Unit 234: The Lock Up

 

Storage units can offer a wealth of surprises, usually of the unexpected variety, or those that will haunt you for weeks. For such a mundane location, films that heavily use or are set in storage units need to have one hell of a narrative to keep the story going. Usually a horror or a thriller, you’d never have a rom-com set exclusively at a storage unit, with fair few unscrupulous characters and a twist that you may see coming, but at least you were entertained. Unit 234: The Lock Up is just entertaining enough that you can forgive its benign location. 

Laurie, owner of a remote storage facility, once run by her parents, ends up working the night shift after her plans fall through. After becoming suspicious of a very persistent man, claiming to own a unit, Laurie discovers an unconscious man locked in Unit 234. The man, Clayton, is chained to a gurney and missing a kidney. Laurie finds herself having to fight off a dangerous gang who are determined to retrieve Clayton, by any means necessary.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

The Substance

 

There is so much to absolutely love and admire about The Substance, as well get frustrated over and grumble about. The general consensus with the film seems to be that is it gloriously bloody, disgusting for sure yet the narrative is questionable. But the praise for the performances for both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley is consistent, they are superb. Having won the Best Screenplay at Cannes 2024 and the intriguing teaser making the rounds, there was a buzz around the film and expectation on how this body horror would shape up. 

When Elizabeth Sparkle, award winning actress and decades long host of an aerobics show, is fired on her 50th birthday, she makes a drastic desperate decision. She is offered a black-market drug, the Substance, which produces a younger, more attractive version of herself, thus giving her another shot at holding the spotlight. But after her alternative self takes advantage of the strict rules, resulting in devastating non changeable effects to her original body, things go from bad to monstrous. 

Going by director Coralie Fargeat’s first feature, Revenge, you are right to expect enough blood spilt that the entire set will be painted red. Where Revenge was literally what it said on the poster, The Substance is more up for debate and there are far more questions to be answered throughout the film, as well as not all of them being answered. This strange bizarre satirical body horror (with some science fiction thrown in) boasts a fascinating concept but with a 2-hour 20-minute run time, there is far too much indulgence gore and crotch shots with less focus on the narrative. 

Shooting from disorientating angles, making use of the long corridor at the studio and the choice of close ups to really express the most disgusting moments, made for an intriguing film. All coupled with the concept of the drug and the complicated rules. A stand out scene in the film is most avidly the birthing of Sue, Elizabeth’s younger version. The ripping of skin and extracting of fluids, the film became a visceral treat for the eyes even before any large amounts of blood was spilled. With a large focus on the characters’ bodies, their stark pale skin against the white titled floors was especially pleasing, design wise, to view on screen. As the film progresses though, so does the body gore, particularly the end section. But all this blood and disturbing images hold a purpose, the themes at the heart of the film, image and beauty. Though Elizabeth Sparkle is still beautiful, her image is outdated and considered too old to even be considered for a revamp of the show. Enter Sue, young, beautiful, wears that pink one piece with ease and is able to pelvic thrust throughout the show without batting an eye. Though we get to see, quite obviously its about beauty standards and how women are treated but at the core of the film is Elizabeth and how she views herself. At one point, after the effects of the drug have take its toll on her, she stops referring to Sue as someone else as she has throughout the story. She finally admits out loud that she hates herself, which may explain her finally grotesque form. There could have been a deeper dive into her psyche but there is only a strange acceptance of herself, eventually, but one that is met with a reaction you see coming a mile off. 

Both Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley do give fantastic performances, the former especially during her French cooking phase in the film. Fargeat’s idea is in danger of being better than the execution, but there is more merit the film than there is to be disgusted by.

