Category Archives: Movie review

Movie review: Color Out of Space

05 Tuesday May 2020

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H.P Lovecraft’s influence is fundamental to modern horror, it can be seen most strongly in the DNA of countless Stephen King stories, John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy (The Thing, Prince of Darkness & In the Mouth of Madness), Event Horizon, the video game Bloodbourne and the Alien series, its influence is often met with varying success but direct adaptations have been few and far between.
For years there has been talk of a Guillermo Del Toro helmed At the Mouth of Madness that seemed to ultimately stall thanks to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus stealing it’s philosophical fire.
Stuart Gordon was probably the most successful, or at least prolific adaptor of H.P’s work with Re-Animator, From Beyond and Dagon, all adaptations of Lovecraft short stories (Dagon being an amalgam), but these all held a considerable helping of cheese, camp and tongue in cheek that, for the most part, enshrined their cult status (how appropriate).
Recently though there must be something contaminating the well water because within the last 6 months we had 3 films massively inspired by the H.P Lovecraft; Underwater, The Lighthouse, and the most faithful of the 3, Color Out of Space.

We start at the edge of a river, west of the fictional rural town of Arkham, Massachusetts, as the young Lavinia Gardner (Madeleine Arthur) performs a ritual of healing.
Here she meets Ward (Elliot Knight), a surveyor taking water readings.
In the original story Ward was our nameless narrator but in this tale he has far more involvement with the story developing a bit of an attraction to the aspiring young witch.
Six months ago Lavinia’s father Nathan (Nicholas Cage) moved his family to this country house so that his wife Theresa (Joely Richardson) could recover from her mastectomy.
Rounding out the family is Brother’s Benny and the young Jack (Brendan Meyer & Julian Hilliard respectively).
The whole Gardner family have been struggling with the adjustment, Nathan has been trying his hand as a tomato farmer and raiser of alpacas, Theresa is struggling with her financial consolation business thanks to the shitty internet connection, Benny has been smoking weed with the local hermit Ezra (Tommy Chong) and Jack is self-isolating taking solace in the family dog.
The change in their lives is dwarfed entirely when a meteorite crashes in their front yard one night with a flash of light and colour never seen before on this earth.
What follows is a slow descent into insanity as the cosmic colour spreads transforming the landscape and life around it and warping the minds of the Gardner family.

This is Director Richard Stanley’s feature length return to our screens since the disastrous ‘Island of Dr. Moreau’ which was filled with all of the meddling and power struggles that this film feels utterly devoid of.
Stanley’s vision is what we are seeing.
Now this is a relatively low budget indie flick ($12 Million budget) sometimes you can feel it but for the most part I think they make this film feel so much bigger.
It is a really gorgeous looking film with a mostly excellent use of CGI, particularly when it’s used to create the near alien landscape that this quaint little farmhouse transforms into, sharpening colours and extending the mutations surrounding them.
Fans of gooey body horror will be pleased with a lot of the practical effects used here as well, one particular change in the family is deeply disturbing and honestly heartbreaking.
You can certainly feel the influence of other films of its ilk (The Mist, From Beyond, The Thing) but it has a strong enough identity and a visual flair that the homages never feel like all this film has to offer.
It is a deeply creepy film as the characters are separated yet so close to each other, lost in the fog their minds have become, where time has lost meaning and they just don’t notice how wrong things have become.
The Composer, Colin Stetson, has created a truly beautiful score that compliments the growing mutation and helps make the titular colour, a pinkish purple, feel more than a colour, more than a sound.

Pacing wise Color Out of Space may lag a little in the second act but that eerie feeling never goes away.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a wholly serious film and a big part of that is thanks to Nicholas Cage.
Now the Nic Cage we get in the first half of the film is a dorky and daggy Dad, feeling relatively restrained compared to his recent output but once the alien insanity starts to spread Cage turns up the dial with gusto.
I would say there’s almost a little bit of Jack Nicholson in the Shining, where the character already feels a little unhinged when we first meet him so when the jump happens it doesn’t feel like that big a change, having said that though he is still a lot of fun and there are many ridiculous lines he spouts off that you couldn’t even comprehend another more self-serious actor taking a stab at.
The rest of the cast are really complimentary, bringing to life this struggling family beset by a greater force.
This is Joely Richardson’s second eldritch horror outing after the late 90’s Event Horizon, and as Theresa she brings the balance that makes her and Nathan’s relationship feel a lot more believable, struggling to spark their intimacy after her operation.
And the trio of kids, who really take the main stage after Mom and Dad drive off for medical help, give really good performances developing a believable sibling dynamic that carries most of this film.

