Suspense

Summer of 84 (2018)

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Summer of 84, directed by the team of François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell, has many of the elements of an ‘80s teen movie: a Tangerine Dream-like score, a clubhouse where the guys hang out, the archetypal group of friends including the troubled friend with the shitty home life, who puts up a tough exterior (Judah Lewis), the idyllic façade of suburban life, even the fantasy blonde girl next door (Tiera Skovbye), who always seems to be changing in front of her bedroom window. This is much darker than films from that era, though. It’s Stand By Me meets Rear Window.

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The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

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Holy fuck. Sorry about the profanity, but that just about sums up my feelings after finishing The Autopsy of Jane Doe. You should know that I generally don’t get scared at films, but this one…this one scared the crap out of me. This is how I expected to feel after watching It Follows, but never quite did. In retrospect, I know this wasn’t all that original, but boy, it sure felt like it at the time. Director André Øvredal (2010’s excellent and underappreciated Trollhunter)pulls out all the stops here to keep us holding our breath on the edges of our seats. The premise is simple: a half-buried, naked woman (Olwn Kelly) is found in the basement at a bloody crime scene. Why is she there, how did she die, and what—if any—connection does she have with the events of the floors above? Continue reading →

Memories of Murder (2003)

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Thanks to my friend Lacey for the hat tip on this one. I thought I had seen it, but turns out I was thinking of a different film. Another South Korean film that really illustrates the level of talent they have. This one is a police thriller based on a real-life series of killings, although I’ve read that it can also be seen as a metaphor for the competing political parties in Korea during the period in which the film is set. I must admit to being ignorant of that connection, but I might have to watch it again after I read up on it a bit.

The film deals with a series of killings in a small Korean town (city?). The local police are uneducated thugs, who care more about prosecuting someone than whether or not that someone is the right one. Continue reading →

Black Fly (2014)

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I love it when a movie catches me off guard. Black Fly was made on a shoestring budget (in Hollywood terms, anyway: less than a million), and shot in 14 days. I noticed some glowing reviews on IMDB, but the lack of overall votes and the fact that the same guy (Jason Borque) wrote and directed is more often than not a sign of a low-quality film made on the cheap, and promoted by having people associated with the film post over the top reviews for it. That way, they can make a few bucks on it before word of mouth catches up with them. As it turns out, that is not this film. Not by a long shot. Continue reading →

The Expelled (2010)

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Based on what I had read about this one, I had semi-high expectations for it. I probably shouldn’t have. It does very little new in the slasher genre, none of the characters are very developed beyond a single trait (“he’s an alcoholic,” “he’s a coward,” etc.), and the ending was frustrating. The worst thing, though, by far, was the “slasher.” And although I NEVER want to reveal the ending to a film, in this case I’m going to make an exception. If you really don’t want to know, skip the entire following paragraph. Continue reading →

Kajaki (2014)

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aka Kilo Two Bravo

I love it when a movie surprises me. Because I didn’t read the description too closely, I went into this one thinking it was a horror film. As it turns out, it’s a surprisingly effective, taut thriller. Now when I say  “thriller,” I don’t mean “action” or “horror” or any of the other genres that thrillers are often confused (or blended) with. This is a very simple story—a unit of young British soldiers are stationed in Afghanistan, guarding the Kajaki Dam. Two of them leave their post to set up a sniper’s nest to cover some suspicious locals who may be Taliban. Continue reading →