ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2

ALONG CAME THE DEVIL 2 / CERT: UNRATED / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: JASON DEVAN / STARRING: LAURA SLADE WIGGINS, BRUCE DAVISON, MARK ASHWORTH, CASSIUS DEVAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW (VOD)

There is something endearing about low-budget horror films. Ingenuity is pushed to the limit and the effort earns a lot of goodwill. Along Came the Devil 2 is visibly strapped for cash, yet it shows so little imagination it comes across not as plucky, but as dull and exasperating.

A sequel to Exorcist knock-off Along Came the Devil, only a couple of the actors from the original return and none of those are the main ones. The follow-up focuses on Jordan Winbourne (Laura Slade Wiggins), older sister of Ashley, the protagonist of the previous chapter who was possessed but the devil. Not some random demon, but the devil himself (slow day in hell, one presumes).

After receiving some alarming text messages from her sibling, Jordan heads back to her hometown to locate Ashley and their aunt. She encounters the local priest (Bruce Davison) –who answers to everything obliquely – and her long-lost dad, a recovering alcoholic with a violent streak. As Jordan tries to put together the events that preceded her arrival, the devil plans another attack against her family. Seriously, you would think Satan should have something better to do with his time.

There is a critical problem in Along Came the Devil 2 that handicaps the entire film: if you saw the first movie, the time Jordan takes to figure out the situation (nearly an hour and she still doesn’t get the full picture) is painfully dull. For those who didn’t watch the original, the setup seems stretched beyond reason just so that the film can reach feature length.

ACTD2 perks up in the final thirty minutes, but even then the scares are sparse and uninspired. The film comes short in internal logic (the devil is impervious to bullets but not sharp objects?) and all but abandons the religious element that had been the original’s saving grace. The plot and dialogue are boilerplate at best. At worst, you have exchanges like “she has the same demon…” “you mean, personal demons?”

The acting is passable, but nothing to write home about. Poor Bruce Davison is saddled with an inconsistent character that at a critical moment chooses to get drunk instead of helping. Davison is allowed to ham it up though, and his excesses become the one watchable thing of this venture.

Writer / director Jason DeVan has the chutzpah to end the movie by setting up part three. It’s not hard to imagine ACTD2 making its meager budget back and triggering another sequel. Whether he should is an entirely different question.

EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE

el camino

EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: VINCE GILLIGAN / STARRING: AARON PAUL, JONATHAN BANKS, MATT JONES, CHARLES BAKER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

After six years of wondering what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Paul), questions have been answered thanks to the release of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Revisiting a TV show or a film franchise after a number of years passing by can be a huge risk towards the reputation. But when there’s a huge fan demand of wanting to see just a little bit more of the Breaking Bad cast – it was always going to tempt writer Vince Gilligan to discover new paths of what was a thrilling show. A lot was on the line when Netflix announced the fan’s dream of a Breaking Bad film less than a couple of months before the release.

The movie starts moments after the events of the final episode as a scarred and a soul destroyed Jesse is driving away from the compound where he spent many months cooking meth as a slave for a neo Nazis gang. Jesse drives away in a Chevrolet El Camino completely unspotted by the police who are heading straight to the scene of the crime. A crime scene where ‘the great Heisenberg’ also known as Walter White was found dead as Jesse hears the confirmation from a radio news report in the El Camino. This signaled the sequel fully focusing on Jesse’s next move.

The film’s is two hours and two minutes but it feels longer. Some parts feel slowly paced with that urge of wanting the film to get to the point. There are many flashbacks with some of the past and present characters including Jesse’s old drug crew of Badger and Skinny Pete, but the majority of the flashbacks belonged to a chubbier Todd Alquist, portrayed by Jesse Plemons – the one character you wouldn’t have thought would have so much airtime.

Somehow Todd had put on weight during Jesse’s imprisonment, losing all that weight before he was strangled to death at the end of the series. Incredible body shaping Mr Plemons! Some of these flashbacks fill you in on even the smallest of details that you would have forgotten from the TV series.

The one feeling you do get back is the love for Aaron Paul’s character. Despite the crimes and people Jesse has affected throughout the five seasons, all you want is what’s best for Walter White’s lab assistant. You just hope that Jesse will be given a second chance at life. A synopsis Gilligan did well to take advantage of from the TV series.

This is not one of Gilligan’s finest projects, but it brings closure to all the die-hard Breaking Bad fans. It could be that the road has come to an end, but there are one or two possible storylines that could be looked into if there was any urge to keep the franchise alive.

KURSK: THE LAST MISSION

kurst

KURSK: THE LAST MISSION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: THOMAS VINTERBERG / SCREENPLAY: ROBERT RODAT / STARRING: COLIN FIRTH, MATTHIAS SCHOENAERTS, LÉA SEYDOUX, PETER SIMONISCHEK, MAX VON SYDOW / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The submarine subgenre is one usually associated with dramatic, action-filled suspense as heroically brave men toil with their emotional burdens while sitting on enough firepower to destroy a continent. There have been the political thrills of The Hunt For Red October (1990), the power struggles of Crimson Tide (1995) and the trials of daily life underwater in Das Boot (1981). Thomas Vinterberg’s Kursk, which tells the story of the true-life submarine disaster in 2000 is an altogether different affair, a film dripping with sadness amidst the fury and frustration of forlorn hope.

Our first introduction to the fictional Mikhail (Schoenaerts) and his fellow sailors sees them pawning their watches to raise enough money to provide the drink for a wedding, after their bonuses are unpaid. It is the night before they set off on the Kursk for manoeuvres, a single joyous moment before crippling despair and bristling anger set in.

When disaster strikes, and the few survivors are left imprisoned in a small compartment with dwindling air and supplies, Vinterberg’s focus switches largely to the attempts of the wives and families left behind and the inaction and stubbornness of the Russian command. As seen most recently in HBO drama Chernobyl (2019), the reluctance of the authorities to both acknowledge the scale of the problem while feeding a steady stream of misinformation to all who enquire adds depth to the events unfolding on screen. You feel the desperation of the sailors as they slowly accept their fate, you understand the pain of those at home as they begin to realise that no answers will be forthcoming, and you sense the frustrations of the many – including Colin Firth’s British commander David Russell – offering much needed assistance.

With several heart-wrenching set pieces and some impressive visuals – although not everything quite works as you feel it’s supposed to – Kursk is a thoughtful and troubling film. The speed with which those in charge prioritise their pride and politics over the lives of their own countrymen is tough to watch at times. Schoenarts, Léa Seydoux as his impassive wife, Firth et al all convey just the right amount of stoic emotion in the face bureaucratic incompetence, and even if you know how the story ends, you will be gripped by this tragic tale.

Not a film to schedule if planning an enjoyable Saturday night, and with a downbeat finale that is both appropriate and potentially indulgent, Kursk is a credible tribute to the lives lost in the disaster.

INCREDIBLE VIOLENCE

INCREDIBLE VIOLENCE

INCREDIBLE VIOLENCE / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: G. PATRICK CONDON / SCREENPLAY: G. PATRICK CONDON, ROSS MOORE / STARRING: M.J. KEHLER, STEPHEN OATES, MICHAEL WORTHMAN, KIMBERLEY DRAKE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

For fans of the genre, the simple, visceral pleasures of the no-nonsense slasher flick come guilt-free. For those who like their horror a little more cerebral, self-referential bloodfests that tip a knowing wink to their audience can be much more satisfying. Problems only tend to arise when a filmmaker attempts to bludgeon these two very different approaches to horror cinema together without regard to consistency. Incredible Violence suffers from exactly this affliction.

