|
Review by Steve Barton II  The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been blowing out the speakers of every rock fan’s car since their formation in 1982. Over the years, they’ve become one of the biggest and most influential bands in rock history with their blending of funk, hip-hop and rock to create their own unique sound. Throughout their journey as a band, they’ve had over 10 other members besides the current lineup and each person brought their own flavor. In The Rise of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel, we mainly focus on the early days of the band and the original core members of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Jack Irons and the main focus, Hillel Slovak. Hillel was the original guitarist for the Chili Peppers and was instrumental in honing their sound. While he was a key to their success, he unfortunately never got to see them hit their biggest heights because he passed away in 1988. This documentary does a beautiful job at creating a tribute to their lost brother, Hillel and honoring his legacy by sharing their story. Hearing the stories first-hand from Flea and Anthony about all of the fun and shenanigans they got into with Hillel, but also how emotional and talented of an artist he was will brighten even the coldest heart. The inclusion of both George Clinton and Gary Allen were fantastic as well and gave more of an outside perspective to Hillel and his artistry. Their interviews will also tear your heart out when they reflect on losing their friend and the hardships of dealing with him and his addiction. Seeing Flea thinking back on trying to keep his band mates alive and on track to keep the band will have you sobbing on the floor. In a world where many documentaries with the band themselves use it as a “puff piece”, these guys are brutally honest about their addictions and faults and treat it more as a cautionary tale.  The editing of The Rise of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel is one that I hope future documentarians reference when they make a music centered piece. The seamless cutting between the talking heads to archived, unreleased tracks and live tapes helps the pace and aids the overall story. The restoration of the footage from over 30+ years ago looked incredible and some could even pass as footage shot in this decade. One thing that may have made the interviews even stronger would have been to have the original band members come together in the end and have an in-person discussion and reminisce on Hillel. Seeing the three guys have a moment together would’ve been cathartic and emotional. It would’ve also been interesting to see the interviews outside the generic soundstage backdrop, but it works because the content of the interviews and the guys themselves are so dynamic in their delivery.
In the end, The Rise of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel is a great documentary for fans of the band and learning about this vital piece of their history. Hillel Slovak was an incredibly talented musician who unfortunately lost his battle with addiction and his name fell into obscurity among some rock fans. With this documentary, his name and legacy can find a new life and new fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers can go back and listen to the man who helped their favorite band become the phenomenon they are. The Rise of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel is on Netflix starting March 20th! Rating: 4/5
0 Comments
Review by Steve Barton II  From the dawn of time, women have had a vital role in humanity and often get overlooked in the grand scheme of it all. Women being involved in horror stories can be dated back to biblical texts and beyond. In many ways, the horror genre and women are like scary stories and a campfire. You can have each without the other, but paired together, it’s magic! 1000 Women in Horror is the newest original documentary from Shudder and it covers a sprawling time period from 1895 until now and the impact women have had on the horror genre. The documentary is based on a book under the same title from 2020 written by Alexandra Heller-Nicolas and she also appears as a talking head throughout the documentary itself. Both the book and documentary show women from behind and in-front of the camera and the pioneering work they did to pave the way for women today! A unique aspect of 1000 Women in Horror is the overall structure of the documentary. While most movies in its genre usually section out itself on chronological order, this one is much more creative. The breakdown actually happens through the traditional phases/milestones of a woman’s life. It starts with adolescence and how girl’s obsession with their dolls has become a major subgenre of horror itself. They also touch on puberty and high school angst, motherhood, losing their sexual desire and several other headers of sections that made this documentary stand out among the others. The film also touches on the many different women who became staples of the genre and how many tropes/terms derived from the performances from these icons. Whether it's “the final girl”, the “whore” or the utopian, feminist societies like Wicker Man, women have made their impact on the horror world and deserve to be celebrated. But while the genre may have its moments of celebrating women, horror has also historically been their biggest enemy. Especially in the 70’s and 80’s, women were seen as sex symbols and solid carnage candy for the dominating male audience. As the women in this documentary state, it took many of these brave ladies to step up and start taking their power back and telling their stories. The diversity of fresh voices in horror is the major component of why it connects with younger generations and these women play a huge part in that.  While it does have its own special identity, 1000 Women in Horror is also quite similar to many other “talking head” documentaries. Throughout the runtime, we hear from about 20 different women that have their own personal stories and expertises as ladies in and around the genre. None of the interviews were notably weak or uninteresting, but a few of the standouts were Kate Siegel (Hush) when she talks about her cesarean section procedure and the horror of that and the author herself, Alexandra Heller-Nicolas. They cover several generations and the variety of perspectives makes the audience consider the deeper meaning in some of these iconic movies and how they relate to the female experience.
