Review / Hush ★★★★☆

Blumhouse have an excellent track record when it comes to producing low budget horror, if anything, a lower budget gives a horror a far more visceral feel. Hush, on Netflix is another such example. With a relatively speaking, tiny budget of $1m, they have still managed to produce a compact, tense, vulnerable home invasion slasher.

The spin here is that our protagonist, Maddie, is a deaf author, living out in the woods, away from the hustle of the city. One night, she unfortunately lands in the path of a serial killer. Once our killer figures out that she is hard of hearing, he decides he will have a bit of sinister fun, and drag out the events, rather than simply committing the ordeal. Isolated in the wood, on her own, as a deranged murderer is stalking her outside, and to top it all off, without the sense of hearing, it’s down to Maddie to find a route of escape from this nightmare.

The home invasion genre does produce plenty of engrossing films, The Purge, Don’t Breathe & Panic Room are all great examples, though you also have busts like the awful Breaking In, from earlier this year. Hush lands on the good side of that mark, using the lack of hearing gives the film a different edge from your usual break in thrillers. This allows the movie to set up some truly suspenseful moments, as our killer taunts Maddie.

At a run time of just 80 minutes, things are kept very concise, we never really know who or why our stalker is picking off his targets. But sometimes, it’s better to keep things simple, it’s just a crazed guy, picking of victims who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. No need to add in a backstory if it’ll just add unnecessary layers.

The film does have two distinct flavors. The first half of the film, is an eerie horror, as our silent stalker tracks down our deaf target. Which sets up some great set pieces for the audience. Once the two eventually confront each other, it switches up to a thriller, as the two attempt to gain the upper hand in this deadly duel. I would have preferred if the tense horror vibes of the first half were stretched out a bit longer, the film would have been far more captivating. But that being said, the action capers once they start attempting to take each other out, is also done rather well.

There really isn’t too much to say in terms of true negatives, the short run time doesn’t really leave much time to fill out the plot, and we don’t get too much regarding why it’s happening. Why was she chosen? Was it just bad luck, is he picking certain targets? And the action at the finale does get a little too dramatic, but with a low budget movie, you adjust the expectations accordingly. If you browsing Netflix and just want a quick film to watch, Hush is definitely worth a view!

November 29, 2018 0

Review / Halloween ★★★☆☆

It’s not been the smoothest of rides for the Halloween franchise, the 1978 classic is still one of the greatest slasher films, and was the foundation of several other movie universes such as Friday the 13^th. Since then, the film has spawned over 10 different sequels, the majority of which have been critically panned. Halloween (2018) attempts to retcon all the complications from prior films, and plans to deliver a far cleaner, direct sequel to the original. Can it be 11^th time lucky?

The story picks up 40 years on from the horrific murders committed by the psychotic Michael Meyers (Nick Castle) , Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), a survivor from his original massacre, still awaits the day she can take her revenge on the monster. It seems she may get her chance sooner rather than later.

This time around, it’s not just herself who is dragged into another night of terror, as her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), along with her family, also end up with targets on their backs. After 4 decades of fear, anger and mourning, can Laurie finally put her tribulations to rest?

Compared to the various underwhelming films that were pretty much a cheap cash grab, Halloween, is very much a return to form. Bringing back a much needed freshness to a series that had long become stale. The ongoing duel between our two leads is what really makes the film tick. The dynamic between out two characters is clear to see, and the fact both roles are taken up by the original cast members from 40 years ago helps a lot. Laurie is seen as the only one who understands and can confront Meyers, and though her behavior may have created a distance between herself and her family, she is absolutely assured she is doing the right thing. Without Laurie, the film would have definitely struggled to be anything noteworthy with the new cast.

