Synopsis: Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that she can cure. After the brutal murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life. A modern-day tale of death, rebirth and the bonds of family, inspired by Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster ever since I heard Bomani on the Movie Crypt podcast but for some reason, it slipped through the cracks. I’m not sure why it took me so long but it was absolutely worth the wait.
Laya DeLeon Hayes stars as Vicaria, a brilliant young black woman fighting to find a way to combat the untimely passing of the people in her life. This retelling of Frankenstein’s monster, set against the backdrop of the projects, brings a well-established story to the modern day. All while highlighting the struggles of young black men and women trying to survive a world where the only escape is ultimately death. Now, me being a white male, I don’t even begin to fathom what a life like that entails but this film sheds light on a world that I can only really say I’ve seen on screen and presents that in a frightening little horror package. I know there is a deeper message to this piece from Story but that doesn’t distract from the fact that he also created a solid genre film. He creates a sense of dread that just lingers.
The monster is a foreboding presence whenever he steps on the screen and the welcome use of practical effects really added a layer of realism to him as well as his surroundings. The acting was well done and based on what I saw, I’d like to see Hayes in more horror related fare. Writer/director, Bomani J. Story weaves a captivating tale and I’m absolutely looking forward to more from him in the future. I don’t really have any complaints about this film. It isn’t really groundbreaking by any means but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable watch for any horror fan and you should add this one to your watchlist. If it sounds like something you might be into, then you can find it currently streaming on Shudder as of this writing.
Join me again tomorrow as we continue our descent down the horror rabbit hole.
There was a little bit of shock in the international film community when France chose Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things over Anatomy of a Fall as its Official Selection for the Academy Awards. But let’s be clear: Hùng’s film, which earned him Best Director at Cannes and was a close contender for the Palme d’Or, is more than worthy. And now we’re getting a look at it with a new trailer ahead of its release early next year.
Starring Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, the romance drama is set in 19th-century France where a master chef and his top cook have worked together for 20 years, becoming lovers in the process. He wants to marry her, but she likes her freedom and spurns all of his proposals. So he decides the best way to win her heart is to cook for her for the very first time.
People falling in love over a shared passion for food? Yes please. I’ll take one, thank you.
The film was written and directed by Hùng, who last directed 2016’s Eternity and is best known for the 2010 drama, Norwegian Wood.
The Taste of Things opens in select theaters on February 9th 2024, with a wider rollout on February 14th.
Kitty Green’s previous film, the claustrophobic #MeToo thriller The Assistant, starred Julia Garner as the traumatized employee of a Weinstein-esque mogul. That film was virtually silent and oppressive with looming dread, but played perfectly as a believable example of the real dangers women face in the workplace. Green’s instincts remain on point with The Royal Hotel, in which a pair of nubile Canadian travelers find themselves surrounded by an abundance of male microaggressions in the Australian Outback.
It’s a situation that sounds like the plot of one of those vacation horror movies, but this is no Turistas. Green reunites with Garner who plays Hanna, joined by Iron Fist and Glass Onion star Jessica Henwick as Liv. The two gals are partying their way across Australia, drinking hard and hooking up with guys, until they start to run out of money. They take a quick last-second job working the bar in a remote Australian mining town. Hugo Weaving plays their boss, Billy, a barely-functioning drunk whose idea of a compliment is calling Hanna a “smart cunt” to her face.
Hanna is understandably uneasy, while Liv is more open to the experience. They were warned about needing to be open to male attention, and they get plenty. The bar is full of leering male patrons asking them out on dates, being overly grabby, and making crass jokes.
“Could I get a Dickens Cider”?
“A dick insider?”, a clueless Liv replies.
All of the men laugh. So does the lone female patron, an older woman who seems perpetually on the prowl; not that the guys are interested in her.
What unfolds is a sort of game, where the women make allowances for the awful male behavior just to get through it and get paid. Like the two hard-partying British girls who preceded them, Liv decides to be accommodating and even playful with the men. Hanna on the other hand can’t hide her feelings and is repeatedly told to smile more. Billy blames the downturn in business on her perpetual frown.
