tvdk-73830 Reviews

Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie (1984)

Bad, but in a good way

[6/10 · 29 March 2024]

I write this review not because this is a particularly good film, but to counteract some of the (in my opinion) overly harsh reviews and the overall low rating. If even Ed Wood's films can crack the 3/10 mark, surely Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie deserves its due. Firstly, this film contains Donald Pleasance in a maid's costume - this alone is worth 2 stars. Throw in some questionable period set pieces, incompetent government officials, an actress who is far too, shall we say, 'buxom' for the early 20th century setting, and some particularly bad monster make-up -- what's not to love?!

In the vein of spoof films of classic monster films (i.e. Young Frankenstein), Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie, directed by Yvonne Furneaux, does not have any pretentions to being a 'good' film. Whether or not the comedy is intentional or unintentional, the film offers up a big fat slice of delicious 80s cheese. For fellow fans of trashy film, this one deserves more recognition. After all, they don't make 'em like this anymore!

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

David Gordon Green does it again!

[4/10 · 5 November 2023]

Ruin another perfectly good horror franchise, that is. I will preface this by saying that I went into 'Exorcist: Believer' with low expectations, having read many of the (mostly negative) reviews beforehand. The original Exorcist is a film that cannot be paralleled in tone, suspense and shock value, even by today's rather jaded standards (in my humble opinion, CGI will never improve upon practical effects). Therefore, I wanted to like 'Believer' on its own terms, and promised myself I would not compare it to its incomparable predecessor.

Unfortunately, even without making comparisons to the 1973 classic, David Gordon Green's latest foray into horror feels like a lacklustre effort. As other reviewers have noted, the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the film is not bad. Some scenes succeed in building tension, but instead of reaching a crescendo, it fizzles out by the time we reach the inevitable exorcism. Green is evidently unfamiliar with the concept of 'less is more'. 'Believer's narrative is unfocused, the cast of characters bloated. The polytheistic approach to the exorcism simply makes matters worse (as does the unfortunate reference to patriarchy in an attempt to be relevant). In short, the overall impression is of a film that tries to be many things ('requal', 'elevated' horror, appeal to nostalgia etc.) and succeeds at none.

Admittedly, the cast does the best with what they were given, and Leslie Odom Jr.'s portrayal of a frustrated single father was quite effective. This is certainly not the worst film out there: nor is it the worst exorcism film. But it does represent another --at best misguided, at worst insulting-- attempt to give a classic horror film the 'Michael Bay' treatment.

Halloween Kills (2021)

A pleasant surprise

[8/10 · 2 November 2021]

I thoroughly enjoyed Halloween Kills, which was a surprise as I am among those fans who did not really like Halloween 2018. I was annoyed by that film's effort to erase the sequels... Not the fact that it ignored them (fair enough), but simply that the writers felt the need to explicitly overwrite them. This raised more questions than it answered, and jerked the viewer out of the fantasy. It left us wondering why Laurie could not cope better with what (according to Halloween 2018) was an isolated trauma, and why the Laurie/Michael relationship was still apparently so significant without the familial connection. In short, instead of the strain of attempting to erase the sequels, it would have been better not to engage at all and let fans come up with their own theories.

In short, I went in with low expectations for Halloween Kills. But without giving away too many spoilers, the homage to the original was much more effective this time around, while they did something fresh that in making Haddonfield itself a character of sorts. This helped to give the legacy of Michael Myers a 'bigger' significance, without deviating too far from a slasher movie's bread and butter. For me, the mob scenes allowed for some compelling social commentary, and also harked back to crowd scenes in Halloween 2. I can now better appreciate that Halloween 2018 was really a set up piece for the coming film(s).

I am sure that, regardless of the mixed reviews, every fan of the 1978 film cannot help but feel at least somewhat excited by the return of so many familiar faces. Also a nice spot of gore never goes amiss!

Jessica Forever (2018)

An interesting premise, but falls flat

[1/10 · 21 October 2020]

I was excited by the 'reverse lost boys' premise of this film. Ultimately, though, the film aims high but definitely isn't able to pull it off. It is true that sometimes 'less is more', but JF provides zero reasoning for why the characters are in the situation we find them in, and no hints about WHY this should be a secret. Ultimately, a lot of posturing but very little substance.

One star for a very cute kitten.