The second instalment of Kevin Smith’s True North Trilogy follows in the same vein of its predecessor, Tusk, in that it captures the quirky, dark, and curious side to Canada.
In this instance, the story follows two convenience store workers, Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie, played by Depp and Smiths daughters, Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith.
As expected the movie is infused with pop culture and gamification references such is Smith’s repertoire of language and style on screen.
Perhaps because of its leads, Yoga Hosers has a youthful vigour to the story, which just about makes it passable along with the style and substance involved.
All parties appear to be having fun in the making of this movie and that energy feels infectious as a result.
Behind the glitz though, the movie is simply that.
A facade of fun, but ultimately it’s logic is so far removed from reality that you have no sense of connectivity to the plot.
Essentially the girls end up fending off little yellow wiener men controlled by a Canadian Nazi, Andronicus Arcane.
It’s so convoluted and downright bizarre, that you’re only choice is to go with the flow or tune out.
As it stands it remains to be seen whether or not Smith will complete his True North Trilogy, by closing out with Moose Jaws.
Despite the two films generally negative reception, there’s a part of me that would like to see Smith carry out his vision, if only to see a killer Moose on the loose in Canada.
But I guess that’s just the quirky, warped side of my personality that identifies with the craziness of it all.
The obscurity of this movie admittedly had me questioning how such a bizarre story could ever be entertained let alone actually pulled of as a feature.
But all ideas and inspirations have to start from somewhere.
When filmmaker Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier picked up on a bizarre advertisement of guys walrus fetish as part of the Smodcast discussions, the subject resonated with Smith to run with this crazy notion and turn it into a feature, Tusk, the first instalment to a trilogy that he’s dubbed, The True North trilogy.
The second having already been released, titled Yoga Hosers, and a final instalment called Moose Jaws is on its way.
The underlying theme that ties these movies together examines the quirky tales born out of the depths of Canadian lifestyle and translates as a warped cousin of the X-Files as Johnny Depp cameos as French Canadian detective investigator of the bizarre, Guy LaPointe.
The central story to Tusk follows repugnant and loathing, podcast host, Wallace Bryton.
His podcast, The Not-See Party is basically a chance for him and friend/ co-host (played by a welcome Haley Joel-Osmont) to mock viral videos of guys making fools of themselves.
This one in particular is of a guy playing around with a samurai sword in his garage when he severs his own leg off.
Wanting to milk this story and take advantage of this poor soul for all his worth, Wallace ventures out to interview him for the podcast only to arrive at the chaps funeral.
By chance however, Wallace believing to be down on his luck, stumbles across a written advertisement in the Gents toilets that piques his interest with a free room and lifetime of interesting stories.
Little does he know that he’s about to get his comeuppance when he meets up with wayward extraordinaire, Howard Howe and his curious obsession with walruses.
Kidnapped and drugged, Wallace then has to face a gruelling undertaking that allows his assailant to transform him into the creature of his curious fantasies.
Will his girlfriend and best friend be able to save him from his ordeal?
What will be left of him by the end of it all?
Tusk is a movie that lives up to its description with its strange tale, which was always going to be a tough sell for audience and critics alike.
It takes someone like Kevin Smith to carry out this vision and brandish it with his unique sense of humour.
And for that it hangs in there just barely by a single thread and may well generate an audience from his loyal fans.
Once again I find myself commending a director on their bold choice and pushing the boundaries of storytelling by challenging themselves and offering something new, even if the execution itself doesn’t eventually pay off.
I’D REALLY LOVE to get Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s school of thought on the aftermath of this movies release.
Fans and critics alike didn’t warm to the film and because of this, Blair Witch is deemed a failure.
The big question really though is did the movie fall victim to the Blair Witch curse?
The premise was to take a look into what the Blair Witch mythology brought to the screens back in 1999 by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick with The Blair Witch Project, a film that sent shock waves through the horror movie scene and the cinema industry with its bold choice of storytelling through found footage.
Found footage was a medium which at the time hadn’t been as widely explored, unlike today where it seems like everyone under the sun has attempted it, with nowhere near the success.
Is this over-saturation of the sun-genre partly to blame?
Yes – I’m looking at you Paranormal Activity.
Despite this, Wingard and Barrett chose to explore and set the Blair Witch 18 years after the original (and rightfully ignoring Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows, which I think everyone can agree was a complete dud).
There are elements within the movie that feels a little disjointed with the timelines a little, but hey, that’s one of the anomalies within this universe that you could use your BS around, with the Witch’s strange effect on time and space.
So, it’s easy to forgive this little quibble and give in to the suspension of disbelief.
The filmmakers also try to throw in all the latest mod-cons to make it feel more like a bunch of present day kids venturing into the woods, armed with drones and the like.
But it does feel a little forced, especially as for me, it treads a little too closely to the original to make it stand apart from its predecessor.
Perhaps by viewing the original movie and being so affected by it, my observations and responses to Blair Witch are automatically going to be tainted.
It would be interesting to chat with someone who hasn’t seen The Blair Witch Project and therefore not been consumed or tainted by the hyperbole that surrounded that film and get their take on it.
There’s no doubt that Wingard and Barrett had set themselves a difficult challenge to undertake.
It was a bold move and falls in line with the kind of filmmakers that they are and have proven to be, with rightful praise thrown their way for previous films they have released.
A notable element in my mind that did stand out and raised the worthiness of the film came towards the climax with a knowing nod to the story of Lot.
By this time it really does feel like the current survivors are trying to escape from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Ultimately though, the film does miss the mark in establishing the same kind of hysteria that hit our screens back in 1999.
So does Blair Witch fall foul of the supposed curse? Maybe.
Should we commend Wingard and Barrett for doing what filmmakers should be doing? Making bold decisions to challenge themselves and their craft? Absolutely.
It may be a hiccup in their career so far, but I for one can’t wait to see what they deliver next and delve into their vision once more.
ONE YEAR AFTER Alexandre Aja’s remake of Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes received (quite rightfully) positive reviews, it was almost inevitable that the films creators would start looking toward creating a franchise.
It’s main drive would come from the films’ original creator, Craven and his son, Jonathan.
And on face value, the initial premise that was laid out ignited a sense of passion in me. “I’d like to fucking see that!”, I proclaimed, until that is that on closer scrutiny, it was just a rehash of “Aliens” but instead of xenomorphs that an army faces up to, it’s a group of mutants out in New Mexico that need to be annihilated.
Wait, maybe that does sound awesome. Craven apparently even planned to have the surviving daughter, Brenda enlist in the army to overcome her demons only to go all “Ripley-esque” when called upon to go back into the wilderness to physically face them head to head, as she is the only person who knows their lay of the land.
Only problem was that Emile de Ravin, who played Brenda in the remake was committed to TV series, Lost at the time the film was due to go into production.
That’s okay, we’ll just create a new protagonist in Amber, who will walk the same path as had been intended for Brenda. Job done, yes?
So why then did the movie fall short and not launch this franchise into stronger territory?
Ironically enough, The Hills Have Eyes 2 would suffer the same fate as the original remake, The Hills Have Eyes Part 2did.
Both films completely ignored the concept of a family pitted in terror against an unknown assailant that was both brutal and destructive, stripped down to the very essence of what it is to be human.
In a raw, animalistic approach to survival, the family has no option but to resort to drastic measures in order to live through the torment.
It is that rage that is buried within us all that rises to the surface when we have nothing else to fall back on and nothing left to lose.
That’s why the original movie resonated so strongly in societies ethos.
It cut out all the bullshit and crap that comes with our social make up and shone a mirror to our flaws and pretentiousness to convey who we all are underneath.
It’s why Aja’s version was so well received, because it managed to carry that same message and deliver tenfold on the anarchy.
By ignoring the very premise and notion or hunger for survival, you tear away all the drama and beauty that encapsulated the original movie and from there you will always fall short.
Yes, you should probably commend Craven for trying to push the story in a new direction.
Hell, they even teamed up with Fox Atomic comics to produce a stand alone comic called The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning, which also treads along the path of the army vs the mutants theme, but in this instance it creates and additional pet peeve of mine, in trying to humanise the mutants.
In doing so, it destroys not only the mystery behind them, but also the threat that they once posed in the original is destroyed in the process.
So, whilst it does strive to explore the universe further, in doing so, the essence of what made the world so great, just crumbles and withers away.
It’s a shame, because I feel there is still merit in exploring that world once more.
