Trailer Tuesdays: Eaten Alive

Ahead of my review of Capcom's newest iteration of Resident Evil, I decided to post the trailer for another ghastly tale set in the Louisiana Bayou, Eaten Alive.

It always amazes me that after all the pain and suffering Marilyn Burns went through filming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, she went right back and did it all over again two years later in this film. A bigger trooper there never was.

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Hey all. Another week, another Messenger post.

H(orror)DTV.

While I don't really have much interest in the new Ring movie that is coming out (last year's Sadako vs Kayako seemed like a nice exclamation point on both franchises) I did get a kick out the viral prank video they made for the release.

Samara also showed up on The Today Show by way of special delivery, as well. For those interested in the new flick, it releases this Friday.

My Favourite Thing.

I found about an upcoming project called My Favorite Thing Is Monsters this week. Created by single mother from Chicago named Emil Ferris, this part graphic novel, part fictional diary has captured high praise from those who have read it so far.

The story behind this piece is very intriguing, and I can't wait to check it out when the first part (of two) is released Feb 13th. For more info on My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, check out this Forbes article here.

R.I.P. John Hurt 1940-2017.

Sadly, we lost another legend this week. Sir John Hurt passed away this week after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 77. Hurt was a prolific actor with other two-hundred credits under him. He was a man who appeared in all manner of productions, but always added an air of legitimacy to any project when you saw his name in the credits.

Sir John Hurt 1940-2017

For me, he will always be Kane, the ill-fated crew member of the Nostromo in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien. His death sequence still remains one of the most iconic scenes in movie (let alone horror) history. Almost as resonant with me was his voice work in the Richard Adams adaptations of Watership Down and The Plague Dogs.

Rest In Peace, Sir John.

Death From Above.

Shortly after posting about the passing of Miguel Ferrer it dawned on me that I had never seen The Night Flier, the 1997 Stephen King adaptation in which he starred. With it having been a few weeks since my last VHS Friday, I went about rectifying that.

Tabloid reporter Richard Dees (Ferrer) becomes obsessed with a serial killer dubbed The Night Flier, but how far will he go to get the scoop on this mysterious figure?

The nineties were a Stephen King free-for-all with film and television bigwigs all falling over themselves to bring his works to the screen. Some stories were less than twenty pages long, but that didn't stop studios from putting out stuff like Graveyard Shift (1990), The Lawnmower Man (1992) and The Mangler (1995). The Night Flier, however, I would say was above average. It stays pretty faithful to the subject matter (more than I can say for Lawnmower Man) and the additions made to pad out the length - the original story was thirty-some pages - served the story well. 

Miguel Ferrer as Richard Dees in The Night Flier.

King aside, I was there to watch Ferrer and he did not disappoint, even managing to level up his sardonic asshole game in the one. He actually made his characters in RoboCop and Twin Peaks seem like gregarious pussycats by comparison. Dees was definitely one of the most unsympathetic characters I've seen in a while. I had to wonder if Dan Gilroy ever saw this movie because there are definite parallels between Dees and Gilroy's character Louis Bloom from 2014's Nightcrawler right down to specific scenes. It's unlikely, but Night Flier? Night Crawler? Who knows?  

One of the things added to the script was a rival reporter played by Julie Entwistle. She had this doe-eyed look that reminded me of Phoebe Cates, but there was also a fierceness there, as well. I was actually shocked to find that The Night Flier was her only real credit because I thought she was really strong. I realize she was director Mark Pavia's wife, but I thought she was legitimately good in the role.

Julie Enwistle as Katherine “Jimmy” Blair

The make-up effects by KNB EFX were not only as solid as you would expect, but also quite plentiful with a climax features enough prosthetic work to rival that of a Walking Dead episode. I found the actual Night Flier design to be a little hokey, but it didn't help that all of Pavia's efforts to lead up to a big reveal were completely negated when the marketers decided to put him on the cover.

As far as Stephen King adaptations go, this is in the upper echelon, especially when factoring in how closely it keeps to the original material. It was just really good to see Ferrer front and center for once. He may have played some cantankerous characters, but God damn if he didn't command the screen.

