For It Is Man's Number

Thursday 10 October 2024

Specters (1987)

A film that I had wanted to see ever since I saw the VHS cover somewhere close to Demons, it's hard to approach a film that has seemingly evaded me for almost four decades without some sense of optimism. I wasn't expecting any kind of classic, but I was hoping for some decent gore gags and good fun. Sadly, Specters has neither of those things present.

It's very standard stuff, in terms of Italian horror from the 1980s anyway. A professor of archaeology (Lasky, played by Donald Pleasence) heads up a research team as they uncover and explore an ancient tomb. It was sealed, of course, and it turns out that it was sealed with good reason. It's not long until some powerful presence is working through the group, killing them off, one by one.

While there aren't many names here that will be too familiar to film fans, one or two will stand out. Pleasence is, of course, the biggest name in front of the camera, although this isn't one of his best roles. Dardano Sacchetti, one of the writers, is arguably the main name behind the camera (having written numerous movies for Lucio Fulci, as well as Demons, and many other features). Director Marcello Avallone has about a dozen movies to his name, and he also joins Sacchetti, Andrea Puragtori, and Maurizio Tedesco in the writing department, with none of them managing to deliver a coherent and consistent narrative. Not that anyone explores horror movies from Italy in the 1980s with a yearning for coherence and consistency, but it's good when you get the feeling that whatever lunacy you are experiencing comes from the mind of someone who has some idea of their destination. That isn't the case here.

John Pepper and Trine Michelsen are the nominal leads, working in the shadow of the mighty Pleasence. They're not very good, neither one standing out enough from the crowd, and any one of the other main cast members - Massimo De Rossi, Riccardo De Torrebruna, Lavinia Grizi, Riccardo Parisio Perrotti, etc - could have been positioned in the main roles with very minor tweaks.

The music (by Lele Marchitelli and Danilo Rea) isn't bad, and there are one or two shots that make use of a decent puppet, but those are two minor positives in a film stuffed full of reasons to avoid it. The recycled sets never convince, the cast can't compensate for the weak script, the pacing makes it feel much longer than the 92-minute runtime, and the grand finale is shockingly tiresome and weak. One or two kills might impress viewers, but even they are pretty pathetic when compared to the grue and nastiness found in other films from this time and place.

You can't win 'em all, I guess, although I am sure that there are some people out there who are fans of this one. I'd love to know what won them over.

3/10

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Wednesday 9 October 2024

Prime Time: Gamera: Super Monster (1980)

I didn't expect much from this at all, a Gamera movie that seemed to be nothing more than a cheap "megamix" of past encounters, apparently made just to help a studio get out of some financial trouble. I am sure that many others will dismiss this, and perhaps it barely counts as a Gamera movie when considered alongside other, more original, instalments in the series (but really . . . how original is any Gamera movie after the first one?), but I ended up really enjoying it.

An alien enemy is threatening Earth, and they also hope to reveal the identity of some superheroes living here, the Spacewomen (played by Mach Fumiake, Yaeko Kojima, and Yoko Komatsu). Unable to work as effectively as they would like, especially while trying to keep themselves hidden away from the searching alien presence, the Spacewomen end up enlisting the help of a young boy, Keiichi (Koichi Maeda), who can himself enlist the help of Gamera.

Although every main kaiju battle here is lifted from previous movies, that doesn't matter so much when the film is so much fun. Gamera ends up battling Gyaos, Zigra, Viras, Jiger, Guiron, and Barugon, all familiar creatures to those who have watched the previous movies, and the end result of each fight isn't made any less enjoyable by being a foregone conclusion. The developing relationship between Keiichi and the Spacewomen is done well, and entertaining enough to keep things well-paced in between the giant battles.

Surprisingly, the main cast members work really well in what some may view as nothing more than "filler" scenes. Young Maeda is as lively and optimistic as the young children in these movies usually are, and even a bit more likeable than usual, and Fumiake is very good as Kilara, the leader of the Spacewomen.

Director Noriaki Yuasa is working again with writer Niisan Takahashi, and working again with stock footage (of course), and he does well to make this seem even occasionally like a film that has been put together with some thought and care. I'm not saying that Yuasa and Takahashi didn't bother at all about what they were doing, but they certainly had limitations on what they could stitch together. The fact that the final product is as coherent and entertaining as this is quite extraordinary.

I could see myself watching this again, ahead of some other weak Gamera movies. It has a selection of highlights, a fun sub-plot with the humanoid characters, and none of the plodding pacing issues that some of the other Gamera movies suffer from. And maybe my poor memory helps me to enjoy sequences that still feel exciting and fun, despite the fact that I've already watched them, in a slightly different context, over the past few months.

8/10

Tuesday 8 October 2024

Birth/Rebirth (2023)

A very impressive feature directorial debut from Laura Moss, who also co-wrote the script with Brendan J. O'Brien, Birth/Rebirth is a difficult watch, but one that uses a famous horror archetype to explore parenthood, pain, and grief.

Marin Ireland plays a doctor, Rose. She's a hospital pathologist who doesn't really interact well with others. She tends to stay focused on the bodies around her, and has a fascination with the biological process of pregnancy and childbirth, although dislikes the standard required conditions that usually lead to that. Judy Reyes is a maternity nurse named Celie, a woman thrown into a state of grief when her young daughter ends up dying. Things get worse when the body disappears, which leads Celie to the home of Rose, and the two start working together on a plan that Rose has to show that death doesn't need to be the end.

First things first, both Ireland and Reyes are excellent here. The former is definitely giving off an Angela Bettis/May vibe, but does it brilliantly, and shows a lot of frustration whenever it looks like things are about to go outwith her control. The latter is dropped into a situation that leads to strongly conflictiing emotions, but her parental urge is the main driving force allowing her to grit her teeth and do some unpleasant things that may help her daughter. A. J. Lister plays Lila, and she's very good in a role that requires some interesting physical work, and both Breeda Wool and Grant Harrison give excellent supporting turns, with Wool really put through some tough times, to put it mildly, as she becomes the third side of a triangle that she doesn't realise has been assembled.

The script is interestingly blunt throughout. There are no moments of philosophical poetry here, and Rose knows that there isn't much point in trying to reframe what she's trying to do. This is all about biology, for better or worse (exemplified in a scene that shows Rose getting a "semen sample" in an encounter with a fellow bar patron), and that's why things only become more complicated when Celie brings her emotion to the situation.

Moss has a good sense of discretion for what to show and what to imply, and her direction keeps things on just the right side of bearable, despite the difficult subject matter. This cannot be straightforward entertainment, not with the weight of the decisions being made and the morality being explored, but having the two leads forced to get along like unwilling co-parents means that Moss can look at things from different angles while also building up a real feeling of dread and horror on the way to a disturbing final act.

