Reviews_of_the_Dead

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Reviews

Alice in Wonderland
(1951)

An Absurd and Wonderful Disney Classic
This was a movie that I had never seen all the way through. It is one of Jaime's favorites. We decided to put this on for Mackenzie, to see if she would enjoy it on a Sunday. My sister and I did have this on VHS, but I'm seeing now that it was missing parts for whatever reason. Our father recorded it off television.

An easy breakdown here is that we have Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) struggle to listen to her lessons from her sister, voiced by Heather Angel. She is playing with her kitten and notices a white rabbit fleeing into a hole. What is peculiar is that he is dressed in fancy clothes and says that he's late. She follows him inside. This leads her a down a rabbit hole, pun intended, to another world. Her journey leads her to meet the Mad Hatter (voiced by Ed Wynn), a hookah smoking caterpillar (voiced by Richard Haydn), the Chesire Cat (voiced by Sterling Holloway) and the Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton), to name characters that stood out to me.

It was now sitting down to watch this all the way through that I realized, the copy I watched wasn't missing a lot. It was fun seeing this with Jaime, who knows this much better, and Mackenzie. Now my daughter didn't pay attention much, but there were certain songs that caught her attention. Seeing her dance at those times made me smile.

Something that struck me was how absurd this is. That is the point. I'm not shocked to learn that the writer of the source material, Lewis Carroll, wrote this from a fever dream. If memory serves, it was under the influence of drugs. We have talking animals, crazy people and the logic in wonderland doesn't fully make sense. It translates well to a cartoon and the hand drawn animation is great. It also presents itself as vignettes, which I'd bet will hold my daughter's attention when she' a bit older, better than other movies.

The voice acting here is great. Beaumont fits so well for Alice. I love that Wynn's Mad Hatter was drawn with him in mind. He fits so well and has iconic lines. Haydn, Jerry Colonna, Bill Thompson, Angel and Joseph Kearns fit their characters so well. I liked noticing Holloway, J. Pat O'Malley and Verna Felton from other Disney movies. Most recently, The Jungle Book. This is all on point to bring the characters to life.

I'll end this by saying to check this out if you haven't or even if just haven't for some time. I can see why this is a classic. This is one that I'd be excited if Mackenzie or Jaime recommend again for sure.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

La mesita del comedor
(2022)

Dark Subject Matter with Great Atmosphere and Stress
This is a movie that I got the chance to see via screener thanks to Scott from Cinephobia Releasing. The title caught my attention. When I figured out that this was a horror film, I knew that I'd check it out. What I found interesting is that this got its official first screening at a film festival back in 2022. It got its wide release in 2024, so that gives me another to add to my list.

Synopsis: Jesús (David Pareja) and María (Estefanía de los Santos) are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.

We jump right into this with our couple from the synopsis at a store looking at a coffee table. I'll be honest, it is hideous. The salesperson is played by Eduardo Antuña. He is making the table sound better than it is. To give more information about it, it has two golden women, who are naked that are holding up the glass. This couple bickers in front of this salesperson. We learn that Jesús might not have been fully ready to have a child. María mostly decorated their house, with Jesús getting little details here and there. He was told that he could pick out any coffee table. Because she hates this one so much, he wants it even more. That is the one that is bought.

The movie then shifts to Jesús putting it together. It turns out that he's missing a screw. He called the store, saying that it wasn't in the box and that he needed it brought to him today. He cannot come back to get it. María decides to go to the grocery store since Jesús' brother and his girlfriend are coming over to meet the baby. The child is left in the care of Jesús.

This is when tragedy strikes and it rocks Jesús to his core. He can't even move. He doesn't know what to do. There is a couple of storylines that complicate things further. I've already brought up that Jesús' brother Carlos (Josep Maria Riera) along with his vegan girlfriend Cristina (Claudia Riera) are coming over. There is also Ruth (Gala Flores) who is 13 years old. Her mother tells María that she's been moody about a boyfriend. This turns out to be Jesús. This teen is convinced that she is in love with him and that he feels the same back. This day cannot get any worse and tragedy looms.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the story. Where I want to start is re-iterating that I came into this one blind. This movie was uncomfortable for me in the best way possible. It sets the stage about where this couple is currently. I've been here before with my wife. You just get in a rough spot and bicker constantly. Then this takes a nosedive into a dark event that rocked me to the core. I should say here, this affected me differently than most people, I'm sure. Please keep that in mind when going forward. I will also avoid spoilers.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this becomes a character study of Jesús for the most part. He knows everything that has happened. I could feel the weight of the pressure mounting on him. Things aren't good with María. By having their son, he has lost himself. A newborn completely changes things and we see that it has strained their relationship. What is interesting is the first reveal of what Ruth thinks, Jesús is annoyed and doing what he can to make her stop. She is misreading things. This is just another added wrinkle that complicates Jesús' life as he tries to figure out what to do after the event.

I'm going to shift over to talk about Pareja's performance here. He was great. Despite the bickering with María, I get the sense that he has a good sense of humor. He delicately manages talking to Ruth, keeping his cool there. After the event though, the amount of stress he's doing to not only hide what happened but try to figure out a way to reveal it. I've held on secrets and it can feel like the weight of the world on you. How this is presented made me feel that. I'm not always the biggest fan of comedy in my horror. Since this goes into the realms of dark comedy, it is perfect to help alleviate tension. It was well done.

Since this mostly focuses on Jesús and doesn't have the deepest story, let's shift to this to the other cast members. They push things to where it ends up. De los Santos and Pareja feel like an old couple. That helped me connect since I've been in that spot of a relationship. It feels real. The Rieras help complicate things even more when they come over. They are fun while also making it more difficult for Jesús to think. Antuña, Flores, Dilla and the rest of the cast also add their own quirky characters to this as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought this helped to build that atmosphere. We get the idea that the place they're living isn't big. That becomes even smaller when Jesús becomes stressed. I wanted to credit the cinematography and the framing there. Then to go along with this, they do good things with the sound design. There is a baby monitor that relays different conversations from earlier. They are almost haunting Jesús. That was good. We also have limited effects. They were good though. The blood looks real, which I appreciated.

In conclusion, I know I'm going to higher than others on this. This movie has a simple story. It sets up the characters and then tragedy strikes. From there it becomes a character of Jesús as he tries to come up with a plan of what to do with different complications. Pareja carries the weight of this film on his shoulders. The rest of the cast help push things to where they end up. This was well made with the cinematography, framing, sound design and effects helping there. I don't think this will be for everyone. It just hit me perfectly.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

The First Omen
(2024)

Solid Prequel to a Classic
This was a movie that when I saw was coming out, I was intrigued. I'm not the biggest fan of prequels, because they have a definite ending that they must do or it doesn't work. Ahead of seeing this, I saw people were loving it. I did sit on this before writing my review to make sure that I was being fair.

Synopsis: a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin her life of service to the church but meets a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the evil incarnate.

We start this with Father Harris (Charles Dance) meeting Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson). There is an ominous way of filming the opening that harkens back to the original. It appears that these two have uncovered a plot that involves a young woman named Scianna. Their information is limited though. We also see that there are dark forces trying to stop them.

That is when we shift over to meeting the woman from the synopsis, Margaret (Nell Tiger Free). She has come to Rome to become a nun at an orphanage. She is met by Father Gabriel (Tawfeek Barhom) who then takes her to Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy). These two met when she was a child. He is the reason that she has come to Rome to take her vows. She looks at him as a father figure.

She arrives at the orphanage and is given a lay of the land by Sister Silva (Sonia Braga). It is during this tour that we see that this place also has a wing to help expecting mothers. During this tour that she meets an odd nun, Sister Anjelica (Ishtar Currie-Wilson). She also meets a young woman who is isolated, Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace). Margaret is staying in an apartment with Luz (Maria Caballero), before they both take their vows. It is off the orphanage grounds.

Something I should include here is that this takes place in the early 1970s. There is unrest in Rome as the younger generation is turning their backs on religion. They are also rioting. What is interesting is that this is based in fact. This makes Margaret uneasy. She also doesn't like the way that Carlita is treated by the sisters. Then to complicate her time further, Luz takes her out. She gets drunk, blacks out and doesn't remember what happened. Father Brennan also approaches her, wanting her to help him uncover the truth of the orphanage she is working at.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I'm a big fan of the original movie in the series. It is up there as one of the best religious based horror films in my opinion. The second one is a good follow up and I thought the third did interesting things. I don't even hate the fourth movie even though it was made for TV. It is just the remake that I feel doesn't hold up. This is information that I felt important before diving into this one.

Where I'll start then is continuity. I'm glad that this one doesn't do anything to violate what the original or the sequels did. It synced up well, which is what I'm looking for. In a group chat that I'm in, it might even tie into part four, but it's been a while since my last viewing of that one and I don't remember a lot. This shouldn't come as a spoiler, but I thought that this one did well to show how Damien was conceived and then ended up in the care of the Thorns.

I'll even credit this one as being creepy at times. I'm a sucker for religious based horror, especially when we're looking at the corruption of the church. That is what we're getting here. It is wild that this came out the same year as Immaculate as we're following similar stories. They just end up in different places. I'm not fully sure that the plan of our villain makes sense here. It could do what they want, but it also could spell the end of the world. I see the logic being that as they're so convinced that no matter what, good will triumph. Just seems a dangerous move to play. It also lessens what the movies that follow and their story concept. I will still say that this does give a solid atmosphere. Messing with Margert, who has a history of mental illness. We can see that logically; she could be misinterpreting things. I like playing with this idea.

Now I've seen people rating this high and heaping praise. I can't do that though. My biggest issue is that this borrows from other movies that do it better. This directly takes the shocking moments from The Omen and uses them here. I can't credit this movie for that. I get the idea that this is banking on younger audiences not having seen that. There is also a big plot point that is from Rosemary's Baby which is one of my favorite movies of all time. It also takes its most shocking moment from Possession.

Since I went hard there, let me go over to filmmaking. I still think is well-made. The cinematography was good. I like how they frame things, even if they're nodding to the original. Setting up this where we have Margaret who is a fish out of water is good. She doesn't speak the language so that's scary. On top of that, she has the history of mental illness. I like how we don't know if we can trust her. I think that the effects for the most part are good. It looked like they went practically where they could. There was CGI used which was fine as well. Other than that, I was bummed that we didn't use more of the chanting or choir style music from the original. It does at a pivotal point that worked though. The sound design was good though.

All that is left is acting. I thought that Free was good as our lead. She can balance that maybe she isn't crazy, but we have history and facts that contradict that. I also thought she showed good fear. It doesn't help that she is taking on the higher ups at this orphanage, when she is new which is stressful too. Ineson is solid as our priest who is out to prove what is happening. His performance matches up with that character from the original from what I remember. Braga is good as our head nun. We should trust her, but we don't know if we can. I like Barhom and Caballero in their roles. What I like there is that as things go on, we don't know who we can trust. I'd also say that Dance, Nighy, Sorace, Currie-Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli and the rest of the cast worked for what was needed.

In conclusion, I thought this was a solid prequel. My issue with movies like this is more that they tend to feel predictable to me. What they do here story wise is good. It fills in what we know from the original. It also incorporates elements from the sequels. The acting was good across the board. This was made well enough. The biggest issue that I have is that it borrows major scenes from other movies that I personally think did it better, including the first movie in this franchise. Another gripe is that this runs too long. Getting it down to at least one hour and forty-minute minutes, but preferably 90 minutes would help. I'd still recommend giving it a viewing, especially if you like the series.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
(2024)

Great Send-off for Rick and Michonne
Film: The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Lived Year: 2024 Directors: Bertie Ellwood, Michael E. Satrazemis, Michael Slovis and Amber Templemore Writers: Scott M. Gimple, Danai Gurira, Nana Nkweti, Gabriel Llanas, Matthew Negrete and Channing Powell Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira and Pollyanna McIntosh

Review:

This was another off shoot of The Walking Dead. I was a fan of season 1, aside from the ending. I thought that season 2 and what followed was good for a solid stretch, but I lost interest after the Saviors came. Even when the Whisperers showed up, I was there. The problem for me is that it got too repetitive. Upon competition of watching this, I learned that this was the movie they were going to do. It then shifted to a trilogy and they ultimately decided to do it as a mini-series. Since this is listed as a film on Letterboxd and it doesn't look like they're going to continue it, I'm doing a review.

Synopsis: the love between Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira). Changed by a world that is constantly changing, will they find themselves in a war against the living or will they discover that they too are the walking dead?

