Tag: #horror

Title: Bone Tomahawk Genre: Western, Horror MPAA Rating: R Year: 2015 Director: S. Craig Zahler, known for being a relative newcomer. Top Billed Cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins Brief Synopsis: When the town doctor falls into the hands of canniballistic indians, The Sheriff and his men must rescue her. My Word to the Wise: If gore ever fit masterfully into a well-acted Western, this is such a place. Fans of either or both should see this film.

The rest of this review may contain spoilers.

It’s highly likely that relative newcomer writer/director S. Craig Zahler creamed his jeans when he was able to cast Kurt Russell as the lead role in his film. In the same year, darn near the same month of release, Quentin Tarantino’s hit “The Hateful Eight” came out with Russell as one of its lead players. That film has done extremely well for Tarantino and I predict “Bone Tomahawk”will match that success.

Kurt Russell plays a sheriff and he isn’t the only well known actor that is well cast. Highlights for me were: Matthew Fox, known for “Lost,” Richard Jenkins, who I will always remember as the sad sack in “Eat, Pray, Love” though he’s in a ton of films, and David Arquette as Purvis. Please take note of the huge cast of very good actors in this film.

I’m a Western junkie from way back. Probably the first modern one I went crazy over was Tombstone, which yes also starred Kurt Russell. This one starts out gory and pretty much weaves that particular throughout. If you were setting out to make a gory Westsren, it would certainly make sense to write your own story around cannibalistic indians. This new director did just that and lest we forget, Tarantino usually wears both hats as well. If you’re a western buff like me, go see this movie! If horror is more your thing, same applies to you. If you like both genres, you’re in for a treat. Get the largest  Coke they sell, a huge popcorn, a date is always nice and enjoy the huge entertainment of this film.

Gerald’s Game (2017)
TV-MA | 1h 43min | Horror, Thriller | 29 September 2017 (USA)

While trying to spice up their marriage in their remote lake house, Jessie must fight to survive when her husband dies unexpectedly, leaving her handcuffed to their bed frame.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writers: Stephen King (based on the novel by), Jeff Howard | 1 more credit »
Stars: Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Bruce Greenwood

Mike Flanagan has proven himself a strong thriller and horror movie director. His early strong work was Hush and most recently, he wowed horror audiences again with Ouija: Origin of Evil. This Netflix movie follows suit, he has done an amazing thing here.

Flanagan too a Stephen King novel and created this horror film. I can call it horror even though horror aspects don’t show up for quite a while in the movie. You may question it yourself but trust me, when you watch it, it will be revealed.

The acting is top notch. You have Carla Gugino as the wife inadvertently drawn into a “Fifty Shades of Grey” sort of game. She is the star of this film. Her acting is 100% from the gut and I believed in this character because of her. At times it was like Cast Away, a woman trying to survive all by herself. At other times, she was a tortured child working through her demons. And then there’s the dark character that keeps showing up. You just get a feeling he is going to have a greater part in the big picture. Bruce Greenwood is her asshole husband although we aren’t clear on just how much of an asshole he is because most of his parts are created in his wife’s mind.

The final 1/4 of the film is the best part. All is revealed and a lot of your frustration as a confused viewer is assuaged. The final scene feels so much like a Stephen King movie I just can’t explain how much. It works on many levels. You may get bored at first but persistent audiences will be rewarded. It should have moved a bit faster though in my opinion.

8/10

Pan’s Labyrinth has more creatures than Star Wars and a historical story that will have you ranting and raving from your seat. Sometimes the scary creatures we fear become our salvation and the humans we trusted become our curse.

This film is a monster feast for the eyes. Guillermo del Toro takes us into a child’s imagination of horror and art. It’s been called by the director the “sister” film of The Devil’s Backbone. Both are about children in the ghost world and both take place in the Spanish Civil War. It differs in how there are faeries and fauns instead of ghosts. This might make it a fairy tale. No, it’s much more than that. This film may be dark in hue but it shines as a spectacle accomplishment of cinematic art.

Like Backbone, this is more a drama than a horror film. There are more scary moments here than in the other but it is meant to create a sense of another world:

“In 1944 falangist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she’s a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.” -IMDB
Her real father is the real horror here. She goes to the labyrinth to escape him and reality. We see 2 competing worlds throughout the film. She must learn to not be afraid and to make a new paradign shift to understand where the dead stand in regards to the living. When you fear your mortal surroundings, animal and insect company seems preferable.

