Haunted MTL Film Review: The Green Knight (2021)
I had been anticipating reviewing A24’s The Green Knight for a long, long time. Early on into my writing tenure on this website, I posted an article about the first trailer. That was in February of 2020, just as the world decided to let a plague run rampant. More than a year later, the film has finally arrived.
Did The Green Knight live up to my expectations? Yes, very much so. The Green Knight is my favorite movie of 2021. So if you just want someone to tell you to go see it, then you have your answer. But why is it so good?
Before we continue, take a moment to enjoy the trailer.
The Concept
The Green Knight (2021) is an adaptation of the classic, anonymously written Arthurian poem “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight.” The film is not necessarily a horror film, but there is horror present with ghosts, impending death, and the unforgiving relentlessness of nature. There are enough arguments one can make to include the film into the horror canon, however. The Green Knight is a film that will challenge most viewers. Perhaps to its detriment when it comes to a general audience. However, it is a challenge worth accepting, much like the Christmas game of the film.
The film’s synopsis is fairly simple: Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, seeks glory. During a Christmas celebration, Arthur challenges his court for a legend or adventure. The Green Knight, a monstrous figure resembling the Green Man, enters and offers a challenge. Anyone may strike a blow against him, but in one year, they must meet him at his Green Chapel so that he may return the blow. Gawain takes on the challenge with a shocking result. As such, he must live up to his end of the challenge, traveling to meet The Green Knight.
The film is the work of writer and director David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story), who also takes on editing and producer roles. Dev Patel stars as the tested Sir Gawain, with Ralph Ineson as the titular Green Knight. Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, and Erin Kellyman round out the cast. The Green Knight is produced by Ley Line Entertainment, Bron Studios, and Sailor Beat, and distributed by A24.
What Worked with The Green Knight
The overall adaptation of the classic poem is equally faithful and divergent. This fits given the centuries of debate on interpretations of the tale by English theorists and Arthurian scholars. The original poem is subject to many translations, all affected by the translator’s views. Just as a reader will bring their own perspective to the poem, this film is the same in that regard.
David Lowery’s approach to the story definitely creates an underlying message of what it is meant to be seen as chivalrous and the crushing weight of expectations, internal and external. However, the interpretation will vary from viewer to viewer. Like the work of the original Gawain Poet, Lowery’s approach allows for leeway and interpretation.
The performances are fantastic across the cast, but the buzz around Dev Patel’s Gawain is well deserved. Patel’s Gawain is a screw-up. More of a child than a man who expects greatness and desires to be a knight but fumbles about, misunderstanding and misapplying the chivalric code. Patel is instantly likable despite Gawain’s flaws and has a charismatic presence that endears Gawain to the viewers, even at his weakest moments.
Ralph Ineson’s commanding presence as The Green Knight is impressive, particularly given the relatively limited screentime he has. Much like Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Ineson’s appearances are brief but memorable. Sarita Choudhury’s character, the mother of Gawain, presents an interesting deviation from the original tale, but not entirely unwelcome. She plays mysterious well. Alicia Vikander takes on a pair of roles, each vital, and carries them well. Not a poor performance in the lot.
The cinematography of Andrew Droz Palermo is stunning, as is composer Daniel Heart’s Music. This film will be worthy of study in the future.
What Didn’t Work with The Green Knight
As a whole, this film delivers wonderfully. However, there are two aspects of it I found somewhat troublesome. Not troublesome enough to harm my estimation of The Green Knight. But there are areas that I felt could have been reigned in further or perhaps clarified more.
I have no issues with Lowery’s deviations from the “canon” of “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” as much as anything regarding the poem can be considered canon. But I do feel in his own quest to make his mark that the film takes a long way around to give Gawain his moment of pure, unselfish chivalry finally. The chapter of the film, each of which is title carded, gives away the trick. While I appreciate Lowery’s narrative move to a degree, knowing the title card of the sequence undercut the potential shock of the sequence. This is rendered starker with the rather brutalist ending that ultimately leaves the film somewhat unresolved.
I try not to carry my expectation of what I consider the tale to be and to go along with Lowery’s take. Yet, I cannot help but think something about the ending is amiss. It may just be my knowledge of the poem that will never let me be completely impartial. But then again, this may also be an issue of interpretation. I wonder if perhaps Lowery went a bit too open-ended? Despite these misgivings, however, as petty as they might be, the film is still very much a triumph. It is a singularly excellent Arthurian adaptation.
The Final Verdict
David Lowery’s medieval–themed rumination of chivalry is a stunning movie that enchants and mystifies. The Green Knight is fully deserving of five out of five Cthuluhs.
(5 / 5)
The Green Knight is a film I will be seeing in the nearby movie theater at least a couple more times. It is that good and worth experiencing again and unraveling. This may not be the last I write on it, either, because even having seen it, I find myself asking… is Gawain truly heroic?
Movies n TV
Wicked City (1987), a Film Review
Wicked City (1987) is a dark fantasy horror animation following a world at the brink of war as mortals and supernatural being clash.
Wicked City (1987) is a dark fantasy horror and the debut feature-length animation of director Yoshiaki Kawajiri. This unrated film adapts the first novel of the Wicked City series, Black Guard. It stars Yûsaku Yara, Toshiko Fujita and Ichirô Nagai. As of this review, Wicked City is available on Prime and Crunchyroll.
As the peace between the mortal and supernatural worlds ends, forces clash in a plot to establish a new order. Tasked with protecting the best chance for peace, Taki (Yûsaku Yara) must guard Giuseppe Mayart (Ichirô Nagai). A Black Worlder named Makie (Toshiko Fujita) remains his partner in this pursuit. Can the three brave the challenges and establish a world of peace?
What I Like about Wicked City
Wicked City works best in its parts, providing strong and interesting elements that don’t inherently add up to the whole. The art style and design evoke a memorable aesthetic. There’s a charm to this 80s-era anime that creates either an environment for abominations or spectacles.
It makes sense that Wicked City is an adaptation because the plot depicted seems like parts of a larger narrative we do not see in the film. From what remains, the world and political scheming seem worth exploring. Unfortunately, little of this plot receives depth.
Prior to this, Yoshiaki Kawajiri contributed to many TV shows, exercising a new muscle as he directed a film-length work. He seems invaluable on a team, as his filmography and success indicate, but his directorial contributions don’t seem as critically successful. This effort and work best express themselves in the level of animation and scenes depicted in this flawed film.
Despite the missing pieces throughout the film, the ending seems complete. While there’s clearly room for a sequel, Wicked City tells its story and suggests an answer to the new era’s direction.
Supposedly, this started out as a short film, but Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s execution earned enough attention and respect to get a green light for a feature-length film. This work was all done within a year. Assuming this is true, Wicked City’s completion and animation quality deserve respect.
It received a live-action adaptation. From my understanding, the film adapts the anime, but I hope and imagine some of the manga gets explored to make a more functioning plot.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
Sexual assault and rape remain grotesquely overused in the film. Such subject matter has a place in art, but its use in Wicked City gravitates more toward exploitation and spectacle. Many of the visual designs make most of the fight allegories for sexual assault atop the actual assaults.
As most creatures are organic, there’s a heightened amount of body horror. There’s a level of separation in animation as opposed to live-action body horror, but this point certainly applies to those sensitive to such material.
From what we learn of the characters, many decisions directly contradict their supposed purpose.
What I Dislike about Wicked City
Wicked City circles forums and rank-listings as a cult classic or niche horror, but it’s flawed in almost every way. Ideally, such works might have a plot that draws one in. Wicked City has a concept of a plot that evokes interest but doesn’t communicate it well or explore its depths. Ultimately, it’s a film made up of its parts. The good gets outweighed by the dysfunctional points.
Frankly, the romantic tension between the two leads is underdeveloped. I hesitate to say it doesn’t exist because there’s some work implemented with this in mind. Viewers note the work in the film, but it lacks polish or sensibility.
Final Thoughts
Wicked City is a flawed work from a successful animator. If given more time to develop, perhaps a staple of the 80s might exist. Unfortunately, the film has merits in its parts but falls in connection to the whole. However, for those who can overlook the limitations and exploitations, there are many worthy parts that excel in terms of animation quality and creative decisions.
(2 / 5)
Released in 2023, Late Night with the Devil is a found-footage movie about a late-night host who’d do anything to have the top-rated show.
Don’t worry, it’s not about Jay Leno.
The story
Our story begins, as many found footage films do, with a quick explanation. What we are going to see is the surviving footage from the last episode of a late-night show, along with some never-before-seen footage of backstage during the fateful night everything went wrong.
We then meet Jack Delroy. He’s a late-night host of the show Night Owls. And a year after the death of his beloved wife, he worries that his show is going to be canceled. The ratings are freefalling. So, on Halloween, he invites a girl named Lilly on the show who claims to be possessed.
Because that’s going to go well.
The show begins with a monolog, like most late-night shows. We then meet the first two guests, a claimed psychic named Christou and a stage magician slash skeptic named Carmichael Haig. After hot-reading the audience, Christou appears to have a real psychic vision. One that involves Jack’s deceased wife. He then proceeds to vomit black sludge all over the stage.
You’d think that would be the end of things. It would be stupid to still bring on the possessed girl after a warning like that.
But, of course, the show must go on.
What worked
Late Night with The Devil dedicated itself to the found footage vibe. As such, it felt very much like you were watching something from the 70s. The whole movie is at a lower, grainy resolution, unlike some other horror films that eventually and subtly switch out for a more modern and clear picture. The clothes, the music, the cheap and cheesy costumes. It all reminds one of a good episode of the Brady Bunch or Bewitched. Even when someone’s puking black blood or has worms pouring out of their freshly opened gut.
I was also quite impressed by the acting in this film. Especially that of David Dastmalchian, who played Jack Delroy. This role was performed to perfection. Jack manages to come off as a kind, compassionate man. The sort of person you’d be comfortable talking to, even about the most horrible moments of your life. You get the feeling that you could tell him about the worst moments of your life and he’d thank you for sharing.
This kind facade never slips. But we also see his true motivations. He doesn’t care about anyone, no matter how kind he acts. The show must go on is his entire drive and mission. He didn’t let a little thing like a guest dying stop him. Or a mental breakdown on stage. Or even his dead wife calling to him from beyond the grave.
The show must go on. And on, and on.
Even Dastmalchian is outshined, however, by Ingrid Torelli who played Lilly.
Lilly was a creepy character from the first time we saw her. There is something so unnerving about a child who knows far more than they should. This is a hallmark of demon possession films, all the way back to Reagan. But there’s also something else about the way she behaves that has little to do with the possession. She is always looking to either June or Jack for direction. As much as she speaks to the adults like she knows one, she is still always looking to please the adults around her. She is eager to look at the right camera at the right moment. She is eager to be obedient. It’s hidden, but for someone who has seen enough cult content, it’s easy to spot. She played a former cult victim very well. And that was perhaps the most terrifying part of that character.
What didn’t work
This was almost a perfect movie. Then, like so many others, it just couldn’t stick the landing.
Near the end of the film, there is a strange scene that doesn’t seem to mesh with the rest of it. It appears to be a collection of Jack’s memories. Whether they are true memories or not is left to our interpretation. But they explain the entire reveal of the whole movie. In dull, excruciating detail.
This series of scenes was insulting. It was the equivalent of asking someone if they got the joke. But are you sure you got it? Wait, let me explain it and really just kill the effect altogether.
We were already laughing. Or, to step away from this metaphor, we were already creeped out. We were already grossed out. We were already living in the scene, sitting in the audience right next to the lady who lost her son or the man dressed as a skeleton. Rather than explain the twist, which didn’t need explaining, this scene pulls us rudely out of that audience and deposits us back in the real world.
All that being said, Late Night with The Devil is still a terrific horror film. It was dark, it was gorey, and it left us with unsettling questions even after the ill-planned info dump. If it isn’t already on your Halloween watch list, it certainly deserves a spot.
(4 / 5)
Movies n TV
“B is for Brain” (Evil: S2E8)
“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil. The assessors investigate new brain mapping research.
“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate new brain mapping research that might expose others to God and Hell. Kristen (Katja Herbers) struggles with aggression as Andy (Patrick Brammall) returns from his expedition. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) struggles with what he sees while in the brain mapping process. David (Mike Colter) returns to the basics to find God.
What I Like about “B is for Brain”
“B is for Brain” provides a unique opportunity for viewers to gain more insight into Ben’s past. While not his episode, as “B is for Brain” balances the leads nearly perfectly, he has his most emotional moment in the series so far. Despite the lower stakes, it provides a more vulnerable moment than “E is for Elevator.”
Leland (Michael Emerson) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) meet again on more equal terms and establish their hostile relationship. Sister Andrea proves herself to be a woman who doesn’t back down when a Satanist tries to intimidate her. It also raises the necessity of David’s training, creating a more tangible threat.
Kristen’s deteriorating relationship with Andy reaches a boiling point as her impulsiveness and hostility reach new heights. It seems her sabbatical to the monastery might have increased the evil influences. “B is for Brain” builds upon what “S is for Silence” introduces and creates an interesting interpretation of the last episode’s events.
“B is for Brain” brings a new dynamic to its horror by focusing on how technology, science, and religion intersect. There’s an incredibly diabolical conversation on how this technology could induce fear to empower religion. This idea evokes a more subtle horror than most episodes.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
There is a potential nay-theist trope. By that, I mean there’s a single line where one can interpret an atheist character turned from God because God turned from them. It’s a single line that remains interpretable, but it’s worth mentioning.
There’s a moment of self-harm with clear implications that this is a pattern with the specific character. This harm has some implication of demonic influence, but this remains unconfirmed at the moment. I will mention this becomes more obvious as the season continues.
What I Dislike about “B is for Brain”
Unfortunately, such a big reveal for Ben’s character doesn’t have time to get fully explored in “B is for Brain.” While the focus between the three is great, a few big reveals only earn a light address. It’s less that Ben doesn’t get a fair amount of attention and more that these subjects don’t receive that attention.
A similar point remains relevant about the claim of using brain mapping as a way of evoking religious conversion. That point merits interrogation from the characters and the plot, but it’s only lightly touched on. Further expanding these points is that there’s only light reference in the future specifically about brain mapping.
Final Thoughts
“B is for Brain” gets placed into two memorable episodes, diminishing its lasting power. While not a fault of the episode, it does overlook some potentially big reveals. Some of the more relevant character moments will receive the attention they deserve in later episodes, but it doesn’t aid “B is for Brain” in execution. While a strong and enjoyable episode, diving into those moments might have created an episode that haunts the viewer.
(3 / 5)
