Rebels Without a Clue

With debut feature Rebels Without a Clue, director and writer Ian Vernon attempts to blend elements of so-called gritty social-realism with black humour, in a film that is about as misguided as it’s unfortunate title suggests. The tagline, ‘Teenagers with guns, drugs and a cool car. All they need to do is lose their virginity’, doesn’t exactly fill one with hope. Its tone being one of slight desperation to attract the teenage, Skins generation via a, shall we say, lack of subtlety and an abundance of brash clichés. It tells the story of four teenagers, who inadvertently interrupt a drug deal and find themselves in possession of drugs, money and a Cadillac. Whilst being tracked by an unnamed thug, they decide to head for Spain in an attempt to escape their current, mundane lives in Manchester.

The key problem with Rebels Without a Clue is the unconvincing and occasionally awkward script. In a film that is primarily centred on an ensemble cast of four, the relationships and the dialogue need to be sharp and engaging if they are to draw one in, yet here, often feels forced and heavy-handed. This is most likely due to the in-authenticity of the interaction between the teens. What should be an entertaining insight into the lives and minds of a group of teens, ends up sounding like an ill-advised guess as to how this generation communicate. This is no more evident than in the all too frequent moments in which, without exaggeration, almost every character to appear on screen refers to Mark (Rik Barnett) as “wanker”. If this is an attempt at humour it comes across as, at best, lazy, and at worst, embarrassing, as though throwing in this word every other minute is somehow going to make teenagers laugh. If not, then it may be that Vernon feels that the constant use of swearing adds to the grittiness or the realism. It doesn’t.

Similarly, the cast on offer fails to capture any sense of realism or comedy. With the exception of Lucy Brennan, who plays Kylie, the performances are wooden and uneven to say the least, although, admittedly, they probably weren’t helped by the equally flawed screenplay. The worst offender though, has to be that of Hylton Collins, whose portrayal of the nameless thug chasing the gang really has to be seen to be believed. In a performance that is so cringe-inducingly bad, I am left unsure as to whether it is deliberately intended as part of the humour. Sadly, I don’t think it is. Dressed all in black, with the words ‘love’ and ‘hate’ tattooed across his knuckles, the thug should have at least seemed intimidating if only in a comic book sense. Unfortunately, the performance holds more in common with Keith from TV show The Office than a scary gangster type. You can almost feel the energy being sapped from the screen whenever he appears, which is a fundamental flaw, considering that this is the character who really needs to be setting the pace in his pursuit of the gang.

Rebels Without a Clue suffers mostly by failing to create an identity for itself. Described as a black comedy, it barely raises enough laughs to call itself a comedy, whilst also lacking anything one might even remotely consider to be gritty or realistic. Additionally, the lack of any consistent or cohesive characterisation further adds to the overall imbalanced tone of the film. All too often, one feels as though Vernon assumes that by simply combining swearing teenagers with dangerous elements such as drugs or guns is an immediate recipe for success, while the reality is that merely putting these components together without a genuine purpose is destined to disappoint.

The Last Exorcism

Over the past few years, documentary-style horror movies seem to have become a fairly frequent occurrence, often achieving varying degrees of success. On one hand we’ve seen wonderfully terrifying examples such as ‘Rec’ (2008) and ‘Paranormal Activity’ (2009), each, in my view, worthy of standing up as true classics of the genre. Equally, however, some haven’t quite delivered in the same way; 2008’s ‘Cloverfield’ and 2010’s ‘Rec 2’both highlighting, albeit in different ways, just how easy it is to get things wrong when shooting in this style. In the case of Daniel Stamm’s ‘The Last Exorcism’ we find a film that embodies many of the qualities that make this genre so effective, yet also manages to implode quite spectacularly due to a few misguided steps.

‘The Last Exorcism’ takes the form of a documentary, following preacher and ‘exorcist’ Cotton Marcus, played superbly by Patrick Fabian, as he sets out to show the world the tricks of the exorcist trade and to reveal the fraudulent and exploitative ways of the church. Somewhat predictably, this doesn’t quite go to plan.

Although the plot and exposition of the film are both highly derivative and explicit in their influences, for large sections ‘The Last Exorcism’ works beautifully, slowly building up the tension and creating an atmosphere of suspense in a way that’s comparable to that of ‘Paranormal Activity’; specifically the moments in which the camera is focussed on the bedroom whilst the couple are sleeping. With these moments, the fear manifests itself in the form of anticipation, rather than what is actually happening on-screen. Examples of this technique can be seen as Cotton and his team are following an apparently possessed Nell through the house. As she moves into different rooms and out of the camera’s sight, one can clearly draw comparisons with the style employed in ‘Paranormal Activity’. Similarly, the scene in which she is alone behind her locked bedroom door, yet the sounds of another voice and a baby crying can clearly be heard, also make for extremely unsettling viewing . In sequences such as this, Stamm exemplifies just how scary and powerful horrors of this kind can be, with literally nothing other than the audience’s imagination providing the terror.

