David Michôd is a writer/director (and also actor) who has made his presence known to me through a few very intriguing, if not quite brilliant shorts. He also has a co-writing credit on last year’s Hesher, which is quite impressive.
His two shorts can be found below. Bear in mind both contain adult language and situations:
Spider
Crossbow
Crossbow from Aquarius Films on Vimeo.
David Michôd is a writer/director (and also actor) who has made his presence known to me through a few very intriguing, if not quite brilliant shorts. He also has a co-writing credit on last year’s Hesher, which is quite impressive. His two shorts can be found below. Bear in mind both contain adult language and situations: Spider
Crossbow from Aquarius Films on Vimeo.
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a horror convention that Dario Argento was attending. The following is a repost based on questions that I and a friend of mine were able to ask.
A friend of mine asked Dario Argento during a Q & A session at this year’s Monster-Mania on March 13th if he found it challenging to work with family. His answer was quite insightful and rather great.
He said it’s like a “bottega nascimentale,” which is roughly translated as a family business. He said it’s easy his grandfather was a distributor his father and brother are producers. Now his daughter Asia is a actor and director. He called it the “Italian style” and it is truly the only way he knows how to work and it’s worked well for him.
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a horror convention that Dario Argento was attending. The following is a repost based on questions that I and a friend of mine were able to ask.
While at a Q & A session at Monster-Mania I managed to ask a question. It was as follows:
Considering that the flashback that acts as a frame in Deep Red is one of my favorite flashbacks have you [Argento] ever considered expanding that story into a prequel?
The answer was short, sweet and pretty funny.
“No, no, no. That’s a joke; for money. The movie is the movie.”
If there’s something I try to avoid, and most of the times succeed in doing, it’s comparative analysis as a film review. In the case of Let Me In, that is nearly unavoidable seeing as how, in my humble opinion, Let the Right One In, the film upon which it is based, was the best film of 2008. However, owing to the fact that many reading this will not have seen that film I will attempt to keep most of my comments to germane to the latter version alone.
First, to allay fears of the devotees. Gus Van Sant set a very dangerous precedent in the world of remakes by choosing to reshoot Psycho a feat of little to no merit considering what Hitchcock’s opinion of principal photography was that “it’s all mechanical.” This remake is not like that. Being faithful and reverential will undoubtedly get you similar shots but it is not a shot-by-shot remake. Some scenes are not there, some scenes are re-arranged some things are altered entirely to make the tale more American.
My main concern was making the story an American one without forcing it. I think a lot of attention was paid to finding a way to make the story elements seem American and to actually retell as oppose to changing for changing’s sake. There were actually some inspired brilliant touches in that regard.
Is it very similar to the original and will you be anticipating certain scenes and be analyzing via comparison whether you want to or not? No question. Does that make it a difficult watch at times? Yes, but it does draw you in and stand on its own two legs and in the end it does become emotionally engaging and not feel like it was a waste and thus the antithesis of the Psycho remake. Not only because there are certain parts of the film excised to make it a more myopic version of events within the story but also there was a literal change of pace in certain parts, certain parts played more languidly other sped up. It was like a reinterpretation of a classical music piece rather than a crass cover by a hack pop artist.
The film, of course, would never work without the right cast in place and the two most important characters in this tale are the kids: Owen, a picked on loner who is dealing with a divorce at home and Abby, a girl who is new to the neighborhood who has a gruesome secret. If you’ve seen either Kodi-Smit McPhee (The Road) or Chloe Grace Moretz Before (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass) you know some of what their capable of but this film blows it out of the water. They are astounding and shoulder the tremendous burden of this film with ease.
This film’s horrific elements shine through quite a bit even though it is not high on the typical gruesome, gory scene that we are so accustomed to. Knowing both these characters so well their revelations carry weight and heightens the few instances that do occur. Yet the film is also taut with real human emotion as the coming of age aspect is not buried. There is the divorce, the bullying the awkward kinship that slowly Owen and Abby start to build.
At one point Michael Giacchino’s score becomes too lilting and circular like an anti-Philip Glass such that it wasn’t ambient anymore and made me pay careful attention to it the rest of the way, which is unfortunate because the rest of it was much better and quite good. It just became a distraction when it couldn’t afford to at all.