Subservience

 

It is a tale as old as time, when a man, struggles to cope with day-to-day life, taking care of his family while his wife is sick, he seeks out help. In this case, he buys a robot which ends up malfunctioning and terrorising said man’s family including his sick wife. Humanised robots is by far not a new concept and amongst the countless stories out there, Subservience doesn’t try to reinvent the AI dangerous narrative but merely tell us a story which we have seen before.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Orca

 

Strangely enough, Orca actually had some minor success at the box office, but was critically panned as it was deemed too similar to the blockbuster hit, Jaws released two years earlier. Orca is a straight forward cash in. If shark attacks are bringing in an audience, then the, presumably lesser-known orca will bring them in too. Sadly, for the killer whale, it would experience a very different life on screen as seen in Free Willy and such documentaries as Black Fish. Orca has an exciting story and holds the promise of being entertaining at the least, but the comparison with Jaws is woefully exaggerated. The only element thar connects the two films, is that there is a sea creature out for the kill.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Blink Twice

 

Originally called Pussy Island, a title that may have given the game away, Blink Twice on the surface seems like one of those glitzy mystery thrillers with hot cast and story that is expected to be full of twists. Not to say Blink Twice isn’t this, but even from the release of the trailer, there is a darker undercurrent running through this shiny film. With Zoe Kravitz in the director’s chair, she goes full force in her directorial debut, willing to show grim truths, no sugar coating and showing that this film won’t be a one from her. 

At an exclusive event held by billionaire tech mogul, Slater King, two friends Frida and Jess who are part of the catering staff, decide to crash the party. Subsequentially getting invited to Slater’s private island with a group of his associates. The island is paradise, followed by amazing dinners, wild partying on repeat for several days. But when Jess asks to leave, disturbed by something, Frida begs her to stay a little while longer. However, by the next day Jess is missing and no one remembers her even being there. 

What feels like a ‘Lady Vanishes’ type plot very quickly spirals out to be a far more sinister yet basic plot. Not necessarily a negative thing but the disturbing element is more than just a missing person. As Frida connects pieces of a puzzle that actually began the moment she arrived, some might theorise even before that, we watch her going from having the time of her life to literally surviving through hell. At the core, Blink Twice is a deep disturbing thriller that unfortunately surprises no women, when it comes to the behaviour of men. The light exploration into trauma and the discussion around reliving trauma and whether its better to forget is an interesting element to the film but it barely scratches the surface of the subject. 

The cast assembled is impressive and everyone makes their mark on screen, but the stand outs here are most definitely Naomi Ackie as Frida, our guide bringing us into this hellscape and Adria Arjona as Sarah, former reality TV star and who equally finds herself in a unbelievable situation. 

Blink Twice is a welcome addition to the long list of films with the theme of ‘eat the rich’, even if it presents itself slightly differently. For a directorial debut its impressive and as thriller mysteries go, its highly entertaining.

If You Were The Last

 

When was the last time a science fiction romantic comedy was both whimsical, in a non-nauseating way and was actually heartfelt, as well as having genuine laughs? If You Were the Last should have been the breakout film of this year but instead was cruelly left to the streamers with very little flare. Unfortunately, there are genuinely great films that do the festival circuit and never get picked up by a big enough distributor who will back the film. But aside from how the film was released, this gem of a film really does lift the spirits and brings hope that there are stories out there, like this, even being made. 

Two astronauts, Adam and Jane, drift throughout space. After their multi year mission is derailed, mostly due to their deceased crewmate Benson, Adam and Jane, over time wonder if they will ever be rescued, discuss life, love and the pros and cons of them having sex with each other. All the while falling in love, but unsure if the other feels the same. 

Setting any sort of story in space comes with the expectation on how a sci-fi should look like, but what If You Were The Last offers is something a bit extra. All the tech on the ship, resembles something out of Wes Anderson’s or Michel Gondry’s workshops. The astronauts even have a cosy living room space on the ship, to make them feel at home, complete with watching films on cartridges. The sci-fi elements are left to the setting outside the ship and the communication set up to try and reach home for rescue. All other parts are complete rom-com beats and they are most welcome. The quirky tech and set design is not overbearing, balanced out by the two actors fantastic chemistry. Zoe Chao and Anthony Mackie are so in tune together, they do not miss a step with one another, romantically or comedically. Its almost a shame when they are eventually separated in the third act when (SPOILERS) the two make it back to Earth and their spouses. 

There is a more sombre element to the story, these lost astronauts have only each other (aside from the ill fated Benson) and have been this way for a few years. The strain on their mental health and on their respective marriages, takes a toll. The joke about them deciding if they should have sex with each other goes past the joke stage is the really about connection. If You Were The Last is essentially a sweet story set against an incredible background, two people against the universe, and at one point Benson.