Michael Patrick Jann is best known for his work in comedy and as a cast member on MTV’s sketch comedy show “The State.” In 1999, he made his feature film directorial debut with “Drop Dead Gorgeous” which over the years has developed quite the cult following. With his second feature film as a director, “Organ Trail,” he got out of his comedy safety zone to enter the horror genre. Michael now returns to that genre again with his latest film, “Alma & The Wolf,” which stars Ethan Embry as a troubled police officer who investigates a mysterious wolf attack which happened to a high school classmate of his, Alma (played by Li Jun Li). The investigation becomes even more intense, however, when his son goes missing, and it puts him a collision course with an unbearable truth that can only stay hidden for so long.
I got to speak with Michael one-on-one recently about “Alma & The Wolf,” and we talked a lot about how comedy and horror deal with the various forms of suffering. Also, he discussed the challenges of filming on the Oregon Coast when the weather was really bad and cold, working with animals, and of working with his son, Lukas Jann, who plays Ethan Embry’s son here. In addition, this film also co-stars a classmate of mine from my University of California, Irvine school days, Beth Malone, who plays a rather nosy neighbor. It was great to talk with Michael about what Beth brought to her role and the movie, and it is always great to see her in anything and everything.
“Alma & The Wolf” is now available to rent and stream on select digital platforms. Please check out my interview with Michael down below, and I have also included a trailer for the film as well.
One of the many horror films coming to us in 2025 is arriving this week, and that’s “Alma & The Wolf.” Directed by Michael Patrick Jann, it stars Ethan Embry as Deputy Ren Accord, a very troubled man who has been thrust into a horrifying investigation he may not be fully prepared for. One day while driving on his usual route, he comes across Alma, played by Li Jun Li, who is walking alone in the rain while clutching to what is left of her dog. Alma tells Ren a wolf killed her dog and begs him to kill the wolf for her as an act of revenge. Wolves, however, are protected wildlife in the state of Oregon, so Ren tells Alma he cannot help her that way. But when his son goes missing in the Oregon coast, Ren comes to believe it may have everything to do with the wolf that killed Alma’s dog, and he becomes infinitely determined to find his son and kill the elusive wolf.
I was lucky enough to speak with Ethan Embry and Li Jun Li who are the main stars of “Alma & The Wolf” this past week. Ethan started off his career as a child actor, and he starred opposite Ed O’Neil in the John Hughes written and produced film “Dutch,” and he is best known for his roles in “A Far Off Place,” “Empire Records” and “That Thing You Do.” Li got her start as an actress in the theatre, and she later became known for her role as Iris Chang in the television series “Quantico.” In addition, she has received critical acclaim for her roles as Lady Fay Zhu in Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” and Grace Chow in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.”
Much of my talk with Ethan and Li Li, as she likes to be called, was about acting and their choices. With “Alma & The Wolf,” they were involved in a cinematic production which had a very short production schedule, and I was curious how the speed of it affected their performances overall. Being an actor myself, I found their answers to be deeply informative and fascinating.
“Alma & The Wolf” will be dropped on streaming services starting on June 20, 2025. Please check out the interview below, and I have included a trailer for the film as well.
The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is an ambitious film to say the least. It’s a musical, a courtroom drama, a character study, a love story, and a thriller all-in-one. Before I even put the film in my 4K player, I was well aware of how poorly it was received by critics and audiences alike. I was also well aware that some people considered it a misunderstood masterpiece. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle with “Joker: Folie à Deux,” as I thought there were individual moments in the film which were powerful, well-acted and intense. There were also moments where I was shaking my head and wondering what the hell was going on, and why they decided to go in this particular direction. Overall, it’s a mixed bag, but I would say there is more bad than good in here.
I was a big fan of 2019’s “Joker” which surprised me, as I’m not usually a fan of comic book films. I liked it because it didn’t feel like a comic book movie, and it was more of a character study. I know film critics and fans like to criticize and call it a “Taxi Driver” rip-off, but I thought it was an impressive film with a standout performance from Joaquin Phoenix. I was excited to watch the sequel, even with all the negative press it had received, because I thought the character was interesting, layered and complex. I wanted to see what they would do next with Arthur Fleck/Joker and what he’s been up to since we last visited him.
When “Joker: Folie à Deux” opens up, we see Arthur adjusting to life in Arkham State Hospital. He’s become a local celebrity because of the TV movie on his life, and the guards and fellow patients alike are fascinated by him. While in the heavily guarded hospital, he’s awaiting trial for the five murders he committed. Arthur’s lawyer, Maryanne Stewart, played by Catherine Keener, is not exactly sure what to make of him. Her case is going to center around the fact that she believes Arthur suffers from dissociative identity disorder, which means his Joker persona is responsible for the murders. I found this part of the film to be the most intriguing, especially when Arthur is interviewed by a reporter, played by Steve Coogan.
One day, Arthur meets Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), and it is love at first sight. They connect over their love of music, and she’s also a fan of Arthur. She tells Arthur she’s watched the TV movie about his life twenty times and reveals they have a lot in common. Arthur is smitten with Lee, and they hit it off right away. This gives him new life as he prepares for his upcoming trial. He trusts anything that comes out of Lee’s mouth and believes she knows what is best for him. His lawyer, on the other hand, is looking out for Arthur’s best interests and warns him to keep his guard up.
