Review Category: Movie

Grief can affect people in many different ways. Some may become withdrawn and depressed, others may resort to drink or drugs, some may pick themselves up and get on with their lives. In The Other Side of the Door, the latest film from Johannes Roberts, best known for his cult hit F and the underrated Noel Clarke alien monster romp Storage 24, sees Maria (Callies) perhaps goes to extremes most of us might resist. When her young son drowns following a car accident, Maria is tempted by a resurrection ritual, which gives her the opportunity to say a proper farewell to her son Oliver. All she has to do is scatter his ashes on the steps of a crumbling old temple near the family home in Mumbai and lock herself inside the temple, as the deceased returns to the corporeal world so she can communicate with him through the closed door. But opening the door before he finally ‘passes’ would be a Very Bad Thing indeed…and there are no prizes for guessing precisely what Maria does halfway through the ritual.

The Other Side of the Door is a well-crafted story, which touches several familiar bases, but perhaps what’s most heartening is that it allows Roberts to work on a much broader canvas than any of his earlier, lower-budget movies. Here we’re in India – there are a handful of gorgeous long shots, which really establish the look and feel of the place – and whilst it’s perhaps unfortunate that there’s only one speaking part for an Indian character (Pillai-Malik’s Piki, who sets Maria off on her ill-advised adventure beyond the grave), the film is suffused with the culture and superstitions of its location. Roberts has plundered not only one of the lesser works of Stephen King (Pet Sematary) but also real-world Hindu spiritualism and Japanese horror cinema, resulting in a film packed with familiar genre imagery – especially the bone-creaking twisted lank-haired figure crawling crab-like up the stairs – tied to a story etched with creeping menace and a genuine sense of dread.

The Other Side of the Door is careful not to shoot its horror-bolt too soon. Once we’ve navigated the difficult credibility-straining hurdle of a grieving mother exhuming her dead son’s ashes and randomly scattering them around a crumbling temple in the middle of nowhere, the film takes its time showing exactly what Maria’s done by opening a door, which should never be opened. Turns out that the spirit of her dead young son is back and he’s bad ass…and Maria’s opened the gateway to the Netherworld, through which unnamed nasties may be inclined to escape. Except the film doesn’t actually go down that potentially-apocalyptic route, preferring a more intimate story, in which the Gatekeeper has crossed over into our world to try and drag the dead lad’s bitter spirit back to the Beyond. Maria is at first delighted when she realises that her son’s apparently-benign spirit is back but soon all the banging doors, flickering lights and peripheral phantom phenomena take on a more sinister aspect, as Maria realises she’s bitten off more than she can chew.

The Other Side of the Door throws a lot of mud at the wall and most of it sticks, thanks to a powerful performance by former Walking Dead star Callies (although Jeremy Sisto is slightly wasted in an under-written role as her husband) and if we’ve a significant criticism it’s that the careful character building and atmosphere of the first hour is cast aside in the last half-hour or so, in favour of a volte face in the narrative, which suddenly hurls demonic possession into the mix. But it’s all slick, well-orchestrated stuff, which hits the required beats time after time, even delivering an interesting, show-stopping ending.

The Other Side of the Door sees Johannes Roberts finally making his mark as a film director of some style; this is one door we’d advise you to step through as soon as possible.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOHANNES ROBERTS / SCREENPLAY: JOHANNES ROBERTS, ERNEST RIERRA / STARRING: SARAH WAYNE CALLIES, JEREMY SISTO, SOFIA ROSINSKY, SUCHITRA PILLAI-MALIK / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Lukas (Lukas Schwartz) and Elias (Elias Schwartz) live in a house in the countryside. When their mother (Susanne Wuest) comes home, following facial surgery, they become convinced that she is not their mother.

