Cube (1997) review

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The guy in the corner had awful personal hygiene.

There is a certain beauty to behold in a film that remains engaging for its entire running time, despite the fact it only uses one single location. With a creative use of colour, the cube shaped room in which the characters spend all their time becomes multiple rooms, as if by magic. It’s the only bit of colour you’re going to get, as Cube has a rather dark narrative at its core (well, exceedingly dark as it happens), highlighting the best and worst of what humanity has to offer. But mostly the worst.

A bunch of eclectic characters are thrown into the complex – a cop, a doctor, an escape artist, a mathematically talented girl and… some guy – and have to work their way out by avoiding the vast number of rooms that are boobytrapped. One false move and you can have your face melted by acid, your whole body sliced and diced, or something even more gruesome and grisly. Or a combination of everything if you’re really unlucky.

As you might expect for low budget sci-fi horror, all of the characters are basic archetypes and don’t really have all that much going for them in terms of development. But as the basic formula is for most of them to be bumped off, that’s easy to forgive. There’s also an obligatory element of “they might not be who or what they seem to be” which, let’s face it, is typical for this kind of movie.

Arguably then, there are no real surprises to be found. But, surprisingly, this isn’t a bad thing. By revelling in the familiar story you are given permission to disengage your brain and not worry too much about why everyone has been forced into this life or death situation. Instead you can spend the running time trying to figure out which characters will make it to the end, or who will be unceremoniously bumped off by the screenwriter.

Genre favourites such as Nicole de Boer (Star Trek DS9, Season 7) and David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis in particular) make up some of our eclectic group. They, along with the remaining cast (notable mention to Maurice Dean Wint as Quentin), are thoroughly enjoyable and only the slightest bit annoying – a deliberate approach in the script.

It’s an interesting take on the captive science experiment scenario, the psychological effects of captivity and the uncertainty over who is responsible. It doesn’t help that they all arrive with no memory of how they arrived there. As time passes and they start working out how this game is played, their characters develop alongside the story. Those who we initially find as quite warm become something much less pleasant, while others who began the film as overly sarcastic reveal that they are in fact selfless individuals.

It might get a little too clever for its own good when reaching its conclusion, but otherwise it’s a solid low budget science fiction thriller that doesn’t try to push beyond the boundaries of its concept. Leave that for the sequel and prequel films that were to follow.

Short Story: I, Zombie – Part 6

By

Simon Prior

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2016-04-08

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Good evening, welcome to the regular Friday night short story! This week it’s part 6 of the ongoing I, Zombie tale, where things progress just a little further. This run of ongoing stories will come to a brief end in a few weeks with Part 10, and I’ll be opening up the Friday night slot for a little while. Enjoying the story? Get in touch! Head over to the Contact Simon page and send me your missives. Any and all correspondence will be read and receive a reply – even the nasty ones.

The jeep ploughed through anything and everything in its path. After what had just happened, if they didn’t have to stop then they wouldn’t. It pushed on through the devastate outskirts, knocking aside the empty husks of vehicles that had long since been abandoned and scavenged for spare parts. It had taken several minutes for the sound of the dead to fade into the background.

“We would’ve barely made a dent in their numbers” said Howard, his eyes focused on the road ahead. He said it without expecting a response. It was a statement of fact.

It was clearing up the further away from the city they drove, letting Howard drive almost in a straight line without stopping for the first time in hours.
“I know. I’m surprised we made it out at all.” Jenkins was shaken by their close encounter. She had only driven far enough away to avoid an attack before pulling over and letting Howard take the wheel once more. He had more experience by the wheel, had a more vicious streak to his driving that left him pushing the engine almost to its limits for long stretches of time. He wanted to get back to the base, as quickly as the battered old jeep would carry him there.

Jenkins sat in the back seat, watching Pops. He was different to the others, but he was still one of the dead. There was still a very real risk that he could turn on them, although she considered it unlikely. What had happened back there? It was if he was able to control the dead. Was that even possible? It warranted further investigation, with the correct personnel.

Pops rolled away from Howard and Jenkins. He couldn’t look at them while the hunger was controlling him. He tried to focus on their voices rather than the sight of them. That way he could control it to some extent, to refocus his energy away from eating.

