My Bloody Valentine: Original vs. Remake

On October 4, 2015 By R. PettyIn MoviesLeave a comment

Happy October, everyone! We’re excited to bring you our annual Halloween-themed posts for the month. For 2015, original and remade horror movies will go head-to-head, and we’ll try to pick a favorite. We hope you enjoy the reviews, and comments are always welcome!

My Bloody Valentine: Original (1981) vs. Remake (2009)

Photo: denofgeek — Photo: drafthouse.com

When the remake came out, I remember several bad reviews because they changed nearly everything. I can understand how purists would argue it’s terrible because so much changed. However, I think you have to look at it like a re-imagining, much like Zombie’s Halloweens, which is not always easy. With that in mind, I love these movies, and they deliver delightful horror fun in different ways.

Similarities:

I was surprised by how much I loved the original My Bloody Valentine. It has a solid story, strong characters, and is shot very well. The laundromat scene is probably one of the best kill scenes during this time period. The camera work in this scene has a monster-movie feel to it and increases your heart rate a little. The remake of My Bloody Valentine is just good slasher fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and when you watch them back-to-back, I don’t think the remake was supposed to. They did not intended to outdo the original, just modernize it for a new generation.

There really aren’t a lot of similarities. Sarah’s character is the same. They both use Axel’s name, and the Harry Warden story line is used. Both slasher movies are set around Valentine’s Day, and we can assume the killer gets away. That’s about it.

Differences:

These are what set the movies apart. The stories are completely different: they reversed the two main characters, the killer is different, etc. Here’s a breakdown:

The original focuses more on the “curse” or urban legend surrounding the holiday. For example, if the kids have the Valentine’s Day party, people will die. The killer moves the hearts upside down when he kills, and we see way more extracted human hearts. In the remake, the holiday is more of an aside, and the movie could take place any time of year. This allows the original to have more purpose, whereas the remake feels almost like a senseless revenge film.
Both take place in a small town, but the original has more of a close-knit feel. In the remake, the characters don’t seem to like each other. They back-stab, allow adultery, and just put up with one another. In the original, the adults hang together and watch out for the younger adults, and the YAs party together. There’s also an even mix of both age groups in the original, and you get to know the town. In the remake, you only get to know the younger adults, who act like their 50 instead of 25.
The remake is more scandalous. I’m sure this was done to appeal to 21-century audiences, and it works. As much as I love comradery, I enjoy watching Irene (Betsy Rue) chase the trucker down while completely naked. Tom (Jensen Ackles) locking himself in the cage is pretty ingenious. Sarah (Jaime King) trying to save the little skank sleeping with her husband is touching. The remake was also meant for 3D, which does not add a lot, but it adds a more fun element.

So, how to I rank them? It’s a tie for me. Both My Bloody Valentines entertain and rank high in my slasher movie cannon. For a solid film, watch the original; for a less serious treat, watch the remake. Either way, both are tons of bloody fun!

Prometheus (2012) – The Origins of Alien…or Something

On September 30, 2015September 29, 2015 By James CastroIn Movies, ReviewsLeave a comment

Ok how to cover this film. I first even debated whether it deserved a place in an Alien franchise review series but as it was billed as a film in the same universe and directed by Ridley Scott, the director of the original Alien it has to have a mention… This movie is the strangest of the bunch as it not as tight and well written as Aliens but neither is it as poorly conceived or made as Resurrection. It is both fascinating and infuriating. So taking advice from my RevPub co-author I’ve decided to break it down into a couple of lists. The fascinating for the positive traits; the infuriating for the negative… Here we go…

Fascinating:

World Building: The look, atmosphere, and depth of the world of Prometheus like many other films in the franchise, is excellent. From ship and vehicle designs that look as though they owe more to function than style to the glory of alien technology, the design and execution is terrific. The overall look and feel of the film has both a grand scale that adds to the universe and a personal scale in which the characters interact.

There are some gorgeous and deep environments in this film.