Goodnight Mommy has a surreal, almost fairy tale quality as the twin brothers are kept in an isolated home, kept constantly dingy by their sick cold mother, a domineering matriarch who keeps them captive, the house, like a modern castle, exchanging crumbling brick with clean and sterile white walls, as she tries to drive a wedge between the twins’ bond. The twins lack a paternal figure, and any other contact with people outside of the house is fleeting and unhelpful. The figure of Mommy is an imposing and distressing sight, her head tightly bandaged, giving it a skeletal look and with her bloodshot eyes, she does not seem entirely human. This works well for the first half of the film, feeding into the twins’ paranoia that their mother may not seem to be whom they think. The film plays with the theme of identity, it is no coincidence that the boys are twins and the film has nice little details concerning the blocking and blurring of faces, and it also looks at the bond of family. The film turns its bloodshot eye to the question of whether you really know the person who is supposed to be your blood and what would you do if they changed.

Anticipation for Goodnight Mommy is high, especially after its supremely creepy trailer did the rounds on the Internet a few months ago, but unfortunately the film can’t match the trailer’s horror promise. Goodnight Mommy manages to conjure a feeling of creepiness and slowly mounting dread but never manages to create the genuine scares that you hope it will. Directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz orchestrate some memorable images, the mother walking alone in the woods, her face contorting unnaturally, the two boys chasing each other in a cornfield, but they don’t convert them in to genuine scares. Gladly, the third act does pull itself into uncomfortable territory, and the film starts to play around with who is really in danger from who, brought to a head with a particularly memorable scene involving super glue and a pair of scissors, and then Goodnight Mommy brings itself to a shocking and distressing finale that will stick in the mind.

Goodnight Mommy is a creepy and enjoyable film that unfortunately doesn’t reach any genuine scares. It’s certainly worth a watch and it contains some interesting ideas, and memorable scenes and shots but it lacks that extra push that would make it truly last.

GOODNIGHT MOMMY / CERT: 15 / DIRECTORS & SCREENPLAY: SEVERIN FIALA, VERONIKA FRANZ / STARRING: LUKAS SCHWARTZ, ELIAS SCHWARTZ, SUSANNE WUEST / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Directed and co-written by Garrett Tripp, Lissy Borton Had an Axe is about Lissy Borton herself (Dana Melanie), who is a sweet, yet socially awkward, metal-mouth teenager, who is going through a difficult time with an overbearing stepmother and an ignorant father. After finally snapping, she unapologetically axes her parents, and attempts to salvage what’s left between her and Stephen, her only friend from childhood. However, things quickly turn sour when he turns out to be “just like everyone else”, and it’s in that moment her urge for a few more whacks resurface.

Having been the 1st Assistant Director on the previous Dana Melanie horror-vehicle Treehouse, he takes on the dual role of co-writer/director as he attempts to do a retelling of the infamous Lizzie Borden murder cases from 1892, but with a modern day twist. The writers do a solid job of making us understand what Lissy is going through and making us sympathise with he inner struggles, even if she is ultimately this tragically pathetic figure, that is socially-hindered due to her appearance and her slightly crazed behaviour. She is sort of stuck in the past and wants everything to be as it was, but when everything changes around her, that’s when the urge for whacks comes out.

When the axe comes out, you know mayhem is coming, and it delivers with nasty and bloody results, which is always a treat for horror fans. It is superbly shot by Joshua Lassing who does a great job at creating the building tension and atmosphere, with everything starting out all sunny and bright at the beginning only for it to get dark by the end, which perfectly reflects Lissy’s transformation. As Lissy herself, Dana Melanie is utterly fantastic, as she was in Treehouse, effortlessly able to switch from sweet and goofy one second to sinister and tragic the next.

In the end, Lissy Borton Had an Axe is one of the better short horror films currently out there, having a strong concept, superb lighting and cinematography, and another stellar performance by Dana Melanie. Garrett Tripp makes a solid debut as a director, which hopefully will promise good things for his future as a filmmaker.

