You're Next

US | 2011 | Directed by Adam Wingard

Logline: At a rare anniversary in the country an extended family are terrorised by a gang of masked intruders, revealing that one of the victims knows a thing or two about survival.

The home invasion sub-genre has been around for several decades, but its popularity amongst contemporary horror directors has risen ten-fold in the last ten years. There aren’t that many that are actually any good. First and foremost, it’s the performances that have to be top-notch for any kind of convincing element of terror to ring true, and frequently that’s where the ball is dropped. There’s also the element of suspense, and that too is a delicate and often mistreated factor.

The best of the home invasion flicks of the past decade are the brilliant Them (2006), a co-pro between Romania and France, the UK Cherry Tree Lane (2010), and the Spanish Kidnapped (2010). These three movies have superb suspense, acting, and are soaked in atmosphere, whether it be a palpable claustrophobia, a disturbing visceral edge, or a truly frightening sense of realism.

You’re Next opts for a blackly comic sense of humour thrown into the mix. Like his contemporaries, especially Ti West, who makes a cameo in You’re Next, director Adam Wingard fashions his home invasion flick with a firm 80s feel, both in visual style and in execution. Even the whole “You’re next” scrawled in blood on the window or wall is lifted straight from the 1980s’ slasher sub-genre. To be honest, I think it’s a lame title if ever there was. Perhaps if it had been misspelled as “Your Next” I would have appreciated a garish sense of the villain’s laziness/idiocy.

Wingard directs competently enough, and as editor he understands the effectiveness of a horror visual narrative, playing on numerous sight gags and horror tropes (like a killer under the bed), and those animal masks (a wolf, a goat) add a modicum of creepiness, but despite a couple of shocks, the movie is precious light on any genuine sense of terror.

As for the horror, there is a fair amount of blood spilled; a crossbow bolt to the head, a couple of throat slashings, an axe to the head, numerous stabbings, and even an OTT Peter Jackson moment with a blender to the head. But the blood is far from realistic (one of my pet dislikes), and from the moment I saw the pinky-red stuff I was disappointed. It’s not rocket science to get it right (I know, I worked on Braindead (1991) and those boys nailed it!)

Performances are adequate; with rising Aussie star Sharni Vinson (curiously not having to don a fake American accent) providing the movie with a decent dose of charisma and chutzpah as the black sheep girlfriend. Also of note is Re-Animator (1985) actor Barbara Crampton as the anxiety-ridden mother, and AJ Bowen and Joe Swanberg as the sibling rivalry.

There’s nothing new under the sun here, but the movie is entertaining on a superficial level. Nowhere near as effective as Ti West’s 80s-soaked The House of the Devil (2010), or the other over-rated house invasion flick many will compare this to, The Strangers (2008), but You’re Next will no doubt provide ample buzz for Ms. Vinson.

You’re Next screened as part of the 60th Sydney Film Festival. 

Evil Dead

US | 2013 | directed by Fede Alvarez

Logline: Whilst staying in a remote forest cabin five friends are terrorised by an evil supernatural presence that steadily possesses each person turning them into malevolent demons.

“Kunda ... Estrata ... Montose ... Conda.”

Oops.

Don’t say it, don’t write it, don’t hear it. The words of warning scrawled within the Natorum Demonto, the Book of the Dead. But of course, it’s too late. And now all hell will break loose.

Fuck yeah. I’ve been hanging for this mayhem for some time having seen the awesome teaser trailer to the remake of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981), one of my favourite horror movies, some time back. When I first read about Sam Raimi giving the green light to a remake of his own movie (there was even talk he would direct), I was very reticent indeed. As a rule I don’t much care for remakes of cult classics.

Sure The Evil Dead is a very low-budget, poorly acted, almost camp tour-de-gore. But, in the same vein of championship of many of the movies of Dario Argento, it’s less to do with the movie’s limitations, and more to do with the movies extraordinary atmosphere and tone. In that respect I felt the idea of tampering with Riami’s original was tantamount to treason.

But I’ve had to eat my words, and I don’t mind the taste.

Raimi selected Fede Alvarez after he saw the impressive sf short Panic Attack! (Ataque de Panico!). Federez has tilted his hat to Raimi without the movie being a slavish regurgitation of events. Evil Dead drops the “The”, which in itself is a curious nod to the way horrorphile’s refer to Riami’s original. But Alvarez’s version is in many ways very different, yet sits in a position that could almost be as direct sequel to the original movie.

Five new victims, and the same cabin, thirty years down the track, perhaps? Well, the fact that Ash’s “The Classic” ’73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 is sitting derelict near the cabin suggests the first movie has already happened. The cabin looks identical, even the same clock is on the wall! And most notably, there is no Ash character.

But the possession technique the demons use is much more linear, the Book of the Dead looks quite different, and the cabin is owned by the parents of the brother and sister, not by the doomed Professor Knowby, from the original movie.

Many critics and some audiences have slammed Evil Dead for being shallow and excessively violent, but they’ve completely missed the point. Evil Dead is an instant cult slap in the face for jaded horror fans. It’s a hark back to the Scarlet Age of Horror, and if I need to get up on my crusty soapbox and shout it out I will. Thank you Fede Alvarez for using almost entirely practical special effects, prosthetics, for employing realistic blood and gore, for not opting for comic relief, for using beautifully tenebrous cinematography, and casting relative unknowns.

