Smile Review

        Happy Halloween! As always with every year that I talk about horror, it’s always a sight to see how the genre has evolved to more than just frights. Especially when it involves some form of dramatic or involves elements that don’t involve a copious amount of gore. Horror is more than explicit elements that give it the R rating, it can involve any fear and exacerbate them to a degree where the character goes through the ringer. Giving them the journey to conquer their fear or confront it. That’ s why there’s a spectrum of any direction to take horror films. With the long-winded defense of horror already established, let’s wrap it up with my favorite horror film of this decade so far. 

1. Laura Hasn’t Slept

        As of now, the horror genre is still in that golden age continuing from the 2010s. A24 and Neon studios have been releasing potential classics of their horror films. Of all the studios that are releasing their slate, Disney is the surprising one due to their acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The recent releases of the classic sci-fi horror franchises have reinvigorated new life as well as releasing some original films through Hulu. 

        Just the production history of the film is one of those rare wins for the studio where it practically caused a shockwave which I will get into in the legacy tab. Although it’s important to note that with Smile, it was originally going to be released straight to Paramount Plus. Surprisingly, the studio did a test screening and was impressed with the positive reaction that they pivoted from the small screen to the bigger one. For a film that cost just 15 million and went on to gross nearly 200 million is a success story regardless. 

        Lastly, this isn’t the first time director Parker Finn has tackled with an invisible threat. Prior to Paramount giving him the money to direct his feature debut, Finn had directed the short film Laura Hasn’t Slept. While it doesn’t have the basis of this film, it’s a precursor to have Finn expand more on the concept and to establish a whole new threat that is plaguing the main character. Instead of one recommendation you’ll get two, Laura Hasn’t Slept is a great companion piece to Smile. 

        So with all that, we follow Rose who’s a therapist who works at a psychiatric ward. She tries to help her new patient Laura who tells her she sees smiles everywhere and is in danger. Laura soon succumbs to the threat as she kills herself and displays a menacing grin at Rose. From there, Rose soon encounters the various grins as the invisible threat closes in on her. The film is straightforward from both a psychological angle and the supernatural angle to it. If there’s one thing where the film really exceeds is when it does a red herring so well. 

        Throughout the whole film, we follow Rose as she tries to lead a normal life but with how the camera operates and well what we don’t see, shows us that the actions that Rose does is seemingly normal until it isn’t. For instance, Rose goes to buy a present for her nephew for his birthday. We see that she’s wrapping the gift but after, she can’t find her pet cat. At the party, the level of shock and dread of what I saw just messed me up since her nephew opens the gift and scares everyone. I’ll give Finn credit where he’ll throw a curveball as showing us something innocuous but never giving us the full moment. 

        Everything is in Rose’s perspective; we see what she sees and it can be the most unsettling part due to how the smiles come in. It really is ingenious to have a facial expression that’s supposed to be positive and comforting be twisted into something where it spells imminent doom to the main character. It works in favor of the psychological angle due to this one plot point where her family has a history of mental illness. I feel that it would’ve been a copout to have that be the catalyst of Rose’s vision instead of the threat being very real. 

        In one way, that aspect works in favor of the film. Since it’s established that Rose’s family has that history, we know that her sister Holly believes that she is crazy due to how unbelievable her story with what she’s going through. And it’s dialed up even more as we have those moments where Rose is seemingly in control and to turn it upside down where this entity is portraying the people that Rose is talking to when they are not there in front of her. 

        I might as well talk about this new threat. Much like the thing from It Follows, we don’t have the faintest clue as to how this smiling threat comes from. Or which religion this creature is associated with. It’s seemingly unstoppable since Rose takes it upon herself and with her ex to find the connection among the past victims. I’m glad that there’s rules for this thing to at least not make it too unstoppable, albeit Rose can’t take it upon herself to pass on the thing to someone else. 

        With the films that I covered this month, most of them have a downer ending and I was not expecting or planning that. This one is no exception as we see that Rose tries to stop the demon but ultimately succumbs to it. The design is the most grotesque and freakish thing I’ve seen and it’s unreal how the puppetry and special effects manage to make it freakier than what it is. I would honestly believe that this film would be a one and done thing, but of course one would strike when the iron is hot. 

