Tag: Stephen King

Firestarter

Post author By Mark
Post date May 24, 2022

There are films out there begging to be remade. 1984’s already bad Firestarter – based on the Stephen King novel – is not one of them. Give that remake to Keith Thomas, director of 2019’s breakout horror gem The Vigil and that project starts to look a lot more interesting on paper. Unfortunately neither Thomas or star Zac Efron can save this sci-fi slog of a film from boring audiences to near-death. It’s completely competently put together and Efron tries his hardest with what little material the script supplies him but Firestarter never ignites (sorry), a clichéd on-the-run thriller without any thrills.

The progeny of telepathically gifted parents (Efron’s Andy and Sydney Lemmon’s Vicky) exposed to dangerous, life-altering chemicals together during a college medical trial; Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) struggles to control her own power: the ability to spontaneously create fire at will, often with destructive consequences. When an incident at school leads to Charlie unintentionally unleashing her powers on a teacher, the family prepare to flee from the authorities bound to pursue them, until unexpected tragedy strikes courtesy of hired mercenary Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes). Forced on the run from a secret government agency and unable to trust the authorities, Charlie and Andy set off in search of a place to start over; a possibility that seems increasingly unlikely if Charlie can’t get a handle on her growing power.

Like we said, the original Drew Barrymore film didn’t exactly light the world on fire (we promise we’ll stop) but operated convincingly enough as a quirky, if badly acted eighties paranoia thriller. Barrymore was an endearingly cute lead, with the obvious improvisations of a child leading to some of the film’s best moments, even if they were exaggerated to high heaven. Thomas’ film lacks spark from the get-go – devoid of any colour or life outside of John Carpenter’s (alongside son Cody and Daniel Davies) synth-heavy score – and the pressure of carrying the film is simply too much for Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who tries her best to make Charlie an empathetic girl thrown into a terrifying situation, but instead alternates between an unlikeable brat and helpless heroine.

For his part Efron carries proceedings, desperately trying to convey Andy’s grief and abject terror for what his daughter will be subjected to should they be captured. The emotional depth is there, lingering below a surface of stupidity, with the film allowing Andy to simply walk into situations that no father would ever put themselves or their daughter in. It doesn’t help Efron’s performance that the film’s pacing is all over the place, never giving us a second to breathe with the central father-daughter relationship and devoting far too much time to poorly rendered, visual effect-laden action beats.

Then there is the character of Rainbird, an Indigenous man in King’s original novel somewhat controversially portrayed by George C. Scott in the 1984 adaptation, played here by Indigenous-Canadian actor Michael Greyeyes. He exists as a cheap caricature of a Terminator-style pursuer, completely stripped of the intriguingly strange sub-plot of 1984 and reduced to an afterthought, devoid of any threat after being easily handled by Charlie upon their first meeting. There are attempts to develop his character as having a strange respect for Charlie, who he believes to be a god-like figure, but it all feels like such a deeply off-putting stereotype that it becomes hard to watch; a strange anti-hero turn (spoilers, but honestly at this point did you think we were going to recommend this) thankfully steering things out of downright dangerous territory, even if it makes absolutely no sense.

Firestarter is bad. A completely unnecessary and unoriginal remake, Keith Thomas delivers a total misfire not reflective of his talents. Zac Efron and the music of the Carpenters and co provide some bright spots to an otherwise miserable mess that simply shouldn’t exist in 2022. Bottom of the barrel “horror” that should have been put out before it ever caught aflame (we lied).

Firestarter stars Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Michael Greyeyes, John Beasley, Gloria Reuben & Kurtwood Smith – In cinemas and streaming on Peacock in the US now.

