Relicui Mei

When Wrong Turn (2021) came out it was the wrong time. Specifically, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was supposed to have debuted in 3000 cinemas nationwide, but the fact that all the cinemas were CLOSED put a severe damper on its release. It was also not helped by the fact that it was written by the person who wrote the original Wrong Turn (2003).  The remake took a different tack from the original hillbilly cannibal film (and its FIVE sequels). A bit like the Buckner's, the Zombie Redneck Torture Family, in "Cabin in the Woods", or the characters of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", both of which you are more like to have heard of. That's what the fans of the original film(s) were expecting of this remake.  But it wasn't what they got and so those were quite publicly vocal about their disappointment. If you can imagine such a thing.  Their loss! Because remake is very clever inversion of expectations.  It's focused on a self-sufficient commun...

I love this movie, because it's a great PG-13 movie, and don't let anyone tell you any different. Like many modern horror films (such as "Lights Out"; "Saw"; "The Jester"; "Terrifier") it's based on a previous short. The structure is a familiar one. A group of high schoolers encounter a Cursed Object (in this case, a polaroid camera) which leaves them marked for death, one by one.  Who, if anyone, will survive and how? In fact, this is pretty much the same plot as an episode of "Are You Afraid of The Dark?" and one of "Goosebumps". But, really, can't that be said of almost ANY horror plot? Where "Polaroid" distinguishes itself is the incredible APTNESS of the Scary Entity that is the threat and the "rules" of how the cursed camera works.  The polaroid isn't just some throwaway plot device (as it was in, say, "Back to the Future"); it is really IS the heart of the schtick and o...

Atmosphere. "Night Tide" is all about atmosphere.  The off-beat plot is about sailor Johnny Drake Played STRIKINGLY handsome young actor named "Dennis Hopper". who falls for a young girl who plays a fake mermaid at a pier attraction.  But is she more than just a FAKE mermaid?  If you've seen Val Lewton's "The Cat People", it will remind you of that. Sometimes the staging is almost expressionistic. The acting and interacting between the principals is impressively effective.  For such a weird topic it does a remarkable job of feeling like a real story happening to real people. And, like "Cat People" it creates an atmosphere masterfully, one which you will remember.

I guarantee you, with no doubt or hesitation, that "De Lift" (1983) is, hands-down, the finest Dutch killer-elevator film you will ever see. It is not to be confused with the 1972 German made-for-tv movie "DER Lift", which is about a ski lodge, not an elevator. Which itself is not to be confused with Robert Zemeckis's 1972 student film "The Lift", which is about an elevator, but not a killer one. Or with the 1974 made-for-television thriller "The Elevator", with Roddy McDowell, because how could it NOT have Roddy  McDowell?! Nor it is to be confused with "Down" (2001), which is the English-language remake of "De Lift", directed by... well, the same guy who directed De Lift (Dick Maas).   And no one is allowed to even THINK about "Devil" (2010). Ugh. If you do, you will get slapped in the face with a piece of jelly-bread. With the jelly FACING you. It is more absurd than ALL of those, put together.   No, this is t...

Velvet Buzzsaw is a satire of the contemporary art scene, in the form of a gory horror movie.  It's not merely unrealistic but surrealistic. When the works of a reclusive misanthropic painter are discovered are put on sale, against his posthumous wishes, they empower other artworks to take revenge on the art world types who are insincerely capitalizing on the late artist's tragedy. Rhetorical question: has Toni Collette ever played anyone nice or even just... normal? It's got high production values and a stacked cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, John Malkovitch, Tom Sturridge, Daveed Diggs). It even has one of my favorite pieces: "Death of a Mauve Bat" (1967). The kills are bizarre and imaginative and delightfully ironic (as are the victims).  All good art is dangerous, it seems to say, so be careful when treating it simply as a commodity. It's a film with no villains... but no heroes, either.   So thought it was too campy to be scary and too s...

Like yesterday's film, The Last Matinee (2020)  is a movie-lover's movie, set in a South American cinema, whose workers and customers are being stalked by a psychokiller with a very particular and unpalatable obsession. I love that tagline. This film deserves all the eyes on it that it can gather. It's in Spanish (available with English subtitles), but shot very much in the style of an Italian giallo film, although structurally it is very much an '80s-style slasher.  There is zero motivation or dimension to the killer; he's just a Cinematic Psychokiller and the plot is simply about who escapes him and how.   It would make a fine opera. But the film is beautifully stylish and -- unlike genuine giallos -- has a clear, if simple, plot.  It also has one of the greatest foreshadowings / callbacks I have ever seen in a film. I was so delighted when it finally paid off that I stood up in my own home and slow clapped. It's gory, it's simple, it's memorable.  It...