LISSY BORTON HAD AN AXE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: GARRETT TRIPP / SCREENPLAY: GARRETT TRIPP, JERED YEATON / STARRING: DANA MELANIE, FORD FANTER, WENDIE WELDON / RELEASE DATE: TBA

Ventriloquist dummies have become a trope of their own in horror films, and quite rightly so since they are so blooming terrifying. Scott Lyus’ latest short uses this tried and tested formula to its logical disturbing and pathological extreme.

Performing on stage with her wooden partner, Lucette (Tergeist) is a consummate professional, not letting the diminutive puppet get all the laughs or lower the tone of the show. Back home, things are different. Her boyfriend Jace (Fernandes) feels like a spare part in the relationship, as Hugo is ever-present when they alone.

Jace sets the mood for the home life by recounting a scary story from the paper (the story is actually the plot of another rather good short made several years ago), and the imposing tone doesn’t let up. Hugo is banished to the side-lines as the fed-up Jace tries to be alone with Lucette, but somehow he always appears again. Could the little puppet have a more tangible side?

There’s something innately unnerving about the relationship between the ventriloquist and their manipulated partner, and here we have a somewhat different slant, with the female handler and a clearly jealous model, or maybe Hugo is a possessed former lover? There’s certainly something there, Lucette explains during one of her shows.

Well-acted, and nicely shot (close-ups and darkened rooms make up for the lack of large staging areas for the performance scenes), Lyus’ film is an entertaining fifteen minutes; sure, you can probably guess what’s going to happen, but that’s part of the fun with the short form movie, it’s a way of filmmakers to cut their teeth and get their name out. With this, Scott Lyus could be a name to keep in mind.

Clearly shot on a low budget, the real downfall is the sound mix. Hugo’s voice – ably provided by horror icon Moseley is so out of place that it’s a little off-putting. It’s the only real flaw in the film. No doubt a little more time and money would have rectified this, but it has to be mentioned. It could well be that the film is mixed for surround sound (something we can lack while viewing on a screener), in which case a festival viewing would be perfect. It’s certainly a cracking little fun short that’s worth tracking down.

SILENTLY WITHIN YOUR SHADOW (SHORT FILM) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: SCOTT LYUS / STARRING: SOPHIE TERGEIST, BYRON FERNANDES, BILL MOSELEY /RELEASE DATE: TBC

 

Returning gunslinger John Henry Clayton (Kiefer Sutherland) encounters more than the quiet life he’d hoped for, when he discovers his Reverend father (Donald Sutherland) is under threat from a greedy landowner. That’s pretty much it for the plot, and the character arcs and narratives are exactly what you would expect from a throwback Western that is desperate to bring some nostalgia to a resurgent genre. Yet, while the film may lack any real depth or substance, there are many things to like within Jon Cassar’s Forsaken.

The father-son relationship between the Sutherlands, albeit a formulaic one, is endearing enough to be enjoyably watchable. As you would expect, there is an effortless ease emanating from their scenes, and both manage to reign in (apart from some final exchanges) any urge to crank up the melodrama. There is strong support from a brooding Brian Cox, who leaves at least some of the period scenery un-chewed, and Demi Moore offers a little light romantic interest, despite having a role no larger than an extended cameo. The real star, though, is Michael Wincott who, from the moment he first appears and first opens his larynx to release those darkly, grinding tones, steals every scene he appears in. You just get the sense (and perhaps hope) this is how he is all the time; moodily prowling around at home, growling at unwanted guests brave enough to knock on his door unexpectedly.

The film also looks stunning, with Cassar doing his best John Ford impression in presenting the location in a leading role. Not as grimy and manure-laden as some recent Westerns we could name, but it does all feel very authentic.

The issues come if you analyse that paper-thin plot too closely. This is a script very much by the numbers, with the homecoming-son-keen-to-go-straight-but-can’t storyline being easily transferrable to any genre you like. There is nothing new or original; nothing that will linger long in the memory once the end credits roll, but Forsaken is still a film to be enjoyed. The performances themselves justify that.

