​I recently watched the Netflix Original, In the Tall Grass which was based on a short story written by Stephen King and his son, Joe Hill. After I finished viewing the film, I decided to catch up on the story since I had never read it. In this blog post, I will give a review of both the film and the story, as well as offer some comparisons. We will get into spoilers, but I’ll let you know when those are coming so you can veer away if spoilers aren’t your thang.
 
Let’s dive into the film since I watched it first. The basic premise is that Becky and Cal DeMuth (siblings) are traveling across country on their way to San Diego. Becky is pregnant and she is giving her child up for adoption to a family there. On the way, they stop along the side of the road because Becky gets nauseous and has to throw up. While parked, they hear the voice of a child in the nearby field of tall grass crying for help. They decide to go after the boy and find that getting out of the tall grass is much more than it seems. 

While they are in the field, they eventually meet up with Tobin, a small boy who called them in, his mother, Natalie, and the boy’s father, Ross. The field seems to move things around, making navigation quite difficult. In the center of the field (and quite frankly, the center of everything) is a large standing rock with strange carvings on it.
​
I can’t get into much more without spoilers, so I’ll just give you my spoiler-free review on the film. I give it 3.5/5 stars overall. It was a fun premise, it was shot well, and there were some fairly horrifying scenes. Patrick Wilson plays the father of Tobin and does a bang-up job. I like him in almost everything he plays in and he didn’t disappoint in this film. However, it was confusing (more on that below) and I was distracted trying to figure some things out. 

I read the short story hoping it would explain some things, but it didn’t. As I first started reading the short story, I felt as if it were rushing through things too fast and not spending much time with the characters and after reading the first third, I thought the movie was better than the story.
​
However, once I finished reading the story, I definitely enjoyed reading it more than I did watching it. It was shorter than the movie (of course) and only took about 20 minutes to read. I can’t tell you how many pages it was, as I read it on my Kindle. However, King and Hill didn’t mess around with the convoluted plot that the film introduced, and instead get right to the root of it all and offer up an extremely horrifying tale. For the short story, I give it a 4/5. There were some very disturbing scenes in the story. I would have given it a full five stars, but I subtracted one mainly because I wanted a little more and I think it could have been made into a novella easily. 

To compare the two, the premise of the story is the same as the movie, and the movie did a good job following the story in the beginning. However, after about 30 minutes, the movie goes off the rails into its own territory and even introduces characters that didn’t appear in the short story. If you like King or Hill’s stories, give the film a watch. I found it enjoyable despite some of the confusion. It’s kind of creepy and has some Lovecraftian/Cosmic vibes.
​
Now, let’s get into some nitty-gritty details. WARNING! Spoilers ahead.

Okay, so in the movie, we have Becky and Cal going into the tall grass to look for Tobin. They get separated fairly quickly and the grass doesn’t let them come back together for a while. Meanwhile, Cal finds Tobin, or I should say, Tobin finds Cal. The boy is burying a dead bird and mentions something that the grass doesn’t move dead things and it’s easier to find dead things and all that creepy lore. The statement adds flavor to both the short story and the movie. Although in the short story, Tobin states that the birds stay away and must talk to each other, except the crows, as he finds more crows than any other bird.

Tobin says that to find Becky, Cal will have to follow him to the rock. Once he touches the rock he can see and find her easily because basically the rock knows everything. The same thing happens in the short story.

While Becky is trying to link up with Cal, she runs into Ross, Tobin’s father. He’s acting kind of strange but seems somewhat helpful. Long story short, Ross is linked with the rock and wants to bring Becky and everyone there so they can touch it too. Obviously, Becky doesn’t want to, which I don’t blame her.

Here’s where some confusion sets in. In the movie, we see Tobin touching the rock, which means he should be crazy like Ross. However, later on, Ross acts like Tobin never touched the thing and we gloss over the earlier scene like it was a figment. Also, later on, Becky’s ex-boyfriend, Travis shows up and ends up touching the rock to save her, because apparently once you touch the rock you know all the things, including how to get out of the grass. But instead of going full dark side, he helps her and gets her out. Are we to believe that he fought the influence long enough to save his love? Who knows?
​
Small details I suppose, but I kept wondering what the hell was going on? They play with time loops, so perhaps there was a loop where Tobin touched the rock and another one where he doesn’t? I dunno. Anyway, it’s worth a watch, and for sure worth a read. 

I recently saw the movie, Ready or Not and I have to say, it was well done. It lived up to all my expectations from the trailer. The synopsis reads: A bride’s wedding night takes a sinister turn when her eccentric new in-laws force her to take part in a terrifying game. Actress, Samara Weaving plays the main character, Grace. She’s marrying Alex Le Domas who is a member of the Le Domas family which is a rich family who made their living making games dating all the way back to the Civil War. However, it’s much more than just simply making it big with games. The legend says, that one of the Domas ancestors struck a deal with the devil to make it rich. However, to keep their end of the bargain, every new member of the Domas family has to pull a card from this mysterious magic box and play the game the card says. Apparently, most of the time the games are benign like Chess or Old Maid (WTF is Old Maid [inside joke from the movie]). But, if the new family member pulls the Hide & Seek card, then that means they’ll be hiding from the family and if found, will be sacrificed for the devil. The catch is that if the family can’t make the sacrifice by dawn, then the family will all die.

It’s a loose storyline; however, a movie like this doesn’t need a lot of depth. The characters carry this story along anyway. First of all, we have Grace. You find out that she came from the foster system and didn’t have a lot growing up. She’s totally in love with Alex and wants to make a good impression with his family even though she’s convinced that they hate her and think she’s a money-grabbing whore (her words). Grace is pretty funny and very resilient. After the initial shock of what’s going on wears off, she pulls on some serious inner strength and becomes that kick-ass protagonist we all want.

Second, we have her newly acquired husband, Alex. Alex we find out has somewhat left the Domas clan and his mother wants desperately for him to come back into the fold. At the beginning of the movie, Grace and the mother have a chat that could have been heartwarming if you didn’t know what was about to go down. She basically begs Grace to help bring Alex back into the family.

