Tag: Brian Stidham

Movie Review by Brian Stidham

First off, this is a novelty horror movie. You know the kind. Those horror movie that has been fused with another genre to make it stand out from the average horror movie. Why just make a regular old slasher movie when you can add the element of science fiction? And that thought gave birth to HAPPY DEATH DAY.

It is essentially, what would happen if the Final Girl in a FRIDAY THE 13th movie got caught up in GROUNDHOG DAY. Too much? Maybe, but the idea has a little promise, right?

The movie tells the story of Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe), a sorority girl who wakes up after a night out partying that soon discovers a killer in a baby mask is stalking her. Even worse, after the killer manages to murder her, she keeps waking up to relive the day repeatedly. Tree decides to find a way to stop the Babyface killer, hoping that will break the loop. She sets off to discover the killer’s identity, knowing that every time she dies, she has to start over. To complicate things, she learns all this dying is destroying her body so her time is limited.

Sounds wacky, right? It is. No two ways about it. There is a certain dark humor in seeing Tree get killed in various different ways along her path to Babyface’s identity. At times, the movie does play the humor out for laughs, at other times they play up the tension and horror.

That’s what may drive some people away from this movie, the humor. The comic elements sometimes get the results they were shooting for and other times, they fall a little flat. Personally, I thought the movie was made as a fun homage to both the horror and sci-fi genres. Like SCREAM, it was self-aware enough that it could poke fun at itself but still tell a passable horror story.

I know time loop movies can go either way. They can be entertaining or they can be a crapshow. It depends on how they are done and I think HAPPY DEATH DAY was fairly clever with the concept. Here it was used as a way for Tree to discover the secret of the killer’s identity, while still giving us a body count, even if the body is the same person in multiple cycles of that same day.

Plus there are a few other bodies scattered in there. We couldn’t just have Tree be only the victim.

The movie is gore light. It was released as PG-13, the unfortunate rating used to give a horror movie a broader viewing audience, which takes away the possibility of having any heavy violence. The violence is dialed back to almost TV standards. There are a few stabbings. There are drownings and fatal falls but nothing graphic.

The acting was decently good. Jessica Rothe’s acting was admirable. Like several primary characters in horror movies, there is an element of tragedy in her life. She represses this behind the image of a shallow sorority girl. At first, she seems like the worst but as the movie progresses her character does develop and become more likable. She gets to show a broader range of emotions and, even a little charm, as the day repeats.

My only qualm was once you know the killer’s identity; the story shifts to more of an action tone so the horror kind of peels away. It does have a few moments where it tries to build genuine tension and throws you the unavoidable trope of a jump scare or two. Overall, I think it does a better job of merging genres than a few other novelty films.

Even though time loop stories might be overdone, what it adds to HAPPY DEATH DAY gave the movie a little edge over a traditional horror film. I attribute that to the writer, Scott Lobdell. Lobdell is an accomplished comic book writer, probably best known for his run on various X-men comics for over a decade. This also explains the more developed character arc and storytelling compared to most cookie cutter horror movies.

Is it a great movie? Not necessarily. It’s cheesy and still has a few clichés you’ll see coming from a mile away but, overall it is a fun movie. It wasn’t the best horror movie but I was entertained by it. It is a Blumhouse production and they can be hit or miss. In this case, they made a moderately good gimmick movie that was ultimately successful financially.

I would recommend HAPPY DEATH DAY to anyone just looking to see a fun movie. I would rate it at least 3 out of 5 stars, if a scale is required.

 

Movie Review by Brian Stidham

THE PLATFORM (EL HOYO) appeared in my viewing suggestions on Netflix recently and I’ve begun to ponder what kind of algorithms they use to determine these suggestions. Sure, the movie has horror elements, so I see a connection, but after watching, I think Netflix was just looking to add another movie to my slowly growing list of “WTF does this ending mean?” movies.

Is it a bad movie? Not necessarily but I feel like its appeal is definitely more in the cult movie ballpark than something that would be appreciated by the mainstream movie viewer.

THE PLATFORM is Spanish film, but is dubbed for those not a fan of subtitles. It’s hard to peg it to one category as it has traces of horror, sci fi, and psychological thriller blended into it. What made it stand out to me, is that it is what I’d call a high concept horror movie. It’s not scaring you with supernatural boogiemen or serial killers but instead uses more abstract horror.

THE PLATFORM is set in an odd prison-like facility (The Hole) that descends underground an unknown number of levels. Each level has two residents. Once per day a platform filled with food is sent down to feed the prisoners. There are no limits on how much anyone can eat but they only get a few minutes to do so. As each level eats their fill, the lower levels get less and less until there is nothing left. You can imagine how that affects those on the lower levels.

To make matters more interesting, the prisoners are gassed each month then moved to a different, random level. Sometimes they move up, sometimes they move down. One month a prisoner could be eating well and the next they could be getting nothing. With two people in a cell level, you can see where this could lead to some brutal solutions when a person gets hungry enough.

The Hole also has some wild rules. There are no rules against committing violence against a cell mate. Prisoners are allowed to bring one item of their choice, this includes weapons. Prisoners are not allowed to hoard food from the Platform. If they try, the room temperature is adjusted to a lethal level, which will kill both residents.

The movie follows a new prisoner, Goreng, as he spends several months moving up and down through the Hole’s levels trying to survive and interacting with several different cellmates. It doesn’t take long before Goreng realizes how much horror truly exists in the Hole as he ponders the Hole’s hidden meanings.

