cults – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: Are we going to have serial killings returning to the screen?

Vampire Bat: We can have as many serial killers as we wish to see around.

Vampire Owl: Are they supplied by Dr. Frankenstein after research?

Vampire Bat: Mr. Frankenstein has no research truly running.

Vampire Owl: He has access to many serial killer scientists.

Vampire Bat: They are more of psycho killers who do not kill serially.

Vampire Owl: Still, they commit interesting scientific murder.

Vampire Bat: You should remember that Mr. Frankenstein is a pseudo-scientist.

Vampire Owl: The greatness of a monster creator shall never fade.

Vampire Bat: Even the greatest empires fade, and he is just shade.

[Gets a chicken samosa and three cups of mixed tea].

What is the movie about? :: A young FBI agent named Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) gets assigned a new case, and this one involves a series of killing and suicides, much to the surprise of her co-workers. This is also that kind of a case related to which not much of an inroad was made, especially with the same pattern repeating itself. These are basically understood as murder–suicides, and each case consists of a father killing his whole family the committing suicide, leaving behind just a letter with a writing “Longlegs” notes in strange language, with some strange handwriting which remains unidentified. Agent William Carter (Blair Underwood) feels that something could be done with her added to the team, as she seems to know things and also has a perspective different from others, as she is known to act according to the same. Yet, she is not someone who is that much confident about the same, and a certain amount of fear seems to be gripping her. It only seems to be getting stronger as she gets into the case.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: For some reason, the newly appointed detective shows a certain amount of psychic energy that seems to help her to solve a part of the mystery. She solves the mystery in part, but does get the threat from the unknown that she herself hunts and do not intend to stop in between. Further investigation leads to the information that each family had a nine-year-old daughter born on the fourteenth day of the month and that all the murders all occurred within six days before or after that birthday. This is something which she feels that she could connect with the missing elements well. It is then that a doll with a metal orb in its head discovered, much to the dismay of the detectives. It remains to be seen how Lee would be able to connect all these dots, and also save her mother from the threat from the unknown. But the evil force seems to know her, and as this connects well to her own life, it is to be seen how she deals with this situation, as time is almost running out for everyone.

The defence of Long Legs :: The movie has its moments, and it also got that suspense and twist maintained till the end, and a few moments right there would not be guessed that easily. The struggle of the protagonist is felt early itself, and the danger feels very much active here. There is the feeling of something not just terrifying, but also something unsettling ready to happen, with the atmosphere well-set for the same. It is applicable to both human and the supernatural side, as something is felt like lurking in the corners at all times. The devilish side is done with effectiveness, even though the same could have been scarier and closer to the core. The realization that the demons will come to us now or at some other point, and the supernatural in our world cannot be ignored, will keep us going. Even in the modern world, this presence is once again asserted, as required, as people have been deviating a little too much from even the neutrality between good and evil, as the latter always finds a way. The performances are good, and working well to support the movie.

The claws of flaw :: The movie remains too slow, and this lack of pace would affect any movie with murder investigations, not just this one. The struggle seems to be not of the protagonist, but of the movie to get its pace right, on many occasions. There are moments when the movie seems to sleepwalk, and this one is surely not required to go any minute over ninety, and maybe would stay perfect at eighty five. There will be doubts if the movie is pointing to where it is supposed to go, as it keeps slowing down, and at times, moves on with the feeling of going somewhere else. The first few moments itself do not bring the interest to the movie, and the ending itself does not satisfy those who have been watching that long and slow build-up. The world of murders with supernatural intent should also be that quick and clear as the works with serial killers and psychotic murderers, but this one is not twisted enough to justify those slow and often clueless paths taken in between. In Prime Video, that Hindi audio felt strange, and it is advised not to take that one.

The performers of the soul :: It is Maika Monroe who leads the way in a way that keeps us interested even when the movie slows down, and stops beside a snail at times. She is surely quicker than the movie in keeping us glued to the screen. There are moments of helplessness and that of determination that seems to work so well with her around. Nicolas Cage comes out of nowhere to make an impact too, even though he is not much there to extend beyond – his character should have surely meant a lot more than what we see here. We know that one reason for us to think about watching this movie was surely seeing him around again, this time as a much different character, something he might not do again in Hollywood. Blair Underwood makes a solid impact here, even though not that much in the later stages. Alicia Witt remains a strong force here, seemingly not that much in the early stages, but gaining in strength as the movie progresses. Michelle Choi-Lee adds on well around here too.

How it finishes :: Long Legs is that kind of a movie which will appeal to a smaller group of horror lovers, and most probably will not has one interested in a sequel, despite some scope being there considering the ending. There is no denying the fact that there is the effort to make it twisted, and the same is reflected in the title and right in the beginning itself – the same only works at times, but we are interested enough to continue and wait for the big revelation with that supernatural twist that hides and has sneak peaks in between. This is surely not going to be your Stream, Halloween or Scream killer, or the supernatural of The Conjuring, The Nun, Annabelle, Insidious or Sinister. Instead, this will be just another movie that comes with a killer with that supernatural angle which often feels forced, but still works. Long Legs is available on Amazon Prime Video, and adds to the list of horror movies that you can watch with the subscription to keep the horror world of your mind growing, and it is always good to have one more of the genre.