Next, we have Alex’s brother, Daniel. He’s alcoholic and quite disillusioned with the whole family. However, he remains loyal (somewhat) to what they are doing. Daniel is a funny character and portrays a wounded, broken shell-of-a-man well.
​
There are a lot of other characters in this tale, most of them are somewhat throw-away, but a few stick out. There is drugged out sister that is hilarious, an in-law brother that is equally funny, but I think the best is the Aunt. She plays this dour, old woman who is hell-bent (see what I did there) on maintaining the status quo with the devil. The crazy thing is, they give her this massive ax that looks comical with her. I mean, how the hell is she supposed to swing that thing, it probably weighs 1/3rd of her body weight!

Throughout the entire movie, you are left questioning whether or not the devil is real, or if the family has all just accepted the legend as fact. We get to see what lengths people will go to in order to survive (both by Grace and the rest of the Domas family as the clock continues to tick).

Overall, this movie was awesome. There are gruesome death scenes; comedic relief (full disclosure, it’s very dark comedy…but come on, you should expect that seeing how this is a story about a family ritualistically hunting down another human), and lots of blood.

Also, the filmmaker did a great job with tension and anticipation. There is a scene (I’ll detail it later in the spoiler section) that had me squirming. You fully know what is going to happen, but it’s in that knowledge that the scene works so well.

I give this movie 4.5/5 dead bodies. If you like campy, funny, horror movies, then go check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.
​
Now, on to the spoiler section.

Okay, still here? Cool. Throughout the whole movie, Alex is trying to save Grace. He didn’t want to bring her back and do the wedding there, but he was afraid of the potential curse. At one point in the movie, Alex is talking with his mother on why he left, stating that he realized slitting a goat’s throat in the name of Satan wasn’t a normal thing to do, but that he was starting to feel normal about it. His mother makes a comment at that point that if given the choice between family and a woman he met 18 months ago, he’ll choose family. At that point I kind of figured he would turn Darkside and I was right, even though it was the last moment he decided to turn against Grace.

We ultimately find out that the deal with the devil was real all along. Because they fail to sacrifice Grace by dawn. However, it’s super funny what happens. Because the sun comes up and the Domas family tries to hide from the sun’s light like they are vampires, but nothing happens. Then they all look at one another with an expression of, “Oh shit, we are just psychopaths and this wasn’t real, but we need to do something about her (Grace).” Then, as the Aunt lifts her ax to try and kill Grace, she explodes. Then, one by one all the Domas family explodes in a bloody mess. Kind of funny actually.

As for that tense moment…holy shit! So at one point in the movie, Grace gets shot in the hand and it puts a big honking hole in her palm. She then proceeds to fall down into this pit of dead goats and bodies. Because…yeah, we need a dead body pit. She tries to climb out, but obviously her hand is all fucked up. We then cut to a shot of the edge of the pit, where we see nail sticking out of the wood. You can put two and two together on that one…
​
Not much for spoilers here. Go see this movie! 

“There’s something up there. Something that dates way back. Those woods belong to something else.” Jud Crandall uttered those words to Louis Creed in the book. I remember when I first read Pet Sematary back in the early 2000’s (I know, I was late to the party), the fact that there was something out there roaming through the trees stuck with me. I’m a big fan of the strange, unknowable things that lurk in the darkness. At that point in my life, I was reading all sorts of Lovecraftian tales and just wallowing the cosmic dread.

What I like most about the remake of the movie, is the heavy nod to that thing in the woods. It plays a bigger part than the 1989 version. I won’t spoil it here, but the new version even goes so far as to really delve into the motivations of the characters. Like, why would Jud ever in his right mind lead Louis to that burial ground to bury Ellie’s cat, Church? Deep down in his gut, he knew what would happen. Well, this rendition digs into that sour ground and sheds some light.

Fair warning, while this post avoids any major spoilers, it does get into what I consider perhaps minor spoilers if you aren't familiar with the story. Read at your own risk.

The remake does a lot of things very well, but it also falls flat in a number of places. Let me break them down. First and foremost, I think the 2019 version did a great job setting the atmosphere for the story. The first act is very well done, and we learn about all the characters. We get to see the Creeds try and adapt to a rural lifestyle. The road by their house and the trucks are almost a character, a villain lying in the background. This movie knows you have read the book or seen the older film, as it plays off those expectations, at times with a sly grin and wink, and at other times with a devilish smile and crazy eye. I loved those moments in the new film. Secondly, it doesn’t rely on too many jump scares, instead tries to build dread and eeriness.
​
Second, let’s talk about Jud. I love Jud as a character and while I missed the accent from the 1989 film, John Lithgow does a fine job portraying him. He’s a likable character that you fall in love with right from the get-go. However, that love starts to turn stonier as the movie moves on, making you question his real motives, or what really happened to his wife. 

So we all know (or you should get from the trailer) that if you bury something in the old burial ground, it comes back…but as the saying implies, sometimes dead is better. It starts off with the Creed’s cat, Church. I felt as if the motivation to bring this version of Church back from the dead isn’t as fully developed as the book or the older movie and this is a problem with the movie, as it kind of rushes through the second act. I think an extra 15-20 minutes added to the film would have lent itself well and given us the few extra scenes or moments needed to fully realize some of the backstory. One thing the film does to redeem itself, is the ramping up the creep factor when they bring the child back from the dead (again, not really a spoiler). Some of the creepiest stuff isn’t the crazy serial killer version of the undead kid, it’s the just-got-back-from-the-woods-what’s-wrong-dad version of the kid.
​
Another great point in this film is the expansion of Rachel and her fear of her late sister, Zelda. The original scenes of Zelda in the 1989 version of the film scared the living shit out of me as a kid (yeah, I saw the movie as a young child, probably explains my penchant for horror and scary shit). I think the directors realized that Zelda was scary for a lot of folks and ramped that up to a 10 in this film. 

The ending is different than both book and the 1989 version of the film, and I’m not really a fan of what they did. I read an article where the directors explain their idea behind it all, but I think the film could have been a lot better if they had stuck closer to the source material. I won’t spoil the ending here, but I rolled my eyes more than once.

Overall, was the movie great? No. It wasn’t. It did an excellent job setting things up, then went too fast through the rest of it. It does delve into some material from the book that I found to be great, and as mentioned before, Lithgow does a fine job playing Jud. Overall, I give it maybe 6.5 dead cats out of 10. I enjoyed it and was happy to see it. 

