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The Beach House is a close-quarter, Lovecraftian horror project set amidst its tranquil ocean-side setting. The film follows Emily (Liana Liberato) and Randall (Noah Le Gros), a dysfunctional young couple looking to escape their daily doldrums with a romantic getaway. Their plans are upended when they discover two unexpected guests already inhabiting the house (acquaintances of Randall’s dad, played by Jake Weber and Maryanne Nagel). After a drug-filled night getting to know each other, the group wakes up in a distorted reality, with an unknown infection taking the quiet beach by storm.

While no one will champion The Beach House for its narrative ingenuity, writer/director Jeffery A. Brown leaves a distinct impression with his debut feature. Resourcefully pushing the boundaries of his budgetary restrictions, Brown cleverly develops a sense of unease within the opening frames, delving deep beneath the depths of the ocean to explore the murky unknown that lies ahead. These atmospheric frames eloquently contrast the quaint calm of the beach setting, with the impending sense of doom being further accented by the crashing roar of upcoming waves.

Once the infection takes hold of its unbeknownst victims, Brown unleashes a flurry of technically-accomplished flourishes to display the horror at hand. The director utilizes fog and dizzying camera work to depict the continual psychical decay of the characters, with warning lights radiating through the mist with visceral impact. Brown’s macabre vision offers a plethora of distinctive scares while keeping the pace moving during its tight 84-minute runtime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwAEWM9Jzfs

The Beach House’s compact nature may satisfy from a scare department, but its scanty-developed script suffers in the process. It’s clear Brown utilizes his concept as an exercise in horror craftsmanship, but his writing feels stiff and simplistic. There are opportunities to explore the pains of life’s gradual decay, whether that be in our treasured relationships (represented by the fragile dynamic between Emily and Randall) or our mortality (one of Randall’s acquaintances is approaching their demise). While that’s conveyed in a visual sense, I wish Brown’s script had more ambition in displaying these human pains with more intimacy, while potentially adding inventive wrinkles to its overly-familiar structure.

While The Beach House plays is safe from a narrative perspective, it’s twisted, nightmarish presentation offers an alluring Lovecraft experience.

How To Build A Girl: The BRWC Review – A heartwarming, British coming-of-age story that deals with class, body positivity, and succeeding as a young woman in a man’s world.

Beanie Feldstein and Alfie Allen dazzle in this story about 16-year-old Johanna from Wolverhampton, and her ascent as a writer. Starting out as a music journalist and the only female on her team, we see how she is underestimated, and attempts are made to sexually exploit and body shame her. Additionally, the film gives insight into the classism prevalent in Britain, and illustrates the obstacles to success for someone form a working-class background. This is in opposition to the “Posh” “Cambridge” boys, shown as the gatekeepers in London. 

It is so satisfying to watch, that with all of the hurdles she faces, Johanna holds on to her self-belief and heart of gold. And despite her family’s messy appearances, they are inevitably what grounds her. 

The only criticism I had would be Feldstein’s accent, and the fact that she’s not a native Wolverhampton, or British, actress. I noticed during the beginning voiceover, that Feldstein’s accent sounded a bit forced and unnatural. I wasn’t surprised to find out she is indeed American. However, the accent was far from terrible and I soon forgot as I became entranced with the storyline, and Feldstein herself.  It is sometimes nice, in homegrown films, to bring fame to a local actor who has almost lived the character’s experience. Then again, Feldstein was so enchanting, grounded, intelligent, and loveable that perhaps there was no one else who could have played this role.

I also wasn’t sure about the breaking of the 4^th wall in the last scene, surely we could have seen Johanna express her thoughts through her writing, but I know this device is a bit a of a Fleabag fad at the moment. 

For fans of Almost Famous like myself, you will love this female-led retelling, with parallels to An Education.  A classic coming-of-age tale that is raw and gritty, synonymous with traditional British filmmaking. As much as this film is enjoyable and feel-good, it is also important and socially and politically insightful. The story feels honest and true and I was not surprised to find it is semi-autobiographical of screenplay/novel writer, Caitlin Moran.

There are many beloved English actors playing funny and endearing characters throughout the film, including Paddy Considine and Emma Thompson. Music lovers will adore the rock n roll soundtrack, and fashion lovers will enjoy the 90’s nostalgia. There is a lot to love about How to Build a Girl, and it comes with a very high recommendation from me. 

It has been reported that, as of 2018, 17% of Americans report a UFO sighting. While these mostly just stay as a statistic, Daniel Myrick went a step further and documented one particular man.

‘Skyman’ is a documentary written and directed by Daniel Myrick, and follows Carl Merryweather, a man who says he saw an alien when he was a child. Now, 30 years later, he wants to revisit the same spot he met the alien in, in hopes that they’ll reunite.

The documentary follows Carl through this journey, as well as featuring news footage of the alien sighting in question. The documentary then gives its audience another perspective of Carl via interviews from family and friends; he’s someone who had held onto this one memory all his life and, in doing so, isn’t living in the present. While the documentary is fascinating. It also paints a sad picture of Carl Merryweather because of these other interviews. 

Carl’s interviews are unbiased and do fantastically well at not painting him as the stereotype that is seen in alien invasion films; he’s a rational man who saw something extra-terrestrial when he was a kid. The news footage that is shown, reporting the same sighting as well as witness statements further imply that Carl may have actually seen what he said he saw. When recounting the UFO memory, it’s obvious that it affected Carl, and whether you believe it or not is irrelevant. Once something stays in someone’s mind, it’s there for their whole life; it isn’t something that can be forgotten. However, you can either act on old memories, or just keep them as memories and, for Carl, it’s the former. Ever since the sighting, he’s been doing research on other sightings, as well as preparing for his own re-sighting, if it ever happens. But the documentary stays unbiased and takes its time to let Carl tell his story.

It also gives audiences a glimpse into Carl’s childhood home life, revealing that his father was a Vietnam soldier who lived through, and prepared for, the Cold War in case things went wrong. In one interview, Carl even says that his father ‘always had a plan B in case things went wrong’. As we watch Carl take us on a tour of his bunker-like home that he lived in as a child, his own research and preparation skills become clear, in terms of how and when he picked those skills up; the phrase ‘like father, like son’ rings true here. However, interviews with his sister and friend reveal that he doesn’t keep in regular contact with the people he knows as family and has become distant and the documentary changes its tone seamlessly, whether intended to or not. Like previously mentioned, Carl is holding and relying on one childhood memory and forgetting about the present in the process.

If I were to critique anything, it’s that the documentary has a slightly unfocused start, and too many panning shots seemingly for no reason. The opening shot starts with a University professor explaining that sometimes we see something and, because we can’t identify it, our minds make up the rest of what we’re seeing. However, this is questioned later on in the film, when the film crew ask whether Carl has a back-up plan if no alien shows up. 

Overall, ‘Skyman’ was a fascinating watch into someone who had encountered a UFO sighting. It was also a sad glimpse into someone who hadn’t let go of the past and, in doing so, wasn’t living in the present. If anything, ‘Skyman’ serves as a message to people: don’t keep holding onto the past in the hopes that it’ll return, because you’ll miss what’s happening now. Life may be out there, but there’s also life here on Earth, and that is your family and friends.

By Nick Boyd.

“Waves,” a powerful and haunting dark coming-of-age drama taking place in Florida, centers its first half on a very competitive high school wrestler named Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), with a “win at all costs” dad named Ronald (Sterling K. Brown).  Tyler has a vibrant social life, with his many friends, attractive girlfriend Alexis (Alexa Demie), and social functions he attends. 

He also is continually doing whatever he can to keep his body in shape for wrestling and to keep up with his dad’s growing demands to succeed, even if that means popping opioids to deal with an injury.  Outward appearance in all aspects means everything to him.  When Tyler finds himself suddenly dealing with some serious challenges related to his wrestling and his girlfriend, he begins to unravel. 

Harrison Jr. shows insight in depicting a teenager under immense pressure, while Brown does strong work as well, displaying a full range of believable emotions, going from tough and demanding in the first half, to more tender, loving, and vulnerable in the second half.  One quibble about the picture that I had was I found the editing of the first half to be too hyper stylized
Then at about the halfway point, the film shifts focus to the viewpoint of Tyler’s sister Emily, phenomenally played by Taylor Russell. 

Not only does the perspective of things change, but so does the tone of the movie, going from ominous and high-intensity, to introspective and poignant, almost like a different movie altogether.  Compared to her older brother, Emily is reserved and pensive. 

One day while Emily is at school, she meets Tyler’s shy teammate Luke (Lucas Hedges).  Their relationship, which over time develops into romance, is believable and affecting.  They do fun things, share intimacies, and seem to genuinely enjoy spending time together.  Both Russell and Hedges perfectly capture the initial awkwardness and then excitement of young love, creating a couple that we care about.  

This is a film where romance, family relations, and heartache are all delved into insightfully, as the emotional experiences go from the raw to the tender.  The director, who was not quite 30 when the movie was being made, has an acute understanding of what teenagers deal with and this comes through even in small details, such as through Instagram posts and text messages that are visually displayed on the screen. 

He also effectively uses the setting of the film, Florida, with its abundance of sunshine, beaches, and nature settings, to capture a carefree way of life.  

“Waves” is a journey not easily forgotten.  

The Historian is the first feature film by Miles Doleac.

Who is Miles Doleac? You may recognise him from such TV shows as American Horror Story (2014), Containment (2016), or The Astronaut Wives Club (2015). Writer, actor, producer, and director, he is also a history professor in real life, and he really wants you to know it. He named his production company Historia, so we won’t forget. 

Starting with The Historian, it looks like he’s cycling through genres until he hits upon one that fits. Romantic drama wasn’t an inspiring start, but perhaps he needed to get the history lessons out of his system first. Following on from his debut feature, are a handful of short films, and the crime/mystery drama The Hollow (2016).

Then the 2017 horror Demons, and a second horror, Hallowed Ground, in 2019. That one includes lesbians, so expect them to be well written characters. In 2020 he teams up with Michael Donovan Horn for a horror/thriller The Dinner Party, so it looks like he has found his niche. Plenty of special effects, and room for corny acting.

His films include regular appearances from William Sadler, best known for roles in Die Hard 2 (1990), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and of course, as the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991). Sadler is returning as the Grim Reaper in the upcoming Bill & Ted Face the Music. Side note: I wholeheartedly agree with Hannah Ines Flint on the matter of Keanu’s beard (or lack thereof). 

So back to The Historian. Originally released in 2014, it is just over two hours long. If you have time to fill, other films clocking in at two hours plus change include Serpico (1973), Raging Bull (1980), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). 

The Historian drags—I had to watch it in two sittings, tired from all the eye-rolling. The script is littered with such profundities as “I hate death. It sucks balls”. And the combination of too many close-ups, and odd editing choices make for awkward viewing.

Then there is a horribly handled case of sexual assault, in which our hero repeatedly shouts “What did he do to you?!” in the face of the victim under the guise of protecting her. A little later, he interrupts her in the middle of her sit-down-cry-shower in order to give her a history lecture. Seriously dude, you’re not even going to pass her a towel? 

Doleac places himself front and centre as Professor Ben Rhodes, with hot young grad students swooning as he enters the room. There’s some Very Big Acting from minor characters, and painful attempts to give said characters depth: The sidekick, a zany professor guy (Colin Cunningham), is high energy. He smokes lots of cigarettes, see. And he dresses as a cowboy. And he likes guns. Every time Professor Rhodes gets stressed out he takes a swig from the handy bottle of pepto bismol. At this point I could be describing a Neil Breen picture. The Historian is not as bad as, say, Fateful Findings, but it certainly shares some of the Breen markers.

Doleac has the makings of a Breen type cult filmmaker. He’s no match for Tommy Wiseau, but it might not be such a terrible thing if he gave his ego free rein.