Author: fenrisfil

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Posted on by fenrisfil

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This is a tricky movie to review without any kind of spoiler so I have decided that this review will avoid plot spoilers only, but WILL reveal who is actually in the movie because I don’t think this can be properly reviewed without this and I feel like the surprise (or disappointment) is something people would want to know about in advance and does not ruin the film. Plus it is easiest to do a review here that avoids plot spoilers by focusing on the characters as this is very much a character movie.

You have been warned! I won’t be revealing this off the bat however and I’ll give you plenty of warning before I make the reveal.

So first up let’s go over the basics. This is the third MCU Spider-Man movie, the sixth MCU movie with Spider-Man in, the Eighth live action Spider-Man movie in general and the eleventh live action superhero movie with the character. For those keeping track, Batman has only nine, ten if you include his cameo in Suicide Squad and Eleven if you also include the 60’s TV movie. Suffice to say Spider-Man has quite the on screen legacy and unlike Batman all those movies are within the last 20 years.

Say No Go.

All incarnations of Peter Parker have been successful on screen and have had their own uniqueness to them. Tom Holland’s version of the character is no exception and his movies tend to hit the billion dollar mark. Not a huge shock given that Spider-Man is the most popular hero globally (WIthin the US Batman probably still takes that honour, but not by much and the only other hero near either of them is Superman). He is also my favourite hero and probably the one I have read the most of in the comics. MCU Spider-Man does attract a lot of well deserved criticism however due to how different he has become from the comics. It doesn’t help that his supporting cast is almost unrecognisable, but probably the biggest issue is his origin and I don’t mean the spider bite, I mean Uncle Ben.

See the MCU’s Parker doesn’t have an Uncle Ben, or at least if he did the man died before Peter gained his powers. He also has a considerably younger and well protected Aunt May that he doesn’t have to spend time worrying about too much. Instead of this as motivation he was given an attachment to Tony Stark as a mentor and felt that loss strongly. It was good character advancement but it made this Peter considerably different. I bring this up because it is probably the number one criticism that MCU Spider-Man gets and it does get somewhat addressed in this movie. There is definitely an element of course correction here.

Can U Keep a Secret?

Jon Watts is at the reins again with this instalment showing that Marvel is clearly happy with what he brings to the table and I think most fans are too. It’s worth noting he is attached for the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie so maybe there is reason to be hopeful. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers also return as writers. Tom Holland of course returns as does his regular supporting cast including the not-so-popular Flash Thompson interpretation played by Tony Revolori who is basically just there to be the butt of a few jokes and Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant that does actually get a nice nod to her comic book counterpart in her brief cameo. Jon Favreau has a cameo but is less involved than in “Far from Home”. Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Marisa Tomei however all play major parts in the story.

Joining the regulars is Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange who plays a pivotal role (as seen in the trailer, Peter wants him to make people forget his secret identity), but actually isn’t in that much of the movie. First thing to bring up here is that he is not as irresponsible about the whole thing as he appeared in the trailer. Which is good because the Sorcerer Supreme shouldn’t be a reckless fool. If he is indeed the Sorcerer Supreme, which is something that seems to be up for debate. At the end of this movie they show a trailer for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and I have to say I wasn’t sold on that. However he is treated fairly respectfully here and his interactions with Peter are actually really cool.

Ghetto Thang.

His interaction with Michelle Jones is not so good thanks to that annoying “Please” line from the trailer. But as I usually find with with these movies Zendaya was far better in the movie itself than the trailer. For some reason they always seem to pick her smuggest, snarkiest lines in the trailers instead of any of her human moments which is something that doesn’t help to sell the character to people (and given the whole “MJ” bit, they do need to sell her). On a side note here, they did awkwardly force into dialogue randomly that her full name is Michelle Jones-Watson… yeah they totally didn’t need to do that and it had no bearing on anything (so I don’t regard it a spoiler) but I guess someone, somewhere is celebrating. She is actually fine though.

Ned Leeds is a trickier one to judge since he is part of an annoying plot contrivance. But to be fair that contrivance allowed him to do something other than just comic relief (Which lets face it is totally redundant in an MCU Spider-Man film. However they even turn that into comic relief so it’s not great and they missed a chance to give Ned a not to his comic book counterpart. He’s not terrible though so it’s fine.

Me Myself and I.

So the most important thing here is Peter Parker. As I mentioned above there is a very clear course correction going on in this film. It’s not perfect, but you couldn’t do this correction perfectly in Peter’s sixth MCU appearance. He’s got too much history. But I feel like they did this as well as they possibly could and I don’t say that lightly. It feels like the writers and director and maybe Marvel/Sony producers took on board the criticism and tried to adjust for this and I have to say I am impressed by Marvel actually listening to fans for a change.

