Mayhem
USA 2017
Written by Matias Caruso
Directed by Joe Lynch
Watched on 22.09.2017
“Mayhem” turned out to be the perfect midnight movie. A funny, entertaining and highly energetic romp from start to (almost) finish, it managed to grip and excite me despite my ailing constitution (due to my cold).
Joe Lynch’s previous feature, “Knights of Badassdom”, wasn’t quite as badass as I hoped it would be, and rather disappointing (I gave it a 4/10). With “Mayhem”, however, he delivered. In spades. It’s a brilliant farce about working in a big, corrupt corporation and slowly selling your soul – until one day, this virus allows Derek to break free in the most violent manner possible. The first scene of the movie was already perfection: The (mostly) black and white photography, the use of a nice, calm classical piece (I don’t mention which one on purpose) which contradicts the violent images on the screen, the slow-motion celebrating said violence – awesome! But even though that probably already was the best scene of the movie, the rest was great too, offering lots of funny moments and pleasantly violent scenes. There’s just something very enjoyable and cathartic about seeing these uptight corporate types let loose in such a wild manner. Also, both Derek and Melanie were very sympathetic characters, which made it easy to root for them. I think it’s great that they cast Steven Yeun (which I enjoy watching anyway) as the lead, without ever making any big deal of his asian heritage. That’s diversity done right. Both he and Samara Weaving were awesome in their respective roles, and really fun to watch (as was the entire movie). The only thing that was a little bit of a letdown was the showdown, which didn’t really compare to the frantic mayhem that came before. Other than that, “Mayhem” proves to be an awesome, very brutal, really funny and highly enjoyable takedown of working in such a terrible workplace. Highly recommended!
9/10
It
Japan 2017
Written by Tetsuya Oishi, based on the manga by Hiroaki Samura
Directed by Takashi Miike
Watched on 22.09.2017
I usually get sick during or at least directly after the /slash filmfestival, but this year I actually managed to catch a cold on the very first day of the festival. Yay for me?! Anyway, because of this, I was already rather tired and worn out when I came to the theater, and the 140-minute-running time of this one didn’t exactly fill me with confidence. I expected having to fight to stay awake – and it’s a testament to how entertaining the movie is that I was at risk of falling asleep even once.
Granted, it’s not perfect. It definitely is too long. The fighting scenes follow the usual model of superior numbers attacking in short groups which are easily defeatable by the hero. The bald caps were extremely obvious. And I would have preferred if Rin would have played a far more active role in the proceedings, instead of pretty much staying the damsel in distress right until the end. And it really irritated me that over the course of the movie, they try to de-villain the main bad guy and show him as honorable warrior – which didn’t really work for me since at the beginning, he allowed his disciples to rape Rin’s mother (something the movie seemingly wants us to forget), which is as dishonorable an act as it gets. Apart from that, though, “Blade of the Immortal” was quite entertaining. At the beginning, I worried that the fights would turn out to be dull, since after the first huge fight, Manji becomes immortal. Which could have made the rest of the fight scenes really dull. However, they then find a way to make him vulnerable again after all, which definitely was the right approach. The fight scenes itself were nicely staged and well shot (even though I’ve seen better). They also tried their best to make them vary, with the use of different fighting styles, weapons etc. And since I like sword fights, I didn’t mind that it mostly was one such fight scene after the next. It’s definitely not the best, let alone most sophisticated, samurai-film that I’ve ever seen, but for what it wants to be – a fun, entertaining romp – it works quite well.
7/10
It
USA 2017
Written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga & Gary Dauberman, based on the novel by Stephen King
Directed by Andy Muschietti
Watched on 21.09.2017
I don’t know anyone around my age (37) who didn’t grow up with the TV-adaptation. Which was pretty good, even though the second part was a little bit of a letdown. Nevertheless, 27 years later, it definitely stands as a true horror classic (even though it’s far from being a masterpiece). And I have a feeling that 27 years from now (see what they did there?), we will say the same about Andy Muschietti’s take on what is arguably Stephen King’s best novel.
