"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: Skinwalker: The Howl of the
Rougarou (2021) Genre: Documentary Length: 70 minutes Rating: Unrated Director: Seth Breedlove Writer: Heather Moser, Seth Breedlove Actors: Lyle Blackburn, Santino Vitale, Amy Davies, Grayden Nance,
Adrienne Breedlove Blurb: For centuries, stories have persisted throughout the
southern swamps of something truly otherworldly: a terrifying, hirsute creature
known by locals as the Rougarou. These legends predate the first immigrant
settlers who made their way into the murky waters and dark forests of the
south, yet the Rougarou has only recently made its way into pop culture via
appearances in horror films, a regional festival and even a roller coaster
ride.
Selina’s Point of View: Any of our
consistent readers know that I’m not a documentary person. I watch movies for
entertainment value. If I want to learn about something, I prefer to pick up a
book. So, why would I voluntarily choose a film like Skinwalker: The Howl of
the Rougarou?
My interest in
all things werewolf simply outweighs my distaste for documentaries. Between
that and Cat’s interest in a subject that affects her home state of Louisiana –
watching this was always in the cards. I’ve opted not to
give it a number score, though Cat will be reviewing it normally. I’m going to
operate on a pass/fail kind of mentality. A number score coming from me just
wouldn’t be fair to the project. It would be like a vegetarian judging a piece of
steak. That said, let’s
jump into it. It wasn’t what I
expected it to be.
From the promotional
info, I thought the documentary would be laying out an argument on the
existence of the Rougarou. Instead, it was almost an anthropological look at
the importance, and cultural impact, of the stories that have been told. I have
to say, that actually worked out better for me. I’m from NYC –
home of the eternal skeptic. It would have been a hard sell to get me to believe
in any kind of Rougarou reality. The fact that the documentary didn’t even try
to go that route, meant that I wound up much more engaged than I would have
been. Instead, there
were interesting stories told about Louisiana and its people, the etymology of
the Rougarou word, history of the legend, and some engaging visuals that went
hand-in-hand with recreations. I also couldn’t ignore that the voice of the
narrator reminded me of the Natural History Museum and some of its exhibits. Would I choose to
watch Skinwalker: The Howl of the Rougarou again? No. It didn’t change
my opinion of documentaries. Would I recommend it to people who DO like the
genre? That I would. If you’re
interested in learning more about the Louisiana cryptid known as the Rougarou,
you will be able to rent/purchase Skinwalker: The Howl of the Rougarou on
most streaming platforms Sept 14th.
Cat’s Point of View: We’re stepping a
little bit outside of our usual box with today’s review. We were given the
opportunity to view a screener for an upcoming documentary focusing on a bit of
lore from my home state of Louisiana. I realize that anyone familiar with our
monthly trailer-viewing stream, which preps for our Top 20 Movies article, will
likely be a bit surprised. We don’t generally cover documentaries unless they
really grab our attention. Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou did just
that. Rougarou are
creatures of folklore primarily in South Louisiana, where swamps, bayous, and
marshland abound. They’re akin to werewolves but with a twist. I have lived all
but one year of my life within the state of Louisiana, yet I’d really only
heard of the Rougarou in passing. This particular cryptid doesn’t make
appearances up here in the northern part of the state where I am. You find
tales and sightings far down at the other end of ‘the boot’. We’re talking
rural areas, at the level of New Orleans or below. All the same, I’m
absolutely fascinated with this sort of thing and am down for learning more
about it, so this documentary checks all the boxes. Now to the
nitty-gritty. I’d have to say
that this was a fairly solid offering for the documentary genre. I could have
done without some of the shaky-cam swamp scenes used as transitions or the
filters used to create an old-timey film reel visual. It didn’t really need
those extra bells and whistles.
I consider a
documentary a success if you learn something from it, or it calls attention to
something that needs more awareness. Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou
did both. We’re offered
some history on both the Cajun people’s arrival in southern Louisiana and also
the Native American tribes of that area. I learned about some things that my
school classes on Louisiana History didn’t cover. That’s always a bonus. There are often
unexplained sightings attributed to this elusive cryptid, as well.
Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou gives us some tales of harrowing
encounters with the beast via witness interviews. Of course, there’s a
historian’s perspective provided also. I found listening to the tales
fascinating. My maternal grandmother’s family comes from South Louisiana and
some of the people interviewed had accents that reminded me of listening to my
great aunt when she came to visit. I appreciate that
members of our Native American tribes and their stories were represented, as
well. One of the most
important features of the Skinwalker: Howl of the Rougarou documentary
is the attention it brings to the coastal land erosion in southern Louisiana.
