Much like Morgan Saylor’s performance in Shudder’s exclusive and original feature A Spoonful of Sugar, the horror streaming platform has released another gripping lead performance in its latest outing, Leave. In this instance the performance in question comes from Alicia Von Rittberg, better known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth 1st in Becoming Elizabeth. Unfortunately though, this is the only redeeming strength in an otherwise slow plodding, unfulfilling film.
Essentially the premise is bound by Rittberg’s Hunter character yearning to find the missing piece of the picture, namely who her parents and real family are. Having just graduated to University, Hunter embarks on a detour to discover her true origins. All she knows is that as an infant, she was left abandoned in a cemetery, wrapped in garments emblazoned with satanic symbols. This probably would be enough warning for anyone not to venture down a seemingly treacherous path to resolution, but Hunter continues pressing forward, even when a malevolent spirit appears, warning her not to do so.
As we journey alongside Hunter, the audience endures some slow, moving scenes aimed at adding tension to the piece, but instead feels too close to grinding to a halt. Despite Rittberg’s efforts, and she pulls up all the stops to ground her character and add depth to her trauma, we are left ambling along with little care to connect with her inevitable plight.
The Prognosis:
For all his best efforts Director Alex Herron struggles to add enough atmosphere to his psychological thriller, a necessary ingredient for the subgenre. Where he tries to apply a dark and moody setting, he loses sight of building up tension for admittedly a substandard script. Alicia Von Rittberg is a joy to watch, and potentially the only ray of sunshine in a pretty mediocre narrative.
Sometimes a bad situation can produce gold, or even a Pearl.
While in New Zealand shooting the very fantastic “X”, director Ti West and star Mia Goth decided to make productive use of their COVID lockdown time. Rather than perfect their sourdough recipe they began writing a prequel or backstory for “X’s” psychopathic geriatric, Pearl.
So, straight off the back of filming “X” they began pre-prod then the subsequent shooting of “Pearl”.
Set sixty years before “X”, Pearl is a young woman rapidly going mad by her own ambitions, unfulfilled sexual desires, and a general lack of human interaction. It’s 1918, The Great War and the Spanish flu are almost done, and new bride Pearl is whiling her isolated days away murdering small livestock, humping a scarecrow, and dreaming of being a movie star (pretty normal stuff really), on the same farm (only newer) we saw in “X”.
“Pearl” is a dark, ingenious character study that showcases the intense talent of Mia Goth. Her 7-minute monologue at the end of the film alone is a performance that demands to be studied in all screen-acting classes. And that deranged ‘smile/cry’, holy moly it is truly unnerving.
West and Goth have done something remarkable here. They’ve added layer upon layer to the character of Pearl and quite frankly this is treatment almost never reserved for the ‘villain’ of a horror film. Oh, and it may be a hip little indie A24 art film but at its core it’s still a gory AF horror.
The Prognosis:
I really loved “X”, I was blown away by “Pearl” and now I wait in eager anticipation for the third film in this mythology – “Maxxxine”.
So far, the rise of the requel has struggled to tread the fine line of capturing the initial appeal of a much-loved franchise. Where David Gordon Green’s Halloweentapped into the brutal energy and awakened Michael Myers for a whole new generation, before whimpering into disappointing conclusion to the trilogy; other movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacreand The Grudgehave failed to spark the right kind of allure. When it comes to the return of Ghost face back in 2022, from the creative minds of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not), they managed to produce a compelling entry into the franchise and carve their way into the Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson slasher world with their own identity and a whole bunch of likeable new characters, whilst also boldly killing off a fan favourite, proving that no one is safe from the grim reaper.
The question, however, would be, could they repeat this formula and harness the quips and kills from last year and walk the rope of integrity or lose the faithful with a cheap and ill-effective turnaround for the sake of bringing bums back into the cinema seats? And there would also be some who can’t imagine the franchise without Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) making an appearance.
It starts off with full swagger, introducing us to Samara Weaving’s horror film scholar awaiting a date at a swanky bar in New York. We are far away from Woodsboro now. Much like when Jason ventured into Manhattan, Ghost face takes a stab at injecting horror into the big apple.
After a few twists and turns, we left with the face of the franchise, asking ‘Who gives a @#$!, about the movies?’ A tad insensitive perhaps, considering we’re all here to watch him rip up some new and perhaps old victims.
