Set as prequel to the awful 2014 movie, Origin Of Evil is another in the growing number of possession tales which seem to be littering the horror genre. This is not a bad thing if done well but, as we seen to our detriment in the original film, if done poorly it all ends up as a mess of jump scares and generally bad acting. Where does this one sit? Probably somewhere in the middle but let me break it down.

Set in 1967 we meet the struggling Zander family who are still coping with the loss of their patriarch and with financial issues growing ever more desperate the mother, Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) decides to enhance the spiritualist con they have set up by adding a Ouija board to the proceedings. However unbeknownst to her this prop has a far bigger impact on the scam than expected as youngest daughter Doris (Lulu Wilson) immediately seems to have a connection with the board and can communicate with the spirits with ease and leads to an increase in business as word spreads about how ‘real’ their sessions are. When Doris claims that she can speak with her dead father Alice is wholly behind the girls claims as she can seemingly answer personal questions correctly. Eldest daughter Paulina (Annalise Basso) is not so sure as she sees a dramatic change in her sister that her mother is blind to. Once she approaches a priest, Tom Hogan (Henry Thomas) for help it becomes apparent that there a lot more going on that initially realised. As the battle to save Doris escalates so does the danger to the family and anyone else who threatens to get in the way of the malevolent spirit.

Although this is essentially a subtle advertisement for the Hasbro owned Ouija board it is not a terrible movie with director Mike Flanagan, who also brought us the underrated Hush earlier this year, doing a good job of keeping the intrigue levels high. The retro feel of the movie is captured excellently and for a tale which has been done so many times before there is enough originality and surprise to keep you on your toes. The set up and purpose for the actions of those involved feel genuine and the clever use of the innocence of the daughter being juxtaposed with her transformation as the evil takes over is a nice touch, even if it is a little akin to what happened to Regan in The Exorcist. There are no loud bursts of music accompanying the jump scares which was refreshing and made them much more effective as there was a sinister feel to them given the subtler approach and there are some very clever dialogue scenes.

Lulu Wilson does a great job as the possessed girl, her facial expressions spoke volumes and her smile was both beaming and sarcastic at the same time. There was also a superb scene with Paulinas’ boyfriend Mikey (Parker Mack) which will give you the shivers in how such a calm speech can have so much threatening context. The rest of the cast played their parts well, even if they were playing second fiddle to Doris, but the performances were strong enough that you still feel interested in the characters by the time things begin to take a turn for the worse. The exception would be Henry Thomas as Tom Hogan. It’s not the actors fault, as his whole plot line felt tacked on and the relationship between him and Alice just did not play out well. Although he has a great scene towards the end the use of a priest character just didn’t sit well with me alongside the rest of the movies content.

The movie itself is not without its issues either. It’s a very slow build up with an excellent middle piece let down by a weak ending so you need to stay with the movie as it builds up the tension and back story before the best parts of the film kick in and that may put some people off. The ending is probably the most disappointing of all as it felt cheap in comparison to the rest of the film and became very clichéd in contrast to some of the more surprising turns the movie took earlier on. Also, having seen the first film I knew where they were going as soon as it took the first step along that path and that ruined the last third of the film for me.

Overall it’s a better than average attempt to kick start life into, what I can only assume will be a series of films around this tale and it has managed to keep an air of respectability to this years resurgence of sorts in the horror genre but its more creepy that scary and is saved by the performance of young actress who, if this performance is anything to go by, could have a big future.

DJ Speaks Movies Rating: 6 Out Of 10

©Darren Jones 2016

Amy Adams is Louise Banks, an expert linguist, who is recruited by the army, and in particular Colonel Weber (Forest Whittaker) to try and decipher what is believed to be a communication attempt by the unknown beings who have landed at 12 separate points across the globe for a yet to be determined purpose. She is teamed with physician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) so between them they must decipher what the aliens are trying to say before time runs out, as tension rises across the planet since the world remains unsure if the visitors are friend or foe.