The cinematography by Greig Fraser was very noteworthy and looked fantastic. The playground scenes were as opulent as shots with negative fill could be and in much of the scenes the intimacy or claustrophobia of the tale was heightened by the framing and the lighting.
There will always be those who hate a remake just because it’s a remake. It is human nature to pick and choose. The bottom line as a fan of this story was that once I heard this was announced all I could do was cross my fingers because it was going to happen whether anyone liked it or not. I am glad it came out this way and kudos to Matt Reeves for tackling a leviathan of modern horror.
Most holidays worth their while encompass entire seasons, such as Christmas, for example. However, as you may have noticed there is a corporate push every year for us to think about the next holiday even sooner. While this has many negative side effects I figure I may as well embrace it.
Since Labor Day is really only good for college football and movie marathons cinematically it is as significant as Arbor Day, which means the next big day on the calendar is Halloween and we can start looking toward it starting now.
Daily I will be viewing films in the horror genre between now and then and sharing the wealth. Many, as is usually the case, will not be worth it so for every disappointment, I will try and suggest something worth while as well.
Daybreakers
Daybreakers is yet another vampire movie who may have fallen victim to an overexposed genre in terms of box office. While it does have a good premise, and creates a seemingly true to life realistic future world that never seems hyper-real, it is by no means perfect. The positive is that there were at least three legitimate very good scares and shocks in this film.
What is interesting to note in the film is that directors Michael and Peter Spierig not only wrote the movie but were also lead effects artists, which allows their vision to be total in the film, and the effects work is most definitely up to snuff. It is in story that the film lacks at times. There is definitely a visual signature to this film, which possesses the rare quality of being desaturated much of the time yet still being interesting to look at. Their future work will be something to be on the lookout for.
Willem Dafoe steals the show in this film, which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand he’s a great performer and it’s great to see him work, but on the other hand as soon as he enters the picture everyone else becomes less interesting even the protagonist, which of course is never good. He and his character are such large personalities that they dominate scenes he is in. Thankfully the good doctor of this tale, Ethan Hawke, does get some alone time so we can still follow him distraction free.
The second act is without question the hardest act to execute in a film. First and third acts it is often said are a piece of cake. There are struggles with pace, motivation and logic through the second act as the film nears its conclusion.
One of the central conflicts of characters is between Dr. Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) and Frankie Dalton (Michael Dorman). The former being an altruistic doctor seeking a blood substitute for the vampire world and the latter being a soldier. Towards the end Frankie informs Edward why he infected him. It is difficult to tell whether or not Frankie is lying and if he is truthful as it’s a pretty flimsy excuse that is not compelling at all.
While there is the rare effective use of slow motion the ending conflict does get a little bogged down, however, the cure that is thought of in this film is clever.
The movie avoided ending on time and decided to close with a cheesy scare attempt failing to notice that the last impression we get of the film is as important, if not more so, than the first. Conversely the first impression we get is a little odd. We get an inciting incident, a well-done dramatic little scene, featuring a character who has no bearing on the rest of the film whatsoever.
It is worth watching but is does not quite live up to the expectation that is set up during a very clever and effective first act.
Most holidays worth their while encompass entire seasons, such as Christmas, for example. However, as you may have noticed there is a corporate push every year for us to think about the next holiday even sooner. While this has many negative side effects I figure I may as well embrace it.
Since Labor Day is really only good for college football and movie marathons cinematically it is as significant as Arbor Day, which means the next big day on the calendar is Halloween and we can start looking toward it starting now.
Daily I will be viewing films in the horror genre between now and then and sharing the wealth. Many, as is usually the case, will not be worth it so for every disappointment, I will try and suggest something worth while as well.
Frozen
Frozen is a suspense/horror film that speculates on what may happen if three twenty-something friends were caught on a ski lift overnight. Despite playing to favorable and classically hyperbolic reactions at Sundance this film, despite its promise, is deeply flawed. There are spoilers herein.
