Paranormal Activity 4

Suburban teen Alex and her little brother Wyatt live in Henderson, Nevada with their mom and dad. One night, Alex and her boyfriend discover a young neighbor boy Robbie hiding in the tree house of their backyard. When Robbie’s mother falls ill, the family takes him in. Then creepy things start happening. For those who still care, Paranormal Activity 4 picks up several years after the events of PA2. (PA3 was a prequel to both the first and second films).

Story fatigue had already crept into this series well before this installment. Once again we are presented with lots of found footage from computer webcams. Shots of seemingly empty rooms, doors that close by themselves and loud bursts of noise following a period of silence. A couple jolted me awake. The script’s contribution this time is to introduce the camera from a Microsoft Kinect video game console with the infrared tracking dots bathing the room in an eerie green light. The outline of an unexplained figure is about as scary as this gets. The human star is Alex, a teen girl played by Kathryn Newton. She is an appealing presence and conveys the natural vibe of a real teen. The same goes for actor Matt Shively who plays her boyfriend Ben. They are understandably freaked out by the strange goings on while the rest of the family inexplicably dismiss flying knives and possessed children as nothing, natch. The Featherston sisters, Katie & Kristi, have historically been the focus of the supernatural activity in this franchise. Kristi appears only in flashback and Katie is relegated to a minor character. The drama isn’t advanced in any meaningful way. We’re merely left with more of the same parlor tricks you’ve seen in 3 installments before. Except this time they’re done with less enthusiasm. Despite the lackluster performance at the box office, PA5 is coming this October.

Evil Dead

It’s kind of surprising to see a horror film like Evil Dead in 2013. After Wes Craven re-wrote the rules with the self knowing Scream back in 1996 and then The Cabin in the Woods more recently deconstructed the genre further, I thought the attitudes on display here were a thing of the past. Evil Dead is a giant step backward to the naïveté of the 1980s. Here we’re presented another group of kids playing about in the woods. They behave like idiots, existing so they can be dismembered, killed, and gutted in the most gruesome methods possible. It’s gross yes, but it’s certainly not scary. Ok so this is a “remake” of Sam Raimi’s highly regarded cult film that inadvertently became a camp classic. The cartoon violence was over the top and had, let’s face it, special effects that were so bad you had to laugh. C’mon! The blood looked like grape jelly. But this is a remake in name only. Other than the basic underlying story, this is much different. Its “improvement” is that the torture actually looks real. Evil Dead has technically superior gut churning violence but it’s utterly lacking in spirit, charm, humor or scares.

The plot is simple. A group of 5 friends meet up in an old abandoned cabin in the woods. Mayhem ensues. Why are these cabins always built in some remote area with only one road in and no human contact for miles? Apparently this is where Mia and David’s mother battled with insanity. And they want to spend more time there? The friends are helping Mia kick her drug addiction. In order to detox and get clean they must keep her there regardless of how much she wants to leave. That’s an inspired rule and the script’s lone bit of intelligence. Despite the fact that the kids are a bunch of morons, I will clarify that their acting is fine. These young adults act appropriately scared.  That’s all we require in a product like this. Its unfortunate they serve an inferior story.

Haven’t we seen this before? 5 people are terrorized and then behave in ways so stupid, it boggles the mind. Seriously if I felt any modicum of fear it was that I might roll my eyes to death. First the whole gang stumbles upon a secret cellar under the cabin filled with what looks like decaying cat carcasses hanging from the ceiling. They don’t leave. Then Eric, the biggest idiot, finds a book made of skin with barbed wire all around it that says “Do not open” so naturally he proceeds to open it. Then starts reciting spells that should not be spoken. Mia is subsequently attacked by a tree in a scene that is surprisingly tame compared to the original. She gets possessed and then starts killing everyone in sight.  At this point we couldn’t care less about these people.  I mean they practically asked for it.  Projectile vomiting (The Exorcist), a demonic girl curses creatively (The Exorcist again), nail guns, carving knives – the film is a smorgasbord of atrocities served up to an audience jaded by years of blood and guts. They demand the ante be raised and this will satiate their bloodlust. One guy in the theater literally hooted and hollered every time someone was mutilated. Debating the merits of this flick is pointless. Your enjoyment will depend on whether you enjoy watching people cut, disremembered, slashed in the most sadistic ways possible. I love scary movies, but this wasn’t frightening in the least. It’s gleefully gross and nothing more.

