THE BRIDE! (2026)

Written & Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal



Where & When: TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood, CA. March 9, 2026 4:00 PM

For her second feature film as a writer and director, Maggie Gyllenhaal, best known for her acting performances, has taken on a classic horror character and has attempted to capture a more modern and highbrow element to this story originally written by Mary Shelley back in 1818. Yet "The Bride!", which involves Frankenstein's monster in search of a female companion, offers us a punk rock energized reimagining of the 1935 Hollywood movie, "Bride of Frankenstein" that ends up being chaotically structured and narratively disjointed.

The film begins when we meet the spirit of the long dead writer Shelley (played by Jessie Buckley) who has another story she wants to tell regarding her creation. She decides to take possession of a young woman in 1936 Chicago named Ida (also Buckley) who she has spill the secrets of a crime boss, Lupino (Zlatko Burić) in the middle of a very public nightclub. A couple of Lupino's associates (John Magaro, Matthew Maher), who know Ida personally, take her out of the ballroom to try and talk some sense into her. But Shelley has a firm grasp upon her which causes an accident where Ida falls to her death down a flight of stairs.

At the same time, Frankenstein's monster (Christian Bale), who now goes by the name "Frank", has arrived in Chicago to seek the help of Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening). The doctor has been experimenting with reanimating the dead and a very lonely Frank would desperately like her to create a female version of himself. Hesitant to get involved, Dr. Euphronius relents and they go out to find the perfect specimen. After digging up Ida's body, she is brought back to "life" with no memory of her past and a black stain across her face from the toxic chemicals used to reanimate her. Frank, deciding this would be easier for all involved, tells her that she's his bride.

After catching a movie starring Frank's favorite song-and-dance man, Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal), the undead couple are harassed by a gang of hoodlums. In an act of self-defense, Frank kills some of these men and they soon become lovers on the run, heading to New York City (of all places) to hide.

Buckley, who recently won the Best Actress Oscar for her devastating turn in "Hamnet", does the best she can with her dual roles of author and monster. Without being given much of a backstory for Ida (or of Shelley for matter), we can only gather that she was an impoverished, marginalized person, just trying to get through each day, who continued to be subjugated even in her rebirth. But Ida does manage to find her own voice and with her halo of a bleach blonde bob and inventive face smudge, Buckley is certainly visually stunning. The rest of the supporting cast is distinguished which includes Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz as police detectives trying to track down the couple and Jeannie Berlin as Dr. Euphronius' maid yet they all struggle with their underwritten roles.

There is no question that "The Bride!" is impressive to look at with a beautiful, period perfect production designed by Karen Murphy, exquisite costumes by three time Oscar-winning veteran, Sandy Powell, eerie makeup designed by Nadia Stacey and expertly filmed by Lawrence Sher. But this is all wasted on a film that is tonally all over the place and Gyllenhaal's ponderous screenplay doesn't help matters beginning with the clunky framing device of the ghost of Shelley narrating this story and inexplicably provoking the death of an innocent young woman.

There are a few interesting ideas at play in "The Bride!" but it feels overloaded, with all of the details not really sorted out and fine-tuned before the cameras began to roll. It's unclear exactly what the outcome of this film was even supposed to be: there is some graphic violence and gore to be found but does not offer any of the ghastly frights we have come to expect from our standard horror film. We have a frenzied song-and-dance musical number involving the monster couple that unfortunately comes across more like a moment from Mel Brooks' hilarious comedy, "Young Frankenstein" which isn't helped by the use of the song "Putting on the Ritz". And there is the considered feminist outrage and organized social protest against the patriarchy in this story. Yet it seems oddly out of place considering the era this movie is set in.

"The Bride!" ends up being a misguided attempt of trying to use the horror genre to artfully express our current fears and anxieties involving several social issues. I think Gyllenhaal's provocative movie might have worked better if it was scaled back and more intimately told. Instead, we have a quirky, indie film trapped in the body of a major Hollywood production with an impractical, almost one hundred million dollar price tag.

COMING SOON

The actor, Maggie Gyllenhaal made her directorial debut back in 2021 with the psychological drama, "The Lost Daughter" which she would receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Now she is finally returning behind the camera with "The Bride!", a bold reimaging of the 1935 Hollywood film, "The Bride of Frankenstein" which was based on the character created by Mary Shelley. 

Set in 1930's Chicago, the Frankenstein monster (Christian Bale) asks Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. Much like how he was created, they take a recently deceased woman (Jessie Buckley) and bring her back to life in order to become his "bride".

The teaser trailer has just been released for the film (which will reach theaters early next year) and it reveals a less gothic and more naturalistic setting. It's been said that "The Bride!" will have elements of modern bloody horror and more character driven. Gyllenhaal's brother, Jake; her husband, Peter Sarsgaard and Penélope Cruz will also star.


"The Bride!" is due in US theaters on March 6, 2025

THE SUBSTANCE (2024)

Written & Directed by Coralie Fargeat




Where & When: Landmark Theatres Sunset, West Hollywood, CA. September 20, 2024 8:15 PM



"The Substance", the sophomore feature from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, is a hyper-stylized, pitch-black feminist satire on aging and the low value placed on maturing women in society. But Fargeat pumps up her engaging film by utilizing body horror to convey the extremes that women will go through to maintain their youth and beauty. Between the blood and mayhem, the director has something quite intriguing to say. And while the message is clearly understood, it tends to get a little too muddled through all of the excessive gross-out carnage.

Demi Moore, in her first prominent starring role in some time, plays Elizabeth Sparkle, an award-winning actress in Los Angeles that has been reduced to having to appear as a host of a television fitness show called, "Sparkle Your Life". But following a taping on her fiftieth birthday, Elizabeth is informed by Harvey (Dennis Quaid), a boorish studio executive, that it's time for her to move on, making it clear he's looking for someone younger to host. Devastated by this news, a distracted Elizabeth ends up getting into a car crash. She is uninjured but while getting checked out, a young male nurse, sensing what she's going through, slips a flash drive and phone number into her pocket.

What is discreetly being offered is an experimental drug called, "The Substance" which promises to create a younger and more "perfect" version of yourself. Elizabeth initially rejects the idea but as she spends her newly free time wallowing in booze and her increasing anxiety, she decides to get her hands on this serum. After injecting herself, a fully formed, young being (played by Margaret Qualley) emerges from Elizabeth's cracked open back, leaving the host unconscious while the other is left to sew Elizabeth's body shut. This new form calls herself "Sue", enjoying her youthful body and successfully getting hired back as the host of the exercise program.

But there are strict rules that must be followed: each body can only be out for seven days before exchanging places so that their bodily fluids can recalibrate, they must feed each other intravenously; a "stabilizer" is to be withdrawn from Elizabeth's spine and injected into Sue in order to keep her balanced and most importantly, they must remember that while they are two separate bodies, they are still only one person.

Fargeat was first recognized for her 2017 debut feature film, "Revenge", about a young woman who is sexually attacked by three men and left for dead but she survives and seeks bloody retribution. While it was difficult to sit through at times, I still greatly admired the director's brutal yet razor-sharp cinematic statement. And with her follow-up, Fargeat continues to have no interest in subtlety, preferring to batter viewers severely over the head with her gruesome, surrealistic vision and unsettling themes. She is clearly inspired by fellow filmmakers who embrace the provocative and experimental (Kubrick, Cronenberg, Lynch, Haneke) and with "The Substance", Fargeat liberally borrows visual cues from some of these esteemed directors while still managing to forge ahead with her own distinctively ferocious style. The flashy camerawork by Benjamin Kracun is designed to keep you feeling unsteady, offering full-screen close-ups of eyes and mouths, darting down long narrow hallways, entering vast spare rooms and one particularly unpleasant moment of watching Quaid eating crawfish.

