SquidFlicks

Tag: horror

  • Nope

    “I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt
    and make you a spectacle.”

    Nahum 3:6 (NIV)

    Spectacle is the key word here in Jordan Peele’s latest foray into the horror genre. Nope features a real shift in tone from previous films US (2019) and Get Out (2017), moving from the realms of a shadow state and slavery to more subtle finger pointing at greed and the consequences of taking nature for granted.

    I don’t want to spoil anything in this review as this film has the same hallmarks as M. Night Shaymalan’s legendary Signs in that once the antagonist of Nope is revealed, everything makes more sense. The first watch is incredibly powerful to take that revelation in, and you should have the opportunity to experience that first hand.

    What I will talk about is how ingenious the premise of this film is on the thematic level. It’s going to take more watches to really tease it all out, as with Peele’s other two films, but what I have after just one viewing has had the wheels in my head spinning and inspired me to pen this review so quickly after the watch. I just can’t stop thinking about Nope. What has really captivated me is the unraveling of what a “miracle” is. Now in the Christian and Jewish faiths, based on events described in the Bible, miracles are almost always thought of and conveyed as positive and powerful manifestations of supernatural power and might. Moses and the burning bush, Jacob’s Ladder, The Walls of Jericho, Jesus and Lazarus, etc. However, miracles can be negative in nature too. They can be a manifestation of supernatural wrath, a rebalancing of nature – the plagues cast upon Egypt, the razing of Sodom and Gomorrah, the serpent in the garden of Eden, the great flood that prompted Noah’s building of the Ark.

    What those negative miracles are is spectacle, referenced in that powerful verse of Nahum, an old testament book written by the eponymous minor prophet. It is a largely overlooked section that tells the story of the fall of the great Assyrian empire circa 615 BCE, but Peele has used this deep old testament text to great effect in telling a modern horror parable.

    There are three stories that move in different directions – one of the Haywoods, a family of black ranchers and horse trainers known for their legendary work providing animals for Hollywood productions, but with the recent and freak death of patriarch Otis Haywood Sr, son Otis Jr. and Daughter Em are left trying to salvage their family legacy. The second thread involves the traumatic past of child actor and star Ricky “Jupe” Park, who rose to fame in a 90’s kid’s western film and then went on to star in a sitcom that was marred by a traumatic accident involving an on-set chimpanzee cast member. In the modern day, he has capitalized on his child stardom by building a kitschy western theme park on the property adjacent to the Haywood Ranch, and his fixation on burying the past instead of learning from it intertwines the destiny of both his theme park and the Haywood ranch.

    I think there will be a lot of nay-saying and punching down on Nope because it is not subtle in many of it’s themes and mechanisms. I think it was an ambitious story that hit a lot of marks and why I thought Nope was such a departure from previous works.

    • The major commentary on modern Hollywood:
      • disrespect of live animal welfare and trainers
      • industry shift to CGI instead of practical effects
      • pretentious and grizzled art directors
      • wannabe livestream superstars
      • Hollywood hustlers
      • child stars
      • the paparazzi

    In addition to the thorough roasting of Hollywood’s folly, there is an intentional recurrence of visual elements that key on the “spectacle” and focus – framed by spectacular cinematography of day and nighttime vistas. There’s an uneven but unsettling pacing in this film, a quick first and final act with an intentionally slow middle. There’s the actual full reveal of the antagonistic entity after dancing around the issue in the first two acts. As the goals of the Haywoods seem to shift from making money to exacting revenge, it marks an evolution from greed to principle, and their freedom from oppression both seen and unseen. Prophetically and Literally.

    One day I will write about the spoiler-y parts. Take this as a down payment and catch Nope for yourself. I’m seeing way too many hot takes about Peele being the next M. Night. An unfair assessment of both director’s careers. I think Peele’s ambitions are still playing out fine on the screen. Shayamalan’s career and box office swoon was more of a product of poor production influence more so that trying to sell movies that no one can understand or wants to. I think he gets a bad rap, sure there are some stinkers but a lot of his ‘real’ work still holds up.

    Trailer:

  • The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It

    Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga team up again as the fun and wholesome on-screen version of the legendary (and with recent rumors coming to light, possibly more infamous and insidious) Ed and Lorraine Warren, demonologists and paranormal investigators.

