Tag Archives: crime-horror-thriller

Netflix Review “Intrusion” (2021) #NetflixReview #150WordReview

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the excitement wasn’t whodunnit, but howdunnit and whydunnit

A woman (Meera, Freida Pinto) starts a new life with her husband (Henry, Logan Marshall-Green: Tom Hardy’s American doppleganger) after overcoming a bleak cancer prognosis in the dream house that he designed and built. But when they fall victim to a home invasion and robbery, Meera’s newfound sense of security is left shattered.

Intrusion plays the old “vulnerable wife, is the husband too-good-to-be-true?” angle quite well, although I could see where the film was going quite early on. None-the-less, this felt like an episode of Columbo: the excitement wasn’t so much in whodunnit, as we could guess quite early on, but howdunnit and whydunnit — although it must be said that the film didn’t quite deliver on the why.

Somewhat trite, somewhat staid, Intrusion was none-the-less capably written, effectively directed, and well acted. An entertaining Friday night flick.

3/5

© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

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Film Review “1922” (2017) #NetflixReview #1922 #1922Movie

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our farmer brutally slits his wife’s throat in her sleep with the help of his son, as you do.

In the year 1922, a simple but proud farmer decides to murder his wife, with the help of his son, in order to seize her property before she divorces him.

She wanted to move to the city and open a hat shop, as you do; he wanted to undertake back-breaking labour in the scorching Summer sun harvesting corn, as you do; the son — caught in the middle — wanted to bang the next door neighbour’s daughter, as you do. So our farmer brutally slits his wife’s throat in her sleep with the help of his son, as you do. Compellingly portrayed, the story is told by our protagonist as a confession which is a nice framing device so we can see how living with his crime has affected him.

Adapted from the acclaimed Stephen King novella, 1922 is a grippingly depicted tale of what happens when you give in to your darker side. King is a wonderful writer, albeit not everyone’s cup of tea, yet everyone can agree that films based on his works are a decidedly mixed bunch: from the truly sublime (The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Stand By Me) to the truly stupid (The Night Flier, Thinner). 1922 is no classic, but it’s no bum note, either. It’s a good story which has been adapted well.

King fans should definitely watch this. Those who like psychological horror and fans of true crime stories should also watch this. Those who don’t enjoy watching middle-aged men sip lemonade on their verandas whilst brooding on the nature of sin should skip this.

All in all, “enjoyable” — insofar as watching sin destroy a family is enjoyable.

3/5

© 2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

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Film Review: “I See You” (2019) #NetflixReviews

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Horror now has a new iconic image to add to its scripture

The Harpers are struggling to deal with a recent tragedy in their family when a mysterious and evil presence begins to torment them within the sanctum of their already fractured home. A recent spate of child kidnappings adds further pressure on pater familias and local detective Greg Harper (Jon Tenney). Can Greg and his wife Jackie (Helen Hunt) and teenage son Connor (Judah Lewis) hold it together? And what is the evil force which has begun to terrorise them?

I See You is a crime-horror-thriller that thoroughly involves you in its mythology from the start. It’s also an interestingly structured and plotted film without being overwrought in the least. Split quite neatly into two halves, the second offers us a completely different perspective on the story thus far and develops the plot in unforeseen ways. Yet despite the unexpected twists, I See You is never a shlocky twistomatron, throwing up mindbending twists for the Hell of it. Quite the opposite: everything moves and develops in a completely believable way. Indeed, at the half way point where we begin to see the story from a different angle, so to speak, I felt momentarily deflated that the “reveal” was so soon. Yet this half-way point reveal was only the beginning of what was a wonderful ride indeed.

The music and sound design was thoroughly disturbing from the very beginning. It combined with the cinematography to unsettle and rivet us simultaneous. Never a boring moment. I kept waiting for the film to careen off the tracks as so many of this kind do in the second or third act. But it never happened. The writing was first rate and all the actors convinced. But the cherry on the cake? Horror now has a new iconic image to add to its scripture (see the poster above). This movie has all the traits I associate with a franchise-spawning beast, and I foretell a slew of much worse sequels coming from this bad boy.

You may have noticed that I haven’t said too much about the plot details-wise. Well frankly, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Just watch this movie. Highly satisfying in every way.

4/5

© 2020-2021 Bryan A. J. Parry

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