KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017)

The cover to the Australian Bluray Steelbook of Kong Skull Island

KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017)

I never like to think of any movie I enjoy as a ‘Guilty Pleasure’. I figure if you feel embarrassed about something you love, you probably don’t actually love it but enjoy it for nostalgic or other reasons… but today I watched Kong Skull Island.

KSI is the second part of the ‘Monsterverse’ series of films… you know, because EVERYTHING has to be a ‘universe’ these days… which is also known as the ‘Legendary Series’ that started with 2014’s kinda-boring Godzilla, that starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen.

This film was written by a handful of screenwriters: Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), Max Borenstein (Hypnotic, with Robert Rodiguez), Derek Connolly (who, honestly, seems to be consistently a ‘team-player’ writer) and John Gatins (Flight) and it is obvious insomuch as there is a bunch of different stories a happening simultaneously, and whilst I appreciate that most movies are like that, this was very much very different stories in a similar situation.

The film was directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Successful Alcoholics and The Kings of Summer, did a great job with this film as he clearly saw that monster movies aren’t just about the monsters, but also the human stories that exist within them; something many horror movies forget… and superhero movies, and sci-fi movies… basically any ‘pop culture’ films.

Its not always about selling toys, Hollywood!

When you consider that the first film of King Kong was created in 1933, and influenced so many sequels, remakes and themes, it isn’t a surprise that films based on the character aren’t still being made. What is surprising though is that this was made so soon after Peter Jackson’s 2005 hit film which is far more a character piece rather than a monster movie like this one. Kong appears very early in this film and there is no hesitation in telling the viewer just exactly who is the star of this film.

Kong: Skull Island starts in 1973, with the Vietnam war almost officially over and Bill Randa (John Goodman) is in charge of an expedition to travel to a previously unexplored island that has remained hidden behind a serious weather anomaly.

Hiddleston and Larson

Coming with his team are members of Landsat, a computer mapping organisation, with the intention of dropping seismic bombs on the island to get an idea of the landmass, assumed to be hollow. The transportation is provided by a platoon of Vietnam soldiers, under the command of Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) in their choppers, now dormant with Americas withdrawal from the Vietnam war. Finally, a former SAS James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and a press photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) round out the motley crew.

After traversing a quite heinous storm to get to the island, the teams set up their equipment, and start dropping the seismic devices from the choppers but they find that there is resistance to the bombs being dropped in a giant ape called Kong.

The Big Monkey himself

Kong attacks the helicopters, separating the teams. Packard and his becomes obsessed with destroying Kong as he so viciously attacked them, but the other team, including Conrad and Weaver, meet a tribe of natives and Marlow (John C. Reilly), a WW2 pilot who became lost on the island during that war, and who knows, after his years on the island, that Kong has an important role in nature… keeping the horrifying Skullcrawlers at bay…

Will Kings defenders get to Packard in time to stop his attempts at killing Kong, or is mankind doomed…

Samuel L. Jackson in angry soldier mode

I have to start with the cast of this film when discussing it. Its a combination of Marvel second fiddles (Dr. Doom, Loki, Captain Marvel and Nick Fury aka Toby Kebbell, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson respectively) mixed with character actors and ‘I know that persons face, whats their name again’ actors like John Goodman, John C Reilly, Thomas Middleditch and Shea Whigham. I LOVE this cast as I was so shocked BY their performances. Hiddleston as the military expert takes the heroic spot like it should always have been his. Jackson plays to type as the shell-shocked army colonial still fighting a war that America lost but its a different style of performance, almost Apocalypse Now-ish in its obsession. Brie Larson, who I liked in Scott Pilgrim but detested as Captain Marvel is warm as the photographer, and surprisingly likeable. Toby Kebbell was great as a ‘doomed’ soldier (sorry) stuck by himself on Skull Island trying to get home to his family, when you consider I have only seen him in the awful 2015 Fantastic Four and as an ape in the more recent Planet of the Apes flicks, anything would have been different!

John C. Reilly was a lot of fun in his role too as the displaced World War 2 soldier as well, playing crazy but not irredeemably psychotic like some of these sorts of roles can end up.