The quality of the performances from the key cast members also adds to the scariness, with no one over-acting or trying to compensate for the film’s carefully understated tone. Ashley Bell’s performance as Nell deserves particular praise for its vulnerability and sensitivity, making the moments of her possession all the more frightening. It is this obvious technique of less-is-more, regarding the cast’s performances, that undoubtedly provides ‘The Last Exorcism’ with its creepiest and spookiest moments, allowing the tension to unnerve its audience instead of screaming at you to be scared.

How frustrating it is then, when in the film’s final act, it decides to abandon every element that had worked to this point, in favour of an ending which is so preposterously bad that it essentially destroys all of the groundwork which was laid before. The realism of the single camera style of shooting is hurriedly discarded to make way for a number of cut-away and reaction shots that simply don’t add up or make sense if the action were truly being captured by one camera. Furthermore, the ‘twist’ in the plot really is laughable. I won’t reveal the ending here, for anyone that is thinking of seeing the film should not be put off by its final 10 minutes, yet when you come away from ‘The Last Exorcism’, the prevailing feeling is one of disappointment at what could have been, rather than appreciating just how good a film it was for around eighty minutes. Such a shame, as given a little more thought, ‘The Last Exorcism’ could well have been one of the year’s best horrors.

Interpol, 'Interpol'

Over the past eight years, Interpol, for me at least, have been without question the most important and consistent band currently releasing music. From the very beginning they have possessed an air of majesty and beauty that has became distinctly synonymous with the band, their 2002 debut ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’ being one of, if not THE, defining indie album of the decade. It can not be overstated just how great an achievement ‘Bright Lights’ is, with tracks such as ‘Obstacle 1’ and ‘Stella…’ showing a maturity and deftness of touch that many bands could only dream of capturing in their first outing.

However, when a debut of such quality is released it is inevitable that doubts will be cast over the band’s ability to follow it up with something of equal worth, with so many bands releasing greatly hyped and well received debuts, merely to fall by the wayside on their second offering. This is an obstacle which Interpol have consistently avoided with consummate ease, with both 2004’s ‘Antics’ and 2007’s ‘Our Love to Admire’ each developing on the qualities evident in ‘Bright Lights’ yet displaying a greater leaning towards epic, and at times cinematic atmospherics, culminating in ‘Our Love to Admire’s’ closer ‘The Lighthouse’, a track of haunting melancholy to rival any of Interpol’s previous work.

Understandably then, the three year wait for self-titled album number four has been a painfully long one. Surely Interpol would once again deliver an album to blow anything else from 2010 out of the water. Sadly, it is with a heavy heart I must report that with ‘Interpol’, the band for the first time, has failed to meet the high expectations they so regularly set for themselves with each release. An album of two halves, ‘Interpol’ begins with so much promise, yet around the halfway mark, gradually falls apart.

Album opener ‘Success’ sets the tone superbly, with the kind of grand production and typically introspective lyrics and delivery from Banks that usually mark the opening of each Interpol record. The album continues with similar promise in the form of ‘Summer Well’, a piano-led track which builds toward an infectious chorus. ‘Interpol’ then reaches its peak with two of the band’s finest moments to date. ‘Lights’ grows and swells in manner that echoes ‘The Lighthouse’, becoming even more haunting and spine-tingling with every listen, placing itself as a true masterpiece amongst the Interpol canon. ‘Barricade’ also finds the band hitting their stride, boasting a deceptively catchy guitar hook and a magnificent Banks vocal as it reaches the chorus. In fact, ‘Barricade’ holds many of the components that could have made ‘Interpol’ a far more enjoyable listen, as from this point onwards the album opts for a more subtle, atmospheric direction.

The results are somewhat frustrating, as many of the tracks lack the edge evident in both their previous works and indeed the first half of the album. Although they aren’t bad, they certainly aren’t anything to get too excited about. ‘Safe Without’ tries its best to find a hook or a tangible thread for the listener to grab onto but ultimately ends up sounding just a bit dull. Similar symptoms of tediousness are present in ‘All of the Ways’, trying its best to replicate the mood of ‘The Lighthouse’ but falls well short, feeling laborious and forced at over five minutes.

Although ‘Interpol’ is clearly not quite the album I had hoped for, it still has enough great moments to ensure that old and new fans alike will be satisfied. Its highlights are more than capable of holding their own against classics from Interpol’s near faultless back catalogue, indicating that there is still a wealth of potential for even more to come from this extraordinary band.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World

It appears to be the case that I am somewhat alone in my view of Edgar Wright’s ‘Scott Pilgrim vs The World’. I have just been having a peek at some of the reviews and comments other viewers have made on the IMDB website and have found almost unanimous love and praise for this film. Additionally, it has also been on the receiving end of great critical acclaim and approval. However, I must admit that I found ‘Scott Pilgrim’ to be a distinctly average and overall disappointing piece of work. For many reasons, it fails to capture any of the wonderfully unique qualities which have become inherent in the work of Edgar Wright, of whom I am a big fan.

As a director of such ability and creativity I had hoped for so much more than what is delivered in ‘Scott Pilgrim’. Whereas Wright has always had the sharp wit and precise focus of Simon Pegg’s writing to steer their previous projects forward, ‘Scott Pilgrim’ feels more like an extensive brainstorming session of potentially good ideas, yet lacks any sense of control or direction. With TV show ‘Spaced’ and movies ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’, the pairing of these two consistently made for highly original viewing, with a truly majestic blend of genre splicing and homage, held together by a string of flawless performances and beautifully constructed scripts.

While the film is visually a huge success, with all the hallmarks of Wright’s directorial style evident in it’s scenes of computer game homage and comic book violence, it lacks enormously in humour and substance. The plot, about Scott having to defeat the seven evil exes of his girlfriend, frankly becomes redundant in the hands of Wright, with ‘Scott Pilgrim’ essentially becoming no more than a canvas for him to show off his skills as a visual artist as opposed to a director with the ability to drive a story in the right direction. For instance, the vast majority of the moments of homage and parody appear to serve no purpose whatsoever and are often entirely irrelevant to what’s going on in the film. It is littered with nods to moments from computer games that are at no point mentioned nor make any sense. This is a major flaw, which should be glaringly apparent to anyone who is a fan of Wright’s previous work, in which any element of parody or homage made sense, and more importantly added to the story.

As a result of such loose direction ‘Scott Pilgrim’ also fails to raise many laughs. The few that do exist often arise from a disappointingly under-used Kieran Culkin, whose perfectly understated performance as Wallace, Scott’s gay room-mate, is one of the film’s undoubted highlights. This overall lack of humour and engagement with the audience left me feeling that ‘Scott Pilgrim’ was more of a missed opportunity than a terrible film. Furthermore, with the input of someone such as Simon Pegg, one can only imagine how much better ‘Scott Pilgrim’ could have been. A project such as this could not have been placed in better hands than those of Edgar Wright, yet still it somehow falls way below par.

Klaxons, 'Surfing the Void'

The follow up to 2007’s ‘Myths of the Near Future’ was always going to be a tricky affair for Klaxons. With a ludicrous ‘nu-rave’ tag, which was more the fault of a gimmick-hungry music industry than the band themselves, it seemed a drastic change in sound and style would be necessary if they were to shake off the shackles of their ‘nu-rave’ image and be taken seriously as a band, rather than merely NME poster-boys. While ‘Myths….’ has moments of greatness, it does possess an element of style over substance; their misguided cover of Grace’s ‘It’s Not Over Yet’, among a few other album fillers, already sounding dated well beyond their three years of age.

Thankfully, with long-awaited follow-up ‘Surfing the Void’, Klaxons find themselves drifting closer toward a sound of far greater depth and longevity. Where ‘Myths….’ relied far too heavily on immediate hooks and distinctly 90s synth sounds to grab your attention, ‘Surfing the Void’ displays a significant maturity both musically and structurally. Although there may not be much in the way of obvious singles or instant hits, the way by which each track grows on you serves to draw you in gradually, in a way that ‘Myths….’ severely lacks. Lead single ‘Echoes’ exemplifies this perfectly, with a deceptively catchy chorus that gets better and better with each listen. ‘Flashover’, a track of pounding intensity and dense production, is also an indicator of just how far Klaxons have come over the past three years.

Although for the most part ‘Surfing the Void’ is a major improvement, there are still a few imperfections lingering from its predecessor. The lyrics, for example, at times are beyond stupid. Presumably supposed to sound astronomical and spacey , they end up sounding more like the kind of insincere, sci-fi bollocks one would expect from Matt Bellamy in his recent attempts to destroy music. An example of such lyrical nonsense can be found in ‘Cypherspeed’, in which we are enlightened with the following: “Ride the pandemonium, The hyper confusion, Escape to nowhere, Glimpse no illusion, In the distance, Information, Glimpse the existent.” Rubbish. However, when compared to how good ‘Surfing the Void’ is as a whole, one can surely forgive them the occasional lyrical lapse.

Overall, the Klaxons return is an extremely welcome one. Whilst there was genuine concern that the band may have faded into obscurity in the wake of the ‘nu-rave’ scene, it would now appear that they possess a purpose and substance that wasn’t quite there before. With ‘Surfing the Void’, Klaxons have not only developed a sound of greater density and maturity, but have also suggested that their best is yet to come.

