Straight off the bat, I have to proclaim that I am not a massive fan of the found footage genre. There have been some exceptions, primarily Spanish horror flick, [REC], and as much as it pains me, I’ve come to appreciate The Blair Witch Project over the years for how it’s simple storytelling and tapping into the wake of the internet boom.
Similarly, Host capitalises on the current social climate and the restrictions that COVID 19 has had on the Arts. Unlike the film Unfriendedwhich tried to harness the ever-changing social media landscape to project fear onto the screens, but ultimately falling short of expectations, Director Rob Savage, crafts a clever and creative script using the minimal amount of tools to his advantage, shooting everything through Zoom links and relying heavy on his cast to create the lighting, stunts, and visual effects needed to pull off the story and make it seem believable.
The narrative takes place with a group of friends meeting together via Zoom to initiate a seance, conducted by a medium, Seylan. It all seems innocent with some of the group not entirely taking it seriously, but as events play out, it soon takes a sinister turn with the group unwittingly calling in a demonic entity into their fold. Can they ward off this evil presence, or will it slowly and violently take them out?
The Prognosis:
Don’t be turned off by the remarkably short running time, Host packs in a lot into the story with great performances and strong characters. Not all of them are likeable, but that’s the point. You have to have a few that you wish to get their comeuppance and those that you genuinely hope to survive their ordeal. Savage has proved himself a compelling storyteller as a result, while taking a simple enough premise and weaving a delightfully dark tale with minimal tools at hand. It goes to show that you don’t need a lot to create a little bit of magic and by tapping into the social mainstream, breathe life into the found footage genre once more.
When Gunnar Hansen of Texas Chain Saw Massacre fame wrote and pitched a who’s who of horror films pitted in a hellish place forming a macabre version of The Expendables, it would be a genre fans’ wet dream. The very idea of Jason aka Kane Hodder sharing the same screen as Tony Todd (Candyman), and Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) along with the queens of horror, Dee Wallace and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) would leave them salivating at the prospect at what could be an Uber-scare factory. What we do get is a lot of piss and wind in a lacklustre affair that never measures up to its promise.
Before I start lambasting this film though, I do want to focus on the positives. The very premise of staging a prison break containing some of the most vicious criminals known to mankind housed in a state of the art vicinity, which placates to the criminals whims in virtual space whilst using real victims from the homeless and deprived smacks of genius. It projects a utopian world that humanity could easily travel down if there were no morals or guiding principles attached.
Kane Hodder delivers to a tee and never falters from his iconic presence in front of the camera as the lead antagonist Sieg as he steers those fallen from grace further down into the pit of the jail system – level nine, a place where the five evils preside in a nod to Dante’s Inferno.
Equally Dee Wallace proves once again that she can offer intelligence, vulnerability, and apathy in her character, Dr. Eileen Fletcher and is always a welcome presence on screen.
And full props to Director Harrison Smith who saw fit to carry out Hansen’s vision in his honour, gifting him also with an on-screen presence in holographic form as the father to one of the prison inmates, Leatherlace, which was a nice touch.
And lets not forget those delectable sultry tones from Adrienne Barbeau as the narrator of the movie…
Sorry. Where was I?
Ah yes, all these elements are enough to keep you engaged, at least for a while. Even the strange dark arts that are heavily present throughout adds a decent hook to an intriguing narrative, but those who delve into Death House may find it a struggle as the further down the rabbit hole we go, the more far-fetched and ridiculous the concept goes.
And that’s where it starts to lose me. It doesn’t help that our two lead protagonists, Agents Novak and Boon who are so two-dimensional that not even their strange deep and meaningful conversation about how they became Agents whilst casually sharing a unisex shower cubicle can generate even a twinkle of interest… well, maybe. Which is a shame, because you want to be vested in their journey, but you really don’t care.
