PODCAST 208: Long Weekend & Razorback

This week the Horror Duo take their summer vacation to the land down under -- Australia! And in typical Aussie fashion, they review a pair of animal attack flicks from the outback. Forest falls in love with Long Weekend, and Cory raves about Razorback -- both written by Everett De Roche.

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New in February: Taking It Slow

This has definitely been one of the slower months I've seen in terms of new releases. More than a third of the new titles were returning ones, while, with the exception of Houseboat (1958), there were no classics added in February, not even with 1980 as a cutoff. For comparison, this time last year Netflix added 10 classic titles, including an excellent group of 1970s films. Given all the recent deletions of older catalog titles�both feature films and BBC shows�that's not a good sign, and seems to further cement Instant's continuing emphasis on original content and new TV shows.

But let's look at the good news: among those TV shows are the second season of Bates Motel (2014), the full 2010-2013 run of the sexy/violent Spartacus, and the first five�some would say best�seasons of all-time classic M*A*S*H (comprising the years 1972 to 1978). The latter is a pretty nice coup, I must say, since it's been a long, long time since a lot of us have had the chance to revisit that landmark show. For those who have never seen it, I'm happy to report it still holds up in most ways�as long as you can get past some of the first season's casual sexism (a holdover from the original movie) and learn to ignore the superfluous laugh track CBS forced on the show's creators (to make sure audiences knew it was, you know, a comedy). No telling if Netflix will add the remaining six seasons, the last three of which are a bit spotty, but for now these episodes from the Frank Burns era should keep fans of the 4077th giggling through their surgical masks.

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The Babadook (2014)

Genre

Horror

Director

Jennifer Kent

Country

Australia

Cast

Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, Benjamin Winspear, Cathy Adamek, Craig Behenna, Adam Morgan, Peta Shannon

Plot

Six years after the death of her husband (Benjamin Winspear), Amelia (Essie Davis) struggles to cope with the fear of his 6-year-old son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who is terrified by monsters.
One night, Sam asks his mother to read him a book he found on his self, Mr. Babadook. The book is about a supernatural creature that, once someone is made aware of its existence, torments that person indefinitely. Sam is traumatized and becomes convinced that the Babadook is stalking them in their home. Little by little, also Amelia starts to believe that the Babadook is stalking her and her son.

Opinion

It is just a film, right? Because it scared the hell out of me! Thank God I didn't watch it at night because I wouldn't been able to sleep, for sure.  The Babadook is by miles one of the most terrifying horror films I've watched.

Something that really impressed me about this film is the running time: 93 minutes. After 20 minutes I felt like I was watching it for a hour and I was like "I can't believe that now it's getting more interesting the film is almost over." but when I looked at the timeline I was like "wow". It was like a neverending nightmare - maybe it was just me, I don't know - but I loved it.

Essie Davis deserved a special mention because she was outstanding. She really looked insane at same points and she made me feel her feelings - I don't know if this make sense to you.

The music, by Jed Kurzel, was just perfect.

Quotes

Samuel: You can't get rid of the Babadook.

Rating

8.0/10

More Than a Pretty Face: MISS FISHER'S MURDER MYSTERIES

I admit it: mysteries, crime procedurals, and courtroom dramas�with their rote formulas and seemingly predetermined outcomes�tend to trigger my yawn reflex. I prefer stories with characters less bound by the strictures of narrative destiny. It may only be an illusion concocted by a clever writer, but I need to believe a character can at any moment do something that will surprise me, turn the story on its head, or at the very least make me believe the conclusion isn't preordained. And, with apologies to Columbo, TV murder mysteries are about as predictable as it gets: someone is killed, the hero investigates, and, by way of wits and the overcoming of obstacles, the killer is apprehended�all within a neatly wrapped hour. Except by that point I've usually reached for the remote.

But then I got my first glimpse of Miss Phryne (pronounced Fry-nee) Fisher. Sleek and mischievous behind glossy lipstick and jewels, brandishing a pearl-handled revolver and bright blue eyes and that fatal Louise Brooks bob, she made me forget all about my impatience with overly ritualized storytelling. Flappers with perfectly structured cheekbones trump snobbery every time, leaving me little choice but to spool up the first episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

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