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Movie review: Perpertrator (2023)

28 Monday Aug 2023

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Quite rightfully Jennifer Reeder is taking great, confident strides in her directorial role following the Holy Hell segment in V/H/S/94’ and Night’s End. In her latest outing behind the lens, Perpetrator, Reeder takes a bold approach in the realms of a patriarchal dominated society through the eyes of female suppression. She combines this with a coming-of-age tale where as a young woman, Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan – Mare of Easttown) finds a road to empowerment and the ability to change her proceedings.

When Jonny is taken in by her estranged Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone – The Lodge) she has to adapt to a new way of life; one that is tempered by a strange school run by an overzealous principal (Chris Lowell – My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Promising Young Woman) who insists on forcing the girls in the school to undertake self protection classes and extreme drill practises that allow him to dress up as a masked vigilante, running amok in the classrooms and hallways, hunting them down. This is a fucked up world, that is painted so deeply in a male-controlled domain, even the local enforcement is run by an equally screwed up officer, Sterlin (Josh Bywater – Utopia).
The girls in the school are being forced to conform to a certain way of life, even the idolisation of school heartthrob Kirk (Sasha Kuznetsov) is an expected ritualisation for them to have made out with. All of which goes against the grain of Jonny’s own beliefs and with the disappearance of girls in the area, she feels that she must root out the evil within. 

As with any reaching maturity tale, with a supernatural twist, Jonny has to go through her own form of metamorphosis that challenges her own perceptions of needing to fit in and not necessarily meeting her own wellbeing. In her search for answers, she finds that support comes from the curious form of her Aunt Hildie and what she describes as the Forevering; one that will transport Jonny into a journey of discovery, self-regulation, and enhancing her female spirituality.

The Prognosis:

Jennifer Reeder’s focus on the stifling of female empowerment through the gaze of a young lady’s transformation into adulthood is carefully scrutinised with a supernatural element. With an awakening of femininity comes a presage of advocacy, which slowly transcends throughout the movie. The energy from which it ascends is a murky one however, and the message gets a little lost in the myriad of imagery and impedimenta.

  • Saul Muerte

Perpertrator is streaming Exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ from Friday 1st Sept.

Movie review: Bad Things (2023)

13 Sunday Aug 2023

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It’s fairly obvious from its setting that inspiration is drawn from The Shining and the subject of trauma is at the heart of this feature with promise of disturbing reflection on the impact that this has on all who come into its path. The slow, meandering start to this movie however leaves one a little misguided by what is about to unfold. There is a lot of time spent on the quartet of female characters who are all going through various stages of turmoil and are leaning into a false desire to reach enlightenment. So embroiled are they though in their embittered lives that they neglect to remedy their own healing. 

Pulling them deeper into their conflict is the narratives’ protagonist (Gayle Rankin – Men) who has inherited a snowy resort from her Grandmother. There is however a continuing threat from her mother (Molly Ringwald – Cut) who may or may not be unhinged, but definitely is the bearer of some traumatic psychological scars. 

These ongoing conflicts between the group and their own demons play a part in the web of confusion as the labyrinth of the resort surrounds them and consumes their fears, only to spew it back out upon them. An indicator that they can not seem to deal with their suffering. 

It’s a shame though that the story too gets lost and the intentions of the characters are too murky for the audience to bear any commonality with nor find solace in their plight.

The Prognosis:

The elements embedded in Bad Things are a clear homage to The Shining, but where Stanley Kubrick embarked in a deeply psychological and traumatic narrative, helmed by the depth of character that Jack Torrance embodied and wonderfully portrayed by Jack Nicholson, the realms of insanity on display here are thwarted by a shallow interpretation of persona.

Stewart Thorndike does attempt to steer the inspiration into a new direction with an avenue of intrigue and entropy, but her characters are already lost at the start and without hope of resolving their internal conflict.

  • Saul Muerte

Bad Things is streaming in Shudder from Fri 18th August.

Movie review: The Communion Girl (2023)

07 Monday Aug 2023

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As I started watching The Communion Girl, my immediate reaction was one of enjoyment. It had all the hallmarks of an intriguing horror flick with strong religious avenues; a mysterious woman in white; ghostly apparitions that drive one to the grave; and perilous teens on the brink of rebellion but treading ever so closer to the reaper.

The feature does well to entice you in with its central female protagonist, Sara (Carla Campra – Veronica) who is relatively new to the province of Tarragona. Socially awkward, Sara relies on her best friend, Rebe (Aina Quiñones) an extrovert who wears her heart and soul on her sleeve, but all this bravado hides a troubled household that she is struggling to climb out of. The two of them hit the town in search of some deeper connection to the world around them, and getting their kicks from some illicit antidote. 

