Get Out Review

 

        Happy Halloween, as always its been a unique experience seeing just how much the genre has changed in 100 years. When you study this for a grade, you could care less since it robs the fun of enjoying something that basically will dictate if you pass or not. That’s why after the fact, it’s something to feel humbled when seeing something grow and see just how much thought and care went into making these movies. People write them off since they’re either scary or just rubbish. To me, that’s what movies is all about. With that, to wrap up this spooky venture, here’s what I think of Get Out. 

1. Something Liberally Wicked This Way Comes

        I will admit that I didn’t have faith in this movie when it came out back in 2017. In fact, I heard about it since one of my professors had tickets to the movie if anyone of my classmates was interested in an extra credit. To me, it didn’t make sense how a comedian could helm a horror movie, much less direct a movie. My first exposure to Jordan Peele was through the Comedy Central show Key and Peele. The sketches were funny, and it wasn’t until that some sketches had dark endings that maybe Peele had some talent.

        So anyways, when this movie made its debut, the praise it got was unfathomable. People were praising it left and right, just for its originality and its subtext. And to this day, I regret not watching it when it came out. Now, I can appreciate just how great of a debut it was. It’s up there in terms of laying the foundation of a future legendary director with a voice. Those are called auteurs and Jordan Peele is one. 

        Now, what the heck is this one even about? To put it simply, we follow Chris and his girlfriend Rose as they travel to her parent’s home. Everything seems normal enough, until Chris sees that the maids don’t appear to be normal. From then on, he gets involved with a crazy scheme that if you told this to a group of police detectives, they’ll laugh at you. And that’s exactly what happened in the movie. 

        The film has a great balance between being a comedy and a horror movie. Comedy to break the tension and to really put in a smart character who knows that everything he’s seeing is completely out of left field. It gives it a refreshing feel that he knows what’s happening and is willing to investigate as to what’s really going on. His friend Rod steals the show when he tries to help. Despite him being portrayed as silly, he’s smart and manages to fool one of the antagonists. 

        Another thing about this movie is its subtle commentary. Ostensibly, it’s poking fun at the white Americans who are unintentionally racist but try to mean well when talking to black people. At first the Armitage Family are seemingly polite as they are welcoming when Rose introduces Chris. It’s not until that when there’s a party and the whole attendants speak highly of African Americans, that it’s all a sinister front. 

        How I see it is that it’s all hypocritical. Not to give away too much in terms of what the Armitage’s are doing, but they want to transplant their secret society’s brains into randomized black people. You can interpret it another way, as to how White America has appropriated music, or much of anything from their culture. The best scene is when Chris gets hypnotized, it’s the film’s best shot since it has a unique way of showing his out of body experience. 

2. Comedy to Horror Pipeline

        This is something I noticed in terms of the director. And it’s surprising that some directors with comedic backgrounds can do a great horror movie. To me it’s always refreshing for someone to flex their chops into something that can play into a comedic moment. Think about it, when thinking of something funny, you would sometimes think of the most messed up hilariously thing that you laugh it off. To others, it’s downright horrific. 

        As far as I know, there have been other directors to lend their hand into horror. One is with John Landis who made the comedic classic Animal House. He went on to direct An American Werewolf in London, while there are comedic moments, it’s mostly a horror movie. And just this year, the movie Barbarian was helmed by Zach Creggar. You may not know him individually, but he was part of the comedic group The Whitest Kids U’ Know.

        Lastly, the main important key for these films to work is to balance between the horror and comedy. While there is a sub-genre called Comedic Horror, the main difference in that is that the overall event happening to the characters is either comedic or hilarious. And sometimes it can be hokey on purpose or to the detriment for the character. I bring this up since there was a movie last year called Malignant from James Wan. An icon in horror, but ultimately made a movie where it came off as schlocky but people and fans where up and arms in terms of how to judge the film. 

 

3. Overall

        Get Out is one of the best original horror films of the late 2010s. It’s subtext intertwines with the horror and makes us be weary of the people we meet. 

