• About
  • podcasts
  • Shop

Surgeons of Horror

~ Dissecting horror films

Surgeons of Horror

Category Archives: Rialto Distribution

Movie review: Boss Level (2021)

21 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review, Rialto Distribution

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

annabelle wallis, Frank Grillo, joe carnahan, ken jeong, mel gibson, michelle yeoh, naomi watts

Director Joe Carnahan has already shown us the lengths that humankind will go to in order to survive an horrific ordeal in The Grey and Smokin’ Aces.

In his latest offering Carnahan brings a movie that does exactly what it says on the tin: An action-packed, time-loop thrill ride that is filled with humour and plenty of heart.

Carnahan provides his spin on Groundhog Day for the action genre.

The premise is a simple one, but told in a unique twisting delivery of the story that pulsates as it captivates.

Frank Grillo (The Purge franchise) stars as Roy Pulver, a washed up, drinking and desperate man, who despite his cavalier ways, still yearns for the love of his life, Jemma (Naomi Watts).
Pulver is so broken that in his mind, his life is beyond fixing, but that all changes when he starts to relive the same day, which just so happens to be the day he died. And no matter how much he weaves and turns, his fate always remains the same. It doesn’t help that his death appears to be at the hands of trained assassins, so he must learn to outwit, outsmart, and outpunch them all to find out who is behind this tirade of carnage and reach that ultimate ‘boss level’ and maybe, just maybe win back the heart of Jemma.

The script is sharp and funny, whilst providing some fun and bloody ways for Pulver to die each day, but much like similar gaming platforms, it appears that he has an infinite amount of lives,  and with every life lost, his strength and wisdom to the laws of the land grow.

But is time inevitably running out for Pulver?

“TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN. BUT WAIT TILL TIME MEETS FRANK GRILLO”

Providing the powerful impact that Boss Level has on the audience is a cracking cast supporting both Grillo and Watts.

Mel Gibson quips his way through the movie as the delectably evil boss, intent on pushing his staff to the limits, bending all the rules in order to get what he wants.

Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders) as the femme fatale, harbouring a secret, Ken Jeong as the comic relief with Chef Jake, and Michelle Yeoh as… you guessed it, a martial arts expert Dai Feng, who will provide the necessary skills to complete his quest.

The Prognosis:

Boss Level doesn’t shy away from its core.

Taking ownership of the fun-thrilled, action thriller with a Groundhog Day gamification structure.

Joe Carnahan takes delight in turning Frank Grillo’s Roy Pulver into a punchbag of entertainment, pulling out all the stops to twist the genre on its head and inside out in the name of a gut-wrenching, hell-bent and humorous ride through time, and humanity.

It’s been a while since I’ve had this much pleasure in watching a movie. 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Wrong Turn (2021)

05 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review, Rialto Distribution

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

charlotte vega, matthew modine, mike p nelson, Rialto Entertainment, wrong turn

When it was announced that there would be a remake/reboot of the early 2000s horror feature, Wrong Turn was set for a release, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical, more that I presumed we would be presented with yet another bunch of teens lost in the woods, fighting for survival against a group of mutant hillbillies in the backcountry of the States.

It was also a little surprising that this is actually the 7th installment of the franchise.

Don’t get me wrong. I kind of dug the original feature despite its numerous faults, which were all the more obvious upon re-watching ahead of the 2021 version.

I mean, that may have a lot to do with the casting of Eliza Dusku. And yes, I was always a Faith fan more than Buffy. Sorry folks. Also Desmond Harrington was doing the whole smouldering, moody thing, way before he was eventually cast in Dexter and made it even more his thing.

All this aside, I was pleasantly surprised by the way the 2021 version was presented that ticked the box of a successful sequel.

It managed to stay true to the premise of the original feature and the folklore set around it, whilst providing a whole new slice of survival pie that marked a successful entry into the franchise.

Director Mike P Nelson delivers a solid feature film, learning from his predecessor, The Domestics and centring on the core theme of a battle of survival at all costs.

The manner in which the narrative is presented also goes against the grain of the usual tropes, (which is a good thing in this instance) as we’re introduced to Scott (Matthew Modine – Stranger Things) arriving at a small country town on the outskirts of the Appalachian Trail in search of his daughter, Jen (Charlotte Vega – The Lodgers), who has been missing some two weeks hence.

This method of storytelling allows the audience to not only engage with Scott as a character, but also outlines the guarded nature of the local people, prejudicing us against them and their ‘backward’ ways from the get-go.

Nelson then bravely pushes our preconceptions and forces us to confront them and question not only our morals but our position on communities as a whole.

So quickly we jump to conclusions or presume something of a particular person or group of people before understanding their position, and in doing so, leads to an amount of trouble, aggression, and in this case, bloody revenge on all sides.

Nelson soon casts us among the group of youths, including Jen and straight away challenges our current in build misconceptions around gender and equality, before eventually thrusting us down the rabbit hole of misgivings.

