Review: The Ritual

Netflix has been spending millions on original content for a while now, eager to become an entertainment destination unto themselves and not just a place for binge-watching old sitcoms. There have been massive successes (Stranger Things), and some obvious failures (anything Adam Sandler gave them). But when they pick up a low-budget horror flick from a newbie director featuring no big stars and a story steeped in Norse mythology, it's reasonable to assume it's a movie one should skip. This is one of those situations where it feels so good to be wrong. Let's get lost in The Ritual.

This tagline was changed before release, following the tragic shooting in the city of Las Vegas.

The story centers on Luke (Rafe Spall), an emotionally disabled man who's reeling with guilt from an incident 6 months prior. While his friend Rob met his death in a liquor store at the hands of a minor perp, Luke cowered behind a shelving unit, clutching a bottle of vodka like a security blanket. As a tribute to their fallen friend, Luke and the rest of the gang -Phil, Hutch, and Dom- are hiking through the wilds of Scandinavia, something Rob had always wanted to do. No one is talking about what Luke did (or rather, didn't do) in the liquor store when Rob was killed, but it's on their minds.

When Dom experiences an injury that drastically slows him and the group down, it's suggested they cut the trip in half by traveling as the crow flies and taking a shortcut directly through the forest. What begins as an adventure in brotherly hiking quickly turns into a creepfest, as the men encounter pagan cabins, stunningly realistic nightmares, and a predator unlike anything they've ever seen in front of or behind their eyes. And all the while, old regrets keep bubbling to the surface, like bad booze...

The Ritual is one of those films that will either delight or exhaust you depending on how many horror films you've seen. What I mean to say is, it's not a particularly original plot, and the individual story beats will be pretty recognizable too. There's echoes of The Blair Witch Project, The Descent, The Hills Have Eyes, even Jaws. But the movie does everything so well, and so confidently, I just didn't care. Director David Bruckner does a wonderful job with his first feature-length, knowing just how long to hold the camera, when to let the actors do the heavy lifting, when to show the monster in full.

Oh yes, there is a monster. If you have better than average knowledge of Norse mythology, you may be able to see where the story is going by the halfway point, but that doesn't spoil the incredible reveal. The general consensus online is that The Ritual's big bad boasts the best creature design in years if not decades, and I have to agree. A truly original beastie, with a clever mix of practical and CGI effects, you'll be hard-pressed to get it out of your mind. I'm not going to share it here, you have to see it for yourself.

Your mileage on the human antagonists may vary, as they definitely repeat a lot of what's come before, with less verve and imagination than the woods and the creature. Still, the discovery Luke makes in the attic is a highlight of the film. The best thing about the script is how smartly it deployed comedy. The Ritual is not a funny movie and isn't meant to be, but that just makes the two or three humorous moments land that much harder. One unexpected act of violence near the finale made me do an actual spit-take. Everyone in the cast does a fine job, straddling the line between unlikable and sympathetic with aplomb. Probably best known to Yanks as one of the 2 Andys from Hot Fuzz, Spall does a fantastic job as a leading man, and a dramatic one no less. 

Like all good movies, it's about something more, and something deeper, than just the surface narrative of a group of men getting lost in the woods and dying. The Ritual digs into things that guys have trouble articulating, even when they want to: guilt, regret, what they need to do to achieve or even feel redemption, forgiveness. Bruckner mentioned in an interview that men have much more difficulty than women not just making new friends as they get older, but maintaining the relationships they have. No one is sure EXACTLY why that is, but the specter of hurt is there on the actors' faces, and it's a large part of the story. It's not lost on me that I'm not much younger than the characters as I write this, and have dealt with this problem. A sobering tale once you dig into the themes.

All said and done, The Ritual is the first A on horror's report card for 2018, and if you're a fan of The Wicker Man crossed with the worst road trip imaginable and just a pinch of Lovecraft, you'll dig it.

The Ritual is streaming exclusively on Netflix.

Review: High Strung (and some info about the future of the Haunted Drive-in)

Now this is unusual, isn't it? I said I'd be back next month, and here I am! I'm sure anyone who's followed this blog for longer than a few days expected me to write my next post sometime in October 2018. I can't say I blame you, I've never been one for consistent updates.

