Editorials
00’s Retrospect: ‘Saw’ Makes 2004 a Game-Changer
Y2K, 9/11, war and a a horrid recession, a major escape we had this decade was in the form of film, notorious for thriving during National crisis. Leading up to New Year’s Eve where we’ll ring in 2010, Bloody Disgusting will be looking back at the entire decade year by year through the eyes of various staff writers. Check back each day for a profound reflection from Ryan Daley, David Harley, Tex, BC and yours truly. Inside you’ll find Ryan Daley’s personal look back at the year 2004, the year Saw changed horror!! Please share your memories for each year below, there are so many stories to be told!
’00 | ’01 | ’02 | ’03 | ’04 | ’05 | ’06 | ’07 | ’08 | ’09
More Retrospects:
-Top 20 Films of the Decade: 21-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1
-Dead on Arrival: Ten Horror Duds of the Last Decade
2004
Reading Mr. Disgusting’s recent review of Saw VI, I found it interesting when he cited the original film as one of his first major discoveries as editor of B-D. There was certainly something intangibly enticing about Saw‘s ad campaign. This was a horror movie that promised something different, this was a movie that was going to show you more than…well, perhaps more than you really wanted to see. I watched Saw in the theater on opening day, and although I thought it was insanely over-directed by James Wan, the script was ingenious, and the end-of-the-movie twist made my head spin. Sadly, the audience couldn’t stop laughing at Cary Elwes’ sweaty whimpering during the last 20 minutes, but that stunning final reveal shut the whole theater right the hell up. Spawning five sequels in five years (and still counting), the Saw franchise has established itself as a Halloween tradition that refuses to be denied.
If you glanced at a list of the greatest horror films of the past 10 years, you’d be surprised to find that only a handful stand out as genuinely scary. The Grudge, if you saw it in a theater, was one of those movies that had the power to freak your girlfriend right the fuck out. On your lap inside of ten minutes. Lacking a truly interesting plot, Takashi Shimizu’s remake of his Japanese original Ju-On was simply a succession of very well-staged, very memorable scares. It was sort of like walking through a carnival spook alley, a “greatest hits” of easily relatable nightmares. Randomly-discovered jaw bones, a cat-voiced ghost boy, things coming at you from under the covers. The Grudge had a way of taking root in your brain like some sort of cancer. Two cruddy sequels were released years after the Asian horror remake fad had already expired. But the `04 American version of The Grudge stands alongside The Ring as one of the most effective horror translations of the decade.
Shaun of the Dead was one of those movies I had to talk my friends into seeing. I’m sure it wasn’t that way for everybody, but in my case, the uninformed masses questioned the entertainment value of a British zom-rom-com from a relatively unknown writer/director. But where’s the trust, man? It only took a week of post-release buzz before comedy and horror fans alike were jumping on the Shaun of the Dead corpse wagon. Even my parents saw it in the movie theater, for hell’s sake. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s zombie flick adopted a timely, cynical perspective…if zombies took over the world, would today’s generation of slackers even bother to notice? Shaun (Pegg) was a hero more concerned with grabbing a pint at the pub than saving lives, an easily relatable everyman that most people could respond to. Some could even say that Shaun made the horror/comedy subgenre popular again. (Without the success of Shaun, Zombieland might still be buried in development.)
A few of my most pleasant horror memories from 2004 were provided by some surprisingly good DVD releases. Dead Birds, with creepy tone and intriguing cast, certainly made a lasting impression. The stellar make-up effects by the increasingly popular Almost Human (The Crazies) were impossible to forget. And speaking of good make-up, the titular monster in Creep has to be one of the most effective movie creatures of the past decade. That screeching, misshapen subway abortionist is enough to give anybody nightmares.
Over on the shitty side of the horror spectrum, it’s hard to forgive Blade: Trinity for driving a stake through the heart of what had previously been a dynamite franchise. Over-stuffed with goofy peripheral characters, the third entry in the franchise was a HUGE step down from Guillermo Del Toro’s highly energetic Blade II. And speaking of slowly dying horror series, Seed of Chucky did its best to milk a few more dollars out of a still nostalgic fan base. Jennifer Tilly, still rubbing feces in the face of her Oscar nomination after all these years, reprises her roll as Chucky’s baby-voiced doll whore.
Also Worth Remembering: Three…Extremes, The Card Player
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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