The House With A Clock In The Walls: Eli Roth’s Child Friendly Feature

‘The House With A Clock In Its Walls’ is a dark fantasy, horror, comedy film, based on a series of children’s book. The plot follows Lewis (Owen Vaccaro), a recent orphan who moves to live with his uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), when he arrives he realises there is more to his uncle then he ever knew; namely that he is a Warlock. The events that follow are Jonathan and his neighbor Florence (Cate Blanchett), fighting the evil Warlock, that use to be Jonathan’s magic partner and mentor.

This film marks a first for the director Eli Roth this film is Roth’s first film that isn’t out and out a horror film; Roth’s trademark gore is nowhere to been seen here. The strangest thing about this film is that it works quite well, Roth doing children’s dark fantasy seems to be the perfect match; this film feels very Del Toro esque which is the highest compliment I can give.

The horror elements are quite strong here, for a kids film, the gothic sensibilities this film wears on its sleeve are used to wonderful effect. It feels very much in the same vein as Black’s other children’s horror series ‘Goosebumps’, but better. The villain of the film Issac Izard (Kyle Maclachlan), brings with him a genuine sense of menace and threat. His dastardly plot is to turn back time and erase the human race; which is weirdly wonderful.

The central trio of heroes are all mostly great, the weak link is Vaccaro, but that is to be expected. I won’t go on about it too much as it is low hanging fruit to go after a child actor for being the weak part of the film, but he brings very little to the film no charm no charisma nothing.

Blanchett is terrific as Florence, a mater witch who has lost her magical ability as a result of losing her family. The transformation she goes through, which results in her becoming a part of the family is very sweet and affecting. Black also plays the caring uncle, very well he gives it just the right amount of warmth and humour, which makes him the star of the show. Black is also the main person on the comedy front and, he does a great job all of his jokes land well, which make for some great chuckle-inducing moments.

Overall this film is a great turn for Eli Roth as he proved he can do more than just ‘torture porn’, it could also be a great start for a potential franchise of child-friendly gothic horror films; hopefully Black and Blanchett return if they do a sequel.

Pros.
Black.
Blanchett.
The Gothic Horror Elements.
A Surprising Turn For Roth.

Cons.
The Plot Is Daft And Riddled With Plot Holes.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Veronica: The Devil Is In The Detail

‘Veronica’ is a Spanish supernatural horror drama film based loosely off the 1991 Vallecas Case, in which Estefania Guitierzzez Lazaro died strangely after using a ouija board. The film follows the standard possession storyline with the entity growing in strength over time and gaining more of a grip over the girl.

The film is not based 100% on the case as the lead girl is instead called Veronica (Sandra Escacena), and a lot of the events are played up to increase the potential of the scares. However, the case is used as a means to frame this film with a sense of realism.

I had heard a lot of people talking about this film before I saw it, they were all saying good things not just about ‘Veronica’, but about Spanish horror as a whole, which is a rising force in the genre. While this film might not be the scariest film of the year, it is certainly unsettling. This is in large part a result of the style of the film which is quite unlike a lot of other possession films I have previously seen. Whatsmore, the design of the spirit or demon is surprisingly refreshing; it looks both creepy and original.

The scares in this film strong, especially as when it focuses on the Mayan influences and the ideas surrounding the eclipse. When ‘Veronica’ is at its best is when it is being original and novel. The issue with this film is that these bits are few and far between. A lot of this film is very generic and predictable- the story of a girl being possessed by a demon after playing with a Ouija board has been done time and time again. Though this film has creative aspects, it simply isn’t enough to disguise from its average whole.

The acting is mostly good, Escacena is likeable enough and you want to see her beat the demon. Her relationship with her siblings is endearing and the final sacrifice not only makes sense but has emotional weight. That is the best bit about this film; the ending. It chooses to have the protagonist lose which is in keeping with the actual case, but it is still a brave move and one you don’t see coming.

Overall, this film has some moments of real inspiration and has some genuinely good scares, but it is not enough to get over the very average premise that has been done thousands of times before. Still worth checking out.

Pros.
Originality.
Creature Design.
A Good Lead Performance.

Cons.
Average Premise.
It Is Bound By The Fact That It Is Based on True Events.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Babysitter: What Goes On After You Go To Bed.

