Disc Reviews

From the creators of The Good Wife comes a show that attempts to explore if demonic possessions, miracles, and other supernatural occurrences are real or simply manifestations of the mind.  This is one of those topics that have always fascinated me, being brought up Catholic and with what some might consider an unhealthy obsession with horror.  It was a no-brainer growing up that I would gravitate to The X-Files, and over the years there have been several shows attempting to capture the dynamic of the skeptical FBI Agent Dana Scully and the true believer agent on a crusade, FBI Agent Fox Mulder.  Evil just may have the potential to be the show that explores the unknown and deliver the same quality drama, though I wouldn’t say it deserves the cult hit status just yet. Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) is a clinical psychologist who is typically used by the local D.A. to testify on the sanity of a subject who is on trial.  A big deal is made about her being a climber that has reached numerous summits, but nothing is really done with this aside from making it a plot device we never get to see her put into action.  Her husband is absent from a good portion of the show because he is taking time off to climb Everest, leaving behind their four daughters in the care of Kristen.  To help Kristen take care of the girls, her mom, Sheryl (Christine Lahti) steps in to play babysitter.  The family dynamic is definitely one of the strengths of the show. Just how Kristen would be able to juggle her job and the kids on her own definitely makes it easy for the viewer to root for her and makes it easier to forgive her down the road when she makes some questionable decisions, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Then there is David Acosta (Mike Colter), a former addict who has cleaned up his life and is attempting to join the priesthood.  I loved Colter’s work as Luke Cage, and he continues to maintain a presence on screen in Evil. Though he’s not a priest yet, David works for the church; his job is to basically sort out if alleged possessions and miracles are legit (at least enough for the Vatican to allow the church to be involved). David quickly recruits Kristen to join his team, which also includes Ben (Aasif Mandvi) who works as a tech advisor for the team.

The first pilot was a fun episode, but it’s not till the show gets to the fourth episode, ROSE390, where I found myself truly engaged.  The episode has the team investigating a nine-year-old boy who has some serious violent impulses. Then there is the B story that has Kristen’s daughters getting involved with a VR horror game that may have a demon inside it.  This is a network TV show, so when this episode takes some rather dark directions, one thing was made clear: no character or storyline is safe.  These sentiments are only validated in the following episode October 31. I enjoyed these episodes immensely (I really dug the nod to The Exorcist) but one thing I realized was missing is the show is completely lacking a sense of visual atmosphere.  The show is visually too slick and polished, and it takes away from its potential.  There are genuinely some creepy moments over the course of the show that could lead to some great scares, but the lack of atmosphere takes away the impact.  Perhaps bringing in directors that are more seasoned in the horror genre could help this out; injecting just a bit of atmosphere will tap into a new audience that I’m sure would love to embrace this show.

So knowing nothing of this series as it pre-dates my existence, I did not expect to identify with it at all. I expected for the jokes to be generational, and for the subject matter to be irrelevant. Fortunately, this was not the case, as Head of the Class appears to be a series that in my opinion stands the test of time and provides invaluable life lessons that society is still very much in need of. It stars WKRP in Cincinnati’s Howard Hesseman as Mr. Moore, a substitute teacher who finds himself subbing for a high school’s Individualized Honors Program (IHP), an elite program for the kids with the highest IQs. Expected to little more than read magazines while the kids basically educate themselves, this idea does not sit well with Mr. Moore. Though a laid-back person by nature, he endeavors to do more than just sit back and pass the time, much to the chagrin of Principal Dr. Samuels, who prides himself on the program he designed as well as pushing its participants to academic excellence. Though academically advanced, these students know little of the world, as well as never venture out of their comfort zone. This is where Mr. Moore has the opportunity to make a difference by showing them that they can be more than what society expects them to be.

This philosophy is on display very early on, in the first episode, which features an upcoming dance, and the IHP students do not intend to attend. When investigating their reasons for their non-attendance, we discover evidence of self-esteem issues, parental embarrassment, and fear of rejection. Without really meaning to do so, given his own words to Dr. Samuels, “I’m only here for two days, how much damage can I do?” Mr. Moore manages to get several students to step out of their comfort zone, prompting them to overcome their very reasons for their initial refusal of the dance. This is most evident with Arvid (Dan Frischman), who overcame multiple issues and held firm to the principles that were imparted on him. Long story short, it was a very strong opening episode. It changed my feelings regarding reviewing this; it made me hopeful about the next episodes, although I was skeptical about whether the series would be able to keep this momentum going. I wondered about how many life lessons could be imparted or the methods in which Mr. Moore would utilize to impart them.

Over the past decade we’ve seen a resurgence of reboots, remakes, and anthologies, so it isn’t much of a surprise that the beloved horror anthology Creepshow would get the reboot treatment. To be fair, this is an extension from what the first films set out to be, though the big difference is instead of just being a film with a few stories, it is now a TV series, each episode containing two tales to horrify and entertain.  When I first heard about the series, I was cautiously optimistic. The first two films I consider classics, as do many other fans of the horror genre.  Then there was that third Creepshow that I feel we all just want to forget and pretend never really happened.  Without George Romero being around, I just wasn’t even sure I’d want to see a show that could possibly just water down everything that was great about the films and simply turn out to be a cheap imitation.  Now that I’ve watched Season 1, how does it fare alongside the previous films?  Honestly, I found myself impressed with what I saw, and there is plenty of potential to be refined here.

Episode 1 gets the season started on a strong note with the stories Gray Matter and The House of the Head.  The first story comes courtesy of Stephen King, one of the co-creators of the original Creepshow, and the story definitely sets the tone for the series while at the same time setting expectations for the stories that will follow over the course of the season.  The story is relatively simple, about a boy whose father is going through some changes as a result of a beer he’s been drinking.  I really don’t want to spoil much about this episode, but considering it stars horror icons Adrienne Barbeau and Tobin Bell, the talent elevates this tale all the more, and what’s more impressive is seeing Greg Nicotero directing something that isn’t The Walking Dead.  The pacing of this story is excellent, and sure, I wish it were longer; it’s always a pleasure to see Barbeau in a horror setting, and Tobin Bell has nice albeit brief on-screen chemistry with Giancarlo Esposito.  There isn’t much time to absorb what we’ve just seen before the second story starts up, which has its own unique creepy tone about it. The House of the Head is a story about a little girl and her dollhouse. Everything seems nice till something very unpleasant seems to be stalking the toys in the dollhouse.  It’s the detail that went into the creation of the toys that sells the horror with this story as well as the performance from the young girl.  For those eagle-eyed viewers, you’ll catch some cool Easter eggs hidden in the dollhouse.

Written by J. C.

“Welcome! Everything is fine.”

I do believe that this film was deserving of a theatrical release. I don’t think it would have been a box office hit, but it deserved to reach a wider audience. That is not to disparage home media, which I’ve been plenty thankful for the many hours of entertainment that it has provided me given the state of affairs lately. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars in this film based off a book from crime writer, James Patterson and Swedish journalist/crime writer Liza Marklund. The background of this collaboration was a particular interest to me, as the two reportedly corresponding back and forth via email, with Marklund writing the first draft and Patterson doing the second draft. Both are established crime writers and their decision to co-author a book together is a clear example of their respect for one another’s contribution to the field. Thanks to this mutual, a book that served as the basis of this adaptation, got off to the right start. Joining Morgan is the Good Fight’s Cush Jumbo as well as Taken’s Famke Janssen. I swear I am not trying to give you a history lesson, but the origins of this film is very interesting in my opinion, as it spent several years in what is known as development hell (media jargon for a project that spends a long time in the development phase, usually resulting in changing of production crews, scripts and actors dropping in and out of the project), and was originally slated for Patrick Dempsey in the lead role and Dakota Fanning in the supporting, which then changed to Britt Robertson in the supporting role that eventually went to Jumbo. Truth be told, I think that this situation worked out for the best, as well I can’t imagine someone else doing the role of Jake Kanon the justice that Morgan did.

When his daughter and her husband are murdered on their honeymoon, NYPD Detective Jake Kanon travels across to Europe to find her killer and bring them to justice. In a foreign land with no authority, he finds that the investigating officers are not keen to share information with an American, who they believe is likely out for revenge. Unwavering, Kanon continues to investigate on his own, making headway despite being impeded at nearly every turn. With limited resources, he is able to determine that the killer’s modus operandi is not that of an amateur but a skilled and meticulous killer. Not only does this killer leave no forensic evidence, the manner in which he poses his victims, the killer has a daring way of announcing the message behind the murders: a postcard.