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Review: ‘VENOM’ Has A Lot Of Teeth, But Lacks Bite
Super hero movies are a staple genre. That’s simply a fact nowadays. Of course, with all the main heroes of Marvel and DC in the spotlight, it was only a matter of time before more secondary, anti-heroic, and outright villainous characters got their chance to shine. Which leads us to the theatrical headlining debut of one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes, VENOM.
Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is a down on his luck former reporter who lost his career, his credibility, and even his girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) after he used confidential information he took from Anne to confront Life Foundation pharmaceutical CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). But when he’s confronted by one of Drake’s scientists, Dr. Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate) that The Life Foundation is experimenting on humans with alien organisms called ‘symbiotes’ his attempt at finding the truth and doing good lead to him becoming infected with the extraterrestrial being called Venom. Now bonded together, they must fight off Drake’s goons, protect his loved ones, and stop a sinister otherworldly threat.
Venom is interesting in trying to establish the characters of Venom and Eddie Brock as a solo act divorced from his origin in Spider-Man, in every sense of the word. Of course, Venom has had a number of starring series of its ow, most prominently in the edgy 1990’s. In that aspect, it kind of works, but as with many things with this film, it could have been better. Without spoiling too much, there’s more than a few fun easter eggs and foreshadowing of stories and characters from the comics that could potentially be used in a sequel.
So it only makes sense that the movie also has an odd feeling of deja vu for 1990’s genre comedy movies like The Mask and Men In Black. Directed by Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, it should come as no surprise that there’s a blend of action and comedy, though unfortunately not nearly as much bloody splatstick due to the rating. Especially in the story’s handling of Eddie Brock. Tom Hardy plays Eddie as a fairly serious reporter with a moral code at the beginning, which morphs into him being an awkward madman like a cross between Charlie Day and Jim Carrey as he deals with bonding to Venom and all the side-effects that come with it. Including talking to himself, eating a live lobster, and moved against his will in a slapstick manner. It works in part, but a lot of times comes off as a bit weird.
Unfortunately for horror fans, the movie is more in line with the typical super hero movie rather than something along the liens of David Cronenberg. Which is rather disappointing, as the character and trailers did allude to it going down a more body horror laden track as Eddie adjusts to the alien infecting his body. The main story does a decent job in adapting from Venom’s initial solo runs, but everyone is rather lacking in depth. Carlton Drake is more an antagonist as a device rather than a truly memorable villain. He’s a multi-billionaire utilitarian bad guy who wants to save the world no matter the cost, which unfortunately is a bit of a cliche archetype at this point. Granted, he does have some scenes of affability that gives him an almost Hank Scorpio vibe, which was funny, but didn’t really lend to his character. Eddie’s ex, Anne Weying has her moments and feels justified in her actions and motivations, but really should be giving a stronger reaction to the craziness around her and involving her former boyfriend.
It was interesting to make the Venom symbiote a character in its own right, especially having Tom Hardy voice the alien as well. In the comics, the symbiote didn’t usually have a dialogue, but here, it’s good to have a back and forth. Unfortunately, The characterization of Venom is rather hollow. There isn’t a lot of build-up between it and Eddie, and its motivation quickly moves from villainous, to anti-heroic, to heroic with very little justification.
If you are a fan of creature FX and monster fights, this is the movie for you. Venom utilizing it’s monstrous true form against mercenaries, SWAT Teams, and eventually another symbiote bonded baddie make for fun action pieces. Having seen the movie in 4DX with moving seats and other FX definitely enhanced the experience for mindless fun. And the FX used for Venom and the symbiotes, while almost entirely CGI, were pretty well done and flowed seamlessly as Eddie switched between forms. Unfortunately, don’t expect much gore action as the movie is rated PG-13. Though there are more than a few kills and monstrous acts that push the rating to its limit.
Overall, while rather cliche and typical of a mainstream super movie, Venom does have some cool monsters, violent action, and the potential for greater growth. If you’re in the mood for something more along the lines of a horror B-movie, then Venom has you covered.
Venom is in theaters October 5th.
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News
Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role
Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.
Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.
“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”
Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.
While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?
The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.
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Editorial
7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch
The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.
The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.
We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.
Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?
Scream Live (2023)
Ghostface (2021)
Ghost Face (2023)
Don’t Scream (2022)
Scream: A Fan Film (2023)
The Scream (2023)
A Scream Fan Film (2023)
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Movies
Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month
Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.
Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.
According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.
Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.
Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.
Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.
While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.
According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”
The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.
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