200th Review 28 Days Later

 

        200 reviews, I can’t even believe it. It’s one thing to do this as a side, and to eloquently explain why a film works. My way of talking film has been a work in progress, at least trying explain through text as to what makes any film great and vice versa. A real tough ordeal since it’s a medium that needs a lot of visual help to show something significant. With that, I love sharing what I know and to expose people to movies from the past and seeing just how much has come in this medium. I feel that this endeavor adds to the ever-growing discussion of any movie. Instead of just saying it’s good and leave it to that. Regardless, here’s what I think with 28 Days Later. 

1. Making Zombies Cool Again

        Believe it or not, this is the first horror movie that I watched. Of all places, I was in San Antonio at my uncle’s house and he popped in the movie. Obviously, I wasn’t ready for what the whole film was going to be about. The thing that set my heart racing was the opening. It kick things off in terms of literally triggering what’s going on. 

        To give you guys a brief rundown, between the 80s and the 2000s, there wasn’t much for Zombies. It seemed that the sub-genre was dead, no pun intended, George Romero seemingly finished his trilogy of Dead movies. So, it was only natural that a new director would try something new to revitalize a sub-genre. Mostly, with any zombie movie, they rise from the dead and that’s usually about it. In this movie, it’s a bit different. This would be the second Danny Boyle movie that I talked about. The first being Steve Jobs from last year. From what I got in his movies is that he’s very kinetic with the story and the action always going on. It doesn’t feel convoluted or too fast, but quick enough to get to the point.  

        With that, the movie hits too close for home. A trio of pro-animal rights activists attempt to rescue chimps from being tested. Unbeknownst to them is that they were experimented on with a virus that was meant to end violence. Dubbed the Rage virus, one chimp attacks and inadvertently spreads the plague. We follow a patient named Jim, who wakes from a coma and realizes that the whole world changed. 

        From then on, he meets other survivors and try find refuge. The whole movie works on so many levels, I’m going to talk about some of them. The various shots of an empty London are impactful. You get to see just how much it feels eerie, no one’s there except the main guy. And I’m glad that it didn’t have zombies just roaming around. It keeps the tension in the film high, even when the characters are comfortable. One motif is those long shots when Jim looks small, I think it can be said that it’s the zombies that are looking at him.

        And that’s where the film works, it employs the Jaws way of making horror. We get very a limited amount of time of seeing the undead. When they show up, they amp up the tension since they can run. Sprinting is the thing that makes them formidable and the best scene that shows this is when the main cast is in a tunnel. They’re replacing a flat tire, and they can hear them. It’s Jaws-esque in a way where we don’t know when they’ll pop out. Not even a music cue for us when they show up. 

        Lastly, we see just how much devastation happens in a unique way. Buildings aren't in ruin, or any cars that are burnt that you might find in a post apocalyptic movie. What the film shows is an aftermath when society goes down. It's everyone looking out only after themselves in order to survive. Taking matters into their own hands when someone gets infected, and trying to gain their composure with something as desperate as that. 

2. Dehumanization

        Since the dead are robbed of any humanity, the same can be said for the survivors. Well specifically, Jim is the one to maintain his humanity but ultimately becomes the reluctant hero when he must rescue the other survivors. This bit of character development makes it way when Selena chastises him of not being the one to act. In one way, I didn’t expect Jim to become a super sleuth and set up the enemies to die from the Dead. He's active and tries to hide and almost acts like a dead person.

        This is the other theme about the film. As I mentioned earlier, it clashes with the survivors staying alive since they must look after themselves. The moment one of them gets infected, they drop any pretenses and choose to die. Those moments show us that anything can happen, and I was shocked when one of them gets infected since the character was a good father. It’s rather effective since we get to spend time with good characters, and it adds a shocked feeling. 

        I really don’t want to spoil this movie further since there’s another subplot when the survivors find a radio broadcast involving the military. Well, just to sprinkle in some sparse detail is that they aren’t what they seem. They have an ulterior motive that portrays them as dehumanizing. Hell, one of them wears a feminine apron when he’s cooking. 

        The only people that don't lose their humanity is when there's another character in jeopardy. With Jim making a daring rescue, Selena doesn't obey what the villains want her to do. While she makes some bold choices, she never loses her sanity but tries to remain composed. It shows us that the humans too can be as dehumanizing as the zombies. 

