Whether snowed in at an empty hotel, stuck on a ski lift or
trapped within an elevator, horror movies have made the most out of stationary
locations. Often creating a sense of claustrophobia, audiences cringe at the
inescapable horrors that surround these films' characters. From classics like The
Shining to more modern fare like Devil, movies featuring a closed in
location have proven to be effectively secluded - even in the middle of cities
or busy buildings. The latest film to capture this is Nails.
Starring self-described scream queen Shauna Macdonald (The
Descent) as Donna, Nails finds ghostly scares limited to a hospital
bed. After a car accident, Donna becomes disabled and forced to rehabilitate in
a spooky older hospital with a dark past. Each night, suspicious things happen
around her and she is unable to defend herself or prove these issues. Like
sleep paralysis, this movie uses her inability to move to create tension. It
also stars Leah McNamara (Lily) as Donna's daughter, Gemma, Steve Wall (Vikings)
as Donna's husband, and comedian Ross Noble as Donna's nurse and
confidante.
Nails is impressively
compact. It's the kind of movie that works because of its characters and
scenery, not its story. Macdonald's performance elevates the one-room horror
flick way beyond what this otherwise practical horror story could have been.
Nails, the central antagonist is less the center than the background device at
which the characters are propelled; only providing scares but never amounting
more than the one dimension he began the story as. MacDonald in - all her
horror glory is impressive - and deserving of a lot of credit. Without her in
the hospital bed, this movie could fall apart easily. But, her ability to
convey terror is as impressive as ever.
The most glaring flaw in Nails is its dependence on
horror conventions. With plenty of bump-in-the-night scares and dreadfully
empty stares into dark corners, Nails does little to create anything
fresh. But, that doesn't mean it’s not still at least a little scary. Filled
with deeply embedded tension and an atmosphere that is dreary and filled with
shadows, Nails does succeed at creating horror, even if it’s not the
type of horror that's quite uniquely terrifying.
Overall, for a typical ghost tale, this indie flick is
impressively put together. There's a deeply unsettling atmosphere, some
terrific acting and a well-established actress at the help. Nails may
not be overly creative in its execution, but it’s an entertaining and
relatively scary endeavor. Nails shouldn't be as worthwhile as it is, but the core of this film is haunting even if it fails to exceed expectations of what a ghost movie can be. 7 out 10.
Where has the werewolf subgenre gone to? Sure, an array of
attempts have been made to revitalize audiences' interest in these hairy
monstrosities - 2010's The Wolfman gave us a weak offer to buy back into
the typically period-based movies, but none have permeated mainstream culture
in the ways films like American Werewolves in London had. But for fans
looking a little deeper, some modern options do exist. Today, it's time to give
credit to one of those films; Howl.
Howl quietly came out to
relatively good reviews in 2015 and follows a group of train passengers who
encounter a terrible beast after the train is halted deep in the British
countryside. The film unravels with the passengers being increasingly at-odds
as they attempt to survive the night. It's a pretty conventional horror film,
but definitely packs a worthy punch in both scares and entertainment. Howl stars
a ton of actors as it feeds into the one-by-one conventions of horror films
before it. Some of the actors include Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey) as
ticket ripper and train employee (?) Joe, Holly Weston (The Collection)
as coworker Ellen, Shauna Macdonald (The Descent) as disgruntled
businesswoman Kate and Elliot Cowan (The Golden Compass)as Adrian.
This film boasts a pretty large cast, which for fans
of a lot of bloodshed, is a great addition. It never makes you care about the
majority of the passengers - most of whom are either awful, angry people or
sweet and compelling. Their purposes are definitely different, with an older
couple that'll draw tears compositionally at end with a number of rude
passengers viewers will love to see go. This movie is pretty basic, but it's
not a bad basic. There's heroes and villains amongst the group, but all are
simply there as entertainment devices to bolster the thrillingly dark and
dreary ride.
As noted, Howl offers a ton of strong scares and for a
monster movie, some pretty great visuals. It's definitely the type of film that
may not scare audiences in the day time, but with enough investment in the
shroud of night, this film can be the type of thoughtless, nightmare-inducing
thrill ride viewers clamor for. It's action-packed in the style of films like World
War Z and easily one of those movies viewers sink their teeth into.
Howl, like many creature
features and werewolf films never really found it's footing with a larger
audience. As the haunted house subgenre has seemingly built a stronghold -
thanks largely to the work of James Wan, it becomes increasingly clear that
films like Howl may not be for everyone but are definitely necessary.
It's a fun, romping good time with very slim chances of survival for its
characters and with adequate visuals, it definitely is a step up from some of
the recent fodder that pads the horror section of iTunes.
