I’m a big fan of Jay Baruchel (the actor), and as director of “Random Acts of Violence,” his adaptation of the original graphic novel by Jimmy Palmiotti wastes so much of its potential. It’s a great concept, with great commentary that amounts to a sub-par horror movie. The still relevant themes about how society tends to lionize serial killers, the unusual serial killer culture that most people tend to celebrate, and how most of their victims are virtually ignored begs for a dark horror movie of this ilk. Sadly, there is not a single substantial thing we can take away from all of this in the end.
Tag Archives: Slasher
Five More Great Minority Movie Heroes, Part IV
It’s Black History Month and we’re hoping to kick off a month of great articles and reviews celebrating Black culture in film, and pop culture. To help usher in the month, here is yet another installment of the “Minority Movie Heroes” series. As I’ve explained in the past, it’s hard to find actual heroes in film that are people of color whether African American, Latinx, Asian, et al. So, as with all the previous entries I scoured film as much as I could to feature five more minority movie heroes that deserve celebrating.
Freaky (2020)
Blumhouse has found a little niche market in taking classic comedies and turning them in to bonafide horror movies. After “Happy Death Day 2 U,” they take the creaky Disney classic “Freaky Friday” and add a slasher twist to it. Shockingly, it works more times than it doesn’t. Christopher Landon doesn’t just embrace the classic narrative, but he tops it off with a gory slasher movie, and even injects so many LGBTQ overtones that it wouldn’t surprise me if it picked up steam as a LGTBQ classic very soon.
Killing Spree (1987)
Tom may just lose his mind and end up becoming a serial killer if another of his wives cheats on him. How do we know that? Well, Tim Ritter in his brilliant writing explains that to us in an ever so blunt exposition that Tom may just–lose his mind and end up becoming a serial killer if another of his wives cheats on him. Why the repetition? It’s probably because director Tim Ritter’s attempt at a facsimile of a film is absolutely unwatchable.
Haunt (2019) [Blu-Ray]
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ horror film is like one big Halloween treat that comes at just the right time. It’s a novelty, it’s occasionally silly, but it’s also extra creepy in that it takes much of its menace from the inherent dangers of Halloween that lurk in every corner of the holiday. “Haunt” isn’t particularly original, but when you get down to the meat and potatoes, it’s surely a lot of fun and garners shockingly empathetic protagonists, all of whom are never let off the hook from the moment they enter the danger of this enigmatic haunt.
You Have to See This! Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
“She’s empowering herself… with cock.” – Leslie Vernon
Scott Glosserman’s horror masterpiece is a beautiful examination of the slasher sub-genre and its once simplistic genre elements takes a story, and provides a whole new twist to the axe wielding maniac. In the process, it presents us with dark humor that’s actually funny, great performances, and debuts from actors you’ll want to see more often after this. The humor in “Behind the Mask” is never smug of self-aware, and the movie never once breaks the fourth wall by making audiences aware that yes, they are watching a slasher film. Director Scott Glosserman breaks down the elements of the sub-genre forcing audiences to take a second look at the whole concept of the slasher film and the axe wielding maniac.
Scare Package (2019) [Blu-Ray]
I guess you could classify “Scare Package” as a horror movie, and yes even a horror comedy. But if my arm were twisted I’d be more comfortable just classifying it as a comedy. “Scare Package” is that movie that has a great time breaking down horror tropes and satirizing the clichés we’ve seen in various horror movies, but never actually includes any kind of scary content. Every single segment in this anthology is played with a tongue in cheek, and it’s a shame since a movie with this concept has a chance to re-imagine horror tropes.