I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the epic “The Brutalist,” the sports drama “The Fire Inside,” the unrelenting evil of “Nosferatu,” the office romance of “Babygirl” and the wild biopic “Better Man.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show guest host Karl Dockstader to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the epic “The Brutalist,” the sports drama “The Fire Inside,” the unrelenting evil of “Nosferatu,” the office romance of “Babygirl” and the wild biopic “Better Man.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Scott Hirsch to talk about the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” and the vampire drama “Nosferatu.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A gothic tale of an ancient vampire’s infatuation with an innocent young woman, Robert Egger’s “Nosferatu” is a reimaging of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 expressionist horror masterpiece “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.”
CAST: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, and Willem Dafoe. Directed by Robert Eggers.
REVIEW: In a showstopper of an opening, the story of “Nosferatu” begins as Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) telepathically awakens an ancient evil in the form of Count Orlock, a.k.a. Nosferatu from the dead.
Years later this story of evil and sacrifice continues in 1838 Germany with Ellen, now newly wed to real estate agent Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult).
Recently, Ellen’s nights have been flooded with terrifying dreams she doesn’t understand. Thomas dismisses them as “enchanted memories,” but she thinks her visions portend something terrible for the couple.
When Thomas’s boss Herr Knock (Simon McBurney) asks him to travel to the Carpathian Mountains to meet with an elderly new client named Count Orlock (Bill Skarsgård)—“He has one foot in the grave,” jokes Herr Knock—Ellen doesn’t want him to go, but the job offers the kind of money they need to start a family and soon Thomas is off.
Weeks pass. Ellen’s dreams become so intense her doctor calls in Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz (Willem Dafoe), a metaphysician and occult scientist who declares, “I have seen things in this world that would make Isaac Newton crawl back into the womb!”
Meanwhile, at Orlock’s creepy castle, the arduous journey and sleep deprivation caused by strange dreams has left Thomas weakened and afraid. Are his dreams morbid fairy tales, as Orlock suggests, or has the Count, a.k.a. Nosferatu, placed a spell on him, as it appears he has on Ellen?
In Germany, as Orlock’s ship heads for their shores, Ellen and others are held in his telepathic sway. “There is,” Von Franz says, “a dread storm rising.”
Director Robert Eggers breathes new life into “Nosferatu’s” withered lungs, staying true to his gorgeously gothic aesthetic while at the same time paying tribute to F. W. Murnau’s classic 1922 film. Immaculately crafted, unsettling images of scurrying rats, crumbling castles and ominous shadows projected by flickering candlelight create a nightmarish canvas onto which this story of dark obsession and sacrifice is projected.
It will be categorized as a horror film, and there are elements of gore, death and the unnerving auditory experience of hearing Count Orlock drain his victims, but it is an old-school horror movie that aims to unnerve its audience with just a few jump scares and no vats of fake blood. Eggers conveys terror with the film’s atmosphere of dread and depiction of madness, decay and unrelenting, elemental evil.
As the film’s tragic heroine Ellen, Depp carries much of the story’s emotional darkness. Ellen is tormented by visions she doesn’t understand, but Depp doesn’t play her as a victim. It’s more like she’s trapped in a toxic relationship and, as such, carries a complex panoply of feelings. Fear and lust top the list, but ultimately it is the steeliness Depp gives her that makes Ellen a compelling but helplessness and hunted character.
The beating—or, in this case, non-beating—heart of the story is Bill Skarsgård as the vampiric Count Orlock. The Dracula stereotype of the vampire with a cape is out of the window. Instead, Orlock is a long-dead Transylvanian noble man, a figure from some folk tale mythology, complete with a bushy moustache and opulent clothing befitting his aristocratic status. But whatever he was when he was alive, he has transformed into a sinister being, a partially decomposed primordial vision of terror. Unseen for most of the film, save for some stunning shadow play early on, Orlock is an avatar of evil and entitlement.
From Orlock’s slow, deliberate speech to his ferocity, Skarsgård, unrecognizable under an inch of make-up, plays him as though he’s just stepped out of a nightmare.
As Thomas, Hoult is a sturdy leading man, and Dafoe, continuing his exploration of off kilter old timey doctors, is obviously having fun, and brings a hint of lightness to this very dark tale.
“Nosferatu” is a story of shadows and light, both thematically and in its visual style.
In one creepy flourish Eggers utilizes shadows to represent the spread of Orlock’s influence. The image of his hand slowly casting shade over Thomas and Ellen’s hometown of Wisborg is eye popping, both visually and metaphorically. As a stylist Eggers creates an atmosphere of evil that emerges from the darkness, painstakingly enveloping all in its path. There is a terrible beauty in these images, one that plumbs the depths of Orlock’s depravity in ways that is both spellbinding and repulsive.
