As we continue to grow more sensitive of the world around us and the horrors of the adult world, we continue to censor and change the stories of the past to reflect what we believe today. This is most prevalent in fairy tales, which have been mostly changed into kid-friendly tales with lessons people don’t really listen to. What many don’t know is that these tales started as really dark, sinister stories involving subjects like kidnapping, cannibalism, and even underage sexual abuse (I’m not kidding).
Throughout the centuries of their existence, fairy tales have had many interpretations. As cinema came into play, they became the subjects of numerous film adaptations. Some recent ones have embraced the dark origins of the stories, but never in a way that captures the true horror that lies beneath the surface. Now one director, Osgood Perkins, is attempting to unearth the truth of the classic tale Hansel & Gretel, embracing the truly twisted story that it used to be. In the depths of an ancient fairy tale forest, siblings Gretel (Sophia Lillis) and Hansel (Sam Leakey) are trying to make it through their miserable existence living with their poor mother. One night, their mother throws them out and they are forced to fend for themselves. After days of wandering the woods without food or water, they believe that they may have found a home when they stumble upon a dark cottage that seems to warmly invite them in. The home’s owner (Alice Krige), while certainly strange in behavior, is more than welcoming of the two children. She gives them food, work, and a place to sleep for the night; everything that they had been looking for. It seems like the perfect place to stay to Hansel. But Gretel suspects otherwise, as she begins to unravel the truth behind their mysterious host and discovers something sinister hiding just beneath the surface. From the very opening of the film, which spins an original fairy tale like a horror story, you can tell that Osgood Perkins isn’t playing around. He isn’t going to tell you the classic tale like how your parents told you when they were putting you to bed. The opening is design to get you pleasantly unsettled, setting you up to witness something that resembles more of a nightmare than a kid-friendly bedtime story. Gretel & Hansel stands on its own in the crowded library of studio horror offerings. It looks and acts like an arthouse horror flick; one released by A24 like Hereditary or The Witch (the latter of which clearly inspiring some of the film’s shots). It relies heavily on surreal imagery and creepy symbolism, something that will definitely off-put audiences looking for a more straightforward film. But for those of you looking for something more unique in the genre, this is the breath of fresh air you’ve been looking for. From Perkins’s skillful direction, to the haunting production and costume design, to the total embrace of the fairy tale’s terrifying origins, this film does everything it can to stand apart from other modern horror films and fairy tale adaptations, and largely succeeds. Much of the success comes from Perkins’s direction. The way he stages the shots is very simplistic and dark, relying mostly on natural lighting and tight spaces to create a tense atmosphere. Many of the scary elements are kept in the background, and the camera angles never focus directly on them. That’s what makes them so much more scary. They feel like more of a threat when they’re lurking in the background, obscured from view but you know they’re there. And that’s how most of the scares land hard. That and the production and costume design. The world that Perkins has created oozes dread on every surface of its buildings and characters. There are scenes involving a sort-of dark sorcerer who's face is covered and wears a black colonial hat. Just the look of this character creates a nightmarish image that is genuinely haunting. The witch’s home is also an unsettling design. The darkened rooms and small spaces make you feel genuinely trapped like the characters, and makes the atmosphere so much more tense. All of this is held afloat by the performances of its cast. After making a splash with her performance in It, Sophia Lillis bring all the emotion she gave as Beverly to the character of Gretel, and more than manages to carry the majority of the film on her own. Alice Krige also plays a very menacing villain with her portrayal of the witch. She comes off as a genuine threat that will probably kill you if you cross her path. Gretel & Hansel is the perfect cure for fatigue towards the abundance of horror films made by studios. It relies far more on dread and atmosphere than cheap jump scares, and creates a completely menacing world that will haunt your dreams. Everything feels like a threat, and will make you root for our title characters to survive until the end. Though its more cerebral elements won’t be what most horror fans are looking for, the film’s arthouse sensibilities make it the first great horror movie of 2020.
0 Comments
In a remote, country-side mansion in the 1990s, young school teacher Kate (Mackenzie Davis) has just accepted to be the nanny and tutor to a young girl named Flora (Brooklynn Prince), who has been recently orphaned after the death of her parents. Kate soon has more to deal with when Flora’s brother Miles (Finn Wolfhard) arrives home from boarding school. Despite the work this creates for her, she slowly starts to warm up to their presence.
