Truth or Dare (2017) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A group of friends are pulled into a supernatural game of truth or dare.

Review: Should this count as a Halloween movie? The characters say it's Halloween, but there is neither sight nor sound of even the faintest hint that it's Halloween. I'm going to have to say no, this doesn't count. Anyway, this story is strikingly similar to another truth or dare horror movie I've covered so don't think I'm losing my mind with this review. In fact, there are many horror movies with the same title or employ this same kind of premise. In this instance, we get a by-the-numbers killer game plot that was almost passable until an unforgivable ending just had to ruin the entire experience. Thanks for that by the way.

You might easily guess what's going on here. A group of friends are staying at an alleged haunted house where a prior group claimed to have played a deadly game of truth or dare. Sure enough, this group of characters becomes entangled in the same supernatural game. If you fail to answer a truth, or fail at a dare, you die. As such, the truths become harder to admit and the dares become increasingly dangerous. This is all standard fare most audiences would expect. To this film's credit, the scenarios concocted were kind of original and creative. I was also surprised by the order characters died since the story shifts focus a bit as it progresses.

Sadly, whatever good faith the movie was amassing gets shit on by an ending that comes out of nowhere with zero resolution. You never find out what is causing this deadly game of truth or dare which was especially annoying since it appeared there was a female spirit controlling it. But that's hardly the issue when the movie is too busy showing us the last two characters trying to finish the final dare when they crash into a tree and fade to black. Wait...whaaaat? Yeah, the movie has the audacity to make the characters not even finish the game or show what happened. Hell, the movie didn't even have the budget to show the car crash...we only get the stock sound effect. Fuck! If all the characters died, and the game won, that would feel cheap but at least it's a conclusion. This, on the other hand, was no ending. Why do filmmakers even do this shit?

Realistically, if "Truth or Dare" had a better ending--or an ending--I would have upped the rating a bit into the decent category. Instead, this is mediocre all the way. The story can be fun at times, but that wasting of valuable time is something I must always acknowledge. Shit endings make so many movies unwatchable, and, despite the average rating, I can't recommend this. It's a shame too, because there were good ideas that were readily squandered.

Notable Moment: When the one guy gets blown away trying to rob the bank. Whoa...don't mess with granny.

Final Rating: 5/10

Mercy Black Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After being released from a mental institution, a woman must come to terms with her childhood crime and the potential supernatural force she awakened.

Review: Part ripoff of the Slender Man mythos--and huge exploitation of the real life Slender Man stabbing case--this film deserves a lot of the hate it's getting. With that said, this was surprisingly entertaining with all things considered. In fact, it's significantly better than the retarded Slender Man movie that came out a few years ago. My main complaint with the film really is that it's completely derivative in every conceivable way. But what happens when an imitation actually surpasses what it's ripping off? Well, you get "Mercy Black."

I will say this...the blinder you go into this movie the better it will feel. So a little backstory: As a little girl, Marina, and her best friend, appear to kill a third friend in order to summon this supernatural being called Mercy Black. After 15 years in a mental institution, Marina is released and tries to live a normal life. Her memories are fuzzy and a portion of the mystery is figuring out what actually happened all those years ago. On the peripheral, Marina's nephew is convinced Mercy Black is real and appears to be following in his aunt's footsteps. For the majority of the film you can't be sure if Mercy Black is real or whether someone is trying to get revenge on Marina. I think this direction was presented incredibly well with plenty of red herrings. Likewise, the film delivers on the twists with a satisfying payoff.

The story does try to make Marina more innocent than she should be--essentially absolving her of her crimes--but the way the character is depicted works; a big part of this is due to the actress, Daniella Pineda. I did think the film was going in the direction that Marina was the mastermind behind it all, but the filmmakers opted for a different direction which was appreciated. Where the film falters most is in the lack of substance. Is this a movie about psychological recovery or a whodunnit or a supernatural horror? It's hard to adequately explain it...but the events lack a kind of fluidity between scenes. Furthermore, there was a severe lack of inner turmoil. These characters are experiencing bizarre events, murder, and so much more yet are not reacting believably. Marina especially should have had more moments of psychological breaks, and the sister should have suspected Marina was behind it all or at least considered this angle.

 Ms. Pineda is definitely a cutey, and I love that hair style.

Overall, I don't think "Mercy Black" fully deserves the critical trouncing it has received. Oh, sure, it's unoriginal, but this is what the Slender Man movie should have actually been. Is it in bad taste to trivialize the real stabbing case? Maybe, but many crime shows and movies borrow from real events so I can't hold it against this movie. I'm not saying this is going to knock your socks off, but I think many audiences will be pleasantly surprised by "Mercy Black" and its twists and turns. In effect, this movie is better than it has any right to be.

Notable Moment: When the son is trying to kill his friend. There was just something so disturbing about this scene to me.

Final Rating: 6/10

In the Tall Grass Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Two families become trapped in a field where time and space do not operate normally.

Review: This is what happens when you don't mow the lawn all summer. What can I say about this movie? It's fairly straightforward: people are trapped in a magic field as shenanigans ensue. This doesn't mean the story is bad, but the plot is certainly stretched thin with a premise more befitting of a TV show episode. However, the best thing going for "In the Tall Grass" is the mystery at hand. You want to understand what is happening to these characters, and the intrigue is presented remarkably well. Unfortunately, the payoff simply isn't there.

More or less, the enjoyment of the film hinges on the mystery and how much it engages the audience. The image in my mind was nothing more than a large field, but I think we could extrapolate the idea that some random town was completely engulfed by this sentient grass. Or is it really the grass that's magical or this megalodon nose-looking rock? Might have been better if it were a megalodon. We also have tree-people and these carvings that foretell the future or whatever. So, yeah, jack shit is explained. And, no, this isn't the kind of movie where things should be left this vague. Had the reveal at the end been that there was a big rock at the center of the field, then that might have worked since the audience could be left imagining the possibilities. Was the rock alien tech? Some ancient relic? Whatever you want it to be. Instead, the audience knows about this rock all movie long without any background information. It can warp time and space? There are tangent futures and alternate realities? If the rock can show you all eventualities, how did the dad get defeated? What became of the Tobin who was all-knowing? The time warping doesn't even add up since we never get things to connect. Oh, sure, the events come full circle, but why couldn't anyone else escape if the rock makes you omniscient? Eh, the story is Swiss cheese. You can try to rationalize it...but why even bother?

While I do believe the ending will leave most audiences with a sense of wasting their time, I do still think there is room for casual entertainment here. The actors are decent, the cinematography is good, and the primary mystery does keep you invested. I also appreciated the weirdness to everything--like this was Twilight Zone-esque. The material really would have served better as a TV show episode in which the final reveal is showing the rock at the center of the field. Oh well. I can't necessarily say this is worth a view, but I wouldn't classify it as bad either.

Notable Moment: When the ground opened up and we saw, presumably, all the bodies of everyone who died in the field. It's fascinating imagery, yet, does this mean the rock is more of a tree trunk?

Final Rating: 5.5/10

Ju-on: Origins (TV Show) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A television show remake of the Ju-on series.

Review: Let's not mince words here--this was a complete fucking waste of time. If you thought this was going to be an origin story for the Saeki family, or maybe even a retcon of why they were cursed, forget about it. Now you might be thinking that's a good thing...which it is...but this isn't what you'd want. This is an indirect reboot of the franchise which technically makes this the FIFTH retelling of the original events from "Ju-on: The Curse." I think the well is dry people! This could have worked as a prequel very easily too which is what made the experience so disappointing.

It's pointless for me to do an episode breakdown due to the nature of the storytelling. What we get is various characters interacting with the curse across, roughly, ten years. In fact, the idea was to have these characters gradually come together and cross paths in an effort to uncover, and possibly stop, the curse. In theory, this concept was a great direction to take things. Unfortunately, the delivery is an utter failure with countless loose ends left hanging. This fundamentally ruins the entire buildup of the series as you wait patiently to see how all these characters and events will culminate and then nothing happens. Furthermore, the characters themselves have tenuous connections to one another at best which makes the interactions feel forced.

So what the hell is even happening? Our wannabe Kayako of this story--and let me stress she isn't Kayako--was held captive by some guy who tortured the girl and impregnated her. Somehow she managed to kill the guy and give birth to the baby. There were so many babies getting killed in this show I couldn't even keep track of whether the Kayako-clone's baby did die or if it's left open to what became of it. It really doesn't matter. Anyway, when people visit the house the Kayako-clone goes after them in, how shall we say, inconsistent ways; some people die, some people are perfectly fine, and some people go crazy. And then some people spontaneously combust?! Yeaaaah, the rules of the original are out the window with little to no explanation for why some people are chosen to receive their fate. Most importantly, the scares simply are not there. If you think our new Kayako-clone is going to do things in an innovative way then you will be sorely mistaken. The thing is...our new Kayako-clone just isn't at the heart of the story. She's just there. The real meat and potatoes of the story involves the lives of the cursed characters.

