Halloween 2022: September 25th

Prey (2022)

“Predator” became a long-running franchise despite every sequel resulting in a dead-end. “Predator 2” is a cult fave now but remains the lowest grossing entry in the series. “Predators” set-up further adventures and but only did decent box office internationally. “The Predator” was built to retrofit the series into a modern day blockbuster. Instead, it got wrecked in the editing room and under-performed. And everyone hates the “Alien Vs. Predator” duo. When Disney acquired Fox, the future of such an unsuccessful series was in question. Yet sometimes a good idea prevails. In 2019, Dan Trachtenberg was attached to a project called “Skulls.” Just as “The Basement” was eventually revealed to be “10 Cloverfield Lane,” it was soon discovered that “Skulls” was actually “Prey,” a new movie in the sci-fi/action/horror franchise. Trachtenberg's approach with the far-flung prequel might have finally broken the losing streak for “Predator” follow-ups. 

In the time before America was colonized by the white man, Naru is a young Comanche woman living on the Great Plains. She bucks tribal tradition by seeking to become a hunter, much to the consternation of her brother, Taabe. While on the hunt for a mountain lion, Naru sees signs that a greater threat is facing the tribe. She discovers French fur trappers are slaughtering the local buffalo population... And that an inhuman visitor, armed with advanced weaponry, is hunting humans and animals for sport. As the predator kills all who oppose it, Naru is soon the last person left standing against the alien hunter.

The comics, the medium where the “Predator” series has had its most consistent success, often found value in placing the alien hunters into different settings and time periods. “Prey” follows this lead but depicting what's, perhaps, the first encounter between mankind and the Yautja. Placing a story that's not too dissimilar to the original “Predator” during a time when a wild America was about to be conquered by white settlers changes the meaning of many of the franchise's trademark elements. One imagines Naru and the Predator are on similar journeys: Both are trying to prove themselves by going on hunts. The difference is that the Comanche hunt to survive, while the Predator hunts for sport. Even the image of a skinned body – in this case, a herd of hideless buffalo corpses – is a familiar visual given a new meaning here. The Predator is not responsible for these skinnings. The white man is and it's going to destroy the native population. 

“Prey” certainly pays homage to the franchise's past. A beloved line of dialogue is revisited. Mud is used prominently in the climax. Yet Trachtenberg and his team find some clever new riffs on established lore. Being set four hundred years before the first film, this Predator is slightly less advanced than the alien usually is. His cloaking technology is not as sturdy. He fires metallic bolts, instead of laser beams. He wears a skull over his face, as opposed to a metal mask. It's familiar but different. You see the strength of that writing in the script's structure as well. Not one minute of “Prey's” runtime is wasted. Everything set up in the first act, from the rope Naru adds to her tomahawk, to a bog she nearly drowns in, comes back later in the film. It's very satisfying to watch unfold.

While building a “Predator” movie around a female protagonist has led to a mild amount of bitching and moaning from the expected corners of the internet, “Prey's” star has mostly been well received. Amber Midthunder plays Naru. She makes for a compelling lead, as a young girl bucking the gender norms of the culture she's grown up in. Her unconventionality gives her the novel outlook she needs to survive this unusual experience. Yet she makes mistakes too, struggling every step of the way against cultural challenges and physical difficulty. Midthunder projects an incredible sense of strength. She also has great chemistry with the little dog who plays her best friend. He's endangered all throughout the film, which adds a great deal of grim tension to the proceedings. Yet I'll go ahead and tell you, because it stressed me out: The dog lives. He's a very good boy.

If any criticism can be leveled at “Prey,” it's that the CGI effects are not exactly up-to-snuff. The so-called Feral Predator is mostly brought to life through practical make-up effects and looks pretty cool. Yet the CGI animals he tangles with, ranging from a bear to a wolf to a snake, all look fairly artificial. The action scenes are also perhaps a little over-choreographed. The Predator has a little too much fun flipping his weapons through the air. Naru's jumps and kicks seem a little too acrobatic, for someone not trained in martial arts. Yet it's easy to forgive these flaws when the movie piles on some gnarly gore. The scene where the Predator massacres the fur trappers features some inventive bloodshed, including making novel use of the alien's telescoping shield.

Since “Prey” is a Hulu exclusive for the time being, its success can be gauge entirely in terms of fan reaction and critical response. The prequel has, in fact, been very well received, with many calling it the first good “Predator” sequel. I really wish Disney had deemed this worthy of a theatrical release. Considering its compact 65 million dollar budget, I can't imagine it wouldn't have turned a profit. Considering this R-rated franchise is under the House of Mouse now, I suppose we should be happy a new “Predator” movie got made at all... And that it actually managed to be pretty damn good too. The comic books figured out ages ago that the Predator is a sturdy monster that can reliably work in just about any scenario. It seems the movies have finally figured that out. If this leads to further films, dropping the alien hunter down into a number of exotic, historical settings, that would be a-okay by me. [7/10]

Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962)

Obviously, I think of Vincent Price, first and foremost, as a horror star. This is certainly true for the majority of cinema fans. However, Price had a fantastic career that took him across many different genres. His campy theatricality was well-suited to melodrama and comedy. His dramatic flair made him an ideal fit for villain roles in swashbucklers and epics. He even showed up in a western once or twice. Yet, after horror, Price is probably best known for his work in film noir. He was a distinctive presence in classics like "Laura," "While the City Sleeps," "The Web," "Leave Her to Heaven" and countless others. In 1962, Price's two trademark genres would cross-pollinate in a very off-beat fashion with "Confessions of an Opium Eater."

Set in 1902, Price plays Gilbert de Quincey, the descendent of "Confession of an English Opium Eater" author Thomas de Quincey. A freelance adventurer, de Quincey has come to San Francisco's Chinatown for a specific reason. Gang wars among Tong factions are tearing the community apart. Girls are being imported from China to sell at auctions – with opium as the currency – to men seeking traditional Chinese brides. Gilbert has been hired to retrieve a bride that has escaped the slavery operation, yet he soon finds himself fighting to free the kidnapped girls. His journey will take him through underground tunnels, opium dens, and into the depths of the sex trade. 

Though made long after the genre had largely fallen out of favor, “Confessions of an Opium Eater” fits clearly into the noir genre. The film begins with Vincent Price narrating on the nature of human existence, as extrapolated from the story's themes. This is just one example of the hyper-stylized dialogue on display here. He plays a perpetually unlucky hero, who spends the whole movie getting beaten up, captured, and humiliated. This ties in with a perpetually downbeat tone, the seemingly hopeful climax leading us to an unusually unexpectedly downbeat final scene. The urban setting is full of shadows. The story is typically convoluted, occupied with double-crosses and shifting alliances. Price is even at the whims of a femme fatale, in the form of a duplicitous woman named Ruby Low. Considering enough time had passed for noir conventions to pass into cliché, “Confession of an Opium Eater” almost feels like a weirdo parody of the genre at times. 

If this one is so clearly a noir throwback, why am I talking about it during the Halloween Horror-Fest Blog-a-thon? Halfway through the film, after escaping from one den of sin or another, Price walks into an opium house. He puffs on a pipe and sinks into a nightmarish opium dream. What follows is a montage of horrific images, centered around a skull emerging out of the fog and approaching ever closer. Images of snakes, ghouls, and spiders fade in and out as Price pontificates on the evils of the drugs. That pushes the film clearly into the margins of the genre for me. The movie's not done being weird after that. The effects of the opium persists through the chase that follows. This plays out in slow-mo, with two minutes of total silence followed by repetitive editing and unusual sound effects, further adding to the feeling of disorientation. Close enough for the Six Weeks of Halloween for me!

If it isn't obvious, “Confessions of an Opium Eater” is kind of an odd one. Director Albert Zugsmith – other credits include “Sex Kittens Go to College” and “Movie Star, American Style or; LSD, I Hate You” – brings some stylized shadows to the visuals, paired with shotgun editing that feels totally intentional. This is most evident during the opening action scene, where a net full of girls is dropped on a boat via the power of stop-motion photography. Albert Glasser's Theremin-heavy score provides an off-kilter ambiance. The plot includes unexpected developments, like Price earning a Chinese dwarf lady sidekick midway through the film. Or a supporting character tricking everyone with an unmoving mask and a high-pitched voice. Strangest of all, perhaps, is the decision to cast Vincent Price as an action hero. Obviously, I love Price but he seems hopelessly out-of-place dueling a vicious Tong enforcer with an axe on a board over a stream. Or swinging a flail at guys who look like sprites from a “Double Dragon” game. He's much more adapt at trading the movie's stylized, often circular dialogue.

By the way, the movie's racial politics do not hold up to modern, sensitive scrutiny. Almost all the Chinese characters are either helpless damsels, scheming human traffickers, or bumbling comic relief. (Though the movie gets points, I guess, for casting actual Asian actors in the parts.) There's a scene where girls from different cultures perform sexy dances for the buyers, a moment dripping in exoticism. When combined with its off-putting, weird choices and a plot that's often hard-to-follow, it's not surprising this one has largely been dismissed. Yet those same eccentricities have attracted a few fans. Joe Dante lists it as one of his favorite movies. Its story of a smart-ass hero, bumbling through underground tunnels and Chinese crime lords, seems like a likely influence on “Big Trouble in Little China.” I came away liking this one for its oddball tendencies, even if it's mid-tier Price at best. Though any of his monologues here would make a great sample for a goth-rock/industrial track... [7/10]

