Happy Death Day, The First Purge and Doomsday (movie reviews)

How do Happy Death Day (2017), Doomsday (2008) and The First Purge (2018) measure up in the jam-packed horror genre?

The horror genre of today covers a vast array of movies, from the silly teen comedies of scantily clad females running UP the stairs instead of out of the house, to the psychological horrors like The Babadook (review here), the killer clowns (see Terrifier in previous link also) to the hack and slash horrors like (Jig) Saw and gothic horror like The Lodgers - filmed in Wexford of course. Gone are the days of the classic Hitchcock horror, suggesting more than it shows with the likes of The Birds or Psycho. 

Anyway, to get to the reviews, let’s start with Happy Death Day.

The plot is simple and un-original, basically it’s a teen comedy-horror based on the Groundhog Day classic. It follows a college student – played by Jessica Rothe who is murdered on her birthday and begins reliving the day over and over again, at which point she sets out to find the killer and stop her death. It had huge success in movie theatres, so much so a sequel has been announced for February 2019 Happy Death Day 2U.

Whilst unoriginal, it’s still a great premise and the lunacy of trying to avoid the same mistakes brings a laugh each time. The imaginative ways in which Theresa "Tree" Gelbman is killed each time is sometimes gruesome but always entertaining. It’s a well written screenplay that keeps you guessing all the way through. On several occasions we think she has solved the situation to be hurtled back into the scenario again. Eventually she solves who is trying to murder her – or does she???

The comedy is very good making the movie a hit with teens – similar to the style used in the Scream movies, starting all the way back in 1996 – and lightens the mood. An old Shakespearean trick that still works today. The sound track by Bear McCreary is also really good and makes the movie for me. McCreary stated that he wanted "a schizophrenic, dual personality, with light-hearted comedic scoring on one end, and genuinely terrifying soundscapes on the other" and it definitely works. Bear is also the creator of the soundtracks for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica and the Walking Dead.

In summary, it’s a fun horror movie, not too gruesome (e.g. Saw) written well with a good soundtrack. I give Happy Death Day an 8 out of 10 planets.

The First Purge.

I’ve always loved the premise of The Purge movies, a small glimpse into a World without law and order. What would the great U … S … of A be like without civilisation and rule of law? It’s a stark picture we are presented with and from an anthropological point of view an interesting one. There have been many conversations about the premise on line. 

So, the plot. In previous movies The Purge (2013), The Purge Anarchy (2014) & The Purge Election Year (2016) we follow a 12 hour period where all law is suspended and crime up to and including murder is allowed. A huge business has sprung up around Purge Day with, of course, the wealthy being able to afford to barricade their homes and by any means necessary keep their families safe. This has the knock on effect that the poorer neighbourhoods suffer the most, with the most crime, damage to property and horrible acts of violence being experienced by the people in these areas. It’s a different concept of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer except it’s a social experiment of the rich living and the poorer dying.

So, let’s get into the First Purge. We get to see the genesis of this great social experiment. America's third political party, the New Founding Fathers of America, comes to power and conducts an experiment: no laws for 12 hours on Staten Island. No one has to stay on the island, but $5,000 is given to anyone who does. So, straight away we see this is aimed at the poorest in society. Help us with our experiment (you might die, be raped, mutilated etc) and we will pay you. The participants are fitted out with cameras and GPS locators.

Different groups band together to help each other. The local drug dealers stay also, some to Purge the competition and others end up helping some of their friends and family in the community. NFFA members Arlo Sabian and Dr. May Updale are heading up the project. Half way through the experiment, the statistics and viewing isn’t going as planned so Sabian orders trained mercenaries (very well equipped) to start killing. Dr. May realises what’s happening and seals her own demise. (thus laying the foundation for the government’s heavy handed involvement in future movies). 

The nitty-gritty! My favourite part about this movie (strangely enough) is the story - how the Purge came into existence so most viewers don’t really care about that. It relies on lots of killing by people wearing masks. Nothing original there. It also employs the cheap tactic of characters jumping out of nowhere but it’s done well enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. The soundtrack is completely forgettable.  The stand out character is Skeletor – a drug crazed lunatic who is interviewed at the start of the experiment and plans on “Purging” his demons. He pays a pivotal role in the story. If you liked the other Purge movies you will like it but I give it a lack lustre 6 out of 10 planets.