Dark Skies

Lacy and Daniel are the Barretts, a married couple with two boys, Jesse a teen, and Sam their youngest. Father Daniel has lost his job and is trying to find employment. Mother Lacy is a real estate agent desperately attempting to sell houses in disrepair as fixer-uppers. Jesse hangs out with an older boy they deem to be a bad influence and little Sam is experiencing sleepwalking fits. Then strange things begin happening. Someone starts sculpturally stacking food in the kitchen, family photographs vanish from their frames, false alarm sensors are tripped throughout their home at the same time. Apparently mounting stress and piling bills are the least of their problems. PG-13 presentation mines the territory of a suburban nightmare.

At first when I heard the ads marketing Dark Skies as from the producers of Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister, I rolled my eyes. Yeah those were good movies, but the writer and/or director is a more accurate indicator of quality. Scott Stewart also wrote and directed the execrable Legion so I wasn’t optimistic. The thing is, Dark Skies is indeed closer in spirit to those horror pictures than to that apocalyptic action film. Admittedly, this doesn’t break new ground. Despite the fact it has nothing to do with ghosts, anyone who had seen Poltergeist will feel this is awfully familiar. It’s a fairly rote horror story, but there are some twists. The narrative interestingly exploits the idea that the parents are being made to look unfit due to the escalating afflictions the family publicly endures.

The cast is solid. Acting in horror can be difficult because the circumstances can be a bit ludicrous. Josh Hamilton is a sympathetic father. He’s likeable. Slightly less warm, but more sensible is Keri Russell as the mom who puts the pieces together as to what’s occurring well before her husband. A horror cliché is the character who has already figured everything out, but must now convince those who will not listen or believe – deliberately adding to the audience’s frustrations. Though I question whether Russell appropriately conveys the fear the average mother would exhibit. Hearing that her youngest is having conversations with someone who visits him at night should’ve prompted more panic. Oh and I almost forgot to mention a memorable cameo by J.K. Simmons who plays Tangina er uh I mean Edwin Pollard, the resident expert on supernatural phenomena.

Dark Skies isn’t innovative, but thankfully it sidesteps tired genre conventions at least. The blood/gore factor is virtually non-existent. The lazy technique relying on loud bursts of noise to cause jump scares, is kept to a minimum. Even the “Gotcha! It was all a dream” gag is intelligently toyed with in an early scene. The script seems aware of overused plot devices. It’s extremely spooky in parts. Furthermore, it never shows more than it should, so the threat always feels mysterious. No this isn’t original, but it manages to create a pretty evocative mood. What it lacks in creativity, it makes up for in creepiness.

Mama

A father driving too fast down an icy street, swerves off the road hitting a tree on an embankment below. Still alive, he and his two toddler daughters Victoria and Lilly escape with their lives and find shelter in an old deserted cabin in the woods. But all is not right in this shack. Something evil seizes the father, leaving the little girls to fend for themselves. Abandoned and living alone they become feral in behavior.

If Jessica Chastain was embarrassed by this film she could’ve just said no. She’s virtually unrecognizable in a short jet black wig and abundant tattoos. She’s in a rock band and kind of recalls Joan Jett. Her boyfriend (Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is the girl’s uncle and he agrees to take these wild children into their home. Surprise! Surprise! The entity that was responsible for their father’s disappearance seems to have followed the girls. Naturally mayhem ensues.

Mama has a lot going for it before it ultimately falls apart in the final third. There’s a brilliant opening credits sequence that uses the toddler’s drawings to depict life in that cabin from their perspective. The drawings of the children on all fours are chilling and prep the audience for what is to come. That’s a great start. The problem is Mama doesn’t present anything you haven’t seen hundreds of times already, in better movies I might add. The first occasion I saw a person contort their body into a spider-like stance and walk on the ceiling I was totally freaked out, the 10th time it put me to sleep.