Every year, swaths of Louisiana simply erode away to be lost to the Gulf of
Mexico. Saltwater intrusion creeps in and decimates freshwater ecosystems. As
sea levels rise, this is something that will only worsen in the future. All told, Skinwalker:
Howl of the Rougarou is a nice slice of Louisiana folklore with a generous
helping of environmental awareness.
Streaming Services: Shudder Movie Name/Year: Teddy (2021) Genre: Horror Length: 88 minutes Rating: Unrated Production/Distribution: Shudder, Baxter Films, Les Films Velvet, The Jokers,
Canal+, Ciné+, WTFilms, Indéfilms 8, SofiTVciné 7, Région
Occitanie/Pyrénées-Méditerranée, Centre national du cinéma et de l'image
animée, Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision, Cine Canibal Directors: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran
Boukherma Writers: Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran
Boukherma Actors: Anthony Bajon, Christine
Gautier, Ludovic Torrent, Guillaume Mattera, Jean-Michel Ricart, Alain Boitel,
Noémie Lvovsky Blurb from IMDb: In a rural French town, twenty-something Teddy
is scratched by an unknown beast and slowly undergoes frightening changes.
Cat’s Point of View:
At this moment, I’m finding it hard to put my feelings about
Teddy into words. I’m conflicted. Let’s rewind a little bit. When Selina and I watched the trailer for Teddy, prior to putting our respective
Top 20 lists together, I gave this a 4.5
out of 5 rating reflecting my desire to watch the film. I noted that it looked
like a fun dark comedy coming-of-age tale focusing on the titular young spa
employee. Teddy landed at #13 on my
personal Top 20, while Selina was a bit less optimistic – listing the movie as
#19 on hers. Now that the credits have rolled, I find myself leaning more
in her direction.
Teddy wasn’t
horrible, don’t get me wrong. I just feel like there was a lot of buildup
throughout the production and too little payoff.
Events begin oddly. Unfortunately, Teddy only
builds momentum with its awkwardness rather than offering relief through story
satisfaction. I imagine that it’s a hard and awkward life to be the
village black sheep in such a tiny community as shown in Teddy. The production went full bore on those elements, however,
and teased the wolf more than I would have liked. I’m not sure if Teddy suffered from low budget woes
resulting in some of those decisions, or if the odd and drawn-out process was
purposeful. Each part was acted well. I just couldn’t seem to invest in
any of the characters.
Where was my werewolf?! I think that’s my biggest
frustration with Teddy. I didn’t even get the dry dark comedy I was
looking forward to. I had a couple chuckles, but Teddy took itself more seriously than I felt it should have. I’m not sure that I would actively steer anyone away from Teddy, but I doubt I’d offer the
title up if asked for recommendations. Be that as it may, you can watch Teddy and judge for yourself starting Thursday, August 5th on Shudder.
Rotten
Tomatoes Critic Score – None Rotten
Tomatoes Audience Score – None Metascore – None Metacritic
User Score – None IMDB
Score – 6.3/10 Trust
the Dice: Parental Advisory Rating – R Trust
the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2.5/5 Movie Trailer:
Production/Distribution: Paper Street Pictures,
Shudder
Director: Courtney Andujar, Hillary
Andujar, Anthony Cousins, Emily Hagins, Aaron B. Koontz, Chris McInroy, Noah
Segan, Baron Vaughn
Writer: Courtney Andujar, Hillary
Andujar, Cameron Burns, Anthony Cousins, Ben Fee, Frank Garcia-Hejl, Emily
Hagins, John Karsko, Aaron B. Koontz, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan, Baron Vaughn
Actors: Jeremy King, Noah Segan,
Toni Trucks, Chase Williamson, Baron Vaughn, Zoe Graham, Byron Brown, Chelsey
Grant, Luxy Banner, Josephine McAdam, Aaron D. Alexander, John Bloom, Allan McLeod,
Jocelyn DeBoer, Melanie Minichino, Johnathan Fernandez, Dustin Rhodes, Haley
Alea Erickson, Jon Michael Simpson, Mac Blake, Hawn Tran, Frank Garcia-Hejl,
Justin Maina, Gabrielle Maiden
Blurb
from IMDb: Chad,
the owner of Rad Chad's Horror Emporium, recounts a series of bone-chilling,
blood-splattered tales to illustrate the rules of the horror genre to his
newest employee.
