John’s Horror Corner: Leatherface (2017), the youthful origin story of the iconic killer.
MY CALL: The chunky gore and mean horror violence will satisfy those who desire it. But the film never even nearly lives up to its name Leatherface. This feels like a “Sawyer family story.” Despite its lackluster impact as a whole, the cruel death scenes still manage to hit hard. So if you enjoy mean slasher horror, then you ought to enjoy this… even lacking the macabre atmosphere and dread of the franchise. I’d only recommend this to TCM completists. MORE MOVIES LIKE Leatherface: Well obviously you should have already seen The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and the ultra-zany sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), though I was not a fan of Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990). Then there was the excellent (IMO) franchise reboot The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) and perhaps Texas Chainsaw 3-D (2013). From there I’d suggest seeing The Funhouse (1981), Motel Hell (1980), House of 1000 Corpses (2003) and The Hills Have Eyes (2006).
Being an origin story, I had hoped this wouldn’t take the over-expository path of Halloween (2007) regarding the creation of a soulless Michael Myers. And to be fair, I among the fans of Rob Zombie’s remake. But the young Myers story arc simply didn’t serve the character or enrich my view of the franchise. Well, in this film, the entire story revolves around turning a criminally delinquent child into what we know and fear as Leatherface. Let me spare you the suspense—this fell completely flat on its lame face. No wonder he decided to start wearing a mask!
The opening scene attempts to capture the unnerving magic of the iconic TCM dinner table scene, but does so with a toothless lack of intensity (and some weak writing). You feel none of the dreadful weight of the scene that was so earned in 1986 and 2003’s iterations. But what is nailed well is the abrupt violence and its accompanied brutal impact of the gore. Hammer-strikes to the head and chainsaw lacerations look great and provide brief spates of exhilarating violence amid an otherwise drab movie.
Except for the first few scenes, the first half of this film feels more like a family-size Natural Born Killers (1994) (more in character style than overall film tone) than anything from the Texas Chainsaw franchises. Hell bent on imprisoning the homicidal members of the Sawyer family, Sheriff Hal (Stephen Dorff; The Gate, Blade) seeks revenge for the murder of his daughter. As a result, in 1955 young Jed was removed from the Sawyer house and his family as a small child. In 1965, he came home. Most of this film is the few days marking.
A group of teenagers (including Jed) have escaped from their “mental hospital for troubled youths” with criminal intentions of getting money and a vehicle, quite comfortable with whatever bloody cost by which it comes. What’s interesting is that the movie keeps the viewers from knowing exactly which teen is Jed (i.e., eventually Leatherface). My obvious choice (in my opinion anyway) turned out to be very wrong.
[Spoilers in this paragraph] One thing I found perplexing was that I spent half the movie thinking a “different” character would end up being Verna’s (Lili Taylor; The Haunting, The Conjuring) son Jed (whose name was changed at the juvenile facility). I expected it to be the gigantic heavy teenager who hardly spoke; not the thin and spry, chatty sympathetic teen. And the movie essentially never acknowledges this deception or reveal. A second criticism would be that Leatherface’s fixation with making “human” leather-stitched masks comes completely out of nowhere. Sure, it makes for a mean closing scene, but completely unjustified given the movie. [end Spoilers]
The chunky gore and horror violence is solid. But, to the title’s-sake, the film never comes close to living up to its name Leatherface until except for a couple scenes. This feels like “a Sawyer family story.” Co-directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (Livid, Among the Living, Inside, ABCs of Death 2—X is for Xylophone) have done some decent movies in horror. This is not one of them. Despite its lackluster impact as a whole, the death scenes hit hard. They’re mean. And if you enjoy mean slasher horror (e.g., Wolf Creek), then you still ought to enjoy this.
But where’s the macabre atmosphere and the dread? This film packs none of it. So ultimately, I’d only recommend this to TCM completists who want to see all things Leatherface/Sawyers ever created (which I am).