Acting: The acting in the film is remarkably good. Noomi Rapace plays Dr. Shaw with excellent wonder, confusion, and betrayal and Charlize Theron is wonderful as the cold, businesslike Vickers. Stealing the show however is Michael Fassbender as David the android. Everything about him in this character is subtle. He is protective, charming, innocent, and menacing all at once. Fassbender is one of the actors who recently has been consistently outstanding in all his roles and David in Prometheus is him at his best.

Fassbender’s David almost single-handedly carries the film.

Potential: This movie had the potential to answer a good number of questions about what a xenomorph was and how they first came into contact with humans. I will underline potential because as we will see in the next section…and despite Scott’s decision to continue the franchise with further installments…it added nothing of real value to the history of the Alien universe and as Resurrection did transformed what was once an unfortunate chance encounter (as often happens in history) into some kind of “over-all scheme of fate” that immediately turns it into a more cliché narrative.

Infuriating:

Red Letter Media made an excellent recap of the film’s plot holes which you can see below. I’ll try not to hit too many of the same points but it is inevitable as any time you think too much about the plot you are destined to find more plot holes than you find answered questions.

Unnecessary Characters: Alien and Aliens both had closed casts, a small group introduced early who we grow attached to from their well-defined roles and portrayals and feel fear for as they progress through a dangerous narrative. Other than Holloway, Shaw, and David none of the other characters really seem to serve much of a purpose. Even Theron, and I love Charlize, has no part in the narrative at all. She’s just there. The pilot and his crew who have a chance to really save the day really don’t do much either as even their kamikaze flight into the engineer’s ship was useless as it was later revealed the engineers had lots of ships. The Biologist and Geologist? They are just there to die. They don’t unwittingly unleash anything or cause anything. They’re just the first victims. Mr. Weyland’s character serves zero purpose beyond McGuffin for the mission and didn’t need to be in the film at all. Especially not in some of the worst make-up this side of a dinner theater. This could have been a very small cast, a half dozen or less, for all the roles that matter… And since Alien characters have always been the core of the story, having only three that impact the narrative was a big mistake. Especially as said narrative is tissue-thin and holds all of the film’s heavy concepts like a wet paper bag
Some of the main characters of the film…give or take a couple.

Highly…Illogical: There is nothing, nothing, nothing in this plot that makes the least bit of sense once you step outside of the theater and think. It isn’t helped by the absolute lack of any coherent plotline for what occurred prior to the humans’ arrival on LV-223, who the engineers are and their ultimate goals. The engineers created mankind…or something (though apparently not the rest of life on the planet? Maybe, who knows) but also created aliens. Or at least some kind of alien. Along with DNA-altering black ooze. For some reason. Weapons we think, who knows. But weapons for what? Against whom? I have to again paraphrase Yahtzee Croshaw, why would someone create a biological menace that could wipe you out as well as your enemies when, ya know a bomb has been historically effective. Why did they tell us how to get to LV-223? Especially when you find out they intended to unleash their black ooze…or aliens…or something to kill us. Why were we created in the first place? Were we weapons too or were we some kind of baby’s first engineer experiment? For more definitely watch the RLM video. The more I add to this list the more I just feel I’m repeating their points in a less-funny more rage-inducing way. But it’s cathartic…

Engineer seeding life on Earth. Or Something I dunno…

What was the point?: I went into this movie, as did a lot of Aliens fans expecting to see what the space jockey was and how he ended up on LV-426. I remember sitting in the theater and hearing that they were approaching LV-223 and thinking, “Wait…what?” So it isn’t the same planet. Then the engineer’s ship took off and I thought “oh that’s the one that crashed on…oh wait no it’s crashing here…so…” Other than a few items, the Weyland name, the proto-face-hugger-snake-in-the-ooze thing, the bigger proto-face-hugger-squid-thing, the proto-cone-head-xenomorph you see at the end, and a carving on the wall in the urn room (which yes was designed to look like the xenomorph egg chamber) it really doesn’t tell you anything about what a xenomorph is, what an engineer is, why either exist, or how they are really connected to the rest of the franchise. Apparently some other space jockey not in this movie also had an alien break free and crashed on a planet that humans also happened to find? I expected to see that engineer end up in LV-426 and wait for him to be found by the crew of the Nostromo. Not some other engineer interact with some other group of people on some other planet with no narrative connections to the rest of the franchise at all.

