Happy Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is a 1984 slasher movie. Directed by Jospeh Zito (The Prowler) and starring Corey Feldman (Gremlins, The Lost Boys), Kimberley Beck and Crispin Glover (Willard). The film was intended to be the last instalment in the franchise, however, a further 6 sequels would be produced.

The film picks up right where part 3 left off with the action moving to a local hospital that Jason's body has been brought to (suspiciously similar to the plot of Halloween 2). In typical fashion, Jason Voorhees rises from the dead and resumes his killing spree. Meanwhile, a group of horny teenagers make their way to Camp Crystal Lake where, oddly, there is also a local family living including young horror nerd Tommy Jarvis (Feldman). Jason returns to the camp like a homing pigeon and begins dispatching the teens in familiar style, only Tommy seems to have an understanding of what makes Jason tick and uses his youthful wits to defeat Jason once and for all.

The idea of an 80s slasher franchise stopping after 4 films seems laughable now but in 1984 the genre was already starting to wane and the video nasty furore was putting much unwanted heat on the producers of slashers. Therefore, this was to be the end of Jason Voorhees at the hands of a troubled young boy no less, true poetic justice. You could certainly consider this the last of the classic Friday the 13th films as, when the series hilariously returned less than a year later, something had certainly been lost (namely Voorhees himself).

The final chapter is good 80s slasher fun with all the archetypes intact, Feldman gives the star performance in what would be the first of many iconic horror roles that decade with Glover also playing an entertainingly nerdy character. There had been inclusions of horror kids in the franchise before but Feldman gives a really authentic perfiormance that certainly drew me in when I watched this as a young horror nerd. The kills and gore are on top form due to Tom Savini returning to the franchise, and director Zito was also no stranger to violence after his own controversial slasher The Prowler (1981).

The Final Chapter was not the last we would see of Jason Voorhees, and i'm grateful for that. It doesn't even really have any finality about it but it is a lot of fun and sees the continuation of a horror icon that, in fairness, had only aquired his famous hockey mask one movie prior. The most many people have seen of this movie is Crispin Glover's famous, and bizarre, dancing, but it's worth a watch to see Jason Voorhees dispatching Horny teens in his prime.

**** 4 stars

Have you seen The Final Chapter? Are you glad they continued the series?

Pacific Rim: Uprising Gets its First Trailer

 

The first trailer has been released for the upcoming sequel to Guillermo Del Toro's Mecha vs Kaiju romp Pacific Rim (2013). Del Toro is a producer this time around with Steven S. Deknight (known mostly for TV work) taking over director duties. John Boyega (The Force Awakens) has been plugged into the role previously filled by Charlie Hunham as Jake Pentecost, son of the much better named Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba). Rinko Kikuchi is also allegedly reprising her role as Mako Mori, though I struggled to spot her in the trailer. Check it out...

There are many warning signs with this one, namely many of the people involved with the original have abandoned ship with imdb listing no less than four writers involved in the screenplay. Also, a director who's primary directing credit is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff does not fill me with confidence. We'll have to see how this one pans out, but I had hopes that Pacific Rim would branch off into a successful franchise like the Godzilla/Kong monsterverse. Let's hope this isn't a cash grab sequel.

What do you think of the trailer? Are you excited for the return of the Pacific Rim universe?

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to Halloween franchise

News has broken this week that the original final girl Jamie Lee Curtis is returning to the Halloween franchise to reprise the role of Laurie strode one last time. The long suffering younger sister of horror icon Michael Myers, Strode/curtis was last seen in the dire Halloween: Resurrection (2002). The character also appeared in the somehow even more dire Rob Zombie rebooted films but the less said about that the better. 

This is the latest in a series of exciting updates about the upcoming sequel being produced by series mastermind John Carpenter, directed by David Gordon Green and written by Danny Mcbride. We'll still have to wait a while though as the film will be released next year to mark the 40th anniversary of the seminal 1978 film. 

What do you think of Curtis' return? Who else would you like to see cast? 

IT (2017): Review

 

 IT is a 2017 American Horror film. Directed by Andy Muschietti (Mama) and starring Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things), Jaeden Lieberher (Midnight Special) and Sophia Lillis (37). The film is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name and a remake of the 1990 TV mini series.

IT opens with the infamous scene involving Bill's (Lieberher) younger brother Georgie, a paper boat and the iconic Pennywise the clown (Skarsgard). Everything seems pretty much the same as the original TV movie, that is, until Georgie is left crawling through the rain bleeding to death after having his arm removed. It quickly becomes clear that this is going to be a much more intense experience than the original as Bill, Richie (Wolfhard), Beverley (Lillis), Ben, Stan, Mike and Eddie assemble to form "The Losers Club. As more and more kids go missing in the town of Derry, the losers club discover a malevolent entity known as "IT" is murdering local youngsters by assuming the form of their worst fears, most commonly Pennywise. The kids have to band together to face their fears and confront Pennywise on his own turf, vowing to come back to Derry should IT ever resurface.

