Come Play: The Misunderstood Monster

Come Play is a horror thriller film directed by Jacob Chase. The plot sees a lonely little boy become the target of a malevolent entity that resides on the otherside of the screen (electronic device screen that is). His parents have to battle the evil and save their son from its cold, clammy embrace.

This was an unexpected treat. I found the premise to be very good, it is similar to Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook as the monster isn’t really a monster so much as it is an emotion, in this case the monster is loneliness manifest. I found this idea to be quite intriguing as it gives the antagonist a layer of sympathy, which makes them far more complex then just your standard demon or ghoul.

I also thought this film had a lot of interesting comments to make about autism and raising a child with it. We can see the plight that Oliver (Azhy Robertson), goes through and honestly It is heart-breaking. Furthermore, I thought Gillian Jacobs did a good job as the mum who loves her son, but struggles to cope with him, the relationship feels real and believable.

Finally, and no spoilers here, I enjoyed the ending. It felt very earnt and satisfying, what’s more it leaves the door open for more to come.

Overall, this is a very strong horror debut for Chase full of promise, it has a lot of interesting sub-text and is also quite scary.

Pros.

The parent child dynamic

Emotion made manifest

Jacobs

The scares

The ending

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

King Of New York: Live By The Sword Die By The Sword

King Of New York is a neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara. The plot sees infamous mob figure Frank White (Christopher Walken), released from prison and then set about taking his city back only to become targeted by a band of corrupt police officers.

For those of you who like gangster films, this is a work of art. It is very much in line with something like Cronenberg’s Eastern Promise as this is more of a thinky gangster film rather than just a senseless shoot em up, though there are plenty of those sort of scenes.

The inner dialogue that begs the question are men like White inevitable? Are they representative of the city, a by product in some sort of way? These questions prove fascinating as we break down Frank as a person and see how it is that he is the King of New York’s underworld.

The violence in the film feels bold and punchy, it strikes you as real and visceral and leaves a mark. In this regard Lawrence Fishburne’s Jimmy steals the show. Jimmy is unhinged throughout the film, but his night time fight with corrupt police might be his best and most unhinged moment. I think this is a career best performance for Fishburne and it makes me want to explore more of his back catalogue.

Overall, a very grisly and effecting crime tail and leaves you shocked and horrified but also with a few pertinent questions in mind.

Pros.

Walken

Fishburne

The violence

The psychology

The noir like feel of the film

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Call: Jigsaw Has Finally Found Something More Important Than Revenge

The Call is a horror film directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. The plot sees a group of teens drive Edith Cranston (Lin Shaye), to suicide after they believe she is responsible for the death of one of their numbers sister’s death. However, they messed with the wrong person and soon her husband Edward (Tobin Bell), summons the teens to their house with the promise of cash money if they do one last thing for Edith, ring the phone that she is buried with and stay on the line for a minute.

This might be one of the best horror films I have seen in a while, yes there are a few jump scares, but by and large the film creates and off kilter atmosphere that really pays off with the scares. Shaye and Bell are terrific and prove to everyone why they have been genre mainstays for all this time. I feel like if you are a hardcore horror fan you will get a lot out of this film.

The plot I thought was quite inventive, I have not seen anything like this before. The twist around the sister’s death I thought worked against the film a little bit as it made the lead characters far less likeable. Said characters were obviously were bland, but that is always the case with teenagers in these sort of films; you aren’t watching for them you are watching for horror legends Shaye and Bell.

Overall, a very entertaining horror film that is boosted by the performances of seasoned pros.

Pros.

Good scares

Shaye

Bell

Unique, at least for me

Cons.

A few jump scares

The teens are awful, and the twist doesn’t make them any better

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Headshot: Who Are You Again?

Headshot is an Indonesian action thriller film directed by Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto. The plot sees an unknown man (Iko Uwais), awaken in a hospital bed, he does not remember who he is or how he came to be in sad bed. However, once he leaves the hospital he is hunted down by one of the most ruthless bosses in the underworld Lee (Sunny Pang) and has to fight for his survival.

So, after seeing Uwais in several other action films I was expecting big things here, and I have to say I was disappointed. My main issue with the film was the action and the fights, they felt toned back and lacked the same excitement as I can come to know from the Indonesian action subgenre. The fights here not only felt underwhelming, they felt like they were done on the cheap.