In the end, 1000 Women in Horror is a solid documentary to burst onto the scene during International Women’s Month and celebrate these iconic faces and voices in the always growing horror genre. Putting a microphone and camera in front of these ladies to hear them gush about their passions for horror and how much of an impact it had on their lives is something to be celebrated and needs to happen more often. If you’re looking to brush up on some light horror history from several of the ladies that laid the bedrock for horror fans, look no further than 1000 Women in Horror! 1000 Women in Horror is streaming on Shudder starting March 20th! Rating: 4/5 Review by Steve Barton II  In the fall of 2019, Radio Silence (filmmaking collective including Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) burst onto the horror-comedy scene with Ready or Not. Matt and Tyler had prior success with both Devil’s Due and Southbound, but the boys proved their worth when Ready or Not captured over $57 million on a $6 million dollar budget. With that kind of success, it’s not surprising that Fox Searchlight came back to the guys in 2024 and they developed Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. While it may be nearly 7 years since we left Grace (Samara Weaving, The Babysitter) enjoying her cigarette in the carnage of her in-laws, the movie picks up immediately where we left her and we see the immediate aftermath. Her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton, Freaky) shows up at the hospital and immediately gets roped into her sister’s deadly situation. Grace quickly learns that while she was successful in winning the first game, doing so enacted an unexpected clause that activates a new game where members of the high council will stop at nothing to stop Grace, steal her ring and take the highest power in the world! The first question you may ask yourself is did we really need a sequel to Ready or Not? The short answer is no, but if one has to exist, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is a worthy and entertaining ride. With both original writers returning (Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy) to pen the script, the tone and feel transfer over well from the first film with the goofy, quippy dialogue and comically violent. The first few minutes of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come feels awkward, but it quickly finds its footing when the hijinks ensue. With the way the original movie ended, it didn’t necessarily feel like there was a sequel to set up and a sequel after 7 years in Hollywood purgatory doesn't help the cause. My other major issue Ready or Not 2: Here I Come was how often they utilize the iconic “explosive” effect. In the first film, it’s used like a killer punchline of a standup comedian’s ending joke. In this new film, it’s used so much that it loses its charm and impact after a while.  The best aspect of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is the ensemble cast itself. We have the return of Samara Weaving as Grace with a ton of new faces to the series like Kathryn Newton, the legendary David Cronenberg, Buffy herself Sarah Michelle Gellar and many more! They even got Elijah Wood to be a lawyer in charge of enforcing the rules and it’s hilarious that he’s now watching all these horrible rich folks go feral over a ring. The sister dynamic between Weaving and Newton is formulaic in its setup, but where it works is their chemistry and dialogue with each other. The sibling relationship where you’ll be having a heartfelt, nice moment and then be at each other’s throats in the next breath. They display that complicated bond between siblings so well, that it will bring the audience back in and invested, even if the story is a bit too predictable.
In the end, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is an entertaining sequel and an interesting expansion of the lore of the rich, elite cult and how the power runs deep. With a legend like Cronenberg losing his head position, it makes the stakes feel even higher and the visceral and emotional state the fellow players get elevates the intensity even more. The kills are brutal and comedic. The blood and gore are sure to satiate the hunger of the hounds. The last act of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is where it truly won me over, because that’s when it found its own identity and how crazy it can get. While it doesn’t surpass the original film, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come will satisfy fans and further prove why Radio Silence should’ve been able to finish their Scream trilogy with Scream 7! Ready or Not 2: Here I Come explodes its way into theaters starting March 20th! Rating: 3.5/5 Review by Steve Barton II  When you see a poster with a giant pentagram, spooky kids and horror legends Bill Mosley and Lin Shaye, you’d think that’d be a promising watch for any gore-hound, right? Judging a book by its cover is a lesson that we’ve all learned from a young age and sometimes we need to be reminded. Scared to Death is a great example of using star power and familiar meta humor to sell tickets. Scared to Death follows Jasper (Oliver Paris, A.P. Bio) as a recent film school graduate who is working on director Max’s (Lin Shaye, Insidious) new film that has witchcraft and séances. In order to be authentic, they hire a medium, Felix (Bill Mosley, The Devil’s Rejects) to conduct a real séance in an abandoned orphanage and chaos ensues! The most glaring issue that Scared to Death has is its lack of a true identity. The genres listed are comedy and horror, but they don’t go far enough in either direction to warrant the designation. The first 15-20 minutes are mainly on a studio soundstage where we spend the whole time making “jokes” about all the antics that go on behind the scenes paired with bare minimum character set-up. They even attempt some self-aware humor with the character of The Grog (Kurt Deimer) who is a major celebrity in their world and is the major reason they have a budget for their movie. The joke works the first time and Kurt is funny enough, but when they keep making the same “Hey, remember when you did this movie” dialogue every few minutes it gets stale quickly. Funnily enough, the film itself does the same thing with its casting, especially of its two big stars. Bill Mosley is a horror icon for many big reasons, but in Scared to Death he’s purely just here as a stand-in, glorified cameo who could’ve been any living actor. Bill obviously elevates the basic material with his incredible screen presence, but it could’ve been so much better if you let him work. Lin Shaye got to be a bit more unconventional and unhinged, but Bill wasn’t given such a privilege.  The horror moments and special effects in Scared to Death aren’t too bad, they’re far from being memorable. The makeup on the “haunted” characters is done well and Lin Shaye’s makeup in the last half of the movie is the highlight of the whole picture. Due to budget, they utilized both digital and practical effects, but the practical work stands worlds above the rest. The sets were fine, but the attic in the orphanage was the best. The horrifying visual of the old bed and just a beam of light is the only thing saving you from drowning in the darkness is nightmare fuel. The ghost kids got too much into Ju-on (The Grudge) territory and shows that they lack any original ideas.
