Log: week 12 / 2025
If you're looking for something simple and palatable, skip this one. On the surface level, Jennifer Reeder's Perpetrator looks like it's pretty familiar horror fare, but once the puzzle pieces start moving it's not the easiest film to keep track of. The lore here is peculiar, but in my book, that's a positive. I don't think Reeder got the balance quite right though. There's too much drama floating around, only to shift to weird horror with little warning in between. It's not bad, it's just that I think the potential was there to take some of the more creative elements further. I had fun watching this, just know what you're getting yourself into.Read all
Also known as the fifth part in the Mr. Vampire series. This isn't up there with the best of the series, mainly because the middle part is a bit slower and modest than I'd liked, but stick around and the film will serve you an ending that is perfect for fans of oldskool Hong Kong horror action. Ching-Ying Lam returns to his iconic role, the effects are cheesy but the film makes up for that with sheer enthusiasm, and the finale is pretty rad (as is the start of the film). Wei Tung does well, even though he isn't the best director for this type of material. Nice filler in other words, but only for those who are already familiar with the franchise.Read all
Nakata making the best of the COVID pandemic. The setup reflects the limitations of the time this was shot, though the film doesn't entirely succeed in working around those limitations. Maybe it's because I've seen a fair share of these chatroom films already, maybe it's because it feels like a filler project for Nakata, but this wasn't too memorable. It isn't bad for the time it lasts though, which is quite short at 45 minutes long. The actors do a decent job, the mystery is proper, but the finale is a tad basic and the simplicity of some scenes is a bit too obvious. Nakata completists and Japanese horror fans will have a decent time with this one, others probably don't need to make it a priority.Read all
I'm surprised they actually made a second "live action" Lion King film, after the first one received quite some negativity, but I'm assuming the technology was there. This is more of the same, only this time focusing on Mufasa's origin story. As someone not at all in love with the other Lion King films, it did absolutely nothing for me. The technology is nice, but it never translates into a nice or impressive aesthetic. The voice acting is poor, the plot is bland and predictable, and the few songs that are in there are atrocious. Maybe younger generations are happy to see films like this, I prefer something with a bit more soul and originality. But at least it's a decent tech demo.Read all