Pan’s Labrynth Review

        It’s always something to talk about Guillermo Del Toro. Quite possibly the best and nuanced director that specializes in dark and macabre imagery. I get the feeling he’s the thinking man’s Tim Burton due to how Del Toro never feels like he’s own directorial aesthetics never feel tired or recycled. As much as I can wax poetic him, I think Pan’s Labyrinth is considered among most of his fans as the director’s best.

1. Fairy Tale

        As probably a textbook example of obtuse assumption, I thought that the film was mostly in English. Far back as I remember I’ve seen commercials of the film and I thought that there was English dialogue being said. Unfortunately, I was wrong with that presumption. So I sheepishly turned on the captions to understand what was being said and to understand the story. 

        This is an interesting one, considering that mostly what I’ve covered has its shares of scares and what not. This one feels more escapist, considering that this takes in Spain during World War 2. During the Spanish Civil War, we follow a young girl Ofelia who, along with her pregnant mother are brought into a camp led by Captain Vidal. An avid reader, she soon becomes embroiled within a fantasy world. 

        If there’s a word that I can use to describe the somewhat disturbing imagery is that it’s a beautiful macabre. Nothing is too gruesome or disgusting, everything feels terrifying but it’s somewhat interesting to look at that. It’s one aspect where you must commend Del Toro due in part that everything fantasy wise is through the perspective of a young girl. She isn’t terrified but just curious with how she communicates with the mantis bug that transforms into a fairy. 

        With how it’s handled within the movie, it’s just seamless between the tensions among the fascistic Vidal and the Spanish freedom fighters. One would think that everything we see when Ofelia sees Faun and the other creatures is just in her imaginative head. It feels that way since it’s usage feels more like a therapeutic considering the main character’s circumstances. I’ll delve into that in a moment. 

2. Real World

        Aside from the fairy tale that is the central part of the film, I love how it breaks it up to focus on the Captain’s war of attrition against the rebels. I love how in one way, it’s not just scenes with him finding the mole that helps the resistance. It would’ve been too easy to just have it but not connect with the overall theme of the movie. And that’s basically rebellion. 

        We see it when we’re first introduced to Ofelia and her mother. She has among her pack of books, a fairy tale book. One that makes her mom remind her that she’s way too old to read that specific material. In one way, whenever we follow Ofelia talk to the creature Faun, there’s certain rules that she follows that gets her closer to fulfilling a prophecy. While in the real world, there are no rules since everything is against common sense and empathy when Vidal is prideful.

        When we have moments where we’re in the camp, it certainly still retains that fairy tale aspect. When Ofelia talks to the housekeeper named Carmen, she’s like the godmother to the young girl since she empathizes with her when she brings up seeing something that would be found during a fairy tale. Even when Vidal confronts the girl, it’s like having him be the evil stepparent that has her constrained to be with her mother. 

        I really like the juxtaposition because we see through the eyes of a girl just how much awful the world is for her that her only sense of safety is a world that is so inhuman and weird that she is within her own realm of control. One more thing is that the film isn’t mostly for kids at all. From what I read is that it’s an adult-oriented fantasy film. Albeit, there’s no action or a moment when the fantasy world seeps into the real world as a means to stop a potential danger. What I will say is that the film is very dark and nothing is hold back. Especially with the main character, be prepared to shed a tear. 

3. Overall

        Among his other acclaimed works from Mexico to the United States, Pan’s Labyrinth is one of Del Toro’s best film. Bar none. 

The Silence of the Lambs Review

        Much like the 50s, the 90s was a dark time for horror. As I explained years back, most of the horror icons that were popular in the last decade were already becoming irrelevant. Wes Craven would twice reinvent the genre by making it meta or self-aware. Meanwhile, serial killers were the rage at that time, specifically the psychological aspect to them. The Silence of the Lambs was the first to have that nailed down, so much so that it won Best Picture. 

1. Clarice Starling

        Before I talk about Clarice, I think people weren’t aware that there already was a Hannibal Lecter film before this one. Manhunter came out in 1986 which was directed by Michael Mann. While it was met with a mixed reaction, it gave birth to numerous procedural dramas that came out during the next decade. One last thing, the entire film franchise is based on the works by Thomas Harris. 