In the end, Scared to Death doesn’t deliver on its promise in the title. You’ll find yourself surfing the seas of dreamland or doom-scrolling TikTok before ever getting scared more than once or twice. Both of the big stars deliver on what they were hired for, but the material feels uninspired. The remainder of the cast was fine, but B.J. Minor stole the show as Johnny! The only character that had hilarious dialogue and acted like a real person, rather than a caricature of a “Hollywood elite snob”. If you're looking to see a movie with friends and get the nervous giggles at something spooky, don’t look to Scared to Death for that fix. Scared to Death hits select theaters starting March 13th! Rating: 2/5 Review by Steve Barton II  When the police show up at the end of your favorite film, do they actually ever save the day or are they usually just there to inflate the kill count? In the year 2026 where we have special police forces across the United States of America causing death and violence to spike to previously unseen heights, it’s important for artists to air out their feelings in creative and innovative ways. While it does have similarities to other projects in the found footage sub-genre, Brandon Christensen (Z, Superhost) was able to accomplish something special here with Bodycam. Bodycam tells the story of two police officers who are responding to a domestic dispute call and during the investigation, there’s an “accidental” shooting and the incident goes haywire. While the cops discuss how to go about their next course of action, they quickly realize that they won’t get out of this situation so easily. One of the biggest aspects of Bodycam that needs to be highlighted is the use of actual Bodycam-style devices to film the entire movie. With those cameras having wide-angle lenses (GoPros), the margins of error are extremely small and you also can’t have tons of crew members, lighting or any production equipment near the sets because it would be picked up. The actors themselves also had to operate their own cameras and had to do plenty of rehearsals and planning for blocking especially. With it also being a small, independent budget movie it’s remarkable that Brandon even attempted, yet successfully made a film like this. The fact that they are able to capture a style that can be compared to End of Watch is a major achievement in itself!  Bodycam has an obvious criticism of the police with use of force as the inciting incident. Christensen’s dialogue between the two officers is one that you hear constantly around the issue of police misconduct. The cop who did the shooting (Sean Rogerson, Grave Encounters) doesn’t want to disrupt the system or receive any blowback, while his partner (Jaime M. Callica, Trap House) is having a morale crisis and can’t just turn his back on the victims. The dilemma goes even deeper due to the guilty cop being a white man from a more privileged background, while the other is an African American man who was raised in poverty with addicts in his family. Bodycam shows the unfair bias that many people, but especially law enforcement has against addicts and people in crisis. Having the addiction being shown as a form of possession isn’t the newest idea, but the creature here is unlike anything that you’ll expect. It may have been a stronger choice to leave the monster more ambiguous and shrouded in darkness, most audiences will still get the urge to look away.
In the end, Bodycam is a unique and innovative spin on the found footage genre and may spark some inspiration in future filmmakers. With a few tiny cameras, a small crew and an even smaller budget, Brandon Christensen was able to capture a solid feature film. The camera style engrosses the audience deeper into the story and often gives you an intimate POV of exactly what our characters are seeing. If you enjoy a spooky movie that’ll have you terrified of a fictional monster just as much as a white cop, set your sights on Bodycam! Bodycam will be available on Shudder starting March 13th! Rating: 3.5/5 |