As a distraction he tried to think back to the hotel room where he had awoken. He still had no memory before that, try as he might to remember. He focused all of his energy on that hotel room, doing his best to ignore the fog that was slowly encroaching on his sight. If he didn’t eat soon he would be functionally blind, operating only on instinct. If it came to that, he couldn’t guarantee the safety of Howard or Jenkins. He didn’t want to be forced to make that choice.

The jeep came to a stop. When it didn’t start moving again within a minute, Pops risked looking up. Through the fog of hunger he saw Jenkins. Behind her was a large doorway cut into the mountainside. Jenkins looked down on him with sympathy.

“It’s okay Pops. We’re home.”

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) review

By

Simon Prior

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A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night successfully transfers our expectations of the vampire film from the environs of the Western world and into the less well explored realm (cinematically at least) of Iran. Except it was shot in California. Ahh. Well, just go with it. I’m fairly certain we wouldn’t have had quite such an impressive film had it been made in that country.

Sheila Vand is The Girl, a vampire that stalks the mostly empty streets of Bad City. She cuts an interesting figure as she skateboards through the streets looking for victims, whilst wearing a chador. Not only a culturally significant item of clothing, but one that also allows The Girl to fade into one of the many, many shadows that make up Bad City. This is a perfect example of gender switching. Rather than being the defenceless woman she is the killer, targeting the weak, the evil, the ones who won’t be missed. At the same time she leads a solitary existence. Such is the nature of vampirism I guess.

Released in stark black and white, the desolation of Bad City and The Girl’s loneliness are placed front and centre. The monochrome approach is effective in emphasising both the emotional affectations of the characters, but to delve into the murky and ambiguous waters of whether it is right to take a life. And if you do so because you would die otherwise, who should your targets be? Should you drain the blood of the bad, the good, or a mixture of the two? And there is the gender question: do you attack men or women? It is a question that Ana Lily Amirpour asks over and over again from the director’s chair.

If the black and white colour palette wasn’t enough of a hint, the overall tone is almost one of a waking death, presenting a slow and ponderous dreamscape. Unlike other films that are slow to get going, here it is to its credit that it remains engaging without having to reveal too much. The vampire attacks are well structured, with the narrative taking its time to reveal itself.

Just as definitive is the soundtrack, mixing up a variety of sources to act as a thematic background to the love story that is playing out front and centre. The Girl plays records on her LP player, in particular when Arash, a potential suitor, turns up, and it’s as if she is playing all of these tunes for us. It’s a good way to build up both the subtext of the onscreen action as well as being a solid audio experience in its own right. There’s a pleasing scene where Arash first meets The Girl, with him dressed up as Dracula. There is initial confusion on her part that is wonderfully played by Vand, again subverting the typical gender stereotypes and making Arash, for want of a better term, the damsel.

Anyone who has watched How I Met Your Mother will recognise the actor playing Arash’s father, Marshall Manesh. His character, Hossein, is a junkie, creating an awkward tension between him and his son. On first glimpse it seems that, out of all the residents in Bad City, Arash is the only one without some sort of vice. In that respect it seems that Bad City is the right place for The Girl to ply her own particular trade. But it is through her interactions and slowly budding relationship that her otherwise cool, calm exterior begins to melt. The main question though is whether it can last. Yes, that old chestnut.

Amirpour has crafted a well balanced vampire film, drawing heavy influence from the obvious vampire classics to the Spaghetti Western genre. For me it has a gentle beauty to it, in spite of the brief moments of violence.

London Has Fallen (2016) review

By

Simon Prior

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Somehow I don't think they're going to let him onto the train. — Somehow I don’t think they’re going to let him onto the train.

It was never going to be good, was it? As much as we may have enjoyed Olympus Has Fallen as a guilty pleasure, it seemed like it said all that it had to say. But alas! Now Banning (Gerard Butler) has a baby on the way and is seriously considering giving up his role in the secret service to do… well, probably something a little less likely to get him killed. It’s never really made clear. It’s not all that important anyway, except for the fact he is called away to London with President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) after the Prime Minister of the UK dies suddenly. World leaders descend on London for the state funeral, and it’s then that things go kill crazy. Engage Silly Mode.