And this is the film’s greatest sin. Even though I was admittedly curious about how the franchise originator, Scott, was going to explore how events on LV-426 eventually led to his 1979 masterpiece part of me kind of shrugs at the concept. One of the great strengths of the first two films is that there is a crashed ship there, with a large pilot who died a gruesome death carrying deadly cargo…and that’s enough. Once the rest of the story starts we never ask “well what was that and where did it come from?” It’s just part of the background, so well-crafted were the narratives and characters of the first two films. Now we will explain how it all came to be, and as we learned with Anakin Skywalker and Hannibal Lecter that always adds to the power of a story, right? Shedding light on the fascinating mysteries that make a complex concept complex? No…it doesn’t, it does the opposite and removes mystique making a marvelous character or detailed world shallow and mundane. It is like pouring all the cereal out to get the prize at the bottom of the bag…you’ll never be able to re-package all that content in quite the same way again to make it fit as clean as it did before.

Scott said he was “done” with the xenomorph because there wasn’t any place else to take it and the audience had seen it enough. So the final question is: why does this movie have to be connected to them at all? The links are so tenuous it could’ve been its own franchise with no tacit mentions of anything Alien related. Hell Predator 2 (to be covered later!) has more intriguing connections to Alien than this movie. Except I probably wouldn’t have gone to see Prometheus without that connection…and more than a few are likely in the same boat which is probably why they made the attachment to the venerable Alien name.

I feel as though there is a good sci-fi movie here somewhere. The good characters are great, the design and the world are terrific, and the concept is intriguing. The execution however stands up to absolutely no scrutiny and despite its positive traits Prometheus is severely damaged by some of the most convoluted story-telling I’ve seen in a film. For that it gets an average two squid baby creatures out of five.

We’ll take a pause in the Aliens & Predator review series for October’s traditional Halloween Horror posts, but we’ll pick back up in November with my review of Predator one I’ve been dying to write.

The greatest single Prometheus plot hole analysis:

Remembering Wes Craven

On September 13, 2015 By R. PettyIn OpinionsLeave a comment

What may seem like old news to most of the world still lingers at RevPub. As lifelong horror fans, the news of Wes Craven’s passing stuck us pretty hard. I even cried, which I normally don’t do for people I don’t know. However, I felt he knew me.

That’s what was so difficult to accept. His passing wasn’t just of an adored horror director. It was the end of an era – the end of some of the best horror ever. The end of a legend.

As a teenager, I of course saw Scream in theaters. I ruined the ending for my RevPub partner – sorry James – and it took teen audiences by storm. It was the ’90s version of Halloween. It was the ’80s version Friday the 13th. And it came from someone who had already given the world Freddy and his Nightmares on Elm Street. It captured a new generation and created millions more horror fans.

The Screams and Nightmares never my favorites though. My favorite Wes Craven film is The People Under the Stairs, and it has been since I was a child. It was my Goonies. In fact, I had seen People a dozen times before I had seen Goonies. If you’ve seen both, you’re probably thinking ‘wtf?’ because People is an incredibly child-violent movie. I’m proud of that fact though.

Fool People Under the Stairs — Photo: cinapse.co

I owe my child horror movie cannon to my Dad because he was an avid fan. I was reading Stephen King at 9 years old. I was terrified of IT by 8, but People resonated with me in a different way. It didn’t scare me. It was a wonderful adventure of horrible adults, thieves, and triumphant kids. I would also argue it is one of the best socially themed movies in my lifetime. Rich white people driving out poor black people, and the community unites against them. All while the rich white people are hunting children. Powerful stuff.

The plot spoke to me. I grew up without much money. My parents struggled to pay bills, and we moved A LOT. By the time I entered high school, I had attended seven schools. I didn’t have the latest clothes, and my parents could not buy me whatever I wanted. But it was all okay.

That’s why I love People Under the Stairs. The movie addresses abuse, poverty, racial tension, and the dynamic between ‘parents’ and children. It addresses how society overlooks kids – often forgetting them and their feelings – and as a kid at the time, it empowered me. The movie gave me hope that I too could overcome my obstacles. I could escape.

More than 20 Years Later

I rewatched it when I heard the news to show my respect. As an adult, this is still one of my favorite horror movies. It’s very funny in a messed-up way. Plus, Ving Rhames from Pulp Fiction – my favorite movie of all time – plays a major part and says some awesome one-liners. The People Under the Stairs takes us on a twisted adventure with kids who try to escape a house full of passages, traps, and killers. The kids avoid shotguns, a large dog, two adults hunting them, all while trying to find gold coins. People is as much as an adventure movie as The Goonies, just bloodier.

Wes Craven understood people. He understood fear. Fear lives within everyone, no matter your age, race, identity, or social class. Fear can unite or break us. And Wes knew how to help us release it …

With a heavy heart, I hope he rests peacefully and knows his legend will always live in the hearts of horror fans worldwide. No one will replace him, and we at RevPub thank him for making us cringe and laugh – and for making us stronger.

Dark Skies Gives Hope to New Horror

On August 30, 2015 By R. PettyIn MoviesLeave a comment

Sometimes you just get lucky. I’ve seen Dark Skies pop up on my TV for weeks, so last night I said, ‘what the heck, I’ll buy it.’ And I’m glad I did.

Overall, Dark Skies was an impressive new horror movie. It gave me hope that some people know how to make a good horror movie, and other directors and producers should pay attention. It was well shot and planned, and it has major rewatch value.

Let’s dig in. Here are a few of highlights from the movie: Contains spoilers!

Dark Skies Alien — Photo: http://www.cinemum.net

The Plot Is Refreshing

I cannot express how satisfying it is to include the plot in this review. Dark Skies tells the story of a family who becomes ‘haunted’ – not the house, the family. Think The Conjuring but with the whole family. However, ghosts do not haunt them; aliens do. I know it sounds odd at first, but embrace it. They are creepier than you think. Also, the movie plays a constant mind game with the audience, but it’s done so well you don’t realize it until the very end.

Note to Hollywood: The plot different but not stupid. It moves quickly, but there are few if any plot holes. It’s not a remake (thank goodness!). If a plot has been done 20 times in the last five years, don’t make the movie.

A Real Family

Every family has issues, money problems, stress, etc. sometimes. The Barrets have normal problems like unemployment and money issues, but I was thrilled that neither parent was an alcoholic. I think Hollywood throws alcohol into the mix to create a crazy scene or break a character down, but sometimes it’s not necessary. The villain should do the job and break down the characters.

The parents (Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton) have stress that affects their relationship, but they also work on the issues. They try to care for and love their kids. The brothers are close – adorable even – but they still have their own friends and interests. The Barrets feel real and believable, and you can’t blame them for the haunting. They are a normal 21st-century family.

Note to Hollywood: The actors did an amazing job. There were few special effects, and my awesome RevPub partner pointed out, “it was just actors doing good job of being weird.” Also, pay attention to the scene with J.K. Simmons. It was a clear, concise way to explain everything. It also has a great line, “Nothing. Nothing makes you special.”

The Grays

I could do a post on the aliens alone. They torture this family, and it starts immediately. First, there are “break-ins” (the cop is an idiot by the way). Then the Barrets start to lose complete control. They have time lapses, become “possessed”, and do some crazy and creepy things. The audience never sees a Gray up close, which is awesome because it reduces the possibility of stupid effects. The Grays take this family over, and it eventually leads to abduction. They’re threatening, and it feels like it could happen to anyone. There’s no escape.

Note to Hollywood: Not seeing the monster is an effective way to scare an audience. It’s much more subtle.

Closure Is Everything

Ending a horror movie well remains one of the biggest obstacles in the genre. It’s hard to do because there are variables, and they can all feel the same. Dark Skies did it, though. The story ties into itself, a sequel is possible, no one jumps out or into the camera for a cheap scare. The aliens abduct a family member. Everything is not dismal or perfect. The Grays won, but at least the family survived, and there’s hope. It ended better than most modern horror movies, and I appreciate that.

Note to Hollywood: Stop using jump/cheap scares at the end. It’s getting annoying and repetitive.

