​The boundless potential of the Horror/Fantasy genre never ceases to amaze me.
 
What’s most impressive about films of this type is that possible subject matter can be found across every imaginable realm.  Medicine is always evolving, so it’s proven to be an incredible stomping ground for features.  Areas of this great nation rich in history continue to dish up scenarios involving local legends, be they swamp creatures, infamous killers, or ghouls.  Technology-laden high-rises have gotten into the business, giving storytellers one more place to situation their particulars ‘ghosts in the machine.’  And, of course, in countries where such people still abide, isn’t there some ancient Native American spirit just waiting to be woken up to begin killing again?
 
That’s kinda/sorta what you get with a package like The Unhealer (2020).  It kinda/sorta dabbles in the realm of a faith healer who has secretly harnessed a very dark power unbeknownst to the people he uses it on for profit.  Eventually, the spirit chooses a new host – one entirely unprepared for the challenges of having such dangerous skills – and before you know it the players are up the creek without so much as a canoe or a paddle.  While the structure – that of a wronged high school teenager exacting his revenge on his nefarious classmates – isn’t all that new, methinks there’s always a little magic left in the well to give audiences a suitable chill.
 
Directed by Martin Guigui with a script from newcomers Kevin E. Moore and J. Shawn Harris, The Unhealer ekes out modest rewards for those willing to go back to high school one more time … even if this time may be the last …
​

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging:
“A bullied teenager gains the means to fight back when a botched faith healing bestows supernatural, shamanistic powers upon him.  When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that causes the death of someone he loves, the teen uses his newfound abilities for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.”
 
There’s a lot to unpack with a script as chocked full at The Unhealer’s is, but not a lot of it is all that easy to swallow.  For starters, our protagonist/antagonist Kelly (played by Elijah Nelson) is not only a bit of a ‘local yokel’ (think ‘dweeb’) but also he suffers an eating disorder called Pica; this malady forces the sufferer to eat things of absolutely zero nutritional substance.  In Kelly’s case, this means clothing, pencil erasers, and well … you name it.  His smoking-hot small-town mother Bernice (the equally smoking-hot Natasha Henstridge) struggles to keep up with her son’s medical needs and putting food on the table.  And the town’s influx of a heavy Native American Indian population occasionally implies there’s some minor strife between them and the rest of us as exemplified by Sheriff Adler’s (Adam Beach) independence from his men and some of their reactions to him.  Suffice it to say, things aren’t exactly hunky dory in this little Arizona Cowtown.
 
Bernice’s desire to ultimately find a cure pushes her to consider the services of the traveling faith-healer, Dr. Pflueger (the great Lance Henriksen in a small role), with a name about as far from Indian-sounding as you can get.  Before you know it, Pflueger dies in the act of treating young Kelly but not before someone magically and mystically transferring his abilities to the young man.
 
Now, there’s still more to the plot, and therein lies my central issue with so much of The Unhealer: the script really tried to bite off a lot more than was required to present this world as audiences needed to know it.  Pretty soon, there’s a bitter high school football coach involved, all of this ‘healing’ and ‘revenge’ draws the attention of a local medicine man, and the subplots keep piling on like there’s no end.  To director Guigui’s credit, he keeps the action going at about the right pace – it clocks in at a cool 90 minutes – but far too many secondary characters feel like unnatural creations when a few less was all that was needed.

And need I point out: Could the budget really not afford to give actor Mike Gray a different shirt to wear?  He plays one of the high school bullies, the kind the audience knows from the beginning isn’t long for this world.  The young man only has a few scenes, they’re spread out over several different days, but he shows up only wearing the exact same t-shirt every time.  Hell, this was filmed in Arizona, not far from my neck of the woods, so if you folks would’ve showed up and asked I would’ve been happy to give you a few for the kid to wear!
 
There’s an efficiency that typically goes hand-in-hand with smaller Horror releases, and for the most part that works here: once Kelly gets his powers – ones that keep evolving based on his needs – the narrative shifts to the point where the standard teen revenge formula picks up the slack.  But when Guigui and his crew try to tinker with soft messaging – with great power comes great responsibility, we Indians must defeat this ancient evil, etc. – the film clunks along slowly.  It may’ve served all involved to reconsider what the catalyst for Kelly’s descent into darkness was, perhaps get to that a bit more quickly, and then let the bodies pile up in a single night as opposed to spreading this out.
 
It’s an imperfect ride, but it isn’t disappointing.  The effects are quite good, and the performances – a few understandably campy – are solid.  Nelson makes for an easygoing lead, and his gal pal Dominique (Kayla Carlson) have the right chemistry for a mismatched Romeo and Juliet.   It even ends – as many horror films do – with the hook for a sequel: here’s hoping if they dip back into these waters that they do so with a tighter tale.
 
I’d be remiss in my duties if I failed to point out that the film has been bestowed with some interesting honors.  It’s not uncommon for smaller yet well-produced features to garner recognition from the festival circuit, and this group has done quite well for itself.  In 2020, the film won the ‘Best Sci-Fi Feature’ Award from the Studio City Film Festival.  In 2021, it took home the trophy for ‘Best Supernatural Feature Film’ from the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival.  From the 2021 New York City International Film Festival, the title was bestowed top honors for the following: ‘Best Supporting Actor In A Feature Film,’ ‘Best Supporting Actress In A Feature Film,’ ‘Best Actor,’ ‘Best Actress,’ ‘Best Director,’ and ‘Best Feature Film.’  At the 2021 Jerome Indie Film and Music Festival, The Unhealer won the ‘Best Original Screenplay’ Jury Award.  And there’s more – a lot more – that interested readers can check out on the flick’s IMDB.com page.  It’s indeed some impressive accomplishments.
​

The Unhealer (2020) was produced by Horror Business Films, Sunset Pictures, 7 Ideas, and Gama Entertainment Partners.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Shout Studios.  As for the technical specifications?  This nifty little thriller looks and sounds very good: I did notice in a few sequences what sounded as if the dialogue maybe had to be ‘fixed’ in post-production, as there were sequences wherein spoken words were clearly recorded in a small space.
 
