It's October, and it feels like the right time to induct a new lady into the Horror Crush section of this site. So, let's do just that with British beauty Maria Taylor!
There isn't a whole lot of info on Taylor as she is a relatively young and new actress. What is known is that she was born in Manchester, England. Her first movies was a horror thriller named Mega Lightning (2022), which apparently combines a disaster film with horror. In it, guests at a house party have to deal with deadly (and apparently badly CGIed) lightning and a psychopath. Taylor looks to have a prominent role in it. The being said, it definitely doesn't look very good, but hey maybe I'm wrong. If you've seen it, let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
It's her next movie that is the only one I've seen of hers so far, and what earns her this induction: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) (which is currently streaming exclusively on Peacock). Made cause Winnie fell into public domain and thus giving the filmmakers the ability to turn a beloved family character into a slasher villain! High level concept, or even necessarily actually good, this ain't. But, despiste this, it is enjoyable.
In this version, Christopher Robin has left Winnie and friends, and gone off to college. This causes the bear and his crew to go bonkers and begin to kill. We learn this all in an animated prologue. Cut to present, where Robin (Nikolai Leon) has bought his wife to meet his fuzzy friends. But, he soon learns the truth of what they have become. His wife gets killed by Pooh and Piglet, and he's kidnapped. Soon after Maria (Taylor, yes character and actress have the same first name) and her pretty friends show up to spend some time time amongst friends. But, Pooh and Piglet begin to off them one by one. OK, I don't think I ever thought a few years ago, that I would be typing anything like this. Yet, here we are!
As I said, this ain't good, but it is better than it has any right to be, or most reviews lead you to believe it is. I like that it is mean spirited, savage, violent, and a little bit sleazy. It is sometimes to dark to see said violence, but there are still some solid kills. And, it definitely feels merciless. It has some nudity, too (no, not from Taylor), and the girls in the group are all gorgeous. Their characters sadly lack any depth, but they are at least not annoying.
Taylor is fine in her role, being quite likable. She is an absolute stunner of a beauty. As soon, as she appears on-screen, getting therapy for a past trauma involving a stalker, we are taken by her beauty (her eyes are especially beautiful!). She has a great presence about her, and I think has an excellent future.
Upcoming and featuring her is a sci-fi/ horror movie called Dinosaur Prison (2023). This one is about, you guessed it, a prison with dinosaurs. Looks like she has a main role in this, too. Will it be good? Who knows, but she looks gorgeous, clearly!
I didn't expect to see that her resume has so much horror in it! She has the makings of a new scream queen, especially if Winnie picks up cult status or at least infamy. Still, she has the looks and acting chops for sure. Just take note of the impression that she's made upon me in a movie that is really just alright. Imagine if she appears in a higher quality horror movie! With that in mind and, ever hopeful that she does, Taylor is now an official inductee of Horror Crushes!!
Director: Neil Marshall Writers: Neil Marshall, Charlotte Kirk, Edward Evers-Swindell Cast: Charlotte Kirk, Sean Pertwee, Steven Waddington, Joe Anderson, Suzanne Magowan, Ian Whyte Year: 2020 Min: 110
1665 is "the year of the great plague", as the opening credits tell us. It is here that our story takes place. Grace Haverstock (Charlotte Kirk, who also co-wrote the script along with Edward Evers-Swindell and director Neil Marshall) has found that her husband has hung himself, after contracting the bubonic plague. When, the scummy landlord Squire Pendleton (Steven Waddington) comes to collect the rent, she pays him with her and her hubby's wedding rings. He tells her that are other ways to pay and tries to rape her. She rebukes him and fights back. Pissed off, he leaves and threatens that she will regret this.
The Squire, then, accuses Grace of witchcraft. She is taken and imprisoned, while he, himself, takes her little, baby girl away. An especially cruel witchfinder, John Moorcroft (Sean Pertwee), (who coincidently burned Grace's mom at the stake, when Grace was but a child) is in charge of her trial and torture. Accompanying him in his sadistic ways is his horribly scarred companion, Ursula (Suzanne Magowan). Meanwhile, Grace is haunted by dreams in which Satan (Ian Whyte), himself, wants and tempts her. But, regardless, she won't be broken by the witchfinder and give him the confession she wants. Instead, all she wishes to have her daughter safe and back with her. But first, she must first find a way to escape.
