The Last Exorcism...

This is a film that’s going to divide audiences. Some will hate it, some will love it. I really don’t think there will be much room left in between. We’ll get into why that is a little later.

There is one thing everyone should agree on, though. All of the cast deliver well rounded, dynamic performances. From the leads to the supporting characters, everyone puts in a believable, down to earth performance. Which is rare in a horror film, believe me.

One thing that will make this film so divisive is its use of the first person, cinéma vérité technique. This film is found footage, styled after the Blair Witch Project, Quarantine, Cloverfield and the like. The characters are aware of the camera, they reference and speak to it, and the movie is shot from the perspective of a film crew documenting the exorcism, specifically a cameraman named Daniel.

Me and K-Reel often call these handy-cam films. And The Last Exorcism does the handy-cam school of horror film making proud. Because the performances are so grounded and natural, the way the story unfolds seems natural too.

But some people just don’t like this style of film making. Maybe they don’t like experiencing the story so directly. Maybe, they don’t like the way the camera shakes and wobbles. Maybe they have bad memories of the Blair Witch Project giving them motion sickness. As a fan of this style, I couldn’t tell you.

I think shooting this way really brings the viewer in on the tension and allows for a kind of carnage and fear to play out across the screen that can’t be replicated in any other style. See the last fifteen minutes of Quarantine for the prime example of this.

The Last Exorcism uses the tension allowed by this medium wonderfully. There are several breathless moments in the film that stem from the cameraman trying to orient himself to possible threats around him. Because we see what he sees, we’re just as vulnerable and unsure of what will happen next as he is.

Obviously, this is the aim of any good horror film, to make the audience feel the fear the characters are experiencing. I really do think the handy-cam, when done as well as it is here, is the ultimate way of achieving this. Though this film lacks any of the full out chaos of films like Cloverfield and Quarantine, the action it does boast unfolds quite well.

Why so many handy-cam film makers feel the need to beat something with the camera is beyond me. I mean, isn't that going to break it? Qaurantine did it, 28 Weeks Later did it in their handy-cam scene, and now we have another example to add in The Last Exorcism. Somebody should make a Youtube montage.

So we come to the performances.

The Last Exorcism is actually a rather new title for the film, getting tacked on only after it was acquired for its North American wide release. It was originally called Cotton, named for its main character, preacher and exorcist Cotton Marcus. And in a lot of ways, it really is Cotton’s story. There’s a story arc at play for him here, one just as important as the one centered on the exorcism, but ultimately much more subtle. Without giving too much away, the movie is framed just as much around Cotton’s story as it is the possession, and any finality the viewer is able to glean from this film ultimately resides in the journey Cotton takes.

I know this all sounds pretty vague but this is definitely a film you want to know as little about going in as possible.

So, there’s a lot of weight on Patrick Fabian’s shoulders. And he really brings the role of Cotton to life. Even when he comes across as a douchebag, which he does for a good chunk of the film, he always seems earnest, relatable and ultimately real. I wouldn’t want anything more from an actor.

Ashley Bell is also quite good as Nell Sweetzer, this film’s Regan MacNeil, it’s Emily Rose. The one who may or may not have a demon in her. Bell plays the extremes outstandingly, going from sweet, seemingly naive and innocent to enraged, menacing and dangerous as if on command. This role requires a certain physicality from her and she delivers that too. As a relative newcomer to the industry, I’d say she’s one to watch out for.

Again, from Nell’s brother to a woman from the local church, the supporting cast really does shine. As do the rest of the actors.

Now, as to why some people will hate this movie. Ultimately, this is not a film for North American audiences. It makes the viewer have to think a little too hard, leaves a few too many questions unanswered and boasts an ending possessing a certain ambiguity that many will be uncomfortable with.

Things aren’t wrapped up neatly in a nice little package. There are various interpretations one could come up with about the truth of what was happening to Nell and about the ending. I have some of my own, but just as I decide that yes, that is indeed what I think was going, I remember another detail that takes away from that certainty.

Maybe it’s telling that director Daniel Stamm is German. Perhaps he’s not as apt to play to the tastes of the average, lazy North American movie goer. I don’t know really, but a lot of cutting edge horror cinema certainly comes from Europe.

