Shudder Saturday: Destroy All Neighbors (2024)

While not the first feature film from Josh Forbes (that was Contracted: Phase II, back in 2015), Destroy All Neighbors feels like a more pure vision. It's a horror comedy that you just know wouldn't be made if everyone involved didn't have a firm belief in the fact that they were making something unique and worthwhile. As the repeated mantra throughout the movie states: "not everyone will get it, but the right ones will." 

Jonah Ray plays William Brown, a struggling prog-rock musician who believes that he has a great album bubbling just beneath his skin, but isn't quite able to get everything in order to get a recording that matches his thoughts. His partner, Emily, (Kiran Deol), tries to remain as supportive as she can, but there are signs of strain. And that strain increases when William is perturbed by a very noisy new neighbour, Vlad (Alex Winter, under a lot of impressive make up). Eventually arguing with Vlad about the situation, William then accidentally kills him. That isn't the only death he ends up causing. What's worse is that the dead people seem to be just as active as they were when alive.

Written by Charles A. Pieper, Jared Logan, and Mike Benner (the latter two already credited with a decent selection of comedy material), Destroy All Neighbors is a film you could probably most accurately describe as daffy. Everything is over the top, from the main characters to the wonderful practical effects, and the plot is a simple mix of gore gags and Tenacious D. In fact, this would pair up surprisingly well with Freaked (although that is a better film), and I think that makes it obvious why Winter got involved. It's a shame that things weren't shown in a way that could make us doubt the viewpoint of the lead character a bit more, although some might argue that the inherently wild nature of the unfolding events should make us doubt that viewpoint anyway, but this is a very fun time for those who don't mind their horror comedies taking the time to be extra silly.

Forbes directs well enough, and helps himself immensely by delivering a runtime that clocks in under the 90-minute mark. The pacing isn't perfect, it feels as if each main act has at least one scene that runs a bit too long, but everything and everyone is moved into place nicely enough, helping to build up the many gags and underline the impact of a very satisfying finale.

Ray is very good in the main role, the typical schlub who ends up in a big mess he has to pro-actively deal with after years spent simply reacting, or not, to various levels of mistreatment from those around him. Deol has less to do, but she's rewarded with a couple of moments at the very end of the movie that allow her to add to the fun of the whole thing. Winter is having a blast (whether covered in all that make up or making a cameo as our lead's lawyer), as are both Thomas Lennon and Ryan Kattner (who play a sound studio engineer and volatile musician, respectively), and there are also decent performances from Randee Heller, DeMorge Brown, and Christian Calloway, all playing other people who end up reaching their "final destination" as things get progressively worse and worse for our lead character. I'll also mention Jon Daly, Pete Ploszek, and, making an unexpected and unnecessary, but enjoyable, cameo, Kumail Nanjiani.

Ultimately just not as sharp as it could be. The thin plot stumbles from one gag to the next, and somehow the moments of inventive gore will make many viewers wish that everyone had tried to push things even further in the direction of insane bloodshed and comedy deaths, but it's enjoyable and endearing throughout, and the fact that it's so eager to please should gain it some goodwill from most people who decide to check it out. Not great, and I wanted to enjoy it more than I did, but best summed up by saying . . . "not everyone will get it, but the right ones will".

6/10

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Freaked (1993)

Alex Winter is a douchebag. Not in real life. In real life, he seems to be one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. But in Freaked he is a massive douchebag, and also the main character.

He plays Ricky Coogan, a celebrity who is about to accept a huge payday to promote something that isn’t really that good for people. He gets first-hand experience of just how bad it can be when the crazy Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid) uses it to turn Ricky into a horrible freak, after making him witness the splicing of his friend (Ernie, played by Michael Stoyanov) and a young woman (Julie, played by Megan Ward) into one conjoined individual. All three are then thrown in alongside past victims of Skuggs, including the likes of Sockhead (voices by Bobcat Goldthwait), the Bearded Lady (Mr. T), Ortiz the Dogboy (Keanu Reeves), and a few others. Will Ricky and co. ever be able to free themselves, and reverse the effects of the mad freakmaker, or will they just have to learn to live with their new bodies?

