Alien: Covenant

Surprising no one, Alien: Covenant is not a return to the revered horror roots of the original 1979 film, despite being directed by franchise creator Ridley Scott, but it is still leaps and bounds better than it's predecessor, Prometheus (2012). Although I guess, that doesn't say much, considering how worthless that movie was and the fact that it was also helmed by Scott. Covenant is by no means a bad film--I found it quite fun--but the main thing you take away from it is how good the first Alien film is, and that we've sort of been slowly drifting from that greatness ever since.

Alien: Covenant (2017)
Released: May 19, 2017
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: John Logan & Dante Harper

Tagline: "Run. Hide. Scream"

Cast:
Michael Fassbender as David 8/Walter
Katherine Waterston as Daniels "Dany" Branson
Billy Crudup as Christopher Oram
Danny McBride as Tennessee
Demian Bichir as Sergeant Lope

Most of Covenant is a thematic retread of territories explored in Prometheus, both literal and figurative. The idea of creation, what it means to be human, and the search for answers in the depths of the cosmos all return as motifs, making Covenant tip further towards a Prometheus sequel rather than an Alien prequel; though with Scott's recent revelation that he has plans for two, possibly three, more films to fully connect the Prometheus story to Ripley's, I guess that's okay. The real question is just, is it interesting?

Covenant bends so much of the story around the question of where the xenomorphs came from, and the how and why of their seemingly superior evolutionary state, but I found myself asking, "does anyone even care?" And I don't mean that in a negative way. I mean that the xenomorphs, this "perfect organism" as described by Ash in the original film, were simply vicious space bugs with an uncanny knack for adaptation and intuition. The perfection that Ash admires in them comes across as the same type of perfection a marine biologist might say is embodied in a great white shark--an apex predator that hasn't had the need to evolve in millions of years because it is that effective. Covenant fleshes out this idea of perfection to the point where it borders on unnecessarily convoluted and confusing. 

I think that part of this confusion arises from the fact that Scott stated he wished for Covenant to return the franchise to the winning form of the original Alien film, and while you can see that playing out in the film's first half it loses focus midway through the second act, almost as if Scott couldn't resist delving into the metaphysical aspects of sci-fi horror overplayed in Prometheus. 

"Do you think that ship is bringing new GoT episodes?"

I know that officially both Prometheus and Covenant take place in the same universe as the tales of Ripley, Newt, and Dallas, but it's really hard to reconcile that here. For example, we've got our crew of heroes, escorting a ship of colonists to an earth-like world, Origae-6, some seven and a half light years away, but then they abandon that mission to check out a new, similar Earth-like planet that pops on their radar without any real testing of the biosphere. And they charge right in without any real defensive gear, i.e. goggles, gloves, or masks, and act like Zeus himself bitch-slapped them when two of them get sick and start spewing black chunks. Like what? That would never happen if Ripley were around.

There is a very interesting and unique moment in Covenant, however, that you won't find mirrored in other films in the Alien franchise. It concerns the ending and, without giving any spoilers, gives the viewer a very clear direction of where the story is headed, what the next installment will concern itself with, and even what exactly the conflict will revolve around. It's an interesting move to make, as it sets a course (har har) but also limits imagination for the viewer as well. 

It's a fun movie, I don't want you to think otherwise, and the special effects involving the gore and kill scenes will be acceptable for us horror hounds, but it just doesn't deliver on everything that was promised. I think Covenant is very much one of those movies, one that balances both horror and sci-fi, that will become beloved by one camp and shrugged at by the other. Those who wanted the sheer terror of the original Alien will be disappointed, while those delighted by the cerebral colonization lore of Prometheus will be delighted. For me, I wanted a few more scares but I'm willing to admit that maybe those scares are lying in wait for us in future installments of the franchise, anticipating the proper moment to hatch.

