"We're not critics. We're professional fan-girls." --- This blog is dedicated to movies and the entertainment industry. We use random selection to bring into light the best and worst of streaming films and entertainment news.
Movie Name/Year: Project Dorothy (2024) Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller Length: 80 minutes Rating: Unrated Director: George Henry Horton Writer: George Henry Horton, Ryan Scaringe Actors: Danielle Harris, Tim SeZarn, Adam Budron, Olivia Scott Blurb from IMDb: After a botched robbery,
two men take refuge in a remote and lifeless scientific facility, inadvertently
awakening a monster within.
Selina’s Point of View: I was really into
the trailer for Project Dorothy. There’s so much going on with artificial
intelligence these days that new movies based on the worst of it make sense to
me. I settled in to watch it with hope in my heart. Although the
acting of the two main characters was decent, and the concept of Project
Dorothy was great, the execution left much to be desired. I hated the way
the AI, Dorothy, was portrayed. I don’t know if it was an issue with the
writing or Danielle Harris’ (Roadkill, Creepshow, Inoperable)acting,
but there was a disconnect somewhere.
Part of what
makes movies like this scary is just how inhuman artificial intelligence is. Despite
sounding, or even looking, human, it can’t be reasoned with or threatened –
there are no emotions to appeal to. It’s the uncanny valley. In Project
Dorothy, the portrayal of Dorothy is just too human. She laughs, she has
normal inflection in her tone, she even gets scared. It broke any tension the
very slow first half of the film created. I would have bought it if the twist
was that she was just some psychopath behind a curtain pretending to be AI. Might
have even made it interesting. I can’t recommend
Project Dorothy; it completely missed the point of its own sub-genre.
Actors: Anthony Styles, Bella Munday, Claire Cartwright, Darren Benedict, David Wayman, George Collie, James Parsons, Jennifer Healy, Karl Holt, Lydia Hourihan
IMDb Blurb: Jack, a man desperate to improve his life throws away his beloved childhood plush, Benny. It's a move that has disastrous consequences when Benny springs to life with deadly intentions.
Cat’s Point of View:
I ran across Benny Loves You one day while searching for something to watch with my daughter and their significant other, and immediately knew this movie would either be awesomely bad or horribly bad. There wasn’t going to be any in-between there. Watching the trailer pretty much sealed the deal that we needed to watch this fresh take on what appeared to be murderous muppets immediately. I was crossing my fingers that it would fall squarely into the “so-bad-its-good” category.
I am happy to advise that I haven’t laughed so hard in quite a while. It was worth every moment of face-palming and eye-rolling that came with the experience as a package deal (and there weren’t too many, really).
Benny Loves You is another wonderful example of a film experience where the creator knew exactly how bonkers their concept and even execution of the story was going to be - and leaned into it with gusto.
Seriously, consider a movie about that beloved little squeaky-voiced Elmo doll going on a jealousy-fueled murder-spree. Of course, this production had absolutely nothing to do with the educational and wholesome Sesame Street (1969-) character or really even any true muppets. The visual was still strikingly similar enough that it only added to the “that’s so wrong, it’s hilarious” aspect of the movie.
We all have had that one toy we were given when we were very little that will always hold a special place in our hearts. Some of us are better about letting such go as we get older. I never really got rid of any of mine, but I did pass them along to my daughter when she was little. For some of us, our favorite stuffie could very well still be capable of chasing the nightmares away. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, as long as the rest of a person’s life is generally productive and at the very least self-sufficient.
This story explored the notion of those very toys taking umbrage at being cast aside in favor of “growing up” and proving themselves just as magical as we always imagined them to be - but their new version of playtime includes chaotic murderous mayhem.
Clearly, Benny Loves You was made with a shoestring indie budget, but I honestly didn’t care. Production made great use of everything at their disposal, and I think that ultimately it worked in their favor. I don’t think this story would have landed the same way with shiny CGI movement effects and the like. It was really a stroke of brilliance to have the toy’s movement mimic what it would look like if a child was actually playing with it. The imagery leaned into the campy fun without becoming too cheesy in the process.
