Halloween Horror!
As is now tradition for this blog, I will once againreview horror movies for the supposed scariest night of the year.
No, not Summer Solstice. Halloween, of course!
This Week's Watches
Odd Thomas
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Addison Timlin & Willem Dafoe
Directed by: Steven Sommers
Rating: ★★★
From the man who brought us The Mummy, Van Helsing and, um,G.I. Joe, Steven Sommers’ most recent feature film Odd Thomas was never released in cinemas due to various legal problems.
Which is a shame, because it’s actually quite good.
Which is a shame, because it’s actually quite good.
Based on a novel by horror writer Dean Koontz, Odd Thomas is about a psychic who sees dead people, walking around like normal people.
Sure, the idea isn’t exactly original, but what is original is the fact that Thomas (Yelchin) is very proactive in his abilities: he makes sure that he does something about the ghosts he sees, mainly by solving their murders.
But after an incredibly strong ten minute opening, the film rapidly stops being a thrilling detective horror drama and dissolves instantly into an over the top and rather silly monster movie.
Remember those double decker bus crawling mummies in The Mummy Returns? Well Sommers decided to do an entire movie about them, except this time round they don’t work.
There are three things I really loved and three things I really hated about this movie.
Let’s start with the negatives.
The first is that the ‘mystery’ element of the plot really ruins the film, and the fact that the terrible monsters are intrinsically linked to this, really spoils what great moments there are throughout.
The second is the monsters. They might look great, but they don’t work. They are way too unrealistic in a movie that creates a very authentic supernatural reality.
The third is that the love interest Stormy (Timlin), who is essentially quite a strong character, is played by one of the worst actresses I have seen in recent memory. This almost completely destroys the entire movie, because, at the heart of Odd Thomas is Thomas’ and Stormy’s relationship, something which could have been so brilliant, but is ruined by her awful, awful acting.
Now let’s move onto the positives.
The first one is that the directing is really good- it creates a tone, a pace, and a really fresh and energetic visual style that I haven’t seen since, um, Detention.
The second is the fact that everyone in the film believes that Thomas can see ghosts and has psychic powers. This cuts through a lot of the crap, as Thomas doesn’t have to make people believe him- a monotonous device now been done to death. The film is a lot pacier because supporting characters are instantly on his side.
The third is the end. Wow, I can’t tell you how much I loved the ending to this movie. It is brilliant. Although the rest of the script is uneven and weak, and the humour doesn’t always work, the ending is so strong and so powerful, it has to be commended. I seriously can’t rate the ending to this movie highly enough. It is so emotional for a film that is essentially a silly B-movie, as it takes it to an entirely new level.
Although most of the movie is rubbish, I gave Odd Thomas three stars based on the fact that the opening and ending are so fantastically strong.
If you want to watch a very silly but strangely powerful monster movie this Halloween, watch Odd Thomas.
The House at the End of the Street
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence & Max Thieriot
Directed by: Max Tonderai
Rating: 0 stars
To begin with, The House at the End of the Street is not a horror movie. I wouldn’t even describe it as a thriller; it’s just a very boring, very stupid psychological drama (I guess) which is only somewhat watchable because Jennifer Lawrence walks around in a vest and push up bra for the entire thing.
It’s takes an hour and ten minutes to get to the ‘twist’, which the audience can see coming after five minutes.
Nothing interesting at all happens in this film. There are no thrills, no spills, and no chills. This film is just mind numbingly terrible, and the only reason anyone would watch it is because Jennifer Lawrence is in it.
Maniac (2012)
Starring: Elijah Wood & Nora Arnezeder
Directed by: Franck Khalfoun
Rating: ★★★
I only watched Maniac, a remake of an 80s slasher movie, because of its gimmick: the movie is filmed almost entirely from the murderer’s point of view.
And, gimmick or not, this works very well, and makes the film a much stronger and more original horror movie because of it.
Maniac is about Frank Zito (Wood), a man who sells mannequins and, in his spare time, murders beautiful women. The film is exceptionally gory, but, given the style and tone of the film, works really well as it doesn't become too much.
Both the directing style and the psychological thriller elements of the film are really strong, and both Wood and his love interest played by Arnezeder give solid performances.
Just like Odd Thomas, Maniac has a very strong, very original and very potent ending, one which takes the film to a much more interesting and unusual place than a typical silly slasher movie. I really liked the finale as it is both brutal and provocatively emotive.
Maniac gives depth to all of its characters, and because it focuses more on the psychological aspects of the mind of a maniac, is a very involving and unsettling watch.
Case 39
Starring: Renée Zellweger, Bradley Cooper & Renée Zellweger's original face
Directed by: Christian Alvart
Rating: 0 stars
Just before she destroyed her face, Renée Zellweger made an awful movie about an evil child who kills people with bees.
Seriously, the anti-Christ uses bees to kill Bradley Cooper, in a scene which is just as awful as the one from the remake of The Wicker Man.
After the evil child starts messing with Renée’s life, you just want someone to punch the little girl in the face, and then watch Renée bludgeon her to death with a frying pan.
This film is even worse than The House at the End of the Street, in that it is even more stupid, even more boring, and even more terrible.
My Pick of the Week
Would You Rather
Starring: Brittany Snow, Enver Gjokaj & Jeffery Combs
Directed by: David Guy Levy
Rating: ★★★★
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| So, would you rather watch Case 39 again, or eat a kangaroo's testicle? The answer is obvious. |
Would You Rather is a cruel, relentless horror movie that takes the idea of the hypothetically posed question game to the extreme- with disturbing results.
Iris (Snow) is given the chance to win the money she needs for medical bills to save her terminally ill brother by playing a very dangerous parlour game with seven strangers. Hosted by a psychotic millionaire, the players must choose between two alternatives for cash, but of course, this being a horror movie, you know that the choices posed will be far more unsettling than the players realise…
Would You Ratherhas a strong cast, a strong concept and a strong execution. It is done fairly believably, and doesn’t spiral into complete insanity, which many movies with a unique and strong concept usually do. It keeps an even and believable tone, and because of this, is very effective as a psychological thriller.
It also has many twists and turns that are unpredictable and shocking.
There are some very emotional and disquieting moments, and because of the strong acting and directing, the tension is suitably sustained throughout, which, at times, makes the film a very difficult watch.
Because of the realism of the tasks, and the way in which they are depicted, the film is unrelentingly cruel. The ending, which is both wicked and harsh, is amazingly bleak. I loved it.
Would You Rather, like The Clinic, is only for those who like disturbing psychological horror-thrillers with very powerful and unpredictable endings. I would recommend it to anyone who likes to be taken on an emotionally unsettling journey, and the main reason why the film is so strong is because the entire way through it you put yourself into the place of the players, and constantly ask yourself the question: ‘would you rather…?’
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