[31 Days of Horror: Resurrection] Day 11 – Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Tye Sheridan, David Koechner, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont
Screenplay: Carrie Lee Wilson, Emi Mochizuki, Christopher Landon
93 mins. Rated R for zombie violence and gore, sexual material, graphic nudity, and language throughout.

Christopher Landon (Freaky, Happy Death Day 2U) had been an accomplished writer for over a decade, but he hadn’t done much directing outside of a 2010 feature film and some shorts, but when he finally got behind the camera for Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, his career as a horror filmmaker kicked into high gear, and he’s been making some quality films over the past several years. I initially missed his follow-up to The Marked Ones when it hit theaters, but today I rectified that mistake.

It’s the final camp-out for the remaining members of the local chapter of Scouts, with Ben (Tye Sheridan, Ready Player One, X-Men: Apocalypse) and Carter (Logan Miller, Love, Simon, Escape Room) have both decided to leave the group but haven’t worked up the courage to tell their friend and devoted Scout Augie (Joey Morgan, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, Flower). When Ben and Carter attempt to sneak away from the camp to get to the secret Senior party, they comes across the most unlikely of events: a zombie outbreak. Now, they must use their survival skills to save themselves and each other.

The zombie subgenre feels mostly played out in recent years, and with The Walking Dead television universe continuing to expand, it’ll be very tough to really surprise in this area of storytelling, but Scouts Guide is a mostly enjoyable horror comedy that plays up the raunchy nature of its leads while finding new innovative ways to re-murder the living dead.

Tye Sheridan should be a bigger name than he is, but he seems to pick projects that ignite conflicting viewpoints. I love Ready Player One and his take on Wade Watts, and I think he’s one of the best elements of some not great X-Men films. Here, he does most of the heavy lifting, and I really rooted for him here. He’s dealing with John Hughes-level personal teenager problems before the zombies even show up, and then Landon maneuvers his character arc mostly successfully through the film.

Now, as far as hitting that perfect horror/comedy vibe, this is one of Landon’s lesser endeavors. The horror hits well enough, but the comedy is hit & miss, with a slight emphasis on hit. More of it works than doesn’t, and the chemistry between the three Scout leads along with Sarah Dumont (Don Jon, Playing It Cool) as Denise, the server that runs across them when the chaos starts. The film is populated by a few other legends of the craft like David Koechner (Anchorman, Krampus) as the Scout Leader and Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show, Young Frankenstein) as the grumpy old cat lady next door.

I appreciate the attention that the screenplay has for zom/coms of the screen and other media. I have to assume that the Escape By Trampoline bit was lifted from Zombies Ate My Neighbors, one of my favorite video games ever, and I saw some interesting callbacks to scenarios in Left 4 Dead, so it seems like a small celebration of the wider subgenre.

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse isn’t as clean as Landon’s later efforts, and it doesn’t hold a candle (or severed limb) to Shaun of the Dead, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a fun little splatstick horror comedy that plays up the goofy premise and it’s more fun because the characters are having fun, even if some of the jokes simply fail to land.

3.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Christopher Landon’s Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, click here.

October 11, 2022 0

800 Posts! Thank you!

Hey everyone,

for those of you that have been readers for awhile, you’ll know I like to celebrate the little moments, and I had one a few days ago when I published my review for Hobbs & Shaw. That review ended up being the 800th post for this site! It’s rather fitting because many of the Fast & Furious reviews I have written have been among the most popular reviews on the site!

I cannot thank you faithful and maybe first-time readers for tuning in, reading and contributing to the discussion. This has morphed from a hobby to a passion to a daily requirement for sanity, and it’s because of the kind words of so many of you that have helped with that.

All that being said, I’m going to leave a list of the most popular reviews and posts on the site since it started. Feel free to peruse and gander at your choosing.

Here’s hoping Hobbs & Shaw ends up on this this. Three of the Fast & Furious films have ended up on the most-read list, including a short film prequel to the second film. It always strikes me at how many people have looked at the Leprechaun posts I have done. It seems year-round that that post gets views and I don’t understand it, to be perfectly honest.

So there you have it. Thanks again for reading, even if only once. I truly appreciate all of you readers and I only ask that you help like, comment, subscribe and share to keep independent content creators like myself going. All film is truly subjective, so if you’ve never interacted on the site, I urge you to do so. If you loved a movie I hated, let me know your opinion, and if you hated something I really love, I want to know why. That’s part of what makes this part of movie fandom so special. Thanks again!

-Kyle A. Goethe

August 19, 2019 0

[31 Days of Horror Part V: A New Beginning] Day 23 – The Nightmare (2015)

Director: Rodney Ascher

Cast: Seigfried Peters, Stephen Michael Joseph, Estrella Cristina

91 mins. Not Rated.

I’m not sure how to classify The Nightmare. It’s a horror film. It’s a documentary. It’s a horror-mentary.

The Nightmare is a documentary film covering the lives of eight people who have experienced sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a condition where one would find themselves without the ability to move or speak when falling asleep or waking up. It is met with hallucinations of strange entities surrounding the paralyzed during the episode. It’s a horrifying experience for the victims, and director Rodney Ascher (Room 237, ABCs of Death 2) showcases the horrors with filmed recreations of the nightmares narrated by the very people who experienced them.

The Nightmare works in a way that I didn’t expect it to. I think about the ways in which other paranormal TV shows do the whole re-enactment thing, but what sets Ascher apart from others is that he takes his re-enactments and puts forth the effort to ensure that they get a respectful presentation. These vignettes, for lack of a better word, are little horror films, and the crew ensures that they are treated with a serious and thoughtful tone.

The Nightmare is, without question, one of the best horror documentaries ever made. It is well-shot, thought-provoking, and a little crazy at times while always showing respect to a group of people who are suffering with this condition. It’s a little lengthy at times and some of the theories presented don’t get the full investigation, but this is one to see for both entertainment and education.

4/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of the anthology film ABCs of Death 2, click here.

October 23, 2018 0

[31 Days of Horror Part V: A New Beginning] Day 22 – Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival (2015)

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Cast: Emilie Autumn, Barry Bostwick, Chantal Claret, Dayton Callie, Briana Evigan, Brea Grant, David Hasselhoff, Kristina Klebe, J. LaRose, Mighty Mike Murga, Bill Moseley, Ted Neely, Adam Pascal, Tech N9ne, Nivek Ogre, Marc Senter, Lyndon Smith, Paul Sorvino, Jimmy Urine, Danny Worsnop, Terrance Zdunich

Screenplay: Terrance Zdunich

97 mins. Not Rated.

I was very on the fence about The Devil’s Carnival. I really enjoyed the collaboration between director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Abattoir) and Terrance Zdunich (Chain of Souls) on Repo! The Genetic Opera, and I was hoping to feel that same fire again. Sadly, I did not. Hoping that the first shorter piece was just a fluke, I ventured into the sequel, a feature-length follow-up with a grander story. I was unpleasantly disappointed.

Lucifer (Zdunich) is sending a train filled with condemned souls back to heaven. Meanwhile, in Heaven, God (Paul Sorvino, GoodFellas, Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game) is figuring out a plan with his top Agent (Adam Pascal, Rent, Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2). Back in Hell, Lucifer is telling one of his favorite stories about a woman named June (Emilie Autumn) and her time in Heaven.

There’s somehow even less of a story in this longer sequel to the original film. Many of the musical numbers toss around parables and information but most of it is far too convoluted for anyone to really connect with it. Zdunich clearly has a mind and eye for the fantastical, but it is just poorly executed here.

I liked some of the grander additions to the cast this time around. Emilie Autumn gets way more screentime and she is quite an interesting character. Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Incredibles 2) appears as The Watchword, a sort of journalist of Heaven. David Hasselhoff (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, TV’s Baywatch) is quite fun as The Designer. Ted Neely (Jesus Christ Superstar, Django Unchained) appears as The Publicist in a fun song-and-dancey performance that was enjoyable to watch. None of these interesting new characters are afforded the time in the film to raise its quality, though.

Sadly, Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival starts out promising and then makes the same mistakes that its predecessor did. Instead of the first film being a bad fluke, perhaps Repo! was just a good fluke.

2/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Darren Lynn Bousman’s The Devil’s Carnival, click here.

For my review of the anthology film Tales of Halloween, click here.

October 22, 2018 3

[31 Days of Horror: The Final Chapter] Day 4 – Tales of Halloween (2015)

Directors: Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Hasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Paul Solet

Cast: Adrienne Barbeau Grace Phipps, Lin Shaye, Booboo Stewart, Caroline Williams, Barbara Crampton, Greg Grunberg

Screenplay: Axelle Carolyn, Dave Parker, Clint Sears, Greg Commons, Lucky McKee, Molly Millions, John Skipp, Andrew Kasch, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, Neil Marshall

92 mins. Rated R for strong bloody horror violence throughout, language and brief drug use.

Okay, not a ton of time tonight so I will make it quick. Go to Netflix and watch Tales of Halloween. I’m not suggesting it because it’s perfect, but it is a hell of a lot of fun.

Tales of Halloween is an anthology of ten shorts all centered around the same town on Halloween night. Characters intersect occasionally throughout, and a lot of people are watching Night of the Living Dead. The tone is mostly horror comedy but each short feels all its own while still belonging to the collection. There are tremendously talented people both in front of and behind the camera, like directors Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Abattoir) and Neil Marshall (The Descent, Centurion).

I won’t get into what each short’s plot is, it is far more fun to see it all, but they are mostly independent while still serving a larger mythos, primarily aided by a Radio DJ (Adrienne Barbeau, The Fog, Beyond the Edge) and other elements. Most anthologies live by the “not-all-of-them-will-be-good syndrome” which is also true to this one, but unlike other anthologies, these pieces are less than ten minutes, so if you don’t like one, it doesn’t take away from the experience. The one unholy flaw of this film is the awful animated credits piece which feels ripped out of Creepshow III. The opening introduces the titles of each tale and its director, but I would have rather seen that before each piece begins in order to separate them more.

Tales of Halloween is imperfect, but dammit I enjoyed myself. There is a lot to love here (and a little to despise) but all well-attempted nonetheless. Check this one out as it will still likely be on Netflix.

3.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

For my review of Darren Lynn Bousman’s The Devil’s Carnival, click here.

For my review of Lucky McKee’s The Woman, click here.

For my review of Mike Mendez’s Big Ass Spider!, click here.

October 4, 2017 4

[31 Days of Horror: The Final Chapter] Day 3 – The VVitch (2015)

Director: Robert Eggers

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Granger, Lucas Dawson

Screenplay: Robert Eggers

93 mins. Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudity.

I was a little late getting into The Witch. It seemed that everyone was telling me how good it was but then they also tempered my expectations by warning me that the trailers were incorrectly marketing the film. So it was amazing but it isn’t the movie you have been following. How do I deal with that?

The Witch centers on a family. The patriarch, William (Ralph Ineson, Kingsman: The Secret Service, TV’s Absentia) has been banished from their plantation over a religious dispute. He, wife Katherine (Kate Dickie, Prometheus, TV’s One of Us), and their children begin the challenging work of building a farm and learning to subsist. When a horrific event rocks the family, they start believing that a witch is at work. Twins Mercy (Ellie Granger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson) believe it to be oldest sister Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy, Split, Barry) but Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw, Oranges and Sunshine) defends her, but as the details and clues begin to add up, it becomes very clear that a dark force is involved, but who?

I would say the only major lie in The Witch’s marketing is that this film is not hinging on jump scares. It is a mood horror film, but it is exemplary. Every detail of the environment is so strong, you forget you are watching a film and fall right into it. Anya Taylor-Joy again proves that she is a capable lead and has an exciting career ahead of her. She is aided by character actors Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie who fit perfectly into the film. The casting is perfect, the tone and pacing are very nice (films such as this almost always tend to run on long, but The Witch is a tight 93 minutes), and the scares are visceral and moody, staying with you long after the end.

Like The Revenant, The Witch’s shoot is mostly natural light, and it shows in an excellent visual representation, shot in 1.66:1 no less. There’s just so much care put into each shot of the film. Everything is important, even if it doesn’t appear at the moment. There’s a scene into the film where everyone is reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and I didn’t think much of it, but then I saw an interview where someone had stated that, at the time, it was believed that a witch couldn’t recite the Lord’s Prayer fully. I looked back at the scene, and it all flowed together.

A large portion of The Witch is steeped in memory, legend, and history, and that may be why it feels so real. This is definitely a film to check out. I absolutely loved it, it is one of the best horror films in recent memory, a tough feat as horror has been riding such a high. Check out this one as soon as you can, but avoid the trailers.

4.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

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October 3, 2017 0

[Oscar Madness Monday] Straight Outta Compton (2015)

Director: F. Gary Gray

Cast: O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti

Screenplay: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff

147 mins. Rated R for language throughout, strong sexuality/nudity, violence, and drug use.

Academy Award Nominee: Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Who would’ve thought that Straight Outta Compton would be an Oscar contender? 2015 was great.

Straight Outta Compton is the story of NWA, specifically Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell, Keanu, Broken City), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.), and Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins, Non-Stop, Romeo and Juliet), and the effect that they made on the music industry in the 1980s and 90s. It also tells of NWA’s involvement with Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti, Sideways, Ratchet & Clank), the manager of the group.

Straight Outta Compton seemingly came out of nowhere. I didn’t think it would be very good. I was wrong. This was more than just a fun movie. This was excellent film making. To be honest, my immediate dismissal of this film came from F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen). I enjoyed The Italian Job somewhat, but I absolutely hated Law Abiding Citizen. So I wasn’t too keen. I was, as I said, wrong.

The best elements of the film, though, come from the leads. Jackson, Hawkins, and Mitchell were all amazing, and their performances were aided by Paul Giamatti and his pitch-perfect portrayal of Jerry Heller.

Straight Outta Compton chooses to cover every side of the beginnings and ends of NWA and everything in between. This movie is a lot of film. It runs a bit lengthy, so spend some time to watch this behemoth. It is worth it.

4/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

August 22, 2016 4

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)

Director: Billy Ray

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Dean Norris, Michael Kelly, Joe Cole, Alfred Molina

Screenplay: Billy Ray

111 mins. Rated PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing violent content, language and some sexual references.

Secret in Their Eyes is an American remake of a 2009 Oscar-winning foreign language film. The original 2009 film is a celebrated masterpiece (honestly, this writer has not seen the original film, but hey, I just watched the remake), and the remake stars three big players in the acting world. What could go wrong?

Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave, Triple 9) and fellow investigator Jessica Cobb (Julia Roberts, Notting Hill, The Normal Heart) respond to a report of a body found near a mosque they are monitoring back in 2002, three months after 9/11. When the body found is Cobb’s daughter, their lives are forever strained and torn as Ray finds his allegiance to a counter-terrorism task force pulling him away from uncovering the truth about the murder. He is further tormented by the love he has for superior Claire Sloane (Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge!, Before I Go to Sleep). Years later, Ray’s lust for answers brings him back to the case and a shocking realization he isn’t quite ready for.

Secret in Their Eyes starts out interestingly enough. I really wanted to uncover the truth after a fantastic scene where Julia Roberts becomes hysterical at the sight of her daughter’s body. After that powerful sequences, the film comes to a crashing halt as the film seemingly goes nowhere for the next ninety minutes. Damn, it got boring real fast.

Ejiofor and Kidman are barely awake in their roles, and Roberts bounds between incredible performance and out-of-tune dialogue that she cannot latch onto. It would seem that Secret in Their Eyes has everything going for it, and yet nothing here works. Writer-director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass, Breach) has a poor screenplay and cannot seem to handle his actors, even while maintaining moments of sheer beauty in the cinematography and the occasional gripping sequence.

Overall, Secret in Their Eyes struggles to find a purpose, even after having tailored itself to a tragic period in recent American history. The film scours for reason and just cannot find it. Everything that it tries to accomplish is outdone by a similar film Prisoners, which came out back in 2013. The performances are bland and the story goes nowhere. A true disappointment.

1.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

April 29, 2016 0

Green Room (2015)

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Cast: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Patrick Stewart

Screenplay: Jeremy Saulnier

94 mins. Rated R for strong brutal graphic violence, gory images, language and some drug content.

I’m hardly the first person to see Green Room. It premiered last year at Cannes to solid reviews. But, I was lucky enough to be a part of an advance screening last night, and let me tell you, it was worth it.

Green Room is the story of a band called “The Ain’t Rights” as they, desperate for income, pick up a quick gig near Portland, which they quickly discover is a skinhead Neo-Nazi bar. When Pat (Anton Yelchin, Star Trek, Burying the Ex) goes back to the green room to collect a cell phone, he unknowingly stumbles upon a horrific scene, and now, he and his bandmates are in for the fight of their life, holed up in the green room as the skinheads, led by Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart, TV’s American Dad, Ted 2) attempt to tear them apart in order to cover their tracks.

Green Room is absolutely intense during the entirety of its 94-minute runtime. I found my hands shaking and sweating as I reeled in my seat. Anton Yelchin is a great lead as the de facto brave leader of the band. His guttural performance left me with chilled to the bone. On the other side, Patrick Stewart plays a monster in a man’s body as the ruthless villain Darcy. He gives such a creepy and nuanced performance without falling into cliché.

Imogen Poots (Need for Speed, Knight of Cups), who also appeared with Yelchin in the Fright Night remake a few years back, plays Amber, another witness to the murder in the green room, and she finds herself joined up with The Ain’t Rights for survival. Poots gives great work as Amber and provides an uneasiness to her unhinged character.

I saw director Jeremy Saulnier’s early film Murder Party, and while it has been some time, I recall enjoying that one quite a lot, though in tone the two films find themselves somewhat distanced. Saulnier’s screenplay gives out some awkward chuckles that relieved me in between the moments of sheer animosity. Even with the comedic elements, the shock and horror felt unrelenting. The faults with the film line up with a simple setup made somewhat more confusing at the beginning. It took me a bit longer than it should have to put the pieces of this film in place, but it didn’t detract from my viewing.

I’m happy to say that Green Room is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in a theater in some time. I really enjoyed myself and cannot wait to see what this filmmaker has next. His use of top notch performances with a terrifying environment in a film I’m not sure I can even compare to another. It was a great time at the movies and an exhilarating experience overall.

4.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

April 22, 2016 3

Daddy’s Home (2015)

Director: Sean Anders

Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini

Screenplay: Brian Burns, Sean Anders

96 mins. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, crude and suggestive content, and for language.

Will Ferrell (Step Brothers, Zoolander 2) is a polarizing comic actor. To most, he creates comedy gold, but his comedy makes no apologies and doesn’t try to win over his detractors. I, personally, enjoy Ferrell more than chastise him, so what did I think of his newest flick with Mark Wahlberg (Boogies Nights, Entourage)?

Brad Whitaker (Ferrell) is happy to be a father. Well, er, stepfather. His beautiful wife Sara (Linda Cardellini, TV’s ER, Avengers: Age of Ultron) has two children, and since Brad can’t father his own, he is more than happy to be a surrogate parent to them, but just as Brad is beginning to win them over, the family receives a call from actual father Dusty (Wahlberg), who is coming to town. Afraid to lose his family, Brad attempts to stand his ground with Dusty, but can Brad be the tough guy that Dusty? Can he be the real daddy?

Daddy’s Home is a simple premise, one that is fairly relatable. The problem is that it can’t decide what type of comedy it wants to be. When a film runs on for some time before making me laugh, I had a tendency to count the number of times I actually chuckle. Four. Four times. The movie just isn’t funny. I admire the comedic elements of the script, but they just don’t work for Ferrell’s comedy chops, and Wahlberg falls flat on every joke. There isn’t a ton to like here.

Linda Cardellini is a funny actress, but she has nowhere to play here, and the cast is joined by Thomas Haden Church who appears to pick up his cell and is actually phoning in a performance (okay, not really, but did he even learn his scenes?).

Daddy’s Home has elements that work; there are just too many other elements that don’t. I want to like it, but the sad truth: director Sean Anders (Horrible Bosses 2, That’s My Boy) just can’t seem to find a funny bone, and the film suffers from it.

1.5/5

-Kyle A. Goethe

March 26, 2016 3