Notable Cast: Ha Kwong-Li, Dorian Tan Tao-Liang, Wang Hsieh,
Tsai Hung, Peng Kang, Sun Jung-Chi, Shih Ting-Ken, Chin Lung
Also known as: The Invincible Kung Fu Legs
The last few years has seen a significant uptick in the
amount and quality of proper releases for martial arts films from the golden
age of the genre. For fans, like myself, it’s about time. Living in the realms
of bootlegs and poor-quality editions, getting restored home video releases of
so many overlooked classics is a miracle. When it was announced that the fan
favorite The Leg Fighters was getting a coveted Blu Ray release through a
new label, Pearl River, I was shocked. Most of the proper HK and martial arts
releases were from the major two studios, Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest, and
the others have been buried to questionable DVDs and dubbed/VHS rips on the Wu
Tang Collection via YouTube. In fact, prior to this release, I had only seen a
dubbed low-quality version of this film. Needless to say, the fact that this
film even exists in this format for the US means its worth buying for all fans
of the genre.
Notable Cast: David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny
Agutter, John Woodvine, Brian Glover
Writing about An American Werewolf in London is a
daunting task. There are a slew of other writers and film critics who have
analyzed the film from beginning to end for its cultural relevance, the strength of
execution, and its ability to weave genres and, truthfully, most of them are
smarter than I am. Nonetheless, I was tasked with the insurmountable task of
reviewing the new Arrow Video Blu Ray release of the film and, thus, it’s time
to wear my shoes and hike this mountain. To say that An American Werewolf in
London is an American cinematic classic is a bit of an understatement. It’s
a film that has lasted the test of time with its strange and off-kilter blend
of horror and humor, but it might be most remembered for how it helped to
modernize the werewolf genre along with the other big werewolf film in 1981 – The
Howling.
It was only a few years ago I wrote a piece at Blood
Brothers about the relevancy of the Ring franchise for horror. At the
time there was two new films due for release, the wildly entertaining Sadako
vs Kayoko and the less-said-the-better American sequel, Rings.
Now, it’s time to take a look at the franchise once again, not just because we
are going another new film – Sadako, which sees the return of
Hideo Nakata to the director’s chair, but because Arrow Video has done everyone
a huge favor. They just released a phenomenal box set with new HD restorations
of the first four Japanese and any fans of the films, cinema collectors, or
even newbies will want to pick up this set and dig into its gold mine of
contents.
It should be noted that the American release of this set is
the same one as the UK one from last year, although the titles have been slightly
changed to reflect the silly US titling which is Ringu and not Ring. I
will continue to use the term Ring through this piece because, quite
frankly, the name Ringu is stupid. Fortunately, my opinion on that seems
to be backed fairly heavily on the special features of this set so at least
there’s that.
Notable Cast: Debbie Thureson, Steve Bond, Lori Lethin,
Robert Wald, Gayle Gannes, Phillip Wenckus, Jackson Bostwick, Jackie Coogan
There isn’t a lot that one can expect from the slasher
genre if we are being truly honest with ourselves. If a film has depth, a
unique character perspective, or style, it’s already sliding into the upper
echelon of what is to be expected. When broken down, there is only one real
thing that I want to see from a slasher – entertainment. The formula isn’t
rocket science, but the film, good or bad, just needs to be entertaining to
some degree. Of course, that’s exactly what The Prey lacks. Normally, if
Arrow Video is going to go to the effort and deliver a release like this filled
with a new restoration, tons of special features, and a great package – you
assume the film is probably some sort of lost gem. The Prey is not one.
Doctor Sleep has all the ingredients to be either an
unmitigated disaster or an unambiguous victory. Positioning itself as a follow-up
to both the book and filmic versions of The Shining while having to tell
its own, largely unrelated story. That’s a lot of juggling for any film, but
add to the metaphor that two of those flying balls are hand grenades, and I
mean that in the sense that director Mike Flanagan has to show proper reverence
to two masters.
The Shining, as a book, is on the shortlist of
absolute Stephen King masterpieces and is unambiguously supernatural in its
telling. There is no question that the ghosts that Jack Torrence sees are
literal, and the whole thing, although thematically and metaphorically about
addiction, is real and is really happening. The Shining, as a film, is
on the shortlist of greatest films ever made period, directed by a man who
never produced a single dud and is nothing but ambiguous about everything in
its telling. Focused almost exclusively with Jack Nicholson’s far less hinged
and sympathetic take on Torrence, this movie is an exploration of abuse,
isolation and madness, while maintaining the theme of addiction. Suffice it to
say, King famously loathes the adaptation, which is the final wrinkle in what
makes the concept of a Doctor Sleep movie so wild.
Notable Cast: Miles Robbins, Patrick Schwarzenegger,
Sasha Lane, Chukwudi Iwuji, Mary Stuart Masterson
At this point, while the term ‘elevated horror’ is making
the rounds, I feel like we should address the latest trend of ‘neon horror.’
Can we make that a thing? The Neon Demon, Mandy, Bliss,
and a dozen other films have all come out in the last few years that utilize
throwback aesthetics like heavy synth scores, saturated neon lighting, and
throwback visuals. Well, regardless if anyone else is going to use the term, I
am. More or less because this is exactly where Daniel Isn’t Real falls
into. Surrealistic horror with an old school approach to the visuals, but a
modern approach to the narrative. While I adore all of the films mentioned
above (that’s also just horror – let’s not even get started on the neon
elements of John Wick and how that has affected action cinema) Daniel
Isn’t Real handily belongs to that group. It’s a manic ride through the
urban setting of its youth culture, slyly integrating social and moral
commentaries into a film that increasingly feels more Clive Barker-esque as it
unravels. It’s enigmatic, engaging, and most fittingly – entertaining. Not only
will this end up being one of the best horror films of the year, it could very
well find itself on the best films of the year list.
The problematic part about reviewing a film like Daniel
Isn’t Real is that the film leans so heavily on the experiential portion of
connecting with its audience that, to truly talk about why this film works, it would
spoil so much of its plotting and character beats. It’s a fuckin’ great problem
to have. The start of the film features the protagonist, Luke (played later by
a character-defining performance from Miles Robbins,) as a kid who is revealed
to be from a rather volatile home life. When he sees the aftermath of a vicious
mass shooting on the street, his imaginary friend Daniel first appears.
Although Daniel allows him to cope with his situation and give him a friend to
talk to, Daniel eventually starts to push Luke in some problematic ways and
with that, and the help of his mother, he locks Daniel away. Fast forward to
Luke as a college student where his life is perpetually disappointing and, in
an attempt to free his imagination and work on his own mental state, he unleashes
Daniel once again.
A large part of Daniel Isn’t Real feels like it’s meant
to be the Fight Club for the next generation. Many of the same concepts
remain including the use of an imaginary friend of extreme toxic masculinity,
an undercurrent subtext about mental instability, and a fantasy-like sense of
style. It just handles those themes and weighty ideas in a different manner. Daniel
Isn’t Real isn’t much for replicating the films its pulling influence from,
but it certainly takes some of the better qualities and mixes them together with
its own sense of identity. The concoction is intoxicating.
Director Adam Egypt Mortimer comes out all guns blazing on
this sophomore effort too. As mentioned previously, there is a visual style to
the film that encompasses both modern and throwback values. The use of synth
scores, the neon caked lighting, and the growing existential surrealism of Luke’s
descent and rise against his imaginary friend give the film immense amounts of
tone and atmosphere. With the stellar performances, including a career-defining
high for both Miles Robbins and a truly fascinating turn for Patrick
Schwarzenegger, the film rarely has a weak spot to think of and even the
romantic subplot, given some very palpable energy by the chemistry between
Robbins and Sasha Lane, is well integrated into the main conflict of the story.
To go much further would undermine the experience of
watching Daniel Isn’t Real and although there are a few reveals in the
second half that felt like they needed a bit more exploration at times, the well-executed
and intriguing film that is delivered remains one of the best this year. It’s
unnerving, it approaches the anxieties of modern youth in a fascinating way,
and the execution is top-notch. Daniel might not be real, but the quality of
this film is.
Notable Cast: Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen, Hanna Mangan
Lawrence, Benedict Samuel
As cinema continues to become more expensive for patrons to
go to the theaters, the general clamor for bigger and more spectacular
entertainment only becomes stronger. There are certainly counterpoints to this
movement, but the percentage of films of a more intimate or smaller scale are
quicker and quicker to be bumped from a wide release and onto streaming
platforms. This is a trend that certainly ignites quite a few debates, but it’s
a trend that is only becoming more prevalent as time passes. On the other hand,
there’s a slew of great smaller and more intimate films that are still being
made to help level out the playing field. Although I was fortunate enough to
have the chance to see Sweetheart on the big screen via the Telluride
Horror Show, this is a film that Blumhouse understandably sent to the smaller
screen. It’s a fantastic film for what it is, but it doesn’t necessarily match
the buzz and bluster that theatrical going audiences would want to visit in a
wide theatrical release.
Notable cast: Elizabeth Lail, Jordan Calloway, Talitha Eliana
Bateman, PJ Byrne
Horror is an interesting genre to be a specific fan of. It
tends to have the least studio oversight owing to lower overall budgets. This
has been used to phenomenal effect over the years telling bigger, more
insightful stories than you’d assume its plot allows. Hereditary and
it’s exploration of family dynamics and legacy, Babadook and it’s
exploration of mental health, The Shining and whatever interpretation
is popular at the time. On the
other hand, this can go the other way as
well. With low budgets and low expectations come the people who see horror as
low hanging fruit. A quick buck to be made, since they only have to be
interesting enough to get comparatively few butts in seats to be profitable,
and even if they’re not, they can license the movie out to several streaming
services. The bottom line is they will make money, by and large, so they can be
low effort.
I’m not trying to brush this lower effort class of film with
a broad, universally terrible brush, because that wouldn’t be strictly fair.
There are flashes of real ideas in these sometimes. I’m not saying Countdown
is one of these better than it should be movies, quite the opposite actually,
but I am trying to highlight that I believe there was potential, and perhaps
potential in the future, because the idea here is actually pretty cool. In
theory.