As well as having a central role onscreen, Winter also co-directs here (alongside Tom Stern) and helped to write the script (with Stern and Tim Burns). Everyone behind the camera does a great job to deliver something very funny and wildly imaginative on a budget that probably wouldn’t cover the wardrobe costs on a Bill & Ted movie (and they aren’t exactly megabudget blockbusters). It would be easy to give all of the praise to Winter, who seems to have helped things along by making use of every connection and favour that he could (ensuring a number of fun cameos dotted throughout), but no individual makes a film alone, and everyone who worked on this deserves to get their share of kudos.

The practical effects are wonderful throughout, whether they are making people look as wild and weird as possible or just creating an extra visual gag (the cowboy, played by John Hawkes, is wonderful), and Kevin Kiner provides an enjoyable and appropriate musical score.

The performances are generally over the top, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Staying in line with the whacky sensibility of the material, everyone feels just right in their roles. Winter is a lot of fun, Stoyanov and Ward work well together, and Quaid keeps things lively with his demented “ringmaster” turn. As well as the people already mentioned in the collection of freaks, Derek McGrath does great work in the role of Worm, Jeff Kahn is Nosey, and Lee Arenberg is The Eternal Flame (another character complemented by an effect that allows for the gag to keep working). There are others, all doing well, but I decided not to go through the whole cast here. Oh, I should also mention Alex Zuckerman though, who plays a young Coogan fan/stalker named Stuey Gluck.

Still not as well-known as it should be, as far as I am concerned anyway, Freaked is the kind of film destined to retain a relatively small, but very loyal, fanbase over the years. I am happy to count myself as a member of that fanbase, and I would love to see more people discover this little comedy gem, especially if it involves some kind of anniversary disc release that allowed fans to own it with a few nice supplementary features.

8/10

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Bill And Ted Face The Music (2020)

There's a sweet message at the heart of Bill And Ted Save The Music. In fact, there are a couple of sweet messages. This will come as no surprise to fans of the previous two movies, in which our hapless heroes stumbled on adventures with a kindness and optimism to make up for their lack of intelligence. The film itself may be the weakest of the three, but maybe it's just what we need in the midst of the dumpster fire that is 2020.

The plot doesn't take long to get going at all. Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are still friends, and still married to the two princesses (Joanna, played by Jayma Mays this time, and Elizabeth, played by Erinn Hayes). There are also two daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving). They also still have yet to write and perform the one song that will keep time and space holding together, something that becomes a much more pressing concern when they are visited from the future by Kelly (Kristen Schaal) and informed that the song is needed in a matter of hours. Unable to think of anything, Bill and Ted come up with the idea of travelling to see their future selves to get the song they will know by then. Things start to get complicated.

Written once again by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, and bringing back a lot of the same cast members able to reprise supporting roles (including William Sadler as Death, Hal Landon Jr. as Ted's father, and even Amy Stoch as Missy), this is a film that feels made by people with their heart in the right place. Director Dean Parisot should also be a good choice, and he handles everything well enough.

It's a hard film to dislike, and I don't. It's also hard for me to pin down exactly why I didn't love it. The characters feel too old for their shenanigans this time around, but that is kind of the point. The plot does complex in a childishly simple way, but that is also part of the appeal. It has plenty of little touches for fans to enjoy while never keeping newcomers in the dark. What's not to appreciate about that?

I'm really not sure. There was just something that felt odd this time, and I am not completely unconvinced that my own mixed feelings to the film don't stem from the sweetness of it being juxtaposed against what may well be the personal worst year of my life (so far).

