Another one on my ‘Always wanted to watch, never quite got round to…’ list ‘Death Spa’ has a neat little idea that asks the question ‘What if ‘The Boogie Man’ had taken place in a health spa and gym, rather than a countryside back water home?

Well…It wasnt *quite* as good as i’d hoped for, but if your in the market for a fairly gory and at times *over the top* supernatural horror film with a SUPER heavy 80s flare. Then this one is right up your ally.

The basic plot is nothing out of the unusual, the new owners of a health spa and gym start to feel uneasy when a string of inexplicable deaths hit the new business around the same time that one of the business owners begins dating a new woman a year to the day after his wifes unfortunate demise.

The scripts a little on the lumpy side truthfully, the first act is a bit of a chugger to get going, but it builds up a decent steam behind it in terms of intricate death sequences and plot development. it seems to idle at this level for most of the 2nd act until it erupts with life in the closing 20 minutes. going from a fairly by the numbers slasher piece to something all together more extroadinary that reminded me of the end of ‘Prom Night’ and ‘Carrie’ but WAY more extreme in tone and style.

pacings a little all over the place, the murder sequences arnt very well worked into the script, it almost feels like the writers knew the film was getting a bit dialogue and plot heavy so they just hard cut a death scene in there every 15 minutes or so to stop people drifting off.

The plot itself is almost kind of inconsiquetial. theres a police investigation, and awkward romance/revenge plot line and a bit of a ‘whodunnit’ going on, but non of them really grabbed me and a lot of it felt faily by the numbers for the genre. Not helped by the fact that all the characters are woefully underwritten in terms of depth or personality and most of them feel almost interchangable in terms of what their actual function is in the movie.

The film also struggles a little bit in setting it’s tone because of all the dialogue scenes and heavy styalisation on hand. its clearly a campy horror movie. But it doesnt seem to know exactly HOW campy it wants to be. As such it kind of rides the line between a somewhat serious movie that just has a few campy moments sprinkled throughout, and a full blown camp super fest with scenery chewing to the nth degree. I liked the film when it chose a lane, because at least then it was more concise…but I struggled with the moments where I felt uncertain as to whether the film wanted to genuinely scare me or make me laugh.

While the script itself is a little uninspired, its really the direction and cine that helps save this thing. While the cast are a little lifeless plot wise; director Michael Fischa has been able to at least get them utilising their set space well and has coached them reasonably on how to deliver the lines with conviction and charisma. They might not be saying much interesting, but at least they’re saying it with STYLE!

this is a quite styalised piece and I feel like Fischa has managed to really bring his vision to life here. the camera team, lighting and the cast are all working in relative harmony, theres a distinct level of professionalism on creating this vision and with a decent sized effects budget theres a lot of scope here for crazy over the top gory effects and interesting use of camera tools such as rigs and jibs. a lot of this film visually feels like a professional production. Which is always a good sign.

Same goes for the cine, with pretty solid compositional choices across the runtime getting some really nice pieces combined with some more than decent lighting choices with cool blues, neon pinks and oranges REALLY getting to set the tone and scene of this thing to, what i’d say was mixed to decent success.

What DOES trip this thing over however is the editing unfortunately, which is lacklustre to say the least. sequences are problematic, with some scenes having weird cuts that seem to miss out chunks of the action (it feels like additional B-roll was planned to be shot and then the budget ran out as 2 shots that shouldnt cut together are suddenly rammed into each other) theres a couple of line fluffs here and there which take the professional edge off and bizarrely; contrasting the sequences where it feels like theres B-roll missing. We have sequences where it feels like TOO MUCH B-roll was captured and that they’re trying to cram in as many shots as they can.

it all results in an edit that takes some pretty decent footage and just…throws it in the trash for a good 70% of the runtime. it makes what looks like a fairly competent film and makes it feel like its some kind of ‘salvage’ job where they’ve had to reconstruct missing scenes with whatever footage was available. Its really odd.

The cast are pretty unremarkable too, which is another big dissapointment here. Ken Foree is probably the most likeable character of the bunch here playing a supporting role as a technician and security expert at the gym called Marvin. But even he feels like he’s phoning it in and the rest of the cast are poorer still. which is a real shame.