‘The Babysitter’ is a teen horror-comedy film the plot follows Cole, (Judah Lewis), as he stays up to see what his Babysitter Bee, (Samara Weaving), gets up to when he goes to bed; what he finds out chills him to the bone. Bee and her friends are devil worshipers and, they are using Cole for his blood. Cole and Bee then enter into a showdown to the death that only one of them can walk away from.

For those of you who read my reviews and, follow me on social media, you know that I find Samara Weaving incredibly annoying; it’s her scream. However, this film does something I didn’t think was possible it made me like her, she was charming and, funny and easily the highlight of the film; throughout the film, you think she is going to turn back to the side of the light, but no she is evil through and, through.

The showdowns between Cole and, his perusers are all excellent they are very reminiscent of, ‘Home Alone’ all of Cole’s weapons are improvised and the deaths are spectacularly gory. They manage to capture the tension of the situation while also remaining comic. The comedy in this film is quite good, it will bring a smile to your face and, warm you, towards the characters.

This film is very stylised think Zack Synder or, Edgar Wright, but turn it up to 100; every chance to have a graphic or, do a cinematography trick is taken. The issue with this is that a lot of the time it takes you out of the film, there was a sequence where the camera was moving around, but also supposed to be doing a POV shot and, the effect is incredibly jarring. There is nothing wrong with a film having style, but if anything this film is overly stylised.

Another thing about this film is that it is completely predictable, but that is okay as this film knows what it is, a pulpy horror B movie homage, and it plays to that. Viewing this film through the lens of it being a homage to horror B movies, makes it a much better film than it actually is. As I don’t think it is a horror B movie homage deliberately.

Overall ‘The Babysitter’ feels like something out of a bygone age, it is over stylised and, it seems to be doing all this to overcompensate for the fact that it isn’t very original. However, it is a nice piece of horror movie junk food and, Samara Weaving is excellent.

Pros.
It’s Good Horror Junk Food.
The Genre Diehards Might Find Something To Like.
Samara Weaving is excellent.

Cons.
It Feels Very Dated.
Overly Stylised.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Better Watch Out: A Master Killer In The Making

Better Watch Out is a psychological horror film about a babysitter who is taken, hostage by the child she is babysitting.

I had this on my list of Christmas films to watch, though now having watched it I can safely say it has absolutely nothing to do with the season itself, apart from being set around that time, so this really isn’t a Christmas film.

The plot of the film is incredibly obvious, the audience, as well as Ashley, (Olivia DeJonge), in the film, are supposed to believe that a mysterious unseen force is trying to break into the house to kill Ashley and, the young teen she is babysitting Luke, (Levi Miller). However, it is clear to see from the moment he is introduced that Luke is a bad apple, it is also clear to see that he has an unhealthy fixation with Ashley; making multiple attempts to seduce her.

So when the inevitable twist happens and, it turns out the break-in was staged by Luke and his friend Garrett, (Ed Oxenbould), to once again try and, seduce Ashley it is in no way surprising. What follows then is a series of events that simply couldn’t happen and, the way the film explains Luke getting away with them all is that he is super smart; yet he commits a series of murders without wearing gloves, so he is leaving fingerprints everywhere, and then gets away with it at the end of the film. This to me just reeks of bad, convenient writing.

Whats more Miller is very hateable as a child psychopath who thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread, almost too much so. However, we as an audience are trained to want to see these kinds of people fail and, be punished for there evil ways, but the end of this film subverts, that expectation. Not in a good way that is clever but, rather in a way that is incredibly frustrating and, anti-climatic. The ending is that he gets away with everything because he is so smart; there is a tease of maybe he will get found out, but that is all it is a tease. This film seems to want you to root for Luke, showing how smart he is and, how perfectly planned out he has everything, this feels off especially when the character you should be rooting for Ashley is barely developed, her plot worthy characteristics are who she use to date.

Overall this film is frustrating as it set’s rules and, then 5 minutes later it breaks them. It seems to glorify a budding serial killer, and completely ignore its main character.

