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rob-haskins
Reviews
Dark Shadows (2012)
It could have been amazing
With Johnny Depp, Michele Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, and. Jonny Lee Miller-all excellent at drama-I had high hopes for Dark Shadows. Unfortunately, the powers that be hired Seth Grahame-Smith to write the story and screenplay, and as is his habit, he played the original material for laughs. Except there aren't a lot of laughs. Burton, too, seemed to be in for making something comic, not melodramatic. In its day, Dark Shadows was an over-the-top serial about the supernatural, catapulted to high ratings by the introduction of the vampire Barnabas Collins (portrayed, as his bio put it, by the "noted Shakespearean actor" Jonathan Frid. A lot of the actors came from the stage, and they tended to act as if it was on stage: this often made the show look and feel campy, but everyone could tell these actors played their roles with the greatest conviction, even when the plot was just plain ridiculous. True DS fans forgave the campiness and the (many) bloopers and imperfections; they watched because they loved the story and the characters. I think Burton and Grahame-Smith remembered the campiness and the gaudiness of the show but not the verve of the actors and the spirit of the story. So in spite of great performances-especially Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard-the film was doomed to fail. I watched it once-during a welcome midnight showing!-and I liked it whenever it was played straight and was annoyed when it was played for really, really cheap and obvious laughs. I would never want to see it again.
Lurking (2022)
Great effort
This is a genuinely disturbing and frightening found footage move made by three young and very determined filmmakers. The basic plot is that one character has discovered footage created by two other young filmmakers who are trying to document a mythical creature known as the Goatman. There's a lot that's a little too found footage for me, but about halfway through things start getting really creepy and scary. The ending is totally unexpected. I've been following their later efforts and their technique is growing by leaps and bounds. If they continue to grow I expect to find them make it in the industry. I wish them the best.
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The 5th Dimension (2017)
I wanted to like this, but . . .
This film started in a promising way. Scientists investigating time travel, identify Montauk as a place of extraordinary and unusual "energy," a man who looks like he's in his early 40s and claims that he's actually 80, because he was subjected to a time-travel experiment; then a mysterious Native American who tells some story about how they need to be careful.
After that, the plot devolves rapidly. Strange unexplained phenomena (which remain unexplained), a trip in a secret bunker in near darkness, something in the dark who does something to most of the characters. No explanation why; no real reveal; nothing. Then the last character (who thinks that running away from the scene with the lights of her camera on is a good way to avoid detection) has something happen to her too. Something bad. Maybe something fatal.
I tried, I really tried, to like this movie, but by the time I'd finished the first hour, gave up and just watched the rest, knowing that I wouldn't ever figure it out.
Catskill Park (2018)
entertaining watch
I bought this film-yes-and I watch it a lot, usually at night. I think the acting is fine, I like the characters, I like the plot. There are certain things, like the very end, that I don't entirely understand, but I haven't watched it with full atttention as offten. I think I'll watch it today because I'm laid up with a bad back and this is about the most I can do. I also enjoy the closing credits music-it's really haunting, and the production effects are really cool. It's too bad that the music isn't credited-maybe the director did it? Anyway, must also check into other movies this director has made.
The Blair Witch Legacy (2018)
Entertaining, interesting twist at end
Well, Raptors661 may be right in their identification of the film's technical faults, but I don't mind films will lower technical standards and an interesting story. This one qualifies. Three people aim to do a documentary on the Blair Witch; they get varying degrees of assistance from the townspeople; one of the people is actually making a different film; and eventually all three are caught up in the mythos of the Blair Witch.
Yes, the actors are not fabulous professionals, but the woman filmmaker was a lot less believable than the rest (pace Raptors' judgment). Video quality was fine, certainly acceptable for B-movie fare. And, you know, B-movies are sometimes a a lot more interesting than polished blockbuster fare.
Yes, the plot is what one would expect-until the end. I won't spoil that, but it's really, really good. Honestly, I don't think there's any reason to refer to it as a fan film: perhaps that's a necessary term if it's not sanctioned by SAG-AFTRA. But it's a good idea, adequately carried out, with a really, really satisfying and unexpected conclusion.
Things Unknown (2013)
Also titled Unknown Project, released in 2013
If you visit the IMDb link for Unknown Project, you'll get a more complete cast list. I don't know what Things Unknown has a 2015 release date while the other is 2013.
