I was blown away this past month with awesome Horror on the big and small screen. I saw Hokum, Passenger, Obsession and Backrooms at the multiplex and The Terror: The Devil in Silver on AMC/Shudder. Some of you may ask, where have I been? There’s been some great films already this year. True, but how many of those films hung around the theaters for more than a week, if they get a screen engagement at all?
Hollywood, take notice. Backrooms and Obsession took the number one and two spots over The Mandalorian and Grogu, and they were made for less. Much, much less. Let’s face it, we’ve been craving something new, even in horror. There was Scream 7 in February, a new Scary Movie 5 after a thirteen year hiatus, and Evil Dead Burn due out this July. Yawn, except maybe Evil Dead. I’ll admit, I’m one of those, watch any movie in the series, quality be damned. Evil Dead franchise? I’m in. Hellraiser? Hell, yes. Still, the new movies I’ve mentioned have been refreshing.
What do the four films and one television series I mentioned, have in common? Originality. Let me go through each one and share with you my thoughts.
Hokum. OMG, the gothic atmosphere and vengeful Irish witch, superb. Adam Scott, yes, the Parks and Recreation guy, stars as the protagonist, portrays Ohm Bauman, an American author visiting an Irish Inn to scatter the ashes of his dead parents in the nearby woods. The house has a haunted history. One room is off-limits to the guests, the honeymoon suite. Ohm becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a missing hotel employee and the haunted suite. There is a second underlying story involving the author Bauman and childhood trauma he’s never addressed. He self-medicates with alcohol to suppress his guilt and grief. The house’s mystery forces him to finally confront his own personal guilt and grief. It’s a very moving film.
In Passenger, a demon attaches itself to wayward travelers. “Don’t stop to help strangers, AT NIGHT,” warns an RV nomad to the protagonists, Maddie, and Tyler in the film. Of course, they did. Maddie believes the warning as she sees glimpses of the “The Passenger” who torments her throughout the film. Tyler is dismissive at first until they encounter the demon while camping in the woods. Plenty of well placed jump scares. Great atmosphere accentuates the scares. The demon is more a specter who looks like an old man. Lesser of the four films, but worth a watch.
Obsession is a straightforward story, boy (“Bear”) pines for girl (Nikki), too chickenshit to tell her how he feels, and you got it, he makes a wish. Earlier, Bear buys a novelty toy, “One Wish Willow,” you know where this is going, the idiot wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone else IN THE WORLD. That’s right, Bear gets his wish. What could possibly go wrong? Interesting descent into insanity, accentuated by the over the top violence. What I like about the film is Bear’s knowledge that Nikki suffers, bound by something nefarious presence that forces her to love Bear. She even pleads with him to kill her. This aspect is what made this film work for me.
Backrooms, I don’t even know where to begin. This film is literally bat-shit crazy. The film follows Clark’s slow descent into madness. Clark owns a furniture store. One night, he discovers a hidden backroom in the basement of his store. Clark finds the backroom to be a maze of empty business offices. He tells Mary, his therapist who, of course, dismisses his account. Clark recruits his fellow store employees to video log their expedition. I don’t know how to explain what happens next. Think urban spelunking, in an abandoned, pristine office building. Many things do not make architectural sense, furniture partially buried in floors, ceilings or walls. And there is something dark hunting them, always at the periphery. Of course, Mary goes looking for Clark after he misses his therapy session. I can’t say anything more without spoiling a fantastic finale.
Finally, I’ll end with AMC/Shudder The Terror: The Devil in Silver. This is a limited series, based on Victor LaValle’s novel, The Devil in Silver. The protagonist, Pepper is taken to New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital in New York, following an altercation with his girlfriend’s Ex, and assault of police officers who break up the fight. A 72-hour stay turns into weeks. Pepper’s desperate to get out. He quickly learns the Devil resides in the mental health ward, tormenting the other patients. The Beast periodically assaults and sometimes kills a patient or two. The story is riveting. The acting superb. The finale drops this week. Worth the binge.
I hope you enjoyed my review. You may agree. You may disagree. May was an enjoyable month for me. We’ll see what June has in store for us. Spielberg’s Disclosure Day starts this Thursday. Till next time.