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Alien: Romulus (2024)
A nostalgic journey with fresh horrors
Alien: Romulus, the latest installment in the enduring Alien franchise, is a curious blend of nostalgia and fresh concepts.
Directed by Fede Álvarez, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues, the film finds itself wedged between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). With such prestigious company on either side, the film had big shoes to fill. For the most part, it delivers-at least in the first half.
The story follows a group of young, desperate space colonists who are trying to escape never-ending mining contracts on a Weyland-Yutani star. The group, which includes a family-less woman named Rain (Cailee Spaeny), find themselves scavenging a derelict space ship for equipment that will help them to reach a new planet with better life conditions. What they encounter, of course, are the franchise's signature hostile creatures, with a few new twists thrown in for good measure.
For fans of the series, Alien: Romulus offers plenty of references to the past, with nods to Prometheus (which I love for its profound philosophical questions), Alien and Aliens. It even includes a solid dose of Cockney accents and alien vision as a sneaky wink to the (dare I say it) underrated Alien 3. Music samples from the original films are also woven into the score, stirring a sense of eerie familiarity that fans will appreciate.
One of the film's most intriguing elements is its exploration of Rain's relationship with artificial intelligence, specifically with Andy (David Jonsson), an outdated Weyland-Yutani synthetic human who she calls her "brother." Andy is the most likable synthetic human the series has offered to date-yes, even more likeable than the loyal Bishop! His regular seizures and need for constant rebooting add a layer of vulnerability and pathos that resonate emotionally.
Rain and Andy's relationship feels particularly relevant in today's world, where our increasing reliance on technology prompts deeper questions about the nature of human-AI connections and the imperfections that make them both fascinating and unsettling. Unfortunately, as compelling as he is initially, Andy's character loses steam as the film progresses, dragging the latter half of the story down with him.
While the franchise's tradition of body horror is alive and well (with aliens erupting from nearly every conceivable orifice), Álvarez opts for too much restraint with surprisingly minimal blood and gore. The alien-unborn baby hybrid that grows at an unprecedented pace-a clear callback to the most disappointing and cringe-worthy moment in Alien Resurrection-feels misguided. Far from terrifying, this creature only serves as a reminder of the franchise's occasional missteps.
Despite its strong start, Alien: Romulus struggles to maintain momentum. After the midpoint, the pacing falters, and the film seems to lose its way. The climax drags on, overstaying its welcome and diminishing the impact of what could have been a solid entry in the series.
In conclusion, Alien: Romulus is a film of two halves. The first half is compelling, anchored by an engaging AI-human relationship and a fresh take on familiar horrors. However, the second half stumbles, with a predictable and lackluster ending that ultimately leaves the film feeling less than the sum of its parts. Still, for fans of the franchise, it's worth the watch-just don't expect it to join the ranks of its classic predecessors.
Talk to Me (2022)
A gritty and gruesome Australian gem!
Listen up, horror fiends! If you're a fan of Drag Me to Hell, Flatliners or Idle Hands, you're gonna love this gritty and gruesome Australian gem.
Supernatural horror film Talk To Me is the theatrical debut of directing brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, known for their YouTube channel, Racka Racka.
Talk To Me's story revolves around a group of friends who stumble upon a peculiar discovery-the ability to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand. What starts as a thrill-seeking experiment (filmed and shared online, naturally) quickly spirals into a terrifying ordeal when one of them takes their curiosity too far, unleashing sinister and supernatural forces upon themselves.
With its tightly woven narrative and dry wit, Talk To Me keeps us both engaged and entertained throughout its entire 94 minutes. With this tight and tidy runtime, the story holds a good pace, builds suspense and provides levity in all the right moments-refreshing in an era where unnecessarily long features have become the norm!
Talk To Me's raw and gritty cinematography captures everything we've come to love about Australian film. If you enjoyed Animal Kingdom, Snowtown and The Babadook, you'll love the authentic look and feel of this film.
But, be warned! Talk To Me contains some brutal, head-smashing scenes that will avert even the biggest gorehound's gaze. I personally haven't seen special effects this realistic and visceral since the Argentinian horror film Terrified.
