Tag: Horror

Alien: Romulus (2024) | REVIEW

Cailee Spaeny as Rain face-to-face with a Xenomorph in Fede Alvarez’s ALIEN: ROMULUS — PHOTO: Disney / 20th Century Studios.

Directed by Fede Alvarez — Screenplay by Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues.

The Alien franchise can mean a lot of different things depending on the person you ask. For some, Alien, due to the original Ridley Scott 1979 classic, is Jaws (or a haunted house horror movie) set in space. Others think more fondly of James Cameron’s arguably equally iconic sequel, Aliens, which injected Scott’s blue-collar space-set horror flick with action adrenalin and a militaristic focus, while still keeping its key distrust of corporations at the heart of the film. I wonder if the subsequent divisive-to-middling sequels and spin-offs only further complicated the core audience’s understanding of what an Alien film is supposed to be. When Ridley Scott returned to shepherd the franchise and meld it with some of the ideas of his Blade Runner film in both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, they, too, divided opinion. While some embraced Prometheus‘ ambitious ideas and a key performance, others rejected them wholesale, perhaps because it wasn’t enough of an Alien film or for its specific answers (or lack thereof) as a prequel film, though I acknowledge that some may feel that to be an oversimplification of people’s problems with it. In any case, Scott responded with Alien: Covenant, which continued the overarching narrative started in Prometheus, but also, at the same time, sometimes felt like an effort to compromise and satisfy those that felt Prometheus was too different. The naysayers weren’t won over by Alien: Covenant, which, I contend, is actually an extremely underappreciated film, and the film was a box office disappointment. Seven years later, we now have the first Alien film since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox titled Alien: Romulus, which is a solid and suspenseful horror throwback. However, truth be told, it is also maybe a little bit too safe of a film given the big choices and risks that directors like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and David Fincher have taken over the years.

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A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) | REVIEW

Sam (played by Lupita Nyong’o) with her trusted service cat Frodo in Michael Sarnoski’s A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Michael Sarnoski — Screenplay by Michael Sarnoski.

It has now been more than six years since John Krasinski, then (and perhaps still) best known as ‘Jim’ from the American sitcom adaptation of The Office, proved himself as a competent entertainment triple threat (actor, co-writer, and director) with his third film as a director, A Quiet Place. The film, which was once suggested as a part of the Cloverfield franchise, has since gone on to become its own franchise, as Krasinski also directed a sequel — A Quiet Place Part II — but also because the film series has spun off into an upcoming video game. Now, John Krasinski has, at least for a moment, handed off the reins to the franchise to director Michael Sarnoski — best known for the Nicolas Cage-led film known as Pig — who has now made the franchise’s third film, titled A Quiet Place: Day One, which, as you may be able to guess, is a prequel to the original film that kickstarted it all.

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Abigail (2024) | REVIEW

(L-R) Melissa Barrera and Dan Stevens in ABIGAIL — PHOTO: Bernard Walsh / Universal Pictures.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — Screenplay by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick.

Ever since Radio Silence (a filmmaking group that also includes producer Chad Villella) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett broke through with their sophomore feature, 2019’s Ready or Not, the directing duo has only risen through the ranks when it comes to horror filmmaking. After their bloody wedding horror film in 2019, they were hired to take over from the late, great Wes Craven in the Scream franchise, and they did so with their Scream (2022) and Scream VI. How do you follow up three genuine horror hits in a row? Well, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett decided that they should take on a different kind of horror subgenre that holds a special place in the hearts of horror aficionados with Abigail.

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Don’t Look Now (1973) | CLASSIC REVIEW

Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland in Nicolas Roeg’s DON’ LOOK NOW — PHOTO: Casey Productions / Eldorado Films / D.L.N. Ventures Partnership.

Directed by Nicolas Roeg — Screenplay by Allan Scott and Chris Bryant.

Whenever you watch a film two times in a row, you know it has its hooks in you. Don’t Look Now — Nicolas Roeg’s iconic, impressionistic, and occasionally scary psychological thriller based on a Daphne du Maurier short story of the same name — follows John and Laura Baxter (played by Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie respectively) not long after they have recently lost their daughter to an accident by their country home in England. They now find themselves in Venice, Italy, where John has been hired to help restore an ancient church. In the meantime, Laura befriends two elderly sisters, one of whom, Heather (played by Hilary Mason), claims to be clairvoyant and able to see their deceased daughter sitting between them in a restaurant. John, however, is skeptical of clairvoyance, and yet, from time to time in Venice, he sees a small figure wearing a similar red raincoat to that his daughter wore on the day that she died.

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Saltburn (2023) | REVIEW

Barry Keoghan as Oliver Quick with his back to the camera in Emerald Fennell’s SALTBURN — PHOTO: MGM and Amazon Studios.

Directed by Emerald Fennell — Screenplay by Emerald Fennell.

