24. BREATHING IN

How do you review a film that is so reminiscent of another film you dislike, especially when the film you dislike is somehow revered? Is the new movie actually bad, or just not your jam? Is it a poorly done ripoff, and you can’t tell the difference? Hard to say, but that’s where I am with Breathing In, a movie that feels very much like a knockoff of The Witch (a movie I strongly dislike). Both are slow-burn, candlelit, folk-mystery bores that never engage. In fact, in Breathing In, when one character repeatedly says, “I must not fall asleep,” I felt that struggle in my soul.

23. INTERSTATE

On paper, Interstate, a movie about a hitman trying to get out of the game, should be right up my alley. It has the same writer as the extremely underrated The Shallows, and festival materials reference The Godfather when highlighting it. However, I struggled to connect with it despite a few striking scenes. I admit that perhaps the slow pacing, genre mixing, and subtitles just didn’t mesh well enough to rope me in, but once it unexpectedly went supernatural, I was mostly just waiting for the 90-minute movie to end. It will probably work for some people; it just didn’t work for me.

22. A DIFFERENT MAN

A Different Man is the type of not-great oddball movie that A24 stans will champion anyway just because it’s from A24. Granted, it has a lot on its mind, asking thought-provoking questions about beauty, vanity, and self-esteem. It also features strong performances, particularly from Adam Pearson. However, the characters, especially Sebastian Stan’s Edward, make too many questionable decisions, which ultimately results in a very frustrating viewing experience. On top of that, it’s a bit of a slog, and the ending provides no catharsis or satisfaction. I appreciate what writer-director Aaron Schimberg wants to do, but he doesn’t do it well enough to make the movie recommendable.

21. WAKE UP

Wake Up doesn’t do anything to stand out amongst the overcrowded genres of “survive the night” slashers like Willy’s Wonderland or “you picked the wrong house!” thrillers like Don’t Breathe. Aside from one scene in neon blacklight, the kills, although super bloody, aren’t very creative, mostly relying on a “stab, stab, kill, kill” mindset. Perhaps worst of all, the Gen-Z activist victims are wholly unlikeable individuals who make the dumbest decisions, while the security guard doing his job hunting them is a rage-filled weirdo. If you aren’t rooting for the victims to not die, or for the security guard to carry out clever kills, what’s the point?

20. DARK MATCH

Given its presumably small budget and indie vibe, it’s hard to be too critical of Dark Match, which has a lot in common with Green Room. Sure, the performances won’t blow anyone away, the story is extremely underwritten, and it requires some inside knowledge of professional wrestling as it casually drops terms like “kayfabe.” That said, there is enough brutal and bloody carnage to keep genre fans entertained for 90 minutes, especially if those fans also love pro wrestling.

This review originally posted with Bitesize Breakdown’s coverage of the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival.

19. STEPPENWOLF

Steppenwolf was a disappointment, but that is almost entirely because my expectations were way off base. If you recall, I compared it to John Wick and Sisu in my Fantasy Filmfest preview; however, while featuring similar levels of brutally bloody violence, the tone is completely different. Steppenwolf is bleak, sharing more in common with You Were Never Really Here than the fun, stylized action movies mentioned above. Also, that somewhat depressing tone is muddled because it also tries to shoehorn light humor into the existential commentary about people’s inhumanity, which rarely works. Perhaps it will be better on the rewatch with my expectations recalibrated.

18. ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY

Escape from the 21st Century is a tremendous amount of fun until it really, really isn’t. First off, it has style to burn, looking like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World on quaaludes, mixing colorful animation, beautiful backgrounds, and video game action to create an extremely vibrant world. It even has similarly excellent needle drops and the same type of humor, which is hilarious at times. However, and I admit there could be something lost in translation since the movie is in Mandarin with English subtitles, the Everything Everywhere All at Once-inspired story is confusing and convoluted as hell, making it quick to wear out its welcome.

17. AZRAEL

I’d recommend going into Azrael expecting nothing more than surface-level thrills because, if you think too hard about the vague and inconsistent world we’re given, it ruins the whole affair. Samara Weaving is an excellent and capable lead, once again proving that she should be near the top of any modern Scream Queen list (especially considering this movie has zero dialogue). However, too often I was left asking myself, “wait, but then how/why…?” Unfortunately, this results in a story that is hard to become invested in. There is plenty of bloodshed, though (and some terrific cinematography), so there is that to go along with Weaving.