        Anyways, we follow a young cadet Clarice. She gets assigned to investigate and find the serial killer named Buffalo Bill. Doing so, she goes into a mental hospital for help from an imprisoned killer Dr. Lecter. This is one of those instances where see everything through Starling’s perspective. Just as the film starts we see her struggling in the training course of the FBI. More so from her perspective that she’s in a male dominated position. 

        And man is she constantly reminded just how much she doesn’t fit within her department. That’s one of the main themes in the film and it’s sexuality. She tries to figure out and find the serial killer but is constantly probed by Dr. Lecter. Jodie Foster plays her so well. As much as I want to talk about the moments between her and Lecter, he gets his own tab. But we do get an understanding as to why she's in the FBI and what's in it for her to find the missing woman. 

        This is one of those instances where we actively worry about Clarice since she takes it upon herself to investigate the whereabouts of the killer. In the context of the film, she’s just a first timer who isn’t yet an active agent within the FBI. To give us a break between her investigation, we see her in the training field, but she struggles. It reinforces that underdog feeling that the movie’s going for.

        Lastly, the investigation work is never half-baked. All of it played completely straight when Clarice and her superior Crawford investigate the victim’s body. What I love is that after that, Starling goes to a close contact to identify the cocoon that was lodged inside the victim. That offers the explanation as to what type of bug it is in the film and in the poster. 

2. Hannibal

        Anthony Hopkins deserved to win the Academy Award for his performance as Lecter. He wasn’t the first one to portray the killer. With Manhunter, actor Brian Cox was tapped to play Hannibal. When this movie was in production, Cox wasn’t available to reprise his role. Just the introduction when we see that point of view shot to Lecter’s cell is just unsettling. Among the other inmates in the mental hospital, he just stands there.

        While his overall look and demeanor are just off putting. The way he speaks and conducts himself is mostly high class. But of course, he has that serial killer within him. The way he operates when he sees Clarice is that he wants to know more about her. The scenes when we see them in the cell and in the courthouse is sort of like a game of chess. Clarice is told what to get but tries her own method. And of course, we see just how clever Hannibal is when he plots his own methods to escape. It’s one thing that he’s a killer but he’s very smart and efficient with plotting his course. 

        Just them talking about her past and trying to move through the Dr.’s misdirect of anagrams is something to see. Some people believe that it should’ve been the whole movie of just them. Of course, there’s another killer that has a hostage. The moments when we see Bill are just psychotic. I’m glad, I know it sounds wrong, that we have a scene as to how he catches his victims. Bill is unassuming and then flips the switch of putting his victim in the bottom of the well. 

        And you’re probably asking yourself just how does the film correlate with horror. At it’s core it’s a thriller movie where Clarice is finding the killer and going to Lecter. The meat and potatoes of horror lie in the moments when Clarice is by herself and when we see Bill in his lair. Just seeing the hostages manic state of wanting to be let out is heartbreaking. Making matters worse is when she sees the bloodied claw marks of past victims. It’s the “what we don’t see” aspect that makes horror so much more effective, without needing to be explicit.

3. Legacy

        The film was massively successful box office wise. People were so enthralled with the performances of both Foster and Hopkins that they were Academy nominated and winning their respective categories. So much so that the movie is the first horror film to win the coveted Best Picture award. It says something where we didn’t see an onscreen kill that is practically the genre’s identity was probably the deal breaker to win the award. 

        Of course, when you have something successful, other studios try to capitulate and do something that is on par or just missing the point. Probably the best example that is slightly in the same league as this one is David Fincher’s Se7en. Having it follow the same footprints and one intimidating killer makes it a worthy contemporary. 

        Lastly, there were sequels to this one, but of course they weren’t as good as Silence. I think it was because people loved Lecter so much that he was the basis of his own movie that came out in 2001. I haven’t seen it, but it’s the highest grossing among the franchise, but it received mixed reviews. A prequel came out which remade Manhunter with Red Dragon which starred Ed Norton. It got to a point where people got tired, especially an origin story on Lector being completely unnecesarry. 

