Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki

Don’t call it a comeback. Sure, legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement yet again, but everyone hoped he still really didn’t mean it. It turns out we might just get a little bit more from him after all. Kaku Arakawa captures the auteur as he comes to grips with the current state of animation and his mortality in Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York and also has two special nation-wide Fathom Events screenings.

When Arakawa first visits the master in his retirement, he is clearly bored, but leery of starting any new projects, due to his age. Rather regrettably, he has recently attended several funerals for former Ghibli colleagues. The absence of so many past collaborators contributes to his reluctance. Yet, Miyazaki just can’t stop himself.

Before long, he is working on a short for the Ghibli Museum titled Boro the Caterpillar, but the kicker is this time around he is working with a team of CGI animators. Initially, Miyazaki is convinced only computer techniques can replicate the movement of a caterpillar, but he soon falls back only his old working methods. Inevitably, that includes stressing out his long-time (long-suffering) producer, Toshio Suzuki.

Admittedly, there is a lot of puttering in Never-Ending Man, but it eventually evolves into a surprisingly philosophical meditation on the nature of creativity and maybe even the implications of the singularity. A key moment comes when a CGI start-up pitches their technology to Miyazaki using a stunningly poor choice of animation clips. It is an awkward scene in which the master makes it crystal clear how appalled he is by the grotesqueness of it, but to Miyazaki, it becomes an example of something no human animator could stomach if they had to hand illustrate it frame-by-frame. Indeed, sometimes it takes a cranky humanist like Miyazaki to remind us how process and technology shapes an artist’s vision and values.

This happens to be an excellent time to dig deep into Ghibliana. In addition to Arakawa’s documentary, Susan Napier’s Miyazaki World: A Life in Art, a popular scholarly analysis of his oeuvre, just released a few months ago (look for a review this week, hopefully). Not to be spoilery, but it has been widely announced Miyazaki has even more to come, which is happy news. If anyone can be the next Manoel de Oliveira helming films well past his centennial, Miyazaki could. Quiet but smart, Never-Ending is a slyly revealing film that really says more to those interested in the creative process than fans looking for a rose-tinted history of the storied studio. Recommended for cerebral animation connoisseurs, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyzaki opens this Friday (12/14) at the Metrograph in New York and screens via Fathom Events on Thursday (12/13) and the following Tuesday (12/18).

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—Marvel Animated

You have to give Marvel credit for not playing it safe with their first theatrical animated feature. For starters, they revisit the “Ultimate Marvel” continuity universe that they essentially put on indefinite hiatus in 2015. It also prominently features Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham (he’s a pig, get it?), whom Time magazine dubbed one of the “Ten Oddest Marvel Characters,” not without justification. Yet, all the unlikely elements combine into a rather inspired whole: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (trailer here), which opens this Friday nationwide.

Miles Morales is a bright prep school scholarship kid from Brooklyn, who is pushed hard by his police officer father. Most of the time, he feels like his black sheep Uncle Aaron understands him better, especially when it comes to his passion for graffiti art. Then one day, he is bitten by a radioactive spider. You know how that works. In fact, screenwriter Phil Lord frequently revisits that familiar origin story throughout Spider-Verse, for sly comedic effect.

Young Morales has trouble mastering his new powers, but he soon comes mask-to-mask with a potential tutor. That would be Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man. Thanks to a rift in the multiverse caused by the recklessness of Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. The Kingpin), several more alternate Spider-Beings cross over. Most of Morales’ lessons will come from Peter B. Parker, who is a lot like the Parker we know, but slightly schlubbier. He is not perfect, but the black-and-white, tough-talking Spider-Man Noir is not exactly the mentoring type and it would be embarrassing to get schooled by Spider-Ham.

It is usually a bad sign when comic book companies resort to reboots and alternate continuities, but Marvel has repurposed the Ultimate experiment quite shrewdly. Waste not, want not. Visually, Spider-Verse is a trip and a half, incorporating elements of the entire history of comic books, including manga—as represented by Peni Parker—all of which is rendered in a unique style of CGI animation, with traditional hand-drawn elements layered on-top.

Spider-Verse looks terrific, but what really distinguishes the film is the quality of the writing. Morales and his family are all fully developed characters, who have very real issues to deal with. Morales also has a smartly developed relationship with an alternate Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Woman, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen (not to be confused with the deceased and resurrected Jessica Drew Spider-Woman). Frankly, there are some shockingly poignant moments in Spider-Verse, especially for viewers who are or ever have been Marvel fans.

Marvel really tempted the fates by enlisting Nic Cage, who nearly played Superman in Tim Burton’s never-realized Superman Lives, to give voice to Spider-Man Noir, but once again their gamble paid off with some fantastic hardboiled voice-over work. The rest of the voice cast is quite strong as well, particularly Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Woman and Brian Tyree Henry as Morales’ father, Jefferson Davis (is that irony intentional?).

Regardless, all superhero movies should be as well-written as Spider-Verse. The animators produced some striking cityscapes and a truly dynamic sense of motion. Watching their work recaptures the feeling of seeing the first two Sam Raimi live-action Spider-Man movies and being blown away by how good the web-slinging looked. Even if you love GKIDS and Studio Ghibli, you will be impressed by what the filmmakers have done here. Very highly recommended, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opens this Friday (12/14) across the country, including the AMC Empire in New York.

