Review Category: Movie

Before you get too excited, at no point in Truth does anyone shout, “You can’t handle the truth“. Instead, this is a film that reveals that audiences across America might very well be able to handle the truth, but the corporate entities responsible for objectively disseminating it will be damned if they dare to expose some truths. Especially if you go after a guy as well connected as George W. Bush.

Truth tells the true story of Mary Mapes (Blanchett), producer of CBS’ 60 Minutes, as she researches the story of Bush’s draft dodging days during the Vietnam War. Along with her crack team of colleagues, she procures documents that attest to Bush being given a position in the Texas National Guard to avoid the fighting and then going AWOL during the time he should have been training as a pilot. When Mary and respected anchor Dan Rather (Redford) break the news, the real hard work begins as Mary and her team must defend themselves from attackers in the media and even those in her own corporation.

With Bush up for re-election in 2004, the stakes are high for all involved as Mary risks her career to reveal the truth. Based on her own book Truth and Duty, Truth shows the scrutiny that journalists are under when they attempt to go after those in power, and how the truth can often get drowned out by money, misinformation and personal attacks.

But while Truth is a riveting drama about the procedure of investigative journalism, it is at its most emotive in a second half that brilliantly gets under the skin of Mapes. Thanks to James Vanderbilt’s script and Blanchett’s perfect performance, it is beautifully handled how such a strong woman can be brought so low. Haunted by her past, but determined to fight for her right to ask questions, her relationship with Rather becomes incredibly touching.

The endless phone calls, interviews, badgering and fact-checking as the deadline for the 60 Minutes revelation approaches gives way to an equally tense second half where the focus is more firmly on Mapes. Blanchett gets to shine here, balancing vulnerability with inner strength while Topher Grace as one of Mapes’ allies also gets one stand out scene, as he calls out Viacom for its ties to the Bush administration and its cowardly failure to stand by its employees. 

With hints of both All the President’s Men and Good Night and Good Luck, Truth steps in the footsteps of some brilliant films where journalists are the righteous heroes. Whether scrutinising superscripts, interviewing sources under lights, or simply showing Mapes at home with her family, Truth mixes the politics, the personal and the professional into an emotive mixture.

While it’s clearly an ode to Mapes’ hero Dan Rather, Blanchett is commanding as the perhaps flawed, but at the same time hugely courageous Mapes. It’s her film, and understandably the likes of Grace and Quaid get slightly left behind as Truth sprints to its finish.

Pertinently, it never quite gets to the bottom of its truth. Ultimately, it’s a tragic and veracious take on modern journalism, and the fatal flaws in having contemporary news disseminated by corrupt corporations.

TRUTH / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JAMES VANDERBILT / STARRING: CATE BLANCHETT, ROBERT REDFORD, TOPHER GRACE, DENNIS QUAID / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10
Actual Rating: 
 

“I don’t like the word informant”. Ex-member of the Black Panthers and current FBI informant Saeed ‘Shariff’ Torres may not like the label, but it certainly sticks. Employed by the Feds to gather intel on his fellow Muslims, Saeed is a fascinating figure who is filmed in Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe’s documentary as a way to perhaps appease some of his repressed guilt over his actions, but also expose the government’s suspect methods of spying on the public.

(T)error is an absolutely gripping documentary, tense thriller and farcical spy parody all rolled into one. The fact that it’s all true beggars belief; it’s laughable even, but there is also tragedy at its core. It’s mostly Saeed’s story; a 63-year-old father employed to be an undercover agent for the government, attempting to befriend those who are suspected of having the potential to engage in domestic terrorism. (T)error joins Saeed as he leaves his beloved son to go and spy on Muslim convert Khalifa who has been spouting off on social media about how much he hates the American government and wishes to die like a martyr.

The operation took place in Pittsburgh 2011, with Saeed worming his way into Khalifa’s inner circle, all the while trying to gauge his potential for dangerous action. Is he just a Facebook loudmouth keyboard warrior, or could he be a serious threat to national security? Things get really interesting when the documentary makers decide to make contact with suspect Khalifa without informant Saeed, or the FBI’s knowledge. 