    While the real people they portray have a lot of allegations over their careers and work and personal dealings, I think it is important to draw a distinction between reality and fiction. The Conjuring film series has taken some of the most sensational cases of the Warrens and make them into fun, watchable thrillers, regardless of what you actually think was real or hoaxed in our world. I personally feel like there is a lot more gray between the black and white people want to box things like the supernatural and paranormal in. /rant over

    Part 3 in the mainline entry starts with the exorcism of a young boy, David Glatzel. The process takes a sinister turn when the boyfriend of David’s older sister begs for the demon to possess him instead of continuing to hurt the boy. All seems well, until a few days later Arne loses control and kills his landlord. The “true story” of this case focuses on the murder trial of Arne Johnson, who famously used demonic possession as a submission of a not guilty plea in the murder of his landlord. The real story and the film version begin to diverge pretty markedly after this part in the film, partly because there was a need to add an underpinning story to drive the narrative. In the film, this became the hunt for some mysterious and powerful user of witchcraft to summon the demon and cause it’s possessed victims to kill.

    Ed suffers a massive heart attack during the events of the exorcism and is left with serious mobility issues, having to rely on a cane to hobble around. As a result, Lorraine becomes the lead investigating force and really shines without Ed, to his dismay. That change in the dynamic seemingly strains their relationship but ultimately makes them a stronger on screen couple. Lorraine is able to connect some other mysterious cult activity and triangulates the location of the magic user. The couple is desperately trying to break the tether of control that the witch has on Arne so he won’t die before he is able to make it through the legal process and attempt to clear his name.

    In the end, they find the altar of evil from where the curse was created, and cleanse Arne from his control in the nick of time, culminating in his real life court ruling of a lesser manslaughter charge. In the ‘real life’ story, his charge was reduced but the demonic possession plea was determined to be too shaky to hold up in a court of law.

    This entry in the now 8-film deep Conjuringverse continues to build on the fantastic on-screen portrayal of the Warrens by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga – there were a lot of heart felt and subtle relationship moments that felt authentic and touching despite the horror of the supernatural threat they were dealing with. Some iconic scenes at a morgue and a haunting water bed also stick with you from the moment you experience them. Unfortunately, the diversion from the real accounts of the story do end up taking away some ‘cool’ from this film in my opinion. It is certainly a worthy entry in the series, but it is not as powerful as the previous two mainline titles.

  • A Quiet Place: Part 2

    After the COVID pandemic shuttered theaters and delayed theatrical releases throughout 2020, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2018’s surprise horror/thriller smash hit from John Krasinski landed in May 2021. I marked the celebration of a year of quarantine and boredom by enjoying QP2 in the glorious setting of a theater, the first film I have watched in person since the pandemic. That weird dynamic of a mostly empty theater even after mass vaccinations and the lowering of restrictions only added to the spookiness of the apocalypse in the Quietverse.

    Quiet Place 1 did not give us any prologue – we are dropped right into day 472 of some kind of vague global calamity, which is revealed through the story to be some sort of invasion by a blind, highly aggressive and predatorial alien species that hunts by sound and has wiped out a lot of the population (as people are quiet noisy in a modern life). QP2 starts with Day 1, and actually shows the initial destruction of the population from the beasts, which we all know to be sound-based predators, but Day 1 folks find that out the hard way (or not at all). After that intro, we are dropped back to moments immediately after the end of the first film. The cut is seamless, and no doubt was filmed at the same time for continuity. It is an awesome cinematic move and immediately transports you back into the gravity of the situation as you recall what just happened (in 2017) and wonder what will happen next.

    QE2 answers that “What will happen next?” question – the family, now one member less strong but now understanding a rudimentary way to defeat the monsters, decides to leave the homestead and search out another group of survivors. What follows is the exploration of a world that is physically larger but still a still feels as claustrophobic and empty as the farm in part 1, rife with new elements like a safe refuge and raider gangs. It is a logical step in the world building of the Quietverse, and there aren’t many missteps.

