Shut In (2016)

 

Shut In

I like Naomi Watts a lot but boy does she really need to pick and carefully choose what she wants to be in. I thought she was really fantastic in Mulholland Drive (probably my favorite film of all time). She's also been in a number of great memorable performances. i  fact, shes even been in good horror in the past. Years later she's in a really awful "horror" film that doesn't offer any thrills or chills but rather just insists on wasting your time.

This film is about a psychologist, played by Watts, following a car accident that killed her husband and left her son paralyzed (played by Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton). She starts to think that someone is inside her house trying to harm her. Who could it be though? Her son is paralyzed and immobile? The plot doesn't even sound interesting and there really isn't anything in the film that you could actually enjoy. The film is devoid of any actual chills, the scenes meant to make you jump are set up in a way that is so manufactured over the years, where you know exactly what to expect.

The film just kind of throws characters into the mix and you are left wondering what purpose they really serve? Poor Jacob Tremblay, going from a wonderful performance in Room, to being thrown into something like this. The twist ending is so awful. Its half expected but doesn't bother offering any consolation for wasting your time. There's honestly too much going on in this film, its too busy with people and trying too hard to deliver a substantial story but it comes off really uninspired, tired, and boring. The twist also offers some really weird awkward moments too.

Check this out if you want but there's really nothing to see here. Shut yourself out.

4/10

Funny Games (2007)

Funny Games

 

A film that I was supposed to watch back in 2007 but just never got around to. Oddly enough this is the American remake of the Austrian film of the same name directed by the same filmmaker. Apparently, this film is a shot for shot remake of the previous incarnation. While I can't judge how it holds up to the original, I can say this film is a rather elegant torture porn film.

The film is about two psychopaths (straight from the synopsis describing the characters) who invade a family's home and torture them, while playing sick and sadistic games with them. It's hard to say more about the film without really spoiling things, so I'll refrain from talking much more about the plot. The film is not for people who can't deal with ubcomfortability in film; there's a whole lot of it. Let's face it, the film is quote grim. This isn't really a hopeful film and you kind of have to expect that before going in.

The film is slow and prodding, often calculated. It's tense, and meant to be that way. There's a lack of things going on but it helps enhance the reality of the situation that the victims are in. This film has great performances from Naomi Watts and Michael Pitt. I bet this is what got Pitt his role on Boardwalk Empire. The filmmaker employs single takes which cover longer scenes. The camera is also quite personal to the characters plights. There's a lack of score for giant portions of the film, it's honestly a paced out horror film which isn't very scary but gets you to root for the survival of its protagonists. The antagonists and their backstory could have used some exploration but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

This film sort of fits in a sub genre of its own, and reminds me of more successful films like Vacancy and The Strangers. While there are aspects of the film which really work, I still thought the film feels very long and the lack of progression can hurt your attention to the film. At times the film is an arduous task. Off the bat, this film is a one time watch and probably not anything to rave about. It's not a poorly made film by any means, one could point to it as a better film of the survivalist horror family.

6.5/10