It's a pretty good found footage film about three web personalities who go on goofy trips (following a man who visited every pancake house in the US). This time out, they're at Burning Man and afterward take a little detour from their next destination to a desert location where one of the web people camped as a child. Sure enough, they see and experience some pretty strange and horrifying things. The formula is very familiar, but the characters are very likable and the effects very good. Also the sound design. I rented it for $2 on Amazon (twice, because I forgot to finish it the first time before the 48 hours ran out, and I'm glad I finished it.
Found Footage (2011)
Raw and Brutal if a Little Formulaic
This is a short (66 minute) film. Premise is serial killer steals camera, then records himself killing. Think The Last Horror Movie or Maniac without much of a plot. The raw character of the movie makes it pretty creepy and I enjoyed it, maybe because it really had very little plot-just random, brutal violence.
The Final Project (2016)
Some great things, some not so great things
The plot is very similar to a number of found footage films centering around some haunted locale. But there is something about the experience that is genuinely eerie; a lot of it has to do with the sound design. Some casting mishaps-Teal Haddock as Anna is not believable and her constant SCREAMING is overdone. The others are okay, but uneven. At least the rest of them didn't give me a headache. Mr. Ri'chard has genuine talent and a flair for horror. I will see more of his movies if possible.
Digging Up the Marrow (2014)
Couldn't finish it
Where to begin? The bland, stupid jazz? Adam Green playing Adam Green? The pretend-documentary conceit? The endless preamble? It was so boring and puerile that I couldn't waste any more time hoping for a payoff.
Atroz (2015)
Brutal, but no animal violence, so there's that!
Atroz deserves its reputation, no doubt. The violence it depicts is excessive and disturbing, but not gratuitous. (I can't say the same for a lot of recent Hollywood torture porn I've seen, which I find incredibly cynical.)
I had to finish this film over several days-and it's not a long film-but I finished it, and that always carries a lot of weight with my overall impression of a film's worth. You've been warned, but if you're ready for very realistic atrocity, you should watch this film.
The Last Five Days (2020)
Found Footage, Slow-Burning Horror
I liked this. Familiar formula and premise, but executed with genuine commitment. Some things explained, some not, but there was enough explanation not to feel frustrated at the end. I would buy this film.
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
Great movie. Sopranos Diehards need to get over themselves
This movie traces events in the life of Dickie Moltisanti (the "many saints" of the title). He's a very complex character and it's easy to see how things in his nature would transfer over to Christopher. The other big element, of course, is Moltisanti's mentoring of a teenage Tony. Since we all know Dickie is killed at some point in the Sopranos timelines, there wasn't a big surprise there, but WHO ordered the hit-and why-is mind-blowing. (We know the who but not entirely the why.)
A lot of diehard Sopranos fans seem disappointed that they didn't get to see everything they wanted to see, must less explained. "Poor you," as Livia and Tony would say. What we know from the series is that not everything is explained, even in the present of the main series timeline. That's okay-a good filmmaker has to balance between payoffs and lingering questions. The nice thing about "The Many Saints" is that it leaves plenty of room to explore Tony's later teenage years, and I would expect a sequel (or sequel series as might happen) to do a fine job exploring that world. I don't think we want that world to be completely exhausted. Anyway, if you haven't seen it and you love Sopranos, don't think too much about every little detail from the series and you'll be completely entertained.
Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009)
Compelling
Antonio Sabato Jr.'s portrayal of Lucas makes us understand why people were so attracted to him. His characterization is so complex: sometimes a victim, sometimes a lover, sometimes a colleague-in reality he is none of these, and all of these. I would have been happier if the relationship between Henry and Ottis had been fleshed out a bit more, but I guess all the homophobes would have been turned off, especially in 2009. It's sad that this feature hasn't made it to streaming video, but fortunately I was able to snag a copy and it's just as interesting now (in 2020) as it was when I first saw it (which must have been 7 to 10 years ago).
WNUF Halloween Special (2013)
Creepy and disturbing
I don't think this movie is particularly funny, although the conceit of making a film that looks like VCR-recorded footage from a TV station's evening broadcast was kind of fun, since I lived at a time to remember VCRs and taping TV shows while I was at work. There are even commercials to make the experience seem even more real. I wasn't really expecting the ending, but it makes sense and is hinted at earlier in the film. I love animals and there were a couple of images of dead animals that were not that fake looking and bothered me.