The Reckoning is a British dramatic/ adventure/ horror film from genre master Neil (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Game of Thrones) Marshall, who directed and co-wrote it. It is a movie in the vein of films like Witchfinder General and Mark of the Devil. Except, that it has that added action influence that Marshall is so good at. It played a couple of festivals last year and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 6, 2021. It makes it exclusive streaming debut on Shudder on May 13, 2021.
This movie really sucks you in, pretty much from the beginning, and even more so once the plot really unfolds. Thanks to Marshall's directing, this is a beautiful looking movie, with a somber start. The dark, grey and rainy parts play in sharp contrast to the bright and happy flashbacks of Grace and her husband, during the start of the film. The scene of his hanging is an early and strong, emotional hit. There is a heavy feeling for much of the film, particularly during the torture scenes. And, while, those aren't super explicit, they do rock you hard enough to elicit the intended reaction.
With that being said, all the shit that you'll see our heroine go through, really makes the pay off in the climax worth it. And, boy, is it ever awesome! The action scenes from there are on in are thrilling, exciting, and bloody. Marshall also manages to add lot of suspense and white knuckle intensity to what is happening. My fists where clenched and my heart was in my throat, as I watched these scenes unfurl. All the while, cheering for Grace to succeed and make the bad guys pay. The movie also has a gorgeous score by Christopher (Creepshow the series) Drake, which comes off as powerful, tragic, and evocative. And, I fucking loved it!
The movie only lost me a bit during its cheap dream scenes and unnecessary jump scares. These moments are when Satan keeps visiting and haunting Grace. He wants to screw and tempt her to turn to him. But, to me these parts serve only to slow the movie down and feel overdone. To be honest, though, this is the only complaint I have of this otherwise, very well done film.
Within the movie, we do get a sex scene with some nudity. I mention this mostly, because moments like this are almost non-existent in film nowadays. Aside, from being easy on the eyes, it serves as a believable and tender proof of Grace and her husband's love. Here is hoping that this marks a return of sex in movies. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we get strong violence and gore. Among the mayhem is torture, immolation, whipping, bloody squibs, decapitation, and a superlative head crushing.
The inherit sexism of the time plays an obviously major role in this movie's themes and plot. It is at the heart of the film and a major motivation for our heroine. That isn't the only statement this flick makes. This is evident from the movie's prologue, where a woman is pulled away from her family by officials. It reminded me about cases and events from recent times. It felt like an allusion to police brutality and of ICE separating families. So, that despite the flick's historical context, its message actually feels very contemporary.
The acting is excellent from the whole cast. Steven Waddington's Squire is a detestable, scummy, asshole, who you will absolutely loathe. Also, worthy of your hate is Sean Pertwee's John Moorcroft. As the film's witchfinder, I wanted so badly for someone to kick the shit out of him. Both main antagonists, as such are very well portrayed by their respective actors. But, this is, ultimately Charlotte Kirk's movie. She is a breathtaking beauty, whose flawless acting is one of the year's most heart wrenching performances, as well as one of its best protagonists.
The Reckoning is a powerful and exciting dramatic horror movie with some rousing moments of action. The climax, in particular, will have you the edge of your seat. The acting is superlative, giving life to detestable villains and great heroes. Still, it is Kirk's Grace that truly shines. She is my favorite hero in a 2021 release, so far. Some graphic gore and well handled torture scenes help add to the flick's intensity. In all, it is the best witchfinder movie since Stuart Gordon take on Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.
Director: Christopher Smith Writers: David Beton, Ray Bagdanovich, Dean Lines Cast: Jessica Brown Findlay, Sean Harris, John Lynch, John Heffernan, Adam Hugill Year: 2020 Min: 97
It is 1930s England, and Marianne (Jessica Brown Findlay) and her daughter Adelaide (Anya McKenna-Bruce) move in with her husband and vicar Linus (John Heffernan). The previous family who lived there has mysteriously disappeared. But, Marianne is a free-thinking woman, while Linus is very much man of the cloth and the old ways. Bishop Malachi (John Lynch), who assigned Linus to live in this creepy old place, is an even bigger asshole and is definitely suspicious. Of course, said house has freaky shit happening including the family seeing and hearing various creepy occurrences. There is also a so called pagan named Harry Price (Sean Harris), who knows quite a bit about the old house and what is actually going on.
The Banishing is a British, haunted house movie from cult favorite director Christopher (Severance,Triangle,Black Death) Smith. The movie first premiered in Spain's Sitges Film Festival in October 2020 and later that month in England's FrightFest Film Festival. In March of this year, it started streaming in the United Kingdom and will now be making its streaming premiere here, in North America, when it premieres this Thursday, April 15, 2021 exclusively on Shudder.
The movie starts off creepily and tonally it remains fairly consistent. As there are a couple of chilling moments throughout it. It has a strong sound design, which works effectively in adding to the scares. The flick is a slow burn, with mostly quiet horror, that is broken up by a couple of decent jump scares. Said scares aren't ground breaking, but at least a couple do kind of work. There is little to no gore here, but that is to be expected of most movies like this.
Still, there are some tropes that are harder to overlook. The child acting weird and being influenced by the evil definitely falls under the category of we have seen this way too many fucking times. In fact, the flick lifts elements from The Shining, Poltergeist, and Insidious. At times, it might be too slow, but at least its run time is relatively short. This stopped me from complaining of it being truly boring. It also manages to be very intriguing in its climax. That being said, I am not sure if I actually liked the ending. This does serve to sum up my overall feeling of this movie quite well, as in, I like parts of it and others not so much.
There is some very fluid camerawork throughout its run time. You see, I have nothing but praise for Smith's visual look for the movie. I love the framing of his shots. As his use of lots of medium and wide takes, makes great use of the widescreen format.
The characters are quite well written and bought to life by excellent acting. John Heffernan believably brings Linus, a hard to like man, to life. This character is so religious that he doesn't even want to sleep with his beautiful wife, Marianne. But, it is John Lynch's Bishop Malachi that is the film's truest asshole with his strong performance. Our protagonists are quite likable, though. The most interesting of the male characters, by far, is Harry as played by Sean Harris. Meanwhile, Jessica Brown Findlay is excellent and very easy to get on her side as Marianne. She feels real, even if you wish she had made a better choice in a hubby, which is an actual central theme within the flick.
Speaking of which, its themes like this that add some depth to the more generic happenings. Among them is its not too subtle attacks on religion. This particularly true in its role of how sexiest against women these beliefs are. I also liked its very clear stance against Nazis and fascism. These aspects do help elevate the movie and make it feel suitably timely. Without these plot elements, the movie would certainly have flattered, and I would have thought considerably less of it.
As a fan of Smith's work, especially the excellent Triangle, I found The Banishing to be somewhat disappointing. Though to call it a bad film would be wrong, as uneven is the better word to describe it. On one side, it features very strong acting, especially from both of its protagonists in the form of Harris and Findlay. The characters are well written and the themes it takes on are timely. These aspects really helps to elevate its quality. It also manages to have a few creepy moments. On the other hand, it is too slow, at times, and takes elements from other better, haunted house flicks. And, while it has an a climax that will catch your attention, its ending, like what before it, feels decidedly bumpy. But, with a run time that is just the right amount, at least it doesn't overstay its welcome.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, 2018, the cast of what is probably my most hotly anticipated horror movie of the year, had an awesome and super fun panel at New York Comic Con: Anna and the Apocalypse! It consisted of (left to right, above): director
John McPhail, Ella Hunt, Malcom Cumming, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux,
Marli Siu, Ben Wiggins, and composers Tommy Reilly and Roddy Hart.
It was a super entertaining and lively panel that showed some exclusive clips from the movie, which looks so freaking amazing! My friend, Asta Paredes, whom I was hanging out with at the panel, already has seen it and highly recommends it.
The cast talked about filming, the film's music and songs, horror movies, and much more. It was all such a total blast to hear! It is very clear that they all enjoyed the experience of working on this flick.
Everyone came off so cool and friendly, that it made for an excellent panel. They laughed and seemed to be having as much fun being there as we had listening to them.
Afterwards, fans were lucky to get autographs from the awesomely sweet cast. In all, this was one of the true highlights of NYCC 2018. And, all I can say is the release of this movie cannot come soon enough!
In Select Theaters November 30, Expanding Nationwide December 7
A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other...
Cast: Ella Hunt, Malcom Cumming, Ben Wiggins, Sarah Swire, Christopher Leveaux, Marli Siu, Mark Benton & Paul Kaye
Directed by: John McPhail
Written by: Alan McDonald & Ryan McHenry
Produced by: Naysun Alae-Carew, Nicholas Crum, Tracy Jarvis
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