2022 Blindspot Pick #10: The Frighteners (1996)

Tags

Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

If ghosts are really dead and well
And haunting us instead of hell
Or heaven, then it’s fair to ponder
What they’re up to when they wander.

Could it be their lifeless heads
Are in our bathrooms, in our beds,
Next to us when we’re alone
To judge us and what’s on our phone?

Could it be they find their fun
In terrifying everyone?
Just float a chair or whisper “boo,”
And while you scream, they laugh at you.

Or maybe they just do their schtick
Because the dead resent the quick
And all the things they can’t enjoy
And so endeavor to annoy?

Or maybe phantoms leave a trail
Of fear to flout the coffin nail,
To prove to us as well as them
That they exist by their mayhem.

It must be hard to be a ghoul.
To be invisible is cruel.
So next time you are all alone,
Turn to the ghost you might have known
And dare to share a friendly word,
Perhaps their first since being interred.
And if they don’t scare you away,
Just know you might have made their day.
_______________________

MPA rating:  R (for violence, mostly PG-13-level except for one scene)

Yep, I’m still here catching up on my 2022 Blindspots, but I have officially seen them all! So now it’s just getting the reviews out. Though I had intended it for last Halloween, next up is a little horror film with some unlikely bedfellows in director Peter Jackson before he hit the big time with Lord of the Rings and Michael J. Fox in his last starring role, shortly before announcing his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Between Jackson’s penchant for horror comedy (much toned down here) and Fox’s natural charisma, the two proved to be a good mix, finding both humor and pathos in a tale of a con artist who can see dead people and must battle a murderous phantom only he can see.

Fox plays Frank Bannister, a self-proclaimed banisher of ghosts, who gets help in faking the hauntings in a small American town (actually Jackson’s native New Zealand) from his spectral collaborators (Chi McBride, Jim Fyfe, and John Astin). He alone can see ghosts ever since a near-death experience, and after a run-in with a boorish jock (Peter Dobson) and his kinder wife (Trini Alvarado), Frank endeavors to stop a series of sudden random deaths that seem to be caused by the Grim Reaper.

After he’d earned a name through several strictly Kiwi projects of varying taste, The Frighteners was Jackson’s first Hollywood movie, and its mishmash of genres adds to it feeling like a turning-point film, the work of someone still perfecting their talent for mainstream audiences. Despite the twisty plot and colorful performances, it seemed to me that the real intended star was the special effects provided by Weta Digital (now Weta FX) to bring the ghosts to life, particularly the villain whose shape is often seen moving underneath solid surfaces like walls. By today’s standards, those all-CGI moments now have an inescapably dated and unreal look to them, but I can imagine they were a wonder in the mid-1990s.

While Fox’s natural likeability overshadows that of his character, he nails the dramatic moments and the interactions with characters that are not actually there, since all the ghost scenes were shot twice, with and without the ghosts present. As for the antagonists, while the shadowy reaper is a formidable threat, Jeffrey Combs is a scene-stealer as Miles Dammers, the intense FBI agent trying to tie Frank to the killings. Combs was clearly channeling a neurotic Jim Carrey and is a primary source of the film’s humor, which can be hit-and-miss.

Most of the film’s mixed reviews seem to consider it “tonally uneven,” which is true, never going for full-on belly laughs or deep-seated horror. The ending especially forgoes any of the light-hearted campiness in order to make events feel as hopeless as possible for the heroes while also overdoing explanatory flashbacks. Other issues include the rather shallow romance and the fact that the harrowing opening scene doesn’t make much sense in retrospect.

I don’t mean to sound overly negative; I very much enjoyed The Frighteners and actually watched it twice. It’s not high art nor an outright dud, so it’s hard to figure out in which bucket of appreciation to place it. But it’s an entertaining amalgam of influences that deserves its cult following, and I’m grateful that it served as a stepping stone for Jackson and Weta toward The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Besides, you can’t go wrong ending a movie with “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper.”

