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The Visit (2015)
Coulda been.... But isn't....
I was really looking forward to this film for its seemingly original storyline and the subject matter.... Ugh.... Just..... Ugh..... There are many potential great moments in this film that are squandered almost in totality based on the gimmicky use of the "found footage" technique. I won't dwell on the unrealistic reactions or dialogue of the children to these creepy moments and events (think 80's horror idiots whom do not take every hint thrown their way to get out, get away while they can- without the charm or simplicity of those 80's camp films). Nearly everything is filmed with the first person camera angle where throughout most of the film it makes no sense at all. No- I would not film myself running, screaming while being chased.... No, I would not film myself creeping through a dark house at night, catching an eerie activity or two of my "grandparents", and then filming my own reaction to said activity.... Dumb. Forced. Predictable. Basically, this movie fails in just about every way in which it banks on succeeding.
The Walking Dead: Here's Not Here (2015)
Typical Walking Dead move...
So as a fan of TWD, I have to say season 6, after getting off to an amazing start, has finally, predictably, done what TWD always does sooner or later: Build the storyline up to a fevered pace, only to take a sudden, usually pointless step back under a guise that we are getting some kind of insightful back story... I'll be honest, I am halfway through this episode as I write this (fair or not, you can be the judge), and I am completely disengaged and disinterested. Much like a useless 2- episode backstory they did several seasons back with the governor (he is broken, he finds people, tries to be normal, cannot be normal because he is who he is, corrupts the new group of people because he is a natural leader, leads them to take down the prison which he tried to do once before only this time he is successful- in summary, a whole lot of filler to go a very short and insignificant distance). I feel similar pangs here with this episode- Morgan is crazed, walking through the woods, killing zombies, stumbles upon a cabin in the woods, keeps screaming "Kill me", while this random Obi-Wan type hermit tries to redeem/ resuscitate him, which I expect he will do. Why this enriches the storyline, or makes me care more about Morgan, I can't say because I feel it fails on both counts. Flash backs, when done properly, are purposeful in that you learn something new (why someone did a thing, how they became the way they are)... TWD uses them as seasonal filler, and unfortunately, fodder. Here's to next week, where we hope to be back to the relevance of the present, and the cliffhanger you made us wait an extra week to get to.
Fear the Walking Dead (2015)
Fear the show, not the Dead
I think this show could be so amazing conceptually, but the approach thus far is way off. Cutting through the fat, to the bare bones if you pardon my zombism: Fans of TWD already know what to expect- we are here for the ride, to fill in that big blank of how the world goes down into a flesh-feasting apocalypse... Instead we are treated to slightly over an hour's worth of dry, static characters brooding over their broken family, and the search (both literally and in a more metaphoric sense), for their son- a confused junkie who- I'll be honest- is the one character I personally want to see get eaten more than anyone else so far on this show. I understand the need for character development, especially when beginning a new show- however I also feel if it's done well and proper- you shouldn't feel it- you shouldn't even necessarily notice it- it should happen organically. What I figure to be no more than time-filler is the need to return to "scene of the crime" two additional times after the opening act- a dimly lit church turned drug den (for a similar scene done much better, see 28 Days Later). Ultimately this serves as a cheap tension builder with no real payoff either time. The decisions the main characters make not to involve police even after discovering blood and guts galore add to the plot holes involving the zombies themselves, and how no one seems to be noticing them sooner... Or the lack of emotion or reaction from the main characters when they do encounter the undeniable truth. In all this series looks to have potential down the road, but if it follows the formula of the pilot episode, the writers are going to make you earn every methodical moment of it, and request a more than reasonable suspension of disbelief when it comes to bad decisions, implausible reactions, and an acceptance of irritating characters. FTWD thus far has not enriched the Walking Dead universe; it banks on fans' devotion to it to remain seated through the journey to the grueling end, or at least, through the second season.