The film’s ‘Meta’ ambitions get things underway with great promise, as a film-within-a-film storyline is set in motion. Indie director Condon has frittered away a production budget given to him by some questionable funders who expect him to turn in a bloody horror flick. But Condon has yet to shoot a single frame. So he decides to rent a house in the woods, wire it with CCTV cameras, and recruit a small pool of actors willing to work for free. He plans that his characters can then die bloody snuff deaths at zero cost without the need for a film crew. As he becomes ever-more unhinged, Condon sets up a command centre in the loft and distributes pages of his improvised script by old-school computer printers set up in the bedrooms of his live-in cast.

It’s not a wholly original premise, but the concept of a ‘horror movie, but for real’ has not yet been completely mined out by English-language filmmakers. Throughout this rendition of that idea, there are moments that break the fourth wall, drawing attention to clichés of the genre and inviting the audience to question their voyeuristic relationship with the material unfolding on screen. At one point, a character wanders through the on-location production unit filming the film within a film. It all gets very Meta. Yet for many of its (intentionally) repetitive scenes, the film simply reruns the usual slash-and-stab routines of bargain basement grim-core, mixing in some strangulation and light torture along the way.

This means that it’s just not clear what the film is trying to say about ‘the nature of the horror movie’. The lack of any attempt to explore the implications of the depiction of women as victims of violence in screen horror will lead many viewers to conclude that this critique of the art of horror filmmaking is less insightful than these auteurs suggest.

Neither the writers nor the director aim for realism, but that doesn’t absolve them of the need to account for their characters’ motivations. There’s no explanation as to why the film within the film director has gone psycho, and his group of actors fail to exhibit a shred of self-protective common sense as their colleagues are dispatched. As the guileless newbie Grace, M. J. Kehler projects just the right sense of brittle confidence; and it’s only her character’s fate that the film seems to want you to care about.
Movies with Meta ambitions should intrigue, offer fresh perspectives and new insights into the genre by overturning expectations and subverting the usual filmic conventions. Incredible Violence attempts such a deconstruction, but ends up just hacking away at its subject matter with what turns out to be a particularly blunt blade.

THE VILLAGE IN THE WOODS

THE VILLAGE IN THE WOODS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: RAINE MCCORMACK / SCREENPLAY: JOHN HOERNSCHEMEYER, RAINE MCCORMACK / STARRING: RICHARD HOPE, REBECCA JOHNSON, THERESE BRADLEY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

The rich landscape of cinematic “folk horror” remains a perennial fascination for British indie filmmakers. With so many different tropes, motifs and scenarios to draw from, there’s no shortage of inspiration, but each new scriptwriter sending their heroes off into the bucolic backwaters of suspicion and tradition faces the same challenge: coming up with something fresh and original amidst the swirling history of rituals, myths and secrecy. The makers of The Village in the Woods are not quite as daunted by that challenge as many of their contemporaries, because they’ve set out to produce a celebration and a love letter to that tradition (albeit one written in the blood of a newborn, no doubt).

Young couple Jason and Rebecca arrive at the village of Cooper’s Cross to take up residence at the local pub which Rebecca has inherited. The locals who greet them are excessively friendly and intrusive, except for Arthur, a squatter living upstairs whose nervy paranoia alarms the new owners. With their car immobilised, the pair have to stay put and try to uncover the place’s dark truths. But it soon transpires that the couple have a hidden agenda of their own.

This is director and co-writer Raine McCormack’s debut feature, and he weaves together a really pleasing tapestry of folk horror threads. Many of the strands are quite familiar, but they’re presented very effectively here without slipping into homage or parody. This is all helped by some well-drawn characterisation of the small ensemble of duplicitous middle-aged locals that close in on the youngsters. This enables Therese Bradley to have great fun as the unapologetic temptress Maddy, and Richard Hope to make good play of the superficially polite but no less unhinged Charles, both stalwarts of this freakish community.

It’s down to Beth Park (Rebecca) and Robert Vernon (Jason) to carry the main weight of the plot, providing the audience with an outsider’s perspective on the weirdness of Cooper Cross’ inhabitants and exposing the disintegration of their relationship as their own subterfuge collapses.

The tiny budget limits the sense of scale, but McCormack makes a virtue of the claustrophobic setting of the village, wreathing its buildings and the surrounding woods in mist and fog to atmospheric effect. The look of the film might be improved by some greater texture in the colour grading, so that everything appears slightly more disconcerting. That said, for the most part, the production values are fine.

There are some daft plot contrivances along the way, the film is twenty minutes too short and the rushed ending is underpowered compared to an earlier flashback reveal. But as a kind of grotesque mash-up of Escape to the Country and Rosemary’s Baby, The Village in the Woods is a film that it’s difficult not to warm to.

DER PASS

der pass

DER PASS / CERT: 18 / CREATORS: CYRILL BOSS, PHILIPP STENNERT / STARRING: JULIA JENTSCH, NICHOLAS OFCZAREK, FRANZ HARTWIG / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

High in the snow-topped Alps, a corpse is discovered straddling the border of Germany and Austria. The body has been deliberately staged and is found clutching hair from a horses’ tail. Two detectives are assigned to the case, the ambitious young German Ellie Stocker (Jentsch), and the dishevelled, world-weary Austrian Gedeon Winter (Ofczarek). Not only are they from two different countries, with one in the twilight of his career and the other commencing hers, but Stocker is a country girl, used to its ways and customs, whilst the city and its violence has taken its toll on Winter.

Winter is only too happy for the Germans to take on the case entirely, but when more crime scenes are discovered following the same modus operandi with more overt pagan trappings, and recordings of the victims final moments are sent to a reporter, Winter takes more of an interest. Winter and Stocker are soon drawn into the dark world of the Celtic wood god Cernunnos, the Green Man, pagan rites and Krampus.

Der Pass is yet another reworking of the hit Scandi-Noir drama The Bridge, but the similarities between the shows are confined to the body being found on the border between two countries. From there Der Pass becomes its own beast. Comprising of eight episodes, the first four delve deeply into pagan lore and how, even in this technological age, pagan customs can still exert a tight hold in rural communities. The second act diverges into a more generic police procedural drama, albeit a well-executed one. It could be viewed that the first act is in fact Ellie’s story, as she was raised in the country, but as the hunt for the killer continues she becomes more jaded.

The second act is Winter’s story. As the case develops he becomes more invested, more resolute, revealing the sort of policeman he once was. He wants to see justice done. It’s a juxtaposition that, while seemingly obvious that both characters would take on each other’s traits, works well. That is down to the excellent performances of Julia Jentsch and Nicholas Ofczarek. There is a tangible chemistry between them, and if this had been an American network show you’d be sure the chemistry would be sexual. Not so here. There is never a hint of any attraction between Stocker and Winter, only a growing mutual respect and admiration.

The cinematography is gorgeous capturing both the stark beauty and harshness of the snow-covered mountain forests, whilst the urban scenes are suitably bleak and drab.

The series has been granted a second season, and as the first ended on a cliffhanger with regards to a characters arc, it will be interesting to see where it will go.

CREEPSHOW

creepshow

REVIEWED: SEASON 1 (EPISODE 1) | WHERE TO WATCH: SHUDDER

It’s been just over a decade since Stephen King’s love letter to 1950s horror comics graced our screens (and even longer since the franchise turned in a decent entry). Now, thanks to the horror streaming service Shudder, it’s back in all of its tongue-in-cheek gory [sic].

Our reintroduction to the world of Creepshow begins with Gray Matter, an adaptation of one of King’s short stories, published in Night Shift back in 1978. As a small New England town goes into lockdown when an impending storm threatens to tear it apart, only the Sheriff and a small crew are left to hold the fort. Then little Timmy shows up, worried about his ‘changing’ father and the horror begins to unfold. Next up is The House of the Head, featuring Rick Grimes’ little ass-kicker Cailey Fleming as a little girl who finds a creepy zombie head in her dolls house. As the days pass, she witnesses the poor doll family fall prey to a bloody haunting that causes her to finally intervene before it’s too late. If it isn’t already.

From the moment that Tobin Bell (Saw) and Creepshow alum Adrienne Barbeau appear on screen in the first episode, it’s pretty clear what you’re in for. This isn’t going to be high-end cerebral horror, but a gory and fun show that winks at the audience as much as providing the odd scare. Unlike the majority of the previous entries (the good ones at least), only the first episode comes from the twisted mind of Stephen King, leaving the creaking door wide open to a flurry of other writers such as Bird Box’s Josh Malerman and The Crow’s David J Schow to unleash their creepy imaginations upon us.

At just 20 minutes a pop, both of these stories just about manage to tick the right boxes. Gray Matter is certainly the goriest of the two although the monster itself really speaks more to the low budget aspects of this reinvention, while House of the Head is far creepier and installs a genuine feeling of dread even if it never quite delivers on it. On the whole, this first episode falls a little short of schlock and awe, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. If future episodes can balance the feel of the ‘80s horror genre with some truly inventive storytelling we could be in for more of a treat than feeling like we’ve been tricked.

ISABELLE

CERT: TBC | DIRECTOR: ROB HEYDON | SCREENPLAY: DONALD MARTIN | STARRING: ADAM BRODY, AMANDA CREW, ZOE BELKIN, SHIELA MCCARTHY | RELEASE DATE: TBC

After the loss of their son during birth, a grief stricken couple, especially the mother, are faced with dealing with the creepy girl next door, Isabelle.

Grief in Horror media can be a powerful took and can be used to devasting effect. 2017’s STILL/BORN is a prime example of how a mother losing a child is such a haunting and emotional experience. However, Isabelle never manages to reach the dizzy heights of its peers despite having a strong first act.

The story follows Larissa (Amanda Crew) and Matt Kane (Adam Brody) who move into a new home in preparation for starting a family. Shortly after the move, Larissa meets her strange neighbour who lives a mysterious life with her disabled daughter Isabelle who spends her spends staring out of the second floor window until Larissa suddenly miscarries. After returning home, Larissa who is clearly suffering with grief and depression begins to notice strange occurrences and is convinced that Isabelle is the cause.

After a strong emotional start which is well acted and competently crafted, the film unfortunately falls completely apart, almost as if a switch has been flicked.

Firstly, there are little to no scares. The tension is completely drained away by common horror tropes such as no sound before a cheap loud bang. Couple that with weak writing that disengage the audience and the foundation entirely washes away.

Not only that but at several points throughout the runtime, the editing is so poor and jarring that you think you accidentally skipped over a scene. The final act also dramatically lets the film down. Isabelle herself is not at all creepy or unnerving and super-imposed red eyes onto a lacklustre CGI model is incredibly disappointing.

With better films on the market, Isabelle misses the mark but has solid acting throughout which is at least something positive.

 

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: 1984

ahs

REVIEWED: SEASON 9 (EPISODES 1 – 2) | WHERE TO WATCH: SKY GO, NOW TV, AMAZON, APPLE, TALK TALK TV, CHILI

The last few seasons of American Horror Story have proven somewhat divisive. Cult’s theme was a little too on the nose for some given its very real political backdrop, Roanoke tried to do something interesting with a take on reality TV but never quite lived up to expectations, and Apocalypse, while enjoyable thanks to a number of nods back to earlier seasons, still didn’t feel like the best of what AHS has to offer (Coven, in case you were wondering). Now in its ninth season, we’re travelling back to the ‘80s in American Horror Story: 1984 where a summer camp is being terrorised by a murderer with a penchant for slicing off victims’ ears – cue the spandex, leg warmers, and enough classic ‘80s slasher tropes to get you through ‘til Halloween.

AHS alum Emma Roberts takes the lead as Brooke, ‘the last American virgin’ and pretty much the polar opposite of Roberts’ most memorable AHS incarnation, Madison Montgomery. We meet the rest of the gang at an aerobics class (because, the ‘80s) as they plan to escape Los Angeles for the summer and head to Camp Redwood as counsellors to avoid the Olympics frenzy and threat of real-life Satanic serial killer Richard Ramirez aka the Night Stalker. There’s workout-obsessive Montana (Billie Lourd), aerobics trainer and wannabe serious actor Xavier (Cody Fern), disgraced athlete Chet (Gus Kenworthy), and party guy Ray (DeRon Horton).

Of course, Camp Redwood isn’t the easy summer the gang had in mind as a campfire tale reveals Redwood was the scene of a bloody massacre in 1970 and sole survivor Margaret (Leslie Grossman), a staunchly Christian camp counsellor, is re-opening the camp to make it “a happy place”. With murderer Mr. Jingles having escaped from a nearby mental hospital and Ramirez lurking about, let’s just say, that ain’t going to happen.

Despite obvious inspiration from movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween, this season feels fresh for AHS. It doesn’t take itself super seriously, there isn’t any strange folklore to wrap your head around (though a hiker who can’t seem to stay dead may need some explaining soon), and it’s unapologetically cheesy. There’s a brilliant over the top scene during episode two where a wedding turns into a bloodbath, the bride’s perfectly puffy sleeved wedding dress splattered red to the tune of Billy Idol’s White Wedding. It’s even shot like an ‘80s film. Gone are the signature fishbowl angles in favour of a low budget aesthetic, camera wobbles, and neon title sequence.

While all the typical horror boxes are being ticked, by episode two, we’re starting to get the sense that all may not be as it seems – this is AHS after all. An encounter between Margaret and Ramirez presents an unsettling logic about how you can justify doing pretty much anything with “God and trauma” and we learn more about Brooke’s painful past. Guess we’ll be spending a little longer at Camp Redwood to find out.

VHS NASTY

vhs nasty

VHS NASTY / CERT: TBC /DIRECTOR: TONY NEWTON / STARRING: NATHAN HILL, SHAWN C. PHILLIPS, TONY NEWTON, JASON FIGGIS, MATHEW FISHER, PETER GODDARD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Low-budget talking head documentaries about the golden age of video are ten a penny these days, but this third entry into the VHS Lives series is an entertaining and enlightening journey through the most controversial time in British film history.

The history of the video nasties is covered in a brief voice over to start the film, before we get to the interviews, which are mainly from indie filmmakers, but there are some well-known faces such as Phillips and an audio contribution from Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman. Reminisces from those involved mostly follow the same path: how they became aware of these films and what titles are their favourites and which are the ones they avoid. From the latter topic, the general consensus is that Faces of Death and Cannibal Holocaust go too far, even if the former is mostly faked, as several of the pundits point out.

The topic of censorship is debated also, and while classification is one thing, no one wants their films butchered beyond recognition, such as happened when the Video Recordings Act came into force in 1984. Kaufman’s claim that The Toxic Avenger was only 40 minutes long when released in the UK is an amusing exaggeration, the point stands that some films were stripped of their (literal) guts when they were resubmitted to the BBFC. No one disputes that they should have age guidelines and restrictions of illegal activity, which is good to know.

As is usual with documentaries such as this, any clips from the films come from trailers, so quality is variable. The clip choices are good, though, and not overused. Some of the information is repeated from several of the participants, which can be expected with the personal nature of comments. Viewers who remember the early ‘80s will be nodding in agreement with some of the tales of trading pirated versions of the films and purchasing bootleg copies of banned titles. For those who weren’t there, it’s a decent education on a time then our favourite movies were outlawed.

VHS Nasty isn’t the final word on the subject, but is certainly a fun watch and confirms that without the turbulent time in cinema history, there would not be the breed of inventive filmmakers and a lot of mediocre and frankly rubbish movies would have been long forgotten.