The Pumpkin Song Must Be Preserved

As Mischief Night draws to a close and Halloween 2017 gears up, I find myself doing what I always do this time of year: scrambling to finish my annual watchlist before midnight tomorrow.

"Hurry up, hurry up! We've got 32 hours of horror movies to watch and only 27 hours to do it!"

Review: The WNUF Halloween Special

I've mentioned before how Halloween, more than any other major holiday (JUST beating out Christmas), seems to practically run on nostalgia. So much of what we love about October 31st is wrapped up in the experiences we've already had, the candy we received last year or the haunted house we walked through a decade ago. And of course, the cheesy TV specials that have became a ritual of required viewing every season, cartoons and grisly horror and quaint old commercials for shampoo and fast food and department stores that no longer exist. Turns out, the people behind tonight's movie also recognize the power of memories. Let's dive into the WNUF Halloween Special.

My First Halloween Mood Table!

Although a fairly recent tradition at 10 years old, Halloween Mood Tables have captured the imagination of monster kids everywhere. Created by Madd Matt back in 2007, the concept is simple: designate a spot in your home and make it Halloween Headquarters. It can be an end table, a dining room table, a coffee table, or even a folding chair. Some people have utilized setups as primitive as a two-by-four over cinder blocks. Whatever the base, it just needs to be a spot that makes you happy and screams "HALLOWEEN" to all who see it. Basically, it's a Christmas tree for October 31st.

There's no right or wrong way to put one of these together. Every Halloween Mood Table is personal and made for and by its owner. Mine includes Ghostbusters Funko Pops, LEGO minifigures, and activity books from when I was a kid. Others might have a place for candy, a pumpkin, or more elaborate dioramas illustrating horror movie scenes. Madd Matt has offered some basic tips, if you're interested in crafting one yourself: Illumination is effective, choose things that matter to you and say "this is Halloween" and of course, enjoy yourself. You can theme it, or let it be a (monster) mash of different things. Go wild and get creative!

While always an avid celebrator of Halloween, I had never done an HMT. Over the last few years, it's really taken off, with hundreds of people putting together their own ghastly shrines. Even a couple celebrities have gotten in on the creepy fun. So, what with this being the 10th year since its inception and having a nice large dining table I never use, now seemed like the perfect time to join in.

Here's a look at my Halloween Mood Table for this year. Some of the best bits: 

1. The one-eyed skeleton candle holder with the color-changing eye.

2. The Pennywhistle Halloween Book. The bible of Halloween celebrations and required reading every year.

3. LEGO trick-or-treaters with their own pumpkin pails.

Here's another peek at it in this quick video (warning and apologies, the quality is non-existent. My computer lied to me):

Again, all credit goes to Madd Matt for his brilliant idea and for sharing it with the world. Find more great stuff at his website by clicking here. and from there, you can find his excellent Youtube and Facebook pages too! In the meantime, if you've got a Halloween Mood Table, we wanna see it! Post pics in the comments or tweet them at us!

We're building up to Halloween! (Literally.)

It's the second day of Halloween (only boring people call it October). I'm sure you're all lining up trips to the pumpkin patch, the drive-in theater, or maybe some Monster mini-golfing. Perhaps you're staying in with hot cider and pumpkin spice donuts. Whatever you're doing, just make sure it's fun, autumnal, and a wee bit spooky.

Today, my brother and I got into the spirit by collaborating on one of my favorite things: LEGO! After deciding on a movie to watch (My Name Is Bruce, if you cared to know), we got to work putting together the Scooby-Doo Mystery Mansion set. It was a fun build, with lots of bats, pumpkins, traps, and hidden treasure. And of course, some creepy old guys in spooky masks trying to stop the meddling kids.

Have a look at our process through the magic of time lapse photography, and if you like what you see here, be sure to like the video and subscribe to the Drive-in's Youtube channel! This is our first legitimate video with original content, and we hope to bring you more soon!

We Just Won't Stay Dead!

Is it time for my annual post already?

Sheesh, good thing that I don't have deadlines around here, or there'd be real trouble. Though I suppose a place like the Haunted Drive-in always has some dead lines. HA! Any way, it's good to be back. I can't say how long it'll last, but I've learned to just appreciate the moments as they come.

