Deliver Us From Evil – 5

Director – Scott Derrickson

Cast – Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez, Olivia Munn, Chris Coy, Dorian Missick, Sean Harris, Joel McHale, Mike Houston, Lulu Wilson, Olivia Horton, Scott Johnsen

Release Year – 2014

Reviewed by John of the Dead

This is a film that had me excited for multiple reasons. It is the newest film from Scott Derrickson, who is a director with a resume I enjoy. He broke onto the scene with the mediocre Hellraiser: Inferno, but since then he has given us The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister, both supernatural films that I highly enjoyed. I am also a fan of lead actor Eric Bana, and this marks the first horror film of his career. Throw in the semi-true supernatural storyline and you have my devout attention, so going into this film I really hoped to enjoy it. From the get-go I began to realize that the experience I expected was not going to happen, and when the story finally achieved greatness it was too little, too late.

Detective Sarchie has a knack for finding unusual cases, and the troubled detective’s “radar” brings him face to face with a series of disturbing crimes committed by a heinous killer. Teaming with an unconventional priest schooled in the rituals of exorcism, Sarchie battles the frightening demonic possessions terrorizing his city where no one, not even his family and partner, are safe.

Scott Derrickson and fellow Emily Rose co-writer Paul Harris Boardman produced this screenplay from Ralph Sarchie’s tell-all book, and while I have yet to read Sarchie’s take on the matter I hope it is more interesting than what these writers delivered. The first act is blander than it should be, starting off with a hint of the evil’s Middle Eastern origin and concluding with the first crime associated with those possessed by it. I could not believe how uneven these scenes felt, and I blame both writing and directing execution for failing to secure the viewer. The second act fares better but unfortunately produces more unanswered questions than I would like to deal with. I enjoy a film that leaves a few rocks unturned so that the viewer is allowed to debate amongst him/herself or friends, but that was not the case here. Instead, multiple horrific elements are thrown in here and there but never used to full potential. Because they must each share runtime they remain undeveloped and instead become more of an annoyance than an engaging development to the conflict. Finally, when the third act hits the horror manifests to supreme levels and I was left smiling for once. I was glad to see a strong finish to a film that started poor but gradually got better, but as I mentioned earlier, “too little, too late”. Character-wise I was disappointed in how Det. Sarchie was portrayed. We see him suffer the usual conflicts associated with a New York City officer, which basically means we see him suffer the usual CLICHES. He neglects his family, turns to alcohol as a solution (moderately, though), and of course keeps this major threat to the public pretty much to himself and a few confidants. I get that he needs conflict at home to help develop his character, but the method of doing so was as cliché as it gets and ultimately a waste of a good actor. The priest, Father Mendoza, was used with much better results. His unconventional mannerisms and internal demons were interesting and made you actually care for the guy, plus his actions during the final act stole the show. I am not sure if this was the case in “real life”, but the writers gave us a mediocre lead with a good supporting cast. The horrror they wrote into the film was pretty good though, and we were given plenty of it. Even though I did not particularly like the film I was glad to see lots of horror to keep me going until the end credits relieved me. We see plenty of kills, decent gore, and lots of spooks that were effective in a movie theater with surround sound. The supernatural element could have been furthered and is one of those undeveloped elements I mentioned earlier, leaving out untold potential that could have resulted in supreme levels of horror.

