31 by 31 Challenge #3: THE NUN (2018)

The Conjuring universe expands with the latest spin-off from the blockbuster horror franchise that brings us to 1950's Romania where a Catholic agent and a novitiate with preternatural gifts investigate strange goings-on at an abandoned abbey rumored to be inhabited by an evil presence. Solid acting, great atmosphere, and grand Gothic set pieces save the movie from being completely hellish, but the story and the dialogue are in desperate need of divine intervention.

The Nun (U.S.A.)
Released: September 7, 2018
Director: Corin Hardy
Screenplay: Gary Dauberman

Tagline: "Pray For Forgiveness"

Cast:
Demian Bichir as Father Burke
Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene
Jonas Bloquet as Maurice "Frenchie" Theriault
Bonnie Aarons as Valak / The Nun


James Wan and his producers have been doing solid work since establishing their shared horror universe with 2013's The Conjuring. They followed their blockbuster inaugural installment with an excellent--if by-the-numbers--sequel, an okay spin-off, and a respectable prequel to the spin-off, with more sequels and prequels and side-quels (maybe?) in the works. Enter The Nun, the latest chapter in the saga and the first real stumbling block in the five-film franchise. This time around, we find ourselves in Romania, 1952, where a nun at the cloistered Carta Monastery commits suicide to escape a dark entity. Her drastic action spurs the Vatican to send two representatives of the Church to investigate not only the shocking death, but the reports of supernatural activity as well.

It's a familiar story, basic both in structure and execution and not terribly interested in doing anything original. That said, for the lack of attention paid towards the plot, equal amounts are spent fashioning a grim, gloomy atmosphere that drips Gothic goodness and oozes creepiness from the very first frame. In this sense, The Nun is very much an old school, low key, slow-burn horror movie (at least for the first two acts), and for that I applaud the production team. A sense of dread is often lacking from contemporary mainstream flair that is designed to grab the attention of young movie-goers. And while slasher romps and relentless zombie attacks are fun in their own way, it's nice when mainstream horror can be a bit more intellectually interesting.

Wan and his team try their best to maintain that interest through showcasing their love of classic horror cinema. Director Corin Hardy channels the ambiance of the great Hammer Horror productions of the past and keeps things consistently eerie. This is aided by the fifties setting and period costumes, as well as the various ominous locations scattered around the haunted abbey that the characters explore bit by bit. The leads are strong, with Taissa Farmiga's suspicious newbie nun Sister Irene and Bichir's weary yet noble Father Burke working together with an enjoyable, if unlikely, chemistry. They're rounded out by Jonas Bloquet's "Frenchie," who provides local insight and comic relief when necessary. Other than that, the cast is thin. A few more characters may have helped create a grander sense of mystery deserving of the setting, or at the very least given fodder for a body count. Instead, Hardy relies on dream sequences and jump scares to keep us invested, and his tactics wear thin quickly. She's a creepy nun walking around slowly, being creepy. I get it.

Though a shallow story that hasn't drawn massive crowds or exceptional praise, The Nun contains enough gems that it won't tarnish The Conjuring crown permanently, and it won't be the worst option for what to watch on a lazy, rainy Saturday in the future. The question now posed is whether or not Wan and co. can get back on their feet for the next foray into demons and damnation, or if this could be the new model of what to expect from the franchise moving forward. Let's pray they know what they're doing.


The Nun
5-Totally Terrifying
4-Crazy Creepy
3-Fairly Frightening
2-Slightly Scary
1-Hardly Horror

31 by 31 Challenge #2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981)

The bastard love child of Friday the 13th and Scooby-Doo, director J. Lee Thompson's Happy Birthday to Me is 80s slasher camp with the running time of War and Peace and the shlock of Sleepaway Camp. A big budget affair that nonetheless resulted in a cheesy teen whodunnit horrorfest, it has gained one of the most significant cult followings in recent years due to its bizarre, yet strangely alluring, ending.

Happy Birthday to Me (Canada)
Released: May 15, 1981
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Screenplay: Timothy Bond, Peter Jobin, & John Saxton

Tagline: "Six of the most bizarre murders you will ever see"

Cast: 
Melissa Sue Anderson as Virginia "Ginny" Wainwright
Glenn Ford as Dr. David Faraday
Lawrence Dane as Harold "Hal" Wainwright
Tracey E. Bregman as Ann Thomerson
Frances Hyland as Mrs. Patterson
Sharon Acker as Estelle Wainwright



At Crawford Academy, an elite group of students known as the Top Ten are the envy and admiration of teachers and pupils alike. When a black-gloved assailant begins killing them off one by one, only Ginny seems to feel concerned. But she's battling her own demons, suffering strange memories of a past trauma that her therapist Dr. Faraday is helping her to remember. As her birthday looms, Ginny, a recent addition to the popular circle, becomes unsure of whom to trust, including herself, as she begins to recall a terrible accident, a dramatic medical procedure, and what could be the key to unlocking the motive of the stalk'n'slash campus killer threatening her friends' lives.

Happy Birthday to Me would have been very much at home in the giallo movement of late seventies Italian cinema--classic whodunnit horror films filmed with gauzy lenses featuring nubile young co-eds stalked by vengeful killers wearing black gloves who off their victims in appropriately melodramatic murders. In reality, though, it was one of a glut of responses to the success of Friday the 13th and the new slasher craze that overran horror in the 1980's. It makes use of all the tropes, from our rowdy, incestuous group of attractive teens to killer p.o.v. shots that give the audience a murderers-eye view of the kills and a parade of victims exclaiming "Oh, it's you!" That said, the film walks a fine line between pastiche and parody, never quite committing to either yet still maintaining its sense of dread and fun.