2/10

Tags Blumhouse, Firestarter, Gloria Reuben, Keith Thomas, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Greyeyes, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Stephen King, Sydney Lemmon, Zac Efron

Movie Reviews

Doctor Sleep

Post author By Mark
Post date November 11, 2019

Director Mike Flanagan has been steadily building his resume as one of the horror genre’s premier talents, with projects like Hush, the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and another Stephen King adaptation in 2017’s Gerald’s Game. His latest film, Doctor Sleep represents his biggest step-up and challenge to date: a sequel to arguably one of the greatest horror films of all time, and the one adaptation of his work that Stephen King despises: The Shining. So does Flanagan fold under the pressure? Absolutely not. Doctor Sleep is a wonderfully deep, endlessly engaging horror-drama that manages to deliver a worthy sequel to The Shining some 40 years later, pleasing both fans of the books and the film alike – including King himself. What it lacks in scares it makes up for with an engrossing story, killer performances from the cast all around and technical prowess of a level rarely seen in the horror genre.

Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has not had an easy life since the events of the Overlook Hotel in 1980, carrying the memories and trauma from that event with him as he moves from town to town, looking to put the past behind him through whatever means necessary (mostly whiskey). When he arrives in the small American town of Frazier, Dan begins to feel that this is a place he can settle down in, and some unexpected hospitality from local do-gooder Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis) goes a long way towards helping Dan kick his addiction and find a purpose in life. Dan takes on a job as an orderly at the local nursing home, using his Shining ability to comfort the dying patients as they leave this world, netting himself the name “Doctor Sleep” around the hospice. Elsewhere young Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran) is discovering her own Shining abilities, making herself known to Dan as well as the villainous Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and her gang The True Knot – a group of individuals who use their abilities to travel the country and prey on children with the Shining, consuming their energy in order to stay young and cheat death. Dan and Abra must work together in order to keep her safe and end Rose’ relentless chase, even if it means confronting demons from Dan’s past.

That might sound like a lot going on, and it is, but Flanagan does such a good job of gradually building this story; using the familiar elements of The Shining to introduce us to the world and then adding one new element at a time. We’re instantly locked into Dan’s story, and completely understand how the childhood trauma he has suffered has followed him, leading him towards this life of substance abuse and never belonging anywhere. It’s a powerful message about confronting your past to influence your future and the substance abuse themes are handled delicately, never beating you over the head or preaching at you, yet still carrying tremendous weight, as we genuinely care about Dan’s struggle and want him to finally beat his demons. It helps a great deal having one of the most inherently likeable actor’s working today in your film and Ewan McGregor is the perfect actor to deliver Dan’s story. He’s a quiet, measured man – much like he was as a child – who has experienced so much and is simply looking to live out his days in peace and while there might not be much in the way of dialogue for McGregor, he has a much harder job in making you care about this character mostly through body language and facial expressions. The connections that Dan forges with Abra and Billy are genuine and clearly some of the first meaningful connections he has made in his life, which only adds to the stakes when he his confronted by Rose the Hat and the possibility of losing it all. It’s a truly impressive, understated performance which acts to anchor the film and it is hard to think of somebody better suited to the role than McGregor.

If McGregor’s character is a quiet, introspective man looking for the simple life, then Rebecca Ferguson’s character Rose the Hat is his polar opposite. An explosive force endlessly hungry for “steam” (the essence given off by children with Shining abilities that provides long life) Ferguson chews the scenery every time she is on-screen, imbuing the character with a vicious nature who is quietly creepy, a powder keg ready to go off at any moment. When she does it is ferocious and Ferguson adds to the effect with her facial movements and wide hungry eyes as she stalks her prey. She shows tremendous range here, switching between these calm, luring phases into the more straightforward villain role but there is more to Rose than just her evil intentions. She has created an unconventional family in the True Knot gang, having turned these individuals into steam chasing monsters herself, and that bond is tested multiple times throughout the film, with Ferguson switching between a mix of tough love and overbearing leader. It’s impossible to take your eyes off her when she’s onscreen as each moment feels like it could erupt. Rounding out the impressive core cast is relative newcomer Kyliegh Curran, who delivers extremely good work for only her second feature, playing the social outcast Abra with equal hints of sadness at being excluded because of her gifts and excitement at the prospects of developing them with Dan. She commands the screen remarkably well for someone so young and more than holds her own when interacting with McGregor and Ferguson in particular, and is clearly a force to be reckoned with who will go on to have much success in Hollywood.