Derrickson’s direction was hit and miss, which was the biggest surprise for me. He delivered solid efforts with Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, so naturally I figured he would bring the goods once again for Deliver Us From Evil. From the get-go he sets good atmosphere – dark and gloomy, which is just the way I like it. The tension strikes early and his execution is engaging, giving us a full frontal point of view to the carnage. When the horror hit he would play heavily on the senses, especially sound. There are some spooky nighttime scenes that show nothing but still brought chills about the movie theater thanks to the spooking scratching noises we would hear. When the final act hits and the major exorcism begins we are shown just how great Derrickson can be. His execution was incredible and once again he brought amazing sound with him to seal the deal. I wish I could say that the rest of the film was this good, but his execution came with faults as well. The acting performances from our protagonists were pretty mediocre, with the best performances coming from the possessed antagonists. Sean Harris (Creep, Isolation, Prometheus) stole the show as Santino, the lead antagonist who is the root of the conflict in the film.  Harris seems to have a knack for portraying creepy characters, as he also portrayed the Creep in Michael Smith’s 2004 effort, Creep.  I enjoy a good antagonist, but it’s usually nice if the protagonist can hold his/her own as well but sadly they were not written in that manner. The worst is yet to come though. There were scenes in the film that I found completely unfathomable, and that is because they were so bad I could not believe my eyes. I don’t want to provide spoilers, so all I can say is that these scenes involve horrible sound effects added to some of the “scare” scenes. I would expect such antics from a crappy low budget piece from a novice director, but to see such nonsense on the big screen…unfathomable.

Overall, Deliver Us From Evil is a film I wanted to like, but poor writing and directing execution made that impossible. The story is downright stupid at times, as is the execution, and while the horror eventually manifested into something great…it was too little, too late. I promise I’m going to stop saying that too.

Rating: 5/10

Prometheus – 8

Director – Ridley Scott

Cast – Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong, Kate Dickie

Release Year – 2012

Reviewed by John of the Dead

When the horror news sites began posting word of Ridley Scott beginning work on a two-film prequel series to his 1979 classic I could not believe what I was reading. Alien remains one of my favorite films of all time, mostly due to its superb mashup of horror and sci-fi written by Dan O’Bannon and directed by Ridley Scott. Eventually the two prequel idea was condensed to a single prequel (for now), and this marks Scott’s first horror film since Hannibal debuted over a decade ago. Word of this prequel that would answer the questions posed by Alien left me a giddy fanboy and sent me running to a viewing of this piece at my earliest convenience, and I must say that I was pleased with the results. Prometheus was not exactly what I expected it to be, and that was very much the case for those who did not enjoy the film, but in the end despite its faults it did provide me with a good horror / sci-fi experience that I recommend.

While searching for clues to the origin of mankind a group of explorers on Earth stumble upon a cave that connects the dots to a mystery that has teased them for years. This discovery lands them onboard Prometheus, a research vessel, several years later and en route to a planet they believe holds the answers to the questions we have no concrete answers for. Little do they know, the planet does in fact hold answers to our deepest questions, but it also serves as the darkest and deadliest corner of the universe.

While Prometheus returns Alien‘s Ridley Scott as director, I was a bit disappointed to see that Dan O’Bannon (The Return of the Living Dead, Dead and Buried, Lifeforce, Heavy Metal, Total recall) was not brought on to add to his original story. Instead the story comes written by Jon Spaights (The Darkest Hour) and Damon Lindelof (Cowboys & Aliens, “Lost”), who did a decent job getting the overall story across. I loved the idea of the researchers discovering the final clue to a long-lost mystery while exploring a cave system in Scotland, and then taking to the stars to seek the source of the enlightening information and knowledge that predated current mankind by no less than 35,000 years. These writers kept my devout attention by playing on the “answers” element very well at first, with the researchers looking to make contact with the beings that created “us” but instead finding a much different world / planet than they imagined. This entry does not focus as much on the “xenomorph” creatures that made the Alien series so popular but more on the “engineers” who apparently created mankind and believe that in order to create you must also destroy. However this flick does take place in the same universe as the other Alien films and does play into the original storyline. The first half of the film is heavy in development and paced just right in that it kept my attention without moving too quick or too slow. Eventually the second half kicks in and the horror finally surfaces, and when it does we are given highly tense and chaotic scenes that left our researchers wishing they had never arrived on that planet of death. As the film progresses we learn that the researchers are not only facing the giant obstacle of surviving their ordeal but that the continuation of life on Earth depends on the outcome of their dilemma. As far as action and elements of horror and science fiction go I really enjoyed the story and felt that Spaights and Lindelof did a good job of providing entertainment for the viewer. Sadly they also seemed to miss the entire point of the film in the midst of the eye candy. The answers that the researchers AND the viewers of this film were searching for were left in the background for most of the film, with only a few revelations revealed and the other questions never answered. I believe this is the biggest reason behind the negative reviews the film has received, along with some very illogical scenes that took place on several occasions. Nonetheless I still found the script and enjoyable one that at least got the big things right in giving us good tension, horror, and science fiction.