So, there’s no need to rush out and buy or download Forsaken; perhaps wait for a Freeview option. But once it does appear, once it does cross your path, sit down with a cold beer or a decent glass of wine and just allow yourself to enjoy it. It won’t trouble you for long, but will give you 90 minutes in the company of some great actors, and that’s not a bad thing, is it?

FORSAKEN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JON CASSAR / SCREENPLAY: BRAD MIRMAN / STARRING: KIEFER SUTHERLAND, DONALD SUTHERLAND, BRIAN COX, DEMI MOORE, MICHAEL WINCOTT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

A group of aspiring Danish filmmakers, screaming at each other in the woods, chased and terrified by unseen forces. The spirit of The Blair Witch Project is strong with this one – so much so, in fact, that the kids feel compelled to talk about the found footage classic all the time, presumably to ward off accusations of theft. Pro-tip: you get to call it ‘homage’ if you acknowledge the film you’re ripping off throughout.

There’s more to Encounters than cheerily re-doing The Blair Witch Project though. Sure, it uses the same basic concept, structure and similar shocks, but as the title suggests, there’s more of a sci-fi edge to this one, leading to a final act that couldn’t be any more different to the relatively low-key sobbing and snot snuffling of Blair Witch’s finale. That’s spoiler territory though, and we’d encourage viewers to dive in and let the film’s surprises unfold firsthand.

Separating this from the rest of the found footage chaff out there is a likeable cast, good acting (Kristian Fjord stands out above all) and a cheeky sense of humour playing throughout. The sense of ambition is appreciated, even more so when one learns of the film’s troubled production history – so much coincidence and bad luck, the behind the scenes story of Encounters reading like the plot of an X-Files episode at times. The dedication to getting the film made is felt where most would have given up, extending to stolen and destroyed equipment, serious Lyme disease and leg injury for director Anders Johannes Bukh, closed shooting locations and an eerie trend of real life mirroring the movie’s plot. It’s no Heart of Darkness, but it’s up there with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre for tough shoots. And those woods look pretty cold too.

Encounters isn’t massively original, but it is very well made, smart and – crucially – scary. In addition to the multiple jump scares, there’s a lingering creepiness that’s up there with its idolised Blair Witch Project. Found footage gets a bad rap these days, but when the subgenre is good, it has the potential to be really good. Thankfully, this one is an encounter of the best kind.

ENCOUNTERS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANDERS JOHANNES BUKH / STARRING: KRISTIAN FJORD, JACOB WAGNER GULDAGER, CASPER SLOTH, SIGNE MATHILDE SØRENSEN / RELEASE DATE: TBA

Taking its initial cue from an idea not entirely dissimilar to that in Torchwood: Miracle Day, Tim Maupin’s fifteen-minute short The Last Generation to Die comes at the prospect of humanity finally finding an antidote to death, from a completely different angle and finds its conclusions accordingly. Set in the near-ish future, the genetic research company Apeiron Life have developed a strain of DNA which they can deliver into the body via a virus, and which subsequently edits the genes therein to essentially arrest the possibility of natural death. We arrive late in the research process, and following a bookending series of interviews with patients and researchers (a nice short-hand that allows the film’s conceit to be delivered quickly and easily, and thereafter its message to be alluded to without over-stressing it), we meet Anna, who has pulled some strings to get her 79-year-old father Paul into the programme.

Economically but beautifully shot, The Last Generation to Die uses some simple computer effects to convey how close to now this projected future is, extrapolating its ideas – both those relevant to the conceit and those tangential to it – from our current capabilities, while filming both its interior and exterior scenes as soon after sun-up or before sunset as possible, creating an elegiac atmosphere (enhanced by the ambient musical soundtrack), that helps immeasurably to illustrate the emotional core of the characters’ story. Because the main thrust of the plot is Paul’s indecision over whether prolonging his life is “the right thing”, particularly given that he is now a widower.