(T)error is an absolutely fascinating exploration of the ethics of homeland security, but also documentary making itself. At first, when Saeed is the grumpy subject who reluctantly spies to make money, but all he really wants to do is smoke joints, bake cakes and spend time with his son, (T)error is fairly straightforward. The nervy, handheld camerawork emphasises the caution with which spying must be carried out and there is a sense of mild danger in what Saeed does. His back-story is also filled in, to make him a deeply flawed, but incredibly interesting character.

It’s only when we hear more from those who Saeed has hurt, that the real complexities of his actions become clear. Likewise, the brave, but morally dubious decision for the documentary makers to do some investigating of their own, particularly with regards to Khalifa turn (T)error into a far more concerning tale of contrived cases and potentially tragic twists and turns. Saeed remains the real tragedy; caught in a cruel game where he is just a pawn who simple believes that, ‘if you’re making Islam look bad, you gotta go’.

Unsurprisingly, the FBI are not involved as they appear to be making stupid mistakes and using people like Saeed with little regard for the consequences. Ultimately, it would have added a whole other layer of intrigue to get their point of view as (T)error slightly over-simplifies the idea of who is right and wrong by the end. Still, it’s a riveting look below the surface of law enforcement; a real life spy thriller where the characters are as complex as the ethical decisions they are engaged with. (T)errific.

(T)ERROR / CERT: TBC / DIRECTORS: LYRIC R. CABRAL, DAVID FELIX SUTCLIFFE / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10
Actual Rating:
 

Crossing the border from writer to director, Gravity scribe (and Alfonso’s son) Jonás Cuarón sticks with a stripped back survival theme for his feature debut. But in Desierto, there’s no groundbreaking visual effects, Sandra Bullock in space or Clooney charm to rely on; only Gael Garcia Bernal as a Mexican immigrant being relentlessly hunted by a psychotic Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Extremely slim on story, Desierto has very little dialogue, even less exposition, and mixes genre thrills with a timely political message. Bernal is Moses, a man crowded into a truck with dozens of others who are heading to the Mexican-American border as the sun rises. When their transport breaks down, the illegal immigrants are forced to traverse the endless unforgiving landscape of the badlands on foot. But Morgan’s whiskey-guzzling hunter Sam and his dog Tracker have other ideas. 

Even in a time where mass shootings are almost a daily occurrence in the United States, what happens next is difficult to swallow. Not long after they enter America, Sam picks off the majority of the immigrants with his rifle in a chilling, but highly improbable scene. Bernal escapes with just a few others and the chase (which lasts the rest of the movie) begins.

Perhaps it would be more believable had we got the opportunity to get to know some of, or indeed any of the characters. Particularly lacking is Morgan’s character, who is no talk and all action, the only thing making him remotely convincing is his bond with his dog. Of course, there are people that are genuinely patrolling the borders between Mexico and America out of hatred, patriotism or some other misguided reason, and there have been cases of murder. But to fully sell the mass murder in Desierto, Cuarón’s script could have done with offering some backstory for Sam. It wouldn’t excuse his actions, but it might make him a little more plausible. As it stands, Sam might even have been more credible if he’d been a full blown Mick Taylor from Wolf Creek torture-fiend. It doesn’t help that he goes from crack shot to crap shot whenever the script demands him to miss a target either.

Cuarón only finds time to reveal any kind of exposition about Bernal and his fellow immigrants after the sun goes down, and the chase finally pauses for nightfall. Its bare-bones characterisation, but mostly works because the hunt is so fast-paced. Much of that is down to the real star (or stars) of the film, the three dogs that play Tracker. His speed and ferocity and ability to climb, jump and follow commands makes him even more terrifying than the psycho with the rifle. His dogged (sorry) persistence outshines even that of his owner.

The pace never slackens, with Cuarón making the most of the stark landscape. Rocks, snakes and cacti are all used for tense set pieces, while the score is equally relentless. Constantly switching between portentous pounding and quicker rat-a-tat percussion, it almost never lets up.

