Krampus
Here's what director Michael Dougherty is awesome at: setting the tone of a season. I fully believe he could make a scary spring or summer movie about the Easter Bunny or Uncle Sam (this is not a suggestion... or is it?) Trick r Treat is definitive not just of Halloween but the whole Halloween season. The feeling, the atmosphere. You can almost smell it, that wood smoke and apples smell. Ahhh.
And Krampus does similar for Christmas. You can almost smell the... cloves and cinnamon? While I love fall, I HATE winter, so any movie where winter itself is kind of a monster is gonna affect me. The family is trapped not only by the demons, but by the storm. It adds a whole other layer of well, chillingness that you're just not gonna get in a Friday the 13th movie.
But what really makes this something special is the creature design and effects. It's nothing less than gorgeous. Everything has this intricate detail that's somehow oddly Christmassy, considering they're like demon minion toys. I mean, it's weirdly kind of pretty, and Krampus himself is huge and imposing and just badass looking. It's some of my favourite design in a movie, period. This might have been one of my usual 3.5 star "really liked it but didn't love it" horror movies, but the winter atmosphere and Krampus and his army of horrible delights notches it up half a star.
Gremlins
(Originally written 12/15/17)
I watched Gremlins for the first time since the 80s and wow, that was a pretty amazing time capsule. Most of my favourite 80s stuff I've relived as an adult, but this one was firmly lodged in the memory of childhood. I wonder if that's why I held off so long on rewatching it, as if bringing it into adulthood would somehow ruin it.
It didn't.
I'm so glad I saved it though, because that was just the experience I needed now. I was immediately taken back to my 80s kid Christmases -that sweet pink Barbie Corvette Gizmo drives? Oh yeah, I had that sucker! Along with Barbie's dream pool and her cat (complete with little carrier) and her horse and her toilet. Yes, there was a Barbie toilet that flushed. We were truly living the dream. I don't care how much high-tech shit there is now, that toilet was cooler.
While the basics of the movie stuck with me, the "don't get them wet, don't feed them after midnight" and all that, I knew there'd be at least one detail I'd forgotten that would come flooding back in a rush of nostalgia. And it was that Corvette. I'm not sure I could come up with a more 80s scene than that (except maybe the gremlin FLASHDANCING IN PINK LEGWARMERS. Yes, that is a thing that happens in this movie. And I have no idea if it was self aware or just the 80s.) I actually remember my little Barbie-obsessed kid self yelling and cheering during the Corvette scene. So I got a little piece of my childhood back last night. Merry Christmas to me! Super fun movie.
Oh I had a Gizmo doll too, but I don't think he fit in the Corvette.
Silent Night Deadly Night
But for some reason, I never feel like revisiting this one. It has some good kills and it's worth watching, but... it's kind of a downer? (Like Christmas Evil, a movie I remember actually disliking.) This is okay but I don't know, you're expecting a romp and sometimes it is, but there's this traumatized kid and it's just too real. Sad horror movies are fine, great even, but I'm not sure that's what I want from a killer Santa Claus movie. I'd rather that be dumb fun.
So while I rate this higher because it's a better-made, more coherent film, I'd rather watch Silent Night, Garbage Day.
Showing posts with label tis the season to be spooky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tis the season to be spooky. Show all posts
Friday, December 28, 2018
Christmas horror time!
Black Christmas
This is pretty much the perfect Christmas horror film. To be honest, I'm not a fan of much Christmas horror; it's difficult to find that right balance between dark and light. I love Krampus and Gremlins, Better Watch Out was a good one-time watch, and I still need to see Rare Exports. But what I most want to watch on a dark Christmas night, the festive lights fading down to their last dim glow, is Black Christmas.
There's a lot to love about this movie - the characters, the atmosphere, even the ambiguity. The lack of answers doesn't seem like a cop-out here; it was clearly done intentionally to leave the viewer unsettled, their own imagination running wild. Sometimes what we fill in with our minds is scarier than what's shown, if it's set up properly. It's done masterfully here.
But my favourite thing is almost intangible - the perfect contrast between warm and cold tones. That feel of a winter's night with only the red and green glow between you and the chill. There's a shot of a brightly lit Christmas tree in a room so dark, the tree appears to be in a kind of void. It's subtle and creepy and gets under your skin. (I think this film might hit me harder since I moved to a cold climate.)
I hate to even call this a slasher, because while I love slashers, it brings up images of fodder; interchangeable screaming coeds running around in their underwear. Black Christmas gives us more fleshed-out characters and subtle performances. Despite its comedic moments, this is more of a spiritual sister to something bleak like The Blackcoat's Daughter than a Sorority House Massacre. Because of its mood and engaging characters, it has tons of rewatchability. I could easily put this on every year and enjoy it.
P.S. The 70s truly had the worst clothes and home decor. It's a wonder we ever procreated out of that decade.
Rare Exports
Well, this was delightful. I am loving these movies based on European folklore (this, The Ritual, Krampus), especially with a Christmas theme. Are there more of these (that are good I mean, not the 400 terrible Krampus knockoffs)? Unlike the other two, I wouldn't actually call this horror, more like supernatural fantasy. This is not a bloody film at all, there's no rampaging killer Santa. What there is is actually way more unique, subtle, at times touching and at other times quite funny.
Our main characters are young Pieteri and his father, a reindeer hunter. They're living a pretty sad life in the middle of nowhere Finland. The mother died, all the reindeer have mysteriously died, this poor kid has nothing but a fake pet on a string, and they're facing an unhappy Christmas. (There are NO women in this movie - not one. Since there seem to be no indoor toilets, this is probably for the best.)
Enter a mysterious figure caught in one of their traps. Is he related to the pit of doom that's been excavated up on the mountain? Is he the nightmare fairy tale Santa Claus that's been haunting Pieteri? I don't want to give away anything about this movie, just watch it. The unexpected humour, especially at the end, was a real treat because I started out feeling so bad for these characters and I just loved how everything unfolded.
The atmosphere, acting, and visuals are all really great. You can tell these Finnish filmmakers poured their heart and soul into telling this tale from their homeland. This was perfect Christmas Eve viewing, and definitely one I'll revisit.
Super Dark Times
Who watches a movie called Super Dark Times on Christmas night? Well me obviously, I'd rather sit through Movie House Massacre again than watch some holly jolly Hallmark shit. But this is actually a Christmas movie! Someone even gets tied up with Christmas lights. Festive!
So until the final scene I was kinda torn on whether this was horror - it seemed more like a drama/thriller. But the ending was pretty... intense. I liked the acting in this movie and the naturalistic feel. I liked the mom who was a real person that said "fuck" instead of some cookie cutter mom character. I liked Allison, a teen girl in a movie who actually seemed like a teen girl. You'd be surprised how rare this is. Like she wasn't there just to be "generic love interest girl," she had a personality.
Why I'm not rating this higher, despite enjoying it, is the ending. There was no real explanation for it. Not that everything needs to be explained, I just felt like the motivation came out of nowhere. Was this person always messed up? Cause I don't buy that they would just "snap," even after a tragedy, unless there was already an issue there. That's never even alluded to, so it kind of lost me at that point. It seemed like it happened just to give the movie a big finish, rather than a real character arc.
I still think this is worth a watch; it's tense with good performances and a lot of good moments. You might even want to watch it on Christmas. (Oh, one thing that annoyed me. One of the kids says "Going out in winter is such a slog" or something and I'm like yeah, I feel you kid, then they go out and THERE'S NOT A SINGLE FLAKE OF SNOW ON THE GROUND. Obviously it doesn't snow everywhere, but what is a slog about going out in clear weather? Putting on a coat?? Pssh, I live in Canada, you're not getting that shit past me.)
This is pretty much the perfect Christmas horror film. To be honest, I'm not a fan of much Christmas horror; it's difficult to find that right balance between dark and light. I love Krampus and Gremlins, Better Watch Out was a good one-time watch, and I still need to see Rare Exports. But what I most want to watch on a dark Christmas night, the festive lights fading down to their last dim glow, is Black Christmas.
There's a lot to love about this movie - the characters, the atmosphere, even the ambiguity. The lack of answers doesn't seem like a cop-out here; it was clearly done intentionally to leave the viewer unsettled, their own imagination running wild. Sometimes what we fill in with our minds is scarier than what's shown, if it's set up properly. It's done masterfully here.
But my favourite thing is almost intangible - the perfect contrast between warm and cold tones. That feel of a winter's night with only the red and green glow between you and the chill. There's a shot of a brightly lit Christmas tree in a room so dark, the tree appears to be in a kind of void. It's subtle and creepy and gets under your skin. (I think this film might hit me harder since I moved to a cold climate.)
I hate to even call this a slasher, because while I love slashers, it brings up images of fodder; interchangeable screaming coeds running around in their underwear. Black Christmas gives us more fleshed-out characters and subtle performances. Despite its comedic moments, this is more of a spiritual sister to something bleak like The Blackcoat's Daughter than a Sorority House Massacre. Because of its mood and engaging characters, it has tons of rewatchability. I could easily put this on every year and enjoy it.
P.S. The 70s truly had the worst clothes and home decor. It's a wonder we ever procreated out of that decade.
Rare Exports
Well, this was delightful. I am loving these movies based on European folklore (this, The Ritual, Krampus), especially with a Christmas theme. Are there more of these (that are good I mean, not the 400 terrible Krampus knockoffs)? Unlike the other two, I wouldn't actually call this horror, more like supernatural fantasy. This is not a bloody film at all, there's no rampaging killer Santa. What there is is actually way more unique, subtle, at times touching and at other times quite funny.
Our main characters are young Pieteri and his father, a reindeer hunter. They're living a pretty sad life in the middle of nowhere Finland. The mother died, all the reindeer have mysteriously died, this poor kid has nothing but a fake pet on a string, and they're facing an unhappy Christmas. (There are NO women in this movie - not one. Since there seem to be no indoor toilets, this is probably for the best.)
Enter a mysterious figure caught in one of their traps. Is he related to the pit of doom that's been excavated up on the mountain? Is he the nightmare fairy tale Santa Claus that's been haunting Pieteri? I don't want to give away anything about this movie, just watch it. The unexpected humour, especially at the end, was a real treat because I started out feeling so bad for these characters and I just loved how everything unfolded.
The atmosphere, acting, and visuals are all really great. You can tell these Finnish filmmakers poured their heart and soul into telling this tale from their homeland. This was perfect Christmas Eve viewing, and definitely one I'll revisit.
Super Dark Times
Who watches a movie called Super Dark Times on Christmas night? Well me obviously, I'd rather sit through Movie House Massacre again than watch some holly jolly Hallmark shit. But this is actually a Christmas movie! Someone even gets tied up with Christmas lights. Festive!
So until the final scene I was kinda torn on whether this was horror - it seemed more like a drama/thriller. But the ending was pretty... intense. I liked the acting in this movie and the naturalistic feel. I liked the mom who was a real person that said "fuck" instead of some cookie cutter mom character. I liked Allison, a teen girl in a movie who actually seemed like a teen girl. You'd be surprised how rare this is. Like she wasn't there just to be "generic love interest girl," she had a personality.
Why I'm not rating this higher, despite enjoying it, is the ending. There was no real explanation for it. Not that everything needs to be explained, I just felt like the motivation came out of nowhere. Was this person always messed up? Cause I don't buy that they would just "snap," even after a tragedy, unless there was already an issue there. That's never even alluded to, so it kind of lost me at that point. It seemed like it happened just to give the movie a big finish, rather than a real character arc.
I still think this is worth a watch; it's tense with good performances and a lot of good moments. You might even want to watch it on Christmas. (Oh, one thing that annoyed me. One of the kids says "Going out in winter is such a slog" or something and I'm like yeah, I feel you kid, then they go out and THERE'S NOT A SINGLE FLAKE OF SNOW ON THE GROUND. Obviously it doesn't snow everywhere, but what is a slog about going out in clear weather? Putting on a coat?? Pssh, I live in Canada, you're not getting that shit past me.)
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