Rebecca Spence is excellent as Anna, communicating the desperation of a daughter who is close to losing a second parent, in spite of the presented alternative, with subtlety and sincerity, but it is Red West who carries the emotional heft of the film, giving an outstanding performance as a man reassessing what it is that’s important in a life, and questioning whether extending that existence is to its benefit or otherwise. And those are the questions that The Last Generation to Die poses, whether it is better to enjoy one’s finite existence to the full – something that none of us can of course ever really do, given the decisions we make on a daily basis that will forever affect the paths our lives will follow – or to take advantage of a lengthening of it, in the hope that a longer future can bring a greater happiness.

Maupin’s film answers these questions only ambiguously; alluding to the problems an expanded population will create, while simultaneously demonstrating ways in which artificially lengthened lives can profit us individually. The (necessary) absence of a definitive answer produces a bittersweet watching experience, but a very rewarding one. 

THE LAST GENERATION TO DIE / CERT: N/A / DIRECTOR: TIM MAUPIN / SCREENPLAY: ELI SAMUEL, TIM MAUPIN / STARRING: RED WEST, REBECCA SPENCE / RELEASE DATE: SCREENING AT FESTIVALS SINCE AUTUMN 2015 

In theory, the genre mash-up movie – two diametrically-opposed storytelling styles flung together – has a lot going for it and has the potential to produce some refreshingly original and high octane cinematic experiences. The end results have so far ranged from the deadly dreary (Cowboys and Aliens) to the frustratingly underpowered (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). It’s this latter category that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (like Abraham Lincoln, based on a novel by Seth Grahame-Smith with more than a nod to Jane Austen’s 1813 classic) favours, its lavish production and unashamedly ripe performances failing to lift a film which is likely, perhaps surprisingly, to appeal more to the Austen addict, than the zombie zealot.

We’re in the mannered country house world of the Bennets, Darcys, Bingleys and Featherstones in an alternative early 19th century England caught in the grip of a terrible uprising of the dead. A Royal Canal, which divides the country, keeps the flesh-rending, brain-eating zombies at bay and is accessible by one remaining bridge, heavily fortified. The five Bennett sisters are well-trained in Shaolin martial arts (just in case) but their fussy mother (the brilliant Sally Phillips) is typically concerned with marrying them off to well-to-do gentlemen, in an era when young ladies stood to inherit none of their parents’ wealth and substance and risked a life of penury. The dashing Mr Bingley (Booth) takes up residence at nearby Netherfield and Mrs Bennet is keen to pair the beautiful Elizabeth (James) up with the charming newcomer, even though Elizabeth really isn’t keen to find a partner at all. The dashing, if surly, Colonel Darcy (Riley) is also on the scene but his courting manners leave much to be desired and his comments at a swanky ball, intended to throw Bingley and Elizabeth together, leave Elizabeth in tears. Meanwhile the clumsy, awkward Parson Collins (Smith in full-on bumbling eleventh Doctor mode) is also looking for a wife and, frankly, any of the Bennet girls will do.

