APRIL 19 — A few weeks back I wrote about four interesting films that are about to open in Malaysian cinemas.
One of them, The Raid 2: Berandal, was unfortunately banned by the local censors, thereby dashing the hopes of Malaysian fans of the first film to watch it in cinemas here. Another, the farewell film from Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, The Wind Rises, has just opened on Thursday.
The other two, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Oculus, have opened and have been getting good word-of-mouth from local netizens.
I wrote back then that out of the four, Oculus is the one that I’m most excited to see. And it looks like the strong buzz for the film ever since it premiered at the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto Film Festival has benefited it quite well, with the film made with a US$5-million (RM16.2 million) budget already grossing close to US$15 million in its first week in the US box-office charts, placing at third spot behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Rio 2, and surprisingly ahead of the Kevin Costner vehicle Draft Day for the week.
So, I’m sure you already know or have heard of Oculus by now, even though it is an indie movie. But the world of horror flicks, especially the B-grade ones, is a deep, dark place that not many want to explore. Even though most these B-movies are really bad, some of them are kind of fun to watch, or even good. Let’s see if I can tempt you to check out these flicks.
Dark house
This is the latest film from Victor Salva, director of Jeepers Creepers. And it is strictly a video-on-demand (something like Astro First here, but with way more films) affair. But a bit like everyone’s favourite segment in V/H/S/2, the Indonesian one in case you didn’t know, this one throws so many things into mix that you’re almost guaranteed to find something to like here. There’s a haunted house, a guy who can foresee people’s deaths when he touches them, some zombie-like bad guys, a devil’s child and even angels and demons!
Bad Milo!
The latest entry into the “evil baby” sub-genre of horror, this at first sounds like the It’s Alive movies, but with the monster coming out of the hero’s butt. Yes, you read that right. It’s a killer-butt-monster movie. The difference, this time around, is that it plays things for comedy, but what will really surprise those brave enough to give this supremely silly concept a try is how sweet and touching it sort of turns out. It’s still gross and funny, but the warm fuzzy feeling you’ll feel at the end will surprise you.
Holy ghost people
There’s nothing supernatural about this latest film from the Butcher Brothers, but the horror comes from watching how perverted people can get when their faith is exploited. Set in a fictional “snake-handling” church somewhere up in the mountains (although these churches apparently do exist), it belongs in the “cults-gone-wrong” subgenre wherein people do awful things just because they believe that God told them to.
13 sins
This is the American remake of the Thai movie 13: Game of Death, helmed by Daniel Stamm, director of The Last Exorcism. Is it any good? Surprisingly, especially for a remake of a film that I’ve seen and liked, it’s a pretty good watch. The whole premise is about a guy receiving a phone call, promising him a hefty amount of money if he completes 13 tasks, which — unbeknownst to him — become sicker and sicker as they progress. From simply eating a fly to eventually having to kill another human being, this will fascinate lots of people, I’m sure.
Almost human
Sci-fi horror, now that’s a subgenre that’s rarely explored by filmmakers today. But some 25-year-old dude called Joe Begos decided to do so with his low-budget first film Almost Human, and although it’s by no means a “proper movie” (the acting can only be kindly called ‘inconsistent’), in its focus and brevity (it’s only about 70 minutes long, INCLUDING the credits!) Begos has shown admirable talent for gore and icky stuff. The story about Mark, who was abducted by aliens and suddenly returns after two years, is just an excuse to kill off many people, quite creatively.
Dark touch
This is the most “proper” film on this list, and seeing that it’s directed by Marina De Van (who made the critically acclaimed In My Skin and Don’t Look Back) it shouldn’t be a surprise. Beautifully shot and paced, it also has a very strong subtext about child abuse and its effects, filtered through a story that can probably best be called “Carrie Jr.” If it’s puberty and peer pressure that causes Carrie to lose it, this film’s Carrie Jr. finds her powers awaken as a result of child abuse, and what happens after that is, quite simply put, horrific.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
