The Furies: Killing In The Name Of

The Furies is a horror thriller film directed by Tony D’ Aquino. The plot sees Kayla (Airlie Dodds), be abducted and taken to a battle ground where young women are forced to fight mutant looking men, what’s more each woman is paired with one mutant as a protector, so it is not only a battle between the women and the mutant, but also a battle between the women themselves as well as between the mutants themselves.

I have a series of issues with this film that made me loss interest quickly and want to turn it off.

Firstly, a lot of it makes no sense, things just kind of happen without any rhyme or reason and they aren’t explained. The very first scene of the film is what I thought was a flashforward, but it never seems to appear in the film, and it makes me think, what is it, is it a misplaced scene or something?

Secondly, none of the characters are likable they seem to do everything they can to be as unlikeable as possible, like Kayla herself is prepared to let every single girl in the game die, just so she can find her friend. Yes, not every character needs to be likable, but there is not one character you can root for in this film.

Thirdly, the ending when Kayla gets out of the game and tries to hunt down the men who are responsible for the slaughter is better than the film itself. If this film ever got a sequel, I would like to guess that it would be far better as the premise alone would be infinitely better. The ending is for sure the best bit of the whole film and that it only practically because it is the end.

Finally, the constant references to evil men and the patriarchy becomes a bit jarring and dated after a point, a lot of the time they aren’t actually referring to the men that are hunting them down and killing them rather just men in general, which strikes me as odd, but no doubt it was in an effort to seem trendy.

Overall, this film is painfully average, it doesn’t make sense and it is hard to watch.

Pros.

The ending.

Cons.

It is hard to watch.

It is repetitive.

It tries too hard to be trendy.

None of it makes sense.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bodom: Teen Angst and Killers

Bodom is a Finnish horror film directed by Taneli Mustonen. The film is inspired by, but not based on the real-life Lake Bodom murders in the 1960’s. The plot of the film revolves around 4 young people who go out to the forest to try and figure out what really happened all those years ago and surprise surprise things go poorly.

This is a weird film; I don’t know whether it is because of cultural differences or if it is just poorly made. It goes from a slasher film to a teen drama, for a surprisingly large amount of time, and then back to a kind of slasher film again in the end. It doesn’t work as the different elements don’t go together well.

The characters aren’t likeable either, they all seem to be bad people just to different degrees. The lead girl approves the killing of two boys because someone told her that one of them had taken nude pictures of her and spread them around, she didn’t ask to see the pictures, she has been told that they don’t even exist and yet she still goes forward with the killing; because that makes sense.

As a horror film it is not really scary, it feels angsty, it feels like a teen drama and it makes me think has it been mislabelled as a horror film? The other girl only went ahead with the killings to get rid of the main girls new boyfriend because she was worried she was going to lose her, and it all feels like a bizarre love triangle that would be more at home in a teen tv show like Riverdale than a supposedly serious horror film.

Overall, this is just a clash of a film, none of the elements work well together and it just feels jarring to watch. I wanted to watch a slasher film, but this really isn’t one, it was not only a disappointment but also a slog to sit through.

Pros.

It has an interesting concept.

Cons.

It doesn’t work.

It is boring.

The characters are intensely unlikable.

The twist midway through serves to ruin it.

1/5.

Torment: The Savagery Of Children Today

Torment is a Canadian horror film directed by Jordan Baker. The plot sees newlyweds Sarah (Katherine Isabelle) and Cory (Robin Dunne) go to Cory’s country house with his 7-year-old son for some family time. However, when they get there, they see that something is wrong, something is deeply wrong, and it only gets worse from there as masked killers begin to plague the family.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this film, you know it is a promising film when the review starts off like that, but you have seen it a million times before and done better. This film as I affectionately named it is The Strangers without any of the charm, or a dumb version of You’re Next.

Everything that happens in this film is predictable and lazy, the scares, the kills, the story structure it is all just aggressively average. The only praise I can afford this film is that the killers look cool, their masks which are made out of the sons stuffed toys, why who knows, look frightening and I will give them credit for that.

However, that is where the compliments end.

The son in this film is the worst, yes, it is easy to go on about how terrible child actors are, so I won’t do it too much, but I don’t think the issues with the character were the young actor’s fault. The issues with the character are that he is intensely unlikable, I get that his mum died and in his own way he feels like Sarah is replacing his mum, but the way he talks to Sarah the things he says, he could easily be the villain of the film. I was waiting for the moment at the end of the film where he defected to the psycho family, but sadly they went with a soppier ending.

Another issue I have with this film is that it has a fascination with it’s leading lady, to a pervy uncomfortable degree, in the beginning especially Sarah is either coming out of the shower or in the throws of sex with her husband. It does not feel done with any intention other than to objectify the lead actress and it makes you feel dirty watching it.