I could go on and on about this movie, but I suggest seeing it yourself. If you’re on the fence about the alien thing, just go with it. I was a little skeptical at first because I was scared it was going to be dumb, but it wasn’t. Dark Skies is an effective, fun scary movie.

Feel free to let us know what you think about it in the comments below!

It Follows: New Horror or Love Story?

On August 2, 2015 By R. PettyIn Movies3 Comments

When It Follows came out, I was excited. EW gave it rave reviews as a great horror movie. Scary even. Audiences loved it. It won multiple awards at film festivals. The hype made me want to see it even more. This week, I watched it and came to this conclusion: It’s not a horror movie.

Here’s why: (contains spoilers)

It’s a twisted love story, not horror.
It Follows is no more of a horror movie than Warm Bodies, which is listed as comedy, romance, horror. IMDB lists It Follows as horror, mystery, thriller, but I can’t figure out why. Just because you have horror/supernatural elements, it doesn’t make it a horror movie. The main character and her “Duckie” end up together after struggles and hardships. He has to prove his love to her, and she has to accept it. I interpreted the ending as they commit to one another to destroy the curse, or at least find an escape. They don’t live happily ever after, but they find love and acceptance.

If it’s not a love story, it’s a coming-of-age movie.
This movie focuses on the main character’s self-esteem and coming to terms with who she is. She starts out dreamy and vibrant, and throughout the movie, the curse tries to destroy her. Sure, it comes after her in a physical sense, but it also mentally forces her to deal with her decisions. She’s 19 but seems disconnected from the world. Once her friends and family become involved, the film evolves into a strange adventure. Through her experiences and trials, she grows up, and almost everyone survives. She learns to love someone, accept herself, and carry on.

It wasn’t scary.
I read many reviews about the fear factor. Reviewers and websites called it “different and scary.” Different, yes. Scary, no. If you’re scared of catching an STD, it may scare you. If you’re safe, then it’s “scariness” is lame and nonexistent. I’ve scared myself more hearing a weird noise at home. The movie lacks eeriness, suspense, mystery, jump scenes and build up. The basics of an effective horror movie are absent or barely touched upon.

Only one person dies.
Ok, I know horror doesn’t have to be all blood and gore, but it does help if people die. I understand the psychological horror, however you’d think a curse stalking people would kill its prey. The one guy who dies goes quickly – in a sick way – but all you see is his blue, lifeless face. Also, there’s no blood. The movie does pay homage to many old-school horror movies, but the absence of blood makes it stick out. Old-school horror movies loved blood and guts, so if a movie pays homage to them, it should too.

Additional Notes:
With all that said, I did enjoy the movie. It was shot extremely well. The director did a fantastic job of combining art with film without feeling artsy. I loved Yara (Olivia Luccardi), the odd best friend who gets shot and just sits there and takes it. She was the best character in the movie, and she added a fun element. There were several plot holes, and at times it was confusing, but I’m glad I saw it. It Follows is worth a watch if you want to stay current, but if you want a good horror movie, skip this one.

We welcome a good debate, so if you feel it is a horror movie, feel free to share your comments below!

Top 3 Final Girls (Horror)

On May 31, 2015May 31, 2015 By R. PettyIn Movies, OpinionsLeave a comment

The final girl is an often disputed topic, especially since the film industry has evolved her into a hero of sorts instead of a woman solely fighting to survive. When I first studied the final girl, I was in a film class about 10 years ago. This was before The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the other movies that redefined the female’s role. This was before the final girl seeped into other genres, and there were few final girl-guy combos. According to today’s views of the final girl, even Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz could rank high on the list.

Let’s look at the horror genre, and who the final girl is in a horror movie. According to Carol J. Clover, author of Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, the final girl simply possesses two qualities:

She undergoes agonizing trials
She virtually or actually destroys the antagonist and saves herself

With these rules in mind, here are my Top 3 Final Girls:

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Sidney in Scream — Photo from: http://www.imfdb.org

3. Sidney Prescott, Scream franchise

Four movies and 20 years later, Sidney Prescott may be the updated version of Laurie Strode, the final girl from Halloween. Because this movie spans several, the focus will be on the first.