Green expertly explores the realities for women in a working situation where men aren’t inclined to curb their inhibitions. The simple fact is that Liv and Hanna’s different approaches net the same result. Liv encourages the awful behavior to continue because the guys think she likes it; while Hanna’s disgust brings out their desire to bully her even more. Throughout, there is this ominous atmosphere that Green and co-writer Oscar Redding feed into steadily, without going overboard into Hollywood artificiality. What makes The Royal Hotel so terrifying is that it feels like a situation women might find themselves in, and in fact, the story is based on events captured in the 2017 documentary, Hotel Coolgardie.
Just as the women have different approaches to handling this escalating problem, the men are all varying degrees of terrible. Some come in deceptively “nice” packaging but hold ulterior motives. Others are just outright awful and make their intentions as clear and gross as possible. Babyteeth star Toby Wallace charms as Matty, a handsome devil with an intellectual side who worms his way into their good graces, and then very awkwardly, very drunkenly, tries to worm his way into Hanna’s pants, making that new friendship unsustainable as shit. Liv and Hanna’s bond is also tested, credibly so, as they prove to be so fundamentally different.
It’s clear that Green never set out to make a genre horror movie, but The Royal Hotel nevertheless veers too far into that territory. The final act is a whirl of awful decisions that make little sense and blunt our investment. Even so, The Royal Hotel is terrifying in its exploration of the allowances women make just to survive, and the snap decisions they must make in male-dominated workplaces. It’s a constant high-wire act without a safety net, and Green continues to be the best filmmaker working today at capturing that anxiety.
THE BEEKEEPER: I haven't forgotten you, Jason Statham! This was a January treat, a violent bit of wish fulfillment that saw Statham slaughter scammers and terrorize Josh Hutcherson with brutal efficency.
The Beekeeper. It might sound like a documentary about a guy who really likes fresh honey. But when the movie stars Jason Statham and is directed by David Ayer you know it’s something entirely different, and a lot more violent.
To be fair, Statham’s character in The Beekeeper actually IS a beekeeper, helping to tend the land of a friend who helped him. When that friend loses everything in a phishing scam and takes her own life, Statham sets out on a vicious quest for vengeance, revealing that he was, naturally, a member of a clandestine organization.
“We have laws for this!”
“Until they fail, then you have ME!!”
And kick ass he does, including one poor guy who gets his fingers chopped off and Statham still isn’t finished with him.
Also in the cast are Jeremy Irons, Josh Hutcherson, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Phylicia Rashad, Bobby Naderi, and Minnie Driver.
This is Ayer’s first movie since 2020’s The Tax Collector. He’s best known for directing Suicide Squad, End of Watch, and Fury. He reunites with his Street Kings writer Kurt Wimmer.
The Beekeeper opens in theaters on January 12th 2024.
Who needs Halloween when you’ve got…Thanksgiving? I post the fake Grindhouse trailer for Eli Roth’s Thanksgivingevery single year on the holiday, in honor of the mock teaser that featured a killer pilgrim slaughtering folks on Turkey Day. And now years there were attempts to turn it into a feature film, and it only took fifteen years for it to finally happen. Thanksgivingarrives with a turkey baster full of blood.
The holiday slasher flick stars Patrick Dempsey, Nell Verlaque, TikToker Addison Rae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Milo Manheim, Gina Gershon, Tim Dillon, and Rick Hoffman.
What’s cool about this is that much of the original trailer appears to have made it into the full-length version, like the frolicking cheerleader and the gory parade massacre. Gone is the gritty grindhouse aesthetic in favor of something that looks a lot slicker and polished. Nothing wrong with that.
Here’s the synopsis: After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.
Thanksgiving carves its way into theaters on November 17th, right on time.