​I recently had the opportunity to watch Jordan Peele's newest horror flick, Us. This movie is a trip! It's creepy, weird, and bizarre. There's a lot to unpack here, but first things first, I'll give a general overview and my thoughts on the film. Then we'll get into the dastardly spoiler territory. 
 
The movie is about a about a woman named Adelaide (played by the awesome Lupita Nyong'o) vacationing at their summer home near Santa Cruz with her family. When Adelaide was younger, she was at the Santa Cruz boardwalk with her parents, wandered off to a mirrored fun-house, and encountered her doppelganger (or a copy of herself). The event traumatized Adelaide as a child and even as an adult she has trouble around big crowds and especially the beach. Lo and behold, the family decides to go to the Santa Cruz beach to meet with some friends. Fast-forward a bit and the family comes face-to-face with twisted copies of themselves later that night and craziness ensues as the doppelganger family invades the home and tries to subdue Adelaide and her family. We find out later that these copies, or Tethered as they are later named, came from underground complexes. This is important. 
 
This movie starts off with some text talking about thousands of miles of subterranean tunnels underneath the continental United States and how many of them have no known use. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the purpose of this statement. Obviously, it means something, but the movie could have pressed forward without it and nothing would have really suffered without it. However, the very next scene we see dozens of rabbits in cages and then a shot of an old television set with a couple of VHS tapes. Playing on the screen is an advertisement for the old Hands Across America charity (this is important and we'll get to it later on). The VHS tapes that stood out to me are C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) and Nightmare on Elm Street, obviously nods to the 80's horror scene. In fact, throughout the movie, there are other nods to horror movies like Jaws, Wolfman (given the mask that the son is wearing throughout the film), and even a nod to Michael Jackson's Thriller. 
 
There is a common theme among these movies for the most part, and that's terror from within, or from the deep/underground. The Tethered lived underground and spilled forth upon the surface during their attack and take the nation by surprise.  

​You will want to familiarize yourself with the bible verse, Jeremiah 11:11.  Early on Adelaide walks by a man on the boardwalk holding a sigh with Jeremiah 11:11 listed and throughout the whole film I was wondering what it said and how it connected. It pops up again a few times in the movie driving home the point that it's important. For those of you curious, here is what it says: Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. I have my own thoughts as to what it means in relation to the movie and I believe it's referencing the Tethered coming out from the darkness to destroy the surface dwellers.
 
This movie is layered and I bet there is a lot I missed during this viewing. However, what stuck with me, was the great acting. I loved the dad's sense of humor (played by Winston Duke), plus as I mentioned before, Lupita Nyong'o  nails it. The actors in the movie also play the part of their Tethered, and for the most part, they do a great job at this. 
 
Word of warning, if you are the type who likes to know the whole story and have all the questions answered, then you may be disappointed with the way this movie ends. It doesn't answer everything, and there was a lot of why this or why that still left on the plate. However, I'm the type who likes to fill in my own blanks and come up with my own ideas, so I quite enjoyed it. 

​Now on to some of the bads with the movie. First off, it feels like it's a little long for the story it's giving us. The movie is about two hours in length and I think they could have easily cut 20 minutes of it and still had a great show. In fact, I think they could have cut the entire scene with the friends of the family near the end and it wouldn't have suffered. The only thing that entire sequence showed us, was that the Tethered were violent/homicidal. We get that with other scenes and images from the movie. In fact, that sequence in particular just raises more questions than anything...but we'll get to that in the spoiler section because I can't raise the questions without spoiling things. 
 
There were a number of other questions that came up, but I really can't get into those here. So we'll just end this general review and get into the spoilers and an in-depth analysis of the film. To recap, this is a great movie that I think can appeal to casual moviegoers and those looking for deeper meanings alike. There are some genuinely creepy moments and it really taps into that fear of the unknown. I definitely recommend it.
 
Now, on to the spoilers...if you don't want to know, turn away now! Don't go into the fun house! Run towards the light!

​I warned you!
 
Still here? Your fault now. 
 
Okay, let's dig into this. Spoilers abound. So mentioned above I talked about the Tethered and how they were living underground. That's all fine and dandy. We see that they are copies of people up on the surface and they kind of mimic what's going on up there in a weird, off-kilter way that is disturbing. We find out later from Red (Adelaide's doppelganger) that they exist in part due to a government experiment that was trying to figure out a way to control people. At some point, the government abandoned the experiment and just left these Tethered down there. Red mentions it had something to do with being able to clone the body but not the soul. 
 
Okay, that's all fine and good and I don't really need to know much more than that. The movie isn't about that anyway. The movie, based on my own interpretation, is about this duality. We have the "normal" world living their life above ground, enjoying their freedoms and luxuries, while the Tethered are forced to dwell beneath the surface, living a twisted and mocking version of their counterparts above. Their only source of food is the rabbits, which why we see them in cages at the beginning. I also think the rabbits represent the Tethered in a way, representing experimentation and imprisonment, because when the Tethered finally make their way to the surface, we see that the rabbits are all out of their cages now. 
 
Here's a major spoiler about the ending...we find out that Adelaide is really the Tethered from the underground complex. Basically, she subdued the real Adelaide and dragged her down underground and "tethered" her to one of the beds, then she went back up to the surface and assumed Adelaide's life. Okay, it's a twist, right? Well, it's one that was somewhat apparent as the movie went on, and when it was actually revealed, it just raised more questions. For example, why didn't she just run away from the complex and back to the surface at the first moment she could? Was there something about being down there that kept her under control? She's the only one that can kind of talk (the rest of the Tethered just make odd grunts and animal noises to communicate), but why is it so hard for her to talk? I mean, she looked like she was seven or eight when she was taken. I'm guessing has to do with that control aspect that she mentions later in the movie. Because otherwise, why would she stay down there and basically do the same things that the fake Adelaide (or the real one...not sure at this point) was doing on the surface (i.e. having a family). Nyong'o does a great job playing both roles and does amazing at starting to show little ticks that point to her being originally a Tethered. For example, when she's fighting other Tethered, she starts to get a little more primal, and her mannerisms and noises she makes begin to mirror her attackers.
 