The Prognosis

For the most part I really enjoyed this film, it’s a kaleidoscopic quagmire of madness with a brilliant score, fun performances and excellent goo.
It might not fully land it’s ending which for me is a hard blow to recover from, reducing it from my favourite Cosmic Horror film to just one of the better ones and like most of the Lovecraft adaptations of the past this will not be for everyone but it’s a hell of a ride if you’ll brave the eldritch horrors of the Color Out of Space.

  • Oscar Jack
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Color Out of Space is available to view via Video On Demand
from Wed, 6th May

Movie review: Butt Boy

03 Sunday May 2020

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Butt Boy trailer

On face value, one could easily dismiss this film as a cheap and crass view of the criminal underworld that speaks to those trapped in an anal retentive phase, but if tou were to look up the defintion of someone that fits that description, you’ll discover that it is a scientific stage of psychosexual development and can originate in something as simple as orderliness and the need for all things fitting in its right place.

Butt Boy may have started out as a joke concept, but director, writer and actor, Tyler Cornack and his creative team soon developed a deeply thrilling and dark ride into the recesses of our human mind at its infancy.

Central to this rectal fascination is bored IT Engineer Chip, who is stuck in a dead-end marriage with no sexual drive, that is until he has a routine prostate exam that ignites his sexuality and sends him on a journey of self exploration into dark territory.
The twist in this tale is that it soon develops into a crafty and quirky cat and mouse game, as police detective, Russell Fox, is hired to uncover the disappearance of a child at Chip’s place of work. Fox is ruthless and will stop at nothing to get his man, even if it means going where no one dares to go. His theory is wild, but he may have good reason to suspect the mild-mannered Chip has been harbouring everything where the sun doesn’t shine. Only problem is that he has no proof, he’s a reformed alcoholic, and his sponsor just so happens to be Chip.

The key to Butt Boy’s success as a story is that it heralds tw excellent leads in Tylers’ Cormack and Rice, but above it all is that the whole thing is played straight. Think of the time that De Niro went head to head with Pacino in Heat in the way that two icons go head to head in a game of wits but set in the bowels of depravity. Each character is fighting to exist and seeking some sense of satisfaction and prove something of themselves and this tightly gripped drama with explosive consequences.

The Prognosis:

Make sure you don’t turn the other cheek when you encounter this feature. Embrace the film for what it is. A smart, entertaining drama that is bold enough to tackle some of humanity’s fantasies rear on, that doesn’t hold back until its thrilling conclusion.

Butt Boy should be celebrated for its originality and bold approach to the crime drama genre, marking it as one of my favourite films of the year.

  • Saul Muerte

 Butt Boy is available to view via Video On Demand from Wed, 6th May

Movie review: Vivarium

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

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In 2004 a TV series hit our screens called Lost.  Soon after that Heroes.  They heralded a new era of a different kind of storytelling.

One with no consequences.  To elaborate – if you look at a story as an equation of cause & effect, then traditionally the challenge of making a story tight, or just good, was that one flowed into the other creatively WHILST maintaining a strong internal logic.

Bruce Willis is dead at the end of Sixth Sense (effect) and suddenly EVERYTHING he has done (only ever interacting with the kid, always wearing the same clothes, never opening doors) makes sense because (cause) when he got shot at the beginning of the film, he actually died.

(Sorry – spoiler if you haven’t seen it yet.  In which case – REALLY!??)

Anyway – along comes Lost and Heroes and suddenly we were hit with a thought.  What if we didn’t focus on the left side of this equation (the cause) but only on the right (the effect)?

