Satanic Panic (2019)

Written by Grady Hendrix (arguably best known for his outstanding work on the wonderful Paperbacks From Hell book), Satanic Panic is the feature directorial debut from Chelsea Stardust, after a number of years directing shorts, as well as a number of various roles in the movie industry. All I can say is that I hope she is already developing her next feature, because this is an absolutely brilliant bit of entertainment, happy to take a diversion or two into some very wild territory indeed.

Hayley Griffith stars as Sam, a young woman at the start of her career as a pizza delivery driver. That start is not looking too promising. She doesn't get any tips, she ends up roped into helping customers with small tasks that shouldn't be any of her concern, and then, worst of all, she ends up the potential virgin sacrifice at the heart of a ritual being led by a ruthless and powerful coven leader (Danica Ross, played by Rebecca Romijn). Can she survive the night? And will anyone actually give her a decent tip?

With a script full of great lines of dialogue, in the form of both venomous one-line insults and amusing exchanges between characters, and a fantastic brisk pace from start to finish, Satanic Panic is a film full of easy pleasures, and a lot of laughs. Thankfully, and to the relief of many horror fans, it also delivers on the satanic part of the title. Although not ever really scary, it's nice to see something put together that feels as if equal care has been given to the moments of horror and gore in between the many chuckles. At least one set-piece has an impressive commitment to what is being shown that should make viewers squirm and wince, and the infrequent gore gags are expertly realised to show plenty of blood flowing without churning any stomachs.

It also helps that the casting here is practically perfect. Although Griffith is very likable in the lead role, and is given a great co-star to work with in the shape of Ruby Modine (who plays a young woman who was the original potential sacrifice), there is an impressively large shadow cast over the proceedings by Romijn, giving the best performance I have seen from her as a leader who has to balance the black arts with social standing, rivalries, and her own family. Arden Myrin is also a lot of fun, the number two who may hope to one day be number one, and there are great supporting turns from the likes of AJ Bowen, Jordan Ladd, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Jerry O'Connell, and others.

Although it can feel like 90% of horror film festival highlights are horror comedies (and I first heard about this after it was received very well at a number of festivals), Satanic Panic also deserves some extra brownie points for not being another of the seemingly unending comedic riffs on slasher or zombie movies. I also enjoy many of those, don't get me wrong, but it's always good to see something willing to take a path less traveled.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.

Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

I really enjoyed the timeloop slasher shenanigans of Happy Death Day so I knew I would be keen to see a sequel. My enthusiasm for it was not at all diminished when I heard that it takes things in a surprisingly different direction from the first film, focusing on more comedy than thrills, and I think that most people should be aware of that before the film begins. Because this IS a very different beast from its predecessor, despite early scenes trying to pretend otherwise (for all of ten minutes).

Tree (Jessica Rothe) is delighted to have finally reached the day after her birthday, the day that she was stuck in for the duration of the first movie, waking up every morning in a bed in the dorm room of Carter (Israel Broussard).  Unfortunately, the same problem is now affecting Carter's roommate, Ryan (Phi Vu). But there's every chance that it has something to do with the science project that he has been working on with Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Andrea (Sarah Yarkin). And it's not just time that has been pushed out of whack, there are parallel universes to also consider.

As well as all of the returning faces in front of the camera, Christopher Landon is back in the director's chair, and also gives himself the writing duties this time around. There's not as much needed this time around when it comes to establishing the visual signposts, and Landon uses the freedom to get things moving along as quickly as possible, removing the tension and upping the quirkiness and the comedy. It's a bold choice, and not an entirely successful one, for reasons that I'll get to after the next paragraph (see, I DO plan what I write sometimes).

All of the leads do great work, with Rothe and Broussard once again proving a great pairing to anchor the main events. Vu is immediately likeable as soon as he is pushed front and centre, while Sharma and Yarkin get a nice selection of scene-stealing lines and moments between them. Steve Zissis is the stereotypical angry dean who gets in the way of things, and he is fun in that role, while Ruby Modine, Rachel Matthews, and Charles Aitken all seem to enjoy portraying their characters with a bit of a twist, compared to how we viewed them the first time around.

I quite enjoyed the comedy of Happy Death Day 2U (there's a death montage that is one of the most enjoyably twisted and amusing things I have seen in a "teen movie" in years). I didn't even mind the more dramatic moments, forced as they were, when Tree was once again struggling to deal with the loss of her mother. I could have done without that particular strand, and I think the film would have been better without it, but it's perfectly fine, for what it is. So it's a shame there's so little tension this time around, the little that is there dissipates by the time we get to the third act. And it's an even greater shame that more intriguing possibilities teased in the earlier scenes are then just dropped for the rest of the film. Those are the two main failings of the film, major enough to at least drag this just below the bar set by the first film.

If you ensure that you have calibrated your expectations before pressing play, Happy Death Day 2U is fun. It's just easy to see ways in which it could have been so much better.

6/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Happy Death Day (2017)

Just because everyone else has mentioned it already doesn't mean that I will refrain from using the same words; Happy Death Day is best described as Scream meets Groundhog Day. If that very brief summation of the plot doesn't appeal to you then you're unlikely to enjoy it. But if your face lights up at those words . . . this will work for you.

Jessica Rothe plays a college student named Theresa, AKA Tree, who wakes up on her birthday, goes about her usual activities, and ends up dying violently at the hands of a murderous madman. She then wakes up again, on her birthday, and starts trying to figure out what is going on, and trying to get through the day without dying. Unfortunately, someone is very very determined to have her dead by the end of the day. And each death leads to a jump back to the start of the day.

Although you could point at Happy Death Day and bemoan the lack of bloodshed and more adult content, that would be nitpicking. This is, after all, a film for teens, and it succeeds brilliantly in that regard.

The script by Scott Lobdell gets everything right. There aren't too many main characters (with most of the action revolving around Tree and the boy she first sees upon waking up every morning, Carter), the main activities throughout the day are obvious pointers of the timeline, and also ready to be changed by the actions of Tree, the deaths are decent enough, and the mystery element - the who and the why - is simple and effective.

Director Christopher Landon shows, once again, that he's a dab hand with the horror genre tropes. This may not be as much fun as his previous outing, Scout's Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse, but it's almost an ideal teen horror (with a little bit of comedy) to please most people wanting something for the weekend.

Rothe and Israel Broussard (playing Carter) make for decent leads, despite my not being overly familiar with either of them. They work well together, and Rothe is in almost every scene (due to the nature of the plot device), and there are also decent enough supporting turns from Ruby Modine, Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton, and everyone else involved. Surprisingly, considering how often it happens in these movies, there aren't any seasoned genre stars in cameo roles, as far as I can recall, but the material is strong enough to make any such concessions or winks unnecessary.

I can understand why some horror fans wouldn't want to give any of their time to this. It's fairly safe and inoffensive stuff, in many ways. But that doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile. While it may not be all that intense, or any kind of splattery gorefest, it's a surprisingly smart and enjoyable twist on standard slasher fare.

7/10

Pick it up here.
And Americans can pick it up here.