Day 310: The Last Exorcism

The Last Exorcism

Twister: Satanic Edition

There have been possession/exorcism movies before and after but none come close to the sheer terror and quality of The Exorcist. It is the alpha and the omega of possession horror. Many have tried to emulate it and many have failed. It's almost unfair to compare other movies to The Exorcist. It is a movie unto itself. All that being said, it's hard not to do so because the themes that run through that movie are identical to all others. The heavy religious imagery, religious commentary, the questioning of faith, and some scary violence. Those things could describe countless possession movies. Because of this, newer movies are required to come up with new ideas, new twists, and new gimmicks to differentiate themselves from the standard bearer of exorcisms in horror. One of those gimmicks is my old “favorite,” found footage.

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 found footage-style exorcism movie starring Patrick Fabian (Bad Ass, Providence) as Reverend Cotton Marcus. Cotton is followed be a small documentary crew to expose exorcism as a fraud. He has performed exorcisms in the past, but does not believe in demons or possessed individuals. Along with the crew, Cotton travels to a small town in Louisiana after receiving a letter asking for his help in performing an exorcism. The letter is written by Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum, True Blood, JAG) claiming that his daughter Nell (Ashley Bell, The Day, United States Of Tara) is possessed. After meeting with Nell, Cotton tells her father that she is possessed by a demon called Abalam. Cotton uses a myriad of tricks and props to make it appear that he is casting a demon out of Nell, to the satisfaction of her father. That night, Nell randomly appears in Marcus's hotel room in a disheveled state. They take her to a hospital to get checked out and everything comes back normal. Cotton visits the Sweetzer's former pastor, Joseph Manley (Tony Bentley, Cadillac Records, From The Rough), who explains that he hasn't been in contact with the family in a few years. After his wife's death, Louis became ultra religious and pulled his family out of the church and homeschooled his children. Nell inexplicably cuts her brother's face and Louis chains her to her bed. Cotton and the film crew free her, but her strange actions continue. A doctor from the hospital leaves a message, stating that Nell is in fact pregnant. Convinced that Louis raped her, Cotton and the crew wait for him to come home. Tempers flare and Nell attacks Cotton. He agrees to perform another exorcism, but things are not what they same. Is Nell really possessed or is there something else going on and how is Pastor Manley involved?

Power slide!

As with every other exorcism movie, religion does play a large part of the movie, but not in the typical way. The Last Exorcism puts a twist on the “loss of faith” theme. The movie doesn't focus on Cotton's return to faith and allows the movie to progress. The movie doesn't feel too preachy and doesn't rely heavily on Christian imagery. That was quite a relief as other movies tend to bash the audience over the head with crosses and Jesuses (Jesusi?). By not being as straight-forward as other exorcism movies, The Last Exorcism is free to craft better characters without having to force cliches and stereotypes. Both Patrick Fabian and Ashley Bell put in good performances, making both of their characters likable and believable. This likability is important because it makes the audience care about what is going on. The story itself is on the fairly mundane side with a few twists and turns that didn't really work for me. Things felt rushed and convenient with the express purpose of getting to the “shocking” ending with about 3 minutes left in the film. The movie lacked the proper amount of foreshadowing to be believable and felt too random. The final few seconds were straight out of the Blair Witch Project and I hated that movie.

The main gimmick of this movie is the use of found footage. As I've said in other reviews, I'm not really a fan of this style. It does allow for quicker scares, but it really isn't necessary for a movie like The Last Exorcism. Beyond the fast jolts, there really aren't many scary things about the film. I can't stand the shakiness of the camera and the phony focusing that occurs. Personally, I think a few quick scares are not a good tradeoff for a good story. There is a bit violence, though most is directed at a cat, which I didn't care for. The movie is rated PG-13 which blows my mind. Why would you handcuff your movie and take out the necessary and desired violence from the horror crowd? Do you really want a 14 year old to see a movie talking about rape and incest and demonic possession? By going soft on the violence and language, the movie becomes watered-down and generic. It doesn't have to be a splatterfest, but a few more scenes of violence and some real-life dialogue would have improved the movie immensely.

All the kids are doing the "Possessed" at the dance clubs

The Last Exorcism has a few good things going for it, but it tends to blend in with all the other exorcism movies. The story is fairly mediocre and the twists are too convenient and not very surprising. The ending feels very rushed and a lack of foreshadowing made it appear to come out of nowhere. The found footage may appeal to some, but I found it unnecessary and occasionally nauseating. The acting in the movie is good and there is solid character development. I truly think the PG-13 rating held the movie back and made it too bland for your average horror fan. While it's not a terrible movie, there were just too many thing in it that I didn't like.

