The American Nightmare, Creepshow, Son of Rambow
American Nightmare, The
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]
I expected this documentary to focus more on the classic horror films from the 1960′s and 1970′s than the social or historical events that inspired them. Even though it’s not what I expected, I liked some parts of this picture because it was able to offer some personal insights from some of the masters of horror (John Carpenter, Wes Craven, David Cronenberg, George Romero, Tobe Hooper). Academics were also interviewed and they were able to elucidate the finer details in films like “Night of the Living Dead” (1968), “Dawn of the Dead” (1978), “The Last House on the Left” (1972), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), “Shivers” (1975), and “Halloween” (1978). Even though I am already aware of most of the implications in horror films that the interviewees talked about, I didn’t know how much the Vietnam War impacted the genre. I also didn’t know that the make-up artist Tom Savini learned how to model dead people on screen by watching actual dead victims of war. What didn’t work for me was the way the documentary quickly glossed over the films that should be the focus. This documentary is barely seventy minutes long but it must have talked about the actual films for twenty minutes. Plus, it felt longer than an hour and ten minutes because the social aspects that the interviewees talked about felt repetitive. If this picture didn’t talk so much about the social influences and actually talked about the movies themselves, it would’ve been better and more interesting. I say watch “Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film” for a better horror film analyses.
Creepshow
[ 2 stars out of 4 ]
I expected solid horror before coming into this picture because the five short stories were written by Stephen King. Unfortunately, only two out of the five worked (“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” and “Something to Tide You Over”), and I almost liked “They’re Creeping Up on You” because the cockroaches made my spine tingle but the execution was poor. The remaining two, “Father’s Day” and “The Crate” dragged on forever and weren’t scary at all (but I did like Hal Holbrook’s performance in the latter story). I guess the stories are more experimentation with the macabre than outright horror. That’s why about 80% of the stories are more comedic than anything. I was actually impressed with Stephen King for playing a redneck farmer in “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill.” He was funny and goofy, but we can’t help feeling sorry for his character once he meets his fate. Even though he was the only actor in that story, he managed to pull it off in an interesting way. This is definitely a B-movie but a rather weak one. I’ve seen better B-movies that are cheesy yet able to deliver truly horrifying images that lasts after the movie has ended (“An American Werewolf in London”). Still, there’s creativity here so I’m giving this a mild recommendation if one is craving a horror film that’s creepy but not too scary. If one is a fan of “Tales from the Crypt” (as I was when I was about seven), this is a good pick to watch on a rainy Friday night.
Son of Rambow
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
It seems I automatically movies that has something to do with the characters’ love for the cinema. This is not as intense as “The Dreamers” nor is it as adult-inclusive as “Be Kind Rewind” but it has its own witty charm. I was really impressed with the two leads, Bill Milner and Will Poulter, because they were able to deliver a whole spectrum of emotions not common in a lot of child actors today. I completely believed Milner as a lonely boy who barely has any friends partly because of his religious background and Poulter as the bully who happens to have a family that doesn’t care for each other. The first half is a bit goofy but nonetheless funny, but the second half surprised me because it’s much more dramatic and there’s a lot at stake. I’m glad that this is the kind of movie that switches genre somewhere near the middle because the first part got a bit too cute for my liking. By pulling the rug under my feet, I was able to keep my interest. This movie has a lot of layer to it partly because of the undertones. I was interested in the Plymouth Brethren (a religion I’ve never heard of until this picture which somewhat reminds me of the Amish because the members are not alloved to watch television, movies, have cellphones, listen to music and the like), Poulter’s one-sider relationship with his brother (played by Ed Westwick also known as the infamous Chuck Bass of “Gossip Girl”), dealing with a death of a loved one, the meaning of friendship, and of course the love for the cinema. All of these elements were handled so deftly; all of them worked together instead of slowing the story down. The way the disparate storylines were sewn in and out of each other felt organic because the director and writer, Garth Jennings, was able to pace the script. This would have been a four-star film if the first part isn’t as sweet as cotton candy, but otherwise it’s a solid and respectable film.