Selina’s
Point of View:
Honestly,
I don’t think I like movie anthologies. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind an anthology
series; like American Horror Story (2011-), The Twilight Zone (1959-1964),
or Black Mirror (2011-). In those cases, each season or episode is just
one story and the show-runners put all their creativity into it. I love
anthology books, because I can read short stories and decide from there if I
want to seek out more from each specific author. It keeps me from spending
money on writers I may not enjoy.
Anthology
films are just tough. They’re rough to judge on an overall basis because of how
different the segments are, but they’re also difficult to get right for the
people working on it. It’s more likely that the audience will remember the
worst of the segments and it’s damn near impossible to get ALL the parts to represent
their highest quality.
Scare
Package is
not the worst anthology I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t even put it in the bottom
five. Still, it’s not great.
The
framing device was a bit outdated. No one’s watching VHS tapes anymore and,
from what I can discern from the posters in the video store, this isn’t a story
that takes place in the past. It would have been better to use a collectible
store as the setting. It still would have had the same feel to it, with access
to films for use as the segments – but it wouldn’t have felt so wrong for the
era.
Where
the segments are concerned, I did not enjoy the second at all. It was one of
the dumbest things I’ve ever seen. It would have fit better in an ABCs of
Death (2012) film and I hated those flicks. The first segment had a really
original take and it came on before the framing device, which I enjoyed since
it touches on cold opens. The third segment had one of the funniest moments of
the entire film. I had to pause in order to cackle at it. Aside from that
moment, though, it was still pretty blah. The fourth segment was a Halloween
parody. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t really do anything extra. It didn’t
even really give me anything to laugh at. I did thoroughly enjoy the fifth
segment, though. I’d have watched a full 90-minute movie with those characters,
actors, and a similar plot. It was too good to be surrounded by the rest of the
anthology.
Once
the segments play through, we’re returned to the framing device for a closing
story line. It’s got a real Cabin in the Woods (2011) vibe. If Cabin
in the Woods was made on a much lower budget and fell into the hardcore
parody genre. It wasn’t great. I saw what they were going for, and it could
have been much better.
The final
ending was amusing, though. I gave a small chuckle.
In
the end, I wouldn’t direct people away from Scare Package, so long as
they understand that it leans more toward hard parody than general comedy. For
myself, I’ll likely never watch it again.
Cat’s
Point of View:
I
have been wrestling with my feelings regarding the movie Scare Package.
On
one hand, I get it. Unfortunately, on the other hand, I don’t think it quite
hit the mark that it was aiming for. This film aspired to be both a love-letter
to the horror genre and a clearly framed anthology like the V/H/S (2012)
movies.
Honestly,
it felt a little bit like someone had taken V/H/S, Scream (1996), and Cabin
in the Woods and threw them in a blender with every 80s horror movie made.
Some
of the film was amusing, but I wasn’t over the moon about it. The movie’s
self-awareness was both intriguing and off-putting for me. I snickered a few
times, but I think I actually exclaimed “really?” to the screen more than once.
This
production does have a point in its favor with the effects. It was clear that
they got a lot of mileage out of practical effects. There didn’t seem to be
much CGI. That’s a good thing, however, because all of the movies Scare Package
was paying homage to used very little computer-aided graphics.
If
you already have a Shudder account, and you’re seriously bored, this might be
an ok film for killing time. I wouldn’t generally go out of my way to recommend
it, though.
Name/Year: Hemlock Grove (2013-2015) Tagline: The monster is within. Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller Length: 3 Seasons, 33 Episodes total, 46 min. each Rating: TV-MA Production Companies: Gaumont International Television, Mad Hatter Entertainment, ShineBox SMC Creators/Developers: Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman Producers: Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman, Eli Roth, Michael A. Connolly, Elisa Todd Ellis, Eric Newman, Katie O'Connell, Peter Blake, Charles H. Eglee, Peter Friedlander Directors: David Straiton, Deran Sarafian, Russell Lee Fine, T.J. Scott, David Semel, Peter Cornwell, Eli Roth, Billy Gierhart, Sanaa Hamri, Vincenzo Natali, David Petrarca, Floria Sigismondi, Spencer Susser, Jon Amiel, Coky Giedroyc, Marc Jobst, Jim O'Hanlon, Carl Tibbetts Writers: Brian McGreevy, Lee Shipman, Travis Jackson, David Paul Francis, Peter Blake, Evan Dunsky, Charles H. Eglee, Jennifer Haley, Daniel Paige, Mark Verheiden, Sheila Callaghan, Rafe Judkins, Lauren LeFranc, Ned Navidi, Lorna Clarke Osunsanmi Actors: Famke Janssen, Bill Skarsgård, Landon Liboiron, Joel de la Fuente, Dougray Scott, Kaniehtiio Horn, Madeline Martin Stunt Coordinators/Doubles: Tom Farr, Matt Birman, Patrick Mark, Dana Jones, Jack Birman, Riley Jones, Michael Andreae, Angelica Lisk-Hann, Bernadette Couture, Jamie Jones, Nicole Dickinson, Jennifer Murray, Steve 'Shack' Shackleton, Nicole Lissner, Al Vrkljan, Aaron Douglas, Mike Chute, Tig Fong, Brayden Jones, Ciara Jones, Devon Slack, Susan Horton, Christopher Cordell, Brent Jones, Robert C. Shannon,Thomas Luccioni, Geoff Meech, Susana Baker, Layton Morrison, Derek Barnes, Goran Stjepanovic
Blurb: A teenage girl is brutally murdered, sparking a hunt for her killer. But in a town where everyone hides a secret, will they find the monster among them?
