Category: Horror

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When the first Happy Death Day came out in 2017, I was intrigued, but put off by the PG-13 rating. Once I started seeing people whose opinions I trust saying positive things about the film, I got curious. While I did not see it in theaters, I eventually rented it and was pleasantly surprised. On the surface, the movie seemed like nothing more than a horror movie version of Groundhog Day. What I wasn’t expecting was a great lead performance from Jessica Rothe, some pretty emotional moments, and some fun scares. Admittedly, the PG-13 rating did hinder the film for me, but not enough to where I wouldn’t have recommended it. Given that this was a Blumhouse production, it seemed natural that a sequel was bound to happen. So, two years later, we get Happy Death Day 2U, with most of the returning cast and crew from before.

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Taking place immediately after the first film, Ryan (Phi Vu) has been working on a new quantum reactor at school. Unfortunately for him and his friends, Samar (Suraj Sharma) and Dre (Sarah Yarkin), their project gets shut down. Suddenly, Ryan gets murdered, only to wake up reliving the same day again, much like what happened before. After Tree (Jessica Rothe) brings him and Carter (Israel Broussard) up to speed, they agree to help Ryan. They manage to stop the killer, but through a series of events, the reactor is triggered and everyone’s knocked out. Tree ends up waking up back in Carter’s bed reliving the events of the last movie, only things are different. Turns out Ryan’s reactor somehow got Tree stuck in an alternate dimension, and she needs to get back. With the help of Ryan and his friends, Tree must return to her dimension while avoiding the killer.

Without getting into spoilers, I’ll first address the fact that this movie is more science-fiction than horror. While there is a killer on the loose and there are some intense moments, there’s very little horror here. That said, the first one combined horror, comedy, and drama, so it doesn’t seem that out of place. For the most part, this movie has more sci-fi and comedy elements, mostly in the form of slapstick. Some of it does fall flat, but most of it works thanks largely to the talented cast. Much like the last film, Jessica Rothe is easily the highlight here, thanks to her energy and charisma. Also like before, she really sells both the funnier moments and the more dramatic moments she has. The rest of the cast also does their job well, though they’re not quite as strong as Rothe.

Returning director Christopher Landon also takes over writing duties, and he takes the story in some interesting directions. It seems like he wanted to make more of a Back to the Future type film than straight horror. Thankfully, the film is written in a way to where it respects the continuity of the first film. This really does feel like a sequel that the people involved wanted to make rather than just a cash-in. While I wasn’t too put off by the lack of horror elements, I can see some people being disappointed. That said, this is a much smarter and more inventive follow-up than you would usually get. Plus, I can respect their decision to go in a whole new direction rather than just retreading the same ground. Overall, while not as fresh or frightening as the previous film, Happy Death Day 2U is still a good time.

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Love him or hate him, JJ Abrams has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood working today. Abrams first gained traction with his successful TV shows like Felicity, Alias, and especially with Lost. He gained further traction producing and directing films like Cloverfield, Super 8, Star Trek, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While having a hand in some of the biggest franchises, he’s also helped give up-and-coming filmmakers a shot. In 2016, he produced 10 Cloverfield Lane, directed by Dan Trachtenberg after directing the short fan film Portal: No Escape. After that film’s success, Abrams brings us another up-and-coming director, this time Australian-born Julius Avery. Having first gotten attention from his short films, his first feature film was 2014’s Son of a Gun. The film was nominated for Best Film at the London Film Festival, which got Abrams’ attention. Now in 2018, Avery and Abrams bring us Overlord.

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Synopsis

It’s June 1944, the day before D-Day, and a paratrooper squad is being sent to destroy a German radio tower. Things immediately go south when their plane is shot down over enemy lines and only some of the paratroopers survive. The survivors include Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell), Tibbet (John Magaro), and Chase (Iain De Caestecker). As the troops make their way through enemy lines, they stumble across a young French woman named Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier). She leads them to her village, where the radio tower is located, as well as something more sinister going on. After having to take SS Hauptsturmführer Wafner (Pilou Asbæk) hostage, the soldiers soon learn what the Nazis are up to. Turns out the Nazis have discovered a strange liquid under the village and are using it to perform experiments. Will the soldiers stop their plans, or will the Nazis succeed?

Review

Going into this, I knew almost nothing about the movie other than the WWII setting and the action/horror tone. With that in mind, I think that is the best way to go into this. First thing I should note is that, despite what the trailers show, this isn’t exactly a Nazi zombie movie. In fact, the horror aspects of the film don’t really come into play until about halfway into the movie. That might disappoint some, but I actually like that they took the first half to develop and humanize the characters. Jovan Adepo is instantly relatable as a regular guy thrust into a dangerous situation trying to do the right thing. Wyatt Russell seems to be taking a page from his father Kurt Russell, since his performance almost echoes Snake Plissken. Pilou Asbæk also makes for a great villain, being very intense and intimidating all throughout.

The rest of the cast all get their moment to shine, with Mathilde Ollivier as Chloe being the biggest standout. The practical effects used here are pretty top-notch, especially in the design of the creatures and monsters seen later. Admittedly, there is some CGI that really sticks out amongst the practical effects, but it’s not as distracting as others. Once the action kicks in during the second half, it becomes a full on extravaganza of B-movie goodness. But like I said, because they took time out to develop the characters, you actually care about what’s happening. Sure, this probably won’t win any awards come Oscar season, but this is still an enjoyably fun movie. Granted, this is definitely not for everyone, but it’s great for those who enjoy B-movies that mix different genres. Overall, Overlord is bound to be one of the most underrated movies of 2018.