Best line: (Frank) “You are SUCH an a**hole.”
(Dammers, unhinged) “Yes, I am. I’m an a**hole… with an Uzi.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2023 S.G. Liput
784 Followers and Counting

2022 Blindspot Pick #4: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Tags

Comedy, Horror, Musical, Sci-fi

There once was a castle perverse.
Its owner was evil and worse,
He’d break into song
While his friends sang along
Without any time to rehearse.

All visitors finding his lair
Were likely to join the nightmare,
And goody-two-shoes
Who had morals to lose
Would leave, having had an affair.

Beware then the castle debased,
If you’d choose being chaste over chased,
Unless you’re the type
Who exults in the hype
Of intentional absence of taste.
__________________________

MPA rating: R

I know this review is a little late for Halloween (and for only my fourth Blindspot), but I’ve been struggling to figure out how to review The Rocky Horror Picture Show. When a film is this iconic in its cult status, is it basically above criticism? To be clear, I did not enjoy this sex-crazed salute to campy horror, but I can see why others might. It’s the kind of over-the-top cheesefest that knows exactly what it wants to be and is so committed to it that it doesn’t matter whether I like it or not. It is what it is, and I guess it proves that a film can be both classic and atrocious at the same time.

The paper-thin story, narrated periodically by a genteel criminologist (Charles Gray), sees newly engaged couple Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) being stranded when their car breaks down on a dark and stormy night, leading them to the castle of the eccentric transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter (a scenery-chewing Tim Curry). The straight-laced couple are soon drawn into a free-for-all of seduction, murder, and musical numbers, complete with a creepy butler named Riff Raff (Richard O’Brian, who also wrote the film and the original stage show), a newly created muscle man named Rocky (Peter Hinwood), and a machine that turns people into statues.

Objectively, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a mess, as reflected by its poor reception by critics upon initial release. Characters come and go randomly, notably Meatloaf as a half-brained motorcyclist who shows up for one chaotic song and is abruptly killed for no reason. And a big stage number near the end is a fever dream of trashy costume glitz that makes zero sense, followed by a swimming pool championing wish fulfillment. In short, once Brad and Janet entered the castle, I just alternated between appreciating the music, feeling uncomfortable, and wondering what the heck I was watching, which I suspect was the intent of the filmmakers all along.

Speaking of the music, the movie does have some catchy songs to its credit (all written by O’Brien), energetic bops like “The Time Warp” and “Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul” to match its tongue-in-cheek silliness. I generally love musicals, and, while I would consider this one of the exceptions, I will grant that the music is pretty much the only thing that makes it watchable, some chuckle-worthy jokes notwithstanding. Perhaps I’d buy into the film’s bizarre brand of fun more if I attended one of the midnight showings known for audience participation, and I’m tempted to. If only I had a better baseline opinion of it….

I’m well aware that The Rocky Horror Picture Show isn’t my kind of movie. I’m not a fan of watching two clean-cut kids be corrupted by an alien missionary of the sexual revolution and his motley array of perversions, even if it’s someone as charismatic as Tim Curry. I suppose that makes me a prude, but so be it; I prefer my musicals less hypersexualized. I do find it funny that my first exposure to both Curry and O’Brien was in kid-friendly cartoons where they played likable dads: Curry in The Wild Thornberrys and O’Brien in Phineas and Ferb, which were a far cry from their raucous younger days. I’m glad I’ve seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show at least once, if only to understand its iconic cult reputation, but it’s a cult I’d prefer to avoid.

Best line: (Dr. Frank-N-Furter) “It’s not easy having a good time.”

Rank: Dishonorable Mention

© 2022 S.G. Liput
780 Followers and Counting

Nope (2022)

Tags

Drama, Horror, Sci-fi, Thriller

Would a sane human being
Be intrigued by ever seeing
Odd phenomena beyond the knowledge of us mortal men,
Like a chair moved by air
Or a voice that bids beware
Or strange forces eating horses as first courses now and then?

