By
Kristin Battestella
‘Tis
the season for another helping of mostly quality horror made this millennium!
The
Awakening – I’m glad this 2011
ghost tale remains period and utilizes plenty of post-war traumas along with
fun spiritualism and early ghost hunting gadgets, and a great, spooky English
house turned boarding school keeps the paranormal pace going, too. Although some of the said supernatural
equipment and unnecessary character clichés are a touch too modern, the fractured
Dominic West (The Wire), perfectly
nuanced Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter),
needs no one Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina
Barcelona), and innocent Isaac Hampstead Wright (Game of Thrones) keep the audience interested even when the back
story gets confusing towards the finale. Are these ghosts, personal demons and
memories, or something more? There may not be enough scares here for a hardcore
horror fan – and wise viewers may see through the bump in the night clichés and
saucy innuendo thanks to similar ghost films. However, this mood and atmosphere
does what it sets out to do and fits the pain, loneliness, and isolation
perfectly. Those period designs, cars, clothing, creepy dollhouses, even the
way they hold their cigarettes keep the dramatic before scary scenes classy.
Despite some brief nudity and a few twists, there are no contemporary cheap
thrills here, and the mystery is intriguing enough to keep the viewer invested
for the full 100 minutes.
Don’t
Be Afraid of the Dark – Writer
Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
and new director Troy Nixey provide a perfectly freaky old house with lots of
spooky trappings – and an ominous basement, of course – for Guy Pearce (Memento) and Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) in this atmospheric 2011
remake. Bailee Madison (Bridge to
Terabithia) starts off annoying as a depressing little kid, and although
the cast is likeable, the adults grow somewhat obnoxious for not believing her
fears. Wise horror viewers will cringe at several what they should have done,
shout at the TV moments, obviously ignored evidence, and actions not taken,
granted. Typical horror clichés – the older person who was there, a library
research montage, a party ruined by the creepy crawlies – are tiresome, too.
Once the mysterious, malevolent tooth fairies are completely shown, a goofy
stupidity detracts from the finely done suspense, darkness, and fears. This
might have been more glorious as a monsters unseen period piece, as the
Victorian opening scene is wonderfully creepy. The scares are there, but I’m
not sure why this is Rated R thanks to a pleasant lack of gore, sexuality, or
mature themes – today we have much harder PG-13 pictures it seems. After such a
brooding, tense built up and somber pace, the ending comes too quickly with few
explanations. Fortunately, there are some smart uses of darkness, light,
flashlights, and good old fashioned but implausible Polaroids – not to mention
very eerie little voices as well. The child in peril scenes are disturbing, and
with the updated changes on the 1973 original, I honestly couldn’t predict how
it would end. Though flawed in some spots, fans of the cast and Del Toro should
take a look.
Slither – Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Elizabeth Banks (The
40 Year Old Virgin), Michael Rooker (The
Walking Dead), Jenna Fischer (The
Office), and more recognizable faces anchor this 2006 sci-fi body horror
funfest directed by James Gunn (Super).
Rather than the unnecessarily gruesome or excessive laugh out loud slapstick
often found in comedy horror attempts, this has the perfect amount of sardonic
circumstances and redneck backwoods humor. The sarcasm immediately builds
character and likeability – these townsfolk flip out, sure, but their behaviors
are reasonable and understandable. The plot doesn’t merely go from one shocker
to the next with characters doing dumb things in between and the nature of the
beasties makes all the scares. Witty, ironic uses of Air Supply and country
music establish the quirky atmosphere before the quality gore, worms, and
creepy orifice scares make you cringe. Though this is most definitely not for
animal lovers, the growth of the creepy crawlies, scale of the monstrosity, and
pace of the investigation are well done. No contemporary technology or hipness
gets in the way, yet the look is appropriately modern amid the rural isolation.
There’s no excessive nudity or sex, either, and the SF action remains
refreshing. Yes, other wormy titles like Shivers
immediately come to mind, and the alien controlled zombies are redundant.
There’s a post credits scene, too – but it isn’t as predictable or as expected
as today’s cop out horror, and no lengthy opening credits waste time here. The
winking awareness that this is a preposterous horror movie keeps the tone fun
and light but no less freaky for the entire 95-minute ride.
And Splitsville
House
at the End of the Street – Too
much of this 2012 thriller is spent on teens bands, icky music, hip lingo, cell
phone tricks and other technology, lame party scenes, assy juvenile clichés,
and a whiff of product placement to boot. It’s obvious that the eponymous
creepy neighbor is too ala Psycho for
comfort, plot holes become very apparent, explanations get tacked on, and
people are too damn nosey, don’t listen, and do stupid things because they
don’t know they are in a horror movie. The second half of the picture goes on
too long and becomes a typically paced, shout at the TV abduction thriller, but
despite herky jerky angles and shocks attempts, this isn’t really a horror
tale. Weird modern blue tinting undoes other positive made to look old feelings
and scary moments, too. Fortunately, Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) is likeable enough as the new teen in town and
together with mom Elizabeth Shue (Leaving
Las Vegas) anchors the suspense. Shue’s role is slightly similar to her
part in Chasing Mavericks, but she
has more effective teen daughter angst and issues here – and she’s mature and
classy even when things aren’t always pretty. Thanks to rated and unrated
versions adding to the plot confusion, perhaps this one should be seen at least
twice. The fine cast does keep the watch entertaining, but mis-marketing and a
trying too hard appeasement on too many genres divides the approach here.
Either be a straight mother/daughter drama or a backwoods killer thriller
already, whew.
1 comment:
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