First off: Get that stupid hyperbole of “one of the scariest movies ever” out of your head. Yes, “It” has a couple of scary scenes, but it’s nowhere near the scare-fest that some made it out to be. And that’s ok, since it’s biggest strengths lie elsewhere anyway. What Muschietti and the writers got right, is how they put the characters and the friendship that exists or builds around the “Loser’s Club” front and center. With its coming of age-aspect (which in my case further profits from the fact that I grew up in the 80s myself, which made it even easier to relate to them, and also gave this – like “Stranger Things” – a sense of nostalgia), it gives off a strong “Stand by me” and/or “Goonies”-vibe (just with an added horror-clown). The characters are all very distinctive from each other, and quite well fleshed out – definitely more so than in your standard horror fare. Praise must also go out to casting director Rich Delia and his team for finding this bunch of kids. All of them were absolutely great and extremely natural and believable in their respective roles, and even though the focus lies on Billy and Beth, it would be wrong to single any one of them out. There were all awesome, and prove to be incredible talents worth looking out for. It’s already difficult enough to find one or two good (new) child actors for a film. To get seven of them feels almost like a miracle. Interestingly enough, if there’s one weak link, it’s actually Bill Skarsgård, who is the one (and only) aspect where 2017’s “It” falls behind the 90s TV adaptation. He’s ok, but ultimately, Tim Curry’s huge clown shoes prove too big to fill. Then again, since the focus lies so heavily on the kids, that’s not that big of a deal.
Visually, “It” is stunning, offering many hauntingly beautiful and/or scary images that are going to stay with me for a while. Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is equally great, perfectly complementing the images on the screen. As for the horror: I found most of the scary scenes to be quite effective. There’s the occasional cheap jump scare and/or noticeable CGI-effect here and there, but overall, Muschietti does a great job creating atmosphere, tension and memorable scary moments. For me, what worked best was the rather grounded horror. Be it a young boy going into the dark cellar all by himself, or the irrational fear of a scary painting. The most effective horror of “It” however lies not with Pennywise and his bag of tricks and illusions, but with the everyday horror of the brutal, violent bully, or (especially) Beth’s father (were child abuse, while not shown directly, is heavily implied). Those were the moments that truly gave me chills. Nevertheless, “It” isn’t a movie that wants to disturb or terrify you, but rather wants you to have a good time. It’s a classical horror movie of the roller coaster-variety, offering a scare, followed by a gag or some sort of release of tension – which is something best experienced with others in a movie theater, where those feelings are shared and thus intensified. And at the end, even though some terrible things happened, “It” releases you with the assurance that even the biggest challenge can be overcome if you face it without fear and together with friends who are there to help you, and that everything will be alright. At least until “Chapter 2” comes around ;-).*
9/10
* I know it’s never going to happen, but wouldn’t it be kinda cool if they waited 27 years and would then use the same cast?
The Dwarves Must Be Crazy
Thailand 2016
Written by Bin Bunluerit
Directed by Bin Bunluerit
Watched on 07.05.2017
I really wanted to like this one. And the first couple of minutes seemed promising. I liked the basic idea behind the movie, the setting, the dwarf-protagonists, and their village looked very idyllic. It was rather well shot, with some nice visual, impressive landscapes, and a cool score. And the first appearance of the ghosts was a really cool moment, and made me laugh out loud in the best “What the fuck?”-kind of way. Unfortunately, it turns out that apart from the dwarves as leads as well as the setting, it’s quite unimaginative. It felt to me like they had this one basic idea for this movie – but not much else, and decided to get the cameras rolling anyway. The same gags and ideas (like the pyramid) get repeated time and again, until they not only lose their appeal, but actually start to get annoying. It also feels less like an actual movie and more like an incoherent mess of random scenes. Apart from a couple of funny bits, the humor mostly didn’t speak to me. I also got the feeling that here and there, things got lost in translation. And the ending was rather abrupt, and felt more like a discontinuation than a conclusion. Ultimately, despite the intriguing setup and a couple of nice ideas, it simply wasn’t quite crazy and entertaining enough for me. Or, as Trump would say: Too bad!
3/10
The Misandrists
Germany 2017
Written by Bruce La Bruce
Directed by Bruce La Bruce
Watched on 07.05.2017
I can’t remember ever seeing a movie which, from a political point of view, was so much up my alley, but still managed to irritate me almost entirely. It’s obvious that Bruce La Bruce’s sensibilities and mine – as much as we might agree on a political level –couldn’t be further apart from each other. The result is that, from start to finish, I simply didn’t know that to do with and/or make of this movie. “The Misandrists” seems like it was made for 10 dollars, and it shows. It’s very cheaply – and badly – shot, the acting is laughable, the sets unimpressive, and so on. However, if I like a story, I’m more than willing – and able – to look past things like that. Unfortunately, with “The Misandrists”, I simply never found my way into the movie. The story feels like a rip-off of “The Beguiled”, but without its most interesting aspects. There was not one character I could relate to, thus it bored me rather quickly. Also, even though it’s clearly a Farce and not meant to be taken seriously, I found the way Bruce portrayed these feminists as men-hating bra-burners (which is in line with the picture some men have of feminists in general) rather problematic (and also in conflict with the political message it seemingly wanted to convey). Granted, there was a handful of nice ideas (like the symbol of the order) and quotes, but that – and all the naked flesh – couldn’t save it for me. A classic case of a movie that tries really hard but fails miserably (and completely), “The Misandrists” bored me to tears. It was the first picture that I saw of Bruce La Bruce, and most certainly will also be my last.
1/10
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
UK/USA 2016
Written by Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing
Directed by André Øvredal
Watched on 06.05.2017
“The Autopsy of Jane Doe” is a nice, classical, straight-forward horror film with a cool setup and a great buildup of tension. I very much enjoyed it. Granted, I wouldn’t have needed the scene with the accidental murder, since that’s such a stale cliché by now. Some of the jump scares were a little predictable. And witch-themed horror films are always a little problematic for me. However, like “The Witch”, “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” circumnavigated that troublesome area quite nicely, and the way they dealt with the witch-thematic worked quite well for me. The cast is also great. Both Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch arguably bring more to their roles than was written in the script, thus proving once again that great actors can improve a film considerably. But it wasn’t just their individual performances, but also their chemistry; I definitely believed them to be father and son. Special mention also has to go out to Olwen Catherine Kelly, who probably had one of the most thankless acting jobs in the history of films, and manages to achieve a lot by doing next to nothing. The movie further profits from the fact that André Øvredal definitely knows how to create tension. He might have relied on jump scares a little bit too much for my personal taste, but at least, he knows how to use them, and builds them up real nicely, instead of just relying on loud noises. And even though it takes a couple of unexpected twists and turns, I also liked the story. Overall, while “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” might not be a modern classic, it managed to entertain me from start to finish. Which is more than I can say about a lot of other (horror-)movies that I’ve seen this year.
8/10
Without Name
Ireland 2016
Written by Garret Shanley
Directed by Lorcan Finnegan
Watched on 06.05.2017
“Without Name” was a nice, old-fashioned scary tale. I especially liked the way Lorcan Finnegan shot the woods; how he played with light, shadow and perspective, and gave it a nightmarish, almost labyrinthian feel. What was also great was the way Finnegan and Shanley, with a couple of (quiet) scenes, established their main character, and gave us an impression of his life (f.e. with the family sitting at the table). Afterwards, when he reached the remote hut, “Without Name” made his sense of isolation palpable. Even when his young colleague joins him, he still seems to be alone. That, and the first half in general, I really liked. Unfortunately, the movie lost some of its appeal after a while (around the first drug-induced-hallucination-scene, I’d say). Before, I was enamored by what was happening, and felt some sort of connection with Eric. But in time, if you will, we grew apart. There were a couple of decisions – like taking even more mushrooms – which I simply couldn’t understand. Thus, the movie started to drag along a little bit. And the ending, even though I liked how mysterious it was and that it offered up room for interpretation, was a little flashy and annoying. It’s still a nice film overall, but after the great first half, I couldn’t help being a little disappointed.
