Originally, I had intended to watch something different for this third film review of the week. The screener link didn't work, which as the rules of my blog that I follow meant that instead I would watch something of my own choosing. I have wanted to watch Late Night with the Devil for some time, with one of the barriers to entry being that the only place I could find it was on Shudder which I hadn't a subscription for. This found footage takes the form of a special documentary put out about a night time talk show host from the 1970's who became infamous after a terrifying 1977 Halloween special that shocked the nation. As part of the documentary, the recording of the infamous episode long believed lost has been recovered and included in full.
Friday 28 June 2024
Late Night with the Devil (2023) - Found Footage Horror Film Review
Originally, I had intended to watch something different for this third film review of the week. The screener link didn't work, which as the rules of my blog that I follow meant that instead I would watch something of my own choosing. I have wanted to watch Late Night with the Devil for some time, with one of the barriers to entry being that the only place I could find it was on Shudder which I hadn't a subscription for. This found footage takes the form of a special documentary put out about a night time talk show host from the 1970's who became infamous after a terrifying 1977 Halloween special that shocked the nation. As part of the documentary, the recording of the infamous episode long believed lost has been recovered and included in full.
Thursday 27 June 2024
The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for June 2024
Another month, with me and my father due to head off to Normandy next week, so there will be reduced blog output during that time. Because I don't have a life, I'm currently writing this while waiting for a Metallica event to start on Fortnite, not horror related but it might be good! Onwards to the news.
Coming from Freestyle Digital Media is The Hyperborean, a sci-fi alien horror movie that is set for U.S VOD platforms and DVD on July 19th 2024. This comedic sci-fi has a crisis manager getting caught up with a failing family run whiskey business with events leading to a triple homicide, an Artic ice-mummy and intergalactic moonshine. This was directed by Jesse Thomas Cook (Septic Man) and written by Tony Burgess (Pontypool).
Wednesday 26 June 2024
Somnium (2024) - Horror Film Review
Somnium (directed and written by Racheal Cain in her feature length directorial debut) is a sci-fi horror film that creates a dream-like feel to its world. Featuring a likeable protagonist in the form of a small town girl trying to make it big in L.A, and horror that keeps itself just at the edges of the story, this became far more interesting than I initially expected it to be.
After a painful breakup, wannabe actress Gemma (Chloƫ Levine - Depraved) has headed to L.A with dreams of making it big. Of course, things don't go that easily and needing a job she finds one at Somnium - an experimental sleep clinic that states it is able to create people's dreams for them. There are some grey areas with the treatment, especially with it also being used to permanently change the personalities of the mentally unwell. Outside of her job, Gemma tries to get over her reserved nature to make contacts within the film world, but increasing hallucinations of a monstrous creature, as well as vivid memories of her time with her ex-partner threaten to overwhelm the woman.
I had a feeling of what was really going on in Somnium almost from the start, but I appreciated that it is never made explicitly clear to the viewer what is truly going on. With Gemma you have a relatable and meek lead, someone whose small town naivety has you caring for her character. Being quite quiet, it is down to her frequent flashbacks of her time back in her hometown where her character is revealed. The film has her on a passage of discovering herself and the type of person she can become. This mirrors the aims of Somnium, a place where people's dreams are altered to allow them to become the person they always wanted themselves to be. Of course that might spell out where the movie might go, but instead the idea that it is possible things are not exactly as they are presented to the viewer was interesting, lending the film a dream-like atmosphere. There were plenty of side characters, but L.A is presented as a cold uncaring place, so Gemma remains feeling eternally isolated. Key characters include ex-boyfriend Hunter (Peter Vack), who was the catalyst for her voyage, and Brooks (Johnathon Scaech - Day of the Dead: Bloodline), a mysterious talent scout who insists he sees something special in Gemma.
The horror is always on the fringes of the picture, with sparse moments that increase over the runtime of the ninety five minute film. These moments mostly come in the form of a creature bathed in darkness who appears to Gemma, but who no one else is able to see. Special effects are mostly used sparsely, but there was one neat dream sequence that had buildings dissolving and reforming in an indie Inception type of way.
The director stated her aims for this film were to make "...a scary movie about facing fears", inspired by her own real life experiences which saw her mirroring the path of her protagonist by moving to L.A after a painful break-up. The best movies have important life lessons, and while this doesn't set it's sights too high, it made for a story that had a clear message.
