Another Wolfcop

 

How you feel about both WOLFCOP films will probably be determined by your view on horror-comedy in general. Another factor will be how you feel about going big or going home style of comedy. The comedy in this film is far from subtle. That is why most of it misses for me. The effects however, and the filmmaking craft are decent. The first WOLFCOP film is slightly better to me, and slightly more of a horror movie. In the first film, the whole lycanthropy and body horror concept was there. This sequel follows along the lines of HAPPY DEATH DAY TO 2U, where there is less horror because the concept has all ready been done. Blend together a werewolf film, a Troma film, specifically a Troma sequel, with a dash of an Astron-6 film and this is what you get. 

In typical sequel fashion the film wastes no time showing off the Wolfcop's killing abilities. He takes on a few men in a getaway truck ripping them apart. The filmmaking craft is great here, and throughout the whole movie. There is great use of dark red and green lighting, similar to the lighting in a Joe Begos film. The Wolfcop has become a cult celebrity in the town of Woodhaven, so much so that stores are selling merch of him. Tina Walsh (Amy Matysio), the local sheriff, is annoyed with the Wolfcop for not being more subtle and for eating too many donuts. 

Leo Fafard returns as Lou Garou/The Wolfcop in this film

The Troma aspect of this film comes in the form of entrepreneur, Sydney Swallows (Yannick Bisson) who wants to build a new hockey stadium and sell a new beer there. Of course there are ulterior motives to this. Very much out of a Troma film where the alien life form wants to use alcohol to create mutants. Kevin Smith showing up as the Mayor only adds to the Troma feel. The Astorn-6 aspect of this film is in the costuming and tone. This feels like superhero a movie at times merged with a horror film. The Wolfcop costume is like something out of POWER RANGERS. The superhero feel is made more prevalent by Frank, a cybernetic supervillain made by Swallows who has a big fight with the Wolfcop at the local strip club. Also, an aspect I enjoyed was the "moon meth" that gives the Wolfcop increased strength. Willie's sister, Kat (Sara Higgins) has a rock from the moon that is continually used to help the Wolfcop heal and gives him increased strength. 

Kevin Smith shows up uncredited in this film playing Woodhaven Mayor: Bubba Rich

The biggest aspect of this film that lets me down is the comedy. Some of the comedy is a bit too big for me. For example there is a werewolf/she-wolf sex scene in this movie. That completely misses for me. The alien mutant babies that people get when drinking the "chicken milk stout" again was too over the top for me. The effects work was more plastic than gory. Most films that have these kinds of mutation effects don't work for me though. It does work with Kuato in TOTAL RECALL, but most of the time mutant babies in horror or sci-fi movies don't work for me. There are some funny moments that made me chuckle though. When Lou and Willie (Jonathan Cherry) meet again for the first time, after Willie awakens from his coma they both scream at each other. For the most part I found Willie's mutant baby to be annoying, but Willie is trying to keep it hidden. In one scene at a bar the mutant keeps saying it wants beer and Willie is trying to keep it hidden from Lou and Kat. That got me to laugh. Lou and Tina seem to have this will they or won't they aspect to their relationship. Another funny part is when Willie naively talks about Lou having sex with his sister in front of Tina. 

I will admit, the final sequence of this film was satisfying. Swallows debuts his beer with his new hockey team. Lou, Willie, Tina, and one of Tina's deputies, Daisy (Devery Jacobs) fight against Swallows, his henchwoman, Number Two (Kris "The Raven" Blackwell), as well as Swallows's hockey team. There are some fun gory moments. The Wolfcop uses hockey sticks to stab people as well as a scythe. Number Two has a fun moment where she faces off with the Wolfcop using guns mounted to a Zamboni. 

While this film is hit or miss with me, Lowell Dean uses a seven figure budget well. The Troma similarities in tone, look, and humor may work better for some than it does for me. Lowell Dean also does a great job with the cinematography and colors throughout, even though this does have the low-budget warehouse look that a lot of films do when they say they are set in big cities. I'm going to have to give his post-apocalyptic film, SUPERGRID, a try at some point. 

Rating: 5/10

Trivia: The hockey cheerleaders wear horn-rimmed glasses with masking tape on them. This could be a reference to the Hanson brothers in SLAP SHOT.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQSWV1psH2c

Howl

 

A werewolf movie that sinks its teeth in but doesn't quite take a whole bite. The pros for HOWL are great makeup effects, gore effects, prosthetic suit work, and werewolf design. Some great horror movies of the past have been set on trains, they provide a certain kind of atmosphere. Howl is added to the list of films that use that atmosphere well. It also feels just as much like a survival horror film at times and joins different creature features where the horror is focused on the territoriality of monsters. The film's biggest flaws are the pacing at the beginning and the characters. Scenes with just the characters early on make the film feel like it is going through the motions. None of the characters ever emerge as someone really worth remembering. The subpar characters only add to the pacing issues early on in the film. Once the wolf carnage starts, and you actually see the werewolf the film gets going.

