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Browsing Category Thriller

Intensity in film form

Searching (2018)

15/09/2018 · by Joy

When Unfriended came out in 2014, I watched it and I wasn’t like, “oh, that was a great/horrible movie” but I was very intrigued by the style of the movie. “Filmed” entirely on a computer screen (or I guess, multiple computer screens), it was something new and different that, at the time, I thought hadn’t been done before. I’ve since watched The Den (2013) and again, I was kind of thrilled by this new methodology. Searching is a lot like that.

Searching branches out a little bit and includes news footage shots and CCTV shots, but everything is via ‘screen’ – nothing is overtly filmed in the traditional sense. To be honest, Searching was a breath of fresh air. John Cho was absolutely fantastic in every way and I am now blessed with a weird thing where I wish John Cho was MY dad. The film starts out with an emotional gunshot and keeps you thinking right until the very end. You’re never entirely sure what to believe and you’re never entirely sure what’s around the corner. I was kind of thrown off my game a little when Debra Messing was suddenly a cop because the whole movie, in the back of my mind, all I could think was there is no way that Grace Adler can pull off this detective thing.

Searching was packed full of red herrings and twists. It was exceptionally well thought out and while normally I leave a movie like this with plot holes forever emerging in my mind as I recount and process what I’ve watched, so far I can’t find any. This is a welcome surprise for me having just watched Hereditary last night and finding a very different result (more on that experience in a separate review). I can’t say that I was exceptionally surprised by the end result as there was an inkling there, but I was never at any point before it was revealed, fully aware that I had the right notion.

It was realistic, it was touching, and it really made a statement about what our lives our with the Internet dominating so much of our time and holding so many of our “secrets,” ready to be exposed if someone just… takes the time to look for them. I was thoroughly impressed and this is one I think I’ll add to my personal collection. Recommending you see this ASAP!

The Open House (2018)

21/01/2018 · by Joy

First and foremost, I feel like I should apologize for the hiatus. I know I have literally zero regular readers, and I’ve never had a very consistent posting schedule, but I still feel guilty since my last post was in October!

A new year means a new, fresh spreadsheet of movies. I failed at keeping track of the films I watched last year in about April, so I’m hoping to keep a full list this year. But anyway, enough rambling and on with the show… the show that ultimately leads… nowhere?

I wasn’t necessarily excited nor did I have high hopes for The Open House. It’s a Netflix original that just aired and it stars Dylan Minnette of 13 Reasons Why fame. To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with his performance in 13 Reasons Why either. I found him to be a pretty flat stage presence and I think that carried over to The Open House as well, which isn’t really boding well for his career (although, I will say he was okay in Don’t Breathe).

The film started out okay, if not a little cliche – with a jolting death and a quick change of scenery. Our two main characters, a teenager and his mother, relocate to their relative’s mountain home which is a gorgeous, if not creepy, abode. Pretty basic plot, creepy things happen until suddenly *spoiler* things aren’t happening anymore. That pretty much sums up the entire film, actually. It was a whole lot of slow, ambling, “ooh, spooky” moments that feel like they’re leading up to something big, something earth-shattering, and then… nothing. I was let down! I was ready, I was prepared for some kind of justice, and justice I did not get.

It was just uninspired and unoriginal. It was nothing that we haven’t seen before, that’s for sure. There was no character development and there was no basis upon which to build a connection with any of the characters either. It was confusing, it was stale, it was unimaginative. I definitely would not watch this again or recommend it to anyone. I didn’t hate it, I just… was so disappointed.

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

11/06/2017 · by Joy

A Cure for Wellness had me intrigued right from the get-go. When I saw the ratings coming in as less than appealing, I was sort of let-down but not enough to deter me entirely. So what did I do? I bought it when I saw it at the local pawn shop without viewing it first. Makes sense to me.

Luckily, I don’t regret it. Sure, the film I found had flaws. It was about 45 minutes longer than it needed to be. The ending was less than satisfying. The ‘twist’ was relatively predictable. But those visuals. Ooh, those visuals. I was so incredibly blown away by the cinematography and the visual effects. I can’t even describe them. They used symmetry and wide shots of the Alps to the very best of anyone’s abilities. The consistent use of the colour blue induces a lulling sense of security amid the unease evoked by the bizarre actions of the vast majority of the characters.