Somnium is a horror that blends a heavy mix of drama with a slight feel of unease and suggestion. I liked how the story was left up to viewers to decide on what was really going on, and I thought the character of Gemma was one who was very easy to root for. Somnium had its world premiere at the 2024 Chattanooga Film Festival on Saturday June 22nd.
SCORE:
Tuesday 25 June 2024
The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 24th June 2024
I had planned to review Fallout today but I haven't actually gotten around to watching the final episode yet. Instead, here is a trio of news stories plucked from my bloody news sack.
Monday 24 June 2024
Frogman (2023) - Found Footage Horror Film Review
I was in the mood for a found footage horror and I had heard a couple of good things about the amphibian themed Frogman. Directed and co-written by Anthony Cousins (Scare Package segment 'The Night He Came Back Again! Part IV - The Final Kill'). I thought it might be hard to make a film about a giant frog something that could be taken seriously, but kudos for that being the case here somehow.
Friday 21 June 2024
Listen Carefully (2024) - Horror Film Review
Listen Carefully was a film which sounded interested even before it revealed its bonkers side. Written, directed, and starring Ryan Barton-Grimley (Hawk and Rev: Vampire Hunters), this was a wild film that started off bizarre and managed to get more and more surreal as it went on. .
Mild mannered assistant bank manager Andy McNeary (Barton-Grimley) seems to be sleep walking through life, going through the motions both at his stressful job, as well as with his marriage with wife Allie (Simone Barton-Grimley). The couple have recently had a baby, and with Allie going on a girl's night out she reluctantly leaves Andy at home with the baby. Having recently brought an owl shaped baby monitor, he is told to keep it on him at all times so that he can hear if the baby needs anything. It isn't long after Allie has left that things go very wrong. Going to check on the baby, Andy is alarmed to see the bedroom window wide open and the baby gone, though he is still able to hear its cries on the baby monitor, the twin of which has vanished along with his child. Soon, a voice (Ari Schneider) on the monitor makes itself known to Andy, he tells the frantic man that if he wishes to see the baby again then he must use his position at the bank to gather a large sum of money and deliver it to an undisclosed location. The voice also reveals that it knows Andy has been siphoning money from his job using cloned cards, and that if Andy doesn't comply with the demands then not only will he never see his child again, but the police will be given evidence of Andy's crimes. This begins an extremely surreal night where the ordinary doesn't happen very often.
The film had a feel of a persistent nightmare where it is never clear exactly what is real and what is imagined. The tone is set straight away with a sequence that has Andy being pursued by figures dressed in black and wearing grotesque baby masks late at night in a deserted part of the city. This is swiftly revealed to be a nightmare the man is having, but the figure in black with the baby mask is a recurring vision Andy has, sometimes appearing in his nightmares whenever he falls asleep, and sometimes occurring as hallucinations that happen at the most inappropriate times. Whatever is happening, it is clear that the unreliable protagonist has issues that stem deeper than the terrible night the film takes place on.
Andy made for a bizarre lead, someone whose past crimes have made him used to lying, and who is able to operate in the stressful situation he finds himself in. He has manic episodes throughout the film, with him imagining himself to suddenly be in a different location, such as in a blood soaked kitchen, or surrounded by baby monitors, those made for some neatly edited sequences. The more fun character was the voice on the phone, I loved the sarcastic and jokey way he spoke with Andy, and his frequent frustration when Andy is spinning out and ignoring the voice's questions. It has to be said that having the villain speak out of a baby monitor that resembled an owl was always amusing to have on screen.
The first half of Listen Carefully is Andy's night time quest to gather the money the kidnapper is demanding. This is made all the more stressful due to road blocks such as characters suspicious of his actions, like the janitor at his work (Richard Gayler), a recurring cop character, and his increasingly drunk wife's constant phone calls. This was all a prelude for the madness to follow, with the second half of the film getting increasingly crazy as events escalate to ridiculous levels. I liked that the film never really finishes its story, there is false end after false end all the way to the end credits.
I love these types of films where there is a random road the viewer is led on. Andy and the small supporting cast all had their roles to play, combining to make a paranoid and desperate quest that might have left me confused, but was also a unique and weird baby monitor themed journey through the worst night of a man's life. Listen Carefully has its North American premiere at Dances With Films: LA on June 22nd.
SCORE:
Thursday 20 June 2024
The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 20th June 2024
Here is the second small news post of the week, with a few more stories taken from my inbox.
