film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Joel Fisher

  • Bullied: Review

    Bullied: Review

    Bullied is a documentary which deals with the issues surrounding bullying, talking to the parents of the victims of bullying who have taken their own lives, plus taking into account the influences and reasons behind bullying.

    Directed by Thomas Keith, a lecturer in American philosophy and gender studies and who has many documentaries about culture and masculinity. Bullied shows in a frank, honest and sometimes shocking way the extent of which bullying can lead to suicide.

    However, Bullied is not shocking in a sensationalised way, instead it serves to show the viewers exactly what happens when people decide to dominate others physically, psychologically and emotionally.

    The documentary covers many different aspects of bullying and their victims which include those who are bullied because they’re gay or because of the colour of their skin. Exploring the different influences of bullying, the documentary also talks to many experts who highlight things such as media, politicians, sports and even reality TV as a potential cause of bullying. Even going as far as to explore the influence that Donald Trump had over his followers.

    Filmed in a somewhat televisual style, Bullied is full of interviews with many experts, parents and also with children who have been the victims of bullying. Often being recorded by their parents via their phones, the documentary shows the raw and immediate reactions to bullying and how it makes children feel which could be upsetting. However, again the intention is not to shock but to show its audience how it makes victims feel every day.

    However, although there is a primary focus on bullying amongst children and the adult effect of bullying is discussed, the documentary never really goes too far into the effects of bullying among adults. The oldest victim shown in the documentary is around 20 and his experiences were around high school time.

    Perhaps a wider variety of bullying shown in the workplace, among friends and other social situations might have given an even broader look at the subject. Bullied is still very powerful and sometimes moving though, as it shows that although things can look tough, there is a chance of hope.

  • Legend Of Fall Creek: Review

    Legend Of Fall Creek: Review

    Reggie (Curt Clendenin) and his cousin, Tiffany (Christy Keller) are going to a Halloween party. Tiffany is excited because she’ll finally get to meet in person she’s been talking to online for months, Oswald Gacey (Alton Clemente), but Reggie isn’t so sure that he’ll be all she hopes he will be.

    At the party there are plenty of Reggie and Tiffany’s old friends and new friends and everyone is having a great time. The thing they don’t realise is that Bloody Bobby has returned as the legend of his actions get talked about every year around Halloween.

    Legend of Fall Creek is a Grindhouse horror movie co-written by Jen Mathiasen and Ryan McGonagle and co-directed with McGonagle by Anthony Hall. A prequel to Black Pumpkin, an 80’s inspired horror movie where it played like a serial killer slasher akin to Halloween, Legend of Fall Creek attempts to expand on the story of Bloody Bobby, although in a different setting and a different time.

    However, despite the interesting and well directed Black Pumpkin (directed by Ryan McGonagle), Legend of Fall Creek unfortunately shows the supposed franchise’s intentions as it’s just a similar story with a different cinematic feel. Also, it doesn’t nearly match the detail and feel of a Grindhouse movie as Black Pumpkin did with its retro aesthetic.

    Starting off in the typical fashion of a Grindhouse movie, it starts with an intro that many would have found before movies started in that era, however this is where the similarities stop.

    Because besides the occasional change in filter to remind the audience of a degrading celluloid reel, Legend of Fall Creek clearly just didn’t have the budget to follow through on its promise. This is particularly evident as the events of the movie are set in 2008.

    Another problem is that it just takes so long to set up the characters that by the time of the first meaningful death, the audience may have lost all interest. Although if it were going for the Grindhouse feel with the script then it succeeds, because like Tarantino’s Death Proof, Legend of Fall Creek is boring.

  • Hunted: Review

    Hunted: Review

    Ève (Lucie Debay) is having a bad night, she’s out at a bar when a man approaches her and when she says no, he just keeps going. That’s when she meets The Guy (Arieh Worthalter) who will change her life, they have drinks together and dance and he even offers to take her home. However, as soon as they’re in his car, The Accomplice (Ciarian O’Brien) gets into the driving seat and off they go. Luckily, Ève escapes, but after a while The Guy catches up with her and soon the hunt is on.

    Hunted is an arthouse inflected horror movie from writer/director Vincent Paronnaud, co-written by Léa Pernollet and Stephen Shields and is available to watch on Shudder. There are many horror movies where women are the victims and Hunted doesn’t shy away from this either, in fact going back to probably what was the first tale of terror – Little Red Riding Hood.

    However, prior knowledge of this would be needed because without knowing this, besides Ève’s red hooded coat, the movie bares very little resemblance to the story.

    Although Little Red Riding Hood may indeed be a tale of the dangers of trusting strangers, there are very little similarities left between the fairy tale and the movie, unless you count the character The Guy meets along the way who’s credited as The Huntress (Simone Milsdochter).

    There’s a certain aspect of the movie which could be left open to interpretation, but for the casual viewer who wants to watch an uncomplicated horror movie then they may be left confused.

    Of course, there are certain subversions to the original story where the confused little girl is saved by the big, burly woodsman, however this has come to be expected. In fact, although Worthalter’s performance is good, albeit a little over the top, the other factors such as his accomplice and seemingly no motivation other than to do evil seem quite one dimensional.

    Fairy tales have been misread and interpreted over many movies and will probably consider to be done. There may even be a gritty Humpty Dumpty movie on the horizon, hopefully when that happens though there may be more depth.

  • Earwig And The Witch: The BRWC Review

    Earwig And The Witch: The BRWC Review

    Earwig (Kokoro Hirasawa/Taylor Henderson) was given to an orphanage by her mother (Sherina Muraf/Kacey Musgraves) when she was a baby because her mother feared that there were 12 witches after her. Being in the safest place possible, Earwig grows up and over the years she becomes a somewhat precocious and mischievous child that likes nothing better than spending time with her best friend, Custard (Logan Hannan) and seeing what trouble she can pull him into. Then one day the orphanage is visited by a peculiar couple, a woman named Bella Yaga (Shinobu Terajima/Vanessa Marshall) and her partner known as The Mandrake (Etsushi Toyokawa/Richard E. Grant).

    After having the children line up and inspecting them, Bella and Mandrake take Earwig home with them and being very up front, Bella tells Earwig that she’s a witch and that she’ll be a new pair of hands to help her out around the house. Earwig is delighted at first and is eager to learn magic although Bella clearly made no such promise. Also, Earwig is told never to disturb The Mandrake.

    However, soon Earwig gets sick of her treatment and decides to hatch a plan to get back at Bella and uncover the secret behind the supposedly evil Mandrake. At first Earwig thinks she’s alone, but soon she finds an ally when Bella’s cat, Thomas (Gaku Hamada/Dan Stevens) starts talking to her.

    Earwig and The Witch is the latest film from Studio Ghibli and directed by Gorô Miyazaki, son of Ghibli pioneer, Hayao Miyazaki. It’s also Studio Ghibli’s first feature length CGI animation. Whereas this may put some purists off who love the charm of Studio Ghibli’s 2D hand drawn work, Earwig and The Witch shows how the studio have progressed over time. Perhaps this could be the beginning of a new era in Japanese animation, because it’s most certainly the end of one.

    Based on the novel by Dianna Wynne Jones, Earwig and The Witch sets its story in England in the 90’s and so there’s a little disjoint between the Ghibli style and its location. However, the style is still maintained so although the CGI animation does look a little plastic at times, there are hints of Ghibli’s origins.

    It’s just a shame that although Wynne Jones’ story may be wonderful, the adaptation doesn’t know how to end properly and whereas Earwig’s story could have been about love and acceptance in a new home, it ends up leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

    The cast do well and names like Richard E. Grant, Dan Stevens and Kacey Musgraves may bring interest to a western audience. However, it all just feels like something that nobody would particularly warm to or consider to be a Ghibli classic.

  • The Funeral Home: Review

    The Funeral Home: Review

    Bernardo (Luis Machin) lives with his wife, Estela (Celeste Gerez) and their teenage daughter, Irina (Camila Vaccarini) and they have the same ordinary lives that any other family does. However, family is not without its troubles and Bernardo and his wife don’t agree on a lot of things. Irina is also a typical teenage girl who wants everything and thinks she has nothing, doting on her grandmother to give her things that her parents refuse.

    They also live in a funeral home in which Bernardo makes his living and the supernatural aspect of their lives just comes with the job. Bernardo is frequently contacted by a ghost who writes on fogged up windows and although it hasn’t got in the way before, his relationship with the ghost is taking a strain on his marriage.

    Not to mention that Irina is getting more freaked out with every passing day as the supernatural occurrences get darker and more disturbing.

    The Funeral Home (or La Funeraria) is an Argentinian supernatural horror movie written and directed by Mario Iván Ojeda. Perhaps taking inspiration from Hereditary, The Funeral Home has a seemingly ordinary family setting with a supernatural edge that runs right through it.

    A slowburn thriller that likes to slowly build the tension, the movie doesn’t entirely take its beats from the more famous horror movie, but it does manage to capture that feeling and only gets stranger the longer the audience watch.

    The cast all do a great job, especially Vaccarini who has to watch as the lives of her family crumble around her, forcing the young actress to really show off her range. However, with the more supernatural elements being mostly implied, it often leaves a lot open to interpretation which may interest some or bore others.

    Also, the finale seems to give a broader range of horror fans what they want, but it may also confuse and frustrate others as it gives more questions than answers. The Funeral Home may look like a familiar horror story in a different setting, but the audience will have to decide how satisfied they are with the finished product.