Pros
Good Gore
It Is Nice To See The Kid From The Visit Again

Cons
Logic
Miller Is Too Good
The Way The Film Treats Its Main Character

1/5

Reviewed By Luke

The Ring: Remaking The Japanese Classic

‘The Ring’ is a supernatural horror film serving as a western retelling of the J Horror masterpiece Ringu. The film stars Naomi Watts as Rachel Keller, a journalist who investigates a killer videotape that supposedly kills you in seven days; the more she dives into the mystery surrounding this tape the more she learns of the ungodly activities that made it in the first place.

Before we get started, I just want to say that I didn’t find this film scary. No, it isn’t because I think the horror elements are weak rather that when I was young, I use to watch the hell out of the ‘Scary Movie’ films and, the third film serves as a parody of this film and, I can’t unassociate the two in my head; I can’t think of one without thinking of the other, so it isn’t scary for me.

There will be a group of people who won’t like this film, not because of its quality, but because they see this after yet another remake of a foreign language horror film and, that we don’t need this film when we have the fantastic Japanese original that we can all watch. To that, I would say both are good, the original the better but, this film still has great moments.

The horror elements are strong, I especially love the inescapable capture of the curse itself; even at the end of the film when Rachel thinks she’s beaten it, she hasn’t. Thus the futility of the characters’ struggles makes this film far more interesting to me.
Moreover, the mystery aspects of the film are also surprisingly strong, you come for the creepy ghost girl scares, you stay for the gripping mystery behind the tape that leaves you with more questions than answers.

The actors all do a serviceable job but, their characters are left weak and, underdeveloped; they fall prey to what is extensively the crux of the horror genre, the decision to either focus on the characters who are being scared or, the scares themselves. A lot of horror films this one included decide to focus more on the monster, to establish them, this can lead to some incredibly memorable villains: but the heroes are usually left flat. ‘Sinister’ a film that is quite similar to this is a great example of what I’m talking about: the film spends a lot of time telling you about Bughull and, his mythology but, then tells us very little about Ethan Hawke’s protagonist aside from a few details about his family and, that he is a true-crime writer.

Overall this is a very good western adaption of a Japanese classic, the scares and, mythology are fantastic and, add many extra layers of detail to the film. The one fault is that the protagonists who you’re supposed to root for are as blank as a piece of paper.

Pros.
Good Scares
Good Mythology
Well Adapted

Cons.
Focusing on the scares and the monster to the detriment of the hero.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Last Exorcism: A Preacher Heads Down To Louisiana

‘The Last Exorcism’ is a found footage supernatural horror film about Preacher Cotton Marcus, (Patrick Fabian), a man who has lost his faith in exorcism after reading about how a young boy lost his life during one, as a result of this Cotton tries to make a documentary film exposing the practice for the sham he believes it to be. While doing this Cotton meets Nell, (Ashley Bell), a young woman who believes she is possessed by the Devil.

‘The Last Exorcism’ is special, in a sea of possession film each more alike than the next this film stands out and, it is not just because it has a unique gimmick in its documentary-style as this was during the found footage craze, no no the thing that makes this film so good is that for a good 85% of the film you don’t know whether Nell actually is possessed or if she has been the victim of abuse and, as a result, is mentally unwell.

The horror sequences in the film are incredibly strong, Horror Master Eli Roth was heavily involved with the making of this film and, it is clear to see. However, this film does not suffer from Roth’s, often criticised, overuse of gore; instead, it builds its scares through character and, the atmosphere.

Said characters are well done mainly Cotton, Nell and, Nell’s father Louis, (Louis Herthum), are the ones I would single out for praise. Fabian makes for an excellent preacher as well as a conman he also delivers a masterful performance in the film’s third act when his faith is proven to be true; he makes for a thought-provoking lead. Bell does incredibly well in her portrayal of Nell capturing her childlike innocence but, also being a believable physical threat in the possession sequences being not only creepy but, menacing as well; which makes for a nice duality.
Herthum’s praise comes as a result of a sequence when he pursues Cotton and, co around the farm with a gun this one sequence is more tense and, nervewracking then all the possession scenes that follow; which isn’t to say they aren’t scary as well.

The ending of the film as well also helps to add a nice sense of hopelessness to the film, suggesting the idea that no matter what Cotton did it was always going to end the same way; which personally I greatly enjoyed.

Overall this is an underrated horror gem, often discounted by people thinking, “oh this is just another possession film”, but if you watch this film and, give it a chance you will see that it is one of the finest horror films of recent memory.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ghostbusters: Who You Gonna Call?

Ghostbusters is a fantasy comedy film by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murry, Dan Aykroyd and, Harold Ramis as a group of scientists who not only believe in ghosts but, want to catch them. They form the Ghostbusters.

The 1984 Ghostbusters film will always be very important to me; it was a film that I had on a lot when I was a kid and, it and its sequel were among the films that got me into the medium in the first place. There is such a loveable B movie charm to this film that makes it hard not to become enamoured with it. It is very like its contemporary Gremlins in that regard.

The original Ghostbusters has to be regarded as an icon of cinema as a whole as well as for the horror genre and, what would become the nostalgic 80’s genre. A lot of this praise comes as a result of the fact that this is a film that is firing on all cylinders, the acting, the effects, the tight script; all of it leads to a hell of a film.

The leading trio are all fantastic and, all have a very specific role to play, Bill Murray, of course, steals the show a bit from Aykroyd and, Ramis but, this is to be expected as Murray is front and centre the whole film. Murray is on top form here being effortlessly charming and, witty, his rivalry with Walter Peck, (William Atherton) is wonderful as Peck is a villain you love to hate and, the film always has Murray’s Venkman get the last laugh, usually with an excellent quip, which is hilarious to watch. Sigourney Weaver is also superb in this film as Dana Barrett doing a lot with very little and, making for a very memorable character; her whole performance after becoming possessed by Zuul is exactly what you would want out of a cheesy 80’s horror-comedy.

The ghosts themselves posses a duality being both fun and, loveable, here’s looking at you Slimmer, but also menacing. The Library Ghost and Zuul and, his heralds are all quite scary and, do give off a very palpable sense of dread when they are around. This tonal tightrope walk between silly and, scary is something this film does very well and, is something you don’t see much anymore as most films either go one way or, the other; even with modern horror comedies a lot of the time.

Overall this is a timeless classic good for all times of the year and, a must-watch. The sequel ‘Ghostbuster 2’ is also very good but, I never thought this film needed to become a franchise and, I think the apathy towards recent sequels proves that; I’m hoping Afterlife proves me wrong.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Black Christmas (2019): The Nightmare Before Christmas

‘Black Christmas’ is a slasher horror film, serving as the second remake of the 1970’s original. The plot follows a group of sorority sisters as they’re preyed upon by an unknown stalker.

I will say this before I get into my full review I hated this film, It may well be my worst film of the year.

My first issue with this film is that it is not a slasher film, it is misleading to call it that this is a social commentary film that has about 15 minutes of slashing in it. The film serves as a look into abuse culture, especially as it pertains to American fraternities and Universities in general.

The sexual abuse theme in this film is uncomfortable if it was handled with the slightest amount of subtly or, taste then ‘Black Christmas’ could really have advanced a much-needed conversation, but that is just it this film lacks any kind of subtly and, the way it chooses to handle this topic serves to make you uncomfortable and, want to leave.

What’smore I never have an issue with political agenda in film, but it is so offensively intrusive here that it can’t help but turn you off the film. It seems like every other line one of the paper-thin characters are saying something political and, feminist, which again would be completely fine if handled tastefully, but it is not. These lines of dialogue feel forced in for the sake of it without actually having anything to say, which if anything serves to weaken the ideas behind what they are saying. A lot of the time it is as though they are just shouting out talking points from the news which really take you out of the film.

The issue with the script is that it feels like a first draft, by that I mean it doesn’t feel like it has been refined at all, the needless politicalness isn’t as clever, or as poignant as the filmmakers clearly think it is; as I said before if anything films like this are doing a disservice to the causes and, the issues they’re trying to champion.

Blumhouse really needs to rethink its approach, they use to be one of the strongest forces in horror, but now they are putting out bomb after bomb, a lot of the recent Blumhouse films feel like they’re trying too hard to be relevant and, because it is so obvious it is offputting.

Ultimately this film feels like it needed more time in development it needed someone to rein in the creatives and, be like maybe don’t do that, but the worst thing about this film is it is misleading, it isn’t a slasher film and, if I had known what it was actually about I wouldn’t have gone to see this; let this be a lesson for Blumhouse.

