Weekly Review -- Scare tactics

The Fourth Kind (2009) -- Alien abduction films have rarely been a strong factor in cinema, presumably due to the deeply intimate and skepticism-inducing subject matter. The latest work dealing with the topic is director Olatunde Osunsanmi's chiller. In Nome, Alaska, psychologist Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) has been interviewing patients with very similar stories, all involving creepy nighttime occurrences and uninvited visitors. After reviewing their accounts, Tyler comes to a startling realization that the encounters were most likely alien abductions and, faster than you can utter 'UFO', she runs into mistrust from the town sheriff (Will Patton) and disbelief from a colleague (Elias Koteas). She links the events to the murder of her husband, but puts herself and her family in extreme danger as her research goes on... For some reason, the film reminded me of The Mothman Prophecies, as far as the general ambiance and editing techniques go; heck, the two even have Patton in common. Still, this is where all the similarities end, since the context of Prophecies is much more comprehensible, making the movie more frightening in its depiction of the unknown. The Fourth Kind wanders thematically from one aspect to another, not exactly sure of where it might end up. It certainly does offer scares -- my heart practically stopped during one of the hypnosis sessions -- but its style makes it seem perplexing rather than spooky, the abduction scenes often bordering on bad surrealism and the "real" story interweaving with the "fictionalized" version in a mostly trite and forceful manner. Exactly how many screens can we have competing for our attention at once? The movie also occasionally overdoses on these mockumentary sequences, which should be adding to the narrative and not distracting the viewer. Osunsanmi fares best when veering into Blair Witch territory and creating not-quite-there terror, a quality he should have been drawing upon for the entire piece. The acting is adequate, with Jovovich giving unexpected nuances to Tyler, and Patton and Koteas providing a healthy serving of suspicion as the mystified locals; however, I have to say that, by the end, I became quite annoyed with Patton's character, being that the unexplained had been too glaring to ignore and that he had absolutely no basis for treating Tyler the way he did. Overall, The Fourth Kind is all right for one viewing, if you would like to see a different sort of scary treat, but it is too jumbled and indecisive to be delectable.

6/10


Eden Lake (2008) -- The rawness of silver screen horror has been the subject of fierce debate for at least a decade. It has been said that the genre was diluted by the social and cinematic epoch of post-modern self-reference and political correctness, but it has also been argued that some of the most intense recent horror tales arose from precisely these circumstances. Enter Eden Lake, a film that uses its themes both to test the audience's sensibilities and to hint at issues that hide beneath the volatile surface.

When Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and her boyfriend Steve (Michael Fassbender) set off on a romantic weekend getaway, they only have each other on their minds, with Steve planning to propose in the idyllic lake setting. What they are not counting on is running into a group of teenage thugs, led by the violently impulsive Brett (Jack O'Connell), who proceed to harass the couple until things get out of hand and the shell-shocked visitors have to run for their lives...

While the DVD cover may imply your run-of-the-mill slasher flick, filmmaker James Watkins takes what could have been a bland tale to the next level. Yes, Eden Lake does deliver if you are looking for bloody, sadistic violence, and is definitely not for the faint of heart; yes, it contains plot holes that render the logic of the events impossible, such as the existence of GPS, getting lost in the wilderness during the most technologically advanced decade of all time and one character's actions that defy common sense. However, due to its central conflict between the "locals" and the "intruders", the film could and should also be viewed as a piece on social warfare. Its layers are peeled slowly and surely, from the way it represents the power struggle between the classes at the dawn of the latest recession, to hinting at xenophobia, so prevalent in numerous European countries nowadays, Great Britain being one of the top contenders for the front line. The idea of youth gone wild -- a frequent news topic, as we can see at the beginning -- is one of the main points that the narrative deals with, and exploring the above mentioned questions through this equally explosive issue is both a shocking and novel concept for a genre film. The ending is highly allegorical in the context of the film's politics, particularly the last few seconds, which utilize a strong sense of irony to bring to mind concerns of adaptation versus assimilation.

The performances are excellent, heightening the dread into a human saga. Reilly adds a unique touch to her portrayal of a teacher forced into a life-and-death situation. When we see Jenny in her classroom and with Steve in the first fifteen minutes, it is easy for us to believe that she is as innocent and wide-eyed as her students. Her presence and voice is so delicate and otherworldly, that its contrast with the later brutalities is almost too much to bear. Fassbender is compelling as Steve, whose motives are justified, but whose bullheadedness provokes many of the escalations, and O'Connell shows a lot of promise as Brett, the leader of the delinquent pack.

Eden Lake is one of those works that are sometimes overlooked for their superficial value, but that need to be appreciated for offering a story behind the story. Its significance lies in its impeccable timing, a happenstance that transforms the screenplay into a post-millennial sociological essay. A multi-dimensional, uncompromising piece, Eden Lake taps into contemporary paranoia while delving into controversy and, for that display of ingenuity, it deserves to be seen.

8/10