Moore's career took off when she became part of the ensemble of the daytime soap-opera, "General Hospital" in 1982. The following year, she moved on to movie roles, becoming a member of the Brat Pack after her appearances in "St. Elmo's Fire" and "About Last Night...". But it was Moore's tear soaked, moving turn in the 1990 supernatural romance, "Ghost" that helped make her a movie star. She became part of a Hollywood power couple when she married Bruce Willis, starred in several box-office hits and went on to become the highest paid female actor (receiving over twelve million dollars) in 1996 to appear in the movie, "Striptease". But this black comedy was a critical and box-office failure and her marriage to Willis came to an end not long after with Moore largely retreating from the spotlight. She would make the occasional film appearance over the following years, mostly in indie and arthouse fare.

With "The Substance", Moore delivers a bold and fearless performance, revealing herself completely emotionally and physically. She doesn't have much dialogue yet the actress rises to the challenge of expressing all of the anguish, fear and intense desires of Elizabeth, even through moments later in the film when she's no longer recognizable as her former self. And as her other half, Qualley is a compelling presence, a sweetly smiling, malevolent version of Elizabeth with a dark-edged soul. Elizabeth and "Sue" might share the same body however they display vastly different personality traits. While this variance might possibly be due to their age-gap yet over time this conflict leads to complications. Being young and impulsive, Sue begins to abuse the seven day rule, extending her time awake, at first just a few days and then later by weeks, which causes Elizabeth's actual body to age more rapidly.

I will admit that by the time we reach the final act, with the introduction of a third being called "Monstro Elisasue" which leads to an explosive shower of blood, gore and body parts flying in all directions from a stage onto an audience, it felt a little too much, becoming even more silly and excessive. But that's okay. This doesn't take away from "The Substance" being one of the most thrilling, adventurous and uncompromising films I've seen so far this year. I can also say with complete certainty that no US filmmaker, male or female, would have made "The Substance", at least not in a way that wasn't far more cautious and focused on appealing to the widest audience possible. Fargeat (who actually shot the film in Paris) has made a clever, biting and humorous commentary on the horrors of America's obsession with eternal youth and the emotional torture this causes, especially for women. "The Substance" is absolutely insane and twisted. Yet the film also reveals Fargeat to be a true visionary, a modern filmmaker who respects the historical artform of cinema with no interest in making films that are easily digestible and a strong desire to challenge viewers to open their minds to unexpected and outrageous possibilities.

COMING SOON

The latest addition of a family involved in filmmaking are the Eggers brothers. Currently, Robert is the most well-known as the writer and director behind the films, "The Witch", "The Lighthouse" and "The Northman". His brothers have been participating in the creative process with him; Max co-wrote "The Lighthouse" and Sam worked as a production assistant on Robert's first feature, "The Witch". Now these two Eggers brothers have teamed-up to make their own directorial debut with "The Front Room", a psychological thriller based on the short story by Susan Hill.

While Robert is known for his eerie films that are historically set in the distant past with mythological context, Max and Sam are working in the contemporary world yet still within the realm of horror. Their story follows a young couple, played by Brandy and Andrew Burnap, who are expecting their first child. Due to circumstances and financial opportunity, they take in his stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter) to live with them. Not only does she turn out to be very demanding and ornery but Solange also claims that a holy spirit has taken over her, giving her powers that she's is not using for good deeds. With elements of "Get Out" and "Rosemary's Baby", "The Front Room" touches on the disturbing legacy of racism in this country while delivering creepy, supernatural chills.

"The Front Room" is due in US theaters on September 6, 2024

As for Robert, he also has a new film set to be released later this year on Christmas Day with "Nosferatu". It is a new retelling of the classic vampire fable created by Bram Stoker in 1897 and was originally made as the German Expressionist silent film by F.W. Murnau a little over one hundred years ago. This has long been a passion project for Eggers and while it does appear he has nodded to Murnau's concepts, his film will clearly be his original vision of this gothic tale. The story involves a disturbed young woman (Lily-Rose Depp) that becomes the object of obsession by the mysterious and terrifying Count Orlok, played by Bill Skarsgård with the Swedish actor seeming to have become the go-to-guy to take on dark, creepy characters from Pennywise in the "It" films to the upcoming reboot of "The Crow". Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Willem Dafoe also star.

"Nosferatu" is due in US theaters on December 25, 2024

61 ESSENTIAL QUEER HORROR FILMS

It is well known fact that for a very long time any direct depiction of homosexuality in Hollywood movies was strictly forbidden. The Hays Code, which went into effect in 1934, held firm a moral guideline in American cinema until a little over thirty years later when it was abandoned, allowing filmmakers to finally display a more accurate worldview of real life. 

Now that doesn't mean that during that restrictive era some clever cinematic creators found a way to inventively sneak in a bit of queer subject matter into their films by using subtle subtext. And one of the most perfect genres to utilize this was in the horror genre where the characters were already considered strange, dangerous and outsiders to society. In celebration of Pride month, Vulture has made a guide to queer horror cinema with the list recently updated.

To see the complete list of films, please click below:

61 Essential Queer Horror Films

COMING SOON

From the look of the trailer for "Infinity Pool", the new film from Brandon Cronenberg, it appears that the fruit hasn't fallen far from the tree. Cronenberg is obviously the son of the legendary Canadian filmmaker, David Cronenberg who early in his career became known for his offbeat, sci-fi body horror films like "Scanners", "Videodrome",  "Dead Ringers" and his remake of "The Fly". The director made a return to this genre earlier this year with "Crimes of the Future", his first feature film since 2014.

With "Infinity Pool", the younger Cronenberg has written and directed his own science-fiction horror drama that features an inspired cast of Alexander Skarsgård, Cleopatra Coleman and Mia Goth who is having a moment now due to her amazing work in the horror films, "X" and "Pearl". The film focuses on a wealthy couple (Skarsgård and Coleman) who are enjoying a beach vacation on a tropical resort when tragedy strikes, leading to an accidental death. The couple are then lured into a world outside of the comfortable resort where they are forced to confront violent games and perverse horrors. "Infinity Pool" will make it's world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will be released in theaters shortly after the screening.

"Infinity Pool" is due in US theaters on January 27, 2023

COMING SOON

Jordan Peele has recently released a teaser for his upcoming feature film, "Nope". And it shouldn't be much of a surprise that this brief trailer is limited on plot details yet brimming with some mysterious, unsettling images that will leave you feeling equally anxious and intrigued.  

For his third time as a writer and director, Peele continues with another supernatural-horror drama following his bold, extraordinary work with "Get Out" and "Us". From what can be determined, Daniel Kaluuya (a recent Oscar-winner for "Judas and the Black Messiah" who had his breakout moment starring in the Peele's directorial debut) and Keke Palmer play owners of a ranch outside of LA that specializes in training horses for Hollywood movies. Then we see some strange, paranormal event occurring in the desolate desert area. Based on this filmmaker's previous track record, I think it's safe to say that "Nope" will manage to offer just the right amount of creepy thrills and thought-provoking drama.

"Nope" is due in US theaters on July 22, 2022

TITANE (TITANIUM) (2021)

Written & Directed by Julia Ducournau



Where & When: AMC Sunset 5, West Hollywood, CA. October 3, 2021 2:45 PM



There is absolutely nothing about "Titane (Titanium)", Julia Ducournau's evocative and deranged horror thriller, that feels reasonable. There is some spectacularly gruesome carnage and disturbing violence. There is dark humor and wildly absurd plot twists. We also have moments that are thought-provoking and emotionally moving. Yet it all largely works as the provocative French filmmaker upends our expectations by deconstructing this genre, taking us on a strange, surreal journey that challenges our ideas on gender and identity.