Now that I have been absolutely freaked out by the
relatively freshly released trailer for the new remake of Stephen King’s (The Stand, The Shining, Christine) It (2017), set to release in September;
it had me reminiscing. The actor that is stepping into the clown shoes of the
sinister Pennywise is none other than Hemlock
Grove’s own Bill Skarsgård (Anna
Karenina, Allegiant, Atomic Blonde). He’s no stranger to the odd and supernatural.
I got all nostalgic for a bit – that might have something to do with trying to
think of things OTHER than what I’d just watched.
But I digress…
With the Netflix Original series freshly on my brain, I
realized that it’s been two years since I last visited Hemlock Grove. It’s certainly not a place I’d like to go in person,
but the residents of that fictional town endeared themselves to me. So in honor
of Bill’s continued career success and the streaming service that gives us so
many movies to review for you, I figured that going back to the Grove seemed
fitting.
Hemlock Grove was
the first Netflix Original series that didn’t have some sort of other
incarnation prior to its exclusive release by the media streaming mogul. There
were only two prior – one of which was adapted from a BBC show and the other
began overseas before Netflix was even the name of the company. In my book, those
don’t count.
Grove was groundbreaking in so many ways. It helped pave the
way for the plethora of other series and movies that Netflix boasts as
exclusive content. The format also helped it push boundaries with stunning and
horrific visuals that wouldn’t be allowed on network television and might be a
hard sell even on cable. Of course, these days, what’s allowed and what isn’t
is a line that continuously gets blurred and redrawn.
This 3-season series is based on the book authored by
writer/producer Brian McGreevy (The Son).
It’s said he originally intended to write a trilogy, but he later stated in a
public Reddit interview that he’d decided to focus on the series instead. I
have yet to read the book, but it is on my ever growing reading list. I am
highly curious how well the story meshes up and if there might be any answers
within the pages that the screen couldn’t provide.
This has to be the most amazing, albeit disgustingly
visceral, werewolf transformation that I have ever seen on the screen. It is
both crazy and makes so much sense. The cinematography and the visual effects
employed by the show just pull you in and give the story depth and
plausibility, even though there are some areas of the overall story arc that
are downright odd. There’s enough good content to make up for some of the
weirdness, however. I couldn’t help but
root for the scruffy Peter Rumancek, played by Landon Liboiron (The Howling: Reborn, Burning Bodhi, Frontier).
There was such strength, vulnerability, and humor in his character.
The key players among the cast are recognizable and well
versed in their craft – including Bond-girl and crimson-haired mutant Famke
Janssen (X-Men, Taken, How to Get Away
With Murder); and Dougray Scott (Mission
Impossible II, Hitman, The Rezort), an actor that you either love to love
or love to hate as he plays both villain and hero so well.
The thing about Hemlock
Grove is that the lines between hero and villain get blurry in a few
places. This is definitely not a black-hat / white-hat scenario where good and
evil are cut and dry.
Now to those that think that the supernatural aspects of
this series are odd, please keep in mind that this isn’t following along with
the standard tropes for the creatures represented. Greevy pulled from folklore
in making his monsters – specifically that of the Slavic areas of the world
around Russia, Romania, Poland, and the like. If you don’t mind spoilers for
yourself, feel free to look it up on a wiki or a search for Hemlock Grove and it should begin to
point you in the right direction. Since we don’t like spoilers here at Trust
the Dice, this is something I leave in your hands alone to explore – hopefully
on-screen through the series. I don’t claim to be an expert on this particular
branch of folklore and mythology by any means; but from what I did find in my
research, the portrayal seems fairly accurate when you take creative license
into account. I enjoyed puzzling things out as the series went along.
