Tag: #horror

Strengths of this film are its: characters as written, actors and actresses, urban legend story, part documentary style part real action drama. Yep, I’m serious, there are that many strengths. This is a truly great film that I urge everyone to see.

I, Tonya (2017)
R | 2h | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 19 January 2018 (USA)

Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Writer: Steven Rogers
Stars: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney

Margot Robbie saved “Suicide Squad,” let’s face it. But she’s such a powerful actress, we want to see her acting, not saving a cartoon comic movie. “I, Tonya’ gives her that space to work in and she delivers, big time. We know director Craig Gillespie from “Lars and the Real Girl.” That was a well done film and it got him the footing and clout to bring the Tonya Harding story to life. This film is highly well directed, edited, and creatively shot.

In the 80’s when this was actually happening, I was quote aware of it. Just like the OJ Simpson trial, developments were aired on the news show Hard Copy and others. It was impossible to not know the latest detail in this Machiavellian drama. I felt truly bad, along with the rest of America, that Nancy Kerrigan had a kneecap broken. She’s not in this film much but the world really felt her pain. She is an innocent. On the other hand, we all got a vilified impression from the news about Tonya Harding. Unofrtunately or not, that impression has stuck for us 40 somethings until this day.

This film came out to present the true Tonya and let the audience make their decision about what happened. I can say it definitely gave me a more human image of her. It is a funny movie and also contaons drama and vengeance. It’s an all-American tale I would say. We get to see the horrors she suffered from her mother in a trailer park and the discipline she was forced to have as a youth skater.

This is a gem of a film. I highly recommend it to you. I can’t imagine how they could have made it better. 10/10

Listen to this entry from the Damien Riley Podcast:

If you ever set out to explore foreign horror, you may have stumbled across “Audition” from 1999. It’s a Japanese flick that certainly can be called horror but the large first portion is just drama, building up to a crescendo that is definitely not for weak stomachs.

Audition (1999)
Ôdishon (original title)
R | 1h 55min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 3 March 2000 (Japan)

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Ryû Murakami (novel), Daisuke Tengan (screenplay)
Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki

Director: Takashi Miike has a long list of foreign horror he has made. One I recognized right away was “One Missed Call.” He used a lot of sophisticated camera and editing techniques in “Audition: that make it a great horror film. He is clearly a master of his craft and when I look into Japanese horror again, I’ll be checking out his stuff. But this particular film is well known and respected. It has at 69 on Metascore and you have to take into consideration that it’s a film with subtitles so I see 69 as an excellent American score.

The main character struck me as a chauvinist who thought himself romantic. The age difference was way too wide. When she started playing into his wiles all to quickly, I was in agreement with his friend that it was probably too good to be true. What happens near the end has been viewed as a victory for feminism because the two men were holding an “audition” for his new wife posing as a casting call. This was made in 1999 but it certainly echoes what has been happening for awareness in Hollywood.

I did enjoy the first 3/4 of this film but for me, the end was a weak payoff. I enjoy seeing authentic cultural food and architecture and there was a lot of that. Unfortunately, I was looking for a horror the likes of say, “Martyrs” and this is not even in the same universe. The story is more equivalent to a mystery on the CSI tv show. Things get explained with flashbacks etc. Overall, I was not amazed by this film but I’d recommend the drama side of it. The horror is pretty much not there in terms of screentime. I have to give this film a 5/10.

A dark tale of a family off course and forced to deal with the “Deliverance” style locals. Those parts we’ve seen before but never with a Wendigo.

Wendigo (2001)
R | 1h 31min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | 23 January 2001 (USA)

George is a high-strung professional photographer who is starting to unravel from the stress of his work with a Manhattan advertising agency. Needing some time away from the city, Jake, his… See full summary »
Director: Larry Fessenden
Writer: Larry Fessenden
Stars: Patricia Clarkson, Jake Weber, Erik Per Sullivan

If you’re taken in by creepy and eerie, there’s a lot of that here. Unfortunately, there’s a little too much reliance in the plot on the young son and getting hm tucked in so mom and dad can do the nasty. That threw the story off a bit for me. I mean, it’s like figure ut what you’re trying to make: Malcolm in the middle with a dash of soft porn or a monster movie about the Wendigo. The stuff with the locals was effective, it worked well. Even that though could have been made a bit scarier in my view.

Lesson learned: don’t piss off the locals when traveling through a forest area. Do I know anything more about what a mythological Wendigo is? Nope.

5/10

In the spirit of “The Hitchhiker” this film starts out with a stranger on a lonely road who needs a ride. Even though this one is a burly blonde male model of sorts needing something from the woman driver, it’s a similar thing going on.

Curve (2015)
R | 1h 21min | Horror, Thriller | 19 January 2016 (USA)

A young woman becomes trapped in her car after a hitchhiker causes her to have an automobile accident.
Director: Iain Softley
Writers: Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson (story), Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson (screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Julianne Hough, Teddy Sears, Penelope Mitchell

The director is a British guy, Iain Softley, who’s notable works include “KPax.” He does a decent job here setting up the psychological torment of the woman at the hands of this stranger.

Much of the film takes place in the toppled car. I would imagine this would require a lot of directing. It’s a very physically acted film. Some of the writing could be improved upon, though I enjoyed every minute of this film. As a whole, the end scenes are gratifying, definitely giving us some much earned vengeance play. I would recommend this film as a simple but fun “held captive” film. I give it 7/10.

Watching a horror film in black and white can hypnotize your brain to believe the creature is real and the production is modern. It’s an odd thing. What’s more, if you make the tiniest effort to examine the sets, the wardrobe, and the creatures in the feature, you just might find that the movie makers of that time (ie; 1954) put more effort into their craft than many horror movies in modern times.

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
G | 1h 19min | Horror | 5 March 1954 (USA)

A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.
Director: Jack Arnold
Writers: Harry Essex (screenplay), Arthur A. Ross (screenplay) (as Arthur Ross) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning

One powerful aspect of the films in this series is the music. It needed to be, to create suspense. By today’s standards, it is nothing subtle but again, after you suspend your sense of disbelief a little, and let the film hypnotize you, you don’t pay attention to what the music is doing. I love the sets in this film because they are mostly on the water and boat. Like the music, they bring the film alive.

I have to comment on the creature suit. When he/she/it is out of water, he opens and closes his mouth like a fish. It’s effective. There were times I forgot there was an actor inside. The creature was a CREATURE and that is quite a feat for an old B&W film. Make no mistake, there are some cheesy parts that could have been made better but who’s counting?

Like King Kong, the creature will not hurt the woman. That adds a nice element of empathy for him. Nonetheless, he is a killer and must be dealt with as such. This is a barrel of monkeys, I recommend it to all horror fans (and other genres that circle those wagons).

7/10

Zombies walk and they are dead. Glen? He doesn’t walk now he has sex and kills similarly as a result of a virus.

Mayhem (2017)
Unrated | 1h 26min | Action, Horror | 10 November 2017 (USA)

A virus spreads through an office complex causing white collar workers to act out their worst impulses.
Director: Joe Lynch
Writer: Matias Caruso
Stars: Steven Yeun, Samara Weaving, Steven Brand

When you’ve had a gig as long as Steven Yeun did on The Walking Dead, it’s anybody’s guess what your next project will be. I suppose a film like “The Belko Experiment” where employees go berzerk and massacre each other would be fitting. Well it is and that’s exactly what he stars in and produces with “Mayhem.” Unlike “Walking …” There’s saucy sex involved. Other than that it’s the same because there’s a virus that causes mayhem and killing at a frantic pace.

I thought this movie could have gone a few different ways than it did. Most notably the sex scenes were a bit silly in my point of view. If you liked “The Belko Experiment” you may like this one. It’s that bust with a bit of higher octane. The director Joe Lynch shows great promise based on his IMDB bio. At present, it’s scoring well with the mainstream critics. His latest project “Everly” starring Salma Hayek is now streaming on Netflix. Watch for my open-minded review of that soon.