[Review] The Devil's Candy

The Devil's Candy is a metal-as-hell horror film that burns with torment and dives into themes of destructive passion and madness as well as the dizzying fear of parental falters.

Struggling painter Jesse (Ethan Embry) and his wife (Shiri Appleby) and daughter (Kiara Glasco) move into a haunted farmhouse (stop me if you've heard this one before). Eventually, Jesse slips into a troubling trance and his paintings get creepier and creepier. Oh yeah, and a crazy kidnapper (Pruitt Taylor Vince) with lingering ties to the cursed home is on the loose. The situation smells more peculiar than an unwashed Metallica t-shirt.

As Sean Byrne's (The Loved Ones) film progresses, things grow increasingly fiery and grim. Brutal intercuts blur the lines between paint and blood. Views of darkened and forbidding rooms might have you reaching for a night light. Disturbing kidnapping scenes raise an alarming amount of terror. And when the abrasive soundtrack isn't shredding, it morphs into something effectively distorted and doomy, summoning a constant sense of dread 'til the very end.

An interesting aspect about the film is that we don't actually see any ghosties, demons, or furniture flying across the room. Instead, we witness Satan's evil grasp solely through the possessed characters' actions. It's a scary thing--Jesse's descent into personal hell and how it negatively impacts his family. Not to mention, the kidnapper's utterly monstrous crimes. The film runs at a slim 75 minutes, and while it lacks some background explanation and depth for the supporting characters, I appreciated its straight-to-the-point aim. The Devil's Candy is one of the better horror films of the year so far, and it's definitely worth seeking out on VOD... if you dare. *cue the frantic guitar riffs*

( 7.5/10 )

Be sure to Like Fade to Zach on Facebook!
And Follow me on Twitter: @Fade_to_Zach 

[Review] Mean Dreams

With shades of Jeff Nichols' Mud and David Gordon Green's Joe, Nathan Morlando's Mean Dreams is a crime thriller and coming-of-age tale of young love in Middle America.

New faraway-neighbors Jonas (Josh Wiggins) and Casey (Sophie Nélisse) both come from troubled households, with parents that are either abusive or just worn down by the hard farm life. After growing fond of each other, Jonas and Casey decide to run away together with plans to never look back. But of course things don't quite go as planned.

It's a familiar story, but it certainly isn't run-of-the-mill. The picture's lush cinematography greatly captures the wind-kissed textures of rural scenery--swaying fields, forgotten trees, and cloudy skies that seem to shift with the mood of the story. Wiggins and Nélisse really drive the film as strong leads, gaining our sympathy from the get-go. The late Bill Paxton, in one of his final roles, gives a scary-good performance as a crooked cop and Casey's despicable, aggressive alcoholic father.

Mean Dreams sees two young souls in search of something better out of last straws and pure desperation. Chases ensue and bullets fly, as Jonas and Casey go from walking on eggshells to looking over shoulders. So don't let the straight-to-VOD label fool you, this is a gripping getaway.

( 7.5/10 )

Be sure to Like Fade to Zach on Facebook!
And Follow me on Twitter: @Fade_to_Zach 

[Review] Life

When a movie is titled Life, it seems like it has a lot to live up to. It either has to be encompassing and grand, or ultra-specific. Director Daniel Espinosa's Life actually focuses in on the prospect of extraterrestrial life. And yeah, it's similar to Alien, but it's still surprisingly good sci-fi horror.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya are the crew aboard the International Space Station, studying a specimen from Mars. After some careful probing, sure enough, they learn that it's living. It's alive! So much so that they dub it "Calvin". Calvin is cute and friendly at first, but eventually it turns aggressive. And big. And scary.

Life carries a major sense of gravitas and momentum, as it opens with the illusion of an extra long take, tracking the astronauts as they weave through the spacecraft corridors and utilize the highly advanced equipment. It's visually stimulating stuff, from the majestic views of Earth to the futuristic technology at-hand. Sometimes the film even launches into some disturbing gross-out horror. In fact, this thing packs thrills that are significantly more tense than what the trailer cuts displayed. The narrative grips hold, and never really lets up, bringing on plot turns that consistently up the ante.

The cast is impressively convincing in this setting, but the show-stealer is Calvin itself--a solidly rendered, translucent CGI octopus-like creature that increasingly evolves and needs to feast on other life in order to survive. Once its slithery self lets loose, the paranoia on board skyrockets, creating an unsettling atmosphere that's primed for some sweaty chills.

