"Grave Encounters" was a pleasant surprise. The premise is hardly innovative, nor is the found-footage format, and the trailers made it seem bland at best, but I found it, contrary to all expectations, holding my attention from start to finish. The setup is simple. A ghost-hunting reality show (clearly Ghost Adventures with the serial numbers filed off -- from its opening narration to its lead investigator, Lance Preston, who's really pretty good at channeling Zak Bagans) conducts an investigation of a supposedly haunted insane asylum. The crew find themselves trapped inside, besieged by ghosts, hallucinations, shifting corridors and distorted time. It's not a great film, but it works. Starts off slow, a nice sense of buildup, and then, in a refreshing change of pace from most found-footage movies, things actually happen. The second half of the film picks up nicely, the manner in which the ghosts are depicted is legitimately scary, and the sense of helplessness as the characters descend into insanity and the asylum becomes increasingly distorted and Silent Hill-ish is solidly executed, even if none of these people are particularly likable. A good horror film for a lazy afternoon -- not amazing, but nor is it a waste of time.
Reviews
14 Reviews
Wasted potential
29 January 2007
I question William Malone's status as a "master" of horror, but that goes for the majority of the directors Mick Garris has assembled to helm the series. "The Fair-Haired Child" is a middle-of-the-road episode with a lot of potential that's largely wasted. The music hall setting is atmospheric but underused. The monster is unsettling and well-designed, but we don't see enough of it. It's been a while since we've seen Lori Petty, who's starting to show her age, and she's not given much to work with here; it seems odd to give an actress primarily known for her kinetic goofiness such a stiff and humorless character. "The Fair-Haired Child" is one of those episodes that could have been better as a feature-length film. It certainly would have benefited from a less irritating protagonist; the kidnapped girl is unbearably shrill and seems to get dumber as the episode progresses. There were a few mildly frightening sequences here, and some skillful visual direction from time to time, but I can't justify a rating higher than a 6. It's not bad, but it's far from masterful.
Solid entry in a season of ups and downs
2 January 2007
Norman Reedus (of "Blade 2" and the bafflingly overrated "Boondock Saints") plays an amoral theatre owner and finder of rare film prints, hired by a mysterious collector (the ubiquitous Udo Kier) to recover a particularly elusive film, "Le Fin Absolue du Monde," whose single screening engendered a sudden and unspeakably brutal homicidal mania in its audience. If this sounds familiar to fans of the genre, it should; "Cigarette Burns" is essentially a splicing of three films, "8MM," "The Ninth Gate," and Carpenter's own "In the Mouth of Madness," which was perhaps the last decent film he made prior to this first entry in Showtime's "Masters of Horror." It's also entertaining in its own right, with more dialogue and mystery than one would expect of Carpenter and a few sly and gory jabs at the pretentious extremes independent filmmakers are often willing to descend in order to create "art." If "In the Mouth of Madness" was a direct tribute to Lovecraft, "Cigarette Burns" is a fine take on the modern weird tale. In the 1920's and 30's, it was often the printed word that drove hapless protagonists mad; in the 21st century, film is the new Necronomicon. As such, I felt this might have been a stronger piece if it were left entirely up to our imaginations what horror "Le Fin Absolue du Monde" showed its unfortunate viewers. The unknown and the unseen are far more frightening than a "Ring"-like sequence of apparently random art-house brutality. Otherwise this is a strong entry, perhaps the best season one has to offer.
Hulk
(2003)
Flawed but interesting
7 November 2003
Ang Lee's "Hulk" is without a doubt the most bizarre big-screen comic-book adaptation I have ever seen. It's a bizarre dichotomy of comic visuals and arthouse drama, with a couple of big action sequences thrown in to appease those viewers who were expecting a summer blockbuster.
"Hulk" is not about a large green monster smashing things, although it has that too. It's about how parents mess up their children and then deal with it in all the wrong ways later in life. Bruce Banner is an emotionally dead ticking time bomb thanks to his evil father's genetic meddling, while his recently-ex-girlfriend Betty is completely estranged from her career-military father due to his lack of involvement in her life. When the Hulk himself finally comes along, we realize he's not Banner's rage - he's ALL the psychological baggage his father left him with.
Fittingly enough, the two show-stealing performances here come from Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott as the two fathers whose sins are at the core of the film. As it stands, "Hulk" is not the best movie around, but it's an interesting one, and I prefer a unique film that makes me think to a more consistently paced one that doesn't. It's a fine piece of unexpectedly cerebral melodrama - but it's far too thoughtful to be a successful action movie.
"Hulk" is not about a large green monster smashing things, although it has that too. It's about how parents mess up their children and then deal with it in all the wrong ways later in life. Bruce Banner is an emotionally dead ticking time bomb thanks to his evil father's genetic meddling, while his recently-ex-girlfriend Betty is completely estranged from her career-military father due to his lack of involvement in her life. When the Hulk himself finally comes along, we realize he's not Banner's rage - he's ALL the psychological baggage his father left him with.
