Texas Chainsaw (2013)

THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE has established itself as a true classic of relentless terror. But its many sequels, prequels, and remakes have delivered continually diminishing returns. This year’s Texas Chainsaw picks up where the original Chainsaw left off, with an opening sequence that shows the demented Sawyer family holed up in their farmhouse, surrounded by an armed, angry mob. The mob opens fire on the house and then burns the place down, apparently killing everyone inside – including the maniacal Leatherface, who wields the titular chainsaw and wears a mask of human skin.

Fast forward a couple decades, and we meet Heather (Alexandra Daddario), who learns that a grandmother she never knew has died and left Heather her mansion in Texas. Bringing along her friends Ryan (Trey Songz), Nikki (Lost’s Tania Raymonde), and Kenny (Keram Malicki-Sánchez), Heather heads to her grandmother’s mansion to finalize some paperwork. Turns out that inheriting Grandma’s mansion comes with a little snag: Leatherface (Dan Yeager) is alive and living in the sprawling basement, which he’s turned into his personal butcher shop.

Like the many Chainsaw films that followed the largely bloodless original, Texas Chainsaw piles on the gore – with Leatherface putting his trusty saw to use on several victims, including his own grisly not-so-magic trick of sawing a person in half. (Texas Chainsaw’s gore comes courtesy of FX master Greg Nicotero, who also worked on Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III.)

But Texas Chainsaw is more than a story about a boy and his power tool; the sins of the past also come to light, as Heather discovers her connection to the Sawyer family – and uncovers the tragic demise of a family she never knew. Corrupt policemen, brutish locals, and small-town secrets start playing a big (if not bigger) role than the horror of Leatherface, and the film falls into some sort of horror/crime hybrid that dilutes any small shred of terror it succeeded in creating.

Texas Chainsaw director John Luessenhop should get credit for attempting a fresh approach to bridge to the original film, as well as taking the terror of Leatherface beyond the house of horrors and into the local population (police investigate the killings, and Leatherface chases Heather through a crowded town fair). But not even cameos by the original Chainsaw cast can save this latest lackluster attempt at keeping the franchise alive. Uneven, rarely scary, and hobbled by an awkward and unsatisfying conclusion, Texas Chainsaw is yet another sub-par installment in a film series where, nearly 40 years later, the first is still the best.

Rating:

Is it suitable for your kids?

Texas Chainsaw is rated R for “strong grisly violence and language throughout.” So, no.
Violence: People are shot, impaled, bludgeoned to death, beheaded, dismembered, skinned alive, and ground into meat.
Sex/Nudity: Heather and Ryan make out, with Heather only wearing a bra on top. Nikki strips to her bra and panties on several occasions.
Language: Countless four-letter words. A couple mentions of “retard.”

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Highly doubtful. Even if she’s a horror film buff, avoid this one and watch the original.

Hmmm...decisions, decisions...

Texas Chainsaw
* Director: John Luessenhop
* Screenwriters: Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan, Kirsten Elms
* Stars: Alexandra Daddario, Tania Raymonde, Scott Eastwood, Dan Yeager, Trey Songz, Shaun Sipos, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, James MacDonald, Thom Barry, Paul Rae, Richard Riehle, Bill Moseley
* MPAA Rating: R



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The Sadist (1963)

THE SADIST OFTEN GETS OVERLOOKED and lumped in with the large amount of B-movie, drive-in dreck released during the mid-1960s – which is a shame, because it’s a taut, effective, and surprisingly brutal film for its era.

Shot in real time, The Sadist’s plot is unassumingly simple: Three schoolteachers on their way to a Dodgers ballgame – Carl (Don Russell), Ed (Richard Alden), and Doris (Helen Hovey) – have car trouble and pull into an isolated auto yard. There, they run into crazed killer Charlie (Arch Hall, Jr.) and his young, nubile girlfriend Judy (Marilyn Manning).


Working from his own script, director James Landis does a superb job of creating tension. Even early in the film, as the teachers arrive at the auto yard, Landis sets the foreboding tone: When Ed yells for assistance and all he hears is his echo, it’s clear any later cries for help will fall on deaf ears.

The Sadist also features fantastic camerawork, including great use of foregrounds and depth by a young Vilmos Zsigmond, whose later legendary cinematography includes Deliverance, The Deer Hunter, and an Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Just as Charlie shows no mercy for his hostages, Landis gives no relief to the audience. The Sadist is shockingly brutal and graphic for its time: Charlie verbally and physically tortures the teachers, and several scenes are indeed sadistic. The best example is the infamous “soda scene,” where Charlie tells one of his victims he’s going to shoot them in the head once he’s done his bottle of soda – all while the victim is on their knees, begging for their life. (An additional form of torture: Carl, Ed, and Doris can hear the ballgame they’re missing as it plays on the car radio.)

Hall’s performance as Charlie falls between nutjob killer and goofy caricature, and this combination is what makes him so frightening. With a twisted grimace and a maniacal giggle (which Hall admits he stole from Richard Widmark’s hitman in Kiss of Death), Charlie also shows on several occasions that he may be crazy, but he’s not stupid. He’s often one step ahead of his captors, whether it’s counting the number of bullets he’s used or showing he knows more about cars than Ed thinks he does.

One of the first films loosely based on 1950s serial killer Charles Starkweather (followed by the better-known Badlands and Natural Born Killers), The Sadist still packs a wallop nearly 50 years later. With a cast of five, one location, and a premise that (sadly) still resonates today, it’s a gem worth seeing.

aka Sweet Baby Charlie.

Rating:

Is it suitable for your kids?

No. Charlie menaces Carl, Ed, and Judy nonstop, threatening them with a gun and a knife. That’s on top of the actual violence: Charlie pistol-whips Carl and assaults Doris, kicking her and shoving her face in the dirt; Doris is slapped by Ed and Judy on separate occasions; a man is shot in the head in close-up; four others are shot dead; two other bodies are shown dead (shot by Charlie before Carl, Ed, and Doris arrived); Charlie talks about people he's killed in his travels; and a person is bitten to death by snakes. Also, Ed utters a minor profanity.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

The Sadist’s combination of violent content and being shot in black and white may not be appealing to some viewers. Unless your FilmMother has a penchant for ‘60s B-movies or films about thrill-killers, you may be watching this one alone.

 

Outta my way…I wanna carve my initials on this tree.

Watch The Sadist in its entirety:

The Sadist
* Director: James Landis
* Screenwriter: James Landis
* Stars: Arch Hall Jr., Richard Alden, Marilyn Manning, Don Russell, Helen Hovey
* MPAA Rating: N/A


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Little Erin Merryweather (2003)

I’VE NEVER BEEN DRAWN TO independent horror films. To me, “indie horror” covers such a broad range of quality in terms of both production value and storytelling…and in my limited exposure to indie horror flicks, usually one or both of those areas have been sorely lacking.

But when I saw the trailer for the indie release Little Erin Merryweather, something about it convinced me to take a chance…

Plot:
A series of murders shakes up a sleepy New England college. The killer, dressed in a Red Riding Hood cape and cowl, guts her victims and replaces their internal organs with rocks. Watching the local police get nowhere, three students on the school paper – Peter (David Morwick), Teddy (R. Brandon Johnson), and Sean (Marcus Bonnée) – decide to investigate the killings, armed with the learnings from their behavioral sciences professor (Elizabeth Callahan), who is also a former profiler.

Critique:

With Little Erin Merryweather, multi-hat wearer Morwick (who wrote, directed, edited, and stars) has given us an original horror film where the killer is 1) a female who preys on men, in a nice little gender-flip; and 2) revealed to the viewer early in the story, but whose identity remains a mystery to the characters.

Regarding elements of the film Morwick didn’t handle: Paul Cristo’s score perfectly matches the atmosphere and storyline as he alternates haunting strings with child-like music box arrangements. And cinematographer Michael Marius Pessah beautifully captures the wooded, snow-covered surroundings of the campus, in addition to picking the right shots to rack up the tension (the opening chase between Erin and her first victim is especially well-shot and edited).

Ironically, the occasional weak link in Little Erin Merryweather is Erin herself, actress Vigdis Anholt. She has very little dialogue, which means we rely on her actions for character development. Unfortunately, those actions (aside from slicing up students) consist of several melodramatic glares and stares at potential victims.

Little Erin Merryweather takes the standard slasher formula, throws in a helping of serial killer profiling, and offers a fresh, unique experience – yet one that also made me nostalglic for the slasher-film heyday of the late ’70 and early ‘80s. It also rises above the typical pitfalls of indie film, especially indie horror: It's a professionally shot, well-acted, compelling little gem.

Rating:

Is it suitable for your kids?

While Little Erin Merryweather spills very little blood on-screen, there are multiple stabbings accompanied by very visceral sound effects. There is also a fair share of profanities, and the topic of sexual abuse is brought up at times as part of Erin’s backstory. Merryweather is fine for teens to see, but use your own discretion for any tweeners in your audience.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

Little Erin Merryweather is a neat little film that often comes off as more thriller than horror. If she likes scary movies but isn’t big on gore, this could make for an enjoyable option.

I've heard about cracking down on late fees, but this is ridiculous.

Little Erin Merryweather
* Director: David Morwick
* Screenwriter: David Morwick
* Stars: David Morwick, R. Brandon Johnson, Marcus Bonnée, Elizabeth Callahan, Vigdis Anholt
* MPAA Rating: R


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Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

WHEN I SAW THE TRAILER FOR Law Abiding Citizen last fall, it looked like a delicious tale of one man’s revenge on the men who killed his family – and on the justice system that failed to punish them.

While I didn’t get a chance to catch it in theaters, it finally worked itself up the ranks in my Netflix queue, and into my mailbox last week.

Plot:

Philadelphia inventor Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) has his world torn apart when two men barge into his home, beat and stab him, rape and murder his wife (Brooke Mills), then kill his little girl (Ksenia Hulayev). The criminals, Darby (Christian Stolte) and Ames (Joshua Stuart), are caught, and the case goes to hotshot prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx). Realizing he can’t win a first-degree murder case, he cuts a deal where Darby – who actually committed the rape and murders – will testify against Ames and receive a lesser sentence, despite tearful pleading from Shelton.

Fast-forward 10 years. Darby has served his time and is back to his hoodlum ways, while Ames receives his death penalty, which goes horribly wrong. Meanwhile, as Darby escapes a police raid on his apartment, he’s kidnapped by Shelton, who brutally tortures Darby to death (and to pieces). Shelton is soon arrested, and from behind bars he somehow begins to kill off people in the legal system he feels are responsible for going easy on his family’s killers. How? Turns out Shelton’s really a government spy – a “brain” who figures out ways to kill people, according to a former colleague, “without ever being in the same room.”

Critique:

As much I was hoping to enjoy Law Abiding Citizen – and its potential to raise debate over what is truly justice, and whether revenge ever brings peace to those who exact it – the film is flawed from the start. We are given literally three minutes to meet Shelton’s family before they’re slaughtered, providing the viewer with zero chance to create an emotional investment in them or in Shelton’s love for them.

And without that opportunity to make an emotional investment, we’re left seeing Shelton the way Nick and the film’s legal system see him: as a case, not a person. Even five more minutes of Shelton loving his family, or a scene of him grieving for them, before we leap forward ten years would have helped.

But even if that additional emotional display had been provided, it still wouldn’t solve Citizen’s other problems, one of the biggest being its inability to define itself. Is it a crime thriller? A revenge yarn? A murder mystery? A mental chess match between two determined men? An indictment of the legal system? Unfortunately, it’s a little of each, and ultimately it’s the film’s downfall.

Director F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Italian Job) peppers Citizen with many aerial and crane shots – including two separate flies past the William Penn statue atop City Hall as if to say, “Hey don’t forget; this takes place in Philly!” Add to this his overuse of Brian Tyler’s sweeping score, and it creates a false sense of epic scope.

As a married dad of two kids, I was really hoping to have more a visceral reaction as Shelton carried out his vengeance on Ames and Darby. Yes, the scene of Shelton describing to Darby what’s he going to do to him is both horrifying and exhilarating – but it’s over within a few minutes, and we’re tossed back into a film that’s lacking an identity. That’s not to say Citizen doesn’t try to mimic other greater films’ identities to create its own – its over-atmospheric interiors, with their hazy lighting, makes one think instantly of The Silence of the Lambs or Seven. (The bad news: You’re not watching either of those creepy classics; you’re stuck with this uneven story for 109 minutes.)

With Law Abiding Citizen, the worst crime committed isn’t the killing of Shelton’s family, or Shelton’s reign of terror on the city. It’s that the film simply doesn’t make us care enough about anyone involved: Not Shelton and his trail of vengeance, not Nick and his family when Shelton gets close to them, not Nick’s coworkers as they are picked off…and most tragic of all, not Shelton’s wife and daughter.

Sorry, Mr. Gray: You can have Shelton stare at that DADDY charm bracelet from his daughter in scene after scene to try and emotionally manipulate the viewer…but the fact that you and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer give literally less than five minutes of screen time to her and her mother is truly the ultimate sin of the film.

Rating:

Is it suitable for your kids?

Law Abiding Citizen is justifiably rated R and is rife with violence, starting with the opening scene of Shelton’s family being attacked. It’s an especially bloody film, including the aftermath of Clyde’s murder of Darby (body parts are everywhere), Shelton stabs his cellmate to death with a spork (yes, a spork), a rigged cell phone blows someone’s head half off, and there are multiple deaths by explosions and gunfire. So no, it’s not suitable for your kids…until maybe they reach their early to mid-teens, at least.

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

If she’s a fan of either Butler or Foxx (which I know many women are), they may want to see Citizen. You could do worse, but you could also do a lot better.

Whaddya mean, you didn’t think Wanda was funny?

Law Abiding Citizen
* Director: F. Gary Gray
* Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer
* Stars: Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney, Leslie Bibb, Regina Hall
* MPAA Rating: R (strong bloody brutal violence and torture, a scene of rape, pervasive language)



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Blood Rain (2006)

HERE’S A FILM with an interesting blend: a Korean period piece with a serial killer on the loose.

Plot:
In 1808, at a paper mill on the remote island of Dong-hwa, a mysterious fire destroys a docked cargo ship. A team of investigators led by Lee Won-Kyu (Seung-won Cha) arrives to solve the case. The next day, a mill worker is found brutally slain – escalating Lee’s investigation from arson to murder. But the gruesome killings don’t stop there…

Critique:
• Director Dae-seung Kim delivers Blood Rain with all the scope of a big-budget epic and the effectiveness of a modern-day Hollywood crime thriller.
• Seung-won Cha is powerful as Kyu, the methodical, emotionless investigator. Much like a modern-day movie cop, he does his job by the book – but when pushed to his limits, he’s not above beating information out of a suspect.
• The sweeping score by Yeong-wook Jo and Ji-soo Lee is worthy of any major epic the Western world has produced.
• A couple nits: The last act takes a bit longer than expected, and flashbacks are woven too seamlessly into the present storyline, making it disjarring at times. Also, the ending loses points for throwing a supernatural element into what had been a story largely grounded in reality.

Blood Rain opened in its native Korea in 2006, but Pathfinder Pictures just released it on DVD in the US last month. If you enjoy crime thrillers and can tolerate a large dose of bloodletting, it’s worth seeking out. (View the trailer here.)

Korean, with subtitles.

Rating:

Will your children want to watch it?

The fact that Blood Rain is a period piece, in a foreign language, with subtitles, should be enough to lose your kids’ interest – which is fine, because its graphic violence should not be viewed by children. People are impaled, boiled alive, suffocated, have their heads crushed, and are dismembered. Oh, and a few chickens have their heads cut off (ba-GOK!).

Will your FilmMother want to watch it?

The violence may be off-putting to her, and if she’s not a fan of subtitles, there’s two strikes right there. I’m feeling this is one to watch on your own.

Worst. Bachelor. Party. Ever.

Blood Rain
• Director: Dae-seung Kim
• Screenwriters: Seong-jae Kim, Won-jae Lee
• Stars: Cha Seung-won, Park Yong-woo, Ji Seong, Choi Ji-na, Oh Hyeon-kyeong
• MPAA Rating: N/A (graphic violence, gore)


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