Alien: Covenant

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

Get Out

If you've ever wondered what Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) would be like as a horror film, then head to the theaters right now because Jordan Peele, of the comic duo Key & Peele, has your answer in his directorial debut Get Out.

Get Out (2017)
Released: February 24, 2017
Director: Jordan Peele
Screenplay: Jordan Peele

Tagline: "Just because you're invited doesn't mean you're welcome"

Cast:
Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington
Allison Williams as Rose Armitage
Bradley Whitford as Dean Armitage
Catherine Keener as Missy Armitage
Lil Rel Howery as Rod Williams
Caleb Landry Jones as Jeremy Armitage

Chris and his girlfriend Rose have been dating for five months and it's come to the reliably awkward "meet the parents" phase of their relationship. They head upstate to spend a weekend at Rose's parents' place in the country. At first, Chris takes Missy and Dean's overly accommodating and friendly attitudes as well-meaning but nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship. Yet as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing incidents force Chris to realize that the situation he's found himself in is not even close to well-intentioned. 

You might not think that a seasoned comedian would do well dabbling in terror, but Jordan Peele has used his first film to show that he has quite a handle on fear. Race is tricky to discuss in horror. It's been handled with aplomb in the past as much as it's been handled dismally. Here, the ideology and the message that Peele wishes to convey are front and center, as makes sense. It's a film written and directed by an African American man, focusing on an African American man who is out of his element in a predominantly white society. And yet nothing here is heavy-handed. The film encourages conversations about race in our present culture, but it doesn't demand them.

This is an interesting move to make, and difficult to pull off. But Peele is in total control of his film from minute one until the credits roll, even if he wobbles a bit in those final few frames. The film achieves that miracle status that so many horror comedies strive for and only a golden handful pull off, being laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely scary at times, occasionally within the same scene. The tension builds to a white-knuckle climax, though the climax itself is cliche and doesn't reflect the daring premise of the narrative itself. The film asks tough questions, but it sort of takes the easy way out in the end.

"Oh my god you farted!"   "Bitch watch the road"

Still, Peele's a natural filmmaker and it shows in each aspect of his final product. Meeting the parents of your partner is a dreaded situation for anyone. The implicit fear of not being liked or being outright rejected for any number of reasons (political differences, educational gaps, socioeconomic disparities, sexual orientation, and yes, race) makes for a sympathetic and relatable situation for audiences of all colors, creeds, and proclivities. It's also a tale about coming to grips with your past, and the psychological baggage that such a confrontation entails. Our pasts, like our skin colors, are something we can't escape. If we deny this fact, we're led only to pain and potential self-loathing. 

The phenomenal cast also brings everything in Peele's screenplay to life. Daniel Kaluuya emotes fear, rage, and anguish in a way specific to his character and to his identity as a young, African American man in America and that yet somehow transcend all of that to speak in the universal language of film. Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener as girlfriend Rose's seemingly well-meaning parents are also spot on in delivering their crooning lines with just the right touch of unsettling insinuation. Allison Williams as girlfriend Rose never falters while her brother, played by ginger-haired beast Caleb Landry Jones is spot on aggressively chaotic WASPish dickhole. But the true scene-stealer is Lil Rel Howery as Chris's friend Rod, whose loyalty to his friend is endearing and natural, and played with comic perfection. We all want a friend like Rod.

You could make the argument that the film has pacing issues, but I think when it slows down it's really just to highlight the drama. To encourage viewers to take notice of the seeds that Peele is planting for the ultimate revelation at the climax. Which, again, is nothing earth-shattering, but still satisfying. All in all, while Get Out might wear its political and social principles on its sleeves, it's still compelling and engrossing and, most importantly, not preachy. It's that infrequent horror film who scares you not with blood or bodies, but with big ideas.

"Game of Thrones doesn't start til WHEN??"