Looking around me at the youngsters in the theatre, and considering the average age of the cast (basically foetal), I wondered if Talk To Me was going to be the average, run of the mill, soft teen horror flick. But, I'm thrilled to say it got under my skin with its interesting story, relatable characters and some pretty convincing performances from lead Sophie Wilde (Mia), newcomer Joe Bird (Riley), and Miranda Otto (Sue).
Overall, Talk To Me is one of the most exciting horror movies to emerge from Australia in recent years. So, go watch. Let it in. Possession has never been so much fun!
Halloween Kills (2021)
Some fun kills in Kills
Halloween Kills has some great creative kills that genre fans will enjoy. It's gruesome and gory-a real blood bath at times! I have to say, it was awesome to see so many cool practical effects. Round of applause on that front.
The Shape was as intimidating and terrifying as I wanted him to be-until he wasn't. The unmasking of Michael Myers was a HUGE mistake. When will people learn that fear is such a personal thing and to not know what's behind the mask is a powerful tool. Halloween Kills shows much too much of Michael Myers-and frankly, he looked like a balding corporate moron from what I saw. Not scary at all. It completely took the magic away for me. Please, next time, do us a favor and do not show any distinguishing features.
My other complaint was the scriptwriting. The dialogue was overwritten and cringy. Also the editing could have been better- the scenes jumped around too much. It just felt a bit all over the shop at times.
Let's hope they get things back on track for Halloween Ends!
Dýrið (2021)
Artistic and suspenseful with some interesting themes
Lamb is a suspenseful and artistic film that showcases some great performances. I loved its beautiful cinematography and stunning colour palette. I also found it's themes of parenthood, loss and isolation interesting. At times, I wondered if the makers were commenting on real-world issues such as The Stolen Generation of Indigenous children in Australia.
But, as interesting as the concept was, the storyline just felt a little thin and not enough happened over the 90 minutes. Also, I don't think this film has been categorised correctly. There are a couple of violent scenes, but Lamb doesn't really qualify as a horror in my opinion. Instead, I'd describe it as a 'folk drama'.
Malignant (2021)
Entertaining
Malignant is entertaining!
It contains plenty of horror references, which genre fans will love.
I'd say it's a mash up between The Dark Half (totally underrated film and book by Stephen King), The Ring and Scream.
Malignant doesn't take itself too seriously-it's hammy in an intentional and self-aware way.
However, it does rely heavily on jump scares and didn't really build any suspense, but I expected that anyway
My only other criticism is the over use of CGI in the final act, as it took me out of the fun of the story.
That aside, it was an action-packed and enjoyable watch.
Candyman (2021)
Liked the body horror aspect, but this just wasn't scary enough
This film had really great sound design, you'll need to remind yourself to stop trying to swat bees away from your head. The use of paper puppets is cute, but reminded me of the end credits for Lemony Snickett-a little juvenile. If you like body horror, you'll enjoy the homages to The Fly, including an awesome shot where the lead character slides off his rotten finger nail a la Jeff Gldblum. The make up and effects, especially the honeycomb skin, were pretty cool.
However, the rest of the film was a little disappointing. The script and themes were too on the nose and lacked the artistic subtlety, which may make you cringe at times. The "new" candyman wasn't scary at all. In fact, I didn't find a single scene frightening unfortunately. I didn't care about any of the characters and there was some really bad acting (the white couple chit chatting in the gallery before they get slashed was particularly awful)..Tony Todd's momentary appearance at the end looked like a deep fake because of all the digital de-aging and it just seemed like a consolation prize for fans of the original film.
Probably would have been a better film if Clive Barker, the original writer of the story, had been involved.
The Nun (2018)
Much better than I expected...
Yes, the story gets a bit outrageous at times. Yes, some of the dialogue could have been better, especially the attempts at humor. Yes, it sticks to the tried-and-tested tropes of the horror genre.
But, hey, isn't that what we expect as horror fans?!
Don't be put off by the negative reviews.
The Nun puts in a solid performance in so many other areas. It delivers a satisfying story, creepy setting, gothic mood and atmosphere, and does a great job of expanding the Conjuring universe.
Overall, it surpassed my expectations. Definitely worth a watch!