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Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Saloum (2022) Genre: Horror, Thriller Length: 1h 24min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Lacmé, Rumble Fish
Productions, Tableland Pictures, Ev.L Prod Director: Jean Luc Herbulot Writer: Jean Luc Herbulot, Pamela Diop Actors: Yann Gael, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Roger Sallah, Mento Ba, Bruno
Henry, Marielle Salmier, Babacar Oualy, Ndiaga Mbow, Cannabasse, Renaud Farah Blurb from IMDb: 2003, three mercenaries
extracting a druglord out of Guinea-Bissau are forced to hide in the mystical
region of Saloum, Senegal.
Selina’s Point of View: I was excited for
Saloum. I’ve never seen a Senegalese film, so I knew I was about to see
something completely new to me. Whenever you
delve into the cinema of a different culture, you can’t possibly know what to
expect. Culture greatly influences movies because it involves different
perspectives. A filmmaker from the USA will not have the same experiences to
draw from as one from Africa would. That means there are different tropes in
play and different forms of interaction. When Saloum got
started, I thought it was going to go down a gangster/heist route, and I couldn’t
have been more wrong. It switched sub-genres at one point, and I never had any
clue what was going to happen next.
Everything flowed
so smoothly, though. The mid-flick flip didn’t feel forced or out of place at
all. In fact, I forgot I was reading subtitles at times. The dialogue was pure.
The writers clearly had the right mindset to keep it realistic, even as the scenes
grew more extreme. The characters, and the way they’re meant to be perceived, also
changed throughout the flick. All of which was backed up by subtle foreshadowing. I loved Saloum.
It had a soul to it that many horror/thrillers just don’t have. It’s not going to
be for someone looking for easy scares and a turn-your-brain-off kind of night.
It’s based around more elevated thrills. So, make sure you watch it when you
have the concentration to give it the attention it deserves.
See it for yourself on Shudder, September 8th!
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 97% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – 76% Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.6/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
Movie Name/Year: Brain Freeze (2021) Genre: Comedy, Horror Length: 91 minutes Rating: Unrated Language: French Production/Distribution: Palomar, WaZabi Films, Filmoption
International Director: Julien Knafo Writer: Julien Knafo Actors: Iani Bédard, Roy Dupuis, Marianne Fortier, Anne-Élisabeth Bossé,
Claudia Ferri, Mylène Mackay, Stéphane Crête, Louis-Georges Girard, Mahée
Paiement, Siom-Olivier Fecteau, Jean Pierre Bergeron, Marie-Lyne Joncas Blurb from IMDb: A fertilizer used in a rich
gated community becomes the source of a genetic mutation that transforms its
residents into zombies. Can a teenager and his baby sister break free from the
quarantined island before turning into grass?
Selina’s Point of View: No regular reader
will be surprised that I jumped on Brain Freeze when I saw it was part
of the Fantasia Film Festival. Comedic horror is my favorite mix-genre, and
zombies are my favorite horror-based creature. Wild horses couldn’t keep me
away from this flick. It absolutely did
not disappoint. When you mix
zombies with comedy it almost always leads to a film that would be best labeled
as a parody. Even Shaun of the Dead was, at the very least, more of a
caricature than a serious film. Brain Freeze doesn’t take that route. Not only does it
excel as a comedy, but as a serious horror as well. Striking that kind of
balance is insanely difficult, but portrayed to perfection here. I was impressed instantly.
It started off
with these gorgeous, high quality, informative visuals. There’s an immediate situational
backstory given, without making us listen to boring, or forced, exposition. It
doesn’t default to the ‘learn everything through a news story’ trope that is so
prevalent in the genre. (Though there is some use of a radio show for this, it’s
more of a means to an end than a necessity.) Brain
Freeze then goes on to
give us a good idea of the lives our protagonists are living, and who they are
as people. Again, it manages this without defaulting to droning exposition. Just when it
seems like it might be a little slow going, the action picks up and we’re right
into it. Everything from there is survival. The one-liners
and humorous situations don’t ever overtake the plot. Throughout, the tension
never ceases.
