Premise: A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother.
Review: I enjoy this movie. Some of the early reviews I saw said that it was the feel bad movie of the year and I agree with that. It’s a very heavy movie dealing with grief and what a mother will go through to be with their child once again.
I liked it more than Talk to Me. That was the Philippou’s first movie and it came out last year. While Talk to Me was more original and innovative, I just didn’t like where the second half of the film went. All of Bring Her Back seemed to make sense in the direction it went in.
A lot of of the other earlier reviews were saying things like how some of the scenes made people want to vomit or pass out. I really can’t stand this type of marketing as I’ve mentioned before. If you’ve never seen a horror movie before then maybe. Not to say that this movie doesn’t have its grosser moments. The fruit eating scene was one of the grocer things I’ve seen in a horror movie in quite some time.
Sally Hawkins is fantastic in this movie and you really watch her descent into madness and her going the furthest steps imaginable just to get what she wants.
The movie is slow at first, but then really picks up and a lot happens in the second half.
Review: These movies play a big part in my love for horror. I saw the first one when it premiered at the Independent Film Festival Boston in 2012. My friend used to work for a film rental company, and we would get free passes to the festival. I remember how much I loved the first V/H/S movie. Some people found it too disturbing, and some found it to be too much of a shaky cam, found-footage movie.
Since the release of the first film in the franchise, there have been seven anthology films, two spinoffs, and a miniseries:
1. V/H/S (2012)
2. V/H/S/2 (2013)
3. V/H/S: Viral (2014)
4. SiREN (2016) – Spinoff film
5. V/H/S: Video Horror Shorts (2018) – Miniseries
6. V/H/S/94 (2021)
7. V/H/S/99 (2022)
8. Kids vs. Aliens (2023) – Spinoff film
9. V/H/S/85 (2023)
10. V/H/S/Beyond (2024)
The only film I didn’t like in the franchise was V/H/S: Viral. I felt it tried too hard to be a political statement, and it didn’t really have any scare factors. SiREN was also decent, but I feel it worked better as a short.
Anyway, V/H/S/Beyond is a great installment. It is a little different, as they went more in the direction of sci-fi versus horror. But that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t filled with disturbing and terrifying things. Just like the ones before it, it features a bunch of new concepts and stories by new creators in the V/H/S franchise.
I didn’t know what score to give this movie. I don’t like when people compare and contrast things and give the follow-up an unfair chance. A lot of people, including myself, didn’t like Us as much as Get Out. Was that because it wasn’t as good, or because we were challenging Peele to make the same type of movie and avoid a sophomore slump? The first time I watched Us, I said, “It wasn’t Get Out.” And it wasn’t—it was its own movie. The second time I watched Us, I loved it. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I didn’t love V/H/S/Beyond as much as the first movie, but that’s fine. It’s its own movie—its own series of shorts made by completely different people. While this one focused more on sci-fi vs. horror, I still really enjoyed it. All horror fans love sci-fi, right?
I went into V/H/S/Beyond without watching a trailer. I didn’t want to know anything going in. However, right before watching, I did read that Justin Long, Mike Flanagan, and Katie Siegel were behind a few of the shorts, and that got me pumped.
Without giving away spoilers, Justin Long and his brother co-wrote and co-directed one of the shorts, and it is very reminiscent of a previous Long movie. This shouldn’t give anything away, as the scream king has a long list of horror films he’s been in.
The last short in the film is the one that will stick with me. It was pretty interesting throughout, but the ending was absolute chaos, leaving the protagonist in the worst-case scenario. It was pure terror.
Premise: In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.
Cast: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Bacon.
Review: I really wanted to like this one. I really enjoyed X. I enjoyed a lot of aspects of Pearl. Mostly the cinematography and Mia Goth’s acting and her character’s slow dive into madness. Neat fact: The film was made with the crew from Avatar 2 while they were on break. And another one: Final Destination 5 was the second film done with James Cameron’s 3D cameras after Avatar.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the cinematography, score, soundtrack, and set and costume design for Maxxxine. And, I know I am not the first review to point this out, this movie did not use Mia Goth to her full potential. Or really half of her potential. She more played an NPC in the film.
Kevin Bacon was great. I was very surprises to see a Bobby Cannavale movie without Rose Byrne. They are always in one another’s projects. Halsey had a cool supporting role.
The movie had some good kills. But it wasn’t a horror movie. What I like about this trilogy is that each film has been it’s own genre. I knew this was going for an 80’s crime noir type of film, but I would have liked some more horror in there. Some more scares.
One day, I will watch the trilogy in order. I technically did that, but over the years. Maybe as a marathon would make me appreciate this more.
