Await Further Instructions: A Precursor To Lockdown Life

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A strained family spend Christmas together, however the day after they arrive they see themselves quarantined by a strange unknown entity that only communicates with them through the television.

I think part of the genius of this film is that it resembles so closely our own lives over the last few years entirely unintentionally. It adds to the dread and the horror that these ideas of isolating and illness have become our norm. If I were a different person I might be so inclined to say that the makers of this film had some kind of future knowledge as they reference pandemic life, yet I know that is just silly.

I enjoyed this films comments on conformity and believing a narrative without question, I thought it made a number of good points. The juxtaposition between the abusive for queen and country patriarch, played by Grant Masters, and the more free thinking son, played by Sam Gittins, couldn’t be more stark and in that lies the beauty.

My only complaint of the film would be that by the end the film demystifies itself and the answers it gives are unsatisfying. Throughout the film the key questions are what’s going on and who is doing it, then we get the reveal of the TV snake creatures, this in and off itself is not bad but then the film goes out of its way to show why they are doing it and tries to explain their existence, this didn’t work for me as I felt like the ending needed to be more open ended.

Overall, a surprisingly relevant horror film.

Pros

The dread

The unknown aspects of what’s going on

The comments on conformity

The performances

Cons.

The monsters

It loses its sense of mystery

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Women Is Losers: Societal Anger

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The plot follows a young woman, played by Lorenza Izzo, as she deals with issues surrounding poverty and opportunity, whilst raising a child.

Generally I find the use of fourth wall breaking to be tired and played out, it hasn’t been cool or novel in several decades, yes Deadpool had some fun with it, but even then that got repetitive. However, here I found the film actually benefited from directly addressing the audience as it can better communicate its message, which is effectively that life for women in the Sixties was hard, and even now it is not wholly better. To this aim it draws attention to a number of issues and conversations that still need to be addressed in our own society, every day predatory behaviour or sexism.

I found the film to be very moving. Lorenza Izzo did a great job in the lead role and I really felt connected to her plight, I felt angry for her, angry at the men in her life, angry at the situation she was put in, angry that she was always put down. In many ways I think this film encourages us the audience to reflect on our own lives and makes us question our privilege.

Overall, a strongly topical and relevant watch, let down by a weak supporting cast and an ending that feels unsatisfying.

Pros.

Izzo

The message

The use of fourth wall breaks

Cons.

Simu Liu and the rest of the supporting cast are deeply underwhelming

The ending feels too nice and lacks authenticity

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In For A Murder: The Real Crime Here Is A Terrible Marriage

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

The film revolves around a bored housewife, played by Anna Smolowik, as she becomes increasingly involved in trying to solve a murder.

This film was very eh for me, it had some moments of fun but for the most part it was just dull. The humour of the film was very much hit or miss and only made me laugh a few times, I don’t know if it is a different sensibility or something but it mostly didn’t work for me; humour is of course subjective.

I found the murder mystery aspects of the plot to be initially interesting but then quickly played out and stale. I think this is because the pacing of this film is wildly off and every scene feels a few minutes too long. Whenever the film presents you with an interesting idea it ruins it by overly exploring it.

In terms of acting I didn’t find anyone to be particularly either way, neither good nor bad rather just fine.

Overall, this film does have some moments of promise, however for the most part it is dull.

Pros.

Some promise to the murder mystery

A few funny moments

It’s watchable

Cons.

It is poorly paced

It becomes boring

The acting is all very flat

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Last Night In Soho: Students Are The Worst

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Fashion student Ellie, played by Thomasin McKenzie, becomes wrapped up in a sinister world of sixties intrigue and murder after she begins boarding at a London bedsit. Each time Ellie goes to sleep she gets visions of a time before her own as she sees through someone else’s eyes, however as it progresses it no longer stays confined to the world of sleep.

This film is honestly masterful, Edgar Wright manages to go from lighter and more silly fare to dark and twisted horror with the ease that many of us find when opening the door in the morning. Though there have been many stories about a young starlet’s, played by Anya Taylor- Joy, downwards decline after the industry, nay the world, chews her up and leaves her for dead, none have been told as well as this. Whether it is the surprising misdirects, or the ultimate reveal the writing feels incredibly fresh and well-reasoned, for once I was not able to guess the twist.

I think the most powerful thing about this film is how it vocalises and raises awareness to the horrors women face on a daily basis. There is something of an anger within this film towards men, rightfully so I might add. This film shows just how perverse, cruel and ultimately maddening the world can be to a young woman, how toxic men can try and control them or coerce them, and truly that is the scariest thing about it. The real frightening thing about this notion is that the world as we see it in the sixties flashbacks is not so different from the modern world of Ellie, and us the audience.

