Halloween Kills

Spoilers for Halloween Kills to follow.

I am a living, breathing human, so obviously I love John Carpenter’s original Halloween. I was beyond excited when I learned that director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride (!) were making a direct sequel to the 1978 classic that would ignore all other sequels and timelines. When I saw the movie opening weekend with friends, I found it incredibly disappointing. Not bad, just not what I was expecting. What was I expecting? Truthfully, I don’t 100% know, but the movie that played before my eyes wasn’t it. Months later I watched it again at home and was able to adjust my expectations and enjoy it much more, and recently a third viewing in anticipation of Kills clenched it, I now loved Halloween’18. I was finally on the same page with what David Gordon Green and company were trying to do, and once again my expectations for the follow up started to rise.

I’ll tell you right now, after two viewings, I fucking love Halloween Kills. The gore and kills in the film are the best and most extreme of any Halloween yet, and best of all, Michael Myers feels legitimately frightening here. However, Green and company also add an insane amount of melodrama that often threatens to take away enjoyment from this otherwise wildly entertaining slasher flick.

There are a lot of declarative statements made in this movie (if you take a drink every time someone says “Evil dies tonight” you will not live to see the end of the movie), so much so that they often take the place of any real dialogue between characters, which means most of the film is just “He needs to die, and I’m going to kill him!” or “He’s terrorized this town for 40 years!” or the aforementioned “Evil dies tonight!” Or when there is actual dialogue, it’s often quite terrible. Just characters saying back and forth to one another that something needs to be done about Michael. MICHAEL!

None of that bothers me though, because Green seems to be more interested in playing with the myth of Halloween, and turning Michael Myers into something truly terrifying and unstoppable, and in my opinion is so successful in doing so that it completely overshadows anything else.

The first time we see Michael in the present day (the film briefly flashes back to 1978) he takes out an entire squad of firefighters with ease, shoving axes into faces left and right, and Green captures all the spectacular gore beautifully. It’s a mission statement for what’s to come, as the movie is wall to wall with grisly kills and outrageous practical effects (there is one particular eye gouging that is an all timer). This version of Michael tiptoes on the verge of superhuman (he’s shot and stabbed multiple times and barely flinches), but the film never veers into supernatural territory. It simply declares Michael as Pure Evil, an unstoppable force, plain and simple. For me, this makes him all the more terrifying. No cult controlling him or ghostly shenanigans, just a person with nothing but murder and mayhem on the mind.

Halloween Kills does attempt to play with some big ideas, specifically the nature of mob mentality. Anthony Michael Hall plays Tommy Doyle, the character that Laurie Strode was babysitting in the original film, and he has turned into the kind of dude who loves to work up crowds with misinformation and a self declared sense of justice. It’s exactly what it sounds like and Hall plays it to perfection, but the film doesn’t seem to have any real interest in exploring the reasons why people become so reactionary in times of chaos, and instead quickly moves on to the next kill. But once again, that doesn’t bother me! Yes, I do think there could be plenty of interesting ways the movie could have taken a moment to play and dig into those themes, but I feel like Green and company didn’t want to slow things down and wanted to focus on the mayhem, and I’m so not mad at that. Plus, there is always the possibility that the next (and supposed final) entry could take the time and deal with the fallout of the events in Kills. For now, I’m just happy to have a gnarly AF Halloween flick.

Hey now! What about the Queen Jamie Lee Curtis or the equally awesome Judy Greer? Well, they’re in it! They don’t have much to do, but they are definitely there! Honestly, Jamie is confined to a hospital bed for most of the movie, but she brings everything she has every moment she’s on screen.

Halloween Kills is far from perfect, but I found it to be an enormously entertaining slasher, and I adored the idea of having a Halloween movie that mostly focuses on the pure brutality of its masked icon. No insight, no reasoning, just an entire movie of Michael doing what he does best, and I could not be happier.

Old

Spoilers for OLD to follow.

In this house, we stan M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are stone cold classics that highlight the absolute best the filmmaker has to offer. The Village and Signs both feature exhilarating sequences that are carefully crafted by Shyamalan, and if nothing else, I think he is a severely underrated director in terms of pure craft. Has he made some bad movies? Yes, but he is also one of the only directors in Hollywood consistently putting out original, dramatic thrillers, and that alone is worth keeping him around.

OLD, the filmmakers latest, finds the director closer to Twilight Zone territory than he’s ever been, as we follow multiple families that find out that the secluded beach they are staying at is somehow forcing them to age so rapidly that it’s reducing their entire life to a single day.

Unfortunately, OLD isn’t among M. Night’s best, but it’s not among his worst either! Instead, it turns out to be very mediocre, landing somewhere in the middle of his varied filmography.

There’s a lot to like about the film. The whole cast is great. Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicky Krieps are completely believable as a the main couple who just happen to be taking their last vacation as a family before the parents separate (the idea being they tell the kids when they get home). Both go back and forth between family drama and scifi mind fuck with ease, making them ideal for the directors vision.

Shyamalan also smartly put recognizable character actors to round out the cast like Rufus Sewel (Dark City), Alex Wolf (Hereditary), Abbey Lee (The Neon Demon, Mad Max: Fury Road), Ken Luang (Lost) and newcomers Thomasin McKenzie and Aaron Pierre, all of whom fit perfectly into Shyamalan’s vibe.

The director has numerous scenes with extended single take shots. Shyamalan is no stranger to this, and here his work is reliably precise and well put together. I love the way he moves a camera, using it like a tool to ramp up suspense and tension.

He even manages to cleverly slide in some sly social commentary at multiple points in the film without ever being overbearing.

But for the life of me I just could not find it in myself to care about any of it. Despite the craftsmanship and credible performances, the story just doesn’t have much pull to it, and as a result it’s hard to care much about what happens. The whole concept of a spot on Earth that does this is definitely a cool idea, and overall I think Shyamalan nails the previously mentioned Twilight Zone vibe, but overall the movie never really gels into anything terrifying or thought provoking.

As for the infamous Shyamalan ending, it’s definitely over the top, but like the rest of the movie, it thinks it’s more shocking than it actually is. I don’t want to completely spoil it for those still wanting to check it out, but I would check your expectations in that it’s not some twist where it’s like an alternate reality or Bruce Willis has been dead the whole time or anything like that. Once last time, think Twilight Zone vibe. Still, even with proper expectations, the ending does little to save the film.

Overall, OLD is a well made but mostly lifeless thriller, but despite the films mediocrity, I can safely say I’m still team Shyamalan. Here’s hoping he nails the next one.

Army of the Dead

I like Zack Snyder. Overall I thought his DC output was thoroughly interesting and unexpected if not wholly successful (thoughts on BvS here and his Justice League here), but I was god damn delighted when it was announced that his first non DC movie in a decade was gonna be about Dave Bautista and a ragtag group of bad asses breaking into a zombie infested Las Vegas to steal a bunch of money before the town gets nuked to Kingdom Come.

Perfect. I’m all in. Totally ready for Snyder to just deliver some high priced trash directly to my brain.

Unfortunately Snyder delivers a weird, uneven and bloated zombie heist flick that highlights his own weaknesses rather than his strengths and the movie ultimately proves to be the one thing I thought Snyder didn’t know how to be; boring.

Spoilers for Army of the Dead to follow.

After a short but intense prologue showing how exactly this army of the dead got started, Snyder dives right into an exposition filled montage for the opening credits. The director’s penchant for Choices is on full display here, with odd music cues and the editing going back and forth between each character’s story and them posing with pictures of their dead loved ones. It’s weird, yes, but this is good kind of weird that Snyder excels at, and the director quickly establishes the over the top tone for this world and to his credit never strays from it either.

The plot goes as such: casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) wants Bautista to gather a team of mercenaries to break into his abandoned business to take back the $200 million that is sitting in the vault. Granted, Tanaka has already been reimbursed that money thanks to insurance, but like all casino owners, he wants what is his. In return, Bautista and crew can split $50 million if they get the job done.

It’s a simple enough heist premise, and with the added zombie element it really doesn’t need to get more complicated than that (and thankfully it doesn’t). All Snyder has to do is give us a crew to root for (with maybe a few people to hate as well) and show us some glorious mayhem that I know he can deliver with his eyes closed.

