Category: Blog of Damien S. Riley

I joke with the people who know and love me by calling this film my namesake. After all, it is right? (My first name being Damien) Rewatching this classic horror film was amazing. I saw so many subtle influences on later films through the decades. Chill with me as I dissect the film. Oh and you get a bonus: the audio from the original trailer. Thanks for listening.

The Omen (1976) R | 1h 51min | Horror | 25 June 1976 (USA) Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil’s own son? Director: Richard Donner Writer: David Seltzer Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

Although the clown monster hit “It” of the same year may have ended up grossing more box office dollars, “Pet Sematary” is a much better horror movie written by Stephen King, in my opinion. The creepiness permeates and paves the way for a quaint yet terrifying tale of one family and a mystic pet cemetery just behind their house.

I have observed modern horror includes both remakes of past hits as well as re imaginings. These span from “Friday the 13th” to “The Fly” and beyond. Here we have a remake with a slight re imagining element. Pet Sematary revitalizes the beloved 80’s film by Stephen King and respectively repackages it into a film that is more artful, more creepy, and more thought provoking than the original. This isn’t just a jump-scare film either, though it has some of that. It is a horror film through and through creepiness and dark, misty atmosphere included.

Quaint may not be the best adjective for this tale in that it has elements of horror and gore interspersed with a simple story about a quaint family in an all-American home. I think it’s important to note however that getting a story across should have simple pillars. I think the clown film “It” gets way into the complicated zone and for me this detracts from the power of the story. This film indeed has a quaint, or simple, story that is tastefully told using horror elements that accentuate instead of blot it out.

Another benefit of this simplicity is that entry level horror fans can have better access to it. Walking into a haunted house, the riff raff gets sorted out pretty quickly. By that I mean: they do not continue. If it’s a more mild form of scare, they may come through and enjoy the whole attraction. That happened with my youngest daughter, age 11. She’s not into horror yet but she really wanted to see this movie. She ended up loving it. She’s still not claiming to be a horror fan but I would say this film has that “entry level horror” quality to it.

The trailer is not “entry level” sounding, let’s listen to it now …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK0LNzU2TQI

At the get go I want to address the direction “team.” Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. This film plays like a film that people cared for over a long time. There are no accidents. It all works perfectly too. These directors are behind “Starry Eyes.” This goes to show you they had a value for graphic horror in this film. “Starry Eyes” is one of those films where you relate because it looks like it could be happening in your own home or apartment. In fact, as the body count rises, you start thinking about how you will need to hide the evidence. These two can make the film personal and bring the creepiness home to the horror fan. Since “Pet Sematary” takes place with a family in a home and builds its horror moments between family members, Kolsch was a perfect choice. You feel that creepy atmosphere and personal discomfort. I think I’ve discovered a new favorite director team. You can bet I’ll be watching everything they do. I also applaud the producers here for supporting these two on this project. I can only dream of what they COULD have done with “It.” As it is, I am not a huge fan.

A shout out must go to Matt Greenburg for crafting the screenplay. He did Reign of Fire which I really enjoyed. He has some other films under his belt he’s done that are quite impressive: “Seventh Son” and “Halloween H20.” Clearly this project required a talented writer. I loved some of the carefully made changes. They are actually more nods to the original film rather than just detail changes. Here at the beginning, let’s take a look at this cast and see how it stacks up to horror. Jason Clark plays the father/husband in this. He does a pretty good job overall.

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

Everything goes just perfectly in this film until the end portion. I would like to ask the director why he made the choices he did. But, then again, he is a director and they get to make those decisions. I’ve added this film to my excellent slashers list, it truly kicks ass despite the ending. (I review a couple other films in this podcast as well)

High Tension (2003)
Haute tension (original title)
R | 1h 31min | Horror | 10 June 2005 (USA)
High Tension Poster
Trailer 1:45 | Trailer3 VIDEOS | 62 IMAGES
Watch Now
From $2.99 (SD) on Prime Video

ON DISC
Best friends Marie and Alexia decide to spend a quiet weekend at Alexia’s parents’ secluded farmhouse. But on the night of their arrival, the girls’ idyllic getaway turns into an endless night of horror.
Director: Alexandre Aja
Writers: Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur
Stars: Cécile de France, Maïwenn, Philippe Nahon

