MY CALL: This is fun, feisty, violent Sci-Horror and still a finely made film overall with strong performances. Strongly recommended. MORE MOVIES LIKE M3GAN: The reboot of Child’s Play (2019) and Ex Machina (2015) spring to mind. Then maybe Child’s Play (1988), Child’s Play 2 (1990), and then I might skip all the way to Curse of Chucky (2013) and Cult of Chucky (2017)—not that I didn’t enjoy them all to some degree. Other quality evil doll films include The Boy (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), Dolly Dearest (1991), Dolls (1987) and Puppet Master (1989).
A tragic accident leaves Cady (Violet McGraw; The Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep)bereft of her parents and in custody of her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams; Get Out, The Perfection), who isn’t the most maternal type. Their relationship is strained, they were never close, and we feel that. We sympathize for both of them. But eventually they connect through Gemma’s work with advanced robotic toys. An up-and-coming AI engineer, Gemma has developed M3GAN, the next generation of AI companion toy.
Cady’s introduction to M3GAN is disarming, provocative and sincere. The more time they spend together, the more effective a companion M3GAN becomes. M3GAN teaches Cady about basic science and it couldn’t be more adorable. There’s a demonstration of M3GAN before a group of investors which was truly throat-tightening and emotionally powerful. The social development of M3GAN makes sense, and nothing ever feels overly far-fetched… given the premise.
As for her programming, M3GAN’s main directive is to protect Cady from all harm, physical and emotional. Sounds ideal, right? As if we’ve never seen this go wrong before in movies. So, of course, M3GAN becomes increasingly protective, and things go increasingly wrong. The neighbor’s mean dog, a mean boy at school, Gemma being stern with Cady—all become triggers for M3GAN. And accordingly, it gets violent.
I saw the unrated version. So I wonder how graphic these deaths would be in the PG-13 version. But let me tell you, I saw the movie we were meant to see, for sure! The “ear scene” is wonderfully over-the-top gross, with somewhat silly but still great effects. The “tool shed” death scene was another gory delight. There’s some serious blood-gushing stabbery to be enjoyed.
And then there’s her movement. Her cold expressions, her creepy dancing, and her awkwardly creepy aimalistic running. When this murderous robot is doing her thing, she is smooth and calculating, like the T-1000 but with modern highspeed wi-fi. When she blows a short circuit, she goes into full twitchy Exorcist (1973) mode. And by the finale, we wander into some wild shots reminiscent of the end of The Terminator (1984). A lot of the visuals and plot points will feel very familiar to well-seasoned fans of Sci-Horror. But I’d contest that director Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) keeps the execution of these familiar and satisfying beats fresh! Strongly recommended!
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MY CALL: While far better than anything I’d call unwatchable, this is the CotC movie I could throw away and forget. You might be entertained (at least just enough), but it does disservice to the franchise and fails to deliver the bizonkersly satisfying death scenes of CotC 2-3. MORE MOVIES LIKE Children of the Corn IV: Children of the Corn (1984)spawned many video-era sequels over the years (1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2011, 2018) leading to the most recent remake (2020). Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) was dumber but funner, and Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995) seems to follow this yet dumber and yet wildly funner pattern to delightful “bad movie hidden gem” perfection.
TIMELINE: CotC 1 ended with the cornfields of Gatlin burning with the defeat of an ancient Corn God. But of course, many of Isaac’s disciples remained alive remain devout to “He who walks behind the rows.” So yeah, sequels. CotC 2 transpired in the week following Vicky and Bert’s escape from the town. In CotC 2, the evil is defeated with the death of possessed Micah. Similar to CotC 2, CotC 3 ends when Eli and his corn Bible are destroyed. However, his urban harvest would then be spread around the world in the commodities market. Given how CotC 3 ignored the previous two films, I’m guessing this will be of no consequence to whatever sequel plot should follow here in CotC 4.
So here we are in yet another small Nebraska corn town apparently paying no more mind to the previous four movies than a faded husk of the original premise. As such, this film functions very much as a standalone story. We open with some weak zombie gag followed by an “oops, I’m eating bugs” gag. Things feel pretty weak and contrived right away. But the good thing is that there are a lot of these horror gags right away delivered in tandem—so at least the movie is trying and isn’t devoid of budget. A farmer is then impaled by several barn tools by a preachy half-burned zombie kid who conjures fire, telekinesis, and some Old Testament. Perhaps this is the bespoke chosen one that Isaac, Micah and Eli weren’t. But alas, this is the least effective ‘big bad’ of the franchise so far. We are meant to fear his eventual “full” resurrection, but he really doesn’t pass as very menacing.
Meanwhile Grace (Naomi Watts;The Ring 1-2, Dream House, Funny Games, Goodnight Mommy) returns home to help her mentally unwell mother June (Karen Black; Children of the Night, It’s Alive III, House of 1000 Corpses, Mirror Mirror, Night Angel) just as an outbreak of fever afflicts all the town’s children at once. Just as frighteningly quickly as all the kids fell ill, they are better the next day. Better, but different. The kids identify themselves by the names of kids killed long ago once part of some cult.
Imagery of our preachy leader and child afflictions continue in the form of quite contrived zombie-ish, Satanic and Exorcist (1973) themes. We also have a lot of blood-splattering as possessed kids with bags under their eyes start killing the adults, impaling them with scythes and whatever else they can get their stabby little hands on. Again, I’ve seen better… like at least three times. A squeamish syringe and scythe impaling scene and a cartoonishly silly “gurney death” slicing a doctor in half amount to the highlights of this mediocre sequel. Ranked from most zany bonkers deaths: 3, 2, 4, 1. The child actors in this sequel do a decent enough job being creepy and dire. But the writing and direction are woefully uninspired, readily making this my least favorite sequel. Still, it’s entertaining. Just far less so than CotC 2-3 and doing much disservice to the ever more bonkers franchise.
Like CotC 3 before it, CotC 4 seems to happily ignore that CotC 1-2 ever happened. The backstory is now completely different—that of an amazing boy preacher Josiah who never seemed to age. This could have made for some great scenes cultivating gravity to the premise… but the movie settles on just “telling” us this elaborate back story.
Josiah never amounts to much of a villain. He makes me miss Isaac, Eli and even Micah of the previous films. With the kids more leaderless, this sequel just feels like an ‘evil kids’ movie most of the time. Grace faces off against Josiah in the end. But this finale is reduced to a few shotgun blasts and a messy melty-face scene that’s just okay (but with decent visual effects). The finales of CotC 1 and CotC 3 were far better; 3 especially. I’m inclined to call this the worst of the sequels by far. But I’ll give it this much—it’s really not that bad and it’s much better than its lame movie poster would suggest. Seeing this makes me more appreciative of the solid gold B-movie that is CotC 3.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 488: Rounders, Teddy KGB, and the Bestselling Cookies in Canada
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Mark and Phil discuss the 1998 cult classic Rounders. Directed by John Dahl, and starring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich and some Oreo cookies, the movie focuses on what happens when you have a friend whose nickname is Worm. In this episode, they also talk about poker movies, Russian accents, and which cookie they’d pick if they had an obvious cookie tell. Enjoy!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 487: The Movie Posters That Feature Characters in Terrible Predicaments Draft
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Mark and Nicholas Rehak (@TheRehak on Twitter) talk about their favorite movie posters that feature characters in terrible predicaments. In this episode, you’ll hear them discuss the Midsommar, Fright Night (1985), Tentacles, In the Heart of the Sea, The Shining and Jaws posters that all showcase someone about to have a horrible day. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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John’s Horror Corner: Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995), stop what you’re doing and watch this bonkers 90s goretastic gem!
MY CALL: I love this movie. LOVE IT! It starts horrendously slowly, but oh my Dark Corn Lord does it amp things to new levels for the franchise. The ending is full-tilt amazeballs. If you’ve ever enjoyed a gory bad movie, please make this one a priority. This infernal corn sequel gets a USDA stamp of approval. MORE MOVIES LIKE Children of the Corn III: Children of the Corn (1984)spawned many video-era sequels over the years (1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2011, 2018) leading to the most recent remake (2020). Given that the original was a “loose” adaptation of King’s story, the sequels would likely be yet “looser.” Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice (1992) was dumber but funner, and CotC 3 seems to follow this yet dumber and yet funner pattern.
TIMELINE: Part 1 ended with the cornfields of Gatlin burning with a ghostly evil face screaming in the smoky cloud. Presumably, that ancient Corn God was defeated. But of course, many of Isaac’s disciples remained alive and, even though they turned on Isaac, many may remain devout to “He who walks behind the rows.” So yeah, sequels. CotC 2 transpired in the week following Vicky and Bert’s escape from the town. In CotC 2, the evil is defeated with the death of possessed Micah. Far simpler and less grand of a finish than CotC 1’s crop burning and zombie Isaac coming to drag Malachi to Corn Starch Hell.
Having never before left the farm, Eli (Daniel Cerny; Demonic Toys) and Joshua (Ron Melendez; The Unborn II, Voodoo) are placed in foster care with a couple in Chicago. The couple is nice and affluent, with a big house near an abandoned factory where Eli plants corn he brought from home as a direct offering to “He who walks behind the rows.”
Now I know what you’re thinking. Why are we sending these kids to some metropolis and forgoing our rural kid cult charm for this sequel? But around this time a lot of horror franchises were absconding their secluded cabins in the woods and summer camps to try their hand at horror in the big city. It was seldom successful. Carol Anne moved downtown only to be followed by her haunting in Poltergeist III (1988); Jason takes Manhattan (just five years after the Muppets) in Friday the 13th part VIII (1989); evil tribbles hit Los Angeles in Critters 3 (1991); Pinhead hit the downtown club scene in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992); Candyman (1992) brought dark folklore to Chicago; and Leprechaun 2 (1994) took its diminutive rascal to Las Vegas and then the Hood twice (2000, 2003). This was just the logical next step to give franchise fans a break from Nebraska cornfields for at least one sequel and bring our farm boys to Chicago where they are fostered by Amanda and her husband William Porter (JimMetzler; 976-Evil, Circuitry Man, Waxwork II), a corn commodities trader. Watch out for how that plays into the story.
Our big city theme comes with fish-out-of-water tropes and hokier deliveries—probably even more hokey than CotC 2. Basketball scenes, religious taboos, racial conflicts and Amish jokes abound. If CotC 2 was a fun bad movie, CotC 3 is an awesome solid gold bad movie. This features the weakest acting and writing of the three movies by far. But the death scenes and supernatural antics are oh so fun! Just be warned, for the first 30-40 minutes you will swear I’m lying and think this movie sucks. It doesn’t. Just give it time. The kills in CotC 3 are by far the best, bloodiest, most wild and most inspired. Sad that the overall movies get “cornier” with each sequel. But I’ll take them for the supernatural death scenes alone.
CotC 2’s Micah was no Isaac; and at first glance, Eli is no Micah. Or is he…? Our child cult leaders seem to be getting initially more innocuous while also gaining more supernatural power with each sequel. Case in point, Eli has an ornate corn-bejeweled Bible and conjures evil, prehensile corn plants draw and quarter his abusive father, ripping his limbs from their bloody sockets and stitching shut his eyes and lips. It’s mean. To the contrary, Micah looked and sounded more menacing, but didn’t brandish most of his magical powers until the end; and Isaac was the creepiest and most convincing leader, but never flexed a single supernatural muscle until he was undead against his will.
But supernatural deaths populate this sequel. A deliciously hokey death scene befalls a hobo that stumbles across Eli’s urban harvest; watch out for when someone spits a distinctly plastic roach from their mouth and vomit pestilence to death; there’s an utterly bazonkers-dumb face-melting death scene; we have an undead cornfield scarecrow; and every scene with a “corn attack” gets more bloody, more intense, and more awesome than the last. By the finale the corn has graduated to full Evil Dead tree status (yes, in EVERY way you might imagine). Yup, Charlize Theron (you read that right) gets violated by an evil plant. I doubt she’ll be reminiscing her “start in the film industry” for her Oscar speech.
The killer corn “decapitation scene” is 90s epic goretastic awesomeness as a kid’s head is slowly and brutally “pulled” over ten feet into the air with his spine forming a bloody elongated stalk. As of this moment, I love this movie. Again, the first 30-40 minutes were a slog, but this has proven to be well worth the wait!
We learn that Eli was somehow a foster child as far back as the 1960s. Eli implies that he might be the actual devil, which seems to disregard the first two movies. I also wonder why the devil (or some other Biblical fiend) would be tied to a corn harvest unless we’re tying to the Native American folklore from CotC 2 (which goes totally unmentioned here in CotC 3). But the events of CotC 1-2 occur in 1984… so was Eli another corn cult leader operating in the 60s as well as at the same time in 1984? Eh, probably not. More realistically, CotC 3 isn’t paying much attention to canon or franchise continuity.
The finale treats us to a long montage of crazy “evil assault corn” death. Kids are getting strangled and impaled left and right by prehensile corn vines all under the control of a huge hulking malformed, fleshy aberration of a “He who walks behind the rows” Hellbeast! This thing looks awesome. Some shots are stop-motion, including when it is eating a girl represented on-screen by an action figure! YES. An obvious ACTION FIGURE!. OMG I love this movie. It starts slow but oh my Dark Corn Lord does it amp things to new levels with every 30-minute block. The ending is full-tilt amazeballs.
Did I mention that I love this movie? If you’ve ever enjoyed a bad movie, please make this one a priority. This infernal corn sequel gets a USDA stamp of approval.
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MY CALL: Not gonna’ lie. I thought this would be unwatchable drivel. But it was some solidly fun, laughable, B-movie fun. Unintentionally funny death scenes and hokey over-the-top-ness made me glad I bought the 6-movie DVD set. MORE MOVIES LIKE Children of the Corn II: Children of the Corn (1984) spawned many video-era sequels over the years (1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2011, 2018) leading to the most recent remake (2020). Given that the original was a “loose” adaptation of King’s story, the sequels would likely be yet “looser.” This movie also reminds me of the more deliberately silly Dr. Giggles (1992), The Dentist (1996) and The Granny (1995).
TIMELINE: Part 1 ended with the cornfields of Gatlin burning with a ghostly evil face screaming in the smoky cloud. Presumably, that ancient Corn God was defeated. But of course, many of Isaac’s disciples remained alive and, even though they turned on Isaac, many may remain devout to “He who walks behind the rows.” So yeah, sequels. And this sequel begins right after the events of part 1 (i.e., still 1984).
Look, Children of the Corn (1984) was a legit serious film of humble budget and minimal gore. Meanwhile, from the very first scene, this video-era sequel has mangled grimy corpses instantly eclipsing the gore factor of the original. We hear mention of the child leader Isaac being responsible for this massacre of Gatlin’s adult population after it was reported by a young couple passing through (Vicky and Burt from 1984). So this 1992 movie apparently takes place immediately following their departure from Gatlin.
With all of Gatlin’s children now orphans, Angela (Rosalind Allen; Ticks, Pinocchio’s Revenge) is trying to find people to house all the displaced kids. She takes one such teenager Micah (Ryan Bollman; The Granny, Only the Strong) in her bed and breakfast, where she also hosts visiting teenager and his journalist father (Terence Knox; From a Whisper to a Scream) there to report this bizarre mass murder story.
Our mysterious child-worshipped Corn God, clearly not defeated from part 1 (which happened “last week” in this movie) is harbingered by unnaturally rapidly forming storms over the corn field and Predator-like (1987) infra-red vision.
This sequel is a much hokier, rather “bad movie” iteration of its source material. But it does likewise deliver on the hokey horror fun. The evil corn “paper-cut slits” a man’s throat, harpoon-impales another with a corn stalk through the chest, an old lady suffers a “wicked witch” death, and the “syringe” death scene is B-movie solid gold. We also enjoy some Lawnmower Man-esque (1992) CGI as Micah is possessed by the Corn God as if by demonic viral infection and DNA cloning. There are definitely giggles to be had. Don’t even get me started on the best bloody nose death in horror history! Lol. It was so blood-spewy. And the “wheelchair” death scene… bad movie chef’s kisses.
As silly as it is, this sequel puts forth some effort to develop the CotC mythology. We learn that many generations ago the children of a corn-growing Native American tribe rebelled against their lazy agrarian adult generation, killing them all. Moreover, it was prophesied that from the corn would emerge a leader, and that this leader has yet to emerge. So it apparently wasn’t Isaac in CotC 1. Micah is a suitably over-the-top 90s bad horror villain. But let’s be clear—he’s no Isaac.
In this second CotC installment, the evil is defeated with the death of possessed Micah. Far simpler and less grand of a finish than CotC 1’s crop burning and zombie Isaac coming to drag Malachi to Corn Starch Hell.
This was WAY better than I thought it would be. Let’s be clear, though. It’s a 90s bad horror movie. It’s just the kind of bad horror movie that plays well with the likes of Dr. Giggles (1992), The Dentist (1996) or The Granny (1995), even if those three were all “deliberately” silly whereas director David Price’s (Son of Darkness: To Die For II, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde) CotC 2 plays its zany hand with a Poker face. This is no hidden gem among B-horror, but it’s just enough of a semi-precious stone to be worth a watch. Trust me. After 30 minutes of a rough opening act, it’s laughably enjoyable.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 486: No Time to Die, Henchmen Survival Tips, and Daniel Craig
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Mark and Niall (@Elniallo on Twitter) discuss the 2021 James Bond film No Time to Die. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, and starring Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek, LashanaLynch, and a large secret island lair, the movie focuses on what happens when James Bond is forced to stop another supervillain from destroying the world. In this episode, they also hand out henchmen survival tips and rank the five films that feature Daniel Craig as James Bond.
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions (we love random questions). We thank you for listening, and hope you enjoy the episode!
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MY CALL: A classic that ages just well enough, even if far from the likes of fine wine. The major child characters are harrowing, the story is simple and well-executed, and the premise primes us for a series of deliciously bad sequels. MORE MOVIES LIKE Children of the Corn: This movie spawned many video-era sequels over the years (1992, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2011, 2018) leading to the most recent remake (2020). I haven’t seen all of them, and for those I’ve seen it’s been too long to recall. Given that the original was a “loose” adaptation of King’s story, the sequels would likely be yet “looser.” So watch at your own risk! You might also try Village of the Damned (1960, 1995).
Driving across the country to start a new life together, Vicky (Linda Hamilton; Terminator, Terminator 2) and Burt (Peter Horton) end up trapped in Gatlin, Nebraska after hitting an already mortally wounded child with their car. With all the adults dead and buried in the corn fields, Gatlin is a ghost town festooned with corn stalk décor and cob crucifixes. Those remaining are the murderous kids and their religious cult leader.
This is a film that was excellently creepy at the time of its release, but it doesn’t age as well as many other classics of the era. A product of its time and generally slower-paced as a result, director Fritz Kiersch’s (Gor) early 80s classic holds up just well enough that I enjoy this nostalgic revisiting… even if less so than my last revisit over ten years ago.
The more minor child actors’ performances rather undo the gravity of the opening massacre scene (when the kids kill all the town’s adults). Maybe this is part of why I remembered this being a heavier movie—because I was a kid when I first saw it and that young experience sculpted my nostalgia. The Muppet-like chirping of the occasionally self-moving corn further diminishes any dire sense cultivated in the opening scenes. Thankfully the ghostly choral music stitches some creepy unease back into the mix… and then there’s Isaac and Malachi.
Our child cult leader Isaac (John Franklin; Children of the Corn 666) is deliciously evil. The casting couldn’t have been more perfect. When he watches the initial slaughter of the town’s adults in the prologue, he looks cold and empty. When he issues orders, he does so with intense arrogance, pride and piety. And when Isaac accuses someone, it’s chilling. He also looks eerily mature—as John Franklin was 25 when he played the teenager Isaac. Whereas Malachi (Courtney Gains; The ‘Burbs) looks like the homicidal embodiment of teen rage. A lanky, shaggy redhead with a vicious scowl, Malachi is Isaac’s enforcer. He’s neither the biggest nor oldest of the kids, but readily the most feared.
There’s definitely a folk horror vibe to the cornfield sermons, Isaac’s preaching, and scenes of sacrifice. Most satisfying is when Isaac’s leadership is brought into question. Scariest in this film is the very real manner in which religion can be bastardized and zealots groomed into murderers; even children. The brutal violence is mostly implied, with little stabbing or throat-slitting occurring on screen. The vehicular manslaughter scene was by far the most brutal or graphic on-screen occurrence, and it was impressive. I would have enjoyed a better budget for this film. The lack of on-screen violence/gore is a typical budgetary submission. And the stop-motion prehensile corn stalks don’t hold a candle to the Evil Dead trees.
And now the big question: what’s out there in that cornfield? A demonic mole created by Earth-warping, man-made fertilizers burrowing the corn rows? A blob of pre-CGI bad-rotoscoped colorful energy? Whatever it is, Isaac sure fears it. In fact, “He who walks behind the rows” is clearly a real supernatural force. We see enough to know that much, even if we never get any real answers.
The concept of murderously evil children, possessed or brainwashed alike, is one that morally stings. But our acceptance of this threat is limited by the ability of the child actors to deliver that evil gravity. The more kids you have on screen, the less this works. Thankfully, the twisted personalities of Isaac and Malachi overcast any doubt that Vicky and Burt are in grave danger, or that this wild religious cult isn’t something to be feared. Thank the Dark Corn Lord Isaac wasn’t the Admin on a Facebook group or a religious viral TikTok influencer. Phew.
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Mark and Zanandi (@ZaNandi on Twitter) discuss the 2023 horror sequel Scream 6. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and starring Courteney Cox, Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, and a convenient ladder, the movie focuses on what happens when Ghostface goes to New York City. In this episode, they also talk about horror sequels, plot twists, and the excellence of Mason Gooding. Enjoy!
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MY CALL: I’ve always been a Shyamalan fan, and this is exactly the brand of weird I wanted. Great performances and a radical theological vision deliver a lot of delusional (or perhaps prophetic?) heart along with grave decisions. MORE MOVIES LIKE Knock at the Cabin: Probably Signs (2002) and The Village (2004).
Opening shots of a beautiful pristine forest introduce us to a little girl Wen (Kristen Cui) catching grasshoppers in her jar-terrarium and assuring them “it’s okay, relax, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m just going to learn about you for a little while.” The movie wears its paralleling intentions on its sleeve, as we will be doing the very same to our cast of morally conflicted characters in this stressful cabin just as Wen would—though with more innocent intentions—to her grasshoppers. The movie wastes no time. Just as we find ourselves fondly smiling at Wen’s love of nature and fart jokes, a large man ominously approaches from a distance through the trees.
Leonard (Dave Bautista; The Man with the Iron Fists, Guardians of the Galaxy 1-3, Kickboxer: Vengeance, Army of the Dead) is a gentle giant. Covered in tattoos and speaking softly, he asks to be Wen’s friend. But we quickly learn that while Leonard seems to truly have compassion for Wen, he also harbors a dark secret and clearly is fearful of and regretful of what he knows is coming.
Once Leonard is joined by his “friends” Redmond (Rupert Grint; Harry Potter and the… all of them), Sabrina (Nikki Amuka-Bird; Old, Jupiter Ascending, The Omen) and Adriane (AbbyQuinn; Torn Hearts), they demand entrance into their vacation cabin. Wen’s fathers Andrew (Ben Aldridge; Pennyworth) and Eric (Jonathan Groff; Mindhunter) are naturally taken aback by claims that they must let them in and help them make very difficult decisions to save a lot of people. It sounds nothing but suspicious and, well, insane!
Our home invaders are very polite, nervous, and mysteriously determined. They seem completely transparent, and they want to ‘help.’ In tone, Leonard speaks patiently while clearly conflicted, leading and trying to calm his colleagues as a pastor tending his riled-up congregation of zealots. Only these zealots, however fanatical they may be, also clearly do not want to do what they “have to” do. The themes are strongly Biblical, as in Revelations. These four have seen it all in visions, and know what must be done. Or… are they just all mad, sharing a wild mass delusion?
Based on the Paul Tremblay book The Cabin at the End of the World, director M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, The Village, Devil, The Happening, The Visit) approaches this film as if The Strangers (2008) was less about violence and more about emotional trauma. That’s what we have here. A tale of self-sacrifice, emotion, and extreme moral turmoil. And yes, there is brutality in this film. However, it is almost entirely implied off-screen.
Whether from the original story or M. Night’s own staging and screenplay punch-ups, his movies always lean heavily into his characters’ backstories. What traumas haunt them and what challenges they have or yet need to overcome tend to be thematic to their plight in the story. This story is all about hard choices, love and free will. Whether heart-warming or heart-wrenching, the sincerity and touching nature of this film is undeniable.
This film is heavy. Not the gut punch of The Mist (2007) or Hereditary (2018), but heavy like Signs (2002) or The Village (2004). And I really enjoyed this film for that. The premise is on the verge of silly, yet I feel it is presented in a tactfully grounded manner. I would have preferred a more grounded, harrowing and overall ambiguous ending than the one I was given. But I greatly enjoyed this nonetheless.
Movies, Films & Flix 