3. Overall

        28 Days Later is one of the best films of horror from the 2000s. It breath life to a seemingly gone genre where it reintroduced the dead to the pop culture once again. 

Misery Review

 

        The 90s can be seen as the either the near death and rebirth of the horror genre. Franchises that had multiple sequels in the prior decade was withering away in mediocrity. While Wes Craven can be credited for reviving the genre to new levels, Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Misery kicked off the decade and is considered one of the best Stephen King adaptations. 

1. Celebrity’s Worst Nightmare

        Like most things in my life, I was exposed to this movie via an episode of Family Guy. Misery was the second adaptation in the episode dedicated to King. It only makes sense to do a review of The Shawshank Redemption later down the line. Anyways, the film is basic in terms of overall story progression. 

        We follow Paul Sheldon, an accomplished writer known for writing his successful line of books about the character Misery. He suffers a car crash due to an out of nowhere snowstorm. Unbeknownst to him, he’s rescued by Annie, who promptly tells him that she’s a big fan of his work. I’ll talk about her in the next tab since she absolutely steals the show in the whole movie. 

        The film is like an heir apparent to an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It’s a thriller all the way, but it has that distinct level of horror that only Kathy Bates can pull off. The reason why the film works is that it’s like watching and waiting for the timber box to blow up due to the main antagonist. Again, we will talk about her and what she represents in the overall movie. 

        What makes the film a great thriller is the overall location. Of all places it takes place in a small town in Colorado. Specifically, a small cabin house that is nowhere near civilization. It makes the situation even more dreadful, due in part that it seems that the main villain really thought every possible way to isolate herself. 

        James Caan does a good job of portraying the handicapped author. We understand his problem that he wants to try something different and shed his affiliation with his Misery titles. It makes him more relatable, considering that for someone that is creative wants to branch out. The best moment is when he tries to get on Annie’s good side, all the while trying ways to escape and becoming defensive. 

2. Annie Wilkes

        She absolutely deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Actress; Kathy Bates is probably the best performance for a Stephen King work. The best description to her is that she’s a ticking time bomb. Wilkes can border on being the sweetest person, due in part is that she’s a trained nurse and has appropriate bedside manners. Man, when she switches, it’s a terrifying thing. 

        Like I said earlier, the moments between her and Paul is an anxiety experience. We don’t know if she’ll switch or if Paul is doing enough to get the kind Wilkes to heal him. Additionally, she’s such a layered character where there’s moments where we feel sympathy for her. I think in one way it helps her become scarier since she can pull off the seemingly nice persona. A façade to let anyone’s guard down. 

        To me, she’s a perfect representation of the lament that most creatives go through. Especially the ones that have nutty fans. It’s that she’s a representation of brazen capitalism, and how she wants the only thing that she enjoys. The scene that best represents that is when she makes Paul burn a story that was supposed to be a new branch in his creativity. Which prompts Annie to force him to make a continuation of the thing that made him successful. In some way, the film is representative that King wanted to experiment with something else, even though the best thing about him is his work in horror. That’s besides the point. 

3. Overall

        Misery is one of the best Stephen King adaptations and the best horror-thrillers of the 90s.

Poltergeist (1982) Review

        The 80s will always be the prime example of being the only decade to start multiple horror franchises. Simply because it was easy and cheap to make. While it can be said that the downside is that the whole decade was inundated with sequels. There are the ones where it influenced the genre for years to come. This is where Poltergeist comes in. In my opinion, this is the best 80s horror movie, so far.

1. TV People

        So, you may ask what a Poltergeist is. Translated from German, it means a noisy spirit. To put it simply, it’s a kind of ghost where it makes interactions by moving stuff and its not tangible to see. Usually, this type of haunting is mostly associated with a specific person or to a specific location. Which works perfectly where the film takes place. 

        We follow the Freelings who are living peacefully in their new home in a new neighborhood. Their daughter Carol Anne communicates with something whenever the TV is static. However, the spirits become violent as they kidnap the young girl. We get a red herring when we see the dad and his friends watch a football game. And it’s smart to have the fake out when the real event starts to happen. 

        The film is a classic simply because what makes the film work is the entire family. All of them sell each other as one collective whole. It’s that level of chemistry where you feel like you’re watching a family. The real secret weapon for a film is to have all of them be likeable when you’re scared for them. Especially with Carol Anne, that moment when she gets sucked into the dimension is just sad. You feel for her when she screams and inevitable get sucked in. 

        Additionally, this is the first film that predates Ghostbusters by using investigators. This part makes the film way more grounded since there’s a level of science and research that tries to understand the paranormal. And that’s what the whole film is going for, this idea of understanding what happens after someone dies. It gives the study legitimacy when there’s reports of people experiencing a haunting. 

        With that out of the way, the ghosts amp up the horror to eleven. I’m glad that the actual reason for the haunting doesn’t tie into the Native American myth. The ways how the haunting is presented is imaginative and frightening. One thing I noticed is that parts of it feel mental. For instance, one of the investigators eats a chicken wing and notices a piece of meat moving. He runs to the sink since the food was covered in maggots. He proceeds to wash his mouth and his whole face tears off. 

        The special effects too are inventive. We see just how much torment the spirits give to the family. I’m always astonished when I see the characters dragged into the walls and being “fed” into the closet. Even though the set moves with the camera being still, its frightening and awe inspiring. And as I mentioned earlier, most of the frights are mental, while the special effects show the true power of The Beast demon. 

2. "Jaws" on Land

        This will always be a thing of debate in terms of who really directed this movie. While Steven Spielberg has his whole fingertips involved with this one, he’s not credited as a director. Tobe Hooper directed the movie, but it’s a sharp contrast with what he did prior. He made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and when you look at these back to back, it’s clear that there’s a level of polish with this one that you expect it to be a Spielberg movie. 

        More so that the real antagonist in this movie is capitalism. Specifically, the nefarious business known as real estate. We see that the father Steven works with the real-estate firm that is expanding the neighborhood. And when he’s told that the graves are being moved, he puts it together that the bodies are tied to the land which explains the haunting. 

        In one way, this film is like the land version of Jaws. The family is terrorized by something that is only part of the environment. They hire investigators to deal and fight against the threat. I feel that this is the only way for the haunted house narrative to change. Since it’s mostly been the psychological aspect that mostly work. The film grounds itself to the concept that greed awakened the dead and they have come to terrorize the living as punishment. 

3. The Unnecessary Sequels

        Why there were sequels in the film I will never understand. It’s almost like a standard in Hollywood to make a sequel even if the overall story doesn’t warrant a continuation. From what I gathered; the sequels add on more to the spirits that haunted the family by tying them into a cult. And that the “Beast” demon is the leader of the cult who wants Carol Anne. 

        As always in the 21st century, it got a remake. The less we talk about that the better. If there’s one thing that I notice is that Craig T. Nelson did a great job as the father in the family. This is just speculation, but I’m pretty sure Brad Bird, who directed The Incredibles, wanted Nelson to be the father figure. He did a good job in both roles and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. 

4. Overall

        Poltergeist was a game changing horror film when it came out in ’82. It’s worthy of the classic label, and makes you think twice of where your house is sat upon. 

 

Alien Review

 

        After the success of Star Wars, you wouldn’t believe how sci-fi became popular. Just to put into perspective, prior to that film, it was a very niche genre that leaned towards B-Movie type of quality. With Lucas’ film, it gave a legitimacy to a genre where anyone can spin the genre to any way. You had many imitations that tried to be like Star Wars but lacked that heart and awe. That’s where Ridley Scott comes in. This is the movie where it put him on the map, and started a franchise. 

1. Space Truckin’

        My first exposure to the franchise was when those crappy Alien vs Predator movies came out. I haven’t watched those but there was a bombardment of ads on tv that you couldn’t shield your eyes. My first movie that I did see in the franchise was for the fifth film Prometheus. As a stand-alone it was decent, but as puzzle piece to the entire franchise, it’s, well, I’ll talk about that later. 

        With all that, many years into the future, we follow the crew of the Nostromo. Carrying mineral ore to Earth, the onboard computer receives a distress signal for the crew to investigate. And knowing this movie, you know exactly how it’s going to go down. The way it opens too is ominous. Just a bleak view into the planet as the title gradually appears. There's no pomp or circumstance with John Williams, just a foreboding vibe of danger.

