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[Don't Look Up]
Plot:Remake of the 1996 Hideo Nakata horror pic which centered around the making of a wartime drama at an old movie studio. The director starts running into trouble when the ghost of a young woman starts appearing in the rafters above the movie set, as well as on the filmed rushes. As the cast and begin to get spooked, accidents start to happen on set.
Cast:Henry Thomas,
Kevin Corrigan,
Lothaire Bluteau,
Carmen Chaplin,
Reshad Strik.
My Thoughts:Too afraid for it's own good.
Review:"Don't Look Up", is the latest Asian horror remake to come out of the genre, and the film overall is very problematic. Oddly enough, this was one Asian horror remake that the producers felt wasn't worthy of, or wouldn't really "play", in cinemas. Making it the second one to fall victim to that train of thought. The first one being "The Echo" remake, released last year. While "Don't Look Up" wasn't as bad as that movie, it certainly has it's problems.
The film revolves around an old gypsy curse, which a woman had placed upon her when she requested the help of a demon to avoid living the typical impoverished lifestyle of her fellow Romanian females. Of course, deals like this always come with a price, and in exchange for success, and the love of a man she was highly interested in, she in turn would give birth to the demons spawn, so to speak.
The folklore of the story was so powerful, that a filmmaker once tried to make a movie based on the myth, and mysteriously, he and his lead actress died before the movie could be completed. Now...a new filmmaker is trying to gin up a movie based on the same legend. But this filmmaker is a conduit of supernatural energy, and once he arrives in Romania to shoot, it's only a matter of time before the spirits begin targeting him.
A movie like this should've been grim, shocking, and terrifying. Along the lines of "Suspiria", or an Argento film. Instead, it takes in too much of the American horror influences. And that hurts the movie in the end. Like an American ghost tale, it lolligags, drags it's feet, and takes too long to deliver on anything powerfully relevant. As a viewer, there's nothing I hate more than watching a supernatural horror movie for 30 minutes, and still waiting for it to live up to it's genre, and actually get "supernatural".
And I mean supernatural beyond flashy editing, and some shaky shock photography. I mean some really scary shyt. This movie not only doesn't deliver that early enough, but it fails to deliver any of it at all. There seems to be an aimless wandering that this picture indulges in. It wants to be scary sometimes, and seems primed and ready to get scary sometimes. But instead, when the opportunity presents itself, it chooses to take the easy way out with flashy editing and no real blow-you-away scenes.
I couldn't even describe this movie as trippy or creepy at all, but more of a missed opportunity. And it's a shame because the set up is certainly here. An Eastern European ruins-esque setting, a creepy mythology built into the story, a film shoot which mostly takes place in darkened and shadowy areas, hell...this film even has the original Hideo Nakata movie of the same name, to draw upon as source material. Yet, instead, it just seems to keep dropping the ball.
Over, and over, and over again. And at some point, it gets annoying, and that's when you begin to turn against the film, and no longer want to grant it anymore chances to frighten or terrify you. Then if you add in the fact that the movie is low on strong acting talent, and thus can't even be saved by it's performances, well, "Don't Look Up" is just on a quick road to nowhere. The movie isn't very bloody, but then again, ghost tales aren't usually super bloody.
But that's totally beyond the point when you consider how the film fails in so many other areas that it could've, and should've succeeded in. The finale of "Don't Look Up" tries to strengthen an otherwise failed movie by finishing up on a strong note, but the note isn't strong enough, and the film instead, ends on a sour note. Granted, while the ending is creepy in a few ways, and has a small twist where it doesn't quite finish up as expected, it still doesn't wipe away all of the failure that came before the movies conclusion. "Don't Look Up" is not only a weak remake, but a weak supernatural horror venture in general.
Positives:The finale gives a decent effort.
Negatives:An overall weak script, weak performances, and a failure to capitalize on many opportunities to deliver a truly scary movie.
Overall:One star out of four.
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