2. Legacy

        As I mentioned before, the film did phenomenal as far as it’s box office gross. Paramount made more money than they would had they decided to ship the film straight to streaming. In some way, I think it altered the trajectory to some horror films being featured in a theater first then released digitally. One example I can think of is when Disney released Prey on Hulu and it’s sci-fi cousin Alien: Romulus to theaters as a response to both Smile’s and Prey’s critical reception. 

        Of course, you’re aware that the film has a sequel that is already out and the word on it is that it’s a worthy sequel to this one. I haven’t seen it yet, but I can imagine that this new franchise will spawn a third entry that will either end the series or find some way to continue the smile demon’s onslaught. It’s very rare to start a franchise and one where it’s easy to step onto the holes that damage the franchise due to unoriginality or suck. I feel that Parker Finn will stick close to his guns with either finding a conclusive end or perhaps start a new horror entry. Either way, I’m hooked on him and I will love to see his career bloom. 

3. Overall

        Smile is the rare success film of the 2020s and easily one of the best horror film of the decade so far. 

 

It Follows Review

        I think it’s mutually agreed that the 2010s was a huge heyday for the horror genre. One could look at James Wan’s Conjuring films as the decade’s earlier hits and cementing his name in horror’s best directors. As well as the rise of the studio A24 and their unique spin on horror. They’re unconventional by having their horror not be the standard, but one where it’s a league of their own. You also have new directors showing their spin of horror such as Mike Flanagan and Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King works. As much as I want to talk about 2017’s It, 2014’s It Follows is considered one of the best of the decade. 

1. Sexually Transmitted Demon

        Compared to the studio horror films that came out near the middle of the 2010s, this one is unique since it’s an independent movie with just around a million-dollar budget. Given the relatively small budget, you can convey the creepiness of what’s going on by using a minimalist approach. Just the opening in the film in suburban Detroit gives the film it’s own style and flare. It’s one of those movies where we see the threat, albeit the threat is invisible to everyone except the victim. 

        We follow Jay as she’s taken on a date with a guy named Hugh. After making out, Hugh knocks her out and reveals that he’s passed to her a curse. He describes the thing as a slow and unstoppable force that can’t be stopped. As bonkers of a storyline sounds and even typing it is just a feat since it’s a concept that is so out there, it’s at least original in some regards. One could say that this is sort of like a slasher film since it has a body count and we see the aftermath of the victims. 

        Now, typically a slasher involves a killer in a mask or a disfigured guy that’s running around chopping up teens. It exploded in the 80s due to how relatively cheap and easy they are to film. For how I interpret the slasher films, is that they are sort of like lessons where teenagers are punished for doing bad deeds. Such as doing stuff that is morally wrong, but their wild mind beats out any logic. It’s like a fable where there’s a comeuppance but the horror genre has spiced it up with the tropes that have made it endearing. 

        Of course, if you see the movie with an introspective mindset, it could be interpreted as a metaphor for STDs or another danger for sex. Following what I established before, this thing mostly punishes for the deed that the teens did. Albeit wittingly or unwittingly, it’s unfortunate how the victims go through the ringer of just avoiding the threat of inevitably being on the receiving end. I’ll elaborate on the thing itself since it’s probably the most interesting threat that any horror film has put out. 

        With this film, the way it’s shot and presented is very downtrodden where there’s no hope being communicated at all. It probably doesn’t do any favors that it takes place in Detroit since we see some establishing shots of a rundown neighborhood and how it looks dilapidated. It matches the mood with the movie since Jay is trying to escape from the seemingly invisible threat that she’s only confined within her area. 

        She has help from her friends and sister. I love how the characters initially don’t believe her but soon realize that Jay is in danger. They all have something to do instead of just being lambs to the slaughter.  All of them contribute and manage to stand guard to protect Jay from the threat. One of them, Paul has feelings and gets jealous when the neighbor Greg tries to take away the demon from her. If there’s one thing that I like is that the camera does the extra job of visually communicating with us with what the character is thinking. 

