So, for this next selection of brief random write-ups, we're going to look at another selection of close-but-not-quite films from 2021 that some might see as horror films, but we don't see as one. Therefore, rather than devote a full article to them we're just going to talk about them here. So, let's get into these.
Bigfoot Famous (Sam Milman, Peter Vass)
A comedy first and foremost that offers more of a critique and commentary on social media influencers than actually being a genre effort. The amount of time spent on the creature is largely inconsequential, using him as a means to an end to look more at influencer culture and modern society. The desperation to chase likes and views for their product that forces them to outlandish ends despite the ridiculousness of the situations presented here is a major focus rather than a creature running loose through the area killing off people chasing him, which is made all the more apparent with the cutaways to the video reactions to the events that are taking place. That can make for a tough time for some out there looking for any kind of genre output as that’s not the case, and with the comedic prowess on display there’s very little time for anything to happen. Some of the comedy here is quite funny and there’s enough heart in the relationship between her and the guide on their journey that it remains watchable throughout but it’s much of a comedy than anything.
Censor (Prano Bailey-Bond)
This was a fun and enjoyable psychological effort. The early setup getting her mindset together with the dedication she has to her job and the scrutiny she goes through with her parents over the incident with her sister creates a fantastic starting point to drag her down later on. The hallucinations that play-off as recollections of what happened to her sister are rather well-done and only serve to drive her further into madness eventually leading into the wild and crazed finale in the woods which features the crazed film shoot filled with the extras and the bizarre crew members that fuel her hysteria. This is all rather dark and chilling, but as much fun as it is to watch it never feels earned. The quickness with which she gets introduced to the film and her connection to it doesn't come off as though it's genuinely interesting enough to spur on the search nor was it long enough exposed to be worthy of such devotion. However, it's not enough to hold this back all that much.
Last Night in Soho (Edgar Wright)
There's almost nothing to like with this one. Despite the fantastic build-up the wholly unengaging and dull first half provides us about getting to know who she is and the various personalities involved both at the design school before the time-travel and then those around her once she does time-travel, none of this is the slightest bit interesting or exciting as most of it borders on being genre-friendly material in the first place. The stellar work it does at capturing both aspects here, from the gaudy fashion, the immersion into the nightlife at the time, and the overall decadence of the scene instead makes for a dragged-out running time here. There's also confusing nature of what's going on here with the constant back-and-forth switches to the scenes in the past where its inability to differentiate between whether it's happening to her or she's an innocent bystander in everything just makes it even less interesting and non-genre related. By the time it finally gets to something resembling genre fare in the final half with the discovery of the killer, the identity switch, and the entrapment with the ghosts in the house the action and brutality present is too little to save this.
There’s not a whole to say about this one. The biggest issue here is also its greatest strength as the exceptional build-up this goes through also causes the film to be incredibly dull and sluggish. The main focus on display is drama, with the girls' troubled existence in the small community and home-life, rendering this one incredibly tough to generate any kind of excitement or thrills with everyone picking on her, being unable to do things when or how she wants without others telling her off or just plain feeling like an outsider with everyone else not fully understanding her. Given that these scenes give this one the motivation and reasoning as for why she eventually starts in on the relationship with her new friend, there's a decided lack of action here that carries deep into the film which can make for a troubled time trying to stay interested. Those that do enjoy those aspects should find the films’ lyrical atmosphere and fantasy-based setups a bit more interesting but most others expecting a more straightforward genre effort might be somewhat put-off by this one.
Old (M. Night Shyamalan)
This was a complete waste and barely has anything redeeming about it in the slightest. That is basically reliant on the concept of what takes place e on the beach, from the idea of the family rapidly aging and being completely unaware of how it transpired or the eventual outcome of their situation that would get them back to their normal self. This creates some interesting This manages to create some impressive visuals from time-to-time as the idea takes hold over everyone, but so much of this one is reliant on the final twist here being something worthwhile and logical yet ends up being such a massive waste of time that it's virtually impossible to see anyone going through with the process to begin with/ As well, the whole narrative twists around the moment the reveal hits regarding the general way the process works here making for a highly confusing and twisting storyline that runs out of steam long before the finale trying to retroactively make the setup fit into the twist but failing completely.
Teddy (Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma)
This was an enjoyable if flawed genre effort. As a setup towards a character study on his small-town lifestyle, this one comes off quite enjoyable with the early details of his life in the town and how he has to deal with the different reactions from the citizens to get an idea of the troubled lifestyle he has. With the storyline about his burgeoning lycanthropic curse taking effect running at the same time as all this, the film manages to get a lot to like with this feature although it's all such a small part of the film that there's bound to be more overt levels of boredom here stemming from waiting around on that to happen. Since far too much of this is reliant on the idea of caring about his journey through the town, from his relationship with his parents to his girlfriend breaking up with him and the abuse at the parlor and other features out there that this one just becomes a slough to get through. While it's all perfectly in explaining what's going on with his transition and acceptance of being the creature by showcasing the path that led him there, hardly any of it is interesting or scary which brings this one down.
Comments
Post a Comment