Writer and director Karl Holt (Eddie Loves You, Negative Image, The Pandemic Anthology) clearly made this as a passion project. Not only did it expand from his first credited film short from 2006, he put in quite a bit of time wearing all the important hats. Filming for Benny Loves You wrapped in 2015, but it didn’t release until 2019 because Holt was editing, scoring, and adding the VFX himself. I’m eager to see what Holt does next, and I’m hoping that he continues to bring us the much-needed laughter.
Benny Loves You is quite silly, but gloriously so; and I wouldn’t mind watching it again and again as I ensnare as many friends as possible into watching it with me so I can spread the hilarity.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 81%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 54%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – 6.0/10
IMDB Score – 5.6/10
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5
P.S. - There is a post-credits scene that ties up a loose end from the movie.
B-movies can be divisive. Due to how low their budgets are
the graphics sometimes wind up questionable, less experienced actors are hired,
and other cost-cutting measures are taken. They’re rarely shown in theaters, few
people are putting money on them, but they can be a bit of a time-risk. No one
wants to spend hours of their time watching something that isn’t all that
great. They’d rather put their hard-won free time toward something better. For movie fans that do enjoy B-movies, there’s almost a
cult-like feel to their enthusiasm. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a part of that side
of the argument. There are B-movies that I quote more than any other movie I’ve
seen. In fact, as I mentioned in my original personal cinematic landscape
article, my friends and I religiously quote The Gamers: Dorkness Rising
(2008). Why do movies like that stick with us? It’s my belief that because the makers of B-movie don’t need
to answer to multi-billion-dollar corporations, they don’t wind up having to
speak for people who have nothing in common with their demographic. The geeks
that created The Gamers: Dorkness Rising spoke directly to other geeks
without having to sacrifice anything because some billionaires thought they
needed to speak to a wider audience. I was talking to a friend about horror movies last night.
He’s not the biggest fan of newer polished, over-done, films. The old-school 80’s
cult horror flicks speak to him more. The face peeling of Poltergeist (1982),
the stop motion gore of The Evil Dead (1981), the high-pitched
soundtrack of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). All those films can be
found on the National Film Registry protected by the Library of Congress, but
if they were made today, big-budget companies would strangle the charm out of
them. The charm in that low-budget creativity leads much easier to
a cult following, which is why so many cult films are B-movies. Hell, my favorite comedy flick, Clerks (1994) – which
is on my list as part of the comedy genre – was funded completely by the
director maxing out his credit cards. The constraint of less money leaves room
for more creativity. The best example of a low-budget B-movie that got even more
creative due to lack of funds is Deadstream (2022).
Deadstream is one of the newest movies going on my
cinematic landscape. It came out just last year and I had no expectations for
it. I’m not a huge fan of found footage. In fact, I dislike the sub-genre so
much that I don’t even go over it as part of this article series at all.
Falling in love with Deadstream was something no one could have expected
of me. The main character of the film is about as obnoxious as he
can get. He’s a narcissistic streamer working to get past a bunch of scandals
while trying to survive a night in a haunted house. As someone who loves to
watch YouTubers/streamers it was easy to figure out where a lot of the
inspiration for the character came from. They had plenty of material to draw on
from bad apology videos and dumb mistakes others have made. A big production
company might have forced them to tone that down. It's a small thing, but something that added to the depth
and reality of the character. People outside of online culture might watch and
think it was a little far-fetched, but those of us who have followed ukelele
apologies and seen people arrested for dumb pranks used for clout – we know
better. It’s more realistic than we wish it was. Aside from that, the entire movie took the found footage
sub-genre and elevated it. The video is steadier because of the web-cam
component, which allows people like my co-author, Cat, to watch it despite the
vertigo she deals with. Going back and forth between the cameras allows for
less graphic needs while the practical effects are much sleeker than anything
CGI would have created at their budget. Deadstream was a welcome change of pace by both
critics and audiences, and I can only hope that other found footage creators
learn from its successes. In 10 years, I hope I’ll be able to see it up for its
own spot on the National Film Registry listing. I want it to alter the way
others make movies the same way it’s altered the way I view them. There’s another side to the B-movie genre: movies that
aren’t made to be good. They’re made to mock the industry or just as a fun
parody of movies in general. No big-budget company is going to pick up the kind
of movies that aren’t made to speak to anyone, really. They’re just made for
the fun of it. Not all of them turn into anything watchable, but when they do…
they become so bad, they’re good. The most recent flick I’ve added to that part of my
landscape is the one that will probably become the first film I think of when
anyone says “it’s so bad, it’s good.” That film is VelociPastor (2018).