It’s much lighter on the quotable quips compared to the first, which is a shame. Banning’s potty mouth was a highlight of Olympus Has Fallen, but here it’s like they’ve taken away the admittedly brief amount of wit that he had initially and just replaced it with more F bombs. It’s not big, it’s not clever, etc etc.

Asher isn’t the damsel in distress quite as much this time round, getting to fire a few guns at some goons on occasion. Suffice to say, there is the moment where he’s taken away and put in mortal peril, leading to Banning waging a one man war to get him back.

Lots of people, watching screens and sat in a very small room.

Meanwhile back in the States, now Vice-President Trumbull (Morgan GODDAMN Freeman) gets to sit in a room with a couple of other people who were in the first one. And they just… sit there. They add almost nothing except for a few amusing reaction shots. Much like Freeman, perhaps everybody in that room was just there for the pay cheque.

The same goes too for the villains, a family of Middle Eastern terrorists led by Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) who seeks retribution on the West for the death of his daughter in a drone strike intended to take him out of the picture. After somehow infiltrating all of London’s police, security and rescue services without anybody noticing (a plot hole one could explain thanks to the poorly delivered MI6 mole storyline), for the rest of their time they are mostly seen waiting for Banning to show up. Yawn.

There is a rather pleasing, apparently single shot sequence, where Banning assaults an enemy stronghold, but it’s one highlight in a film that resolutely fails to deliver on the concept. The rest of the thinly veiled plot sees Banning and Asher moving from one set piece to another, escaping terrorists and dodgy special effects alike.

London Has Fallen doesn’t just take its American flag waving to extremist levels (see what I did there? Ahem. I’ll get me coat), it bludgeons you over the head with it. Repeatedly, until you are nothing but a bloody husk of meat slumped on the floor. The Americans are great (even though they keep losing their President to terrorists) and the rest of the world are blathering idiots, terrorists and allies alike.

But, on a more positive note, there is a great score from Trevor Morris. That’s something to take away from it I suppose.

Rashomon (1950) review

By

Simon Prior

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Rashomon (1950) — He couldn’t take his eyes off the ornamental wind chimes.

If you know anything about crime and eye witness accounts, you will appreciate that a person’s interpretation of the facts will vary depending on their perspective and the circumstances. This is explored in Kurosawa’s 1950 movie Rashomon, where the same murder is interpreted from four different perspectives.

With each passing tale the facts change and it becomes less and less obvious to both the audience and most of the characters what actually happened. How did the Samurai die? Was it a result of an extended sword fight with the Bandit, or was it something more mysterious and unknown? And was the Samurai’s wife raped by the Bandit, or was this an embellishment to the story?

Thankfully, while all of these questions are presented, not all of them are answered in any great detail and it’s left to the audience to interpret which of the stories is their preferred interpretation of events.

Kurosawa demonstrates his usual eye for a great looking shot. Even the quieter, dialogue heavy moments, of which there are many, are perfectly framed. He knew full well that the real drama was in the characters. How else can you explain the many, many shots where the character’s faces are front and centre in the shot?

There’s also plenty of symbolism to get your teeth stuck into. The contrast between light and dark, or long periods of rain contrasted with sunny skies above. The ending too, whilst not giving anything away, is filled with redemption, clarity and a deeper exploration between good and bad motives. One person’s evil is another person’s good deed, for example.

On screen we are given a very small subset of characters – the Bandit, the Priest, the Wood Cutter, a Commoner, the Samurai and his Wife, a Medium, and a baby – a symbol of pure innocence. Everyone is excellent in their roles, in particular longstanding Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune. The creepiest role goes to Noriko Honma as the Medium (Also a regular Kurosawa collaborator), her voice modified to sound like a supernatural version of the Samurai. This is one moment where the close up on her eyes is particularly striking.

Another really interesting aspect is the exploration of human nature, of deceit, of embellishment. There is one moment where the Samurai’s wife goads both the Samurai and the bandit into fighting. This is all the more striking as just moments before she had been lying on the ground in tears, with the Bandit standing over her and saying she cries because all women are naturally weak. This is just one moment of many where convention is turned on its head and the initial idea of the “weak woman” is subverted by how she is able to manipulate the situation to suit her own needs.

