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Movie Review: Hellbender (2022)

26 Saturday Feb 2022

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Shudder’s latest movie to hit the streaming platforms Exclusive and Original content is a triage powerhouse of creativity. Written and Directed by John and Zelda Adams, and Toby Poser (the latter of whom also take on leading acting duties) weave a coming-of-age tale of witchery.

Toby and Zelda play the mother-daughter dynamic, secluded in the mountainous range of North America, harbouring a secret that has been passed down from generation to generation. 

Their seclusion from society is for good cause, and the mother (Toby Poser) at first comes across as over-protective and even sinister as early events unfold. She even tries to feed her daughter’s interest in music by forming a rock band consisting of just the two of them. By the stories’ end, we discover that there is a method to the matriarchal madness.

As Izzy (Zelda Adams) ventures further away from her abode and her mother’s grasp, the more she begins to discover herself but at what cost?
Her first encounter is with Amber (Lulu Adams) who unbeknownst to her at the time has snuck into a neighbouring house to use their pool. There is an awkwardness to their encounter, harnessed by Izzy’s own fumbling curiosity. Izzy survives through the help of small talk and some of the quirky facts that she produces but like any dormant threat buried deep beneath the surface, there will be an explosion of emotions and ferocity that she may not be able to contain next time around. As her confidence grows, so does the power she tries to contain within.

The prognosis:

While there are elements that are trying to hinge on the independent mantra, feeling a little strained in its delivery, there are some notable moments that seep to the surface, making this a worthy film. It also demonstrates enough appeal to place the directing trio of Adams, Adams and Poser as names to keep an eye out for.

Both Adams and Poser also deliver strong performances to keep the audience engaged and willing to see how the balance of femininity will unfold.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie Review: For The Sake of Vicious (2022)

18 Friday Feb 2022

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As I attempt to play fast catch up with my reviews, I centre my attention on the latest bout of streaming films that have been available on Shudder this year, starting with For The Sake of Vicious.

If I could sum up this movie in one word it would be, ‘relentless’

This home invasion movie takes things to the next level when a nurse, Romina (Lora Burke) returns home from a grueling day of work only to find that her night of torment has only just begun when she discovers a bruised and beaten man, Alan (Colin Paradine) tied to a chair in her kitchen with another  unhinged psychotic man, Chris (Nick Smyth) calling all the shots.
What starts out as a battle of wits among the trio as Romina tries to work out what is actually going on and why, shifts through some gnarly gears when they become the subject of bedlam as intruders begin to infiltrate the domain, to kill them all.

These intruders come donned in clown masks, demon masks, and cycling helmets, to add to their mystery and fuel the tension as they rip apart the house, chucking every available item except the kitchen sink at each other. This battle for survival in a domestic style battle royale keeps pushing the envelope and is brutal in its delivery.

The Prognosis:

Each character draws upon their internal strengths through an amazing ordeal that is gripping and intense throughout the narrative. I didn’t expect to be so gripped by this film, but the Directing and Writing partnership of Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen tantalise our expectations of just exactly how far they can push the action and keep the insanity of it all grounded in reality.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Death Valley (2021)

11 Saturday Dec 2021

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When two mercenaries head out for one last gig with the promise that it will set them up for life, they soon find out that it may cost them their lives

Death Valley is about as formulaic a movie as they come but it is slightly elevated due to the time and dedication to its lead characters, in spite of how two dimensional that come across, they’re still entertaining with their odd couple buddy routine

There’s Mr. Serious, play things by the book and the soldier who comes up with the plans, James Beckett (Jeremy Nibaber), plus he’s a family man 

And there’s the joker, cowboy who is struggling to reach maturity and always resorts to wise cracks, Marshall (Ethan Mitchell). Thankfully he’s a crack shot sniper who delivers when things come to the crunch.

Their latest mission sees the duo answering the call from a female scientist who holds secret information which if it falls into the wrong hands will spell certain doom for mankind.

Naturally when they reach the remote laboratory bunker, they discover that all is not what it seems and several things are stalking them in the underground warren.

The creatures hold a pretty cool design and provide enough fear to instill a sense of dread and the desire to complete their mission and find freedom. This is amped even moreso wit the threat of a militia who will stop at nothing to bring the science experiments to an end.

The prognosis:

Death Valley may be prone to predictability and could easily fall foul as a result, but what is presented is mildly entertaining and ticks along at a descent pace.

Just don’t be surprised by the cheap choice ending and the dialogue which can be ropey at times.

  • Saul Muerte

Death Valley is currently streaming on ShudderANZ.

Movie review: The Advent Calendar

11 Saturday Dec 2021

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Who doesn’t love a bit of festive horror?

And there’s plenty to like about this French horror thriller from director Patrick Ridremont.

