Jamie Blanks’ “Valentine” is one of the many latter day slasher films that would completely steal from the premise of “Slaughter High” and retrofit it to a new generation, as well as blatantly ape the gimmick of “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” “Valentine” is one of the more ambitious slashers that not only steals from “Slaughter High” but also jumps on the valentine holiday as its primary gimmick for the stalking and slashing. “My Bloody Valentine” always has my loyalty, while “Valentine” is just a sub-par absolutely vanilla slasher thriller with the classic whodunit plot motivation that also became a common element of latter day slashers post-“Scream.”
Tag Archives: Mystery
Reign of the Supermen (2019) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]
One of most controversial and divisive story arcs of the nineties is brought to the small screen in an epic fashion, and DC and Warner manage to adapt the final half of the “Death of Superman” storyline for a broader audience. While nineties kids will love to see the whole mystery of the Four Supermen once again, DC works within the limitations of the characters they’re allowed to use, and re-imagines most of the storyline of the Reign of the Supermen, right down the primary antagonist working behind the scenes.
Into the Dark: Down
For Blumhouse’s polarizing anthology series in February, the writers of “Into the Dark” tackle Valentine’s Day. One of the nasty aspects of having to write the review for “Down” is it’s nearly impossible to write about it without spoiling the episode’s big hook. And the primary motivation for watching “Down” is the way the premise devolves in to a huge twist mid-way. Like all of the episodes of “Into the Dark” so far, the episode is fifteen minutes too long, but once it completely reaches fever pitch, it’s quite an exhilarating horror thriller based around the holiday.
Slip Road (2018)
“Department of Anarchy” Short Block
A lot of “Slip Road” is left to the viewer to interpret and for a short form film, and I don’t mind saying that it can be a bit of a task. “Slip Road” is beautifully filmed, along with some striking visuals, I just would have loved a tad more information so we can come to a conclusion and appreciate the overall journey without spending most of the run time trying to put the pieces together.
Lost Holiday (2018) [Slamdance Film Festival 2019]
I wish I liked “Lost Holiday” a lot more. While I think the premise has a ton of potential to be an off kilter drama mystery, it works a little too much in the bizarre comedy spectrum to really involve the audience. Michael and Thomas Matthews mix a coming of age comedy with a crime mystery, focusing on a gum shoe of a woman who has no idea how to keep herself from falling over, but decides to solve an unusual kidnapping that only sees her descend deeper in to catastrophe.
The Vast of Night (2019) [Slamdance Film Festival 2019]
It’s not often these days I can sit down to watch a film that just transports me in to another place or time. Sometimes the artifice is too apparent, but I tell you “The Vast of Night” transported in me in to another place and time from the moment the movie opened. Andrew Patterson has on his hands a movie that promises to become a genre classic, and I’m glad I was able to watch it during its time at Slamdance. It’s a masterpiece of genre film making and one I was bowled over with until the very end. I am not at all kidding when I say once the film closed, I sat in my seat still and stunned.
In the Heat of the Night (1967): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Norman Jewison’s “In the Heat of the Night” remains one of Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger’s banner dramas, it’s a tense, taut, and engrossing crime thriller that brings to life one of the most compelling on screen heroes I’ve ever seen. Based on John Ball’s series of books about African American gumshoe named Virgil Tibbs, Jewison brings to the screen the first of the books. “Heat,” as written by Stirling Silliphant for the big screen is an imperfect drama with a little bit too much fat to the narrative, but in the end it comes out as a pretty as remarkable drama about the racially turbulent South and a man trying to uncover a crime that reaches far deeper than anyone, even the police chief, realizes.