Shorts from The Screening Room – March 2020

In Theaters:

Note: Due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, theaters will be closed until further notice.

 

From the Video Store Shelf:

Candyman (1992 / DVD) – This iconic adaptation of Clive Barker’s 1985 short story, “The Forbidden”, may be somewhat visually dated but it remains an oddly impressive film. Virginia Madsen plays Helen, an Illinois-based collegiate working on a master’s thesis examining urban myths. One of the stories she’s consistently drawn to concerns, the Candyman, a hook-handed killer who reveals himself if you say his name 5 times while looking into a mirror.

That’s the myth part, a myth I’m sure you’re all familiar with, but it’s the film’s urban half of the story that’s truly a stroke of genius. Stepping sideways from the frightening but outdated “house at the end of the street” trope, “Candyman” moves the horror to the modern-day equivalent, the Projects of Cabrini Green. Worn down, graffiti-riddled (“Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here”), and dripping with the terror of unimaginable horrors. These are the new-world domiciles to fear and to whisper about; the places you dare your friends to enter but avoid at all costs yourself. It’s in this setting that writer/director Bernard Rose, delivers his slower, bloodier, and more intimate tale of ‘love and legacy in death’.

Actor Tony Todd shot to fame as the quintessential hook-handed killer, while Virginia Madsen (“Sideways”) took another early step towards the Oscar-winning stage. Together, they bookend the power of the film. A film that is not perfect but is iconic, and a sight more original than the sum of its parts. Being, in the end, deeper and clearly more affecting than many other horror films of its time. You’ve got to give the Candyman that.

Note: Oscar winner, Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) has a producer and screenwriting credit on Nia DeCosta’s new version of the film currently slated for release on September 25, 2020.

My Admission - $5.00
One Line Review – “Candyman May Be Dandy, But Virginia Madsen Won’t Rot Your Teeth”
MPAA Rating – R for violence and gore

 

 

 

Color Out of Space (2020 / DVD) – Director Richard Stanley (famously fired from 1996’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau”) returns after a 20+ year hiatus to deliver this mesmerizing and effective tale of insanity and cosmic horror. Inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft story, “The Colour Out of Space”, the film sees a modern-day family attempting to obtain a level of solace after moving to the Massachusetts countryside. Their attempt is ultimately thwarted when a meteorite crash lands in their front yard and a very surreal Hell ensues.

Not necessarily a mainstream horror hit, “Color Out of Space” is eccentric, deliberate, and graphic, while still being as wonderfully vague as Lovecraft’s original work. The film relies heavily on cinematography and sound design to elevate a creep-factor that the talented main cast literally succumbs to. Most notably, Nicholas Cage, who brings another facet of his trademark chaos and Julian Hilliard (“The Haunting of Hill House”) who brings a somehow haunting mesmerization.

“Extra “F*ckin’ Yahoos!” to SpectreVision (Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, and Josh C. Waller), the production company that brought you Panos Cosmatos’ “Mandy”, for having the balls to back a similarly-minded vision of cosmic horror. Creating a successful Lovecraft adaptation is no small task, but it’s worth noting that the talents and powers behind the camera have really stepped up here, and in doing so, they’ve managed to produce another memorable audio/visual spectacle.

H. P. Lovecraft is famously difficult to adapt. His stories speak of unimaginable horrors that defy rational explanations. “Color Out of Space” certainly latches on to the author’s line of thinking by delivering horrors that thankfully follow suit. Explanation is certainly plausible, but the descriptions of such are either without basis for their outcomes or make the describer sound just south of insane. The film succeeds remarkably well in these areas and earns its high marks as a Lovecraft adaption, even if it’s not the best horror movie you’ll see this year.

Note: Word on the street is that “Color Out of Space” will stand as the first entry in a Lovecraft trilogy that’s being crafted by SpectreVision and Richard Stanley, with “The Dunwich Horror” to be the next adaptation in line.

My Admission - $6.00
One Line Review – “Get Up! C’mon, Get Down with the Lovecraft”
MPAA Rating – NR but displays frightening and intense scenes, violence and gore, language, and drugs and alcohol usage

 

 

 

Down a Dark Hall (2018 / DVD) – The film’s story sees five teenage girls enrolled into a prestigious academy charged with correcting their troubled natures. The curriculum looks to accomplish this by bringing out their best creative and academic talents. Don’t be fooled, this is a horror story, one with an interesting idea that ultimately underwhelms thanks to a bit of a poor delivery.

Annasophia Robb (“Bridge to Terabithia”, “Soul Surfer”) stars as the troubled Kit. Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”) costars as the academy’s head mistress, Madam Duret. Together the pair will largely ignore each other as one plots while the other reveals the nefarious schemes afoot at Blackwood Boarding School.

Director Rodrigo Cortes makes a passable attempt at instilling the film with fright but suffers terribly with character development and lack of audience concern for the happenings at Blackwood. The ideas are sound but the undefined life and death of characters, as well as the complete disregard for secrecy within the walls of Blackwood, make this one kind of tough to play in tune with.

My Admission - $4.00
One Line Review – “People Live, People Die, and All the Interesting Stuff Is Ignored”
MPAA Rating – PG-13 for mature thematic content, terror and violence, some language including a sexual reference, and smoking

 

 

 

Fighting with My Family (2019 / DVD) – This easily overlooked WWE Production is an inspiring and entertaining biopic from writer/director/actor Stephen Merchant. Based on the true story of wrestling superstar, Paige, the film centers on a Norwich, England-based lower-class family of wrestlers running their own gym, while dreaming of being a part of the juggernaut that is World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). When the family’s late-teenage children are offered the opportunity to audition for the WWE, a continental divide erupts between them.

A remarkably entertaining and sincere piece that’s not quite as predictable as you might imagine. Sure, there’s a host of typical feel-good sports-movie tropes, but within those you’ll find a message, and overall film, that harbors the genuine importance and fearlessness of being oneself. Making “Fighting with My Family” a surprisingly honest and satisfying film that’s not afraid to deliver some hard truths.

Featuring a host of memorable performances from Florence Pugh, Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughan, and Stephen Merchant himself.

My Admission - $7.00
One Line Review – “Can You Smell What Stephen Merchant Is Cooking?”
MPAA Rating – PG for action/peril and some thematic elements

 

 

 

Frozen II (2019 / Disney+) – This “exciting notion” of a sequel to the 2013 original is in every way its inferior. From story and character, to song and emotion, this one should have been relegated to a direct to video release. Still, it is Disney, so chances are that you’ll find a thing or two to enjoy, but if you were expecting to fall in love with “Frozen II” the way you might have with the original, chances are that you’re going to be very disappointed.

Note: Thankfully that Oscar snub for best animated feature was spot on.

My Admission - $4.00
One Line Review – “I Am Corbin Dallas…Really?”
MPAA Rating – PG for action/peril and some thematic elements

 

 

 

Good Boys (2019 / DVD) – From the moment the R rated trailer hit, I was all in on this one.
A verbally raunchy coming-of-age comedy about three grade school boys who are growing up and, more poignantly, growing apart.

Hailing from the minds and mouths of producers Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the film is surprisingly more endearing than it is offensive. It’s coarse and verbally graphic for sure, but it’s not as all-together absurd as I’d originally thought it would be. Basing the bulk of its comedy around a series of ideas that concern a more adult vocabulary, and more adult acts, that work to highlight the boys’ ignorance of the world they’re entering.

The film is outlandish for sure, but very rarely does it careen into deeply ridiculous territory. I can’t imagine it ever being considered a classic, but it’s got a real and discernible heart to it from the get-go. And if there’s a negative to be pointed out, beyond the obvious, then it’s in the filmmakers failing of the female antagonists; their portion of the story is the most difficult to get behind.

My Admission - $5.00
One Line Review – “Boys Will Be…Oh Hell, They’ll Figure It Out”
MPAA Rating – R for strong crude sexual content, drug and alcohol material, and language throughout – all involving tweens

 

 

 

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016 / NETFLIX) – “I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House” is another moderately well-conceived entry into the new renaissance of deliberately slow and methodical horror pieces. Not nearly as obtuse as “The Witch”, and not nearly as horrifying as “Hereditary”, the film finds a respectable middle ground between the two and benefits from the choice.

Ruth Wilson (“Luther”, “The Affair”) stars as Lily, a hospice nurse who just moved into the home of dying horror author, Iris Blum. Here, in this isolation, she will come face to face with the inspiration for Iris’s greatest novel.

The film utilizes an extended voice over to dig deeply into the ghostly ideology and methodic horror of the house. In combination with a perfect sense of camera blocking and scene framing, the film becomes way more effective and powerful than its final story reveal has almost any right to be. The entire film reaches a very high bar when talking about its creep-factor. So much so that when it was over, I refused to stay up alone.

My Admission - $5.50
One Line Review – “I Am the Creepy Atmospheric Film You Can Stream on Netfilx”
MPAA Rating – Not Rated (or TV-14) for

 

 

 

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019 / AMAZON) – Being both astute and heartfelt, Kevin Smith’s “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a surprise winner. Smith, known to have the ability to strike a solid perspicacious cord, is probably better known for his overly vulgar dick-joke laden dialogue. His new film certainly fits the second bill, but it also makes some emotionally powerful points in ways that harken back to the best of his earliest films, i.e. “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy”.

The premise of the film is a simple skewering of reboot films themselves, Smith’s oeuvre included. Offering clearly understood comedic commentary on the current state of the Hollywood system and its penchant for rebooting classic stories, rather than investing effort or cash in creating original content.

But that’s not all. There’s a significant subplot to the film, the “just enough” but not original “new stuff” a reboot requires. Smith brings the modern age (i.e. gender politics and inclusionary ideologies) into his View Askewniverse, and it shines all the brighter because of his plot support framing. That framing sees the ingeniously incorporated characters and locations from his film catalogue in ways that dynamically support the film, grow the characters up, and give audiences the fan service a reboot also requires. Personally, I thought I would enjoy the film, I’m a Kevin Smith fan after all, but I never thought I’d enjoy it as much as I did; like…I think I kinda love it, Yo!

Note: The abundant references, call backs, castings and character surprises are brilliant.

My Admission - $7.00
One Line Review – “Meanwhile, back to the Quick Stop…#NerdLove”
MPAA Rating – R for pervasive strong crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some nudity

 

 

 

Outbreak (1995) – This Wolfgang Petersen (“Das Boot”, “The Perfect Storm”) directed film details how a military team of viral doctors attempt to ward off a potentially staggering global pandemic, after a deadly fictional virus breaks out in a small California town. The film holds up remarkably well after 25 years, remaining fast paced, exciting, and absolutely topical, while being only slightly over-acted and just a bit antagonistically extreme.

With a stellar cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding Jr, Patrick Dempsey, and Dale Dyer, the film sells its melodrama easily and quite effectively.

Note: I had originally planned to watch this back in May 2019 in conjunction with AMC’s “The Hot Zone”. An inability to locate the film on streaming services at the time prevented me from accomplishing that task, but thankfully Dimple had their major Going Out of Business Sale and I acquired my own copy. Kinda glad that I waited, as the current world pandemic made this all the more enjoyable.

My Admission - $6.50
One Line Review – “Will You Pet My Monkey?”
MPAA Rating – R for Language

 

 

 

Pet Sematary (2019 / DVD) – Stephen King’s original story concerns the Creed family, a former Boston-based unit who’ve just moved to Maine in order to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. When tragedy strikes their new country home, the Creeds will unearth the dark secret entombed in a longstanding pet cemetery that exists within their property boundary.

Neither this adaptation, nor Mary Lambert’s 1989 version, deviate from that original synopsis, but both films vary drastically when detailing the story’s central tragedy, thematic power, and the depth of despair the filmmakers are willing to explore on screen. So…I have a hard time understanding the creative point of this remake.

I mean, the first half of this 2019 version is decent enough, allowing for a few discussions about grief and how the film’s participants will refuse to face it; i.e. “sometimes dead ain’t better”. Once it crosses over into the second half of the film though, it begins deviating from the raw power and sheer darkness of the source material. And while there is a myriad of possible reasons for the changes, the film doesn’t benefit from any of them, ultimately becoming a more generic and therefore pointless sendup.

To take the discussion any further would involve spoilers, so I’ll leave it at this: the cast is not at fault here. Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jete Laurence, and John Lithgow give sturdy enough performances, but what writer and/or director, in their right mind, thinks they’re clever enough to out-idea Stephen King? #WeakSauce

My Admission - $3.00
One Line Review – “This One is Sour”
MPAA Rating – R for horror violence, bloody images, and some language

 

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