Home invasions are torture. That’s why we love them.? We have this here alongside a sweet little story of two girlfriends. Rather, it’s about two GIRLS who are friends right? The killings are among the most brutal I’ve seen. The film builds suspense well, introduces the killer, and goes berserk up to about halfway through. When the girls are ushered to a gas station, the film becomes something else, and I mean that literally! I had fun watching the film despite the twist ending that probably wasn’t even needed. In fact it doesn’t even have anything to do with the title. If you don’t know the film and you like slashers, see it!

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

Vivarium
film walkthrough and summary

A young couple with such promise! That’s what Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots represent. The search for a house is not clearly stated, in fact it looks like they are just killing time on a Sunday, going out and looking at them. Gemma and Tom don’t know the terror that awaits them when they drive out to the identical suburban homes with the salesperson “Martin” (exceptionally creepy dude that resembles an actor on a Progressive Insurance commercial). In fact, he seems like a robot. At this point, they are shown house #9 and left alone inside the blank home. Gemma and Tom try to drive home but every street looks exactly the same and leads them back to the mystic model #9.

The Director is Lorcan Finnegan (Without Name). Since this is his second film, I don’t have a “type” to compare it to. I do recall “Without Name” being slow and odd and maybe allegorical? That would be very similar to what’s going on in “Vivarium.” I took the title to suggest “A look at life.” Co-writer is Garret Shanley who also co-wrote “Without Name.” The Stars are: Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Danielle Ryan, and Molly McCann. I was so impressed with Imogen Poots in this. Her acting talent and onscreen presence belies her youth. (She plays a young Valerie in “V for Vendetta.”)

After feeling crushed and claustrophobic, Tom decides to set #9 on fire. Gemma is shocked he has done this but goes along with it since it seems there is literally no way out. The houses stretch out into infinity. The look of the houses resembles what I used to see in 90’s flight simulator games you could download for free. The graphics are simple. During the fire, they decide to follow the very artificial looking sun. It eventually leads them right back to #9 and they become almost surrendered to the house. They find a box with food and necessities in front of the house. They fall asleep in what looks like a death, but it’s not. They find a box with a newborn baby in it that says “Raise the child and be released.” Could this be a statement about Generation X or Y? Perhaps as we are forced into working to pay off a tract home we are fed the lie that if we have children, we will somehow escape the malaise. Could this be our middle class suburban existence being poked fun at? I’ll admit the film gives very few concrete clues and instead leaves much open to interpretation, which normally I like. Maybe it would have helped me if there were more clues as to what the writers meant. Incidentally, the director is also a co-writer of the story.

Months pass and the infant grows to the size of a seven year old boy. He imitates his parents’ voices which to me seemed like the “bait and switch” realization that raising the kid was just a way to pass on traits. The couple is still young but they start to seem like depressed older parents who cannot escape. They seem resigned to the fact that they may never escape. Tom tries to be violent with the “son” and refuses to call him a “boy.” The mother continually says to the boy when he calls her “Mom,” “I am not your mother!” in a very hateful way. Notwithstanding, she seems much kinder than Tow toward the child, even though the child appears to be killing both slowly. Tom finds out the astro turf grass has a strange clay material under it. He is driven to dig down into the yard and discover what is there. The digging each day becomes like a job for him. He gets up, eats breakfast and then starts his occupation of digging. It seems to give him purpose. Could this be the yard work etc we do in Suburbia? No one cares, why are we (esp as dad’s) so obsessed with the look of our lawn and garden?

Once the boy disappears and returns with a book. It has strange and threatening images of 2 adults and a child in witch-like spells. She demands he tell her who gave her the book. He says he’s not supposed to tell.

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

The House That Jack Built – Note: This is my full walkthrough & film summary of this graphic horror movie. Not for everyone. If you are into horror, have a listen 🙂 I recorded this back in 2018 when I was exploring a “Full Walkthrough” approach to movies on the podcast.

