"The Innocents" -- Movie Review

This weekend, I attended the New Directors/New Films Festival, screening the Norwegian horror film “The Innocents”, written and directed by Eskil Vogt (who wrote the screenplay for the award-nominated Joachim Trier movie “The Worst Person in the World”). 

Synopsis

When a group of children discover they have supernatural powers, will they be able to overcome disaster when everything gets out of control?

Story

They may not yet know it, but Ida and Anna are in for one of the most fraught summers of their young life.  Nine-year-old Ida is somewhat resentful of her slightly older sister; Anna gets most of her parents’ attention due to the fact that she was diagnosed as autistic at the age of four.  With Anna being non-verbal, the two sisters don’t really have much of a relationship, so Ida feels especially alone.  This summer, the family is moving because the father got a new job; Ida hates this because not only is she leaving her friends behind, but also, this means that the family won’t be able to take a vacation this year. 

At their new apartment complex, most of the families seem to be away on vacation, so there aren’t too many other children around.  Ida is forced to take Anna out to the nearby playground and it is there that they make friends with two other children that will change their life forever.  Ben is a boy who is raised by his mother; they don’t seem to have a particularly good relationship.  Aisha is also in a single-parent household, but she is much closer to her mother.  Ben has the power of telekinesis, which he doesn’t mind demonstrating to his new friends.  Aisha shares with her new-found friends her own ability of telepathy. 

The more time this group spends with each other, the more refined the supernatural powers become.  For one thing, we learn that Ben has something of a cruel streak, and he uses his special powers to take revenge on others over petty grievances.  Aisha finds that she can use her abilities for more than merely entertainment purposes – she is able to warn others of impending danger.  One thing that no one expected is that Anna discovers that she has the powers both Ben and Aisha possess; as a result, she and Aisha are able to communicate with each other.  When Ben’s powers become uncontrollable and he gets into trouble, can the other children help to save themselves and others from Ben’s wrath?

Review

“The Innocents” is a tense thriller, made even more horrifying by the fact that it’s children that are causing the terror.  In only his second effort as a director, Eskil Vogt proves that his skills go far beyond that of merely a screenwriter.  Although known for his writing, he obviously has far more to offer.  Many horror films use nighttime to extract their scarier scenes, but in using children, the scariest parts are in broad daylight, including the simpleness of a playground.  Should you be able to find this either in a theater or streaming, it’s most certainly a strong recommendation, especially if you are a fan of this genre. 

Vogt seems to be able to zone in on just how frightening children can be – and children with special powers even scarier.  He successfully captures how evil kids can be at their core – evil towards each other, for sure, but evil in society in general.  It’s the little ones that we must be most wary of, Vogt seems to be advising us – going on scene after scene successfully making his case.  Those who may ostensibly seem innocent may actually be the most wicked – at least that’s what appears to be his advice to use.  You may never know who is out to get you or why.  In “The Innocents”, Vogt will have you scared of every child you encounter (at least in his movie).      

Following the screening, there was an interview with the writer/director of “The Innocents”, Eskil Vogt.  He said that his inspiration for the movie came from fatherhood; by watching his own daughter, many of his childhood memories were triggered.  Vogt made extensive use of close- ups and wide-shots in his film, but not all of them were his choice; his cinematographer recommended many of the close-ups.  In 1961, there was a motion picture of the same title and he was concerned that some people might think his was merely a remake.  Ultimately, he wound up keeping the title because he found it most appropriate – kids, after all, are in fact innocent.  

"The Cathedral" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of this year’s New Directors/New Films Festival, I attended a screening of the drama “The Cathedral”, written and directed by Ricky D’Ambrose. 

Synopsis

As a little boy comes of age, he witnesses the collapse of his entire family. 

Story

Jesse is born in the late1980’s to a couple who live on Long Island, New York.  At that point, and throughout the decades until he reaches college, there are plenty of events in the country that serve as a backdrop to his maturing process; these national upheavals can be seen in a direct comparison to the personal upheavals that occur during his early years.  As a result, young Jesse can only sit back and watch while everything in his life – and the world around him – seems to unravel and there’s not a single thing he can do to either stop or reverse any of these events.  He is forced to passively watch, unable to take action. 

As the world collapses around him, Jesse’s family, appears to be following along the same path.  The families of both his mother and father are constantly squabbling.  Jesse’s father owns a printing business, and he’s struggling to make a go of it day-to-day.  This puts immense stress on the marriage and under extreme financial constraints, the parents are fighting with alarming frequency.  Eventually, Jesse’s parents are forced to divorce; both later remarry – his mother winds up with a physician and his father with a woman from Trinidad, who scams him for $8,000 before completely dissolving their union. 

When Jesse graduates from high school and prepares for college, his father throws an elaborate party for him.   Guests include not only his own family, but also his ex-wife, her husband and her side of the family as well.  Once the uncomfortable, tension-filled party concludes, Jesse’s father gets into a fight with his ex-wife’s family.  Despite organizing this party while he was already strapped for cash, Jesse’s father ultimately must have his business file for bankruptcy when the move towards digital publishing begins.  After the death of a family member, the family must eventually reunite for the funeral.  Will they be able to put aside their differences once and for all?     

Review

“The Cathedral” is thankfully short – but it is also an intense, humorless film that tries to be deep but is instead detached; it is difficult for the audience to connect with either the story or the characters.  We are supposed to see the breakdown of the family unit through the eyes of Jesse but we lack any kind of personal connection to him because he comes across as two-dimensional.  Add to that the fact that much of the exposition is done through the use of a voice-over narrator who seems as emotionally distant as possible, almost to the point of being robotic in her pronouncements.  With much of the exposition occurring off-screen, the motion picture suffers.      

Director Ricky D’Ambrose looks to have difficulty telling a story that is so personal to him; he admits that it is somewhat based on his own family life. There are certainly character arcs -- obviously Jesse, who grows up over the course of the story.  Also, the downturn that the family takes could be considered multiple character arcs.  The problem is that the story gives the impression to not really have a resolution; it appears to have somewhat of an arbitrary ending.  If you are looking for a somewhat traditional three-act structure, there is an argument to be made that it is done through the life of Jesse – his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood when he is in college.  Unfortunately, in terms of structure of the story, there isn’t one that’s a clear narrative thread.   

Following the screening, there was an interview with writer/director Ricky D’Ambrose.  When asked about the title, D’Ambrose seemed to have a difficult time explaining this; there is a scene in the movie where Jesse is looking at a book that contains drawings of cathedrals (why a little boy of that age is doing that is something of a mystery).  At that moment, a key turning point occurred in his family.  D’Ambrose said that he likes to title his work in a way that does not immediately give the appearance of being directly related to the story itself.  He added that because of the budget, they had to work quickly; the entire shoot took about 20 days.  Because of this, he shot the entire film using a zoom lens on the camera so they didn’t have to stop and change lenses between different shots.    

"X" -- Movie Review

 

This week at the A24 Screening room, I streamed the new horror film by Ti West, “X”.

Synopsis

When a group of friends rent space to shoot an adult movie, what happens when the property owners find out what they’re up to?

Story

It’s 1979 in Houston, Texas.  Wayne (Martin Henderson), who fancies himself as something of an entrepreneur, decides he can make it big as a movie producer.  He engages his girlfriend Maxine (Mia Goth), a cocaine-addicted stripper, to join the cast of “The Farmer’s Daughters” – basically, a porn flick.  He rounds out the cast with Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), one of the other dancers at this club along with her occasional boyfriend Jackson (Kid Cudi).  The crew includes R.J. (Owen Campbell), the camera operator and his girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega), who works the audio. 

All of them pile into Wayne’s van and head out to a remote rural area of the state; with great trepidation, they rent a cottage from a creepy elderly couple who run a boarding house.  The elderly couple are highly suspicious of this motley group, whom they assess to be a bunch of perverts – but when Wayne pays up a little extra for the rental, they quickly put their concerns aside.  Shortly thereafter, they begin shooting their movie on a shoestring budget; while some of them aspire to greater things that will result from this effort, others are merely having fun.  They try to shoot the film quickly so they can soon bid farewell to the old couple.

Surprising everyone, Lorraine announces that she’d like to shoot a scene in the movie, despite R.J.’s objections.  After she films her sex scene, R.J. is so humiliated that he decides to abandon his colleagues, taking the van and the equipment.  But before he can drive off the property, he’s stopped by the elderly wife, and that’s the end of R.J.  When the rest of the group attempt to go looking for him, that’s when the bodies start to pile up, one after another.  With this maniacal elderly couple on a killing spree, will any of the aspiring filmmakers be able to escape with their life? 

Review

If you’re looking for something new to add to your list of guilty pleasures, “X” is highly recommended.  Whether your laughs will be louder than your screams may depend on your sense of humor and tolerance for violence.  Either way, this one is a worthwhile watch.  Writer/Director Ti West does an outstanding job of putting a twist on the tried-and-true formula for the classic slasher film.  He doesn’t mock the genre so much as has fun with it and invites the audience to come along for the thrill ride – and what an enjoyable ride it is!  Just sit back and watch the cadavers fall while you munch some popcorn. 

What’s truly great about “X” is the fact that there really is no true protagonist for whom the viewer can root.  Although it is the elderly couple that are the killers, none of the aspiring "filmmakers" are especially endearing.  Pretty much everyone here deserves to die; it then becomes a question of who gets it next and how their end comes.  Who, if any, will survive?  That’s the guessing game you can play throughout the film, and one of the things that makes slasher movies like this so much fun.  Nearly every demise you anticipate will occur, but not necessarily when or how you might expect. 

The real kicker to this screening happened at the end:  there was a short (and clean) version of the adult film the group intended to make, “The Farmer’s Daughters”.  Its look and feel realistically emulates the way 1970’s porn, which only adds to the humor.  Thankfully, there’s no gore here.  Ti West plays it for laughs all the way (in case you were wondering how the finished version of the flick would turn out).  It’s quite a relief, too, because it gives viewers the opportunity to relax a bit after all the tension in “X”.  If you can find a theater where it’s playing (or a streaming service where it can be rented), it’s guaranteed to be an entertaining couple of hours.