Let’s start with the positives—”Joker: Folie à Deux” has a lot of big ideas. I enjoyed the exploration of mental health. I thought the way they presented it was done in a way that was compelling and multifaceted. I also liked the way the film dealt with how society becomes obsessed with fame and how villains and killers are worshipped by the public. I thought the film had a terrific cast. The performances were nuanced and believable. All of this made this sequel even more frustrating because there are true moments of brilliance on screen from the actors and the people behind the scenes.
Whenever the film started to get interesting or capture my attention, it would seem to have a moment where it felt like the director and the screenwriter were messing with the audience. It was almost as if we entered another film. I didn’t understand why they didn’t have the conviction and nerve to just make this a straight-up sequel without all of the random musical scenes and gimmicks. I have nothing against musicals, but these scenes made me lose my focus because they didn’t add to the story and instead took away from what was happening on screen. Again, I felt like the director and the screenwriter were just messing with the audience and playing games.
Overall, I can’t recommend “Joker: Folie à Deux” because the film is all over-the-place and wildly inconsistent. It’s even more infuriating because, like I stated previously, there are some really, really powerful and well-acted scenes throughout. However, they are not in the film nearly enough to recommend it. Lady Gaga, for example, is great, but she doesn’t have enough screen time. I was hoping she would have just as Phoenix did, but she’s in and out of this film far too often. This is one of the most disappointing films of 2024. I didn’t hate it, but I sure was disappointed by it.
* ½ out of * * * *
4K Info: “Joker: Folie à Deux” is released on a single 4K disc from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It also comes with a digital copy of the film. The film has a running-time of 138 minutes and is rated R for some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.
4K Video Info: Much like 2019’s “Joker,” this is a top-notch visual experience. It is crystal clear from start-to-finish. The film also has deep blacks which really set the moody and atmospheric tone of what unfolds. From a visual standpoint, this film gets an A. The Dolby Vision transfer is perfect.
4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is also perfect. This is a theatrical movie in every sense of the word, and the audio is perfect. It’s perfect for your at-home theater set-up. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish and French.
Special Features:
Everything Must Go (Four Part Longform Documentary)
– Can I Have a Cigarette?
– Finding Lee
– A Hundred Films in One
– King of Nothing
The Character of Music
Live! With The Joker
Colors Of Madness
Crafted With Class
Should You Buy It?
This is going to be a hard pass from me unless you loved the film and thought it was brilliant. I know John Waters and Quentin Tarantino have praised it, and it has been a source of controversy in the film community. Overall, I didn’t think it was great, and I also didn’t think it was one of the worst films of the year either. I think it’s below average, but it’s watchable, despite its lengthy running time. Joaquin Phoenix gives another top-flight performance as Arthur Fleck, and it’s hard to keep your eyes off him on screen. As mentioned earlier, I wish they would have given Lady Gaga more to do, as I thought she was fantastic when she was on-screen. Overall, I’d say watch it on Max and see how you feel about it. If you do like it, you will be very happy with this 4K release.
**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free. The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.
The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.
“Blink Twice” is a film with ambition, style, and some big goals. It does not always achieve those goals from a filmmaking perspective, but it’s an interesting directorial debut from actress Zoë Kravitz, who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum. The film also opens with a trigger warning for audiences, which is something I don’t think I’ve seen before from a big screen movie. I’ve seen it before on TV shows when a particular episode is going to show scenes involving abuse, suicide, or rape. “Blink Twice” has become one of the most-talked about movies of 2024, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a film that is either going to piss audiences off or leave them with a lot to ponder.
Our film opens up introducing us to Frida (Naomi Ackie) who, along with her friend and roommate Jess (Alia Shawkat), work a ritzy and glamorous exclusive event, where she runs into Slater King (Channing Tatum). He was recently forced to step down as CEO of his company after a scandalous event which forced him into therapy. He claims to be a changed man and has also apologized publicly for his behavior. When he runs into Frida and Jess, they are invited to his private island, where they have to put their phones in a bag. It seems to be your typical rich, glamorous party with drugs and over-the-top behavior, but Slater insists he has toned down his behavior. The longer Frida and Jess spend at this private island, the more they suspect something is up. Can they put the pieces together?
Kravitz has assembled an all-star cast for her feature film debut. The film features unique screen performances from Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan, and Simon Rex. While their performances are unique and out there, unfortunately these are not characters that are particularly well-written or fleshed out. Since they are good actors, they chew up the scenery. However, I can only imagine how much more effective these performances would have been if these characters were not so one-dimensional. The stand-out performance comes from Tatum, who gives a chilling, eerie and unnerving performance.
The first 45-60 minutes are repetitive and boring at times, even though the film is shot beautifully and looks fantastic. As a director, Kravitz has a keen eye behind the camera. This is a gorgeous film featuring beautiful people looking their best while doing very bad things. The film is much more interesting in the third act when certain elements of the plot are revealed to the audience. I wanted the film to be more like the third act, which was lively, intense and exciting. The film lost me for the first hour or so, which is why it was too little, too late to save it as a whole.