Suddenly dramatic options seemed to gain a new dimension as shows steeped in sci-fi weirdness had a texture to it that sucked in audiences not normally charmed by its usual bells and whistles.

Suddenly high concept narratives had good dramatic writing.  They didn’t focus on the WHY, but on the WHAT.  What does this “why” do to our characters?

It’s consequence free writing.  Don’t worry if the set-up makes sense, just set it up, and then get on with it.

A tropical island with polar bears, a terrifying smog monster, and an underground hatch?  How can they all be connected?  WHO CARES!  The important thing is, does it draw you in?  In fact, the more impossible and weirder you make the set-up, the more interesting the dramatic possibilities, yeah…?

Another way of looking at is Monty Python and their unique approach to comedy. Being professional writers, their frustration when constructing a good sketch was the bow.  The end.  The punchline.  Because coming up with an idea that’s funny?  That’s one thing.  Making it work?  That’s another.  But ENDING it satisfactorily?  You’d be surprised how hard that can be.  Especially if you have to churn out a number of scripts to the demanding schedule of a TV series.

Terry Gilliam was their solution.  By simply linking every skit with a surreal fevered animated piece of art, they realised they didn’t have to write a punchline!  And it worked.  It was genius.

But it WAS a solution.

Is writing drama bereft of accountability the same thing?

Vivarium – Latin for “place of life” – is a sci fi horror (of sorts) harking back to the best traditions of The Twilight Zone.

It follows a young couple Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg) living in the UK, and like a lot of happy twosomes wanting to take it to the next level, they wish to buy a house together.

So they find a random real estate agent (Jonathan Aris – AKA Anderson from Sherlock) who is creepy AF.  Upon their first meeting he convinces them to follow him (by car) to a brand new development called Yonder.

All the houses there are finished and fully furbished.  They are also identical, the clouds up above do not move, and there is not a single living soul (or indeed thing) for what seems like miles & miles.

Half way through the tour of a house (#9) the agent ghosts them, and somewhat bemused by what has turned out to be a very odd day, Gemma and Tom hop in their vehicle and proceed to leave.

Or, rather, they try…. 

In classic Twilight Zonian fashion, every block on the estate is identical and the further they drive away from #9, the more they find themselves winding back up in front of it.

And the strangeness kicks off from there.  But if you want to know in what sort of ways – just check out the trailer attached to this article.

The premise is pretty much there.

And from there on in it’s a matter of finding out – what kind of story is this?  Will it explain the (wonderfully stylish and definitely intriguing) set up our 2 lead characters are in?  Or will it be writing without consequence?

And if it is – will the subsequent dramatic interplay between Poots and Eisenberg (2 powerhouse young actors who have worked together before on 2 other occasions – feel free to imdb it) be enough to pull you through?

Diagnosis:

Imdb says one thing.  Rotten Tomatoes says another.  And that’s the place of life.

Antony Yee

That’s the guy from Zombieland!

Sara Yee

 Vivarium is NOW available to view via Video On Demand

Blu-Ray & DVD from June 2020

Movie review: Come To Daddy

31 Tuesday Mar 2020

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As sons, we always have unfinished business with our fathers. So I thought, ‘What would happen if that unfinished business came looking for us?

Ant Timpson – Director

These words surmise the kernel of Ant Timpson’s vision and directorial debut feature, Come To Daddy and its this beating heart that drives the narrative forward and compels you further into what is essentially a dark and twisted comedy. 

Visually and choreographically, this is a simply glorious film, with a beautifully hypnotic and enchanting score by Karl Stevens, that infuses old school 70s espionage thrillers with an eerie, unearthly bass-fuelled playfulness that is the perfect accompaniment to the narrative.

Come To Daddy encloses some of our greatest fears and trepidations by tapping into a family divided by place and time, but connected by blood and loyalty and this becomes tested by opening up Pandora’s Box to be faced with uncertainty and morbid curiosity.
What lies beneath the surface may be better left untouched, and for those that probe and tweak a little further, can herald some unpleasant surprises. Timpson had a clear vision in mind for his feature, drawing from a personal account with the passing of his own father as his inspiration.
This is evident throughout the film and gives the storyline the much-needed gravitas to direct the audience through the wild and strange happenings that occur and explores the relationship of father and son.

