horror comedy | Joy Reviews Movies

Ghostbusters (2016)

09/10/2016 · by Joy

This is a film I wasn’t ever really that interested in seeing. I figured, how could they possibly improve on the original which had everything anyone could ever have wanted in a film about a bunch of people literally bustin’ ghosts. And the whole “now with women” thing wasn’t all that intriguing either. I’m all for equality and I’m totally all for feminism and empowering women, but that doesn’t mean we need to remake classically male-casted films with women. It’s fate was pretty much already set as “not as good as the original.” Despite that, though, it did an okay job of being it’s own movie. It was entertaining enough and it had it’s moments.

The star of the show, by far, was Chris Hemsworth who played the lovably stupid receptionist, Kevin. I found myself pretty much just waiting for his appearances because they were just downright hilarious. Of course, Kristen Wiig is always funny too, but I was really living for Chris in this one.

But to be honest, the story was lacking – it lacked originality, it lacked depth, and it lacked intrigue. I didn’t honestly care what the outcome was and I didn’t care about any of the characters’ fates. They weren’t fleshed out or given much backstory at all. Okay, so Kristen Wiig’s character is a professor at MIT up for tenure when her friend from yore decides to publish their book about paranormal activity which pretty much asserts that she believes in ghosts over the scientific method. I don’t care if her character gets tenure.

Clearly they had fun filming it and it’s an entertaining time, but it just wasn’t enough to captivate me and I’m sorry to say, but I simply wouldn’t watch it again.

The Frighteners (1996)

29/08/2016 · by Joy

This past Friday evening was movie night at my friend Mel’s and since Halloween is just around the corner (okay, like 2 months away), we decided to watch a Halloweeny movie. I think it was Rhiannon that chose The Frighteners and I’m pretty appalled with myself to say that I didn’t know what it was. Apparently it was directed by Peter Jackson – like, THE Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Lovely Bones) and starring Michael J. Fox, I feel now like it should be a classic. Reading up on it, I learned that it was (a) a box office flop and (b) received decently on Rotten Tomatoes at 64%.

Watching it, I got definite Beetlejuice and Poltergeist vibes and it was great. I also have to say it started off as one film, took a hard left and turned into an entirely different film altogether. By the end, I was mostly just sitting there saying, “What. The. Fuck!” – in a good way, I assure you!

It’s about an architect named Frank Bannister (played by Michael J. Fox) who semi-sort-of cons people into thinking that he is cleansing their houses of spirits. Semi-sort-of because he does have the ability to see and speak to ghosts, but each haunting is a clever ruse put on by him and his ghost buddies, Cyrus (played by Chi McBride), Stuart (Jim Fyfe), and Judge (John Astin). He charges people money to cleanse their houses and is basically a con artist.

Pretty soon he finds himself at the centre of a bizarre pandemic: People begin dropping like flies, usually after contact with him. He discovers there is a creepy entity, strongly resembling the Grim Reaper, killing people and marking their number in their forehead (but only Frank can see these numbers!)

I don’t want to spoil it because I didn’t see it coming, but it spirals into the most off-the-wall, messed up thing involving a myriad of… interesting characters, including an FBI agent named Milton Dammers who was apparently a victim of the Manson Family in ’69 (played by Jeffrey Combs – Re-Animator).

It was just the strangest, most wonderful thing I’ve ever watched. I thoroughly enjoyed the weirdness and the absolute what-the-fuckery and it was more than just a film – it was an experience. I almost want to add it to my October movie line-up now – I will definitely watch this again in the future. Definitely.

Ava’s Possessions (2016)

07/05/2016 · by Joy

One of the new films that is circulation on Reddit.com’s horror subreddit is Ava’s Possessions (2016). When I saw that it was on Netflix, I jumped at the chance to watch it. I was excited even though I knew literally nothing about the film other than it was about Ava and probably her possessions.

My first impression (as in, within the first 5 minutes) was that the soundtrack was bomb. Not even the bomb, just bomb in general. It was so good, I enjoyed it thoroughly… and after those first 5 minutes, it only got better. So if nothing else, you can watch it simply for a great score composed by Sean Lennon (yes, as in John and Yoko’s son).

However, there are many other great reasons to watch it. These include, but are certainly not limited to, someone asking the main character, Ava (Louisa Krause), if being possessed by a demon was anything like being pregnant or the inclusion of Alysia Reiner (Natalie Figueroa/’Fig’ in Orange is the New Black).

Like I said, I didn’t know what to expect going in and what I got was different than anything I’ve personally ever seen before. It was basically the “after-story” of what happens when a movie character gets possessed by a demon. She’s picking up the pieces of her life after a major life crisis and trying to put together what actually happened that week that resulted in the state her life is in presently.

Honestly, I wasn’t enthralled with it and it wasn’t something I’d watch again and again. It’s definitely not on its way to becoming a classic horror film anytime soon, either. But it was fun, creative, and original, and that was enough for me to keep watching. The sideplots were just not that interesting and I can’t help but feel the film would have landed better if they didn’t exist.

If anything convinces you to watch this film, let it be the 12-step satire, “Spirit Possession Anonymous,” because no idea made me smile more in this entire film.