Oh. and I dont have much to say on it, but the soundtracks pretty cool. its generic 80s electro rock and pop with a bit of an aerobics/workout tone. it’s cool. I didnt fall head over heels for it, but it was one of the better lower budgeted scores i’ve heard.

All in all? I’d watch this again, I think it’d pair up quite well with something like “Phantom of the Mall: Erics Revenge” or “Night of the Demons” as a bit of a paranormal double header. But realistically; it’s not an essential watch, and it isnt enjoyable enough outright to get a full blown rec. Its fun in places, and the 3rd act is what really saves it…But its a problematic movie that I feel could have done with another draft or two to really nail it.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/death-spa/

Initially drawn to this documentary due to my love of all things VHS, I went into ‘Recorder’ with a preset expectation on what I was getting myself into, and was somewhat pleasently surprised by what it ACTUALLY was about.

Y’see, while I knew that the documentary was largely dealing with the total visionary that was Marion Stokes, I had been led to believe that the emphasis for this doc would be on the content found on the 70 thousand+ VHS tapes that Marion recorded over the 35 year window she pretty much non stop recorded through. with her life being used as lynchpin moments to support the obscure footage.

Instead, the doc is actually more about Marion the person, who she was, her life, her interests and the somewhat eccentric life she lived as she tried to collect and preserve as much knowledge as physically possible in the pre internet era, as told by her carers, friends and family. With the footage acting more as a lynch pin to punctuate and set the scene of the time we’re dealing in than being the centerpiece.

And while im a little dissapointed that the documentary didnt really dig that deep into the archive in terms of public access broadcasting, local advertisements, local news broadcasts and other strange televisual oddities. I was ultimately won over by the story of a woman who valued knowledge above all other costs leading to a life of isolation, but ultimately one of vast VAST cultural preservation.

I feel the way this is structured is a little lopsided. While the story of Marion is a solid and emotional piece, they do end up jumping around in time a little bit to try and add context to what we’re seeing. While that does help the narrative, it did become difficult after a time to figure out exactly when certain events were supposed to have happened. Particularly when it gets into family details.

It does however manage to make for a compelling viewing piece, the use of the archive news segments really help add a sense of weight to the 35 years she did this and by the end of it, despite her being a incredibly private person, I did feel I got to know her fairly well.

The editing really is the saving grace for this documentary honestly, while the interview segments can wander a little bit, some keen cinematography and well timed cuts and arrangements of footage do ultimatley tie this thing up into a neat and tidy package that looks great and felt quite informative.

While the ending as of 2023 is something of a downer (given the current ongoing legal battles that are plaguing the internet archive) its still a very optimistic documentary that I could recommend for its charm and interesting subject matter. I really do wish however, given how much they reference it in the doc itself, that they’d shown more local broadcasting deep cuts…In either case, this is totally worth checking out.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/recorder-the-marion-stokes-project/

‘The Deadly Spawn’ had been on my ‘to watch’ list for well over a decade, but finding a copy of it (in the UK at least) has always been a bit of a pain…But! with my subscription to ‘Shudder’ coming to an end, I decided to mop this one up in (less than steller) streamed SD quality.

The plots pretty basic, an alien lifeform crashes to earth on a meteor and hides out in a families basement, picking off members of the family one by one. When the teenage son of the family (a scientist in training) finds one of the infant life forms scuttling about, him and his friends decide to investigate the creature. and in doing so quickly realise the situation is much more serious than they initial thought, and certainly much more DEADLY.

Based on the trailers i’d seen for this movie, I had somewhat high hopes going into it, indeed; the film does really impress with its puppetry of the titular ‘deadly spawn’ and with its gore effects, model work and lighting. But that, for me at least is kind of where the compliments begin and end.

Even clocking in at 81 minutes long, this thing feels bloated. With only a couple of more interesting horror/action sequences happening across the first two acts and nothing particularly astounding taking place till we’re AT LEAST 50 minutes in.

The opening starts of solid enough, but it quickly gets bogged down in long conversations that arnt particularly charismatic and dont particularly add much beyond basic character notes.

the pacing is a bit all over the place which creates an uneven experience. With one noteable scene being shortly after our cast capture an infant version of the creature. theres an elongated chat about what exactly to do with it. These kinds of scenes are commonplace in this kind of movie. But they’re usually reserved to the second act, with the first act establishing the characters and throwing some thrills in to ensure the viewer sticks around. here, that scenes in the middle of the first act and it slows things to a crawl for a good 10 minutes.

The movie DOES manage to pull itself together in time for a rip roaring 3rd act showdown. But its all a little late and im not sure movie go-ers would have stuck through the 60 odd minutes of inaneness to get to this point.

The film also kind of struggles with what kind of tone it wants to set. It cant decide whether its a completely straight cut sci-fi monster movie ala ‘The Thing’ or ‘XTRO’ or whether it’s got a bit more of a comedic edge to it. As such it almost feels kind of lost for a good chunk of the runtime as to exactly what it wants me to feel and how it wants me to react. It kind of ends up putting out nothing strong enough to help define it. The promotional materials for the movie suggest its a campy bloody movie. But it isnt nearly as fun as you’d think.

The direction too is kind of middle of the road. It gets the job done fine enough, but some of the cast seem a little lost on where to stand and how to work with their set space and lines, some of the sequences really lack a punch and it just kind of feels like a film that worked with ‘good enough’ for the non effects driven scenes, overly relying on the effects and puppets to really try and do the heavy lifting for the picture.

the cine is probably the films strongest element. while composition for the most part is fairly by the numbers, it at least has a veil of professionalism about it, and as mentioned the effects shots and puppeteering throughout are fantastically good fun. with some really well shot and lit effects that are over the top, bloody and genuinely impressive given the size and scale of the production. If nothing else the film stands out for some top notch effects work here.

The edits kind of bland, sequences tell the story well enough, but because the general composition work is kind of ‘mid’ it means the edit can only really do so much, and a lack of solid B-roll footage to allow a more fluid edit really does let this thing down at times.

The cast are all pretty competent, there was noone who ACTIVELY underperformed. they all deliver their lines well enough and they do seem to get into the part fine. It did just kind of leave me wishing for more though.

Realistically, I could see this being a pretty solid B-picture to something like ‘Return of the living dead’ something you put on at the end of the night after a few beers with friends. While the effects work is genuinely very impressive for a film of this calibre, the script, cine and direction broadly are kind of lacklustre and while I didnt actively dislike this one. Now that i’ve seen it, i’d probably not choose to watch it again. maybe as a double feature or as part of a marathon…But on its own? No.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-deadly-spawn/

Watched on Saturday August 5, 2023.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/barbie/1/

In tribute to the late Paul Reubens I decided to dust off my old copy of ‘Big Adventure’ for a bit of a nostalgia fest.

Honestly there’s not a lot that need be said about this film. We have an eccentric and manic script, a joint effort of Reuben and the late great Phil Heartman that’s bonkers, punchy, frighteningly fresh several decades on from its release and the perfect antidote to blow away the blues.

The direction is an early effort from Tim Burton and while lacking in his distinct style, there are early signs of it fermenting in the background of this picture.

We have studio grade cine present here which does a fine job of setting a standard. But the dream sequences and use of stop motion claymation in places really is what helps take this to the next level.

The edits tight with solid cuts and transitions that help keep things zipping along at a decent pace. I’d argue the film slows down a bit in the 3rd act. I could easily see 5-10 minutes being lopped out of that act to really help cement things further. But even the slacker moments of this production are still quite good fun to sit through.

That’s not even mentioning Reubens performance. A storm on a bicycle, Pee wee Herman arrives on screen fully formed and ready for action. With a supporting cast of kooky characters that should enthrall kids and mystify adults. A clean work of new wave cinema arriving right at the peak of the genre.

Throw in a killer Danny Elfman Score that REAKS of ‘peak of their game’ Oingo Boingo, and you have an at times mystifying, but certainly never full movie experience that I really need to rewatch more often quite honestly. Definitely worth checking out.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/pee-wees-big-adventure/

Watched on Friday August 4, 2023.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/hairspray/1/

Watched on Friday August 4, 2023.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/ed-wood/1/

I speak with sincerity when I say, ‘They just dont make movies like this anymore’.

Some kind of monsterous hybrid of those old 80’s ‘Journey’ movies (Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, The Wizard, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark) a self aware and acidic slash at ‘toy commercial’ movies, a self aware and acidic swipe at the dumbing down of cinema (and kids films in particular) and an acidic swipe at Incel culture, toxic masculinity and the pressures placed on women and young girls in our society, while ALSO acknowledging that acknowledging those cultures and pressures is in and of itself a stereotype at this point. I feel SO sorry for anyone who came to this movie expecting a slushy pink bimbocized picture. Because there is FAR more going on in this thing than even I expected going in.

I had to remind myself at multiple points through this thing that it was in fact *supposed* to be a kids film. Because, barring a somewhat faux setup in the first 10 minutes establishing ‘Barbieland’ as a magical and perfect place where yesterday was as amazing as today and tomorrow is set to be even better. The entire rest of the movie is about Barbie heading into the real world (with Ken in tow) to try and settle existential dread that has creapt into the ‘stereotypical’ Barbies subconcious; leading to a journey of self discovery, identity definition and not only a heavy discussion on what it takes to be a woman in the modern day, but also a vivid exploration of masculinity, patriarchy and the self (eid).

And somehow they juggle all of that while also throwing in slapstick comedy, stupid humour that doesnt go lowbrow and actually funny jokes.

I cant say this film holds together well. The act structuring itself is pretty solid, but the film acknowledges that the *exact* science between how Barbie and co get from Barbieland to the real world is one that shouldnt be thought on too heavily. If you can get over that hurdle, the rests a breeze.

Pacing is breakneck, but enjoyably so. the themes are fascinating and MORE than welcome in the age of ‘The Emoji Movie’ and ‘Trolls’. But there were times where the film felt a little *too* much like attending a lecture series than a movie, and equally times where the humour went even a little *too* dumb for me. Is it heavy handed? I’d say it is in places. and the film quite often seems to lose its own thread at times. But y’know what? Its enthusiasm about what it’s trying to do and say shines radiently resulting in an imperfect film thats charming, charismatic and…While the whiff of ‘Toy commercial’ is very much in the air with this thing… …. … The movies called ‘Barbie’ what did I THINK they were gonna do with it?

Visually this things nuts. part german expressionist inspired and part experimental cinema led. Barbieland rides the line of films like ‘Dr. Caligari’ (1989) and the works of Wes Anderson. But on a big budget. everything is visually stunning the decision to flick between all manner of different styles of layering (the paper and plastic craft transition scenes between the real world and Barbie land were my personal highlights) were wonderful. Its nice to see a film not be afraid to go garish and glam with HYPER vivid colours turning what could have been a fairly generic production into something altogether ‘Extra’.

The real world sequences are a little bit of a letdown by contrast, coming across as a bit bland and muted. I get what they were trying to do, but it never quite hits in the same way as the more surreal moments. but Greta Gerwig has delivered here a production that, while inconsistent. IS unique, IS interesting and I sincerely hope is a launchpad rather than a ‘one off’.

The cine is solidly composed. Theres maybe a bit too much of an overreliance on CG for my liking. I’d have preferred a return to matte paintings and realising the more surreal ideas practically personally. But, it’s a studio picture. it wasnt going to be horrendous. I wouldnt have expected it to be, it’s maybe not *quite* as interesting compositionally as I’d personally have liked. But it holds up well enough.

As for the performances, both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling DELIGHT as Barbie and as Ken, bringing a rock solid range across the runtime that showcases some of Robbies best work i’ve seen to date, Gosling by contrast is a delight playing a Ken who’s golden retriever energy and later dedication to the patriarchy (I never thought in a million years i’d write THAT in a Barbie review) is lunk headed, but clearly carefully coordinated and equally wonderful.

Special kudos has to go to Michael Cera as ‘Allan’ who’s the real sleeper of this picture. I honestly dont think i’ve seen Cera give a bad performance and his own eccentric energy pours into this thing perfectly leading to honestly rock solid results.

In fact, bizarrely; it’s Will Ferral who feels the odd one out here. the script doesnt really develop his character all that much, he turns up incrementally throughout and doesnt…really…do a lot…other than his usual ‘Step Brothers’/’Elf’ routine. Which was a bit dissapointing…I actually found the business men he surrounds himself with to be more entertaining at times than him.

The supporting cast do a damn fine job completing this bizarre ensamble. creating ultimately a movie that, with a lesser cast, would have almost certainly fallen apart.

All of this is tied together with a decent soundtrack mixing more modern tracks with remixes of 80’s dittys (Babies peak generally) to create a strangely textured work.

It very much is a ‘planets have aligned’/’Just the right people in just the right place, at just the right time’ movie. Is it perfect? absolutley not. While the script is charming and endearing, it is ultimately a tad flawed and its hard to tell whether the blame is on corporate interference or directoral oversight. A touch heavy handed in places and a little bit all over the place plot wise, it’s the characters, tone, energy and vision for ‘Barbie’ that shines through and ultimately saves the day for me.

Is this a good kids film? I honestly dont know. the themes discussed are quite complex and I think even adults would struggle to really truely process everything thats laid down here. But what I will say is if you have an older daughter (8-10+) and your down for some in depth disucssions on femenism and the patriarchy. Go for it. I think you’ll have a time and a half! If you have a son. Take him to see this movie as soon as possible.

And dont be fooled by the faux glam. Bubbling just below the surface of this thing is a witty, dark, sardonic work that will absolutely appeal to anyone who ever hated barbie growing up. I honestly cant wait to grab this on home release.

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

Not my favourite Nick Cage film, but it’s in the upper half entertainment wise. The stories fun, it looks great and has at least a few moments that made me laugh out loud.

It’s a bit overlong for my taste, I think it could have easily been 20 minutes shorter and had another draft or two in it to really nail the premise. But it was fun enough. One I may revisit in future. But not without its faults.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-unbearable-weight-of-massive-talent/

I kind of feel bad about ‘Rabid’ because it just didnt quite set my world alight in the same way that a lot of Cronenberg films do. Part of me feels though that this is because it’s a little *too* close to ‘Shivers’ in terms of what its trying to do. and realistically, im sure theres more than enough evidence here to lay claim that this could be seen as a bigger budgeted broader remake of ‘Shivers’ only replacing a killer sexy leech organism with a skin graft that causes mega rabies.

Thats not to say the film is a complete wash out however. I really liked ‘Shivers’ as an idea and while im a little dismayed to see the basic concept kind of regurgitated so soon after ‘Shivers’ was made. I do have to admit however that on a technical level, this thing blows ‘Shivers’ clean out of the water.

Its a much more refined and nuanced production that feels like Cronenberg learnt a LOT from his first foray into feature film production, and its clear here that some of his more signature directing style is really starting to fruit quite wonderfully. we have the clear beginnings of a keen eye for direction. The script keeps a decent pace, is pretty well structured and while it does lose a little momentum at the start of the 3rd act, its still an enjoyable and thouroughly grim time that I enjoyed.

The cine is a vast step up from his previous work, as is his direction of the cast and his soundtrack choices.

Honestly; I just dont really have a whole lot to say about this one. It feels like a director on the grow, but I was a little dissapointed that his second ever feature was kind of a retooling of his first feature. Thats not to say I didnt enjoy it, I absolutely did. I just feel this is a case of being more comfortable with ‘Shivers’ having seen it half a dozen times, makes liking this film (even though it IS technically superior) a bit harder because im not as familiar or in tune with its beats.

One I liked, but didnt love. I could see myself being won over by this one with rewatches. as its stands, it’s an obvious recommended movie from me. And if you havent seen any Cronenberg, I’d recommend this one as a solid starting point.

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