As opposed to last year's big alien encounter Arrival (hold your spacesuits, I'm not suggesting they're on the same level), this film takes a much more pessimistic, cautionary, monster movie approach--posing the question: Are we sure we even want to discover what other types of life are out there?

( 7.5/10 )

Be sure to Like Fade to Zach on Facebook!
And Follow me on Twitter: @Fade_to_Zach

[Review] Beauty and the Beast

If there's anything guaranteed in the near-future of the film industry, it's superhero movies and live-action Disney remakes. Last year's The Jungle Book re-imagining was quite successful, thanks to its splendid visuals, so how does Beauty and the Beast fare? Well, not as well... For all its enchantment, there are some translation flaws that are difficult to just dust away.

This tale as old as time is pretty loyal to 1991's iconic animated musical. A curse is cast upon a vain prince (played by Dan Stevens, The Guest) and his castle, where he'll remain a beast unless he can find true love before the last rose petal falls. On the other side of the land, lives the kind-hearted and inquisitive Belle (Emma Watson). When her father is taken prisoner by The Beast, she exchanges places with him and is left stranded in the castle (kinda creepy). But could she be the one to break thee spell?

One thing that sorely sticks out about this film is the hammy acting. It's as if the human cast haven't diverged from the cartoony form of the characters--especially Luke Evans' Gaston and his sidekick (played by Josh Gad) who's almost too annoying to bear. The whole rendition is cloaked in a layer of melodramatic cheese, and even if you write it off as stagey fantasy, there are a lot of things you really have to let fly. I mean, this is a story about a young woman who falls in love with a horned creature within a couple days (I say "a couple days" as if somehow a couple months would be better). At its surface, it's an inherently odd premise, one that you might question more-so now then when you watched the film as a kid. And even though the heart of the main point is metaphorical--"don't judge a book by its cover", and that "beauty is found within", it seemed to work a lot better in its original animated setting. As for the rendering of The Beast, he looks a bit too computerized and it isn't fully convincing against the backdrop.

I know this all sounds harsh, which is why I'm getting to the high points now. The visual grandiosity and ominous atmosphere of the castle is very impressive. Then there's the fan-favorite anthropomorphic objects with their quirky personalities and great voice cast: Lumiére (Ewan McGregor) the candlestick, Cogsworth the clock (Ian McKellen), Mrs. Potts the teapot (Emma Thompson), and her son Chip the teacup (Nathan Mack). But it's the songs that really are the film's strongest feature--from the elaborate "Be Our Guest" sequence that dazzles to the ceiling, to the classically stirring melody of the title song, to the new addition of the soaring "Evermore" which arrives during The Beast's major point of despair, feeling like a theatrical emo anthem.

So, this remake didn't completely win me over, but I did get swept away in its spell a few times.

( 6.5/10 )

Be sure to Like Fade to Zach on Facebook!
And Follow me on Twitter: @Fade_to_Zach

[Review] Burning Sands

This Netflix Original film is a starkly dramatic depiction of a hazing horror story. Both urgent and engrossing, Gerard McMurray's debut Burning Sands is certainly worth adding to your viewing list.

The film follows college student Zurich aka Z (Trevor Jackson) and his group of roommates at a historically African-American university as they pledge to join a renowned fraternity, with Trevante Rhodes (from Best Picture-winner Moonlight) playing one of the leaders. When the crew begins the notorious "Hell Week", they're forced to endure mental and physical abuse that not only crosses the line, but destroys it and sets it aflame.

Similar to last year's Goat, the film is a depraved down-spiral into false brotherhood, toxic masculinity, sadistic abuse of power, and outright humiliation--displaying the blinded desire and exhibiting the irrational lengths these young men will go for a sense of identity, status, and respect in being part of a coveted group. While we as an audience can sit back and think this is ridiculous why don't they just get out?, unfortunately there isn't an easy escape option when extreme peer pressure and the fear of the dangerous repercussions for leaving or failing are out in the open.

Thanks to the impressive cast and gripping direction, Burning Sands is a harrowing cautionary tale that feels raw, real, and relevant--like it was ripped straight from the headlines. Most importantly, it spotlights the major difference between building one's strength and traumatically breaking it down.

( 7.5/10 )

Be sure to Like Fade to Zach on Facebook!
And Follow me on Twitter: @Fade_to_Zach