Matt at the Movies: Where is my mind…?
Matt at the Movies: Where is my mind…?
Matt reviews three horror films, and recommends Beau is Afraid (9/10) and The Pope’s Exorcist (7/10); but says you can wait for Evil Dead Rise (6/10) to hit the streaming services.
Pound for pound, horror is Hollywood’s most profitable genre, even with the rise of superhero movies over the past two decades.
Companies like Blumhouse Productions take small budgets, lesser known stars, and creepy premises to deliver big scares in movies like Smile, M3GAN, Hereditary, The Purge, Paranormal Activity, and A Quiet Place. Check out this Forbes list from just the last few years if you need receipts to get a sense of money being brought in. It’s no wonder studios are searching for these cheap cash cows in an uncertain world.
One thing is for sure: horror is here to stay.
As I write this, I’m also celebrating my 39th birthday. As I continue to engage in eternal conflict with the concept of time - it’s a flat circle, like a wrestling mat - I thought it would be an appropriate time to experience horror at the cinema. However, this list is no ordinary slate of horror films. Existential crises, gore, the occult, anxiety, religious dogma, and myriad mind-warping scenarios play big roles in three new films this week.
On the menu is the new installment from the cult classic Evil Dead series; Russell Crowe’s The Pope’s Exorcist; and Ari Aster’s new release Beau is Afraid featuring Joaquin Phoenix (our #8 most exciting film of 2023). After this triple feature, my brain is quite frazzled and contemplative, so let’s make things easy by working backwards with Beau is Afraid.
Beau is Afraid
Matt at the Movies Score: 9/10 (Highly Recommended)
In a Nutshell
Director Ari Aster described this film as “A Jewish Lord of the Rings” in early interviews. It feels like an Odyssey like adventure in structure but quickly veers to become a story about a damaged man who is reckoning with mommy issues of the highest order.
Time is money, why should I go?
This is a big swing by the young star director Aster, who is currently the title belt-holder in horror with his films Hereditary and Midsommar. Some may see the three hour run time and head for the hills, but you’d be missing out. The unique set pieces, exhilarating anxiety, and dark humor ooze out of this film. Aster stepped out of his traditional lane to create an interesting look at how trauma is passed down from our parents.
The results are wild.
Spill the Tea
Beau is a middle aged man who suffers from hypochondria, agoraphobia, and isolation (outside of trips to see his therapist).
If he’s not worrying, he’s coping with the insecurities he has about the only woman in his life: his mother. Mona Wassermann is the archetypical overbearing Jewish mother who feels she is a dutiful mother while simultaneously drowning her child in guilt. Her effect on Beau, in addition to the complete absence of his late father, leaves the protagonist with an Oedipus complex that is better left unexplored in a short movie review.
Beau is an unreliable narrator from his first therapy session to his walk home through his NYC-looking neighborhood. Chaos is everywhere around him, as is a general lawlessness that makes your own anxiety creep out of your skin. Fighting, looting, sex, accidents, stabbings, and mentally unfit confrontations literally chase him down the street to his building. His only safety is his run down apartment and medications (which stress drinking water) to achieve a daily homeostasis in his life.
Enter mother Mona, who calls her only son to confirm his trip to come visit her. On his way out to catch his flight his keys are stolen and he must enter the outside world to find a way to prove his love to mom.
We won’t spoil the rest of the movie, but Beau finds himself launched into suburban hell by do-gooders who care for him after an accident.
Beau, played wonderfully by Joaquin Phoenix, seems to be a constant victim of mishaps, mental torture, and sadness. He seems like a front row passenger in his own life. We watch him reckon with his past, his lifelong fears, and the guilt he has in disappointing his mother. I walked out of the theater in a daze, but also with a wry grin as I felt I’d experienced the surreal journey of a well-meaning misanthrope.
Star of the Show
The film rests in the hands of director Ari Aster, who took a short film concept he made in 2011 about a man going on a trip whose keys are stolen right out of his front door. You can’t deny the talent behind the lens as he incorporates sound, extravagant set pieces, and even creative CGI to bring the different parts of Beau’s psyche together to make a coherent story.
Aster has created some of the most gut-wrenching scenes of the last decade with his horror work, and this film pushes boundaries as well. It’s hard to not put him in the rarified air of provocative directors like Lars von Trier or Yorgos Lathimos while still having the success of a contemporary like Damien Chazelle. A24 Productions gave him a large budget on this project, but it’s too early to gauge box office success as the film was only released to 900 theaters this week. We should be so lucky to have more releases from such a wildly talented auteur like Aster in the future.
Don’t Sleep On
Your sanity as the abstract nature of storytelling and boundless questions slowly are revealed throughout the film.
Best Ten Minute Stretch
Beau must leave his apartment as the water is shut off becasue he’s taken his new daily pill that emphasizes the importance of hydration. Leaving one’s building to buy a simple bottle of water has never been so intense or entertaining.
Stay Away If
You have deeply unresolved parent issues or witnessing an anxiety attack as a result of torture is something more than you can stomach.
Coulda Used a Little More…
It’s cheap to say editing but there are a couple sections where we are building towards Beau being forced into action that goes against his natural instincts that could have been whittled down. How much punishment can one man take?
Breakdown:
Pieces together the overall “vibe” this movie brings from other releases.
Evil Dead Rise
Matt at the Movies Score: 6/10 (Wait for streaming)
Spill the Tea
This fifth installment of the series tells a familiar tale, but without the camp that made other entries a more enjoyable experience under B-Movie horror to A-List director Sam Raimi.
With Raimi no longer at the helm, Irish writer/director Lee Cronin takes over the franchise in this entry, which is very similar in style to the 2013 reboot in tone and gore. If you’re an Evil Dead superfan, don’t fret: there are still the brutal one liners, the Book of the Dead, and the evil demonic spirit from the previous films - as well as a familiar voice, if you’re listening closely.
This time, the hellish power is unleashed into a decrepit building after an earthquake. Ellie and her three children are visited by her alt-rock guitar tech sister Beth. She’s just learned that she’s pregnant and seeks the comfort of her family to deal with the news. The joys and downsides of motherhood are in full showcase as the demon soon takes over Ellie’s body. She spares no quarter for friends, neighbors, or family. As the story continues, it’s clear that Beth will need to take the reins and battle it out to keep the children alive - much like Ash in the first trilogy.
The Book of the Dead holds secrets and horrors which are unearthed as the movie moves forward. There are a few disturbing scenes featuring household items moonlighting as weapons that will make your stomach churn.
When the movie takes aim at the kids it starts to go off the rails. At its conclusion, the gore fetish was not balanced enough with the fun campiness of the Raimi films to make it rewatchable. If you fancy some good slasher bloodlust this will wet the beak, otherwise wait for it to pop up on a streamer in a couple months.
Star of the Show
Mother Ellie, played by Alyssa Sutherland, absolutely nails it as a demonic terror. She never holds back with her piercing glare, facial gesturing, and fear inducing smile: all are incredibly unsettling. Give Cronin credit where it’s due, he wrote a better character for a demon than for any live main characters in the film which is why the ceiling feels so low.
Best Ten Minute Stretch
When mother Ellie is fully possessed her evil spirit uses her memories to lure in the children while laying down some truly distasteful dialogue. After the crew is able to kick her out to the hallway, she exerts her power on their neighbors, who are checking up on everyone on the floor due to the earthquake. Watching her wreak havoc through the front door peephole was a truly fun experience in the horror genre.
The Pope’s Exorcist
Matt at the Movies Score: 7/10 (Recommended)
Spill the Tea
I started my week with some lighter fare and an exorcism - and it wasn’t a bad date movie!
We’ve seen this all before haven’t we? The Exorcist in 1973, The Exorcism of Emily Rose in 2005, Anthony Hopkins in 2011’s The Rite, or any of The Conjuring series have all shown us of what happens when one is possessed by the Devil and/or his demons.
The story is loosely based on the writings of Father Gabriel Amorth, who was the Vatican’s lead exorcist for nearly thirty years. What new story could he tell that would make this different from anything mentioned above? Being raised Catholic, I tend to have a heightened sense for malarky priest tales, but this felt refreshing even as a standard paint-by-numbers plot.
Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Father Amorth is entertaining and features some panache. He brings you into his world, where his strong conviction to battle evil by any means necessary is not always looked upon favorably by Bishops in the Catholic Church’s highest office. The way his faith is both unwavering and steadfast in the face of the Pope or the King of Hell himself makes him more formidable than Father Merrin or Karras from The Exorcist.
However, his swagger has a cost greater than just the sin of pride. The priest has become recognized by the most vile demon in all of Hell, who just happens to be hunting him.
Father Amorth is summoned by the Pope to head to an old abbey in Castile, Spain. An American family renovating the abbey unearths an evil spirit that has plagued the property since the days of the Inquisition. This evil spirit has taken the family's young son, and he pulls no punches to bring Amorth to his bedside. The demon knows all of the preist’s flaws and intends to cash them in to get what it desires. There is a deeper secret, and the demon has ulterior motives (shock!)
As to why Amorth is necessary for this task, all is revealed by the movie's end.
Star of the Show
It’s Crowe all the way. Since his glory days of Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, he’s found some work as the second or third lead over the past decade (shout out The Nice Guys), but this is a nice little niche to let him cook. He still has that rarified air to him that can be brought out and I hope he keeps pushing for interesting roles over being the lead in the future.
Best Ten Minute Stretch
The introduction of Father Amorth to the demon-possessed boy was intriguing. To see their tit-for-tat exploration of each other as Amorth tries to gain more knowledge has you on the edge of your seat. We know of no real motives for the entity at this point, but we do know he’s coming for blood, so Amorth needs to play it carefully.