When all is said and done, I’m sad that the Primetime Emmy
nominated series only had three seasons; but I’m happy that they got to end it
on their own terms rather than some sort of abrupt cliffhanger because a plug was
pulled too soon. If you enjoy supernatural thrillers with a liberal dose of
mystery and a dash of romance, check this series out!
Average Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score* – 38% Average Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score*– 70% Metascore - 45/100 Metacritic User Score – 7.6/10 IMDB Score – 7.3/10
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R
*Rotten Tomatoes averaged the ratings for the 3 seasons of the show.
Season 1 Trailer:
But
I Digress... is a weekly column for trustthedice.com that can't be
pinned down to just one thing. It's Cat's celebration of tangents,
random references, and general fan geekdom that both intertwines with,
revolves around, and diverges from our movie-review core. In homage to
the beloved Brit comedians, we want to bring you something completely
different!
Production Companies:
Dark Sky Films, Glass Eye Pix, Site B
Producer: Hamza
Ali, Joel Alonso, Larry Fessenden, Luis Flores, Brent Kunkle, Greg Newman, Lex
Ortega, Andrea Quiroz, Zak Zeman
Director: Adrián
García Bogliano
Writer: Eric
Stolze
Actors: Nick
Damici, Ethan Embry, Lance Guest, Erin Commings, Rutanya Alda, Tom Noonan, Tina
Louise, Caitlin O’Heaney, Karen Lynn Gorney, Al Spienza, Bernardo Cubria, Dana
Ashbrook, Charles Techman, Hythem Noor, Larry Fessenden, Frances Sherman,
Karron Graves, Kareem Savinon, Pun Bandhu, Ralph Cashen, Raina
Stunts: Bryce
Burke, Pete Klein, Mariusz Kubicki, Anthony Vincent
Blurb from Netflix:
After several of his neighbors are killed by savage dog attacks, a blind
Vietnam vet starts to believe that a vicious supernatural force is at work.
Selina’s Point of View:
I enjoy B-movies and I love werewolf mythology. Needless to
say, I was super interested in seeing this film when it came up.
I figured Late Phases
would be typical and trope-y with a werewolf costume so bad you could see the
zipper in it. But I also thought it might fall into the realm of that ‘so bad
it’s good’ category. I don’t mind those films. I don’t watch movies to judge techniques.
I watch them to be entertained.
However, Late Phases
was NOTHING like I thought it would be. Sure, the werewolf costume wasn’t the
greatest I’ve ever seen, but they did a hell of a lot with the transformation.
The acting for this film was pretty good. I grew attached to
the main character, despite the fact that he was not a likable man. And, can we
just talk about the setting and focus characters?
When I read the Netflix blurb I thought the film would be
set at an earlier time, right after the Vietnam War. I had NO idea the main
characters would be elderly. You don’t see that done often. The last horror
film Trust the Dice reviewed that had several elderly actors playing main
characters was in Cockneys vs. Zombies (2012).
Even then, there were plenty of younger adults to accompany them.
A nearly all elderly cast is pretty much unheard of for this
kind of storyline.
I was impressed. There were a few plot holes, and someone
trained in gun use held his weapon like a gangster teen that learned to shoot
from rap videos once – that bugged me, but I still enjoyed the movie.
To be honest, this may have been the most unique film that I’ve
seen in a very long time. The creators took only the tropes that generally ‘have
to’ come with a werewolf (transformation, silver bullets, full moon, bites,
etc.), and absolutely spit on the rest of them.
I would recommend this film to anyone that’s a fan of
werewolf stories. Just, keep in mind, the story is a slow burn.
Cat’s Point of View:
After a really long day, I was looking forward to watching
this movie. I was pretty sure that the B-creature feature would let my brain
disconnect from the last few days. I have to say, I got more than I expected.
This film elicited a strange dichotomy of response from me.
On one hand, I loved it – on the other, there were parts that I didn’t enjoy.
I’ll start with the negative so we can leave off on the good note!
Sometimes it just felt like the movie was meandering
aimlessly – the blind main character seemed to move with more purpose at
points. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the creature aesthetic. However, it wasn’t
too horrible.
If the production team here was going for a throwback feel
to movies like The Howling (1981)
then they nailed it. For a movie released in 2014; somehow I was expecting
more. Then again, the wolves in the Underworld (2003) look a little funny to
me, too. Maybe I’m just picky.
On to the good!
This movie was surprisingly engrossing for me. I wasn’t even
tempted to fiddle with my phone so much because I didn’t want to look away. I
loved the main character, Ambrose. Nick Damici (Never Down, Stake Land, Premium Rush) knocked that out of the park.