Jane Levy is excellent in the role of Mia, the sister who is battling a drug addiction. Lou Taylor Pucci is also impressive as the foolish friend who writes and recites the dreaded incantation. I wasn’t as convinced by Shiloh Fernandez as Mia’s brother, and I felt the movie didn’t need the late-in-the-game family discussion the two sibling’s have, but these are small quibbles.

When I read that Diablo Cody was involved in the screenplay I rolled my eyes, as I thought her horror screenplay Jennifer’s Body was clueless, but her character and dialogue tweaks are minor, and if you’re familiar with her you’ll be able to pick some of these moments, and they work fine.

I didn’t much care for Star Trek Into Darkness, but then I’m not a Trekkie, and that movie appeals hugely to the diehard fans. I guess the same can be said for Evil Dead, if you’re a fan of the original you’ll appreciate the references and yet you’ll admire the purity of Alvarez’s horror stylistics, he’s made his version for the True Believers.

Oh, and make sure you stick around ‘til the end of the credits.

“Groovy.”

Forgotten

​Original Title: Du Hast es Versprochen

Germany | 2012 | Directed by Alex Schmidt

Logline: During a reunion trip on an island two women, who were once childhood friends, are haunted by events from their past.

A handsomely mounted production, this supernatural chiller plays on the memory and loyalty, and of the blurry lines of morality when fogged by juvenile intent. Two adult women are brought together but find their friendship tested when a tragic event from their childhood rears its head and threatens to ruin their lives.

Hanna (Mina Tander) works as a physician at a large hospital, and attends an overdose victim Clarissa (Laura de Boer) who recognises her.  The two women immediately rekindle a long-dormant friendship. Spontaneously they decide to revisit the island where they holidayed as children twenty-five years earlier.  Hanna needs a break from her adulterous husband and brings her 7-year-old daughter Lea (Lina Kolhert).

But the island holds a dark secret that Hanna has conveniently forgotten about. Clarissa hasn’t. And neither has the local fishmonger Gabriela (Katharina Thalbach) whose daughter Maria (Mia Kasalo) died under tragic circumstances all those years ago.  There are ruins in the forest that harbour those dark memories, the guilt and the vengeance.

Alex Schmidt directs with an assured hand and gets great atmospheric mileage from the location shooting on the island. The two female leads are very charismatic and their strong performances keep the narrative conceits at bay. There’s a few twists and turns, with the most dramatic one near the end, and whilst not a doozy, it gives the movie a much-needed kick-up the backside, as things have sagged by the end of the second act.

Forgotten plays mostly as a mystery thriller, but there are some nice visceral moments, and things certainly get rather bloody in the climax. The German title translates as You Promised It, a reference to the young girls’ game playing. But there is a parallel board that the adults find themselves on, and its unsure who’s playing who, and just how the game will play out.

Forgotten plays as part of the Australian German Film Festival and screens in Sydney’s Palace Verona, Thu May 9, 6:30pm, Melbourne’s Palace Coma, Sat May 11, 8:45pm, and  Perth’s Cinema Paradiso,  Sat May 11,  9pm. 

The Mansion

US | 2013 | Directed by Andrew Robertson

Logline: A family struggling to survive in the years following a catastrophic plague are forced to abandon their home to try and find an apparent safe house somewhere in the north.

A debut feature, and a very accomplished one at that, Andrew Robertson’s thriller   takes a page or two from the cinema aesthetics of John Carpenter and with the tone of John Hillcoat’s The Road, and the slow-burn epic quality of Stephen King’s The Stand and The Walking Dead series, The Mansion resonates of a high calibre. This is a character study with style to burn.

Washed-out, deadened landscapes, but shot through with a desolate beauty, this is America’s Georgia land, full of melancholy and tranquillity, but bristling with feral danger and ominous echoes. Some great disaster has taken place, most probably a pandemic. All the institutions have perished, humans died in the millions. Survival is for the lucky.

It’s very satisfying watching a cast of complete unknowns all delivering excellent performances; Carter Roy as Jack, Amy Rutberg as his wife Nell, eve Grace Kellner as their daughter Birdie, Chris Keis as Kyle, and Sebastian Beacon as wild card Russell, but also props to a few of the marauders, Mark Ashworth, Joe Manus, and Travis Grant.

Apparently made on the smell of an oily rag (around $US50k), The Mansion was shot entirely on location, and uses its budget wisely; solid actors, convincing art direction, atmospheric cinematography, some impressive practical effects and special effects makeup (used only sparingly), but most notably, the terrific, subdued, but highly original score composed by Carbon Based Lifeforms.  

The taut, minimalist screenplay is by Robertson and producer Lilly Kanso, eschewing contrived action set pieces and unnecessary exposition for a brooding tension and the occasional well-punctuated confrontation. This is the kind of movie that sets the tone right from the opening images and sustains it right to its closing shot. Andrew Robertson could be the new Jeff Nichols, I look forward to his next feature.

The Mansion screens as part of Sydney’s Fantastic Planet vs. A Night Of Horror International Film Festival, Dendy Newtown, Thursday April 18th, 7pm.