Stranger Things

Saying that the 2016’s Drama/Fantasy/Horror Netflix Series ‘Stranger Things’ was inspired by 1984’s ‘The Terminator’ alone would be an understatement. As thrilling, enticing and seemingly “original” these episodes claim to be to numerous viewers worldwide it sadly is a ‘cop-out’ of many many Horror films from the 80’s and 90’s; think ‘Poltergeist’, ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, ‘ET’, ‘Alien’ or any of Stephen King’s bestselling novels or movies. My question would be  to ask what is Stephen King’s point-of-view on the whole series! 

Setting those thoughts aside, being that this new generation hasn’t been exposed to our classics from the past, and thanks to the excellent 2011 film ‘Drive’ starring Canadian Ryan Gosling, that revived and started ‘Retro New Wave 80’s music’ I can then say that ‘Stranger Things’ delivered as did it’s predecessors also have! 

Garnering 36 nominations, including 2 Golden Globe nominees and another 4 wins it’s easy to see that the audience loved and would love our classic recipe for adventure, mystery and wild titilation! Created or I would rather say ‘re-created’ by American twin-brothers Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, they were able to succeed in attracting gargantuan talent Winona Ryder (Edward Scissorhands) and David Harbour, Natalia Dyer and some of Hollywood’s top young actors including Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp as well as  stand-out actor British Charlie Heaton to bring the story to life!

The world is suffering from a sense of nostalgia and all things 80’s or anything resembling the wholesome world that made more sense is comforting to escape to. Mixing those emotions with misgiving terror and enough perplexity and cliffhangers, it brews in flying colours a massive success!

Under the Shadow

‘Under the Shadow’ Dramatic/Horror of 2016 was Superb! Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards and another 9 nominations and 11 wins that year, it’s easy to see that I wasn’t the only fan of Iranian/British Writer/Director Babak Anvari.

This was Anvari’s first Feature Film and it was absolutely Fantastic! The story in it self was very simply told but was woven together by many symbolic and key elements that helped the audience not only relate to but also invest and root for the stories’ main characters. Set in Iran during the 1980’s and filmed in Jordan, the struggle to keep fear and anxiety away during a repressive and never-ending war, was enough to put any person in their right mind ‘on-edge’. 

Beautifully shot, and framed with simple camera movements, Anvari made it wonderfully easy for the believability of terror to slowly creep into viewers’ minds. I loved the quiet moments and close shots and I found that even though the story was quite simple, it was also sensationally terrifying and those are qualities every filmmaker who wants to evoke any emotion (in this case fear) would aim to achieve! It’s always about the story! After that, the pacing, the acting, and the execution of crucial moments puts it all in perspective.

Kudos Anvari! Thanks for your inspiration!

The Strangers

“Not everything that moves, breathes, and talks is alive.”

This ‘2016’ Drama/Fantasy/Horror written and directed by South-Korean master-mind and film-maker Hong-jin Na who has had past films nominated at the Cannes Film Festival surprised us once again with a nod of approval with Cannes in 2016, with this gem of a film called: ‘’Goksung’ or ‘The Strangers’ or ‘The Wailing’ as the titles it was released under in some countries.

I was in awe because this film was exceptional. There was a valuable amount of symbolism and superb execution of unfolding this story from start to finish. I feel viewers were kept on their toes and were invited to use their intellect to figure out the eminent mystery that caused the sickness within the small Korean town. The acting was superb! Some were first-time actors, others well marinated in the field but all under obvious and commendable strong directing. Do-won Kwak, Woo-hee Chun, Hwan-hee Kim and Jun Kunimura shone and made the story quite believable.

They got 31 nominations and 18 wins and the film is still being talked about today. Mostly for the story, but also for the excellent unnerving make-up work, fascinating camera-work and angles as well as the splendid cinematography captured with South-Korea’s bewitching landscapes.

Certainly recommended - slow developing but highly enticing. The ‘fear’ factor comes much later as the story leads us by the hand one step at a time, and suddenly tricks us towards the end.

Emelie

I didn’t have high hopes for this 2015 Horror/Thriller as the babysitter premise has been done before; but when I saw writer Richard Raymond Harry Herbeck attached to this project (The Cabin in the Woods, Cloverfield) I knew that the story and production should be decent. Director Michael Thelin orchestrated this disturbing film perfectly. Just when the audience was afraid to watch any further, he would give you just enough to make you sick but not traumatize you forever.

I think what made this movie deeply unsettling is the fact that a group of innocent children were subjected to immense torment. It’s bad enough parents leaving their children with a replacement babysitter, and the children know they have to follow the rules, but the series of events that unfurled were absolutely terrifying!

Lead actress Irish Sarah Bolger played her part as ’Emelie’ and babysitter exceptionally, and child actors, Carly Adams, Thomas Bair, and Joshua Rush, also did an outstanding job. Viewers got the full effect of the anguish both the antagonist and protagonist felt. It was definitely believable and heart-breaking at some moments, leaving the audience with a wavering unbalanced feeling at the end of it.

This film certainly packs the punch; and it’ll make you think twice before choosing a new babysitter.

Hush

Written by Kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan and Directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Kate Siegel, this 2016 Horror/Thriller is the perfect example of what a good marriage and good teamwork is all about! With a run-time of 81 minutes, and shot entirely in one space, this film although with a small budget was certainly gripping from beginning to end. In fact, this film was sensationally scary which I did not expect. In my opinion very unique and special and because of that it kept the audience on the edge of their seats.

Some people may think, this type of horror film has been done time and time again, but what made it so unique is that our main character ‘Maddie’ played by Kate Siegel does not speak for the entire film. Why? Because she is deaf. Actors in this film not only ‘signed’ but also showcased their acting chops as the majority of the film was without dialogue. A clear example of the ‘showing’ technique, not ‘telling’ which is always recommended but certainly more difficult to do. 

Terrifying throughout and well-made, it was suspenseful yet, as a viewer I would have liked to know more about the motive for the antagonist and have him revealed much later with a solid connection to our protagonist.