Those already familiar with filmmaker Kane Parsons’s previous creepypasta webseries such as Backrooms and The Oldest View may already have a good idea what to expect with his major directorial debut here. But now with the backing of a major studio such as A24, his vision seems much more limitless than ever before.
Set in 1990, the film follows divorced/alcoholic furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who, after being forced to take shelter within his own store, discovers a treasure trove of underground liminal spaces while living there. He eventually enlists his young assistant manager and her stoner boyfriend (played by Lukita Maxwell and Finn Bennett, respectively) to further explore these strange findings; even his skeptical therapist Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve) finds herself sucked into this maze of horror.
While not entirely unpredictable or flawless, the film plays off as one of those haunted house features you don’t want to take your eyes off of, no matter what the circumstance may be – think a cross between The Shining and The Blair WitchProject, and you’ve got a fairly decent comparison.
At just twenty years old (almost twenty-one now), Parsons is already the youngest director to reach number one at the American box office, and no doubt destined to do more amazing things in the future, providing he can keep from replicating the same formula too much of course.
After years of mounting fatigue for the now overly-saturated Star Wars franchise (thanks in large part to Disney), I was less than enthused for the latest installment within this once-epic universe, The Mandalorian and Grogu, to say the least. And judging by both the lower-end intake the film had at the box office this past opening weekend, and the very noticeable half-empty theater at the showing the family and I made it to, I’m not entirely alone when it comes to this sentiment.
That being said, the semi-recent Disney+ series The Mandalorian was a likeable enough addition within the world of Star Wars (despite a very un-likeable lead in the form of the pretentious Pedro Pascal in the title role) that wasn’t entirely forgettable as so many of the other recent spin-offs in the franchise has been.
Indeed, The Mandalorian and Grogu has its merits, following “Mando” (Pascal) and his non-speaking little sidekick as they track down and try to bring former Imperial leaders to justice (in a very post war kind of way) on behalf of the New Republic. Things go astray when they attempt to rescue Rotta The Hutt (son of Jabba and voiced by Jeremy Allen White) from captivity and an entirely new world of problems (and an unlikely alliance) quickly ensues for the duo.
Amidst the often over-the-top action and/or hokey characters, there’s nostalgic throwbacks to special effects and earlier films like The EmpireStrikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and a retro fitting music score. There’s even an appearance from filmmaker Martin Scorsese (in a voice role), and Sigourney Weaver in one of her most cardboard (and laughable) roles to date.
As absurd as it all might be, once it does finally get going, its easy to get lost within its world; you’ve just got to have the patience/endurance long enough to let it get you there.
It’s been almost 35 years since Mortal Kombat debuted in arcades, bowling alleys, and gas stations everywhere. Yes, arcade machines were once common in gas stations, where a Slurpee and a handful of quarters were all you needed.
Riding the massive success of Capcom’s Street Fighter II in the early ‘90s, Midway’s Mortal Kombat quickly stood out as a serious contender to be reckoned with. Its combined digitized graphics, distinctive martial arts influences, and a dark, mystical aesthetic with unprecedented levels of violence, launched a global phenomenon that continues to resonate today.
As fighting games, Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat had their unique differences that set them apart. In Street Fighter II, the defeated opponent was taunted by the victor in a cut screen before the next fight. No such fighters were spared in Mortal Kombat, where matches often ended in bloody “Fatalities” (for those skilled or lucky enough to pull them off).
Mortal Kombat featured decapitations, heart-ripping, and other gruesome deaths that may seem primitive by today’s standards, but nothing compared to the initial shock of witnessing Sub-Zero rip off an opponent’s head with the spinal cord still dangling. Of course, such bold and graphic gameplay was not without controversy, ultimately contributing to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating system that remains in use today.
Midway Games quickly capitalized on the success of Mortal Kombat with the release of Mortal Kombat II in 1993. Not only did the sequel improve upon its predecessor, but it is widely regarded as one of the best entries in the franchise and one of the greatest fighting games ever made. The series continues to this day across nearly every major home console, producing more entries than one could count.
The franchise’s popularity led to the early PG-13 film adaptations Mortal Kombat (1995)and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). In 2021, both longtime fans and newcomers were introduced to a more faithful—and far bloodier—reboot with Mortal Kombat. The recent release of Mortal Kombat II further continues the legacy of one of video game history’s most iconic and brutal franchises.
