Where to begin with a movie like Forbidden Zone? I suppose at the actual beginning. Musician and aspiring filmmaker Richard Elfman started a musical street theatre troupe back in 1972- think James Corden's "Crosswalk Musicals," only more organized and less dangerous, being on the side of the street, not actually in it, lol.
Dubbed The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, in part after an obscure reference to a secret society on the Amos 'n' Andy TV show called The Mystic Knights of the Sea, the popular revue became known for their raucous performances, which typically featured as many as 15 band members who played up to 30 instruments in a given session, often doing covers of mostly obscure songs ranging from the 1890's to the 1950's.
In addition, the group also performed oddball original tracks composed by Elfman's younger brother, Danny- who would, of course, go on to become one of the most well-regarded composers in Hollywood, best-known for his work with director Tim Burton and Sam Raimi and his TV themes, which include the likes of The Simpsons,Tales from the Crypt and Desperate Housewives.
After a certain point, the troupe became so unwieldy and expensive that the cost of moving it from place to place included the price of renting a semi-truck for costumes and instruments alone, and Elfman threw up his hands in despair because the group was no longer making a profit. To that end, he opted to drop out of the group and instead pursue his love of filmmaking, passing down the reins of the troupe to his younger brother.
Danny transformed them into first, a musical theatre group, and eventually, a more streamlined New Wave rock group, as he, too, realized that the troupe was unable to justify the cost of its performances against the profit they received, even after the band got a bump in popularity after appearing on the popular 70's talent competition TV series The Gong Show.
Danny rechristened the latter incarnation of the group simply Oingo Boingo in 1979, and the downsized band went on to moderate success, perhaps best-known for their association with filmmaker John Hughes, who used their song "Wild Sex (In the Working Class)" in Sixteen Candles and tapped them to compose the theme song for the movie Weird Science, their biggest hit. They also contributed three songs to the Tom Hanks movie Bachelor Party, including the theme song and "Who Do You Want to Be," which was also in Teen Wolf, Too and on the soundtrack of two of Tony Hawk's skateboarding video-games.
Other notable tracks include "Dead Man's Party," featured, along with the band themselves, in the movie Back to School; "Goodbye Goodbye," which plays over the end credits of the classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High; "No One Lives Forever," which was in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, "Flesh n' Blood," which was in Ghostbusters II; "Ain't This The Life," from the concert film Urgh! A Music War (which is just fantastic and features a who's who of 80's bands) and the singles "Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me" and "Just Another Day," the music videos for which were staples in the days of early MTV. "Just Another Day" was also used in Season 2 of Netflix's Stranger Things.
Meanwhile, as the group was transitioning from a theatre troupe to a more traditional band, Richard Elfman tapped them to score and appear in his first film, Forbidden Zone, which also serves as the first proper score for Danny Elfman- thus launching the alternate career for which he is better known- as well as Richard's own film career. Danny himself portrays Satan in the film, who performs a rewritten version of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher," which some of you probably know better from the movie The Blues Brothers.
The film also features Calloway's "Some of These Days," as well as Josephine Baker's "La Petite Tonkinoise," both of which members of the cast lip-synch to, along with covers of other even more obscure tracks (i.e. "Yiddishe Charleston," "Pleure" and "Pico and Sepulveda"), in addition to the songs Danny Elfman wrote, which include the title track, "The Alphabet Song," which was inspired by "The Swinging Alphabet," from a Three Stooges short; and the Spike Jones-influenced "Bim Bam Boom," based on an old Puerto Rican song by Machito & Miguelito Valdes.
The plotline, such as it is, concerns a house that has a secret doorway into the so-called "Sixth Dimension," an alternate universe ruled by the wily King Fausto (Hervé Villechaize) and his Queen, Doris (Susan Tyrell), who tend to lock up anyone that dares enter their realm. When a drug dealer who runs afoul of it and barely escapes with his life sells the house to another family, the Hercules clan, he warns them never to go into the basement, but, naturally, one of them, daughter Frenchy (Marie-Pascale Elfman, Richard's wife) can't help but take a peek and ends up being held captive by the King, who takes a personal, romantic interest in her, much to the Queen's chagrin.
It's up to son Flash (Phil Gordon), with a little help from Gramps (Hyman Diamond, Richard Elfman's accountant IRL!) and schoolmate Squeezit Henderson (Toshiro Boloney, aka co-screenwriter Matthew Bright) to save Frenchy from the King and Queen's evil clutches, as they also try to evade the likes of Bust Rod (Jan Stuart Schwartz), the King's man-sized frog servant, and Satan himself (Danny Elfman). The gang also gets an assist from the King's ex-wife (Warhol "Superstar" Viva, aka Janet Hoffmann), who, unbeknownst to the King, was overthrown by the current Queen, who had her locked in a dungeon.