On their journey home though with a couple of guys they meet at the nightclub, Pedro (Marc Soler) and Chivo (Carlos Oviedo) they encounter a little girl who carries a doll and is dressed for her first communion, before disappearing into the night. Was she an apparition or just a figment of their imagination? Before long, they all become haunted by the girl and must find the root cause of this ghostly cause or else it will consume them in her wake.

The Prognosis:

Spanish film director, Victor Garcia is no stranger to the horror genre, having worked on Mirrors 2 and Hellraiser: Revelations, and he weaves his craft with delight in his latest venture. Carla Campra also captivates on screen as the ‘final girl’, but as the narrative unfolds it becomes apparent that The Communion Girl borrows heavily from other successful features, such as Ringu, or folk tales like The Curse of the Weeping Woman. We know that the vengeful spirit has a vendetta that needs to be brought to a satisfying conclusion, and so we walk familiar terrain to get there. Despite this, the feature does still entertain and offers a slight twist in the tale albeit a slightly confusing one.

The Communion Girl is streaming Exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ Film Premieres Friday 11 August

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Quicksand (2023)

14 Friday Jul 2023

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The latest offering from Shudder’s original and exclusive platform pits marriage as the focus of turmoil and lurking doom.

The subject of marriage has been one placed under high scrutiny over the years with a high statistic of failure across the board. With such a great percentage deemed to expire within a short time frame, it seems perfect fodder for the horror genre to play with. The notion then to thrust a troubled couple Sofia (Carolina Gaitan) and Josh (Allan Hawco) literally into a quicksand , where any hope for survival is as slim as their relationship prospects is one ripe for exploration. If you pardon the expression, there’s depth to be explored, if the characters are strong in substance (as the more detail unearthed during their trepidation, the more likely we will side with their plight and will for them to pull through.

The first trick that the director Andres Piltran has to achieve this goal is to make the ordeal believable and to get our lead characters to land themselves in the titular quicksand. There’s a lot of leg work needed to get to this point, partly in building up Sofia and Josh’s backstory, casting them on a hiking trip through a Colombian rainforest  This is by no means an unusual location, as not only is this a place familiar to Sofia, but both are present to run a lecture at the local university. With time to spare beforehand, they decide to venture into the jungle and as seasoned hikers, have no fears about what lay ahead, little knowing that the weather and darker elements will lead them to confront a more tragic and troublesome conflict, each other. Can their relationship survive or will it be at the cost of one of their lives?

The Prognosis:

Both Gaitan and Hawko provide compelling depictions of their character, and Director Piltran does their best to weed out a decent thriller in a fairly rigid script. It’s hard for the talent on show to wriggle out of such a tight and singular point in time. With more depth applied to the narrative and indeed each character’s perspectives, then the journey towards the climax would have been easier to endure. Ultimately this is no easy task to pull off and Piltran has just enough experience to keep it on the right side of bearable.

  • Saul Muerte

Quicksand is currently streaming on ShudderANZ.

Movie review: Influencer (2023)

27 Saturday May 2023

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Every so often, Shudder releases a smart and provocative feature on its Exclusive and Original platform, and Influence  certainly fits that bill.

Using social media influencers as the basis for contemporary horror isn’t necessarily an original format for a storyline to unfold but its the manner in which Director Kurtis David Harder and his writing partner Tesh Guttikonda weave through the psychological, thriller narrative that resonates so deeply.

We initially follow one of these social media influencers, Madison (Emily Tennant) as she struggles on a backpacking trip in Thailand. Here she meets a coil, calm and collected CW (Cassandra Naud), who despite her pleasant manner, may not as she seems to appear. In fact, the whole premise shifts and changes through perspectives and misconceptions throughout, playing with the audience viewpoint. Each character we’re introduced to have their dark traits, but then show glimpses of light too. As we then follow a murderous personality, we’re left wondering where our allegiance and loyalty should lie.

The prognosis:

There’s more than meets the eye to this mysterious thriller. Beneath the beautiful facade of the Thailand scenery and behind the exterior of the personalities we portray on the social platform is a dark and sinister tale. Cassandra Naud is particularly gripping as the mysterious CW. Surprisingly hooked me into the web of deceit.

  • Saul Muerte

Influencer is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ

Movie review: Huesera: The Bone Woman (2023)

10 Wednesday May 2023

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As Huesera: The Bone Woman opens up, we’re presented with a potentially dark and beautifully twisted journey into the heart of maternity. We’re promised a disturbing representation of this theme through a thinly veiled horror genre, when essentially this is a dramatic tale told from a Mexican folk perspective. What actually transpires is slightly off the mark though.

