Shudder Saturday: The Incident (2011)

AKA Asylum Blackout.

I remember hearing about The Incident back when it was first released. It was receiving generally good word of mouth among the horror community and people were seeking it out. The main difference was the title, because it was called Asylum Blackout then. I don't know what prompted the title change, especially when the new choice seems a lot worse than the original one, but at least I was able to check out the film again, as I had somehow forgotten to review it a decade ago.

George (Rupert Evans), Mac (Kenny Doughty), and Ricky (Joseph Kennedy) are three friends, bandmates, and work colleagues. Their friendship is strained at times, the band isn't working together very well, but at least their job is standard canteen work. Well, standard canteen work in an asylum for the criminally insane, where they also work alongside William (Marcus Garvey). This puts them in a very dangerous situation when a power cut leads to the exterior doors all being closed (electronic locks meaning that they will not be moved) and the inmates deciding to revolt.

Although this is, to date, the only feature from director Alexandre Courtès, unless I am overlooking something, The Incident is a well-constructed and decent little horror movie. It makes the most of the main location, largely taking place within the asylum, without feeling restrained by it (because, well, the plot depends on the characters being trapped there). The script, by S. Craig Zahler, and a bit of input from Jérôme Fansten, is decent for setting up the characters, their surroundings, and the atmosphere of panic and dread once the power goes off. It's no classic, but it does a good enough job, with the biggest flaw probably being the main characters not standing out enough as individuals.

Evans, Doughty, Kennedy, and Garvey are decent leads, all being easy enough to like without having to present themselves as perfect. Dave Legeno is a formidable figure as the head guard, J. B., and Richard Brake is used for his ability to be chilling and scary, playing an inmate named Harry who may well be the ringleader of the mayhem inside the asylum. There are also enjoyable little turns from Darren Kent, also playing an inmate, and Anna Skellern, disappointingly underused in the role of Lynn, the girlfriend of George.

Although it proves to be surprisingly restrained in places, The Incident is punctuated by moments of serious nastiness and unpleasantness. It works well by showing one or two horrors and allowing viewers to consider the bigger picture, although I realise that could also lead to some viewers feeling short-served. I like it. I liked it when it was called Asylum Blackout and I like it now (lesser title and all). 

Overall, despite some moments that could be lit better, and despite lacking a great score to underline the visuals, this is an effective little horror movie that holds up as a great example of making the most of one intriguing central idea.

7/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

The Canal (2014)

With the likes of Calvary and Patrick's Day delivering the goods for discerning movie viewers, it would seem that the state of cinematic output from the Emerald Isle is in very good health. The Canal, a psychological horror movie written and directed by Ivan Kavanagh, does nothing to spoil that image.

Rupert Evans stars as David, a film archivist who starts to suspect that his beautiful wife (Hannah Hoekstra), and mother of his child, is cheating on him. Things culminate in a night full of dark imagery and David passing out, only for him to awake the next day and eventually discover that his wife has not returned home. He believes that something very bad has happened to her, something caused by an entity that may also be after his young son (Calum Heath). But the main police officer (Steve Oram) who ends up investigating the disappearance keeps David in his sights as the main suspect, especially as his behaviour starts to deteriorate.

Kavanagh takes a number of familiar genre elements here and blends them together into a masterful display of what modern horror can do to creep out viewers. Almost every scene is an audio and visual selection of unnerving details, with the grand finale an all-out barrage to the senses that may well make even the hardiest horror fan experience a goosebump or two. And the very last scene is . . . . . . . . . . . . well, it was as inevitable and yet shocking as the final scene in Kill List, for my money.

Evans is fantastic in the lead role, a performance that sees him going through the wringer for almost 90% of the runtime. He's always sympathetic, even as his sanity is called into question, and it's hard not to keep hoping that there's some light at the end of the tunnel for him. Heath is a very sweet young lad, and does well to keep running along with his father as things start to get scarier and scarier. Kelly Byrne is likable enough, playing a young nanny who tries to help for as long as she can, and Antonia Campbell-Hughes isn't bad, despite her speaking so breathlessly at times that I thought she was about to expire mid-sentence. Oram puts in yet another great turn, he's certainly been racking them up in recent years, and Hoekstra does alright, although she's not onscreen for all that long, obviously.

The main problems I had with the film stem from the editing/structure that removed the element of surprise on a number of occasions. Oh, there are a couple of cracking moments that could well make your jaw drop, but it's a shame that there couldn't have been more of those. It is, however, understandable that Kavanagh decided to forgo more shocks and surprises in favour of genuine tension and scares, and I have to end up, paradoxically, also giving him credit for not trying to be too clever in a way that would have undermined the third act.

All in all, this is absolutely the kind of film that horror fans should seek out, support, and hope to see more of. Like the titular waterway, it's dark, it's chilling, and it's got depth.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Canal-Rupert-Evans/dp/B00OCDSQLG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413581983&sr=8-1&keywords=the+canal

You know how you can show your appreciation for bloggers? If you share and share then every additional reader helps. Connect through Google or Blogger or any way you can, and rest easy in the knowledge that you've made little ol' me a very happy man.

And/or you could also buy my e-book, that has almost every review I've written over the past 5 years. It's very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.