5.5/10

Day 302: The Wicker Tree

The Wicker Tree

Make like a Wicker Tree and leaf

I've reviewed a lot of movies over the past year. I've watched originals, sequels, prequels, remakes, sequels to remakes, re-imaginings, and all other sorts of movies. I didn't think there was anything else left and then I saw today's movie, The Wicker Tree. Now, you may see the title and think, “Hey, that must be a sequel to The Wicker Man.” Nope. “Oh, OK. It must be a prequel.” Nu-uh. “Hmm. Remake? Re-imagining? Sequel to the prequel to the remake?” No, no, and no. The Wicker Tree is classified as “companion piece” to The Wicker Man. A companion piece, in regards to film, is a movie that is similar in nature and themes to that of a previous movie. Or if you want to put it another way, a movie that is pretty much the same as another one, just not as good.

The Wicker Tree is a 2011 horror film written and directed by Robin Hardy (The Wicker Man, The Wrath Of The Gods). The film is adapted from the Robin Hardy novel, Cowboys For Christ. The movie stars Brittania Nichol as pop country singer Beth Boothby and Henry Garret (Red Tails, Re-Kill) as her cowboy fiance, Steve Thompson. Both are evangelical Christians from Texas, wearing purity rings and belong to a group called “Cowboys For Christ”. They travel to Scotland to do missionary work, bringing Jesus to a group of people who have abandoned Christianity. They are welcomed by Sir Lachlan Morrison (Graham McTavish, Colombiana, Rambo), the leader of the town, who has arranged their trip. Beth performs a concert at the local church and we later learn that at one point in her career, her songs were all about promiscuity. The people of the town are not interested with Beth and Steve's teachings, rejecting Christ in favor of the Celt goddess Sulis. We learn that a terrible ecological accident occurred in the town, seeping into the water and forcing the community to not have children. The May Day celebration is approaching and Lachlan insists on having both Beth and Steve partaking in their events. Unbeknownst to them, the town plans to sacrifice both to Sulis in order to help increase fertility and restore their population. Will Beth and Steve realize what is happening before it is too late?

Close your eyes and think of the Queen

Despite being written and directed by Robin Hardy, who directed the original The Wicker Man, The Wicker Tree lacks what made The Wicker Man so great. In The Wicker Man, a strong sense of urgency and suspense rings throughout the entire movie. There, we want Sgt. Howie to find the missing girl as all the events lead up to his fateful meeting with the wicker man. In The Wicker Tree, we already know what is going to happen since the movies are so similar in nature. This kills any possible suspense, even though there isn't much to begin with. We know that everything is leading up to the May Day event, but nothing of real consequence happens to get us excited or interested. When you don't have suspense, all you're left with is a middling and boring story. I found myself constantly checking how much time was left just so I could be finished. There's a small side story with a police officer and a local woman, but I failed to see the point. There is a little bit of action towards the end, but it doesn't have the great shock and horror as The Wicker Man's final scene.

The movie also lacks the same strong characters and performances as The Wicker Man. Both Beth and Steve are far too naive and goofy to be considered likable and therefore, the audience has no real interest in what happens to them. Apparently, this is Brittania Nicol's first full-length film and it shows. She's not horrendous and delivers her lines well enough, she just lacks the appropriate emoting needed for such a role. That's partly due to the poor dialogue and lack of character progression. There is a very, very brief scene with Christopher Lee, which caused many to believe that The Wicker Tree was in fact a sequel. In it's original form, The Wicker Tree was going to be titled Cowboys For Christ and had Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave, and LeAnn Rhimes in major roles. Unfortunately, the project lacked funding and was never picked up. It's a shame, because having a stronger cast would have helped the movie greatly. Also, being under a different name would have reduced expectations. When you hear the word “wicker” in a horror movie title, you have a certain frame of mind when watching and you're bound to be disappointed.

Kids, say no to drugs and companion pieces

 

Though not a true sequel, The Wicker Tree does have the same elements and ideas as The Wicker Man. The stories are very similar and the brief inclusion of Christopher Lee connects the movies even further. Sadly, The Wicker Tree is nowhere near the quality of The Wicker Man in almost every way. The characters are not as good and the acting is nowhere near the quality of The Wicker Man. There is some action, but nothing great. The movie actually has a lot of humor in it, though I didn't really find myself laughing. If the movie was under a different night, I might have been more forgiving, but that is not the case, and I found myself very disappointed with The Wicker Tree.

3/10

Day 294: The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man

From the makers of The Chia Pet

I never understood the saying “You need some of that old-time religion.” What exactly does that mean? If the speaker is referencing Jesus or Christianity, then they're way off. If you want to talk about “old-time religion” you better be referencing the god of the harvest a while wearing goat leggings and singing a jig in a long-dead language. The term pagan is thrown around a lot nowadays in reference to many different things, but it's important to remember that there are people still to this day that actually practice the “old-time religion”.