What we're getting here starts with what happened to Rick. We see when he was taken on the helicopter to the Civic Republic Military. He's depressed so he's trying to find a way to escape. He was brought here by Jadis Stokes (Pollyanna McIntosh). He started with Pearl Thorne (Lesley-Ann Brandt) who was in a similar place to him. She sees what the CRM can do for her and buys in. Rick gets to meet Major General Beale (Terry O'Quinn), who changes his mind. There's also Donald Okafor (Craig Tate). He's the first commanding officer for Rick and Pearl. He knows that the CRM is doing horrible things and wants to change it from the inside.

We then see that Michonne has never given up and is still searching for Rick. I love how these two come together in this series. She almost dies multiple times. It also becomes dangerous for him if their superiors learn the truth. There's also a complication that if the CRM finds out about Alexandria, they will wipe it out. Even more so if Rick and/or Michonne flee back to it now. There are layers under this as well.

Since this is a mini-series that I'm assuming is concluding Rick and Michonne's tale within The Walking Dead universe, I'm going to leave my recap here. There are years and seasons from the start to where we end up here. What I like about this is the heart that is brought in here. Lincoln can showcase even more Rick's psyche and how every decision he's made wears on him. The thought of not getting to go back to Michonne, Judith and he doesn't even know about RJ until Michonne finds him. The thought of Carl keeps him going, but that is wearing thin on him as he can't remember his face. Seeing him deal with depression, the fear of the CRM wiping out Alexandria and then seeing the love between him and Michonne was good. It caps things well for the character.

I'll also commend Gurira. I love how difficult she is and won't listen to things that she doesn't agree with. Rick sets up a plan for her to escape, but she can't leave without him. I forgot that she made a promise to Judith that she would bring her father home. It tugs at heartstrings that if they don't get out alive, these children are orphaned. There are good people around them, but it isn't the same.

Let me then shift to the villains here. My issue with the show is that we get great groups and leaders like the Governor, Negan and the Saviors as well as The Whisperers. I know the last season had the corrupt government. This group that we're seeing here is the CRM who were introduced in The Walking: The World Beyond. We know their corrupt already. This feels on par with the last couple seasons of the OG The Walking Dead. I guess you truly can't top government corruption as the villain. I like Jadis as someone who is a grey character. The true villain though is Mjr Gen Beale. He seems nice, but there is that dark side underneath. Part of that is credit to O'Quinn. I also like that he has blind followers like Pearl under him. I don't find this as exciting or tense though as earlier villains.

There is one last thing for the story that I wanted to tell. Beale does give what the CRM scientists believe to be the timeline for the walking dead. I thought that was an interesting concept to toss out there. It makes me wonder though if this is going to be like the novelization of Night of the Living Dead, where anyone comes back after that and if precautions need to be taken.

I've already been discussing acting performances so let me say that Lincoln, Gurira, McIntosh and O'Quinn are great. I'd also say that Brandt plays a solid character that gets introduced. I love how she complicates things late in this series. I liked the appearance by Seth Gilliam as Gabriel Stokes and how he softens Jadis. I also liked Matthew Jeffers, Breeda Wool, Cailey Fleming and Antony Azor to round this out as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. The cinematography here is good. They know how to capture the world we're in and the framing helps there. We get different locations around the United States since the CRM has that capability. Also, how these ties in with events from other storylines as well. I love the effects. The zombie make up is great. There is CGI that I don't love, but it at least looks good. This has the budget there. Other than that, the soundtrack was fine for what was needed. More credit to the sound design, especially for the zombies.

In conclusion, if you know me then you know that I'm burned out on all the Walking Dead. It doesn't capture that spark for me anymore. I still enjoyed what they did here. This would be a good send-off for the Rick and Michonne characters if that is truly what we're doing here. I like the story that this tells and how it wraps up things from the show. The acting is great with special credit to Lincoln, Gurira, O'Quinn and McIntosh. This is well made from the cinematography, framing and the effects. Just slight issues with CGI here and there. If you love these shows or a completionist like me, then I'd recommend it. If you've fallen off, I can't blame you for avoiding this.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Civil War
(2024)

Terrifying Look at Reality, Told with a Unique Perspective
This was a movie that intrigued me when I saw that it was coming out. I'm a fan of Alex Garland, from writing 28 Days Later to directing Ex Machina, Annihilation and Men. He knows how to convey interesting ideas through allegory. Knowing that he is foreign and making a movie about the United States falling into a second civil war, I knew he'd have a unique perspective.

Now to my knowledge, we aren't given what started this war. California and Texas have seceded from the union and they're fighting across the United States toward Washington D. C. Something that is said is that the president, played by Nick Offerman, has been elected to a third term. That part of the amendments has been ignored and something we haven't seen since Franklin D. Roosevelt. It also seems that Florida has rebelled and is trying to get the Carolinas over to their cause.

Something that I saw before seeing this was by a buddy who was commending that this is told from the point of view of the press. Lee (Kirsten Dunst) is a legendary war photographer. She is with Joel (Wagner Moura) who is a reporter. They're in New York City where the police are trying to keep the peace. They meet Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) who is an aspiring photographer. One of her heroes is Lee. Later that night, this couple talks with an older reporter, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). He wants to go to the frontlines in Charlottesville. Jessie also hitches a ride with them.

Now what I'll say is that I love that this is told from the perspective of the press. They're on the frontlines, but they don't have a side. They are there to tell the story to us. Another thing I was warned about was that it was a left leaning movie. I can see that to an extent. What works in its favor is that the president's political party wasn't revealed or I don't think it was. It is also strategic to have Texas and California teamed up. We have one of the most Democratic states teamed with one of the most Republican. That helps to blur the lines as well. What clicked for me is that this could be read that the rebels were inspired by the events of January 6th. I think that event helped formulate this idea.

To explain more, I'm not convinced that this is taking aside other than, Americans shouldn't fight Americans. It feels to me that this is showing we have a corrupt president who needed to be taken down. Neither side is necessarily right, outside of their believers' eyes. There are also people who are taking advantage of what is happening or just ignoring it. This last bit is great when your group goes to a small town that is carrying on like nothing is happening. That goes back to Lee and Jessie saying how their families are just farmers who are pretending it isn't as well.

There is also this story of Jessie as she comes of age as a photographer. Lee is hardened to the point where she is emotionless. She scolds Jessie for showing emotion. Sammy points out that this younger woman reminds him of Lee at that age. I get the feeling that she knows it. She just doesn't want her to end up empty she is. We see Jessie grow during this ordeal. She sees things that people should never have to. This is all under the idea that America and the world needs to see what is happening. This human touch to the story makes it higher for me.

Speaking of the characters, the acting here is great. Dunst just conveys someone whose life has been beaten down. There is only one scene I remember her smiling in. Other than that, she just looks rough. It fits and is powerful. I like Moura who gets excited over things that he shouldn't. He is wired differently and it's good. Spaeny is good as this younger woman who wants to be like these other reporters. Henderson is good as this wise older man. He's been doing this awhile and he knows the score. Offerman works as the president. We don't see him much, but what is good there is that we hear his voice over the radio. He is telling lies to keep morale up but we don't know if it is the truth or not. I like Jefferson White, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai and the other reporters. I'd be remiss to not credit Jesse Plemons in his role for the stress he causes in a scene.

All that is left is filmmaking. They do so well in capturing the stress of what it would be like to be at war. It is America, but it doesn't feel like it. There's no safety. I love the scenes of gunfights. They're stressful. What's also good though is that we see soldiers or rebels helping the press and protecting them. It's almost like both sides know the score there. Cinematography helps capture this and the effects bring it to life. Other than that, I love the sound design here. The sounds of gunfire and the echoing. It just adds realism.

In conclusion, I'd recommend seeing this movie. This can be tough subject matter, but it is terrifying to think that in recent memory we've been closer to this than fiction. There's an interesting message here. To me, this feels like it is blurring the lines of political parties, but I can see how people see it one way or the other. How this is told is great. The acting is on point and this is master filmmaking. The stress of what these characters go through to get the images out to the people is great. I'd recommend giving this a watch for sure.

My Rating: 9 out of 10.

Protanopia
(2024)

Atmospheric from Visuals and Sound Design
This is a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to the star, Timothy J. Cox. He sent me over a screener. Seeing that this was released in 2024 and in horror, I knew that I was going to check this out. Part of it is that I strive to have a well-rounded look at the year so checking out an independent film that I'd otherwise not know about helps there. I came into this one knowing as little as possible as well.

Synopsis: a surreal horror film about greed and masculinity in American suburbia.

We start this off with a quote from the bible from the book of Leviticus. It is about a house having leprosy and needing to be cleansed. From there, we see a woman running through the woods. It is distorted which isn't shocking seeing the synopsis. Her name is Mallory (James Chase). She goes missing.

After the opening credits, we then shift to a detective asking questions to Luke (Anthony Carey). Our detective is played by John Heerlein. Luke is Mallory's half-brother and guardian since their father died. She is 19 years old though. Throughout this interview, Luke is staring at the gun on the detective's belt. Luke is also a writer, which is something that is said.

We then go over to Alan Roscoe Jr. (Cox). His father recently passed away and he's stepping into the shoes of a local council. There is voice-over narration here about routines and we see him getting ready as well as making a blueberry pie. The rest of the council shows up and this includes Janice (Paula Mahler). There is friction here as she also brought a dessert, saying that she always does. She also constantly interrupts Alan as he isn't doing things like his father or how the council is used to.

This disappearance of Mallory factors into this community's life. Janice comes back over saying they should start a search party. Alan thinks it's better to wait until the next morning. He is adamant about it. She also comes back over for her pie pan. Alan claims to not have it and Janice comes in to search for herself. There is something not quite right about his house or this could be something within him. He starts to see his deceased father at the piano in the living room.

We also come back to Luke who is conversing with someone named Jack (Matthew Mahler). He tells him that he needs to write. This is a struggle though since Luke is having vivid dreams. The detective thinks he had something to do with the disappearance of Mallory, but he needs proof. There is something more going on here though that will change the lives of everyone forever.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that this is a difficult film to talk about. I'm not sure I fully understood everything that I saw. This does interesting things with the visuals and sound design that I appreciated. I found myself getting lost in it and it gave me an unnerving feeling that I'll credit. I don't think that this has the deepest story, I'm not sure that it necessarily needs it though. Now that I'm truly living in a suburb, this made me uncomfortable as well.

Filmmaking is where I'll dive first then since that is the important thing here. I knew from the opening scene with Mallory and then the credits that we would be getting an arthouse film. The synopsis even braces you for that. The distortion of the images with colors or slowing the footage down where it blurs was interesting. I loved it. It feels like the filmmaker was inspired by Mario Bava or Dario Argento with the use here. I'll also credit the cinematography to capture these visuals. That surreal feel also helps build an eerie atmosphere. The sound design and music selections worked there as well. All of this worked for me.

Let me then get over to the story. I don't mind what we have. We set the stage that something odd is here and Mallory disappearing turns the police on to it. Alan sees his dead father in his living room and it seems that Alan Sr. (John Mahler) needs him to do something. What I like is that there could be something supernatural or maybe Alan Jr. Has lost touch with reality from grief. He hears something in the basement that he needs to either feed or must appease.

There's also this character of Jack. He tells Luke to do things. He also says that Mallory is fine and that she will turn up. It is something along those lines. This person we get to see, but never fully. An example is that it would be part of their face while they're lying down. The framing there was well done. Jack has a correlation with Alan and that house which I found interesting. Where this ends was something, I wasn't expecting. I also enjoy that there is commentary on the area where they live and how behind closed doors, we don't know what is happening.

What I think helps here is the acting. I'm not going to say that it's great. It fits what we need from the characters and not asking them to do too much. I'm not just saying this since Cox since me the screener, but he was good. I like that he seems to be holding on to his sanity by a thread and someone like Janice is trying that patience. We get glimpses behind that curtain which is eerie. Carey was good as Luke. I think I need to be a bit more fleshed out for him to work better. Matthew Mahler was good as this individual that we hear but is ominous with what we don't get. I like Paula Mahler as Janice. This feels like women I've met who run little groups like this. Heerlein was good as a detective. Chase has an interesting musical number that fits the surreal vibe. Other than that, I thought the rest of the cast worked in their roles.

