Category Archives: Movie review

Movie review: Lords of Chaos

22 Monday Jun 2020

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Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund has been slowly carving up a career looking at suitably unhinged characters and the psyche of the human mind throughout the few feature films he has heralded so far.
These in turn were built on the shoulders of numerous music videos, working with talents such as Prodigy, Metallica, Madonna, and Rammstein, so it was of little surprise that in 2018 he would turn his attention to some music roots closer to home albeit with his neighbouring country, Norway and the birth of the black metal scene that surfaced in the early 90s.
Metal has always been synonymous with horror films, so it seems fitting to have a film that circulates these two themes as the cornerstone of its narrative. 

From the get go Åkerlund throws in the caveat that the story is about truth and lies, allowing him as the creative to have free license around the events that unfolded between Euronymous, Varg and the Black Circle.
As he weaves in the real-life characters who strive for infamy whether that is through music or political empowerment, inner turmoil surmounts to a place that can only result in destruction.
The question remains for those not familiar with the history, is whose destruction will it ultimately be and at what cost?

Watching Rory Culkin’s performance as the narrator and mastermind behind Mayhem, Euronymous, I’m once again reminded of the strength of his performance as an actor as he sways from likeable, annoying, disturbing, and back to likeable again with chameleon-like ability on-screen.
In many ways, Culkin is the centrepin of the film, resting on the need for the audience to engage with his actions, whether it is with disgust or delight as he attempts to carve out a trajectory that will transport him into fame and beyond. 

The true horror of the piece lies within the extent to which all the characters will go to in order to not only outperform but shock each other for the cause.
The further they descend into hell, the murkier the original cause becomes and no matter how much Euronymous tries to salvage the situation and maintain control, anarchy has already been unleashed and too many fractured actions will inevitably splinter the group.
The focus primarily being between newcomer Varg and his ambitions to direct Norway away from christianity and toward Odinism. 

The delivery of the film is also nicely off cantor, so that feeling of unpolished actions resonate strongly, especially as the characters are always on the brink of implosion, which invariably brings about panic or stupidity and Åkerlund never shies away from exposing those moments of mindlessness.

The Prognosis

There are moments of pure joy, anarchy and Mayhem throughout the film that highlights the plight and peril of a deliberately disorganised association’s attempt to resurrect a new medium into the world, only to stare at the horror and destruction that unfolds around them in the process.
The damned will be doomed.

There is no salvation.

Just the remnants of what once stood before them.

Burn the walls down and cut away at life’s obstacles and you fear exposing the frailty of humanity beneath it all. 

Director Jonas Åkerlund manages to do this while providing an engaging storyline, supported by some great performances, grounded in the reality of the environment and all the more harrowing that it is based in truth… and lies of course.

  • Saul Muerte

Lords of Chaos is available to view via Video On Demand
or buy from Umbrella Entertainment.

Retrospective: Invisible Agent

18 Thursday Jun 2020

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Positioned as a wartime propaganda film in order to build up the morale of US Citizens, Hollywood took another look at HG Wells’ Invisible Man, this time instead of mobs hunting down Griffin’s invisible formula, it would be the S.S.

The story picks up with the formula back in family hands, that of grandson, Frank Griffin Jr. played by John Hall in what would be his first outing as the cloaked man.
Hall had previously impressed Universal for his support role in Eagle Squadron and was more than fitting to take the lead role embedded in the world of espionage. 

Interestingly, the formula doesn’t have the negative impact on the psychosis as per the previous films, which is more than likely to keep a more upbeat, positive outcome with ample heroics for Griffin Jr to outwit and outsmart the S.S.

Sworn to make allegiance with the US government following the attack on Pearl Harbour, Griffin Jr discloses his secret to invisibility and from here on he is sent on a mission to where he parachutes behind enemy lines.
He is soon aided by Maria Sorenson played by Ilona Massey, who receives equal billing and rightfully so as the femme fatale figure seemingly playing with the hearts of both Griffen Jr and GS Karl Heiser. 

Cue mishaps and mayhem as they weave their way in and out of situations to evade capture in the manner that the 1940s movies excelled at.
None more so here thanks to script writer Curtis Siodmak.
Equally the leads are ably supported by stable actors, Cedric Hardwicke and Peter Lorre as the villains of the piece. Lorre’s performance is by today’s standards highly controversial and an example of the whitewashing in Hollywood as he plays Baron Ikito, a Japanese officer.
He delivers his usual sound Peter Lorre performance, but you can’t escape how uncomfortable it is that he is portraying a character who is not of his own race. 