Much like the game that inspired it, Mortal Kombat II improves upon its predecessor with expertly choreographed fight scenes, sharp humor, and satisfyingly over-the-top violence. The film succeeds as both thrilling escapist entertainment and a worthy continuation of the franchise.
The story begins in the Outworld and introduces Princess Kitana (one the two mysterious masked female fighters from the original game, played here by Adeline Rudolph) as a young girl. Her father’s kingdom is conquered by the nefarious Emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who ushers in an era of darkness. Several years later, a tenth tournament takes place to decide the fate of Outworld.
The thunder god Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) assembles a roster of familiar Earthrealm fighters that include Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Jax (Mechcad Brooks), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), and washed-up martial arts movie star Johnny Cage Karl Urban). Shao Kahn’s roster includes Shang Tsung (Chin Han), Sub-Zero/Noob Saibot (Joe Taslim), Kitana, Kung Lao (Max Huang), Kano (Josh Lawson), Queen Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen), and others. Loyalties, however, aren’t what they seem, with sides being played throughout. Baraka (CJ Bloomfield) even makes an appearance as a neutral party of sorts enlisted to aid the Earhrealm fighters.
Arguably the film’s standout fight scene is the clash between Liu Kang and Kung Lao, who fights under Shao Kahn’s control. The emotional weight and visceral intensity of two former allies forced into combat make the sequence worth the price of admission alone. In a subtle but effective nod to the games, the film frequently opens its fights with a wide shot that mirrors the iconic “Fight” stance, with opponents positioned on opposite sides of the screen.
The two unlikely protagonists, Kitana and Johnny Cage, portrayed by Adeline Rudolph and the always reliable Karl Urban, are perfectly cast in their respective roles. Urban shines in the role and perfectly encapsulates an actor past his prime who reluctantly joins the tournament against his better judgment.
I’m pleased to say that just about everything in the film works. The action moves along at a brisk pace with versatile backdrops and eye-popping visuals throughout. The reliance on CGI is evident and often necessary, but it never becomes so excessive that it feels cheap or inauthentic.
For a live-action video game adaptation, the film succeeds in honoring its source material while bringing an unexpected sense of realism to the experience. Most importantly, viewers don’t need to be longtime fans of the games to enjoy the movie, depending on their tolerance for unapologetically over-the-top violence.
The film’s success can be credited to director Simon McQuoid and his talented cast and crew, who deliver an effective tribute to one of the most recognizable and innovative fighting game franchises alongside Street Fighter.
Mortal Kombat II delivers plenty of spectacle, though some of the larger set pieces, particularly the multiple climactic battles near the end, border on excess. Baraka is a welcome addition but suffers from an unintentionally goofy character design (obvious in early promotional stills). Kano also returns with constant wisecracks that wear thin over time.
Despite its flaws, the film never pretends to be anything more than an action-packed visual thrill ride. It succeeds based on its genuine investment in its characters and clear respect for the franchise on which it is based. After seeing it, I commented to my wife that it felt good to see an old-fashioned R-rated movie again.
It had no agenda, it wasn’t watered down, and it only sought to entertain. Test your might and check it out. It’s a nearly flawless victory.
I can remember a time when Thriller was still the “new” Michael Jackson album (and to the best of my memory, the first LP I ever owned), and families would stop what they were doing to watch his groundbreaking music videos whenever they appeared on TV. Hell, somewhere there’s even a photo of yours truly in a red leather jacket about to head out to my first day of grade school in true Jackson fashion. (I also blame “Beat It” for my initial love for Van Halen, and still hold it as one of the greatest songs ever written and recorded.) These examples barely even scratch the surface of the kind of impact the late Jackson had on the world at that moment in time.
If you share memories similar to this from back then, then you likely also recall when ABC released the two-part miniseries The Jacksons:An American Dream in late 1992. Featuring Angela Bassett and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs (of Welcome Back, Kotter fame), the film chronicled the abusive upbringing of the Jackson children, and eventual rise to superstardom via both The Jackson 5, as well as the early days of Michael’s solo career. Viewers more or less get the same treatment here with Michael, only this time it’s told through a more modern lens, and a bigger budget.
Jaafar Jackson, the actual son of Jermaine and nephew of Michael, convincingly portrays Michael, while Colman Domingo and Nia Long play Joseph and Katherine Jackson this time around, respectively. And just like that original miniseries (without giving too much away), this one also leaves you wanting SO MUCH more. Another disappointing factor with Michael is the unfortunate use of special effects, namely the CGI used to create crowd scenes and even the animals in the film; I understand these methods no doubt reduce costs and liabilities, but it’s sad to see what we’ve lost in the world of cinema in terms of realism.
