Nov 27
Presented in the “found footage” style, André Øvredal’s TrollHunter is an interesting movie. I can’t say that it brings much by way of freshness to the table, although there’s something to be said about sticking fairly closely to troll mythology. Trolls are found in Norse and Scandinavian folklore, apparently living in caves or isolated rocks and representing significant danger to human beings, especially Christians.
Guilt, persecution and religious fanaticism lies at the heart of the surprisingly good Black Death. Directed by Christopher Smith, this British film is part horror and part historical drama. Its discussion of God and pagan beliefs in medieval times is handled in the context of the titular pandemic. The Black Plague, now believed to be an outbreak of bacterium, was believed to be punishment from God above.
Wild, irreverent and downright bloody hysterical, Tucker & Dale vs Evil is an example of horror comedy done right. The Canadian film, written and directed by Eli Craig, contains huge laughs to go with the ample gore. It also carries a message, one that speaks to how we communicate and how our biases can create illusions out of even the simplest situations.
The whole “found footage” thing in the realm of horror movies can be effective when done right. For the majority of The Last Exorcism, the concept is done well and the story of a faithless pastor fiddling around with the demonic is frightening and interesting. Directed by Daniel Stamm, the 2010 horror is, at times, better than Paranormal Activity and other similar innovative scarefests.
When I think of some of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, like The Ugly Truth or The Back-up Plan, I always come back to Plan 9 from Outer Space. This 1959 sci-fi horror from Ed Wood is largely included in discussions of the worst movies ever made, but there’s something unflappably fun about the whole experience – even if it was originally intended to be taken seriously. That’s more than I can say for a lot of today’s tripe.
