I have always felt that if a movie can stay in your thoughts after the viewing it has succeeded. Horror movies in particular I think are successful this way. I have movies on my must watch list for those who haven't seen them that I hesitate to re-watch myself because of this reason. They affected me, stayed in my head and possibly disturbed me somewhat. I appreciate the ones that elicit this reaction if it is integral to the plot. Yes gore and violence for gore and violence's sake are fun too for us horror fans but something that is beyond eye candy is needed now and then to feed the soul.
2015's Stray directed by Nena Eskridge is not my definition of a horror movie. It is however an extremely honest and sincere effort that will elicit feelings from the viewer. This, as I said previously, falls under my definition of successful as a film. It is an extremely slow burning plot that builds and builds to an even more extremely sad ending. I hesitate to call this movie depressing because that suggests its of poor quality. Depressing maybe the most accurate description though. While not an overly shocking ending or horror movie gory payoff at the end, it creeps up and "gets you in the feels" for lack of a better description.
Stray centres on Jennifer, played by Gabrielle Stone. She's homeless and we see her do what she must to survive and get what she wants. Jennifer is a complex character who reveals more and more of herself emotionally as the story goes on. Gabrielle does an excellent job as she shows us every side to herself, changing how you feel about her every step of the way. Once her basic needs are fulfilled she attempts to fill other voids in her life. Such as a relationship
She stumbles upon Greg, played by Dan McGlaughlin, and once her sights on set on him, nothing gets in her way. Greg's girlfriend Sarah (Samantha Fairfield Walsh) see's what Jennifer is attempting but becomes powerless to stop her. Greg's mother Edna (Arita Trahan) sees something else in Jennifer, and relates to her somewhat. This all leads to the characters getting caught in Jennifer's wave of destruction whether intended or not. I hesitate to say much more at risk of spoiling your own feelings and opinions of Jennifer. She ranges from "Fatal Attraction" to relatable and the key to the plot is the discovery along the way. Her story is what leads me to my depressing description when I could relate to Jennifer's hopelessness in the end.
The film itself is of great quality. It does not feel like an indie picture at all. I did find the slow burning plot almost painful at times but like any good picture everything is justified by the end. Every actor does an excellent job with their role. Nena Eskridge does a great job of directing and gets some great camera angles and shots. I wouldn't call this a must watch movie and quite frankly if you are feeling sad or depressed I would encourage you not to watch it because it is so successful at taking you on Jennifer's journey. I think this was a very well done movie and is worth a watch. Don't expect true horror but please keep an open mind and be wary of who you help along the way.
Sometimes I watch a movie and wonder how it never received more acclaim at it's time of release. As genre fans we tend to find more gems well after the release dates. We discover these movies through word of mouth or websites like this. The horror community is always eager to share their discoveries amongst each other. We take pride in creating cult classics well after their run on the big screen is over, no matter how brief that time may have been. Obviously because of technology and social media, this has become a much easier achievement. Keep searching my fellow horror junkies, many films slipped through the cracks and remain undiscovered or underappreciated. One of these underappreciated films is Ravenous.
Ravenous is the story of a disgraced war hero, Captain Boyd. Boyd (Guy Pearce) is sent to join some other military misfits at a remote post, along a pilgrimage trail. They save the life of a man wandering in the cold wilderness (Robert Carlyle) and he regales them with his tale of how he got there and what he had to do to get there. This is the point when I knew I had found something special, Carlyle's monologue is chilling and expertly delivered. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie which fails to disappoint. I hesitate to give away much more but needless to say, cannibalism and man's inner battles are the main themes of the film
I think the main reason Ravenous was and possibly still is underappreciated is it could be mistaken for a mainstream film with a quick glance at the film's poster or cover. The cast of Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle was perhaps misleading to genre fans. Throw in David Arquette and the often recognized face but rarely recognized name of Jeffrey Jones and it may become a tough sell for some horror fans. Remember this is before 28 Weeks Later and after The Full Monty. Carlyle was maybe pigeonholed in our minds as comedic and not horror worthy. I guarantee this was also misleading for fans of mainstream film at the time. I would believe this title was rented from Blockbuster and returned only partially watched by more than a few people in the early 2000's.
With some truly mesmerizing scenes that increase the heart rate, an equally fantastic score and some great performances, Ravenous is beautifully done. Splash in some dark humour and amazing outdoor shots and it garners repeated watches. I have friends who aren't big horror fans who loved this film and are still terrified by it. I also have some very seasoned horror friends who aren't shy to place this in their top five horror favorites. Go give it a watch, tell me what you think and remember.....you are who you eat.
Horror and genre fans thrive on the anticipation of a film we haven't seen yet. The promise of a film terrifying us, making us squirm or thrilling us enough to earn it a spot among our favorites. Unfortunately we also thrive on the fact that we have to sit through many less than quality films in our search for satisfaction. As a result we depend on the word of friends , blogs, reviews to help us find that uncovered gem. For this reason I think The ABC's of Death, original (2013) and the sequel (2014) are worth a view.
I just recently watched the ABC's of Death 2, I think I enjoyed it more than the first. While I don't consider either film to be among my favorites I believe there is something for every horror fan in both. For those of you who haven't seen either they are unique. The beauty of them is they are anthology style. I enjoy anthology style horror films. Trick or Treat, Creepshow one and two are among my favorites. The ABC's of Death films take that idea to the next level and matches a story to every letter of the alaphabet. Rather than just three or four stories , these films offer up twenty six a piece. With so many short stories, even if you aren't enjoying the current one its just a short matter of time till the next. In that regard I find them satisfying to watch because of the quick set-ups and payoffs. With twenty six per film, and each film clocking in around two hours long, each story is eager to please. Even the ones I didn't really enjoy still kept me engaged while I wondered how they were going to relate to the specific letter they were on. Its unique style offers incredible freedom to the individual directors to go ahead skip appetizers and the main course, lets get to desert!
While the first film left me cringing a little more I still found the second more enjoyable. That being said I would recommend watching the original first. The second was a little more tongue in cheek, better quality directors (Soska sisters, Vincenzo Natali etc.) Be forewarned, there were a few moments that are obviously going to elicit reactions from the viewer at any cost. This stands for both movies. I found one story in particular fairly disgusting and not from a gore standpoint. With twenty-six stories per film, I'm sure certain directors had a goal of standing out, either positively or shockingly. I want to remain clear about these movies though. Not every horror fan is going to love them start to finish. This remains a key selling feature of these films, something for everyone. I liked a lot less of the first and a lot more of the second. Especially with the second I found each reveal of the word at the end of each story to be humorous, clever and sometimes quite poignant. Overall, I would recommend watching, especially if you are seasoned horror lover. "Twenty-six directors, twenty-six ways to die." Who wouldn't love the anticipation of watching that?
