Notable Cast: Ezequiel Rodríguez, Demián Salomón, Silvina
Sabater, Virginia Garofalo, Emilio Vodanovich, Luis Ziembrowski, Paula
Rubinsztein, Feerico Liss, Marcelo Michinaux
When Terrified appeared on Shudder six years ago, I
would have placed writer and director Demián Rugna as THE artistic voice to
watch in horror. That movie, with all its flaws, scraped my bones with its
tension and conceptual horrors. Indeed, it is the kind of statement film that
should have had Rugna on the shortlist to direct every horror film for any
studio project.
Although I’m sure he was on that list, he took approximately
six years to release his next feature-length film. Of course, he did have a
segment in the recently released Satanic Hispanics anthology film, but the man
took his time dropping his follow-up When Evil Lurks. Waiting to see
this effort was almost as tense as watching Terrified.
It was absolutely worth the wait.
When Evil Lurks is the horror film to beat this year.
And, if I’m being perfectly honest When Evil Lurks is the kind of horror
that beats up its viewers too. While its “evil entity” is treated like a
biological infestation, the combination of folk horror elements within a
possession film is impressively navigated. All the while, Rugna and his team
deliver some of the most brutal sequences since the French Extreme movement of
the 2000s. When Evil Lurks is the kind of horror film that pulverizes
its audience’s nerves and stomach in all the best ways.
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: Nicole Brydon Bloom, Taylor Nichols, Giles
Matthey, Susan Davis, Celeste Sully, Clayton Hoff, Alan Blumenfeld, Naomi
Grossman
One of the best experiences of sitting in a cinema is having a
film where the final act completely makes the film. Often times on social media, I’ll use the term #SavedByTheThirdAct, but occasionally it is just a film where
the finale is such catharsis and a culmination of everything in such a
fantastic manner it executes everything – flaws and all. This was the experience
of watching 1BR at Telluride Horror Show this year. The film starts off with
a relatively slow pace and loose narrative, but the final 20 minutes is a rip-roaring
combination that makes all of the efforts of its ensemble work, it’s sly genre
shifts, and slow character development pay off. It’s a solid film throughout,
but that ending makes it worth it.
Notable Cast: Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh,
Richard Armitage, Alicia Silverstone
It already seems like ages ago that The Lodge started
making the rounds of internet hype. It was finished filming in early 2018 but didn’t
receive its big debut until Sundance earlier this year. Since then, the hype
around the film has gone strangely quiet despite the fact that it received
generally favorable reviews. For this writer, the film was going to be one to
see simple to see how directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz would follow
up their immensely respected and surprise hit debut, Goodnight Mommy. The
Lodge resides very comfortably in that same territory as Goodnight Mommy in
a lot of ways – immaculate atmosphere, a plot that revolves around mother and
child relationships, and the rather intimate seclusion of its setting. It doesn’t
quite have the impact that one might assume from it, based on the hype and the
established talent of the directors, but The Lodge still remains and
chilling (pun intended) and dread-inducing film that works on the nerves in its
own horrifying ways.
To touch upon the issues right away is not necessarily how I
like to approach a review, but it’s the best way to dig into The Lodge.
This is because the lingering nag of the film comes from the methodical, slow-burn pacing. The film clocks in at a rather reasonable 100 minutes, but the
film takes a glacial pace to work through all of the necessary plot and
narrative beats to get to the main conflict. Most of these feelings of
meandering come in the second act, once the family gets to the titular remote
cabin and the film starts to establish the “new girlfriend stuck with her
potential stepchildren in a snowed in house” dynamic. With some thoughtful
trimming, The Lodge might have been an even leaner and meaner film, but
alas, it chooses to draw out the tension and suspense rather than run with the
energetic momentum it builds in key sequences.
To set that up that long narrative though, The Lodge
has to jump through a lot of hoops to establish motive and character choices as
a tactic to draw out the tension of its mood and tone. The setups in the first
act and the payoffs in the third act work in some astonishingly effective ways.
Much of the film’s success rides on the nuanced performances from its principle
(and very intimate) cast as they ably leap through the hoops. A surprisingly small
but an incredibly powerful role for Alicia Silverstone in the opening sequences
sets up much of the style that directors Fiala and Franz will utilize. A dense
cloud of distrust for all of the characters partnered with a penchant for some
popping jump scares make the atmosphere and tonal dissonance palpable. Slick
use of the settings, in particular, The Lodge which is shot in the same
cold and calculated manner that Kubrick shot the Outlook in The Shining, adds
to this sense of an unwelcome place – which is replicated as the kids and future
stepmother start to question if their own tension is being manipulated by the
other.
Once the tension is established, the film does start to
meander as previously mentioned, but it’s the third act that sells the entire
film. As the various pieces of the puzzle are laid out it becomes obvious that,
while occasionally predictable, The Lodge has laid some impressive groundwork
to make sure that even the most asinine leaps of logic or character choices pay
off in the emotional terror and streams of darkness (and infrequent and
surprising violence.) The Lodge packs one hell of a wallop in the final
20 minutes and it’s some of the best and most atmospheric material that horror
has produced this year.
All in all, The Lodge is a step down from their impressive debut, but Fiala and Franz prove once again that they are a powerful
voice in horror cinema at this time. The film is shot with an intense precision
that maximizes a plethora of fantastic visuals, suffocating atmospheric
tension, and a third act that will hang on its viewer like an emotional eulogy.
It’s one flaw is its length and rather meandering second act, but the rest is
worthy of the praise it has received thus far. The only real question remains
is how the directors will follow this up.
Notable Cast: Jeremy Gardner, Brea Grant, Justin Benson, Henry
Zebrowski, Ashley Song, Nicola Masciotra
Any self-respecting cinephile that cares about films gets
excited when two creative forces team up on a new film. Whether it’s actors and
actresses, directors, cinematographers, or any other namesake, the idea of the
“supergroup” collaborating on a film is incredibly enticing. This is why After
Midnight was a must-see film for me at Telluride Horror Show. Although I am
not a particular fan of horror-comedy in general, the combination of writer/director
Jeremy Gardner (this time co-directing with Christian Stella) and the producing
duo of Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson (directors of the phenomenal The
Endless and Spring) was too salivating to pass up. The results are After
Midnight, a dramedy with a penchant for some horror set pieces to parallel the
emotional state of our lead couple. The film is a sure-fire crowd pleaser and the
audience that I saw it with was eating the comedy, drama, and horror up enthusiastically.
With a heartfelt relationship to ground the film, some remarkably charming secondary
characters, and a silly horror premise that could have worked on its own, After
Midnight is a strange buffet of genre and execution – that could only be
pulled off by the talent behind it.
Notable Cast: Michael Daniel, Rachel Johnson, Aurora
Lowe, Gabriel Nicholson, June Peterson
With the advent of various technologies that allow filmmakers to do things quicker, cheaper, and on their own laptops, perhaps it’s
not surprising that the man behind Sator, Jordan Graham, essentially made
the film on his own. Director, writer, music, production, and in a relatively
candid interview after the first screening of the film at the Telluride Horror
Show film festival, he casually mentioned that he built the cabin set of the
film with his friend. To say that this film is, at its core, the result of one
man's pure will power might be an understatement. The fact that it’s a rather impressive display
of arthouse horror is what makes all of the mentioned work by Mr. Graham even
more fantastical. Playing with naturalistic horror in a way that begs the
question on why A24 hasn’t picked up the film yet is par for the course. The
minimalistic approach to most of its plot and narrative can be both frustrating
and fascinating. Sator is an intimate film with visual style seeping off
the screen and an up-for-interpretation through-line that will certainly
appease the horror fans looking for one of those slow burn arthouse horror
flicks.
