TYTD Reviews

One thats been on the back burner for quite some time 'Lets Scare Jessica To Death' is a kind of pseudo Hitchcockian work crossed with a dash of 'The Wicker Man'. an oft forgotten mid budget studio flick thats had a larger resurgence over the past few years. I'd had it recommended to me a few times over the past few months, so I swiped it from Shout factory during a recent OOP sale and I really dont have any regrets.

The film follows 'Jessica' a new yorker whos spent the last 6 months in psychiatric care for 'unknown' reasons. Who's travelling with her husband and best friend out to the 'sticks' to get away from the hustle and bustle and hopefully start a new life in an old orchard and farm house.

The locals to the area however dont take too kindly to the gang when they turn up with a Hearse packed with their personal belongings…nor are they happy that said hearse has a tiny 'Love' hippie logo on the side of it. and so, the gang are more or less immediately shunned.

Nevertheless, they head up to the farmhouse, only…Jessica is having a bit of an issue, she keeps seeing strange women staring at her from a distance. She tries to convince herself that they arnt looking at her, but when she gets into the house she finds a squatter who frightens the life out of her. This, is Emily. A woman with almost no background, history or explanation for how she got where she is. She almost packs up and leaves then and there…But Jessica and the gang are an affable bunch and ask her to have dinner with them, and to spend the night.

But things start to go a bit strange from there. Emily seems to have a bit of a hypnotic presence over the household. the gang find various antiques in the place that Emily tries to pursuade the gang to keep, rather than sell…and when Jessica and her husband finally DO take some of the antiques down to a local trader. He explains that, unbenownst to the pair, the house they've purchased has a bit of a macarbre history, with theories ranging from ghosts, to vampires, to murderers and beyond being flung around.

As Emily begins to get more and more involved in the gangs lives, and slowly Jessica begins to feel more and more isolated, paranoid and unwell. the tension escalates into a violent and thrilling finale that'll have most on the edge of their seats!

And, i'll be honest, while some people rave about this film (Kim Newman claims this is his favourite horror film of all time) I thought it was a really solid slow burn psychodrama/horror piece…But not one without its faults.

The plot itself is, as mentioned, very slow burn, very much around building up atmosphere and tension, and I think it really succeeds at that. the pacing is a little bit *too* slow in places for my taste, but when it gets the balance right, its a masterclass in building unease and suspense. the tone has a serious feeling of forboding running right through its core. Which it also handles fantastically.

We have a clean 3 act structure with borderless smooth transitions that work fantastically, the characters are detailed enough to make you care, vague enough to keep you asking questions. they all get decent exploration and development across the runtime, and their various payoffs I feel are very much worth it.

The ending is a little bit sudden, but is ultimately still satisfying, and the twists and turns will make sure you're firmly planted to your seat throughout!

The direction and cine is gorgeous, taking on an almost 'folk horror' aesthetic. The choice to shoot this in early fall creates a misty, amber toned colder toned feature that really puts you in the mood for that autumnal vibe. Theres a clear and distinct creative vision behind this that really helps keep the audience hooked and the consistency really has to be applauded.

Same for the cine, beautifully choreographed shots that have rock solid compositions, are creative and burst with colour and rich detail. I loved the visuals here, and while it does share some elements of its cinematography with films like 'Night of the living dead' it feels in many wayt to be an evolution of that style. All of this is beautifully curated into a wonderfully precise edit that I really just fell in love with.

The performances are where I do have to dock it some points. while, broadly speaking, the cast are pretty solid and DO get some really great moments to work through a good range of emotions with some VERY meaty dialogue. I really struggled at times with some of the delivery choices…particularly from Zohra Lampert and Mariclaire Costello…Both of which were fine for about 75% of there deliveries…but that 25% where they didnt nail it, either came across as totally unbelievable, or overtly campy in a way I am (assuming) was not intended.

The soundtrack was also a bit of a mixed bag for me, its a very stripped back ambient piece of heavy bass, synth and acoustic guitar. A strange brew for sure, and one that hits about as much as it missed for me. I still cant quite make my mind up as to whether I loved it, or hated it…

All in all though, colour me impressed! I thought 'Lets Scare Jessica to Death' isnt an overt horror in the traditional sense. It has more in line with 'The Haunting' or 'Footprints on the Moon' than it does more traditional horror offerings. But its script and aesthetic really won me over, and I can definitely recommend checking this one out if you havent seen it before. I personally think it would pair up as a great 'warm up' film for something like 'The WIcker Man' as a double feature.

But if your looking for a more soft touch psychological horror this Halloween, then I think you should really give this one a go.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/lets-scare-jessica-to-death/

After the 'Netflix'/'Gizmoplex' era came to a rumbling halt. The IP for 'Mystery Science Theater' was purchased by 'Shout! Studios' who decided to contact the chaps and chapettes behind 'Rifftrax' to see if they'd fancy having a go at making a few episodes of the show. Which…well, they did (otherwise I wouldnt be writing about this right now).