The iconic Haloween theme is back, and brings back the chilling undertones which a threat like Meyers brings. Obviously the main reason people will flock to this film is for the slasher violence, and Halloween delivers in that regard. Some of the deaths are rather shocking. While others are pretty graphic, as you would expect when the weapon of choice is primarily a kitchen knife! But the kills are also rather inconsistent, moments such as the scene in a local fuel station toilet is very intense, bloody, and wonderfully shot. While other scenes mostly take place off screen/implied. A strange decision considering it’s an 18 rated movie, and the fluctuating violence does not give the film a consistent feel. Some scenes are very well executed, Meyers silent, casually butchering, while people innocently go out for Halloween on the streets is excellent, and his stalking scenes come off great, especially when motion detection lights are involved (as illogical as that scene)!

While the violence and horror is what keeps this movie above water, the characters and plot do manage to drag it back under. The core characters, Laurie, Meyers, Allyson work fine. While others are simply there to be killed off. But then there are characters that really get screen time for no reason. Allyson’s boyfriend gets a lot of attention at the start, and is built up pretty well as someone you would enjoy seeing meeting his demise, but he randomly disappears and is never seen again! The whole Doctor sub-plot in the movie felt very unnecessary, and could have been removed entirely. There is also a random sassy kid, who delivers, what are wonderfully delivered one liners, felt utterly out of place. So what is supposed to be a horrific moment, becomes a joke, as the audience are laughing. Would a young kid who is literally facing death banter with people? It was a problem The Nun also had, forcing humour for no real reason.

The plot, which is rather simple, still has various flaws that will bug most, resorting to generic cliches. People slipping when they running then can’t get up. Leaving a serial killer who is being transferred, totally unprotected with no police escort whatsoever. The reason why Allyson ends up losing her phone during the film is so ludicrous and lazily written. The ‘‘What can we do, cancel Halloween?’’ line is total cheese. Yes, cancel it, you’re the police chief, people will die! It simply sounded like a sound bite they wanted to use for promo material, and not something a law enforcement would do! After 40 years of prepping, Laurie’s plan is rather, archaic, with so much modern tech around, her plan could have been far more sophisticated, and simpler to execute.

That said, Halloween is still a great reboot to a stagnant franchise, but the film brings nothing new to the table. The plot and characters aren’t the best, but let’s be honest, you’ll be watching for the scares and kills, and on that side, it delivers a home run. Halloween has its flaws, but Meyers does enough to make this film worthwhile, a perfectly decent night out!

October 25, 2018 0

Review / Unfriended: Dark Web ★★

Director : Stephen Susco

Starring: Colin Woodell, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Andrew Lees

Unfriended: Dark Web could have been an intriguing & uncomfortable look at the dark underworld of the internet, but unfortunately it fast becomes a joke of a horror, resorting to cheap plays for shocks. A stand alone sequel to Unfriended, Dark Web follows on with the unique concept of story telling in real time via various online platforms.

During one of their frequent Skype based game nights with his friends, Matias, our protagonist, who has picked up a recently purchased used laptop, notices that the previous owner of the computer may not have been your usual customer, and soon discovers a dark secret buried deep within the hardrive. It’s not before long, that the a mysterious presence online takes their game night hostage.

The first half of the film is actually rather captivating, the idea of using Skype/Facebook, and the presence of apps like Spotify, as the main methods of communication is a great way to make the film connect with the young audience it’s trying to reach out to. The initial stages of when our protagonists starts to suspect something more sinister may be in play, is where it’s at its best. The feeling of being constantly being threatened and harassed online by an anonymous presence is something we can all fear. And as our group of friends dig deeper into the murky world they stumble upon, things do genuinely feel disturbing. Especially as they browse through the video files that are stored in the laptop. It works the scares without resorting to any jump scares or cliche tactics. The feeling that everyone move online is being watched is something we all understand.