I’ll admit, there
were a couple of aspects that seemed a bit too coincidental. I don’t know if I’d
call them plot holes, but they did make me cringe a little bit. I found myself
wondering if those parts could have been written a bit smoother. None of it was
much of a big deal, though. It never took me out of the story. What surprised me
most, was that there was a message in the end. Brain
Freeze highlighted the
danger of panic propaganda in media and how it can destroy otherwise reasonable
people. We’ve seen that a lot with COVID-19, especially through the conspiracy
theories surrounding the vaccines. I think this message is absolutely essential
right now. Especially in areas where people are still somehow valuing partisan opinion
over science. When Brain
Freeze is available widely, I think all horror fans should see it. Whether
it’s in theaters, or streaming, doesn’t matter. Find a way. It is so worth it.
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
(Although the trailer is in English, I recommend watching the movie in its
original French, if possible.)
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Kandisha (2021) Genre: Horror Length: 85 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Esprits Frappeurs, Wy Productions, SND Films,
Tiberius Film, Shudder Directors: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien
Maury Writers: Alexandre Bustillo, Julien Maury Actors: Bakary Diombera, Dylan Krief,
Félix Glaux-Delporto, Mathilde Lamusse, Mériem Sarolie, Nassim Si Ahmed,
Samarcande Saadi, Sandor Funtek, Suzy Bemba, Walid Afkir Blurb from IMDb: It's summer break and best friends Amélie,
Bintou and Morjana hang together with other neighborhood teens. Nightly, they
have fun sharing scary stories and urban legends. But when Amélie is assaulted
by her ex, she remembers the story of Kandisha, a powerful and vengeful demon.
Afraid and upset, Amélie summons her. The next day, her ex is found dead. The
legend is true and now Kandisha is on a killing spree--and it's up to the three
girls to break the curse.
Cat’s Point of View: There are very few movies that I
have voluntarily stopped watching in the middle. If I had decided to
watch Kandisha in my spare time, and it wasn’t for need to
review this for the blog, this film would have joined that short list. This is really not the fault of the
story, acting, or effects. Kandisha forfeited any sort of
recommendation on my behalf the moment I failed to see a disclaimer at the end
of the credits regarding animal welfare. Why? There is a little white rabbit in
this movie, and it is involved in quite a horrific scene. I get the
scene’s importance to the story. I don’t think the distress it was exhibiting
on screen was created with effects. HOWEVER, it is entirely plausible that
digital wizardry could have been skillfully employed here. If that’s the case,
whoever rendered the rabbit effects deserves a raise. The results were highly
disturbing. There is no way I can prove one way or another that a live bunny
was used in the scene. The lack of the ‘no animals were harmed in the making of
this movie’ disclaimer just erodes away my faith and hope. It’s of the utmost importance that
I convey with clarity that there is no proof of wrongdoing here.
France has different animal welfare
laws than we do in the United States, and in many places, rabbits are still
seen as livestock rather than pets in the way cats and dogs are. Unfortunately,
for that reason, I am not even sure if there are any protections in place for
them in the film industry there. I tried to research before writing this
article. I found that there’s quite a bit of legislation that is being brought
forward and debated to improve animal welfare laws in the EU. France is
reportedly a little behind the curve and there are vast gaps that animals such
as rabbits fall into. It’s promising that there could be some changes to the
laws in the foreseeable future. I am a pet parent to 2 rescue bunnies – one of whom
experienced physical trauma at the hands of the breeder who was her original
owner. (Cattle tags don’t belong in delicate rabbit ears!) I tried like hell to
suspend my disbelief regarding the treatment of the rabbit. It didn’t work. I
couldn’t manage to keep an unbiased perspective. Rabbits are so easy to stress by
nature, as prey animals. They can sometimes get so scared that they could have
a heart attack and die on the spot or even inadvertently break their own bones.
They’re that fragile. My brain simply noped out the second I heard sounds of
distress coming from that poor bunny – even if they could have been added in
post-production.
