Oh The Horror! DVD Recap: August 2013

   ~by Marie Robinson

Since there was a pretty hefty load of horror DVDs to hit the shelf last month, and quite a few I wanted to check out, I took it upon myself to watch as many as I could and give you the scoop on ‘em. Here are my brief thoughts on the DVD releases of August…

MAGIC MAGIC

This quiet film takes place in director Sebastian Silva’s homeland of Chile where teenage girl Alicia is visiting her American cousin abroad. What was supposed to be a holiday for the naïve girl turns out to be a living nightmare where she must question if everything is real or horrifying illusion. With splendid performances by all, this film stars Michael Cera, Juno Temple and Emily Browning. This is a psychological thriller that was to me impressive and unique; it really puts you in the unraveling mind of the victim. You might even begin to feel reality slip away… You can view a full review I wrote on Magic Magic here!

ANTIVIRAL

For as long as celebrities have been around, people have been fascinated by them, and easily obsessed. People will do strange things to feel connected with them; Brandon Cronenberg’s film considers this infatuation, and imagines the lengths that fans will go to to feel intimacy with their idols. Even though the fact that this is the debut film of legendary director David Cronenberg’s son is reason alone to see this film, it helps immensely that it is interesting, beautiful, poignant and well acted by lead Caleb Landry Jones.

MY AMITYVILLE HORROR

Everyone has heard of The Amityville Horror—a book/movie that was inspired by the actual slaughter of the DeFeo family in their home in New York. The Amityville Horror is also supposedly based on facts; the family who moved in after the murders (the Lutzs’) claimed to experience sinister supernatural activity. This documentary by Eric Walter goes in depth with Daniel Lutz, who was just a child at the time of the alleged haunting. While extremely fascinating for those interested in the hauntings, it is also a portrait of a disturbed individual who suffered from an abusive stepfather. Even if you don’t believe in demons and ghosts you can still enjoy this quality-made documentary—which is Eric Walter’s debut! Check out Christine’s full review on My Amityville Horror here!

AFTERSHOCK

The second film on this list to have a Chilean director and take place there! Eli Roth lends his pen and his acting talents to Nicolas Lopez’s disaster film, Aftershock. A group of tourists don’t exactly get the good time abroad they are looking for when an earthquake hits and then the whole city goes to mayhem. There’s much for our protagonists to be worried about in this film but none of that really makes us worried about them—they’re all douche bags! This could have been a cool flick if it didn’t think with its dick.

HATCHET III

Bayou butcher Victor Crowley is back for the third installment of the Hatchet slasher films. Also returning is heroine Marybeth (Danielle Harris) and writer Adam Green, who was penned all three films and directed the first two. Directing for the first time is BJ McDonnell who until now has spent all his time right behind the lens. While the film has it’s moments both fun and gore-ific, the storyline and characters seem to be a bit tired out. Sometimes immortality can be a curse…

NO ONE LIVES

From the director of the Midnight Meat Train comes No One Lives, a torture flick with a twist! A murderous group kidnaps a couple on the highway, thinking it will be a fun, easy kill. What they don’t expect is that they’re dealing with a villain of their own—which means they’re fucked. Ryuhei Kitamura seems to know how to make a jolly good slasher flick, with substance to boot! I enjoyed No One Lives; it brings something a little different to the formulaic plot of torture films.

RAPTURE-PALOOZA


This comedy by Paul Middleditch makes a mockery of the Rapture foretold in the Bible, following a young couple and their families as they struggle to survive and adapt to Hell on Earth. With a pretty solid cast (Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, John Francis Daley to name a few) you’d think it’d be a fun flick—at least I did. However, almost all of the jokes fall flat—it seems like the writers were trying to hard to fit a
punch line into every line of dialogue instead of coming up with quality material. Save yourself from eternal damnation and leave this one on the shelves.


Well, I hope this was somewhat helpful and informative for you guys! I had fun watching these films, even if I didn’t necessarily enjoy all of them. I like to make it a point to stay current with what is going on in the horror cinema world. I’m guessing you probably do too, since you are reading this…
The ones I didn’t get to were Do Not Disturb, 5 Souls, Jack the Reaper, Zombie Massacre, Evidence, American Ghost Story, Alyce Kills, Among Friends, A Resurrection, and Ritual. Let me know if you have seen any of these, and if you have any thoughts on them or the ones I talked about!

This was fun; we should do this again sometime. See you next month?

Magic Magic (2013): A Shattered Sense Of Reality

~Review by Marie Robinson

Horror is a very welcoming genre—almost greedy. In horror we like to accept a very broad spectrum of sub-genres. But what do you call a film that couldn’t be considered just a stark horror film, is heavily psychological - but isn’t necessarily thrilling… I could call this film a psychological drama, but that doesn’t sound right, either. Let’s just call it Magic Magic.

Chilean director Sebastian Silva has only been making films for a few years, but from what I have seen I have gathered a heavy indie vibe to his flicks, almost comparable to Diablo Cody. Another trait I can compare in these two is actor Michael Cera.

Michael Cera is known for his oddball, deadpan comedic roles and while he certainly maintains that in Magic Magic, this is the darkest performance I have to see him in.

It takes place in Silva’s homeland of Chile, where Alicia (Juno Temple, Killer Joe) is visiting her cousin Sarah (Emily Browning, Suckerpunch, The Uninvited), an American exchange student. The two cousins are supposed to accompany Sarah’s strange group of friends to a secluded country home for a holiday but Sarah dips out last minute under some suspicious pretenses related to school. So Alicia is left alone with three complete strangers. And when I say strange, I mean it.

Alicia is particularly perturbed by Cera’s character, Brink, who likes to push his boundaries around the young girl. The stress of being in a foreign country, basically alone, and other unseen elements in Alicia’s mind begin to unravel her, and it becomes difficult to determine what is a threat, what is real, and what is not.

I was immediately intrigued by the trailer, which puts emphasis on Michael Cera’s character who is, indeed, incredibly chilling. His unsettling performance was certainly the best, which isn’t necessarily surprising given that he is the most acclaimed actor in the humble cast, but it is always nice to see an actor doing something different and proving that they are malleable to roles.

Juno Temple, who I’ve seen only in Atonement, did a wonderful job acting the difficult and unconventional role she is given. Although the audience does have some sense of dramatic irony, one feels that they are right alongside Alicia in her uneasiness, which quickly becomes panic.

This film is bizarre and had a slow, droning pace, but it is really quite unique. There isn’t much action and the climax is fairly muted, but you can tell that there was meticulous care put into the film making. And that is precisely what I loved about Magic Magic—the details. They are small and hard to catch, but when you do they are fantastic. It’s in the sound, the script, the acting and the cinematography. I wish I could tell you specifics but then it would ruin the fun of you seeking them out and would perhaps prevent you from paying attention, and this film deserves all of it!

As for the title, the most obvious explanation for it is the unusual climax of the film… which you will have to see for yourself!
Magic Magic is now on DVD!