Day 190: 13B

13B

The views are great, but the rent will kill you

Part of the fun of doing 365 Days of Horror is to watch horror movies that I have been meaning to see for a long time, but just haven't found the time. The other part is discovering new movies that I may not know about. With unknown movies also comes foreign horror movies. The United States and Japan have been the biggest exporters of horror, but other countries are starting to catch up. I have reviewed horror from South Korea, Italy, and Norway. Now how about a movie from a country better known for their musical numbers and bright costumes than horror. I'm talking about India.

13B (originally known as Yavarum Nalam, with a slightly different cast) is a 2009 Indian horror film. There are two versions, one in Tamil and one in Hindi. The movie stars R.Madhaven as Manohar, an upper-middle class man who has just spent his life savings moving his entire family into a new condominium numbered 13B. Little things go wrong in the apartment, such as curdling milk and Manohar's cell phone taking warped pictures, but they are mostly ignored. The women in the house love their serial soap operas and become hooked on a new show called Sab Khairiyat (Everyone Is Well, or Everything's Fine depending on which version you watch). The show is eerily similair to Manohar's family, down to the same number/gender of family members. As the show unfolds, Manohar realizes that the show is mirroring and even predicting his life. As bad things occur in the show, such as the main character's wife having a miscarriage, so do does Manohar's wife Priya have a miscarriage. He receives help from his friend Shiva, a police officer, in trying to unravel what is going on. Manohar visits the television station that broadcasts the show, but the show being filmed under the same name is completely different. He discovers a photo album that was buried outside the condominium containing pictures of the family acting in the show. With Shiva's help, Manohar discovers that the family had been brutally massacred with a hammer and their mentally handicapped brother had been arrested. They seek the help of Dr. Shinde, the same doctor that saved Manohar's mother. Shinde believes in ghosts and the spiritual world and tries to help him out. Manohar witnesses the next episode of the serial, showing a man carrying a hammer. The man is revealed to be Manohar himself. What does this all mean and what will happen to his family?

Just because you have a haunted house doesn't mean you should wear a pink shirt

I don't know much about Indian cinema beyond Bollywood movies. They are certainly different from what Westerners are used to, but they have a certain fun charm that we seriously lack. The fun part about watching foreign horror is to see all the cultural differences. In 13B, there is focus on the apartment's prayer room, where pictures mysteriously cannot be hung. That is not a common thing in American homes, but I was still able to pick up on it's importance. The movie doesn't go too in-depth with cultural information or rituals, so I never felt lost or out of place. One thing I did find funny was that the characters spoke in Hindi, but occasionally American slang or entire sentences in English would be uttered by the actors. I know this is common, but it's still funny to hear. There are two music numbers in the movie and one during the credits. From their perspective, they probably fit perfectly, but from an American perspective, they are a little out of place. There were no extravagant dance scenes, so I should be thankful.

What 13B lacks in scares it more than makes up for in suspense. Much like the soap operas it is poking fun at, 13B has many cliff hangers, keeping the audience at the edge of our seats. The mystery of the condominium is solid and kept me interested throughout the 2 plus hour run-time. The movie has good social commentary on our love of television. Some Americans may think that we do not get obsessed with silly television, but just look at garbage like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives of Whatever. The people involved with those shows have no talent, but they're all celebrities because people watch their terrible “reality” shows. I did get a laugh out of the serial's title and it's theme music, repeatedly saying “Everything's fine.” It was a clever touch. The acting is good and while there is little in the way of action, it still has thrills and twists. The movie's premise and story would fit in well with The Twilight Zone.

Happy birthday!

It's refreshing to see a different country put out a quality horror movie. 13B is told in it's own voice without catering to Western horror movies. It has loads of suspense, aided by good acting and solid horror music. It has a few jolts, but it isn't very scary. The story, while not completely original, is creative enough to keep things interesting with it's old-school horror feel. I wouldn't be surprised if 13B gets remade for an American audience in the near future. It would be a good fit. Well, maybe not the singing and dancing.

7.5/10

Day 89: Masters of Horror: Deer Woman

Masters of Horror: Deer Woman

Better call the Deer Hunter

I need to learn more about Native American mythology. I know chunks of information from various other cultures mythology (mostly thanks to comic books and movies), but Native American culture is just so vast and varied. It seems like an untapped market for fantasy, sci-fi and horror. Thankfully, John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, The Blues Brothers) decided to give us a story that is both unique and enjoyable.

Deer Woman stars Brian Benben (Dream On, Radioland Murders) as burned-out Detective Dwight Faraday. Faraday, who has been relegated to animal attack cases, is called out to a remote area where a vague call about a possible animal attack or murder has occurred. He's joined by beat officer Jacob Reed (Anthony Griffith). At the scene, they discover a horrible mass of blood and flesh that once was a trucker. Faraday questions a witness who describes the victim as being with a beautiful Native American woman with yellow eyes like that kind on deer when it's caught in headlights. He goes to study the body down in the morgue and discovers that hoof prints have been left on the body. Faraday tries to concoct various instances in which a deer hoof would be used to murder someone, but he dismisses all of them as being too ridiculous. We see the mysterious Native American woman charming various men, always leading to the same result; horribly mutilated bodies with deer hoof marks and more evidence pointing to a deer as the culprit. Reed and Faraday travel to a local casino where they learn from a Native American employee the legend of the Deer Woman, a forest spirit who appears as a beautiful woman, but has the legs of a deer. She arouses men and then kills them just for the thrill of it. Faraday believes the story, but Reed is skeptical and wanders off. He drinks and a beautiful Native American woman joins him at a gaming table. Will Faraday be able to save him in time?

"Looks like Arby's to me"

There's no doubt about it, John Landis knows how to make a fun movie. Deer Woman puts more emphasis on humor than horror, but I'm ok with that. The scene where Det. Farady thinks of various ways the trucker was killed with a deer hoof is literally laugh out loud funny. If you ever wanted to see a giant deer costume, dressed in flannel, carry off a screaming woman, this is for you. Brian Benben is great in his role. He's sort of a defeated character that just doesn't care anymore, but still manages to crack a few jokes. Anthony Griffith also does well with some one-liners, making him a good paring with Beben. They could actually do well together in a cop/buddy movie. Get on that, Landis! Another great source of humor are the references to Landis's other movies, such as An American Werewolf in London, where Farady explains how a wolf-like creature was shot dead in Piccadilly Circus in 1981. 

She can trample me any day

The story itself is fairly unique with the inclusion of Native American mythology. It's origins trace back to tribes in the Western and Pacific Northwestern parts of the United States. We get a little bit of the legend, but I would have liked to hear more. It's so rare that we get to hear about Native American culture in pop culture and it's a shame they didn't delve deeper into it. There is a decent amount of action and blood, though more focus is put on the actual story than horror. For being such a funny movie, it does end on a serious down note. That works out for me because I like being bummed, but it may disappoint others that think the entire movie is lighthearted.

Makes sense to me

Deer Woman is a witty horror movie with some great acting and directing. The subject matter is very different from your typical horror and it's too bad there wasn't more time to learn more about the rich Native American culture and mythology. There are lots of legitimately funny moments throughout and with the violence being minimal, this is a good watch for non-horror fans as well. John Landis does a great job crafting this fun watch and I look forward to any future projects he creates.

8.5/10