Here’s the thing. Had the rabbit issue not been a part of the movie? I would have
enjoyed Kandisha. The lore
surrounding the vengeful demon was interesting. I found it further fascinating
that it originated in Morocco. I also appreciated how they represented the
demon, itself. The effects, both practical and otherwise, they used for her
were quite good. I also appreciated the ending.
Please keep in mind, it's not the quality of the film that is reflected in my rating or review here - my dislike is based on my own personal biases.
If you want to see Kandisha
for yourself, it premieres on Shudder Thursday, July 22.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 5.8/10 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5 Movie Trailer:
Production Companies:
Petit Film, Rouge International, Frakas Productions, Wild Bunch, Canal+, Ciné+,
Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement
Fédéral de Belgique, Casa Kafka Pictures Movie Tax Shelter Empowered by Belfius,
La Wallonie, Bruxelles Capitale, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la
Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF), VOO, BE
TV, Arte / Cofinova 12, Torino Film Lab, MEDIA Programme of the European Union,
Angoa-Agicoa, Ciclic - Région Centre, Ezekiel Film Production, Rouge
International
Producer: Jean
des Forêts, Julie Gayet, Amélie Jacquis, Thomas Jaubert, Philippe Logie, Jean-Yves
Roubin, Antoun Sehnaoui, Nadia Turincev, Cassandre Warnauts
Director: Julia
Ducournau
Writer: Julia
Ducournau
Actors: Garance
Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss, Bouli
Lanners, Marion Vernoux, Thomas Mustin, Marouan Iddoub, Jean-Louis Sbille
Blurb from Netflix:
Forced to eat raw meat during a hazing ritual at her veterinary school, a young
vegetarian develops an overpowering hunger for flesh in all its forms.
Selina’s Point of View:
That’s it?
That was the movie that disgusted/disturbed people so much
that they couldn’t stay in the theater for the whole thing? Really?
Movie creators do themselves a disservice with that kind of rumor.
I hear something about people being scared out of the building on their first watch-through
and I expect to be frightened. I don’t want to hear about jump scares. I don’t
want subtle. I want to be completely white-haired terrified. Slow burn is fine,
but it’s gotta at least end in an inferno.
My hopes were SO high for this film, that there was very
little chance it was going to live up to my expectations.
I know most people would want a ‘but’ at this point, but
there is none. Except that one. Two. Whatever.
I just didn’t care. Aside from some basic cringe and a slow
burn that you never really get any pay off for – it’s got nothing. I don’t
understand the hype. Even the twist at the end is completely predictable.
You never even learn why things are happening. It was all
just so disjointed and purposeless.
The one thing I can say, with absolute certainty, is that Raw is definitely a movie that exists.
Cat’s Point of View:
Oh, good Lord, what have I just
watched?
To say that this movie is horrific
is an understatement.
Let me rewind a little. I do try to
find something good in everything – even when I generally don’t like the movie
in question. The premise regarding this particular path to cannibalism is
something I haven’t seen before. It was intriguing. I didn’t even see the twist
at the end coming. I just wish the rest of it wasn’t so tedious.
It was as if the film meandered
drunkenly along, in no particular hurry to end.
I was not surprised to learn that
people have been known to leave the theater in droves while watching this movie
– others required barf bags. Fans of body horror might get more of a kick out
of this one, but that was decidedly not my cup of tea. In fact, I was wishing I
had one of those barf bags for myself.
While I enjoyed the fact that our
Chills & Thrills ended up with a Foreign Film Friday throwback, it’s a pity
it just wasn’t a different movie.