Synopsis: When passengers on a train are attacked by a creature, they must band together in order to survive until morning. 

Early on the film establishes who some of the characters are in various ways. Joe (Ed Speelers) is a train guard who was denied promotion and gets criticized by his supervisor for not handing out enough penalties. After his shift he is asked to go on another run by his supervisor. His only real reason for accepting the job is seeing his crush, the tea-trolley girl, Ellen (Holly Weston). Some of the distinctive personalities on the train are an older couple, Ged (Duncan Preston) and Jenny (Ania Marson), Nina (Rosie Day), Adrian (Elliot Cowan), Kate (Shauna MacDonald), Matthew (Amit Shah), and Billy (Sam Gittins). Historically, almost any survival horror film has characters that fit into certain archetypes. There is often always a couple, someone selfish who is out for themselves, an annoying character and one who gets scared when things start happening, one who helps the main character and has a skill that they do not have, and one who rises to the occasion. All of the various characters in this film slot into those archetypes perfectly. THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD laid out these archetypes that are usually still followed in these kinds of films. 

Shauna MacDonald as Kate in HOWL, she also starred in THE DESCENT

Eventually the train hits a deer, damaging the wheels and the fuel lines. In a wasted performance by the best actor in the film, the conductor (Sean Pertwee) goes to investigate and is killed by the werewolf. Similar to other survival horror films, the passengers want to run around outside before the werewolf eventually barricades them in, starting a siege narrative. Between some of these werewolf attacks there are moments of the characters getting to know each other. As I've said because I didn't much care for any of these characters, these attempts at dramatic sympathy feel more like filler than anything I emotionally invested in. 

Director Paul Hyett worked on the special effects for THE DESCENT. He has worked with director Neil Marshall on some of his other films as well. Whenever an FX artist directs a horror film, normally that means the FX work will be a main focus. The FX work does not disappoint in this film. Great looking leg wound on Jenny's werewolf bite, great FX work on her face and the contact lenses for various werewolves in this film. Also one great gory neck rip. Cinematographer Adam Biddle, brother of Adrian Biddle does a great job with some of the night cinematography as well as the fog machines. So the craft here is great. The substance leaves a little to be desired. The score by Paul E. Francis works well in the film and features some moving human vocals within it. 

A look at the werewolf in HOWL

Some things in the second half of the film help ratchet up the tension. Joe contacts the train dispatch, but because of a storm knocking out power and trees in the woods around them they are stranded indefinitely. Billy is able to find out a way to start the train back up. Him and Matthew eventually try to do that, while the others stay on the train. The two different scenarios help build tension. There are also a couple of dumb character decisions, that I may have been to forgive more, or at least see a little differently if I had any emotional investment in these characters. A third act development also increases the tension. One character also gets some great comeuppance leading to a satisfying ending. 

While HOWL has its flaws, mainly in how cliche some of the characters are, it still functions as a fun, tense, and well made werewolf survival film. The look of the werewolf is unique and interesting. There is a fair amount of blood and gore and great FX work. I also enjoyed the lack of the "silver bullet" being the absolute way to stop a werewolf. While this isn't quite HORROR EXPRESS in terms of a horror movie taking place on a train, or a ROGUE in terms of a territorial creature feature, this is a decent film. I could understand if someone said "this film walks so TRAIN TO BUSAN could run." 

Rating: 6.5/10

Trivia: The werewolves were played by people in prosthetic suits, with the exception of the legs which were all CGI.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFmUBiMIBVs

Full Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ioc7q_26tE

Shaft's Big Score!

 

While the first SHAFT was a more subtle film this goes bigger. Nothing represents that symbolic leap more than the fact that Shaft carries a shotgun as his main weapon compared to the revolver he carried in the first film. The film ends with a car chase, boat chase, and a shootout at the docks. That was a most satisfying payoff. The action far exceeds anything from the from the first film. What doesn't work as well however is the private eye mystery element and snappy dialogue that Shaft had in the first film. In this film it feels like trouble finds him, while in the first one it felt like found trouble through the investigation. There are moments of great dialogue but not nearly as many great lines compared to the first one. 

Synopsis: When Shaft finds out that a dead friend ran a numbers racket out of his legitimate business and left $250,000 unaccounted for, he knows why he has suddenly found himself in the middle of a war between rival thugs. These goons are all trying to take over the territory of the dead man as well as get their hands on the missing 250 grand. Shaft has all he can handle trying to track down the money and, at the same time, keep his friend's sister from the clutches of the hoods.

