BARE BONES: VIRAL and SUMMER CAMP

VIRAL (2016)

Basically, a high school version of 28 Days Later and the more recent What We Become and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Flick finds sisters Emma (Sofia Black D’Elia) and Stacey (Analeigh Tipton) trapped at home alone when a viral outbreak caused by a worm-like parasite initiates a quarantine, with both their parents unable to come back to their neighborhood. The parasite takes over its hosts, who violently and animalistically seek out other hosts for the organism to spread to. The sisters must battle former friends and the threat of infection themselves to survive, as the outbreak spirals out of control.

Written by the Paranormal Activity series’ Christopher Landon, with Barabara Marshall and directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost (Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3 and 4), this is actually an entertaining little movie despite its familiarity. Joost and Schulman create a nice mood of continual dread and danger, along with delivering some suspenseful sequences and moments of intense and bloody action. The actresses give us two very likable heroines in D’Elia’s smart and sweet Emma and Tipton’s more aggressive and headstrong Stacey. The combination of endearing characters and the directors making good use of the familiar tropes (as they did with Paranormal Activity 3) makes this a worthwhile flick for a night on the couch. Aside from some so-so CGI, the production value is good, and the filmmakers prove they can work beyond found footage. A fun little apocalyptic outbreak horror despite having seen it all before.

-MonsterZero NJ

SUMMER CAMP (2015)

Horror flick finds three Americans (House of the Devil’s Jocelin Donahue, Scream Queen’s Diego Bonita and Maiara Walsh) traveling to Spain to be councilors at an English summer camp for kids and dealing with some kind of viral outbreak/infection that turns the effected violent and vicious. Is it the pollen, the water or something else turning others and themselves into homicidal monsters? Will these strangers in a foreign land survive?

Summer Camp is directed by Alberto Marini from his script with Danielle Schleif. What makes this flick work, despite the oft-told premise, is that Marini has a little fun with his ‘infection’ in both its actual cause and the fact that we find the effects are only temporary. This allows for the film to swap out infected and uninfected, so one minute we are fearing someone and rooting for someone else and then it switches them out as someone recovers and someone else starts foaming black at the mouth. There are some suspenseful moments and some vicious and gory violence, as our three councilors battle each other, commit acts of murder while under the influence, and then battle a group of infected rednecks (Yes! Even in Spain!) camped out in an RV nearby. It moves fast enough to keep us from realizing just how silly and familiar it all is and the added caveat of having our infected recover, does leave them to amusingly have to face what horrors they have committed. It’s not perfect, we are a bit confused as to what is going on till the late in the third act explanation and the end is predictable, even though still very amusing. Go in with moderate expectations and this can be fun if you just go with it.

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 and SLEEP TIGHT

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 (2015)

 

Harmless sequel to the surprisingly fun Hotel Transylvania finds Mavis (Selena Gomez) and Johnny (Andy Samberg) married and expecting their first child. Drac (Adam Sandler) couldn’t be more excited to have a new little monster in the house till Dennis (Asher Blinkoff) is born appearing quite human. While Mavis and Johnny consider moving to L.A. so Dennis can be in more human surroundings, Dracula and his friends are determined to bring out the little monster in his young grandson.

Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky and written by star Sandler and Robert Smigel, sequel is an OK follow-up that is amusing enough at times, but doesn’t quite have the first flick’s sense of fun. A lot of the jokes and routines are replayed from last time around and it doesn’t seem as energetic. The vocal performances are all fun, including Mel Brooks as Dracula’s estranged father Vlad, but the script just isn’t quite as clever as the original flick. Kids will probably like it just fine, but it just feels like there is something missing this time amidst the messages about being accepted for who you are.

-MonsterZero NJ

SLEEP TIGHT (2011)

Sleep Tight is a unnerving flick from Jaume Balagueró from the REC series that should have been far more disturbing considering it’s premise. The story from Alberto Marini’s script has building concierge Cesar (Luis Tosar) secretly stalking pretty tenant Clara (Marta Etura) and doing things to create tension in her life. Cesar is a twisted and very unhappy man who wants to share his misery with others. Her targets poor Clara and sneaks into her room, hiding under her bed only to pop out and knock her out each night while she sleeps. He takes advantage of her physically and adds things to her make-up to give her a rash and even fills her apartment with cockroach eggs…all with the pretty girl unaware.