When people think of B-movies, VelociPastor is what
they’re thinking of. The costumes are ridiculously unreal, there’s not a single
actor taking things seriously, and the graphics are… unbelievable at best. Yet,
I cannot properly express how much fun I had watching it. There were ninjas and dinosaurs, there was parody and humor.
The creators of VelociPastor knew what they had. They leaned as far into
the silliness as possible. One of the very first scenes exhibits a take on
low-budget CGI that I’ve never seen utilized. It caught me so off guard that I
had to pause the film until I was done laughing. It doesn’t matter how bad a film is, if it makes you laugh
so hard that you actively need to catch your breath, it’s good. VelociPastor is never the type of film that I’d go
around recommending to people looking for a real movie. That said, at a friend
gathering with a bunch of people looking to laugh and drink while watching
something to giggle at, it’d be the first thing I pull up. I’ll always have a deep love for low-budget films. I grew up
watching marathons of them on Halloween, and they are probably some of the
first movies to ever affect the way I watched other films.
Streaming Service: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Mass Hysteria (2020) Genre: Comedy, Horror Length: 66 minutes Rating: TV-MA Production/Distribution: First-Name Films, The
Horror Collective Director: Arielle Cimino, Jeff Ryan Writer: Jonathan T. Coleman, Christopher O'Connell Actors: Geena Santiago, Jeff Ryan, Scott Swayze, Alexandra
Dietrich, Luke Deardorff, Destry Allyn Spielberg, Robert D. Murphy, Matt
Perusse, Louis Cancelmi, Charlie Pollock, Daniel Alvarado, Michelle
Veintimilla, Jessica Richmond, Molly Sidell, Kellie Moon, Hannah Wagner, Chloe
Eaton Blurb from IMDb: A group of Salem witch
trial reenactors find themselves at the center of a modern day witch hunt.
Selina’s Point of View: I’m not often surprised
by the movies we see. Sure, a twist might catch me off-guard, or I might like
something more or less than expected – but this surprised me more in the way
that Slaxx (2021) did than something like The Sixth Sense (1999).
It altered my expectations in ways that most movies don’t. It started out cute,
in a home-brew kind of way. If I had to make any comparisons, I’d have said it
felt like it was in the same category as something like The Gamers
(2002). Low budget, kind of funny, nothing that would stand up to the big-name
flicks, but watchable. Even enjoyable. What started campy
and mildly interesting, turned menacing in the last ten minutes (or so). The twist really
brought the creep factor. It would have been a decent movie either way, but I
wouldn’t have labeled it much of a horror film until that script flipped at the
end.
I was shocked. I think what made
it scarier than it probably set out to be, was that it made sense. My knee-jerk
reaction was that it didn’t, but after thinking about it for a few minutes, I bought
it. I saw the logic in it. When horror has some of that logic, it just hits
harder. I think Mass
Hysteria is really worth it. I’d recommend gathering some friends and getting
some popcorn so you can have some real fun with it. It’s a great flick for a
teenage Halloween sleep over. Maybe not the youngest teens, but 15 and above.