'The Rifftrax Experiments' is more of a 'homecoming' experience, than an experiment to modernize. Whereas the 'Netflix' era of the show wanted to experiment and grow MST3K into a more modern iteration of the show started on public access nearly 3 decades prior. The Rifftrax Experiments aims to preserve as much of the core foundations of MST3K from 'The Mike Years' but simply update and modernise the technical standards of the old show to a more modern sensibility. If the Netflix era of the show was taking the house back to its bones and remodelling with 'tasteful' sensibilities, the 'Rifftrax experiments' is very much renovating the place while trying to retain as much of the original structure, design and aesthetics as possible.

And they've really gone all out on that front bringing back Bill, MIke, Kevin, Mary-Jo, Trace, Frank and as many of the original 'Mike Era' production staff as could be traced and willingly pulled back into the mad house. all older, all wiser and all ready and willing to go with the paint rollers and spackle.

My biggest concern with this iteration was that it may pander a bit too much to 'fanwank' as its dubbed. I love MST3K when its good, and something that would stop that dead in its tracks would be a show that was overly self referential, a little TOO happy to pat itself on the back, and willing to sacrifice quality for easy 'low hanging fruit' style gags.

And Im VERY pleasently appeased to say that while this very much has the face of the 'Sci Fi' years, its absolutely moved with the times and is embracing the new world. Mike and the bots glide naturally back into their roles, the humour is a 'moved with the times' update on their original patter. It feels different to their 'Rifftrax' offerings in terms of joke structure. but it feels more open to darker or stranger humour than the original MST run. And while their are still obscure witticisms to be had, they never go for the easy targets.

A big critique I had with the 'Netflix' years was the quality of jokes felt a bit inconsistent, and the pacing was so breakneck that it meant there wasnt room for the humour to breath. While we're only one episode into this 'limited time event' series. I felt the humour was consistently good, the tone was well balanced between whimsy, dark humour and goofball riffs. and the pacing was WAY more in line with the original MST3K giving the audience some time to process what was ACTUALLY being said.

To that end, 'Sting of Death' is a fantastic choice for an opening gambit, giving me mild 'Blood Waters of Dr. Z' vibes its a cheesy pseudo 'monster movie' from the 60s comeplete with a 'hick-a-doo-la' soundtrack. its just the kind of thing that viewers need for familiarity. Its a truly cheesy movie, and the gang relish the chance to take it to town. I dont know if I could stomach watching it 'unriffed' but riffed, it definitely takes on a new dimension.

In short, this is a REALLY strong start for the new era of the show. One im glad I backed on kickstarter, and if you had any doubts about the quality of this run, I can absolutley confirm, this is very much like slipping into some well worn and very comfy shoes. With a strong personality and sense of familiarity. 'The Rifftrax Experiments' are definitely worth checking out if your an old school MSTiE. And im very much looking forward to seeing what comes next.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/mystery-science-theater-3000-the-rifftrax/

Having enjoyed the first two chapters in the 'Insidious' franchise last Halloween. Myself and the missus decided to continue on this spooky season to the next entry for better or worse. and throwing even more 'danger' into the mix, this ones a prequel…

'Insidious: Chapter 3' follows the 'Saw' pathway to sequels and prequels, in the sense that it takes place just before the original 'Insidious' but because the first film jumped around in time between the *then* present and the more distant past. Characters and elements from the 'past' segments of that film end up tying back into this film helping create a firmer bridge in the narrative storytelling of this world.

Our story here is set a year or two before the first 'Insidious' and our main character is 'Quinn' a student who dreams of getting into a performing arts academy in New York, and has been handed a golden opportunity to interview for a placement there. When we meet Quinn however for the first time, she's on a somewhat different mission. As she arrives at Elise's house looking to try and make contact with her mother who passed away from Breast cancer a short time ago.

Elise politely, but firmly tells Quinn that she doesnt contact the dead anymore. But after hearing how far Quinn had travelled to meet her, and how desperate she is for closure, she reluctantly agrees…triggering a horrifying incident for her that brings the meeting to an abrupt end.

Things go from bad to worse for Quinn, when her audition flounders somewhat, and she gets increasing pressure of her Dad to 'step up' in supporting him in running the house. AND, to cap it all off. She randomly gets mowed down by a car.

The injury nearly kills her, but she just about manages to hang on. With two broken legs, a neck brace and a LOT of bruises, she's essentially bedbound and feeling very depressed about the whole incident. But when she starts hearing noises in the wall, she thinks shes found a friend…Little does she know this new found friend is anything BUT friendly…in fact, they're rather 'Insidious!'

While this goes on Elise starts to really struggle with the fact that whenever she tries to contact the dead, her special skill and a gift she's used for years, she winds up in a horrifying recurring scenario. Not only that, but her husband recently took his own life, and she's still trying to process the grief from that.

When Quinn begins to have bizarre and distinctly paranormal events happen to her, her dad reaches out again to Elise asking for help, she steps in, but is quickly overwhelmed. WIth the spirit thats invaded their apartment seemingly having untold levels of terror and a thirst to claim as many new victims as it can…it'll be down to Elise, Quinns family and some paranormal investigators to find out what is attacking Quinn and the family, and put a stop to it.

I was skeptical going into this one. The first two insidious films were fine enough, definitely enjoyable, but I felt kind of flawed…So I was pleasently surprised to find that this one, while not exactly 'groundbreaking' was a step up from the last two entries for me.

