Pontypool – Horror Movie

Pontypool (2008) was directed by Bruce McDonald. Written by Tony Burgess and starring Stephen McHattie (The Strain, Hellmouth, The Lizzy Borden Chronicles, 12 Monkeys, etc), Lisa Houle (no name actor), and Georgina Reilly (also not really in anything).

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

I watched this film years ago, maybe about 6 or so months after it’s release. It’s my go-to film when telling people about amazing horror that have come out. Pontypool is original for a “zombie” film. In that I’m not sure that they are even zombies persay. It is a beautifully written and well-acted allegory for how words can spread. The plot seems to be mostly contained in a radio station in Ontario, but soon after the virus spreads we are taken to the suburbs and outskirts to see how it affects the locals.

Stephen McHattie plays Grant Mazzie, the local radio DJ. He’s definitely got the persona of a shock-jock and really takes to irritating his co-workers in that style. The entire film focuses on him and the radio station. In this case the station looks to be a sound room in the middle of a warehouse, but strangely it works. Pontypool is named after the town in Ontario that the film is set in. The uniqueness of this film is in Bruce McDonald, the director of the film, has said that the victims of the virus are to be called “conversationalists,” as opposed to “zombies”.  There appears to be three stages to this virus, which are displayed in the film. The first stage is the conversationalists might begin to repeat a word. The word gets stuck and usually it’s words that are terms of endearment, like sweetheart or honey. The second stage is their language becomes scrambled and they stop expressing themselves properly. The third stage is that the conversationalists become so distraught at their own condition that the only way out of the situation is to try and chew their way through the mouth of another person.

This is a powerful movie and surprisingly it deserves to be up there with the likes of Night of the Living Dead and other classics, because it sets a stage. In the film, when it is realized that the virus is spread through words, the act of silence because paramount. The film isolates the main character away from his co-workers and slowly engulfs everything around him, leaving nothing in its wake but the conversationalists.

I believe that this film is a story more about our society and our needs to express ourselves no matter the outcome. Despite our freedom of speech, sometimes we don’t realize that words can be poison and can eat through a person into their very being(soul). This film also displays how “rumors” are like viruses and can spread. To think that now with the internet and all the other means that we have available with YouTube, Tumblr, Podcasts, Vimeo, and so much more, society offers an infinite amount of options for communicating with others. If there was a virus that would spread through words, would/could it be transferred through these mediums? I surely think that it could.

The film had an small budget with only a little over 32 thousand dollars, but it gives the impact of the Blockbusters that appear now a-days. Actually I believe that this film has done way better than most of our main-stream horror that has come out since.

I give this film a full 10 bloody headphones! I truly loved this film and wish everyone would give it a chance. It’s independent and strong.

Hush – Horror Movie

Hush (2016) was directed by the up and coming horror director Mike Flanagan. Written by Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel. It stars Kate Siegel (Demon Legacy and Oculus), John Gallagher Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane), Michael Trucco (Huge TV star and aparently up in Bye Bye Man), and Samantha Sloyan (has not appeared in any horror).

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Mike Flanagan is getting to be big in the horror industry for whatever reason, I say this because his films: Absentia, Oculus, and Before I Wake, have not even peaked my interest. Well actually that is a lie. I went and watched Oculus in the theater, but that is a review for another time.

I saw some previews for Hush, being marketed entirely as unique. The problem that I see is that it was not unique. This is a home invasion film. Maddie the main character is a woman that lives alone and a “man” (actual name of the character) seriously tries hard to invade the home, torture Maddie and kill her. This is a typical home invasion film. The ONLY uniqueness is that Maddie is deaf in both ears. She was not always deaf. She reads lips, she signs, and apparently she is a writer who lives in the cabin alone in the woods.

I wanted to believe that Hush was the film that would display uniqueness to this particular sub-genre. What this film did was display a fully functional adult acting as a deaf person. I’m not sure what studying was done, though I do know that the sign language that is used is correct for the most part.

Things that I loved about this film, the man. This character was given no background, no intentions, and the most creative mindset of the whole film. Never given a name, the man sneaks into the unguarded home of Maddie and steals her phone. He goes right back outside. So immediately we know that he isn’t in it for just the kill, he wants the chase, the thrill. Most of the time as a viewer, we want an explanation. We NEVER get it. He tortures Maddie inside her mostly glass home, where he could easily destroy all the glass and make his way in.

The film not so subtly hints at some foreshadowing in the story with a smoke detector that is extremely loud and bright in order to grab the attention of the our deaf Maddie. This plot device is used in an extremely obvious manner, making me want to gag. The computer, phone, and other devices along the way also are super apparent.

I’ve recently made a friend with a deaf person, because my best friend is dating him and I was excited to see his culture represented in my genre. But now, I feel a bit of shame. This film was not as good as promised. The script was too easily written and the characters that were meant to have depth fell flat, while the ONE character with no background was predominately stealing the show.