Unfortunately, the script (co-written by Snyder, based on his own story) gives us nothing but one note characters, and most of the unknown (at least to me) cast can’t do anything to make me care about them, and so when many of them meet their demise, the moment falls flat.

What’s worse is that Snyder takes his sweet ass time introducing all these characters and setting up plot that ultimately doesn’t matter. The movie only starts to enter Vegas about 45 minutes in, and it was clear that at least 20 minutes could have already been cut. I think this is my biggest beef with the movie. It has a final runtime of 148 minutes (!) and if Snyder had cut at least 30 minutes I think this would be a fun, fast paced, don’t think about it too much kind of heist flick. But I mean, Snyder did deliver a 4 hour cut of Justice League, so maybe that’s on me.

It’s not all bad though! Dave Bautista is great. He has been great for a while now, from his hilarious turn as Drax in the MCU to his absolutely haunting cameo in Blade Runner 2049 (I’m so stoked to see him return to play with Villeneuve in Dune). His character has the best storyline in the movie, and Bautista milks it for all its worth, delivering the emotional beats with genuine heartache. He’s also unafraid to show his age, as his badass character is constantly reaching for his reading glasses. It’s a small touch, but Bautista sells it.

Tig Notaro also stands out as the crew’s helicopter pilot. Notaro famously replaced that dipshit comedian who rightfully got cancelled and it’s an upgrade in every way. Notaro is hilarious every second they’re on screen, and I honestly hope it leads to more work outside of straight comedy roles, because Notaro fits into this ragtag ensemble like a glove.

Of course, if Garret Dillahunt is in a movie or show, the quality automatically jumps 10%. Dillahunt is one of those “That Guy” actors. He has been in so much over the last 15 years that it’s impossible to say where one might recognize him from (Deadwood? No Country for Old Men? The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford? Raising Hope?). Dillahunt can play menacing, cold, funny, tough, wimpy all at the drop of a hat. Here, he is in scumbag mode, and nobody does it better.

Like Romero before him, Snyder explores the notion of a Smart Zombie in Army of the Dead, and for the most part it’s pretty cool! It’s not outright stated in the film, but the first zombie, henceforth known as Zombie Daddy, isn’t exactly a zombie. He is some kind of super undead thing. If he bites someone, they also become a super smart and fast zombie, but if anyone else bites anyone, they just become regular ol’ slow walking zombies.

But the cool thing about Zombie Daddy and his army is that apparently him and his army are getting smarter. Bautista and his mercenaries discover that they must sacrifice one of their crew in order for the smart zombies to let them into their territory. Oh and also, Zombie Daddy is actually about to become a zombie daddy, as his bride (!) is most definitely pregnant. Like I said, this stuff is pretty cool. Snyder is unafraid to get weird with the proceedings, but it also felt like he could have gone further with it, especially since Netflix apparently gives cartè blanche to its filmmakers.

The one thing that really surprises me though is how sub par the action is in Army of the Dead. Love him or hate him, I don’t think you can accuse Snyder of not knowing how to film an action scene. I mean, this is what the dude excels at. Now, the fight choreography is on point and all the actors and stunt performers do a great job, but it all feels so unexciting and kind of boring. Apparently Snyder was his own cinematographer this time around, and it seems this was one job too many for the director. The action feels so flat its shocking. Purely mediocre. What’s even worse is that the movie overall just doesn’t look very good, with weird focus and blurry images abound for reasons I can’t quite fathom. Normally I’m all about Snyder making weird choices, aesthetic or otherwise, but it simply does not work here.

I’m really not happy to write this, because I genuinely like Snyder’s work. He is a director who likes to make big choices, no matter the movie, and typically it’s worth watching even if the project isn’t entirely successful. Granted, I don’t think Army of the Dead is straight up terrible. It’s a great showcase for Bautista, who is getting better and better with each role, and Snyder does have fun with zombie lore thanks to Zombie Daddy, but overall the movie just doesn’t have anything to really get excited about. It’s weird, but not weird enough. There’s action, but it’s nothing to write home about. There are a lot of characters, but only one or two worth caring about. In the end, Army of the Dead is simply OK, and that sucks.