Overall, this film is just dull, predictable and incapable of offering anything new. It doesn’t seem to understand human interaction, or not to be creepy either, so yeah don’t watch this.

Pros.

The masks are cool.

Cons.

It is repetitive.

It is played out.

The kid wants his step mum dead and behaves in a way no one would.

It is creepy and pervy.

1/5.

Reviewed by Luke

Wilderness: The Spiritual Sequel To Dog Soldiers

Wilderness is a British-Irish horror film directed by Michael J. Bassett. The plot follows a group of young offenders who are sent to an island, after they murder one of their wardmates. The island punishment is supposed to be an extreme form of rehabilitation for the prisoners, but it takes a blood turn when something on the island starts hunting them down one by one, slaughtering them in horrific ways.

I have never had a problem with gore, I have never been squeamish, I can watch Saw and Hostel all day long, but there is something about the gore in this film that made me wince. Being a British horror film the gritty reality of it all is played up to max effect, you don’t get a peeved off spirit throwing people down the stairs in a very bloodless way, oh no, here you get to see someone be mauled to death by dogs and someone else be burnt alive. It was at times hard to watch.

The cast is a who’s who of famous British actors we have Sean Pertwee of Gotham and Dog Soldiers fame and Toby Kebbell in this. Kebbell is the leading man and is by far the nicest of the characters, most of whom are awful, awful people who are all too real; some of whom inspire hate in you from the minute they come on screen. Pertwee is the prison guard who accompanies the boys to the island, he is as charming as ever, sadly he is killed off early in the film.

Something I like about this film is when it is revealed what is killing the prisoners, it is done in a sympathetic way, you understand why it is doing what it is doing and it helps to keep the film grounded in reality. It really highlights the moral ambiguity of society and shows how are right might be someone else’s wrong and what better way to teach that then by watching a dog rip out someone’s eyeball.

Overall, this is an incredibly grim watch, one that won’t be for most people, but if you like gritty British horror than you will undoubtably find something to like here; just maybe watch something happier after it?

Pros.

Sean Pertwee.

The reveal.

The kills.

Cons.

Very grim.

A little bit hard to watch at times.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

From Hell: Jack The Ripper Unmasked!

From Hell is a slasher film directed by the Hughes Brothers, based off the Alan Moore graphic novel of the same name. The plot of the film is an alternative take on the Jack The Ripper murders of the 1880’s, we see detective Frederick Abberline (Johnny Depp), desperately trying to solve the killings while also falling in love with a young prostitute Mary Kelly (Heather Graham). The case takes Frederick from the gutter slums where London’s poorest dwell, all the way to the palace.

I think that this film is very polarising, you will either love its alternative take on London’s most famous murders, or you won’t. You will either think it is interest that they place the title of ‘Ripper’ on the Royal physician, or you will think it is a scandalous mistruth. Personally, for me, I like this film’s alternative take on Jack The Ripper, I admire it for revealing the killer to us, rather than just leaving in ambiguous, as it could have easily done. I even like the ending when it is revealed that the Freemasons and The Royal Family were behind it all.

I think this film and another Johnny Depp film from around the same time Sleepy Hollow are so good as they perfectly capture this gothic sensibility that I don’t think any other films I’ve ever seen really has. This film plays out more like a mystery thriller or a horror movie, than a traditional serial killer crime film. What’s more I love the version of 1880’s London this film presents us with, it is so teaming with life and even the littlest detail feels cared for, you feel like you’re there.

Johnny Depp is fantastic in this film, he is not wacky and over the top, a trait that would come to define his later work, but quiet, brooding and troubled. We buy him as the hero by the end of the film and we want to see him catch the Ripper, this film proves why Johnny Depp is such a unique star.

Overall, I applaud this film, I applaud it for revealing that the killings were never as simple as we thought they were, they weren’t just the work of one deranged man, but rather a vast conspiracy. I applaud it for it’s depiction of 1880’s London and I applaud it for being bold enough to label someone as Jack The Ripper.

Pros.

The alternative take.

Johnny Depp.

The World.

Showing us a Jack The Ripper.

Cons.

By the end the story is a bit convoluted.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

My Favourite Films: You’re Next

In this new series of pieces, I want to tell you about some of my favourite films and why I love them, hopefully with the aim of convincing you to give them a try if you haven’t already; today I am going to talk about You’re Next.

You’re Next is a black comedy horror film directed by Adam Wingard. The plot centres around a family gathering that goes to hell when a group of masked, armed assailants, try to break in and kill everyone. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way that keep you guessing until the very last minute.

