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Night at the Eagle Inn (2021)
A fun spooky time.
Talk about an end of the year surprise. I had never heard of this film, nor have I seen a trailer. It popped up on Amazon Prime and I loved the poster for it. I decided to rent it and give it a watch...and I ended up watching one of my favourite films of the year.
Night at the Eagle Inn tells the story of the Moss twins (Sarah and Spencer), who are trying to solve the mystery of their parents. 20+ years ago their mother died in child birth and the father disappeared with no trace. This all happened at the Eagle Inn, where our leads spend the film to find out the truth.
We are thrust into the situation with as much info as the twins, so don't know what is happening as they don't. We learn the truth as they learn the truth. Running at a scant 70 minutes, there is no fat on the bones, nor any subplots that go no where (I'm looking at you Halloween Kills). I was entertained from the first frame to the last. I felt very involved in the twins' investigation. A big help thanks to good writing and an excellent cast. Sarah and Spencer are incredibly likeable. They were flawed people with issues but they loved one another. Their connection was the heart of the film and if this wasn't felt the whole movie could've failed. Thankfully I really felt the love of the twins and I believed all their interactions. The characters are great on their own too. When they are separated they are great characters on their own. It's been a while since I got this attached to characters but I really invested in them. Then we have the mysterious innkeeper and the handyman. The innkeeper is a mystery to us. I never knew where his mind was and or where they were taking the character. I had theories but they ended up being wrong...and the handyman starts off as eye Candy but he definitely becomes more interesting as the film goes on.
I don't want to spoil too much as the mystery was a central part of the film but I was always wondering where the film was going. The film delves into the little details that might scare us. Noises in the night, things in the corner of our eyes, and ghostly apparitions...and the televisions are chill inducing. I won't give away why. This film felt like an old fashioned ghost story. No quick edits or over use of jump scares here...thankfully.
None of this would've worked without the cast. The cast is practically a four person show and each actor is fantastic. Greg Schweers stole many scenes as the innkeeper, while Beau Minniear made the handyman into an interesting and elusive character with a mystery of his own. But the movie belonged to Amelia Dudley and Taylor Turner. Dudley gave an intense, but vulnerable show as Sarah, while Taylor was my biggest stand out. As the openly gay Spencer, Taylor was my favourite part. I loved Spencer the most (plus he is gorgeous which doesn't hurt). Taylor was nothing short of perfect in the role.
The film was beautifully shot with gorgeous cinematography and a winning music score that worked perfectly with the film getting under my skin and giving me chills. This was almost a perfect ten film for me, but what stops it is the runtime. Running so short not everything was developed as far as it could've gone. Many aspects were touched upon but I wished they delved father beneath the surface. I think an extra 15-20 minutes would've really benefited the film, but I recommend this movie whole heartedly. I absolutely adored it and bought it on Amazon prime and I bought the music score on iTunes. You can guarantee I will buy the blu ray too. If you're looking for a good spooky ghost story, you can't go wrong here.
Pretty Boy (2021)
A fun sequel!
Pretty Boy picks up where the previous film, Blind, had ended. Blind told the story of a newly blind actress, Faye, who is coming to terms with her new life, but had a murderous stalker watching her. I really enjoyed the first film. The film was beautiful to look at. The cinematography was astounding and the acting was great. I loved the story and the character of Faye. I do think the first film had some pacing issues and I wasn't totally sold on the ending, but it was still really damn good.
With the sequel picking up the exact moment where the first ends, it actually fixes my feelings on the final scene of the original, and I'm so glad we got Pretty Boy. Like the first film, the cinematography is artful and the directing by Marcel Walz is top notch, along with a great music score that I need to own. The character of Pretty Boy is explored more thoroughly as well. While he loses a bit of his mystery, he doesn't lose the fear he can put in your hearts. That mask along is shiver-inducing. Pretty Boy is a great slasher and in this sequel he gets to have more fun. With a bigger body count, there is a lot more gore, and the deaths get the job done.
I found the cast of characters quite charming in this second film. There are more characters, but I found most of them likeable and easy to root for. Some were even well developed. I was even surprised to see one or two of them bite it, as they seemed like they would survive.
The has a good level of fun and suspense. There are many humorous scenes, but it never turns into parody or camp. But I can't go further with this review without mentioning Sarah French. While everyone in the cast did really good work (Devanny Pinn stole so many scenes with her hilarious performance that I couldn't get enough of), the film belongs to Sarah. Her performance is excellent. She plays vulnerable and tough so well. She was our central lead and if her character failed, the whole film could fail, but the actress is nothing short of mesmerising. I would love to see her lead more projects in the future as she has the talent.
It was also nice to see a horror film with a gay male character, who is likeable and fun. For the first hour the movie had me by the throat. The final half hour took a different turn in the story. The final act takes a more torture porn kind of approach. It's not torture porn, but it has that same feeling. The final act becomes darker, more serious than the first hour. I liked the final act but it did seem to clash with the tone of the first hour as it felt like a different movie to me.
It was still really interesting though! This is where the backstory of our killer comes in, but I won't say more than that. We do get some good performances from Maria Olsen and the great Robert Rusler though! Even with the shaggy look, Rusler could still get it! I will state the final scene was a tad anti-climactic for me. But overall this was a really good sequel. I may have liked it a slight bit better than the first, but that's because I'm a sucker for a slasher! I hope there is a third film as I genuinely love these characters. I want to see Pretty Boy cause more horror, and I want to see a continuation of Faye's story. I want to say everyone did a great job, and I cannot wait to see what director Marcel Walz does next!