The Loved Ones

Oh it is so delightful to be scared in new ways! Especially when you, like me, have started to feel almost numb after all the horror films I've exposed myself to.
  'Mum And Dad' came highly recommended and I'd never heard of it before but I'm thankful I did.
  It's a short little independent thing and it's hard to say much about this film without giving away the plot. But pretty superb acting combined with a chilling story makes this one of the most chilling films I've ever seen and it holds some of the most disturbing scenes I've seen on film. Let's just say you'll remember Christmas in a whole new way after this film!
   Lena meets Birdie and her strangely quiet brother at Heathrow airport where they all work. By accident (??) Lena misses the bus home and has to spend the night with Birdie and her family.
  Well, from then on we go into a story where mum and dad, brilliantly played by Dido Miles and Perry Benson, are the bosses and you don't want to do anything to piss off daddy! In this household, family is everything!
  Written and directed by Steven Sheil, a relative newcomer who I'm sure most audiences, especially the American, haven't heard much from. But I think there will be lots of interesting projects spawned by his hand in the near future.
  About once per year I get excited about a horror film, its surprises and its refreshing approach to the genre. And this film is definitely the first one this year. There are others in the horizon I'm very excited about and I hope I'll have a record year in that department.
  Horror is such an interesting genre because there's so much of it and to get anywhere with a story you constantly have to stretch it to new places. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and sometimes it redefines the whole genre.
  This film is sort of in between everything. It's not that it's completely original but it mixes elements in a clever way and puts a brilliant madness into an everyday situation and that creeps the pants off me.

Depressing! (The Sequel)

I was at the movies the other day and after watching the usual 35 minutes of previews before the actual film I realized that every single preview I had seen was either a sequel, a prequel, a new 3D version or a remake of a movie. Watching the cars explode, the expensive effects etc etc I was saddened, mostly as a filmmaker and storyteller but also just as a plain old human being, that it has come to this! Granted the previews I saw were all for mainstream American films so there's a lot more out there but it's so sad that this is what they have to do to entertain us. More of the same, just bigger, louder and more expensive.
  And it's clever too. I'm not above it myself! Naturally if I've enjoyed a film I am much more likely to watch the sequel, especially if it continues the story from the first film. Rarely am I happy with the result but I do fall for it often.
  Now there are different types of sequels of course. Some are obviously made to make more money, there's not much eye to the plot and it's more or less the same thing again (The Mummy) and then there are the ones that do tell a new story, explore deeper and expand the universe of characters you already know (X-Men).
  But as someone who desperately wants to tell new stories, original stories, things that haven't already been done I'm just so sad thinking about how many people out there like me there are, with great ideas, great scripts that never gets a chance because Hollywood wants more of the same and eagerly throws hundreds of millions of dollars after projects that are so preposterous you think it's a joke. At the same time it's virtually impossible for new writers and directors to even gather a few thousand dollars to make something new.
  Think of what we are missing?! And not only do we get sequels, prequels etc, but when one studio makes a certain kind of film, immediately another one will plan more or less the same story to compete with it. Best new example are the two 'Snow White' films that magically came out very close to each other.
  And try to list the super hero/villain movies that have come out in the past 5 years and the ones you already heard are planned for the next 5!! It is a very long list! Superheroes who had their last movie only a few years ago are already getting the reboot. And if that doesn't work we will pick some of them to be in the same movie or maybe even do the good old mash ups of 'so-and-so vs. so-and-so'. And if that one doesn't work, we will relaunch some film in 3D, make an extended version and send that one out there or simply just make one 'anniversary' edition after another. The brain dead possibilities are endless!
  I wonder how many directors feel they sell their soul when they do a sequel? I will never deny that I might end there myself. There's still bills to pay and I'm sure there will be a few extra zeros on that check if someone is trying to persuade you to do a sequel.
  And it's OK that they are there! I just think it's depressing how many there are and how they keep finding new ways to sneak them up on us in different forms. And how dare they remake the classics! I almost feel it destroys the original when they do that. My heart wept as I saw the remake of 'Fright Night' and I am appalled to recently have found out that they are redoing 'Carrie'! It cannot and will not ever be close to the original! Why? Why??
  And we, the people, hold the power! We go see it so they keep making it! I go see them because I often feel I must! What can I do? What can we do? It's like the guilt you feel if you go to your friend's party but not the next one. There's just something there you must not miss because they lure you into thinking it is part of the story you already saw.