The Wicker Man is a 1973 British horror film starring Edward Woodward as Sergeant Neil Howie (Hot Fuzz, King David) and Christopher Lee (Lord Of The Rings, Dracula) as Lord Summerisle. Sergeant Howie receives an anonymous letter requesting his assistance in the case of a missing girl on the tiny isle of Summerisle. Howie must travel by small plane to get to the island and can only get to shore by rowboat. He begins asking the town people about the girl he is searching for, Rowan Morrison, but the all claim to never have heard of her. The people of the island have a strange way about them and it makes Howie, a devout Christian, incredibly uncomfortable. The sing songs about the harvest, have sex in open fields, discuss the importance of the phallic nature of the maypole, and use old forms of medicine. Howie stays at a local inn while continuing his investigation and notices photographs from the island's yearly harvest. Last year's photo is missing and he is told that someone accidentally broke it. At night, Howie is tempted by the innkeeper's daughter Willow (Britt Ekland, The Man With The Golden Gun, Satan's Mistress), but he refuses, explaining that he is a virgin and doesn't believe in sex before marriage. He travels to the school, where he discovers more evidence that Rowan Morrison did, in fact, live on the island. Howie speaks with the leader of the island, Lord Summerisle, about his investigation. Summerisle tells Howie of the islands history, explaining that his grandfather came to the island and developed a new strain of fruit that he believed could thrive in their climate. He instilled in the population the idea that if they prayed to the old gods, that the crops would grow and they would thrive. With the old ways also came sacrifices to the gods to ensure good crops. Howie discovers Rowan's grave and unearths her coffin only to discover a dead rabbit inside. He also finds that Rowan is in the missing picture of last year's harvest, standing amongst a poor crop. He believes that she will be sacrificed on May Day, which is tomorrow. Will Sergeant Howie be able to save her and is everything on Summerisle as it appears to be?

"As you can see, the Wicker Man is quite roomy and has a lovely view."

Ignore everything you heard about the horrendous remake of The Wicker Man that came out a few years ago starring Nicholas Cage. That movie is an abomination. Thankfully, the original Wicker Man is highly enjoyable thanks to it's great acting, solid writing, and fun mystery. The movie doesn't start out suspenseful, allowing the fear and anxiety to grow over time. Some movies are all suspense all the time and it wears out the audience. The Wicker Man takes it's time while still having an appropriate pace and surprises the audience without resorting to quick “jump at you” moments or gory violence. The audience gets sucked into the mystery of Rowan Morrison and follows along with Sergeant Howie as he traverses this strange island. The story is really, really good, never tipping it's hand until the final act when the movie truly becomes horror. The scene where Howie finally “meets” the wicker man is both terrifying and deflating as we know his fate.

While the story is very good, it's the acting in the movie that really makes it great. Edward Woodward represents the Christian world and, to a lesser extent, the audience. He epitomizes the term “stiff upper lip” trying to keep his composure in a a land full of strange customs and acts. Christopher Lee is equally great Lord Summerisle. While he and the rest of the people are technically the villagers, the conduct themselves with a smile, something that most horror movies do not do. This makes the movie very unnerving the horror that much scarier. They are true believers, committing acts that others would deem barbaric all in the hopes of having a good life. Throughout the movie, we hear various pagan songs from the people and admittedly they are very catchy. Christopher Lee is actually a classically-trained singer and his iconic voice sounds great in the movie. He actually released a symphonic metal metal album and a heavy metal album a few years back. It's not bad, but you have to watch this ridiculous music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvKRbi2ovDY.

Touchdown!

The Wicker Man is occult horror without the flaming pentagrams and shouts to the devil. The movie doesn't require blood and gore or jump at you moments in order to be scary. The story has a great mixture of mystery and suspense that keeps the audience wanting to see more. The ending is fantastic and comes as quite a shock to the system without having to relying on a major twist. The acting is great with Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward putting in fantastic performances. The movie does bring up the power of religion and beliefs, but you can interpret that in however way you like. Wicker Man is a classic for a reason, but be sure to skip the remake. A “spiritual” sequel was released in 2011 and there is work on a third film entitled The Wrath Of The Gods. If you're thinking of checking those out, be sure to start with the original.

9/10

Day 274: The Reaping

The Reaping

Read 'em and reap

Religion and horror. I've said it before and I'll say it again. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Most religious-based horror revolves around possession and exorcism, but there are a few that try to go a different route. Or, more accurately, they try to portray themselves going a different route in hopes that the audience thinks they're being original. Throw in some special effects and an Academy award-winning actress, and you have yourself The Reaping.