Those who are able to take their rose tinted glasses off for a second will admit that IT (1990) is not a very good movie. IT is, in fact, a poor made for TV movie with terrible acting and the cheesiest music centred around a singularly iconic performance from Tim Curry. So to say that IT (2017) is an improvement on this is not really doing the film justice and this is a remake i've been in favour of for a long time. The child actors in this version are superb and you believe their sincerity and friendship just as much as you believe their fear. And IT is a terrifying movie, not just through jump scares, but through creative sequences that play with the kind of paranoid fantasies and phobias that are never stronger than when you're a child.

Bill Skarsgard had the highly unenviable task of tackling Tim Curry's Pennywise and, for the most part, does a great job of putting his own spin on the creature and the filmmakers wisely pull back on the clown character, choosing to balance him with other manifestations of IT. The only time I felt Skarsgard's Pennywise fell significantly short of Curry's Pennywise was when he had extended lines of dialogue and didn't feel they carried the same dread as when delivered in Curry's traumatising New Jersey drawl. It must also be said that, for a big budget film, the CGI and visual effects are simply not up to scratch and this took me out of the movie a few times but, on the whole, the ambition and creativity of the effects make up for this.

It is rare that a mainstream horror film dazzles in this way, and even rarer that a remake satisfies almost the entire horror community. But it is well deserved, as are the record breaking figures that are rolling in from box offices across the world. IT is a fantastic re interpretation of a classic Stephen King novel and can proudly take it's place among such cornerstones as The Shining, Carrie, Stand by me and The Mist. 2017 continues to be a year that horror fans can be proud of.

**** 4 Stars

What did you think of IT? How do you think it compares to the original?

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017): Review (spoiler free)

War for the Planet of the Apes is a 2017 post apocalyptic action film. Directed by Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield) and starring Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Lord of the Rings), Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Karin Konoval (Planet of the Apes series). The film acts as the final film in the rebooted trilogy, as well as a prequel to the original Planet of the Apes series.

War for the Planet of the Apes picks up 5 years after the events of Dawn, and 15 years after the events of Rise. The man made virus has almost entirely wiped out the human race and given the apes the evolved intelligence to form their own society, and army, after relations broke down in the previous film. Led by the trilogy's hero Caesar (Serkis), the ape colony are under constant attack and seek to permanently move to a more remote location. However, catastrophic actions taken by the leader of the human army, "The Colonel" (Harrelson), spark a full blown war as Caesar seeks blind revenge and the balance of apes and humanity hangs in the balance.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing about War, is how it simultaneously manages to be a war film of epic proportions whilst also remaining a very cerebral and personal story that has been played out of the course of three incredible films. Matt Reeves, and series masterminds Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, have never been interested in the conventional action/sci-fi or action/war film and this shows more than ever as the trilogy concludes just as it started, from the perspective of the apes. This, of course, absolutely hinges on Serkis' central performance as protagonist Caesar, as well as an excellent  supporting performance from Konoval as the much loved Maurice the Orangutan.

Luckily, this is a career best performance from Serkis as Weta digital push the mo cap performance to it's absolute limits and you never once consider that this might not be a Chimpanzee. Harrelson turns in the second best Colonel Kurtz impression of the year (after Samuel L Jackson in Skull Island) and, I have to admit, executes a much darker performance than I thought he was capable of (it's been a long time since Natural Born Killers). Though Toby Kebbel's Koba is missed from Dawn, the new character of "Bad Ape" (Zahn) breathes a new sense of fun into the mix that was noticeably absent from the last film and the comic relief is well judged and very welcome.

Mad Max, Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Godfather...stand aside. The Planet of the Apes "Caesar" trilogy is the most consistently incredible and breathtaking movie trilogy ever crafted. And that would not have been possible if War had gone the way of many bungled and ill judged threequels. War for the Planet of the Apes does not falter or buckle under the enormous pressure placed upon it by the previous 2 films (or indeed the original 5 films). War sticks to it's guns and spits in the face of the brainless Michael Bay blockbuster, proving you can make a big budget action movie with brains and heart, told entirely from the perspective of non human characters. This might not be the end for the Apes franchise, but Reeves and Serkis can stand by this trilogy and say they made the absolute best films of this decade.

***** 5 Stars

What did you think of WFTPOTA? What's your favourite trilogy?

