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Movie Name/Year: Cram (2023) Genre: Fantasy, Horror Length: 44 min Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Terror Films, Radical
Rhinoceros Pictures Director: Abie Sidell Actors: John Dimino, Brandon E. Burton, Rolando Chusan Blurb from IMDb: We all do what we gotta do
to pass - except Marc. Desperate to somehow finish his final final paper, he
struggles to cram all night in the library. But the library has other plans for
him.
Selina’s Point of View: The trailer for Cram
did nothing to portray just how surreal it was. I expected a somewhat basic
horror story with a supernatural twist. That’s not at all what it was. Cram
was a fever dream
allegory. What message it was portraying, however, is up for interpretation. I
have two thoughts, but I think most everyone could get something different out
of it. For instance, I see
the monstrous parts of the film as representing the predatory practices of universities.
As a graduate, myself, I’m aware of those practices. Not the least of which
involves a debt that I’ll be drowning in until I’m old and grey. I feel like
that’s one of the more obvious representations, though. Most people watching Cram
will likely see some form of that. A more personal
message I saw had to do with ADHD. I think that anyone struggling to understand
a loved one who suffers from executive dysfunction, as a result of ADHD, should
watch Cram. There were parts of it that felt so close to what executive
dysfunction is like, that I felt almost uncomfortable watching it. It was as if
I could see the most private parts of my brain splashed across the screen in a
horrific way.
Despite how
uncomfortable it was to watch, I’m thankful for it. Even if it wasn’t the writer/directors
initial meaning. Just having that portrayed makes me feel seen. Cram is more of a short film. It sits at 44-minutes
long and feels shorter. We don’t tend to review short films, but we both felt a
connection to the trailer, so we made an exception. I’m glad we did. The acting,
writing, and cinematography was of a much higher quality than I expected. I’d love to see director
Abie Sidell get the chance to create a full-length version of Cram. I
would absolutely see that in theaters. Cram
will be available
on digital, and on demand, March 17.
Cat’s Point of View: I was fascinated
with Cram when we first saw the trailer. I had so many questions - did
the main character get high while trying to write their paper or did the
pressure of the last-minute efforts cause a mental break? Did they simply fall
asleep while working and have a crazy dream? To tell you the
truth, now that I’ve watched this short film, I’m not sure I got any of the
answers I was looking for – but I did enjoy the journey all the same. I could relate to
Marc on a visceral level. I felt the stress of the down-to-the-wire paper
writing. I often found myself in that position throughout my school career. Of
course, I had no idea that part of my issue was due to ADHD at that time. I
didn’t even realize that could even be a thing for me until a few years ago, as
an adult. Usually, I was able to rally and cobble something together that
worked - but there were a couple occasions when it was a lost cause.
Without diving
down that rabbit hole further, it was easy to put myself in the character’s
shoes. Further, libraries can be spooky when you’re alone in them – even if
it’s just the section you’re working in. When you add something potentially
paranormal on top of that, it’s a good recipe. Cram was a trippy experience that covered
a lot of ground in its short timeframe. I appreciated that the production team
built suspense and thrills without utilizing jump scares around every corner. There were a few odd
moments, but it didn’t turn me off of the film as a whole. I found Cram
enjoyably interesting and would be glad to recommend it to anyone looking for
just shy of 45-minutes of a spooky good time.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score –None Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 4/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
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: Knocking (2021) Genre: Thriller Length: 78 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Läsk, Sveriges Television
(SVT), Swedish Film Institute, Yellow Veil Pictures Director: Frida Kempff Writer: Emma Broström, Johan Theorin Actors: Cecilia Milocco, Albin Grenholm, Ville Virtanen, Krister
Kern, Alexander Salzberger, Charlotta Åkerblom Blurb from IMDb: A woman leaves a
psychiatric ward after a nervous breakdown, only to start hearing mysterious
knocking sounds in her apartment. Selina’s Point of View: The answer to whether
or not I liked Knocking is a bit complicated. I first heard
about this flick long before the emergence of the trailer and I was enamored
with the plot. As someone who has serious issues with certain sounds, I know
that something based around a sound one can’t control can get pretty harrowing.
I was expecting a deep psychological thriller. The psychological
thriller part was on point, but it was also a social commentary and a VERY slow
burn. I’ve called movies
slow burns before, but this one took that term to the extreme. Knocking is relatively short for a full-length
feature film, sitting at just over an hour long. Whenever you have a project
that compact, you expect it’s impossible to be slow. In this case, the story
seemed as thought it was still stretched to meet the runtime. Things didn’t start
to get even mildly interesting until about 35 minutes in. Even then it was only
mildly. If I’m honest, I
didn’t start to really enjoy it until about an hour in.