Glanced from a distance, the plot of Rashomon may not make a whole lot of sense to some people. My advice would be to fall back on that initial thought. Eye witness accounts aren’t reliable. People will tell a story that is self-serving in order to reach the best outcome for themselves and not necessarily those directly involved. Kurosawa makes a clear statement that the reality is often far more mundane than our desire to tell a good/entertaining story.

In the context of Rashomon, all of the tales are true, and yet none are. They are true in that they are the eyewitnesses account of the event, but false in that each is a singular interpretation. It’s a technique that has been used in cinema to varying effect over the intervening decades, but this remains the best.

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015) review

By

Simon Prior

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Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015) — Guys, they’re only cows!

It’s been eleven years since the fourth entry in the Tremors series, however where that was a prequel to the previous three films, Bloodlines returns to the modern day and acts as a direct sequel to Tremors 3. Whomever is responsible for all this jumping around the timeline deserves to be eaten by a Graboid.

Michael Gross is the only returning actor, having appeared in all of the films to date as well as the shortlived Tremors TV series. His character, gun nut Burt Gummer, provides a modicum of consistency to a series that is generally content to do something slightly different with each passing film.

In this instance the big change is to take Gummer out of his comfort zone in the deserts of North America and, er… place him into the deserts of South Africa. But there is more to it than that. The Graboids in South Africa are something entirely different, and all Gummer has in his usually well-stocked armoury are a few old guns provided by his South African representative.

Except they’re not all that different. They’re almost little more than a combination of all the various Graboid traits from the previous films, albeit with a list of slightly amended abilities to reflect the fact these Graboids aren’t indigenous to the United States.

The real meat to all of this are revelations about Gummer’s life and that he may or may not have offspring out there in the world. The personal aspect acts as a nice counterpoint to the Graboid action and somehow finds a good balance between action elements and character drama. That Bloodlines subtitle works in more ways than one, you see.

Gross is always an entertaining presence, and he seems to enjoy every moment when playing Gummer. Without him there wouldn’t be much to differentiate Bloodlines from any other straight to DVD production. There might be five films in this series now, but knowing that they are spread out over 25 years softens the blow somewhat. His buddying up with Jamie Kennedy carries much of the film, the pair thrown together by circumstance and Kennedy taking on the mantle of P cameraman on Gummer’s slightly scary gun nut television show.

There is decent direction throughout, and the buildup to the big Graboid reveal is nicely handled. It is, sadly, not that great at building up tension, and in some instances is happy to borrow iconic scenes from the likes of Jurassic Park rather than do something that stands out. The final third seems intent on riffing on popular quotes and sequences from other movies, which is amusing in one sense but detracts from the strength of the characters in another. If they have to quote or paraphrase from other, better films, then it just highlights the fact that perhaps these characters aren’t all that impressive.

With that said, the advances in special effects mean the Graboids and their variants all look very good indeed, all things considered. This might almost be a given, but imagine how bad it could have been if they had only received half the budget. Scary thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flfs6U3Bj84

Freefall – Part 4

By

Simon Prior

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2016-04-03

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Good evening again, and welcome once more to the ongoing double drabble serial Freefall. If you want to to keep up or catch up with the story, every part will be listed separately on my short stories page. As are the separate parts to ongoing serial I, Zombie and all of my other one-off shorts.

Remnants of the orbital fleet floated around the victorious battle cruiser, bouncing harmlessly off the hull. The battle had lasted for less than two minutes. More than forty ships destroyed by a single opponent. There were few in this region of the galaxy that could stand up to the might of the Republic.

Some had tried to escape but were cut down before they could activate their star drives. There would be no survivors to explain who had perpetrated such an act. Only death and destruction would be left in orbit, further casualties in a war without end. Both sides on the surface would blame the other for their losses, no doubt extending the conflict further.

Kohra did not care for their petty war. All he cared for was that one of their number had committed an act of treason against the Republic. The standard punishment was death, on immediate capture of the prisoner. But Kohra wanted the traitor to suffer first, he would take his time with it. A slow and painful death.

