FILM REVIEWS:
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (USA 2025) ***½
Directed by Bill Condon
The setting is Argentina, 1983, where the military dictatorship has killed and imprisoned some 30,000 political opponents. The first act introduces the two prisoners sharing the same cell. Usually, the introductory phase of any story could be laboured, but in this film, the introductions are spirited and ultra-dramatic. The first screen adaptation, however, is set in a Brazilian prison during the 1970s military dictatorship.
Argentina, 1983. With the country’s military dictatorship waging a brutal war against its political opponents, prisoners Molina (Tonatiuh) and Valentin (Diego Luna) are cellmates in a prison where fear runs rampant. Molina is a window dresser, incarcerated for public indecency with a male. He likes to chit-chat and decorate the walls with movie posters. Valentin is different, a leftist activist who likes to read political books and ponder. He doesn’t know that Molina has been tasked to spy on him, in return for favours like roast chicken and chocolate. Meanwhile, Molina provides escapism for both of them by recounting the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favourite screen diva (Jennifer Lopez).
As the cinematic story begins to blend with their real lives, Molina’s and Valentin’s bond grows stronger, first as friends – and then as more. Yet Molina is still being pressured to deliver some intel on Valentin.
The first screen adaptation (same title) before the musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb is a 1985 drama film directed by Héctor Babenco from a screenplay by Leonard Schrader, based on the 1976 novel by Argentine author Manuel Puig. It starred William Hurt, Raúl Julia, Sônia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves, and Denise Dumon. This film was a huge hit, so this new adaptation by Bill Condon (KINSEY, GODS AND MONSTERS) has tough shoes to fill. Babenco went on to be the first Brazilian director to be nominated for an Academy Award. That film also won Hurt the Best Actor for BFATA and the Golden Globe. The film also featured the hot Brazilian actress Sonia Braga. It is interesting to note that as Babenco’s SPIDERWOMAN is largely Brazilian, his prison is a Brazilian prison, while the book’s and this latest film adaptation is an Argentinian prison. In fact, this film ends with the political prisoners relating in Argentina.
The dances are magnificently choreographed, with Jennifer Lopez doing justice to the Latino dances. The choreography is no Bob Fosse masterpieces as in his CABARET with Ebb and Kander, but the dances are still fantastic. Director Condon directs the dances in one take, which enhances the magnificence as opposed to the dances in Baz Luhrmann’s STRICTLY BALLROOM, MOULIN ROUGE, or his ELVIS films, in which the choreography is broken up into too many cuts, with edits appearing less than every 12 seconds, thus chopping up all the dances.
For Fred and Chita…… These words appear on the screen, indicating the persons the film is dedicated to. The film is dedicated to the memories of Ebb (who died in 2004), McNally (who died in 2020 from COVID-19), and Chita Rivera (who originated the title role on stage and died in 2024).
KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN opens October 17 across Canada! At the time of writing, the film has had he most disastrous opening weekend this year, grossing a domestic less than $1 million domestically at the box office. Another dud for Lionsgate!
Trailer:
OTHER (France 2025) ***
Directed by David Moreau
David Moreau’s OTHER is a mystery/horror/thriller, pretty much like his previous 2024 film MadS. Less ambitious than MadS, which was done in one long continuous take, director Moreau removes this filming constraint in his latest effort. There are differences. The former was an intense fast fast-paced horror film, while the latter is a slow burn that takes place generally in a big, empty house. (Or is it not empty?) The one similarity of both films is that one can expect the unexpected. The former has a surprise end-of-the-world scenario at the end of the film, and there is a not-to-be-revealed surprise in OTHER as well.
OTHER has a female protagonist compared to the young male one in MadS.
With scenes of the female in a large dilapidated house, director Moteau cannot help himself by having a few scenes with his beautiful actress in scanty clad attire. At least, he does not resort to jump scares, which these days are used too much with annoyance.
The film can be divided into three acts. The first is the setup where the audience is introduced to the female and her beau, Charlie. The second has the setup where the film scares the audience with a masked killer, a wild animal, and other devices. The third act is a violent one, with one scene where the female has her fingers stuck in the spikes of barbed wire as she scales a barbed wire fence. Another scene has her pull out the spikes. Be prepared to cringe a number of times.
The main flaw of the film is the upended conclusion in which the audience is left to interpret what is actually going on. The end is more frustrating than innovative. One does not go watch a horror film to think, but just to be entertained and scared silly. Other than that, Moreau’s film is well shot, well performed, and displays promise.
One thing to note is that OTHER, a French film from France that is shot in English. Like MadS, which was shot in French, both films could be relocated to any part of the world and shot in any language without much difference.
OTHER, like MadS, is a Shudder streaming exclusive and opens for streaming on the horror network on October 17th.
Trailer:
THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Jody Stelzig
A "weed hacker" is an informal or incorrect term for a string trimmer, also commonly called a weed whacker, weed eater, or whipper snipper. It is a garden power tool that uses a spinning monofilament line to cut grass and weeds in hard-to-reach areas like the edges of a lawn, around trees, or along fences. In the horror comedy film within a film, the weedhacker ’s string is not seen, but what can be seen are whirring blades. Blades that kill!
The film aims to capitalize on the gruesome murders that polarized the film THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, as both films are set in Texas, in remote Texas, both have the word massacre, and both have the weapon of a cutting tool. The film notably features Allen Danziger (from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) as Sheriff Danzinshoos. The film was co-created by Allen Danziger and Ray Spivey, written and produced by Ray Spivey, executive produced by Allen Danziger, and directed by Jody Stelzig.
How many remakes of a bad horror movie can one make? The cast and crew of THE WEEDHACKER MASSACRE boldly film where gruesome murders occurred 10 years ago, and the masked killer, nicknamed Poker Face, was never found. Bad acting, bounced payroll checks, and the killer's return threaten what is surely to become their worst movie ever.
The film begins with a sudden kill in which one brother kills the other over some marijuana. The killing does not make much sense, but neither does the entire film. Aimed at least to be a silly comedy, that it is, though the film turns out to be amusing at best. - a low-budget derivative horror comedy with a few satirical edges.
Gruesome murders involving a college kid and girls occurred 10 years before the setting of the present. The male student, Wonder Willie, disappears, and it is assumed that he killed all the girls, of which only one survived. 10years later, a crew returns to make another remake of the killings with Wonder Willie present and a reporter who was one of the survivors of the massacre 10 years ago. The killers are the family of the Guters, the family that made the town the marijuana capital of Texas. Everyone in the city is involved with the Guters. Wonder Willie and Candy find themselves new targets for the Gutters' new spree of killings, in which the film crew is done away with one by one.
The killings are executed in a light, violent fashion, mostly with speed and efficiency, and lots of blood. The dialogue is corny as hell, but it is meant to be so. There are a few parodies that work. One is the realization that Wonder Willie and Candy are in a romantic relationship. The music turns romantic-like, but the couple suddenly realizes what is happening, and in embarrassment, turns away, thus killing the cliche.
The performances are all done effectively enough by an all non-star cast. The film could have been funnier or scarier. It seems that this horror comedy compromises both the comedy and the horror elements. The film’s campiness and cheesiness work, though.
THE WEEDHACKER opens on digital platforms on October 17th.
Trailer:
