The Elixir

If there is one genre within the horror community that struggles coming up with new ideas it is without a doubt zombie horror films. I have seen so many different kinds of zombie releases over the years that it´s hard too remember certain films. The ones i usually don´t remember is because they look very similar to classic zombie films and have no bigger surprises to offer, but then we have films that actually manage to bring in something different to the story. It could be a completely different location, inside a very unique building or even inside an airplane up in the sky. Zombie films have really explored many different stories and sometimes you get a very unexpected surprise that proves this genre still have much to deliver. And that is exactly whay the South Korean zombie horror film Train To Busan did back in 2016, directed by Yeon Sang-ho ( who is also the director of the animated prequel Seoul Station ). What made Train To Busan such a effective horror film ( outside the brilliant acting performances from the cast ) was the set up of how to deal with a zombie outbreak on board a train. Now, if you love lots of blood and lots of zombies, let me tell you that this is definetely the film for you. Train To Busan manage to show respect to zombie classics from the past while adding some refreshing details that this genre needed. In some ways you could call this the zombie version of the 1995 action film Under Siege 2 - Dark Territory but without action star Steven Seagal, much better action scenes plus much better acting as well. Definetely worth picking up on physical media or rent this film on VOD unless it is streaming somewhere. Last year an Indonesian zombie horror film called The Elixir was released on Netflix which i discovered thanks to the YouTube movie reviewer Sinister Cinema Reviews. Since i am a fan of zombie films in general i thought this could be interesting to watch. Is this one of the horror films you should watch in early 2026 or is The Elixir nowhere near as good as i was hoping it would be?

A brand new herbal medicine that is just being tested is said to make you look younger, until the owner of one of the factories producing it tries it on himself. It may make him look younger for a short moment of time but it will actually transform him into an infected dead savage.

If you for any reason don´t like zombie horror films then i can tell you right now, you will not like this film at all. This is a very traditional zombie film in several ways, but what makes it stand out a little bit is that these zombies were infected by someone who used a new herbal medicine that is supposed to make you look younger. I think this is a good idea considering we don´t know what some medicines really contain out there, we may not get all the right information always. The fact that this herbal medicine causes a zombie invasion turns out to be effective into the plot of this film, especially surrounding a family fighting against each other. Now, when it comes to the zombies themselves i will say they do a pretty good job. They look creepy, you get to see them eat human flesh with practical effects ( quite gory scenes which i really appreciate ) they run really fast and how they react when is raining is interesting. I don´t think i have ever seen a zombie film where we see zombies standing in the rain like it makes them feel relaxed. The plot of The Elixir is pretty simple, this is basically a film that gives a clear message of how important it is to care for each other in your family, because you never know when the time comes when we have to say goodbye. The acting in general is actually pretty good and i especially like the screen chemistry between female actors Mikha Tambayong and Eva Celia as the characters Kenes and Karina, who used to be best friends. There are some well made horror scenes in this film where we get to see zombies attack from different locations and different buildings. If i have to mention something negative i would probably say this film could have used the herb medicine story more effectively, and digged deeper into it´s background. We do find out a little bit, but for some reason it feels like this part of the story wasn´t developed that much. In general i would say The Elixir is a well made horror zombie film and should please you if you enjoy this genre. Director Kimo Stamboel ( director of the 2009 Indonesian horror hit Macabre ) clearly knows what fans of this genre want and have made a good looking zombie film. If you just want a simple horror film on Netflix, this could be a great choice and The Elixir is without a doubt worth checking out.

Rating: DDD

The Job

As long as i can remember i have always been a fan of short films. For example when i visited Film Fest Sundsvall 2020 ( a film festival in the city of Sundsvall in Sweden ) i got to see Swedish short films of director´s i have never heard of. What´s exciting about this is that you get to see film makers telling many different stories, and introduce actors who you have not seen before as well. Since this film festival was supposed to be in March in that year because of the pandemic it was moved to September and they still managed to pull this off following certain rules. At this film festival i decided to watch the Swedish short film Var Är Vargen? ( Where Is The Wolf? ) from director Jonathan Norberg. This turned out to be a very interesting short film telling the story of a grandmother Gunilla ( really well acted by actress Riitta Nilsson ) spending time with her granddaughter Sofia ( Lowa Jonsson ). You get a sense that Gunilla may have some problems with her memory and seem kind of lost at times, could she have dementia? One day she decides to leave Sofia at her house watching the dog, so she can go to a graveyard and bring flowers to a specifc grave. When she drives back she suddenly hit something with her car. It looks like she hit her granddaughter Sofia with her car. Completely devastated not knowing what to do, she have to figure out what she should do from here. Var Är Vargen? ( Where Is The Wolf? ) is a very well directed short film by director Jonathan Norberg and what i especially enjoyed about this short film is that you have to figure out yourself what is true or not regarding the granddaughter. Did she really die or did something else happen during this time period? This short film was actually filmed not that far away from where i live here in the north of  Sweden so that made this short film fascinating, capturing the beautiful nature around these areas. You can watch this short film on Vimeo if you want to check it out. Not that long ago i was asked by a respected film producer in America if i could review a short film called The Job. Of course i never turn down when someone ask me to review something special, and to be honest i have not seen a lot of short films since last year ( mostly full feature films ). Is this a short film you should take the time to watch or is The Job not as good as i was hoping it would be?

While going for a job interview, Todd ( LeJon ) is dealing with a lot of personal struggles in his life. As he arrives to the location where the job interview will be held, he discover that this is no ordinary job interview.

Since i didn´t know anything about the plot of The Job before i watched it, that made everything a little bit more exciting not knowing any details. This is basically a short film that tries to show us how AI can make us aware of our own fragility. How would you react if you find out that AI pretty much know everything about your life, and tries to tell you what you should do during a job interview using a completely unrealted method than we are used to see? Very different concept than i have seen before for a short film story and this is definetely a science fiction story that should let the viewer ask several questions. Should we accept that AI know this many details about our privacy? Should we allow AI to operate job interviews instead of a living human being? There are a couple of other questions that came to my mind while watching this fascinating short film, but let´s get into the characters for a bit. Actor LeJon playing the character known as Todd is a man who clearly struggling from trauma dealing with a lot of pain, while he really needs to get a job. I feel that LeJon manage to capture the personality of Todd in a realistic way, how someone in his life situation might react. The AI bot Athena 42.0 is played by actress Dawna Lee Heising ( who i have seen in several full feature films and short films, i did review her short film Down And Out In Vampire Hills in this blog ) is a fascinating character. Dawna manage to portrait this AI bot character that makes it feel like this is not a human being talking, this feels like a bot but almost seems programmed to know exactly what to say. I feel that the screen chemistry between LeJon and Dawna Lee Heising works well and you get a sense that this is how a futuristic job interview could look like. Director Craig Railsback have made a good looking short film with The Job and bring some interesting subjects worth discussing. If you love intelligent told science fiction stories, this should definetely be a short film you would be interested in.

Rating: DDD

Black Phone 2

When i have discussions with horror fans over the world online, you can tell how different opinions people have regarding certain films. And i love that we don´t have to agree on everything, it is ok that we have different opinions regarding horror films. I remember specifically back in 2014 i was having a discussion about a horror release known as Mr. Jones from director Karl Muller. Why we brought this specific film up was because this film seemed to divide so many horror fans. Some really enjoyed it while others felt like it was a missed oppurtunity for an interesting found footage horror film. Personally i enjoyed the film, especially the strange wooden figures in the film that keep showing up in certain scenes and the mystery regarding Mr. Jones. In some ways i wonder if director Karl Muller found himself inspired by the 1999 found footage horror classic The Blair Witch Project while making Mr. Jones. Either way worth a watch if you are a fan of this genre. Speaking of horror films one director who have really made a positive impact in the horror community is the director known as Scott Derrickson. With really good horror films such as The Exporcism Of Emily Rose and of course his most beloved film Sinister, he have really found his fan base through excellent films. Deliver Us From Evil turned out to be a good film as well and i really enjoyed the special features on the blu ray release. Such a great commentary track where they tell very important details regarding the making of this film. It was in 2021 when director Scott Derrickson really surprised me with his film The Black Phone, a film that was highly praised by both movie critics and audiences as well. I did not see this film in cinema but i did rent it on digital when it was released. A very well made psychological horror film set in the 70´s with a brilliant performance by actor Ethan Hawke as The Grabber. What made The Black Phone so different from most horror films this year was how we got a look inside the mind of a very disturbed individual, while the film also captured the feeling of how vulnerable children are in very disturbing scenarios. A must watch if you have not seen it. After the success of the first film it was announced a sequel was going to be made. So here we are with a sequel and director Scott Derrickson did direct this film as well. Considering how good the first film turned out to be, is this sequel almost as good or is this just a desperate cash grab to sell tickets in cinemas?

In 1982, four years after Finney Blake ( Mason Thames ) killed the Grabber ( Ethan Hawke ), his sister Gwen ( Madeleine McGraw ) begins having dreams where she sees murders that happened at Alpine Lake Camp in 1957. During one, she recieves a call from her mother Hope ( Anna Lore ), who at the time of the 1957 murders was having similar dreams. Gwen convinces Finney and Ernesto ( Miguel Mora ), the brother of the late Robin Arellano, to travel to Alpine Lake Camp to investigate what Gewn´s dreams might mean. On the second night, Finney recieves a call on the camp´s dead payphone, this time from the Grabber. Speaking from death, the Grabber vows revenge.

Making a sequel to a film such as The Black Phone was not going to be easy. It was on my list of the best films of the year 2021 so my expectations were pretty high if im being honest. Now, i already knew we were going to be in good hands since director Scott Derrickson returned to direct this film. And i can happily say this is a solid horror film, but is it as good as the first one? Im going to give you my own opinion and say:- Not exactly as good as the first one but still good. So let me dig deeper into what i feel about Black Phone 2 and what makes this film work. The time period of the 80´s is captured well in this film. Everything from costume design to the decortated homes that we see, it feels like we are in the 1980´s and im grateful they tried to capture this through certain details. To me this is very important if you make a film set in the past, you have to be able to make it feel like they make it look like the right time period. One thing i noticed with this sequel is that this film really feels inspired by A Nightmare On Elm Street, in the sense that we get dream sequences that reminded me of Freddy Krueger ( played by iconic horror legend Robert Englund ) and how he was able to attack his victims. These scenes are cleverly constructed into the plot and they do look good as well, We do see The Grabber ( played once more with another really strong performance by Ethan Hawke ) return and i have to say in this film we get a whole different perspective on this character. I think this was a good idea not repeating the first film too much and go in a different direction. The actors Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw both give strong performances in Black Phone 2 and i do love their chemistry on the big screen. The one thing i feel that this film may not have as the first film is the same strong psychological horror level, you can feel it but it does not feel as powerful as it did in the first film. With that said this is still one of the better horror releases of 2025 and should be seen on digital or physical media. Black Phone 2 show that you can make a great sequel if you know how to tell a disturbing story, in a fascinating way. Im definetely getting a physical copy and so should you.

Rating: DDD

Ice Road: Vengeance

During the winter of 1990 i had a Patrick Swayze night at the home of The Robertsson family in my hometown. The father in this family named Janne had rented 2 of Patrick Swayze´s film on VHS which was Road House and another film called Next Of Kin. Road House i had already heard about on MTV and i believe a group of school girls from my class used to have posters of Patrick Swayze film Road House on their locker. We did watch this film first and we enjoyed it. It is a very simple film to be honest but if you enjoy 80´s action with a good sense of humour then this film bring some enjoyable moments. When it comes to Next Of Kin i had never heard about this film before. It turned out to be a completely different film compared to Road House, i guess you could call this film an action drama thriller combined. It was alright for being a Patrick Swayze film, but what really made this film stand out was the rest of the cast with names such as Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Adam Baldwin, a very young Ben Stiller and especially Liam Neeson. This was actually the first film i watched ever with Liam Neeson before i saw him in Darkman ( which is a brilliant 90´s action horror film ). Since then i have seen a lot of films with actor Liam Neeson over the years in everything from action, thrillers and drama films. Of course ever since his 2008 action film Taken he have made a lot of similar movies in this genre, or at least made lower budget action films. While some of the films are entertaining there are some films that are pretty forgettable. One film that worked though is called The Ice Road from director Jonathan Hensleigh which was released during the pandemic. The story is very simple, truck driver Mike McCann ( Liam Neeson ) takes care of his brother Gurty McCann ( Marcus Thomas ), an Iraq war veteran suffering from PTSD and aphasia. Mike is in need of a new job and get an oppurtinuty when another trucker, Jim Goldenrod ( Laurence Fishburne ), decides to accept a job driving to a mine in Manitoba, Cananda. 26 miners are trapped in there and they need wellheads to the mine. They decide to drive through the most dangerous road known as The Ice Road. What could have been a smooth mission is about to become much more complicated. This is a traditional action film in the same spirit of the 1998 truck action Patrick Swayze classic Black Dog, except lots of snow and ice instead. If you just want an old school action film i think The Ice Road is completely fine. I had no idea a sequel was coming out last year but here we are, and Liam Neeson returns as well in Ice Road Vengeance. Is this a solid sequel to the first film or is this a desperate attempt just to cash in money on the name of Liam Neeson?

Ice-road trucker Mike McCann ( Liam Neeson ), who unfortunately lost his beloved brother Gurty McCann ( Marcus Thomas ) on his mission on The Ice Road a couple of years ago, is struggling to function in ordinary day life. The final wish his brother Gurty had was he wanted his ashes to be scattered on the top of Mount Everest. Mike decides to travel to Nepal to make his brother´s last wish come true. While he arrives and get on a tourist bus, little do the passengers know that they are about to have a very rough ride up into the mountains.

Those who have followed my movie reviews over the years may remember i have pointed out several times, if you are making a sequel to a film try and do something different than the original film and that is actually the case of Ice Road: Vengeance. While the first film was more about a work mission regarding trucks, this sequel is more like a kidnapping action film that includes buses and cars instead up in the mountains of Nepal. The fact that they choosed to make this film in another country is of course positive, instead of just making a sequel taking place in the same environment. I also appreciate seeing the main character Mike McCann ( once again played by actor Liam Neeson ) in a completely different scenario than the first film. When it comes to the acting of Ice Road: Vengeance it is about as exciting as hearing certain actors saying dialogue like watching a snail crossing the road. Liam Neeson may not give a powerful performance but he is the highlight of this film. It is too bad they didn´t attempt to try making several other characters more interesting. I swear once you have seen this film there are not many characters you will remember, simply because they leave no impact at all. The most positive i can say is that some of the action scenes have a few fun moments. The rest of the film is a very basic action film as if they wanted to do something similar to VHS action movies of the 90´s. With stronger characters and a little more effort into the dialogue this could have been a fun film. What we are left with is an action film that you don´t feel have much to offer, unless you love a very simple plot and don´t care about the acting. Ice Road: Vengeance is not as terrible as it could have been, i appreciate the effort trying to make a sequel that looks different. Too bad director Jonathan Hensleigh didn´t focus more on certain details for this sequel, because i actually enjoyed The Ice Road that he directed in 2021. If you are a fan of the first The Ice Road film you might still have fun with this sequel, as long as you don´t have too high expectations. Liam Neeson is a solid action star, but he can´t make this film good enough with his screen presence when other details causes problems.

Rating: DD

30 Years Anniversary Review Of Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead

One thing i really appreciate about looking back into movie history, is that you suddenly remember films that you loved for several reasons but have not seen in quite a while. For example just about 3 weeks ago i was going through films that was released 38 years ago in 1987 and i came across the title known as The Untouchables by legendary director Brian De Palma. I used to watch this film so many times back in the early 90´s on VHS and was one of my favourite films with legendary actor Kevin Costner. This is a very good criminal drama thriller with a brilliant cast such as Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, Patricia Clarksson. Brad Sullivan and many others. The story is set in Chicago in the 1930´s where it is illegal to buy alcohol or sell alcohol where Bureau of Prohibiton agent Elliot Ness ( Kevin Costner ) who put together a team known as The Untouchables to take down the notorious gangster Al Capone ( Robert De Niro ) and his underground alcohol business. The whole cast does a brilliant job in this film and the film really manage to capture the time period during the 1930´s in a realistic way through costume design and set design. It was this film that legendary actor Sean Conner won an Academy award for and i can see why, he is absolutely fantastic as the character Officer Jimmy Malone. One of the reasons why i remember this film is that this was actually the very first role i saw actor Andy Garcia do. He was young at this time but still proved himself to be a great actor. If you have not seen The Untouchables you really should see it. Speaking of Andy Garcia i noticed that this year it is 30 years ago since his 1995 film Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead was released in theatres. Since i have nostalgic memories over this film i decided to watch it again and make a 30 years anniversary review as well. Is this film just as nostalgic as i remember it to be or have this film aged much more than i expected and lost some magic along the way?

Ex-ganster Jimmy "The Saint" Tosnia ( Andy Garcia ) is trying to live a normal life, leaving his criminal past behind by running his company Afterlife Advice in Denver, where dying people videotape messages for their loved ones.  His business isn´t doing well and his former boss, a crime lord known as "The Man With The Plan" ( Christopher Walken ), has bought up his debt in order to command a favor involving the crime lord´s son, Bernard ( Michael Nicolosi ), who has been arrested for child molestation. The Man With The Plan, who was left a quadriplegic after an attempt on his life, wants Jimmy to pursuade Bernard´s ex-girlfriend Meg to come back to him; The Man With The Plan believe this will cure Bernard of his pedophilia. Jimmy have no other option but to recruit a group of criminal friends from the past, not knowing that there is an assassin out there ready to wipe out each of Jimmy´s friends.

Ever since i saw Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead in theatre here in Sweden i have always had a special place in my heart for this film. This is one of those magical 90´s movies that had so much to offer, especially if you loved really good casting, excellent performances and a very smooth story that followed with the plot. The thing is that this film may not look very unique when you read about it, it doesn´t sound very original. What makes this film so unique is the chemistry of this cast, and let me tell you this is a dream cast you don´t see very often. Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Walken, Treat Williams, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Jack Warden, Steve Buscemi, i could go on and on telling you the whole list. And how they were able to make so many great characters in one single film is incredible to be honest. And that is one of the biggest reason this film is so good, each character have magical screen time while especially some of them shine brighter. For example i have never been a huge fan of Andy Garcia but his character known as Jimmy "The Saint" is without a doubt one of the best characters i have ever seen Andy Garcia do. He is a perfect match for this character and so charming, who doesn´t want to hang out with Jimmy "The Saint"? The absolute best acting performance comes without a doubt from actor Treat Williams as the absolutely insane character "Critical" Bill. I could go on talking about the characters but let´s talk about the plot itself. There is a dark sense of humour mixed into the plot and you also get a sense that this film have a similar style of Quentin Tarantino when it comes to telling this story of a gang of criminals. You could say this film have a influences from the 1992 classic Tarantino full feature directorial debut film Reservoir Dogs, except this is not a heist film in that sense. This gang that Jimmy "The Saint" put together is a perfect match just like Tarantino did in Reservoir Dogs so i promise you will have a good time while they work together. The film looks great and the story is told very smoothly like an old school gangster film with some more modern touches. One difference compared to Reservoir Dogs is that this film is not that violent, only in a few scenes. Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead is one of my personal favourite 90´s films for a very good reason, this film have so many details that work so well making this a unique film experience. Director Gary Fleder proved with his directorial debut film that you can make a really good looking mob story with the right characters and the right sense of humour. This may have been a box office bomb in 1995 but i will always love this film, i strongly recommend Things To Do In Denver When You´re Dead on the Imprint blu ray release if you can get it or if you get the DVD. This is a true classic that belongs in your movie collection.

Rating: DDDD

30 Years Anniversary Review Of GoldenEye

I remember the very first time i visited London back in the year of 2002 it was right during Christmas weekend. The streets were filled with Christmas lights and Christmas decorations, much more than i was used to see in the capital city of Stockholm here in Sweden. I was only staying in London for a short while to hang out with my Scottish female friend Sharron, because we were going to celebrate New Years Eve in Edinburgh. One specific thing i remember in London that was quite big during this time of year was that the latest James Bond film Die Another Day was still running in cinemas with Pierce Brosnan. You could see double decker buses with Die Another Day posters and cinemas was still making sure James Bond fans could enter any cinema to enjoy the latest Bond chapter. The idea was that i was going to watch the film here in London while i stayed here. That plan changed because Sharron wanted a night out in bars instead and i ended up really drunk, and on the flight to Edinburgh i wasn´t feeling well at all. I did not watch Die Another Day in cinema in Scotland either, not until i returned to Sweden in January 2003 and i finally watched the film in cinema. Not one of the better James Bond films but at least not as terrible as Moonraker with Roger Moore so i suppose that´s good. Always been a James Bond fan since childhood and that´s thanks to my grandfather Ingvar who used to watch the James Bond movies all the time. He introuduced me to the very first Sean Connery films and we continued with the next James Bond known as Roger Moore. Back in those days we used to rent James Bond films on VHS when he lived in the city known as Kungälv. I have basically seen all the James Bond films since the 90´s in cinema except for No Time To Die, probably because of the pandemic and i didn´t visit the cinema until 2022. Either way i noticed that this year it is 30 years ago Pierce Brosnan´s first Bond movie GoldenEye turns 30 years old this year. I did see this film in cinema back in the 90´s and at the time i did enjoy this film with the brand new James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. Since then i bought the VHS tape of the film and i still own a double DVD version of this film. I decided to revisit this film to see if my opinion have changed anything after 30 years. Is this still a solid James Bond film in this legendary franchise or have GoldenEye aged a lot over the years and lost some of it´s Bond magic?

MI6 agents James Bond ( Pierce Brosnan ) and Alec Trevelyan ( Sean Bean ) infilitrate a clandestine Soviet chemical weapons lab in Arkhangelsk. After witnessing Trevelyan seemingly executed by the facility´s commanding officer, Colonel Arkady Ourumov ( Gottfried John ), Bond destroys the site and escape in a stolen aircraft. Nine years later, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Bond attempts to prevent Xenia Onatopp ( Famke Janssen ), a member of the Janus crime syndicate, from stealing a Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter during a military demonstration in Monte Carlo, but is unsuccessful. Returning to MI6 headquarters In London, Bond joins MI6 staff monitoring an incident in Severnaya, Siberia, after the stolen helicopter turns up at the radar site there. An electromagnetic pulse blast suddenly hits the site, destroying it and several Russian fighter aircraft, while knocking out some satellite systems in orbit. The newly appointed M ( Judi Dench ) assigns Bond to investigate, after it is determined that the blast came from a Soviet-era sattelite armed with a nuclear electromagnetic pulse space-based weapon, codenamed "GoldenEye", 

One of the things i noticed while watching this film again was that this really feels like a 90´s action film. The music feels very 90´s, the editing feels like a 90´s action film and of course some of the characters also feel very 90´s. But i am totally fine with all of this because this was supposed to be the first film to bring James Bond in a more updated version since License To Kill back in 1989. If you loved the previous James Bond actor known as Timothy Dalton, you might think differently of Pierce Brosnan playing this legendary character. I personally feel that he was the perfect choice to continue the legacy of James Bond. Pierce Brosnan have always been an actor who knows how to be both charming and very serious as well, and he clearly knew how to combine this in GoldenEye showing the best out of Bond´s personality. What becomes very clear with GoldenEye is how effective many of the action scenes are in this film. I would probably say that this is one of the James Bond films where there are more action scenes compared to several of Roger Moore´s 80´s Bond movies such as Octopussy or A View To A Kill. GoldenEye manage to find a great balance of action scenes and a good sense of humour without loosing some of the charming qualities of a Bond movie that we are familiar with. I really enjoy the character Natalya Simonova ( played by Swedish actress Izabella Scorupco ) in the sense that she´s not the typical Bond girl. She is much tougher, doesn´t follow the typical Bond girl model we are familiar from the 70´s or 80´s. The evil character Xenia Onatopp ( played by actress Famke Janssen ) is perhaps one of the coolest evil women in this franchise, absolutely insane. Legendary actress Judi Dench as M is of course one of the true highlights in this film, this is the perfect casting choice for this character. The story surrounding the space based weapon GoldenEye works well and actually bring some intensive action scenes towards the end. Director Martin Campbell who i have seen several films from in the past, i would say this is definetely one of his better films. Not as good as Casino Royale with Daniel Craig but still proved he knew exactly what this franchise needed into the 90´s. GoldenEye is without a dout the best James Bond film with Pierce Brosnan and im still a big fan of this film. If you are a fan of this franchise in general i think you should revisit GoldenEye and have a really good time.

Rating: DDDD

The Toxic Avenger

There are several summers i can remember from my youth for a number of reasons. I had my first crush in a girl in the late 80´s in a summer camp, i went to see my very first double concert in an arena seeing Rod Stewart and Brtitish rock band Status Quo the same night ( the tickets was a gift so why not ? ), all the Swedish Midsummer celebrations with my grandfather Ingvar getting drunk. So let´s move forward to the summer of 1993 when i was going to a summer film school project for young people. This was a summer school project for teenagers who had no summer jobs and just wanted to do something during summer. The idea was to learn how to use a camera to film from different angles, learn camera technique, practise shooting different scenes to prepare doing a fake news show where my friend André was supposed to be the news anchor. We did 4 episodes all together and made up news stories, the best news report was about disabled people doing a swimming contest. We had 2 teenagers act disabled in the swimming pool and they were hillarious. I know you are not supposed to laugh at certain things when it comes to being disabled, but this was done in a classy was and not offensive. Almost like old school British comedy i would say. Anyway, at the last week of summer film school we were allowed to watch movies at film school. We had completed the news show and were just chilling watching B movies on VHS. This was the first time i came across the Troma film cult classic known as The Toxic Avenger. I have never heard of this film before so this became a personal favourite for many years. The story of mopping boy Melvin Ferd ( Mitch Cohen ) who cleans the local gym in Tromaville, New Jersey. Everyone hates the ugly looking nerd Melvin and especially by health guru Bozo ( Gary Schneider ) and his girlfriend Julie ( Cindy Manion ). One day they do a prank on him and chase him through the gym, it ends with Melvin jumping out the window and lands in a drum of toxic waste. This is where he turns into The Toxic Avenger, the new hero of Tromaville. This is truly one of the greatest 80´s cult movies of all time, hillarious, crazy, and violent all at the same time from directors Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman. The sequels was not as good as the first film so when i heard a remake was going to be made i was skeptical. Can you really succeed doing a remake on such a classic film? I bought a digital copy of this remake to simply find out if this was going to be better than i expected. Is this new adaptation of The Toxic Avenger worthy a movie night or is this a disaster from start to finish?

Janitor Winston ( Peter Dinklage ) is a hard working single father trying to do the best for his son Wade ( Jacob Tremblay ). When he finds out he have a very serious disease and may not survive more than 6 months, he tries to get help from his CEO known as Bob Gardinger ( Kevin Bacon ), but he basically mock his employee. In Tromaville there is a criminal gang known as The Killer Nutz, who one night attack Winston out in the streets and dump him inside a vat of chemicals. Winston turn into a creature known as The Toxic Avenger ( Lisa Guerreiro ) who will soon become the hero of Tromaville, fighting criminals with his toxic mop. He will clean up the streets of Tromaville and make sure Bob Gardinger no longer will be in control of this city.

If you are familiar with Troma films in general and know their kind of sense of humour you know they make pure B movies with bad dialogue and use lots of practical effects. In some cases they use a lot of gory violence that´s made to be a tribute to the worst B movies you can remember. In the case of this latest remake of The Toxic Avenger this is pretty much what you might expect. At least if you know the style of Troma films then this should be a film that might please you. There are some changes in this film compared to the 1984 original film of The Toxic Avenger and i actually think they did the right thing. Why try to copy the first film? Just do a completely different updated version, throw in completely different characters and try telling a story that´s not similar to the past. This updated version give us a complete different view of The Toxic Avenger than we are familiar with in the past. The original film is very goofy, almost like a terrible yet brilliant Jackie Chan rip off with high entertainment value for all the crazy characters and all the violence. This latest version do have crazy characters included as well and i have to say legendary actor Kevin Bacon as the evil Bob Gardinger is one of the best performances in this whole film. Kevin have always been able to take on all kinds of characters and i love seeing him play this insane individual. Actor Elijah Wood also give a solid performance as the odd character Fritz Garbinger who looks like some relative from The Addams Family. Even though Game Of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage is good as the main character Winston i got to say actress Luisa Guerreiro ( who you should watch in the Netflix TV series The Witcher ) as full costume Toxie is the highlight of this film. I personally enjoy the costume design of Toxie while still keeping a touch of the legendary look from 1984. Even if you hear Dinklage´s voice it is Luisa doing the physical performance as Toxie and the voice over matches well. Very violent scenes in several moments in this film and i love seeing Toxie ripping bodies apart. There are some funny moments as well where you feel that the Troma influences becomes very clear. Director Macon Blair ( who i really love in the 2013 independent drama thriller Blue Ruin, a must watch ) have not only managed to do a great remake of a B movie classic, but he also have given this legendary character a different approach that actually works. If you just want lots of blood, bad dialogue and just have a good time then what are you waiting for? Watch this Toxic Avenger remake and your pizza night at home will without a doubt be successfull.

Rating: DDD