Halloween 2017: October 6

The Belko Experiment (2017)

Consider the career of James Gunn. He began as a supporting player in the Troma factory. He, somehow, parlayed that into a successful career as a screenwriter on big-ish movies like “Scooby-Doo” and the “Dawn of the Dead” remake. He used this as a springboard to direct two amazing, idiosyncratic movies. “Slither” and “Super” immediately attracted cult followings but didn't make much money at the box office. At that point, Gunn was plucked out of the weird movie underground to direct a massive Marvel superhero flick. And then he made an equally huge sequel. Somewhere in there, Gunn wrote a brutal horror/comedy screenplay called “The Belko Experiment.” While Gunn was initially attached to direct “The Belko Experiment,” he eventually passed the script onto Greg McLean instead.

In rural Columbia stands an office building for the Belko Corporation. What Belko makes, and what its employees do, is unimportant. Aside from some new security guards outside, it seems like a normal day. Mike flirts with Leandra, his girlfriend. She avoids creepy come-ons from executive Wendell while COO Barry tries to keep everyone motivated. The normal day is interrupted when steel barriers seal the doors and windows. A voice, from the sound system, instructs the employees to begin killing each other. If they fail to do this, many more of them will die, via explosive implants all the employees had inserted inside them when they got the job. Blood soon begins to flow, the Belko employees forced to take part in a sadistic experiment.

If there's one theme connecting Greg McLean's films, as far as I can see, it's this one. People may be good, bad, or whatever but the natural world is cruel and pitiless. And predators will always hunt prey. Going into “The Belko Experiment,” I was expecting a gory horror riff on office politics. There's some of that, such as when Wendell's creepy microaggressions become outright aggression once the experiment starts. Or how the team leader quickly begins to decide who will live and who will die. However, “The Belko Experiment” is mostly concerned with saying some pretty grim things about human nature. The way the employees coldly, practically decide to start executing each other is chilling. Watching it, you can't help but think of Nazi soldiers compliant in murdering Jew. Or the men who calmly participated in atrocities in Bosnia or Rwanda. All along, McLean's philosophy – that those with power will instinctively prey on those they perceive as weak – informs the story. It's pretty heavy stuff for a mid-budget horror picture.

Matched with the heavier thematic concerns are some extremely intense sequences of gore. The most disturbing of which occur with the most distance. After casually deciding who will live and who will die, Barry lines people up against the wall. He executives them, one by one, the gunshots splattering blood like clockwork. These are not the sole source of exploding heads. The first time one of the cranial implants go off, the audience in shocked. As it happens repeatedly, the carnage almost takes on a comedic element. Yet, whenever things get too funny, “The Belko Experiment” snaps us back with another cruel moment. Such as a supporting character being senselessly killed. Or a woman having her neck brutally snapped. Or an axe reducing a man's head to bloody pulp. McLean's strength for creating disturbing, explicit gore comes back in a big way following the tame “The Darkness.”

That constant back-and-forth between dark comedy and deeply unnerving violence create a seesawing tone. And it must be on purpose. I suspect much of the comedy is directly from Gunn's original script. One of the office employees, a stoner, goes on paranoid rants about the drinking water. Goofy scenes like that directly collide with sickening gore. After several people are graphically hacked to death in a bathroom, the film lingers on the “please keep bathrooms clean” sign attached to the door. Several of the violent scenes are scored to upbeat pop songs. Instead of relieving the film's grim atmosphere, it actually disturbs the audience more. Should we be laughing or cringing? Or, as I suspect, are we supposed to do both at the same time?

Further proof that “The Belko Experiment” is as much Gunn's film as McLean's is the cast. Several of Gunn's regular players appear. His brother, Sean, hilariously plays the aforementioned stoner. Michael Rooker appears as a burly mechanic. Amusingly, Rooker – who frequently plays psychos and tough guys – ends up exiting the film before the violence really starts. Gregg Henry also has a key role, revealed near the end. It's nice to see these guys again but the other players leave bigger impressions. Tony Goldwyn is really frightening as Barry, playing a character who becomes a mass-murderer all too quickly for reasons that chillingly make sense to him. John Gallagher Jr. is convincing as Mike, the film's anti-hero, who does what he can to stick to his morals. John C. McGinley, meanwhile, plays up his unhinged elements as Wendell, who ends up taking too much glee in the mayhem he participates in.

“The Belko Experiment” has drawn comparisons to “Battle Royale,” which I'm sure Gunn was aware of. Like that film, it's easy to imagine yourself in the fictional scenario, wondering how you would react. Maybe that's why “The Belko Experiment” ends up being so disturbing. The film's carnage is graphic, over-the-top, and sometimes even absurd. It's also seems far too plausible. This unnerving combination of tones makes “The Belko Experiment” an uneasy watch. It's certainly not a crowd-pleasing horror picture, which might explain its modest box office takes. The marriage of McLean and Gunn may be a distressing one but it's certainly not a movie that I'll forget anytime soon. [7/10]

The Curse of the Cat People (1944)

Val Lewton was fond of creating vague connections between his films. The psychologist from “Cat People” is a main character in “The 7th Victim.” The island from “I Walked with a Zombie” is referenced in “The Ghost Ship.” Yet the producer only ever made one direct sequel... Sort of. Due to the huge success of “Cat People,” Lewton's RKO overlords demanded a sequel. Lewton kept some of the characters but otherwise wrote a film heavily inspired by his own childhood – more of a melancholy drama with light fantasy elements then a proper horror movie – that pointedly did not feature any actual cat people. RKO still insisted on marketing it as a horror film, leading to poor box office. Like all of Lewton's production, over time, “The Curse of the Cat People's” reputation has grown. Many considered it the producer's best work. In 2010, the Moving Arts Film Journal even ranked in one of the greatest films ever made.

Quite a few years have passed since the events of “Cat People.” Oliver married Alice. Not long afterwards, they welcomed their daughter Amy into the world. Now Amy is six years old. Oliver is concerned about Amy having so few friends, that she spends too much time in her own head. Secretly, he fears that Amy has inherited something from Irena, the cat woman he once loved. After befriending an eccentric old woman, and receiving a magical wishing ring, Amy begins to have visions of Irena. The ghostly figure becomes her secret friend and the two spend a lot of time together. However, danger lurks in the town, in the form of the old woman's jealous daughter.

“The Curse of the Cat People” may very well be one of the best films ever made about childhood.  Amy lives in a secret world that is strange and confusing to her parents. Sometimes, even other children don't understand. A boy her age accidentally kills a butterfly Amy considered her friend, enraging the girl. That she relates more easily to an old woman, rather than kids her own age, isn't surprising. Amy accepts the ghost of Irena at face value. It's a perfect, beautiful friendship based in simple, intuitive understanding. As it typical of Lewton's films, whether Irena is literally a ghost or simply a figment of Amy's imagination is left ambiguous. Clarification isn't needed. Amy's world – the innocent world of a child, seeing and feeling things adults have forgotten – is one naturally full of wonder.