The script moves at a clip, its 98 minutes long and feels a lot shorter than that. The plots engaging, contrasting some really nice horror moments with some more lighthearted segments in a blend that I feel by this point has really been perfected. The tone of the film is consistent and has some genuinely eerie moments across the runtime. While it didnt exactly 'wow' me. I appreciated what it was trying to do, which was keep things simple, but very well done. And I feel they succeeded at that.

The act structuring is solid with nice, smooth transitions; the characters all get some nice depth and complexity, almost all of them have decent arcs that leave the characters clearly in a different place from where they started. We get a lot more backstory and depth to Elises character which is nice, and it helps set the ground work for the first film up nicely.

My only concern with this series at this point is that I feel that this series is going to encounter the same problem as the 'Saw' films have had, which is that they killed their central character in the first movie…Which means every subsequent film either has to be a prequel to the first, a film that happens in parallel with the first film, or in the case of 'Insidious' as a weird kind of 'force ghost' cameo in each movie that cant interact with the main story, but can appear to offer vague cryptic advice or to help kick the ghosts in the nads. I dont think it'll be a dealbreaker. But the more they add to this franchise with Elise as the lynch pin, the more bizarre and disjointed the series will likely become.

Other than those gripes, theres quite a good run in this! The direction here is a good solid piece of work with some nice developments on ideas brought in through the first 2 films. There are some Parallels to be drawn with the way this film is shot creatively, and the creative choices in 'The Conjuring 2' which I thought was interesting…But! whats here works well, they dont often lean on jumpscares which wins it some points in my books and they manage to give the film an unsettling feeling without having to 'try' to be scary all that much.

The cine isnt revolutionary, but this is a sturdy work with maybe a smidge too much CGI for my tastes. But shots are consistent and follow the rules. composition is interesting and engaging. with lots of nice tracking and motion shots helping create sequences that flow and ebb smoothly creating a seemingly constantly moving picture that I actually had quite a soft spot for.

Performances here were a bit up and down. Stefani Scott as Quinn is a bit of a wasted opportunity for me. shes set up as the lead, but doesnt really get much chance to shine. While she does get a reasonable range to work with, The film basically pulls her out of the hot seat around halfway into the 2nd act, and she never really gets to have the deserved level of closure that her character should have had. She gets a rushed closing to her story that, while tying off all the loose ends. Felt unsatisfying.

By contrast Lin Shaye has the opposite problem. Shes brought into the film initially as a supporting character that *should* have ended up as the B-plot soft launching her character into a more main character position that would be 'Insidious'…But as this film goes on, she slowly creeps more and more into the forefront, eventually turning the entire film into an 'Elise' movie. Her performance for the most part is really solid. But as her character slowly but surely minimises everyone elses requirement to be in this film. shes put in increasinly 'fan fiction' style scenarios that I simultaineously found a bit cringy…But also bizarrely watchable. I really like Shayes performances in these movies, because she genuinely seems to be enjoying herself and she gets a really good range to work with…But there were moments here where I really wish the scriptwriters hadnt leant on her quite so much.

The rest of the cast run a spectrum of 'Passable' to poor. and much like my comments on Shayes performance. how good/bad they are is generally determined by how much/little they're on screen. Are they a support character thats got 30+ minutes of screen time? they're pretty solid. Are they a Z-list character thats on screen collectivley for 2 and a bit minutes? they're horrendous. theres no middle ground.

And as for the soundtrack? well…they mainly stick to ambient drone here…sometimes harsh, sometimes soft. with the occasional jukebox track to break things up. Its inoffensive, but kind of unoriginal…It would have been nice for them to have tried something a bit different. Though, I will say, they use 'silence' here VERY effectively in creating horror and suspense. its particularly notable I feel.

All in all? I think this may be my favourite 'Insidious' film up to this point. Its got a decent runtime, solid cine and direction. the scripting is maybe a little basic, but sturdy. And even though I feel the characters and performances have some issues. They seem to have compensated for it by giving these characters a bit more depth and personality.

This is the first 'Insidious' film i've seen that I think i'd have absolutely no problem popping on for a rewatch in future. Its a smooth watch and perfect background fodder. I'd also be more than happy to recommend this one, and given its a prequel you could watch this one first and not really have anything spoiled in the later movies. So yeah! This halloween, check out 'Insidious 3' why dont you! its pretty good!

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/insidious-chapter-3/

Elise is a GODDAMN national treasure.

• Insidious: Chapter 3
• Insidious: Chapter 2
• Insidious

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/list/the-insidious-films-ranked/

The first 'spin off' film from the 'Conjuring' franchise is pretty much the definition of 'Did we REALLY need this?' as we get a prequel that partially explains how 'Annabelle' a possessed Doll came to be trapped in a glass case in the basement of the Warrens house…Its…its not as interesting as you'd expect.

The core plot revolves around Mia and John, a good wholesome happy couple who are expecting their first born child…when…im GUESSING (its never firmly confirmed) 2 members of the 'Manson family' break into their house, stabs Mia in the stomach, murders their neighbours and beats up John. The cult members are ultimately killed via a mixture of police gunfire and a suicide. But the event shakes Mia to her core.

