Happy Halloween!

Happy Fright Day! I hope everyone is nestled in, cozy and ready for some cinematic scares accompanied by a rush of popcorn, candy and whichever other goodies you may covet. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is another quick recommendation overview of some good genre pieces that I have had a chance to enjoy over the past few years:

Session 9 (2001), dir. Brad Anderson -- A moody piece about haunted minds and haunting places, this offering creates the principal character out of its principal setting, an abandoned asylum. Simon says... psychological horror has never been better.

The Strangers (2008), dir. Bryan Bertino -- The most frightening film I have ever seen, this home invasion shocker is a reality for too many crime victims. It is primal, brutal, relentless. Do not let these strangers in, but do let them invade your DVD or BluRay player.

The Last House on the Left (2009), dir. Dennis Iliadis -- One of the top three remakes I have ever seen, this is a film that pays attention to every relationship, every line of dialogue, every glance. One does not expect such subtleties in a story that happened to be an exploitation flick in an earlier incarnation. The acting, directing and writing is top notch and its themes will stay with you for a long time. Simply put, I cannot recommend it enough.

The Crazies (2010), dir. Breck Eisner -- Another remake with a message, this disaster/zombie hybrid plays upon our fears of omnipresent authority and corporate greed. It is a timeless and timely story. Who are the real Crazies? Watch and find out.

1408 (2007), dir. Mikael Håfström -- "It's an evil fucking room." Really all we needed to know. When Samuel L. Jackson warns you, you listen.

Event Horizon (1997), dir. Paul W.S. Anderson -- A unique take on humanity and Hell, this science-fiction piece does not draw its chills and thrills from cheap scares. Rather, it draws them from a possibility that there truly is a fate worse than death.  

The Entity (1982), dir. Sidney J. Furie -- Based on an allegedly true story that took place in the 1970s, this film tells the tale of an ordinary woman facing an extraordinary affliction. The film contrasts the known world with the supernatural realm in an organic manner, its scares so intrusive and terrifying that it may, just may challenge your belief system.

When a Stranger Calls Back (TV 1993), dir. Fred Walton -- Do not be deterred by the fact that this is a low-budget TV sequel to a more successful cinema entry. Do not be deterred by the fact that you practically need to be a sleuth to locate a copy. Instead, enjoy this gem when you do manage to find it. Trust me, the suspense and some other nifty additions make this film worth your while.

Nightmares (1983), dir. Joseph Sargent -- If you enjoy horror anthologies, you are going to enjoy having these bad dreams. Of particular note are the first and third story, "Terror in Topanga" and "The Benediction".

Play Misty for Me (1971), dir. Clint Eastwood -- As powerful and thrilling as Fatal Attraction was, it all started with this Eastwood tale of a one night stand gone wrong. Boasting a truly demented antagonist and gorgeous locations, this underrated film makes us jump at every turn.   

The Ward (2010), dir. John Carpenter -- All right, so its resolution is not EXACTLY original, but who are we kidding? Its element of surprise is spot-on, its setting is creepy and that ghoul is eerie enough to provoke nightmares for weeks to come. Do I have to stress that it is directed by John Carpenter? Give it a chance.

As a special mention and being that this is -- unfortunately -- the only horror film that this director had ever made, my top recommendation this Halloween is:




 


The Hunger (1983), dir. Tony Scott -- A gorgeous tale of eternal youth and eternal woe, this neo-Gothic horror stands out from the 1980s pool of slashers. Sure, it is occasionally bigger on style than it is on substance, but it is the central love story and love triangle that drives this film into cult territory.

Enjoy!

Weekly Review -- Hide and shriek

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) -- Ah yes, the found footage bonanza continues. Life goes on, the planet keeps spinning and things keep going bump in the night in the Paranormal Activity franchise. As I am writing this review, the fourth installment of the formerly indie series is already scaring up scores of fans around North America. Still, all is right in the world of horror, since the third entry is a deliciously creepy addition, delving into the origins of the haunting that has pestered the principal characters since childhood.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS**

In 1988, Katie (Chloe Csengery) and Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown) are your ordinary little girls that love toys, love camping, love driving their mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) crazy and, well... love talking to a demon. When their stepfather Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) catches sight of supernatural occurrences, he sets up cameras around the house. While Julie is not buying into the notion of a spectral being prancing around their home, Dennis tries to find out about the mysterious entity that Katie and Kristi have been communicating with, but the demon is not exactly fond of his curiosity...

Right off the bat, I will say that franchise newcomers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman do a fantastic job of building suspense. The story evolves from an ominous possibility -- what was that? -- to concrete video proof and, finally, to full-fledged terror. There are numerous tricks that contribute to the fear, not the least of which are the clever camerawork and script additions that might have merely served as gimmicks in lesser hands. I love, love, love the extremely innovative fan cam idea, an organic novelty that brings things to a new level of spookiness and generates some of the most effective scenes. Introducing the universal "imaginary friend" phenomenon is also a clever way to initially downplay the danger that the demonic force represents, only to slowly have it turn the family's life upside down. In fact, the screenplay is at its best when probing scares in the context of the family unit, contrasting the daily with the unearthly. I find that, in this sense, it hearkens to genre works like Poltergeist, showing the American dream with a wicked twist. Oh, and did I say that I loved the fan cam concept?