The Diagnosis:
This is clearly an attempt to ignite the passion that fans of horror through the 80’s and early 90’s by grouping some favourites of the genre together. Whilst the premise did provide a decent hook, the journey leaves you floundering and left adrift without much care to its conclusion. A lost opportunity.
Summer of ‘84 is one of those movies that tries to tap into the whole 80s nostalgia thing. Think Stranger Things, The Burbs, and Stephen King all wrapped into a neat All-American thriller where four boys believe that one of their neighbours is a notorious serial killer.
The trouble is it strives so hard to emanate the decade and all its glory, (wicked soundtrack included) that it struggles to form a unique identity of its own. That is until the final 20 WTF!!! Minutes of the movie that shakes up your preconceptions and messes with your heard.
By this stage, you would have lost some of the audience, waiting for something to seperate Summer of ‘84 from the pack, and the other half of the audience barely hanging on.
This is a shame because the trailer teased and tantalised an epic feature, but if you can stick it out to the end, the pay off is definitely worth it.
The premise follows Davey Armstrong, the son of a journalist, who suspects neighbour Mackey a well-respected police officer to be the Cape May Slayer, who has murdered of 13 teenage boys in the county area.
At first his friends, Woody, Curtis, and Eats, all find Davey’s story too far-fetched. That is until Davey claims to have seen the latest missing kid at Mackey’s House. Cue espionage style tactics from the kids as they try every spy trick in the book to uncover the truth from tracking his every move, going through his trash and finally breaking and entering.
Is Mackey the murderer, (I mean, there is something a little off about his mannerisms, expertly played by Mad Men’s Rich Sommer) or is it the wild imaginations of a young mind?
The kids are all likeable enough to keep you wondering and caring when they fall into precarious situations, with plenty of decent back story to most of them.
There’s even room for a love interest in old friend and crush, Nikki, who also seems a little unhinged and leaves you wondering if this is a result of her parents separating or is there something darker going on underneath her sweet demeanour.
Directors Simard, Whissell, and Whissell certainly tick all the boxes and it’s only when we are feeling secure that they decide to whip the carpet of safety from under our feet and throw a massive curveball into the midst.
From a political point of view, when Reagan was in power, it’s as if the creatives wanted to make a sweeping statement that American life would never be the same again and that ‘home life’ as we knew it would be totally broken apart and everything that we could rely upon would leave us questioning our faith in everything that our society is built upon.
There is no sanctuary. Not anymore.
The Diagnosis:
Summer of 84 nearly falls prey to standard thriller territory until it sucker punches you in the gut for the climax of the movie, leaving you feeling unnerved and a huge talking point.
Okay. There are some people who will watch this movie and instinctively think that it’s a pile of artistic wank within the first few minutes, but for those who stick it out through the admittedly slow pace will find themselves lured into a fantastical journey, that leaves you entranced by the sheer bloody beauty that is depicted on screen.
Italian director Panos Cosmatos’ sophomore outing is an attack on the senses that is delivered in a trance-like state, enamoring you by its beauty of rich colours and kaleidoscopic fluidity. This false-sense of sedateness is doubled further with the deep dialogue between kindred couple Red Miller (Nic Cage) and Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough) which lends itself to the hippy-life that they lead in the remote northern wilderness.
Enter cult leader Jeremiah Sand awesomely portrayed by Linus Roache, oscillating between delusional insanity and vulnerability sublimely. From a chance encounter with Mandy, Jeremiah like the audience is intoxicated and feels compelled to delve further into her mystery, so he brings his entourage of devotees and sadistic fucks to rip apart this idyllic sanctuary and claim Mandy for his own. The problem is that perfection doesn’t exist and when Mandy doesn’t meet his expectations, Jeremiah wants to tear it up and destroy everything. By severing open the guts of peace and bliss, Jeremiah unwittingly sours the land of milk and honey and from that moment on, the turmoil and angst that has been contained, pours forth in a devastating form that has no means of slowing down until the balance is restored once more.