Salt

Having recently watched Phillip Noyce’s ‘Salt’, I’m still at somewhat of a loss as to some of the glowing reviews I’ve read of this ridiculous film. Being described by many as one of the action films of the summer and the first instalment of a potential ‘Bourne-esque’ franchise, ‘Salt’ should at the very least be entertaining. Yet somehow, despite a decent performance from Angelina Jolie in the lead role, ‘Salt’ merely comes across as boring, predictable, and above all else, stupid.

Littered with gaping plot holes and wooden performances from most of the cast, ‘Salt’ feels more like a bad B-movie, which Jolie has accidently stumbled into rather than a major Hollywood blockbuster. The story of evil Russian spies trying to bring down America is both tired and uninteresting, having been done many times before, only with far greater depth and intelligence. The result here is 1 hour and 40 minutes of watching Jolie carrying out an endless sequence of stunts which would have probably been rejected by the makers of ‘Die Hard 4’ on the grounds of being too far-fetched. Rather than developing and unfolding as an espionage/spy thriller in the vein of the ‘Bond’ or ‘Bourne’ films, ‘Salt’ shares far more in its plot exposition with a comic book movie, yet lacking any sense of charm or humour.

In addition to the sheer unoriginality and overall tedious tone, ‘Salt’ is also painfully predictable. The final ‘twist’ is not only obvious from around the 10 minute mark, but by the time it is ‘revealed’ I, along with most of the audience, had completely lost interest, possessing no element of surprise whatsoever. With characters this painstakingly dull and a plot that’s about as engaging and thrilling as an episode of ‘The Bill’, ‘Salt’ fails to deliver any of the essential components that are so essential to a film belonging to this genre.

The fact that Angelina Jolie still feels the need to make these kinds of film is equally disappointing, confirming her status, for me at least, as the most frustrating actress in Hollywood, somehow managing to move back and forth between film’s of genuine greatness and trashy nonsense; for every ‘A Mighty Heart’ there’s a ‘Tomb Raider’, for every ‘The Changeling’ there’s a ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’. Quite simply, an actress of Jolie’s talent and skill should not be wasting her time on rubbish like this, yet it almost seems inevitable that with ‘Salt’ being tipped as Hollywood’s next major franchise, there will be countless more below par action films to tarnish her CV in the coming years.

Eyes Without a Face

When looking back over the years at the truly defining moments of the horror genre, one will generally encounter the usual titles; ‘Psycho’, ‘Night of the Living Dead’, ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Shining’, ‘Halloween’, etc. Each of these films has achieved enormous iconic status within popular culture as well as among horror fans, often the subject of parody and pastiche in comedy, TV and commercials. Even today, one is reminded of the terrifying ‘here’s Johnny’ moment from ‘The Shining’ by Lenny Henry in the equally disturbing Premier Inn campaign. Yet many will be unaware of George Franju’s 1959 cult classic ‘Eyes Without a Face’, a film which has been criminally overlooked and forgotten since its release five decades ago. A film that is both mesmeric and disturbing in its tone and subject matter, it’s hard to define why ‘Eyes Without a Face’ has missed out on the notoriety and success of these other classic titles.

The film is centred on Dr Genessier, a crazed surgeon obsessed with trying to find a new face for his disfigured daughter Christiane, following a car crash for which he was responsible. His attempts to do so involve the kidnapping of young women and the subsequent removal of their face. Meanwhile, Christiane is forced to wear a white, featureless mask to cover her horrendous facial injuries, giving her a haunting, ghostly presence. This darkly sinister premise makes for deeply suspenseful viewing, creating enough tension to easily rival many of those famous horror classics. One of the most important factors in producing this atmosphere is Franju’s technique of not revealing the face of Christiane straight away, and when the shocking moment comes, it is still partially blurred and distorted, leaving the viewer to imagine what her face looks like only through the terrified shrieks of the girl who sees her for the first time.

Franju’s intelligent use of suspense and his skill in allowing the audience’s imagination to provide the horror are expertly offset by the moment in which we witness the graphic removal of one of his victims’ face; an unflinching scene which still has the power to disturb, despite the progression in visual effects and graphic imagery since its release. The cold, surgical manner by which he goes about this appalling procedure is equally as effective as any of the typically over-the-top, gruesome murder scenes from most slasher films. In fact, the clinical, emotionless way in which the Genessier conducts this act is probably what makes it all the more unsettling. It is possible that this scene was one of the reasons to the film’s lack of exposure and success, being simply too explicit in its depiction of facial desecration and therefore turning audiences away rather than drawing them in.

Whatever the reason may be, ‘Eyes Without a Face’ absolutely deserves to be considered alongside the true greats of the genre. It’s utilisation of suspense, atmosphere and cold brutality make for a superb example of how horror movies should be made. Although it may be over fifty years old, ‘Eyes Without a Face’ has certainly lost none of its power or ability to shock and terrify.