Blood that drips down walls
Or peculiar moving dolls –
Who would choose to chase the clues of deadly mysteries and such?
We ought to run away,
But we’re curious and stay.
Curiosity, insanity – the difference isn’t much.
______________________

MPA rating: R (mainly for language)

If there was any doubt about Jordan Peele’s skill as a horror director (or director in general), Nope should dispel it. Get Out was an electrifying debut with its potent social commentary, and Us boasted highly impactful scares, even if its underlying mythology made zero sense. Yet I think I prefer Nope over either of them, an entertaining genre mish-mash that recalls Close Encounters of the Third Kind, if the UFOs were not secretly friendly. From the enigmatic trailers, it seemed that Peele wanted to make aliens scary again, and he did, while also subverting a few expectations to great effect.

Reteaming with Peele after Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya plays O.J. Haywood, a horse trainer for film projects, who struggles to maintain his family’s historic business after the bizarre death of his father (Keith David). His sister Em (Keke Palmer) is more interested in schmoozing talent seekers than saving the ranch, but they are both disturbed by the behavior and disappearance of their horses, eventually realizing something in the sky is preying on them. Soon the siblings are collaborating to get certified photographic proof of the dangerous UFO, which is easier said than done, even with the help of jaded electronics employee Angel (Brandon Perea) and grizzled filmmaker Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott).

Nope continues Peele’s winning blend of understated comedy and legit horror, injecting doses of humor among the growing anxiety, most notably the title response when situations are too risky to engage. Unlike so many horror films, the characters largely respond realistically to the strange events they face, though it’s notable that some of them lose that sense of self-preservation in pursuit of fame, strengthening the film’s theme of destructive celebrity. Considering how straight-faced and quiet he is throughout, Kaluuya once more proves his acting talent and is never wooden, while Palmer’s surplus of personality makes her a great familial foil for him. Both Steven Yeun as Jupe Park, the owner of a nearby Western theme park, and Perea as an everyman techie are also standouts, while Wincott’s character adds gravitas but also ends up a little underdeveloped.

Through most of the film, I couldn’t help but feel like the subplot with Yeun seemed out of place, a story of him as a child actor witnessing a violent episode involving a crazed chimp. Indeed, it doesn’t have much to do with the main UFO narrative. In retrospect, it does complement the motifs of spectacle and animal danger, and, going beyond survivor guilt, the idea of survivor confidence explains Park’s unwise actions later on. It’s ultimately another sign that Peele puts a good deal of thought into his film’s themes, down to the final scene, and that he’s interested in more than cheap scares. Of course, there are some expert moments of tension and shock as well (I especially liked how the flying saucer is kept out of view at first, darting between clouds and deadening electronics with the distant menace of the fin in Jaws), but it felt unique that the climax happens in broad daylight.

While Us showed that Peele is not above story missteps, Nope is an ambitious step forward that I look forward to watching again. It’s a creature feature that knows how to balance its looming terror with human foibles and a crowd-pleasing climax, complete with an Akira reference. Us was scarier and Get Out had more to say, but Nope is easily the most entertaining entry in Peele’s filmography so far.

Best line: (Holst) “This dream you’re chasing, where you end up at the top of the mountain, all eyes on you… it’s the dream you never wake up from.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
781 Followers and Counting

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Tags

Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-fi, Superhero, Thriller

Most humans have the comfort of not knowing of too much,
Of doors we should not open and loose threads we ought not touch,
Of dogs we dare not waken and of lines we should not cross,
Lest brutal, futile knowledge should become our albatross.

The warning of “forbidden” has eroded over years,
Decided as the product of unreasonable fears.
For nothing is anathema, forbidden, or taboo,
And so we delve too deeply into things we can’t undo.

When doors not meant to open are instead extended wide,
And fears begin to slither in where had been only pride,
And darkness once attractive starts exacting its dread cost,
You’ll recognize what isn’t wise when certain lines are crossed.
__________________________________

MPA rating: PG-13 (honestly, some of the violence leans toward R)

I never used to wait this long before reviewing Marvel blockbusters, but my mind hasn’t been in movie review mode lately. Still, it’s about time I got to it. Anyway, I’m an MCU fanboy, so anything they release I am likely to enjoy to varying levels. Even some that gave me initial mixed reactions like Thor: The Dark World or Eternals, I’ve grown to appreciate more with time and reflection. It’s rare then that time and reflection ends up lowering my opinion of a Marvel film, but such is the case with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I still liked it overall, but there are elements I can’t help but view with disappointment.

