I certainly admire Perkins’ Longlegs, a loving homage to the serial killer genre. The movie proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, and those familiar with The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en will have fun identifying all of the ways Perkins references them in this film. Given the movie’s incorporation of encoded messages, I would include David Fincher’s Zodiac in the mix as well.
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Here’s a trick question: How do the aliens in the A Quiet Place franchise arrive on Earth? The answer is…we don’t know. In the sequel and this prequel, all we are shown is streaks of light tearing across the sky. The assumption is that they arrive in space ships, but neither film gives us any indication of what those look like. For a typical alien invasion movie, seeing the alien spaceship(s) is the money shot–think Independence Day, War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Amazingly, three movies into this franchise, the alien’s mode of transport is still a mystery.
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If you’re an American and are desperately running from your past, where should you go? To a pet shop in Galway, Ireland, of course. Given how essential this detail is to the entire story of The Watchers, you would think it would be addressed at some point, but no. For a movie that is ultimately about the importance of getting the details right, The Watchers rarely bothers to do so. While it does stop at regular intervals to deliver unwieldy gobs of exposition that explain what is happening, it never concerns itself with why. It’s a story that insists on giving a perfectly logical explanation for everything, but doesn’t make any logical sense.
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I found the experience of watching The Strangers and The Strangers: Chapter 1 back-to-back rewarding from a movie buff perspective. Others may have a “why bother?” response to this movie and honestly I wouldn’t have a strong rebuttal to that. Mildly Recommended. Continue reading The Strangers: Chapter 1
After learning that the forthcoming The Strangers: Chapter 1 was basically a remake of The Strangers, I thought long and hard as to whether I should see the original beforehand. This decision was not as simple as I thought it would be, though. Since most of the commentary I’d read about Chapter 1 described it as being an inferior remake of the original, I had a conundrum. Would I be setting myself up for disappointment if I watched the original before seeing Chapter 1? Or would I enjoy Chapter 1 more if I watched it in a vacuum? I finally decided to see the original so that I’d have a basis of comparison between the two. If the two movies are that similar, the viewing experience would present itself as a unique review assignment for myself. This review will focus only on the 2008 movie. The next one will be on Chapter 1 and will compare and contrast the two. I hope you enjoy this little exercise!
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Don’t break the rules. If you do, there will be consequences. Horrific consequences. This simple premise is often used by horror movies because it’s so easy to grasp. Bad judgment is quickly rewarded with a gruesome outcome. It also builds anticipation in the audience from the get-go. Those horny kids who engage in premarital sex? A maniac will kill them for their immoral behavior. You played with a Ouija board? Sorry, it wasn’t just a game and an actual demon has plans for you now. You cheated death? Death isn’t happy and will be working overtime to correct things. You played truth or dare with a stranger? Tough break because playing games with strangers is just wrong, wrong, wrong.
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For those keeping score, The First Omen is the third movie released this year where the Devil plays a significant role. Previously, Late Night with the Devil and Immaculate reminded us that Old Scratch should never be underestimated. What does this trilogy of cinematic devilness portend? While I can’t speak for Immaculate (which I haven’t yet seen), the two movies featuring Beelzebub have been very good indeed. Perhaps it’s time for someone to revive the Oh, God! franchise to balance things out.
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Late Night with the Devil is a remarkable achievement for how it transforms a very familiar genre into something original and exciting. Highly Recommended. Continue reading Late Night with the Devil
Skinamarink does something that I found uncanny. It reminded me of what it was like to wander around the house late at night as a child while my parents were asleep or otherwise preoccupied. There’s the sound of bare feet on carpet, lights being flicked on, the muted rush of water from the toilet. It also captures all the different sources of light that keep the fuzzy darkness at bay, from the blare of ceiling lights, a solitary night light shining in a hallway and shimmering television screens. Within this nocturnal landscape, pajama-clad children play with toys in their rooms, in hallways or wherever the mood strikes. The movie captures all of these moments brilliantly.
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The Evil Dead franchise is known for its wicked sense of humor, so what better way to kick off this latest entry than with a dig at dead teenager films? Unlike its predecessors, Evil Dead Rise isn’t set in a secluded cabin in the woods, but at a cabin by a lake. The sun is shining, the water is glistening and a couple of teenagers are annoying each other. (Ah, hormones.) The standoffish Teresa (Mirabai Pease) defiantly reads her paperback copy of Wuthering Heights while trying to ignore Caleb (Richard Crouchley), her cousin Jessica’s oafish boyfriend. If you’ve seen more than one slasher movie, you know that these characters will soon be dead. That’s true here, but this movie definitely wants to make a statement in that regard.
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Detroit Cineaste 