I saw In a Violent Nature

If Werner Herzog were to remake Friday the 13th, it might feel like director/writer Chris Nash's In a Violent Nature (produced by Shannon Hamner and Peter Kuplowsky and now streaming on AMC+/Shudder). For this homage, the predatory kills prevail, but the journey builds like Herzog's 1979, Nosferatu remake, with doom crawling along an exquisite, blood-splattered path. 

The concept centers on backward-minded, Mamma's boy, Johnny, played by Ryan Barrett, who due to insensitive employees, met his demise at a Canadian, woodland, work station. According to rustic legend, Johnny rose from the dead and slaughtered them, disappearing for a spell, only later to resurface as a brawny zombie in an old, firefighter mask, slaying any and all who entered his sequestered camp. 

The movie keeps Johnny's victims in the backdrop, as they whisper and question his existence and actions, positioning him in conspicuous front and center. This doesn't mean the movie is seen through Johnny's eyes, but one does hover within his close proximity, reinforcing the events through his vantage for about ninety-percent of the running time. (A Coen-bent epilogue caps the tale, though in a roundabout way also underprops the closing unease.)

The kills are quite graphic and often original in their styling, similar to the brutality found in the Saw franchise, but with a messy edge that matches Herschell Gordon Lewis' notorious effects. (In fact, the movie's murders may be the most revolting since Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat.) 

Those who comprise Johnny's supporting cast are Timothy Paul McCarthy, Alexander Oliver, Charlotte Creaghan, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Sam Roulston, Andrea Pavlovic and Lauren-Marie (Friday the 13th Part II) Taylor. 

There's no score to accompany their journey. The gentle sounds of nature fill that gap, instilling a Herzog subtlety, though even Herzog will inject music now and then, (case in point, the Nosferatu remake). Even so, this laid-back crawl (on occasion, reminiscent of The Birds) makes the story as calming as it's unnerving. That's quite an artistic torsion, which prompts the kills to be more startling, emphasizing a prelude nonchalance that was always part of Voorhees' agenda, though in such case, the tactic was more prone to fade into the rapid, body-count shuffle. 

Some call In a Violent Nature an elaborate, Friday the 13th, fan film (with sporadic traces of Twitch of the Death Nerve, The Burning, Humongous, Just Before Dawn and My Bloody Valentine), an honorable wannabe that isn't quite what it's supposed to be and yet succeeds because of its frightful familiarity. I only know that as a macabre excursion, it delivers the goods, and when the disc version arrives, it'll be placed next to my Friday the 13th collection, no questions asked, no apologies offered. 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: PENGUIN & RIDDLER (GOTHAM)

 

THE MATRIX'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY, PRESENTED BY FANDANGO

The 1999, cyberpunk epic, The Matrix, returns to theaters via Fandango this month to mark its 25th anniversary. 

The Matrix was an undeniable hit upon release, but at the time, few foresaw it becoming one of cinema's most influential. Its popularity nevertheless spawned three, feature-length sequels and related offshoots, in addition to a sleek visual style that's influenced such noted submissions as Equilibrium and Superman Returns. 

Part of The Matrix's hidden-world allure emanates from the works of William Gibson, through an innovative script by Lana and Larry Wachowski, who also directed. 

The cast creates a pleasing alignment, with significant names attached, who because of the movie's fan base, became all the more popular: Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity; Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, Gloria Foster as the Oracle, Joe Pantoliano as Cypher and Hugo Weaving as the sinister Agent Smith. 

For those wary of A.I., or who seek the definitive meaning of life, The Matrix offers an eye-opening vantage. For those who simply enjoy high-tech adventure, the movie offers breakthrough, special effects, superlative pacing and breathtaking peril. 

Because of aforementioned, it's safe to call The Matrix a classic. Why not give it a respectful re-watch on the big screen, where it can once more reign supreme? 

The Matrix reawakens in select theaters on September 19 & 22. 

PIN-UP TIME: MADELINE SMITH

 

HAPPY 50TH, PLANET OF THE APES: THE TELEVISION SERIES

September 13, 1974 marked the day that Planet of the Apes, the CBS, television series, premiered. For fans across the nation, this was a historic moment, coming off the heels of CBS' ratings-bonanza airings of the five, theatrical chapters.  

The television series extended the talking simians' pop-cultural impact, with even more merchandise hitting retail shelves, including a fruitful, Marvel Comics spree. 

The series offered a great cast, as well: Roddy McDowall's Galen (the actor's favorite of his three chimps, and I heard him confirm this in person at a 1990s, NY, Fangoria convention); Mark Lenard (Sarek of Star Trek)'s General Urko (a variant of James Gregory's Ursus); Booth Colemam's Dr. (Councilor) Zaius; and as the intrepid, lost-in-time astronauts, Ron (Land of the Lost) Harper's Alan Virdon and James (Cat's Eye) Naughton's Peter Burke. 