The one thing I did not particularly like was the coven element. The final ten minutes seemed tacked on and out of context, with the topic introduced and never explored. What happens to Katie and Kristi? Why did Paranormal Activity 2 not pay more attention to the family's history, considering all of the traumatic childhood events that had obviously taken place? Frankly, I was more interested in how the ending would tie into the story of the fire from the original film, but that question was never answered. On the other hand, the entire  curse theme is stunted both in this sequel and in the second one, but here it comes at the expense of the narrative's focus.

Paranormal Activity 3 is a chiller that ties in nicely with its predecessors, even if it is occasionally short on details and explanations. Through its mostly crafty writing and usage of technology, it links the characters to the apparition in an ingenious way while upping the fright ante by quite a few screams. This childhood game is truly not for the faint of heart.    

7/10

Weekly Review -- Sins of the fathers... mothers... sons?

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) -- Can a child ever be born evil? Can a parent ever be disconnected from their descendant? Then again, is a child always and undeniably an everlasting part of the parent? A heart-wrenching study of malevolence in its most terrifying form, this Lynne Ramsay film shows the weight of emotions and grief in a new light, through the story of a family torn apart by their firstborn.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Soon after giving birth to Kevin (Ezra Miller), travel writer Eva (Tilda Swinton) starts noticing alarming signs. Awkward and lacking the need for affection, Kevin has a propensity toward spiteful, hateful, dangerous behavior. While her naive husband Franklin (John C. Reilly) puts everything down to boys being boys, Eva grows more weary and distant from Kevin, with things going from bad to worse when the couple have a daughter. Ambiguous about becoming a mother from the start, Eva worries that Kevin's cruelty is beyond reproach, but no one is ready for what he is about to do next... 

The film makes compelling arguments for and against parenthood in the context of the "bad seed" potential. At the same time, it examines the nonexistent bond between Eva and Kevin and brings a new dimension to the nature versus nurture debate. From the start, Eva is not happy about being pregnant; in fact, the condition is depicted as an out-of-body experience. One wonders why she would want the life change, with the film suggesting that it is a natural progression to everyone but her. The maddening part is that this particular woman gets punished by giving birth to the devil incarnate, who then proceeds to wreak havoc onto the world and onto her world. She tries her valiant best to get close to him as the years go by, but her efforts are nothing when up against what at best is complete psychosis and at worst utter evil. Even the horrifying arm-breaking sequence leads to Kevin relishing his mother's anger, turning the balance of power upside down for good. This is what absolves the character of any culpability for the way Kevin evolves. When a mother is unable to bond with her baby, the situation may indicate that there is something inherently wrong with the child, as the film suggests. After all, Eva does resolve that she loves her son following the massacre and in spite of everything that he has done to their family.

One of the film's baffling aspects is Eva and Franklin's courtship and marriage. One has to wonder why Eva had decided upon the rather oafish Franklin as her mate, since he is nowhere near Eva on an intellectual or cultural level. I wish the film had examined their relationship further, because a concrete reason why they are together is unclear to the viewer during the proceedings. Sure, he is a good person, but his crude gullibility and perhaps deliberate blindness to Kevin's diabolism is absolutely infuriating. To name but one example, why on Earth would Franklin think that archery was a suitable hobby for his son, what with his wife's numerous fears and doubts? I find it unbelievable that he is unable to see through Kevin's transparent lies and overall find the character pretty cartoonish. Perhaps he is supposed to symbolize the good in Eva's life versus Kevin's evil taking over; if that is the case, the metaphor is too murky to be effective. 

Another thing that eludes me is why Eva and Franklin do not provide Kevin with psychiatric help and why the option is never even discussed. True, Franklin is clueless and true, a traditional psychoanalysis route does not do much good for a psychopath or a sociopath, but the question lingers -- why does Eva not take the lead? This omission is a true plot hole if ever there was one. They needed to talk about Kevin indeed.

The performances appear to be etched with mathematical precision. Swinton seamlessly alternates between desperate frustration, bare horror and ultimate detachment. At the beginning, she is a woman with options; at the end, all of the options have been taken away from her through sheer circumstance. Miller shines as Kevin, showing all of the character's ominous colors from behind a veil of mischief and bringing us into the mind of a soulless killer. The only thing missing from the actors' portrayals are Oscar nominations. Reilly is sufficiently bewildered and bewildering as Franklin, while Rock Duer gives a terrific performance as the toddler Kevin.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is a masterpiece of psychological and birth horror, a film that plays with our ingrained notions of childhood innocence. It claims its territory and never lets go, taking us on a ride that can only lead to the hellish realm of tragedy. It is a work that plays and preys upon universal givens such as motherhood and parentage, shattering them all and making the audience walk all over the broken pieces in a stupor of disbelief.

9/10