Split - M. Night Shyamalan (2017)

I approached M. Night Shyamalan's "Split" with mixed feelings. I had heard the film was the best work Shyamalan had done since his 2000 masterpiece, "Unbreakable."

But I had a problem with the film's concept. Until now, I had refused to watch the film because it looked like an excuse to exploit the mentally ill for plot twists, backstories and any other cheap tricks one could think of.

The story centers around three teenage girls (Anna Taylor-Jo, Haley Lu Richardson and Jessica Sula) who have been kidnapped by Kevin, (James McAvoy) a man with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID.) DID is better known as the term for MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder.) Kevin has twenty-three personalities and they all wait for a twenty-fourth personality known as "The Beast." We're meant to think there is something Messianic transpiring in his head.

The personality in charge at the time when he snatched the girls was violent and deliberate in the act. He was not frightened. Every movement was bold.


Then, as the man continues to interact with the girls, other personalities, kinder ones, have taken over.

As an actor, McAvoy deftly takes all alters, benign and malicious, and balances them like a pro.

And so goes the movie. They try to get help from some of Kevin's alters while trying not to get caught by some of the others. Before the story is wrapped up tight there are twists and turns we do not see coming.


All of the events thus far, all that we see of the other personalities, Kevin does out of fear for the oncoming twenty-fourth personality, known as "The Beast."

I will concede that "Split" is Shyamalan's best work since "Unbreakable."

It is a perfect psychological horror film.

Also, "Split" is the single most offensive movie I have ever seen.

Why is the concept of DID so frightening? Is it just morbid fascination? I have to admit Shyamalan has crafted an incredibly tense film wrapped around the phenomenon.

I think the idea of multiple personalities opens up a world of possible scenarios, especially to those who have no concept of what mental illness is. We don't even know who the villain is here. He or she hides in plain sight. The situation could blow up anytime because the villain is right there and can jump out at any scene.

Shyamalan uses his own presumptions of people with DID and crafts them into an accomplished film.

Not only does Shyamalan reveal himself as somebody who knows nothing about mental illness, he exploits DID and other disorders for entertainment. It  villainizes those who struggle with mental illness.

Shyamalan sees patients of this type of illness as sources of potential violence. He uses them to frighten us, just as our world is trying to get rid of the stigma of mental illness.

People with mental illness are not killers nor are they "Beasts." The name he gave the villain, Beast, identifies all people with DID or mental illness as potential monsters of whom we all should be afraid.

Kevin talks of all his personalities siting in one place together in a room with chairs. Shyamalan would have us believe that one with DID can switch from one personality to another at will. Medically and psychologically this is incorrect, as it is not particularly typical for DID patients to have that much control over their alters. Not only that, but this mindset is dangerous and irresponsible.

And not for nothing, but Shyamalan does not limit his prejudices to the mentally ill. "Split" is also unbelievably misogynistic, homophobic and most of all, trans-phobic.

And just as an aside, I don't usually address matters like this, because of my love for hardcore material, but as a father, I have to tell you that "Split" should been rated 'R.' I would never take a thirteen-year-old to see it.

And despite how clever of a thriller "Split" is, I can not, in good conscience, recommend this movie.

But I must admit, I am damn excited about the prospect of revisiting the "Unbreakable" universe in the near future.

David Dunn is an unsung hero.

Backcountry - Adam MacDonald (2015)

If you are willing to put yourself into the hands of a great storyteller, they can do wonderful and terrible things for you just with the backdrop of their story. If you rely on a mediocre storyteller, you are in for a tedious experience. So what advantages can a filmmaker take with the characters' surroundings? In the right hands, they can terrify you so deeply that you'll never, say, go into the water again ("Jaws") or never take another shower ("Psycho".)

So is Adam MacDonald up to the task? Does "Backcountry" do for the woods what "Jaws" did for the water?

