10 March 2014
9 March 2014
DVD Review - Short Term 12
Genre:
Drama
Distributor:
Verve Pictures
Rating:15
DVD/BD Release Date:
10th March 2014 (UK)
Director:
Destin Cretton
Cast:
Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr.
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Short Term 12, for the most part, is an emotionally devastating drama that sensitively observes the lives of the residents and staff at a foster-care facility for at-risk kids. With an unsentimental eye, the director, Destin Cretton, creates scene after scene of believable situations that leave an indelible mark. Take, for example, the scene in which Jayden, the newest kid at the facility, throws the most harrowing of tantrums after her father doesn’t show up to take her home for the weekend, or the sequence in which she reads a fable she wrote about an octopus and a shark to her care worker Grace, revealing her abusive upbringing through an heartbreaking allegory.
The trouble is that as memorable as scenes like the ones I’ve described are, Cretton’s film is too often formulaic and predictable to be fully convincing. The rightfully lauded scenes of unsentimental observation are therefore occasionally undermined by the conventionality of the narrative, allowing for some sentimentality to creep in and overwhelm parts of the story. This is most apparent in the paralleling of Jayden’s traumatic story with the childhood of Grace, the films main protagonist. By creating similarities between the two characters’ upbringings, Jayden’s story becomes marginalised and is seen more as a contrivance to further Grace’s story arc.
The film is bookended by scenes in which Grace and her co-workers are sitting outside their titular workplace sharing informative anecdotes that neatly wrap up the story. This, coupled with the recurring motif of Grace arriving at work each morning driving her bicycle into the same static shot of the foster-care facility, leaves us with the notion that the cycle of care they provide is continuous and that for institutes like Short Term 12 there will always be at-risk kids in need of guidance. This is a rather poignant and fitting note for the film to end on. Though the film often frustrates, it is hard not to be moved by its story.
Shane James
8 March 2014
7 March 2014
Glasgow Frightfest 2014 Review: Savaged (2013)
Genre:
Horror
Distributor:
Raven Banner
Rating: 18
Release Date:
28th February 2014 (Glasgow Frightfest)
Director:
Michael S. Ojeda
Cast:
Amanda Adrienne, Tom Ardavany, Ronnie Gene Blevins
The opening feature at Glasgow Frightfest 2014 was arguably one of the best choices in programming over the entire weekend. Savaged, written and directed by Michael S. Ojeda, is a brutal revenge slasher hovering somewhere between I Spit on Your Grave and Evil Dead.
Basically the story follows what happens to Zoe (Amanda Adrienne), a deaf mute girl on a trip to see her boyfriend in Mexico, after she attempts to save a Native American from the clutches of a brutal red-neck posse. The girl is kidnapped, brutally raped and tortured, then murdered and dumped in the desert. Troubles don’t stop there: a Native Shaman attempts to resurrect her but her soul returns fused to that of an ancient apache warrior. Playing host to the vengeful spirit, Zoe goes on a blood drenched revenge trip.
When you write it out like that, the film’s true colours appear pretty obvious. The opening half’s intense portrayal of capture and rape seems so bleak and steeped in a kind of degradation and shame, reminiscent of Martyrs, that the film seems utterly upsetting. Queue a Raimi-esque twist that sees the fantastic Amanda Adrienne’s distraught victim go on an apache driven revenge trip. Here the film picks up with so much glee that it’s impossible not to have a good time watching. Ojeda keeps a tight hold on the tone of his feature though, making sure it never sacrifices its grim beginnings or bleak laughs. That initial path of utter degradation proves important in ensuring that – no matter how freaky things get- the audience always sides with Zoe. Even when she’s rotting away, duct-taping bits of herself back together between blood soaked fights and sadistic hunting games, somewhere under all that, Adrienne injects a crucial dose of humanity to the monstrous heroine.
Of course, there’s a strong silly element to the film, not least Zoe’s boyfriend who shows up seconds behind the action again and again, spouting laughably adolescent dialogue and painfully hilarious overacting. But his character, the only “normal” guy on screen, adds to the humour of the film as opposed to causing it any issues. Along with the over-exaggerated gore and fantastically executed action, any dodgy acting appears to fit the bill and give a far more rounded retrospective kind of black comedy.
By the finale, Savaged has become every bit as eviscerated, blood-soaked, and revenge driven as its main character. Some wasted screen time around frivolous details, such as a detailed introduction to her dad’s prized car and a grainy retro aesthetic seen in countless modern horror features, are just about the worst this film can offer, but even then that’s not enough to derail an otherwise impressive feature.
Ojeda deserves praise for great mix of funny and fierce filmmaking led by a uniquely successful blending of genre ideas. Savaged is as fun as it is depressing, as gory as it is humorous, and above all entirely watchable and rarely tiring.
Scott Clark
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