4. Overall

        The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best films of the 90s. While it’s horror is more subdued, the performances help set the uneasiness of the film. 

The Evil Dead (1981) Review

        It only feels natural to talk about a Sam Raimi film. You can practically say that he has influenced my life involving movies. The very first exposure of him is through his 2002 superhero film Spider-Man. It’s such a stark contrast with what he made with this one compared to that. Truth be told, he did read comic books growing up and it only made sense that his own cinematic aesthetics made it possible to bring the wall crawler to life. Anyways, let’s talk about his feature debut, The Evil Dead. 

1. Cabin in The Woods

        This wasn’t the first time that Raimi dealt with something involving a cabin in the middle of nowhere. One of his early movies called “Within the Woods” was mostly shot for 100,000 dollars. The purpose was to find the studio that would take notice and give him the necessary budget to make a cinematic version. It inevitably turned to the charitable donations that Raimi’s closest contacts donated him the money to shoot a more expensive feature. 

        The film has that blue collar look to it. Considering that most of the cast are supposed to be college students just exploring the rural parts of America. Just that grittiness to it and the way of special effects give that film its charm that only Raimi himself can pull off. So, about those students, they decide to stay at a small cabin for cheap. Upon arrival, they come across a recording and inevitably the shizz gets real. 

        Man is it gory. I say that as a compliment with what the movie is going for since everybody gets possessed by the evil force. In the sequels, the demons are called Deadites and it fleshes out the overall threat. As I was saying, it doesn’t hold back with showing the blood and guts of the victims. I think the one where it just felt excruciating is when one of them gets stabbed in the Achilles. Brutal is what the movie has as far as just it doesn’t hold anything back. 

        As far as how it handles the haunted house or cabin trope is interesting. It’s established that one of the friends Scotty explores the cabin’s basement and finds a recorder along with a disgusting piece of literature called the Book of the Dead. Even prior to that, there’s an unseen presence that lingers in the area and I love just how it needed the incantation to be spoken to unleash the full power. This idea of Pandora’s Box adds new synergy to the haunted house trope. 

        It's a recurring theme among Raimi’s films that the innocent is punished. With the films that I’ve talked about here, the main character is punished either being dragged into Hell or have superpowers but at a price. With the characters in The Evil Dead, most of them go through the ringer of being possessed and Ash having to defend himself and stop the demons from wreaking more havoc. 

2. Legacy

        When it debuted as an independent feature, it immediately got glowing praises and made its return financially. No one could’ve thought that this one movie would be a franchise among its dedicated fans. Raimi ultimately continued his trilogy, while each of them has a comedic angle since the idea was it’s to offset the level of horror that’s being shown. Both Raimi and Bruce Campbell continue to work together as the years go on. 

        It was only until recently that The Evil Dead popped up into pop culture again when new films started to come out. I haven’t seen the remake from 2013 or the recent sequel that just came out, but the thing I read is that it mostly stays true to what made the originals a classic among horror fans. The franchise even had its own tv series that continues the adventures of Ash with Ash vs The Evil Dead with Raimi having a hand in it. 

3. Overall

        Among the top tier horror films of the 80s, this one sticks out by being one of the best independent horror films of that time. 

250th Review Carrie (1976)

        250 movie reviews, well I’ll be. It’s just crazy to think that I’ve been doing this for so long during the pandemic and now it’s just a hobby. I’m glad that some might read to at least be illuminated on some film analysis or curious to know what I think about a movie you all may have seen. Originally, I was going to do a review on George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. As you can see, it isn’t happening. To improvise I thought we’d look at Stephen King’s first adaptation with Carrie. 

1. Brian De Palma

        Keeping up with the October tradition of talking about a Stephen King work, I decided to look at the first one. And well to finally talk about Brian De Palma in this initiative. For the uninitiated, he was part of the 1970s group of filmmakers that practically changed American Cinema. It was him, Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola and Lucas that changed an entire landscape that is still being felt to this day. 