The way the course adjustment is done is entirely through the story and Peter’s character development in the story. Sam Raimi once said his approach to the Spider-Man films was “What can Peter learn in this movie” and this really felt like it was the approach to this. By the end of the film Peter has changed from being “Iron Boy Junior” to genuinely feeling like Spider-Man and I could not be happier about that. Of course they can still mess this up later but we will see.

Okay, minor character spoilers ahead for the villains (these are all in the trailer, so no surprises).

Potholes in My Lawn.

All the villains you see in the trailer are the actual villains from their respective Spider-Man universes. This is important because they all manage to retain consistent characterisations from those movies. They really feel like direct continuations of the same characters. Even more impressively most of them actually get character development! So perhaps unsurprisingly Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin/Norman Osborn are the stand outs and as perhaps the two favourite villains from past movies they do justice to their previous appearances and characters and add to those movies instead of detract from them which was always the danger.

Jamie Foxx’s electro gets some redemption here too. Sadly Amazing Spider-Man 2 will probably go down in history as the worst Spider-Man movie, but here he is improved and he gets almost as much focus as the other two. Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) too gets some redemption though his part in Spider-Man 3 was generally considered the best bit anyway. Sadly though while he starts off consistent to his personality from that movie they seem to forget about that a bit in the middle. He and Lizard were always going to be the minor players in this but he did okay. Lizard on the other hand gets very little screen time and doesn’t add that much to the movie. He doesn’t detract from it either so there is that at least

So before we hit the reveal there is one other major cameo I’m not going to reveal because it is just one scene early in the film and you can probably guess it anyway. Suffice to say it was satisfying. I will tell you one cameo you will almost certainly miss though: Nicholas Hammond, the original live action Spider-Man from the 70’s TV series is in this movie. I’m not going to tell you where though!

CHARACTER SPOILER TIME!!!!!!!

The magic number.

The music for the films end credits is itself a spoiler for those characters. It is “The Magic Number” by De La Soul (At least I think it was the De La Soul track, it may have been another version of it or the original material used for the samples). Yep, the rumours were true Tobey and Andrew are both in this movie.

So I’m not going to talk too much about how they are involved but I will say they are key parts of the entire third act and all get both character and action moments. Each one is consistent to their past characters, but developed past the end of their final movies. Andrew-Spidey was of course deeply impacted by the death of Gwen Stacy and went somewhat to a dark place after that. He’s still got the wisecracking though that made many people call him the best Spider-Man (though they usually pair that with “Worst Peter Parker”).

Tobey-Spidey however seems to have found a good element of balance and happiness to his life and though he doesn’t talk about it (so it’s not a spoiler) they really seem to hint that he may well be happily married to Mary Jane much like he was in the comics before the dreaded “One More Day” storyline messed that up. Tobey as the older Spider-Man is getting a little worn physically but he can still get the job done.

Buddy!

One of the best things here is the interaction between the three Peter’s. It’s respectful of each, though also acknowledges basically all the fan criticism. That in one place felt a bit like they were dumping on the AMS films but they restrained the mocking to things most people mocked and remained respectful of Andrew’s Spider-Man. They also talked about Tobey not needing web shooters, which turned into a fun moment. As far as Tom-Spidey goes they were careful not to diminish him too much by throwing in the other two (Especially with Tobey being such a fan favourite). They acknowledged Tom’s strengths and how his experience working with the Avengers makes him unique (Who have only worked solo, or briefly with one other)..

Perhaps the best bit though is that Tobey and Andrew both get on screen character development too and in ways that reference their own past and things that would have weighed on their consciences. This is the strength of this movie in general. All the main characters (The three Peters and three main villains) all get character arcs that really work for them. I also have to give Andrew dues for putting in a really good performance, giving him a lot of vindication for having to suffer through the bad writing on his solo outings.

3 Feet High and Rising.

Okay so while this movie is strong for character development, it actually isn’t especially outstanding on the action front. It’s not bad as such, but there isn’t really anything outstanding or ground breaking here, just lots of what you’ve seen before and in actual fact less impressive action than a lot of previous films. There are some great spectacles that no doubt make great screen shots (such as the one above), but it definitely suffers from the messy style of a lot of modern action where things are fast and hard to follow. To me though this didn’t really impact the film, this is a character movie with action and that is fine. What I will say is when you have all three Spider-Men involved in the action it can get a little confusing at times as to which is which. 

Rating this movie is a tricky one. I don’t want to get too drawn in to nostalgia here, but as of right now I feel this is a solid 7.5. If you are a Spider-Man fan of ANY of the previous instalments, you will likely enjoy this movie. One final thought though: As I mentioned this movie has a lot of course corrections for the character, but I would just like to point out that if they hadn’t chosen to skip Peter’s origin story and the character development he has from that origin they wouldn’t have needed to spend three solo movies and three team movies to get Peter to a position he would have been in his first movie, had they shown that origin. So in future, maybe don’t be so fast to applaud skipping superhero origins. Remember it’s not important what made someone powerful, but it is important what made them a hero.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

The Changeling (1980)

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Another review from my October Horrorthon, this time “The Changeling” from 1980. The movie is directed by Peter Medak (“The Krays”) and stars George C. Scott (“Dr. Strangelove”, “Patton”) as John Russel with support from Melvyn Douglas and Trish Van Devere.

