House – Film Review

Posted on February 20, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Steve Miner

Writer: Ethan Wiley

Starring: William Katt, George Wendt, Richard Moll, and Kay Lenz

Rating: ★★½

House is a horror comedy film from 1986 that was directed by Steve Miner (who had previously directed Friday the 13th Part 2 and 3), with a script by Ethan Wiley. Despite a mixed critical reception, the film was a success at the box office and spawned three sequels, and an upcoming reboot. Essentially, it’s a standard haunted house story, and while it’s nothing exceptional it’s enjoyable to watch.

William Katt stars as Roger Cobb, a renowned horror author, who moves into his late aunt’s house to work on his new book about his experiences in the Vietnam war. His aunt always believed the house was haunted, and while Roger had always dismissed that once he’s in the house he starts to experience strange events too. George Wendt, who’s most well known as Norm from Cheers, plays Roger’s new neighbour Harold, who is quite a similar character to Norm. He’s a fan of Roger’s books and tries to become his friend, while Roger is looking for solitude.

Roger is a troubled character who has a lot going on in his life. He’s suffering from PTSD due to his time in Vietnam, while also going through the breakdown of his marriage after the disappearance of his son. He also moves into his aunt’s house, after she commits suicide. For the most part he seems pretty well adjusted for someone who has been through so much. The comedy side of the film stops it from dwelling too much on how messed up his life is and he doesn’t seem quite as torn up by everything as you’d expect. The film strays away from being a dark full-on horror film and tries to keep it light-hearted and funny. For every scene showing a flashback to Vietnam, there’s a funny one like Roger being chased around the house by floating garden equipment.

There’s a lot of similarities to other films within House. Most notably Poltergeist, which had been released four years prior. The main character in both films have their child taken to another world and travels into that world through the closest upstairs to save them. There’s also been a few films since that deal with similar ideas and have probably been influenced by House. The effects are decent, especially with Ben (Richard Moll), who appears as a decomposing corpse to haunt Roger in the later part of the story.

Most frustratingly is this could have been so much better. The idea of someone suffering from PTSD and ending up in a haunted house not knowing what’s real and what in his mind is interesting, and while this is explored in the film, it could have been so much better. Roger has flashbacks to the Vietnam war, but they’re not very well done and come across as too goofy to really drive home the horror of it all. It doesn’t take itself seriously enough to be a really grounded horror film about mental illness and at the same time isn’t silly or funny enough to be an all-out comedy. It’s left somewhere in the middle and suffers because of it.

House is an okay comedy horror that’s aged pretty well. The effects are decent and the performances are a lot better than you’d expect from an 80s horror film. Sadly, it’s not very scary, and it’s also not that funny, but it still that 1980s horror charm. Having just watched the first one, it’s surprising that this got three sequels. This is also probably one of those rate films that could probably be improved with a remake/reboot, which is reportedly happening in 2024.

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Fire Punch – Volume One – Manga Review

Posted on February 19, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Before Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto wrote Fire Punch, a dark fantasy manga that was originally published between 2016 and 2018 before being collected into 8 volumes. The story is set a few hundred years in the future where people have developed powers, and become known as ‘blessed’. The Ice Witch, one of the blessed, freezes over the whole world which causes starvation and death. Agni and his sister have the power of regeneration, and every day Agni cuts off his own arm so that his village has food to eat, knowing that seconds later he will grow a new one. The village is attacked by a group of soldiers, lead by another blessed, called Doma and everything is burnt down. Doma’s blessing is that his fire will never stop until it has killed what it touches. The fire meets Agni and for years it burns him, only for his body to regenerate until he’s able to withstand the pain and stand up to hunt down Doma for revenge.

The absolute first thing that you’ll notice about Fire Punch is that it’s an incredibly dark and bleak story. Fujimoto is not afraid to take things to the extreme and the first volume is constantly going for the darkest version of the story it can. It starts with a brief description of what blessings are, and it almost tricks you into thinking this will be a fairly standard Shonen story, but it doesn’t take long for it to kic off properly. The village that Agni lives in is slowly dying, with people resorting to cannibalism just to survive, but even then some of the residents refuse to eat Agni’s arms and die of starvation. There are definitely a few points in the story where it feels like things happen just for the shock value and trying to be edgy, which comes across as a little juvenile, but the central story is set up really well in this volume. It’s definitely not something I would recommend to everyone, as it’s gets quite sadistic at points. It’s not overly graphic, but it’s still messed up.

Immediately this is the kind of story that has you hooked and you just want to know what’s going to happen next. The world in the story is also really interesting and it feels very fleshed out straight away, even though you only get to see a little bit of it. The first volume leaves so many questions about what’s going on and who The Ice Witch is. Agni is a bit of a flat character in this volume. He’s a standard protagonist, a good guy who sacrifices himself at every turn and then when everything is taken from him, he becomes motivated purely by revenge but he still can’t turn his back on those in need. All in all, it’s a good opening to the series and the story is gripping enough to entice you to read volume two.

