Review Category: Movie

In the latest attempt to make Jeepers Creepers stick, a franchise attempts to distance itself from its creator, while also somehow trying to stay true to that man’s vision. In 2001, a horror icon was born in The Creeper – a cool-looking monster with an awesome van (even if the vanity plates didn’t make sense) and a compelling mythology. It’s a shame, then, that the man who created the monster was, himself, a monster.

Producers have long been seeking a way of separating the art from its creator, carrying on with or without the involvement of Victor Salva. Reborn, directed by Timo Vuoresnola, bears no involvement from Salva. This soft reboot starts afresh, with a gang of youths encountering The Creeper at a small town horror convention. Accompanying boyfriend Chase (Imran Adams) to the event, Laine (Sydney Craven) begins experiencing visions and premonitions, signalling the rebirth of The Creeper.

Aside from its amusing opening (worth it for a cameo from Dee Wallace), the presence of The Creeper is almost incidental to Reborn, which throws the beast into an otherwise by-numbers slasher story. After ditching the horror fest, the gang take off to an isolated mansion on the outskirts of town, which is where the bulk of the story takes place. One by one, the gang are taken out by The Creeper, who claims them and their various organs for his malicious purposes. The action is slick but careful, tippy-toeing around much of the grossness which Jeepers Creepers and its 2003 sequel were known for. And so The Creeper’s historical predilection for younger men takes a back seat to him menacing teenage girls, beating up Peter Brooke, and menacing Dee Wallace instead.

While it would have been easier to not bother at all, the unwillingness to let Salva’s creation go with him and his career leads to this joyless, rote slog. Vuoresnola’s direction shows flair, and the young cast are largely fine, but the thing it’s in service of is hardly worthy of the time or talent. Disconnected from the franchise, it’d still be cheap and predictable. Separating a piece of art from its behind-the-scenes controversies is no easy task, but it becomes a lot easier when the end product is as dull and forgettable as this one.

JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN is available to rent or buy on digital, and arrives on Blu-ray October 24th

Peter Strickland continues on the trajectory of being the new Peter Greenaway (a comparison that no doubt plagues him) with his latest glorious enigma.

Flux Gourmet is set within the art world and told through the gaze of Stones (Makis Papadimitrou), a self-professed hack journalist hired to document the latest in-house cooperative curated by the patron Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie). The artists in residency are a three-piece who create ‘sonic cuisine’, headed by Elle (Fatima Mohamed). Stones suffers from gastric problems, which cause him immense embarrassment since he’s forced to share a dorm with the mixed-gender culinary collective. The performances become increasingly bizarre as Elle and Jan clash over creative visions.

There are plenty of filmmakers who do weird for the sake of it, but Strickland has the knack of making the strangeness look and sound so beautiful. While it’s by no means a comedy, there’s plenty of humour – often hilarious – within the situations and oddness. As a satire of art types, it’s astute and grotesque, which makes it all the more compelling. Strickland once again focuses on audio, which brings Tim Harrison’s superb sound design to the fore, whether it’s in the simmering pots of vegetables or the squelching of a colonoscopy.

Gwendoline Christie’s character is enigmatic but dominant, however, the standout is Fatima Mohamed’s Elle, who is dogmatic and arrogant; committed to her art at whatever cost and unwilling to compromise when given notes on the use of a flanger. She’s unlikeable but compelling as many artists are. Special mention must go to Richard Bremmer’s doctor, who delights in embarrassing and frustrating the tortured Stones.

Strickland’s films are always visually sumptuous and Flux Gourmet is full of vivid imagery, even if some of it isn’t very palatable.

 

Flux Gourmet is in UK cinemas on September 30th.

It begins with a family: father Jake (Colin Farrell, The Batman, The Lobster), who worries about keeping his artisanal tea shop afloat; mother Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith, soon seen in Star Wars: Acolyte), who is stressing about an important presentation coming up at work; their young, adoptive Chinese daughter Mika (the dazzling Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja); and Yang (Justin H. Min, The Umbrella Academy), the android who serves as Mika’s older brother and educates her about her cultural heritage.

However, things quickly take a turn when a malfunction causes Yang to become unresponsive. Faced with his daughter’s great distress at losing her companion, Jake searches for a way to repair the android and, along the way, discovers he can access Yang’s memories. Through stunningly rendered snapshots of the latter’s experiences, Jake realises just how disconnected he has grown from his life and his family. Jake’s effort to bring back Yang gives the film its narrative spine and emotional core. It’s an impressive display of Farrell and Min’s acting talents that, despite the restrained acting style that writer-director Kogonada prefers, they can telegraph such great depths of emotion.

 

Muted, melancholic, and oh-so-aesthetic, Kogonada’s sophomore feature explores hefty themes of humanity, identity, belonging, and more with a surprisingly delicate touch – all building to a climax that’s as understated as it is affecting. If you know what’s good for you, be sure to bring tissues.

After Yang is as beautiful technically as it is thematically, making this a must-see – if only for the most exhilarating dance sequence in sci-fi since Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno tore up the dancefloor in Ex Machina (which, after many years, still lives in our heads rent-free).

After Yang will be released in cinemas and on Sky Cinema from 22nd September. Watch the trailer here.

You can also read our interview with writer-director Kogonada and star Justin H. Min here.

After a young Finnish girl finds an egg and raises the mysterious creature that hatches from within, strange things begin to happen, figuratively and literally in Hanna Bergholm’s striking and powerful body horror feature debut, Hatching.

In recent years, body horror has seen a resurgence with new auteur filmmakers such as Julia Ducournau and Ali Abbasi rocketing onto the scene with RAW and Border respectively. We can add Hannah Bergholm to this prestigious list as she has crafted something quite remarkable with help from writer Ilja Rautsi.

Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), a young gymnast, seemingly lives a perfect life with her family. Her mother (Sophia Heikkilä), a lifestyle blogger, along with her father and brother Matias all get along on camera – but it’s a different story offline. Mother is hard on Tinja and pushes her to be the best in gymnastics even though it’s clear she doesn’t enjoy it. When she finds an abandoned egg that grows into a monstrous bird creature, her true emotions and feelings come out in a devastating fashion.

The most successful stories in film are those that the audience can connect to and although this may not seem the case on paper for Hatching, this narrative and the characters within are so raw, real and relatable which in turn elevates and empowers the visceral nature of the body horror. The effects are stunning with a high percentage being practical which is much more effective in this sort of personal story. We all share dark emotions that we try to keep hidden as nothing in life is perfect.

With a sensational lead performance from young Siiri Solalinna, Hatching is a tour de force of a debut from Bergholm cementing her as one to watch. Thought-provoking, powerful and visceral – this film is a must-see.

Hatching is out now in select UK cinemas.

Dom (Josh Stifter) and his friend Miles (Keith Radichel) run a video blog looking at various cryptozoological phenomena. Dom’s just about to give everything up when he receives a tape that appears to show a Chupacabra in some woods. The pair set off to stay on the land of Doug (co-writer Daniel Degnan), who is more than happy to let them attempt to capture the mythical creature on video. After an eventless night – apart from the pair having some brilliantly realised dreams – they wander the woods and find the skeletal remains of… something.

Presented in black and white, director/co-writer/star Josh Stifter takes his lead from indie champion Kevin Smith. The comparisons are easy to make, particularly with the snappy dialogue. It borrows a theme from one of his later films, too, but we won’t spoil that here. While Stifter’s script isn’t as sharp as Smith’s debut Clerks, it has some charm that keeps the interest. It’s when the movie shifts up a gear in the final act that it comes into its own.

The characters being self-aware and cineliterate (just like in Smith’s films) allows the dialogue to flow naturally and, carrying most of the weight, Stifter is an adequate – if not altogether convincing – leading man. There was clearly a labour of love and even if it’s not wholly successful, it’s entertaining and has a brilliant twist that serves the character as well as providing some disturbing visuals.

 

Greywood’s Plot is available on digital worldwide on September 16th.