This adorable young girl somehow survives the hateful acts of “The Captain,” her stepfather. She is a hero for this. I felt it was saying when war is all around one, that one might lose her/himself in a hobby or discipline. Could it be that our protagonist has such a strong imagination that she sees the faun with other lovely, haunting creatures? This is just one interpretation of this film. It’s an entrancing film and I recommend it to all who read my blog. A classic for sure.

Riley on Film grade: A

STARRING: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdú, Álex Angulo, Roger Casamajor, Sebastián Haro, Mina Lira, Federico Luppi, Ivan Massagué, Chema Ruiz, Manolo Solo, Milo Taboada
DIRECTOR: Guillermo del Toro
STUDIO: Picturehouse
RATING: R (For intense violence and language)
LANGUAGE: In Spanish with English subtitles

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Evmr2ZCjWc&w=560&h=315]

House on Willow Street (2016)
From a House on Willow Street (original title)
Unrated | 1h 30min | Action, Horror | 24 March 2017 (USA)

After a young woman is kidnapped, her captors soon come to realize that in fact they may be the ones in danger and this young woman has a dark secret inside her.
Director: Alastair Orr
Writers: Catherine Blackman, Jonathan Jordaan | 1 more credit »
Stars: Sharni Vinson, Carlyn Burchell, Steven John Ward

Director Alistair Orr did a decent job with this horror flick. He looks young in his IMDB photo so I am sure he will improve. As it was, I felt like I was watching a predictable made-for-tv type horror film. The actors are also new to the craft. The lead does a good job but the whole thing is just uninteresting. It doesn’t make me feel for these people. It is kind of interesting that they are robbers. Of course, we shouldn’t care for robbers. BUT, the problem is when they get into the satanic demonic stuff. A priest has no power over a demon? Hmmm. OK.

There’s no big takeaway here. You walk away from this the same way you go in. It’s a robbery gone bad and the reason it fumbled was because the house was filled with demons. Not much here innovative or new. For that reason, I give it a

5/10

Mother! (2017)
R | 2h 1min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 15 September 2017 (USA)

A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris

Aronofsky, director of Mother! (2017), has given us shocking and dark films with a message for many years now. I’ll never forget the jolt I got in Requiem for a Dream or the crazy, thoughtful feelings I had after watching The Fountain and The Wrestler. He is a master of imagery and developing a story through characters. This film is filled with a whole lot of acting talent. As I drove home from it, I found myself thinking of these characters. I wanted to interpret what the film was trying to say through them. I don’t know if this is Aronofsky’s best but it will be remembered as a puzzling nightmare that leaves so many deep relationship questions in the viewer’s mind.

There is a great cast here, actors that need to introduction or accolades mentioned, they are just that good. Javier Bardem, Jennifer Lawrence, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer. None have names. They are referred to in short words like “Him.” It is being argued on the web that Him is an allegorical God who creates and destroys things. I have no doubt the director and writer may have meant such things but I am choosing to write a simple interpretation of this film. If you have not seen the film yet, please don’t read any further. Spoilers.

My simpler take on this film is that Bardem’s poetry is his fixation. If you ask my wife, she might say I have a fixation with my blog and podcasts. I am either working on them or watching movies virtually all the time. We all have hobbies and pastimes that threaten our time with our significant other. I think Mother is examining those. Would we give them up for our spouse? Should we be asked to? These are the most thick pieces of material I got from the film. To make this point, things go berzerk! Let me say that again: things go berzerk. I’ve never seen a naked woman beat up so brutally. Let’s not even get into the breaking and eating of the newborn son. Notwithstanding the revelations of Jennifer Lawrence and the director, who incidentally are now dating, I like to think of this film as simply an unsatisfied couple: the wife lonely for more attention and the husband lusting for fame. The pain that can come from this is revealed as the massive crowds that appear and do so much damage to the house. Any way you look at it, this film is masterfully made and highly entertaining. Because it is so vague however and the fact that it may be biblical, I am turned off by that possibiity.

8/10

This film starts out with the cliche haunted house theme. Soon however, the plot picks up. Emily Goss shines in this one. Plus there is some original, scary material here for horror fans.

The House on Pine Street (2015)

Cast

Emily Goss as Jennifer
Taylor Bottles as Luke
Cathy Barnett as Meredith

Directed by

Aaron Keeling, Austin Keeling

Written by

Natalie Jones, Aaron Keeling, Austin Keeling

Other Info

Drama, Horror
Rated PG-13
1h 51min

I’m of the opinion that the haunted house theme, while cliche, is a really cool one for a horror movie. The tricks these days is to make it original in some way. “The House on Pine Street” (Pine Street) does that very well. Jennifer (Emily Goss) is pregnant and she and her fiance are moving into the house the the beginning of the film. As she looks around in disapproval, the spooky sounds foreshadow scary events are coming.