As for the special features?  Meh.  Granted, it’s nice to have something as opposed to nothing, but these really feel more like the old-style bloated advertising bits as opposed to anything bold and fresh.  There’s a gag reel, some deleted scenes (nothing grand), some alternate takes, and behind-the-scenes cast interviews.  Again, it’s nice … but haven’t we been here before?
 
(Mildly) Recommended.
 
I think the best that can be said about a second-tier Horror/Fantasy flick like The Unhealer is that it feels like it should be an adaptation of a Stephen King story done in the 1980’s … but I was never that big a fan of those earlier adaptations.  Still, they had a charm all of their own by taking a story’s central conceit – here, the healer and the young boy’s somewhat twisted abilities to heal and otherwise – and exploiting it to maximum viewer gain.  In that regard, Unleader is surprisingly light when it could’ve gone full gore – maybe it should have? – but still makes for a passable 90-minute experience with some Native American Indian occult influence.  Plus … Lance Henriksen.  Second plus … Natasha Henstridge.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Shout Studios provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Unhealer by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

​-- EZ

I've watched a fair share of Science Fiction and Fantasy releases that have come out of Russia over the past two decades or so, and I can honestly say that they've much improved over what's been released previously (at least so much as I've seen).  Their effects work has really taken hold as the stories have grown bigger and bigger; while some of the tales have been a bit derivative, I've no problem saying that I think that nation state promises some big things in the years ahead ... so far as entertainment is concerned.  Now, I've yet to see a flick from them that can artistically compete across the board with U.S., Japanese, and Chinese works; but it's nice to see the gap narrowing.

In any event, word reached me recently about an upcoming release: The Superdeep (aka Superdeep) looks kinda/sorta like a mash-up of ideas explored in The Core (2003) by way of The Thing (1982).  There's clearly a bit of subterranean isolation going on, and these unfortunate diggers have unearthed something that they should've left alone in the deep dark, that's for sure.  Here's the film's premise as provided by our friends at IMDB.com:

"A small research team went down below the surface to find out what secret the world's deepest borehole was hiding. What they have found turned out to be the greatest threat in history. And the future of humanity is in their hands."

The press release I've reviewed indicates that this one hits the streets (as well as streaming outlets) on January 4th ... just in time to ring in the new year ... with fright!

Trailer is below.  You folks know what to do with that.
​

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Oh my goodness!  You'd think by now that there have been enough films showing society exactly what can go wrong with even attempting a modest go-round of bringing anyone back from the dead but, sure enough, it looks like another young person is giving it a go.  At least, that would appear to be the premise behind the 2020 Horror release An Unquiet Grave.  Have movies really taught us so little, people?

Written (in part) and directed by Terence Krey, the film stars Jacob A. Ware and Christine Nyland (who also cowrote the piece) in the tale of -- you guessed it -- the reanimation of a corpse.  Here's the plot summary as provided by the good folks at IMDB.com:

"A year after the death of his wife, a man enlists her sister to help him bring her back."

According to the studio's press release, this one is set for release on January 18, 2022; and the disc even looks to have a nice spread of extras.

AN UNQUIET GRAVE DVD bonus features include:
·       Filmmaker Commentary
·       Lyric Video of “The Unquiet Grave” by Vanessa Cuccia
·       Interviews with the Cast and Director
·       An Unquiet Grave Special Effects
·       Nightstream World Premiere Q&A

​To take things a step further in the information department, IMDB.com also indicates that the flick was screened for audiences at the 2020 FANtastic Horror Film Festival held in San Diego, California.  It garnered an incredible four nominations in the categories of 'Best Actor In A Feature Film,' 'Best Actress In A Feature Film,' 'Best Supernatural Horror,' and 'Best Feature Film.'  That's an impressive roster of attention indeed!

Trailer is below ... and you folks know what to do.
​

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Argh.  It looks like I'm going to have to add a few titles to my viewing Bucket List.

Honestly, I've largely avoided the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet as I've been told by many, many others that the striking visuals don't always add up to the total package (or whatever that might mean).  See, I'm a visual guy so long as the visuals support the narrative, enhance the storytelling, etc.  Striking scenery without meat on them there bones just ends up leaving me feeling empty, as is the case with much of Guillermo del Toro's film library.  Don't hate on me for it: it's just how my brain is wired.  I've long maintained that my opinions are my opinions solely, and that's why I shy away from shucking so many recommendations as other fanboy-specific sites tend to do.

Still, I suppose I'm going to have to loosen up my tastes as I do so very much like a good robot apocalypse, which looks to be on the menu with Jeunet's forthcoming BigBug (aka Bigbug or simply Big Bug) ... it's too soon to tell, and I'm seeing it reported in multiple ways.  A teaser trailer has recently dropped, and it looks ... well ... interesting, to say the least.  Here's the story's premise as provided by our good friends at IMDB.com:

"A group of bickering suburbanites find themselves stuck together when an android uprising causes their well intentioned household robots to lock them in for their own safety."

That certainly sounds like something 'up my alley,' doesn't it?  I think so.  It looks like this one doesn't hit Netflix until February, so I do have some free time between now and then to perhaps brush on the director's other titles.  If I can squeeze something in, then I'll post some thoughts on the MainPage for posterity's sake.

Trailer is below.  You know what to do.
​

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ

While it’s true that Science Fiction largely found its way into Hollywood production mills during the 1950’s, I’ve often argued that it wasn’t until the 1980’s that storytellers truly found the means to spin yarns to the benefit of the widest audience possible.
 
For example, SciFi of the 1950’s is often characterized as creature features – monsters that would send a chill up viewers’ spines – and the industry banked on these films’ abilities to thrill watchers more than anything else.  The 1960’s saw Science Fiction evolve cinematically as filmmakers worked to raise the stakes, position mankind at a cultural crossroads, and finally start to use these features to say something about the human race.  The 1970’s?  Well, with a few notable exceptions, audiences were treated to somewhat darker tales where a totalitarian future spelled even greater doom, more so for the individuals as opposed to all of mankind.
 
As for the 1980’s?
 
Well, studios started to dial back the grim messages and instead found that SciFi could be used to entertain the masses-at-large.  Stories started to even have a ‘feel good’ focus again, and this opened the door for more family-friendly tales for the great, growing middle class who long thought the movies had left them behind.  The 1980’s gave us such benchmarks as TRON (1982), The Last Starfighter (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), Back To The Future (1985), and Short Circuit (1986).  Granted, each of these films may’ve retained an element of darkness in some small measure; but the overall tone still pushed them away from seedier or academic leanings into the pop culture mainstream.
 
However, not every attempt was successful.
 
It’s natural for some features to struggle to find an audience, but how and why did My Stepmother Is An Alien come up so short in that regard?  It featured popular talent.  It came from some solid, industry-proven backers.  It even cast Kim Basinger in a central role near the height of her professional fame and fortune!  Alas, it just wasn’t quite meant to be … and I think I have a good idea why.
​

(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging:
“When widowed astronomer Steve Mills inadvertently causes a gravitational disruption in deep space, a race of hyper-advanced alien lifeforms sends one of their own to investigate, disguised in the alluring human form of Celeste.  Tasked with seducing the lovelorn Steve in a bid to gain access to his scientific research, Celeste finds herself falling for the man she’s been sent to swindle.  But they’ve not counted on Steve’s young daughter Jessie, who’s none too thrilled by the prospect of a new mother – especially not one from another planet.”
 
Ahem.
 
To be frank, My Stepmother Is An Alien is a film probably not fondly remembered by most who had the good fortune (or misfortune?) of seeing it on its original theatrical run.  I’ve read that the motion picture has developed a bit of a cult following over the years – I couldn’t quite say why, though it’s clearly one of actress Basinger’s only true comic performances and is worth seeing for her (and Jon Lovitz) alone.  I worked briefly in the video rental industry for a time, and I do recall it being a mildly popular rental, much of that owed (from what I recall) to Dan Aykroyd’s presence as his was still a popular household name in those days.  Thirty-plus years later, the flick is still a bit goofier than it is looney, and I think only fans of traditional slapstick (The Three Stooges comes to mind) probably got a kick out of it.  Dare I point out that most of its jokes have also been done elsewhere – and done much better?
​

​In any event, I find it hard to find much to praise in a motion picture that so clearly staked out at comic middleground at every opportunity.  Saturday Night Live’s Jon Lovitz pretty much recreates anything and everything he’s already been doing (for free!) in his television gig; his character Ron (Aykroyd’s brother) really only has a handful of scenes, but he manages to elevate the material just a bit when on screen.  Newcomer Alyson Hannigan comfortably steps into tomboy shoes here as the title’s stepdaughter, and she handles her time affably enough to show she had the ‘diamond in the rough’ potential.  By comparison, Aykroyd seems so much like his Ghostbusters’ character here one might wonder if that spook-chaser was simply laid off and went to work in astronomy.
 
As a construct, the film really just takes no risks.  It stays right in the middle of the road from start-to-finish.  Creatively and artistically, all of it just feels like it’s ‘there,’ not a bad place to be but certainly not one worthy of any greater attention.  Its SciFi elements aren’t strong enough to draw in traditional SciFi viewers; and its comedy elements – while a bit decidedly old-fashioned – never really offer up something that hasn’t been tried before.  In the final estimation, everything’s just … well … lukewarm.
 
I think the critical problem with Stepmother is that it’s a film that’s hard to enjoy on its own merits and doesn’t compete well against other like-minded properties.  It has very little to distinguish itself from the opposition and quite possibly ends up appearing more like background noise instead of anything exceptional in and of itself.  That’s particularly disappointing given the comic work in here – Basinger is always fetching to watch, and she clearly invests in her work here – but, as they say, it is what it is.  Without something to differentiate itself, this one just played it way too safe, maybe even way too conventional to draw the attention of a wider audience.
​

My Stepmother Is An Alien (1988) was produced by (the short-lived) Weintraub Entertainment Group.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by Arrow Video.  As for the technical specifications?  It’s reported that this is an all-new 2K restoration from the original camera negative, and this one definitely looks very solid from start-to-finish.  It’s worthy of note that the effects are a bit amateurish by today’s standards, but they have their own charm not uncommon to the era of the late 1980’s.
 
As for the special features?  There’s a nice 15-minute interview with director Benjamin that’s worth a listen.  Critic Bryan Reesman turns in a solid audio commentary, though he darts and weaves tangentially throughout much of the track.  Granted, this was a ‘lesser release’ for its day and it’s likely that not an awful lot was written about the flick, so he certainly does the best he can with the material available to him.  Lastly, there’s an essay about the story’s various roles written by Amanda Reyes in the enclosed booklet.
 
(Mildly) Recommended.
 
Honestly, this kind of shtick isn’t for everyone, but fans of old-school style slapstick and farce should find a bit of enjoyment in My Stepmother Is An Alien.  Basinger gives a good performance as the Earthbound visitor whose task it is to save her species while inadvertently dooming our own, and Aykroyd hits all of his marks with equal nerdish aplomb.  It’s great to see a young Hannigan just getting started in the business, and those watching closely will catch the equally young Seth Green with a few scenes.  Though rated PG-13 (mostly for the bits with obvious sexuality), this is mostly tame and clearly written for the young-at-heart.  Passable … but only by a bit.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Video provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of My Stepmother Is An Alien (1988) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

Stick with me, peeps. 

​I’m not gonna do as others have done as of late and give you a full postmortem on Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections (2021).  As I’ve always promised, I try to have something relevant to say about a film whenever I breach the top for a review; having watched this one over the holiday (with the wifey, who indulged me, thank you very much!), I’ll admit to being more than a bit disappointed with it … so much so that I don’t think the film deserves a full review.  But I do have a few thoughts.
 
Now, right up front, I’m going to be as specific as I can when I say I didn’t dislike the film.  I think it had a purpose to serve – at least, so far as I’ve followed the scuttlebutt regarding Wachowski’s desire to go back into the well even though he/she and his/her brother/sister have long stated they had nothing else to add to the mythology.  As I understand Lana’s change of heart was owed to the passing of her mother, certainly a life-changing event for us all; and this experience served up an epiphany for the storyteller which she thought deserved a creative outlet.  Thus, the story behind Resurrections was born.  In that respect, a purpose was served.
 
As for the rest of us?
 
When all was said and done and the credits rolled, I was more than a bit befuddled.  My position on franchise installments is that these features have a bigger task than stand-alones as audiences see them as additional chapters to an ongoing story.  Something must be added to the universe.  It isn’t enough to, say, merely tell the next day-in-the-life of Neo aka Thomas Anderson (played by star Keanu Reeves); it has to deepen his experiences.  It has to put another brick not so much in the wall as it is a part of the foundation to a character that transcends others.  After all, Neo’s life became the subject of great philosophical debate: like it or not, he’s been equated as a cinematic Jesus (of sorts) by pundits and pontificators alike … so if you’re going to craft a sequel to his bible then it damn well better have something to say.
 
Therein lies my problem with Resurrections: ultimately, it cheapens the experience, diluting Neo’s existence – ‘the One’ – to the point wherein he’s only half as important as before – now ‘the Two.’
 
Sure, love is all around us (as the lyrics go), but love wasn’t missing from the original Matrix trilogy.  It was there – front and center – along with a helluva lotta other ideas that challenge us as individuals, how we see and value life, and how we see and value things like culture, class, and society.  Neo had a role to serve, and inevitably that led to his personal sacrifice.  But in the world of Resurrections …?  Well, the trilogy was essentially reduced to nothing more than a game (of sorts), a cultural phenomenon that was used to hoodwink a society back into subservience.  The weight of what happened – of what was lost – was wiped from the slate, and now we were starting over … all for the sake of love.
 
Huh.
 
Love stories come and go, and I suppose maybe there’s something benign about recrafting a seminal trilogy away from being an intellectual exercise and (ahem) dumbing it down to one-plus-one-equals-two.  There are still interesting talking points one might take away from a single viewing of the new flick; but I dare say this one won’t have the legs to keep people talking about it long enough for the Wachowskis to cash their check.  Maybe that sounds like I’m disappointed: I’m really not … I just see very little reason for this film to ever have been made beyond except for the point of being made.  Men have climbed mountains for the same reason, and so here we are.
 
I saw much of the first half of Resurrections as taking swipes at the first three films and even the audience who embraced them.  That’s a precarious starting position to develop a relationship that usually grows in the dark – between the shadows and light – but if your desire is to watch a film and then forget about it, this Resurrection’s for you.

​-- EZ

It’s the most wonderful time of the year … to blog, that is!
 
Well, let’s be honest: is it ever really a ‘wonderful time’ to blog?  Sure, I manage to have an awful lot of fun doing what I do these days, but like so many out there in the wide, wide world of the Information Superhighway, I do heartily agree that print is pretty much dead.  Alas, so few folks read any longer – an absolute crying shame but arguably the end result of shoving so much visual media down our collective throats for decades.  Still, I persist – as do those others – and I strive to bring you only the best observations possible from my feeble ol’ brain.
 
In any event, this is the time of year when other blogs, magazines, and newspaper outlets are inundating you with their ‘best of’ lists – essential reflections back on what 2021 meant to the state of the art.  As I’ve often said, I don’t do ‘lists’ of that sort because I’ve found them incredibly repetitive and offering so little value to a readership.  Instead, I do support throwing up a list of what truly entertained me as a viewer … and if this inspiration continues there might be a few more of them forthcoming.
 
In the meantime, I thought I’d offer up the first ‘The Most Fun I Had In 2021’ observation, this one highlighting my more memorable experiences with television and streaming.  These programs may or may not have been produced for consumption in 2021; but I found them in 2021, I enjoyed them in 2021, and that’s precisely why they’re falling on this list.  Buyer beware.
​

Dark (Netflix)
 
As an active blogger, I’d read a reasonable amount exploring Dark, the German-language SciFi sensation so many folks worldwide had experienced on the streaming giant, Netflix; but as Netflix’s CEO is a rabid anti-American political blowhard I avoided the service for as long as I could.  I broke down earlier this year, solely on the recommendation of so many to check this one out for posterity’s sake.  I’m glad I did … though I’ll never be glad that I give Netflix any of my hard-earned cash.
 
It’s hard to describe the plot of Dark.  Like ABC’s Lost (in its heyday), it has a relatively simple construct, but it quickly grows and changes the way any intriguing premise should.  Basically, Dark’s core premise is that folks discover a subterranean doorway that allows them to access the future or the past, and they go about trying to unlock the sleeping little berg’s various secrets with an eye toward fixing what went wrong.  They’re human – which means they’re flawed – and they end up messing things up even worse.  Eventually, setting things back-on-track will require more incredible sacrifices, and bringing the show to closure truly demonstrated what’s bittersweet about remaining mortal beings in a world without end.
 
I waded through all three seasons this past year.  While I found the first two exceptional, Season Three lost a bit of its edge in ways equally hard to define (in part, without spoiling the experience); a lot of threads had to be tied back together, and I found some of the subplots that developed in the final hours a bit unnecessary.  Were I a gambling man, I’d suggest the writers wanted to tie it up more quickly and ended up padding it a wee bit?  I’ll never know, but I still had a helluva lotta fun with the show, giving it the top spot for my TV year.
​

Resident Alien (Syfy)
 
I’ve often stated unequivocally in this space that Science Fiction and Comedy are genres incredibly difficult to mix and ‘get it right.’  Generally speaking, Comedy alone is a difficult concept – each of us has our own sense of humor, which is why some jokes work and others don’t – and you could stick 100 SciFi junkies in a single room, ask them to define the genre, and get 100 different definitions.  Blending such themes – and blending them seamlessly – is an immeasurably difficult proposition, but Resident Alien creator Chris Sheridan and his merry band of writers did a fabulous job in their inaugural season on Syfy.
 
As can happen, much of the show’s visual success gets tied directly to its performers.  Funnyman Alan Tudyk’s genius as an actor may’ve finally found a home; he’s long been a fan favorite in programs like Firefly and the (all too) short-lived Powerless, and here he balances the requirements of cluelessness and malevolence with deft charm: he plays an alien crash-landed on the planet he was sent to destroy.  Corey Reynolds plays the small-town sheriff with big-town, dime-novel attitude, and I think he had me laughing almost as much of Tudyk.  The rest of the cast is a solid ensemble hitting their fair share of manic notes – Sara Tomko, Alice Wetterlund, and Elizabeth Bowen are standouts – and the show’s “fish-out-of-water-who-wants-to-destroy-our-planet” is pitch perfect for these end times we’re living in.
 
If anything, Resident Alien runs the risk of losing steam if it can’t evolve beyond the obvious joke of its premise.  It is on Syfy, after all, and the network has an unfortunate track record of cancelling show well before their narrative expiration date.  Still, I’ll be watching when this one returns to the airwaves and hoping against hope that the team can continue to deliver.
​

Lost In Space (Netflix)
 
Wowzers.  Here’s one that I honestly didn’t expect … but here goes any way.
 
I had the good fortune of watching Netflix’s reimagination of the SciFi/TV Classic – Irwin Allen’s Lost In Space – first season on DVD.  I wasn’t all that impressed.  Yes, the effects were all very good, and the showrunners stayed mostly true to the program’s original premise of exploring the adventures of a family truly lost in space … but they were the usual Hollywood tinkerings I tend to despise.  For example, these Robinsons weren’t necessarily the wholesome do-gooders of the late 1960’s: this was a split family – Maureen birthed Judy from a relationship before her marriage to John Robinson – and there were a few other diversions I won’t belabor.  The comically nefarious Dr. Smith was remade as a woman – one with decidedly pathological tendencies – and a whole host of supporting players were added to a cast of hundreds traveling to Alpha Centauri.  Lastly, the show’s central robot wasn’t a member of their crew, instead re-envisioned as a member of a sentient alien race meant to serve as the series’ villain (not this particular robot, but his species).
 
There were just too many changes for this old dog, and I resigned myself to believing that Lost In Space had evolved so far that it left me behind … and I was okay with that.  People change, times change, and audiences change; and if this one was to go on in a different direction, so be it.  I tuned in for Season Two just to see what happened next, only to find out that I was surprisingly drawn back in now that the program truly resembled much more the classic formula: the Robinsons were on their own once more trying to eke out a way back to their original group.  I hung with it, and I’m glad I did.
 
Season 3 turned in a fitting finale, one that brought this incarnation of the program to excellent closure, each member of the family finding his or her place in the universe.  Even Dr. Smith found a bit of redemption for the choices she had made along the way.  While I could quibble with some of the lesser points of the season, I think it ended on just the right note … with family being restored but a final recognition that we, as explorers, have a desire to keep going … and Will Robinson and his robot would do just that.
 
Hats off to a solid 2021 in TV Land.  Here’s hoping for an even better one in 2022.
 
Honorable Mention:  it isn’t SciFi or Fantasy, but Netflix’s Money Heist was truly a mesmerizing experience.  This international caper series arguably is one for the record books.

​-- EZ

​I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: what I find enduring about anthologies is that I get more bang for my buck – more story for my brain – and that’s why I gravitate toward them when given the chance.  Granted, there aren’t as many stand-alone films that tinker with the format any more these days, and even television shows seem to have tossed the formula aside for the hot trend in long-form storytelling; but for those of us who remain willing to seek out and explore alternative choices for our entertainment diet, the anthology feature will likely always remain a staple … even the lesser flicks.
 
Horror-themed compilations seem to have always struck a positive chord with TV audiences.  Rod Serling’s seminal The Twilight Zone certainly tapped several installments that leaned heartily into the realm of fright.  The Outer Limits, I thought, played more with the tropes of Science Fiction, but stories never passed up the chance to send a chill up the spines of viewers when given the chance.  All one need to is explore some of the stellar episodes of Night Gallery, Tales From The Darkside, Tales From The Crypt, and even the contemporary chiller that is Shudder’s Creepshow to see that there’s still oil in ‘them thar hills’ if a competent group of storytellers are willing to invest the time and effort into drilling deep and letting the black gold flow.
 
Recently, I was contacted about the horror anthology release Monsters In The Closet.  As I understand, this flick is due for release digitally and On Demand this forthcoming January 4th, 2022.  Essentially, it’s a collection of four different stories all linked together around a central thread; and the feature stars such names as Jasmine Flores, Shanna Bess, Valerie Bittner, Tom Cikoski, and Camilla Crawford.  Also as I understand, actress Flores even had a solid hand in the screenplay (let’s hear it for the multi-talented girl!), and it’s directed by the Snygg Brothers in what appears to be their debut motion picture.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
​

From the film’s promotional materials:
​“When famous horror author Raymond Grant dies under mysterious circumstances, his daughter returns home to investigate his death. Jasmin discovers her father was using evil black magic to write his newest horror masterpiece. When the author's audio book is played out loud monsters, zombies and terrifying beings spring from the undead pages to haunt the living. Never open a Pandora box that can't be closed.”
 
Alas, the independent feature may not be to every audience’s liking, but I think it’s slowly becoming stronger than ever.  As even everyone’s cell phone these days is built to capture some fairly high-definition affairs, every Tom, Dick, and Harry is given the chance to tell his story; and all of this ends up being to the benefit of the ordinary consumer.  On a daily basis, we’re given access to more and more avenues with which to explore tales.  Granted, budgets for indie fare will always lag well behind studio efforts; but this will always push for screenwriters, directors, and the like to get more creative with their big ideas while spending less.
 
This is precisely what The Snygg Brothers have accomplished with their modest little chiller/thriller Monsters In The Closet, an anthology constructed around the late-breaking stories of now-deceased author Raymond Grant.  His dying effort saw the writer penning these shorts with the aid of black magic, and said wizardry would bring the tales to life when they’re read aloud.  As one can imagine, the audio adaptation is about to be killer!
 
As the construct goes, the short segments involving Grant’s surviving daughter, Jasmine, really only form a loose spine.  Though they do tap into an element of each diversion – just as the black magic promised to do – her sequences do feel a bit more like shadows between the substance.  It’s the short stories themselves that provide the greater body of work for viewers, and they’re an assortment of understandably grim fiction all leaning a bit darkly comic.
 
Imagine (if you will) that a person infected with the zombie virus actually lives on perfectly normal in the brain – while the brain-eating body has a mind and appetite all its own – and you get the thrust of ‘Please Kill Me Again.’  In it, our POV narrator goes about the zombie apocalypse as one of the Undead but continues to insist – in her mind – that she’s perfectly normal … well, except for the fact that she suddenly finds human flesh appetizing.  This installment opens the picture with, perhaps, it’s most relatable vignette largely because AMC’s The Walking Dead and its various spinoffs have managed to reignite our collective fascination with this particular subgenre of Horror; and it only slowly reveals its trump card – that our storyteller has crossed over as a ‘walker’ – while she keeps narrating like it’s any other Saturday night.  Honestly, this one makes for some good laughs.
​

‘Home Improvement’ is a classic Haunted House tale with an incisively modern twist: these young homebuyers’ obsession with perfecting their dream purchase – the way couples do these days in practically every other show on HGTV – grows increasingly more dire, depraved, and desperate as the house itself refuses to cooperate.  One faulty remodel after another puts our lovebirds not only aback but progressively at odds with one another, up until the point of insults, shoving, and (finally) maiming.  Performances are a good though the actors were a bit too canned in early moments; still, it all winds up being mildly refreshing once ‘This Old House’ truly inspires them to refocus their saws, knives, chainsaws, and sledgehammers on each other.  Seriously, folks: this one could easily be expanded into a feature film (with some creativity and a bigger budget), but it works very good here as is.
 
If there’s any obvious weak link in here, then I’d throw that toward ‘The One Percenters.’  It’s the film’s most predictable descent into madness here wherein our young, lovely lady from wealth – Tiffany – chooses to defy daddy’s wishes and explore a weekend away with a young Italian stud.  (Hubba hubba!)  As fate would have it, some benign misunderstandings brings out the worst in li’l Tiff, and she results to murdering anyone and everyone she can in order to cover up her misdeeds.  A bit undercooked and more than a bit predictable, it really goes nowhere other than to serve as one more look at the darkness of the human mind; I just wish it had more substance.  I will say that actress Jordan Flippo is exceedingly easy on the eyes, so there’s that.
 
Ahem.  Now, don’t take this the wrong way (or even the right way, for that matter), but ‘Frankenstein’s Wife’ could’ve used a bit of restraint in the comedy department.  This tale amps up the lunacy by making a modern Doctor Frankenstein into a bit of an Inspector Gadget – a goofy, looney brainiac who desperately loves his modern ‘Housewife Of New Jersey’ to the point of reanimating her each and every time after he accidentally offs her.  Yes, yes, yes: the jokes work just fine, and John Paul Fedele’s performance as the ‘mad doctor’ is understandably over-the-top.  Because the heart’s in the right place with this one, I’ll give its obvious camp a pass, though it bordered real close to saccharin.  I suppose inadvertently turning his beloved into a lumbering ball of flesh in the last reel was his last reward; pardon me if I don’t see the attraction.
​

Recommended.
 
As is often the case with independent chillers, Monsters In the Closet won’t played to everyone’s sensibilities, though the four short tales do (surprisingly) cater to a wide array of sensibilities.  Usually, one only has to worry about zombies, but the Snygg Brothers managed to pack in some alternative frights like a house that’ll never be fixed, a lovely coed who discovers her latent homicidal tendencies, and a mad scientist who’s a bit cuckoo for something other than cocoa puffs.  Some of the writing is a bit puerile – the mad scientist’s sequence clearly caters to the very young and young-at-heart – but this is all harmless fun at society’s expense … and there’s nothing wrong with that, Schmoopies.  (Trust me: you’ll get the reference if you know it.)
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that I was provided a complimentary streaming opportunity to review Monsters In The Closet by request; and the contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

​-- EZ

​In my trials reviewing film, it’s exceeding rare that I have to watch a film more than once to figure out what the flick truly said to me.  Honestly, it’s occasionally more common for me to do that with foreign releases as I find subtitling an occasionally frustrating experience (I don’t read as fast as others) … and I absolutely hate dubbing (yes, I find those lip movements distracting, too).  Typically, I’m inclined to rewatch what I feel are important sections with dubbing just to see if anything was strengthened by the process; more often I find it’s the opposite.  Given the choice, I’ll take subtitles over dubbing six days a week and twice on Sunday.
 
In any event, I will rewatch a feature when I find it a bit confusing; and – be warned – that was the case with The Snake Girl And The Silver-Haired Witch.  I’ll be discussing that below – though I’m always careful to warn you about spoilers, I’m giving you plenty of advance notice here because what I discuss does include a major plot development (not so much a twist, just a big reveal) – and I’m inclined to believe that regular folks might catch these kinda/sorta big disconnects as well.  They’re very obvious.
 
Now, just because I’m being honest about some problems with the narrative doesn’t mean the film has nothing to offer.  I think you’ll find it reasonably well constructed, and it certainly taps into an almost film noir atmosphere to weave this particular tale as well as it does.  But I think it’s safe to say that those most familiar with a greater understanding of ‘snakes’ and ‘witches’ as they permeate Japanese culture are going to get more out of this flick than I did.  That’s not an insult; it’s just an honest reflection.  I’m sure there’s stuff in here that didn’t resonate with me as it may’ve with Japanese audiences.  Such is the nature of cultural divide.
 
But – final warning – expect to be spoiled a bit below.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging:
“A young girl named Sayuri is reunited with her estranged family after years in an orphanage – but trouble lurks within the walls of the large family home.  Her mother is an amnesiac after a car accident six months earlier, her sullen sister is confined to a hidden attic room, and a young housemaid dies inexplicably of a heart attack just before Sayuri arrives … is it all connected to her father’s work studying venomous snakes?  And is the fanged, serpentine figure that haunts Sayuri’s dreams the same one spying on her through holes in the wall?”
 
For the record, I’ve read folks who suggest that The Snake Girl is one of the earliest entries in J-Horror (Japanese Horror), and I’m not certain that’s entirely accurate.  I mention it because after watching this thing thrice it’s arguably light on any horror elements, especially given the supposed ending wherein most of its fantasy elements are even swept away in the reveal.  While there are elements to the remaining story that smack of things commonly tied in with Horror (as a genre), I’d personally still stop short of calling this one much more than a melodrama, maybe even a thriller … and that’s definitely the case after the audience knows what’s up.
 
And therein lies my problem with the flick: it really doesn’t fit easily into any genre category.  Instead, it kinda/sorta steals bits and pieces from one variety, uses them to their fullest, and then grasps at themes from another, continuing this cycle whenever the narrative twists and turns.  And just about the time the picture seems like it’s going to settle down and tell its story one way, director Noriaki Yuasa throws in a dream sequence that pushes it back toward the realm of Fantasy, only to then allow it to bend and weave whichever way it might until the next nightmare.

Consequently, The Snake Girl – like its characters from the title – is a macabre mix of drama and Fantasy that never quite finds one thread but chooses to pluck at several.  Even Kimiyuki Hasegawa’s script (based on the Kazuo Kozu manga) can’t quite seem to get its facts right as one scene posits our young protagonist Sayuri Nanjo (played by Yachie Matsui) was switched at birth with Tamami Nanjo (Mayumi Takahashi) while an even later segment suggests the girls are unrelated and two years apart in birth dates.  Sadly, this is never definitively cleared up, and it matters somewhat significantly to the story.
 
Quibbles aside (and I had plenty), I suppose that it’s still an interesting experiment in storytelling, though one wonders if these shortcomings could be the result of an inferior bout of English subtitling.  I’d hold out that being the possibility if I hadn’t listened to the disc’s commentary track … which also points out the film’s inconsistencies but then praises them as strengths.  (???)  Maybe this ultimately confirms it just isn’t a flick for me – I do look for the parts to add up to a digestible whole – though I’ll admit I still had fun with the performances and some of the camera work.  It’s smartly captured … just dumbly written at times.
 
The Snake Girl And The Silver-Haired Witch (1968) is produced by Daiei.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by the reliable Arrow Video.  As for the technical specifications?  The film looks very, very good; its dream sequences are obviously a bit dated (by today’s sensibilities) but they work largely owed to the ‘fractured fairy tale’ conceit of the whole picture.  As for the special features?  There’s an examination of the manga upon which the film is based, some image galleries, and a helpful commentary from David Kalat, critic and scholar of Japanese film.  For those truly looking for suggestions, watch the film first and then check out Kalat’s commentary: though I disagree with some of his praise, I did get some mileage out of his ‘lecture’ that made me appreciate some of the smaller elements of the film.  It’s a good presentation worth your time.
 
Mildly recommended.
 
As big a fan of older SciFi and Fantasy films as I am, I’m a bit surprised that I didn’t like The Snake Girl And The Silver-Haired Witch more.  It certainly has all the right elements – a young damsel in distress, a somewhat dreamy ‘Twin Peaks’ style atmosphere, and some excellent cinematography and early effects sequences – and yet I was left feeling mostly hollow over the affair.  I guess I just never felt all that interested in Sayuri’s character enough to legitimately care about her experiences here, and as she’s clearly the emotional core of everything here I just end up a bit apathetic to it all.
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Arrow Video provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Snake Girl And The Silver-Haired Witch by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it. 

​-- EZ

Have you ever had one of those films that you truly loved … right up until the last second?  Yes, I suspect we’ve all experienced this phenomenon.
 
Generally, a last-minute twist implies that – if you weren’t watching closely – you’re not going to appreciate where the story ultimately goes, much less care whether or not that train is even still on the tracks.  M. Night Shyamalan has built an entire career on ripping the rug out on you in the last reel.  Programs like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits managed to turn in season after season of such curious fare, but it’s been my experience that their reveals usually were within one’s grasp if you were paying attention or asked yourself the right questions.
 
Broadcast Signal Intrusion tries to accomplish some of the same, but it’s a vastly more psychological story than it is anything else.  This cautionary tale about what motivates us to seek out and answer our own life’s personal mysteries works exceedingly well up until those final moments.  Some might find them controversial, and some might find them lazy.  But if you’re reading this, then you’re likely interested in knowing what I thought about it … and the best I can say is that – like spoiling the effect of a good cocktail – director Jacob Gentry killed my buzz.
 
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
 
From the product packaging: “For three years, James has been haunted by his wife’s sudden and inexplicable disappearance.  His best distraction is work – specifically, archiving old videos.  While watching decade-aged TV news footage one night, he sees a video interference that’s deeply disturbing.  And it’s not the only interference he’ll see.  As his obsession over these strange clips increases, and he submerges himself into their mysteries, James discovers troubling connections to his missing wife.  Which will these broadcast intrusions bring him, though: long-desired answers or a never-ending nightmare?”
 
Trust me: I love a good conspiracy theory.  Always have.  Likely always will.  However, having read countless books exploring some of the most bizarre conspiracies that have emerged from the past few hundred years of what we’re supposed to call ‘human civilization,’ I can tell you one thing assuredly: the more you think about any hypothesis, the more likely it becomes that you can tie it to yourself.
 
And I think that’s a truth somehow near and dear to why so many folks are swept up in the latest craze: without a whole lot of effort, it’s easy to deduce that you or someone you know or perhaps even someone from your family tree might be linked to the wildest notions.  Which among us wouldn’t want – in some small way – to become a part of history?  To transcend the ordinary and become part and parcel of what might be written down and preserved for decades?  Perhaps even taught to like-minded souls once your role in it has been exposed?
​

​As much as some might be inclined to make more of Broadcast Signal Intrusion, I can’t help but think that’s the only truth in here, other than some very good character moments experienced by James (played by Glee’s Harry Shum Jr., in a great break-out style performance that ought to lead to more opportunities).  He’s found something that finally pulls him out of the doldrums of his forced isolation, and – for better or for worse – he’s decided to invest all of himself in a trip that might ultimately take him to the proverbial Looney Bin.  It’s a descent into madness – the kind that can’t be stopped once you’ve crossed a line – and no amount of kind words or supportive phrases are likely to bring him back after he’s stepped over the edge.
 
Now, I’ll agree with any contingent of the audience that suggests perhaps this Intrusion could’ve – ahem – ended a bit differently.  As much as I found it interesting, it also serves to kinda/sorta disconnect the viewer from experiencing the film.  (Without spoiling it, let me clarify it this way: I hate split-screening – the act of showing two different locations in a single frame – because it pulls me out of the story, reminding me that I’m watching a film.  To me, that kills the mood, and it kinda/sorta defeats my identifying with characters because they’re no longer authentic but human props to a director and screenwriter.)  Think of it as an intrusion within an intrusion, and maybe you can even understand that I’m not a big fan of breaking that fourth wall (between the film and me).  I think I understand what was narratively being said, but because moments like this are always subject to interpretation, maybe I don’t after all.
 
There are other ways of handling this style of ending, the one meant to leave an audience grasping for meaning but left to fill-in-the-blank on their own.  One prominent example would be Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974), a flick that saw Gene Hackman’s Harry Caul questioning just how he could’ve been one-upped in a profession he’s been alleged said to be the very best at.  Coppola’s finale saw Harry clearly dealing with a true psychological unraveling, but the particulars of what it meant to him internally (even how it happened) was subject to any viewer’s deductive prowess.  By contrast, I found Intrusion’s chilling last scenes a bit too vague for its own good, possibly even suggesting I hadn’t seen what I just watched.  What Coppola did was genius; what director Gentry did here felt like a failed ‘gotcha’ moment, really only thumbing the picture’s nose at me for spending 104 minutes with it.
 
That’s the real crime here.  I was mesmerized by so much of this.  The writing was sharp, and the performances were very, very good.  Shum Jr. is a revelation here, underplaying most of his moments with just the right skepticism; he truly sells the substance of this evolving mystery, and I think his work here deserves praise.  Kelley Mack does fabulous work as a kinda/sorta confidante who may or may not have something to hide.  Even the bit workers in here hit their marks in such a way as to make the central mystery eerily compelling.
 
Still, it only took a matter of creative seconds to rip the curtain away with the reminder, “Don’t worry.  It’s only a movie.”
 
Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021) is produced by Queensbury Pictures.  DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated by the reliable MPI Media Group.  As for the technical specifications?  This one looks and sounds very good … well, except for a few produced bits that were made to be a bit sub-par (you’ll understand when you see it).  As for the special features?  Well, there is a commentary, but I’m putting that off for a few days before I partake of it as I’m still pondering a full rewatch in order to hone it a bit more on what I thought of its finale.
 
Mildly Recommended.
 
Again, I’ve no problem saying right up front the Broadcast Signal Intrusion will likely frustrate as many folks as it intrigues, but that’s the risk of capturing a particular story with a particular framework capped off with a particular ending.  Yes, some folks like stories to end with a kind of nebulousness that serves as cocktail topic fodder, but I’m of a variety of viewers who like the storyteller to hit the nail on the head and not leave me to figure some of the equations out for posterity’s sake.  Still, I’d push back against those who found it a ‘lazy’ ending: no doubt those involved intended for you to have to think about this one a bit.  Me?  I’ve already got enough on my mind to worry about … and now you put the fate of Harry Shum Jr. on my platter?  Good grief!
 
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MPI Media Group provided me with a complimentary DVD of Broadcast Signal Intrusion by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.

-- EZ