Really good stuff, the kind of film that makes you look forward to what everyone may do next (whether in front of, or behind, the camera), Birth/Rebirth has extremes of dark and light, as does every journey from birth to death, and treats some potentially schlocky material in a way that gives it some real weight and impact.

8/10

Monday 7 October 2024

Mubi Monday: The Sacrifice (1986)

The final feature from acclaimed director Andrei Tarkovsky, The Sacrifice is best described as the most Bergmanesque film not directed by Ingmar Bergman. This isn't just due to the content, but also the fact that many of the people involved had previously worked with Bergman.

The main character is Alexander (Erland Josephson), a retired actor who starts to reconsider everything in his life, and give up everything he loves, as news breaks of a potential outbreak of a third world war. His wife (Adelaide, played by Susan Fleetwood) has a nervous breakdown, which starts him on a journey to lie with another woman, perhaps make use of the gun that he takes from the bag of a visiting doctor, and destroy his possessions.

The imminent end of life has always given people time to muse on their past, to think of their place in the grand scheme of things, and to throw themselves into a boiling and roiling cauldron of regret, resentment, and an urge to try and change things that are impossible to change (unless, of course, we're in the realm of fantasy or sci-fi). The Sacrifice manages to show this process in a way that somehow manages to keep everything from being unbearably dour and dark, although it's certainly not something to watch when you want a bit of sweetness and light either.

Although it clocks in at 142 minutes, Tarkovsky manages to make this an enthralling experience, as opposed to an endurance test. His script is full of fun exchanges, and one or two memorable monologues, but it also helps that he has assembled a cast of people more than up to the task of carrying this weight upon their shoulders.

Josephson is very good, managing to remain appealing enough even as he spirals into a selfish spiral that is excused by his reasoned plea with a god who may or may not hear him. Guðrún Gísladóttir is also excellent as Maria, the woman who becomes the focus of Alexander's attention. Fleetwood is obviously sidelined when her character breaks down, but she does well in every main scene that she has, and there are solid supporting turns from Allan Edwall (a friend/postman), Sven Wollter (the visiting doctor), Filippa Franzén (Marta, Alexander's step-daughter), Valérie Mairesse (a housemaid), and Tommy Kjellqvist (Marta's young son).

I thought I was going to have to grit my teeth and get through this, considering the subject matter and the runtime, but that wasn't the case. This is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and tops everything off with a finale that is quietly stunning in how it is set up and framed (and had to be reshot after a costly error . . . look up some information on it once you have watched the film). Although feeling different from a number of other Tarkovsky films, it also somehow feels absolutely in line with them. People will know what I mean when they see it.

8/10

Sunday 6 October 2024

Netflix And Chill: Baghead (2023)

I'm not accusing anybody here of plagiarism, we all know that creative film people can have similar ideas that end up suffering when released too close to some other, superior, outing, but if I told you that Baghead is a horror movie based around the idea of people being able to talk to the dead for a very limited amount of time, as long as they follow certain rules, then you may well think of another film that was released in the past couple of years. And if you haven't seen Talk To Me yet, I recommend that ahead of this one. I recommend many films ahead of this one, but Talk To Me is the one it most closely resembles, superficially.

Based on the short film of the same name, written by Lorcan Reilly, this is the tale of Iris (Freya Allan), a young woman who ends up taking over a pub from her estranged, and no-longer-on-the-mortal-coil, father (Owen, played by Peter Mullan). She isn't supposed to be the new owner though. It contains something dark and dangerous underground, an entity that can apparently channel the spirits of the dead, becoming them for a limited time. Iris and her friend, Katie (Ruby Barker), are wary, of course, but also think there's a way to make some money when someone (Neil, played by Jeremy Irvine) offers to pay them for a chance to speak to a deceased loved one. I am sure everything will work out well, as long as people abide by the specific rules that they're told about and don't have any dark secrets to be revealed.

Directed by Alberto Corredor, his feature debut after helming the short back in 2017, this is a competent and serviceable film. It's also tiresomely dull, especially when things play out in the finale in a way that feels completely unoriginal and unsurprising. Lorcan Reilly has continued to work on short movies, which leaves the full screenplay for this in the hands of another first-timer, Christina Pamies, and Bryce McGuire (who gave us the inexorably dull Night Swim in the same year, oh dear). Pamies and McGuire are not good enough to turn the central idea into something worthwhile, which leaves the cast adrift in a cold sea of mediocrity.

Allan is a good lead, although she already has a knack for picking projects that don't make good use of her talent. She gamely struggles through this, despite the writers giving viewers very little actual character development aside from how she has been defined by the fates of her parents. Barker is also better than the material allows, and both actresses deserve much more than the slop they're served here. Mullan, only in a few scenes, is always a welcome presence, and Ned Dennehy is a good fit for the solicitor who helps the pub transition from one owner to the next. Jeremy Irvine, on the other hand, isn't very good. He struggles to play his character as required, and his discomfort as he wrestles to do good work, contributes to the weakness of a finale that everyone involved probably thought was a fantastic, clever, and satisfying ending.

I feel a bit unkind here, but maybe that is the way it has to be. While not terrible in any way, this is dull. And, as many people have said many times over, being dull is one of the worst things for a movie to be. Give me something to love, give me something to hate, but don't give me something to shrug off and forget about within a minute of the end credits rolling. That inability to make any strong impression makes the good work done by some of those involved simply redundant. Am I going to praise the score by Suvi-Eeva Äikäs, the cinematography by Cale Finot, or the production design and makeup? No . . . because they've faded away from my mind quicker than the serious and unbreakable rules faded from the minds of the main characters in this tale.

3/10

Saturday 5 October 2024

Shudder Saturday: V/H/S/Beyond (2024)

The V/H/S movie series has been going for over a decade now. There are now seven main movies in the main series, plus one or two spin-offs. Considering that it seemed destined to end back in 2014, when V/H/S: Viral seemed to garner little more than shrugs from many viewers, it's an enduring anthology format that I am happy to see endure. Maybe now is the right time to bring it to a close though.

I'm not going to run through the cast this time around, nor am I going to provide a summary of each main tale. Suffice to say that we get six stories given an oddly polished wraparound structure, with most of the individual segments revolving around dangerous encounters with alien creatures. One tale allows Kate Siegel to direct work written by her husband, Mike Flanagan. Another tale is written and directed by brothers Christian and Justin Long, the latter clearly taking inspiration from his 2014 horror collaboration with Kevin Smith.