Melissa Sue Anderson, far from the wholesome comfort of Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983), shines as Ginny, who is, at first, coded as our Final Girl and then, about halfway through the film, becomes not only the most likely suspect for the killer, but an on-screen murderer! Or does she? The film's cheesy, Grand Guignol-style ending is notorious among horror fans, in part for its delicious ridiculousness, and in part for being one of the most sinister "body tour" sequences in any of the great 80's slashers. This can't change how illogical it is, however, but the script was rewritten several times during production, and the ending was unknown even at the time of filming; in the end, the production opted for a complex psychological solution rather than a supernatural one as was originally intended. You'll have to judge for yourself whether this was the right call.

"Lighten up, guys, it's a party..."

Drunk on itself, Happy Birthday to Me has a zany charm that has kept it in the eye of genre fans for over thirty years. While it doesn't push any notable boundaries, it does take its viewers on a fun ride, offering a few choice kills, an unforgettable poster, and a gratuitous disco scene that, upon reflection, might be just as iconic as the "see it to believe it" ending. And for the true horror hound, could you ask for a more perfect gift?

Happy Birthday to Me

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

31 by 31 Challenge #1: SUMMER OF 84 (2018)

For awhile now, the horror genre has been awash with all things 80's, from mega-hits like the new adaptation of Stephen King's IT (2017) and Netflix's Stranger Things (2016 - present) to lesser known gems like The Guest (2014) and The Final Girls (2015). When you throw in non-genre fare like wacky wrestling drama GLOW and Amazon's Red Oaks, it's clear there's a massive audience for all things parachute pants and big hair. Summer of 84, from the creative team that brought you Turbo Kid (2015) is cashing in on that, and while it could have used a dash more creativity, it still manages to hold its own, offering a healthy balance between nostalgia and nihilism.

Summer of 84 (Canada)
Released: August 10, 2018
Directors: Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, & Yoann-Karl Whissell
Screenplay: Matt Leslie & Stephen J. Smith

Tagline: "Every serial killer lives next door to someone"

Cast:
Graham Verchere as Davey Armstrong
Caleb Emery as Dale "Woody" Woolworth
Rich Sommer as Wayne Mackey
Tiera Skovbye as Nikki Kaszuba
Judah Lewis as Tommy "Eats" Eaton
Cory Gruter-Andrew as Curtis Farraday



Davey Armstrong is your typical, All-American, 80's nerd. He has a passion for conspiracies, hidden truths, and secrets hidden in plain sight. His bedroom and treehouse are littered with all things National Enquirer from Bigfoot to UFO sightings to anything else you could imagine would interest Fox Mulder. His three best friends don't quire share his enthusiasm for the weird and the macabre, but they're a tight-knit gang nonetheless, excited to spend their summer at the arcade, riding their bikes, and playing Midnight around their quiet, suburban neighborhood in between razzing each other for being virgins and losing their shit around their hot blonde neighbor, Nikki. When Davey begins to suspect that their friendly cop neighbor, Mr. Mackey, might be the serial killer dominating local headlines, the Cape May Strangler, he convinces his friends to join him on a quest to prove his guilt and save the town's teen boys from becoming potential victims.

Like a lackadaisical summer day, this movie takes awhile to get moving. This is both beneficial in terms of time for character development, and a hindrance in terms of establishing tension. We linger a bit too long in introducing the setting, with the filmmakers seemingly desperate to show the viewer how meticulously they've recreated a 1980's suburban cal-de-sac. This isn't to say that they didn't do a great job and should be praised for it, as everything from the clothes to the cars to the decor is spot on, but it can feel like the set pieces are the focus of the film at times, and the characters are just window dressing. Especially since they occupy the space of archetypes rather than fully drawn individuals.

Some of the actors really make their characters shine, while others translate quite poorly. Jason Gray-Stanford, who plays Davey's father, is awkward and over-the-top and to be honest, I didn't understand a single one of his acting choices. On the other side of things, Tara Skovbye, whom some genre fans will recognize from Riverdale, and Rich Sommer (Mad Men's Harry Crane) steal every scene that they're in. Skovbye makes you fall in love with Nikki, channeling Elisabeth Shue from The Karate Kid (1984) and making it easy to understand why all of the boys like her. There's a really great character moment with her near the end of the second act that made me wish the film had used her more. That said, Sommer is very appropriately used, and is definitely the film's secret weapon. His perfect, nice guy next door vibe clashes brilliantly with the mounting evidence (albeit circumstantial) hinting at a darker side and in the film's final bone-chilling moments (don't worry, no spoilers) he runs away with the whole show. 

Somewhat corny dialogue and so-so performances from the core group of child performers aside, by the time the aforementioned climax arrives, your realize that you've really grown to care for this dorky quartet. Perhaps not as much as the Goonies or the Losers Club, but they carve their own niche. And the ending is surprisingly dark even given the buildup. It's jarring, but completely earned, and posits an interesting reflection on our culture's current true crime obsession, juxtaposing it with the exposure of serial killers to the American suburban public eye in the 1980's. In the end, we're left with a sinister reminder that the truth is often not what we want to hear, yes, but that it is also not at all what we think.

Goodbye summer, indeed.


Summer of 84
5-Totally Terrifying
4-Crazy Creepy
3-Fairly Frightening
2-Slightly Scary
1-Hardly Horror