And there’s a lot of political commentary that is ripe for the picking if they chose that journey wisely, but it remains to be seen if the film industry will choose to go back into the hills once more.
THE TERM ‘loosely based on the novel’ can’t be stressed enough, for Universal’s adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe novel.
The raw ingredients are in there with a character called Dupin, the “hero” of the piece, who pieces together a suspicious murder; confusion over the language of the Killer that is overheard by witnesses, and a murderous ape.
Yep – that’s right.
A killer ape.
In the films version however Dupin is not a detective, but a medical student and the love interest for a potential victim, Camille.
And whilst, the killer ape component remains, the ape is more of a puppet to Bela Lugosi’s Dr Mirakle.
This would be Lugosi’s performance following Dracula, but is sadly lacking the air or mystery and menace that he delivered for said piece and instead we are treated with something that is borderline creepy.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just not packed with any punch that would ordinarily set one on edge.
This is the first time that Universal would visit Poe’s work in the Gothic era and one can’t help but feel that this movie was an attempt to sandwich this story and infuse it with the recipe that made Dracula and Frankenstein such big hits.
And therein lies the problem.
We’re left with a crowbarred romance and a lot of preamble at the beginning of the film, which leads nowhere and instead of developing character, makes you feel less inclined to support them at the end.
You almost feel sorry for the chimp that has been caged and defies his masters orders to go on a killing rampage.
If it were not for the occasional glimmer of sinister and evil conveyed by Lugosi, Murders on Rue Morgue would be quickly forgotten, but as such it it is integral to the journey that Universal would undertake to produce such horror gems as The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man.
WES CRAVEN must have felt pretty proud of this adaptation from his original movie.
The Hills Have Eyes was the second movie that he made following on from Last House On The Left and was a huge success for the director, paving the way for a smashing career in the horror realm.
For the remake though, Craven would step aside from directorial duties, focusing solely on his Producer role and allow Alexandre Aja take the helm.
Aja already carved success in his own right in the genre with Furia and Haute Tension, both bloody brutal films. (The less said about Mirrors and Piranha 3D the better).
And the frenchman doesn’t shy away from the gore and mayhem in this movie, much to our delight.
After watching the screening at the Horror Movie Campoutin Sydney, was reminded of how hard-wired, crazed, and fucked up this movie is.
Having dissected the original movie in a previous podcast, yo could clearly see the same paths being plotted out by our protagonists, but this version does allow for some more freedom and exploration when it comes to the ‘mutant’ family.
Craven had always ventured out to make a savage insight into the good and bad side of America by polarising families on the opposite side of the spectrum and pitted them against each other in a bloody war of survival.
Much of that is apparent in this version, but Aja takes that concept and ups the ante by throwing the Carter family into a world of carnage and disarray, where it is anyone’s guess who if anyone will survive.
That raw energy transcends well and it’s the perfect recipe for a thrill ride of massive proportions .
If there is a flaw, it’s that our Carter family seem a little too polished when held up against the mutant family.
There are often times when you wished that more time was spent on fleshing out the characters than actually ripping the flesh off them, but who am I kidding?
This movie is fun, all the same and provides enough shocks, all-out-gore, and ferocity that not only make it a worthy of the original, but dare I say it?
A rarity in that it adds something additional to the Craven’s vision and expands on it in a positive way.
A decent stab in the open, vast and deserted landscape.
The moment the character of Doctor Waldman delivers the opening monologue as a word of warning about what the audience is about to see, a classic novel becomes an iconic film.
Said character is played by Edward Von Sloan who returns after his performance of Van Helsing in Dracula.
Also returning to the Gothic Horror scene for Universal, Dwight Frye who played the maniacal Renfield. Here Frye turns a trick as the hunchback (and aide to Dr Frankenstein) Fritz.
But the film owes testament to Colin Clive’s performance of Frankenstein, and Boris Karloff’s awesome transformation as the Monster, a performance that required hours in the make up chair to deliver the signature look for the creature.
Karloff’s name would be forever cemented in film history despite only being credited as “?” in the titles.
And let’s not forget the directorial duties of James Whale, who’s vision in this movie not only established his rightful place as a master of his craft, but would forever identify him with this time and place in film history.
The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has become so identified with Gothic Literature that it arguably holds the title of being the finest example of that genre.
It was one of the earliest stories used for film back in 1910 with the Edison Manufacturing Company’s short feature and has seen numerous adaptations ever since.
By 1931, Universal Studios had found a successful run in the Gothic genre, particularly after Dracula and were looking to repeat that winning formula.
With the release of Frankenstein, they found that success and a golden era in horror was born.
I hold my hand up and have to declare that I do have a soft spot for these movies that I do identified with the time, but for me they feel ageless as I am easily transported into the setting and delve into the world that has been created, which is a testament to the storytellers and the performances of the cast.
Colin Clive deliberately hams up the role of Dr. Frankenstein, which hangs marginally on the right side of believable as a man driven to the brink of insanity.
Even to this day the scene in which he brings the Monster to life and cries, “It’s alive, It’s alive! Now I know what it’s like to be God!”, has been used or replicated time and time again, most notably in 1985’s Weird Science.
Most of the tragedy in this tale comes from the Monster, who is forced to live in the darkness, fearful of light and fire, and strives to find his place in the world.
With that in mind, praise can not be held highly enough for Karloff, who is still able to deliver heartfelt tenderness under the layers of make up and between the grunts and gruffs.
None more so in the harrowing scene (that has played a significant part in many a thesis written around the movie) when the monster encounters the village girl and is led to believe that all beautiful things should float.
Even to its epic conclusion, when Frankenstein is forced to confront his creation in the now iconic windmill setting as it’s engulfed in flames, taking the Monster with it.
It’s a must watch for true lovers of the the Horror genre as it not only bore witness to one of cinemas greatest horror creations but also gave birth to the Horror film genre as we know it today.
Yes there were horror films before this movie, but In Frankenstein, Universal had created a legend that impacted audiences to a greater level and would pave the way for more stories of blood and gore that would delight the senses and chill the bone.
WHEN I first heard about the Horror Movie Campout earlier this year, I instantly fell in love with this notion of a festival dedicated to like minded individuals all eager to have their appetite for all things blood and gore.
I had to be there and immerse myself amongst the horde and delight in the horror that lay before me.
So, I have to thank the organisers of this event for setting the stage for what was a truly awesome night ahead.
As you can see from the video below, I was pumped.
There was plenty to keep the crowd satiated, from a death chamber, side entertainments such as magicians, eating contests, and of course the bar, food trucks, laser tag, and did we mention the bar?
The main attraction though, would be two features for the night that were selected for the night by the horde themselves from a selection chosen by the Horror Movie Campout committee.
IT’S BEEN 13 years since Samara first terrorised Naomi Watts on screen.
And with the latter no longer attached to the series, one might ask why after such a long hiatus (at least from a western audience point of view) should we revisit Samara’s tale.
Pending the film’s success, Paramount were keen to replicate the success that Paranormal Activity delivered to the box office and plans were considered to potentially have annual stories that delved further into the Ring franchise.
It does hinge on the success of this movie me whether or not there was still a hunger to see Samara inflict her virus on the world once more.
Being a fan of the original movie by Hideo Nakata I find that I am always drawn to the series to see how it pans out.
There have been a mixture of successes and failures among them and I was intrigued by the premise of this latest venture.
Namely that that virus itself will transfer using modern technology, computer files etc and that it would mutate with a shortened life expectancy of its victims from five days of being infected and Samara’s inevitable visit being whittled down to just two.
This amplifying the expediency, drama and tension.
It looked promising and all it needs is a strong plot line to make this a strong candidate for making a great film.
So let’s dissect that a little further and look at the story development as it unfolds.
Firstly, we’re thrust straight into the action, when two victims are travelling on an airline flight as deadline approaches.
Cue panic and disarray as they try to out run Samara within the confines of an airline cabin.
Let’s face it, it ain’t gonna happen and within the blink of an eye the plane crashes along with the characters who contracted the virus.
Samara is back and a whole new generation of souls are gonna be her victims.
The story then picks up with our lead protagonist, Julia, played by Italian model, Matilda Lutz.
Matilda certainly has the looks to keep you engaged and just about has enough acting chops to stick with her character arc.
It picks up with her boyfriend Holt, who goes off to college and their relationship becomes estranged as he pulls away from her.
It’s only when Julia receives a manic call from Skye demanding to know Holt’s whereabouts that Julia is compelled to find out what’s going on.
