Stay Out, on BET+

It is getting harder to make old fashioned voodoo-themed horror movies, but on paper, this one would sound like it found the key to unlock that subgenre for hyper-sensitive viewers. For Donovan Jones’s Uncle Rufus, voodoo was a means to protect himself from mid-Twentieth Century racism in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Unfortunately, his uncanny powers claim several innocent victims in Jared Safier’s Stay Out, which is now streaming on BET Plus.

Much to his surprise, Jones is informed he is the sole heir of his long-deceased uncle and aunt’s estate, primarily consisting of the family home that has languished for decades (hence the tape across the door, cautioning: “stay out”). Apparently, the incompetence of the firm handling the probate reached levels requiring state bar intervention. Be that as it may, Jones reluctantly agrees to travel to Blue Ridge, which apparently still has quite a backwards reputation. In fact, the only other black family living in town are William and Lauren, with their rebellious, Blue Ridge-hating teen daughter Raveen. However, for most of the film, they really will not have anything to do with Donovan Jones.

Instead, Uncle Rufus periodically possesses his nephew’s body, using it to murder the descendants of the men who murdered him. It is always deeply traumatizing for Jones, who tries to fight it, but without success. Of course, he usually gets stuck with the clean-up. He probably should have listened to the spooky homeless man who warned him to leave while he still could.

Stay Out is presumably intended as horror, but it is hard to tell from the poky execution. Safier has a momentum-killing habit of repeating expositional dialogue in multiple scenes. The first act is so slow and flabby, most streamers will probably bail before the first murder.

Cursed Films: The Serpent and the Rainbow

This film probably couldn’t be produced anymore. There are just too many minefields to traverse when it comes to voodoo. Yet, for decades, the only zombies in movies were of the voodoo variety. In his book, Wade Davis tried to de-mystify the zombification phenomenon, but critics of Wes Craven’s adaptation consider it more of the same sensationalism. Yet, Craven and producer David Ladd strived for authenticity, filming on-location in Haiti. The resulting drama explains why The Serpent and the Rainbow is the subject of this week’s Cursed Films, on Shudder.

Unlike many Cursed Films subjects, most of the cast and crew on Serpent are still available to talk about it. The most notable exception is Craven, one of the most important directors of the genre. Understandably, Davis had mixed emotions when he signed on to direct that were largely justified.

Regardless, Craven and Ladd started filming in Haiti, which was an ambitious decision. On their first night, the crew was blessed in a real-deal ceremony. According to some interview subjects that blessing may have saved their lives. Despite the lack of a body count, the production had at least one “possession,” maybe even two—call it one and a half. That is a good deal of cursing. Plus, there was a full-scale riot.

Bonello’s Zombi Child

Thanks to France’s lingering colonialist mindset, it considers everything in the Francophone world essentially French. Apparently, that includes Haitian voodoo—and why not? They are the ones who created the circumstances it developed out of. An entitled French school girl will be tempted to dabble in the mysterious arts, which inevitably leads to dire consequences in Bertrand Bonello’s Zombi Child, which opens this Friday in New York.

Melissa was orphaned by the Haitian earthquake, but she still has her loving Aunt Katy, a tutor and voodoo-practicing “Mambo” in France. Since her late mother was a recipient of the Legion of Honor, the French government will cover her room and board at an exclusive boarding school, founded by Napoleon himself for the daughters of recipients of France’s highest honors. She is a little out of place, but she still falls in with a group of four other friends, who are basically shallow, self-absorbed teenagers—except pasty-white Fanny, who is especially shallow and self-absorbed.

Fanny is the sort of crush-blinded schoolgirl who sends long, dramatic letters to her long-distance lover Pablo. The kind that are guaranteed to spook a player like him into dumping her. She is the first to ask cultural insensitive questions of Melissa, but then she will turn around and attempt a massive act of cultural appropriation, for her own self-interest.

Fifty-five years prior, Melissa’s grandfather Clairvius Narcisse meets an untimely death via voodoo, but that is not the end of his story. The unfortunate man is partially revived to serve as a “zombi” slave laborer (they leave the last “e” off for cultural sensitivity).

Eventually, both narrative strands crescendo in parallel, with Fanny pestering Aunt Katy to cast a spell on Pablo, just when she should be preparing for a special ceremony in honor of her father, Narcisse. Frankly, the pieces do not exactly fit together perfectly, but the big picture is compelling. It isn’t horror or “elevated horror,” but it still steadily builds in intensity and foreboding.

Iskander: Shadow of the River, on Shudder

The last time most viewers saw French Guiana on screen, either Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman or Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek were escaping from a French penal colony in their respective Papillons. Neither film exaggerated the steamy climate. The French overseas department borders Brazil and Suriname, but it is as frog as the Champs-Elysees or French Algeria until 1962. As such, the same Gendarmerie and National Police are responsible for the law enforcement. It is a tough posting, but Chloe Bresson is a tough cop, but not exactly a diplomatic or politically shrewd one. Her first case in the tropical region turns into a nightmare with supernatural dimensions in the four-episode Iskander: Shadow of the River, directed by Olivier Abbou, which premieres today on Shudder.

Bresson’s new boss has no illusions how she ended up in Guiana. Her career is in freefall, but she still refuses to change her hard-charging ways. Although they clash initially, she just might be the perfect partner for Det. Joseph Dialo. He is much better equipped to deal with the indigenous population (just about anyone would be), but he is just as driven. In fact, he will become even more obsessed with their latest (and first case), for personal reasons that will be revealed over time.