That’s a problem
in a film this short. Once things
picked up, the social commentary was very in-your-face. I didn’t hate it,
though. The message was an important one. Following that,
was a pretty decent ending. A lot of the
time, a good ending can save an otherwise boring film. In this case, I’m not so
sure the good parts outweigh how long it took to get there. I find that I
didn’t hate Knocking. I definitely wouldn’t watch it again, though. I
think it all depends on how tolerant you are of an exceptionally slow build up. If you want to
see for yourself, Yellow Veil Pictures will be releasing Knocking in
theaters on October 8th, and on-demand October 19th.
Cat’s Point of View:
I find myself feeling rather ill at ease, following the
credits for Knocking. It’s
a sensation of frustration, sadness, and uncomfortable empathy that continues
to haunt me. Knocking isn’t
going to be for everyone. If you’re looking for gore and fast-paced thrills,
this is not the place to find it. This movie, however, is a slow psychological
burn. I have so many questions even after Knocking’s
conclusion. I’m just going to have to squash my curiosity, though. This isn’t
the sort of film that gets a sequel. Cecilia Milocco (Involuntary,
The Circle, Shop) is bloody brilliant in her role as Molly. Knocking is a production of little
dialogue. Most of what is going on is focused on Molly and her own inner
struggles. It’s just her and her environment the majority of the time. Milocco
pretty much gives a master class on carrying such a scene. I’m buying every bit
of what she’s sellng on screen. While I understand the need for the pacing in Knocking, it is almost painfully slow
for me. I had to have something to fidget with in each hand to keep from
reaching for my phone. I can’t say that would be the same for everyone. My ADHD
plays a significant part with that. My experience is a bit meta, the more I
think about it. Here I am struggling with my own mental issue during a movie
about a woman trying to get her life back together after a mental breakdown.
There is only one segment of Knocking that could be seen as a negative. It’s a short sequence that transcends the term ‘shaky-cam’ and goes right into disorienting. I get it, though. It’s likely there to highlight Molly’s feelings of bewilderment, fear, and frustration in the moment. It is very effective -- just not my cup of tea. That being said, Knocking joins the modern cinema movement to shine a light on mental illness and both raise awareness and fight the social stigma that remains today. As a society, we’ve come a long way from locking mentally ill and neurodivergent people in secret rooms or shipping them off to sanitariums. We still have a bit further to go in understanding our fellow people that are simply wired differently. Knocking illustrates that bit of social commentary as well as the compounded situation of a woman fighting to be taken seriously as those around her plainly write her off as ‘hysterical.’ If you enjoy psychological twists and turns with a side of mystery, Knocking might just be the right ominous addition to your October viewing. Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.1/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
PG-13 Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: An Unquiet Grave (2021) Genre: Horror Length: 72 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Unquiet Films, Shudder Director: Terence Krey Writer: Terence Krey, Christine Nyland Actors: Christine Nyland, Jacob A. Ware Blurb from IMDb: A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back.
Selina’s Point of View: An
Unquiet Grave
was fine, but absolutely not for me. This film covered
grief. There are a lot of places to take a subject like that. Many well-loved
horrors delve deep into grief: The Babadook (2014), Pet Semetary
(1989/2019), and Midsommar (2019) are only the immediate 3 that pop into
my mind. That’s without giving it more than a few seconds of thought. Each of the films
I mentioned have incredible staying power. They claw their nails into your mind
and refuse to let go. Even if you didn’t like them on first watch-through (or
at all), they still become movies that pop into your mind whenever grief comes
into play. I don’t see An
Unquiet Grave being that. It wasn’t a bad film – but it was so slow that
paying attention became impossible. All the ‘big
reveals’ were not big or reveals. They were obvious turns. In fact, there was
no part of me that saw the story going any other way.
The settings were
suitably creepy. The acting was good. Even the scripted tended to feel natural.
For all intents and purposes, this should be an amazing flick. I was just so
bored that I can’t say that. Right now, the
majority of critics are loving it. It’s got great preliminary reviews. I
predict that general audiences are not going to take to it as well. It’s art. There’s
not doubt about that. It’s just not what I’m looking for in a horror film. It
didn’t capture my attention, and it didn’t scare me. If you want to
see for yourself, An Unquiet Grave will be available through Shudder on
June 24.
Cat’s Point of View: I have one thing
to say in the wake of the credits for An Unquiet Grave: oi. Let me back up a
little bit. I am always excited when we get a chance to watch a screener for
Shudder. It’s really hit or miss whether or not we’ll enjoy the movies, but I always
enjoy giving them a watch There are some
times, however, that you just have to question why a movie was even made. Today
felt like one of those moments as I watched the narrative of An Unquiet
Grave unfold. Within minutes, I had a general idea about what was going on.
