Floundering in movie purgatory for a few years, “Case 39” is a supernatural thriller that has managed to be not only an indicator of its star status and how far its performers have come, but it’s also a statement that sometimes, just sometimes, studios can be on to something when they shelve or keep movies back in production. Held back for four years only released in the UK and now just being introduced to American theaters (maybe due to Bradley Cooper’s rising star status), “Case 39” is about as horrible a movie as you can imagine. It’s a movie that should have just been given a DVD release instead of a theatrical release as a movie starring Cooper pre-“The Hangover” fame. Hint: During filming he clearly wasn’t a big enough star to live through the whole movie.
Tag Archives: Satanic
Blessed (2004)
I’ve seen many “Rosemary’s Baby” wannabes since I was a kid, many of them hit the mark, many of them missed the mark, but all aspired to reach the greatness Roman Polanski did in his film about Satanic cults and the woman who becomes prey for their horrific goals at resurrecting satan. “Blessed” seeks to take that concept and run with it and wouldn’t you know it? It misses the mark. It misses it by thousands of miles. “Blessed” is such a confused and unfocused piece of tripe that I feel nothing but sadness for the likes of Heather Graham and James Purefoy who just shamble around looking for a direction and can never seem to find any.
The House of the Devil (2009)
This movie is a big step up for director Ti West whose debut film was like an immature fan boy’s homage to everything schlocky, while his sophomore film was nothing more than a terrible sequel to a rather terrible film. West matures considerably with what is basically a slow boil homage to the seventies that is obviously inspired by the classic “Rosemary’s Baby.” Everything from the marketing campaign to the posters works under the pretense that this is a time capsule of the seventies, an unexplored gem from that decade that many haven’t quite explored yet.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
At this moment and time I’m still not sure what I thought of “Jennifer’s Body.” I mean it has its high points but in the end I was left completely unimpressed and just all around apathetic to what I’d seen. For one thing I enjoyed “Jennifer’s Body” more when it was called “Ginger Snaps.” Director Kusama’s story of two sister-like friends (who find themselves in a supernatural situation that’s bigger than themselves one of whom is a freak while the other friend is a looker) has already been covered and with much more effective storytelling to boot. That being said, “Jennifer’s Body” is definitely not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, it’s just not going to re-invent the wheel.
Race With the Devil (1975)
The seventies were all about fascination with Satanism and with the curiosity it begat movies with themes of satanism one of the most famous being “Rosemary’s Baby.” Probably one of the more underrated satanic films, “Race with the Devil” is about being at the wrong place at the wrong time and what ensues is a claustrophobic cult classic that stars Peter Fonda as one of a group of innocent bystanders who witness a satanic ritual and are pulled in to the world of satanic worship for witnessing something they were never meant to see.
Gothkill (2009) (DVD)
So far I’ve enjoyed the output Wild Eye Releasing has dropped on movie lovers laps. “Blitzkrieg” was a fun and salivating homage to Naziploitation from the grindhouse era and now we have “Gothkill,” another neo-grindhouse bonanza that recalls the satanic thrillers of the seventies with its tongue firmly planted in cheek. At a merciful hour and nine minutes long, Connelly’s satanic horror comedy seems to be here only to present us with the finest and most unique satanic and gothic performance artists of all time from fire breathers, to magicians and fortune tellers, all of whom are included in the film for lip service in a story that is not only much too convoluted to understand at times, but seems too long even at the length of an average television special.
Dead Fury (2008)
Frank Sudol’s “Dead Fury” is inspired by classics such as “John Carpenter’s The Thing,” “Evil Dead” and most likely “Night of the Living Dead” and as such is a clear homage that notifies the audience of its intentions before the credits even roll. I’m a fan of Sudol’s “City of Rott” even in spite of the general problems it had in the final act, and he follows it up with a surreal and unusually constructed monster in the house story about four friends out on a hunting trip who find… demons? I want to say Demons who act like Zombies. Either way, “Dead Fury” is a film that’s been met with a bit of scorn from critics, but I like it.