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Surgeons of Horror

~ Dissecting horror films

Surgeons of Horror

Tag Archives: charlotte vega

Movie review: Mosquito State (2021)

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

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Tags

beau knapp, charlotte vega, filip jan rymsza, shudder australia

I cannot stress enough that this film falls firmly into the ‘be patient’ basket.

I really struggled with the opening 30 minutes of the movie that seemingly dragged along at a snail’s pace. And it didn’t help that the dialogue is dripping with a specialised niche dialogue that smacks of wankdom, but this is exactly the intricacy of its lead that cements and provides a complex character. 

The cinematography is equally stylised and polished to encompass the lifestyle and setting that elevates the feel of the movie, but could easily be strained too far… That is until the storyline sets and takes effect.

It’s clear that Director Filip Jan Rymsza is drawn to the inner psychosis of humanity and here he infuses it into the biological makeup of mosquitos, and juxtaposes this imagery alongside that of honeybees. All of which is embedded in the murky depths of trading and the stride towards success. But what exactly defines success? This defines the moral of the film.

As mentioned, our lead character, Richard (Beau Knapp) is a quirky and lonely figure, driven by his compulsive obsession with financial data, analysing the movements in trading figures. In many ways the symbolism of his character reflects the tragic gothic figure Quasimodo from Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame,  isolated in his tower, in this instance the apartment overlooking Central Park in New York.

His stride for perfection is what initially steers his love interest, Lena (Charlotte Vega – Wrong Turn, The Lodgers) away, but there is a hint of a connection that doesn’t deter Richard in his pursuit. 

The mosquitos too are part of this imagery that surrounds Richard’s psychological collapse and the infestation that has taken hold of both the apartment and his state of mind. The contagion soon takes hold of Richard and us (the viewer) embedding into the psyche and dictating his every action and one that is represented in his own disfigurement as he becomes a walking human feeding/breeding ground for the parasite.

It is this incubation that can ensnare you and for me lifts the film into a loftier response. Once Richard starts to fall from the successful heights embedded in his own ambition, he not only gains in confidence, breaking out of his shell, but subjects himself deeper into isolation and on to a journey that only some can follow.

The Diagnosis:

This movie is highly intelligent and beautifully shot. It’s the kind of film that gets under your skin.

It takes a while for it to take effect but once it does it pulls you in and infects you.

There are many elements at play with each layer revealing the dark truth behind the powers and money of the world.

Mosquito State has successfully infested my mind, a mark for me is always an important ingredient in filmmaking.

I’m still letting it resonate as I write this but I find at this stage I’ve fallen for its charm and lulled by the hypnotic score.

  • Saul Muerte

Mosquito State streams on Shudder from Thursday, August 26th.

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: The Lodgers

26 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by surgeons of horror in Movie review

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

bill milner, brian o'malley, charlotte vega, david bradley, eugene simon, gothic horror, moe dunford, the lodgers

The promise of a good old fashioned gothic horror story stirred some keen interest in this veteran horror fan, but there still remained some trepidation after watching Del Toro’s Crimson Peak a few years ago, which was all style and no substance.

The fact that The Lodgers has yet to find a cinematic release here on Australian shores also had a whiff of failure about it.
Nevertheless, when I saw that it would get a screening at this year’s Irish Film Festival, I dusted down my long black coat and ventured out to Paddington to see if there was life in this old fashioned genre or not.

It certainly had promise, and all the hallmarks one would expect with a dark and desolate abode, remote and cut off from the world, where all that lies within are Rachel and her twin brother, Edward, who harbour their own secrets.

As the house falls into disrepair and their inheritance dwindles, the siblings are forced to face up to their prophecy, but will they reside to their fate or resist the inevitable?

The cast all hold their own with a plethora of familiar faces, ranging from David Bradley and Eugene Simon (both from Game of Thrones) and Moe Dunford (Vikings), but it is the troubled twins who steal the show as Bill Milner’s brilliantly disturbed Edward, who delicately hinges on the brink of sanity and despair, whilst Charlotte Vega proves to be a force to be reckoned with on screen playing out Rachel’s sexual awakening and curiosity as she struggles with her past and a potential future. Her captivating performance on screen could well prove Vega to be a rising star.

The film does offers some familiarity with Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw which should delight some fans of the genre. I also liked the use of water leaking into the house and into the twins lives as they try to shut out their past, only for the water to keep seeping through the cracks and getting closer every day showing that director Brian O’Malley has potential behind the lens.

The Diagnosis:

There are elements that promise to tighten the sphincter but too often the film falls prey to old horror tropes and when it looks like it might deliver, falls short in the process.

It’s a shame because with a bit more thought and effort, The Lodgers could have been elevated alongside The Woman In Black or The Others but instead languishes at the bottom of the flooded basement.

It’s watchable but don’t hold your breathe for any out and our scares.

– Saul Muerte

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