This second Doctor Strange film marks a milestone for the MCU; it’s the first time that a Marvel film has continued a storyline from one of the Disney+ TV series, specifically WandaVision, released about a year before. I’ve decided to skip reviewing TV shows (for now) and won’t go into detail on WandaVision, but it essentially dealt with the messy grieving process of Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) after losing her beloved Vision (Paul Bettany) in Infinity War. It was the first time Wanda was referred to by her comics name of Scarlet Witch and introduced the potential children she might have had with Vision, as well as a cursed book called the Darkhold, all of which play a role in this film.

As for Stephen Strange himself (Benedict Cumberbatch), he has settled into the self-sacrificing superhero life of losing his own love Christine (Rachel McAdams) yet trying to convince himself he’s happy anyway. When a multiverse-hopping girl named America Chavez (a bit one-note but likable Xochitl Gomez) arrives in New York, chased by otherworldly creatures, Strange and Wong (Benedict Wong) take on the duty of protecting her across universes.

Between Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the multiverse has already been cracked open for most viewers, but Doctor Strange in the MoM goes beyond variations of one character. Many would argue that it still doesn’t do enough with the concept to warrant a name like Multiverse of Madness, but my VC actually liked that the number of universes involved were limited, finding it easier to follow. The use of the multiverse is where my complaints begin (and the spoilers). One of the biggest set pieces of the film involves a multiversal team getting slaughtered mercilessly, which felt like a jarring contrast to the way that even villains were treated in No Way Home, a spectacle mistaking cruel for cool. It gave me concern that the multiverse could be used to just provide an endless supply of fan service cannon fodder because if one character dies, hey, there’s plenty of others out there for next time, right?

Beyond that, the film’s treatment of Wanda is also a mixed bag. While Olsen delivers an outstanding performance stepping into the rare role of a hero-turned-villain and showing just how powerful she is, it ends up undermining the emotional progress she seemed to experience in WandaVision (and totally ignoring the fact that Vision in some form is out there somewhere). Her motivations are sympathetic, but it was shocking just how far she goes, her behavior easily blamed on the corrupting power of the Darkhold but hard to forgive nonetheless. And then there’s Strange’s diving into the dark art of necromancy in the climax, which is both a gleeful reminder of director Sam Raimi’s horror specialty and also a problematic strategy that calls into question whether Strange can just walk away from any supposedly forbidden behavior without consequence. We’ll see if the sequels shed any light on that.

And speaking of sequels, it also felt like there should have been a different Doctor Strange 2 between the original and this one. Despite the brief presence of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo in a different universe, his setup as a villain in the first film’s after-credits scene was essentially dropped, waved away in a single line indicating he and Strange had already clashed before. Am I the only one who would have liked to see that?

So yes, I have mixed feelings about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, right down to its abrupt ending, yet I can’t outright dislike it either. It still has all the ingredients for an entertaining Marvel adventure, mixed with the sometimes creepy, somewhat goofy, and more violent style of Sam Raimi, complete with a prime Bruce Campbell cameo. I liked the more human element of Strange’s character arc, and Olsen’s scenery-chewing wrath is both memorable and cleverly resolved by the end. It can’t be easy writing these Marvel films in a way that continues prior plotlines, delivers its own story, and sets up future possibilities, but they’ve been doing it splendidly for a decade now. While it has its good points, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the first stumble for me.

Best line: (Wanda, with a good point) “You break the rules and become a hero. I do it, and I become the enemy. That doesn’t seem fair.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
777 Followers and Counting

Host (2020)

Tags

Horror, Thriller

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a poem that begins with a command, so I started mine with some advice everyone ought to follow.)