The journey that we are taken on is an enjoyable ride, as we follow our “Core Four” sisters Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega – Wednesday) , movie buff Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Chad (Mason Gooding) all present and semi-equipped to face off against Ghost Face once more. We also have some returning legacy characters in Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) and some fresh faces Anika (Devyn Nekoda), Danny (Josh Segarra), Ethan (Jack Champion) Quinn (Liana Liberato), Jason (Tony Revolori), Det. Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), and Dr. Stone (Henry Czerny), all of whom line up as possible suspects or victims.
There are some issues however, as the road is not an easy one to traverse with some questionable plot choices, and the sometimes overbearing statements about legacy characters up for the chopping block or being expendable. Yes, we know that Sydney is not present and we may or may not see Gale or Kirby being bumped off, or some of the “Core Four” for that matter. The Scream franchise does seem a little caught up in being meta that it forgets to relax, go along with the flow of blood and mayhem when it arises. Instead, it gets a little self-consumed and neglects to surprise or throw you off scent. As the narrative strides to entertain and delight, which it does well, the shock factor gets lost and we strangely find ourselves in all too safe terrain where the realms of believability gets stretched.
The Prognosis:
Yes. Ghost Face is back to entertain and delight with some delightfully macabre kills. There are even some tension-racked moments, most notably the subway scene, but the film suffers in the final act and the inevitable reveal feeling a little bit of a letdown. If rumours abound that a third instalment into the requel is in the works, then Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett will need to break the mould and force the franchise into a brave new world.
There could be worse things than hearing Tobin Bell’s hypnotic, vehement tones being recited over and over again. Repetition is an oft explored theme in this psychological thriller that finds its home in the subject of grief.
Our lead protagonist, Will (Scott Hamm Duenas) is doomed to dwell in the depths of sorrow, following the disturbing and tragic death of his daughter. This has reduced him to resorting to the bottle to drown out his emotions. His consumption has led him to a counselling group, one from which he struggles to assimilate to. There is something unnerving about the attendees, with suggestions that something darker lies beneath their “good intentions”.
Among their group is outsider, Lydia (Nija Okoro) who is adrift from the pack, armed with the promise of resolving her internal conflict. She is the pathway for Will being introduced to a mysterious stranger, Von (Bell). Here is a man who is at the crossroads in Will’s descent or rise from misery, equipped with offering to tempt his soul and bring his daughter back from the dead. With the seductive trap set, Will then finds himself ensnared in a cyclical third state of grief bargaining. But what exactly does Will have left to bargain with? And will this warren only lead him deeper into a point of no return?
The manner in which Von tempts Will is also one carried on a circular motif through vinyls; carefully etched out grooves of time that draw ever closer to its centre, before it must reach its inevitable conclusion.
The Prognosis:
Kenny Yates does well to string together a murky screenplay by stars Scott Hamm Duenas and Kipp Tribble. When dealing with time and how we can manipulate proceedings to fix the past, the creative team has a strong concept on their hands.
The issue arises in becoming too lost in its own mythology, drowning in a slow and weighty narrative. The focus was in creating style and in doing so neglecting enough substance for the audience to grasp a hold of. Not even Tobin Bell can save it from being lost in the ether,
Once you get past the nagging thought of trying to place the face of the lead, Morgan Saylor before pausing the film, googling and then cursing the fact that you should have known that she was Dana Brody from Homeland, you can finally settle into this warped variant on the Mary Poppins nanny with an ulterior motive theme of the movie.
Spoonful of Sugar takes its name from that upbeat warbling song is the juxtaposition to the remedy riddled answer to life’s woes. Millicent (Saylor) is working on a thesis on children with severe allergies. Believing that she may have the perfect insight when landing the role of looking after Johnny (Danilo Crovetti), a mute child with a plethora of allergies and severe Mummy issues. It helps that part of the appeal to her idyllic job happens to have a hot father figure (yes, this movie is ripe with oedipal-like situations), Jacob (Myko Oliver) who walks around shirtless most of the time to show off his carpentry skills.
With all the amped up sexual tension drifting around the place, it’s little wonder to find out that this is a mask to greater obstacles in the household. But who or how many of the central characters are wearing masks to protect their true intentions plays an integral part to the proceedings. And more importantly one that relies upon which of these facades will slip away first and what will the cost be when it occurs?
