The Weekly Watches I've had in both genre and non-genre efforts.
Horror Films-
The Nanny's Night
This turned out to be a rather fun genre effort. Among the better aspects here is the incredibly enjoyable setup that provides an innocent enough starting point for the activities to follow. The various interactions with her friends and going through the ordeals of the night give this a standardized setup with her being the kind of loose and carefree figure that most would want in a teenage babysitter. That sets the film up rather nicely once it turns into her more devious and Satanic individual ready to sacrifice her for her ritual. The turn into the ceremonial rituals and then starting all the preparations offers a solid turn here for the mixture of serious and goofy at play here with the seduction attempts and their intentions being to kill her that mesh nicely alongside the clumsiness of the execution here. The way this all gets resolved in a series of fun and gruesome confrontations with some fine stalking throughout the house has a lot to like and manages to make this a fun enough effort. There are some minor issues to be had here. One of the biggest drawbacks is a rather underwhelming finale that tends to rush through a slew of rather impressive concepts. Most of the action here involving how the turn occurs sets up a series of revelations that take place in the final half that are dropped at once for them to have any kind of effect that makes this too complicated for its own good. As well as several instances where the film continues on only through plot contrivance, these end up holding this down slightly.
When I Consume You
This was a troubling if still enjoyable enough genre effort. One of the major likable factors here comes from the strong characterization that takes place between the two here. We spend a vast majority of the film with the two of them on-screen either detailing how their lives have been affected to the point it is at as where this finds them at the start is quite enjoyable. Seeing their relationship at this point in their lives is a bit of a sympathizing factor as their desire to remain a stabilizing force for each other in the wake of their history growing up makes for a strong drama-heavy feel that makes the later attacks by the creature feel all the more impactful with the struggles that take place to undermine his sanity. However, that doesn't always make for an exciting time as the majority of the film, focusing on these interactions between the two, leaves this feeling incredibly bland at times. Featuring more close-quarters conversations and quiet, reflective moments between them than anything else that really feels quite low-key than anything else despite several genuinely creepy encounters with the stalker following them, there's not much to go on here beyond the more prominent aspects here integrating a storyline about trauma and personal growth. That's not a bad thing in the slightest, but it's also not something everyone will be intrigued by and looking for in their films.
Where the Scary Things Are
There's so little to like here that it's not worth the trouble. The main issue with this one is the utterly unlikeable and outright cartoonishly portrayed teenage characters that don't deserve any kind of sympathy or compassion in the slightest. Openly willing to mock teachers and authority figures to their faces, disobeying laws from the local authorities, and being known for blackmailing those that disagree or confront their desires, the fact that they're supposed to be the characters we care for and root to survive is extremely unlikely. The fact that they're offered no redeeming qualities in the slightest or even what their friendship means creates a wholly infuriating connection to the group when the entirety of our experience to their existence borders on the psychopathic. As well, there's also the issue with the film being utterly bland and boring for long stretches of time. It takes so long to get the monster out into the film since we're unfortunately dealt with prolonged periods getting to know the kids and their relationship with each other as well as at school that there's not a lot going on to make this interesting at all. Even secondary subplots involving the film's rather confusing inclusion of a perpetually terrified teenager too scared to do anything or the intention of turning the girl into a beguiling temptress go nowhere with respective lack of focus and a tactless approach to teenage sexuality that make this a chore to get through. The monster looks cool enough and there's some decent blood and gore here but it's too little, too late here.
The Suspicious Death of a Minor
Overall, this is a rather fun and fascinating hybrid of Giallo and Polittzioteschi. The initial exploits of the film, focusing on the series of crimes being committed and how they eventually come together in the eventual exposing of the crime ring involving the teenage schoolgirls is a lot of fun, featuring the depths of the corruption going on and his attempts at bringing them down give this a full-on setup worthy of the genre. As well, the film's kills are accomplished more with car chases and other high-energy action scenes which are kinetic and rather exciting, moving throughout the city in various impressively-filmed scenes that provide a bit of graphic gore to the equation which goes along with the fast-moving comedy to give this a lot to like. There are a few minor drawbacks, which stem from the films' disparate elements coming together somewhat oddly here, with this seeming to transition from sordid crime-thriller to brutal Giallo and then running through slapstick comedy and recurring jokes as gags that aren't that well-integrated together. Featuring some other problems in the films' overall familiarity with numerous other films out there not only with this one homaging but outright including other genre efforts which can make for a somewhat redundant time here and lower this one just enough.