Finally, my favourite of all three – an oldie but a goodie – Doomsday (2008) 

Anytime there is a British production of a horror / post-apocalypse / dystopian theme this is enough to get me interested. Think of Children of Men or ITV’s The Last Train (1999) or BBC’s Survivors (2008) and you know what I’m talking about.

Take note - this movie is rated R and it well deserves this label. It’s violent, bloody and gruesome with bad language, torture, cannibalism and sexual content, so it runs the whole gauntlet. Don’t watch it if you’re not into it. Be Warned !!!.

The plot - The film takes place in the future in Scotland, which has been quarantined because of a deadly virus. When the virus is found, 27 years later in London, political leaders send a team led by Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) to Scotland to find a possible cure. This is a great creation both written and directed by Neil Marshall,who has had a massive career directing other great movies like Dog Soldiers and The Descent and to top it all he is also an episodic director for Game of Thrones. Watching Doomsday you get a similar feeling you do watching 28 Days Later – an eeriness in recognising the locations and the feel of a British production but this is no Coronation Street.

The team, instead of finding a cure find a huge gang of cannibals with awesome fighting skills, and a viciousness to match the zombies in Train to Busan. Most of the team are killed with the couple remaining being tortured for information to help the cannibals break the quarantine. The movie then segways into Sol – the leader of the cannibals, played by Craig Conway who was also the main crawler in The Descent, is an extremely violent and hardcore character – changing tack from his information gathering torture to attending a party/BBQ where one of the captured team is the main course. 

This part of the movie is not for that feint-hearted but the music, special effects and visceral displays are fantastic. A much better example of what happens when the rule of law is suspended (Purge take note). The costumes are amazing, the make-up is brilliant and the staging is huge. This isn’t a pretty movie and is unapologetic in it’s mish-mash of genre’s but if you can get over that I think you will enjoy it. “It’s a wild, bloody ride at its core and it’s incredibly easy to enjoy the film” (source).  

The acting is solid (Rhona Mitra, Craig Conway & Andy McDowell take a bow) all the way through and the special effects and especially the car chase at the end is brilliant. As the movie is a little predictable and it’s a bit of a mish-mash, I still give Doomsday a solid 8 out of  10 planets.

Fini For Now.

John The Captain Ryan

Handsome Devil. (Movie Review)

Director and Writer John Butler injects his own highly personal take with lashings of Irish humour and a gutsy helping of genuine heart and emotion.

Handsome Devil, released in April 2017 centres on an ostracised teenager Ned (Fionn O'Shea) at a rugby-obsessed all boys boarding school in Ireland whose new roommate Conor (Nicholas Galitzine) is the school's new rugby star-player. The two form an unlikely friendship until it is tested by those around them. RTE1 showed the movie during the week, it’s also available on DVD and even Netflix – so you should have no problem getting your hands on it.

Apart from the fact the story is a little clichéd – boys boarding school, indifferent parents, the young gay boy being bullied, the courageous English teacher (channelling Robin Williams in the Dead Poets Society) it is a realistic representation of school life in an all boys secondary school. (That’s from age 12-18 if you’re from another country). 

(source Hollywood Reporter)

So, yes, it’s a clichéd formulaic story that we’ve seen before but the Director and Writer John Butler  injects his own highly personal take with lashings of Irish humour and a gutsy helping of genuine heart and emotion. It’s well worth a go and even Rotten Tomatoes gives it a rating of 81%. It has won many Irish awards and Hollywood Reporter is also a fan - 

“Winning performances from Fionn O'Shea and Nicholas Galitzine as odd-couple pals, plus nuanced work from a terrific Andrew Scott as a man who practices what he preaches by stepping out from the shadows, make this a feel-good "It Gets Better" tale that should speak to young audiences — LGBT teens in particular.” (Hollywood Reporter)

A special mention goes out to Irish actor Andrew Scott who plays the role of the English teacher Dan Sherry pushing the boys to find their voice and who they are. I love when he stands up for Ned when the class are making disparaging comments, with a visceral wit all he needs to say is “The next person to make a single solitary sound of any sort is in hideous trouble.” Short, sharp and perfect. There is also a lovely moment near the end of the movie, where Dan attends a rugby match and introduces the Principal to his boyfriend. Again, another simple line delivered in a nonplussed way – “Arthur's me fella.” Just like that, those 3 little words and the teacher (who could have been fired for being gay) practices what he preaches. The courage it takes Dan and the manner in which the Principal reacts is a sweet poignant moment but still quintessentially Irish. Saying lots without saying much at all. Ya, go Irish Men for using very few words. Both the writing and directing of those 10 seconds is magic.

(source)

Another thing John Butler writes about is how taunts and mannerisms get handed down through generations and lose their point of reference. None of the boys can explain why they make a sort of nasal “Ewww” noise when bullying supposedly gay colleagues. Older viewers will immediately recognise a Kenneth Williams impersonation devised by fathers (or possibly grandfathers) many years earlier. But this is exactly the sort of crap that went on in my secondary school (many moons ago) and maybe still goes on.

Handsome Devil has received critical acclaim, winning the award for Best Irish Feature of 2017 from the Dublin Film Critics' Circle; four nominations at the 2018 Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, including Best Feature Film; and the Best Single Drama Award at the annual Celtic Media Festival in 2018.

For me, this is clearly the Irish version of Love, Simon (Movie Review & Book Review). It might not translate well outside of Ireland because of its wit and writing style but it’s a must see for young LGBT Irish & British people. I’m giving it a 9 out of 10 planet review (it loses a planet because of the clichés.

John The Captain Ryan

The Happytime Murders (movie review)

It's Muppet's Jim, but not as we know it.

Firstly, Yes, it's a creation by the Henson family but it's Henson Alternative for the adult market. This is not a young child friendly movie. You have been warned.

The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Elizabeth Banks, and Bill Barretta as Phil Phillips. The plot follows a world where puppets and humans co-exist, and a joint police force must solve a recent murder spree of retired sitcom stars.

Melissa McCarthy is absolutely fantastic and back to her funny antics. Reminiscent of The Heat where herself and Sandra Bullock share the screen as cops that go about their job a little differently, McCarthy reprised her role as a foul mouthed, tough cop who takes no prisoners. 

This is one of the funniest movies I've seen in ages, unlike the style of comedy we get from Shrek (and previous generations got from the Carry-On movies - Go Sid James!) there is not a second level of comedy aimed at adults. The comedy is out-and-out dirty. There is a shop very early in the movie (and I need to be careful with the words I use on my blog in case I get pinged for having adult content) that the puppets use to buy any of their adult based enter tainment items. (You get what I mean) but what unfolds in this part of the movie is laugh out loud, rib hurting stuff. If you have seen the movie you will know what I'm talking about particularly with the fireman.

Whilst it's dirty, it's still only a 15's cert movie because, I suppose it's only a puppet!. Several of the puppet's are killed and the crime scene's are just hilarious. Seeing stuffing and fur flying all over the place is just surreal.

McCarthy is one of the funniest comedians at the moment and whilst viewers are not giving the movie a good rating I do not agree with them. In this crazy World where all sorts of horrible (9 year old takes own life) and mad things are happening (mass shootings in US for example) to be able to go the cinema and have a genuine laugh out loud experience where not only you but the rest of the viewers are screaming with laughter and escape for 90 minutes is lovely.

From the out-takes at the end (And listen here movie producers, please start showing out-takes more often) you can clearly see how much fun the cast and puppeteers had whilst making the movie. You actually forget during it that the characters are puppets rather than the normal CGI that we have become accustomed to and guess what - in this incarnation the puppets are better because the cast get to interact with the puppets and puppeteers rather than looking at a dot on a green screen, maybe this is harder to do, but once you see the movie you will see what I mean. The use of canned string cheese is simply brilliant and you will not forget it anytime soon. 

When I saw the out-takes it reminded me of a recent HBO documentary I watched about Robin Williams called Come inside My Mind where the crew and cameramen never knew what Willams was going to say or do. So much of what William's did was improvisation (and Williams had a filthy sense of humour also), they even had to bring an extra cameraman on set for Mork and Mindy because they were missing so much of what Williams was doing. 

If you like Melissa McCarthy, if you like a good laugh, if you like the Muppet's and will not be shocked by the dirty (but harmless) comedy give The Happytime Murders a spin. Honestly, you will not regret it. I give the movie a 9 out of 10 planets (drops a planet as it is a little bit predictive) just don't bring your mother to see it with you.

John The Captain Ryan