Dead Dudes in the House (1991)

Nothing fiercer than a possessed old lady

By: JWBM

What looks to be some lost and forgotten low-budget horror film that has all of the glaring attributes of the year—hairstyles and clothing included—and plays out to a one-by-one-they-die type of film... is, well, exactly that. If you were expecting less, you won't get it. If you were expecting more, you'll get it in different variations of the genre, rather than something profoundly off the charts. It's not new, per se, but somewhat innovative, and still comes with its own memorable personality. It plays on a formula that works, because it's fun, somewhat daring, and just plain ol' entertaining for one guilty pleasure or another. Take your pick.

The plot is fairly simple: a group of adults with nothing better to do help out one of their pals fix up a mansion in the middle of the woods. Things start out innocent enough, till one of them desecrates a head-stone: from there on out, it becomes a need-to-get-out, fight for survival. This comes with its own rules that don't apply outside of this film. Such as sound doesn't travel, the dead aren't really dead, and old women have the cunning of a vicious predator and the strength of Schwarzenegger in his prime. There's nothing more chilling than an all-too-calm hunched-back elderly lady with a talent for creative violence. Her voice goes from sweet innocence to might-as-well-dig-my-own-grave creepy by the time you see what she's capable of.

This shifts in and out of fairly amateur looking filmmaking—from the acting, story, setups—to other scenes that are somewhat impressive in how simple but effective they are. Often times with shoe-string budget features, you get a redundancy of certain aspects. One of the familiar trappings is forced drama between the group to create tension. In a rare move that does work in its own twisted way, this uses a guy who should rightfully be promoted to the kingpin of jerks. He's a professional smart-aleck that gets I-can't-believe-he-said-that-laughs from his off-the-cuff commentary, or his back-and-forth with the others who look annoying enough to deserve it.

The film wastes little time to step up the ante. In under 20 minutes, blood is already splattered on the walls. Like beaten and battered bowling pins just waiting to be knocked down, the characters get it in unique ways. However, the film does start to lose a little steam and become repetitive when it goes from a kind of haunted house/slasher to a sort of survival horror to give the audience a person to root for. This is the kind of experience that's best enjoyed with a group who can point out its pitfalls while simultaneously going along for the entertaining ride that is "Dead Dudes in the House."

Rating: 7/10

Director: James Riffel
Actors: Victor Verhaeghe
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

(Writer's note: the front DVD cover is cringe-worthy, showing six unrelated actors to the film and looking about as trendy and upbeat as an episode of "Saved by the bell." The much cooler looking VHS version, "The House on Tombstone Hill," grabs your attention over this eyesore. Troma needs to get up on showing the real dudes and dudettes involved. There's also conflicting dates: from IMDB's site with '89, Troma's site saying '91, and another version having '92.)

The Omen (1976)

Evil has a name

By: JWBM

"This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."

Looking back, certain films don't always capture the same glory and wide-eyed thrills as they did on, say, opening night or that year to follow. With time and talk, some movies lose their staying power and initial charm. Take the big reveal in "Soylent Green." It ended up being so iconic that the film is not the same experience viewed through fresh eyes. Then there are others with a dark twist—that you've probably heard of off-hand, or have seen imitated in later films—that still hold up even years later from not only being groundbreaking, but bringing to the table a careful measurement to go along. "The Omen" is one such film that can be put on for repeated viewings and still make you keep at least one light on before bed—maybe even going so far as to do a birth mark check on one of your friend's misbehaving kids. It has all of the shocking and sinister staples you'd expect, though this manages to turn an ordinary flame to a raging fire, drawing you closer in with face aghast to wonder the infernal possibilities.

What's great about "The Omen" is the pacing doesn't mess around. It dives right into the dark heart of it and stays persistent throughout. It plays out as a simple tale, but deals with larger subjects that paint a horrific picture of looming apocalypse. It uses deep-rooted fears and instincts related to our children, and combines that with ingrained morals and common-place symbology we'd see at the center of any town church. Throughout the film, Jerry Goldsmith's score manages to slowly creep and crawl, and then engulf the listener by crashing down from all sides. It effectively creates this sense of dire urgency as it all unfolds and goes deeper into the too-late-to-turn-around dark crevices and intricate folds of evil. What's unique, is Goldsmith takes your everyday, long-standing catholic mass and inverts it into a devilish Gregorian chanted black mass. With Latin infusions such as "Tolle Corpus Satani" and "Ave Versus Christus" one can't help but sign the cross and hope for protection.

"Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon." 

A share of the story is seen through the eyes of Robert Thorn—played by Gregory Peck. He's your suit-and-tie, dignified U.S. ambassador to the U.K., with loving wife, energetic kid, fancy house, and security detail to keep it all in check. One could argue that his role isn't relatable, though I feel by making him morally sound and an example to look up to, it further demonstrates the breaking of tradition, routine, and shattering the everyday person's dreams and ambitions. If a guy at the top can't make it happen, or is threatened by something as just a "little boy," where's the hope for me as the guy at the bottom? Besides losing a child, the next worst feeling as a parent is to secretly suspect your little one is anything but a sweet peach. Thorn's son—Damien—comes with an innocent glint in his eye and smile: is it all mistake, or is there some truth to this looming threat who can handle a mean tricycle?

We know some children aren't forward thinking in their actions. We call it "growing up" or simply "bad behavior": what ensues is some kind of example or discipline till the child knows better. Though, what happens when a kid does something knowingly bad, bordering on outright maliciousness? "The Omen," like "The Exorcist" or "It's Alive," made us look at our shorter counterparts a little bit differently when considering the backbone of where behavior stems. It also brings to life the Book of Revelations—yep, the one and only book of books—in a way that made you ponder much uglier possibilities over your old woodcuts, stained glass, and paintings of the past going for carefully placed and detailed artistic merit. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But what's more likely to make the hairs stick up on the back of your neck, or look over your shoulder in a real sense of paranoia, but a living manifestation of something that can walk, breathe and strike from all sides and at any time. Maybe even from your own neighborhood... or home.

Rating: 9/10

Director: Richard Donner (Salt and Pepper, Lola)
Actors: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube trailer

Note from Black to Red: This marks the 200th review on this site!

Looking Glass (2018)

A fresh start, a sour experience

By: JWBM

"Looking Glass" feels like the filmmakers switched places. Like a guitarist did a swap with the drummer, and the drummer is now singing. Music is produced, but something feels unnatural in how it all comes together. This attempts to go for a mystery-thriller vibe, but ends up coming with so little content—and then holding back that content to keep it mysterious—that its story feels thin, haphazard, and without artistic merit at times. It comes with little foreshadowing, character development, or bigger use of its setting. It plods to the point that, when something does happen, it feels like you're getting thrown a stale cookie for watching this long.

The movie in a nutshell: Need a change, so bought a motel. I cleaned and repaired stuff at my new motel. I'm an electrician after all! Guests come and go. Better with my hands than with small talk. I stay out late. The Sheriff pays a visit; he likes coffee. I stay in and watch people through a secret peep hole. Should I? The wife and I are hitting the sheets now. I still watch people. Should I? Let's see what happens. Someone threw a dead animal in the pool. I took care of it myself. I got a visit from the Sheriff; he switches to tea. I stay out late. Drama with the wife. Weird people. No more drama with the wife. The end. If you found that insufferable, consider saving yourself an hour and forty three minutes and thirty two seconds and skip this film.

The more you know the characters, the less you want to know them. Can't say it's solely the fault of the actors, but rather a faulty script, and even faultier directing and editing. The character of Ray—played by Nicolas Cage—has the personality of a no-frills, on-the-cheap Sears catalog lamp. Your choices are gray. Choose wisely. His wife—Robin Tunney, as Maggie—does little of anything exceptional or gravitating, except maybe exits the screen with different variations. There's an attempted backstory that simultaneously brings them closer but also creates a bridge between. However, one can't help but feel that it was cut and pasted in to create some forced tension. It eventually culminates into a heated moment to show off some potential acting skills; at that point it's a little too late. I could understand if this came with some building mood to keep it afloat. I mean, it made its attempts with the oddball locals with an undercurrent of... your guess is as good as mine, but it just ends up coming across as awkward in a let-me-position-my-index-finger-closer-to-the-stop-button kinda way.

Rating: 3.5/10

From Black to Red recommends instead: "Blue Velvet" to show how mystery, weirdness, and atmosphere coalesce into a memorable, intriguing, and exciting experience.

Director: Tim Hunter (The Far Side of Jericho, Control)
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Robin Tunney
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link

In Darkness (2018)

A hitman and a blind woman walk into a coffee shop

By: JWBM

A professional musician, who's lost her sight as a little girl, lives alone in an apartment in London. As of late, there's been muffled commotion heard from the upstairs quarters where another woman, Veronique, lives. One night, the arguments culminate and Veronique ends up dead. Detectives arrive on scene to investigate and ask the blind woman, Sofia, if she has any information regarding Veronique's sudden death. Soon, Sofia gets slowly pulled into another world when it turns out Veronique may have had more than a few dark secrets.

This is a mystery-thriller that's all about that don't-look-back pacing and didn't-see-that-coming revelations. It's played out with more low-key jabs to earn points, rather than serving up a series of bigger blows. This starts out on a high: delivering pulsating, memorable music, a consistency of creative camera angles, and a certain atmosphere to cement itself as a murder-mystery. Natalie Dormer, as Sofia, comes with the most dynamic to her character. She plays a confident woman who takes on the world in one moment, and then in the next is overly hard on herself when taken down a peg by uncontrollable situations around her. She's a fighter and a survivor despite the odds—that's for sure—though there's a troubling underscore to her that one can't quite put their finger on.

The ultimate intention of "In Darkness" is to entertain. It's saddled between reality and a make-believe world never seen before, or possibly experienced again. It's full of tantalizing scenes and situations to keep your senses alive. Though think too hard on it, or go back for another viewing expecting deeper layers, and you might be disappointed. I mean, they pick a traumatic moment that makes little connection if paused and pondered on as to why that would have lined up the way it did. Instead of delving deeper, the characters just keep reimagining it in similar ways, as if that will make it more rooted as an event.

The main villain is a two-dimensional Jekyll and Hyde without the mental turmoil to solidify him: either doing the nice guy with a foreign accent bit, or the utterly evil guy who mysteriously preys on blind women, but nothing in between to cement him as a living, breathing person you may fear or respect through the barrier of the television set. There's also the go-between, soft-and-hard hitman, Marc—played by Ed Skrein—that's going for Mr. Charm. He has a light edge of danger, but is almost too safe and predictable in that he does exactly what you'd expect him to, and always shows up when needed.

What starts out on a high and with a share of great potential, winds down to a finale that doesn't materialize with stable legs once all of the smoke and mirrors clear. The film feels emotionally powerful at first, but ends up being just a flash, a bang, and ultimately a let-the-senses-go distraction for an on-the-fly, don't-look-back Thursday night.

Rating: 6/10

Director: Anthony Byrne (Short Order, How About You...)
Actors: Natalie Dormer, Ed Skrein, Jan Bijvoet, Joely Richardson
Info: IMDB link
Trailer: Youtube link