In conclusion, this is a solid little film. We don't get the deepest story, but what we do flows well. This is more about the visuals though. There is a surreal, arthouse vibe here that made me uncomfortable in the best way possible. The acting fit what was needed for the characters. I hate to say this though that it won't be for everyone. I do think there is an audience out there that will appreciate what is being done with the cinematography, editing, lighting and the sound design for sure.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

The 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time
(2022)

Great List of Horror Films
This was a show that went to Shudder and I believe showed on AMC in October of 2022. At least, that is my understanding. What we're getting here is an updated version of what was shown on Bravo back when I was in college. There are updated movies from that one, which was called The 100 Scariest Movie Moments from 2004. This one also features different voices from critics, historians, actors and filmmakers.

There is a lot to go through so I won't. We have 101 movies covered here. The ranking of them is subjective in my opinion. I will say though, the top ten is spot on for what they're looking at. I did see someone else review this and say that there are cheats here. The talking heads will talk about the movie instead of a scene or sequence. I agree and, it is what is it. There are a couple movies that I also think were left off and ones that were included that I don't necessarily agree with. No major issue there though either.

What is impressive is the list of people that were included. We have legends like Greg Nicotero, Joe Dante, Tom Savini, Tony Todd, Keith David, Mick Garris and Tom Holland. There are also current filmmakers/actors like Alexandra Essoe, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Fede Alvarez, Edgar Wright, Brea Grant, Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel and David Dastmalchain. We also get people who know what they're talking about like Tananarive Due, Heidi Honeycutt, Rebekah McKendry, Nathaniel Thompson, Todd Kushigemachi, Amanda Reyes and Lea Anderson. Again, this isn't everyone as there are a lot of people here who are interviewed.

Something that I put a feather in my cap about is that I've seen every movie referenced here. There are television shows that are on my list to check out that are the only blind spots. That feels good as a horror fanatic to know exactly what they're referring to for most every selection. This is hard to recommend if you're new to the genre. This gives you a great list of movies to check out, but it does contain spoilers as well, so keep that in mind. I'd highly recommend it if you're looking out eliminate blind spots before diving deeper.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

Madhouse
(1974)

Interesting Early Meta Slasher
This was a film that I had never heard of and sought out, because I saw it had Vincent Price and Peter Cushing in it, two of my favorite actors of all time. I didn't even know what this was about and came into seeing this one without additional details aside from what I provided. I've now given this a second watch as part of my Foray through the Fours.

Synopsis: a horror movie star returns to his famous role after years in a mental institution, but the character seems to be committing murders independent of his will.

We start this by learning through this first sequence that we're in the past and in Hollywood. They're at the house of Paul Toombes (Price). They're celebrating his latest movie being another success. He's the horror movie star from the synopsis. His iconic character is Dr. Death. At this party, he reveals that he's marrying Ellen Mason (Julie Crosthwaite), much to the displeasure of Faye Carstairs (Adrienne Corri). She hoped her career would take off after staring in one of the Dr. Death films. Also at the party is the writer of the Dr. Death character, Herbert Flay (Cushing). Oliver Quayle (Robert Quarry) reveals information that upsets Paul about his fiancée. She used to star in pornography. Paul is rude to her and he goes up to his room. She does the same, but someone dressed as Dr. Death murders her.

The film then shifts into the present of the movie and in London. Paul has been in a mental hospital since the incident. He is freshly out and Oliver is going to do a Dr. Death television show starring Paul. He has Julia Wilson (Natasha Pyne) meet him at the docks when his ship arrives. Paul agreed to help out his friend, Herbert, who he thought was struggling since that fateful night.

Something to bring up as well was that on the ship Paul met Elizabeth Peters (Linda Hayden). She wants to be famous and thinks sleeping with him will help her career. He kicks her out of his room. Before she goes, she steals a gift from his late fiancée. Elizabeth is persistent even when they arrive in London.

Paul goes to Herbert's house first. It is there that Paul learns his friend married Faye, but she has lost her mind after she was in a horrific attack and car accident. She stays mostly in the basement where she raises spiders. Her relationship with her husband soured even before what happened to her. She is still in love with Paul.

The murders start up again in London with Paul being the prime suspect as it is his character that is doing the killing. The murders are also taken straight from his old movies. The police aren't convinced he is behind them, but they tail him since they revolve around wherever Paul is.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now where I'll start is the first thing that struck me is that this film has the feel of a United Kingdom/United States giallo. I know the purist of that subgenre think that's blasphemous, but we have a blacked glove killer. It is a murder mystery, has a meta feel and there's some red herrings. The only thing is that the main character isn't working with the police or trying to figure out who the killer is. Paul is literally just trying to keep from losing his mind while this is happening around him. You could also call this a proto-slasher.

Where I'll go from there is that I like the mystery here. I love that they mirrored Paul around Price. They even use clips from his old movies when they're showing films in the movie itself. It is such an interesting meta thing to do and it adds a layer. It works even better that the killer is using deaths from his movies, which in turn makes him a suspect as this is also the character he was in these pictures as well. I will say though that I guessed who the killer was halfway through and ended up being right. The problem is there aren't a lot of people it could be and they kill off the suspects them. It hampers the movie, but I'll give credit that it isn't a cheat. I do think this might have worked a bit better to have another red herring or two.

Even though I guessed the reveal, I do like how this is paced. It doesn't take long for that initial kill and we don't have to wait for them to start back up either. That keeps it interesting and the mystery itself had me hooked as well. The reason these kills are happening makes sense so that was good. The ending is interesting and makes me wonder if another character knew of the plan. It is dark what is done for sure.

That moves me to the acting, which I'm going to be honest, is great. Price and Cushing are both just experts in their craft. We don't get a lot of the latter, but when we do it is great. Price though just commands the screen when he's on it. He has such an arrogance to him that fit this role. He is shaky in his mental state as well which makes for an interesting duality within the character. Quarry was also good. He's a snake as this former producer for porn turned to TV. He made me dislike him, which is a good reaction. Corri loses her mind after the trauma that happened to her, which I liked. We see she was unstable before the accident and it's gotten worse. She has an interesting look too. I also thought that Pyne was good in the role that she had. Hayden is quite attractive and we see her half naked, which I enjoyed. I'd say the rest of the cast rounded this one out for what was needed.

I'll end with filmmaking. The effects, which I was slightly disappointed by. We don't get a lot of them, which I can forgive, but the ones that we do I had some issues with. The blood looks good, but the wounds don't. We can clearly see a death by a pitchfork doesn't pierce the skin. I think they probably should have hidden them a bit better if they couldn't make them look better. They were done practical so I will give them that. There's also what looks like a dummy that was obvious. I'm not going to harp too much on that, but I also think that before that we can see the person breathing when they shouldn't be dead. Dummy deaths make me smile though. This does slightly hurt the cinematography to not hide this better. I know this was an American International Pictures that was co-produced with Amicus. They weren't working with a large budget, so there's that as well.

In conclusion, this has a good mystery and that sucked me in. This is giallo like, but it does lean more into a proto-slasher. It did come out the same year as Black Christmas. I did predict the reveal, which hurts it slightly. Another red herring or two would have fixed that. The acting is great, especially by Prince and Cushing. This is made well enough. I thought it moved at a good pace, we have solid kills, it is just the framing that is an issue for not hiding when an effect couldn't be made to look better. It could also be an issue watching this on a 4K TV. There's also an earlier meta feel with Paul being a horror movie actor and the deaths mirroring his movies. I'd recommend this if you're fans of these legends and want to see an interesting early slasher film.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Don Juan DeMarco
(1994)

Interesting Blend of the Surreal and Realism, with a Comedic Twist
This is an interesting film to say the least. I feel like I've seen the poster or knew that it existed. Jaime and I decided to watch this as part of JwaC Presents: Depp Dive: A Depper Look at Johnny's Feature Filmography. What intrigued me was that before seeing this I saw it featured Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway, Rachel Ticotin and Talisa Soto.

Now Johnny Depp is our titular character, Don Juan DeMarco. He is the self-proclaimed 'the world's greatest lover'. This is of course, based on the story by Lord Byron. Juan lost his great love. He makes love to a woman he meets in a hotel restaurant and then climbs on top of a billboard, waiting for his rival to duel to the death. Dr. Jack Mickler (Brando) is called in to help.

Jack is close to retirement. During a staff meeting with his boss, Dr. Paul Showalter (Bob Dishy), he pushes him to help Juan. Instead, this patient is assigned to Dr. Bill Dunsmore (Stephen Singer). He gets upset when he learns about the lie that Jack told Juan to get him down. He demands that since Jack played into the delusion, he fixes it before he leaves.

This is part of Jack's plan. He sits down with Juan and allows him to tell his tale. This includes talk about him mother, Doña Inez (Ticotin) who is now a nun. There is Doña Julia (Soto), who leads Juan leaving his small village in Mexico and to his greatest love, Doña Querida (Patricia Mauceri). The more Jack talks to Juan, the more he starts to believe he could be telling the truth and learning a thing or two who help his marriage to the love of his life, Marilyn (Dunaway).

Now I've already said that I didn't know what to expect here. Having now seen this, we have an odd movie. This is surreal. As Juan tells his story, we see it playing out. We can tell that there are delusions here. It also made me think of where the truth is with what the stories he tells and how much of that is from the novel that his character is from. I've never read it, but having seen this now makes me intrigued.

This also creates an interesting predicament with Jack and his colleagues. They all want him to start Juan on medication. I think that using meds is a good thing, but I also hate that is where we go first. There are issues in the United States with overmedicating and not trying to solve the root problem. This goes to capitalism, but I'll digress there. There are things that Juan is able to back up though which makes Jack wonder where the truth ends and the delusion begins. He also takes advice from this patient which helps him with his marriage. Jaime and I did have an issue at the end though. It seems there could be a detriment to Juan's mental state.

What makes this work though is the acting. I'll be honest, it was hard to understand Depp at times due to the accent he talks with here. He also talks low, for good reason. He can seduce all these women working at the hospital. He even softens Tom Lister Jr. Who had a fun cameo. I like Brando and Dunaway as this married couple. It is cute. Pailhas, Ticotin, Soto, Jo Champa and Mauceri were all good as women who shaped Juan into the man he becomes. Dishy and his team were solid as well. We also have cameos by Carmen Argenziano and even Selena as a singer. The acting brings the characters to life.

Where I'll end out is filmmaking. There is an interesting combination here of realism and the surreal. I dug that though. In the hospital, which is the former. It is when Juan can tell his story, we go into the surreal. I like though that the deeper we get; they start to bleed over and blend. That's a good touch. The tone of this film is also interesting. It is comedy and absurd at times. There is also romance and drama here. I don't know if it fully works for what it is set out to do, but I didn't hate my time here.

I'd recommend it if you're a Depp have and want to see another one of his quirky roles.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Pamyo
(2024)

Good Blend of Rituals, Religions and Sins of the Past
This was a movie that's poster was displayed at the Gateway Film Center and they were showing the trailer on the televisions above the ticket center. While I was waiting, I looked this up to learn that it is a 2024 film and in the horror genre. It went on a list of movies to check out. Decided to make it a Featured Review since I tend to enjoy films from South Korea.

Synopsis: the process of excavating an ominous grave unleashes dreadful consequences buried underneath.

We have multiple moving parts. There is a duo that are shaman in Hwarim (Kim Go-eun) and Bong Gil (Lee Do-hyung). We see them doing a cleansing to start out. It then takes over to a geomancer, Kim Sang Deok (Choi Min-sik). He works with Ko Young Geun (Yoo Hae-jin). What is important to note here is that they work with rich families to find the best plot to get their loved one to the afterlife. Kim is the best at what he does, but he makes a comment later that it is also a scam.

There is then a rich family that needs help. Part of them live in the United States. One of which is a president of a company, Kim (Hong Seo-jun). He has a newborn son and there is something wrong, but the doctors cannot figure out why. This leads him to seek out the aid of the shaman. What they learn is that they have an ancestor they believe is coming after the baby. This ancestor is buried on a plot of land that is overlooking the border of South and North Korea. Kim and Ko are called in with the former thinking it is odd.

The family doesn't want to reveal too many details. It turns out that this ancestor in question was a Japanese sympathizer. He was working with someone from this rival nation during World War II and a monk at a nearby temple was the reason this plot was selected. It seems the monk was also a geomancer. Dark secrets need to be revealed before it is too late. There could also be a darker, more evil spirit at work here.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I should reveal here that I wrote this review days after seeing this. I will play my hand a bit in saying that I want to watch this again before doing my end of year list. This one has vibes of The Wailing for me. I'll get into why and I'm not ready to say this is as good. There are just story elements and atmosphere.

