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Review: ‘VENOM’ Has A Lot Of Teeth, But Lacks Bite

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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

Image via IMDB

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.

Image via IMDB

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.

Image via IMDB

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.

Image via IMDB

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.

Image via IMDB

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.

Image via IMDB

Venom is in theaters October 5th.

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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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.

Infested

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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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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