Despite the faults of the screenplay I found absolutely no faults in Ridley Scott’s direction. His atmosphere was fantastic and he employed incredible sets that leave the viewer marveling over what is going on before them – instantly sucking them into the experience and overlooking all faults until after the end credits roll. Scott’s concoction of live-action FX and CGI FX was amazing and the film’s budget showed in just how realistic the planet / moon LV-223 and its underground systems looked. In addition to the great atmosphere we were also given great performances from everyone involved, although Michael Fassbender (Blood Creek) definitely stole the show as the charming and lovable android David. He was not the only star to grace the screen though as Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce also sold their roles very well, with Guy Pearce’s role being the most surprising of them all. Scott also showed that he still has a knack for dark and atmospheric horror, giving us some good jolts and genuinely scary sequences that left me hoping he would continue his original plan for a second prequel that ultimately leads up to the film that put him on the map and created his career…Alien.

Overall, Prometheus is a great addition to the Alien series that while not exactly a film about the aliens it does manage to provide the horror and science fiction expected from those who view it. The script has its issues and could have been much better, but Ridley Scott quickly makes up for the story faults by giving us a visual masterpiece that also comes with superb acting performances and good horror as well.

Rating: 8/10

Creep – 7

Director – Christopher Smith

Cast -Franka Potente, Sean Harris, Vas Blackwood, Ken Campbell, Jeremy Sheffield, Paul Rattray, Kelly Scott, Craig Fackrell

Release Year – 2004

Reviewed by John of the Dead

I have remained a fan of British horror writer/director after viewing his awesome films Severance, and Triangle, but I had never given his first full length film, Creep, a watch…until now.  When I first read about this film I read both good and bad remarks, so going into this I really had a true open-mind to what I was about to experience, and I now fully believe that Christopher Smith is a highly legitimate horror director after once again expertly executing some good horror.

Creep stars Franka Potente(The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy) as Kate, a self-reliant woman who one night leaves a modeling party to attend another party in which George Clooney is attending.  While waiting for her subway train she dozes off and wakes up after-hours, and with no one in sight.  She manages to climb onboard a very late train, and what seems like a sate and easy solution to her dilemma winds up only the beginning of a night of terror.  A bloodthirsty beast has been ravaging the underground passageways of the subway station, and Kate has now made herself an easy meal.

Creep gives me one element I LOVE to see in horror films…a dark and atmospheric nowhere-to-run scenario.  A horror film taking place in a subway station provides for some great atmosphere given the many dark corners and shadows that adorn many subway stations, and Guillermo Del Toro’s Mimic can attest to that.  To make things even more awesome, a sweet nowhere-to-run scenario is thrown into this creepy atmosphere, which only increases the tension, and is THEN intensified even more thanks to a sweet looking creature providing the antagonistic chaos.  Right after viewing this film I thought it reminded me a lot of Neil Marshall‘s The Descent, and while this film debuted first The Descent is pretty much Creep on steroids.

Christopher Smith really took advantage of the creepy elements I just mentioned with his fantastic execution.  Each of the long dark passageways provided the perfect atmosphere for some good scares, and he employed his awesome creature to give us just exactly that, good scares.  I rarely get any good chills these days, but I got a few from this film from some simple yet very well executed scenes.  His camerawork is creative and sets up much of the good tension we get, and thanks to this exciting feel and a short 84 minute runtime the film paces marvelously well.  The actual action we get from the creature is fulfilling and downright awesome at times.  If the look of the thing doesn’t freak you out, his actions and mannerisms will finish the job, guaranteed.  We also get a great amount of gore as well, including one scene in the latter half of the film that will leave females cringing and most likely fearful of what lies behind the dark shadows of the numerous subways that adorn the Earth.