From a filmmaking point of view everything about this film is sublime even down to the performances.

Overall, Edgar Wright magnificently manages to tackle a whole new genre with ease and create one of the strongest horrors of the year.

Pros.

The subversions

The ending

Anya Taylor-Joy’s sinister performance

The comments on society

Strong scares throughout

Cons.

One or two ideas needed development

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Language Lessons: A Friend When You Need One The Most

4.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Adam, played by Mark Duplass, begins taking Spanish lessons after his husband Will, played by Desean Terry, gets them for him as a gift. Little does he know they will become a vital part of his life.

I went into this thinking it was going to be a quirky off beat comedy, as that is Duplass’s usual fare, however whilst that is a true assessment in part there is also a lot more going on beneath the surface with this film and it almost morphs into a character drama as it continues.

The film focuses on the relationship between Adam and Carino, played by Natalie Morales, his Spanish teacher. After the death of Adam’s Husband early in the film things shift dramatically, and though there are still comedic moments it becomes far more serious. However, I enjoyed that the film did not become dower at this point, and that there was still fun to be had.

Both Morales and Duplass give it there all here and though most of the film is just them talking into the camera, as the film is set over a series of online calls, each give powerhouse performances. The film really makes us the audience question our preconceived notions, and is not afraid to head into dark and possibly uncomfortable territory. There is a lot in this film that is implied but not shown, mentioned but not dwelled on, and in that aspect I find this film captures life.

I found the ending to be incredibly heart-warming even if the larger implications might not be so good. It was nice to watch this friendship grow over the course of the film and in many ways it felt natural and real, as though the film was actually a reflection of the two actors friendship in real life.

Overall, this is one of the sweetest and most true films you may see this year.

Pros.

Morales

Duplass

The genuine feeling of friendship

The emotion

The ending

Cons.

It can be hard to watch at times

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Cabin In The Woods: The Old Gods Want Blood

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of friends go out to stay in a cabin in the woods, insert Family Guy joke about saying the title of the film, and of course once they get out there things start to go awry.

I am a big fan of this film, minus the pervy Joss Whedon elements but we will get to those, and think that if you are a fan of the slasher genre this is a must watch. There is something so smart and so loving about this film, it both sends up the slasher genre but also revels in its tropey goodness. I think the entire meta reading of this film, as we the audience are the old gods wanting to see our slasher films play out the way they always do is entirely novel and well done.

Likewise the film does a good job of making you care about the characters, with Chris Hemsworth’s character being a delightful revelation. Hemsworth plays the dumb jock but the film goes out of its way to flip that cliché and do something new with it, the same can be said for the rest of the archetypal roles of the slasher. In that regard I thought Kristen Connolly’s Dana made for an excellent final girl and I liked that she failed to prevent the disaster at the end as it made her feel more genuine and real.

Furthermore, as a huge horror fan I got a lot out of the vending machine of monsters scene inside the facility where we were treated to tons and tons of references and homages, it was easily my favourite scene of the film.

Sadly, now we must talk about the issues. A lot of these issues boil down to one thing, camera angles and pervy intent. A lot of the female characters in this film are shot in a way where the camera is often not looking at their faces and is instead looking at other areas, this becomes incredibly transparent as the film goes on. I would like to blame this on Joss Whedon as we know he has a habit of doing this kind of thing from his other work, however Drew Goddard is not above suspicion as well. Regardless it is needless.

Overall, a strong film made stronger if you are a hardcore horror fan.

Pros.

Hemsworth

Connelly

The ending

The vending machine of monsters

Cons.

The perviness

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Titane: Pushing The Boundaries Of Bad Taste

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young woman, played by Agathe Rousselle, goes on a killing spree and has sex with cars.

Clearly the director of this film has been having some conversations with Ti West and is being taught in the school of being edgy in a horror film for the sake of shock value. Within the first ten minutes of this film you have a car accident, a protracted surgery scene, a scene were a young girl passionately embraces a car, then a cut to when she is an adult and an almost rape scene. Yes, all of that did almost make me turn the film off, but no I decided to stick with it and believe me it got worse.

The car sex scene that happens again fairly early into the film is entirely needless. I am no prude but this scene is just unnecessary, it is too long, too graphic and too fetishized. If it were used in a film by a male director it would be labelled problematic and never allowed to see the light of day.

Furthermore as the film progresses it begins to deal with ideas around gender, now there could be something of merit here if the film had something intelligent to say with it, but no, it is just used as a gimmick to try and seem trendy.

