the movie belongs to Goth who delivers arguably one of the finest performances of the year.  Her vibrant, determined demeanor for stardom comes with a constant caveat of the confused, rageful, and insufferable loneliness which she exhibits on screen by being simultaneously terrifying and sympathetic like only the best, most complex movie villains are.

SMILE

Dir - Parker Finn

Overall: MEH

Formulaic yet occasionally freaky, Parker Finn's full-length debut Smile takes a primal, unsettling motif and several of horror's generic dramatic concepts to make something that is above average for popcorn munching schlock yet also something that should by no means be taken seriously.  The film is an expansion of Finn's own short Laura Hasn't Slept with Caitlin Stasey briefly reprising her role as a wildly distraught woman at a breaking point after relentlessly experiencing supernatural episodes that are hopelessly destined to pass on from witness to witness.  As the main protagonist, Sosie Bacon excellently portrays a sense of cranked-up anxiety, distraction, and desperation brought on by the film's boogey man.  Finn's script is anything but original and sticks to a point A to point B mystery where no one believes the main character, yet its common themes of bypassed trauma at least make said character's behavior, motivation, and rationalizing believable, which is refreshing for a change.  What is not refreshing is a ridiculous amount of jump scares and a loud, digital effects finale that is detrimentally out of place from the often trippy/occasionally creepy, slow boil atmosphere that came before it.  The flaws are undeniable and many may find that it implodes under its increasingly campy attributes, but it pulls off a few nifty tricks and has some intelligence sprinkled in for good, respectable measure.

2022 Horror Part Five

PREY

Dir - Dan Trachtenberg

Overall: GOOD

The Predator franchise gets another gimmick with Prey; the latest and strongest since Predator 2, (though if we are to also count the Alien series mash-ups then that is not particularly saying much).  Director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison developed the prequel concept where a Comanche tribe in the 1700s makes contact with the deadly extraterrestrial species, also having the bonus ingredient of a woman warrior determined to stake a claim as a worthy hunter amongst her people.  The pro-feminist action hero has long been a staple in the genre and Amber Midthunder's Naru is an easy one to root for.  Almost exclusively on camera, she brings an effective balance of ass-whooping skills, intelligence, and vulnerability that makes her character's determination plausible enough in such a fantastic scenario.  Minor qualms are the rather poor CGI, eye-ball rolling callbacks to the legendary first film, (including the "If it bleeds we can kill it line", oye), more of a modern vernacular to some of the dialog, and occasional pacing issues that make the movie feel longer than the actually appreciated, under two-hour runtime.  Still, it delivers much better on what one would expect at this point and is an admirably solid action film that mostly bypasses the schlock and delivers the green-blood spewing mayhem.

NOPE

Dir - Jordan Peele

Overall: GOOD

For his third horror film in a row, Jordan Peele continues his now trademark trend of stacking themes, this time with the emphasis mostly on visual spectacle.  Nope is a beautifully shot work and Peele's first collaboration with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema who brings out the lush expanse of the Agua Dulce desert, framing the minimal amount of characters as mere specs against a mysterious threat from the sky.  The tone once again incorporates humor, (sometimes forced, sometimes not), which contributes to the broader appeal of a story that is less ambiguous than Peele's previous works, though still certainly heavy.  The literal act of "not looking" serves as a life-saver in this scenario where people are hell-bent on capturing a sort of showbiz magic to overcome past traumatic events.  All of this could speak to humanity's growing need to be enthralled, (particularly after a claustrophobic-inducing, real life pandemic), or it could just be Peele channeling his admiration for Steven Spielberg and taking advantage of his past cinematic successes to up the ante appropriately.  It is still a bit overstuffed and overlong, perhaps reaching for something not quite in the material's grasp, but it is also undeniably impressive and unique.

