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philoj
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House on Elm Lake (2017)
Loud noises do not equal scary
Weak cookie-cutter horror movie that's been done many times before. Previous owner did bad things, new owners experience violent "echoes" of the prior events. The "horror" consists mostly of some gore and jump scares, but to me the worst part of the movie was that the director seems to think that prolonged loud, jarring noises (screams, music- like cacophony, screams, and screams) make for a scary movie.
They don't, and this isn't scary - it's aggravating and annoying. I actually fast-forwarded through many of them.
Otherwise, the movie is just a retread.
The Midnight Man (2016)
An enjoyable movie with fun chemistry
I was expecting a weak thriller also-ran, but instead I got a very entertaining, unusual drama. A lot of movies are challenged by how to inform the viewer about what's going on, but the addition of a hostage is well engineered and gives us our everyman for exposition. She also provides a fantastic foil for a somewhat complex idea and has great chemistry with the protagonist.
A very unusual concept sets the movie apart but doesn't mire us down in overlong explanations or monologues. In fact many ideas that might have been over-dramatic in other movies are efficiently dispatched with a few lines. For example, establishing that our hostage has a young daughter (and thus a vulnerability) is handled in about three lines of dialog. I say this as a compliment, as the screenwriter has expertly relied on the audience to pick up on things instead of spelling out every single detail. This gives the dialog (and the movie) a very comfortable, natural feel.
The biggest twist of all was learning who wrote and produced the movie - a fantastic first outing for a pretty talented actress. I hope we see a lot more from her in the future.