Despite this, Invisible Agent is a great addition to the Invisible Man series and although it is different in tone, it has great substance in its style and has powerful performances providing a great yarn to boot.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Darlin’ (2019)

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

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It’s somehow fitting that my #moviesimissed choice of the week comes from a work inspired by the late great author Jack Ketchum, a tour de force in the genre, shaking up the boundaries that have shaped horror.
Ketchum’s mentor as he was finding his voice was Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, (the subject of our latest podcast at the time of writing) and would enter the scene with his controversial novel, Off Season, a tale that would take form based on the legend of Sawney Bean, the clan leader of a band of cannibals living in Scotland during the 16th Century.
This in turn would spawn two sequels, (Offspring, released in 2009, and The Woman 2011, directed by Lucky McKee and starring Pollyanna McIntosh) and follow the lives of these cannibals. 

The Woman would centre on one member of the tribe, captured by a family on the brink of humanity, guided by their oppressive and domineering father, Chris. Chris tries to domesticate the woman by caging her up and raping her, vilyfying her very nature. The tale was a harsh but vital look at women who are subjected to violent suppression from the hands of a volatile male figure. It rightfully stands as a dark look at the lengths and breadths that humanity can turn to when steered by the misguided.

Where Darlin’ picks up, the woman and her teenage daughter (Lauryn Canny) are still living on the edge of society when the daughter, known as Darlin’ in the film, is taken into hospital and another form of rehabilitation begins. In this case though, it comes under the guise of religion, when she is harboured by a Catholic boarding school, and again is domesticated or bred as a public image for the school. The grooming process is exactly as it sounds, where The Bishop (Bryan Batt) preys on the girls who board there. 

The rest of the story focuses on Darlin’s rehabilitation into society and wrestling with her inner nature and the ways of catholicism. As much as she conforms to the religious ways, the kernel of her makeup lies dormant throughout the story waiting to unleash at any given time.

It was great to see Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent) on screen as the troubled Sister Jennifer who is equally dealing with an internal conflict about her upbringing and the impact that the school had on her as a child, conflicting with her beliefs.

The Prognosis:

McIntosh was clearly inspired by her previous role as The Woman and the writings of Jack Ketchum to have further developed the story on screen again and proves more than accomplished in her (as yet) only turn in the director’s chair.
While Darlin’ walks a predictable storyline and is not as brutal as its predecessor, the threat is still present with ‘The Woman’ on the outskirts threatening to strike at any given moment, which hides or glosses over any flaws contained within the narrative.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: Sea Fever

14 Sunday Jun 2020

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They say that movie themes come in waves, and recently we’ve seen a stirring towards mankind’s fear of the ocean.
Where Underwater trended towards more action fare, and The Lighthouse skewed more towards psychological avant garde, Sea Fever is ironically more grounded in its descent into the murky depths of the brine.

Director Neasa Hardiman has carved a remarkable career so far with hard hitting British series’ Scott & Bailey and Happy Valley, so she’s been attuned to gritty drama and with two of her leads Connie Nielsen and Dougray Scott she finds actors who know their mettle, crafting subtle nuanced performances that equally tap into intensity. 

In her sophomore feature outing in the directors chair, Hardiman hones her virtuosity further, in this deeply engaging tale of a fishing trailer crew who embark into an exclusion zone where they encounter a parasitic infection. 

The film’s release is indeed timely as the crew are forced into isolation as they come to terms with this new life form that infests them one by one whilst scrambling to defend themselves from this unknown entity.
The story is told from the point of view of introvert Siobhan (Hermione Corfield), a scientist who has been studying faunal behavioural patterns given the opportunity to join the crew.
Corfield also more than holds her own adding the heart and mind of the film that adds weight and a voice of reason amongst the insanity.
A loner from the outset, Siobhan is further isolated from a superstitious company, especially upon learning that she is a redhead, a bad omen among fishermen.
The tide soon turns however, as the crew search for her expertise throughout their encounter in the hopes that she will be their guiding light.
The heightened sense of distrust, lack of patience, lethargy and sadness intensifies the tension further, which tempers the notion of cabin fever amongst them all and us as the audience.