Kong himself was beautifully designed as nature intended and ape to look but he has a fantastic presence here, and always look great in his animation expect where there is water as some of the water scenes look rough. Most of the other creatures look great except for the ‘bad’ creatures, the so-called Skullcrawlers, are supposed to be horrific and whilst there presence and intention is, they look stupid with a human looking upper body attached to a snake tail and heads that look like horse’s skulls. Surely they could have come up with a better design that this. It looks like it was designed by a bunch of suits talking about things that scare them.

Speaking of looks the entire look of the overall film is fantastic. It has a stunning visual palette that’s half (the aforementioned) Apocalypse Now mixed with a Wild West feature. There is some amazing shots of Kong with the sun at his back and they make for exciting visuals due to their used of bright yellow and red. On the flips side, the lush green environments of Vietnam are apparent and beautiful.

Like I mentioned earlier, there’s no shying away from the monsters in this film either. Kong is seen in the first few minutes and then as soon as the expedition hits the island is monster-a-go-go, with all the beast clearly on display, none of that slow reveal rubbish here: money shot up front!

The story is a great deal of fun too. It takes its silly premise just seriously enough that you actually get involved in it without it seeming like parody, but not so serious that it loses its sense of enjoyment.

I honestly didn’t think I’d like this film as i found the predecessor of the series, 2014’s Godzilla, to be plodding and uninteresting except for when the King of Monsters himself lumbered across the screen. This, however, was truly a blockbuster of the highest order. Like a Fast and the Furious film, there was always something happening and at no point did I look at my phone or watch as I was completely enthralled and entertained.

Guilty pleasure indeed, but with zero guilt, so I guess that means this is just a pleasure.

The menu screen to the Australian Release on bluray

Disc:

A whole bunch of bananas on this disc!

Creating a King, which is broken down into two parts, Realising an Icon and Summoning a God. Honestly I don’t know why these are two features as they could have been cut together nicely into one 25 minute feature. Together they look at the themes of mans intrusion into the primative world, much like Cannibal Holocaust did, and his destruction of it, combined with the cinematic history of the monster that is Kong, but transforming the character into a god-like character. Lots of amazing design paintings and special effects explanations for those who love HOW movies are made.

On Location: Vietnam is almost a travelogue of how lush and beautiful some parts of Vietnam are. I have gone from no interest in travelling there to a GREAT DEAL of interest!! Hiddleston does say its more beautiful than the other locations of Hawaii and Australia so screw that guy.

Tome Hiddleston: The Intrepid Traveller follows Hiddleston’s journeys across the world as the feature was filmed and the interesting things he found about each location.

Through the Lens: Brief Larson’s Photography is a selection of photos and footage of Larson taking said photos. I think its pretty cool that Larson was actually taking these pics that her character was taking.

Monarch Files 2.0 (Companion Archive) is a fictional file of Monarch’s exploration of Skull Island. It is a delightful addition to the mythos.

Commentary is performed by Vogt-Roberts, and is an enthusiastic and informative commentary. Its always nice to watch a film with a commentary by someone who is so influenced and informed by film, comics, manga and video games.

Deleted Scenes are, as usual, unnecessary additions that the film benefits from their absence, though Hiddleston’s and Jackson’s character’s first meeting was deliciously uncomfortable.

John C. Reilly as Marlow

BURNT OFFERINGS (1976)

BURNT OFFERINGS (1976)

The cover to Cinema Cults DVD release

Recently, my wife and I bought a house in the country. Quiet, secluded, peaceful and away from the city. We gave up our lives of hustle and bustle to enjoy the countryside, but being a horror fan comes with its disadvantages. All I could think of before the move was the ‘supernatural’ problems that can come with a new house, and in amongst thinking about all those film that enjoy a ‘new’ house as a core of its plot, the is film, 1976’s Burnt Offerings, kept coming to mind.

Now I’ll just clarify I wasn’t scared of moving to the new house, I was just reminded of it by the situation, and a yearning to watch it came to mind, especially after my more recent foray into ‘new home’ horror with Night Swim came about.

