Genre: Thriller

Serenity (2019) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

A film I only heard about very recently, ‘Serenity’ is a sci-fi mystery written and directed by Steven Knight, best known for his work on the smash-hit television series; ‘Peaky Blinders.’ Although I thought the film looked interesting initially, it has received a lot of bad reviews since it’s release from both critics and audiences alike, so I decided I’d give it a watch and decide for myself.

Plot Summary: When ‘Baker Dill,’ a lone fisherman who escaped from his past to a remote island, meets with his ex-girlfriend; ‘Karen.’ She begs ‘Dill’ to save her and their young son from her new, violent husband by taking them out to sea on a fishing excursion, where, when the time is right, they can throw him to the sharks and leave him for dead…

The story and setting of the film definitely feel very fresh for this genre, mostly due to the film seeming like more of a straight drama at first before changing drastically later down the line. ‘Serenity’ also delivers its narrative in a very unusual fashion, editing between scenes at a very quick pace. Keeping the story always in constant motion and placing small seeds leads to bigger reveals later in the runtime. Some of which only get small appearances for viewers paying close attention. Sadly, for these same viewers, the CGI on display here isn’t the most impressive.

Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jason Clarke all give decent performances here, at points, however, they do feel a little ‘off.’ Whilst I’m sure this is intentional, as it fits with the film’s atmosphere, it can sometimes be distracting from the story itself. Particularly, I deeply enjoyed Jason Clarke’s performance as ‘Karen’s abusive husband: ‘Frank Zariakas,’ as here, Clarke portrays a completely different character than the ones we are used to seeing him take on.

The cinematography by Jess Hall is most certainly one of the highlights of the film for me, resulting in many beautiful and interesting shots. The film also uses the panoramic pivot point camera movement technique (spinning the camera around the actor) for many shots, similar to how the ‘Saw’ franchise does. Personally, though I’m not a huge fan of this technique, as it makes the film feel a little cheap. The cinematography also helps with many of the more emotional or tension-filled moments throughout the narrative of the film.

The original score by Benjamin Wallfisch really lends itself to the strange atmosphere of the film for the most part, aside from when the tension rises in a few scenes, as then I felt the soundtrack begin to feel a little generic and action-heavy. However, when you consider the twist at the end of the film, I feel the score could’ve taken some ideas from it into account, which would’ve perhaps made it a little more memorable.

When it comes to the editing, it can definitely vary, as in some scenes the editing can be a little messy or overly quick, for the most part, the editing is decent and the transitions between scenes are very effective. Even with the quick editing, however, the runtime is still overly long and could easily be cut down to at least an hour and a half. In addition to this, when the editing is combined with some unintentionally amusing writing, it can lead to some oddly comedic moments.

In summary, ‘Serenity’ is a very different kind of film, it begins as almost a character drama before completely spiralling into its science fiction mystery elements. I can see that if you weren’t prepared for the change in direction, it may come across as very sudden and out-of-place. Soon becoming a film not intended for everyone, but with some great cinematography and some occasional impressive editing alongside an incredibly strange atmosphere. I personally found some entertainment value in this film, but not much. Final Rating: 4/10.

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Winchester (2018) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Although slightly better than some other modern horrors, ‘Winchester’ is nothing incredibly memorable. Despite the film’s story being based on true events and having some decent performances throughout, the film still suffers from mostly a bland atmosphere and enormous overreliance on jump-scares, resulting in a mostly boring experience.

Plot Summary: In 1906, ‘Sarah Winchester’ the firearm heiress mourning the loss of her family. Begins to believe she is being haunted by the souls of people killed by the ‘Winchester’ repeating rifle. So, ‘Dr. Eric Price’ is sent by order of her company to her ever-growing home in California in order to inspect her sanity, discovering for himself the disturbing history of ‘Sarah’s home…

A story like this isn’t anything new for sure, we’ve all heard the ‘based on a true story’ or ‘haunted by my past’ storyline a thousand times before. However, they were a few elements of this story I did enjoy, the main two protagonists of the film, that being ‘Dr. Eric Price’ portrayed by Jason Clark and ‘Sarah Winchester’ portrayed by Helen Mirren, are both given some depth. The same cannot be said for the side characters of ‘Marion Marriott’ and ‘Henry Marriott,’ however, as these characters are given no characterisation barley and do so little within the narrative I was constantly questioning their inclusion.

The film overall has an extremely bland look, as the dim grey colour palette alongside the mostly still and uninventive cinematography by Ben Nott make the film very dull visually. The original score by Peter Spierig also doesn’t benefit the film much as the soundtrack is you usual horror score with nothing really interesting about it, other than the occasional moment when it becomes uncomfortably loud. There is the occasional pleasing shot or interesting idea here, but it’s definitely few and far between.

Despite the location and the time-period of the film actually being some of the main draws towards it (considering most horrors are usually set in modern-day) and with the ‘Winchester Mansion’ being a real haunted attraction in America. I was very disappointed to find the location barley utilised, as aside from one short scene in the film where ‘Eric’ explores a dark hallway, what we see of the mansion is mostly confined to a few different rooms throughout the runtime.

The film also (as usual) has a heavy reliance on jump-scares, which means the film barely even makes an attempt to build tension. The film seems more in favour of fading out all of the audio before leading into a loud screeching sound while a ‘terrifying’ face appears on-screen. This is an issue with many modern horrors in all fairness, and feels like nothing other than laziness on the part of the filmmakers.

In summary, ‘Winchester’ is certainly not one of the worst horrors I’ve ever seen. However, it is a big waste of potential, as I feel a story set within the walls of the ‘Winchester Mansion’ could have been really interesting if the film would’ve gotten inventive with the iconic location they had at their disposal. But, as is, the weak characters, bland visuals and dull atmosphere add-up to a very forgettable modern horror. Final Rating: 3/10.

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Don’t Breathe (2016) – Film Review

/ Joe Baker / Leave a comment

Truly a visual treat when it comes to the film’s lighting and attractive colour palette, ‘Don’t Breathe’ is the second big-screen outing for director Fede Alvarez after he took on the extremely gory ‘Evil Dead’ remake a few years prior. Through its original story, incredibly tense atmosphere, brilliant cast as well as iconic horror director Sam Raimi on board as a producer, ‘Don’t Breathe’ manages to constantly remain both entertaining and thrilling in spite of nearly all its runtime taking place within a single location.

Plot Summary: When a trio of thieves break into an elderly blind man’s home in an attempt to steal the loan given to him as a settlement for his daughter’s death. They soon begin to realise that the old man isn’t as helpless as first seems, leaving the group to find a way out before it’s too late…

This simple yet unique plot is truly ripe for creating tense moments, as the film utilises its main location of the ‘Blind Man’s house to the best of its advantage. Having the trio of characters make their way through the house’s tight corridors and dark rooms with plenty of extremely close encounters with the blind old man. Even having to hold their breath at points so he can’t hear them breathe (as the title of the film implies). Alongside this, ‘The Blind Man’ also has a pet Rottweiler, which lends itself to creating even more intense scenes as the characters get pursed by the vicious canine. Who was actually portrayed by three different dog actors, named; Athos, Astor, and Nomad, respectively.

Stephen Lang, best known for his role as ‘Colonel Miles Quaritch’ in 2009’s ‘Avatar,’ portrays the film’s antagonist only ever known as ‘The Blind Man,’ and does a phenomenal job of it. Giving the audience an almost sympathetic view of the character through his innocent performance early on before then quickly becoming far more unhinged and incredibly intimidating every-time he is on-screen. The rest of the cast of Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto also give remarkable performances as the young group of thieves, despite their characters only receiving a small amount of characterisation near the beginning of the film.

The cinematography by Pedro Luque is surprisingly inventive throughout, as in addition to the film’s array of visually-pleasing shots. ‘Don’t Breathe’ actually uses its cinematography to allude to moments that come later within the narrative. In particular, in the scene where the trio first break into ‘The Blind Man’s house, as the camera glides through the various different rooms focusing on key objects or areas for reasons that are revealed later down the line. However, the real visual flair of the film is definitely the stunning lighting and colour palette as already mentioned, from dirty blues and greens to overly bright oranges. Each location (whether inside or out) is always given its own distinct appeal, sometimes even replicating what the audience should be feeling at that point, whether that is fear or relief.

Roque Baños, the same composer who previously worked with director Fede Alvarez on the ‘Evil Dead’ remake, returns to work alongside him once again. This time around crafting an original score which is both eerie and memorable, as the score uses metallic bangs and crashes to fit with the story’s location, giving the soundtrack a real personality similar to the film itself. ‘Don’t Breathe’ also uses its score very effectively, only placing it within more fast-paced moments after the tension has already risen, rather than overusing the original score in scenes where silence is mostly required.

When it comes to its runtime, ‘Don’t Breathe’ is actually quite short, as due to the film wanting to keep its viewer on edge throughout nearly the entirety of its narrative, ‘Don’t Breathe’ is cautious not to overstay its welcome, an issue that many horror flicks have suffered from as many horrors in the past have overplayed their concepts, eventually making them far less frightening/interesting by the time the credits roll. That being said, I couldn’t help but feel a few more scenes with our protagonists wouldn’t have gone amiss, as there were actually a number of more character-focused scenes shot for the film before inevitably being cut.

In summary, I deeply enjoy ‘Don’t Breathe,’ as this horror/thriller is, in my opinion, a genuine pleasure to watch every time. As, aside from desiring a little more characterisation for the protagonists, I have very few issues with this one, as Stephen Lang’s sensational performance, in addition to the film’s great visuals and large number of tension-filled moments, leave ‘Don’t Breathe’ one of the most memorable lower-budget horrors made in quite some time, and I personally am really looking forward to seeing what other stories director Fede Alvarez has up his sleeve, horror or not. Final Rating: high 8/10.

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