Emelie (2015) [Blu-Ray]

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Michael Thelin’s “Emelie” is destined to go down as one of the classic killer babysitter movies of its sub-genre. It’s a mix of “Inside” and “The Babadook” in where a young boy finds a purpose in having to save the lives of his brother and sister when their babysitter happens to a pure psychopath with her own ulterior motives. Sarah Bolgier is fantastic as young Anna, a replacement babysitter who takes over for the usual nanny of a very average and unsuspecting family. The brood she has to look over isn’t particularly interesting or special, and while Anna does look very harmless at first sight.

But soon she eventually begins to reveal something of a reptilian personality as she becomes more and more unhinged with every passing hour. Bolgier is wonderful at maintaining the uneasy smile that she wears throughout the film, as she learns a lot about the trio of children she’s watching, and begins devising her own plans for them that become increasingly disturbing. Thelin relies on mounting tension and pure suspense to bait the audience and keep them watching until the climax. We’re never quite sure what is happening with young Anna, and why she’s so aloof when the kids begin destroying the house, but it does lead in to something that’s so inherently demented and insane.

Thelin touches in to certain taboos exploring how utterly off the wall bonkers Anna tends to be, first seducing young Jacob in an incredibly uncomfortable bathroom scene. Just when you think Thelin can’t top that cringe inducing sequence, he just continues ratcheting up the gross out factor with one more disturbing sequence after another. While it may seem at first glance the shocks are there mainly to keep us squirming, a lot of the actions Anna takes really reflect her lack of sanity, and how far off the deep end she is. “Emelie” is a surefire slow boil thriller that culminates in to a very satisfying explosion that acts as a word of warning to parents on taking second and even third glances at who is caring for your children.

Featured on the Blu-Ray, there’s the thirteen minute “Making Of,” which features interviews with director Thelin, and writer Herbeck, along with the cast and the film’s producers. There’s the film’s original trailer clocking in at two minutes, and finally additional trailers, which aren’t really special features, but should give you an idea of other releases from the company.

Finding Dory (2016)

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

I, like many other people, were wondering why there even needed to be a sequel to “Finding Nemo” that focused on Dory. Granted, Dory was a charming supporting character, and Ellen DeGeneres was great, but Dory always seemed like a character you could quickly get bored with. Surprisingly, director Andrew Stanton not only proves that Dory is worth focusing an entire film on, but that her story deserved to be told just as much as Marlin and Nemo’s did. Stanton and co. follow a very non–linear storyline for the sequel; “Finding Dory” goes back in time to follow the blue Tang we know as Dory, then cuts off as she meets Marlin, and begins a year later where she’s now living with Marlin and Nemo and acting as Nemo’s surrogate guardian alongside Marlin.

Dory, much like Nemo, was born with just as much of a disadvantage. While “Finding Nemo” conveyed the trials, tribulations, and worries of raising a child with a physical disability, “Finding Dory” uses Dory’s short term memory loss as a metaphor for the trials, tribulations, and worries that come with raising a child with a mental illness or mental disability. Raising Dory isn’t so much a burden for her parents Jenny and Charlie, as they approach her lack of memory with as much patience and consideration as possible. They’re well meaning and lovely parents that do everything in their power to help Dory channel her disability in to an advantage all while turning it in to a fun game.

But they can only do so much, since they don’t really seem to accept that Dory’s condition is permanent and may be a part of who she is for the rest of her life. Plus, as she ages, the world is looking more and more appealing to her, so it soon becomes a race for her parents to make her handicapable before their worst fears of the ocean swallowing her up come to fruition. Sadly, Dory does get lost, and her short term memory becomes a constant pitfall in her efforts to reunite with her parents. Before long, she’s forgotten that she’s even lost, and years have passed on. Thus she meets her fate with Marlin and Nemo, which gives her a newfound perspective and the confidence that she can find her parents once again. “Finding Dory” opens up the world we saw in “Finding Nemo” by adding a new slew of fun and lovable characters.

I especially loved Hank the Septopus, Destiny a near sighted Whale Shark, and a pair of Walrus’ comically protective of their perching rock. “Finding Dory” isn’t just a callback to the original film, but the narrative literally centers on Dory trying to find her memories and her family which ultimately represents herself. DeGeneres is even better here than in the first film as Dory, as she injects a lot of complexity and true emotions in the character and her journey to find her family which she is convinced will help improve her memory in the long run. “Finding Dory” is fantastic as director Andrew Stanton and co. give Dory brand new obstacles and dimensions, and comprise a funny, exciting, and incredibly heartbreaking tale of overcoming a handicap and leaning on family when the world is at its darkest.

The Crush (1993) [Blu-Ray]

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

There are a lot of allusions made to Nabakov’s “Lolita” with “The Crush.” Whether intentional or not, it’s interesting how the film parallels certain themes and scenes. When Nick decides to move in to a sort of run down house as he prepares to begin a new job at a magazine, his first look at fourteen year old stunner Adrian is almost beat for beat when Professor Humbert sees young Dolores for the first time. Rather than walking in on her in her yard, she’s in short shorts, a tee, and rollerblades. When we see Adrian, she’s dressed in about the kind of seductive attire she craftily saunters around in as a mode of luring in potential mates, and Nick is hooked.

Except unlike Humbert, he gains something of an awareness of what trouble he’s walking in to, as Adrian literally begins throwing herself at him. She shows up in his room while he’s showering, and does little to deflect sexual come ons and innuendo she’s not shy about giving him. By the time Nick realizes Adrian has taken their sexually playful relationship one step too far, he becomes his own worst enemy and digs himself in to a massive hole that seems inescapable by the finale.

“The Crush” is a very good look at the destruction of a simple man thanks to the wiles of a young girl, particularly a young Alicia Silverstone. Silverstone gives a very good performance, and handles her sexuality with pitch perfect precision making it an alluring trait, and a remarkable weapon that only hampers every and any attempt Nick makes to push her out of his life for good. Though its never explored outright, Nick almost finds the come ons and aggression by Adrian charming and even erotic.

One scene involving a botched attempt to steal back picture from her room that turns in to a strip tease clearly indicates Nick isn’t completely troubled by her fixation on him. Only when people begin getting seriously injured and nearly killed by Adrian’s manipulation and smart staging of events does Nick eventually have to ensure that he ends her obsession before it becomes all too fatal. “The Crush” is a solid thriller filled with strong turns by Cary Elwes and Alicia Silverstone. It’s also one of the stronger thrillers cut out of the cloth of “Fatal Attraction.”

The Blu-Ray release from Scream Factory includes the two minute theatrical trailer for the film, and a thirty second TV spot. There’s an audio commentary with writer and director Alan Shapiro who is joined by Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson. The pair of hosts trade questions with one another, and Shapiro discusses changing Silverstone’s characters name from Darian to Adrian.

If you watch the original trailer, you can hear Elwes calls the character Darian. “The Doting Father” is a ten minute interview with legendary character actor Kurtwood Smith, who plays Adrian’s father in the film. He discusses his large career and his experience working with Silverstone. “Stung by Love – An Interview with Jennifer Rubin” is a brand new thirteen minute sit down with with actress Jennifer Rubin who discusses how she was hired for the movie, and filming the infamous wasp sequence.

I.V. League (2016)

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Patrick Rea has been more committed to dark comedy as of late, delivering horror shorts that are based a lot around deception and pure evil. It’s really interesting to see director Rea working outside of his comfort zone and diving in to new areas of horror and fantasy that are rarely mastered. “I.V. League” is another of his many latest short films where human cruelty is the theme, and Rea delivers a one two punch of plot twists that make the experience very worthwhile.

Creating a ring of lies, “I.V. League” is centered on a man who’s barely survived a car wreck that left him burnt from head to toe. While his new nurse attends to him, she soon meets his wife, and learns that she’s been all too aware of her bed ridden husband’s past with sleeping with young female doctors and nurses around the hospital. Without realization, the two women are embroiled in a secret murder plot against him, with a man named Nico who was sent to murder him. After failing, both women have a bone to pick with him, and soon the suspicions arise among the pair of women.

It’s tough to continue discussing the movie without actually giving away what unfolds, but Rea’s film is slick enough to follow without ever getting too crowded with plot points and twists. The performances from Misty Dixon and Katrina Volonnino are superb (as well as the rest of the supporting cast), with Rea devising a nice web of revenge and spite that culminates in to a really good climax. While I admittedly saw the first plot twist coming miles away, the final twist is really unexpected, and felt very well placed, rather than tacked on. Rea’s film is a strong and clever short thriller, and one that warrants a watch when it becomes available for fans.

Hank Boyd Is Dead (2015)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Emilie Black

Accused murdered Hank Boyd has died and his mother wants him remembered with a funeral and gathering at the family home. Sarah is hired to work this gathering for the local catering company. As the hours pass, the Boyd family grows stranger and stranger and Sarah must fight for her life.

Written and directed by Sean Melia for whom this is a first full length feature film, the story seems simple at first: A child murderer has died in a small town and his family is trying to keep a minimum of respect for him at his funeral. However, as more and more is discovered about the Boyd family, the more twisted the story becomes. It isn’t only about Sarah’s survival among this family but also about how crazy can one family really be. The story is fairly well written and unfolds at a good pace, never losing the viewer’s attention but also not exactly feeling like it’s doing anything new with the crazy family aspect.

The acting is decent from the leads and supporting cast. Standouts are Carole Monferdini as the aging and slowly losing it clan matriarch, Beverly Boyd, who alternates between sweet old lady and crazy violent bitch. Her performance is nuanced with a touch of bat shit insane. The other standout if Stefanie E. Frame as Sarah Walsh, the outsider who becomes captive and fights for her life. She shows a range of emotions from boredom to stunned surprise to desperation which adds to the viewers’ care for her character.

Hank Boyd Is Dead is a violent film but there is no gore and very little blood, the horror here is more psychological in nature. Yes, there is violence, but what is meant to shock is the story, the characters’ backgrounds, and the family dynamics, not the physical damage made to others (except in a couple of scenes). That being said, it is a violent film with some disturbing aspects, however for a more jaded audience, it’s not quite enough to have much of an effect.

The film has good performances in general, a fairly good story, decent dialogue, but nothing is really shocking or new. At 76 minutes, it’s a fairly short feature which allows it to not overstay its welcome. The twists are interesting but will be predictable to some. Nonetheless, the film is entertaining while not breaking any new ground in the crazy family with major issues horrific drama sub-genre.

Baskin (2015)

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Emilie Black

Five cops go on a very late night call to the middle of nowhere. On their way, their hit something on the road and crash close to the source of the call, as they head into the property, things take a turn for the very weird. Baskin is based on the short of the same name and is written by Ogul Can Eren, Can Evrenol, Cem Ozuduru, and Ercin Sadikoglu.

The way they built the film with dreams and flashbacks leads to a story that could have been muddled but isn’t as it works with them and integrates them well. Of course, this leads to a story that is not entirely linear and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The direction by Can Evrenol demonstrates talent with only a few scenes showing that this is his first feature and that his directorial experience is not wide and varied yet. Most of the writers and the director are newer to completely new to making films, yet this shows only very, very scarcely, which is a testament to their pool of talent.

The cast here is also fairly new to the business with two standout performance by Gorken Kasal as Arda, the lead amongst a good group of actors playing cops going on an ill-fated call. Kasal gives a layered performance of a character with a childhood that is still affecting him, while trying to be the best cop he can be, he also shows a good emotional range. Also worth noting is newbie Mehmet Cerrahoglu as Baba, The Father, the cult leader Arda and the cops encounter. Kasal and Cerrahoglu play well against each other. Many scenes in “Baskin” are trippy and visually very interesting, leading to sometimes packing a lot in a quick scene which serves to disorient as much as engage the viewer.

As the film advances, things go from weird to seriously messed up and the gore factor goes through the roof. Blood, guts, everything gets thrown around. The effects for these are of varying quality. For most of the film, the effects are great, done practically and looking quite realistic, especially once put in a darkly-lit, fast-moving scenes. However, a few of the effects, seen in better light and for longer periods, look a bit cheaper, of lesser quality which can break the tension of the scene they are in. Adding to the visuals and the effects is the music which works well here, helping sustain the suspense and raising up the creep factor by underlining the fear felt by the protagonists.

Baskin is a movie once should see as it shows what short film makers can do when expending on one of their shorts such as what happened with Turbo Kid (but much, much darker here). It’s a tense film with scenes to make almost anyone uncomfortable. The story starts off with an effective opening, then keeps things more or less almost creepy until it suddenly amps up the creep factor and then the gore becomes prevalent making for a suspenseful experience with some gross out moments. By the end of the film, more questions have been asked than answered, leaving the viewer to think a bit and come to their own conclusions.