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John’s Horror Corner: Monsters of Man (2020), a very violent killer robot Sci-Horror that is worth your time.
MY CALL: It may run a bit too long, but this remains a strong recommendation for fans of hard-R graphic violence in their Sci-Fi. Plus the action effects of these robots is excellent! MORE MOVIES LIKE Monsters of Man: For more smartly written Sci-Fi killer robots, go for Chappie (2015), Black Mirror S4 segment ‘Metalhead’ (2017), Love Death and Robots (2019) and RoboCop (1987).
Both in concept and visual execution, I am immediately fondly reminded of Chappie (2015)… if Chappie were dropped into the jungles of Cambodia soullessly hunting down its fare like a T-800. However this comparison makes you feel, the special effects of these robots are excellent! So I’m in either way.
Sometime in the not-so-distant future, companies are developing militarized robots with artificial intelligence for defense contracts. A group of young doctors, a robotics weapons company’s technical team and four of the CIA’s prototype AI robots all converge on a Cambodian drug camp. When the doctors witness the robots in action slaughtering the women and children of a village, they become witnesses to an illegal military operation and Major Robert Green (Neal McDonough; Minority Report, Timeline, I Know Who Killed Me, The Hitcher) must decide what to do with them. When one of the prototypes has a malfunction and becomes self-aware, things get interesting.
Director Mark Toia crushes his first feature film! For a writer/producer/director I’ve never heard of doing his first film, this is gorgeous! From the tropical wilds to cityscapes, the photography, cinematography, editing, action photography… just everything is so crisp and brilliantly done! Even the writing is solid. The young doctors remind me of meeting the group of twentysomethings in a well-written horror movie. They’re not complete throw-away characters and they say and do some substantial things even if they are largely forgettable characters.
My only criticism of this film is that it’s too long. I enjoyed everything I saw on screen. But with all the time spent with the team of doctors, the technical team controlling the robots, and everything going on with the robots in rather equal doses, I felt some inertia was clearly lost. We could have had many of these scenes compressed, and many others removed—especially with the doctors. Not that there was any dead weight, to be fair. This had the level of development you’d expect from a Netflix series in which some episodes are more action driven, and others more thriller-exposition driven. And while delivered as a Sci-Fi/action movie, there are some intensely gruesome scenes including a gory face-peeling and a shocking head stomp.
Very good film for fans of graphic violence in their Sci-Fi.
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The Truffle Hunters: A Charming Documentary That Introduces the World to Some Unique Characters
Quick thoughts: The Truffle Hunters will put a smile on your face, and introduce you to a world of charming truffle hunters who all have their own reasons for hunting truffles.
Directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters focuses on the hierarchy of the truffle hunting world in Italy. The documentary introduces us to Aurelio, Angelo, and other specialists who scour the Italian woods and countryside in hopes of finding large truffles they can sell. It’s an intriguing world full of secret hunting spots, poisoned dogs, and men who just can’t stop looking for truffles. It’s a blast watching the process as we get to see the hunters, and their dogs spending their days and nights walking through wooded terrains in hopes of finding truffles. Then, we get to see them sell them to Giancarlo, a middle-man, who then sells them at higher prices to restaurants, or auctions, in which a man named Carlo sells them to wealthy looking people who line up to smell each pungent treat.
Another neat aspect of the documentary is that it spends time with each of the personalities who spend the majority of their time covered in mud. The majority of the men are on the older side, and they are extremely secretive and paranoid about their hunting grounds and process. They all have trusted dogs, who smell out the truffles, and are occasionally in danger as other hunters leave poison behind to kill them (don’t worry, you never see a dog dying, but it is stressful). Each character is lovingly framed, and they must’ve trusted Dweck and Kershaw because the directors were given access to their private moments that involve arguments with their spouses who just want them home more. In one of the best moments, we are treated to a former hunter doing some casual typing and wine drinking. It’s a random moment that never feels exploitative as it’s super charming and captures a fun and organic seeming moment.
