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Get Out (2017)
'Get Out' Is A Smart, Satirical Look On Society and Racism
OVERVIEW: Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) is invited by his girlfriend Rose (Allison Williams) to spend the weekend at her parents estate. This will be the first time Chris has met them and is nervous how their interracial relationship will be received. Something Rose has not warned her parents of. When they first arrive, Chris takes note that both the maid and groundskeeper for the family are black. However, Rose's father Dean (Bradley Whitford) assures him that there are no racial motivations. Even more odd is her mother Missy (Catherine Keener) who practices hypnosis. Despite Chris' decline for a session, she performs it on him anyways.
As the weekend gets underway, the family hosts their yearly party with friends, all of whom are white. Chris is growing uncomfortable as it seems everyone is trying way to hard to seem like they aren't racist. They bring up liking Barack Obama, Tiger woods and even make remarks about his physique. He is surprised to see one black man and attempts to chat with him to ease the awkwardness, but finds the young man to be just as odd as the rest of them. Chris finds comfort in a phone call with his cousin Rod (Lil Rel Howery), who swears something sinister is going on. Both he and his cousin continue to grow in their paranoia as they piece together the strange happenings.
THOUGHTS: For this horror film, the scares are subtle tricks played upon the audience. It follows more of a psychological thriller pattern, avoiding unnecessary jump scares or relying on gore to aid its story. There is an unease that follows you throughout the film as you try to dissect each character and what is truly going on. It's full of tension and continually plays with your mind. There is also a wonderfully unsettling visual representation of hypnosis that this film utilizes for when Chris is incapacitated. It was reminiscent of The Twilight Zone and it was an interesting way to show the helplessness one could feel.
Not surprising was the amount of great comedic moments in this film. There were much needed moments of levity throughout, most delivered by Lil Rel Howery. Use of humor were at times when it felt natural and it wasn't an attempt to overpower the film or its message. Jordan Peele has found so much success in comedy, which was why so many were shocked to hear he was directing and writing this film. This was a nice way for him to merge his love of horror with what he is best known for.
Also worth its own praise is the amazing performance by Daniel Kaluuya. Many will recognize him from his appearance in the Black Mirror episode "Fifteen Million Merits". His portrayal of the emotionally scarred Chris was such a well-developed character in a genre that sometimes forgets how to do that.
Tackling racial issues in a horror movie seemed to unnerve some people when the trailer initially dropped. It was easy for people to judge it on the surface, especially for a topic that makes some people uncomfortable. Without getting into spoiler territory, not only is the subject of racism addressed, but also the idea of genetically superiority as well as life. The film is not so easy to dissect and is really a fun one to watch.
The Bye Bye Man (2017)
'The Bye Bye Man' Is As Unfortunate As Its Name
OVERVIEW "Don't say it. Don't think it." But of course a group of college students do and then find themselves dealing with a foreboding curse. The problem is, The Bye Bye Man never quite develops itself nor does it explain a lot of avoidable mistakes. It's one of those films that is so painful to watch that you wonder, did they make it this bad on purpose? The film with the unfortunate name, is just as unfortunate plot- wise.
After moving into an off-campus house with his best friend John (Lucien Laviscount) and girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas), Elliot (Douglas Smith) finds bizarre writing on the inside of a drawer. Etched beneath the lining is "The Bye Bye Man". When Sasha expresses her concern that a presence may be in the house, they perform a seance with the help of her psychic friend. It is during the seance that Elliot speaks the entities name out loud, thus unleashing the curse among those who hear it.
The supernatural creature quickly gets into their heads, making them see things that increase their paranoia, jealousy and fear. Possessing them in a way that encourages them to commit acts of murder. Which seems to be the only way of stopping others from saying The Bye Bye Man to anyone else.
THOUHGTS One of the most prominent flaws with this film was apparent from the start. That is the very unassuming name for this terrifying monster, The Bye Bye Man. It's not frightening at all and it frankly is so ridiculous, it's hard to take the characters seriously when they're saying it with fear in their voice. The character is portrayed by the excellent Doug Jones (Hellboy, Crimson Peak), who is an amazing creature actor. So while his efforts could have potential to create a spooky demonic ghoul, the rest of the film completely ruins all hope.
The plot of the film moves fairly quickly. A little too quickly. The characters are so self-aware in an instant. It makes you wonder if they only moved into this creepy old house so one of them could claim it's haunted. Which in itself makes no sense because the house itself is not haunted. It's only by saying "The Bye Bye Man" out loud that he gains any power, yet the characters experience a couple supernatural occurrences before anyone sees or mentions the name.
Another thing that was so painful with this film was its inability to be serious. One of those rare films you see where you're confused if you're not in on the joke or not. The script is disastrous for a studio film. The amount of cheesy lines, or just set-ups that make no sense was something the entire audience seemed to not be able to get over. It's also very poorly acted, the actress portraying Sasha appeared to be in more of C- student film, rather than a film with a $7.4 million budget.
It's hard to be so harsh to a film that tried to be original, but it's flaws were just so glaringly apparent that it's difficult to understand how anyone would give the okay. The very few jump scares this film had, were instantly negated by something ridiculous and comedic. It never quite found it's footing, which could entirely be blamed on a poor script and terribly set up scenes.
Don't say it. Don't think it. Don't see this movie.
Split (2016)
'Split' Might Be M. Night Shyamalan's Most Intriguing Thriller
OVERVIEW: Outsider Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) attends a birthday party for her frenemy Claire (Haley Lu Richardson), a pity invitation obviously. After accepting a ride home with Claire's father, as well as her best friend Marcia (Jessica Sula), Casey and the two girls are attacked and kidnapped. They wake up locked in a basement by a man named Dennis (James McAvoy). However they soon find out that this man exhibits two other personalities, a woman named Patricia and a young boy named Hedwig.
While Claire and Marcia are terrified and ready to fight, Casey seems more reserved. She wants to dissect exactly what's going on and perhaps speak with Hedwig, who seems fond of her, to gain more insight. It is soon discovered that the mans real name is Kevin and he has 23 unique personalities. Patricia and Dennis are the strongest and waiting on the arrival of the 24th personality, "the beast". Time is running out for the girls to find their escape and their only hope is figuring out which personality could help them before it's too late.
THOUGHTS: The film itself examines the concept of dissociative identity disorder. While the science explained isn't something we're all familiar with, it definitely intrigues you as a viewer to learn more about this complex disorder. James McAvoy takes on a tremendous amount of work having to develop so many unique personalities, in some instances having to switch between them within the same scene. It's an impressive feat to take on and even more disturbing and sad that people live with this.
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), who portrays Casey in this film, deserves tremendous praise for her performance. Not only does she deal with the stresses placed on her character during her imprisonment, but also the complexity of a character that has a deeply troubling past.
Despite the dark tone of the film, there are moments of levity and some humor that feels well-balanced. At some times things may come off a little silly when it means to be serious, but not in a way that negates the prouder moments of the movie.
Pacing in this film starts to fade off at a certain point. When we reach the third act you sort of find yourself questioning exactly where this film is going. There doesn't seem to be an exact path you can find narrative-wise to get an idea of the films purpose. Are we experiencing reality, something supernatural? What exactly is it suppose to leave you with?
It's an enjoyable film, but you're left with these questions, until the final scene. A scene that left many in the audience confused, excited and hoping for another.
The Monster (2016)
'The Monster' Succeeds In Drama But Struggles In Horror
OVERVIEW: Young Lizzy (Ella Ballentine) embarks on a road trip with her alcoholic mother Kathy (Zoe Kazan). The two have a strained relationship filled with drunken nights, hungover mornings, and verbal abuse. Lizzy, ready for a visit with her Dad, requests that they drive through the night instead of making any pit stops. The less time she spends with her mother, the better.
While passing through dense woods late at night, made no better by rain, Kathy hits a wolf. The two get out to examine the poor animal and find a large tooth embedded in its side. While Kathy assumes it was another animal, Lizzy has a feeling there is something more menacing out there. As the mysterious creature slowly unveils itself and becomes more violent, the two must put their differences aside and fight for survival.
THOUGHTS: Part creature feature, part family drama, The Monster is a moderate horror film that favors a slower pace. With an intriguing monster and background story, it's disappointing that this film struggled with many of the easier scenes. It's within the horror-centric scenes where many of its faults lie.
We have a very complex story about a neglected child and her alcoholic mother. Their relationship and issues are played out in a series of flashbacks as they are trapped in the woods. While the story is wonderfully told in general, and their issues with each other unfold in a heartbreaking and unsuspecting way, the faults within the horror side of this film prove to be something the viewer can't help but nag at.
There are those typical clichéd moves that characters make that are obviously annoying to some degree. It's sometimes the stupidity of these characters, and their means of survival, that are hard to grasp. There are just better ways to approach storytelling on a horror side than what this film provided. It was quite surprising to find that Bryan Bertino, who wrote and directed 2008's The Strangers, also wrote and directed this film. The pacing is very similar, and stylistically as well. As far as actual horror and capability of these characters, I feel there's a disconnect from his previous work.
While it's an okay horror film, certainly not the worst I've seen, I find myself wanting to correct its mistakes more than I felt I enjoyed watching it. It's a drama that just so happens to take place during an event that would be best fit to count as a scary movie, but it's not. I didn't hate it, just very underwhelmed.
Santa Clarita Diet (2017)
Santa Clarita Diet: Netflix's Bloody Brilliant Series
OVERVIEW: If you mix Dexter with iZombie you'd get Santa Clarita Diet, the newest original series from Netflix. Sheila (Barrymore) and her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant) live in your average cookie-cutter suburb with their daughter Abby (Liv Hewson). After Sheila becomes violently ill, dies, and then comes back craving raw meat, the family tries to keep things running as normal as possible. Despite being diagnosed as a zombie by their neighborhood nerd Eric (Skyler Gisondo), Sheila remains fairly the same except for an insane amount of energy and a new diet.
However, after Sheila gets a taste for human flesh she can no longer eat raw animal meat – only fresh humans. Keeping it a secret from their daughter, Sheila and Joel decide to kill criminals in their area for her to feed on. Which only makes their secret even more difficult to keep, especially with such nosey neighbors.
THOUGHTS: Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are a match made in zombie heaven. They both have great comedic timing and the style of this show fits so well with the two of them. The supporting cast is also full of wonderful comedic talent and there are a lot of familiar faces that pop up.
At 30 minutes an episode, you can easily power through this show in a day, and it'll leave you wanting more. For horror fans, the effects and gore in this show are so impressive. You can't help but laugh and be completely grossed out simultaneously. This is also a great show for people who can't quite handle The Walking Dead, but want in on the zombie fun.