How much of your boundaries will you allow others to bend or break? How much would you sacrifice in the name of civility? 

 touches on the subjects listed and asks the audience, “Well how far would this story go for you?” This film is a tension-filled slow burn that pulls the audience in for a devastating finale.

On a family getaway in the Italian countryside, Bjørn (

) meet a wonderful couple and quickly become vacation friends. Patrick (

) are a seemingly normal family. Patrick is an exuberant extrovert who has a certain mesmerizing bravado to himself and Karin is a warm figure to offset her husband’s personality. Both families enjoy the remaining vacation time together and go their separate ways. Not long after returning home from their vacation, Bjørn and Louise receive an invitation from their new friends to come out to their cabin in the Dutch countryside. While reluctant at first, Bjørn jokingly states, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

The weekend trip quickly turns from awkward to tense. Cultures clash over different approaches to parenting, hosting, and etiquette to name a few. The family begins to feel pushed more and more out of their comfort zone as the environment escalates from friendly to hostile, and makes the family (and the audience) question how much more niceties they can maintain.

The film quickly escalates at the beginning of the third act and we crash quickly into the final devastating 20 minutes of 

. The family quickly realize that their pleasantries on being good guests were all in vain…and that their fates are now sealed.  Fair warning, the final moments of this film are truly disturbing and very hard to stomach, and I would not scoff at anyone that could not finish the final act.

 had already had the intention of creating the “most disturbing film in Danish history” with his co-writer brother 

and actually found it quite difficult to find actors who would participate after reading the final pages of the script. The story itself is actually based on a childhood experience 

had with his parents where they reconnected with a German family they met while on vacation. Needless to say, their experience was not as intense as Speak No Evil, but it did leave an impression on 

 creates an allegorical take on the concept of politeness. The story begs us to question, “How much would you put up with for the sake of civility?” The family throughout this film is constantly pushed to their limits on what they consider normal and have to question whether they are okay with the cultural differences being presented. This point is drilled down in the third act, with Patrick’s response to Bjørn questioning why they are doing what they are doing being, “Because you let me.”

While intentional or not, another theme the story deconstructs is of being in an abusive relationship. Patrick is the perfect manipulator in this story, and 

 plays the role on point. Patrick is constantly pushing the boundaries of Bjørn and Louise, seemingly waiting for a response but when received, apologizes and pushes blame outward. Patrick also continually emasculates the family and moreover Bjørn with his aggressive bravado, seemingly to intimidate them into submission. This coincides perfectly with an abusive relationship, the victim feeling strung out and pushed to their limits and then gaslit when they finally gain the courage to speak out, only to feel like the bad guy in the end. Because of this, the family continues to stay thinking that if they only understand Patrick and Karin more that these conflicts will subside which we eventually find out is furthest from the truth.

Along with the great acting and screenwriting, 

 has beautiful cinematography. The Netherlands provides beautifully spacious scenery and creates a feeling of isolation, similar to the setting of 

. The scoring has a beautiful orchestral element to it in the first and second half to emphasize this grandeur setting, but falls silent in the third to coincide with the growing tension.

This being a more arthouse leaning film, there are a lot of great things to be said about this film when it comes to the cinematography and acting. Yet throughout the film as a viewer you do have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit, and these parts also affect the acting of said scenes. One of the biggest is after the reveal of the third act Bjørn has time to tell his wife what is going on but fails to do so, which basically leads into the rest of the movie happening. When confronted with the things Bjørn saw I find it very hard to believe in a realistic situation (which this was trying to be) that he would not tell Louise. The pacing itself of the film, while a slow burn, does take quite a bit longer than needed. The second half of the second act does feel to slog down quite a bit, and seems to repeat the tropes of the late first and early second acts.

 does exactly what it sets out to do though. This movie is disturbing. This movie will leave a pit in your stomach. This movie is what one would call “a trainwreck in slow motion.” 

 leaves an impression, whether good or not is up to the viewer to decide, but be ready to have a cleansing movie to watch after this heavy film.

Speak No Evil

'Speak No Evil' - A disturbing allegorical tale of abuse and civility

A few years ago, if we would have had a discussion about movies that deserved or would receive sequels, I think it’s safe to assume 

 would be pretty low on that list. The last time we left Esther, she was taking a forever nap at the bottom of a pond. Though unexpected, 

 return is welcomed with open arms as we get another 90 minutes to delve into the madness that is Esther in this prequel.

, Leena Klammer – a 31-year-old woman with a hormonal disorder that gives her the appearance of a 9-year-old child – escapes from a psychiatric institute and leaves a bloody path behind her. Leena starts a search for missing American girls that bear close resemblance to herself and comes across Esther Albright who went missing in 2003. Posing as the missing girl, Leena approaches a police officer and introduces herself as “Esther”.  Back in the US, Allen (

) Albright have been dealing with the disappearance of their daughter for the past four years and have just started coming to terms with the possibility their daughter may never return. Their world is turned upside down when the detective on their case, Inspector Donnan (

), arrives at their house with the news that their daughter has been found. As “Esther” acclimates back into their family, the family tension starts to rise as Tricia begins to suspect that her found daughter may not be who she says she is.

 leads us down very familiar territory at the beginning of this film. We see a lot of the same tropes from the first like Esther conniving to keep her secret hidden, a mother who feels something is wrong, and more. Just as we start to think we are going down the same path, 

 provides a massive left turn that carries us on the edge of our seats for the rest of the film, providing the much needed extra oomph to make this a film worthwhile.

Of course when this film was announced as a prequel there were a lot of questions, especially with 

 was a pre-teen pretending to be a 30-year-old woman pretending to be a child. 

 now being a woman had a much more difficult task of trying to look how she did back in 2009. 

 do a fantastic job of actually pulling this off with the use of practical effects and camera angles. While the viewer still has to drop some believability in regards to the de-aging, it is not jarring enough to completely distract from the film.

 as Esther, one cannot discredit her co-star 

 does a fantastic job of carrying the same amount of energy in her scenes with 

, and actually steals the scene a few times. Her wide range goes past her typical character piece and we see a different side of 

 is not going to be some art house piece or have any deeper meaning. Parts of this film drag, especially between the second and third act. Scenes have a hazy grain over them which can be distracting, presumably to hide the de-aging process for Esther. Some scenes are over-the-top and not realistic. But at the same time, 

 isn’t trying to be that and it thrives by accepting the absurdity and campiness. If you liked the first 

 then you will enjoy another ride with Esther.

Orphan: First Kill

'Orphan: First Kill' - A camp filled fun-ride

 continues his success streak with his third directorial film 

. With a film marketing campaign wrapped in mystery, theater goers were unaware of what we were getting with this film. With a star studded cast and another original screenplay by 

, there was little chance of this not being a wild ride from start to finish.

) find themselves picking up the pieces after the untimely death of their father (

) and are left with the responsibility of keeping the family farm afloat. Finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with their expenses, OJ sells some of the farm’s horses to the neighboring theme park Jupiter’s Claim, ran by the former child TV star Ricky “Jupe” Park (

), where Jupe also offers to buy the farm. While mulling over the offer that night, OJ and Em encounter a strange occurrence at their farm house. With ideations of money and fame, the two decide to explore further by recruiting the help of Fry’s Electronic employee Angel (

 has a lot of great things working for it. 

 gets another phenomenal character out of 

 again provides a phenomenal and unique story, and subverts our expectations throughout the film. The changing cause of the main conflict of 

 takes us from familiar territories to something that few stories have explored on a horror level and gives us something new to be terrified about.

 film without some exploration of deeper themes below the surface. 

 is a movie about our addiction to spectacle and our inability to look away from drama, even going as far as finding humor in it, and then how quickly we forget. Jupe is silently traumatized by an incident that happened when he was a child on the set of a sitcom with a chimpanzee animal actor. Instead of tackling the trauma that occurred, he creates a theme park glorifying it and even gleefully talks about a SNL skit that made fun of it. 

 further explores the exploitation of animals by exploring the dichotomy of OJ and Jupe’s characters and how they treat them. After Jupe’s assumed escape from the chimpanzee attack, he believes he has a certain kinship to animals and he can just get them to like him. OJ on the other hand recognizes that taming animals is not something you are born with, but a mutual respect you have with the animal. Without spoiling anything, this comes into fruition in one the more memorable moments of the film.

 was a great film, the third act felt a little lackluster and drawn out. The decision to rely more heavily on FX for the final scenes and incorporating it during daylight brought quite a bit of the scare factor out of these scenes. Compared with the second act night scene, it falls short in comparison.

 resume. In a world of remakes and sequels, there is nothing but respect for a mainstream director/writer that will take chances on creating unique stories and starting a dialogue with their film. 

 continues to be a force of nature in the horror genre and will continue to line seats with his name attached to a film.