The Reaping is a 2007 horror movie starring Hillary Swank (Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don't Cry) as Katherine Winter. Katherine is a current professor at Louisiana State University specializing in debunking supposed religious miracles. She is also a former ordained minister who lost her faith after her husband and daughter were killed during a missionary trip to Sudan. Katherine receives a call from her former missionary partner, Father Michael Costigan (Stephen Rea, The Crying Game, V For Vendetta) saying he has received a warning from God that she is in trouble. Doug Blackwell (David Morrissey, The Other Boleyn Girl, Basic Instinct 2), a science teacher from the small town of Haven, comes to Katherine asking for her help. The river by the town has turned red and the locals believe it is a plague brought on by a young girl named Loren McConnell (AnnaSophia Robb, Race To Witch Mountain, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). They think that Loren killed her older brother in the river and that God is punishing the town. Along with her colleague Ben (Idris Elba, American Gangster, Thor), Katherine travels to the town and tests the red water. There, Katherine meets Loren and has a vision of Loren turning the water into blood. At the same time, Ben witnesses frogs falling from the trees. Soon, lice infect the town and the livestock dies. It appears that the 10 plagues of Egypt are now befalling the town. Katherine gives scientific explanations as to why things are happening, but people do not believe her. As the investigation continues, Katherine has more visions of Loren seemingly killing her brother. She meets Loren's mother, who has a strange symbol carved into the door of her home. Loren attacks her mother and Katherine flees. She calls Father Costigan, who explains that the symbol is from a satanic cult that sacrifices the second born in an attempt to create a child with “the eyes of the Devil” to bring them to power. He also tells her of an angel being sent to destroy them. The plague of boils strikes the town and a mob forms to kill the girl. A plague of locust, controlled by Loren, swarm the mob. Will Katherine be able to stop Loren before the town kills her or is there more to the story than she knows?

Who set the heat lamp to "Kentucky Fried"?

Initially, I thought The Reaping might have been a different sort of religion-based horror movies. I'm not really sure why, but it probably has something to do with the use of the ten plagues. I like the use of the plagues as a plot device since most people know what's coming, but isn't sure when or how it will be done. Beyond that, though, The Reaping plays out like every other religious horror movie cliche. We have the crisis of faith from a formerly religious character, the town of religious zealots, and the outcast “satanic” family. Just in case that wasn't painfully obvious, we're given a character named Katherine Winter. They might as well have named her Jesus Neverbelieve. The spirituality in the movie is particularly shallow and not believable. I appreciate that the movie tries to give a scientific explanation for the plagues, but about halfway through, Katherine just kind of accepts things. When the movie focuses on cults and rituals, it became obvious that The Reaping was no different from other movies and I essentially stopped caring.

My biggest issue with the movie comes within the last 15 minutes. The Reaping goes from “boring, but passable” to “screaming headlong into the fiery pits of lunacy”. They give their little twist, which isn't very surprising and comes off as cheap and meaningless. Then they slap the audience with a ridiculous and implausible ending, complete with horrendous special effects. They should have just cut out the ending and left some things to the imagination. Instead, we get everything laid out in a surprising display of bad film making. The cast tries to rise above the cliched story and poor film making. Hillary Swank and Idris Elba actually have a very organic chemistry together which helped the characters feel more natural. They tried to portray AnnaSophia Robb as creepy or scary, but she's just too cute for the evil villain role. The movie does have some action and a bit of violence, but not enough for your average horror fan. 

"It's not  blood, it's chocolate milk! No wait...it's blood."

The Reaping comes from a long line of tired religious horror movies that all seem to fall into the same traps. You pretty much know what is going to happen about halfway through the movie. The religious issues are delivered in a ham-fisted way and the final act is just horrendous. The big reveal is neither exciting nor interesting and the special effects are laughable. The use of the plagues are fun to see, but that's about all that is interesting in the movie. The acting is fine, but it's not enough to overcome a weak story and bad film making. The Reaping had a chance to be unique, but settled for something we've seen many times before.

3.5/10

Day 258: The Omen

The Omen

So is he the son of Satan or Lassie?

If there is a child in a horror movie, they're either going to be a victim or the spawn of evil. I've expressed my general disdain for how most children are portrayed in horror. They're either incredibly stupid, incredibly annoying, or both. It's even worse when the entire movie is based around said child doing stupid things and making situations for more dangerous than they have to be. The other side of the coin are movie where the child is evil. These can be hit or miss depending on the the individual execution of each movie, but these have a far better track record than horror involving normal kids. Sure some have kids being possessed or infected with some disease, but you can't beat having the child of Satan.

The Omen is a 1976 horror/suspense movie starring Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird, The Yearling) as Robert Thorn. Robert and his wife Katherine's (Lee Remick, Damn Yankees, Anatomy Of A Murder) newborn son dies in a hospital in Italy. Unaware to Katherine, Robert is coerced by a priest named Father Spiletto to take another newborn child who's mother died in childbirth. Concerned for Katherine's well being, Robert portrays this new child as their biological son, naming him Damien. Soon after, Robert is named the United States ambassador to Great Britain and the family moves to a fancy estate in Britain. A few years later, strange events begin to occur around the house. During his birthday party, Damien's nanny unexpectedly hanged herself in front of all the party-goers. She is quickly replaced by the odd Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw, Frenzy, Tangiers) who vows to protect Damien at all cost. A priest named Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton, Scars Of Dracula, The Moonraker) begins to follow Robert, trying to warn him about Damien and his true origins. After initially brushing him off, Robert listens to Brennan as he explains that Damien is the offspring of the devil, intent on killing Katherine, her unborn child, and eventually Robert himself. After their meeting, the priest dies after a pole on a church impales him after being struck by lighting. The events continue as Damien, riding his tricycle, knocks into his mother, sending her over a railing and onto the floor below. She survives, but has a miscarriage. Photographer Keith Jennings (David Warner, Titanic, Planet Of The Apes) has been investigating these incidents, discovering each picture he took of the victims foretold their fate. An accidental self-picture reveals that Keith himself is in danger. Keith and Robert investigate Damien's origins, believing that he is actually the Antichrist. leading to a trip to Italy. They discover his true mother's grave, finding a skeleton of a jackal inside. Next to her is the grave of Robert's true son. They open it to reveal that his child was murdered with the purpose of replacing him with Damien. While Robert is away, Katherine is shoved out of a window by Mrs. Baylock, killing her. Robert and Keith go to Israel to meet an archaeologist named Bugenhagen. Bugenhagen tells Robert that Damien should have a “666” birthmark on his body and that Robert must kill Damien with specific knives before it is too late. He refuses, throwing the knives away. When Keith retrieves them, a truck accidentally rolls towards him, causing a sheet of glass to slide off and decapitate him. All alone, Robert returns home to Great Britain. Will he find the birthmark and be able to kill Damien before he destroys the world?

