The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Just like with Piranha 3DD, I never expected to actually see this film at the cinema. Unlike with Piranha 3DD, this film succeeded in blowing my mind. I first heard about The Raid: Redemption late last year and I assumed that I'd have to watch it on DVD, that it would have almost no chance of getting a theatrical release. So, to my surprise and pleasure, I heard a few months ago that it was indeed going to be released into cinemas.

An Indonesian action film made by a Welsh director, The Raid: Redemption is one of the more unlikely films released this year. It's also one of the most memorable action films I've seen in years. The story is very simple: a SWAT team twenty strong including rookie Rama (Iko Uwais) and Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim), joined by Lieutenant Wahyu (Pierre Gruno), storm a thirty-story block of flats occupied and run by notorious crime boss and drug baron Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy). Supporting Tama are the residents of the building, his own private army and his right-hand men, Andi (Donny Alamsyah) and "Mad Dog" (Yayan Ruhian). The cops sneak in, hoping to surprise Tama but it's only a matter of time before the shit hits the fan and the action explodes off the screen.

What it lacks in intricate plot or detailed characterisation it more than makes up for in constant, pulse-pounding, overwhelming action. It's a barrage of wall-to-wall gunfights, fist fights, knife fights and fights with just about every other weapon imaginable. Massive credit must go to Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, who not only star in the film but also choreograph the dazzling fight scenes. The fighting style used in the film is the Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat and at times the fights between the characters resemble dances more than anything else, so intricate and spectacular are they. Director Gareth Jones' brutal confrontations in the narrow corridors of the building draw favourable comparisons with the infamous hammer scene in Oldboy. In fact, his handling of all the fight scenes shows someone with a serious talent at work here.

In the final third, some secrets about the characters are revealed and it's set up for a sequel but the developments aren't taxing and are fairly easy to see coming. That's not to say they detract from the film. Not at all. In fact, I don't think anything could detract from the action scenes, spectacular as they are.

The Raid: Redemption is absolutely outstanding, an instant action movie classic. Go and see it while it's still in cinemas, you won't be disappointed!

9 out of 10.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Sometimes, the less you know about a film the better. I went into The Cabin in the Woods knowing very little. I'd seen some of the trailer and I knew, of course, that it's mostly about five kids going to a cabin in the woods where weird shit happens and that some guys in an office were involved but beyond that, I was pretty much clueless. That's the state of mind I hope to leave you in, dear reader: tantalised but not prepared for what you are about to see.

It's not a spoiler to say that some guys in an office are involved. Heck, the film opens on them - Steve (Richard Jenkins) and Richard (Bradley Whitford) - as they begin their day at work. Just ten minutes in, after we've met the five kids - Dana (Kristen Connolly), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Jules (Anna Hutchison), Marty (Fran Kranz) and Holden (Jesse Williams) - who are leaving to go and stay at a cabin in the woods for the weekend, the presence of a man dressed all in black crouching on the roof of Dana's house, watching them drive away gives a pretty big hint as to what's happening. Indeed, ten minutes later when Steve and Richard are joined at work by Wendy (Amy Acker), we know exactly what's going on. The thrill comes not from finding out what's happening but from watching it unfold. If that sounds cryptic, it's meant to.

The best way I can describe The Cabin in the Woods is as an unholy mash-up between The Evil Dead, My Little Eye, The Cube, The Truman Show, Tucker & Dale vs Evil and Scream. Plus, it's produced and co-written by Joss Whedon so you know that the humour is absolutely spot-on. He has described The Cabin in the Woods as a response to "torture porn" and also as a reminder of what horror films can be and perhaps, should be. He's got a point and it's a pity that the film has been stuck in limbo for the past three years because had it been released in 2009 it would have made more of an impact. But now, "torture porn" has, for the most part, fallen out of fashion, replaced by remakes and 3D extravaganzas. It's a pity because the debate over the artistic value of "torture porn" films (a term I dislike) would certainly have benefitted from the critique that The Cabin in the Woods offers.

Fans of the horror film genre will likely love The Cabin in the Woods. I certainly did. It was particularly enjoyable picking out all of the references to horror films old and new. The only problem the film has is that being so self-referential and parodic it feels quite inaccessible to pretty much everyone who isn't already a horror buff. Films like Tucker & Dale vs Evil and Scream were better for the fact that you didn't have to have a working knowledge of horror films to really appreciate them. In being late to the "torture porn" party I fear that it's already irrelevant and it's lack of wider appeal may make this an unfortunate failure. It certainly doesn't deserve to fail.

The Cabin in the Woods is a brilliant horror film: funny, well acted, full of excellent send-ups of the horror genre and very, very, very gory. Horror fans, flock to see this film. For everyone else, take the chance. You might not get every reference (he's based on a character from Hellraiser, before you ask) but you'll laugh just the same and you'll wince just the same. If it means you then go and watch The Evil Dead on DVD, all the better!

A thoroughly enjoyable film and one of the most original horror films I've seen in years. My minor quibbles with it prevent it from scoring a 10.

9 out of 10.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010)

The comedy horror genre is an unpredictable one. After the success of Shaun of the Dead in 2004 the genre fell on its face when Slither flopped and was subsequently pronounced dead. Smaller films like Severance, Black Sheep and Teeth were all good films but haven't broken out into the mainstream. Then Zombieland happened. The biggest grossing zombie film of all time and (as I've said previously) one of my favourite films of all time. Perhaps there is hope for comedy horror films after all?

If any film deserves to have the level of success Zombieland enjoyed, Tucker & Dale vs Evil is that film. Think Shaun of the Dead with hillbillies and you're pretty much there. This is horror comedy at its finest: buckets of blood, brilliant gags and nods to horror films from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to Hatchet to Wrong Turn and The Burning as well as plenty more besides.

Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine) look like creepy inbred cannibal hillbillies. In reality, they're misunderstood and harmless best friends who want nothing more than to renovate their newly purchased lake-side holiday cabin. The fact that it looks like they bought it from Leatherface and Jason Voorhees passes the pair completely by. On the way to their new retreat, they run into some college kids on a camping trip. Dale is drawn to the beautiful Alison (Katrina Bowden) and, egged on by Tucker, he attempts to ask her out. He is awkward and lacks confidence, scaring Alison and reinforcing the other college kids' view of him as a creepy hillbilly. Unbeknownst to either group, they head on to the same lake. Deciding to go skinny dipping, Chloe (Chelan Simmons, showing off her magnificent boobs) and three of the guys interrupt Tucker and Dale's late-night fishing trip. The squabbling pair startle Alison, who is stripping down to her underwear on a nearby rock and she falls into the water and hits her head. Dale dives into the water and fishes her out, dragging her into their boat. Tucker shouts at the others that they've rescued Alison but they panic and think they've kidnapped her. Then the fun begins.

Alison, taken back to their cabin and bandaged up, is initially terrified but warms to Dale and the two end up playing board games while Tucker cuts logs with a chainsaw. The college kids find the cabin and just as one of them plucks up the courage to approach, Tucker bursts a bee hive with his chainsaw and sprints towards the college kid, waving the weapon at the furious bees in a superb parody of Leatherface. The college kids begin dying in fantastically inventive and outrageously hilarious ways, none of which Alison witnesses as she ends up being banged on the head again. When she comes to and discovers the carnage outside the cabin, Dale reveals that Tucker has been kidnapped by her friends, led by the increasingly demented Chad (Jesse Moss). When Alison tries to use her budding psychology skills to broker a peace agreement and clear up the misunderstanding between Chad and Dale over a cup of tea, things turn explosively worse.

All comedy horror should be as brilliant as Tucker & Dale. Tudyk and Labine have wonderful chemistry as the title pair. They bounce off each other superbly and make you really believe that they're lifelong best friends. Bowden could have fallen back into playing a stereotypical bimbo, but she doesn't. She's really game, delivering an energetic and funny performance. Horror fans will have a blast spotting the little nods and winks to genre classics and even if you aren't familiar enough with the genre to spot every reference, the satire isn't too narrow to pass you by. It's only eighty-eight minutes and it skips by, never letting up in the fabulous gore and the hysterical jokes. But that's not all this film has to offer. What many other comedy horrors lack underneath their exterior of blood and jokes, Tucker & Dale has in bucket-loads: heart. At its core, it's a film about friendship and tolerance.

My one minor quibble with Tucker & Dale is that the very brief prologue should have come at the end, either during the credits or as a post-credits scene. I would seriously recommend skipping it. Just go straight to the title card, which is followed by the "3 days earlier" tag and the start of the film. It spoils the ending somewhat, much like the theatrical trailers (both red and green). Give them a miss, take my word for it and enjoy a fantastic film.

9 out of 10.