3 Stars

Slaughterhouse Rulez

Posted on by C966939529

More Parody than Horror/Comedy

The last British horror I saw was Ghost Stories and I loved it, I saw it as a great future for the British horror community, so I had high expectations for this film. Especially as it is a Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaboration. Director Crispian Mills, who has worked with Pegg before in “A Fantastic Fear of Everything”, has described this film as a “distant cousin of the Cornettos”.

As you may recall the Cornetto Trilogy are a collection of comedy horror films consisting of “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End”.

Cornetto Posters

Cornetto

Pegg and Frost are executive producers as well as cast and even use this film as their premier for their production company Stolen Picture.

Although this film is classed as a horror, I see it more of a parodist comedy.

Parody

This film is set in a private school which can be described as a mix between Hogwarts and St Trinians. These parallels can be seen through the uniform and the houses.

At Slaughterhouse you have: Andromeda – the all girls house, Olympus – the Jocks, Xenophon – the Nerds and Sparta – who are basically the Hufflepuffs.

You can also see a clear Draco Malfoy, Snape and Neville Longbottom chracters, but I will let you figure them out for yourselves!

The parodies even continue into the Cornetto Trilogy – see what I mean?

I also liked the subtle hints, for instance the schools motto is “Per Caedes Ad Astra” which means “Through Bloodshed to the Stars” In Latin.

The use of fracking is a parody on the environment and it is something that is happening in the world but this is taking silliness to the extreme with the amount of fart jokes which can get tiresome after a while.

Symbolism

The filming itself is quite interesting. They use a lot of drone shots to show the size of the school and as it was filmed at Stowe School near Buckingham, which is 300 years old, it was very effective to show the grandeur of the Private School. This was also mixed in with POV shots, some from the creatures, some from the students as they spy.  The school itself symbolises the status of going to a private school against a public school. There has always been a lot of discussion about is it worth paying to go to Private school and mixing with the elite. But at the end of the day no matter what school faces the apocalypse we are all screwed!

Another symbol I liked the use of was the school tie.  For many different characters it represents something different.

 

Don
Woody
Wootton
Clegg
Wolloughby

Don doesn’t want to be at the school and feels very alone so the tie makes him feel alone and abandoned.

Woody graduated many years ago but still wears his school tie on his wrist as a reminder of his brother Teddy who died in the woods. It is a symbol of his past and of his rebellion from the elite.

Wootton bless him has failed the house test on the history of the school numerous times and is punished every time he fails. For him the tie symbolise and is literally a constraint.

Clegg is the head prefect and takes his role very seriously and wears his tie with pride, showing unity in the school and making life hell for the other students.

Willoughby sees the tie as a symbol of death as his roommate hung himself using the tie and he tried to do the same after pulling pranks using the noose as a symbol.

Conclusion

A lot of people have panned this film but I really enjoyed it, but I think I enjoyed it more as a parody than a comedy horror. So I think in the end it all comes down to personal taste, which in the end is what happens with any film. I found it funny and enjoyed picking out the parody nuggets but I didn’t find it scary at all. So if you want to be scared look elsewhere but if you want a lighthearted film with lots of fart jokes. This film is for you.

I give it a 3/5.

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Favourite Quotes:

“Super massive Frack Hole”

“Damn, why didn’t this happen under the maths block?”

“To the Skoda!”

“This Is Sparta”

“Tunnels my arse, this is a sewer!”

“I’m gonna die unfulfilled, I’m gonna die a virgin, I’m gonna die in Greek sandals”

 

Director: Crispian Mills

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen and Finn Cole

Crew:  John De Borma (Cinematographer)

Genre:  Horror Comedy

Rating: 15

Director: Crispian Mills

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Asa Butterfield, Michael Sheen and Finn Cole

Crew:  John De Borma (Cinematographer)

Genre:  Horror Comedy

Rating: 15

 

Now You See Me 2

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“Magically Mediocre”

Sequels are a funny thing. They normally all go downhill from the original but I am an optimist when it comes to films. I was a huge fan of Now You See Me (NYSM) as I love magic. It is a personal love of mine as it fascinates me. I really liked the story and the cast and characters so I was really looking forward to seeing the sequel. As soon as I saw they were making a second film I was convinced they should call it “Now You Don’t” the marketing writes itself! Regrettably even a better name couldn’t save this film.

I was bitterly disappointed. It was very drawn out, they tried to up the stakes and everything but I was bored and it didn’t catch my attention. It was very over the top and the storyline kept getting more involved for no real reason. Changing the director gave it a different feel I’m not sure whether it made much of a difference.

*Spoiler Alert*

The one thing that I really liked was the death of Lionel Striker. The idea of it resonated with the true story of Amazing Joe Burrus. On October 31st 1990 this magician tried to do Harry Houdini’s buried alive trick on the anniversary of Houdini’s death. Although Houdini never performed it on stage because he died before hand it is one of his famous tricks mainly due to the fact that it almost killed him during one performance. Burrus said “I consider myself a master of illusion and an escape artist. I believe I am the next Houdini and greater, to me, that is what an escape artist is: to put myself in an impossible situation and get out of it.” (AP, 1990)

Check out the video below, but bare in mind it is not suitable for people of a nervous disposition.

Unfortunately Burrus didn’t make it out alive and now shares something else with Houdini, his death date. Striker’s death in the film reminded me of the ever present danger that magicians face during every trick. I like the reality check.

The main issue I had with the film was the timeline. They said that the events of the first film was a year ago, so because of this I have it in my mind the timeframe. Later in the film Thaddeus says he has been in jail 18 months.  How does that work as he was arrested at the end of the first film? Maybe I am being picky but I am a stickler for these sort of continuity errors.

Another issue I have with any sequel is when they change characters. Isla Fisher had to drop out of the film due to her pregnancy and was replaced with Lizzy Caplan. Caplan did a great job and brought a new energy into the film but even her ever present optimism could not save this film. I mean come on what is with Merritt’s twin Chase? It is way too out of the box and very predictable. Also Daniel Radcliff as the bad guy was more comical that believable. Merritt referring to him as the “man-boy” was on point! (Chu, 2016)

Unfortunately with the world of magic once the trick has been explained then the experience is over. This makes me worry about the fact that they are doing another film and making it a trilogy when it’s not really needed or asked for.

I can only give it 3 stars.

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Director: Jon M. Chu

Cast:  Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan

Crew:   Ed Solomon (Screenwriter)

Genre: Thriller Caper

Rating: 12A

Works Cited

  1. (1990, November 1). Man Who Billed Himself As Escape Artist Dies In Halloween Stunt. Retrieved from The Seattle Times: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19901101&slug=1101736

Chu, J. M. (Director). (2016). Now You See Me 2 [Motion Picture].

 

Bad Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

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Not bad for a sequel

This is my first sequel review and I have been looking forward to it. Sequels are a funny thing everyone is always very excited for them but in the end they have a tendency to disappoint the audience. They always seem to have higher expectations than the film can reach and unfortunately this formula has effected Bad Neighbors 2. I was so excited when I heard they were making a sequel but I was a bit nervous and was hoping they won’t just redo the first film formula. Unfortunately they do, they just replaced the frats with sororities.

The film had exactly the same idea of the family having a (another) child and a bunch of rowdy college kids move in next door. (Girls instead of boys). I am glad though that they developed the characters from the first film. We get to see what had happened to Mac, Kelly and Stella, and Pete, Scoonie and Garf, the Delta Psi Beta boys are doing now in their careers and love lives.

**SPOILER ALERT **

Loved the engagement scene!

Unfortunately Teddy is not as much of an adult as the others and that draws him back to the old frat way of life, but I’m glad he finds his way in the end and it’s such a fitting end for the character in my opinion.

The film did touch on some sensitive subjects when it comes to frats and sororities. I have had experience at American Frat parties and some of the things they say I can kind of relate to. “This party’s a bit…rapey…” (Turner, 2016) There is also a lot of sexism that’s featured in this film such as Frat’s having parties but Sororities aren’t allowed. The film handles this in a comical but clever way.

The film did have some good points as well. I liked the way they used screen techniques. In one scene during a lecture from Teddy you see all the sorority girls texted each other and the texts appear on screen giving the audience a view into the girl’s “silent” conversation. Another example is when Mac is looking through the trash bags for weed and he sniffs it and the screen turns into a gaming targeting system, which is really effective in the content and true to Nicholas Stoller’s directing style.

Of course there is some skin on show this would not be a Bad Neighbors film without lots of topless Zac Efron. (Yay for the ladies) “I’m a human woman! I need to watch this!” (Stoller, 2016)  In fairness the lads get the girls in bikinis for a lot of the film. “They are using their sexuality as a weapon!” (Stoller, 2016)

For a sequel it was not a bad film it has its funny moments but a lot of the material is repeated from the first film, which was a down side for me. I was looking for more original material.

Only an average 3 out of 5 from me.

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Director:  Nicholas Stoller

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne , Seth Rogen

Crew:   Andrew J. Cohen (Writer), Brendan O’Brien (Writer)

Genre: Comedy

Rating: 15

Works Cited

Stoller, N. (Director). (2016). Bad Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising [Motion Picture].

Turner, M. (2016, May 15). FILM REVIEW: Bad Neighbours 2. Retrieved from Boston Standard: http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/what-s-on/arts-leisure/film-review-bad-neighbours-2-1-7379963