Creepshow: Drug Traffic / A Dead Girl Named Sue

“Creepshow” gets about ten minutes longer than usual for its season finale. “Drug Traffic” is about Evan Miller, a presidential candidate who takes U.S. citizens across the Canadian border to make a point about U.S. healthcare. (And as a publicity stunt.) On the bus is an Asian-American woman with a very sick daughter, who is detained for the massive amounts of pills she's smuggling. Miller and the die-hard communist border guard soon discover why she needs the pills: Her daughter is a demon from Malay mythology. “A Dead Girl Named Sue” takes place in 1968. It begins with Police Chief Foster attempting to calm a vigilante mob, enraged by the actions of the mayor's psychopathic son. Recent events in the town – revealing that this segment is a prequel to a horror classic – changes Foster's minds on how to deliver justice. 

I'm always a fan of building a story around myths from underrepresented cultures. The creature in “Drug Traffic” is what I've always heard call a penanggalan, though it has different names depending on where you are. The exact nature of the entity varies but it's most consistently depicted as a young woman whose head detaches from her body, her entrails trailing under her neck, and floats around in pursuit of blood. It's a visually spectacular beast, even if it stretches “Creepshow's” effects budget to its limit. I wish the penanggalan myth had anything to do with “Drug Traffic's” political angle. Casting Michael Rooker against type as a communist is a nice touch. Yet, by the time he's talking out the episode's political agenda with Miller – which boils down to “politicians don't give a shit about the people who vote for them” – the script has officially crossed over into ham-fisted territory. Truthfully, this one would've been stronger if the political angle was downgraded from text to subtext.

The homage episodes in “Creepshow” have mostly sucked, especially this season. “A Dead Girl Named Sue” isn't bad though. The script doesn't foreground that this story takes place parallel to a landmark horror film. Any Shudder subscriber will pick up on it quickly – the date and black-and-white photography is a big clue – but the episode doesn't shove your face in it. It helps that the plot stands alone. The premise of a by-the-book cop finally reaching his breaking point, when dealing with a total son-of-bitch, is conveyed well enough. Christian Gonzalez and Josh Mikel are strong in those roles. The script is too dialogue heavy. I wish the final reveal, which includes a burst of color in this monochrome setting, was set up better. Yet it's a clever idea that's executed in a sturdy manner. A decent way to wrap up a season that has featured the best and worst episodes of the show thus far. [Drug Traffic: 6/10 / A Dead Girl Named Sue: 7/10]

Chucky: Cape Queer

“Chucky” is at the inevitable point all these serialized shows reach, where episodes are just made up of juggling various plot lines. Junior's mom reveals her cancer diagnosis to her family, right before Chucky kills her. This makes it apparent to Jake, Lexy, and Devon that the murderous doll is still at large. Jake and Devon get closer while preparing themselves for their next confrontation. They also get a hold of Andy Barclay, the little boy from the original “Child's Play,” and Kyle, his adoptive sister from the sequel. Those two have been traveling the country, searching for the additional Chucky dolls from “Cult.” And else where, Tiffany purchases Charles Lee Ray's childhood home in Hackensack after discovering Nica has regained control of her body.

It took way too long for Jake, Devon, and Lexy to start working together as a team. Now that the trio is together, their dynamic is really working for me. Jake and Devon are adorable together. The scene where Devon comes out to is mom is really cute. So is the scene where the two boys bond over their love of horror movies. I'm okay with blatant references, like Devon name-dropping Jamie Lee Curtis, when it tells us more about these characters and their worlds. The three preparing to fight off Chucky is also a blatant homage, to Scorsese's “Cape Fear.” Yet watching these three interact is simply fun. 

It's a shame nobody can figure out how to write a slasher TV series that doesn't eventually degrade into soap opera-ish digressions. While it's possible Junior and his dad might still make a meaningful contribution to the overarching plot – though I'm doubtful – his mom really was introduced just to be killed off. (Though the biology teacher being framed for the principal's death may be an even more worthless subplot.) At least she gets a fairly spectacular death scene, Chucky pushing her out a window and right into a car windshield. That's not the only victim the doll claims in this one, though the second death at least has the sense to occur in the middle of an otherwise tense confrontation.

I do feel sorry for Jennifer Tilly, always having the time of her life in this role, and Fiona Dourif, honestly a quite subtle and talented performer. Presumably, their storyline will interact with the rest of the show at some point. Right now, it's not much more than fan service. The same can be said for Alex Vincent and Christine Elise, as Andy and Kyle. I like the insight that Andy has actually gotten quite sadistic, when it comes to Chucky, the years of torment the doll put him through having an effect on his sanity. Yet it's so frustrating to have these characters weave in-and-out of the episodes, essentially just to remind the viewer they still exist, on their way to actually doing something of importance. That's why movies are the superior medium to television. All killer, no filler, baby. Anyway, this show remains pretty good when it's not fucking around. [6/10]