Perhaps needless to say, the plot is decidedly not the point in Forbidden Zone. Rather, it's just a loose framework on which the Elfmans use to hang a lot of oddball homages to the things they loved growing up, which include the Fleischer Brothers' 30's-era cartoons (in particular, Betty Boop- notably this one and this one), German Expressionist cinema (particularly The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which influenced the sets and the overall look of the film, designed and overseen by Marie-Pascale), Laurel & Hardy (the septic tank sequence is a tribute to the short "Busy Bodies"), The Three Stooges (particularly "Violent is the Word for Curly," which features the aforementioned "Swinging Alphabet" bit) and old-school swing, French and Latin music. The then-popular 70's nightclub comedy act The Kipper Kids also appear as themselves.
The end result is like nothing you've ever seen before, to say the least. When I first saw it, via a bootleg VHS my friend (ironically, his nickname was "Flash," so that provided some additional laughs as there was a character by that name in the film as well), I was convinced it was some old Hollywood movie that had been banned for decades until Danny Elfman, who I recognized from Oingo Boingo, showed up.
Although the cursing and copious nudity and the like should have been an early tip-off, as such things weren't allowed back then, but the friend who showed it to me said that was why it had been banned in the first place, so I fell for his misinformation until Elfman cropped up, at which point I called bullshit. Keep in mind, though, that the film was in black and white up until 2008, so it really did look like something that had been attracting dust in a vault somewhere for decades.
For the purposes of this review, I actually watched the colorized version for the first time, which was an all-new experience, if not necessarily a better one. While I get Richard Elfman allowing it to happen, as some people hate black and white films for whatever reason, I must admit I kind of prefer it in its original incarnation. For one thing, it helps to maintain the illusion that one is watching something from a long-ago time and place, but more than that, the B&W helps to cover up the film's low budget limitations more.
The color not only exposes that, it makes the film a different type of experience than it was originally intended. For that reason, I suggest you pick up the Blu-Ray of the "Ultimate Edition," from MVD Entertainment, or the UK Arrow edition, which feature both versions of the film, as well as plenty of cool bonus features, including a commentary from Richard Elfman, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and more, as well as a copy of the soundtrack.
The movie was a labor of love for all involved. Richard Elfman and his wife, Marie-Pascal, flipped houses to help finance it, and eventually mortgaged their own house, which they ultimately lost. (See more here.) Many of the cast and crew worked for free, and some even invested their own money into the project, including Villechaize, who not only did just that, but was so enamored of the film he would stick around and help paint sets and the like after he was finished shooting!
In the end, Elfman had to sign away the rights to secure the necessary financing to to finish the film, though all's well that ends well, as he eventually got them back in 2015. Not unlike David Lynch's equally weird Eraserhead, the film took years to make, with production stopping and starting up again as Elfman was able to secure more funding. It was completed in 1980, but didn't receive a theatrical release until 1982, hence the multiple dates in the post description.
It ran for years as a midnight movie, but never received a proper home video release for decades. It eventually got a reputation as a cult favorite that was heavily bootlegged on VHS for years, which is how I first saw it, which only added to its mystique as something seemingly beamed in from another planet. (Or another dimension, as it were.)
This renewed appreciation was what later led to its ultimate official release on DVD in 2004. The magazine Film Threat amusingly dubbed it the "Citizen Kane of underground movies" and it was even screened at the Museum of Modern Art in 2010. The colorized version is the more readily available one nowadays, and can be seen on Tubi, Amazon, Fandor and other streaming services, but I really do advise you seek out the original B&W version- it makes all the difference, and is closer to Elfman's original intentions.
Let's take a closer look at some of the cast. The film's undeniable star is the diminutive Hervé Villechaize, who was born in Paris, France, and was an accomplished painter and the youngest artist to ever have his art displayed in the museum of Paris. He moved to New York in 1964 and began to pursue acting, with almost immediate success.
His film debut was in 1966's Chappaqua, another cult classic, this one much more serious, about drug addiction, featuring an impressive cast that includes author William S. Burroughs, poet Allen Ginsberg, Indian musician Ravi Shankar (aka Norah Jones' dad), who also composed the score; jazz musician Ornette Coleman, who composed an alternate score for the film (listen to it here); the band The Fugs and someone named Moondog, a musician and poet that sounds like a real character. I might have to seek that one out.
Other films followed in rapid succession, including The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, Malatesta's Carnival of Blood, Crazy Joe, Oliver Stone's debut Seizure (see my review here) and his big breakthrough film, the James Bond flick The Man with the Golden Gun, in which he played the villainous Christopher Lee's henchman.
After that, he landed the biggest role of his career in the popular TV show Fantasy Island, in which he played Tattoo, the assistant to the suave Mr Roarke, whose memorable declaration of "The plane! The plane!" became a popular catchphrase of the 70's and early 80's. Unfortunately, he was eventually let go from the show after 132 episodes after he unsuccessfully tried to garner the same salary as star Ricardo Montalbán and was summarily dismissed and replaced.
Reportedly, he was also combative with the producers and a handful with any women who appeared on the show, being a hopeless flirt, just as he is in this film. He must have done something right, however, as he ended up marrying one of said actresses. Indeed, he used to date his co-star here, Susan Tyrell, though the two broke up during production and were likewise constantly arguing with one another throughout the shoot.