"Eat your damn vegetables!"

The Omen has the perfect balance of suspense and horror. We, the audience, know that something is not right with Damien and can see things unfolding much sooner than the characters. There is danger around every corner and while the characters believe them to be accidents or coincidences, we know the truth and want to leap into the screen to tell them. It's not often that a movie can cause an entire audience to call for killing a child, but The Omen manages to do it. The movie has a relatively slow, but steady pace which lays out what is going to happen without rushing scenes to get to a major event. While that's good for increasing suspense, it does make for a long run-time of about an hour and fifty minutes. While no scenes are unnecessary, the length does get to be a bit much at times.

For a movie based around an evil child, we don't actually see Damien commit true acts of violence. Sure he knocks into his mother, but he never explicitly hurts people. The violence comes from supernatural and natural means, all of which are clever and competently achieved. There is some blood, but not much by today's standards. Keith's beheading is quite impressive and helps bring the movie to a new level of shock. Gregory Peck is very good as Robert Thorn and David Warner is a solid foil. I should mention that the music in The Omen is great and makes the movie far scarier. Composer Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown, Rudy) received an Oscar for his work and is well-deserved. The theme “Ave Satani” is a combination of orchestral music and strong choral chants in Latin. It is startling and jarring while giving credence to the religious themes in the movie. The ending of the movie is well-done, not revealing too much, but leaving the audience shocked and afraid.

Still not as evil as Snooki's child

The Omen proves that not every child in a horror movie has to be annoying or stupid. While the violence and overall theme is scary, The Omen really makes it mark with subtle looks and implications of things to come. The line "Look at me, Damien. It's all for you!" is a horror movie classic and can still shock audiences today. The movie has a great amount of suspense, but does get drawn out for an unusually long time. The acting and directing is very good and the music is classic. The story is pretty basic and I would have liked a little more time spent on Damien himself, since he is the central purpose of the movie. While there is a remake and numerous sequels out there, make sure to see the original movie first.

8/10

Day 257: From Within

From Within

You better call your optometrist

Religion has a big place in the horror genre, probably more than any other style of movie. How often do you see religion addressed in a car chase movie like The Fast And The Furious or a teen comedy? While various religious themes are explored in horror, it's the execution that truly makes the themes matter. Religion is a delicate subject even for those who are not religious. That doesn't mean movies should question or even criticize religion, it just needs to be done in a way that is smart and thought-provoking. Just throwing a few priests and demons into the mix just won't cut it. It's also important to have a point to making your movie.

From Within is a 2008 supernatural horror movie starring Elizabeth Rice (Mad Men, Forgetting The Girl) as Lindsay. A teenage boy named Sean Spindle reads an encatation from a black book and commits suicide in front of his girlfriend, Natalie (Rumer Willis). Covered in blood, a hysterical Natalie runs into a clothing store owned by her father, saying that someone is following her. Lindsay and her alcoholic mother Trish are in the store and witness Natalie stab herself in the throat with a pair of scissors. That night, Natalie's father is haunted by a dark figure and begins to hear strange voices. He is found the next day dead from an apparent suicide. The next day, Lindsay witnesses her boyfriend Dylan (Kelly Blatz, Prom Night, Glory Daze), who is the son of the town pastor, beating on Aidan Spindle (Thomas Dekker, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Sean's brother. Dylan blames Aidan for the recent rash of deaths in the town. Some years back, Aidan and Sean's mother was labeled a witch by the town and died under mysterious circumstances. Many blamed her for the death of a local man. Lindsay takes Aidan home and treats his injuries, making a connection with him. The suicides in town continue, seemingly spreading from to each person who witnesses the previous suicide. Each person sees an evil version of themselves and is forced to commit suicide. Aidan tells Lindsay about his mother and how she used to practice witchcraft. He warns her to leave Grovetown before it is too late. A religious fervor is sweeping the town, led by Dylan. That night, Lindsay is kidnapped by Dylan and her mother's boyfriend Roy (Adam Goldberg, Saving Private Ryan, A Beautiful Mind) and brought to the church for a religious cleansing. Later, Trish sees her evil doppleganger and is forced to kill herself. Lindsay finds her body and the curse that is sweeping across the town is now inside her. How will she be able to rid herself of the curse before it is too late?