Cat’s Point of View: I am pretty sure
I’ve mentioned before that I have a great appreciation for stories surrounding
the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s. Mass Hysteria is set in the modern
era pre-pandemic but it beautifully taps into the spirit of its title and the
location of its setting for some entertaining satire. One of the things
I appreciated the most about Mass Hysteria was that it didn’t take
itself too seriously. The movie leaned into the tropes surrounding tourists and
their expectations for a macabre historic locations, such as Salem, and it was
glorious. It’s clear that
there was a bit of a shoestring budget involved, but they got the most bang for
their buck by letting the audience imagine most of the grisly violence
occurring – rather than having to engineer the physical effects for it all to
happen on screen. There’s something to be said about the mind’s ability to fill
in the blanks with horror movies. What we imagine can be far scarier than
anything an SFX department could put together.
So much of Mass
Hysteria is over the top, but it works – right down to the customized
license plate on a jacked-up truck featured in the later part of the film. It even managed
to throw me a little. I thought I had the plot all figured out in the
beginning. I thought it was easily predictable – I was wrong. If you’re looking
for a serious flick to sate your thirst for horror this Ominous October, Mass
Hysteria might not be for you. If you are, however, looking for an
entertaining romp into the dangers of religious zeal paired with mob mentality
and dumb tourists; the shenanigans that ensue here would be a fun addition to
your Halloween viewing. If you have
access to Shudder, I encourage satire fans to check it out.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 5.2/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5 P.S. Short scene during the credits. Movie Trailer:
Movie Name/Year: Behemoth (2020) Genre: Horror Length: 88 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: ColourBleed Entertainment, Level
33 Entertainment, Première TV Distribution Director: Peter Sefchik Writer: Peter Sefchik, Derrick Ligas Actors: Josh Eisenberg, Paul Statman, Jennifer Chruchich, Richard Wagner,
Whitney Nielsen, Vadym Krasnenko, Nicole Krasnenko, Angela Nicholas, Hamilton
Matthews Blurb from IMDb: A desperate father will
risk anything, even his soul, to save his terminally ill daughter
Selina’s Point of View: When reviewing a
film like this, I feel it’s important to keep one fact in mind. Behemoth
was advertised not on the strength of its plot or acting, but on its low budget
– high quality CGI. That tells me that the creative team knows that this film
is a vehicle for the graphics, and not much else. That’s how it was
served to me, so that’s how I’m going to look at it. As predicted, the
acting is insincere and the plot is underdeveloped. (Though I did really enjoy the ending.) I’m going to ignore those aspects, though. The CGI was where
there was some serious promise. It wasn’t perfect.
There were some scenes where people got thrown and it looked like someone
tossed a Stretch Armstrong into the setting. There’s also a moment where a
horde of demons appears on screen and it looked like something from a 90s video
game.
That said, when
it did succeed – it was impressive. There were some demonic visuals that caused
me to whistle in appreciation. At one point, the audience got a look into hell
and that setting was just about flawless. There were also moments where the
real-world rippled into something else, and those moments were almost always
done phenomenally. For most of Behemoth,
I found myself shocked at how much the creative team managed to accomplish in a
$65,000, self-financed, indie film. There are B-movies that I love that don’t
hold a candle to this flick graphically. In that way, it is impressive. Instead of giving
Behemoth a score, I’m going to simply call it a pass. As a movie, Behemoth
is a failure. There’s no escaping that. It accomplished what it set out to do,
though. We now know what kind of quality can be accomplished on a tight budget
with enough talent. I believe, with a bit more money and better actors – this could
have been magical. Maybe the next
one will be.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 4.1/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – Pass Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
Production Companies:
Zapruder Films, XYZ Films, Kevin Smith Movie Club
Producer: Alison
Arnot, Matt Johnson, Step Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan, Jared Raab
Director: Matt
Johnson
Writer: Josh
Boles, Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Evan Morgan
Actors: Matt
Johnson, Owen Williams, Padraig Singal, Ross Hill, Krista Madison, Shailene
Garnett, Josh Boles, Brandon Wickens, Alen Delain, Paul Daniel Ayotte, Jordan
Foster, David Matheson, Jay McCarrol, Dan Fewings, Alison Arnot
Stunt Doubles: None
Languages
Speech Available:
English
Subtitles Available:
English
Blurb from Netflix:
Two film geeks make a movie about getting revenge on a group of bullies who
target them at school. Then they decide to take things a step further.