My rough notes (Only included for bots and meta functionality): The director and buildup 2 levels: the incidents of a serial killer / the walk to hell, escorted by the verge It’s weird because we are in jack’s head but not supposed to relate with him, and yet we may. Ocd etc are relatable things Mr. Verge (Demon) and Jack 1st incident – Uma Thurman’s character is a bit demanding/annoying. She insults him by saying he looks like a serial killer. She gives him tips in jest on how to transport and bury bodies. She’s demanding about having him drive her back. She pushes and pushes, apparently as a joke, about how he is a serial killer. He is being very cruel with her, sarcastic. She STILL gets in a car with him. Then she says she takes it all back, saying he’s way too much of a wimp to be a serial killer. He kills her. As an engineer, Jack sees the act of killing as an engineered art. We see the pencils straight as a sign of his OCD. The walk-in freezer. He bought a retired restaurant freezer. Pizzas included. Put her body in there with the others. 2nd Incident – Door to door killing. Trying to get in. The wolf. The Kirby salesman. She agrees to let him in after much consternation. Once in, he says ridiculous things, almost playing with the situation, proving his ability to kill. Gets her to put a pillow under her head. Pretends to cry apologizing, gives her tea w poison. She still doesn’t die. Gets knife out, counts up the ribs, pierces her heart. Takes a photo of her with a little antique camera. Drags the body out – so much work to this art. Cleans up with bleach it looks like. He is haunted by the idea he left blood at the scene so he goes back to clean again. The OCD coming out. Even with an alarm on full blast, he recalls one place there might be blood and goes back yet again! Sees a police car, pulls the dead body out of the van. Cops come up to his van. Gives the cop another smooth story. This guy is good. Starts demanding the room be inspected. He is so sure of himself. Ties the body to the van. The drive causes her face to be ground down. Grisly sight. “I went to great lengths to fake normal empathy in order to confound the masses. The scythes are beautiful, peaceful. Cutting off the duckling’s foot is grisly, sad, repulsive. The strangling scenes are awful but in truth, probably as bad as this film gets for gore. This film raises the question: what is hell to jack? Preferred the dark negative light “demonic.” Jack had no family. 3rd incident The family shooting. 4th incident “I had a romance” He says he had stronger feelings for Riley Keough’s character than a psychopath is supposed to have. Jack meets Jacqueline (Riley Keough), a woman that he calls “Simple,” as he believes her to be stupid. Jack confesses he has killed sixty people at this point and is the serial killer “Mr. Sophistication,” but Jacqueline does not believe him and thinks he’s lying. She tries to get away and tell a cop, but he dismisses her as a drunk. Eventually, Jacqueline fails to escape and Jack cuts off her breasts with a knife and murders her. He pins one of the breasts to the Cop’s car and fashions the other one into a wallet. 5th Incident[edit] Jack has detained six people and tied them to a makeshift post, lining their heads up in a row with the intention of killing them all with one bullet, but he realizes that the bullet he bought from Al (Jeremy Davies) is not a full metal jacket bullet. Al refuses to sell the bullets and instead Jack has to go to the trailer of a man known as S.P. (David Bailie). Knowing that the cops are looking for Jack, S.P.

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

Hear my thoughts about and analysis of this haunting and creepy award-winning horror movie. I believe much of “Hereditary” owes to this as influence. Only, this film does it way better with less. I’d love to start a dialog with some people here on this film.

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

I love the novels of Jack London where there’s sure to be snow, whiskey, white fanged husky dogs and other Alaskan treasures. Nature “bites” in this film where we have a couple trying to fight back their demons in this harsh place. Is it a romance? Well, lets examine that too.

Enter Hemingway, Melville, London … you will like what’s being served at this table. We’ve heard of nature being our indifferent enemy but what to do when that enemy is our own nature. We have not yet begun that process in film and literature, but it’s here in this film … along with a few others through the years.

