Weekly Favorites
Pod and A Cure for Wellness
Hey spooky buds! Another week has come and gone and I'm here to share my two favorites of the week. Here's what else I watched this week:
- Found Footage 3D
- Hammer House of Horror Episode 1
- Halloween 2 - collector's edition from Scream Factory
- Pod
- A Cure for Wellness
- Autopsy of Jane Doe
- Dead Silence
Special mention this week goes out to Autopsy of Jane Doe which is quickly becoming one of my favorite horror movies ever. It was my favorite film of 2016 and I've been wary to re-watch it because I had such a damn good time doing it the first time. This was my first time re-watching and goddammit this movie is INCREDIBLE. Obviously didn't scare me as much this time as I knew it was coming but ugh it's just an incredible mystery and it's so terrifying and the imagery is incredible and the performances are amazing AHHHHHHH!!! Just come yell at me about how great this movie is!!
But I also watched some movies I'd never seen before and here are my favorites:
Pod, an alien film released in 2015, written and directed by the incredible Mickey Keating. HOW HAVE I NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE?! I love alien films so much and this one was so well done WOW. Lyla and Ed are headed out to their brother's cabin to stage an intervention. When they arrive they find their brother, Martin, a dishonorably discharged vet, who is having some sort of mental breakdown. He keeps telling them there's an alien in the basement but they don't believe him.....
The first half of this film is a family drama - the dynamics between Lyla, Ed and Martin are heartbreaking and so well thought out and acted. Lauren Ashley Carter plays Lyla, who I love, and this is another incredible performance by her. Watching the siblings deal with a broken family life while watching their brother seemingly have a breakdown is incredible. There's so much emotion and fear and paranoia.
The second half of the film is like something out of The X-Files as what is in the basement is finally revealed and the siblings come to terms with the truth. Keating said his writing was influenced by The Twilight Zone and I absolutely get that vibe. It was also filmed in Maine in the winter which is like my dream aesthetic so that was right up my alley.
It's very dialogue heavy but never feels slow - the whole movie has you on the edge of your seat as serious conversations are cut with terrifying imagery. And as the siblings begin to explore the cabin, the madness truly unfolds. The final act comes out of nowhere and catches you completely off guard in the best way possible.
4/5
Next up is A Cure for Wellness which has people very conflicted. I've either heard people hated it or loved it with a passion. Common statement made by everyone though is that it's too long. And I completely agree with that. It's like two and a half hours!!!!! Horror movies have no business being this long. So many times I thought it was coming to its conclusion and nope....it just kept going. BUT....I liked the story a lot. Released in 2016, written by Justin Haythe, and directed by Gore Verbinski, it tells the story of Lockhart who is a young exec sent to retrieve his boss from a wellness center in Switzerland.
I loved the gothic feel to this film but it also sort of transcends genres. It's got this gothy, victorian feel to it, but also some horrific modern horror moments, with some thriller like moments, and a murder mystery type feel. It's hard to really pin this movie down.
The main characters were nicely fleshed out and the acting was pretty believable. Jason Isaacs plays Dr. Heinreich Volmer and he was my favorite character because he was sooo creepy and well played....until the final act...and then I wanted to scrub my eyes out with bleach. The movie is beautiful - the imagery and scenery is fantastic and you really do lose yourself in it all. Some of the shots were so unique! Every scene felt perfectly fleshed out and chosen for a reason and it was just a beautiful movie to watch. There's also some horribly disgusting scenes that had me covering my eyes and yelling, which rarely happens. Eels...teeth...tubes shoved down throats...SO MANY HORRIBLE IMAGGGGEEESSS now in my brain forever. There's one particular scene with teeth that I actually couldn't watch at all.
This movie certainly isn't for everyone, and I'm not sure if I would watch it again. But I'm glad I finally saw it and I would recommend it just because this story is so complex and fascinating. Also please keep a water bottle next to you during this movie because hot damn will you feel the need to drink A LOT of water!
3/5
We're headed into a long weekend and I plan to just read a shit tone of books and watch a shit tone of horror movies. Enjoy your weekend folks!