I do compare this to that other movie because we are in a modern world while still using pagan beliefs. There are elements of Christianity as well so we're seeing how these differ. This family that is plagued in the beginning has moved to the United States. I get the idea that they're converted to Christianity, at least the younger members of the family. There is a grandmother who remembers this ancestor that is haunting them, back when he was alive. She still seems to cling to beliefs of the past. Not fully though, because she pushes back against Hwarim, Bong and Kim. I can't fault her. Looking at things logically, it doesn't make sense. When there is a child at risk, I would fall into beliefs that I don't currently hold for help if everything is failing around me. As a newer parent myself, I'd do whatever I needed to protect them. Just an idea I needed to explore here and I liked this aspect is part of the movie.

Getting back then to that original thought, we also have the shaman and geomancer needing to do pagan rituals to defeat this evil spirit. What I love here, that also goes back to The Wailing, we don't know if it will help. They are in over their head and try to do what they know has worked in the past. I love that. Going against something that is stronger than you helps build the atmosphere here. There is also the idea of other cultures coming into play against Korean. Japanese at the time the ancestor died were the enemy. This spirit still holds on to this idea. I love the look of it and I'll come back to that. We also have the US looming with the modern belief system as well.

Something I want to say here is that I'm not going to spoil this movie. I'd need to watch it again to do that as well. This doesn't have the deepest story. It is more about revealing hidden secrets with the main story and we get that as we go. Kim, Hwarim and Bong find clues and that leads to more evidence they need. I do like stories structured like this so that helps.

Shifting from this, I'll say that the acting helps here. I believe these characters are who they're supposed to be. Go-eun is attractive and I like her as this female shaman. She works well off Do-hyun. There is something interesting here where he is hospitalized so she needs to do what she can to save him. I also liked seeing Min-sik. He's an actor that in the limited roles I've seen of his, he has been great in all. I like Hae-jin as his sidekick. He doesn't seem to believe as much so he's worried about how it helps or hurts them financially. Other than that, the rest of the cast fitted what was needed. Special credit to the voice for the Japanese spirit. That was terrifying.

All that is left then is filmmaking. Where I'll start here is cinematography. I love how they capture the different locations we are at. It could be a small-time morgue in a village. There's the temple where a terrifying encounter goes down. We get a glimpse of a hospital room in the US. The best though is this remote gravesite where things go down. I love how they captured this so credit as well to the framing. Then to talk about the effects. These are limited, but what we got was good. There is blood that looks real. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed. I'll bring up again the sound design when it comes to the voice of the Japanese ghost, which was creepy. All this helps to build the atmosphere that was needed.

In conclusion, this is a movie that I'm not hearing about. I'm guessing that is due to its limited theatrical run. I'm hoping this gets a streaming service so I can rewatch this and the word spreads. I'm a fan of the premises here. This being pagan vs. Religion, traditional vs. Modern and having the elements of a haunting. It also being Korean helps here. I thought this was well-made from the cinematography, framing, the look of the spirits and the sound design. The acting also helps to bring the characters to life. This won't be for everyone, but if what I've said sounds good, I recommend giving this a watch.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

Tarzan
(1999)

Fun Version of the Story for Children
This is a Disney movie that I hadn't seen before. Part of the reason would have been that I was fully engrossed in watching films made for adults. I also wasn't watching children's cartoons. Jaime, my wife, is a fan plus she was hoping it would keep our daughter Mackenzie entertained on a Sunday.

Where we start is with a ship at sea on fire. There are two survivors who are a married couple. She has a baby with them. They create a shelter and go about surviving. That is until a jaguar kills them. I didn't expect this to go that dark.

The baby survives. He is found by Kala (voiced by Glenn Close). She fights off the big cat and brings the child back to their group, which is led by Kerchak (voiced by Lance Henriksen). He doesn't want the baby to be with them as he doesn't think they can protect it. Kala convinces him otherwise. The boy is then raised by gorillas, thinking he is one of them.

As an adult, he is voiced by Tony Goldwyn. He befriends Terk (voiced by Rose O'Donnell) and an elephant named Tantor (voiced by Wayne Knight). Everything changes when an expedition comes. It is led by Professor Porter (voiced by Nigel Hawthorne) and with him is his daughter, Jane (voiced by Minnie Driver). They have a hunter protecting them named Clayton (voiced by Brian Blessed). He has other plans.

Jane is saved from monkeys by Tarzan. He's intrigued by the people since he realizes that he isn't a gorilla. He wants to learn more about them as they want to learn about him as well as the gorillas he lives with. The creates even bigger issues with Kerchak.

Now I've already said that I wasn't expecting this to go as dark as it does. This is a fun, family cartoon movie at the forefront. What happens though with Tarzan's parents and how he fights the hunters, it went places. I've never read the source material and have only seen the version that came out after this with Alexander Skarsgård. I can appreciate the heart of the story being preserved and packaged for children.

I'd also say that I love the fact that we hear Tarzan, the gorillas and the other animals that talk speaking English. They're not though. When Tarzan meets Jane and that crew, he can only mimic them, not knowing what he is saying. That's a good choice to avoid subtitles for children. I can appreciate that. We also have a solid cast with the likes of Goldwyn, Driver, Close, Henriksen, Knight and O'Donnell. I thought they all fit the characters that they needed.

I'll also say that this is well-made. This is past the era of cartoons that I love when they were hand drawn. Something I noticed though is that the elephants seem to be using the template from the original The Jungle Book. That made me smile. This is done more with computers, which is fine. I can't fault them for using the technology available. This looks great, especially streaming in 4K. Other than that, the soundtrack is amazing by being done by Phil Collins. I also noticed that his daughter lends her voice as well which is great to see.

Not my favorite, but I didn't hate my time here. I can see why people love this version. Hopefully my daughter will appreciate it more when she gets older to make my wife happy. I also love the possible connections to later Disney movies, I'm a sucker there.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
(2024)

Fun, Popcorn Kaiju Movie that Keeps Getting Bigger
This was a movie that I heard was coming out but wasn't overly excited for. I'm not sure why since these are fun. I look at them like comic book movies. My guess is that Godzilla Minus One blew me away that these pale in comparison now. Regardless, I saw this the opening Thursday at the Gateway Film Center. I had a list of movies to see for the weekend and this one worked best that day.

Synopsis: two ancient titans, Godzilla and Kong, clash in an epic battle as humans unravel their intertwined origins and connection to Skull Island's mysteries.

We start this off seeing King Kong as he now lives in the Hollow Earth area under the surface. He roams and hunts, killing other things for food. The giant gorilla is searching for others like him but hasn't found anything. At the end of this opening sequence, there's an earthquake that reveals there's something underneath. We also see a Monarch base nearby that is picking up something as well. It looks like an uncharted area that is subterranean.

Up above, Godzilla is still roaming the world and defeating titans that are getting out of their territory. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) is the head of Kong operations for Monarch. They're getting a signal that they cannot explain. She notices that her daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), is drawing the signal. She tells Ilene that it feels like someone is calling out to her psychically. This signal causes her to reach out to Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry). He's a conspiracy theorist blogger and podcaster who is right about things. He thinks outside of the box so she needs his help.

Godzilla also seems to be affected by this signal. We see him attack a power plant in France, drawing its power. He then sets his sights on attacking Tiamat, another titan who absorbs solar energy. King Kong also comes up to the surface. He has an infected tooth so Monarch reaches out to Trapper (Dan Stevens) for help. He's a titan veterinarian. They replace the tooth with a metal one. This must be done fast before Godzilla comes after him for the invasion of his territory.

This signal needs to be figured out before it is too late. Ilene leads a team of Trapper, Mikael (Alex Ferns), Bernie and Jia to figure it out. They find that the Monarch base in Hollow Earth is destroyed. They discover a temple that looks to be made by humans. This also reveals a legend that involves King Kong, Godzilla and other titans. One of which is known as the Skar King and the other is Shiva. King Kong isn't strong enough to defeat this threat alone, he'll need help. Monarch must convince Godzilla and other titans to prevent the destruction of the planet as we know it.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that the best part of these movies for me, outside of the action and battle sequences, is the lore they continue to build on. They will take entities from religion and incorporate them into being titans. Here that includes Tiamat and Shiva. Or they'll take conspiracy theories like Hollow Earth and use that as well. This is also good here is that they borrow from earlier kaiju movies for story elements. I'm a fan there as well. I wanted to give this information to delve deeper into them.

Where I'll then go would be with the new titans here. I'd say that these are good to build on what the previous movie set up. We know coming in that Hollow Earth is a thing for this world. King Kong knows that his species had called this world home, but he can't find them. He's continuing that search. This leads him to go deeper into the subterranean area. That's where more legends are explored. Kong's race are defenders of humanity. Godzilla is the defender of Earth. What is interesting is that we learnt about Skar King, which was good. It also introduces Shiva, which I know is from Hinduism. This is more closely to the Final Fantasy games which is the god of ice. This deity here is supposed to be a rival of Godzilla or at least that's how they present this. There are more elements here of the tribe that lived on Skull Island. Also, Tiamat is a Mesopotamian goddess and appears in Final Fantasy games, normally as a villain.

I want to shift to this last idea here. This plays with the idea that Kong is looking for others like him. He has no place. The same can be said for Jia. She is struggling in school. Ilene is determined to make her feel welcome or find something that does. This does bring heart to the movie that I appreciated. The idea is explored even more as we discover other giant apes and Jia's missing tribe.

All that is left for the story is that I noticed there's less commentary here about the environment. I'm fine with that. They went a bit heavy with this idea in the last couple movies. This is focused more on Hollow Earth. This leans to saving the world from destruction as well. I'd also say that we're seeing that there's a vet to help titans, Trapper. Also, they're still dealing with the government wanting to take over the program. That's more of a passing idea. Something that stressed me out though was seeing the titans destroy things like the Colosseum or the great pyramids of Giza. I've seen the former and know how breathtaking it is, so there's that realist part of me that got tense.

Let's then go over to what this is all about, filmmaking. What I mean here is the CGI and effects. These movies are working with high budgets so the effects are on point. I'll be honest, they look great, especially on the big screen. These movies are made for it. They're CGI-fest like the comic book movies. I still have fun with the fight sequences. They do wild things there. I love seeing Godzilla wreck other monsters and buildings. Cinematography is good with how they frame things and bring places that don't exist to life. That was good. The soundtrack also didn't seem to feature the iconic Godzilla theme which is an issue for me. Other than that, the rest of the music worked and the sound design to bring these creatures to life.

All that is left then is acting. Hall is fine here. She's a good actress, but her performance isn't a focus. I like her as this scientist wanting to help Kong and in turn, the world. Henry adds comedy. He's also smart about things that people don't believe in. I liked the addition of Stevens. He's a surfer guy who is just having a good time. He's also smart in his field. Hottle was solid in her role. She is featured prominently again and that worked for what they did there. Ferns, Fala Chen and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed. Again, the kaijus are the focus here. No one is bad though, which is all I ask.

In conclusion, this is a fun popcorn movie. I include these in horror since I just lump in kaiju film. This isn't traditional horror outside of that. What I'll say is that I love building more on the mythology of these monsters. Seeing them do battle is the draw. Incorporating more titans is great. This is well made. They have a big budget so the CGI looks good. The framing and cinematography to capture all this is good. Won't be for everyone, but if you want something to shut off your brain and roll with, this is for you.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Friends Forever
(2023)

Solid Set Up for a Horror Short, Worth a Viewing
This is a short that I got the chance to see thanks to actor Timothy J. Cox. He appears in the cold open here. Since I like to support independent horror cinema, I agreed to check out this short for review. Other than that, I came into this one blind.

Synopsis: on a fall day in October 1987, a group of college friends find an abandoned house and throw a party they'll never forget.

Now our cold open is from 1957. There is a family of farmers. The father is portrayed by Cox. His wife is Julie Carney. They have two children, Kevin Rife and Christy Carson. Tragedy strikes when the father goes to pick an ear of corn and it is rotten. He brings it in to show mother. She goes upstairs, puts on white gloves and kills her family. She places them around the table and puts on music.

We then shift to the present which is 1987. That's where we meet Cassandra (Ashlee Lawhorn), Erica (Colleen O'Morrow), Ryan (Mark Murtha) and Lisa (Paige Hoover). They come to this house, which still oddly has items from the past set up. Erica didn't go away to college so now that everyone is home, she wants to throw the party from the synopsis. Something doesn't feel right here to Cass, but they all agree. What should be a great time is a nightmare.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. What I've given is probably half of this short. I thought it was set up nicely. We get the cold open, then we meet our group in 87 and then it's the party. I'll give credit here; we got enough extras that it feels real. I've seen movies with bigger budgets that try to do this, but it doesn't work so I wanted to credit that.

Now for shorts, I tend to judge them if they tell a complete story or if I think they need to be fleshed out into more. I think that for this one, we're getting the former. We know that tragedy struck in the 1950s. It isn't explained why the mother snaps and kills her family. Since the corn is rotting, my guess was that she was afraid that they would starve due to a bad harvest. My other thought was the toxin that comes from rotting corn made her go crazy. The only issue there is prolonged exposure if memory serves.

Seeing what we got in that opening, I wasn't sure then if this was going to be a haunted house film. There are elements of that. What I like though is that it shifts into another subgenre that I don't want to spoil. There is a good reason for the motives with a certain character. Also, the past is influencing it as well. I do have to say there was a questionable decision that I needed just a bit more for. In my opinion, this short needed a couple plot aspects that would be a minute or two and it tells a complete story. It isn't ruined without them though.

What also helps here is the acting. I like Lawhorn as this lead who knows something is wrong but can't figure out what it is. The house for the party is uncomfortable. It is also during the party she notices something. I like O'Morrow and where her character ends up. She has interesting growth that I didn't expect. Murtha and Hoover were good as the two to round out the group. I like Carney, Cox, Rife and Carson feel like this family from the past. Then other than that, the attendees of the party were distinct and worked for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good here. The past is in black and white, with the present in color. I thought that was a good touch. I also thought how things were framed were good. No issues there. I also liked the fact that they went practical with all the effects that they could. If there was any CGI there, I didn't notice it so credit to them. Other than that, the soundtrack and design were good. I did like this old victrola playing music as it gives an eerie vibe that helps build the atmosphere.

In conclusion, this is a solid short film. I think that this tells a compete story, which can be hard to do for a short film. I do think that it is missing a couple story elements that would help. They're not necessarily needed though. I thought that the actors fit the characters that are needed. Special credit to Lawhorn and O'Morrow. I thought that this was well-made from the cinematography to the effects and the old-time song used. I'd recommend this short if you want to see a haunting of sorts, just used in a different way. Just keep in mind, this isn't working with a large budget, but to be honest, it didn't need it either.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Everwinter Night
(2023)

Solid Ideas with Cult and Ritual, Overly Long with Tonal Issues
This was a movie that I got to see thanks to Alex DiVencenzo from Simply Legendary Publicity who sent over a screener. When I glanced at this to see that it was horror, that was enough for me to check out. This one took a bit of research as it look like this has two showings in 2023, so I will consider it a Traverse through the Threes. This is getting a wide release though for 2024 eligibility from everything else that I've seen.

Synopsis: lifelong best friends, Maddy (McKenna Parsons) and V (Victoria Mirrer), set out for a relaxing vacation. When their old college clique hijack their plans, V finds herself at a remote ski lodge where a group of mysterious wealthy men throw a celebration a century in the making.

We start this off back in 1994 in New Hampshire. A couple is trying to find their way to a friend's house. They're lost though. This causes them to stop off at a lodge to use the bathroom and ask for directions. Running the front desk is Harold (Johnny Halloran). He tries to get them to leave, but instead they discover something that is going on upstairs.

This then shifts to the present. V is sitting at a table in a diner waiting for Maddy. She finally joins and seems distracted. The reason is that she already had plans with Fiona (Nicolette Sweeney) and Becca (Alana Phillips). This upsets V who makes faces at her friend but doesn't speak up. They're supposed to be going to a spa for a relaxing trip. Instead, these two met Tony (Eddie Nason) and Ford (Jay Voishnis) at the bar. They invited them to a lodge that they're partying at for the weekend. Everything is paid for so the duo along with Maddy think they should try it out.

Things then get weird from here. At first it just seems that way due to the group being rich and flaunting it. Maddy is intrigued by Erik (Chris Goodwin) who is in charge. V does meet Jack (Jamie Dufault) who is the bartender. His dad is also Harold. There are others here like Charlie (Sean T. Ward) and his wife, Cailyn (Sarah Nicklin). There's also Priscilla (Francesca Shipsey), Larson (Anthnoy Gaudette) and others. V doesn't fit in and wants to leave. The rest of them are having a good time. By not being enamored, V starts to notice odd things that are happening and dark secrets. This trip will change everyone's lives forever.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this has a good build up and setting. We have this isolated lodge. It is in the New England area during the winter so it would be difficult to leave without a vehicle. It is also cold. We don't feel that unless the characters head outside. That is still looming though when they do. There is also the idea here that the group that is hosting the party is rich and powerful, which is scary when you aren't part of that group. What works well here is that we have Becca and Fiona pushing it. They see free food, drinks and guys that they can hit on. Maddy gets sucked in with her attraction toward Erik. It is only V who is taking a step back and seeing where the horror builds. She is our representation of what is happening.

Where I want to go from there is that this is a slow burn. I'd say that it is a bit too slow for my liking. What is interesting there though is I get sucked into what the characters are doing. I'll be honest though. This could be trimmed down to an hour and a half. If it is, it works better. This falls too much into using comedic elements with Fiona, Tony, Becca and the guys she is flirting with. There's also this recurring guy who hits on V. The better light heartened moments come from Maddy and V when they sit down to talk. Also, the women interacting with Erik and Jack as well. I think that we just need a bit more horror and a little less banter for this to build the necessary atmosphere.

Now when this gets to horror, I'm there. We have this group of rich guys who are a cult. From the opening sequence, we know that they're doing a ritual here. What that is takes time to be revealed. This is strategic as well to give information as we go to fill in back-story. There were little things that get said that I picked up that these guys might be living longer than normal lives. Also, there is this odd scene where Fiona pours her heart out and what Tony does is shocking. This also gets explained. I wanted to give credit here as this aspect kept my interest to piece this together.

Where I want to take this then is the acting. I thought that Mirrer was good as our lead. What I like about her is that she is reserved. She makes comments about Maddy and Jack, which to be honest, made me like her more. The older I get, the more like her I am. She's also cute. Parsons is good as her friend who is trying to have fun while also not upset her friend. They've grown apart in life while still clinging on to being friends. I like Nicklin, Shipsey, Sweeney and Phillips as the other women at this lodge. Goodwin is good as the leader of the cult. I thought the other members were solid. I don't know all their names but watching them all bring different things to their characters. I also liked Dufault. Him and V play well off each other. The acting here is good across the board. My only issue is that at times it seems like they decide to go too comedic which turns messes with the tone and it feels odd. Not sure it fits where this ultimately goes.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good. They capture the feeling that this is in an isolated location. The cold helps to build the atmosphere there. This does have a bit of a cheaper look, but that's probably just being low budget and shot digital. No glaring issue there. I thought that the effects we got were subdued. That's fine since this is more about the concept and atmosphere. We got a bit of CGI, but that wasn't an issue for me. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack worked for what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a movie that I should love. It has concepts that that work for me like a cult doing a ritual. There is a good back-story that gets revealed as this goes on. You could even consider this to have an element of cosmic horror. The isolated setting with it being winter was good. The acting for the most part was as well. There are times that it goes more on the comedic side. This is made well enough. The cinematography leading the way there. The biggest issue is that this runs too long and is too slow to fully capture the feeling that it needs. Still, I'd recommend it if you like the aspects that were positive here.

My Rating: 6 out of 10.

Blackmail
(1929)

Strong Early Hitchcock Film
This was a movie that I sought out due to wanting to watch the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock. I picked up the DVD a while ago and watched it years back. It had been quite a bit of time and didn't necessarily remember much. I've now given it a rewatch due to being asked to join my friends from high school, Robert and Will, on their podcast Cinema 100.

What we get here is that we're following a couple of Detective Frank Webber (John Longden) and Alice White (Anny Ondra). Frank just made a bust but, in the process, Alice had to wait for him. She is annoyed by that. They head off to a restaurant to have dinner and we get to an interesting scene where Alice has a note to meet someone here. She annoys Frank and now doesn't want to go to a movie with him. This causes him to storm out.

Frank is hurt when she sees Alice leave with an artist, played by Cyril Ritchard. He lives close to where she does. He entices her up to his apartment to see what he's been working on. He even charms her to try on a ballet dancer costume. When she goes to leave, he comes on too strong. To protect herself, she kills him with a knife.

This traumatizes her to the point where she walks all night. Things get more complicated when Frank is assigned to the case and finds her glove there. There is also Tracy (Donald Calthrop) who happens to know that Alice was in the room at the time of the murder. He uses this to his advantage to extort money from the couple as they decide what to do.

Now this movie has historical significance as the first 'talkie' from the United Kingdom. It started out as a silent film, which at the time the great Hitchcock was making. From what I read, he filmed parts silent and then decided to pivot also doing sound. I'm guessing the opening bust scene was done silent only. It's cool that the distinction here for the first talkie from the UK would go to this legendary filmmaker. There's another cool fact that involves Ritchard. He was in the final silent film from the UK, Piccadilly, and then in the first talkie.

Then to get what we have on the screen, I thought this was a solid police procedural film. We have Alice who gets herself in a predicament. She is to blame for going up to this apartment, but the true blame goes on the artist for attacking her. She killed him in self-defense. She cleans up evidence before leaving, not wanting to get into trouble. It is from there that we see this weighing on her conscience as to what to do. She is struggling this night to deal with it. She doesn't even go home at first, she walks all night. I thought that Ondra's performance was good. Another fun fact, she was dubbed over due to her Eastern European accent by Joan Berry.

I think then I'll discuss Frank and Tracy. The former has an ethical decision. He knows that Alice was in this room with the artist. He is hiding evidence and using his position to protect her. That's unethical. We also have Tracy who has evidence and uses it to extort the couple. This is where I do see where Frank comes from since extortion is illegal. Alice has a good defense for what happened. I do think she should turn herself in and let the system work. How things play out here is problematic for me, especially with Tracy.

The acting though was good. I like Ondra and Barry to bring Alice to life. Longden has a good look as this detective. He fits that role. Sara Allgood and Charles Paton work as Alice's parents. They come into play with Tracy which builds tension. Calthrop is good as this villainous character, as was Ritchard. I also thought the performances by the police were good. There is clever writing there with things that are said that I appreciate.

All that's left then is filmmaking. Now this isn't top tier Hitchcock, but you can see his talents here. The tension builds from the point of the murder on, which is great. The scene with Alice, her parents, Frank and Tracy is great. The acting helps it as well. I thought that Hitchcock did good things with the cinematography and framing. He just had an eye for all that. There aren't special effects here outside of movie magic to make things work for backgrounds. The sound effects for different things also adds realism to this. I'd recommend this if you are into cinema of this era or like me, were out to see Hitchcock's filmography.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Deranged
(1974)

Uncomfortable Exploitation Film with Basis in Reality
This was a film that I discovered when looking through the Internet Movie Database for movie connections. What made me seek this out is that this is a more realistic take on Ed Gein. Since The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is borrowing things that he did as well, these are variations on the same source. I've now given this a rewatch as part of my Foray through the Fours.

Synopsis: a deranged rural farmer becomes a grave robber and murderer after the death of his possessive mother, whose corpse he keeps, among others as his companions in a decaying farmhouse.

This film begins with a columnist named Tom Sims (Leslie Carlson) introducing himself. He served as a reporter for the case and narrates the events that we're going to see. This is following Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom). We learned that he was an odd guy to begin with. His father died when he was young, so it is just him and his mother, she is played by Cosette Lee.

We start with Ma not doing well. They live on a farm and Ezra does everything he can to take care of her. It jumps in the night that she passes away. Before she does, she tells him what he needs to know. Primarily women are bad and that he needs to stay away from them. Ezra tries to feed her, thinking that will help, but she ends up dying.

That is just the start. We then get a weird scene at her funeral where Ezra is sitting alone. A couple tries to console him. His response to them is that she's just fine. He doesn't seem to realize that she isn't coming back.

Ezra carries on like this at home. He writes her letters like she is on vacation to deal with his loneliness. He also keeps her room the way she had it. Ezra even hears her voice to come get her. That's when he goes to the cemetery and digs her up. She has been dead for over a year and has begun to decay. Ezra sees it as her being happy that he's come to get her.

He puts her in his truck and during his drive home, is pulled over by the sheriff, played by Robert McHeady. Ezra was speeding and the sheriff asks what that the horrific smell is in the truck. Ezra tells him that if must be a dead hog that he butchered. He's allowed to go and gets his mother's corpse home.

Ezra sells of his farmland and gets hired as a handyperson with a local family. Harlon Kootz (Robert Warner) is the dad and they went to school together. His wife Jenny (Marcia Diamond) and they have two boys as well. Ezra learns what he can about embalming and taxidermy to keep his mother from decaying. He uses whatever he can to repair her, until he realizes the best thing is human flesh. He didn't know about the obituaries in the newspaper until Harlon brings it up. It makes graverobbing easier.

This is just the start of what he does. We then see him seeing out a woman his mother said he could trust, Maureen Selby (Marian Waldman). Things that Ma said stick with him though. He is also falls in love with a bartender Mary (Micki Moore) as well as Brad Kootz's girlfriend of Sally (Pat Orr). Ezra seems like a nice enough guy to everyone around him until they peak behind the facade.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that according to trivia, this was the closer look at the true events of Gein until a movie came out in 2000. This also has a warning in the beginning that names and events have been altered to protect people, because at the time this was made, the real Gein was still alive which was wild to learn.

Now that I've got that set up, it wasn't shocking to learn that this movie struggled with its rating and to find places to show it. I've seen things that are worse than this, but the realism that is has makes it uncomfortable. That is aided by the fact that Blossom does a great job at playing this awkward character. It is also interesting that Robert Bloch was inspired to write the novel version of Psycho off Gein. In that version, he is overweight and gross, which from my understanding, the real Gein is closer to what we get here. Ezra is stunted by his education and things his mother drilled in while raising him. His father passing away early on in his life didn't help either. I just wanted to give credit to Blossom for his performance.

Something else that is wild to me is how this feels like a combination of Psycho and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The former would have been out for 13 years when this was being made. This movie also came out ahead of TCM. The coincidence is wild how they both have a dinner scene that is creepy. I don't think the classic borrowed from this, but it is possible. Incorporating in the elements of Norma Bates and what she did to her son is something that is here as well. My guess is that was taken from Gein's true life.

Now I do know that Gein wasn't a serial killer. If anything, he may have killed one or two people. He was primarily a graverobber. I do like that this follows close to the truth. There were things changed to make this more exciting, which you should expect. There is a sadness about Ezra that adds a layer. It goes away though once he gets a taste for killing though. That horrible feeling grows. I should pull in the effects here. This Tom Savini's first official film. What he does in making the bodies look real was great. That also adds another layer to this.

This is more of a character study of Ezra and that should be enough there. Let me get to the other performers. Lee works in her limited role as Ma. She becomes more of a specter that haunts Ezra. Her words keep coming back. Carlson is fine as this narrator. They do interesting things with editing and framing with him that I liked. Warner works as Harlon who's known Ezra for a while. Him along with the sheriff, McHeady, could stop Ezra, but they don't believe the evidence or things he says. I did like that as it raises tension. Diamond, Waldman, Moore, Orr, Smegal and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I've already said the effects were good. I've briefly said that I like what they do with cinematography, framing and editing. This was shot better than it had any business to be. It captures this small town feel and the isolation of what Ezra lives. It feels like Wisconsin. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed without standing out. Credit to the sound design though to give us the voices that are haunting Ezra.

In conclusion, this is an intriguing, fictional look at Ed Gein. This is a character study of Ezra. I thought that Blossom and his performance was great. He can convey the awkwardness. The deeper that he descends into madness, we get a better look at how deranged he is. His supporting cast was good to enable him and push him to where he ends up. This is made well, with the cinematography, framing and the effects leading the way there. This is an uncomfortable movie. I want to make sure that it is known. If you like exploitation cinema, I'd give this one a watch for sure.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

They Shall Not Grow Old
(2018)

Great That This Documentary was Compiled
This was a documentary that I heard about and wanted to see, but I forgot about it as well. It wasn't until settling in, as well as looking at what this was about, since I didn't recognize the title, that I saw this was directed by Peter Jackson. I even read that he didn't take a fee as he wanted to celebrate his grandfather who served. That got my excitement back up to see this as a documentary about World War I.

What we're seeing here is footage that was shot during WWI and held at a museum in the United Kingdom. It sounds like there was hours and hours of footage that Jackson and his team sifted through to set this up. What I like is that they're taking audio recordings as well as video taken to paint the picture. It starts at the beginning of the war for the UK and then we see different things during and then of course, the ending and soldiers returning home. Getting firsthand accounts like this was an interesting look at what these men went through. There is patriotic feelings to join, how being at war affected them and how they weren't necessarily returning heroes in the end.

There's another added dimension here that the footage during the war is colorized. It looks good and almost like that was how it was intended. I get the feeling that there was also computer-generated things being done here. Voice actors were also hired and lip reading was done. The footage was shot before we could synchronize the two, so that was done in the present. It was unnerving at times, not going to lie. This was well-done though and brings it to life.

Hearing the stories of these men as they served, how war affected them and the lasting effects was interesting. It gives me an appreciation for what they went through to stop 'evil'. There's another layer where the soldiers who are fighting aren't always entirely sure why. This was on both sides from the information provided. I'm glad that I saw this as we get a unique perspective about a war that isn't discussed as much. I appreciate Jackson for putting the work in as well.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Dagr
(2024)

Druids, Rituals and Found Footage
This was a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to Kimi from Studio Dome. Along with Shirly, they sent over the screener. The Horror Collective got this and I've enjoyed what I've seen from them. I didn't read the blurb, just making sure this was horror and seeing that it was a 2024 release for my Foray through the Fours helps as well. I was able to come into this one blind.

Synopsis: fame seeking YouTubers find themselves in a paranormal nightmare when the advert team they are stealing from awakens a murderous occultist from the past.

We start this with Louise (Riz Moritz) and Thea (Ellie Duckles) who are the YouTubers. The best way I can describe them is that they're like 'Robin Hood'. They steal from the rich to sell items and donate the money to charity. Their YouTube moniker is creative, being a play on Thelma and Louise. Something of note, they must hide their faces to avoid prosecution so they use 'Bit Emojis' to convey their expressions.

This then shifts over to a team of Tori (Tori Butler-Hart), Gray (Graham Butler) and Hattie (Hattie Chapman). They're at a remote house setting up for a film shoot. This is going to be done in black and white. The on-screen talent is Matt (Matt Barber) and Emma (Emma King). The first issue they run into is that the internet is down, when they were assured that it works perfect. They also must deal with Matt and Emma while filming, both have issues with each other. It doesn't help that the catering team isn't there to help alleviate issues as people are hungry and thirsty.

That is where Louise and Thea come in. They've accepted the job, but they're late. The plan is to rob them as the synopsis says. The duo sets up cameras to film it for their next episode. There is an issue though. When they show up, there doesn't seem to be anyone there. They look at footage that was previously shot to fill us and themselves in. We've gotten history about this place as they traveled there. There's a dark history and that force is still here.

I think that is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is saying that this is filmed in the style of 'found footage'. We have Louise and Thea both with their phones filming content. We also have Tori and her crew using a digital camera of sorts. Something interesting was that while watching the credits, this whole thing was filmed on iPhones. Not the first time that I've seen that done, but I will say it is still amazing to me.

With that set up, we know from the beginning that this is edited together by professionals. They were able to obtain footage from the police, which that information is given in the beginning. We then met Louise and Thea. They are your typical YouTubers. I'm guessing they'd fall into Gen-Z. What I like about them is that they're against the rich. They don't look like they've had many struggles in their life, but instead of working a normal job, they have their channel. Stealing from the rich to give to charity is a gray area, but I respect it as well. They're smart enough to edit their footage to prevent getting in trouble. It feels like Moritz and Duckles are old friends so that adds realism as well. What I like is that they get under each other's skin which feels normal. Credit to both.

Then the other group is Tori, Gray and Hattie. We see them arrive at the shooting location. Tori gets frustrated since they were supposed to send the first set of footage to someone to approve the location. It doesn't go through so that is a setback. This is just a series of them. Matt and Emma are a bit high maintenance which causes issues. I will say though, everyone's acting here feels natural for what they needed to make this work as well.

The last bit would be the supernatural. I like the little things that we get to help fill in the backstory. Louise and Thea stop off to get directions in a village. It is near the house they're going to. It is there they learn about a cult in the area. Louise even buys one of their masks, which is on the poster I saw for this movie. That is creepy. We get images and scenes where footage that's been shot messes up and shows us different things. There are hooded figures in it and maybe even a sacrifice. Inside of the house, a television turns on to show Professor Ash Blake (Luca Thompson). He came to this house to do research. It is through him that we learn about a druid group in the area. Their leader was Lord Somerton and he thought if he did certain rituals, it would give him eternal life. This is an info dump, but I thought it worked for what we needed to drive this along. We also don't necessarily focus on him. While the TV is playing the footage, our characters are checking the room. It would put this into folk horror, which I'm a sucker for.

Where I'll end this out then is filmmaking. I do like found footage films. My issue is one that others have; would these people continue to film? A good thing here is that Tori's crew were filming for the purpose to send to the investors and doing b-roll. When Thea and Louise show up, they set up cameras for their episode. This duo I could see carrying a camera around since they seem to film everything they do. There are also characters who flee into the darkness so they need their device for light. Now I liked the editing. Tori's crew already started filming so I like that we fill in what we've missed by having the duo come in and watch it on an iPad. This leads to them getting caught up and trapped with the other group. Then for effects, these are limited for the most part since we don't see a lot. The blood we do get looks good. I like the druid look. My issue is the digital messing up of the footage. This gets on my nerves and it's used a lot here. There is something done here with a druid appearing and disappearing in shots, that's creepy to me. Other than that, since this is edited footage, it makes sense there's a soundtrack. The design also works with creepy chanting and crow's cawing. That adds atmosphere.

In conclusion, I thought this was a solid found footage horror films. It isn't necessarily doing anything new. What I'll credit this for though building a good atmosphere. The acting felt real enough. This is made well. I can believe why people are filming. I thought there were good things with editing, sound design and effects. My only issue there is the digital messing up of footage. That got on my nerves. This won't be for everyone, but I thought this was a tight little film that was creepy. Things here and there could have made this better, but not a bad watch by stretch.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Poor Things
(2023)

Gorgeous Looking, Sociall Relevant, Arthouse Film
This was a movie that intrigued me when I heard it was coming out. It has an interesting director in Yorgos Lanthimos. I've seen his film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. It is an odd one, but for whatever reason, with how good the performances are, it worked for me. I've heard about his other film, The Lobster, but haven't seen that one yet. This was getting buzz for the Oscars. I've also heard how good Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo were, who are both actors that I've a fan of. Jaime and I wanted to see this in the theater, but with the two- and half-hour runtime, it was hard to make work. We ended up streaming this on Hulu.

For this one, we are following Bella Baxter (Emma Stone). We see her jump off a bridge to start this off. What we will then learn is that this killed her. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who is a renowned surgery, did an experiment with her and brought her back to life. She is child-like though so he is going about teaching her things to be part of society. He enlists the aid of another doctor, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef). He's entranced by her and falls in love, wanting to marry her. Godwin and Bella agree, but this needs to be done legally. That is when Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). He convinces Bella to run away with him and experience the world. This changes everyone who meets her life forever.

That should do well in recapping the gist of this story. What I didn't realize until the end, this is based on a novel by Alasdair Grey. I knew ahead of seeing this that this was a Frankenstein-style story so I figured it was from Mary Shelley's novel. That isn't the case though. It is that type of tale, but it is also from a different source material. I am intrigued to now check out this other story to see what was used and what that story is about.

Where I'll shift is that I love how this is presented, so credit there to Lanthimos and the editor. I picked up on parts of things from Stone's performance. She starts out child-like. Having a daughter, who at the time of writing this is a year and half, I was seeing similarities. As Bella moves through different things she experiences, there is a change there. Her speech becomes more sophisticated. The ideas that she relays are as well. Even how she walks become more natural and less stiff. I thought this was amazing. This also made me think of Shelly's novel, as the monster there goes through similar changes. Credit even more here to Stone.

There is also an intriguing idea explored here about women being property. Bella is to be married off to Max without fully understanding. Duncan shares ideas with her and wants her to run away. Godwin is fine with this. Bella has freewill. It is also not a coincidence that she calls him God as a nickname. Duncan is a seducer. What I love is that when Bella experiences things without him, he becomes upset. He isn't used to being played. She is 'pleasure seeking' and his feelings aren't taken into consideration. He is getting a taste of his own medicine as they say. I like that her meeting Martha von Kurtzroc (Hanna Schygulla), Harry Astley (Jerrod Carmichael), Swiney (Kathryn Hunter), Toinette (Suzy Bemba) and Alfie Blessington (Christopher Abbott) all guide her to the person she is in the end.

I should just go ahead and say the rest of the acting is also great. Bella is played expertly by Stone, but how Dafoe, Youssef, Ruffalo, Carmichael, Hunter, Bemba and Abbott all influence her to where she ends up. This is also beautifully made. This is surreal and arthouse, you should know that ahead of time. It also feels like the past with things people say, but there are futuristic things as well. That creates its own world and it is great. There are strategic things done with color like starting black and white. Then going vibrant and as Bella learns, the colors subdue until they become normal. This coincides with her development and it blew me away. The CGI we get work. Since this isn't a normal world that we are in, I can work with it to bring things to life. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.

I'm glad that I can finally say that I've seen this one. It makes sense that it was getting the award consideration that it was. This is a beautifully made movie with excellent acting. What I will say is that Jaime enjoyed this one, but it isn't something that she's used to. If you don't like arthouse films, then avoid this. If you can work with something that isn't fully normal, I'd highly recommend this one for sure. I thought it was great with the story and concepts that it is presenting. It is making a statement for sure.

My Rating: 9 out of 10.

The Skinwalkers: American Werewolves 2
(2023)

Solid Follow Up, Exploring Another Variation on Werewolf Lore
This is a documentary that I got the chance to see via Justin Cook. When I saw that this is was a new one from Seth Breedlove, I was on board as I've seen a good number of his. I enjoy how he constructs them and by doing it on cryptids or mythical creatures like we get here, I'm there for that.

Synopsis: across the four corners region of the southwest Untied States, there's said to exist an ancient, supernatural evil. An evil that preys on the fear of its victims to gain a greater power. Now, witnesses lift the veil of the most terrifying encounters with modern-day werewolves ever heard. Witness stories that seem to tie legends of upright canids with those of hellhounds, poltergeists and even the mythical Skinwalker.

Now what I'll say is that the synopsis is good to set the stage here. What we're getting is a few different people who have had encounters with something that they cannot fully explain. Our first interviewee, Steve, talks about how there are shaman or traditional healers in the area that know how to create the Native American version of the werewolf which is the Skinwalker. This is more of a shapeshifter though since it can become other people or animals. I'll be honest, this makes it even more terrifying.

What works here is that we have people being interviewed going into what they know about legends of Skinwalkers. There are a couple of people here that talk about an old woman and how she would disappear with a giant dog seemingly to take her place. There are others that saw a giant brown wolf. Another person caught things on their security camera that looked like a translucent dog that runs across the screen but wasn't fully captured. I can't explain what they saw. I do know that at night, fear and our eyes can play tricks on us. There could be a logical explanation, but I don't know what that would be without research.

It doesn't help that New Mexico has a high rate of missing people. Part of that could be the surrounding deserts to the cities. A good fragment of this state is uninhabited. It could be as simple as someone heading out into the wilderness and getting lost. There could be kidnappings or maybe a monster. 75% of roads here aren't paved. There is also the first atomic bomb being assessed here and large deposits of uranium. This could factor in as well. The legends also date back to people living in this area for around 2000 years as well. Getting back to what I was saying, New Mexico ranks 10th highest for missing people. Gallup and Albuquerque ranking as top ten cities as well for missing or murdered Indigenous Persons cases. 10% of the population falls into this ethnic background, which makes it that much more striking.

What I'll say is that I like how this constructed. Breedlove just lets the people being interviewed tell their story. He doesn't probe or question anything. This is set up for you to hear what they have to say and make your own judgements. I appreciate that. I also like that we'll see the interviewees unless they want to hide their identity. Breedlove has CGI creatures to act out what they're saying and I think that's a good move. It makes it more interesting to see what the people are telling us play out, even though footage wasn't shot of it. This has a good runtime. It doesn't linger too long and moves along at a good pace. We are getting more history than other ones from Small Town Monsters, Breedlove's company, and I do appreciate that since I don't necessarily fully understand this creature. I like to see how similar it is different from the lore that I know. I'd recommend giving this a go if the subject is interesting or you like documentaries like this from our director.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Late Night with the Devil
(2023)

Solid Concept, Great Lead Performance and Creepy Output
This was one that I was excited for with horror releases for the year. Seeing that this featured David Dastmalchian, who is an actor doing more in the horror genre lately, that was a perk. Then hearing the buzz for this from film festivals was another. This is a movie that I got to see during the opening weekend at the theater.

Synopsis: a live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation's living rooms.

Now this is presented like a late-night talk show called Night Owls. The host is Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian). He is competing with the likes of Johnny Carson, which adds realism to this world. Jack is successful and his show does well, but it is never the best. It keeps coming up short. The backstory is also filled with his personal life. His wife and muse is Madeleine (Georgina Haig). Jack takes a blow when she passes away from lung cancer. There is another darkness to him that he's a member of a secret organization like the Free Masons.

The fateful episode we are shown aired at the beginning of sweeps week. It happened on Halloween. There is a theme with that. It starts with Christou (Fayssal Bazzi) who is a psychic. They're following it with Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss) who is a renowned debunker of the supernatural. The last guests are June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and Lilly D'Abo (Ingrid Torelli). The latter was a member of a Satanic cult. She was the sole survivor of a house burning down during a ritual. She is only a teenager. June is there to help here. The movie does well in filling in Lilly's backstory in the fashion of a documentary.

The original recording of this episode was thought to be lost. It has been found and restored, along with other footage of backstage events. This also adds to the realism making it a variation on the found footage shooting style with that. Things start to get weird when Christou makes a strong connection that messes with the electronics of the studio. It also makes him ill. Carmichael goes about proving him wrong. That is when Jack blindsides June to allow Lilly to bring out the demon that possesses her. This will make for an episode of Night Owls that no one will ever forget.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this does an excellent job in its set up. I did hear Duncan from the Podcast Under the Stairs' non-spoiler review of this ahead of watching it so I knew things coming in. I love that this sets up the character of Jack. There are things about his personal life that we learn, like the organization he's a member of and what happened with his wife. Also, the set up to his show is good. Using things like Johnny Carson, his show and real events in the world bring realism to what is fantastical here. There are also vibes of Ghostwatch from the premise we are using and things that happen as well.

Where I'll then delve deeper is that this doesn't have the deepest story. It doesn't need it either. This is more of a character study of Jack, Carmichael and June/Lilly. Those around them are pushing things to where they end up, but it is centered around this group. Now I've given aspects of Jack's history already. His show is on the verge of being canceled. That causes him to push the envelope. This has good writing throughout with things that get said or introduced coming into play later. That is something I'll always appreciate. Dastmalchian also has the right amount of charisma to fit this role.

Let's then go over to the skeptic, Carmichael. I wasn't expecting them to have a character like this but it is also perfect. This makes sense since there is a character like this in Ghostwatch as well. He points out flaws in what Christou does to set the stage. We then learn about Carmichael and what's done in the past as well. He then watches the presentation with June and Lilly, doing a demonstration of his own. It makes you think that what they do is staged, until a way they prove him wrong doesn't work like he thought. Bliss has enough of being arrogant and angry that it works as well.

Lastly, let's go over to this duo of June and Lilly. The former is a doctor of parapsychology or something along these lines. She is the guardian of Lilly since her family perished in that tragic fire. June also has a connection to Jack. She doesn't want to do a demonstration, but she is ambushed into it. It seems like she can't refuse. This starts a chain of events that go off the rails. I thought she was good balancing as this scientist who does care for Lilly. The better performance though is Torelli. She seems so sweet and innocent, but that changes on a dime to being creepy. She got under my skin in the best way possible. Things that go down there to also go back to Ghostwatch while still doing its own things as well.

Where I need to go next then is filmmaking. I thought that the editing was good here for splicing the footage that was shown on air during the commercials going backstage. What is interesting there is that off air stuff is black and white. That helps to differentiate. Also setting the stage with the documentary information was also good. Having this be a 'found footage' film or at least a variation is as well. That makes it feel more real to me. That's not always easy to do when you have an actor like Dastmalchian starring. The effects for the most part are good. I did have slight issues with CGI. Since this is set in the 1970s, it feels like a throwback there. Not enough to ruin it. Other than that, I thought what they did with the sound design and the music was good.

I'll just finish out here with others from the cast to bring up. Bazzi helps set the stage with the supernatural. I liked seeing him struggle with this psychic act, showing that he is a fraud. Then something supernatural seems to happen involving him. There's Rhys Auteri who is the co-host with Jack. What is intriguing here is he's religious so the deeper we get into things; it upsets him and he tries to stop it. Josh Quong Tart is good as Leo Fiske, who is the producer that makes this show work. Other than that, Haig, Steve Mouzakis, Gaby Seow and the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed. I also didn't realize until writing my review, Michael Ironside is the narrator which is great.

In conclusion, this one had hype surrounding it and I thought it lived up to it. The best part here is the acting. Dastmalchian leads the way with Bliss, Torelli and Gordon rounding out the important characters. The rest of the cast push them to where they end up. I thought that this was unnerving. There's an added element that this is a variation on found footage. This is well-made from the cinematography to the editing. My only issue is minor things with CGI. I'd recommend giving this a watch. I'm excited to revisit to see where this falls with my end of year list.

My Rating: 9 out of 10.

Kingdom of Heaven
(2005)

Great Cast Set in a Troubled Era
This was a movie that I saw years ago, but I'll be honest, I didn't remember a lot. There were pieces, like this starring Orlando Bloom. It was around that era when he was doing period piece movies like this with Troy, Pirates of the Caribbean and you can even lump in The Lord of the Rings. I believe my sister saw this because of him. Other than that, I remembered that the king was played by Edward Norton. I also knew that this was showing the crusades.

I'll preface here that I saw the director's cut this time. This runs over three hours long. There is a brief intro by director Ridley Scott who lets you know that this is how he envisioned the movie. It starts in a small village where Balian (Bloom) is being held by the local lord. His wife killed herself and he's given up on life. Things change when Godfrey de Ibelin (Liam Neeson) shows up. Balian is his illegitimate son so he's come to make it right. He wants him to succeed as lord. Balian refuses, just wanting to work as his smith. That is until he kills his brother, who is a priest played by Michael Sheen.

This leads to issues that results in members of the group Godfrey being killed, including himself. Balian is taken to Jerusalem where he gets a crash course. Things aren't good and those that are Christian are corrupt. That is what this movie presents. King Baldwin (Norton) has leprosy. His days are numbered. His sister, Princess Sibylla (Eva Green) is married to Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas). He is a Templar and along with Reynald de Chatillon, breaks the king's truce with Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), the leader of the Muslim forces.

What I'll say here is that Scott does a great job at showing the last time that Christians held Jerusalem during the crusades. I'm not entirely sure what his religious stance is, but it seems that he's critical. There is corruption throughout. Balian vows to be a perfect knight and be free from making decisions that help him. This includes not marrying Sibylla. That would have saved people. We see though that in the end, he does the right thing and it works out. That doesn't mean he wins though.

There's also an all-star cast here. I've already given the names of Bloom, Neeson, Norton, Green, Sheen and Csokas. They're all great. I've left out David Thewlis, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brendan Gleeson and Jeremy Irons. Everyone of them are great at bringing their characters to life. I also think that the action sequences are great. I'm a big fan of seeing war when it is fought like this. I'll give credit there to the cinematography, framing, editing and effects there. There's CGI, but I also feel like it went practical where it could.

This won't be for everyone. It runs 144 minutes when you watch the theatrical so keep in mind that the version I just watched is even longer. I'll be honest though; it didn't feel like it. This is an interesting time in the history of the world. Jerusalem is a holy place to at least three of the major religions. It is wild to see people who have this faith fighting each other over it. The story presented here is uplifting and this is well-made. If you like movies like this, I'd recommend it for sure. Even more so if you're a Scott fan.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Doctor Jekyll
(2023)

Different Take on a Classic Tale
This was a movie that I got the chance to see thanks to Keir Waller from Strike Media who sent over a screener. What caught my interest was that this is a Hammer film. They're a studio that I sought out after watching the original Universal classic films. This is them doing a modern take on a classic story now that they're back making features. I had heard about this film being made so that helped as well.

Synopsis: a modern re-imaging of the infamous story about Dr. Jekyll (Eddie Izzard).

We start this with Rob (Scott Chambers) lying down on a couch, turning on the television. What I like here is that we fill in the back-story about Dr. Nina Jekyll through newspaper headlines as it gives the credits. She is the head of a pharmaceutical company who has made important advancements for drugs and it's been lucrative. She has suffered an injury though that made her a recluse.

This then introduces our lead more. Rob is a former convict. This gets revealed shortly, but I wanted to go ahead and give this information here. He has a job interview set up thanks to his brother, Ewan (Morgan Watkins), who he lives with. We will also learn that Rob has a daughter, who is in foster care and has cancer. Her name is Ariana. Rob needs a job if he wants a chance to see her.

Rob goes to the address he was given and meets with Dr. Jekyll's assistant, Sandra (Lindsay Duncan). She isn't a fan of Rob and the more that she learns about him, she is upset that he wasn't vetted more. Nina is intrigued though. She offers the job on a trial basis. The job is to tend to Nina's needs, like preparing meals, giving medications and whatever is needed. Rob does things that upset Sandra and she's ready to fire him. Nina defends Rob and seems to forget things that she asks.

Things then take a turn when Rob goes to the store to pick up things. It is here that his ex and the mother of their child, Maeve (Robyn Cara), approaches. She knows where he is working. She wants him to let her and her crew in to rob Nina. He can't do that though. He's put in a bad position when she threatens to reveal information about him, making it impossible to see his daughter.

There are also things that Nina asks of Rob. It makes it more difficult for him since Sandra is ready to fire him. That is just the start. Darker things are asked that could put Rob back in prison, but if he does them, Nina is willing to share her fortune to help him. She also has a miracle drug that she claims can cure Ari.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I thought it was an interesting move to use the transgender actor, Izzard, for the titular character as well as the alter ego. For me, I don't have any issues here. This also isn't the first time this idea has been used. Hammer made Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde in 1971. I also remember Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde from 1995 where the doctor changes into a woman. We get something different from what I've seen here though having Izzard playing both Jekyll and Hyde as women characters.

Now that I have that out of the way, where I want to shift then would be the character of Rob. I felt for him the more we learn. Originally, I thought that he was just a slacker who needed a job. Seeing how appreciative he is toward his brother for getting him the interview made me smile. We then learn there that he's an ex-con. He needs a job to show the courts and the government to get to see his child. They've never met. That made me tear up. I root for him from there. Then seeing what Maeve is pushing and trying to do drives tension. It culminates with Nina wanting to help him. That is when we realize that he isn't always sure who he's talking to there, Jekyll or Hyde. Chambers does good in this role, so credit to him.

Next up should be discussing Izzard and taking on these dual roles. What is interesting here is that she plays Hyde subtly to the point where I didn't necessarily know until later that is who she was. I should have though, knowing this source material. That makes it scarier to where it ends up. I'm not overly familiar with her standup specials, but I've seen her periodically in films. She is talented and that comedic timing works well here. Izzard seems like this brilliant doctor who has run into an issue, physically. The more we see, the more devious it becomes with what their end game is. I didn't fully appreciate this until the end once all the reveals are done.

Something else I should say is that this is a contained film. Once we get to the estate, Rob goes out a couple of times then we're at the resolution which isn't in this manor. It is mostly Nina and Rob interacting with Sandra, Maeve and Ewan influencing them. There is a back-story introduced with Jonathan Hyde and Isabella Inchbald as well. This is a much different take than others I've seen which I did end up appreciating. This setting has room both inside and out so that adds to it as well.

Now I've already started in with the acting, so let me finish there. I've already said that Izzard and Chambers are both good. I like Duncan and what her role does to the self-esteem of Rob. She stands as the outside world and how they view ex-criminals. Cara is there to potentially ruin Rob's life and pull him back into committing crimes. Not directly, but he would be suspected. Watkins is good as well in his smaller role. Credit to cameos here by Hyde, Simon Callow, Tony Jayawardena and Inchbald as well.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I've already said that I like the setting being isolated like it is. What is good there is that it isn't too far out of town either. The cinematography was good to capture where this is set and make it feel claustrophobic. They also have limited effects at times where they frame it to hide the seams. No issues there. I did have a problem with Jekyll and Hyde seeming too not be all that different. There are reveals there as this concludes that clears that up. The latter is more of a figurative monster than a literal one like films of the past or the source material. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit for what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a bit different from versions of this that I've seen in the past. I've seen quite a few. I like that Izzard is making both Jekyll and Hyde as women. She has a subtle performance that makes sense in the reveal and I appreciated that. Chambers also does well as this ex-con character and how that fits into the narrative. This is made well enough. No glaring issues there. The best parts are the isolated and contained setting as well as the cinematography. Not sure that I can recommend this to everyone. It is an unconventional take on the source material that I appreciated. If you like Izzard's acting or what to see a different take, then I'd recommend it to you.

My Rating: 7 out of 10.

Dario Argento: Panico
(2023)

Solid Overview of this Master of Horror
This was a documentary that I saw hit Shudder earlier this year. I'm a huge Dario Argento fan so getting a documentary about his personal life as well as his career was something I knew I'd watch. I started this one at work when my day was slow and then finished at home. This moves fast, gives his personal life before becoming a filmmaker and then goes through personal things as each of his movies came out.

Now I knew parts of Argento's personal life. I tend to do research on people and things that I'm a fan of. I didn't know that he was married to Marisa Casale earlier in life. They divorced as he became more popular to the point where elements of Four Flies on Grey Velvet might be mirroring things there. I knew that he had two daughters that were actors, Asia Argento and Fiore Argento. I didn't realize there was a third. This factors into things that made Trauma odd for him and Asia.

It was also interesting to hear from Asia about what happened between the love of his life and her mother, Daria Nicolodi. It is a shame that she passed away before this was made as I would have loved to hear from her. Suspiria and Inferno stem from stories that Daria's mother told her. Dario wasn't big on giving her more credit for some reason and it strained their relationship. These are things fans of this horror maestro already knew, but we get a different perspective here.

Something that I like as well is that we see Dario getting interviewed. These were done for this documentary as he is older now. We also get interviews from his sister, Floriana, his ex-wife and fellow filmmakers he's worked with like Michele Soavi, Lamberto Bava, Franco Ferrini, Luigi Cozzi, Claudio Simonetti and Vittorio Cecchi Gori. There are also great filmmakers who he directly influenced like Guillermo del Toro, Gaspar Noé and Nicolas Winding Refn. I also didn't want to leave out that they talked to Cristina Marsillach who is the star of Opera.

I'd say that this is a well-made documentary. There is a great editing early where Dario is being driven to a remote hotel and they put in scenes from Deep Red and Suspiria. That made me smile. The only thing that I didn't necessarily like is that this has felt at different times like they're making a movie and not a documentary. This doesn't ruin it by any stretch. Asking Dario and all these people different things as well as framing what was going on in his life while making these movies was an interesting watch for any fans of this filmmaker. I'd recommend this for sure.

My Rating: 8 out of 10.

No profanar el sueño de los muertos
(1974)

Solid Atmospheric Foreign Zombie Film
This was a film that I was turned on to thanks to the Podcast Under the Stairs' Summer Challenge Series. This came up as one of the 10 best films from 1974, so it went on my list to check out. I've now given this a second watch as part of my Foray through the Fours.

Synopsis: a cop chases two hippies suspected of a series of Manson family-like murders; unbeknownst to him, the real culprits are the living dead, brought to life with a thirst for human flesh by ultrasonic radiation being used for pest control.

We start this with a man from London who is heading up to sell an artifact to a local shop. He is George Meaning (Ray Lovelock). He takes his motorcycle when he meets a woman at a gas station, Edna Simmonds (Cristina Galbó). She accidentally backs into his motorcycle. It needs repairs that won't be finished until Monday. To make up for it, she offers him a ride. She doesn't know where she's going so she has him drive. I do have to point out, George is a jerk here. He has the right to be mad, but he tells Edna what they are going to do and she puts up no fight whatsoever.

They come to a crossroads and he decides to go his way, but she freaks out. She is going to see her sister and she must get there as soon as they can. They are at a brief impasse because what he needs to do is time sensitive too. He gives in and goes to drop her off. I also found this odd, but she is going to let this man she doesn't know borrow her car for the rest of the weekend. I guess it was a different time and country.

She isn't completely sure where to go so they stop off for directions. They end up finding this experiment going on where they are using sound vibrations and radiation instead of pesticides. This bothers George and he gets into it with the group conducting this experiment. Back at the car, Edna is attacked by a man who is soaking wet. Turns out he is a zombie. George and one of the men come back as she is fleeing, but they don't see anyone. There is a joke that she saw the ghost of a local tramp who drowned, Guthrie Wilson (Fernando Hilbeck).

That night her sister's husband is murdered by Guthrie. The inspector (Arthur Kennedy) believes it was his wife, Katie (Jeannine Mestre), that did it. He also thinks that George and Edna are in on it. No one believes Edna, until George has a run in with the zombies as well. Guthrie can turn others who have recently died into one of the living dead. It becomes a race to stop the zombies while the police are after George and Edna.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that I enjoy the underlying theme of protecting the environment and how experiments can hurt the ecological balance of the Earth. That ends up being the way these dead come back. It is crazy this film came out in 1974 and we are still dealing with issues like this 50+ years later. I am a firm believer in science, but there must be testing to ensure things don't hurt the environment. I'll move on.

Another positive is that this doesn't waste time and gets into it. It's early on that Guthrie attacks. We get long stretches without attacks as they fill in story. This frustrated me the first time I saw this, but I didn't feel that this time. The zombies are good so that helps. These aren't traditional ones. I think this is a bit of trappings that we see in the Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy in that the zombies don't follow their own rules. As there are more of them, they do, but I don't buy Guthrie not going after those early on when they appear. There are also issues where a car is traveling one place, but Guthrie seems to teleport there. This doesn't ruin the movie, but observations I have both times.

The setting of the film was something I needed to touch on as well. I thought it looked amazing with the hills and the isolated countryside. Plus, these are in smaller villages. That does allow people to not know, like the police, that there are zombies. Everyone also moves on after the attacks so they're seeing the aftermath. That was a good touch since this is the beginning of the attacks.

Let's discuss zombies. They do have super strength, which can be inconsistent. I did love that we get a Night of the Living Dead scene of the zombies eating people, just in color. It looked quite real as did the rest of the effects. They were practical which I loved and it showed in this film. The zombies also moved good so credit to them. I like how they were slow-moving. I do have to point out; they were almost running in one of the hospital scenes which is another inconsistency.

There isn't more to go into for the story so over to the acting. I thought it was solid. Galbó works as one our female lead. I didn't like that she got bossed around like she does for a good portion. I do think that was partially due to the times and how it was written. She also wrecked George's bike. She does show good fear though. Lovelock was solid as her counterpart even though he is a real jerk. I do like that he does embody that hero as the film progresses. His worrying about the environment is also a plus. Kennedy is also quite hard but adds to an interesting dynamic. He believes in what is real and what he can see. He thinks that Galbó and Lovelock are the criminals and will stop at nothing to get them. It doesn't ruin anything though. The performances fit what was needed by the supporting cast. There are odd characters that work.

All that is left then is filmmaking. Something that was great was the effects. I like that upon Martin's (José Lifante) death we hear that all his bones in his midsection were broken. We see that they do eat their victims so that was why everything. Credit the sound design for that as well. Finally, is the soundtrack, which didn't stand out to me. What is good though is the design. I do know that they used the radio at one point to listen about ecological problems due to chemicals and experiments. I thought that was an interesting way of introducing that angle as well as getting George's feelings in it. There's also this noise that is emitted by the machine that results in radiation.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this the first time around and it held up with a rewatch. I thought the ecological angle was interesting and something that is still relevant today. Having an isolated location is good. I'd say that this is also well-made, which helps. The zombies are the best part with their look and how they move, even though there are inconsistencies with their abilities. The effects and cinematography are good. The gore was as well. I also like the sound design. I'd recommend this one if you want a solid, foreign zombie film.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

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