The Prognosis:

This pandemic horror under the guise of a monster film harbours an intense feeling of claustrophobia and paranoia fueled by the necessity to survive.
The creature effects when used are refined and intricately well played out for what is essentially a low budget feature.
Not surprisingly there are nods to similar sci-fi films such as Alien and more notably The Thing, embedded with a Lovecraftian vibe at times, but Hardiman also bends the subject with her own voice and tone that allows the characters and the storyline to breathe in a claustrophobic world, churning out a thrilling and encapsulating narrative.

  • Saul Muerte

This film is currently available to rent via Sydney Film Festival until June 21.

Movie review: Mercy Black

08 Monday Jun 2020

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A little over a year ago now Mercy Black was released on Netflix without any notification and little fanfare, and in doing so, remarkably, it sparked the intrigue of an audience eager to lap up new media from a company that was seriously threatening the “standard” format of film distribution (or so some would have you believe).
Equally shedding light on the movie was that it was produced by Blumhouse Productions, a company who by now have more than proved that they are capable of knocking out some hard-hitting and engaging horror.
Fast forward to present day though, and it isn’t even listed under the Netflix viewing. My surgical senses are tingling that we may be staring at a movie that didn’t hit its mark, but I’m a glutton for punishment and will always find myself delving into the genre for a taste of the unknown, even if I may regret those actions.

It didn’t take me long to find out that I should have taken heed of my reservations.

Mercy Black paves the story of Marina, who as a young girl stabbed a fellow classmate, supposedly as a sacrifice to awaken a ghost so that she could cure her mother’s illness. All of this is told through the use of a series of flashbacks as a device for the audience to piece together. Unfortunately, this just muddles the impact that this supposed apparition has and fails to haunt or scare. 

What is perhaps more troubling is that we pick up the story some 15 years after the incident took place, learning that Marina has been in a psychiatric facility.
Now released back into the general population, she moves back into her old home with her sister, Alice and her nephew, Bryce. I mean.you gotta have some quirky kid in there right?

The rest of the movie follows Marina attempting to settle back into a lifestyle and community that are only too aware of the story behind Mercy Black and how the mythology has bled beyond the folklore and into the ‘known’ world.
Marina continuously questions where her illusions end and reality begins and we as an audience are supposed to be content in being taken along for the ride and the dots are all too familiar and obvious to resonate.

The prognosis:

Definitely should have trusted my instincts.

Mercy Black is simply lazy writing and rests on tried and tested scares that are all too obvious.

It’s the same as there is a kernel of horror embedded deep in the true stories that inspired director Owen Egerton, but he gets lost in the formula rather than produce the unnerving and disturbing imagery from the child killer origins.
Sometimes real life can be just as horrific and mind-bending at the depths that humanity can go to. For me the true psychology comes from how messed up that would leave someone and I would have loved to have seen them go there in the storytelling. 

Movie review: I Trapped The Devil

07 Sunday Jun 2020

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Built as a supernatural horror film, I Trapped The Devil pits a highly interesting premise for a directorial feature debut, and Josh Lobo’s passion project certainly aims high in what is essentially a strong drama-led piece. 

The premise follows a couple, Matt and Karen who pay a visit to Matt’s brother Steve, a man who is clearly troubled following the death of his wife, Sarah. Steve is also harbouring a secret… he claims to have imprisoned the devil himself in his basement, but is this a figment of his imagination as he slips into the recesses of a depraved mind, or has he somehow managed to actually ensnare the prince of darkness?

For a film that is weighted in dialogue and exposition on the realms of power, control, action and inaction, it requires someone with the acting prowess to pull off the gravitas of the piece. So, one of Lobo’s masterstroke is in the casting of mumblegore alumni, AJ Bowen (You’re Next, The Sacrament) as Matt, who molds his character to the scenario and makes the predicament a believable one, and produces genuine reactions arising out of his performance. He is also ably supported by Scott Poythress as Steve and Susan Theresa Burke as Karen, and the trio provide enough of a hook to keep you engaged during the grittier moments. 

Too often though, there are gaps in the drama and these wallowing moments in the film feel stagnant at times, as though we’re sinking into a quagmire of gloom. Visually this can be hard to connect with the storyline and sends the audience adrift as a result. 

With a bit more experience I feel that Lobo could generate more ambience out of those lull moments, but in this case, he papers over the gaps with music to stimulate or invigorate mood.