The film starts with someone emptying a safe. That person in turn calls Shaft. As Shaft arrives to meet him the building blows up. The man in question was Cal Asby, an insurance salesman and mortician. Shaft is questioned by Captain Bollin (Julius Harris) but cannot be held due to lack of evidence. The plot in this is convoluted because there are a lot of sides to it. Kelly (Wally Taylor) was in business with Asby and they were running a racket with their funeral parlor and insurance company. Kelly owes $250,000 to mafioso, Gus Mascola (Joseph Mascolo). Later it is revealed that Kelly had wanted to steal that money from Asby's safe and blew him up thinking the money would still be there. Many different sides get involved, including "Bumpy" Jonas (Moses Gunn) and his bodyguard Willy (Drew Bundini Brown) from the first movie. 

Shaft eventually figures out that Asby was a good citizen wanting to use his money for philanthropy. He had planned to buy out Kelly. Kelly got greedy and wanted to use that money to pay his debts and killed Asby to take over the numbers racket. There are many different double crosses along the way. Kelly goes to Mascola and they agree on a 50-50 split. Kelly then later goes to Jonas and offers him a stake in the racket in Queens and a 60-40 partnership. Kelly also asked Mascola to kill Shaft. Mascola sends two men after Shaft, and Shaft kills them both. Shaft later goes to a club and is beaten up by three men who tell him to deliver a message to Bumpy to stay in Harlem. This is only after Kelly lies to Mascola about Shaft being sent there by Bumpy. So Kelly is a really sleazy character and will do anything to save himself. 

There are many things I enjoyed about this movie. Shaft's cool lines aren't in supply as much as the first one. We first see him sleeping with Asby's sister Arna, as Asby calls him. He asks Shaft to protect his sister and he says "I can get a hand on her," as he literally puts his hand on her ass. Later he goes to Kelly's place and encounters his beautiful girlfriend, Rita (Kathy Imrie). They have fun banter that eventually leads to a sex scene where the scene is shot through the distorted glass of a vanity mirror. Like the first film Gordon Parks shows a penchant for filmmaking with the different crossfades between the vanity mirror and back to Shaft and Rita. While Isaac Hayes still did the opening song, the score is less soul than the first one. Parks did the music himself and it is much more traditionally orchestral. There is some fun buddy-cop type of humor when Shaft and Willy have to team up and they go to Mascola's place. Willy just stands there watching Shaft and Mascola fight while Shaft asks Willy for help.

Left to Right: Kathy Imrie (Rita) Richard Roundtree (Shaft) and Rosalind Miles (Arna)

SPOILER SECTION

All sides converge on each other at a cemetery. Kelly finds the money buried there. He gets it, but Mascola shows up and kills him. Shaft meanwhile shows up just behind them and takes the money and Mascola hostage. A long chase ensues, first with cars, then to a speedboat and then on land. Shaft manages to take out all of Mascola's men. He shoots down the helicopter and shoots the other men on the ground near some shipping docks. Once again Parks shows his craftsmanship with the wide shots of the stairs leading to a crane where Shaft is being chased by one of the men. Shaft refuses to tell the police where the money is and says he will be donating it to a child care organization, something Asby had intended to do with it. 

While the subtleties of the first Shaft are not in this, the movie succeeds as a sequel. Much more action, a bigger scope, more blood squibs, and still some fun lines that make Richard Roundtree so awesome as Shaft. The final chase sequence rivals any chase sequence in the era where many movies always had one. It was fun seeing some more staple Blaxploitation actors like Julius Harris. 

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: Director Gordon Parks has a cameo as a croupier in the back of the gambling room at Mother Ike's. 

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shaft%27s+big+score+scenes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0w8UclRBi4

Gun of the Movie: Shaft's shotgun the High Standard Model 10 (HS-10)

https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Shaft%27s_Big_Score!

Shaft (1971)

 

SHAFT has a great combination of ingredients that lead to a most satisfying movie. A combination of snappy lines and dialogue combined with the private eye mystery being well written. The movie shows some and tells even less. You never feel ahead or behind Shaft's investigation. There are gunfights where you don't see the gunman and it plays more like a suspense scene and it works. There are shootouts with the 1970s stylized violence that I love so much. The most fundamental thing that makes it great is Richard Roundtree in the title role. His acting is great both from the physical and emotional standpoint. You believe him as a tough guy, as an investigator, and as the lady's man. Isaac Hayes adds more greatness to the score with his vocals and the title song that perfectly encapsulates the main character. 