Firstly, Bayview Entertainment have acquired horror film The Clock, which comes from writer/director Rick Danfield. After Mike and Sara bring home a grandfather clock strange events begin occurring, with the couple realising there is something not right with their new clock.
Wednesday 19 June 2024
Nightsiren (2022) - Horror Film Review
Nightsiren is a Slovakian folk-horror that was co-written and directed by Tereza NvotovĆ”. It follows a chapter based progression that has key elements of the unfolding mystery revealed via flashbacks. On the surface this seemed like it was going to be a supernatural horror, though it can more keenly be seen as horror that stems from the superstitious beliefs of the inhabitants of a close-minded small rural town.
The plot I found interesting, with Sarlota and Mira standing out as great duel protagonists. The former had an interesting back story, with her being bald due to a history of trichotillomania, and having recently had a miscarriage that destroyed her relationship back in the city she came from. Love interest TomƔs (Marek Geisberg) felt a bit underused with not much personality to him, though secretly gay Helena (Juliana OlhovƔ) was an interesting if unlikeable character who was part of the catalyst for the townsfolk's increasingly dangerous behaviour.
Tuesday 18 June 2024
The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 18th June 2024
The first small news post for a while now. Having a look at my to-watch list there are quite a few films waiting, hopefully I will pull my finger out and get through those relatively swiftly. In a few weeks I am off to storm the beaches of Normandy with my father, so will be taking a week off my blog while I do that. Anyway, onwards to a trio of news stories.
Cryptids is a 2023 anthology horror film that is out now on Blu-ray from Scream Team Releasing. The film has Major Harlan Dean (Joe Bob Briggs), the host of a popular radio show where he discusses all things weird and spooky. The topic for the night the film takes place is cryptozoology, but Harlan finds that with each caller to the show more and more unsettling things begin to occur around him. It features segments written and directed by such people as Brett DeJager (Bone Jangles), Billy Pon (The Circus of the Dead), Max Groah (Bong of the Living Dead), Justin M, Seaman (The Barn), John William Holt, and Zane Hershberger with Robert Kuhn. Cryptids can be purchased here.
Monday 17 June 2024
Queen Rising (2023) - Thriller Film Review
Directed by Princeton James, with a story written by Allison Chaney and Henry E. Reaves III, Queen Rising is a thriller/drama featuring a predominantly black cast. Taking place across three different timelines of present day, ten years previously, and at some point in the 1990's, this told a mystery that was at times a bit obvious where it was going. That didn't alter the fact that I found this a fun watch that had an interesting lead.
Madison (April Hale - Witching Hour II) is a teacher whose friend and fellow teacher, Greg (Xamon Glasper) one day discovers that she was caught up in a past criminal event that came to be known nationwide as the 'College Town Slayings', with her having dated Ben, the man blamed for the killings. Sensing an opportunity for them both to make some money, Greg convinces Madison that she should tell her side of the story in a book, with him ghost writing it, and getting it published via a contact he has. She is hesitant to revisit the past, but with her beloved childhood home in danger of being foreclosed she decides to take him up on his offer, as the advance would help her to save her house.
Queen Rising mainly takes place ten years in the past when Madison was living in dorms at college. As she narrates the events of what happened back then to Greg in the present, this also serves as a narration for the slayings storyline, meaning the film can jump around in time without it feeling jarring. Madison uses the writing sessions as a form of therapy with her not only talking about her college days, but also talking about her tough childhood that had such lows as her father being murdered, her mother hooking up with an abusive boyfriend, and her mother's subsequent early death. College doesn't seem to go too much better with a series of dates with terrible guys. The lead up to the killing starting takes around half an hour of this eighty five minute film. Not having read a synopsis. I began to get a little nervous that this wouldn't turn out to be a thriller at all. This wasn't the case thankfully, and with Madison having known each of the victims, and with her dating the man who it would turn out was behind the killings, things began to get a lot more interesting. Wrinkles are added in to the tale when it is shown to the viewer that Greg isn't being completely honest with Madison, creating a mystery as to his true intentions.
Of course, if this had been real life and not movie life then there is no way that the story would have been able to happen the way it did. You have to assume the police in the film were totally incompetent when it came to studying crime scenes, but there you go. Madison made for a good protagonist, she was a strong willed woman who was shaped by both the good and bad of her childhood. The danger might take a while to make an appearance (outside of a prologue sequence taking place with Madison, her younger sister Brooke and their abusive stepfather), but when events do begin to escalate I found myself on board for the unfolding mystery. I liked the way Madison was narrating her life story in the present, it gave a logical flow to the story, while explaining why so many various flashbacks are used (sometimes a flashback even occurs within a flashback). The story is complimented by a perhaps stereotypical mysterious soundtrack, but the sound fitted the film well.
While Queen Rising may have had an obvious route as to where things would eventually end up, I feel this must have been on some level intentional. Regardless, I was still entertained watching how it got to that point. Obvious then, a little silly, but also enjoyable, and sometimes that's all that matters. Queen Rising comes to video on demand on Tuesday June 18th from Breaking Glass Pictures.
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Friday 14 June 2024
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024) - Post Apocalyptic Film Review
At the start of last year me and my father began working our way through the Mad Max series of Australian post-apocalyptic films, due to him having visited Broken Hill, the filming location for Mad Max 2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the first movie in the series to be a spin-off, not featuring the titular Max as the protagonist, but instead Furiosa, played here by Alyla Browne (Children of the Corn) and Anya Taylor-Joy (Morgan, The Witch: A New England Folktale), an important side character in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. The film works as an origin story for the character, showing how she came to be working for Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme - The Matrix Revolutions), and sets up her motivations for why she decided to betray him.
Fifteen years or so later and Furiosa (Taylor-Joy) has become an essential member of Joe's workforce, where she has bided her time waiting to get revenge on Dementus. Having made a poor job of running Gastown, Dementus has decided it is time for him to make a move against Immortan Joe and so a war between the two warlords begins.
Thursday 13 June 2024
Louvado Abismo (2024) by Louvado Abismo - Music Album Review
Louvado Abismo is the debut album of the Portuguese post-punk/heavy industrial group of the same name. The band's first album, fronted by ex-Sinistro member Patricia Andrade, brings together ten tracks over forty one minutes. As always, I'm not great at music reviews, I listened to this twice, once while at the gym, and once again while at home.
It begins with title track again called 'Louvado Abismo'. At around three minutes long this came across like a statement of intent for the album to follow. The music was heavy and the lyrics shouted and has a strong pace to it. Next track, 'Alma Incandescente' is where things begin to pick up, a repetitive yet great sounding tune, one of the best on the album in fact. This was a great one and felt like the start of the album proper. The lyrics may be in Portuguese but the aggression behind them can still be felt, even if I didn't know what they were singing. Many of the tracks throughout follow a similar format of seeming to be made up of the same bit of tune repeated as a repetitive beat, such as could be found with 'Corrida Lenta' and 'Espuma', while 'Bons Ventos' and 'Vazio' up the heaviness with a similar feel to them. Sometimes this style really made for a great sound, I loved seventh track 'Dois Sois' with its lovely drum beat and repeating guitar riff. Things finish with the more mellow and sinisterly peaceful instrumental 'Ausente' whose use of classical instruments provided a nice rustic feel to end with.
Louvado Abismo featured tracks which went together well. For me there were definite highlights to be found, but even when the music feels more like a jam session or dirgeful, the use of repetitive music created a neat atmosphere. Maybe not knowing the language took away from the meanings of some of these tracks, but overall this was a decent album that helped me work out just that little bit harder at the gym.
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Wednesday 12 June 2024
Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (2024) - Horror Video Game Review (Xbox Series X)
I really enjoyed 2017's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, it did something different that I had never seen in a video game before, while it was also extremely good looking. Playing as a schizophrenic protagonist who constantly heard voices and suffered hallucinations made you question a lot of what was happening during her apparent journey through Hellheim to rescue the soul of her dead lover. Gameplay wise it wasn't as stellar, with there not being too much to what you actually did during the adventure. I had heard that the sequel, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II was more of the same without really trying anything new. While this certainly was the case, the game was still fun, if not matching the novelty that the first game brought. Minor spoilers for the first game to follow.
In the early 9th century, some point after the events of Hellblade, Pict warrior Senua (Melina Juergens again reprising her role) now having sorted out her fractured mind has become driven to get revenge on the Northmen men who raided her village and killed and captured her people. Senua allows herself to be captured, hoping that once she arrives in Iceland she will be able to free her enslaved people and defeat the leader of the Northmen. Her plans are scuppered when a large storm sinks the slave ships, and Senua washes up on shore. She eventually finds and confronts slave master ThĆ³rgestr, keeping him alive so that he can lead her to his father's settlement in Borgarviki. She learns from the man that the reason for the capturing of her people was to offer them as sacrifices to appease giants roaming the area. This changes her plan, with Senua deciding to confront and defeat each of the giants, hoping that with this threat gone there will no longer be a need for the raids on her homeland.
Initially I was a bit concerned that the horror element of Hellblade would be lost. Whether in her mind or real, the events of the first game had her travelling through Hell, while this sequel is set in real world locations. Thankfully, again the line is blurred between what is real and what is in Senua's head. Many of the combat sections has her fighting demonic looking creatures with glowing red eyes, tellingly, every now and again when these parts are over the corpses of the monsters seemed to morph back into more human looking enemies. This also applied with the bosses, on occasion they transformed back into more realistic proportions. This change also occurs with locations visited, with legends and folklore around in large quantities, Senua's perception of the world is changed accordingly. This time around she is not alone, over the course of the six or seven hour game she builds up a crew of people, anti-hero ThĆ³rgestr, Fargrimr who recognises Senua's condition, believing her to be a sage, and a female leader of a local settlement who too wants the giants defeated. That the antagonist 'giants' appear to be instead natural disasters was a neat part, meaning that despite all the characters believing that their land is plagued by these creatures, it could just be their lack of understanding that has them believing this, rather than there actually being monsters existing in the world. That later part fed into the overall plot in a cool way.
Despite a larger world to explore, this is just as linear as the first game. Wide expansive areas are revealed to be much more smaller when you go to explore them, with even ankle high rocks and detritus preventing Senua from straying from the golden path. There are collectible stories to be found in the world, the best of these were rock formations with faces on them. By focussing on these faces hidden pathways would be revealed. There is no real change in gameplay with Senua spending much of the game walking and solving simple puzzles such as lining up symbols in the environment to open locked pathways. Combat hasn't so much been improved as altered. The fights are always one on one but are really dynamic. Each violent defeat of an enemy leads to a little cutscene of the next enemy entering the fray. Fighting was very simple, but I did love how it created the impression of being in a much larger battle than you actually were.
There were some tremendous levels here, the most powerful one being the first proper horror level. Senua tasks herself with heading to a village that had been ransacked by a cannibal tribe (that she identifies in her mind as draugar). The beating drums lead her ever onwards to the village centre, and the blending of visual and auditory signs was very impressive. Many times the music seems to meld perfectly with the visuals, such as during boss fights against the giants where she has to sprint from safe zone to safe zone. These scenes were a near perfect mix of sound and visual design creating an intensely unique feeling. If the game had all been like that this would have scored a lot higher. There may only be five or six of these parts in the game but they were the supreme highlight. I haven't mentioned it again, but the sound design for the voices in Senua's head is as sublime as before. The three main voices seemed to dance around, sometimes coming from one ear on my headphones, sometimes swimming around the back of my head and coming out the other, very impressive as was to be expected due to how well handled this was first time around.
Other parts didn't impress as much, in particular a lengthy part in the middle of the game where Senua has to head ever downwards through a cave system, solving simple puzzles involving scenery changing orbs as she does so. I reckon it took about an hour to do this part and it just seemed to go on forever. Being in a cave rather than outside meant there wasn't much variation to look at, with me dying for it to be over. I also thought the pacing of the story wasn't as good. Senua's easy to understand journey of revenge is superseded with the weird quest against the 'giants'. Add to this her unreliable view of the world and I was forever questioning what was real and what wasn't. I had gone so far down the rabbit hole that when it was actually revealed what was happening it wasn't as surprising as what I had been thinking.
There is no doubting that Hellblade II is a very impressive looking game. It didn't blow me away as much as others seemed to have been, but the game's locations looked sometimes photorealistic (if you were squinting), and Senua's character model and acting was fantastic. There were plenty of genuine highlights here, but there were also a fair share of more downbeat moments that outstayed their welcome. I did enjoy the game, but I would say I didn't enjoy it as much as the slightly superior first game. This may play better, but I enjoyed that first one more. Senua's Sage: Hellblade II is currently available to play on Xbox Game Pass.
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Tuesday 11 June 2024
The Thing Under Your Bed (2023) by Stephen Kozeniewski - Horror Novella Review
I have been in a very lazy mood taking the whole day to get one film watched for review. Luckily, I knew I was near the end of Stephen Kozeniewski's horror novella The Thing Under Your Bed, and so was at least able to finish reading that for a review. This one really brought to mind the short film Keith I had watched back in April, but where that one took a gentle comedic route, this one told a similar story, but one with a much darker outcome. The story may feature a child protagonist in a starring role, but this twisted tale doesn't allow this fact to reduce the horror inflicted.
