Halloween 2019: October 22nd

Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

It's hard to believe that “Zombieland” is really ten years ago. The film came along just before the peak of the public's newfound fascination with the undead. Emma Stone was an up-and-comer  well on her way to America's sweetheart status. It was Jesse Eisenberg's first big hit before his critical breakthrough in ”The Social Network” and furthered Woody Harrelson's transformation into a supporting player in blockbusters. Getting that increasingly busy cast back together seems to have been the big roadblock to making a sequel. We've been hearing about “Zombieland II” for so long, that I was confident it was never going to be made. And then last year, out of the blue, “Zombieland: Double Tap” started to move forward after nearly a decade in development hell, hitting theater screens this Halloween season.

Some time after the events of the first film, the ragtag team of Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock continue to make the best of their lives in a post-zombie apocalypse world. The quartet take up residence in an abandoned White House. Columbus and Wichita fall into a romantic relationship while Tallahassee becomes a father figure to the now-eighteen Little Rock. Bristling under this control, the girl heads off with a boy – a hippy named Berkeley – and moves across country. Wichita flees after her, also right after Columbus proposes to her. The two guys soon take pursuit. Along the way, they will make new friends, travel the country, fight a new strain of zombie, and eventually arrive at a huge hippy commune named Babylon.

Here's the facts. We know “Zombieland” was originally conceived as a television series. In the intermediate decade between films, a pilot for a serialized spin-off premiered on Amazon. It seems to me that “Zombieland: Double Tap” is largely composed of left-over ideas from these TV versions. The plot is heavily episodic. The long White House sequence feels like a stand-alone episode. So does a stop-over at the ruins of Graceland and the near-by bar of an Elvis obsessed survivor. A subsequent encounter with near doppelgangers of Columbus and Tallahasse is another premise that easily could've sustained an hour-long episode. The same could be said of Columbus' affairs with the bubble-brained blonde Madison, found surviving in a mall freezer. It's not until the last third, when the gang arrives at the Babylon commune, does the story seem to cohere into a narrative whole.

Which isn't to say “Double Tap” isn't entertaining. The road trip structure allows for a number of new characters to weave their way into the story. And some of them are truly amusing additions. Zoey Deutch is hilarious as Madison. The character isn't expanded much beyond the ditsy blonde archetype. Yet Deutch attacks her dialogue with such zeal, her character given increasingly absurd things to do and say, that she gets some of the sequel's biggest laughs. Rosario Dawson is also highly amusing as Nevada, the gunslinging Elvis fan girl of Tallehasse's dreams. This is the kind of part Dawson excels in: Sexy but tough, a determined woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to do whatever necessary to get it.

Even though it's been a decade, the returning cast steps back into these roles easily. Maybe a little too easily. One of the reasons I've never loved the original “Zombieland” the way others do, is I've always found the characters to be extra-smarmy and cartoonish. That is certainly the case here, as Tallahesse's goofy tough guy act and Columbus' obsessive list-making define the characters more than ever. Yet the actors are clearly having a ball. Harrelson still happily hams it up. Eisenberg brings a warmer side to his neurotic nerd persona. Stone is still a smokey-voiced queen of sexy sarcasm. There is a certain value in watching these characters play off each other, even if they are more cartoonish than ever before.

As with the original, “Zombieland: Double Tap” works best when playing out its absurd zombie-comedy action movie theatrics. The Zombie Kill of the Week gag from the first escalates here, until an inspired scene that uses the Leaning Tower of Piza as a weapon. A number of wacky stunts are employed, such as a monster truck facing down a crowd of super-zombies or a daring dive from a tower. Yet it does bug me slightly that the film introduces the idea of zombies that are faster, stronger, and harder to kill with little explanation. The T-800s, as they are oh-so-cutely called, are truly just a plot device to increase tension. Also, in general, I'd say “Double Tap” is not as funny or fresh as the original. The doppelganger sequence, though brilliant on paper, plays out as oddly lifeless on-screen.

Ultimately, I would rate “Zombieland: Double Tap” at about the same as the original. It's a fun time, full of goofy zombie mayhem and simple characters acting in wacky ways. I do not think it's an especially insightful, interesting, or well made example of its subgenre. I laughed, I smiled, but I doubt I'll ever feel the need to re-visit it. The film certainly seems to leave the door open for “Zombieland 3,” and the box office receipts for the sequel have been healthy, though I find it unlikely everyone will wait around another decade to make that or not. If a third film does rise from the grave eventually, hopefully it'll feel more like a movie and less like a bunch of television episodes hastily fused together. [6/10]

Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)

In the late thirties, Universal Studios would re-release “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” to great success. This prompted the studio make a new sequel, “Son of Frankenstein,” which was also very popular. From that point on, Universal was in the sequel business. As the forties went on, the studio would pump out sequel after sequel to their various monster movies. Among the least expected follow-ups was “Mystery of Marie Roget.” The film is a sequel to 1932's “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” based on Edgar Allan Poe's second Dupin mystery, though with none of the cast returning.

Set in 1889 Paris, the film concerns the disappearance of popular stage singer Marie Roget. A female corpse with a mutilated face is fished out of the river and it's widely assumed to be M. Roget. Head investigator Henri Beauvais enlists the help of Paul Dupin, the forensics specialist who previously unraveled the murders in the Rue Morgues. Marie Roget soon reappears, casting suspicion on her family. (Which includes an eccentric aunt that owns a pet leopard, more than capable of clawing off someone's face.) When Roget disappears again, the investigation heats up.

“Mystery of Marie Roget” is less of a horror movie than “Murders in the Rue Morgue.” It doesn't feature a murderous ape or a mad scientist abducting and killing prostitutes. In general, there's way less expressionistic dread, and none of the original's sense of depravity, in the sequel. The mutilated corpses are kept entirely off-screen, lessening the impact of the grisly crimes. The focus is far more on the detective work. However, that's not to say “Mystery of Marie Roget” won't satisfy those looking for some classic horror atmosphere. There are multiple scenes of characters wandering locations at night, the fog thick, the shadows heavy. The climax features a villainous strangler in a fedora and cape. A stand-out moment returns us to the Rue Morgue and has a body rising off a slab. Despite only belonging to the margins of the genre, “Mystery of Marie Roget” still gives me that classic Universal Monsters feeling that I find so pleasing.

That “Mystery of Marie Roget” features some nice, foggy atmosphere is a good thing because the movie's plot is difficult to follow. There's quite a few false leads. Roget's creepy aunt, her younger sister, and the sister's fiance are all being implement in the crime. That Marie's status, as alive or dead, varies throughout the film is a bit confusing. The police just seem to assume, if someone disappears, they must be dead. At one point, Dupin heads inside a tomb and his boss immediately fears he's about to die. The elements that are most interesting, like the pet leopard or the faceless bodies, end up being down-played in favor of characters making false confessions or cops chasing after potential suspects. By the end, I had no idea what was going on.

Though the events of “Murders in the Rue Morgue” are repeatedly mentioned, a very different mood and the lack of any returning cast members makes it hard to consider “Mystery of Marie Roget” a true sequel. However, that doesn't mean there aren't some familiar faces here. The film features two cast members from “The Wolfman.” Patric Knowles is our new Dupin, playing the part as a much more straight-laced hero than the somewhat eccentric approach Leon Ames brought to the part. Maria Ouspenskaya appears as the aunt with the pet leopard and is delightful in the role. Maria Montez, who would become a much bigger star later in the decade, appears as Marie Roget, being lively and likable in the role despite the character's uncertain alliances.

For many years, “Mystery of Marie Roget” was a somewhat rare film. It wasn't part of the waves of Universal Monsters movies released on VHS in the nineties. It wasn't included in any of the DVD box sets the studio put out in the 2000s. Bootleg copies of the film, recorded off television, circulated among fans. More recently, the film was finally released as a DVD-on-demand vault title, allowing classic horror fans a chance to finally add this one to their library. While it's not an especially good film, and only barely qualifies as a horror movie, I'm glad I finally got to see this one. It just isn't Halloween without a Universal picture. [6/10]

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Bang! You're Dead

“Alfred Hitchcock Presents” was, undoubtedly,a hugely influential show in its time. The series ran for ten seasons, totaling over three hundred episodes. The show popularized the idea of a thriller anthology series with an on-screen host. I would say it's also largely responsible for making Hitchcock a household name. Though he's association with the genre is undeniable, most of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents'” episodes more accurately belong to the crime or thriller genres. However, I thought it would be right to include the series among the shows I'm sampling this year.

Hitch himself only directed a handful of the show's episodes but one he was behind the camera for was “Bang! You're Dead,” from season seven. The episode concerns Jackie Chester, an excitable five year old boy obsessed with cowboys and playing “war.” He constantly goes around with his toy gun, pretending to shoot people. That day, his uncle Rick has returned from a military trip to Africa, promising gifts. While going through his uncle's bag, Jackie finds an actual gun and assumes it to be a toy. He proceeds to go playing through town, brandishing the loaded pistol, unaware of how deadly it is.

Out of all the episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” I selected “Bang! You're Dead” because various websites listed it among the series' most intense episodes. That seems to be a fair statement. Every time little Jackie takes the real gun out of his holster, tension starts to rise. Hitchcock often focuses on the hammer being pulled back, the trigger squeezed, the child coming very close to firing the gun. In the course of the episode, the boy points the loaded pistol at his own mother, the father of another child, a worker in a grocery store, the family maid. It's all expertly designed to make you as uneasy as possible. You figure this TV episode from 1961 probably sin't going to have a five year old child accidentally kill someone but that doesn't stop it from being a tense half-hour of television. Hitchcock's host segments are as droll as ever, even if he does emphasize that the episode is handling a serious subject. By the way, that's little Bill Mumy as Jackie. [7/10]

Critters: A New Binge: For Crites Sake

Episode six of “A New Binge” reveals a plot twist that probably would've been unexpected if the previous episode hadn't heavily foreshadowed it. Chris and his mom are taken aboard the Crite ship, where the Crite President greets them both. The boy soon learns why he's always felt different, why he's hungry all the time. Yes, our main character has been a human/Crite hybrid the entire time. While Chris considers this new knowledge, Holt is detained by the local police. Before they can figure out what the hell is up, the other two bounty hunters arrive to bust him out.

Those jokes about Chris' mom being slutty might've been mean-spirited but at least they were setting up this wacky plot twist. “For Crites Sake” has a number of decent sight gags. The Crite President speaks through a human translator and his language is amusing casual. A series of increasingly absurd reveals concerning Chris' anatomy makes for a decent life. Joey Morgan's reaction to sprouting paralyzing barbs makes for a decent laugh. I also like the implication that the bounty hunters aren't much better than the Crites, an idea that “Critters 4” tried to utilized without much success. I'm intrigued to see where this is headed, as we approach the last two episodes. [7/10]