Found-footage (aka-shaky cam) Rant

In anticipation of the Soska Twins helming the upcoming sequel, I watched See No Evil the other night.  Had never seen it before and didn't expect to much.  As suspected, the acting was pretty terrible, the fx were ok, the story and details lacking (a bunch of convict kids allowed to wear chains, heels, purses, etc...?) but overall it was entertaining.  The one thing I kept saying to myself over and over again was "it's not the best but at least it's not found-footage" (or shaky-cam, as I like to refer to it). 




Aaaand that brings me to my main topic/rant: the ever increasing amount of films in the found-footage sub-genre. 

I am SOOO sick of reading about an upcoming horror film, getting excited, only to find out it's shaky cam.  Again.  What happened to regular old low-budget horror!  Even if it was cheesy as hell at least you could watch it without getting a headache!  I guess directors feel it's a way to overshadow the bad acting/fx/low budget?  Get off the band wagon people!  It's SO done! 

And of course there are exceptions to this (Rec movies, V/H/S 2, The Tunnel) for the most part it seems to do a disservice to the story and to the actors. 

Case in point, I recently watched "Europa Report" (sci-fi, I know) and judging from the cast (Sharlto Copley, Michal Nyqvist) I was expecting something great.  I was wrong.  It was disjointed and fuzzy it was hard to enjoy the acting let alone follow the story line.  I get that this found-footage is part of the story, but couldn't it not be?  Couldn't we just make a good film that all can see, follow and enjoy?  Sigh...





I will continue to watch these movies regardless of how I feel about the filming style because as true horror fans, you can't be to picky in this genre.  I look forward to Ti West's "Sacrement" and the final Rec movie but I will continue to hope this film-making fad fades and more traditional styles once again become the norm. 

UGH: "Warm Bodies" Review

Last night I finally made myself watch Warm Bodies and just as suspected...Nope.  Almost turned if off towards the end.  It's not that I don't appreciate the message that love can save us all, it's sweet, but it has no place in a zombie movie.  At least not in the sense that it can save the undead.  The fx were ok but I just couldn't get over the lack of zombie like behavior from the zombies.  It was cheesy and silly and just didn't cut it for this horror fan.

If you want to check out a really good zombie-turned-hero film, watch Fido.  Billy Connelly is fantastic, as is the rest of the cast.  The film as a whole doesn't shy away from it's slightly cheesy theme, it embraces it and a quirky little gem is the result.  Loved this movie!

Desensitized

It's easy to become desensitized to violence now a days.  We see it on the news, on tv shows in ever increasing amounts and horror movies has reached a new level of violence compared to their predecessors.  I often wish I had grown up in an earlier time so I could better appreciate the older scary flicks but alas, I'm a product of my era and find the new gore-drenched films much more to my liking.  I have a list of older movies I'm going to work through at some point but I find whenever I watch one of them I can't help thinking, "wow, this would be a really good remake".  Sad, I know! 

 

Case in point, I watched Frailty again the other night.  Now I know this is more of a thriller and it's not even that old, just 2002.  It's a great film and not in any need of being redone but I kept thinking "with some added gore, this would make a great horror movie!".  I love the story and it's a great early example of what Matthew McConaughey is capable of (Killer Joe as a recent example). 

 

I'm going to try to weene myself off the gore in the next little while and start to appreciate some of the older classics.  It's embarrassing how I call myself a horror fan and still haven't seen a number of classic movies.  Time to start studying! 

Monster Art by John Kenn Mortensen

 

I have been obsessed with John Kenn Mortensen's post it note monsters from the first moment I saw one.  Whimsical, creepy and cute, each one is unique and wonderful.  An original drawing is on my dream art purchase list!  In the meantime, I purchased his "Sticky Monsters" book as soon as it became widely available.  It has a great selection of his drawings and is a delight for all ages!  I have to pry mine away from Lillian, my 3 year old, who keeps trying to lay claim.  She often requests the "monster book" for bedtime viewing :)  I eagerly look forward to future work by this wonderful artist!

 

 

Feminism & Horror

I think one of the reasons I love modern horror so much is the breaking down of female stereotype.  Horror was once mainly a boys game but times are a changing!  In the past, women were either seductress sluts, innocent virgins or possessed demons bent on male destruction.  Nice to know we're so easily categorized!  I still remember watching the original "I Spit on Your Grave" and thinking, "Why the hell is she just lying there?!  Get up!  Fight!!".  And sure, she did eventually, but only after she seduced her tormenters (letting one of them have sex with her first!) and THEN got around to killing them.  Thankfully they had enough sense to make the Jennifer character a stronger character in the remake.  Thankfully this type of weak female is becoming a thing of the past.  The strong, lone female survivor has since become a cliché. 