Clocking in at just under 2 hours, the second-longest film in the series after the first, the biggest problem here is a pervading air of laziness, as well as a lack of imagination. What was once a fun aesthetic choice, using the retro feel to provide a twist on a number of well-worn horror genre tropes, now feels like it's just the result of people filming things with a filter you could find on a multitude of apps. And that's before we get to the special effects, that often feel like AI clip art, clumsily inserted into sequences that are akin to bits of silliness people could knock together with a basic bit of tech savviness and their smart phones.

As a brand name, for better or worse, the V/H/S series was a fairly easy way to allow film-makers to have some fun while perhaps pushing against the restrictions of the found-footage form. This still allows film-makers to have some fun, but there are no longer any restrictions, which leaves viewers saddled with inferior content that is supposed to be excused by the specific stylistic choice. The first main segment in this has a score pulsating beneath the visuals, for Chrissakes (something that I guess we're just supposed to acceopt because of the framing device, which just isn't good enough). Past V/H/S segments may have had the same mis-steps, whether in the audio department or in how the camera footage is edited together, but I cannot say for sure. All I can tell you is that things feel much worse here, and if we all just sit back and accept this, because it's better than nothing, then we'll be endorsing it, and encouraging them to keep making more.

Most anthology horror movies have at least one segment that works. This has one dud after another. If more care had been taken with the first main "tape" (Stork) then I would have at least mentioned that as a highlight, but it is all undone by the extra editing and soundtrack choices that undermine it.

Not one I can recommend, in case you were in any doubt, and the absolute nadir of the series . . . so far.

3/10

Friday 4 October 2024

Apartment 7A (2024)

Stop reading this review right now if you want to enjoy ANY part of this movie. Seriously, I am not aiming to spoil anything, but Apartment 7A should be much more enjoyable for those who know absolutely nothing about it until they start to piece the familiar elements together for themselves.

Consider yourself duly warned.

Julia Adams plays a young dancer named Terry. Despite a hunger for career success, Terry ends up injuring herself in a way that could possibly spell the ruination of her dream. Terry, aiming to find ways to get herself in front of the right people and grasp whatever last opportunity she might get, does have one apparent stroke of good luck. She encounters an elderly couple (played by Dianne Wiest and Kevin McNally) who end up offering her somewhere to stay, as well as much more. But what do they want in return?

Directed by Natalie Erika James, who has done much better work elsewhere, and also co-written by James, Christian White, and Skylar James, this is a disappointingly unscary and predictable feature that is seriously hampered by the fact that viewers will know where things are going. If you somehow avoided the poster/marketing imagery, which clues you in on the fact that this is a prequel to what many view as a classic horror, and somehow don’t recognise the names and behaviour of the characters helping our lead, then there’s a chance that you might enjoy this a bit more. I suspect you will still find it quite dull though, and it’s a shame that none of the writers could figure out a way to make this anything more than a pale and insipid tribute to the film that birthed it.

Despite the weak material they have to work with, the cast are almost all doing very good work. Adams is a good lead, even if this isn't her best work, but a number of scenes are completely stolen by Wiest and McNally (with Wiest, in particular, reminding me of how much I miss her in major movie roles). Jim Sturgess is decent, playing the man who can make or break Terry's dancing career, and Marli Siu, playing a friend named Annie, gets to continue building a nicely varied filmography of interest to those who took notice of her about a decade ago.

There is at least one other recent horror movie that this reminded me of, and I didn't like that one either (The First Omen), BUT this is a slight improvement. Maybe it's because my memory of Rosemary's Baby is a bit hazy (yes, this is a prequel to Rosemary's Baby, I did warn you not to read further if you didn't know anything about the film before now), or maybe there were a handful of moments here that didn't feel like people just marking off a checklist. Either way, this was watchable, but who would choose to ever rewatch it when you can just revisit Rosemary's Baby?

4/10

Thursday 3 October 2024

Frightmare (1974)

British director Pete Walker is a great person for horror movie fans to check out. If you haven't yet done so, now is as good a time as any to start exploring his filmography. Often working in the genre with the writer David McGillivray, Walker would often use his horror outings to deliver both twisted darkness and some scathing commentary on aspects of British society in the 1970s (commentary that is sadly as relevant today as it was back when the movies were first released).

Frightmare is the tale of Dorothy and Edmund Yates, an elderly couple who have recently been released from a mental health facility after being sentenced for a grisly crime that included murder and cannibalism. Jackie, Edmund's daughter from a previous marriage, does her bit to help the couple re-adjust, pretending that she has been killing people to supply Dorothy with some illicit food (actually just specific animal parts passed off as bits of human), but it soon becomes apparent that Dorothy is struggling to resist her deadlier impulses. Despite having to keep up a horrible charade, Jackie is mainly a decent person with a strong sense of morals, which is more than can be said for Debbie, the daughter that Dorothy and Edmund had just before their incarceration. The family may be separated, but bonds of blood grow stronger as things move towards a disturbing third act.

Starring the fantastic Sheila Keith in the role of Dorothy (and she also collaborated with Walker more than once or twice) alongside Rupert Davies as Edmund, this is a potentially daffy tale that is lifted by those excellent central performances. Deborah Fairfax is also pretty good as Jackie, which makes up for the comparatively weak turn from the suitably-monikered Kim Butcher in the role of Debbie. Paul Greenwood, Edward Kalinski, Fiona Curzon, Leo Genn, and Gerald Flood are among the smattering of supporting players, and eagle-eyed viewers should recognise Andrew Sachs in a small role.

In case you didn't notice what was under scrutiny here, Walker and McGillivray take aim at a system unable to help those with serious mental health issues. All it can do is keep them away from the public for a while, but that's no good when they are declared ready to re-enter society and effectively ditched by the authorities without any real support or care for their rehabilitation. Perhaps I was being unfair with my criticism of Butcher, who is saddled with the least interesting parts of the screenplay, because both writer and director are very much focused on packaging their scathing critique in a Trojan horse of murder and cannibalism.

Enjoyably gruesome at times, and able to remain consistently entertaining because of these dark deeds being committed by people you would be more likely to see enjoying a quiet afternoon tea than a grisly feast of human flesh, Frightmare is a real highlight from a director who was at the height of his powers throughout this decade. I am not sure if I would pick this as my outright favourite from him, but it's always a strong contender (alongside House Of Whipcord and House Of Mortal Sin).

8/10

Wednesday 2 October 2024

Prime Time: Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

Many people who review/critique movies for a living (or even, like myself, because of a need to keep myself mentally stable and happy with my own OCD approach to my own viewing selection) don't like to give immediate reactions. Some believe that it can take at least two viewings to fully form an opinion. Some believe that you need to let things sit with you a while before you put pen to paper (metaphorically-speaking). I don't think that way. I think that it can be good to dive into your own thoughts about a movie as soon as the credits have stopped rolling. That isn't to say that your opinion then will remain your opinion forever, but it's as good a time as any to take a snapshot of your feelings.