BARBARIAN

Dir - Zach Cregger

Overall: WOOF

The first work in the horror genre from filmmaker Zach Cregger, Barbarian has a highly unpredictable structure that changes gears quite successfully at various points, yet it eventually runs out of clever ways to subvert expectations and just becomes an insulting mess.  This is a shame since the first two acts deliberately set up a series of cliches in the form of red flags for the characters to bypass.  When Cregger is sticking to this agenda, the audience is able to get on board.  Once everyone starts behaving in the completely opposite, (i.e. moronic), manner though, the comedic tonal shifts become utterly ridiculous, the plot points become utterly gaping, and several new tropes along with previously side-stepped ones rear their ugly, disappointing head.  At one moment, people are behaving in a refreshingly logical manner that is funny in the context of a horror film, only to do "stupid people in horror movies" stuff eventually anyway like the genre itself is this inescapably moronic, suffocating force that cannot be denied.  Surely the intention was not to make something so cynical in this regard, but the laughably lazy excuses to have law enforcement be useless in order to move things forward while characters also knowingly put themselves in danger to move things forward, (not to mention Justin Long playing only a slight variation of the same douchebag that he played in Tusk, an inbred because horror movies, a screechy-noised monster that looks, sounds, and has the backstory of shit that has been seen countless times before), all just makes this particular house of cards collapse.

2022 Horror Part Four

SPIDERHEAD

Dir - Joseph Kosinski

Overall: MEH

The same year that he got behind the lens on the mega blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, director Joseph Kosinksi also delivered the dystopian, quasi-science fiction thriller Spiderhead on Netflix; a formulaic, plot-hole ridden adaptation of George Saunders' short story "Escape from Spiderhead".  Somewhat tweaking the "pharmaceutical companies are bad" narrative, the film begins with an interesting set up on a super hi-tech, isolated, island penitentiary where the incarcerated enjoy a leisurely lifestyle so long as they voluntarily subject themselves to experimental drugs at the hands of Chris Hemsworth's clearly up to no good, overtly charming scientist.  While each of the main character's backstories are well detailed, it all ultimately dissolves into a generic mad scientist romp that tosses its themes of forgiving one's own grievous sins somewhat into the ether.  Because Hemsworth's character never once comes off as anything but completely shady, there are no jaw-dropping gasps to be had by discovering what he has in fact been up to the whole time, so how he pulled it off, why he went to such tactics to do so, and what/how the good guys handle it all raises several messy questions.  It also does so while abusing the obnoxious trend of throwing way too many famous pop songs on the soundtrack for inappropriate comic relief.  With a slick production design and charismatic performances, it at least wastes an hour and seven minutes of your time efficiently enough as far as popcorn munching schlock goes.

WATCHER

Dir - Chloe Okuno

Overall: MEH

After a series of shorts including a segment in V/H/S/94, writer/director Chloe Okuno delivered her full-length debut with the ultimately textbook thriller Watcher.  Throughout large portions of the film, an almost overwhelming theme of paranoia is masterfully conveyed.  As the fish out of water American wife to a marketing executive having recently moved to a country in which she does not speak the language, Maika Monroe's character gradually struggles more and more with her perceived notions that someone of unwholesome intent is spying on and following her.  Just before the third act wraps up, it seems as if the audience will be left guessing and frustrated just as she is, which comparatively would have been a marvelous and unique way to go out.  Regrettably though, the air is deflated with a weak ending that just makes the movie one of countless others that hammer home the cliche of nobody believing a woman's insistent "delusions".  Clearly this is the point that Okuno is trying to make and the movie is flawlessly acted and photographed as well as being persistently moody in the best possible way.  Still, it almost achieved something far more singular than it does and in turn only stands as a slightly above average entry into its well established genre.