Second, we find out later that the Tethered's goal was to come up, kill their copies, and then form this human chain in the same fashion as the Hands Across America (which is why they are all wearing red jumpsuits). The next question is why? Was it to bring attention to their existence, like the original Hands Across America was supposed to bring attention to homelessness? I don't really need an explanation about that part really, it kind of just adds to the creepiness of it all. However, the only reason I ask is in relation to the part where we see the destruction of the family friends in typical slasher fashion. Because it seems like the goal was to get up there, take out folks, then form the chain. However, the Tethered version of the friends go up there, take out their clones then apparently just kind of mess around for no reason, getting all dressed up in the clothing and make-up of their dead surface dweller versions. This was another reason why I think we could have done without that whole beat. It just muddled everything. We get the fact that the Tethered are killing folks when Adelaide and her family start driving around and see that the whole town is basically turning into an apocalyptic war zone littered with dead bodies. 
 
Those criticisms aside, the movie really is worth seeing. Jordan Peele is doing amazing things with horror, especially weird horror. I can't wait to see what he does with Twilight Zone. 
 
 

​About a month ago I watched a movie called, Resolution. It was released in 2012 by directors Justin Benson (who also wrote the screenplay) and Aaron Moorhead. It starred Peter Cilella and Vinny Curran. In a nutshell, the movie is about a man who receives a videotape of his friend falling further and further down the vortex of drug abuse and decides to help him out. His idea of help is found in the form of traveling out to his buddy's house which is located in the middle of nowhere and handcuffing him to a pipe to make him quit drugs cold turkey. When he gets there, we find out that his friend didn't send him any videotape, and that's when things get strange. 
 

​I watched this movie because of the movie, The Endless, which debuted this year. The Endless looked like a crazy, cosmic horror that was right up my alley, and after a little research I found out Resolution was made by the same directors and was set in the same world. I am glad I watched Resolution, because, while The Endless isn't so much a sequel per se, it is connected, and there are things that happen in both movies that could be confusing if you don't watch both. They complement each other well, and I highly recommend watching both if you like strange horror stories.
 
Word of warning though, if you are the type that needs all the questions answered in a movie, then you best pass on this one. Even after watching both of them there were still questions. 
 
Where these movies excel, is with the uncanny cosmic horror. With Resolution, it's merely hinted at, but The Endless takes that idea, sets it on fire, and runs it down the road parading it like the Olympic torch. 
 
Here's what worked with Resolution: the acting and strange goings-on work on a level that spoke to me. I like my horror weird, creepy, and head-scratchy for the most part, and this movie hits those marks. It was weird, in a good way, with some genuinely creepy moments.
 
Where it begins to fail (although after watching both movies, the failures are actually successes; however, I realize that someone shouldn't have to watch both movies to fully understand something...movies, like books, need to stand on their own two feet) is with the randomness of the weird things happening. It got to the point where I thought that perhaps the writers and directors just compiled as much weird shit as possible and ran with that idea without fully realizing where the destination would be. The ending is strange and left me with more questions than answers.
 
Now, let's circle over to The Endless. There is a scene in Resolution where the protagonist comes across members of a UFO death cult. It's a very short interaction, but one that has bigger impacts with The Endless. Two of the people he met in that interaction are the main protagonists in The Endless. They play as brothers who left the death cult. They receive a strange video of the other members welcoming them back, and long story short, they decide to go back for one day. 

​Much like Resolution, strange things begin to happen once they arrive. The cultists are creepy, but not in the fact that they are psychopaths, but more in the fact that they almost appear normal. They have a couple of outliers in the group, but for the most part, fairly down-to-earth (pun intended).
 
As I mentioned before, where Resolution left you with the idea of cosmic horror, The Endless solidifies it. There's something out in the woods (which isn't a spoiler) that the cultists are worshiping. When the lead cult member is asked by one of the of the brothers, he responds with this (paraphrasing here), "it's something different for everybody. If you want to know what it is, then go find out for yourself." I really liked that notion. 
 
The movie also had a mix of moments. There were a couple of genuine comedic (albeit, dark comedy) moments that stuck out. I won't spoil it here, but one of my favorites was when they gave one of the characters a gun that had been requested. Mixed with that, were some terrifying moments...again, no spoilers, but the tent scene was particularly disturbing, especially when you realize what's going on, and what that character inside the tent is having to live through.
 
On a subtler level, there is an aspect of horror with seeing a difference in reality. The older brother realized that staying with the cult would mean their potential death, which is why he took his younger brother and left so long back. The younger brother only remembered the good things about the cult, and when faced with his not-so-great present quality of life, he wanted to go back. The movie was great with showing the conflict between these two and the decisions they must face as the story pushed forward. 
 
There were a couple of plot holes and head shakes, but for the most part, The Endless was solid. The acting was good, the story was great, and the atmosphere was amazing. I found the ending somewhat ambiguous. I took it one way while my wife saw it differently. It kind of ties back into the quote of, it’s something different for everybody. It touched on all the key points of cosmic horror for me and left me wanting another movie by these two directors. Overall, a great addition to the cosmic horror movies out there, and I consider it a must see if you like horror movies that have a weirdness to them.
 

I saw this hit video on demand a few months back, but I never got around to watching it. It finally came on Amazon Prime so I gave it a try. The Blackwell Ghost is a "documentary" about a independent filmmaker who takes on a project to find out if ghosts are real or not. It's marketed as a real documentary; however, I have my doubts on things. Real or not, it was still entertaining and pretty creepy. Here's the trailer.

The documentary follows a man who says he used to film zombie films but wanted a change of pace. He comes across a YouTube clip of a ghost walking out of a hotel room and decides he wants to look into hauntings. Here is the clip of the ghost coming out of the hotel room. 

He tries to look into that but gets contacted by a guy who claims to live in a haunted house. The dude flies out there to meet the guy who owns the house and we get a bit of backstory on the residence. Basically, legend has it that back in the day the woman who lived there was a little crazy and kidnapped kids, chopped them up, and threw them down a well that was located in the cellar. The guy goes on to say that he experiences supernatural phenomenon almost every day in the way of noises, things moving, and other common haunting stuff. 

Later on, the filmmaker is invited by the owner to come back and spend a few nights in the house while he's away on vacation. The filmmaker takes the man up on his offer and craziness ensues. 

There aren't really any jump scares in this movie/documentary, but where it works is the slow build of tension that is executed in a practical way at the end that still manages to get under your skin. I question the authenticity of the documentary aspect, as some things happen in this that seem a little to coincidental and done for entertainment; however, it didn't detract from the experience. If you like quiet, slow building, ghost stories, check it out. It was only an hour well worth the time.

I finally was able to get out and see the movie, Hereditary, and oh my lord, what a weird and creepy movie. It is unsettling on many levels, and kind of sticks with you after you've seen it for a bit. First off, the trailer didn't do the movie any justice; however, after seeing the flick, I'm not sure how you can effectively cut a trailer for this movie. I'm going to tackle some non-spoilery stuff first, then we'll get into the meat and potatoes of this show.

First, let's talk about the story. On the surface, it's about a family dealing with the death of a mother/grandmother. Digging deeper and peeling away the layers, it's about so much more. This movie is about loss. Loss of family, loss of sanity, and loss of self. 

I have to give some major kudos to actor Toni Collette, she knocked this one out of the park. She shows a wide range of emotion and kept this story moving. Another big shout out to Molly Shapiro who played the daughter to Toni Collette. I think she portrayed having mental issues very well. The trailer made it seem like this movie was going to be about her, and in a way it was. But, as I mentioned before, the trailer is misleading.

Overall, this movie excelled in its creep factor. The way the angles were shot, the music, and the use of light (or lack thereof) all came together and made for some shots that actually sent chills through my body. There were some specific scenes too (which I'll get into in the spoiler section) that stuck with me  after the credits rolled. 

The movie starts out slow, but once it starts moving, it doesn't stop. ​One thing that I enjoyed, was the unreliable POV of Toni Collette's character. She suffers from some issues where you have to question if what she is seeing is real or not. It made me question everything she saw and that was great. I love movies that leave things up to the interpretation of the viewer. 

As for some of the cons of the movie, there are a few things that happen make me question the actions of the main characters...one of those things where they act a certain way and you just roll your eyes. It wasn't anything crazy, but enough to make me raise an eyebrow.

Another issue of the movie is some of it doesn't make sense. I'll get into it a bit in my spoiler section. Overall, these things didn't detract from the experience and if you're into weird, creepy things, then go watch the movie. It's hard to compare it to anything, but the closest thing I can think of is maybe The Witch. They play on the theme of isolation, strange things going on, and overall creepiness. Plus, Utah connection! The movie was filmed in Park City and Salt Lake City. I thought it was looking familiar while I was watching it, then I saw a Utah plate on a vehicle in a scene. 

​Anyway...on to the spoilers!  

Let's get into the spoilers. The trailer sets this movie up to be some sort of supernatural little girl scary movie, and I suppose on some level, yes, that is part of this movie. However, I almost thought this would take a turn much like The Omen or maybe Firestarter where the little girl was going to be the main character of this show and the family was going to be dealing with her powers. But HOLY SHIT, 1/3 of the way into this movie she gets taken out in a gruesome accident that takes her head off. So if you're sensitive to kids dying, don't see this movie. They end up showing her head later on the side of the road all decomposing and covered with ants.

All of sudden this movie took a turn and it started getting even weirder. There were some traditional witchcraft overtones early on that I saw that reminded me of the maiden, mother, and crone. The paganism angle gets heavier and heavier until it comes to an end. You come to find out that the grandmother was part of a coven that was trying summon Paimon who is a duke of hell or a king or hell depending on what source read.

I loved how they weaved mental disorders into actual paranormal happenings. At one point Toni Collette explains to a support group that her mother was crazy and that she had mental issues. She mention that her brother killed himself and blamed the mother stating that she put voices in his head. After seeing the show, we can see that she was trying to plant an evil demon into him. It makes me wonder if her issues stemmed from the same source, or if she actually had some issues. 

Here are some questions I have about the movie that perhaps someone smarter than me can answer. First, was Charlie really Paimon (a duke of hell that the grandmother was trying to summon and that the coven finally successfully summoned)? I don't quite understand how her spirit was connected to the whole thing.

Second, how do you not know that there is a dead body in your attic? That shit would start to stink something bad I would imagine. They make some cursory comment about it during the movie, but come on...I think it would be worse then that. 

Third, the family witnesses some strange seance go down and the next day they just move on like nothing happened. I mean, if I saw things go flying off the table, flames shooting out of candles, and my mom speaking in tongues, I don't know what I would do, but going on about my business like nothing at all was out of the ordinary would not be it.

Anyway, the scene when Toni Collette crawls up the wall and is banging her head against the crawlspace door was creepy as hell. Then when she's cutting her own head off with a wire...oh man, chills. Any time they showed a spirit in the darkness was very well done, especially the scene with the head and the ball (if you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about). 

Well worth a watch if you're into creepy stories. I highly recommend it.

I recently saw the movie, Happy Death Day. I went in with pretty low expectations but was pleasantly surprised. The story plays out much like the movie, Groundhog Day (in fact there is a nice little nod to Groundhog Day near the end of the show), where the main character relives the same day over and over. However, in this tale, the main character is killed at the end of the day by a masked assailant. Each time she dies, she wakes up in the same manner. This review will be spoiler free.

Right off the bat, the protagonist is pained in a certain light, showing the viewers that she's a shallow person with very little going for her other than good looks. She doesn't care about anyone other than herself, is mean to her roommate, and is trying to hoop up with the married professor. What's neat about this setup, is that we don't know who the killer could be, because 10 minutes in we've established half-a-dozen possible killers with motive.

The plot of the movie is that she needs to survive the night and find out who her killer is before it is too late because she doesn't have unlimited lives. Each day she wakes a little weaker implying that at some point, she'll cease to exist.

This movie has decent acting, and a well written story. Buried within the main arch is a sub-plot about the main character's relationship with her father that's both touching and heartbreaking...not something I expected to see in a slasher flick. The other nice part of this film, is it isn't gory. Not that I mind gore, but from the looks of the trailer I thought I was getting into a typical slasher movie in the same vein as Scream or I Know What you Did Last Tuesday When you Were at the Summer Cabin in the Woods. Most of the death scenes are implied, cutting away just as you would expect to see blood spraying from an artery. Plus, there is a lot of humor woven throughout the film. It livens it up when necessary, keeping the story moving along.

This film isn't without it's flaws. First and foremost, there was a weird gun scene that happened (TWICE) that really bugged me. There is a point where she gets a hold of the security guard's gun and empties it in three shots. Earlier, there was another scene where the gun was fired three times and then it was empty. The gun looked like a Berretta 92 which is capable of holding way more than three shots. So...what the hell over? 

Second, there were a lot of times that the killer was knocked down or stunned. Every time this occurred I heard Shang Tsung's voice from Mortal Kombat yelling, FINISH HIM! Instead, she runs around like a damned lunatic trying to figure out some way to freedom.  

Third, the school's mascot is the Baycock Babies. A baby. Really? I guess they needed a reason for the killer to be running around in this creepy baby mask, but come on...that is one of the most horrible mascots I've ever heard of.

Finally, I thought the killer's motive was pretty weak. I rolled my eyes during the explanation. It seemed a little forced, but whatever. All in all the flaws were minor and I walked away enjoying this movie quite a bit. If you get a chance to see it, I recommend you do so. I give this movie 3.5 repeated days out of five. 

It’s been a few days since I watched this movie and I still really don’t know what to think. It’s directed by Darren Aronofsky and he’s done some odd movies in the past. I remember watching Black Swan and thinking it was okay. I’m not entirely sure that I liked this one. This is going to be a long post, so strap in.

Going into it, I didn’t know what to expect other than it was an intense psychological thriller that was fairly polarizing with its audience. I knew it had to do with Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer and had to do with unexpected guests showing up to Jennifer and Javier’s home.

This first section will be spoiler free; however, the second section will be packed with spoilers as I get into the meat and potatoes of the movie. I will warn you before we get there though.

The concept was enough to pique my interest. I’m a recluse and somewhat anti-social, to begin with. Unless it’s a group of close friends, I don’t really like going to social functions, so the idea of a bunch of rando’s showing up to my house is uncomfortable.

First off, let’s dig into the story. It starts off showing us a burning image of a young woman crying, and a burnt out house. Javier places a glowing crystal in a stand, and the house reverts back to its former glory and we pan over to Jennifer’s character waking up in bed and finding herself alone. Odd right? But a neat hook because now I want to know more. Is it something that happened before, is it a portent of what’s to come? It’s a good hook regardless.

Jennifer’s character is married to the older, Javier and you get the sense that they have moved out to the middle of nowhere in an old family estate of Javier’s. The house had suffered through a fire in which we learn Javier’s family had died. Jennifer is there to offer him support while he suffers through a bad case of writer’s block. Meanwhile, she has been singlehandedly renovating the house and breathing light back into the darkness. We learn through interactions that Javier is a renowned poet, but hasn’t written in years. Things seem hunky-dory, although Jennifer suffers from odd hallucinations from time to time where she hears glass ringing/chiming and can see the burnt out vestige of the house underplayed beneath her renovation work. Every time this happens, she races upstairs to the bathroom and mixes a yellow powder into a glass of water to quash the visions. We never know what this concoction is. We can assume it’s to help her stop hallucinating; however, there’s a point in the movie where she stops taking it and I didn’t’ see any ill effects from that decision.

At first, the movie almost had a Yellow Wallpaper feel to it. That short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one of my absolute favorites. I noticed some similarities between the two, as the main character from the story and Jennifer’s character both seemed to see things that weren’t there and were steamrolled by their male counterparts. Javier does a good job of dismissing some of the things Jennifer does in the movie, and when the “guests” begin to arrive, they constantly defer to Javier with the gratitude and appreciation, almost to the point of ignoring Jennifer’s existence. This movie, like that story, very much play into the misogynistic prejudices against women.

I felt as if Jennifer’s efforts to restore the house were downplayed in the eyes of the supporting cast, and when she mentioned that she did it all herself, she was met with disbelief that a woman could do something that extravagant.

There was a definite theme of vanity and pride throughout the film. Javier does a great job losing himself in his own work and success, and near the end of the film, we see almost a complete transition with his character.
Where this movie struggled, was with the story. I never got a clear picture on what the movie was really about. What was the plot? It seemed to flounder in spots, and once it was over, I felt like the entire first half didn’t really play into the second half at all. This is probably one of the biggest issues I had with the film, was the lack of plot. Perhaps I missed the point.

The acting was strange as well. Hats off to Jennifer Lawrence, I thought she did an excellent job, and Javier Bardem did well also. However, I felt as if everyone else was exaggerating their characters to the point that it was almost comical to watch, Ed Harris especially, although I couldn’t’ tell if this was done on purpose or not.
Finally, this movie was chock full of Christian symbolism. I don’t want to get into details in this section (we’ll save it for the spoiler section), but it goes out of its way to hit you over the head (pun intended, you’ll see why later) with its symbolism. The only reason I couldn’t quite figure out, was why?

Don’t see this movie if you have issues with seeing children depicted on screen hurt. There is a scene near the end that is very difficult to watch (details forthcoming in the spoiler section).

Even after writing all this, I still don’t really know if I liked this movie. I give this movie two and a half WTF’s out of five.

​Here there be spoilers. Ye’ve been warned. Also, this section is basically going to be a synopsis of the movie. 

​Okay, let’s unpack this movie. As I mentioned above, there is a lot of Christian symbolism. Let’s start off with the movie posters. Jennifer is made up to look like the Virgin Mary and Javier is sitting on a throne of fire looking all sorts of the devil.

In the beginning, there was darkness, then there was light. The movie opens with this motif, with the darkness being the burnt up house. Slowly it changes from ash and rubble to a cozy little cottage in the middle of paradise. Everything moves from dark colors to contrasting brightness. It’s their own little Eden. However, it’s Ed Harris and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer that portray Adam and Eve. And if that’ the case, we are to assume the Javier is playing as God, and Jennifer while playing his wife, is really there because she adores him, and will be the mother of his child. There are also some interesting dynamics between Javier and Jennifer. He shrugs off her advances early on, unwilling to show her physical affection. It isn’t until later in the movie where she lashes out at him that he takes her in an uncomfortable sex scene that starts off very rapey. 

Anyway, I digress…back to Adam and Eve, Ed and Michelle. They show up to paradise, and immediately shit goes south. Javier starts to spend more time with Ed than he does with Jennifer, and even helps him out by removing some sort of tumor from his lungs? I dunno…there was a weird scene where he’s coughing and puking in the toilet and Javier is helping him. Jennifer walks in on the two. Ed is naked and bleeding from his side and Javier quickly covers it and yells at her to give them some privacy. The next day, Jennifer is cleaning up in the bathroom and there is some weird tumor looking thing stuck in the toilet. I suppose this is to show Javier’s healing powers?

Moving on from that, Michelle, Ed’s wife arrives and she embodies the very opposite of Jennifer’s character. She’s sultry, drinks, and smokes. She’s pushy where Jennifer is meek. At one point, she wants to go to Javier’s den and see the weird crystal thing, but Jennifer tells her to stay out of there. She has to warn her numerous times. Later, there is a crash from the den and Javier and Jennifer race up there to find Ed and Michelle standing by the broken shards of the crystal. Javier loses his mind and kicks everyone out. Later he comes out, locks the door and breaks the doorknob off (this is important), and then boards up his den stating that no one will get in there now. We just saw the comparison of Eve eating the apple and the both of them getting kicked out of Eden.

The next major scene that takes place, is when Ed and Michelle’s two sons arrive, bickering about their father’s will. A fight ensues and one of the sons picks up the discarded doorknob and caves in the other’s skull using the Cain and Abel finishing move. During the fight, the attacking brother’s forehead is injured and marked in the same way Cain’s is after killing his brother. Javier, Ed, and Michelle rush the man to the hospital leaving Jennifer behind to clean up the mess. And the Cain stand in rushes off into the wilderness.

It’s during this time where she is alone that we begin to see other things unravel. Up to this point, she had made some trips to the basement, but she ends up going down again and we really see some interesting comparisons. The basement is where the furnace is and I believe the representation of hell with its fire and brimstone (I know, hell isn’t always represented in such a way, but in this movie, I think it is). She’s cleaning up when the other brother returns to get his wallet that he lost during the altercation and he’s amazed that they left her behind. He can see what she means (or doesn’t) to Javier and wishes her the best of luck before departing. It’s at that time that Javier returns covered in blood and could really care less what happened to Jennifer, he’s more intent on telling her what happened to him. When she tries to tell him everything, he says he’s dirty and exhausted and wants to take a shower before going to bed. He invites her up, but she wants to finish one thing first. When she gets up there, Javier is already asleep.

Then, Ed and Michelle come back, and they have friends and family in tow. They are all dressed up nice for a funeral. Javier tells Jennifer that he invited them over to destress and have a place to hold a wake for the dearly departed. Jennifer doesn’t know what to make of it as guests continue to arrive in such a way that it reminded both my wife and me of the scene from the Hobbit where all the dwarves keep showing up at Bilbo Baggins’ home. The difference between the two was that the dwarves actually cleaned up after themselves and didn’t break anything, whereas the guests have no care whatsoever for Jennifer’s paradise and only care for themselves. In this scene, we get see Javier eating up being the center of attention when he gets to say a few words about the departed. We really see him revel in the wonder and awe that people throw his way while not caring at all about what Jennifer’s character is feeling. We also see a lot of reference between Sodom and Gomorra as the guests become more and more irreverent, sneaking off to bump the uglies, and guests even approaching her to fornicate and make merry (although the offer comes in a very forward, and disgusting manner). 

Finally, after asking folks several times not to sit on a sink because it hadn’t been braced yet, they sit on it and it breaks, flooding the house. This is the great flood that God sent to cleanse the world, and it’s the same in this movie. It isn’t until the flood that the people get the hell out of Dodge. After they leave, Jennifer confronts Javier about what happened and their life in general. They get into a heated debate and she says the reason they don’t have any children is because he won’t get it on with her. He takes that as a challenge and we get our rapey/love-making scene that’s about as uncomfortable as the rest of the movie has been. Afterward, she says she’s pregnant. Javier gets his inspiration back and begins to feverishly write again. We get a scene of her dumping the odd golden powder concoction that suppressed her hallucinations down the toilet, and we flash forward.

The next time we see her, she’s about ready to pop and the house is completely renovated. She’s putting the finishing touches on in the nursery and Javier appears saying he’s finished his poem. She reads it with tears in her eyes and confirms is a masterpiece and that it’s perfect. Next thing we know, we have a call from his editor (almost immediately) saying she loves it and it’s going to be huge. To celebrate, Jennifer makes a nice, candlelit dinner for the both of them, but before we can get to eating, more guests arrive. Fans of Javier’s come to see him and ask him about his writing. Instead of kicking them out, he embraces them, much to her dismay.

This is when shit goes from what the hell to dafuq quick. The crowd grows and grows, forcing their way inside. They set up a signing station for him to sign books. People shove themselves inside and soon they begin to take. They take anything they can, even ripping up boards because they want a piece of something that belonged to Javier. Things get violent and nasty. Then, the next thing we know, we’re seeing flashes from different places. Jennifer is standing next to some sex slave prison in Eastern Europe, then we’re in a war zone and people are dying in a hail of explosions and gunfire. The crowd is growing bigger and getting crazier, turning into a cult worshiping Javier, idolizing him. Jennifer is going into labor and fighting with the crowd at the same time. When all seems lost, Javier finds her and rushes her back to his boarded up den so she can give birth. Once she gives birth, the crowd outside grows quiet. Javier goes to see what’s up and finds that they have brought the baby gifts and are waiting to see him. We’ve just seen the birth of the son of god, and they are showering him with gifts just in the bible.

Jennifer has caught on to Javier’s bullshit now though and refuses to give the baby up. He wants to take the baby and show the crowd his creation. It becomes a battle of wills. He sits in a chair staring at her as she sits on the floor with the baby. Soon, exhaustion kicks in and the next she knows, is she’s awakening to find him with the baby walking out to the crowd.