        In one way, the camera offers us a clue as to how the threat is presented. Mind you, it has no name. We don’t even know the origins of it, just the fact that it exists to kill the person that made out with the last victim. With the minimum information that we have, it’s scary to think that a seemingly mythic being has a lineage of victim to pick off. Just how it can morph into other people that’s part of the victim’s past can be unsettling since it can either appear in white or nude. 

        I think the one scene that basically makes it terrifying is when the creature goes after Jay’s neighbor. She peers over her window and sees her “neighbor”, until it breaks the window and finds the new victim. Since we don’t see the kill up close, and I’m kind of grateful that it didn’t go in the explicit route. Like the way the thing kills Greg is already messed up considering that it breaks the joints and rapes him to death. With how quick it is, I’m glad that it’s more than enough to say that this thing is deadly, without the explicit shots of how Greg dies. 

        Aside from the creature being unstoppable, I love how the film is practically paranoid. We really do empathize with Jay since she's constantly on the lookout of where the thing will come from. More so that the way the camera is set up as well visually creates the paranoia feel. Throughout the film, the camera will pan around and follow the character. Even slowly zooming in on the young woman since we can only assume that the thing is near or getting close. I just love how it didn't need a big special effect to show where the thing is, but just imply and to give us a scare as to where it is. 

        If there’s one last thing to comment on is that the film is of course a love letter to John Carpenter. I’ve looked at two of his most memorable films way back four years ago. With how the film is presented with it’s look in suburbia, it has some homages to 1978's Halloween. Right down to the threat’s slow walk and the soundtrack having a synth feel to it. And of course with Carpenter’s remake of The Thing since the creature morphs into anyone and how it can be anywhere. I view this film as a tribute to 80s horror and an homage to Carpenter. 

2. Overall

        It Follows is one of the most creative horror films to date and one of the best horror films of the decade. 

 

Cloverfield Review

        It’s been a while since I’ve done a found footage movie. If you recall, I did a review on The Blair Witch Project three years ago. It came out in 1999 along with the last film that I talked about. Those two changed the horror genre with Blair Witch reintroducing the found footage for a new audience. It only made sense to bring that style back in the 2000s, but this time add in a monster running rampant in New York City.   

1. Monster on the Loose

        This is the first time that I talk about a Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams film. Maybe some time in the future I’ll talk about their respective films. In the meantime, Abrams owned the 2000s. He was well known for creating the hit TV shows Alias and Lost, the latter being a monumental hit and considered one of the best mystery television shows to air. He’s mostly known as a producer but has dipped his toes into directing. The idea for this movie came from him when he saw Godzilla and wondered why the U.S. never had a monster. 

        One could say that King Kong is an American monster, albeit not destructive but misunderstand since he’s a giant ape. Or if you want to look elsewhere in the 1950s with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. The only reason why we don’t have a monster is that we never were on the receiving end of any catastrophe. With Godzilla being the representation of the Japanese fear of the atomic bomb. While the other examples is just bringing something unknown or tampering with nature. 

        It only made sense that we have a monster that is reflective of the times where it’s set in. And that’s the main idea with this one. We follow the characters as they prepare a going away party for one of their friends. One may say that the human element is boring since we only really want to see the monster. Well, my retort to that is that if we only focus on the monster then it’ll be boring to watch. What makes the ensuing action or horror is seeing everyone being active and reactive to try to escape where the monster is at. 

        I might as well talk about the characters since they have names and we follow them for an hour and 40 minutes. We see that Rob is having the going away party and he hands over the camera to his friend Hud. If there’s one thing where video games have taught me is that Hud as an acronym meaning “Heads Up Display”. So, it makes sense that he holds the camera and captures footage of the carnage. It’s the two of them and Rob’s brother’s fiancée and Hud’s crush Marlena as we see them before and in the ensuing attack.