The prognosis:

The shifts and changes in drama are the strongest component in this film with a superb cast and Lobo ably plays with the psychology and past of three characters and how they interplay with one another when thrust into a strange and surreal situation, ramping up the tension.

It does suffer from the downbeats in the movie though and as such can be a struggle to watch.

  • Saul Muerte 

I Trapped The Devil is available to view via Video On Demand
or buy from Umbrella Entertainment.

Movie review: The Wind

04 Thursday Jun 2020

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On paper, Emma Tammi’s directorial feature debut ticks all the boxes for a movie that suits this particular scribe’s tastes.
It boasts a strong cast of actors placed in a psychological predicament in a harsh and isolating environment, where they must face their demons if they are to survive their ordeal.
When dealing with such an ideological set of circumstances, it requires a fairly weighty plot and background for the characters to wade through, which is a tough gig for any director to pull off let alone attempting to do so on your first outing.
The characters are either going to slide through their troubles, barely skating on the surface, or be sucked down into the murky depths and bogged down by the intensity of their plight.

If you choose the latter, you fall prey to losing your audience, and this is where I found myself as I ambled across the terrain laid out in The Wind’s storyline.
In order to build tension, Tammi develops a slow burn, allowing the characters to breathe in and assess their situation but the slow changes in gear can and will frustrate some.

To the film’s credit the cinematography is sublime and Lyn Moncrief is able to capture the sheer beauty that only the American West can convey on the silver screen with some simply stunning shots on show.

Catlin Gerard (Insidious: The Last Key) is sensational as Lizzy, a strong-minded frontier woman, dealing not only with the loss of a son in childbirth, but also adapting to the Wild West alone with her husband, but then forced into that uncomfortable situation when a new couple arrive as neighbours.
It is here that the notion of civility creeps back into their world once more and yet the isolation that their environment offers belies their situation.

The problem lies in the ambiguity of Lizzy’s plight, because the moments it kicks in, really do kick in and you start to question, is she actually experiencing a paranormal event or has cabin fever struck sending her to the brink of madness?
Whilst Tammi decides to leave the answer to this question up to audiences’ imagination, the building blocks that she creates in her deeply atmospheric world are not strong enough to form a solid foundation and are a little too vague.

The Prognosis:

Strong performances and powerful imagery create enough style to hook you into a psychological and tormenting land, but it lacks enough substance to establish the powerful and lasting effect that the director was aiming to achieve. 

Movie review: The Lodge

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Those who have followed my musings for the last few years will know that, yes I am British and that my love of horror movies has no bounds.
With those two elements combined it’s no wonder that I have strong attachments to Hammer Films and the wonderful movies that they produced throughout the 60s and 70s and often starring the late greats Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
Since those golden years I’ve watched with a keen eye, the resurrection of this much-loved company under the guidance of their CEO Simon Oakes.

This journey has seen them admittedly stumble along finding a unique voice in a plethora of genre movies and make their mark once again.
2010 would see their first full length feature in the brilliant, Let Me In. Despite the film’s strength it was married by the masterful Let The Right One In, a Swedish version of the story released the year before that sent ripples through the community and has become a modern classic in some circles, because of this Hammer found itself in the shadows still.

Their next two features would cause a minor stir with The Resident and Wake Wood, which still pose strong stories but failed to click with a wide audience.
This wouldn’t occur until Woman In Black hit the screens and proved to everyone that hallways can be scary, if atmosphere is played in a certain way.
With that release, Hammer had struck a chord and not surprisingly look to replicate this again, unfortunately the sequel couldn’t match it’s predecessor and The Quiet Ones also released the same year, did not connect or resonate with its audience.
Even Dame Helen Mirren couldn’t stop this downward trajectory that Hammer was facing four years later with the woeful and messy plotline delivered in Winchester.
Was Hammer’s magic wearing off?
Could they invoke that mystery once again?

With the release of The Lodge, I would argue that they can and hopefully turn things around once more.

Whilst it still isn’t at the levels of Let Me In and Woman In Black, falling marginally short in its execution and this is purely down to predictability and in my opinion, not allowing the true horror of the situation unfold to the psychological  steps it could have gone to.

Having said that, writer/directors Veronika Franz and Severin Flava (Goodnight Mommy) alongside fellow scribe Sergio Casci have produced a remarkably disturbing film that turns the notion of gaslighting on its head with a suitably modern twist.