Don’t be a jerk to a ghost!
They’re likely to take offense.
They’re less than forgiving
When haunting the living,
Then claim it was all self-defense.

Don’t be a fool with a phantom!
Jokes give them a reason to hate.
They’ll ransack the room
And foreshadow your doom
Without any chance for debate.

A spirit can sense an idiot
A hundred and ten yards away.
One cheeky remark
To make fun of the dark,
And the Other Side will make you pay.
______________________________

MPA rating: Not Rated (probably R for language and frights)

The COVID pandemic resulted in Zoom becoming a bigger part of our lives than anyone could have foreseen, and that naturally was extended to the entertainment industry. Parks and Recreation had a reunion episode over their version of Zoom. The cast of One Cut of the Dead hilariously “reunited” to film a docudrama remotely via their own cameras. And the creators of Host found a way to make Zoom a vehicle for horror. Despite its 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not particularly revolutionary in the plot department, just impressive for how skillfully its gimmick is utilized.

A band of friends log onto a Zoom call, and one of them has hired a medium to hold a remote séance. One girl talks about feeling the presence of an old classmate who killed himself, but when the medium is absent, she admits that she made up the story. Yet her disrespect has allowed an evil entity to begin terrorizing the group in their homes. With its pandemic setting, there’s a bit of the anxiety from Under the Shadow, where leaving the haunted house carries its own peril, though not as extreme as in that film. And while it carries the same suspension of disbelief inherent to found-footage films (like why they continually point their camera toward the danger), the filmmakers developed some clever uses for Zoom features, like the unnatural layering of virtual backgrounds or the facial recognition of filters that highlight the supernatural menace.

If you’re looking for a short spine-chiller (only 57 minutes) that amounts to “ghost attacks people,” Host is a good option. With its cast of interchangeable yuppies who don’t know when to turn the lights on and their cameras off, it’s still subject to the usual horror movie clichés and can’t compare to the storytelling of, say, Searching, another film in this new screenlife genre. It has at least confirmed my conviction to never attend a séance of any kind. Who knows who you might offend?

Best line: (Emma) “Haley, honestly, if I die, I’m going to haunt you myself.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2022 S.G. Liput
766 Followers and Counting

Werewolves Within (2021)

Tags

Comedy, Horror, Thriller

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a challenge or rebuttal to a famous saying, and “Nice guys finish last” is one that’s always annoyed me.)

“Nice guys finish last,” you say? I take offense at that.
For I take pride in being nice. It’s never fallen flat.
Good attitudes are rare enough to be of note these days,
To brighten someone else’s life, however brief the blaze.
The cruel may get ahead but likely not to paradise;
The hares can scoff and hasten off, but tortoises play nice.

I’ve never once lamented being nice to someone yet,
For what’s the opposite except immediate regret?
I’d rather be the person who can dry another’s tears
With just a smile or open door or pair of open ears.
The bad boys roll their eyes and think they’ll never pay a price.
Well, bless their hearts right off the charts, ‘cause dang it, I am nice!
_________________________________

MPA rating:  R (for language and violence)

While some like Ghostbusters are exceptions, horror comedy has never been a genre of interest to me since it so often relies on gore for comedic effect, finding humor in shock value, which isn’t my cup of tea. Yet the premise of Werewolves Within caught my attention, since I love the “one-of-us-does-not-belong” style of mystery, even if I’ve never played the video game on which the film is very loosely based. (On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s now the highest-rated film based on a video game.) Set in the notoriously quirky mountains of Vermont, the film features an array of colorful characters, including jovial new forest ranger Finn (Sam Richardson), likable mail carrier Cecily (Milana Vayntrub, a.k.a. Lily from the AT&T commercials), environmentalist Dr. Ellis (Rebecca Henderson), and many more, all snowed in together as a murderer seems to be picking them off one by one.

From the visiting oil man trying to lay a pipeline to the wealthy gay couple to the unstable woman obsessed with her lap dog, there is no shortage of suspects, some of which could have used more character development beyond their quirks, and no one can be entirely dismissed as the culprit when a dead body is discovered. Despite the title, there’s even lasting doubt about whether the werewolf is a possibility at all. Through it all, Sam Richardson’s Finn is especially a joy, displaying and advocating for a folksy niceness that even makes him reluctant to swear while the rest of the cast are in panic mode. He and Vayntrub are an endearing pair amid all the doubt and chaos, even though they remain suspects as well. Werewolves Within has the feel of an instant cult classic, sort of the werewolf counterpart to The Lost Boys, managing decently campy scares alongside endearingly eccentric humor. Despite some R-rated content, it was one horror comedy I enjoyed immensely.

Best line: (Finn Wheeler) “Well, we’re having a good old-fashioned sleepover.”
(Marcus) “With guns, though.”
(Finn) “With guns, yes.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2022 S.G. Liput
763 Followers and Counting

2021 Blindspot Pick #7: Don’t Look Now (1973)

Tags

Drama, Horror, Thriller

What’s lost is lost forevermore,
It can’t be as it was before.
Our memories are tethered more
To wisps of smoke and whispered lore
Than any solid souvenirs
That lasted past the days of yore.

The lovers of the lost are faced
With echoes that recede in haste.
No matter how they’re called or chased,
They leave our mortal feet outpaced,
Assured that lovers left in tears
Won’t let their vestige be erased.
___________________

MPA rating:  R (mainly for a long and unnecessary sex scene, could be PG-13 without it)

This psychological thriller Blindspot would probably have been better suited for October, but I’m still in catch-up mode here. Don’t Look Now was one of the films on the list about which I knew very little going in, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from what I believed to be an acclaimed horror from the ‘70s. Based on a Daphne du Maurier story and released in the UK as a double feature with The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now is not really a horror film to me, unless you would consider Rebecca one as well. Both du Maurier adaptations are far more concerned with psychological uneasiness and characters’ inner self-doubt than your standard scarefest, so the “psychic thriller” moniker on the film’s poster fits well.

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play married couple John and Laura Baxter, whose young daughter Christine drowns tragically at their British home. Still reeling from grief, they move to Venice, where John has been commissioned to restore a decaying church. Laura happens to meet two sisters in a restaurant, one of whom is blind and psychic, telling Laura that she saw her deceased daughter. The psychic woman later warns her that John is in danger and has psychic abilities himself, even as he begins seeing his daughter’s red coat along the darkened canals of Venice.

Don’t Look Now is clearly interested in not just frights but art, the kind that alienates just as much as it interests. A uniquely choppy editing style sometimes intercuts seemingly unrelated scenes, playing into the theme of precognition to make the audience doubt what they’re watching at a particular time. This applies to an extended and apparently infamous sex scene, which could easily have been excised but likely is defended as art for its editing. While the editing isn’t always to my taste, it does serve to focus the viewer on the film’s recurring motifs, such as water, broken glass, and reflections, carefully crafted imagery I didn’t fully appreciate until reading about the film afterward.

As for the performances, Sutherland and Christie are quite convincing as a couple sharing grief but torn apart by how they respond to the idea of their daughter contacting them. They serve as the main point of sympathy, and, through their British presence in an Italian city, the film fosters its sense of otherness and anxiety, as if the rest of the cast are watching them from a distance and refusing to let them in on a secret. The two sisters (Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania) waver between unnerving and kindly, though the psychic one adds to the film’s intermittent weirdness, such as a séance where she practically reenacts the diner scene from When Harry Met Sally.

As with many artsy critical darlings, Don’t Look Now is a film I can appreciate more than I enjoyed it. It’s clearly had an impact on filmmakers to come, with many directors citing its influence, and the image of a child in a bright red jacket has carried over into other films like Schindler’s List and Flatliners. The film excels in building an atmosphere of menace in its Venetian setting, particularly during a tense accident and the climax, but the editing of that climax seemed to suggest some deeper reveal that didn’t make itself clear. An admirably Hitchcockian examination of grief, Don’t Look Now manages to be at once well-crafted, odd, and ultimately unsatisfying.