The bodies of a Western couple are found brutally murdered and strung up on the mast of their small yacht. There is also the body of an exsanguinated sloth, but their six-year-old-ish son is missing. Given the hallucinogenic properties of the sloth’s blood and the word “Iskander” carved into the victims’ chests, the detectives quickly conclude the crimes are the work of a voodoo cult. Bresson follows up references to Iskander in previous case files, while Dialo simultaneously pursues his own leads, from more personal sources.

Iskander is loaded with atmosphere, dread, foreboding, and an especially keen sense of place, but the narrative could have benefited from a little tightening. Frankly, it might have been better conceived as a two-hour feature than a three-hour-and-change limited series. Be that as it may, it is cool to see such a dark, Conrad-esque exercise in genre storytelling. Even though Abbou and creator-co-screenwriter Aurelien Moras are careful to respect all Guianese ethnicities (except maybe the temp-working Euro French), it still pretty impressive they have the guts to build a horror story around voodoo rituals and indigenous lore.

Two Sentence Horror Stories: Only Child

It is probably impossible to make straight-up voodoo horror films, like The Believers or The Serpent and the Rainbow these days, because of increased sensitivity concerns (Santeria is a religion, after all). However, it seems it can still be used to ward off evil spirits. Unfortunately, a Haitian grandmother might not be strong enough to expel the evil from her spoiled-rotten grandson in Only Child, the latest episode of Two Sentence Horror Stories, which premieres tonight on the CW.

Desi has just moved in with her grown son, his wife, and their little boy Rex. Granted, everyone will need time to adjust to the situation, but Rex still seems a little off. He definitely has boundary issues and he clearly expects to have his own way in all things. This could be partly attributable to his parents’ self-esteem-over-discipline approach to child-rearing. They earnestly tell Desi they try not to use the “no” word with him. Yet, there is still an element of hostility in his behavior that his parents refuse to see.

Of course, Desi can recognize bad spirits when she is in the presence of one, but Rex’s parents are way too modern for that kind of mumbo jumbo. That generational and cultural divide will put Desi in a rather perilous position. Yes, there is definitely talk of the “evil eye” in Only Child, but it still scrupulously maintains its cultural sensitivities. That is all well and good, but the important thing is the creepy tone director Nikyatu Jusu achieves.

As Rex, Jaiden Smith is one heck of a sinister bad seed-demon spawn. This kid would truly be a play date from Hell. Likewise, Sharon Hope portrays Desi as quite a credible and identifiable figure reacting incredulously to her son’s Summerhill-style parenting and with horror to Rex’s escalating aggression.

Screenwriter Leon Hendrix uses the horror genre to effectively satirize the discipline-free style of parenting, but that also provides a believable context for Rex’s evil blossoming. At some point, somebody should have said “no” to this kid, but nobody did. Arguably, this is definitely one of the best written instalments of the current season of Two Sentence Horror Stories. Highly recommended for horror fans, Only Child premieres tonight (9/5), on the CW.

DWF ’16: Dinner with the Alchemist

Next time you are in New Orleans, consider taking a walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. You can’t miss what is considered the crypt of the illustrious voodoo priestess (and Roman Catholic of good standing) Marie Laveau, because it is surrounded by offerings left by those seeking her intervention (often in matters of the heart). None can doubt the name Laveau still has potency in the Crescent City. In the early 1900s, Laveau’s cautious granddaughter has difficulty filling the shoes of her legendary namesake, but an enigmatic new arrival will convince the voodoo practitioner to take a more activist role in Kevin Good’s Dinner with the Alchemist (trailer here), which world premiered at the 2016 Dances with Films.

Alchemist Jacques St. Germaine has just arrived from Paris, but he should feel linguistically and culturally comfortable in New Orleans. He immediately seeks out Marie Laveau, out of respect and for professional reasons. His beloved cat died during the voyage, but he is certain she can fix it. He also believes Laveau’s powers can halt the Yellow Fever ravaging the outer wards. Although Laveau is reluctant to open Pandora’s Box, but she relents in the case of the cat out of gratitude for some timely assistance.

The good news is the epidemic might not be as bad as the city assumed. The bad news is its death toll has apparently been inflated by a serial killer planting his victims among the deceased diseased bodies. Prostitutes are his preferred target, which is rather bad timing for Mary, an earnest Catholic orphan who has just accepted employment in Madame Catherine’s brothel. She hoped to perform conventional servant girl chores, but obviously that is not what the Madam had in mind. However, Mary can possibly forestall the worst of her new duties by investigating the murders (presumably committed by one of their clients). St. Germaine is not one of them, but he has taken a personal interest in Mary, for mysterious reasons.

If you dig New Orleans, there is probably just enough of it to carry Alchemist. The premise is terrific, but at times it is hamstrung by its budget constraints. For instance, the supposed interior shots of Saint Louis Cathedral were obviously shot in a different, smaller location. The subplot involving Mary and her sailor suitor are also rather awkward (to put it diplomatically).

On the other hand, Dan Istrate is terrific as St. Germaine, especially when confronting Dionne Audain’s Marie Laveau. They have real presence, dignified but also somewhat uncanny, as befitting such powerful Crescent City denizens. Unfortunately, many of the supporting players provide rather questionable support.

Still, Jenna St. John’s screenplay is quite clever, incorporating a great deal of colorful NOLA lore and even some legitimate history. She and Good clearly understand the original Laveau’s continuing importance to New Orleanians. Despite its limitations, Dinner with the Alchemist is an entertaining period urban fantasy and an affectionate love letter to New Orleans. It deserves to find an audience among fans of the city’s macabre legends and lies, following its world premiere at this year’s Dances with Films, in Hollywood, USA.