When Norval (Elijah Wood), a ‘privileged man-child’ receives a letter from his estranged father of thirty years to come and visit him. Seeing this as a chance to rekindle their relationship, Norval is surprised to find that his father may not be who he had envisioned. And what’s more, carries some baggage that he may not necessarily wish to inherit.

There’s something quite remarkable about off-kilter, independent films that despite appearances play a tune that is so perfectly in sync with its equilibrium and defies expectations and in this case, Timpson belies his novice attempt at a feature and you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was a veteran in his craft.
The notes and beats are flawless as Norval’s trials and tribulations play out on screen to the delight of its audience. Despite its macabre storyline, Come To Daddy peppers along with much amusement as it playfully dances with our hearts in the most dire of situations and keeps us guessing about the fate of Norval.

Wood is fantastic as the lead and is chameleonic in that way that he brings life to the character with his curious eccentricity, both physically and mentally, showing the flaws and humanity, which is both refreshing and ultimately rewarding as we follow Norval’s journey.
Wood’s performance is even more elevated by his support players, who are a real treat to watch, from Stephen McHattie’s suitably unbalanced Gordon, to the always fantastic Michael Smiley as Jethro, and Martin Donovan’s all-round solid delivery of Brian, make this an ensemble cast that would make most directors proud to be involved with.

The Prognosis:

So many ingredients that combine to make this a gem of a movie. 
It’s not something I can pigeonhole, if I’m honest.
Is it a quirky, yet intriguing independent feature? Yes
Does it produce some high quality visual treats in harmony with scintillating audio stimulation? Yes
Does it tickle the darkest humour of the human psyche? Yes
Does it prove Ant Timpson to be a master of his craft with an array of stellar talent? Yes.
So, what are you waiting for? Head over to Umbrella Entertainment and treat yourself to a superbly entertaining movie, that will not disappoint.

  • Saul Muerte

 Come To Daddy is NOW available to view via Video On Demand

Blu-Ray & DVD from June 2020

Movie Review: The Invisible Man

26 Wednesday Feb 2020

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There is someone walking behind you

The Invisible Man brought the fear of the unknown to the forefront.

Playing harmoniously with the horror classic first seen on the big screen back in 1933, The Invisible Man involves many untapped elements of what scares everyone.
Forget “there is someone walking behind you”, or that sound that suggests someone is next to you, what if they were right in front of you.
It’s haunting enough to make you watch your every step but to couple that with an obsessed, abusive ex who is known for his manipulative gaslighting and violent rage, this quickly becomes a great narrative, if only the trailer didn’t reveal everything! AGAIN!
I saw an awful cut of the new James Bond movie on television one night, and it looked bland and awful but then saw another trailer for it in the cinema and it looked like it has a great, engaging story. I was already halfway through the plot in my head, waiting for the movie to catch up, and it did just over halfway through the film.

Fantastic performances by the cast who all lead a stoic role in aid to the plot. I like the way films aren’t shying away from the kind of traumatic scares like in the recent Doctor Sleep and in this film, which were obviously showing off what the visual effects department could pull off. 

The Prognosis:

I feel like this is one that can be enjoyed by all, there is an ambiguity that lends to the possibility of multiple outlooks regarding events and perspective, coupled with the intriguing use of technology and optics.

It was great to see the NSW funding in the credits

It’s a great movie to watch on a first date! Just try and avoid the trailer before you see it but yeah definitely one for date night.

  • Richard Lovegrove

Movie review: Brahms: The Boy II

24 Monday Feb 2020

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When I first about the release of Brahms: The Boy II there was two thoughts that crossed my mind.

1. Was it really necessary to make a sequel? Sure the first film was okay and had a fairly decent plot line that didn’t irritate too much, with a twist that was well played out. Plus Lauren Cohan will always focus my attention. But, did it warrant a franchise to be generated? Evidently, the production team felt the desire to resurrect the porcelain doll and his antics for the big screen again. At least the same director, William Brent Bell would be attached, so the vision and style should be consistent.