DAY SHIFT

Dir - J.J. Perry

Overall: GOOD

A particularly silly and bombastic debut from director J.J. Perry, Day Shift does not do much that can be considered substantially clever to the vampire mythos, but it is ham-fisted camp in the best, most knowable way.  Script wise, this is as formulaic as A-list driven, popcorn movies get nowadays, with an easily digestible story where pretty much every likeable character makes it out with a few wise cracks in tow and hardly any of them take the stakes very serious.  It all leans heavily into comedy as well as loud, implausible action sequences that cause a combination of amusement and a sense of numbness for those of us that have seen such ridiculous kicks, flips, punches, and superhuman weapon marksmanship countless times before.  The plot holes are certainly there yet unimportant since it is all genuinely funny and in on its own deliberate, B-movie charm.  Jamie Foxx has proven himself rather ideally equipped to handle any sort of material and he makes a solid, down on his luck undead hunter here with Snoop Dogg oozing his usual, effortless cool, Dave Franco making a gag of peeing his pants in the comic relief role, and Karla Souza chewing the scenery with her flashy fangs.

2022 Horror Part Three

THE NORTHMAN

Dir - Robert Eggers

Overall: GREAT

 

The latest from Robert Eggers is a sharp diversion in scope and scale, yet it still adheres to the filmmaker's meticulously researched admiration for myth and long ago cultures.  The Northman strives even farther away from horror than the bizzaro world, psychological head-trip The Lighthouse, but it does contain sorcery, hellish visuals, and zombies sort of, plus the material is arguably even darker and as supernaturally laced as his previous two films.  Eggers and co-writer Sjón collaborated with professors and scholars of Norse mythology after star Alexander Skarsgård convinced the director to do a balls-out Viking saga.  That is certainly what was delivered here as the movie is a ceaseless bombardment of loud, violent, and haunting cinematic components, all of which envelope every frame with fantastical yet period accurate depictions of all things Viking folklore.  As testosterone-ridden as any other barbarian epic ever filmed, it is also astonishingly photographed and designed, plus as usual for Eggers, he presents his material in a respectful, matter of fact way.  Story-wise, this is deliberately rudimentary and was based in part on the Scandinavian legend of Amleth, which would later inspire Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Because the narrative is mostly lacking in overt subtext and complex themes, it allows the movie to become a sensory overload; a bloody, filthy, wet, mystical, deafeningly vibrant and on fire deliverance of Viking porn that is pretty damn glorious to behold.

 

X

Dir - Ti West

Overall: MEH

 

Filmmaker Ti West's return to horror for the first time in nearly a decade is odder than his usual work in its sordid intent, though it is comparatively more tight in the plot department even if there are still a few of the writer/director's trademark logical blunders in tow.  Speaking of West trademarks, a lot of patience is required to get things moving in X, yet the themes of ambition, self-worth, and ageism are beaten over the head sufficiently enough.  This is not a subtle film by any stretch and is equal parts artful, gaudy, and a tad pretentious.  On the plus side though, the performances are quite good and Mia Goth makes an interesting scream queen in a dual role that is presented as two sides of the same coin.  It is also beautifully photographed and even if West's pacing is a bit indulgent, he has still created something that is a joy to soak in from a visual perspective.  Plus gore and exploitation fans, (which the movie is clearly a throwback for), will quite enjoy when things get comically disgusting for the schlocky sake of it.  It is necessary not to take the film that seriously in order for it to work, but it has its moments of deliberate tastelessness with a sincere undercurrent which is certainly worth something.

 

DARK GLASSES

Dir - Dario Argento

Overall: MEH

 

A new Dario Argento movie is something that may cause a knee-jerk, excited reaction for fans of the once renowned filmmaker's work.  That is until one realizes that simply unleashing something that is not front to back embarrassing will suffice after the bar has been set so incredibly low by nearly everything that he has done for several decades now.  Dark Glasses, (Occhiali Neri), is sort of refreshing in some respects.  At first, the long break between projects has seemed to tame some of the director's increasingly inept cinematic choices which virtually peaked with 2012's Dracula 3D.  Here it is back to straight-faced giallo and an attempt is made to keep the tone more emotionally impactful than cartoonishly absurd.  The violence is nasty yet conservatively thrown in, the menacing musical score plays throughout every second of every scene, and nobody on camera seems to be intentionally making a fool of themselves.  Yet Argento's career-long weaknesses as a screenwriter, (though this time, both Franco Ferrini and Carlo Lucarelli can share some of the blame), are front and center.  The plotting here is just jaw-droppingly abominable and as the movie goes on, it quite convincingly comes off as if they were making it up as they went along while simultaneously trying to do as poor of a job as is humanly possible.  It would be nice to say that it is nice that we have another Argento movie at this point in his career, but unfortunately, this only proves that we were better off with him retired.