The easiest way I could define this film for you would be to say it is a smart slasher film. By that I mean it is self-aware as well as written in a smart way, You’re Next is keenly aware of how slasher films go, and it plays off that. By having Erin (Sharni Vinson), not be the typical final girl it makes the film far more interesting. When I say she isn’t the typical final girl what I mean is that she doesn’t spend the first 45 minutes of the film scared out of her mind, right from the off she takes charge of the situation and leads the fight back.

Therein lies another thing I like about this film. Many times, I have been watching slasher films and I have asked myself why do the victims never fight back? Or why do they wait until the last 20 minutes of the film to do something? This film bucks the trend of the killer hunting down the victims and killing them for the first 2 acts of the film, only to have the final girl turn the table on them in the 3^rd act and it presents the struggle between Erin and the masked men as far more even; far more war like. As the masked men kill the people around her, she kills them.

What’s more, there is some fantastic gore in this film that is wince inducing. There is a larger scale version of the nail scene from A Quiet Place, years before it I might add, as well as a grisly scene with a blender which I will leave up to your imagination. The level of violence feels just right for the tone of the film and its black comedy sensibilities, never feeling unnecessary, or unpleasant.

Overall, this is a fantastic film, that when under watched and underappreciated when it came out, it is probably my favourite slasher film ever and I think that it deserves to be seen as it does something fresh and smart with the genre.

Written by Luke

Prevenge: The Mother-Child Bond

Prevenge is a British comedy slasher film directed by Alice Lowe. The plot revolves around a grieving pregnant woman, who is commanded to kill by her unborn baby; all of the people she kills are related to the very recent death of her husband and the child’s father in one way or another. The film has a lot to say about motherhood and the act of being pregnant, using the over the top premise to take a deeper look at the actual notion of having a child and the mother child-bond.

In many ways this film could be a spiritual sequel to Ben Wheatly’s film, also staring Alice Lowe, Sightseers, the two films are very similar in a lot of ways, including having a very similar sensibility around murder and death, treating it as a darkly comic thing. I think the two films would make for a very interesting double feature.

That said let’s get into the review.

Did I enjoy this film? That is a hard question to answer, there is a lot going on and a lot to unpack, so it might not be as simple as that. I think this film raises a lot of interesting questions about how we as a society view pregnant women and how far we should go for our children; as this film takes that to an extreme. Furthermore, the ending of the film when Ruth (Alice Lowe) realises that her unborn child wasn’t the thing telling her to kill all along, and that it was her, is very interesting because it leaves us with the question of how is she going to deal with that?

The scares are also very good in this film, it is certainly more of a dark comedy than a horror, but whenever we have a moment where ‘the child’ is talking to her’, it makes the hairs stand-up on the back of your neck. We also get a lot of good gore from some of the kills, so gore fans will find something to enjoy.

The issue with this film for me, is that fact that it is very slow, there are a lot of scenes that feel longer than she should be. Said scenes are probably going for a meditative feeling, but instead they just feel a little pretentious. What’s more Prevenge is a very oppressive film to watch, it is bleak very bleak; there are moments of dark comedy mixed in, but these are few and far between; for the most part it is very hard to watch.

Overall, this is a very interesting and unique film, but it is undeniably niche, this certainly isn’t going to everyone’s taste.

Pros.

Unique.

Novel approach.

Good scares and gore.

Cons.

It’s hard to watch.

It does feel a bit pretentious at times.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Halloween (2018): Back In The Game

Halloween (2018) is a horror slasher film directed by David Gordon Green. This film acts as a soft reboot of the franchise, ignoring everything after the first John Carpenter Halloween film. The plot once again sees everyone’s favourite maniac breakout of the asylum and return to Haddonfield, to carry on his killing spree that he began 40 years ago. However, a face from his past has been waiting for him, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Laurie is now battle hardened and suffering from PTSD, her whole life has been dedicated to finishing Michael off when he inevitably returns.

This film is a return to form for the franchise, by ignoring all of the terrible sequels, and doing away with the convoluted backstory for Michael Myers, the film returns to its root and is all the scarier for it. The idea that Strode has not been able to move on after what happened to her all those years ago and has now become obsessed, not only makes sense, but is also a really interesting concept.

Despite now being an old man, in the film’s timeline, Michael Myers has some genuinely great scares, he is still the killing machine we all remember him to be. When he drops the handful of teeth over the toilet stall wall, that stayed with me long after I saw it. My one issue with how this film handles Michael Myers is the fake out when it looks like someone else is going to take over the mantle; lucky they get their face stood on by the man himself.

