They crammed out a sequel to V/H/S already. Halloween 2012 is long gone by now, but V/H/S remains as one of the best horror anthologies of all time. Even with its weakness and extremely problematic content, its a high quality piece of work. Sequels generally aren't. V/H/S 2 stands up.
Once again we have a horror anthology set in this bleak universe. The collector is gone, the rapists are gone, all that's left is the house and the tapes. A man/woman private eye team break into the collector's house looking for a missing person. They find the person's laptop in the TV room. As the man begins to search the house for the kid, the woman puts in a tape. and another tape, and another. On each tape is another visage of horror: an eye transplant goes wrong, a man goes for a bike ride he'll never forget, a group of people investigate a cult, and a bunch of kids have a slumber party.
V/H/S/2 suffers from one major problem: most of the shorts run overlong. In the first, we get a full-blown explanation of how the terror mechanics work, which is never a good sign (see: friday the 13th part 2). The second and third go well past their welcome. Some of the shorts stretch the gimmick a little far. There's a lot of editing involved in the second and third that loses some of the suspension of disbelief. The last one, however, is almost flawless in its execution. It shows off some basic effects and makes what are clearly dudes in poorly made costumes blasting air horns absolutely terrifying.
Overall, V/H/S/2 is unnecessary but fun. Its nice seeing a short with an all non-white cast, there's no short that involves rape this time around, and the only homophobia I could see came from one throwaway line that probably should have been edited out. All in all, V/H/S/2 is worth a watch if you liked the first one. Also, they should have kept the S-VHS title, that one's way better than V/H/S/2.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Mama (2013)
Feral girl stories are the worst. They're lazy, insipid, and offensive. Nell? More like Hell (No, I Wont Watch This Film). It is by sidestepping the tropes in the feral girl "genre" that allows Mama its ability to scare.
At the outset, a man murders his wife and business partners, and runs with his daughters in hand. They, of course, crash into the woods. The father is quickly murdered by unseen forces in a spooky cabin and the girls are left alone to go feral in the wilderness. They are found five years later and taken in by their uncle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and his romantic partner, Jessica Chastain. Sooner or later the couple finds out they brought back more than just two girls from the woods.
Just from the names of the leads you should know on what level the performances are. The rare horror movie with an A-list cast, it excels in basically every area. The scares are effective, the humor is effective, the cgi even works, and I imagine it'll stand up for a while at least. Mama is genuine scary as well as being an actual good film. A rare mix but a powerful one.
At the outset, a man murders his wife and business partners, and runs with his daughters in hand. They, of course, crash into the woods. The father is quickly murdered by unseen forces in a spooky cabin and the girls are left alone to go feral in the wilderness. They are found five years later and taken in by their uncle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and his romantic partner, Jessica Chastain. Sooner or later the couple finds out they brought back more than just two girls from the woods.
Just from the names of the leads you should know on what level the performances are. The rare horror movie with an A-list cast, it excels in basically every area. The scares are effective, the humor is effective, the cgi even works, and I imagine it'll stand up for a while at least. Mama is genuine scary as well as being an actual good film. A rare mix but a powerful one.
The Strangers (2008)
Honest to goodness, home invasions scare the living daylights out of me. Its like, you're in a place where you're supposed to be safe all the time except that space is threatened. Not only threatened but violated. I don't like the idea of it and I guess its my privilege that makes that specific scenario the scariest thing to me. What I am saying is, stay out of my house.
In The Strangers, we are set in an isolated house, strange to leading lady Liv Tyler, with her would-be fiance. After he leaves, Tyler's character begins to hear strange knocks at the door and windows. Then, quickly, things placed in her house, like her phone and piano, start moving when she's not looking. She and her quickly reunited boyfriend find themselves being terrorized by three masked people.
The Strangers is an excellent movie in conveying that sense of helplessness and lack of safety. It is legitimately scary with some excellent performances by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film quickly falls apart in the second act, and leaves at the end with a "just another horror movie" moment. Fun, and scary, while it lasted.
In The Strangers, we are set in an isolated house, strange to leading lady Liv Tyler, with her would-be fiance. After he leaves, Tyler's character begins to hear strange knocks at the door and windows. Then, quickly, things placed in her house, like her phone and piano, start moving when she's not looking. She and her quickly reunited boyfriend find themselves being terrorized by three masked people.
The Strangers is an excellent movie in conveying that sense of helplessness and lack of safety. It is legitimately scary with some excellent performances by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. The film quickly falls apart in the second act, and leaves at the end with a "just another horror movie" moment. Fun, and scary, while it lasted.
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