Starring: Katie Maguire, Catherine A. Callahan, Marie Maser, Kayla Lian, Mike Giannelli, Sydney Freihofer.
Director: Damien Leone.
Continuing on with the Halloween movie run, we have this movie that...I think I may have heard of before, but I'm not sure. Picked it up specifically because, well, Halloween was coming up. I think it's an anthology film, which is a mixed bag of a device but usually works out okay...so we'll see how this goes.
The opening is obviously meant to invoke Halloween which is forgivable under the circumstances. Good old public domain Night of the living dead can just be tossed onto anything, so at least we got to see some shots of a good movie for our trouble. Dangerous comparisons to invite onto yourself, movie. I doubt you got the stones to hold up to that.
Wow, pretty weak-willed babysitter. The kids vote to watch the random unmarked video tape dropped into the boys bag and she lets them because...I dunno, she's a terrible babysitter? I wouldn't watch a random VHS tape dropped into my trick or treat bag (that's a filthy lie, I totally would)...I certainly wouldn't let a child do so. Also, I'm shocked they actually have a VCR. I think I'm the only person I know that has one.
But, okay, we're watching the videotape that apparently is our first segment? Interestingly enough, it's own internal narrative is interrupted to show the reactions of the Babysitter and her charges. I don't know how I feel about that device. My gut reaction is to say that it's a terrible idea-way to undercut your own narrative flow and sustained tension-but there's a part of my who feels like there is a certain avant garde element to it that makes it somewhat effective. I guess we'll see how it plays out.
Our first segment is apparently about a young woman waiting for a train and then a weirdo clown drugs her and she wakes up in a tunnel chained up with a couple other people. Besides invoking "creepy clown" we don't have much in the way of spooky stuff...and y'know, creepy clowns are kinda lazy. Apparently he isn't even really the villain here...the chained up women are instead attacked by some weird mutant. It isn't so bad, really: it has that raw feeling of a student short film. The effects are very simple, the camerawork is energetic and rough and clearly low budget. The story is random and seems focused more on weird visuals than coherent narrative...the mask latex effects on the weird cultist people are actually kind of effective. It's worst sin is that it's trying way too hard, and really wants to be super edgy. Then it just kinda ends. I hope future segments provide a little but more structure.
It's that I mind random imagery...in fact, the more I think about it, the more I might kind of be down for that sort of thing, really. If each segment basically is random horror stuff and then our primary narrative is the babysitter...shit, that might actually work. I'm not sure it works in the hands of this particular film-maker, but it could work. I'm trying not to jump to too many conclusions: anthology films are, by their very definition scattered works.
Okay, movie...a little bit too much Night of the Living Dead. You've actually devoted nearly five minutes of footage to another, superior movie.
A second suspicious tape shows up(randomly, on the coffee table...while she was upstairs) and, rather than wonder where it came from or maybe even call the police because someone obviously snuck in...she watches it. I'm not saying I wouldn't watch it-I totally would-but I feel like I'd be more inclined to call the police first.
Segment two starts with the rip-roaring excitement of someone having a phone conversation for two minutes. Establish isolation, profession as art dealer (complete with shots of bad watercolors) and then...alone in the house with weird lights. This movie doesn't seem to be concerned with maintaining atmosphere or mood.
Just occurred to me: at least these aren't found footage. Oh thank the lord jeebus they aren't found footage. They easily could have gone that way, considering the framing device.
Hey! The Woman is alone in a dark house, hears noises upstairs and then just says "Fuck!" and bolts on out of the house. Of course, her car won't start but it was still a nice, intelligent character moment. Again, the film feels the need to fall back onto phone conversations...I do like the score, though. It's very reminiscent of Close Encounters of the Third Kind which cannot be an accident. This movie is all about the references.
Okay, the aliens don't look great. They don't look AWFUL...it looks like someone's really awesome homemade halloween costume. That doesn't make for great movie effects, but...meh. The actors movements are pretty good, though, if not a bit cliched.
Hmm...third segment has a faux-grainy film stock appearance. I'm all on board with that device at least. Another strong score to go along with it, too. This movie has been filled with ups and downs. It's worst sin is lack of consistency, even for an anthology film. Anthology films still do need structure to operate and this movie doesn't have much of that at all. The framework story could use a couple jolts. The segments are pretty random. They're spirited, for the most part, but still very haphazard. This third one is pretty simple..the grainy style isn't really necessary or needed for the segment but looks cool, the clown has finally found stuff to do, which is a basic chase story with a young Woman in a car being hunted by the evil clown. They've stopped cutting away to the babysitter and letting the story just run itself, which is good, but it still feels like something is missing. There isn't a lot of tension...but it still has enough appropriate violence and intensity. Maybe things would work better if we knew a little bit more about our victim. The ending is a little bit too arch: carving anti-woman labels onto a womans body and cutting off her arms and legs...that's a bit too much, really. It doesn't feel particularly earned and a bit too...mean spirited.
Well, the wrap-around story did finally get a few shots in the arm, finally. Some much needed and actually rather effective ones, really. The videotape element is finally paid off, Babysitter seems to defeat her assailant and finds out...well, I mentioned when I was watching Nightmare! the unusual element of child killing and the fine line between it being ballsy and arch...this one falls somewhere in between.
Final Thoughts: Well, wasn't bad. The segments were scattered and of varying quality, the main story fumbled but mostly recovered...performances were fine, considering there was very little characterization to speak of. Evil clown was fitfully creepy. The film veered too far into unnecessarily aggressive territory in the name of being edgy but instead found itself unpleasant. Not too bad, really.
Final rating: Two and a half stars.
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