Scream: Mostly a virgin in the first film, Sidney kicks and slams her way to survival. She’s the “more behaved” girl among her group, doesn’t party a lot, and it’s clear she begins as a virgin who’s fighting to keep her purity. Sidney is so smart she immediately suspects her boyfriend, who turns out to be one of the killers. As her friends start getting killed, her main goal is to survive but also protect others.

She kicks the killer down stairs, hits him, shoots him, cusses them, and ends up battered and bruised. Sidney beats the stuffing out of Ghostface over and over again. She runs a lot! Sidney finally submits to her boyfriend and loses her virginity. Afterward, he reveals himself as one of the killers. So in this case, the final girl is literally and figuratively devirginized, which instantly makes her stronger. She may cry, she may ask why, but she never stops fighting to survive.

2. Erin, You’re Next

The only nonfranchise and newest film on the list, Erin is well deserving of her No. 2 spot. She’s not pure, drinks whiskey, dates her ex-teacher, and hails from Australia. She’s almost the opposite of final girl 101, but that’s the beauty of her character and the evolution of the final girl. The definition has evolved to include a more realistic female, one who may be flawed, but it doesn’t stop her from kicking serious boo-tay.

You’re Next: A family has arranged for almost everyone to be killed, so two brothers can inherit the family fortune. Erin is supposed to survive as “a witness,” but because she serves as a threat, all the antagonists try to kill her at some point. She does everything she can to protect this family she barely knows, but when the truth comes out, so do the knives and blender. She reaches her breaking point, and her only goal is to save herself. And she does. She kills everyone – even the cop at the end, accidentally.

Laurie Halloween 1 — Photo from: herocomplex.latimes.com

1. Laurie Strode, Halloween franchise

No one beats Laurie. This buttoned-up virgin babysitter beats the crap out of Michael Myers a few dozen times. Sure, she has some breakdowns, but overall, her character grows into a mature, confident woman. Because the Halloween franchise expands eight movies, and Laurie is in many sequels and the remakes, I’m focusing on the original Halloween and Halloween II.

Halloween: She’s smart, unsure, pure, studies instead of partying, and serves as a good role model to teen girls. She doesn’t succumb to peer pressure, and her character still serves as a role model some 30-plus years later. She’s stalked by Myers throughout the entire movie, and he kills nearly everyone in his way. She is responsible for herself but has to protect the kids as well, which she does. She immediately directs them out of harm’s way. Laurie stabs Myers with a knitting needle (win!), a coat hanger, and manages to run and hide until Loomis shoots him.

Halloween II: Laurie has to fight to survive later that night! This sequel takes place only hours after the first; it all happens in less than 24 hours. She’s injured and exhausted, broken, but still strong enough to escape Myers while he chases her throughout the hospital and its complex. Laurie’s endurance and need for survival remains rare in horror movies, and she stabs and limps her way to safety until Myers goes kaboom!

Ellen Ripley and cat — Photo from: mestadelsbilder.wordpress.com

BONUS: Ellen Ripley, Alien franchise (courtesy of James)

Ripley also goes against the horror movie stereotype. In the first two films, she shows some exceptional horror movie common sense. She’s typically composed and level-headed.

Alien: She’s the one who reminds everyone how unwise it is to bring the unknown alien creature on board the ship. She advises against leaving the planet before the ship is repaired. She’s the one who finally decides on a plan of action to escape the xenomorph. Plus, she went back to save the cat!

Aliens: She is stunned at the short-sighted foolishness of the Weyland-Yutani corporate suits, refuses to participate in the mission until it’s promised the goal is the annihilation of the aliens, and she has to take command of the mission when the leaders prove too senseless to be effective.

Ripley is unique because almost never in the first two films (and only in the third due to the circumstances of the environment) is her gender ever discussed. She’s a flight officer, a survivor, a fighter, and leader. The only reference to her gender is made by another woman – in Aliens when Vazquez (who Jim Sterling calls “one of the toughest bastards ever”) asks who “Snow White” is. Ripley is a final girl because she refuses to let events happen to her. She affects events, and she determines the plot. She can also melee fight an alien queen and WIN.

Revenant Publications

Tag: horror movies