The creature was a great antagonist, one that is given reason why it is unable to leave its hiding spot. The creature is given great description by not being described really at all. At one point it is stated that there is something about it that means even when you are looking straight at it you are not able to see it, your eyes naturally looking around it. The creature was nasty and duplicitous, constantly trying to trick the girl to leave the safety of her bed so that it could grab her with its many tentacles. There was some neat explanation for the creature and its origins which was really interesting. My only real complaint I guess would be the somewhat abrupt ending.
With it never entirely clear if what was happening was real or part of the girl's madness, I found The Thing Under Your Bed a great read, I loved how deliciously dark this got, while I really rooted for the young protagonist to come out on top. With a clear ramping up of horror from beginning to end, this single location story managed to surprise with the imagination on display.
Monday 10 June 2024
Everwinter Night (2023) - Comedy Horror Film Review
Everwinter Night is a comedy horror film that was directed and co-written by Adam Newman. It shows some promise with its interesting set-up, but a raft of unlikeable characters and a very slow build up to the horror breaking out meant this felt longer than it needed to be.
V (Victoria Mirrer) has arranged to meet up with her best friend Maddy (McKenna Parsons) for a weekend getaway at a remote cabin together. Things soon take a turn for the worse when it is revealed that Maddy's insufferably annoying friends Becca (Alana Phillips) and Fiona (Nicolette Sweeney) have tagged along for the trip, something that Maddy had neglected to tell her bestie. The plans are changed further when Becca and Fiona befriend two rich guys who invite them all to a special annual weekend retreat happening at a different remote cabin. Against V's better judgement she agrees to the change in plans, and they all travel to this new location. While V's friends all soon integrate themselves with the eccentric young rich men and begin a weekend of partying she finds herself unable to, only striking up a friendship with the barman. As the weekend progresses, V feels uneasy and starts to become convinced that they might not have the best intentions for her friends.
V is correct of course, but the movie sure takes a long time getting to the reveal of what is going on. As the viewer we are shown immediately that there will be a promise of horror to come, with a prologue that takes place at the same location some twenty five years earlier in which a lost couple appear to be abducted. It is then over an hour into the one hour forty minute film before anything approaching horror begins. I felt this was far too long a time to be hanging out with mostly irritating characters. V was fine as a protagonist character, and remains the only character to not be happy with the situation. Her friends were awful characters, Becca and Fiona were terrible people, coming across as stereotypical 'girl squad' types, but Maddy was perhaps even worse, showing very little respect for her apparent best friend. Not all the characters were terrible though, I thought that barman Jack (Jamie Dufault) was a welcome break from the otherwise eccentric cast, and I thought that Erik (Chris Goodwin) was pretty fantastic as the film's antagonist. The leader of the group of rich bros, Erik speaks with an old fashioned accent, also acting in an old fashioned way. I wouldn't say the humour worked in the film for the most part, but one line later on relating to the way he acts did make me laugh out loud.
The last forty five minutes of this really elevated the film in my opinion. Once the obvious reveal is eventually made known it felt like the movie could finally breath, with the monotonous permanent party over, things get far more entertaining. I loved the special effects in this later part, without going too much into spoilers, I liked how the lighting and editing was used so that something well designed could never be glimpsed properly. The build-up to this could have been quicker, and the threat could have been more pronounced. Due to the on-going party taking place over several chapters of peril-free story it was hard to feel much concern for the protagonists when there is not really any sense of danger until deep into the movie. The first lengthy halve had some real low points, especially with relation to Fiona, her little subplot was awful and added nothing really to what was going on. The movie did have some good moments, typically relating to scenes Erik appeared in.
The humour wasn't always the best, but some of the rich men group had amusing moments, such as one of the men (Topher Hansson) locked into a text argument with his girlfriend that he desperately tries to continue even when things are going very wrong towards the end of the movie. I will say that I thought the soundtrack was good, the low-fi mellow music was a perfect fit for the first half, while the change to horror also introduced a decent accompanying soundtrack to those later moments.
Everwinter Night did have glimpses of greatness, especially within its third act. There needed to be more of a sense of peril in the first two acts though, it felt like the story was trapped treading water until the eventual reveal of what was happening. Following a bunch of annoying characters didn't make for the most engaging movie, but I'm glad there were at least a couple of good ones, such as Erik, whose out of time presence added a lot. Everwinter Night can currently be viewed on Tubi.
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