Eugenie Derouand stars as Eva, a paraplegic who receives a mysterious box in the guise of the titular advent calendar from her friend Sophie (Honorine Magnier). As expected with ominous gifts with offers of treats that stretch from confectionary to real life rewards, there will be repercussions.  The question though is whether the benefits outweigh these hindrances? How much is one willing to salvage for a better chance at life? For Eva, this temptation proves too great, but how far is she willing to go?

There are three rules to follow.

Eat all the chocolate… Or die.

Do every task given… Or die.

And don’t dump the advent calendar… Or…you guessed it. You die.

The premise is pretty straight up and the performances are solid across the board, allowing the viewer to step into the narrative easily. We’re even presented with a nicely stylised creature who lurks from within the box and comes out when rules are broken or when sacrifices need to be made. This helps ramp up the tension suitably, hooking you further into the drama. And sure enough when things go sour, it does so that stays firmly in believability. A tough thing to do when you’re playing in the realms of fantasy.

The prognosis:

A solid feature with some nice moments that entertains despite some predictable moments.

It helps that the performances from the leads are strong to fuel the the loss of control as the drama unfolds.

  • Saul Muerte

The Advent Calendar is currently streaming on ShudderANZ

Movie review: Dead & Beautiful

01 Monday Nov 2021

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Director David Verbeek leans heavily into the latter part of the film’s title. Strewn with stunning images throughout the Rotterdam cityscape as its backdrop in most places, whilst tantalising with the ‘Dead’ component.

Five rich socialites have gravitated to one another out of their boredom and unfulfilment of life’s medicrity and strive to spice up the dull elements with a shared mixture of experiences that challenge their vices and pushing them to the edge in order to feel something and awaken their dormant souls.

One night out quintet of rich kids descend upon a group of people who practice an ancient ritual that centres on the dark arts and a sacrifice. The group black out and wake to find a corpse and each bear a set of fangs. Instantly they are subjected to the notion that they have been turned into creatures of the night, forced to carry out vampiric means to satiate the growing thirst for blood.

The film flicks and flutters through their stifled emotions as the group becomes restless and unable to comprehend or handle this new way of life. With no guide rope to aid them in these new experiences, they are left flailing into the wind, reaching out for anything that may ground them.

Verbeek successfully captures the strengths and weaknesses of the characters  as they both fall into each other’s embrace or thrust them apart with their responses or actions, amplifying their paranoia or loss of control. All of which slowly builds to a conclusion that leaves you questioning the blurred lines of reality.

The Diagnosis:

Beautifully shot and complex characters intertwine through a deliberately slow narrative giving room to build up the central characters.

It’s a film that plays with manipulation and human conditioning at its core, where nothing is as it seems.

Like the key players, the audience is subjected to a fixed point of view that unravels and is picked apart to the point where you not only feel the trauma of the group, but just when you think you have it figured out, takes you in a completely different direction.

– Saul Muerte

Dead & Beautiful is streaming on Shudder from Thursday 4th November

Movie review: Seance (2021)

27 Monday Sep 2021

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Affiliated more for his penmanship among the mumblegore movement, especially alongside Director Adam Wingard’s You’re Next, Simon Barrett has been slowly etching his way to his own turn behind the camera calling the shots.

His opportunity arises in Shudder’s latest Exclusive and Original feature Seance.

Barrett’s name alone gets me excited to see what he would produce when in charge of the lens and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed.

There are familiar elements at play here, with the kick-ass action sequences that come from the unexpected, plus the spiritual component that was drawn in Temple.     

That isn’t to say that Seance doesn’t carve its own narrative for the audience to be lured by.

The tale that is woven centers on a Girls Boarding school, Edevine Academy for Girls, following the mysterious death of one of the school girls when a prank goes wrong. But is there more to play beneath the disciplined exterior of the prestigious learning facility?

Newcomer Camille Meadows certainly suspects that this could be the case when confronted by a not-so warm welcome from some of the other girls and an even frostier reception from something or someone that haunts her room each night.

Have the girls stirred something from beyond when they practice a seance to get in touch with the girl who died? Is there something more untoward? Camille must navigate her new terrain and take on the role of sleuth, to uncover the truth and potentially face a haunting prospect that pushes her to the brink of the living world.

The Diagnosis:

Barrett generates a familiar plot but manages to weave it with a level of cool and panache that marks Seance with its own identity.

It helps that the actors on show are engaging and provide a little more than the two-dimensional tropes that we often expect on screen. Notably Suki Waterhouse’s (Assassination Nation) whose Camille shows levels of vulnerability and hardship throughout the film, coupled with the notion that nothing and no one are who or what they seem to be.
Plus Tobias Vethake’s score is truly captivating, ensnaring you into the celluloid world with ease, adding to the depth of the film.

Roll on Barrett’s next feature, a stepping stone into expanding the VHS franchise with V/H/S 94.

  • Saul Muerte

Seance is currently streaming on Shudder from Thursday, September 30th.

Movie Review: Martyrs Lane (2021)

20 Monday Sep 2021

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Martyrs Lane is a slow painful pull into a deep and psychological dive into grief, blame, and self-destruction immersed inside an insular family dynamic. 

We witness this story from the perspective of 10 year old girl, Leah (Kiera Thompson) at the family home, an old vicarage, who begins to unearth hidden secrets that her family members have tried to bury.

Slowly, Leah is provided with clues to point her (or lure her) in the direction of truth, but who is behind the mystery and what is the price of uncovering past haunts?

The pacing of this movie is deliberately drawn out to build up the tension of the tale which is to be commended, especially as the actors of the piece beautifully tap into the darkness. It does however serve as a detriment to our engagement, often suffering under the weight of its own caliginosity. There are listless moments throughout the film as we’re often left to languidly drift through the storyline unable to connect.

Ruth Platt’s third outing in the director’s chair proves that she’s no stranger to the craft and manages to steer her actors through a pot-boiler that wrangles every ounce of drama out of them. The children in particular deserve high praise, with some naturalistic performances that grind the drama into a sense of realism. 

The Diagnosis: 

A hard film to engage with and fall into some of the admittedly beautiful shots on display,

The performances are great and if you bide your time and indulge in the slow pacing, you will be rewarded with a fantastic tale.

But man, they make hard work of it.

  • Saul Muerte

Martyrs Lane is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie review: Superhost (2021)

12 Sunday Sep 2021

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On face value Superhost begins by focusing on insipidly vacuous couple Claire (Sara Canning – The Vampire Diaries) and Teddy (Osric Chau – Supernatural) are unbearably false and vain, which is the point right?
But as the story unfolds there are glimpses of their former selves, prior to the burning desire to boost their social ratings. 

Claire’s and Teddy are a duo travel vloggers who spend their time residing in airbnb’s and promoting their thoughts of the locations and more importantly their hosts online.

Worried that their numbers and fanbase appear to be dwindling they start to up the ante in how to turn around their bad fortune.

So at their next location, when things appear to be hitting a dull point, they encounter more than they bargain for, but is it from the psychotic former host, Vera (Barbara Crampton – Re-Animator) from a previous location that they stayed at leaving unfavourable reviews? Or will it be the slightly off-kilter host Rebecca (Gracie Gillam – Fright Night) from their current place of stay?              

The Diagnosis:

Director Brandon Christensen (Still/Born; Z) much like his previous films manages to generate  some genuinely cool moments.
Here it is notably enhanced by the performances from Crampton and Gillam, but the end result is a mediocre affair and doesn’t generate much of a flicker outside of originality.

There’s enough here to entertain but not necessarily to stimulate.

  • Saul Muerte

Superhost is currently streaming on Shudder

Movie review: Mosquito State (2021)

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

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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: Jakob’s Wife (2021)

16 Monday Aug 2021

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For his sophomore outing in the director’s chair, Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor) he serves a refreshing take of the vampire tale through the lens of a middle-aged couple who have lost their zest for life. Anne (Barbara Crampton – Re-Animator), the titular character has been playing the role of the dutiful pastor’s wife in a small rural town for the past thirty years, bottling up her emotions and constantly under the shadow of male oppression. This is exactly how the nosferatu preys on this weakness, hunger for new victims or brides to bring into her fold.

Pastor Jakob (Larrey Fessenden – The House of the Devil) is equally lost in his world. Set in his ways and with no real vocation, he has succumbed to the rituals that his position has provided to him. 

When tempted by an old flame, Anne falls into seduction and it awakens a dormant part of her life. This too coincides with the arrival of the Master (Bonnie Aarons – The Nun) and soon she begins to pick apart the remnants of the town. 

Anne reaches a crucial crossroads in her life… choose her existing life, give-in to the darkness, or find a way through turmoil and create a new path of her own.

In many ways, Jakob’s Wife defies the stereotype of middle-aged life where Stevens presents the world as a slow-paced, dull exposition, but as soon as the first kill happens, this world and our expectations get suddenly thrust onto its head. With every kill that follows, there is no holding back and the blood pours forth to the extreme. This choice in direction is what keeps us engaged and coupled with his two leads in Crampton and Fassenden, we’re provided with some depth to the extreme circumstances with some dry humour to make sure we stay tuned in.

The Diagnosis:

It’s a painfully slow start and I thought that it was going to drag, but it then suddenly unleashes with a lot of fury.

While it struggles to keep the momentum going, Jakobs’ Wife inflicts enough torment to satisfy and keep you engaged with a peppering of decent humour to boot.

  • Saul Muerte

Jakob’s Wife streams on Shudder from Thursday, August 19th.