Burnt Offerings was directed by Dark Shadows creator, Dan Curtis, and it was co-written by him with William F. Nolan, the co-creator of Logan’s Run, and based on the book of the same name, published in 1973 by Robert Marasco.

The cover to Marasco’s 1973 novel

Burnt Offerings tells of the Rolf family, Ben (Oliver Reed), his wife Marian (Karen Black) and their 12 year old son David (Lee Montgomery), who, along with their Aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis) have rented a summer house in the country off the Allardyce family for an almost incomprehensible low price for the entire summer.

Oliver Reed and Karen Black: Cinema Legends

The Allardyces, Roy (Eileen Heckart) and her brother Arnold (Burgess Meredith) have only one stipulation for the stay: The Rolfs must feed their mother, a recluse who has no desire to leave with the siblings on their respite, three times a day and maintain the property whilst they stay.

Another legend: Burgess Meredith

Soon, though, Ben starts to lose control and become violent and thuggish, as Marian becomes more and more obsessed with the house, but what is causing these behaviour changes, and what do they have to do with the horrible visions of the Chauffeur (Anthony James) that Ben is having… and does the house seeing to be repairing itself..?

There’s no doubt that Burnt Offerings is a classic film and that Dan Curtis’ style drips from every single frame.

… and another: Bette Davis

The cast are suitable amazing when you consider the legends that are within it. Heckart and Meredith are totally bizarre as the brother sister combination, and Davis plays the ostentatious Aunt as only SHE can. Black and Reed are a fantastic choice as the leads and even though they, on paper, probably shouldn’t work together; if I am honest, they feel like a couple who would have a bizarre sex dungeon, or buy waterproof fake fur to make chaps.

Or maybe I am projecting.

The story is fascinating and a slow burn horror, certainly of its time, that probably couldn’t be made today as there is not the amount of WHIZ and BANG to keep a modern audience interested for too long. If I am completely honest, I do feel the almost two hour run time could have a bit of a trim as even I found my mind wandering through some of the longer breaks from the mysteries of the house.

One interesting note is that when Curtis first read the book, he liked it but pitied any director who took on the job of directing any film that may have been made of it as he didn’t like the way the novel finished. Upon taking the job of directing on, he promptly changed the ending.

It is a gem of a film though and it absolutely is marked with Curtis’s style, from the soundtrack to the way the scenes are laid out. I’ve watched it several times and even though it isnt a favourite of mine, I must admit to a regular revisit, probably just due to the providence of the director and actors, but more likely because I, like many, have an obsession with Karen Black.

The Menu screen from the DVD

Disc: This DVD from the Cinema Cult isn’t the greatest as far as quality of image goes. I cannot say that I have seen a better image on a different release, but what I can say is that this is misty and slightly out of focus. This collection has two extras.

There is an audio commentary by Curtis, Black and Nolan which is lovely and conversation and fully discusses the film, with Nolan acting like a moderator more than someone who worked on the film at times.

There is also a theatrical trailer, which I have to say, is an absolute corker of a trailer!

The mysterious Chauffeur

FIVE NIGHT AT FREDDYS (2023)

FIVE NIGHT AT FREDDYS (2023)

The cover to the Australian 4K release of FNAF

I’ve never played a Five Nights at Freddy’s game… EVER. Honestly, I’ve never even SEEN the game but I am aware of what a pop culture phenomenon it is.

From 2016 to 2024, I managed a pop culture retail shop, and when we first opened, we had an entire section dedicated to the franchise, and sold everything from plush to Funko pops, actions figures and all kinds of other stuff, and it was super popular but like a lot of pop culture stuff, the shine left it and the section in the store diminished to nothing.

Then randomly in 2022 a film was announced and for some reason no toys or product was available to us so we missed a boat that could have been huge. Even Funko didn’t release much stuff for the films release so maybe there was a doubt that the film would be any good.

Maybe they saw the name ‘Blumhouse’ attached to it.

Anyway, I’m not sure if not having any knowledge about the ‘lore’ associated with the game makes me more or less qualified to review it, but I CAN tell you that I had friends who were fans of the game who went from loving its original take to hating it for detracting from the core of the ideas in the game.

This film was directed by Emma Tammi, who co-wrote the script with Seth Cuddeback, Tyler McIntyre and Chris Lee Hill, based on the script of the original game by Scott Cawthon, with the animatronics characters created by the Jim Henson Workshop.

Josh Hutcherson as Mike

Five Nights at Freddy’s tells of Mike (Hutcherson) who has been fired from his job in mall security after beating up a man who he thought was abducting a child, which rings to his past as his younger brother was kidnapped whilst under his care, an event he constantly dreams of and attempts to get more details of.

His parents, now both deceased, have left him in charge of his younger sister, Abby (Piper Rubio) so he has have to put his life on hold to make sure she is ok, so losing this job is catastrophic, especially considering his Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson) is desperate to take Abby under her care.

Matthew Lillard as Steve, amongst others…

At a job centre, Mike meets Steve (Matthew Lillard) who offers him a security position at the abandoned Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, a children’s restaurant from the 80s with a dark history but the owner insists on protecting it even though its not been open for years.

Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria

Mike feels that there is something odd about the job, but his fears are waylaid by the introduction of Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), a friendly cop who has stopped by to check on the new security guard. He continues to do the job, but as his life falls apart, things at work get weirder and weirder…

Visually, it’s not entirely that it’s a bad film, but I think it just came too late, as Willy’s Wonderland and Banana Splits managed to get out first and also don’t have the weight of the history behind the game weighing it down. From my understanding, the animatronic characters look true to form, and according to one of the extras, the YouTuber fans of the game franchise were impressed by the set also.

Unfortunately the praise stops there. The main characters… all of them… are drastically unlikable that I found myself continuing to pray that they would come to their ends. Hutcherson, as the hero of the piece, is so dramatically unlikable that its hard to feel anything about his personal plight, and Rubio as the obnoxious sister bring ‘obnoxicity’ to a new level. Lillard, lets face it, isn’t the greatest of actor in the world unless pantomime is your thing, so his overacting nonsense you’d feel would be perfect for a project like this but stands out horribly… there is a scene where he notices something and the pause is so long that both him and the director should have just held up ‘this is a plot device’ sign. Masterson as the Aunt is suitable malodorous which she is supposed to be, and Lail is pleasant as the cute female love interest but isn’t really given much to do, which is a shame.

The basic plot was nothing new, but I’m a horror fan who also likes Star Wars and superhero films so ‘new’ is hardly a concept that I should criticise and I suppose it’s my error for thinking that a movie based on a video game would really bring anything new to the table, especially one marketed at kids. Weirdly also, for something that is obviously aimed at a younger audience, considering it’s YouTube history and ‘M’ rating. The sub-plot that is introduced as Mike’s trauma is so telegraphed from the absolute beginning that even my wife who, whilst sitting next to me for one viewing but NOT actually watching it, picked it immediately.

I’m sure that fans of this game franchise enjoyed this film but as someone who has zero association with it, that is I don’t know if it’s good or not, i did not. Its a generic attempt at a film franchise that came too late as Willy’s Wonderland and Banana Splits beat them to the punch.

The menu screen from the 4K release of FNAF

Disc: Only three extras on the disc:

Five Nights at Freddy’s: From Game to Big Screen looks at how the filmmakers went from adapting the video game phenomenon to a big budget horror film. There is interviews with cast and crew, and also some YouTubers who came onto the set after years of be FNAF content producers.

Killer Animatronics sees how the actors interacted with these ‘real’ fictional characters, and the puppeteers from Jim Henson who created them.

Five Nights in Three Dimensions look at the reaction of the Pizzeria that the characters exist within. It’s a pretty detail set so this extra was quite fascinating.

The ‘horrifying’ children’s characters

This film was reviewed with the Australian 4K release purchased from JB Hifi.

NIGHT SWIM (2024)

The Australian BD release of Night Swim

NIGHT SWIM (2024)

Even though I am quite regularly critical of both Blumhouse Pictures and James Wan, I still like to give their new products a go. Just like Marvel and DC and Star Wars movies, I know the product is going to be generic claptrap with little imagination involved, but I’m still prepared and wait in hope that either of them might actually make something that is actual horror, and not just nonsensical pablum based in some kind of weird and archaic fear of the occult.

I mean come on people, are you REALLY afraid of The Conjuring and Insidious films?!?

Anyway, this film is the directorial debut of Bryce McGuire who based this on a short film he made 10 years earlier with his writing partner, Rod Blackhurst. Ill give one thing to McGuire, from the extras on this disc he is an enthusiastic filmmaker and hopefully will be given another chance in the future to actually make something good.

Oh, did I just bury the lead?

Ray (Wyatt Russell) and Eve (Kerry Condon)

Night Swim tells the tale of Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell), a former pro-baseball player who has had to retire from playing due to an illness. He and his wife, Eve (Kerry Condon), and children Izzy (Amelie Hoeferie) and Elliot (Gavin Warren) are house hunting and find a place that is a little rundown but has a pool that is potentially a great option for Ray as hydrotherapy could really help him out…

… and help him out it does! Over a very short period, Ray seems to be improving rapidly, even down to a deep cut on his hand miraculously disappearing after the family cat goes missing… coincidence? Maybe…

As Ray gets better though, his behaviour starts to change and the rest of the family all have strange occurrences with the pool happen to them individually which makes them all start to fear the back yard entertainment area.

At a pool party, the real estate agent tells Eve that she found out that in 1992 and young girl drowned in the pool, and after some research, she discovers a series of events that put the pool in a dark light… and after meeting the parent of the drowning victim, she decides she needs to get the family out asap before something bad happens to them…

The original natural spring from where the pool comes.

This is an interesting film insomuch as whilst watching the film all this sounds feasible but when you recount the tale to another person (or in a review) it sounds fucking ridiculous. There’s been some pretty obtuse ideas of haunted items and while this isn’t necessarily haunted per se, it does have a freaky backstory that doesn’t sound slightly feasible outside the confines of its universe.

I guess thats what most films are like but this seemed really more apparent than a lot of other horror films.

The performances of the cast was mostly fine, with Condon and Russell really being the foundations of the whole thing, though there were a few characters that didn’t really hold up in the greater scheme of things as they almost seemed like parody, especially the mother of the drowned girl who came across more like a joke version of a j-horror character from a Scary Movie film.

There’s something or someONE in the skimmer box

I do have to give the director some credit for the underwater scenes which were mostly shot very well and really had a decent selection of scares to them. Some really nice combinations of knowing something is there and then it disappearing to a clever effect. Actually for the most part the entire film was shot really well.

One other thing, and this is me being a bit picky, but I built pools for a few years and my step-dad owned a pool company for about 25 years and in all that time I had never heard of the type of pool that they talk about in this film; this freshwater pool. Sure it’s a piece of fiction but it just stuck out as weird for me. If anyone had heard of pools with this design and filtration, I’d be happy to hear about it.

I do have to say that i found it interesting that the local school was named ‘Harold Holt’ – not a name you would expect in an American film, especially one to have a school in his name, but certainly a name you would expect to find in a story about drowning.

This is one of those films that are a good idea stretched into an overlong space. I feel that scenes of ‘killer pools’ in things like Burnt Offerings or even Poltergeist’s corpse filled hole are really effective but I’m not sure it translates to a full feature.

The menu screen for the Australian BD release

Disc: The are a bunch of extras on this disc:

Masters of Fear sees members of the cast and crew suckling from the teat of James Wan and Jason Blum. It is full of the usual ‘foundations of modern horror’ crap that these sorts of ego rubs are full of when in actual fact these blockbuster horrors are no different from the stuff Disney is producing: safe and digestible horror movies.

Demon from the Depths looks at the costumes of the things that ‘live’ in the pool, which are pretty amazing.

Into The Deep explores filming in a water environment.

Marco Polo looked at the ‘Marco Polo’ scene and how the filmmakers idea was to ‘spoil’ the household swimming pool just like Jaws spoilt the beach.

There is also a very enthusiastic commentary by the director which is a fascinating insight into his methods of direction.

There’s something worse than an ear infection in this pool!

This film was purchased from JB Hi-Fi.