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Squid Game: The Challenge (2023)
Bad
The producers clearly have no idea how to make compelling TV. Pretty much everyone they casted came off as melodramatic, lame, self-absorbed, or all three. This honestly felt worse than big brother.
The interview room scenes were absolutely cringe. Good tv 101 is to make sure those who have no business being on TV at least appear somewhat interesting. In that interview room... the questions they had the contestants answer had them all talking in circles with no meaning or intrigue. It was very hard to watch with little to no reason to care of their ramblings.
Plenty of filler dialogue with contestants crying at the drop of a hat.
One star awarded for crafting the games. They did an alright job.
It was pretentious crap that could have turned out to be OK.
V/H/S/99 (2022)
A step down from 94
Not the best in the V/H/S series, but by no means was this a bad film.
Aside from the Medusa short, VHS99 did not supply a whole lot of jump scares or concepts to get invested in. Shredding, Suicide Bid, and Ozzy's Dungeon were more exploitation/psychological horror (all three spammed the use of the obnoxious bully antagonist trope), while To Hell and Back felt oversold/pretentious at times and was very hard to buy into. I also failed to see how the stop-motion backstory tied into anything. Creepy? Yes. Fun or purposeful? No.
Shredding has crazy potential but really cornered itself halfway through, overcommiting itself to the "dark spirit" concept...
Perhaps it was this lack of variety amongst the shorts, all having relied too heavily on that "type" (the obnoxious bully) of antagonist. VHS94's shorts (namely Terror and Storm Drain) were very hard to top from a plot/narrative standpoint, while The Subject absolutely mastered the action-oriented and exploitation themes.
So, VHS99 did feel like a step down from 94 in that regard.
V/H/S/94 (2021)
The Best in franchise, top 5 in the genre
In my opinion, the best film in the franchise and one of the best ever in the found-footage genre. Also one of the best in the horror anthology genre... more on that below
The only weakness really is the main backbone story, which lacks cohesion and a big enough purpose, but it more than makes up for it with the strong shorts. You honestly get a little bit of everything in each of the 4 short films. Storm Drain delivered on the suspense, the funeral on the jump scares, The Subject on the action-oriented and exploitation themes. Terror was masterful, even touching on the right-wing nationalist Trope that is (unfortunatly) rampant even today.
Just pure fun and I hope the franchise will continue in this direction.
Midsommar (2019)
Not a standard horror film, and not for everyone...
A very well-made film, but it is not for everyone. I can understand the polarizing reviews.
It's a widespread issue (which kills consumer confidence for the whole genre), and expectations should be set ahead of time that this is far more of a psychological horror than a conventional one. It explores very dark subject matter and themes such as abandonment, emotional (and social) manipulation, and isolation...and does a pretty damn good job it. This film immersed me, and stayed with me for quite some time.
Captain obvious here - Flo thrived in this role. We didnt even "need" to know her backstory in order to get invested.
This honestly should have been left rated nc-17.
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
Strong in some areas, weak in many others
The lore from the previous film helped bolster this. While the storytelling and acting were both on-point, the writing was incredibly weak, though probably intentionally.
However, if you watch RZ's future films, he is quite limited in that regard. I give this a 5..
The pros - the acting was on-point, bringing out the believablilty of the characters (both protagonists and antagonists) and the film's ultra stark contrast in its portrayal of the firefly clan. We somehow went from being sickened by the antagonists early on, to somehow rooting for them by the end.
The cons - writing, underdevelopment of some plot points and characters (groucho marx? ...okay?).
Scream (1996)
Strong start. fails to sustain
While it did a great job building suspense and playing to the tropes of the 80s, it failed to sustain traction, even for its time.
The acting was top notch of course, however the whodunit blame game, and chase, basically just "fills time"... a bit too long, well over 90 mins of it... between the solid opener and the conclusion.
The payoff at the end wasn't nescessarily special. I do not see how this is branded as "clever" or ahead of its time since there wasnt a whole lot of narrative (or connection) between the victims throughout the film, and the killers intention/MO. They didnt tease much else or develop any other potential antagonists. It was basically a waiting game until he killed off enough friends and made his move towards Neve at the very end. Pretty underwhelming.
Searching (2018)
A+ storytelling and character development
My god. A hidden gem that I wish I knew was released sooner as I stumbled across it on netflix a few months ago.
The storytelling here is fantastic and it was VERY hard for me to lose focus or drift off. Plot does not come too jampacked as it does in some films today, e.g. Chris Nolan. The innovative use of screenlife filmmaking isnt the only "selling point" here, although it does compliment the film from start to finish. It explores themes of grief, abandonment, and family dynamics on the verge of collapse. And it delivers incredibly well.
Oh yea, and John Cho was outstanding in the lead role.
Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva (2023)
On edge throughout
While the plot and characters didn't pull me along to the same degree as the first, the intensity and atmosphere sure did. I see this as more of a 2nd part , instead of a sequel, if that makes sense.
While I was not as invested in Minerva (or the 2nd girl) as I was with Gary from the first film, the movie left me with that thirst to find out more of the mythology, or the "dark forces" at play.
Yes, I am confused at what the deal is with the old hermit guy, but very eager to discover more in part 3 (I was kind of expecting more to come to light in this film). I will rewatch this week as i probably missed some fine details since I had to mute the volume at times just to slow my heart rate down, bc it was pounding throughout.
Needless to say, I am immersed into this franchise. I am very hopeful that the 3rd film will give us a good balance between scares, character development, and backstory.
Horror in the High Desert (2021)
the gold standard for Indie Film making
This was not another indie thriller with your typical tropes, cliches, or one-dimentional characters.
This was an absolute masterpiece far more deserving than the rating that has been given here. The depth and layers provided by the lead protagonists were on point and very believeable.
The suspense and build-up was executed flawlessly, with no filler content or subplots that did not belong. I do not feel that the the material up to the ending sequence was "slow". Everything had its place in telling part of the story at-large. They "had me" up until the halfway point where I genuinely felt concerned for the lead's well-being (and ended up pausing the movie to google whether he was still alive)
The cliffhanger was legendary in creating suspense for future films to come. I am hopeful for this franchise and eagerly await what is to come!