By the time the end credits roll “Nosferatu” is both a compelling homage to, and a reimaging of, Murnau’s original film. The atmosphere of dread remains, given new life with impressive visuals, but it is in Egger’s revision of the core story of obsession and sacrifice that the film becomes truly horrific.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Vampires… but were too scared to ask!
Folks have a fear and fascination with bloodsuckers like Count Dracula and Akasha, the ancient vampire Queen of the Damned and others, so, to celebrate Halloween I’m bringing in vampire expert Prof. Stanley Stepanic of The University of Virginia to, not exactly shed some light one the subject, because, according to lore, that might make the vampires burst into flames, but to give us a lively history of the undead.
To date he has published three textbooks that have been released in recent editions – these are “Dracula or the Timeless Path of the Vampire,” “Russian and East European Film”, and “Russian Folklore”. His latest book, a novella titled “A Vamp There Was,” is set in 1920s Virginia, and looks at the vamp archetype… that of a desirable woman who manipulates men. A young man from Virginia investigates the secrets of her past and the devastating effect on the men who fall for her.
Professor Stepanic teaches a popular class on Dracula at The University of Virginia which covers the history of the vampire from pre-Christian Slavic belief to the present and often appears on lists of students’ favorite University courses.
Then, at the end of the show I share a taste of an interview I did with director Matt Reeves. He’s directed movies like “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson, but here we talk about his unique vampire film “Let Me In.” It’s a remake of a Swedish film, but unlike so many remakes, this story of a bullied young boy who befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian, really works and is perfect Halloween viewing.
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Link coming soon)
Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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“The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” a new horror film now playing in theatres, is based on the chapter “The Captain’s Log” from Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” Told through news clippings and notes from the captain’s log of the Demeter, the chapter details the horrifying voyage that brought Count Dracula to England.
Haven’t read the book? Then think of it as “Alien” on the high seas. A claustrophobic nineteenth century thriller, it swaps out the commercial space tug Nostromo and Xenomorph creature for the merchant ship Demeter and the most famous vampire of all time.
Set in 1897, the story begins when the Demeter is chartered to carry fifty mysterious, unmarked wooden crates, contents unknown, from Eastern Europe to England. “Our charter has agreed to pay a bonus for timely arrival in London,” says Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham).
The bonus pay will be hard earned by the crew… if there is any crew left by the time they hit dry land.
When someone or something begins attacking the on-board livestock at night, rumors fly amongst the crew. “Evil is onboard,” says Olgareen (Stefan Kapicic). “Powerful evil.”
That evil comes in the form of Dracula (Javier Botet), a 400-year-old aristocratic vampire who feeds on the crew, killing them one by one, to regain his full powers. “The thing wears the skin of a man,” says stowaway Anna (Aisling Franciosi). “In the night it drinks our blood, and he is on the ship. Which means we will never leave it.”
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” isn’t exactly Dracula’s story. We get some of the usual vampire lore, and he is certainly a presence, but this is the story of the crew fighting against a great unknown. Director André Øvredal takes his time introducing the characters and setting up the situation on the ship before the first kill. Then, he builds tension slowly, shrouding the screen in fog and dark shadows where strange things just might be lurking. When the carnage begins, Øvredal keeps the bloodsucker mostly out of sight, hidden in corners, shot in tight close-ups, building anticipation for the eventual monstrous reveal.
It’s a nice twist on the usual Dracula movie. It eschews the Bela Lugosi vampire model in favor of a more rough-hewn, demonic aesthetic, like Nosferatu, with needle teeth and wings. They rid him of any of the hypnotic charm he may have had in the hands of Lugosi or Christopher Lee. In this film, he is evil incarnate, as though sprung from the deepest, darkest regions of the human imagination.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” conjures up its scares with practical effects, with very little CGI or green screen work. Built of tension and fear, it makes for an old-fashioned fright fest, one more interested in simple, old-school scares than heavy special effects driven terror. It’s a little heavy handed in its final moments, as it attempts to set up a sequel, but if the next one is as brutally elemental and frightening as this one, I’m in.
“Renfield,” a new horror comedy starring Nicholas Hoult as the beleaguered familiar to the Prince of Darkness (Nicolas Cage), pays homage to the menace of Universal’s 1931 “Dracula,” while adding some fun with the addition of gory laughs.
Hoult is Robert Montagu Renfield, an assistant to the narcissistic Count Dracula, galvanized with just enough vampiric power to be able to subdue victims for his master’s pleasure.
“Renfield,” sneers Dracula, “your sole purpose is to serve me! Now let’s eat!”
Together for almost 100 years, Renfield spent most of that time eating bugs and risking life and limb to provide for Dracula’s voracious appetite. He’s at his wit’s end, but it’s not until his latest job, looking for potential victims at a counselling group for people trapped in toxic relationships, turns from a hunting ground to a self-actualization session, that he has a moment of clarity.
“I will no longer tolerate abuse,” he says, after listening to the stories shared by the group. “I deserve happiness.”
His journey to a normal life begins with Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), a New Orleans traffic cop still stinging from the loss of her father at the hands of the violent Lobo crime family run by Ella (Shohreh Aghdashloo). When Renfield uses his Dracula-given powers to save Rebecca and others from mob enforcer Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz), he is seen as a hero for the first time in his life. Empowered, he now faces his greatest enemy, his employer Dracula.
“I will unleash an army of death,” Dracula threatens. “Everyone you care about will suffer because you betrayed me.”
Perhaps an alternate title for “Renfield” might have been “Dracula: I’m OK, You’re OK.” A mix of Bram Stoker and group therapy pioneer Joseph H. Pratt, it is a modern interpretation of the Dracula legend and therapeutic treatment that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The blend of self-help and horror is absurd, but director Chris McKay keeps his foot on the pedal, barreling through the story and recreating vampire lore–in this version, for instance, eating bugs isn’t a sign of madness, it gives Renfield superhero ability—with the efficiency of Van Helsing’s stake carver.
In on the fun are the dueling Nics, Hoult and Cage. This is the hapless Renfield’s story, so his search for freedom and redemption takes a chomp out of the film’s economical 90-minute running time, allowing Hoult to go from sniveling supernatural servant to empowered paladin at a quick pace. It’s a fun, lightweight performance, that works whether he’s opposite Awkwafina, who plays it broad, or Cage who is equal parts creepy, campy and dangerous.
With a mouthful of needle-like teeth, super strength and an uncanny resemblance to Bela Lugosi, Cage sinks his teeth into Dracula in a performance that benefits from the actor’s gonzo approach. He is supernatural, but his narcissistic “I’m the real victim here!” attitude is deeply human, often hilarious and is the lifeblood of the film.
“Renfield” is based on an original pitch by Robert Kirkman, co-creator of “The Walking Dead,” so you know it will deliver the old-school splatter, but it is the way it updates and pays homage to the Dracula legend, filtered through some very dark comedy, that gives it its bite.
Everybody needs somebody to love. I mean, c’mon, even Dracula had a girlfriend. The Count’s bloodsucking “brides” provide the inspiration for a contemporary horror film called “The Invitation,” now playing in theatres. It’s the story of vampires and a wedding invite the main character Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) should have declined.
When we first meet Evie, she is a struggling New York City artist and cater waiter mourning the loss of her mother. “It was always just my mom and me,” she says. “To have a family, that’s what I really want.” To that end she does a DNA test to see if she can shake any long-lost relatives out of the family tree. To her surprise she discovers Oliver (Hugh Skinner), an English cousin, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s going to be in New York the following week.
Over dinner she tells him that her mother always wanted to take her to England to learn about their family history.
“There’s a wedding coming up. You should come. Everyone is dying to meet you,” he says in a funny bit of foreshadowing.
Turns out the extended family lives in a house that makes Downton Abbey look like a dump. Presided over by the aristocratic “Rockefeller rich” Walter (Thomas Doherty), it is the picture of lavish English countryside life. “Welcome to the new Carfax Abbey,” says cousin Oliver.
Underneath the perfectly manicured lawns, and the starched suits of the maids and footmen, however, are deadly secrets. As the wedding day approaches, Evie’s questions about the whereabouts of the bride and groom are brushed off with vague responses. “The groom and the bride will make their grand entrance tomorrow,” she is told.
On the day, Evie learns too late that she isn’t just a guest at the wedding.
“To Evie,” says Walter proposing a toast on the wedding night, “my new bride.”
Set amid the Abbey’s gothic architecture, what begins as a fish out of water story quickly turns sinister as the things that go bump in the night start bumping but don’t expect much more than a few carefully crafted jump scares. Director Jessica M. Thompson keeps the horror strictly for folks who thought “Twilight” was the best vampire movie ever.
That’s not to say there isn’t a well-staged scene or two in “The Invitation,” but when the best scene in a vampire romance is a sequence where the lead gets a clumsy manicure, it suggests deficits in the horror department.
Perhaps it’s because the trailer for “The Invitation” gives away very major plot point, or perhaps it’s because there are no real surprises in the story, but, either way, this is one bloodless vampire tale.
