The Void (2016): written and directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski; starring Aaron Poole (Officer Carter), Kenneth Welsh (Dr. Powell), Daniel Fathers (The Father), Kathleen Munroe (Allison), Ellen Wong (Kim), Mik Byskov (The Son), Art Hindle (Mitchell), and Grace Munro (Maggie):
Delightful Lovecraftian horror made in Canada -- specifically in and around Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. There are gooshy bits, but they're in service to a story about an invasion from OUTSIDE. Co-writers and co-directors Gillespie and Kostanski have done a nice job of melding the Lovecraftian body horror of "Herbert West - Reanimator" with the more cosmic concerns of H.P. Lovecraft-penned stories that include "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Colour Out of Space."
Canadian acting stalwarts Art Hindle and Kenneth Welsh (probably best known outside Canada as Agent Cooper's nemesis Wyndham Earle in Twin Peaks) rub shoulders with relative unknowns in this tale of a stripped-down, soon-to-be-closed rural hospital assaulted from within and without by cult members, monsters, and a terrible FORCE FROM OUTSIDE. Dread and fun combine in productive ways, and the movie even seems to offer a visual quote from that cult sf classic The Quiet Earth.
There's a lot of metamorphic body horror for fans of John Carpenter's The Thing and Clive Barker's Hellraiser, complete with a pretty gruesome monster at the end (and monsters throughout). But the focus remains throughout on the idea of an invasion of our world from somewhere outside -- Outside, really. And the filmmakers wisely leave the motivations of whatever is behind this completely unknown. We may understand why the cult followers of the Abyss (as it is called) do the things they do. The Abyss itself remains silent. Fittingly. Highly recommended.
Inland Empire (2006): written and directed by David Lynch; starring Laura Dern (Nikki Grace/ Susan Blue), Jeremy Irons (Kingsley Stewart), Justin Theroux (Devon Berk/ Billy Side), Karolina Gruszka (Lost Girl), Grace Zabriskie (Visitor #1), and Harry Dean Stanton (Freddie):
A doomed Polish film adaptation of a creepy, true Polish folk tale inspires an American film directed by Brit Jeremy Irons and starring Laura Dern and Justin Theroux. Real-life events begin to mirror those in the adaptation which mirror those surrounding the original film which mirror those in the folk tale that was inspired by true events.
Also, dance numbers and a surprise cameo from Terry Crews!
Laura Dern's actress begins to be haunted almost immediately by strange characters, events, and an occasional loss of self. And by living out life as her character. Or is the character really a character or the ghost of a person doomed by a curse to relive the events of her death over and over until someone breaks the curse? Good question!
Inland Empire is a disturbing, dazzling descent into horror, madness, and parallel lives and worlds. However, you may have to consult its wikia page to figure out its plot. Or watch it several times.
Even then, this is Lynch prowling the borders between dream and narrative, nightmare and plot. Laura Dern is terrific in a role that requires a lot of heavy lifting in service of a character with more than one character. Cameos come and go. Grace Zabriskie shows up early and late to explain things and terrify Laura Dern's actress. Harry Dean Stanton has a recurring comic bit as a scam-artist assistant to director Jeremy Irons. Mary Steenburgen wanders through.
And there's the rabbits. Or people with rabbit heads. Surreal, menacing WTF mind games from David Lynch. I've come to the opinion that all of Lynch's work takes place in the same universe. Or multiverse. The monster here could just as well have strolled through Twin Peaks: The Return or Eraserhead. Or maybe it did! Highly recommended.
Requiem for a Dream (2000): adapted by Hubert Selby Jr. and Darren Aronofsky from the book by Hubert Selby Jr.; directed by Darren Aronofsky; starring Ellen Burstyn (Sara Goldfarb), Jared Leto (Harry Goldfarb), Jennifer Connelly (Marion Silver), Marlon Wayans (Tyrone C. Love), and Christopher McDonald (Tappy Tibbons):
Heroin and prescription weight-loss drugs (well, amphetamines) wreak havoc on mother Ellen Burstyn, son Jared Leto, and pretty much every other major character in Darren Aronofsky's critically lauded follow-up to Pi.
Requiem for a Dream still dazzles with its rapid-fire editing, crisp cinematography, and unrelentingly bleak universe. Set some time during the 1970's as heroin became one of America's drugs of choice, it follows Leto and Burstyn through three seasons of increasingly disaster. There is no Spring.
Of course, as many have noted on the Internet, one of the iconic recurring shots (a pupil dilating) represents the exact opposite effect that heroin has on the human eyeball (the pupil should expand). Maybe time is running backwards? It's certainly possible that's what Aronofsky means to imply -- because the forward motion of time brings only horror, decay, and madness.
The scenes that involve an infomercial watched obsessively by Burstyn's despairing widow are some of the few funny things in Aronofsky's generally humourless oeuvre, and feature a dynamite, partially improvised performance by Christopher McDonald that almost seems like something from another movie adapted from a story by Philip K. Dick. No wonder Burstyn's character wants to go into that ad!
So the short version of the message of the movie is Kids, don't do drugs. Adults too! Jennifer Connelly shines as Leto's girlfriend, as does Marlon Wayans as his best friend. And the terrific score, in part by Kronos Quartet, helps.
As in pretty much all of his films, Aronofsky works with dazzlingly unsympathetic characters here -- pitiful, yes, but also dull and stripped of the occasional flashy glamour invested in drug users in movies. No wonder they need to lose themselves inside the warmth of heroin or the glow of amphetamines -- there's no 'there' there in their personalities. Highly recommended.
The Haunting (1999): 'adapted' by David Self from the novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson; directed by Jan de Bont; starring Liam Neeson (Dr. David Marrow), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Theo), Owen Wilson (Luke Sanderson), and Lili Taylor (Nell): This is either a dazzlingly bad adaptation of a great novel by Shirley Jackson or a dazzlingly bad remake of a great movie directed by Robert Wise. Take your pick!
It took me three tries over 20 years to watch this whole movie.
I should have stood in bed.
The weirdest thing about The Haunting is that the casting is pretty much spot on. However, with awful direction, an awful script, and ridiculously ornate set design and visual effects, the casting can't save anything. The Haunting isn't even a fun bad movie. It alternates between tedious and shrill and just plain dumb.
Changes minor (Dr. John Markway becomes Dr. David Marrow) and major (too many to name) fly by. Some of the changes are so major that one starts to wonder if this movie began life as a script for something else before being retrofitted for The Haunting of Hill House. Maybe a Tim Burton movie about giant fireplaces.
I suppose one shouldn't be surprised that Jan de Bont (of Speed and Twister) wasn't the best choice to direct what should have been a subtle, psychological ghost story. The Haunting stands as a testament that Hollywood can ruin anything. Just give them a chance. And a big budget. Not recommended.
