The Foxy Film Fan

Directed by Aneesh Chaganty and starring John Cho, Searching  is a 2018 thriller which was tragically overlooked. It's the first mainstream Hollywood thriller staring an Asian-American actor, and Cho proves himself as a phenomenal actor who is capable of carrying the film entirely on his own shoulders. The directing, acting, and story are all absolutely phenomenal, and I really must urge everyone who reads this to seek this movie out (currently it's available on Vudu and Amazon Prime for purchase, unfortunately I don't think you can rent it anywhere right now). The film has one gimmick similar to that of Unfriended . You know, that awful 2015 horror movie where you watch some rude teenagers get killed off by the ghost of the girl they bullied to the point of suicide? Yeah. Searching  is told entirely through computer screens, webcams, emails, phone calls, and various other types of modern technology. However, the gimmick works in the case of this film. It feels natur...

Directed by Alexandre Aja and produced by the legendary Sam Raimi, Crawl  is the first movie to nearly give me a physical panic attack. Kaya Scodelario plays Haley, a swimmer who visits her estranged father (Barry Pepper) during a Category 5 hurricane to make sure he evacuates safely. Her rescue mission turns into the pair swimming, crawling, and climbing for their lives as they dodge the gaping maws of alligators which have made their way into the home's basement. Horror movies which spend the majority of their run-time in a single setting tend to grow old quickly, but Crawl chooses not to waste time (or scares). The CGI alligators have a real presence throughout the film, and with the movie's minimal soundtrack their every splash and snarl reverberates throughout the cavernous basement. I'm not claustrophobic, nor am I particularly scared of alligators (or at least I wasn't prior to seeing Crawl ), but Aja's sparing use of the camera flowing seamlessly unde...

Would You Rather (2012) Often times the most effective method of writing a story is to keep it simple, and Would You Rather  is perhaps the most simple yet effective horror movie I have seen in quite some time. As explained from the title, Would You Rather  centers around a group of people playing the popular game, in which they are made to choose between two unpleasant and difficult decisions in a brutal and horrific competition to win the fortune that will help them out of their own individual struggles. The film balances our sympathies between its protagonist, who is struggling to raise her younger brother who is dying of cancer, and the other competitors in the game who all have their own heartache and challenges which the money would help them overcome. Of course, only one person can win the game, and as it carries on it becomes doubtful that many people will leave the home in one piece. Typically when one imagines a horror movie centered around a game which can be...

Green Room (2015) Starring the late great Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Patrick Stewart, Green Room  is a thriller which puts a unique spin on the genre and twists it into something which will surely keep audience members on the edge of their seats from beginning to end. The film is set around the premise of a punk rock band playing a show at a venue occupied by neo-Nazi skinheads where, after a cover of Dead Kennedy's "Nazi Punks F*** Off" as protest to their audience member's racist beliefs and the unintentional witness of something they weren't meant to see, the band finds themselves locked in the green room of the venue with a group of angry skinheads doing whatever they can to kill them - all with Patrick Stewart leading them. Admittedly, as someone with a deep love for punk music and the subculture as a whole, I am a bit biased and probably being a bit too easy on this film. It is deeply flawed, it has instances where characters make decisions whi...

Don't Breathe (2016) It's rare for psychological horror to be pulled off in a manner which leaves audience members on the edge of their seat from start to finish, but Don't Breathe  is a diamond in the rough that is the horror genre. As the title implies, the audience is left little to no room to catch their breath as the film throws its three protagonists into darker and darker situations as it progresses. The plot is simple; three young people in desperate need of money decide to rob an elderly man after hearing of his secret wealth, only to find themselves in a bigger mess than anyone might have anticipated. Many aspects of Don't Breathe  echo elements of classic slashers and thrillers from the late seventies and early eighties, but the more outdated tropes are updated in a way that makes the film feel haunting and realistic. The antagonist who torments our heroes (if "hero" is a word you would apply to the three protagonists, given the fact that t...

Nocturnal Animals (2016) Despite Nocturnal Animals  only being fashion designer Tom Ford's second film, it shows a deep understanding of film language and depth that few experienced directors grasp. With great caution and a significant use of color, Ford builds a universe entirely unique to this film, layered and deep while still managing to avoid confusing the audience. The depth of the film is assisted by the simplicity of its plot. Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) leads a life of luxury and excess, surrounding herself in art, fine food, and beautiful clothes, all in an effort to avoid the guilt and deep depression which gnaws at her from within. Suddenly, without warning, she receives a novel from her ex husband in the mail, and it's devoted to her. From that point on, the film smoothly transitions from her former husband's book to the empty sadness in Susan's life. As the film unravels the novel of Susan's ex husband it is also unraveling the reasons why her ma...

The Handmaiden (2016) As you may already know, Park Chan-wook has been a long-time favorite director of mine, and when I heard he was directing a new film called The Handmaiden  I had high hopes for what I was about to see. So, a friend and I attended a screening in an art gallery, and found ourselves surrounded by elderly people while watching some of the most explicit and graphic sexual scenes either of us had ever seen in a movie. Bearing that in mind, I highly recommend that you watch this one at home, or in the company of people who are very comfortable with extremely graphic scenes of that nature, otherwise you'll find it hard to enjoy this beautiful and sweeping film. The Handmaiden  is based on a novel titled Fingersmith , with the setting shifted from the Victorian era to Korea under Japanese rule - the setting alone is captivating and provides added depth to an already intriguing plot. Its plot, without giving too much away, tells the story of a pickpocket n...

Oldboy (2003) This Sunday I will be attending a screening of my favorite director's newest film, The Handmaiden . Bearing that in mind, I decided to revisit one of his earlier works. Oldboy is one of the three films in a trilogy which Park Chan-wook has referred to as the 'vengeance trilogy'; three unrelated tales of revenge which may be viewed in any order. It is the second in the series, bookended by Sympathy for Mr. Vengance  and Lady Vengeance , but because it is the first Park Chan-wook film I watched and also the strongest example of his stylized directing, I feel the need to review this as a sort of introduction to his unique style of filmmaking. The plot of Oldboy  is simple; Oh Dae-Su is a man who was imprisoned for fifteen years without explanation, then suddenly set free. Now, he's angry and looking for the men who imprisoned him, hoping for answers and to avenge the wife and daughter he lost while he was locked away. With a very western sounding so...

Naomi Watts and Charlie Heaton in Shut In (2016) Shut In  is the story of a grieving widow who's caring for her catatonic son when she's not working as a clinical psychologist. Plagued with horrifying nightmares, she begins to suspect that something darker is happening in her home, and starts questioning the safety of her and her son. Fortunately, I went into Shut In with no expectations, because it's not a particularly frightening or thrilling film. Naomi Watts delivers a good performance, which is hardly surprising since she's always fantastic, but she still falls flat. There's a sense of a lack of investment in her character, as if she's simply going through the motions and hasn't given much thought to what sort of person her character truly is. Whether that's a purposeful attempt at showing how our protagonist has lost herself in the daily and mundane routine of caring for her ill son, or a lack of interest in the part, is up for debate. That...

MacLeod Andrews in They Look Like People (2015) Presented with crisp and vibrant colors, They Look Like People  is, first and foremost, a breathtakingly beautiful film. The clever and unconventional camera angles present a clear and recognizable style which could only be related to this film. The movie also is a strong example of telling a story through images and specific visual cues. Things are shown rather than told. There is little to no expositional dialogue, and instead the audience is left to use their intelligence and pay close attention to certain objects, notes, or lingering shots in order to understand the plot and history of our characters. It is rare, particularly in the drama genre, for films to manage to do this so expertly, particularly when that film is an independent release done on an extremely low budget. The plot is simple. Wyatt, a troubled young man, goes to live with a best friend who he hasn't seen in years, Christian. From there, the story builds, s...

The Invitation , or, what Thanksgiving may feel like after this election season Karyn Kusama, previously known for her work as a director of the fun campy slasher Jennifer's Body , brings us a new stab at the horror genre with The Invitation . Rather than presenting the audience with gore and frequent jump scares, The Invitation  gives us long meticulous scenes in a dull muted color scheme which seems to reflect the excitement in the plot. Opening with protagonist Will driving his girlfriend Kira to an unavoidably awkward dinner party hosted by his ex wife and her new lover, one can't help but feel as though this premise would be better suited for an episode of The Office . While Jennifer's Body  was able to relish in an over-the-top scenario and keep the audience entertained with tongue-in-cheek humor, The Invitation  is not granted that privilege. Instead, it's solemn tone and brooding atmosphere (particularly in scenes where Will watches his friends laugh and...