There was something about him that was just compelling beyond the fact that his
character was blind. I bought what he was selling, though he struck me more as
the ‘get off my lawn’ type.
I also loved the complicated relationship between Ambrose
and his son, Will, played by Ethan Embry (Armed
Response, The Guest, Convergence). I felt like I wanted more screen time
for Embry but he did make the most of the moments he had.
Lance Guest (Jericho,
The Least of These, 21 and a Wake-Up) was an interesting addition to the
cast. He’s come a long way from his role as Alex in The Last Starfighter (1984) or one of the Brody boys in Jaws: The Revenge (1987). Obviously
that’s quite a gap of time between then and now but I almost didn’t recognize
him at all. I don’t suppose that’s a bad thing, all things considered.
I think this movie has more to offer than nostalgia factor
and I would feel reasonably comfortable in giving this movie a recommendation
to fans of the genre.
Production Companies:
Syfy, UFO International Productions
Producer: Jeffery
Beach, John Cappilla, Cherise Honey, Phillip J. Roth
Director: Patrice
Dinhut
Writer: Frank H.
Woodward
Actors: Tinsel
Korey, Dhaffer L’Abidine, Andy Clemence, Oliver James, Lally Percy, Sapphire
Elia, Howard Charles, Ben Cross, Tobias Hewitt, Jesse Steele, Sarah Brown, Mike
Straub, Velizar Binev, Evelina Popova
Blurb from Netflix:
When tourists visit a European village and agree to observe a pagan ritual in
the forest, they become trapped in an alternate fairy tale dimension.
Selina’s Point of View:
This is not the first film that has used the idea of people
being trapped in fairy tale dimensions. Hell, TV shows even tend to pull off
this recipe with some amount of success. I remember fondly the fairy tale
episode of Charmed (1998-2006).
Normally, it’s difficult to fail the fairy tale recipe.
Everyone knows all the stories, they see them as nostalgic. On top of that, even
if people don’t love fairy tales, there’s still usually some warm and fuzzy
feelings toward them. Due to that ingrained interest in those tales, it’s very
difficult to screw the recipe up.
Black Forest
managed to do just that.
I didn’t care about the characters, the actors barely seemed
to be attempting to try to make anything believable and even the story was so
lackluster that it was almost difficult to place the references as they were
supposed to be.
There was nothing that saved this film for me. I simply did
not enjoy it.
Cat’s Point of View:
I love a good fairy tale. Stories that give them a new spin
or shine a different light on them appeal to me as well. The ones that shine
the proverbial light into the darker aspects of fairies and their kin tend to
appeal the most. The premise of this movie attempted to promise something like
that. Unfortunately, I don’t think it delivered.
While I had mixed sentiments regarding the movie The Hallow (2015), which we recently
reviewed; I feel it was more successful in accomplishing the goal of showing
that things of the fairy world do go bump in the night.
Black Forest was a
made-for-TV movie from the SYFY channel. Normally, I take this sort of movie
with an extra grain of salt. I expect
these movies to be lacking in some areas, while hoping to find that diamond in
the rough. This one was just rough.
It feels like this film just fell into the pitfall of taking
itself too seriously. It wasn’t over-the-top enough to be one of those comedic
gems like Sharknado (2013); and it
wasn’t delivered with enough finesse to pull off an earnest attempt at
suspending disbelief.
Some of the interactions between cast members just felt
awkward, and it doesn’t seem like it was intentional. Most of it could be
chalked up to the movie bearing the weight of a convergence of an inexperienced
director and a fantasy horror script written by someone who is known for an
impressive body of work in documentaries.
Giving credit where it is due, however, I think the effects
for this movie were better than expected. The amount of blood and gore was also
surprisingly minimal.
All in all, I wasn’t bored out of my mind – just a bit disappointed.
My recommendation? If you’re looking for a horror-lite movie with training
wheels to see if it might give your kids nightmares, maybe this one’s for you.
Other than that, I would encourage seeking out something better for your time.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 27%
Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2.5/5
Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1/5
Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2/5
Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score
– 2/5
The Random Rating:
PG-13
P.S. Three movies of the same name came out between 2010 and 2012. Because of that, the above image is most likely for the wrong Black Forest. The trailer below is the best that could be found, it's a trailer for two movies at once and not all the scenes represent the film we watched for this blog installment. If you know of a better image or trailer, please let us know in the comments below.
Update: The movie poster image for Black Forest has been fixed.
