Notable Cast: Mavournee Hazel, Diesel La Torraca, Josh
McConville, Genevieve Lemon, Harry Greenwood, Iolanthe, Glenda Kalyk
I can already see it now. The comments that will cascade
down from the internet as horror fans react to Cruel Hands and its 1970s-inspired
stylistic choices. Comments about how it's ‘not horror enough’ or that ‘it's
not a real horror film’ will garner thousands of reactions and probably just as
many arguments around the spectrum of genre labels.
You know what? Good. Cause quite frankly, Cruel Hands
is the kind of film that will need a bit of online discourse to push it further
into the genre fans’ circles for viewing. Call it what you will, horror,
thriller, dark drama, or whatever other sub-genre you want. This 1970s-inspired
slice of atmospheric tension and visceral domestic horror is worth watching.
It’s one of those palpable, character-driven, slow-burning old-school horror
films that manages to curdle into the crevices of your heart and mind. Powered
by some incredible performances, a steady hand at tone and atmosphere, and a
real sense of grounded grit to its writing, Cruel Hands manages to be
both subtle and impactfully hard-hitting. It’s the kind of throwback film that
should be garnering some real fans when it finds a full release.
Notable cast: François Chau, Tara Westwood, Chloe Carroll,
Jim Schubin
Why is it we are so happy early in a relationship, and why
doesn’t feeling last? That’s the question that starts The Honeymoon Phase,
and although it doesn’t necessarily persist through the film thematically, it
does stand as an interesting launching point for a slow burn sci-fi thriller. There
is a persistent, uneasy feeling throughout the movie making it clear there is
more beneath the surface, though the film is mostly careful and glacial with
revelations, the threatening aura feels laid bare early.
Tom and Eve (Jim Schubin and Chloe Carroll) are a young
couple going through some financial difficulties, especially since Tom is a
writer with a years-long case of writer’s block. Eve discovers a study offering
fifty thousand dollars to newlyweds to stay in a home together for thirty days.
Seeming simple enough, they decide to pretend to be married for the money. Everything
seems to be going along well early, save a bit of uncharacteristic aggressive
passion from Tom, until one-night Eve sees Julie, another test subject she met
earlier, frantically pounding at her door begging to be rescued from her
husband. The door won’t open and Eve is forced to watch as Julie’s husband
attacks her and drags away the body. Even worse, no one believes that it
happened. Even the security footage betrays Eve as she begins to think that
maybe she’s under threat as well.
Notable cast: Conrado Osorio, Andrea Esquival, Yuri
Vargas, Sharon Guzman
There is a dreamlike quality to Luz: The Flower of Evil that
many films aspire to and never quite achieve. In the effortless fashion of a
David Lynch or Jodorowsky, Luz creates a world with internal, consistent
logic that is both horribly familiar and terrifyingly alien. Every frame of it
looks like an oil painting, like a sort of perverse lost Norman Rockwell “Hidden
Columbian Religious Cult” collection. It’s almost hard to even call Luz
a horror movie in a modern sense of the term, as it owes more to something like
the original Wicker Man or The Holy Mountain than anything even
close to a slasher movie. It means that it evokes a different kind of horror,
something existential.
Notable Cast: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Lisa Marie, Larry Fessenden
With a resounding ‘whoo whoo,’ it felt like everyone and
their mother was jumping on board the hype train when it came to We Are Still Here. Positive review after
positive review came pouring in, there seemed be instant megafans for the film,
and even the media seemed to jump on-board. Granted, the trailer was solid and
the poster artwork definitely had me sold initially, but this kind of almost
unrelenting buzz does make one a bit cautious. One doesn’t want to get their
hopes too high, just in case. Luckily, We
Are Still Here decently lives up to its hype even if it’s far from a
perfect horror film. In the end, this throwback creeper does some admirable
things and horror fans are going to enjoy what it has to offer whether it’s the
atmosphere or splatter filled third act.
For Anne (Crampton) and Paul (Sensenig), their new house in
the country was just what they needed to remove themselves from the city after
their son tragically dies. When Anne begins to suspect that an their son Bobby
is still there with them and trying to communicate, they invite their two
‘spiritually connected’ friends (Marie, Fessenden) over to see if it’s real or
not. When things start to go even stranger, they realize that there might be
something more sinister going on in their house.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor...
Horror is seeing a resurgence of ‘old school’ appeal in many
modern films. Whether it’s a full on throwback like House of the Devil or a slick blend of older influence in a modern
film like It Follows, there is a move
by horror in the last handful of years to bring back the old and make it new.
For most horror fans, this is relatively old news. For those going into We Are Still Here, it’s key to
understanding the slow burn approach and style of the film. It’s this 70s style
horror throw back in the first two-thirds that really succeeds in the film. With
a subtle script and some nuanced performances, We Are Still Here takes some
time to build its premise and atmosphere. Director Ted Geoghegan loves the
static shots and long takes to get the audience looking at the scene and with
old school jump scares of things in the back ground, shadows, and noises he
does a fantastic job at really building the film up.
For the third act though (and I’m going to attempt at no
spoiling anything here), We Are Still
Here moves decades from a 70s style haunting flick and an 80s style
supernatural killer film. Think of the shift as it went from The Changeling into a gory spin on The Fog in tone. There is a rather
impressive body count and a lot of decent gore to be had at this point and for
those looking for more than the atmospheric dread of the first two-thirds will
be happy to know that it pays off in horror dividends in the final act.
Personally, I was shocked at the almost sudden transition of tone, but it works
to give the film an intense last act it deserved.
If there is anything that We Are Still Here struggles with it’s the nature of its script. Director
Geoghegan serves as a writer on the film and while he attempts to go for subtle
with the character and plot development, it’s occasionally too subtle. Awkward
interactions with locals at the nearest town indicate something larger and more
sinister is afoot in the house’s haunting, but it’s not until the end credits
with the various newspaper headlines that we start to see a ‘history’ of the
plot on hand. Throughout the film there just needed to be a little more meat to
what was being offered in the mystery and it would have built some of the
character dynamics a bit more. Despite some strong performances, it feels as though
our two leads are given too little to create the kind of emotional reverb that
could have happened and it’s not until their friends show up in the second act
that we start to see a bit more of a character chemistry on screen. While the execution
of We Are Still Here is still good,
there is a foundation for something even better with a bit more depth to plot
and character interactions.
Peek a boo!
We Are Still Here
still remains one of the better horror films of the year. Geoghegan is a
director to watch with his blend of atmospheric fear and the surprisingly gory
results of this haunted house flick in the final act. The film is not perfect
as it could have used a bit more to grab onto throughout, but it most certainly
lived up to the positive hype it was building. Horror fans are going to want to
check into this haunted house film for a night.