As she tumbles further down the well of curiosity, Julia encounters a college professor, Gabriel, who has set up something of an experiment after initially watching the cursed video and then employing a group of students to watch, copy, and then pass on the virus.
The group is known as ‘The Sevens’ is possibly the most enlightening aspect of the movie and the concept of each participant needing a ‘tail’ to pass on the virus had an element of an old school spy thriller to it, which would have been interesting to see that explore further.
As it is though, we’re propelled forward when Julia goes to Skye’s apartment, who’s deadline is fast approaching and she tries to force Julia to watch the video, fails, thanks to Holt’s intervention and Julia witnesses Skye’s demise at the hands of Samara.
When Julia leans that Holt’s life is on the line, she watched the said curse video file, only to ignite a whole new can of worms as the virus transforms.
There is a hidden file within the file that are Easter eggs or breadcrumbs that Julia must now follow in order to find Samara’s corpse and find a final resting place and end the curse.
The problem with the movie is that whilst it tries to focus a and shift the Ring horror movie into a modern world it needs to expand the universe.
So much focus lands on this that it loses the impact and mystery that surrounded the original.
There are rules upon rules that need to be discovered and inevitably broken and the tension that is supposed to be ramping up just gets lost in its own ether.
There are loose threads that try to tie it back to the novels by Koji Suzuki, particularly around the middle novel in the trilogy, Spiral and the notion of rebirth that plays out in the film’s conclusion.
Essentially though, the film tries to ground itself in the land of Samara and it ticks along nicely enough to keep you engaged, but there’s not enough to keep you hooked and make a difference to the genre resulting in a misfire.
The Samara scares are slim and that’s what people pay to see.
It’s all very well to build tension, but the film even lacks these elements to gain enough momentum to reach a decent scare factor.
Ultimately Rings is watchable, but not unmissable as a result.
OUR FINAL entry into the Dracula reboot section looking back at Universal Horror movies is the most recent.
In this instance, the idea was to go back and tell an origin story (Will they ever learn?) behind Cinema’s most infamous villain.
Unofficially, this film is part of the ‘new Universal Horror’ franchise, but not necessarily part of the merged universe at this stage.
Universal Pictures definitely want to go all out with the release of The Mummy starting Tom Cruise, which is set to land mid-way through the year.
And whether or not Dracula makes another appearance down the track Dracula Untold marks a turning point for the film production company that allows them to bring ‘their’ monsters to a new generation.
When the movie was first being tauted, Alex Proyas had been listed to direct with the title, Dracula: Year Zero, which I can only have been a cross between Batman Begins and The Crow.
That would have been an interesting premise.
As it stands though, the title changed and directorial duties fell to Gary Shore.
Yeah, we’ve never heard of him either, but he does share the birthplace of Dublin with the creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, and he has since gone on to direct a short segment as part of the feature, Holidays.
Essentially we see Vlad, protect his lands from the Turkish Empire, only to need to defend his people once more when he refuses to give up his son and 1,000 other boys to said Empire.
It’s a moment that furies the Sultan, played by Dominic Cooper, who looks like he’s loving the opportunity to play the villain of the piece.
So, Vlad has to turn to a chance encounter, Charles Dance living in a mountain, who is evil incarnate and as we know it the true darkness, a vampire that would turn Vlad into the infamous Count Dracula that we know and love today.
If Vlad can resist the need to feed, he will return as normal within 3 days, but as we all know that won’t happen or the legend will never begin.
Tragedy will strike and it will involve his family, the only things that tie Vlad to this world.
The film is unequivocally carried by Luke Evans as Dracula with his charismatic charms and devotion to his family.
Plus he’s ripped as fuck, which helps.
There are some support roles that would suggest the casting agent spooled through the Game of thrones cast, with the likes of Charles Dance, Paul Kaye, and Art Parkinson all playing significant roles, but all of them can’t help to disguise the lack in plot and storyline, and the absence of depth in the characters.
It feels like a paint by numbers piece, but instead of paint, the filmmakers are using state of the art CGI for their palette.
It’s all style, no substance and one can only wonder what the movie would look like if Luke Evans weren’t there to push the momentum forward.
And with an open ending, Universal definitely had great plans for this franchise.
But with a poor critical reaction to the release, it doesn’t bode well, unless The Mummy can unravel all the criticism that came about and bring Dracula back from the dead.
