Film Gate Reviews: July 2021

Friday, July 16, 2021

Satisfying conclusion to the Fear Street trilogy.

Fear Street Part Three: 1666 opens right at the beginning of the curse of Sarah Fier and the evil that has infested Shadyside. All of the important characters from Fear Street 1994 and 1978 have been repurposed into their former 1666 selves, including the Deena and Sam/Sarah and Hannah romance that started all the trouble. This final instalment of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy delivers exactly what the audience wants.		2021 Directed by: Leigh Janiak Screenplay by: Phil Graziadei, Leigh Janiak, and Kate Trefry Based on the books by R.L. Stine Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman

An Indonesian copy of mediocre American rom-coms.

Far from a perfect fit, A Perfect Fit threw in random elements of a typical romantic comedy whether or not they belonged in this story, and failed to elevate it beyond a mediocre rom-com. I was hoping an Indonesian-produced and shot film wouldn’t look so Americanized. The cultural aspects were minimized, broadening the appeal but lessening the uniqueness.		2021 Directed by: Hadrah Daeng Ratu Screenplay by: Garin Nugroho Starring: Nadya Arina, Refal Hady

A compelling lead character with a weird, slow-moving story.

The Green Sea has created a unique world. The setting is the Irish countryside, away from a small town, Simone lives independently and solemnly. Simone is the central character but the tone and direction of the film is very hard to pin down. Traces of a psychological drama or thriller are most prominent, but then comes a science fiction emphasis, and interest in the story starts to fade when things start making less sense.		2021 Directed by: Randal Plunkett Screenplay by: Randal Plunkett Starring: Katharine Isabelle, Hazel Doupe

More atmosphere, less mystery.

Have you seen Fear Street Part One: 1994 yet? That’s your first stop. Part Two opens shortly after we left Deena, Sam and Josh. Possessed Sam is locked up in the trunk of Deena’s car as Deena and Josh go to meet Christine Berman (Gillian Jacobs) and get the story of how she survived the Shadyside massacre of 1978. It’s summer camp at Nightwing and teenagers are up to teenage stuff.		2021 Directed by: Leigh Janiak Screenplay by: Zak Olkewicz, Leigh Janiak Starring: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ted Sutherland and Gillian Jacobs

Meaningless, generic, but oh so beautiful.

I really hate it when romantic comedies can’t do any better than a meaningless generic title. Like what significance does This Little Love of Mine have? None. It is as meaningless and generic as you can possibly get, and they didn’t try that much harder for the actual movie itself. It is literally ‘big city lawyer goes back to hometown and falls for childhood friend’.		2021 Directed by: Christine Luby Screenplay by: George Harrison Starring: Saskia Hampele, Liam McIntyre

Selling nostalgia and slasher gore in an R.L. Stine mystery.

Based on the Fear Street novels by R.L. Stine, Netflix’s release of Fear Street Part One: 1994 knows its target audience. We’re Gen X, 90s teens who grew up with R.L. Stine, came of age with Scream and slasher horror, and now we’re 38-45. And Netflix is selling us nostalgia with a three-week movie event. This is nostalgia – opens in 1994 at a bookstore in the Shadyside mall, follows that up with killer set-ups straight out of the Scream series, and sprinkled with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Sophie Hawkins, Radiohead and Soundgarden.		2021 Directed by: Leigh Janiak Screenplay by: Kyle Killen, Phil Graziadei Based on the books by R.L. Stine Starring: Kiana Madeira, Fred Hechinger, and Olivia Scott Welch