Head Count

"Head Count" (2018, Elle Callahan, Samuel Goldwin Films, Goodmother Industries) is a summer film set in Joshua Tree, California.
Evan (Isaac Jay) abandons a potentially boring weekend with his elder brother to join a group of people his own age staying in a rented house in Joshua Tree. He's particularly drawn to one of the group, Zoe (Ashleigh Morghan), a budding photographer, who seems to be into him.
The group party, drink, smoke, make out in the hot tub and tell scary stories by the campfire until things start to go wrong. For you see the scary creepypasta Evan hurriedly recited from the internet on his turn has accidentally summoned a deadly entity into their midst....
A fun summer horror focusing on the old trope of college kids renting cabins and summoning demons, this time with a more desert and less woodland setting. The cast give a good and realistic performance as our group of drinking-game-loving modern day college kids, and the expansive and lonely setting give a good eerie feel.
While the film doesn't really do anything new, the plot pacing is effective and I found myself enjoying the show.
The monster, a shapeshifting creature known as a Hisji, blends a nice, if a little clumsy, mix of The Thing, an Onryō, Slenderman and the creature from It Follows.
The action comes in well paced bursts and there are a few well timed jumps and twists that work well in the context.
While not being anything particularly new or clever, "Head Count" is a competent and fun film and definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something you haven't seen before. Currently available on Netflix UK.

[Image: Samuel Goldwin Films]

Hani 

Midsommar

"Midsommar" (2019, Ari Aster, Square Peg, B-Reel Films) is a folk horror set in a cult in Sweden.


I really liked "Hereditary" so I was keen to see "Midsommar".


We meet the very tragic character of Dani (Florence Pugh) who is not having a great time at the moment. Despite their relationship coming to the verge of ending, she agrees to join her boyfriend, Christian (Jack Reynor), and his Cultural Anthropology student pals; Josh (William Jackson Harper) and Mark (Will Poullter); on a summer trip to Sweden to visit the Hårga Commune where their friend Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) grew up and to experience the huge cultural Midsommar festival there.


When they arrive everything seems idyllic and otherworldly, but little do they know that all the flower petals in the world couldn't hide the grim undercurrent of the Commune's plans.


Working in a similar vein to 1973's "The Wicker Man", "Midsommar" delivers an upsetting vibe and some extremely effective and gruesome special effects. The group of Americans act as our eyes to the strange world of the Commune. The film does a great job of visualising the psychedelic effects of the drugs the students take and also of their building terror as they start to understand the situation.


For me, the plot felt distractingly slow and I did not particularly like any of the characters, which isn't always necessary, but would have possibly helped keep my interest more. The sound design is meant to be disturbing, but after a while the droning wails and group sobbing kind of ground me down a bit.



The special effects and grim details are really amazing and this alone kept me on board until the end, but I wouldn't necessarily be in a huge hurry to revisit. It also didn't deliver the same level of hollow, savage punch that "Hereditary" had upon initial viewing.


Definitely worth checking, however, as it's certainly a cinematic experience.

[Image: Square Peg, B-Reel Films, et al]

Hani

Burnt Offerings

"Burnt Offerings" (1976, Dan Curtis, Produzioni Europee Associati (PEA), Dan Curtis Productions) is a horror mystery film based in a sentient house.

Marian (Karen Black) and Ben (Oliver Reed) Rolf move into a 19th Century mansion for the summer with their twelve year old son, Davey (Lee H. Montgomery), and Ben's elderly, but spry aunt Elizabeth (Bette Davis). They are renting the house from two elderly siblings, Arnold (Burgess Meredith) and Roz (Eileen Heckart) Allardyce, who are renting for a low price so long as the tenants agree to leave a tray of food for their elderly, reclusive mother in her private quarters three times a day but do not otherwise visit or bother her.

It seems like the perfect summer holiday with the house's sprawling land, swimming pool and pantry full of food... The Rolf's get to work tidying up the place and soon get it into a good enough condition to enjoy. However, as time passes the family begin to act strangely, exhibiting abnormal behaviour. They begin to grow distant from one another, not realising that each of them are being slowly harmed by the house and by their own behaviours.

I've heard the title of this film so many times in music and in passing and I saw the cast list and was so keen to see it. But, although I didn't dislike it, I did find this strange film to feel a bit miss-paced. It seems to take so long to get started! The film doesn't follow any particular horror tropes like its flashier follower, "The Amityville Horror", but it does boast a distinctly 70s era vibe that I enjoyed. It has large stretches where very little happens, however, and its big reveal feels a little too obvious for today's know-it-all audiences. The acting is pretty solid and the setting is ideal. The film is perhaps too subtle for me, but I did love Ben's creepy ghostly, grinning hearse driver hallucinations. He is definitely going to haunt my dreams.

[Image: P.E.A.]

Hani

Sleepaway Camp

"Sleepaway Camp" (1983, Robert Hiltzik, American Eagle Films, United Film Distribution Company) is a slasher set at an American summer camp.

Since the summer is drawing to a close, I thought I'd see it out with an old favourite. Angela (Felissa Rose) was very young when her brother and father were killed in a motorboat accident on the lake. She now lives with her eccentric aunt and her cousin, Ricky (Jonathan Tiersten). Angela is very quiet and introverted and doesn't speak much. This makes her a target for bullying when she and her cousin arrive at summer camp.

As soon as camp begins mysterious deaths and accidents begin to happen, all linked in some way to Angela and anyone who is bothering her. This film covers some quite shocking subjects including a paedophile chef, rape, camp bullies, bad camp staff and gender identity. All while also delivering some truly campy gore. Pardon the pun.

By far the most memorable part of this film is its infamous twist ending which still holds some punch to this day, despite its confusing sub-plot. While the film is tropey and definitely sits on the exploitation movie shelf, it covers some unsettling ground.

[Image: American Eagle Films]

Hani

Shark Night

"Shark Night 3D" (2011, David R. Ellis, Relativity Media) is about an idyllic lake side cabin which is infested with man-eating sharks. Oh, and beautiful people in swimwear. Lots of swimwear. And hillbillies. Also a few hillbillies.

Sara (Sara Paxton) and her friends are staying at her parents' holiday home in Louisiana for a frivolous weekend of sunshine, beer pong, highspeed speedboat chases and water-skiing. Within minutes of arriving they've all practically stripped off and are frolicking in the water. Essentially in doing so they attract the attention of not one, but several hungry sharks. They are then fighting for their lives as they try to avoid being eaten by sharks or killed by angry, jilted hillbilly exes.

This film is dumb. It's dumb and it's completely unapologetic about that fact. From the purposefully bad characters to the completely ludicrous plots and ridiculous shark scenes this film is awful and it knows it. Whilst I'm a fan of so-bad-it's-good as a horror genre, I do draw a line somewhere, and Shark Night sits right on that line.

In some ways it's a perfectly serviceable party movie. It's definitely the kind of film that lends itself to drinking games and I would be happy to have it play along in the background over a few drinks with friends. However, it's not engaging enough to be quotable or interesting enough to have anyone want to actually stop their conversations and watch it. The kills are funny in their unlikeliness but there's no meat to this movie. It's not even shitty enough to be ironic, it's just bad.

[Image: Relativity Media]

Hani