The Silent Twins

I have been accused by my friend Ross of enjoying films where the level of craziness in the protagonists is high. Well "The Silent Twins" does nothing to counter his argument; these are some of the craziest people I've ever seen (times two - they are twins!) and I really enjoyed this film. Enjoyed - maybe not quite the right word. I go to the movies for many reasons; often it's to have an empathetic experience or an emotional experience. "The Silent Twins" is a sad movie, horrific at times, and yet there is something extraordinary here; similar to "A Beautiful Mind"  - if you "enjoyed" that film, then you will experience something comparable. "The Silent Twins" isn't just about the mental illness of one person, but of two, identical twin sisters, June and Jennifer Gibbons. It was like they were two people with one personality - and growing up they would only communicate with each other. They lived in a world of make-believe, which is depicted in the film with the use of stop motion animation - it's this and other film fantasy sequences which make Agnieszka Smoczynska's film really something special. It is through their shared creative voices the twins are able to escape an almost self made prison. It's fascinating. Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance as June and Jennifer Gibbons are both fabulous. Catch this one in a rep cinema near you. 

Smile

“Smile” is bright enough to light up a theatre of horror movie fans even if it might not have brushing as hard as it could have been. What’s it all about? Similar to HBO’s “The Outsider,” Wes Craven’s “Shocker,” or recent horror hit, “It Follows,” we have a creature which moves from victim to victim assuming false identities and hiding in plain sight. In the case of "Smile" the creature stalks the next target as the last witness of the previous victim's suicide. The creature takes on different forms, reflections in mirrors, other people, relatives, etc. Its trademark, it's always smiling psychotically at its next potential victim. The next target is Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) after she witnessed a patient kill herself in front of her. "Smile" is a well crafted horror movie with a soundtrack which I adored. The score reminded me of great horror movie soundtracks of the 70s - "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," "Shock Waves," and "The Exorcist." 2022 has given us some great horror movies, so there is lots to Smile about (see what I did there). With Halloween around the corner, go catch this one in a dark theatre as soon as possible. 

Vesper

In the world of film, most visions of the future look like inferior copies of "Blade Runner," "Mad Max," or a "Star Wars" ripoff. So it's pretty rare to get a bold new vision of the future; "Vesper" is pretty unique. What's it all about? It follows the story of Vesper (Raffiella Chapman) who lives in the wastelands outside of the wealthy citadel (where all the rich people live) with her bedridden father. She forages in the mud for edible roots and eats grub-slime soup. The world of "Vesper" is one which is dirty, wet, organic, and dismal. Vesper's world is a place where genetic engineering has run amuck; the closest film I've seen to something similar is Alex Garland's "Annihilation." Vesper communicates with her father with a flying google-home like device which kind of looks like an old apple computer with the guts of a pumpkin if you peek inside. Her father is like a droid sidekick as she sneaks about stealing seeds from her uncle (Eddie Marsan - he is a great character actor) in hopes of growing food. A ship from the citadel has crashed bringing with it a genetic designer and his daughter who seems to have a strange power to heal. "Vesper" has the organic sliminess of a Cronenberg film without being overly grotesque but it's just as smart. Catch one of the most original science fiction films to come out in decades, now on streaming services.  

Halloween 2022 - Special Horror Film Post

Well with my favourite holiday season around the corner, Halloween, I thought I would give you a few lists of what you might want to watch this October.

Let's start with a list (Thirty!) of my

Favourite horror movies of all time:

1. John Carpenter's The Thing - My favourite horror movie of all time. "I suggest we prepare our own meals and only eat out of cans." I'm sure this is a phrase we used during the COVID pandemic. If you have never watched this one, you are in for something special. Kurt Russell battles a space monster in Antarctica.

2. Jaws. Not only one of my favourite horror movies but one of my favourtie movies of all time. You are going to need a bigger bowl of popcorn.

3. Alien - Ridley Scott's other space masterpiece ("Blade Runner" being the first).

4. Halloween - this one gave me nightmares for months when I was a kid. There might be a few follow up films I believe (wink). directed by John Carpenter

5. The Shining - Check into the Overlook Hotel and have a bath. directed by Stanley Kubrick

6. The Conjuring - Let's play the clap game! directed by James Wan

7. Poltergeist - Ghosts are unhappy with urban sprawl directed by Tobe Hooper

8. Silence of the Lambs - Enjoy this one with your favourite Chianti. directed by Jonathan Demme

9. Nightmare on Elm Street - Don't fall asleep, bitch! directed by Wes Craven

10. Invasion of Body Snatchers (1978) - People turn into Mr. Spock, starring Spock. 

11. Hereditary - Allergy alert! This one is nuts! 

12. The Babadook - Your favourite kid's book!

13. Jeepers Creepers - Scarecrows are mean and scary. 

14. Barbarian - The worst dark basement adventure ever.

15. Psycho - Check into the Bates Motel and have a shower. directed by Alfred Hitchcock

16. The Ring - Girl in well needs a haircut and makeover 

17. Crawl - Competitive swimmer finds the right motivational coach 

18. Don't Breathe - Home invasion goes wrong, get out the turkey baster.

19. Us - Home invasion with red jumpsuits, "Siri, call the police" directed by Jordan Peele

20. Saw - "I want to play a game." No thanks! directed by James Wan

21. Dead Ringers - Twin gynecologists do drugs and have sex. directed by David Cronenberg

22. Hellraiser - The Rubik's Cube from hell! directed by Clive Barker

23. The Cell - visually breathtaking, J Lo and Vince Vaughn go into the mind of a serial killer

24. Event Horizon - Black holes drive people nuts!

25. Freaks (1932) - Cirque du Soleil, not!

26. The Manitou - Tony Curtis (Jamie Lee's dad) was in this bananas horror movie

27. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - I just love this one!

28. The Fly (1986) - Scientist and fly have a bromance. directed by David Cronenberg

29. Scream - tips on how to survive a horror movie. directed by Wes Craven

30. Evil Dead II - relaxing with a book at the cottage. directed by Sam Raimi

Favourite Zombie Films

1. Night of the Living Dead (1968) - The real monsters are racists. This is the film which gave us our contemporary version of the zombie. This is George A. Romero's classic and it's brilliant. 

2. Dawn of the Dead (2004 remake) - She having a baby! directed by Zack Snyder

3. 28 Days Later - The real monsters are men. directed by Danny Boyle

4. Army of the Dead - Escape from Las Vegas, a zombie heist movie. directed by Zack Snyder

5. It Stains the Sands Red - The real monsters are men.

6. Shaun of the Dead - A zombie comedy - let's go to the pub for a drink!

7. Train to Busan - South Korean zombie masterpiece, run!

8. Shock Waves - The soggy undead.

9. Zombie (Lucio Fulci's 1979 film) - eyeball splinter! 

10. The Sadness - It's a bloody one!

 

Favourite Vampire Films

1. Fright Night (1985) - What's going on next door?

2. The Lost Boys - Noodles or worms? directed by Joel Schumacher

3. Martin - George A. Romero did more than zombie films.

4. Dracula (1931) - Bela Lugosi will always be Dracula for me. After this, go watch "Ed Wood"

5. Let the Right One In (2008) - Kids will be kids

6. 30 Days of Night - Vampires go hang out in Alaska

7. Daybreakers - In a world of vampires they are running out of human blood

8. Near Dark - vampires in a van! directed by Kathryn Bigelow

9. The Hunger - David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve get sexy directed by Tony Scott

10. Vampire's Kiss - Watch a very young Nic Cage is one of his best roles

Favourite (Scary) Stephen King Movies

1. Misery - A writer finds unexpected motivation for his next novel. directed by Rob Reiner

2. IT (2017) parts 1 and 2 - Sewer clown; nobody really likes a sewer clown.

3. The Shining - A writer is suffering from a bad case of writer's block. directed by Stanley Kubrick

4. The Dead Zone - The future looks grim. directed by David Cronenberg

5. Carrie - Worst prom date ever. directed by Brian De Palma

6. 1408 - You will want your room upgraded.

7. The Mist - The ending will haunt you. 

8. Creepshow - George A. Romero did more than zombie films.

9. Christine - A bad case of road rage - directed by John Carpenter

10. Children of the Corn - Kids will be kids

Pearl (and X)

I watched the movie "X" this summer. What's it about? It's set in 1979. A group of young folks head off to a rented farmhouse to make a pornographic film. Somebody comes along and chops them up. It's your typical slasher film and it's well done for what it is. It's great Midnight Madness stuff; gory, bloody "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" with a touch of "Evil Dead" and a splash of "Lake Placid." "X" is a fun horror movie but I didn't think it was blog worthy. I gave it a B+. It's made the hounorable mention list for 2022. 

So when I heard that "Pearl" was a prequel to "X" and it was released in the same year, I was more than curious. I was expecting more of the same. And I got that, sort of. What I was surprised about was the film's audacity. Director Ti West has birthed a cinephile monster infused with film DNA. In other words, this is a movie made by someone who knows movies and loves film as much as I do. It's also a bloody, gory Midnight Madness movie but as arty and well crafted as any Tarantino picture (the open title freeze frame credit was gold).. "Pearl" has the taboo sexuality of "The Wicker Man" and a "Wizard of Oz" 1940s almost goofy innocence - the colour of the picture is old school vivid, like a Doris Day picture. What's "Pearl" all about? It's about young Pearl, who dreams of being a dancing star and leaving the misery of the family farm; her cruel and overbearing German mother and her wheelchair bound incapacitated father. Pearl is played by Mia Goth (she is also the star of "X" but as a different character). Let me tell you, Mia Goth has given us an Oscar worthy performance. The speech she delivers near the end of the film was a remarkable for not only it's rich emotive qualities but also for it's long duration. I said to myself, "Wow, this kid is something else." Catch "Pearl" in a theatre near you and then go catch "X" on streaming services. It's a bloody good time.     

Barbarian

There is always one horror movie which stands out as the clear winner of the year (and this year is far from over and Halloween is just around the corner). I'm guessing "Barbarian" will be my favourite horror film of 2022. What's it all about? Well, without giving away any more than what's in the trailer, I will sum it up like this: An Airbnb mix-up, in the burned-out ghetto of the Detroit suburbs, leads two strangers into the creepiest, scariest, don't-go-down-there basement adventures of all time. This film has serious mommy issues. It stars some horror movie favourites; Bill Skarsgård (he was Pennywise in the latest movie adaption of "It") and Justin Long (one of the stars of "Jeepers Creepers" (I loved "Jeepers Creepers" - if you are looking for a Halloween movie, check out 1 & 2, they are both great)). Justin Long plays  AJ, a narcissistic actor who is accused of sexual misconduct. Watching AJ calculate extra square footage is one of the best things you will see all year. "Barbarian" also stars relative newcomer, Georgina Campbell as Tess. Tess is put through horror movie hell - she takes it like a champ. The movie is not only scary as hell, it's also funny as hell, and well put together - it's smart and leaves the audience to put the pieces together. Get your Halloween funk on and catch this one in a very dark theatre near you.  

The Bear

If you have every worked in a restaurant, then Hulu's show "The Bear" will ring true - Ding, order up. It stars Jeremy Allen White as Carmen (you might know him as Lip on "Shameless"). Carmen has come back to Chicago after the death of his brother by suicide to run the family restaurant - a sandwich shop with colourful characters both outside and in. Carmen isn't just anyone, he is one of the world's best chefs and he wants to turn the failing business into something great - maybe as a way of repairing his relationship with his dead brother. The show is packed with flavourful characters who all feel 3D and real. The best of which is  Ebon Moss-Bachrach as cousin Richie. Ebon's performance is a Golden Globe worthy one of a best supporting actor - I can't say enough about how good he is. And Jeremy Allen White, well he seems to be channeling Dustin Hoffman - I mean this in the best possible way. Each episode clocks in under 30 minutes and each one is a piece of tapis that will leave you satisfied but craving more. Episode seven "Review" was like riding a rollercoaster - intense, manic, and I felt breathless after it was over. I loved this show. Catch it streaming in Canada on Disney+.