The cruiser dropped down into the planet’s atmosphere, now free to follow the escape pod down to the surface. This would all be over soon enough.

Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (2012) review

By

Simon Prior

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Where most of Wrong Turn 5 is spent. Arguing or sitting around in the sheriff's office. — Where most of Wrong Turn 5 is spent. Arguing or sitting around in the sheriff’s office.

Things get off to their usual start in Wrong Turn 5, with youngsters getting jiggy in a tent (that is the official medical term for their actions. Honest.) when it looks like they’re about to be attacked by yet more hillbillies carrying axes and stuff. But surprise! It’s just their friends. It seems that the deformed hillbillies are something of a popular icon in the town of Fairlake, with a festival taking place to celebrate the fact some people went missing in the area many years ago. It gets much messier of course when it turns out that the hillbillies everyone in town is dressing up as are in fact real, and commence their own particular terror trail.

Incidentally, before you get your timelines mixed up, this is a sequel to the prequel – even though there was still at least one hillbilly left alive in Wrong Turn 3, we’ve just gone back to the pre-Wrong Turn era. But let’s not dwell on such brain twisting notions and just press on with the numbered sequels as if they’re all in the same continuity. When, in fact, they are not. Confused yet? I know I am. But then this is the fifth Wrong Turn film I’ve watched, so a certain level of confusion is probably understandable.

Put simply, you can watch the first three in order, then start again with 4 and 5. Film 6 is completely separate. That’s actually much easier now that I’ve said it that way. Anyhow, moving on!

Tonally thing seem to have taken a turn for the worse, bordering on self parody. In some instances this can work wonders (just take a look at Wolfcop), but here it never does any more than dip its toe into the realm of silliness. After the expansive woodland setting that the series has previously established, confining much of the action to a sheriff’s office and a couple of other town locations feels a bit odd at first, but it’s something easy to acclimate to.

Perhaps annoying the cannibal hillbillies hadn't been the best of ideas. — Perhaps annoying the cannibal hillbillies hadn’t been the best of ideas.

We’re also in former UK soap star territory as Roxanne McKee shows up as one of the ill-fated teens. She is adequate in the role but there is nothing special or particularly outstanding about her performance. That can also be said about the rest of the young cast – there is little of note but they are at least serviceable.

Much more notable is the presence of Doug Bradley, aka Hellraiser’s Pinhead, as a normal-looking chap who, as you might have guessed, has a lot more going on under the surface than is apparent from his otherwise quite boring outward persona. Even then, his character doesn’t have much involvement beyond telling people that they are going to get killed.

The final act has a bit more going for it than the preceding 60 minutes, mostly because this is where the majority of the gore and violence takes place. It’s not as successful as previous entries in the series due to the urban setting it takes place in, but at the same time the deaths are quite inventive and that’s why we’re here really, isn’t it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeFylL3lLoU

Short Story: I, Zombie – Part 5

By

Simon Prior

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2016-04-01

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Evening folks, welcome to part 5 of my ongoing short story serial – I, Zombie. Last time we saw the group facing off against a large swarm of the dead. What happens next? Find out below…

“Back to the jeep! Move!” Howard shouted as the dead began to close in from all sides. He backed away from the oncoming crowd, his weapon ready to fire. Both he and Jenkins knew that to engage in a firefight right now would serve no purpose. Better to conserve ammunition or, at the very least, wait for the dead to be a few feet closer before opening fire. This was the largest number of undead they had seen in person since the start of the outbreak, but ammunition was scarce. Neither of them would admit it, but they were scared. More so than usual.

Their rifles remained trained on the nearest dead as they shuffled backwards towards the jeep. Pops followed slowly, until he was almost engulfed by the swarm of undead.
“Pops, come on, get a move on!” shouted Jenkins, looking for him in the crowd. He seemed to have been swallowed up by the press of bodies.
“Where is he?” she said, trying to see through the bodies in front of them.
“No idea” replied Howard. “And right now I don’t care. We need to get out of here.”
Jenkins nodded and they continued their retreat back to the jeep, never taking their eyes off the crowd for a second.

