Months after his rookie partner was killed, Detective John Shaw (Dean Ambrose) returns to work. While his fellow officers treat him with disrespect out of blame, they worship his former partner Tyler Burke (Roger Cross), who just took down a criminal who tried to kill him. In reality though, Burke is the leader of a ring of dirty cops who murdered the criminal to stop him from incriminating him. Shaw discovers a flash drive with evidence that reveals every dirty thing Burke has done, making him Burke’s next target. With only 12 rounds in his pistol, Shaw must face Burke and his gang in order to clean up his unit and become the hero he’s meant to be.
REVIEW
I don’t know who was clamoring for more 12 ROUNDS films, but WWE Studios provided another one for us anyway. The first 12 ROUNDS was a pretty lame over-the-top flick with John Cena phoning it in before showing us real chops recently in this year’s TRAINWRECK. The sequel, 12 ROUNDS 2: RELOADED, with Randy Orton, was slightly better due to it being more grounded due to its lower budget. While really a sequel in name only, since it doesn’t follow the 12 round premise of the previous two films, 12 ROUNDS 3: LOCKDOWN still manages to be a decent action flick that tries to rip off DIE HARD but with a lower budget and less personality and charisma. It also happens to be the best 12 ROUNDS film, mainly due to Dean Ambrose being the best lead of the three wrestlers in this franchise.
Like I mentioned, LOCKDOWN is a DIE HARD/ UNDER SIEGE rip-off, but without much of the thrills or surprises those two films had that made them memorable. The script is pretty generic. Jon Shaw is a flawed, troubled hero who just wants to do his job well, but is caught up in a situation he didn’t plan on being involved with. The bad guys, besides Burke, are extremely one-dimensional goons who want to kill the hero in order to remain incognito. It’s pretty ridiculous that they are able to shut down the entire police department, with no one really batting an eye as to why. But I guess I wasn’t supposed to use my brain about that. At least Shaw and Burke are fleshed out enough to make the story work some of the time and make you care about the situation. Especially Burke, who should have been a one-note villain, but manages to present a lot of charisma and personality to carry the film on his shoulders. He’s no Hans Gruber, but he’s kind of an interesting character with easy-to-see motivations.
And compared to the other 12 ROUNDS films, not copying the DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCEpremise actually helps elevate the story a bit. The first two films felt a bit over-the-top and trapped by the “hero must play a game with the villain” deal. The third film is a bit more grounded due to its low budget, mainly taking place inside of a police station and having the hero spare his bullets (or 12 rounds) as he takes down the villains. The story makes a bit more sense here, even though there are several plot holes if you really look deep into it. Like Shaw getting pretty injured halfway, but pretty much no selling it by the end. Or why wouldn’t Shaw just upload whatever info was on the hard drive before the place was locked down? Sure we get a cool, tense scene later on about that, but it’s still kind of dumb. And that ending was really lame, I gotta say. I like twists and turns, but this film was trying to make a roller coaster jealous. But at least LOCKDOWN seems to want to be a good movie, unlike the previous two films that were more style than substance.
The direction by Stephen Reynolds has its moments, but it’s mainly a bland visual presentation. The action scenes are decently shot at times, but mainly focus on editing tricks and shaky cam that tend to take away from them rather than highlight them. There was maybe one scene that I felt Reynolds captured genuine tension, where Shaw is trying to upload the incriminating files into the internet cloud while he’s being chased. Other than that, the film looks good but there’s nothing really memorable about how it’s structured or visualized. I wish there was more energy in terms of the genre this film is a part of, but it’s not a bad looking film.
The acting is what you would expect out of a WWE Studios flick. Dean Ambrose doesn’t really get to show the acting chops he potentially has, as seen on WWE television. But he does well in his first acting, and lead, role handling the material well and being a more grounded persona compared to the bombastic John Cena and pretty bland and stoic Randy Orton. I would like to see Ambrose in a meatier role in his second go-around. The actor who really carries the film is Roger Cross as the villainous Burke. Probably best known for his role on 24, Cross fleshes out a one-note character and makes Burke interesting in a subtle way that I wasn’t expecting. He never hams it up, or portrays the role in a typical Bond villain fashion. He and Ambrose have some good chemistry with each other, and I bought the tension between them. Without Cross, I don’t think LOCKDOWN would have worked as surprisingly well as it does. It’s nice to see Daniel Cudmore [X-MEN’s Colossus] and genre actor Lochlyn Munro in decent roles. The acting is fine, but it won’t blow anyone away or anything.
THE FINAL HOWL
While no one asked for a third 12 ROUNDS movie, at least LOCKDOWN manages to be a surprisingly decent time for 90 minutes. While the story is a generic DIE HARD and UNDER SIEGE rip-off, it does the tropes as well as one would expect without insulting ones intelligence. I liked that it was a more grounded film compared to the over-the-top films that came before it. I liked that Dean Ambrose was a more interesting actor than John Cena and definitely Randy Orton. I thought Roger Cross carried the film well. And the 12 ROUNDS reference felt more realistic than the “let’s play a game” deal of the previous films. It’s not a film I would recommend in the slightest. But if you liked the other films in this franchise, or just a fan of the Lunatic Fringe, it may be worth a look. Probably one of the better WWE Studios films, but that’s not saying a whole lot.
This week the MC Crew discuss two Astron-6 movies: MANBORG (2011) and THE EDITOR (2014). WARNING: Due to the amounting of fan-boy gushing in this episode, protective clothing is recommended.
Join Rev. Phantom, Moronic Mark and I as we talk over HANDS OF STEEL aka ATOMIC CYBORG. This movie has it all: Cyborg assassins, sweaty truck drivers, John “Motherfuckin” Saxon, Dr. Butcher M.D., Garfield, shitty graphics, Hillbilly Jim, arm wraslin’, acid rain and tubes…lots and lots of tubes. Where do they go? What does it all mean? Why? WHY? What IMDb says it's about: A cyborg is programmed to kill a scientist who holds the fate of mankind in his hands. He fails and hides in a diner in a desert run by a woman who likes him. The people who sent him are after him and so is the local arm wrestling champ. (Well shit. Is that what it was about?)
This week the MC crew take a look at NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988) and PRIMAL RAGE (1988). Plus Rev. Phantom, Moronic Mark and myself discuss our favorite scary music videos as well as our favorite scary movie moments.
To honor the recent passing of horror legend Wes Craven, Jason and Nolahn welcome me to The Lair of the Unwanted to discuss DEADLY FRIEND, which features robots, Kristy Swanson, stolen dead bodies, drunk dads, and a crazy Anne Ramsey.
Then I play The Game of the Unwanted and see if I can enter the tournament to defend my crown as the winner of the very first Tournament of the Unwanted. Take a listen!
Our Project 1981 series comes to an end this week, but we end on a high note. The MC Crew take a look two more 1981 horror gems: HELL NIGHT and THE PIT. Plus some nostalgic love for the show "Night Flight", which debuted in that same awesome year.
This week we continue our Project 1981 series with reviews of STRANGE BEHAVIOR aka DEAD KIDS (1981) and FEAR NO EVIL (1981). Plus a look at the classic album, "Killers" by Iron Maiden.
This section of the blog is due to me being lazy, I mean swamped with watching so many films that I want to discuss on this blog. But I don't really have the time, so I decided to quickly [well as much as I can really] to review films I don't really want to focus too much time on. You'll be seeing these more often than not. Time for the reviews!
DIRECTED BY Jon Harris
STARRING Shauna Macdonald (Sarah Carter), Natalie Mendoza (Juno Kaplan), Krysten Cummings (Elen Rios), Gavan O'Herlihy (Sheriff Vaines), Anna Skellern (Cath), Joshua Dallas (Greg), Douglas Hodge (Dan), Michael J. Reynolds (Ed Oswald)
Genre - Horror/Monsters
Running Time - 94 Minutes
PLOT After escaping the events of THE DESCENT [U.S. ending], Sarah Carter (Shauna Macdonald) is found near a mineshaft. As she recovers at the hospital, Sheriff Vaines (Gavan O'Herlihy) questions Sarah about the events inside of the cave and the location of her missing friends. However, Sarah has short-term amnesia, repressing what had occurred. Vaines and his deputy Elen Rios (Krysten Cummings) decide to hire a search and rescue team to find the others, insisting on bringing Sarah along to jog her memory to make the search easier.
Once inside of the cave, the party is attacked by the same cave dwellers that attacked Sarah and her friends. Now remembering everything, Sarah goes back into survival mode. Unfortunately, she finds out that her friend/rival Juno (Natalie Mendoza) is still alive - fighting in the dark and pissed off that Sarah had abandoned her.
REVIEW
2005's THE DESCENT is one of my favorite horror films of the 2000s. Neil Marshall created a tense, suspenseful, and creepy atmosphere while combining some fierce girl power among the great actresses, who gave audiences some fleshed out performances that turned THE DESCENT into a multi-layered horror flick. Unfortunately, American audiences were treated to a much happier ending than what Marshall had provided audiences overseas, which helped lead to this inevitable sequel.
Although Neil Marshall only executive produces and has given the directorial reins to editor Jon Harris, THE DESCENT PART 2 is surprisingly a very good sequel that faithfully continues the story, tone, and feel of the first film without much effort. The story is fairly the same as the first, just with different [and not as interesting] characters besides Sarah and Juno, who return from the previous movie. We get the same exploration of the cave, with the same tense beats and suspenseful scenes that Marshall had given to us in the 2005 film. We get to see the same locations, with flashbacks to the original film to show us what had happened there. It's very familiar, which is a bit of a flaw, as nothing new is really provided for us. But it's still told well and directed well by Harris, who visualizes this sequel in a way that you'd still believe Marshall may have come back and directed this.
I wish some of the subtext and tension between the five friends from the original was implanted here, as the tension between the characters here is more superficial than anything. But I dug the action, as the sequences are more violent and gorier than the previous film. That rat burrowing out of a dead person's mouth is just disgusting. We get some power drills to skills. We get some amputations. All looks great. And the acting from everyone involved, especially the returning Shauna Macdonald and Natalie Mendoza, was spot on and kept you invested in what you were seeing. And I thought the ending was messed up, but in a good predictable way.
THE DESCENT PART 2 may be an unnecessary sequel in every single way, as it doesn't really add much to the original. But it's still a competently directed and acted movie with a familiar story that fans of the original will automatically feel comfortable with. It's not a must see, but if you do watch THE DESCENT PART 2, you most likely won't be disappointed.
SCORE
3 Howls Outta 4
DIRECTED BY
Louis Morneau
STARRING Ed Quinn (Charles), Guy Wilson (Daniel), Stephen Rea (Doc), Rachel DiPillo (Eva), Adam Croasdell (Stefan), Nia Peeples (Vadoma), Steven Bauer (Hyde)
Genre - Horror/Action/Werewolves/Vampires
Running Time - 93 Minutes
PLOT In a European 19th century village, a werewolf is causing chaos within the town, killing many of its citizens. Charles (Ed Quinn) is a werewolf hunter, having been traumatized as a young boy when a werewolf killed his parents right in front of him. Leading a group of bounty hunters, Charles is hired to find the werewolf and stop it from hurting any more people. A young man, and a physician's assistant, named Daniel (Guy Wilson) wants to use what he learned from the corpses of the werewolf's victims to help Charles hunt down the werewolf. His mother (Nia Peeples) disapproves, however, worried for more than just Daniel's safety. Daniel's boss (Stephen Rea) is also very concerned about Daniel's plan. As the hunters find evidence and begin trying to trap the beast, they learn that the truth is not as it seems, making them realize that one of their own may be a werewolf.
REVIEW WEREWOLF: THE BEAST AMONG US was intended to be the follow-up to 2010's Universal remake of 1941's THE WOLFMAN starring Benicio del Toro as the titular character. Unfortunately, THE WOLFMAN remake wasn't the big success Universal was hoping for, even if it was a decent retelling of the Lon Chaney original and/or the fact that Rick Baker actually won an Academy Award for his make-up effects. Maybe it's for the best that WEREWOLF isn't a direct sequel to THE WOLFMAN, since it's a pretty bland one at best.
WEREWOLF: THE BEAST AMONG US feels and looks like a SyFy Original on its Saturday night block. While the Romanian setting is inspired, it unfortunately looks pretty cheap. It also doesn't help that the actors are playing 19th century characters who speak and act as if they're from modern times. And if this is supposed to be Romania, why does the lead character speak with a typical American accent? It feels pretty disjointed. The mystery aspect of who the werewolf is becomes revealed fairly early in the film, making you wonder why bother. The added surprise element of a secondary villain is pretty cool, but it's revealed way too late and doesn't get enough of a spotlight to matter all that much. There's a decent love story though - I just wish I was a fan of the characters more to care. A lot of good elements are in play, but the execution is pretty poor unfortunately.
Director Louis Morneau, best known for CARNOSAUR 2 and THE HITCHER II: I'VE BEEN WAITING, doesn't add a whole lot of tension or interesting visual aspects that we haven't already seen before. The action sequences have okay choreography, and there's some decent gore - like amputations, beheadings, impalings, using silver teeth to bite the werewolf, etc. The CGI, while not great, isn't all that terrible either. But there's no real energy to the film, and the way things are shot at times make you wonder why Morneau would stage them so badly to lower their effectiveness. I've seen worse honestly, but this could have been a werewolf flick that should have been more fun than it was.
The acting isn't all that impressive either. Ed Quinn has the looks of a leading man, but he feels so out of place here as Charles. Guy Wilson is a bit over the top at times as Daniel. Nia Peeples just pouts the entire time, making me wonder if she had enjoyed her experience on set. Rachel DiPillo looks like a young Diane Franklin and nothing more. Stephen Rea [what the hell was he doing here?] is cashing a paycheck. At least Steven Bauer is trying to have fun, but he's barely in the film.
WEREWOLF: THE BEAST AMONG US wasn't going to be great shakes or anything. But man, I was hoping it would have entertained me more than it did. There was a lot of potential here that just went to the wayside. I think this would have made for a better television show than a full-length film. Nothing to go full moon crazy over.
SCORE
1.5 Howls Outta 4
DIRECTED BY Jeremy Saulnier
STARRING Chris Sharp (Christopher S. Hawley), Macon Blair (Macon), Stacy Rock (Lexi), Skei Saulnier (Sky), Paul Goldblatt (Paul), William Lacey (Bill), Alex Barnett (Alexander), Bill Tangradi (Zycho)
Genre - Horror/Indie/Slasher/Comedy
Running Time - 79 Minutes
PLOT It's Halloween, and a lonely nerd named Chris (Chris Sharp) randomly finds an invitation to a "Murder Party" on the sidewalk in his Brooklyn neighborhood. Realizing that he'd be spending Halloween alone with his cat, Chris creates a cardboard and aluminum foil Knight costume to go to the party. He finds the party to be held at a warehouse in a bad part of town, with five artsy people waiting for him. Attacking Chris and tying him up to a chair, our hero learns that these people are having a contest to see who could kill him in the most artistic way - the winner receiving a $300,000 grant from a pretentious prick named Alexander (Alex Barnett). As the group have sex, take drugs, and begin to turn on each other, Chris tries to find a way to escape and save himself before this Halloween is his last.
REVIEW
I had heard so many good things about 2007's MURDER PARTY, I was wondering if all the positive hype would ruin my enjoyment of the film. Luckily for me though, I had a blast watching this indie flick. Being from Brooklyn, I loved the setting and recognized some of the locations. I think it gave MURDER PARTY a lot of personality. The characters may be a bit quirky for some, but I loved them. I know artsy people like this in real life. Sure, they may not be murderers. But they need to tear each other down to feel better about themselves, or take drugs in order to gain inspiration for their art. The characters, while a bit over the top, still felt realistic in this world and I thought they all added something to the story. Alexander, in particular, is probably the best character in MURDER PARTY only because he's so shamelessly douchey, it's a thrill to watch. The fact they want to murder an innocent man just for grant money for their respective arts project isn't probably as far-fetched as many would think, but it amused me anyway. I actually thought the concept was very clever and almost original, using a lack of budget in the best and most effective way possible. Keeping it simple - that's how you do it.
Yes, the middle portion may have a bit more dialogue and not enough action for its own good. But I thought the "Truth or Dare" scene was very well done, and revealed a lot about the characters and their feelings towards each other - which in turn led to the events in the final act. Are they deep characters? Are they likable? Not in the slightest. And that'll turn some people off. But I couldn't help but laugh at their behavior and how insane they all are. Even Chris, who decided that going to a "Murder Party" was a great idea. Low-budget films should concentrate on making the narrative as interesting as possible to compensate for other aspects. I think MURDER PARTY does that very well.
Speaking of which, the make-up and gore effects aren't that badly done. And the direction isn't the most dynamic, but I loved the entire final chase scene, which concluded with a murder set-piece that did resemble some art, which was a nice touch. The actors are all better than decent, although I found Alex Barnett to be the best one as the quirky and strange Alexander. They came across as real people, despite their eccentricities - which was nice.
MURDER PARTY is a film I'm glad I finally came around to watching. It's an indie horror film done right - interesting characters, decent SFX, good acting, and inspired direction that brought a smile on my face. Maybe the whole Brooklyn hipster artsy film hit closer to home for me than it would for others, but I dug the hell out of MURDER PARTY and will continue to be a Halloween movie I will watch for years to come.
SCORE
3.5 Howls Outta 4
DIRECTED BY Bobby Roe
STARRING Brandy Schaefer - Brandy
Zack Andrews - Zack
Bobby Roe - Bobby
Mikey Roe - Mikey
Jeff Larson - Jeff
Genre - Horror/Found Footage
Running Time - 91 Minutes
PLOT Five friends in an RV decide to travel across Texas to visit and film various Halloween haunts, hoping to find the most extreme one. They also want to get into depth into the workers behind the haunts, wanting to find evidence that some of them are actually convicted criminals who use actual body parts as part of the attractions. Eventually, they learn of The Blue Skeleton - supposedly the most extreme haunt in Louisiana. But along the way, they're stopped and followed by clowns who don't seem to want to bring joy for the group.
REVIEW THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT was a film I heard a lot about last year - a film I wanted to see, but was dealing with personal issues at the time that unfortunately occupied my movie time. But I made it a mission to watch it this year, hoping it would be a found footage horror movie done more right than wrong. Unfortunately, I was massively disappointed by this film.
THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT plays out as a mix of found footage following the main characters with actual documentary footage interviewing certain people and showing news clips about these haunts. I think the concept of investigating haunts and trying to see if the people running these shows are criminals is an interesting one that would have worked a lot better if it were taken more seriously in another film. The grainy interview scenes work because they feel legit. But others, where certain workers don't want cameras around, or mess with the group, feel too fake for me to really become invested in them. I know the film isn't real, but a found footage film should FEEL real. And that's where THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT fails - it's just typical and generic, never really building upon its premise in an innovative or scary way.
It doesn't help that the film never gets rolling until the last twenty minutes or so, when THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT stops wanting to be a documentary and actually becomes a standard survival film where certain haunt workers attack the group and plan on killing them for whatever reason. It's too bad that an hour has already passed, making the last act feel a bit tardy. It also doesn't help that the main characters are pretty unlikable, with some being extremely stupid - following a lead just to be famous, knowing how dangerous it'll end up being. I can't care or relate to characters like these, which made what happened to them not as effective as the filmmakers probably wanted it to be. At least the final act had action going for it, which made it the best part of the film. But the ending was bland and had cameras where cameras shouldn't have been, taking you completely out of it. What a shame.
The direction is pretty standard found footage stuff, which means it's not great but it's not bad either. The film does look pretty though. And the actors are pretty damn good here. I believe a lot of the acting was done through improv, and it worked for the most part.
Yeah, THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT - not a film I would watch again in any circumstance. I liked the concept. I thought the final 20 minutes and the acting were better than average. But everything else didn't do much for me. I'm not a found footage guy, but with the hype behind it, I was hoping for something at least fun to watch. But unfortunately, THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT has a faulty foundation. It could have been something pretty great if it had done more with the premise, instead of turning it into a standard found footage film we've seen countless times before and usually done better.
Join Rev. Phantom, Moronic Mark and I as we talk over
HEAVY METAL MASSACRE (1989). This might be the holy grail of bad movies,
folks—and I’m using the word “movie” lightly. If long shots of people
doing nothing, scenes of nothing and someone playing with camcorder
effects for an hour and twenty plus minutes is something you’re into,
well this “movie” is for you. Remember that movie THE NEVERENDING STORY?
Remember 'the nothing'? This “movie” is the nothing and there ain’t no
furry flying dragon gonna’ save your ass from it. You have been warned!
What IMDb says it's about:A killer goes on a killing spree at a heavy metal club. (No…it’s about nothing.)
This week the MC Crew continue with their look at horror movies from 1981. This week they review - THE BURNING (1981) and THE PROWLER (1981). Plus, they discuss the man that helped both films become splatter classics, Tom Savini.
This week starts PROJECT 1981 where we'll be looking at horror films released in 1981. We start with two Lucio Fulci classics: THE BLACK CAT (1981) and HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981). Plus Rev. Phantom talks about his picks for the Top 10 Fulci movies. Remember to bring some candy for Bob.
Join Rev. Phantom, Moronic Mark and I as we talk over
Lucio Fulci’s AENIGMA. This movie has it all: A birdlady in a coma,
Gerard Depardieu in drag, a female soul-patch, oily sex, Ronnie James
Dio as a cleaning lady, Boston college students without a hint of accent
to be found, Tom Cruise, Snoopy, Yoda and
snails….SNAILS….SsSNnNnAaAIiILlLSsSsS!!!
What IMDb says it's
about:The spirit of a comatose teenage girl possesses the body of a
newcomer to her girls boarding school to enact bloody revenge against
the elitist, lingerie-clad coeds responsible for her condition. (blah,
blah, blah did we mention lingerie-clad coeds?)
STARRING Lorenza Izzo - Justine
Ariel Levy - Alejandro
Aaron Burns - Jonah
Nicolas Martinez - Daniel
Daryl Sabara - Lars
Kirby Bliss Blanton - Amy
Magda Apanowicz - Samantha
Ignacia Allamand - Kara
Sky Ferreira - Kaycee
Richard Burgi - Charles
Genre - Horror/Cannibalism
Running Time - 100 Minutes
PLOT Justine (Lorenza Izzo) is a young college student [and daughter of a United Nations representative (Richard Burgi)] who becomes drawn to her campus' activism group, mainly because she's attracted to the group's charismatic leader Alejandro (Ariel Levy). Feeling like she needs to contribute something good for society, Justine decides to join the group on a trip to the Amazon to stop the destruction of the rain forest that would cause native tribes to become extinct. Making a point through nefarious means by Alejandro at the cost of Justine's trust, the local authorities decide to fly the group back. Unfortunately, the plane clashes killing most of the passengers. The ones that do survive are then attacked by the natives, taken to their home for some good old fashioned cooking - with the group as the main course.
REVIEW
After his last directorial feature, HOSTEL: PART II, was released in 2007 and 2-3 years of distribution hell, Eli Roth's cannibal film, THE GREEN INFERNO, has finally been released for mass consumption. Obviously inspired by Ruggero Deodato's LAST CANNIBAL WORLD (1977) & CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) and Umberto Lenzi's CANNIBAL FEROX (1981), Roth wants to bring the cannibal sub-genre back to the forefront. Like the films I previous mentioned, THE GREEN INFERNO won't be for everyone, as a cannibal horror movie is for those who have an acquired taste and strong stomach for it. As a "fan" of these kind of films and Eli Roth [who still has his fanboys and his super haters after all these years], I can say that THE GREEN INFERNO is a fun 100 minutes that hits the usual tropes well and brings the blood and gore that one would expect out of Roth. It's good. Not perfect or anything, but good.
Roth's basis for the story, besides the cannibal aspect, is his social commentary on current "slacktivists" on world social issues. Roth felt that people who claim to want to help the environment, do ice bucket challenges for ALS, or express anything about Kony 2012 at the time are hashtagging and sharing posts on these topics as a way to trend within social media, rather than doing something to help financially or physically. THE GREEN INFERNO's protagonists are activists who believe in "Don't Think! Act!", going to the Amazon blind in order to stop land developers tear down the rain forest as it threatens the natives who live within the forest. Are they doing this because they really care about the cause? Are they doing this because they want to be trendy and popular? THE GREEN INFERNO does answer that, leading to the eventual chaos in the second half with the flesh-hungry native tribe. While not the deepest narrative in terms of the commentary, I do admire Roth of using this film as a way to express his opinions on how most of us use social media, helping those who fight for these causes the right way, while punishing others who are using this for their own personal gain. Roth could have just made a simple cannibal movie with the predictable blood and guts. But Roth tries to make his narrative smart enough to make us understand WHY he's making this film and why he's using a cannibalistic tribe. And I respect that a great deal.
As for the main characters themselves, most of them are pretty unlikable besides Justine, Jonah, and Daniel. The others are unlikable from the start, or evolve into it as the film goes on. I saw some people complain that there weren't enough people to root for against the tribe [who I don't believe were really antagonists - only in the minds of the characters we're following], but I felt that was kind of the point. By the halfway mark, you realize why most of the characters are even in the Amazon, knowing right away that Justine made a huge mistake joining this group [even though she had good intentions]. When the plane crash happened, all I could say is that "Karma is a bitch." We followed these characters for about 45 minutes and they don't turn out exactly who we believe them to be. Their punishment is pretty justified for gore-hounds watching this. These aren't the most fleshed out characters, and they don't behave as one should during a situation like this - who asks a stranger for weed when landing in the Amazon anyway? But they all fit an archetype that works well within the story.
There are some issues with the script. One - there's an unnecessary use of humor throughout the film. Now, I have nothing against levity during tense and scary situations in horror films. But this is a film about going to a foreign land, almost dying in a horrific plane crash, and getting captured and potentially eaten by cannibals. These characters shouldn't be making wisecracks or jokes during a situation like this. They should be scared. They should be traumatized. They should be catatonic. I understand Roth enjoys using humor in his horror as a way for audiences to breathe a bit during the tense moments, but THE GREEN INFERNO would have been more effective if less was used. I loved the marijuana scene. I thought the exchanges between Justine and her best friend were great because they felt real. But that poop gag, while believable, was used for laughs rather than something done out of fear to scare us. And that masturbation scene in the cage was just - wha? THE GREEN INFERNO should have had a more consistent tone.
I also didn't enjoy the very end of the film. I hate when films leave it open for a sequel and hammer your head with that information. I felt the film should have ended three minutes before it actually did. I know THE GREEN INFERNO is getting a sequel, but I wish the very end and the mid-credits scene weren't there. I liked the angle where it was going, but Roth kept adding more and more. It wasn't needed.
Speaking of Roth, it's great to see him behind the camera again. There is some shaky cam, which I usually dislike. But here, I felt it worked in terms of the guerrilla style of the film and the anxiety of the characters. The locations, especially in the Amazon, were stunning to look at and made the film feel authentic. And the visual presentation of the death scenes, and use of special effects through KNB EFX Group, were really well done. The first cannibal sequence was just gruesome to watch in every way, letting us know that Roth has not lost his taste for the macabre. I think CABIN FEVER and the HOSTEL films were probably a bit more in-your-face in terms of gore and stuff like that, but the last half of THE GREEN INFERNO will make you cringe at times. And I wish the music score was stronger, as it felt cliche and predictable. Tribal themes are cool and it wasn't bad, but I needed a score like the one in CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST that was a contrast to what the film was about. I understand why many aren't a fan of Roth's style of filmmaking in terms of writing or directing. But I think the guy has a talent for giving gore-hounds want they want and gives us entertaining movies for the most part. In terms of direction, I think THE GREEN INFERNO is his best work.
The acting is a mixed bag in THE GREEN INFERNO. That's not to say that the acting was terrible. But there were some actors that were definitely better than others. I thought Lorenza Izzo carried the film as Justine. I really liked her performance as a college freshman who gets caught in a terrible situation due to a stupid crush and her wanting to feel better about herself by helping out a good cause. She's really the only one you want to root for, as she's clearly made out to be a victim of her own naivety. I thought she gave a strong, likable performance and I want to see her in more films. Ariel Levy was great as the mysterious group leader, Alejandro. The evolution of his character is really cool to watch and I enjoyed his performance. AFTERSHOCK's Nicolas Martinez is good as Daniel, and Aaron Burns is cool as the innocent lovesick Jonah. Daryl Sabara of SPY KIDS fame gives us a memorable moment involving his penis and a spider. And the members of the tribe [who were all real, by the way] had wonderful performances as well, considering they aren't professional actors.
THE FINAL HOWL
THE GREEN INFERNO is for fans of Eli Roth's work and probably won't make new fans out of those who don't care for his work. His take on the cannibal sub-genre is an inspired one, as his commentary on the "slacktivism" culture is put to good use with the combination of great special effects for those cringe-worthy death scenes. The acting is good for the most part, and the direction is solid. I did feel some of the humor could have been left out and I wish the film had ended three minutes sooner than it did. The music could have been stronger too, but to each their own. THE GREEN INFERNO won't make an impression like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST did, but it'll feed your bloodlust for the most part.
