Hey folks, Harry here... I'm reposting this grouping of reviews - because DON'T BREATHE is opening today at it is an exquisite bit of suspense. A blind waltz of fear and trepidation - and the greatest lesson you can learn... Don't fuck with Stephen Lang. Seriously. Also on this particular day I saw 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE - which I still recommend watching on the same day you see DON'T BREATHE - and Linklater's EVERYBODY WANTS SOME is now on home video where you wil come to worship it properly. Now... let's go back in time to March...
SXSW Day 1
I had entered the random drawing to attend the Obama Keynote at the SXSW INTERACTIVE event today – but – sadly… was not chosen. Not only that, but films didn’t get underway today for me till 6:30pm, when the SXSW opener… Richard Linklater’s EVERYBODY WANTS SOME. But both Father Geek and myself were in full movie going mode. So we paid to go see 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE at 2:20pm in a well attended matinee. Now 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE isn’t an official film at SXSW, but since JJ Abrams will be here at SXSW… sure… why the hell not include it into this day of cinema.
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE…
The fluffer film for SXSW 2016. The press screening for this was at a real shit screen for me, so this worked out perfect… especially given how well it bookended the day of film with Fede Alvarez’s DON’T BREATHE.
For me, 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE’s opening with Mary Elizabeth Winstead felt a bit like the opening for Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO with Janet Leigh. Very old school shots, letting the images tell you, the viewer, all you need to know. She’s upset, she’s leaving her fiancé and heading out on the road for who knows where. You can tell she’s in a bit of a daze, the radio broadcasts are talking about problems on the coasts, but we’re catching things in progress and without context. But pay attention.
Then… well you’ll see. She wakes up with an IV in her arm and chained in a Spartan room upon a mattress on the floor. It’s kinda the worst thing imaginable for anyone. Turns out her captor is John Goodman. He babbles about Russians and Martians and well, she has enough to know he is a looney tunes kinda danger. All of this occurs rather quickly – and for the rest of the film you’re going to be battling with who you believe and what you think is going on.
The film is essentially a 3 person film. As you know we have Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Michelle, John Goodman as the mysterious Howard and John Gallagher Jr as Emmett – a simple man with simple ambitions. They’re locked in this bomb shelter with supplies that’ll last the year or two they’re anticipating staying in it. But Winstead’s Michelle has grave reservations about just accepting the situation and she begins to share those thoughts with Emmett – and Goodman’s Howard… well, he’s definitely a bit of a mess.
The film is anchored by the three performances, how it shakes out is pretty damn amazing and badass. Why does the House glow in the trailer? Earn that info by seeing the film. It is quite satisfying! Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, behind that PORTAL: NO ESCAPE short film we all loved, this is a great feature step forward! It was a perfect way to start a day of cinema!
Next we beat it down to the storied Paramount Theater of the opening film of SXSW 2016, the aforementioned Linklater spiritual brother to his DAZED AND CONFUSED, only set in 1980 College life, rather than High School! They’re both FRESHMAN stories, about those times in life when you’re at the bottom of the pile and you’re expected to rise to the top – or at least learn how to swim in the socially awkward worlds of education.
Here, we ride with Blake Jenner’s Jake – a young pitcher that is arriving at University to live with the school Baseball team – He’s eager to get underway. Now, we know Blake Jenner from GLEE and more recently SUPERGIRL, where he plays Calista Flockhart’s Cat Grant’s estranged son. I liked him in those two episodes – and so when he hit the screen, I was curious to see more from him. Once he arrives at the houses – we’re gonna get hit fast and furious with the characters that make up this team of winners. But specifically, we’re going to see how they treat the new guys, there’s about 4 Freshman on the team… We’ll see them do at least 4 or 5 parties, all very different and individually cool in and of their own right.
The cast are mainly people I didn’t instantly recognize, but once I started looking them up – well you see how you know them. Like the team’s hottest shot, McReynolds, played by Tyler Hoechlin – Tom Hanks’ son in ROAD TO PERDITION… or the fantastic stoner philosopher Willoughby, played by Wyatt Russell, Son of Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn. He’s GREAT in this! One of the real jewels of the film is Finnegan, played by Glen Powell – major charisma – and a riot to watch on screen.
Like DAZED & CONFUSED, you’re going to love partying with this crew. This will become a big party film, the soundtrack alone guarantees that. In my head, you get a keg and some friends and you put DAZED & CONFUSED and EVERYBODY WANTS SOME on and you all laugh and tell your own crazy stories about High School & College.
