I watched a lot of stuff over the holidays, including some traditional favorites, like Black Christmas (the old one- have yet to see the newest one) and various animated stuff and the likes of Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas- long live the Riverbottom Nightmare Band! But, for our purposes, I wanted to cover some of the newest seasonal-oriented movies I watched in a special holiday edition of Movie Round-Up!
I'll get around to the other stuff in the new year, but I wanted to at least cover the holiday-oriented stuff before the end of the year. I'll also try and also do at least one older New Year's horror flick, but it won't be until after the rest of the holidays. Look for it by the end of the week.
Let's get started with a look at the two New Year's-centric entries in the Into the Dark series: New Year, New You and Midnight Kiss!
New Year, New You was the first episode of Into the Dark I ever watched, and the first I ever re-watched, for that matter. I had heard of the show before then, but it took a name I recognized- Carly Chaikin, of the recently concluded, dearly departed Mr. Robot- to actually get me to watch it for the first time. As horror fans know, anthologies are notoriously unpredictable, and Into the Dark has proven to be no exception to that rule, so you can understand my reluctance.
The episode revolves around a group of longtime friends, that have drifted apart as of late, who decide to get together one last time to celebrate New Year's in the house that one of them grew up in, which is about to be sold. However, some bad stuff has also gone down in said house, which will eventually resurface as the night goes on.
Since high school, most of them have struggled, with the notable exception of one: Danielle (Chaikin, in a decidedly different kind of role than the one she's known for), who has since become "internet famous." This has led to her landing a lot of lucrative deals, including her own upcoming show on the web, much to the chagrin of Alexis (Suki Waterhouse, Assassination Nation), who has been in a rut since a car crash left her with a massive scar on her face.
Alexis, who once had aspirations to become an actress, is now reduced to babysitting and being clinically depressed, and not just because of the accident. Not helping matters is the fact that Danielle has amassed an internet following so large it actually includes some of the kids she babysits for, who borderline worship her.
With all of that in mind, she hatches a plan, drafting all of her other close friends, including Kayla (Kirby Howell-Baptiste, The Good Place) and Chloe (Melissa Bergland, Relative Happiness). It seems all three of them were somewhat tormented by Danielle over the years when they were younger, and they all resent her for it to varying degrees- some more than others, as it turns out. The idea is to confront her about it and get her to admit she wasn't the best person in the world when she was a teenager. Who is?
However, Danielle's offenses go a bit further than simply making gay jokes about Kayla before she was out of the closet or relentless fat jokes about Chloe. It seems her bullying most likely drove another of their peers to commit suicide- in the very house they're celebrating New Year's in for the night. Might the girls be seeking revenge on behalf of their fallen friend as well?
Naturally, the answer is yes, but Danielle, no fool she, is a wilier foe than they thought, and it isn't long before things take a turn for the deadly- this is a horror anthology series, after all. I won't spoil anymore, except to say that there are more than a few clever twists and turns along the way, and not everyone is left standing in the end, but of course.
This one is the perfect companion piece with this year's Christmas episode, A Nasty Piece of Work, and also in the same vicinity as another Christmas-themed movie I watched recently, Body. Basically, if you take the vicious party games of Nasty and make it much more female-centric, a la Body, you'd have this episode.
Fittingly, the episode is also written and directed by a woman, Sophia Takal, with an assist on the writing end from Adam Gaines (Star Trek, TV's The Bridge). Takal was able to parlay this gig into another holiday-centric flick, the second remake of Black Christmas, which I was a bit wary of before, but am now a little more interested in seeing, knowing that she's involved.
What little I know about the remake seems to indicate that it's much more on the female empowerment tip that the other versions, which could be interesting, though I don't expect it to surpass the classic original, which will always be one of my all-time fave horror movies. Still, I like the idea of women collectively fighting back against a killer that's stalking them instead of waiting around to get killed, so we'll see. At the very least, it might be an improvement over the last remake.
New Year, New You isn't perfect. You can probably figure out some of the twists well in advance, while others are more surprising. However, you'll likely see the ending coming a mile away, which is too bad. It doesn't help that it telegraphs a lot of its punches- maybe not as ridiculously as De Palma's Domino, but let's just say Takal doesn't need a massive musical sting to announce the presence of Chekhov's knives or golf clubs, lol- it's kind of obvious. Hey, at least it's not as on the nose as De Palma, who actually went with the OG gun in his movie. (For those who have no idea WTF I'm talking about, see here.)
