Malignant – Film Review

Posted on September 11, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director:  James Wan

Writer: Akela Cooper

Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young and Michole Brianna White

Rating: ★★★½

This year has undeniably been a great year for horror of all kinds and it doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. Malignant is the latest offering from one of modern horror’s great directors, James Wan. He has already proved himself horror-wise, with modern classics such as Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring. His new film feels like this is already a classic from the 1980s that you haven’t seen before. It’s a film that holds nothing back and gives it everything it has.

After a home invasion that leaves Madison widowed and causes her to have a miscarriage, she finds herself having nightmares about people being killed. The events are actually happening simultaneously to her dreams, and Madison starts to believe that she has some kind of link with the killer.

After the opening scene, that leaves a lot to be explained while giving enough clues to help you start piecing it together, there is one of the most horrific moments of the film. It received gasps from the audience. It’s a quick, brutal moment of domestic violence that overshadows the extreme violence and gore for the rest of the film. It’s only a brief moment, but it’s powerful and resonates through to the end of the film. After this it takes a long time for any real violence or gore to happen on screen, for the first half of the film it’s mostly off camera, letting that one moment from the start be as impactful as possible.

James Wan perfectly builds a dark atmosphere straight away and you know scary things are going to happen, purely from little twists of the camera. There are so many moments when the camera starts to pan, and you can feel something bad is about to happen. It’ll have you holding on to the arms of your seat, with your heart pounding at multiple moments. Wan is clearly a great director and knows how to create tension, there’s some overhead shots that are magnificent and a chase sequence that will have you holding your breath. There are also a few jump scares, not an over reliance on them, but enough to keep your heart rate up.

The score, by Joseph Bishara, is fantastic. There are moments that feel like homages to what’s come before from Wan’s own Saw to Hitchcock’s Psycho. It’s a haunting and chilling score that elevates each scene, building on the atmosphere to make something that at times is full of fear.

The performances are also excellent. Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), is excellent as Madison. Her performance is great. Maddie Hasson (Twisted) is also great as Sydney, Maddison’s sister. She plays really nicely against Detective Shaw (George Young). The effects are also fantastic, apart from some noticeable CGI moments in the violence at the end, everything looks fantastic. The mind-trippy way the rooms meld into another when the killings happen are captivating to watch.

Around two thirds through the film, everything is revealed. As soon as it is you can relax. The atmosphere and tension quickly dissipate, and you can feel it almost instantly as if a switch has been flicked. In some ways it’s a relief, but it does make the remainder of the film feel like you’re just waiting for the end. It feels like the 3rd act is less of a horror film and more of an over-the-top action film, with an insane amount of blood and violence but very little tension or terror.

There are also a few things that stand out that can really take you out of the film. There’s a plot point where Detective Shaw finds a photo of Madison but doesn’t recognise her since it was taken nearly thirty years ago. He gets someone to age the photo up, but it’s clearly her. Why can’t he figure that out straight away, it feels like it happens this way purely due to the plot. If he figured it out sooner, one of the victims would have survived. Then when he does get the aged photo back, he goes off by himself to investigate the potential victim, with no back up or getting someone to check on the prime suspect. There are a few other moments later that really niggle away, and it completely takes you out of the film.

Malignant is still a good film, and aside from a few issues with the plot there is still more to like than dislike. It feels like it honours classic horror films, without ripping them off and has a lot of truly scary moments and builds up an atmosphere of extreme tension and suspense, it just doesn’t keep it up for the whole run time.

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Mother of Tears – Film Review

Posted on September 10, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Dario Argento

Writers: Dario Argento, Jace Anderson, Walter Fasano, Adam Gierasch and Simona Simonetti

Starring: Asia Argento, Daria Nicolodi, Moran Atias, Coraline Cataldi-Tassoni and Phillippe Leroy

Rating: ★★★★

Suspiria is a masterpiece of a film that didn’t need a sequel. It worked perfectly as a stand alone film and the forced sequel Inferno only proves that point. Way back in the late 1970s, Dario Argento promised that Suspiria was the first part of a trilogy and the final part of that trilogy is Mother of Tears, which finally came out thirty years after the first part, in 2008. There were many false starts for the final instalment, many abandoned scripts, including one that was written in the 1980s that was completely scrapped.

When an extended part of Mother of Tears was originally shown at Cannes Film Festival in 2007 it received mixed reactions. Argento die-hard fans stood by it, while others criticised it. The majority thought the cinematography was beautiful but the script and acting was heavily criticised. It feels fitting, following the critical panning of Suspiria and Inferno that Mother of Tears would receive a critical backlash when it was first released. Unlike the first two films, the third hasn’t had much of a reappraisal, although it is overdue.

