Last Seen Contemporary Movie

[Tommy Jarvis]

In a Violent Nature 2024 ★★½

Well, this one added a new dimension the term slow burn. This is where a quickwitted, rowdy crowd comes in handy.

In a violent nature, answering the question “What would happen if Jason could not teleport and we had to follow him do more walking than Glen's group on their entire journey to Terminus?”.

Does that make this a one star shite bag? No. Not at all. When this movie's baddie does get to killing, it's often so mindbogglingly brutal that it veers into splatstick territory. Though there's too little of it and too far in between to really fit in with Braindead or Dead Snow.

Honorable mention for Lauren Taylor's cameo at the end. The cult heroine of eighties slashers such as Friday the 13th part 2 and Girls nite out appears as our knight in shining armour. Even though her story goes on for way too long and we end up on a weird “she is safe”/sequel bait shot.

It says in the blurb that this movie throws all the slasher rules overboard. While that certainly is true, that does not mean it makes for a gripping tale, though.

For gorehounds who like their slashers a bit out there.

The Deep Dark 2023 ★★★½

I enjoyed the isolated nature of the story and how help at the same time was so close and yet so far away. People compare this to Alien, but the closest thing was the scientist with his Ash/Burke-like backhanded attitude.

The backstory behind the monster was kind of convoluted, but I did like the gore of the kills and the opening bit in Morocco.

Overall an enjoyable flick for folks looking to expand their euro collection. Sacre bleu!

The Last Stop in Yuma County 2023 ★★★½

Your typical US roadside diner. No place to stop for gas for the next 160 miles. Nowhere to go until the gasoline truck arrives. But... you'll die for our rhubarb pie. Good one, that (and decent foreshadowing, mind you).

Of course, tonight's Gecko's (are they even brothers? Don't know, don't care) just happen to stop in this dinner on their way to the Mexican border. Needless to say, they don't take too kindly to folks messing up their game plan by tattling on them.

Last stop in Yuma county is a solid confined space thriller with palpable tention until the inevitable shootout. With one bank robber being a cool, ruthless killer while the other is more like a crossover between Stephen Baldwin in The Usual Suspects and Stephen Baldwin in Biodome (making for some well deserved comic relief). We get some solidly executed set pieces with amongst others a phone and some cups of coffee, not to mention a few laugh out loud moments (like the mother in law joke or the line “Does everyone have a gun here?”).

After the unavoidable firefight, the film can't help but slow down and drop in tension for a few minutes. Our unlikely survivor escapes by the skin of his teeth, only to finds himself in even deeper doodoo than before. This results in an unlikely final standoff and admittedly unexpected reveal about the truck.

A fun ride for thriller fans that horror fans will certainly enjoy as well.

[Tommy Jarvis]

The Funeral 2023 ★★★★

A lovely Turkish road flick with a subtle romance weaved in, in some aspects not unlike Let the right one in.

At the movie's opening, a young man who could double for Keanu Reeves' son is asked to transport a recently deceased young girl and lay low for a month. What could go wrong, right?

Of course, the girl (if there is an American version of this, she'll probably be played by Maisie Williams) turns out to be a zombie and needless to say, somebody needs to provide her need for flesh. Our reluctant hero does so and develops an odd but profound fondness for her.

Throughout the movie, our unlikely duo grows both closer to each other and further apart from the surrounding society, thus creating an reinforcing the us against the world feeling. The highpoint being the “delivery” to some sort of cult. Needless to say, it involves them kicking a lot of ass and taking even more names. With a perfect ending shot, making the movie not overstay its welcome but rather end on a great shot. With so many movies ending with the studio pressing the director to add one more jumpscare that has no rhyme or reason.

Well recommended. Don't fear the subs and check it out.

There Will Be Monsters 2020 ★★½

A short about a seemingly helpless lady and overly courageous rapists... with a first and then a second twist.

Not great, not terrible. A fun five minutes.

The Itch 2019 ★★★

Lady gets an itch and it all gets worse and worse... and worse... and then some.