The Scorpion with Two Tails
There’s not a lot to like about this one. Among the few likable factors here come from the setup of the film focusing on the discovery of the tomb and what it means in terms of generating a murder spree to protect its contents. That there’s a fantastic setup involving the mystery surrounding the connection between the old community and the series of dreams she has regarding their ceremonies coming to life and tormenting her with the activity taking place in gloomy, Gothic dungeons and caves but the idea of the mystery about the whole thing being a cover for a drug-smuggling operation makes for some tense scenes inside the underground caves. However, beyond this, there’s not much to enjoy here. Most of this is due to the jumbled and incredibly garbled presentation of the film being edited down from a lengthy miniseries adaptation. Originally broadcast in seven one-hour installments, editing this down into a nearly one-hundred-minute feature causes a lot of material to be lost just in general principle but also causes this one to feel somewhat plodding and lethargic with a lot of what’s in this version based on excessively overlong dialogue scenes without much purpose for being here. So much of this one has very few explanations for what’s going on and it seems to go about these factors as a given that it comes across as jumbled and underwhelming as a result. On top of that, the film also stumbles incredibly hard when it comes to a series of ineffectual and underwhelming series of action and stalking scenes that are somewhat plain and lifeless. Even the lack of proper investigation into the killer comes off weak, and that there’s also the lack of action here with a standard yet uninvolved car chase and shootout inside the tomb accounting for the main thrills here all comes off bland as a result. These factors all manage to bring this one down.
Glorious
Overall, this was an incredibly underwhelming if somewhat enjoyable effort. Part of what makes this one work is the weirdness of the central premise and the relationship that emerges as the random series of games and bizarre tests of his powers provide a grim enough atmosphere. Realizing that there's a cosmic bent to him being there including the attack on the guest which provides the only gore spot and a frantic final half, it has some likable factors even though there are some big issues that leave this one somewhat troubling. The biggest drawback to the film is a storyline that grows increasingly tiresome the longer it goes on due to the one-note nature of its premise basically devolves into a never-ending cycle of conversations that give off the feeling of an anthology segment that's been stretched out for a feature-length production. That also highlights the lack of urgency or tension as it takes a long time to get to the point as the conversations leave the film going back-and-forth on empty threats with the comical disassociation that goes along with so many of the segments as if he doesn't respect their threat so why should we. The factors all manage to lower this one quite a bit from what it could've been.
Non-Horror Films-
Prey
There was a lot to really appreciate with this one. Graced with a fantastic story that manages to offer a series of impactful character-building featuring her coming-of-age need to prove herself a member of the tribe which is constantly in question with the others in the tribe. That this becomes the main part of the interactions between her and the others while getting brief hunting segments showing the creature in the wilderness interacting with other animals serves as a fine lead-in to their encounter that sets the hunting scenes in motion. As we get a sense of its power through the encounters not just with the tribe out looking for her but also with the French fur-trappers that are in the area generating a series of immensely impressive confrontations offering brutal and bloody confrontations that are high-energy and a lot of fun, this sets the stage for the fantastic finale. Utilizing a fine set of tactics that are enjoyable to watch and some ingenuity in how to explain the potential battle to take place and allow her to get the upper hand. It sometimes has a few too many scenes of the eviscerated CGI animals being slaughtered that don't need to be there but that's a genuinely minor quibble with this one.
Zero Avenue
There's just nothing to like here. The premise is more serviceable in a short or anthology feature where it can get right to the fun of their encounter and the eventual reveal of their purpose for being together which could've been fun but doesn't come close to fulfilling any interesting setup or action here. The endless conversations about sex, love, relationships and other facets of human nature aren't even close to genre content and signal nothing of any interest happening during this part of the film where the few minor glimpses that something supernatural may occur here don't come close to generating any kind of threatening or dangerous activity. At no point is there any indication that their lives are in danger or that something dangerous may come up, leading to an utterly endless and bland series of scenes As we're forced into spending the amount of time we do with these two characters, it would also help if they were exciting or fun to be around and they're neither, leaving this with no genre effects and very little else happening to be worthwhile in any sense.
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