Darkman.

Review #1495: Darkman.

Cast:
Liam Neeson (Peyton Westlake / Darkman), Frances McDormand (Julie Hastings), Colin Friels (Louis Strack Jr), Larry Drake (Robert G. Durant), Ted Raimi (Ricky), Nicholas Worth (Pauly), Dan Hicks (Skip), and Jessie Lawrence Ferguson (Eddie Black) Directed by Sam Raimi (#611 - Spider-Man, #1296 - The Evil Dead, and #1483 - Evil Dead II)

Review: 
"Some mornings you wake up and think, "Gee, I look handsome today." Other days I think, "What am I doing in the movies? I wanna go back to Ireland and drive a forklift".

There is a distinct difference to the superhero film from decade to decade that is particularly interesting to note, whether involving the era before Superman (1978, which namely involved serials), or the years that followed after the release of Batman in 1989. There were a group of heroes of comic and comic strip form that found their way into being turned into a film, for better or worse. However one thinks of the superhero genre as a whole, it is nice to see the stark differences between 1990 and 2020, and you can compare the pickings of what came from the former: Dick Tracy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain America, and this film. It came about due to Raimi's desire to make a film based on The Shadow (which found itself adapted into a film four years later), with the failure to obtain the rights leading him to make a hero film of his own, which would be inspired by his love of the classic Universal horror films of the 1930s to have a man who lost his face that found a way to take on other faces. This was Raimi's next film after Evil Dead II along with his first studio film (fittingly with Universal Pictures), and it would go through numerous drafts that resulted in five credited writers: him (who also did the story), his brother Ivan, Daniel and Joshua Goldin, and Chuck Pfarrer (with twelve drafts reportedly being written before a script to shoot came about).

With a darker outlook toward the nature of what it means to wear a mask and fight for some sort of justice, Darkman is a fascinating film of the superhero genre, intense with frenzied ambition that makes a capable thriller. At the helm of its mix of horror and action is Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, who had worked for several years in theatre and gradually-rising roles in film that liked the turmoil of the title role that mixed with Raimi's desire for an actor that could do acting within plenty of makeup (done by Tony Gardner) and charisma. Neeson delivers a well-done performance here, one with plenty of emotive charm that runs the gamut from sensitive to self-hatred with touches of The Phantom of the Opera that make it all work with finesse. McDormand follows along with fine sensitivity and focused grace that makes a solid performance that resonates with Neeson just fine. Friels proves adquately slimy, but it is Drake (known mostly for his work on L.A. Law) who proves the most adept at disturbing excellence, a quiet but gruesome intensity to appreciate. The atmosphere of the film is captured well in darkness with its designs and music from Danny Elfman without seeming schlocky or too familiar to other films. The film has a kinetic and pulpy feel to it with its pace of 96 minutes that does good with making an involving story of a troubled soul come across with some depth and believability (the effects do their part as well) that lend for some interesting moments that go with a servicable climax and bitersweet ending. On the whole, this is a fine achievement that pierces at the dark with solid performances and a carefully done style that blends thrills and horror capably enough to stand as its own kind of superhero story.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Evil Dead II.

Review #1483: Evil Dead II.

Cast:
Bruce Campbell (Ash Williams), Sarah Berry (Annie Knowby), Dan Hicks (Jake), Kassie Wesley (Bobby Joe), Denise Bixler (Linda), Snowy Winters (Dancing demon Linda), Richard Domeier (Professor Ed Getley), John Peaks (Professor Knowby), Lou Hancock (Henrietta Knowby), Ted Raimi (Possessed Henrietta), and William Preston Robertson (Voice of the Evil Dead) Directed by Sam Raimi (#611 - Spider-Man and #1296 - The Evil Dead)

Review:
"It seemed that my lot in life was to either have big parts in small films or small parts in big films."

This film came about because of the failure of Crimewave (1985), Sam Raimi's follow-up film to The Evil Dead that he wrote with Ethan and Joel Coen (the latter of whom had helped with the editing of that film). Plagued by budget trouble and producer interference, Crimewave nearly wrecked Raimi's career into oblivion. The idea for a sequel had actually been thought of during the first film's production by publicist Irvin Shapiro, and Raimi made a concept involving a Middle Ages setting for more deadite action. When it came for funding, Dino De Laurentiis would serve as producer (after having Stephen King give them a recommendation to help fund the film), and he suggested for a film similiar to the first film (the medieval concept was used for the next film five years later in Army of Darkness), with a budget that would be over three million more than before (while keeping the same effects man in Tom Sullivan). Raimi would write it with Scott Spiegel, which would move its focus from straight horror to horror-comedy, influenced by slapstick work like The Three Stooges. Technically speaking this is a sequel to the first film, although its events depicted in the opening are different from the climax of the original. One thing that isn't different from before is the gore levels: the original film had an X rating, while fears over an X for the second led to no submission to the MPAA and a separate company distributing the film for release.

What a marvelous sequel this is. Energetic, violent, and quick to the punch in delivering a punishing tale of horror and comedy with a charismatic lead once again, it proves no surprise to see this regarded as one of the best horror sequels, particularly when compared to a film that already had done pretty well for itself in creeping terror. This excels just as well in gruesome charm, doing so with confidence expected of filmmakers who seem more in control of what is necessary to make a quality tale brimmed with reasonable foundation that makes enough sense in the right places to drive one up the wall for 84 minutes. There are plenty of moments one could probably highlight, some of which being ones with easily quotable moments from Campbell ("groovy" indeed), but the biggest one for me proves to be a fit of laughter with Campbell that proves creepier if one finds themselves with a fit of the giggles as well. He has a distinct quality to him in enjoyability that fits the edge of someone destined for B-movies but without the wooden feet to stay completely on that level. He leads the way as a cult classic actor among disposable others (let's face it, no one is exactly thinking really hard about the others that happen to come across the madness) that make a worthy time. It retains focus on the cabin (with filming being done in North Carolina, with a junior high school being an interior set) without finding itself going through the exact same beats as before, with plenty of good costumes and effects to showcase. It goes for the throat without knocking you completely senseless with anything unnecessary in gore or in humor that detract from the energetic fun deserving of a sequel that raises the level for cult classic enjoyment.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.