For years, creators have tried turning America's passion for
reality television into effective and scary horror stories. Television shows
like Siberia and movies like Man Vs. and Wrong Turn 2,
have all had limited success capturing the melodramatic, but engrossing nature
of broadcasted reality. The recently released movie, The Canadoo,
follows suit.
As noted, The Canadoo follows a group of five hopefuls as
they venture into the forest for the chance of fame and fortune. There's a
pretty stereotypical typecast between the aggressive pretty boy, the
fame-seeking blonde, the nerdy introvert and the kind, small town girl.
However, each is provided some more dimensionality as the film unravels. The
film stars Tyler Buckingham (Megan Leavey) as aggressive pretty boy,
Shawn, Ali Roberts (The Takeover), as the fame-seeker, Taylor,
Alina Lia (Immortalis) as the kindhearted Ashley, Teddy Cole (Vice
Principals) as nerd, Adam, and Drey Wigfall (The Brides of
Sodom) as Derrick.
The cast is pretty phenomenal. Despite being relatively unknown, each provide far more to their characters than anyone could expect. The bonding sequence around the fire is one of the movie's most enjoyable and grounded sequences. It gives depth to characters that otherwise carry on as one dimensional. It feels the most real and would fall more in line with what actual reality programming attempts to do and is successful, largely in part, because of the cast. Even when they seem to fall into shaky territory, they wrap back enough to provide some sense of realness.
The Canadoo takes
a lot of time to get anywhere near a horror film. The majority of the film is
spent giving the characters conversational moments, rather than building
tension amongst them and the wilderness. For a non-horror film, this would be
entirely fine, but when the movie has less than thirty minutes left, you begin
wondering why the "scares" are amounted to a handful of rustlings in
the bushes around the group's camp. The chasing in the dark scenes aren't
fantastic, but more so because the camerawork seems pulled from the 90s. The
eventual unveiling is scary and inexplicable, but it is the wilderness, so who
knows what happens out there.
The Canadoo is
cheaply made and sometimes leans toward mediocrity. Like the aforementioned
films and shows that feature contestants taking part in reality television,
there's something inherently missing. The fact that the cast isn't real, the
things that happen to them aren't even close to real and the show they're
featured on also isn't real make for something filtered through too many
lenses. It's got some benefits; its characters - while sometimes flat - have a
certain draw to them, the setting - while plain - is incredibly desolate
and the plot - while predictable and not always scary - is enjoyable. The
Canadoo isn't the most intelligent or terrifying film made, but it never
becomes something unwatchable. 5 out of 10.
Converting content for television - whether pulled from books or
movies - can be a difficult and arduous task. Television series like The
Exorcist on Fox rightfully received lukewarm reviews and even
though it was better than okay, something felt missing. But, there have
been plenty of success stories. Bates Motel, for instance, was widely
popular for audiences and critics alike. Now that it's over though, those
craving new horror on television need to look no further than The Mist.
Similar in style to the 2007 film and based on the novel by
horror icon Stephen King, the Spike series follows a family of three
facing the impending evil of a dense fog with sinister creatures within.
Like the movie and novel, the television show traps characters together
indoors. In the series, the first three episodes - now streaming on Spike -
bring a mother and daughter, the daughter's alleged rapist and a multitude of
others into a shopping mall, while the father a pair of prisoners an old lady
and the girl's best friend, as well as an officer and a few others hold up in a
church.
The series stars Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings), Gus Birney
(Darcy) and Morgan Spector (The Drop) as Eve, Alex and Kevin
Copeland. Holly Deveaux (The Phantoms) and Okezie Morro (Red Tails)
play the two prisoners, Luke Cosgrove (Shiver) plays alleged rapist Jay,
Russell Posner (The D Train) plays best friend, Adrian, and Frances
Conroy (American Horror Story) plays the newly widowed Nathalie. Each of
the series' stars is adequate in their role, but Sutherland and Spector truly
stand out. Sutherland is able to capture her role as a witty and protective
mother perfectly, as is Spector able to uphold his identity as a caring, but
more laid-back father. Each is intently political constructions that the series
shows indications of disrupting and for that, The Mist wins additional
points.
There are some parts of the first three episodes that feel
cheesy or a little off. One pair of scenes that are placed together use the
word "bitch" in a way that'll make audiences cringe, not because it
should be deemed offensive, more because a better comeback would be worthwhile.
These are less problems with the stars though and more a reoccurring theme with
some hack writing that seeps into an otherwise good series. The graphics also
seem to bounce back and forth between entertaining and just laughable, as some
of the things seen in the mist are more visually stunning than others.
The Mist Is
certain to appease horror fans who may not mind some of its more questionable
aspects. Despite feeling a little too made-for-SyFy, there is plenty of creepy
moments and some good acting. Whereas some horror television shows take a turn
for the dramatics, The Mist is a welcome addition to the horror
universe because it seems dedicated to horror itself. There's gore, survival
and an atmosphere of loss similar to The Walking Dead. If at all
predictable, this series offers enough to keep attention without requiring too
much thought. 7 out of 10.