Alex (Jeff Romp) has wonderful childhood memories about hiking and camping at a beautiful lake deep into the forest with his family. Now, he wants to share this place with his girlfriend, Jenn (Missy Peregyrn.)


So there's our background. We are in the woods where one can get turned around and lost or get into all sorts of trouble like meeting a threatening stranger or a bear. Our heroes deal with the fear of the uncivilized world.

First, they come across a stranger, Brad (Eric Balfour) who seems nice at first and has a campfire dinner with him: fresh fish. It's a sequence we have seen played out countless times. The stranger and our heroes laugh with each other, then the stranger turns rude, then aggressive. It's a trick used by suspense/thriller films as far back as any of use remember.

When they part ways, that specific threat is gone. Alex and Jenn only face the unknown of the wilderness.

Every time there is a small emergency, or the couple gets a fright, you expect them to turn around and go home like any of us would do. But of course, these guys are horror film protagonists and therefore, by definition, stupid. 

So they plow through the woods until they find their destination. But Alex doesn't seem to have the memory he used to. They can't find Alex' beloved lake. The're in the wrong place with no map, no cell phone, no food and no way out.

To put it simply, they're lost. At about the half-way point, the question of what is the most terrifying thing in the woods is answered: BEARS. Bears are the scariest things in the woods.

At the beginning of the "Backcountry," Alex teases Jenn about bringing bear spray with them. Turns out bear spray is no joke.

But if a bear is determined to drag you off somewhere into the woods, spray or no spray, he will most likely get his way.

It comes down to how fast can you run, how high can your crawl and how healthy is your will to live?

When "Backcountry" starts, you'll see some potential in the film.

Their interaction with Brad, the creepy stranger they came across in the first act, showed promise. That sequence was admittedly tight and menacing.

After that, all attempts at horror or suspense fall flat. We are left with a tedious exercise of a filmmaker trying in vain to build a successful suspense/thriller. But there is really no suspense here. We just sit there and to think to ourselves, "Could the bear just eat these two pricks so I can go make a sandwich?"

So skip the movie and you make that sandwich. You deserve.

I'm not sure why I took the energy to write about this, but I did, so the least you can do is skim it. Here you go.

Brimstone - Martin Koolhoven (2017) "Do you know why I'm here? I'm here to punish you."

As I watched "Brimstone," one phrase kept repeating in my head: "Jesus, the things we do to women."

I have seen this film marketed as a thriller, a mystery, a western and a drama. But make no mistake, "Brimstone" is a straight-up horror film. 

The villain in "Brimstone" is clearly identified at the start of the film. Liz (Dakota Fanning) Instantly recognizes his voice, even before we see his face. When she hears The Reverend (Guy Pearce) speak, she freezes up. All of the blood and hell vanishes from her face, leaving her an insane shade of white.

And we will discover, bit by bit, that The Reverend is just as menacing as any monster you've seen.

Normally, 'greasy' is a word that describes how something feels or looks, but The Reverend sounds greasy. You can hear the pomade gurgling through his throat.

When Liz, the midwife of the small town, is in the middle of delivering a baby, she faces a tragic choice: save either mother or the child . She can't save them both and she chooses the former. This horrifying opening sequence drains us emotionally and that is only at the twelve-minute mark.

It takes just moments until The Reverend starts to sow seeds of discord in the community he is settling into. Soon, people are calling Liz a child murderer and demanding she be burned at the stake. The Reverent has no empathy, no mercy, only wrath to bring down on Liz' head. And not even her husband can see how petrified she is.

The Reverend says he is after Liz to bring her to justice for a past murder.

Vengeance. Why does it always have to be vengeance?

She flees with her children to her father-in-law's home and the story switches over to Johanna (Emilia Jones,) a younger woman.

Johanna is a victim of circumstance. She passes out in the wilderness and is rescued by a foreign family. But this doesn't turn out to be a stroke of luck.

At the next town they encounter, just like those typical old-west places we've seen in too many movies to remember. The family stops at the first saloon/whorehouses they come across.

