John’s Horror Corner: His House (2020), a cultural thriller and an unconventional haunting.
MY CALL: This film is composed of great “everything,” yet the sum of the parts just misses the mark for me. In any case, we find great performances, inspired ideas, unnerving atmosphere and a grounded sense of trauma. That said, I am more impressed with the possible future of this director in the horror genre than his debut film itself. MORE MOVIES LIKE His House: For more cultural thrillers try Them (2021), Spell (2020), Spiral (2019), Parasite (2019), Get Out (2017), Us (2019) and maybe even Lovecraft Country (2020).
Sudanese refugees Bol (Sope Dirisu; Black Mirror) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku; Lovecraft Country, Black Mirror) are granted a probationary life in the United Kingdom, so long as they adhere to a strict set of rules or risk deportation back to the war-torn country they escaped. Their new home is a wonky, sizable but dirty fixer-upper. But it’s their new home, safe from their past, and they’re grateful. Short of being friendly, their critical case manager Mark (Matt Smith; House of the Dragon, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) is optimistic of their success with this transition and wishes them luck and happiness.
Shortly after their movie-in, strange sounds in the guts of the house lead to some disturbing moments and shocking imagery. Meanwhile both Bol and Rial are haunted by their harrowing past every bit as much as the house itself. As they both feel like they’re going mad, Bol willfully assimilates to Western life while Rial clings to their cultural heritage.
I’m picking up vibes from Girl on the Third Floor (2019), We Are Still Here (2015) and Them (2021). The imagery spans various zombie-like entities as well as traces of poltergeist-like (including Javier Botet; Mara, It, The Conjuring 2, REC 4, Mama, The Mummy, Crimson Peak, The Crucifixion) hauntings and trancey fever dreams.
Helming his first feature film, director and co-writer Remi Weekes has made a solid film which I estimate was meant to marry the horror film genre with the true horrors of refugees haunted by PTSD. But truth be told, this just didn’t work for me. The cast did well, the direction and editing seemed solid, the visuals were good and some highly creative… but I just didn’t care for this film. I never found myself investing in the characters (even though they were definitely interesting and well-performed), or the story. The revealed horrors also always felt a few steps dialed down from the intensity that seem targeted. I chalk this up to filmmaking experience.
So I’d say see this film not because it is a great horror film—I feel it falls well shy of that. But judging the whole instead on the merits of its parts—the cast, characters, story, visuals, individual scenes and very unique horror device—I’d instead say see this film as the makings of a soon-to-be great filmmaker. Weekes already has a gifted vision; that much is obvious. Somehow, I think a little more experience will find greater synthesis in his future projects. I’d also call this a strong recommendation for fans of the Amazon original show Them (2021).
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John’s Horror Corner: Man’s Best Friend (1993), a “must love dogs” Sci-Horror mixing Cujo (1983) and The Fly (1986).
MY CALL: This movie remains very entertaining, and it’s a lot funnier than I remember. Basically this is less R and more hard PG-13 lite horror comedy. But most importantly, I don’t think there has ever been another movie like it. MORE MOVIES LIKE Man’s Best Friend: Well, for horror movies for dog lovers, I’d go for Dogs (1976), The Pack (1977), The Thing (1982), Cujo (1983), The Fly II (1989) and I Am Legend (2007).
Around the same time that John Hammond was splicing frog DNA into the genetic code of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993), so too was Dr. Jarret (Lance Henriksen; The Visitor, Pumpkinhead, Harbinger Down, Hellraiser VIII, Near Dark, Piranha II) blending a cocktail of chameleon, jaguar and anaconda genes into his rottweiler.
When an ambitious journalist Lori (Ally Sheedy; Short Circuit) aims to do an expose’ on test animals by breaking into a scientific research facility, the genetically engineered dog Max wanders into Lori’s care during her escape. Lori quickly learns that Max is a phenomenally well trained and protective animal.
Despite being rated R, this sci-horror comes off as a rather light horror movie. Most of Max’s antics are funny as he terrorizes Lori’s boyfriend, tampers with his car’s brake line, or climbs up a tree and swallows an old lady’s mean old cat whole like a boa constrictor unhinging its jaw! And while there’s a good amount of blood, almost no flesh-rending gore occurs on-screen.
Probably honoring Cujo (1983), Max picks up a pretty gnarly open wound on his face. And we have some obvious parallels with Dr. Frankenstein and his monster—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) feels like a good match. But even more than the blatant parallels to the family dog-turned-killer Cujo, Max and his relationship with Lori reminds me of a canine version of Seth Brundle’s “Brundle-Fly” (The Fly). Just like Seth Brundle, Max finds love and understanding before coming apart at the seams and becoming the very monster that his lost love must see dispatched in the end. The acid urine attack on Lori’s boyfriend further strongly parallels events of The Fly (1986).
This movie has great pacing, there’s a lot of fun and excitement, and the ending is cute, too. The ending reminds me of the end of Critters (1986).
This is not a great film of any genre… but it’s still really entertaining. But most importantly, I don’t think there has ever been another movie like it. I guess I’d call this is a really good nostalgic flick, because it holds up very well. Writer and director John Lafia (Child’s Play 2) did well with this one. It’s a shame he didn’t do more.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Rental (2020), a decent thriller for Dave Franco’s feature directorial debut.
MY CALL: A well-made thriller to be sure, but nothing I feel the need to recommend or ever see again. Entertaining, well-acted, and a promising start for Dave Franco’s filmmaking career at the helm. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Rental: Well. For more AirBnB vacations gone-wrong try Honeymoon (2014), 1408 (2007) and The Beach House (2019).
Seeking a luxurious weekend at a Pacific Northwest rental on the water, two couples find themselves getting off to a rocky start with the property manager (Toby Huss; Halloween, Martyrs, The Invitation). Without being overtly tropey about it, Charlie (Dan Stevens; Solos, Apostle, The Guest), Michelle (Alison Brie; Promising Young Woman, Scre4m), Mina (Sheila Vand; A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) and Josh (Jeremy Allen White; Shameless) do all the things we’d expect to place themselves at odds with survival. They break the rules of the rental by bringing a dog, they aggravate the manager repeatedly including accusing him of racism, they indulge in some drugs, and opposite couple members end up in a hot tub together… in short, the kindling is set to increase tensions and fuel this fire.
Some of the couples’ own drama gets tangled up in their best chances of survival when secrets emerge and keeping those secrets increase risk to everyone. As tension and paranoia mount, it becomes unclear who is telling the truth and which secrets are the most important to keep.
Clearly, things are going to get out of hand, people will be at odds with one another, relationships will be tested, and an “enemy” will be identified. Oh, and someone is accidentally killed. Dealing with that is always fun.
For his opening feature directorial debut, Dave Franco delivers a very well-made, even if readily forgettable, contemporary horror-thriller. I guess I was expecting a weird twist or spin on the thriller genre, or at least a more gritty slasher aspect. But the “twists and turns” presented were not particularly compelling on their own merits. That said, general filmmaking skill and the cast’s performance produced a good product and I hope Franco sticks to horror.
Overall this was a perfectly enjoyable movie that I feel no need to strongly recommend to anyone. It’s an entertaining watch, but it brings nothing particularly special to the table. The film’s greatest strength is its strong cast that is well-written, along with apparently solid direction and photography. But proficiency alone is no reason to recommend a movie.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 366: Black Dog, Patrick Swayze and Meat Loaf
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Adam discuss the 1998 action film Black Dog. Directed by Kevin Hooks, and starring Patrick Swayze, Meat Loaf, Randy Travis, and Gabriel Casseus, the film focuses on what happens when dummies try to stop Patrick Swayze from driving a large truck. In this episode, we talk about car stunts, weird plans, and truck fights. 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!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
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Quick Thoughts: – B – Cruella is a reverse engineered oddity that’s worth a watch. This expensive prequel looks excellent, and features solid performances from a game cast.
The Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Lars and the Real Girl, Fright Night, Million Dollar Arm) directed Cruella is able to justify its odd existence with its showmanship and larger than life persona. While there’s no non-clumsy way to explain Cruella’s backstory, the film tries its best to build a world in which the initially likable Estella/Cruella (Emma Stone – very inspired casting) devolves into a person who is totally cool with puppy murder. It’s nice seeing Disney attempt a PG-13 prequel that isn’t a shot-for-shot remake of a beloved animated film, and Cruella belongs in the upper echelons of the Disney live-action remake alongside The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon and The Jungle Book (1994). While it’s loaded with coincidences and wild character swings, there’s enough there to make it a fun overall experience.
Cruella focuses on how one of the most iconic literary/movie villains of all time goes from nice to cruel. The film begins with a young Estella/Cruella dealing with elementary school, and living with her single mom Catherine (Emily Beecham – watch Into the Badlands now!) in a small English town. Estella’s erratic behavior eventually gets her kicked out of her school, which forces her mom to pack her up and move to London to start over in a new place. However, when they make a stop at the foreboding Hellman House, tragedy strikes as Catherine is killed by three dalmatians after Estella causes a stir at the fancy party. This leads to Estella teaming up with young Horace (Paul Walter Hauser) and Jasper (Joel Fry), and forming a crew of thieving orphans who are constantly looking for an angle to exploit.