Selina’s Point of View:
Bullying is a subject that hits very close to home for me,
but this film bypassed the general stories about bullies and went a much more
violent route than I took. The Dirties
is a very gritty, honest look at the minds of teens on the wrong end of other
student’s puberty. It’s frightening and morbid… and relatable.
Clearly, I never shot up my school. That doesn’t mean I didn’t
fantasize about punching people in the face, it just means I never actually held
a gun to their heads. No. My response to the bullies that latched on to me, was
to stop going.
Starting in Junior High, I just… stopped.
It’s easy to judge the main characters of this story, or
kids lashing out in general, but there’s one simple fact that is very clearly
highlighted in this film. One person who cares. One person getting involved.
One person trying to help… can be the difference between life and death.
I’m not sympathizing with school shooters. I feel like I don’t
need to say anything about that because it’s obvious – that road is the wrong
one. What I’m saying is that sometimes, that end result could have been
prevented.
I’ve heard a lot of arguments against that thought. My
favorite one is, “why didn’t they just tell one of their teachers?” Another
version being: “if they’d told an adult, someone would have stepped in.” That’s
not always true. When it is true, it’s not always helpful.
Let me explain.
In Junior High School, I sat next to a horrible boy in
science class. I still remember his name clear as day and, over a decade later,
I still hate him to the core of my being. His name was Alex.
Every day I would sit next to him in class and every day he
would strike up conversation. For about a week, I took the bait. Five sentences
in, he would begin saying some the most rapey things to me that you could
possibly imagine. Even after I stopped taking the bait, he would continue on.
This went on for a month before I told my science teacher I wasn’t
comfortable sitting next to him.
My science teacher told me to get over it. I believe his
name was Mr. Katz. He was the least of my worries, though.
Since he wouldn’t listen to me, I told the next teacher I
saw on any given day – my Social Studies teacher, Mr. Orlando.
I don’t know what went through Mr. Orlando’s head when I
told him, in a whispered tone, the things that Alex was saying to me. I don’t
know if he didn’t believe me, or if he didn’t care… but instead of doing something
about it, he thought it would make an amazing lesson for the kids in class.
So he made a mock trial out of it.
Alex and I both got ‘lawyers’ (other kids in the class). We
called witnesses and we testified ourselves. I can’t remember if Mr. Orlando
was the judge or if one of the other kids in the class was chosen for the ‘part’.
I didn’t care, but not taking part wasn’t an option. He threatened to fail me.
I was humiliated. The stupid ‘trial’ went on for about a
week of classes and the majority of it is a blur at this time in my life. I still
remember some things very clearly, though.
The teacher made me testify in front of the whole class. As
a pre-teen, I felt incredibly uncomfortable telling ANYONE what Alex was saying
to me. Hell, as an adult that has since attended a porn convention, I still
feel uncomfortable. So, I didn’t say it out-loud. I said I couldn’t. The ‘lawyer’
that was acting for Alex made a big deal out of the fact that I couldn’t say
any of it out loud and, by the end of the trial, I had lost.
Not only had Mr. Orlando taken something humiliating and
degrading and amped it up to max, but I lost the bullshit trial and was forced
to continue sitting next to Alex for the rest of that Science class. I believed
every student in the school believed that I was a pervert liar. I felt
incredibly alone.
And then people wondered why I started cutting class.
I started cutting class because I wanted to die while I was
there. Every second that I spent in any classroom in that school made me want
to kill myself. I never trusted another authority figure again.
Anne Sullivan. P.S. 238. I’m convinced that if there is a
hell, that place would be it. I’m not even sure I’d categorize the Mr. Orlando
bullshit as the worst of what happened to me there.