Overall, I don’t really know what more to say, don’t watch it.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It is needless in almost everyway

It tries too hard to be edgy

It does nothing interesting with the ideas around gender

It is unpleasant and depressing to watch

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Halloween: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Birth As A Scream Queen

5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, and other residents of Haddonfield are stalked by a mysterious masked killer.

To me, and this might be a controversial opinion, this is easily John Carpenter’s best film. This is a horror film that is firing on all cylinders and gets every little detail right. I think for me the strongest aspect of this film is it’s score, the composing is masterful and the timings are perfect: the non-diegetic sound here really adds a lot to the film and enhances it.

Moreover, this film does a lot with a little in terms of scares. Unlike the newest instalment in this franchise that has been criticised by some as being too violent and bloody, here there is a minimal amount of actual violence but the threat feels even more intense than it does in Halloween Kills. I believe that is because this film put a greater emphasis on the killer stalking and watching his targets then it does on him actually killing them, the thrill is in the chase after all.

Finally, the cast across the board is superb with Jamie Lee Curtis earning her scream queen status with ease here, her performance is incredible particularly the Boogeyman line after the killers escape at the end.

Overall, a magnificent slasher film and one that still holds up as one of the best.

Pros.

The tension

The threat

Jamie Lee Curtis

The score

The ending

Cons.

None

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Jeepers Creepers: If You See A Body Being Thrown Down A Pipe Don’t Investigate It

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A brother, played by Justin Long, and sister, played by Gina Phillips, are terrorised by an otherworldly entity as they are driving home from university.

Before I get into this film I just want to address the director. Yes, I know that the director of this film is highly problematic for a number of reasons, if you don’t know them look them up, but I tried to push that out of my mind whilst watching this film and just enjoy it for what it was.

This film and its sequel have always had a special place in my heart, as I grew up watching them. Whether it was as a child or now these films have always managed to creep me out, there is just something about them. From the unnerving car chase to the misadventure down the drainage pipe and everything that comes after this film does a really good job in building tension and creating a terrifying atmosphere. It is nice to see a horror film that isn’t solely reliant on jump scares.

Moreover, as I have previously said in other posts the creature effects on the antagonist are incredibly good. The monster looks both demonic and alien as well as simply nightmare fuel. I also appreciated how this film never really went out of its way to explain the creature or what it is doing adding to the mystery and the tension.

My main gripe with the film really comes in the form of the dumb decisions the characters make. Yes, like in many other horror films the sibling duo here make all kinds of stupid mistakes over the course of the film, worse still the film even draws attention to them and makes fun of them for doing them saying things like how it would be a terrible decision if they were in a horror film. As I have said before calling out bad writing that is reliant on cliches doesn’t suddenly make it good, it just makes it fee lazy as you are admitting that you couldn’t be bothered to fix it.

Overall, this is an underrated horror gem.

Pros.

The creature

The tension

The atmosphere

The ending

Cons.

Dumb decision making

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Night Teeth: Driving Miss Bloodsucker

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Benny, played by Jorge Lendeborg Jr, finds himself in the middle of a vampire turf war after he covers his brother’s, played by Raul Castillo, shift as a driver.

I enjoyed this film and thought that it had enough uniqueness to it that it stands out within the vampire sub-genre. It is very stylised and this again helps to give it flair with an almost comic book esque aesthetic, the action again reflects this with a lot of the big fight scenes feeling straight from the page.

Lendeborg Jr is a fine leading man, but he is greatly outdone by Debbie Ryan as Blair, one of the two vampires being driven around. Lendeborg Jr and Ryan have an undeniable amount of chemistry together on screen and their romance is very believable. Moreover, Ryan’s character is also the most complex with her being this killing machine but also longing for more, with the idea that she has been forced or conditioned into this life never too far from the viewers mind.

The two areas where I felt the film was lacking was its villain and its originality. In terms of villain we have Alfie Allen as victor the big bad vampire boss who is making a play for the whole city, now the issue with Allen’s character is that we really aren’t shown him doing very much yet we are expected to believe he is a threat. This becomes a big issue when you get to the final part of the film where he is supposedly super powerful and unbeatable yet we hadn’t got a whiff of that before as it is not well set up. Moreover, in terms of originality, though I said the film is fairly unique it is also quite reliant on past tropes which serve as a disservice to it.

Overall, a strong vampire film that benefits from casting Debby Ryan.

Pros.

Ryan

The romance

Some interesting new ideas

Cons.

A little too reliant on tropes

Alife Allen is wasted

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