The Evil Dead

Alien: Romulus

16/08/24

Cineworld, Edinburgh

The cinema generally takes a back seat for us in August when the Edinburgh Fringe takes up so much of our time. But a new addition to the Alien franchise has to be an honourable exception. Like most people who say there are Alien fans, it really only applies to the first two films: Ridley Scott’s iconic original and James Cameron’s (IMO) superior sequel, which qualifies as one of my all-time favourites. Since then, it’s been an irritating game of misfires. Even Scott’s two attempts to rekindle the series have been well-intentioned disappointments.

But Fede Alvaraz seems like a decent bet to attempt a reboot. After all, he somehow managed to breathe some fresh er… death into the Evil Dead films. So when I spot a two-hour slot in my schedule, I’m off to the multiplex with high hopes.

It starts well. Rain (Cailee Spaeny) lives and works on a horrible planet where it’s eternally dark. Her adopted brother, Andy (David Jonsson), does his best to look after her. He’s a synthetic, rescued from a rubbish dump by Rain’s father, but his aging technology means that he has a tendency to glitch and he is regarded with suspicion by a lot of the planet’s inhabitants. When Rain tries to get permission to leave – she’s desparate to get some sunshine – she’s denied the chance and told she’ll be transferred to the mines, so when her friend Tyler (Archie Reneux) suggests an alternative, it’s timely to say the very least.

It turns out that there’s a decommissioned Weyland-Utani space station in the sky above them and Tyler reckons they can gain access to it using Andy (who is a Weyland-Utani creation) to get aboard. There are just thirty-six hours left before the station hits an asteroid belt but it will almost certainly have sleep pods aboard, which the threesome – and their accomplices – can use to make the nine-year journey to the nearest inhabited planet. What can possibly go wrong? Rain reluctantly agrees to give it her best shot and it isn’t long before the gang are approaching their destination…

I like the fact that the protagonists are young. If the mature astronauts of Alien: Covenant seemed to constantly make stupid decisions, the recklessness of youth makes for a much more acceptable premise – and, once aboard the ship, which of course features more face-huggers and chest-bursters than you could shake a stick at, Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues manage to keep the pot of suspense bubbling nicely. There are visual references to the earlier films and the audacious decision to bring back a character from the first film – or rather, half of him – just about pays off. What’s more, Andy is given an upgrade which makes him faster and better – but way more logical, a development that means his loyalties now lie with the corporation that owns him rather than with Rain.

There are some new ideas in here too. A situation where the space station’s gravity keeps switching off in order to reboot really ramps up the torment, while a solution to all that acid blood flying around is an interesting development. Spaeny is terrific in the lead role, managing to fill Ripley’s action boots with aplomb and Jonsson (who made such a good impression in Rye Lane), is also memorable as her unreliable sidekick.

It’s only as the film thunders into the home straight that it takes a wrong turn. I almost stand up and shout at the screen, as Alvarez makes the baffling decision to homage Prometheus and all those hard-won plus points make a swift exit through the nearest escape hatch. It’s a shame, because it is so nearly home and dry.

Overall, Romulus is a decent addition to the canon, certainly the third best offering in the series, but still light years behind films one and two.

3.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

06/05/22

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Another Marvel, another Multiverse – and am I the only one who’s growing a little weary of this device? It worked wonders in the Spider-Man franchise, but can it do the same for my other old go-to comic favourite, Doctor Strange? Well possibly, but I have to admit the main thing that draws me to this is the presence of Sam Raimi in the director’s chair.

Raimi has released some great movies over the years: The Evil Dead and its super-charged sequels, as well as A Simple Plan and Drag Me to Hell – but it’s a while since he’s had a chance to strut his cinematic stuff. While he’s always been a director who dances to his own tune, can he successfully apply those considerable talents to Marvel’s famously constricting template?

The answer is, ‘sort of.’

DSITMOM starts, appropriately enough with a dream sequence, where Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) witnesses a twisted, evil version of himself attacking a teenage girl. But is it a dream? When, shortly afterwards, Strange encounters the girl in real life, she turns out to be America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who has the ability to travel across the multiverse with ease, though (rather conveniently) she doesn’t know how she does it. Or, for that matter, why. Nor can she explain why she’s being pursued by a giant one-eyed octopus. But hey, these things can happen, right?