The pair are relieved to find out their baby has survived the incident, but Mia is told to essentially spend the rest of her pregnancy in bed. But while that works out for a while…eventually she begins to notice strange goings on around the home, items moving of their own accord and such…eventually a full on fire breaks out in the place forcing the pair to move into an apartment complex…and the only constant in all of this is a strange doll bought shortly before the home invasion as a gift to Mia, a doll she'd been looking for for a VERY long time. That contains a terrible terrible evil.

When Mia's baby is born, the pair are delighted. But Mias blissful early days of motherhood turn into a nightmare, as the demons that plague the mysterious doll begin a horrifying attack on the family with even worse outcomes for all involved.

The story of the original 'Annabelle' doll isnt really all that interesting (Basically a nurse brought a doll from a second hand store, they then claimed they saw some unusual antics like stuff moving around the apartment. one of their room mates didnt like the vibe it gave off…they spoke to a medium who said a young girl possessed the doll…then one of the room mates claimed the doll or *something* attacked them while they slept. Which bought the Warrens in, who claimed that the doll in fact contained a TERRIBLE demon…and the pair offered to take the doll off their hands for safe keeping…) But that wouldnt make an all that interesting story…so we ended up with a very poorly made, badly handled analogy for post partum depression instead.

Yeah…I really didnt enjoy this one. The plot itself isnt as engaging or interesting as the 'Conjuring' movies, there really wasnt much of a need to do this honestly…the subtext of depression is handled very heavy handedly and doesnt feel satisfying or well done. The characters arnt particularly interesting or well written, the dialogue feels incredibly throw away and seemingly written to get the runtime up past feature runtime and thats about it.

I think the biggest problem this film has is that its just not that fun. It feels like a contractual obligation of a film, rather than something that had earned its chance to exist. It feels like its constantly TRYING to be a horror film. or what ITS interpretation of a horror film should be. and the problem with that is that it ends up resulting in a film that feels simultaineously cliche, NOT scary and frankly a bit beige and by the numbers.

The pacing is glacial, it feels more like a series of short films with the same characters rather than one coherent narrative plot. given its 45 minutes shorter than 'The Conjuring 2' it easily felt longer than any of the Conjuring movies up to this point. Tonally it doesnt feel in line with the other films in the series. Annabelle as a paranormal 'being' isnt scary, barely gets anything to do for most of the runtime…she's just a very dull and uninspiring villain, and absolutely not strong enough to carry this movie…im honestly amazed theres (at least) another 2 of these. I can only assume the folks who unconditionally love this film are the cinematic equivilent of giving a victorian orphan 'Baja Blast'.

The direction feels cheap, again is very cliche and really did nothing for me. its coherent as a studio work. But this really is the very VERY barest of minimums. When I say i've seen low/no budget films look better than this. Im not kidding, and thats BEYOND depressing.

The cine is flat, lifeless, desaturated and bland. I hate to feel like a broken record, but its all very cliched again….the sequences cut together fine enough, and theres a couple of nice moments here and there. But on the whole, its a very boring watch.

The cast are fine…theres no inherently awful performances. But nothing great. they're all just kind of on the level. Unremarkable is about as good as I can describe them, and when I say they're also the best part of the film. I hope that emphasizes how below the standard we are…

throw in a soundtrack that sounds mainly like recycled tracks from a sound library. and we have a film that I would derogatorily compare to a 'Tubi Original' if it wasnt for the fact that i've actually seen Tubi movies that were better put together than this.

I dunno, im not a parent, maybe if you are, you'll get more out of this than I did…But i'll be honest, I spent a big chunk of this drumming my fingers waiting for it to be over…which took a LOT longer than I expected. I cant recommend this one, its really not worth your time, and it'll be a good while before I give this one a second chance.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/annabelle/

I aint afraid of no ghost…mainly because the Warrens seemingly ate them all…

1. The Conjuring
2. The Conjuring 2
3. Annabelle

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/list/the-conjuring-franchise-ranked/

Mike Flanagan picks up the mantle here with a prequel to the somewhat uninspired 2014 'Ouija', presenting 'Ouija: Origin of Evil' a prequel that takes us 50 years into the past, and fleshes out the backstory that drove the original films core plotting.

Here? we're introduced to the 'Zander' family. Lina, Doris and mother Alice, who; when they arnt struggling to make ends meet, or trying their best at school. Are running a fortune telling and 'mystic' service out of their house for people struggling with losses and offering contact with the dearly departed…

Theres just two things, one being that the entire thing is a sham, using magnets, cold reading and pre rigged devices they create the illusion of spirits contacting them…But also; the family themselves are dealing with the pain of loss, as the father of the household was recently killed in a drink driving accident.

When Lina attends a hip 'older teen' party, she not only ends up on that old devil 'Hooch' but she and her older friends start meddling with the hot new toy of the decade…The 'Ouija' board. Inspired by its supernatural and fun edge. Lina convinces Alice to bring one into her readings as a way to add to the atmosphere.

Unbeknownst to Alice or the family however, a malevolent spirit with a traumatic and violent past stalks the house. and when youngest daughter Doris ends up using the board unsupervised, it creates the perfect opportunity for terrifying vengence…

And its pretty much smiles all round from me on this one. I thought the original 'Ouija' was a rather slow, poorly plotted, overtly generic, heavy handed 'haunted house' horror film that wasnt inherently BAD…but was a VERY basic offering, that wasnt something I could exactly sing the praises of.