Moreover, the story was uninspired we have seen the amnesiac waking up to trouble storyline play out over and over again and this film can’t be bothered to do anything new with it. The midway through twist, which I won’t spoil, is insanely predictable and worst of all you just don’t care after it is revealed.

There are a few cool moments, such as the prison escape scene at the start of the film, that is really all the good I can say about this film. These scenes are incredibly few and far between and the film as a whole feels stretched out for far too long, to a point where you are looking at your phone because you can’t take the tedium anymore.

Overall, a subpar Indonesian action flick, I expected more.

Pros.

A few cool moments

Cons.

A played-out storyline

Uninspired fights

Characters you don’t care about

Pacing issues in the extreme

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolfwalkers: Never Cage Something That Is Wild

Wolfwalkers is an animated fantasy film directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart. The plot sees a girl and her father move to an Irish hamlet in the 1600’s to kill wolves and to start a new life. However said girl Robyn (Honour Kneafsey), finds that there is more to the wolves than any of the towns people know and that the pack is being controlled by a mother daughter Wolfwalker duo, who she soon makes friends with.

This film is a heartbreaker, the plot won’t leave a dry line in the house. It has so many layers to it many of them deeply sad it makes for a very melancholic watch. The later scenes between Robyn and her Dad (Sean Bean), are particularly hard to watch, when he keeps making the situation worse and worse before he realises the error of his ways.

I enjoyed the friendship between Robyn and Mebh ‘Og Mac Tire (Eva Whittaker), I thought it was nice to see their friendship develop over the course of the film and to watch them grow up during such a difficult time period, I’m sure there was a metaphor in there somewhere. I thought this part of the story and its innocence nicely contrasted with the more adult moments.

Finally, I thought it was nice to see a return to 2D animation. It has been too long, and it looked really beautiful throughout, you could tell a lot of work had gone into it and it really helped the film to standout amongst the 2020 animation landscape.

Overall, a beautifully thoughtful and heart breakingly sad animated film that you owe it to yourself to see.

Pros.

A return to 2D animation

The friendship between the two girls

The emotional beats

The father daughter relationship

The look at Irish/Celtic mythology

Cons.

It is desperately sad

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Pixie: Risque Photo-Shoots

Pixie is a crime comedy film directed by Barnaby Thompson. The plot sees a robbery go wrong and a lot of people end up dead leaving two boys with a big bag of drugs and a lot of trouble coming after them; in steps Pixie (Oliva Cooke), to save the day and to have some fun along the way.

This film is a star making turn for Cooke, it is nothing short of a damn shame that her other killer breakout roles in Thoroughbreds and Ready Player One have not rewarded her with more of the mainstream spotlight, but hopefully this film will right that wrong. She makes this film, her Pixie is charming and funny, but also a character you never know if you can fully trust. Without Cooke in this film it would be infinitely worse

As far as crime comedies go, usually one of those two elements is placed above the other thereby ruining it as a crime comedy, however here both the crime and the comedy elements are given equal attention and are handled well. There are several scenes such as the photography scene early on that are genuinely funny, in addition there are also scenes that are suitably tense and uncomfortable.

I also applaud the film for not being afraid to go dark when needed. Despite being a crime comedy film the tone of this film is quite light for the most part, but it does stray from that a few times especially when it comes to Pixie’s backstory which is quite upsetting. I think the choice to give her such an emotional and turbulent past is an inspired one as it makes her feel far more human and relatable.

Overall, a very charming crime comedy film, that hopefully leads to big things for Cooke.

Pros.

Oliva Cooke

The shootout scene is well done

Both the crime and comedy elements are there, and both feel distinct

I enjoyed the characters and the world

Cons.

It does have bloat and could do with being shorter

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Conjuring: A Fun Game Of Clap Hide And Seek, Anyone?

The Conjuring is a horror film directed by James Wan, loosely based on the real-life adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The plot sees the Warren’s summoned to a farmhouse to help a family that is being plagued by a malicious spirit.

The mainline Conjuring films are defiantly the best this shared universe has to offer, while the Nun and the later Annabelle films had some good moments, by and large they were reliant on jump scares, whereas these films especially the first was not so.

The film builds its scares organically, and focuses on character, mystery and atmosphere knowing that they can lead to stronger scares. The blind folded clapping scene from this film is far scarier and far more impactful than 100 jump scares.

