Review: The Raven

The plot itself is a strange one. Struggling poet, Poe, is called in to assist police after a series of grisly murders takes place which seemingly emulate the writer’s macabre tales. Got it? Ok.

The title, The Raven, appears to have no significance whatsoever despite their near omnipresence as they soar, land, scavenge, squawk and perch throughout the film, only really serving as dark images to frame the scene. I can’t but think that one or two well-placed instances would have had much more impact than the apparent aviary-outbreak we see in the movie.

There’s a general lack of subtlety which is disappointing. Rather than allow the audience to feel Poe’s depression and darkness, it is clumsily revealed to us at every opportune moment as he brawls, drinks, offends and lapses into periods of melancholic introspection. The last can be forgiven as Poe’s work dictates as much, but the sprawling of limbs and overt replaying of conversation we have witnessed mere minutes beforehand feel clunky and really do not give the viewer enough credit. Particularly ironic, when you consider Poe’s work itself was that of the imagination run wild.

Cusack is a fine choice for the pained protagonist and delivers a number of witty and erudite remarks with charm and insanity, just as you would hope. Moreover, his intense sadness and depression is felt through his interactions and periodic fury with others and this is moving to watch.

The Raven, as a stand-alone film, is entertaining enough. Cusack hits the spot, there’s plenty of the macabre and burlesque to keep viewers visually satisfied and the plot, while contrived, more or less sustains its audience.

With remakes and adaptations dominating the movies, I wonder if perhaps we’ve lost touch with what makes these classic stories great. The legend is borrowed and traded for modern regurgitations with more action and peril than its predecessor ever had, or sought.

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Review: The Woman in Black

A widowed lawyer leaves his young son for an isolated and eerie manor house to organise the estate of the Drablow family. A curious and intensely sinister story unfolds as we learn the family’s secrets and the vicious legacy of the Woman in Black.

This is an old fashioned ghost story. No gore, no twisted plot, no half-naked teenagers. Instead the movie, like the book, relies on the sinister, the paranormal and most importantly, it’s left up to us to decide how frightening the vicious spectre really is. It’s what we don’t see that terrifies us. The vastness of the dreary causeway and the intense isolation of Eel Marsh house are visually rich so those who enjoyed the intense and atmospheric descriptions in Hill’s book will not be disappointed. The main foyer, staircase, upper hallway and nursery are really the only rooms presented to us in any detail while the rest of the house is left to our imagination. Finally a film that realises it’s what we don’t see that scares us. Rhythmic thuds, fleeting shadows, foggy apparitions, darting eye movements and murky reflections allow us to piece together this ominous character.

Of course The Woman must appear to us at some point and by and large this is frightening and skilfully done.

A surprisingly fun aspect of the film is the treatment of the paranormal itself as Kipps (Radcliffe) openly discusses his scepticism with a kindly villager he befriends. Radcliffe plays the role well enough but there are times when his speech and movements feel deliberate and he seems to lack emotional range. This is disappointing in his first post-Potter venture where movie-goers will be hoping for a more intense portrayal and sadly he misses the mark.

As the story reaches its climax and all seems to be resolved, the ending feels too abrupt and the creeping sense of pace so well-established throughout the film is lost.

All in, The Woman in Black is nothing special but it is a sinister tale, beautifully furnished and carefully crafted to draw us in to a truly frightening ghost story.

For more of my articles and arts reviews visit www.acrossthearts.co.uk

Glasgow Frightfest 2012

A film festival is a fun place to be.

For most of us, a cinema outing is a weekend treat. The film pre-approved via a quick Google search and subsequently ok’d with our chosen partner. Popcorn in hand we witness the latest trailers and experience our chosen movie politely in a quiet auditorium. Entertainment needs satisfied, we leave.

Festivals are different. Emotions in the theatre are audible. Films run all day, directors and producers chat with the audience, movies may not have seen their final edit and there will be sporadic surprises like shorts or clips of those yet to be finished. Each movie is introduced by (for want of a better word) a compere who oversees the proceedings, hosting Q and As between films, giving away freebies and chatting outside while he smokes his roll-up.

Such was the scene over the weekend Glasgow Film Festival’s Frightfest. The beautiful deco GFT hosted the two-day horror show in anticipation of the biggie in Leicester Square this August. There was a good mix this year with documentary, genre mixing, found-footage, apocalypse movies as well as the usual gory horror. Sadly nothing in the way of an old-fashioned ghost story.

Suspense thriller Crawl is sleek and pristine. It boasts a comic-book exterior with gritty characters whose emotions play out silently on their lined faces. All three main characters are visually engaging and careful camera work invites the viewer to examine their thoughts throughout. There’s a very strong Coen Brothers feel and while this is cool, perhaps brothers Ben and Paul China (director and producer) rely too much on their borrowed sense of style. Shots are curious to watch but at times a little over-long to the point of losing us. Crawl feels more like an experience than a well-crafted horror flick. Poetic direction and emotive music keep the audience intrigued but there’s no real narrative and too many threads of the story are ignored.

Evidence and Tape 407 were the found-footage offerings. Both explore beyond the supernatural and, oddly enough, arrive at military intervention. The ‘monster’ is a fixture in each but there’s a need to take the plotline further, perhaps indicating the genre is becoming a bit tired.

Rites of Spring is really two films that twist and turn before finally crashing headlong into one another. On one hand, there is a kidnap and hostage situation which goes awry while on the other, there is the 70s-style horror with scantily-clad missing teenagers and a crazed maniac. Thriller and horror. Fine. Director Padraig Reynolds, a fan of Dusk Til Dawn, tried to fuse the two together in a market he believes to be untapped. Reynolds plays with the notion of escapism as each time any of the main characters manage to free themselves from their untenable positions, they become further embroiled in the twisted plot lines themselves. This is fun to watch and the movie is well-paced as it flits from one story to another. The frustration is the lack of storyline. While the characters stumble and barrel their way through, there doesn’t seem to be any destination and by the end of the movie this is a big let-down. Rites is part one in a trilogy and while more of the story will unravel in yet-to-be-made second instalment, it doesn’t feel like we’ve been adequately fed in part one.

As with every festival, there are some unexpected surprises. This year Wang’s Arrival was perhaps the oddest film of the lot. Akin to an episode of the Twilight Zone, this Italian horror nestles comfortably in the Frightfest programme and throws up some interesting questions we might all ask ourselves. A curious and probing film.

Cassadaga fuses all manner of tried and tested horror from séance and possession to the disastrously gruesome effects of an overly-protective mother on her young son. If you can stomach it, this is one of the weekend’s treats.

2012’s Frightfest had a varied, cross-genre mix which kept the weekend fresh and interesting and while most films held their own with the audience, none really emerged as anything special. There was an obvious nod to horror classics: Jeepers Creepers, Texas Chainsaw and Wicker Man to name but a few. Of course, these ideas will continue to influence and shape future movies but it’d be nice to see more of a departure into something playful and experimental.

Visually rich and atmospheric, there could be a tendency to sacrifice plot-line and narrative for a sexy-looking horror film. An increasingly gruesome demise takes precedence over a strong story while few films manage to juggle both. The main gripe, I’m afraid, is that there’s little new with what’s being done which is exactly what audiences really crave.

Fingers crossed for August.

For more of my writing and arts review visit www.acrossthearts.co.uk