A Film A Day: Fantasy

Labyrinth (1986)

While searching the web for a musical that wasn't too long --which is basically an impossible task since most musicals last more than two hours-- I stumbled upon Labyrinth. I had never heard of it before but I did see pictures of David Bowie from this movie which is why I ended up watching it.

The story follows Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a teenager with a very vivid imagination. When her father (Christopher Malcolm) and stepmother (Shelley Thompson) go out and leave her to babysit her stepbrother, Toby (Toby Froud), she is so annoyed with his continuous crying that she wishes the goblins would take him away. Which they do and Sarah must solve the Goblin King's (David Bowie) labyrinth before midnight or else Toby will become a goblin.

Genre

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Country

USA | Canada

Cast

Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam, Jim Beaver, Burn Gorman, Leslie Hope, Sofia Wells, Doug Jones, Javier Botet

Storyline

When her heart is stolen by mysterious Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay: a place filled with secrets that will haunt her forever.

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Guillermo del Toro, but there's something very captivating in his films, and I expected this one to be spectacular. Unfortunately, although I wasn't completely disappointed, the film didn't meet my expectations.

A visually breathtaking psychological horror, Crimson Peak is the disappointing result of choosing style over substance.

The script - I kind of feel ashamed to call it that - is the worst part of the film. I can't believe Guillermo del Toro has been able to write such a thing.

The story starts off pleasantly, and makes you wonder what the ghosts are up to, but then it becomes extremely predictable, and doesn't bring anything new to the table. As they make their first appearance, the cruel intentions of the mysterious brothers are more than obvious, so is the incest, and Lucille being the one killing Edith's father. Whether or not you have seen Rosemary's Baby, the poisoned tea is easy to guess since the narrative keeps on insisting on the beverage so many times it's impossible to keep track.

So, if the purpose of cinema is to amaze and surprise the audience, this is a real failure from del Toro, and there is an abyss that separates Crimson Peak to Pan's Labyrinth.

As mentioned before, the visuals are stunning. The sets are spectacular, the costumes are gorgeous and detailed, the ghosts are monstrously beautiful - I was expecting a major involvement in the story, though -, and the result is a delightfully creepy atmosphere.

The acting is also superb. Both Mia Wasikowska and Tom Hiddleston give good performances, and they do have a great chemistry, but Jessica Chastain is the one that steals the show, delivering a wonderful performance that has Oscar material written all over as cold-hearted, and manipulative Lucille.

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Cast

Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright, Richard Jenkins, Keith Jochim, BEcca Lish, Carel Struycken

Storyline

On a Thursday night, three female friends, Alex (Cher), Jane (Susan Sarandon), and Sukie (Michelle Pfeiffer), conjure up a mystery man, who could satisfy all their desires. Arriving in town the following day is Satan, disguised as mysterious stranger Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson). One by one, Van Horne seduces each of the women, and then strange things begin to happen.

Opinion

Happy Halloween! This year I've decided to go with something a bit different, and instead of watching the same horrors over and over again, I've picked this dark comedy, which is the perfect alternative for a Halloween night at home.

Despite everything, The Witches of Eastwick is a bizarre, funny and enjoyable fantasy horror comedy.

The film doesn't offer anything new on the plate, the story is quite poor, and wastes the great potential it has, but somehow manages to be entertaining and engaging. I was definitely expecting more magic and fireworks from a film starring the devil himself, but then again the film was surprisingly good.

Despite the lack of a good story, the dialogue is surprisingly good and interesting, especially during the three games of seduction performed by Daryl Van Horne.

Four main characters are a lot to focus on, but the film gives each an equal amount of screen time, and makes each character important, without that ever going at the expense of another character. Also, the characters are solid and complements one another.

The three female leads, the beautiful and seductive witches, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer don't seem much inspired, but they are quite believable as a group of friends. Notable acting comes from the Veronica Cartwright, mesmerising as Felicia. Jack Nicholson, however, seems to be gifted with the ability to give always good performances, and over the top as usual, I bet he had lot of fun here.

Quotes

Daryl Van Horne: Men are such cocksuckers aren't they? You don't have to answer that. It's true. They're scared. Their dicks get limp when confronted by a woman of obvious power and what do they do about it? Call them witches, burn them, torture them, until every woman is afraid. Afraid of herself... afraid of men... and all for what? Fear of losing their hard-on.