John Russel, is a music professor, grieving the loss of his wife and daughter in a traffic accident. To get a clean start he moves to Seattle where he rents out a Victorian Mansion from an agent of the local history society, Claire Norman (Van Devere). It turns out the property has been vacant for twelve years and it appears to be haunted. After a number of unexplained events within the house John brings in some specialist in hauntings to try and communicate with the spectral presence that turns out to be the ghost of a young boy.

The first act is a pretty solid haunted house affair, with a nice steady build up to the discovery of a hidden attic bedroom and a music box that plays the same tune which John had previously “composed” earlier in the movie (under the influence of the house). Things change drastically though for the middle act which is more of a mystery thriller as John delves into the story of the child and the house and uncovers the dark secret of the Mansions former owner. The vengeful spirit gets back involved though in the final act where things are ramped up in a suitable fashion (and we get a few deaths to boot). As a horror the middle act breaks the tension a little too much, but it does allow for a far more interesting ghost story.

John is an interesting character with a very personal motivation for investigating ghosts and it gets even more personal when a séance (involving some ghost writing and EVP) reveals that the ghost is that of a murdered child. The problem though is that John as a little too calm about the whole thing while the vengeful spirit, despite the odd temper tantrum is focused solely on finding justice for what was done to him. For most of the film they are on the same page so once the mystery is in motion I never really felt John was in any danger in the house. The mystery surrounding the house and ghost however is very compelling and it is refreshing to see a haunting with a more complicated and nuanced story behind it. 

This is a different kind of ghost story with the focus on the mystery instead of the horror and while the haunting elements do have their moments (Especially the child’s wheelchair moving itself around the house and a few things in the final act that I won’t spoil for you) it’s not especially scary or unsettling. The central mystery is directly linked to the name of the film and certainly provides a dramatic George C. Scott does a solid job in the lead role (especially as this is a movie very focused on it’s lead), but I would have liked to have seen a bit more made out of loss and how that relates to the plot of the film on an emotional and introspectional level. Overall though, this was an enjoyable movie. 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTzgXVosQOU

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

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My final November Noir is a big one that I am long overdue for watching. This is “Sweet Smell of Success” from 1957. Adapted from Ernest Lehman’s novelette of the same name, this is a Noir Drama and one of those that may not be obvious as a Noir just from the synopsis but themes and style are very much in the genre.

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick (of Ealing Studios fame, having directed such movies as The Man in the White Suit (1951) and The Ladykillers (1955)), with double Oscar winning cinematographer James Wong Howe seeing to the visuals the legendary Elmer Bernstein providing the score. Add to that Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster and this was always going to be a good one.

Curtis takes the lead as morally bankrupt press agent Sidney Falco, with Lancaster as the overbearing columnist J.J. Hunsecker, support is given by the beautiful Susan Harrison as Hunsecker’s sister Susan and Martin Milner as her love interest, Jazz guitarist Steve Dallas.

Sweet Sound of Success

The first thing that hits you right out of the gate is soundtrack that manages to be both explosive and sleazy at once with an instantly recognisable hook. This is a Bernstein soundtrack more along the line of “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955) than his later work and it fits perfectly for this movie.

It’s worth noting the music for this movie isn’t entirely Bernstein as the film also featured music by the Chico Hamilton Quintet, itself quite a ground-breaking group as it featured Cello as a lead instrument. Though here much of the focus is the guitar due to it being the instrument of choice for key character Steve Dallas. This was the first movie to have two separate soundtrack releases one for Bernstein’s score and the other for the Quintets (Something that is commonplace today).

Sweet Look of Success

Accompanying the soundtrack in the intro are some fantastic bits of cinematography which lets the viewer know they are in for a treat as we briefly follow a newspaper run straight off the print, into trucks and to it’s final destination to the hands of Sidney Falco (Curtis).

This is a late period Noir and has a lot more polish than a lot of the genre, but it doesn’t move away from the classic shadow play. James Wong Howe’s style is certainly smoother and less claustrophobic than a lot of the genre but it works beautifully for this movie. Of particular note are the wide cityscapes that really capture Manhattan in the late 50’s.

Sweet Plot of Success

The premise is pretty straight forward on the surface. Falco has been asked by columnist J.J. Hunsecker to derail the romance of his younger sister that he is over protective of. Having failed to do so by the start of the movie Hunsecker has frozen him out of his column, which has cost him one of his clients. Hunsecker gives him a second chance, which allows Falco to come up with a scheme to manipulate the couple into ending their romance. The plan involves smearing the guitar player and forcing a confrontation between him and J.J. that paints Hunsecker as the injured party and forces his sister to stop seeing him. Of course things are never that straight forward.