The film opens with a drive out on the open road with a father (Bertrand Bonello) and his young daughter, Alexa (Adèle Guigue). But there is some tension inside of the car, with the father trying to drown out his daughter's continuous mimicking of the sound of the car's engine. As he turns the radio's volume up, she just gets louder. Bored with this game, Alexa begins kicking the back of his seat. When she refuses to stop, a moment of anger erupts as he turns to face her, causing him to crash the car. After an intensive surgery, Alexa has been fitted with titanium plate in to her severely damaged skull. There seems to be no sign of any lasting physical damage to the young girl yet this accident appears to have left a deep psychological connection between Alexa and automobiles.

The next time we see Alexa (now played by Agathe Rousselle in her film debut), she is a young woman dancing seductively as a model at a car show. Still brooding and dead-eyed as she was as a child, Alexa has grown up with a behavior far more dangerous; a secret desire to commit cold-blooded murder. Watching a newscast on television warning of a series of grisly murders occurring around the city, she casually eats in her parent's home, knowing exactly where they can locate the killer.

After a botched killing spree, with a potential victim escaping, Alexa has to go the run. Going through a dramatic and harrowing transformation, she takes on the identity of Adrien, a boy who has been missing for ten years. The police contact the boy's father, Vincent (Vincent Lindon), a fire captain who accepts Alexa as "Adrien" with no further proof needed. The other fire fighters at the station don't know what to make of the captain's traumatized, mute "son" but must welcome him as an apprentice member of the team. And there is one more thing; Alexa has been impregnated by a car with something growing inside of her.

"Titane" won Ducournau the top prize of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, making her only the second female filmmaker to win this award, following Jane Campion for "The Piano" in 1993. This is the follow-up to her 2016 debut, "Raw", another outlandish shocker that featured Garance Marillier (who makes a brief appearance in "Titane") as a young vegetarian who develops a taste for human flesh. With "Titane", Ducournau goes even further with some pretty extreme ideas, many to the point of being completely ridiculous. Yet she manages to make this story work, largely by taking every preposterous moment seriously while cleverly touching on themes involving cross-dressing, gender politics, familial bonding and homoeroticism to heighten this odd drama, subjects not usually found in the horror genre. Her script also abandoned the standard three-act structure, allowing Ducournau's peculiar story to flow at her own desired pace, which shifted the film further off balance.

Not wanting audiences to have any expectations with a familiar face in the leading role, Ducournau set about finding an unknown performer. She came across Rousselle, a frustrated actor who for years didn't have much luck getting any attention, working largely as a model and photographer. And while she doesn't deliver much dialogue, Rousselle is a wildly physical, sensual presence, demanding that you to never take your eyes off of her. On screen for most of the film, the actress delivers a raw, fearless performance, displaying Alexa's eerie stillness and unpredictable fury, behavior much like a caged animal. She manages to disgust and shock you yet also develop some concern and sympathy for her deranged character.

Let's just be clear here; "Titane" is not for the faint of heart (there were reports of viewers actually passing out during early screenings at some film festivals) or for those who like their narratives to be fairly straightforward. And while "Titane" didn't work entirely for me, I was constantly on the edge of my seat, never able to predict where the film was taking me and covering my eyes in terror by some of the more brutally horrific images that appeared on screen. I was shocked and appalled yet thoroughly entertained, enjoying the feeling of uncertainty and the unpredictable nature of this twisted tale. It's clear that Ducournau's intension was to provoke and leave you feeling deeply unsettled by her work. And she certainly succeeded at her task. But it is also clear that the director had some intriguing and thoughtful ideas to communicate yet no desire to express them in any conventional way. Ducournau is a wonderfully, refreshing filmmaker, commanding a bold vision, assured artistry and more than willing to challenge audience's expectations.

THE INVISIBLE MAN (2020)

Written & Directed by Leigh Whannell


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. March 1, 2020 5:00 PM



This latest filmed version of "The Invisible Man", inspired by the 1897 novel by H.G. Wells and the 1933 Hollywood movie starring Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart (who would later be better known as "Old" Rose in "Titanic), is set firmly in the contemporary world. While there are still plenty of elements involving sci-fi and horror, this "Invisible Man" is far more of a psychological drama. Leigh Whannell, the writer behind the modern horror classics, "Saw" and "Insidious", made the bold and captivating move with his third time as a director to shift the focus from the man who can make himself imperceptible to his girlfriend, with a thrilling, go-for-broke performance by Elizabeth Moss, as a troubled woman who believes she is still being tortured by her abusive boyfriend even after his apparent death.

The film opens with Cecilia Kass (Moss) beginning her elaborate plan to escape from her boyfriend, Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) in the middle of the night. While Griffin may be handsome, wealthy and a successful scientist, he is also controlling, violent and emotionally abusive to Cecilia. After secretly drugging him to make sure he doesn't wake up, she retrieves her hidden packed bag and races out of the house to her sister, Emily (Harriet Dyer) awaiting in a running car. But the drug wasn't enough to keep Griffin down. He almost catches her yet Cecilia successfully escapes.

A traumatized Cecilia hides out at the home of her childhood friend, James (Aldis Hodge), a police officer and his teenage daughter, Sydney (Storm Reid). Certain that Griffin will track her down, she is too frightened to leave the house. Not long after she begins to feel more at ease, Cecilia receives some unexpected news. Griffin has not only committed suicide but has left her his vast fortune in his will. She is certain that Griffin would never kill himself and this must be some sort of trick.

But after meeting with Griffin's lawyer (and brother), Tom (Michael Dorman), Cecilia is presented with photographic evidence of Griffin's demise, although she's still highly skeptical. And she's also informed that the inherited estate will be forfeited if she doesn't remain mentally competent. This soon leads to her beginning to sense a presence lurking around her in the house, nothing she can actually see but definitely being felt. After some odd, unexplainable occurrences start to happen (a stove burner is turned up high, causing a fire; she is drugged by the same narcotic she used on Griffin) Cecilia begins to suspect that somehow her former boyfriend must be behind these mysterious activities.

"The Invisible Man" could have easily become a supernatural thriller at this point but the film remains rooted in science-fiction, easily generating scares and discomfort from an invented device, a human menace who terrorizes under a cloak of invisibility. When Griffin is finally revealed to Cecilia, a violent, physical altercation happens between them. Now that she has discovered his secret, the unseen Griffin's increasingly dangerous actions causes Cecilia to become alienated from her family and friends and become a suspect in a horrific crime. Tossed in to a mental hospital, she's left desperately trying to convince everyone that she's not really losing her mind.

But Cecilia refuses to remain a victim. Newly determined and strong-willed, she will no longer allow herself to be abused, more than willing to fight back even if she can't physically see her antagonist. Ms Moss, who has displayed numerous times her steely tenacity in roles ranging from the television series, "Mad Men" and "The Handmaid's Tale" to just recently in the under seen indie feature, "Her Smell" where she played a self-destructive rock-n-roller, delivers another fully committed, breathtaking performance. The actress appears in almost every scene, expertly holding focus as she expresses all of the fear, agony, and ultimately, bravery that will lead Cecilia to finally become ready to kick some invisible ass.

Much like what Jordan Peele did with his films, "Get Out" and "Us", "The Invisible Man" features a deeper, thought-provoking message buried inside of a genre movie. While this film may not be as artfully conceived as Mr. Peele's work, Whannell has crafted a moving, emotional character study which examines the complications that women face in abusive relationships and the extreme difficulties of extracting themselves from these situations. Yet the film also manages to entertain with what is expected from these types of films; providing shrouded frights, suspenseful action and bloody thrills.

"The Invisible Man" doesn't fall easily into any category as it's sort of a thriller, not really science-fiction and definitely not a horror flick. But that's what makes this film even more interesting, it's ability to defy categorization and expectations. With the unusual approach of revealing the terror only from the victim's point-of-view, "The Invisible Man" turns the idea of a "horror movie" on it's head. This film is actually an intriguing, jittery drama that will absolutely leave you on the edge of your seat, elevated by the inventive mind of writer/director, Leigh Whannell and a first-rate performance by Elizabeth Moss.