Trailer Tuesdays: Psycho (1960)

Based on my review yesterday, I decided to post a classic trailer for the granddaddy of all split personality tales, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

We all go a little mad sometimes...

A Return To Form.

M. Night Shayamalan is back this year with a new thriller, and because I find this guy's career choices endlessly fascinating, I knew I had to get out there and see Split opening weekend.

A man named Kevin (James McAvoy) with twenty-three multiple personalities abducts three young women (Anya Taylor-Joy, Jessica Sula & Haley Lu Richardson) for nefarious purposes.  

I actually liked M. Night's last flick The Visit, so I was hoping Split would continue his positive streak. I'm very glad to say that not only did he succeed, but I'd go so far as to say that Split is his best film since 2000's Unbreakable. I found myself engaged by this film for two reasons, the first of which being the performances. The highlight was obviously McAvoy who effortlessly portrayed a dozen or so characters over the course of the film, but I was once again smitten with Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey. She is well on her way to becoming Hollywood's (or at least horror's) new “It” girl.

James McAvoy in Split

Secondly, I was really taken in by the lore of the film, the crux of which being that multiple personality disorder is not an affliction, but rather an evolution. I admit that where the film ultimately goes does initially require a bit of a leap, but I thought it was really well put together. It makes me think that M. Night might actually have it all figured out now.

He is an idea man, but he is also very good with character, namely character interaction. His stuff works when his characters are the meat of the picture, not the so-called “twist” endings we have grown to expect from him. It's the relationships between Bruce Willis & Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis & Sam Jackson in Unbreakable and, before it shit the bed in the end, Mel Gibson & Joaquin Phoenix in Signs that really resonated with me as a viewer.

Anya Taylor-Joy in Split

Split is all character interaction. Casey has discussions with Kevin's different personalities, as does his therapist, Dr. Fletcher (played with sharp intelligence by Betty Buckley). As the story played out, I began to realize there wasn't going to be a big twist. Things played out as you might expect (or at least hope) and it didn't end up that Casey was really the twenty-fourth personality, or that the personalities transferred to another host just before it cut to black.

So, there may have not been a twist, but there was, however, a big reveal via a MCU-style credits stinger. I won't spoil it here - it'll probably be all over the Internet by the time I post this - but that ending was brilliant and completely unexpected. It not only washed away any problems with the legitimacy of the twenty-fourth personality, but it also sort of time warped M. Night's career back to where he was at his peak. Well played, sir. All is forgiven.

Split is a solid thriller with terrific performances top to bottom and really makes me excited for where M. Night plans to go from here.

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Hey all. I hope you're having a good weekend, I'm enjoying a quiet one after a hectic week. Here's some bits of news that I came across this week.

Channel 6.

Astron 6 and The Voice Of Cassandra recently released a mix onto MixCloud. It contains a lot of cool tracks, including stuff cribbed from horror soundtracks, metal albums and eighties artists. Enjoy it below.

Meal Time.

I found a trailer for a cool looking short by Timothy Vanderberg called Agatha this week.

I love the look of this piece, as well as the fact it shows you just enough to whet your appetite. Hopefully, I can get my hands on it soon.

R.I.P. Miguel Ferrer (1955-2017)

I was really hoping I wouldn't have to eulogize anyone so soon after last week. I was very sad to hear that Miguel Ferrer passed away last week due to throat cancer. He was 61.

R.I.P. Miguel Ferrer 1955-2017.

Ferrer was a prolific actor who had over one-hundred film and television credits under him. His most iconic role was likely that of Bob Morton, the ill-fated project head of the RoboCop program, but I will always most fondly remember him as Albert Rosenfeld on Twin Peaks. He also appeared in three Stephen King adaptations of The Stand, The Shining and The Night Flier. Rest in peace, Mr. Ferrer.

Bloody Bits Trailer

I have posted before about the awesome Blood In The Snow shorts compilation Bloody Bits, but yesterday they released a snazzy new trailer.

I know you're probably tired of me saying how surreal it is to see my short Lively being promoted on this thing, but I'm really proud to be a part of this. If you'd like to get your paws on a copy of your very own, click here.