We were big fans of Brett Smith’s Civil War drama Freedom’s Path when it opened last month, giving high praise to stars Gerran Howell and RJ Cyler. And now Punch Drunk Critics is pleased to present an exclusive clip from the film ahead of its VOD/digital release on October 6th!
The film centers on William, a Union Soldier (Howell) fleeing battle who is rescued by Kitch (Cyler) a free Black man who along with his friends runs a portion of the Underground Railroad. As the two make their escape, a ruthless slave catcher learns of the secret network and is on their trail.
In this scene, we see the violent lengths that Kitch will go to prevent their capture.
Also in the cast are Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Harrison Gilbertson (Oppenheimer), Afemo Omilami (Forrest Gump), the late Thomas Jefferson Byrd (Set It Off), Steven Swadling (Kickboxer), and Mia Tucker.
Hirokazu Kore-eda is set to make a splash on this awards season once again with his latest film, Monster, just as the Japanese filmmaker has done recently with Broker and Shoplifters. Well Go USA has now set an awards-qualifying theatrical run beginning on November 22nd in New York, followed by December 1st in Los Angeles with a wider rollout to come in the winter.
Monster finds Kore-eda adapting another’s screenplay for the first time since 1995’s Maborosi. The film has a script by Yuji Sakamoto (I Fell in Love Like A Flower Bouquet), and centers on a mother who demands answers from a teacher when her son, a student at the school, begins acting strangely.
Kore-eda reunites with Shoplifters actress Sakura Ando, along with Nagayama Eita, Takahata Misuki, Kakuta Akihiro, Nakamura Shido, Tanaka Yuko, and child actors Soya Kurokawa and Hinataare Hiiragi. Composing the music was legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who sadly passed away earlier this year.
The film came away with two awards at Cannes, including Best Screenplay for Sakamoto.
Check out a new trailer for Monsterbelow! Here’s hoping it arrives at Middleburg Film Festival (tickets found here) in a couple of weeks!
Well, the season finale of Ahsoka is finally here, ending on a more than satisfying note full of lightsaber action, some cool Force stuff, mysteries new and old, and a bittersweet finale reminiscient of The Empire Strikes Back. We also saw more of the touching character interactions that fans loved about Star Wars Rebels, as well as the pieces being put into place for an inevitable season 2. We didn’t get all of the answers we were looking for, but it’s undoubtedly true that this opening season of Ahsoka was a success, and Lucasfilm would be wise to make this point in time the centerpiece of the franchise for now.
Dave Filoni’s admiration of author C.S. Lewis comes through in the episode’s title, “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord”. Things pick up right where they left off last week, with Thrawn’s (Lars Mikkelsen) mysterious cargo all loaded up and ready for him to depart Peridea to return and claim his stake as leader of the Imperial remnant. Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is confident that Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) cannot stop their plans at this late stage. But Thrawn knows better, and warns her of the heroic deeds of a single Jedi, and it’s best not to underestimate them. So even though Morgan is clearly overconfident, the Great Sisters decide now is a good time to reward her loyalty by making her one of their dark order. They grant her power, alter her face so she looks like them (minus the white face powder, I’m guessing no beauty shops are nearby), and also give Morgan the lethal Blade of Talzin. The flaming green sword was last seen in battle during the Clone Wars against Mace Windu.
There’s a cool moment next as Ezra attempts to forge his own lightsaber, apparently deciding that simply using Force Push wasn’t going to be enough for this fight. Huyang (David Tennant) doesn’t like the methods Ezra is using to piece this saber together, and asks where he learned it. When Sabine tells him it was his deceased Master Kanan Jarrus, Huyang informs him that he taught Kanan at the Jedi Academy. The two share a bonding moment, and it serves to show the last legacy of Kanan left behind. Huyang then gives Ezra the lightsaber hilt he had been keeping for Kanan, rather conveniently, so as to complete the glowing blue lightsaber once and for all. Makes you wonder how many old Jedi trinkets Huyang is keeping in his miscellaneous drawer.