Out of 10 bloody iPhones, I give this film a mere 3 and 1/2. I really want a better representation of horror and deaf culture coming together.

The Conjuring 2 – Horror Movie

The Conjuring 2 was directed by James Wan, written by Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, James Wan, and David Leslie Johnson and starring Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring, Bates Motel).

The Conjuring 2 was set up to be a spectacle sequel to the original, I don’t think it lived up to those expectations. The film was able to create some decent jump scares, but it lacked the finesse and creepiness that the original created.  If you have seen the trailers, you have seen this character that the movie appears to be about. A deeply disturbing-looking nun. This character was true to nature, really actually dug into my sense of fear.

Basic plot is that an English family is dealing with a possession. What really got to me about this, was that ALL of the proof that they displayed to prove the possession, THEY, the characters disproved in the film. Then they continued as if to ignore what they just did. It really took me out of the story. I didn’t care about the characters anymore.

Superfluous characters were very well developed at first (the siblings) but they kept getting sent away so that you could not react with them. The plot made you think that certain characters would be key to the story, but then dropped the ball. It definitely acted like most sequels by not standing up to the original.

There also appeared to be less hype, though one article boasted of killing an elderly man that watch the film in India. I wouldn’t personally think this film was entirely that scary. Really it was merely a few jump scares with a little bit of the creepiness we have come to love from James Wan. I have to say personally I was disappointed and may wait to see The Nun (potential spin-off) or The Conjuring 3 (also possible film) on DVD or Netflix instead of in theater. Personal Note: James Wan, I’m so disappointed. I was getting used to your fresh vibrate take on horror, but sequels are not your game.

Out of 10 I give this film a 7.  It was good, not great. It was worth watching at least once, it has some scare, but lacked a focus and understanding. It needs work but potential to watch again isn’t there. Still better than average.

 

Final Girl – Horror Movie

Final Girl was directed by Tyler Shields, written by Adam Prince, Stephen Scarlata, Alejandro Seri, and Johnny Silver and starring Abigail Breslin (Zombieland and Signs) and Wes Bentley(American Beauty). Now that I got that out of the way, Final Girl was horrible. There I said in the first couple of sentences to help you get this out of the way. Let me expand on this.

I saw Final Girl pop up in my Netflix queue and thought, ‘Wow, Wes Bentley. He’s damn nice. I love horror and the synopsis promises violence.” So I checked it out. The gist of this film is that there is a group of boys (definitely not men) that go out to the woods and kills blonde girls as part of a ritualistic game. For some reason Wes Bentley’s character teaches Abigail’s character, Veronica to defend herself and to actually turn the tables on the boys.  Not to have given that away, but it’s actually part of the synopsis.

The film is extremely slow, there is no background to it and the character’s are all ridiculously flat. At the beginning of the film we are watching William (Wes) go through the process of training Veronica, but not once explaining as to why he is doing this. He appears to develop feelings for Veronica, but never displays them fully. Veronica, has not depth to her what-so-ever. There is no reason that she is with William or why, she just takes the pain of being trained and continues as if this is life and no way should she question it.

The development of her ability to defend herself is a very awkward part of the film that seems to have flashbacks or flash-forwards, I couldn’t tell it was just weird. The boys have names but who cares at this point. They frequent one diner and they always chose a blond, so this guy William has them figured out and even sets them up for failure, meanwhile no cops, no detectives, or even newspaper/reporters talking about this in the entirety of this film. Apparently based on the ending of the film, these boys have killed a couple dozen girls. The incompetence of the town is completely bewildering. The diner staff says nothing as these boys always dressed in tuxedos take the girls that are dying away specifically the night after their first meeting.

Now let me tell you about the mysterious forest that these boys have taken her to. The details are that they are in the woods and no one can hear or see them. Yet ever frakking scene has a mysterious lamp post or well actually it has to be a spot light, it’s entirely too bright for anything else. Not even the moon does that. Don’t get me wrong the visual effect was really neat. It gave halos and a very mystique view of this  forest with the stark difference of light and shadow, but it made absolutely no sense.

Abigail’s acting was just plain. I know that she was playing a strange sociopathic, trained killer but as an undercover girl she hardly acted like the blond, girly girl that the boys were so into. She would ask questions without emotions and made Kristen Stewart look like an over-emotional crybaby. She was supposed to make the boys interested in her and make them believe that she was fun. I feel like if it wasn’t specifically scripted that way, the boys would have left her alone due to her suspicious ways.

I think there was something that could have been a good film in this. It was missed sorely though and it was a waste for these actors to attempt. I feel like maybe they need to go back to their roots and try something more along the styles of the emotional roller coasters of indie comedy. I don’t recommend this film, it’s not even really that creative in how she kills them or even how they kill the girls. It was boring and really a waste of time.

Whatever rating system that we develop here at Gore Girls, I give this an F or a one star/skull/knife/slate/eyeball/zombie-hand/etc.