Body Snatchers (1993)

Although not his usual kind of film, and it's unsurprising to see that this was originally due to be directed by one of the co-writers (Stuart Gordon, who I think would have also done a great job), director Abel Ferrara finds himself well-matched to the classic alien invasion story represented here, helped by the fact that the setting is now an army base, instead of any standard town or city.

Gabrielle Anwar plays Marti Malone, a young woman who has just arrived at another temporary home with her family, made up of her mother, Carol (Meg Tilly), her father, Steve (Terry Kinney), and a little brother named Andy (Reilly Murphy). Keen to have some fun, Marti soon ends up in trouble, but that's nothing compared to the trouble that she could be in if she becomes replicated by some alien invaders. Because if you're going to replicate humans without finding a way to ensure they also have access to emotions, there are few better places to do that than an army base.

Based on the Jack Finney story, reworked by a couple of people updating the premise (including Larry Cohen), the script here is finalised by Gordon, Dennis Paoli, and Nicholas St. John, and it's a 1993 movie that, for better or worse, feels like an '80s movie. There are some great practical effects throughout, there's a younger lead character than we have in any other film adaptation (up to this point), and the pacing helps the 87-minute runtime just fly by. There are also one or two moments that stand out for the wrong reasons, one showing the fate of a character that maybe should have been edited around the limitations of the time, but it's generally all working to an impressively high standard.

Ferrara handles the whole concept well, and he can build tension and craft scares so well that it makes you regret the fact that he didn't give us some more "straightforward" horror movies throughout the '80s and '90s. Maybe most movies coming under that genre umbrella wouldn't appeal to him as much as the premise here. After all, Ferrara has always tended to feel like an outsider, an uncompromising individual who would never make life easier for himself if it meant giving up something that he felt was intertwined with his DNA. If there’s any surprise here it is the fact that it took so long until Ferrara decided to work with this material.

Cast-wise, this is full of treats. Anwar is an appealing lead, a young star who never seemed to get the BIG role that would put her on a higher status level, and she works well alongside Billy Wirth, who plays a soldier/ally/believer ready to help humanity survive. And Christine Elise fans will enjoy her work here, despite her limited screentime. Murphy is a decent little brother, a more vulnerable character who manages not to be too clingy or annoying. Kinney may be the least of the adult stars, simply due to his character being the blandest, but there are many treats elsewhere, from the sly menace of Meg Tilly (who has long been a favourite of mine) to the standard stern military officer role for R. Lee Ermey. There’s also an enjoyable little turn from Forest Whitaker, another individual on the army base who starts to suspect that something strange is going on, and plans to avoid the fate of so many others.

Sadly all too often forgotten in favour of the previous films based on the Finney tale, Body Snatchers actually earns a place alongside both the 1956 and 1978 movies. It reworks things without trying to change it into something too far removed from the source material, has some nice scenes of gloopy terror, pairs up the visuals with a fine score from Joe Delia, and generally deserves to be better known than it is. It’s top-tier Ferrara, it’s just a step aside from most other movies that Ferrara has preferred to give viewers throughout most of his directorial career.

8/10

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

Psycho II (1983)

It's a bold move to make a direct sequel to one of the greatest horror movies of all-time. It's an even bolder move to use the first moments to show the most famous sequence from the original film. I am not sure how it was initially received, but everyone should now be aware of the fact that Psycho II is a pretty fantastic film, a smart and entertaining psychodrama that is more than worthy of following the flawless original.

It has been over two decades since Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins, reprising his role) was committed to psychiatric care after the grisly discoveries shown in the first movie. He has now been declared sane, which means he is a free man. This upsets Lila Crane Loomis (Vera Miles), also reprising her role from the previous movie, and Lila plans to get Norman sent back to prison as soon as possible. But Norman may have an ally, in the shape of the lovely Mary (Meg Tilly), even if Mary may also be manipulating Norman at times.

Although not quite on a par with his portrayal of the character in the first movie, being over 20 years older naturally removes some of the vulnerability and seeming innocence of Norman, Perkins is once again a captivating screen presence. Despite his past, viewers know that he's not necessarily bad, or evil. He's sick. And, compared to those around him who want to make him sicker, or want to take advantage of him, he's often sweet and well-intentioned.

Tilly is the heart of the film, Mary is a young woman with a way about her that makes it easy to believe Norman would fall for her, and want to believe the best about her. And Miles is fantastic, playing a relentless woman who wants justice, no matter how far she has to go to get it. Robert Loggia is also very good, playing the doctor who is trying to help Norman, Dennis Franz adds another sweaty douchebag role to his filmography, and Hugh Gillin returns to the role of Sheriff Hunt.

Director Richard Franklin doesn't overdo things, in terms of style and technical flourishes, he seems very much aware of the fact that the film relies on the brand name, the main character, and the script, from Tom Holland. Speaking of the script, it's a fantastic concoction of reworked moments from the original film, twists and turns involving the new characters, and a beautifully-crafted narrative that uses Norman, and his struggles with sanity, in a way that allows everything to move along on an intriguing journey that never betrays the essence of the central character.

There are some minor issues. It often feels a bit flat, more akin to a TV movie than a cinematic release, and it's a shame that the rest of the movie doesn't manage quite the same level of dark humour and playfulness that is packed into the superb third act. Those quibbles aside, however, Psycho II holds up as one of the best sequels ever. Nothing was really going to equal the first film, but this comes surprisingly close.

9/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Dead By Dawn 2016: Antibirth (2016)

I started off laughing at Antibirth. It wasn't exactly a hard film to find amusing. But then it keeps on going and I just found myself laughing less. And less. And less. Until I eventually stopped. But still the movie kept going, throwing quirky black comedy beat after quirky black comedy beat at me. The last ten minutes or so put a smile back on my face, but that still wasn't enough to make up for the preceding 80+ minutes (that felt much longer to me).

Natasha Lyonne plays Lou, a young woman who spends her time getting drunk, stoned, or drunk and stoned. Chloe Sevigny is her best friend, and seems to enjoy spending a lot of her time the same way. And another couple of plot strands feature Mark Webber as a supplier of drugs and girls while Meg Tilly pops up to portray a character I can't even be bothered explaining. I'm sorry. I really can't. She's not exactly Miss Exposition, I guess, but she's certainly not far from it. Anyway, let's get back to Lou. Things get very interesting for her when she finds out that she's pregnant. Unfortunately, she cannot recall how this happened. In fact, she's pretty sure that it shouldn't actually BE happening to her. Has she blanked out during a sex session that led to her impregnation? Or is the explanation a stranger one?

Writer-director Danny Perez sure knows how to enjoy himself. Thankfully, there are times when that enjoyment seeps off the screen. It just doesn't happen as often as it should, or as often as it needs to. And he wears away your goodwill by piling on the quick cuts and clumsy editing as things become more frenetic and strange en route to the finale. Lyonne help to make things bearable, she's always fairly enjoyable and this is just the right type of role that lets her shine, as does Sevigny, Webber, and even Tilly (despite her thankless role I was just happy to see her again - not sure what else she's been doing lately but it's not been on my radar anyway).

If you like your horror to be less horrifying and more steeped in surrealism then this might just be a little cracker for you. And the practical effects used in the final, wild scenes almost make up for everything that has come along beforehand. Unfirtunately, this just didn't strike a chord with me at all. Which left me sitting there in growing discomfort and gloom while others laughed at the collection of disconnected moments of weirdness.

If you enjoyed this review, and live in the UK, feel free to browse and buy some shit here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/

If you enjoyed this review and live in the USofA then feel free to browse and buy some shit here - http://www.amazon.com/

3/10

Noir November: Masquerade (1988)

I guess it could be easily forgotten among many other slick thrillers from the past few decades, but Masquerade is a very enjoyable piece of fun. Any experienced viewer should be able to tell where the twists and turns are going to appear, yet that doesn't detract from the experience. In fact, seeing how the pieces are put in place to create the winding path of the plot is one of the main attractions, with another being the decent cast.

Rob Lowe stars as Tim Whalen, a young man who is gaining quite a reputation for his work in the sailing world. He's also getting to sleep with Kim Cattrall (who plays the wife of his boss), so it seems like a sweet life. But when he meets the lovely Olivia Lawrence (Meg Tilly) he falls in love. It maybe helps to know that she's megarich, which immediately casts aspersions on Tim's intentions. The couple find themselves under quite a bit of scrutiny, from Cattrall's character, from Olivia's horrible stepfather (John Glover), and from a local police officer (Doug Savant) who still holds a candle for Olivia. It's not long until some treachery is afoot.

Written by Dick Wolf, the script for Masquerade is clever enough to deliver information, both overtly and covertly, to the viewer, while never seeming too clever for its own good. It's both Hitchcockian and also enjoyable, polished nonsense.

Director Bob Swaim knows how to handle the material, and cuts his workload in half by getting the right people in the right roles. Using the attractive location, the attractive leads, and a very good score from John Barry, he keeps everything light and entertaining throughout, with most of the fun stemming from figuring out just who is due to get one over on who.

Lowe is excellent in the lead role, all charm and confidence. He also remains pretty likeable, even when his motives are called into question. Tilly is as lovely as ever, and she had quite a run of movies at this time that made the most of her fragile beauty (also check out Psycho II and Impulse if you can). Glover is always worth watching, in my opinion, as is Cattrall, although I admittedly like to see both onscreen for different reasons, and Savant does a decent enough job with his character, even if he is the weakest of the leads. Dana Delany and Erik Holland provide solid support, and the Long Island location is the perfect setting for such potential soap opera shenanigans.

This isn't a film that wants to take you down too many dark alleyways. It's not a film that will shock you with the revelations that it lines up, mainly throughout the last two thirds of the runtime. It's just a decent bit of entertainment, and it does exactly what it sets out to do.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Influence-Masquerade-Rob-Lowe/dp/B008FYZHDI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415565747&sr=8-2&keywords=masquerade+movie