Over, under, in and out. That's what noose tying is all about.

 

From Within tries hard to make a point about religion, but any impact they tried to make lands with a thud. There is little subtlety to the movie, though it never reaches the point where I feel like I've been hit with a cross in order to make a point. In fact, I think they managed to miss some opportunites for bringing up religion in the movie. While I am no expert on Christianity, I know that suicide is considered a sin. In a movie that contains a large number of suicides, the fact that it is a sin is never really brought up. It's a missed opportunity in which the act could have been discussed both in religious and psychological terms. Why no coming to grips with the sin or dealing with the psychological ramifications felt by other people?

One major problem with From Within lies within the general idea of the movie itself. The movie reminds me far too much of two other movies: M. Night Shyamalan's “The Happening” and “Fallen” starring Denzel Washington. The Happening revolves around the population committing mass suicide and Fallen involves a supernatural killing passing from person to person. What do you get when you combine both movies and add a dash of religion? You get From Within. I constantly had the feeling of “I've seen this before” while watching the movie. It's fairly predictable from about 20 minutes in what is going on and what is going to happen, all the way to the “surprise” ending. I want to be clear that I am not accusing the movie of plagiarizing or stealing ideas, because From Within is it's own movie. The similarities were just too much for me to ignore. It was also an interesting choice to use high schoolers as the focus of the movie. Despite being portrayed as such, they never really act like they're in high school, but nonetheless lack the gravitas and experience to pull off the major religious themes the movie was attempting. Again, this is a missed opportunity as the movie could have explored suicide in the context of high school students which could have been poignant and powerful. Instead we get a rather plain story about a curse and a witch, with a son who looks like he belongs in 30 Seconds To Mars.

The movie is low-budget, but director Phedon Papamichael Jr. (cinematographer on The Ides Of March and 3:10 To Yuma) manages to produce some decent scares. Most of fear comes from quick shots of the dopplegangers, decked out in pale makeup and contact lenses. There are a few scenes using special effects which look decent, but they never dominate the film. The acting is fine, though certain scenes are a bit overacted. Adam Goldberg puts in the best performance as the born-again criminal Roy, which is funny considering Goldberg is half Jewish and played the lead character in “The Hebrew Hammer”. He doesn't play a large part in the movie, though he does give a strong, albeit brief, part at the end. The movie does have a decent amount of violence, but it's mostly self-inflicted. For people with issues regarding suicide, there may be some difficult scenes to watch.

"We'll finish this at the Abecrombie & Fitch, bro!"

From Within isn't a particularly bad movie, it's just not very good. The general idea for the movie is decent, though it has been done before in one form or anything. By invoking Christianity as a main theme, the movie painted itself into a corner and failed to deliver. No great commentary is made and no point is driven. Things just kind of happen and there's a sprinkling of religious fervor and that's about it. They did not explore the ideas of sin and suicide and they ignored the difficulties of suicide and high school. Even with a supernatural bent, they are still real-life issues and could have added a degree of authenticity to the movie. Instead, we get a cookie-cutter horror movie with a few mediocre scares that may be more suitable for a late night slumber party than your typical horror fan.

4.5/10

Day 227: Alice, Sweet Alice

Alice, Sweet Alice

I don't know, Mitt Romney as president would scare me

“People believe what they want to believe.” That is one of the truest statements ever, not just in a horror movie. The line comes from today's review, Alice, Sweet Alice, but it could pertain to just about anything. Whether it's politics, religion, or even education, people are going to believe what suits their needs or opinions. Global warming is a prime example. We just had the hottest July on record, and I mean ever, and there are some people that still claim climate change is a “myth”. Of course, many of those people have an agenda and need to be taken with a grain of salt when they appear on a news or “news” channel. The used to be the saying “Seeing is believing,” but a more accurate statement would be “Believing is believing”. In horror, the audience is required to believe in what they're seeing, no matter how fantastic or ridiculous. That's all part of the fun.