The three protagonists Parker (Emma Bell), Joe (Shawn Ashmore) and Dan (Kevin Zegers) are well set up in the beginning portion of this film, however, that beginning is too protracted and talky especially considering the plot and the nature of it.
The concept of the film, under attack by some, is not the film’s downfall. The fact that these three get caught on the ski lift overnight is, in fact, a good concept which is not fully explored and those parts which are explored aren’t very well executed. One means for escape is never attempted and the first attempted was bound to fail based on how it was done. Joe jumps from the lift, abandons his snowboard but still tries to land on his feet, which was bound to break his legs.
Considering the film is called Frozen, the most the characters ever suffer is a low grade of frostbite and not hypothermia as you might expect. Furthermore, the deaths are not due to the elements but wolf attacks. This acts sort of as the opposite of a deus ex machina, wherein the characters’ destruction is brought about by a seemingly divine, or demonic, plot element randomly thrown into the mix.
So far as the cast is concerned, the expression “two out of three ain’t bad” comes to mind. Emma Bell seems to be trying too hard in this part and goes over-the-top in her more emotional scenes. Kevin Zegers isn’t there very long but is serviceable when he is there leaving the standout and ‘the glue’ as Shawn Ashmore who did quite well but even his best efforts can’t keep this thing together.
After being trapped conversations the characters are engaged in are far too distracted from the situation to be believable. They seemingly forget the very real situation they are in for much too long. Breaking some of the backstory-filling up with quiet or renewed panic would’ve been better.
The characters in this story are placed in a situation with really only three outs and they only tried two. They could’ve been put in a slightly more advantageous situation. Despite the claustrophobia and occasional tension the film does build it is all torn down by the missteps along the way.
Despite a well-intentioned effort at a different kind of suspense tale Frozen is tepid at best.
Most holidays worth their while encompass entire seasons, such as Christmas, for example. However, as you may have noticed there is a corporate push every year for us to think about the next holiday even sooner. While this has many negative side effects I figure I may as well embrace it.
Since Labor Day is really only good for college football and movie marathons cinematically it is as significant as Arbor Day, which means the next big day on the calendar is Halloween and we can start looking toward it starting now.
Daily I will be viewing films in the horror genre between now and then and sharing the wealth. Many, as is usually the case, will not be worth it so for every disappointment, I will try and suggest something worth while as well.
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity is the kind of movie that generates so much hype that people are likely to end up on either extreme with regards to their opinion of the film. There are definitely kudos to be given to Paramount and their marketing scheme for this film. That, and that alone about this film, is pure genius and I am sure it made many more people want to see this film than otherwise would’ve wanted to – myself included. The expectations were then heightened by hyperbolic reviews like “scariest of decade” and references to “scaring the living hell out of” people.
As ingenious as it is, and one can’t really dispute that, it is ultimately a wolf in sheep’s clothing, meaning if you’ve seen The Blair Witch Project or one of its many first person knock-offs over the last 10 years then you’ve seen Paranormal Activity. This has a somewhat more definitive ending than most but even still it ends up being ultimately ineffective as whole.
It is undeniable that there is a sense of dread and foreboding throughout, after a certain point, but it is much too subdued for a while. There is much anticipation, and while the subtlety is to be appreciated, there isn’t enough escalation of incidents throughout. Many of the first few recorded events are very minor. In my opinion, a more incessant film out this year was a The Haunting in Connecticut. One might dispute the merits of where that story goes but it is incessant, you might call it cliché but no one is calling this film original.
It’s only 86 minutes long, and not only does it seem longer, but even while being that short it manages to be repetitive. There are several fights about stopping the taping, not buying a Ouija board and whether or not to contact a demonologist. Almost each and every incident needs to be reviewed on video or in audio and they feel it necessary for the audience as well as the characters because the shots aren’t clear, or the incident perhaps too subtle. So, in being redundant in its two most vital aspects, verbally and visually; it is doomed to fail.
While found footage, an updated cinéma vérité style, might more aptly be called progeny of the YouTube age, and believe me there is nothing wrong with that, as I note in another article, what it does create and perpetuate is bad framing. Framing is being turned into a lost art; however, it is fine if it exists through most of this film but there a moments in this film where you would have preferred a clearer shot of something even if that something was the book of demonic illustrations the likes of which we’ve seen in myriad horror films.