COMING SOON

An intriguing new teaser trailer has dropped for an upcoming film starring Janelle Monáe. Not much as been revealed yet about the plot for "Antebellum" but it appears to be a supernatural thriller based on the announcement that the film is from the producers of "Get Out" and "Us". What we do know is that Monáe will play a successful writer who finds herself trapped in an alternative reality which takes her back in time during slavery and must solve this mystery before it's too late. It sounds like a really creepy mind twist. This is the feature film debut from writers/ directors, Gerard Bush + Christopher Renz who are best known for their work with creating innovative visuals for social activist organizations. "Antebellum" also features Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Marque Richardson and Gabourey Sidibe.

"Antebellum" is due in U.S. theaters on April 24, 2020

THE DEAD DON'T DIE (2019)

Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. June 17, 2019  10:15 PM



"The Dead Don’t Die", the latest from the maverick indie filmmaker, Jim Jarmusch, uses the concern for the environment and the lethal damage that could occur to the planet if we continue to ignore the destructive signs as a starting point for this droll comedy. And one potential result, according to the director, could be the rise of those formerly dead, flesh-eating creatures called zombies. This idea seems like it could be a witty and quirky satire in the hands of Jarmusch and with a remarkable cast of highly idiosyncratic actors on board, it appeared like the film would be a fun, creepy ride. But while the writer/director authentically captures the eerie trappings of the genre, "The Dead Don't Die" remains half-baked with Jarmusch seeming like he was never able to fully work out exactly what he wanted to accomplish with this horror-comedy.

Our story takes place in the very small town of Centerville and the most urgent call of the day for Police Chief, Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) is from Frank Miller (Steve Buscemi). This surly and casually racist farmer has called them complaining about his missing chickens and blames Hermit Bob (Tom Waits), the town's eccentric loner, for their loss. The police officers go in to the woods where Bob lives and try to talk with him. But he's far from cooperative.

As Robertson and Peterson drive back to the station, they notice that it is still daylight at eight in the evening. And to add to the strangeness of the day, their watches and cellphones have suddenly stopped working. A news report by Posie Juarez (Rosie Perez) warns that pets have begun to violently attack their owners while Miller discovers that all the animals on his farm have disappeared.

Once it finally becomes dark, dead bodies begin to rise from the grave with a hunger for flesh. We see two zombies (Sara Driver and Iggy Pop) enter the local diner at closing time where they maul the waitress, Fern (Eszter Balint) and Lily (Rosal Colon), the overnight cleaner before drifting mindlessly towards the coffee.

The next morning, their bodies are discovered by regular customer, Hank (Danny Glover) who owns the hardware store. Robertson and Peterson are called along with Officer Mindy Morrison (Chloë Sevigny) to the crime scene. Unable to understand what happened, most of them think that perhaps some animal attacked them. But Peterson confidently provides what he thinks is the most obvious answer; zombies.

Mr. Jarmusch has made his career taking familiar genres and cleverly twisting them in unexpected and offbeat ways. While this singular artist has been making films since 1980, he has only completed thirteen features to date. But what he has accomplished has been intriguing and distinctive which includes his version of a road movie ("Stranger Than Paradise"), a period western ("Dead Man"), a modern samurai film ("Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai"), a romantic-comedy ("Broken Flowers") and a vampire movie ("Only Lovers Left Alive").

With "The Dead Don't Die", you are expecting this filmmaker to deliver some insightful wit and oddball humor to this chilling tale of the living dead. But Mr. Jarmusch's script feels like a really rough draft where he still needed a little more time to fine-tune some of the characters, the plot and create a satisfying ending. The actors appear to improvise much of their dialogue while delivering them in same deadpan manner. This only adds to the sluggish pacing and listless energy, making the film move slower than the zombies.

The real motivation for Jarmusch to make "The Dead Don't Die" seems to be the opportunity to hang out with his actor buddies. The cast is filled with many of his previous collaborators (Murray, Driver, Sevigny, Buscemi, Waits and Tilda Swinton who appears as a Scottish, samurai mortician) and he made some new friends with Glover, Carol Kane, influencer, Luka Sabbat and actress/pop singer, Selena Gomez. While they seem to be enjoying themselves and do their best to enliven these proceedings, the performers are unable to really get the blood pumping.

Despite the efforts of Mr. Jarmusch and his enthusiastic cast, "The Dead Don't Die" manages not to be scary or funny or even particularly inspired. And this is surprising coming from a filmmaker who has made his career by delivering interesting and unusual stories to cinema. Sadly, there is no life to be found in this quirky tale of the undead.

CLIMAX (2019)

Written & Directed by Gaspar Noé


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. March 3, 2019 5:15 PM


Much like his Danish film making counterpart, Lars von Trier, Gaspar Noé delights in shocking and agitating with his cinema. Born in Argentina but raised mostly in France, the filmmaker seems to get great pleasure with assaulting his potential audience with harsh, cruel and ugly subject matter, gleefully provoking a reaction of discomfort and unease. Noé's dark world view may be calculated and, at times, ridiculously excessive yet there is no denying that he also manages to make his films impressively stylish and disturbingly entertaining.

Noé has only made five features to date and they are all challenging and confrontational works. His first feature in 1998, "I Stand Alone (Seul contre tous)" deals with several days in the tragic life of an sad, isolated butcher which includes incest with his daughter. Noé's next film was probably his most controversial, "Irréversible" which tells it's story in reverse and follows a Parisian man seeking to avenge his girlfriend who was brutally raped with this act horrifically displayed in a ten-minute long take. "Enter The Void" is about an American drug dealer shot by the Tokyo police and we follow his wild and trippy, out-of-body experience as he reviews his life. And then there was his 3D erotic drama from 2015, "Love" which had his actors performing unsimulated hardcore sex.

His latest, "Climax" begins deceptively as a joyous and thrilling celebration of dance before descending in to a dark and unsettling nightmare involving violence and death between a group of dancers. And like Noé's previous works, this film delivers moments that are often wildly exhilarating while others are extremely distressing.

We are first introduced to these young dancers through video interviews as they audition for a part in a major dance production that will travel through France and the U.S. These performers are made up of an almost equal number of males and females, largely black and brown. Then the film whirls in to an electrifying five-minute long dance routine which shows off each dancer's individual style while they also work together in synchronized motion. This fast-moving, freestyle number (that is actually choreographed by Nina McNeely) set to Cerrone's 1977 disco classic, "Supernature" is the highlight of the film and almost worth the price of admission alone.

But "Climax" is a movie and there is something resembling a plot yet it's admittedly slight. After coming to the end of a long rehearsal, the dancers decide to cut loose and celebrate. While drinking sangria, they flirt, share personal stories and gossip about each other. However, everyone that drank the wine soon begins to feel strange and eventually suspect that it's been spiked with a hallucinogenic drug.

The dancers start behaving more irrationally, accusing Omar (Adrien Sissoko) of drugging them because he didn't drink. Although the reason is because he's Muslim, the group doesn't care and throw him out of the building in to the freezing cold. Once the drug really kicks in, we see these dancers wildly hallucinate and thrash about helplessly as they lose complete control of their minds and bodies.

Since there isn't much to the story, Noé plays with structure as a way to continuously throw off our expectations. "Climax" begins with the ending scene followed by the closing credits and the cast and above-the-line crew credits flash in the middle of the film. With his long-time cinematographer, Benoît Debie and Denis Bedlow, who edited with Noé, the director creates further disorientation with off-kilter shots, harsh lighting and lengthy takes.

And Noé is not satisfied with us simply watching the harrowing ordeal these young adults face and decides to push the boundaries further by introducing an adorable young boy in to this situation. Tito (played by Vince Galliot Cumant) is the son of Emmanuelle (Claude Gajan Maull), the tour manager and after discovering he drank some of the sangria, she locks him in an electrical closet for protection. But she had the wine too and her losing the key leads to tragic results.

Most of the cast are professional dancers who are acting for the first time. A familiar face is Sofia Boutella, a former model and street dancer turned actress who you might recall seeing in "The Mummy", "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and "Atomic Blonde", that appears here as Selva, the show's choreographer. With her character as our central figure, the actress is quite effective as Selva plummets wildly to the point of psychosis, lost in an erratic dance she can no longer control.

As we watch the drugged dancers reach a frenzied crescendo, some of this troubling action becomes very repetitive. But Noé is not motivated nor particularly concerned with pleasing a wide audience. And it’s been said that the idea of him winning a popularity contest of an award (which he won the Art Cinema Prize at last year’s Cannes fest for this film) has left him gagging.

Gaspar Noé has fearlessly shared his lurid concepts and horrid fantasies with the focus of his film not in it's story but more about creating frantic movement and stirring unsettling emotions. "Climax" is a horror film in the true sense of the word and this inventive director has crafted his vision of what that might be.

VELVET BUZZSAW (2019)

Written & Directed by Dan Gilroy


Available to stream now on Netflix


Writer/director Dan Gilroy's "Velvet Buzzsaw" dives in to the art world and reveals not only the colorful denizens who inhabit that scene but a dark undercurrent that leads to murder. Yet the killer is not a tangible presence but the art itself which is behind these unusual deaths. If that sounds kinda of odd and preposterous, the film is not really able to alter that opinion too much. This surreal satire tries to make a commentary on the corruption in the buying and selling of art while driving a deadly and eerie element to the story. But despite some intriguing ideas and an impressive cast, "Velvet Buzzsaw" is a creation that is unable to fully communicate it's peculiar concept.

Our story begins during Art Basel in Miami with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Morf Vandewalt, a powerful L.A. art critic. In his professional life, Morf displays confidence and enjoys wielding his clout however his personal life is much more unstable and erratic. While not exactly sexually fluid yet bored with his boyfriend, he finds himself drawn to his female friend, Josephina (Zawe Ashton) and they begin an intimate relationship. Back home in sunny Los Angeles, she works as an assistant for Rhodora Haze (Rene Russo), a former member of the rock-band, Velvet Buzzsaw and now an influential and ruthless gallery owner.

One day in her apartment building, Josephina finds her elderly neighbor has died in the hallway. His name was Vetril Dease and had requested that all of his possessions be burned. Curious, she enters his apartment to discover hundreds of his paintings which are beautiful yet highly disturbing. She steals all of the art but unsure what to do with it. However, once Morf and Rhodora see the work, they know exactly what to do.

Rhodora displays the paintings at her gallery and they become an instant success. People become completely mesmerized by this work including fellow artists Damrish (Daveed Diggs) and Piers (John Malkovich). And this is when we begin a supernatural detour when the viewers of the art become a victim of the art. The first to fall is Bryson (Billy Magnussen), an electrician for the gallery and aspiring artist. Rhodora insists on hiding some of Dease's painting to inflate their value and has him store some of the art in a warehouse. However, Bryson has other plans and takes off with these paintings only to meet a creepy and gruesome demise.

Other strange deaths occur to members in the small art community and Morf, after researching Dease's background to discover that he had an abusive childhood and expressed his growing mental illness through his paintings, begins to make a connection between this art and these unnatural casualties.

After years as a successful screenwriter, Mr. Gilroy made his debut as a director with "Nightcrawler" in 2014 which also starred Gyllenhaal and Russo. This well-received feature (which earned Gilroy a nomination for Best Original Screenplay) examined the seedy world of freelance photojournalists and feeding the hunger for scandalous news no matter the cost. His follow-up was the less admired, "Roman J. Israel, Esq." that featured Denzel Washington in his Oscar-nominated role as an idealistic defense lawyer lacking certain social skills who was determined to fight for the poor and disadvantaged.

With "Velvet Buzzsaw", Mr. Gilroy continues his exploration in to the darker side of humanity but this frantic script is surprisingly muddled. The plot shifting from quirky drama to cheesy horror is just odd and clunky. We are never given any real understanding of why (or how) this vengeful art has set out to kill these unpleasantly superficial yet still innocent people. And the grisly murders themselves are predictable and not particularly frightening.

Thankfully, the actors involved are fully committed, helping to make this comedic frightfest more interesting than it deserves. Even playing a smarmy and whiny art critic, Mr. Gyllenhaal still impressively manages to bring some charm and sex appeal to the role. The appearance of the always fascinating Ms Russo (who just happens to be married to Mr. Gilroy) is a reminder that her gifts are not being currently utilized enough on the big screen. We also have Tom Sturridge as a rival gallery owner and Toni Collette as an art curator who briefly adds some interesting colors to the film.

As we know, all art is highly subjective. Some viewers will find "Velvet Buzzsaw" to be a witty and experimental satire on the terrors in the world of art. While others may only see the movie to be a banal concoction of parody and horror offering cheap thrills and even cheaper scares. I appreciated what Mr. Gilroy was trying to create but "Velvet Buzzsaw" lacks a cohesive structure to make his bold vision actually satisfying.

GRETA (2019)

Written by Ray Wright and Neil Jordan


Directed by Neil Jordan


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. February 27, 2019 7:30PM



"Greta", the latest from writer/director, Neil Jordan, is a psychological thriller that offers nothing that you haven't seen before. But it does feature a deliriously unhinged and thoroughly entertaining performance by one of France's greatest film legends, Isabelle Huppert in a rare English-language appearance. While she is unable to completely salvage this silly and flimsy horror drama about an isolated older woman who obsessively latches on to a mournful younger girl, Huppert manages to make the film far more interesting with her intriguing (and very French) mix of chilly reserve and subdued passion.

Frances (Chloë Grace Moretz) has recently lost her mother to cancer while her relationship with her father (Colm Feore) has deteriorated due to him spending his time working instead of with her after his wife's passing. Looking for a fresh start, she has moved to New York City and shares an apartment with her salty and streetwise friend, Erica (Maika Monroe).

One day while riding the subway, Frances finds a handbag left on a seat. After taking it home, Erica advises her to keep the cash and forget about it. But the good-natured Frances decides to return the bag to the rightful owner. Using the ID inside of the purse, the young woman goes to the address in Brooklyn and knocks on the door. A grateful Greta (Huppert) answers, insisting on Frances joining her for coffee. After chatting for a bit, the two discover that they both have lost a close loved one with Greta being a recent widow. Open and vulnerable, Frances finds herself drawn to this kind stranger with a warm friendship developing.

However, during a dinner at Greta's house, Frances is disturbed to discover that the handbag she found on the subway was not an accident. She tries to withdraw from this scary situation but Greta is not having it. Excessive phone calls and texts, stalking and harassment is just a warm-up that an increasingly deranged Greta has in store for her friend-turned-victim.

As a filmmaker, the Irish writer/director has had some good days ("The Crying Game", "Interview With a Vampire"), some bad days ("We're No Angels", "In Dreams") and many so-so ("Breakfast On Pluto", "The Brave One"). And with "Greta", Mr. Jordan has unfortunately landed once again in the not-so-good category. The screenplay, co-written by the director with Ray Wright, features routine dialogue and seemed to have eagerly tossed aside logic and common sense in order to propel this lame story forward.

Beginning her career as a child actor, Ms Moretz has grown in to a fine actress and does strong committed work here while Ms. Monroe (who you might remember from the horror flick, "It Follows") adds some much needed humor as the suspicious roommate. But let me stress again that the only reason why you should even consider sitting through this mess of a film is to witness Ms Huppert in glorious action. She has done this type of manic role several times before in her native French, most notably in "The Piano Teacher" by the provocative Austrian director Michael Haneke (imagine what this filmmaker behind the disturbing "Funny Games" could have done with this material) and while the actress gives another wild, go-for-broke performance, it is completely wasted on this half-baked thriller.