What The Truffle Hunters really has going for it, is the neat cinematography that embraces static shots, and isn’t afraid to strap a GoPro to a dog for a semi-queasy moment of truffle hunting. It’s a beautiful looking documentary that was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography by the American Society of Cinematography, and you’ll be constantly charmed by the framing of the locations and characters who hunt for the truffles.
If you are looking for an excellent documentary that introduces you to a neat world inhabited with likable characters, you will love The Truffle Hunters.
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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 40: Talking to Tania Raymonde and John Pogue About Deep Blue Sea 3
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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This is a huge episode! Jay and Mark were joined by Tania Raymonde and John Pogue, the star and director of Deep Blue Sea 3, to talk about the extremely fun shark film. If you haven’t watched Deep Blue Sea 3 yet, make sure to watch it, then listen to this fun conversation. In this episode, they discuss underwater chainsaws, potential sequels, and the cinematic shark-punching club. Enjoy!
Watch Deep Blue Sea 3! You will love it.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 357: The Dark and the Wicked, Goats, and Bryan Bertino
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Mark and Zanandi (@ZaNandi on Twitter) discuss the excellent horror film The Dark and the Wicked. Directed by Bryan Bertino, and starring Marin Ireland, Michael Abbot Jr. and Julie Oliver-Touchstone, the film focuses on what happens when an estranged family comes up against something truly dark and wicked. In this episode, they talk about atmospheric horror, jerky demons, and the filmography of Bryan Bertino. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. 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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Godzilla vs. Kong: A Fun Popcorn Film That Will Introduce the Mainstream to Director Adam Wingard
Quick thoughts: Godzilla vs. Kong is a wonderful popcorn film that does a lot in under two hours
Starting with 2014’s Godzilla, the Legendary and Warner Brothers produced Monsterverse films have steadily built towards a very fun battle royale. Godzilla vs Kong is a perfect popcorn film in that it features a fun final fight, likable humans (finally!), and a story that makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it. The best thing about the movie is that it packs in a whole lot of story in under two hours, which is a breath of fresh air because most blockbusters need 150 minutes to tell the same exact story.
Directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest), and written by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok) and Max Borenstein (Godzilla: Kong: Skull Island) Godzilla vs. Kong focuses on what happens when people won’t let Godzilla do his thing. After saving the world twice by defeating the two MUTOs and King Ghidorah in Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the world’s government and Monarch still don’t trust Godzilla after he attacks a mysterious factory owned by the Apex company. Normally, saving the world twice would buy a gigantic monster some trust, but since the attacks are deadly, the world is put on alert, and nefarious plots are put into effect.
Meanwhile, King Kong is tucked away inside a gigantic dome (built by Monarch) on Skull Island, that keeps him safe from battling Godzilla. After the Godzilla attacks, Apex CEO Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) and his daughter Maia (Eiza González) hire Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), to travel to Skull Island, so he can convince Kong expert Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), that Kong needs to travel to Antarctica, so he can enter the Hollow Earth to retrieve a mythical power source that can be used against Godzilla. From there, the two monsters fight, many things are destroyed, and Millie Bobby Brown, Julian Dennison and Bryan Tyree Henry find themselves trapped inside an underground rail system that travels from the United States to Hong Kong.
The final fight, which has been well covered in the film’s movie trailers, is wonderfully coherent and makes logical sense (I’d love to write more, but I don’t want to wreck anything). Yes, there’s a wild amount of property destruction and death, but if you’ve been watching King Kong or Godzilla since 1933, you know that the two of them always leave messes in their films, so the final battle here isn’t anything different. In the end, it is one of the best giant monster fights of recent memory, and it stands alongside the best fights in Godzilla vs. Destroyah or King Kong (2005).
