The Blood Splatter: 2017 Horror Vol. 3 [Creepy, Wish Upon, Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl]

CREEPY (2016/2017)

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Notable Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Yuko Takeuchi, Teruyuki Kagawa, Haruna Kawaguchi, Masahiro Higashide, Ryoko Fujino, Toru Baba, Takashi Sasano

When it was announced that auteur director Kiyoshi Kurosawa would be returning to the horror genre with his film Creepy, it was really, really hard not to get very, very excited. Between 1997’s Cure and 2001’s Pulse, the man had crafted truly artistic and effective horror films and it had been some time since he dabbled in the genre. Creepy not only lives up to the hype created by some of his previous genre outings, but it delivers some of the most unlikely unnerving moments of his career. The film is horrifyingly effective at developing a sense of dread and unease in its audience and it makes for one of the most satisfying horror watches I’ve had in a long time.

The Blackcoat's Daughter (2017)

Director: Oz Perkins

Notable Cast: Lucy Boynton, Kieman Shipka, Emma Roberts, James Remar, Lauren Holly, Emma Holzer, Peter J. Gray, Matthew Stefiuk

Oz Perkins is setting out to establish and conquer a niche corner of the horror spectrum. I was a massive fan of his previous (debut) film, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and I was looking forward to see where he would go with his sophomore effort The Blackcoat’s Daughter. His first film was certainly divisive for those who watched it and while this one will most likely divide viewers again with its atmospheric and vague approach to plot, he improves on the style of his debut with a more complex narrative and even creepier unnerving tone that makes this film one of the best horror films of the year. This is a film that relies solely on execution to sell its concept and the execution is so effective that it didn’t need the plot, characters, or anything else to do the work for it. The Blackcoat’s Daughter is one of those statement films that earns its merits in that manner.

Broken Sword Hero (2017)

Director: Bin Bunluerit

Notable Cast: Buakaw Banchamek, Sornsin Maneewan, Nanthawut Boonrubsub, Pootarit Prombundal, Kochakorn Nimakorn, Rapeepat Ekpankul, Jaran Ngamdee, Nirut Saosudchart, Vannapoom Songsupap, Chutirada Junthit, Manop Aswathep

The martial arts quest film is one of the more popular formulas for the genre. Even if it comes as a part of the whole, having our heroes strive to learn more and better themselves through tests and challenges is a key part to the genre and one that fans usually celebrate with almost no regard to the actual quality of the quest itself. This is what makes the Thai period film Broken Sword Hero a rather fun twist on the usual tropes of the genre. It’s a quest film, certainly, but often times instead of just a series of montages showing growth or finding a single challenge they must overcome, Broken Sword Hero approaches it like a road trip film. There’s a destination and on the way our hero meets friends that become fellow travelers where they learn about themselves and the world around them as a vicious villain chases them down. It’s almost refreshing that the tone of the quest is different here and, in spite of some issues with the consistency of tone and some of the cheesier moments, it ends up being a highly enjoyable martial arts cinematic experience.

Creep (2014)

Director: Patrick Brice

Notable Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice, Katie Aselton

In the realm of Blumhouse films, Creep was one that they seemingly didn’t believe would generate box office buzz with more mainstream audiences and was eventually dropped to one of their straight to home video channels. In a way, it’s completely understandable. Creep is a strange film and one that isn’t nearly as exciting or wildly dynamic in its style that Blumhouse is known for catering in their theatrical horror releases. Yet, it’s also perhaps one of their more impressively executed films that takes the usual found footage elements and spins it on its head and delivers a film that accomplishes just what the title promises...giving its audience tons of creeps. Sure, it was dumped to straight to home video, but it’s here where it will thrive.

Jigsaw (2017)

Directors: The Spierig Brothers

Notable Cast: Callum Keith Rennie, Cle Bennett, Matt Passmore, Hannah Emily Anderson, Mandela Van Peebles, Laura Vandervoort, Brittany Allen, Paul Braunstein, Joshiah Black, Tobin Bell

Saw was one of the first franchises that I felt like was connected to me. I was a freshman in college when the first one came out and I’ve seen every one in theaters, even going as far as defending it in many horror social groups as one of the truly iconic franchises of horror. Even then, the seventh Saw film – under whatever title you want to call it – ended the series on a low note. It was cartoonish and problematic. It, along with decreasing box office revenues, essentially killed the franchise. That is until rebooting everything became even more trendy than before and nostalgia started selling tickets even more. Thus, the return of ‘If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw’ with the 8^th installment, Jigsaw. Let’s be honest though, this film has potential. The Spierig brothers in the director’s chair, time to not rush the film into production, and a new more cinematic look to the film all gave it a renewed sense of being a true ‘reboot’ without being a remake. Yet, as the credits rolled and the usual Saw music played after it revealed the usual spins and twists of plot, it was easy to feel underwhelmed. Jigsaw does indeed do what it wanted to by rebooting the franchise and still giving fans the pieces of the franchise they wanted, but it’s too safe. It adheres to its formula like it’s a religious reckoning, afraid to deviate too far and possibly alienate the inherent fanbase. In this effort, as a reboot it feels too much like a disconnected sequel and as a sequel it ignores the mythology too much to truly appease the super fans. Jigsaw is a fun Saw movie and hits all of those key moments and delivers on those goods, but is it so much to want more from it? Or has the franchise, even 7 years beyond the last entry, just too comfortable doing the same?