Winter and Reeves are great in the lead roles, as expected. They may have a little less energy this time around, in their main incarnations, but they certainly love these characters, and clearly have fun. Weaving and Lundy-Paine are saddled with having to do impressions of their onscreen dads, which is something performed better by the former than the latter. Sadler is yet again a highlight, Schaal is a good time-travelling agent, and Jillian Bell is a lot of fun in her small role (playing a marriage counsellor). Anthony Carrigan is less enjoyable, playing a killer robot sent to take care of Bill and Ted, and the portrayals of Jimi Hendrix and Louis Armstrong feel a bit off, but these characters are all offset by everything else going on.

You also get some fun cameos, plenty of unexpected wisdom from Kid Cudi, and impressive plotting that leads us to an ending that manages to be both slightly unexpected and yet also quite predictable and satisfying (I hope that makes sense when you see it).

Lots of people loved this. I liked it. I think it is a distraction that many people will enjoy just now, more for the fact that it's appropriately available at a time when it feels almost needed than the actual quality of the final product. 

6/10

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Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)

The boys are back, and this time they're going to Hell. The original title of this film was, in fact, originally going to be "Bill & Ted Go To Hell" but, apparently, many Americans are put off by anything that uses the word Hell so that was changed. Thankfully, most of what made the first film so enjoyable was kept the same.

Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves reprise their main roles as, respectively, Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted Theodore Logan. This time the future is jeopardised by the wicked De Nomolos (Joss Ackland), a man who has had enough of people being excellent to each other and enjoying rock 'n' roll music. He decides to crash the party in spectacular fashion, by using the time-travelling phonebox to send back evil robot versions of the boys, killing the real pair and then ruining their lives and musical career. It's a cunning plan, and one that looks as if it will work when Bill and Ted are killed off pretty quickly. But death doesn't have to be the end.

It may be a new director at the helm in the shape of Peter Hewitt, but writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon (whose name is reversed for the name of the villain) are back and clearly out to do their best for two characters embraced so readily by audiences the first time around.

Winter and Reeves slip back into their roles as easily as any of their casual clothing. They have some fun playing the bad robots, but always seem more at ease being the optimistic, naive, good guys. Rufus (played by George Carlin) returns, as do the princesses from the first film, although they are now played by Annette Azcuy and Sarah Trigger and they have slightly more screentime. Great support comes from Amy Stock-Poynton, Chelcie Ross, Pam Grier and many others (including Hal Landon Jr. and Roy Brocksmith, two men who at one point have to bravely attempt to act as if their bodies have been inhabited by the spirits of our leading dudes). But the highlight of the movie is William Sadler, hilariously deadpan - no pun intended - in the role of the Grim Reaper. The film moves along nicely before he appears, but as soon as his character starts to interact with Bill and Ted the whole thing is lifted slightly, putting it on a par with the first film.

People expecting more time travel shenanigans may be slightly disappointed, but the main premise IS based on altering timelines and the finale has some fun with the familiar phonebox. There are lots of great characters, all of them in the shadow of the Grim Reaper (suitably enough, I suppose), and a rousing rock song or two on the soundtrack, including the mighty God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You. If you enjoyed the first movie then you'll enjoy this movie.

Station!

8/10

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bill-Teds-Bogus-Journey-DVD/dp/B00005KIVU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370204606&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+and+ted%27s+bogus+journey

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

You may wonder just what could appeal to anyone above the age of 15 in a movie about two dim-witted metalheads who need to travel through time in a telephone box to improve their chances of presenting a very important history report. It's a fair query, but it's also one that has a fair answer.

There's no denying that Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is mainly a teen film, but the main characters are so naive and sweet that nothing about the movie really feels as if it's a film JUST showing how cool young things go through their daily lives. It's a film, like many others, about believing in yourself. It's a film about friendship. And it's a film about being excellent to each other. Which, let's face it, isn't the worst message for a teen film to contain.

Alex Winter is Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Keanu Reeves is Ted Theodore Logan. The two young men don't know it, but they will be a pretty big deal in the future. However, that will only happen if they pass that important history assignment, a moment in their lives that is so crucial that a man named Rufus (George Carlin) is sent back in a time-travelling telephone box to hand it over to them and give them the best chance of making everything right for a future generation. Bill and Ted decide that the best thing they can do is actually pick up a few historical figures in order to impress their teacher (Bernie Casey), and to also maybe fall for a couple of princesses (played by the lovely Diane Franklin and Kimberley LaBelle).

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure benefits from a surprisingly witty script from Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon (it may be daft, but it's far from all daft and the time-travel trickery is enjoyably realised), good direction from Stephen Herek that makes the most of the material and resources available and, perhaps most of all, spirited performances from the leads and everyone else involved. Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman, Rod Loomis, Al Leong, Robert V. Barron, Clifford David and Jane Wiedlin (as in Jane "Rush Hour" Wiedlin) have fun as they pretend to be, respectively, Napoleon, Billy The Kid, Socrates, Sigmund Freud, Genghis Khan, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig van Beethoven and Joan Of Arc. Carlin is great as Rufus and Amy Stock-Poynton provides some amusement as the young lady who was once at school with Bill and Ted, but is now Bill's stepmother.

Maybe I am desperately trying to cling on to my last shred of youthful spirit so my opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt, but I think this movie still works well with anyone who still has an urge to turn up the volume when a favourite rock song comes on. The fact that it encourages a responsible mix of partying and learning, because learning is shown here as a GOOD thing, probably upsets as many people as it pleases. Which I just view as another aspect of the film that is most excellent.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bill-Teds-Excellent-Adventure-DVD/dp/B001D07Q8K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370200449&sr=8-1&keywords=bill+and+ted

Death Wish 3 (1985)

Try as I might, I just can't fully shake the feeling that I haven't actually watched Death Wish 3. As the credits rolled I had almost convinced myself that what had gone before my eyes couldn't have been anything else but a fevered dream full of crazy gunplay and heroic vigilante behaviour. My mind had somehow blended together Home Alone, *Batteries Not Included and Behind Enemy Lines. With a bit of Rambo thrown in there for good measure. Amazingly, it wasn't a dream. None of it. It was all real. Surreal yet real, all the same.

Charles Bronson returns to play, arguably, the role that defined him throughout the 1980s. He's Paul Kersey, a man pushed so far over the edge that he can no longer see where he used to hang on to any semblance of normality. Worries about going too far have been banished from his mind, he has returned to New York and is now a killing machine, secretly endorsed by police and dropped into an urban warzone like some OAP prototype of the T-101.

It's Michael Winner directing once again and Don Jakoby takes care of the writing duties (which probably just consisted of writing "punks kill people and upset Charles Bronson, who goes on a killing spree with increasingly-heavy artillery at his disposal). The essence of the movie remains similiar to that classic original film but, in oh so many ways, they are also both very, very different. America is not a country with a major crime problem that causes some upset this time, it's just one big gang-controlled area not unlike something normally seen only in the wilder movies from Troma. Old folks are hassled and hurt and even killed while eagerly awaiting a chance to draw blood and fight back. And thugs can actually call in other gangs of thugs whenever they need backup. In fact, I was quite surprised that this WASN'T a Troma movie. It certainly had the heightened lunacy throughout.

Bronson is, of course, very good in the lead role once again. Martin Balsam gets a decent bit of screentime, as does Ed Lauter. Deborah Raffin is shoehorned in there, her character almost laughable and completely unnecessary for most of her screentime. But that is more than made up for by Gavan O'Herlihy and his superb turn as the lead villain. Other folks get their chance to play scumbags but viewers of my age (mid-30s) will probably have the most fun watching another rare film outing for Alex Winter (aka the one who wasn't Keanu Reeves in the Bill & Ted movies).

For Jimmy Page fans, there is the extra enjoyment gained from the fact that he has returned to create the score after his work on the second movie.

I can't deny that I was entertained from beginning to end with this movie. I'm just not sure how much of that entertainment factor stemmed from the ridiculousness of the whole thing and the feeling of incredulity it filled me with.

6/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Wish-3-UK-DVD/dp/B0067LGHUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1328915534&sr=1-1