7/10
Nova Seed
Japan/Canada 2017
Written by Joe DiLiberto & Nick DiLiberto
Directed by Nick DiLiberto
Watched on 06.05.2017
It’s difficult to give this one a fair shake. I mean, obviously, it can’t compete with Disney, Ghibli, and so on. And if you take into consideration that it’s pretty much a one-man-job, it’s quite impressive. That doesn’t change the fact, though, that it feels a little half-baked. The animation was actually quite cool, and the thing that impressed me the most (mostly because of the fact that it was all done by one guy). But the story was rather sketchy and definitely could have used more work. The characters are mostly glossed over and seem to be there to serve specific functions, but never register as fleshed-out, “real”, multi-dimensional beings. Its biggest problem, however, was the sound, which was terrible. There was a lot of reverberation, and for me as non-native-speaker, I had a hard time understanding what the characters were saying – which obviously didn’t help matters. And even though it was only slightly over an hour, I was glad that it was over when it was. Overall, it’s more of a curiosity than a sleeper hit, and as impressed as I was that this was the result of just one man, I couldn’t stop asking myself what a professional animation crew could have made of it.
5/10
Another Wolfcop
USA 2017
Written by Lowell Dean
Directed by Lowell Dean
Watched on 06.05.2017
While heralded by many as a b-movie-triumph, I personally found the first “Wolfcop”-movie to be rather lame (or tame?). It had a nice concept – but not much else. Nevertheless, I decided to give its sequel a chance – and while I indeed think that it was slightly better than the first one, I could have lived without ever seeing it, and don’t particularly look forward to yet another sequel (which is hinted at during the credits). Once again, the humor fell mostly flat for me. Some things and ideas were too stupid even for my taste. There was no tension at all, and many of the supposedly big moments didn’t work quite as well for me as was arguably intended. On the other hand, they managed to take a little bit more out of the concept. It looked slightly better and was better shot (even though it still feels a little amateurish), with the strong colors a particular standout. They came up with a couple of nice, new ideas, some scenes were pleasantly far-out, and the movie itself a quite bloody affair. So yes, overall, it was better than the first one. However, with a benchmark like that (I gave it a 3/10 back then), that doesn’t really say much.
4/10
Prevenge
UK 2016
Written by Alice Lowe
Directed by Alice Lowe
Watched on 05.05.2017
“Prevenge” could almost be a sequel to “Sightseers”; in any case, it felt like a spiritual successor to what in my opinion still is Ben Wheatley’s best film so far. Written and directed by “Sightseers”‘ Alice Lowe, it’s a fantastic dark comedy, and the best film that I saw at this years “/slash ½”-Festival. Alice Lowe not only wrote a great script and did a splendid job directing it, she also (once more) gives a magnificent performance in the leading role. Once again, she perfectly captures the comedy as well as the tragedy that’s inherent in her character with impressive ease. She especially shines in the scenes that illustrate Ruth’s incredibly loneliness and despair. Despite her actions, she makes it easy for us to feel for her – especially when the motivation behind her dark deeds is finally revealed (something that Lowe, thankfully, lets the audience find out in their own time). There also was a sweet symbolism with the cutting of the cord (one life ends, another one begins). Furthermore, “Prevenge” offers up a couple of nice guest stars, some impressive shots, a great synthesizer-score, and many (darkly) funny scenes. Entertaining from start to finish, and equally funny and tragic, “Prevenge” is just the dark comedy of a murdering expectant mother that the world needed – without even knowing it.
8/10
Mayhem
A life in 24 fps 