'Origin of Evil' by contrast is a much more stable and solid production in almost every regard, and while it does have problems of its own, it does manage to really build and improve on what it initially attempted.

The script is still a touch on the basic side plot wise, it essentially feels like 1 part 'Halloween', to one part 'The Exorcist', to two parts 'The Conjuring'…But the elements all blend together rather well, the pacing is consistent and smoother/quicker than the original film, the characters feel much better fleshed out with actual character arcs and more complex feelings that are dealt with across the runtime. The dialogues tighter, the act structuring is rock solid and has a great smooth transition period.

However; while this is a significant step in the right direction over the original, it isnt without its faults. This being a prequel, a LOT of the plot twists and turns have been defanged by the original film. the joy of a good prequel isnt so much the twists and turns, more how the film makers take the audience on a journey. And while this films 'journey' is quite enjoyable and good fun. The story as it plays out here doesnt *quite* align with what was talked about in the original film, and I found it quite hard to try and detatch what happens in the original film set in the present day, with the events portrayed here. Its a rare occasion where i'd actually suggest watching the prequel BEFORE You watch the original film, as I think the narrative and vibes would flow better that way, than the other way around.

The other issue this film has? is just HOW heavy handed it is with the 60s aesthetic. The first film was quite blunt in its intentions…But this film is a wrecking ball of a movie when it comes to trying to set it in the 1960s…theres no subtlety here, and it DESPERATELY tries to cram every square inch of the film with 60s references…badly. To the point where, even someone like myself who can appreciates a contemporary 'period' piece was like 'Guys…less is more! please!'…

Its hammered so hard that it kind of detracts from the core story…and because (in my opinion) it isnt even handled all that WELL, it at times made the film feel like it was more of a 'direct to video' piece, than a theatrical offering.

Other than that though, its pretty much smooth sailing from there. The direction is a definite big step up with WAY more creative visuals, some genuinely unsettling concepts peppered throughout and a fantastic colour palette, set design and general 'vibe' the whole thing feels a lot more colourful, vibrant and detailed than the previous film.

Cast directions equally more detailed, with much more work put into cast placement, the kill sequences and delivery work. the cast confidently move around the set, and other than a couple of slightly flubby dialogue bits and maybe a wobbly pseudo CGI sequences. its really quite well handled.

The cine has some actually pretty unsettling compositions that are 'studio' quality follow the rules of thirds and work really nicely with the colour grade to bring the best out of the work…It would have been nice maybe to have had a bit more light play, as a lot of the shots here look a little bit flat in my opinion, but its a small gripe really for something thats pretty solid really.

The edits a little looser than I personally would have liked, sequences dont flow quite as smoothly as I feel they could do and some now slightly creaky CG doesnt help matters. Its a competent edit. But thats all it is, something that gets the job done…but didnt knock my socks off.

Performance wise credit really has to go to Elizabeth Reaser as Alice, who arguably gives the strongest performance in this film, getting a LOT of range to work with, and barely missing a beat across the runtime. Shes fantastic in this. Analise Basso as Lina for me was frustrating. She *just* misses the mark consistently for me across the runtime. delivering things either a bit too detached or a bit too bluntly for my liking. Its not a bad performance, it just doesnt fit the bill for me. The reason why its frustrating? Because in the final few minutes of the movie, she gives the EXACT tone and style of performance that I felt she should have had for the full runtime. a painful glimpse into what might have been…

Throw in a somewhat middling soundtrack that half heartedly mixes generic synth and string horror ambience with a stab at the 'Insideous – Creepy music from the 30s, 40s and early 60s' that lands tepid for me and didnt really set the right mood. It was a bit of a letdown honestly.

Ultimately? I can absolutely recommend this film to anyone who likes a good 'Haunted House' with paranormal elements feature. its a solid watch that can be seen without having to watch the original 'Ouija' and I VERY much implore you to just stick with this one as a 'one and done' rather than doing it in release order.

This entry has everything you need and a bit more, and while it isnt the greatest horror film in the world. Its a very solid contender and definitely worth your time as a pre-game watch during Spooky season!

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/ouija-origin-of-evil/

'The Conjuring 2' is, in essence just 'The Conjuring' but beefed up…I wish there was more I could say really than that. But sometimes you have to call a horse a horse, and thats what this is…a slightly beefier, slightly slower tank of a horse that in many ways is better than the other horse THIS horse was based on…But at the same time has more significant issues.

Its almost like the production team behind this looked at the original 'Conjuring' and every facet they could identify they draw a big ring around with a caption next to it saying 'Do more with it'…and by god if they didnt try and do just that.

The film OPENS with them shorthand solving the problems at the 'Amityville House'…That isnt even the BASE for this movie…thats basically just framed as a vignette to help re-establish the Warrens as they'd been off screen for 3 years.

From there the bulk of the film is a 'based on a true story'/ distorted by Hollywood account of 'The Enfield Haunting' an incident that occured in London between 1977 and 1979 in which a family were *allegedly* haunted by the ghost of a man named Bill Wilkins who had died in the house prior to the family moving in.

Two things make them choosing this story to adapt funny. One is that this particular incident, while having some unexplained elements, is arguably one of the easiest to provably dismiss as a fake, the family were struggling for money, and their were multiple incidents where the kids were caught fabricating evidence and misleading paranormal investigators.

The other point being that the Warrens involvement in this case was INCREDIBLY short, lasting barely a few days, in which the only notable thing Wikipedia seems to record, is that the Warrens didnt really find anything substantial, and that Ed Warren told the family they could make a lot of money by writing a book about their experiences, copyrighting the experience and licensing it out to be adapted for film.

But Hollywood wont let THAT get in the way of a good story, and so in this outing Ed and Lorraine head to England, and fight a demonic force taking the shape of a nun, spend most of the build up to christmas hanging around with the families, buying them records and bringing positive energy, and of course Ed and Lorraine crack the cause of the haunting of Enfield and end up having a hand to hand throw down with demons and the deceased to free the family from a terrible curse.

Yes, its a fantastical reimagining of something that kind of sort of happened, but absolutely didnt. But; Im not here to chart this films historical accuracy, im here to talk about how good of a movie it is…and on that front? Its a pretty solid, but WAY too long horror movie.

I thought the original 'Conjuring' was abusing my trust by running to an hour and 52…this film runs to 2 hours and 15 minutes and ABSOLUTELY didnt need to do that. I will give this film more credit than its previous entry in that, script wise, this one puts rubber to road a LOT quicker on setting up the paranormal elements, getting the Warrens involved and getting the spooky shenanigans on the road…But extended conversations about Biscuits, idle chatter about the families absent father, and an extended sequence of Ed playing 'Elvis' greatest hits act as speed bumps on a film that could have been astounding at an hour and 45 or an hour and 50…but slumps at two and quarter hours and doesnt manage to keep a consistent pace.

The characters are a bit better developed than those from the original film, the complexities of the family are better established. But contrasting that, the film asks the audience to take MUCH greater 'leaps of faith' in the plot holes and inconsistencies. It tries desperately to smooth over the cracks of the plot holes not only the instances created BY the film itself, but the holes from the original investigation. Which is problematic if your approaching the film as a non believer in the paranormal (as I am.)

Add to this that the dialogue and vocal performances of the cast are PAINFULLY British, to a point I almost felt the need to call 'racism'. Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins was less English than the cast in this one are trying to play. and it annoyed me consistently across the runtime. This isnt a faithful attempt at recreating Britain in the 1970s…its an American skewed attempt at creating Britain in the 1970s by essentially starting with Britain today, and then just making everything look shabbier and occasionally flashing up Margret Thatcher (something I personally found terrifying…)

Beyond those faults however, I found elements of the plotting in this one to be more interesting a better structured than the original, the ending was more satisfying and felt grander than the original. and that pretty much plots the course for what I mentioned above…everything here is just as good as the first film, but for better (or worse) its beefier.

The direction matches the same creative vision and flow of the first one, but with a bigger budget theyre able to go grander, make more complex visions and intricate set pieces (the final fight between Ed and the demon of the house is a fantastic example of this). But in doing these grander more intricate visual pieces, it makes the quieter sentimental pieces feel less believable and less sincere than the first film. Its hard to imagine a family being traumatised by demons, where everything is constantly being smashed and their children are being tossed around the room, are going to be composed enough to still bother setting up for Christmas.

The cine feels bigger budget, more refined and stronger than the original in terms of realising the creative vision…But because everything is SO much more polished and tightly structured, it takes away from the gritty realism and makes everything feel a bit synthetic by contrast.

performance wise, everything feels a bit more polished and refined, but as mentioned the english accents are horrendous to me, and I do feel we lose a bit more of the emotional intimacy that the characters all held in the first film. Plus its really a VERY hard watch to see a bunch of nerdy 70s British people get the American upgrade…it reminded me VERY heavily of when 'The Comic Strip' made 'Strike!' an american re-imagining (parody) of the minors strike starring Al Pachino…

The soundtracks solid, and its nice that the mixing on the jump scare audios is a bit more balanced. But I feel its fair to say ultimately that this is a more complex and engaging work than the original 'Conjuring' but with that comes more opportunity to fail, and it does on several occasions.

This may sound like a negative review, but ultimately I did enjoy 'The Conjuring 2' While I do feel that it is over long and that they didnt really manage to win me over on the realisation of Britain in the 1970s…not helped that around the same time this film came out, the BBC made an adaptation of the enfield hauntings that felt MUCH more British, was a HELL of a lot shorter and I felt showed what happened in a more believable way. It ends up feeling inferior by comparison.

My ultimate 'hot tip'? seek out the BBC adaptation of the Enfield haunting (Called 'The Enfield Haunting' and released in 2015) and you'll have a more accurate and entertaining 'small budget' experience. As for this? if you liked the first Conjuring, you'll almost certainly enjoy this! I enjoyed this! and I'll almost certainly watch it again sooner rather than later…I just wish it'd maybe aimed a bit lower and tried to keep things a bit more faithful to what actually happened. Rather than queuing up this entry to be the launch pad for half a dozen spin off films.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-conjuring-2/

It wasnt the first time that a movie had oversold it's monster when 'Night of the Lepus' hit screens in 1972, and it certainly wouldnt be the last. But; as with 'The Giant Claw' before it, "Lepus" seemingly bit off more than it could chew, transforming this pseudo 'Atom Age' giant monster Horror drama, into a completely unintentional comedy.

The plot follows Roy and Gerry Bennett (Played by cinema legends Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh) as scientists assisting ranchers who have a big problem on their hands, thats about to get BIGGER!

See, life of the ranch has had problems of late, as a large infestation of rabbits have rendered large swathes of crops inedbile and are creating holes all over the prairie. They're reaching serious infestation levels when ranch owner Cole Hillman is put in touch with Roy via a mutual friend Elgin (played by DeForrest Kelly) Roy and Gerry visit the ranch with their daughter and agree to take some of the Rabbits away to test some new hormonal serums on them, with the aim being to make them sterile and re-release them into the population with a viral version of the serum which would spread through the populace…as the alternative is spraying poison all over the land, which will kill absolutely everything.

After testing on over two dozen rabbits, the pair are struggling to find a breakthrough, when their daughter Amanda, takes a liking to one of the test rabbits, and while her parents arnt looking, she swipes it from the facility to take home as a pet…However; when returning to the ranch with the rabbit, Cole's son see's Amanda with the rabbit and forces her to set it free. Not realising that the rabbit they just set free had in fact been infected with an experimental hormonal serum with an unintended consequence…rapid growth and gestation abilities.

In no time at all, a nearby mineshaft is brimming with ultra fertile rabbits the size of wolves. and they're only going to get bigger! When the gang discover the giant rabbits, they try to trap them by blowing up the mine shaft they've occupied…but they forget that rabbits can dig! and within hours, the town is swarming with giant killer bunnys! leaving it down to Roy, Gerry and Cole to try and slow the rabbits approach to civilization by ANY means necessary!

So, for those of you that havent seen this one, the main reason it lives on in infamy amongst cult film aficionados, is the same reason 'The Giant Claw' does, the cast were told that the 'Killer rabbits' were going to be terrifying snarling beasts vicious critters with appearances more in line with the scariest offerings from 'Watership Down' than your average bunny. However; whether it was technical limitations or budgetary concerns. the studio didnt have the ability to make the rabbits look disturbing. they basically had enough of a budget to buy a couple dozen normal rabbits, a couple of 'rabbit costumes' for stuntmen to dress in, and a few gallons of fake blood/jam to smear on the rabbits to make them 'blood soaked'…and the end result is a film where our cast look on in terror as the CUTEST little bun-buns you've ever seen slow motion ride through the countryside.

It does rather 'defang' the viewing experience…transforming what did have the potential to be an actually kind of spooky 'what if?' in line with 'The Birds' or 'Rats: Night of terror' into something that is endlessly laughable. and as a result, the entire film suffers for it.

The script itself is a bit of a shame honestly, I can see how the bones of this could have made for a particularly engaging novel or short story. as a cinematic offering, the story itself isnt terrible either, reminding me very much of the early 50s creature features…However; I came to this expecting a horror film, maybe with some light drama elements…but instead its more of a Drama with some suspenseful horror elements peppered in. and given what i've said about the 'horror' and how almost all of the 'horror' in this is led by the rabbits scenes…the end result is a kind of flat drama, with the selling point absolutely deflated…

The pacing is painfully slow, this is an 80 minute feature that takes 50 minutes of setup to really get going. the film overexplains itself to extreme lengths, the act transitions are WAY too slow burn, to the point that the acts kind of just all blur into themselves without enough key plot points to hand to help tentpeg the structure of the script. The dialogues slow going and overly detailed. The characters are just about fine enough for this kind of thing, and they do get some time to have a bit of development granted across the runtime.

But the horror comes in way too late, is undercut by the failure to make the subject actually scary, and it ultimately means it feels like a horror film thats in a chronic sense of 'build up' that never pays off…it just fizzles out.

The direction is pretty nice here, its definitely got a creative vision behind it, though again, we as the audience cant escape the fact that they're limited on what they can do with the bunnies…while there is some creative model work used, and they try their best with some bluescreen work…it ultimately ends up being a film that looks pretty solid, and has some creative flourishes…but never quite nails what it sets out to do.

The cine is equally rock solid, and probably the best part of this film, some fantastic shots, that really help keep the film popping visually, nicely coordinated into decent sequences that try and make the best of a bad situation. Barring a couple of bizarre editing choices in the 3rd act. I had no quibbles with this one.

The performances are about as good as they can be, with the dialogue choices being rough around the edges, the cast can only work with what they've got, counterbalancing that issue we have the fact that the film has horror and suspense royalty bouying up the feature. But even with some of the cream of the crop on the bill, a poorly written script can only get you so far, and the end result is a scenario where a great cast do their best with a bad hand and sort of, kind of pull it off. I dont think the performances were particularly beliveable, but they were compelling.

And as for the soundtrack? its pretty solid, an acoustic and string arrangement very much of the 70s. it gives the film a degree of melancholy that I felt compelling, its quite well utilised. but maybe a tad generic.

If your a fan of weird and cult cinema 'Night of the Lepus' is definitely a film you should see at least once. Its not as interesting a piece as say 'Killdozer' or 'The Strangeness'…But it has enough going on to make it worth your time just about. If however you arnt that invested in movies that have just a single core gimmick carrying the whole thing, you will be bitterly dissapointed with this one. and absolutely should avoid it at all costs.

Myself? I thought it was underwhelming…but fine. I was expecting a bit more out of it on the horror, gore and violence front. But theres a charm in seeing them try and convince the audience that this REALLY TRUELY IS terrifying, that kept me hanging on till the end. Not one i'll be rushing back to watch again. But I didnt hate it. I just kind of hoped it would be better.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/night-of-the-lepus/

Jumping into 'Ouija' I was trying to be somewhat hopeful. Im always trying to broaden my horizons when it comes to more 'contemporary' Horror as a way of working on myself. So! I queued it up, got comfy…aaaaand not a whole lot happened…I kind of wish I could be kinder to this one. But theres very little I can really say to be any more precise than that.

The plot follows 'Laine' the older of two sisters who's living with her 'Nonna' and is living the bog standard high school student life with her best friend 4eva 'Debbie'. The film opens establishing that, even as kids, Debbie and Laine used to mess around with an 'Ouija' board. but back then they were just goofing around, and didnt really know what they were getting into.

Skip forward to the present day, and Laine is growing concerned for Debbie, who is becoming increasingly recluse. As it turns out, Debbie has found a new 'Ouija' board in her house, and…after messing around with it by herself (something the film tells us we must NEVER do.) Debbie winds up dead. Laine cant quite believe her friend has gone, and her circle of associates gather to both attend the funeral, and look out for a devestated Laine.

When Laine feels like she needs to contact Debbie one more time, she discovers Debbies Ouija board and manages to convince her friends and her younger sister Sarah to take part in a seance to see if they can contact Debbie and get closure on the whole thing.

Unfortunately; it doesnt really work out that way, and things quickly begin to spiral out of control, as Debbie and her friends may have actually unleashed more than they bargained for. Leading Laine and the group on a hunt through the houses history, and a terrifying history of witchcraft and the dark arts, all of which is connected to the dissapearence of a young girl…and a spirit board brimming with evil…

And the quick caption summary for this 'horror' film, is theres about 25 minutes of actual honest to goodness haunted house shenanigans, married up to about an hours worth of plot that could best be described as an after school special on the subject of 'The death of a loved one'.

This films biggest problem is the pacing. its glacial. its painfully slow in places, annoyingly slow, as we watch characters basically explain absolutely EVERYTHING In painful detail, leaving almost nothing for the film to actually 'SHOW'. and the one or two twists that DO come up here are undercut with overt foreshadowing that is clearly designed for people who lack media literacy skills.

Tonally; its a bit murky, theres definitely a horror element here, but the overwhelming feeling is more of a 'Drama' in my opinion…and not a particularly great one at that. The characters all feel painfully surface level to the point that I have to assume the film makers assumed that a flashback at the beginning was enough to flesh them out. they arnt complex, they dont feel 'lived in' these are characters that exist for as long as the film flickers on the screen, and the SECOND the credits roll hits, they're off into the ether. barely able to hold things together even at the height of the films action.

The dialogues bland, the act structuring feels sluggish and inconsistent, theres no clear act change transitions, it just rumbles on, occasionally remembering its a horror film, at which point it delivers 5-10 good minutes of quite well put together horror plotting…before getting back to 'Dawsons Creek'.

From here, we basically just run through 'acceptable' across the board. The direction is to a studio standard…which here means it isnt abysmal, but it is absolutely the barest minimum of whats needed to be considered 'Studio quality'. the vision is beige, but firmed up, the direction of the sequences has a few flickers of originality muddled in there, but this is almost a year after 'The Conjuring' reset the standard for the 'haunted house' movie, and since then 'Insideous' and 'Sinister' had only taken the genre from strength to strength. leaving this one feeling a little bland by comparison.

Same goes for the cine, shots are fine, and the horror elements do have some pretty satisfying moments here and there, but again; its nothing groundbreaking and ultimately over 10 years on, this feels a bit overly generic. When I can say 'Sterling Entertainment' films have had more imaginative direction and cine…I hope that goes some way to say just how by the numbers and bland this gets at time.

The cast do the best they can with the script, I cant fault their performances honestly, but I can fault the dialogue they've been given to work with. They have a reasonable physical energy, at times they drift into 'Asylum' terratory with the line deliveries. But across the board I think they're all just about of a 'standard' maybe occasionally drifting into 'stiff' terratory on deliveries. And; as an aside, theres a LOT of CGI in this…not all of it good, and it does impact the performances because I get the feeling that the cast either wernt aware of what effects were going to be used in the final cut. Or they were told, but didnt have it explained. Because sometimes their reactions dont really match the CG thats happening on screen.

The soundtracks ultimatley kind of unmemorable too. mainly drone and string arrangements…nothing remarkable. my only compliment being that at least the sound balance is okay, no major audio jump scares…

All in all? I didnt hate 'Ouija'…but its a VERY beige production. It takes an age to get going, when it finally does build up some steam it splutters while doing so, the plot is fine, but the dialogues rough, and the direction, cine and scoring are largely either copying other movies from this time, or the safest most overly beige options…

As a result, I cant personally recommend this one. its not bad enough for me to come out swinging at it, and; as a 'background movie' I think its okay enough…But there are FAR FAR better films out there that tackle this kind of thing. And I think this 'Spooky season' you absolutely can do better.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/ouija/