Leatherface gets a red band trailer

 

A new red band trailer has dropped for the upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel "Leatherface". Covering the early teenage years, the film follows the young Thomas Sawyer as he escapes from a mental hospital and goes on a state wide rampage, pursued by Stephen Dorff's Texas ranger. check it out...

I'm no fan of over explaining the origins of one of horror's great icons, and this has more than a whiff of Rob Zombie's dreadful Halloween remake. Plus, the Texas Chainsaw has had an extraordinarily bad run of sequels, arguably only the first sequel measured up to the brilliance of the original. 

However, the movie is being directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, the pairing that brought you Inside (2007), Livid (2011) and the Texas Chainsaw-esque Among the Living (2014). This is sure to guarantee excessive levels of violence if nothing else! We'll find out when the movie is released in October

What do you think of another Texas Chainsaw sequel/prequel? Are you a fan of any of the other sequels?

James Wan and David Leslie Johnson on board for Conjuring 3

 

In addition to the spinoffs Annabelle: Creation, The Nun and The Crooked Man, The Conjuring franchise is still set to receive a third instalment to the main series. Fortunately, it has been announced that David Leslie Johnson, writer of the second film, and James Wan, the man behind the franchise, are coming back for me. 

While Wan is not neccessarily se to direct, he will still have heavy involvement in the film with Johnson continuing writing duties from the last movie. No release dae for this one yet but stay tuned.

Are you excited for another Conjuring movie? Do you think the franchise is being oversaturated?

Pool Party Massacre (2017): Review

Pool Party Massacre is a 2017 slasher film. Directed by Drew Marvick and starring Alexis Adams, Dora Deceuninck and Mark Justice. This is Marvick's directorial debut and he also wrote and appeared in the film.

The film centres around Tiffany (Adams), a spoiled suburbanite who throws an impromptu pool party while her parents are away on vacation. Among her friends is Dora (Deceuninck), who has long since outgrown their shallow high school friendship and is starting to pull away from Tiffany. After a boyfriend and his half wit brother crash the party, things start to go wrong and people start to dissapear as a mysterious handyman dispatches the attendees of the pool party massacre. It's down to the final girl to avoid being dispatched and escape the deadly LA suburbs.

Pool Party Massacre is an overt homage to the cheesy teen slashers of the 80s, such as Slumber Party Massacre (1982), Sleepaway Camp (1983) and The Mutilator (1984). In this it is very successful, complete with splatter kills and porno dialogue, and wisely walks more on the side of parody so you can laugh with it, rather than at it. A lot of attention is paid to the gruesome murders and, although initially they involve basic stabby techniques, they do advance to various gardening tools and there's a nice bit of dramatic irony as we get to see the unknown killer pick his weapon from a wall rack.

The movie comes with a great electro/metal soundtrack and always feels like the cast and crew are having a great time making the film. The authentic cheesy dialogue does tend to grate after a while and not all the jokes land in the way I believe they were intended to, but there's a decent central performance from Deceuninck and Marvick's own character is delightfully over the top. The film rattles on at an advisable pace, not leaving you time to get bored of the brainless plot, but I have to say I guessed the identity of the killer about halfway through, leaving the resolution somewhat lacking.

A great film for a friday night with a few friends and a few beers, Pool Party Massacre is exactly the kind of enjoyably dumb trash that was churned out at an alarming rate in the 80s. As long as you don't take the film any more seriously than any of the cast and crew, you'll be on the right side of the joke and have a lot of fun.

*** 3 Stars

What did you think of Pool Party Massacre? Are you a fan of 80s slashers?

Flatliners remake gets a trailer

 

The upcoming remake of Joel Schumacher's Flatliners has released it's first trailer. The 1990 supernatural thriller helped to turn Julia Roberts, Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland into huge 90s movie stars and has now received a modern update. Seemingly following the same plot as the original, the film follows a group of young medical students as they experiment with pushing themselves to the brink of death, and beyond.

With a much more underwhelming cast in the form of Ellen Paige, Nina Dobrev and Diego Luna, although Sutherland is also credited, the film would appear to be scraping the very bottom of the barrel when it comes to unnecessary remakes. However, the aesthetics are at least a change from the grungy, gritty original and, you would assume, there will be some incorporation of new scientific ideas that have emerged since the early 90s. The film is released this September.

What do you think of the trailer? Does Flatliners need to be remade?

Adam Wingard to direct Godzilla vs Kong

 

Indie horror legend in the making Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest, Blair Witch) has been announced as the director for upcoming kaiju mashup Godzilla vs Kong. Wingard is a tried and tested hand in several different variations of the horror genre, but he's never tackled anything on this scale and has a writers room to contend with.

We'll wait and see what fellow indie horror director Michael Dougherty (trick r treat, Krampus) can do with Godzilla 2 before seeing Wingard's epic monster clash in 2020.

What do you think of the choice of director? Are you a fan of Wingard's previous movies?

Colossal (2017): Review

 

Colossal is a 2017 indie kaiju film. Directed by Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes) starring Anne Hathaway (Interstellar), Jason Sudekis (Horrible Bosses) and Dan Stevens (The Guest). The film debuted at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

The film follows the self destructive Gloria (Hathaway), an unemployed alcoholic who's just been dumped by her boyfriend Tim (Stevens). Forced to move from New York back to her small hometown, she soon rekindles a friendship with childhood friend Oscar (Sudekis) who employs her at his local bar. Suddenly, A giant monster is spotted attacking Seoul on the other side of the world and, although initially shocked, Gloria soon discovers she can control the monster from the safety of her local park. However, Oscar also learns that he can control a giant robot in Seoul, and their relationship soon begins to strain under the great responsibility of having your very own city smashing avatar.

Colossal is a wonderful little indie movie that surprises you at every turn, and ends up being a film about personal relationships that just happens to have giant monsters in it (much like Gareth Edwards Monsters). However, when it comes time to do a bit of smashing, the effects are spot on and the monster a fairly original design. The film is beautifully shot and the small town setting and flawed characters well drawn, if indie film cliches. What's most impressive is Vigalondo's restraint, whenever using the monsters in the plot, he always does so to get across a point and to draw parallels with his human characters.

The only drawback of the film is the characterisation of Sudekis' Oscar. The intention is to have him become the anti villain to Hathaway's anti-hero, however, you're either a villain, or you're not. Swinging wildly between drunken tirades, pathos, and punching Gloria in the face, serves only to confuse audiences and I wasn't quite sure how to feel about him by the end. Hathaway's performance, however, is tremendous. Playing against type, she is a disheveled, damaged mess and creates the same sympathy for her monster avatar as she does for her own character.

The subgenre of indie kaiju is a small niche indeed, but a welcome twist on the genre as Legendary are doing a bang up job of the blockbuster variety. Colossal joins the likes of Monsters (2010) and The Host (2006) as a charming tale of small town relationships set against the larger backdrop of giant monsters and Vigalondo continues to prove one of the most original minds in the business.

**** 4 Stars

Wha did you think of Colossal? Would you have liked more monster action?

Zac Efron is...Ted Bundy?!

In a somewhat surprising casting move, former child star Zac Efron has been cast this week in an upcoming biopic of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. Noted documentarian Joe Berlinger will be directing the ridiculously titled "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile" as Efron attempts to shake off his teenage typecasting. 

In fairness, Efron obviously has the looks for the role and, as you can see, there is a pretty strong resemblance. What remains to be seen is whether Efron can turn on the darkness when it comes time to stop the charming and start the killing.

What do you think of the casting? Can you see Efron as Ted Bundy?

Alien: Covenant (2017): Review

Alien: Covenant is a 2017 sci fi horror film. Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) and starring Michael Fassbender (Frank, Shame), Katherine Waterston (Steve Jobs), Billy Crudup (Watchmen) and Danny McBride (This is the End). The film is a direct sequel to Prometheus (2012) and a prequel to the Alien franchise.

Alien: Covenant picks up ten years after the events of Prometheus as the colonist ship (cleverly titled "Covenant") is forced to wake up it's crew a little earlier due to system malfunctions. Served by ship android Walter (Fassbender), Captain Oram (Crudup) discovers that there is a much more habitable planet much nearer to them than their original destination and decides to take a task force to invesigate (what could possibly go wrong?). Aided from the air by pilot Tennessee (McBride, Oram takes second in command Daniels (Waterston), Walter and others down to the surface where they get a lot more than they bargained for in terms of the planets inhabitants, both alien and artificial.

In 2012 Ridley Scott dissapointed legions of Alien fans across the world by promising a prequel that would reveal the fascinating origins behind the revered Alien franchise. What we actually got was a disjointed, confused mess of a film (albeit visually stunning) that barely resembled the orginal franchise and Scott is nothing if not consistent. Covenent is so clearly a response to the poor reception of Prometheus, you can almost hear Scott off set, as the Xenommorph is eviscerating a crew member, shouting "is this what you want?!". Sadly, the answer is still no. The characters are supremely bland, the plot laughably predictable, the horror about as subtle as a brick and the dialogue howlingly bad. No, people were actually howling with laughter in my screening, and I can't say I blame them.

