Category Archives: Horror

Frankenstein

Frankenstein     5 stars

For his entire adult life Guillermo Del Toro has been obsessed with Frankenstein. The famed writer/director and winner of three Oscars previously brought us Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Shape of Water. He reportedly has thoroughly researched all previous works on the subject of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, even building a room in his house dedicated to the story of Frankenstein. His own version of the story is now on-screen starring Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, Ex Machina) as Victor Frankenstein, the brilliant doctor obsessed with the creation of a living being made from dead body parts and Jacob Elordi (Saltburn, Priscilla) as the misunderstood monster. The viewer is amazed at the elaborate sets that include Frankenstein’s laboratory complete with glowing nineteenth century electrical equipment and a complete sailing ship trapped in Arctic ice. The story is largely true to the original novel (which I read around thirty years ago). Isaac plays the doctor with high intensity and makes us believe he sees himself as a sort of god but who is lacking in empathy toward his creation. Elordi, with his large frame and soft eyes makes us sympathetic toward the naïve creature, but fearful when he goes into a rage against those who would harm him. His appearance is startling with elaborate makeup, making it appear he is put together with many parts. The carving up of dead bodies and assembly into a new body looks horrifyingly realistic. The movie will certainly earn an Academy Award nomination for Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Visual Effects. Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained) puts in an appearance as Harlander, a collaborator of Frankenstein who has his own agenda. Mia Goth (X, Pearl, Suspiria), the new scream queen, is Elizabeth, the beautiful fiancé of Victor’s younger brother, who is the only one that can see the beauty and the suffering of the monster at the hands of Frankenstein. As in the book and unlike some of the film adaptations, this monster becomes fully articulate and can express the torment that the world heaps on him. He comes to hate Frankenstein for creating him but giving no thought as to what would come after, forcing him to be alone in a world that despises him. Much of what the creature says comes straight out of the Shelley novel. It’s clear that del Toro is sympathetic toward the monster as he characterizes him as someone desperate for human affection but then changes him into an instrument of vengeance against his creator. This may not be del Toro’s best movie. But it’s certainly a close second to The Shape of Water from 2017, a movie that shares some of the elements of Frankenstein.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man                             4 stars

If you are ready to experience something more terrifying than the Coronavirus you can check out the new remake of The Invisible Man.  This film by Leigh Whannell reimagines the 1933 classic horror movie setting it in modern times and bringing several surprises and shocking moments with it.  Cecelia (Elizabeth Moss in Us last year) does a daring nighttime escape from her violent boyfriend, Adrian who is essentially holding her captive in his luxury home.  She is aided by her sister and a childhood friend James, a police officer (Aldis Hodge of Straight Outta Compton).  Adrian also happens to be a wealthy and brilliant scientist who has some interesting projects he is working on.  Before long while Cecilia is still in hiding she learns of the suicide of Adrian, but refuses to believe it.  She suspects it was faked and that it is just part of his scheme to control her.  At this point things get interesting when strange things start to happen in James’ house where she is hiding.  The film uses many slow panning shots where the camera shows us parts of the rooms with no one in them, but Cecelia is certain there is a presence there nonetheless.  As the tension rises so does the certainty that Adrian is out there but he is unseen, because, well, he is invisible.  The filmmaker comes up with an ingenious explanation for how this is all accomplished which I cannot share with you.  The shock comes from experiencing it for yourself.  But rest assured, many people will die before the end of the movie which you had to expect.  Leigh Whannell is probably best known for his work in the Saw series of films, only one of which I ever saw.  They weren’t movies that I cared to see, but The Invisible Man is well worth the ticket if you are in for two hours of shock and terror.

Annihilation

Annihilation                                        2 ½ stars

Annihilation by Alex Garland is a movie I was curious about when it came out in 2018 but didn’t see then.  It has a look of a fantasy adventure from the previews with its characters venturing into a strange landscape full of new plants and creatures giving it a biodiversity look.  Let me assure you that that is not what it is like.  It’s a full-fledged science fiction horror movie with a strange alien presence that has invaded earth.  For reasons I won’t go into the biologist character Lena (Natalie Portman) volunteers for a mission to enter an area on the Florida coastline taken over by the alien presence that is referred to as The Shimmer. It’s an area surrounded by a strange force field defeating all communication with those inside.  She is joined by psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), physicist Josie Tessa Thompson), paramedic Anya (Gina Rodriguez), and anthropologist Cass (Tuva Novotny).  It doesn’t help our confidence to hear that a previous expedition has never been heard from again.  The group discovers that they have lost some of their memories after entering and encounter strange plants and animals that are growing and taking on characteristics of other species.  Soon one member is attacked by a giant crocodile that the women dispatch with heavy machinegun fire.  (They are very well armed.)  One by one, the group are either picked off by strange creatures or by their own actions as their minds turn them against one another.  Until Lena must face the alien presence alone.  One can compare this movie to the science fiction film Solaris as there is a similar theme.  The film is based on a book, Southern Reach by Jeff VanderMeer and has been compared to the ancient myth of Orpheus.  It has a very slow moving and menacing tone to it with plenty of ominous music.  It’s very pretty to look at with some shocking surprises but it doesn’t make my list of great science fiction films.

