Wednesday Review - The Bye Bye Man

The Bye Bye Man is what happens when good ideas happen to bad directors.  The idea of a supernatural figure who spreads himself like a virus to anyone who merely knows his name is indeed scary.  The chant “Don’t think it, don’t say it” even manages to have a decent ring to it, and does start to sound creepy after a while.  Furthermore, even with some of the obvious CGI, there are some genuinely creepy visuals in this movie. That said, however, this movie falls flat.

I don’t want to say there’s no talent here.  The main character is played by a decent actor, and the director does show a talent for visuals.  I’d also note that pretty much all the jump scares are created by the actual villain.  There’s nary a cat leaping-out to scare our protagonist.

What brings the film down, however, is a weak script and a bad supporting cast.  We not only get exposition spouted out (“I’m a college student, who wants to get married and have kids like my older brother who I admire!”), much of it is delivered in a dull monotone.  Not that they have much to work with, mind you.  When one of the main characters was revealed as a murderer it took me a few minutes to even grasp what had been revealed.  And while the underacting is partially to blame, the main character’s reaction is so weak that I’m fairly certain there was no indication of greater distress from the script or director.

I suspect The Bye Bye Man himself had much of his role cut out.  He’s given very specific motifs: dog, train, coins.  That, combined with his sloppy dress, hints to me that he’s the ghost of some kind of hobo or drifter.  We’re never given any information, however.  Just that he’s a being who can cause you to go insane once you hear the name “The Bye Bye Man.”

There are also sporadic flashbacks to 1969, and the BBMs previous appearance.  This likely tied into his backstory at some point, as the entire sequence feels cut short.  It tells us very little we don’t learn in the main, present-day, story.  The Bye Bye Man attacked people once before, his name was written down to be discovered in the future, and now he’s back.

So, do I recommend this movie?  I recommend spending enough money on it to justify a prequel, set in 1969, and giving us the history of the BBM.  I also recommend it if you want a few creepy visuals, and some laughably awful moments.  I can see this movie lasting for a while as a cult feature.

Wednesday Review: Ouija: Origin of Evil

Two years ago the ship that was Ouija sank. The film turned enough of a profit to basically obligate the studio to make another one, but I seriously doubt that anyone expected anything of value to come out of this. So, I suppose we all assumed that they would simply dive down to the wreckage, and loot what treasure was left, or start fresh with a new story and christen a totally different ship the Ouija.

Instead, rising horror star Mike Flanagan apparently decided he was going to dive down into the wreckage with a bucket, and bail water until the ship was raised. To our shock, he succeeded, and we now have a Ouija movie that is in-continuity with the first, that is actually floating above the water. We’re so impressed that Flanagan actually pulled it off, that we don’t really care that it can’t do much except float barely above the water-line of mediocrity, and the film now sits with an RT rating of 80% to the original’s 7%.

I know that seems like an insanely complicated metaphor, but I spent so much time thinking it up that I had to use it. To get into the more serious reviewing, this is a movie with a lot of baggage, from both the original film, and Hasbro. That said, Flanagan works with what he has.

I’m also fairly certain there are some retcons here (although I have yet to subject myself to a second viewing of the first film). While this is the story of a medium’s daughter being possessed by an evil spirit as established in the first film, the medium was now a fake who finds herself beginning to believe. The context in which all of this happens has been radically changed. I believe the intention is to treat Lina, the older daughter of the medium who appeared as an old lady in the original film, as an unreliable narrator, and this as the “real” story. Although, honestly, it wouldn’t be hard to pass this version off as another wild tale spun by Lina.

The movie suffers mainly when it reminds us what it is. Some of the special effects seem to look bad precisely because they’re aping the awful effects of the first film. I strongly suspect that the man who made Oculus could have done better, if he didn’t have consistency to worry about. It also bugs me to think that a fake medium, who’s entire profession is based on showmanship, would buy an off-the-shelf Ouija board, rather than making her own custom talking board, but at some level this movie has to be a commercial.

On the up side, the movie has some fairly interesting ideas. In particular, it plays around what the idea of what possession really means, and the line between a real medium and a fake. If that sounds truly baffling, it’s because I honestly don’t want to spoil some of the major twists of the film for my readers.

Is this movie scary? It has it’s moments, but not as many of them as a movie made entirely by Flanagan likely would have had. I feel like he did everything he could with the material, but it’s still a toy-commercial horror movie and prequel to one of the worst movies in recent years. There’s only so much he could manage.

So, check it out on DVD. It’ll wait.

Fear Itself: Episode 8 Skin and Bones

I'll say that this episode gets props over Deer Woman for at least having a prominent Native American character in a supporting role, in an episode about Native American legends. Based on my search of Wikipedia the actor is not from the same tribe as the Wendigo legend, but I guess it's at least effort. I'm not going to dwell too much on the origin of the legend, since like most folklore the details of the Wendigo vary from telling to telling, so asking if this episode is “accurate” would be pointless.

The premise of the story is that a rancher named Grady (Doug Jones) rides off into the wilderness for several days with a group of his friends to hunt, and comes back alone and sickly. His brother Rowdy (John Pyper-Ferguson), wife Elena (Molly Hagan), and children Derek and Tim (Brett Dier and Cole Heppell) are all concerned about his condition, but Eddie Bear (Gordon Tootoosis), an elderly Native American who works for them recognizes his symptoms. Grady has been possessed by a Wendigo, an evil spirit that takes over desperate, starving people and turns them into cannibals.

Doug Jones is in far less make-up than the roles he's best known for, but some simple touches are taken to make sure he looks distinctly inhuman. Most prominently, the Wendigo's teeth protrude forward like a snout. The effect easily puts him in the uncanny valley.

While the episode does make an attempt to show the Wendigo and Grady as separate entities, Grady is never shown as being at odds with the Wendigo. The implication seems to be that the Wendigo has already removed his inhibitions, and in their absence going on a killing spree with his enhanced strength and speed is completely natural to him. There is a scene where he goes through the motions of asking for help, but the scene lacks any sincerity. I'm pretty sure Doug Jones could have given it more weight if we were supposed to believe it.

The episode is primarily driven by family drama. We're given a strong implication that the two brothers both resent the other. Rowdy seems to think that Grady would have failed as a rancher without him, while we learn through Derek that Grady has taken a consistent loss on the ranch, and seems to view it as a pity project to keep his brother employed.

If the episode has a twist it's simply that Rowdy is the real father of Grady's children. You see this coming a mile away. After killing Rowdy, Grady forced his wife to butcher and cook him as stew, and even eat a bowl herself. Given that he's already killed Eddie Bear (yes, everyone in the episode uses both names when referring to him on every occasion), the decision to eat Rowdy specifically can only be driven by resentment. This is fury that's been building for years. There's only one source the resentment could come.

It's Grady's wife who eventually finishes him off. Grady attacks his sons, and reveals their real paternity. So, she shoots him, ending the episode, but freeing the Wendigo spirit to seek out new victims.

This isn't really the best episode. It's hindered by the fact that most of the actors aren't great, and Doug Jones spends a lot of time off-screen until near the end. I kind of wish he'd succeeded in killing the rest of the cast, instead of the two kills he got. He's easily the best part of this episode.

Director Larry Fessenden is known primarily as an actor, but has directed several films. Notably he'd directed two previous works about Wendigos (one a film, one a documentary), so they seem to be an interest of his. Either that or it's just a mind-boggling coincidence that he keeps getting picked to direct films about them. For this episode, he does an acceptable job, but nothing special.