Story-wise this flick is mostly positive.  The overall plot is one that I enjoyed thanks to the subway and nowhere-to-run elements, plus anything involving a maniacal creature is always sweet.  While the overall plot was fun and enjoyable, there were some smaller aspects of the film that I did not enjoy so much.  The usage of our lead Kate was one type that I really do not “get”.  You know the role of the protagonist right?  The person we are supposed to root for in the film?  Well, the “protagonist” in this one is a bitch who feels she can buy her way out of anything.  Now, some of you would think “well that only makes me root for the antagonist even more!”, but that is usually only the case when we have an antagonist worth rooting for.  You know, the kind of killer that serves a purpose(like “Jigsaw” of the Saw franchise) and comes with some personality?  The creature in the film is cool, but not the type of character I would ever root for.  Basically, we get no great character conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, and amounts to a situation where I could care less if either lived or died.  Now, the supporting actors…that is a different story.  We get several supporting actors that provide some great conflict for the viewer, both in regards to characters you would like to see survive, and others that you would like to see die.  We also sadly get some scenes that are downright ridiculous in logic, and while I always expect silly scenes to happen in movies some of these scenes were quite unreasonable to the point of unforgiveness on my part.

Overall, this is a cool and genuinely creepy debut film from British horror writer/director Christopher Smith.  We get some genuine chills, a sweet creature, a cool story, and a somewhat underrated experience as well.

Rating: 7/10

Isolation – 6

Director – Billy O’Brien

Cast – John Lynch, Ruth Negga, Sean Harris, Marcel Lures, Crispin Letts, Essie Davis

Release Year – 2005

Reviewed by John of the Dead

The Irish make horror films? I stumbled upon this Irish horror film and after quickly reading on the plot I decided to myself “well what the heck…it sounds interesting”, and sure enough…it really is! The science geek in me is the reason I found this film interesting, but I am sure those who are just looking for a unique story would be satisfied by this film due to the fact that there are some original elements in it that I have yet to see in another horror movie.

The film takes place on an isolated farm somewhere in Ireland. A dairy farmer named Dan is very low on money and gets involved with a local veterinarian named Orla, and a scientist named John, who want to use his farm as a laboratory for what seems to be a pregnant cow that is going to deliver any day. The cow delivers very soon, however there is obviously something wrong with the newborn calf. The calf is born with some very un-cowlike features and is even going so far as to repeatedly attack it’s own mother. We soon learn that both Orla and John were doing some quite unethical genetic experiments on the calf, which was supposed to revolutionize and bring more money to the dairy industry. Instead, they created something which will not only bring in more money, but may cost them their lives as well.

I know what you’re thinking…and NO, this film is not necessarily about killer cows. Not in a literal sense at least. As I mentioned earlier, the science geek in me is the biggest reason I enjoyed this film. I’ve always been a fan of films where genetic experiments go wrong, and those who are responsible begin falling victim to their own design. If you enjoy those types of films as well, then there is a good chance you will enjoy “Isolation”. I will admit that the film is a bit slow, but graciously picks up at the end with some great gore scenes and a cool looking creature, among other pretty cool things going on in the laboratory they have built.

Aside from pacing issues, I do not have too much to dock this film for. I do however believe that this film could have been executed much better, and that is why I am going to give this film the rating that it gets. This film had a lot of potential, as much as you can get from a plot having to do with cows, but overall I felt that if this film was executed properly and paced better that this could have been a really good horror/science film quite similar to John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.

Overall, this film is a bit slow, but delivers in the end. Fans of the horror/science genre may enjoy this, as well as those who just want to see a new aspect of the “genetic experiment gone wrong” horror sub-genre.

Rating: 6/10