This is where the high concept horror comes in. The movie isn’t subtle about what it is representing. It’s a pretty straightforward commentary on the “Haves” versus the “Have Nots” and how those in higher social ranks take all the resources, leaving those below them to fight and kill over the scraps or get left with nothing at all. It’s a reflection of our world taken to literal, visceral extremes.

That being said, it is a little cerebral for a horror film. There is a LOT of talking in this movie. Discussions of human nature, what extremes people will go to survive, and how an unforgiving system can or cannot be changed take up about 75% of the movie. I think that could kill the appeal for many folks.

However, on the other side, there is a vicious brutality to the violence in the film. Cannibalism rears its ugly head several times and the gore involved is unflinching. There are later moments when Goreng decides that violence might be only the only solution to breaking the lopsided cycle of food distribution resulting in some surprisingly sadist interactions with his fellow prisoners.

Not knowing the Spanish cast, it’s hard for me to gauge overall performances but for the most part the acting was decently good but the performances sometimes seemed a little stiff. I will give some praise to Ivan Massague, who played Goreng. He gave a great character arc. You could physically see his degeneration as movie unfolded.

My one issue was the ending. (I finally came back to that). Up to that point the movie seemed very literal and grounded but the ending seemed like it started to veer into a more metaphysical area and that just didn’t seem to fit the rest of the movie. Then again, I’m not the brightest bulb so maybe I just misinterpreted what the director was going for.

Ultimately, THE PLATFORM is a horror/sci fi movie that is thick with social commentary that might not be everyone’s choice of viewing pleasures. There are moments when the movie drags and the dialogue gets too clunky but all in all, it is a surprisingly well-done movie.

THE PLATFORM is currently showing on Netflix.

 

Movie Review by Brian Stidham

How many TV and movie adaptations can one man have? If you are Stephen King, the answer seems to be dozens upon dozens. King is a prolific writer that has been a leading name in horror for numerous decades so it would stand to reason that he would have a vast volume of material for producers to draw from when developing new projects.

In January, HBO premiered THE OUTSIDER, a 10 episode series based on King’s horror/ crime procedural novel of the same name. The series has drawn critical praise and is definitely worth the viewing for anyone that wants an engrossing story and incredible acting performances by almost all parties involved.

The story is a cross between an X-Files “monster of the week” story and an extended version of Forensics Files. The seeding element is a true crime story but as the mystery begins to unravel, viewers are taken into an investigation that revels that true supernatural horror exists, preying on us from the shadow of myths.

The story involves the brutal murder of a boy in a small town with all of the evidence pointing toward Little League coach Terry Maitland (played by Jason Bateman). A local detective (Ben Mendelsohn), struggling with his own demons after the loss of his own son, arrests Maitland based on the wealth of forensic evidence and witness testimony. Those eager to defend Maitland produce strong, conflicting evidence showing that Terry was out of town when the murder occurred and the questions arises of how a person can be in two places at once.

Here is where the real mystery begins. Desperate to clear Maitland’s name, the defense calls in independent investigator Holly Gibney (played by Cynthia Erivo) who begins to learn that similar incidents, murders that seem impossible considering the circumstances, have occurred with all signs pointing to the improbable, that a creature capable of assuming the identities of others, was actually committing all of these killings. Can she convince them an ancient evil may be the real culprit?

Full disclosure, THE OUTSIDER is more of a crime drama with a supernatural element than true horror. The monster is there but the majority of the story is driven by the murder investigation and trying to establish that Maitland is innocent of the crime of which he has been accused.

Being a 10 episode series there is enough to keep viewers intrigued but it is parceled out in bits and pieces so reaching the revelation that something beyond the rational is happening is a long journey. Those seeking a quick leap into the supernatural, THE OUTSIDER might be a bit disappointing. The horror is there in the first episode but it isn’t until later that viewers start feeling the true menace.

I’m not sure when the “slow burn” style started to become popular but in recent years some of the most critically praised horror movies and shows have hinged on “slow burn” and THE OUTSIDER is full of it. The show bleeds slow burn as it takes several episodes before the pieces begin coming together and we learn of our boogieman, a real monster called El Coco.

However this kind of works in the case of THE OUTSIDER. This is a show about a homicide investigation and, in the real world, when are those ever fast? Leads and evidence are never easily obtained so the show reflects this. But, in truth, I have to say if the writing hadn’t been so solid, I might have gotten bored so it is safe to say that the slow burn method has its weak points.

Slow burn aside, if you are a fan of true crime, the show is incredible in every other way. The story is enthralling and the acting is outstanding. Mendelsohn brings a terrific world weariness to Detective Anderson, a man beyond skeptical of the unexplainable in the beginning. Erivo, as Gibney is truly incredible as a gifted woman that accepts her bizarre discoveries even though they lie outside the explainable. Honestly, it’s hard to find a performer in the series that doesn’t excel outside of the non-essential characters.

Again, the horror element of El Coco is only one aspect of the show as we see how the various characters deal with the vicious opening murder and the subsequent examination into the events surrounding it. In truth, the show is 35% character study,35% monster hunt, and 30% forensic case work. Based on this, the gore is fairly minimal, even for a graphic murder case, relying more on psychological horror. However the show does get intense in the final few episodes so there is a reasonable amount of blood and violence seeded throughout.

No spoilers, but, personally, I think the final confrontation with El Coco was a little anti-climactic, which may also disappoint horror fans. Also, be sure to watch for the after credits scene at the end of the final episode in order to get a little more wrap up on the story, or lack thereof.

THE OUTSIDER is showing on HBO streaming services and, based on its critical ratings, should be available on DVD and Blu-ray sometime in the near future.