No Escape

Dir: John Erick Dowdle

2015

*

John Erick Dowdle does horror. He's made a film about a serial killer (The Poughkeepsie Tapes), he's covered the Zombie/Outbreak genres in one film (his 2008 remake Quarantine), he's explored the supernatural, the undead, haunting and general spooky goings on in the brilliant As Above, So Below and he's even dabbled with the Devil (in 2010's Devil). He has approached each genre from a slightly different angle compared to most horror directors, Quarantine was an inferior remake of a great little Spanish indie and Devil has many problems with it but he can deliver suspense, dread and the big scares. He knows less is more, he is certainly one of the best directors of the 'found footage' movement and his experimentation are all generally clever, even when they don't always work. So apart from exploring the overdone Werewolves and Vampire genre, who and in what guise could his next villain, bad guy, person of horror be? Johnny Foreigner, that's who. In a day and age where xenophobia, racism and generally ignorant intolerance is taking a rather frightening stand, do we really need this bizarre and rather undeserving suggestion? People are scary, I get that. An angry mob is about as scary as it gets but even though the suggestion is that the people (the poor) are somewhat justifiably fighting back after being wronged by western corporations, it really doesn't make up for the way they are represented. It's never suggested who 'they' are and where they are but the film was shot in Thailand but Vietnam is the bordering nation. Thailand insisted they not be named or the language used after reviewing the script. I wonder if Vietnam's portrayal as the good guys is a way of the film makers of suggesting that 'this isn't about' the Vietnam War but obviously Cambodia were involved in that. By not being specific enough about who the enemy is in the film it kind of just makes all Asians look bad and suggests they could turn into bloodthirsty murders and rapists at any minute. The lack of geography is also stupid and I believe it does matter. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth throughout the entire film. Dowdle is trying to be John Carpenter (even with the music) but he doesn't even come close. Owen Wilson couldn't be more miscast, this isn't him and I think he knows it but Lake Bell however is right at home in the hole of bad roles she's becoming known for (which is a shame because In A World... is brilliant). Their two daughters in the film are beyond annoying, to the point where I have to admit I didn't care what eventually happened to them. The script is abysmal. Abysmal. A family hug scene while under fire never belongs in a film that wants to be taken seriously but to have this same scene repeated over and over is mind-numbing. Dowdle wants to provoke the audience into screaming at the screen, to add tension and edge-of-your-seat thrills but the truth is it all transcended into a big heap of  'don't care' from me. The family is helped by a would-be sex tourist that turns out to be an ex-spy, specifically from the British CIA! If that wasn't dumb or convincing enough as it was, it was decided that ex-Bond Pierce Brosnan was probably best for the role. Brosnan's character is accompanied by the countries only trustworthy Asian, we know he's trustworthy because he is a big Kenny Rogers fan. This is a really good example of a modern film treating its audience as if they are stupid. Zombie films are dumb but they are fun and inoffensive. If you want to be clever then inject a bit of symbolism into it. Dowdle has literally made the year’s dumbest film by trying to intellectualize a basic formula that already worked. The idea that anything or anyone that isn't American is a potential thread is insulting to everyone and is getting rather tiresome. I don't think the film is malicious in any way, I just think it is thoughtless, ignorant and rather boring.

As Above, So Below
Dir: John Erick Dowdle
2014
****
John Erick Dowdle's Found Footage style horror film As Above, So Below is a film that doesn't really stick to one sub-genre. Horror films are the most varied of all the genres but the best ones are the ones that surprise with originality and intelligence. As Above, So Below's strength is that it is actually a clever thriller with scary bits, a good story with tension and suspense and not just ghostly faces slightly off screen. The story is a little bit Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade but forgivably so. What starts out as a spooky cave excursion turns into a surreal nightmare, a quite compelling one at that. I usually don't like found footage films but this was fairly light on shaky camera tricks and was easy to watch, although I'm not sure this element brought anything extra, conventional filming would have been just as effective. The acting is marginally better than average too and the conclusion was not a disappointment. I'm being generous with my rating, it's not perfect by any means but the inventiveness and creepiness towards the end was quite thrilling. The slasher film is dead and although I don't think the Found Footage genre has reached its full potential, with films like this it is well on its way. The film also wins best film poster of the year.

Devil
Dir: John Erick Dowdle
2010
**
If you are going to set a film up with five people stuck in a lift you've got to come up with a good story. Unfortunately with 2010's Devil the story isn't quite good enough to hold the attention or indeed entertain the audience. It's still not really clear who, what or why any of it is really happening, it tries to explain it, and I get what they're saying but it still has all the logic of Final Destination and a really bad episode of Scooby-doo (not that there ever was a bad episode of Scooby-doo but you know what I mean). There is no sense of mystery, no look at the human psycy when under stress or strain, no exploration of fear or panic and no feeling of claustrophobia, when there really should be. The conclusion is so dumb I felt angry and cheated by the end of the film.