M3GAN (2022) - Horror Film Review

If the screener link received for a review doesn't work, then as a rule of thumb I will instead watch a film of my own choosing. Such was the case last Sunday, so I picked out M3GAN, a film I had been interested in seeing and which had recently been added to Netflix. The Child's Play series is a classic, killer dolls really can be creepy, that was the reason I found the Annabelle series of killer dolls so disappointing due to the possessed doll causing evil to occur around it, rather than it physically moving around and causing mischief. With this Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) directed and James Wan co-written horror, I had heard it wasn't as bad a film as had been expected.

When she is involved in a tragic traffic accident that results in the death of her parents, young Cady (Violet McGraw - Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House TV series) goes to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams - Get Out). Gemma is a workaholic who is obsessed with her job at a toy company, and sees having to look after her niece as a burden she didn't want. Her interactions with the girl end up inspiring her to go ahead with her pet project - to make a life-like robotic childlike doll that is able to bond with its owner and use A.I learning to grow. Naming it M3GAN (played by Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis), she gifts it to Cady and is impressed with how the girl takes to it. Unfortunately for all involved, she didn't programme in all the necessary protocols, and soon M3GAN starts to resort to extreme violence, to punish anyone who causes Cady to be upset.

I enjoyed this horror and thought the doll design was very creepy. It helps that I have a very mild fear of puppets anyway. The design purposely heads out into uncanny valley territory, leading to lots of fun moments where people initially mistake the doll for a real child. As much as I did love the design, the story did noticeably play it safe, going through the motions of escalation that were predictable to chart. Starting off with the neighbour's aggressive dog, M3GAN's path of mayhem ramps up on a traditional route, earlier victims being people who in a horror film sense could be seen to deserve the punishment they are given, before later victims are punished excessively. There were no real surprises to be found, from the expected ending shot allowing the possibility of a sequel, to information presented to the viewer early on, and that just so happens to be integral to stopping the killer doll in the climax.
The scenes with the doll being evil were fun to watch, but it was a shame that a lot of the kills were either toned down in violence or cut out completely to allow M3GAN to have a lower age rating. I thought it's ability to mimic voices was a decent idea however, it was effectively used as it set itself apart and made for some scenes that didn't feel as familiar as the general movement path of the story.

The film carries with it a bit of a quasi-dystopian vibe, especially with the toy companies ridiculous adverts. There is more than the feel of a Black Mirror episode with this one, but this does set itself apart from the original Child's Play movies, as technology is the root evil here. Gemma is a flawed protagonist, and could easily be seen as the inadvertent antagonist of the movie also, not only creating the doll and not programming it properly, but also relieved that it is acting as a surrogate mother to Cady, allowing her to pretty much ignore the child and allow it to be shaped by the doll. The message is about how the increasing reliance on technology might not be such a good thing for humans, especially in a world where a killer doll with access to all the information of the internet is able to have free reign. Special effects were great, especially with that doll, I liked the design, and its later 'battle damaged' look also appealed, even if it didn't go as far down that path as I had hoped. Characters were mostly fine, no one really stood out to me, I thought Ronny Chieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) was probably the highlight, bringing comedy to his role as the toy company boss.

I did like M3GAN, I thought it was effective as a new movie monster, and it had some nice ideas. The story in general did play out a little too safely, an obvious ramping up of threat, and an unsurprising ending occasionally caused me to realise that as much as I enjoyed this, it wasn't entirely something I hadn't seen before. M3GAN is currently streaming on Netflix.

SCORE:

Coming Home in the Dark (2021) - Thriller Film Review

Much like the pure coincidence that occurs within the movie, Coming Home in the Dark is randomly the second film I've watched for review this week that was made in New Zealand, after Loop Track. I hated the story here, and I hated the characters, but this was well made, so despite my misgivings I can't say this bleak thriller was without any merit to it.