I predicted exactly how it was going to turn out before reaching the halfway
point.
I was bored and
nothing transpiring on-screen engrossed me well enough to allow me to suspend
disbelief. Let’s be clear,
though – it wasn’t a dumpster fire. It was simply ‘meh.’ The acting was
generally tolerable, at least. The story didn’t call for much more than low-fi
practical effects so there wasn’t anything askew there for the most part,
either. An Unquiet Grave was simply basic and predictable. There are so many
better options on the Shudder streaming platform than An Unquiet Grave.
I’d recommend seeking one of those rather than wasting an hour or so of your
day.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 87% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 6.3/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5 Trust-the-Dice’s
Parental Advisory Rating:
R Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: The Amusement Park (1973/2021) Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller Length: 52 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Laurel Tape & Film,
Lutheran Film Division, Potemkine Films, Shudder Director: George A. Romero Writer: Wally Cook Actors: Lincoln Maazel, Harry Albacker, Phyllis Casterwiler, Pete
Chovan, Marion Cook, Sally Erwin, Michael Gornick, Jack Gottlob, Halem Joseph,
Bob Koppler, Sarah Kurtz, Aleen Palmer, Georgia Palmer, Arthur Schwerin, Bill
Siebart, Gabriel Verbick Blurb from IMDb: An elderly gentleman goes
for what he assumes will be an ordinary day at the amusement park, only to find
himself in the middle of a hellish nightmare instead.
Selina’s Point of View: If you are one of
those people who is known to say, “they just don’t make horror films the way
they used to” – then I have good news. The Amusement Park is a new old
film. I don’t mean that in a hypothetical way. The
Amusement Park
is a lost George A. Romero (The Crazies, Night of the Living Dead, Creepshow)
flick that was filmed in 1973. It was found in 2018 and restored. That means
that this old film, is completely new. In this movie,
Romero was trying to highlight the discrimination and abuse that elders face,
despite the fact that the majority of us will eventually be a part of that
group. He utilized an amusement park as a way to show how people treat the oldest
generation and hypothesized that it’s because of our fear. Not just our fear of
death, but our fear of being in their shoes. It’s a heavy
subject, and one that a newer film might have glossed over with significant
gore and visual effects – but that would have altered the message. It might
have separated it further from reality and made it all easier to swallow. In
this presentation it’s raw and anxiety inducing. Without the
Hollywood beautification treatment, we’re left with the bare bones of a
mockumentary/drama. We see a man entering his elderly years with hope, then quickly
learning exactly why he was warned against that. We watch people steal from
him, ignore him, treat him like a freak, and attempt to scam him. If this had been
released in the 1970s, it would have had the same kind of high ratings it will
have now – but there’d be one difference. The knowledge
that the subject still holds water 50 years later, would be lost on us.
Everything shown
in the film is recognizable today. The images and sounds may be distinctly
1970s, but the ideas translate through time. We all make fun
of those prank calls where someone tells us our computer is infected, or that
they’re trying to contact us about our car’s extended warranty – but those
calls aren’t directed at the majority of the population. They are looking for
elderly people who don’t understand technology – or current-day business
practices – so they can drain them for everything they’re worth. Recent movies
like I Care a Lot (2021) touch on subjects like this. It’s a problem
that has stretched through, at the very least, a half-century (likely longer). I believe Romero
was looking to force his audience to face the atrocities he outlined in The
Amusement Park, and I think he succeeded. So much of it was an incredible
sensory overload of anxiety and existential dread… and he did it without any of
the horror tropes or visuals that we are used to. There was nowhere to seek comfort.
No safe scenes. It’s not a movie
that’s going to be for everyone, but it’s still horrifyingly effective. The
Amusement Park
will be available for streaming by Shudder on June 8.
Cat’s Point of View:
When you hear the name George A. Romero, the thoughts that
follow generally flash to classic horror movies featuring zombies. Romero is
fairly synonymous with the horror genre, in general. With that in mind, when
you tell someone that a lost Romero film has been found and remastered for
release, it might just spark a tingly feeling of anticipation – well, at least
it did for me. The Amusement Park
wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. There are minimal amounts of blood. There
aren’t any shambling zombies – at least, not by the genre’s modern definition. The
horror here was very real all the same. This movie just unabashedly smacks you
in the face that time is ticking, and one day death will come for us all. The Amusement Park also draws an
effective parallel to remind us that life can be a circus or a rollercoaster at
times, and there are swindling carnival barkers around every corner.
Even though I was warned going in that this would be a
psychological horror movie and disturbing at a deep and visceral level, I still
underestimated how profoundly it would impact me.
One of my deepest fears is reaching a point that I am trapped
in my own head with the world going on around me without a chance for me to
interact or communicate. While that wasn’t exactly the case here, it wasn’t
that far a reach to envision that sort of situation. I am left rattled in the wake of the credits. The Amusement Park
was quite obviously filmed many years ago, and yet the flaws in society that
the film brought to light are no better today than at the time of filming. It’s
sad that all of our ‘modern advances’ in the decades that have passed have not
created a better environment for the aging members of our population. The
divide between the haves and have-nots and that created by racial bias is
pretty much just as great now as then. Those that are affluent are afforded
more care and consideration than those that lack such resources. I could get on a soapbox and rattle on about this for days.
I’ll spare you. The point is that The
Amusement Park wasn’t merely meant to be a horror movie – it is also a call
to action. It’s meant to make everyone think and put themselves in the
protagonist’s shoes.
I don’t think I’d be able to recommend The Amusement Park enough. Change doesn’t happen from sitting idly
by. Hopefully, this movie will spur change – of course, I’m an eternal optimist
and so I can only hope for the best here. At the very least, Romero's movie forces us to consider our humanity in a very stark and unflinching manner. Perhaps the true horror here is that we, as a society, seem to be caught in a vicious loop to continue this pattern...and without change, what fate awaits us all?
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 91% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 7.1/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5 Movie Trailer:
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Slaxx (2021) Genre: Comedy, Horror Length: 77 minutes Rating: TV-MA Production/Distribution: EMA Films, Entertainment
Squad, The Horror Collective, Filmoption International Director: Elza Kephart Writer: Elza Kephart, Patricia Gomez Actors: Romane Denis, Brett Donahue, Sehar Bhojani, Kenny Wong,
Tianna Nori, Jessica B. Hill, Erica Anderson, Hanneke Talbot, Stephen Bogaert,
Jonathan Emond, Elizabeth Neale, Aris Tyros, Pritha Mazumdar Blurb from IMDb: When a possessed pair of
jeans begins to kill the staff of a trendy clothing store, it is up to Libby,
an idealistic young salesclerk, to stop its bloody rampage.
Selina’s Point of View: I have been
looking forward to Slaxx since the moment I heard it was coming out. As
soon as we had access to the screener, I snapped it right up. A film like this will
always be unique. Whether it turns out to have a weird-as-hell (almost surreal)
story, like in Rubber (2010); a terrifying classic source, like in Christine
(1983); or a plot so awful it’s laughable, like in Death Bed: The Bed That
Eats (1977) – there’s never a reason to feel like watching was time wasted. Killer inanimate
objects are just put out so infrequently that the tropes utilized are less
known and they wind up feeling less overdone. Movies about creepy
dolls can technically be included in the whole ‘inanimate object’ sub-genre,
but I don’t like to compare the two. Creepy dolls are their own thing. One thing most deadly
object films have in common is that they’re ridiculous. Every single one of
them requires a huge suspension of disbelief. In fact, most of them don’t take
the serious route at all, even if they have something to say. So, that’s what I
figured Slaxx would be. In the beginning,
it seemed to meet my expectations. It was silly, bloody, and completely
bonkers. What immediately caught me off guard, though, was the production quality.
I wasn’t expecting the quality to be as high as it was, and I remember thinking
it was strange for something from this sub-genre.
Three quarters of
the way through, I found out why. It turned into a
real movie, with something to say, and I was not prepared. Whatever
goofiness was attached to the idea of killer pants melted away into a scathing
review of retail and corrupt business practices. It got seriously bleak… and
the ending was no where near what I thought it would be. Slaxx
was good. Not
just for its sub-genre, but for a horror film in general. As much as I was
looking forward to seeing it, that’s not how I thought it would go. It was brilliant. See it for yourself
on Shudder March 18. If you don’t have
a subscription, now’s the time to get one. Slaxx is a must-see.
Cat’s Point of View: I have to giggle
when I say out loud that I have watched a movie about killer pants – the
murderous variety rather than red hot fashion. The entire premise for this
horror movie is hilarious. Dare you to say it with a straight face. “These
jeans are to die for.” (I’m not sorry.) Corny humor
aside, I went into this movie with an open mind, as I mentioned in this month’s
Top 20 article. I expected a ludicrous premise and campy horror tropes
everywhere. I anticipated a ‘so bad it’s good’ sort of experience. What I got was
something unexpectedly different. Slaxx gives its audience a peek into retail
store hell. I think anyone that’s worked in clothing retail will appreciate
this film on a whole other level. I haven’t, personally, worked in a store like
the one in the movie but I have had enough friends vent to me about their
experiences that I felt I could relate.