I could examine all of the issues and themes which are rather on-the-nose, but I don’t think it would serve my review. I think Kravitz has A LOT to say, and she’s not shy about how she goes about presenting that message. Is it preachy at times? Yes, but it didn’t take me out of the film or make me lose interest in the story. As a matter of fact, it did the opposite for me—it left me with a lot to think about long after the credits rolled. It made me want to see what she has up her sleeve in the future as a filmmaker. “Blink Twice” is a film that gains traction the more you think about it and the further removed you are from it as an audience member. It was the lack of action and the pacing which took me out of the film in the first hour.
Overall, “Blink Twice” almost lost me entirely for a good chunk of its running time. This is something that cannot be ignored. If I wasn’t reviewing the movie, I would have shut it off. Yes, I enjoyed the scenery and the acting, but the plot took way too long to get moving. That being said, I also can’t ignore the power and the impact of the film’s final act along with the energy Kravitz brought to this film as a director. After the movie was over, it stayed with me and I thought about it for a long time. This is a movie that is below average for the first 45-60 minutes before it ends with a bang for the final 30-35 minutes. This is a brainy film. I give it a slight recommendation with some hesitation.
* * out of * * * *
Blu-ray Info: “Blink Twice” is released on a single-disc Blu-ray from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The film has a running time of 102 minutes and is rated R for strong violent content, sexual assault, drug use and language throughout, and some sexual references. It comes with a digital copy of the film as well.
Blu-ray Audio/Video Info: “Blink Twice” looks good on Blu-ray, but I’m not sure why this film didn’t get a 4K release. This film was screaming to be released on 4K, and I’m not sure why they didn’t offer that option. It is still a solid Blu-ray, but a 4K transfer would have been eye-popping and mesmerizing. The Dolby Audio is also solid, but an Atmos track would have been preferred for this movie. Subtitles are included in Parisian French, Castilian Spanish, Italian, English, Latin Spanish, and Canadian French.
Special Features:
NONE
Should You Buy It?
Considering this film should have received a 4K release and there are no special features on this Blu-Ray disc, I don’t think it is a film you need to purchase right away. It also doesn’t come with a slipcover for the Blu-ray. For a collector like me, I enjoy a slipcover over the Blu-ray case. For the time being, it is a film worth seeing, despite how frustrating it can be at times. I’d recommend you rent the film from a digital platform like Amazon, YouTube or Apple TV. It’s worth renting digitally and checking out. I’m looking forward to the next film from director Zoë Kravitz, as she impressed me with her first offering.
**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free. The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.
The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.
It’s interesting how timing can work when watching movies, as I recently checked out “The Sixth Sense” on 4K with it being its 25th anniversary. “The Sixth Sense” is one of my favorite films from M. Night Shyamalan along with “Unbreakable.” These two are great reminders of what he can do when he’s in the right headspace creatively. He knows how to hook an audience into his films with suspense and tension. Lately, however, he has struggled to consistently craft a satisfying conclusion to his films. He’s one of the most polarizing filmmakers today because he relies so much on a “twist” ending and not every movie needs to live and die with a twist. After all, if you are expecting a twist, is it really a surprise?
With his latest film, “Trap,” he sets the scene in a large arena where a father named Cooper, played by Josh Hartnett, is taking his young daughter to a concert. Cooper sticks out like a sore thumb in this venue as he’s one of the few men at the concert, and he’s also 6’3″. He doesn’t exactly blend in with the crowd. He’s also very uneasy at this concert and looks quite uncomfortable. His daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) notices her father keeps leaving his seat and appears hypervigilant of his surroundings. If you have seen the trailer, it’s not a spoiler to reveal the concert is a trap for a killer known as The Butcher. It’s also not a spoiler to reveal The Butcher is also Cooper.
The film then turns into a cat and mouse game as Cooper must find a way to escape the concert and stay one step ahead of security as well as an FBI profiler, played by Hayley Mills. They have security and police at every exit as they have planned for The Butcher to attend this concert, and this is their chance to finally catch him. On paper, this sounds like an interesting and fun premise for a film, especially considering its venue. He has to interact with various security guards, vendors and even parents. How is he going to remain incognito and avoid being arrested? I can see how it would initially capture an audience’s attention.
The biggest issue with “Trap” is the fact that so many of the characters act incredibly dumb and make it quite easy for The Butcher/Cooper to outsmart them. The film would work if he was smart, quick on his feet and clever, and he also had to deal with various roadblocks and obstacles. Instead, he meets a t-shirt vendor who basically tells him everything that is going on and also reveals the security code. Why are the people in this movie so stupid? They seem completely oblivious, which makes his job so much easier. After a while, I just started to laugh at Trap because I couldn’t take any of this seriously, especially Hartnett with his cheesy nice-guy smile. It’s an over-the-top performance in a poorly written movie.