Another flick that just seems to be missing something. While Cesar’s activities are certainly disturbing, the film has a very laid-back approach that seems to keep it from being as terrifying as it should be. Cesar seems to get away with a lot and it gets a little far-fetched and the fact that we never really get a solid explanation as to why he picks Clara and chooses to torment a woman who is continually sweet to him, remains a mystery. It needed a bit more depth to really give it some intensity. The performances are good with Tosar being appropriately creepy and Etur being a very likable and sweet girl, so we do feel bad for her. The flick just needed a heavier atmosphere and a little more intensity to make it really click.

-MonsterZero NJ

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: EXTINCTION (2014)

EXTINCTION (2014)

(Clicking the highlighted links brings you to corresponding reviews and articles here at The Movie Madhouse!)

Apocalyptic horror is directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas who is most know for his film Kidnapped, an acclaimed home invasion flick, that I personally found to be very overrated. The story opens with your typical 28 Days Later viral outbreak that causes the usual bloodthirsty cannibalistic behavior. A group of people on a bus are attacked and amidst the chaos, some escape. The film picks up almost a decade later with the remaining survivors in a gated wintery town called Harmony (Alaska?) where Jack (Jeffery Donovan)and his young daughter Lu (Quinn McColgan) live in a gated home across the street from Patrick (Matthew Fox). Jack and Patrick haven’t spoken in years over the death of Lu’s mother Emma (Valeria Vereau) though Lu sees Patrick and his dog as potential friends. The ‘infected’ seemed to have died off, but the feud between the two men casts a chill beyond the winter weather outside…that is until a new and more horrible threat arises and the two men must work together to save all their lives.

Going into this flick knowing that is is more a survival drama than a zombie/monster movie might help one enjoy it more as it is well-directed and the characters well written. There isn’t really much original about it, though, as it seems Vivas and co-writer Alberto Marini took a bunch of movies like 28 Days Later, The Descent, I Am Legend and Snowpiercer and threw them all in a blender to concoct this tale of remote survivors and the creatures stalking them. It focuses far more on the conflict between Patrick and Jack over the death of Emma, than it does on the mutated infected that are descending on their frozen oasis. The drama is fine and there are some interesting reveals about Lu and her mother, as well as, Patrick’s alleged role in her eventual death. There are some plot problems,too, however, like a sub-plot about Patrick hearing voices over the radio coaxing him to harm Jack, that gets dropped about midway through. It should have been edited out completely, as it goes nowhere. There is also a stupid decision to keep one of the infected chained-up by Patrick, that serves only as a plot device to lure the others in. It made no sense. When the evolved infected finally arrive, the siege is well orchestrated and suspenseful and gives the film an action-filled last act. Vivas has a very strong visual sense and the film looks gorgeous and his shots are captured well by cinematographer Josu Inchaustegui. The make-up and gore FX are quite good and Sergio Moure delivers a fitting score. It is a moderately paced drama with occasional and bloody monster action and if you’re OK with that you might like this thriller more than someone just out for their latest zombie fix.

The cast are good and Vivas evokes good performances out of them. Donovan is solid as the overprotective and bitter Jack. One can understand, in such a world, why he is so protective of Lu and his anger at the drunken Patrick and hesitation to trust him again are understandable and well portrayed. Fox is sympathetic as Patrick. He knows he’s made crucial mistakes and his weaknesses cost a woman her life. The actor conveys this well, as does his pain over being kept distant from Lu and isolated by Jack in a world where they may be the only ones left. Little Quinn McColgan is really surprising as Lu. She gives a very good performance as a kid who has grown to be just at the rebellious point and wants to make decisions for herself, despite the dangerous world she lives in. She also portrays well, an attachment to the mother she barely knew, which gives the film a glimmer of hope and retained humanity. Rounding out is Valeria Vereau who is seen briefly in the opening and in flashbacks as Lu’s mother Emma and Clara Logo as Anne, a pregnant women the two men discover towards the end. Anne just seems to function as a potential new mom for Lu and represent the return of a more traditional family unit to a rebuilding world. The actress is suitable as such.

In some ways, the film leaves you feeling divided. It is far more drama than monster movie and while it portrays that drama well, there are plot holes. There are well written characters to endear to, but the overall story seems to be cobbled together from pieces of movies we have seen before. There is certainly entertainment here and when the monsters do arrive it is fast, furious and bloody and Vivas gives the proceedings a sumptuous look. Basically, the best way to approach this is with cautious expectations and if you go in not expecting much, you might be entertained. Not a bad movie, just not one that really resonates or has a strong identity of it’s own

-MonsterZero NJ

a generous 3 bullets.