Jill (Miriama McDowell) and Hoaggie (Erik Thomson - Xena: Warrior Princess TV show) and their two teenage boys have gone on a day out to enjoy a picnic in the remote New Zealand countryside. Unfortunately, they are spotted by two wandering vagrant psychopaths - tall and silent Tubs (Matthias Luafutu - Ghost in the Shell) and the talkative and sadistic Mandrake (Daniel Gillies - The Vampire Diaries TV show). The family are robbed at gunpoint and then to Jill and Hoaggie's horror their two teenage boys are mercilessly gunned down in front of them and the couple taken hostage. This begins a road trip of terror for the two, with it discovered by complete chance that Hoaggie has a link to the men's past at a troubled boys orphanage.

This was a heck of a bleak movie with nothing nice happening at all past around the ten minute stage. It's a statement of intent that the most innocent characters are killed first, and made for a shocking ending to the first act. Directed by James Ashcroft, this was based on a short story of the same name written by Owen Marshall, and if this was faithful to the source material then it isn't something I would want to read. My problem with the film was how miserable it was from start to finish. I really did think the story was unpleasant and unhappy, I don't know if story beats were designed to create at least some pity for the sadistic antagonists, but I hated them and wished them ill. The same goes for the protagonists, I thought Jill was perfectly fine, but Hoaggie was someone with demons from his past, so he was hard to like. It wasn't so much due to his links to a cruelly run boys home, more that he seemed a bit of a coward. Sure it is easy to be sat at home and declare you would have acted differently in that situation, but I found his meekness (for the most part) to be annoying. Mandrake was certainly the most awful of the characters here, Tubs taking more of a back seat role due to barely having any lines of dialogue and acting as almost a slave of Mandrake, doing everything that is asked of him in a way reminiscent of Of Mice and Men.

Annoyingly the film was well made, I might not have liked it but it was paced well and had some unexpected moments to it. There was a constant feel of threat and peril for the protagonists, and while there were scenes of action the special effects were sparse, with violent actions implied rather than typically shown on screen. At times it being an adaptation of a short story felt apparent, with the ninety minute run time feeling its length. More than once I found myself looking to see how much time was left, not something that happens with a movie I am completely engaged with.
The meat of the story is more of a drama, with the slow revelations of what took place back in the orphanage that Hoaggie used to work at. I just didn't care about that story though, I felt zero pity for the antagonists, and I couldn't care less that the man used to work there. I was more wishing the antagonists harm, hoping that they would get their just desserts.

I didn't enjoy watching this film, nor did I find the story to be something that appealed to me. I didn't like the characters but I did think some of the acting was good. As much as I hated him, I thought Gillies made for a great antagonist character, and the scenes of violence involving him always came across as dramatic and almost cool looking. As I said though, Coming Home in the Dark wasn't really for me, if you do decide to check it out then make sure you're mind is in a good place beforehand!

SCORE:

Loop Track (2023) - Horror Film Review

From the title alone I came to the very incorrect assumption that this New Zealand based horror was going to be based around someone stuck in some sort of time loop. Instead, Loop Track (directed, written and starring Thomas Sainsbury) was harder to quantify. For much of the ninety five minute run time it has the feeling and atmosphere of a horror, yet there isn't really anything on screen to back up that feeling, something that is reflected with the troubled protagonist who is convinced of a hidden danger lurking in the trees.

Ian (Sainsbury) is an anxious and cowardly man who has headed to Evers National Park in New Zealand in order to get away from people, hoping the solitude will allow him to collect his thoughts. He has chosen a loop track - a large days long hiking route that circles round in a loop through a large wood. His desire to be alone is soon scuppered with the arrival of Nicky (Hayden J. Weal - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey uncredited), an overly confident and social man who refuses to let Ian do the long hike on his own. The two soon encounter two more hikers; newly-wed couple Austin (Tawanda Manyimo - The Meg, Ghost in the Shell) and Monica (Kate Simmonds, no relation as far as I'm aware!), and they all decide (against Ian's better judgement) to travel the loop together. As the hike goes on, Ian becomes more and more convinced that the group are being followed, but his mental state also seems to be increasingly unravelling, with his paranoia and wild imagination leading the others to fear for his sanity.