"Greta" is the kind of movie you know you're in trouble when the only real reaction you hear from the audience is during the truly terrifying moment when our title character spits chewing gum in to her stalking victim's hair.

SUSPIRIA (2018)

Written by David Kajganich



Directed by Luca Guadagnino



Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA.  October 30, 2018  7:00 PM



"Suspiria" is a provocative re-imagining of the cult classic horror film by Dario Argento from fellow Italian filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino. The director has stated that when he saw Mr. Argento's 1977 film as a child, he was completely terrified and wanted to recreate those dark emotions he felt with his own film. Mr. Guadagnino's version of "Suspiria" is a bold and bloody surreal extravaganza filled with lurid excess and demented symbolism. Yet the film comes across just as confusing, messy and somewhat redundant like a child's memory of a traumatic event. I'm not sure what I expected Guadagnino's follow-up to his highly-acclaimed, masterful work of the elegiac love story, "Call Me By Your Name" to be but this sprawling tale of overheated black magic was not it.

It's 1977 in West Berlin during the peak of a reign of terror by the militant organization, the Baader-Meinhof Gang; filmmaker, Rainer Werner Fassbinder achieved international success and David Bowie had recently immigrated to the city where he had gone to get sober and eventually inspired to create music that would revitalize his career. Susie Bannion (Dakota Johnson), an American from Ohio, arrives to the divided German city after being invited to attend the Markos Dance Academy. Shy and reserved, Susie grew-up among the Mennonite religious community. Yet despite her very conservative upbringing, she was drawn to the expressive power of modern dance.

The students are upset over the recent mysterious disappearance of their fellow dancer, Patricia (Chloë Grace Moretz). As an attempt to brush aside their concerns and fears, Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton), the stern yet nurturing lead instructor, tries to get the girls to refocus on rehearsal for the Academy's upcoming performance, "Volk" which translates to "people" in German. Susie catches the attention of Blanc with her natural talent and impresses her enough to become the principal dancer of the piece.

Not long before she vanished, a terrified Patricia had gone to her therapist, Josef Klemperer (Lutz Ebersdorf) to assert that the dance school she attends is controlled by a coven of witches. Highly skeptical of her claims but after he begins to read the missing girl's detailed journals she left behind in his office, Klemperer decides to further investigate the Academy.

Another student, Sara (Mia Goth) also becomes suspicious of the activities by the matrons of the school. She finds hidden rooms that hold ancient religious relics and witnesses supernatural behavior before eventually discovering the terrible secret of what actually happened to Patricia and the other dancers who apparently left the Academy.

It's clear Mr. Guadagnino had no intention of making a basic horror movie. "Suspiria" explores the more obvious themes of feminism and female empowerment along with the less apparent involving the lingering guilt and shame of Germany because of the second World War and the aftermath which caused the country to be split apart. But these intriguing ideas that are touched upon become more muddled as the film progresses and lead to nowhere.

The cinematographer, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (who also shot "Call Me By Your Name") creates a dark and ominous world with a muted color palette and utilizing classic film techniques that were popularly used back in the 1970's like slow-motion, fast-cuts and zooms. There are vivid dance routines performed in the film which are choreographed by Damien Jalet and inspired by German expressionist dance. The hypnotic score by Thom Yorke of the band, Radiohead certainly adds to the tension and creepy vibe.

Ms Johnson, whose lineage includes the highly charismatic actors, Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith and Hitchcock muse, Tippi Hedren, displays a surprising lack of presence in the film. She does not command the screen but merely takes up space. That is not the case with Ms Swinton who has had a long history of doing potent work with roles ranging from down-to-Earth to completely out-of-this-world. In addition to Madame Blanc, the actress is barely recognizable as she plays two other characters in the film (there has been a lot of chatter identifying which ones but I will leave it to you to guess) which further highlights her remarkable talent. The matrons of the school are played by an interesting mix of International performers and include Ingrid Caven, a German actress and former wife of the bisexual director, Fassbinder; César Award-winning French actress/director, Sylvie Testud; Renée Soutendijk, the Dutch actress who is best known for her work in the early films of Paul Verhoeven in the 1980's and models, Malgosia Bela and Alek Wek. Jessica Harper, who starred in the original "Suspiria" and turned down a role in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" to appear in the film, also makes a brief cameo.

There is one unsettling scene that this "Suspiria" will probably be best remembered for (with the wild, bloodbath ritual near the end of the film a close runner-up) as it manages to be both imaginative and horrific. After Patricia disappears, Olga (Elena Fokina) is fed up with what is happening at the school and decides to leave. But she doesn't get far. Olga is locked in a rehearsal room while Susie is about to do a practice run of the dance routine. Madame Blanc touches Susie's hands and feet so that with every dramatic dance movement, Olga is violently slammed against the mirrored walls. Her body becomes so twisted and broken that when it's finally over, she barely remains recognizable as a human being. It's almost unbearable to watch yet admittedly fascinating to witness.

"Suspiria" is painfully gruesome, silly and doesn't make much sense. But the director's stylish, expertly crafted revision of an important moment in his cinematic past still manages to occasionally conjure up some thought-provoking terror and innovative fear.

A QUIET PLACE (2018)

Written by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski


Directed by John Krasinski


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. April 9, 2018 5:00 PM


With "A Quiet Place", John Krasinski's latest turn behind the camera is a well-crafted sci-fi horror thriller that is intense, terrifying and unexpectedly emotional. It focuses on a family trying to stay alive in a postapocalyptic world by remaining as quiet as possible otherwise they will fall victim to a deadly force triggered by any sound they might make. The actor turned film maker has shifted the familiar dead body countdown of the genre to place the emphasis on the relentless determination of devoted and loving parents trying to protect their children from harm at any cost. This helps make this gripping film standout by connecting us with heartfelt characters that we actually want to see survive through this harrowing ordeal.

There is no backstory given but we do know that most of mankind has been wiped out by alien life-forms; giant, fast-moving, blind creatures that come out of nowhere to attack any sudden loud noise. They do not commit this act for protection nor food but to simply destroy the source of the sound.

One of the few survivors is the resourceful, Lee Abbott, played by Mr. Krasinski, along with his family; Lee's wife, Evelyn (Emily Blunt, the director's real-life spouse) and their two children, son, Marcus (Noah Jupe) and daughter, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) who is deaf and the family's ability to use sign-language has certainly come in handy. Evelyn is expecting a child and while this should be a time of great happiness, this impending arrival has created a new set of challenges and will require the parents to be creative in order to protect their newborn.

There is a sadness that hovers over the Abbotts which goes beyond the difficult situation they are currently facing. There was a younger son, Beau (Cade Woodward) who was taken down by one of the aliens for simply wanting to be a child and none of them, not surprisingly, have fully recovered from this tragedy.

As they are no longer able to behave or interact in a natural way, the family's main form of communication is through signing and signaling. Simple conversations or even the spontaneous joy of laughter are no longer possible. While they must remain constantly close together for survival, the feeling of frustration and isolation is unavoidable as they can never properly express themselves. This is most certainly something Regan has felt in the world long before the invasion.

The spec script by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods was inspired by the silent movies they watched as college students and by the vast, isolated farmlands in their home state of Iowa. When Krasinski was offered the opportunity to direct his third feature (following an adaption of David Foster Wallace's "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" and the family dramedy, "The Hollars"), he gave the screenplay a polish before asking his wife to read and offer feedback. The British actress not only loved the script but also wanted a part in the project.

As a director, Krasinski finds the right balance of capturing all of the complex emotional anxieties of a family in crisis while never losing sight to make sure there are plenty of truly frightening moments that the genre demands. And with little spoken dialogue to move the story along, its up to the bold visuals by Charlotte Brus Christensen and an eerie, dramatic score by Marco Beltrami which is used sparingly but effectively.

The one thing you can count on when an actor becomes a director is that they will make sure the performances are exceptional. And Mr Krasinski has achieved this with his small, finely-tuned cast. Since her breakout as the harried assistant in "The Devil Wears Prada", Ms Blunt has impressed with many memorable roles as tough, strong-willed yet vulnerable women in such films as "Edge of Tomorrow", "the Girl On The Train" and "Sicario". Just watch her in one of the film's most unnerving sequences when Evelyn has to remain as quiet as possible despite going in to labor and having stepped directly on to an upended nail, all while trying to avoid the creature roaming through the house in search of a noise. You can't take your eyes off of her. The young actors are also wonderful with Ms Simmonds, who is actually deaf and made a notable film debut last year in Todd Haynes', "Wonderstruck", delivering a fierce intensity to her role.

The film doesn't deliver a definitive conclusion yet "A Quiet Place" still offers some optimism and hope. Mr. Krasinski should be proud for crafting a remarkably inventive, scary thriller that also manages to be a thoughtful and moving experience.

WINCHESTER (2018)

Written by Tom Vaughan and Peter & Michael Spierig


Directed by The Spierig Brothers


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. February 5, 2018, 5:00 PM


"Winchester", the latest from the Aussie film making team, the Spierig brothers, is probably the first haunted house, ghost story with a pro-gun control message. While I personally found the idea admirable, the rest of the film I had more difficulty getting behind. Based very loosely on the life of Sarah Lockwood Winchester, the widow of an owner of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, who invested some of her incredible, inherited wealth in to the continuous construction on her mansion in San Jose, California. It had been rumored that Mrs. Winchester apparently believed that she was cursed and haunted by spirits, with the endless work on her home as an attempt keep them at bay. It is certainly an intriguing concept to build a horror film around but the plot here is flimsy and the creepy frights never rise beyond obvious.

Six years in to the twentieth century, Dr. Eric Price (Jason Clarke) is approached by a representative from Winchester Repeating Arms about evaluating the widow (Helen Mirren) to see if she is mentally fit to continue running the rifle company.  Drug addled, in debit and grieving over the recent loss of his wife, Dr. Price reluctantly accepts the offer, clearly understanding the outcome they expect to be determined.

When Dr. Price arrives at the massive mansion in San Jose, he is greeted by Mrs. Winchester's niece, Marion (Sarah Snook) who is dismissive of the whole idea of his presence but welcomes him in to the home. During dinner, the doctor meets Mrs. Winchester, an intense woman, tightly wound and dressed in black, mourning attire. He later begins his assessment of her which she confesses her ability to communicate with ghosts and feels she can help them move on.

The doctor is initially skeptical of her claims until he begins to see strange ghostly visions throughout the house. He also witnesses Marion's young son, Henry (Finn Scicluna-O'Prey) being possessed by a menacing spirit, forcing the boy to commit violent and dangerous acts. And when the San Francisco earthquake strikes (still considered one of the most devastating of all time), not only do Dr. Price and Mrs. Winchester have to survive the violent tremor but they also have to fight against a large number of extremely agitated ghosts that arrive to the house seeking vengeance.

Best known for their impressive sci-fi vampire thriller, "Daybreakers", Michael and Peter Spierig certainly can deliver compelling concepts and stylish visuals yet the brothers are more challenged  when it comes to creating full-blooded characters and expressive dialogue. And the only frightening moments they come up with are jump-scares which grow increasingly annoying and tiresome as they continue on throughout the film.

A friend told me he would even be happy to pay to watch Helen Mirren read the phone book. While I won't go that far, I do greatly admire the extraordinary talent of this veteran British actress. Ms Mirren uses her undeniable charisma to fill in the underdeveloped Mrs.Winchester but her real purpose here seems only to explain the motivations of the ghosts in order to move the feeble plot forward. Mr. Clarke, the fine Australian actor who has been spending a lot of time perfecting his American accent which he uses here, in last year’s “Mudbound” and for the upcoming “Chappaquiddick” in which he plays the late Senator, Ted Kennedy, injects some much needed energy to the dire proceedings.

In the end, “Winchester” is a decently executed but generic ghost story filled with too many cheap thrills and lazy scares. But the Spierig brothers were wise enough to have the heavenly gifts of Ms Mirren and Mr Clarke to not only bring a touch of class and gravitas but also help distract from the simply average spirits that haunt this film.

MOTHER! (2017)

Written & Directed by Darren Aronofsky


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. September 17, 2017  7:30 PM



Even before I saw the film, I was impressed by the restraint of the trailer for "mother!", the latest from eye-opening auteur, Darren Aronofsky, which disclosed very little of what exactly this would be about. I am one of those people who hate with a passion trailers that heavily details the entire film including revealing key plot points or all the best jokes in the two minute time frame. With star, Jennifer Lawrence featured prominently, it appears that "mother!" could be some kind of fervent horror thriller with a woman in some type of supernatural peril.

After seeing the film, I now understand completely why the trailer was so vague. In fact, it is actually downright misleading. "mother!" is far from the traditional horror film as it was presented and considering some of the previous idiosyncratic work by Mr. Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream", "The Fountain", "Black Swan" or even his biblical epic "Noah") that thought never should have been considered. This is clearly the reason for the divisive audience reaction to the film with it receiving the rare CinemaScore rating of "F".

And so the obvious question becomes what exactly is "mother!" about? That is not easy to pin down. Beginning like an intense marital drama involving mysterious visitors and spooky elements, the film shifts with unrestrained abandon in to a surreal nightmare involving religious symbolism, moral decay, the rapid decline of civilization and the inevitable destruction of our planet. And there is also a surprisingly wicked sense of humor to be found here as well.

Mr. Aronofsky doesn't present any of these substantial ideas in a clearly defined way, preferring to leave the viewer to draw their own conclusions of what this all may mean. While this may leave some of the audience thoroughly intrigued and enthralled, others will most certainly be frustrated and annoyed. And this appears to be exactly the director's intention with his polemic film. I was quite intrigued by "mother!' but I must admit I didn't fully understand everything that was happening. Yet I still loved the wild, trippy and puzzling journey the film took me on.

After images involving fire and destruction (which may make slightly more sense to some at the conclusion of the movie) begin the film, we are introduced to a young woman rising in the morning from bed, played by Ms Lawrence. None of the characters are given actual names but she is referred to mother, although she currently has no children of her own. With a mane of long, voluminous dirty blonde hair, her focus is on supporting Him, her older husband (Javier Bardem) who is a successful author now suffering from writer's block and renovating their large, dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere. She appears hopeful that all this devoted attention will bring her a closer connection with them both.

In the middle of one evening, a man (Ed Harris) appears at their door, thinking there was a room to rent. Instead of sending him away, Him invites the man to stay the night, despite mother being uncomfortable with the idea. With the arrival of man's wife, woman (an excellent Michelle Pfeiffer) the next day, the temperamental couple manages to completely disrupt the household. Him enjoys the company and the attention they provide yet mother is left feeling even more alienated and resentful.

Not long after the couple's two sons (played by real-life brothers, Domhnall and Brian Gleeson) burst in to the house, arguing over their parent's love and future inheritance, does a physical altercation erupt between them, ending with a tragic act of violence. And from here, the film begins to shift deeper in to an expressionist style, filling the screen with an explosion of intellectual reflection and artfully designed visuals.

