Film Review: Unfriended (2014)

Copyright: Universal Pictures

Horror and technology always work well together, especially when the technology in question is something that is all consuming when it comes to the masses. There is probably related to some deep fear that is skeptical about any new tool that any primate species develops and humanity is no different.

As science progressed, the number of these tools multiplied and our fears followed. Interestingly enough, in the 20th century, the focus of the horror genre for the first time moved away from things like weapons (atom bomb) and poisons, which were tropes even in the previous eras and started to get interested in tools of communications.

Killer VHS tapes, haunted cell phones and death music records were just some of them, but now, the age of the internet provided new locations where the horror hooks can land. Unfriended is a film about VoIP technology which becomes possessed by a restless spirit.

After a girl commits suicide after being humiliated and taped one night, a group of friends who knew her gets together on Skype to talk, like they regularly do. However, they soon notice that someone else is in the group with them and wants to join in. This begins a bloody sequence of �who�s next�, all the while providing the viewers with the webcam perspective on the action.

As an evolution of the found footage genre, the film works more as a novelty piece than a true horror, but this is plain from the beginning, so the audience will not feel cheated (for the most part). Levan Gabriadze directed the film as his first states-side project and did a decent job with this fresh approach. The cast, like the overall plot and its horror moments, is adequate but do not go over this line. In all, only Gabriadze offers something that is above the good-enough benchmark, even though Unfriended isn�t probably the best chance to show what he truly can do.

It�s always good to see that the found footage domain is evolving. As it started to provide its best results so far, like, for example, The Visit, it is comforting to know that the next generation of filmmakers is looking what to do next with this horror genre.

Crowdfunding Push: Let's get Kevin Smith to Amsterdam!

If you like independent films, you most probably like Kevin Smith. As a director, Smith has had his hits and misses, but always tries to produce something fresh and exciting, even when it goes horribly wrong. 

But, aside from making some incredible films that shaped many excellent directors that started out, like Smith, with a camcorder and a lot of guts, the man is a genius speaker. It�s enough to experience his Giant Spider Producer story and see that his gift to inform and entertain large groups of people rivals that of his cinematographic skill.

Now, a group of enthusiasts is trying to bring Kevin Smith to Amsterdam, Netherlands and allow him to perform in this city, but also answer the questions from the audience. The same visit should take place on his Yoga Hosers movie promotion tour when the city could be added to the list. Their crowdfunding campaign allows interested individuals to purchase tickets and this way fund his appearance. Currently, the project is about 22% funded. It will only work if the full sum is attained or else, there�s going to be no hockey T-shirt wearing Smith in Amsterdam.

But, if the crowdfunding is successful and surpasses the needed sum, the same event could even be filmed and released on VOD or DVD. While this is not certain, for all of us who cannot reach Amsterdam, a new video of Kevin Smith talking and performing his unique kung fu sounds like a brilliant idea.

So, if you�re a Kevin Smith fan or a fan of filmmaking and wacky stories from the world of US cinema, head out to Let's get Kevin Smith to Amsterdam! and help make this happen.

Crowdfunding Push: Kill Pill - PHASE 1

When a horror crowdfunding campaign describes itself as It Follows meets The Walking Dead you have no choice but to take notice. Here's the additional info provided by the film creators:

In a remote English town, pregnant 17-year-old Ellie is babysitting her little sister Molly. After receiving a panic-stricken phone call from her twin brother Leo, Ellie drives to the house party that is taking place at a small abandoned castle to find her brother. Once Ellie arrives with Molly at the remote house party, they descend inside. Once they reach Leo, we discover he has been attacked by Killa ( the father of Ellie�s baby).  After a confrontation with Killa, the group reunites to realize Molly is missing.  Suddenly chaos descends as the party goers begin to transform into rage infected cannibals.

In recent years, several interesting horror crossover films came about in the UK and this seems like a potential continuation of the same trend. Aside from experienced filmmakers, the project has some great concept art going for it as well. Currently, their Indiegogo campaign is at about 10% of the needed funds and there is 20 days to go till it is completed.

Check out Kill Pill - PHASE 1 and see if you would like to help it out in some way.

Film Review: Zootopia (2016)

Copyright: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Here�s the key selling point to the entire Zootopia shtick � let�s imagine all animals are anthropomorphic and that they live in a single location. Sure, why not, but many kids� animated movies already did those assemble animal casts, for example, Madagascar.

But, Zootopia smartly spun the same concept and upgraded it with a simple idea of keeping the animals in their relatively accurate scales.  For example, mice use small doors; giraffes use doors many times larger, standing side by side.

This is the main thing working for the film and the generator of 70% of the jokes. The rest come from the notion of animal affiliation, which divides all members of Zootopia, a place where all animals live in harmony, to predators and everyone else. Here, the film and its director duo of Byron Howard and Rich Moore tried to play the tolerance&animosity card, but unlike the scales thing, it didn�t really stick well to the root plot.

In it, a young bunny from the countryside by the name of Judy becomes a police officer and sets about her work. She is driven by an eagerness to show everyone that a rabbit can be as good a cop as any other animal. This quickly leads her to a fox and a street hustler named Nick. Through a rocky start, Nick ends up being her partner while they try to solve the case of animals disappearing all over Zootopia.

In its very much appreciated run-time that is less than 120 minutes, the film desperately wants to tell the audience that being a jerk towards people who look differently is not the answer. While this is a noble cause, this rainbow-Kumbaya approach constantly feels strained and overexposed, as if the authors would gladly spend more time playing with the movie�s environment and what it could provide the plot than going over �why can�t everyone just get along� issue time and time again.

Zootopia is a very good film that managed to take flight even though it had some unnecessary weight attached to it. Without it, there is no doubt that it could have soared even higher. 

Film Review: Hyena Road (2015)

Copyright: Elevation Pictures

It�s not often that the international audience gets to see anything from a Canadian perspective, apart from how it is to live in a trailer park. But with Hyena Road, the film provides this and places it in the setting that is most un-Canadian: the war-torn Kandahar province in Afghanistan. The film follows a mixture of Canadian military personnel in the heart of this Asian land, looking to build a road through one of its most dangerous provinces and the heartbeat of the Taliban insurgency for decades.

As the joint work of a unit of special operators, a command & control team and an unorthodox intelligence officer begins to unravel, the audience is shown how treacherous this conflict is. Here, there is always a chance for a bullet to a head or an IED going off, while the Canadians possess their own versions of deadly deliveries that can be dispensed to the local insurgents (and other Afghans as well). 

The director Paul Gross, who also wrote the movie, tried like many before him to combine a war action film with a deeper analysis of a country that gave various invaders headaches (or cases of missing heads) since the time of Alexander the Great. 

When it comes to its action parts, Hyena Road constantly over delivers and under delivers. Sometimes, the muzzle flashes of the actors� rifles look like they were made by special effects intern and there are other equally lacking moments. At the same time, some action sequences are completely unpredictable and look very engaging, even sickening when it comes to the level of detail, similar to great war movies like Fury.

But, the film, like Gross� vision, really excels in presenting Afghanistan like a completely foreign place where almost none of those Canadians really should be there. Apart from the intelligence officers, the rest of the characters are more like astronauts living on Mars in their bases, which come out only to destroy or build something. But, no matter which one of these they do, they never really get the Martians and the things they want.