Valeria (Natalia Solán) has always felt that spiritual yearning to be a mother and at first her picture life appears to be forming nicely along with her partner, Raul (Alfonso Dosal) and cemented further when she learns that she is pregnant. These larger than life emotions soon diminish however and is replaced with one of fear and dread. This is combined with illusions or visions that haunt her waking hour. Are they really a fabric of emotional turmoil or is there a deeper presence at play. As the occult forces appear to be suppressing her, Valeria must find the strength to push through at the cost of her relationships or let go, giving in to the universe.

The Prognosis:

Huesera: The Bone Woman creeps along and wants to offer a horror tale but constantly drifts along without any really connection to the subject matter. The subject of maternity and struggling with coming to terms or accepting that role when we’re told it’s the most natural thing is a difficult one to convey. Director Michelle Garza Cervera does her best to twist and turn through a troubled field, and atmospherically grips hard in places and towards the final moments offers some genuinely terrifying and beautifully shot scenes. Ultimately though we’re left adrift and by the film’s end casually costing off to an unknown horizon.

  • Saul Muerte

Huesera: The Bone Woman is streaming on Shudder ANZ from Thu 11th May.

Movie review: From Black (2023)

25 Tuesday Apr 2023

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Grief can drive people to the extreme. Their senses numbed by the inner pain that they are trying to relinquish. The means in which they choose to do so can vary, and one can’t quite predict which direction or even the lengths that people will go to in order to feel human or re-connect with those they’ve lost again.

From Black chooses one of these paths when a young mother, Cora (Anna Camp – True Blood), a drug addict, is struggling to come to terms with her son’s disappearance five years ago. When at a rehabilitation centre, Cora meets Abel (John Ales – 9 Bullets), a man who claims to have lost a daughter, but curiously presents her with the option to not only revisit her past, but potentially correct the mistakes she made. As always with these promises, it comes with a catch; a price must be paid. The question is how far is she willing to go in order to see her son again and right the wrongs?

Thomas Marchese along with his co-writer Jessub Flower explore the ramifications of venturing into the dark arts for his second feature length movie from the Director’s chair. Some of the elements are all-too-familiar terrain, sparking similar themes explored in A Dark Song. There’s no question about the acting range with both leads cementing their characters with emotional depth. The entity that is drawn forth by the duo is also well portrayed with a nicely created look, emerging from the shadows to haunt and torment Cora. 

Where the film does fall down is through the pace of the piece, shifting and ambling along at a snail’s pace that it’s hard to keep your attention focused on the narrative. There are moments that feel like short features in their own right but stringing these together to provide cohesion and still be entertaining can be a struggle.

The Prognosis:

There is a decent playing field on show here to wade through the grief and despair of a lost child, but too often the pace of the film lets down this concept.
Hats off to the creature design and some of the tension that is drawn out, especially towards the end of the feature,

  • Saul Muerte

From Black is streaming on Shudder ANZ from Fri 28th Apr.

Movie review: Kids vs Aliens (2023)

21 Friday Apr 2023

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Talk about a movie of two halves. This low budget indie feature, Kids vs Aliens which is part of the Shudder Exclusive and Original range drags its heels in the first half, with a lot of establishing character and setting. Normally this would encourage me to connect with the picture, but in this case I was borderline straining to do so. This in part had more to do with overlay in foundation, we get the gist, a group of young kids, hard into recreating wrestling/end of the world role play that they shoot and capture on camera. They have their own troubles, including absent parental figures, sibling rivalry, surviving bullies, and… oh yeah trying to outlive an alien invasion. So in the film’s defence there are a few things to set up before the creatives turn the dial. And when it does, it goes off in a big way.

Director Jason Eisner (Hobo With A Shotgun) extends his vision from V/H/S 2 segment “Slumber Party Alien Abduction”  to feature length, which does hinder the outlook as a result, stretching out this concept to meet a decent running time, but he more than makes up for it when the kids in question stumble headfirst into saving themselves from these creatures from outer space.

The kids, Gary (Dominic Mariche), Jack (Asher Grayson) and Miles (Ben Tector) are fully invested in completing their fantasy feature, with the help of Gary’s older sister, Samantha (Phoebe Rex). Samantha is fast realising that she is being weighed down by Gary and his friends, coming into her own, lured by the repugnant Billy (Calem MacDonald). The idea that an older boy has eyes for her, clouds her perception and it takes the alien invasion to restore her priorities. Billy also has other ideas, one that is purely about finding a place to host a party with his friends. It’s all about what we project upon others and the facade we use in order to impress others – the central theme of the movie.

When the alien presence comes in full force, the tension and action dials up a notch which is amplified by the guerilla style technique in cinematography (hats off to Mat Barkley). The combination of Special Effects (Gary Coates) and Visual Effects (Sebastian Harder) help cement Eisner’s vision further. 

The Prognosis:

There’s an incredibly slow start to this film and one could easily turn off or tune out. It has all the hallmarks of tired formula in this section of the movie, but patience will reap its reward when the tempo ramps up at which point Director Jason Eisner uses all the tricks in his book to grip the audience through a manner of twists and turns.

The feature doesn’t shy away from taking controversial steps in its conclusion though, setting up the notion of further instalments down the track.

If you can wait out the slow pace beginning of the film and embrace the journey, Eisner presents an exciting, ramped up adventure that you want to be a part of.

  • Saul Muerte

Kids vs Aliens is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ.

Movie review – The Unheard (2023)

30 Thursday Mar 2023

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Shudder once again attempt to open the horror portals and explore all terrains of the genre in their latest Exclusive and Original feature, The Unheard. 

From the creative writing team behind Crawl, The Rasmussen brothers team up with Director Jeffrey A. Brown (The Beach House) to weave a tale centred on a young woman, Chloe (Lachlan Watson) who has a hearing impairment. Chloe undergoes a revolutionary new and experimental treatment that will hopefully restore her hearing and takes off to her family beach home to recover. While there, old memories rise to the surface along with links to her past and strange disappearance of her mother. Embedded in these evocations, Chloe is thrust into a confusing world tempered by these auditory hallucinations that she keeps experiencing. There is also the haunting feeling that she is not alone, constantly being watched at all hours. Are these temporal side effects to her rehabilitation? Or is there something far sinister going on?

Part of the picture’s appeal is the blurred lines that are created between fantasy and reality as Chloe’s convoluted world dilutes her perception. This chosen narrative combined with her isolation ramps up the tension and the fear from the audience where the dial is being turned up with a slow, gradual ascent. B.y its conclusion, Chloe may find the answers to her life’s troubles, but the resolution may not be what she had desired.

The Prognosis:

The pace and ambience that is built up to create the tense atmosphere may be served a little too laggard for some. Lachlan does create a hypnotic performance in her portrayal of Chloe with a fairly solid character. The stylised direction ebbs and flows throughout the narrative to deliver these moments of animosity through an investigation into her past. This is also emphasised by the parallel world that lies in an unheard or hidden state which seeps into Chloe’s world through the auditory soundscape, twisting the way the  information in line with the lead protagonist.
All these elements are played out well and an interesting world is created as a result, but it treads a fine line between captivating and alienating in its execution.

  • Saul Muerte

The Unheard is currently screening on Shudder from 31st March.

Movie review – Leave (2023)

15 Wednesday Mar 2023

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Much like Morgan Saylor’s performance in Shudder’s exclusive and original feature A Spoonful of Sugar, the horror streaming platform has released another gripping lead performance in its latest outing, Leave. In this instance the performance in question comes from Alicia Von Rittberg, better known for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth 1st in Becoming Elizabeth. Unfortunately though, this is the only redeeming strength in an otherwise slow plodding, unfulfilling film.

Essentially the premise is bound by Rittberg’s Hunter character yearning to find the missing piece of the picture, namely who her parents and real family are. Having just graduated to University, Hunter embarks on a detour to discover her true origins. All she knows is that as an infant, she was left abandoned in a cemetery, wrapped in garments emblazoned with satanic symbols. This probably would be enough warning for anyone not to venture down a seemingly treacherous path to resolution, but Hunter continues pressing forward, even when a malevolent spirit appears, warning her not to do so. 

As we journey alongside Hunter, the audience endures some slow, moving scenes aimed at adding tension to the piece, but instead feels too close to grinding to a halt. Despite Rittberg’s efforts, and she pulls up all the stops to ground her character and add depth to her trauma, we are left ambling along with little care to connect with her inevitable plight. 

The Prognosis:

For all his best efforts Director Alex Herron struggles to add enough atmosphere to his psychological thriller, a necessary ingredient for the subgenre. Where he tries to apply a dark and moody setting, he loses sight of building up tension for admittedly a substandard script. Alicia Von Rittberg is a joy to watch, and potentially the only ray of sunshine in a pretty mediocre narrative.

  • Saul Muerte