Mama is a lazy amalgamation of kids in peril, overprotective mothers, haunted houses and supernatural forces.  Initially the quick glimpses and faraway shots of the entity are very creepy. The soundtrack by Fernando Velázquez is lush and sophisticated in a way that really elevates this material into something elegant. But eventually you realize the only trick this story has up its sleeve is one loud burst of noise after another. Even the sinister moths, yes moths [The Silence of the Lambs, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Mothman Prophecies] sound like a flock of pigeons when they fly by. Furthermore what was once a mysterious creature becomes more and more visible until it is literally right in our faces. In brief snatches it was scary, but with the lights on in full view it looks like a bad CGI effect. Director Andrés Muschietti expanded his 3 minute short into 100 and it shows. It drags, oh how it drags! There’s not enough here to justify the prolonged running length. Mama is a classy horror film, I’ll give it that. For some, that may suffice. But when the proper remedy is applied to placate this spirit in the climax and it doesn‘t stick, I gave up. I only hope this doesn’t make people forget Jessica Chastain’s fine work in Zero Dark Thirty. That would be the scariest thing.

Carrie

Poor Carrie White! She’s a sad, withdrawn high school teen. An outcast, she has no friends. Even the girl‘s religiously fanatical mother is abusive toward her, constantly scolding her for her “sins.” But Carrie is a special 16 year old girl. One day after a particularly traumatic event in the girl’s locker room, she becomes aware of telekinetic abilities. The ability seems to have been brought on by her maturing into womanhood. These recurring episodes will become more intense as the drama develops.

Carrie is highlighted by several memorable performances. Sissy Spacek is quite impressive as the shy, introverted teen. So much so that the narrative actually plays better as a coming-of-age story over the horror movie it is most often labeled as. She gives Carrie a genuine yearning for acceptance that is at times heartbreaking. Piper Laure is her overtly religious mother. It’s an incredibly over the top spectacle that seizes attention. It verges on camp. Viewed as a characterization of a Christian fundamentalist, she is ridiculously excessive. However taken as a portrait of a woman with severe mental problems, it’s more believable. She, like Sissy Spacek, was recognized with an Academy Award nomination. Not nominated but noteworthy is Betty Buckley as Miss Collins, the girl’s gym teacher. Displaying an understated approach, she provides much needed sympathy to Carrie’s suffering. Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles are all rather compelling in early film roles as her peers.

Carrie is a classic that makes any legitimate list of the best horror films ever made. It’s a regular staple of Halloween viewing. While there are definitely sinister elements, what surprises is how introspective our tale really is. As a chronicle of a girl’s maturation, it’s surprisingly effective thanks to Sissy Spacek’s moving depiction of the bullied teen. Director Brian De Palma dresses up a seemingly simple account with cinematic style. Pino Donaggio’s symphonic score is atmospheric and highly evocative. A frequent collaborator, the Italian composer is to Brian De Palma what Bernard Herrmann is to Alfred Hitchcock, even recalling that American legend in his work. Deep focus and split screen are used to strengthen the visual impact. Twice, slow motion is employed to draw a scene out. The gimmick might annoy some, but I found it to be remarkably potent in highlighting tension, especially in the horrific climax. I’ll admit the “everything goes BOOM” is a horror cliché, but it still is endlessly entertaining.

Sinister

First and foremost, there is a question every horror film must answer: “Is it scary?” With regards to Sinister, the reply is an unqualified yes. Sinister scared the living daylights out of me. Through a combination of mood, music and fundamentals of the genre, director Scott Derrickson has created an accomplished work inspired by Japanese horror. Our protagonist, author Ellison Oswalt, writes about true life crime. He has recently moved his wife and kids into a new home so he can investigate an unsolved murder for his new book. Not only has Ellison kept the case a secret from his family, but they remain ignorant of the fact that he has moved them into the very home where the killing took place. Soon after, Ellison discovers a box labeled “Home Movies” in the attic. Their vicious content is the subject of this tale.

The picture employs 3 plot devices that would each be scary enough on their own.  When combined, they make for an unbearably creepy narrative. The finding and subsequent viewing of these home movies, exploits a feeling of dread that proves to be most unsettling. A video record of the deaths of various families, they remain a most disturbing document of something evil. Second, children in peril is a malevolent contrivance that really adds to the rising tension. Third and finally, the summoning of a pagan god is rather frightful. Bagghul is a particularly nasty deity that we are given a history lesson on. This gives actor Vincent D’Onofrio the slightly random cameo of being the cult expert that Ethan Hawke must contact in order to make sense of what he’s experiencing.