But sadder still is what we’ve since lost in the bigger picture; I found myself getting choked up numerous times throughout, thinking about the massive talent, and even the sense of shared togetherness we’ve lost since the days Michael Jackson dominated the pop world. There’s truly never been anyone else like him in any of our lifetimes, and I certainly can’t think of a single current “star” even remotely comparable to him. For that alone, the film is indeed worth a view, especially on the big screen.
I’ve been a fairly loyal fan of the Scream films over the years, having gone to see each and every one of them on the big screen since the release of the original way back in 1996. But if you recall my scathing review of the last (and arguably worst) entry, Scream VI a few years back in 2023, I was convinced that the series had run its course indeed.
But there’s always a chance for redemption, and for the most part, Scream 7 hits the mark that’s been largely missed with the majority of the sequels that have come since. Writer/Director Kevin Williamson, whose imprint on the series has been there going all the way back since the original (this marks his first time directing, and first time returning as a screenwriter to the series since Scream 4 in 2011), invokes the same sort of atmosphere and “whodunit” type quality that Wes Craven gave us way back when that’s been largely missing since 1997’s Scream 2.
It’s no secret that this time around Neve Campbell returns as Sidney Prescott (now Prescott-Evans) after missing in action for that last horrid entry. This time around, she’s in the role of wife and mother as her husband Mark (Joel McHale) and teenaged daughter Tatum (Isabel May) are terrorized by another Ghostface killer (or killers). And for the first time in far too long, we’re actually given some characters whose well-being the audience truly cares about again, too.
There’s plenty of nods to the earlier films, with Courtney Cox once again returning as Gale Weathers, and – without giving away too much here – other franchise alumni, including Matthew Lillard, David Arquette Laurie Metcalf, Scott Foley, and of course the all-too familiar voice of Ghostface himself, Roger L. Jackson, each show up one way or another, yet it never comes off as too overly nostalgic. Even Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown as twin brother and sister Chad and Mindy from the past two films return for the proceedings here as well.
Sure there’s some cliche or predictable elements that still work their way in, and the big reveal ending is definitely one of the weaker points (though still nowhere near as as bad as that over-the-top car crash of an ending we got in part six). But I heard someone else describe Scream 7 as a “reset” for the series, and after the direction it was heading with the “whiny sisters” (whose sudden absence is honestly not felt one bit here) plotline the past two films were following it is indeed a welcomed return to form. Far from perfect, but a much-needed step above its predecessor.
I was really hoping for yet another diamond in the rough horror film in the same vain of this year’s Black Phone 2. Unfortunately with this latest update to 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night, there’s more “rough” than anything else here.
First the pros; the visuals and atmosphere are fairly spot on, and even some of the eerie music from the original film (see, “Santa’s Watching”) is used, which brings a nice touch to the proceedings. And Rohan Campbell is actually pretty convincing as the disturbed drifter Billy, as is Ruby Modine as his love interest, Pam (for the most part, anyway).
Now the cons; it’s an-over-the top gorefest where any chance at actual art is pushed aside to make way for another stab at shock value. We’re expected to accept an unrealistic and exaggerated reality where anyone religious/bearing a cross is seemingly inherently evil in a fairly insulting manner. Even the gimmick of Billy hearing and responding to an inner voice named Charlie (voiced by Mark Acheson) quickly becomes fairly tiresome here.
Sure, the original film was far from perfect (I won’t even get into the various levels of its sequels right now, either) and you won’t ever hear me claim otherwise. But where part of Billy’s traumas were the result from the abuse he encountered from the head nun at the orphanage he was raised in, there was also the contrast from the younger, decent nun who wanted to actually help Billy and see him thrive in life. Here there’s nothing like that, just another dumbed-down excuse for excess violence.
What starts with a decent concept, quickly gets muddled by excess violence and a predictable ending. The potential was there, but the execution is simply not as clever as the filmmakers had hoped it would be here.
I had initially planned on watching a very different kind of Christmas movie (the new Silent NightDeadly Night remake, to be specific) before I settled on watching a newer Netflix romantic family comedy (of course with my own family) the other night titled A Merry Little Ex-Mas, starring Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson.