Fittingly enough, the two show-stealing performances here come from Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott as the two fathers whose sins are at the core of the film. As it stands, "Hulk" is not the best movie around, but it's an interesting one, and I prefer a unique film that makes me think to a more consistently paced one that doesn't. It's a fine piece of unexpectedly cerebral melodrama - but it's far too thoughtful to be a successful action movie.
Starship Troopers
(1997)
Best satire since Dr. Strangelove
23 July 2003
Starship Troopers is a subtle and insidiously subversive movie that proved frighteningly prescient in the wake of post-9/11 uberpatriotism. Both Heinlein's book and Verhoeven's film are valid and interesting political statements at opposite ends of the spectrum. Heinlein's novel was criticized as fascist at the time of its publication, and for all his obvious talent as a writer I'm inclined to agree. The movie is as much a sendup of the original novel as it is a satire of jingoist American politics. It really is a shame that despite the squeaky-clean heroes plucked straight from the soaps, the Mormon extremists, the multiple-amputee mobile infantry retirees and the propaganda shorts masquerading as news, the vast majority still seems to regard Starship Troopers as a stupid action movie and, for some reason, absolutely refuse to consider that it might be something more.
10/10
10/10
Amazing piece of work
20 July 2003
Beyond is, hands down, the best of the Animatrix shorts, a simple story about a woman who explores a "haunted" house in search of her missing cat. It's a bit difficult to understand if you haven't seen The Matrix Reloaded, but it does address one point that was made in that movie that I had hoped they would go into in more detail, namely ghosts, vampires, werewolves and other paranormal phenomena being entirely the result of a glitch in the Matrix. Beyond is a haunting piece reminiscent of the "Labyrinth" segment of Neo-Tokyo, an obscure anthology of anime shorts by Rin Taro (Metropolis), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira).
Blade
(1998)
Lifeless
13 July 2003
The problem with Blade is that its star and director take the film far too seriously for its own good. What should have been a fun action movie ends up unpleasant, meanspirited, humorless and unexciting. Norrington's most recent effort, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, suffers the same lack of spirit. Blade II is a better film from a better director (the talented Guillermo del Toro, who knows when to play a movie straight and when to make it simply a fun ride).
4/10
4/10
Jeepers Creepers
(2001)
Good, for a while
8 May 2003
For the first hour or so, Jeepers Creepers is an interesting, creepy, even innovative two-person horror chase with an unsettling villain and several genuinely unnerving scenes. After the Creeper discards his hat and coat and his true nature is revealed, however, it quickly falls apart. The monster suit may be well-designed, but it just isn't that sort of movie, and the truck-driving, bat-winged, trenchcoat-clad Creeper is far more disturbing when seen in the half-light of a cornfield at night, or the shade of a tree outside a rotting church, than he is in full view during the finale inside the police station. It could have been good. For a while, it was. Judging from the previews, it looks as if they've screwed things up in a similar manner in the sequel.
Mimic
(1997)
Guillermo del Toro's worst movie
1 May 2003
The first half of Mimic is entertaining, creepy and innovative. It even bucks a few rules of horror cinema by killing a couple of kids in the subway. After the characters all find their way into the disused tunnels underneath the city it falls apart both in script and direction. It's almost as if del Toro, usually a more-than-capable action/horror director, handed the project off to someone else halfway through. His eerie visual style and suspense are ditched in favor of heavy-handed religious symbolism and unlikely coincidence. For effective, creepy horror, check out Cronos or The Devil's Backbone, and for goofy action Blade II is a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to Hellboy.
The Ring
(2002)
Cheap scare tactics
17 April 2003
Having been told by everyone I know that The Ring is the SCARIEST MOVIE EVER and MADE ME LOSE SLEEP FOR WEEKS, my expectations were fairly high. I honestly don't understand why this film has everyone pulling the covers over their heads. It's average, nothing more, and it's cheap. Most of its supposed horror is of the "jarring musical chord as a door is opened to reveal a mutilated corpse" variety. It wasn't effective in Friday the 13th Pt. VII, and it's not particularly effective here. Once in a while something will disturb you or make you jump - the girl lurching out of the television, or the disgusting makeup job on the victims of the killer videotape - but on the whole The Ring is inconsistent and annoying. The two main characters were so irritating, inept and aggressively stupid I not only didn't care what happened to them, I wanted them to die BEFORE their seven-day countdown reached zero. There's simply no reason we should care what happens to them. The son is nothing but another incarnation of the "preternaturally intelligent or intuitive child" archetype we see in too many movies these days. His connection with Samara is never explained. The ending is smug and self-satisfied and makes no sense; I could almost see Gore Verbinski (who also directed Mouse Hunt) standing up in his chair, yelling "1 4M CL3V4R!!!1"
If you want to watch a movie that's as creepy and atmospheric as The Ring tried to be, watch the vastly underrated The Mothman Prophecies.
6/10
If you want to watch a movie that's as creepy and atmospheric as The Ring tried to be, watch the vastly underrated The Mothman Prophecies.