While that may be the best part of the film, the rest of it is pretty tepid, especially for a ‘horror’. The group of friends, you never really care for, nor do they possess any quality that makes them worth caring for. Damon, our hacker friend from London is probably the only one who contributes to the plot, the rest are pretty much cannon fodder. Our main character is supremely unlikable, his actions are very selfish and his relationship with his deaf girlfriend seems very unbelievable. The girlfriend is also played off as idiotically stupid, she is deaf, this shouldn’t make her dumb by default, her actions are shockingly awful throughout the film! Hopefully the plan was to make Mathias be hated, otherwise it’s a massive fail!

Once the villain is revealed, the film becomes laughable, cheesy dialogue between our villain and Mathias is comically bad, and the cheap phasing effects of screen whenever he appeared looked absurd whenever it happened. The original film had a supernatural vibe to it, there is none of that here, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The whole ‘darknet’ concept could have been used extremely well, but what the film eventually descends into, maybe they should have stuck with the supernatural plot. The film never feels like a horror, and really could have been marketed more as a thriller. They never shows anything too graphic, and the death scenes are rather tame compared to what happened in the first film.

It’s just a shame that the movie couldn’t run with the ideas it planted at the start of the movie, what could have been an engrossing story, just fades into a forgettable 90 minutes.

August 13, 2018 1

Happy Death Day, It’s A Treat!

Combining the concept of reliving your own death from Edge of Tomorrow, with the 90s Slasher vibe from movies such as Scream, Happy Death Day is one of the most interesting concepts to be put to film this year, and a perfect treat for Halloween!

Jessica Rothe plays Tree Gelbman, your typical run of the mill college student, who after a rough night out, wakes up in a dorm room, unaware of the events of the night before. As we are shown, Tree isn’t exactly the nicest of people, with her arrogant and dismissive seniority sister demeanor, she builds up a firm following of enemies on campus. This proves to be fatal, as that night, Tree runs into a masked stalker, who takes her life with the assistance of a very big blade. But all is not as it seems! Following her death, she wakes up back in the dorm room from earlier that morning. She soon realizes she is trapped sort of time loop, in which her death is inevitable every night. Accepting her looming fate, Tree uses the time she has, to narrow down the culprit from her list of suspects!

Though Happy Death Day has been built up as the return of the Slasher movie, it’s still no where near the sheer intensity of Scream. Yes, there’s a masked stalker, who happens to get very trigger happy with a knife in their hand. But here, our murders are a lot less graphic as films in this genre were , especially back in the 90s! Although it has a horror element to it, it is far more of a mystery movie, rather than a full on scare, so just a few tips to consider before walking into the cinema!

That said, HDD is a thoroughly enjoyable movie, yes you have all the usual american college stereotypes here, the bitchy mean girls, the stalker, the geek etc., but it never hurts the film. Tree is by far the standout character in the movie, her comedic chops are on show here, bringing several moments of laughter to the show. Her character also has an engaging arch, from her ignorant past self, to a more modest and understanding person she eventually becomes.

As mentioned, we have a list of suspects, who each may have a reason to don the eerie mask and go after our protagonist. Could it be Carter (Israel Broussard), the timid student’s dorm in which Tree wakes up in? Or maybe it’s Danielle (Rachel Matthews), the sorority leader, who is somewhat envious of Tree? Then again, it has to be the teacher she is having an affair with right? There are plenty suspects thrown in the mix to keep you doubts swinging between all our various potential killers!

Though the biggest flaw in the film has to be the very lazy explanation regarding the real killer, their motivation and how they did some of the murders. It’s a long stretch to believe someone would go straight to a blood thirsty killer on campus! Would they really leave a random toy playing a melody in a tunnel? It would make more sense for them to just get straight to the act, without all these curious actions. The plot seems to try to make itself look a lot more smarter than it really had to be, with the lat addition of a suspect which shows up from no where. There are also several plot points left unsolved, it it just being careless, or resolutions being saved for a potential sequel?

With far more humour than you would think, HDD is a great concept, that utilizes its college setting very well, it may not be the perfect Halloween movie, but it has it’s moments of suspense, a vibrant cast, and dead cert to leave you satisfied once the credits roll.

October 27, 2017 0