What follows is a web of manipulation where morality and integrity become both a weakness to exploit and an obstacle to overcome. Falco stoops ever lower to achieve the bullying Hunsecker’s demands and eventually his ability to read and manipulate people fails him causing the whole web to unravel.

Sweet Themes of Success

This is a story about morality and how far people are willing to go to achieve their goals. But it’s also about denial and how people delude themselves that they aren’t being immoral. As Falco’s morality becomes more and more flexible he also becomes more and more defensive of his own motivations, most notably when he whores out a “friend” as a form of bribe and seems to be justifying it to himself more than her that it is for her good.

His plan to break up the couple hinges on using Dallas’ morality against him, but while he reads the guitarist like a book he fails to read either of the Hunsecker’s reaction to situation and between them his fate is sealed. By the movies conclusion he is well aware of how far he has fallen but yet doesn’t seem willing to accept any of the blame himself. Rest assured though this is the 50’s so naturally he won’t escape punishment.

While Falco is still descending in his morality, Lancaster’s Hunsecker has already reached the point where he can no longer tell how far he has fallen. Indeed after having achieved his goals he is so insulted by being called out for what he really is by Dallas that he pushes his luck just a little too far. Indeed he sees the attack on his moral fibre to be an attack on his readers. He has bought into his own hype, he sees his view as moral and Steve’s as immoral. Really, this is a very accurate portrayal of Journalist. On one side willing to stoop to any depth to achieve his ends but on the other seeing himself as a true pillar of the community.

All told this is a superb movie. Curtis and Lancaster nail their roles, the dialogue is superb, the plot appears simple on the surface but sees it’s share of twists and turns, the themes are strong throughout, the characters believable and compelling and the movie looks and sounds great. Definitely well worth seeing.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

The Crooked Way (1949)

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Tonight’s November Noir is 1949’s “The Crooked Way”, directed by Robert Florey and staring John Payne (Kansas City Confidential) as Eddie Rice a WW2 Veteran with a piece of shrapnel in his brain that has caused him permanent amnesia. Support comes from Sonny Tufts as crime boss Vince Alexander, Ellie Drew as Nina Martin, Eddies ex-wife and Rhys Williams as Police Lt. Joe “You’ll hear from me later” Williams. The movie is based on the radio play “No Blade Too Sharp”.

Our story begins as Eddie heads back to Los Angeles with the hope of bumping into someone that knows him. That seems quite hopeful but he is recognised the moment he exits the train station by local law enforcement. He soon discovers he was previously known as Eddie Riccardi, a key figure in organised crime in the area. Through a series of additional encounter he comes to realise he turned states evidence on the local crime boss Vince Alexander to avoid jail time himself. Suffice to say Vince is not happy to hear about Eddies return, neither is his ex wife.

The Amnesiac’s Way

Interestingly this is not the only Film Noir to feature an amnesia plot for a war veteran with 1946’s Somewhere in the Night having a similar start but going in a very different direction. Sadly I’ve not seen that movie yet so a direct comparison will have to wait. What I can say is this movie had a lower budget and was considered brutal by comparison. Indeed critics of the day took issue with the violence, though of course by todays standards that violence is pretty tame. 

The idea of memory loss as a plot device is always pretty compelling. To not know ones own past instantly creates a mystery and makes the protagonist sympathetic as he learns everything the same time as the viewer and when that protagonist’s past is dark it creates interesting moral questions such as are there some things it is better not to know and how much guilt should one have for misdeeds you don’t even remember doing? Despite the set up this film is a bit more direct in how Eddie copes with these things but to be fair as a Soldier (and a war hero) he is not the kind of person to run from his responsibilities. Instead he tackles them head on. This leads to being framed for murder and on the run with both the police and the local crime boss gunning for him.

The Noir Way

This is a fast paced noir with a lot of action for the genre, making it seem more like a 30’s gangster movie in places, but the themes (specifically being unable to escape a dark past or a terrible future), the camera work and lighting are very much of the Noir genre.  The cinematography is creative, with lots of unusual angles, close ups and wide shots (All very common in the genre, but used heavily here).  Perhaps because of the low budget the lighting is played very much on the dark side with a lot of emphasis on shadows, in some cases getting more of the screen than the actors that are casting them. I have to say, I loved the visuals in this movie it was a really highlight and as far as the use of darkness goes it reminds me just how much better they were in the 40’s and 50’s at using it in artist ways while still allowing the viewer to actually see what was going on. These days, it’s basically the opposite.

The restrained use of music in The Crooked Way is interesting too. It is used sparingly to ramp up tension when anticipating a major event, but completely absent in a lot of the movie including for most of the final shoot out. Again this was probably for budgetary reasons but what is there works well and this is actually an excellent example of how creative directors in the 40’s and 50’s could be with limited resources. The story is pretty simple really effectively just leading Eddie from one violent encounter to the next as he tries to make sense of things. The actors for their part do a fine job but not really stood out as anything special to me. The ending was a little disappointing in it’s convenience and largely coming out of nowhere. Really this is a film made on the back of it’s strong visuals and rapid pacing rather than the story itself or the actors performances. Overall it’s a solid Noir. 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

There’s no trailer for this movie (that I can find) so here is a random scene. You can also watch the whole movie via archive.org.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

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Tonight I finally got to see the long anticipated “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” (2021). This is the official Ghostbusters 3, perhaps far too late to be a legitimate sequel, so instead it’s effectively a torch passing which is what they should have done last time out when they made that ill advised remake. Unfortunately a lot of critics that supported that movie have been extra salty about this new one, while the average movie goer probably just remember the last movie was terrible and as such are likely cautious about going to see this. My theatre was not even half full for the 8pm showing on it’s opening Thursday. But I’m not here to talk box office, I’m here to talk quality so lets dig in!

 

In with the New.

So the first thing to note here is there are basically four new Ghostbusters to presumably be the long term replacements for the original. It’s pretty clear that unlike the 2016 movie that basically just gender swapped the original team of four guys they set up to be as diverse as possible here. The team has two boys and two girls and includes one Black and one Asian character. Unfortunately those two seem to be modern Hollywood stereotypes because they are painfully similar to Michelle and Ned from the MCU Spider-Man films. They are more endearing than those characters at least and “Podcast”, the Asian boy is actually one of the highlights of the film. 

Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard play Egon Spenglers grandkids, Phoebe and Trevor and Pheobe is basically the movies protagonist. She is a young female Egon, but they tried to give her a bit of uniqueness by having her make really bad jokes, which does mostly work. McKenna is actually brilliant here but I think the film spends a bit too much time focused on her because the truth is Egon is not the Ghostbuster you want as your lead, but perhaps more importantly it leaves Trevor feeling undeveloped and as a knock on effect from that his love interest “Lucky” (Celeste O’Connor), gets the short straw on screen time and development, which is ironic consider she is basically the Black Ghostbuster.

 

Out with the Old.

The movie feels a lot smaller scale than the original Ghostbusters or even it’s sequel, but while this change in tone does make the movie feel more like a reboot than a sequel it does work for the movie itself. This is ultimately a more emotional movie and isn’t really about the ghost story but about the characters and the legacy of the original. As such the plot is very thin on the ground and basically “Gozer came back somehow”, the movie also feels a bit too long if you watch it right after the original movies (as I did) and slows down a lot in the middle. The first very long act of the movie basically involves the kids discovering their grandfathers legacy. The second act is basically where the plot resides along with a bit of ghost action. There’s a completely pointless appearance by Ivo Shandor (architect of the building from the first film), which I would say was a spoiler except he does literally nothing. This leads us to our big finale and this is where the movie finally reaches it’s potential. 

I don’t want to drop too much about the final act and just how the original team become involved but suffice to say I found the ending very satisfactory and emotional. The original team are respected and every character basically gets their moment. My only real criticism is this act is by far the shortest, but what it lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality.

A love letter to the original.

There are many call backs to the original movie, but unlike when these appeared in the 2016 disaster, this time around they fit smoothly into the story, don’t mess with the pacing and each one landed well with me and everyone else in the theatre. When the original crew appear they are all respected and despite their short time on the screen every one of them gets some character development and at least a good line or reference. It is safe to say what their appearances lack in quantity they make up for in quality. They also get to be the focus of the mid/post credits scenes that you really have to stay for. It’s worth noting that Ernie Hudson has somehow managed to avoid aging. The guy almost looks like he did in Ghostbusters 2. Speaking of the original sequel, it’s interesting to note that the movie makes no references (that I noticed) to that movie specifically, which is a shame but I guess it’s understandable given a lot of people seem to dislike that movie. 

The biggest surprise of the movie is just how much character development Egon gets, despite both the actor and the character being dead. This really is his story and the movie is focused on his legacy both from his life’s work and his family. It is ultimately a very moving tribute to a well loved character and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few tears are shed by the end. Ultimately this movie while not the near perfection of the original, achieved everything the 2016 movie failed at. It is a very respectful and entertaining return for the franchise. 

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Haunting (1963)

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Look, I know the supernatural is something that isn’t supposed to happen, but it does happen.

Another movie from my October movie challenge that inspired the creation of this blog. My pick for October 11th was 1963’s “The Haunting”, based off the novel “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson. Yes the same source material as the Netflix series (and also a second movie in the 90’s). Unlike the TV series this film stays mostly true to the source material, though there are definitely links between the two versions. 

