One frigid December night, about three years ago, I exited the office I worked in at the time, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was waaaaay past quitting time, and I was wiped out and starving, and I just wanted to get my commute over with so I could get home and collapse with copious quantities of comfort foods, already. But across the way, something caught my eye. I went toward the colorful motion and about a long block later found myself in front of the ABC building. The ground level lights were all off. In one glass wall was mounted a monitor and speakers so passersby could enjoy whatever ABC was currently airing--and in that moment, it was about ten minutes into A Charlie Brown Christmas. For the next twenty minutes I stood outside in the freezing cold, smiling through the program and the memories of when I was a kid watching it on CBS. (OK, and maybe I sniffled a little during Linus' monologue near the end.) The only thing that could’ve made that night better would’ve been the right man’s hand holding mine as we shared those chilly twenty minutes...and maybe some spiked hot chocolate.
Well, there probably isn’t a “right man” for me, and ABC no longer holds the rights to the special, so it won't be airing on network TV this year. But I can make myself a spiked hot chocolate whenever I want (I've concocted a fabulous recipe), and you can click here to learn where you can tune into the magic of Christmas (spoiler alert--PBS for the win!).
*This is a slightly expanded crosspost from my tumblr blog.
Youse guys, I had a blasty-blast doing the blogfest this year--I hope you enjoyed exploring the new, the old, and the outright bizarre with me.
But I just hate saying goodbye to Spook Out! So long, have a nice year, maybe see you next October, if I survive till then. Wham, bam, spook off, ma'am. So callous, so cruel. Can't bear it. So here are a few other fun things that can help keep you feeling spooky after all the Halloween candy's gone...
the shoot-em-up opening credits, that really set the tone for the rest of the movie
the laughs, the gags, the bits, the throwaways, the visual jokes--man, this mfr was even funnier than the first Z-land flick, but also,
the zombie scares, which are played straight and, in some scenes, legit scary
the new zombie classifications
how relationships, both romantic and familial, are explored and developed
the doppelgÀngers! (so to speak)
the specTACular zombie battle in the third act, DANG!
The Meh... The only "meh" for me is that I don't know if we're getting another movie in this franchise. PLEASE OH PLEASE LET THERE BE ANOTHER ONE!!!!!
Would I recommend it...?
HECK to the YEAH! Lah-lah-lah-LOVE THIS MOOOVEEEEEEE! For me, it's the perfect combination of action, romance, comedy, and horror, with exactly the right amount of violence and gore to give it some Halloween bite (pun intended!). Not sure if sensitives will mind the aforementioned violence and gore--IMO, it's not gratuitous (for the kind of movie this is) and while it has scary moments, they're not terrifying, just...pleasantly chilling. (That's a thing, right? Pleasantly chilling?) (Well, it is for me...)
"A rebellious teenage boy embarks on a gutsy crusade to stop the terrifying evil he suspects has possessed his neighbor in this bone-chilling occult thriller."
how the scares start coming from the jump, and keep on coming
the artfully articulated Wretch in all her gory glory
how some character-types who are traditionally left unharmed in other horror movies enjoy no special protections here (which is to say, I didn't enjoy what happened to them, but I was impressed by how the directors dared to break through established conventions)
that the dad of the piece eventually listened to his son, though Ben gave every indication of being a very unreliable narrator indeed
the Sixth Sense-like twist in the third act. Nicely done, youse guys--I suppose I should've seen it coming, but I totally didn't...
The Meh...
I'd have liked more intel/background on what, exactly, that Wretch-beastie is (she's referred to as a witch, but she strikes me as something different, something...more)
It's got some '80s brat-pack movie tropes (a hot girl who's kind of a bitch, rich guys who're dicks to the protagonist, an embarrassing moment in a swimming pool, etc.) which contrast weirdly with the heavier themes of the film and detract from its intensity
Would I recommend it...?
Yeah, it's got loads of great scares with gruesome effects for Halloween, takes some risks, and does some things I haven't seen horror movies dare to do, of late. It's not for the faint of heart. Trigger Warnings for: babies, kids, and animals in peril, lotsa violence, and did I mention the gore?
"In a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf."
Gary Busey as Uncle Red (Best Uncle in the Friggin World)
I liked...
the work done by Haim (RIP), Follows, and Busey--all three were fabulous, and also,
the relationships: Janie and Marty (which echoes Uncle Red and their mom's relationship), and Uncle Red's relationship to the kids--their chemistry was especially excellent, and I found them really believable as a close family
how Uncle Red encourages Marty to take risks and be as active and rascally as he can (the apple doesn't fall far from the uncle)
the hints as to the werewolf's true identity (and then how the identity is revealed) (and then someone's immediate reaction to that revelation--that face=priceless!)
the tense scene in the bar between a forming vigilante mob, the town's sheriff, and a grieving father
the practical effects of the werewolf's change--sure, they're a little cheesy but comparable, IMO, to the big change scene in the iconic An American Werewolf in London (I liked the change scenes but, as some others have noted, the "finished werewolf"--as it were--resembles a bear more than he does a wolf, alas.)
a crazy scene in which nearly the entire town wolfs out
that Janie, and later Uncle Red, takes logical steps to either prove or disprove Marty's claims
how this isn't really a horror comedy but does have some hilarious bits here and there
The Meh...
