You have to love Bruce Campbell’s attitude toward “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” He’s like that angry dad who you keep asking for bike for your birthday and he keeps telling you that he has no money, and to shut your trap, or he’s locking you in the basement with the other bad kids. Then on your birthday, he shows up with a brand new bike and says “Well I got it because… you know… you’re a good kid, and you wouldn’t shut up about it. Now go get me a pack of smokes.” Bruce is that kind of man who loves his fans despite the gruff exterior and rewarded us with “Ash vs. Evil Dead” because we wouldn’t shut up about it. And because, you know, you can’t have Ash without Campbell. Just in time for Halloween, “Ash vs. Evil Dead” gets everything right about the “Evil Dead” movie series.
Tag Archives: Comedy
X-Rated Alley: Up in Flames (1978), Tinto Brass 4-Set
Unofficially based on The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and Mr. Natural underground comics, “Up in Flames” is an adult film stinker that looks like someone took a bunch of stoners and tried to create their own X Rated comedy for the local grindhouses. At only an hour in length, we meet a trio of slacker stoners that are given one more day to come up with rent for their apartment, or else they’re going to be kicked out.
The Love Witch (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
A witch uses love spells to get men enamored with her. Things go well at first, until the men become too attached and overly needy, at which point the love witch has to find a way to move on.
Red Christmas (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
A mother wants to have the best Christmas ever with her family. During the traditional day, tensions come to a boiling point when a stranger shows up at their door and wants to kill them all. This sets the mother on a warpath to protect her brood.
This Australian horror film is written and directed by Craig Anderson who starts by building a family with lots of issues and strife between its members. Most of their issues are the same as a lot of families while others are more unique. This family cares for each other against these odds and when all hell breaks loose, their bonds are tested. The writing here develops this family well and then brings some original kills to the table but the characters are not the most likable so it’s hard to root for them. This is all well directed for most of the film so the few issues seen here and there are not entirely awful, but the film lacks a bit in fun. Sadly, the killer’s motivation feels a bit preachy at times, making his condition a bit of a case of one too many things in the story. The way the killer is portrayed is unfortunately a bit grating and not really menacing.
The cast does ok with the material but it’s hard to tell if their characters were written that way or if they were directed to do this or if the way they act leads to this, but almost all the characters come off as unlikable and just disagreeable, selfish people. From the looks of things, it seems to be a combination of the three with other factors added to those. Knowing that Dee Wallace can play mother so well, her performance here is not as expected which may be due to putting too much hope on her. She is good, but some angles of her character are so dislikable, it’s hard to look over those. The rest of the cast being less familiar, they did not have as much expectations put on them, yes they still come off as dislikable to despicable as well.
As Red Christmas is a slasher, the kills and their effects are of high importance. The kills here are good with some original ones. However, the effects are decent at best with some pieces being not so good to just bad. The make-up and prosthetics on the killer look a bit like Toxie, with a low budget look and even somewhat of a family resemblance. Also an odd choice is how the kill set pieces are shot. In some cases, the lighting makes it hard to see what is going; on while in other cases, the shaky cam is nauseating, making the viewer look away and miss out on the scene.
This film has a lot of potential, but does not go for it. It has good ideas for kills with effect that are just not good enough to support those ideas. The characters are not people the viewers can get attached to. The killer is one of those that could have been good but his background and reason to kill make him hard to get into or behind. This reviewer wanted to love this as the last few years have given us so many good holiday themed horror movies, but even after giving Red Christmas as much slack as possible, it’s not a movie that can be considered good. A few good scenes here and there do not a great movie make.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.
L’Élan (2015) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
In a small French village arrives an elk (élan in French) that walks on two legs, wears a trench coat, and communicates telepathically. Everyone he meets seems to accept him as if his presence is completely normal, except for a UFO fanatic who wants to meet and analyze him.
Director Etienne Labroue of Les Guignols de l’Info co-wrote L’Élan with Marc Bruckert and they created a marvelous fable here of a being on a quest to belong, finding a family ready to take him in and protect him. The story here is touching, funny, and sometimes sad. Bruckert and Labroue show a lot of talent in this sweet script that reminds the viewers of early Jean-Pierre Jeunet crossed with Quentin Dupieux. As this is Etienne Labroue’s first film, it shows a lot of promise and directorial talent.
The characters built by Labroue and Bruckert are a little cartoon-y but here it works given the story and the settings. The cast hired to bring those characters to life go for it with gusto and an impeccable sense of timing. The whole cast does this so well, it’s difficult to pick a stand-out. Aurelia Petit, Délia Espinat-Dief, Olivier Broche, Cyprien Dugas, et al deserve major kudos for fearlessly bringing their parts to life and not being afraid of looking a bit silly on screen. It all works in the end and brings a village of kooks to life for our entertainment. The narration is done in a way similar to Amélie but with a bit of a nuttier story which is told in a childhood story manner.
The way the film settings are and the way its shot ring out the ludique side of the story. Everyone and everything is brought together in a way that creates a fairytale-like atmosphere. The design of the élan himself is cartoonish with a touch of giant stuffed animal to the head’s look. His whole being is a bit disproportionate from itself, giving him a sweet disposition and style even though he could easily have been a bad guy. L’Élan is designed in a way to remind the viewers of childhood toys and TV shows, while his attitude and mannerism are quite child-like. He brings an outward innocence and allows the viewer to connect on a different level with the story through nostalgia and comfort.
L’Èlan is an entertaining comedy with a lot to offer. It takes a crazy, absurd idea and goes with it fully, giving the viewers a childhood fairytale but grown-ups. It’s almost innocent but not quite. It brings back a warm feeling while also reminding everyone of their need to belong.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.
Kaijyu Mono (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
In the only logical location for Kaijyu attacks, Japan, a Kaijyu wakes up and eats teenagers in a forest. A scientist and his assistants look into the event and get involved in the fight against the Kaijyu. The film is directed and co-written by Minoru Kawasaki who also worked on The Calamari Wrestler, a film with a very particular story line. With his co-writer on Kaijyu Mono, Takao Nakano, they create a delightfully bizarre tale that only makes sense when screening at Fantasia.
The story they build here is full of surprises and twists, not all of which make sense but they somehow fit in this film. It’s hard to explain, but it works, possibly because the whole premise is completely crazy. The characters they have created are not particularly original or deep and they feel like crazy caricatures which brought this viewer to the conclusion that it’s a wanted thing. They add so many odd selections to their film that it all has to be planned.
The cast for this is composed of Saki Akai, Bin Furuya, Shinzo Hotta, etc. They all are a bit cartoon-y and definitely do so on purpose as this is what the story lend itself to. That being said, the acting, within its confines and limitations, is quite good. It cannot be easy to keep a straight face when the elder actor on set shows up dressed as Sailor Moon for example.
The titular Kaijyu us fun, but not particularly original. It looks similar to many Kaijyus seen before, which is most likely a wanted thing as a throwback to old school Kaijyu films. This particular monster is clearly a man in a suit and it shows, adding charm to its appearances and to its fight sequences. In these sequences, the monster fights a giant man, made so by shots in the story and by using cool maquettes in the film techniques, bringing even more nostalgia to the proceedings. The fights themselves are more like wrestling than martial arts even though they do through some of that in there, they are very exaggerated, but quite entertaining.
Kaijyu Mono is a fairly simple film, keeping proceedings to a minimum of locations and characters. It’s fun and entertaining but doesn’t re-write the book on its genre or bring much new elements to the table. It’s silly, many elements are just there to be funny or look cool, but it works in a sense that it’s entertaining non-sense with a strong sense of nostalgia. Fans of old Kaijyu films should love Kaijyu Mono.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.
Little Sister (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]
Colleen is a former Goth kid who has found her calling and is working towards becoming a nun. After her brother comes back from war heavily damaged psychologically and physically, their mom pleads with Colleen to come for a visit. A simple few days at home turn into a rediscovery of self, of her relationship with her family, and of her passion for her calling.
Written by Zach Clark from a story by Clark and Melodie Sisk, Little Sister is directed by Zach Clark who builds a family drama showing the real sides of people who start off by avoiding each other, then become closer through reminiscing and through getting to know each other again. The characters they build here do feel like a family that lost touch and is learning to know each other anew. The way this is written and done feels organic and natural. This family is not perfect and neither are their relationships but the care and love they have for each other transcends their issues and differences. The characters created are human, none perfect, none all bad, they are just trying to navigate life as best they can.
This Lunsford family is comprised of: Joani, Bill, Jacob, and Colleen who the story follows. Ally Sheedy is Joani, Peter Hedges is Bill, Keith Poulson is Jacob, and Addison Timlin is the lead of colleen. Ally Sheedy shows the viewers why they fell in love with her in the 80s by giving a touching performance of a stressed out mom who did all she could to give her two kids a great life. She embodies the mom full of worries who doesn’t know how to handle her adult children. Addison Timlin as Colleen shows growth for her character throughout the film, starting off as a timid young nun-to-be and ending as a confident woman sure of her path as a nun.
As the brother Jacob, Keith Poulson shows as much as he can under his full head prosthetic. Much of his performance rests on his voice and body language, which he uses very well. The prosthetics for Jacob’s burnt at war head and face was made by Brian Spears and Pete Gerner and is fairly well done but not great unfortunately. For most of the film, it’s applied well, but in a few scenes, the application is not full and the second “skin” can be seen moving separately and un-sticking from the actor’s face, something that is annoying but not film breaking.
The cinematography by Daryl Pittman makes the family house look cozy, warm even. The way interactions are framed helps focus the attention on what is important. The music by Fritz Myers paired with the song choices underscore the action and add to Colleen’s personality. They add to the emotions and make the film a complete experience.
Little Sister starts on a Marilyn Manson quote and ends on a much different note, following the evolution of Colleen’s life and her emotional growth. This film is a wonderful study of family dynamics and personal growth.
Fantasia International Film Festival ran from July 14th until August 3rd, 2016 and will be back in the summer of 2017.