Don’t Trust Yourself (Us, 2019)

But I care about love
I care about truth
And I care about trust
And I care about you
I care about us

~Michael Been, Us, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough, 1994

Get Out made people step back and reassess their perception of Jordan Peele. Known for his comedy work, the biting horror thriller that took aim at white liberal racism, viewers took notice. For a lot of this, that made us want to see what came next. And the fact that he had more ideas in the realm of horror no longer seemed a question.

Going deeper down the horror rabbit hole, Us tells the story of young Adelaide. In the eighties, her parents take her to the Santa Cruz beach. She wanders away from her parents and enters a strange hall of mirrors. There, she meets a little girl who looks exactly like her. She is traumatized by the event. The film picks up years later with Adelaide, now married to Gabe, on their way to the family cabin with her children. When they go to the beach, her son Jason disappears briefly, causing a dread in Adelaide. And with good reason. That night, they find themselves under siege by…themselves. A warped set of duplicates seemingly full of malicious intent.

Saying much more just gives away the film. Astute viewers will likely start to put things togethers fast and start seeing where the story is going. Others will be blindsided. Unlike Get Out, Peele has formulated a far more… complex plot. The twists and turns start coming fast after the initial frights of the home invasion.

Peele has a terrific eye, and the film is a visual feast. There is, for instance, a really nice arial shot looking down on the family as they walk along the beach, attached to their shadows. He and his team of film makers use light and shadow masterfully to create discomfort and fear. In one scene, a person appears from the shadows of the background seamlessly.

You cannot ignore the performances here. Everyone has a dual role…and pretty much everyone gets to shine. The doppelgängers are chilling in their simple outfits and creepy makeup. Lupita Nyong’o is especially compelling, with her dual role. Red speaks in a disturbed creaky voice and moves in ways that are psychologically unnerving.

One of the things that makes the film so effective is how much I found myself liking the family. They draw you into their world making it impossible not to become invested in their survival.

Some have suggested Us marks the reveal that the director Peele most reflects is M. Night Shyalaman. And while I did not really see it in my viewings, I get what people are saying, mainly in the fact that this is a film with some big ideas that then throws a lot of twists and turns, yeah. But I am inclined to agree with the people who are saying this is a good thing, that this shares more in common with Shyalaman’s best work.

People who are bothered by smaller questions with struggle hard here. The film aims big, but leaves some stuff off. Because, honestly…where do the doppelgängers all get their matching red outfits is not important to the story.

Us is a terrific follow up to Get Out, and Jordan Peele has delivered a new an original vision.

April 1, 2019 0

Urban Legends (The People Under the Stairs, 1991)

In 1988 Wes Craven explored Voodoo, but it was through the eyes of a white man in Haiti. With the People Under the Stairs, Craven looks at the plight of under privileged communities and the underlying causes of crime (poverty).

There are rumors of a creepy house that hides a fortune. Leroy wants to get into the house in the hopes it is true and recruit’s his girlfriend’s younger brother Fool. But when they break into the house, they discover that it is booby trapped. Once trapped inside, Fool has to dodge the disturbed couple who live in the house.

Fool discovers a teen girl locked in the house, a victim of abuse…he also discovers there is something in the walls…something dangerous.

I feel like this is an under-rated film from the Wes Craven catalog. It is creepy to the point of uncomfortable. The couple, simply named Man and Woman appear to be bondage loving racists (saying more is revealing too much). Fool is a fun character, he begins as a pawn for a crime and becomes a hero. Craven’s choice to focus on a young black boy is pretty bold.

I really like the film, Fool is a character that is pretty easy to root for and when he teams with Alice (the teen girl) it makes for some good old fashioned comeuppance for the bad guys. I do wish this one got more respect, and think it is one of Craven’s more interesting films.

February 25, 2019 0

Voodoo Salvation (Scream, Blacula, Scream, 1973)

Blacula was a straight forward vampire film. And it spawned a sequel. Because if Dracula can keep coming back, why can’t Blacula??!!