Still, the cast is excellent, and it's fun to see the normally morose Chaikin- at least on Mr Robot, I obviously have no idea what's she's like IRL- totally pop as the self-help would-be guru Danielle, complete with a glam look and amusing asides about Elon Musk and Leonardo DiCaprio. Who knew she was such a covert hottie?
This one also benefited the second time around from my being more familiar with the rest of the cast. Waterhouse turns out to be one of the more interesting models-turned-actresses around, having made such cool choices in film roles as her turns in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, The Bad Batch, Future World, Killers Anonymous and the aforementioned Assassination Nation, which made my Best of 2018 list.
I've also become a big fan of Baptiste, thanks to all the TV shows I love that she keeps cropping up in. In addition to The Good Place, she's also in Love, Killing Eve, Barry, Veronica Mars (the most recent season only) and Why Women Kill. I'm less familiar with Bergland, but she wouldn't at all be out of place on the likes of something like Euphoria, if she were just a hair younger. Either way, her character here is nothing if not interesting, especially from a psychological standpoint. She may also be the most sympathetic, as well, at least to a point.
That cast, coupled with assured direction from Takal, and enough effective twists and turns to keep you guessing, even as you see some of them coming, is enough to make this worth a look- and lest you forget, I did end up watching this one more than once, which is more than I can say of any of the other episodes as of yet, even though I've liked some of them quite a bit. (I can definitely see myself watching Pooka again, and maybe The Body.) Definitely check this one out.
This year's episode, Midnight Kiss, manages to be something I've never seen before: a gay-themed slasher. I won't go so far as to say it's the first of its kind, since, as sure as I do, someone will pipe up how there's some obscure slasher from 2009 or whatever that got there first. So, I'll just say it's the first one I've ever seen, and leave it at that.
Perhaps needless to say, if you are a homophobe and can't get past the sight of two guys kissing, or hooking up or running around half-naked, this probably isn't for you. For those with an open mind that aren't scared off by such things, it's genuinely interesting to see a lot of the slasher movie tropes up-ended, if not rear-ended, lol. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
For instance, you've got the requisite Psycho-style shower scene, only here, it's a guy instead of a girl. Yes, I know, that's been done before, notably in Friday the 13th, Part IV: The Final Chapter- what am I, new? But making it a character established as being gay does give it a different vibe than any other similar such scene that preceded it. Right away, it announces that we're not dealing with a typical slasher.
It's kind of fun seeing the typical slasher movie types: the diva (Chester Lockhart- who some of you may know from Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" video), the partier (Adam Faison, Liberty Crossing), the gold-digger (newcomer Will Westwater), the innocent (Lukas Gage, Euphoria), the intellectual (Scott Evans, Grace and Frankie) and the everyman (Augustus Prew, The Morning Show, Prison Break)- all being played by gay men.
Fear not, straight men- there is one girl in their midst, Ayden Mayeri, who reminds me of Judy Greer crossed with April O'Neil- and I don't mean the one from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (If you have to ask, Google, but beware...NSFW) Mayeri has been kicking around Hollywood for a while, cropping up in everything from New Girl to Veep, as well as movies like Chastity Bites, We Are Your Friends, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and the recent, critically acclaimed Marriage Story. However, people may best know her from Sam Esmail's mind-bending Homecoming, her most high-profile role to date.
The story revolves around a group of longtime friends who get together every New Year's to celebrate a long-standing tradition, which has them find someone new to have a kiss with at midnight on NYE- consensual, of course; this is 2019, after all. After that, anything goes, at least till morning, at which point, everyone moves on with their lives. As you might guess, this has led to some thorny situations over the years, especially as some of the participants were involved with people at the time.
This, naturally, has led to some resentment on the part of certain people- particularly one unseen, masked individual that has taken it upon themselves to start bumping off members of said group one by one, after leaving a mysterious note inviting them to be their "midnight kiss." Could it be a member of the group itself- or is it an outsider that was once the "victim" of said kiss and its accompanying sexual activities, many of which did not end well?
I admittedly figured it out pretty early on, but I still basically enjoyed it. The killer's mask, which looks like an S&M leather version of a Doberman, is pretty creepy. I think I've seen it before, but I can't recall where- I think it might have been a comedy, like Game Night or Neighbors or something- but either way, it's effective in spite of it being used in a more comedic context elsewhere.