    One qualm you could have would be in the pacing at times – the movie seems to move in uneven intervals but I feel as though that may keep you from expecting the next jump around the corner. Additionally, the monsters didn’t really add any new moves to their repertoire, which means that the methods to deal with them are remarkably simple to a certain degree, taking some of the fear out of facing them. There is an added wrinkle to the water element that was introduced in the first film, but I won’t spoil that detail. Overall though, the lack of change in predation by the stalkers contrasts with the doom and dread you feel in part 1 when they are seemingly invulnerable. We have become ‘used’ to the threat of them, as have the other survivors, and complacency can kill in these situations. To the movie’s credit, some complacent survivors do not make it.

    Overall, QP2 is an excellent continuation of the story, and has a satisfactory closing while still potentially allowing for a part 3. I know John Krasinski was hesitant to write part 2, but I feel like as long as he maintains the level of control he has on his IP, this series can continue to make a big impact. Here’s to hoping if there’s a part 3, he’s going to remain at the helm and not farm it out.

  • A Quiet Place

    John Krasinski (venerable character Jim Halpert from The Office) makes his screenwriting and directorial debut with a sound-based thriller. The year is 2020, and for the past 472 days, the planet has been terrorized by fearsome monsters that hunt completely by sound. The survival of one family, the Abbotts, is linked completely to their ability to adapt to this terrible new reality – staying as quiet as possible, using sign language and non-verbal cues to communicate, and creating silent walking paths through the use of sand and paint (to avoid creaky spots in wooden floors). The clever ‘solutions’ to a normally noisy human world are inventive and make you realize how much the family has changed to survive – they are no strangers to the brutal nature of this harsh new world, having already lost a young child to the ravenous predators that stalk them.

    The story is told over three days, all happening after the initial appearance of the ‘attackers’, whose origins are never expanded upon. The film opens on Day 72, highlighting the Abbott family’s search for medicine and supplies in an abandoned pharmacy. All appears to be going smoothly – the scene impresses the viewer that something is not quite right with the world, and the Abbotts take all precautions to avoid making noise. This strategy falters when the youngest Abbott son finds a toy space ship and proceeds to play with it, sound blaring – thus introducing us to the monster they were all trying so hard to avoid. The final two acts of the film occur over two subsequent days, 472 and 473. It has obviously been a painful year since the attack on Day 72, but life finds a way to soldier on. Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is pregnant and expecting soon, while Lee (John Krasinski) spends his time researching how to fight the monsters and reach out to other survivors. He also tries to impress the urgency of survival on the two older children – oldest daughter Ragen and younger son Marcus – but tends to favor Marcus, which strains Ragen’s relationship with her father. When the time comes for Evelyn to deliver her new child, no one is around to assist, and the noise she accidentally makes attracts the wrong kind of attention. The rest of the day is spent trying to survive and protect all that the Abbott family has left – each other.

    Sound (or more aptly, the lack of) plays a huge role in the film. The oldest daughter is deaf, and has a non-functioning cochlear implant, something that her father has been laboriously trying to repair with no success. There is a strong feeling of survivor’s guilt that is shared by all living members of the Abbott family, and since there is never really a ‘safe’ time to talk about it, they all assume each other is bearing the burden alone, leading to a strained dynamic. It is a silent, painful agony – a problem you know can be solved if you could just have a good cry, a deep conversation – but the danger of making any sound and the consequences for doing so are too great. The minimal score by Marco Beltrami (Hellboy, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark) and sound design paint a nerve wracking and unsettling world.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I’m not sure how ‘rewatchable’ it is, but the first run through is absolutely terrifying. One of the strongest points of this film was the subtlety and nuance needed to communicate in a silent world. The decision by Krasinski to cast a deaf actress in Millicent Simmonds as daughter Regan made her role and the interactions in sign language between the family seem genuine, which was critical to make the viewer feel connected and invested in seeing the Abbotts survive. The monsters – creepy, scary, and you don’t get a good look until they are far to close for comfort. The set design was creative, the world that the Abbott family surviving in is interesting but sparse on details or explanation. The only background about the monsters that you get is from newspapers and magazine articles that Lee has tacked on a corkboard in his basement command center, along with security cameras and a shortwave radio setup from which he has been searching for survivors across the world to no avail. The plot suffers from a some of weak spots, but this isn’t a film focused on the details – it is the story of a family trying to survive against all odds, and finding strength from what many would consider a weakness. Regan Abbott, the deaf girl in a world where unintentional sound can get you killed, becomes the humanity’s greatest hope. If that isn’t a moment of triumph, I’m not sure what is.

