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Movie review: Eli

30 Saturday Nov 2019

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As we fast approach the last month of 2019, I realise that there’s a fair few movies that I need to watch in order to satiate my thirst for horror. Among these was the Netflix feature Eli, starring Kelly Reilly, Lili Taylor, and Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink. 

Directed by Ciaran Foy (Citadel, Sinister 2) struggles to make a deep impact despite the strong performances from the cast, and I can’t help but feel that this is a combination of Foy’s inability to shift away out of the generic, failing to provide something memorable, and a predictable storyline that is almost too afraid to deliver anything new to the audience, more than comfortable to sit in the middle of the road.

The premise begins with the titular character played by Charlie Shotwell, as a bubble boy, cocooned from the world due to a rare disease that causes a severe reaction if he is exposed to the outside world. When provided with the opportunity to cure him of his affliction, Eli’s parents (Reilly and Max Martini) head to a specialised clinic run by Dr Isabella Horn (Taylor). When things appear to be too good to be true, it’s often the case, and there’s something dark and sinister behind the great doctor and her practice. 

As Eli starts to uncover the mystery, he unearths a secret that once exposed will change everything forever. Dare he open Pandora’s Box and who exactly is the mysterious Hayley from next door? 

Prognosis:

Medical facilities, skin diseases and dark secrets that fuel this horror feature, should be the stuff of every genre fans dreams, but instead of offering up scares Eli remains trapped in formulaic territory and seems comfortable to sit in safe territory. 

As such, it’s a mediocre affair – watchable but never truly wets the appetite of any hardened horror enthusiast.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: In The Tall Grass

13 Wednesday Nov 2019

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It’s been over 20 years since Canadian director, Vicenzo Natali left a highly impressionable mark with his directorial debut, Cube.
It’s fair to say, that since then he has never quite had the same response from his movies, but always has a visual style that he draws upon to create his vision. 

With In The Tall Grass, Natali’s sixth feature length feature (excluding the cancelled Tremors TV movie last year) it may have proven to be a step too far in translating a novella by Stephen King and Joe Hill into a 1 hour 40 min running time, as he stretches his vision across a broad canvas and in doing so, loses its appeal.

The premise is a simple one. A heavily pregnant Becky and her brother Cal are travelling to San Diego to give up her baby for adoption, when they pull up alongside a field of tall grass.
It is here that the siblings hear the voice of a young boy calling for help. As soon as they enter the mysterious void, they fall into a labyrinth of despair that calls upon their wits to fight their way out. 

Laboured with strong theology throughout, Becky and Cal must weave their way through the strange and everlasting land, but are constantly confronted by their own inner inhibitions.
Doomed to repeat their actions with slight changes, the audience is treated to an insight into how often they try alternate methods, only to be lead back to the centre of the field and a mysterious rock that feeds on energy and life. 

Accompanying them in the field is another family (a father, mother, and their son, Tobin), equally lost in their myriad of emotions and history.
They are lead by an evangelical father figure, played by the magnificent Patrick Wilson, and his hammed up rampage is a much needed pulse to project the narrative forward. 

Also introduced into the fold is Travis (Australian Harrison Gilbertson) Becky’s ex and father of the unborn child to provide some depth and dynamic interaction, as their fervour reaches fever pitch and leads the audience on a twisted, convoluted journey of redemption.

Prognosis:

Natali seems to love project his protagonists into a tangled web of fear and resolution that shows the kernel of humanity at its core.
In The Tall Grass propels this theme further, but is constantly bogged down in a merky plot that draws on and feels repetitive and predictable as it draws to its conclusion. 

Movie review: Velvet Buzzsaw

11 Monday Feb 2019

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https://youtu.be/XdAR-lK43YU

Now that the paint has dried and a few weeks has passed since Velvet Buzzsaw was unveiled on Netflix, it seems a good time as any for this Surgeon to dissect Dan Gilroy’s third movie from the director’s chair.

Gilroy’s debut, Nightcrawler was a disturbing vision of a violent, voyeuristic underbelly of US society as depicted by the media, so there was much anticipation ahead of his third outing.