Before she knows it, Johanna has been sold and told that she is now officially a whore. And before she can even settle in, one of her sisters by circumstance is hanged.

As time passes, she settles into her new life, though it's clear she is not callous. She and her sisters are systematically abused and helpless to fight back.

Then, The Reverend shows up at the cat-house. Just like Liz, Johanna recognizes his voice instantly. And just like Liz, Johanna is paralyzed with fear.

Soon, we see the connection between these two and it's a shock. And we haven't even reached the halfway point yet.

The Reverend is malevolence personified. He creeps in and out of this woman's life, searching for something to cut.

There are opportunities for Johanna to escape. She falls in love with a man who tells her, "I seen your mother. She's the kind of person who turns the other cheek. Are you like her?" No, she is not. She fights and resists with every bit of her cunning and strength. 

The Reverend turns up to thwart every attempt to escape. 

What sets "Brimstone" apart from similar films is that it does not tell the story and then give us a twist at the end to shake us up. This film twists all the way through. We spend most of our time watching this either surprised or just plain confused. You get the feeling you have to keep looking over your shoulder.

The Reverend's sadism increases as we go from one section of the film to another. His capacity for cruelty has no limits. He terrorizes us right through the cruel and unforgiving climax. 

But you should know what you're in for. "Brimstone" is not a film to watch if you're looking for a suspense movie or a thriller.

This is one of the most difficult movies I have ever sat through. It's right up there with "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" with that visceral vomit taste at the bottom of your stomach.

It is an eye-opening look at the dangers of our world through a woman's eyes. 

So let's not argue anymore. Women have a harder time than men. That settles that.

At least, I know I will never be able to sing, "Abide With Me" again.

Lady Macbeth - William Oldroyd (2017)

Oh my God and holy hell!

If we went back in time to the beginning of the year, I would tell you that there was no way there was going to be a better film to come out in 2017 than Gordon Peele's "Get Out."

Now we may have a contender. A more subtle one, but a contender nonetheless.

"Lady Macbeth" starts quietly and with very little ado.

Katherine (Florence Pugh) has been sold along with a small piece of land. She is forced to marry a middle-aged boorish man, Alexander (Paul Hilton.)

Katherine is a meek girl and is treated roughly. Aside from her husband, there is her new father-in-law, Boris (Christopher Fairbank) who is even more of a bully than his son.

When Boris and Alexander leave the estate, Elizabeth roams the grounds and comes across a group of workers. Notably Sebastian, (Cosmo Jarvis) who stands out, seemingly as crude as her new family. Almost immediately, without warning, the two find a ferocious hunger for each other.

But, like love, lust knows no bounds and has no rules. The couple's sexual relationship winds up and hits the ground running. Elizabeth and Sebastian spend most of their time making love, hardly coming up for air.

At first, one gets the feeling that the pair believes themselves to be careful about covering up the affair. What they do not realize is that the nature of sex is to confess itself. People have a nose for detecting it.

Elizabeth's lady's maid Anne (Naomi Ackie) is the first to verify her own suspicions. Anna is crucial to both the story and theme of "Lady Macbeth." She serves as the conscience of the film.

When Boris returns ahead of his son, he quickly figures out what has been going on while they were away from the estate. Boris is a nasty old bastard, solely defined by his cruelty. He looks like Mitch McConnell with huge sideburns.

Now that Elizabeth is no longer a demure, submissive woman, she takes matters into her own hands and takes care of Boris.

The only other person who knows what Elizabeth has done is Anna, the one character who stands by and watches in horror at each diabolical move her mistress makes.

With Boris gone, Elizabeth and Sebastian are left to their own naked devices. Then, the worst happens. Her husband, Alexander, is back. He has known for a while now that his wife was banging the help. And wickedness breeds more of the same.

The rest of the film speaks to the very nature of wickedness. Shameful deeds only lead to more and more cruelty. Evil itself is the protagonist of "Lady Macbeth."

Sin affects each sinner differently. One will grow a conscience while the other becomes callous.


When it looks like everything Elizabeth and Sebastian have done may come to light, they spiral down to a place where one can never return.

Just as in life, some sinners will horrify themselves with what they have become while others will focus only on self-defense.

"Lady Macbeth" is a warning that if you start with even the smallest trespass, you could find yourself sunk in the mud up past your eyeballs.

This film is hypnotic, intensely sexual and uncommonly wise.

Every single scene in "Lady Macbeth" is each its own story with a beginning, middle and an end. You end up watching dozens of small narratives strung together. The shots are held, sometimes for an uncomfortable amount of time, until the story is over. Editor Nick Emerson pulls all of these scenes and weaves them into one horribly wonderful story.

I should give you fair warning. I am a pretty desensitized and numb guy when it comes to the contents of the films I watch. But there was one long sequence in this film that I had a very time difficult time watching. I wanted to turn away myself, so I just want to give you a heads up not to watch this film lightly. If you watch this scene, it will disturb you. That's just a heads up for the faint of heart.

Other than that, for the love of God, see one of the best films of the year. "Lady Macbeth" is on its last legs of its theatrical release. Don't expect it to be at your art-house for much longer. Time is of the essence.

Glorious 39 by Stephen Poliakoff (2009)

I have to tell you, I was a bit disgruntled early into "Glorious 39" because, without spoiling any of those of you may see the film, an actor I adore was gone in the first 23 minutes.

His part was short, but it was passionate and well worth the top billing his name got.



As for the film, it takes a while to find its feet. I was not sure for a while what kind of movie it was and actually, that is more than okay with me.

To be honest, if I’m not sure if I’m going to be watching a love story or a political drama or a mystery or maybe even a ghost story, it enhances the entire experience and I went into this film completely cold.

Glorious 39 debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in September and it kind of slipped under the radar. I understand why. It’s the kind of film that quietly seeps into you.

I didn’t even know I was being affected by it until it was almost over and I wasn’t sure it was memorable until a week later I realized that I’d thought about it every day since I saw it.

The film opens with an ultimately dispensable bookmark. It’s an ominous introduction featuring Christopher Lee recalling the story of a girl who was lost long ago, before the war.

As the story unfolds, the turns it takes are gradual. It seems innocent on the surface, but it isn’t too long before there’s a menacing quality just under its skin.

By the time our heroine, Anne hears the menacing recording of poor Hector, presumably murdered Parliament member and foe of Neville Chamberlain screaming for mercy from God knows what, we are duly and properly unsettled.

As the conspiracy grows, Anne’s family members very gradually grow more menacing.

For those Doctor Who fans out there, if you remember Human Nature & Family of Blood, Anne’s siblings take on a very ‘mother-of-mine,’ ‘sister-of-mine’ quality to them. Especially her brother, Ralph.

I don’t want to give too much away because I want everyone who reads this to seek this film out and watch it. As far as political thrillers go, you really can’t do any better than this one. It works in so many ways.

There’s a sequence that revolves around taking pets in to be euthanized. Putting the family cats down is incidental to the plot.

It’s the other things happening around them at the time that are critical to the story, but that whole atmosphere of calm, tranquil death is just so terrible and peaceful at the same time.

When we see the bodies of the animals being heaped onto pyres, it hardly seems awful.

That’s the kind of lull this film draws you into and then jolts you out of.

Truly, I don’t want to give away any more except to say that you will be disappointed by the ending bookmark, so be prepared for that.

But the end of the story itself is perfect. The revelations are timed beautifully and never feel manufactured even for a moment.

Each trust and each betrayal is genuine and painful. And the one final mercy shown in the film truly feels precious.

So, fans of the Doctor, seek out this film because you miss David Tennant. That’s why I got it. But then find yourself absorbed in one of those rare films that works as a character study, a theme and a narrative.