There are many characters that are presented and cursed, but I think we can break things down into the writer, the celebrity, and the raped girl. These are the core characters who are affected by the curse, and we see how their lives have been influenced by the curse. The writer is obsessed with trying to find the house for vague reasons. Yeah, he does have a connection with the house, but you and he do not figure that out until close to the end. Then the celebrity wants to figure out what happened to her boyfriend that was killed by the curse. Finally, the girl who was raped at the house had her life spiral into madness after that day. I get that she's supposed to be the most tragic and fucked up character, but she never has closure or redeems herself or anything meaningful. We see her terrible life for ten years only for her to be taken to Kayako-land offscreen? Are you shitting me here?! The secondary characters don't fair much better either, but I wasn't expecting them to have mind-blowing story arcs. For the main three, there needed to be more closure and development. And that's kind of the problem right there...nothing really becomes of any of these events. The story feels disconnected and poorly spliced together.

Now for the truly bungled aspects to the story! Riddle me this Batman, why didn't the writers make the series end with the Saeki's moving in? The interesting thing about the entire franchise has been the way time and space warps at the house. Yet, somehow, the writers failed to present their own premise they're showing! What the fuck?! For example, the glass breaking when the writer was a kid. They kind of hint that the raped girl did this in the present, and he experienced it in the past, but then they screw that up by showing it did happen in the present. NO! The movies made things confusing with this time travel subplot, but they didn't have the time to properly develop the idea. With a TV show, this could have been accomplished but nope. And if you are not going to address the time travel plot line, or set this up as the origin for the Saeki's, then why even bother making this show set in the past? Of course, the writers were trying to say something by depicting the real life horrors that happened in Japan during this period but to what end? Was that supposed to be the cause of the curse or the curse causing it? This vagueness makes it appear pretentious as hell.

It's not all bad though. The look and style of the show was fantastic. You could tell a lot of care was put into the set designs, sound, and cinematography. The makeup for the Kayako-clone was weak, but the use of shadows and lighting was done considerably well. I especially liked when they were doing the seance in the attic and telling her ghost to come closer; impressive use of lighting, camerawork, and sound all wrapped up in that one scene. The acting was great from the players even if their roles didn't deliver from a storytelling perspective. Seeing those '80s and '90s hairdos and props was a nice touch despite the insignificance of the past setting. I mean, there are parts of the story I did like, and the mystery does keep you engaged and wanting more. It's just hard to forgive a lack of payoff and the sense that you've invested your time into nothing.

Overall, I had high hopes, but they were dashed fairly early on. Cutting out Kayako and crew entirely was the biggest blunder. This show could have served two purposes. We could finally see the Saeki's lives before they died, and they could have showed the events leading up to the curse being formed. Instead, we get something closer to a drama whereby the characters have had shitty lives due to going into the cursed house. Maybe if each episode were a standalone encounter with the house, it might have been interesting. But if the goal was to tell this intertwining journey of characters over time, then it failed miserably in both execution and delivery. Worst of all, there is no payoff to any of this. We do not get any big revelations or twists whatsoever. As such, I can't recommend this show. It will seem okay if you know next to nothing about the Ju-on series, yet, I still can't imagine it being all that entertaining. As for those that have followed this franchise for decades now, you will not be pleased to say the least. This neither offers anything new or expands upon the lore. It's just another reboot except with more focus on those cursed rather than the curse.

Notable Moment: There were some okay ideas here and there. I guess when that shadow woman appeared it was surprising. Not entirely sure what that was supposed to be, but it was reminiscent of Kayako's first appearance in "Ju-on: The Grudge."

Final Rating: 5/10

Bonus: How to salvage this shit? Very easy actually. Keep the setting and characters as is except add a young Kayako to the cast. Tweak some of the stupidity with side characters in order to focus more on the cursed house. Get rid of this vagueness with the main ghost and just make it where she's looking for her baby or whatever. Imply that these horrific real life events were bottling up the evil into this house. Have young Kayako still obsessed with Toshio's teacher and all that jazz except make him cross paths with the other characters. Kayako could also be a classmate of the characters.

Instead of seeing these characters across years of dealing with the curse, shorten their time to a few years before they get killed. Wrap things up with the Saeki's moving into the house, and the ghost girl "gives" her baby to Kayako in the form of Toshio. This is similar to what happens in the show, but this time have it make sense. Then just cut to a montage of the Saeki family being murdered and you will have successfully set up a prequel that is faithful to the original series.