What, you might well be asking, has any of this got to with zombies? Not as much as you might expect, in all honesty. The zombie threat is rumbling away in the background, occasionally referenced, and we’re told (and, in fairness, briefly shown) that London has fallen to the undead and the zombie hordes are creeping ever nearer the only remaining barrier between chaos and carnage and polite, civilised society and lovely teas. It all sounds utterly barking mad but the real problem for horror fans (and this really isn’t a horror film by any means) is that there’s much more Pride and Prejudice here than Zombies. Fans of Austen’s classic of social mores will recognise much of Austen’s very precise dialogue, even though it’s now amusingly delivered during energetic fight sequences and training montages. But the script is much more respectful to Austen than it is to zombie lore and gorehounds might take umbrage at a film which features talking, running zombies, which only fully transform into the true undead when they first taste human brains. There are long, drawn-out sequences where there’s not a zombie in sight or indeed any real mention of a zombie, which isn’t necessarily enormously troubling as the atmospheric antics of the Bennets, and their various would-be suitors, are beguiling enough even for an audience who wouldn’t normally touch a bonnet with a bargepole. But this does mean the energy levels dip a bit and when the action kicks in – it’s undeniably hilarious and exciting seeing the Bennet sisters, all heaving bosoms and flashing thighs, whip out their blades and staves, and start wreaking (fairly bloodless) havoc amongst the rampaging zombie hordes but it just doesn’t happen enough – the film starts to spring back to life. The finale is frantic and furious but it’s a bit too much too late for a film which, once again, has fumbled a potentially-promising cinematic ball by not quite managing the difficult balancing act of keeping two genres spinning in the air at once.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is probably the best of the mash-up movies (and stick around for the amusing mid-credits sequence, which does tend to undermine the whole of the rest of the movie) – it’s frequently very funny and almost always absolutely tongue-in-cheek – but it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit longer for the movie which really gets the balance right in presenting a combination of classic drama and high-concept fantasy.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY: BURR STEERS / STARRING: LILY JAMES, SAM RILEY, JACK HOUSTON, BELLA HEATHCOTE, MATT SMITH, LENA HEADEY, CHARLES DANCE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Harold Ramis & co either had a far more depraved time at university than most of us, superbly exaggerated their experiences for comic effect, or some of us just didn’t do the university experience properly (we suspect it’s a combination of all three). Whatever the answer, since its release in 1978, Animal House has been inspiring generations of students to squander their chance at a good education in the name of debauchery.

Loosely based on the university experiences of Ramis, his co-writers and producer Ivan Reitman, the film tells the story of Delta House, the “worst fraternity on campus”, populated by the kind of students any self-respecting university wouldn’t let through the front door – amongst their number The West Wing’s Tim Matheson, Amadeus’ Tom Hulce and, most importantly, the late great John Belushi.

Already one of the biggest stars on Saturday Night Live, Animal House gave Belushi a wider audience for his anarchic humour, and he made the most of it. Although Blues Brothers was still to come, Animal House may well be his finest hour. The scene where he impersonates an exploding zit is legendary, but the film is packed with classic Belushi-isms: smashing guitars; breaking the fourth wall with looks to camera, or even just repeatedly shouting “Holy shit!” – all to hilarious effect. Although they try their hardest to keep up, the rest of the talented cast (including Karen Allen and Kevin Bacon in their debuts, along with some bloke called Donald Sutherland) have scene after scene effortlessly stolen from them.

Whilst the fraternity system has been relentlessly mocked in everything from Revenge Of The Nerds to Scream Queens, it has never been sent up better than here. The anarchic Deltas and their rivals, the straight-laced Omega House, set the template for all frat-based comedies to come. Even Pixar’s Monster’s University was directly inspired by it (although with considerably less swearing and nudity). Likewise, the Dean (John Vernon) created the template for adversarial educators. Without Animal House, Ferris Bueller’s life would have been a whole lot easier.

Animal House also set the standard for a thousand (mostly inferior) raunchy teen comedies. Its combination of vulgarity, gross-out and raunch means everything from Porky’s to American Pie owes it a massive debt. But rarely have its imitators matched the inventiveness on display here. It delivers a series of memorable set-pieces, with the standouts including a superb bad-taste sequence involving a horse, along with the legendary toga party.

Whilst some of the attitudes – particularly towards women – may not have dated brilliantly, the humour remains timeless. Separately, Ramis and director John Landis would go on to give us Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places and American Werewolf. Animal House stands proudly alongside any of those classics. All together now: “Toga! Toga! Toga!”

ANIMAL HOUSE (1978) / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: JOHN LANDIS / SCREENPLAY: HAROLD RAMIS, DOUGLAS KENNEDY, CHRIS MILLER / STARRING: JOHN BELUSHI, TIM MATHESON, JOHN VERNON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW