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Aaron Keeling’s The House on Pine Street is about a pregnant woman named Jennifer (Emily Goss) who thinks her temporary home might be haunted. The problem is, she’s only staying at the place because she recently went through a mental breakdown of sorts. Adding to our sense of mystery, we have limited knowledge of what that breakdown entailed. As her life goes from bad to worse, we’ll probably hope that Jennifer finally begins to find some peace and hope for a happier future. However, what seemed to be new hope of happiness turns into an indescribable nightmare.

This is, in many ways, a suspense movie. Although it’s a haunted house movie, we’re never quite sure where it will go next. Will the hauntings (or her imaginings) remain subtle or grow increasingly violent? Will these real-or-imagine spirits be mere pranksters or will Jennifer’s unborn baby be turned to ash from a three-alarm fire? You don’t quite know. Basically, I knew this was a good movie because it had me wondering if Jennifer would be forced to watch her young family burn. It had me imagining freaky scenarios independent of the actual scenes. Jennifer fights for her life and a chance at a new life, but it increasingly seems impossible.

Family Dynamics

I’m guilty of overusing the word “dynamics” as a writer. However, it so often rightfully applies. Here the dynamics obviously involve family and psychological disturbance, blending with possible paranormal hocus pocus. The House on Pine Street also carries that dread of family dysfunction. At a time when Jennifer should be overcoming all obstacles, she awkwardly reunites with her mother, Meredith (Cathy Barnett). feeling forced to do so and resenting Meredith for it.

There is obviously some sadness here, as no healthy person wants to dislike their parent — someone responsible for their very entry into the world. The discomfort carries over into a social gathering where, possibly, a man named Walter (Jim Korinke) invigorates Jennifer’s interest in the supernatural presence in her temporary home. Might the hauntings just be her imagination, brought on by delusions triigered by a roomful of family and friends? At first, Jennifer calmly and emphatically tells her husband (Taylor Bottles) of her suspicions, but it ends up getting more frantic as her fears intensify. So, while we don’t fully know her origins, her history, her hopes and her dreams, it could potentialy bring tears to the eyes of sensitiveviewers. We only get glimpses of her life, her childhood, her formative experiences, etc. However, we know she fears there will be an upcoming funeral.

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More Reasons You Should Appreciate ‘The House on Pine Street’

I don’t wish to sound overly-excited about this or any movie, but what can I say? This is a haunted house movie done right. In fact, this might be one of the greats, as other critics have hinted at. So am I just trying to fit in with them, to maybe hobnob with better-established reviewers than myself? I assure you, I am not. This is a small, perhaps rare example of my actually agreeing with many snooty critics out there (that and The Blair Witch Project, which I side with supportive critics on).

Anyway, like any decent haunted house movie, this one makes us examine the everyday, the inane. You’ll find some of the most gruesome and unnerving objects in her house are not conventional murder weapons, but anything that could conceivably be moved or manipulated. Also, Jennifer must face her own fears to discover the identity of the mysterious force menacing her. Then again, what if it’s all in her own head?

Final Thoughts

This movie is better than plenty of franchise favorites, honestly. I mean, Hellraiser: Bloodline? Bah! Pinhead in space isn’t scary! A movie is much scarier if it makes you examine the space in your own head. This movie is definitely good if, on occasion, you want spooky elements but not any blood-sucking vampires, flesh-eating zombies, mask-wearing maniacs, or mists full of extravagant critters. Writers Keeling and Natalie Jones gave us a movie to remember, collecting a decent amount of accolades from critics. If they collaborate again, it should work. So far, so good.

Although this movie isn’t in the “found footage” genre, it somehow conveys a sense that you’ve stumbled across a hidden tape recording from Jennifer that explains all of her doubts about her existence. Even as the possibility of an invisible “spook” looms, you sense that she might be slipping with or without their presence. There’s every sense that a character can be gravely harmed, including any part of her family, and you’ll isntantly understand why her estranged mother is so disliked by her. Jennifer wants a silver lining and for hope to be renewed, but can it be? The idea that a semi-private conversation coukld’ve triggered her problem is interesting, too. That it might have become an obsession paints Jennifer as someone with a troubled inner voice. This movie is a stomach-churning package (in the good sense), and is compellingly claustrophobic.

What are your thoughts on The House on Pine Street? Let us know in the comments!

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Movies n TV

Shutter Island (2010): Review

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Leonardo Dicaprio’s films rarely disappoint. It was interesting to see him flex different acting muscles in this psychological thriller Shutter Island alongside Mark Ruffalo and Michelle Williams. When I say that I was not expecting such a turn in the story, I mean that my jaw was pretty much on the floor the entire time. Without any further ado, let’s dive into its mastery, shall we? 

A cliché setup done right 

We have been here before a million times. A character stumbles into a scene to solve a mystery. Everyone is acting just the right amount of suspicion to make you wonder. Dicaprio’s Edward ‘Teddy’ travels to an extremely remote island where a woman goes missing from a psychiatric institution. He’s experiencing migraines and flashbacks to his murdered wife while receiving little to no help from the hospital staff. 

Teddy soon suspects that the hospital is experimenting on patients which fuels his theories on what happened to the missing woman. Things take even more of a turn when his partner also disappears. Unsurprisingly, everyone insists Teddy came to the island alone. Feeling like he’s losing his mind, our protagonist finds out that this is exactly the case. He is a patient in the hospital and the entire investigation is an attempt to get him to understand the truth. 

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Leonardo di Caprio stands in front of the camera looking down, concerned with Mark Ruffalo looking baffled in the background

While the whole ‘it was all in your head’ trope has a bad rep for the fans of any genre, this film uses it masterfully. Watching it for the first time not knowing what to expect is obviously a shock and then watching it again, looking at all the clues that were the which you missed – that’s a treat on its own. After all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with using cliches if they are done the right way. 

Things that go bump in our minds

A huge part of this movie’s storyline is Andrew’s inability to process the truth. The roots for it stretch far beyond the plot twist. Andrew is unable to acknowledge that his wife is mentally ill and believes that moving them to the countryside will fix everything. After she murders their children, he is further pushed into the world of delusion, convincing himself to be a hero because he couldn’t save his own family. 

It’s interesting to note that in his delusion, Andrew is the one who set fire to their house. Is this a little sliver of his mind whispering the truth to him? Is it his subconscious villainizing himself out of contempt, searching for answers that are never going to come? Andrew’s psychiatrist pointed out that his moment of clarity has happened before, only to be undone quite quickly. Perhaps it was easier for Andrew to shut it off rather than live with the knowledge that he could’ve done something to prevent a terrible tragedy. 

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Overall thoughts

Shutter Island is a movie that provides both the entertainment value you would expect from a suspense thriller and a deeper layer of thought. Coated with a perfect atmosphere and amazing acting, it’s a piece that will definitely hold the test of time.  4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5)

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Wheel of Time, Daughter of The Night

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We’ve reached episode four of Wheel of Time, which means we’re halfway through the season. While it doesn’t seem like much has happened so far, this is the episode where things start heating up.

The Story

We begin this episode with a flashback. Ishamael is raising something dark and twisted. As we watch, it takes the shape of a woman.

More on that in a bit.

Meanwhile, Nynaeve is healing from her time in the arches. She is quiet and withdrawn. She’s also awkward and uncomfortable around Egwene now that she’s initiated and Egwene is not. Her new friendship with Elayne isn’t helping.

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But the three girls come together when Liandrin tells Nynaeve that Perrin has been captured by the Seanchan.

Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden and Ceara Coveney in Wheel of Time.

However, Perrin is no longer in the clutches of the Seanchan. He was rescued by Elyas and a pack of beautiful wolves. Beautiful and deadly AF by the way. If you have any fear of dogs, this episode might not help that.

Elyas explains to Perrin that he is a Wolf Brother. This means that he can communicate with the wolves, and eventually will gain some of their abilities. While Perrin and Elyas don’t exactly get off on the right foot, he does find a fast friendship with one specific wolf. After a time, he introduces himself by showing Perrin an image of himself jumping up and down. From this, Perrin assumes his name is Hopper.

Finally, we return to Rand. He and Selene have been off in the mountains. They haven’t done much more than each other so far.

And that’s exactly what it appears they’re about to do when Moiraine bursts into the cottage and cuts Selene’s throat.

Rand is surprised and furious until Moiraine explains that the woman he knows as Selene is the Dark Friend Lanfear. With this shocking revelation, the two run off into the night.

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What worked

It should be a surprise to no one that I loved the wolves in this episode. Hopper himself was worth an extra Cthulhu. But this is not just because dogs are cute. It’s also because the dog playing Hopper just does a great job.

On a more serious note, I loved how Nynaeve responded upon coming back to the real world. She isn’t okay.

Zoë Robins in Wheel of Time.

And it’s a good thing that she isn’t. Too often in fiction we don’t see the fallout of emotional damage. Hell, we don’t usually see realistic fallout from physical damage.

But she is hurt by what she experienced. And you can tell. That’s realistic character building, and we don’t see that enough.

I also really appreciate the special effects in this episode. The first time we see Lanfear, she’s eerie. She’s frightening. Part of this is thanks to Natasha O’Keeffe, who does a great job. But the effects are what really sells this.

What didn’t work

If Wheel of Time has any fault, it’s that there is far too much sitting about and talking about things. In this case, there’s a lot of standing about and talking about things. Some of this was necessary, and some of it could have been done better. Honestly, there just has to be a better way to convey that characters are struggling.

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This was most apparent with Rand and Selene/Lanfear. Honestly, anytime the two of them were on screen it was a great time for me to catch up on Instagram.

This might come as a surprise to anyone who hasn’t read the books, but Rand is supposed to be the main character. And here we are, four episodes into an eight-episode season, and so far all he’s done is mess about with his emo girlfriend!

That being said, the story is starting to pick up. With four episodes left, I can’t wait to see how far we go.

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

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Elevator Game, a Film Review

Elevator Game (2023) is directed by Rebekah McKendry and is the first feature-length production of Fearworks.

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Elevator Game (2023) is directed by Rebekah McKendry and is the first feature-length production of Fearworks. It adapts the supernatural myth and creepypasta of the same name while providing an original plot. This unrated Shudder exclusive stars Gino Anania, Samantha Halas, and Verity Marks. In full disclosure, I had the opportunity to interview Gino Anania and Stefan Brunner about the film.

Ryan seeks to find answers to his sister’s mysterious disappearance. To do this, he infiltrates a myth-busting web series that seems to have some ties to her final confirmed moments. Desperate to force a confrontation, he encourages them to play the elevator game. Unfortunately, there seems to be more truth to the myth than expected.

A woman bends backward to look over at someone. The street she's on is red and ominous.
ELEVATOR GAME’s Samantha Halas as the 5th Floor Woman

What I Like about Elevator Game & as an Adaptation

I am lucky to have additional insight into the development hell this movie overcame due to COVID. It’s commendable that the film manages to make it of that, even if it requires a lengthy delay of the film.

Usually, I provide a separate section for adaptation quality. However, the source material remains the ritual, which Elevator Game performs accurately. While the myth inspires many creepypastas, Elevator Game doesn’t directly take or adapt any of these works from what I’ve seen. Instead, it makes its own film based on the legend.

As the Fifth Floor Woman, Samantha Halas creates an eerie and disturbing character. While I won’t go so far as to say terrifying, she certainly makes an impression. The revelation that the stunts and performance are all her, as an actual contortionist, I give her more credit.

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Gino Anania, given a more complex role than most of his cast members, really does bring a strong performance that creates either friction or synergy with his cast members. I suppose I wanted more of these interactions as some cut sooner than appreciated.

Another amusing element is that the entire motivation for the plot to follow is a forced advertisement from an investor. Something about the chaos being a product of appeasing some investors feels uncomfortably real.

The alternate reality remains surprisingly effective. To be clear, it’s not impressively realistic but stylistic. It genuinely seems like an alternate world with a skewered impression.

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Disclaimer Kimberley Web Design

Tired Tropes or Trigger Warning

I feel weird mentioning this, but endangering a sister’s life to push the brother’s story forward seems a common trend beyond one form of media.

No discredit to the actors, but the romance feels rushed and unnecessary. Without going into too much detail, to avoid spoilers, there is synergy between the actors but little chemistry in the plot.

A woman holds a man's arm as an elevator door closes.
ELEVATOR GAME – Verity Marks as Chloe Young and Gino Anania as Ryan Keaton

What I Dislike or Considerations

Elevator Game remains set in providing a B-movie experience. Its tight budget leaves little room to surprise the viewer visually. While I am surprised at what it accomplishes, it’s far from overwhelming. This film also remains the first production of Fearworks, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. I’m interested in the future, but Elevator Game leaves much to grow from.

Rebekah McKendry may have a directorial style that influences dialogue, but the line delivery evokes an overexpression that’s common in Lovecraftian films. I say this not as a direct negative, but it remains a required taste best known before viewing. As this isn’t Lovecraftian, I fear it removes some of the reality and tension of those haunting elements.

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Many of the characters feel underdeveloped, making me wonder if cutting these roles might lead to more invested characters. While the performances hit their marks, a tighter cast might give each role more to work toward. As this is a tight cast already, it seems an odd issue to rectify.

Final Thoughts

Elevator Game provides an interesting B-movie experience for those who know the legend. For those expecting something different, this film may not work for you. This film overcame a lot to exist but doesn’t break the mold. While I am excited to see Fearworks pursue further ventures toward its ambitious mission statement, I find Elevator Game falling short of its goal.
2 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)

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