Christopher Nolan has an eye for spectacle and an eye for scale, and he evokes worlds that are massive and almost always on the brink of destruction. With “Oppenheimer” ambitiously ventures in to a more personal film that is a lot about power and a world almost always on the brink of destruction thanks to man delving deep in to the power that they are capable of. Nolan trades spectacle for a more personal albeit just as intense dramatic thriller about “Father of the Atomic Bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist that invariably opened up a Pandora’s Box with his hand in the Manhattan Project.
Tag Archives: Suspense
Stay Online (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
Director Yeva Strielnikova’s “Stay Online” is literally a digital thriller for the modern age, and it’s never been more relevant a commentary on the importance of the internet than before. The digital thriller has become something of a niche sub-genre, and “Stay Online” practices that formula, but rather than a horror movie, implements the device as a means of exploring a modern war unfolding before our eyes. America has managed to stay embroiled in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia through various social outlets. One of the most important facets has been Tik Tok, which has dispensed unfiltered information before our eyes.
Lovely, Dark, and Deep (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
According to David Paulides, the author of the Missing 411 books, he estimates that there are over 1,600 unexplained disappearances in North American National Parks. In “Lovely, Dark and Deep,” director Teresa Sutherland offers up one of the more complex and haunting supernatural thrillers of the year, all set within the confines of a national park. What makes “Lovely, Dark and Deep” so haunting is that director Sutherland sets the entirety of her film within a national forest, all of which seems so suffocating and all consuming from the moment character Lennon drives in to its threshold.
Evil Dead Rise (2023) [4K/Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since we’ve seen a proper “Evil Dead” movie. After the fantastic remake—boot (?), Warner brought in newcomer Lee Cronin to lend a new flavor to the universe. What was originally intended as an exclusively streaming release on their subscription service, Warner chanced it by bringing their movie to theaters exclusively. Thankfully their risk pulled off beautifully as their low budget return to the horror universe that Sam Raimi built ended up being a box office and crucial powerhouse. For good reason, too.
Extra Terrestrial Visitors (1983) [Blu-Ray/CD]
Full Disclosure: This title was purchased at our own discretion from Severin Films.
Wackiness ensues as an alien meteor housing crash lands in to a forest. Then there’s a weird little boy named Tommy who collects bugs all day. Then there’s a pop band that goes on vacation in the woods. And there’s an old couple in the woods living in a cabin. The aliens are now on the loose in the forest. And there are these armed poachers hungry to kill some animals. And then Tommy (Óscar Martín) finds an egg that he realizes is an unborn alien. Said alien, nicknamed “Trumpy,” is desperate to get back home. How will these hilarious storylines converge? Will Trumpy consume mankind?
Influencer (2022)
One of the best things about “Influencer” is about how absolutely unprepared I was for it. I didn’t know what was getting in to with Kurtis David Harder’s film, as I knew almost nothing going in to “Influencer” and I ended up with what amounts to a pretty slick and tense crime thriller. “Influencer” is a movie that is absolutely disarming and completely out of left field, as director Kurtis David Harder successfully subverts a lot of expectations with thrillers of this ilk. The movie is set in a foreign, mysterious land, centered on two gorgeous American women that are traveling abroad. From that smaller concept, Harder uses this as a launch pad to introduce us to one of the more sociopathic and cunning movie villains that I’ve seen in years.
You Have to See This! Shiva Baby (2020)
Streaming on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max
It’s unreal that Emma Seligman is a newcomer director when watching “Shiva Baby.” She manages to build and introduce us to what is easily one of the most chaotic and absolutely uncomfortable movies I’ve ever seen. “Shiva Baby” is a master class in making its viewer absolutely uneasy and anxious as Seligman just revels in amping up the anxiety to every single bit of her narrative every minute. Seligman, despite making “Shiva Baby” her work of absolute love, is not one who ever lets her characters off the hook. Despite focusing the entirety of “Shiva Baby” on her central protagonist Danielle, Seligman has a great time making her squirm, panic, and just about heave in sheer horror as she twists the screws on her throughout “Shiva Baby.”