The concert is for Lady Raven, played by Saleka Shyamalan, M. Night’s daughter. This definitely felt like it was a vanity project for his daughter to show off her musical skills. Another issue with was how Cooper seemed to have the ability to appear and reappear without any explanation, whatsoever. I’m all for suspending my disbelief at the movies, but this movie asked too much of me as a viewer. As stated earlier, it became laughable after a while. There are a ton of plot holes, and it’s impossible to ignore them as they are completely implausible. The ending is also completely ridiculous as, once again, people who are supposed to be smart, well-trained professionals act in ways which only serve the plot instead of supporting the intelligence of the character or the profession.
“Trap” is one of the worst films of 2024 because it’s a big budget movie with big ideas, and they should have treated the audience with more respect and intelligence. This film is lazy. It almost feels like M. Night Shyamalan is trolling the audience at this point. He knows how to make movies look great on screen, and he gets all of the little details right in terms of the technical aspects. However, he overlooked the most important part of any movie, which is the screenplay. Since he’s the writer/director here, the screenplay being a stinker falls solely on his shoulders. This was a huge disappointment.
*out of * * * *
4K Info: “Trap” is released on a single-disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It comes with a digital copy of the film as well. The film is rated PG-13 for some violent content and brief strong language and has a running time of 105 minutes.
4K Video Info: The Dolby Vision 4K transfer is quite striking, especially during the concert scenes. The dark blacks set a moody and atmospheric environment. The film looks fantastic on 4K, and it’s a top-notch visual experience. I don’t have anything bad to say about the film from a visual or audio standpoint. It’s the film itself.
4K Audio Info: There is also a fantastic Dolby Atmos soundtrack featured here with subtitles in English, Spanish and French. It really pops during the tense moments and also during the musical numbers. I think that is why the film was such a disappointment for me as a viewer, as it looks and sounds so good.
Special Features:
Setting the Trap: A New M. Night Shyamalan Experience
Saleka as Lady Raven
Deleted Scenes
Extended Concert Scene: Where Did She Go
Should You Buy It?
I’ve noticed “Trap”has elicited a love it or hate it response from a lot of filmgoers. This falls under the category of, “For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing they like.” If you did enjoy “Trap,” this is a top-notch 4K experience from an audio and visual perspective. It looks and sounds fantastic. If you haven’t enjoyed the latest offerings of M. Night Shyamalan, this film is not likely to be in your wheelhouse. I found the film to be laborious, silly and laughable. It started off with such promise and then it went completely off the rails. It’s not so bad, it’s good. It’s just bad.
**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free. The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.
Going into “Don’t Worry Darling,” I wondered if the hype for this film had inadvertently hurt it. This is the second directorial feature from Olivia Wilde whose first film, “Booksmart,” was one of my favorites of 2019, and people like myself became ever so excited to see what film she would tackle next. It also features quite the cast with Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine and Nick Kroll among others, and the trailers have shown it to have a very striking look. In recent months, the behind-the-scenes stories have taken an annoying precedence over everything else such as Wilde’s relationship with Styles which started during production, or the on-set conflicts between her and Pugh which led to what was allegedly quite the screaming match. It also had the added pressure of being promoted as a serious Oscar contender and raising everyone’s that high can ultimately lead to an inescapable disappointment even if the end result is not bad.
Well, “Don’t Worry Darling” has now arrived at movie theaters everywhere, and this allowed me to watch the film outside of all its gossip and with a full audience in attendance, For the record, I think Wilde is still quite the director as she gives the proceedings a beautiful visual look thanks in part to cinematographer Matthew Libatique, the music score by John Powell is unlike others he has given us in the past and is quite effective, and there are many strong performances to be found here throughout. But when all is said and done, Wilde and her fellow filmmakers have given us a film with a story which is old, old, old. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the plot here represents a path which has been walked and trodden down far too many times.
As the film opens, we are taken back to the 1950’s where a several married couples are enjoying an evening of endless fun and drunken games in their hometown of Victory, California. Among them is Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles) who love one another to such an infinite degree as a certain scene at the dinner table will show you. As Jack gets into his car to drive to work, we see the other husbands doing the same and at the exact same time. It should go without saying how this is the first sign of things being too good to be true. While the husbands work their butts off at work, their wives stay at home either taking care of the kids or preparing the best dinner anyone could ever hope to eat, assuming it was not accidentally burnt to a crisp. Everything seems to be going in unison, and it’s only a matter of time when someone upsets the balance of things.
For Alice, it doesn’t take all that long before she realizes something is amiss. One day she cooks eggs and bacon for her husband and discovers some of the eggs are hollow. She notices a plane crashing into the mountains while others claim complete ignorance. Like all the other husbands, Jack never tells her exactly what he does for a living. And yes, there is that one neighbor who acts like Kevin McCarthy in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” or Crazy Ralph in “Friday the 13th” as she tells anyone who is listening, “We’re being lied to! Don’t you see?” Of course, not enough people bother to listen to such cryptic warnings until it is too late.