Sinister is not a perfect film. I’ll admit, the father’s insistence on placing his family in peril and keeping them there is a far fetched basis necessary to accept in order for the story to even occur. However, the script addresses this. His last few books were unsuccessful and his family, once used to better financial times, have struggled recently. His ambition to write a bestseller upon solving the homicide of the previous occupants, consumes him. Ethan Hawke effectively portrays a man torn between protecting his family and a fervent desire to solve the mystery and achieve financial success. His motivations are much more convincing than say John Cassavetes in Rosemary’s Baby or Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Granted, there is a particularly unsavory element in uncovering a cache of what basically amounts to a collection of snuff films. Though the idea itself is pernicious, the presentation is thankfully restrained.

Sinister is rather chilling. As it details a man’s obsession to find out the truth, the narrative unfolds in a very believable fashion. Even when we the audience must take a leap of faith to stomach what this father/husband has indirectly brought upon his family, we can understand, though not condone, his motivations. By employing traditional cinematography along with the found footage of the super 8 movies he discovers, director Scott Derrickson fashions drama around a most unpleasant spirit. The grainy reels that Ellison watches late at night is eerie. The jump cutting, haphazard images combine with a truly creepy soundtrack by Christopher Young and a pastiche of dark original music by ambient music artists like Accurst and Boards of Canada. A shadowy figure, with a white triangular face and black eyes is seen in the bushes in one shot. The simple image is frightening. The whole production makes something like The Woman in Black (released last February) look like a ride on a children’s merry-go-round. Sinister is without question the scariest movie of 2012.

Frankenweenie

Simple, childlike drama about an intelligent young boy that tames the benefits of electrical power to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life. As the title suggests, the story is a kiddie version of the vintage Frankenstein tale. Frankenweenie was originally a live action short starring Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern released back in 1984. In its current incarnation, the 30 minute anecdote has been expanded to an 87 minute animated fantasy.

First the good. It’s one of Tim Burton’s most sweetly accessible family friendly films since Corpse Bride. It certainly looks fantastic. I don’t think anyone questions the director’s fetching macabre style. There’s a welcome purity in the visuals that actually benefit the modest tale. The movie is photographed in black in white as a tribute to the horror classics of the 1930s. The cast is fittingly quirky with four of his previous collaborators that include Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, and Winona Ryder. Their new substitute science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski, a particular standout. He is a ghastly joy, delightfully voiced by Martin Landau but with features that almost recall Vincent Price. There’s a magnificently uncontrolled climax that utilizes the idea of a science fair gone amok.

Now the bad. The whole affair has Tim Burton just coasting on the fumes of his earlier successes. The plot is slight in the extreme. Very little of it is innovative or original. The frequent allusions to other people’s works including Bride of Frankenstein or Godzilla feels more like lazy borrowing than the homage I think they’re meant to be. The few attempts at humor are weak and aimed strictly at young children.

Frankenweenie has the mark of quality. It’s a beautifully mounted stop-motion animation that will entertain an undemanding audience. The chronicle of a boy’s love for his dog by way of Frankenstein isn’t particularly fresh. I’ll admit, however, the visual feast is a retro production designer’s dream. The narrative is marked by a tranquil restraint that has been lacking in the director’s recent big budget creations as of late. Yes, this science-fiction comedy horror is pleasant enough, but it’s no classic.

Silent House

It’s never a good sign when I can barely extract the desire to write a review for a given film. Silent House didn’t even interest me when it was originally released to theaters back in March of 2012. My instincts were apparently spot on. But on video it had slightly more appeal. When I finally did watch this in August (which is when I dated this entry) it was so underwhelming I actually put off composing my thoughts for two months.

This little horror/thriller concerns a young woman who returns with her father and uncle to fix up their remote summer cottage that has fallen into disrepair. While there she becomes trapped within the house terrorized by what we believe to be squatters living in the home. The lights go out, doors are locked, someone tries to grab her from under the table. She encounters various “scary” moments for 87 monotonous minutes until the big reveal at the end.

Silent House is an uninteresting haunted house tale with a trashy ending that leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. The production does have the distinction of appearing to be shot in real time using one long continuous take. Honestly I wouldn’t have even realized this if it hadn’t been pointed out to me. It gives the cinematography a novelty factor, sure, but it certainly doesn’t make the story better. Elizabeth Olsen is an actress to watch. She is engaging in the part and the sole reason this hokum has any merit. Because of her we do care for her character. The problem is she really isn’t allowed to do much besides act frightened and scream.  Otherwise this is one tedious crawl to a “surprise’ conclusion that is lazy and clichéd. The only fear is that you might roll your eyes to death.  Skip this.

Prometheus

Right from the beginning when we’re introduced to a muscular humanoid creature, the poetic mood of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus seems to openly recall 2001: A Space Odyssey. His own Alien is clearly a reference point as well. Regardless of assertions to the contrary, this is clearly a prequel to that 1979 classic. But while he may reference other works, Prometheus is a wholly intoxicating hybrid all its own. The events fully take advantage of the fear of the unknown coupled with the joy of discovery. It brilliantly exploits the dizzy excitement of what it would be like to explore a foreign planet. Many stories have mined this territory, but few are able to do it with such a grandeur. There is a tremendous imagination at work here. The world that Scott has created is something both ethereal, but still rooted in credible fact. Prometheus is the work of a master. While his contemporaries are often corrupted by an overreliance on special effects, Director Ridley Scott isn’t seduced by such blatant displays. Sometimes there’s a majesty in what we don’t understand over a physical manifestation of CGI. That’s not to say he doesn’t have an eye toward the visual. Some of his pictures are the most stunning ever photographed. But Scott knows there’s beauty in the quieter moments that question the deeper profundities of life. Sometimes within silence therein lies a mystery.

Prometheus is home to a crackerjack cast that flawlessly breathes soul into the dialogue. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) represents the believer, in faith in a higher power, She’s recalls the tenacity of Sigourney Weaver in the original. Her husband, Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is impressed by more scientific explanations. Together they’re scientists as part of the crew of the Prometheus ship. Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron) is the cold pragmatic who monitors the expedition. She’s sent as an employee of the Weyland Corporation who is funding the trip. Also on board is Michael Fassbender as the android David. We are made aware of this immediately so it’s not the revelation that it was in the previous incarnation. He’s utterly fascinating, a scholarly genius who is an expert with languages that happens to idolize Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia. His apparently latent ego is a deliciously frightening development.

I was absolutely riveted to the screen every second throughout the entire film. There’s one particularly gut wrenching scene involving a pregnancy that might possibly be a new high point for tension. It’s a cover your eyes moment that compares favorably with that scene in Alien. You know the one I’m talking about. As the narrative unfolds there are cerebral questions raised. If the final act doesn’t quite answer all ideas proposed before it, that’s more of a tribute to the script’s judicious lack of spelling everything out. Did you really expect to have the eternal debate of Creationism vs. Darwinism answered? The cast is equally adept in engaging our emotions. They strike the perfect balance of Hollywood charisma, but still acceptable as the academics they would have to be to qualify for a mission like this. The visual splendor that follows from all this is an engaging combination of the intellectual sci-fi of the past with the modern technological advances of today. It’s a heady mix.

The Innkeepers

The Yankee Pedlar Inn has been welcoming guests for over a hundred years. The Connecticut hotel is the stuff of legend when bride Madeline O’Malley supposedly hung herself in the 1800s when her husband abandoned her on their honeymoon. However the owners have decided now is the time to close. Not many have been stopping by lately. Two employees have stayed on to see the inn through its last days. As ghost hunting enthusiasts they hope to exploit the hotel’s supernatural history by capturing evidence of paranormal phenomena on their audio equipment. Perhaps this will spark interest in keeping the lodge’s doors open.

Director Ti West created an indie stir in 2009 with The House of the Devil. An up-and-coming American director, he now returns with this gradually building charmer that relies on gently developing events. Yes the account is deliberately slow – it feels like real life.  Modern horror devotees will no doubt have little patience for the snail’s pace. But this is a cut above the trashy blood and guts flicks that dot the cinematic landscape.

The actors make this haunted house film notable. Pat Healy and Sara Paxton give compelling performances as Luke and Claire.  Both are engaging slacker personalities.  Healy is sardonic and skeptical. Paxton is quirky and likeable.  The two innkeepers form a charismatic pair that we actually enjoy watching. Paxton is especially winning. She was my favorite part about the whole experience.  Also on hand is 80s phenom Kelly McGillis as a former actress/psychic. The moments of humor are surprisingly effective. Luke takes advantage of Claire’s already jumpy personality several times and the results are pretty funny. Claire’s interactions with McGillis’ medium are rather amusing too. The historical hotel is the main focus and West mines terror from the unknown forces that intrigue. The story coasts on charm. The plot is pretty slight and it drifts to a dependable conclusion. Thank goodness for our two leads. They make these situations better than average.