Production Companies:
Black Dynamite Films, JD Prod, Les Prodcutions Rabid Dogs, Cinéfrance 1888, Transfilm,
Hedgehog, JS Productions, Récifilms, Ciné+, Canal+, Wild Bunch, Centre National
de la Cinématographie (CNC), Téléfilm Canada
Producer: Julien
Deris, Marc Dujardin, Franck Elbase, David Gauquié, Éric Hannezo, Eric Juhérian,
Vincent Labrune, Guillaume Lacroix, Renaud Le Van Kim, Nicolas Lesage, Claude
Léger, Etienne Mallet, Sylvain Proulx, Mathias Rubin, Julien Seul, Marc Vadé
Director: Eric
Hannezo
Writer: Michael
J. Carroll, Yannick Dahan, Eric Hannezo, Benjamin Rataud
Blurb from Netflix:
Three criminals from a disastrous bank robbery take a young woman, a father and
child hostage in a desperate attempt to get away at any cost.
Selina’s Point of View:
I found this film to be very typical – to the worst of the
genre.
There wasn’t all that much substance to it. It was like we
were just getting a little bit of insight into a man hunt from the criminal’s point
of view. In a situation like that, you expect to learn a lot more about the
criminals. You expect them to be humanized and to understand their motives by
the end.
Nope. I got none of that.
Even the semi-twist was predictable. I called it near the
middle of the movie.
I could understand why someone with less options might watch
this film. However, for someone who watches a lot of movies – this one likely
won’t stand out to you. It doesn’t do anything to really make itself memorable.
I’ll forget I’ve watched Rabid
Dogs by next Friday.
Cat’s Point of View:
The dice had some good timing with this movie. I was in some
serious need of distraction today, and action thrillers are almost guaranteed
to do the trick. This film was no exception.
The pacing was great, for one. The dialogue didn’t go by too
quick, so it was easy to keep up with. There were plenty of twists and turns
that kept me right at the edge of my seat.
Let’s talk about that ending, shall we? While I won’t even
come close to spoiling it for you, I can say I didn’t see it coming at all. I
sat here in a moment of gob-smacked silence.
The movie successfully twisted me up into a pretzel so that
at some points I actually felt bad for a couple of the villains of the tale who
were in way over their heads.
Of course, that was balanced with a steady sense of wanting
them to go take a vacation in the underworld.
While this was essentially a remake of a 1974 film with the
same name and premise, some details in the new film were evidently different.
For example, the original apparently took place in Italy; and this film is
French – though, it’s not entirely clear to me if it was set in France or
Canada.
While this movie might not be full of flashy fight scenes or
explosions, the action was solid and I didn’t have any problems buying in to
what was going on as plausible.
I wouldn’t have any problems giving this film a
recommendation.
Production Companies: Easy Tiger, France 2 Cinéma, France Télévisions, Centre
National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Fonds Images de la Diversité, Cofinova
11, Région Ile-de-France, La Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma, Agence Nationale
pour la Cohésion Sociale et l'Egalité des Chances (ACSE), Commission Images de
la Diversité, Doha Film Institute, Procirep, Angoa-Agicoa, Netflix
Blurb
from Netflix:
A shrewd teenager and her wisecracking best friend plan to get rich or die
trying by following in the footsteps of a flashy female drug dealer.
Cat’s
Point of View:
Wow.
That’s my initial take-away from
this movie. There was something profound and tragic in the telling of the story
of these girls that transcended the script. This film took me on a dark ride –
and while I’m not entirely comfortable with it, and it left me in a low place,
I’m not all that mad to be there.
Of course, I did have to dry my face
a bit before I could begin to piece words together. Have some tissues nearby
for this one, just in case.
For once, I’m not irked at Netflix
for their plot blurb attached to this film. I am, however, shaking my head in
disappointment with the IMDb synopsis. The movie is far more focused on what
the former describes than the latter.
The film felt like it was dragging in
a few places, and I didn’t get sucked far enough in that I forgot about the
subtitles – it occasionally felt like work to watch this. Even with that said,
I think that the performances elevated it beyond those minor annoyances.
I really enjoyed the artistic
element within the story - both in dance and music. It was certainly
unexpected.
All told, I’m not sure that I want
to watch this one again just because of the emotional toll of the story;
however, I’d have no problem recommending this at all.
Languages
Speech Available: French, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Spanish, Italian
Subtitles Available: English, French (CC), English (CC), Spanish, Traditional
Chinese, Simplified Chinese