You can pick up plenty of the cinematic influences that seemed to inspire "mother!" (Stanley Kubrick, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", Luis Buñuel, "Rosemary's Baby") yet the director has brought his own distinctively extravagant sense of technique and communication to his film. With the help of a minimalistic musical score from Jóhann Jóhannsson, sound designer, Craig Henighan and frequent collaborator, cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, they perfectly create an eerie and murky dream-like atmosphere that continuously transforms and unsettles throughout.

Fortunately, Mr. Aronofsky also has a very game Ms Lawrence who is willing to endure quite a lot thrown at her throughout the film. The young actress, shot in tight close-ups and appears in almost every scene, is exceptional as our guide through this unyielding maze of bizarre twists and turns. While for the most part, all she does is react to the madness surrounding her yet she brings a much needed grounded emotional power.

Without a doubt, "mother!" is one of the most imaginative yet polarizing films of the year. This brilliant but confounding drama gleefully challenges, incites and disturbs in ways that is rarely done anymore, particularly by an American filmmaker. I think it may be required to view the film for a second time for the opportunity to reevaluate and discover what may have been missed the first time. Or for some, seeing "mother!" one time was one time too many.

LIFE (2017)

Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick


Directed by Daniel Espinosa


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. March 28, 2017 4:45PM


A space crew goes out in search of life on a seemingly lifeless planet. They retrieve samples and during an experiment with the organism something goes terribly wrong, with it becoming a powerful, deadly force that threatens the entire crew. If this plot sounds somewhat familiar, it should. It is a slight variation of "Alien", Ridley Scott's groundbreaking 1979 sci-fi horror film that brought respectability and big box-office to the genre.

With "Life", director Daniel Espinosa delivers a solid, effective thriller and takes full advantage of the incredible advances in visual effects. The only obstacle is that this filmmaker is not entirely successful in putting enough distance between his contemporary space drama and Ridley Scott's masterpiece.

The six-man crew on an international space station includes Katerina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya), the Russian commander, Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), an American medic, Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), a British quarantine officer and Sho (Hiroyuki Sanada), the systems engineer from Japan. And no crew is complete without a smart-ass jokester with Ryan Reynolds filling that role as Roy, the pilot of the station.

The biologist on the team, Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) has success in reviving a dormant organism from Mars by adjusting atmospheric conditions in a lab. Given the name "Calvin" by school children back on Earth, it is a complex multi-celled life-form that responds to stimuli and needs a certain amount of oxygen to thrive. An accident in the lab which shifted the atmosphere causes Calvin to return to being non-responsive. Desperate to revive it, Derry attempts a mild electric shock to re-stimulate the organism.

This proves to be effective yet Calvin becomes aggressive, wrapping itself around Derry's hand and squeezing tightly with no immediate plan of letting go. Eventually releasing the mangled hand, Calvin manages to escape it's secure enclosure, making the crew realize they are dealing with an intuitive and resourceful being. After devouring a lab rat, Calvin rapidly increases in size, further complicating this situation.

If you are at all familiar with this genre, then you know that once this highly evolved alien begins raging against the crew in a desperate fight for survival, it will become stronger, smarter and more lethal, setting the stage for an uneven fight between man against creature.

Mr. Espinosa first came to Hollywood's attention with his Swedish action-thriller hit, "Easy Money" (which has spawned two sequels and is being primed for an American remake) and made his first U.S. based feature, "Safe House" with Mr. Reynolds and Denzel Washington in 2012. There is an European sensibility to the pacing and performances but with a serviceable script by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, the team that brought us the wickedly profane and brutally violent super-hero flick, "Deadpool", the terrifying action and gore has been ramped-up American-style and emphasized for maximum effect. "Life" looks sensational with impressive camera-work from Seamus McGarvey and a top-notch special effects team together deliver some amazing, believable visuals.

With all this lavish attention paid to the technical side of the film, character development becomes more of an afterthought. These strong, appealing actors do the best the can with very little but ultimately most of them end up being developed just enough before simply falling in to the standard horror-movie victim pile.

Though the film features some intriguing science, astonishing realistic imagery, intense scary thrills and a clever ending, "Life" just can't shake the feeling of familiarity and predictability. That's not necessarily a bad thing yet it also doesn't offer much incentive to encourage someone to see the film either.

GET OUT (2017)

Written & Directed by Jordan Peele


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. February 25, 2017 9:15 PM


The subject of race relations in America is not tackled too often in cinema. And when it is attempted, it can be either heavy-handed or overly simplified. "Get Out", Jordan Peele's audacious debut as a director, manages to handle the volatile subject with purpose, thoughtfulness and a surprising amount of humor. What makes this feat even more impressive is that the film is fundamentally a horror flick, a very unlikely genre to deal with this complicated issue.

After only dating for a few months, Chris Williams (Daniel Kaluuya), a handsome, African-American photographer has been invited to spend the weekend upstate to meet the parents of Rose Armitage, his Caucasian girlfriend, played by Allison Williams, a co-star of HBO's "Girls", making her film debut. While he's very concerned about her folks reaction to bringing him home to meet the family, particularly since she hasn't mentioned his race, Rose, who has never actually dated an African-American before, reassures him that it's fine as they are liberal and open minded.

When the two reach the home of Rose's parents, Dean (Bradley Whitford) and Missy (Catherine Keener), they are more than welcoming. In fact, Dean seems to go out of his way in an attempt to bond with Chris, telling him that he would have proudly voted for Obama for a third term if he could. What does make Chris really uncomfortable are the family's black servants, Georgina (Betty Gabriel), the housekeeper and Walter (Marcus Henderson), the gardener. It is not their position in the home but their odd behavior and strange lack of personality.

The longer Chris stays with the Armitages, the weirder his situation becomes in the house. Missy, a psychiatrist, strongly dislikes him smoking around her daughter. She offers to hypnotize Chris to help him stop which he politely declines. Yet unwillingly he finds himself paralyzed under her spell and losing the desire for a cigarette in the process. During an annual gathering at the home, the very white guests treat Chris as a quaint curiosity. The only other black guest (LaKeith Stanfield) also acts strangely but he seems familiar to Chris. Looking like someone who disappeared from the city a few months ago, he takes his picture to show his buddy, Rod (Lil Rel Howery) but the flash causes the man to freak out, warning Chris to escape from this town.

As one half of the former African-American comedy team, Key & Peele, Mr Peele touched on race frequently on their popular skit television show, offering pointed yet hilariously witty commentary on the issue. Horror movies are very popular with African-Americans but when there is a black character in one of these films, guess who is usually the first victim to fall under the knife of the homicidal killer? With "Get Out", Peele wanted to finally make one from their perspective, exploring some of the things that actually frightens black people living in 21st century America. The film keeps the racial tension tightly wound, playing with our usual expectations in regards to common social interactions between blacks and whites while brilliantly upending those expectations in some very humorous and occasionally scary ways.

Samuel L. Jackson (who else?) has questioned the casting of the British-Ugandan actor, Kaluuya in the role of an African-American, unsure if he understands the history well enough to be effective in the role. That Brits and Aussies of all races are taking acting jobs away from actual Americans is maybe something Donald Trump should look in to but racism is hardly a problem only understood in America. With his burning intensity and soulful, expressive eyes, it's quite understandable why Mr. Kaluuya was cast. It is however Milton "Lil Rel" Howery, a stand-up comedian currently seen on "The Carmichael Show", that almost steals the film. As Chris' best friend and a TSA officer, Howery hilariously plays detective trying to help his buddy figure out exactly what is going on with the black folks in this crazy town. And the great Catherine Keener is finally back on the big screen, effectively managing to make a teacup menacing and gives a whole new meaning to the term, "controlling mother".

Despite the shaky logic behind the sinister conclusion and the unfortunate generic title, "Get Out" is a thrilling and razor-sharp satire on race in our society, particularly in this current political climate, that is equally terrifying and looney. Mr Peele has capably crafted a new American horror classic and has promptly introduced himself as an inventive filmmaker to watch.