We get the idea they are a new couple moving in to a new life together in the house but as the dialog unravels and strange things start happening, we realize something different about the couple. Jennifer expresses her dislike of the town and the house and Luke (Taylor Bottles) seems very happy there as he tries to get settled in his new job. Incidentally, he is very nice to his mother in law Meredith (Cathy Barnett.) I suppose ou could call him son in law of the year.

Meredith is a very strong and odd character in the film. She is Jennifer’s mother and this is her home town. There are lots of scares here and there but nothing is really explained and expanded until the last 1/4 of the movie. As a horror movie, it makes the grade. The only thing that put me off a bit was how it took so long for things to start happening. I think they told the backstory too long. I really enjoyed the ending, not what I was expecting at all. I think horror fans will like this film for it’s creepiness. There isn’t much blood or gore but we see what energies in people (and houses) can do, it’s pretty scary.

Tusk (2014)
R | 1h 42min | Comedy, Drama, Horror | 19 September 2014 (USA)

A brash and arrogant podcaster gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Canada to interview a mysterious recluse… who has a rather disturbing fondness for walruses.
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Stars: Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment

I’ve talked about this film for well over a year but have as yet to review it on my blog. Here goes:

Kevin Smith has carved out an etched name for himself in the film world. Most film students will tell you about Clerks, his cult fame status film about some deadbeats who keep a store staffed, albeit half-aware. We all worked those types of jobs and/or some still do so it’s highly relate-able. Besides that, there is a undefinable quality to it people can only attribute to Kevin Smith as director. Red State is another film that people are ready to line up and give blood for. His influence on film is undeniable in my mind. He tried horror with Tusk and he went way out at that. It’s unlike any horror you’ll see in that it molds disgusting, repellent body horror images with sarcasm and flippant comedy. But there is a third element that doesn’t get discussed a whole lot and that is the literary theme of the sea and its dark foreboding nature toward humans. It’s a bit like Jaws in that way, without a shark.

Justin Long plays Wallace, a despicable podcaster who gathers followers by exploiting outrageous stories. The stories seem to involve the misfortune, maiming, and even death of his subjects. He cheats on his beautiful and kind-hearted girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) and overall he is an asshole, and that’s what he’s meant to be.

Michael Parks plays Howard Howe, a retired Navy seaman who lives in a mysterious house and provides Wallace with what was to be one of his biggest exclusives yet. But alas, things are not always what they appear to be. Howe is obsessed with surgically creating walruses from living people and that’s the “guts” of Tusk.

This movie scared the hell out of me when I saw it in 2016. It stuck with me and I have seen it twice since. People either love or hate this film. I happen to fall into the former category. I love the horror and I love the comedy. Make no mistake, they exist at different parts of the film and much of it is no laughing matter. The idea of being abducted and having your body destroyed that way is chilling. At the same time, we have Kevin Smith comedy throughout reminding us of what this is about.

At time of writing this, my podcast Talking Stars is planning to record an episode on Tusk and body horror. I hope you can tune in. Watch the site for more details. After 72 episodes, I’ve never been this eager to do an episode. If you’d like to be on it, let me know.

10/10

It (2017)
R | 2h 15min | Drama, Horror | 8 September 2017 (USA)

A group of bullied kids band together when a monster, taking the appearance of a clown, begins hunting children.
Director: Andy Muschietti
Writers: Chase Palmer (screenplay), Cary Fukunaga (screenplay) | 2 more credits »
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard

Hear my audio review at the player below:
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The director is Andy Muschietti. I did enjoy his work on Mama. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to catapult his name out of obscurity. Now, he has done it with his adaptation of It. There are excellent directing choices at every turn. He had a big job on his hands, selling this Stephen King novel to a new generation. Too much horror and you disrespect them, too much camaraderie coming of age and you bore them. I did miss the spiders. They could have done more with the way the fear manifests.

Bill Skarsgård portrayed a great It. He was scary and unyielding to the bitter end. The rest of the actors were top notch as well. They worked together to tell this story which is about 1/3 a “buddy” coming-of-age film and 2/3 horror and thriller. I think making that part a priority is what made this film so successful. It’s doing unbelievably well at the box office and it deserves as much. Too bad its over the ratings edge as an R film. I think kids 10-17 would enjoy this just as much. There are also some great lessons about love and living with respect toward others. Apparently, they are planning a chapter 2 as well at some point. I’ll hope to catch it.

9/10