Final Girls (2015)

For Halloween this year I don’t have a really good idea for a top ten list.   Instead I’m just recommending you check out this wonderful slasher comedy from Todd-Strauss-Schulson.  The daughter of a dead scream queen gets to go into the slasher film her mom starred in and try to save her mom’s character from a Jason-like murderer.  Very surreal and very enjoyable.  The entire cast is great especially the mother daughter duo of Malin Akerman and Taissa Farmiga.   I loved this movie and thought it was the perfect way to end my Halloween Horror Movie Month celebration.  It’s films like this that give me hope for the future of the genre.  Grade: A-

iZombie (Season 1)

From the guy who gave us Veronica Mars (Rob Thomas) along with Diane Ruggiero-Wright, comes this other television show about a petite blonde girl who solves crimes while dealing with love and friendship.   Except this time she’s not a high school student and the genre-bending isn’t film noir it’s zombie horror comedy.  The result is just as fantastic as it sounds.   Olivia was bitten by a zombie while attending a boat party.   Now in order to prevent becoming a full blown mindless zombie she must eat brains.  With this new food source she also finds herself with the memories (and personality traits) of the person’s brain she consumed and with that now a way to assist police detective Clive solve crimes.   Add zombie drug dealer named David as her main adversary and you have a really entertaining television show that is reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars.   The only gripe I have is the way the writers create “drama and tension” but having characters keep information to themselves when in reality if they just spoke up there would be no drama.  It’s an obvious and annoying tactic, typically of this kind of show.  Grade: B+

Back to the Future Day

We take this pause in our horror movie schedule to celebrate Back to the Future Day.  Yes, that’s right.  It’s 2015 and this is the date Marty McFly and Doc Brown go to the “Future”.  Okay, so there are no flying cars and the internet is completely missing from Zemeckis’ masterpiece but who cares.   I actually re-watched the entire trilogy over the course of the last few days and I can say without a doubt the films still hold up.   If you haven’t seen these films, do, like right now.   Not only are these films perfect time travel films, they define what a comedy adventure film should be like.  I can’t think of another film series or recent film that is this thoughtout and fun.   They certainly don’t make them like this anymore and that’s unfortunate.   I’m secretly hoping that future generations will visit this ‘80s classic and be inspired.   And no, let’s hope they never remake these films.  I highly doubt anyone, including Zemeckis himself could recreate or take this concept and make it work today.   And why when these three are so good already?   I can’t wait to watch these again when my son is older.  Grade: A

Pyscho by Robert Bloch

I’ve always wanted to read the book that inspired the famous Hitchcock film.  Robert Bloch is such a fun writer and you can see what attracted Hitchcock to this property.   The only big difference is that the book goes into Norman Bate’s point of view more and it’s enjoyable to see that side of things although for the world of cinema keeping that part mysterious was the best decision you could make.   While reading it I kept thinking of Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake and wondered why he didn’t just adapt the novel differently.  I’d say I’d love to see such a thing but there’s nothing really new to bring to the table, with the television show Bates Motel being the exception.  I do recommend the book mostly because it’s good pulp and enjoyable to read Bloch.  Grade: A-

Crimson Peak (2015)

Any film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro should be seen, period.  Here he takes us into the heart of a Gothic romance or to be more precise a Gothic romance triangle.   It is visually spectacular with a haunted mansion that must be seen to believe.   Unfortunately the film is flawed because supernatural terror is outweighed by the terror of the villain.   Also it’s hard to know what love story to root for which makes for a complex but unsatisfying conclusion.   I’m not saying this is a bad film; it’s wonderful on many levels.  I just wish Guillermo del Toro would have juggled his plot a bit better.   It felt like he was trying too hard to do too much for a plot that was pretty predictable.  You have to give credit to his cast though.  Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam are all very good in a film you wish was more deserving of their dedication.  Grade: B+

The Battery (2012)

You don’t get much low-budget than this terrific zombie film by Jeremy Gardner.  Two former baseball players traverse the New England backwoods surviving a zombie end times.   What I love about this film is that the zombies are what they should be, kind of boring.  The two guys wander around doing their best to stay motivated.  But things get tense when they decide to make contact with other survivors instead of making it on their own.   What helps make this very low-budget film shine is a fantastic sound track and a strong sense of character over story.  I highly recommend this one especially if you’re a fan of The Walking Dead but want to see something different from the sub-genre.  Grade: A-

BTW: Do watch the making of documentary that couples the DVD.  It’s really entertaining to see these cinema nobodies stumble and yet succeed at making a movie.  I’ll be curious to see if Jeremy Gardner does more or if this will be his one moment of cinema gold. 

Circle (2015)

While not a perfect film, this is an engaging one that tells the story of a group of stranger standing in a circle who are held captive by some mysterious alien ship.  The ship randomly, or so it might at first seem, kills people.  Soon its clear that there’s a game going on and the people are in control of it.  Will they work together to survive or will they make the necessary sacrifices to make sure the right ones live.  This one deals with sexism, racism, ageism, you name it.  I really enjoyed this experimental low-budget original from Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione.  I could have had a slightly better ending but it’s still a pretty decent story, kind of a Twelve Angry Men but with Aliens and death circles.  Grade: B+