In saying that, however, I have to note that I ended up watching Gamera vs. Zigra twice. My first viewing wasn't great. Life threw a number of interruptions my way, and I was pretty unhappy by the time I got through to the end. I then waited too long to get my review written, which made me find time in my schedule for a second watch. I'm glad that happened, because the second watch was much more enjoyable. Maybe it was due to a lack of interruptions. Maybe I was just in a better mood.

The IMDb summary for this movie says this: "Space aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera". I guess that's correct, but it actually doesn't do justice to the fun you can have with this one. Gamera once again pops up to remind us all that they are a friend to all children, which is handy when young Kenichi (Yasushi Sakagami) and his father, Dr. Yosuke Ishikawa (Isamu Saeki), encounter a female alien (Reiko Kasahara) who plans the aforementioned takeover of our planet. The alien has a handy spaceship that can transform into a giant monster, more like a swordfish than a shark, and the second half of the movie features a number of battles between Gamera and this dangerous creature.

Once again in the hands of director Noriaki Yuasa and writer Niisan Takahashi (credited here as Fumi Takahashi), this is a fun time for fans of Gamera. As long as you aren't a newcomer, and you know that these always tend to be more child-friendly adventures, this delivers what is expected. Gamera may seem to be offscreen for most of the first half, but they are given enough to do to ensure that presence is still felt keenly enough until it's time for the fighting to properly start.

Sakagami is fine in his role, as is Saeki, but Kasahara is a highlight, whether explaining the plans for planet domination or wandering around Japan in very little clothing as she searches for the two humans that escaped her clutches. As ever, it's all about the creatures though. While Zigra may not be the best of the opponents that Gamera has had to battle, they're well-designed and threatening enough to feel like a worthwhile creation. Zigra makes things very difficult for Gamera, as expected, and the ongoing fight leads to a final moment that is kind of hilarious and brilliant.

If you saw this film some time ago and didn't like it then I would recommend giving it another go. You may still feel the same way about it, but you may end up finding it a bit more enjoyable than you remembered. I'm glad that I ended up giving this a second chance, and it also served as a nice reminder that people should bear in mind the fluidity of personal opinions whenever browsing through the many movie reviews available here, there, and everywhere.

7/10

Tuesday 1 October 2024

The Hitcher (1986)

Sometimes I worry that my own experience with a movie is different from the way others viewed it, but sometimes it feels as if I have recently been able to talk with film fans who all have some kind of collected memory that keeps us all connected. The Hitcher is one of those collected memories. It's a film that many seemed to find on video, having come and gone from cinemas with no real fanfare, and no record-breaking box office. It's also a film that people have gone back to, or they've often recommended to others, which just helped to grow the reputation of it. A long-overdue bit of TLC has now given fans a fantastic Blu-ray/4K UHD set that should only lead to it getting even more love. I'm all for that.

The premise is quite simple. C. Thomas Howell plays Jim Halsey, a young man who is driving a car from Chicago to the new owner in San Diego. Struggling to stay awake behind the wheel, and maybe even a bit thrilled by the idea of doing something that he was always warned against, Jim picks up a hitchhiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer). That's when his problems begin, because Ryder claims to be a killer. It soon becomes clear that Ryder isn't lying, and Jim ends up in a game of cat and mouse with someone who claims that his main objective is to encounter someone who can stop him.

Written by Eric Red, a man who has written about half a dozen movies that I would consider well worth your time, and the three features he wrote in the 1980s are all either classics or close enough, The Hitcher is a tight and tense screenplay helped by the committed performances from the leads and the way that director Robert Harmon (hitting the high point of his directorial career with this, only his second feature) makes the most out of what is a relatively low budget. It could have been very different, especially when you consider how much more Red packed into the screenplay that he originally sent out to producers when he was putting all of his energy into getting someone to greenlight it.

Aside from the not-insignificant contributions from both Red and Harmon, I am not sure about where to start with my praise. I want to also mention the wonderful score by Mark Isham, and the new restoration really showcases the gorgeous cinematography from John Seale, whether our lead is travelling through a dark and stormy night or a hot and sweaty day. There's also some excellent work by a stunt team who are required to step up for one or two impressive set-pieces, including a finale that impressively elevates things above what you would expect to see in this kind of fairly small-scale work.

Hauer is the heart of the film though, a devil with his thumb in the air and a glint in his eye. The man has delivered a couple of iconic performances, and this easily sits alongside anything else that he's done onscreen. Yes, I said it . . . anything (and that includes a certain android who ponders the fleeting joys of life as his own death approaches). Howell has a tougher job, having to sell his fear, his confusion, and his trauma in ways that sometimes wrack his entire body with painful emotional overload. One other main character, a young woman named Nash, is played by a young Jennifer Jason Leigh (who had enjoyed working with Hauer on Flesh + Blood the previous year), and she does well to make herself into someone that you care about and believe in. Other familiar faces to look out for are Billy Greenbush, Gene Davis, Henry Darrow, and Jeffrey DeMunn, all playing various law enforcement officers who end up initially believing that our young hero is actually the villain of the piece, making his situation even more desperate and dangerous.

A perfect blend of strange surrealism and straightforward thrills, The Hitcher remains a fantastic fever-dream that, whether you end up loving or hating it, is very hard to forget. In fact, this recent rewatch has reminded me of how much it feels like a touchstone for some of the more successful mainstream thrillers that came along many years later (Se7en being the one that came to mind as I tried to remember how long was left once a major set-piece started to play out). Maybe it won't ever become popular enough to break away from that "cult favourite" label, but that's okay. And I suspect many of those other film fans who share fond memories of this will agree with me.

9/10

Monday 30 September 2024

Mubi Monday: The Assistant (2019)

A film very much stemming from, and in dialogue with, the #metoo movement of recent years, The Assistant is also a straightforward look at workplace toxicity and the attitudes that can lock individuals into miserable jobs for far too long.

Julia Garner is the assistant of the title, busy with telephone calls and appointments that all have to be figured out around the whims and moods of her boss. There are other people here, including a character played by Matthew Macfadyen, but it's Garner's character, Jane, who holds, and deserves, our attention as we're shown one typically terrible day in her job.

Written and directed by Kitty Green, who has a small, but very interesting, filmography I think is worth exploring, The Assistant feels oppressive and uncomfortably believable throughout the entire 87-minute runtime. Viewers get to see numerous assholes being placated and protected, all because of their high executive position, and because they are part of an entertainment industry that continues to have these self-contained cesspools where scumbags can have fun and thrive, as long as they keep making the right amounts of money for everyone else.

Garner is never excellent, never less than riveting in the way she uses her body language to show her constant struggle and the growing weight on her shoulders. Others who move around her also do well, and always do enough to add context and flavour to the ebb and flow of the workplace, but it's only Macfadyen who gets a chance to meet Garner at her level. His scene underlines the difficulties facing our lead, and he delivers some horrible dialogue with a calm tone and generally pleasant manner that makes it feel all the more sickening.

Some people who have experienced anything like this may be able to watch The Assistant and feel relief that they have moved on, but others may actually find the behaviour shown here quite triggering. Be warned. There may also be some people who are working, or have worked, in a place that they think is decent enough until they start to recognise some of the red flags shown here. Again . . . be warned.

Very effective stuff, and Green knows just how to pace the film and make great use of what can be inferred by viewers, this is a surprisingly gripping drama that some could easily argue stands on the very edge of horror movie territory. It's helped by that impeccable turn from Garner (who I am quickly becoming quite a fan of, having seen her in two features this week that have both benefited from giving her the lead role), as well as the fact that it reminds us all that change is still rippling through a number of industries thanks to those who started the ball rolling a few years ago.

8/10

Sunday 29 September 2024

Netflix And Chill: To Leslie (2022)

Like most people, I first heard about To Leslie when there was some minor scandal about how it started to get more notice in the run up to the 2023 Academy Awards. It was a strange affair, mainly because I assumed that all movies without a huge marketing campaign behind them would end up being noticed and discussed in the same way during awards season, but, despite no Oscar going to Andrea Riseborough for her performance here, I am thankful that I was at least made aware of the film.

I would also be aware of it nowadays from the times that Marc Maron has discussed it on his podcast. Arguably still known best for his stand-up comedy, despite putting in some great acting performances, whatever size the role, over the past decade or so, Maron has been podcasting for about 15 years now, and throughout that time he has been incredibly honest and insightful about addiction issues, which adds a sweet layer to the role he plays here.

Let's get to the actual film though. Riseborough is Leslie, a single mother who finds her life changed completely when she wins a large sum of cash in the lottery. That doesn't last as long as she thinks it will though, and some years later we see that Riseborough is destitute, can't really maintain a relatonship with her now-grown son (James, played by Owen Teague), and seems unable to drag herself out of the bottom of whatever glass or bottle full of alcohol she can get her hands on. She is given a chance to turn things around when offered a cleaning job by Sweeney (Maron), but an addict can only ever be helped if they want to change.

I can see why people were discussing the performance from Riseborough here. It's pretty great, and more than enough to make up for the fact that the screenplay (only the second one from Ryan Binaco to make it to the screen) makes a number of surprisingly safe choices throughout. There's an ugliness throughout this, and a feeling of desperation and self-esteem that has been eroded into near-non-existence, but it holds back from some of the really dark depths that many addicts find themselves in, whether that indelibly stains their character or irrevocably damages their body. Director Michael Morris has some great TV work under his belt already, but his move to film is impressive. He stays focused on the characters, knowing when to push in further and when to move back a step, and uses his cast to really lift Binaco's solid writing.

Aside from Riseborough, who somehow also keeps you on her side even as she is at her lowest and most sickeningly selfish, Maron is allowed to be wonderfully sweet and funny as the one person, maybe the only person, that she needs to be given help from. Teague makes a strong impression with his limited screentime, as do the reliable Allison Janney, Andre Royo, Stephen Root, and James Landry Hébert, who all match the intensity and authenticity of Riseborough in a variety of ways.

Not an easy watch, especially for those (like myself) who may have direct, or even indirect, experience of dealing with addiction issues. It feels very well-handled throughout though, showing that there's not necessarily a point of no return for anyone who eventually realises the damage being caused by that very strong and heavy monkey they can struggle to shake off their back.

8/10

Saturday 28 September 2024

Shudder Saturday: The Price We Pay (2023)

It's a pretty standard horror movie trope to put some bad people in a place where they end up being the lesser of two evils. The worse the people, the worse situation they can find themselves in. The Price We Pay, written by Christopher Jolley, developing a story co-created by himself and director Ryûhei Kitamura, makes use of this trope. It has a decent cast to work with, but there's nothing much else brought to the table.

Alex (Emile Hirsch), Cody (Stephen Dorff), and Shane (Tanner Zagarino) burst into a pawn shop to commit a violent robbery. At least one person is killed, and the men flee with a hostage (Grace, played by Gigi Zumbado). Making use of Grace's car, which doesn't look as if it can drive on for many more miles, they end up reaching a farm in the middle of nowhere, somewhere they figure that they can hide out for a while. And that's when things start to go off the rails.

While I have enjoyed the work of both Hirsch and Dorff in many other movies, they're unable to do anythng here that distracts from a weak and tired screenplay. Zumbado is also just as hampered, but has the benefit of not having to go through the standard crime movie grimacing and circular arguments. Zagarino makes much less of an impression, due to his role being "the wounded one" for most of his screentime, but at least viewers get a supporting role for Vernon Wells, which should be enough to make up for some of the failings elsewhere. Tyler Sanders isn't too bad as an apparently timid young farmhand named Danny, and Erika Ervin gets to have fun underneath some face-altering make up.

It's easy to see where this went wrong though, even if you like the cast as much as I do (and I appreciate that many others won't). Jolley is one of those people who has become quite prolific over the past decade, aiming for quantity over quality as he moved from gangster and hooligan movies towards more and more horror project. I can easily imagine him pitching this idea to Kitamura, probably not believing his luck when the director decided to take on the project. While he can deliver great horror fare (the last feature that I enjoyed from him was Downrange, back in 2017), he seems unable here to find a way to twist and freshen the material, leaving him at the helm of a disappointingly dull affair.

It's coherent enough, and it all seems fairly logical (for the premise), but there's nothing to really enjoy here. None of the nastiness is impressive, nor is it presented in a way that could make the gleeful sadism of some of the main characters more fun, relatively speaking, and the technical side of things is what you might call perfunctory. Thankfully, if you watch this on a streaming service, as I did, then the price to be paid for watching The Price We Pay is only the 86-minute runtime, instead of any monetary amount. That may still feel too pricey for some.

3/10

Friday 27 September 2024

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Just to be clear at the start here, I was one of many people who figured that we really didn't need a sequel to the wonderful Inside Out. The first film was another instant classic from Pixar, although it was released in between a few movies that people might argue rank as some of the weakest from them, and the story felt complete. There's a great hook here though, and a natural progression that allows the film to feel as insightful and brilliant as the first film.

Here's the simple, and simply brilliant, premise. Riley Andersen, the lead of Inside Out, is now starting her journey through her teenage years. Her emotions now also take care of her sense of self, an important area that uses her memories and experiences to help her turn into the kind of person that she wants to be. Joy (Amy Poehler) wants to keep everything positive, and get rid of all the negativity, but she ends up with a much tougher job when the core emotions are joined by some new emotions - anxiety (Maya Hawke), embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and envy (Ayo Edebiri). This extra turmoil happens inside Riley as she is heading with her friends, Bree and Grace, to a weekend ice hockey camp that she hopes will lead to her joining the team.

This isn't as good as the first movie, but the criticisms I could list here seem to work for it. The animation and plotting feel a bit messy at times, which is perfectly in line with how everything feels as a teenager. Writers Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein (developing a story idea by LeFauve and director Kelsey Mann) do a good job of further developing an internal world that perfectly correlates to the external attitude and behaviour of the main character. Mann came up through the ranks of Pixar in the standard way, and he shows that he's been taking plenty of notes while making his way up the ladder. This is so good that I am tempted to forgive both him and LeFauve for their work on The Good Dinosaur.

As expected, the voice cast all work brilliantly in their roles. Poehler remains perfect, as do Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Lewis Black (Anger), and Tony Hale (Fear). Hawke, Hauser, Edebiri, and Exarchopoulos are great additions, as is Liza Lapira (getting a couple of fun moments as Disgust), and it's also worth praising Kensington Tallman (Riley), Grace Lu (Grace), Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green (Bree), Diane Lane (Mom), Kyle MacLachlan (Dad), Lilimar, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ron Funches, James Austin Johnson, and everyone else involved in bringing this bright and surreal story to life.

If you enjoyed the first movie as much as I (and many others) did then you can be happy that people found a way to craft a sequel that feels natural and absolutely in line with the first film. It's not quite as sharp, not quite as tidy, and not quite as emotional, but teenagers rarely are. There's no need for a third instalment, but I'm very happy that we have two Inside Out movies of near-equal quality.

8/10

Thursday 26 September 2024

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

My second disappointing kaiju movie in as many weeks, Godzilla vs. Gigan seems to pretty much ignore the previous instalment in the series to get back to the Monster Island plotting that allowed Godzilla and friends to remain gathered together in the one place to be handily called upon when needed.

This time around, aliens are wanting to secretly colonize Earth. They take human form, hiding their actual insectoid appearance, and end up making use of Gigan and King Ghidorah in their plans to destroy the human race, which leads to a predictable third act that puts Godzilla in the heart of the action.

Whether it was due to this feeling like a step backward after the previous movie, or due to the action scenes being slightly mishandled, Godzilla vs. Gigan is one of the lesser movies in this enduring series. The tone never feels properly set, with the shape-shifting alien plot strand ripe for some darkness and thrills offset by the comparatively juvenile Monster Island moments, there's somehow no real stakes in the big battles, and none of the main characters feel well-rounded enough to really care about. There's just nothing here for viewers to "hold on to", which is a failing from director Jun Fukuda and writers Takeshi Kimura and Shin'ichi Sekizawa (who were both tasked with coming up with story ideas that were then blended together).

The main cast members are Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, and Tomoko Umeda, but we all know that the main cast members are actually Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Gigan, and, this time around, Anguirus. Everyone, and every kaiju, does what they need to do, and there are individual moments that hint at how enjoyable this could have been, but they're generally unable to elevate the material.

It would seem that every subsequent instalment in this series leads to me writing ever-shrinking reviews, but there's nothing new to say. I don't want to spend too much time being critical of a template that others may still appreciate and retain a fondness for, especially when my own reaction may be based as much on my own mood when viewing the films as it is based on the films themselves, but there's certainly a notable difference in quality between something like this and one of the more fun instalments, whether aimed at general audiences or skewed towards a younger viewer demographic.

Will anyone come along to tell me how wrong I am about this one, or is it generally maligned by all? I'll just have to wait and see, but I'll be interested to find out if anyone can convince me to revisit and re-evaluate this one day. Because I can't see myself even remembering it within a month or two.

3/10

Wednesday 25 September 2024

Prime Time: Arthur The King (2024)

Based on the true story of an adventure racer who ended up with an extra member in his team, a dog he named Arthur, this is exactly the kind of film you expect it to be, although it has the added bonus of Mark Wahlberg in the lead role constantly making you think about the wonderful "Wahlberg talks to animals" sketch from SNL.

Wahlberg is Michael Light, a man who has gone his entire adventure racing career without ever getting a gold medal. In fact, his last attempt was quite the disaster, based on the fact that he pushed his team too hard without listening to the advice of others. Some years have passed since then though, and Michael wants one last shot at glory. He wants to put together a team, he needs sponsors, and he wants a win. He gets a tentative sponsor, but they insist that his team includes his old team member, Leo (Simu Liu), someone who has made the most of social media and viral marketing. His other choices end up being Chik (Ali Suliman), a man who was dropped from his last team due to a knee injury, and Olivia (Nathalie Emmanuel), a climber not necessarily wanting to make that her main discipline, but urged that way by her successful father. The race is tough, the team need to work together to overcome the usual obstacles (in the environment and in their own different approaches), but things start to improve when a stray dog starts to accompany them on their gruelling journey.

Based on the book by Mikael Lindnord, this has a screenplay by Michael Brandt (who has had huge success with a number of TV projects in recent years) and is directed by Simon Cellan Jones (who has a background in TV before a more recent move into movies, and specifically Wahlberg movies). Both do competent work, and they certainly convey the impressive distance and scale of the challenge facing the racing teams in the movie. There's one vertiginous set-piece, but it's otherwise pretty grounded and standard stuff, with those involved quite rightly banking on viewers being won over by the bond developed with the dog at the centre of the story.

Wahlberg does his usual Wahlberg stuff, although there are a couple of pleasantly surprising moments here that have his character admitting to being wearied and sometimes not the person who knows best in every situation, and Liu does a good job of keeping up alongside him and explaining how they can still do well enough for themselves even if a win evades them. Emmanuel is convincing in her part, as is Suliman, and they certainly do a great job as separate elements who can work together as an efficient and determined team. I was surprised by how much of the focus stayed on the team, thinking that Arthur would join them and have his impact noticed sooner, but, never fear, the dog (played by a canine named Ukai) is certainly made to feel like the key cast member he is when he gets more directly involved in the storyline.