Teaming up once again with stars Rene Russo and Jake Gyllenhaal, Velvet Buzzsaw promised to be another dark and twisted journey into the recesses of the art world, both of whom excel in their respective parts; Gyllenhaal as Morf Vandewalt (great name by the way), an art critic who’s mind begins to unravel as the true horror behind Arts latest discovery Vetril Dease unleashes an evil that threatens the fabrication of materialism and expression to its foundations and rip it to shreds; and respected gallery owner Rhodora Haze, who is every shadow of perfection, but has a her own demons lurking within.

Having shuffled off this mortal coil, Dease’s work is discovered by Josephina (who also works for Rhodora, and coincidentally is having an affair with Gyllenhaal’s Morf) in his apartment and seeking a chance to lift her profile, nabs the lot in search of fortune.

And therein lies the rub.

Every character it seems is in search of their own personal glorification and with each stride to ‘perfection’, they fall deeper into the labyrinth of sin and despair.
None more so than Toni Collette’s Gretchen, who gets so bitter and twisted as she distorts and manipulates her grounding in order to establish a firm footing within the Artistic community.

Interestingly though, it’s only those that feed off the creative types and promote their material in order to meet their own ends, are the ones that get popped off one by one. Some, in glorious fashion.

The artists themselves are deeply affected by Dease’s paintings but instead of utter destruction, it only empowers them to go and create again. As if to explore their own passions and free their souls to be reborn, or thrive once more. 

The only other exception is Coco (everyone’s assistant) who is basically everyone’s pawn and unfortunately is the discoverer of most of the victims.

So far so bloody fabulous. Gilroy does a stellar job at tapping into the heart of the savagery embedded in the Art world, and there are hints of Altmanesque style of direction, as he weaves a multi-layered character narrative.

Ultimately though, where Gilroy succeeded with Nightstalker with its transcendence into hell, with Velvet Buzzsaw, he seems to get lost in the vortex of disillusionment. The more Gilroy subjects his characters to the turmoil within their own psyche, the more fantastical and hyper realistic their world becomes, alienating the audience as a result.

The Diagnosis:

Velvet Buzzsaw like most works of art is subjective to the perception of its viewer or audience. Some may find it a stroke of genius that embodies the ugly psyche of the human mind; others will declare it a façade. When you lift the veil on the mania and manufactured lifestyle that the characters lead, all that’s left is circles in the sand… but then again, maybe that was Gilroy’s point.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Bird Box

10 Sunday Feb 2019

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It’s been a couple of months now that Sandra Bullock’s Netflix vehicle was released and was strong enough among the Surgeons team to elevate it into the Top 5 horror movies of 2018, but not all of us had such a positive attraction to the film.

Until recently, Bird Box had remained on my Must Watch list and embarrassingly kept being pushed back when I found time to delve into a film. So, why did I keep doing this? What was propelling me away or not enticing me into the post-apocalyptic world where supernatural entities lead people to commit suicide?

Truth be told, I just found the concept uninteresting and perhaps too dark or deep. So every time I came to watch the film, I shied away to watch something else more upbeat or stimulating.

It doesn’t bode well to have these thoughts before watching a movie, but I still wanted to clear my mind and come into this fresh, but I was enticed by the fact that it was directed by Susanne Bier, who was behind the awesome The Night Manager.

Our first introduction to Bullock’s character, Malorie Hayes is a stern and strict one as she gives two children specific instructions of a troubled journey that lay ahead. It’s an interesting choice, as it doesn’t allow you to warm to her straight away. It does allow you to warm to her as you realize that our first window into her soul is a truly human one. As stark as it maybe it propels you through the narrative with her and Bullock’s performance on screen is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

In fact all the performances are significantly on point with all support acts given their chance to have “their moment” on screen, but particular nods should go out to Trevante Rhodes (The Predator), Sara Paulson (American Horror Story), John Malkovich who hams it up in a fantastically melancholic role, and Tom Hollander (Taboo).

Bird Box is also beautifully shot with cinematographer Salvatore Tottino exploiting ever inch of the canvas to project his vision.

Throw in a cracking score from the brilliant mind of Trent Reznor and you can fast see why my fellow Surgeons were chomping at the bit, especially with the split timeline narrative to provide the lead-up to the ordeal that Malorie faces in her blindfolded attempt to navigate the river to find sanctuary in a treacherous land that has been torn apart.

The narrative has to hang together on Bullock’s character and her performance, which it does… just. She weaves together a tumultuous tale of survival and eking out every possible emotion along the way, but ultimately the narrative does plod along and despite everyone’s best efforts feels strained and a fairly predictable outcome despite its best efforts to challenge your thoughts and opinions.

The Diagnosis:

Bird Box has all the ingredients to make an incredibly powerful movie with strong performances all round, especially with Bullock leading the charge. It boasts a director at her pique with a cinematographer who can tweak out the most stunning images, but like the creatures that invoke the fear, it is all fluff and no substance. Whilst the ride is enjoyable, it doesn’t leave you with any strong connection to the movie.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Cam

28 Friday Dec 2018

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Flying somewhat under the radar this year is a psychological horror that shines a light on the little-explored world of Camgirls.

Cam’s greatest strength is it’s level of authenticity to the world and environment that it is set with writer Isa Mazzei drawing from her own experiences working in the industry.

Director Daniel Goldhaber a high school friend, who had his own fair share of experience having shot and directed some of Mazzei’s pornographic films has a firm eye that also cements the believability further.
So, not only does it feel grounded, the subject matter tackled in Cam of social media identity theft in a confronting and soul-baring industry is both topical and original, lifting this movie onto a higher pedigree.

Cam is a bit of a slow-burn that takes its time to eek out the drama as it unfolds, which requires a fair bit of patience, but the reward is there for those who stick it out for the conclusion.
This is aided further by the strength in Madeleine Brewer (Orange is the New Black) who braved the role of Alice as she plummets into despair and ruin with no help from anyone she turns to and a generally dismissive response when she tells of her plight to the officials. It makes her journey all the more harrowing and amplified the horror of her situation.

The Diagnosis:

Cam deserves your attention and casts a light on the dangers of cyber security in a world normally considered taboo.
It’s a bold and original movie in the horror genre.

  • Saul Muerte

Series review: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

15 Saturday Dec 2018

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So I was about 30 seconds into the first episode and I already wanted to punch Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka).
It’s not her fault, it’s just one of those faces…I think.

I found the first 2 episodes to be so cheesy. The ‘romance’ between Sabrina and her boyfriend (Ross Lynch) was hard-to-watch, cringey and her relationship with her besties also turned something in my stomach.

I do quite like all the dark witchy stuff, not Disney’s PG crap.
Might’ve played a bit too much on Satan for a few viewers but I enjoyed it. It really spoke to the edgy teenage girl inside me.
This makes me mad but I actually kinda like the series.

Overlooking the cringe, the shots were quite pretty and the characters actually have a personality, nothing vanilla about them (except maybe Sabrina’s friends and boyfriend).
Each episode is different from the last, there’s no sense of repetition.
There is an interesting story in every one of them with of course the main plot running throughout, but not solely focusing on that.

I love Salem, however I must admit I miss the old queer talking cat from the original series (he was bisexual I swear).
The new cat is completely adorable, don’t get me wrong, and he helps with getting through all the cheese but as he lacks a voice, he also lacks a personality and that’s a shame. I am still grateful he is in the series though, I’m not sure if I could handle it if he wasn’t.
Well him and Michelle Gomez. She plays Madam Satan/ Mary Wardwell, and honestly needs to be given more screen time. I don’t need to say much about her, she’s self explanatory; a treasure of modern day TV.

The second season (if there is one) is going to suck, because they always do, but also because I believe the writers are pouring all of their creativity into this season, it’s quite full on.
It’s at a pace that would be hard to match, especially if all the main characters have already been introduced and Sabrina has already gotten over her teenage angst.
I think next season will completely stray off path and have nothing to do with season 1, or become a knock off of Charmed. Or alternatively, they will just drag on their original story as much as they can for another 12 episodes.

The Diagnosis:

To sum up, for me this series is cheesy, pretentious and I kinda hate it but annoyingly I can’t stop watching it.

  • Charlie Owen

Movie review: Malevolent

21 Sunday Oct 2018

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Malevolent is one of those movies that spring up on Netflix that you say to yourself one day, “Oh yeah, I’ll give that a go,” with very little expectation. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that it was a semi-decent British horror film that pulsates with enough intrigue and mystery to pull you along to the end hoping that the characters live to see it through their ordeal.

The story follows some charlatans who claim that one of their group is a medium with the ability to warn off ghosts and send them on their way. The group consists of siblings Angela (the medium), Jackson (the ambitious kid up to his eyes in debt with the heavies breathing down his neck), Beth (Jackson’s girlfriend), and Elliot (the techie who has all the camera and sound gear, and is a little keen on Angela).
Angela and Jackson just so happen to carry a dark past, when their mother committed suicide after allegedly not being able to handle her gift. You see she actually could contact the dead, and this gift is carried down to Angela who has her awakening during the beginning of the film.

Worried that she will react the same way as her mother, Angela is hesitant to pursue this gift any further, but is compelled to go on one last charade to save her brother from the mob, little knowing that they are about to go out of their depths and into the world of paranormal.

The relationship between Angela and Jackson are integral to the Malevolent’s success and Florence Pugh, (who is about to star in BBC’s The Little Drummer Girl and looks destined for greater things to come) and Ben Lloyd-Hughes (The Divergent Series) immerse into their respect roles with relative ease.

A worthy nod should be made for Scott Chambers who plays Elliot (effectively the heart of the movie) and delivers a charming and likeable performance; plus the always-amazing Celia Imrie as the landlady of the haunted estate with her own inner demons.

The Diagnosis:

This haunted house story evolves at a predictable pace but delights in many ways with a simple story of love, hope, and loss.

 

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Vault

18 Thursday Oct 2018

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Steered as a bank heist with a difference, The Vault tries to merge two genres; crime drama, and supernatural horror together, but this is no From Dusk Till Dawn saga and unfortunately lacks the killer punch that Tarantino and Rodriguez were able to deliver.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t come with some plus points as the film does provide a little bang for its buck, just not enough to tip it into a ‘blow your mind venture’, which is a shame because the trailer did show some promise.

When siblings Leah (Francesca Eastwood), Vee (Taryn Manning), and Michael (Scott Haze), along with two other forgettable gang members perform a bank heist, they go in with all the hallmarks of a professional outfit, but as events unfold, the cracks begin to show, the tension of the situation is heightened, and sanity is questioned.

As with these bank heist movies, there’s more to the characters than meets the eye, as director tries to paint a colourful palette. Some of them fall a bit short in stretching their talents on-screen, but thank God for Taryn Manning (Orange Is The New Black) who always seems to captivate on-screen and manages to immerse herself in the role of Vee to keep the audience engaged enough to see it to the end.

So, when the robbers find out that the money is a little less than expected, all hopes seems lost, until the assistant bank manager played by a subdued James Franco (and I don’t mean in the stoned sense… well, maybe… who knows?) tells the gang that there is more loot in the old vault beneath the building. The thought of money lures them to seek their fortune, but in opening Pandora’s Box they unleash an unknown force that picks them off, one-by-one. Who will survive and are there souls worth saving at all?

 

The Diagnosis:

This is a middle-of-the-road movie that does just enough to keep you watching. Perfect movie to stay home and Netflix and chill.

 

– Saul Muerte

 

Series review: The Haunting of Hill House S1

15 Monday Oct 2018

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“I am home”, writes Steven Crain.

Hill House may well have been home for the Crain family, but it also holds the key to a life defining memory. Flashing back and forth between past and present, this haunted house yarn is about the psychological effects of events that lead to them abruptly fleeing a haunted house in the dead of night many years earlier.

“The Haunting of Hill House” is a genre busting ghost story with more levels than the house at its core. Using the Shirley Jackson novel (previously seen as “The Haunting” – both as the 1963 Robert Wise film and the 1999 Jan De Bont film) as its source material, master of horror Mike Flanagan has meticulously crafted a 10 part horror series for Netflix that is as much a traditional gothic horror as it is a story about how a family handles the traumatic stress of a horrific experience none of us could ever imagine. So essentially this is for anyone who wondered what was next for the Lutz family after “The Amityville Horror” or the Freelings post “Poltergeist”.

This is about the PTSD of horror and while they all have their ghosts to reconcile, these ones are literal.

Now this all may seem extremely heavy stuff, but there is still a good old fashioned ‘scare-ya-silly’ ghost story here and believe me it’s a frightening one too. The frights are drip fed when you least expect it and there’s creepiness resplendent too if you just keep your eyes open from behind that cushion.

But what makes this stand out as quite possibly the best horror of 2018 is the well developed characters, the incredible writing, and the heart (or boob) thumping performances. All of the actors throw their all into the work too and it’s evident in such stand out episodes as; “The Bent necked woman” that has one of the craziest WTF moments in horror history and “Two Storms” which is almost theatre. The almost hour long episode of “Two Storms” plays out over five cuts, as the characters all bounce off each other in long, incredibly choreographed 15-23 min takes.

Mike Flanagan has steadily crafted a brilliant career in horror films since his stellar debut film “Absentia”. Over the years he’s reinvigorated a franchise, with the prequel “Ouija: Origin of Evil”, directed a couple of Netflix exclusive films “Hush”, and the brilliant Stephen King adaptation “Gerald’s Game”, and is soon to direct another King adaptation “Doctor Sleep” (“The Shining” sequel). So it’s really no surprise his latest entry is his best…so far. There’s a familiar look to his work, a colour palette of greys and oranges, and a troop of regular actors that include the always amazing Carla Gugino, the outstanding Elizabeth Reaser, and Flanagan’s wife, Kate Siegel, who has her best role yet. Talking of actors, who knew ET’s Henry Thomas and Timothy Hutton looked so alike, here they play the role of Hugh Crain at various stages in his life and my god the similarity is uncanny.

 

The Diagnosis:

Look, while this is very loosely based on the Shirley Jackson novel, it’s not a direct adaptation in the slightest, but it still has the locked red door, the spiral staircase, and spooky housekeeper Mrs Dudley. This is a fantastically complex gothic horror story for the Netflix generation.

  • Myles Davies

 

Movie review: Apostle

14 Sunday Oct 2018

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Since Gareth Evans made his impact on the cinematic landscape with his hard-hitting action-packed Indonesian martial arts movie The Raid and its sequel, fans of his directing style have been eager to see where he would turn to next.
And here it is with Apostle, an equally gritty film that cuts to the heart of religion, faith, and megalomania.

Starting Dan Stevens ego has been carving a name for himself in Hollywood circles of late with his quirky turn in TV series, Legion and Beauty and the Beast, but it seems that he has never shied away from his horror roots, dating back to Adam Wingard’s The Guest. It’s almost as if he is able to tap into that inner carnage and turmoil that humanity faces and bring it to the surface in the most powerful ways.
Apostle is no exception to this as Stevens delves deep into the psyche of Thomas Richardson, a former missionary who has turned his back on his faith, only to be tested once more when he learns that his sister has been taken for ransom on a remote welsh island.

The film is set in the early 1900s, and because of its setting is able to harness the feel of old school British folk horror which is on something of a resurgence of late.
There are elements in Apostle that is strikingly familiar to The Wicker Man in that a devout religious man ascends on a pagan island to retrieve a missing girl, in this case his sister, but that’s where the similarities cease as Apostle delves into the dark and twisted underbelly of when faith is taking to the extreme and abused at every level.
In one scene, Thomas literally has to swim through the guts and bile of the depraved to seek a reprieve from his pursuers.

There’s so much imagery and metaphor going on here, you’d be forgiven for feeling over whelmed with it, but Stevens performance is enough to ground the drama in reality.
He’s also joined by some terrific performers along the way too. There’s Michael Sheen (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) as the islands profit, Malcolm, who is simply marvellous in his role, eating up the scenery with his charisma on screen; and then there’s Lucy Boynton (The Blackcoats Daughter) as the prophets’ daughter and potential love interest Andrea, along with Mark Lewis Jones and Bill Milner also adding great strength to the cast.
Richardson’s quest is always balanced on a knife edge too as Evans proves once more to be capable of wringing out every last drop of tension and pain from his characters.

The Diagnosis:

Director Gareth Evans is a master in creating heart-wrenching angst and turmoil into his narrative and with Dan Stevens has the perfect muse, as a lost and troubled man on a quest that takes him into a dark and twisted labyrinth of angst and suffering to reach a place of peace and tranquility.

Apostle is available to watch now on Netflix.

  • Saul Muerte