With the mother, Rebecca (Kat Foster) clearly the main breadwinner in her pursuits as a successful author, and the reason for her continual absence, it paves the way for Millicent to play out her own fantasies as a Florence Nightingale figure, and delusions of fulfilling her own desires.
The Prognosis:
Writer Leah Saint Marie and Director Mercedes Bryce Morgan have a clear vision in twisting the playing field of the human mind combined with the warped sexual drive that we have. When that playground is the home of a bandaged couple, healing their psychological wounds whilst raising a heavily dependent child, there is a dense and macabre world to drive a hefty wedge in and expose the inner most desires that can harbour deep inside.
Spoonful of Sugar stretches the realms of believability which can distance the audience from the content, but this is Saylor’s showpiece and she shines as the delectably macabre Millicent. She is ably supported by a creative team willing for her to stretch her acting abilities, allowing her to explore every facet of an intriguing character.
Saul Muerte
Spoonful of Sugar will be streaming on Shudder from Thu 2nd March.
Philophobia can be a powerful thing and consume your waking soul to the point of constant rejection of any would be partners. Perhaps it’s the fear of being rejected yourself, or that the fear itself is so overwhelming that you feel constricted and lose any sense of your own identity.
Sometimes the anxiety levels can run so high that you begin to question everything and you’re already deemed a bit quirky or a loner, so why break this habit?
Or this loss of control leaves you amped up and fueling a violent relationship that could potentially put you or your partner at risk.
All these things become moments of scrutiny in Gabriel Bier Gislason’s feature Attachment. Guiding this area of focus is a Danish has-been actress Maja (Josephine Park), who has a chance encounter with Leah (Ellie Kendrick, who eagle-eyed viewers may recognise as Meera Reed from Game of Thrones).The attraction is instant with that early flicker of awkwardness which soon becomes embroiled in lust.
Then there’s those little clues, hints that something is awry, like when Leah starts walking around in her sleep. Or when she has a mysterious seizure that leads her to returning home in London. Still driven by this desire, Maja follows Leah to England where she is greeted by a strange and overbearing mother, Chana (Sofie Gråbøl).
As the days pass, the curiosities rise. Is this just a case of an overprotective and smothering parent, but is there more lurking beneath the surface. Why are there so many secrets being held, and who is this Uncle Lev figure? (David Dencik).
The film plays heavily into the realms of xenophobia, tapping into the unknown. As an outsider, Maja constantly questions with genuine curiosity whether the devout Jewish practices are what segregates and isolates her from finding the true connection with Leah, or is there an occult operation at play? If it’s the latter, then is there a greater fear to be had? And who is the one that is really needing the protection?
The biggest question is will Maja be willing to go to extreme lengths in order to pursue love?
The Prognosis:
There’s some great performances to be found here, in what is essentially a straight down the road piece. The twists and turns that the audience face are navigable and in some cases predictable. Despite the road ahead seemingly transparent in places, the talent on show and the depth of character is weighty enough for you to be carried along to its final destination.
Found Footage Films. Bit of a hot button topic here at Surgeons, they can be both brilliant & bad in that they can spin a great yarn despite limitations in coverage, whilst that very same limitation can lead to repetitive story-telling techniques.
Having said that, one of the more innovate ways to execute such movies, is to use the all-pervasive and ever intrusive digital world as your lens. Cleverly done by the film Unfriended (and its sequel Unfriended:Dark Web) Missing is the sandbox sequel to Searching and Run (apparently). And by that we mean it takes place in the same universe as Searching (a similar digital interface film – I’ve decided that that is what we shall call this type of found footage sub-genre) and Run (which is a traditional coverage film). And although no doubt the film-makers have a good reason to make these 3 movies connected, you are pretty much hit with a 3-letter word starting with a redundant W and H, and ending with a Y!? Especially when you actually see the connection (and you need a microscope for one of them) you soon realise their inclusiveness adds nothing whatsoever to the plot of Missing. So maybe there is a future Avengersstyle mega Searching/Run/Missing film to come where the leads of each movie team up to, I dunno, tackle a genuine impossible-to-solve mystery; like tracking a missing Uber Eats order, but in the meantime let’s explore Missing!