Though the three leads are well written and acted, some of the victims are decidedly not
How/why the werewolf attacks start isn't ever explained, which can work for something set in a big city, but not in a small town environment
Y'all got only one silver bullet made to defeat a werewolf? C'mon! Dudes, go to a thrift shop, get some silverware, have your smelter work on those, and fill up those chambers in that revolver! (Do I have to think of everything, here? Sheesh!)
The resolution of the main story problem is excellent, BUT the very ending voice-over bit is weirdly abrupt and anticlimactic...
The soundtrack is le major suck.
Would I recommend it...?
You bet! Silver Bullet is one of my fave horror movies, and a perfect little Halloween treat. The nostalgia factor's strong for me here--this scared the stuffin out of me when I was a kid and, tbh, the jump scares still get to me decades later, no matter how many times I see it (the werewolf breaks into two houses to get to his prey, wtf?!). The scares, coupled with some bloody violence and gore, ain't for the very sensitive, though they're probably not rough enough for fans of hardcore horror. But they're enough to chill me! đ
Miscellany...
This movie's based on the Stephen King novella Cycle of the Werewolf (which I look forward to reading!).
Ratings...
My Grade: A- (though I admit to having a love for Silver Bullet that boosts the score up from a B+)
the writing, acting, use of space, and lighting--excellent
that, even though it's a bit of a slow burn, it's engrossing and well-paced, and kept me eager/anxious for the big reveal
how it masterfully builds the dread, creepiness, and suspense factors
the intricacies of, and tensions within, the men's relationships with one another
that it's hard to know whom to trust/believe, and
that it's hard to know what's real
the nephew character, what a sweetie (I heart Oreos too, kid!)
The Meh...
The motivating force behind...things is left somewhat ambiguous. I hate ambiguity, boo!
Though the creep factor was high, the scare factor was not. A few jumps would've seasoned the movie nicely.
Would I recommend it...?
Yes, it's a clever little thriller for the Halloween season! Sensitives will enjoy that the violence is more implied than shown (mostly) and that there's not much gore, really.
Peter Mullan (Gordon) also co-stars in this wonderful Britcom called Mum and plays just about the sweetest gruff guy you can imagine. The show's about loss, grief, picking up the pieces of your life, and finding love when you thought it impossible to love again. Oh, it's also about annoying relatives. It may not stream for free right now (I watched it on an Amazon channel to which I subscribe, BritBox) but can be rented or purchased outright--and it's so totally worth it! Highly recommend.
the contrasting color and wardrobe choices that revealed so much about Lou and Val's characters
how masterfully Roe (the striking, forbiddingly fashionable Siouxsie Sioux of serial killers) and Brayben (the mousey, no presence wannabe self-help seeker) embody their roles
the dark, dry British wit
seeing the ironic rise of the meek, even if it was a bit murder-y
the great pacing with no waste, just one hour and twenty minutes of fine storytelling
that some of the ridiculous "self-help therapies" were good for a snort or two
how some characters repeated their self-help courses (bc they clearly didn't help, bc they're bunkum)
The Meh...
This one's spoilery, click/highlight the text between the double red colons to read ::One stop on the self-help tour was with a couple promoting self-realization through sound therapy. Lou and Val spent the night with them and learned that the wine they shared with the gurus had been doped with some sort of "herbal relaxer"--after which you see the screen go kind of fuzzy and the female of the pair dancing around with a dildo, the implication clearly that the couple intended to sexually violate their clients::
Something happens here that always gets up my nose: they've got non-Americans playing Americans but there's something off about the accent that utterly smashes one's suspension of disbelief. One of the most telling words is "anything." Someone with a "standard" US accent would pronounce it "EHN-ee-thing," whereas the "standard" British pronunciation treats the "y" differently: "EHN-uh-thing." One of the gurus falls into this error and it just took me right out of the movie, at a critical juncture. ("Standard" bc there're regional differences in both countries, obvs.)
Would I recommend it...?
Yes, but with managed expectations. It's not really a horror movie (Amazon's Showtime channel categorized it as such, which is how I came across it) and it's not really LOL comedy, more like a "I watched the entire thing with an amused smirk and snorted a bunch of times, but it was a little sick here and there" kinda flick. It's a worthy indie, for sure, and I am totally looking forward to more from these cats!
Miscellany...
I feel there was a missed opportunity here, to have Val actually coach Lou on how to commit murder, asking her open-ended questions about how she felt she was growing through their spree, etc.. You know, play the "self-help for budding serial killers" thing straight, as it were.