The depredation is the trigger for Red to resort to his base instincts and exact pure bloody hell and revenge on Mandy’s tormentors. This dark and twisted journey that Red undertakes is filled with pure anarchy and hatred that it feels only an actor like Cage can portray. The beauty of his performance though isn’t from his stereotypical over-the-top exuberance but in the stifled and restrained approach that he plays his role, which is a testament to both Cage’s acting prowess and Cosmatos’ direction. By ever so slowly dialing up the heat, Red reaches the pique of frenzy at the right moment in the film to make it both believable and a delight to see.
The diagnosis: Beware of your strive for beauty and perfection. Slice it open and you get a reign of anarchy and destruction.
Cage taps into the life of a man who has his whole world savagely ripped wide open and ventures out on a path for vengeance and fury, delivering one of his finest performances to date.
It’s a visually stunning movie with an amazing cast including a welcome cameo from Bill Duke in the midst of the mind-fuckery that goes on.
Whilst it’s not for everyone, this movie will delight many in its unique style and approach to the celluloid form.
When director Todd Sheets set about fulfilling his dream passion project of filming a practical effects werewolf movie (that was reminiscent of the classic movies of yesteryear such as The Howling or An American Werewolf in London) via an Indiegogo crowd funding, he hardly expected it to gain the massive traction that it finally generated.
The interest and backing from like-minded individuals keen to see a film produced similar to the ones they grew up loving with an old school mentality approach even gained interest from Indiegogo, citing the campaign as a benchmark in crowd sourcing.
The movie is ultimately a B-movie horror, but that term isn’t necessarily something to look down upon, as Bonehill Road is elevated by Sheets’ choice as both writer and director.
The creature effects are impressive and trigger the perfect amount of nostalgia along the way, but it’s the heart of the story that is it’s strongest point and the journey that our two leads, Emily and her daughter Eden are forced to go through in their fight for survival.
They flee from an abusive husband/father only to jump out with the pan and into the fire when they encounter a murderous psychopath who has a number of women tied up in his home. In this one moment, Bonehill Road turns from your typical werewolf flick to a story about female empowerment. A genius stroke from Sheets as it makes the movie not only contemporary and relevant in todays climate, but also cuts to the pointy end of sexual oppression that is so often overlooked in the news and media. The women must bond together in their suffering and rise up against the constant wave of male dominance in order to survive. It’s a shame then that the Gramps character has to make an entrance to help initiate a rescue. It may have been cool to have a gender swap here to and have Granny coming in to aid, and leverage off the classic wolf story, Little Red Riding Hood a touch. Then again, that road has already been travelled to a degree with Neil Jordan’s A Company of Wolves, so who am I to judge?
When the werewolves do come and they do as a pack, as our victims are hold up inside the house, they attack from every where, heightening that feeling of societies judgement and vitriol towards victims of sexual and domestic violence comes crashing through the walls with no direction or safety on the apparent horizon.
Throw in the casting of a name in the horror circuit with Linnea Quigley (Return of the Living Dead) as one of the fellow kidnapped victims and Sheets provides some further leverage in bringing in a wider fan base to Bonehill Road, proving that not only is he one of the most likeable directors in the business but also one of the smartest.
The Diagnosis:
Todd Sheets brings a bout of old school werewolf horror to the B movie scene packed with practical effects, and offers a strong heart that beats with purpose offering a fresh take on a tried and tested genre.
They promised you big, and big we got, but probably not necessarily what the producers were hoping for.
The BIG question lies in two classification rating. Whilst they strive to appease a wider market with an M rating, those hungry for some blood, guts, and full-on gore will be sorely disappointed. The Meg shark never really scares or shocks the audience and on more than one occasion appears happy to just swim around waiting for the humans to plan time-consuming methods to either tag or destroy the beast.
The movie does spend a hell of a long time building up some backstory to the main protagonists so that the audience will hopefully give a damn about their outcome but a lot of the time leans towards a predictable conclusion.
The main criticism is primarily focused on Jonas’ (Jason Statham) plight. The film set up shows Jonas needing to make a critical decision during a deep sea rescue, which ultimately leaves two of his comrades to die. The issue I found is that we aren’t really ever introduced to these two characters or their relationship with Jonas for this blow to have any devastating impact. This ain’t no Maverick / Goose moment.
Instead we rely on Statham’s angst at this supposed ordeal as he grimaces and tries to pull his best pensive expression.
The result leaves Jonas all washed up and resorting to drink.
So, when an experimental science expedition uncovers an unexplored underwater terrain, which inadvertently sets The Meg free, who should be could back into action to rescue those trapped in perilous depths? None other than our friend Jonas.
There’s some weak plots thrown into the midst, with Jonas’ ex being one of the survivors in need of rescue, but there’s enough of a twist to push the love interest in a different direction before falling prey to a predictable path.
To the writers’ credit though, there is enough interest in the characters to keep you interested… just. And the cast is solid enough to ground some of those characters.
Ultimately though, this is a Statham movie, so it’s not going to ground-breaking but it is going to be entertaining.
The Diagnosis:
Naturally some people will want to compare this movie to Jaws, the Titan of shark movies, but as big as you will make the shark, the result will always fall under the giant shadow that Spielberg’s classic still holds. And no blatant rip-off beach sequence is going to elevate anyone’s belief in that stat, although I did love the inflatable water walking balloon and Pippin the dog for comic value.
Not Statham’s finest hour but worth the plunge all the same.
Most parents will identify with the struggles that they encounter when raising children, and that strange balance of absolute despair and unwavering love that they have for their own kids.
It’s this balance that writer, director, Brian Taylor scrutinizes and tinkers with, asking the question, what happens when that need to protect and care for your offspring has a switch that is flipped and the desire to kill takes over.
It’s a controversial topic that Taylor lifts the lid upon and not only singles out one family, but makes this a global issue. It’s one that needs to be addressed with no real answer offered up by the director, which is interesting position that he chooses to go with.
Whilst choosing to tell the tale as a global epidemic with parents heading out to murder their children, we’re hit with troubling images head-on when a mother deliberately abandons her child in a car upon the railway tracks, as a speeding train plows into it.
A shocking image that as a parent myself, I found deeply uncomfortable to view, and sets the tone throughout the film, and pushes me to areas that I found hard to take as a result. For that end the movie certainly does its job in presenting some horrific scenes, notably when one mother attempts to kill her newborn in a birthing suite.
The global epidemic plays out like something from Dawn of the Dead, with news bulletins, chat shows, and reports playing out on screens in stages as the story unfolds.
One particularly glorious scene involves a ‘zombie-like’ rampage as hordes of parents scale the school gates and chase their own throughout the grounds, with some disturbing scenes unfolding before you.
Part of this film’s appeal comes with the killer casting of the storylines Mom and Dad, with Nicolas Cage suitably restrained and playing to his age, whilst still giving his ‘ham and cheese’ moment which had become his schtick over the years.
It’s the refreshing presence of Selma Blair though that steals a lot of the scenes, showcasing her delicate, caring mother, to a murderous, gleeful, maniacal figure, who is hell-bent on destroying her kin. Blair’s delivery is wonderfully subtle and as a viewer she plays with your desire for her to show that loving spirit her character displayed in the earlier scenes, and cruelly pulls away from that every time. It leaves you wanting to see more of her on screen again.
It’s worth noting that the children, Zackary Arthur and Anne Winters pull off some strong performances that keep you rooting for them to survive their ordeal, but the final scenes are almost completely stolen away by a Lance Henriksen’s cameo.
The Diagnosis:
Some of the director’s style allows the movie to come across as quite sparse in places, but Taylor clearly has a knack for allowing the actor’s room to breathe on screen, whilst delivering a hefty punch.
The subject matter can make you feel uncomfortable in places, but this only makes the movie all the more stronger as a result.
Potentially this film may fall under the radar, which would be a shame as it’s a decent entry into the genre.
Ever felt like your life was fading into oblivion without a single blip on the radar screen?
What if, one night some one broke into your house and kidnaped you, only to tell you that they are from the future and you only have 4 days left to live?
What’s more, they could offer you the chance of an alternate; one of happiness, on one condition…
By the end of the 4 days you must kill someone.
What would you do?
How would you cope?
How would you spent the last few days of your life?
And when it comes to the crunch, would you be able to take someone’s life?
This is the dilemma that Doug Erickson, Tea Barista faces as he oscillates between ending it all or continuing on the strange journey that now lies before him.
Guiding him along the way is the shambles wreck of a time traveller played by (Phreddy Wischusen) who comes across as a warped version of Clarence from It’s A Wonderful Life, accompanied some mysterious henchmen in white masks.
It was refreshing to see Conor Sweeney (The Editor) on the screen again as Kyle, the local drug dealer, and the presence he brings as a guy who actually cares about Doug and tries to lure him back into the real world.
The Diagnosis:
Whilst the acting can be a bit hit and miss, It’s a tough topic that directors Rob Cousineau, and Chris Rosie present the audience with and they should be commended for approaching it in a bold, new way.
Fans of Indie cinema may be pleasantly surprised with the final result and the journey that Doug undertakes to come to his ultimate decision.
Amber Gooerty
Catch the screening of Future at the MidWest WierdFest.
You can already purchase discounted day or full festival passes to the 2018 festival here, through the festival’s ticketing partner site FilmFreeway. (Tickets to individual films will be available closer to the festival, directly via the website of the Micon Budget Downtown Cinema). Go on. Get weird!
I’m not sure what it is about the Day of the Dead storyline that jars so much.
On paper, it boasts an interesting premise of science vs state. Always at conflict in the real world and makes sense that they would come under close scrutiny when faced with a post apocalyptic world full of zombies.
Arguably though, it is the weakest movie from George A Romero’s original trilogy, and yet, it has now mastered two remakes, one released back in 2008 and one Day of the Dead: Bloodline tries to make its own mark on the subject, leaving many to ask, ‘what’s the point?’
The bones of the original film are still present, with an underground bunker containing some civilians reside under the rule of military personnel.
The changes are significant though. The first is a strangely confusing beginning marking the initial outbreak in a typical American street before taking us to a scientific laboratory to essentially show us the outbreak again, but from the viewpoint of lead character Zoe Parker (Sophie Skelton) a medical student who witnesses her friends and peers all wiped out as carnage ensues within the facility.
Before all this occurs though we are introduced to Max (Johnathon Schaech, a creepy patient who has a serious crush on Zoe, and in case you missed the heavy hint, also happens to have a mysterious blood type. Like that’s not gonna come back later.
Just as Max forces him myself in Zoe, the living dead make their entrance, forcing Zoe to go from one ordeal to another.
Both of her worlds will collide again though, as we pick up our story again as we time jump to a few years down the track, where Zoe lives in the afore-mentioned bunker, and formed a relationship with Baca, the younger brother to the Lieutenant running the military outfit, Miguel.
Cue conflict both internally and externally.
It is on a medicinal run back to the laboratory when their troubles really begin as Max who has somehow partially survived, becoming both walking zombie and human, (essentially this version’s Bub) and perhaps the answer to their salvation.
Of course it won’t go swimmingly for the survivors, but by this point everything feels so bland and blah, blah, blah, that we have gone beyond the point of caring.
Schaech gives a decent performance as the ‘villain’ of the piece, but the one small thread that we can hang onto is that Skelton actually gives a solid performance as Zoe, and this keeps you intrigued enough to push you towards the films conclusion, but just barely.
The Diagnosis:
It’s a fairly stable effort, but neither diminishes or improves upon the original film. Characters are two-dimensional and the plot line is weak, leaving you ultimately back to your original thought… what’s the point.
Here’s the interesting thing about horror as a genre.
If you are a fan of romantic comedies and suddenly find yourself in the middle of a real life meet-cute, you’re likely gonna continue to be a fan of romantic comedies.
Get whisked away by aliens and fly in a space ship? Your love of sci-fi will probably deepen. (Provided the experience is more ET and less The Thing – ie: orifices remain probe free).
Like westerns? Drop that person on a horse. Love porn? Give him a threesome.
But take a horror fanatic and chase them with a chainsaw wielding clown, or strap them to a slab and cut parts off their body? Probably not gonna be an enthusiast any more.
For only in horror could it be argued that the majority of those who love it, do so in the hope of never touching it. Much like the greyhound who catches the rabbit, it’ll ruin them.
And so, we come to the meta-meta film Fake Blood.
It is a “documentary” made by real life film-makers Rob Grant (no Red Dwarf fans, not that Rob Grant) and Mike Kovac.
In reality they have made two low budget independent horror films – Yesterday (2009) and Mon Ami (2012). You can imdb them.
Despite the no-small-achievement of making 2 feature films, both still have day-to-day lives (one as a jobbing actor, the other as a freelance editor) and off the bat you get a sense that this is a sore point for Rob (the film’s narrator) who is very much hungry for wider recognition.
That’s when they get emailed a fan video where said fans walk through a hardware store re-enacting a scene from Mon Ami.
The scene itself is fairly innocuous, but the fans’ take on it is disturbing. So much so it starts Rob and Mike on a quest to explore violence in films and their responsibility (as film makers) to it.
It begins as an almost fun investigation as they use real people to help them shoot actual guns and fight trained martial artists; all in a quest to discover first hand their “differences” to their movie counterparts.
Then the opportunity presents itself to interview someone who seems to have first hand knowledge in killing people…
The film then unfolds at a decent clip as the two men get drawn into a criminal underworld where people disappear. BADLY. Which gives everything a level of gritty realism very much outside their previous forays into zombie horror and black comedy violence.
As a film – despite their best P.R. attempts to neither “confirm or deny” the events in it – Fake Blood is clearly a mockumentary. Ie: Blair Witch without the witch, found footage where the coverage becomes conventional where it needs to be.
And despite the fact it tries to pass off certain elements of the film as “real” (which almost NEVER works, as real life is never “cinema clean” – especially when you’re presenting your work as a true verite experience. The biggest giveaway tends to be in the performance. Another is HOW things are captured by the camera – but this is all stuff for another review) the really interesting aspect to Fake Blood is its constant jumping out of itself.
It portrays the 2 film-makers interviewing “real” people who have lived through “true” horror, then cuts to re-enactments of those horrific moments, then cuts to the men SHOOTING those re-enactments, and then have them interview the people in the re-enactments!
Both Rob and Mike eventually come into conflict (the heart of all good drama) as Rob’s ambition to make an attention-grabbing film starts to betray its original idea. Something that’s all super meta because despite being dressed as a documentary, the film is clearly a written drama from the outset.
And on top of all THAT, you do want to see how it ends. So from that point of view they have both made a good film that, at the very least, will make you think. And that’s as real as any film-maker could hope for.
Prognosis:
As dramas go, it’s a solid fake. As documentaries go, it’s a poor imitation of the real thing.
– Antony Yee
Catch the screening of Fake Blood at the MidWest WierdFest.
You can already purchase discounted day or full festival passes to the 2018 festival here, through the festival’s ticketing partner site FilmFreeway. (Tickets to individual films will be available closer to the festival, directly via the website of the Micon Budget Downtown Cinema). Go on. Get weird!