Russian Film Week ‘18: Sobibor

It was hard being a hero of the Soviet Motherland. Alexander Pechersky’s service during WWII was indeed truly heroic. The Jewish Red Army officer-conscript was instrumental leading the mass escape from the Sobibor concentration camp. In later years, Pechersky wanted to continue to fight against his National Socialist captors, but the Soviet Union denied him exit permission to testify against any accused war criminals, including the celebrated Eichmann trial. He was also dismissed from his position during the anti-Semitic “Rootless Cosmopolitan” campaign. It is worth keeping the frustrations of his later life in mind when viewers revisit the triumph of the uprising he sparked in Konstantin Khabenskiy’s Sobibor (trailer here), Russia’s official foreign language Oscar submission, which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

As a Russian, Pechersky was considered suspect by the rest of the Jewish prisoners, especially when they learned of the disastrous revolt he led in Minsk. Nevertheless, he had the right combination of military experience and practical know-how to lead the camp’s resistance cell. The group had been working on various escape schemes, but Pechersky insisted on an everybody or nobody approach, based on the reprisals he witnessed in Minsk. Of course, the actually planning and execution was still confined to the core group.

Obviously, Khabensky’s Sobibor depicts the same historical events chronicled in the TV-movie Escape from Sobibor, starring Rutger Hauer and Alan Arkin, which was quire respectable, especially by the standards of its day. Frankly, Khabensky’s film is not as strong in terms of characterization, but it captures the horrors of the camp with far more visceral intensity. Especially disturbing is a night of SS revelry that might be one of the most nightmarishly surreal sequences ever recorded on film over the last several years.

However, the greatest surprise in this Sobibor is Highlander’s Christopher Lambert, who is nearly unrecognizable playing camp commandant Karl Frenzel. If anyone ever writes a book length survey of his career, this film will factor significantly within it. Instead of trying to outdo Ralph Fiennes ragingly demonic performance in Schindler’s List, Lambert takes it the other way. His Frenzel is emotionally detached and socially awkward, even with his own colleagues. There is also an aspect of self-loathing to his persona that manifests itself it truly horrific ways. It shows range we rarely get to see from the generally dependable genre star.

Khabensky himself (primarily known as a thesp in Wanted and the Night Watch franchise) is also witheringly intense as Pechersky. He definitely has the right hardened battle-veteran presence (much like Hauer). The entire ensemble is quite credible, but they most blend in, looking like they belong in the grim environment, whereas Khabensky and Hauer stand out.

It is a shame the film overlooks Pechersky’s difficulties during the Soviet years, but admittedly, Khabensky and the trio of screenwriters chose a logical ending point. In fact, one could argue it is one of the few Holocaust films that has a partially positive ending (but “happy” is still probably too strong a term). Respectfully recommended, Sobibor screens this Friday (12/14) as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

Russian Film Week ‘18: In the Hood

As the home of the USSR’s Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok was off-limits to foreigners during the Cold War. It looks like we weren’t missing much. The post-industrial Vladivostok is positioned as something like the Detroit of Russia in model-turned-thesp Olya Zueva’s feature directorial debut, In the Hood (trailer here), which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

Vladimir (Vova) and Kisa are two knock-around meat-headed thugs, who have done pretty well by doing the dirty work of Shamir, an up-and-coming gangster. Initially, their latest assignment sounds like fun: shadowing Shamir’s hard-partying girlfriend as she hops from night spot to night spot. However, Vova draws a line in the sand when they are told to administer a beating in punishment for her unfaithfulness.

Vova wants to go straight, but the crooked system constantly pushes him back towards the thug life. Isn’t that always the way? Plus, the self-destructive Kisa is always going to be a destabilizing influence. Do you think Vova might agree to do him one last solid?

All the archetypes are here. There are two potential love interests: Sonya, a singer in the choral group led by Vova’s mother, who represents purity, and Lida, the nouveau riche scenester Vova meets during their shadow work, who stands for temptation. Plus, there is Kisa, Vova’s tragically flawed brother-from-another-mother and his own long-suffering mom.

Frankly, it is all a little too familiar, even though the crummy Vladivostok setting adds a new, cinematic wrinkle, with its abandoned Soviet-era industrial projects and the grand architecture of its ultra-modern, people-dwarfing bay bridges. Maybe it is a great place to live and rise a family, but Zueva certainly makes it look chilly and grim.

Maybe we have seen these elements before, but In the Hood feels like it is still rather gutsy depicting crime in the Russian underclass at a time when the state news agencies are trying to convince the citizenry they are living in a golden age. You also have to give Zueva credit for taking on the unsympathetic role of Lida, instead of the virtuous Sonya. (Presumably, Zueva is a draw in her own right, having appearing in the Hollywood movie Salt and a high-profile Russian sports film.)

Ilya Malanin and Danila Kozlovsky (a new addition to History Channel’s Vikings next year) are so convincing as the two strong-arm buddies, we can believe they were plucked straight out of skid row, instead of being cast because they are well known Russian actors. Zueva is also quite intriguing as Lida, but her subplot quickly falls by the wayside (which happens fairly frequently in ITH).

