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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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A Classic Horror Story OK/G
I’ve been looking forward to this Netflix film upon hearing
it was a throwback and The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre was mentioned in comparison.
Sure, many movies try to be The
Texas Chainsaw Massacre and many modern movies try to be throwbacks, but
I’m always interested and perhaps one might actually be a modern “classic” in
the making. Now, “classic” is most
certainly a subjective (albeit collective) term and for this movie to title
itself A “Classic” Horror Story is a bit pretentious, no? It is in regards to a comment made by one of
the characters though and you’ll realize its more significant meaning by the
end. You’ll definitely be reminded of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre initially,
as it follows a group of people traveling in an RV in Italy (yes, it is an
Italian movie, and while some parts may be in English, it is mostly subtitled,
F.Y.I.) that end up stranded in the middle of the woods after an accident the
night before. There is a single house in
the middle of these woods with no one home at first, but there are plenty of
signifiers (pictures, ritualistic items, dead animals, etc.) that would tell
you straight up in movie world and the real world to get the hell out of
dodge! Now, back to that “classic” film
referenced more than once above…they all want to be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but don’t realize there is only one Texas Chainsaw Massacre---it was
directed by Tobe Hooper and came out in 1974.
This ends up being just as much The
Wicker Man and films of that ilk (I was even reminded of Midsommar at one time, a film not nearly
old enough to be labeled a classic yet), but a twist about ¾ of the way reveals
it to be another type of movie. The twist kind of ruined what came before,
but simultaneously didn’t (if that makes sense), because, on one hand, it lead
to a completely different outcome one would expect from the type of movie it already
was, and, on the other hand, it did make it a completely different movie. I would say it was disappointing, and it kind
of was (it wasn’t a fresh twist either), but it also made many of what came
before feel a little less clichéd and predictable (which some of it certainly
was) in the grand scheme of things. This
film wasn’t bad, no, and I’d even tell horror fans to check it out at least
once, but just don’t keep your expectations too high (I wish I would stop doing
that). 7/14/2021
The Night OK/G
A Middle Eastern couple leave a friend’s house and decide to
crash at a hotel for the night on the way home.
I believe this took place in America, but there was no indication of any
location (I knew not it was filmed in Los Angeles until it was over, but that
doesn’t mean it took place there, although research informed me the hotel in
the film is a real one located in L.A., so maybe). It is predominantly subtitled, in Farsi
(Persian), so the character’s ethnicity is really only about representation
since American horror films rarely feature Middle Easterns as main characters
(the director is Middle Eastern as well).
Anyway, it starts off as a bit of a slow burn, but once the ball gets
rolling, it rolls, sometimes even a bit chillingly. You might occasionally be reminded of other
“hotel horror films,” i.e. The Shining,
1408, The Innkeepers; at least I was.
A revelation towards the end is as clichéd as they come and the ending
may be a bit ambiguous for some, if not most, but it was better than an ending
I thought it was going to contain, one that would’ve negated the entire film and
been just another cliché. Not perfect, but still a supernatural horror
film set at a hotel (which is really just a location that could’ve been
substituted) worth checking out, likely instigating varying
discussions/analyses. 7/16/2021
Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
The 8th
Night >>>B
(Netflix; In
Korean with subtitles)
The Nest (2021; dir. James Suttles) >>>B/EH
Separation >>>EH/OK
---Sean O.7/16/2021
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