Synopsis: John Shaft is the ultimate in suave Black detectives. He first finds himself up against Bumpy, the leader of the Black crime mob, then against Black nationals, and finally working with both against the White Mafia who are trying to blackmail Bumpy by kidnapping his daughter.

The film starts with some great location shooting around New York City. Nothing beats the late 60s and early 70s New York look with the different lights and restaurant logos among other views. Isaac Hayes "Theme from Shaft" kicks in and we know how cool he is supposed to be. "Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? (SHAFT!) "You're damn right!" The bird's eye shots of Shaft cut back to the medium shots of his profile. Gordon Parks shows his penchant for direction in those shots. The breath you see coming from people's mouths indicates this is winter in New York City.

Richard Roundtree as John Shaft

Early on Shaft has a number of moments and lines to establish how cool he is. His cop friend Androzzi, (Charles Cioffi) and his assistant come up to talk to Shaft early on and they have a memorable exchange. "Where the hell are are you going Shaft?" "To get laid. Where the hell are you going?" Shaft shows his Detective skills early on where he notices one man in the building where his office is looking for him. He takes the other man up to the office where he engages two men in a fight, throwing one of them out the window to his death. Androzzi eventually interrogates him about this confrontation and they have a memorable exchange. Androzzi and him get into a debate about race where Androzzi holds up a black pen saying to Shaft "You ain't so black." Shaft then holds up a white coffee mug and says "you ain't so white either." 

Eventually Shaft discovers that "Bumpy" Jonas (Moses Gunn), a Harlem crime boss, sent his men to Shaft's apartment for a meeting. Bumpy requests that Shaft find his daughter who has been kidnapped by rival Mafiosos in the city. What I like about this plot is that it shows the limitations of a big time gangster. Bumpy needs Shaft because his influence and his sway over cops he can buy doesn't extend out of Harlem. Shaft doesn't like the idea of working for a criminal but also gets payment out of it. Bumpy tells Shaft to find Ben Buford, a black militant leader. 

What ensues throughout the rest of the movie is some great shootouts, mystery reveals and payoffs, and fist pump moments from Shaft. There is a great shootout when he tracks down Buford where no gunman is revealed, you just see bodies getting shot and blood squibs. Shaft and Buford's escape from a building is just as much suspense as it is action. Shaft eventually figures out Mafiosos are watching his apartment from a local bar. He disguises himself as a bartender and eventually busts open one of the men's heads with a bottle. That was a surprising moment that had the blood and violence aesthetic I love so much from 70s movies. Shaft uses the two men for information and sets up a meeting between him and the men who are holding Bumpy's daughter Marcy, hostage. 

Spoiler Section

Shaft goes to a cafe where he has a memorable interaction with a waitress. He asks for an espresso and she asks if he wants a sandwich and he says no. She later comes back and asks if he wants her to bring him a lemon peel. Those little moments are moments that feel natural that makes me like this movie more. Shaft eventually finds Marcy but gets shot in the process of trying to save her. One of the kidnappers leaves Shaft alive and tells him to deliver a message to Bumpy: 24 hours to deliver or Marcy dies. Buford and company save Shaft and a doctor operates on him.  Eventually Shaft and Buford's men find out where Marcy is being held and launch an attack on the building. What is great is how coordinated this attack is. Shaft repels down a window and breaks in while inside the building Buford and his men position themselves along the doors to take out the other men. all of them succeed in killing the Mafiosos and saving Marcy. One of them has a fire hose to hold off others, if that isn't poetic justice for the Civil Rights area I don't know what is. 

There are many things I love from this movie but the combination of Richard Roundtree being a perfectly cool character with some pathos is a great foundation. The mystery being something you figure out as an audience with the character is great. The 70s aesthetic and filmmaking with the violence is great. It has some sociocultural commentary but it never feels over the top. In 1971 I imagine it was progressive to show a white woman being into Shaft, and more specifically showing they had sex on screen. I enjoyed seeing actors I've seen in other things. Cult movie legend Tony King and Blaxploitation mainstay Tony King being the big ones I've seen in other things. 