2022 Horror Part Two

FRESH

Dir - Mimi Cave

Overall: MEH

 

In some respects Fresh is a, well, fresh debut from director Mimi Cave, (with a script from Lauryn Kahn), yet it does not quite nail the dismount.  The "kidnapped while friends are looking for you" framework has long been a trope and of course most recently recalls Jordan Peele's hugely successful Get Out, with the same comedic relief that is almost self-referential here.  There is a fundamental, macabre detail that differentiates it of course and overall this has a solid premise to work off of, especially coming from a female perspective.  It is pretty swanky visually and the leading performances from Daisy-Edgar Jones and Sebastian Stan are as engaging as they should be.  Cave makes some interesting choices that are fun, but the implausibility of the situation becomes a bit too much after awhile and that with the humorous tone shifts kind of muck everything up by the end.  It almost gets by on style and charm alone, but the combination of deeply disturbing and kind of ridiculous aspects is a remarkably difficult thing to pull of so it gets an A for effort at least.

YOU WON'T BE ALONE

Dir - Goran Stolevski

Overall: GOOD

The full-length debut You Won't Be Alone from Australian/Macedonian filmmaker Goran Stolevski is an intensely stylized work that answers the question of what a horror movie by Terrence Malick would be like.  Sparse narration over an endless montage of images with equally understated music playing throughout, it is Malick-esque to a tee and one could argue that it may even be a bit too derivative in such a regard.  Then again, the haunting, highly ethereal mood fits the material well where an isolated girl in 19th century Macedonia comes into womanhood, gets freed, and then abandoned by a shapeshifting witch who passes on her "curse" to her stolen daughter.  Several different actors excellently portray the mute protagonist in this violent, heartbreaking, yet ultimately uplifting coming of age story where amongst all of the struggle and confusion of such troubled times, there is still a level of hope that manages to win through.  As the burnt, wolf-eatress Maria, Anamaria Marinca is quite chilling in her matter of fact portrayal as well.  Challenging in its delivery maybe, but it is a wonderfully artful, well-rounded work as far as the modern new wave of folk horror is concerned.

 

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE

Dir - David Cronenberg

Overall: GOOD

 

At age seventy-nine and presumably at the point of well-earned retirement, David Cronenberg surprised everyone with the second movie in his filmography titled Crimes of the Future; not only his first theatrical film in eight years but more excitingly, his return to the pioneering, textbook body horror that defined his career.  Considering that the initial screenplay was written and went into pre-production back in 2003 before the project fell through and the director switched gears to comparatively more conventional drama, it has a "picking up where he left off" type of feel which is certainly not a bad thing.  In fact the project seems to have benefited from the wait.  The gritty, dystopian look is a bit trendy yes, but it melds perfectly with Cronenberg's textbook, fleshy technological aesthetic.  The surgical tools are directly out of Dead Ringers, the organic control mechanisms out of eXistenZ, the odd, zombie-fied performances out of Crash, and the stomach cuts and openings clearly allude to Videodrome.  Some could argue that this is merely the filmmaker basking in his legacy with such self-referential call-backs, but it has a dark, occasionally humorous, and certainly quirky tone that once again benefits from Howard Shore's alluring music and solid performances.  A celebration of all things Cronenberg, it is a superbly crafted gift for those that admire his work and one which hits that much harder after so long of a wait.