Release date: 12th July 2024
Running time: 101 minutes
Directed by: Osgood Perkins
Starring: Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Choi-Lee, Dakota Daulby, Kiernan Shipka, Maila Hosie, Jason Day, Lisa Chandler, Ava Kelders, Carmel Amit, Peter Bryant

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Background to the movie :: We are no strangers to the tales about witch hunts, and most of us have read about similar incidents all around the world, especially Salem witch trials which had presence in movies like The Lords of Salem and The Conjuring – we even remember a television series with the name Salem. When we look deeper, there has been no shortage of similar incidents throughout the world. In a number of books, we have read about the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. We read in our schools and colleges about Joan of Arc who was burned at the stake, accused of witchcraft. Even in India, we often hear the word Chudail, associated with the witch, even though the same can be applied to demons and spirits too. Here, the movie The Last Witch has its roots on real incidents related to witches in the past too – on one of those incidents involving allegations of witchcraft, witch trials and execution.

One particular witch trial and execution :: Here we have our attention towards the Terrassa witch trials which had taken place in Terrassa, a city in the east central region of Catalonia, in the province of Barcelona in Spain between the years 1615 and 1619. During those days, a terrible weather and crumbling economy of the time was credited to the evil plans of witches, and their worship of their masters in hell. This had lead to a lot of rumours during those times, which finally meant that there would be panic, bringing the need for a witch commision to have the suspects arrested, lest people would take law into their hands. A number of suspects who were arrested, agreed to have been part of Witches’ Sabbath, a meeting of those who practiced witchcraft and other similar things. On the date 27th October 1619, Margarida Tafanera, Eulalia Totxa, Joana Sabina, Guillermo Miramunda Font and Miquela Esclopera Casanovas were executed.

So, what is this particular movie about? :: There were those five women who were hanged during the Terrassa witch trials in Spain, and then there is Joana Toy (Clara Gayo), who had escaped death after being brutally tortured by the authorities for many days, as the torture devices like Heretic’s Fork, Iron Maiden, Judas Cradle, Breaking Wheel and Wooden Horse were part of many such incidents. There is no clue about how she escaped, and where she had disappeared after the incident, as it remains a mystery to be solved by a newer generation. Three friends are all set to discover the truth behind all these, and finding Joana’s whereabouts is the key. These three young friends, Sandra (Paula Pier), Eduardo (Jorge Gallardo) and Mario (Alfonso Romeo) are all set for the same, with a desire to become famous video bloggers after finding something which has been hidden for so long. One of Sandra’s grandparents turns out to be part of that commision which found out if the women were really witches or not, and sending them to their newfound fate of brutal torture and death. He had once told her that the escaped witch lived just outside the city and that her house is still there.

And what is to follow in this particular adventure? :: They feel that she could have come back to her home some time later and might have settled down there, followed by her bloodline – the place has been a farmhouse for a long time, as Sandra figures out from her grandfather’s words. This leads to more of curiosity, and they will find more than just a few homeless men and empty spaces as they usually do. It is no more about getting it viral on Youtube and finding maximum viewers – the mystery is darker than what they thought it would be, and too much for them to handle. There is nothing funny about it anymore. They end up seeing a symbol associated with an ancient organization, which Professor Robert (Fernando Tato) identifies as related to be a Satanic organization of the early seventeenth century that has a history of worshipping a witch rather than the devil. But it is only the beginning of what they are going to find in that abandoned farmhouse. Were they even close to being prepared for this?

The defence and negatives of The Last Witch :: Coming from Carlos Almon Munoz, the only Spanish winner of the Horror Society Awards for Best Short film of the year 2014 for his short-film “Face Your Fears”, as his first movie, this one is surely well-crafted within its genre. We know that Spain has a rich history of coming up with nice found footage films including the REC series. As a fictional account is made about what might have happened to Joanna Toy, this one gets the tale going in the right direction. This is not one of those movies which can score big with what comes out of its budget, as The Last Witch is very much simple and without wonders there. But you will surely want to have more scares, and the need to get into action earlier. But after it gets into the action, there are enough of scares to keep things moving towards that end. With the found-footage stuff, maybe the movie makers here also can make some good work in the category, which has never really been here, gaining some inspiration from this one. We have a good story here, without doubt.

The newfound love for the subgenre :: Where I come from, there are not many fans for the found-footage horror, and I am myself not a big fan of the same. But still, I was able to find interest in this one. Even I have watched only two, Pan’s Labyrinth and The Skin I Live In, liking them both – it is only safe to say that I loved both of those movies, with my admiration for Guillermo del Toro beginning there. I was very close to watching REC, but I did watch its English remake Quarantine and liked it, which was one of those moments when I started feeling that I had to look into this particular subgenre of horror. When a found-footage horror movie is related to something which really happened, like the Terrassa witch trials, there is a certain extra strength regarding the same, no matter how much fictionalized the story ends up to be. I would consider this to be my beginning to watch more of found-footage horror.

How it finishes :: It is said that Spain actually had only a few witch trials compared to other nations and states in Europe, and just a few years after Terrassa witch trials, the practice disappeared completely. It is on one of these later, and one among the last trials, that this movie is focused on. Many European records show cases of people being accused of taking part in Witches’ Sabbath, and a good number of them tried and some executed. The Last Witch nicely uses one of those background tales to create and bring an interesting story to light. There might be many other high budget movies with witches, including The Last Witch Hunter, and there are those which are divergent in character like The Witch and The Autopsy of Jane Doe, along with those on full entertainment mode, like Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Seventh Son and Dark Shadows. However, you can see here that The Last Witch also brings an identity of its own without going into that possible void, and manages to be a horror movie which uses what it got, to good advantage, with fine performances.

Release date: 1st January 2016
Running time: 94 minutes
Directed by: Carlos Almon Munoz
Starring: Fernando Tato, Pepe Penabade, Alfonso Romeo, Paula Pier, Clara Gayo, Jose Zumalave, Jose Antonio Almon, Jorge Gallardo