People watch films like The
Dirties and they doubt that things could get that bad. They doubt that
teachers could be so oblivious. They doubt that friends could stay silent
instead of turning people in or getting help. I promise you that movies like
this are not stretching the truth. Bullies can destroy lives, even at that age.
I often wonder where I would be if things like that hadn’t happened to me back
then. If the people I thought I could count on had gotten me help.
There was one person during JHS that actually tried to help
me near the end… but things only really got better much later on in my life.
The Dirties didn’t
sugar coat things. I think that’s incredibly important in a film like this.
It was, however, full of cringe, which I don’t really do
well with, even though it drove home the point of the film. It showed the signs
as other people should have seen them. It showed the downward spiral. It showed
the switch from internalizing to externalizing so well that you could almost
pin-point the moment when it happened.
It was a first film for many of the people involved and,
keeping that in mind, it was a very good start for them. The writers and the
director have a great deal of potential in them. I was particularly fond of the
open ending. I’ve mentioned in the past that I really enjoy films that have an
ending that allow people to debate over what happened.
Hell, I’m still arguing with my friend Kris over what
happened at the end of In Bruges
(2008).
I would definitely recommend this film and - if you do watch it - pay attention.
Cat’s Point of View:
I’m going to be blunt here. I hated this movie. Here’s where
it gets tricky – the hate isn’t a bad thing.
Matt Johnson (Diamond
Tongue, How Heavy This Hammer, Operation Avalanche), whom wrote, directed,
and starred in the movie, took a serious risk here. The movie had ‘hot-button’
and ‘trigger warning’ all over it.
As a debut movie from someone fresh out of film school, it’s
not too shabby. Hell, it got the attention of Kevin Smith (Cop Out, Red State, Tusk) whom became a distributor and champion of
this little film that could. It was discovered after winning a film festival
prize, and Smith came aboard with his Kevin Smith Movie Club project.
Smith has touted this film as something important to watch.
Now that I have, I don’t see myself ever doing it again.
I remember clearly the day Columbine happened. I know where
I was, and what I was doing. I was at work and on the phone with a customer
when a streaming news service ticker went across my monitor describing the
situation in progress. It’s one of those things you just don’t forget. It’s
worrisome to me that I don’t have the same visceral memory for Sandy Hook. It
makes me begin to question how desensitized I am.
There’s a real issue that this
pokes at. School bullying is an age-old problem. I was bullied quite a bit when
I was younger. I had a funny name, red hair, glasses, and freckles. Later, it
was that I read a lot or it was my weight as eating my feelings had become just
as much an escape for me as the books I disappeared into were. Sometimes it was
as simple as others not willing to move beyond the stupid mistakes of youth.
Music is what saved me from the spiral I could have so easily fallen into – but
that’s a story for another time.
Needless to say, the issues spotlighted by this movie
resonated with me – uncomfortably so. I wanted to turn it off. I felt squirmy.
I feel I must tip my hat to this movie, in spite of my
abhorrence, for its boldness and the relatively smooth camera work. This was
supposed to be a found-footage sort of project. It did not, however, suffer
from obnoxious levels of shaky-cam. All of my squirminess came from the movie,
itself – and not motion sickness.
Alas, as I generally base my score on my enjoyment of the
movie – it is going to be rather low. It would really depend on the potential
audience as to whether I would recommend it to others or not.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 79%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 74%
Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 3/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 5/5
Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score
– 2/5
The Random Rating:
R
P.S. There are
some images during the beginning of the credits.
Actors: Don
Bridges, Cris Cochrane, Tegan Crowley, Liza Dennis, Steven Jianai, Scott
Marcus, Sarah Ranken, Benjamin Rigby, Nicholas Stribakos
Stunt Doubles: N/A
Languages
Speech Available:
English, Spanish
Subtitles Available:
English
Blurb from Netflix:
In a post-apocalyptic world, a woman makes her way across Australia seeking
refuge from a deadly plague and those who’ve survived it.
