Netflix And Chill: The Possession Of Hannah Grace (2018)

If you enjoyed The Autopsy Of Jane Doe then you should enjoy this. It is very similar, in that a corpse is delivered to someone who starts to suspect there may be some secrets worth discovering about the body. It also has some similarities to Last Shift, which has a young female police officer in trouble. Strangely enough, I loved the former and only quite enjoyed the latter (although many others loved it). And I really liked this.

Shay Mitchell plays Megan Reed, an ex-cop who left her time on the force due to some personal problems. She is able to get a job working the night shift in a morgue, which leads to her encountering the broken and mangled corpse of Hanna Grace. Following her police instincts, Megan tries to find out more about the corpse, how the murder happened, and what is now making some strange things happen in the morgue.

Capably directed by Diederik Van Rooijen, who seems to have a solid filmography full of movies I haven't yet seen, the big surprise here is the fact that the script is written by Brian Sieve. Sieve gave us Boogeyman 2, Boogeyman 3, and a fair chunk of Scream: The TV Series. None of those projects are a really good time for horror fans, so I think it's fair to say that this stands out as his best work yet. The plotting keeps developing little details nicely, even if things go from zero to insanity very quickly, the flawed central character is a good one to root for, and there are a number of enjoyable death scenes that turn supporting characters into broken bodies.

Mitchell is very good in her role, a damaged individual with a core of strength that remains, despite her moments of weakness. Louis Herthum is a man with inside knowledge of the corpse (played by Kirby Johnson, and I don't want to dismiss her performance, even if her character spends most of her time on a morgue table), and Grey Damon, Nick Thune, Stana Katic, and Maximillian McNamara all work well in their roles.

There are things the movie doesn't get right, particularly in ramping up the pure horror aspects while a number of other people have to avoid seeing anything that our lead ends up seeing, but these are minor complaints. Even the lack of any real stylistic flourishes doesn't matter too much. This is a film that gets the basics right, and getting the basics right, before adding some extra touches to them, puts any horror movie ahead of the hundreds made by people who seem to completely misunderstand the genre. The scares here are crafted expertly, the setting makes it easier to accept the relative lack of people and activity, and everything builds to an unsurprising, but very satisfying, ending.

8/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Dead By Dawn 2018: Dave Made A Maze (2017)

Dave Made A Maze is exactly what it says it is. It's a film that revolves around Dave (Nick Thune) having made a maze. He has made his maze out of cardboard. A lot of cardboard. And is now lost somewhere in the middle of it. Well, that is what he tells his disbelieving girlfriend, Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani), who then calls in his friend, Gordon (Adam Busch), who calls in a motley selection of people. Despite protests from Dave, everyone heads inside the maze, and they find themselves in an elaborate cardboard world that includes booby traps, living cardboard creatures, and a certain maze-dwelling mythological character.

What this film lacks in budget and star power, although there is at least one familiar face in the cast, it more than makes up for with creativity, wonderful production design and plenty of wit. Director Bill Watterson, who co-wrote the screenplay with story originator Steven Sears, shows no signs of insecurity or indecision in his debut feature. Instead, he effortlessly draws viewers into the surreal world created onscreen and blends common movie moments with a delightfully childish selection of interpretations.

And it's not just the consistently inventive visual style that entertains. The script is full of wonderful gags that range from the sublime to the ridiculous, whether it's people finding themselves suddenly trying to discuss their problems in rhyming couplets or a running gag with people delivering a particular line from Raging Bull.

The cast also help to sell the silliness and make you care about something that could have easily been risible and too daffy to bother with. Thune and Kumbhani have the two hardest roles, because Dave has brought this upon himself and Annie could easily either come across as too weak for not standing up to him. Their performances are, however, helped by a script that places them where they need to be without dragging them to any annoying extremes, and it's easy to sense that the couple have problems, but also that they really do love one another and want to move forward when they next get the chance. Busch has an easier role, and he's arguably the highlight of the film with his mix of admiration for the maze and concern for his friend. James Urbaniak, Frank Caeti, and Scott Narver are also very entertaining as the small (amateur) film crew documenting the journey into the maze, and both Stephanie Allynne and Kirsten Vangsness at least get a couple of great moments.

Although horror fans will appreciate the absurd and elaborate moments that lead to enjoyably ungory deaths, Dave Made A Maze is definitely not one that should be sold as a horror film. It's a fantastical adventure with some time set aside for relationship counselling. And lots and lots of cardboard.

7/10

You can buy the film here, although I don't know about the shipping options.