6/10
Signs
(2002)
Almost excellent
17 April 2003
Warning: Spoilers
For all the newspaper critics' bluster about M. Night Shyamalan filling Hitchcock's shoes, this director has made quite an interesting niche all his own. His movies are unconventional, with humor, suspense, well-crafted dialogue and minimal violence. Signs may well be his best work to date - I'll admit it had me jumping at shadows for quite a while after watching it - but the ending is simply unforgivable, particularly in an otherwise excellent thriller.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Signs is a unique film - all its flaws come into play during the last five minutes. Shyamalan makes the inevitable mistake of showing the alien clearly. He should have left it at the blurred newsreel footage, which was effectively disturbing. I was willing to forgive and forget - until Graham is seen donning his priest's collar. If we're to accept the film's assertion that everything somehow adheres to a plan set in motion by some higher power - let's call it God - does Shyamalan seriously expect us to believe that Graham would return to the priesthood when God saves his son from the terminal asthma inflicted upon him by God in the first place? God doesn't have the best track record in this movie. He apparently cut Graham's wife in half with a truck, traumatized a mild-mannered veterinarian for life, made Graham's daughter neurotic about her drinking water and, oh, ARRANGED AN ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH AND THE SLAUGHTER OF HALF ITS POPULATION - all to bring a single jaded priest back to the fold. If anything, shouldn't Graham be more adamant than ever in his hatred of this particular deity? Please.
8/10
SPOILERS AHEAD.
Signs is a unique film - all its flaws come into play during the last five minutes. Shyamalan makes the inevitable mistake of showing the alien clearly. He should have left it at the blurred newsreel footage, which was effectively disturbing. I was willing to forgive and forget - until Graham is seen donning his priest's collar. If we're to accept the film's assertion that everything somehow adheres to a plan set in motion by some higher power - let's call it God - does Shyamalan seriously expect us to believe that Graham would return to the priesthood when God saves his son from the terminal asthma inflicted upon him by God in the first place? God doesn't have the best track record in this movie. He apparently cut Graham's wife in half with a truck, traumatized a mild-mannered veterinarian for life, made Graham's daughter neurotic about her drinking water and, oh, ARRANGED AN ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH AND THE SLAUGHTER OF HALF ITS POPULATION - all to bring a single jaded priest back to the fold. If anything, shouldn't Graham be more adamant than ever in his hatred of this particular deity? Please.
8/10
Dog Soldiers
(2002)
Fun, smart, gory horror/comedy
17 April 2003
Dog Soldiers is a rare beast - an independent British horror film. The basic concept has been done to death, but Dog Soldiers shines in its execution. The dialogue is intelligent and funny (if sometimes nigh unintelligible to American ears), the action is great, the humor is vicious and the property damage is astounding. The joke at the end of this movie (stick around for the end credits) made me laugh until it hurt. Sean Pertwee, one of my favorite actors, plays a great badass sergeant (upon seeing his own exposed intestines he exclaims, "Sausages!"), and the other soldiers are downright admirable in their dedication to one another and their tough stoicism in the face of insurmountable odds. Dog Soldiers is hardly great cinema, nor is it stupid or insulting. It's enjoyable, witty and not at all for the squeamish.
8/10
8/10
The Mothman Prophecies
(2002)
Unusual and compelling
17 April 2003
The Mothman Prophecies, based upon John A. Keel's nonfiction account of strange incidents said to have taken place in the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, is everything The Ring should have been. While that over-hyped film drew in loads of cash and an immediate cult following, Mothman, with its pervasive claustrophobia and unsettling atmosphere, went largely unnoticed. The cinematography, direction and musical score are so unique and utterly bizarre you're inclined to forgive the occasional bit of contrived dialogue. The film makes no attempt to explain the phenomena with which its characters are inflicted, opting instead to provide a far more effective reconciliation on a personal level. The Mothman Prophecies expertly dodges those clumsy mistakes that have cheapened many a recent horror film. Very unusual, consistently eerie, far from predictable, and one of the few films of 2002 I bothered to add to my DVD library.
8/10
8/10
Fantasy Mission Force
(1983)
My brain hurts.
17 April 2003
This may well be the weirdest movie ever made. It's so bizarre it borders on life-changing. The notorious Lieutenant Don brings together a crack squad of incredibly strange characters, including Jackie Chan, whose screen time amounts to about fifteen minutes. Together the eclectic warriors of the Fantasy Mission Force face everything from toilet-paper-throwing Amazon women (in 1945 China) to ghosts to evil warlocks, all leading up to a final showdown with an army of Nazis, aliens, samurai and Roman centurions riding on top of bulldozers and 1970's muscle cars. And don't get me started on the cameo by World War II Allied Major General Abraham Lincoln (yes, they say his name, and yes, it is Abraham Lincoln). No review could ever do Fantasy Mission Force justice. This movie would make my screenwriting professor break down in tears.
10/10
10/10
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