The most compelling part of the narrative is the way that characters are portrayed so that the audience is never quite sure who it should pay allegiance to.
Each of the participants display positive and negative sides of their personalities which ebb and flow throughout the film as they tackle both spiritual, mental and physical ordeals.

The picture paints a story of a fractured family which sees the father, Richard (Richard Armitage) leaving his wife, Laura (Alicia Silverstone) for a much strikingly similar looking but younger, Grace (Riley Keough).
The fact that Richard and Laura have children, Aidan (Jaedan Martell – IT, IT chapter two) and Mia (Lia McHugh) only makes the situation more complex, especially as they see the mysterious rival to their mother.
From here on, the kids look at how they can make life difficult for Grace and a potential situation arises on a winter retreat to the titular lodge.

The Prognosis:

Hammer Films have produced a colourful film in a stark landscape built on a tide of emotions indicating a return to form.

The performances are compelling with all the actors showing a range of emotional turmoil and delivered by a creative team who continue to push the boundaries of the psyche.

– Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Faceless Man

29 Friday May 2020

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The Faceless Man is an off-beat independent horror movie that is a boiling pot of subgenres with the Ozploitation era embedded firmly on its sleeve. Like any low-budget film it has its flaws but let’s focus on the positives first, because if anything this film has a lot of heart and is prepared to face one of life’s greatest fears head on.

For his debut feature, writer/director James Di Martino decided to tackle the subject of cancer as the faceless entity stalking its prey and pushing them to the edge of sanity. 
It’s a bold approach in a playing field that deserves a higher quality offering than what is on offer, but you can only work with the resources and materials you have at hand.
Despite this, Di Martino still manages to eek out some spectacularly eerie moments peppered with some decent and dark humour along the way. 

The tone of the film is deliciously macabre in places and these moments will resonate highly with any fan of the genre and even delivers great character actors in Roger Ward and Andy McPhee who do not disappoint in their respective roles.

The story centres on Emily (Sophie Thurling) as a cancer survivor in fear that she may fall sick once again who is driven by paranoia and a past that haunts her.
So when presented with a weekend away with her friends, she sees it as a way to get away from her troubles, but fate has other plans in store.

The Prognosis:

Characteristically speaking, Di Martino provides a suitably quirky and unsettling movie which suffers a little from some performances and too many right turns in the plotline.
What it does promise is a director with a vision, who with the right tools could produce some decent storylines in the future. Definitely a name to look out for.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Haunt

22 Friday May 2020

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Arguably, nobody has been able to inject fear into the world of haunted horror attractions since Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse back in the 80s, but in a world where what is old is new again, it comes as no surprise that someone would look to breathe new life into this well trodden sub-genre, after all, who doesn’t like to see scary attractions ripped at the seams along with the unwitting victims who dare to venture beyond its walls?

We’ve seen some half decent efforts in recent years from the likes of Blood Fest and Hell Fest, but I think it’s pretty fair to say that the latest production from Eli Roth takes a damn good stab at twisting it into a bold new direction.

In the wake of extreme haunted houses such as McKamey Manor, where people voluntarily subject themselves to extreme bouts of torture, Haunt casts itself into a world where the fine line between pleasure and pain is well and truly in dark territory.

As you can expect from a Roth production, the kills are bloody with the gore level amped up to the max, which normally I find hard to bare, but in this instance I was along for the ride and if anything felt those moments not only cranked up the tension, but left you feeling unnerved in a satisfactory way. 

The masked villains were also suitably camp and added to the heightened sense of agitation and wrath that is dealt out on the victims foolish enough to enter their domain and play their game. Herein lies the rub however, as the victims themselves are indeed foolish and fall prey to two-dimensional characterisation, so much so that we are beyond caring about what happens to them, which is a shame as Haunt was ripe for potential. Too much style and focus was paid to the villains and the set pieces, ala Saw that the writers neglected the one essential ingredient. You gotta add depth to the main characters, to build that connection with your audience, so that when the pendulum swings, we give a damn about whether or not they live or die.

By the time the conclusion starts to come into sight, the writing pushes into the ridiculous where certain characters appear to withstand death blows in order to avoid meeting their maker. 

The Prognosis:

With a little bit more care and dedication to character depth and background, Haunt could have been a modern classic. Unfortunately, the film rests on imagery and admittedly some gnarly death scenes, but without the prime quality cut steak, you’re just left with gristle.

  • Saul Muerte