Disturbia: The Film That Encourages Peeping

Disturbia is a crime mystery film directed by D.J Caruso and sees housebound teenager Kale (Shia LaBeouf) realise that his neighbour Mr. Turner (David Morse), is a prolific serial killer. Kale and his friends then decide to watch this killer for a few days until they have enough evidence to go to the police, however, the game is flipped, and the killer soon sets his sights on them.

This film feels like LaBeouf is just playing his character from Transformers while under house arrest. This does not show LaBeouf as a serious actor in a good light.

I have two main issues with this film firstly, it is aggressively dumb. This film is basically a remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, that would make the man himself roll over in his grave. The question I was repeatedly asking myself as I was watching this is why not just call the police, there are multiple times early in the film when they could do that, but they don’t. We are supposed to think that Kale and the police don’t get on that is why he doesn’t call them, but no it’s just because this film is ridiculously dumb and poorly written.

My second issue is the creepy sexual aspect of this film and the message it sends. So for a lot of the early film Kale spies on his new neighbour Ashleigh (Sarah Roemer), in a stalkerish way that is borderline unsettling, what’s more the film almost tells us the audience that it is okay for him to be that way. This is shown when Ashleigh finds out what Kale has been doing, not only is she not upset but she thinks it is sweet and they make out; in no way is what he did sweet, so for the film to condone it raises a lot of questions about the people behind the camera.

Overall, this is basterdised Hitchcock plain and simple, with an off-putting seediness that will make you feel dirty.

Pros.

The ending is suitably tense

Cons.

Rewarding a stalker and normalising that kind of behaviour

Poorly written and dumb

An incredibly inferior reimagining

Shia is terrible

1/5

The Vast Of Night: Visitation

The Vast Of Night drama science fiction film directed by Andrew Patterson. The plot sees two New Mexico kids become tangled up in strange goings on in the sky and a military conspiracy.

I won’t say too much about the plot here as I think you will be best served going into this blind. However, what I will say is that I for the most part loved this film. I went in with high expectations, because I had heard a lot of positive talk about this film beforehand, which the film itself more than lived up to.

This film has heavy Spielberg/ 80s vibes, its fees very much like ET or Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, a comparison could even be drawn to Spielberg’s copycat JJ Abrams’ Super 8. There is a wonder and a true sense of the unknow that I find very hard to be able to describe in words, but once you see the film you will know what I mean.

I must say I watch a lot of horror films, as a lot of you know, so I have become desensitised to scares for the most part, but this film creeped me out. Its not that it shows you anything creepy, but that the stories build an increasingly sinister mystery that unsettles you to think about. It nails the atmosphere better than any other film I have seen recently.

The ending is great, as is The Twilight Zone ascetic which adds a nice bit of flavour.

Overall this is a must see and shows great promise, with a slow first act being the only slight issue.

Pros.

The atmosphere.

The chills.

The mystery.

The characters.

Cons.

It is slow to begin with, too slow.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Tully: Help When Needed

Tully is a comedy drama film directed by Jason Reitman. It tells the story of a struggling mum of three Marlo (Charlize Theron), who forms a bond with her night nanny Tully (Mackenzie Davis). Tully seems to make everything in Marlo’s life better, while always remaining mysterious and wise beyond her years.

Let’s start off with the most important bit, the twist. In the final moments of the film it is revealed that Tully never existed and that everything that she has done was actually Marlo, having some sort of mental break. The twist isn’t hugely surprising, as right from the beginning there is clearly something off about Tully, however due to the good writing it is never obvious quite what is going on and there are multiple red herrings throughout that throw you off what is actually going on.

This film I believe is classified under the wrong genre, rather than being a comedy film, or even a dark comedy, it is by all means a horror film. It shows motherhood and parenthood as hellish, a never-ending cycle of sleepless nights and screaming kids, this film is enough to put anyone off wanting to have kids.

Mark Duplass plays Marlo’s brother Craig and even though he is only onscreen a very little bit he is terrific every second he is on screen. The two share a scene together and it is electric, and they have a great on-screen connection together.

On top of this the relationship between Tully and Marlo is also fantastic, the two women have a great bond, that sometimes verges on the extreme; which is highlighted in one really uncomfortable scene. Mackenzie Davis is amazing as always; she has a great quirky energy to her that reminded me in a lot of ways of Ellen Page in Juno.

Overall, the performances in this film are terrific and its depiction of motherhood is grounded and realistic; which makes this film a horror in every sense of the word. This film is an acquired taste, but if you give it a go you will see that it has something powerful to say.

Pros.

The performances.

The writing.

The realistic depiction of motherhood.

Cons.

The twist.

Some of the scenes are quite uncomfortable to watch and they don’t add much.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Midnight Swim: Truly A Film Unlike Any Other

The Midnight Swim is a POV drama- mystery film directed by Sarah Adina Smith. The film see three sisters reunite after their mother’s death. Upon their arrival back home, the sisters summon a local legend the Seventh Sister and from there things turn menacing, with dead birds turning up on their doorstep and each night one of the sisters goes down to the lake: though she can’t remember doing it.

Very much like my last review Don’t Leave Home this is a very uniquely bizarre film, there is very little else like this out there. Just when you think you have a handle on what it is, it surprises you. When I first put it on, I thought it would be a standard found footage horror film, but it is nothing like that at all: it is so much more.

There is a constant feeling of unease and menace throughout this film, you can tell that something is amiss right from the start of the film. It is never very clear exactly what is going on, whether it is something supernatural or whether it is something closer to home. The film never seems to want to say one way or another, there is a twist towards the end of the film that suggests that June (Lindsey Burdge), who has been filming everything the whole time is in fact mentally ill and has been doing all of the scary occurrences in the film.

However, later in the film when June has blacked out and goes to jump into the water for the final time something moves her camera and there is no one else around. So, there must be more afoot.

There is a lot of new age mysticism in this film that adds an interesting new dimension to it, there is all this talk about rebirth and reincarnation, and it gives you a lot of intriguing things to think about. All of this adds to a very special personality that this film has which makes it entirely unlike everything else.

Overall, this film is special in a lot of ways, very few films could have you feel tense and uneasy for an hour and a half and include a musical number. This is a beautiful film and a hell of a debut, check it out!

Pros.

A mystery that has no clear answer.

Great characters.

Very unlike anything else.

A new take on found footage.

Cons.

It is a little slow at times.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Polaroid: A Testament To Modern Horror

Polaroid is a supernatural horror film directed by Lars Klevberg. The plot follows troubled outsider Bird (Katheryn Prescott), who is given an old Polaroid camera by a young man who is trying to woo her. Little do either of them know that the camera is haunted by the spirit of an evil photographer, who used the camera to take nude pictures of his daughter and then kill her friends when they tried to stop him and now, he is back.

Why does no one in this small town seem to remember these grisly murders? Why are there 3 really unnecessary confusing plot twists in this film? Why is the camera killing people who are not even related to his daughter secret? Who knows, who knows that is all I can say about the plot of this film; which really does prove that these days anything, and I do mean anything, will be turned into a horror film.

This film is not aggressively good or bad but rather it is just incredibly generic, you have seen the same premise, just without the camera, before. There is nothing new or original about this film, even down to the individual character. Bird is the troubled girl who is grieving a parent and thinks that their death was her fault, I wonder where I have heard that before, oh yeah Annabelle Comes Home and about 100 other film horror films. She has a stereotypical group of friends who are all vapid and self-obsessed, which seems to be a staple of modern horror films and everything is just incredibly samey.

The actual monster itself is just lazy creature design, normally it is a good thing to not show the monster and build suspense, but here you just end up hoping they won’t because it looks so bad, laughably so. The wheezing that seems to indicate when the monster/demon/spirit is around is not in any way scary.

Everything about this film is generic, it is lazy and does nothing new. The monster isn’t scary and the threat it represents to the characters is never really explained, the plot holes in the film only make this worse. There is no reason why the monster would go after the central group of kids, they have nothing to do with his daughter, it makes no sense at all. If this was an exercise in product placement for Polaroid, then they should ask for their money back.

Pros.

Some of the creature elements are cool.

The mystery is good up until the final half hour.

Cons.

It has been done better before.

You don’t care about any of the characters.

It is offensively dumb.

2/5

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

Watchmen: Nothing Ever Ends

Watchmen is a superhero drama series created by Damon Lindelöf, it continues the narrative of Alan Moore’s acclaimed graphic novel, rather than trying to remake it. Watchmen tells the story of Angela Abar (Regina King), a costumed detective of the Tulsa police department, who tries to stop the evil plans of far-right terrorist organisation the Seven Cavalry. Whilst doing this there is a wider mystery at play, that involves some of the original characters from the graphic novel.

First off, I just want to say that yes, this show is political, but unlike a lot of other entertainment shows and films it doesn’t ram it philosophy down your throat, the writing is far too subtle for that.

I think this show was criminally under watched when it was on, as someone who is a huge fan of the graphic novel, I have often wondered what life would be like in a post-squid world and this show scratched that itch for me. It was fun seeing Silk Specter (Jean Smart) and Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons) again, I liked what the show did with there characters and thought that all of the Ozymandias scenes when he was off world were really intriguing.

What the show did with Doctor Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was good, I liked the romance angle between him and Angela, my only issue with his character was that we didn’t really get a good look at his powers, but that is probably because it was confined to a TV show budget. My other little gripe is, because the show brought back all these classic characters the new characters they introduced really needed to standout and in the case of Angela this was a detriment. Though Angela had some interesting scenes a lot of the time I was begging the show to return to Ozymandias or show me more of other characters as I found her to be a bit dull.

However, the best character on the show was one of the new characters, Looking Glass (Tim Blake Nelson). Looking Glass or Wade, is a fascinating character to watch on screen, as he has been emotionally and psychologically scarred by the events of squid night and watching him deal with that over the course of the season and then seeing him learn it was all one big plot is one of the best things I have seen on television recently.

Overall, this is a masterpiece of a show, it successfully follows up the great graphic novel in a way that feels new and fresh, adding something to the world overall. I am glad it is not coming back for season two as it works better as a one of thing. Must See TV!

Pros.

Looking Glass.

How it deals with returning characters.

The world it sets up.

Fascinating character work.

Cons.

Angela isn’t the best lead character and is often out shadowed by others.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Channel Zero, Candle Cove: Looking In The Abyss

Channel Zero: Candle Cove is the first of Channel Zero’s horror anthology series, which draws heavily on popular creepypastas and internet folklore using them as inspiration for the show. Candle Cove follows Mike (Paul Schneider), a troubled man who returns to his own home to figure out the mystery of what happened to him and his brother when they were kids. The series revolves around Candle Cove a magical TV show that would just come on at random times of the day and is only visible to kids, the series is manic and disturbing and makes the kids who watch want to kill themselves and others and it is up to Mike to get to the bottom of it and stop it.

I haven’t seen all of the seasons of Channel Zero, only 1,2,3, and I have to say out of all of them this season is the strongest. There is something incredibly menacing about the puppets of Candle Cove, this is doubly so when they start appearing in the real world and start tormenting Mike and the others. Whether it is this or something like The Children of the Corn there is something deeply troubling about seeing little kids kill, a base thing that you know at the core of your being isn’t right, that makes this show all the scarier.

Most of the acting in this season is done well Schneider plays manic and disturbed really well and you never know whether you can trust him or not, he is an unreliable narrator throughout, but this adds to the sense of mystery as you don’t know what is real and what isn’t.

My main issue with this series is that I thought it had too much going on. As well as all the Candle Cove stuff, you have various other plotlines, such as a person made out of teeth that appears sporadically throughout the series for no real reason. These extra plot threads don’t enhance the show in any way, rather they make it feel messy and overstuffed. I believe that this show could have really benefited from having better writing and I think if it had this that it could have been an incredibly strong horror series.

As it stands, there are good horror elements in there and a hell of a lot of tension, but the cutting away to plotlines that go nowhere and that you don’t care about undercut these elements and water down their effect, this is something the other seasons of this show suffer from as well, it is because of this I can’t score it highly.

Pros.

The Horror.

The Tension.

Schneider.

Cons.

Needless plotlines.

The Tooth Monster,

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Part 3: Abandon All Hope Of A Good Season

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Part 3 is a supernatural horror TV Series. The show revolves around a young witch called Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka), she is half witch and half human and is unlike her peers on both sides on the supernatural vial. The series sees her learn more about her powers and herself and go on various adventures with her friends. Part 3 sees Sabrina go to hell to get her boyfriend back, thereby becoming the new Queen of hell, as well as battling against a horde of pagans that worship the Old Gods and want to see the destruction of Sabrina’s coven.

Before I get into this review I just want to say I genuinely enjoyed the first 2 parts of this series, there were plenty of great horror moments to keep me interested, despite being linked to the Archie comics and therefore to Riverdale this show had avoided most of the terrible pit falls of that show. At least it did for a time.

Part 3 is by far the worst so far, The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina always had a distinct sense of identity, but it loses it this season. It basically becomes a more out there slightly scarier Riverdale which is the worst thing I could ever possibly say. The supernatural horror takes a back seat to relationship drama and teenage angst, I understand this is the main market for the show, but the other parts still had good horror elements mixed in to make these moments bearable. What’s more there is a musical interlude every 5 seconds, which feels very Riverdale, these songs feel like they have no natural place in the show instead feeling like plot padding and a chance to show off their licensed music.

Another thing that makes this part the worst for me is Sabrina herself. She has always been brash and impulsive following her heart rather than her head, but this season is ridiculous. She repeatedly does things that put everyone she cares about in danger just because it is what she wants to do. When she is trying to become The Queen Of Hell, she won’t take souls unless she thinks they deserve it, which is baffling as they sold their souls to the devil in the first place. What’s more her whole holier than thou attitude quickly becomes grating as she seems to think she knows better than everyone else on screen; proving her to be the embodiment of every self-entitled, self-important arsehole ever; what makes this almost comical is that she is near always wrong.

Don’t even get me started on her friends, they literally exist to further the plot and fill-out the near hour runtime of an episode. In a supernatural horror show, I don’t want to watch a 10-minute cheer leading sequence. This series is going down the toilet fast.

Pros.

A few good horror sequences.

Lilith continues to be great.

Cons.

Sabrina is hateable.

It feels pandering and Riverdale esque.

It’s vapid and self-involved.

1.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

The Wicker Man: Not A Bee In Sight

The Wicker Man is a British horror film directed by Robin Hardy. The film centres on Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward), who travels to the remote Summerisle to try and find a missing girl, and once he arrives, he finds that the locals have abandoned Christianity and have embraced a pagan religion that involves human sacrifice.

This film is the stuff of filmmaking legend not just in the horror genre, but in British cinema in general. It is one of the best UK horror exports. The reason why it is so revered is because it plays on the fear of ‘others’: people who aren’t like us, and in this case in positions them as a direct threat to Christianity. There is a shocking and unpredictable nature to this film which is accompanied by a creep building sense of fear and permeates the whole film.

To me this film reminded me somewhat of Children of the Corn as they both had an underlying sense of something isn’t right here and has the antagonists worship some other evil deity, that is proven to be real to some extent. The Wicker Man also plays on the idea of being single minded, the protagonist is so convinced that his Christian way is right that he is blind to everything going on around him; a mistake that proves to be fatal.

The late great Christopher Lee appears in this film and he is phenomenal. Not only is he terrifying but he has that cult leader quality; the ability to convince others to do what he says through sheer magnetism. Lee proves his worth as a horror master a veteran of the genre, his Lord Summerisle should give you goose bumps.

There are some explicit scenes here and there that serve a purpose narratively but do feel a little over the top. The thing about these scenes is that they seem to come out of nowhere, they serve the purpose of showing how the pagan society clashes with the protagonist’s Christian views and can be viewed as quite shocking, especially when the film came out.

Overall this film is a masterpiece of horror filmmaking, it has been copied into modern horror (here’s looking at you Midsommar) because there is a timeless quality to this story that will never go out of fashion. A Must Watch!

Pros.

A Fantastic Culture Clash.

A Compelling Mystery.

Christopher Lee.

A Very Unique Identity.

Great Atmosphere And Horror.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed By Luke