Zombieland Double Tap

And this week's Friday night movie has been...Zombieland Double Tap!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th October 2019

I saw the original Zombieland and thought it was a right laugh. So it is somewhat inevitable that I would approach the sequel. However caution was still exercised: Where can you go from the original? That and a decade is a long time between drinks...

Turns out there is still a lot going for this movie. The jokes are funny, the self-awareness is still on point, Woody and Jessie still make for a fun on-screen partnership and Nevada makes for an interesting addition.
But ultimately, there is no way around the fact that this sequel took a decade to emerge. So it makes me wonder just how many drafts went through because it is clear there are some good ideas here that, for one reason or another, don't reach their full potential.
Firstly, the circumstances surrounding Little Rock's departure seem ....odd. I would accept it if she was a teen but she's not: She's clearly in her early-twenties. In any case, she is then left by the wayside for much of the movie to make way for Madison.
Speaking of which, Madison strikes me as a wasted opportunity. Sure she's a 'dumb blonde' and endearing in an adorable way but only for so long. You want her to contribute something but nothing of the kind comes which makes me wonder if the writers had no idea what to do with her.
And speaking of wasted opportunities, there's no shortage of them here. One of which being the world-building: We see the zombies have evolved but little seen of these new breeds. There are more survivors but no indication of HOW they've survived.

So yeah, it was a fun movie but severely hindered by some unfocused writing. Here's hoping a sequel doesn't take another decade to come.....

The Blair Witch Project

And this week's Friday night movie has been....The Blair Witch Project!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th October 2019

Once again I face a movie that has a fearsome reputation attached to it. The most profitable indie movie ever made. A movie that freaked people out into never going camping. A pioneer for viral marketing. A benchmark for the found-footage genre. A shining example of how atmosphere and 'what you don't see' are effective tools for the would-be horror film director. A dull movie about three idiots who get lost in the woods.

Personally I recall back in 1999 how this was a big deal and how people were divided with some saying it was freaky while others saying it was boring. Once again, however, i took my time to come to this movie because I felt it was important to see it through my own eyes and divorce it from the hype machine that made this a big hit. And twenty years would make for a good enough distance.

If anything this movie is a triumph of independent filmmaking: It's embraces it's limitations and relies on clever editing to engage the audience. The 'what you don't see' trick works wonders here and makes for a gradual build up of the horror. Equally effective is the gradual collapse into panic the protagonists go through and harrowing climax in the house.

This movie may be cheap and grimy but personally, I like horror movies that rely on mood and a creeping dread. And to the end The Blair Witch project succeeds admirably.
Twenty years on and it still has power.

The Creature From the Black Lagoon

And this week's Friday night movie has been....The Creature From the Black Lagoon!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th October 2019

My first encounter with The Creature of the Black Lagoon happened during my pre-teen years. I would go to my local arcade parlour and see, among others, a pinball game dedicated to it. I didn't play it but I do recall being put off by the artwork: There was something seeing a monster carrying a (potentially comatose) blonde in a white one-piece that unsettled me. Of course that doesn't sound ridiculous in a post-MeToo world - and it should be noted that the game was more to do with seeing the movie in a drive-in theater than the actual movie itself - but in a roundabout way, my curiosity was piqued.
Further interest was generated with the movie being the inspiration for the Shape of Water (the movie not the book).

That being said, this is a 1950's monster movie through and through. So there's lot's of screaming, rubber monster costume, loud dramatic music and damsel-in-distress-ness. Still, the real highlights for me are the use of suspense, the gradual build up before the reveal of the creature and the underwater footage/movement. And the monster itself still looks impressive. And, in some instances, scary.
Looks like this movie still has merit sixty-odd years later

Frankenstein

And this week's Friday night movie has been....Frankenstein (1931)!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th October 2019

Well it's October so of course I'm going to see some horror movies these next few weeks. And what better way to start than with the granddaddy of them all.

I often find it a danger to approach a movie from the pre-New Hollywood era as they tend to date rather horribly. That is not the case here. This still holds up by providing plenty of mood and unease. And it all holds together with Boris Karloff's performance of the monster with both freakish and humane.

Not much else I can say except it seems it's reputation as classic is justified and looks set to endure.