Villechaize also used to room with Forbidden Zone co-screenwriter and co-star Matthew Bright, which is how he came to be involved with the project in the first place, though he had crossed paths with The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo before when they appeared in his film Hot Tomorrows together.
Sadly, Villechaize's career cooled after Fantasy Island. He appeared in Airplane II: The Sequel, as Rumpelstiltskin in Shelley Duvall's popular Faerie Tale Theatre, and his final role, in 1988's softcore romp, Two Moon Junction, a popular favorite amongst the Sinemax contingent, thanks in no small part to the copious nudity from Twin Peaks siren Sherilyn Fenn, in a rare blonde-haired role.
His last filmed appearance was as himself in an episode of The Ben Stiller Show. After suffering chronic pain for years, he finally killed himself in despair in 1993. Shortly before that, he did an extensive interview with journalist Sacha Gervasi, who said that he realized afterwards that Villechaize clearly intended it as a sort of farewell to his fans, a kind of extended suicide note. Gervasi would later write and direct a film about his experiences with the actor called My Dinner with Hervé, with Game Of Thrones star Peter Dinklage playing Villechaize.
His Queen and former IRL girlfriend Susan Tyrell also led a colorful life, to say the least. She was born in California to a socialite mother and a talent agent father, who represented the likes of Ed Wynn and Carole Lombard, so she often crossed paths with celebrities in her youth. Like Villechaize, she, too, had a run-in with The Mystic Knights of The Oingo Boingo before this film, who appeared in- what else? - a wacky dream sequence in her film I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. She also co-wrote her big number, "The Witches' Egg."
Tyrell started out as a theatre actress before transitioning to film with a role in the Western Shoot Out in 1971. She would return to the stage many times over the course of her career, however. The following year, she garnered an Oscar nomination for her role in legendary director John Huston's boxing drama Fat City, alongside a young Jeff Bridges.
Other notable films include The Killer Inside Me, Andy Warhol's Bad (a pretty crazy one, and the last film Warhol produced), the animated fantasy favorites Wizards (she was the narrator) and Fire & Ice, by the legendary Ralph Bakshi; Islands in the Stream, Loose Shoes, Night Warning (aka Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker), Tales of Ordinary Madness, Liar's Moon, the cult favorite Angel and its sequel Avenging Angel, Flesh + Blood, From a Whisper to a Scream, Tapeheads, Big Top Pee Wee (Reubens reportedly cast her because he loved this film so much), Far From Home, Rockula (that one is something, with an interesting rocker cast, including Thomas Dolby, Bo Diddley and Toni Basil), John Waters' Cry Baby, The Demolitionist, Poison Ivy: The New Seduction and Powder.
Finally, the film also features a small role from legendary cult actor Joe Spinell, as a drunken sailor, Mr. Henderson. Spinell is probably best-known as hitman/bodyguard Willi Cicci in The Godfather films, and for his roles in Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Sylvester Stallone's Rocky, Rocky II, Paradise Alley and Nighthawks. However, cult film fans probably know him best for his collaborations with sexy Caroline Munro, including Starcrash, The Last Horror Film (aka Fanatic) and
the notorious Maniac, which he also co-wrote and co-produced.
As I mentioned, the film also stars Matthew Bright, in his only acting roles, as Squeezit Henderson and his missing twin sister, René, which is part of the reason he offers to help Flash by venturing to the Sixth Dimension, as he suspects, because of a dream he had, that she is there as well.
In addition to continuing to work with Richard Elfman over the years as a writer, Bright also wrote and directed the cult hits Freeway (featuring a young Reese Witherspoon) and its sequel Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (with a young Natasha Lyonne), Guncrazy, the horror biopic Ted Bundy and the truly bonkers Tiptoes, featuring Gary Oldman as a dwarf (!), which is something to see. Bright disowned the film after it was re-edited without his consent, and hasn't worked in the business since.
Meanwhile, his semi-frequent collaborator, Richard Elfman, went on to direct several other cult favorites, including the Bright-scripted horror flicks Shrunken Heads and Modern Vampires, as well as Streets of Rage, a crime drama; four episodes of the kids' horror series Bone Chillers; two documentaries, 28 Days to Vegas and 30 Days to Vegas; and several music videos for Oingo Boingo, including "Little Girls," "Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me" and "Private Life."
Elfman also occasionally acts, having appeared in George of the Jungle and the horror flick Scarecrow, as the Sheriff, as well as bits parts in his own films, including this one, as a masseuse. He continues to work in musical theatre on the side, and has been trying to get a sequel to this film produced for years called Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbidden Galaxy, a song for which is often performed at the continued screenings of this film, which has taken on a sort of neo-Rocky Horror Picture Show-style following, with interactive elements from the audience, who dress up as the characters and perform alongside the film. (See more, including an excerpt from the song here.)