Godzilla vs. Kong is a wonderful popcorn film, and it hopefully will reignite talks of further sequels featuring the two likable heroes.
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 356: Darkman, Sam Raimi, and Helicopter Explosions
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Mark and David (of the Award Wieners Movie Review Podcast) discuss the 1990 film Darkman. Directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and Larry Drake, this bonkers movie focuses on what happens when a scientist survives an explosion, becomes a maniac superhero, and attempts to take down a crime boss. In this episode, they discuss 1990’s superhero cinema, Sam Raimi, and helicopter explosions. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. 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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Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast – Episode 39: Going Full Chuck, Cardigan Sharks, and Serum Viscosity
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Jay and Mark are joined by DJ Valentine (@TryingToBeDJV) to discuss the third chapter on the Deep Blue Sea 2 DVD. In this episode, they talk about Bill Nighy shepherding trees, serum viscosity, and cardigan sharks. Enjoy!
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The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast – Episode 355: Joe Dirt, Auto Trader and Fireworks
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 Nathan discuss the 2001 film Joe Dirt. Directed by Dennie Gordon, and starring David Spade, Christopher Walken, Brittany Daniel and Adam Beach, the movie focuses on the adventures of Joe Dirt, a super plucky guy who is trying to find his parents after they left him at the Grand Canyon. In this episode, they discuss positive heroes, bad jobs, and Christopher Walken’s dancing. Enjoy!
If you are a fan of the podcast, make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. 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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John’s Horror Corner: The Dead Pit (1989), one of the weaker zombie-ish B-movies of the 80s.
MY CALL: For all its effort, this movie remains unimpressive and highly forgettable, even if somewhat entertaining. I just kept expecting it to get better… and it never did. This movie had a lot of untapped potential considering the films that director Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) helmed in the following years.. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Dead Pit: For more doctors behaving badly, check out Re-Animator (1985) and sequels, Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), Dr. Giggles (1992), Boxing Helena (1993), or The House on Haunted Hill (1999).
At the State Institution for the Mentally Ill, the twisted Dr. Ramzi has been abducting patients and taking them down into a secret underground crypt beneath the hospital. Deep in these catacombs, he performed experiments on them and piled their cadavers into a foul pit. Upon discovery of these foul crimes against humanity, his superior Dr. Swan (Jeremy Slate; The Lawnmower Man) confronted Ramzi, shot him dead in his own pit, and then sealed the secret entrance from the world for 20 years.
The very day that amnesiac patient Jane Doe (Cheryl Lawson; The Vineyard) is admitted, an earthquake creates a fissure re-opening the cryptly basement and freeing the apparently still alive and now undead Dr. Ramzi to wreak havoc on the hospital once again. Oh, and for whatever reason, Jane has some sort of psychic connection to the hospital. No clue why. But the 80s did love psychic stuff in 80s movies.
When she’s dressed for bed (which is most scenes of this movie, it seems), Jane looks like the star of a softcore Penitentiary Girls movie. I think a producer must have liked her a little too much, because she always looks the instigator of a sex scene that never happens. And in that spirit, this movie features what I can only describe as a “mean-spirited” wet T-shirt contest scene. It is laughably raunchy, but clearly not meant to be funny either.
In the first half of the movie the gore is okay and the death scenes are completely forgettable. Like most 80s horror, the last third of the movie packs most of the punch. In the present case, the evil doctor resurrects his past patients as twitchy zombies with low budget zombie trappings that begin to ravage the hospital staff with weak zombie violence.
The deaths that ensue were very gory, even if on a very tight budget. But really, for all its effort, this movie remains unimpressive and highly forgettable, even if somewhat entertaining. I just kept expecting it to get better… and it never did. After all, evil doctor movies just open themselves up to crazy medical experiments and reanimated mania. I feel this movie had a lot of untapped potential. Especially considering the films that director Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity) helmed in the following years.
Movies, Films & Flix 