Author: Joel Fisher

Beckett O’Connell (Shea Pritchard) isn’t very popular at school. He’s a shy, nerdy kid and would do anything to make more friends. There’s also a new device called a VTV which everybody seems to have where you can create videos to share with your friends, but Beckett’s videos aren’t very popular.

Then, one day, something pops up on his computer saying that Mr. Viral (Louis Labovitch) can get his videos millions of views. Once he clicks on the pop-up, Beckett’s life changes forever, but he’s about to discover that the price of fame could put him and his friends in danger.

Going Viral is a throwback movie to the 80’s which pays homage to films such as Weird Science and Back to The Future. However, rather than just being a movie relying on nostalgia bait, Going Viral feels as authentic as it came to the time and is made with love for that era.

With all the right elements put together from undoubtedly watching many of the best movies from the 80’s Going Viral feels warmly nostalgic. However, the story drives the movie, making it feel like something from that time that was either successful or forgotten only to resurface because It’s so weirdly prophetic.

The ‘predictions’ about the future are a little on the nose and sometimes it feels like it could have done without the 80’s aesthetic. However, the attention to detail and knowing exactly what makes these movies work gives it an edge.

There could have been a temptation to lose the story a little in favour of making the audience reminisce about a simpler time. However, Going Viral does give its audience a little of both to satisfy a wider audience.

All in all, Going Viral is a satisfying movie that doesn’t pander to a new generation, nor does it try too hard to pull the strings of those wishing they could go back in time. Mr. Viral makes for a compelling character too, if not a slightly copywrite infringing one, and a surprise cameo from an 80’s icon makes it all worth the journey.

Max (Key Tawn Toothman) is feeling the loss of a friend. The only friends he seem to have work at a roadkill collection company and they’re all there at his friend’s funeral and yet Max seems to have taken it the worst. There’s even talk that Max’s friend was murdered and there’s a rumour that he was killed by a man in a reindeer costume, but nobody knows who was responsible. Try as he might, Max is trying to get over his grief, but his friends aren’t making it easy for him and it gets even worse when the finger of blame is pointed at him.

A Very Flattened Christmas is a horror comedy set around the festive period with a group of quirky characters. Based on creator and co-writer Key Toothman’s TV series, they take their festive hijinks into the world of slasher horror.

However, the low budget and the variety of performances from the subdued to the insane may test some patience.

There are some good performances though and Toothman’s lead character is one to support as he feels the weight on his shoulders. Although, being surrounded by crazy caricatures sometimes doesn’t help, even though some performances make up in enthusiasm what they may lack in talent.

Also, putting the slasher movie into an environment that people may not easily consider is a unique one. Something which may go towards explaining the eccentric cast of characters who may be drawn to such a profession.

However, A Very Flattened Christmas doesn’t really do much to subvert the expectations of a slasher movie and it feels like a lot of the comedy feels forced. Saying that though, it seems unlikely that anybody wanting to watch a horror comedy around the festive period is looking for anything too surprising.

There may even be fans of the show who are looking forward to watching something with their favourite characters in feature length and this is where it pays off well. The finale is just silly enough that it’s enjoyable and although there may not be a sequel, nothing says that they won’t come back from the dead.

Fox Force: Review

Five women have taken it upon themselves to exact revenge on a man for a sexual assault and they’ve gone to extreme lengths so that they can get justice. Stringing him up with a bag over his head, his fate is now at the mercy of these women determined to make him pay.

However, it’s not all that easy as some start to change their minds while others are more adamant. So, played out in real time, the group talk and argue and abuse each other whilst they try to decide what is the right course of action.

Fox Force (Or Tomboys in other territories) is a rape-revenge movie with the stylish aesthetic of a Grindhouse movie. Released in 2009, it may have been made to capitalize on the craze of Tarantino and Rodriguez’s popular collaboration, but the subject matter proves as relevant now as it ever was.

Thankfully never glamorising the women or the allure of torture porn, Fox Force feels like the kind of movie that could have been made much longer ago, but with a modern twist. The moral quandary of whether murder is a fitting resolution to revenge is also something that is now and may always be debated, and Fox Force never really leans into the answer either way.

However, this is indeed a Grindhouse movie and whereas its themes may be more considered, the movie does want to give its audience what they came for. Meaning that there are scenes that push the boundaries of good taste and there’s perhaps a little too much focus on the gore and mutilation.

Out of all the cast, it is perhaps the character of Kat (Candice Day) that is more well thought out though and Day’s performance reflects that of a woman torn between the trauma of what happened to her and how she could ever move on with her life.

It just feels like that at the end of the day Fox Force is designed to shock its audience and the subtlety of its issues are lost as it tries desperately to get the right tone.

6:66 Seance Hour – Review

William (Daniel Rankin) is depressed and can’t get over the loss of his fiancé. He’s spent every day alone since her death and nothing can bring him out of it. His friend, Sam (Piers Cunningham) is understanding and gives William time to grieve, but he has to pull himself out of it sometime, so he suggests that they go out for a drink and meet up with a couple of women.

With mixed feelings, William tentatively agrees but soon he starts to talk about losing the love of his life. To put his mind at ease and to help him move on, a séance is suggested as a way to talk with his fiancé one last time. However, once William starts to hear things in the middle of the night, he realises that he may have awakened something he can’t contain.

6:66 Séance Hour or just Séance in other territories is a horror movie directed and co-written by Nathan Hill with Simon Salamon. With the title suggesting a séance and the poster suggesting a supernatural element, horror fans may think they’re in for a treat.

However, this feels like this was a promise the script couldn’t keep as Hill’s focus is mainly on William’s depression and the way it affects his life. It may be good for an audience to see a protagonist they can all relate to in some way, but after a while, the audience may feel bored or even tricked into watching something entirely different.

This means a lot of the time the movie shows William going about his everyday life. Something which may help to highlight the effects of depression which are not often seen, but it just feels like there is a lack of confidence in the script as it takes a lot away from the plot.

Something that could have been better edited with more dialogue and a deeper exploration into William’s depression may have worked better. This unfortunately means that the film doesn’t have the emotional punch that the story needs.

Séance Hour does have something there and although its plot is predictable, with a tighter script and editing it may have been a more satisfying watch.

After a famous fashion agent is brutally murdered, detective Jordan Rhodes (Nathan Hill) is pulled into the investigation. Somewhat eager to explore the fashion world and perhaps interview some beautiful models, Jordan has to remind himself to stay professional. However, when he meets Alexis Clarke (Stacey McMahon) Jordan soon succumbs to temptation. The trouble is, that once the cat is out of the bag and the killings keep happening, the finger starts to point at Jordan himself.

Model Behaviour is a thriller written and directed by Nathan Hill which harkens back to similar thrillers from the 90’s such as Basic Instinct and Body of Evidence. The problem is that it doesn’t really stray that far from its inspirations.

Those old enough to remember them or have seen them since (perhaps when they were teenagers) will know how they go and Model Behaviour gives the audience exactly what they were expecting. Playing it decidedly straighter than his previous offerings, Hill’s leading character is put into the same shoes as Michael Douglas and Willem Dafoe before him.

Gone are the tongue-in-cheek references to Hill’s characters being deplorable scum and inexplicably attractive to every woman he meets. So, putting these aspects to one side gives the audience a more straightforward expectation.

For some this may not be a problem as Model Behaviour gives its audience exactly what they were expecting and for a Nathan Hill production it doesn’t veer too far off the beaten track. However, those expecting a low budget thriller with some ingenuity may feel let down.

There also isn’t really much for the audience to support either. Perhaps putting it down to the ‘by the numbers’ script, there isn’t really much room for chemistry between the characters. From the relationship between Jordan and his detective partner Carla (Samira Amira) and his romance with Alexis, there really isn’t much to make the audience care about him. Especially as the audience may suspect that Jordan is being manipulated.

Model Behaviour may give audiences a solid albeit familiar movie, but it fumbles towards the end leaving them wondering exactly where the clues were for the ‘out of nowhere’ ending.