Production Companies:
Dimension Films, MGM, Mosaic Media Group, Reforma Films, Atlas Entertainment,
Summit Entertainment, The Weinstein Company
Executive Producer:
Jonathan Gordon, Chris McGurk, Andrew Rona, John D. Schofield, Bob Weinstein,
Harvey Weinstein
Director: Terry
Gilliam
Writer: Ehren
Kruger
Actors: Petr
Ratimec, Barbora Lukesova, Anna Rust, Jeremy Robson, Matt Damon, Heath Ledger,
Harry Gilliam, Mackenzie Crook, Richard Ridings, Peter Stormare, Jonathan
Pryce, Laura Greenwood, Lena Headey, Tomas Hanak, Monica Bellucci
Selina’s Point of View:
The Grimm brothers lost their sister at an early age. All
because Jacob believed in magic and fairy tales. Years later, the brothers take
their jaded beliefs into business. They destroy fake supernatural evils for a
price.
I wanted to see this film when it came out, but I never got
around to it. I’m sorry about that, because I think it would have been better
in the early 2000s. In the decade between then and now, there’ve been a lot of
technological advances that made graphics better and HD did no favors to this
film.
Graphics aside, the story was interesting and the acting was
pretty good. I felt like Peter Stormare (The
Blacklist, Penguins of Madagascar, 22 Jump Street) was a bit over the top,
but Matt Damon (Interstellar, Happy Feet
Two, Good Will Hunting), Heath Ledger (Brokeback
Mountain, The Patriot, 10 Thing I Hate About You), Lena Headey (Zipper, The Mortal Instruments: City of
Bones, Dredd) and Monica Bellucci (The
Whistleblower, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Shoot ‘Em Up) made up for it.
In the end, I wish I’d liked this film more. Unfortunately,
it did very little for me. If I want to watch this kind of film, I’ll watch Van Helsing (2004).
Cat’s Point of View:
I feel I must begin with an admission that I am a Monty Python geek. The Brothers Grimm’s director, Terry Gilliam
(Monty Python & the Quest for the
Holy Grail, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Tideland), happens to be the
only US-born original member of that group.
Where am I going with this random trivia? The second part of
my admission is that I often watch projects involving the Python boys through
fandom-colored glasses. I begin my viewing with an expectation of being
thoroughly entertained, and they rarely disappoint.
I have seen this film before, around the time it was
released. I remembered it fondly, and was happy to re-watch.
This tale of con-artists forced to finally face the
nightmare of real magic afoot in the world was a fun ride. The balance of
comedy with the darkness on the brothers’ path to redemption keeps the tale
from being too heavy-handed.
Matt Damon (The Bourne
Ultimatum, The Monuments Men, Elysium) captures well the angst of a brother
carrying around the ghost of his deceased sister. The late Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, A Knight's Tale, The
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) was also an excellent casting to embody
the spirit of the unforgiven dreamer.
I also enjoyed Lena Headey’s (Game of Thrones, 300, The Purge) strong character. Her personal tale was one of pain and loss,
and she captured that as well as embracing the lighter side. Grandmother Frog
was also a nice transition for Damon’s brother to show his character growth.
As a side note, fans of Game
of Thrones (2011-) and The Pirates of
the Caribbean (2003-) franchise might recognize some familiar faces in the
supporting cast.
Movie Name/Year: Werewolf:
The Beast Among Us (2012)
Genre: Horror
Length: 93
minutes
Rating: R
Director: Louis
Morneau
Writer: Michael
Tabb, Catherin Cyran, Louis Morneau
Actors: Steven
Bauer, Nia Peeples, Stephen Rea, Ed Quinn, Guy Wilson, Ana Ularu, Rachel
DiPillo, Adam Croasdell, Emil Hostina, Florin Piersic Jr., Zoltan Butuc, Dan
Badarau, Ioan Ionescu, Stefan Iancu, Florin Stancu, Radu Iacoban
When word gets around about a werewolf terrorizing a 19th
century village, a group of well trained, experienced hunters set out to help.
Upon arrival they learn that there’s a lot more to this werewolf sighting than
the others, something’s different. With the help of a medical student, they
begin to learn more about the legendary creature they must face.
I loved this. It had a semi-B-movie feel to it (with the
graphics and settings), but there were some aspects that seemed above the means
of low-budget. The acting was one of those aspects, and I was thrilled to see a
good, creepy, gory, well-acted, werewolf movie.
I’m a big fan of the RPG company, “White-Wolf.” Once upon a
time, my friends and I would gather weekly to portray vampires (the non-sparkly
kind), werewolves and mages in games that were violent and overly creative. So,
when I come across movies that feature my favorite preternatural creatures, I’m
always excited to see them. Unfortunately, most of those movies have featured
more comedy or romance than horror. “Werewolf: The Beast Among Us,” focuses
solely on the horror and mystery associated with the aspects that I used to
love about role-playing out those creatures, with only underlying tones of
romance.
There were minor issues I had with some of the characters,
but there was absolutely no problem with the plot or the script. I could
definitely watch this movie again.
I’m going to take a break tonight from my usual roll and
watch schedule. Today, thanks to TiVo, I saw Warm Bodies. I meant to see it in
the theaters, but I’d been having some money issues when it was out and missed
my chance. Since then, I’ve heard many different things about the film. Looking
back, now that I know better, the most shocking thing I was told was how it was
a carbon copy of Twilight.
Ok. What?
Granted, the advertisement campaigns did lead me to believe
that might be true. Posters looked suspiciously similar and there was the
parallel of a reimagining of a supernatural race. Out of context, both new-takes
sound ridiculous to me: vampires that can not only exist in sunlight but
sparkle and zombies that can not only think and speak but can heal their
affliction. A horror traditionalist would be quick to turn up their nose. I’m a
big fan of new twists and creativity but, I’ll admit, I have a hard time
swallowing those new alternate racial traits.
As much as it is an easy accusation to believe, Warm Bodies
is nothing like Twilight. In fact, the only thing the two movies really seem to
have in common is a minor connection to the Romeo and Juliet theme.
With all the many differences between the two films, there
are three very basic and glaring ones that make me wonder how anyone ever even
managed to draw parallels.
1. Genre
Just because two people kiss in a movie, doesn’t
automatically make it a romance genre film. Plenty of movies have an undertone
of romance but concentrate on other aspects. Just because the directors of the
Transformer films have ended just about all of them with a kiss between the two
leads, doesn’t make those movies a romance. Equally, not every film with a
supernatural creature in it happens to be a horror. Take Blade, for instance.
Although that movie is dripping in vampires, it’s primarily an
action/adventure.
Genre becomes important, especially in the advertising of
movies. The moment something is labeled a romance or a sci-fi or a horror film,
fans that dislike those mentioned are alienated. We’re almost all affected by
this effect. When I think of a drama, I automatically think of someone dying
tragically. When I’m not in the mood for a good cry, I’ll avoid dramas like the
plague. Oversaturation of certain movie recipes has taught us to expect certain
things about genres. Oft-times it’ll be those lessons that aid us in deciding
whether or not to see a movie.
Twilight and Warm Bodies are often slipped into the same
romance genre. Where, it’s true, both of them center on a basic love story that
is not the end of what they are. Twilight is not a horror. It’s got vampires
and werewolves, but it’s not a horror. If anything, it’s a romantic action film
that’s light on action. Warm Bodies is a romance/comedy/horror. There are
definite and easily noted horror scenes involving zombie attacks as well as
easily noted comedy scenes that lack any real horror or romance and some very
clear romance scenes. There’s a kind of triad of balance. Where it’s true the
two movies share a common bond in romance, that’s where that bond ends. The
genres become different from there and they’re no longer comparable on that
level.
2. Actors
This is really only a glaring difference if you’re exposed
to interviews with actual actors or behind the scenes information.
Look up Twilight interviews. Seriously. Minimize this page
and go look some up on youtube. After about fifteen minutes it will become
obvious that no one, not a single person in this world, hates the Twilight
movies more than the people who acted in them. How much does that suck for
them? These people have tied their faces to characters that have either gained
them horrible press or that they hate for other reasons. That will stick with
them. A decade from now people will still be calling Robert Pattinson “Edward.”
I know, because Starship Troopers came out in 1997, was a smaller film, and
Casper Van Dien is still known as the bug guy.
If you do the same search for Warm Bodies interviews, you’ll
get vastly different results. All those actors wanted to be there, looked
forward to it. When you consider this difference, remember how much better people
do their jobs when they absolutely love what they’re doing.
3. Story
By far, this is the most important difference. Both movies
have two incredibly different storylines. They focus on highlighting different
aspects of their alternate genres.
Warm Bodies, at its core, is an allegory of the healing
power of positivity. In a desolate world, love is what brings two very
different people together in order to change their reality. Twilight is an
allegory of many things, none of which actually fall in line with change. You
start out with a relatively normal world and end in a relatively normal world
with one extra vampire. Redemption vs. hardcore romance; they are NOT the same
thing.
In conclusion, we’re looking at two very different movies
that have been tied together by people who likely haven’t actually seen one or
either of them. Warm Bodies and Twilight are different, but there’s a choice
they bring up that helps spread a very important message.
No one but you gets to tell you what movies to like.