 

Messing with the Supernatural

The movie is helmed by Robert Wise (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Andromeda Strain) and stars Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn (Who made a cameo in the TV show). Unlike the TV series this focuses on four strangers that are gathered together by investigator of the paranormal, Dr. John Markway (Johnson) as an experiment to prove the existence of otherworldly things. There were meant to be more, but the others heard rumours about the place and decided against it. They probably had seen horror movies before. As a result the only participants to show up are Eleanor (Julie) and Theodora (Bloom). They are joined by Dr. Markway and Luke Sanderson (Tamblyn) who will one day inherit the property.

Theodora is very similar to her namesake in the TV show (i.e. Gay and psychic), though toned down because it was 1963. Eleanor though is our main character and the target of the Houses evil desires (Her equivalent in the show is pretty much all the other female characters… yeah she’s basically screwed).

Things that go Bump in the Night

This is black and white and a great reminder of just how effective a haunting can be without evil nuns and bent limbed monstrosities crawling at you on their back in stop motions. Instead this relies on shakes and sounds and the actions of the characters (and in the case of Eleanor, her thoughts) and it’s incredibly effective. In the case of Eleanor we get to see her go insane as she is both terrified and seduced by the house. There are some great visuals (and sound bytes! I recognised the opening of White Zombies “Super Charger Heaven” early in the film) including a lot of camera work that reminded me a lot of “The Evil Dead” so I’m guess this movie was a big influence on Sam Raimi.

This is a masterfully crafted horror movie whose only real downside is that we are so used to all the modern visuals that some may consider this a bit too tame. But the characters are all interesting in their own way, the frights are effective and the manipulation of poor Eleanor was well executed. Over my October viewing I would watch several ghost stories and this stayed firmly at the top of the list. There is a reason why updating the story with modern visuals was so effective for the TV series and it’s clear that the show owed a lot specifically to this movie (instead of just the original novel). But while that had the benefit of modern effects, this shows almost nothing and yet is extremely effective. It really is a masterclass in how to do horror without gore or CGI. If you are a horror fan you owe it to yourself to give this a watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Mayhem (2017)

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My movie of choice for the 3rd of October (as part of my horror per day challenge) was 2017’s “Mayhem” directed by Joe Lynch (A regularly contributor to Shudder’s “Creepshow” series and director of the fun “Knights of Badassdom” from 2013) and staring Steven Yeun (Glenn from the Walking Dead) and the always impressive Samara Weaving (Guns Akimbo, Ready or Not).

Hostile Witnesses

The film is set in a world that has suffered a huge viral outbreak…. I know, topical right? But this virus unique in that it basically reduces inhibitions and encourages violent outbreaks from those infected. Our setting for the film is the headquarters of a law firm that made it’s name in a landmark case involving this virus, where they established those infected by the virus can’t be held accountable for their actions (including murder). This provides both an amount of irony from the virus breaking out in this office and provides a key plot point since everyone involved is well aware that this legal loophole provides certain opportunities….

Our heroes were both wronged by the company, with Derek (Yeun) having just been fired for someone else’s mistake and Melanie (Weaving) having been screwed over financially. Both are about to be escorted from the building when the outbreak causes a lockdown and the pair become determined to take justice into their own hands. Initially just wanting to have their cases heard but with the virus infecting them too this progresses to seeking a far more violent confrontation. 

Passing Judgement

The rest of the film is basically our heroes working their way through the building scoring a whole load of pay back in the process. Mayhem does indeed ensue as the movie title promised. Obviously this movie is light on plot, but it’s fast paced and Steven and Samara really did a good job. Both seem to be having a blast making the movie and I have to say they both deserve to be higher profile actors than they currently are. 

The way the virus affects peoples inhibitions reminds me of things like David Cronenberg’s “Shivers” or the book “The Fog” by James Herbert, both of those though were pure horror while this is far more of an action/comedy movie that just happens to have some horror elements. The Law Firm setting provides the audience with villains that are easy to hate (Corrupt corporate lawyers) as well as making the outrageousness of their inhibitions seem entirely believable. The movie also does a good job of throwing out a number of “mini-boses” for our heroes to get past in order to progress, making the pacing a little bit like a video game. Really the simplicity of everything in this movie is what makes it work so well. This was a fun movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

The Long Night (1947)

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Tonight’s Film Noir is Anatole Litvak’s “The Long Night” from 1947 staring Henry Fonda (The Grapes of Wrath, 12 Angry Men) with support from Barbara Bel Geddes (Vertigo) and Ann Dvorak (Scarface) and the legendary Vincent Price (Who despite being mostly known for horror, actually did quite a lot of Film Noir too).

The Long Con

Before I talk about the plot, there is an interesting story involving this film that is a real lesson about just despicable Hollywood was historically. This movie is actually a remake of the French movie “Le jour se lève” from 1939. RKO acquired the distribution rights for the movie in preparation for remaking it and then set about buying up any and all available prints of the original film. These weren’t collected for prosperity, no they collected them to destroy them. They actually found a story they thought would be good for their market, bought it and then tried to completely erase the original movie to prevent the public from ever finding out their version wasn’t the original.

