Rack and Ruin

Reveling somewhere between cheesy 80s horror flick and Abbott and Costello buddy comedy slapstick, the 2017 short film We Summoned a Demon, written and directed by Chris McInroy, is six minutes of pure horror comedy goodness. Following a pair of less than cool guys, Kirk (Kirk C. Johnson) and Carlos (Carlos Larotta), they are really pulling at straws. . . as they’ve decided to attempt a satanic ritual to make the former a slick talking pick-up artist (of course, it’s all about getting a girl). After a ‘slight’ blood mishap, they inadvertently summon a glowing yellow eyed demon with horns that could qualify as overcompensating (John Orr).

Almost as if Sigmund Freud, Edgar Allan Poe and Alfred Hitchcock got together to make a movie (Roman Polanski could probably be thrown into the group for good measure), 2020's The Night House lives in the realm of the double, the uncanny, as well as the horror found in grief and the chasm of nothingness it can bring with it. Written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, and directed by David Bruckner, the story follows teacher Beth (Rebecca Hall), the audience joining her immediately after the suicide of her husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). Living in a bluff-top lake house that he himself built (the reflective water perhaps the first indication of the double), she might as well be out at sea. . . though she might not want that, as Owen killed himself on the water. And, when the darkness of night comes, Beth’s world feels like an encased glass tomb.

Put this piece of advice in your memory banks – if you ever get invited to perform at a location called The Castle of the Living Dead, it might be best to decline the offer. A 1964 low budget horror film co-written and directed by first timer Warren Kiefer, it has stood the test of time thanks to two memorable performers and its real life Italian castle setting. The story of a traveling acting troupe, all is not right. . . for leader Bruno (Jacques Stany) has drawn the ire of harlequin performer Dart – who desperately wants his money up front. Taking umbrage with everything he does, a fight ensues, with bystander and former military officer Eric (Philippe Leroy) thankfully stepping in to stop the close to deadly tussle. With Eric deciding to take over the role of the harlequin. . . though not before Dart casts a deadly threat at Bruno and the troupe, this ominous departure does not sit well with the other members, ingenue Laura (Gaia Germani) and adventurous little person Nick (Antonio De Martino).

John Michael McDonagh’s follow up to The Guard, 2014's Calvary (which he again writes and directs), is a thought provoking mystery infused drama which delves into irony, theology, predestination, and how the wounds of the past influence the present in most powerful ways. Opening with a quotation from Saint Augustine – “Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves was damned.”, we are then introduced to our main character, Father James (Brendan Gleeson), a good man in small town Ireland. Originally married with a daughter, when his wife died, he followed a calling to the priesthood, attempting to impart his spiritual wisdom and some much needed solace to his flock.

You just have to wonder if the overt sentimentality of a Frank Capra-type picture can’t work with a twenty-first century mindset. . . known as Capracorn, his movies were so sweet that they would even cause a perfectly healthy individual to get diabetes. Case in point, 2005's The Amateurs (sometimes known as The Moguls), a movie so obscure, a teacher makes more money in one year than it grossed at the box office. Panned by critics and never given a chance at the box office, it was relegated to a grim alternate reality akin to Pottersville. Written and directed by first time film maker Michael Traeger (sadly, this is still his only directorial credit), he follows the Capra mold, finding a rather ironic storyline to juxtapose the heart-filled tale.