 

Ah, The Descent!  One of my favorites.  Aside from briefly at the beginning, this is an all female cast of strong women!  They spelunk dangerously and kick some subterranean-humanoid ass while they're at it!  If you haven't seen this yet, do yourself a favour and immediately do so.  It's fantastic. 

And the ladies currently dominating the female side of horror, Jen and Sylvia Soska (aka - The Twisted Twins).  These gals are awesome!  I love how they are unabashedly horror fanatics themselves and are so great with their fans, attending numerous conventions and keep in great touch via social media.  I will admit, I'm not a big fan of American Mary.  I loved the concept and loved Katherine Isabelle as Mary but I found the script was a bit all over the place and could have been better.  However, they're just starting out, Mary being their second feature film, so I'm sure over time they'll hone their skills and get better and better!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what they'll do with See No Evil 2 (starring Katherine Isabelle again and Michael Eklund!).

Also appearing in See No Evil 2: Long time Scream Queen, Danielle Harris.  Now I must admit, I had a hard time finding an image of Harris on the internet not in lingerie.  Great for her she looks fantastic in it but I do hate how successful women are still forced to objectify themselves like that.  Regardless, she's been in many horror movies (Halloween, Stakeland) and has started directing as well.  I haven't had a chance to see her latest feature, Among Friends and haven't heard amazing things but still, great to see her branching out and bringing another female voice to genre directing.




Now I know Jennifer's Body kind of falls into the possessed-by-a-demon-seductress cliché but it was calculated and smart.  Helmed by a fantastic team of females: writer Diablo Cody, director Karyn Kusama and starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfred.  I really loved this movie.  Smart and whitty!

Also have to mention the new Evil Dead!  I'm so thankful director Fede Alvarez chose not to use the standard clichés and throw a bunch of sex and nudity in.  He let the horror, gore and acting do the talking and for that, I am thankful and a HUGE fan of this movie.  I could go on and on and on about it!  My fav of 2013 by far! 

 

Lots of other great examples of female dominated horror out there (Eden Lake, Drag me to Hell, to name a few)  I hope to see more and more "feminist" horror come onto the scene in the future!  It's an exciting time to be a genre fan!

 

"Grabbers" Review

Watched this the other night and loved it!  This film has received such great reviews and I've been meaning to watch it for a while but have been putting it off as I usually opt to watch the more serious horror/sci-fi as opposed to comedic versions.  I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance though as it was some serious fun :)

"When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive. "

All the acting was great.  I really enjoyed Ruth Bradley, she did a bang up job and was one of the most convincing and funny cinematic drunks I've seen in a while :)  The creatures were great and not at all cheesy.  Set on a remote Irish Island there were the usual set of characters, crotchety fishermen, the bartender and sassy wife, local drunken cop with past issues.  It was a bit formulaic that way but with all that Irish charm infused, it works well.  All in all an excellent little creature feature well worth watching. 

Word to the wise, just like "At World's End" a few pints are a necessity!  May I recommend a nice dark Stout ;)

"Cold Skin" Film Update!

The film adaptation of this book has been in the works for quite a while.  First attached to David Slade (30 days of night) who since opted out, the baton has been passed onto Xavier Gens (The Divide).  I love Gens work so I was extremely happy to here about that development.  The Divide is definitely one of my favorites and I'll probably nerd out about it in many a post in the future.  If any one hasn't read this book, you're missing out.  It's such an odd little treat. 

"On the edge of the Antarctic Circle, in the years after World War One, a steamship approaches a desolate island, far from all shipping lanes. On board is a young man on his way to assume the post of weather observer, to live in solitude for a year at the end of the earth. But on shore, he finds no trace of the man whom he has been sent to replace - instead just a deranged castaway who has witnessed a horror he refuses to name. The rest is woods, a deserted cabin, rocks, silence, and the surrounding sea. Then night begins to fall..."

The unique story is compelling, brutal and heart pounding.  I couldn't put it down.  Having previously read Pinol's "Pandora in the Congo" (also utterly unique) he has once again introduced us to a new race of creature and brought up the slightly uncomfortable subject of monster sex.  Yup, Pinol loves him some interspecies relations.  Aside from that it's a page turner and I absolutely can't wait to see what Gens does with it.  IMDB has listed this project as being in pre-production for quite some time but he recently announced on his Facebook page that he was headed to Prague to start filming!  So excited the ball is rolling :)