Director: Matthew Holness

Writer: Matthew Holness (Screenplay)

Starring: Sean Harris, Alun Armstrong, Simon Bubb, Andy Blithe, Pamela Cook, Charlie Eales

Plot: After returning to his childhood home, a disgraced children’s puppeteer is forced to confront his wicked stepfather and the secrets that have tortured his entire life.

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Unsettling Throughout

Story: Possum starts when a puppeteer Philip (Harris) returns home after his latest performance has left him disgraced, his step-father Maurice (Armstrong) had been waiting for him to fail and now Philip wants to figure out of to destroy his puppet which does seem to have a mind of its own.

As Philip continues to look to get rid of his terrifying puppet it just keeps return and add in a new missing schoolboy report, Philip is let wondering if the puppet had something to do with this evil or not.

Thoughts on Possum

Characters – Philip is a puppeteer with one of the creepiest puppets you have ever seen, he is returning home to escape after his latest show went terribly wrong and it isn’t long before the strange events continue to plague him. He becomes a suspect in a missing persons case and the puppet he is trying to get rid of, keeps returning for him. Maurice is his stepfather that always pushes him too far, he always seems to be judging Philip. We only truly get to meet two characters with the puppet having a life of its own.

Performances – Sean Harris is genuinely creepy through this film giving a performance that is bound to get him placed in any horror film he wants for years to come. Alun Armstrong does well in the supporting role which does work very well in the film.

Story – The story follows the puppeteer that is haunted by his own puppet while is clearly a metaphor for something else going on in his life. This is a strange film to say the least, it does deal with real issues that can be disguised and will keep you feeling uneasy throughout. We could spend time studying certain issues in this film, but that goes into full spoilers.

Horror – The horror comes from the uneasy feeling we are getting through the film, with just what could be going on, the appearances of the puppet itself, which does look genuinely creepy.

Settings – The settings for this feel only add to the atmosphere involved in the film, each place feels like something terrible could happen.

Special Effects – The effects in the film come from the puppet creation and slow movements that it gives us through the film.

Scene of the Movie – Puppet first appearance.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is slow in places.

Final Thoughts – This is a movie that does leave you feeling unsettled by what we see with a puppet that just feels difficult to look at.

Overall: Creepy horror.

Rating

Director: Wes Craven

Writer: Kevin Williamson (Screenplay)

Starring: Neve Campbell, David Aqurette, Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Marley Shelton, Erik Knudsen, Rory Culkin

Plot: Ten years have passed, and Sidney Prescott, who has put herself back together thanks in part to her writing, is visited by the Ghostface Killer.

Tagline – New decade. New rules.

Runtime: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Simple but Unnecessary Sequel

Story: Scream 4 starts with the release of Stab 7 which gets to poke fun at the idea that franchises have gone on too long before with multiply false starts before the latest victims who believe they know how to survive a horror.

We get to see that Sidney (Campbell) return to Woodsbury to promote her book on the ten-year anniversary of the events of the last film. Gale (Cox) is now married to Dewey (Arquette) who is now the sheriff.

Sidney’s cousin Jill (Roberts) and friends Kirby (Panettiere), Olivia (Jaffe), Robbie (Knudsen), Trevor (Tortorella) and Charlie (Culkin) all believe they are living in the past events in the town. With the cast in place, the rules of the reboot are put in place as a new killer starts to stalk the neighbourhood once again.

Thoughts on Scream 4

Characters – Sidney has made a career in books after the events in the films, she is completing her latest book tour right where it all started. With her back in town the killings start up again, Sidney must be the role model for her cousin who is going through the same situation she once did. Gale is now married to Dewey, she has given up the spotlight, but craves getting back into the field with the new killings offering her the chance. Dewey is now the sheriff who must now control the situation before it gets out of hand. We get the new potential victims or suspects here with Jill being Sidney’s cousin always tired of being in the shadow of her more famous family member, Kirby the rebellious teenager, Robbie who is filming every moment of his life for a reality YouTube network and Charlie is the leader of the film club. These characters do fit around the moulds of the original teens too.

Performances – Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette all return giving us good performances without needing to bring anything new to the performances. Of the new cast members nobody comes off in a shining performance which can disappoint in places as we have a wonderful set of talents in the film.

Story – The story here brings back our original characters just as a new killing spree has started in the area where it all started, with a new generation of victims and horror fans. The idea for this story comes from the idea that we have too many sequels or reboots, which does help take away the serious nature from the film, the Ghostface does seem flat for the most part because they seem to get mixed into being too intense without a reason behind the killings. Of course this is more about poking fun with the meta of everything in the horror genre which is does achieve.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film comes from the slasher angle, only this time we get a bloodier version of the kills showing the change in the genre. The mystery in this film comes from just who the killer is going to be this time, though we don’t get enough signs this time.

Settings – The film returns to the original town which does help with the idea of a reboot sequel piss take that we are dealing with.

Special Effects – The effects are the most disappointing side of this film because we have moments of CGI that don’t look as true as the practical moments.

Scene of the Movie – Deputy Judy being like Dewey is the funniest moments.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The kids are not really likeable.

Final Thoughts – This is a solid look at the horror genre with the countless sequels and remakes that we are seeing, it brings back enough relevant characters back but does fail to give us enough interest new ones.

Overall: Simple fun sequel.

Rating