It's also a world of loneliness and, occasionally, fear. The same special qualities that allow Amy to see Irena also alienates her from other people. Including her father. Oliver's concern for his daughter is parental and sincere but ultimately misguided. His insistence that she spends less time daydreaming ends up pushing his daughter further into her fantasy world. “Curse of the Cat People” is set in Tarrytown, near-by where Val Lewton actually grew up. Befitting the setting, Ms. Farren tells Amy the story of the Headless Horseman. Though she's fine at the time, Amy's dreams are haunted by the tale. Later, while crossing a snowy bridge, she believes she hears the Horseman behind her, forcing the girl to hid. This preludes a frightening encounter with the old woman's daughter, whose resentment to the little girl quickly veers towards the deadly. And yet the child's ability to forgive and love unconditionally is what ends up saving Amy's lives in the last act.

Building a childhood fable about friendship around a psychological horror movie like “Cat People” may seem like an especially odd decision. When looking at Simon Simone as Irene, it makes more sense. The same uncanny quality that made Simone ideal for a cursed young woman also makes her a fine choice for a ghostly, imaginary friend. Simone, always dressed in a sparkling gown, projects a loving and innocent glow. Child actor Ann Carter is perfectly cast as Amy. Despite being seven at the time, it's a well-rounded performance, serious-minded and full of surprising nuance. Also returning from the original film is Kent Smith and Jane Randolph. Their new roles as parents allow both to reach new depths, both bringing new warmth to their roles. Julia Dean is also well utilized as Mrs. Farron.

“Curse of the Cat People” is probably not the most seasonally appropriate viewing for the Six Weeks of Halloween. The film begins during autumn but most of the second half is set during the winter. A key scene occurs on Christmas, Amy handing out gifts around the tree. Then again, “Curse of the Cat People” isn't really a horror movie either. The film is haunting in an entirely different sort of way, playing out as a touching and eerie story about the secret inner world children inhabit. Beautifully acted and directed by Robert Wise, who replaced Gunther von Fritsch after eighteen days, the film is easily my favorite of the pictures Val Lewton produced. [9/10]

Fear Itself: Family Man

The third episode of “Fear Itself,” “Family Man,” is directed by Ronny Yu. Yu may not exactly be a master of horror but he did make the wildly entertaining “Bride of Chucky” and “Freddy vs. Jason,” which counts for something. The episode follows Dennis Mahoney, a hard-working, church-going father of two beloved by his wife and kids. On the way to work one morning, his car is struck. Dennis is in the emergency room at the same time as Richard Brautigan. Brautigan is a vicious serial killer, notorious for murdering whole families. Somehow, while in the hospital, Dennis and Richard's souls switch bodies. Now, the innocent Dennis is in the body of a killer recently arrested for a brutal crime. The killer, meanwhile, is at home with Mahoney's family.

A horror spin on the body swap premise is an interesting idea. “Family Man” actually explores the premise more fully than expected. Upon awaking in Mahoney's body, Brautigan doesn't immediately get back to his old tricks. He tries to play the role of the devoted father, to live a good life. It's interesting to see a totally amoral serial killer attempting to go straight, as it were. Mahoney, while in the killer's body, begins to pick up on some of Brautigan's cruelty and tolerance for pain. The suggestion that environment plays a large role in how each man acts is one worth exploring. Naturally, the family man's homicidal rage begins to show itself but the build-up is decent. Colin Ferguson and Clifton Collins Jr. are both very good in the two roles. It's especially entertaining to see Ferguson, usually cast in cuddlier parts, play a man barely concealing his murderous desires.

As a Ronny Yu film, you can see some of his trademarks in “Family Man.” A final fight between Ferguson and Collins is surprisingly elaborate and brutal. There's even a pretty cool gore gag, of Ferguson yanking a knife from his chest. There's definitely some elements of “Family Man” that don't add up. A dream sequence, where the daughter sings a sinister nursery rhyme, is seriously cheesy. A bunch of religious symbolism is thrown in and none of it adds up. A twist ending is super dumb and needlessly cruel. However, a premise with some actual meat on its bones, strong lead performances, and some color direction makes this the first episode of “Fear Itself” actually worth seeing. [6/10]

Wolf Creek: Kutyukutyu

A reason a lot of genre television leaves me cold is the problem of extending a story over twenty-six hours that could easily be told in half that time. Considering “Wolf Creek's” first season was only six episodes long, I was hoping it wouldn't have this problem. However, the second episode, “Kutyukutyu,” seems to be about delaying the inevitable confrontation between Eve and Mick Taylor for as long as possible. By following leads, the girl comes to the titular town. She immediately backends a cop, who discovers some pot in the van left there by the previous owner. While in prison, she meets Johnny, an unsavory fellow who may know something about the man she seeks. After escaping prison, Eve tracks her cellmate down. She only manages to risk her own life further. Meanwhile, in the outback, Mick bides his time.

Granted, some of the adventures Eve has on the road are kind of entertaining. She acquires a dog, a yellow mutt leaping into her van and refusing to leave. After being accosted by some sleazeballs at a gas station, she's rescued by another woman, a Maori truck driver. I especially like the scene of those two talking. When the driver asks Eve why she's hunting this man, the girl doesn't answer but the older woman understands perfectly. I like Johnny's ascertain that, since Eve and Taylor Swift are both Americans, they both must be able to sing well. I guess all nationalities are equally stereotyped abroad. Some of the other scenes are less compelling. Eve meeting back up with the detective in charge of her case, running from the small town cops, or being chased by Sullivan and his goons feel like narrative wheel-spinning. Lucy Fry remains a compelling performer but I hope the series doesn't waste too much more time.

Mick Taylor's side of the story has even less going on but somehow remains more entertaining. The episode largely shows how Mick resists the temptation to randomly murder people all day. During his day job, of killing pest animals like kangaroos and pigs, he considers shooting a passing motorists before changing his mind. At night, by the Wolf Creek Crater, he attempts to pick up several tourists having motor problems. This is the exact same scheme he used in the original movie. However, this time, a group of guys with more equipment and a fancier vehicle show up, actually helping the tourists. Once again, Mick considers the option of killing but decides against it. “Kutyukutyu” shows Mick Taylor in a state of serial killer blue balls. He's eager to perform his favorite hobby but something keeps inconveniencing him. Which is kind of funny.

Speaking of kind of funny: This episode also contains a cute reference to McLean's “Rogue” in the form of a newspaper headline. “Wolf Creek” is still holding my attention but hopefully the next four episodes are a little more active. [6/10]

Halloween 2017: October 5

The Ghost Ship (1943)

In-between his most famous movies and before his popular collaborations with Boris Karloff, Val Lewton would make “The Ghost Ship.” This alone might seem like the reason why it's probably Lewton's most overlooked film. Turns out there's an even better reason. After “The Ghost Ship” was released, playwrights Samuel R. Golding and Norbert Faulkner sued Lewton and RKO. The duo claimed the film ripped off a script they submitted to the producer. Because of this lawsuit, the film was pulled from theaters halfway through a successful run. Due to the legal entanglements, the film remained unavailable for nearly fifty years. “The Ghost Ship” didn't go back into print until it fell into the public domain in the late nineties. Since then, it's been as widely available alongside Lewton's other movies.

Despite the title, “The Ghost Ship” features no supernatural elements. Truthfully, it's more of a psychological thriller than a proper horror film. The plot concerns Tom Merriam. A professional sailor, he joins the crew of the merchant vessel, the Altair, as the third officer. At first, Tom feels welcomed by the ship's captain, Will Stone. However, Merriam quickly begins to notice Stone is slightly unhinged. When a crew member disrespects him, Stone locks the man in the chain locker, where he is crushed to death. Afterwards, Tom starts to believe the captain has gone mad with power. Other crew members begin to disappear as Tom comes closer and closer to exposing Captain Stone as a murder and a madman.

“The Ghost Ship” would be Val Lewton's second collaboration with director Mark Robson. Robson continues the shadowy visual style he displayed on “The 7th Victim.” The interior of the ship are often bathed in darkness, the men glaring from darkened corners and rooms. To this already umbrageous visual palette, Robson adds an extra layer of good old fashion fog. The opening credits show the ship emerging out of the fog. This further emphasizes the desolate, isolated, seafaring setting. “The Ghost Ship's” direction makes a story full of ominous events – a blind man realizing Tom is a sailor from the sound of his boots, the baleful narration of a mute helmsman – seem even more eerie.

So the Altair isn't haunted by ghosts. Instead, the ship is haunted by a power mad captain. The film explores themes of authority and corruption. Captain Stone seems like an orderly, reasonable man at first. However, it's quickly revealed that he's obsessed with his own responsibilities as captain. He considers himself an unquestionable leader on the ship, that he has the right to decide whether his crew lives or dies. Made two years before the end of World War II, “The Ghost Ship” daringly suggest that not all men are psychologically prepared to be leaders. The film stops just short of saying that any position of authority will make men evil. Throughout the film, Tom Merriam's belief in the inherent goodness of man remains. His encounter with the psychotic Captain Stone shakes, but doesn't break, this certainty. Even then, “The Ghost Ship's” conclusions about human nature seem relatively grim.

Part of what makes “The Ghost Ship” so successful is its cast. As Captain Stone, Richard Dix is extremely well cast. In his earlier scenes, Dix plays the Captain as a genuinely nice guy. The way he slowly reveals the cracks in the man's personality are effectively subtle. You believe that Captain Stone is both beloved by his crew but also a dangerous psychopath. He's even afraid of his own instability, in a scene where he confesses his fears to the standard Val Lewton love interest. Ultimately though, he's a figure of fear, especially in the last act when he becomes especially violent. Russell Wade is a solid hero as Tom Merriam, a man trying to stay reasonable in an unreasonable world. Character actor Skelton Knaggs is perfectly cast as Finn, the mute who observes the events. His distinctive face and clear eyes keep the silent man expressive. Also look out for a young Lawrence Tierney as the man who meets his fate in the chain locker.

“The Ghost Ship” is another RKO thriller helped by knowing as little as possible about it going in. As long as you don't expect an actual ghost story, you'll enjoy it as a moody thriller with some heavier themes on its mind then you'd think. Seems like the fewer expectations I have for these films – the less hype they receive as all-time great horror classics – the more I end up enjoying them. Strong performances, ambitious writing, and moody direction make “The Ghost Ship” a chilly and effective pseudo-noir flick, fit for October despite its down-to-Earth story. [7/10]

The Darkness (2016)

I vaguely recall seeing the trailers and poster for “The Darkness” last year. I dismissed the film as another PG-13 ghost movie. You know what I mean. I'm talking about the mid-tier haunting flicks that started to flood theaters after the success of “Insidious” and “The Conjuring.” They're full of jump scares, lame CGI, lazy scripts, and B-list character actors. It's not the kind of horror that interest me. When I looked up the movie, I was not surprised to see it was produced by Blumhouse, a studio that practically specializes in disposable stuff like this. What did surprise me was Greg McLean's directing credit. None of his previous horror films dealt with supernatural topics. Moreover, this kind of soft and cuddly horror seemed uncharacteristic of the director of “Wolf Creek.” All I can figure is that McLean either wanted to try his hand at the most currently mainstream form of the genre or he just really needed the paycheck.

The Taylors head out on a family trip to the Arizona desert. While dad Peter and mom Bronny chill by the grill, and oldest sister Stephanie flirts with a cute boy, youngest son Michael wanders off. He falls through the ground into a hidden cavern. There, he recovers five stones with strange symbols carved onto them. Upon returning home, Michael begins to act strangely. His parents first chalk this up to his autism. Eventually, his behavior becomes too disturbing to ignore. Other odd things begin to happen around the house. It becomes apparent that the stones Michael brought home unleashed an ancient evil, a primordial darkness, that threatens to claim the entire family.

There's really only one interesting thing about “The Darkness.” Even before the dark spirits come into their lives, the Taylor family is having some problems. Dad is considering cheating on his wife with his pretty new assistant. Mom has a drinking problem lurking in her past, threatening to relapse. Stephanie is bulimic, something she hides. Michael's autism makes him prone to emotional outbursts. Naturally, a paranormal incident only causes the seams in the family's perfect suburban dream to show more. Instead of using the shadowy spirits as a symbol of the family's greater discontent, this is just a simple character arc. The Taylors will overcome their challenges by the story's end, the haunting ultimately bringing them closer together. I'll give credits where its due. At least Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell, as the parents, managed to make their characters seem natural and lived-in.

The actual horror content in “The Darkness” leaves much to be desired. The film does indeed feature its share of obnoxious jump scares. Someone stepping suddenly into frame or a snake appearing on a table are always accompanied by a loud noise on the soundtrack. For most of the run time, the supernatural activity is almost quaint. Yes, we get ominous nightmares and shadowy arms reaching out of walls. A garage door opening on its own, pictures falling off walls or muddy footprints are less intimidating. Even a wall catching on fire or dog attack are totally void of frightening power. In the last half-hour, “The Darkness” partakes in some seriously unimpressive CGI shenanigans. Glass flies around, dowsing rods become red hot, lightning sparks from the walls, and spooky shadow portals appear in walls. It's deeply pedestrian and totally lacks the ferocious power seen in McLean's other films.

In addition to featuring hackneyed hauntings, “The Darkness” happily embraces cliches I thought were long out of vogue. The film is awash in Indian mysticism. The evil spirits originate in Hopi and Anasazi beliefs. Hopi mythology is actually really fascinating but “The Darkness” discards that in favor of typical Hollywood Magical Indian shenanigans. An ethnic wise woman is recruited to cleanse the house. The wise woman – who isn't even American Indian but Latina instead – doesn't do much to save the day, making me wonder why the writers drug out such a hoary cliche. Aside from that, the film's treatment of autism is less than sensitive. The condition is portrayed as a disease that makes a kid alternatively weird, creepy, or magical. The script's cluelessness peaks when characters watch a supernatural documentary on Youtube to help understand their situation. That has got to be the most hilariously lazy way to get the exposition out that I've seen recently.

Greg McLean apparently contributed to “The Darkness'” screenplay, though you'll be hard pressed to notice any of his trademarks. About the only thing linking this movie to the director's other work is the totally bullshit claim that it's based on a true story. “The Darkness” resembles the “Poltergeist” remake more than “Wolf Creek.” It fails as a horror film, as there's only one spooky moment, when the mom notices a shadowy figure in the background of a family photo. The film came and went from the box office, receiving highly negative reviews. However, because Blumhouse keep their products modestly budgeted, it still managed to turn a decent profit. So it's nice that this shitty movie provided McLean, Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, and Ming-Na with decent paydays. [4/10]

Fear Itself: Spooked

Of the thirteen directors who worked on “Fear Itself,” five of them returned from “Masters of Horror.” Among them was Brad Anderson. His “Sounds Like” was one of the best episodes of the previous series. His “Fear Itself” contribution, “Spooked,” is not up to that standard. The episode revolves around Harry Seigal. Seigal is a police officer notorious for roughing people up. While attempting to locate a kidnapped child, Seigal ends up killing a connected criminal. This gets him tossed off the force. Fifteen years later, he's working as a private investigator. Seigal takes what he thinks is going to be another standard job, spying on a cheating husband. He stakes out an abandoned house across the street from the husband's residence. Inside the home, strange things begin to happen. Harry discovers the house is haunted and determined to make him suffer for his sins.

Anderson's films, including “Sounds Like,” tend to veer towards the more psychological side of horror. This is a director who turned a standard haunting asylum premise into a chilling examination of the darkness inside the human soul. With “Spooked,” however, he's dealing with far more pedestrian horror elements. A prominent feature in the haunted house are paintings of four figures on the wall, above a pentagram. As the story goes on, the faces change. He hears his victims talking about over his radio. Eventually, the spectre of the dead man appear to him. None of these scenes are particularly scary. In fact, they often veer towards the incredibly hokey. The effects are cheesy and the more overt ghostly elements are melodramatically presented.

The first half of “Spooked” repeatedly draws attention to what a scumbag Harry Seigal is. As a cop, he wildly abused his power and frequently beat and tortured people for no reason. The incredibly busy Eric Roberts sleazes it up as Seigal. Roberts makes the cop as greasy and grouchy as possible. If “Spooked” was operating in an E.C. Comics mode, about bad people getting their just desserts, maybe this would've worked. Instead, the script tries to make Seigal sympathetic. Through a seriously histrionic flashback, we see he had a tragic childhood. Eventually, we discovered he's been manipulated, into becoming a sacrifice for the evil spirits behind the house. By this point, it's too little, too late. Harry is too much of a douchebag for the audience to buy a tragic or redemptive arc.

About the only effective moment in “Spooked” is a rather nonsensical scene involving a man replacing his knocked-out teeth with bullet casings. Otherwise, it's another weak “Fear Itself” episode. [4/10]

Wolf Creek: Billabong

Over the last decade or so, television has become an unexpected but reliable home for the horror genre. I guess you can chalk that up to the success of “The Walking Dead.” A popular tactic has been to adapt horror films into TV shows. This is how we've gotten on-going series based off unlikely candidates like “Hannibal,” “Scream,” “The Exorcist,” and “Evil Dead.” Among these horror-movies-turned-horror-shows is “Wolf Creek.” If you didn't know a television adaptation of Greg McLean's film existed, don't feel bad. The show aired on an Australian web streaming service last year, with its only exposure stateside being some obscure cable network called Pop. (No, I haven't heard of it either.) Considering I'm watching everything else McLean has directed during the Six Weeks, and its only six episodes long, I figured I might as well give “Wolf Creek: The Series” a look.

The Thorogood is an American family of four, vacationing in the Australian outback.  This isn't a typical getaway. Instead, the family has journeyed to the country specifically to help teenage daughter, Eve, get over a prescription pill addition. During a stop by a scenic billabong, Eve's little brother is almost eaten by a crocodile. The boy is rescued by Mick Taylor. Grateful, the family lets Mick sit around the fire with them, drinking a beer. Eve, following a fight with her dad, hides inside the R.V. That's when Mick brutally murders her father, mother, and brother. She gets shot in the back but survives. After being released from the hospital, Eve becomes obsessed with getting revenge the man who killed her family.

When I first heard there was a “Wolf Creek” TV show, I wondered how such a notoriously gory film series could be adapted to television. Now that I know the series aired on an Australian equivalent to Netflix, I realize this wasn't a concern. “Billabong,” the show's first episode, is just as brutal as the films that spawned it. When Mick Taylor unleashes his violent side, no punches are pulled. He slashes the dad's throat and tosses a knife into the mom's face. The camera doesn't even look away when he turns his rifle on the little brother. It's a startling, vicious moment. The episode even indulges in some of the sequel's dark humor. Mick's reaction to a woman performing yoga alongside a desert road is one of amusing bafflement. We even get a brief glimpse into the killer's personal life, when we see him return to his lair. John Jarratt remains as oddly charismatic in the part as ever.

Mick is only partially the focus of “Billabong” though. Most of the episode revolves around Eve. She is, as you'd expect, traumatized by her family being brutally slain by a serial killer. At first, she is numbed by the pain. Later, the scars begin to show. She's afraid of being left alone. She begins to see Mick's truck everywhere. Any man in a hat reminds her of the killer. A cop, who suspects the same man who killed Eve's family is responsible for dozens of disappearance, tries to help. Ultimately, she has to go beyond the law. Lucy Fry, reappearing from McLean's “The Darkness,” is fantastic in the part. She's dry and sardonic yet clearly shows the trauma Eve is feeling inside. Over all, “Wolf Creek” is off to a pretty good start. [7/10]

Halloween 2017: October 4

Wolf Creek 2 (2013)

Greg McLean had the chance to make “Wolf Creek 2” immediately after the first film's international success. Instead, he decided to focus on “Rogue.” Following that film's underwhelming box office performance, suddenly a sequel to his first big hit was a very attractive possibility. But eight years had passed, which is a very long time in the world of quickie horror sequels. Securing the funds to make “Wolf Creek 2” was a bit of a hassle. A major producer pulled out just before production was supposed to start. Obviously, the movie got made. The reviews were just as mixed as the first one but the film must've made money, as McLean has been steadily working ever since.

Some time has passed since the events of the first “Wolf Creek.” Mick Taylor's reign of terror over the Australian outback continues uninterrupted. Using his all-terrain truck and operating out of an underground lair, the serial killer continues to claim new victims. Such as Rutger and Katarina, a pair of German tourist backpacking across Australia. After Rutger falls to Mick's knife, Katarina is rescued by Paul, an English traveler. However, the reprieve is short-lived. Soon, Paul is also being stalked by Mick. Afterwards, a perverse game of cat and mouse begins between the killer and the good samaritan.

Before creating “Wolf Creek 2,” Greg McLean took some lessons from other horror sequels. Like “Evil Dead 2” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2,” he follows up a gritty horror picture with a gore-heavy flick that frequently veers towards the absurd. As in “The Devil's Rejects,” he realized the vicious serial killer was the most interesting character in the first movie and more-or-less makes him the protagonist of the sequel. Within the opening minutes of “Wolf Creek 2,” Mick Taylor turns his wrath on a pair of smarmy, asshole cops. From this point on, he becomes an odd antihero. Yes, he's still an unrepentant monster who murders without reason. (The film also suggests he's become a cannibal as well.) Yet John Jarrat's performance is undeniably charismatic. He brings such joy to Mick, as he goes about his grisly business. You're entertain by the guy, even if you can't bring yourself to necessarily like him. The sequel hinges on an obvious conclusion: If Mick wasn't a sadistic murderer, he'd probably be a lot of fun to hang out with.

The original “Wolf Creek” was already a really violent movie, though that was more due to its nihilistic atmosphere than its special effects. The sequel double-down on the gore in an interesting way. There's a lot more of it. Mick decapitates a guy in clear view before dismembering and gutting his body. More than once, Mick blows people's heads off with his rifle. Yet McLean exaggerates the violence in a comedic way. After a cop's head is exploded, his tongue flops around ridiculously. While trimming Rutger's body, much the way a butcher would with a pig, Mick dryly comments on the dead man's, um, equipment. A vehicular chase scene reaches its full absurdist potential when a mob of kangaroos amble onto the road, Mick dealing directly with the animals. McLean often scores the stalking scenes to classical music, making them feel like ridiculous ballets.

A radical change in tone like this serves the sequel well. “Wolf Creek 2's” shift towards pitch-black comedy is crystallized in its last act. After taking Paul back to his secret base, it seems like the sequel is going to reprise the torture theatrics of the original. Instead, Paul sings an Australian novelty song, Mick starting to sing along after a brief moment of bafflement. The killer then decides he sort of likes his potential victim. He asks him trivia questions about Australian history and popular culture. If Paul gets an answer wrong, Mick grinds a finger off with a sander. It's a ridiculous but deeply funny situation, showing the killer almost becoming cordial in-between bouts of cold-blooded torture. There's even a potential element of satire here, an insane Aussie punishing a modern Brit for the crown's past misdeeds. (I certainly had never heard the term “pommie” so much before this seeing this movie.) With this plot turn, “Wolf Creek 2” had completely won me over.

The film is clearly John Jarret's show, as his wildly entertaining performance dominates the film. Yet the rest of the cast is pretty good too. Making Mick's first two victims in the film German immigrants was an obvious reference to the Backpacker Murders that inspired the film. It also means long stretches of the movie are in subtitled German, an interesting choice. Philippe Klaus and Shannon Ashlyn are likable, showing a genuine chemistry with each other. Ryan Corr is even better as Paul, a man perpetually at the end of his wits when faced with an increasingly extreme situation.

Building a comedic sequel to a film with as much sexual violence and visual agony as “Wolf Creek” might've been in questionable taste. Mick Taylor is most definitely not the kind of character we should be sympathizing with. Yet that perverse sense of humor makes the movie's more intense moments of gore go down much more smoothly. Ultimately, this balance of tone makes me like “Wolf Creek 2” way more than I like the original. The film is a rather brilliant, if extremely dark, horror/comedy that might be overlooked due to the original's grimness. Give it a look, if you've got the stomach for it. And, hey, you might even learn a little about Australian history! [8/10]

The Seventh Victim ((1943)

When I think of cinematic Satanists, my mind drifts towards the films of the seventies. Following the success of “Rosemary's Baby,” “The Exorcist,” and “The Omen,” an entire subgenre of Satanism movies were born. The Devil and all his Earthly minions became a regular presence on theater screens. Yet devil-worshipers on-screen have a much older lineage than that. You can trace the trend through sixties and fifties films like “Curse of the Demon” and “The Devil Rides Out.” There's even older example, such as “The 7th Victim.” Originally about a serial killer, Val Lewton and screenwriter DeWitt Bodeen completely rewrote the script. Upon release, it was not as well-received as Lewton's earlier movies. In the decades since, it has emerged as maybe the producer's most well regarded motion picture.

Sixteen year old schoolgirl Mary Gibson receives some troubling news. Her sister, the successful owner of a cosmetics company, hasn't paid her boarding school bill in several months. Instead of being thrown out, Mary voluntarily leaves. She attempts to locate her missing sister. Soon, she discovers a series of strange and unnerving events Jacquline was involved with. The journey leads her to the Palladists, a Satanic cult operating out of Greenwich Village. Jacquline is still alive, Mary learns, but on the run from the Palladists, who have condemned her to death for betraying the group.

While I've been able to appreciate them as works of art, an issue I've had with the previous Val Lewton movies I've seen has been the characters. Generally speaking, I haven't found them to be very memorable or relatable. “The 7th Victim” presents a heroine that is impossible not to root for. Mary Gibson is a teenage girl, tossed from her comfy boarding school existence into a frightening world she doesn't entirely understand. Kim Hunter, years before “Planet of the Apes” would make her a cult icon, plays Mary as the sweetest girl imaginable. Like the viewer, she's attempting to navigate a mystery, drawing the audience into her strife. “The 7th Victim” falters any time she isn't on screen, which is far too often. The other heroic cast members, such as Tom Conway as Dr. Judd or Hugh Beaumont as Gregory, are not as interesting.

After working as an editor on Lewton's previous three horror features, Mark Robson would make his directorial debut with “The 7th Victim.” It would be the start of a long and successful career, Robson eventually earning two separate Best Director Oscar nominations and making blockbusters like “Valley of the Dolls” and “Earthquake.” In his first film, Robson is obviously emulating Jacques Tourner's work. He fills the film with foreboding shadows. One especially unnerving scene involves Mary's detective friend walking through the darkened cosmetics company building. The office objects cast ominous shadows on the wall. The same style makes a later scene, where the Palladists command Jacquline to drink poisoned wine, look similarly unnerving. Val Lewton's films continue to occupy a nightmarish realm, where people are drown in living shadows.

“The 7th Victim” is fairly effective in most every way. Except one. It's villains aren't very threatening. Made long before the troupes of Satanic horror were crystallized, the film does not feature the robes, candles, chanting, pentagrams, or bloody sacrifices you might expect. Truthfully, all the Palladists really do is sit around in a night club, wearing business casual, discussing vaguely ominous stuff. They only mention Satan or the Devil a few times. If the film didn't explicitly refer to them as Satanists, you probably wouldn't even notice. Refusal to kill anybody is actually part of their club dogma. After the film's events play out, “The 7th Victim” concludes with the psychologist saying the Lord's Prayer in front of the Palladists, which somehow shames them. I kind of doubt that would upset die hard Satanist very much. Compare the spineless devil worshipers to the cult in “The Black Cat,” which managed to feel genuinely deviant and sacrilegious, and you see the downside of this.

Aside from the Satanists who don't do anything, “The 7th Victim” is another fine horror picture from RKO. Hunter's performance stabilizes a story that is a bit shaggy, which was partially the result of some last minute cutting and studio tinkering. Robson's film is as much film noir as horror picture, owing to the shadowy direction and long investigative sequences. Many scholars also consider this one a landmark LGBT film, as a friend of Jacquline's is pretty clearly in love with her. While I didn't find the film as fascinating as many others did, “The 7th Victim” is still worth seeing for its outstanding black and white atmosphere. [7/10]

Fear Itself: The Sacrifice

“Masters of Horror” was never officially canceled. When Showtime became disinterested in airing a third season, Mick Garris shopped the concept around to other networks. Eventually, season three of “Masters of Horror” would mutate into “Fear Itself.” The general premise – top horror directors creating hour-long films – was retained but there was a big difference. “Fear Itself” would air on network television, specifically NBC. Which meant all the graphic gore, sex, nudity, profanity, and insanity that made “Masters of Horror” intermittently great would not be present in the new series. “Fear Itself” also featured a much less impressive slate of filmmakers. Unsurprisingly, fans rejected the continuation while new viewers showed little interest. Eight of the thirteen episodes aired before NBC unceremoniously yanked the show from its schedule. The missing episodes would eventually emerge on DVD. Being a completest, I'll be reviewing the ill-fated spin-off in its entirety.

The premiere episode of “Fear Itself” is “The Sacrifice.” Four criminals – Point, his brother Lemmon, Navarro, and Diego – are on the run from some unspecified crime scene. Navarro is injured. After catching a flat tire, the four men take refuge in a near-by fort. There, they meet three beautiful but strange women. Point quickly begins to suspect that their hospitality is hiding something. He's right. The women have been luring men to their fort so they can feed them to the ancient, mutated vampire that is chained-up under the floorboards. Through the course of the story, the vampire is freed and begins to hunt all of them.

Dropping “Masters” from the title was likely a deliberate move on “Fear Itself's” behalf. Many of the new directors recruited showed little to no mastery over the genre. Such as Breck Eisner, director of “The Sacrifice.” Up to this point, Eisner hadn't directed any horror movies. Instead, he was only attached to remake “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “The Crazies.” Only the latter of which he would actually make. (He has since directed “The Last Witch Hunter,” Vin Diesal's D&D fan fiction.) Expectantly, Eisner shows little aptitude for horror. Several shots descends into incoherent shaky-cam. There's a really goofy shot of a man being dragged through a doorway by the monster, the door slamming behind him for no reason. Eisner leans on elaborate gore too much, with decapitations and impalement. “Gore” is in quotation marks, of course, since it's all watered down for network TV.

As a stand-alone story, “The Sacrifice” is deeply underwhelming. All of the guys are either scumbags or idiots, making it hard to root for them. It's immediately apparent that something is wrong at the farm, so you wonder why they stick around as long as they do. The plot is based around shaky logic and features more than a few holes. The twist ending is needlessly downbeat. The vampire looks pretty cool and the actresses playing the three sisters are all pretty attractive. That's about the only positive things I can say about “The Sacrifice,” a trite and limply executed hour of television. Sadly, from what I remember, this was par the course for “Fear Itself.” [4/10]

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge: For Whom They Fight

With episode four, the “Night Warriors” OVA reaches its conclusion. “For Whom They Fight” shows Pyron's invasion of Earth reaching its endgame. The fiery extraterrestrial travels the globe, crushing every challenger he encounters. This includes Demitri, who gets easily tossed aside, and the Huitzils, who suddenly decide to betray their master. Donovan attempts to put up a fight but even his skills aren't enough. As Donovan is near death, Anita cries for him, reawakening her emotions. This inspires the dhampir to unlock his greatest powers. Pyron is defeated and the Earth is saved by the Darkstalkers humanity despises.

Yes, the focus on Donovan's angst continues into “For Whom They Fight.” In the middle of his fight with Pyron, a mad scientist with a floating doom platform enters the scene. The guy lectures Donovan on how anyone associated with the Darkstalkers deserves to be wiped out. The scientist says this is God's will. (This is not the last time God is mentioned, bringing a weird religious element to an otherwise secular anime.) After being nearly beaten to death by Pyron, we get a further glimpse at Donovan's backstory. We see him as an angry young man, balancing on a bed of spikes, unable to make peace with his dual heritage. This, combined with Anita activating her telekinesis, gives Donovan the power boost he needs. He reconciles his fate as a child of the light and the dark, achieves inner peace, and saves the day. That's lazy writing at best, a sudden revelation wrapping the story up so smoothly. It's also undermined by the actual “Darkstalkers” video games, where Donovan is eventually consumed by his darker half and becomes an evil character named Dee.

This focus on Donovan more-or-less excludes any other character from the last episode. Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling help fight Pyron but their story arc is nowhere close to concluded. Felicia is totally removed from the plot. Morrigan and Demitri may get it the worst. After three episodes of build-up, Pyron defeats Demitri in minutes. Morrigan doesn't even get to fight the alien. After witnessing a debate among the elders in the Demon Realm, she leaves to assist Demitri. Landing in the ruins of his castle, the vampire drinks her blood to regain his strength. The two then watch Donovan defeat Pyron, Demitri bragging about how strong he is, despite doing nothing of value the entire series.

This is disappointing from a story perspective, as it squanders three episodes worth of hype. It also totally railroads Morrigan's personality. In the video games, after loosing to him in battle, Morrigan turns herself to stone to keep Demitri from possessing her. In the anime, everything she does is motivated by helping Demitri. She willingly lets him bite her, even though Morrigan is usually disgusted by weakness. The two end up as a couple, the succubus princess betraying her own family to help the vampire take over the Demon Realm. What a spectacular way to screw over the franchise's most beloved character.

“Night Warriors'” saving grace, all along, has been its cool action scenes and expressive animation. This holds true with “For Whom They Fight.” The episode opens with a montage of Pyron fighting the remaining video game characters that haven't appeared in the anime. His fight with Demitri and Donovan features some cool special attacks. Donovan's finishing move involves him riding his sword like a surfboard, flying right through the alien's chest. Just to throw in one more fight scene, the episode also shows the Huitzils turning on Pyron. The robots fuse into one giant machine, which is a neat visual and throws a kaiju fight into the last episode. It doesn't make much sense but it is cool.

Taken as a whole, “Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge” is a disappointing experience. The animation and character design were cool. The story, however, was a muddled mess. The script tried to squeeze too many characters and too much plot into four forty minute episodes. The series is too convoluted to be understood by anyone but die hard “Darkstalkers” fans. That same audience will probably be annoyed by the baffling changes the anime made to the games' lore. Once you get over the novelty of seeing these video game characters operate in an actual narrative, the series looses much of its appeal. It's a shame, as I believe “Darkstalkers'” colorful characters and fascinating world could make for an awesome anime or movie. [6/10]

Halloween 2017: October 3

Rogue (2007)

Upon “Wolf Creek's” release, Greg McLean was immediately added to the Splat Pack. This phrase referred to a list of up-and-coming directors making especially brutal and violent horror movies in the early to mid-two thousands. Interestingly, few of the Splat Pack directors would stick with quote-unquote “torture porn.” James Wan would immediately move on to glossy ghost stories, whose success led him to big budget action movies. Neal Marshall would also move onto action mash-ups. Even Eli Roth, the most puerile of the bunch, would try other stuff in time. McLean, meanwhile, immediately shifted gears with his second feature. “Rogue” was a no-frills killer animal thriller, focusing on the saltwater crocodiles of McLean's native Australia. It would focus more on tension than gore and prove McLean was more than a one trick pony.

American journalist Pete arrives in the Northern Territory, a rural, jungle-like area of Australia, filled with huge rivers and streams. His cell phone dead, he decides to pass the time by joining a crocodile watching river cruise. He meets several people that day. Such as Kate, the pretty and confident boat captain, a married couple, a British family of three, an Irish woman, a would-be photography expert, a middle-age man mourning his dead daughter, and event two of the redneck locals. Just as the crew is ready to head home, they spot a flare. Kate steers the boat into a dead end, discovering the remains of a previous boat. They are then attack by a giant saltwater crocodile, who immediately capsizes the boat, stranding the people on a small island. As the night goes on, the tide rises, and the territorial crocodile continues to close in for the kill.

If “Wolf Creek” was a movie about Australians' duel reputation as laid-back blokes and outback dwelling crazies, “Rogue” explores another contrasting element of the country. McLean's camera often focuses on the incredible natural beauty of the Northern Territory. A notable shot shows Kate's boat moving up a river valley, the film lingering on the gorgeous cliff sides and green forest all around. Frank Tetaz' picturesque score further emphasizes the serenity of the area. This is a beautiful place. But it's also a very dangerous one. The opening scene shows the crocodile attacking a buffalo, crushing its head and dragging it into the water. Kate cautions the tourists about how deadly the crocodiles are while admiring their majestic qualities. This harsh but lovely land is also not for people. Repeated references are made to the tourists being in the crocodile's territory. There's a reason the natural world is striking out at these interlopers. They do not belong here.

An issue “Wolf Creek” had was its cast of indistinct characters. “Rogue” seems to have a similar problem at first. The cast is too large. In the introductory scenes, McLean reduces many of the cast members down to easily understood characteristics. Yet, as the situation grows graver, the tourists begin to grow. The mother can't swim and is afraid of water but is so determined to save her daughter that she makes a risky move anyway. The husband is willing to sacrifice himself for his wife. The good ol' boy actually reveals hidden depths, doing what he can to help the others. Especially rising above is Michael Vartan as Pete and Radha Mitchell. Vartan shows a believable humor while Mitchell nicely balances vulnerable and strong. (There's also two future stars in the ensemble. Neither Sam Worthington or Mia Wasikowska are that recognizable but, I assure you, they are in the movie.)

“Rogue” is also surely one of the better killer crocodile movies out there. The film is less bloody than expected, focusing more on sustained tension and sudden shocks. It may seem difficult to believe that a twenty-five foot long crocodile could sneak up on people. Yet McLean successfully sells this concept. The croc ramming the boat makes for a decent shock. Later, the huge reptile appears when least expected, scooping someone up. One of the most intense scenes involves the croc scooping someone up in its mouth and going into a death roll. McLean does a good job of putting together moments of long suspense. Such as a moment where characters attempt to cross a body of water with a rope. Or the climax, where Pete is alone in the cave with the crocodile, which may or may not see him.

“Rogue” doesn't reinvent the wheel. Instead, it's a back to basics flick, with little use for homage or irony. The film is merely focused on being as intense as possible, utilizing a real world monster as its central antagonist. The resulting film showed that McLean wasn't just a gorehound but a director capable of creating actual suspense. It flopped at the box office but received far better reviews than the director's premiere. Truly lovable characters still aren't within his grasp but “Rogue” is still worth seeing. [7/10]

The Leopard Man (1943)

As previously mentioned, Val Lewton's films began as titles first and movies second. This might explain the contrast between Lewton's nuanced, psychological films and their salacious, exploitation movie titles. So it's easy to imagine the higher-ups at RKO handing Lewton the title “The Leopard Man” in hopes that he would recreate the success of “Cat People.” The two titles seem to suggest more-or-less the same thing: Humanoid cat creatures. Even the “Leopard Man” trailer would play this up. But Lewton and returning director Jacques Tourner had other plans, making an entirely different kind of horror picture. Oddly, despite this pedigree, “The Leopard Man” is one of the least discussed film in the producer's career.

The nights are hot in New Mexico. In order to escape the heat, the small town locals gather in the night club. Kiki is the top dancer at the club and her boyfriend, Jerry, decides to add a leopard on a lease to her act. However, the leopard runs away that night. Later, a young girl is found killed, seemingly mauled to death by the escaped leopard. The killings do not stop there. Other women fall victim, dying in a similar manner. As the reign of terror continues, Jerry begins to suspect that a leopard is not the perpetrator. Instead, he comes to believe that a man is responsible for the deaths.

Unlike “Cat People” and “I Walked with a Zombie,” “The Leopard Man” features no supernatural elements. The evil it concerns is of a much more human variety. The monster is a man who claims a certain type of victim in a specific way, a cool down period of days or weeks occurring between the murders. The phrase “serial killer” is never uttered during the movie's sixty-six minute run time but that's exactly what it's about. The film dispenses with the more psychological aspects of Lewton/Tourner's previous collaborations (Though feel free to read into the similarities between a leopard and a man who kills like one) in favor of a procedural mystery. The hero and heroine follows lead, eventually uncovering the murderer's identity through a combination of investigative skills and luck. This switch-up is surprisingly effective, the movie towing the line between murder mystery and grislier horror.

Despite the change of subject matter, Tourner does not reel back on the shadowy atmosphere. In fact, “The Leopard Man” shows the director continuing to improve his mastery of the black and white setting. The first murder features a long build-up, a teenage girl walking through the dark and light scattered night streets. It concludes with a fake-out jump scare that may actually top the one in “Cat People,” before moving on to a chilling reveal of the leopard. A sense of gloomy darkness characterizes all of “The Leopard Man,” the townsfolk often bathed in barely broken shadows. Tourner even brings this approach to the daylit scenes. A sequence of a girl exploring a graveyard, the leopard or leopard man crawling in the trees above, occurs in the afternoon but is no less tense and dreary. “The Leopard Man” is uniformly a tense, beautifully directed horror picture.

It seems some sort of love story was a requirement for RKO as well. “The Leopard Man” has one too. Jerry, the leopard's former owner, and Kiki, the dancer, are our sleuthing heroes. However, the guilt they feel over being indirectly responsible for the murders make them slightly more intriguing protagonists. They are far from the only interesting characters in the film. Tourner really attempts to capture the small town setting. We meet many of the local characters, such as a fortune teller, a mother and her two children, and the alcoholic leopard trainer. This adds a lot of local color, making the film's world a little more fleshed-out and interesting.

I had pretty much zero expectations for “The Leopard Man,” going in knowing almost nothing about it. This may explain why I enjoyed it so much. The ending, where the killer reveals his entire history in a few minutes, is a bit of a cheat. But even this I sort of like, as the film manages to make the killer somewhat sympathetic, despite his crimes. (This recalls “M” a bit, which I'm sure the director had seen before.) While the script is not as deep as Lewton and Tourner's previous films together, “The Leopard Man” is still a fantastically directed film that features some truly chilling moments. [8/10]

Masters of Horror: Dream Cruise

Mick Garris clearly intended “Masters of Horror” to be an international affair. Season one concluded with Takeshi Miike's ridiculously controversial “Imprint.” Season two would also wrap up with an episode from a Japanese director. While I suspect Garris was really hoping to get Hideo Nakata or Takashi Shimizu, season two's token Japanese director would be Norio Tsuruta, of “Ring 0” and “Premonition” fame. “Dream Cruise” follows Jack, an American lawyer living in Japan. He has fallen in love with Yuri, his best client's wife. Eiji is seemingly aware of this infidelity. He invites Jack and Yuri onto his yacht for the weekend. The mood on the boat is tense, Eiji confronting the lovers. After discovering the boat propeller wrapped in black hair, Eiji is possessed by a ghostly spirit. The ghost then pursues and attacks Jack and Yuri, still trapped on the yacht.

This is the only one of Norio Tsuruta's films I've seen but I'm already willing to say he's not in the same league as Nakata or Shimizu. Throughout “Dream Cruise,” Tsuruta indulges in J-horror cliches. Yes, the ghost is a stereotypical yurei. She's a vengeful spirit with long, black hair, the gray skin, a white dress, and creaking body language. Tsuruta's handling of this well-worn troupe is incredibly hokey. The ghost casts a green glow and walks on water in an unconvincing manner. The director's attempts to introduce other horror elements are similarly weak. Yuri is trapped in a flooding bathroom, which is just silly. When Eiji is possessed, his body begins to decompose, his head splitting open. This moment of gore looks hopelessly rubbery. When Eiji's disembodied arm begins to strangle Jack, “Dream Cruise” lapses into full-fledged unintentional comedy.