By this description, it should be plainly obvious as to where “Don’t Worry Darling” is going, and is painful for me to write that Wilde is unable to bring anything new or fresh to the material. A friend of mine has compared it to M. Nigh Shyamalan’s “The Village,” and I don’t blame him. For me, it is a combination of “The Village” and Cameron Crowe’s “Vanilla Sky” as the revelations characters make here are never the least bit surprising, and the line between what’s real and what is not is stunningly lackluster. I even kept waiting for one or more characters to throw up their arms and scream out loud, “TECH SUPPORT!” No such luck though.
Heck, “Don’t Worry Darling” even reminded me of season eight episode of “The Simpsons” entitled “You Only Move Twice” in which Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie leave Springfield and move to the all-too perfect town of Cypress Rock. Homer gets to work for a surprisingly sympathetic boss named Hank Scorpio who is later revealed to be a supervillain bent on creating a doomsday device. Of course, this is all lost on Homer who barely registers the chaos Hank is wreaking on the world. Then again, who wants to quickly admit the perfect world they live in is not all that perfect?
Things become even more obvious as we get to know the Hank Scorpio of this movie, Frank, played by the always terrific Chris Pine. Frank is the founder of this utopia everyone lives in called the Victory Project, and he demands everyone’s loyalty in the most passive-aggressive way. But while he encourages the wives not to question their husbands’ work and to keep their distance from the project’s headquarters, he’s also gleefully daring them, Alice in particular, to get to the truth about the project just to see if they possibly convince anyone else of it.
Even as the movie staggers through the bleeding obvious, there was one thing which kept me engrossed from start to finish: the performance of Florence Pugh. She is dynamite here as Alice and so emotionally raw that it was impossible to take my eyes off of her. Even if the chemistry between her and Harry Styles, who is good but not great here, is a bit lacking, she makes up for it and helps elevate this material to a level it doesn’t deserve to be at. I also loved the scene between her and Pine at the dinner table in which they essentially play a mental chess match with one another as Alice tries to make everyone see through the web of lies they are caught up in.
It really sucks to say “Don’t Worry Darling” will forever be upstaged by its behind-the-scenes stories as they now prove to be far more interesting than what unfolds here on the silver screen. Again, Wilde is not a bad director, and I know she will rebound from this. While the hype machine may have gone into overload on this cinematic endeavor, it still does not change the fact that this is a case of “been there, done that.”
The isolated home by the seaside or out in the wilderness always seems like the perfect location for your average horror film or psychological thriller. It’s a place where many of us go to get away from our daily troubles as well as the hustle and bustle of city life as it can become too overbearing after a time. But once characters arrive at such a peaceful destination and have fallen in love with the beautiful vistas and ambient noises, all hell breaks loose. While they want to get away from everything, a brutal form of everything is coming after them. Whether it’s “The Evil Dead,” “Gerald’s Game,” “Honeymoon,” “Silent House” or other movies which are not coming to my mind right now, I have to wonder if getting away from everything is all its cracked up to be.
These thoughts went through my mind when as I watched “The Night House,” a psychological horror film which looks to have Rebecca Hall trapped in a beautiful seaside house which is haunted. But what unfolded before my eyes proved to be much more absorbing and thrilling than I expected as it deals with the things that go bump in the night, but it also deals with universal themes such as grief and coping with such an unexpected loss. While this movie is not exactly groundbreaking, it kept me within its grasp throughout and made me jump out of my seat a few times.
Hall plays Beth, a small-town schoolteacher who is now a widow. During a rather prickly parent-teacher meeting in which a mother is a bit miffed at Beth for giving her son a C in Speech, Beth tells her that her husband had died by suicide the other week. Suffice to say, this is not your typical parent-teacher meeting, but the parent did get their offspring a higher grade as a result. Of course, the parent walked out of it all embarrassed just like she should have.
Despite all the pain and anguish she is enduring, Beth continues to reside in the house her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit) built for them during the early years of their marriage. Watching Beth’s home video footage of this house being built helps bring this story down to a more relatable level for me as friends of mine in Northern California shared videos of their own houses being constructed which had them all super excited. It is always more fun for some to create something than it is to destroy anything.
But when night falls, strange things begin happening around the house. The stereo system turns on by itself to play one of Beth and Owen’s favorite songs at an ear-splitting volume. Beth hears knocking on the walls but cannot find who is doing it, and with her getting drunk on a regular basis, it is getting harder to tell what is real and what is fantasy.
I sat in the darkened theater very much enthralled by “The Night House” as director David Bruckner, who previously the 2017 British horror film “The Ritual,” keeps us guessing as to what is really going on with Beth as she struggles to get past her husband’s sudden death even as she discovers things about him she was unaware of. To say he gives the proceedings a Hitchcockian vibe feels justified as the story holds onto its secret without ruining them long before the screen goes to black.
Bruckner also does a terrific job in making this house a terrifying place as he shows us how silence can be golden. As Beth moves around in her isolated home, there is little in the way of ambient sound, and it’s moments like these where I keep waiting with unbated anxiety for something loud to come out of nowhere. Yes, there are jump scares, but the ones Bruckner pulls off are highly effective as I cannot remember the last time I leaped out of my seat like this. Seriously, there may be cracks in the ceiling.