I suppose a trigger warning of sorts is necessary to modern audiences, who may not take kindly to some elements of the movie, including depictions of blackface, Jewish and African-American stereotypes, some perceived homophobia and what may seem to some as making light of sexual assault. However, it's worth noting on one count that Elfman is Jewish himself, making that particular accusation unlikely, at the very least. (It's also his grandfather playing the Jewish character in question.)
As for the rest, Elfman has long said that the film was intended to have "something to offend everyone," not unlike something like South Park and his intention was to satirize old movie and cartoon tropes, like blackface, not seriously indulge in them. He has expressed regret for the blackface elements, which were clearly done in a tongue-in-cheek manner, but still nonetheless very unfortunate- it doesn't help that one such scene is front and center in the film- but it's pretty obvious nothing was done in a mean-spirited way and, given its continued success on the cult movie circuit, it's clear most fans of the film don't take it too seriously, either.
The movie is basically meant as a live-action cartoon, done in a decidedly retro style that does indeed reflect unfortunate social mores and not-so-latent racism of the times its paying tribute to, but rather than indulge in them, it pokes fun at them and was obviously intended to satirize them, not take them seriously. Still, I can see where some younger viewers might not get the context, so best to warn them and put it in the proper context before screening it for an unwary viewer.
Be all that as it may, I do still love the film- it's hard to shake an affinity for a movie you grew up loving in your youth, and while I was a bit taken aback by these elements myself, now that certain things from the 80's and 90's and so forth have been reassessed and deemed problematic- i.e. certain John Hughes' films, Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's, American Pie, etc.- I do get why that is, and I actually do agree that a lot of the stuff people are complaining about is indeed iffy. But I think that this film is an exception to the rule.
It's just meant to be a fun, silly romp through Elfman's influences, not anything to be taken too seriously, as certain people are too wont to do these days. Elfman is obviously paying homage to the stuff he likes and if some of it is problematic to modern audiences, they probably need to lighten up. Bashing this film is not a hill you want to die on, though.
Forbidden Zone is just too specific in its tone, and, as anyone familiar with Elfman's influences will attest, it's obvious that it's paying homage to those things, not exploiting them, much less trying to "convert" anyone to a certain type of thinking. I say get over it and have fun with the film, as it was meant to be taken in stride and just provide entertainment for certain types of people, which is to say, people who enjoy left-of-center entertainment that isn't always "politically correct." Not everything has to be, for God's sake.
Perhaps needless to say, this is definitely one I think you check out. While I may lean more towards the old-school black & white version, if you can get a hold of it, even Elfman had originally intended to color tint the film eventually, he just didn't have the means or money to do it, so it didn't happen until colorization became a thing. Given that he signed off on the process, I suppose it's debatable as to which the "definitive version" is, but if the color version is the only way for you to see it, or the only way you can get others to watch it, I say go for it, anyway.
Besides, it's also questionable whether people will get all the extremely dated references, anyway, so perhaps the method of presentation is beside the point. But, so long as they aren't easily offended and are able to accept the film for what it is- a madcap fantasy musical meant to entertain, not make a political statement about anything- then I can't imagine open-minded viewers not getting a real kick out it. So, by all means, schedule your trip to the Forbidden Zone ASAP- it's a ride worth taking, trust me. 🐸🎺🎼😈😜
Author's Note: As I mentioned in the last article, I'm taking a brief break from The Cronenberg Chronicles to play catch-up with some of the other stuff I've been watching. I have enough for about two Movie Round-Ups at this point, so I wanted to do those while things were still relatively fresh in my mind.
I also watched a couple of older movies that I want to review, so I'm going to do at least one of those as well. After that, I'll pick up where I left off with the Cronenberg stuff, with a look at Fast Company. Thanks for your patience in this matter, but man cannot live by Cronenberg alone, lol. Though it's certainly tempting to in our current socio-political climate. But yeah, even as a die-hard fan, I need a little break here and there.
Let's get started, with a look at...
The Babysitter: Killer Queen
The original The Babysitter, from 2017, was a sleeper hit for Netflix that became a semi-viral sensation when positive word-of-mouth online sent its viewership to surprisingly high levels for a horror film with only mid-level stars at best. That's not a knock on the cast at all- they were actually a key part of the original film's appeal- just to say that most of them were relatively unknown, save maybe Bella Thorne, most of whose movie output has been of the straight-to-VOD type since her Disney's Shake It Off heyday.
There's also director McG, of Charlie's Angels and Terminator: Salvation fame, though he might be better known these days for producing the likes of TV's Supernatural, Nikita, Shadowhunters and Lethal Weapon, as well as the amusing teen-com The DUFF, also featuring Thorne and her co-star here, Robbie Amell. He's alright, but it's hard to take anyone seriously who dubs himself McG, lol.
Whatever the case, the movie struck a nerve with horror fans, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and flashy, near video-game-style graphics, which brought to mind something like Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Horror comedies are a tricky thing to pull off, so when someone manages a halfway decent one, horror fans take note.