But things aren’t exactly what they appear. As Kate settles into the massive home, she is plagued by strange noises and disturbed by the ubiquitous presence of disturbing mannequins. Soon, she starts seeing vivid images and nightmares that begin to suggest that there may be some sort of supernatural force stalking her. As she begins to uncover the secrets of the home and the family, she realizes she doesn’t have much time before these forces drive her insane. Based on the novel The Turn of a Screw by Henry James, this film is the latest of many adaptations of the book. The most famous being the 1961 classic The Innocents. It’s an expertly crafted horror film that accomplishes everything a film of the genre should without relying on weak jump scares and excessive gore. With that kind of legacy, it may prove to be a challenge for a new generation of filmmakers to try and one-up that film. But even if that’s what they tried to do, the film they made never even comes close. The Turning is a poor attempt at adapting the classic novel for modern day. Though it stays relatively close to the book’s basic premise, director Floria Sigismondi’s methods of updating it for today’s standards only succeed in, once again, alienating and demonizing the group that she is clearly taking potshots at. This version oddly feels less like a film and more like a punk rock rebel statement, which makes sense since she specializes in music videos, and her only other movie was about punk rockers. Probably one of the better parts of the film are the performances of Wolfhard and Prince. They have a good chemistry with each other; making them believable as brother and sister. Though Wolfhard is more menacing than the character should be, he comes off as a genuinely threatening presence. Prince also does a good job in her first studio film, even if her character is somewhat annoying at times. Unfortunately, they sit back seat to Mackenzie Davis, who gives a rather lackluster performance. She spends the film switching between over-the-top emotions and a complete “dear in the headlights” look. She never once becomes her character, and her distracting hairdo doesn’t help either. As evident as it is that she’s trying to break out and become a star, this movie is proof that she might have to try harder if she wants to accomplish that. But the films main problems come from the story. This new version makes a noble attempt to update certain elements of the story to fit the standards of modern day; emphasizing the backgrounds of the identities of the ghosts and trying to make it relevant to today. However, none of these attempts fit with the themes of a story and feel wildly out of place, and its portrayal of the villain will only succeed in alienating the crowds their apart of. This is further hampered by the film’s established setting, which combines elements from many different periods. It has a soundtrack from the 80s, the story is set in the 90s, and has a backdrop that matches today. The problem is that this strange combination is never given any reason for existing, and the various references often pull you out of the moment, diminishing any tension the film tries, and fails, to create. The Turning is a lackluster adaptation of the classic novel that seems content to rely on the clichés of modern horror films rather than stay true to the story’s themes. Mackenzie Davis never gives enough to lead the film, it’s filled with weak jump scares, and the filmmaker’s attempts to make the story relevant never fit with world she establishes. The only good thing about this is that the novel has another attempt to be adapted right with the upcoming second season of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. Deep below the surface of the ocean, within the Mariana Trench, the Tian cooperation is drilling the sea floor for resources. Among the crew of this complex rig is Nora Price (Kristen Stewart), a deep-thinking, cynical person who has a sort of bleak outlook on life; seeming disconnected from the world around her. At the start of the film, she explains in a monologue how being in the darkness of the ocean for months at time can mess with your head. But things aren’t going to stay normal for long.
While Nora is preparing for bed, a sudden earthquake causes the rig to suffer major structural damage under the water pressure. As she scrambles to safety, she meets and rescues fellow workers Rodrigo (Mamoudou Athie), Paul (T.J. Miller), Haversham (Jessica Henwick) Smith (John Gallagher Jr.), and their Captain Lucien (Vincent Cassel). With all the escape pods taken, their only option to walk across the ocean floor to another station in the hopes of escape. But as they make their way to their destination, they start to realize that they’re not alone outside. The further they go, the more they encounter what appear to be strange new sea creatures along their path. And these creatures have no intention of letting them escape. With eminent death staring them in the face, the crew must brave their darkest fears in order to make their way to the surface and escape these ravenous monsters. If this plot line sounds kind of familiar, its because it is very similar to the plot of the 1979 horror classic Alien. This consensus has been held against the film ever since the first trailer came out. The parallels are uncanny. From the claustrophobic setting and situations to the vicious foreign creatures that are the film’s villains. So does all this mean it’s a bad film? Well, not necessarily. Underwater may be a derivative story, but it’s well acted and competently enough to, in the end, be a fun movie nonetheless. It has a variety of clever scares and enough mystery about the monsters to keep the thrills consistently coming, even it it doesn’t offer much in the ways of dramatic motivation or proper character development. The film is mostly saved thanks to the work of the cast, specifically Kristen Stewart. For staring in a B-level horror movie, she gives a surprisingly A-level performance as Nora Price. There’s a level of charm and emotion to Nora’s near emotionless face that Stewart really conveys. She never looks afraid right on the surface, but you can see in her eyes that deep down, she’s absolutely terrified. It’s a stunning performance that really keeps the movie going during its slow moments, and you’ll find yourself rooting for her to survive the ordeal. But another actor to really hold the screen is Vincent Cassel, who gives a committed performance as Captain Lucien. The grizzled sea captain is a character we’ve seen before, but Cassel plays it with so much emotion that you’ll be rooting for him too. Really, it’s the cast that comes to the rescue when the movie begins to stumble. Everyone does well in their respective roles. Yes, even T.J. Miller. Early reviews were quick to point him as one of the film’s biggest flaws, labeling his character as annoying or out-of-place. But he actually isn’t as annoying a character as some are calling him. In fact, he’s actually quite charming. He’s the average jokey guy that we question why he’s even in this scientific setting; acting as the comic relief in the most tense situations. While many of his jokes don’t land, he’s still a charming presence that lightens the mood when the horror really amps up. However, all this is not to say that this film is flawless. Even though it is a fun film, one can’t help but see where the filmmakers could have done something more with the story. All of its problems start there. We’re dropped directly into the action with no real time to get proper introductions to the characters or motivations beyond the basic “let’s get out of here before we die.” It ends up feeling like an episode out of a 60s anthology series rather than a full film. Actually, it seems the film would have fared better if the creatures weren’t apart of it, or at least weren’t the villains. The idea of fighting for survival in a destroyed rig 7 miles below the ocean surface is already a more thrilling and engaging film without the ravenous sea monsters coming into play. Even the idea about losing touch with reality isn’t explored once it’s introduced. So many interesting ideas; all get thrown to the side in favor of evil sea monsters. In the end, it feels like the writers only scratched the surface on what the film could have been. Maybe their intention was to create a tense creature feature, but with what they did, they may have unintentionally opened the door to something more thought-provoking and dramatically involving then the story they chose to focus on. It’s hard to fully enjoy something when you can clearly see the essence of something better hidden within the cracks of the script. Underwater is a fun and frequently tense sci-fi thriller, and the cast give everything they can to make the film watchable, and they mostly succeed. However, with so much more potential hiding beneath the surface, it’s hard to accept what it is without wishing it was something more. If you’re looking for fun, there is fun to be had. But if you’re looking for something more intellectual, you may find yourself wanting to explore depths deeper than the film’s own characters. |