Very predictable, but that's not a big deal when you're watching a true story in movie form, and surprisingly downbeat in one or two scenes, Arthur The King does enough to make it a decent enough choice for those wanting something simple and ultimately satisfying. I could rattle off a number of other "talented animal bonds with humans" movies that I prefer, but this was far from a terrible way to spend part of my evening.

6/10

Tuesday 24 September 2024

Borderlands (2024)

A sci-fi action movie based on a videogame I haven't played from a director who usually does his best work in the horror genre, and starring Kevin Hart in a role that would seem to be ideal for almost anyone other than Kevin Hart? I couldn't work up any enthusiasm to see Borderlands when it landed in cinemas, after a very long delay, and the disappointing box office performance and many negative reviews made me believe that I had been right to keep it low on my list of priorities. I knew I would get to it eventually though. And today was the fateful day. Maybe I should have delayed it by another few weeks or years though.

Cate Blanchett plays Lilith, a bounty hunter who ends up joining a group of people who all end up on a quest to locate and open a secret vault on the planet of Pandora. There's Roland (Hart, trying to be the leader of the gang), Krieg (the strong and silent type, played by Florian Munteanu), a small robot named Claptrap (voice by Jack Black), and the destruction-loving Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt). They will eventually be joined, at least temporarily, by Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), and someone named Atlas (Edgar Ramírez) who may be hiding his true motivation for wanting to stay close to the crew.

There may be lots of little details here for fans of the videogames, (I don't know) and there may be some production design and character arcs that have been directly translated, (again . . . I don't know), but what there IS here is some horrible plotting, a complete lack of any excitement, and a couple of action set-pieces that do nothing to justify the time spent enduring the rest of the film. Because it is an endurance test. Few of the cast feel well-suited to their roles, and the film itself is exactly in line with a trailer that gave many people the idea of making a meme joke in the format that ends with the line "we have Guardians Of The Galaxy at home" and then shows the poster for this as the aforementioned lesser substitute option.

None of the characters here have anything really going on below the surface, but Blanchett manages to make her own involvement rewarding to those who can enjoy her simply swaggering around onscreen with a fantasticaly-sculpted bright red hairdo atop her head. Hart is never convincing, Greenblatt has a higher energy level that keeps her out of sync with the rest of the group, and makes her slightly annoying for most of her screentime, and Jack Black's vocal performance is the equivalent of being stuck beside the most annoying "office joker" for the entirety of the big annual night out. Munteanu is decent, helped by the fact that he doesn't really have much to say, Curtis has some fun in her thankless role, and there's a fun cameo from Gina Gershon. As for Ramírez, he's one of the weakest movie villains in recent years. Not allowed to make a strong enough impression, his character fails to cast the required shadow over the movie, leaving the actor struggling to be remembered as soon as the end credits roll.

Movies based on videogames nowadays should no longer be dismissed as quickly as they used to be, but this seems determined to take up a place alongside the worst of the game-to-screen adaptations we have seen over the years. I cannot say if there is still enough here to please fans of the game series, but I can definitely say that there's nothing here to please fans of Eli Roth. In fact, there's no real indicator of his involvement, unless you count the fact that he apparently cannot direct decent action set-pieces to save his life (seriously . . . how do you mess up the chance to choreograph a big fight sequence to the Motorhead song "Ace Of Spades"?). Having also written the screenplay with Joe Abercrombie, it's obvious who is most to blame here, but it's also obvious that he might be able to shake himself off and move on quickly enough, having his own credit overshadowed by the brand name that he was given the responsibility of turning into a hit movie.

I would advise those who love the game of Borderlands to keep playing it, rather than giving this movie their time. On the plus side, maybe some confusion will lead people to a very different movie named Borderlands (renamed as Final Prayer in some territories). I give this some bonus points for how much I enjoyed Blanchett here, but others wouldn't be half as kind.

4/10

Monday 23 September 2024

Mubi Monday: Variety (1983)

I'm not quite sure how much I enjoyed Variety, but I guess there's a clue in how much I hope to now check out other movies from director Bette Gordon (who also came up with the story idea, which was then shaped into full film form by Kathy Acker, Jerry Delamater, and Peter Koper, with Nancy Reilly also contributing). There's something about her style, although it's maybe just the time period and setting, that calls to mind the excellent work of Lizzie Borden, who delivered some of her best work in the early 1980s.

This is the story of Christine (Sandy McLeod), a young woman who ends up taking a job in the ticket kiosk of a porn theatre. She is looked after by her manager, Jose (Luis Guzman), and initially does a fine job, but it's not long until she starts to become more and more curious about the content being shown on the screen, and she starts to become equally curious about a customer (Louie, played by Richard M. Davidson) she believes may be connected to some major criminal organisation.

Deftly mixing explorations of personal economics with a little bit of paranoia and a lot of sexual exploration, Variety is one of those movies that also works as a great time capsule. There's not really that much going on, the stakes never feel very high, but it becomes something intriguing and thrilling because of the journey that Christine goes on. Gordon doesn't necessarily decide to take things in any one specific direction (this could be darker, it could be sexier, it could be turned into an outright comedy, etc.), but the strangely loose and seemingly wandering nature of the whole thing makes it feel more grounded in reality.

McLeod isn't bad in the lead role, although it's not a surprise to see that she didn't go on to do much in front of the camera after this, and the same can be said of Davidson, who has the easier job of simply being a bit suave and mysterious for a few scenes. There's more fun to be had in seeing Guzman in an early role, as well as spotting the likes of Will Patton and Mark Boone Junior enjoying some screentime.

Although it's about a very specific kind of cinema, Variety is still about cinema. It's about what is on the big screen affecting the thoughts and narratives we create in our own minds, and it's about the loyal fans who choose to spend their time in a dark room connecting with fictional characters, even if they cannot always easily connect with anyone around them. Yes, it's also about sex, and there's a mystery element at the heart of things, but . . . a lot of cinema is about sex, even when it doesn't appear to be about sex.

8/10

Sunday 22 September 2024

Netflix And Chill: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

While it is a silly and entertaining blockbuster, The Day After Tomorrow also does a good job of showing idiots why global warming is still a major problem, even if it feels like our weather is generally getting colder and wetter. Climate change deniers like to point to bad weather as an argument against global warming. It is, in fact, actually a strong indicator of the way things are headed.

Things get very bad for us humans as the weather gets a lot worse and temperatures plummet. This is an exaggerated scenario, of course, but it’s all done to show humans trying to overcome overwhelming odds to survive a snap ice age. Dennis Quaid is the scientists who has been warning about this kind of thing happening for a long time, and Jake Gyllenhaal is his son, stuck in New York City with a mixed group of people all trying to stay warm and stay alive. There is some very bad weather, there is a need for penicillin, and there are some escaped zoo animals adding to their problems.