Frankly, In the Hood is not a bad film, but anyone who has seen a few Western urban dramas will always be several steps ahead of it. Mostly recommended for the cast’s Russian fans, In the Hood screens this Thursday (12/13), as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

Russian Film Week ‘18: Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s Story

Few literary characters are as universally despised as Count Vronsky in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Generally, he is pegged somewhere between a cad and a heel. Nevertheless, he deserves the chance to tell his side of the classic story, especially since he has an interested listener in Karen Shakhnazarov’s Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s Story (trailer here), which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

There might be subtle differences in interpretation, but the events that happened in St. Petersburg are still quite faithful to Tolstoy’s novel. The wrap-around segments are based on the fictionalized but still very autobiographical writings of Vikenty Veresaev. Anna Karenina’s son Sergei takes Veresaev’s place as a doctor during the 1904 Russian-Japanese War. Clearly, the fighting in Manchuria has gone poorly for the Czar’s army, when even a staff officer like Col. Vronsky has been wounded. Of course, Vronsky and Karenin know exactly who they are. They also have unresolved feelings for Anna. As he recuperates, Vronsky explains the tragic events, most of which were kept secret from Karenin by his controlling father.

What happened was the story of Anna Karenina, which you really ought to be familiar with. It is rather fascinating how closely Shakhnazarov and co-screenwriter Yuriy Poteenko hew to the original Tolstoy, yet they still manage to recast Vronsky as an unexpectedly sympathetic character. On the other hand, the senior Karenin comes across like a bitter, moralizing misanthrope, while Karenina is portrayed as a problematically unstable and self-centered drama queen.

That is all quite an interesting take on Tolstoy, but the biggest surprise is the success of the Veresaev-inspired scenes in Manchuria, which are quite compelling. Max Matveev necessarily digs deeper as the older, more remorseful Vronsky. He also forges a rather poignant rapport with Sofia Sun’s Chunsheng, a Chinese orphan girl Vronsky takes under his wing.

The feature cut of Vronsky’s Story is culled from Shakhnazarov’s eight-part miniseries, but it really does not feel like it is missing anything. The way it marries together Tolstoy and Veresaev is really very clever, but Tass still manages to overstate matters. It erroneously claims Vronsky’s Story would be nominated for an Academy Award and Shakhnazarov, the Putin supporting director general of Mosfilm has already been nominated for Oscars three times before. The truth is Russia previously submitted three of his films in the foreign language category, but the Academy chose not to nominate them. This time around, Russia declined to submit Vronsky’s Story, in favor of Sobibor. Despite the disinformation disseminated on Shakhnazarov’s behalf, Anna Karenina. Vronsky’s Story is a classy and engaging film, definitely recommended when it screens Sunday (12/9), as part of this year’s Russian Film Week in New York.

Hospitality

The location is terrible, but Donna’s bed & breakfast used to be known for service that was quite solicitous, if you follow. Now she only provides lodging and food. It is a family business now, involving her developmentally challenged teen son Jimmy. Unfortunately, they are about to get a lot of the wrong kind of business in Nick Chakwin & David Guglielmo’s Hospitality (trailer here), which opens today in Los Angeles.

The last time Cam stayed at the B&B, Donna was still providing “room service.” In the meantime, he served a prison sentence. However, he has not returned first thing after his parole solely because of her charm. He also stashed the loot in one of her air-conditioning ducts. Finding it proves harder than he anticipated, thanks to her renovations. Fortunately, he is in no hurry to leave, nor is she inclined to hustle him on his way. In fact, they have something nice going, until the arrival of additional interested parties spoils the mood.

Hospitality could have been a reasonably watchable trashy movie, but it has serious issues involving radical tonal shifts, starting with the buzz-killing wife-beater slap Donna takes within the first five minutes from Hirsch, her former pimp turned small town sheriff. From there on, Chakwin & Guglielmo’s screenplay flounders about, trying to figure out whether or not we should also sympathize with Cam, but never giving us a reason to care.

Emmanuelle Chriqui and Sam Trammell are not exactly Tracy & Hepburn or Bogart & Bacall, but they have chemistry coming out of their ears compared to Aaron Paul and Emily Ratajkowski in Welcome Home. In fact, the relationship between Donna and Cam ebbs and flows in interesting, less cliched ways. It is also quite amusing to watch Jim Beaver chew the scenery as Donna’s second mysterious guest. You also sort of have to give JR Bourne credit for fully committing to Hirsch’s utter contemptibleness.

Ultimately, it is a shame Hospitality could not be more offensive, because that would have also made it more memorable. It is both small in scale and limited in thrills. Not recommended, Hospitality opens today (12/7) in the LA area, at the AMC Universal City.

Ron Perlman is Asher

Sure, the pay is great, but hitmen do not have any benefits. You have to build your nest egg without any matching contributions and your medical is 100% co-pay. These things start to matter when you get to be Asher’s age. He doesn’t think he is going anywhere, but his body is not so sure in Michael Caton-Jones’s Asher (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Frankly, Asher would not have lasted this long if he were not so lethally effective at his job. However, his latest assignment got a little complicated. A hot day combined with an out-of-order elevator leads to a fainting spell he recovers from in Sophie’s apartment. Of course, she has no idea he is there to kill her neighbor, but his gruff, socially awkward behavior will make her think twice when he returns to ask her out. Nevertheless, she is curious enough to eventually accept, at which point they start to click.

Arguably, this is the perfect time for Asher to get serious about a relationship and ease out of the business. His former protégé has been getting all the really choice contracts lately. However, it hard for a cat like Asher to change his ways. Unfortunately, that also means Sophie could be at risk when a dodgy assignment he was talked into taking turns into a full-blown vendetta.

Asher is a relatively small, unassuming film, with a little bit Tarantino style action, but it works on its own level. In some ways, it could be considered Ron Perlman’s Gran Torino or Harry Brown, in which he contemplates his own mortality within the sort of off-center genre film that he is certainly no stranger to. He was probably born to be Asher, but he plays the part with surprising restraint—and even a little bit of soul.

