Review: Becky: Special Edition

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Becky
Directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion
Yale Productions; Bondit Media Capital; BoulderLight Pictures; Buffalo 8 Productions; Quiver Distribution; Redbox Entertainment; MVD Visual
93 minutes, 2020 / 2023
www.MVDVisual.com

I am actually kind of surprised this film came across my desk, as it were. It was a middle-sized release (as opposed to the low-budget indies I usually get to review) that played in theaters less than 20 years ago, and had some relatively name power in its cast that was not just cameos. The three biggest names are Mall Cop (2009) Kevin James playing against type (if this had been an LGBTQ theme, I would have said something about “King of Nazi Queens”), Joel Hale of “Community” taking a serious turn, and up-and-comer Lulu Wilson in the titular role, known mostly for “The Haunting of Hill House” (2018) mini-series, who was 13 at the time of Becky’s filming. There is also a ton of extras in this Blu-ray, which I will get to later.

Lulu Wilson, Joel McHale

After a full minute of production company credits, we are introduced to Becky being interviewed by the police, with the rest being in flashback. The jarring music that seems to be influenced by The Breeders’ “Last Splash,” is a nice transition to the main, dissonant story.

The direction and editing (by Alan Canant) of the opening sequence, which introduces both convict Dominick (James) and schoolgirl Becky (Wilson) is incredibly well done, as they flip back and forth to show that both are unconventional. For Dominick, it is violence for the White Nationalist Brotherhood cause, and for Becky, it is pretty easy to see that she is a bit disturbed, beyond being a teenager and that her mother (played by her real, uncredited, mom) recently died of cancer.

Wilson, Kevin James

What is also interesting to me is that both of these main characters are accompanied by two tall individuals: for Becky, it is her dad, Jeff (Hale), who is almost 6’4”, and for Dominick, it is fellow escaped inmate Apex (ex-professional wrestler Robert Maillet), who is almost 6’11”; he. should be pegged in the second season of “Wednesday” as Lurch

In this mixture of the cabin in the woods, home invasion, and revenge tale, Becky and Jeff go to their little home away from home in the middle of nowhere (filmed near Burlington, Ontario) to re-bond after their tragic events, with their dogs, Diego (looks like part bulldog and pitbull?) and Dora (corso). Joining them is Jeff’s “friend,” Kayla (Amanda Brugel, another television actor known for a comic role as the minister on “Kim’s Convenience”) and her young son Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe, who seems almost superfluous to the story). Becky is not too pleased; this soon after her mom passing, honestly, I don’t blame her. And with Kayla and Ty being people of color, I am sure that is not going to go well when, knock, knock, guess who is at the door? Well, it ain’t the fairy godmother.

Amanda Brugel

The other two escapees bringing up the rear are non-Brotherhood members Cole (Ryan McDonald) and Hammond (Lane McDougall). Like much of the cast, these two guys are Canadian. Bad for the cabiners, great for Becky’s body count. Once she gets her knitted teddy bear huntin’ hat on, she means business as something inside her mind snaps. Speaking of which, all things considered that this was a theatrical release with some actors known for comedy, it is pretty damn gruesome.

All 5’ of Becky becomes a killin’ machine as she goes up against the four killers who are in search for something that was left in the cabin before they went to jail nearly a decade before, and they are determined to get it at any means. But Becky has other plans.

Other reviewers have compared Becky to Kevin in Home Alone (1990), but whereas the extreme violence against the two crooks were played for laughs (though it would have killed them in real life), Becky is more determined not to harm them, but to end their lives. And she is on the brink enough to go for that desire.

Robert Maillet

For the aforementioned extras, which there are many, it has introductions to the film from directors Jonathan Milott (19 sec) and Cary Murnion (13 sec). They don’t really say anything in that short amount of time to make it worthwhile, but they make up for it with the featurette ‘Two Heads are Better than One: Directing Becky with Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’ (41 min). Filmed separately, they show how they work together, from inception through all the other usual aspects of filmmaking, such as casting, music, SFX and other anecdotes to keep it interesting.