Few people, if any, have enjoyed destroying our world as much as Roland Emmerich. He used to be content with aliens and monsters, but has now used the environment numerous times to create tales of humans struggling to survive in increasingly inhospitable conditions. Having co-written this screenplay with Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Emmerich delivers a fantastic mix of spectacle and human interest. It's cheesy, it's ridiculous, it's increasingly unbelievable as we head to the big ending, but it's damn entertaining.

The special effects, mostly created using CGI, hold up surprisingly well, even the wandering and vicious wolves that I used to point to as the weakest part of the film. If there's one thing that Emmerich is good at then it's creating at least one unforgettable movie moment/image, and this film has more than one. Whether it's a tidal wave looking to flood a major city, a major bit of tornado damage, or the Statue Of Liberty covered in snow and ice, The Day After Tomorrow fills out the 124-minute runtime with one great movie moment after another.

Quaid and Gyllenhaal are both very good as they take turns carrying the film on their shoulders. Both actors have an innate appeal, and both give performances that never seem to be winking or implying that they are "slumming it". There's also some decent support from Emmy Rossum (who ends up in need of that penicillin), Austin Nichols, Dash Mihok, and Jay O. Sanders, even if you suspect that not everyone is going to make it to the end credits. Elsewhere, familiar faces like Sela Ward, Adrian Lester Sasha Roiz, Kenneth Welsh, and Ian Holm (a real highlight here) do their bit to sell the unfolding apocalyptic scenario.

You will see many people dismissing this as a spectacle movie that hasn't aged too well, but I would strongly disagree. I think it is, quite frankly, a brilliant blockbuster that takes the standard Emmerich template (small set-pieces interspersed with character moments on the way to more and more spectacular destruction) and applies it to numerous weather anomalies that are as well-utilised as they are well-realised. Maybe not as good as the director's high point, Independence Day, but it's only a step or two behind it, in my opinion.

9/10

Saturday 21 September 2024

Shudder Saturday: The Demon Disorder (2024)

Graham Reilly (Christian Willis) seems to want to just keep himself to himself. He lives in his garage workshop, doesn't seem to have any real friends or acquaintances (with the exception of young Cole Nichols, played by Tobie Webster), and certainly isn't close to any family members. Unfortunately, some closeness is forced upon him when his brother Jake (Dirk Hunter) enters his life to ask him for help with their younger brother, Phillip (Charles Cottier). Phillip hasn't been well, and he's being affected by the same condition that affected their father (George, played by John Noble).

This directorial debut from Steven Boyle, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Toby Osborne, is the kind of thing you would expect from someone with his background in special effects and makeup. It tries to contain the action within one or two main locations, it has one or two good ideas that aren't quite executed as well as they could be, and there are some great special effects that help to boost the second half of the film.

Considering the title of the film, I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the core of the film revolves around the idea of possession being as much of a physical disease as it is a turbulent battle for any individual soul. The horror here mainly comes from contemplating it as a generational trauma that could be passed along, but there's still room for normal horror movie content that you'd expect in a film named The Demon Disorder.

Willis is a decent lead, presenting his character as someone with very good reason to be the way he is, and both Hunter and Cottier feel convincing as his siblings. Webster is likeable and plucky enough, and that's the core cast all accounted for (another indicator of this being a debut that Boyle quite rightly keeps small and relatively easy to control). Noble is used well in his few scenes, helping his character to loom large over every moment of the movie, and there are a couple of other people who appear long enough to be put in danger as things go from bad to worse for the frightened brothers.

There's definite promise here, but I cannot say that I was invested and interested in many scenes. I would have liked to see some more of the backstory, glimpsed in flashback scenes that show a young Graham (played by Liam Wallace) being frightened by the behaviour of his father, and less obvious horror genre moments. Things become more sadly predictable as we start hurtling towards the end of the film, which is as understandable as it is frustrating.

Still, there's just enough hidden away in this to keep me interested in Boyle's directorial career. Whether it not I stay interested in it after whatever his next film is depends entirely on, well, whatever his next film is.

5/10

Friday 20 September 2024

Subservience (2024)

AKA M3GAN FOX. AKA FAITAL ATTRACTION. Those would have been my suggestions anyway.

You know how it is. When your wife ends up spending some time in hospital, with no guarantees of necessarily surviving the whole ordeal, then it can become difficult to balance your work and home life, especially when you have two small children. So you may end up investing in an advanced household "server bot" in the guise of Megan Fox.

That's the plot of Subservience, basically, but with the added wrinkle of M3GAN FOX then becoming dangerously obsessed with her new owner, Nick (Michele Morrone). That gives Nick some problems, of course, but also upsets his wife, Maggie (Madeline Zima), and puts his children (Isla and Max) in potential danger.

Director S. K. Dale made his feature debut with Till Death, also starring Megan Fox, in a film that generally received some good reviews for both concept and star. That was more fun than this, thanks mainly to the efficiency of a great premise worked into a fun and tense script. The writers of this film, Will Honley and April Maguire, know what they're aiming for, although they sadly never push things too far into the world of the wonderfullly bonkers, but are hampered by a couple of big problems.

The first big problem stems from their own writing. There's a sub-plot here that comments on the lives being changed, and potentially ruined, by the progress of technology. Nick has a friend/ex-colleague, Monty (Andrew Whipp), who finds himself, along with many others, no longer needed at his place of employment. It's not necessarily bad to explore that tension, but it doesn't work in this movie. What works are the moments that are enjoyably trashy and focusing on the increasing tension of the main situation.

The other big problem is Morrone, who just isn't a strong lead. I'm not saying that it's the easiest job in the world to convey conflicted emotions and confusion while being attracted to a Megan Fox android, but Morrone needed to do much better here. His weak performance is especially disappointing compared to the good work from Fox and Zima, the former exuding an air of constant menace while not always overtly doing anything wrong and the latter being a vulnerable woman hoping to get her strength and health back before she loses her place in the family unit. Whipp is okay, I guess, but he just has to be angry and vengeful, and young Matilda Firth is sweet enough as Isla (with her even younger brother, played by Jude Greenstein, easily inhabiting his baby role by simply being a a baby).

I wanted this to be better, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't have fun with it. Everyone involved tries to hit the brief, as it were, and there are times when it does exactly what you want it to do. Unfortunately, there are too many times when it seems to think it needs more substance. Get a better lead actor in here, strip away the sub-plot commentary on the global situation, and you have a fine piece of sexy sci-fi silliness. As it is, Fox has the star power and the acting ability to still make this worth your time, but that really depends on whether or not you like Fox in the first place.

6/10