This whole film is a bold move on his part, especially with regard to the ending, but one that I think really pays off. Again, without spoiling anything for you, it’s difficult to say that much. I will say there is a twist, which I thought was quite interesting, and one hell of a last five minutes, which I thought was just grand. Others will surely disagree. Let them.

And don't be thrown off the PG-13 rating. I was, PG-13 horror usually sucks. Though this film isn't exactly gory, you can express a lot of nastiness with the handy-cam style without actually fully showing it. I went into it with no expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Because this is really a refreshing take on an exorcism story that actually manages to break some new ground and not just rely on old, dried up clichés. Its tense, quaint and simple in the way it tries to scare you. The whole thing just works. Including the ending, if you ask me.

I give this film 4/5 stuck, gangrenous thumbs up for breathing some new life into the exorcism genre, delivering solid performances and being bold and uncompromising in the way the story unfolds.

The Last Exorcism opens in theatres this Friday, August 27.

Just for fun, here’s a little bit of viral marketing that has come along with the film that makes use of chatroulette.



XOXO

D-Bag

The Walking Dead

Finally! It’s what I’ve always dreamed of! A horror television series dedicated to something other than vampires. More importantly, a television series dedicated to ZOMBIES! Let’s face it, the vampire thing has been way overdone to the point where I’m no longer - though, I’m not sure I was ever - interested. Get your baseball bats and shotguns ready. It’s time for some straight up zombie killing.




Based on the American comic book, The Walking Dead was picked up by AMC to be adapted into a television series. I’ll admit I have never read the books, but I’m not sure I’d be able to take an animated zombie apocalypse very seriously. There is something to be said about the precise make up and the blood and gore that goes into producing an onscreen zombie. I’m not sure I’d want it any other way.

The premise of The Walking Dead is relatively simple, and a formula we’ve seen before. Man wakes up from prolonged coma, man realizes he is almost entirely alone, man starts desperate search for those he loves. On the way, man encounters a large quantity of dead people and eventually comes upon someone to explain the back story to this. Survival methods ensue.

Can we say 28 Days Later? Admittedly among my top 5 zombie movies, I can appreciate a similar premise. I think I’m excited to see where they go with The Walking Dead and I will certainly be watching the premier this Halloween. A zombie television series was long overdue.

I’m always interested in observing methods of zombie survival and comparing those methods to my own for when the zombie apocalypse actually hits. Which it will...

XOXO

K-Reel

Piranha 3D...

So, I figure its about time to start up the reviews on here. And what better way to take a bite out of things, to plunge in and get some blood in the water, than with Alexandre Aja’s Piranha 3D, released this weekend. 

Before we sink our teeth in, I’ll address the whole 3D issue. This movie was post converted to 3D, meaning it was shot on regular cameras, not the 3D ones pioneered by James Cameron’s Avatar last year. Some people have a problem with that; they say the quality of the effect goes to shit with this method as it were. As one of the only people on the planet not to have seen Avatar (or any other movie in “true 3D” for that matter) I won’t comment on that distinction.

I will say that I don’t like 3D. I don’t like wearing the glasses, I don’t like paying more to see a movie and I don’t like the way it makes filmmakers insert cheesy, unnecessary moments just to showcase the medium. In other words, I wish the whole craze would die already. 

But it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen and Piranha wasn’t playing in any regular (or as advertisers somewhat snobbishly label them, 2D) theatres in my city, so I was stuck.  I guess Piranha made use of the technology interestingly in a few sequences, but I feel like it could have just as easily gone without the gimmick. Either way, the 3D didn’t take away from the film in any real way but didn’t really add anything either.

Talk of 3D aside, let’s sink our teeth into the film itself. Aja has never been one not to go there. Or, to hold back the gore for that matter. Some of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen have been in scenes from his movies.

A deranged man blowing himself with a severed head in High Tension. A mutant hillbilly violently raping a young woman while a gun is held to the face of her infant niece in The Hills Have Eyes remake. A woman’s reflection reaching into her/their mouth and slowly, agonizingly proceeding to tear her/their jaw from her/their face in Mirrors.  

Aja lives up to his reputation with this summer’s Piranha 3D. There were several moments were I was genuinely shocked by the gore that flashed across the screen. I won’t spoil any of those moments, but the shore scene in which a host of those hungry, prehistoric piranhas descend on a bunch of spring break revelers will surely go down in horror movie history. I won't explain it here, but "They took my penis!" does mean something. You'll just have to watch to find out. 

Also, right when you think it’s over, it’s really not. The most shocking moment of the whole film for me definitely came after the poor bitten, torn apart kids were making their way out of the water. Gross stuff.

And one thing this movie does well is make you feel bad for its characters. Granted, they are all pretty one dimensional, but I wasn’t expecting much more from a remake of a 1978 B-movie that itself was meant as a parody of Jaws. The performances are passable, and boy they had better of been, because most of the characters are really nothing more than your simple, clichéd movie fare: the tough as nails mom who has to protect her kids, the dumb but good-natured eldest child, the over the top sleazebag, the mad scientist.

The plot is pretty thin. All you have to know is that some angry ass, hungry prehistoric piranhas are out to ruin everyone’s fun. The script does try and explain how the piranhas survived for two million years before suddenly being released, but it’s all pretty ludicrous. It does allow for some humour though on the part of a fish expert/mad scientist played by Christopher Lloyd, who basically reprises his role as Doc from the Back to the Future movies and provides one of the best lines in the movie.

Spring Break is an easy enough feel to relay on screen and it feels pretty authentic here, with tan, pretty people drinking and dancing away as house music blares around them. There’s lots of boobs and booze and it all seems pretty fun, until the piranhas show up that is.

And those piranhas sure do know how to ruin a party. By the time they’re done, there’s definitely blood in the water, litres of it. I’ve already commented on the gore, but it really is worth a second mention. This film is disgusting, really disgusting. The effects are top notch. I have no idea how they pulled off some of the stuff that happens here and in a way, I don’t want to know. 

The piranhas themselves are kind of cheesy if you look at them hard enough but they look good in the water and the way they rip people apart is really quite unsettling, so they work as the big bad in that respect. The water too in a way becomes an enemy and Aja does manage to make the audience feel more than a bit apprehensive whenever someone goes for a swim, especially before the piranhas really start to tear shit up. Literally, of course. 

Bottom line, the movie is entertaining. It’s dumb, summer fun for the rabid gore hound. I suppose you’d have to be a little more rabid than me, because the whole endeavor left me feeling a little unclean. I'm not sure why because I enjoyed the film, but I guess I feel guilty for doing so. That doesn't usually happen to me, but I guess it says something for the film that it affected me at all. It’s definitely worth a watch.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see a director's cut DVD with loads of unseen footage, because I feel even with all of this movie's excesses, Aja held some stuff back. There's some footage in the trailer I don't remember seeing and some of the minor character's ends were left undetermined.  I'm not sure I would watch it again though, even if an extended cut was released, but maybe!

This film gets 3.5/5 bleeding, stuck thumbs because it is what you’d expect it to be and might shock you more than you think.

Watch out for a cameo by Hostel director Eli Roth and by Richard Dreyfuss, who reprises his role from the original Jaws film. Wonder what Stephen Spielberg thinks about that! 

Also, excuse all my italicized puns.

XOXO

D-Bag

My Soul to Take...

I wish I could be excited about this.



Generic. Tired. The only positive about this is that it's been given an R rating. I would have thought it would be PG-13. People are hopeful because it's being hailed as Wes Craven's return to horror, but I'm not convinced.

XOXO

D-Bag

Seven Minutes in Heaven...

Some really intriguing news about an upcoming genre project was broken by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday.

It seems that J.J. Abrams (who seems to bleed money whenever he touches a project) is developing something called Seven Minutes in Heaven, a film based on the game high school kids play where two of them go into the closet to make out/do whatever for seven minutes.

Except here, "While plot details are being suppressed, it is known to focus on two teens who go into a closet as part of the titular game and find all their friends dead when they come back out."

Abrams is set to produce, while a long time collaborator of his named Jack Bender, who most recently directed the series finale of Lost, will direct the project. They're currently shopping around for a screen writer.

I'm not sure why exactly, but I find this premise super interesting. I really liked both Cloverfield and the Star Trek reboot, and at points early on in the series, followed Alias and Lost. All of those are Abrams projects and he seems to have a really good understanding of where things are in the industry and of what will captivate audiences .

I also remember playing our own variation of that game in middle school even (shudder) with my friends, and have a strong fondness for teen horror projects when they're done well. So, I am very excited for this project. and will keep all of you loyal readers abreast (tee hee) of new goings on about it.

XOXO

D-Bag

Black Swan

Released today was the trailer for one of the more talked about films coming out this year, Black Swan. I think one of the reasons people are so abuzz about this is because nobody knows what to expect. It's being billed as a psychological thriller, but Darren Aronofsky films (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Pi) don't usually hold back any punches, so who knows what to expect from this.




The trailer itself is really good if you ask me, it gets you wondering about what's going on without giving all that much away. I like that you don't even really know that this could a genre film until about halfway through, with her reflection in the mirror. The whole elaborateness of dance costuming and big stage productions is hinted on a bit here and I'm excited to see if they take that anywhere near the realm of Eyes Wide Shut, which in my opinion boasted one of the scariest scenes of recent memory. And that wasn't even a horror film.

Come to think of it, this trailer did indeed give me a Kubrick-y kind of vibe. 

I think the subject matter here could end up lending the film a really eerie quality, long sweeping shots of the dancers moving to deep, orchestral music. The whole thing starts to look a little alien if you know what I mean, people aren't used to seeing stuff like that and I think it could be employed to great effect here.

Movies where the audience is left wondering whether the main character is going crazy can turn out to be pretty good (like Jacob's Ladder) or kind of bad (say The Uninvited) but I really do hope that Aronofsky has lent this story a certain drama and weight that could really prove quite interesting.

Some of the imagery is pretty intense too (Natalie Portman's character in the trailer's last scene) so visually, it looks like we might be in for something really unique. On that topic, here's the poster released today as well.

I like Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder (though she is conspicuously absent from the trailer) and Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream is one of my favourite movies) so I'm excited for this.

I wonder about the significance of this line, which opens the trailer: "I had the craziest dream last night, about a girl who turns into a swan, but her prince falls for the wrong girl. She killed herself."

Could they be so brazen as to have put the entire plot out there? Natalie Portman's Nina is "turned" into a swan for the company production of Swan Lake. "Her prince" played by Vincent Cassell, is the director of the company. The "prince" falls for the wrong girl, Mila Kunis' Lily, and Nina ends up killing herself.

I could be reading too much into this, but that's what we do on this blog.

XOXO

D-Bag

This is just what the world needs...

So, genre starlet Lindsay Lohan was recently released after spending 14 days in jail. I will never forgive the bitch for the mess that was I Know Who Killed Me, what with the twin stigmata and all, but what her mother said the other day about her daughter's time in jail was kind of interesting.

Dina Lohan, on how Lindsay is doing after her time in jail:

"She's been through a lot. The judge played hardball. LINDSAY WAS IN WITH ALLEGED MURDERERS AND SHE'S BECOME FRIENDS WITH A LOT OF THEM. Lindsay rolled with the punches and she's doing wonderfully."

Pretty sure that's all we need. Lindsay learned how to fire a gun for her new semi-genre film Machete, so I bet these 'alleged murderers' gave her all the inspiration she needs to go all Manson on everyone that's crossed her the second she gets out of rehab.

Girl has been looking like something from a horror movie for the last few years now, so maybe this is just accelerating the process.

 

I love you Lindsay!

XOXO

D-Bag

Happy Friday the 13th!

Today is a very special day, so, in true spirit of Friday the 13th, I've found a clip for you full of hilarious moments and brutal Jason kills! This clip was compiled by www.cinemassacre.com and comes with amusing commentary.




LONG LIVE JASON VOORHEES!

XOXO

K-Reel

Sookie Stackhouse...

Is one bad ass bitch!!!


I laughed. I came. I died. True Blood has thrown everything at as this season, but this is by far my favourite moment. If you watch, I applaud you. If you don't, you should.

XOXO

D-Bag

A Real Life Nightmare...

The Aye Aye, native to Madagascar, has an interesting real life horror story.  This less than pleasant-looking creature is endangered based solely on its' appearance.  Story has it that once one of these guys is seen in a village, a death omen has been placed on the people and the curse can only be broken if this creature is killed.  Furthermore, if said aye aye happens to extend its' long middle finger, pointing in one's direction, this individual must kill the creature for their own survival.

Perhaps a future movie title "The Curse of the Aye Aye"?  Man versus creature?  Eh?  Anyone?  Anyone?

XOXO

K-Reel

Somebody needs to redo this in a horror movie...

It probably wouldn't be as good though.



XOXO

D-Bag

Skyline

Skyline trailer (hosted by Apple Trailers)

Interesting trailer here for a movie I've been hearing a lot about lately. I know it's more sci-fi, but I think horror and sci-fi are two genres that really do bleed together, so you'll be seeing sci-fi stuff on here too.

The trailer... I really do hope all of you loyal readers watched it until the end, because there is a pay off waiting for you.

What do I think? Well, I really like the use of the news anchors. I've always really found that to be a great way to advance a storyline/idea that may be somewhat outlandish in a very serious way. I think we're so wired to take what these people say seriously, to shut up and listen, that a bit of that effect translates to film as well. It worked wonders in the Dawn of the Dead redo's opening credits, but I suppose Johnny Cash had a little something to do with that as well.

I don't know how I feel about Stephen Hawking but this last little bit of imagery is certainly jarring... 

But I'm a little nervous that this visual may be the be all and end all of the movie. Its a great, unsettling scene but I just hope the movie has more to it than that. This is just a teaser, so I suppose time will tell. 

XOXO

D-Bag

Holiday Surprise

This is a short project we worked on last Christmas (2009).  This is inspired by the handy cam tradition of horror film making, specifically the ending of Quarantine. Hope you enjoy!

M. Night Shyamalan's 'Devil'

We know we're a little late on this trailer, but we've been meaning to start this blog up for a while now.


We are intrigued by this trailer but we are somewhat hesitant because of the gloss they seem to have applied to it, with the upside down city and all of the elaborate camera work. As a trailer, it is pretty solid, but we worry that it almost looks more expensive (and better) than the movie itself.

Also, we have mixed feelings on M. Night, but he's just producing here not directing, though the film is being billed as coming "from the mind of" said individual. So, maybe we can excuse Unbreakable and Lady in the Water and hope he gets to back to his Sixth Sense and arguably, Signs, roots.

The simplicity of the title is another plus in our books and it really does seem like the studio has put a lot of movie into this project so we will end up seeing it for better or worse. Watch out for our review around September 17th.

Either way, as I'm sure all of you loyal readers noticed, there is some imagery that tries to flash at you on an almost subliminal level in this trailer. An old trick, but it works here for us.

We've broken down what you see for you...

First,

So, everyone seems to be dead here. We can assume, as is the practice in movie trailers, that the blood has been edited to a black colour and will be restored to red in the final product. Interesting, to say the least.

Next,

Is this the titular 'Devil'? Whose to say, but it almost an Orphanage rip off to me.

Either way, the trailer seems to suggest that the 'Devil' cannot be the young woman, as she was bitten, or the black man in front of the above trailer cap image. That's just speculation on our part and M. Night does love his twists.

A project to look out for, for sure.

On another note, sadly, this is probably one of the only posts that D-Bag and K-Reel will be collaborating on, as soon there will be an ocean between us.


XOXO

D-Bag and K-Reel

Hello and welcome...

To the end of your life. JUST KIDDING! This is our first post so there's not much going on here yet, but don't worry. You can expect great things from us in the days to come. If you have a plan for the zombie apocalypse, laugh when blood splashes across the screen and feel the strange and undeniable urge to consume all things horror, then this just may be the place for you.

So...

"Daddy, get the hammer!" - Lola, The Loved Ones (2009) 

XOXO

D-Bag (Dan) and K-Reel (Katie)