16. BLOOD STAR

Considering Blood Star is from a first-time director, first-time screenwriters, and features two virtually unknown leads, it’s hard to call the film anything but a success. Sure, it’s flawed, mostly in pacing (one prolonged, mid-movie, exposition dump sequence feels extremely out of place), but flaws are part of B-movie grindhouse flicks’ charm. It’s not required viewing, but I had fun with it, and John Schwab is particularly good as the villainous sheriff. More than anything, though, it left me curious to see what director Lawrence Jacomelli does in the future because Blood Star is a very sturdy debut.

15. SPEAK NO EVIL

Had I gone into Speak No Evil completely blind, it likely would have ended up with a higher rating. The movie is built on a delightfully unhinged, “keep ‘em guessing” performance from James McAvoy, except if you’ve seen any of the trailers, which (in Germany, at least) were shown nonstop, there isn’t much to guess. The marketing pretty much lays out the entire movie for you. So, the first hour, which should be a slow-burn of simmering tension, just exists before lazily heading into a finale filled with generic and standard home invasion tropes. McAvoy is great, but the trailers shot this movie in the foot.

14. PROJECT SILENCE

Project Silence doesn’t do anything to reinvent the wheel, but it’s entertaining enough in its own right to satisfy genre fans. The general idea here is Dawn of the Dead, but instead of zombies, it’s murderous dogs; instead of a shopping mall, it’s a collapsing bridge. Again, nothing featured is totally original, to include a comic relief character and a government conspiracy aspect, but the overall movie works because of the effortless character development and the ensemble’s easy chemistry. It won’t change your world, but if you like the “trapped by zombies” subgenre, this plotline-adjacent offering will scratch an itch.

13. A PLACE CALLED SILENCE

A Place Called Silence is reminiscent of Ashley Judd’s filmography from the late ‘90s and early 2000s, namely the psychological thrillers like Kiss the Girls and Twisted. That said, Silence features enough twisty subversions and suspenseful set pieces to inject new life into a somewhat tired genre. Although I didn’t love parts of the ending, and I don’t understand why there is so much Jesus Christ imagery since there isn’t any obvious religious component at play (it’s too blatant to be coincidence), I was thoroughly engaged throughout. Side note: apparently, this is a remake of a 2022 movie, both by the same director, which is just odd.

12. SLEEP

Although I’m unsure what director Bong Joon-ho saw in Sleep to call it “the most unique horror film and…smartest debut film I've seen in ten years,” that doesn’t mean it’s not still very good. At barely 90 minutes, Sleep does a great job of creating escalating tension and claustrophobia before arriving at a wild finale that provides answers in unexpected ways. Jung Yu-Mi gives a terrific performance as a mother descending into sleep-deprived madness, something I’m sure many parents (or anyone who has shared a hotel room with me and my snoring) can relate to. Overall, an effective and subversive chamber piece that’ll keep you guessing.

11. HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON

When people talk about discovering hidden gems at film festivals, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is exactly what they are talking about. The most authentically indie-feeling movie at Venice Film Festival last year, Humanist Vampire puts a modern spin on vampire mythology to deliver a fresh, funny, and darkly sweet coming-of-age story that touches on familial pressure, adolescent expectations, teen depression, and young love. In the Q&A that followed my screening, director Ariane Louis-Seize (who won the GdA Director’s Award at Venice) referenced Let the Right One In and Lady Bird as inspirations, and I can’t describe it any better than that.

This review originally posted with Bitesize Breakdown’s coverage of the 80th Venice International Film Festival (2023).

10. THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT

Considering that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are executive producers on Things Will be Different, I should have known what I was in for. But they were also part of the draw, so what can you do? In the end, I was given an extremely compelling puzzle-box mystery that had me on the edge of my seat, eager for whatever answers it may deliver. Except, it doesn’t really give any answers. It gives closure for these excellently acted characters and this specific story, but the broader mysteries are left floating in the ether. So, overall, it’s an engaging (and mostly worthwhile) yet frustrating experience.

9. SCARED SHITLESS

When you have a movie about a plumber saving people from a genetically engineered, blood-thirsty creature that is living in a building’s plumbing system — and it has a puntastic title like Scared Shitless — you have a certain expectation. Thankfully, director Vivieno Caldinelli and the entire cast, but especially Steven Ogg, understood the assignment. This is a hilarious and bonkers throwback to 80s movies like Critters, but it’s done so skillfully that it belies its apparent Midnight Madness, B-movie inspirations. Full disclosure: I saw a 10:45pm showing of Scared Shitless after more than a few beers, and for maximum fun, I highly recommend you do the same.

8. PÁRVULOS

First off, Párvulos is not at all the movie I was expecting from the poster, which makes it look like a nightmarish zombie movie in the vein of Netflix’s Black Summer. While the movie certainly gets dark towards the end with a fair amount of blood, Párvulos is an almost sweet and surprisingly funny coming-of-age story about familial bonds. The washed-out filter in which the film is shot (another poster deviation) adds an atmospheric, fairy tale vibe that helps keep even the grimmest moments from overpowering the heartfelt, hopeful, and bittersweet themes at the story’s core. All in all, an emotionally resonant surprise in every way.

7. THE WELL

The Well is a throwback to ‘70s European horror that feels authentically vintage across the board. The direction, performances, score, cinematography, and production design legitimately make you feel like you’re watching a classic horror movie. The story structure of two plotlines that ultimately merge also works because it gives the viewer a creepy, supernatural, ghost aspect and a grisly, Hostel-style gorefest…and that gorefest goes hard in the paint. Combine all that with terrific practical effects and some nightmare-fueled character designs, and you end up with one of the year’s better horror movies and hidden gems.

6. KILL

Although it may not add anything new to the revenge genre, that doesn’t mean Kill isn’t a violently bloody-knuckled blast. I could rattle off a list of movies it’s derivative of, but the easiest comparison is The Raid meets Bullet Train due to its confined setting, excellent fight choreography, stylized hyper-violence, and refusal to let you catch your breath. On top of that, there are just enough emotional stakes at play amongst all the gleeful carnage to add weight to the orgiastic mayhem. Kill is one of the year’s best action films, and I’d love to see it propel Lakshya to being the next Jason Statham.

5. SAỶARA

Saỷara may be the darkest, most visceral, and most unrelenting revenge movie I’ve ever seen. This isn’t a stylishly done popcorn movie like John Wick, but instead a movie full of brutal scenes that are hard to look away from. Although slow to start, once the inciting incident happens, it’s a merciless string of bloody carnage that had me repeatedly saying “Goddamn.” If you’ve seen Irréversible, you know how rough that scene is, and Saỷara’s entire second half elicits similar reactions. That may not sound enjoyable, but the level of catharsis provided by the eventual comeuppance is worth it (doubly so for Jiu-Jitsu aficionados).

4. THE WASP

Although there is the subtle air of a Lifetime movie in the early goings, The Wasp is elevated by captivating performances from Natalie Dormer and especially Naomie Harris. The way Harris is able to convincingly change demeanors on a dime is super impressive, and it’s perhaps one of the better performances I’ve seen this year. On top of that, the tight script combines just enough predictability with bombshell twists to keep viewers on their toes, all while balancing escalating tension and dark levity. You can definitely tell it’s based on a stage play, but that doesn’t make this Hitchcockian psychological thriller any less effective.

3. TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN

With thrilling and incredible video game-inspired fight choreography (especially during the finale’s wild “Final Boss” fight) and a decent amount of character development, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is a total blast! The 80s throwback vibes and gritty noir-ish feel only aid in making this one of the best martial arts movies I’ve seen since maybe The Raid series (admittedly, I haven’t seen a ton of recent martial arts movies). The story beats strain credulity at times, but if you’re like me, you aren’t coming to a movie like this for the story, and Warriors more than delivers the carnage we’re all here for.

This review originally posted with Bitesize Breakdown’s coverage of the 77th Cannes Film Festival (2024).

2. THE SUBSTANCE

If you get squeamish with gross body-horror imagery and flat-out disgusting sounds, The Substance isn’t for you. However, for those unbothered by such things, director Coralie Fargeat delivers a hilariously audacious commentary on Hollywood ageism and the impossible beauty standards women must deal with. Demi Moore — in a brilliant bit of meta casting — gives a fearless performance that should kickstart a career comeback, while a never-been-sexier Margaret Qualley continues to show why she is one of the most in-demand young actresses working today. Despite an ending that goes on for too long, between this and Revenge, Fargeat has reached “Event Director” status in the horror genre.

This review originally posted with Bitesize Breakdown’s coverage of the 77th Cannes Film Festival (2024).

1. STRANGE DARLING

If you ever need a prime example of a movie that expertly subverts expectations, look no further than Strange Darling. Playing a bit like Sanctuary but with the throwback horror motifs of Pearl and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this is a twisty, tense, and thoroughly engaging thrill-ride. It’s also a great example of how to use non-linear storytelling to maximum effect. You’ve probably read my praise for Kyle Gallner in the past (he does solid work here too, no doubt), but he’s ultimately overshadowed by Willa Fitzgerald, whose performance drives everything happening on screen. Kudos to writer-director JT Mollner for creating something special with this one.

This review originally posted with Bitesize Breakdown’s coverage of Fantastic Fest 2023.