Buy Overlord from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Xw9XbD.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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Where to watch Overlord (2018)

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In 1978, a small film simply called Halloween directed by John Carpenter starring a then-unknown Jamie Lee Curtis was released. While not the first slasher film, this was the one that became the trendsetter as it became a massive success. Following its success, the film became a full-on franchise even after Carpenter and Curtis left for other projects. Over the years, the franchise went through its ups and downs, but like many others, things started going downhill. After many disappointing sequels, Rob Zombie remade the original film in 2007 to commercial success despite mixed reviews. He followed that up with the 2009 sequel which made money but was universally panned by critics and fans alike. While there were plans for a third film, nothing came of it and the franchise was put to rest. Cut to 2018, 40 years after the original, and Halloween has returned for a new audience.

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Review

40 years after his initial reign of terror on Halloween night, Michael Myers is still held captive at Smith’s Grove. The lone survivor, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) has since become a paranoid recluse isolated from the outside world. Ever since her friends were killed, she has been training and preparing herself for his return, fearing for the worst. Unfortunately, because of this, she’s had several failed marriages, and her now adult daughter Karen (Judy Greer) doesn’t acknowledge her. One night, as he’s being transferred to another facility via bus, Michael kills the driver and escapes. After retrieving his familiar suit and mask, Michael is now free to roam the streets of Haddonfield once more. Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) gets caught in the middle as Michael continues his rampage. Now, she, her mother, and Laurie must stick together to survive the night and hopefully take down Michael for good.

Synopsis

Given the legacy of this franchise and especially of the original film, there’s a lot of hype going into this. For years, fans have gotten nothing but lousy sequels and even worse remakes, so things can only go uphill now. And, for the most part, this film definitely succeeds at recapturing what made the original film work in the first place. For one, Jamie Lee Curtis is easily the highlight of this film, showing what her character has gone through. She’s effectively channeling Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, going from a frightened victim to a strong-willed character. At the same time, you see how her PTSD and paranoia has affected her and made her so distant. In addition, David Gordon Green’s direction is on-point, clearly having studied Carpenter’s style while adding his own voice to it. There’s some genuine suspense and tension built up throughout the movie.

While there are some characters that are somewhat annoying, they don’t overstay their welcome or are quickly disposed of. Newcomer Andi Matichak does a good job, and Judy Greer is sympathetic and really shines in the third act. The score, once again composed by John Carpenter, is just as effective as it was years ago. This movie is also filled with homages not just to the original, but also to other films in the franchise. This definitely feels like a film that was made by Halloween fans for Halloween fans. Whereas the Rob Zombie movies tried to make Michael more human, this one makes him more a force of nature. This film reminds us what made The Shape so scary to begin with, just killing without reason or remorse. Overall, the newest Halloween, while not quite as good as the original, is still the best we’ve seen in years.

Buy Halloween (2018) from Amazon: https://amzn.to/43wCJwe.

Disclosure: The above link is an affiliate link, which means that, at no additional cost, I will earn a commission if you click through the link and make a purchase.

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Where to watch Halloween (2018)

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Have you ever experienced deja vu? You know, that feeling where you feel like you’ve been there before or already experienced something. There are times where we feel like we’re reliving the same events over and over again in an endless loop. Of course, there have been movies about reliving past events multiple times. Probably the most famous is 1993’s Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. That film dealt with a stubborn and curmudgeonly news reporter who relives the same day over and over again. A similar concept was used over 20 years later for the 2014 sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. While they were different genres, both movies told a similar tale of someone having to change their ways. Since we had a comedy and sci-fi action film, naturally we would soon get a horror film. In 2017, we got Happy Death Day.

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After getting drunk last night, college student Theresa “Tree” Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) awakens in a classmate’s dorm. She soon storms out, and we get a glimpse of her world. She ignores her dad’s calls, tosses a cupcake her roommate made, and has an affair with her teacher. That night, Tree ends up getting killed by a masked killer on her way to a party. However, instead of dying, she wakes up as if nothing happened, and soon finds she’s reliving the previous day. While she finds it odd, Tree goes about her day like before, all the while wondering what’s going on. That night, instead of going down the tunnel, she goes to the party, but the killer from before finds her. She wakes up once again reliving the same day, realizing that she’s in a time loop. Now, she has to solve her own murder and prevent further death.

Without giving too much away, the reveal of the killer’s identity will throw you for a loop. Despite its somewhat unoriginality, the strength of this movie lies in its main cast, especially the lead. Jessica Rothe does a great job playing a character who you still want to follow even before her transformation. The rest of the cast also play their parts well, particularly Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, and especially Rob Mello. Also, for the kind of movie this is, it’s very well shot with some nice camerawork and tilted angles. Especially in the third act, the camerawork makes this a very visually interesting watch. Admittedly, the biggest fault of the movie is the fact that it’s fairly tame at a PG-13 rating. Not saying that this should’ve been extremely graphic and violent, but the rating makes it feel like an edited-for-TV movie.

As I mentioned before, many have said that this is the horror version of Groundhog Day. Beyond just the concept of someone stuck in a time loop, both movies also feature characters who start out despicable. As the movie goes on, both characters do learn the error of their ways and work to improve themselves. However, in Groundhog Day, learning a lesson was at the forefront, whereas it’s almost secondary in Happy Death Day. The whole point of this movie is Tree figuring out who her killer is and how to stop them. This movie works as an interesting murder mystery, with Tree listing off possible suspects and trying to evade death. Also, when she starts changing herself, you’re rooting for her, especially how well Jessica Rothe delivers the more emotional scenes. Overall, while hampered by its tame rating and somewhat unoriginality, Happy Death Day is still an enjoyable watch.

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