Alice, Sweet Alice (also known as “Communion” and “Holy Terror” is a 1976 horror movie starring Paula E. Sheppard as Alice Spages and Linda Miller as her mother, Catherine. Set in New Jersey in the 1960's, Catherine's young daughter Karen (Brooke Shields, The Blue Lagoon, Suddenly Susan) is preparing for her first communion. Karen's older sister Alice is extremely jealous of Karen and begins acting out, scaring the housekeeper Mrs. Tredoni, with a bizarre mask. Alice lures Karen out to an abandoned warehouse where she scares her with the same mask and locks her in a room. When she lets Karen out, Alice warns her that if she tells anyone, she'll hide her doll. On the day of the communion, Karen is murdered by someone in a yellow raincoat and the same translucent mask that Alice had been wearing. Her body is dumped into a bench and the crucifix, given to her by Father Tom, and set on fire. Alice is seen walking into the church wearing the same yellow raincoat when a nun smells the smoke and discovers Karen's body. Alice's father Dominick returns for the funeral and reconnects with both Alice and her mother. Catherine's sister Annie also visits, but is constantly berating Alice. One day while going down some stairs, Annie is repeatedly stabbed by the same person who killed Karen. She believes Alice is the attacker, despite having no definitive proof. Alice is given a lie detector test and passes despite saying the killer is Karen. After an evaluation, she is placed in a mental institution against her will. Dom receives a phone call that someone has Karen's crucifix, so he goes to an empty warehouse to claim it. He is stabbed by the masked figure and bashed in the head with a brick. The killer is revealed to be Mrs. Tredoni, who is using her religious fervor as the basis for the attacks. Who will stop Mrs. Tredoni and what will happen to Karen?

Waaaassssuuuuuuuup?!

Alice, Sweet Alice has shades of Hitchcock in it's scope and style. The movie is initially presented as a cut-and-dry slasher movie about a deranged child killing people she doesn't like. The quote from above, though, should obviously lead you to believe otherwise. The characters in the movie and the audience can't help but believe that Alice is the killer even though all the evidence is circumstantial. We want to believe that Karen is the killer because that is the simplest answer. I appreciate the misdirection, but felt a little more foreshadowing would have made the big reveal more believable. While it was a good surprise, once the killer is revealed, I feel that the movie switches gears and becomes a different movie. The heavily religious commentary didn't do much for me because there was a good chunk of the movie where it wasn't addressed. Of course, the previous movie titles “Communion” and the later title “Holy Terror” make more sense in this regard than the more popular name “Alice, Sweet Alice”.

The music used throughout the movie is wonderfully diverse, setting both the tone of the movie and, in certain scenes, juxtaposing the violence with jaunty sounds. When Dom is killed, I noticed there was no music at all, just the sounds of violence and his screams. It was truly unsettling and fit in well with a movie that, while having some scares, is far more uncomfortable than anything else. The acting is pretty good with Paula Sheppard putting in the best performance. This was also the very first movie that Brooke Shields appeared in, and while only appearing briefly, she played her part well. If you need a laugh, listen to her recent appearance on NPR's “Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me” where she discusses the movie with comedian Bobcat Goldthwait. There is a decent amount of blood and violence in the movie, made more effective by the belief that a child is committing the crimes. Director Alfred Sole is able to capture the fear and suspense very well for the movie and it's a surprise he only made one other horror movie before calling it quits.

Take that, Tom Cruise

Alice, Sweet Alice is an entertaining horror movie that gets the audience to question their beliefs in terms of how they perceive things. The religious commentary, while good, fades in and out, occasionally losing focus in favor of Alice's story. The action is solid with some good scares and plenty of unsettling moments. There is some blood and violence with enough suspense to keep the audience on edge. The music is excellent and the directing is competent, complimented by good acting. The movie is a little long and gets a little muddled once the killer is revealed, hurting the flow and momentum. Still, Alice, Sweet Alice is a fun and startling horror movie.

8/10

Day 129: 5ive Girls

5ive Girls

I'd rather be at Five Guys

Ron Perlman is pretty awesome. He's been an actor on the big and small for many years and has lent his voice to the popular cartoon, Teen Titans. Heck, anyone that can play the weird 80's Beast from Beauty and the Beast show and still have a career should be praised anyway. His run as main character from the Hellboy franchise is probably one of his most popular roles, but he's also starred in a few horror movies as well. He's been in I Sell The Dead, Mutant Chronicles, and Alien Resurrection just to name a few. While the quality of his horror movies range from good to not so good, Ron Perlman has always been a a bright spot. Can the same be said for the movie with a number in it's name instead of a letter? Would Ron Perlman be able to make a possession movie be exciting?

5ive Girls is a 2006 Canadian horror movie starring Ron Perlman (Enemy At The Gates, Hellboy) as Father Drake and Jennifer Miller (Lucky Number Slevin, American Pie: The Naked Mile) as Alex, a young woman with psychic powers. Five years ago, a student at the Catholic school St. Mark's named Elizabeth was attacked by a demonic force. Father Drake rushed to save her, but was powerless to stop the demon, and Elizabeth vanished without a trace. Cut to the present day, St. Mark's has just reopened as a sort of reform school for five troubled girls. Under the strict rule of Headmistress Pearce (Amy LaLonde), Alex and the four other girls are subjected to harsh punishments. Alex begins to have visions of Elizabeth roaming the halls and reveals this to the other girls. It turns out they all have supernatural powers and abilities, Connie is a conduit, Mara can heal, Leah can pass through objects, and Cecilia has ESP. It turns out that Miss Pearce has actually brought the girls together in an effort to conduct a satanic ritual that will bring Elizabeth back. Each girl is possessed and murdered by the demon Legion of New Testament fame, bringing Miss Pearce closer to bringing back Elizabeth, who turns out to be her sister. With Father Drake dead, will Alex and Mara be able to stop Legion and Miss Pearce?