The film also featured winning performances from its two main leads, relative newcomer Judah Lewis (also of Netflix's winning The Christmas Chronicles, which is likewise getting a sequel this year) as the male lead, Cole, an outcast teen; and saucy Aussie Samara Weaving, as the babysitter in question, Bee.
Weaving is already a horror favorite for her roles in Ash vs. The Evil Dead, Mayhem and the more recent critical fave, Ready or Not, which made my Best of 2019 list, as well as the well-received non-horror-but-geek-friendly flick Bill & Ted Face the Music, which I haven't seen as of yet, but plan to soon. She also made my list of foreign actresses to watch out for back in 2018, which you can read here- she's number 9. (And yes, I'm aware I never finished that proposed series, though I made all the lists for it- maybe someday. 😞)
I'm going to assume you already have seen that film or you wouldn't be reading this, but suffice it to say, Bee was a babysitter that seemed too cool to be true- mostly because she wasn't, she was only pretending to be, in order to take advantage of Cole's "innocent virgin" status as a blood sacrifice in her devil cult.
The cult, in addition to Thorne and Amell's characters (as, respectively, Allison, a cheerleader, and Max, a jock), also included Hana Mae Lee (of the Pitch Perfect series) as Sonya, the requisite Goth type and Andrew Bachelor (To All the Boys I've Loved Before) as John, the comedic relief, as all seen above.
None of the cult fared too well in the end, though Cole got a little help from next-door neighbor and not-so-secret crush Melanie (Emily Alyn Lind, of Doctor Sleep & Lights Out and sister of full-on hottie Natalie, of The Gifted fame), as well as just some blind luck and the overall stupidity of most everyone concerned, save maybe Bee.
The sequel picks up two years later. Cole is a junior in high school, and even more of an outcast than before, since nobody believes his wild tale about what happened with his babysitter, including his parents, and there was no evidence whatsoever to back it up, including any dead bodies. As such, Cole has to go to therapy and is on many medications.
The only one who knows he's telling the truth is Melanie, and having gone from cute to hot, she's not willing to sacrifice her social status to go down with Cole's ship, especially after seeing how he's been treated since what happened, though the two are still ostensibly friends.
But Cole is clearly stuck in the "Friend Zone" when it comes to making anything happen with her, so anyone hoping that the two cute kids would ever have a happily ever after in their future are barking up the wrong horror movie- much to the film's credit, as it would never happen IRL, either.
Melanie, of course, has a lunkheaded jock-type BF, Jimmy (Maximilian Acevedo, Henry Danger) and has taken to hanging around questionable friends like stoner type Diego (Juliocesar Chavez, Kidding) and the caustic Boom Boom (Jennifer Foster, Looking), as all seen above. If they seem like an odd crew, well, just you wait, as they get even odder.
However, two potential lights at the end of the tunnel emerge with the arrival of a new girl in town, Phoebe (Jenna Ortega, Insidious 2, Netflix's You), a fellow outcast with attitude to spare, and an invite from Melanie to a lakeside bash, which she suggests might be a good way to reinvent his image and learn to fit in better with his fellow classmates.
Both seem dubious prospects, but Cole goes with the flow, as the alternative is potentially being sent to a psychiatric school, which I didn't realize was a thing- and I don't mean a school where they teach psychiatry, but one expressly for people with mental disorders. It may not actually be a thing, this being a movie and all.
Perhaps needless to say, disaster strikes, but not because of Cole's awkwardness, but rather- mild spoiler, though not really, as they're all on the posters above and in the trailer- because of the return of the blood cult, who have been resurrected by the book, just like Bee was at the end of the original film.
They have returned aiming to finish what they started, and Cole must do his best to evade them, with a little help from a few others, including the aforementioned Phoebe, whose presence there may not be a coincidence. Bee also returns, albeit mostly in flashbacks, at least until near the end of the film, so hang in there, fellow Weaving fans.
Basically, what we have here is a redux of the first film, but with slightly more clever, self-referential writing and a higher body count. It's in the vein of a Scream movie- or, at least, one of its many sequels- down to the discussion within the narrative of why sequels rarely live up to the originals. (Just because you say it out loud doesn't make it less true, though, lol. 😏)
Phoebe mentions Terminator 2 as one of four sequels to surpass the original, but never says what she thinks the others are, for instance, with the implication to the viewer that this may be one of them. It's not, but it's not half bad. At best, it may be the equal of the original, but only in the sense that it's a bit more souped up and well-observed, with a sense of humor about itself.
Of course, the original wasn't THAT groundbreaking- it had just been a while since horror fans had seen a horror-comedy that worked more often than not. As horror fans, in general, we see so many crappy films that oftentimes all it takes is a halfway decent one to get our attention, and The Babysitter was halfway decent. So is this film.
