THE CALL OF THE WILD

call wild

CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: CHRIS SANDERS/SCREENPLAY: MICHAEL GREEN / STARRING: HARRISON FORD, OMAR SY, DAN STEVENS, KAREN GILLAN, BRADLEY WHITFORD / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 15TH

This brisk and lively latest adaptation of Jack London’s best-selling 1903 novel of wide-open-spaces animal adventure was hit by a double whammy of the coronavirus cinema closedown that scuppered its box office potential and a generally poor critical response. The over-all consensus appeared to be that its over reliance on computer generated animation – most of the expansive landscapes and heady action sequences were realised on soundstages against green screens and all the animals have a slightly creepy, not-quite-real quality to them – made it a cold and distancing experience. Perhaps now, though, months after it crashed and burned in theatres, this bright, breezy, and colourful romp will find a more appreciative response from a stay-at-home audience desperate for a dose of family friendly old-school adventure and a reminder of what it’s like to be actually outside enjoying some fresh air.

Chris Sanders’ The Call of the Wild, from a script by Michael Green, is easily the most faithful adaptation of London’s book (although a little less harsh and brutal than the text) in terms of its narrative. The film very much resembles those feel-good Disneys of days gone by – The Incredible Journey, Swiss Family Robinson, etc. – in its tale of heroism and derring-do in a wild, inhospitable environment. Set largely in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, Call of the Wild tells the story of Buck, a mischievous young St Bernard/Scotch Collie, who is abducted from his life of luxury in Santa Clara and sold to the owners of a dog sled mail service hurtling across the snow and ice. Initially very much the underdog (geddit?)Buck soon gains the trust of his fellow hounds but when the delivery service is closed down, Buck is sold on to cruel gold prospector Hal (Stevens) and his sister Mercedes (Gillan) before being rescued by the kindly, grizzled Thornton (Ford – never more grizzled, in fact) and the pair set off to pan for gold in remotest Yukon. But Hal, having lost his entire expedition, bears a grudge and is out for revenge.

Call of the Wild, 2020-style, is very much a ripping yarn, real boy’s own stuff (with a few obligatory concessions to modern expectations, inevitably) full of races, chases, and thrills and spills in the great outdoors. There is a certain creepiness in the animal animation, though, that may be a little off-putting; the dogs are a bit too expressive to be utterly convincing and despite the technical brilliance of the animation itself, it still doesn’t look quite right and it does occasionally distract from the story. Harrison Ford is clearly having a good time (for a change) as Thornton and Dan Stevens is eminently hissable as the determined, ruthless Hal. All in all this is a hearty, old-fashioned film, a vibrant treat on Blu-ray, which delivers genuine ‘fun for all the family’ and that might even moisten the odd eye from time to time.

FINDING EDEN

Finding Eden

CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: RODNEY LUIS AQUINO / SCREENPLAY: KRAIG SWISHER / STARRING: JOSEPH GATT, MICHAEL CAMPTON, TOM PROCTOR / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Finding Eden is a low-budget post-apocalyptic survival thriller, which if we are being honest, watches like an exceptionally chill and relaxed episode of The Walking Dead, the plot being a gentler sort of apocalypse. The world has come to an end thanks to a shift in the Earth’s rotation, and it seems that our hero and his family have been on a lovely holiday as the news that the world as we know it is over comes over the radio. Cue some stock footage and a voiceover explaining how everything has gone wrong. Mankind’s selfishness in the face of massive environmental chaos has meant that society has collapsed and it’s all about the roaming gangs of murderers and cannibals. Finding Eden first hit festivals in 2017 and it’s interesting how this sort of storyline seems sort of quaint now.

We cut back to the hero of the piece, a family man called Adam, who’s seemingly lost his family. He’s on their trail, though, as it appears that they’ve been taken by a gang who leave bloody hand marks as a calling card. Adam is armed only with a bow and arrow for reasons that are never explained, but it’s a movie-style bow, so of course, it’s incredibly accurate and deadly.

Though Finding Eden is post-apocalyptic survival movie, it’s a very gentle one. It helps that the backdrop to it all appears to be a mostly sunny part of a forest somewhere in the USA, with the odd abandoned factory for spice. The remote location and sparse action makes for more of a film about walking than anything else, though the few bloody scenes are very well paced.

Finding Eden is a decent low-budget movie; the cast are well chosen, Jason Sutton makes for a convincing ‘dad but an action hero’-style character and really sells his inner pain throughout. Tom Proctor, however, steals the show as the villainous Donner. Like many small productions, it would be interesting to see what director Rodney Luis Aquino could do with a budget and a script that isn’t as basic as this one.

PROXIMITY

Proximity

CERT: PG / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ERIC DEMEUSY / STARRING: RYAN MASSON, HIGHDEE KUAN, CHRISTIAN PRENTICE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

There’s a good reason why visual effects showreels tend to be a bit short: flashy effects (much like firework displays) can only hold your attention for so long. Proximity is a debut feature-length movie by VFX genius Eric Demeusy. He’s responsible for the effects in memorable works such as Tron: Legacy, Pacific Rim and Stranger Things. Unfortunately, his first big movie also lacks a solid plot.

On the face of it, Promixity should be your traditional sort of low-budget sci-fi geek flick. The delightfully dorky-looking Ryan Masson plays Isaac Cypress, a young man who happens to have junior role in NASA. Isaac has a host of problems, and for therapy, he wanders around remote locations with a vintage VHS camcorder. On one of these jaunts he stumbles across an alien. A grey one, of course, you can’t have an un-original abduction movie without a grey alien. The movie then proceeds with a sort of checklist of abduction movie tropes. No one believes Isaac, there’s a shadowy government organisation, a love interest, psychic powers, some good guy scientists looking for the truth and so on.

Much of these moments serve to deliver us to the next VFX piece, and these a brilliantly directed, well timed and look amazing. We then have to slog through more tired dialogue and poorly thought out characterisation. Kudos to actor Highdee Kuan, who is completely wasted in her role; she could have been easily replaced by a sexy lamp and it wouldn’t have changed the story one bit. Despite that, she still makes the most of her part. The casting in general is very good and the soundtrack is strong, though it doesn’t always match up with the movie.

The problem is the story itself. It’s too long, it’s unoriginal and it features story notes that never fail to irritate. Proximity is the sort of story that you get when someone who hasn’t delved deeply enough into the world of sci-fi but thinks they have. It’s a real shame; there’s a lot of talent involved in this feature. It goes to prove that story is truly king and if you get that wrong, everything else falls apart. Very disappointing.

THE FANATIC

fanatic

CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: FRED DURST / SCREENPLAY: FRED DURST, DAVE BEKERMAN / STARRING: JOHN TRAVOLTA, DEVON SAWA, ANA GOLJA, JACOB GODNIK / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 8TH (DIGITAL DOWNLOAD), JULY 20TH (DVD)

John Travolta continues to emulate Nicolas Cage, by producing multiple non-cinema releases, each with an increasingly outrageous hair piece. In The Fanatic, he sports a ridiculous grey mullet to portray an obsessive fan with an unconfirmed mental illness. The film isn’t as funny as it sounds, but nor is it terrible, actually portraying an interesting take on the stalker genre, in which the star is the ultimate villain. It is poorly handled by director Fred Durst (yes the Limp Bizkit front man), however, with a clumsy voice over, which distracts from the story rather than enchanting it and some time-lapse drawings that don’t seem to add anything to the unfolding narrative.

We are introduced to Moose (the legendary Travolta) traversing Hollywood on his moped; he frequents a comic book store and displays his mental health issues by swaying and not looking people in the eye. We have to assume it is some kind of autism, but it is never addressed. Moose is obsessed with action star Hunter Dunbar (Sawa, barely seen since Final Destination, who looks surprisingly good, more muscular and better looking than the fresh-faced kid he was introduced to audiences as). Hunter is doing a signing at the store, so Moose buys some expensive memorabilia and turns up at the event, only for Hunter to leave early, due to his ex-wife needing him to look after their child. Hunter is immediately rude to Moose and refuses to sign his expensive items, even though he had time to do so. Moose’s BFF (his phrase not ours) is a female photographer called Leah (Golja), who foolishly tells him about the ‘Star Maps’ app – not something an obsessive with social issues needs to know about. She also provides the films pointless commentary, telling us things we already know and superfluous information. She fails to mention what affliction Moose has, or why a young girl is friends with a man in his mid-‘60s. Buoyed by access to Hunter’s house, Moose continues to try and get an autograph, with increasingly violent consequences.

The central relationship between Moose and Hunter is well handled, and we are made to feel sorry for Moose, with Hunter revealed to be a nasty person, described as ‘mean’ by Moose. Hunter is shown to be violent whereas Moose, is ultimately harmless. The Fanatic is keen to press the idea that stars are nothing without their fans, and even if they are a little odd on the surface, they keep the star in business. If Hunter would have just signed his memorabilia and been pleasant to Moose, there wouldn’t have been an issue. The rest of the film doesn’t work though. The bullies who work on the Hollywood boardwalk along with Moose are unrealistic and non-threatening. They make fun of him, but twice ask him to help them pickpocket, what use would he even be? A subplot with Hunter’s maid is also forgotten about, coming back to haunt the star at the end, a situation he could easily get out of with an alibi and DNA evidence. The Fanatic may become a fun curiosity, due to Travolta portraying a man with limited capacities, but it doesn’t grace so-bad-it’s-funny territory. It’s a passable portrayal of a familiar theme that has been done better elsewhere, namely 1996’s The Fan.

WHY DON’T YOU JUST DIE!

CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: KIRILL SOKOLOV / STARRING: ALEXANDER KUZNETSOV, EVGENIYA KREGZHDE, VITALI KHAYEV, MICHAEL GOR, ELENA SHEVCHENKO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

What do you get when you mix Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie with a creative dose of Edgar Wright? You get Kirill Sokolov’s Why Don’t You Just Die! of course!

The film follows the chaotic events surrounding Matvei, who is asked by his girlfriend to kill her father, Andrei, who committed heinous acts upon her. When Matvei arrives at the apartment of his lover’s parents, shit truly hits the fan as an all-out blood-soaked battle ensues between them. However, as Matvei continues to defy human nature and consistently get up after the beating he takes, secrets and true colours are revealed as not everyone is who they seem. Throughout the runtime, we get interspliced section of narrative revealing new character traits for those who get caught up in this web of deceit, corruption and gore.

Independent cinema is always restricted by a lot of factors, primarily location and budget, so when a filmmaker uses the limitations to their advantage to create an incredible blend of action, comedy and dark twisted humour that rivals that of any big studio production, you have one hell of a film on your hands.

Director Kirill Sokolov, who even said in our interview with him that Tarantino is an icon in Russian cinema, takes all the best of the legendary filmmaker and puts his own spin on it, with inventive camera work, powerful action set-pieces and a compelling story that keeps you invested from the first frame. Every single punch and weapon strike hits you, the audience, with the force of a massive truck as much as it does the characters on screen.

Why Don’t You Just Die! is a masterclass of filmmaking that should be used in film school when teaching on how to make the most with very little. We fully expect to see Sokolov continue to excel in this field (considering that he wrote, directed and edited the film) and we for one can’t wait to see what he does next.

Special Features

The Arrow Video Blu-ray release of Why Don’t You Just Die! is a must-own for gore fans and for fans of foreign cinema. It contains a wonderful array of extras from Behind the Scenes to the director’s catalogue of short films to see where this talented filmmaker began.

  • Why Can’t We Just Leave? [25:32] – a brand new interview with Author and Critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don’t You Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema.
  • Behind the Scenes [27:18] – various Behind-the-Scenes featurettes.
  • Short Films [1:23:34] – a selection of Director Kirill Sokolov’s short films.
    • Could Be Worse [13:38]
    • The Outcome [10:20]
    • The Flame [29:54]
    • Sisyphus is Happy [25:42]
  • Theatrical Trailer [1:24]

WISE MAN’S GRANDCHILD

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (ALL 12 EPISODES) / DIRECTOR: MASAFUMI TAMURA / STARRING: YUSUKE KOBAYASHI, SHOHEI KOMATSU, YUKI WAKAI, RINA HONNIZUMI, MIYU KUBOTA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (VOD, BLU-RAY – REVIEWED)

When a new season of Anime rolls around, you can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a host of new Isekai anime. Low and behold, in Spring 2019, Wise Man’s Grandchild made its anime debut.

The story follows Shin Wolford, the grandson of the Wise Man Merlin who, when he was younger, become a hero after saving the kingdom from a Demonoid king. However, in a previous life, Shin was actually a salaryman who died in an accident and woke up as a baby in a world filled with magic and demons. As he grows, Shin discovers he has incredible magic powers inherited from Merlin and, at age 15, must attend a magic academy to hone his skills and learn common sense.

From that explanation alone, for those who have seen plenty of Isekai, it sounds incredibly basic – and it is. The first two episodes race you through Shin’s younger years at breakneck speed meaning you, as the audience, gets barely any time to emotionally connect to him or his backstory and also suffer drastically from tonal issues with the switch between comedy and serious happening at the snap of your fingers.

The only real aspect that makes Shin’s story stand out is the pleasurable score and smooth animation. The battle scenes do pop off the screen in a satisfying manner but that, unfortunately, isn’t enough to make up for the weak narrative, the predictable path and lacklustre relationships between several of the characters including Shin’s love interest Sicily.

Whereas titles such as My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom present viewers with a unique and cleverly written take on this bloated and stale genre giving it a much-needed refresh, Wise Man’s Grandchild adopts the tried and tested formula meaning it disappears into the void with all of the other ultimately forgettable Isekai titles.

Special Features

This two-disc collection of Wise Man’s Grandchild comes with very limited special features, therefore meaning that if one is to watch the series, it would be worthwhile watching on VOD over Blu-Ray.

  • Disc 1
    • Episode 8 Commentary – the English voice cast and crew talk through the series’ eighth episode.
  • Disc 2
    • Promo Videos
    • Textless Opening Song
    • Textless Closing Song

THE GRUDGE

grudge

CERT:15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: NICOLAS PESCE / STARRING: TARA WESTWOOD, JUNK BAILEY, DAVID LAWRENCE BROWN, ANDREA RISEBOROUGH, ZOE FISH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (VOD), TBC (DVD)

After the monochrome nightmare of The Eyes of My Mother and the psycho-sexual farce of Piercing, Nicolas Pesce has proven himself a daring, unique, voice in genre filmmaking. Odd then that he was scouted by producer Sam Raimi as the man to take a franchise like The Grudge into the ‘20s.

For most folks, a Grudge reboot will feel a bit left-field. The 2004 film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar was fine but sat in the shadow of the Gore Verbinski-produced Ring remake. This has been a long-term issue for the franchise: constantly being compared with pretty much the only other Japanese horror franchise exported to the western mainstream. But Ju-On has time and time again proven its mettle garnering 11 releases (including a Ring crossover, Sadako vs. Kayako), novels, graphic novels, and a video game. So, there’s a strong and loving core fan base waiting for decent sequels.

Like most of the original Grudge films, Pesce’s reboot has an almost anthology style approach. Since Shimizu’s original short films in 1998, the focus has always been on the insidious way Ju-on’s curse clings like a virus. One step over the threshold and that’s it, the gargling inky-haired ghost will terrorise you until death. Pesce deserves credit for the ambition he brings to the project, interweaving different stories and time periods via three separate groups of characters. For the most part, we focus on Andrea Riseborough’s Detective Muldoon, a single mother who has returned to the force after losing her husband to cancer. After discovering a mutilated corpse on an unused country road, she is drawn into a nightmare which has already poisoned the lives of many, including Detective Goodman (Demian Bichir) her seasoned partner.

What Pesce manages to do is bring heart and humanity to the horror, just as he did with The Eyes of My Mother. It’s a double-edged sword though since the scares often feel rushed and surprisingly clichéd for the story being told. Part of that is down to the big-budget scare-a-minute formula deployed by studio horror. For the most part, though, it’s actually Pesce’s own geekery and super fandom that arguably gets in the way. Not long into The Grudge, you might start feeling like this is all a bit familiar and you’d be right. There are a lot of call-backs, easily spotted even for a layman. An Easter egg feature on the home release reveals that some of the film’s finest moments are recycled from the graphic novel, game, and original Grudge films/remake. Even the infamous Sarah Michelle Gellar shower gag is remade. Though, even with remade scares, it’s worth noting that Pesce’s reputation for nasty visceral gore is upheld grotesquely by The Grudge. There are some really nasty surprises in here.

All in all, Pesce’s reboot comes across as a loving bit of fanfare; a nightmarish play-session in The Grudge sandbox populated with some damn fine performers and shocking gore. We mean, find us a film where Lin Shaye, Frankie Faison, Jacki Weaver, and William Sadler are all introduced within minutes of each other and then terrorised into the grave, and we’re there. It’s the best cast Pesce has worked with so far and bodes well for whatever future projects he may have planned. Whilst the new Grudge might sport an arguably derivative recycling of franchise hits, it does have ambition, heart, solid chills, and is easily the best-looking entry in years.

THE FINAL WISH

final wish

CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY WOODWARD / SCREENPLAY: JEFFREY REDDICK, WILLIAM HALFON, JONATHAN DOYLE / STARRING: LIN SHAYE, MICHAEL WELCH, KAIWI LYMAN, MELISSA BOLONA / RELEASE: MAY 25TH

The cursed artefact that promises happiness but delivers only disaster to its unfortunate owner. It’s a familiar horror premise that’s given another run-out in this new slow-burn MacGuffin-based horror. The Final Wish does not try to reinvent the template that this sort of tale relies on. But it does take a different approach in prioritising the persona and relationships of its main character over the complexities of its own ‘monkey’s paw’ mythos.

Breaking free of the binds of small-town America, Aaron Hammond (Welch) has been trying to build a life in the big city as a young lawyer. But in both his professional and personal life, his efforts have only been met with rejection and knock-backs. Learning of the death of his father, he returns home and reconnects with the people from his adolescence, while helping his mother (Shaye) adjust to her loss. Amongst the possessions of his antique dealer father, he finds a nondescript urn bearing a strange inscription. Then a series of dramatic events compel Aaron to recognise the memento’s true nature and the danger that he and his family are in from a vengeful, demonic entity.

The story is the work of Jeffrey Reddick, screenwriter for the first two instalments in the Final Destination franchise. But things here do differ from that series’ narrative style. After a pre-title bloodbath, things settle down as most of the first two acts are given over to the travails of Aaron’s life. Few of the people around him seem to value his presence, and he’s soon entangled with the same awkward situations that led him to leave in the first place. As the urn silently grants wishes to Aaron, he’s unaware of its role in the good and the gruesome things happening around him (with even the audience likely to be playing catch-up at this point).

It’s only when family friend and researcher Colin provides the backstory info-dump (Tony Todd delivering an on-point cameo) that the dots are joined, and the significance of the titular “final wish” becomes clear. After all of this preparatory work, the extended pay-off and coda are something of a let-down (Aaron has probably got used to his life under-delivering by now). There are a bellowing demon, some implausible set-pieces and a lot of wonky contrivances that do not stand up to any kind of scrutiny.

There are things to enjoy along the way. Genre stalwart Lin Shaye is predictably good value as Aaron’s emotionally unhinged mother; while Kaiwi Lyman exudes contempt and malevolence in a strong turn as a thuggish lawman. As Aaron, an everyman nursing his disappointments, and weighed down by a sense of obligation, Michael Welch has a quiet believability. There are also some genuine ‘gotcha’ moments in the unfolding plot. But the slow-paced character drama and the thinly rendered curse motifs never properly gel – which makes the plot holes less easy to forgive. The final verdict? It’s watchable. The final wish? Don’t make a sequel.

FOR JENNIFER

For-Jennifer

CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JODY BARTON / STARRING: DOMINIQUE SWAIN, LANETT TACHEL, RICH FINLEY, FELISSA ROSE / RELEASE DATE: VOD OUT NOW

Director James Cullen Bressack has built up a surprising body of work around his Jennifer movies. An ultra low-budget series of comedy horror films consisting of To Jennifer, 2 Jennifer (geddit), From Jennifer, and now For Jennifer (4 Jennifer, geddit) this found footage franchise just won’t quit. As with the other sequels, Bressack himself sits this one out aside from an executive producer credit, with newcomer Jody Barton taking the director’s chair.

For Jennifer follows a gang of filmmakers who, inspired by the previous Jennifer movies, set out to make their own movie. And, as with the previous films in the series, For Jennifer is shot entirely via iPhone – both in real life, and in the film’s own meta-reality. Unfortunately, wannabe filmmaker Joey, girlfriend Jennifer, and friend Stefanie are about to discover firsthand the curse of the Jennifer movies for themselves..

One’s enjoyment of this sequel will depend on a love for the Jennifer series and a high tolerance, both for found footage horror and (very) independent cinema. But you don’t get four films into a series without a fanbase, and it’s easy to see why this one will have its followers. It’s wildly ambitious for a film shot on an iPhone, and its strange, grisly little story intrigues, not unlike Creep and its sequels. This outlandish, gruesome found footage film isn’t for everyone, but it makes for a sweet and surprisingly solid love letter to itself and its own mythology.

Pulse

DIRECTOR: STEVIE CRUZ-MARTIN / SCREENPLAY: DANIEL MONKS / STARRING: DANIEL MONKS, JAMIEE PEASLEY, SCOTT LEE, SIAN EWERS / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 2ND (VOD)



Having done the festival circuit, Australian indie Pulse now receives a wider release on streaming services. Writer Daniel Monks stars as Olly, a high schooler with a disability that will leave him unable to walk unless he has his hip replaced. But that’s not a major enough procedure for Olly, who signs up for an experimental new surgery that places his mind inside a completely new body – and he decides that body should be female. Olly becomes Olivia and, now both able-bodied and attractive to guys, embraces the party girl lifestyle rather too hard.



Monks’ script and Stevie Cruz-Martin’s direction bring a down-to-earth style to Pulse, with dialogue conversational and playful; combined with some strong performances, this gives the film a believability that makes it possible to overlook the casualness of body swapping being a thing (and no one ever asking where the bodies come from). The film rattles along at a fast pace, with colourful cinematography and fast editing giving the various nightlife-set sequences a pulsating energy, and there are plenty of well-observed details to Olivia’s exploration of life as a woman, including a thoroughly awkward sex scene and the disparaging looks she’s given when returning from a one-night stand on public transport.



But it becomes increasingly clear that the filmmakers don’t have a handle on their story or what they’re trying to say with it. If you’re expecting, from the plot summary, this to be a sci-fi allegory for transgender issues, then you’ll end up disappointed, as Olly/Olivia’s journey has little parallel with real life trans experiences. In fact, the film works to reinforce untrue and negative stereotypes often weaponised against trans people by portraying the character as a man in a woman’s body, out to deceive people for sex, rather than actually as a woman – Olly continues to identify using male pronouns, continues to be portrayed by the male actor during more introspective moments, and it turns out that the female body was chosen as a ploy to get laid.



What exacerbates these problems is the fact that Olly/Olivia is one of the most irritatingly obnoxious characters you could imagine, often for little discernible reason. At the beginning, his attitude makes for some effective conflicts, and you hold onto hope that Pulse might find something profound to say about why he acts like this, but as he only gets nastier, it’s easy to lose sympathy with the character and patience with the film.



It’s a massive shame, as Pulse’s intriguing concept and neat indie style are squandered by the script losing control of its character and – perhaps inadvertently – putting across some nasty messages. We struggle to recommend you check this one out, but there may be better things to come from the director.