WASHINGTON – We just finished counting down the scariest movies of all time.
Now, it’s time to check out some new spooky movies currently at the box office.
A trio of haunts await: “Crimson Peak,” “Paranormal Activity 6” and “Goosebumps.”
Which creepy flick best suits your taste?
Feast for the Eyes
“Crimson Peak” follows aspiring author Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), who falls for a mysterious stranger, Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), who’s seeking investors for his clay mining invention in the early 20th century. Thomas invites Edith to come live with him and his jealous sister (Jessica Chastain) at their secluded mansion where the snow turns red. Is it the red clay? Or something else?
The bloodstained metaphors unravel to the delight of our multi-level movie-watching minds, engrossing our imaginations with deliciously gothic visuals from the costumes to the set design.
We’ve come to expect nothing less from visionary Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, whose “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006) remains as brilliant a fantasy film as we’ve seen this young century.
While the special effects added to “Pan’s Labyrinth,” they surprisingly detract from “Crimson Peak.” At times, we wish the cartoonish, CGI ghouls would stop interrupting the gorgeous compositions constructed by Danish cinematographer Dan Lausten (“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”). Hit pause at any moment in the trailer above and admire the portraits of half-lit faces, flickering candles, intimidating low angles down long corridors and photogenic frames within frames.
Chastain and Hiddleston make perfect dolls for Del Toro’s macabre dollhouse, looking divine on screen while delivering power performances with telling glances and blood-stained teardrops. It’s a stroke of casting genius to mine the romance from the often-villainous Hiddleston (Loki in “The Avengers”), while mining the suspicion from the often-heroic Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”).
Still, Wasikowska is the most devious casting choice after playing the Jane Eyre to Michael Fassbender’s Rochester in the 2011 adaption of Charlotte Bronte’s novel directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (“True Detective”). Not only did that film prepare her for such gothic romance, it also serves as symbolic choice considering the twists “Crimson Peak” takes. We’ll say no more.
Which brings us to the film’s biggest flaw, it’s rather obvious plot. We’re always a step ahead of each clue before it’s officially revealed and, by the end, can see the twist coming from a mile away.
The fact that the script fulfills our expectations isn’t entirely damning. Even as the plot plays out exactly how we thought it would, it’s still a wondrous feast for the eyes and a welcome display of acting and directing. But for a film with high expectations after Stephen King’s rousing endorsement — “gorgeous and f-ing terrifying” — you’ll wish you walked out a tad more surprised than stimulated.
Cheap Thrills
Regardless of your feelings toward “Crimson Peak,” it’s a far, far, far, far better option than its Halloween box office competition: “Paranormal Activity 6.”
Its subtitle, “The Ghost Dimension,” is laughably ironic considering the script has very little dimension at all.
Once again, we get another round of helpless family members using video cameras to record evil spirits haunting their home. The father (Chris J. Murray) and mother (Brit Shaw) begin to worry that an evil demon named Toby is focusing its sinister plan toward their daughter Leila (Ivy George).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM1O8jcyRAw
A few jump scares are jolting — perhaps more so in 3D — reminded us of the technical advances in special effects since the original “Paranormal Activity” (2007) hit theaters eight years ago.
But all the effects in the world can’t save a horror script this non-nonsensical with zero character development. From start to finish, the characters don’t learn any valuable lessons or change at all as human beings. They merely move from room to room waiting for the poltergeists to attack.
Instead of screaming in terror, you’ll want to scream at the screen: “For God’s sake, put down your camera and help your daughter!” Or better yet, why not just move out of the damn house? It makes no logical sense that this family would keep filming while their family is in jeopardy.
The only good thing about this movie is that it’s supposed to be the last in the franchise, which started strong before eventually growing stale. Hats off to producer Jason Blum, who created an insanely profitable franchise that made horror history. The first film cost just $15,000 to produce and grossed a staggering $193 million. Since then, the franchise has grossed $392.7 million domestically — each installment costing less than $5 million, except for Part 6, which cost $10 million.
The collective box office success has proven the enduring power of the “found footage” subgenre. But after two installments of “The Blair Witch Project” (1999-2000), three installments of “The Ring” (1998-2005), three installments of “V/H/S” (2012-2014), one installment of “[Rec]” (2007) and six installments of “Paranormal Activity” (2007-2015), it’s about time the found footage becomes lost.
Let’s hope that M. Night Shyamalan’s horror-comedy “The Visit” (2015) will prove the death nail in the subgenre — at least for a while. Once a genre reaches the level of spoof, it’s time to shelf it.
Family Frights
A good middle ground between the visceral art of “Crimson Peak” and the cheap thrills of “Paranormal Activity 6” might be the mainstream family fun of “Goosebumps.”
It follows an angst-ridden teenager named Zach (Dylan Minnette), who joins his adorable single mother (Amy Ryan) for a move to small-town Madison, Delaware. There, he befriends his scrappy next-door neighbor Hannah (Odeya Rush), daughter of renowned children’s horror book author R.L. Stine (Jack Black). Before long, the suburban neighborhood is rocked by a supernatural event, as the imaginary spooky characters from Stine’s books come to life to haunt the town.
Anyone who read Stine’s series growing up will be filled with nostalgia as the various book villains come to life, from the abominable snowman to the ventriloquist dummy to the dastardly lawn gnomes. These supernatural creatures create a “Jumanji” (1995) vibe, roaring to life from a once inanimate object to offer a wild adventure. In fact, this “fun and games” middle section is actually a little too frantic, bouncing from place to place with relentless family-friendly frights.
But don’t worry parents. The scares are never so visceral as to give your kids nightmares. This horror film is a lighthearted affair that remembers that unique aspect of horror — the fact that babies often laugh when we say “peek-a-boo.” Yes, the bumps in the night are often our stomachs laughing.
Thus, the eternally hilarious Black makes a perfect cast as Stine, blending “get off of my lawn” crankiness with a soft spot for children’s literature spawned by his own childhood insecurities. As the evil lawn gnomes tie Black down, fans will appreciate the allusion to “Gulliver’s Travels” (2010). It was there that Black collaborated with “Goosebumps” director Rob Letterman, who cut his family flick teeth by writing and directing “Shark Tale” (2004) and “Monsters vs. Aliens” (2009).
Kudos to Letterman for bringing strong performances out of his surprisingly deep cast. Rush grows from her role in “The Giver” (2014), while Minnette matures after previous scary efforts with “Let Me In” (2010) and “Prisoners” (2013). It doesn’t hurt that his on-screen mother is Ryan, one of the most underrated actresses of our time, shifting from TV dramas like “The Wire” to TV comedies like “The Office,” not to mention “Gone Baby Gone” (2007), “Birdman” (2014) and “Bridge of Spies” (2015).
Even the smaller roles make us laugh out loud, from Jillian Bell as the scatter-brained aunt to Ryan Lee as the dorky sidekick Champ. Special props to Timothy Simons and Amanda Lund, who play a police officer and his overeager trainee, stealing the show with some genuine audience laughter.
Still, the most amusing part of “Goosebumps” is its self-deprecating jabs at itself. From start to finish, the entire thing is admirably self-aware. At one point, Zach says, “What do you mean you don’t know how it ends? Good guys win, bad guys lose. End of story,” but Stine insists that’s not enough. He wants to finish with more twists, turns and character growth. The script proceeds to do just that.
This self-reflexive message culminates with Stine explaining: “There are three parts to every story. The beginning, the middle and the twist.” In that light, “Goosebumps” has a super effective setup, setup, a disappointingly hectic middle, and a saving-grace ending that twists in all the right places.
It may not be a masterpiece of cinema, but it’s a fun love note to the fun side of spooky.
Zach asks, “Why couldn’t you have written stories about rainbows and unicorns?”
Stine replies, “Because that doesn’t sell 450 million copies.”
The above ratings are based on a 4-star scale. See where these film rank in Jason’s Fraley Film Guide. Follow WTOP Film Critic Jason Fraley on Twitter @JFrayWTOP.