Famke Janssen is also terrific as Sophie, portraying her as smart, seductive, and vulnerable, as well as a little naïve. She and Perlman develop some pleasantly easy-going chemistry together. On the other hand, it is depressing to see Jacqueline Bissett cast as yet another dementia-troubled mother. In fact, the side-plot involving Sophie’s mom Dora threatens to drag the film down the same unrewarding narrative path as Grace Quigley (Katharine Hepburn’s final big-screen star vehicle), but Caton-Jones pulls it out of that nose-dive.

In fact, Caton-Jones has the right touch for this material, maintaining a vibe that is dark and serious, yet somehow also light. Despite all of Asher’s brooding and seething, the film moves along at a spritely tempo. This is not a monumental cinematic statement, but it is an entertaining (yet surprisingly honest) film that Perlman’s fans will particularly enjoy. Essentially, it is grittier than The Hitman’s Bodyguard, but more humanistic than Schneider vs. Bax. Recommended fans of Perlman and hitman comedies, Asher opens today (12/7) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

Anchorage ’18: The Last Fiction

It is deeply embedded in Iranian culture and the national character, but its roots go back to early Zoroastrian traditions, rather than Islam. Yet, you can find many archetypal elements throughout Ferdowsi’s epic Shahnmeh (a.k.a. The Book of Kings) that have western analogs. Heroes must rise to depose a tyrant in league with evil supernatural forces in Ashkan Rahgozar’s The Last Fiction (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 Anchorage International Film Festival.

King Jamshid was once a just monarch, who enjoyed divine favor, but he has been blinded by ambition and a lust for conquest. He has been absent for years on an ill-conceived campaign (much like Richard the Lionheart), leaving the nation in the hands of the ruthless Zahhak, who is in league with the demonic Ahriman. Suspicions were already running high, due to the many men who entered into the castle on the pretext of construction work, only to disappear without a trace. However, Zahhak irrevocably loses the confidence of the people when he orders the death of every infant, to prevent the prophecy of his downfall from coming true. Right, does that sound familiar at all?

Afaridoun is the target of Zahhak’s wrath, but he escapes, thanks to his mother’s sacrifice and the heroism of Kaveh, the blacksmith. However, the angry orphan will need to mature considerably and train harder, before he can effectively lead the resistance.

Last Fiction is considered Iran’s first animated feature, which is a little surprising, considering the levels of accomplishment and recognition Persian cinema has reached. Regardless, it is pretty impressive, especially as the pioneering trailblazer. The character designs are quite striking and the world-building is richly detailed. There is a bit of herky-jerkiness here and there, but so what? In contrast, some of the stylized sequences relating episodes of legend and lore are truly elegant.

Rahgozar shrewdly adapted passages from the Shahnameh (considered the world’s longest epic poem) that best lend themselves to dramatic visuals. Frankly, anytime Iranian filmmakers depict the overthrow of an oppressive dictator, the world becomes a sunnier place and at least a dozen angels get their wings. It is also just a cool semi-fantastical story, with generous helpings of hack-and-slash action.

In addition to the swordplay, there is also a good deal of magic and intrigue, as well as a few nice Persian songs. There isn’t much romance though, since this is an Iranian film. Still, there is plenty to hold the interest of rowdy animation fans and refined patrons of Persian culture. Enthusiastically recommended, The Last Fiction screens this Saturday (12/8), as part of this year’s Anchorage International Film Festival.

Russian Film Week '18: Hoffmaniada

It surely would have been a classic, but instead it is one of the best-known unmade films not associated with Orson Welles. In Andrei Tarkovsky’s script for Hoffmaniana, German Romantic fantasist E.T.A. Hoffman would have interacted with characters from several of his classic stories. This is a very different film, even though it has a similar title and premise. Stylistically, this is not very Tarkovskian, obviously starting with the painstakingly rendered stop-motion animation. E.T.A. Hoffman and his alter-ego vividly come to life in Stanislav Sokolov’s Hoffmaniada (trailer here), which screens as part of Russian Film Week in New York.

Hoffman is a young advocate with artistic ambitions, who unfortunately looks like a much older man. As a result, he lives vicariously through Anselmus (of “The Golden Pot”), the dashing young archivist in love with Serpentina, who is in fact, rather serpentine. Unfortunately, his courtship with be interrupted by Coppelius (the notorious villain of “The Sandman”), who bewitches Anselmus/Hoffman with the alchemical automaton Olimpia. Along the way, there are also cameos from an unfortunate child name Zaches, as well as a certain Nutcracker and Rat King.

Hoffmaniada really makes one wonder about the Tarkovsky film that never was, because Sokolov and screenwriter Victor Slavkin so cleverly and seamlessly integrate Hoffman into his own stories. It sounds very contemporary, in a self-referential hipster kind of way, but it really follows in a meta tradition that go all the way back to Don Quixote. Admittedly, sometimes the transitions from story to story can be a bit abrupt, but that is a minor flaw, especially considering how visually striking the film truly is.

Frankly, the sets, backdrops, and costumes alone make Hoffmaniada one of grandest literary period dramas of the year. It also might be the best stop-motion animated feature since My Life as a Zucchini, even on a par with Jiri Barta’s Toys in the Attic.

Those who know their Hoffman will find Hoffmaniada an even richer viewing experience. However, those who only know the tale of the Nutcracker, will still get swept up in it (and if you don’t know that one, just sit quietly in your shame). For Sokolov’s Hoffman (and Hoffman’s Anselmus) love and literature are both very difficult to pursue, but they are worth the hardships that come with them. Very highly recommended, Hoffmaniada screens this Sunday (12/9) as part of this year’s Russian Film Week in New York.

Into the Dark: Pooka!

This must be the worst must-have toy since the Chuckie Good Guy doll. It looks a little like the Philly Phanatic mascot crossed with Gizmo the Gremlin, but its supposed charm is its unpredictability. Kids are crazy for it, but it is driving the actor wearing its furry costume even crazier in Nacho Vigalondo’s Pooka! (trailer here), the Christmas installment of Hulu’s Blumhouse-produced monthly holiday horror anthology, which premieres this Friday.

Wilson thought he was auditioning for a proper acting gig, but when he was offered the “role” of Pooka, the money was too good to turn down. He will be the only one wearing the suit, so he will own the role. However, it will be more like he will be owned by Pooka.

Of course, the whole point is to sell Pooka dolls, which jump off shelves like a combination of Cabbage Patch Kids and Teddy Ruxpins. Pooka’s gimmick is recording and playing back snippets of conversation it overhears, but there is no guarantee it will pick something polite. In fact, it has a reputation for being naughty more often than nice. Considering it is in such high demand, scoring one for the son of Melanie Burns, the single mom Wilson is trying to romance is quite a coup. Unfortunately, just as he makes progress on the relationship front, the character of Pooka starts sending him violent dreams and visions that threaten his hold on reality.

Arguably, Pooka is more of an extended Twilight Zone episode than a scare-your-pants-off horror movie, but that is not a bad thing. You can also consider it a loose riff on A Christmas Carol—really, really loose. Thanks to screenwriter Gerald Olson and a snappy cast, the characterization is unusually strong by genre standards. We feel for poor Wilson and rather like several of the people in his orbit, particularly Red, the retired actress living in the next-door apartment.

Admittedly, Pooka cannot compete with Vigalondo’s inspired Colossal, but it will not diminish his reputation as one of the best genre directors working in film today. He clearly has an affinity for Pooka’s inherently eccentric nature, but this could well be his most subtly executed film to-date.

Nyasha Hatendi should put himself on a lot of fans’ radar for his terrific work anchoring the film as the increasingly distressed Wilson. He covers a wide emotional gambit, while remaining faithful to the character’s tightly wound reserve. Hatendi also develops a credible rapport with Latarsha Rose’s Burns. Yet, Dale Dickey and Jon Daley really help distinguish ITD: Pooka! with the color and energy they bring, as Red and Wilson’s Pooka-selling boss, respectively.

Whether you call it horror, dark fantasy, or psychological thriller, Pooka! is up there with Anna and the Apocalypse as one of the best Christmas genre films this season. (FYI, there’s also something called Elves out there we just can’t force ourselves to watch.) It is very well made and rather haunting in its way. Very highly recommended, Into the Dark: Pooka! starts streaming this Friday (12/7) on Hulu.

Other Worlds Austin ’18: The Axiom

For viewers, it is interesting to watch a genre film blends horror elements with quantum-level science fiction speculation. Of course, it is not much fun for the characters forced to participate in the narrative. Risking violent death is bad enough, but they cannot even count on the rules of reality to behave. This is the situation McKenzie and her Scooby Mystery Team friends encounter when they venture into the woods to search for her missing sister in Nicholas Woods’ The Axiom (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 Other Worlds Austin Film Festival.

McKenzie’s sister Marilyn is admittedly a little flaky, but she has been missing way too long without any sort of word. She has reason to believe Marilyn disappeared into these ominous woods. However, she has not fully leveled with her brother Martin, his fiancée Darcy, her brother Edgar, and the abrasively obnoxious Gerrick regarding the suspicious circumstances.

Speaking of suspicious circumstances, there is also Leon, the road house owner who responded to the missing person notice McKenzie posted on Craig’s List. He offers a lot of strange Timothy Leery crazy talk about the forest, all of which might very well turn out to be true. There also could very well be more to his involvement than he lets on. Regardless, strange things seem to be afoot near the cabin they are visiting, starting with the fact the sun has yet to set, even though it is after midnight.

Arguably, Axiom is a victim of bad timing, because it arrives not so very long after Benson & Moorhead’s The Endless screened extensively on the festival circuit and earned a respectable theatrical release. Granted, they are not about the same, precise phenomenon, but they are close enough for Hollywood, except Benson & Moorhead take it much further. In any event, Axiom feels like the Reader’s Digest version of The Endless, in comparison.

Nonetheless, Hattie Smith is quite good as McKenzie, giving her some gumption, even when she is completely and convincingly freaked out. She is the one in this ensemble who could have breakout potential. Former Hobbit William Kircher is the other standout, providing some tangible villainy viewers can hold onto when things start to go bonkers around the portal thingy.

The Axiom bills itself as the thinking person’s horror movie, but frankly, there have been many smart chillers that incorporated some pretty advanced theoretical concepts. Woods has some interesting ideas, but the film creates expectations that are higher than its ability to fulfill. Still, it has more going for it than the average slice & dice. There is a lot of promise here, but it is not a transcendent genre-bender, so manage your expectations accordingly when The Axiom screens this Friday (12/7), during Other Worlds Austin.

