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Deathgasm 2015 ★★★
Depending on where you stand, this little horror comedy can be either the raunchy comedy version of Evil Dead or the horror version of (a comedy like) Superbad. I know it's tempting to make the Shaun of the dead comparison, but Shaun is way too subtle with its callbacks and foreshadowing. This one is just a lot more staightforward. (Jerry: Not that there's anything wrong with that. George: No, of course not.)
A group of outcast nerds form a death metal group (with an obligatory quick dubstep joke) and the accidentally summon a devil. Don't you just hate it when that happens?
The movie does not reinvent the wheel. The shot of the adult shocked at the sight of the teenager's tastes or the winning over the bully's girlfriend subplot is something we have seen a million times, so nothing shocking there.
But it's not always about what you do, but also about how you do it. And this movie does it well. The pace is good, the jokes work and it's overall a fun flick with a happy end. The shot of Brodie in corpse paint and Medina having an icecream is just adorable, and everyone who has ever rocked out to one of their favorite tunes will recognize themselves in the scene where Medina discovers heavy metal.
Nice little discovery for horror comedy fans.
Better Watch Out 2016 ★★
In all honesty, I did not think all that much of it. The concept was okay. You know, the babysitting brat from hell. Go... to... bed! That's what you said. Go to bread.
So yeah, the idea was good and the kid portraying Luke did a good job. But it was not like it was very gripping or got a laugh from me. A good concept turned into a run of the mill.
I myself am not on reddit and I am not (really) familiar with the culture behind incels. I'm sure that they are annoying and such, that's not the point. But, like in other instances, it also sees a lot of people worked up and raging in either which direction over a movie that, at the end of the day, is pretty much just meh.
The best thing to do is to go in blind. Now the script was not all that captivating, the twists were not too shocking and, apart from Levi Miller, the acting was not bad, but not memorable either. At least we get an okay pay-off.
Two stars. For fans of holiday horror.
Gerald’s Game 2017 ★★★★˝
For a horror fan, this is the stuff that makes a Netflix subscription worth its money.
From a simple set-up – sex game goes awry – we venture into a minimalistic horror thriller that manages to keep you invested for the duration of the movie.
As with other of these limited setting horrors (Frozen comes to mind), they make maximum use of the objects available. But most of the credit goes to the actors. Bruce Greenwood and especially Carla Gugino make Gerald and Jessie into complex and layered characters. While I have not yet read the book, some of the monologue passages really reflect King's style of writing, making the whole thing look like a faithfull adaptation.
In that aspect, it was a stroke of genius to tie in the hallucinations and the dream sequences. They help you understand so much better how Jessie's mind works and where she comes from. Especially the moments surrounding the eclipse are very unsettling. Compliments for the young actress for portraying the shock and starting trauma she conveyed there and then.
It uses its gore very effectively, making you squirm at every gory moment, especially the climax when she gets out of the cuffs. Keeping you on the edge of your seat while she is behind the wheel. And even then, her happy ending is not fully certain. For some, the ending scene might feel a bit tacked on, but it mostly shows the progress she made and how she is ready to move on as a person.
Great film and certainly one of the better King-adaptations.
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