        I love how the tension slowly builds when everyone sees what’s going on. It’s small like an earthquake and then the big explosion within the city. Punctuating it is seeing the Statue of Liberty’s head flying and crashing near the camera. Reminiscent and paying tribute to the poster for Escape from New York. Since we have a monster storyline that is the framing, the human story involves the quartet trying to find and rescue Rob’s girlfriend from the rubble. While that’s nice and dandy, we see that the creature isn’t the only thing that the people have to face. 

        I love how the action is punctuated to be somewhat like Saving Private Ryan when the action is literally in front of the characters. Especially when they’re caught in a crossfire as the National Guard try to kill the monster but to no avail. All of it has that grounded look since we see the aftereffects of the monster stomping through and the military’s missiles damaging the buildings. I think it’s an aesthetic that I’ve noticed in Matt Reeves’ work. His work on the Planet of the Apes franchise and The Batman has that grounded look that tries to make it realistic. 

        The film is grounded, and I love how we slowly get the little glimpses of the monster. It’s now known as Clover, but to me it’s ingenious to slowly reveal the monster. Jaws is always going to be the example when to build the tension of the threat. The fear being that since we’re confined to seeing what Hud is capturing and not knowing when Clover is going to pop out. Making matters worse is that it carries a parasite that can cause people to explode. And we see it as one of the members in the group gets bitten and inevitably dies. 

        If there’s one redeeming aspect that I have with the film is that the monster is seemingly indestructible. Like we never see a glimpse of it having any visible damage other than just react to the gunfire and missile barrages. And I think what’s more frightening is that the monster is an infant. The director revealed that tidbit after the fact and it makes for a possibility that all hope is gone when a grown size creature shows up. In one way, I think it keeps the tradition of found footage films where the people we’ve been tracking has died. 

2. Legacy

        I remember the marketing for the film so vividly that I think it’s one of the last film’s to practically use the internet as a marketing tool. Even in the trailers, they never revealed the title of the movie but only showed when it was going to come out. It was Cloverfield and Paramount’s other horror film Paranormal Activity that brought back the found footage sub-genre back into the mainstream at that time. While Paranormal Activity has created a franchise, and ultimately fell into the same trappings of lower quality sequels, Cloverfield took a different turn for a franchise. 

        The ensuing sequels for Cloverfield were nothing like the first one. Well, you can’t really call them a sequel since there’s no continuing thread from the first entry. You can say that the follow ups have Cloverfield in its name but use it as a way to describe the setting or action. The follow up 10 Cloverfield Lane from what I’ve read is pretty good. There were talks of a sequel to this one, but the release of Pacific Rim and 2014’s Godzilla made it not possible due to Abrams saying that the monster element has already been played out. 

3. Overall

        Cloverfield is one of the hidden gems of the 2000s and one of the best monster films of all time. 

The Sixth Sense Review

        The 90s was both the dark age of horror and a transformative one. The prior franchises of the 80s were easily burning out do to the low quality of the product. A few films helped revolutionize the genre, particularly Wes Craven’s New Nightmare and Scream. Around the time, ghosts were popular as the basis not just for horror. Films like well, Ghost and The Frighteners highlighted the unique way to tell an unconventional ghost story. The Sixth Sense broke ground in 1999 and I feel it’s one of the best dramatic horror films of all time. 

1. Seeing Dead People 

        It’s surprising to note that this isn’t M. Night Shyamalan’s debut in the film business. This was just the third film that he made with his prior entries mostly consisting of a drama and a comedy. One was independent and another was partially released just prior to this film. I can imagine that nobody was prepared with the kind of film this would be when it came out considering that the only popular ghost film to come out was the Ghostbusters. 

        So we follow child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe and his wife in their home as they’re relaxing. A former patient of Malcolm breaks in their house and shoots the doctor. Time passed as we see that Malcolm is now helping with another little boy named Cole. He harbors a secret that he can see the dead. In between helping the boy, Malcolm tries to reconcile with his relationship with his wife after the shooting. 

        Yeah, this is a different kind of horror film compared to what we looked at for the month. I feel that with horror, it’s not just limited to blood or the cheap jump scares that has taken over the genre. With the film that’s presented, the thing that makes it unique is that we’re following Malcolm attempting to help Cole since he doesn’t believe that he’s seeing ghosts. The only scary moment is when Cole’s alone and sees the dead around either his house or in his school. And I feel that part of what makes it scary is that we empathize with the boy. 

        I might as well explain further on the revelation of Cole’s gift. I love how we gradually learn that Cole does have a gift throughout the film. One would think that he’s just lashing out due to Malcolm seeing the sentences Cole wrote and his wrists being bruised and cut. All of that is just a red herring since it’s the ghosts that are communicating to him and having it be reactive to what they’ve been through. Even when Cole talks to the doctor, he explains the rules that the ghosts operate that in turn help us disseminate. 

        Both Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment are just terrific in their roles. The chemistry between them is spot on as we see how Malcolm empathizes and has Cole be comfortable talking to him. In one way, Crowe is like a father figure to the boy since it’s established that his dad is not in the picture. They are the highlight since we see that Malcolm wants his case with the boy to be a redeemer when his past patient confronted him. And I love just how deep Malcolm tries to help Cole by making him comfortable and understanding. 

            Since this is a horror film, I got to talk about how the ghosts are portrayed. I do love how there’s no special effect to tell us that yes, the dead are dead with how the characters look faded or have a mist like view to them. The way the ghosts are presented is like they’re alive but they have the period clothing that matches when they died. The special sauce is when they have a mark like a gunshot or one of them puking out poison. I’m just glad that there’s no nefarious ghost or demon that goes to haunt Cole and lower the film to a lesser degree. Cole sees the ghosts that haven’t realized that they’re dead and are practically roaming the general Philadelphia area. 

        If there’s one scene that I like is when Cole and Malcolm goes to the funeral of one of the ghosts. Cole arrives at the funeral and where the little girl had died. The ghost gives him a box containing a tape of her death. In one way, I think this is when Cole finally accepts his gift and to feel that he’s no longer an outcast. Additionally, I love how his mom slowly puts it together that her son has a gift. If there’s one thing that makes a great horror film among the best, its when it has a point in the context of the story.  

2. The Twist

        I think me and anyone within my generation has been spoiled in one way or another by just cultural osmosis. Meaning that, any conversation involving this film has to involve the twist in some shape. And while yes, I did learn about the twist before hand, I think what makes the film better is that what makes it work is just the performance and the moments of distraction. What I mean by that is whenever we see Malcolm, he always wears the same clothing including his sweatshirt. 

        Additionally, seeing it from start to finish is one thing where you must appreciate the level of detail to hide the fact that the doctor has died. Mostly where the characters are placed and just have the script convey that the wife is so distant from her husband that she leaves as Malcolm is pleading for forgiveness. I think one scene aside from the dinner scene is when Malcolm is at Cole’s house. 

        In the scene where they meet at the house, one could make the argument that Lynn and Malcolm have talked and she leaves the room for them to be alone. What makes it work is that she doesn’t acknowledge the doctor and only notices Cole. And I’ll say again, what makes the whole twist work regardless of the spoiler being out in the open is the performance and how it’s set up visually. It’s a testament for a film that’s stood the test of time after 20 some years. 

3. Legacy

        No one could’ve imagined that a horror film costing 40 million dollars would gross nearly half a billion and being the second highest grossing film of 1999. It went on to have a near critical acclaim that it would be nominated for Best Picture during the Oscars. Becoming one of the few horror films to be nominated for the prestigious award. More than anything it established M. Night as the next up and coming director. I’ve already talked about his film after this one three years ago. 

        I feel that with his directorial aesthetic, he would be the next Alfred Hitchcock. It’s very rare to pull of a twist and have it be just a flip for the audience and for anyone casual. Even Newsweek prematurely called him the next Spielberg. Unfortunately, his career would have ebbs and flows that made it seem that he lost his touch or that he’ll never direct again. I’ve only seen the film’s that Disney helped release and I feel that it’s his superior ones. Perhaps I’ll watch Signs next year to close out that phase in his career. 

4. Overall

        The Sixth Sense is one of the most creative dramatic horror films of the 90s and one of the best films of 1999.