The kills are likewise pretty gory, and the climax is intense, violent and unpredictable, especially as there may be more going on than meets the eye- and perhaps even more than one killer in their midst. Or is that just what the real killer wants them to think? Also, could there be the rarefied "Final Guy" left standing in the end? (Which is not to say there may not still be a "Final Girl" on the scene, too...)
I won't spoil it any further, except to say that, if you're a longtime slasher fan and you're looking for something different- congrats, you just found it. That is, if you can get past all the gay stuff, lol. Honestly, though, I've seen worse on the aforementioned Euphoria- indeed, there's more penis in any given episode of The Royal Gemstones than you'll find here. It actually plays it safe in that regard- there's a lot of hide-the-penis shenanigans, a la Austin Powers, to be found here- sorry to disappoint my gay readers.
Be that as it may, it may admittedly be a bit much for some who aren't used to seeing this sort of thing, in spite of the familiar subgenre tropes in play. I myself haven't seen a whole lot of that sort of thing, and it did get a little cringey for me here and there, although one thing I did leave with is that gay clubs are clearly a lot more hedonistic than straight ones. I can't say I've ever seen a back room seemingly there for people to flat-out hook up in, much less people all but engaging in threesomes in the hallway to the bathroom. Clearly, straight people are really boring in that regard.
Granted, a lot of this may be heightened for the purposes of the movie, but I guess you learn something new everyday. I did admittedly feel a bit bad for the girl, who was literally surrounded by a roomful of guys, with none of them the least bit interested in her. Maybe it's time to get at least one straight female friend to serve as a wingman, because her gay besties aren't exactly helping in that regard. I've heard it's called a "hag": no wonder, as that's probably what you'll end up if you don't find a proper BF, lol.
There's enough new here to warrant seeing it at least once, but I don't know that I'll be watching this one every year or anything. It's certainly not that I was offended or anything, and the cast was pretty solid across the board, and it was well directed, but, aside from the obvious, it's nothing I haven't seen before, slasher-movie-wise. Some slashers age better than others, though, and maybe this one will grow on me in time, but in the meantime, it's not really the kind of thing that will reward multiple viewings or anything.
Gay in a different kind of way is the delightful Anna & The Apocalypse, which really may be the first of its kind: a Christmas-themed musical/zombie horror flick. I'm not much for musicals, but damned if I didn't really enjoy this one, for the most part. That may be because it's more akin to something like The Rocky Horror Picture Show- or perhaps more appropriately, the classic "Once More with Feeling" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer- than a proper Hollywood musical. Basically, if you've ever wanted to see the cast of Glee attacked by zombies- and who didn't, at least after a certain point?- then you're in for a treat.
Basically, what we have here is a coming-of-age flick about a group of teenagers getting ready to graduate soon, some of which are putting on a Christmas-themed musical revue. As such, there's a fair bit of singing, but, after a certain point, the zombies attack, and the songs get a lot darker, and more rocking to boot. I particularly dug the wonderfully trashy "It's That Time of the Year" and "Soldier at War" and the big number, "Hollywood Ending," which is heard several times, is admittedly pretty catchy.
Hell, even the throwaways, like "The Fish Wrap" are fairly amusing. After a certain point, I gave in and downloaded the soundtrack. I don't know how much I'll end up listening to it, but it's worth having for those four songs alone, IMHO. A little singing in movies that are not rock-oriented goes a long way with me, so I could have maybe done with a little less of it, but overall, the songs are tolerable even when they're over the top. But then, how else would you expect them to be, given the premise at hand?
The cast, basically made up of unknowns, is really likeable, and the film goes out of its way to let you get to know them before the zombie apocalypse begins, so that you genuinely care about their respective fates. And, much like Buffy before it, it's not at all afraid to take out people you've grown to love- after all, no one is safe when the zombies attack.
My faves include the titular Anna, as played by the loveable leading lady Ella Hunt, who I was somewhat familiar with, via the short-lived but underrated BBC series Intruders. She's also in the most recent big-screen version of Les Misérables and Dickinson, which is on my to-watch list, as I'm a big fan of star Hailee Steinfeld.
Also fantastic is Marli Siu, as Lisa, who does the honors on the saucy "It's That Time of Year." She drops out of the film for a while, on account of her getting separated from the rest when all hell breaks loose, which is too bad, as she was such an early highlight of the film. Siu doesn't have an extensive resume as of yet, but I look forward to seeing her in other things in the future, hopefully.
Of course, a zombie movie is only as good as its FX, and thankfully, this one doesn't skip on the gore in the slightest, in spite of all the seemingly family-friendly musical elements. This ain't that type of musical. It's chock full of gory special effects, and not all of them are played for laughs.
As I implied, not all of the people who die are the ones you hope will get theirs, so there is indeed a Dawn of the Dead-style scene in which someone has to come to terms with the fact that they're not long for this world- maybe even more than one, so be prepared to maybe shed some tears along with laughter, depending on how you deal with such things.
All of this adds up to one hell of a good time, and a fun one at that. If you'd have told me that I'd enjoy any Christmas musical, period, ever, I'd have probably told you that you were out of your mind, and yet, here it is. If Midnight Kiss doesn't sound like your idea of a gay old time, then maybe this will be. It's a keeper, and one I'll definitely be coming back to in time, that's for sure.
Last but not least, we have one more Christmas flick I saw, this one decidedly not of the horror variety: Noelle. I'm a longtime, die-hard fan of Anna Kendrick's, and have been ever since she helped me get through all though damnable Twilight movies, all of which I had to review. Granted, she didn't have a big role in them- even she joked "I forgot I was in that" recently- but it served as a great springboard to bigger and definitely better things.
Kendrick has shown a great propensity for picking interesting projects, from her Oscar-nominated turn in Up in the Air to quirky indie fare like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Drinking Buddies, Life After Beth, The Voices, Mr. Right, Get a Job and Table 19, when she's not doing crowd pleasers like the Pitch Perfect series, 50/50, End of Watch, Into the Woods, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Trolls and A Simple Favor. She even found time to write an amusing memoir, Scrappy Little Nobody.
Noelle definitely falls into the category of crowd-pleasers. It's a Disney+ effort that's absolutely in the realm of family films, though not without a little bite here and there, albeit of the Disney-friendly variety- think the humor in the Toy Story series that is geared more towards adults than kids. I'm a longtime Disney fan as well, so I'm good with that. (Yes, you can be a die-hard horror fan and still like cheesy Disney flicks.)
Kendrick plays the titular Noelle, the sister of the heir apparent to Santa Claus, who, in grand Disney tradition, is knocked off early on. Yep, you heard right- they kill off Santa in the first five minutes. Taking his place is Nick Kringle (a game Bill Hader, of SNL and Barry fame), who isn't exactly thrilled to get the job. Doing her best to cheer him on is Noelle, the personification of Christmas cheer, who doesn't get why Nick is so resistant to the idea.
To help get him get used to the idea, she suggests he take a brief vacation to mellow out and make his peace with his new line of work. Unfortunately, he doesn't come back, and everyone wastes no time in blaming Noelle for it. She determines to track him down and bring him back to do his inherited duty- but what if he doesn't want to? That indeed proves to be the case, and it's up to Noelle to convince him otherwise. Will she succeed in time for Christmas? Is this a Disney movie we're watching?
Actually, the film does have a few tricks up its sleeve, sneaking in a Film Noir-type satire and a parody of New Age culture into the mix, along with a female-positive message of inclusivity that is most welcome and indicative of Disney's new direction in that regard. (See also Moana and the Frozen movies.)
Toss in a fun cast that includes a feisty Shirley MacLaine- as a grumpy elf! - an oddly subdued Billy Eichner, Kingsley Ben-Adir (The OA) as a private eye and the return of Julie Hagerty (of Airplane! fame) and some great set design and imaginative ideas and you have the recipe for, if not a modern Christmas classic, then, at the very least, a good time for the whole family and Kendrick fans. (My mom loved the puppy-like baby reindeer, which actually reminded me of a goat or a particularly active lamb.)
I don't know that I'll be watching this every year, either, but I can see me indulging myself in it from time to time every few years, at the very least, which isn't too shabby. I say check it out, especially if you're a fellow Kendrick fan, or if you're looking for something to watch with the family that isn't completely sappy.
Yes, it has its cheesy moments- once again, it's Disney we're talking about here- but overall, it's a good time, and it has a great message in the end that will definitely resonate with the women in the audience. It's silly, but inventive, and I reasonably enjoyed it for what it was.
So, in conclusion, all of these are worth watching at least once, but only Anna & The Apocalypse rises to the top of being a potential contender for an annual Christmas viewing selection, with Noelle a close second. The episodes of Into the Dark are both good as well, but you might find that one viewing will suffice for both of those films.
Overall, though, a good crop of newbies for the season. I'll take it. Have fun ringing in the new year- here's hoping it's better than the last few- and stay safe! 😁🎄🎉