Then Pops was back in the open, pushing his way through the dead bodies and towards Howard and Jenkins. His eyes were ablaze with life, as if he had overcome the effects of the zombie virus. Then, just as quickly, the light faded and he looked like his normal self again.

He turned on the spot and faced the dead. With a low, guttural moan Pops raised his hand, as if imploring the swarm of walking dead to stay clear.

The dead stopped in their tracks, the closest less than a foot away from Pops’ outstretched hand. Pops stood in the middle – the dead in front of him, Jenkins and Howard behind.

“Well ain’t that something” said Howard quietly. This was something completely new and unexpected. He and Jenkins watched as the undead stayed in position, as if held back by an invisible field Pops was projecting around him.

Pops turned his head to look at the two survivors and groaned again. Jenkins’ brow furrowed.
“I think he’s telling us to leave.”
Howard shook his head. “I ain’t going nowhere. Not without him. He’s proven himself.”
“So what are we saying?”
“I’m saying we grab him, get in the jeep and get moving again.”
Howard pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and passed them to Jenkins.
“Get her up and running, I’ll get our zombie back.”
Jenkins nodded and moved round to the driver’s side of the jeep.

She put the key in the ignition and started the engine. The noise startled the dead, ending their brief moment of control and forcing them forward. Pops was lost in the mass once more. Howard dived in after him, disappearing into the crowd. Jenkins shouted, but her voice was lost beneath the noise of the dead.

Jenkins put the jeep into gear and got ready to leave. She wouldn’t go by herself unless she absolutely had to, but now it seemed she had no choice.

Howard leapt into the back of the jeep, carrying Pops over his shoulder. Jenkins slammed her foot down on the accelerator and the jeep leapt away from the horde.

Howard sat back in the jeep and breathed deeply.

“Let’s never do that again” said Howard.
“Agreed” said Jenkins.

As they drove away, Pops felt the hunger begin to rise once more.

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011) review

By

Simon Prior

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Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (2011) — The NHS isn’t doing well, but there’s no need for that!

Oh dear. The first sign of a franchise in decline is when they feel the need to go back to the very beginning and do a prequel story. And thus, in the fourth film in the Wrong Turn franchise, that is precisely what has happened. Except it’s pretty much business as usual. There’s an explanation over where these inbred hillbillies came from – a hospital! – but then we jump forward several years and we’re back in familiar territory. That is, a group of sexed up youngsters find themselves trapped in the hospital, now abandoned, during a snow storm and the hillbillies commit their own particular brand of violence. Somewhere along the way the whole concept of the “wrong turn” in the title seems to have been lost in favour of baseless wittering nonsense.

This wouldn’t be so bad in the grand scheme of things, except that Bloody Beginnings is a really bad film, and never shows an awareness of that fact. Despite my earlier praise for the Wrong Turn films, which did something slightly different each time, this is one instance where it hasn’t worked at all. Its gender politics are quite good for the “slasher” genre, what with our group of female characters generally being independent, rounded people. Unlike what we normally get in these films – baseless eye candy fit for screaming and nudity and little else.

It fails to provide genuine entertainment for many reasons. First and foremost is how slow it is to get into the violence. The audience are here for wild and wonderful character deaths. There’s only so far that a nice, snow-covered setting will get you before interest begins to wane. A lack of characters to really care about, plus a story that can be summed up as “more of the same, but in the snow.”

There are the usual twists on which the franchise has been built, and they’re quite impressive in the way they keep you guessing about who is going to survive or, as is more likely, how will meet a gruesome end. There are some fun, morally dubious twists that you won’t see coming. It’s these smaller moments that worked best for me. The practical effects are well done, which is a bonus because otherwise there would be nothing to say “watch this film.” For gore fans then this might be enough for you to sit through the more testing moments to reach the finale.

From a visual perspective there’s always been something inherently interesting about the contrast between spilt blood and the white snow it falls on. This is something that isn’t overplayed. It could have become like McG’s Terminator Salvation motif of lingering close-ups on robot eyes as they fade to black, but thankfully that isn’t the case.

But apart from that, it is almost completely rubbish. Who seeks shelter in a sanatorium, anyway? Especially if you know it has a very specific, sinister history. No, I’d battle the elements and keep going – that wouldn’t make for a very good film, mind.

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