The casting of Patrick Wilson and Vega Farmiga as the Warrens was sheer genius as they are the perfect protagonists, both believable enough to think that they can actually defeat the demons, but also human enough to be relatable and warm. They are very likeable, and you end up rooting for them throughout. I strongly believe the casting of these two makes this film what it is, without them and with lesser stars it could easily have faded into the bland horror background.

Overall, this shows the strong origins of the series before they gave in to jump scares.

Pros.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga

The scares

Building atmosphere

Cons.

The family as a whole is quite forgettable and generic

It feels a little samey after a while

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hellraiser 3: A Late Night Satanic Standup Performance At A Local Church, It Is A Laugh Riot

Hellraiser 3 is a horror film directed by Anthony Hickox. The plot again serves as a continuation of the last film, wherein Pin Head (Doug Bradley), became imprisoned in a statue. Obviously, he tricks some gullible humans into feeding him their friends, thereby restoring him, he then goes on a rampage. The only people willing to fight back are news reporter Joey (Terry Farrell) and the manifestation of Pin Heads good side, also played by Bradley.

After the god awful second film I very nearly gave up with this series, but a part of me wanted to see if it could get worse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film is hands and shoulders better than the second film, whilst still being leagues off the first film.

The main thing I enjoyed about this film was that it does not even try and be serious, or even remotely like Barker’s short story anymore, it just goes full on goofy. I found the 90’s charm of having these evil beings cracking wise to be somewhat charming.

I thought this film have several memorable moments such as the church scene as well as some of the early club stuff while still imprisoned, these are really well done and are suitably tense.

The new final girl does not have a patch on Kirsty and that is a simple fact.

Overall, a good end point for the series as it manages to claw back some of its dignity. I know this is not the end, but I am leaving it here (for now).

Pros.

It abandons any serious notion

Several memorable scenes

The one liners

Cons.

The new characters are bland

It has lost all sense of identity’

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wild Child: The Most Confusing Accent You Have Ever Heard

Wild Child is a teen comedy film directed by Nick Moore. The plot follows spoilt suburban girl Poppy as she is (Emma Roberts), sent away to a stuffy English boarding school; a beneficial culture clash ensues.

This film won’t win points for originality, as this plot line has been done to the point of nauseum. However, the dry comedic talents of Roberts managed to save this film, honestly if it hadn’t been for her then I would have probably stopped watching. She was believable as the brat, but also loveable when she turned it around; she had a lot of that all important rootability.

The humour of this film is very relatable, it reminds you of a lot of the concerns you had when you were a teen. I enjoyed seeing the friendships develop between the girls, with the romance getting a back seat; normally in these sort of films it would be front and centre.

My favourite moment of this film was the short cameo from Nick Frost, it made me laugh quite a bit. I don’t fully understand what sort of accent he is supposed to be doing, but he is still my favourite bit about this film.

Overall, a fun teen romp that is made by Emma Roberts, with a surprisingly great cameo from Frost and the wise choice to focus on friendships over relationships.

Pros.

Emma Roberts

Nick Frost

Focusing on friendship over relationships

It is very relatable

Cons.

You have seen this before

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rec: Yet More Found Footage

Rec is a Spanish found footage horror film directed by Jaume Balaguero. The plot sees a reporter (Angela Vidal), cover a firefighter intervention at a nearby apartment complex, however, as the night draws on she becomes locked down in the building with in becoming ever more clear that something else is going on.

Much like when I reviewed Rosemary’s Baby the other day, I feel like because this film is so highly regarded in the horror community I should like it, that was the main reason I gave it a chance in the first place, but I have to say after seeing it I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.

The one pro I will give this film is that I enjoyed the tight confined setting of an apartment block, I thought it gave the film a strong claustrophobic sense of atmosphere that helped it greatly.

Conversely, I thought the characters were poorly written. I didn’t care about them and that made all of the drama and the tension in the film become rendered null for me, the reporter didn’t seem to have much personality beyond being a reporter.

Likewise, the scares and the situation did little for me because I have seen it before, and better. The idea of an outbreak with people turning into these monsters (maybe Zombies?), is not a new concept and this film fails to do anything interesting with it.

Overall, strongly disappointing.

Pros.

The claustrophobic setting

Cons.

The main character has no personality

The scares feel done before

I could guess how it would end

I left disappointed

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke