Category Archives: Horror

Talk to Me

Talk to Me                          4 stars

Talk to Me from Australian newcomers Danny and Michael Philippou answers the question of what would a group of suburban teenagers do if they found a cursed mummified hand. If you said they would take turns using it to conjure dead spirits at a party while filming it with their iPhones you would be correct. This film which debuted at Sundance is easily the most intriguing horror movie I have seen so far this year. Teenager Mia (Sophie Wilde) who has recently lost her mother goes with her best friend, Jade (Alexandra Jensen) and Jade’s little brother Riley (Joe Bird) to a party of friends where the main event is to take turns grasping said cursed hand while strapped into a chair and saying the words “Talk to Me”. At this point the person sees a decaying human body staring back at them. If they can keep their composure they then say the words “I Let You In”, at which point a dead human spirit enters their body causing them to utter some threatening phrases and perhaps thrash about in strange contortions. But care must be taken to make sure the period of possession does not exceed 90 seconds. Sounds like a load of fun, doesn’t it? Mia takes a special interest in the activity when she believes this is a mechanism for her to communicate with her dead mother who died under mysterious circumstances, but something goes wrong resulting in severe injuries to the very young Riley. Naturally things take a dark turn as the teenagers try to find out the story behind the detached hand and Mia pursues ways to contact her dead mother. But there is a question as to whether it is her mother or something more sinister. Are you hooked yet? The movie does an effective job of showing us Mia’s grief (thanks to Miss Wilde) and includes some real mind grabbing special effects. I can also promise you a satisfying ending if you stick it out. The movie premiered at Sundance earlier this year. I saw it in an empty theater and now think it would have been a real blast to have seen it at Sundance with a fun full-size crowd. Look for it in theaters.

A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice      4 stars

For the third time in six years the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh is on the case to solve another mysterious death. With Branagh again directing, it is after World War II and the world is getting back to normal, with Poirot having become a recluse, quietly retired in Venice. But he can’t stay hidden for long when the renowned American mystery writer Ariadne Oliver (a more subdued yet comical Tina Fey) tracks him down to recruit his services regarding the death of a young woman, Alicia Drake on behalf of her mother, Rowena Drake (Kelly Reilly). The catch is that Poirot must attend a children’s Halloween Party on All Hallowed Eve in a large, dark decaying house to be followed by a séance where the dead Alicia is to be contacted. In that respect the movie is a departure from the two earlier outings, Murder on the Orient Express and A Death on the Nile. The exotic locations are exchanged for the confined setting of a creaky, mysterious mansion on a stormy, rainy night and there is a distinct focus on the supernatural with odd camera angles and sudden noises happening periodically. The séance is conducted by the famous medium, Mrs. Reynolds (Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh), attended by Poirot, Drake, and Oliver as well as Drake’s housekeeper Olga (Camille Cottin), the doctor who treated Alicia, Leslie Ferrier (Jamie Dornan of Belfast), his 12-year-old son, Leopold (Jude Hill also of Belfast), Poirot’s bodyguard and Mrs. Reynold’s assistant. As you would expect with Hercule Poirot being present, the suspicious séance is followed with one of the participants experiencing a fall which proves fatal. Unable to reach the police, Poirot follows his usual protocol, locking everyone in the mansion, interviewing all the potential suspects one by one until the mystery can be solved. The case is based on one of Agatha Christie’s novels, Halloween Party, but it definitely has a supernatural slant to it with apparitions and strange noises contributing to the mystery. Mystery writer Oliver has another motive it is clear as she wants to find a way to increase her book sales and challenge the great detective’s skepticism of all things spiritual. The film is greatly enhanced by actors Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey and Camille Cotton, but there is a real treasure in the young Jude Hill who is so excellent as the doctor’s precocious son. Branagh previously cast him in Belfast where he was again the son to Jamie Dornan. It will interesting to see what else awaits this young man. I found A Haunting in Venice to be the best of the three Poirot movies and want to assure viewers that the movie belongs in the world of mystery thrillers and is not a true horror movie. See it while it is still in theaters!