Shalom!

I posted a question earlier asking if Ron Perlman could make a generic movie great. To answer that question in one word, “No.” In two words, “Hell no.” In three, “Hell fucking no!” That's not to say Perlman doesn't put in a good performance, because he does, it's just not enough to pull the movie out of the depths of cliché hell. I do think it's funny though that a nice Jewish boy like Ron has played a priest in more than one movie.  All the usual religious/satanic symbols and symbolism are present; the pentagrams, the “demonic” voice, the blood, the crosses. Even if you haven't watched many of these movies, you'll feel like you've seen it all before and will be endlessly bored. With these movies, there is the possibility where you may actually learn something. As a non-Christian/Catholic, I was not particularly familiar with who or what Legion is. They gave a quick description, certainly not enough to really explain the whole backstory and just why the hell he made Elizabeth disappear and why he's back now.

Beyond the weak story, the problems lie within the acting and the special effects. The acting ranges from passable to cringe-worthy. The direction is off in some places, with angsty rock music being played in scenes that don't really need it. It doesn't help that they are given some truly terrible dialogue that sounds like it came from a bad CW teen soap drama. Some jokes and witty banter are tossed in and it just kills the flow of the movie. The special effects are pretty bad and really hurt the overall horror. There are some action scenes, but the overall feel of Catholic school girls running around comes off more like a soft core adult film.

Those effects are "special" alright

5ive Girls (not to be confused with the instrumental metal band or the boy band 5ive) is a typical religion vs. Satan story that has nothing going for it beyond Ron Perlman. I may not have watched the movie if he wasn't starring in it. He does a fine job, but he gets zero help from his supporting cast. The story is painfully cliched, the acting is poor, and the effects are unfortunate. By the end, I didn't care if the characters lived, died, or mushrooms grew out of their asses. Wait, that last one might have at least been interesting. Overall, 5ive Girls will give you the sense of deja vu from a movie you already hate.

3/10

Day 28: Priest

Priest

I'm Batman...no wait...

When a movie is adapted from a well-known book or comic, there are certain scenes that we all expect to appear. Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider, Bruce Wayne seeing his parents killed, and an infant Kal-El being shot into space. These are all iconic characters with iconic stories. When a movie is made from a lesser-known comic book or graphic novel, its hard to know what to expect or even know if the movie is being true to the source material.

Priest is based off a Korean graphic novel of the same name. Starring Paul Bettany (Legion, The Da Vinci Code) as the title character, the world is thrown into a battle between humans and vampires. The vampires are close to winning a war that has devastated the planet, until the arrival of the Priests, humans blessed by God capable of killing vampires. With the vampires defeated, the world becomes a theocracy, ruled by the Church. The vampires eventually return, kidnapping the niece of Priest who gives chase along with her boyfriend Hicks (Cam Gigandet, Twilight, Burlesque). They scour the landscape fighting vampires and are eventually joined by Priestess. They realize that they have been set up and must race back to their city before a train full of vampires devour everyone. Who came up with this diabolical plan, why did they kidnap a relative of Priest, and what does it have to do with his past?

SUBTLETY!!!!!

Part horror, part western, part sc-fi, and part steampunk, Priest feels like wants to be a bunch of other movies. It feels like a mish-mash of Mad Max, Underworld, Shane, Batman and Aliens. The movie is full of your typical horror/sci-fi cliches, but it's main focus is talking of religion and authority. Priest is all about the heavy Christian (and anti-Church) overtones and imagery. The falling crucifixes, people dying in a Jesus pose, and crucifixions. It's laid on so thick that you feel like Jesus is about to smack you with a cross. I mean, if this movie was any less subtle, it would just be called "Religion!" Subtlety works best in these situations, but there is nothing subtle about this movie.

The action scenes are over the top, which is fine because the movie is based on a comic book. It's sleek and stylish, but lacking in a lot of substance. The vampires themselves have a unique style and look very good. The story is fine, but the dialogue and acting are painful at times. It feels like lines were written with the intention of being “cool” but you just end up rolling your eyes. The execution of the action, though, just comes off poorly. Each action scene goes into slo-mo, practically saying “We're slowing everything down so you can see how awesome we are!” A lot of the movie involves the characters speeding through the desert on futuristic motorcycles. Why bother killing vampires with knives and blades when you clearly have advanced technology?

Have you heard the good news? He has risen... and wants your blood!

I've never read the Priest comic book, so maybe I missed a lot of subtle things only fans of the book would understand. That still shouldn't stop me from enjoying the movie, though. A cliched story, painful dialogue with mediocre acting and over the top religious commentary makes Priest a difficult watch. Some fun action sequences and a great opening animated scene keep you interested in the hopes that something great will happen. It is up to you to decide if that occurs, but for me, Priest was almost as painful and boring as being in Sunday school.

4/10