I dug Phoebe's character, and I liked some of the big twists, though they weren't entirely unexpected. Naturally, there's also a door- or should I say a book- left open for yet another sequel, which I'll probably end up watching as well. The fact that I'm somewhat looking forward to it should be seen as a vote of confidence, I suppose. Keep up with the semi-good work, guys. 😉
Host
Few recent horror movies in memory have come in on a wave of hype quite like Host, the self-proclaimed first horror flick to have been made during the pandemic. While the whole Zoom thing is a new wrinkle to the genre- just as Zoom itself was a new thing to many of us until said pandemic- the whole computer screen thriller is hardly a new thing- witness the likes of The Den, the Unfriended series, Open Windows and Searching, to name but a few. When a subgenre has a name, it's no longer a unique thing, and the computer screen thriller is basically just found footage 2.0, in and of itself.
That said, I did enjoy Host, even if it didn't quite live up to all the hype. Honestly, I just think horror fans were starved for new entertainment, after having no doubt watched all manners of older stuff in the wake of being stuck at home for so long. I know I've been playing catch-up, particularly in terms of TV shows I hadn't gotten around to watching and newer movies I haven't watched yet. We all have, more or less. It was probably only a matter of time before an enterprising fan was like: hey- what if I made a horror film focusing in on what life is like in quarantine? Hence Host.
Director Rob Savage made a short film prank video not unlike one of those that went viral in the early days of YouTube and the like, where you'd be watching something and then- BAM! - something like Regan from The Exorcist would pop up out of nowhere and scare the crap out of the viewer. Savage was on a Zoom call with several others, then he noted a noise from the attic, went to investigate, and while looking around, he edited in a monster jumping out, I think from, appropriately enough, the movie Quarantine. It worked like a charm and he posted it online, where it naturally went viral.
The success of that short helped him get financing for Host, which was indeed filmed while quarantine was in full swing, meaning that everyone had to film themselves. Basically, equipment was sent to all the actors in question, and they had to set it up, light themselves and so on. They also had to set up and execute practical effects themselves. Afterwards, the footage was sent to Savage, who reassembled everything in the Zoom format, as if the entire thing were taking place in real time via the service, with a few effects added in in post-production. The whole thing took about twelve weeks to execute, which is impressive, no matter what you think about the final product.
The set-up is simplicity itself. A group of friends communicating via Zoom decide to hold a séance online, with the help of a medium one of them knows. Though initially skeptical, leading to a lot of joking around, eventually the group gets it together enough to take things somewhat seriously, albeit one of them, the lone male, drops out early on because his girlfriend keeps poking fun at the whole idea. We'll call him Chekov's Skeptic, because you know good and well he's going to crop up again, likely at the worst possible moment. (If you don't get the reference, see here.)
However, the real problem is that one of the girls makes up a spirit she wants to talk to, a guy she claims helped her out when she was down, but then subsequently got depressed and hung himself. She wants to ostensibly communicate with the guy to ask him if he's in a better place or something like that. Of course, he's not real, which means that, instead of focusing in on a specific spirit to summon, the girls have instead opened the door to any old spirit that wants to come forth, and the one that does isn't a happy haunt, to say the least.
As you might expect, all hell subsequently breaks loose, as the evil spirit wreaks general havoc and eventually gets deadly, taking everyone out one by one. That's not really a spoiler, as this is a horror movie after all. What I will say is that not everybody necessarily meets their maker, but this being horror, many do. Perhaps needless to say, jump scares abound. I'm not a huge fan of such cheap shots, but I will say that there are a few effective scares, and even one that was played for laughs more or less that did creep me out a bit before it was revealed as a joke.
I watched this one alone, and with headphones, and I would suggest you do the same, if you can. Given that a lot of us are still mostly housebound- the sane among us, at least- you shouldn't really be gathering together in groups in the first place, so that shouldn't be hard, although you might have to skip the headphones thing, if you don't have the proper set-up to do that. Still, even without that, it should still be fairly effective if you watch it alone, or with a few game family members. Ideally, though, you should watch it on a computer.
One thing I will give it credit for and which inherently gives it a leg up on the competition: it doesn't overstay its welcome. Clocking right around an hour, there's not much in the way of unnecessary padding. You get a little character development at the beginning, with decent enough acting; and the brief set-up, and then it basically gets right down to business, with the horror element rarely letting up for the rest of the running time.
That's a wise approach, especially with a storyline without a lot of meat on its bones. That's not even really a dig at the writers (Savage, Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd), as the concept of Zoom horror basically sells itself, as there have been many a Zoom call that has ended up horrific- just ask this guy.
Basically, the film just gets in, does its job and gets out, which is more than can be said for some movies, particularly those filmmakers that feel the need to pad things out to such a degree that their movies end up clocking in at nearly two hours or more, which no horror movie should ever do, save maybe The Shining, and even that gets a bit poky here and there. This one, like I said, clocks in at a mere hour, so mission accomplished there. I say check it out, if the idea appeals to you- you could do a lot worse, even if it is basically just Unfriended: Zoom Edition.
Zombieland: Double Tap
Another one that falls into the category of "sequels we really didn't need," and, in this case, after all this time, didn't really expect- the original was way back in 2009, over a decade ago at this point- Zombieland: Double Tap is nonetheless a lot of fun, even if the plotline is a bit on the contrived side.