And then there’s Rebecca Hall who reminded me once again what an undervalued actress she is. Whether it’s “Iron Man 3,” “The Town” or the little seen “Christine,” she always proves to be a memorable presence as she fully invests herself in each character she plays. As Beth, she does some of her best work yet as runs the gamut of emotions while portraying a character going through the many stages of grief. Beth is sarcastic, biting and not always the nicest person to her friends, but Hall makes you empathize with her as this is her dealing with such a devastating and unforeseen death.
Hall also has nice support from her fellow actors here. Sarah Goldberg is a heartwarming presence as Beth’s best friend, Claire. While Beth may be pushing away, Claire still attempts to help her anyway she can even as she constantly apologizes for the things she said but didn’t mean to. Goldberg makes Claire feel painfully real as the character embodies the way many of us act towards a friend who has lost someone.
Vondie Curtis-Hall shows up as Mel, a local caretaker who also wants to help Beth in her time of need. The actor manages to find a subtle balance between being helpful and also vulnerable as Mel appears to be more knowledgeable about Owen than Beth initially realizes. Not all actors are successful in pulling this off, so it is noteworthy.
Stacy Martin, best known for her work in Lars Von Trier “Nymphomaniac,” has some choice scenes as Madelyne, a woman who may know more about Owen than Beth is comfortable with. It’s interesting to watch Madelyne as she struggles to befriend Beth even when Beth looks like she wants to jump across the table and strangle her. Martin does a great job in handling the awkwardness of her situation even as she looks to be risking physical and emotional harm.
I was surprised to see how deeply I was taken into “The Night House” as it looked, on the outside anyway, to be an average horror or thriller which may be fun but not leave much of an aftertaste. This film, however, really got under my skin though thanks to the performances and Bruckner’s direction which is even further enhanced by the beautiful cinematography by Elisha Christian and the ominous film score composed by Ben Lovett. But at the center of it all is Rebecca Hall who fully involves us in her character’s frightening path which looks to have no happy end. From start to finish, she is a marvel.
Seriously, I came out “The Night House” shaking. I watched it in sheer terror as I feared for the secrets Beth would end up discovering, and I also was terrified this movie would have some shaggy dog ending which would just pull the rug right out from under us in a terrible way. Remember the wannabe “Sixth Sense” ending that Nicholas Sparks adaptation “Safe Haven” had? Oh lord! Well, this one does not have that kind of an ending even though part of me was a bit perplexed by it.
In the end, “The Night House” is really meant to be an exploration of grief and how one person can go through its brutal stages It’s great to see a horror thriller pull this off in an emotional and thoughtful way, and it was all accomplished with little, if any, blood and gore. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but anyway.
WRITER’S NOTE: This article was written back in 2012.
Max Thieriot’s acting career has been on the rise ever since his film debut in “Catch that Kid,” and now he gets one of his biggest roles to date in the horror movie “House at the End of the Street.” In it, he plays Ryan Jacobson, a sole survivor of a vicious attack which claimed the lives of his immediate family. Thieriot talked about how he prepared for the role and of what it was like working with Jennifer Lawrence who co-stars as the new girl in town, Elissa.
Thieriot got really excited about playing Ryan after he read the script, finding him very complex and full of many layers which get peeled back as the screenplay unfolds. The challenge of the role for him was to find a way to make this soft spoken and quiet character more unique than the ones which usually inhabit horror movies.
“I watched a lot of videos, and all sorts of stuff on people with different issues, and tried to find some common ground and similarity between them and their actions, and Ryan,” Thieriot said. “I put together a lot of stuff, and came up with what I did.”
Like many horror and thriller movies, “House at the End of the Street” contains endless twists and turns as filmmakers love to keep audiences guessing. Thieriot said it is actually rare for him to find a script like this one which has twists he did not see coming. The trick became to not reveal too much as it can be ridiculously easy to give a lot of things away.
“One of the hardest parts is when you’re playing a character and you know what’s going on with the character, it’s easier to not show it,” said Thieriot. “In this film, there are moments where you reveal little secrets without telling people that it’s happening – whether it’s a look and being able to have them noticeable enough that when you finish the movie, you go, ‘Oh!'”
Of course, many people have asked Thierlot what it was like working with Jennifer Lawrence whose career has gone into hyper drive thanks to the success of “The Hunger Games.” He spoke very highly of Lawrence and described her as really cool and that he had a lot of fun playing off her and working with her. What also made them work so well together in “House at the End of the Street” is they have similar backgrounds in regards to how they grew up.
“Immediately, I could tell she was a fantastic actress. It was always very real with her. It made it so much easier for me to come off like that,” Thieriot said. “She was a down-to-earth, small-town girl. I’m from a small town in Northern California. We understood each other. It (this movie) was before any of her success. Nobody in the industry knew her. That’s how it always is – you’re unknown until you get that one chance to show it.”
Up next for Max Thieriot is playing Norman Bates’ older brother Dylan in the upcoming A&E drama series “Bates Motel.” He has previously only been in one horror movie before “House at the End of the Street” (Wes Craven’s underappreciated “My Soul to Take”), but he is certainly making his presence felt in this genre. It will benefit from actors like Thieriot who are out to give audiences something that’s not just the same old thing.
