31 Days of Horror (Films) - Day 1

WEREWOLVES WITHIN - streaming on Showtime

In the pantheon of werewolf movies only four readily come to my mind as approaching greatness: An American Werewolf In London, The Howling, The Company Of Wolves, and Ginger Snaps. While Werewolves Within doesn’t come close, it is a breezy and often entertaining entry in the genre. Rather low on gore and scares, it’s a mildly campy effort which unfolds like an Agatha Christie whodunnit. While I was sufficiently distracted as to who the werewolf was—via classic bait-and-switch and countless red herrings—when the reveal came I wasn’t at all surprised. Sadly, the werewolf FX were a bit lame and some of the humor and stereotypical characters were a bit thin. Yet despite the lack of horror, gore, and the rather mediocre werewolf effects, this was a fairly enjoyable effort.

31 Days of Horror (Films) - Commitment

So I decided somewhat last minute that I would attempt to watch a horror movie a day for the entirety of the month of October.

Thusly, I present to you "31 Days of Horror (Films)."

Last year I dove into “Noirvember,” where I watched a noir film for every day of November.

Yet, in all my years, I’ve never attempted the “31 Horror Films In October” challenge (i.e. watching a horror film a day leading up to Halloween).

Figured this year is as good as any to give it a go.

Lottsa offerings on the various streaming sites, so there is no shortage of (hopefully) terrifying fare.

We shall see.

Daydream Believer - Moonage Daydream film review

 Wow.

Just saw this on the IMAX screen in Sparks, NV.

My ears are still ringing.

Less a documentary than it is a mind-melting melee of sound and vision; it mixes archival footage, animation, and voiceovers into a blazing assault on the senses.

While more or less unfolding in a linear narrative, it is by no means comprehensive, starting at Bowie’s Ziggy period and then zig-zagging loosely through some of his other personas and career milestones.

For the most part it is largely intense and engaging, yet it does tend to drag in spots. However, the slow moments are easily overshadowed by numerous chill inducing bouts of emotional bliss.

Highly recommended.

The Best Laid Schemes...See How They Run film review

Evoking Hitchcock by way of DePalma, Woody Allen by way of Wes Anderson, and embracing Agatha Christie with both reverence and tongue-in-cheek, this is a deliciously delightful romp that is a film lover's wet dream. 

It's a slick and snarky whodunnit brimming with a wonderful ensemble cast, punchy dialogue, a fantastic score, and lots of cinematic chicanery.

Above all else, it's just a fun film.

RIYL:  Knives Out; Bullet Train

At The Gates: Barbarian film review

 As with both X and Bodies Bodies Bodies, this is a horror movie that is fast, furious, and fun, though not terribly original.

Astute horror fans will quickly discover that writer/director Zach Cregger has judiciously borrowed ideas from a number of other films, most notably People Under The Stairs, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by way of House of 1000 Corpses, and Don’t Breathe (and perhaps just a smidge of The Collector), just to name a few of the obvious influences.

While Barbarian certainly looks and feels like a compendium of other films, it’s smart enough to keep the story moving at a breakneck pace. On top of that it saturates the visuals with throbbing and disconcerting sonic ambiance and packs in just enough jump scares and WTF moments to keep you enthralled for its hour-and-43-minute duration. 

Sure, the #MeToo and Blue Lives Matter commentary is a bit heavy handed and the reliance on so many familiar tropes without really tweaking them is a bit frustrating, but as a calling card for Cregger’s continued career as a genre director it’s not too shabby (it’s worth noting that prior to this film the bulk of Cregger’s work has been in comedy).

Three Thousand Years of Longing film review

I went and saw this at a Wednesday afternoon matinee with my 89 y/o dad. He knew absolutely nothing about it going in. And he enjoyed it (I did, too, btw), commenting on the walk back to the car after the screening that it was “an adult fairy tale.”

That pretty much sums up the film.

If you go in expecting some Mad Max mayhem, given George Miller's best known cinematic pedigree, well you’re gonna be disappointed; it has more in common with The Princess Bride than Fury Road.

As for me, I dug it. The narrative structure is really cool, the acting from Swinton and Elba is solid, the pacing is even, and the direction is artfully restrained.

While arguments could be made that it succumbs to the “magical negro” trope, one could just as easily say it embraces the “white savior” trope, too. If such is the case, those two tropes pretty much cancel each other out. Personally, I didn’t feel that the film’s story succumbed to either.

Honestly, the film is more of a veiled “chick flick” bathed in neo macho accoutrements.

So, if you enjoy rich romantic fantasies with a dark and mysterious edge, then this will be right up your alley.

P.S.

I have not read the source material, so no clue as to how faithful it is…

RIYL: The Princess Bride; The Fall; 300; The Brothers Grimm

In Motion: Bodies Bodies Bodies film review

Imagine Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None crossed with Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero, yet teeming with blaring electro rap and aimed squarely at Millennials and Gen-Zers weened on social media.

That pretty much sums up B3.

Which isn’t to say an aging Gen-Xer can’t have fun watching it. Just don’t expect it to reinvent the slasher as an uber meta self-referential masterpiece a la Scream.

On the whole this is a fast paced murder mystery that effectively uses music to create moods of tension and unease (props to the score by Disasterpiece, who oh so obviously ripped a few pages out of John Carpenter’s sonic playbook).

The only glitches come in the form of a groan worthy plot device that’s on par with the rusty nail in A Quiet Place and the fact that the satire isn’t mean and nasty enough; the digs at TikTok shackled youth of the world are pretty tame and could have done with a bit more barb (pro tip: watch Annihilation Nation for an example of sharp social commentary and aggressive triggers).

Perhaps not on par with A24’s other horror fare—Hereditary, Midsommar, Men, etc.—but it’s a fun end-of-summer diversion.