Something that stands out about Mother of Tears that towers it above Inferno is that it actually feels like a true sequel to Suspiria. It isn’t just imitating what made the original so great, it does it’s own thing but it’s set within the world that’s already been created. It links back to the original plot-wise in a much more interesting way. The characters are linked and it deepens our understanding of the events of the first one. Funnily enough it glazes over Inferno almost completely. Despite the links, it still works as a stand alone film and if you find yourself watching it with no idea about the first two, you won’t find yourself lost in anyway.

Like Argento’s work in the 70s and 80s, Mother of Tears is a violent and gory film. There is extreme amounts of violence and blood. The effects are incredible, at least the practical ones are. They are stomach churningly good. The CGI, on the other hand, is just straight up bad. There’s a ghost/spirit that features at one point and it looks incredibly bad, to the point of laughter.

Dario Argento’s daughter, Asia Argento, stars as Sarah Mandy who is studying art restoration in Rome. An urn is shipped to the museum and Sarah’s boss opens it up and is then brutally murdered by the followers of Mater Lachrymarum in front of Sarah. The followers chase Sarah and start to hunt her down while Sarah tries to discover the secret of the three mothers.

Asia Argento is great in the role and gives a really decent performance that keeps you invested in the story as it progresses with lots of twists and turns that you don’t see coming. It builds up a great sense of dread that builds to the final showdown with the final mother.

One of the staples of the trilogy is bright and bold primary colours. Suspiria is a beautiful film with its use of colours and lighting. Inferno mimics that with lesser success. The primary colours reappear in Mother of Tears, although in a much more muted way. They don’t feel as noticeable in this one and you can tell the film is made decades after it’s predecessors.

The biggest fallback of the film is the amount of nudity, especially towards the end. It feels unneeded and just seems exploitative. There’s no reason for it to be in the film at all, especially after Suspiria and Inferno, which are filled with really strong female characters (which does continue into Mother of Tears), the nudity feels very out of place for the series.  

Mother of Tears is a worthy sequel to Suspiria. It’s not as good, but that would be near impossible. It’s completely its own film with great practical effects, a gripping story and extreme amounts of gore. The bad CGI and needless nudity does detract a little, but this is still a great film.

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Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu – Book Review

Posted on September 10, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

Thank you to Pushkin Press for the copy of this book in return for an honest review

Before Dracula there was Carmilla, one of the earliest vampires stories, that helped set the standard for everything that came after and built the foundations for modern vampire stories as we know them today. It was originally serialised in The Dark Blue from 1871-1872, and then released as part of Sheridan Le Fanu’s short story collection In a Glass Darkly, later in 1872.

For the 150th anniversary Pushkin Press have released a gorgeous hardcover edition of the novella, with a tag-line that highlights the influence the novella had on Bram Stoker’s classic. There are a lot of similarities between the two and the influence is undeniable. Anne Rice has also claimed it as inspiration for Interview with the Vampire.

Carmilla is within its own right a classic of Gothic literature. I first read this when I was studying the Gothic in University as part of my Literature course and really loved it. I’ve always had a love of vampire stories and have long held Dracula as one of my favourite books. Carmilla is definitely up there as well and revisiting it now has been exciting. Not reading it for a course, meant I could take more time with it and not rush it with deadlines.

The story is told from Laura’s perspective, who is writing the story ten years after the events happened. Laura lives with her father in a picturesque castle and has an isolated life. A visit from another teenage girl is something she had been looking forward to for a long time, before hearing about the girl’s untimely death. A carriage accident outside the castle, means that another young girl, Carmilla, is invited to stay with Laura. Carmilla is not quite what she seems, and Laura’s health starts to deteriorate.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s dark and twisted and has some surprisingly detailed gory moments. It builds up an atmosphere filled with suspense and is a book I really escaped into.

The story is a must for any vampire fan. It’s a classic for a reason. We are still talking about it, with new editions coming out, a century and a half later. The cover for the new edition is beautiful and if you haven’t already read this tale, then it’s worth reading. It’s haunting and chilling and really has stood the test of time. Don’t be put of by its age the language at points does feel old-fashioned but it’s easy enough to read and once you get into it, you don’t even notice.

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Top 50 Films – 10-6 Countdown – Part 9

Posted on September 10, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

I’m back with the penultimate instalment to my top 50 films. If you haven’t read the previous parts you can catch up here:

PART 1,  PART 2,  PART 3,  PART 4,  PART 5,  PART 6,  PART 7,  PART 8

This week I’m starting the countdown of the top 10. Let me know your opinions of the films and if you’ve seen them in the comments:

10 – Resident Evil

I know that a lot of people are going to be groaning at this one. I love the Resident Evil film series, and would put any of the first 3 films in this list, but it’s the first one that takes this spot. As a child I watched these over and over and over. They are fun, action packed and genuinely scared me when I was younger. The first one homages the game in the best way and then does its own thing. There’s music from Slipknot as the theme, which is fantastic. The laser sequence alone is brilliant. The dogs scared me a lot when I first watched it. I do think the series suffered as it went on and the last one was a mess, but I still love the first 3 and will happily watch them anytime.

9 – Indiana Jones

It’s my list, my rules, so I’m putting all 4 Indiana Jones films at number 9. I think my favourite is the third one, The Last Crusade, but I honestly love all 4. When I was younger I always disliked the second one, but there are a lot of good moments in it. I know a lot of people hate Crystal Skull, but it was the first one I saw in the cinema, and I had a great time. The original trilogy is pretty much essential viewing as family entertainment. They’re all full of adventure and fun and are genuinely exciting to watch. I have high hopes for number 5.

8 – Back to the Future

At number 8 I’ve put another series. One of the best trilogies ever made. I remember watching the first one, years and years ago, and just loving it. I’ve seen all 3 many times, and I think it’s hard to separate them. I like the 3rd one the best, but I can’t just watch number 3. I have to start with the first one and watch them all. One of the most referenced films of all time and full of great moments. It’s a0 perfect trilogy that has defied time to still be amazing.

7 – A Beautiful Mind

At one point, I would have said A Beautiful Mind was my favourite film ever made. It’s a true story about mathematician John Nash, and I knew nothing about it when I first watched it. I don’t even remember why I watched it, but I’m glad I did. Russell Crowe is fantastic in it and the story is gripping. There’s a twist in it, that genuinely shocked me and this is a film that has stayed with me for a very long time.

6 – First Blood

Before Rambo became an over-the-top action franchise, there was First Blood. A harsh look at post-Vietnam war era America. It’s incredibly grounded and John Rambo is a great character in it. Stallone gives and amazing performance and co-wrote the script. The film had a long and troubled production with tons of re-writes and different endings. The production was on/off for a decade and it wasn’t until Stallone got on board and re-wrote it that the film got off the ground. Stallone got rid of Rambo’s suicide at the end and wrote the monologue that Rambo gives in the final sequence. It’s an excellent scene and makes the film so much more memorable. Stallone doesn’t get enough credit as a writer, and he really should. This is a great action film that has a lot of heart and emotion. It’s a shame that the series went off the rails immediately afterwards with extreme action, but the first one still stands as a masterpiece.

So that’s numbers 10-6. Let me know what you think about the films I’ve listed and I hope you’re looking forward to my top 5 next week.

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Ashley

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FrightFest Round Up & Short Update

Posted on September 9, 2021 by ashleymanningwriter

My review for Red Snow marks the last review for FrightFest Digital 2021. I had a great time watching these films, and reviewing them. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how it would go. I’ve never been to a film festival, so didn’t know what to expect and was really surprised. There was a lot of great films that really shocked me.

I also learnt something about the way I write. There was a gap of 30 mins to an hour between each film and I used that time to write the reviews so I was days ahead of the uploads by the end. I usually write up notes for reviews, either during or after the film and then write up the full review the next day. Writing it up straight away seemed to work a lot better, so I’ll be trying that method as much as possible.

There are two stand out films for me. The Show and King Knight. I couldn’t recommend these highly enough. The Show is probably going to appeal more to people who live in Northampton, like I do. It’s strange seeing so many places that you walk around on a regular basis. The actual film is just great as well. I’m a massive Alan Moore fan, so this was the one I was looking forward to most and I wasn’t disappointed. Siobhan Hewlett, who played Faith in the film, also liked my tweet about it, which was a great moment.

King Knight was a strange an amazing film. I chose it purely because Ray Wise and Aubrey Plaza were in it, not knowing a single thing about the story. It was so funny and quirky in the best way possible. I loved it and I can’t wait to see it again.

There are so many other great ones. Red Snow, Are We Monsters, The Parker Sessions, Broadcast Signal Intrusion (Through which I found how enthusiastic Harry Shum Jr. fans are), When the Screaming Starts. I would recommend all of them, and you can find reviews of them by searching the names on my blog.

Next year I am 100% going to be going to the physical event. A film festival is something that I’ve always wanted to go to and while the digital one was fantastic I’m sure it will be even better in person.

I hope you enjoyed the interruption to the usual posts, and if you’ve seen any of the films, or plan to, let me know in the comments.

Tomorrow will be part 9 of my top 50 films. This is counting down 10-6, then I will be putting up my review for Mother of Tears in the evening.

And on a side note, the London Film Festival line up has been revealed and looks fantastic. I’m not 100% sure how it’s going to work for me, I’ll be getting an email in the next couple of weeks about what I can access. I have a feeling I won’t be able to make it to London for the big films, but plan to watch as much as possible when I can get down and on the online side of things.

Thanks for reading and until next time,

Ashley

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