What I'm Watching: February, 2010
Been awhile since I posted up something new over here, and I've got a few movies sitting around. I also want to post up some thoughts on the last few reviews, so I should get to that in the next few weeks. I've also got the next Trisk movie sitting here ready to go, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
So anyways, what have I watched of note lately?
Well, I finally got to see Zombieland, yay! This is a *really* good movie. I wouldn't call it the best horror movie of recent years, like I have a number of others that I've mentioned here, but it is absolutely rock solid. I thought of saying that it's the American answer to Shaun of the Dead, but it's not quite that good, but oh it so wants to be. But just because it does not reach those heights doesn't mean that it isn't worth watching. It is a very close #2 to Shaun, which is no bad thing, my fiends. It creates a very believable, well thought out world that I totally buy as a post-zombie apocalypse land. The characters pop, and the writing is very clever. It also has a great gimmick; we're all familiar with the rules of zombies, but what about the rules of surviving in a zombieland? The ongoing runner of rules is a great addition, good advice, and incorporated so well into the movie. If you've not seen Zombieland yet, you gotta check it out, if you read this site. For a low budget film, its very well done, and this is the Dawn of the Dead for the 21st Century.
Besides that, I've also seen another low budget independent film, House of the Devil. Sadly, this is not as good as Zombieland. I had high hopes for this one, and in some ways it gets there, but for the most part, it is going to turn a lot of people off. If I ever need to explain to someone what a slow burn movie is, I'll just show them House. There's not a lot of dialogue in the movie, and not a lot happens until the last 20 minutes, and that is no joke. There is a lot of walking around, sitting, staring, and poking around a more or less empty house. Now, it does take that time to establish the world and characters, as well as being pretty atmospheric and a little creepy in the empty house, but it's a little TOO slow. If it had been ten minutes shorter, or more things happened, this would have been a great film. This is very much a throwback to late 70s/early 80s horror films. There's a wonderful simplicity to it which I quite like, and it even uses a lot of that classic style for the credits and direction, in much the same way that Planet Terror was a loving recreation of grindhouse films. Sadly, it's closer in storytelling to Death Proof, where nothing happens 'til the very end. The movie is well cast and acted, it just didn't quite reach where it wanted to go, I think. It's absolutely worth a look though, but it may disappoint many people, if they don't reach for the fast forward button.
And that's it for the moment. Now it's back to the grindhouse grindstone for me!
J