Outside of Ian believing the group is being stalked there isn't much horror here for much of the run time. You could say this was a bit of a slow burn, with much of the movie just being the hike, interspersed with the group resting in cabins along the route in the evening. There is a definite comedic vibe to parts of this, with it darkly comedic that Ian wants nothing more than to be alone, yet his social awkwardness and paranoia leads to him having to travel with the three strangers. The character of Nicky was almost a comedy character, with his constant wild boasts leading to many funny moments such as him drinking river water and insisting he has an 'iron stomach'. 

The element of a thriller comes from the four hikers not really knowing each other. Ian's erratic behaviour certainly ran alarm bells, and it is never really established just why he is off hiking so obviously unprepared. There are some red herrings along the way that hint other members of the group could have nefarious motives, though these are often swiftly sorted out. Ian wasn't really a likeable character, but then nor where the others. 

It did begin to feel like the protagonist might make for a film that follows an unreliable narrator. The viewer is shown what Ian sees, yet it is never really clear if there is anything actually there in the long lingering shots of long pathways. It also felt strange that despite his insistence of being followed none of the other characters see or hear anything that he does. The slow burn does reach a breaking point, and while I cannot go into details for risk of spoilers, the final twenty minutes break out into thrilling action with a reveal that I hadn't been expecting, this includes some fun special effects and other such things. The whole way the film has a really nice look to it, the hiking trail is beautiful, and the feeling of isolation is well realised. Part of me did wish that there had been more given to Ian's backstory, it is never made entirely clear what is up with the character.

Loop Track was a different type of film to what I had expected, but I enjoyed the hike and especially love how the story all turned out. The characters might not have been the most likeable, but there was something amusing about Ian and his struggles to get some solitude that made for a film that captivated my attention all the way to the end credits. Loop Track came to ARROW and limited edition Blu-ray on 8th July.

SCORE:

Evil Dead Rise (2023) - Horror Film Review

I had planned to watch something different for review, but seeing the Lee Cronin written and directed Evil Dead Rise was now on Netflix, I felt it increasingly calling to me. I love the Evil Dead series of films and TV shows, and had heard this latest one was a good-un. I liked the new serious tone the series went in with 2013's reimagining of Evil Dead, and this quasi-sequel seemed it was following a similar path. A big issue I had with the previous film was that it billed itself as being super scary, yet it wasn't, mistaking lots of bodily trauma as a stand-in for legitimate horror. I had heard Evil Dead Rise was meant to be genuinely scary, so I left watching it until the dead of night. Sadly, this isn't a scary film, it was however quite good.

After experiencing an earthquake, siblings Danny (Morgan Davies - One Piece TV show), Kassie (Nell Fisher), and Bridget (Gabrielle Echols) discover a hole has opened up in the ground of the parking garage at their apartment building. They discover an old bank vault is hidden below, with Danny deciding to explore the place. It is there that he discovers some old records, as well as a very creepy looking book. With their family facing eviction from the apartment building, Danny takes the book, figuring he may be able to sell it to help his mother, Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland - The Mist TV show), with finding a new place to live. He also takes the records due to being into DJing as a hobby. Instead of music however, he hears a strange recording from a priest from the 1920's, who talks of having discovered a cursed book, and who planned to study it. The recording, unfortunately for all involved, includes a recitation of a particular spell, which summons a demonic force that swiftly possesses Ellie. It isn't long before the newly turned deadite is on a path of mayhem, with Ellie's estranged sister, Beth (Lily Sullivan) the only person able to protect Ellie's children from sharing a similar fate to their mother.

I knew that this movie took place within an apartment block in the middle of a city, but I didn't know how events would transpire to have that as the setting. Thankfully, early on it is established how this is possible, with the cool reveal that there are actually three different books of the dead, one for the original trilogy and TV show, one for the 2013 remake, and one for this new entry. That explains away a lot of the differences to be found here. Due to that fact, while this is the fifth Evil Dead film, it works perfectly fine as a standalone movie, with no knowledge of any of the other films needed to enjoy this. I had expected it would tie in to the remake, but this seemed completely separate from that one. Bizarrely, the change in location still works, with the residents of the particular floor Ellie and her family live on stranded due to the stairway collapsing and the demonically affected elevator being out of action, while no one is able to contact the outside world with their phones or internet.