This is where it gets very disturbing. She rushes after the child, but when she catches up to Javier, the crowd already has the baby. They are crowd-surfing the infant around like he’s a giant beach ball at a Smashmouth concert. Then, because the child’s head isn’t supported, its neck snaps. Jennifer rushes through the crowd demanding that they give her the baby back, sobbing with real emotion (props to Jennifer Lawrence again, her acting was superb). When she finally breaks through, her baby is gone, its body mutilated by the cult. People are eating bits of the child, ingesting it like it’s the body of Christ. She flips out and starts stabbing folks with a shard of glass and kills a few before they lay the smackdown on her. For a moment it looks like they are about to beat her to death and desecrate her body when Javier shows up and shields her. He says they are sorry for killing his son, and all they want is to be forgiven (hitting us over the head with more religious symbolism). He says that they need to find a way to forgive them so that his son’s death wouldn’t be in vain.

Jennifer has had enough and breaks free, racing back down to Hell, eh…I mean the basement where she breaks open a big gas/oil tank. Javier tries to stop her saying he loves her, but she’s seen through all his lies and states that he doesn’t love her, that he only loves that she loves him. She lights the place up and it blows, killing everyone and burning the house down.

After you see Javier walking through the rubble relatively unscathed. He picks Jennifer up and carries her to bed. In the end, she confesses that she still loves him, and he needs her sacrifice and love to start anew. She agrees and he plucks her heart out and turns it into the same crystal we saw before. When he places it up on the mantle, the house renews and there is a new woman in his bed: the cycle starts again.
​
Final thoughts.
To wrap up this journey, I really think the theme of this movie is about love and sacrifice in the name of God. I got the feeling that Aronofsky isn’t a big fan of religion and used his story as a metaphor to show how much craziness happens in the name of God. I also feel like Aronofsky perhaps sees God in a negative light with not giving and only taking. However, I like to think that Javier was playing Lucifer trying to recreate what God had made and failing miserably every time. I find that story more interesting. I’m not a religious person at all, but I still failed to find what the movie was really about (talking plot here). But, as I mentioned before, perhaps I missed the point. Was this movie a horror? Sure was. Was it disturbing? On many different levels. Will I watch it again? No. 

I recently watched the newest adaptation of Stephen King’s, It, directed by Andy Muschietti. Overall, I enjoyed. It was well done, and while it didn’t completely follow the source material, I think that the changes didn’t hurt the story at all, in fact, in some ways, I would dare say it made the story better. I’ll get into a spoiler section later, but for now this will be spoiler free.

First off, the movie is set in the 80’s, which for me, works. However, I will say this, it gave me a heavy Stranger Things vibe. Mainly because Finn Wolfhard was in it and played the part of Richie Tozier. Plus, on top of that, the town of Derry looked a lot like the town of Hawkins. On the surface, Derry feels like any sleepy town; however, there’s something floating in the background, something that wakes every few decades to feed. I’ve always loved the concept of It and what it does. Speaking of background, this is a movie to pay close attention to the background. There are small things going on that add to the depth and flavor of the movie. For example, keep an eye on the television when Beverly walks through her house. Another great background Easter egg what the name of the pharmacist. In the original made-for-tv movie, the pharmacist's name was Koontz, a nod to Dean Koontz. In this new version, his name is Keene, a nod to Brian Keene, a modern horror author.

There was a part in the movie where the background was creepy as hell, and I have no idea if it was intentional or not. It’s when Ben is in the library, shortly after the librarian gives him a book on the town’s history and tells him he should be outside playing. As he’s looking at the book, the camera pans out so you can see him reading, and it looks like the librarian or someone similar is standing the background grinning at Ben. Watch it and let me know what you think.

I thought that Muschietti did an excellent job with the feel of this iteration of It. The movie gave a nod to the original adaptation while still having its own vibe. There were also times that felt almost like a nod to the Evil Dead franchise, especially the scene with Beverly in the bathroom and with the leper attacking Eddie.

Another great part of the movie (as pointed out by my lovely wife), was the layering of real monsters vs. supernatural monsters. For example, Beverly’s dad and Eddie’s mother are both prime examples of real monsters, people who abuse their children. There are some moments in this film where they are way scarier than Pennywise. The bullies are also frightening, mainly due to the fact that they have been left unchecked (apparently by the power that Pennywise has over the town, making people ignore or look the other way at the bad things happening). Generally, bullies will scare or rough someone up, but I tend to believe that the majority of them would stop short at trying to actually kill someone.

I also liked how Pennywise did his best to separate the kids whenever they were together. I won’t get into details, but it shows how together they were strong, but separate they were easy prey.

The movie had faults though. I thought the editing near the end fell short. At one point one of the kids is suddenly in a different part of the sewers. There was no lead up to it, nor any explanation. A simple edit showing It leading him away would have sufficed.

There was another point in the movie where the kids find the shoe of a missing girl in the sewer…THEN NOTHING EVER COMES FROM THAT! It bugged me for the rest of the film. I mean, it would have been neat to see them take the shoe to the police, and then have the police (obviously under the influence of Pennywise) wave it off like it was nothing, or that they didn’t believe them. It would have added another layer as well as closed that loop.

Another fault was some bad CGI in the beginning of the movie. The opening scene with Georgie is way more brutal than in the made-for-tv show, but part of it was destroyed when Pennywise opens his mouth and his teeth grow. It didn’t look finished and took me out of the story.
​
This leads me into another point, seeing the monster. In this movie, and story, we see Pennywise almost right off the bat. On one hand, I suppose it takes away some of the fear of the monster. Monster movies in general work better when the viewer never gets a full view of the creature, as we tend to fill in the blanks ourselves and fear of the unknown is powerful. On the other hand, this isn’t a traditional monster movie, and we need to see Pennywise. I did miss Tim Curry playing Pennywise; however, Bill Skarsgard does an excellent job bringing the dancing clown to life. He did great with the movements and general attitude.

I give it three and a half red floating balloons out of five. Definitely worth a watch.
​
Now, on to the spoiler parts…only go forward if you don’t care, or if you’ve seen the movie. You’ve been warned.

I liked Pennywise’s lair much better in this one. The pile of children’s things an all the floating children made a lot more sense than the spider’s lair in the original adaptation. Makes more sense when Pennywise says, “you’ll float too.” Also, I liked how the kids pretty much put the beat down on Pennywise. It works way better than a single slingshot of silver to the head, it also shows how strong the kids are working together.
​
That’s about it for spoilers, go see the movie. I can’t wait for the next one.