Nope

'Nope' - Peele delivers another winner

) is an absolute fever dream of a film. The closest one could get to describing it would be a cross between an adult version of a Scooby Doo haunted house episode and 70s Japanese culture. It truly is hard to create a proper explanation with words though as 

 is a one of a kind spectacle that has earned its cult status.  If 

 has not been on your radar until now, make sure to include it on your watch list.

The film follows a young girl named Beauty (

) as she prepares to spend the summer on vacation with her father. Beauty becomes distraught though when she learns her father has remarried while gone for work, feeling like he is replacing her mother who died years earlier. Beauty decides to reach out to her aunt, who she has not spoken to in years, and stay with her for the summer. She invites six of her closest school friends to accompany her to her aunt’s mansion in the countryside. Upon their arrival, things slowly start going awry and the story starts to escalate as the girls start disappearing one by one.

When the film company Toho originally approached director 

 for a story, they had a vision for this film to resemble an already successful hit film. That film? 

. Yes you read that correctly, the inspiration for House was supposed to be 

 does not have a killer shark or even a closeby waterfront, it is by far better for its originality. A lot of that is due to the writer turned director 

 and his pre-teen daughter whom he sought ideas from for 

, adults “only think about things they understand…everything on that boring human level” while “children can come up with things that can’t be explained”. Many of her ideas are represented in this film and are what give 

 cult status is the stunning visual storytelling. The set pieces sit together well to make us feel like we are truly in this huge haunted mansion, but at the same time it feels so foreign and unnatural. The special FX and editing feel so different and not anything you will have ever experienced, providing this feeling of a fever dream while watching it. 

 stated that he desired the special effects to specifically look unrealistic, as if a child had created them. This idea incorporated with the storytelling is what makes 

 different. It feels in the same realm of a Raimi or Jackson work. By mixing horror with the fantastical it allows us as a viewer to be scared, but at the same time allows us to have fun with it since the film does not feel as weighted in reality.

 is a true spectacle of bizarre art. Everything about it is unique and experimental, and feels like nothing you will ever experience again. 

 earns its status as a cult classic and one of the top haunted house movies of all time.

House

'House (Hausu)' - A cult classic fever dream

roots the traditional stalker storyline with the atypical. 

transports the audience to a eastern European landscape which effectively escalates the feeling of isolation and foreignness for the audience and our lead alike.

), a former New York actress, accompanies her husband (

) across the sea to Romania in his pursuit of a new job opportunity. Not only in a new city, but a new country and culture, Jullia starts to find it increasingly difficult to acclimate and adjust. After a night out with her husband, the two run into police responding to a crime scene which, at dinner with Francis’s work friends, is confirmed to be a murder committed by “The Spider”. Julia starts to suspect that the killer may still be in the neighborhood and that he might be watching her, waiting for his opportunity to make her the next victim.

In her first solo directorial outing and written by herself, 

 does a fantastic job setting the scene for this film. This direction is ultimately what elevates this to an above average outing. By using a foreign setting, the audience is kept distant from the culture especially with the creative decision of no subtitles. We feel as different as Julia feels and feel the frustration when she feels excluded.

heavily leans into the feelings of isolation and depression, and effectively tackles the theme of female anxiety from the beginning to end. From a movie theater to a busy supermarket to Julia’s own home, 

confronts the viewer with the oh so real life anxiety women feel on a day to day basis doing what would otherwise be daily mundane tasks. Having Julia’s concerns brushed away by people that are supposed to be there for her only escalates these feelings further.

) continually shines as the character of Julia. 

creates an interesting character arc with Julia. We feel her depression and isolation at the beginning and as the story progresses we relate with her anxiety and frustration. Supporting work by 

 brings the tension up even further in the second half. The two working together provide some excellent tension filled scenes that are sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.

might not bring a unique plotline to the plate, it makes up for it with its style and direction. 

exploration of the various themes throughout are what make this an exciting slow burn to watch. 

plays out to be an exciting thriller with a satisfying (and bloody) finale to leave any horror fan happy.

'Watcher' - Everyday horror in a foreign land