On a side note, this was coincidentally the second horror film I watched in a row that took place in an earthquake affected apartment building in Los Angeles, after the so bad it's good horror The Blackout. It may be a new stand alone film, but there are lots of fun nods back to the previous films, Beth gives one of Ash Williams iconic one liners at one point, while the shotgun and chainsaw both make appearances.

Much like the 2013 remake, this again seems to have confused horrific violence with being frightening, but with the special effects looking so darn good here that wasn't too much of an issue for me. You get eased in with a scalping and an earring being ripped out of an ear, with later violence being increasingly nasty. A highlight for wincing was a cheese grater to the leg, elsewhere a character's arms are ripped off among other horrors, culminating in a blood drenched finale that may possibly be the most bloody sequence I have seen in a horror.
Much of the film has the characters trying to defend themselves against the possessed Ellie, someone who was the pure highlight for special effects. Her perpetually grinning deadite was very impressive looking, and it was neat that she is eventually joined with other deadites. It culminates in a sequence that felt weirdly familiar to a memorable boss fight from the video game The Evil Within, the creature design even strongly resembled that, while the location used was identical.

I was disappointed that this wasn't a scary horror, but I am getting to the stage now where I am starting to think the problem is with me possibly being severely desensitised to horror films. Despite a lack of fear, I thought this was a solid and nasty horror film, one that doesn't shy away from allowing absolutely any character to become a victim. With great makeup and special effects, this looked fantastic, roll on the next one! Evil Dead Rise can currently be streamed on Netflix.

SCORE:

The Red Book Ritual (2022) - Horror Film Review

Any regular reader of The Rotting Zombie will know that I love anthology movies, and so it was with some delight that I discovered the Ariel Luque (The Building, Ellose) directed The Red Book Ritual was one of these. In addition to the wraparound segment there are five other short films included in this nearly ninety minutes film, the theme revolves around witches and demonic forces.

Three young friends have gathered together one night to play 'The Red Book' game. This urban legend states you are able to commune with the dead by following certain rules. Not expecting it to actually work, the friends are scared to discover something bad is starting to happening. They realise that the only way to get out of their predicament is to follow the book's rules that they need to read the stories from within the book they are directed to. 

The first proper short is the 2018 short film Stray that was directed by Dean W. Law. It takes place at a remote homestead in which an American soldier (David Breen - Post Mortem Mary) has recently returned from fighting in World War II. He is shocked to discover his wife, Bonnie (Melinda Joan Reed) acting very bizarrely, she is filthy, not speaking, and refusing to wear clothes, seemingly reverted to an animalistic persona. This all may be linked to a strange cat that follows her around. There was barely any dialogue here, while the remote location made the soldier feel very isolated. I particularly liked how this ended. This one was only really let down by some slightly subpar CG smoke effects used on a couple of occasions.

Lake Bodom (2016) - Horror Film Review

Lake Bodom is a location that has appeared in many different horrors over the years. The place is infamous due to the brutal murder of three campers in the 1960's. There were many different theories as to who the killer was, but no one was ever charged. Confusingly, in Finland this was released under the title Bodom, which also happens to be the name of a Hungarian found footage horror from 2014 that has a very similar story (my review of that one can be found here). I have started watching horrors from Shudder on Sundays, this was my second pick after skipping the Sunday previously.

In 2016 four teenage friends head to Lake Bodom with various motivations for doing so. Nora (Mimosa Willamo) and Ida (Nelly Hirst-Gee) have been tricked into thinking there is going to be a cabin party there. In reality, Atte (Santeri Helinheimo Mantyla) has told them that so they would agree to go to the isolated lake with him and his best friend, Elias (Mikael Gabriel). Atte is obsessed with the 1960's murders that took place there and hopes he can get the girls to help him recreate the police crime scene photos, while Elias is hoping he can get lucky with one of them. However, nothing works out for any of the four teens, as their camping trip is rudely interrupted by a killer...

I had heard many good things about Lake Bodom over the years but had never gotten around to watching it. I did enjoy my time with it but it requires a huge suspension of disbelief. It isn't too long into the movie before the friends are camped out at the lake and so the horror begins relatively quickly. There are many curve balls thrown by this pretty generic beginning, and while I was surprised with where this went I didn't think it worked that well. Maybe one twist would have worked out well but we don't get that here, off the top of my head I think over the course of the movie there are six big twists. These twists all alter the perception of events and characters, but it almost (but not quite) becomes farcical with how much is changing constantly. If this had all fallen away to reveal a The Cabin in the Woods style resolution I don't think I would have been surprised.

Deathgasm (2015) - Comedy Horror Film Review

And here I thought I was all done with watching films for the Fright Meter Awards, it turns out there are around seven or eight films that have made it to the nomination stage that I haven't actually seen yet, and with it being the months end as the cut off point for putting in my vote I have time to try and see them. Deathgasm is a New Zealand film that revolves around heavy metal.

Milo Cawthorne stars as Brodie; a metal obsessed teen who winds up in a sleepy New Zealand town living with his God obsessed Uncle and Auntie and their bully son David after family troubles. He soon becomes friends with the school losers Dion and Giles, and a local rebel named Zakk (James Blake) as well as catching the eye of attractive Medina (Kimberley Crossman) who just so happens to be David's girlfriend. Zakk and Brodie manage to end up with a bizarre music manuscript which they decide to use as a song for their metal band Deathgasm. After a day from hell and discovering the music is alleged to be able to grant magical powers from Satan Brodie plays the song and unwittingly brings demonic apocalypse to the town. Now he and his friends have till 3am to find a way to stop a powerful demon from being summoned to Earth to destroy humanity...

Boogeyman (2005) and Wind Chill (2007) - Horror Film Reviews

My life is the nightmare at the moment, so it has been good feeling more up to watching films, than doing real life stuff. I saw two horror films today, one good, and one not so good.

Boogeyman is a film about a man who has had mental issues his whole life due to the apparent kidnapping of his father by a closet 'boogeyman' he saw when he was 8 years old. Upon learning of his crazy mothers death, the man returns to his hometown, and to the house where he witnessed his fathers' capture. That's about it for plot, needless to say, it turns out the Boogeyman is very real, and not his eight years old self's explanation for why his father left. One by one his friends and family get picked off by the Boogeyman until with a young girl's (Franny) help he realises he must confront his fears if he is to stop the monster.

The film was ok, not fantastic, though at times does demonstrate a messed up kind of reality. The Boogeyman itself is all CGI it appears, and looks really generic and boring. There is no violence or gore, all the people who are taken by the Boogeyman are just never seen again.

So I wouldn't really recommend buying Boogeyman, though it has made me interested to see what the original was like (this is a re-make of a 70/80's horror).

SCORE:

Wind Chill on the other hand was quite good. The film has hardly any characters in it, mainly focusing on a college boy and college girl.

A girl catches a lift home for the Christmas holidays off a fellow student, but one who she doesn't know. As they travel the boy acts oddly, and gets the girl thinking that perhaps he has ulterior motives for giving the her a ride. This seems to be the case when the boy decides to take a side road off the main highway and heads into a snowy, remote road leading through woods. Before she can confront him though a hit and run driver causes them to crash. With the car completely dead the couple have no choice but to spend the night in the freezing car as a blizzard rolls around them. Strange apparitions soon make them both realise there is more to fear than each other.

The two main characters are excellently cast, the boy is a strange stalkerish geek, with the girl being a head strong but slightly bitchy character. The film starts off as a thriller, and is at its strongest as such. After this it turns into more of a ghost story, but still entertaining. The characters are both likable enough that you do want them to survive the events they find themselves in.

Despite nearly the entirety of Wind Chill being set in the broken down car it never gets boring, it reminded me of a New Zealand zombie short I saw last year, the confined space of the car amps the tension. Recommended, original, though similar atmosphere in it to the good 'Dead End'.

SCORE: