Cure (1997)

Who are we really?

By: JWBM

Day to day we see people make mistakes. Their thought process at that moment was off for any number of reasons. Sometimes the advice or suggestions of others comes to mind before we make our next action. What if there comes a time when said suggestion goes against all moral and common-sense judgment, yet you feel compelled to do it anyway? As we often find out, doing something is often easier than dealing with the repercussions. Though if it's grave enough—such as murder—we'll have to live with that short moment for the rest of our lives.

Detectives are baffled. A series of killings are springing up around town that look eerily similar, except for the fact that the person wielding the weapon of choice is different each time. Meanwhile, one of the most unassuming villains blends into crowds in broad daylight and leaves behind little trace. How do you stop a killer who's not your typical killer? Detective Takabe heads up the investigation to put the pieces together and attempts to make sense of something that might never make sense to the general public. Meanwhile his wife suffers from memory problems and possibly other psychological issues. The amount of stress on this man's plate is palpable. Due to his professional position and his unwritten cultural code, emotional outbursts are kept to when he can't take it anymore.

The story dabbles with the deep rooted causes for committing heinous acts, building tension between our day-to-day interactions with each other, along with mental health issues. It's simple in premise, but ultimately relatable. Other films might just use psychology and an overly dark looking mental health hospital as a backdrop to strike fear into the viewer. However, "Cure" takes on all of the mentioned with a different approach than your typical crime-thriller bordering on horror. This is by definition a slow burn. It's reminiscent of a throw back to the early '70s—minus the nostalgic sideburns and splash of colors—but before everything got all fast paced and went straight for the jugular. The director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, has a knack for letting the camera sit and the viewer to ponder about the entire set, story, and characters' interactions. That includes mundane, everyday things that are often overlooked, but now spark memories of terror. As a result, the pacing is hypnotic. It starts out innocent enough, but after a period you may not notice that its influence goes from soothing, to an itch, to alarming pain.

This feels more show than tell at times. They leave you with enough for some explanations and possible angles, though it tends to play out more naturally. For instance, in everyday life we don't always get to see or hear behind every wall or door. Instead we go by the tone of the situation and feel things out. Even the score mostly goes for eerie, droning sounds that linger or grow in intensity in the background. It also includes some less common upbeat music when the atmosphere isn't walking with its head down in the shadows.

This is a film of patience. I can imagine it's not going to be for everyone, or even every situation when considering throwing on a movie. "Cure" presents an intriguing concept, and it delivers when the moment calls for it, that's for sure. Though it's like watching a pass to the touchdown zone in super slow motion. You've had enough time to know that the guy about to catch the ball has mismatched socks on, and the grass he's standing on might need a touch of fertilizer to maintain its bright green hue. The more time that gets stacked on, the more the story grows on you. It makes you that much more involved, and it makes your brain turn over several times to ponder the implications of the situation. By the time it builds up to its climax, this simple tale turns to paramount importance. Not to mention has a tendency to stick with you afterwards.


Rating: 8/10

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Actors: Koji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara
Info: IMDB
Trailer: Youtube

Event Horizon (1997)

The blackness of space

This threw some viewers off when it came out. To set it straight, this is horror first and then an action film that uses science fiction only to set up its diabolical premise. Nothing here projects a utopian society with social commentary or to show progress with science. This is essentially a haunted house like movie except on a space ship in the slightly distant future. All the more reason for not being able to escape the dwelling due to the inside being just as terrifying as the outside. The movie tends to creep up not only on its characters but its audience as well. I mean, a ship displaying supernatural occurrences the moment the crew steps foot on would have most likely made them turn around. It makes sense that there will be pop out scares and random occurrences to make them second guess themselves until it's too late. The horror is psychological in that the characters can't trust their own senses, which are being toyed and manipulated with by a much more devilish force than you can imagine. Instead of making the future a better place, it makes the idea of space exploration about as dangerous as walking down an unknown alleyway in an unfamiliar neighborhood where a presence is lurking in the dark that knows your next moves better than you do.


A crew for the U.S.A.C. is sent out for a search and rescue operation in the year of 2047 near Neptune. A share are of the foul mouthed, joking military kind except with a stern commander named Miller (Laurence Fishburne) to make sure everything goes in order. On board is a guest named Dr. Weir (Sam Neill) who explains that what they're after is the thought to be lost deep space research vessel called "Event Horizon." Seven years ago it was used as a secret government experiment to prove that a vessel can travel faster than light with a gravity drive; essentially it creates a black hole to fold space to get from point A to point B quicker to cut down time on future space travel to reach the stars and beyond. After a seemingly innocent accident, their own ship gets damaged and they have to all board Event Horizon for the meantime. If they don't fix their own ship in time their resources will run out in the remote area of space...but that might not be all that can get them. The crew begins to let their emotions fly and not have each other's best interests in mind. The characters seem like archetypes at first for their specific jobs, though as it moves on the ship has a way of extracting hidden secrets that include their worst fears and nightmares from their past with what seems to be life like hallucinations. The more they find out about the empty Event Horizon, the more their mind wanders into the possibilities of just where the past crew went missing to and where they themselves are headed next.


After setting up its premise, this is a rapidly paced movie that doesn't always get time to truly get inside each of its characters or give them all the depth they deserve which can make it lean a little on the simpler popcorn entertainment side--some one-liners tacked on as well. Though in another regard they display terrified and anxiety ridden reactions for such an incredulous predicament they found themselves in to make it more relating for the audience if they'd potentially do the same. It makes you wonder how much further it could have been taken if it wasn't cut down to make it an R rated film from originally getting NC-17. At times the story is somewhat basic where they move from one place to the next and back again but still with a share of memorable and now classic scenes in between. "Event Horizon" was capable of fully fleshing out its underlying concept as it had the luxury of a high budget with a share of panning shots and amply built sets with unique designs of both the physical and CGI kind.

The gravity drive room is something to really behold with three large rings closely rotating a sinister looking sphere. The orchestral music can go from deep and bombastic build ups to high pitched and racy as if it was scored for a heart-racing thriller instead. The beginning section has some kind of electronic music combination that seems in contrast to the picture but probably purposely so for what's to come. There are some grisly, cruel and downright evil prosthetic effects that are occasionally blended with CG. I seen this film when it came to theaters and still have some of them stuck in my head. The sets are typically cold and gray, with a utilitarian metal design in some regard and grand and futuristic in scope in others. It manages to give this a futuristic hint but not so far distanced that the cold and downcast atmosphere doesn't get through to chill one's bones in the present time.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Paul Anderson (Shopping, Mortal Kombat)
Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Richard T. Jones, Kathleen Quinlan, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee, Joely Richardson
Link: IMDB

Mimic (1997)

Something's lurking in the subway...big rats...think again!

"The Relic" came out as a hybrid science-fiction-thriller-horror early on in '97. Later in the year, "Mimic" wasn't an identical movie by any means in story or character but it still follows a similar genre setup and pacing template that audiences would consciously recognize. This was a story that could have been made in the '50s with science gone wrong and smaller organisms turning into monstrous size--outsourcing us at the top of the food chain, or destroying everything humans have built as payback for killing off nature to make room for concrete jungles. Those films, to an extent (some more than others), tried to make science (or fact) relative to real life, though were often times guess work and were more so playing on fears of what you wouldn't expect to catch a viewer off guard. They posed "what if?" questions to cinema goers in the form of sudden events: What if a cousin of that spider or ant I love to squish under my shoe comes back to get me? Also the "how did they come to be?" was somewhat pushed to the wayside, and the "how do we patch up the crisis?" was usually the main question, especially during a state of confusion and panic. "Mimic" has the moderately enormous creatures of the yesteryear, and it plays on fear, if a little more contained, though it gets somewhat complex with its biggest question posed: Should science play God by creating life of one species in order to save an existing one? As the characters soon find out that dabbling in one area can create another unforeseen catastrophe.

A disease called Strickler is debilitating and killing children when it suddenly comes to New York without a cure. A Dr. Susan Tyler (Sorvino) created a hybrid bug called the "Judas Breed" to attack the resilient cockroach--which was the main carrier of the disease--before it would become a widespread epidemic elsewhere. Three years later a man is being chased by something humanlike in look though with superhuman strength on a roof top. An autistic boy who can imitate just about anything witnesses the event from outside of his rain beaten window. Later at the cops-left-and-right, taped off scene, Tyler's husband Dr. Peter Mann (Northam), who works for the CDC, is instead called in for signs of yellow fever from immigrants in a nearby basement. Meanwhile, to her surprise, Dr. Tyler gets ahold of a Judas insect--which was only supposed to have a short life expectancy and be unable to breed--from young street kids who are selling it to her for a collection. The mysterious person-like thing in a trench coat visits her lab and takes the bug. She needs another specimen to confirm her findings and goes with her husband down in the subway terminals where the boys last seen the bug they sold her.