Sensing that she’s in danger (no shit, Sherlock), Strange seeks help from Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), only to discover that she’s not going to be any help at all. Demented by the recent death of her partner and terrified she might lose the two children she loves so much (the ones who don’t actually exist), Wanda decides to steal America’s power for her own wicked ends, an action that will cause the girl’s death. (Incidentally, for someone who’s supposed to be a genius, Strange seems to be very adept at putting his foot in things. He’s the one who messed everything up in No Way Home – and now this.)

I’m not going to relate any more of the plot because, frankly, it’s as mad as a box of frogs (I suppose the title should have warned me), but the more important question is, can this nonsense hold together as a movie, and the answer is ‘just about.’ DSITMOM is essentially a series of frantic action set-pieces, loosely strung together. Though they are occasionally eye-popping and sometimes make me feel that I’ve inadvertently dropped a tab of acid, they never really gel into a convincing story arc.

Different versions of popular Marvel characters keep popping out of the woodwork and in many cases are actually killed, but because we know they’re not the real McCoy, there’s no real sense of threat here. Cumberbatch gets to portray several different Stephens, which was probably more fun for him than it proves to be for an audience. The parts that work best for me are the Sam Raimi moments, the few scenes where he’s allowed to employ the tropes of low budget horror – and of course there’s the inevitable cameo from Bruce Campbell, which is always welcome. But too often Raimi’s singular vision is swamped in the sturm und drang of state-of-the-art special effects.

Elsewhere, actors of the the calibre of Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Patrick Stewart are called upon to utter some truly naff dialogue, courtesy of screenwriter Michael Waldron.

The usual post-credits sequence suggests that Strange will be even stranger in the next instalment, if and when it happens. The enthusiastic applause from the mainly teenage audience at the end of this screening suggests that I may well be in the minority here.

Doctor Strange (and possibly Mr Raimi) will be back. Watch this space.

3.4 stars

Philip Caveney

Wither

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28/10/14

Question; what would the Evil Dead look like if filmed by Swedes? Answer: Wither. But you have to imagine the Evil Dead completely stripped of wit, logic and storyline. (Not that the original had an awful lot of the latter, but Wither makes it look like the complete works of Shakespeare by comparison.) The film’s premise will be familiar to anyone who’s ever watched a horror movie. An assorted bunch of teenagers set out to spend the weekend in an abandoned house in the woods (as you do). They are led by squeaky-clean young couple Albin (Patrick Almkvist) and Ida (Lisa Henni) who spend a lot of time snogging, even in the midst of a raging bloodbath. They’re so annoying you start to hope that something bad will happen to them soon, but annoyingly they last longer than most of their companions.

Everyone settles in to the weekend vacation spot. Luckily, Albin’s Dad is an electrician and has arranged for a supply of juice to be sent to the house (some accomplishment considering he never actually visits the place.) Unlike virtuous Albin and Ida, the other kids, being Swedish, are even more obsessed with copping off with one another, than their American cousins. Within minutes of arrival, people are energetically humping, something that they will pay dearly for, later on.

Now, I know that in these films you are required to stretch your credibility a bit, but these kids keep doing things that nobody in their right mind would EVER do. Repeatedly. Hmm, a trapdoor leading down into a dark cellar? Think I’ll go and investigate. Oh, my friends are turning into monsters all around me, should I run away? Hmm, no it’s raining, I don’t want to get wet. Oh, my companion has turned into a monster and I’ve had to kill her. I’d better spend a very long time digging a grave for her. OK, now I’ve phoned for the police and they’ve told me to meet them out by our cars. But… it’s still raining, so let’s stay in the cabin. Sheesh! (The Swedish police, by the way, should probably sue the film makers for slurring their reputation. Though summoned by phone, quite early in the proceedings and informed that people are being killed, they fail to show up at any point.)

There are some decent special makeup effects here (the movie earns its 18 certificate) but directors, Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund are rather too fond of the depiction of women being mercilessly beaten by men, for comfort. I know people are turning into demons, but it never seems to happen the other way around and some of these scenes are prolonged and feel unpleasantly prurient. Ultimately, Wither is just a thinly veiled excuse to unleash a string of decapitations, amputations and beatings. Most of the budget must have gone on Kensington (or should that be Karlstad?) Gore, with which the weekend retreat is soon liberally redecorated. It’s pretty poor stuff, only to be approached with extreme caution.

1 star

Philip Caveney