Christopher St. John as Buford (Left) and Tony King as Davies (Middle)

Rating: 10/10

Trivia: Isaac Hayes was the first African-American to win the Academy Award for best original song. He also auditioned for the role of Shaft. Producers were impressed with him enough to hire him for the score.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ga1FgU10E

Clips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqrmVTafTkv3RiOuSC-O6-Sp

Gun of the movie: Shaft carries two different Colt Detective Specials throughout the film. One that is nickel plated that he keeps in his fridge is my favorite. 

https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Shaft_(1971)

Blacula

 

Basically everything you would want in a Blaxploitation Dracula movie. The suave and charismatic William Marshall carries the the title role. Some people may see the title and think this is a parody. In fact it is the exact opposite. This film is serious, scary, and at times tragic. This movie does a great job, like CANDYMAN in making the story of the monster tragic. Also like CANDYMAN after it, the monster is made monstrous at the hands of racism. While the movie does not have much socio political commentary, compared to other Blaxploitation films, there are subtle moments of it within. There are some script issues, like Blacula never thinking about the different times between when he was living 200 years ago and present day. That would also require a much longer, and slower paced film. The main plot is written well. The movie is paced well. Thalmus Rasulala is a great Van Helsing cipher. There are also tenacious scenes of suspense, excellent and scary makeup effects, and fun action sequences. Blacula is actually one of the better Dracula spin-off films. 

After the opening where we see Dracula (Charles Macauley) curse Prince Mamuwalde (William Marshall) as a vampire, the film wastes no time getting going. Two stereotypically gay interior designers go to Transylvania looking to buy items for their house. They buy Mamuwalde's coffin. What I like is seeing how scary the Blacula character is. William has these long eyebrows and interesting hair patterns on his cheek whenever he goes into full vampire mode. One of the men is so terrorized when they see him rise from his grave that they cannot speak. The teeth they give the vampires in this also look awesome. After Blacula bites the two men we are introduced to the other human characters. The film centers around Dr. Gordon Thomas (Thalmus Rasulala), a pathologist of the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as Tina Williams (Vonetta McGee). Luva was also played by Vonetta McGee. What happens with that is what you would expect. Similar to the plot of THE MUMMY, Blacula seeks out Tina as she is the reincarnation of Luva. 

A look at William Marshall, all vamped out as Blacula

Vonetta McGee as Luva

After spying on Gordon, Tina, and her sister Michelle (Denise Nicholas) at Bobby's funeral, Blacula follows Tina around. He startles her and she runs, leaving her purse. Blacula is hit by a cab. When the cabbie, Juanita Jones (Ketty Lester), calls him "boy," he makes her his next victim. Meanwhile, Blacula goes to a club and meets Tina and her friends. One of their friends, Nancy (Emily Yancy) takes pictures of Blacula at the club. I like how the move incorporated the non-reflection of vampires into the lure. Blacula follows Nancy home and kills her right after she sees a photo she took with Blacula and Tina where he is now invisible. That is a scary and suspenseful scene as you see a point of view shot of Blacula coming into her house and seeing his shadow on the wall. Just as Nancy yanks open the curtains to her darkroom he is standing there. Marshall's towering figure also makes him even more scary in these sequences. 

Vonetta McGee as Tina, looking different from Luva

Gordon begins to catch onto some things. Bodies keep disappearing from the morgue. Dr. Thomas notices that with each body the bites are too big to be rat bites and the blood veins are drained. Eventually he starts reading books about the occult and vampires. He later asks to do an exhumation and autopsy on Billy's body, one of the interior designers. His cop friend, Peters (Gordon Pinsent), turns him down. So, Thomas decides to dig up the body with Michelle. Billy comes alive and Thomas kills him with a shovel. There is an interesting moment where Michelle freaks out because she believes Billy is still alive but Thomas tells her he was all ready dead. Character moments like that made the drama in this movie better.

Thalmus Rasulala as Dr. Gordon Thomas

Blacula begins to see Tina more, and she feels a supernatural kind of attraction to him. He eventually tells her his real identity and who she really was. What is interesting is that he talks about wanting her to give herself up to him, never wanting to take her by force or force her to become a vampire. That was an interesting aspect and it made me sympathize more with Blacula. He is looking for love, but does have to satisfy his appetite. His monstrosity the result of Dracula's racism, he is more of a tragic figure than monster. BLACULA shares many things in common with CANDYMAN. Both feature an imposing actor in the lead role. Both characters were made monsters because of racism. Both characters seek out the reincarnation of the woman they loved. 

There is another great scary scene when Thomas asks morgue attendant Sam (great character actor, Elisha Cook Jr.) to take Juanita's body out of the ice. Unfortunately for Sam he didn't listen to Thomas' instructions and left the door unlocked. While he is on the phone, Juanita runs at him in slow motion and kills him. Thomas was going to use Juanita to prove to Peters that the vampires were real. He later goes to Nancy's house and sees the picture of the invisible Blacula with Tina. Realizing she is in danger he goes to her house and fights Blacula before he escapes. The cops then track Blacula to a warehouse and kill the other vampires by throwing fire bombs at them. Blacula tells the cops he moved his coffin a long time ago and turns into a bat and escapes.

