Less sleep and less time, I had a poor week with only five
films. I did manage to catch up on The Walking Dead and tuck in the always
enjoyable American Horror Story, but I’ve got a feeling that the lack of any
real standout films is slowly taking its toll. Spoilers in the Thoughts section
as usual.
Jacob’s Ladder
(1990)
Plot: A Vietnam
veteran begins to unravel after spending too many years working for the post
office.
Thoughts: It’s
kind of ridiculous that every ex-soldier in every movie is depicted as having
something wrong with them. Unless it’s a horror movie. It’s no secret the
United States government likes subjecting the mass populace, solders included,
to weird tests without their consent, so this was a nice take on that. Some
critics thought it was a bit much that they writer used biblical names heavily,
but an even closer look reveals that the names have significance. His deceased
son, Gabe, acts a messenger, his girlfriend, Jezz, distracts him from realizing
what is really going on, etc. Not sure if this was the first, but this is also the
film that started the ball rolling with the shaky head body horror. Some of the
visuals are rather disturbing and the deformities were based on real ones
caused by some drug they used back in the 70’s. The greatest achievement of
this film was having a contemporary feel, despite being set almost 20 years
earlier. All the signs are there that this takes place in the 70’s, but it
never really points it out. Okay, so the greatest was the allegory of modern
life being hell. A lot changed after Vietnam and the American dream had more or
less crumbled. Jacob is seen driving a postal truck. He is divorced, with kids.
His girlfriend is a mail sorter, always running late to get to work. There are
so many glimpses of the working class struggle here, and the inability to get
ahead, move on, or get over past events, that it makes you reevaluate if you’re
not actually living your own hell. These are characters you can sympathize
with, and Tim Robbins is usually enjoyable, no exception here. On a side note,
for someone so opposed to war, he plays a soldier rather well.
Verdict: I’m just
going to go ahead and say that this film is a classic and should be in the
canon of must see films from the 90’s. It holds up today just as well as it did
when I saw it as a kid, even better if you’ve wasted your time studying the
subject matter. This is perhaps Elizabeth Pena’s finest role and I watched this
to honor her recent passing.
The Pact (2012)
Plot: A woman
goes missing after her mother dies, so the sister comes in to investigate, only
to find out that paranormal forces are at work, or are they?
Thoughts: I dug
this one more than I should of and for many reasons. For starters, the fact
that we had ghosts AND a serial killer was pretty cool. As usual, the small
touches moved me a lot. Heterochromia, a condition where someone has two
different colored eyes, is known in folklore to give someone spirit vision. The
fact the main character had that meant someone did their research. Speaking of
Annie, she was an interesting character that made sense. Horribly treated by
her mother, she grows up to be aloof and avoid family, and she rides a
motorcycle, which is hot. More often than not, characters who hold grudges
against their parents come across as overly annoying, woe-is-me types, but this
one seemed genuine. Add a creepy uncle pulling
a Gary Busey Hider-in-the-House, and you’ve got an interesting story of
a messed up family. What makes this work is our protagonist is dynamic and goes
on to fulfill the role she initially opposed, and her strength showed to us on
screen makes us believe she will do well at it.
Verdict: The
Ladder aside, this is the best film I watched this past week and if you like
slashers, mysteries, or ghosts, then it’s a must see.
The Pact II (2014)
Plot: A woman’s
mother is murdered after an argument, so the sister from the first movie comes
in to investigate, only to find out that paranormal forces are at work, or are
they?
Thoughts: I dug
the first one enough to check this out and immediately I was blow away with how
poor the acting was compared to the first. Additionally, the entire set up was
lazy, where characters conveniently have jobs that tie them to the plot. A
series of copycat murders brings in an FBI profiler, who does nothing but act
quirky and creepy and socially awkward. He and the cop butt heads in some of
the lamest foreshadowing imaginable. Oh, and would you look at this, the cop is
dating the protagonist, who is more or less a rewritten Annie from the first
film. Then we decide to reintroduce Annie, who despite now being the legal
guardian of her niece, decides to take off for a few and help uncover the truth
behind the killings. This shit made no sense. No thanks.
Verdict: This is
a lazy and inept sequel with very little redeeming qualities. Any hope for an
interesting series is destroyed by the end.
Child’s Play
(1972)
Plot: Jeff
Bridges’ less popular brother is sent to a prep school to teach a young Charles
Lee Ray a thing or two about athletics, only to uncover evil forces at work.
Thoughts: I’ve
heard people claim how great this movie is and I have finally realized that
they are the people who only say that because they want to appear elite in a
crowd of Chucky fans. And that is where this film fails, not that it doesn’t
have a killer doll, but that it’s basically nothing more than a drama, with no
good reason why the kids are running amok. Top notch acting won’t save you in a
horror film, no matter how smart it thinks it is, especially when we don’t have
a clear lead character. We also don’t get to know much about the students,
which certainly hurts the story. Attempts to rid the story of the supernatural
creates kids that are little more than robots acting in unison for little reward.
Verdict: This is
the horror version of Dead Poets Society, minus the charm of the late, great Robin
Williams.
Schizo (1976)
Plot: A killer
stalks an ex-figure skater in London, making her think she is going insane, or
is she?
Thoughts: Psychiatry
has changed a lot in the almost 40 years that this film has been made. My first
reaction was that the killer didn’t have schizophrenia at all. Then I asked if
the killer was even real at all, and maybe the lead was really hallucinating it
all. By the time we figure out she’s completely nuts, the “killer” was actually
a wrongfully convicted man now bent on trying to get her to remember, and that
the thief had stolen the wrong crown jewels, the story had overstayed it’s
welcome. It takes a few too many turns through the lifestyles of the rich and famous,
which falls flat on the average consumer’s eyes these days. The film attempts
to try and confuse the viewer, but by doing this, some elements come across as
ridiculous, like planting fake blood, and then miraculously cleaning it up
within minutes. Also, they make the common (at the time) mistake of introducing
a multiple personality. Well shot, well done, and decently acted, the film didn’t
really bond with me and by the end, I wasn’t too sure the writers knew what
direction they were moving the plot in.
Verdict: This
film certainly didn’t live up to its reputation, but it had some entertaining kills.
I think it is best viewed as an after-film, when you’re lying there, half brain
dead and getting ready for bed.
The Walking Dead
Last Half of Season 4 and First Episode of Season 5
Plot: Zombies are
pursuing an insanely large group of people who decide to have petty arguments
and do things that would normally get them killed, but somehow keep surviving.
Thoughts: I’m
pretty invested in this series. I watched the first season and enjoyed the gore.
I watched the second season and enjoyed the journey, the blatant disregard for
killing off the lovelies. I watched the third season and complained about how
uneven it was becoming, but they kept killing off the characters that I felt
were causing the issues. I started the fourth season, about ready to stop, but
got hooked when they followed the Gov for a few episodes. Once he died, I was
done. Then the lady of the house decided to marathon it because all of her
friends were watching it. I refused to subject myself to the show again, but
agreed I would watch the episodes I hadn’t seen once she got to that point. I
hate to say it, but they were the best episodes of the series. With the group
broken down and scattered, I stopped watching because I didn’t want to see 20
vignettes an episode following a still-too-large group of people who I didn’t
believe would survive a water shortage, let alone this. By concentrating on a
few people at a time in each episode, the stories became more personal, about
those few characters, and not the overall survival of the group. They were much
better, much more enjoyable, and kept me hooked all the way up until the end.
Hell, I even liked it when Rick said the people who trapped them didn’t know
who they were messing with. Gave me that same feeling when Kurt Russell and Dennis
Dun are riding down that elevator in Big Trouble In Little China, all in
agreement that they felt confident about their mission, and about to kick some
ass. Season 5, episode 1 started off pretty bloody, gory, and downright awful
for the cast. A lot of coincidences went into saving them, but it was still
nice to see them break out and be united. My only concern is that now we are
supposed to anticipate finding the one character I felt was a drag on the last
half of season four, but rest assured, during this apocalypse, she’s probably
finally found that good and proper bar she was looking for to get wasted in.
Verdict: I’m not
holding my breath and one sub-par episode and I’m bailing, but I have to say,
these were the best of the series. Doesn’t give me much hope for the rest of
the year, but I’ll wait and see.