    This was a great work from Krasinski and I look forward to his next project – and I will be ever more vigilant about keeping the nails on my stairs flush and free from the foot stabbing anarchy they caused in this film. The whispers are indicating there could be more films set in this quiet universe, possibly including a prequel that could shed more on the attackers. Count me in!

    4/5 Gold Squid Rating

    Trailer:

  • The Babadook

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    When you experience loss, it is important to let yourself experience grief. It is a natural emotion and for many, it is just a part of life. If grief is left to its own desires, however, it can tear a person apart. The Babadook is a psychological horror film that tackles this concept head on, to great effect.

    The movie focuses on a widow, Amelia, and her young son, Samuel. The movie opens to a slow motion nightmare of Amelia’s, reliving the car wreck that claimed the life of her husband when she was in labor with Sam. The viewer is quickly acquainted with what has become of Amelia’s life as a single mother with a whacked-out son – a stressful slog with no real help or end in sight. Sam’s behavior is incorrigible, taking apart items in the house to construct elaborate weapons to vanquish the various monsters he claims to encounter.

    Amelia is clearly miserable and has not moved on from the loss of her husband, keeping his belongings locked up in the basement and reacting violently to anyone who mentions him. She suffers from tremendous depression and sleep deprivation – I’d wager to call it melancholy. Sam’s behavior has driven her to wit’s end, and it shows. The final straw comes when Sam brings his weapons to school and is consequently expelled. Amelia is stuck with Sam at home and it’s not helping either one cope with the obvious emotional issues they possess.

    Amelia lets Sam pick a book for his bedtime story – problem is, it’s not one that Amelia remembers putting on the shelf, much less buying. With the title ‘Mister Babadook’, you immediately know this is the beginning of the end. What follows after opening that book is the culmination of a possession – or psychosis. It appears as the metaphorical opening of a door that can’t shut because of a lack of proper emotional/spiritual latches.

    That’s the beauty of this movie – it works on multiple levels. At face value, the Babadook is an evil demon that feeds on children and wants nothing more than to inflict misery on all who let him in to their homes. If you dig a little deeper, you can see the symbolism and manifestation of Amelia’s grief, causing severe psychosis and sleep deprivation. This one-two punch leads to Amelia’s wholesale abuse and neglect of young Sam, who acts out because he is powerless to handle the situation he’s stuck in.

    Amelia has internalized the abuse of her son and conveniently packages it as the fault of a boogeyman – The Babadook. Subtle hints are scattered throughout the film, but the one that led me to the realization that things weren’t as they seem came when Amelia admitted to writing children’s books in the past. She created ‘Mister Babadook’ during one of her manic episodes, and doesn’t realize it when she normalizes. The ending is about as ambiguous as you can get, (I think she’s dreaming and actually ended up doing something horrible to Sam) and the entire ride is well worth it.

    The Babadook was one of the best horror/thriller films I’ve seen. I really appreciated the lo-fi, practical effect approach (being more reliant on lighting and obscured shots to build tension and fear without resorting to incessant jump scares. Excellent execution throughout – the movie seems concise and every scene plays a role in building the larger story, and really build that age-old lesson that our own monsters are far worse than anything we can conjure up. Additionally, the book and illustrations were very well done, and would make an awesome reproduction prop. They really should produce and sell that to kids. That’s just some good, clean fun for all ages. =D

    It’s a must watch!

    5/5 Reels
    Platinum Squid Rating
    Let it in! Let it in! Let it in!

    Trailer

     

  • Nuclear Neighbourhood

    Nuclear Neighbourhood Poster

    Synopsis

    Nuclear Neighbourhood is a Independent feature horror comedy film written & directed by Matt J Oliver. Produced by Megan Schultz & Matthew J Oliver from Oliverschultz Film ltd.

    Nuclear Neighbourhood surrounds three teenagers. Lizzy, a female punk rocker, Dan a regular ordinary guy and Eugene a typical nerd. Together they live in a small suburban neighbourhood in the fictional town of West Lark. There’s a strange mysterious large house in the neighbourhood that everyone is curious about, for good reason… Weird flashes of light appear in the sky over the house at night on a regular basis. People are disappearing from the neighbourhood at an alarming rate. One night Dan’s girlfriend Sandra is kidnapped in a van. The three friends soon discover that Sandra must have been taken to the strange house and now they must break in to rescue their friend. What awaits them inside the house is a labyrinth of toxic traps and something even deadlier is happening in the basement. Will they survive? Or will it be a Nuclear Nightmare..?

