J*A*S*M

A disjointed wedding. A film about asking questions and running away from the answers. In an alcoholic haze, the wedding party refuses to deal rationally with the problems of the found skeleton in the closet and the crazy groom is only problematically coming to terms with his past, just like the Polish nation. In an intoxicated sense, Demon is a film told under the influence. It portrays very accurately that state when you are a little aware, a little crazy, bump around the room and fell like outside yourself. Whether some dybbuk spirit gets involved or not, is not that important. It’s art, but the kind of art that it’s gratifying, atmospheric, intoxicating and surprisingly funny – the whole theatre laughed many times. Wrona was a great talent, it’s a pity.

A pleasant and original take on the topic of possession, which doesn’t end with the exorcism, but actually starts there. It’s a pity that the script doesn’t develop somewhat more interesting things, because objectively, it’s not scary, or tense, or even funny. But I still had quite some fun, maybe thanks to the nice visuals. It has style, which counts.

If we were to rate which film needs the most accidents and happy circumstances to fulfil its plot, Remember would be at the top of the rankings. Really, the fact that this revenge worked out more or less the way it was planned is a miracle. But if we leave aside the “likelihood criteria” from the rating (I don’t know how else to call it), the script is great. The highlights are the visit to the third Kurlander and, of course, the climax.

It feels and looks like a (rightfully) forgotten Latino Trash from the 1970s, and I don’t mean this as a compliment. If you are into this kind of poetics, you’ll probably like it. I only liked two or three of the stories, which is very little.

Positives: It isn’t boring. Negatives: All the rest. If My Struggle II took place across the six episodes of the miniseries, it could be fine, but in this way it’s such a rushed chaos that it’s almost ridiculous. The twists are haphazard, Jeff from Community is the one informing about the apocalypse, Scully is forging something in the lab with an unlikeable prude, and I don’t think anyone can know exactly what (of course, an antidote…). I’m willing to forgive the deviation from the mythology, but I won’t forgive what they’ve done with Monica Reyes. And the ending, a not very carefully put together cliffhanger that cuts something in half, as if the power went out. Carter, you’ve really pissed me off.

Nice thing, surprisingly nice, given the director’s work so far. This time he’s been able to elevate himself above the average. Even though The Boy takes place in modern times, it’s a bit of gothic-horror (loneliness in the English countryside, a large and scary house and the doll of a boy that holds something alive and probably sinister). Nicely shot, an eye candy, with a lead female whose behaviour fortunately doesn’t cause any fit of astonishment and ridicule. But it’s rather horror-lite only, don’t expect any intensive terror in any sense. Unlike others, I have no problem with the outcome, though it isn’t something you wouldn’t have thought while viewing, nor is it something we haven’t seen before. Almost four stars, but I think the experience fizzles out soon.

Chris Carter has gone mad! Or how to totally ruin the opportunity to make loyal fans happy after 15 years. Did the creators really believe that this is what we wanted? A stupidly written story about Muslim terrorists, where the paranormal is almost absent, a cringe-worthy trip on ‘shrooms and Mulder and Scully almost without any scenes together. A pointless loss of one episode of six. Sad.

A festival of idiocy, both in the terrible characters, as well as in the terrible creators. Enough said.

A very, very good concept and the most original use of the found footage format in a long time. Here, the security cameras were not put by a family being haunted by a demon. No, they were put by a pervert who gets off on watching unsuspecting victims. And if that wasn’t enough, he hides in their attic. Brrr! Unsettling and realistic, but I feel that the concept itself was stronger than the experience from the resulting film. What exactly could have been done differently and better, I don’t know.

An anthology of short stories that is not an anthology of short stories. Rather, it’s a frantic ride through a western small town and its surroundings where strange things happen. This eliminates the problem of the short story anthology films, where mostly the “to each their own” rule applies. Southbound, in contrast, gives a rather holistic impression, with an atmosphere that stays within marked boundaries. And there’s always something happening. It’s a very gratifying film that doesn’t keep you waiting, and the authors try to please the viewer with a substantial number of horror properties and you almost don’t have time to catch your breath. I was reminded of In the Mouth of Madness, the atmosphere of that hellish small town is very similar. Even the main score is a bit “Carpenterish”. 8/10