2. It starred Katie Holmes, which struck me that I hadn’t seen her since the whole Tom Cruise situation and the last horror film that I can recall her starring in was Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which didn’t exactly ignite any passion in my heart.

The end result though is a curious one as it felt as though it completely forego the previous movies’ conclusion and went back to the heart of a possessed doll.

This in itself would be forgiven if the filmmakers really decided to ramp up the scares, but sadly this is lacking. I think they were attempting to build up on tension with a minimalistic approach, which didn’t come across at all. I know that the Brits (the supposed setting of the film is the UK) are incredibly reserved in many ways, but that’s taking the realism of the feature to the extreme.

The sequel does try to keep a theme throughout its franchise by having its central characters as victims of physical abuse. This time around mother, Lisa (Katie Holmes) and her son, Jude (Christopher Convery) of a house break-in that leaves them both mentally scarred. The latter is unable to talk since the ordeal.

So after numerous bouts of counseling, the father, Sean (Owain Yeoman) who is also feeling guilty from being away at work at the time of the attack, decides that the family needs to have a break and get away from it all. This brings them to the Heelshire’s property from the first film where Jude discovers a partially buried Brahms and instantly forms a close bond with it.

From here on in the feature attempts to instill some animosity with strange events occurring around the house, which Lisa believes is just her son playing up, but when things start to take a sinister turn, she begins to question her own sanity. Is Brahms real? Again this could have been played with more intelligence and evoked a reaction from both the character in delving into the psyche of Lisa and played upon the impact that physical abuse can have on people, especially if it ramped up the isolation component, a hard thing to do with 3 main characters, but not impossible. Instead it just coasts along content with ticking the boxes.

The only other character of note is Joseph the ominous groundskeeper who in fairness is expertly played by Ralph Ineson (The Witch). In fact all the cast deliver worthy performances, but the script and plotline is all too obvious. The only question I had for a brief second was whether there was an ulterior motive from the father Sean. Was he somehow involved in the ruse, but this was quickly swiped aside when it was evident that the movie was going in a very different direction.

The Prognosis:

There was ample opportunity to create a franchise from a fairly average film, but both director and the creative team seem content to rest on their laurels

The scares are absent. The thrill factor is non-existent. And my interest waned before the half hour mark, as I had no care or interest in what happened to the characters.

Another disappointment for the start of 2020.

– Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Pitch Black

20 Thursday Feb 2020

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It was the year 2000 and I was in the infancy of my young adulthood, still high on the fumes of alcohol and potentially under the influence of some controlled substances, so one could argue that my views or opinions were clouded.
It was also at the turn of the millennium with the promise of new and prosperous things to come. So when two fellow like-minded comrades in celluloid crime and I spooled out of the local auditorium, we found ourselves in deep conversation about the sci-fi action horror film that we had just witnessed. I remember feeling greatly impacted by it with the entire concept and execution leaving me enthralled.
Specifically I recall stating that it was an instant classic with a potential cult following in the making and at least one of my colleagues nodded in full agreement with my bold proclamation.

On paper Pitch Black sounds like your average sci-fi action flick with Vin Diesel at the helm, (poised on the precipice of his portrayal of Dominic Toretto from The Fast and the Furious and Xander Cage from xXx that would cement his name in the genre for years to come) bringing a raw energy to his character that ripples beneath the surface and threatens to let loose on his fellow human counterparts, much like the real enemy lurking beneath the planets surface.
Pitch Black would even project the character of Riddick in a further two adventures on the big screen with a third film announced on its way, proving that there is still a lot of appeal on offer.

It’s this raw energy that still resonates on screen today on repeated viewing and connected once again with me, and this time I was not under the influence….kind of.

Supported by a cracking, primarily Australian cast in Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill, Rogue), Lewis Fitz-Gerald (Breaker Morant), Claudia Black (Farscape, Stargate SG-1), Rhianna Griffith, and Simon Burke (The Devil’s Playground), all of whom bring their “A Game” with a high level of intensity and humanity to their role. The irony in that the more human their characters display, the greater their chance of being exposed, and their emotions leading them to ruin. In order to survive in Pitch Black, you need to strip away all emotions or live with that mask permanently in place.
It also helps that there are a couple of excellent hard-hitters on screen to with hard-boiled futuristic cop without a conscience played by Cole Hauser, and the ultimate survivalist and in this instance, a man of faith, played by Ketih David.