The premise of the film – as seen by the trailer (see clip above this article) is – a single mother of a teenage girl goes on a holiday with her boyfriend, and then promptly disappears. Said teenager then uses the power of the internet to track her down, only to find multiple layers of “things are NOT what they seem….”
So far so usual right? And even though conceptually & execution wise Missing has a lot in common with Searching (and nothing in common with Run) it is a well-made film that does the most fundamentally important thing a flick like this needs to do. And that’s draw you in.
The actual plot is driven from the perspective of the daughter’s laptop interface. The daughter, June (played by Storm Reid (someone’s parents were Fantastic 4 fans…) uses every legit (and maybe one or 2 made up ones? I dunno, I’m a Gen X-er) website and internet service out there to hunt down her mother. And the first thing you are immediately struck by is… just how fast can this girl type!?? Clearly the speed in which she navigates from one idea to another as she opens, scrolls, reads and downloads app after app to hack, track, investigate, eliminate clue after clue to find out what the hell happened to her mum is accelerated for ease-of-storytelling. But you kinda get the impression that, as with most Gen Zedders, it ain’t that far off. So dayumshe’s fast! The FBI (unbelievably impotent and inept in this film) really need to hire her when she graduates high school.
And the 2nd thing you are struck by is, which websites or apps turned down this movie!? ‘Cause this is a GREAT advertising platform for any such thing to show off their features! Just with Gmail alone, I can guarantee you’ll come away from the theatre saying “I had no idea it could do that!” In fact, if the film-makers were smart, that’s how they would have pitched this movie in order to a) get permission to use said apps and b) get funding. Because the more cynical of you out there could easily accuse Missing of being a feature length commercial for Internet companies big and small. And you’d be hard pressed to be proven wrong. But the story is good enough to make you look past all that.
The 3rd thing is that one should definitely see this at the movies. Unfriended is a good film (yep, you have to print that Saul, ‘cause it is – (SAUL “I’m printing this because of freedom of speech, but just for the record, I completely disagree.”)) but if you see it on a laptop you WILL suffer from small text syndrome. Missing gets around this by zooming in where it needs to, but all words are legible by the simple fact it’s a movie going experience. If you wait for it to come out on streaming, you will lose some of the impact.
The 4th thing is that this film – during the creative process – would have run into the usual limitation all found footage directors run into. How do you tell a story effectively when you are restrained in your camera coverage? Well Missing does a good job addressing this too, with surreptitious use of mirrors (literally) and jump-cut close ups.
The Prognosis:
Missing is a surprising page turner that builds frog-in-boiling-water style very well, so by the time you start to get to the more incredulous reveals, you honestly go with it, ‘cause they are quite well earned. And you do kinda want to see how it all ends. Otherwise, you’ll won’t know what you’re missing… (yeah. It had to be said).
Antony Yee
PS: Oh – a quick Google search says that this type of found footage drama is called Screen Life Horror. Well that’s just stoopid…
There’s a lot to unpack from Nathaniel Martello-White’s psychological thriller The Strays, It’s a cyclical social commentary on racial discrimination and elitism that unfolds through a series of events.
We begin with a prologue sequence where Neve (Ashley Madakwe) is in the throes of a mental breakdown, trapped in an as-yet-undisclosed world with only the thought of escape on her mind. So she packs some of her things and leaves her flat and whatever troubles that she can’t face behind her.
Cut to a title sequence informing the audience that its years later and Neve has now established herself a life of privilege as deputy principal of an elite school with a husband and two kids. The social ladder that she has climbed has seen her as a socialite within the small town community.
Try as she might to hide behind this facade, the mask soon slips as she questions whether she is losing her grip on reality or has her past come back to haunt her as two mysterious assailants appear to be creeping further into her new life threatening to rip it apart at the seams.
SPOILERS AHEAD
When we reach the third segment, we get to go back to find out the true identity of the two assailants, Marvin (Jordan Merle) and Abigail Bukky Bakray) are revealed to be her two children from a previous life. Naturally there is a lot of pent up aggression having been abandoned and to discover that their mother is now living a wealthy lifestyle.
The film’s climax entitled Family Reunion is a pot boiler of emotion all shot in one take to embody the natural performances from each of the characters. It’s nervy, unsettling and delicately poised as the audience is left ambling along with the characters to find a solution. What is presented is one that may leave audiences baffled or applauding its direction.