I feel like A Cure for Wellness is one of those films that is just so masterful in some aspects that you can let the flawed story kind of… go, because watching for the dialogue, the acting, and the visuals is enough to carry it. It was definitely enough to keep me intrigued and to make sure that I didn’t feel like I’d wasted 2 1/2 hours of my life. There are so many horror cliches and period film cliches, it almost feels like Verbinski is trying to give a less than subtle nod to those effects we’ve seen a thousand times before.

In sum, I really enjoyed A Cure for Wellness and I’m happy I have it in my collection. It requires a bit of a time dedication and I know it’s not going to appeal to everyone, but I think for those who have a certain appreciation for the visual aspects of film, it will be a treat. Give it a shot!

I don’t feel at home in this world anymore. (2017)

06/03/2017 · by Joy

I don’t even know how I ended up stumbling across this one on Netflix. It’s a Netflix original and it was really good. I didn’t know what to expect, but at the same time, even if I did expect something, it would have been totally different. Melanie Lynskey is one of those people who I almost always enjoy watching, but never think of as one of my “favourite” actresses. She can do it all and she can do it all well. She just slips herself in there and does a good job but doesn’t seem to get a whole lot of praise for it, which is a shame! And Elijah Wood is always enjoyable to watch too (Maniac remake, anyone? The critics weren’t fans but I enjoyed it!)

I don’t feel at home in this world anymore., with it’s inconveniently long title was an exercise in powerlessness and “riding the wave.” It was weird, it was interesting, it got thrilling really damn fast… it was good! I was impressed! I watched it last night and I’ve been thinking about it all day. Every performance was on point… the story at first felt too thin to carry a feature-length film but it got better.

It was just the right amounts of funny and shocking, but most of all, it was quirky. I’m not sure if it will get a Bluray release since it’s a Netflix film, but if it does.. I want it. And thus ends the shortest movie review I’ve (probably) ever written!

Get Out (2017)

23/02/2017 · by Joy

When I see a movie that has been reviewed 94 times on Rotten Tomatoes and it’s still sitting at a score of 100%… colour me intrigued. I mean, I was intrigued already because a horror/thriller film written by Jordan Peele??? Not only written, but directed, as well!? This could go very very well, or it could go very very poorly. It was… weird, bizarre and Stepford-esque. It was… satirical. It was… something… something that I very much enjoyed. It takes a lot to get me genuinely creeped out in a movie. I won’t say scared, because I wasn’t scared, per se, but I was genuinely freaked out. Maybe because while the concept that this movie is based on isn’t entirely based in reality, it’s juuuust on the precipice of “not that far-fetched” for me to go, “whoa, okay.”

The racial undertones (if you can really call them “under”-tones as they’re pretty blatantly obvious) are clever and satirical and Peele uses great finesse to make a movie that is so unsettling because of it’s roots in reality all around us.

Barring the racial themes, Get Out is actually an intelligent thriller film that isn’t overly cliche. I mean, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a horror, even though it was pretty horrifying. It’s one of those hard to place movies that doesn’t really fit in any one category. If nothing else, it is unforgettable. I don’t want to go into it too too much because I really feel like if you’re reading this, you need to see this one. It was so many shades of “WTF,” I can’t even begin.

Final review (I’m rambling): Jordan Peele came out of the directing woodwork on fire… I am truly impressed. The acting was spot-on (Betty Gabriel knocks it out of the park, especially). It acts as a social commentary, chilling thriller, with hints of comedy to keep you breathing throughout. I will own this movie. I must add it to my collection!

Green Room (2015)

02/01/2017 · by Joy

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’ve seen way too many movies. It’s been so difficult to find movies to watch that I’m interested in and that can keep my attention past the first 30 minutes! Green Room has been on My List on Netflix since it was added to the Recently Added category and I just kind of decided out of desperation that today was the day and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! I haven’t seen a single movie before this with Anton Yelchin and he was a treat to watch onscreen. He was wonderful and it made me so sad to think of his passing. Beyond that, however, I really liked this bizarro Red State-esque thriller. The cake was topped when I went to Cash Converters and, lo and behold, there it is – Green Room on Bluray! It’s been a glorious day.

The plot is pretty basic – a punk band goes to perform a gig but oh no the gig is to be performed in a neo-Nazi skinhead bar… they then open with the Dead Kennedys song “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” which is, in retrospect, the worst choice they could have possibly gone with. They essentially win the hearts of their white supremacist audience, but then witness a stabbing and have to fight for their lives and try to escape alive. The things they encounter during their escape attempt(s) are gruesome and gritty and shocking. There is bonding with traitors (of the neo-Nazi organization), there is injury, there is death… it is not for you if you’re afraid of gore, but I really liked it. I thought everyone acted well and I thought the story, while basic, was compelling.

The villain – the leader of the skinheads – is played by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart and he does a fantastic job portraying a bad guy. He is a bad guy and encompasses all that is bad in this film. The green room is a claustrophobic setting and for the better part of the movie, they’re stuck in it. I felt the tension rising as every second ticked by and desperately wished for them to get out of that room!

Overall, I thought this film was… not exactly a work of art, but it was gritty and the characters were well-developed. The plot, while thin, was sufficient enough to carry me through the film. I bought this one, and I plan to watch it again… definitely worth a watch!

Emelie (2015)

11/09/2016 · by Joy

Emelie is the movie that encompasses every parent’s nightmare when hiring a babysitter that you don’t reaaaally know all that well. It’s directed by Michael Thelin, who, as far as I can tell, hasn’t directed any movies before now. It stars a bunch of “unrecognizables”, which is one of my favourite things when watching a horror movie. When there’s a recognizable actor, you can’t help but be taken out of the movie just a tad.

Sarah Bolger plays Emelie, a girl fronting as “Anna”, a couple’s go-to babysitter’s best friend. At the very beginning of the film, you learn that “Anna” is not who she says she is as we watch the real Anna, a character we haven’t met – at all, get thrown into a mysterious black car. The new “Anna” shows up at the house, sweet as pie and the parents detect nothing amiss and head out on their much-anticipated date. Before the parents leave, in some pretty obvious foreshadowing, we learn that the children are not allowed to have cell phones until they’re 13. After the parents leave, the kids are put through the ringer… they have to watch the youngest (and only) daughter’s pet hamster get eaten by the oldest son’s snake, they are forced to watch their dad’s amateur sex tape with a woman who is not his wife(?), and then they listen to a bedtime story about a girl who neglectfully kills her infant child and now needs to find a new one, referring to the new child she is on the hunt for as her “Cubby.” Creepy. Very creepy.

Eventually, we learn that this operation is clearly bigger than Emelie alone when the parents get t-boned by an oncoming car on their way home from their date. As Emelie and her mysterious suited man’s death toll rises, the three children are fighting for their lives and Jacob, the oldest, is fighting to keep his younger brother from being kidnapped.

In a disturbing twist of events (to the parents, since we already know this), they are driven home by a cop, but on the drive back the cop gets a radio call letting him know he needs to head back to the crime scene as OH MY GOD, a body was found in the trunk of the car – the body of Anna Coleman.

This movie was tense, I’ll give it that, albeit a little farfetched. If I had children, it would probably make me think twice about who I’m leaving my children with. But come on, if I knew who the girl was, I’d have looked her up on Facebook to confirm her identity before leaving my children with them at the veeeery least!

Overall, a decent thriller (with surprisingly okay child actors) that I probably wouldn’t venture to watch again, at least for a long while!

Don’t Breathe (2016)

31/08/2016 · by Joy

I was so happy when I saw the previews for this movie and I noticed that the director was Fede Alvarez who also directed the remake (reimagining?) of Evil Dead in 2013. Aaaaand that completes his filmography.

He may be a “newbie” at directing, but he is talented. Again, I was kind of blind-sided (pun unintended, but it is a pleasant surprise). I thought it was going to be a cut-and-dry thriller about a B&E gone awry, but what I got was so much more messed up than I could have imagined.

The film-making was fantastic and everything was technically (I feel) flawless. I did, however, find myself in a weird position – there’s no protagonist in this film… no one’s a “good guy” and there’s no one really to root for. The characters constantly make stupid decisions that make it harder for them to get to their end-goal, which I get it, it’s more realistic that way because no one is going to make perfect decisions in an adrenaline-fueled situation. BUT! Having said that, every time I had to say, “oh my god, what are you waiting for? RUN!!!” I was infuriated and liked the main characters a smidgen less.

These three teenagers, desperate for cash and I guess with no other way to get it, break into an old, blind war veteran’s house because they find out he has a shit-ton of money hidden somewhere. They make some dumb, naive decisions that make little sense, and they severely underestimate the skill level of a seemingly weak person with visual impairments.

Jane Levy was absolutely fantastic, as she was in Evil Dead, and plays a strong female lead who doesn’t stop fighting until she absolutely must. She makes for an intense thrill ride that I think no one imagines going in. I will definitely be adding this one to my collection!