Corporate Animals

Corporate Animals                                           2 stars

Here is another of the movies I heard about at Sundance and was curious about.  Corporate Animals is a dark comedy about office politics by Patrick Brice, the director who brought us The Overnight.  Lucy (Demi Moore) is a self-absorbed CEO of a small company that is launching a new product: edible cutlery.  She is taking her staff of about eight people on a team building exercise in the desert in New Mexico.  The expedition guide, Brandon (Ed Helms) is in charge of leading the group.  Since Lucy wants to really challenge her staff she decides they should take the more dangerous path on their journey, leading them into a deep cave.  Once there the group becomes trapped underground after a cave in which also kills Brandon.  When it becomes clear that there is no way out the group descends into bitter accusations, fear and hate filled rants.  Revelations emerge of office affairs, corporate mismanagement and a little friendly cannibalism and a hallucinating assistant.  There were a few clever one liners, but the comedy got old after a while despite the film’s length of under 90 minutes.  Much of the movie happens in the dark making it hard to tell who is speaking all the time.  There are some good comedic actors including Isiah Whitlock, Martha Kelly, Dan Balledahl and Nasim Pedrad.  Look some of them up and you will probably recognize some.  For a really good time, look up Brice’s earlier creation, The Overnight , a much funnier movie.  Sorry, but I can’t recommend Corporate Animals.

The Hunt

The Hunt                                             2 ½ stars

Since I haven’t been to a theater in a long time, I went looking for a new release. I landed on The Hunt which has been called one of the most controversial recent movies. The Hunt is a violent political satire horror action movie that features the hunting down of people for sport on an isolated patch of land by a few rich elites.  The elites are believers in the usual left-wing issues like climate change, follow leftist authors and are led by Athena (Hilary Swank), a left winger who hates the kind of people who love Donald Trump.  A group of twelve people awake to find themselves in an unknown countryside and discover that they are all believers in the conspiracy theory that there is a place called The Manor where right wing types are hunted down by leftist elites. There are a few utterings of second amendment rights and the evils of immigrants. In a clearing there is a giant crate, that when opened reveals a pig and a giant cache of arms. It doesn’t take long till the shooting starts and the group finds that they are the prey. They gather the weapons available and try to escape while each is gunned down in ever increasing bloody and violent fashion.  The violence level is high in this one, (comparable to Revenge from a couple of years ago). There is an assortment of well known actors playing the right wingers. There is Emma Roberts who is Yoga Pants who doesn’t last very long. Justin Hartley from This Is Us is a hunter of exotic wildlife. Ike Barinholtz of The Mindy Project is Staten Island. Wayne Duvall is Don??. Ethan Suplee of My Name is Earl is Shut the F*** Up Gary. There is another character referred to as Target for reasons that become clear. As the body count increases one person emerges as more than Athena was counting on by the name of Crystal (Betty Gilpin of the TV show GLOWS) who is quite proficient with a gun and various hand to hand weapons. While it may not be entirely appropriate for our times, the movie effectively satirizes the common behavior of believing conspiracy theories without checking out the facts.  If you feel like combining political lunacy with bloody violence, then The Hunt might be for you as there is something in it for both sides. Who knows? President Trump might even like it.

Deerskin

Deerskin                              4 stars

I heard about Deerskin from a magazine article of some recent good movies that are available online so I picked this one out, a rather dark comedy. To call this movie offbeat and bizarre might be something of an understatement and it probably won’t appeal to a wide audience, but I was very entertained by it. It’s one of those movies that is funny just because it is so absurd, like Damsel which I saw a few weeks ago. It happens in a small French Alpine village where Georges (played by Jean Dujardin of The Artist), a middle aged man arrives. Georges, just divorced, answers an ad for an old deerskin jacket and buys it from an old man. He spends all of his cash for the jacket and receives a video camera as part of the deal. Georges is so impressed by the ‘killer style’ that it gives him he starts to imagine that the jacket is alive and carries on conversations with it. (Does that sound bizarre yet?) Then Georges meets some women in a local bar and makes up a story of how he is a filmmaker and is there for a shoot. (His crew happens to be working in Siberia.) Denise (Adele Haenel of Portrait of a Lady on Fire) falls for this act and agrees to help Georges out including helping him pay for the making of the movie! (Georges’ credit card has been canceled by his ex-wife leaving him with no money.) Thus, the two proceed to put together a movie based on the random scenes that Georges films of various people he runs into on the street. This odd movie succeeds in keeping your attention by making to wonder just where is this all going. I have not even told you the strangest parts of the movie, so you will have to see it to find out. The story and the excellent acting by the two leads make Deerskin something to see for fans of the bizarre. You might even call it murderous madness. This gem is not even 80 minutes long so you can get through it all rather quickly.

Relic

Relic       4 stars

The last time I was at Sundance I saw several good horror movies, but at the end of the festival ran into one moviegoer who said he had one more to see called Relic that was supposed to be pretty interesting. I finally sat down to watch Relic as it was just released and I wasn’t disappointed. The movie is by a new filmmaker and concerns the effects of a loved one’s dementia on their family. The movie is set in a big house is an Australian town that is home to an elderly woman, Edna (Robyn Nevin). Edna is reported missing which brings her daughter (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter (Bella Heathcote) to the house to investigate. After a few days of searching, Edna suddenly reappears without explanation of where she was. Although she is physically fine it’s clear something is wrong here. As daughter and granddaughter stay to take care of her, the house seems to mysteriously decay as a black growth slowly appears on the walls. This coincides with Edna hearing strange noises and having conversations with someone that’s not there. She behaves in ever increasing erratic and violent ways that confuses her family. The large house is full of cluttered hallways and mysterious doorways that helps to add to all the confusion the family members are experiencing. There is a background story about an ancestor who had a horrible death that offers some explanation of the seemingly supernatural happenings, like all good horror movies need to have. The movie does a slow moving buildup to an eventual frenzy of frightening events that will overwhelm the viewers. Although the movie is not quite at the level of The Babadook or of Hereditary, it’s good if you are up for some good family horror and clicks in at only 90 minutes long.

The Rental

The Rental                          4 stars

With The Rental, actor Dave Franco shows that he can direct an effective thriller/horror film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s hard to describe this movie without giving away spoilers so I can’t go into great detail. In the movie, a group of four friends decide to celebrate Dan’s successful business venture by renting an oceanside house for the weekend. Dan, his wife Michelle, his brother Josh and his business partner Mina travel to the house they found online planning a drug fueled fun weekend. Josh and Mina also happen to be starting their own relationship with each other. Tensions start to mount when they meet the caretaker who has racist tendencies toward Mina who has a foreign name. As in a good thriller, things get progressively more tense as we see that some of the characters are less than honest with each other. Suspicions arise when Josh’s dog, Reggie suddenly disappears. When one pair of our friends discovers evidence that someone has been watching them, the fear of revealing secrets set in and accusations are made. It is here that what starts as a character driven thriller suddenly transforms into something more sinister and the violence finds its way into the story. The movie is aided by effective cinematography, some well placed foggy night scenes and four good performances by the actors portraying some rather narcissistic and not so nice people. As in most horror movies, the characters make some very questionable choices that only make their situation worse. The Rental is good entertainment that takes its time to develop and does not rely on sudden scare scenes, but it will only work for true horror fans.
 

Underwater

Underwater                       2 stars

While watching Underwater, the movie about a deep sea research facility that is suddenly attacked by strange sea creatures, I had the distinct impression that I had seen it before. Much of the elements of it are taken from The Abyss and Alien, both about mysterious creatures attacking a small group of survivors. This does not bode well. In Underwater we have a group of six survivors that must crawl their way through the wreckage of the laboratory that happens to be seven miles below the surface. As you would expect the suspense comes in as you wonder which one will be the next to die. The sets and effects look very authentic so this was an expensive movie to make. We know little about the characters as they try to stay together to protect each other and maintain sanity. The movie was derivative and you might say boring.

Alien Covenant

Alien: Covenant                 4 stars

Alien: Covenant I believe is the fifth movie in the franchise and sees the return of Ridley Scott as the director. You may recall the original trilogy of the seventies and eighties in which Sigourney Weaver battles killer aliens found on a distant planet. This installment set two decades before the original Alien is just as horrifying and is aided by the modern CGI effects common to science fiction movies today. The movie is set on a colony spaceship with over 2,000 people on a multi years journey to a planet that is to be a new settlement for humans and occurs ten years after the events of Prometheus, another doomed space mission. A constant in the Alien movies is the presence of a synthetic, an artificially created humanoid who serves his human creators. The role of the emotionless but curious synthetic Walter is filled again by the amazing Michael Fassbender. As a result of a mishap on the Covenant in which the captain is killed, the crew learns of a previously unknown nearby planet that can support human life, so the new captain (Billy Crudup) decides to alter the plan and investigate and possible avoid years of hypersleep. Of course, this is the first mistake of many. The planet happens to be the same one of the events of the ill-fated Prometheus! When the landing party including the captain and Walter arrives, other than and intense storm, things seem normal enough. That is, until the pathogen born creatures start to show up and kill off the crew! The synthetic, David (also Michael Fassbender) who was the only survivor of Prometheus finds the crew and explains to them what happened here. Unfortunately, he leaves out a few key details that would explain what happened here. The movie is perhaps less original than Prometheus, and more like the original movies thanks to Scott. It is heavy on the interactions of the characters and an action driven plot. The scenes involving two Michael Fassbender’s are especially intriguing. Also, as expected the movie is heavy on blood and gore, so be forewarned! (This one is far better than last week’s Underwater.)