What really breaks my heart is that the great Michael Fassbender bears the brunt of most of this garbage dialogue and tries to carry it off with a scenery chewing performance as the villainous David, but to no avail, and to think, David the android was one of the highlights of Prometheus. The paint by numbers plot is so formulaic that it is clearly one gigantic MacGuffin to get to the creation of the Xenomorph itself, so these pointless prequels can tie up with the original movies. And for what? In what must be an in joke, one of the characters actually speaks the dialogue "none of this makes any sense" and, from the moment the film opened and I saw Guy Pearce returning as Peter Weyland, I knew nobody had learnt anything from the failure of Prometheus.

I never thought I would say this but Covenant is even worse than Prometheus and, to watch a once great director, now a stubborn old man, trying to recapture the glory of his masterpiece is the real shame here. Covenant is like Alien but without any of the suspense, style or atmosphere and truly shows how out of touch Ridley Scott is with the iconic franchise that he once helped to build. Scott continues to dominate the genre of "visually impressive nonsense" and it now seems that the franchise is doomed to float through unimaginative sci fi hyperspace for good. In space, no one can hear you yawn. 

** 2 Stars

What did you think of Alien Covenant? Is Ridley Scott out of touch?

Darren Aronofsky returns to psychological horror

Acclaimed arthouse director Darren Aronofsky gave everyone a mother's day present yesterday in the form of the poster for his surprise new film "Mother!". The film stars Jennifer Lawrence alongside Javier Bardem, Domnhall Gleeson and Michelle Pfeiffer. 

Although it certainly had it's fans, I was no fan of Aronofsky's last foray into the genre with Black Swan. However, with a strong cast and a potentially less melodramatic approach, I could be convinced otherwise. The film is slated for a November release in the UK.

What do you think of the poster? Are you a Darren Aronofsky fan?

New Blade Runner trailer

A full trailer has been released for the upcoming Blade Runner 2049. As well as giving an action packed look at the visually jaw dropping world, the trailer gives us a better look at the characters being played by Ryan Gosling, Ana De Armas and, most intriguingly, Jared Leto. Leto appears to take on a creator character (similar to Eldon Tyrell in the original) as we're given a glimpse into how replicants are made for the first time. check out the trailer...

As well as hearing the familiar strains of Vangelis' iconic score, you can see Harrison Ford reprising the role of Deckard and passing the torch to Ryan Gosling's mysterious "Officer K". The burning question on my mind, however, is Officer K a human or a replicant? We'll find out in October

What did you think of the trailer? Do you think Officer K is a replicant?

Raw (2017): Review

Raw is a 2017 Belgian-French horror film. Directed by Julia Ducournau (Mange) and starring Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf (Tiger Girl) and Rabah Nait Oufella (Girlhood). The film was first released at the Toronto International Film Festival, amidst reports of fainting due to the film’s graphic scenes.

The film follows teenager Justine (Marillier) as she attends her first week at veterinary school. A lifelong vegetarian, Justine becomes subject to the various hazing rituals orchestrated by the older students, including her sister Alexia (Rumpf). One particular task requires her to eat a raw rabbit kidney and, after initially being reluctant, the ritual soon awakens a strange desire for human flesh. As she struggles to conceal her metamorphosis from her roommate Adrien (Oufella), Justine discovers that she is not the only one with a taste for flesh and tries to make it to the end of freshers week without her secret being revealed.

Raw would have to considered one of the most impressive feature length debuts for any director in recent memory. The themes and ideas are actually pretty well worn in horror ie body horror as a metaphor for puberty, cannibal families and comparisons to Carrie (76), Ginger snaps (00) and We Are What We Are (10) are more than fair. Ducournau puts the French post modern spin on the premise, without going as far as the New Wave of French Extremism. Rather than gory, the film would be much better described as visceral in a way that has rarely been achieved since the heyday of David Cronenberg.

Equally as impressive in her feature length debut is young actor Marillier, throwing herself mentally and physically into the role of a teenager being tortured by her own desires and urges. The concept of a vegetarian becoming a cannibal is obviously a rich vein of irony and black comedy and Ducournau wisely peppers this style of humour throughout the script to give the audience a rest after some rather intense sequences. The film is visually stunning and a washed out palette is complimented by some jaw dropping wide angle shots which force the viewer to focus on the slightest of movements like a laser.

Raw doesn’t forge any new ground but it takes reliable horror tenets and weaves them together in a eye wateringly intense experience that you’re not likely to forget soon. As one of the new wave of female directors forcing their way into a male dominated genre, Ducournau certainly has a bright future and has crafted a film of the year candidate on her first attempt.

5 Stars *****

What did you think of Raw? Did you find the film intense?