Erik the Conqueror (1961)

Director: Mario Bava

Notable Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Alice Kessler, Ellen Kessler, George Ardisson, Andrea Cecchi, Jacques Delbo, Franco Giacobini, Raffaele Baldassarre, Enzo Doria, Gianni Solaro

No movie was safe from an Italian knock off, particularly if it was popular and made money. Almost every major genre film that made an impact in the 60s and 70s had its fair share of Italian rip offs whether it was Alien or Mad Max, Jaws or The Exorcist. In the case of this review, it was The Vikings that found itself the inspiration for its own brand of Italian spice. The trick of this one is that Erik the Conqueror, the film at the center of this review, just might actually be as good – if not better – than the film it was inspired by. Much of this has to do with its director, the iconic Mario Bava, who simply takes what could have (and rightly should have) been a carbon copy and injects a wickedly effective mesh of fantasy inspired visuals, charismatic performances, and occasionally surrealistic tones into an adventure film that rises well above and beyond the norm. Erik the Conqueror is more than a cash grab, it’s an artistically powered piece of cinematic entertainment that’s realized in all of the most amusing ways. No wonder this was on the list for a new Blu Ray release from Arrow Video. It’s a cult cinema dream and deserving of the attention of this release.

Leatherface (2017)

Directors: Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo

Notable Cast: Vanessa Grasse, Sam Strike, Stephen Dorff, Lili Taylor, Chris Adamson, Finn Jones, James Bloor, Jessica Madsen, Sam Coleman

All of the major horror franchises have had their ups and downs in quality. None of them are quite as intensely diverse or poorly constructed as a franchise as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series though (although Amityville gives it a run for its money.) Starting off with one of the iconic films that continually influences the genre to this day, the rest of the series is a hodge podge of slashers that shift in style almost as much as they shift in quality. After the train wreck (but weirdly effective box office earner) that was Texas Chainsaw 3D, the series was in desperate need of an artistic overhaul. When they announced that French filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo were going to take a stab at a prequel for the franchise, eventually titled Leatherface and not to be confused with Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, it was easy to get excited. While Leatherface is most definitely a unique spin on the usual Texas Chainsaw lore, it’s also a film that forces its hand a bit too often in trying to appeal to the fanbase and shock its audience. It’s a film with key moments of heightened effectiveness, but succumbs to the series’ lack of cohesion too.

Blade of the Immortal (2017)

Director: Takashi Miike

Notable Cast: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Ichikawa Ebizo XI, Min Tanaka, Tsutomu Yamazaki

As it was very well publicized in the US as a marketing ploy for the film, Blade of the Immortal marks the 100^th film by Takashi Miike (which, for the record and at the time of this review, he’s now in post-production of his 102^nd film although that’s certainly a debatable number entirely based on the credits themselves, but I digress) and it’s fitting that this film would mark his transition into the triple digits. It’s not because Blade of the Immortal is his best film. When a dynamic director such as this gets to 100 films of such diversity it’s hard to make claims of what’s his ‘best’ simply due to the ground he has covered, but this film feels like one that’s decently consumable on a mass scale yet still feels like it pulls aspects from a lot of his various films for its execution too. It’s like a greatest hits of style and pieces of his long and illustrious career wrapped into one massively entertaining spectacle. While that sounds like perhaps the film is watered down overall, Blade of the Immortal is not. It’s a film that takes a rather simple core structure and builds a world of characters and gimmicks around it that never ceases to entertain and draw the audience into their lives. This is Miike at some of his most lavishly entertaining and it’s a celebration of his style that serves as a declaration of his continued momentum towards being one of the most ambitiously prolific directors ever in any worldly film market.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield (2017)

Director: Lu Yang

Notable Cast: Chang Chen, Yang Mi, Zhang Yi, Olivia Wang, Tan Zhuo, Lei Jia-Yin, Xin Zhilei, Chin Shih-Chieh, Li Yuan, Mickey Yuan, Liu Feng-Chao, Wang Ren-Jun, Wu Xiao-Liang

Back in 2014, Brotherhood of Blades came out as a rather big surprise. For a modern wuxia, it had an impeccable sense of balance to its dramatic storytelling, old school Hong Kong style brotherly loyalty at its core, and a flashy sense of taking modern action and mixing it with classic wuxia elements. It was artistic enough to be effective and heartfelt, but entertaining enough to strike a chord with more mainstream audiences. It was also a surprise box office hit along with winning a few awards to add to its list of strong qualities. Fortunately, it was enough to warrant a franchise out of the film and this year we were given a prequel, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield, that tells the ‘origin’ story of Chang Chen’s character from the original film. As much as a prequel can horrifically backfire, in another round of surprises, Brotherhood of Blades II is just as impactful, fun, and effective as its predecessor. It’s inherently the same kind of film, a historically set wuxia surrounding a conspiracy with plenty of morally gray characters to fill out the tale, but it’s also one that strips the film back and refocuses itself on one key element: a love story. And it works brilliantly.

The Houses October Built 2 (2017)

Director: Bobby Roe

Notable Cast: Brandy Schaefer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe, Mikey Roe, Jeff Larson

The House October Built 2 was announced as a completed film only a few months before it debuted. Seeing as its predecessor built up a decent sized cult following of dedicated fans, a sequel was certainly one that was asked for, but not one that was wholly expected. Still, a franchise of building up a secret evil haunted house cult that hunted down people seemed intriguing and worthy of a expanded look through multiple entries. Even I got a bit excited at the idea and I didn't even even really like the first one. So with a returning director and the entire cast returning I was ready to see what The Houses October Built 2 was willing to take me.