Master John Carpenter described “The Ward,” his first feature length movie in ten years, best through a video message at the Toronto International Film Festival:
“’The Ward’ is an old school horror movie made by an old school director.”
It’s good to know this going in as Carpenter is not trying to reinvent the wheel or outdo all other horror releases out now. The plot of “The Ward” is as old fashioned as they come, and it allows Mr. Carpenter to exercise the skills he has perfected for many years. It’s not on a par with “The Thing” or “Halloween,” but in the end I didn’t care. For me it was an absorbing movie which kept me entertained throughout its running time, and it was far more entertaining than those summer blockbusters duds “Green Lantern” or “Bad Teacher.”
“The Ward” stars Amber Heard as Kristen, a young woman whom we first see her indulging in a little pyromania, and not the kind Def Leppard made an album about. The police pick Kristen up after she burns down an abandoned farmhouse, and she gets sent straight to the ward of the movie’s title. Her fellow patients are not necessarily the “Girl, Interrupted” type, and Angelina Jolie is nowhere to be found. The intentions of Dr. Stringer (Jared Harris) appear ambiguous at best, and dealing with the chief orderly and Nurse Lundt, both who are deadly serious, is no picnic.
Actually, let me segue here for a moment; Nurse Lundt’s name seems to rhyme with a certain derogatory word. Which one you say? Well… You can just figure that out on your own. I wonder if this was intentional on the part of screenwriters Michael and Shawn Rasmussen, or perhaps it is just the name of someone they knew from way back. Well, whatever the case, Lundt certainly gives Nurse Ratched a run for her money in the seriously mean category, but her voice is not as lovely as Louise Fletcher’s was.
Now this being a psychiatric ward, it is mandatory that a ghost is roaming the halls. Kristen first sees it while taking a shower and, of course, everyone says she’s a nut which is redundant considering she’s staying in a mental institution. Then again, the patients may know more about what’s going on than they initially admit. I hate to think they’ve spent all their time there without seeing at least one ghost, you know? Anyway, patients start to disappear one by one, and Kristen aims to find out what happened to them on top of escaping the ward before it claims her as its next victim.
Now whatever you think of Carpenter’s directorial skills these days, his efforts in generating suspense are still strong. Carpenter is smart to not reveal all the important plot details right away, and he holds you within his grasp throughout as he leaves you guessing or imagining what’s really going on. Even if you see the ending coming from a mile away, the journey to it was an entertaining one for me.
I was skimming through another review of “The Ward” online which said Heard was as believable a mental patient as Charlize Theron was a mine worker in “North Country.” Now what is that supposed to mean? That she’s too good looking to be in a psychiatric ward? Give me a break! Heard does good work here portraying a strong-willed protagonist you want to root for. She’s engaging and believable, and while others may see her as being miscast, I did not. By the way, I thought Theron was great in “North Country” and I utterly accepted her as a mine worker. And in case that one reviewer didn’t notice, both actresses were in “North Country” and played different versions of the same character.
Lyndsy Fonseca is very good as Iris, the first girl to befriend Kristen. She appears to be the most emotionally balanced of the patients, and Fonseca makes her character’s awareness all the more convincing. Mamie Gummer gives a good performance as Emily, and she gives Emily a complexity she might otherwise not have had. Danielle Panabaker makes her character Sarah the epitome of Carly Simon’s classic tune “You’re So Vain,” and she’s a kick to watch. And Laura Leigh rounds out this strong group of actresses by making Zoey a convincingly traumatized person whose escape from reality consists of her acting like a little girl.
In terms of horror, Carpenter still makes effective use of cheap scares. While they have been used to death by dozens of filmmakers, he always makes them count. This is especially the case with “The Ward’s” final scene which truly took me by surprise. I should warn you though that the movie has one of those pull out the rug from under you kind of endings which I am really sick of. However, Carpenter doesn’t telegraph the ending to us like others typically do, so I’m willing to let it pass this time.
If there’s anything missing from “The Ward,” it’s Carpenter’s music which I am a big fan of, and his unique sounds were missed. Not that I want to knock Mark Kilian’s work here as he gives the film an appropriately atmospheric score which works very well, and it does have a bit of that Carpenter sound to it. Still, I yearn for a new score from Carpenter or even his son Cody who did amazing work on “Masters of Horror.”
Am I being too forgiving to “The Ward?” Perhaps. I’ve always been a big admirer of Carpenter’s work, and I even have good things to say about “Ghosts of Mars.” Many have expressed their big disappointment with “The Ward” as they want it to be on a par with “Halloween” and “The Thing.” Others found it not gory enough, but then again Carpenter’s strongest films don’t always rely on it like the “Saw” movies do. Personally, I don’t want to spend time comparing “The Ward” to his best movies because to do so would just be asking us to hate it before the opening credits even begin. You can only let an artist remain in the shadow of their past work for so long until you realize your spoiling the experience for yourself.