All of this talk about Masters and Padewans is a bit too much for Sabine, who flees it only to run into her own Master, Ahsoka, who she REALLY needs to have a heart-to-heart with. Ahsoka tells her that her own Master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) always had her back no matter what, even when others failed to understand. Ahsoka promises Sabine that no matter what follows, she will support her. Hmmm…are they teasing a potential turn to the Dark Side for Sabine, just like the road Anakin eventually traveled?
Before this can get too much further, a pair of TIE Fighters intrude on the conversation, blasting their ship and slowing them down even further. Fortunately, Sabine has the bright idea of boosting the ship’s engines so that it slices the incompetently-piloted Fighters in half. With no means of flying to catch up with Thrawn, they decide to mount a pair of Howlers and track him down on the ground.
Here’s the problem with a character like Thrawn, who is supposedly an unbeatable mastermind and strategist: he has to be made to look foolish and beatable…repeatedly. In this case, his attempt to “rain hellfire” on the trio goes awry, so he sends out a battalion of Night Troopers to finish the job. They, of course, get their asses whipped in a cool lightsaber battle that sees Sabine combining her Jedi and Mandalorian skills. However, in something ripped out of a horror show, the Night Sisters use their black magic to reanimate the soldiers’ corpses. They…ummm, still get beat. It’s like being undead doesn’t actually make you a better fighter or something.
With the trio progressing faster than his plans can handle, Thrawn tells Morgan to do what needs to be done to slow them down. She arrives to stand in their way, facing Ahsoka in one-on-one combat. This might actually be the best fight of the season, with Morgan and her Blade of Talzin more than an equal, even slicing one of Ahsoka’s sabers in half. Meanwhile, Sabine and Ezra are getting pummeled by a pair of powerhouse troopers, ultimately winning with a familiar lightsaber shot to the head if you’ve seen The Last Jedi.
One of Filoni’s strengths is advancing his characters’ trajectory through action, rather than words. As Sabine shows her increased connection with the Force to hurl Ezra across a chasm and onto Thrawn’s ship, she also makes the fateful decision to stay behind and help Ahsoka, her Master with whom she has had such a strained relationship, in her fight against Morgan and a squad of Night Troopers. As Huyang said in the very first episode, Ahsoka and Sabine were always stronger together. Their combined might is enough to slay Morgan and defeat the Night Troopers, but the duo are now stuck on the planet with no way of getting off of it. They instead go to hang out with the turtle-like Noti, which to me seems like a fate worse than death. Their predicament brings a bit of symmetry as they are stuck just like Ezra was in the beginning. And he finds himself in a similar situation to the conclusion of Star Wars Rebels, only now it’s on a journey back home. Smartly, he steals a suit of armor and a ship and escapes to a Republic ship to be reunited with Hera (Mary Elizabeth Wintead). Honestly, it doesn’t really live up to what the moment should’ve been considering the long wait. She practically raised Ezra and saw his growth from an urchin boy into a man gifted with incredible Force powers. Filoni rushed it rather than giving it the deserved time, but perhaps he felt there had been enough happy reunions already.
So where are Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) in all of this? They had gone their separate ways last week, with Baylan seeking a higher power and Shin…well, who knows? We get one last look at them, and Baylan’s is by far the most interesting. Shin seeks out the red-armored scavengers she previously fought beside, perhaps suggesting a new leadership role for her?
But Baylan? We see him standing on a cliff’s edge, overlooking the Peridean valley. As the camera pans out, we see that he’s standing among three crucial statues of The Father, the Son, and the Daughter. The three are Force gods in the mysterious land of Mortis, and representing the Dark Side, the Light Side, and Balance. They were introduced in a Clone Wars story which saw the Father wanting Anakin to take his place. Anakin refused, a fight erupts, all three gods die, and so does Ahsoka Tano. However, Anakin revived her with the life force of the dying Daughter. Ever since, Ahsoka occasionally sees the Daughter’s familiar, in the form of a convor owl. And at the conclusion of this episode, Ahsoka sees such a bird flying off into the distance, where the shimmering spirit of Anakin Skywalker watches with a proud smile.
