Tag: Leon Russom

Movie Review – ‘A Quiet Place’ – “He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim”

Directed by John Krasinski
Written by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck (story and screenplay), and John Krasinski (screenplay)
Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Leon Russom
Soundtrack: Marco Beltrami

It’s not technically his inaugural feature (which is probably why it feels so self-assured), but, as far as the general public is concerned, A Quiet Place is John Krasinski’s directorial debut, and what a debut it is.

The horror genre, at least as far back as the 1950s, has often been rooted in gimmicks (cheap or otherwise), sometimes straight-up recycled, but in the case of A Quiet Place, more so sliced, diced, and sautéed.  After all, this isn’t the first movie to feature monsters hunting by sound (and it probably won’t be the last), but A Quiet Place takes the necessity of silence to a new level.

I’ve said it before in regards to The Man From U.N.C.L.E that sometimes style can effectively become substance, which is fair to say of A Quiet Place, although that’s not to say it’s without some legitimate depth.  The core story is really a family drama that you could port into a myriad of other scenarios, this one just happens to be a post-apocalypse with creepy sound hunters, but nonetheless there are actual themes and emotions beyond “SPOOKY MONSTERS SCARE ME”, which is pleasantly surprising.

As far as performances go, everybody’s on point to the point that it’d be hard to ask for much more given the material and the sparseness of the cast (it’s really just the one family for the whole movie).  Everybody’s appropriately taking it seriously and the family dynamics in particular feel genuine, not to mention Krasinski and Blunt bring a natural chemistry from their real-life matrimony into their on-screen version.

Beyond that though, I’m happy to report the movie was shot on 35mm, and it does generally look pretty great.  As far as digital photography has come in terms of daylight shooting, the night shoots still give it away, and in a film like this it absolutely makes a difference.

If I have any nitpicks, for one, I wish the studio would have kicked in more of a budget for the aliens, not that we need to see them more, but, I don’t know, I felt like, at least theoretically, they could have been done better; and second, there were a couple of moments where the inherent schlockyness of the premise shined through, and it felt out of character given everything else in the movie, but that’s about it.

It’s not earth-shattering by any stretch, but on the whole A Quiet Place is of a quality I wish we saw more of in contemporary genre films, and it’s certainly worthy of a theatrical experience.

So, go get some friends together, find yourself a nice, dark moviehouse, and, by all means, STFU.

Your life may depend on it.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Classic Twofer – Hudson Horror Show: ‘Silver Bullet’ & ‘Fright Night Part 2’

Sometimes curiosity is dangerous, and sometimes it can lead you to some wonderful places.

My own curiosity in these particular films stemmed largely from their relative rarity.  ‘Silver Bullet’ can be found on DVD, but I can’t attest to the transfer quality, and ‘Fright Night Part 2’ appears to be out of print completely.  Regardless, neither movie has gotten a proper Blu-ray release, which is an utter shame.  So, in order to get a high definition viewing experience of each one, I found myself once again at the Alamo Drafthouse (Yonkers) for another abbreviated edition of the Hudson Horror Show.

 

Movie #1: ‘Silver Bullet’

Original Release Date: October 11, 1985
Directed by Daniel Attias
Written by Stephen King, based on his novel ‘Cycle of the Werewolf’
Cast: Gary Busey, Everett McGill, Corey Haim, Megan Follows, Robin Groves, Terry O’Quinn, Bill Smitrovich, Joe Wright, Kent Broadhurst, Lawrence Tierney, William Newman, James Gammon
Soundtrack: Jay Chattaway

I
Loved
This
Movie.

If you’re a fan of 80s cinema, I can’t recommend ‘Silver Bullet’ highly enough, because it has just about everything you could ask for from such a film: a score from synth veteran Jay Chattaway, a cast chock full of “that guy” actors, Corey Haim in a motorized wheelchair, visual effects from Rick Baker and Rob Bottin, and, if all that weren’t enough, the man himself, Gary Busey as hard drinking “Uncle Red”.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s a Stephen King screenplay adaptation of a Stephen King novel?

That’s right.  In fact, ‘Silver Bullet’ plays out like a Stephen King greatest hits album.  You’ve got a small town attempting to deal with a mysterious threat, an ineffective band of vigilantes, a clergyman under duress, a killer monster, and a pair of children who are the only ones who know the truth.

All of these aspects add up to one of the best and most fun teen horror movies ever made.

Now, I’m not saying it’s perfect.  For one thing, the movie bills itself as a period piece, taking place in 1976, and there aren’t any elements placed in to convince you of this (unlike John Carpenter’s ‘Christine‘); and, on a related note, the story is bookended by some voice-over narration that is as unremarkable as it is extraneous.  Also, and this is admittedly nit-picky, I’d say the werewolf looks fine for this particular movie, but, compared to ‘An American Werewolf in London’ or ‘The Howling’, it feels just a bit lackluster.

However, as a whole, ‘Silver Bullet’ is tough to beat.  It’s got solid performances all around, it’s well-paced and not too long, and, most importantly, it knows exactly what it is, which is a horror film that’s meant to be fun.

Hopefully we’ll get a proper high definition home release in the not too distant future, because this is a movie I’d love to own.

Rating: ★★★★½

 

Movie #2: ‘Fright Night Part 2’

Original Release Date: May 19, 1989
Directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
Written by Tommy Lee Wallace, Miguel Tejada-Flores, and Tim Metcalfe, based on characters created by Tom Holland
Cast: Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale, Traci Lind, Julie Carmen, Jon Gries, Russell Clark, Brian Thompson, Merritt Butrick, Ernie Sabella, Matt Landers
Soundtrack: Brad Fiedel

Tommy Lee Wallace has a decent enough horror resume, having come up alongside John Carpenter on such films as ‘Halloween’ and ‘The Fog’, making his directorial debut with ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch’, and, eventually, helming the television adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘It’ in 1990.  Frankly, with a C.V. like that, I expected a little more out of ‘Fright Night Part 2’ than what I saw.

The original ‘Fright Night‘ is one of the better major studio horror films of the Eighties, and one of its biggest strengths is a nice, tight script, in addition to a lot of wonderful practical visual effects.

By contrast, ‘Part 2’ has a similar sense of style, but the story is much more meandering, often frustratingly so, to the point that the movie doesn’t really jell overall.  It’s very much a classic “It happened again!?” sort of sequel, which I’m okay with, but I think they actually go a little too far in trying to connect it to the original movie.

However, there are particular elements and scenes that are creative enough on their own to make the movie worth seeing once.  Naming Brian Thompson’s character “Bozworth” was a nice touch, the bowling stuff is hilarious, and, as I said, practical effects still rule the day.

It may be a bit of a letdown after watching the original ‘Fright Night’ (or ‘Silver Bullet’), but I’d still recommend this one for 80s horror fans, and I hope it gets a proper home release someday as well.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

So, that’s about it.  Thanks again to Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers and Hudson Horrow Show for putting on another entertaining event, and I look forward to more in the future.