A couple of short but decent interviews are “No Laughing Matter with Joel McHale” (14 min) and “The Fight of her Life with Lulu Wilson” (14 min). Well, it is more of them individually sitting in chairs and talking, but both bring something to their stories, be it humor and/or some level of innocence yet strength in Wilson’s case. Then there are the two Fan Art Galleries and Behind-the-Scenes Photo Galleries

The last biggie is the full Audio Commentary with actress Lulu Wilson and co-screenwriters Ruckus and Lane Skye. While it is mostly interesting, the sound level is a bit low and occasionally distorted, so it is hard to make out in parts. Unfortunately, this is a common problem on commentaries with three or more people. On the technical side, this Blu-ray has 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo Lossless DTS-HD Master Audio, and a 1080p High Definition Widescreen Presentation (2.39:1)

While the cinematography by Greta Zozula is beautifully shot, my one negative comment is that the cellar and night scenes, especially near the end, are just a bit too dark for my old, tired eyes….and my television.

There are so many actors that are popular for their comic roles, but I find they excel in high drama, like Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and even someone who I think is horrible on the funny side but quite good on the dramatic end, Adam Sandler (let’s see how well egocentric and unhumorous Pete Davidson is at portraying Joey Ramone). This is true for both Joel Hale and especially Kevin James, whose previous roles have been more goofy than funny (again, Paul Blart, Mall Cop).

I can see her stringed hat, and yellow and black striped shirt becoming a cosplay subject, or a Halloween costume. Meanwhile, upcoming later this year is The Wrath of Becky. It has big shoes to fill, but I believe it is capable.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: Atroz

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

Atroz (aka Atrocity)

Written and directed by Lex Ortega

Cineauta / Grotesque / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual

79 minutes, 2015 / 2016

www.unearthedfilms.com

www.mvdvisual.com

Torture porn, or whatever you would like to call it, is distinct in its own subgenre within the horror category. The one key element that runs through all of it is that it is extreme, and usually involved the slow and painful evisceration of a human, usually conscious at the time.

It’s almost like a dare to test to the viewer: “watch this if you can.” I would say the nascent history of it started at the hands of Florida Hershell Gordon Lewis (d. 2016), with films like Blood Feast (1963). While there have been other gruesome films, such as Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the Italian giallo movement of the late 1970s through early 1980s, which was different as the brutality usually was included into the story. Even in touchstone films like Last House on the Left (1972), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), more was implied than shown, focusing more on the tension of the situation. Then Eli Roth released Hostel (2005), and changed an important aspect, making the story revolve around the gore more than the reason for it, as did other films like the Saw (2004) series. Each one raised the bar by ramping up the realism. What it has morphed into all these years is the torture itself. There isn’t even always a substantive storyline, or sometimes even a reason other than a joyride on someone else’s pain, such as with the more recent A Serbian Film (2010), known more for its audience reaction videos on YouTube than the film itself. Gore been around for decades, such as in Germany’s Nekromantic duo (1987 and ‘91) and from Japan, there was the likes of the Guinea Pig series (late 1980s), but mainly it had been more underground until Hostel and Saw.

                                                                                                

The main difference between something like this genre and the European (mostly Italian) giallo films is that most of the latter is about the effects/affects before and after the killing (with exceptions of course), but the new trend is close-up details spurned on, I believe by the mainstreaming of clinical death images on shows like the CSI television series. What is also prevalent is the use of appliance over digital. When someone is attacked and hacked piece by piece, the reliance is on SFX, to keep the realism keen.  Many of the newer releases are also done as “found footage,” as in “the police found this footage by the killer(s), and here it is,” which means it may be grainy, jump or give some other visual cue that it’s supposed to be in the moment.

That is where Atroz comes in. Shot in Mexico (in Spanish with subtitles), it’s based on a 14-minute short the director did in 2012 (which is included in the extras), expanding the story and body count. In fact, most of the original short is incorporated into the first act of the film.

Carlos Valencia in the foreground,
Lex Ortega in the back

Two compadres/bad hombres in Mexico, Topo (Miguel Angel Nava) and Goyo (played by the director), are taken into custody by the policia after a car accident where they unintentionally kill a woman (you don’t see her bloody face, but you do see her brains spread across the road). The coppers discover a video tape and find the footage from the 2015 short, where a trans (M2F) prostitute is tortured to death. The framework about finding the tape, and the other recordings are often just a means to present the brutality to the viewing audience for most of the picture. Like I said, the violence begets the story, rather than the other way around.

In fact, most of the “shell” of the story may seem inconsequential at first, such as the too-long scenes of the police looking over the first shown death, before they find further evidence. But this being a world that would invent a Trump presidency, the police believe they must get evidence through any means necessary, so legally, on some level they are able to do to the brothers similar what they are accused. This is a damning statement on using torture for information, and its validity.

Now, I hope it’s no question to anyone reading this that anyone who deals with any of these guys are pretty much doomed, as this is the purpose of the story, so I don’t think I’m giving anything away; well, I hope not. If you’re expecting a happy ending, then you’re reaping in the wrong garden. But on a writ large stage, it is saying that the means is a method of control and dominance, more than anything else, even if it reaches a level of lust. Those under the police commander (Carlos Valencia) are willing extensions of his anger and will do things to the two without asking questions of morality or even sanity. A classic case of the pot calling the kettle, just with the degrees of legal power making the difference.

Don’t get me wrong, this pair is certainly not nice, and I am not justifying their actions, but the police stand on questionable grounds as well. During the second killing, again of a prostitute (this time a female, who is also a stripper) gives us the information that these guys have full-blown hematolagina. In other words, they are sexually aroused by blood (not their own, that is).

Quite a bit of what we see is the guys’ (and some cops) found footage. Now, I don’t own a video camera, but I do have video on my phone and digital camera, and have never had the “noise interference” that most of the found footage films show (jumping, skipping, like that). Is this common in real life or is it a trope used as an indicator to the audience that it’s the killers’ camera, rather than the director’s? To put it another way, it’s sort of like when a reel-to-reel is shown rewound, we hear sped, high-pitched voices, though rewinding is actually silent as far as the tape contents go. Personally, I can usually tell the difference because one is really shaky and the other relatively stagnant (or at least there is some stabilization level on it), so why do directors bother with that? Found footage is, in itself, annoying enough, so I say let’s all drop the digital noise and just show the image. Trust me, we usually get when it’s supposed to be one or the other. Thank you for that venting, and now back to our story in progress.

I’m not going to ruin the plot or the punchline – or the reasoning, but it is important to understand that there is a lot of cultural (religious?) gender and sexual politics running through the story, informing the action from the very beginning that is better understood by the end, though again, not condoned. As the action unfolds in the last act/video, a more complete story is given to the viewer that many of these types of films gloss over (i.e., why does that doctor want to cut up a live body in Hostel?; why does the person want to do the vile things they do in, well, too many to list?). For that I am appreciative, even for the squeamishness that is shown to us. For me, one of the most disturbing scenes is an act of violence to a man, while his sister watches stunned in the doorframe in the background.

Because of the gender politics, in part, there is a lot of nudity, of both genders. The blood and gore flow fiercely (though the fresh blood did seem a bit off in color and texture; totally forgivable), ably done by Reality FX Studios, run by Alfredo “Freddy” Sanchez and Jamie “Jimmy McFly” Nieto. The music is equally disturbing, running from noisy electronica (sort of like what is behind Public Enemy’s work) to heavy beats, supplied by the duo Eggun. Having the CD available with this package made it easier to give it some attention.

Along with the DVD, Blu-Ray and Soundtrack CD that comes in this package, there are a number of extras, generally ranging in the 3-6 minute range, including featurettes on the sound and visual practical effects (no digital), and the crowdsourcing video and similar Behind the Scenes, which focuses on talking by Ortega and producer Abigail Bonilla. Additionally, there is the aforementioned original short that is incorporated into this film, and a nice bunch of Unearthed trailers (including this one). In other words, it’s a really nice overall package.

Perhaps it’s because it’s from a country you don’t usually expect this kind of film (i.e., a different culture than those of which we are used to), but I have to say, the twist ending was extremely satisfying, and made me happy.