Then there’s a whole different level that this works on me and that’s just the era of 1980. There’s a scene where some of our players end up at a punk club that Linklater modeled after a place Dad took me to in the 80s called RAUL’s here in town – and that place. So fucking PUNK. I saw so much crazy music there and couldn’t believe the blood in the mosh pits (that’s missing in the film). RAUL’S was old Punk Rock Austin at its finest and I was a kid that loved the music and my Dad loved exposing me to the scene.
There isn’t a moment in the film where I wasn’t smiling big! Linklater nailed this! One of my favorite Linklater films in years. I want the Criterion Blu of this now! Got so many friends to watch the film with!
After the hilarious nostalgia of EVERYBODY WANTS SOME – it was time to dive back into the horror-suspense genre that I started the day with. The film was listed as UNTITLED FEDE ALVAREZ PROJECT, and it was the STATE theater where I grew up watching a zillion Shaw Brothers Double Feature Kung Fu flicks with my Dad as a kid. And it was a specifically awesome cherry to the evening to have a film where I only knew had Jane Levy, from Fede’s EVIL DEAD – and Stephen Lang as a Blind Man. Frankly that is all I needed to know. Fede making an under the radar genre film premiering in the midnight time slot of SXSW… Fuck yeah I’m there!
Jarod Neece came out to pull the veil off of the title of Fede Alvarez’s film of the evening… DON’T BREATHE!
Seriously… DON’T BREATHE! – and after you see the film… You’ll totally get it. This is – essentially a Home Invasion film, where 3 kids decide to break into a Blind Veteran’s home to steal the $300,000 he won in a wrongful death suit, that they assume is in the house. The Jane Levy character is up to this because she wants to get her baby sister out of the sphere of influence and corruption of their alcoholic mother and the men she brings home. Her boyfriend, a real piece of shit named Money played by Daniel Zovatto that you’ll recognize from IT FOLLOWS, who you’ll grok very quickly as being the sort of person with an express elevator to Hell. Then there’s Alex, played by Dylan Minnette from Matt Reeves’ LET ME IN and most recently GOOSEBUMPS. Now Alex’s father works in the burglar alarm biz – and Alex steals info from his dad’s computer to help pull safe B&E’s around town. When this job comes up, he wisely thinks not to do it, but he has the hots for Jane Levy’s character –
Now – the Blind Vet… it’s fucking Stephen Lang. Yes. Miles Quaritch from AVATAR, yes, Ike Clanton from TOMBSTONE and now… THE BLIND MAN! He isn’t chewing dialogue like cigars from AVATAR, he’s not eyeballing characters to death like in TOMBSTONE. His Blind Man is one part Zatoichi and one part Rambo. But he’s going to become a character all his own here!
Now – it isn’t fair to the characters that they’re going into Stephen Lang’s home. They didn’t see this crazy awesome Mofo in the power armor on Pandora like us. It’s also a great bet these juvenile delinquents had no clue who Zatoichi was – and they probably didn’t read about STICK in DAREDEVIL comics. Me… I have a healthy respect for the potentiality of Blind People possibly being able to unleash a level of whup ass that could become mythologically awesome. Remember SAMSON? Not only did they cut his hippie hair and take his eyes, but he killed them all. Again. Blind people have powers. Just accept that and be nice to blind people.
OR… go ahead.
This house is in a dead area of town. What happens… heh. It will disturb you and you’ll love it! I could hear Sam Raimi giggling through this film and he wasn’t even there, that I know of.
Suffice to say, the film has surprises for every single character. Including the doggy! Women will scream and cheer. Men will groan uncomfortably – and if you happen to be a Harry – you’ll block punches to the face from Stephen Lang like they were fucking real. Fuck, them short jabs sitting on chests… FUCK THAT! But that’s… NOTHING.
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE and DON’T BREATHE were made to see the same day back to back. They’re so complimentary it isn’t funny. Both films have fantastic female characters and great older male leads – doing very different and very similar things. When the unveil of what Stephen Lang is up to in this film happens, nobody will be comfortable. It is positively unsettling.
Now… to go find that Tie Fighter in town tomorrow, do a panel with a real life Space Woman and see MIDNIGHT SPECIAL! Day two will rock!