The Exorcist: Believer

The Exorcist: Believer                     2 stars

It’s nearly Halloween, but we don’t have a new Halloween movie to give us an evening of frights like we have in previous years. But David Gordon Green, the director of the new Halloween movies has provided us with The Exorcist: Believer, the sequel to the 1973 phenomenon, The Exorcist (directed by William Friedkin). Those of us who are old enough can remember all the buzz around the original, when Linda Blair’s Regan was possessed by a demon making her vomit pea green soup and spinning her head around. It was even considered to be a contender for the Best Picture Academy Award. The same cannot be said about Believer after fifty years have gone by. This time we have two little girls who have been possessed by demons after the two friends disappear into the woods, reappearing three days later and thirty miles away with no memory of the elapsed time. The two girls, Angela (Lidya Jewett) and Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) start behaving very strangely after their return, becoming violent and have horrible scars on their bodies. Angela’s very concerned father, Mr. Fielding (Academy Award nominated Leslie Odom, Jr.) seeks out Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn, returning to the role) the mother of the original Regan who wrote a book about her experiences with a demon possessed daughter years before. Fielding becomes a believer that there must be something to this exorcism business, and convinces Katherine’s parents, two very devout evangelicals, that they need to hold an exorcism in order to rescue their daughters from possession. A team of believers is assembled that includes an elderly nurse who had at one time joined a convent (portrayed by the amazing Ann Dowd who can’t be in too many movies), as well as some pastors and one catholic priest. Thus, we have the setup for the present movie where the incantations are recited with the appropriate angry response from the two demons. The trouble is that it all feels like something we have seen so many times before. We have the heavy use of makeup on the two girls, the demonic voices threatening those present, the violent consequences to those that get too close to them (especially to Chris MacNeil) and one spinning head with fatal results. There are several gotcha moments as expected and even though the opening scenes set in Haiti do a good job of setting up the story, it all felt too familiar and staged to be entertaining. I do feel some curiosity into going back and seeing the original after all this time.

Cat Person

Cat Person          3 stars

The movie Cat Person begins with a quote by Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” In one scene early in the movie 20-year-old college student, Margot (Emilia Jones of CODA and Fairyland) has a vision of a dog standing over the decapitated body of a fellow dormitory resident. These are early signs that things will not work out well for the movie’s characters. The movie is notable for being based on a New Yorker short story that created a sensation and for one of the most cringeworthy sex scenes ever to appear in cinema. Not having read the short story I can’t comment on it, and I won’t go into the history of the making of Cat Person. (But it did show at Sundance this year.) I can say the movie adaptation is a commentary on the perils of misinterpreted signals between men and women as well the dangers of basing a new relationship primarily on text messaging. The aforementioned sex scene takes place midway through the movie where it is clear that Margot is not into the first date awkward sex with Robert (Nicholas Braun of Succession), the 33-year-old man she met on her job at the local movie theater concession stand that shows revival films and monster movies. The scene is painful to watch as Margot has a conversation with her out of body self in a debate about whether to put a stop to it or just see it through out of pity to the insecure Robert. Prior to the scene we see how conflicted Margot is toward Robert as she alternately pictures Robert at a job, or in therapy sessions with a psychiatrist, but also as a serial killer who might try to murder her! We also see examples of women’s needs to please men such as a musical scene where Margot and her mom (Hope Davis) perform a dance routine to “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” for her stepdad. Fortunately for Margot she has a college roommate in Taylor (Geraldine Viswanathan) who provides the voice of reason telling her how she should handle her situation. Unfortunately I thought, is how the film eventually wanders into all out stalker movie mode in the stunning conclusion. I would have preferred that it stuck with the theme of differing expectations of men vs. women in a new relationship and stayed away from the more horror aspects. On the positive side, as we saw in the movie CODA (for which she received numerous awards), Emilia Jones looks like a major acting talent with a long future. Doctor Who fans can find her in a role on the show in Season seven. The film’s director, Susanna Fogel is also noted as having directed the 2019 hilarious female comedy, Booksmart. See Cat Person if you can tolerate the uncomfortable sex scene and some hateful text messaging.

Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps      3 ½ stars

It was Halloween night, October 31 so what better way to celebrate than to see an old-fashioned creature feature at a local theater nearly full of horror movie fans? I took in a viewing of director, John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps, a horror movie set in a suburb in October, leading up to Halloween night. It is a revival of the feminist menstrual horror genre that got its start with Carrie back in 1976. Teenage sisters Brigette (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) are outcasts in their high school, but are close to each other and like to spend their time staging photos of teenage death scenes, a hobby that is useful when you want to cover up a murder. As the film opens, we learn that there is a vicious creature lurking outside that has been attacking and disemboweling the neighborhood dogs. Coincidently, 16-year-old Ginger is experiencing her first period, thus drawing the attention of the creature which claws her badly and bites her. Luckily, the creature, that seems to resemble a large dog is struck and killed by a van driven by Sam, a young greenhouse owner and local pothead. We then see how Ginger is slowly transformed into something foreign, as she starts to sprout hair, and grow claws and a short tail. Younger sister Brigitte is always there to keep Ginger’s secret from Mom and Dad and try to find a solution to the mess, even getting Sam’s help to formulate a cure using his knowledge of lycanthropic folklore and herbal cures. Unfortunately, things get out of control as Ginger must satisfy her appetite for human flesh at the expense of fellow classmates and unlucky school staff members! The film is quite bloody and violent as expected and a little weak on special effects as it was made back in 2000, making a measly $27,000 at the box office. But the writing is good enough to keep viewers in suspense as events spiral out of control but reminding us of the powerful connection between the two siblings. Ginger Snaps is a must for werewolf movie lovers everywhere and is best seen in the company of friends. If that isn’t enough for you, there was also Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.