        This film is the exact opposite of Star Wars, like duh right? What makes it work is the overall atmosphere and setting. Inside the Nostromo, everything is cramped and it feels endless with the hallways of the whole ship. The tech is really interesting to, while primitive as the special effects of the time, it’s always interesting to see how future tech was portrayed in older movies. 

        The characters too are all worth getting invested. We assume that the main character is Dallas, since he assumes the control of the situation when he gets the objective from the A.I. named Mother. I say that they’re interesting because they’re not scientists, just haulers and technicians that want to get a share of money that they feel is warranted. Most of them address each other by last names and I feel that it works.

        Obviously, the whole franchise would revolve around Sigourney Weaver’s character, but it’s amazing how she basically became the only person who has balls to go against Dallas’ authority. She’s mostly by the books and the only smart person among the crew when the actual ensuing action kicks off the entire demise of the crew. 

        In one way, the film is paying tribute to what came before within its contemporaries but adding new synergy. A group go into a sketchy place, usually haunted or in this case a crashed alien ship. Get exactly what they deserve when the threat slowly picks them off, once again paying tribute to the old horror trope of the monster on the loose. 

2. Xenomorph

        This creature is one of the most interesting aliens, no pun intended, ever to be portrayed in film. It was designed by artist H.R. Giger, who mostly focuses on the combination of human and mechanical. Which when you see his works, it’s odd looking when it’s the fusion of these two things. 

        Anyways, the actual introduction to the creature is ingenious. We see its fast evolution when we see the crew descend to the planet and investigate the signal. It starts off as an egg, but it immediately opens when one of the crew decides to look at it closely. The face hugger is much scarier than the actual drone I believe. Since it leaps into the face of the victim and force its seed into the host. 

        It's parasitic and psychosexual as heck when you think about it. Which is what the film is mostly about when you look at it a bit closely. The whole creature is representative on the fear of what’s it like to be on the receiving end of a very traumatic action. Especially when everything seems to be normal, the creature forces itself out of the gut of the victim.

3. World Building

        Aside from the Alien going hunting for the crew, the whole world in the movie is interesting since it doesn’t explain everything. We along with the crew are seeing something where it looks interesting and foreboding. It’s immediately clear that the distress signal is an actual warning for anyone to stay away. 

        The money shot is when they find the dead alien, dubbed the Space Jockey, when they see that its chest is blown out. We don’t know what it’s doing or why it was carrying the cargo of Alien eggs. The whole ordeal lets the audience interpret what happened. Either the aliens had the cargo to be kept away or used as a weapon. The ideas are endless, well, until we got a sort-of prequel, I’ll talk about that one some other time.

        One more thing is that there’s a secondary antagonist in the film. Among the crew, there’s one member who seems off, and it’s Ash. Ash is interesting as a character since he’s an android. More so that he has other motives along side the A.I. computer. It sets up that the company they work for is nefarious. As far as I’m aware that it gets expanded upon in the sequel.

4. Legacy

        The success of this movie triggered a franchise and started a franchise. It’s part of probably the best horror movies of the 70s. I rank this below The Exorcist and above Halloween in terms of quality. What’s always interesting to me in retrospect is how the reception changed throughout the time during and after the film’s release. For one thing it was mixed, and then later with a new lens gained an appreciation to then be called a classic. 

        The franchise has been inconsistent. I had a chance to watch this one and its sequel Aliens for a class when I was in college. And I can easily say that Aliens is the best one throughout the series. It wasn’t until that there were more sequels in the 90s and 2010s. They were mixed at best due to how much they relied on Weaver’s character and expanding on the Space Jockey aspect. 

        One last thing is that it served as an inspiration for the Nintendo franchise Metroid. Having played the series here and there, it’s clear that the franchise pays a lot of respect to the Alien series. Since it has that cramped feeling and borrows elements of the creatures and made their own threat. The video game series is still beloved among Nintendo fans and gaming fans. 

5. Overall

        Alien closes out the decade by mixing in sci-fi and horror in the best way possible.