Tag: horror

Movies

Malevolent

Not A Walking Tree

Sometimes I like to watch ghost stories because I enjoy that bit of supernatural fun, and for the possibility of being healthily scared – preferably without a jump scare. There’s only two or so in the movie which was nice; however, halfway through, the movie decided to shit the bed and stop being a ghost story. It turned into torture porn.

Is it so hard to make a pure ghost story with inventive twists and turns without devolving into some sort of Satanist bullshit?

Based upon a novel called Hush by Eva Konstantopoulos, who shares screenwriting credit, it’s a story about two siblings, a brother and sister, who run a medium investigation service in which they con grieving relatives in regards to their dead who supposedly haunt the living. They do a script, play some sound effects, and get the people to believe it worked. Angela, the sister of the duo, is the one that plays the role of the medium because their mother apparently was one before committing suicide. They get hired by some old lady to help her stop the children’s screaming at the orphanage where she lives. Cue murderous backstory revealing the gruesome demise of the children. Cue Edgar Allen Poe and the guilt of a murderer. And you can figure it out yourself.

There is no twist ending here, simply human beings being murderous monsters. I don’t know why you had to use a ghost story for that. Should have just gone with the murder murder path. There’s too many plot points trying to vie for time, it would have gone over much better if it stuck with just one. For example, her brother needs the money because of gangsters? I wasn’t quite sure. The whole ghost story angle, and how even the brother might be sensitive to it. And then the story of the orphanage, and the old lady could have been an entire story on its own.

I watched this because I was curious to see Florence Pugh, and how she could act because I only knew her from Black Widow. It is obvious she’s yet another star brought in by who she knows, her family, and not the strength of her own bootstraps. She was atrocious here, her emotions stilted, subdued. I would say it is the fault of the writing, but look at Henry Cavill, in the trash released the other day, he was the carrying force. Yet, it didn’t save the show at all there either.

Overall, it’s yet another trash horror release by Netflix, no doubt another in the latest long line of supposedly possibly without any proof, or hearsay, money laundering schemes. Or not, I pulled it out of my ass like Lauren S. Hissrich does with her writing.

TV Shows

Hellbound

Not A Walking Tree

I can understand the critical love for this show, it is masterfully helmed and well crafted. The characters are strong, rounded, and believable. Humanity reacts in a predictable manner when masterfully manipulated by psychology under the guise of religion and the unexplainable. Being marked by so called angels for death, and then being brutally beaten to a pulp before burned away out of existence, is an interesting concept. Six episodes was far too short to explore such an idea, and I hope season 2 delivers. The cliffhanger was the only time it got truly interesting for me.

I understand the allure of telling emotional stories, playing with the viewers’ heartstrings to get audience immersion, and nobody does it like the Koreans do, but man! This felt like one of those Hollywood movies crafted solely for an Oscar… Except for the sheer brutal violence. It is over the top, and gory, and just feels like it’s there for the sake of being there. It wasn’t done tastefully, it was too much. I looked away every time. Perhaps that was the intent, to showcase how some would look on in glee, while others away. Perhaps, like all media, there’s social programming plugging away at you. Desensitizing you to the brutality of it all. I would have liked this show if they did away with the horrific acts committed by entities to humans, and just shown the after effect of the burned bodies. I don’t need to see a man or woman brutalized against the ground, pavement, or other.

I would have enjoyed the story way more if it focused on the supernatural element as the forefront plot point. Yes, yes, humans will create their own religion and groups to make meanings of events they don’t understand. I wanna see an exploration into these demonic entities, research some ancient libraries, make a special government team for it. But, that wouldn’t draw people in as strongly as small interknit stories between specific individuals that shape the world, and the small people affected by such decisions.

Overall, yes, it’s a good show, not denying that. I, myself, didn’t like it.

Movies

Night Teeth

Not A Walking Tree

After I finished watching this movie, and had felt like I enjoyed it, I was curious to see what other people had to say on it. I was surprised to see a negative response to it. Perhaps the genre is better said to be a coming-of-age modern fantasy vampire movie rather than thriller, action, horror and crime as listed. All those elements are merely backdrops to the story of our boy, Benny. His is a simple story amplified by the elements of the supernatural, action horror oriented crowd. Reminded me of Odd Thomas. His plight of being held up on a chauffeur job by a crazy pair of customers also reminded me of Collateral with Tom Cruise. Those movies certainly influenced the idea of the movie. As did any secret society movie, recently popularized by John Wick, influenced Night Teeth, with the world of the vampires and humans that know about it similar to the society of assassins and their counterparts.

Benny, played by Jorge Lendeborg Jr., is a delight to watch. His character is so likeable and charismatic, and you want to see him make that character arc grow to completion. The amount of foreshadowing present and Chekhov’s gun are enjoyable because the point of a simple story like this is to establish this character. This world. Debby Ryan was nearly recognizable to me, I was just so attuned to the character, to Blaire; she got action hero fit. Anyways, it was a mysterious and fun ride to be taken along with. It also reminded me of Bright with Will Smith, in that it’s a fantasy world set within Los Angeles featuring all the politics that go with it. The pace is consistent, moving you quickly with the flow while still delivering that world building in style. Some negative reviews said it had too much style and little in terms of good story, saying it was predictable and that’s exactly how I feel about Dune 2021 except Night Teeth had an actual ending with a hint of another movie. Dune was like watching LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring, and it ending at Rivendell when the party is gathered. I digress.

The soundtrack was electric and reminded me of cyberpunk/futuristic techno, it helped the scenes flow. The coloring of the movie was soothing, a city of neon lights. The action scenes were brutal but not to the point of being too filled with gore. And the antagonist played by Alfie Allen was nothing to write home about, but he wasn’t terrible either. I liked the other casting roles for that game of “Oh it’s this person!” The final fight was quick and didn’t drag on, but a minor continuity error at the end was funny (watch Jay closely).

Overall, I recommend this movie for a nighttime watch during the spooky month of October. Great movie if you understand that this story is about a coming of age tale, for a young man trapped within a horror story, that’s slick with style.

TV Shows

Midnight Mass

Not A Walking Tree

Mike Flanagan strikes again with an excellent and well told horror story. Everything he’s put out so far, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He is a master at creating suspense and keeping tension through the entirety of the season. Midnight Mass is seven episodes long varying in length, usually an hour for the most part. Each one is masterful in developing characters and has just the right amount of calm before the storm. Each episode’s final 10 or 15 minutes accelerates the horror plot in unexpected ways; that is, until you catch onto what is happening then it becomes a sense of wonder.

I can’t say the references it has, or the pop culture ones either because to say would be spoiling the plot, and this is one show I really don’t want to do that. It is best to go in blind and be left at the mercy of what will unfold. The acting is superb by everyone involved, and I especially liked the Sheriff (Rahul Kohli) and Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford). The cinematography was excellent and helped add those feelings of isolation with the wide sweeping views of the lonely island. The music elevated the tension and suspense further, and I’m really glad that it didn’t give away if a mild jump scare was to happen. Speaking of those, they are far and few and the ones that do happen, are to be expected.

The imagery and religious symbolism within the show was used to great effect, and really made you think how well the subject matter of the Bible tied into the idea presented in the show. I’m not Catholic, so a lot of the Bible might have gone over my head, but the few passages I did understand, I really enjoyed the idea presented. In fact, one of the passages about Jesus, I always thought since I was a child, that it could be used for such an idea as this show. I read other reviews that didn’t enjoy the long monologues by many of the characters but I felt that they were needed because this show is filled with preaching and lots of sermons so the monologues fit into that idea of preaching.

Overall, I highly recommend the show. It’s a standout on Netflix, and one of their few really good original series. For fans of horror, it’s a must see.

Movies

The Old Ways

Not A Walking Tree

I’m always wary of supernatural horror involving exorcism and demons because such a subject matter is not be taken lightly. There is magic involved in invoking such things. Most people might not believe in such superstitions but for those that do, this movie does an excellent job at treating such ways with respect. The story unfolds in the midst of things, without a huge exposition dump, and lets the viewer try and piece things together. It’s about a woman, an American reporter, who comes to Veracruz to explore a lost culture. She ends up in the care of a bruja, a witch, who sees in her something that others do not. A demonic entity.

I liked this movie because it did not rely on jump scares, like most cheaply made horrors do. It uses imagery of tribal ways, of an older culture, to invoke a sense of mystery. The fear is a slow build up, and once things get under way, you are no longer scared but empowered against it. My hands were pools of sweat watching, but it wasn’t an outright fear, it was insidious. The character goes through a transformation, both physical and mental. She becomes a better person by the end. The acting was well done, maybe a little bit of a cheesy line here and there but nothing serious to detract from the story. I loved the camerawork, the out of focus shots to hide things in the background and to bring things to the forefront. With action primarily taking place in one location, the movie relied on the strength of the actors. Brigitte Kali Canales in the lead role was believable, and I enjoyed watching her go through denial before finally accepting that things are this way. This is how they’ve always been. Julia Vera as the bruja had an aura around her, you felt safe whenever she was on screen. Sal Lopez as the son of the bruja gave that feeling of a fatherly character, another to feel safe with. And Andrea Cortez as the cousin of the reporter did a good enough job, though a couple times, there was a little bit of a continuation error with her character but ultimately nothing too distracting.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I do recommend it if you’re in the market for some exorcism, demons, and confronting old wounds and healing them.