Desierto is a simple thriller with topical political undertones, but it could have done with a more completely written villain. Knowing little of his motives should make him terrifying, but instead he gets a little lost in the desert. With more of a balance between character and action, Desierto could have been as tragic and complex as it is suspenseful.

DESIERTO / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JONÁS CUARÓN / SCREENPLAY: JONÁS CUARÓN, MATEO GARCIA / STARRING: GAEL GARCIA BERNAL, JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN, ALONDRA HIDALGO / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10
Actual Rating: 
 

Less short film, more long trailer. That’s not just opinion, either: Rich Robinson’s The Graveyard Feeder started life as a teaser piece, intended to raise funding for a feature film – but was so well received that it has become a short film, shown at several festivals and causing quite the stir among those who have been lucky enough to see it so far.

The premise is simple yet fiendishly clever. Graveyard groundskeeper Burke Sawyer (played by Sean Bridgers of The Woman fame – or notoriety) battles against an unseen underground creature feeding on the bodies of the deceased buried there. Worse: among the deceased is Sawyer’s own father, buried on the grounds. Worse yet: if the creature reaches dad’s dead body, so goes his immortal soul. Worst of all: Pop Sawyer haunts Burke from the afterlife, and boy, does the old coot enjoy the sound of his own voice.

Twelve minutes short but so much sweeter than that, The Graveyard Feeder is frustratingly good. With a Tremors-esque story and action, it has a wonderful atmosphere and writing (even if Bridgers does overdo things a tad, as he did with his evil patriarch in The Woman) – a horror comedy that hooks from the very start.

Alas, the very start is all you’ll be getting until Robinson manages to get his full feature made. It’s over before it ever began, its teaser-y nature meaning that there’s no closure to any of it. Keep your fingers crossed for The Graveyard Feeder movie, then. At barely a morsel, it’ll leave you salivating for more.

THE GRAVEYARD FEEDER / DIRECTOR: RICH ROBINSON / SCREENPLAY: JEFF STEPP, RICH ROBINSON, AARON BECK / STARRING: SEAN BRIDGERS, TOM BARKER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
 

After a teenage girl Angela (Emma Watson) accuses her father of abusing her – a crime he has no memory of committing – tenacious police detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) is slowly pulled into a hidden underground of Satanic cults and ritual sacrifice.

Except he isn’t; not really. Evidence of the activities of Satanism forever lies just beyond Kenner’s grasp, much like the audience’s incentive to care about the development of this ham-fisted mystery though lacklustre ideas and pedestrian writing.

Attempting to validate the story’s premise is the idea of repressed memories, and that baby-sacrificing, devil-worshipping cultists are able to perform this at will on their members to disguise their activities. The regression of the title is the controversial technique used to recover them, and through it the film attempts to tell a story of how the kind of mass hysteria that led to the likes of the Salem witch trials could have occurred in otherwise rational human beings, but to do so would take a film of far greater intelligence and subtlety than this one.

Not only does the script believe it’s far smarter than it actually is, it actually takes time to point out just how clever it believes it’s being, which only serves to further highlight its shortcomings. Clues to later revelations are dropped in with the finesse of a Michael Bay crash zoom, but because nobody explicitly mentions them we are to perceive them as background details to be gradually weaved into a developing plot rather than blatant clues to obvious conclusions that the characters miss due to utter incompetence.

The film is almost saved from complete mediocrity by Emma Watson, who portrays Angela with a sensitivity that transcends the soap opera dialogue and a vulnerability that makes her time on screen the only truly engaging moments of the whole sorry experience. However, one performance does not save an otherwise worthless film, and in contrast Ethan Hawke, despite playing the nominal hero, spends the whole time alternately shouting, growling and seething his way through the story like unhinged ‘90s Gary Oldman villain.

As the film stumbles towards its predictably inevitable conclusion, there is some attempted ambiguity over whether or not the hallucinatory nightmares Kenner is suffering are surfacing memories of what has been genuinely occurring, but rather than deciding for yourself the truth of what may or may not be happening, you simply don’t care and just want it to end.

REGRESSION / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ALEJANDRO AMENABAR / STARRING: ETHAN HAWKE, EMMA WATSON, DAVID THEWLIS, LOTHAIRE BLUTEAU, DAVID DENCIK, DALE DICKEY, AARON ASHMORE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expecting Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

At the risk of descending into unimaginative hyperbole, Gigi Saul Guerrero and the reprobates of Luchagore Productions have made their most depraved film yet. Given that their back catalogue includes a bone-crunching battle with a cannibalistic wrestler, a blood-soaked mashup of Halloween and Battle Royale, a serial-killing matador who sews bull masks over the heads of his victims and a luckless mechanic being crucified and castrated by a trio of sexy witches, this is no idle declaration. In fact, a club full of badass strippers breaking out automatic weaponry on abusive clientele like a lapdancing army of lingerie-clad Punishers is as close to standard as this demented crew of Mexicans and Canadians has ever come.

In Madre de Dios, current horror darling and High Priestess of Perpetual Awesomeness Tristan Risk takes centre stage as a nameless victim being prepared by an elderly warlock couple for a dark ceremony to transform her into a Santa Muerte statue of flesh and blood and become a vessel for the antichrist. Although containing less than six minutes of action, the film is rich in dark vibrancy, with blood, sweat and grime ground into every moment. The level of detail on display is apparent in every shot, be it markings on the wall, icons dangling from the ceiling or a spell component of genuine tarantula skins (personally provided by no less than Sylvia Soska), each aspect of the decor adding to the disturbing and unsettling atmosphere. And that’s before you’ve even begun the elegantly staged and intimately framed suffering.

The dank constriction of the ritual chamber sets the scene, with a snake hissing hypnotically as though Lucifer in Eden while the crescendoing buzzing of flies herald the entrance of the warlocks like the clarion of Beelzebub. Candles flicker dimly, illuminating the oppressive gloom just enough for us to bear witness to the unholy rite. The brujería, their leathery skin gouged with ritual scarring, are devoid of empathy and empty of compassion, and as the power of the ugly blood magic intensifies, so does their almost reptilian inhumanity.

While visceral, bloody and agonising, the shadowed precision of Madre de Dios defies the crass inelegance of torture porn, instead creating a phantasmagorical body horror as mesmerising as it is repellent. You can’t help but admire the savage beauty of the primal sacrament being unleashed before your eyes, which culminates in a final image that will haunt your dreams and fuel your nightmares.

Look out for an Independents Day interview with Guerrero in a future issue.

MADRE DE DIOS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: GIGI SAUL GUERRERO / SCREENPLAY: SHANE MCKENZIE, GIGI SAUL GUERRERO, LUKE BRAMLEY / STARRING: TRISTAN RISK, LUIS JAVIER GUITERREZ, GABRIELA REYNOSE CERECERO / RELEASE DATE: TBC

And just to give you a glimpse of what to expect from Guerrero’s wondrously twisted Madre de Dios, be sure to check out the trailer below:

Madre de Dios – Teaser Trailer from LuchaGore Productions on Vimeo.

Due in US theatres in December, He Never Died is a darkly comic tale of an immortal cannibal from writer/director Jason Krawczyk. Punk legend Henry Rollins (Black Flag) plays Jack – an introverted, solitary character whose only real sources of human interaction are at the bingo hall or with the waitress at the local diner, Cara (Kate Greenhouse). Now, this doesn’t really adhere to the preconceptions you’d conjure up when you hear the words ‘immortal cannibal’, but that’s entirely the point. He Never Died often feels like more of a character study in depression and existentialism than a horror film intended to scare, and this gives the film a refreshing, original pulse.

Rollins’ portrayal of Jack is superb throughout; at times he is sympathetic and misunderstood, at others a calculated badass. Rollins’ performance is complimented by two strong female leads in the aforementioned Cara, and also with the arrival of his estranged daughter Andrea (Jordon Todosey) who’s effervescent nature seeks to pierce Jack’s icy demeanour.