Ho, Ho, Ho: Slay Belles

Alas, Santa Land was another victim of the War on Christmas. Sure, they say a handful of kids died on the theme park’s rides, but that was probably no great loss. The truth is most people just stopped caring about Santa, but not “The Adventure Girls.” That hardy band of YouTube urban explorers has come to Santa Land, but they find it is not as abandoned as they expected in Spooky Dan Walker’s Slay Belles (trailer here), which releases today on VOD.

According to the local forest ranger, some kind of wild animal has been attacking children and families, but that will not deter the intrepid Adventure Girls. Usually, it is just Dahlia and Sadie, but their friend Alexi joins them on this expedition. At first, the tacky remnants of Santa Land look perfect for them, until the feral monster attacks. Fortunately, the real Santa saves them just in the nick of time. Of course, crusty Kris is familiar with the beast out there. It is his old nemesis, Krampus.

Did we mention the Adventure Girls do their exploring in tight-fitting cos-play outfits, or does that go without saying? Regardless, you have to give Hannah Wagner, Kristina Klebe, and Susan Slaughter credit for being good sports on a number of counts, starting with wardrobe. They also keep the energy level cranked way up, dashing about, causing all kinds of mayhem. This might be a cornball horndog movie, but they rattle off their dialogue with a rat-a-tat briskness that would please Howard Hawks.

Of course, Barry Bostwick is perfectly cast as the spaced-out hermit Santa. Every time he exclaims “Krampus!,” it brings to mind the “Best Brains” logo stinger that used to end each episode of MST3K. That is a compliment, believe it, or not. Regardless, he is quite droll playing off the ladies. As an added bonus, Richard Moll from Night Court and Sean Cunningham’s House pops up as one of the confused local cops.

Obviously, Slay Belles is a larky meathead movie, but the three protags are so upbeat and earnest, it is impossible to dislike it. It only runs a mere 77-minutes, but Spooky Dan Walker’s warp-speed pacing makes it feel even quicker. Compared to other Christmas horror films, it really is an endearingly silly treat that should go down nice and smooth with a glass of eggnog. Highly recommended for fans of goofy horror comedies, Slay Belles releases today (12/4) on-demand.

Ho, Ho, Ho: Christmas Blood

You don’t get squat for being on Santa’s “nice” list in Norway, but don’t complain. Those on the “naughty” list get hacked to bits by an axe murderer. A maniac known for killing people publicly accused of committing crimes has escaped from an unforgivably negligent insane asylum, just in time to get back to his old Christmas Eve tricks in Reinert Kiil’s Christmas Blood (trailer here), which releases today on DVD and VOD.

Don’t blame Thomas Rasch. He emptied a clip into the costumed killer, at point-bank range, but the psycho-slasher didn’t die. They never do. The traumatized cop resigned from the force, but he will return to help straight-laced Terje Hansen track down his bogeyman nemesis.

It turns out the killer is appropriately headed towards the home of Julia’s late mother in the far north, a quiet, frosty land that is close enough to the North Pole for just about anyone. Julia and her mother have had a hard time of life. Soon after her cancer diagnosis, the older woman accidentally killed another motorist in an auto accident. After years of bearing the guilt, she finally committed suicide, but Santa didn’t hear about it in the nuthouse. Several of Julia’s trampier college friends have come to be with her during the holiday, providing the killer with a classic cast of slasher victims.

Comparisons with the classic Halloween will be inevitable for Christmas Blood—and in some ways they are deserved. Believe it or not, the film really does have a similar look and atmosphere. Clearly, cinematographer Benjamin Mosli did his best studying and channeling Dean Cundey’s work on John Carpenter’s iconic horror films. Stylistically, they are eerily similar, but Kiil just follows in the tradition, rather than building on it. In fact, it all ends on a disappointingly small-scale, underwhelming note.

Frankly, the women waiting around for Kris Kringle to kill them are problematically cliched and mostly boring. However, Sondre Krogtoft Larsen and Stig Henrik Hoff are better than average as the mismatched coppers. The frosty Finnmark locales and the severe Scandinavian ambiance also nicely contribute to feelings of isolation and dread.

Kiil over-achieves when it comes to setting the scene and establishing the vibe, but he cannot close the deal. Still, he hits enough nostalgic buttons to produce a Pavlovian response in many fans. Okay for Hallmark viewers in the mood for a little Christmas cheer (but not nearly as heartwarming as Anna and the Apocalypse), Christmas Blood releases today (12/4) on DVD and VOD, from Artsploitation.

All the Devil’s Men

A CIA bounty-hunter (his colleague prefers the term “shadow warrior”) like Collins is so low on the counter-terror totem pole, he is hardly worth disavowing. Of course, the Agency should never have to, because he is so lethally effective. Unfortunately, an old colleague nearly his equal (or maybe even slightly better) has been turned by the bad guys. It will be Collins job to take down his former comrade and his new boss McKnight (a Muslim convert) in Matthew Hope’s All the Devil’s Men (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Collins has some kind of PTSD, but he doesn’t let it get in the way of his work. Same for his family. He is your basic self-medicating lone wolf, but for some reason, Leigh, his CIA contractor, wants him to work as part of a team on this one. He and salty old Brennan go way back, but the cocky Samuelson rubs him the wrong way. However, when his supposed old pal Deighton leads them into an ambush, all three will fight shoulder-to-shoulder, like brothers-in-arms. Those who survive will also work together for some payback.

