Netflix And Chill: Kindred Spirits (2019)

There are a number of elements within Kindred Spirits that seem a bit strange, but not really in a bad way. First, Thora Birch is now cast as a mother character. Second, director Lucky McKee and writer Chris Sivertson have fully committed to something that feels like it could have easily been released in the late '80s to mid-'90s amongst the likes of Poison Ivy, Single White Female, and numerous other movies focusing on someone who is an entertainingly demented psychopath.

Birch plays Chloe, mother to Nichole (Sasha Frolova). Their relationship isn't exactly all sunshine and roses, but that may improve when Chloe's sister, Sadie (Caitlin Stasey), appears on the scene. Sadie wants a chance to regroup and maybe restart her life. And she ends up being more like a sister to Nichole than an aunt. Meanwhile, Chloe is also trying to keep her relationship with Alex (Macon Blair) a secret. And not just because Alex is the father of Nichole's best friend, Shay (Shonagh Smith). Tension is simmering away, and it eventually rises right up to the surface again, leading to some startling revelations and a number of deaths.

As long as you know the type of film you're getting then there's very little chance that Kindred Spirits should disappoint you. And if you don't know what you're getting into before the movie starts, fear not, McKee and Sivertson do a great job of setting everything up to ease viewers along a path that soon becomes a slippery slope towards unbridled insanity.

All of the cast play it straight, and fill their roles well. Birch may still look too young to be a mother, even if she is the right age nowadays, but her attempts to deal with her daughter will ring true with any parent who has gone through some difficult times. Frolova, for her part, manages to be an unhappy teen without ever becoming too annoying. Stasey is a lot of fun in her role, even when the plot starts to twist and change, and Blair is a very nice everyman, a sweet potential partner for Birch, despite her trying to keep some distance between them. Smith and Isai Torres also do good work, with the latter playing Nichole's boyfriend, Derek, and having to take part in what I would happily call the silliest scenes in the movie.

Although I am not going to rate this as anything unmissable, I'm taking pains to emphasise just how good it is for what it is aiming to do. More than that, it does everything in a way that is admirably free of the need to be coy, or wink at viewers in a self-aware display of "yes, this is trashy nonsense, everyone can roll their eyes and smile while they enjoy it ironically" deflection. Sivertson and McKee know what they're doing, no doubt about that, and they also know that this material wouldn't work as well if it was given the kind of meta layering that so many horror movies now think they have to contain.

If you want some self-aware horror then pick from the hundreds around. If you want an entertaining thriller played completely straight, and with a real crescendo in the third act, then this is for you. 

7/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Fear, Inc (2016)

Fear, Inc is a fun and inventive little comedy horror, light on actual big scares or gore moments but easily making up for it with the sheer entertainment factor of the main premise.

There's a company that you can hire to bring your greatest fears to life. That company is called Fear, Inc. As a treat for Joe (Lucas Neff), a huge horror movie fan, his friends decide to place a call and throw themselves into a real life horror movie scenario. Then they change their minds. Or do they? Are they even able to cancel the plans that have been quickly put in place? What's real and what isn't?

The good thing about Fear, Inc is that it mentions the fact it is very similar to The Game. Paradoxically, the bad thing about Fear, Inc is that it mentions the fact it is very similar to The Game. There's no getting away from the fact that this is a horror riff on that idea, and I appreciate the film-makers being upfront about that, but there's also no getting away from the fact that this doesn't have the resources or smarts to quite match that film. It also doesn't throw in enough references and gags, unless my eyes were deceiving me. If I paid to be thrown into my favourite genre for a life experience then I'd want to be picking up on little details that keep me on edge and make me think of the many horror movies I love.

Director Vincent Masciale, making his feature debut with an expansion of his short, written by Luke Barnett (who also stays on board here), does a decent job of sketching out the plot, making the steps from unease to horror as logical and believable as need be, and allowing the characters to have some fun and appeal to viewers before the tension starts to build. Barnett doesn't excel with the actual characterisations, the cast sell this more than the dialogue, but he does well with the film-related banter.

Neff does fine in the lead role, I can't imagine many horror fans who don't enjoy seeing someone portray a big horror fan onscreen, and the other three main players - Caitlin Stasey, Chris Marquette, and Stephanie Drake - all do well as they joke around and have fun en route to being potential murder victims. There's also a fun small role for the always welcome Richard Riehle.

It gets bonus points for not being just another typical slasher film, and for not just joining the ever-growing hordes of zombie movies and found footage films, but Fear, Inc is an entertaining near-miss rather than an outright home run. Worth your time, worth your support, and probably even worth an occasional rewatch.

6/10

You can buy it here.
Americans can buy an import here.

All Cheerleaders Die (2013)

Co-written and co-directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, All Cheerleaders Die is a chance for the guys to remake/rework a concept that they first delivered to audiences back in 2001. I haven't seen the original version so I can't comment on how closely this follows it, but I'm happy that this movie is here. It's a lot of fun, reminiscent of Jennifer's Body, with a little bit of The Craft and Heroes added to the mix.

The story starts with a young woman, Maddy (Caitlin Stasey), infiltrating the world of the cheerleaders as she puts together what seems to be some kind of documentary/promo piece about their lives. When tragedy strikes, and I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that a cheerleader dies, then Maddie ends up taking the plunge herself and applying to join the squad. It's all part of her plan to cause no small amount of upset, but her plan is scuppered when more deaths occur. Thankfully, a young witch (Leena, played by Sianoa Smit-Mcphee) is able to help out. But witchcraft isn't an exact science.

It may not have a script full of sassy one-liners, and it may not be as fast-moving as some may like, but I really had fun with this film. The humour stems from the fact that a bunch of cheerleaders end up being quite dangerous and powerful, completely by accident. They would, if it wasn't for Maddy, just get right back to their usual high school routine, which involved bitching about others, trying to get through classes with minimal effort, and fending off potential rapists.

McKee and Sivertson don't exactly twist genre conventions, but they mix things up in a way that makes everything a bit different from the norm, while also providing enough standard goodies for fans (there are some decent moments of bloodshed and, hey, the main characters are attractive cheerleaders - call me shallow, but I was happy throughout most of the movie).

Unfortunately, the main characters aren't all that strong. Stasey and Smit-McPhee both do well, setting themselves apart from the main crowd in their very first scenes, but Amanda Grace Cooper, Brooke Butler, Leigh Parker and Reanin Johannink all blur into one cheerleading mass. They're supposed to be that way, understandably, and their characters are allowed to develop slightly in the second half of the movie, but it still doesn't help viewers to fully engage with the unfolding events. Tom Williamson, playing Terry Stankus, stands out from the boys who are onscreen, mainly because he's the worst of the jocks, in ways that become clearer with each scene that he's in.

Perhaps suffering from a bit of an identity crisis (ironically enough, considering the fate of two main characters - see the film and you'll know what I mean), I still ended up enjoying All Cheerleaders Die, probably because I had no idea what to expect on the way in. I know some other people who have enjoyed it as much as I did, but I've also seen a lot of people thoroughly dislike it. I still recommend it anyway. If you hate it then it's only 90 minutes long. If you love it, well, you can thank me later.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/All-Cheerleaders-Blu-ray-Caitlin-Stasey/dp/B00JMLPC06/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1406405221&sr=1-2&keywords=all+cheerleaders+die

In fact, if you end up liking the movie then you can thank me by . . . . . . . . . . buying my book. Hell yeah!

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.