David Eggby keeps the gritty realism throughout his stunning cinematography that eschews a beautiful landscape in a remote Australian landscape to bring an otherworldly factor on screen blasting the audience with a rich array of colours and visuals.

Both the creature effects and visual effects team also deserve their own accolades for bringing a rich and diverse approach to the nocturnal alien creatures that hunt down the humans and fighting among themselves for the scraps, highlighting once again the theme of survival in a desolate and harsh terrain. 

It’s a simple and age-old premise that works because of the combination of all of these elements that make this film still strong today. If you can forgive the odd blemish, Pitch Black deserves high praise and repeat viewing. It may be twenty years old but in this writers’ mind, it is one of the greatest sci-fi horror films since the turn of the century. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Fantasy Island

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

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“Ze plane, boss, ze plane”

Whilst we’re a far cry from the original tv series inspiration that spawned this horror-themed adaptation, it is hard to shake off the image of Hervé Villechaize’s infamous cry at the beginning of most episodes to announce the arrival of the next unwitting visitors to Fantasy Island. The film does have its own nods with an entirely different character, Julie (loosely based on Mr. Roarke’s God-daughter from the series in name mainly) declaring the arrival of our main characters Melanie (Lucy Hale), Gwen (Maggie Q), Patrick (Austin Stowell), Brax (Jimmy O. Yang), and JD (Ryan Hansen).

Each of these characters come with their own baggage that slowly unravels as they try to live out their fantasy with inevitable consequences. 

Michael Pena does his best to wrangle out the magnanimous and mysterious Mr Roarke, so closely identified with Ricardo Montalbán’s tv portrayal, who in my pre-adolescent mind has strangely warped with Christopher Lee’s Saramanga from The Man With The Golden Gun, partly due to Villechaize starring in both projects. The problem is that Pena is left with little to do other than to play out the characters fantasies. Despite harbouring a secret of his own, this is underplayed to serve out the interactions of the island itself. 

This may have been a wise choice if these fantasies had any firm grounding, but instead seem a bit wishy-washy. Melanie is out for revenge from being bullied at school and admittedly the initial encounter is fun and intriguing as she unwittingly dishes out her anger through what she believes is a hologram of her tormentor, but once that has played its part the rest of her journey is left wanting. 

Likewise Patrick’s army pursuit to live out his father’s life only to encounter his real father, and brothers Patrick and Brax living up a bachelor style freedom and entertainment lacks any personality or appeal.

The only hook for me was Maggie Q’s performance of Gwen that remains believable, who at first believes her fantasy is to change her history by saying yes to a man’s proposal whom she loved and to have a daughter, however she never really believes she deserves this version of her life as like the others, she has a darker history lurking beneath and it is this reproduction that she realises needs to play out. 

Oh and a great cameo from Kim Coates who simply hams up his role gloriously. More of him was desperately needed.

The prognosis:

As the audience is left weaving their way through a convoluted storyline and the various morals and dilemmas that each of the characters faces, we’re left unable to truly connect to any of them as there simply isn’t enough substance. 

When the big reveal finally happens, it feels tacked on and peels slowly away with an incredibly unsatisfying conclusion. 

It’s poorly managed and no matter how much Michael Rooker tries to inject some much needed gravitas into the fold as the strange guy who knows the secret of the island, he simply can’t lift it out of the quagmire of murkiness. The problem appears to be that the film doesn’t know how to present itself; horror, comedy, thriller.

Blumhouse who have made a name for attracting audiences to their take on teen horror, may have fallen into tired territory now with the relatively week turnouts in  Ma, and Black Christmas last year. Has the fizz run out from this production company?

It would have been interesting to see it played out by masters of the fantastical in either Del Toro or Bayona and really blend those eerie mystical moments with horror elements. 

