steveinrowg

Like many other horror fans, I was drawn into the hype for this film like a sinkhole. With the legendary Nicolas Cage at the helm as the titular mysterious villain named Longlegs, and an air of tense and morbid fascination, the ingredients of this film mix into a finely dark cocktail. However, I feel that the promotion for this film may have overpromised its staying power and sense of originality.

From its opening scene, Longlegs makes a hell of an impression. The landscape is cold and sets a tone that is well acquainted with a feeling of isolation and dread. We feel stalked, vulnerable, and freaked out in an uncanny fashion. Time-honored horror tropes are conservatively woven into a prickly quilt of intrigue and suspense that allows no comfort or relief. It's in this way that the film truly shines - offering no glimpse of sunshine through a dreary and threatening overcast. Our cast of characters are unique in the way that they live under this grotesque and macabre sky, offering a level of personal turmoil that accentuates the more terrifying elements into something intimately frightening.

I would not call this "the scariest film of the year" like some outlets are stating - not even close. Sure, the elements that make up this horror film entree are palatable and enjoyable, but to call the film a masterpiece is a bit generous. There is a predictability present throughout that doesn't offer any deep originality, even with the elements that do help it stand out - the killer's background, the twist in the third act, the secret language created for the film, among others. Also, while Cage performed excellently in this role, knowing that it was him under the mounds of makeup mustered a few chuckles from me. There is a mixture of elements that, just as others help sweeten the experience, also make it sour.

I enjoyed Longlegs a lot. It provides an experience that is fun, atmospheric, and original on the surface. For the conventional horror fan, you've certainly seen this film before, but it is certainly worth a viewing.

Immaculate is a movie that comes with its own baggage. It is competing with decades of horror films before it that dealt with the horror-inspiring topic of the occult. It's through this lens where you can get an understanding of what the film is up against, and to what extent it makes its own case. The results of this endeavor are, while not totally original, undeniably enthralling.

Going into this, I was expecting the film to follow the tropes of olde. What I was not prepared for was the mounting tension that grows like a poisonous weed, punctuated by bouts of violence and psychological brutality that make you squirm. Details and trickery that might normally induce an eye roll instead play with a deliberate confidence in its scares. Jumpscares do make up many of these scares, but it wouldn't be fair to write this film off as a one-trick pony.

The elements that make up this venue of terror in which our characters inhabit is gorgeous. This detail is particularly disarming, since there is a felt reverence through the stained glass, chapel halls, and sunlight that dresses the compound in golden light. The behavior of the characters in relation to this environment provides many interesting perspectives of the world they have been thrust - or thrusted themselves - into. The acting in this is superb, and I would be remiss to ignore such strong performances, even if the dialogue and execution of the more frightening scenes leaves more to be desired.

I truly feel that Immaculate gave us its all. It is a glowing apparition that deceives you into a false security that leaves you feeling overwhelmed, even if not totally surprised by its conclusion.

I'm comfortable saying that Richard Linklater's Hit Man is one of the most interesting films I've seen this year. What initially led me to believe that this was a quirky, Master of Disguise-style comedy was soon turned on its head as a gradual but ultimately effective rugpull. What is built by Linklater is one part funny, one part tense, and one part dark, creating a menagerie of intrigue that kept me guessing as to which direction our story would bring us. What we got was something that is truly unique and memorable at its core.

Glen Powell rocks. With his career on a swift incline in recent years, Powell is playing a multitude of roles in the various ways that these identities serve the plot - not only to progress the story, but to change our main character like a slow-burning fuse. This high-caliber performance mixed with a strong thesis brings us a film that is fully realized and intentional. The chemistry between each character adds a flavor of personality that is so often lost with spy-style films.

However, when this film shows its hand, it's clear what it is becoming. Below the surface, what once appears as a rom com with an espionage twist is soon revealed to be something a bit more sinister and dark. You are drawn in by the brazen disregard for morality in service to the people that surround our main characters' lives. This is where the film's thesis on identity, purpose, and self-realization through this murky lens creates a sense of dread - like a pit in your stomach.

Hit Man is a unique work - where the dark tendrils that exist beneath its rom com surface puppeteer a narrative that seeks to set you off kilter, and almost trick you into a false sense of good-natured empathy, rooting for the bad guy.