To the three of you who are still subscribed to this blog despite it being updated at a glacial place, blessings on your shrunken heads. Here's hoping you still appreciate my awful puns and outdated references. Of course, we celebrate the scary, the cheesy, and the monstrously silly here, so I think you knew what you were getting into when I started writing years ago.

If you're expecting a post with some substance after all my time away, well, it won't be tonight. I'm still got a lot of spinning plates in the air, metaphorically speaking, so the good stuff will be coming down the pike later on. Soon though, I promise! Instead, let me turn your attention to what's been happening on the Drive-in's fringes.

Not THOSE fringes.

Review: Ghostbusters (2016)

Yates, Holtzman, Gilbert, and Tolan.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first: nothing was going to live up to people's expectations set by the first Ghostbusters film. That movie was magic, the kind of lightning in a bottle that happens maybe once a decade. The 1989 sequel couldn't recapture it, the director never recaptured it with his similar film Evolution, and despite having the original writers, every member of the cast save Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver, and a truly wonderful plot involving Stay-puft, Slimer, a terrifying spider-woman prostitute, and even a hidden island full of dead cultists, the 2009 video game didn't get it exactly right either. Ghostbusters 1984 is one of those high-concept gifts that no sequel, remake, reboot, or spin-off could ever hope to eclipse.

Thankfully, Paul Feig and the women he directed in Ghostbusters 2016 know that. Rather than slavishly recreate the original story, or go wildly off-book to the point that it doesn't recall a shred of what it's supposed to be inspired by, the new film artfully balances between the two options. All of the folks online who ranted and raved at their computer screens are thankfully given very little ammo by the movie itself. It won't win them over -right or wrong, they made up their minds long ago- but for genuine fans who love the GB franchise as well as the average moviegoer, this one's a lot of fun.

The basics: Dr. Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy) and Dr. Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) are old friends who had a falling out years ago over a book they co-wrote about the plausibility of ghosts. When Gilbert goes to see to it that the book is taken down from Amazon and Google searches so as not to ruin her shot at getting tenure, she is roped into accompanying Yates and oddball engineer Gillian Holtzman (Kate McKinnon) on a trip to a local historic mansion where a ghost sighting was recently reported. One slimy encounter later, the three women decide to go into business hunting and trapping every full-bodied repeating phantasm they can find. After her own disturbing experience in a subway tunnel, MTA employee Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) joins the team, offering her knowledge of the city as well as her uncle's car. It's not long before the ghostbusters find that someone is actually trying to summon ghosts by building and planting electrical devices that enhance paranormal activity. It all leads to some violent possessions, nuclear explosions, and cartoon characters from hell.

Welcome to the Spook Factor!

Greetings and welcome to the very first episode of my brand new show! What is it about? Well, I’ll let the video speak for itself…

I’m really excited to be starting this new video reviewing endeavor! Please leave a comment with any thoughts or suggestions.

I’m not sure if I’m going to keep the “creepy tone” that I use in the video. Might cheer myself up a bit for the first REAL episode. On that note!

I will try my absolute hardest to have at least 1 new video up a month! My hope is to have more than one up a month. However, knowing how life gets in the way, I will only be promising up to 1 video per month. As such, expect the first official episode to come up before the month of November is up! When exactly? Don’t know yet. But soon!

Thanks for watching and I’ll see you around the campfire!

A Sign of Things to Come

Hey guys! Daffy here.

I'm making this rather short post to let you know that things are in the works. What things? Well, here's a teaser for a little upcoming project I'm going to be starting soon...

How Do You Boo?

One of the great things about the horror genre is just how flexible it is. There's an implication that things will be scary, sure, but you can also go creepy, silly, funny, serious, depressing, and several other ways, and it can all be considered horror or a subgenre of horror. This stuff appeals to so many people because there's so many different takes on the same material.

I don't know about you, but my tastes are pretty eclectic. I can enjoy everything from melancholy ghost stories to family-friendly monster movies to R-rated zombie comedies. When October rolls around however, I tend to focus on one aspect of the Halloween season: the cornball.