    Trailer

    The Video Review

    httpv://youtu.be/UoVkEypM-VE

    The Written Review

    First of all, I would like to extend my apologies to Matt for the tremendous delay. He sent us this film before they released it in Summer 2014 and we managed to drop the ball pretty hard. Fortunately, Matt is a real cool guy and reminded us to finish the work – which we did! As a small consolation for the lateness of this review, I decided to also give it the video review treatment!

    Now, on to the review. I’m not real sure where to start with NN – it’s definitely a campy movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there are some serious moments. Things start off quickly with scenes of an eerie mansion and a shady van patrolling the ‘hood, undoubtedly up to no good. Of course, there’s a quick kidnapping by a creep and soon the friends of the misplaced step up to solve the crime.

    Upon entering the house, the group encounters a menagerie of bizarre situations and characters, ranging from silent knife wielding wackos to resident mutant rocker Bud. The group manages to stumble across the way to access the obligatory basement laboratory, and have a chance to rescue the damsel and end the horror show that is plaguing the neighborhood!

    There were some great camera angles, characters, and lines. We really thought the CGI was impressive (if a little cheesy, but hey, you actually did some post work). The music added a TON to the atmosphere as well. There are some minor issues with pacing and plot development, but if anything it adds to the campy and grungy feel of the flick. I got the same vibe I got from other great B-movie fare like The Toxic Avenger and other Troma masterpieces.

    Overall, we found NN to be an enjoyable movie, especially if you are a fan of B-movies and campy horror. It was a worthy candidate for our first *International* independent film submission! I would like to extend kudos to Matt for incorporating CG effects into the film – something that I have yet to attempt. Meeting Bud was a trip and I think that he’s definitely got a future in the series. This definitely should be a series. I’m thinking about a 4-5 film story arc with promotional tie-ins.

    3/5 Reels
    Squid Rating
    This movie emits a warm and enjoyable radiation!

  • Full Moon Friday: “Full Moon Fright Night” Retrospective

    FRIGHTNIGHT-LOGO

    Zacherley, Elvira, Svengoolie, Joe Bob Briggs, MST3K. These are only a few of the dozens of horror hosts that have graced our TV screens over the past 50 years. The concept of the horror host isn’t complex, nor is it one that requires you to reinvent the wheel. (more…)

  • Full Moon Friday: Killjoy’s Psycho Circus Kickstarter Project Announced

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    Fresh off the first original web series made exclusively for Full Moon Streaming, Full Moon Features is already eying their next web series,  “Killjoy’s Psycho Circus!”

    Continuing Trent Haaga’s portray of Killjoy is no shock. Since 2010, Full Moon has released two successful sequels (2010’s Killjoy’s Revenge & 2012’s Killjoy Goes to Hell) to their Killjoy franchise (which previously had two films released in the early 2000s).

    (more…)

  • Introducing Full Moon Fridays!

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    We here at SquidFlicks have been lifelong fans of Full Moon Features & the works of Charles Band.  That’s why we are deeming EVERY Friday “Full Moon Friday.”

    Starting Friday, August 1st we will be diving deep into the vast library of Full Moon Features and begin publishing articles, reviews, and videos featuring all your favorite puppets, medical oddities, bongs, & gingerdead men!

    What Full Moon films would YOU like to see us cover??

  • World War Z

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    World War Z was released on June 12, 2013 starring Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos. This story follows Gerry Lane (Pitt) as he is forced away from his family to travel the world in order to find a solution to the zombie pandemic that has quickly spread around the globe. If you haven’t read the book, the trailers alone will give the impression of World War Z to be a basic scary movie. There are many frightening moments throughout, but overall the movie is an action/thriller sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. The great performances by all the actors and actresses make it easy to become emotionally invested with Lane, his family, and those he meets along the way. I’ve never been a fan of Pitt, but I certainly was of him in this movie. The only issue I really had with the movie overall was the lack of build-up, character development, and explanation of the virus at the beginning. There should have been a longer lead-up to the action.

    Overall, I’d give it a 7/10. Definitely worth seeing!