Basically, the gang is sitting pretty- in the White House, of all places (which is the real Zombieland these days, lol)- when Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, as nebbish as ever) finally gets up the nerve to propose to Wichita (Emma Stone, as fiery as ever), which is a reasonable prospect after freaking TEN YEARS of couple-hood.
But, you know, plot machinations, so Wichita promptly rejects his offer and takes off, with Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, as adorable as ever) in tow, who likewise resents Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, as grumpy- and funny- as ever) for continuing to treat her as a child, in spite of the fact that she's like, all totally grown up and stuff.
Disgruntled, but resigned to the circumstances, the two guys get on with their lives, with Columbus eventually stumbling upon another lady, Madison (a game Zoey Deutch, in, like, TOTALLY Valley Girl mode, who would basically walk off with the film if it weren't for later developments), in- what else? - a mall, around about a month later.
No sooner have these two hooked up than Wichita returns, more than a little disgruntled herself, after having been summarily ditched by her little sister for a stoner hippie pacifist type, Berkeley (an amusing Avan Jogia, of Victorious and Now Apocalypse semi-fame), leaving her stranded.
Demanding that the guys join her in her quest to find her sister, and warning of new, juiced-up "super-zombies," the gang all hit the road again, this time with Madison in tow, much to Wichita's chagrin. Their destination is an alleged safe-haven, Babylon, located in the vicinity of Graceland, much to Tallahassee's delight, his being an Elvis man.
Eventually, the gang arrive, and run semi-afoul of Nevada (an always-welcome Rosario Dawson, sexy as ever, and having a great year, between this, USA's excellent Briarpatch and the whole Cory Booker thing almost potentially landing her in the White House for real- but not quite, alas), who Tallahassee wins over and becomes romantically involved with.
But wait- it turns out he's not the only one, as there's also Tallahassee semi-clone Albuquerque (Luke Wilson, doing great comedic work as someone who's not as tough as he thinks he is), who also hooked up with Nevada and isn't too keen on her new love interest. Amusingly, he has a partner that's basically a Columbus clone, Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch, fully still in Silicon Valley mode), who likewise has his own road rules, which he calls "commandments."
Flagstaff and Columbus hit if off swimmingly, while Columbus and Albuquerque do not, much to Nevada's amusement, who is content to sit back and let jealousy take over while she has a drink and enjoys the action. Eventually, though, disaster strikes and Flagstaff and Columbus are forced to put their money where their mouths are, which leads to an unfortunate, but nonetheless funny scenario which I won't ruin here.
After a spell, the crew finally make it to Babylon, only to find that they are as pacifist as Berkley, and woefully underprepared to fight any impending zombie attack- and there's one coming soon, as the gang passes a herd along the way, and guess what direction they're headed in?
So, it's up to the ragged travelers to teach these hippies a thing or two (or three or four) about survival in the zombie apocalypse, and naturally, a big battle ensues. As one might expect, the door is left open for a sequel, yet again, but that's to be expected. Will we have to wait yet another decade for that one? We shall see, but this one was a big hit, so maybe not.
So, I wasn't expecting much here, and I've been suffering a bit of zombie burn-out, which has led me to somewhat avoid the subgenre, down to postponing watching the rest of the last season of The Walking Dead, which, of course, was ultimately left unfinished, anyway- so, in a way, I kind of dodged a bullet there. After all, you can't be left hanging if you weren't really watching in the first place.
But, I must say, with my expectations fully lowered, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this, and it even got me more interested in finishing off TWD sooner than later, especially with the recent announcement that the next season will- finally- be its last.
Of course, that show is no barrel of laughs, which is why I burnt out on it in the first place- the last few seasons have been a bit of a slog, IMHO. Zombieland, on the other hand, is a lot of fun, and I was reminded of how much I enjoyed the first one back in the day. This one is, remarkably enough, almost as much fun, even if the plot is meh and a lot of what happens is predictable.
But I loved the "new" rules, the oft-amusing comedic dialogue, Zoey Deutch's performance (she was also a lot of fun on Ryan Murphy's The Politician, both seasons of which I watched during lockdown), the Tallahassee and Columbus clones, and I'm a longtime fan of Dawson, so I was consistently entertained here.
If all that sounds fun to you, you probably will be, too. I say check it out, especially if you're a fan of the first one, but possibly even if you weren't, as this one has just enough new wrinkles to up the ante and be even funnier than the original at times. And if you need more to draw you in, yes, a certain celebrity that figured into the first one makes another appearance here via a flashback, so make sure you keep watching through the credits.
If that doesn't make you want to see it, nothing probably will, and I get that. Like I said, I fully relate to anyone suffering from zombie burnout right about now. Living through an actual apocalypse will do that to you. Now if we could just get Tallahassee and Co. on the case in getting the real zombie out of the White House, then we'd really be getting somewhere... 😜
Underwater
My final film might as well be a remake, as it's basically just Alien underwater- hence the title. Maybe throw in a little of The Abyss, The Poseidon Adventure and Armageddon for good measure and you basically have this film in a nutshell. Erstwhile Bella Swan Kristen Stewart takes on what is basically the Sigourney Weaver character- but you, K-Stew, are no Sigourney Weaver, I'm afraid. It is what it is, I guess. (And thanks for ruining THAT phrase, El Trumpo, to say nothing of the color red, and well... pretty much everything, really.)
To be fair, Stewart has been doing some solid work as of late- particularly in the underappreciated Clouds of Sils Maria, Still Alice, Personal Shopper and JT LeRoy- but an action hero, she is not. Of course, that's sort of the point- it's something that is thrust upon her here, not something she signed up for, really. Stewart plays Norah, a mechanical engineer on the underwater research and drilling facility, the Kepler 822, who is brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed when an earthquake hits out of nowhere, throwing everything around her into chaos.
She rushes to the safest place she can find, running into several people along the way, as she makes her way to the control room, where the captain (Vincent Cassel, Black Swan, Westworld) is doing his best to hold things together. The small group make plans to get out of there after attempts to reach the surface team for a rescue prove fruitless. In order to get to a place where getting out via escape pods may be possible, they must cross about a mile of the floor of the ocean to get to another part of the facility, as their normal way through has been blocked by part of the structure collapsing during the quake.
However, it turns out that there may be more to worry about than the quake, when they discover various creatures of unknown origin swimming about and wreaking even more havoc. Will they make it to the escape pods and get out of there alive? Or will the creatures take them out one by one? Also, are there other, bigger creatures about to worry about out there? If you've seen any of the films I mentioned, then you can probably guess the answers to those questions- though the film isn't without a few twists here and there, as the filmmakers know that you've seen those movies, too, and at least put forth some effort to surprise you.
Honestly, the most impressive thing about this one is the set design, which I didn't appreciate as much until after the fact, when I watched all the bonus features. Basically, everything you see is a real set built on a soundstage, and everything that is ostensibly underwater was shot dry for wet, which is to say, no one was ever really actually underwater, which is ironic, given the title. They simply filmed everyone doing their thing and then added the water later, via CGI, which is really cool, as I never would have guessed.
This is also one of those productions where the team put a whole lot of detail into things hardly anyone was ever going to notice, quite frankly, which also always impresses me. Honestly, the bonus features make the film so much better in retrospect that I almost wish I'd watched them first, which is not something I say often. Ultimately, I did end up listening to most of the commentary, so I sort of did end up watching it a second time, all things considered.
If you look closely in this scene, you can see Cthulu!
That said, it's a decent enough film, even though a lot of it really is predictable. Such is the risk one takes when one basically remakes a classic like Alien. Lord knows there's been a lot of Alien rip-offs over the years, but to this film's credit, a lot of love and attention to detail went into it and it's obvious that the filmmakers' and cast's hearts were in the right place.
The impressive cast also includes funnyman T.J. Miller (who faced a similar dilemma in the classic Cloverfield), John Gallagher Jr. (also of that film series, specifically 10 Cloverfield Lane), Mamoudou Athie (The Circle, The Get Down) and Jessica Henwick (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, most of the Netflix Marvel shows).
Note the "Weyland Corp" on the strap there, Alien fans
All of the characters are pretty likable, if representing typical archetypes, i.e. the jokester, the serious one, the intellectual, the scaredy cat, etc. You can probably guess most, if not all, of who will be left standing at the end, though, like I said, there are a few surprises for unsuspecting viewers.
So, yeah, even if it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, I basically enjoyed the film overall. I liked the cast- yes, even Stewart (who, for what it's worth to hardcore fans, spends a good bit of the film scantily clad, just like Weaver in the end bit of Alien- though Stewart does most of hers at the beginning)- the FX are really solid and cool, in the case of the monsters, and there are a few decent gross-out moments, even though the film is only rated PG-13.
As I mentioned, the set design is pretty inspired and cool to look at, and I obviously liked the film enough to watch all the bonus features and listen the commentary, something I don't do as much of as I used to in the past, so there's that. While some may find it to be a bit of a retread and just yet another thinly-veiled rip-off of Alien, it's bit a hot minute since we've had one of those, TBH, and this one at least has a halfway decent budget and FX and a reasonably working brain, so it's not just some crappy, sloppily thrown together mess, like, I don't know, Alien Contamination or Inseminoid- both of which, mind you, I love, so you can take all this with a grain of salt, I suppose.
Still, I say go ahead and check it out, if you like this sort of thing. If you don't, it won't change your mind about the subgenre, but it's not an embarrassment by any means, either, which is more than I can say about some of these Alien rip-offs, including the ones I just mentioned, lol. Hell, I'd even watch a sequel, I suppose, which is just about as good as it gets for this sort of thing. You can also chalk this one up as yet another win in K-Stew's post-Twilight career, for whatever that's worth. 😁
Well, that about does it for now. Join me next week for another Movie Round-Up, and possibly a Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday or whatever, as I've watched a few oldies lately. See you then, and thanks, as always, for reading!