We see these youths as outcasts among the local community, but are equally highlighted as the outcasts among the group with the greater society. There’s the Black American, Darius, whose skin colour has led him and his generations to have been ostricised over hundreds of years, and then the gay couple, Luis and Gary, who have also been oppressed. The trouble is that despite a decent amount of attention laid down on the bones of the plot, it’s a shame that not enough was paid to the depth of the characters. The closest we get for a multi-dimensional evolution comes in Adam (Dylan McTee – The Wind) who at first is your typical red-blooded alpha male, but at one stage shows a human side, before unfortunately resorting back to type.
These misconceptions drive the group deep into the heart of America’s wilderness and foundations, where they come face to face with a group of America’s descendents of their founding settlers who carved a new walk of life away from the world to form their own community. When these two worlds collide, both belief systems are challenged leading to a bloody and brutal path that leads to an unknown horizon. 

The Prognosis:

Mike P Nelson directs the unimaginable; a decent and well crafted movie that strengthens and supports the original movie, while still delivering a strong independent movie of its own.

It breaks the rules and conventions of your standard horror tropes and for that it must be commended.

Plus, it projects some delightfully confronting images for horror enthusiasts that leave you wincing, and serves this with some sharp, thoughtful insights into human conditioning and the impact that communities have on the psyche.

The wrong turns are not necessarily the wrong ones, but they will force you into action.

It’s biggest stumbling block comes in the lack of depth in the characters though, who deserved greater attention for the subject matter to truly have a lasting impact.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: Spree

15 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review, Rialto Distribution, umbrella entertainment

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

David Arquette, Eugene Kotlyarenko, joe keery, John DeLuca, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton, Sasheer Zamata, satirical comedy horror

Spree is one of those rare treats that will surprise you.
Admittedly I went into watching this film with low expectations and unfairly dismissing it for yet another commentary on the negative impact of social media.

What was presented however can be closely associated with both Taxi Driver and American Psycho as its inspiration. The former is that Eugene Kotlyarenko plays similar beats to the Martin Scorsese classic, and the later for its satirical take on the human psyche. 

Where Kotlyarenko injects his own gaze into the public spectrum is through his offbeat humour and attention to detail in presenting a gonzo-infused view of social influencers on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Both director and his lead, Joe Keery (Stranger Things) researched these areas to encapsulate the personality that his character Kurt Kunkle portrays.
Profiled as 23 year old in search of infamy through his social platform who will stop at nothing to reach notoriety, Keery demonstrates a believably unhinged individual, a testament to his acting abilities and the level of attention taken into bringing his character to life. 

Fueled by this desire, Kurt rigs up his car with cameras and signs up for a rideshare app called Spree, where he then ventures out in his shortcut to the warped American Dream by picking up would-be victims. At first, we encourage his maniac exploits as the victims of choice are suitable ugly characters that arguably warrant their fate, but the more disturbed Kurt becomes in attaining his goal, the more chaotic and wild his antics become.
Kotlyarenko’s storyline choices are further cemented with the introduction of fellow social climber, comedian Jessie Adams played by a magnificent Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live) juxtaposing Kurt’s own ascent with a seemingly genuine rise of her own. When Jessie comes across Kurt’s radar, his jealousy boils over and she becomes his new target and in doing so, furnishes the film with a riveting climax.

The film also boasts strong support roles in David Arquette (Scream franchise) as deadbeat dad Kris, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton, and John DeLuca. Where it does fall short is that initial trigger point that sends Kurt over the edge, plus it lags in the middle act as it struggles to build up momentum and hold the audience’s interests through the leads indecisive phase in his social lesson. 

The Prognosis:

In the words of gonzo journalism creator, Hunter S. Thompson, “Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride”.

It’s a modern take into the current state of The American Dream through the eyes of a wannabe social influencer on a murderous rampage.
There is much to delight in this gut-wrenching flight of fancy, highlighting just how deranged modern society has become.

  • Saul Muerte

Spree is currently screening at select cinemas and available on PVOD with Foxtel and Fetch until November 11.

It will also be released on digital: iTunes, Youtube Movies, Fetch, Microsoft Store, Google Play from November 25.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • A Night of Horror Film Festival
  • Alien franchise
  • Alliance Francaise French Film Festival
  • Australian Horror
  • Best Movies and Shows
  • Competition
  • episode review
  • Flashback Fridays
  • Friday the 13th Franchise
  • Full Moon Sessions
  • Halloween franchise
  • In Memorium
  • Interview
  • japanese film festival
  • John Carpenter
  • killer pigs
  • midwest weirdfest
  • MidWest WierdFest
  • MonsterFest
  • movie of the week
  • Movie review
  • News article
  • podcast episode
  • press release
  • retrospective
  • Rialto Distribution
  • Ring Franchise
  • series review
  • Spanish horror
  • sydney film festival
  • Sydney Underground Film Festival
  • The Blair Witch Franchise
  • The Exorcist
  • The Howling franchise
  • Top 10 list
  • Trash Night Tuesdays on Tubi
  • umbrella entertainment
  • Uncategorized
  • Universal Horror
  • Wes Craven
  • wes craven's the scream years

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Surgeons of Horror
    • Join 180 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Surgeons of Horror
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...