The Prognosis:
Martello-White delivers a stylised directorial piece that examines the cyclical behaviour that trauma has on society. The performances are solid, particularly from Madakwe and Bukray throwing powerful portrayals of their respective characters.
The experiment and mode of delivery may irk, especially with its stylised execution but for a debut feature, there is enough punch to make one sit up and take notice.
Is it wrong to judge a movie by its trailer? There is always that element of luring the audience with the most tantalising elements of the film and yet, there was something that captured my intrigue towards David Liz’s sophomore feature.
The Welder boasts all the hallmarks of a decent horror movie, with a psychologically unbalanced killer, who comes into contact with a traumatised victim to force the latter into confronting and potentially overcoming her fears.
At the heart of the movie Liz injects the theme of race and the gulf that divides us. More importantly it tackles the notion of what happens within this chasm when it is not adhered to and left within the wastelands of neglect.
This theme is driven through the eyes of Eliza (Camilla Rodriguez) a young latino woman, a former military doctor who faced her fair share of traumatic experiences that continue to haunt her. This deeply immersed incident is what encourages her boyfriend, Roe (Roe Dunkley) to book a holiday for them to a remote ranch, away from life’s turmoils so that they can be together and recuperate.
But it wouldn’t be a horror thriller without a catch to their chosen paradise. This comes in the guise of ranch owner, William Godwin (Vincent de Paul) who harbours a secret beneath his pleasant demeanour, one that has pushed him to madness, experimenting with a warped vision to eradicate this racial discrimination.
The Prognosis:
There are some suitably scarring moments that are brought to screen with the image of body mutilation and psychological tension brought to the fore. The dialogue is often delivered naturally between the two leads, Rodriguez and Dunkley with great chemistry. Rodriguez in particular is great to watch drifting through the various stages of anxiety and fear. I did feel that de Paul’s performance as the doctor struggled to lift out of the innate appeal to shift into the heightened state of macabre delirium needed to convey enough scares.
It’s a slow burn which has its pros and cons in that it allows time to build up character depth, but loses out in delivering enough for a satisfying climax.
Still, a worthy effort and has enough strong parts from which to fuse Liz’s narrative and creativity.
Saul Muerte
The Welder is available on digital platforms from Feb 24th.
I’m caught between minds about Skinamarink, this experimental directorial feature debut from Kyle Edward Ball. In part it leans heavily into minimalism to explore the finest examples of terror through the eyes of two children, who wake up in the night to find their father missing and strange things happening around the house. The fact that we never see the children, nor their father, with Ball stripping the viewing experience down to its bare bones and denying the audience a window into the depth of the film. Instead, the idea is to focus on the empty space, a phrase coined by theatre director Peter Brook, for his book of the same name. In it he expresses, “I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged”.
If we take this aspect or perspective and that the space is merely a place that means nothing until something enters its domain, then it bodes to mention that Ball is willing to explore a similar concept within the location or setting of his movie. If the space is a vessel in which spirits or beings pass through, then we surely can’t connect with the space until something or someone interacts within it.
As such, the viewer is poised through endless frames of emptiness, only to be treated with nuggets of movement or sound to stimulate our senses and push the boundaries of fear.
In reality however, these absences of action only switch off our interests, and slowly the audience will struggle to remain captivated. Is this the fault of the director though, when we as a society have become so engrained in action on screen, that to take this away or prevent us from this engagement, speaks volumes about how we interact with life. If we take note of the smallest of intricacies, then and only then can we really acknowledge the beauty that surrounds us?
The question though is, Is Horror the right genre to explore such an abstract playing field? Sure, Horror has been known to be forgiving, but when it comes at the cost of engaging with the audience, then you are left pondering its purpose.
The Prognosis:
While I applaud (Director) Ball for a bold approach to filmmaking which at times is reminiscent of The Beatles own exploration of music in Revolution No. 9, the outcome is all too repetitive and a struggle to connect with. It’s hard to believe that the content has been stretched to feature length when a short would probably have sufficed, Having said that though, his experimentation would not have been explored without pushing the boundaries of time.
It’s hard as a viewer to go beyond the limits of conception when we are being forced to observe its formulation. What constitutes horror and is it enough to hint without explanation? A question that may frustrate most who come to watch.
Surgeons of Horror 