"Accomplishments"
In theaters: I think it would be asking too much of a film adaptation of Dune to have every single scene in the book, so to manage it, Villeneuve doesn't stray from Paul's perspective very often. One could well imagine a "special edition" (as per the Middle Earth films) that restores cutaways to the Bene Gesserit, the Emperor, and more of the Harkonnens, but I don't think that's necessary. His version of Dune efficiently presents a complicated world even if we're not directly privy to all the political machinations. In terms of visuals, it has scale if not opulence, and my one complaint is that it's one of those dingy, under-saturated films, with lots of action taking place in grayed-out day for night conditions. It otherwise looks good, with very cool ornithopters, etc. and an excellent cast. The script even finds humor where it can without going overboard with it. There IS color, but it's mostly relegated to Paul's visions, which could seem unnecessary, but have three functions, as I see it. First, if Part One had been the only film made (as Dune seemed too intellectual to get good box office), it would have given a sense of where things might go for audiences who don't know the source material. Second, if you reject that notion, they act as a promise that Part Two is coming. And third, they are actually very good at showing how precognition works and how Paul can know what he does and even take control of his (and the universe's) destiny. As a three-time reader of the novel (every 15 years, it seems), I was satisfied, and if you're wondering, my friends who didn't know what to expect at all "got" it and enjoyed it a great deal. If the uninitiated aren't lost, that's an important victory. Some fans might be picky about the film's cuts and simplifications, but I'm not one of them.
At home: While I can't shrug off the feeling that Wife vs. Secretary was specifically designed to tell wives to implicitly trust their potentially-cheating husbands, it nevertheless comes across as a frankly subtle and adult comedy about the pitfalls of jealousy. Clark Gable is not my preferred match for Myrna Loy, but I really like their banter and chemistry as husband and wife here, and for most of the picture, the title seems misleading. It's not really about a romantic rivalry (in this case with super-competent secretary Jean Harlow, herself having romantic trouble with long-term fiancé Jimmy Stewart), but about Gable's terrible work-life balance. So while he and Loy are cute together, his flaw is that he's obsessed with his work. Loy isn't jealous until her mother-in-law puts those thoughts into her head, and then the movie is putting Gable and Harlow into easily misunderstood situations often just for our benefit (we're thinking, "if Myrna were to walk in right now"). It could easily end in screaming
matches and doesn't, opting for ambiguity (at least, in the acting) at its climax.
It's excessively rare that a horror movie makes my hair raise on end, but His House not only managed it, but was also the kind of film that I would have liked even without any horror content. And you could argue the supernatural doesn't actually exist in the movie and that everything is a PTSD-fueled hallucination. But it's not an "instead", it's a "simultaneously". Two refugees from the Sudan are handed a run-down home in London while their status is examined, and creepy weirdness starts occurring that will reveal their secret pain. The man's wish to assimilate and leave everything behind is at odds with his wife's need to stay rooted in their culture, and so the horror follows rules - African and Western - depending on their (and your) viewpoint. Using a folklore that's specific to them make the story quite original as well as relevant and psychologically interesting. Both Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku (lately of Loki fame) are excellent, as is the cinematography. Beautiful, poignant, chilling stuff.
/1996: Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is a bit screamy for me, but still a lot of fun, giving off Ghostbusters-like vibes in terms of its mix of comedy and horror tropes. New Zealand plays an American coastal town here and gives the setting some novelty, a weirdness that works in the film's favor. The 90s CG is of course rubbery, but for the most part (perhaps the boss monster excepted), it doesn't against the picture, bur rather works with its more cartoony aspects (and it's Peter Jackson - even though we didn't really know him yet - so there's some silly gross-out gags, etc.). A serial killer has come from beyond the grave to continue his killing spree, and only occult investigator Michael J. Fox and his ghostly friends (and Andie MacDowell impersonator Trini Alvarado) can stop him. That's if the great Jeffrey Combs, as an Agent Mulder type gone off the deep end, doesn't stop THEM first. There is a LOT going on, probably a little too much, but I like Jackson's enthusiasm, running this show as if he'll never get the chance to play with this big a budget ever again.
Actual best from that year: Scream, From Dusk Til Dawn, The Craft
1997: I like the way Michael Haneke explores motivations in movies. In The Seventh Continent, he was careful not to show any and let the events be unfathomable. In Funny Games, the schoolyard bullies who invade a family's lake house on their first day of vacation know they are horror-thriller film characters and relish the chance to play their role. Their motivation is to be in OUR service, then, and we're asked to consider our moral responsibility in entertainment built around pain and death. These moments are fleeting, but leave a mark. Otherwise, Funny Games is relentlessly intense torture porn, or rather torture erotica. We don't get exploitative money shots (whether in the sex or violence columns), but the torture, physical but more importantly psychological is brutal and real. Unbearably long shots of the family struggling with what's happening are more difficult to watch than gory kills. Susanne Lothar is particularly good as the mom who has more punch than her husband.
Also from that year: Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Devil's Advocate, Anaconda
1998: Based on its reputation, I was expecting Ringu (The Ring) to be utterly terrifying, which by my standards usually means "disturbing". It wasn't that, but I don't need it to be. It plays more like a supernatural procedural, in which a journalist and her psychic ex-husband try to figure out the real story behind a haunted television transmission and the curse it places on those who see it. Of course, you can't investigate it without watching it and activating the 1-week countdown, a natural ticking clock that works in the film's favor. I tend to see "haunted technology" stories as a little silly, but Ringu feels so analog that I wouldn't put it in that category. In terms of chills, the terrified expressions of the dead are about it early on, but the creepy video prefigures The Blair Witch Project, and you can't go wrong involving a little kid in your horror film. In fact, if there's a theme here, it's bad parenting, with the otherwise likeable heroes leaving their 6-year-old alone at home while they investigate another abused child and its role in the horror. It's a nice mystery with lots of ghostly flavor, and an interesting monster. Oh and a cool twist ending.
Also from that year: Blade, Deep Rising
1999: Deep Blue Sea has SUCH a reputation that I kind of thought I'd already seen it. When it came out, people chuckled at the notion that swimming backwards was a sign of high intelligence in the genetically modified sharks (so the science is bonkers), spoiled Sam Jackson's surprising death, and then there's the explosive water gag that went off accidentally and could have killed someone. So how was it actually? I wouldn't give it any writing awards, but it's an entertaining ride. There are a lot of Jaws-wannabes out there, but this one looked at the disaster movie/creature feature clichés and actively decided to subvert a fair few. Science? Out to lunch. Kill shots? Generally cool. Acting? Well, Thomas Jane is a trooper in this and LL Cool J has just about the only interesting character. Somehow, the most bonkers thing in the movie is still Cool J rapping about his hat having a shark fin in the end credits.
Also from that year: The Blair Witch Project, Audition
2000: A veritable Canadian classic, Ginger Snaps stars two death-obsessed teenage sisters who get more than they bargained when one of them gets bit and starts turning into a monster. The central metaphor is a potent one - puberty short-circuits the sisterly relationship and interrupts their (macabre) games with the real thing (you might replace gory deaths with playing house), all the while inventing its own lore vis-à-vis its creature. Largely unpredictable as these things go, there's a nice mix of horror, comedy (Mimi Rogers as the mom is particularly amusing) and drama, and it's all too rare a Canadian movie of this type doesn't try to hide its Canadianness by planting American flags or something. A bilingual "Missing" poster? Seeing as these are Ontarian suburbs, they didn't even need to do that. All horror fans should check out this hidden gem.
Also from that year: Shadow of the Vampire, Final Destination
2001: So somehow, in the same year, Takashi Miike released both Ichi the Killer AND The Happiness of the Katakuris. What is wrong (right) with that man?! The latter is an on the cuff musical about a family trying their best to not run their out-of-the-way bed and breakfast into the ground, but as the guests' bodies pile up, it's clear they're operating under a curse. Supported by claymation interludes that allow for some of the crazier events, the movie turns the bonkers knob to 11 in the first minute and stays there. The musical silliness out of a karaoke machine and the macabre black comedy don't, however, prevent us from getting to know and liking the Katakuris. I wouldn't go stay at their inn on account of the curse, but if it weren't for that, I would just to spend more time with them. Insane film-making, just the way I like it. Just don't ask me to answer all your questions afterwards.
Also from that year: The Others, Ichi the Killer
2002: Sean Pertwee leads some squadies into the Scottish wilderness where they find themselves under siege by a pack of werewolves in Dog Soldiers and it's pretty fun. I could definitely use better fight choreography/editing, but it still has a lot of cool gags and doesn't mind getting a bit ridiculous. Werewolf make-ups often are, you know, so might as well go with it. Mostly, it works because I like the cast of characters, despite the apparently sameness that results in army typecasting. There's something odd about the film grain, like they're trying to make it feel like 70s grindhouse, but you know it's the early 2000s because of that one amusing Matrix joke. At least, *I* liked it and that's no bone (am I using that right?).
Also from that year: Bubba Ho-tep, Resident Evil, 28 Days Later
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