Bad Santa: Rohan Campbell delivers some Christmas cheer in ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’.
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT *** (96 minutes) MA
A very good remake of the 1984 splatterfest that reminds how the horror genre has henjoyed an above-average hit rate when it comes to serious makeovers of classics from the 1970s and ‘80s.
Serial killer Billy (Rohan Campbell) is driven by the spirit of his predecessor to slaughter selected victims while dressed as Santa, his MO being that he only dispatches bad people.
Showing his deep love for the source, writer/director Mike P. Nelson does a swell job selling the rather abstract premise of a strongly motivated spirit of vengeance inhabiting new hosts by playing things straight.
Solid performances from Campbell and Ruby Modine (daughter of Matthew) anchor the bloody mayhem, laced with some dark humour. Catnip for horror fans. Bound to please.
ELLA MCCAY * (115 minutes) M
From writer/director James L Brooks, who gave one of the best romantic comedies ever with Broadcast News, comes a surprisingly spiritless and flustered stumblebum of a comedy about a middle-aged woman who has just landed the job as governor of her state.
Set in 2008 and starring the very photogenic Emma Mackey (Sex Education; Emily) as the titular personage, the film flails about from the get-go as Ella tries negotiating her gear change while dealing with an alleged “scandal” that turns out to be about as scandalous and controversial as someone pocketing a pen from the office stationery cupboard.
Being a young professional woman in a movie Ella is, of course, a hot mess, which is a sufficiently reliable cliche upon which to build a knockabout character comedy, only the film’s not very funny and Ella becomes increasingly unlikeable the more we get to know her. The way she treats her husband Ryan (Jack Lowden), for instance, is pretty awful.
Also starring Albert Brooks (from Broadcast News) and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge from The Simpsons, which Brooks produced), the film is so soft-centred and unfocussed you’d swear, if you didn’t know different, that it was Australian.
PETS ON A TRAIN *** (87 minutes) PG
Plenty of fun and movie references in this hyper-kinetic action comedy from France about a gaggle of pets stuck on a runaway train who have to work together to survive the ordeal, with the raffish racoon Falcon leading the effort.
As enjoyable as kids will find it, any film nerd worth their salt will positively swoon at all the nods given to the great train films of yore.
Particularly pleasing to these ancient eyes were salutes to The Cassandra Crossing, Silver Streak, Runaway Train, Von Ryan’s Express and The Train.
THE GOLDEN SPURTLE *** (75 minutes) PG
Never has the unforgiving, cut-throat world of international competitive porridge making been laid bare in all its brutal detail.
That’s because it’s actually a cordial, cozy, community-enhancing event designed to draw attention to the postcard pretty village of Carrbridge, snugly located with all its camera-friendly residents in that special part of remote Scotland favoured by photographers of biscuit tin lids.
Proving, probably without intent, how closely stereotypes can sometimes reflect reality, we are introduced to Charlie Miller, the retiring and singularly avuncular chieftain of the soiree who looks and sounds like a Dick Emery character.
Lovingly made by Constantine Costi, the piece is full of charm and some lovely dashes of wit as the very wet town prepares for its big day in the sun.
And, yes, you’ll likely want to brew up a big bowl of oats after enjoying this gem.