If there was one horror film that nobody ever expected a sequel for, it would undoubtedly be The Shining. Regardless of Stephen King’s thoughts on the film it is a cultural touchstone and a masterclass in filmmaking from the legendary Stanley Kubrick. Doctor Sleep understands this and, perhaps unexpectedly, makes the decision not to beat you over the head with references. Sure, there is a portion of the film set in the iconic Overlook hotel, but it’s inclusion serves the story and isn’t inserted simply because it has to be in the sequel. The film itself is not inherently scary or nearly as unnerving as The Shining, and majority of the scares in the film are influenced in some way by the original film and are repeated often, robbing them of their impact after a while. Like most of Flanagan’s work, the horror is built around the characters and them confronting their own demons. It’s the groundwork and connections that Flanagan builds that invest you in the characters and the lack of scares did nothing to diminish my intrigue and attachment to Dan Torrance’s story. Where Flanagan chooses to pay homage to The Shining is in the technical aspects of the film. Certain establishing shots and sets are recreated perfectly, right down to the carpet of the hotel or the wallpaper of an office, and it works incredibly well to subconsciously make you feel like you are living in The Shining universe. The way the shot’s blend into each other at certain points of the film is another homage to Kubrick’s classic, pulling you into the story in a familiar yet not overbearing way.

Mike Flanagan remains on top of his game with Doctor Sleep: a phenomenal achievement in paying homage to one of the greatest horror films of all time while at the same time expanding the story of Dan Torrance and the world of The Shining in new and exciting ways. Featuring star performances from the entire cast, an intriguing narrative and innovative technical skills (as well as borrowing a few of Kubrick’s best) this is an unmissable cinematic event and one of the year’s best.

Doctor Sleep stars Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran & Cliff Curtis – In cinemas now.

Tags Cliff Curtis, Doctor Sleep, Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Mike Flanagan, Rebecca Ferguson, Stephen King

Movie Reviews

IT: Chapter Two

Post author By Mark
Post date September 12, 2019

Andy Muschietti knocked it out of the park in 2017 with his sophomore feature It. A smash hit in every sense of the word, the film took the world by storm and enraptured audiences in the world of Stephen King’s epic novel about a group of children forging lifelong bonds and rallying together in their fight to stop the evil clown demon Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). So how exactly do you follow up the highest grossing horror film of all time? You go bigger. It: Chapter Two is bigger than its predecessor in almost every aspect, be it the run-time, the amount of plot covered, the big name actors filling the roles of the children from the first film or the sheer number of scares – most of which feature Pennywise in some menacing way or another. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily improve upon the faults of the first film, opting for an “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” approach, there is enough here for fans of the first film to love, even if they might find their interests waning in some sections.

Set 27 years after the first film, the Losers Club is all grown up and with the exception of Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), have all left the town of Derry firmly in the rear-view mirror. When attacks start to happen again and people start to disappear, Mike makes the call to his friends to honour the blood pact they made and return to Derry to stop Pennywise from finishing what he started. Thus begins our parade through the all-star cast Muschietti has assembled to play the adult versions of the kids we grew to love: Bill (James McAvoy), Beverly (Jessica Chastain), Richie (Bill Hader), Ben (Jay Ryan) and Eddie (James Ransone). This ensemble is truly one of the highlights of the film and they all understand their roles and the dynamic enough to make each scene an authentic interactions between friends. Each character is introduced in such a way that the audience can instantly link each child actor to their adult counterpart, through their personality and character design, and the transitional shots that serve to point out who everyone was in the last film almost feel heavy handed. Much like the first film, the character of Richie is definitely the standout here, thanks to a scene stealing Bill Hader. It’s not just that he has some of the most laugh out loud hilarious and memorable lines in the film, but the delivery and timing from Hader is spot on, putting those years of featuring on Saturday Night Live to good use. There is also an unexpected amount of heart and depth to Hader’s performance as Pennywise forces Richie to uncover things about himself and embrace who he is as a person in order to overcome his fear.

Richie is not the only one who must confront his fears, however, as Mike’s plan to stop Pennywise forces each member of the Losers Club to confront their own inner demons, often bumping into the clown himself along the way. Bill’s journey forces him to finally come to terms with his little brother Georgie’s death, an event that has instilled in him a deep desire to protect those around him at all costs, even if it means never truly relaxing and experiencing life. McAvoy gives a solid performance as always while we follow Bill’s increasingly desperate journey to protect the children Pennywise has set his sights on, seeing them as surrogates for his deceased brother. It’s not as rounded a performance as Hader’s but that is owed to the script, which seems to boil down each key friend to one defining characteristic. Eddie, for example, has always been something of a germaphobe, a fear instilled in him by his mother with whom he had a deeply unhealthy relationship with, and as such his fears revolve around – you guessed it: dirty things and mommy issues. While it’s a nice bit of catharsis to see each of these characters confront the things which Pennywise uses against them, it’s exactly what the climactic battle of the first film showed and the excuse that the further away everyone moves from Derry the more they forget about Pennywise’s last appearance comes across as a bit of a cop-out. This distilling of each character into one key trait creates a predictable pattern for the scares in the middle portion of the film, robbing them of impact the more they crop up.

Speaking of the scares, they function here much the same as they did in the first film – one of that film’s biggest weaknesses – resulting in little more than a momentary pause before a ridiculously loud noise jolts you out of your seat as something attacks our heroes. It’s an annoying choice given that the scares are effective and creative enough to stand on their own without the jump scare clichés. This is where the runtime also factors in in a big way. It’s certainly warranted given the huge amount of source material to cover, but the film simultaneously feels like there’s not enough time to really delve into each member of the Losers Club’s whilst also going long stretches without a scare. The intercutting between present days and 27 years ago helps to cut away from some of the more mundane subplots and remind audiences just why they fell in love with these characters in the first place. The character of Ben in particular gets a nice flashback that really fleshes out his character rather than some of the unbearably cringe inducing dialogue opted for in the 1990 miniseries version.

What most audience members (including myself) will flock to this movie for is Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Bill Skarsgård once again delivers a stellar performance, cementing his interpretation of the killer clown as one of, if not the most seminal movie monster of the decade. There’s so much he brings to the role, particularly in the physicality. The way Pennywise moves is unnerving, taunting his prey and going from docile and inviting to completely ravenous within seconds. Skarsgård never misses a beat with the chilling delivery of his lines and facial movements – the lip curling that creates a stream of drool and the lazy eye as Pennywise gets an insatiable lust to feed all act to build one completely terrifying performance that will have you checking under your bed at night. The only real downside to Pennywise in the film is that there’s simply not enough of him. The movie kicks into another gear when he’s onscreen as he takes the scares to another level, and it’s safe to say that the Losers Club’s best scenes are when they are face to face with the clown, forced to confront this supreme evil who wishes to feed on their fear. There’s been some early talks about the potential for prequels to It, which would delve into Pennywise’s time in Derry before the Loser’s Club. While it certainly may seem like a cash grab, Skarsgård has shown that he is more than capable of carrying these films and I for one would be in the cinema day one to see more of his powerhouse performance.

IT: Chapter Two is a largely satisfying end to the Stephen King written saga. Bold and ambitious in scope, the film simply tries to cram too much story into the proceedings, attempting to hit as much of the novel’s story as possible whilst not giving enough time to the characters and relationships that audiences care about. When it comes down to it however, the time we do spend with those characters is truly special – always engaging as every actor brings their A-game to deliver some top notch scares and touching moments. At the end of the day though the main draw is Pennywise and – thanks to Bill Skarsgård – he once again steals the show, keeping the audience on their toes and inducing nightmares that will last long after the film ends. Do yourself a favour and get out to the cinema: it’s time to float.

IT: Chapter Two stars Bill Skarsgård, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan and James Ransone – In cinemas now.

Tags Andy Muschietti, Bill Hader, Bill Skarsgård, IT, IT: Chapter Two, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Stephen King