In this film, the embittered son of a voodoo priestess seeks revenge against the Voodoo Community names another member as her successor. He raises Blacula from the dead, who swiftly turns him into a vampire. Again they start to build a vampire army.

A police Detective, Justin Carter is trying to solve the case of mysterious deaths, which lead him to Lisa. Lisa is the woman chosen by the Voodoo Community and a former lover of Carter’s. Blacula comes to desire Lisa and also believes she may be able to cure his vampirism through voodoo.

The film has some weird points, such as the bizarrely Nice Racist trope in the sheriff. He does not hate Justin, but he is dismissive of him at times.

While the film is not quite as good as Blacula, it does have some great moments. And both Marshall and Pam Grier turn in great performances. There is one scene between Blacula and Carter where there is a cat and mouse dance. It is an effectively tense scene.

It is kind of interesting to note that this came out the same year as Ganja & Hess. They approach the vampire myth from very different perspectives. Ganja & Hess is a deep dive into addiction and is largely an arthouse horror film. Scream, Blacula, Scream is a very standard sequel that is about quick scares and blood.

Really, though, Scream, Blacula, Scream manages to be a pretty entertaining follow up to the first film.

February 23, 2019 0

Blood Prince (Blacula, 1972)

The 70’s were a time of revolution in cinema. Directors were finding greater freedom in the stories they could tell and what they could put up on the screen for mainstream audiences. Those years also saw the rise of blacksploitation films. Blacula was one of the first of that era’s blacksploitation horror films. It also was one of the rare films of the time with a black director. If you want to hear some interesting stories of what it was like, see Horror Noire (currently on Shutter), which includes interviews with Blacula director William Crain.

Opening with Prince Mamuwalde seeking help from Count Dracula, he instead finds himself cursed with vampirism. Dracula locks him away in a coffin until the Prince is freed in the 1970’s. He quickly starts claiming victims and building a small army of vampire followers. His main goal is to seduce Tina, the spitting image of his lost love Luva.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gordon Peters is trying to solve mysterious deaths, that he starts to realize are vampire attacks. He then must convince the police.

Blacula is a lot of fun. William Marshall has great presence and a Princely attitude that gives Dracula a real run for the money. The Doctor is obviously meant to be a Van Helsing stand in, but he is a nice blend of action hero and intellectual. Vonetta McGee is is lovely, but has a character limited by being the love interest and victim.

William Crain has a strong eye as a director and fought for a lot of what he got to put on screen. One great scene features a wild eyed and haired vampire running towards the audience in slow motion as she is going in for the kill. Another has a surprise reveal of Blacula that is really effective, even though I thought the victim was not long for this world (but I thought they would last longer).

Honestly, my only real criticism is one that probably is tied to a long history of watching horror. But the vampire deaths feel kind of…underwhelming… they just kind of…fall over in sunlight.

But that is a pretty small criticism. I really enjoy Blacula. It has some good performances, Marshall is a great Vampire Prince. I wish Crain had gotten the opportunity to direct more films, and I feel like I need to check out Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde (His only other feature length film credit, though he worked on a lot of TV shows from the 70’s and 80’s).

February 21, 2019 0

Voodoo Vengeance (Sugar Hill, 1974)

Diana’s beloved has been murdered…seeking revenge, she reached out to Mama Maitresse who calls forth the mystical Voodoo Priest Baron Samedi. He raises an army of the undead, telling Diana to “put them to evil use…it is all the want!”

The sole feature directed by future Police Academy producer Paul Maslansky, Sugar Hill is a unique zombie film. There had been films in the past about zombies and voodoo, but this was set in America and the protagonist is a young black woman. Being a blaxploitation film, the villains are whitey.

The look of the zombies is intriguing. They have bulging silver eyes and are covered in cobwebs. Add to the fact they are former slaves, wearing shackles and chains. This makes for a really good creepy moment early as an early victims hears the rattle of the chains as he is stalked by the zombies.

The deaths get pretty inventive, such as in one scene where the zombies feed a man to pigs (the zombies in the film are more agents of retribution, rather than flesh eaters).

The racism in the film is not subtle…in one scene, the girlfriend of Langston (the main heavy) states at one point, “That ain’t class, that’s color.” This does result in some clunky dialog…mostly from Bey’s Diana. Whitey and Honky feel kind of dated. But the disgust and racism from the white characters is palpable.

Don Pedro Colley is very entertaining as the scenery chewing Baron Samedi. Richard Lawson is the slick homicide detective and Diana’s former lover Valentine. But the film really rests in the hands of Marki Bey. Attractive and driven, she is quite impactful.

A product of it’s time, Sugar Hill is a fun horror film with a good cast (I feel like Bey should have been a bigger star. In spite of some of the dialog, she has presence). This is more of a “B” movie, but in the way you want a B-Movie to be.

February 13, 2019 0

The Art of Addiction (Ganja & Hess, 1973)

Dr. Hess is attacked by his assistant, who promptly commits suicide. When he awakens, Hess has no wounds and he has a compulsion to drink blood. He stores his assistant’s body for safe keeping, but then is contacted by Ganja, the assistant’s wife. Ganja discovers her dead husband, but ultimately is both seductress and seduced by Hess.

It is hard to describe the film, because it is more of an art film than a horror film. Playwright Bill Gunn was hired to make a blaxploitation horror film by the studio, but had little interest in making another knockoff. The end result is a vampire film that is a surreal exploration of addiction and seeking redemption. It never makes use of the word vampire, Hess is able to walk in the daylight.

The audience in theaters was not interested, wanting something more violent. But Gunn was not interested in this. The studio wanted an alternate cut, but Gunn, his editor Victor Kanefsky and Cinematographer James Hinton all refused, being very happy with the film they made. When the studio recut the film, Gunn walked out of a showing a few minutes in. Ever confident in the work, he submitted his original edit to the Cannes Film festival where it received a standing ovation. After decades of the recut and retitled film being the only version available for rental, the correct cut was created for DVD.

The movie ends on a fascinating note, as the film is full of religious imagery, with Christianity seeming to haunt Hess throughout the film. It is interesting to see Night of the Living Dead’s Duane Jones in the role of Hess. He is more sedated in this role, often being pensive and observant of his surroundings.

For a lot of horror fans, this film may be a tough watch. It moves at a very subdued pace, but it is such a fascinating watch. Gunn’s vision is so unique, not just for black horror, but horror in general. I found myself wonderfully confounded and intrigued by the final decisions of Hess within the film.

Ganja & Hess is a fascinating exploration of vampires, addiction, religion and redemption.

February 10, 2019 0

Black Fears (Horror Noire, 2019)

When you think of horror, it can often seem like people of color don’t exist. The Universal classics were devoid of black people. And even when they were present, they were violent savages (1933’s King Kong).

But Horror Noire looks deeper into the presence of the black community in horror films. It is not really hard to find black horror fans today. And really, horror has a long history of popularity in the black community…but often with very different lessons.

The film opens by noting the most famous horror film of them all is a film a lot of white people do not often cite as a horror film. But you can see why Birth of a Nation is truly horrific in its story and racist portrayals of black men.

Through interviews with writers, directors and many actors the decades of horror are explored. Early on the documentary explores forgotten films from the 40’s such as Son of Ingagi by Spencer Williams (most remembered as Andy from Amos & Andy).

There is a heavy look at the 70’s with regard to films that came out during the height of blaxploitation films. While films like Blackenstein do not fare well, Blacula and Ganja and Hess transcend the genre.

There is a terrific statement in the film:

“We’ve always loved horror. It’s just that horror, unfortunately, hasn’t always loved us.”

The insights from actors in regards to their roles is key. Kelly Jo Minter, Ken Sagoes and Miguel A. Nùñez Jr all bristle at the notion that their roles were incidental. Of course, they were aware that in many cases they were the only people on the set of color…but as Sagoes notes, he was happy to have a check.

Horror Noire is a worthwhile documentary that I found fascinating and educational. I highly recommend sitting down for it.

As an aside…Jordan Peele…while you are changing the face of horror…please do not forget about Keith David, Ken Foree and Tony Todd.

February 9, 2019 0

The Middle (Split, 2016)

After Signs, Shyalaman’s career took a hit. Critics were brutal and try as he might, his films were not grabbing fans. It was not until 2015’s Visit that he seemed to be picking up some steam.

In Split, we meet Casey and her friends who are abducted by a frightening man named Kevin. It is quickly revealed that Kevin has a personality disorder with 23 known personalities. His psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher, is working to try and help Kevin become dominant. But he has kidnapped the young girls for nefarious purposes. He is not a sexual deviant though. His personalities are preparing the way for a new and frightening personality…the Beast…and the girls are innocents that he demands as a sacrifice.

Like the Visit, Split received criticism for its treatment of mental health. And this is a big part of the plot. Due to the portrayal of the Beast, a super-human monster, I felt that the film narrowly avoided this being the notion that he was fractured. These were unique and individual people. However, I realize that some will disagree with this read…and I am inclined to in the light of Glass, but I will address this in the Glass review.

Split hinges almost entirely on McAvoy’s performance. He can be ominous, terrifying and yet sweet and kind…sometimes all in the same scene. A good actor should be able to pull this off anyways, but still, McAvoy does it well.

This felt like a return to form, with a small but perfect twist at the end. Split is one of the strongest films Shyalaman has made since probably Signs.

January 31, 2019 0

Web of Doom (Unfriended: Dark Web, 2018)

In the first film, a vengeful spirit killed a group of friends via Facebook. It was a sort of clever concept. In this low budget sequel, things are a little different.

A bunch of friends are in an online skype session when Matias confesses his new laptop was in the lost and found. After discovering a collection of videos of people being tortured, they are contacted by the owner who wants it back.

One by one the friends are picked off as they realize they are not dealing with one guy, they are dealing with a group. The gimmick of the entire series where it all plays out on a computer screen is pretty effective in building suspense. But I must say…the film is just…bleak. At no point does the film even pretend there is a chance for the friends to “beat the system” so to speak.

I also found it a bit confusing. The film does not portray the threat as supernatural, but whenever one of the Dark Web Guys appear on screen? they look all distorted and pixellated, while the rest of the image is pretty much fine. Are they just doing some special hacker thing?

The film is just dark and depressive…and I am kind of wishing for a bit more hope in my horror lately.

January 23, 2019 0

What’s In the Box?! (Bird Box, 2018)

One day, the monsters arrived. People seem to be taken by a force and then kill themselves. If that sounds familiar, you actually remember 2008 M. Night Shyalaman film the Happening. That film had people committing violent suicides and people trying to flee the city and solve the mystery. The twist was that it was the trees that did us in.

Oh, sorry…spoilers.

The Happening is (for good reasons) not fondly remembered. It does have a couple very well done freaky moments. But it just becomes laughable.

Here, the problem is that…well…if you see the monsters…you are toast. And so, the only way to survive is to keep your eyes closed. For artist Malorie, this situation is even more troubling as she is pregnant.

Malorie soon joins a group of survivors in a house. Blocking the windows, they find themselves finding inventive ways to survive. But as the months tick by, they find that they must take bigger and bigger risks.

The film is focused on Malorie and her children and her detachment from life. The children are born after the event and simply named Boy and Girl. The three are trying to take a boat down river to a sanctuary. Using flashbacks, we get to see how the relationships within the house grow and break down…where trust becomes hard to come by.

The “keep your eyes closed” part is the most gimmicky, and yes, does evoke last year’s wonderful a Quiet Place. Unlike a Quiet Place, we do not share in the characters’ experience. With Bird Box, although there are a few brief moments seen through the blindfolds of characters, the camera remains in third person. Admittedly, forcing us to be blind whenever the characters are would get pretty obnoxious.

One of the really nice tricks is the film never tells us what the monsters are. We know people see them and then also seem to see loved ones… but we only see or hear the effects of their movement, not the creatures themselves. There are some really interesting artist renderings at one point, but really, who knows if this is really what the creatures look like or merely what the artists saw in their heads.

Bird Box is, thankfully, a much more effectively done take on a general idea like the Happening. The film has a really good cast and some really effective sequences.

January 19, 2019 0