The beginning portion plays on mysteriousness and moody elements by panning shots, showing rainy and abandoned alleyways, and then giving snippets of information in a gradual unveiling till it's ready to jump in with both feet into a culminating finale. The beginning half is essentially there to build up to a showdown. So the film earns some bonus points for spending a little more time showcasing the characters beforehand until their various story threads eventually interlink. There are those that are directly involved to the bugs, while others find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. The directly involved use more brute force than their background knowledge to combat the enemy and it makes this look like it could have been any warm blooded human with a conscience to save humanity. I'm guessing out of convenience the scriptwriters didn't want to include another hero so they made the same characters jump over and take on both personas. Some of the scenarios make sense in the direct moment but when looking back or with an overview some motivations don't always line up or just seem a little too handy to further the story. It makes this start out with the tumblers working and ends up in the same boat as others that go directly for the throat. The first time I saw this, I remember thinking "Mimic" was a slightly better movie and was somewhat impressed, till that esteem lessened when I tried to get more out of it on repeat comebacks. There are still plenty of filmmaking mechanics to keep one busy and the production looks much better than most other films of the type.

They also play on something among us that isn't what it seems in a big city where everyone is so busy they don't even have time to pause, never mind check if you've got two legs under a trench coat. I couldn't help but be reminded of Raphael from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" without the jokes, of course, but something that big and awkward going mostly unnoticed to busy New Yorkers in the city who move forward like they've already seen it all or as if time is money. The creature effects were a blend of CGI and prosthetics. Their faces are somewhat eerie looking, in that you wouldn't want the normal bug behind your fridge to look similar to your ugly neighbor. This has some violence, though it's not used excessively where blood is spraying this way and that, but more at exposed bug guts and insides than human--I'm sure there's no complaints there as it's either us or them, right?

Unlike some other films where the characters are similar or cut outs, the casting is definitely varied here. They're memorable with their diversity, though what's disappointing is it wasn't always taken further with remarkable performances. That can also be blamed on what range they're given. The weakest link is Jeremy Northam. He feels a little stiff and uncharismatic when attempting to inject emotion. It's like he nailed the everyday guy a little too well with a basic tone of voice and simple look to the point of being easily lost in a crowd. Mira Sorvino does all she can with her role with some intelligence and strength, but they don't always make her glow beyond what's she's given to do, like, say, Ripley in "Alien," which this gives some reference to. The boy and his Geppetto looking father add a contrast here but at times feel like extra bodies that pad the running time. The subway cop, Leonard (Dutton), and CDC agent, Josh (Brolin), represent the loud and colorful personalities. This is part of where some light jokes and fun come out in the meantime. However, the cop quickly gets annoying with nearly every single line he spews being a complaint, until two seconds from the finish line, he decides to be a team player. There isn't much on growth here--bugs excluded--except there is some rewarding resolve with attention to anticipation, which makes it more effective, as over-the-top and cinematic that may have been.

The major strengths of this movie are its aesthetics rather than its story or characters. You could tell Guillermo del Toro had an eye for detail in this early film of his, which I didn't realize till some time later that it was him. There's an ordered structure with a concentration on smooth transitions and getting the frame lined up just right or in a unique fashion--sometimes to a fault, as some scenes are so simple in idea that it feels like it's dressed up to be more than it is. "Mimic" still has a certain atmosphere and enough entertainment and involvement that made a turn around from being just an otherwise below average creature feature.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Guillermo del Toro (Cronos)
Stars: Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Charles S. Dutton, Alix Koromzay, F. Murray Abraham
Link: IMDB


Facts from the Black and Red:

- Cockroach derives from the Spanish word cucaracha.
- Cockroach skeletons are external.
- Roaches are omnivorous.
- Cockroaches mate facing away from each other.
- The mouths of cockroaches work sideways and they don't have a tongue.

The Relic (1997)

Museums were never so loud, greedy or deadly

A man named John Whitney (Van Bergen) is taking photos of an indigenous ceremony in front of a fire, headed by a small statue. The natives boil up part of a plant and he drinks out of a bowl. The anthropologist runs to a ship and demands crates destined for the National History Museum in Chicago be instead taken off, except the Captain is on a schedule and refuses. Whitney sneaks onto the ship only to find after all that huff and puff they accidentally left off his cargo at the loading dock anyway. Six weeks later the ship arrives from Brazil to Chicago, except everyone is at first missing and there's blood found. A Lieutenant D'Agosta (Sizemore) is called on the scene from Chicago Homicide and figures it had to be a drug hit, only to find dismembered bodies floating in the hull below.

One week later at the History Museum in the windy city and another scientist named Dr. Margo Green (Miller) inspects the crates with nothing found inside but packing leaves and the same statue from the beginning now with the name of "Kothoga": a god that's supposed to be the son of Satan, which at first isn't taken with any bit of seriousness. Though there's going to be a Superstition Exhibit at the museum and it might give her the funding she needs after finding out the foundation is delaying Margo's grant. Her rival Greg Lee (Lo) is applying for the same one, despite if she doesn't get it her department is out of work. It's closing time, she's working late, two boys are sneaking about when they see "something" and then a security guard is smoking in the boys room when his session gets cut short--literally. D'Agosta is called in again but he can't put his finger on what the connection to the bodies at the boat is with the exception of a specific portion missing. Some evidence comes his way of what and who might have done it, though his inner detective's intuition is going off as to why and how. Politics get in the way of police procedure and the exhibit is going on as scheduled that night despite his protests that it might not be over. Us regular movie goers know that with a share of running time still left, that character is always right.

The mystery element is a central driving point with tidbits of information spread out that culminates into a climactic showdown involving a packed exhibit and underground tunnel ways. The latter portion of the film is somewhat dark, though it might have been on purpose to watch it with the lights out and also let the loud sound effects and music make one's mind wander into the worst pathways imaginable. This builds up with superstitions coming alive into scientific fact instead of the supernatural: a detective on one side that believes in them, lucky bullet and all, and on the other a scientist who doesn't, a computer to run DNA and everything. It plays on politics and posturing with ambitious people that curb doing it by the book unlike the two self-sacrificing stars. There are some severed heads, neck stumps and gashes in the gore department. The production values are above average--bar some under lit scenes--with large sets and a craning camera to capture the scope. This has CGI creature effects that were somewhat advanced for '97, along with some prosthetics, though the enigmatic entity frequently blends in with the shadows, only adding to its elusiveness.

"The Relic" is an easy but charging popcorn flick with a decent pacing. The dialogue is going to be simplified for amusement (and occasionally dated with jokes that feel a little too scripted and well-timed than being matched to that character in that moment), there are going to be plenty of jump-and-scare, what-was-that shock theatrics, and try-too-hard characters are going to appear with misplaced flair and sarcasm to momentarily charge your senses. They tried to make Tom Sizemore present himself like Tommy Lee Jones in "The Fugitive" at first by rattling off a huge list of demands to look commanding. The overall objective is to put you in the direct moment and not tread back. This isn't a completely mind-numbing experience like other "something"-attacking-people features where what you see is what you get, since there are some interesting revelations here with a solid reason for the onslaught, not to mention all of the genres are utilized with a certain balance. There isn't enough depth to produce massive echoes, though the characters aren't always tripping over their own shoe laces like other films, only to have a single objective to superficially satisfy the gore hounds.

Compared to the engrossing book, this is a much more straightforward version where only the major essentials are targeted and the rest is left behind on the drawing board. Essentially the mythological, scientific and informational side is narrowed down into a succinct fashion and the creature element is pushed to the forefront. It pales in comparison, and I personally remember passing this off because of that, but looking at it again, it was entertaining enough on its own as a separate experience.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Peter Hyams (Outland, 2010, Time Cop)
Stars: Penelope Ann Miller, Tom Sizemore, Linda Hunt, James Whitmore, Chi Muoi Lo, Lewis Van Bergen
Link: IMDB

The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Guilty of a crime? Call 1-800-LOMAX

We have a specific representation in our minds of detecting the Devil and his minions. Psychologically it makes it easier to where a "bad guy" is seen just as that. The film has some demonic imagery but mostly breaks those molds that come with red skin and horns, to creature-esque wood cuts and Gustave Dore paintings, to here with the Prince of Darkness hiding amongst us in the modern day in a position of power. Old Nick walking around in human form makes him that much more effective in manipulating us into believing he's just a man of earthly status and, of course, with a following (legion) behind him. Because where would he be without people to use, a deep sea fisherman off to solitude? Not likely.

This was released back in October of '97 in a month where straight horror films are usually placed. Though this brings back an old thriller feeling from the '60s/'70s with a gradual pacing, absence of technology, orchestral music and a concentration on characters rather than flashy filmmaking techniques. Watching this back in the late '90s and now doesn't make it feel aged, as there's nothing directly reminiscent of the year it came out with the exception of the new millennium approaching and paranoia on the rise. Hence films such as "Stigmata," "Fallen," "End of Days" and even on TV with "Millennium."

Kevin Lomax (Reeves) is a defense attorney in small town Florida who represents a teacher that's accused of inappropriately touching a teenage girl after class. It looks like a bust as the girl is testifying with such conviction and the teacher is sweating from the palms. Lomax takes a short recess. He's made an unbeatable string of wins in the courtroom and doesn't want to let this one go despite morals and doing what's right eating at his conscience. After some snide remarks from a reporter, he's back in with a devilish grin and a persuasive defense. In the after party, Lomax is approached by a man with a proposition to go to New York to select a jury with the incentive of a large sum of cash that he can't pass up. His devoutly religious mother, who was a preacher's daughter, gives him some advice that he's heard before: "Let me tell you about New York. Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great. It has become a dwelling place of demons." Off he goes anyway with his wild and ecstatic wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron).

The hot shot lawyer has an unstoppable combination: he's got the sharp looks and an acute intuition about reading people. They gradually give him more and more responsibility, while the head of the firm named John Milton (Al Pacino) keeps a close eye on him. Pacino captures the frame every time he enters as a charming man who you're never too sure about his motives. Lomax is brought on as a criminal lawyer and offered substantial perks that only partners usually get. What at first looks to be a premise for a John Grisham novel takes a shadowier turn. They don't represent people because it's just or that they can truly help them get out of a misunderstanding, they do it for capital and connections to make their business even larger, like a weed that grows, intertwines and infiltrates all that come in contact.

A deceptive world is set up with grinning, posturing, money-centered people that offer temptations at every turn. His wife gets sucked into the riches and power, but is a little more gullible from the simple life she had back home. She's bored and lonely as her husband's job comes first and foremost. Though she starts to see something truly dark: an invisible aura that gives off unexplainable bad vibes. Her husband says it's the change but he's too busy to put all of his attention towards her, including getting the opportunity to work on a huge case that represents an extremely wealthy client. From thinking he's on an uphill battle, he's got to fend his way back down again when his wife is in danger and some revelations come out about who all these people really are around him.

"The Devil's Advocate" goes to show how often we look the other way. In the smaller scheme of things we compensate to do something that either goes against how we were raised or what we truly feel underneath from other perks and okays from higher ups and friends. There's a sort of tainted philosophy here that even cult leader Jim Jones used in the Peoples Temple. He would overwork his followers, making them have less time to think, and then control their income on top of that. Jones would set up living quarters that even included their families to where he could keep an eye on them. Every egg in that person's basket was invested in their leader without them necessarily noticing it. The question is where is he going to lead them? If a few things thought to be wrong happen, does that person look the other way because other aspects look so good? If they take the chance of speaking up, all of those things worked for that seem important can be taken away and then a fear of being ostracized from the group happens as well. This doesn't come with the physical abuse and forced actions, as the Devil is physically in front of said person but essentially the Devil is in ourselves as he just gives advice--very convincing advice that's as old as the idea of picking apples. This is a story that shows even wily lawyers might have limits beyond temptations.

What made this movie come together and be more than just a supernatural tale going for spooks and scares, were the performances. Yeah, Reeves' southern drawl comes and goes but he's got the look and feel of a cocky lawyer down to his tailored suit and slicked hair. His court room appearances, while including poetic license, also capture just how much of a sneaky wordsmith his character is capable of being. Not to mention he's capable of stepping up in the stages he goes through. From "The Godfather" to "Scarface" Pacino performs as a born leader. Instead of just delivering a single tone or playing it reserved with a certain look, he gives the role versatile flair with an amount of humorous irony in his phrases and added mystery that you can't always put your finger on despite having a share of dialogue. "I'm a surprise... They don't see me coming." There's a built up heated debate in the film that just shows you how he crafts each one of his deceptive words to nearly make you believe in them yourself. The film comes with a certain atmosphere that doesn't have shocking blood and guts of a normal horror film, but it's still effective in that it gives off an uncomfortable feeling in trapped scenarios it presents the deeper it sucks you in.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Taylor Hackford (Blood In, Blood Out, Dolores Claiborne)
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Al Pacino, Jeffrey Jones, Craig T. Nelson
Link: IMDB