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Film Review

Posted on February 18, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Peyton Reed

Writer: Jeff Loveness

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O’Brian, William Jackson Harper, Billy Murray, Michelle Pfeiffer, Corey Stoll, and Michael Douglas

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the third Ant-Man film and the thirty-first entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall. Like the previous two Ant-Man films it is directed by Peyton Reed, although this time around the script was written by Jeff Loveness, who has previously worked on Rick and Morty, as well as some Marvel comics.

After the events of Avengers: Endgame Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), has been living a much simpler life. Catching up on missed time with his daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), and writing a popular book about how he saved the world. Cassie has been completing experiments to try and find a way to explore the Quantum Realm without actually going there. While she’s showing this to Scott, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hank (Michael Douglas), a portal is opened and they’re all sucked into the Quantum Realm and have to find a way out.  

Sadly, this film is just a mess. The Quantum Realm is essentially just a Star Wars rip-off, that’s not as interesting. For the first half of the film the pacing is just awful. It’s all over the place, jumping from scene to scene as quickly as possible so you don’t realise how bland everything is. The script is so bad, that it wouldn’t be a surprise if it was AI generated. The dialogue is absolutely awful. Every cliché comic book line you can imagine just smashed together with poor exposition that never feels natural. The whole thing is just awkward. There are also so many bad jokes that just aren’t funny. Even Paul Rudd’s effortless charm can’t save the film, although he does have a few funny moments, they are just few and far between.

At almost all times it’s painfully obvious that they’re standing in front of a greenscreen. There’s no depth to the world and the Quantum Realm doesn’t feel real or tangible. It’s hard to believe the characters are interacting with it. Some of the big set pieces just have the main characters running in front of everything like they’re on a ride at Disney World and we’re watching the souvenir film they bought afterwards.

Jonathan Majors is the best part of the whole film. He’s really great as Kang the Conqueror and while the film is a mess it does do a good job at setting him up to be the next big villain of the MCU. It does feel like there’s finally some forwards momentum in the overarching story, which has been missing from recent films. Kang is a force to be reckoned with and hopefully the upcoming Avengers film will be a lot better than this one.

Quantumania may be the worst film entry to the MCU. It’s a soulless mess and just not entertaining or fun to watch.

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Magic in London: Recovery – Part Nine

Posted on February 17, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Catch up on Magic in London here: https://ashleymanning.com/magic-in-london/

Fiona spent the next few hours trying to get hold of Arthur, who had pretty much vanished of the face of the Earth. She didn’t know what to do about the Shadow Man in the basement, and whether the candles would be enough to keep him locked down, and at the same time Chuck was in the medical room, unconscious and struggling to breath. She was surprised that he’d even managed to get out of the basement without dropping dead. She’d sent Millie, one of the other guardians, to watch over him and perform some healing rituals, but she was still worried he wouldn’t make it. No one had died on Whistling Academy’s grounds for decades, longer than Fiona had been alive, and now there was George and an outsider on the verge of death. Arthur would know what to do, if only she could find a way to contact him. His phone was switched off, and the communication crystals weren’t picking him up either. No one seemed to know where he’d gone. She paced around his office, looking through folders and files to see if he’d left any way to contact him, but there was nothing. She wouldn’t have been surprised if this was all a test to see how they would handle it without his help.

Millie had carried Chuck upstairs and into the medical room, a small makeshift infirmary that was only really used when someone hurt themselves in training. She didn’t think the room was up to scratch to deal with something like what Chuck was facing. She didn’t have enough practice with healing to try it on someone who had been hurt this badly before. Once Chuck had been placed on the bed she’d hovered her hands over his neck and started to whistle. Her eyes closed, she whistled a long and mellow tune, and could feel heat emanating from her palms as she did. Once she’d finished, she looked down at him, and wasn’t sure if it had any effect.

“Come on,” she said. “Don’t give up yet.”

Almost immediately afterwards, Horrick, entered the room carrying George. Millie was sure the child was dead. The second bed in the room had become a dumping ground and Millie pushed everything onto the floor to make room for George. She found his pulse, faint but still there. She couldn’t believe it., let out a sigh of relief, and adrenaline kicked in. She started the process again, whistling and focusing on George’s head. She thought his mind would be what was most damaged, but as long as he was still breathing there was a chance that he would still make it.

A couple of hours later Chuck opened his eyes and looked around the room. Millie, although he didn’t know her name at that point, was sitting in a chair looking over some paperwork, and in the corner of the room was Toby, sat up in a stool and looking worried and a little bored. He moved, trying to sit up, but his whole body throbbed in pain and told him to stay still. He tried to speak, but was only able to make a croaking sound. It was still enough to alert the others that he was awake and in a split second Millie was standing over him and look at him.

“Don’t try to speak,” she said. “Just nod if you can hear me.”

Chuck nodded a little and carried on laying still.

“You’re through the worst of it now. You’ll make it. Just try to get some rest and let us deal with everything else. Okay?”

It took two days of Chuck laying on the bed, slipping in and out of dreams the whole time, before he was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes. He wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. At one point he was sure he saw a bear walk into the room, look around and then leave, but no one else seemed to notice so it must have been a dream. The whole time George was asleep in the bed next to him, not moving at all. Every so often Fiona would come into the room to look over them, she was still unable to get hold of Arthur.

Millie slept in the room, moving three chairs close enough together to create a bed. Every time Chuck woke up and started to make any noise she was there to see if he was okay. He found out her name, and she found out his through Fiona. He liked Millie, there was a softness to her voice and she was very good at looking after people. Eventually he started to wake up without as much pain and he could just lay there in silence looking out at the world around him or listen in on conversations that he didn’t quite understand. Arthur was still nowhere to be found, and Chuck was sure that Fiona was incredibly worried about him. It was the first thing she said anytime that she entered the room.

“I don’t think George is going to make it,” Millie said to Fiona during one of Chuck’s conscious moments. “He’s still not breathing very well and his body seems to be rejecting everything. I don’t know if he’s still there inside either. Arthur would know what to do. He always knows.”

“He has to make it, Mills. He’s just a child. I can’t believe I let this all happen.”

“You didn’t let it happen. He was sneaking down there without us knowing. You didn’t let it happen anymore than I did. It was an accident.”

Another time the one called Horrick came into the room and sat with George for a while. He didn’t say a word to Millie, as he did. She spoke to him though, about how George was still hanging on and his breathing was getting better.

Toby wasn’t in the room when Chuck woke up for the last time. It was just Millie, performing a ritual over George. Chuck felt wide awake for the first time in what seemed like an age and struggled to sit up. He didn’t want to interrupt whatever it was that Millie was doing so he was as quiet as possible. Once she’d finished, she turned around and saw him sitting there.

“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling? Don’t speak if it hurts.”

“I’m feeling okay, a little dizzy,” he croaked.

“I’ll go and get you a drink. Fiona will want to speak to you soon as well.”

Millie left the room and Chuck was left to look watch George. His chest slowly rising and falling with each breath. He looked so small and fragile compared to how he’d acted in the basement. It was hard for Chuck to believe that he’d nearly died because of him. He thought for a second about how easy it would be to kill George right there and then. It flashed in his mind and then disappeared just as quickly as Fiona entered the room with a smile on her face. Chuck shook his head to clear his mind and turned to her, a friendly face in a day of confusion. 

To Be Continued…

Part Ten is available here: https://ashleymanning.com/2023/02/24/magic-in-london-recovery-part-ten/! Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss a post:

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Alice in Borderland – Volume One – Manga Review

Posted on February 16, 2023 by ashleymanningwriter

Alice in Borderland is a manga series written and drawn by Haro Aso. It follows high school student Ryohei Arisu who struggles with school, and is living in the shadow of his brother who seems to excel at everything. Instead of trying at school, Arisu spends most of his time hanging out with his friends Chota and Karube. After a night out they head to a train station together and witness a really late fireworks show that blinds them and they wake up in a seemingly different world that looks like it may be their own world but years in the future. They stumble across a game, where the stakes are literally life and death.

The first volume of Alice in Borderland collects the first two volumes that were released in Japan, so there’s a little over three hundred pages in this collection. For the most part this is just setting up the world of the story and overarching plot. The other version of Tokyo the characters end up in is called Borderland and they have to win at the games they play in order to stay alive and earn visa points. One point equals one day of living in Borderland.

It has quite a slow pace as you get to know the main characters, but does pick up once the games start. With the first game each character has to take a fortune, and some of them have questions on it, and how far off the correct answer they are means that fire arrows would be shot at them. It’s a really good way to introduce you to Borderland, since it sets the stakes really high instantly and shows that it’s not messing around. I did find the pacing a little too slow at points, and I do hope it picks up a bit in further volumes.

Ryohei Arisu is definitely an interesting character, as his family life haunts him throughout the story. While he’s not very good at school work, he’s very adaptive when it comes to the games and thinking outside the box. He adapts to the different situations quickly and is clearly smarter than his test scores would give him credit for.

I read this purely because I really enjoy Zom 100 which Haro Aso started after Alice in Borderland. It’s a very different manga that explores similar themes about post apocalyptic worlds, and both feature a central character who doesn’t quite fit into modern life. This is a much darker story and with the constant threat of death none of the characters feel safe at all. The first volume is a little slow, but I’m sure it’ll pick up in the next one, which I will definitely be reading at some point.

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