2012 Viewing Journal #11

"The Woman in Black"

After a strong two thirds, this Hammer Studios film flails (and fails) badly, falling victim to serious third act contrivances which work to end the film, but to end it poorly. I'm not talking about (only) the final minutes, which were fine, but rather the plot mechanisms that led up to the resolution.

Overall, though, a strong, spooky, Gothic film that I'd probably recommend.

"The Human Centipede 2"

Strange reaction to this one. First off, I kinda loved it. It's a professionally produced, well acted, ridiculously funny and audacious piece of filmmaking. It's ludicrous in concept, explicit in execution and 'fuck you' in message. Filmmaker Tom Six boldly stated that he was going to go nuts-out on this sequel and stick it to the first movie haters who cried foul at some of the off screen violence. He certainly did.

Secondly, after watching an interview with Tom Six on the Blu-ray, I realized what an idiot the guy is. Whatever satirical or thematic credit I gave to him was washed away when hearing him speak. He's simply one of those guys you see at horror movie conventions producing nun-rape/shot-on-video movies for shock's sake. He just has financial backers.

Still. Pretty fun stuff. But, please, read up on it before you go taking my recommendation. It's very sick stuff.

2012 Viewing Journal #10

"Yellowbrickroad"

One of my FB Friends posted a status update regarding this 'divisive' Slamdance entry, which has apparently been a hot topic of some kind in the indie horror movie circuit. As a card carrying member of that circuit, I was deeply embarrassed to have never even heard of it. My kneejerk was hate it based on the title alone, but I love and trust Mattsuzaka, so I knew it had to have some worth.

'Yellowbrickroad' concerns a small group of book researchers traveling a forest trail with a deep, dark past. They want to know what happened to the last group that mysteriously made this pilgrimage - an entire town that subsequently disappeared.

While I suspected a 'found footage' film, especially based on the fact that a video camera plays a rather large role, this is fortunately a straight narrative. And a beautifully executed one at that. The budget was clearly low, and with a few exceptions, the setting is... the woods. Brilliant for a low budget feature. There's also only five or six principal roles, all of which are more or less well developed. The strength of this film, though, is clearly the tone. And it is goddamn creepy.

The central mystery is evocatively realized, with a supporting soundtrack that is chilling. There are also a few moments of genuine dread that slow boil to a point of almost 'pause-to-recover'-worthy. Great stuff here. Highly recommended.

2012 Viewing Journal #9

"Safe House"

Denzel's performance saves this flick from being horribly awful, but even so, it's still pretty awful. Dependent on a series of ridiculously contrived moments in order to forward the narrative, 'Safe House' ends up being just a sad exercise in poor storytelling. And if that isn't bad enough, Ryan Reynolds breaks down in tears so often, he challenges Tobey Maguire in 'Spider-Man 3' as the biggest cry baby protagonist in recent memory.

2012 Viewing Journal #8

"Chronicle"

'Chronicle' has much going for it, enough to warrant a strong recommendation for me. The performances work, the story is clever, the effects are fabulous and the narrative arc is terrific. The narrative structure, however, is a clear mess. And it nearly sinks the movie.

As a 'found footage' film, it simply breaks under the rules of the genre. The filmmakers paint themselves into corners at several points, and even venture into pure stupidity to sneak a first person camera perspective into scenes. The rest of the pros ultimately unseat this one con, and 'Chronicle' ends up being a pretty cool little movie. I only hope the eventual sequel either drops the 'found footage' conceit or figures out how to strengthen the logic of their choices.