 

A great still of Elisha Cook Jr. as Sam and Ketty Lester as Juanita

Spoiler Section

Blacula takes Tina to a chemical warehouse where she is eventually shot by the police. Blacula then proclaims he will have his revenge and kills any of the cops who come near him. Their gunshots can do nothing and Blacula uses his superhuman strength to overpower them. Thomas eventually finds his coffin and puts a stake in the person who is in there. It turns out to be Tina. With nothing left to live for Blacula walks up to the roof and into the sun and is disintegrated. 

There are many things I enjoyed about this movie. The tragic monster element as I have all ready stated. The scary looking monsters due to makeup, filmmaking and the characters being scared of them. The other vampires also had a cool look to them. A different skin hue to go with the teeth. The other vampires actually look quite a bit like the zombies Tom Savini designed in DAWN OF THE DEAD. The action scenes like the raid on the vampires with the fire bombs, and later Blacula taking out many cops were really satisfying as well. Thalmus Rasulala is a great Van Helsing cipher. He figures everything out with his ability as a pathologist. Once he finds out that the vampires are real he has no hesitation in killing them. There is also a great soul sounding score by Gene Page. I could have used more blood, but I think they wanted this to pass with a PG rating so what are you gonna do? Also the second film addresses this more but I would have liked to see a little more of Blacula adjusting to the present day. The film is ultimately about his quest for love so it was okay to eschew developing him in the world more. The movie would have had to have been longer and the pacing is great here. Vonetta McGee is beautiful and I like her in anything I see her in. 

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: According to the American Film Institute William Marshall's Mamuwalde was the first black vampire in film.

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=blacula

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRl2Kd5UtSc

Lake Mungo

 

You all know me. Effects driven horror and horror movies that I would like to be in because the movie is fun are my thing. This is not that. Stuff like this is not really my favorite. That being said, I did moderately enjoy this. This seems inspired by both found footage and Japanese ghost horror stories. Like the Japanese movies it revolves around the mystery of a ghost revealing itself and whether it is malevolent or not. What I liked about this was getting to know Alice from every perspective. Her parents, grandparents, friends, and people around her family. The movie was more psychological than supernatural in how it dealt with the ghost. The relatable grieving moments provided riveting drama. Instead of the movie revolving around the ghost it revolved around how the family felt about it. The ghost was more of a symbol of their grief, and of them not being able to get closure. This movie still has its scary ghost moments though. The use of more VHS footage for those scenes only enhanced how scary it was. Through getting to know everyone more I liked the characters more and more throughout and this would qualify as a more character driven horror movie. Something I like. 

Synopsis: Alice drowns while swimming and her family begins experiencing inexplicable events in their home. The family hires a parapsychologist whose investigation unveils Alice's secret double life and leads them all to Lake Mungo.

What I liked about the movie early on was how much it leaned into the mockumentary and documentary fiction elements. There are VHS tapes used for some family video footage, HD cameras for the interviews, and some television news footage from the time. The filmmakers took care in wanting you to really think this was a documentary with found footage between the interviews. While other horror movies have employed some of these tactics, like CARRIE (2002) for example, that uses police interviews as part of the story. THE MEDIUM also employs interview tactics and found footage but you know that film is cinematic while you watch it. This was one of the first horror movies I have seen to have completely documentary style filmmaking with some found footage in there. I was more interested in the characters and what they were saying at times rather than what was on screen. There are many times where the film will cut to long shots of the area where the film was made, tracking shots of the Palmer's house, and then another interview close up. There is not much interesting filmmaking here from a visual perspective but it could pass as an A&E or Discovery documentary. 

A lot of people around Alice's life were interviewed. What I liked was seeing how people were more candid to talk about Alice and the Palmers after her death. That felt real, especially with her being so young and dying as tragically as she did. The moment where Russell's friend at work talks about how he seemed the same at work after Alice's death was relatable. When my grandfather was dying I still went to work the night I found out about it. The way I see it your mind is so used to doing those activities that it can keep your mind off of how you feel about someone's death. June had nightmares about Alice and would sleepwalk into other people's houses. All of that seemed real and relatable. They establish early on that June wants to exhume the body. At the same time the family starts seeing what they believe is Alice in the background of someone else's video at the Ararat dam. More footage is seen of her in Mathew's videos and her reflections are seen in mirrors. 

The Palmers. Mathew (Martin Sharpe), Russell (David Pledger), and June (Rosie Traynor).

SPOILER SECTION

It was an unexpected development when the video with Alice in the background is revealed to be someone else. Just as unexpected as when Mathew reveals he doctored all of the videos and pictures from his camera with Alice in the background. I enjoyed his process about how he did that as well. I also liked all the slow zoom shots on Alice in the background. The second half of the film is more about the family and anyone involved with Alice revealing secrets, sometimes about themselves and more reveals about her. Mathew doctored those videos in order to get Alice's body exhumed so his mother would have closure. Meanwhile, Ray, a psychic who has been treating June and helping her with her nightmares was revealed to have consulted with Alice months before her death. It is later revealed in one of Mathew's videos, another person in the background of Alice's room. That turns out to be Brett Toohey, the patriarch of a family Alice had babysat. He was looking for a video that June later finds of him and his wife having a threesome with Alice. 

These are unexpected developments in the second half. Once again you get everyone's perspective on this. The documentarians talk to Alice's boyfriend and her friends about what they think of Alice and Brett after this. Ray talks about his oath to confidentiality and how he wanted to help the family and could not if they knew he was seeing Alice. It also deals with a real thing, that things are revealed about people after they die. Sometimes you may like those things, and sometimes people may not. Still it felt real. I've thought about how people might feel about me if I died tomorrow. This movie dealt with the death of one character in a more real way. It wasn't cinematic. Later June finds Lake Mungo written in Alice's diary. Alice had gone to Lake Mungo on a field trip and came back home without her watch, cellphone, and her favorite bracelet. The family decides to investigate. Using cellphone footage from Alice's friends they at one point saw her burying something and wandering off on her own. They eventually find the buried items, which were the items Alice did not come home with. In the film's scariest moment, footage from Alice's cellphone reveals her double, looking waterlogged, identical to when they found her body at the dam.

A look at Alice's double she sees on her cellphone.

 

After the family discovers this they start to heal. So finding out Alice's secrets and what she saw really helped give them closure. I found that interesting and I found how the film built to all these different reveals to be interesting. The end of the film shows Alice present in some different angles of Mathew's pictures. That was interesting only because it showed that some of the supernatural stuff, while again not malevolent, was really there. People who are religious talk about how people can see them or help them in the afterlife. This felt like a version of that. There were some interesting themes in this movie as well. Teenage sexuality, confidentiality, and how different people react to grief and bereavement. The mixing of the found footage with the interviews works for me because each one gave a break from the other. If the film was all one or the other it could have gotten boring. It reminded me of Japanese horror movies because of the mystery. Was the ghost real or not? You can see different things in the background, oftentimes with the use of VHS footage, in Japanese films as well. ONE MISSED CALL is an example of a film that uses cell phones for the ghost in the film. This has the ghost on video taken on a cellphone. So there is overlap and I think my love of Japanese horror helped me enjoy this more. That and not knowing any of these actors. Had these people been more familiar to me it would have been hard to suspend my disbelief.

Rating: 7/10. Rewatchability is a big part of my ratings. I could see myself watching this again, just not anytime soon. There is a reason why I would give a movie like REQUIEM FOR A DREAM a 6/10. It's a great film but I'll never watch it again. This movie was not my favorite thing but I could watch this again at some point. 

Trivia: Director Jordan Peele stated in a podcast with Keke Palmer that LAKE MUNGO is one of the films that scared him the most.

Full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X6cpVlW1as

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmx6bICY6k

The Strangers

 

THE STRANGERS is a microcosm of how the tone of films changed in the aughts. After the 9/11 attacks the possibility of death hit home. Death is random. It comes for us all whether we like it or not. What this movie did is show the fear of death, the want to fight it when it comes at an inopportune, random time. Bryan Bertino wrote this well. The characters never felt stupid to me. There were a couple of decisions I wasn't sure about but as a viewer I don't know how much better I could have done. Home invasion movies are often filled with moments where I say a character made a stupid decision or stupid, cliche diabolus ex machina moments happen. This film could have had those moments but they were avoided with clever swerves. There were some great camera angles. This has some of the creepiest person-in-the-background shots since HALLOWEEN and INSIDE. It also has some of the most intense home invasion moments since BLACK CHRISTMAS and WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. The difference is this movie keeps that up over its entire runtime and not just for a climax. People who know me know I usually like horror that is mystery or effects driven. While this movie was minimal on both of those fronts, it substituted in a relentless amount of suspense and tension.

Synopsis: Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are expecting a relaxing weekend at a family vacation home, but their stay turns out to be anything but peaceful. First, a mysterious and dangerous woman arrives at the door while James is out on an errand. When he returns, he accidentally kills his friend Mike (Glenn Howerton), mistaking him for an intruder. And then real danger does show up -- in the form of three masked torturers, leaving Kristen and James struggling for survival.

What I liked early in the film, and throughout was the use of showing and not telling by Bryan Bertino. We do get the flashback showing Kristen looking apprehensive when James proposes to her. Her rejecting his marriage proposal is something we have to gather from their moods when they go back to the house. This minimalism also makes its way into the villains. We never really know much about them either. There is not much info about these people before the movie starts allowing your mind to fill in the blanks. The tension between the couple is great early on because it sets up how much closer they get when they go through adversity. James drinking wine and looking dejected early on felt natural. Kristen feeling bad and wishing she could encourage her boyfriend also felt natural. 

I do like how much time goes by between each incarnation of the home invasion. Pin-Up Girl knocks on the door around 4 A.M. Before more stuff happens James goes out to buy cigarettes. A lot of movies have made characters make stupid decisions and used cliches to make things worse for the characters in movies like this. One thing I liked about this movie is how that didn't happen much. There is one moment that feels cliche but for the most part the writing never made the character decisions feel dumb. I give Bryan Bertino credit for that. There is no moment where Kristen has no battery on her phone, or no reception. The film establishes they have been at a wedding reception all night, so it is no wonder why her phone is dead. James at one point leaves his phone in his car. That is something anybody could do at any time when they think everything is okay. Both of these characters show some fight. They try to get away from the house at one point, which they should do, and that is foiled.

Before I move into my spoiler section I wanted to talk about some of the suspense and camerawork. I always love it in movies when you see a character in the background of a scene rather than just jump scares. Movies like X, INSIDE, HALLOWEEN, have all done this well. There are moments where Bryan Bertino will switch to different camera angles, more close ups, and then cut back the previous shot and that thing or person will be gone. That to me has always been more impactful than jump scares because I always remember those moments more. The invaders moved objects around that were in a different spot. That is also memorable and just heightens the tension. For some reason sound design and editing also sounds better in these twenty-first century films. The sounds of the gunshots, knife stabbings, bangs against the doors and windows just sounds better in this film. Great use of music in the background in multiple scenes. Also, I mentioned how this has some of those great shots of characters in the background. This also has a great moment with a character hiding in a closet, one of the best in any horror movie. The natural yellow lighting of the house also heightens the real feel. It also reminds me of BLACK CHRISTMAS in that respect. Movies that have that kind of lighting just heighten the atmosphere to me. 

SPOILER SECTION

It is hard to know when to start and end the spoilers with this film. This film has a simplicity that makes it scarier. You never see the killer's faces. There is no true motivation. They say the only reason they are doing what they are doing is because James and Kristen were home. Again death comes for us all. How many people around this time were killed in terror attacks across the globe just because they were in the wrong place and wrong time? It could happen to any of us. The movie does some other great things in the writing. Moving objects around that Kristen had previously set down, like the smoke alarm. I was thinking at one point, things like this are why the second amendment is so important in the United States. Yet when James gets ahold of a gun he doesn't really know how to load it. You could say that is stupid, but he does in fact find out how to use it. I've had a hard time loading gins and chambering rounds correctly. Its not as easy as it seems in video games or while watching movies. That actually felt real. 

For all the things I loved in the writing, I had a small issue with Mike's fate. INSIDE had come out two years before this. I don't know if Bryan Bertino saw that film, but what happens to Mike definitely parallels a similar moment in that film. It did feel a little cliche for that to happen here. I did like Mike showing up in the first place though. That was a nice unexpected development. The scene where Kristen and James split up did feel a little stupid, but at the same time James probably had a bit more confidence because he had a gun. I would have felt the same way. The killers themselves had awesome masks. I'm glad that they came back in the sequel. I was thinking at times about how the killers were doing what they were doing. Where were they at certain times. Movies that make me think that are usually movies I like. 

Kip Weeks as Man in the Mask

Laura Margolis as Pin-up Girl

Gemma Ward as Dollface

As for the ending, I had actually thought both James and Kristen were going to die. Her living at the end surprised me. What makes their ordeal more heartbreaking is her wearing the ring and saying I love you before James is killed. You get the feeling had they made it out of this, they would have married. Just as I thought about their relationship before the movie started, I wonder where she goes from here. Also where do these killers go from there? What do they do for a job? How many times have they done this? While a movie making me ask these questions could be a bad thing, in this it's not because I don't want the answers. I would rather let my imagination keep going through scenarios. While this movie is not my favorite in terms of what I prefer to see in horror movies it is a great, suspenseful home invasion thriller.

Rating: 8/10

Trivia: Bryan Bertino said the film is based on something that happened to him as a child. Someone knocked on a door asking if someone was there. Later they found out that the homes in the neighborhood had been broken into.

Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmNdhL9_nPM&list=PLDqc8t6GlTaY4LxWlFz-WiQ_P0rSP88jg

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbqELQHpmQM