Review: Totem

(imdb.com)

Is teen horror making a comeback? It certainly seems like it. For quite some time, this subgenre has burned out slowly; most notably with the crash and burning of the glossy, mediocre and boring Ouija. But, with films like Wish Upon and Amityville: The Awakening, it looks as if were in a renaissance. But, while film makers turn back toward these films, the question remains: will audiences be willing to stick around and watch? Totem would suggest that the answer is no.


Released by Cinemax and already in the peripheral of 2017's more impressive releases, Totem follows a teenager with a creepy relationship with her father, who in turn must protect them from a supernatural force that invades the house when the father's new girlfriend moves in. If the premise sounds unoriginal, it's because it mostly is. But if only to exasperate the film's flaws, the movie's eventual reveal and overall execution are equally as poor and unoriginal as the premise.


Totem stars Kerris Dorsey (Ray Donovan) as daughter/sister-turner-caretaker, Kellie, Ahna O'Reilly (The Help) as the dismantling newcomer, Robin, James Tupper (Revenge) as the father and Lia McHugh (Hot Summer Nights) as Kellie's sister. Across the board, each is equally tepid in their role. McHugh is somewhat more acceptable as the oddball youngster with little understanding, but outside of that, this cast sloppily fills the roles in a way that makes them seem tacked onto the project. Dorsey looks to be having fun in her chaotic role but her relationships between the other characters are unanimously cringe and Tupper, while making a valiant effort to create a dad whose try his best, never seems to have any real empathy or depth.


Narratively, Totem is a sloppy. Whether it’s the lack of commitment to character development or the lack of a consistent villain, there are just too many inconsistencies. What begins as a supernatural flick diverges into a crazed slasher far too late, Kellie's sister is odd but no one quite ever figures out how or why exactly. Instead it’s mentioned frequently, but only in passing, and Robin is maybe younger than the father but it’s never laid out fully how big the age difference is or what exactly the problem is.


The biggest flaw of all is how plainly boring Totem is. There isn't a single moment of tension, a single half-heartedly thrown in laugh or even a character that's worth rooting for. Totem has a lot of things working against it and does little to push forward. It's difficult to say Totem deserves to go unseen but, in a landscape with far better movies, the small release of it is completely warranted. 3 out 10.

Review: Lake Bodom



(imdb.com)

For many, international horror films can seem like an unnecessary and distracting burden for a movie night in. Add on the need to build atmosphere and suspense and many audiences would tune out. But honestly, they shouldn't. Contrary to a mainstream held belief, even foreign horror movies and all their subtitle-dubbed glory can build a worthy atmosphere and provide some truly terrifying scares.

Films like Ju-On and [REC] scared and scarred audiences willing to take the plunge abroad. The fact is, scares are universal similar to math. With a recent upward trend of prevalent horror films quickly seeping into the American mainstream, it seems international horror may be more widely adopted and viewed - something we should all be thankful for. Looking to join this development is the Shudder exclusive, Lake Bodom.

A Finnish export, Lake Bodom (titled Bodom in Finland) is the type of slasher movie that pulls no punches. Featuring a plethora of twists, some truly great creep factor and stellar performances, this campout gone wrong is one of the most impressive slasher films in recent years. Going far deeper than a typical stalking killer movie would, Lake Bodom is fantastically well done.

The film follows a group of four teenagers - two older guys hoping to recreate the real-life Lake Bodom murders, and two younger women initially looking for a party, but tricked into the camping trip. The film stars Mimosa Willamo (Headfirst) and Nelly Hirst-Gee (If You Love) as the strong-willed Nora and quiet and recently shamed, Ida-Maria. Santeri Helinheimo (So It Goes) and Mikael Gabriel (Summertime) are featured as the two older boys who lead the young women into the forest. The film then starts to devolve into a mind-bending slasher - moving from scary stories around the fire to near-countless twists.

Lake Bodom is definitely one of the more interesting, if not at all ridiculous, horror films out there recently. But, thanks largely to terrific performances, some too-good-to-be-real twists effectively executed and a setting that feels fresh; despite reminiscent of most other slasher films, Lake Bodom is a success. The two women, Willamo and Hirst-Gee are especially good in their rather progressive roles as two young women who won't be taken advantage of or tricked. Then, there are some truly entertaining twists that'll keep your heart racing and your mind focused. These work well in the film because while changing the path of the plot, they're easy to follow.

Overall, even those audiences typically turned off by the dreaded thought of reading (what, no way?), should be compelled by Lake Bodom. It is a truly effective and nostalgic slasher with plenty of buffer between the reading (NO WAY) and the scares. It's a movie that is best watched in the dark and with little distraction because the film's fast pace is just that thrilling. 7 out of 10.