Though filled to the brim with J-horror cliches, “Dream Cruise” is not exactly your average “Masters of Horror” episode. Instead of being a one hour film intended for premium cable, “Dream Cruise” was originally shot as a feature film, released to Japanese theaters. The U.S. TV version has been cut down to an hour. This might explain some of the underdeveloped story turns. Jack is haunted throughout by the spirit of his little brother, who drowned while he was a boy. I imagine this was expanded upon in the theatrical cut. (No amount of extra footage would be able to save the incredibly cheesy resolution to that subplot though.) While nearly drowning, Yuri is given a vision explaining the ghost's backstory and its connection to her husband. I have no idea if this flashback is less awkwardly inserted into the story in the full version. I would hope it is. While the cuts are evident, it seems “Dream Cruise” wasn't changed much by missing a half-hour. The story flows more-or-less uninterrupted.

Another element of “Dream Cruise” that is a bit awkward is the acting. Here we have another case of a Japanese director having no idea how to direct an American actor and Japanese actors struggling to speak English. Daniel Gillies' lead performance as Jack is incredibly dull. He blankly delivers his lines, sleepwalking through most of his scenes. As for the Japanese cast, it's clear that English is a second language for them. Yohino Kimura is almost convincing as Yuri, as she's usually easy to understand. Ryo Ishibashi, meanwhile, roughly grunts through his scenes. Over all, “Dream Cruise” has hokey direction, a wildly derivative script, and a mediocre cast. This does not add up to an especially positive grade. [5/10]

I maintain that “Masters of Horror” was an amazing idea for a horror anthology series. There's hundreds of well known directors I would've loved to have seen involved with the show. Luminaries like Wes Craven, George Romero, and Sam Raimi were conspicuous in their absence. Season one had some flops but was, over all, a fairly strong collection. Season two, however, invited far too many questionable “masters”  aboard, resulting in way too many mediocre episodes. It's no wonder the show wouldn't survive in its original form pass this point. Yet I think the elasticity of its premise – established horror directors making most anything they want – means the show could be successfully revived. Imagine what Jennifer Kent, Robert Eggers, the Soska Sisters, or David Robert Mitchell could do with that format. Until that revival comes, I'll have to rate “Masters of Horror” as an exciting but ultimately failed experiment. [Masters of Horror: 7/10] 

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge: Pyron Descending

The penultimate episode of “Darkstalkers' Revenge” has the series main antagonist making himself know. Pyron, the fiery alien conqueror from above, descends on Earth. The Huitzils attack cities on his behalf. He installs five artificial suns around the globe, driving away the darkness. This infuriates Demitri, who holds off his attack on the Demon World in order to destroy Pyron. Morrigan decides to help him, mostly because she thinks it'll be fun. Meanwhile, humans flee their cities in drove. Hsein-Ko and Mei-Ling head towards the danger while Donovan and Anita deliberate on their choice. Felicia ends up in a small town especially affected by the invasion. Despite the humans being cruel to her, she decides to help them.

If the above plot synopsis was telling enough, “Night Warriors'” plot continues to be a jumbled mess. We've got anywhere from three to five story lines going on. Very few of them converge in any way. At the moment, Demitri and Morrigan's story is completely separate from the Donovan/Hsien-Ko/Anita part of the plot. This, in turn, is totally removed from the Felicia end of the story. Pyron invading the Earth is supposed to bring these plot threads together. Instead, the series continues to have the character operate in their own orbits. Episode three cuts back and forth between three locations, disrupting any sort of smooth narrative flow. This is why so many fighting games revolve around tournaments. It gives a reason for all these divergent characters to be in one location. “Pyron Descending,” meanwhile, forcefully resists this temptation, leading to a story that can't focus on one point for too long.

Despite the title suggesting Pyron will be the main focus, “Pyron Descending” is actually primarily devoting to exploring the characters' back stories. A large chunk of the episode shows how Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling became monster fighting jiang-shi. Two centuries ago, in medieval China, their mother was a great sorceress. She gave her life to cast away a powerful darkness –  more-or-less revealed to be Pyron, in a plot twist that seriously muddles things – but trapping her soul in the underworld in the process. The sisters then made a vow to rescue their mother someday. They turned themselves into undead Darkstalkers in order to achieve this quest. This stuff is pretty interesting, even if I find it odd that the series director deemed Hsien-Ko's story more worthy of exploration than any other Darkstalker character. Though the reveal that Hsien-Ko looked just like Chun-Li when she was alive is a cute visual in-joke.

Hsien-Ko's back story is certainly more compelling than the Huitzils. We find out that the robots are millions of years old. They emerge any time a human civilization gets too advanced, destroying the cities, in order to protect the Earth. This explains why the world of “Darkstalkers” is so weirdly backwards. However, it doesn't explain why the robots are working with Pyron, an alien conqueror who is only interested in Earth as a way to sate his thirst for combat. This story inconsistency is carried over from Capcom's original video games, so we can't blame “Night Warrios” staff for that one. (The American UDON comic patched over this problem by revealing that Pyron created the Huitzils after visiting Earth billions of years ago, as a preemptive army for his eventual return.)

Last time, I complained that “Darkstalkers' Revenge” lacks the video game's humor. The anime doubles-down on this grimness here. “Pyron Descending” takes great pains to show how persecuted Darkstalkers are. Donovan and Anita are caught in the crowds fleeing Pyron's invasion. While the poor pile onto one boat, a rich family have reserved a whole galley for themselves, an interesting touch of class inequality the episode could've used more of. The rich boy steals Anita's doll, forcing her to reveal her psychic powers, which terrifies the crowd. Meanwhile, Felicia comes to a town under attack by the Huitzils. Despite actively fighting the killer robots, the local authorities imprison her. There's a moral here. Felicia is rescued by Jon Talbain, a kung-fu fighting werewolf who believes humans and Darkstalkers can never co-exist. Felicia's kindness towards people, and the eventual kindness she receives in turn, thaws his heart a little. Still, combining a story about aliens invading Earth and a persecuted supernatural minority makes “Darkstalkers' Revenge” more of a bummer than it should be.

Through all its flaws, “Night Warriors” remains beautifully animated. The scene of Hsien-Ko's mom fighting off a giant black beast, whose multiple heads swallow people whole, is really cool. The climax has Felicia and Jon Talbain destroying a horde of Huitzils by running an exploding train into a tunnel. That's a really inventive action beat. Episode three also has its share of fan service. Felicia and Jon Talbain are often paired together by fans, presumably because the pun of a cat and dog being a couple is too much fun to resist. So seeing them work together is neat, even if this is Talbain's sole appearance in the anime. There's some of the other type of fan service too. Morrigan gets a gratuitous bathing scene. Since Felicia is naturally naked, her modesty saved by strategically placed fur, there's a shot of her tied up in chains. You know, for the guys into that kind of stuff. Anyway, the “Darkstalkers” anime continues to be a frustrating but occasionally rewarding watch. [6/10]