Scream VI (2023) - Movie Review

While Scream 2022 wasn’t necessarily my favourite horror film from that year (Mad God) or even my favourite slasher (X), it was an absolute cracker of a release that showed that the franchise was in strong hands, and it’s even gained extra endearment from me as it also served as the introduction to 2022 as a year where horror films came back with a vengeance. And following the example of the Wes Craven’s original granddaddy of meta-slashers, we now have a sequel just a year later and the results are… well, that might take a bit to really get into.

X (2022) - Movie Review

Sex and horror are strange bedfellows. As types of entertainment that exist outside of the mainstream’s safe zone, they’re inexorably linked, but they also have an uncomfortable relationship with each other. One of the most referred-to stereotypes in horror movies, and particularly slasher movies, is that if a character has sex on-screen, or has ever had sex in their fictional life, they are going to die. Films like the Friday The 13^th series, where it seemed like Jason Voorhees had a sixth sense for people fucking nearby (an idea that became literal with Jason X).

Now, while there’s a general understanding that, yeah, that’s the actions and motives of the villain, so it’s not implicitly meant to be a viewpoint that should be adhered to… well, when it gets to the point where that stereotype of ‘sluts die’ is something that gets brought up consistently not just with discussions of older films, but is brought back in a lot of modern meta-horror features as well, you have to start wondering if that repetition is to acknowledge how regressive that worldview is, or to reinforce it. See also: The black man being the first to die in a horror film.

Studio 666 (2022) - Movie Review

Medicine At Midnight is a weird-ass album. I love the hell out of the Foo Fighters (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace is one of my favourite albums from any band), but hearing them go into full-on DFA-style dance-rock was quite jarring. It’s like a midway point between a standard late-period Foos album and a Bee Gees cover album, which the Foos also released just a few months later under the name ‘Dee Gees’ (it’s called Hail Satin, and it’s surprisingly good; Dave can hit those high notes). For a former post-grunge band rubbing up against disco, it’s certainly not as embarrassing as Nickleback’s She Keeps Me Up, and even in the larger spectrum of aging post-grunge, it’s a hell of a lot better than whatever the fuck Aaron Lewis is doing nowadays, but it’s still very odd. To paraphrase a YouTube comment under their cover of You Should Be Dancing, it shows the Foos entering the “because we fucking can” phase of their career.

I bring all this up because, even with all that in my head beforehand, the most interesting aspect of Medicine At Midnight isn’t on the album itself. Rather, it’s to do with where Grohl and company recorded the thing. They shacked up in a 1940s mansion in Encino, Los Angeles, where, according to Grohl, weird shit kept happened. Like, ‘this house might be possessed’ kind of weird shit. They had to sign an NDA with the house’s owner, so they’re unable to get into their own supposed filmed evidence of this stuff, but basically, the Foos’ softest record to date was recorded under some pretty metal circumstances.

And from that background, the spores for this film came forth, with a script based on Dave Grohl’s experiences and the band itself starring as fictionalised versions of themselves. Hell, the main shooting location is the Encino property this all originally took place in. I had next to no expectations going into this, but out of respect for both the Spheres and Dave Grohl himself as the nicest guy in rock, I was definitely curious to see what kind of production could spring out of such an idea. The end result of it all, however, is confusingly muddled.

Scream (2022) - Movie Review

With how often I bang on about metafiction in these reviews, this will likely come as little surprise but I fucking love the Scream series. Yes, even the much-maligned third and fourth films; I love all of them. Not only do they serious scratch a lot of my metatextual itches, I like how each instalment thus far has been able to stand out from the others in their own ways (and I mean in good ways). The first one is undoubtedly the most iconic and the scariest; that opening scene remains one of the greatest sequences in any slasher film. The second is the most creative, both in its set pieces and in its reflexivity as far as commenting on its own impact on the very genre it spent so much time poking at.

The third film… yeah, it has its problems, but I’d argue that it’s the most scathing with its observations about horror cinema and the industry that creates it. If you haven’t seen it before, or haven’t watched it since before 2017, I’d advise giving it another try; time has added some new layers to that particular narrative. And as for the fourth film, maybe it’s because the inclusion of Kirby appealed to my previously-mentioned statement that women who love horror movies are awesome, but I consider it to be the most fun, as well as containing my favourite ensemble cast thus far.

With long-time director Wes Craven tragically passing away back in 2015, the idea of a new feature-length continuation being made without him (ignoring the existence of the TV show) kept feeling like a bad idea. Between the Scream films and New Nightmare, the man had a better understanding of meta-horror than most of his peers, and indeed most filmmakers that have sprung up in his wake. But if one had to be made, I’d argue that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have a better chance than anyone else. These are the guys who made Ready Or Not, a film whose thick veins of subversive humour and awareness of genre tropes made it a surprise hit when it came out. And with one of Ready Or Not’s co-writers also in attendance with Guy Busick, and James Vanderbilt finally finding a solid team to work with again, this has some real promise. And the extent to which that promise is delivered on here is staggering.

The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020) - Movie Review

Okay, after what happened when I tried this last year, I want to make sure I get it right this time. So let’s take it from the top.

The latest release from mediocre action director McG wouldn’t even cause a blip on my radar usually. After 2017’s The Babysitter, a surprisingly fun slice of splatstick horror, I’m willing to give the man another chance. Or, rather, yet another one, since when I tried out Rim Of The World in good faith, I found myself questioning why I ever bothered to give him the benefit of the doubt in the first place. The Babysitter is still an amazing flick, and rewatching it in prep for this follow-up has proven (for me, at least) that it holds up to repeat scrutiny, but maybe it was just a fluke and the only truly great thing McG has ever directed. But now that the sequel is in my hands, I really, really hope it holds up.