Tag: Slasher

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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Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) | REVIEW

(L-R) Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Chase Sui Wonders, and Rachel Sennott in BODIES BODIES BODIES — PHOTO: A24.

Directed by Halina Reijn — Screenplay by Sarah DeLappe — Story by Kristen Roupenian.

This summer I’ve been trying to catch up on specific releases that I may have missed from last year. One of these catch-up releases is Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, which piqued my interest last year but which I never got the chance to see. Until now, that is. Bodies Bodies Bodies follows Bee (played by Maria Bakalova), a young Eastern European woman, and her girlfriend Sophie (played by Amandla Stenberg), as they travel to a mansion owned by one of Sophie’s friends — David (played by Pete Davidson). Upon arrival, it becomes clear that Bee’s inclusion in the so-called ‘hurricane party’ that Sophie’s friend group — which, other than David, also includes Jordan (played by Chase Sui Wonders), Alice (played by Rachel Sennott), Jordan (played by Myha’la Herrold), and Greg (played by Lee Pace) — has set up has not been OK’d beforehand. After a round of introductions, they partake in alcohol and drugs before they decide to play a party game called — you guessed it — ‘bodies bodies bodies,’ which is a ‘murder in the dark’ whodunnit type game in which they have to figure out who the murderer in their midst is. Later, as the storm worsens, the power goes out, and they soon find one of them actually dead. Now it appears to be all real. They now have to figure out — as the saying goes — who’s done it.

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REVIEW: Scream VI (2023)

Sam Carpenter (right, played by Melissa Barrera) surrounded by Ghostface killer costumes in SCREAM VI — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — Screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

The latest film in my favorite horror film franchise, Scream VI, was released late in my region, so even before I sat down to watch it, it was already a massive success at the box office. It is the sixth film in the series, which also includes a television series, and it is thus the kind of continuation that may make cynics compare it to the horror franchise trend that Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson (the original creators of Scream) lampooned in the opening of Scream 4. In that film, characters discuss how, by films 6 and 7, the Stab film series (the in-universe film series based on the events of Scream) has run out of steam. That is a real possibility for any franchise, whether horror or not, once it gets big enough. It can become the same movie over and over again, and it may end up in the difficult cycle of having to top itself again and again. In the hands of Radio Silence (the directing duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), the franchise was rebooted in a clever way that honored the legacy of the franchise with 2022’s Scream. Only a single year after that film was released, Radio Silence has already put out a sequel. In spite of an inventive new location, Scream VI doesn’t ever feel as clever or fresh as the best films in the series, but it is still a solid slasher sequel that should satisfy long-time fans. Thankfully, the franchise doesn’t feel as stale as one might’ve feared at this point. The old tricks still work, even if they aren’t as fresh or sharply defined as they once were. 

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REVIEW: X (2022)

Mia Goth’s Maxine from Ti West’s X — PHOTO: A24.

Directed by Ti West — Screenplay by Ti West.

Ti West’s X takes place in the late 1970s and follows a cast of pornographic actors — Maxine (played by Mia Goth), Bobby-Lynne (played by Brittany Snow), and Jackson (played by Scott Mescudi) — and a film crew — producer Wayne (played by Martin Henderson), ambitious amateur director R. J. (played by Owen Campbell), and R. J.’s girlfriend Lorraine (played by Jenna Ortega). They are on a road trip and are headed to a farmhouse, at which they intend to shoot their adult film. However, the owners of the house, an elderly couple, don’t know what they intend to film on their property, and the sight of Maxine awakens a disturbing lust inside the elderly woman that calls the farmhouse her home.

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REVIEW: Candyman (2021)

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Anthony McCoy in Nia DaCosta’s CANDYMAN (2021) — Photo: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Nia DaCosta — Screenplay by Nia DaCosta, Win Rosenfeld, & Jordan Peele (Get Out; Us).

Horror remakes, reimaginings, or sequels decades after a popular antagonist’s inception are inevitable. This movie studio trend was especially prevalent in the 2010s, when it was emphasized just how profitable decent-to-good horror films can be. One of the more stylized attempts was Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake, while one of the more disappointing attempts was Kölsch & Widmyer’s Pet Sematary remake. Horror remakes are a dime a dozen these days, but the current horror movie trend is the legacyquel — a portmanteau of legacy and sequel — which is a continuation of a previous film but one that takes place a long time after the events of the original film and often with entirely new characters. Another trend is that of ignoring some films in the franchise, for the purpose of taking the franchise in another direction. Such is the case with a legacyquel like David Gordon Green’s Halloween. Another legacyquel that ignores certain chapters in its own cinematic mythology, Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, which really ought to have a different title for simplicity’s sake, follows many horror movie trends, but perhaps most notably those kickstarted by her producer and co-writer Jordan Peele.

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