Two Lovers and a Bear (2016)
R | 1h 36min | Drama, Romance | 16 December 2016 (USA)

Set in a small town near the North Pole where roads lead to nowhere, the story follows Roman (DeHaan) and Lucy (Maslany), two burning souls who come together to make a leap for life and inner peace.
Director: Kim Nguyen
Writer: Kim Nguyen
Stars: Dane DeHaan, Tatiana Maslany, Gordon Pinsent
I almost always love the film when the director also wrote the film. In this case it is Kim Nguyen doing both artistic roles. My hat goes off to him, and I assume he wears a hat also because like me, he is shaved bald. (Gotta love the brother!). I don’t know much about him other than he is known for this and two other films and he is a Canadian: War Witch (2012), Two Lovers and a Bear (2016) and The Marsh (2002). I would put stock in him because this film is something quite different than we are used to seeing. Human v Nature/Human v Self. It’s a gritty psychological drama and God forbid IMDB plot keywords would let us toil in ignorance of these features:

“Plot Keywords: sex on table | sex scene | topless female nudity | female nudity”

Yes, Orphan Black star, Tatiana Maslany, bares her breasts. That’s the easy part of nature no one is too worried about.

All these facts plus the plot basically is two lovers at the North Pole in a barely functioning town. Why they are there is not explicitly mentioned, at least not as much as the breasts are displayed. There is something about an abusive father in her past and he … likes the drink and he likes the hard drink. Sometimes you gotta just go “right now.” Other times maybe your demons are better dealt with by a heater. This couple is fraught with demons and they decide it’s time to go into the snow, into the storm but not without the help of a very helpful? bear. Dane DeHaan seems to like him. BTW DeHaan is there and does a good job as such. Not much more is needed from the, I wonder if he even likes the White Stripes.

This is no family movie. It’s also not a sweet romance, unless you think of Moby Dick as romantic. Having said that, there is a lot to think about romance here, maybe how “not” to support a lover with baggage. For a gritty tale of love? turmoil and t*** on a table, I do recommend.

9/10

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

A creepy, atmospheric, dark horror film, my favorite kind. Incredible cinematography and acting. To be primal: Cosmina Stratan is hot. If you enjoyed this film, come walk through it again with me, it will be fun though possibly bloody >:)

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

IMDB gives this as the storyline: Norval’s life has been, to put it lightly, difficult. Currently living home with his mother, the troubled young man is coming off alcohol-related struggles. So when he receives an unexpected letter from his estranged father requesting a visit, Norval catches a bus up to his dad’s secluded and scenic waterfront home. Maybe reconnecting with his father will give Norval the emotional fulfillment he’s been lacking. Before long, though, he notices something off about his dad, an uneasy feeling triggered by inappropriate comments and a possible over-dependence on booze. Norval quickly realizes that his hope of father/son bonding is doomed. Instead of a family reunion, he finds himself in a waking nightmare.
source

Elijah Wood alone is a major reason to watch this film. He wins for worst haircut and neck tattoo in an ensemble but we all like watching him, so if you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch. If you have seen it, you may agree or disagree with my take. Please leave a comment explaining what you liked or disliked about my review. I have multiple places you can reach me: rileyonfilm.com, Riley on Film my Facebook Page, or Riley on Film on Twitter. To divide up my many thoughts on this film, I offer this: This film works as a horror because of its 1) director, 2) star quality, and 3) well-placed hardcore violence that is borderline comical (because it’s so graphic).

First, the director Ant Timpson. As a horror fan you will recognize the movies he’s made: “Turbo Kid” and “Housebound” to name just 2. I think the big actors in this probably took the role because of this avant garde director. He knocked the ball out of the park with this one. There is usually a comedic element to his films but they are intense and often scary (I don’t know how scary I would rate Turbo Kid but it’s graphic). So now that you know the director is established and talented, let’s look at the stars in this film.

Who can think of Elijah Wood as any character other than Frodo Baggins? I sure can’t. He plunges earthward though in this film, showing he has the chops to do much more. I hope we see him in more horror. In 2012 he starred in “Maniac” which holds its own with fans as a solid slasher horror. Let’s hope he keeps on the horror tip. But he’s not the only star quality in this film.

Stephen McHattie is becoming known for a lot of Typecast roles. This is for good reason because I plays the scary old emaciated man role well! He is the DJ in the indie horror modern classic “Pontypool.” He’s great in that and delivers a class act performance as what I will call “the original dad” in “Come to Daddy (Gordon). His gravelly voice and visage make the scenes come alive with suspense and horror. All that is prior to “the fork scene” where a Thai actor is emasculated with the rustic utensil. This is one of the most violent kill scenes I’ve encountered in recent years. I suppose a worse one is done with a straight razor down Brian Cranston’s character’s arm in “Drive.” But I digress. But that brings me to the third viable element in this film: the well-placed violence.

In addition to the soon-to-be-famous fork killing, there is a partial decapitation that should have audiences squirming. IMDB labels this a comedy as well as a horror but I think that would only apply to the black comedy label. These are brutal kills. They’d fit in the context of the story though.

In conclusion, I hope you see and agree with me these three attributes make the film a must see for horror fans. I gave it a 6/10. Where it lost points were in the long spaces between kills and other milestones of the plot which were lagging a bit. It could have had more exposition of the characters of it could have just been shorter.

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message

IMDB is being harsh to this film giving it a 4/10. I really liked it! I gave it a 6/10. I thought the house was creepy, the story was just so so but it worked for me, keeping me repelled and attracted in equal measure.
You can listen to my full podcast review at RileyOnFilm.com and watch my review on Youtube

Below is an unedited word for word transcript of an audio recording. It is included just for meta purposes. There are no corrections or punctuation additions.

Okay, this film is called the girl on the third floor and I really liked this movie it didn’t do very well with the critics on Internet Movie Database it’s sitting on a 4 out of 10 but I really liked it and I think they’re being a little bit too classic story is you have Don Koch who was played by C Punk who is somebody I wasn’t familiar with but apparently he’s an MMA award-winning medal winning fighter I don’t really follow that sport so I don’t know him but as I was watching it I could tell that he was probably established in something else before he became an actor because his body was covered with tattoos but he’s trying to renovate a rundown mansion with a sordid history for his growing family only to learn that the house has other directors is Travis Stevens and he’s known mostly as a producer he was the producer of Buster’s mal Hart which I haven’t seen but it appears to be a horror movie so I think I need to see that especially since I like this film that Travis Stephens directed but Travis Stephens is mostly a producer let me read some of these credits maybe you’ve heard of them mohawk that was an awesome horror movie Busters mal Hart I just mentioned 68 kill xxxx 24 by 36 a movie about movie posters that sounds fine we are still here that’s a horror movie starry eyes I really like that horror movie as well so he’s done a lot of stuff cheap thrills was an amazing kind of horror suspense gore big ass spider the Thompsons the aggression scale what fun we were having zombie diaries – so he’s done let’s look at a few of the cast I’ve already mentioned CM Punk let me just leap read his little blip because I think he’s quite interesting how he came from MMA to actually be in a horror movie Philip Jack Brooks better known by the ring name CM Punk is an American mixed martial artist comic book writer and former professional wrestler he’s best known for his time in WWE where he’s recognized as the sixth longest reigning WWE Champion of all time Punk began his professional wrestling career on the American independent circuit and it goes on and on it lists a lot of accolades he did a good job and I enjoy take a look at the plot first a deeply flawed ex lawyer named Don Koch seeking a new start in life purchases a rundown old house in the suburbs of Chicago with the intent of fixing it up to provide himself and his pregnant wife Liz a new life away from the city he moves into the home ahead of her along with his dog Cooper determined to begin renovating without professional help he learns through his neighbors that the house has a sordid past and begins experimenting supernatural events within the home and it is kind of creepy because there’s this one very attractive actress who keeps coming up to talk to him while he’s working on things seemingly flirting with him but you don’t really get that for a while but when she starts full-on just asking to sleep with him he can’t resist so this is actually a major flaw in this character because he keeps communicating back with his wife who is pregnant about nine months pregnant and he’s insisting upon doing the work there all by himself so you think he’s kind of the man with all the tattoos and everything which is when I knew he probably wasn’t just a regular actor but maybe a crossover person somebody like Henry Rollins because actors don’t generally tattoo their whole body well sure enough I was correct and it’s a sea Punk who we’ve talked about who was a WWE ne…

—

Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/damien-riley/message