Alas, the series only lasted thirteen episodes before cancellation, but the fan base was strong enough to have pushed it onward (despite the misguided, Nielson ratings). McDowall claimed that the merchandise alone would have been enough to continue the series, and I place full stock in that claim. At least the series eventually became available in a DVD, box set and prior to such, as a repackaged set of five, additional films. 

For the record, the Apes, television incarnation was more varied than some remember, with fugitives Galen, Virdon and Burke traveling into various camps and scenarios, which were chockful of socio-culture themes, which more than held their own with the best of Trek and Space: 1999. In fact, much like the theatrical movies (whether the original batch or those that have surfaced in later years), there's always something new to discover with every re-watch. 

I love the Planet of the Apes, television show and hold it near and dear to my heart. Yes, it may have been cut short, but its endurance has stood the test of time. 

Check out a few of its installments, and see how well they hold up, and if you should come away thinking otherwise, you're just not an Apes fan. 

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

SO LONG, CHAD MCQUEEN

You honored your father well, delivering that essential, virile punch whenever required. 

Many fans exalt your role as Dutch in The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II, but there are other cool ones, too, as proven by Night Force, Martial Law, Death Ring, Squanderers, Red Line, New York Cop, Firepower, Fever Pitch, Hadley's Rebellion, Skateboard, Indecent Proposal II, Sexual Malice, Possessed by Night, The Fascination, Number One Fan, Jimmy Hollywood, Papertrail, The Fall and the eponymous homage, Bullet II. 

Like your dad, you also had a penchant for racing, and though such nearly did you in all the sooner, you bounced back and more than held your own: a tough guy to the bitter end. 

You weren't shy about giving it your all, to slug it out on screen, as well as real life. The example you set, Mr. McQueen, will be recalled and respected, paving a powerhouse path for all true men to follow. 

HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH (BEST OF LUCK)

I saw Speak No Evil (2024)

Producer Jason (The Invisible Man 2020) Blum's Speak No Evil, written and directed by James (Eden Lake/The Woman in Black 2012) Watkins, is a retelling of Christian and Mads Tafdrup's effective, 2002, Danish chiller of the same name. The story is reality-entrenched, in the manner of The River Wild, Duel, Deliverance, Southern Comfort, Hunter's Blood, Straw Dogs, The Wicker Man, Midsommar, Race with the Devil, Wrong Turn, House of 1000 Corpses, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. That means, its circumstances are not far beyond what could happen to anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time.   

In Speak No Evil's case (and this goes for either edition), the emphasis falls on a misjudgment of character, where people thought to be generous and kind turn out to be sadistic and deadly. 

As with the original, the remake introduces us to a family, American in this instance (though stationed in London), on vacation in Tuscany, Italy, that by chance encounters a rural, British family during their sojourn. The Americans consist of Scoot (Monsters) McNairy's Ben Dalton; his wife, Mackenzie (Terminator: Dark Fate) Davis' Louise; and their daughter, Alix West Lefler's Agnes. The rustic family is helmed by James (X-Men/Narnia/Split) McAvoy's Paddy (a professed physician of some sort); his wife, Aisling (The Nightingale) Franciosi's Ciara and their mute boy, Dan Hough's Ant. The latter clan seems friendly enough that the Daltons accept Paddy's invitation to visit their farm. 

This is a ploy, of course, with odd behavior occurring no sooner than the Daltons arrive. Ant is most peculiar, in this respect, a lad who seems desperate to share secrets (yet frightened to do so), while being openly bullied by his dad. Little by little, the degree of Paddy's cruelty builds, as he keeps the full extent of his evil concealed until an explosive reveal.  

To reveal the reveal would spoil the story, unless one has seen the original's perturbing path, but even then, the redux adds a ton of new twists and turns, but the concept's survivalist drive is the same, allowing audiences to see through an unwitting family's eyes. 

As with the Tufdruf version, the performances in the 2024 version are top-notch, but McAvoy is the movie's magnet, balancing his character between hospitable charm and all-out, sneering contempt. His performance, which channels the noxious, slow burn of Fedja van Huet's antagonist, is a Jekyll/Hyde tour de force, where he squeezes the terror for every vindictive drop. 

It's safe to say that both versions of Speak No Evil are solid nail-biters, due to their wrong-turn predicament, but also because we've all been fooled by smiling faces at one time or another. Speak No Evil reminds us to be on guard with strangers, though like the Daltons (and their woeful precursors), too often we arrive at that realization too late.