Maybe it just isn’t our fantasy that’s being played out after all and perhaps i should just go back to my morphed take of Montalbán and Lee to deliver my ideal of Mr. Roarke and a dark world that lay beneath Fantasy Island. A missed opportunity.

  • Saul Muerte 

Movie review: The Lighthouse

08 Saturday Feb 2020

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Director Robert Eggers seems destined to divide audiences between digging his jam or struggling to connect with the style and pace that he subjects to his stories.
Thankfully, I fall into the former and simply adored his directorial debut, The VVitch starring Anya Taylor Joy which was an incredibly slow burn but was rich in storytelling and strongly supported by some fantastic acting, grounding the fantastical in reality. Combined with his brother and fellow scribe Max, The Eggers offer a fresh approach to the genre and for that I was eager to see what and how he would follow it up.

This love song to Greek mythology pits two strangers on an isolated location, in this case a two-manned lighthouse on a remote and savage island. During its 1hr 49 minute running time, audiences are subjected to a battle of egos, a battle of wills and a fight for power and sanity. Through the fantastical delusions on show, The Lighthouse relies heavily on its two central performers; Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), contracted to serve 4 weeks at the lighthouse and continually forced to endure gruelling physical tasks by Thomas Wake (Willem Defoe), a miserable irate drunk who appears to get his kicks from punishing Winslow and basking naked in the glow of the light in the tower. Propitiously, both actors more than bring the goods as the bitterness between their characters escalates to an inevitable climax that forces an eruption of testosterone-fueled energy to overflow.

The Prognosis:

Shot entirely in black and white, Robert Eggers proves once again to be a master in storytelling and exerts a narrative that twists and turns, providing a remarkable modern spin merging together two age old tales.
Will it suit everyone’s tastes? No

Can it be classed as horror? Not really.

But it’s harrowing and beautifully crafted from one of this generation’s most imaginative directors. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Grudge (2020)

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

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Since the release of Ju On: The Grudge, Kayako has been scaring audiences with her twisted movements and haunting death rattle croak elevating her alongside her fellow japanese vengeful spirit, Sadako within the Horror community. Her image transcended across both Japan and America culture, spawning numerous movies with deep resonation along the way, including several filmmakers. Among them and heralding the reboot / reimagining is prolific director Nicolas Pesce, who sent ripples in the film world with his debut The Eyes of My Mother and his sophomore feature Piercing. I was eager to see what Pesce would bring to the celluloid space for his third outing, and was further intrigued by his choice to step into the Ju-On universe promising something more darker, grittier, and more realistic. Whilst I can acknowledge that the film has a realistic quality, unfortunately I struggle to connect with the other two components alleged to be Pesce’s approach.

I tried to scrutinise where he could have misfired and for me it came down to a couple of components; Firstly, the fractured storyline, ordinarily a device that doesn’t grate on me and I often welcome the fragmented reconstruction of narratives, but unfortunately the dots that are used to connect or reframe the films’ structure are weak and lack intelligence. With a lot more focus and planning, this technique could have paid off. Secondly, the dialogue needed to be tighter, at times feeling rushed or obvious, leaving the talented cast trying to do a lot of heavy lifting in order to reach the visualists’ aim for dark and gritty. Lastly, I had read that Pesce wanted to incorporate a conglomerate of visuals that typified the film series and inject with his own musings, but in doing so, the film loses its identity and becomes too convoluted in the process. 

The Prognosis:

For a director on the rise, Pesce clearly wanted to reach out and attempt to infuse his vision into a much-loved franchise in need of a reawakening. On paper, he had the right ingredients, a flair for the scare, a twisted outlook, actors with plenty of chop, and an already established franchise. He even projected the repetition of the number 4 into the fold to highlight the tetraphobia so closely associated with the film series, proving that Pesce knows his subject well.
The end result though fell flat, with too many ideas and not enough weight to ground Pesce’s creativity to produce a film to scare and delight the horror masses. Instead we are left floating around aimlessly, wondering if Kayako is turning in her grave at her latest on-screen treatment and if she has croaked her last croak.

  • Saul Muerte