The film has a lot to it, both in terms of narrative and style. Jack’s whole origin story is cryptic, with brilliantly subtle flashes here and there (don’t worry, we won’t spoil anything). There are also so many thematic and generic conventions on show that combine to shake loose any clear genre restrictions. For example, Jack could arguably be a vampire due to numerous suggestions, including a memorable extract that is evocative of a scene in Guillermo Del Toro’s directorial debut Cronos. Equally there are also elements of hard-boiled noir, and the film is visually set upon a saturated, gritty noir-esque canvas. The soundtrack is also noteworthy for giving the film something sonically unique. The non-diegetic soundscape of rushing trains and urban noises acts as an on-going metaphor for Jack’s conflicted psyche.

He Never Died has more than enough blood splattering and bone crushing to keep the avid horror fan entertained, but it also has a depth and a gauged inclusion of genuine humour that may draw horror sceptics to its cause. Krawcayk’s script and Rollin’s portrayal of Jack have created a character shrouded in an alluring cloud of enigmatic ambivalence and further examinations may well be on the cards with a miniseries in the works…

HE NEVER DIED / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: JASON KRAWCZYK / SCREENPLAY: JASON KRAWCZYK / STARRING: HENRY ROLLINS, KATE GREENHOUSE, JORDON TODOSEY, BOOBOO STEWART, STEVEN OGG / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 15TH (US), TBC (UK)
 

“What went we out into this wilderness to find”, says patriarch Will at the beginning of Robert Eggers’ spine-chilling debut feature The Witch. Anyone still smarting almost 20 years later over the complete lack of any witch sightings in The Blair Witch Project can rest assured that The Witch is not nearly as coy about revealing its scary woman in the woods. It may be a slow burner, but it builds to a crescendo that might very well give many horror fans a little too much full frontal witchery at the expense of some far more interesting earlier ambiguity.

A strict Christian family are banished from their plantation in 17th century New England; William (Ralph Ineson), Katherine (Kate Dickie), their four children and brand new baby boy. Settling on the edge of a dark forest, their crops will not grow and hunting in the woods results in no meat. Then, baby Sam mysteriously disappears without a trace while under the watch of oldest child Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy). Despair and desperation soon take hold of the family, leading to paranoia and a further descent into pious babbling. Eggers makes it clear that there is something wicked in the woods, but The Witch explores how innocent the family are themselves.

Beautifully created and lovingly crafted, The Witch is a transporting experience at its best. With Jacobean language taken from period journals and other records and incredibly evocative production design, The Witch feels all too real, even as supernatural elements are introduced. With its actors speaking in Northern English accents and the largely domestic setting, The Witch is like a kitchen sink slice of Brit-grit realism, except instead of arguing around kitchen sinks, the family are at each others’ throats while they milk goats.

The religious fervour of the time (it’s set shortly before the Salem witch trials kick-off and killing wise women became a favourite pastime of the church) bleeds into every exchange of dialogue. Patriarch Will is unable to reassure his son Caleb of a place in heaven, while the ease with which he and his wife can turn on their own daughter is awfully believable. There is a constant atmosphere of dread; by day it’s mostly the doom and gloom of sinful confessions and the fear of burning in hell and by night, Eggers really unleashes the fear.

Every creak of the trees, every sound of the wind or the goats outside can be amplified into utter terror. Eggers makes it clear that no one is safe from the get-go. And though he saves most of the revelation for the final scene, when we do get glimpses of the witch, or the possible voice of Lucifer himself, it’s hard not to shriek. In its most tense moments, The Witch is wickedly frightening. Eggers constantly cuts on loud noises like axes chopping wood in order to never let you give your clenched buttocks a rest.

The leads are all excellent, from the creepy twin kids to the more challenging roles of Caleb and Thomasin, but best of all are Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie as the parents of the clan. Committed and conflicted, they savour the opportunity to deliver Eggers’ terrific ye olde English script.

The Witch is expertly directed with a hysterical score, beautiful production design and wicked performances from its central cast. Truly spine-chilling when at its most ambiguous, it only stumbles slightly in its final scene.

THE WITCH / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ROBERT EGGERS / STARRING: ANNA TAYLOR-JOY, RALPH INESON, KATE DICKIE / RELEASE DATE: TBC

Expected Rating: 9 out of 10

Actual Rating: