BARBARIAN (August 2022)

BARBARIAN

(August 2022)

“That's not... An Airbnb. In Brightmoor?”

More so than any other horror film released last year that I had the opportunity to see, Barbarian is definitely the title that begs to be seen as arctic cold as possible, with the barest minimum of knowledge about what the movie is about. (Arguably, even more so than Jordan Peele’s Nope.)

And, for those of you who are familiar with the Iguana environs, you’ll know that I’d sooner say what the movie is actually about (its thematics) than say what the movie is apparently about (its narrative/plot).

The thing is, I can’t even get into Barbarian’s thematics without possibly spoiling what could be a very enjoyable and surprising horror ride for you, so, this is all you’ll get here:

Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) arrives at 476 Barbary only to discover that there’s apparently been a double-booking, with Keith Toshko (Bill Skarsgård, also an Executive Producer) already there.

Then… let’s just say things go on and develop from that starting point, leading to some very dark and twisty places, territories which are not for any sensitive, faint of heart souls…

“You’re just as put out as me.”

Writer/director Zach Cregger cites Jordan Peele’s Get Out* as a prime motivator for Barbarian (like Peele, Cregger has a background in comedy), which is just one more reason to thank the esteemed Mr. Peele for his role in helping enrich and enliven contemporary horror cinema.

Now, get on out there (heh) and seek this one out to see what all the fuss is about…

“No, you shouldn’t be there.”

* In Cregger’s own words: “[Get Out] is a perfect movie and it gave me permission to change genres, write for myself, be funny and have something to say.”

(Barbarian OS’ courtesy of impawards.com.)

NOPE (July 2022)

    

NOPE

(July 2022)

“I will cast abominable filth at you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle.”

--Nahum 3:6

“What if I told you… that in about an hour… you’ll leave here different?”

Just as Us was a different cinematic animal than Get Out, so is Jordan Peele's latest, Nope, a different beast, perhaps even more so.

It isn't the same kind of “social thriller” Get Out and Us most definitely were.

His assertions regarding “the big summer blockbuster spectacle film” and “the violence of attention”? Well, he rather effectively addresses those with Nope…

“Who is gonna go down there and get the star out of his trailer?”

Even more than his two previous films, Peele’s Nope asks its audience to enter it knowing as little as possible and with the least amount of preconceived notions.

Which, admittedly, could be a big ask for some simply because Get Out and Us were so very clearly about Something.

Well, Nope is about Something too, just not in the same way…

Or, you could look at it as Peele choosing to interrogate that Something in a different, more subtle way than his previous efforts.

“We don’t deserve the impossible.”

So let’s just talk about that cast instead, shall we?

Not only do we get some strong, noteworthy performances from the three top billers, Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer (as the Haywood siblings) and Steven Yeun, but the fine character writing by Peele extends even to Brandon Perea’s lovelorn retail jockey, Angel, and to Michael Wincott’s “legendary cinematographer,” Antlers Holst (particularly to the latter).

And speaking of that cast, we also get familiar ¡Qué horror! face Osgood Perkins*, sadly appearing all too briefly as Fynn Bachman.

We even get Donna Mills (Knots Landing, yo!) in the package!

“How exquisitely stupid is that?”

So just trust in the Peele, and go into Nope with as blank a slate as possible, and simply allow yourself to be dazzled by a genre virtuoso who very clearly levels up his filmmaking craft with his latest…

“Nobody f*cks with Haywood, b!tch! Nobody! You hear me?!”

* Peele and Perkins previously worked together on The Twilight Zone’s “You Might Also Like”.

Perkins, of course, has also appeared ‘round these parts for The Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House.

(I really should get around to catching up on Gretel & Hansel…)

(Nope key art courtesy of impawards.com & bloody-disgusting.com)

13 Slots for the Best Horror I've Seen in the Past Year
[11 of 13]

US

(March 2019)

“Then Sotuknang went to Taiowa and said, ‘I want you to see what I have done. And I have done well.’

“And Taiowa looked and said, ‘It is very good. But you are not done with it.  Now you must create life of all kinds and set it in motion according to my plan.’”

--“Creation Story” (written and performed by Tsonakwa & Dean Evenson; from a Hopi creation myth)

After the decisive statement of purpose that was Get Out, Jordan Peele returns with Us, which sees Lupita Nyong’o as a wife and mother whose family is besieged by red-clad, scissors-wielding doppelgängers.

Which of course, you’d know if you’ve already seen the trailers or the one sheets.

That is, however, all you’re going to get here, because, as always, to preserve as much of the cinematic experience as possible, I steer as clear of spoiler territory as humanly possible…

But I will say this:

Though Peele trades in the overt thematics of racism in Get Out for a follow-up that’s apparently a more straight-forward horror film that just happens to have an African-American family as its protagonists, what it looks like (as indicated by Us’ narrative) isn’t necessarily what it actually is.

So, yes, Us, like Get Out, is most definitely about something. It’s just a bit more under the skin though, so you’ll need to dig to uncover Us’ truths.

Another thing I can say:

It’s rare these days to point to a film with a nearly two hour running time and call it “tight,” but Us seriously just flies by.

The pacing, performances, and clear control Peele exerts over the narrative all combine to give (heh) us another ¡Qué horror!-worthy piece from the comedian who’d always dreamed of becoming a horror movie director.

Well, thank goodness he finally got around to the horror…

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

--Jeremiah 11:11 (King James Version)

(Us OS’ courtesy of impawards.com)

13 Slots for the Best Horror I've Seen in the Past Year
[6 of 13]

THE PERFECTION

(September 2018)

“And why do we work so hard, Charlotte?”

“To be the best.”

“And why is that, Charlotte?”

“Because it’s what’s expected of us.”

Richard Shepard’s The Perfection turns on Charlotte Willmore (Get Out’s Allison Williams), “a rare and gifted talent” whose promise as a world class cellist was derailed when she needed to return home to care for her ailing mother.

Upon her mother’s eventual passing nearly a decade later, Charlotte reaches out to her former mentor and teacher, Anton Bachoff (Steven Weber), and in doing so, comes into the orbit of Anton’s latest star pupil and “most prized protégé,” Elizabeth Wells (Powers’ Logan Browning).

What follows is a taut and twisty tale that bears witness to the sordid costs that sometimes need to be paid to attain that titular perfection.

While some may argue The Perfection is more thriller than horror, I would point out that the things that characters do to each other in the film are chilling, gruesome, and ultimately, horrible.

The screenplay--credited to Shepard, Eric Charmelo, and Nicole Snyder--takes a number of pivots in its 90 minute running time, and with each turn, fundamentally changes the type of movie you believe you’re watching. You start off The Perfection thinking it’s this kind of film, when actually, it’s that, until you realize, No, wait, it’s really that other kind of film.

It’s the kind of narrative that, even if you sense the twist coming, it doesn’t significantly blunt its impact when it lands, and with each turn, light is cast on statements and sentiments made previously, forcing us to view them in hindsight as more weighted than they initially seemed.

All in all, it’s an elegantly sinister tale that builds to a savage crescendo, closing with Chromatics’ abbreviated cover of Hole’s “Petals,” a blackly satisfying story for those of you who treasure both narrative surprises and horror that speaks to its time.

“She’s the grace of this world

She’s too pure

For the likes of this world

This world is a whore”

-- “Petals”

(The Perfection OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2019

Candidate #19

US

(March 2019)

“Then Sotuknang went to Taiowa and said, ‘I want you to see what I have done. And I have done well.’

“And Taiowa looked and said, ‘It is very good. But you are not done with it.  Now you must create life of all kinds and set it in motion according to my plan.’”

--“Creation Story” (written and performed by Tsonakwa & Dean Evenson; from a Hopi creation myth)

After the decisive statement of purpose that was Get Out, Jordan Peele returns with Us, which sees Lupita Nyong’o as a wife and mother whose family is besieged by red-clad, scissors-wielding doppelgängers.

Which of course, you’d know if you’ve already seen the trailers or the one sheets.

That is, however, all you’re going to get here, because, as always, to preserve as much of the cinematic experience as possible, I steer as clear of spoiler territory as humanly possible…

But I will say this:

Though Peele trades in the overt thematics of racism in Get Out for a follow-up that’s apparently a more straight-forward horror film that just happens to have an African-American family as its protagonists, what it looks like (as indicated by Us’ narrative) isn’t necessarily what it actually is.

So, yes, Us, like Get Out, is most definitely about something. It’s just a bit more under the skin though, so you’ll need to dig to uncover Us’ truths.

Another thing I can say:

It’s rare these days to point to a film with a nearly two hour running time and call it “tight,” but Us seriously just flies by.

The pacing, performances, and clear control Peele exerts over the narrative all combine to give (heh) us another ¡Qué horror!-worthy piece from the comedian who’d always dreamed of becoming a horror movie director.

Well, thank goodness he finally got around to the horror…

Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

--Jeremiah 11:11 (King James Version)

(Us OS’ courtesy of impawards.com)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2019

Candidate #17

THE PERFECTION

(September 2018)

“And why do we work so hard, Charlotte?”

“To be the best.”

“And why is that, Charlotte?”

“Because it’s what’s expected of us.”

Richard Shepard’s The Perfection turns on Charlotte Willmore (Get Out’s Allison Williams), “a rare and gifted talent” whose promise as a world class cellist was derailed when she needed to return home to care for her ailing mother.

Upon her mother’s eventual passing nearly a decade later, Charlotte reaches out to her former mentor and teacher, Anton Bachoff (Steven Weber), and in doing so, comes into the orbit of Anton’s latest star pupil and “most prized protégé,” Elizabeth Wells (Powers’ Logan Browning).

What follows is a taut and twisty tale that bears witness to the sordid costs that sometimes need to be paid to attain that titular perfection.

While some may argue The Perfection is more thriller than horror, I would point out that the things that characters do to each other in the film are chilling, gruesome, and ultimately, horrible.

The screenplay--credited to Shepard, Eric Charmelo, and Nicole Snyder--takes a number of pivots in its 90 minute running time, and with each turn, fundamentally changes the type of movie you believe you’re watching. You start off The Perfection thinking it’s this kind of film, when actually, it’s that, until you realize, No, wait, it’s really that other kind of film.

It’s the kind of narrative that, even if you sense the twist coming, it doesn’t significantly blunt its impact when it lands, and with each turn, light is cast on statements and sentiments made previously, forcing us to view them in hindsight as more weighted than they initially seemed.

All in all, it’s an elegantly sinister tale that builds to a savage crescendo, closing with Chromatics’ abbreviated cover of Hole’s “Petals,” a blackly satisfying story for those of you who treasure both narrative surprises and horror that speaks to its time.

“She’s the grace of this world

She’s too pure

For the likes of this world

This world is a whore”

-- “Petals”

(The Perfection OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

A Rundown of the 13 Best Horror Movies I've Seen in the Past Year

[12 of 13]

GET OUT

(January 2017)

"Fairer skin has been in favor for the past, what, couple of hundreds of years? But now the pendulum has swung back.
"Black is in fashion.”

Anyone who’s passingly familiar with my writing or has been to the Iguana more than once would, in all likelihood, have noticed my preference for genre pieces that have something to say.

That’s the kind of genre material I’m deeply interested in, the ones that use the tropes and the conventions and the form as a platform to delve into important, vital matters. The kind of material that says something to its audience about the world they live in.

And if you’ve seen the trailer for Jordan Peele’s feature directorial debut, Get Out (which Peele also wrote the screenplay for), it should be fairly obvious that the film is about race, and its ugly, bigoted offspring, racism.

“Chris, you gotta get the f*ck up outta there, man! You in some Eyes Wide Shut situation. Leave, motherfu--”

The Fades’ and Black Mirror’s Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris Washington, who is being introduced to--and spending the weekend with--his girlfriend’s parents (played by the always marvelous Catherine Keener and a vaguely unrecognizable Bradley Whitford).

And when that happens in a Blumhouse film, you just know things are gonna get ug-leeee…

To say anything more is not really my style here at the Iguana; it would also be a frank disservice to the extraordinary piece Peele and company have brought to the screen.

Suffice it to say that if you, like me, have a taste for horror with a brain, then Get Out.

Now!

“I mean, I told you not to go in that house…”

Parting Shot:

For those who know Jordan Peele as half of the comedy sketch duo Key & Peele, note that at the age of 13, he knew he wanted to be a horror film director.

Apparently, the whole comedy thing was a huge detour, but he’s managed to find his way back to the dream.

A few more things to look forward to from Peele:

The 4 other “social thrillers” (his term) that he plans to work on, of which he has this to say: “The best and scariest monsters in the world are human beings and what we are capable of especially when we get together. I’ve been working on these premises about these different social demons, these innately human monsters that are woven into the fabric of how we think and how we interact, and each one of my movies is going to be about a different one of these social demons.”

He’s also teamed up with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot to adapt Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country for HBO (it’s been given a straight-to-series order).

Amazon.com has this to say about Lovecraft Country: [Ruff] makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.

Yes, please. Some more of that…

(Get Out OS courtesy of bloody-disgusting.com.)