Get Out (2017)

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

A Cure for Wellness

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this latest feature from the man who directed three of the four Pirates of the Caribbean movies and hasn't touched the horror genre since his last (and only) entry in the field, The Ring (2002). But Gore Verbinski is, admittedly, a visionary director, and though A Cure for Wellness doesn't exactly hit the terror and dread of his Japanese remake, it also doesn't fall firmly in the family-friendly fantasy of Jack Sparrow's world either. It's somewhere in the middle. It's surreal, metaphysical, vaguely supernatural, gorgeous to look at it, and gory all at the same time. That's quite the cocktail.

A Cure for Wellness (2017)
Released: February 17, 2017
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay: Justin Haythe

Tagline: "There is a cure"

Cast:
Dane DeHaan as Lockhart
Jason Isaacs as Dr. Heinrich Volmer
Mia Goth as Hannah
Celia Imrie as Victoria Watkins
Harry Groener as Pembroke

Wall Street stockbroker and hopeful social climber Lockhart is sent to a remote village in the Swiss Alps on a mission to bring back his company's CEO from the mysterious and reclusive wellness center in the village's ancient, remodeled castle. At first he's desperate to simply remove the man so that some shady financial missteps will be pinned on the big boss rather than an underling like himself, but after an unfortunate accident, Lockhart's stay at the institute looks to become extended and he begins to suspect that the miraculous treatments and idyllic atmosphere are not what they seem. As he begins to unravel the spa's secrets, he finds that he has been diagnosed with the same arcane illness that keeps the other wealthy patients longing for a cure and his sanity begins to crack.

The asylum-set film is an interesting subset in the horror genre. By default it provides room to explore lots of innate and intense human anxieties: loss of freedom, doubt, lack of control, questioning of one's own mental clarity. It's all very Gothic, which is appropriate as the asylum film essentially grew out of those great Victorian Gothic classics of literature. But what separates A Cure for Wellness from other recent movies in this grouping--movies like Gothika (2003), Shutter Island (2010), and Stonehearst Asylum (2014)--is that this film isn't set in an asylum, it's in a sanitarium. And that distinction makes all the difference.

Asylums are places of forced confinement, quasi-prisons for the severely mentally unwell or the criminally insane. Sanitariums are more like spas, a relaxed place where one would choose to recuperate, often dropping big bucks in order to gain some luxurious chill time. Thematically, this makes A Cure for Wellness carry a sense of the insidious, something dark lurking underneath the surface beauty, and the audience can sense this from the onset. 

"The hills are aliiiiiive"

Because this movie is absolutely stunning. From the natural mountain scenery to the archaic buildings, everything is breathtaking, peaceful, and haunting. The use of teal filters also gives everything a deceptively serene aesthetic that glues your eyes to the screen even during some of the film's more disturbing sequences. This is a credit to the film, though, as it keeps you invested during some of the slower paced and harder to follow moments of the plot. And the pacing is erratic, and the plot does dovetail into some strange tangents at various points, but hey, it looks damn pretty doing it. 

The story could certainly  have been more focused, but there's also a certain satisfaction in watching the scenes unfold naturally, even if it does make for a longer runtime (the film clocks in at 2 hours and 26 minutes). Personally, I didn't necessarily mind this, but for some viewers this can create a sense of frustration, especially near the end, when you just want to get to the damn resolution already and the film refuses to give up the ghost. What we get at the end is a curious concoction that makes the film both anti-industrialist and also Gothic forbidden romance. It works, but not as well as it would have worked had it been just one of those movies.

The leads are great and turn each of their unlikable characters (Lockhart, Volmer, and Hannah) into compelling portraits as they navigate a very twisted and bizarre love-triangle of sorts. Weaker performers could have easily botched this. In the end, Verbinski delivers a film that's substantial and original, as well as dazzling to view. Tightening of the script and a better examination of what the "sickness" and the "cure" actually were (before the revelation) would have heightened the experience. I think this is a film that mainstream horror fans will lose patience with quickly, but that us diehards will salute. Some of the billing likened it to The Shining (1980) but that's way off the mark. It's more in line with Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). So if you pine for trippy tales of doomed love, then this is the medicine for what ails you. 

"Say ahhhhhOHMYGOD"

A Cure for Wellness (2017)

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

Oscar Nominated Horror

As promised in the most recent episode of the podcast (Episode 19: Award Winning Horror) here is a list of every horror related film every nominated in any category at the Academy Awards.


1932
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
WON - Best Actor in a Leading Role (Fredric March)
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Writing, Adaptation

1939
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
NOMINATED - Best Music, Score
NOMINATED - Best Sound

1940
Dr. Cyclops
NOMINATED - Best Special Effects

The Invisible Man Returns
NOMINATED - Best Special Effects

1941
The Invisible Woman
NOMINATED - Best Special Effects

King of the Zombies
NOMINATED - Best Score for a Dramatic Picture

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography, Black and White
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing
NOMINATED - Best Score for a Dramatic Picture

1943
Phantom of the Opera
WON - Best Art Direction, Color
WON - Best Cinematography, Color
NOMINATED - Best Musical Score
NOMINATED - Best Sound Recording

1945
The Picture of Dorian Gray
WON - Best Cinematography, Black and White
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Angela Lansbury)
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction, Black and White

1953
Return to Glennascaul
NOMINATED - Best Live Action Short Film, Two-Reel

The Tell-Tale Heart
NOMINATED - Best Animated Short Film

1954
Them!
NOMINATED - Best Special Effects

1956
The Bad Seed
NOMINATED - Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nancy Kelly)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Eileen Heckart)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Patty McCormack)
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography, Black and White

1960
Psycho
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Janet Leigh)
NOMINATED - Best Director (Alfred Hitchcock)
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography, Black and White
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction, Black and White

1962
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
WON - Best Costume Design, Black and White
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actor (Victor Buono)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Bette Davis)
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography, Black and White
NOMINATED - Best Sound

1963
The Birds
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

1968
Rosemary's Baby
WON - Best Supporting Actress (Ruth Gordon)
NOMINATED - Best Adapted Screenplay

1972
Ben
NOMINATED - Best Music, Original Song ("Ben")

1973
The Exorcist
WON - Best Sound
WON - Best Adapted Screenplay
NOMINATED - Best Picture
NOMINATED - Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actor (Jason Miller)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair)
NOMINATED - Best Director (William Friedkin)
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing

1974
Phantom of the Paradise
NOMINATED - Best Original Song Score and Adaptation

Young Frankenstein
NOMINATED - Best Sound
NOMINATED - Best Adapted Screenplay

1975
Jaws
WON - Best Film Editing
WON - Best Sound
WON - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Picture

1976
King Kong
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Sound

The Omen
WON - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Original Song ("Ave Satani")

1978
The Swarm
NOMINATED - Best Costume Design

1979
Alien
WON - Best Visual Effects
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction

The Amityville Horror
NOMINATED - Best Original Score

1980
Altered States
NOMINATED - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Sound

1981
An American Werewolf in London
WON - Best Makeup

1984
Ghostbusters
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects
NOMINATED - Best Original Song ("Ghostbusters")

1986
Aliens
WON - Best Visual Effects
WON - Best Sound Effects Editing
NOMINATED - Best Actress (Sigourney Weaver)
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing
NOMINATED - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Sound

The Fly
WON - Best Makeup

Little Shop of Horrors
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects
NOMINATED - Best Original Song ("Mean Green Mother From Outer Space")

Poltergeist II: The Other Side
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

1987
Predator
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

The Witches of Eastwick
NOMINATED - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Sound

1988
Beetlejuice
WON - Best Makeup

1990
Flatliners
NOMINATED - Best Sound Effects Editing

1991
The Silence of the Lambs
WON - Best Picture
WON - Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins)
WON - Best Actress (Jodie Foster)
WON - Best Director (Jonathan Demme)
WON - Best Adapted Screenplay
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing
NOMINATED - Best Sound

