Well ladies and gents, we are officially out of the summer months and gearing up for fall. You know what that means – scary movie time. In today’s summary judgment, I take a look at a few films available at home and in theaters early this Halloween season.
In the brand new The Front Room, A24 offers up a directorial debut by the lesser-known Max and Sam Eggers, the younger twin brothers of the meticulous directorial master, Robert Eggers. In the film, a young couple with a baby on the way find themselves in a nightmarish situation everyone in today’s “sandwich generation” fears. The mom, played by the lovely Brandy Norwood, ends up caring for their young baby while managing elderly care for her evil stepmother-in-law, who reemerged into the couple’s lives offering the financially-struggling family the promise of stability in exchange for a room in their home. But something’s off about the stepmother, who claims to channel the Holy Spirit yet seems hell bent on setting a curse on the whole family.
Reflective of the Eggers’ style, the filmmaking and cinematography are quite enchanting, and the soundtrack truly sets the mood with an eerie mix of familiar classical music played by a theremin and muffled old country songs filtered through a radio. But despite the artistry, The Front Room doesn’t “scare” in the traditional sense. Instead, it sets your teeth on edge, and feeds on deep-seated anxieties of an impossibly difficult—and for many, all-too-real—family situation.
SpecialK Verdict: Some might enjoy The Front Room’s wacky creativity and realistic terror, but if you’re looking for escapist horror, you’ll probably want to skip this one.
The Front Room opens in theaters Friday, September 6.
Pivoting now to a film available both in theaters and on demand, we explore M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, in which a devoted dad—played with fairly impressive range by Josh Hartnett—takes his daughter to a music concert only to find himself on the run from federal officers who have him cornered on suspicion of being a prolific serial killer. As the chase rages on, the dad attempts to escape while keeping his family safe and unsuspecting.
Per usual for a Shyamalan film, we have a twist that isn’t all that bad, but even that combined with a pretty stellar performance by Hartnett can’t save this one. Usually with a Shyamalan film I can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the ride he offers, but this one simply asks too much. The script reads more like a lazy play than a believable film, the percentage of screen time Shyamalan gives his real-life daughter/singer as the featured pop star is repetitive and excessive, and you don’t have to be a true crime fanatic to realize that the decisions made by the federal officials and protagonists are borderline idiotic.
SpecialK Verdict: More annoying than enjoyable, Trap sits squarely at the bottom of my list of Shyamalan films. Definitely one you’ll be happy you skirted this season.
Trap is available in theaters and on demand.
Finally, in Oddity, we are treated to a deeply original mishmash of the true crime and paranormal genres that you’ll want to see again and again. Writer/director Damian Mc Carthy pivoted from being a lesser-known short film creator to offering his first a full-length feature in his 2020 Caveat, which was a hit on the festival circuit. However, it’s his second film, Oddity, that deserves all the accolades in my book.
Mc Carthy guides us through his story with such masterful tact that I hesitate to share too much about the plot here, but it centers on a psychiatric doctor husband and his adventurous wife, the wife’s blind twin who also happens to be a medium, and a gruesome murder that haunts them all. The story is expertly painted with a stylistic brush that weaves delicately between vintage scares that conjure an age when spiritualism and seances raged in popularity, ancient castles and witchy curses, and timeless tragedies of broken relationships and loss.
From jump scares to eerie paranormal terror to murderous villains, this horror film has it all. Presented with simple yet strong cinematography and exquisitely moody lighting, Oddity is as much a feast for the eyes as it is a lesson in character development and twists.
SpecialK Verdict: One of my favorite scary movies of at least the last few years, Oddity offers hope for future creative horror to come from young directors emerging out of the more obscure festival circuit. If you blinked and missed it in theaters this summer, catch Oddity at home with the lights off, and you’ll be grateful you ushered in the Halloween season with a winner.
Oddity is available on demand.
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