The plot is nothing all that original; recently divorced (or “uncoupled” as they prefer to call it) husband and wife Everett and Kate (Hudson and Silverstone) conflict as they try to co-parent their two adult children (and one child’s quirky Harry Potter-obsessed boyfriend, played by Timothy Innes) at Christmas with their own new significant others (played by Jameela Jamil and Pierson Fode).
Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina the Teenage Witch fame and Geoffrey Owens from The Cosby Show also add to the ordeal, and for the most part things stay pretty harmless (albeit predictable) and the proceedings never get too over the top like other similar affairs have in the past (Lindsay Lohan’s Falling For Christmas in 2022 comes to mind). Far from perfect, but worth at least one watch this Christmas season.
It should come as no surprise to those who saw the first film that Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2 is not a straight forward horror/slasher movie, but there’s just something about creepy old arcades that keeps us coming back to them time and time again.
This time around, we get a little more backstory, and a new villain in the form of The Marionette, another feature of the fallen pizzeria possessed by a young girl named Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Maire) in the early ’80s, coincidentally once a friend of Vanessa’s (Elizabeth Lail) from the first film.
Aside from Lail, Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, and Matthew Lillard all return from the original, with Skeet Ulrich and Wayne Knight adding some intrigue and/or fun to the proceedings. It’s much more fast-paced and straight-to-the-point, and much like the recent Black Phone 2, a step above its predecessor.
Look, I didn’t go into Street Fighter, the PG-13 video-game based film aimed at preteens back in the day, expecting to see Bloodsport, and no one should go into FNAF2 expecting the equivalent of a gore fest, either. It’s just scary enough for the smaller kids, while also keeping it safe enough for the whole family to enjoy, and aside from its abrupt ending, is an overall solid film.
The fourth (and tentatively final) chapter of The Conjuring series (not including spin-offs taking place within the same universe) finds Loraine and Ed Warren (once again played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) assisting a Pennsylvanian family named the Smurls battle the unwanted demons invading their home circa 1986.
Turns out this specific demon came from the very same mirror The Warrens had also dealt with right around the time their now-adult daughter Judy (Mia Tomlinson) was born roughly two decades prior, and so the whole family (including Judy’s new fiance Tony, played by Ben Hardy) packs up their gear to go help out the Smurls.
I haven’t gone to see any of the films in this series since the original came out back in 2013, and the most of the aforementioned spin-offs have all been pretty hit or miss since then, though the two prior direct sequels that followed the first film were fairly solid, and this one is no exception. Far from perfect, but entertaining enough if you allow it to be.
I’ve been very vocal as of late on the decline of modern horror films these days, but every once in awhile there’s a needle in a haystack that sticks out among the ever-growing lists of latest of low brow imitators (the likes of this year’s Clown in a Cornfield reached new lows of stupidity for sure).
2021’s The Black Phone was one such exception that gave us “The Grabber,” a serial child killer in the late ’70s menacingly played by Ethan Hawke, who is outsmarted by his final would-be victim, Finney (Mason Thames) who communicates with The Grabber’s past victims’ spirits via a telephone in the basement he is confined in (sounds a bit far-fetched on paper, I know).
Four years later in 1982, Finney’s kid sister Gwen (Madeline McGraw) is now experiencing visions and receiving messages from the grave, which eventually leads to the two of them, along with Finney’s friend Ernesto (the brother of one of the first film’s victims, played by Miguel Mora) heading to the nearby Alpine Lake Camp where Gwen and Finney’s late mother Hope (Anna Lore) worked once upon a time, to investigate these strange occurrences from beyond further.
Turns out that not only did their mom work there in the late ’50s, but so did The Grabber, who just so happened to also claim his first few victims there, and slowly but surely the trio begin putting the mysterious connections together along with the help of the camp’s current staff, lead by supervisor Armando (Demian Bichir), and realize The Grabber is very much there to enact his revenge on them.
Using similar techniques of isolation found in early ’80s horror classics such as 1980’s The Shining and 1982’s The Thing while combining it with the slasher surrealism of 1984’s ANightmare on Elm Street (The Grabber is far more deserving now to be put alongside the likes of horror icon Freddy Kruger than say the modern Pennywise from It, at least in my book), the film instantly sets the tone with its eerie atmosphere and never quite lets up.
Aside from the occasional cringe-worthy dialogue and one or two cookie cutter characters, Black Phone 2 is indeed one of those few exceptions where the sequel truly outshines the original, and gives me a silver of hope in the horror movie world; I look forward to seeing where the series goes from here.