Obviously, this is a very complicated narrative with all kinds of subtlety and nuance, so you might want to take a bit to get your thoughts straight. During that time, if you start to think Milo Gibson, the chap with the beard playing Collins looks familiar, it is probably because of his resemblance to his father Mel, who you may have heard of. Collins is not exactly Hamlet (a role Pops played for Zefferilli), but he handles all the brooding, seething, running, and shooting adroitly enough.

Of course, it is always entertaining to watch William Fichtner chew the scenery, but his character exits way too early. However, Gbenga Akinnagbe came to play as the cowboy-confident Samuelson. The film is at its best when he and Gibson’s Collins are doing their thing. Joseph Millson makes Deighton a credibly steely professional, but he is probably too buttoned-down, considering how dull and bland the rest of the villains are, unfortunately including Elliot Cowan phoning it in as McKnight.

Hope stages the action sequences with some visual panache, but the film’s unremitting cynicism gets tiresome. Frankly, CIA personnel have way more idealism than he gives them credit for. It is always strange to find that attitude in action movies like Devil’s Men, because approval of the military and intelligences services surely runs higher than average among its target demo. Don’t they want to make money? Still, the action is pretty good. Earning a mixed-probably-wait-to-stream-it review, All the Devil’s Men opens this Friday (12/7) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

Clara’s Ghost: Chris Elliott’s Haunted Family

Which is scarier, the horror of the supernatural or the family variety? In this case, we are definitely going with family. The Reynolds clan is especially disturbing, because they are presented as unambiguous meta analogs of the director’s own famous fam in screenwriter-director Bridey Elliott’s Clara’s Ghost (trailer here), opening this Friday in Los Angeles.

Clara Reynolds never had much luck in the business, so she is used to being ignored and belittled, particularly by her husband but also by her daughters. Currently, Clara’s daughter Julie is the biggest star in the family, much to the burning resentment of her sister Riley, with whom she co-starred in an Olsen Twins style sitcom during their youth. Even their father Ted is jealous of Julie’s success. He was once a big TV star, but he just talked himself out of a potentially recurring role on her current show with his unreasonable demands.

With her wedding (to the producer who fired Dad) fast approaching, Julie has even more license to be high-strung and high-maintenance. Frankly, only Ollie, the family dog, and Joe, the family drug-dealer (the sisters’ old high school classmate) exert any kind of rational, calming influence, especially when Clara starts seeing the ghost of Adelia, a former resident of their old New England-style Connecticut home.

Bridey Elliott is more concerned with family dysfunction than hauntings, but the former is so excruciatingly uncomfortable, it approaches the downright terrifying. Yet, the business involving Adelia’s increasing spectral control over Clara is surprisingly creepy. Indeed, it is just impossible to ever feel comfortable during the film, for a host of reasons.

Nevertheless, it is all still archly amusing. Chris Elliott probably does his funniest work since There’s Something About Mary as the vain, arrogant, self-centered Ted Reynolds. His daughters Abbey and Bridey really do seem like siblings with all kinds of rivalry and baggage souring their relationship. The casting of Haley Joel Osment as likably schlubby Joe is downright inspired (and it also gives the film one degree of separation from The Sixth Sense). However, Paula Niedert Elliott, the Elliott matriarch, is the show-stopper as Clara, the Reynolds matriarch. It is a carefully layered performance, with her outward passivity masking all kinds of neuroses, under which we can see hints of even deeper, darker simmering emotions.

Outsiders might wonder why the Elliott family would make a film that is sure to stir all kinds of gossipy speculation, but it is painfully obvious why the Reynoldses would. They must abide by what fame demands. As an added bonus, the film also stirs all kinds of 1980s nostalgia, starting with the awesome retro-looking one sheet. Cinematographer Markus Mentzer gives it an eerie, hazy look reminiscent of “prestige” horror from the early years of the decade. Of course, the mere presence of Chris Elliott brings a flood of memories from his glory Eighties years on the Letterman Show, back when it was still funny (remember this one?).

It is hard to describe the vibe of Clara’s Ghost, but it is deeply unsettling, precisely because Bridey Elliott has the scathing family comedy and supernatural elements working in concert rather than at cross-purposes. If you had to live with these people, you would probably go nuts too, just like Clara maybe sort of does, or perhaps not. Equally outrageous and insidious, Clara’s Ghost is very highly recommended when it opens this Friday (12/7) at the Arena Cinema in Los Angeles and the Highlands Ranch in Colorado.

The Charmer—What’s it All About, Esmail?

Esmail is like the Alfie of the refugee era, except he is desperate to get married. His hopes of remaining in Denmark depend entirely on the matrimony he pursues with mercenary determination. Yet, much like the Cockney chauffeur, Esmail develops feelings at a rather inopportune time in Milad Alami’s The Charmer (trailer here), which opens this Wednesday at Film Forum.

By day, Esmail works as a mover, when he’s lucky. By night, he haunts a hipster wine bar, hoping to seduce and marry a Danish woman. He was just too clingy for his most recent lover, whereas the woman before her inconveniently committed suicide. Yet, he keeps working scene, because he is desperate to avoid deportation back to Iran.

Esmail pursues very Scandinavian Danish women, because he assumes they will be more susceptible to his charms, whereas a Persian-Dane like Sara would immediately suspect his motives. Of course, she is totally on to him, yet she still starts to fall for him, as their paths cross repeatedly. That should be good news, but it forces Esmail to really take a hard look at his choices and baggage.

You could say it is surprising how surprising The Charmer is, because its revelations seem obvious in retrospect, but its two leads keep us riveted (and blinkered) in their characters’ present tense. Ardalan Esmaili is all kinds of intense as his near-namesake, projecting a brooding vibe of danger and the aura of a man oppressed by his own secrets. However, the film’s real game-changing discovery is Danish-Persian vocalist Soho Rezanejad, in her feature debut. As Sara, she is cynical, sensitive, and seductive, all at the same time. Their scenes together crackle and burn.

Sometimes, the word “thriller” has been applied to The Charmer, but it is usually followed by several qualifiers. Strictly speaking, there are not many legit genre elements in Alami’s screenplay, co-written with Ingeborg Topsøe. Yet, there is definitely quite a bit of lying and betrayal going on.

Is the comparison to Alfie overblown? Maybe, but both films certainly depict how deliberate emotional detachment leads to desperate alienation. Regardless, Esmail is a deeply tragic and terribly sad figure. The screen presence of Esmaili and Rezanejad also cannot be denied. Recommended for mature viewers, The Charmer opens this Wednesday (12/5) at Film Forum.

AHITH ’18: Amazon Hot Box

Call us traditionalists, but we don’t see the point in making a jungle women’s prison movie without Sybill Danning, even if it is a spoof. In this case, we are assuming the film in question is intended to be a send-up, but it is hard to tell from the tonal mish-mash. In any event, there is plenty of adult subject matter in James Anthony Bickert’s Amazon Hot Box (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, in San Francisco.

Poor American college student Penny came to fake-sounding Rattica as part of a conservation project, but she was scooped up during the government’s latest crack-down, along with Jade, as revolutionary sex-worker and Ebony, a revolutionary revolutionary (obviously a reference to Ebony, Ivory & Jade). She will be tormented by the Isla-inspired warden, Inga Von Krupp (with her short of stature sidekick) and the sadistic lesbian gang leader Val. As it happens, Penny is not the only one trapped there. Country singer Jett Bryant, playing a fictionalized drug-running meta-version of himself, has been appointed president, but is still very much a captive of the revolutionary government (from the previous revolution).

Man, where’s Roger Corman and Sid Haig when we need them? Maybe someone could make an amusing mash-up of their old Philippines-shot women-in-prison movies, but AHB is way too unfocused and scattershot. There are zombies in here and references to voodoo that really aren’t appropriate, considering Vodun is a real religion.

The biggest problem is AHB never feels like it was made by someone who loves the genre. In contrast, Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy’s The Editor (produced by Astron-6, who are not exactly known as guardians of good taste) is a spot-on satire of Italian giallo movies that actually becomes a not half-example of what it is skewering.

Nevertheless, Bryant has some nice moments with Tristan Risk (who also co-starred in The Editor), vamping it up something fierce as Val. Their late scenes together make us wish this film had been totally re-conceived to better feature them.

So, this exists—and it is not very good. AHB is just way too gory, in decidedly not funny ways, to cut it as a comedy. On the other hand, the film does not respect its secret agent and zombie elements enough for it to be a serviceable action or horror movie. However, cult movie fans will probably excuse away its shortcomings, because it wears its influences on its sleeve. Not recommended, Amazon Hot Box screens tomorrow (12/3), as part of this year’s AHITH.

AHITH ’18: Alive

There are really no circumstances that make waking up in a hospital bed a pleasant surprise—especially this hospital. It is like something out of a horror movie. In fact, that is exactly what it is. The unnamed man and woman have no idea who they are or how they got there, but they can tell their [mad] doctor is bad news in Rob Grant’s Alive (trailer here), which screens during the 2018 Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, in San Francisco.

When the man wakes up, he feels terrible and looks even worse. His surroundings do not inspire confidence. It looks like he is being treated in an abandoned hospital with substandard sanitary conditions, as is indeed the case. After a rather ominous meeting with the mystery man in scrubs, he finds out he has a companion: a woman in exactly the same shape.

The male patient immediately suggests they plot their escape, but she is more inclined to obey and placate their dubious caretaker, until he really starts showing his sadistic craziness. However, the captive man also has concerns regarding the flashes of memory he experiences, suggesting he is some sort of thuggish convict. It is especially awkward, because the woman has had flashbacks leading her to believe she was the victim of a violent crime.

Actually, this film is not headed where you might probably be expecting. Not at all. It would be a shame to reveal too much, but hopefully we can get away with saying the seemingly nondescript title is absolutely inspired. Its big secret totally changes the context in which we see the film. Still, there is no getting around how disturbing some of the scenes of flat-out torture and body horror get. This is not a film for a horror movie starter kit. Yet, it is not really (or not just) the pain dished out that is so unsettling. It is the grim, grimy, grossness of the environment. Both the design and practical effects teams deserve considerable credit for making the forsaken hospital such an unnerving place. Frankly, viewers may seek out a tetanus shot after watching Alive.

Angus Macfadyen, the once and future Robert the Bruce (in Braveheart and an upcoming film), is surprisingly scary and altogether chilling as the medical bad guy, very much continuing the cinematic tradition of Peter Cushing’s Hammer movies and Vincent Price in AIP releases. Thomas Cocquerel and Camille Stopps are also completely convincing acting like they are in total fear and abject misery.

Alive might sound like it follows in the Saw-Hostel-New French Extremity tradition, as Charles Hamilton’s grungy cinematography would also suggest, but screenwriters Chuck McCue and Jules Vincent have devised some original and surprising twists. The film also radically alters our perception of Macfadyen (for the better). Recommended for serious horror enthusiasts, Alive screens Sunday night (12/2), as part of this year’s AHITH.