Jigsaw Delivers Saw Fans More Of The Same But Fails to Break New Ground For The Series

 

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When audiences think of long-running iconic horror film franchises, the ones that come to mind are Friday-The-13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and the Saw franchise. The latter has terrified audiences since it first burst onto the screen as a surprise hit in October 2004 with James Wan as director in his feature film debut. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the first Saw became a box office smash grossing nearly $100 million worldwide with it becoming one of the most profitable horror films since Scream along with spawning numerous torture porn style horror series such as Hostel and The Collector . The success of Saw spawned six sequels with none being able to match the quality of the first film with the series taking a temporary halt with the hugely disappointing finale titled Saw 7: The Final Chapter released in 2010. Fast-forward seven years after that films release, the Saw series see's a revival with the 2017 reboot Jigsaw. Designed as being a fresh reboot to kickstart the series once again, the new film carries a batch of brand new faces with Tobin Bell being the only returning actor from the previous films. While Jigsaw provides new traps for audiences to become both terrified and thrilled by, it leaves much to be desired in regards to its script. The 8th film in the series and reboot feels like an unnecessary attempt to extend a horror franchise, that's well past its glory days.

      Picking up seven years after the Saw series previously ended with The Final Chapter, Jigsaw's story finds the police investigating a series of elaborate murders with the signature of the infamous Jigsaw killer (Played once again by Tobin Bell), who may or may not have been dead for over a decade. The plot for Jigsaw feels like an attempt to write the series out of one of its most consequential decisions made early on with the killing off of Tobin Bell's character at the end of Saw lll. It can be debated that the series never fully recovered from that decision as the further installments experienced a gradual decline in quality with the overall storyline for the series going off the rails essentially with other copycat killers filling in for Jigsaw. The new film attempts to rectify the mistakes of the past while filling its screenplay up with a fresh new batch of traps that random characters find themselves frantically getting out of if they want to survive. To fans of the Saw franchise, Jigsaw represents the same rules and tricks for the franchise with an overstuffing of excessive gore to compliment the brute nature of the deaths at the hands of the traps. The newest chapter doesn't do anything groundbreaking with its plot and feels like a typical generic sequel in the Saw franchise, that ditches the greenish lense in the background for a more brighter tone with many of the scenes taking place during daylight. The film knows whats expected of it from the fans and chooses to play it safe while attempting to breathe new life into the series once again. The end result is a pointless rehash of what's already been done with no new approach taken with the franchises concept. There's only so many times that one can watch Jigsaw terrorize and torture his victims before everything feels repetitive and less exciting. While the film has elements such as the franchises trademark torture tactics as well as the creativity behind the traps that fans of the series look forward to each new entry with great anticipation, Jigsaw continues to carry the series glowing flaw of its latter sequels with the violence and gore aspect of the films compensating for the lack of the suspense and mystery that the first Saw film possessed, which continues to makes it look like a far superior film in comparison to many of its follow-ups. The latest attempt to continue the Saw franchise feels more like a quick cash grab rather than a way to reinvent, as well as reboot the series for a new generation of audiences. 

      While the gruesome visuals of the Saw movies end up being the audiences main focus of attention, the performances from the main cast prove to be convincing enough in bringing both realism and believability to the story. The acting by the main cast is what one would expect from a Saw flick, which is standard work for a horror movie. The performances by Matt Passmore and Callum Keith Rennie as Logan Nelson and Detective Halloran manage to be effective with Passmore serving as the main protagonist of the story. He gives both an appealing and likable presence as a pathologist who becomes a suspect to police regarding the series of murders being linked to deceased Jigsaw killer, John Kramer. Callum Keith Rennie also manages to play his part well as the Detective, that's suspicious of both Logan and his associates activities in connection to the murders. Hannah Emily Anderson does well playing Logan's colleague Eleanor Bonneville, whose obsessed with the Jigsaw killings. Cle Bennett also makes the most of his performance as Detective Keith Hunt with Tobin Bell once again doing a fantastic job playing John Kramer. The guy is born to play the role of Jigsaw with his return being more than welcomed with it also helping with connecting the story to the previous seven entries. Other noteworthy performances include the group that becomes prey to Jigsaw's latest traps with Laura Vandervoort as Anna, Paul Braunstein as Ryan, Mandela Van Peebles as Mitch, Brittany Allen as Carly, and Josiah Black as Edgar Munsen. The overall cast for Jigsaw does as well as they're allowed to under the circumstances with the victims of the traps evoking genuine fear and terror with the rest of the cast turning out decent to serviceable work. Knowing that audiences are going in looking forward to the spectacle of the story, the actors take the opportunity to make the most of their roles and catch the audiences eye in between the films intense set-pieces. The cast for Jigsaw perform as well as one would expect them to from a Saw flick, which is to be fairly economical and realistic.

      The films directing by The Spierig Brothers proves to be standard work when looking at the overall franchise. The Brothers know what audiences look for when going to watch a Saw film, and don't disappoint in the brutality department. Their work surprises on a technical level with them giving the film a more sharper and bigger budget feel to it compared to the previous entries with the films opening car chase scene with the Police, being a prime example that ends on a rooftop. The directors also abandon the green color palette of the first seven efforts and give the newest entry a more modern approach, that makes it feel more cleaned up and fresh visually with bright cinematography. The films sequences involving the newer traps are well-thought out and executed with the creativity that went into plotting these intense set-pieces throughout the series remaining intact. One of the newest traps include the group chosen by Jigsaw wearing heavy metal bucket masks attached to chains being pulled towards a wall with whirring chain saw blades. Another includes a group being pulled to the ceiling with chains attached around their necks, as well as one of the group members being captured by their ankles with a cable and lowered into a large funnel-web metal device armed with a rotating blade that ultimately chews up the individual with blood splashing everywhere. While these sequences can be both intensely gruesome​ and brutal to watch, they stay true to the franchises signature trademark of providing horrifically graphic deaths for deeply-flawed individuals being forced to see the error of their ways. When it comes to the violent nature of the series, Jigsaw doesn't manage to skip a beat with the Spierig Brothers finding newer and creative ways to traumatize the fans. The film is given the steady yet quick pace that the previous Saw sequels have become accustomed to with the newest entry spawning a running time of roughly 92 minutes. The editing also consists of flashbacks which inform the audience on the past events surrounding the newest victims of Jigsaw's traps, as well as the traditional quick cut and slow-motion shots that accompany the series intense moments. In terms of the films directing and overall technical look, Jigsaw looks and feels very much like an continuation of the Saw franchise with it fitting in appropriately with the others along with looking stronger in quality in regards to cinematography. The film looks like the studio added a little more money to the budget to make the series look and feel fresh, while going more high-tech with the films consequential set-pieces involving the traps. There's even one instance where a character is being threatened and ultimately killed with electronic laser beams, signifying that the kills are becoming more advanced technologically speaking. On that front, the Spierig Brothers don't disappoint but their work still doesn't compare to the masterful buildup of suspense that James Wan crafted with the atmosphere of the first Saw nor prove to be as skillful of filmmakers in regards to storytelling.

      The biggest issue with the film lies within it's writing. The script by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger continues many of the themes the series has touched upon over the course of it's eight film arc ranging from sin to punishment, revenge, justice, redemption, vigilantes, and corrupt police officials. What the script does well is keep intact the questioning audiences have on whether the character of John Kramer (Jigsaw), is a villain or not given that his reasoning for torturing people is to make them see the error of their ways and appreciate the second chance they receive if they're lucky enough to survive his deadly game. Whereas this aspect of the script for Jigsaw stays true to the consistent mythology of the Saw franchise, the overall work doesn't advance nor take the franchise in any new direction with it just offering fans more of the same with the films biggest reveal being that Jigsaw is back in the form of another copycat who was groomed by Kramer feeling repetitive. Instead of breaking newer ground with the story, the film attempts to blend as another pointless sequel in a series that should've ended after three films. The characters outside of Tobin Bell's are presented as being one-dimensional with the audience not becoming connected with any of the ones stuck in the latters deadly game of survival. The main characters are mostly cardboard and generic with their main purpose being to push the film towards the next major trap with the occasional plot twist regarding a specific character being unveiled as an apprentice of Jigsaw in an effort to throw the audience off. Jigsaw reintroduces many of the same plot twists and devices that audiences have already seen before with a new copycat killer introduced, who feels that it's their calling to continue Jigsaw's legacy. The audience is treated to main characters such as Logan and Eleanor, who are suspected of being involved in the recent killings committed in the same style as the Jigsaw killings a decade prior, reminding audiences of the first film in which Cary Elwe's character Dr. Gordon is suspected of being behind the Jigsaw murders by police. The audience is also given questionable authorative figures such as Detective Halloran who feels similar to characters from earlier entries in the Saw series meshed together. The way that John Kramer is resurrected in the story is handled in a way that allows his character to have a recurring role in future sequels through flashbacks, while keeping the timeline of Saw lll through present intact. It serves as being the filmmakers best attempt at rectifying the mistake of killing off Tobin Bell's character without breaking the series continuity. For those who've followed the entire Saw franchise up to Jigsaw, they'll find that there's nothing shown or introduced that hasn't been seen or done before by past filmmakers with the series clearly running out of fresh ideas and just recycling the old formula of a new copycat killer emerging in a shocking plot reveal in which their characters were a former prisoner of Kramer's, who survived his series of deadly traps, and was trained in an apprenticeship to continue his work. This plot twist has been done before repeatedly throughout the series to the point where it's no longer thrilling nor shocking. One simply just finds themselves questioning if that's all the series has left in terms of delivering new tricks to the audience. While the writing for Jigsaw isn't terrible, its settles for being just average with the script as a whole being a culmination of subplots and plot devices utilized from previous entries. 

      One of the main reasons why the first Saw film still works as effectively as it does is the unpredictability behind its plot. The audience didn't know what to expect and were left at the edge of their seat as the story slowly unfolded with numerous twists and turns nobody saw coming. The original film felt fresh and set a standard that none of the sequels since have been able match. The difference between Jigsaw and a horror reboot like 2018's Halloween for example is although the latter included many of the elements from the previous Halloween sequels that made them appealing to audiences, it managed to take its story and both continue as well as reintroduce the characters for a new generation of horror fans. While some aspects of that film felt familiar to fans of the long-standing horror franchise, it surprised with new twists and turns regarding both the story as well as the returning characters. Jigsaw offers audiences more of the same without much attempt to bring something new to the table in regards to both the story and characters. For fans of the series, the newest installment offers them more of the same and doesn't dare to take much risks in the story department. Jigsaw is a sequel/reboot that carried with it much promise as well as potential in regards to reinventing the franchise for a new generation of horror fans, but instead decides to play it safe by offering up microwaved leftovers in hopes that it can taste as delicious as being freshly cooked the first time it was made. Jigsaw is a culmination of all the elements that Saw fans have come to love about the franchise, which is pertaining more to the torturous nature of the series rather than bringing back the fear of the unknown that the first film played on exceptionally well. While Jigsaw is certainly better than any of the Saw sequels post Saw lll, it plays more like a greatest hits album moreso than adding its own note. The film is reasonably entertaining on its own right as both a horror movie and as an installment of the franchise, but the greatest letdown is the fact that the filmmakers didn't utilize the opportunity they had to tread new ground rather than revisit old and tired ideas. There's no plot twist in the film that will shock audiences the way the end twist of the first Saw delivered nor leave a similar kind of impact. Here is more of the same and that's​ a shame given the promise the film carried. Here's hoping that Chris Rocks upcoming yet questionable reboot of the franchise will find a way to make everything feel exciting and new again rather than just looking good visually, but lacking the substance that made the series a hit in the first place. Only the most loyal and die hard of Saw fans will appreciate the latest chapter as it works essentially as a love letter to them with everyone else being left cold story wise. Given the enduring legacy that the first Saw has had in both film and horror genre, the newest film should've been much more than just passable horror entertainment . As much creativity that the filming team behind Jigsaw put into making the torture scenes more fresh and innovative, it's a shame that same kind of effort doesn't get put into the plot and characters.

Final Verdict: Fans of the Saw franchise will find a reasonable amount of satisfaction out of watching Jigsaw as it offers much of what they've​ come to love about the series in terms of the violence and gore, while remaining relatively shallow in the writing department.

2017 Rings Is Further Proof That Some Curses Are Better Left Unearthed

    

   Rebooting popular horror franchises can prove to be both a risky and daunting task as the newer films must not only successfully revive their respective series that faded out previously, but add a new spin to their storylines. With Rings, the film aims to revive a hit horror franchise that burnt out with 2005's less than stellar sequel to The Ring titled Ring ll. A remake of the 1998 Japanese horror classic Ringu, 2002's The Ring with Naomi Watt's as the main star, managed to be a hugely satisfying remake both critically and financially with it becoming one of the highest grossing horror movie remakes, as well as beginning the trend of other Japanese horror stories being remade for American audiences such as The Grudge, The Eye, and Dark Water. Fast-forward Fifteen years after the release of the first Ring and its direct sequel, the 2017 Rings reboot aims to reintroduce the concept of a cursed video tape that has the power to kill off anyone who watches it within seven days unless they make a copy of it and show it to someone else, to a newer generation of horror film audiences with an all new cast and loose connections to the original films. The end result is a poorly executed and uninspired reboot that lacks all of the suspense, creepy atmosphere, and energy that made the Japanese classic along with its stellar American remake so memorable to audiences. Rings much like the 2020 reboot of The Grudge, are prime examples of horror franchises that should've stayed dead and buried as their respective legacies become further tarnished by another poor attempt to revive a horror series thats well past its prime.

      In this third sequel in the popular Ring franchise, the plot for Rings continues the terror of the cursed video that causes the deaths of numerous watchers seven days after viewing it with the content now terrorizing a college campus when it becomes incorporated into a lab experiment. With Rings, the third sequel/reboot aims to give the series a fresh restart while remaining loosely connected to the first two films. Absent from the film are the main characters that audiences became connected with in the first two films such as Naomi Watts character Rachel, a journalist who investigated the cursed videotape along with her son Aidan played by David Dorfman. In their place are both less interesting and forgettable characters such as a young woman named Julia, who becomes increasingly worried about her boyfriend Holt when he becomes exposed to the contents of the video. In an effort to save her boyfriend, she sacrifices herself by watching the clip and discovering that there's a film within the film that no one else has seen before. Such a plot sounds promising on paper and could've worked far more effectively had the writers brought Rings closer to the previous two films by bringing back Watts and Dorfman's characters to help aid the newer characters in defeating the tapes tragic figure/antagonist Samara one again. Rings is a reboot that could've worked had more thought and effort been put into both the script and overall film itself. The film lacks the atmospheric build up of the 2002 film, as well as the amount of investment the audience had in becoming connected with those main characters. The reboot ultimately feels like a cheap horror film slapped together for the sake of making a few extra bucks off the Rings name with it ultimately lacking the heart and soul of both the Japanese and American classics.

      The acting from the main cast of Rings also proves to be nothing groundbreaking to write home about despite everyone doing their best work in making the most of their overall experience. One definitely misses the presence of Watts and Dorfman in the story with the new casting additions providing serviceable, though ultimately forgettable performances as the originals replacements in the main leading roles. In the role of Julia, Matilda Lutz does a likable and convincing job of playing the loyal girlfriend who slowly discovers the truth behind the curse her boyfriend's been exposed to with Alex Roe delivering a passable performance as Holt Anthony. Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki turns in an effective performance as College professor Gabriel Brown, who ends up purchasing a VCR containing the cursed tape while also overseeing a group of people known as the Sevens, who are involved in an experiment involving the cursed video. Vincent D' Onofrio delivers an effective performance as Galen Burke, a blind man revealed to be the biological father of Samara. Onofrio succeeds in being creepy in his role despite his character mirroring Brian Cox's role in The Ring. The rest of the supporting cast does fairly decent with Aimee Teegarden as Skye Johnson, a member of the Seven group that unsuccessfully tries to get Julia to watch the tape, and Bonnie Morgan in a chilling role as Samara. Whereas the rest of the film largely disappoints in regards to being an efficient reboot of The Ring storyline, the cast for Rings makes the most of their characters and story with them being one of the films few elements that works despite there being no main actor or actresses who stands out the way Naomi Watts did in the original as a film like this depends on whose placed front and center in the main role. Whereas the story stalls in the suspense department, the actors work overtime in trying to compensate for the scripts shortcomings. Given the attempt that the actors put into making their roles believable, one wishes they received a script with more substance. 

      The films directing by F. Javier Guiterrez serves as being largely underwhelming in comparison to the work that Gore Verbinski delivered with the 2002 remake. One of the key aspects of Verbinski's directing that worked so well for the original was that he was able to generate an atmosphere which felt bleak in regards to the mystery surrounding the tape. The audience was left in suspense wondering what would happen if one watched the tape a full seven days later with that feeling of tension and dread being largely absent here. Guiterrez also makes an attempt to modernize the story with the use of more digital devices such as cell phones and laptops, making for an interesting yet underdeveloped way of spreading the terrifying video of Samara to a wider audience rather than just copying and sharing a tape. The cinematography for Rings is standard with nothing standing out in comparison to the work done with Verbinski's film with its usage of a blue filter that generated both a cold and creepy atmosphere​. Along with the films camera work being uninspired, the editing and score both feel uneven with Rings feeling rushed as a story rather than having the slow-moving buildup that the 2002 film carried with its shocking climax having such a huge payoff for the audience. The score for Rings also pales in comparison to Hans Zimmer's work on the original with the music here being rather bland and forgettable. The biggest disappointment in regards to the directing duties of Rings is the clear lack of imagination and enthusiasm that's​ shown here. The film lacks the striking visual presence that the 2002 film carried with Guiterrez relying on poorly timed jump scares to compensate for the lack of real suspense that's largely absent. With the original, Verbinski gave the film a presence that felt disturbing from start to finish. Even with the story moving as slow as it did, he kept the audience attention with the key moments of terror that popped up on the screen. The visual elements regarding the video shown in Rings doesn't freak out nor terrify the audience as the images of the well that Samara climbs out, or the gore aspect of people getting killed off from watching the cursed clip. If Rings ever was going to be successful at rebooting the franchise, it needed a confident filmmaker with an uneasy vision behind it to helm the story. Sadly, F. Javier Guiterrez failed to be that director as one can't think of a single terrifying image in the new film that comes close to the phenomenal moment from the original when Samara climbs out of the television. 

 

      The screenplay by David Loucka, Jacob Aaron Estes and Akiva Goldanan can best be summed up as being a both a messy and poor effort. The script lacks compelling enough characters to make the audience care when they watch Samara's video, as well as feel the devastation of doing so such as how the audience felt when it was revealed that Aiden watched the tape in the first film. The screenplay for Rings contains absurd moments such as the opening sequence on the airplane, which gives the impression that Samara isn't phased about killing off an airplane full of people, even those who haven't watched the clip. The story also doesn't appear to be well thought-out when watching it such as why settle for a group of College kids sharing the cursed video with their friends, when they could upload it on You Tube making others see it, resulting in a wider viewership of the tape. What made the script for The Ring work so well was the main characters being given a clear time clock on defeating the curse of Samara's video. While the story was relatively slow-paced by today's horror film standards, it masterfully worked in regards to establishing the main characters in showing the audience what was at stake as well as providing clues on what was coming. The script for Rings lacks that sense of impending doom as well as the building connection with the characters to make the audience care. One simply doesn't care about Julia and Holt's characters no matter how hard the actors try to make the audience like them because they're not written in a way for us to become invested in their subplot. The films two side characters that are interesting such as Johnny Galecki's and Vincent D' Onofrio's, are not developed well enough to make them truly compelling figures within the story to evoke the response form the audience their characters demand. The character of Samara also feels tired and not very scary this round given that no new upgrades have been given in regards to the rules of the curse, or what she can do besides crawl out of a well and television set. While those moments were genuinely thrilling and tensely frightening the first time audiences saw them, they don't carry the same effect here as the element of surprise is gone. Instead of providing newer elements to the story as well as stronger characters that manage to be engaging, the script for Rings feels slapped together with random ideas that make little sense including the adding of an extended origin story regarding Samara's past, that's completely unnecessary and just serves to confuse the audience even further. It's hard to tell at times whether this film is meant to be a sequel to the previous two films or a complete reboot as the script tries to have it both ways.

       The biggest letdown with the new Rings is the lack of fresh ideas along with a desire to connect all three films together as a proper trilogy. The script is completely devoid of any real tension and characters that stick with audiences long after the story ends. There's no real surprise or unexpected twists here regarding the curse because audiences already know the mechanisms behind the tape and what to expect because the filmmakers don't bother to provide anything new. None of the characters are worth giving a damn about and the level of enthusiasm and excitement for the project is relatively low and it shows. One wonders why the filmmakers would even bother with another Ring film if they can't bring it back to the standard of the first film, or take the series in a newer direction that remains more connected to the previous films. For fans of Ringu and The Ring who waited years in anticipation for a solid reboot that would bring the series back to its prime, this film serves as being a huge disappointment as well as a waste of 102 minutes that they could've spend rewatching those films as it would've been a more satisfying experience than what's presented here. If Rings accomplished anything, it gives audiences a newfound appreciation as well as a certain level of tolerance for The Ring 2 which is an extremely low bar when looking at its steep drop in quality in comparison to its predecessor. The only redeeming aspect of Rings is that its short and can easily be forgotten about so the experience of watching it doesn't tarnish the image of the series past glory days. What Rings as well as Grudge 2020 prove, is that some horror film franchises (Or Curses) are best left unearthed once they died out if they're not gonna have the full effort thrown behind them in regards to properly reviving them for a newer generation of audiences. Those curious about the character of Samara as well as the curse she brings upon those who watch her tape are best to revert to the past stories for inspiration. In all honesty, it's a much more satisfying and less painful experience than this. A thrilling return to the franchises roots, Rings is not.

Final Verdict: For horror fans and fans of The Ring franchise, Rings is an absolute must skip as it lacks the suspense, the thrill, and creativity of its Japanese creation along with its stellar American remake which looks continuously better with each failed sequel or attempt at a reboot.

Blair Witch Tries But Fails To Deliver The Terror That Its Cult-Classic Original Film Inspired

 

      For those who grew up during the 90's era, one can remember the intense hype for the 1999 independent horror film titled The Blair Witch Project. Filmed as a found-footage style documentary with a low budget of $60,000, the film went onto becoming a box office phenomenon grossing $250 million worldwide along with generating cult status with it being hailed as one of the scariest horror films of all time. It's success was largely due to the clever marketing campaign, which teased audiences that the story behind The Blair Witch Project is real with the films main leads Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard either being declared missing or presumed dead. The success of the film spawned a sequel a year later titled Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 with the story taking the opposite approach of the original film with it acknowledging the events of that film as fiction while playing off its mythology with different characters in real time. However, its poor box office and critical reception placed a halt on any further sequels to The Blair Witch franchise for over a decade until it was announced during the 2016 Comic Con that a third film had been filmed as a secretive project under the working title The Woods. Ignoring the events of Book Of Shadows, Blair Witch aims to return the series back to the roots of the first film with it continuing the tradition of being a found-footage story taking place twenty years after the events of The Blair Witch Project with Heather Donahue's brother searching for the house that both her and Michael went into during the originals final moments. While effectively establishing itself as being the true sequel to the original film as well as a significant improvement over Shadows, Blair Witch still can't measure up to the legacy of its original, which to this day, still stands as being the creepiest film of the series.

      Picking up two decades after the events of the first film, Blair Witch takes place in 2014 with the story revolving around James, the brother of Heather Donahue receiving information that suggests that his sister is still alive after disappearing in the forest years earlier. Determined to find the house that she was last seen in, both James and his group of friends enter the woods to search for her but end up finding more than they expected. What made the first Blair Witch a hit with audiences was the originality behind its story with the execution being creative, while making effective use of its found-footage style of filming. Since its release, the film has received credit for reviving that specific technique of filmmaking that's later been used in films with similar thematic approaches such as Paranomal Activity and Cloverfield. While the original may not have terrified everyone who watched it, it managed to provide a surprising counter to the teen slasher films that dominated the horror genre in the late 1990's. The newest Blair Witch sequel aims to return the series to form with its story aimed as being the true continuation of the original, giving audiences proper answers in regards to what happened after the shocking final scene of the original. As noble as Blair Witch's intentions are to continue the legacy established by its predecessor, it doesn't quite measure up to the quality of that film despite generating some solid moments of suspense as well as surprise twists regarding the Blair Witch story. The biggest problem with the new film is how generic it comes across with it feeling similar to all the other found footage movies, that have come out since the release of the original Blair Witch. What made that film a unique experience for audiences was how brand new and left field it felt with it taking the whole documentary style approach to telling its story. It arrived at a time when the market wasn't saturated with numerous found-footage style stories that it had to compete with much like what the newest Blair Witch finds itself doing. Despite being an average to mildly entertaining horror film that feels more true of a sequel to the original phenomenon than the one that came before it, there's nothing about this film that makes it standout as being particularly memorable nor justify a follow-up nearly two decades after the release of the first Blair Witch. The newest film carries the promise of delivering fans a proper sequel to the iconic found-footage horror classic, but doesn't quite fulfill it with the overall end result in regards to its quality.

      One of the key aspects of the first Blair Witch that made it appealing to audiences was the strength of it's main trio. The performances from all three actors made the whole experience more believable and creepy with the strongest performance coming from Heather Donahue. The cast for Blair Witch 2016 is more diverse in comparison to the originals with the main difference this time being that its a group of friends stuck in the woods with the witch compared to three student documentary filmmakers from the first film. The performances from the cast come across as being serviceable though nothing to write home about in regards to work that truly stands out. The films strongest performances come from James Allen McCune and Callie Hernandez in the films main roles with McCune turning in an effective performance as Heather Donahue's brother James and Callie as a film student, who wants to record James searching for his sister. While McCune's performance for the most part lands on being reasonably decent with him showing some family resemblence with Heather lookwise, he never truly gives audiences the feeling that he's been haunted all those years by his sister's disappearance nor appears obsessed with finding her. His work here isn't bad nor is it great, it just falls within the category of being fine. The same can be said about Hernandez's performance with her doing well enough to sell the plot, but nothing that'll stick in ones head afterwards. The rest of the cast delivers performances that land in the meh to serviceable department with Brandon Scott being likable as James loyal friend Peter along with Cobin Reid as the latters girlfriend Ashley. Along with the cast of James friends, Valorie Curry and Wes Robinson give some of the more interesting performances in the film as a pair of locals Talia and Lane, who join the group in their search for Heather after finding and uploading a video giving clues to her whereabouts. The cast for Blair Witch does their best job in attempting to make their situation feel real and less staged, but they never come across as feeling as equally convincing nor natural as Heather, Mike, or Josh in the original film. Their work shown isn't terrible and falls along the lines of being standard for a found footage type horror flick, but there's no one shown who stands out from the others that'll​ stick in the audiences mind long after the film ends. Certainly not in the way that the trio in the original did with Heather giving her iconic testimony on camera near the climax of the original or Mike's final moments at the end.

      The films directing by Adam Wingard is admirable in the sense that he tries to recapture the chilling mood and nostalgia of the first film while providing new elements such as the drone footage. He proves effective in creating an atmosphere that's both mysterious and chilling while managing to maintain the same documentary style of filmmaking that made the first film so effective. Wingard attempts to home in on the audiences nostalgia of the original by delivering familiar atmospheric moments such as the group finding mysterious stick-figured symbols outside of their tents, which is reminiscent of of the first Blair Witch. Whereas the original film relied on an uneasy yet steady buildup of suspense without much jump scares, Wingard applies him here but inserts them at key moments throughout the story with their usage adding to the creepiness of the films tone rather than feeling like a cheap attempt to scare the audience. Wingard crafts some genuinely terrifying moments in the film, particularly within the films third act including a scene where one of the main characters find themselves crawling through a small sewer under the house from the original Blair Witch. Such a scene is well-shot and acted with it being one of the more visually striking moments in the film. In terms of both violence and gore, Wingard stays close to the first in regards to showing little moments of gruesome and disturbing images while leaving the rest to the audiences imagination in an effort to increase the terror. One of the films most surprising moments of gore is the showing of one of the main female characters being snapped in half at the waist with blood being shown to pour from her mouth as she gurgles. While Wingard aims to take things up a notch in regards to shocking the audience, he keeps everything minimal as well as in line with the work established prior. The films cinematography is handled through the use of digital cameras this time along with smartphones, that gives the film more of a digital upgrade in regards to its filming in comparison to the cameras used by the original actors in the 1990's. The pacing maintains the same structural buildup of the original with the film moving at a steady pace that allows for a slow buildup of suspense, as well as confusion for the main characters in regards to what's happening. Overall, the directing by Adam Wingard is noteworthy as he attempts to remain true to the vision that the originals filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez put forth for the franchise while adding newer elements to the story as a way of showing the differentiation between the two generations. Besides some slick additions to the story along with some impressive new gimmicks such as the use of cell phones and the drone giving some nice aeriel shots of the woods, Wingard's work comes across as feeling standard for the found-footage genre with him not being as skillful nor creative as Myrick and Sanchez were in regards to building up the tension with the story, as well as generating more genuine reactions out of their actors. 

      The films screenplay by Simon Barrett is where the momentum of the story being a true sequel to The Blair Witch Project comes to a screeching halt. The effort that Barrett puts into the writing feels like a mixed bag with the end result ultimately being underwhelming. The script is full of both interesting and promising ideas that don't fully get fleshed out they way they should've been. The decision to completely ignore Book Of Shadows and do a straight sequel to the first film, is the smartest idea that the filmmakers of the new film all agreed upon. The concept of Heather Donahue's brother despite never being mentioned in the original, growing up and continuing the search for his sister is a clever twist, although it lacks the punch needed to give the film an emotional gravitas that would've undoubtedly binded it to the first Blair Witch. The audience is never shown a moment where James grieves in private over the disappearance of his sister nor has a testimonial moment like Heather did near the end of the first film, where she admits the mistakes she made in pushing everyone to travel into the woods to film their documentary. One of the more interesting elements that the new script introduces are that of the obsessive Blair Witch fanatics Talia and Lane traveling with the group and later discovered to have put up some of the stick figures themselves in a way to mislead everyone into thinking that they're being stalked by the Blair Witch (Which the audience knows is very well the case). The boldest idea that the new script introduces is the concept of the the main characters being trapped in a time warp in the woods, which is a believable explanation as to why the characters of the original stayed lost in the woods for so long. The script for Blair Witch has elements that make it seem like it wants to take things in a slightly different direction rather than just following the exact same structure of the original, but it ultimately ends up suffering due to a severe lack of originality rather than feeling fresh and innovative like the original. The film feels more like a less thrilling remake of the original rather than a sequel that pushes the story forward along with providing answers such as what happened with Heather, Mike, and Josh at the end of The Blair Witch Project. Audiences looking for an explanation here are bound to be disappointed with the films ending being a profound letdown given the anticipation that the first two acts of the film set up for a bit payoff that unfortunately never arrives.

      The biggest letdown that audiences feel upon watching the newest film is the missed opportunity that the filmmakers had in regards to exploring the mythology of the original. Blair Witch had tremendous potential that ultimately feels wasted as the filmmakers had the opportunity to provide the audience with answers as well as closure regarding the events shown at the end of the first film. Rather than providing audiences with those answers, the film settles for what appears to be a follow-up that leans too closely on the first film for comfort rather than taking more risks in regards to pushing the story further. The film tries to sugarcoat the obvious that it's being heavily reliant on the first film in telling its story by making basic changes such as the group being a little larger this time along with throwing today's technology into the mix regarding the use of drones and phones. The film carries with it an intense and creepy atmosphere that's ultimately undone by the shortcomings of its script. One of the strongest feelings that The Blair Witch Project provoked when audiences watched it was the feeling of dread that they shared with the main characters along with the fear of the unknown. Regardless of how audiences felt about the original film, there was a certain amount of empathy that one felt for the main trio that's largely absent here with the newer characters. One doesn't find themselves being invested in James search for his sister, and the side characters that are interesting aren't developed well enough for the audience to latch onto them. It says a lot when the original made you want the main characters to make it out of the woods alive along with avoiding going in the house at the end compared to secretly wanting the Witch to pick everyone off in this film. The ultimate revealing of the Witch in the film is underwhelming in a sense that audiences expected more from its physical appearance, though the chase scene throughout the house that the reveal inspires is one of the films more interesting moments. As a found-footage film, Blair Witch doesn't fare too bad with it actually managing to pass as being mild entertainment due to the effectively creepy atmosphere it generates. As a follow-up to an iconic horror film that took audiences by storm upon its initial release as well as popularizing the found footage genre of filmmaking that's become largely popular with today's audiences, the sequel /reboot doesn't live up to the legacy established by its superior original. One wonders what kind of film this could've turned out to be had the original filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez returned to both write and direct it as their initial plan for the third film before backing out was to make a direct sequel with the original actors returning in their roles. That sounds much more compelling than what audiences have been offered here. Blair Witch can best be summed up as a missed opportunity that's ok in terms of entertainment but not satisfying enough to bear its franchise name. At the very least it's better than Book Of Shadows.

Final Verdict: For fans of The Blair Witch Project and horror fans in general, Blair Witch 2016 serves as being mildly entertaining but is largely devoid of the impact and creepy tone of its far superior predecessor. It works as being a reasonably watchable found-footage movie rather than a worthy follow-up to the 1999 classic.

The Shallows Manages To Be Unexpectedly Exciting As A Chilling And Suspenseful Shark Tale

      When it comes to horror movies revolving around the concept of sharks, the golden standard for such films is Steven Spielberg's Jaws. While that film didn't show much of the shark throughout the story, it was made memorable due to its slow yet steady buildup of suspense as well as its strong development of the main characters to make the audience connected with the plot. With The Shallows, the filmmakers attempt to deliver a different type of shark story that also proves effective with the main difference being its story revolves around a single character with Blake Lively as the star compared to Jaws where Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss were the main trio. While The Shallows never reaches the cinematic heights of that film as such a demand is a tall order, it succeeds in crafting its own thrilling shark tale with Lively's performance powering the story. Whereas most shark films since Jaws have come across as being poorly executed and cheesy, The Shallows brings the terror back with going into the water. 

      The plot for The Shallows centers around a young woman surfing alone in a secluded beach. When she becomes wounded by a shark, she ends up being stranded on a rock 200 yards away from land. Being circled by a killer shark, she plots an innovative escape to safety. The plot for The Shallows serves as being one that's creative and feels realistic with its concept being well thought-out and executed. Blake Lively's performance makes the film work as effectively as it does in terms of being intense and frightening for audiences with the filmmakers going back to the basics in regards to crafting a solid story based around suspense regarding the terror of sharks. What The Shallows does so well is take all the old and tired generic tropes of a shark attack film and upgrade them, adding new twists and turns with the end result being a lean and thought-provoking story of survival. Just when audiences thought that no solid shark film could be produced anymore, The Shallows manages to turn the genre on its head while giving another modern shark franchise, 47 Meters Down, a run for its money. 

      The success as well as the strength of the film, was always going to rely on the actresses chosen for the main role in the story. With Blake Lively, she delivers a powerful performance in portraying a character whom the audience can sympathize with as well as root for her survival. She manages to convey all the right emotions for her role in playing Nancy Adams, a young surfer girl and medical student whose revealed to have dropped out of school due to the passing of her mother. In dealing with the loss, she returns to the same beach that her mother visited when she was pregnant with her. Lively does great in regards to building empathy for her character with the audience seeing the vulnerability that she expresses during her ordeal, as well as both her strength and strong willingness to survive. It's the performance that Lively delivers that becomes the glue in regards to holding the film together, as well as building credibility for the story being as thrilling and effective as it ultimately comes across on the screen. In comparison to other suspenseful films where the main focus of the story revolves around a main character such as Will Smith in I Am Legend or Ryan Reynolds in 2010's Buried, Lively's performance holds up well and does a great deal in regards to making the story work.

      As impressive and talented as Blake Lively's performance is, she wouldn't be as convincing as her character comes across without the surprisingly skillful directing of Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm. Serra demonstrates solid craftsmanship in putting together a relentlessly suspenseful and tightly-paced story, that carries with it a steady buildup of suspense. While Juan's directing never reaches the masterful craftsmanship that Spielberg brought to Jaws, the latter makes it obvious that they watched and studied that film in regards to generating a similar style of effect in building both suspense and terror. The gore aspect of the story is handled with the appropriate level of restraint as the film doesn't rely on blood to scare audiences, but delivers disturbing images that add to the tension while building up the imagination of what isn't being shown. One of the films most striking technical elements is its cinematography which comes across as being visually stunning with the scenes being beautifully photographed with many shots being bathed in bright sunlight. In regards to the filmmakers handling of the shark's reveal without it feeling overdone to the point of its impact being lessened, the cinematography supplies the film with a combination of wide shots showing the size of the shark in comparison to Nancy along with tighter ones teasing its presence just past the frame. The films editing consists of quick cuts in addition to keeping the film moving at a nail-biting pace for the duration of its 87 minute running time. The first part of the film consists of setting up Nancy's character as well as the setting of the story with it officially kicking into shark-themed terror after the first 30 minutes. Once the shark strikes, the film becomes relentless in regards to its action and moments of pure suspense. The score by Marco Beltrami is well done in regards to taking command of the audiences emotions along with creating both an uneasy and chilling tone to the story. Given Beltrami's trackrecord of working within the horror genre from The Scream trilogy to Halloween H20 and The Faculty, the acclaimed composer knows how to generate thrills and excitement through his composing of the films effective score. As far as the films directing goes, Jaume Collet-Serra proves to be more than capable of crafting a frightening shark tale that ranks as being perhaps the strongest one to grace the big screen since Jaws. With his work on The Shallows, Serra takes what's essentially a basic plot and crafts a lean, mean, and terrifying oceanic experience for audiences.

      The script written by Anthony Jaswinski, works as being a strong character study with the screenplay revolving around the character arc of Nancy fighting to survive against a killer shark, as well as overcoming the built up loss of losing her mother. The script covers themes including loss, regret, family, strength, and courage with Nancy's character both experiencing as well as showcasing all of these dilemmas. The audience is given minimal information regarding her mother's death, but get a sense of the loss with the conversation-turned-clash she has over the phone with her father, where its revealed that she quit medical school over her mother's death. The script gives little moments where the bond that Nancy's character feels with her mother is shown with flashbacks of them on the beach when she was younger. Although the story leans on the side of being rather basic in regards to Lively's character being stuck on a rock, it's the steady character growth as well as the buildup of tension that make it work. The script incorporates key moments that add to the intensity of the overall experience such as the young boy in the opening sequence finding footage of one of the sharks previous attacks, as well as sequences including a random thief ashore whom Nancy begs for help only to discover that he's robbing her before being decapitated by the shark, along with those she met while surfing prior. The script does well with setting up these key sequences of terror and effectively spreading them throughout the film in a smart effort to keep the audience in suspense so that they never feel bored. The scenario along with Lively's character are both portrayed as being realistic and sympathetic to audiences as their adrenaline constantly shoots through the roof when a shark attack occurs along with the possibility that Nancy may not survive her ordeal despite putting in a strong effort to do so. Her character is also shown to have a subplot in which she interacts with a Seagull on the small island rock in the ocean, that screams comparisons to Tom Hank's Cast Away with his character interacting with a Volleyball named Wilson. Where the writing for The Shallows excels at is playing off the universal fear, that audiences have in regards to being stranded in the ocean while being surrounded by a killer shark. The dialogue that Lively's character is given isn't a whole lot, but it properly establishes her characters background for the audience to connect with her. The little moments where Nancy is shown observing the sharks movements and patterns, are some of the more interesting ones in the script. As a screenplay that aims to present a fast-paced shark tale that consists largely of primal fear, the film knows what it wants to be and goes about executing its storyline accordingly with a strong and appealing main character that successfully garner's the audience interest, as well as making them root for her survival. The Shallows screenplay may not be the meatiest of shark films, but it sticks to the basic fundamentals that's made the genre a successful one thus far while managing to be unexpectedly surprising.

      As well put together and executed as The Shallows comes across as being, the film isn't without moments where its believability goes into question such as the bite on Nancy's leg being a minor one compared to the size of the shark that attacked her along with the beach being completely quiet and uneventful. The CGI effects on both the ocean and animals also come across as feeling a bit uneven at times with the water not matching the intense waves during the surfing scenes. Although these are visible flaws that one can notice when watching the film, they're minor ones as the strength of the films directing and storytelling stand out beyond its minor issues. The Shallows is a surprisingly entertaining and brilliantly assembled shark story, that stakes a very serious claim for being the best shark film made since Jaws. It's strong acting from Blake Lively along with crafty directing, solid yet subtle writing, beautifully shot cinematography, and effective scoring make it an adrenaline-fueled experience that showcases all the strongest aspects of the genre while showing audiences that it's still possible to make a scary film again that revolves around the concept of sharks. It can be said that Lively's performance serves as being the heart and soul of the movie with the creativity of the filmmakers elevating it to being memorable status as a horror film, making it compete with 47 Meters Down as the better shark movie of the two. Whereas the latter provides audiences with a thrilling spectacle, The Shallows does so along with an intense yet intriguing character study that puts a fun spin on the man vs shark concept. The Shallows isn't anything groundbreaking in regards to both filmmaking nor is it on the level of iconic status as Jaws that's seen as the gold standard of terrifying shark tales, but it makes the most of its basic plot with genuinely surprising results. Just when audiences thought that it wasn't possible to make a good shark movie again, The Shallows emerges and manages to defy expectations. 

Final Verdict: For those looking for a thrillingly effective and reasonably satisfying shark movie, The Shallows is a must watch suspense ride that proves to be a worthy addition to the iconic movie genre.