Free Fire (2017): Review

Free Fire is a 2017 crime comedy film. Directed by Ben Wheatley (High Rise, Sightseers) and starring an ensemble cast featuring Cillian Murphy (Sunshine), Brie Larson (Kong: Skull Island), Sharlto Copley (District 9), Sam Riley (Control) and Michael Smiley (Kill List). The film was produced by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorcese.

Free Fire opens with IRA members Chris (Murphy) and Frank (Smiley) going to meet with South African arms dealer Vernon (Copley) in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Boston. They are accompanied by hapless duo Stevo (Riley) and Bernie and the meeting is facilitated by Justine (Larson) and Ord. Initial tensions over weapon specs and protocol soon descend into violence as it emerges Stevo was involved in an incident with one of Vernon’s crew the previous night. This transforms into a prolonged shootout between the two gangs that lasts most of the movie as they fight to get out of the warehouse alive, and preferably with a briefcase of money.

Free Fire is a return to Wheatley’s (and Jump’s) comedy stylings first flexed in Sightseers, as well as a return to his crime caper debut Down Terrace. Here the action is transplanted to America where a whole mix of accents serve to support the witty script. Murphy, Smiley and Copley all get to use their own accents whereas Riley effects a Bostonian twang. The script is packed with killer one liners with Sharlto “watch and Vern” Copley stealing the show as the pompous, but still somehow affable, Vernon. Riley is also perfectly cast as the scummy junkie who throws the spanner in the works but who you also somehow root for, despite learning of his psychotically violent tendencies.

Unfortunately, there’s not a great deal more to say about Free Fire as not a great deal more happens, and here is where it starts to slip down the mighty totem pole of Wheatley instant classics. Around an hour of the film is simply one group of people shooting at another group of people and, sadly, no amount of pithy dialogue can sustain that. It’s also a pretty bloated cast with, ironically, the American actors Larson and Armie Hammer left trying to play catchup with their international counterparts in between shots being fired. There is a peppering of gore to keep things interesting and a tremendous sequence involving a van driving in circles to a John Denver soundtrack but, overall, the film limps to a close rather than the kind of explosive finale seen in Kill List or Sightseers.

Ben Wheatley is arguably the best director in the UK with a string of tremendous, and varied, films on his CV but Free Fire would have to rank fairly low on that list. A middling film from Wheatley is still better than a lot of directors best efforts and, perhaps, crime films just aren’t my thing (Down Terrace is also one of my least favourite Wheatley films). Free Fire is an amusing romp that, very nearly, kept me entertained throughout, but certainly won’t leave as much of an impression as some of Wheatley’s more bizarre efforts.

*** 3 Stars

What did you think of Free Fire? What’s your favourite Ben Wheatley film?



New WFTPOTA trailer

A 2nd trailer has been released for the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes. Whilst not quite nailing the brevity and impact of the first trailer, this does seem to shed more light on Caeser's motivations against the human militia and, interestingly, indicates some of the Apes have turned traitor and joined up with the humans. Woody Harrelson also gets some cracking dialogue as the Colonel Kurtz-esque character including “Sometimes it is necessary to abandon our humanity, to save our humanity”. Check it out...

This also promises to be the most action packed instalment of the rebooted franchise, after Rise (2011) and Dawn (2014) so skilfully set the scene. This is my favourite franchise of the decade and I can't wait to see the full scale wintery warfare promised in this trailer. War for the Planet of the Apes will (ironically) be released in July.

What do you think of the trailer? Are you a fan of the series?

IT gets first trailer

The first trailer has been released for the upcoming remake/adaptation of Stephen King's IT. The creepiness factor is definitely strong with this one and I was impressed by how much they held back, showing very little of Bill Skarsgard's Pennywise. check it out...

Although I'm not completely sold on this interpretation of Pennywise, it was always going to be difficult to replicate the sheer terror of Tim Curry's iconic performance, everything is looking good here and they've certainly nailed that classic King atmosphere. We'll have to wait til September to be traumatised by Pennywise all over again.

What did you think of the trailer? Are you looking forward to the new Pennywise?

Get Out (2017): Review (spoilers)

Get Out is a 2017 psychological horror film. Directed by Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) and starring Daniel Kaluuya (Psychoville), Allison Williams (Girls) and Stephen Root (Office Space). The film is the directorial debut for Peele, who was previously known for his comedy sketch work.

The film follows the young couple of Chris (Kaluuya) and Rose (Williams), as Rose prepares to take Chris home to meet her family. Chris is initially paranoid at being the only black person at the house before being introduced to the black staff Georgina and Walter, however, they begin to exhibit very strange behaviour. After being coerced into a hypnotism session with Rose’s mother, we learn that Chris has been harbouring guilt from his childhood relating to his own mother’s death and, during a party at the family home, the rich white guests start to take an unhealthy interest in him. It soon becomes clear that Rose has been luring young black people back to the family home where, bizarrely, her brain surgeon father transplants the consciousness of the rich white people into their bodies. Trapped inside the house, and under hypnotic mind control, Chris has to fight for his life to escape his grim fate and remain in control of his own body.