The moral of the story? Hollywood was always a cess pool. Fortunately more prints were later recovered in the 1950’s so their effort was for nothing. Sadly that was actually the second attempt at suppression for the movie as it was also banned during the occupation (Apparently for being demoralizing). Despite all that it didn’t stop the critics of the day from comparing this remake to the original and find it wanting.

The Long Story

Anyway, the plot starts of in a very traditional Film Noir style with our lead “Joe” (Fonda) barricaded into his top floor department after killing a man. The police are outside and we are given the impression Joe won’t survive the night as he seems determined not to surrender. Of course while he waits for the end he thinks back to how he got into this situation.

The story that lead him there is pretty straight forward really. He fell in love with a a woman, Jo (Geddes) but she was involved with another man. This Man, Maximillian (Price) is a real dirt bag. Charming but manipulative, lying and determined to have his prize. He has a novelty act as a dog trainer, though it turns out he abuses the dogs. At first Joe backs off and instead gets involved with another woman that shares his dislike of Maximillian, his former assistant in his dog show Charline (Dvorak). Eventually though he wins Jo around and in doing so discovers just how much of a dirt bag Maximillian is. After realising it’s over between him and Jo, Maximillian heads to Joe’s apartment with the intention of shooting him but ends up being shot by his own gun.

The Wrong Night

There are a lot of changes to this movie from the original French version. The biggest one being the ending, which is actually quite puzzling. We know Hollywood likes happy endings but the change here is jarring and doesn’t really fit within the Noir genre. Instead of the fatalism that is present in the majority of Film Noir we are presented with a much more hopeful picture. In some ways Joe is the opposite of a character like Philip Marlowe. While Marlowe is a white knight in a Noir world, Joe is a miserable fatalist surrounded by optimistic people that want him to know they care. It’s a strange thing to see in the genre.

For most of the movie Joe and Jo seem simple and naïve. This makes them easy pickings for the manipulative Maximillian. Charline by contrast though is a great character. A woman of genuine strength and wisdom that really deserves much better than jerks like Max and fools like Joe. She wants Joe to fall for her but figured pretty early on that he was in love with someone else. The truth is though, the ease with which she deals with things doesn’t make her feel that genuine and that is a big problem I had for all these characters. None of them felt real.

The Song Night

The acting though is pretty good from all involved and the film looks and sounds good. Of particular note is the score that makes heavy use of the Allegretto second movement of Beethoven’s seventh symphony. It’s a great piece of music and it does enhance the feelings of absolute despair in the siege scenes. The problem being that since the ending swerves on the viewer all the tension built up from the score seems a bit wasted.

Overall. Well it’s a very average movie really. It starts well and has its moments, but ends like a totally different movie. Characters are stupid and inconsistent and ultimately it feels like a poor take on strong source material (And that is without having seen the French original).

Rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

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For October I decided to watch a horror (or Halloween related) movie every day and review it in the build up to Halloween. The plan was to use that as an opportunity to catch up with all the movies I haven’t gotten around to watching yet. I initially started just casually posting these to Facebook and then to my Minds account, but after completing the month and writing more and more about each movie I was inspired to start this blog. I am retrospectively posting these reviews here when I have time (some of the earlier ones were short so I will have to update them before posting). This was my first.

Trick

First up for October 1st was “Trick’r’Treat” from 2007. Directed by Michael Dougherty (Godzilla: King of Monsters) and staring amongst other Brian Cox (Hannibal Lecter from “Manhunter”) and Anna Paquin (Sookie from True Blood). It’s a linked anthology horror featuring several vaguely intertwined stories all set on Halloween night in one town. The key linking figure is “Sam”, a mysterious figure that appears at first to be a child trick-or-treater in a burlap pajama costume, but is actually a kind of personification of Halloween. Sam has his own story at the end of the anthology is always fund lurking around the other stories (often being treated like a regular trick-or-treater).

There are four main stories, the first features the local school principal who tricks and murders an unruly child in a fairly comedic horror tale mostly involving his struggles to hide the body. The second tale is a pretty classic story of kids daring each other to go somewhere scary, telling a scary tale and then playing a prank to freak out the “weird” kid. This goes exactly as you would expect when the story of the Halloween School Bus Massacre turns out to have more truth to it than they expected. The third story is actually alluded to with some hot out of town girls hooking up with dates for a big party. The apparent lack of any standards for this hook up of course hints that things are not quite as they seem and really it’s best not to trust Sookie Stackhouse offering you the night of your life, lol. The final tale is Sam’s own and also where we get Brian Cox’s full involvement as Sam terrorizes the angry old man in his own house until he learns the true meaning of Halloween.

Treat

There have been a lot of linked horror anthologies over the years and this isn’t the first with a Halloween theme. One of big decisions when making an anthology horror is how many stories you put into the movie. The choice of four here is about perfect as each had enough time to tell its story but none of them felt like they were dominating the others (Compared to something like the “ABC’s of death” with 26 stories or “Books of Blood” where one main story takes up the bulk of the time).  The linking between the stories was done particularly well and this was one of the highlights for me especially between the Principle and Sam stories at either end of the anthology. 

Personally I felt “Tales of Halloween” from 2015 did a better job of the Halloween theme, though that had the benefit of multiple writers and directors to add variety. None of the tales provided anything outside the twists and turns I expected but they were all well executed (as were several of the townsfolk). The actors all put in a solid performance, though Brian Cox was the stand out here. Overall this was a solid horror fest, did a good job of pacing and left me satisfied by the end. One of the better anthologies out there.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

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The Odds Against Tomorrow.

Today’s November Noir is 1959 classic “Odds Against Tomorrow”. Directed by Robert Wise (The Haunting, Andromeda Strain) and staring Robert Ryan (The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen), Ed Begley (Hang ‘Em High, Twelve Angry Men) and legendary singer Harry Belafonte (Who produced the film as a vehicle for himself).

The plot is basically a bank job, though it’s really more about the characters and the building tension which crescendos with the job itself (which is the final act). Burke (Begley), an aging ex-con has a plan for what seems like the perfect heist, a poorly protected bank with an abundance of cash. He brings in two war veterans Slater (Ryan) and Ingram (Belafonte) to work the job with him. Both carry heavy burdens with them, Slater seems damaged by his time in the war and is bitter from his time in jail. He is an angry man with little nice to say to anyone but his girlfriend Lorry (Shirley Winters) whom he is determined to support (Though that doesn’t stop him having an affair with a neighbour (Played by Noir legend Gloria Graham).

Ingram’s burden meanwhile is his gambling addiction. He has a loving wife and daughter and steady work but his debts have gotten out of control and now the lives of those he love are in danger if he doesn’t settle up. Ingram is basically our hero in this movie, though Slater is introduced first. He is at his core a good man, but he is desperate. He’s also not too keen on the racist attitude of Slater. This tension between the two of them ultimately leads to the failure of the heist and the deaths of all involved (What’d you expect, a happy ending?). Burke for his part does his best to keep everyone calm and focused and I felt genuinely bad for him when he meets his own demise, even more than for Ingram who by the end is just as full of hate as Slater. 

The Odds Against Analysis.

I have to give the three leads a lot of credit here for the intensity of their performances. Especially Ryan, who feels positively dangerous and unstable to be around. Belafonte also puts in a top level performance, which is especially impressive given he was more of a singer/composer than an actor. Begley has the least to do of the three but he excels at selling his characters concerns and emotions with just the odd glance here and there, most notably whenever Slater says something racist.

I can’t talk about this movie though without referencing the superb Jazz score by the Modern Jazz Quartet. This is appropriate given this is 1959, one of the most ground breaking years in the history of Jazz and this soundtrack stands up well to the other giant compositional works of that year. It’s worth noting the MJQ actually worked some of the tracks on this score into their regular repertoire. The music is thoughtful, melancholy in others and somewhat dreamlike but also assists in building tension when needed. People tend to think of Film Noir as filled with this sort of Jazz music and it actually isn’t, it’s just a handful of films at the very end of the Noir period, such as this one.

The Odds Against Symbolism.

Accompanying the score is some great imagery. It opens with a shot of some wind blown standing water from a drain at the side of the road and ends with a very similar shot (Though accompanied by a sign saying “Stop – Dead End”). There’s also a moment just before the heist where a contemplative Ingram is staring at some water down by the dock. Nothing is said, but the score and the scenery along with the actors expressions say it all. The movie features a lot of shots of empty streets and worn down looking buildings and a repeated use of wind, both as background noise and visually blowing stuff around in the streets. Everything looks cold, empty and barren. It’s almost post apocalyptic (Which is interesting considering Belafonte ‘s previous film was actually post apocalyptic).

Where there is life often it’s kids running around. Slater, the racist war veteran’s first interaction of the film is actually a friendly one with a small black child. That’s is in stark contrast with his generally angry, bitter attitude and very open racism with Ingram later. The movie seems to be drawing a dividing line between the innocence of the children and the heavy burden carried by the adults.

The most obvious bit of symbolism in the film comes after the explosive finale… literally explosive, where the burned remains of Slater and Ingram can’t be disguised from each other: “Which one is which” asks one of the police officers. It’s worth noting in 1959 this was the first Film Noir with a black lead and needed Belafonte producing the film himself to get there. This was a very different world, but the themes of hatred (Mutual by the end) leading to mutual destruction and the reminder we are all just humans underneath is still very valid.

The Final Verdict – An Excellent Movie

Rating: 7 out of 10.