While this film cannot be knocked for keeping a consistent level of tension that level is far too low, and never really escalated. It’s a flat-liner, which is unforgivable. The acting is passable but not going to sink or save this film unlike its godfather The Blair Witch Project, which is elevated and believable due to the strength of the performances.
Ultimately, the good that will come from this film is from the marketing. While they tried to make the film seem like a real event with no opening title and closing title sequence, I doubt with the internet as ubiquitous as it is now that many people believe that as they did 10 years ago. However, the legacy it will leave is due completely to people wanting to see it due to buzz. I wouldn’t doubt if a similar tactic was used again and we can only hope it’s selling a better product.
OK, I know that I promised that I wouldn’t let 61 Days of Halloween interfere with normal posting activities. For a while, I was keeping up on this series at least. Then last weekend I slipped.
To make up for it. I figured I’d choose a great film that needs minimal introduction. We recently lost Chris Marker the director of La jetée one of the most influential shorts in the history of film. It’s composed of stills. It’s certainly inspired me (examples here and here), countless others and was one of my favorite discoveries last year. Enjoy!
Most holidays worth their while encompass entire seasons, such as Christmas, for example. However, as you may have noticed there is a corporate push every year for us to think about the next holiday even sooner. While this has many negative side effects I figure I may as well embrace it.
Since Labor Day is really only good for college football and movie marathons cinematically it is as significant as Arbor Day, which means the next big day on the calendar is Halloween and we can start looking toward it starting now.
Daily I will be viewing films in the horror genre between now and then and sharing the wealth. Many, as is usually the case, will not be worth it so for every disappointment, I will try and suggest something worth while as well.
The Last Exorcism
I thought of a (American) football analogy as I was watching The Last Exorcism as the most apt description of the film. This film reminds me of a team driving down the field to win the game and taking the ball to the opposing one-yard line and then throwing an interception, or to put it otherwise, it’s a film that comes real close to doing something special but ruins it at the end.
The first thing that absolutely has to be said is that the cast of this film is just absolutely outstanding, pretty much pick a cast member and you weren’t likely to find a better fit for the part. Everyone knows who they are what the role demands and how to deliver it in spades, and this goes down to the smallest roles. It is indeed a rare treat to see acting of this caliber in a horror movie and it is most of what propels this film to the edge of greatness before it plummets of a cliff terribly. It is worth viewing for the performances alone.
The second thing this film does very well is that is convincingly portrays its story in a documentary/cinéma vérité style. It opens with a lot of exposition through questions and the thoughts of our protagonist Rev. Cotton Marcus. Then it morphs from Q & A mode to recording things as they happen.
The cinematography throughout manages to be rather good and economical in its movement, despite the ever-present handheld images. It is only on the rare occasion that things get wild and visual information is hard to interpret.
It’s like the metaphor above implies, the film does a lot right but it really botches it with its ending and in truth most if not all the weaknesses that drag it down are story-related.
While it is very effective, at times, for horror films to have their protagonists be non-believers this one takes it a bit too far and has Rev. Marcus steadfastly disbelieve what his eyes are seeing for far too long such that it’s out of character because a man that smart can’t be that stubborn for that long.
He believes there is no possession and continues to even though they have recordings of Nell (Ashley Bell) having a conversation with a person unknown in Latin, a language they have established she cannot speak. Nell also picks up the camera at one point and tapes herself attacking livestock. It’s never made clear whether they watched the footage, the ways the characters act towards the end make you think they did not. Yet the camera is found damaged and bloodied, they know she used it but they didn’t check the footage? It’s the first thing a cameraman would do.
Then there is the end where there are a few twists one of which is major and we see coming the other which we really don’t. The second of which is truly the extraneous, one in which the film is trying to be a little too clever for its own good. Also, the end does raise up a few more questions and is a bit frantic and the one place where things can be lost and that’s where you can’t afford to.
This is a film that has so much going for it on the technical end, but it was all in service to a story that could’ve been more tautly rendered and more well-told. Such a shame.
The Movie Rat 