 

Jordan Peele has crafted one of the most witty, socially relevant and suspenseful horror films in recent memory, and the fact that this is his first film is all the more impressive. The set up is somewhat familiar, reminding me of Funny Games (97) or You’re Next (11), but the idea of race as a source of tension is introduced right away and is the main thread from which the plot points hang. It is an exceptionally well written film as Peele plants seeds throughout that will only be paid off in the third act, or even on a second viewing, and there are many lesser directors that simply don’t think this far ahead. Crucially, the heavy subject matter of racism is peppered with comic relief, mostly in the form of Chris’s friend Rod, as well as clever eccentricities in the characters that ensure it is a film that can be enjoyed and analysed in equal measures.

The performances from the supporting cast are excellent with Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener providing the perfect balance between sinister weirdos and strangely likeable parents. Allison Williams proves much more interesting after Rose’s true motives are revealed and Georgina and Walter’s performances are fascinating when reassessed in the light of the third act reveal. The only downsides, performance wise, are the pretty bland protagonist Chris and the under-utilised Stephen root but this can be forgiven in quite a busy cast. As ambitious and original as the whole hypnotic slave/consciousness swapping angle is, I have to say the idea of mashing 2 brains together in one skull to create an avatar was a pretty far fetched notion in an otherwise grounded movie.

Get Out reinvents the twisty Hitchcockian thriller for the interesting modern times in which we live and offers a rare black perspective within the horror genre. Multiple mysteries are deployed and resolved with the precision of a much more experienced director than Peele and, no doubt, the horror world will be watching his next move closely. Get Out doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it is surely the freshest take on the genre you'll see this year.

**** 4 Stars

What did you think of Get Out? Did you feel the plot was a little too out there?



Kong: Skull Island (2017): Review

Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 American Kaiju film. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kings of Summer) the film stars Tom Hiddleston (High Rise), Brie Larson (Room), John C. Reilly (Stepbrothers), Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane) and John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane). The film is part of Legendary pictures continued “Monsterverse”.

The film is set in the early 70s against the dying days of the Vietnam war as Monarch operative Randa (Goodman) attempts to get an expedition together in order to visit the mysterious Skull Island. Joined by Mercenary James Conrad (Hiddleston), photographer Mason Weaver (Larson) and Colonel Packard (Jackson), the team soon discover that Skull Island is far from uninhabited as the giant ape lays waste to their squad of helicopters. Stumbling upon castaway Hank Marlow (Reilly), we soon learn that Kong is the protector of the island and that the subterranean “Skullcrawlers” pose a far greater threat. The team must survive the horrors of Skull Island and escape, as Kong does battle with a jumbo Skullcrawler, in order to tell the rest of the world about these gigantic new creatures.

Skull Island has long been pitched as King Kong (1933) meets Apocalypse Now (1978), which is a pretty bold claim considering those are two of the greatest films ever made, and, on this promise, it delivers in spades. Vogt-Roberts is clearly well versed in both these films, as well as kaiju and war movies in general, and does a fantastic job in creating this fresh take on a modern monster movie. The direction and visual set ups are eye watering as, locations wise, we’re taken on a world tour of Vietnam, Hawaii and Australia and the visual effects, as with Godzilla, blend seamlessly into the world. The design of Kong is a welcome return to the classic bipedal character, with Peter Jackson’s anatomically correct character now a distant memory, and the King has been massively scaled up so that he can do battle with the other King in 2020.

The pacing is perfect, as the film wastes little time getting our protagonists onto the island, and the cast is strong despite a wasted John Goodman and a woefully miscast Tom Hiddleston as an action hero (Kurt Russell, he is not!). I particularly enjoyed Jackson’s turn as the Colonel Kurtz-esque Packard, he just made it through a war, he’s not about to let a damn dirty ape trample all over him! My immediate concern when I first saw the trailer was that John C. Reilly was there to provide ill-advised humour and, although his character has unexpected depths, I felt that a lot of the attempts at comic relief still fell flat on their face. However, for every human character that was in danger of becoming irritating, there were more than enough creatures on display to marvel at including a giant Octopus, Spider, water Buffalo and, of course, the sinister Skullcrawlers (themselves actually based on a briefly glimpsed creature in the original King Kong).