The whole film builds towards the showdown between Myers and Strode and it is safe to say that the final showdown is fantastically well done. It is tense and suspenseful, and you can tell that both parties are giving it their all and that this is the defining moment in their lives. It is nice to see three generations of Strode women fighting back again this man that has been terrorising their family for almost half a century. The final shot of the film seeing Michael Myers trapped in a house that is burning down and it finally looks as though this is the end for him, but of course with this being a slasher film it can’t be, and two more films have been announced.

Overall, after all the harm that had been done to the franchise over the years, it is nice to see a Halloween film that actually cares about the characters that John Carpenter created back in 1978. I loved the Rob Zombie films, but this is definitely a return to form for the series. I can’t wait for Halloween Kills, but at the same time I would like to see the series end.

Pros.

A great return to form.

Michael Myers is still scary.

The PTSD angle is a cool way to take it.

The final showdown is great.

Cons.

It should be the end.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

What Makes A Final Girl?

I am a huge fan of the horror genre and what I want to talk about today is pivotal to it, I am going to talk about the trope of ‘the final girl’.

The Slasher genre is an important sub-genre of horror itself. The Slasher genre was at its peak in the 1980’s and the early- to mid-1990’s, it was in this period we got things like Friday The 13^th, Halloween, Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street. The basic premise of these films is the same whichever you look at, evil killer, sometimes supernatural sometimes not, hunting down and killing a group of teens, with one surviving at the end to fight the killer and win. This is ‘the final girl’.

Many different actresses over the years have put their own spin on ‘the final girl’, we’ve had Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Alice (Adrienne King). All of these characters and performances aren’t exactly the same, they would be boring if they were, but they do all share certain qualities and it is these qualities that I want to look at it in further detail.

Not just anyone can be a ‘final girl’, usually to be one you have to be pure (a virgin), have suffered some kind of past trauma, be of good moral character etc. That is a very specific set of characteristics. With these slasher films a very conservative life message was being spread around subtly, sex kills, if you engage in any kind of sexual activity the killer will get you and it isn’t just sex if you behave in anyway in these films that isn’t morally to the rigid standard of the time you would be cut down as well.

Were these films trying to make a point out of the moral purity of society at the time? Was it done with comical intent? We don’t know really is the answer to those questions, so by today’s standard the idea of a ‘final girl’ is quiet an antiquated concept. The stigma on sex isn’t as strong as it was back then, the older generation is more relaxed about these things as they grew up during times like the summer of love and so it isn’t the same.

Can there still be a ‘final girl’ in a 2020 film? Yes of course there can, but it would serve the film better if the more puritanical moral message behind the trope was left in the sands of time.

Written by Luke

Us: An Exercise In Failing To Live Up To Expectations.

Us is a horror film directed by Jordan Peele. The plot follows Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), who, as a girl, had a run in with a doppelganger version of herself in a Santa Cruz house of mirrors. Little did she know that everyone has a double, these doubles are called the Tethered and they live in underground tunnels everywhere, all across the USA, maybe even the world; for years they have been planning one thing, their revenge, this film chronicles them getting it.

The expectations for this film after Peele’s seminal breakout hit with Get Out were sky high, how was he going to top it? Well in my opinion, he didn’t. Whilst Peele’s earlier film had some cerebral elements to it, it was still a very straightforward narrative, by that I mean when the film ended you knew what had happened. However, Us likes to smell its own farts, the whole film seems to be up to your interoperation and the themes seem to be more important than the story itself, there are numerous scenes and plot holes, such as why the Tethered don’t always copy what their surface dwelling doubles do even though it is established early on that they do, which ruin the great concept the more you think about it.

For me the biggest issue with this film is it’s ending. There is a twist reveal that who we thought was Adelaide has actually been the evil Tethered version of the character all along, which is a good twist, but then the film just kind of ends. The way the film ends with the Tethered all linking up and joining hands across America, leaves more questions than answers and it doesn’t feel nicely wrapped up, like Get Out did, which to me makes the writing seem weaker.

I have to talk about Nyong’o’s performance which was fantastic. Was it Oscar nomination worthy, no it wasn’t. However, what Nyong’o did was create two characters that felt entirely different, but also similar enough that they could be switched over and we would believe it. Moreover, she also brought a great physicality to the role, the final fight scene between her and Red, (Or who we believe to be Red), was excellent and really well done.

Overall, this film fails to live up to expectations as it leaves us going what? Rather than feeling satisfied. I still think however, this is a good film and Nyong’o is great in it, just that the challenge of having to follow Get Out proved too much for it.

Pros.

Good premise.

Scares.

Nyong’o

Cons.

Far to up its own arse.

Unsatisfying.

Fails to live up to expectations.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke