Evil Dead Burn, 2026 – ★★★½

Once again, we’re blessed with another gift of an additional entry into the ‘Evil Dead’ franchise. A series that, to this day I am happy to report hasnt had a single poor entry (in this humble critics opinion). With the latest offering being ‘Evil Dead Burn’ a more brutalist take on the franchise; probably its most brutal outing since the 2013 remake.

The plot follows French woman and all round bruiser ‘Alice’, a woman in an abusive relationship who’s husband ‘Will’ dies in a horribly fiery car crash. Alice and Will co-own a restaurant/bar, something which was much more Wills idea due to his love of french Cuisine, rather than Alice’s; who’d much rather handle the accounts.

Will’s death leads to a VERY unsteady family reunion with Wills Mum,Dad, Brother, Brothers partner and Dimentia ridden Grandmother all gathering at the families (now abandoned) Grandparents place. tensions rise when it becomes clear that the family are less than happy with how Alice has handled Wills death, and even more upset to find out that she doesnt wish to continue to operate the Restaurant/Bar.

Things only go from bad to worse, when Wills Brother, Edgar reveals that he’s been working on a book based on the life of his Grandfather, an explorer and archivist who joined a mysterious cult known as the ‘Circle of the Wisemen’ who’s aim was to research, explore and hopefully discover artifacts tied to the Necronomicon (Book of the dead).

As you can imagine, someone manages to find transcribed pages of the Necronimicon, words are spoken and suddenly Alice and the family are facing down immensely powerful deadites, who this time appear to have apperated with a mission to retrieve something from the house the family have found themselves trapped in…With Edgar holding onto some critical information that might explain everything…

‘The Evil Dead’ as a franchise is somewhat of a pendulous series, constantly in a state of swinging between utterly grizzly and bleak horror, and farsical comedy. Over the series entries such as ‘Evil Dead 2’, ‘Army of Darkness’ and ‘Ash Vs The Evil Dead’ have given things a much more comedic overtone thats helped contrast the ultra gory violence creating an almost cartoonish atmosphere.

Contrasting that, the original ‘Evil Dead’, the 2013 remake and now this entry drag the series back to its original roots. a brazenly unapologetic horror film that gets incredibly gory, incredibly nasty and positively gross in places. using comedy almost as a trim to help bring the series a bit more of a contrasting lift to make the next dose of ultra violence feel particularly powerful.

Now; Im just going to be honest here, I personally have a preference for the entries where they are unashamedly going for over the top cartoonish gore with a distinct comedy edge, over the entries where they play the comedy right down in favour of wall to wall gore. And this entry is definitely more in the ‘serious and brutal’ camp.

Thats not to say there arnt funny moments occasionally; but with ‘Evil Dead Burn’ they feel, for lack of a better word…’Tacked on’ like they were put there because there was a felt absence of humour. ..make of that what you will.

Instead; ‘Evil Dead Burn’ is a dark horror film dealing openly with domestic abuse, its impact on not only the individual, but the families who can be complicit in that abuse and the pain and suffering it leaves across everyone involved.

With that in mind the plot really boils down to two main headers. One being Alice’s relationship with Will and Wills family, and her processing of whats happened to her through the backdrop of a deadite home invasion. and the B-plot, which is the deadites actively looking for something in the house (which I wont go into detail here because, spoilers.)

But its these two plots that I feel are actually probably the biggest problem that I have with ‘Evil Dead Burn’…AND a broader issue that I have with this film altogether…see…to me?…this film didnt really feel like a breath of fresh air for the franchise. Instead it almost felt like a kind of…ground up ‘Evil Dead’ Meatball. The elements of Alice recovering from trauma brought up elements of the 2013 Evil Dead, the home invasion and isolationist elements (and the 3rd act finale, which again; I wont spoil here) all felt very much akin to what happened in ‘Evil Dead Rise’. there are beats that felt a little too close to the original ‘Evil Dead’ for me to say they were a ‘Homage’.

This entry DOES introduce a lot of new and interesting ideas for how deadites manifest and what they’re capable of doing. But at the same time, I dont feel like this entry really bought the series forward in any meaningful way…rather, it felt like it existed to reintroduce people who’d maybe only seen the last couple ‘New’ Evil Dead movies to concepts the original trilogy shaped out nicely…Only. I think the original trilogy handled it better than this. It feels rushed here, key information that was the basis of some of the earlier entries, are just kind of…haphazardly ‘cliff noted’ here. With no real explanation or justification.

To that end, I found the pacing to be a little slow going at first. ‘Evil Dead Rise’ had a similar problem, where they open the film with a particularly gnarly kill sequence, and then the next half an hour (of a 90 minute movie) is just setting up how the final 45 minutes is going to be ‘Awesome.’

It takes a good while for this film to really spin up, the act structuring is a little messy between the transition stages. And I think something that really goes against this film is the fact that the characters all feel…well…kind of flat. It would work if Alice was a flat and blunt character type playing off against a whole lot of crazy from the deadites and the extended family. Because it would be inkeeping with her backstory. But the rest of the family are also kind of unremarkable and muted, and when the time comes to kick into high gear, the performances really are a bit too subdued for my taste, favouring over the top gross out and gore to actually making me care about these characters,or even really to appreciate their deadite performances. They’re all just a bit…unremarkable, which is odd for an ‘Evil Dead’ movie as the series is usually hot on the button for giving us interesting or unusual characters/performances that help keep audiences firmly in seats.

What I can say however; is the plot is ultimately compelling, if not a little slow boiled, ends about as well as could be hoped. And leaves enough open that a sequel could actually really build and develop off of this entry. In fact; thats exactly how I felt about this movie as the credits rolled like it was the middle part of a ‘trilogy’ good enough to keep things moving, not really good enough to stand solely on its own two feet. (And with another ‘Evil Dead’ sequel tentatively penned in for 2028; I feel Im correct in that assertion.)

Outside of the script, the directions pretty solid, a bleak and chilling vision, I feel like Sébastien Vaniček understood the assignment to make this an absolute gore fest. and while I dont quite think this entry is as ‘splattertastic’ as the last few films (and TV series) it definitely had me wincing throughout, so i’d say its a success on that front. While it is a quite stylish film in places, I do wish this entry had a bit more colour going on in its directoral vision. Blacks, dark Blues, grays contrast orange and red…Which is fiiiiine…But its also very VERY ‘Done.’ especially both in recent ‘Evil Dead’ movies AND recent horror films in general. that kind of washed out, brown/gray colour grading that makes everything look a bit putrid is fine if it suits the tone of the film. But I feel here we really would have benefitted from a bit more of a colour pop. Instead everything feels a bit drab…and by extension, a little bit uninteresting sadly.

Direction of the cast is solid, the fight sequences and gore scenes are very well executed and Vaniček vision in terms of the camera work pays homage to Raimi’s vision, while also not being afraid to put his own name on this.

The Cine is also pretty solid, decently executed compositions tastefully arranged to form a fluid set of sequences that more or less hit the spot. Theres the occasional bit of CGI I wasnt a huge fan of, and the occasional edit that defied the law of time and space from a continuity perspective…but hey, im watching a film about demons from another realm claiming the bodies of the living…I think I can give it some gratis on that.

The performances, as mentioned, are a little dry. I dont think they’re bad performances really. But this is a much more subdued set of performances than anything we’ve had in recent years. Souheila Yacoub as Alice is probably the best performance in the film. a ‘Done’ French woman who didnt want to even be there BEFORE the film starts, finds herself dragged WELL beyond her tolerance level and then some. and I think its a pretty bob on performance for that. She really gets a good range to work with and the script gives her plenty of layers to work through as we get to slowly understand her circumstances.

Tandi Wright as Susan also gets a solid run playing Will and Edgars mother. a multi layered performance that sees her ranging from a woman accepting her daughter in law begrudgingly through the process of a full blown traumatic mental breakdown as her family slowly get attacked and picked off. I think she gives a blinder here and is probably the most underrated performance in this film.

The rest of the cast though?…well…theyre okay. unremarkable if im being honest. I dont like using the term ‘NPC’ to describer a performance. But a lot of the choices in this film make these characters feel very much like THE most generic horror characters i’ve seen in a long time…unfortunately. Again; they’re not BAD performances. they’re just notable for how little they actually feel they impact the main plot.

And as for the score? well…its a return of drone and frantic orchestral pieces. The last entry mixed the music so loud that when I saw it in theaters it caused visual distortion in my eyes. That was an intense experience. This? this was fine. it sounded like the last two evil dead films. and was kind of unremarkable because of that…Though I will say this entry (like the last one) does occasionally struggle with that plague of the 21st century, audio mixing that doesnt compensate for mumbling line deliveries. there were multiple points in this film where I basically just had to guess whatever a character was saying because the audio for their dialogue was SO deep in the mix as to be basically inaudible. One i’ll absolutely need to turn subtitles on for when I next rewatch.

All in all? ‘Evil Dead Burn’ is more on the generic side for an ‘Evil Dead movie’ at this point in time. Its still a perfectly fine and enjoyable experience that I definitely recommend checking out. But I dont think this would be one i’d be in a rush to rewatch…especially just on its own. I COULD see this being a more than welcome part of an ‘Evil Dead’ marathon at some point in future. But the lack of distinct/meaningful characters combined with plotting that feels a little on the slowburn side, and very self referential, ultimately left me feeling like this may be one that gets better on a rewatch, but is probably short of cracking the ‘top 5’ best of this franchise.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/evil-dead-burn/

by tytdreviews

Hobgoblins 2, 2009 – ★½

I first attempted to watch ‘Hobgoblins 2’ around about 13 years ago, and for the last 13 years it held the rather ‘odious’ honour of being one of only a handful of movies that I turned off before it finished. Whether I was just in a bad mood that day, or whether I found the core location of the film (a mental hospital) particularly tasteless, I cant rightly say. But; I got about 2/3rds of the way in, let out a primal pained yelp and vowed to never go back.

Well; after six ‘Vice Academy’ movies, I decided I needed a palette cleanse. And I didnt want to feel like a total failure for bailing on this movie all those years ago…So; I gave it another try. And; in *SOME* ways it was a bit better than I remembered. But its hard to tell if time has been kinder to this film, or if nearly 10 years scuba diving to the depths of the barrel has just made me ‘battle hardened.’

The plots a bit of a mishmash of semi beige ideas and key points from the original ‘Hobgoblins’ as we’re introduced to a gang of medical students studying to qualify for the profession. And at this point in time; they’re looking to learn about patients with mental health issues and learning disabilities. So naturally the film takes EVERY opportunity to call it a ‘mental hospital’ and to make all the residents seem like the most loony, over the top crazy people you’ve ever met.

While performing their residency however; one of the gang is introduced to a recast Mcreedy (the security guard from the original ‘Hobgoblins’) Who was institutionalised for blowing up the movie studio at the end of the last film. He warns the group and their lead doctor about the ‘Hobgoblins’, and basically tells them everything they need to know to summon them. And guess what!? THEY SUMMON THEM!

At first they mainly latch on to the gangs mentor. But eventually they tie themselves to one of the gang (Steve) and from their begin to set twisted carnage to the group AND the regulars of the hospital! Leading to Mcreedy having to show the guys and gals the only TRUE way to get rid of a Hobgoblin!

Im going to be upfront about this movie. Its not very good. I think nearly 10 years of ‘Softly from cable’ fundamentally damaged Sloans ability to write a coherent and detailed script. A lot of the humour here shares itself with the latter day ‘Vice Academy’ movies, and while there is definitely a whiff of the original ‘Hobgoblins’ in this, it all feels a bit watered down and budget restricted, to the point that we hit the same problems Sloans latter day film career repeatedly ran into. A LOT of time to kill, and not a lot of money or resource to fill it.

The scripts got a three act plot…which is something I guess, but its sloppy. the opening act feels a bit lazy and leans very heavily on ‘crazy people are funny’ to try and get it through, as the first act gives way to the second act, the whole thing begins to sogg and melt as the plotting becomes a bit ‘all over the place’ and increasing references to the original ‘Hobgoblins’ creep in to try and reassure the audience that these films both share a universe.

By the 3rd act, it almost feels like we’re experiencing a skit show, rather than a detailed film. as large swathes of action appear to happen off screen, and the stuff that DOES make it on screen is incredibly cheap looking to say the least.

The temptation is to say that Sloan realised at some point in the 90s that he was percieved as a ‘so bad its good’ director, and that he leaned into it in the latter part of his career. But I dont really think thats the case. This doesnt feel ‘Lazy’ in the way the some other low/no budget directors wide up being. This feels almost stifled by the sheer stuffiness of a director who’s on screen humour really hadnt advanced since about 1994. There are ‘in references’ to Sloans other movies peppered throughout this. But I think the bigger problem is that this is a film shot in 2009, that reads like a script written in 1995 and looks like a film shot in 2002.

The pacing is glacial with very VERY brief zaps of energy to push the plot along. But like the ‘Vice Academy’ movies, we spend an ungodly amount of time in ‘2 shots’ or mid group shots where 2-3 cast members will iterate and RE-iterate the same plot points over and over again until we hit that sweet 80-90 minute ‘distribution’ runtime.

The characters quite literally ARE just reimaginings of the ‘Hobgoblins’ characters, but even more cartoonish and ditzy now than before. their dialogue really struggles through most of this and that combined with a set of performances that really just felt overtly wooden really failed to win me over.

The direction does at least try a couple of interesting things. I think ‘Hobgoblins’ predominantly is known for its interesting use of coloured lighting, and this film DOES at least TRY to create a matching sense of mise-en-scene. But it does fall short for me, and not helping matters either, the only version I could find to watch this one was a copy on ‘Tubi’ that appears to be a DVD rip of the movie that hasnt been upscaled to even basic HD (theres a huge black border around the film, and it appears the image itself has been cropped, leaving a small, pixellated, blurry offering center screen)

I will say this is a solid attempt from Sloan on the direction front, especially compared to his offerings 1992 -1999. But I think, due to the budget limitations, while its definitely a step in the right direction, it cant escape looking as painfully cheap as it does. Maybe a proper HD remaster would bring things to life a bit more. But as its currently available? its a smeary blurry, cheapish looking offering.

Composition is a mixed bag too. sequences are built in quite a considered manner I will say, they use B-roll, some of the puppet fight sequences are actually pretty decent all things considered and almost all the footage is in focus and sharp. But at the same time, the majority of the sequences are a bit overly basic. shot composition is sometimes compromised (with actors heads being cut off slightly, or the framing being every so slightly too far left or too far right) lighting is a little up and down (again I think a remaster might smooth that out though) Its a bit rough around the edges. But you can tell it has heart. and I cant be mad at that.

As for the score? Well…the soundtrack wasnt really for me, a forgettable midi offering. It was felt mainly by its absence, OR by the poor mixing which sometimes caused it to almost entirely blot out the dialogue. Not the worst i’ve ever heard. But it absolutely could have been better.

Folks coming to this movie from ‘Hobgoblins’ may experience a type of whiplash that’ll make their Grandchildren need a splint. But if your used to weird, strange and low/no budget offerings. I think you’ll probably fare through this one in one piece. Its a shame to me that a ‘Hobgoblins’ sequel is, in my opinion, at best, kind of unremarkable…But I did enjoy this one at least a little bit more this time around than last time, AND more importantly; I actually made it to the end.

Not recommended, even if your into this kind of film making. Unless your doing a Rick Sloan retrospective marathon. You can give this one a wide birth. I think its probably his weakest movie. Which is shame, but at least its got some things going for it.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/hobgoblins-2/

by tytdreviews

Vice Academy Part 6, 1998 – ★★

The final part of the ‘Vice Academy’ franchise, and mediocrity is on the run once again. I have to give this entry at least SOME credit, because they actually bothered to at least TRY and go back to the series roots. Bringing our girls Candy and Traci back to the forefront of proceedings and centring the core plot around them trying to solve (or rather resolve) a crime! That crime specifically being that, while undergoing some basic financial work for the Vice Squad. a group of dressed up female bank robbers storm the place and steal over 400k in unmarked bills.

It transpires that these bank robbers are in fact 3 strippers from a nearby club, who robbed the bank with the ultimate plan being to leave the stripping life and live a little. Unfortunately, due to several confusing altercations at the bank, Candy and Traci find THEMSELVES under the microscope as alleged perps in the robbery! Forcing them to try and find as much evidence as they can to clear their name, before they both end up in the most dreaded circumstance a straight woman can find themselves in (apparently)…a women’s prison!

Now to this films credit, I will say that this is probably the most coherent three act plot the series has had since ‘Vice Academy 2’ In fact, out of all the films i’ve watched in this series. If you asked me which one i’d recommend watching after part 2. This one would probably be it. But what it makes up for in more solid structuring it neglects in almost every other aspect unfortunately.

The script itself isnt really all that different from the last two movies. As mentioned the foundation of the script is a LOT more solid than previous entries. they actually have a 3 act plot that transitions fairly nicely between acts. the sub 90 minute runtime really works in this films favour, and the humour actually feels a little better in this one than in the last few entries. It starts relatively strong, sags a bit in the middle and ends…well; it ends about as well as ‘Vice Academy 6’ could end all things considered.

However; its not all relative praise here. theres a LOT of exposition in this thing. Meandering exposition at that. and while I can handle a bit of added context a lot of this films runtime feels very filler-ey. and while I will say that this entry is more endearing that parts 4 and 5. that chasm of dirth did leave me clock watching and my attention going elsewhere once we hit the half hour mark.

Equally; while all the above improvements DO improve the viewing experience. They are somewhat minor shifts here and there. There isnt a seismic difference between the quality of this entry and the last one. I just personally think it holds its cards a little better.

The characters are all a bit beige here, again we’re missing that zany over the top-ness that made the first couple of movies a bit more interesting. And instead; its just air head humour for the most part. When it works, it works. but they’ve been flogging that dead horse now for 3 movies and by this point…its old.

As with the other entries, the directions kind of mid. Nothing substantial or ‘out there’, nothing that made me really recognise this as a Rick Sloan movie. its just kind of by the numbers, and while I appreciate the more vibrant use of colour these last couple of films have had. Its nothing to write home about. Also; while im not a big T&A guy (I dont really consider it a selling point) theres a definite lack of it here. Which again, just kind of left me wondering who this movie was really even for.

The cine is much the same. I dont have anything to add really other than its sharp, crisp and in focus (which couldnt be said for the last two movies which frequently went ‘soft’ for several scenes at a time). compositions okay, but its all a bit bland. Again; nothing that made me sit up and take attention, and nothing that made me think anyone here was trying to do anything with this entry other than get it in the can.

The performances are, for this series, a bit by the numbers. A kind of restrained zany-ness that never really pays off or manifests into anything other than what feels like a group of people thinking they’re playing ‘big’ when in fact they come across as feeling a bit awkward to do so. Not terrible, but by no means great. its a low(ish) quality offering.

And the soundtrack? unmemorable honestly; If I didnt know any better, i’d have assumed they just reused the score from Part 5. synthy gubbins and not much else. Kind of ‘Meh’.

In a way, I feel like its a shame that they ended things on ‘Vice Academy Part 6’ for a couple of reasons. Not only were they only one film off matching the ‘Police Academy’ series for sequels (the girls going to ‘Belarus’ to fight for sex workers autonomy against a dollar tree version of Christopher lee would have been worth the price of admission) But also because I do feel like this entry, while a bit stalled, DID see some improvements on the bones of the beast. Something that I think could have maybe continued on to another entry or two.

Do I think Vice Academy 6 is ‘must see’? No. Do I think its worth catching if you enjoyed the first couple? Yeah. Sure. Is the franchise as a whole worth watching? Only if your best friends with Jack Daniels.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/vice-academy-part-6/

by tytdreviews

Vice Academy Part 5, 1996 – ★★

Another day, another entry in the ‘Vice Academy’ series, and another dip in quality.

Im going to keep this one brief, in no small part to the fact that their isnt really a whole lot to really say on this one, and in part because…well; its a bit more coherent than previous entries. But that really isnt saying much.

The plot of ‘Part 5’ picks up 3-4 months after the events of Part 4, and the Commissioners son Irwin decides to mess about with a new game ‘Virtual Reality Hooker simulator’ Which…as the name suggests, lets you engage in all the fun of hiring a sex worker from the comfort of your own home, with nothing to fear but the VR goggles strap being a bit too tight!

Unfortunately during a ‘Weird Science’ style energy surge on the house, the ‘Hooker’ Irwin creates is brought to real life, and immediately begins terrorising the town by running all the other sex workers out of business, offering ‘Sex for $5’ as per Irwins customisations. Going one further, she also begins influencing Irwins life choices, giving him mixed to bad advice that he takes into his part time job at the police station.

Meanwhile Miss Deavonshire and the Commissioners marriage is on the rocks already, as the Commissioner refuses to ‘Consummate’ the marriage. leading to tensions flaring between the two, and to complicate matters further, the mayor of the town, who was promising to ensure funding to the Vice Squad/Academy for many years to come loses her election campaign. Putting the Squad AND the Academy at VERY real risk of closure!

All these elements come to a head when Irwins digital creation decides, rather than working for Irwin, who’s a bit of a pushover. She wants to take the city over herself, get all the pimps working for her, and optimise the towns Sex work trade into one of the most streamlined operations in the country! oh yeah. and Candy and Traci are back in this one…they fool around with some guys, occasionally dump some exposition…but hey, who needs main characters in a movie right!?…r-right?!…

So; on the upside, this one DOES have a plot, and they do (tangentially) get back into doing what the ‘Vice Academy’ movies were initially set up as; I.E – Busting illicit sex work operations. But thats kind of where the pleasantries end for me on this one.

The story mainly revolves around Irwins antics, the Vice Academy girls are more or less left out in the cold on this one for the full duration, Miss Deavonshire and the Commissioners storyline is tepid at best. The humour here is D.O.A. the T&A is more outrageous than previous entries, and everything feels as plodding and incoherent as ever, if not worse.

Now; I will applaud that the film actually does have a three act plot, the last 2 films didnt have that. But thats a very VERY high level achievement here. the actual mechanisms that move us through those three acts are janky to say the least. random skits, incoherent rambling conversations, bolstered by a sound mix that drowns out most of the dialogue anyway (forcing me to use Subtitles for most of the films runtime) I still cant quite get over the fact that they bring the action back into being about what the ‘Vice Academy’ movies started off as, but more or less bench the ‘Vice Academy’ girls for the majority of the movie to do a ‘weird Science’ knock off.

Directions as mid as ever, the cine is a marked improvement over the last film, theres actually a few thoughtful creative choices in composition and they bothered to film way more cutaway material here. Im grateful at least that 95% of this film is actually in focus and pointing in the right direction…the last film failed to do that.

Performances are acceptable, not the best, but better than Part 3’s attempts. The soundtracks a bit better here too. But that really isnt saying much.

All in all? this just felt kind of aimless. it has more structure than the last 2 films. but the fine detail is REALLY absent. The humours almost non existent. and again. I cannot stress enough how BIZARRE it is for me that a series thats predominantly been centered around 2 ditzy girls freash out of the academy trying and failing in humourous ways to prove they have what it takes, has decided 5 films in to not bother with that kind of thing anymore. WILD.

Vice Academy part 5 is not a good movie, its a trace outline of a better movie missing all the nuance and definition that would have got it over the line. Its a masterful achievement that, whether you’ve seen the other films or not, you could jump into this and have NO idea what the hell is going on, or what the tone of this series is actually supposed to be…But its been achieved here!

Not one I can reccommend, even if you liked the previous movies…this one was a slog.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/vice-academy-part-5/

by tytdreviews

Vice Academy Part 4, 1995 – ★★½

I had to take quite a long break before coming back to the ‘Vice Academy’ movies…In part because im still really trying to get my ‘groove’ back in terms of watching movies, but also in part due to the fact that ‘Vice Academy’ as a franchise holds the rather dubious honour of consistently hovering in that dreadful ‘dead zone’ of ‘Good enough that I cant legitimately just turn it off and go do something else. Bad enough that im not happy about the situation’.

‘Vice Academy 3’ was a lumpy and mediocre offering that felt less like a coherent plotted film, and more like a series of ‘skits’ that had been stitched together with some vague connections to the characters involved in the antics. It felt like a lower budget studio film really struggling to justify its position.

Well; ‘Vice Academy Part 4’ is the other side of the ‘bad movie’ event horizon. A film that doesnt feel like a lower budget studio flick. But rather, a film that feels like a moderately budgeted (for 1995) independent production. And with that comes a bit of a change in headspace and mindset. Vice Academy 3 was a small fish in a big pond. Vice Academy 4 is a big fish in a small pond. Which…well; I wont go as far as to say its a step in the right direction. But it certainly made the film a lot more palatable.

By this point the initial premise of ‘Vice Academy’ is WELL and truely out the window, no longer are dealing with a couple of new recruits being placed into soliciting situations, trying to bust pervs with comedy results. Instead, the majority of this film focusses on Miss Deavonshire and recruits Candy and Samantha. As Deavonshire VERY hastily (plot convenience fairy working overtime here) decides to marry one of her colleagues, The Commissioner non the less! Aaaand for comedy effect Candy and Samantha agree to organize and arrange the bachellorette party AND the wedding in full.

And what follows is basically just a nothing burger of a movie, in which Candy and Samantha try and plan a wedding, at which point shenanigans ensue. Oh! and to throw a little spice into the mix Malathian (the villain from Vice Academy 3) turns up again, escapes jail to hunt down her long distance penfriend (and love interest) ‘Anvil’ the two of them hear of Deavonshires wedding plans and threaten to crash the event. and…yeah. its basically just skits again, LONG exposition segments and a finale that does tie everything together (albeit haphazardly) in a way thats inoffensive, but doesnt really do much past that.

As mentioned, what the film has going for it is the fact that it feels like its working in a lower quality field. feeling more like an independent production means I feel a bit more forgiving of the stiffness, the bad comedy and the excessive bikini sequences. Because it doesnt have the studio polish behind it. However; that still doesnt excuse the fact that this is just a kind of dull mixed bag T&A comedy film thats now veered so wildly away from its core premise, that the fact this is supposed to be dealing with cops and bad guys, at this point is kind of inconsequential.

The scripts plodding, mercifully its an hour and 26 with LONG titles and credits, so it has that working to its favour, it may be mid, but at least its brief. Humours subjective, this is positively groan worthy for the most part. But I will admit I do like a bit of groan worthy comedy here and there…this misses more than it hits, but when it hit, I enjoyed it.

The characters all feel a bit homogenised at this point, their key sellable assets all kind of blended into one another with no real definition. Its a bit of a sludge. I imagine that made it easier to experiment with which which actors could read the lines in the most appealing ways…which is hardly the best way to go about things like this.

Other than that we’re kind of mid or lower mid across the board. The wedding plots fine…but kind of all over the place, the directions fine, but theres nothing really jump out here to really make this stand out. The cine is basic and large chunks of it are out of focus which is…just…SO distracting honestly. compositions are basic, but just about do the job, the edits a bit too loose for my liking, but we’re 4 movies into this series now so I do expect a quality dip (even if I dont agree with it)

Performances are all subdued compared the earlier films. Which, in a way im kind of happy about as the performances in part 3 REALLY annoyed me. Here everyones kind of flat and largely letting the scritps situations do the heavy lifting on the yuk-yuks. Noones awful. But noones memorable, they’re all just kind of ‘there’ and doing their thing.

And the soundtrack is largely tracks recycled from Vice Academy 2 and 3…and BELIEVE me…they WILL get their moneys worth out of the ‘soundalike’ synth tracks. SUPER grating and frankly painful at times.

All in all…’Eh.’ Im kind of disheartened in a way that the series has failed to move the dial in any way with me. All the entries i’ve seen up to this point have just kind of been a bit middle of the road and forgettable, and this film. While a marginal improvement over the last one in my opinion, doesnt do nearly enough to make any kind of waves. Another entry that i’ll likely forget within a week of watching, one I cant recommend, and with two entries to go…I just want some ‘flavour’ at this point…for better OR worse.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/vice-academy-part-4/

by tytdreviews

The Wicker Man, 1973 – ★★★★

I had the absolute privilage of watching the ‘Quicker Man’ 18 minute ‘triple bill’ feature cut tonight, and it was everything I hoped for and more. Hilarious honestly. You may not get the songs, bizarreness or performance ‘chops’ in this cut. But you damn well better believe you’ll get the ‘cliff notes’ version of the ‘Wicker Man’ in a bitesize pill. And I have to respect that.

Very well put together, I could see myself catching this one a few more times. Great if you have a quick lunchbreak and fancy watching a movie.

More films need to have an 18 minute cut. Titanic, Carrie, Halloween, Tron…The skies the limit and I wanna be there.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-wicker-man/6/

by tytdreviews