Displaying items by tag: Matthew Lillard

SCREAM 7

US, 2026, 114 minutes, Colour.

Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmine Savoy Brown, Lisa Gooding, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Celeste O'Connor, Sam Recher, Acer Germann, Mackenna Grace, Matthew Lillard, David Arquette, Laurie Metcalf, Ethan Embury, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro.

Directed by Kevin Williamson.

Firstly, back to the origins. As for the others in the series, there is a dangerous prologue, this time a young couple (he rather intolerable and his over-eager enthusiasm for pressuring the audience to be on side with Ghostface to get rid of him). This is the house of Scream, a Memorial Museum, a whole range of mementos, body outlines on the floor, posters for the movie series Stanb, and a threatening mechanical replica of ghost face.  Lots of references to the past and to other horror films, open fans in the audience eager to check off their knowledge of the franchise. Needless to say, the couple will have to go hyper- gruesomely.

Then, back to middle America, family life, school students, putting on a musical play, teenage shenanigans. With a focus on Tatum, Isabel May, who is the eldest daughter of the key character in the series, Sydney Prescott, the return to the screen by the initial star, Neve Campbell, now married to a police officer, Joel McHale. Tatum is rebellious, her mother trying to protect her, having written a book, the film series, Stab.

It doesn’t take too long before Ghostface appears again, and, not just the one, the sinister figure, the sad face with the drawn-out mouth and the black cloak.

One of the features of the film (an opportunity for past stars to make cameo appearances) is that the new menacing killers use AI, creating messages using the faces of those who have died (and chance to see Matthew Lillard again as well as David Arquette and Laurie Metcalf). (So, is the film in favour of a a all during photos and film clips?) And, trying to track down whether Stuart, Matthew Lillard’s character, could still be alive, includes a visit to a mental institution which is significant for the solution.

And, of course, with her tempestuously-evocative climate name, Gail Weathers, turns up again, Courtney Cox continually re-visiting, wanting the scoop, bonding with Sydney, getting her to the television station to lure the mysterious Ghostface to a meeting. And, her two interns, highly ambitious to make media success – but, becoming victims, almost.

In the meantime, plenty of appearances, a bit of a shock to find so many of the students, the next generation, dispatched, attacks on Sydney, the stabbing of her husband, and the continually menaced Tatum. This leads to a dramatic confrontation, the benefit of mobile phones and screens with Sydney able to give tactical advice to her daughter. But, of course, final physical confrontation.

Some of the fans, prepared to give Scream 7 a chance, comment on how they felt let down by the solution and revelation. This reviewer, but with no high-stakes success for the franchise, was surprised, disappointed, with all the final explanations.

This version was cowritten and directed by the initial creator of the series and first director, Kevin Williamson. He has had a very successful career over the 30 years but he might have created a better solution to the series and been able to improve on rather pedestrian dialogue, lots of crass exclamations and added overdoing of every character coming to someone wounded and having defied death repeating “you okay!”.

Scream 7 did very well at the box office on its opening weekend so, one presumes, there will be Scream 8 (with better plotlines and dialogue, hopefully).

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY's 2

US, 2025, 104 minutes, Colour.

Josh Hutcherson, Piper Rubio, Elizabeth Lail, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Freddy Carter, Wayne Knight, Mackenna Grace.

Directed by Emma Tammi.

In 2023, horror fans were delighted, generally, with a family-friendly and family-hostile horror film based on a popular game. The screenplay was written by the creator of the game, Scott Cawthorn, so he is offering his fans what they want and, of course, what he wants.

Freddy’s was a popular early 1980s pizzeria with families, and some popular characters to delight the kids, but, coming to life in a deadly manner, deaths and sadness. Audiences for this sequel will need to be up-to-date on the details of the first film as many of the characters continue on, especially Josh Hutcherson is Mike, the hero of the first film, looking after his young sister, Abby, their brother disappearing. And there was the sinister creator of Freddy’s who makes a fantasy reappearance. And his daughter, Vanessa, police, offering protection, but this time tormented by the family pressures, the disappearance of her brother, attracted to Mike, teased by Abby, but tension in the relationship.

In fact, this sequel begins with a parallel story to the prologue of the first film, families enjoying themselves at Freddy’s, a little girl sitting brooding, noticing a little boy vanishing, searching for him, carrying him out dead, desperate pleas to the parents who ignore her, harsh responses, push her away. She wants to get vengeance on those parents and, here we are 20 years later.

And the animatronics are back again, larger than life, friendly, sinister, aggressive. And the townspeople are celebrating at Freddy’s feast, upsetting to some of the survivors. And Abby is involved in the school project, robotics, presided over by a complacent Wayne Knight as the superior teacher, she wanting to create a robotic image from the past and submitted to the science exhibition.

Danger looms when a young television crew arrive to take a tour of the ruins of Freddy’s, meet a sinister smiling guide, and then death and mayhem.

So, the feast and robotics exhibition go ahead, the creatures are on the loose, Mike is desperate to destroy their wireless control, Vanessa confronts her childhood friend, the original malevolent girl.

And, audience expectations of the second visit to Freddy’s are fulfilled – and promises of more to come in discussions during the final credits.

1. The popularity of the game? The impact of the first film? A sequel and a variation on the original themes?
2. The return of so many of the cast of characters, the director? The creator of the game, writing the screenplay, his vision of the game and the film?
3. The presupposition is from the original film, Freddie’s, the pizzeria, families enjoying the atmosphere, the games? The haunting of the first film, Mike, Abby, the disappearance of their brother? The role of their aunt? Vanessa, her sinister father, her brother disappeared, the father’s death, her role in the police?
4. The prologue of the same as the first film, Charlotte, brooding, families, the disappearance of the boy, her appeal to everyone, the harshness of their ignoring her, putting her down, going to rescue the boy, emerging, her vengeance on the parents present? Her friendship with Vanessa, the bond with her father, the gift of the music box? Freddy’s closing down, but Charlotte present?
5. The impact of the animatronics, actual puppets rather than CGI, the variety of characters, friendly, yet sinister, the originals, the developed giant-sized puppets? In the abandoned Freddy’s, yet still able to be activated?
6. 20 years later, Mike and Abby at home, her preoccupation with her friends, going to school, teasing Mike and his relationship with Vanessa, the robotics, the teacher, his attitude towards Abbey, crossing her off the list, his manner? The Festival? In the background of the Freddie Festival?
7. The Freddy Festival, the atmosphere, celebration, the drawings, the murdered notice on the wall, Michael ringing the number, Charlotte’s father, the music box?
8. Mike, edgy, caring for Abby, the relationship with Vanessa, memories of her father in the past? The dinner, tentative? Vanessa, her character, police, strength, yet upset by the past? The sequence of the imagination of her father, confronting him again?
9. Abby, watching the TV program, the team going to Freddie’s, Cavalier attitude, encountering Michael, his name, the tour, their wandering around, their torture and deaths? Michael’s relish?
10. Abby, going to Freddie’s, sitting, befriending, taking the animatronic character, to the Festival, the teacher’s reaction, his going to his office, the character wanting to know was in his mind, crushing him? The consequent mayhem?
11. The frantic conclusion, Mike, the electronics, with Vanessa, her being taken by Charlotte, the past memories, tied up, escaping? Trying to close down the creatures? The lighting up in different places? Michael coming confronting Vanessa, destroyed?
12. The buildup to the confrontations, the various characters, coming to life, falling apart, the menace?
13. In the credits’ sequences, a new group coming in, opening up possibilities for a sequel?

THE LIFE OF CHUCK

US, 2024, 111 minutes, Colour.

Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Mia Sara, Carl Lumbley, Mark Hamill, David Dastmalchian, Q’Orianker Kilcher, Matthew Lillard, Taylor Franck.

Directed by Mike Flanagan.

Chuck is a very popular name, especially in the US, amiable, ordinary, your next door neighbour… So, we can expect that the life of Chuck would be nice, amiable. And, in many ways it is. But, in the eyes of America’s most prolific writer, Stephen King, always considered a master of horror stories, it could be anybody, or Anybody. Which means that Chuck is being set up as an Everyman Figure. Chuck, or a variation on him could be any of us, men or women.

Stephen King published this short story in 2020 – the initial year of the pandemic.

Writer-director, Mike Flanagan (who directed film versions of King’s Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and the fascinating Catholic-themed miniseries, Midnight Mass) has adapted the story in ways audiences who have not read the story, would be surprised. (For any audiences who intend to see Life of Chuck and knows nothing about it, best to stop here and read reviews after your own experience.)

In fact, the film tells its story in reverse, three acts. Act three starts ordinarily enough, at school, a sympathetic teacher played by Chiwitel Ejiofor. But, very soon we move into a kind of apocalyptic, end of the world scenario, news of disasters like California North lapsing into the sea, but highlighted in a suburban kind of way by the loss of Wi-Fi, interruptions to television programs, the electricity going out, sinkholes in the streets, cars abandoned, forlorn people walking home alone. All this is really alarming, but quietly communicated, especially by conversations of hapless people facing a diminishing future.

However, suddenly lit up in all the windows of houses and buildings, images of Chuck, messages of thanks for his 39 years. So, where is Stephen King going from here?

Act two steps back in time, and we meet Chuck, quiet-mannered, well dressed in his suit, an accountant at a conference, and played by Tom Hiddleston (whom many remember as Loki). In fact, this is a brief sequence in the narrative that makes an extraordinary impact: dancing in the street. A young drummer sets up her instruments in the town square, Chuck walks along, stops, looks, listens to the beat and one of the most joyous intense sequences on film follows. And Chuck is joined by a disappointed young woman whose boyfriend has suddenly cut her off. A growing crowd shares this increasing joy.

Many directors have used the theme of the Dance of Life – and this is a wonderful example.

The theme of the end of the world is put on the back burner as we go back to Chuck’s childhood, accidental death of his parents and unborn sister, cared for by his grandparents, a charmingly dancing Mia Sara, a wonderful portrait of a crabby old man, a monologue which will be valued by anybody devoted to mathematics, and played by Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill, almost 50 years since Star Wars.

The young Chuck, a wonderful experience with the lively performance by Benjamin Pajak, grieves, listens to his grandfather, shares some mysterious ghostly experiences, but, it is revealed, at school is where he learned to dance – and a kind of prom night dance sequence which again is exhilarating.

So, who is Chuck? Could be any of us. And while he is a white American male, there is a wide range of multi--ethnic characters for multicultural experiences including the African-American drummer. And, what is Chuck’s life telling us – a quotation from Walt Whitman’s Song Of Myself he heard at school, “I contain multitudes”. So, for Every Man and Every Woman, there can be an extraordinary vitality of life. And, a realisation that life comes to an end, as the world will come to an end (in a realism aspect of this tale telling or in Chuck’s inner consciousness?).

Generally audiences have appreciated The Life of Chuck, a number of critics dismissing its sentiment and what they see as superficial observations. But, most will find the opening sequence arresting, arousing curiosity, and, as the film goes on, especially with the exuberance and dances of life, the possibilities for deeper life reflections.

1. The title, expectations, Chuck as an ordinary name? Anybody? Leading to an Everyman character?
2. The perspectives of Stephen King, his career, human nature, end of the world? The quote from Walt Whitman, I contain multitudes?
3. The structure of the film, in reverse? The impact of the end of the world, humans facing the end of the world, the signs of thanks for Chuck? His death?
4. The atmosphere of Act three, the introduction to Marty, his work at the school, students, the news of disasters, California, around the world, his talking with the parents, urging the children to school? Loss of Wi-Fi? Reading and writing? Marty at home, watching the television, communication with Felicia, their marriage, her work at the hospital, the doctor and the suicides, people deciding to go home to be with family? The long conversation with Gus and his aspirations? The conversation with Sam, reminiscing, his being revealed as working with Chuck and Albie? The many people walking home, alone, dropping their bags? The sinkhole, Marty in the car, cars parked? The contact with Felicia, wanting to be together, their love, the end of the world?
5. The signs in the window, images of Chuck, messages of thanks, 39 years? The glimpse of him, his wife and son, his death?
6. Act two, the explanation of Chuck, accountant, well-dressed, at the accountants’ meeting, walking along the street, Taylor, with her manager, the drums and her busking, looking at Chuck, his looking at her, the beat, the beginning of the dance, the extensive and varied choreography, the exhilaration for Chuck, the story of Janice, walking along the road, bitter, her boyfriend cutting off, invited to dance, her exuberant response, Taylor and her excitement, the crowds gathering, sharing the joy and rhythms, the money, it is one giving the gift to Janice and to Chuck, then not continuing, the dance of life?
7. Act one, Chuck and his story, the accident on the ice, death of his parents, the unborn sister? Living with his grandparents? The grief? His grandmother, coming alive, the dancing, urging Chuck to dance? Albie, grief, the accountant, drinking, the locked room upstairs and his attack on Chuck? Apology? The long discourse about mathematics and its explaining everything, rationally and accurately? Urging Chuck ac to be an accountant?
8. Chuck at school, short, some bullies, the encounter with Cal, the poetry teacher, the students not interested, the quotation from Walt Whitman, his song, I contain multitudes? Its meaning? The teacher’s response? The dance teacher, the lineup, her urging, the music, the range of songs and dances, illustrated (and the clip from Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in Cover Girl)? Chuck and his dancing skills, with Cal? Dressing up for the school evening, the teachers present, Marty and Felicia, Chuck and his reluctance, his sore leg, the teacher challenging him, going outside, his return, and the exhilaration of the dancing, the jealous boy? And the story of the scar on his hand, blaming the boy, actually jaggling it on the wire?
9. Albie, going to the cupola, the ghosts and deaths, his heart attack? The funeral? The Jewish background?
10. The older Chuck, discussions with Sam, his prospects, and going to the cupola, unlocking it, the contemplation? The end?
11. Audience popularity, critics attacking the film, sentiment, superficial philosophising? Audiences caught up in the story, the personalities, reflections?