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Film reviews

Dangerous Animals Review

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This is a thriller that takes place on a boat and is all about killing for pleasure. A presentation that comes along with killing for sport. The context around this has its captivating moments, and then the ones that are for shock and awe. Dangerous Animals is in the genre of shocker films that I found to have presence in and around of the suspense itself. What came to my mind was Jaws meets Psycho in that it is a big boat with a killer onboard who throws his victims to the sharks. 

Directed by Sean Byrne, Dangerous Animals introduces the audience to a boat captain named Bruce (Jai Courtney). At the top of the film, he takes a couple on a shark-dive expedition. Later, he blinds them and kidnaps one of them, only to havethem realize that he plans to kill them by hovering them over sharks. Bruce finds enjoyment in seeing and videotaping feedinghis victims to sharks.

The next victim is the main character, Zephyr (Hassie Harrison). She wakes up to go on a surfing expedition, but then Bruce captures her. Once she is on the boat, she finds herself below with another victim named Heather (Ella Newton). Heather was brought onboard the boat before Zephyr and the writing is on the wall for a death scenario for both the victims. Dangerous Animals has that momentum to make the audience feel the sense of predictability, but the many suspenseful moments to escape create the opposite effect. From my point-of-view I asked how can they escape when they are out at sea with treacherous sharks and in front of a killer that is very dangerous?

Going forward the film builds momentum with a man named Moses (Josh Heuston), as he is suspicious about Zephyr’s disappearance and begins searching for her.  Zephyr continuously fights for safety against Bruce, yet he keeps overcoming her chances to escape. Dangerous Animals is a boxing match of moving parts that puts adrenaline to the test. Bruce is anxious to find a good chance to throw Zephyr to the sharks for his enjoyment. The tactics of brutality do not see eye-to-eye, but the dog match to survive knows how to thrive here.

The shock and value are within the shallows. The victimshovering over the water creates the deepest point of terror inknowing that any sudden movement is a leap of death. When that happens, the concept that came to my mind was how stillness means safety. Especially when there is that thought of dying brutally at the mouths of sharks.

Dangerous Animals knows how to scare. It also knows how to maintain its dignity. The continuity feels interactive. The many failed escapes and failed moments of shark attacks are what makes for new doors of terror to evolve. The only question is, how can one depart the boat? Silly in moments and definitely scary in many, it can border on being repetitive. At the same time, it still maintains a sense of creepiness in the ocean. Two-and-a-half out of four stars.

 

 

Film reviews

The Rule of Jenny Pen Review

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The portrayal of derangement in old age is at its finest as the core of  The Rule of Jenny Pen. Written and directed by James Ashcroft he offers a new blend of terror where the lines of laughter find their angles. The Rule of Jenny Pen finds a tone of quirkiness that keeps its genius track. It is a film where the elderly seek revenge. With the performances of Geoffrey Rush (as Stefan Mortensen) and John Lithgow (as Dave Crealy), they both deliver a sinister mode of acting style where they may be nice at heart, but deep down there is a misdirection that is surreal.

Stefan Mortensen is the main character of the film. He is a judge who finds himself to be in an aging crisis. His health issues cause him to move into a nursing home, where boggled and irritated by having his life transition, he must learn to share with other elderly individuals. One of these folks is Dave Crealy, a demented man of cruelty who is quite terrorizing. He continually pushes to Stefan to play a game called “The Rule of Jenny Pen” which involves a doll with personification to be a tool of rudeness. Once this happens, the film is a gradual ride of laughter and terror (at the minimal level). Repulsive in some fragments, The Rule of Jenny Pen is one of those experiences where tolerance may be a necessity.

The cruelty of the film is where it most captures the attention ofits audience. The Rule of Jenny Pen is a spellbinding and creative journey where a strange form of creativity keeps building a balance between two elderly men in one never-ending boxing match of an anxiety-provoking behavior. It is psychologically crazy, while also killer funny. The Rule of Jenny Pen has a form of writing that blends into humor that is witty—the scenarios may seem disturbing, but they grasp what can also be hysterical. 

With the film’s terror coming from the use of a doll, it delivers the impression that the doll may have powers, which it in fact does in a way. These powers though are discrete. The cleverness though, is how it fuels the persona of the doll as being the source of the blame. Any form of conflict between Stefan and Dave is linked back to the doll. It is a never-ending ride of the blame game, frustrations in the nursing home, and a question of its audience asking who will have a heart attack first.

As the bonkers of agitations go above and beyond (from the performances of Rush and Lithgow), it delivers a classiness of characterization of the quirks of an elderly age. The only add-on is a puppet that becomes the source of the blame and the of the butting heads. The Rule of Jenny Pen does at times lack seriousness and authenticity, but it does right to remain in its lane to be psychologically crazy and fun. Three out of four stars for The Rule of Jenny Pen.

Film reviews

Chicago Critics Film Festival 2024: In a Violent Nature Review

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 In a Violent Nature is a slashing film that tests the boundaries of violence. This is a low budget horror film in which the boundaries of graphic violence are crossed in vivid ways. The element of rampage and the concept of being reborn are subtle yet evolving. This movie will blow audiences’ minds. 

The film was written and directed by Chris Nash and takes place in the wilderness. A monster lies within and once he rises from the ground, his killing spree begins. A group of friends are on vacation staying in a cabin. The friends are Johnny (played by Ry Barrett), Kris (played by Andrea Pavlovic), Colt (played by Cameron Love), and the Ranger (played by Reece Presley).Their vacation turns to terror as the film follows an unnamed masked man. It is like a new era of Friday the 13th with lots of slasher vibes waiting to be unleashed.

The editing of the film truly delivers in that audiences know that terror is about to lead to consequences. The film has no music, and that heightens the fear factor. The killer is constantly on the move and doesn’t stop in its tracks. In a Violent Nature has numerous surprises that really scared me and delivered the horror experience well.

In a Violent Nature is the terror that audiences have been waiting for. The film may look like it is shot in low quality, but that heightens the realism of what is about to be experienced. My mind was invigorated by the film. I was gasping in much of its continued slashing moments. Three out of four stars.