Estella eventually gets a job at a prestigious clothing store where she’s forced to clean toilets and deal with an incredibly snooty boss who will never promote her. One drunken night, she rearranges the store’s front-entrance fashion display, and it gets noticed by Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson – So good), who gives Estella a job designing clothes for her. From there, things start going bad as Estella/Cruella learns more about the Baroness, and comes to grips with her “evil” Cruella side, which starts a fued with the Baroness and leads to some major revelations that won’t be spoiled here.
The biggest flaw with the film is how it incorporates coincidences and sudden mood changes that don’t feel organic to the story. Writers Dana Fox (How to Be Single, Isn’t it Romantic) and Tony McNamara (The Great, The Favourite) had their work cut for them, as they had to reverse engineer Cruella’s story to make her likable, and come up with convincing ways to make her evil. They also had to explain why she hates dalmatians, became a fashion icon, and drives like a maniac. There’s a decent amount of box checking needed to be done, but, in the end, the film gets there quite successfully.
When the awards seasons rolls around, costume designer Jenny Beaven (Mad Max: Fury Road, The King’s Speech), and production designer Fiona Crombie (The Favourite) will most certainly be in contention for all the major awards, as their work is wonderful and will most certainly be considered iconic in years to come. Also, cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis (I, Tonya, Triple 9) must’ve had a blast filming Cruella because it’s loaded with sweeping shots that involve cranes, steadicams and roaming camera tricks that float throughout the scene. Overall, it’s a beautiful looking film that had the full might of Disney behind it.
Final Thoughts – Cruella is a very expensive prequel that looks excellent and features fun performances from the A-list cast.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 365 – The Movies Featuring Bathroom Fights Draft
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
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Mark and Nick Rehak (@TheRehak) draft their favorite movies that feature bathroom fights. In this episode, they discuss Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The Warriors, Jack Reacher, Non-Stop, and Resident Evil: Afterlife. If you enjoy this episode, make sure to listen to our Jet Ski Action Scene Draft episode (Episode 323) as well. Enjoy!
Make sure to follow Nick on Twitter – @TheRehak
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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You can listen to Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spreaker, Spotify, Tunein, Podcast Addict, Amazon, Google Podcasts, and everywhere else you listen to podcasts. Also, make sure to like our Facebook page!
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Jay and Mark are joined by Kim Morrison (@wickedsister69 on Twitter) to discuss the ninth chapter of the Deep Blue Sea 2 DVD. In this episode, they talk about secret explosives, back-to-back flare shooting, and gentle bites. Enjoy!
Please follow Kim on Twitter, and check out her wonderful horror articles at Ghouls Magazine (@GhoulsMagazine)
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Quick thoughts – C – Army of the Dead starts off wonderfully, but too many subplots, lots of meandering, and odd decisions make it a slog to watch.
On paper, Netflix giving Zack Snyder $70-$90 million to make a zombie epic was something to be thrilled about. Why? Since it’s a Netflix film, Snyder would have the final cut, and space to make the movie that he wanted to make. Also, Snyder kicked off his feature film directing career with 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, a fun remake of George Romero’s classic that featured a killer soundtrack, solid cast and fast zombies who added new wrinkles to the zombie genre. The 101-minute film is lean and mean, and it’s so good that it made fans of Snyder’s work super excited about a new zombie movie.
Army of the Dead focuses on what happens when the payload of a military convery escapes, and turns Las Vegas into a zombie-ridden hellscape full of smart zombies, tiger zombies, and slow zombies. Viva Las Vegas it ain’t, and the opening 15(ish) minutes of the film showcase thrilling action scenes involving Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderhoe (a scene stealing Omari Hardwick), escaping the initial outbreak and laying waste to any zombies that are foolish enough to step in their way. Their heroics end with them saving a high ranking military official, which puts them in the crosshairs of billionaire mogul Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada). With the city about to be hit by a nuclear strike in a couple days, Tanaka offers Ward $50 million to enter the city and grab the $200 million that Tanaka has sitting in one of his casinos.
Army of the Dead, starts off with a bang, and continues with a fun montage featuring Ward and Cruz putting together a team of zombie fighters who will help them sneak in Las Vegas, crack a safe, carry thousands of pounds of cash to the roof of the hotel, and fly away in a helicopter that will fit everything (big plot hole). The final team includes Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), Lilly the Coyote (Nora Arnezeder), Burt Cummings (Theo Rossi), Mikey Guzman (Raùl Castillo), Chambers (Samantha Win) and Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), a German safecracker who provides many of the films best lines. They are also joined by Ward’s daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), who has an agenda that will bring chaos on the team, and create an overly long subplot about her relationship with her dad. The final team member is Martin (Garret Dilahunt), one of Tanaka’s men, who clearly has an agenda that will inevitably bring more chaos down on the team of zombie killers. Basically, death is certain, as there are hidden agendas, zombie tigers, and a group of super zombies who aren’t fans of several decisions that are made.
This is a totally earnest observation that hopefully doesn’t sound too pithy, but it would be neat to see a 100-minute cut of Army of the Dead. The 148-minute film could easily lose 48 minutes, as the screenplay by Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Joby Harold features unnecessary subplots (parental issues etc..) and meandering moments that put a halt to any momentum. This could’ve been a gnarly heist film, as the cast is game, and the idea of super zombies is fun, but, there are too many plot holes, and the fact that nobody was like “there’s only one helicopter to carry 10+ people and thousands of pounds of cash?,” isn’t cool.
The cinematography by Zack Snyder is a lot of fun, and the production design and costumes by Julie Berghoff (Saw, The Conjuring) and Stephanie Portnoy Porter (Sucker Punch, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) are excellent, as each character looks unique, and Las Vegas looks believably gross and barren. You can definitely see every cent of the large budget on the screen, and it’s nice knowing that so much money was spent on a zombie heist film.
Final Thoughts – Army of the Dead starts off hot, and cools off quickly. Check it out if you love zombie films, or are a Snyder completist.
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Quick thoughts – Solos is a fun experiment that allows Anthony Mackie, Constance Wu, Helen Mirren and others to flex their acting chops in unique science fiction environments.
This is a non-spoiler review, I knew nothing about the show when I watched it, and I think that adds to the experience.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator David Weil, said “a lot of the inspiration for [it] came from things I’m not allowed to do as a writer, in film and television, you’re really not allowed to have a 30-minute monologue, though I would love to in every episode of something I write.” Luckily for Weil, who also created Hunters for Amazon Prime, Solos was his opportunity to tell seven solo stories that revolve around a form of grounded science fiction. In the seven episodes, actors Anne Hathaway, Nicole Beharie, Helen Mirren, Uzo Aduba, Anthony Mackie, Constance Wu, Dan Stevens, and Morgan Freeman all do excellent work and they command the screen alone, or together (Stevens and Freeman are a double act in their episode).
The highlights of the seven episodes are the Anthony Mackie (Tom) and Constance Wu (Jenny) episodes that focus on revolutionary technology and a long wait in a waiting room. Both actors are superb, as they deliver 10-30 minute monologues that showcase their ability to balance anger, humor, sadness and hope within one well-written monologue. It’s nice seeing Mackie away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it makes me want to see him in more non-superhero movie cinema (watch Synchronic now!). Also, the episodes reminded me again how excellent Constance Wu is. Her performance in “Jenny” is a highlight of the show, and she’s asked to do a lot inside throughout the course of her episode. She handles humor with heartbreak expertly, and I’d love to see her get some award recognition for her performance.
The seven different stories all feature inspired production design by Ruth Ammon (The Alienist, Jack Ryan) and fun direction from David Weil, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Tiffany Johnson and Zach Braff. Telling visually interesting stories with just one actor, in one location is not an easy task, yet each episode is visually distinct, and the sets all cater perfectly to each story. Some of the actors are allowed more free range in their episodes as they have an office, basement lab, or simulation to move around in. Others, such as Helen Mirren, spends her episode strapped into a chair while traveling in to space. Cinematographer William Rexer (Hunters, Sneaky Pete, The Tick) had his work cut out for him, and he managed to find dozens (if not more) of angles and shots to keep each episode looking fresh and thrilling. It would’ve been neat to be a fly-on-the-wall for these shoots, because they must’ve been intimate and kind of thrilling.
Final thoughts – Watching Solos was a lot of fun, and you can tell the actors loved the experience of carrying their episodes. I’d love to see more.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast -Episode 364 – Ronin, Robert De Niro, and Rocket Launchers
You can download or stream the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).
If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!
Mark and Norbert discuss the 1998 action film Ronin. Directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Robert De Niro, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce, the film focuses on a group of mercenaries who love driving. In this episode, they talk about rocket launchers, car chases, and coffee traps. 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!
You can download the pod on Apple Podcasts, Tune In, Podbean, or Spreaker.
Movies, Films & Flix 