I really enjoyed
the build-up here. There’s some blood and gore, but it’s not gratuitous and the
film draws you in and immerses you in the story before things go haywire. This
is something I thought I’d never say about possessed pants going psycho. There’s an actual
story here and a meaning behind it. It didn’t feel contrived or hokey, either.
I mean… what? Further, the
production value was actually pretty good. The store set was amazing and the
‘behind closed doors’ warren of halls in the back felt really authentic.
Nothing felt super cheesy or shoestring budget. Even the effects for the pants
were well done – I mean… for animated pants. I wasn’t expecting
the ending. I thought it was quite fitting, however. (Pun intended.) Kudos once more
to Shudder for this gem. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think Slaxx
has made it onto my list of favorite horror comedies. I wouldn’t hesitate to
recommend it to anyone that enjoys the genre.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 100% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic User Score – None IMDB Score – 5.0/10 Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5 Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5 P.S. Some scenes during the credits, and
one after-credits. Movie Trailer:
Blurb
from IMDb: Comedian
and "Saturday Night Live" writer Sam Jay serves up fresh takes on
relationships, travel nightmares, the audacity of white people and more.
Selina’s
Point of View:
I’m of two minds
with this comedy special.
Sam Jay (Saturday
Night Live, Donald Glover Presents, The Comedy Lineup) is new to me. I’ve
never heard of her before. That said, I’m always down to watch a comedian that
I’m unfamiliar with. I love to hear different perspectives and I love to laugh.
Hell, I started liking my husband because he’s a funny guy. Comedy is just always
worth a shot.
One of the things
that Sam Jay definitely had going for her was a perspective that isn’t normally
examined in specials like this one. At least, not in any that I’ve ever seen.
That means that a lot of her jokes felt fresh. Some of them touched on stuff
that’s been joked about quite a bit, but from an angle I’ve never considered
before. I’d have said the special was worth watching just because of that.
On a similar
note, a lot of her stories were hilarious. There were a few times where she had
me genuinely laughing out loud. Often, because she caught me off guard with a
punchline. At least once I found myself declaring that I was definitely going
to hell for laughing at a particular joke.
I’ve always liked
dark humor based off social issues. Dark humor is my thing.
My biggest issue
with Jay’s humor is that she often held onto a bit for a little to long. The
joke would start to wear out its welcome.
Sure, most comics
will repeat a line here or there for some extra laughs, or revisit a subject
later on down the line in order to come at it from a different angle. That’s
fine. I don’t have a problem with it. Sam Jay didn’t leave it at that, though.
She would repeat certain stories, or jokes, without putting a new spin on them,
so many times that – even if they were funny to begin with – they weren’t by
the time she was done.
It became
annoying. In fact, it wound up getting so annoying that when she revisited the
topics later in her special, with a new context, it still wasn’t funny anymore.
There’s a balance
that needs to be maintained when a comic uses repetition in their set. They
need to use it just enough to get the extra laughs, without making the audience
feel like she thinks the only way to make people understand it is to beat the
subject into the ground. There were times when she did not have that balance.
Even with the
faults, I think I’ll still seek out her future specials.
Cat’s
Point of View:
I’ve come to a
realization regarding Netflix comedy specials. They’re like that proverbial box
of chocolates where you never know what you’re going to get. Of course, unlike
me, you could watch the trailer.
I try to avoid
stand-up trailers out of concern that they’ll show the best bits and take the
surprise out of the moment.
While the trailer
for this special does reveal one of the good bits, it stays with a condensed
portion of that single premise rather than showing multiple items from the comedian’s
set.
I found Sam
Jay: 3 in the Morning amusing. Some of the segments were less so than
others for me, but comedy is really a subjective thing. Something I find
hilarious might actually rub someone else the wrong way. I found the material
relatable for the most part. The bits including, and connected to, the one
shown in the trailer were my favorites.
Overall, what it
boils down to is that I just wasn’t laughing aloud. I chuckled here and there,
but there were no side-splitting oxygen-deprived moments that you hope for with
something that’s supposed to be funny. My lackluster reaction could also be
attributed to tiredness.
All told, I’m not
sure that I’d go out of my way to recommend this special to anyone. However, if
asked about Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning, I wouldn’t steer anyone away.
Those who don’t enjoy humor laced with sexual content and expletives might give
this one a pass.
