Shudder Saturday: Vicious Fun (2020)

Director Cody Calahan has been doing some interesting work over the last ten years or so. Just last year alone he directed both this and The Oak Room (a film I am looking forward to rewatching before I give it a full review). But he started his feature career with Antisocial, which is a film I really disliked. I'm glad that I forgot all about my first exposure to his work, especially now that I am actively looking forward to anything else he lines up.

Working from a script by first-timer James Villeneuve (who has one short to his name before this, but nothing else that I can see), Calahan has delivered something that's absolutely spot on when it comes to the mix of silliness and dark comedy. The only thing really working against it is the small scale of every main sequence, either coming from the script or executed that way due to a limited budget.

Evan Marsh plays Joel, a horror magazine film critic who doesn't seem to be able to find a way to diplomatically interview anyone he views as simply directing tired and lazy genre fare. We see this in his very first encounter. We also see that Joel has a crush on Sarah (Alexa Rose Steele). When Sarah returns from a date one evening, Joel decides to follow the man she has decided to spend some time with. That man is Bob (Ari Millen), and a conversation with Bob leads to a drink or two in a bar, which leads to more drinks, which leads to Joel passing out in a closet and then waking up when the bar is closed. It's not empty though, and Joel takes a seat among a group of people who turn out to be serial killers. And it's not long until Bob appears to take his place in the circle. Which puts Joel in a very sticky situation.

Having fun with some killer archetypes (Robert Maillet plays Mike, a man who seems to love killing teens in camping grounds, Julian Richings plays Fritz, who has a penchant for using poison), Vicious Fun generally manages to live up to its title. It's no big surprise to see that Joel cannot keep up the facade for long, and most of the movie involves him trying to stay alive, helped by a skilled female killer named Carrie (Amber Goldfarb). More fun comes from Joel starting off as pretty much useless, while he relies on Carrie's skillset to keep them safe, but becoming more confident as he is forced into a number of situations he would much prefer to be viewing on a movie screen.

Marsh is a decent lead, doing a good job of being weak and pathetic until he finally starts to find a bit of fire in his belly. Goldfarb and Millen are both great, playing two killers with very different views on who they should be killing. Richings and Maillet are both good fun, Sean Baek does okay with his relatively small amount of screentime, and David Koechner has what amounts to an extended cameo, but is fun when he's around. Steele feels just right in her role, and you have superb comedic turns from Kristopher Bowman, Mark Gibson, and John Fray as three cops not about to believe for one second the far-fetched tale they hear from Joel.

Although really good throughout, Vicious Fun never becomes great. That's a shame. All of the ingredients are there, with the only thing lacking maybe a bit of daring or confidence. Mind you, it is easier to be daring and more confident when you have more money to play around with. At least you still get some memorable characters, a witty script, and a few decent kills in a film that makes the most of a premise that could have easily felt too slight for a feature.

7/10

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Cheap Thrills (2013)

Pat Healy is Craig, a man having a very bad day. When he decides to drown his sorrows in a bar he meets up with Vince (Ethan Embry), an old friend. It's not long until the two men meet Colin (David Koechner) and Violet (Sara Paxton). Colin, as a treat for Violet on her birthday, decides to offer money in exchange for challenge accepted by Craig and/or Vince. It starts off as a bit of fun, but soon gets darker and more dangerous. Craig and Vince end up seriously competing against one another, their bonds of friendship weakening as the money on offer for each task goes up and up.

Director E. L. Katz does well here, especially considering that it's his first time in the director's chair. The movie is a small, intimate one, but also keeps reminding viewers of the wider world that's still out there, a world that Craig and Vince will have to face after humiliating themselves for cash. Whenever it seems as if the movie might need to pause and take a breath, it doesn't. Oh no, this just keeps on rolling once the nastiness gets underway.

Trent Haaga and David Chirchirillo are the writers of the script, and the two deserve no small amount of credit for giving Katz such great material to work with. Haaga, in particular, has been working in this vein for a number of years, often walking a fine line in his movies between potential horror and dark, dark comedy (and fans of the Saw franchise should check out his fantastic film, Chop).

But neither the script nor the direction would be enough to make this a great movie if the cast weren't up to the job, and thank goodness that they are. Both Healy and Embry somehow manage to stay likable throughout, even as greed starts to overshadow the better aspects of their personalities, while Koechner is a fantastic mix of benevolence and manipulation. Sara Paxton may have the least to do, out of the four main characters, but she's fine in her role, and her character is just as important to the whole dynamic, whether she's an onlooker or sometimes even a part of a challenge.

The bottom line - Cheap Thrills is a great little movie. It's not entirely dissimilar to a number of other movies that have been released over the past few years, but it does have enough going for it, thanks mainly to all of the main characterisations, to make it one of the better recent ruminations on human nature being polluted by greed. Give it a go. I bet you enjoy it.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Cheap-Thrills-Ethan-Embry/dp/B00IXYMXY6/ref=sr_1_4?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1395529842&sr=1-4&keywords=cheap+thrills

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Bonus Review: Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Most people will already know whether or not they're going to like Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. It reteams writer-director Adam McKay with writer-star Will Ferrell, it brings back all of the main cast member, and it fills the screen with many gags riffing on material from the first movie.