1992
Alien 3
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

Bram Stoker's Dracula
WON - Best Costume Design
WON - Best Sound Effects Editing
WON - Best Makeup
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction

Death Becomes Her
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

1993
Addams Family Values
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction

Jurassic Park
WON - Best Sound Effects Editing
WON - Best Visual Effects
WON - Best Sound

The Nightmare  Before Christmas
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

1994
Ed Wood
WON - Best Supporting Actor (Martin Landau)
WON - Best Makeup

Interview with the Vampire
NOMINATED - Best Original Score
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction

1995
Se7en
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing

1997
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

1998
Gods and Monsters
WON - Best Adapted Screenplay
NOMINATED - Best Actor (Ian McKellen)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Lynn Redgrave)

1999
The Mummy
NOMINATED - Best Sound

The Sixth Sense
NOMINATED - Best Picture
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actor (Haley Joel Osment)
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette)
NOMINATED - Best Director (M. Night Shyamalan)
NOMINATED - Best Original Screenplay
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing

Sleepy Hollow
WON - Best Art Direction
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Costume Design

2000
The Cell
NOMINATED - Best Makeup

Hollow Man
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects

Shadow of the Vampire
NOMINATED - Best Supporting Actor (Willem Dafoe)
NOMINATED - Best Makeup

2004
The Phantom of the Opera
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction
NOMINATED - Best Original Song ("Learn to Be Lonely")

2005
Corpse Bride
NOMINATED - Best Animated Feature

King Kong
WON - Best Visual Effects
WON - Best Sound Mixing
WON - Best Sound Editing
NOMINATED - Best Art Direction

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit
WON - Best Animated Feature

War of the Worlds
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects
NOMINATED - Best Sound Mixing
NOMINATED - Best Sound Editing

2006
Monster House
NOMINATED - Best Animated Feature

Pan's Labyrinth
WON - Best Cinematography
WON - Best Art Direction
WON - Best Makeup
NOMINATED - Best Original Screenplay
NOMINATED - Best Foreign Language Film
NOMINATED - Best Original Score

2007
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 
WON - Best Art Direction
NOMINATED - Best Actor (Johnny Depp)
NOMINATED - Best Costume Design

2009
Coraline
NOMINATED - Best Animated Feature

2010
Black Swan
WON - Best Actress (Natalie Portman)
NOMINATED - Best Picture
NOMINATED - Best Director (Darren Aronofsky)
NOMINATED - Best Cinematography
NOMINATED - Best Film Editing

The Wolfman
WON - Best Makeup

2012
Frankenweenie
NOMINATED - Best Animated Feature

ParaNorman
NOMINATED - Best Animated Feature

Prometheus
NOMINATED - Best Visual Effects



In total, 70 horror or horror-related films have been nominated for Oscars. Of those seventy, 25 have won one or more statuettes. 

In terms of performances, Oscar seems to be kinder to women than men. 14 women and 9 men have been nominated in the leading and supporting acting categories for roles in horror films. From those 23 performers, six have won; three men (Fredric March and Anthony Hopkins for Lead Actor, Martin Landau for Supporting) and three women (Jodie Foster and Natalie Portman for Lead Actress, Ruth Gordon for Supporting).

Five directors have been nominated for their direction of horror films. Alfred Hitchcock for Psycho (1960), William Friedkin for The Exorcist (1973), Jonathan Demme for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), M. Night Shyamalan for The Sixth Sense (1999), and Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010). Only Demme won the award.

Five horror films have been nominated for the top prize (Best Picture) in Academy history, those being The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Sixth Sense (1999), and Black Swan (2010). Of course, only Silence of the Lambs claimed ultimate victory. 

The Autopsy of Jane Doe

Norwegian director Andre Øvredal has followed up his satirical dark fantasy monster movie Trollhunter (2010) with a deadly serious chiller in his English-language debut, and the result is poised to become a beloved contemporary horror classic. 

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
Released: December 21, 2016
Director:Andre Øvredal 
Screenplay:Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing

Tagline: "Every body has a secret"

Cast:
Emile Hirsch as Austin Tilden
Brian Cox as Tommy Tilden
Michael McElhatton as Sheriff Sheldon Burke
Ophelia Lovibond as Emma
Olwen Kelly as Jane Doe

Small town coroner Tommy Tilden (played by prolific and recognizable character actor Brian Cox) runs his family business out of a state-of-the-art mortuary and crematorium bunker underneath the family homestead. With son-in-training Austin (Emile Hirsch) assisting him, the two stay late one night in order to perform an autopsy on a recently delivered, and unidentified, female corpse from a local murder scene. The corpse exhibits no outward signs of distress or notable markings. But as the duo begin their extensive examinations in order to produce a c.o.d (cause of death) for the demanding sheriff, dark questions about the mysterious girl arise, and their answers prove sinister.

One excellent feature of the film to note right off the bat is the perfectly mapped structure of the film. The story is entirely linear in the best way, providing a sense of order the viewer can anticipate and follow. Father and son embark on their normal examination process the way they would for any other "new arrival," and we're told that this will involve a cursory exterior examination, an inspection of the internal organs, and then finally peeling back the skull to tackle the brain. All the while, they will speculate on possible c.o.d. based on their findings. This great thing about this set-up is that, after strange things begin to happen in that cold, clean basement, the viewer knows that there are more mysteries coming. They still have the next step ahead of them. As such, a very tangible sense of dread, anticipation, and danger develops. 

Through the procedure there's some excellent dialogue exchanged between our two leads, Tommy and Austin. The elder Tilden is unceremonial and by-the-books in his work, as one needs to be in such a profession, and Austin is the loyal son who sacrifices time spent with his girlfriend to help his father get the work done. What's great is that, even with this sacrifice, the relationship between father and son is never painted as strained or difficult as so many films do in order to fashion drama and tension. They are normal people thrown into a very abnormal situation and it is their relationship that allows them to move together through this trial. 

"Stomach full of Coors Light? Freshman."

Hirsch and Cox both deserve credit for this, and for creating real characters easy to identify with and follow on their fucked up journey. Of course the anchoring performance of the film would have to be Olwen Kelly as the Jane Doe corpse. Playing dead is an art, and a difficult one at that. She's got no lines, barely moves, and is nude pretty much the entire time, and yet somehow still managed to deliver a great performance. Who knew? 

The film is also, thankfully, full of frights. The scares are not necessarily abundant, but there's just enough, and so they're so excellently and deftly executed that I want to avoid even the tiniest bit of discussion of them here in order to save you the surprise later. I will say that even if you spot one of the scares coming early on (there's some pretty obvious throwaway dialogue that hints at it), you'll still find your heart racing and your pulse quickening when things start to go awry. 

If all of this sounds sufficiently vague, then good. The less clues you have to the mystery, the better. Piece by piece the film weaves together who Jane Doe is, why her body bears no signs of outward physical trauma, and what exactly happened to her and the revelation is both haunting and satisfying, though the third act itself is not entirely original. But such a minor flaw can be forgiven for the sake of great, likable characters, a steady supply of the creepiness and unease, and beautiful production design. The coroner's facility in the basement is an excellent set, creating a sort of locked-room effect as the action never leaves the mortuary. There's lots of playing with shadows and corners and the excellent placement of a corner mirror that figures in some of the film's most terrifying moments. A definite recommendation, full of spooks that will make it impossible for you to just lie still...

"Where the fuck is the Uber?"

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

Shut In

Despite its official IMDB categorization, and almost every descriptor out there for the movie, make no mistake, Shut In is only mildly thriller; the rest is straight-up horror. This does not, unfortunately, make it a particularly good movie. It's too confused with itself between those two facets of its identity, but it's beautifully shot and features some lovely actors doing the best they can with an implausible script.

Shut In (2016)
Released: November 11, 2016
Director: Farren Blackburn
Screenplay: Christina Hodson

Tagline: "Don't believe everything you see"

Cast:
Naomi Watts as Mary Portman
Charlie Heaton as Steven Portman
Jacob Tremblay as Tom Patterson
Oliver Platt as Dr. Wilson
David Cubitt as Doug Hart

Our story centers around Mary, played by the beloved Naomi Watts, a widowed child-psychiatrist whose home and practice are located deep in the woods of northern Maine. Working out of her garage, Mary rarely leaves her home because her stepson Stephen, played by Charlie Heaton of Stranger Things, has been rendered almost entirely paralyzed by the car accident that killed his father, Mary's husband. 

To no one's surprise, a snowstorm of Westeros proportions is barreling down on the area and could potentially leave Mary without power for several days. One of Mary's patients, a 9-year old deaf boy with severe, even violent, tendencies named Tom (played by adorable actor Jacob Tremblay of Room (2015) fame, runs away from his foster care home on the night the storm is set to move in, sending Mary on a desperate scramble to find him before the storm arrives in full force. But then, strange things start happening in the house. Unexplained noises. Furniture out of place. Sinister visions at night. 

So begins a psychological mind game where the viewer is left to wonder if Tom is already hiding in the house, if it is his ghost, or if Mary is quietly beginning to lose her mind after the mental strain of taking care of her son and the guilt she feels in her decision to send him to an assisted living center after the storm. This is a great concoction brewing here, but it comes out sour. Instead, a predictable twist that was done better in a film earlier this year, The Boy, is what the viewer is left with. 

"Blink twice if Eleven's coming back next season"

Throughout the film, Mary's own psychiatrist, Dr. Wilson, tells her about all the different pills she needs to start popping because she's dumb or whatever, and then he ends up revealing the twist to the audience over Skype, which was anticlimactic and frustrating since Mary, who had been fighting back against him the entire time, now starts giving in to every basic horror cliche that make true genre fans scream. And speaking of anticlimactic, that big giant White Walker storm? It doesn't show up until the final fifteen minutes of the movie and then it has no bearing on the remainder of the plot in any way. Cool.

To be fair, I don't think anyone expected Shut In to be all that grand. It was stealth released without any advance screenings for the press, so you know that's always a red flag. But sometimes giving in to low expectations can yield diamonds in the rough so I thought, why not? It's not awful--and there are some fun nods to The Shining (1980) and Jacob's Ladder (1990)--but it is very, very average. Which, at this time of year, you just can't be if you hope to make any money. So I'd say wait on this one and spend your money at the theater on this year's various Oscar bait movies or, if you want to support a horror director, Dr. Strange by Scott Derrickson (Hellraiser: Inferno, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil, Sinister 2). 

Shut In (2016)

5-Totally Terrifying

4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror

Don't Breathe

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more aptly titled film this year than Don't Breathe, director Fede Alvarez's simplistic but suspenseful sophomore effort that provides most, but not all, of the thrills and scares provided in the spoilery trailer. Besides that, the incredible use of sound, set pieces, and a solid cast giving their best all make for a deliciously wicked cocktail of a film, even if the aftertaste is a tad bitter.

Don't Breathe (2016)
Released: August 26, 2016
Director: Fede Alvarez
Screenplay: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues

Tagline: "This house looked like an easy target. Until they found what was inside."

Cast:
Stephen Lang as The Blind Man
Jane Levy as Rocky
Dylan Minnette as Alex
Daniel Zovatto as Money

Don't Breathe is, undoubtedly, a tense thrill ride, which his an impressive feat to pull off for a number of reasons, not least of which that the somewhat-spoilery trailers let us know much more than the basic premise. The film centers around a trio of down and out urban youths and petty thieves who make their cash by robbing wealthy homes of their valuables and electronics in bleak and desolate Detroit.  They decide to rob the home of a blind Gulf War veteran living in an otherwise abandoned suburb, thinking it'll be an easy score, but find that after they've broken into the house and blasted open a suspiciously locked door, they took on more than they bargained for in this particular heist.

As evidenced, the plot is simple, but that works in the film's favor. Little of the movie is wasted on nonsense or pointless characterization. Alvarez is adept at showing us only what we need to advance the story into the next frame while still giving his actors room to flex their roles. The cinematography is gorgeous, with some artful camera angles and skewed shots that add to the atmosphere of this flipped tale of the home invasion sub-genre. the camerawork makes the story feel epic in scale, even though we're confined to the very real-world setting of this decaying urban landscape, and the even realer setting of the house, which is made to feel like a labyrinth of twisted proportions thanks to the set design and clever tracking shots.

Marco?

Vital to the success of any great horror film is sound, from the infamous score in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) to recent successes like It Follows (2014), sound can elevate a horror film to new, tense heights. In Don't Breathe, it's more the lack of sound that accomplishes this same feat in building the perfect, very particular atmosphere, needed for some of the film's most crucial moments. Which of course would also fall flat if not for the solid, strong talent of the actors, all of whom give very physical performances that ground the reality of the situation and help knock up the terror. Dylan Minnette provides a noticeably mature and believable performance in his role as level-headed Alex while Daniel Zovatto shines, albeit briefly, as Money, and the trio is anchored with a stalwart performance from Jane Levy, the film's de facto heroine. But Stephen Lang, in his performance as The Blind Man, steals the show, proving once again why he's so uniquely skilled at playing the villain. Lang adds depth, dimension, and even empathy to a character who might otherwise come off as inhumane in the hands of a lesser actor.

Yet for all this, I have to say that Don't Breathe still had its missteps. One of which occurred in the very opening shot. We open (with an awesome crane shot that tracks down into the suburban streets of Detroit) with a last-act revelation that offers up the fate of our characters, before then flashing back to watch the path that led here unfurl. And while this choice of opener doesn't detract of tense moments within the film, it detracts from the overall tension, as we know how things end up already. For me, this was a major detraction. I wish that Alvarez, or the studio, would trust the audience with a natural progression of story rather than unnecessarily opening on violence to "hook us." I couldn't help thinking that without this flash-forward scene, I would have been so much better positioned to have a rich, participatory experience with the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I would honestly advise doing what you can to get to the theater a minute or two late. Your viewing will be much more "clean" that way.

Fro-yo after this, though?

Overall, Don't Breathe delivers. It's one of the better horror films of the year, combining slow burn tension with gut-punch terror and a sort of beautiful brutality. The Witch (2016) might be the "better" horror film for its atmospheric virtues, but Don't Breathe is the clear jolt fest. Alvarez wanted to prove wrong the critics who said he couldn't make an original horror movie without relying on blood and gore after his directional debut, the Evil Dead (2013) remake, and he succeeded. This film shows that he has a resourceful understanding of suspense, and a brilliant mind for what will get audience pulse racing. One scene in particular, a sequence shot entirely in night vision that is merciless and dripping with dread (not to mention a nice nod to Silence of the Lambs (1991) am I right?) is some fantastic filmmaking. Ironically, though, the film needed more restraint, or at least the marketing did. The trailers and promotions give away two of the movie's "twists" or turns in the storytelling, and the opening scene, as mentioned, needs to be cut, but there is one final surprising element that leads to one of the most disgusting moments in recent horror history. And if you're all about the journey, this is one hell of a ride for you. And you'll certainly need to catch your breath when it's over.


Don't Breathe (2016)

5-Totally Terrifying
4-Crazy Creepy

3-Fairly Frightening

2-Slightly Scary

1-Hardly Horror