Month: October 2016

Blue Is the New Blood Red (Blue Ruin, 2013)

blue_ruin_posterDirector Jeremy Saulnier creates a savage tale of revenge and the downward spiral it creates with Blue Ruin.  Blue Ruin begins with Dwight being freed from prison.  Her returns to his childhood home and estranged family.  He is there for revenge, but when his attempts as an assassin go a bit awry, it all escalates.

This is a slow burn film.  Dwight’s attempts at revenge lead to himself being hurt and his family being put in danger.  Dwight is played with quiet intensity by Macon Blair.  The film is bleak, with a tragic ending.

This is a well shot meditation on revenge.  The theme seems to be that revenge will eat away and destroy people.  Dwight is a bit inept as a killer, but he is also ultimately successful, but at the expense of his humanity.  Saulnier is a skilled storyteller and Blue Ruin is a challenging watch.  The road of vengeance is the path of self destruction and Dwight lives that out to the bitter end.

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Who Am I here? (The Stepfather, 1987)

stepfather_posterA lot of People discovered Terry O’Quinn on lost.  But horror movie fans discovered him back in 1987 when he played Jerry Blake, the titular Stepfather.

The film opens with a heavily bearded O’Quinn looking into a mirror.  As he shaves and styles his hair, nothing seems terribly off, until he walks down the stairs, passing a scene of brutal carnage.  A mother and her children lie in the living room as he calmly walks out of the front door.

Picking up a year later, we meet Stephanie, a sixteen year old high school student (played by Jill Schoelen), who is not all that crazy about her new Stepfather.  She intensely misses her own father and is creeped out by her stepfather, Jerry Blake.  She also struggles in school, getting into fights and trouble with teachers.  Because of her grief, she sees a therapist.  While people do not believe her that charming Jerry is a scary guy, Doctor Bondurant is the only one to treat her concerns seriously. As things seem to fracture, Jerry begins to transition towards his new life, meaning Stephanie and her mother are in big trouble.

The Stepfather is a strong psychological thriller.  Director Joseph Ruben is mostly of the leave it to your imagination here, having very little gore.  It focuses more on the psychological end of things.  The film has a low body count, which puts it outside the slasher territory.  Blake does not kill for a love of the kill, rather to protect his attempts at a perfect traditional family.  But when things get hard with his families, something clicks and he starts to seek a new life and a new perfect family.

O’Quinn gives a bravura performance.  As a viewer, we know he is a dangerous killer, and yet, when he is being a gentle husband and father he is ridiculously charming.  But when he turns, he is disturbing and frightening.

Both Schoelen and Shelley Hack (as Stephanie’s mother) are very sympathetic.  And what really stands out is that nothing really makes the characters look stupid for not realizing he is a killer.  When people do not believe Stephanie about how creepy Jerry is, it is entirely reasonable that they question it.  Even she questions if she is being paranoid.

This is a great thriller, and worth checking out this Halloween if you have never seen it before.

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Green Room Serenade (Green Room, 2016)

Green_Room_PosterGreen Room is one of Anton Yelchin’s final films.  The story is simple.  Pat and his friends are in a punk band.  When their show falls through, they get a new gig in a remote club.  They discover it is a Neo-Nazi bar.  When they stumble upon a terrible crime, it is a fight for survival.

Once things start, the film is unrelentingly intense as the band fights for survival, along with a young woman who may or may not be on there side.  The film is full of surprises and the performances are great. Yelchin’s performance as Pat (who starts out a quiet and peaceable young man then forced to fight) is solidly sympathetic.  The absolute stand out is Patrick Stewart.  As the head of the Neo-Nazi group, Darcy, he is unnervingly menacing.  I am used to the kindly and wise characters Stewart has played for over two decades.  None of that is here.  He is cruel, manipulative and lethally skilled.

Imogen Poot’s plays Amber as a mystery.  Is she trying to help the band, or is she actually devoted to Darcy and his crew?

The film takes many twists and turns, constantly giving you hope for success only to have it taken away in a shocking moment.  Writer/Director Jeremy Saulnier shows a real understanding for creating tension.  His first feature film, Murder Party was an amusing horror/comedy about a lonely guy invited to a costume party that turns out to be a a group of psychopaths who invite people to hunt and kill.  Using a similar premise of innocents trapped by psychopaths, he trades in humor for intensity.

Green Room is a tense and exciting thriller that keeps the viewer engaged right up to the end.

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