Best line: (Inspector Longhi, with an interesting observation) “Age makes women grow to look more like each other. Don’t you find that? Old men decay, and each becomes quite distinct. Women seem to converge, eh?”

Rank:  Dishonorable Mention

© 2021 S.G. Liput
743 Followers and Counting

I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

Tags

Drama, Horror, Thriller

Silence your cell phones, your children, your pets,
Or else you won’t have long to live with regrets.
Everything’s changed, in an instant or less,
Necessity-drawn to acute quietness.

Earth and its racket must screech to a halt
As whispers and shushing become our default.
A snap of a twig or reaction to pain
Can rain certain death on the noisy insane.

Flee without footsteps and scream without sound,
And grieve without digging or pounding the ground.
Meet the new normal, devoid of a voice.
Silence is golden; there’s no other choice.
__________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

I may not be much for horror in general, but A Quiet Place was exactly the kind I most enjoy, taut and suspenseful rather than gross and gory. John Krasinski’s story of relentless blind creatures hunting anything that makes a noise was viewed from the perspective of a single family of survivors attempting to make the most of the apocalyptic situation, as quietly as possible on their farm until everything falls apart. A lot has changed since the first movie in 2018:  beyond the obvious world-changing pandemic that delayed the film’s release for over a year, I remember seeing the first film with my dad in the theater. Just as the previous film left the Abbott family without their patriarch Lee (Krasinski), I watched Part II alone in the theater, having lost my dad as well. When I realized the parallel, it was a sobering thought that helped me connect even more with their struggle, as they venture beyond their ruined farm in search of other survivors and safe places.

The film starts with a flashback to when the alien invaders first came to earth, a harrowing sequence that gives Krasinski (also directing) a chance for a cameo. Soon though, we pick up right where Part 1 ended, with mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), timid son Marcus (Noah Jupe), and Evelyn’s newborn baby venturing away from home after finding a way to kill the creatures with Regan’s hearing aid static. While the first film was solely about survival, Regan sees her hearing aid as a chance to fight back against the creatures, grudgingly aided by tortured neighbor Emmett (Cillian Murphy).

My appreciation for A Quiet Place was somewhat muted by the fact that its plot felt so similar to the 2015 film Hidden, which also featured a family quietly hiding from lurking enemies. Hardly anyone saw Hidden, though (a shame, since it’s a great film), so I suppose the originality issue only bothers me. This time, however, Part II is able to chart its own course, making it feel more original and unpredictable. Krasinski proves once more how adept he is at building up the tension across several parallel storylines, with only a few of the typical “dumb” decisions common to the horror genre. By the end, A Quiet Place Part II becomes almost a coming-of-age story for Regan and Marcus, with Simmonds and Jupe proving to be two of the best child actors today.  It does share the abrupt ending of the first film, but luckily there is already a Part III in the works that we can only hope will conclude this series on a high note. It’s an above-average horror tale that deserves it.

Best line: (Emmett, to Regan) “And you were right. I’m nothing like him [Lee]. You are.”

Rank:  List-Worthy (joining the first film and Hidden)

© 2021 S.G. Liput
742 Followers and Counting

Arachnophobia (1990)

Tags

Comedy, Horror

There once was a spider I hated,
A creature that God had created.
It helped to cull pests,
The most useful of guests,
But I didn’t care so I slayed it.
________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

I may not be a fan of the horror genre in general, but Halloween is a good excuse to seek out some new scary movies I might actually like. Supernatural horror is usually my preferred cup of tea, with a greater focus on tension over gore, but there’s one subgenre that often gets overshadowed by all the zombies and vampires out there – the nature creature feature.

When I was a kid, two things truly terrified me: the clown from Poltergeist and spiders. And unfortunately, I could only reassure myself that one of those wasn’t real. I would freak out at the mere sight of a spider on the playground, and I used to paper-clip notecards over the spider pictures in my biology book. So it’s no surprise at all that I never expected to see a film titled Arachnophobia in my life. I don’t know if this is common, but my once-severe antipathy toward spiders eased over time. I’ll still kill any that dare cross my threshold, but I can at least look at them without cringing. Maybe I just got used to Shelob and Charlotte.

The debut of director Frank Marshall, Arachnophobia is basically Jaws for spiders, taking an intimidating but largely non-threatening animal and turning them into a bloodthirsty monster seemingly targeting humans. An unfortunate American photographer (Mark L. Taylor) goes with a British spider expert (Julian Sands) to investigate new species in the Amazon rain forest before being bitten and killed by an unusually aggressive and resilient specimen. When his body is sent back to small-town California, the spider hitches a ride, beginning a series of unexplained deaths for new arachnophobic doctor Ross Jennings (Jeff Daniels) to figure out.

I was prepared for Arachnophobia to bring back my discomfort with arachnids, and certain scenes with large numbers of the crawlies emerging from throughout a house did give me the willies. The fact that much of the lurking and eventual confrontations with the spiders take place in everyday home locations add to the squirm factor, since you never know what could be prowling just out of sight in the places you feel safest.

Yet I found myself more entertained than scared, thanks to the unrealistic lethality of the spiders and the slight camp of the plot. John Goodman plays a scene-stealing pest control expert, whose arrogance belies an unusual competence for someone in this kind of movie, and there’s an undercurrent of dark irony as Dr. Jennings’ patients keep getting killed right after he examines them. The film never fully embraces its comedy label, but somehow it totally sells a face-off between Jeff Daniels and a tarantula. With Amblin Entertainment as one of its production companies, Arachnophobia has a Spielbergian vibe to it that feels more like E.T. than Jaws. I might have been able to handle it as a kid too, but then again it might have just made me even more skittish. At least now I know I’m over my fear of those eight-legged freaks… I mean, friends. See, no repressed spider hatred around here….

Best line: (Ross, after killing a spider) “Therapy.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2021 S.G. Liput
741 Followers and Counting

Cloverfield (2008)

Tags

Horror, Sci-fi, Thriller

(Late again, I know, but for Day 25 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to write a poem celebrating an occasion. Thus, the occasion is the end of the world, with the monster responsible speaking.)

Hello, all you humans and lovely to meet you,
And what an enchanting doomsday!
I hope you don’t mind it too much if I eat you,
The whole giant monster cliché.
I see you down there;
You can’t help but stare,
And I cannot blame you,
For I’m come to claim you
And wipe your whole species away.

You’ve had a good run for a few thousand years.
You’ve come a long way from the caves.
But civilization is fragile with fears
When nature no longer behaves.
Don’t cry since it’s done;
You’re wiser to run.
It won’t do much good,
But you did what you could.
I’ll be sure to dance on your graves.
_________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

Considering I have already seen and reviewed 10 Cloverfield Lane, an in-universe sequel with no direct connection to this film, I figured I ought to actually watch the original Cloverfield. Yet while the later film was presented in typical movie style, Cloverfield is a prime example of the found footage genre, with all the first-person interactions and disorienting shaky cam that goes along with it. The plot is paper thin as five New Yorkers (among them T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, and Lizzy Caplan) are interrupted from their party-going and relationship drama by the sudden appearance of a giant rampaging monster.

Cloverfield doesn’t reinvent its genre, but it’s still serviceably entertaining, with the best moments involving the horrifying beasts tearing through the city, shrewdly keeping them off-screen as much as possible to tap into that monster-you-barely-see tension. Yet its chosen format also comes off as hard-to-believe, as Miller’s character Hud continues to film every little thing long after any sane person would have put the camera down. For comparison, I thought The Dinosaur Project handled that well by making the cameras small and wearable rather than the eye-level camcorder here. I can appreciate Cloverfield’s best moments, such as the iconic Statue of Liberty head, but its repetitive, dizzying camerawork and grim ending make it less appealing than 10 Cloverfield Lane, which is a better film on every level.

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2021 S.G. Liput
728 Followers and Counting