Enter If You Da... Um, No One's In Line

I'm not old enough to remember when movie houses and drive-in theaters hosted live spook shows, but the ephemera of the era is fascinating. Tattered posters, cheesy trailers, and cheap giveaway items all paint the picture of a magical world, one where maybe, just maybe, a monster really could escape the screen and capture a girl from the audience.

This Is A Pretty Spooky Thing We're Doing Here

I hope all you boils and ghouls enjoyed the sheer number of posts I made this year. Man, 2015 was one wild and crazy ride, wasn't it? The things we saw, the shocks we received, the laughs we've had...

Yeah, sure. Uh HUH.

364!

Another Halloween, come and gone. We always spend weeks and months preparing ourselves for it, and then it's over in a flash, like most good things.

Is it Halloween yet?

Good... Bad... I'm The Guy With The Crowbar

Recently, there's been a huge surge in popularity for specialized gift boxes. Some of them are monthly subscriptions, like Horror Block, and others are one-time gift ideas that can be personalized to suit the recipient's interests. One such organization is the group known as Man Crates Gifts for Men. As the name suggests, they craft unique loot collections that cater to men, with choices for retro gamers, new dads, poker players, and more. The best part is that it all arrives in a large wooden crate that you have to pry open with a crowbar. And the crowbar is included!

All very well and good, you may say, but what does this have to do with Halloween? So glad you asked, metaphorical reader. The fine folks at Man Crates Gifts for Men contacted us here at the Drive-in wanting to know what we'd include in a kit for the poor soul who's trapped in a horror movie and aware of that fact. Which items would prove the most useful in a nightmare scenario? What do you need to survive the terrors headed your way? And does beef jerky ever expire?

No One Is Eating My Brother!

I've loved Halloween since my diaper days, and it's a safe bet that most of us remember the thrill of buying/making our obviously awesome costumes, going door to door trick-or-treating, eating our body weight in candy, and getting just a little freaked out by the decorations that people put up all over the neighborhood. (To those of you whose family didn't celebrate Halloween: I am so, SO sorry.)

Unfortunately, as the years go by costumes tend to give way to fashion, candy is replaced by booze, and trick-or-treating is no longer a viable option for us anymore. Now personally, I will dress up and eat candy until I'm dead, but there are a few parts of the Halloween experience that have to be heaped onto the nostalgia pile. Thankfully, the game developer Double Fine has come up with a great way for us to relive them: Costume Quest.

Review: The Tale of the Dangerous Soup

What are you afraid of most in this world?  Bugs?  Heights?  Perhaps you're afraid of being alone.  Perhaps you're afraid that nobody likes you.  Perhaps you're just afraid of that one constant in everyone's lives:  Death.  Tonight's terrifying tale is all about fear.  Specifically, it's about what happens when someone is trying to exploit those fears.  Submitted for the approval of our Drive-In patrons, I give you the Tale of the Dangerous Soup.  

I Have A Question for You This October

October is just around the corner.  A busy time of year for the Drive-In.  There's the Countdown to Halloween, of course, for which Rabbi no doubt has plenty of ghoulish delights up his sleeves.  As for myself, I struggled for a while with something to do to celebrate my favorite time of the year.  I want to do a marathon of a supremely spooky series, but which one?  Well, Tales from the Crypt is a bit gore-y for my tastes.  The Twilight Zone has been analyzed to death.  I'm craving something... old, but not too old.  Something that really scratches that nostalgic itch I've been feeling.  Something to fit this frightful holiday.  Finally, I thought of the perfect show.  Which leads me to my question...

Review: Best Worst Movie

Every human being on earth has unique motivations and goals, but it's safe to say that no one grows up wanting to be a failure. Any project we take on, we generally have a desire to succeed and be recognized for our achievement. No one TRIES to create something terrible. So when something terrible is created, the question is always asked: why? Why did this happen? Whose fault is it? And perhaps most importantly, was it all a waste of time?

Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes... Countdown to Halloween 2014

It's getting so close, everyone. Starbucks has rolled out the pumpkin spice lattes, cable channels have been running more horror movies than usual, and the air is turning just the tiniest bit chillier... Halloween is coming!