Reinert Kiil is the Norwegian director responsible for the sort-of-okay slasher “Christmas Blood” (“Juleblod”). If that film was a brooding modernization of “Silent Night, Deadly Night” then The House (“Huset”) must be his re-imagining of “The Conjuring.” On the surface it’s an interesting new twist on the familiar, demon-possessed madhouse setup. Two Nazi soldiers are…
The Gracefield Incident begins with a home movie — a man and his wife on their way to their second ultrasound appointment. Matt Donovan (Mathieu Ratthe) can barely contain his excitement as his wife, Jess (Kimberly Laferriere, “White Night”) chastises him, asking whether he plans to record everything. “It’s his journal!” Matt replies, insistent that…
I just finished watching the hilarious Slasher.com (or “S/ash.er,” as it’s expressed in the credits), which is a, um, slasher movie. Those aren’t usually funny, and this one probably didn’t set out to be comical in nature, but it is what it is: One of those elusive so-bad-it’s-good movies. Slasher.com begins with some faux news…
In a scene near the end of Downhill, a scowly, bald-headed ruffian mutters, “What a waste” just before blowing someone’s head off. The statement could also serve as an unfortunate slogan for the movie itself: An interesting premise and a gorgeous setting undermined by spotty writing and hysterical overacting. It’s almost bad enough to someday…
Kings, true kings, are superior to nobody; everybody’s their equal. That’s what makes them different. That’s what makes them especial. Kings rule over no one. A king’s true realm is their self. Ben (Viggo Mortensen, “A Dangerous Method”) and Leslie (Trin Miller, “The Invoking”) sought for this kind of kings out of their kin: Plato’s…
Hard times often lead us to the conclusion that we would be better off left alone, that absolute freedom is only attainable through radical loneliness — and that we would be better off if only we were able to break free. Isolation is such a great temptation at the face of abiding adversity, of relentless…
In junior high school, my good friend Sara would show me “fast-forward” versions of films — she would sit me down and show me her favorite movies, speeding through the parts that were too drawn-out and inconsequential, with the purpose of getting to the good stuff faster. The Forest, the first mainstream horror movie of…