The season concludes with Thrawn escaping, so Ahsoka and crew failed in one major aspect of their mission while accomplishing another. We were probably dumb to expect a decisive conclusion, anyway, and this leaves the door open to a lot more stories going forward.
So, it looks like we can expect Ahsoka season two to deal heavily with the World Between Worlds, Mortis, and what this mean for Ahsoka Tano who has the life force of the gods flowing in her veins. Overall, this opening season was tremendously entertaining, with only one subpar episode to speak of and it came fairly early on. For fans of Star Wars Rebels this is the continuation of that story that we’ve all been hoping for, with significant developments for everyone, even Hera who got the smallest amount of screen time. We at least got to meet her son, Jacen, who is likely to play a major role in Star Wars at some point. But the best thing about the show is that it had a purpose in mind and a clear destination. While some episodes took incremental steps, they were forward steps nonetheless.
I’m curious to see what happens with Baylan Skoll next season, though. Obviously, the tragic death of Ray Stevenson leaves a gaping void to be filled. Do they recast the role? That seems like the most obvious choice. Or does Filoni come up with a way to pass Baylan’s quest to another character, possibly Shin?
As a huge fan of Ahsoka Tano, part of me also thinks we’re barreling to the truth behind her apparent demise, since she’s heard as a Force spirit at the conclusion of Revenge of the Sith. Something happens to her along the way, and if anybody is going to tell that story, it’s going to be Dave Filoni. Will it happen in season two? Or in the movie Filoni is eventually directing?
Nostalgic fan service and incredible, cinematic action are what drove Ahsoka‘s first season, and it was definitely a succesful one. As I’ve said before, Lucasfilm would be smart to keep the focus on this era that has captured the imagination of new and old fans alike.
Could a trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux be arriving tomorrow? There’s speculation because tomorrow marks the four year anniversary of the release of Joker, and one year away from the sequel’s theatrical release. Seems like a pretty good time, right? Also, because director Todd Phillips has taken this day to drop a new image of Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck.
It still feels a bit too soon for a trailer, but who knows? Maybe a short teaser, or a drop of some photos featuring the cast, which includes Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn, Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and more.
What we know about the film suggests it’s going to be really wild, as it will be a musical largely set within the confines of Arkham Asylum. Expect the story to move outside of the psychiatric hospital’s walls and into Gotham City, though. Who knows? Perhaps an encounter with a young Bruce Wayne? Honestly, Phillips could do pretty much anything he wants since this is a movie disconnected from the DCU.
Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4th 2024.
Synopsis: An injured forest ranger on a routine mission is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue grows more suspicious as the son and his renegade father reveal a cultish devotion to the forest.
I’m not really sure why but this film never really hit my radar when it was released a couple years ago. Given that I’m an avid hiker, anything involving the unknown things lurking in the shadows among the trees is usually a “must watch” for me. Stranded alone in the woods? Check. Stalked by off-the-grid shady characters? Check. Something odd always just out of sight? Check. A psychoactive invasive spore? Check. This South African production had all the survival horror boxes ticked and then some but I’m not 100% sold on it.
The cinematography had a trippy feel to it at times with creative transitions keeping the viewer a little off-kilter which I enjoyed but the story itself could have used a little help. You can definitely see a Last of Us influence (game not the show, since this predates the HBO property) with the plot and character creation. The creatures were done well with practical effects but the use of some CGI for the environmental effects felt a little off and pulled me out of the scene. The acting itself, while not terrible was just average with nobody really standing out. All in all this one was a solid 2.5. Middle of the road, average at best. Would I actively seek it out? Nope, but it might grab the casual horror watcher and entertain them for the 96 minute runtime.
If this sounds like your cup of tea then give it a go but it won’t be one that I’ll be investing time in again. Gaia can currently be streamed on Hulu as of this writing.
Join me tomorrow as we continue our journey down the horror rabbit hole.
