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chaotic_observer
Reviews
Malignant (2021)
A fever dream of mid-2000s horror
Please go into this film knowing that it is NOTHING like the trailers and you're more likely to laugh or say WTF than you are to scream in terror... I was very excited after seeing the trailer for Malignant, but I watched a couple spoiler-free reviews from horror buffs before watching the film so I knew I was in for a bizarre experience. And oh booyyyy I don't think anyone can be prepared for this, just buckle in and enjoy the ride. For the first hour and a half it's a muddled sort of (humorless) parody of the overly dramatic blue-gray filtered semi-supernatural horror movies of the mid 2000s. Suddenly it's a hilarious body-horror action gore-fest for about 12 minutes, before closing with some cheesy over-dramatic acting and no satisfying resolution....... I wouldn't recommend paying to watch the film, but I would recommend watching it for the experience.
Edited to add that I saw a few reviews saying this was a giallo, and I do not agree at all. There is none of the charm, camp, or drama of a giallo in this film.
Calls (2021)
A unique and powerful experience
I don't enjoy audio plays or podcast dramas, so this was a completely uncharacteristic choice for me.... But WOW, I'm glad that I gave it a chance and I'll never forget it! A sci-fi drama mystery about the end of the world, told through a series of phone calls with seemingly "random" background graphics to watch... but the images in the background add so much to the story, it's incredible. Because the viewer is completely focused on the emotion of the characters, it's so easy to put yourself in their shoes and you'll spend the entire time wondering whether you would have made the same choices. The visuals in the background are actually an important piece of the series (which I may not have realized if I hadn't seen the trailer), using colors, shapes, and the flow of energy to really tell the story. There are so many times the characters don't understand what's happening around them, but the background gives clues to their story! The low or negative reviews are only from people who did not realize that this was an alternative viewing experience and were disappointed when they couldn't see the celebrities faces, or who did not understand the format and couldn't realize that this was a new, unique form of storytelling and that the "random" images were important to the experience.