by
Kristin Battestella
Do
you avoid your shady neighbor? Get suspicious in quaint little towns
and fear being broken down in the backwoods? Well then these twisted
tales of rural horror, family scares, small town freaky, and creepy
homes are for you!
The Guest –
Recent, understandable war grief and the surprising comfort of a
deceased son's friend visiting could have been a good thing for this
home – some heartwarming, healing news. Unfortunately, ex-solider
Dan Stevens (Downton
Abbey)
is not who he appears to be in this 2014 indie family thriller.
Halloween timing and an increasing insinuation as the otherwise
absentee mom's helper and drinking dad's pal soon turns violent.
Don't leave this guy in the kitchen with knives and carving pumpkins!
Of course, a shirtless out of the shower pose complete with a halo of
steam creates tension with daughter Maika Monroe (It
Follows), but
the cat ear headbands, bad hair always in the face, and intrusive
tunes are already dated. Unnecessary up close zooms also lay the
ominous on thick when his sinister characteristics – never sleeping
or getting drunk or high and barely eating– are enough. What kind
of man comes to school inquiring where the bullys are? Again, he
could have been a positive big brother influence and does use his
shrewd likability to help. However, he injures the bad kids without a
second thought and buys drugs, alcohol, and guns – clearly these opportunistic behaviors and deathly orchestrations must come to a
head amid twists, family divides, and siege action in the final half
hour. Besides, who knew you could call up the military and get them
to do your research montage! It is odd and seemingly out of place to
break the family moments and lone wolf point of view – the
government could have already been in pursuit with a soon to
intersect storyline. There's a whiff of social commentary about post
traumatic stress and how we condition these kinds of killers, but it
feels expected alongside all the usual action movie notes and the
predicable Halloween maze dangers. Fortunately, the ambiguous nature
and one on one resolutions carry enough fun shockers, and this is a
fast moving, effective watch. And you know what? That little “thanks
for watching” message at the end of the credits was actually kind
of nice. 
Let us Prey
– The Scottish setting and British accents of this 2014 creepy
starring Liam Cunningham (Game
of Thrones)
may be tough for some. The voices are softer than the big sounds, and
the dark, saturated picture is tough to see at times. Fortunately,
that's about all the quibbles here thanks to ominous waves, bleak
crows, and an abandoned, end of the earth isolation. Despite the dark
design, several critical scenes are well lit with either halo
brightness, orange purgatory hues, a sickly green patina, or red for
violent flashbacks. Female clichés are upended amid this interesting
cast of characters – and there is plenty of gray behind the bars
and the badge making for some mysterious hit and runs, visions,
antagonism, and a twisted parable mood. Suspicious doctoring, eerie
fingerprints, ticking clock night shift hours, and talk of Biblical
retribution but not necessarily salvation add to the bizarre, in
limbo happenings. Snippets of past vices quickly reveal what the
audience already suspects of our players, and whether Cunningham's
little black book is full of vengeance for good or ill, we don't
blame him either way. Nice tricks, match strikes, radio call ins,
limited technology, and small intimate locales go a long way amid
rhythmic editing. There's action, blood, and violence, but this isn't
bloated with cool of it all visuals or torture porn. Although the
script may be nothing new and we know what's going to happen, the
layered references, sardonic irony, and one by one karma is well
played and doesn't underestimate the audience. I almost wish this was
a limited series with the not so divine collector Cunningham kicking
ass and taking names with each cigarette puff, however this is a fine
film as is with no need to cheapen the tale with more. Who's the
right sacred just in all of this? Who's really a crazy predator? When
you think you are one and not the other, does it make a difference?
This is a refreshingly adult, R-rated, well thought out and surreal
but on point commentary.
We Are What We Are
– A bleak outdoors, dangerous rains, and thunderstorms open this
2013 cannibal family remake amid missing posters, meat grinders,
early deaths, and yearly fasting rituals. Clearly something icky is
afoot. Despite somewhat recent vehicles and cell phones, old
fashioned clothes on the line outside, radio weather reports, and a
tape recorder dictation for an autopsy make the rural separation and
backwoods upstate onscreen seem older. Candlelight and shadowed
buildings are well shot, with wild looking and harsh father Bill Page
(American Psycho)
singing hymns and saying his children shouldn't be scared. Up close
shots of spoons to the mouth and a variety of foods add to the coy
hints – coughing up blood, a dog finding bones, repeated “no
flesh, no fruit, no grain” talk. Others must eat regular food
before it spoils due to storm outages, yet the title hearkens an 'we
are what we eat' witticism. A zoomed in focus on the flipping pages
of a medical book turning with the camera cuts until the all stop on
our C word makes for a quaint but fresh take on the research montage,
too. Compared to some expecting big scares, the well paced, simmering
dread may seem slow. However, we must see this escalating sinister
through because clearly it can't go on as is – again playing on the
title's 'it is what it is' perpetuation as this legacy fights against
morality, desperation, grief, and rebellion. Wise doctor Michael
Parks (Kill Bill)
and friendly neighbor Kelly McGillis (Top
Gun)
provide sophisticated antagonism alongside superb moments of colonial
history and extreme Donner inheritance. How far will this monstrous
family need go? More pre and post films are planned, and hopefully,
they are just as good and don't become diluted into trite teen angst.
Enough blood and gore accents the do what they must violence, bonus
twists, and brief ritual nudity complete with rattling chains before
superb at the table confrontations and a tasty finish. Ironically, I
must admit this movie made me hungry and appreciative of proper
cooking! Now, why the flip wasn't this in cinemas? 17 screens does
not
count as a proper release.
One
to Skip
Don't Blink –
A typical sunny, green drive complete with John Denver music and an
“Are we there yet?” start doesn't bode well for this 2014 resort
gone wrong hour and a half starring Brian Austin Green (Beverly
Hills 90210) and
Mena Suvari (American
Pie).
Too many jerks, idiot couples, and unlikable character clichés such
as the bookish girl, blonde bimbo, crass jokes guy, and know it all
dude flood the viewer with who is who and why we don't care. Eerie
searches with left behind items, empty shoes, or a drawn bath don't
create as much atmosphere as they should thanks to easy jump scares
and convenient out of gas troubles. Of course, there is no cell phone
service but GPS or other technology and looking up this mysterious
mountain retreat before you got there is never addressed – our
ensemble stands about and argues or does nothing for the first half
the movie, missing clues and going round and round. If this is meant
to be paranoia and a sophisticated commentary, then why waste time
with obvious scary teases and have such a large cast expected to die
in slasher fashion? The mysterious climate changes are never
explained, and for all the seemingly simple, linear design, there is
a pretentious, heavy handed feeling and over the top amateur tone.
Again, I suspect this is due to writer and director and editor Travis
Oates wearing too many hats without an objective second opinion. Once
we are down to a few people waiting for three hours until help
arrives, the tension is much better – each must keep the other in
sight despite blackouts and unreliable candles. Unfortunately, by
then the movie's over. Though thin in plot, the lofty try hard
concept is meant for a thinking person's audience, leaving it up to
the viewer to deduce the social statements, out of sight out of mind
fears, government conspiracies, or multiverse possibilities. Sadly,
that non committal, didn't actually say anything of the picture
inadvertently insults the audience's intelligence, and this kind of
isolation thriller and psychological analysis has been done better
elsewhere. 
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