(Jen and Sylvia Soska, 2012)
Modern scream queen Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, among many others) stars as a brilliant but financially struggling med student who begins taking side jobs doing body modification surgeries. She eventually gets entangled in a murder, and has to sew, stitch and suture her way out. I was vibing with this for most of the running time, but it loses steam in the last act. Isabelle, however, is an absolute delight. The end results of the body mod work made me squirm more than any surgery or gore sequence. GRADE: B
(Alan Parker, 1987)
Mickey Rourke stars as a 1950's Brooklyn private eye hired by a shady man (Robert De Niro) to find the whereabouts of a musician. The investigation takes him to New Orleans and into voodoo culture, as bodies start stacking up. I'm not familiar with most (or any, really) of Rourke's 80's oeuvre, but he's quite good here. The twist being so obvious prevents the film from being as engaging as it should, though its not without its thrills. Quite controversial upon release, it nearly earned a X-rating because of the graphic sex scene between Rourke and Lisa Bonet. Also with Charlotte Rampling. GRADE: B
(Brandon Cronenberg, 2012)
In the future, society's celeb worship has gotten so out of control that people purchase designer viruses to get the same illnesses their favorite celebrities do. A worker (Caleb Landry Jones, who else?) who deals the sickness gets involved in a murder mystery when the current It Girl (Sarah Gadon) dies. So the metaphor is really on the nose, but the film has that distinct feel of a stilted but interesting first feature from a filmmaker who will go on to make something really impressive. And Cronenberg (son of David), did: 2020's Possessor was one of that year's best. GRADE: B-
(Drew Goddard, 2012)
Happy 10th to one of the best horror films of the past decade! Probably the greatest meta deconstruction of the genre since Scream, it follows a group of college students trip to a cabin in the woods and the horrors that await both them and the world as a whole. I love the film's examination of horror as a societal necessity, pushing each element to a grander scale. Anchored by clever writing and a slam-bang, all-time great climax, the comedy and horror beautifully mesh together with a game ensemble that balances both genres effortlessly. It was an absolute blast watching this again. With Chris Hemsworth, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Jenkins. GRADE: A
(David Cronenberg, 2022)
David's first film in 8 years shows a futuristic society where surgery is the new sex, and people being cut open is like an art show. A blending of the Canadian auteur's styles, part of it being the body horror associated with his earlier work, and the other part being the psychological themes and explorations of his latter films. Unfortunately, neither really works leaving the able cast a bit stranded and weighed down by the haphazard metaphors. I would like to see Kristen Stewart work with him again, though. Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux and the eternally hot Scott Speedman also star. GRADE: C
(Vincenzo Natali, 1997)
I have no idea what took me so long to finally see this? A group of strangers wakes up in a cube with no knowledge of how they got there or what it is they are supposed to do. Soon realizing there are traps, they must work together to figure a way out. Very stylish despite a low budget, it's worth noting how many bigger budgeted films and franchises have "borrowed" elements directly from this. It might also been ahead of its time in terms of the themes it discusses. Natali would go on to direct a handful of episodes of Hannibal as well as 2010's terrific Splice. With Nicole de Boer and Maurice Dean Wint. GRADE: B+
(Ken Russell, 1988)
Young Peter Capaldi plays an archeology student who unearths a large skull that might have belonged to a legendary snake and has a connection to a seductive wealthy woman (Amanda Donahue, vamping it up beautifully). Sex and Hell and big worms, oh my! Pretty campy and silly adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, proving British horror isn't all ghosts lurking around large estate manors. Everyone involved with the film insists it's a comedy foremost, but it has enough lascivious thrills and blood. I'm a bit surprised there's never been a more serious adaptation, though the book is said to be quite different. Also with a young Hugh Grant. GRADE: B-
(Fred Dekker, 1987)
I hadn't seen this in entirety since I was maybe in my preteen years? It has been awhile. For my generation and older, it has a pretty decent cult following despite having bombed when it was released. It's pretty obvious watching it now just how cut up the film was and could have easily benefitted from a longer running time and a bit more padding. Apparently the studio wanted it to not run longer than 90 minutes, and the film flies by as is. A group of pre-teens obsessed with monster movies must face Dracula and his gang of monsters after they are unleashed on the modern world. It's slight, but fun. They've tried to remake it a few times and I guess the rights to use the iconic monsters would be an issue now. GRADE: B
(William Brent Bell, 2022)
I wasn't the biggest fan of 2009's Orphan, perhaps in part because I knew of its infamous twist months before its release date. I found it just okay. I was looking forward to this prequel, but figured it was garbage because Paramount gave it the simultaneous streaming/theaters release. Couldn't have been more wrong as this may be the camp horror classic of the last few years. Taking place 2 years before the events of the first film, this chapter follows Esther (played once again by Isabelle Fuhrman) as she impersonates a wealthy family's missing daughter. I don't want to spoil anything, but the I was grinning ear to ear during the film's second half and loving the darkly funny humor of it all. This may be the best performance Julia Stiles has ever given. Between this and Malignant, modern horror really needs to embrace high camp a whole lot more. GRADE: B+
(Andrew Traucki, 2022)
Sequel to 2010's true story The Reef, which I watched and enjoyed during last year's fest, focusing on a group of women doing a tour of various islands located off the coast of Australia as a tribute to their friend and sister who was murdered by her boyfriend. TRAUMA! Naturally, they get attacked and are stalked by a shark. It's a very simple premise, and for the short runtime it semi-works and generates a little suspense. Nothing new for the sharksploitation genre. The acting isn't particularly great, though. GRADE: C+
(Peter Hyams, 1997)
This is a rewatch. I first saw this when it was released on VHS in the summer of '97. I think I mostly enjoyed it at the time. I don't believe I have seen a single second of it since, as it seems like it has mostly been forgotten despite doing okay numbers at the box-office upon release. It must be noted this is an aggressively dark movie, so much so that it is nearly impossible to tell what is going on for most of the last half. No idea if this is the intention or the result of bad transfers on the very dated DVD. The film itself is basically "Alien in a museum" as I'm sure the pitch went. Remember how every movie in the 90's had a pitch? Something meets something. There used to be a lot of jokes about this, but its vastly favorable to the current trend of "It's just this thing, but again." As always, I digress. The design of the creature (obscured in darkness) looks pretty silly now, even if the film delivers on the gore front. Way too much people running in underground tunnels, and it takes too long to get to the action. With Tom Sizemore and a Kindergarten Cop reunion of Penelope Ann Miller and Linda Hunt. GRADE: C
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