Selina’s Point of View:
This movie was just all over the place. The characters weren’t
relatable or likable. The plot was so chaotic that they obviously couldn’t
choose one direction to go so they went all directions at once.
On top of that, the only acting I believed was for the one
character that annoyed me the absolute most.
I love zombies. I love zombie flicks. I even love B/Indie
zombie flicks. This one was… not good. Coming from me that’s saying something.
I’ve liked some weird-ass zom films in the past that others just couldn’t
stand.
Worst of all, Plague
was dreadfully boring on top of being bad.
I would absolutely not recommend this to anyone for any
reason.
Cat’s Point of View:
I’m a sucker for apocalypse movies, so the fact that this
particular film was a relatively unknown title from a shiny new director and
had a relatively unknown cast was not a daunting prospect. Given, I didn’t have
any giant expectations going in –but hey, it was set in Australia and I’m a
sucker for accents, too.
Let’s get into the nuts and bolts here.
I appreciated that they didn’t waste too much time setting
the premise. There weren’t a lot of bells and whistles here, but that was a
good thing. I think it would have detracted from the story. I know this isn’t
the most original theme, and it’s right there in with the genre recipe.
What makes this movie more entertaining was the sheer grit
of it in focusing not on the title ‘plague,’ but keeping that as setting
material that revolved around the story of people struggling with how to act
with the world turned upside-down. Where does morality and humanity factor into
survival?
I was really impressed with Tegan Crowley’s (Stranded, Chimera, Lion) performance. I
believed every second of her emotional journey. She grabbed me and yanked me
along on her rollercoaster – even through some of her situations that were a
bit triggery for me.
This was a solid offering, even though I likely wouldn’t
watch it again. I wouldn’t steer anyone away from it.
Actors: Daniel
Candia, Alejandra Yañez, Daniel Antivilo, Ariel Mateluna, Jennifer Salas, Don
Willie, Paula Leoncini, Daniel Urrutia, Eduardo Villalobos, Sol Banoviez
Stunt Doubles: N/A
Languages
Speech Available:
Spanish
Subtitles Available:
English, Spanish
Blurb from Netflix:
The thugs that have taken over Jorge’s middle-class neighborhood push the
mild-mannered family man to the brink when they mug him and shoot his son.
Selina’s Point of View:
This movie was a very poor start to our new Foreign Film
Fridays. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure whatever the festivals saw in this movie
was very educational and technically sound but that doesn’t mean a damn thing
for entertainment value.
Where entertainment value is concerned, there was none.
I was literally bored to tears. You know when you have those
yawning attacks that start to make your eyes watery? Yeah.
I get what the creators were trying to do with the lack of
sound during certain scenes, but it didn’t succeed. Instead of forcing a
feeling of suspense, it just made me lose focus and become less interested in
what was going on.
There’s are plenty of true stories out there that make
phenomenal movies, but this isn’t one of them. Just because something really
happened, doesn’t mean there’s enough interest there to keep people watching.
This is a film that could have benefited from being a short instead
of a feature. I definitely wouldn’t watch it again.
Cat’s Point of View:
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this movie.
I think the very beginning of the film prior to the title is
a good indicator for the rest of the film – slow and drawn out with dramatic
music.
I ended up feeling really squirmy and antsy during this
movie because I was bored out of my mind; but I couldn’t look away to fidget or
I’d miss what was going on.
I’m not sure that this really falls into the ‘thriller’
genre. It does fall squarely into the crime drama zone. Unfortunately, it
wasn’t the sort of drama that I enjoy.
The movie claims to be based on a true story. While I can
respect that, and conditions in the depicted area of the world aren’t as
fortunate as where I call home; I don’t generally choose to watch movies that
leave such a bleak feeling in their wake.
Not only was I not entertained, I failed to feel a profound
impact from the story that would make the time spent with this drama more
worthwhile.