The acting is spot on all round, particularly from Adams, and the chemistry between herself and Renner is a key selling point of the film as this is a character piece rather than an action movie. There are no right or wrong actions as the situation is unique, there are no good or bad guys, it’s the tale of how humanity deals with the quandary it faces with individuals acting in what they see to be the best way. The gradual heightening threat of conflict is done in a way which is reminiscent of the best of the Cold War or Cuban Missile Crisis themed movies.

With some great use of camera angles and spectacular visuals the cinematography is of the highest standards. The superb score from Jóhann Jóhannsson adds to the suspense and drama on queue, as required. For the most part the plot is very plausible which gives the whole movie an air of believably often missing in science fiction movies and this only heightens the intrigue.

First contact movies have a strange way of dividing the viewing public with even the great Stephen Spielberg’s Close Encounters still swaying opinion today. There may just be another to add to the list here as director Denis Villeneuve has developed a very cleverly layered story which asks the viewer to immerse themselves in the building drama and brings a number of unexpected twists before reaching its conclusion.

While the slow burning plot may be a little dull for some the pay off is well worth the investment if you are engaged in the film however, if you switch off halfway through or if science fiction is not your thing then you may just find the unravelling climax a bit too much to swallow. I can highly recommend checking this movie out though as, in my opinion, it is one of the best films of the year.

DJ Speaks Rating: 8 Out Of 10

 © Darren Jones 2016

Mel Gibson is John Link, a washed up ex-con and recovering alcoholic who grinds out a meagre existence as a tattoo artist living in a trailer across from his sponsor Kirby (William H.Macy). Link is a hardened but broken man who still keeps the missing poster of his daughter Lydia (Erin Moriarty) in his trailer and has her face tattooed on his body.

When he receives a call out of the blue from Lydia who has put herself in the line of fire of some drug barons he grasps at this chink of light in his otherwise bleak life and when he sees echoes of himself plus traits of similar error making in the person his daughter has become have finds purpose in ensuring that she does not follow his chosen path. After an encounter with some henchmen and an assassin they need to go on the run which begins a very dangerous road trip which becomes a bonding session or sorts until his daughter is kidnapped and Link becomes a one man avenging angel who will stop at nothing to save his daughter and find some redemption for his past errors.

With Peter Craig, who wrote the book working on the screenplay and as a co-producer it was always going to be a reasonably faithful adaptation and director Jean Francois Richer, who brought us the entertaining remake of Assault on Precinct 13 and the classic French film Mesrine, has managed to create a low budget, Grindhouse feel to the film without making it look cheap in terms of the  stunts or effects so the simplicity in tone suits the premise of the film. Gibson isn’t some super hero with a huge arsenal of guns hidden away, he’s a man with nothing to lose who is given a final chance to make a difference and atone for his errors in life and must rely on his street smarts and some favours from old criminal contacts to survive.

While the story line may feel familiar, and it is, with many echoes of Taken in particular, it also felt like a confessional for Gibson, echoing his apologies for his off screen antics with a performance full of guilt and regret yet searching for redemption. Grizzled, haggard yet looking bulked up, his performance has some great moments of classic Gibson performances. He is this movie, everything else is secondary and when he is not on screen the film slips back into mediocrity but to see him threaten somebody and look like he means it, then switch to a man full of compassion when dealing with his daughter is an art and it felt like the actor we all knew is still there, which was great to see.

The movie does suffer from the fact that, Gibson aside, the characters in the movie weren’t given much to shine with. Even Moriarty who has the biggest character arc plays second fiddle and when the movie is not focused on Gibson it suffers a lot of drag and even luminaries of the screen like Macy and Parks can’t help liven it up despite their best efforts.

If you want to see a, been there, seen it and have worn the t-shirt action revenge movie then this will keep you entertained. If you want something deep and thought provoking then leave it be but I can highly recommend that you watch this movie for one reason only, the return of the Mel Gibson we love as this could so easily have been a throw away film without his charisma and presence elevating it to another level.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6 Out Of 10

©2016 Darren Jones