There are shades of dark comedy, satire, and horror in Emerald Fennell’s gothic erotic thriller Saltburn. The film is set in 2006 and follows Oxford University student Oliver Quick (played by Barry Keoghan), as he struggles to make friends and fit in among several snobbish borderline celebrities on campus. One day, he befriends Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi) when he offers to lend him his bicycle and walk back Felix’s bike with a flat tire. The immensely popular, posh, and privileged Felix proves to be more pleasant than you might expect, and he takes a liking to the nerdy, needy, and neglected ‘Ollie’ who is very polite and whose stories about being from a less fortunate and troubled family intrigue Felix. Ollie, meanwhile, seemingly lusts for both Felix and his status. Eventually, Felix invites Ollie back home to the Catton family castle — known as ‘Saltburn’ — for the summer, so that Ollie can get his mind off tragic news from back home. Once there, he becomes an object of fascination for Felix’s rich family, who, among other things, seem to be taking some pleasure from hearing about the struggles of the less fortunate, until, at some point, they find them boring. This is the case with their ‘hanger-on’ Pamela (played by Carey Mulligan). When he realizes that one day the family may lose interest in him too, Ollie sets out to make himself very popular in the family country house by any means necessary.

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Nattevagten – Dæmoner Går I Arv (2023) | REVIEW

(L-R) Emma (Fanny Leander Bornedal), Jens (Kim Bodnia), and Martin (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) stop by the forensic institute in Ole Bornedal’s NATTEVAGTEN – DÆMONER GÅR I ARV — PHOTO: Nordisk Film.

Directed by Ole Bornedal — Screenplay by Ole Bornedal.

The long-awaited sequel to the once locally groundbreaking Danish horror hit Nattevagten (international title: Nightwatch — though not to be confused with the American remake of the same name also directed by Ole Bornedal) starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau — long before he became a part of a global sensation with Game of Thrones — is finally here. Back then Ole Bornedal shook audiences with a fresh horror film that showed the local film industry that, of course, strong Danish filmmakers have it within themselves to make competent horror films, even though the Danish film industry only rarely shows that it is capable of such things. Even today effective Danish horror films are few and far between. So, has Ole Bornedal caught lightning in a bottle yet again with his horror sequel? Well, to a certain extent. While Nattevagten: Dæmoner Går i Arv (international title: Nightwatch – Demons Are Forever) admittedly does suffer from familiarity, it is still a fairly entertaining sequel about the next generation trying to clear up their parents’ mistakes.

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Pearl (2022) | REVIEW

Mia Goth in Ti West’s PEARL — PHOTO: A24.

Directed by Ti West (X) — Screenplay by Ti West.

In spite of its late release in my corner of the world, Pearl — a prequel to Ti West’s horror hit X — was initially released in the very same year as X was in the United States. Together they present us with a fascinating horror period piece exercise centered on the power of the craft of filmmaking, being and feeling seen, and the American Dream. Whereas X was set in the 1970s, Pearl takes place in 1918 and follows its titular character (played by Mia Goth), a young woman who lives with her German immigrant parents on a farm in Texas. This is, indeed, the same elderly woman that Mia Goth played while covered in make-up and prosthetics in X (one of her two roles in that film), and this film thus serves as an origin story for that character. In the film, we see how Pearl feels trapped and lonely partly due to the fact that her husband (played by Alistair Sewell) is fighting in World War One in Europe, while her strict mother (played by Tandi Wright) insists that she does chores on the farm. Meanwhile, Pearl becomes increasingly infatuated with entertainment and dancing, and she is desperate to one day get up on a stage and gain mass approval — which a theater projectionist (played by David Corenswet, who was recently chosen to be the next Superman) ensures her she is ‘pretty enough’ for.

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A Haunting in Venice (2023) | REVIEW

Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot in A HAUNTING IN VENICE — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh — Screenplay by Michael Green.

Trying to play an iconic character that has been portrayed by a litany of actors is a challenge. The challenge is more than doubled when you’re also the chief creative involvement shepherding the entire production. Such is the case for Kenneth Branagh with his Agatha Christie adaptation film series, in which he plays her mustachioed Belgian star detective, Hercule Poirot. After two so-so or at best lukewarm entries with his versions of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, Branagh has taken a far less well-known story and adapted it for his third attempt. So, is the third time the charm for Branagh’s Poirot? Well, I’ll say this, it is by far the most interesting of his three Poirot whodunnit adaptations thus far, even though it’s not without issues.

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Infinity Pool (2023) | REVIEW

Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth with grotesque masks on their faces in Brandon Cronenberg’s INFINITY POOL — PHOTO: NEON / UNIVERSAL.

Directed by Brandon Cronenberg — Screenplay by Brandon Cronenberg.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” former U.S. President Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in 2016. With what has happened since then — such as his supporters’ January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, or the unyielding support that Trump still receives even after having been indicted (checks notes) 4 times — I think it would be fair to say that he’s probably right, even though it absolutely should not be true. Some people are just gobsmackingly blind to what is really going on — and once they find out who people really are, it is sometimes too late. Anyway, why am I mentioning this? Well, this idea that the uber-privileged have no relationship with consequences is something that has stuck with me ever since I first saw Infinity Pool, which is not at all about Trump but definitely is about who people are behind the masks that they hide behind in their outward-facing daily lives.

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Every ‘Insidious’ Film Ranked (2023)

Insidious Film Posters (2010-2023)

Recently, the Insidious and Conjuring scream king Patrick Wilson got the chance to sit in the director’s chair to direct the latest and potentially final Insidious film for the big screen, Insidious: The Red Door. As I wrote in that review, this series is the “lower-budgeted and less revered film series sibling” to The Conjuring, but it has a passionate fan base that always makes these films successful in movie theaters around the world. I quite liked Wilson’s film, but how does it compare to the other films in the franchise? Well, let’s have a look.

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