Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) #502

In the vein similar to that of “Halloween”, the new “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” follows the events after the first film while bypassing the existence of the other entries in the series. Knowing that, this film still doesn't make complete sense if you're trying to connect it narratively to the first film. So instead, go into this movie as if it is the first in a series, just one that reminds you of a movie of the same name. Doing this, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is a taunt slasher that presents some memorable kills. Unlike the original, which hinted at the extreme violence but isn't shown, this one has it all on screen.

The film opens with a group of young entrepreneurs, Melody and her sister Lila, and Dante and his girlfriend Ruth, who have plans to auction off properties in the ghost town of Harlow, creating a vibrant and gentrified scene for other people their age. Things go astray when they find that one of the houses is still occupied by an old woman her silent, hulking "son". She is rushed to the hospital with her son, driven by the two officers who had come to evict her; Ruth, goes along after feeling guilty about the old woman. The others stay and welcome a bus load of investors, while Lila gets to know the local mechanic Richter. During their conversation, we learn that Lila is a traumatized survivor of a school shooting.

Things take a sudden turn for the worse when the old woman dies on the way to the hospital. Her son reacts violently, attacking the police officers, causing the ambulance to crash. Ruth is momentarily knocked out but awakes in time to see the man cutting off the old woman's face, only to overlay it over his own. Leatherface is back and angry! He quickly kills the driver and Ruth before heading home, where he finds a town full of fresh victims!

When Richter finds out that the old woman might actually still own her home, he takes the keys from Dante and Melody, telling them that he'll return them once they prove they own her house. The two are forced to search the house but run into Leatherface, who attacks Dante. He's distracted by Richter, whose death allows Melody time to escape. She runs to the bus, where the investors are staying dry during a storm. Leatherface enters the bus for one of the most memorable horror moments of 2022. With chainsaw in hand, Leatherface does what he does best, pure bloody chaos. Lila and Melody escape only to run into Sally, the sole survivor of the first film. She has revenge on the mind, but she isn't a Laurie Strode and gets killed before she gets to take Leatherface down for good. It's up to a gun wielding Lila, coming to terms with her fear of firearms, to go toe to toe with Leatherface. He's old, he's getting tired, right?

Favorite moment of the film is the final death. If you know, you know.

The Ritual (2017) #457

 

A Netflix original movie, "The Ritual" would have been fun to see on a large screen in a proper theater. The novel by Adam Nevill was adapted by Joe Barton and directed by David Bruckner, who is known for "Southbound" and "V/H/S", and Andy Serkis holds an executive producer credit. The film follows four friends who go out of country on a hiking trip to honor a fifth friend who was killed by a thug in a botched convenience store robbery. 

A group of five long time friends are gathered to plan their next yearly trip. Rob suggests hiking in Sweden but his plan is mocked and laughed at as the others would prefer something more urban. As the friends head home, Rob and Luke stop by a convenience store, unaware that there is a robbery in progress. Rob is seen by the robbers, and when he refuses to hand over his sentimental possessions, he is shot dead. The next year, in honor of his death, the friends go on the hiking trip that Rob had suggested. 

The mood is dark and somber as Luke, Dom, Hutch, and Phil begin there hiking trip in Northern Sweden. On the second day of the hike, Dom seriously injures his knee. Hutch recommends cutting through the forest so the trip time can be reduced for Dom. The group agrees and enters the forest proper, but they quickly become lost and begin to see haunting signs that something isn't quite right. That night they find an old cabin to take shelter from a sudden storm, only to find more haunting and terrifying relics that have been left behind. Things quickly spiral out of control as they continue to head deeper in to the woods...

"The Ritual" is full of wonderfully creepy moments and includes one of the most original and horrifying creatures to ever grace the screen. The friends breakdown of trust, security, and sanity grabs the viewers attention and never lets go. It gives the viewer with enough unanswered questions to leave them wanting more. I'm inspired to read the novel just to see if I can gleam anything new that I may have missed. This is one film that I can not recommend enough.

State of Emergency (2011)

"State of Emergency" is a very straight forward zombie, low budget film that includes a reason as to why there are zombies as well as a rare "after the apocalypse" scene that shows the survivors hugging each other in disbelief that they made it through the ordeal. The lead actor does a decent job with his role but some of the other actors portraying survivors have their moments of being outright obnoxious; if this was a script choice or an acting choice isn't exactly clear. According to the credits, the film was directed, written, edited, and musically scored by one person, Turner Clay; that is a lot of work for one person to do and I think he did a great job. There are only a few moments in the film that make it memorable in a field that is currently over saturated, and I'll go over those moment now.


The film opens with a scene that takes places later in the film, placed here just to add suspense. After this, it jumps to Jay and his girlfriend Emilie, who is slowly dying from stomach wounds. They are trying to find shelter after a large explosion occurs at a near by chemical plant. They make it to an old farmhouse but Emilie dies. Jay secures the farmhouse as well as he can, but an infected zombie-like resident attacks Jay, chasing him around until he is able to get to a gun and kill his assailant. Jay tries to get the attention of the military helicopters that occasionally fly by but to no avail. He actions does attract the attention of a group of survivors who are hiding in a large, well protected warehouse. Jay is able to safely get to the warehouse where he meets Scott and his wife Julie, as well as the loner Ix. While at the warehouse, Jay and Scott try to figure out their next move while waiting out zombies, including one that could still talk and was begging to be let in. When Ix falls into a diabetic coma, Jay decides to risk going outside to collect a pack of emergency supplies that the military dropped around the quarantine zone to help those who were not infected. A homing device is triggered and the military comes and saves the survivors just as their warehouse is broken in to. Each of the four survivors is tested and cleared, and given permission to leave.

What I liked best - the use of sounds are amazing, especially those used while Jay is alone in the farmhouse. So many echoes and mysterious noises, as well as the lovely rainfall in the background.

Author's Note - Films on Netflix, another random week

Most of the films I've reviewed have come from my own collection or I have rented from a local video store called Scarecrow Video. I believe in helping small businesses when I can and I truly love this place; it has the hard to find films as well as wonderful that gives out great suggestions all of the time. But with the holidays come and gone and now that I'm woefully sick, I had to turn to Netflix in order to find the next week's worth of movies to review. Now that I have less than 100 films to review, trying to find theme weeks is becoming more difficult, so this week will be pretty random with whatever Netflix can offer that I haven't already reviewed.