Ferrell is Ron Burgundy, of course, and this movie sees him at another crossroads in his life. He's having relationship problems with Veronica (Christina Applegate) and he's not the success he once was, but Freddie Shapp (Dylan Baker) comes along at just the right time to make him an interesting offer. 24 hour news. The idea seems ridiculous, but when Ron is allowed to get his old team back together he sees no reason not to at least give it a go. Which allows viewers to spend more time with Ron, Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and Champ Kind (David Koechner).

I was hoping to love this sequel, and perhaps one day I will. But not today. It has some decent gags here and there, but too many moments feel either overdone and stretched out, with the film coming in at just under two hours, or far too reliant on replaying jokes from the first movie, with minor variations.

I must say, however, that when I first saw the first Anchorman movie I wasn't impressed. I didn't see what all the fuss was about. And then I ended up watching it almost every day for a fortnight, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was the funniest movie of the year. I'm not sure if the same thing will happen here, but I will allow for the fact that this may well grow on me.

As well as Dylan Baker, Meagan Good is a new addition to the sprawling ensemble, adding some more discomfort for Burgundy by being both a woman and black. Yes, you can imagine some of the awkwardness that ensues, but Good matches everyone in the cast with her fun, fiery turn. James Marsden gives yet another great performance in an increasingly long line of great performances (seriously, the guy is turning into quite the scene-stealer) as Burgundy's main rival in the studio, Greg Kinnear gets a few good moments as Burgundy's main rival elsewhere, and Kirsten Wiig bumps up the laugh quota as a female counterpart to Brick Tamland. Fans will also be happy to hear that there's another cameo-filled fight scene to liven up the third act.

McKay and Ferrell seems to bring out both the worst and the best in one another. They have some great ideas, and great running gags, but the self-indulgence on display sometimes outweighs the thin material, and an excessive runtime really doesn't help.

Of course, those who enjoy the whole thing more than I did will welcome every extra minute.

Those who want to stay classy for much longer will do well to pick up Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues on Bluray, which also contains the alternate version of the movie (complete with 763 new jokes, according to the advertising) and more extras than you can shake a glass of scotchy scotch scotch at.

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Anchorman-Legend-Continues-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B0083XXWRE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1400860610&sr=1-2&keywords=anchorman

April Fools: A Haunted House (2013)

A parody full of juvenile humour that focuses on sex and/or flatulence, it must be something created by one of the Wayans brothers. Lo and behold, yes it is. Marlon Wayans co-wrote this one with Rick Alvarez, and he also gets the leading role, funnily enough.

Wayans is Malcolm, a young man about to take a big step in his relationship with Kisha (Essence Atkins). Yes, they're moving in together. Unfortunately, that's the cue for a lot of supernatural shenanigans, which leads to Malcolm fitting the house with lots of cameras, in an attempt to see just what is going on in their home.

Mainly referencing the Paranormal Activity series for most of the gags, this film also lifts moments from The Last Exorcism and The Devil Inside. That's not surprising, especially for anyone who saw the trailers. What IS surprising is how many gags manage to avoid being completely awful. I can't say that I thought A Haunted House was good, it's not one I would ever want to watch again, but it was certainly better than I thought it was going to be. There were even one or two moments that made me smirk.

Wayans is slightly less annoying than usual here, but he's still annoying. Has he ever done anything in which he wasn't annoying? Probably, but I really can't think of anything just now. Essence Atkins is a little bit more enjoyable, and the supporting turns from David Koechner, Cedric The Entertainer and Nick Swardson provide some chuckles. I just wish the same could be said of everyone given screentime (Affion Crockett isn't great, but he's also given some of the worst material to work with).

The script is as lowbrow as expected, and the direction from Michael Tiddes works with the material to hammer home each joke and ensure that things are kept tasteless. Why hint at something when it can be shown? Subtlety is not a keyword here.

There's an audience for this kind of movie (the sequel was greenlit a while ago, god help us) but I'll never be a fan. My generous rating reflects the few gags that worked, and worked well. The dialogue between Koechner and Wayans is particularly enjoyable, and perhaps it's worth noting that their best moment doesn't directly parody any other movie.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunted-House-Blu-ray-Marlon-Wayans/dp/B00ECWY18E/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1397041646&sr=1-2&keywords=a+haunted+house

Piranha 3DD (2012)

How do you follow up something as ridiculously over the top and entertaining as Piranha 3D, the loose remake of the cracking Joe Dante movie? Well, if you're director John Gulager then you try to take the basic idea and use it for something even MORE ridiculously over the top and entertaining. Sadly, he only manages to achieve the first part of his aim.

Danielle Panabaker is Maddy, a young woman disgusted by the plans of her stepfather (David Koechner) to make his new waterpark a resounding success by populating it with lots of large-breasted women who aren't averse to showing off their assets. Unfortunately, in an effort to cut costs, the waterpark is also draining water from somewhere it really shouldn't. Somewhere that might contain some large, deadly piranha. While a number of horrible things happen to individuals who go playing around in nearby water, viewers are one step ahead of the characters onscreen as things build up to a piranha-filled, bloody finale.