        This may also be the first time some were exposed to De Palma. He’s made some of the greats including this one, Scarface and The Untouchables  to name a few. That one was the first time I’ve sat down and watched his movies. Some may not realize that he contributed to a film franchise that is still going on. He directed Mission: Impossible back in the mid-90s. And the seventh sequel just came out recently. No one could’ve thought that 30 years ago, one entry of his would kick off a beloved franchise. 

2. A Thing about Carrie

        Alright, so let’s get down to business with this one. The movie is spelled out right down to the poster spoiling a key point in the film. It’s rare for a movie to just give away that part, but it sort of works to have people watch to see how Carrie got blood on her. We see right in the beginning that she’s the outcast of her school. So much so that when she has her period, every girl in the locker room teases her. 

        The level of empathy we have for her is just astounding. This is one of those rare films that we just want her to have a happy ending when the film ends. Like, just the level of abuse she suffers from school to her own home is just so heartbreaking. I’ll elaborate more on her home life in a bit. Aside from her constant living state, we do see moments that show that some people care about her. 

        In one scene, we see one classmate Sue tell her boyfriend Tommy to go out with Carrie to help her with her low self-esteem. At first, he’s hesitant but ultimately relents to ask her out. It’s both Sue and Miss Collins that have the best interest for her to look out. Among the crappiness of her school, it shows that some people do care for her, in spite of what her mother thinks. 

        When she’s at home with her mother is just so incredibly sad to see. It’s established earlier that her mother Margaret is a traveling zealot looking to convert new people in her neighborhood. It’s bad when one of the mothers of Carrie’s classmates just hands her a 5 dollar bill to have her leave. Just seeing Margaret use her religion as a way to put down Carrie is upsetting to me. 

        One moment is when she tells her mom about her period just made me both sad and upset. Both Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie sell the domestic abuse to its fullest. Right down to when Margaret pulls Carrie’s hair by dragging her to a broom closet to have her pray. 

        Lastly, one can’t talk about this film without talking about the Prom scene. Everything leads up to it when Tommy rents a tux, and Carrie is sewing her own dress. This is the one moment where after everything that we’ve seen happen to Carrie, we just want her to be happy, for at least a good amount of time. After the school punks Billy and Chris pull the string that causes the pig’s blood to fall is when we see the true power of Carrie. 

        We get small glimpses of her powers earlier. And a bonus is when she actually tries to understand them when she’s at a library to get the confirmation that she isn’t going crazy, but is just an extraordinary gift. Back to the prom, it’s an editors dream to showcase her blood covered face and her powers is just a chef’s kiss. It would’ve been ruined if all of it was cut and spliced together. Having it be side by side shows just a real-time look of what’s happening. 

3. Legacy

        The film was both financially successful and critically acclaimed. It practically kicked off Brian De Palma’s popularity as a director and established Stephen King’s legendary authorship. It was his first adaptation of his works and many more to come within a matter of years and decades. Carrie’s been featured in one of the best horror films list of the decade and one King’s best works adapted. 

        I was surprised to learn that it got nominated for an Academy Award. For both Spacek and Laurie were nominated in their categories but lost out. It’s surprising for one thing a horror movie getting nominated when The Exorcist came out and many more were nominated based on their performance and special effects. Spacek would ultimately win her Award in the film Coal Miner’s Daughter.

        The film, like many other of King’s adaptations, started a franchise. There was a sequel that came out 20 years after the fact. It focused on Carrie’s half-sister and her newfound abilities. It was criticized for basically doing the exact same thing as the first movie did. In 2013, it was remade with Chloe Grace Moretz portraying the girl but got mixed reviews that didn’t really add anything new to the story in general.

4. Overall

        Carrie is a must watch for anyone marathoning De Palma films or exploring King’s various adaptations. It’s one of the essential viewings for 70s horror. 

The Haunting (1963) Review

        The 1960s I feel is the turning point for horror. As a genre it’s gotten probably a substantial growth of sub-genre’s that many other filmmakers will contribute to. You have great films like Psycho, Night of the Living Dead and Rosemary’s Baby that have made a mark of that decade by pushing the envelope of what will be the norms for many horror films. The Haunting is probably the one that is the definite horror movie of the 60s. 