Solid editing (adding to the surreal atmos) and a ditto ending. Makes for an okay short.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Braindead 1992 ★★★★★

Paquita: Your mother ate my dog!
Lionel: Not all of it.

Love how much brilliant quotable dialogue this one has.

A gem that survives every rewatch just as much as Lord of the rings.

Also: Imagine Leslie Nielsen had played the priest.

Cuckoo 2024 ★★★★

Da fuck?

This was...

Confusing: What was bad guy König's plan in the first place? I know it has something to do with pregnant women but what is it really? Fuck if I know.

Fascinating: Like the relationship between Gretchen and officer Mikkelsen-lookalike. Is he supposed her friend? Enemy? Frienemy? Or a figment of her imagination?

Gripping: The more it gets out of hand, the more my eyes were glued to the screen, even after a long and hard day. Drawn in by the visuals.

Surreal: What's with the at times looping shots and dialogue? Were the characters stuck in their own hallucination?

Unpredictable: No surprise given the confusing and fever dream-ish nature of this film. But at least two twists really come out of nowhere. With one being thoroughly depressing.

Also: Cool as hell.

Also also: What is the deal with people barfing in this hotel lobby (The food can't be that bad, can it)? Or with the lady chasing Gretchen? Was it me, or did she at one point even start looking like her?

This is not for everyone. But those who are open to it, will love it.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Civil War 2024 ★★★★

Alex Garland: So I was thinking of doing this war movie about a civil war in America.
Studio exec: Great idea. Keep going.
Alex Garland: It's all about this press photographer who's worn down by her job and became pretty jaded.
Studio exec: Sounds good. Who would you see play this part?
Alex Garland: Well I was thinking of Kirsten Dunst.
Studio exec: Good idea. (reflects) Wait, what? Lux Lisbon? The sweet, bubbly girl from Eternal Sunshine?
Alex Garland: That's what we're going with.
Studio exec: (exhales) If you say so.

In the days of John Carpenter and his Escape-movies, this would feel like pure sci-fi. Now, after the storming of the Capital, it comes across more as a cautionary tale. We never get an explanation for what started the war or why they want the president, let alone what he stands for. Only the consequences. We are at war, deal with it. How quickly things can go from (relatively) peaceful to utter chaos. With the camera lenses ready to capture the horrors of war.

Which brings me to my main point: Garland really did some excellent visual work here. With the aformentioned photographs capturing the madness of this conflict and with the wordless moments like the shock when Sammy dies (after his heroic rescue that costed him). Some people will hate this, but I think it visually really worked. The shot of Jessie in the mass grave makes for a haunting image. Or the random executions, like for example at the gas station. The way that one guy casually remarks he knows the guy who he is about to shoot gave me the chills. Same with the “What kind of American?”-line from all the trailers. You can taste the hositility and the distrust there. Brr. That's a long way away from what Barack Obama once said about how there is no conservative or liberal America, but the United States of America.

On a side note: I wonder how people who grew up in the final days of former Yugoslavia look at this story. What with a lack of two definable camps, but rather a plethora of different factions where it's never really which one the person in front of you adheres to or what is the safest way to conduct yourself. Or Syria, for that matter. No matter how somber or depressing this flick gets, reality still trumps fiction.

The cast is excellent. Kirsten Dunst is really great, with her ever tired look and her persona of (trying to) not letting what she sees get to her. Wagner Moura also shines as her partner in crime, using humour and weed in order te keep it together. I also liked the dynamic between Lee and Jessie, though everyone who's seen a few war movies can see coming that one of these ladies will die by the end of the film (with another touching visual to boot). And between this and Black Mirror, Jesse Plemons is really good at playing sociopathic assholes.

Entertaining and very relevant. Check it out.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Fragile.com 2019 ★★★

The horror of lover boys in a mix with cam girls and dream imagery.

Makes for an entertaining and bleak short with a somber ending.

Slay 2024 ★★½

Priscilla, queen of the desert versus rednecks and vampires... except that this one is a lot more B-movie like.

The jokes don't always land, but the drag queens get some good lines and the Transyvania-line was pretty funny too. The fight scenes are okay. The self aware off screen fight jokes (“Oh my god, they're ripping that guy's head off”) are a bit too goofy for my liking, but maybe I was not really in the right mood for this.

Nothing unforgettable, but I'm pretty sure that there is an audience for this.

Black Mirror: Hang the DJ 2017 ★★★★

Tinder to the next level, but now through the eyes of Charlie Brooker. Not only does “the system” select your new partner, it even tells you how long you'll be together, up until the very second. With a timer not unlike the ones people hand out at restaurants these days.

And since it's Black Mirror, it gets pretty bleak at times.

Is it okay if I think about her?
If you don't mind me thinking about him.

Jeez Louise, how sad is that.

And yet, by BM standards, this is beautiful. Both a bleak look at how the system toys with aspiring lovers and a (weird) celebration of love that endures time and odds.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Thanksgiving 2023 ★★★½

Thanksgiving is an Eli Roth-flick with the flaws and gifts that he has made his own throughout the years.

Writing characters has never been his strong suit, but he has grown in this department. The reveal of the killer was a bit predictable, but the red herring thread was okay too.

But his main talent are visual tension and kills. The scary scenes are certainly very well directed and set up the mood for exquisitely gory kills.

No need for a for who. I like Eli and I think it's worth a watch.

Don’t Hang Up 2016 ★★★½

Don't hang up fared very well on a rewatch.

Once Mister Lee joins in on the fun, the movie really grabs you. Not that you care all that much about Sam and Brady (or Mosley for that matter), but you do want to know what they will do next, not to mention if and how they will survive this. Not in the least because the killer remains very menacing, not unlike Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth.

You can disagree on what shot the movie should ended on, but we can agree that it's a very entertaining watch until that point.

[Tommy Jarvis]

Black Mirror: Metalhead 2017 ★★★★

For me, Black Mirror is usually at it best when its bleak and boy, does this one deliver in that department. Also pretty gory by BM-standards.

We don't know much and we do not need to. In fact, this makes for a good example of “show, don't tell”.

Everything's gone to hell in this post apocalyptic world where people suffer so much that their peers would travel far and wide to at least provide some form of relief.

That is until they stumble into what I can only describe as Ravage from Transformers with Skynet technology. It will not stop... ever... until you are dead. You get no relief whatsoever, not even when you are as resourceful as Bella and (eventually) manage to kill one. And needless to say, the final shot is utterly and completely heartbreaking.

Tiger Stripes 2023 ★★★★

A long anticipated watch and was it worth it? There certainly were a lot of great things to it and I will certainly go in for a rewatch in an attemmpt to better understand it.

It's mostly a coming of age story. Yes, there is some body horror thrown in but throughout the film's runtime it's more dosed – you certainly will not OD on it – but the main focus is more on the alienation and people being shunned for being different, with Farah becoming more and more of a bully as the story progressed.

The trailer and the plot synopsis led me into seeing this as a version of Carrie, with a big difference being that Zaffan's father is still around and pretty much the character she connects with the most. But Zaffan is also way more lively as a character. Living the struggles of most teenagers, like trying to find a balance between living your life and pursuing your passions while at the same time trying to fit in and making friends. Floating back and forth between her attempt to join the girl scouts and her more sass moments where she stands up to Farah. Showing the type of courage that her other friend does not have. She also stands up to her mother and Dr. Rahim.

And Dr. Rahim is... he sure is a piece of work. From the very first shot, he drips Charlatan with capital C – I love how letterboxd cast him as snake oil exorcist – and is of course out of his debt when shit gets real.

This is not for people who don't look like open endings. This movie leavers a lot unresolved or perhaps better “unelaborated” like some of the supernatural elements or the fact that some of the bullies suffer from some sort of epileptic episode. To be fair, it only adds to the mistery and the only thing I liked less was the way the Farah storyline was resolved. But going into details there would go into spoiler territory.

A fascinating watch and well worth looking out for.