There's certainly some fun to be had with Piranha 3DD. As well as Panabaker and Koechner in their roles, the cast contains the lovely Katrina Bowden, Matt Bush being sweet, David Hasselhoff portraying himself as an egotistical asshole, and Ving Rhames returning after his encounter with the deadly fish in the first movie. It's good to see Christopher Lloyd back, too. There are also, of course, a number of beautiful women in almost every scene, all fed up of being constrained by those old-fashioned bra things.

The special effects are wildly varied, with some shockingly bad CGI appearing, but they're more than a match for the many outrageous gore gags scattered throughout the movie, the script by Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton is pretty weak, and the direction from Gulager fails to balance things well enough for anyone wanting anything coming close to tension or thrills. The mix of gore and off-the-wall humour worked when the same team of writers and director gave audiences Feast, but it's mishandled here.

Don't get me wrong. This is an easy film to have some fun with, if you can watch it without rolling your eyes every few seconds. But it's not an easy film to like.

4/10

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Extract (2009)

Another enjoyable comedy written and directed by Mike Judge, this may be his weakest film to date but it's still a fun viewing experience thanks to a great cast working with a great script.

Jason Bateman plays Joel, the owner/manager of an Extract plant. All is going pretty well for Joel apart from the fact that he can't seem to get home before eight o'clock, which is the time that his wife (Kristen Wiig) puts her sweatpants on. Once the sweatpants are on, Joel gets nothing and he's a bit frustrated by his lack of sex life. When a work-related accident leads to loyal worker Step (Clifton Collins Jr.) losing one of his testicles, Joel finds himself the unwitting payday opportunity for Cindy (Mila Kunis), a thief who realises that she can engineer a meeting with Step before manipulating him into suing the company for more money. Meanwhile, Joel also makes the mistake of following the advice of his friend Dean (Ben Affleck) and hiring someone to seduce his wife, supposedly leaving his conscience clear to begin his own affair.

It may not be as brilliantly wired into the consciousness of all working Joes (a la Office Space) or full of the easy, big laughs of Idiocracy but this still deserves to be appreciated by anyone after comedy that aims higher than most.

Judge is a great talent behind the camera. There may not be too many tricks and flourishes onscreen but he does what's needed to keep things moving along and set up every scene full of that memorable dialogue.

Bateman is good in the main role, playing the kind of role that he can play in his sleep, and Kunis is believably cute and charming. It's easy to imagine her getting away with just what she gets away with. Wiig is also very good in an atypical role, as is Ben Affleck, playing someone slightly addled from a life centred around far too many drugs. Clifton Collins Jr. is a sweet enough "mark" and there is good support from J. K. Simmons, T. J. Miller, Betsy Palmer, Gene Simmons, David Koechner (also in a slightly atypical role, as a persistent and dull neighbour) and Matt Schulze.

All in all, Extract is well worth your time. By the time the end credits roll, there's nothing major to mull over but it's simply a nice, consistently amusing, character piece that won't disappoint.

7/10

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Reno 911!: Miami (2007)

While I never watched the TV version of Reno 911! I was somehow always aware of it. It was a parody of the "COPS"-style TV shows that have become so popular over the last decade or so and featured some great comedy from two people I really enjoy seeing onscreen - Thomas Lennon and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Maybe if I'd seen some episodes I would have enjoyed it. Maybe not.

The plot sees our hapless police officers invited to a big event in Miami. It's not that they're special, or that anyone actually wanted them there, but the fact is that this time around everyone was invited. Things start off as you would expect - the group are mocked and their details can't be found on the system - but things swiftly turn around the next day when a terrorist attack leaves every other officer quarantined inside the main event building. Law and order must remain and it's up to the folks from Reno to uphold it. Uh oh.

Directed by Robert Ben Garant (who also co-wrote the thing with stars Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney - and, I'm sure, everyone who was able to improv some lines), this movie suffers due to the fact that every single character is just slightly too dumb to be amusing for an entire film. The cops are dumb, of course, but The Rock pops up just to be dumb too. Then we have a dumb, though still amusing, Scarface-inspired baddie played by Paul Rudd. Patton Oswalt, as Jeff Spoder, does reasonably well until the big finale, in which he also becomes pretty dumb. It's a symphony of stupidity and that's a tricky thing to get just right, which is why the movie falls down slightly.

There are many individual moments that cause laughs (the aforementioned appearance from The Rock is one while attempts to remove the body of a beached whale is another) but there are many other moments that pile on the crudity and nonsense without success. Lennon is consistently great, as are Wendi McLendon-Covey and Kerri Kenney, but the other main characters are either undeveloped or just plain unfunny.

With a cast that also features David Koechner and Nick Swardson, and even a small and amusing cameo for Danny DeVito, there's enough stupidity thrown around to make this a passable time-waster but it's not one that I'll choose to watch again.

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reno-911-Miami-The-Movie/dp/B000RGUN2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341255680&sr=8-1