1. Hill House

        You’re probably wondering if "The Haunting in Hill House" was a Netflix original idea, well you’re wrong in that respect. Based on the book by Julie Harris, The Haunting is probably the first time a haunted house movie leans in heavily on the psychological angle than anything paranormal. I say that because that’s the movies best secret weapon for why it’s great. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

        From the beginning of the film, Dr. Markway narrates to us the background of Hill House and why it’s supposed to be haunted. He elaborates by stating that the original tenants have died by odd circumstances. As an experiment to determine if the haunting is true, he enlists three people: Eleanor, Theodora and Luke to accompany him and document if there is anything paranormal.

        What I like about the film is that everything is subtle in its approach. For a movie called The Haunting, we expect to see some ghosts or some level of paranormal activity. What’s great about is that we don’t see anything tangible or ghostly. The use of paranormal activity is that we hear noises to faint human sounds. The best moments is when both Theo and Eleanor hear something moving from the hallway. 

        It does it so well that they don’t investigate if it’s just the house that’s making it, like a faulty pipe or something. Throughout the whole film, the Dr. asks both women and Luke to document what’s happening. The dynamic character synergy helps sell it since Luke is the one to laugh it off but is still curious to think that the location is haunted. While the duo do acknowledge what they heard. 

        Had the film gone out of its way to show something tangible like a ghost or something more sinister would’ve been ruined. Having it be unseen has the audience try to figure out and guess if the house is literally haunted or just in the test subjects minds. I haven’t read the book if that is the case but for an adaptation it does it well to enhance the subject matter without spelling it out to the audience. 

2. Eleanor 

        As far as protagonists are concerned, this is probably one of the best tragic main characters that I’ve seen in a while. The first time we see Eleanor is when she’s living with her sister, bereft with guilt over their mother’s passing. Having her feel that she could’ve done more when their mother was sick. She wants to be independent but is entirely broke. Chosen to be part of Dr. Markway’s experiment, she sees the opportunity to start over. 

        From there, we follow a slow descend into madness which is often alluded to when we hear her inner thoughts. She wants to be accepted within the small group and strikes up a friendship with Theo. What I like is that we see the friendship form into a sort of sister-like relationship. Interesting enough is that Theo is coded to be a lesbian. The movie doesn’t confirm that but it’s alluded to that she has some feelings for Eleanor. Although, when she teases Eleanor about the house, the latter is combative. 

        Her slow descending mental psychosis into wanting to stay in the house, even when Dr. Markway tells her that she must leave is tragic. The paranormal experiences and her inner thoughts about the house cause her to be even more staunch to stay in the house. Regardless of the experiment since she relates to the story and becomes one with the house. 

        All of it as I say is played straight. There’s not an external force that is influencing her way of thinking or being possessed by a spirit. All of it is within her mind and it makes it more interesting in the context of the house. And for the overall theme of the movie, which is everything that they are experiencing, is it the house or just them? Or is it all an elaborate trick by the doctor to test them? Things like that where the movie isn’t clear cut and has the audience guess is what’s missing nowadays. 

3. The Remake 

        It seems like I keep coming back to last years look of The Body Snatcher. That one was directed by Robert Wise aswell as this film. He was already an established director within a variety of genres such as West Side Story and The Day the Earth Stood Still and a director of two Best Picture winners. So far I think this film is one of his best and I plan to watch his others. 

        The Haunting is one of those films at the time that got mixed reviews, the author especially didn’t like it. Noting that the only thing she feared was getting a parking ticket while she was in the theater. Over time, the film would get its recognition and the acclamation as one of the best horror films of the 60s. So much so that Stephen King pitched a remake to Steven Spielberg.

        Nothing came out of it, but the idea was remade to a movie in the late 90s. Seeing bits of it, my oh my is it bad. It’s like the director of Speed just flat out made a horror movie that relied too much on visual effects without the humanity of it. Which is ironic since the movie relies more on ghosts than anything mental. King ultimately brought his idea back and made it to a limited T.V. series that was a strip down version of his take on The Haunting called Rose Red.  

4. Overall

        The Haunting is one of the best paranormal films where the activity is either happening or in the head. To me that’s more scary than anything.