With “The Ward,” Carpenter was looking for a movie with a tight schedule and a limited location which didn’t require him to stay for a long time or get completely exhausted after shooting only half of it. With the limited resources he had, he made “The Ward” worth watching, and I got very involved in the plights of the characters. There’s nothing original on display here, and it may very well remind you of a gazillion other movies like it, but I’m glad the master finally directed a feature film again after so long. I just hope we don’t have to wait another ten years for Carpenter’s next film. And if there’s anyway Kurt Russell can star in it, you can sure bet I will be watching it on opening day!
“Dolores Claiborne” is, on the surface, not your typical Stephen King novel, and this is important to note before you begin watching this particular adaptation of his work. This cinematic treatment reunites him with the great Kathy Bates who won an Oscar for playing Annie Wilkes in “Misery,” but she’s not playing a deranged psycho this time around. Also, while much of King’s writings deal with terrifying supernatural powers and unspeakable terrors, the horror generated here comes from real life horrors no one should ever have to endure. In some ways, this makes it one of his more terrifying tales because it deals with the kind of horrible crimes we hope and pray never to experience first-hand. Having said this, it is clear how many of us can never be so lucky as to avoid the worst traumas humanity has to offer.
Bates plays the title character who, as “Dolores Claiborne” opens, is believed to have killed her rich employer Vera Donovan (Judy Parfitt). This crime immediately reminds the town of Little Tall Island in Maine when Dolores’ husband, Joe (David Strathairn), died twenty years ago under mysterious circumstances, and the general consensus was that Dolores killed him. Detective John Mackey (Christopher Plummer), who had pursued the case against her back then is determined to put her behind bars this time and for good. Into this mix comes Dolores’ daughter, Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a big-time reporter who arrives to defend her mother despite the two of them having been estranged for over a decade.
The novel “Dolores Claiborne” was essentially one long monologue as the story was written entirely from the title character’s point of view. This makes the work director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter Tony Gilroy have done here all the more impressive. They have taken Dolores’ unsettling story and have stretched it out into a character driven motion picture filled with various characters who have been fleshed out in unforgettably compelling ways. None of these characters, even that drunken lout of a husband and father, are one-dimensional or throwaway caricatures. Each one is complex, and they take unexpected directions which might seem jarring at first, but eventually make sense in the large scheme of things.
The plot shifts back and forth in time as we flashback to when Dolores lived with her drunk and abusive husband and of the vicious abuse she took from him in his endlessly drunken state. Director of photography Gabriel Beristain shoots this hideous past with such vivid colors to where he gives the scenes an innocent look which is soon contrasted with horrible violence. It almost acts as a façade for how the past was seen as if it were some sort of Norman Rockwell painting, the kind made to cover up the severe family dysfunction many would like to pretend does not exist.
For the record, King said he wrote the character of Dolores Claiborne with Kathy Bates in mind, and it is very hard to think of another actress who could have inhabited this role. Stripped of any false glamour, Bates takes her character from being a victim to one who understandably takes matters into her own hands. Her acting here is flawless and compelling, and we root for her even though her actions have devastating moral implications.
When you look at her overall body of work, this movie almost seems like a walk in the park for Leigh. She has gone to great physical and emotional lengths to portray a character throughout her long career, but here it looks like she is taking it easy. However, her character of Selena is no less challenging to portray than the others listed on her vast resume. Selena is not easily likable, but she has to be empathetic because the viewer slowly starts to see how her innocence was irrevocably and unforgivably destroyed. Leigh matches Bates’ performance scene for scene by showing how much Selena wants to forget the past, but she comes to see how her most repressed memories cannot stay below the surface forever.
Special attention also needs to be paid to Ellen Muth who portrays Selena as a little girl. This is not the kind of role parents want their children to portray to as it deals with abuse and molestation among other things, but Muth proves to be utterly convincing in making the young Selena deeply distraught and confused by actions no child should ever have to be put through.
There’s also a bevy of excellent performances from the rest of the cast as well. Christopher Plummer, who is never bad in anything, is memorable as the relentless Detective John Mackey. This could have been a throwaway role, but Plummer makes Mackey a complex character to where you question whether his determination is based more on personal revenge than justice. Judy Parfitt is unbearably domineering as Dolores’ wealthy employer, Vera Donovan, and their relationship runs much deeper than we see at first glance. And David Strathairn manages to flesh out his despicable character of Joe St. George to where he’s just slightly more than your average mean drunk.
Most of King’s novels deal with the horror of supernatural elements or ghosts and demons which haunt our nightmares. But “Dolores Claiborne,” much like “Stand by Me,” deals with the horrors of real life which we are never quick to confront unless we are put in a position where the awful truth can no longer be ignored. Perhaps the unsettling nature of this particular work by King is what kept many from checking out this motion picture when it arrived in movie theatres back in 1995, but those of us who were willing to dive into the dark side of things like myself did not deny ourselves a journey to the horrors this film has to offer. But now, 25 years later, this film fits in perfectly with a time which includes the Time’s Up movement as we are forced to realize we have thoughtlessly ignored the worst abuses made against other human beings for far too long. As a result, this particular King cinematic adaption plays even better than it did back when it was released.
The Ultimate Rabbit 