MOVIE REVIEW: WOMAN OF THE HOUR

 

In 1970s Los Angeles, as a wave of murders makes headlines, a young woman aspiring to become an actress and a serial killer cross paths during an episode of a dating show.

Director: Anna Kendrick

Cast: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson, Tony Hale, Autumn Best, Pete Holmes

Release Date: October 11, 2024

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Unrated

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Anna Kendrick's directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, is an efficient true crime dramatization that shows promising talent behind the camera for its star/director.  Kendrick displays a steady confidence in the director's chair as she has a clear vision of how she wants to tell this story.  She gives the film a moody, unsettling feel from the onset where the implicit threat of violence is ever present in the form of Daniel Zovatto's charming but off putting Rodney Alcala.  Zovatto's turn is measured for the majority of the film, which makes the eventual moments of violence all the more impactful.  He also manages to convey the intelligent charm and braggadocious nature that made Alcala an engaging figure.  Zovatto packed on a few pounds to deemphasis Alcala's looks, but it gives the screen version more outright, creepy vibe which would sound alarm bells for most women especially when he's offering to take them to a secluded location.  It appears to be a conscience choice in order to avoid glamorizing the serial killer at the center of the story but it does create a bit of narrative turbulence as its harder to explain why these women were so trusting.  Its saps a bit of tension from the story which is unavoidable in general since the outcome is fairly well known.  That being said it doesn't keep Kendrick's scenes with Zovatto from packing an uncomfortable punch in the film's final act.  It’s capped off by an impressively staged sequence in an empty parking lot between the two as there's a palpable change in the dynamic as things turn more predatory and dangerous.  It’s a moment where you get a real sense of the promise Kendrick's has as a director and it should leave you eager to see what she does in her sophomore turn.   

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: THE POPE'S EXORCIST

 

Father Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist for the Vatican, battles Satan and innocent-possessing demons. A detailed portrait of a priest who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms in his lifetime.

Director: Julius Avery

Cast: Russell Crowe, Daniel Zovatto, Alex Essoe, Franco Nero, Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney

Release Date: April 14, 2023

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Rated R for violent content, language, sexual references and some nudity

Runtime: 1h 43m

Review:

The Pope's Exorcist is a flashy, kinetic bit of mindless exorcism horror that's elevated by a particularly committed performance from Russell Crowe.  Julius Avery direction is capable and engaging as he sets up a funhouse ride through a series of clichéd exorcist tropes.  Avery and the script doesn't seem all that interested in bringing anything new to the subgenre so there aren't many surprises in store.  The film telegraphs most of the big moments but Avery does stage these sequences with an effective edge and energy that keeps the film from being boring.  Still, none of it would be as entertaining if not for Russell Crowe's fully engaged performance.  Crowe makes the film far better than it deserves be with a nuanced and surprisingly fun and layered turn as Father Gabriele Amorth.  He single handily carries the film the way only a real movie star can by making his character more interesting than what's on the actual page.  While this story is almost entirely fictional, if you are interested in the real father Amorth I'd suggest watching 2017 documentary The Devil and Father Amorth by William Friedkin, it does lay the groundwork set up an ongoing franchise similar to The Conjuring.  I'd personally love to see Crowe take another turn as the character with some slightly more inventive takes than The Pope's Exorcist.  

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: IT FOLLOWS

A sexually transmitted haunting plagues a Detroit teenager in this stylized horror film from director David Robert Mitchell (The Myth of the American Sleepover). In the wake of sleeping with a handsome stranger, Jay (Maika Monroe) quickly learns that she has inherited a most unusual curse: wherever she goes, lumbering, half-naked phantoms follow, and their singular goal is to see her dead. Desperate, Jay turns to her younger sister and loyal circle of friends to for help. In time, however, Jay learns that her only hope for escaping death is to sleep with someone else, and pass the curse on. But the pursuing phantoms are invisible to Jay's friends and it soon becomes apparent that her time is running out. Now, with death closing in, the terrified young woman will be forced to make a difficult decision if she hopes to survive her terrifying ordeal. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: David Robert Mitchell    

Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto

Release Date: Mar 13, 2015    

Rated: R for graphic Nudity, Disturbing Violent Content, Disturbing Sexual Content and Language    

Runtime: 1 hr. 40 min.    

Genres: Drama, Horror, Suspense/Thriller    

Review:

The horror genre is a virtual wasteland of garbage littered with cheaply made lazy films.  If you’re a fan of the genre you really have to run through a lot of garbage to find a few gems here and there.  It Follows is one of those gem that hits all the right notes while turning some of the genre’s tropes on it’s head.  David Robert Mitchell’s film a tightly wound ball of tension with only an occasional splat of blood here and there.  Its DNA is laced with Carpenter’s Halloween, Craven’s original Nightmare on Elm Street and even a bit of Kubrick’s The Shining.  While there’s a clear linage on screen, the film works very well on its own merits building up a pervading sense of dread for the majority of the film.  It’s a dense film that’s got plenty of to say about budding sexuality, adolescence and self identity with an impressive level of authenticity, thanks in large part to a wonderful cast, that makes the film even better.

A