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Nightmare Indeed!

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is a stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film, the plot follows The Pumpkin King himself Jack Skellington as he grows tired of his role as King and yearns for something different; then after a trip to Christmas town decides that he wants to spread joy rather than chills and, scares.

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is a film I remember being enamoured with when I was a kid, however, revisiting it ten years later I found it was not in any way how I remembered it; very much in a bad way. Yes in this review I will be saying why I don’t like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, which to some is Christmas heresy.

Before I get to that though I want to talk about the stop-motion animation, which is of course wonderfully unique and, very nice to see; as there really aren’t many films like this anymore. The character models, however, are off-putting, I understand that is the point to some extent, but other than Jack, (Chris Sarandon) and, Sally, (Catherine O’ Hara) I found a lot of the other characters very hard to look at for long periods.

Despite not being directed by Tim Burton this is very much one of his films, the style and, the characters are all very much the same if you have ever seen something like Beetlejuice or, for an animated example the Corpse Bride then you know what you’re getting. After watching this film and, thinking back to Burton’s other works I have come away with the conclusion that as a filmmaker he is very hit or miss you either love his style or, you hate it.

The other thing I strongly dislike about this film is the constant singing, yes I know it’s a musical, it seems like every 5 seconds they are bursting into song. I like the odd musical here and there, they are not my genre for sure, but where I think something like Frozen, which is also a musical, gets right is that it uses its songs sparingly which makes them memorable. Whereas ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ seems to operate by a policy of how many songs can I fit into the runtime of this film.

The songs themselves are all fine, with a few standouts amongst them, but I found many of the songs went on for too long and, negatively affected the pacing of the film, sometimes making me want to turn the film off as a result as I was quickly losing interest.

Ultimately this film did not live up to how I remembered it from my childhood, I found the characters off-putting, the constant singing annoying and, though there was some Burton charm to be found it was well hidden. I like the Corpse Bride more.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Krampus: Wait that’s not Santa Claus

‘Krampus’ is a dark fantasy horror comedy film based on the infamous character from Bavarian and, Germanic folklore. The plot follows a family at Christmas that have lost the real meaning of the season and, when Max, (Emjay Anthony), says ‘he hates Christmas and his family’ and, tears up his letter to Santa Claus; they evoke Krampus’ wrath.

This film is from Micheal Dougherty the director behind Trick or, Treat, as such it features creative creatures and, monster; some of which are incredibly original while others are rather familiar to the horror genre. Krampus himself is menacing straddling the line between monstrous and campy at times; his look isn’t 100 per cent accurate to how he is depicted in most of the folklore surrounding him, but he is still scary despite this.

The scares are all pretty good, however ‘Krampus’ does lean on the humour over the scares a lot of the time; this is most definitely more of a comedy film than a horror. The issue with this is that the humour of the film is all pretty weak, it makes you smile a few times, but there are no laugh out loud moments; some of the jokes are even painful.

The acting is on the better side of average, most of the actors are serviceable if not memorable; these include our leading boy Emjay Antony. Adam Scott of Park and Recreation fame in this film as Max’s father Tom, he has some good moments and, a few strong jokes, the only ones of the film, however, he isn’t given much to do and, it feels like a waste of his considerable talents.

Toni Collette is also in this film this is before her game-changing role in Hereditary and, she gives a decent performance not a scene-stealer, but she does a good job with what she has to work with. Allison Tolman of Fargo fame is also in this, but just like everyone else in the cast doesn’t blow you away with her performance.

It is nice to see ‘Krampus’ remind people that Christmas can be scary, it carries the torch on from things like Gremlins, check out my review, and Black Christmas. These films will always serve as a reminder that horror does have a place at Christmas, also this scary bent helps these films stick out from all the other happy, mushy, Christmas fluff.

Overall this film isn’t my favourite Christmas horror film, but it is nice to see some variety in Christmas films that make it out and, despite the fact it doesn’t change the game it has some genuinely good scares and, is wonderfully unique. Check ‘Krampus’ out if you don’t like traditional Christmas films and, have a desire for something new.

4/5 simply for originality

Reviewed by Luke