Much like 2014’s Godzilla, the film isn’t perfect but it does exactly what it needs to do, it brings these beloved characters back to life and sets them in new and vivid adventures for Kaiju fans, old and new, to enjoy. The philosophy of enlisting Vogt-Roberts is clearly the same as Gareth Edwards, these are technically exceptional directors with a passion and nerdom that we can all respect and relate to. See it on the big screen at least once to maximise your adventure to Skull Island, and don’t forget to stay for the post credits sequence. There’s never been a better time to be a kaiju fan!

***** 5 Stars

What did you think of the film? Did you like the Vietnam war setting?

Gaff returns for Blade Runner 2049

Some very welcome casting news has emerged surrounding the upcoming Blade Runner 2049 in the form of Edward James Olmos reprising his classic Gaff role. A mysterious and infrequent character in the original Blade Runner, he said more with his origami skills, however, also got to utter one of the greatest final lines in film history.

"It's too bad she won't live. But, then again, who does?"

Olmos joins Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto in Denis Villeneuve's belated sequel to the classic sci fi film.

What do you think of the casting choices? Are you excited for this one?

A Cure for Wellness (2017): Review

A Cure for Wellness is a 2017 Gothic horror. The film is directed by Gore Verbinski (The Ring) and stars Dane DeHaan (Chronicle) and Jason Isaacs (Event Horizon). The project was an American-German co production.

Lockheart (DeHaan) is an ambitious young businessman from New York. After the CEO of his company disappears into the Swiss Alps, to a mysterious clinic, Lockheart is tasked with travelling to the clinic and retrieving Mr Pembroke. However, after being involved in a car accident trying to leave the clinic, Lockheart soon finds himself a patient under the watchful eye of the hospital director Dr Heinrich Volmer (Isaacs). Lockheart is forced to investigate the hospital in order to uncover the mysterious “cure” that they offer, as well as the sinister history of the building before he ends up becoming a permanent resident.

After languishing under the uninspired wing of Disney for over a decade, including interminable Pirates of the Caribbean sequels and the disastrous Lone Ranger (2013), Gore Verbinski has finally returned to the horror genre after his enormous contribution with The Ring (2002). It’s a shame that such an auteur moved on so quickly from the genre and, indeed, you probably didn’t know that the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean films were directed by the same person. Happily the iconic aesthetic of The Ring carries through to A Cure and Verbinski crafts another visually astounding modern Gothic horror. The direction is flawless and the setting is breathtaking, with much of the exterior scenes being filmed on location at a German castle, and Verbinski shows a perfect command of the big screen.

In terms of the story, you might think we’re in Dr Caligari/Shutter Island territory and you’re partly right. However, there is real effort made to forge a separate path through the “lunatics are running the asylum” trope and the film certainly kept me guessing as to the true nature of the plot. A tense and mysterious atmosphere gives way to body horror as the film progresses, giving DeHaan a bit more to work with in terms of his character, though I still didn’t feel he was well cast in the lead role. Isaacs gives a much better accounting of himself as the sinister hospital director, and a cracking German accent. At around the 2 hour mark, I felt the film could have concluded very nicely, but then, the plot takes a wild turn into dangerously silly territory and they throw an awful lot of plot twists at the wall to see what sticks, which is a bit of a shame.

Overall, A Cure for Wellness is a solid effort from a very talented director which somewhat suffers from its similarities to other films and, more importantly, it’s attempts to differentiate. Come for the scenery and jaw dropping cinematography, but don’t expect to be satisfied by the wacky twists and turns that prevail. Let’s hope to see many more modern Gothic horrors, especially if they’re directed by Gore Verbinski.

*** 3 Stars

What did you think of the movie? Were you satisfied with the ending?

Giant shark movie "Meg" delayed

The upcoming adaptation of Steve Alton's novel "Meg" has hit a snag as the film has been pushed back from spring to summer 2018. Scheduled to be directed by John Turtletaub (National Treasure) and starring action hero Jason Statham, this moves the film into the much more traditional summer season for shark movies.


Personally, I lost a lot of interest in this project when Eli Roth jumped off and Statham jumped on but, at the very least, we may well get to see the biggest shark in movie history. until Statham punches it back to extinction!


Are you looking forward to this one? Would you rather see a shark movie in the summer?

Vera Farmiga joins Godzilla sequel

Some more casting news regarding the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters this week as modern day scream queen Vera Farmiga joins the project. Best known for her roles in The Conjuring series, as well as Norma Bates in Bates Motel, Farmiga joins Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown.

After so long in developmental hell, things hadn't been looking great for Godzilla 2. But now, with the cast shaping up and with Michael Dougherty (Krampus, trick r treat) directing, we may still get a sequel that lives up to it's royal title.

What do you think of Varmiga being added? Who else would you like to see cast?