Up close and personal: Alison Brie and Dave Franco in ‘Together’.
TOGETHER ***1/2 (102 minutes) MA
Given how saturated the modern horror genre is with remakes of classics and scare tactic conventions, Together chimes in as a refreshing, largely original body-horror jape, timed perfectly to help maintain one’s love of the genre after the cinematic spitball of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
On the cusp of re-sparking their spluttering relationship a young couple (real-life Dave Franco and Alison Brie) move to a remote abode in the woods (the film’s only concession to cliche) where they encounter a singularly possessive spirit that begins doing odd things to their psyches and anatomies.
Showing a deep love for the slow burn, writer/director Michael Shanks delivers a devilish delight with heaps of scares and a very satisfying pay-off that suggests, as most good horror films do, that there’s an allegory of some sort operating beneath all the gore and goo.
The squeamish need be cautioned but genre fans will love it.
CATVIDEOFEST **1/2 (73 minutes) G
Another diverting, reasonably amusing compile of video squibs featuring cats doing what they do best, which is to unintentionally command the fascination of their human food sources.
There’s really nothing much here you won’t see on YouTube, yet it remains rather amazing how this annual cat video compilation by director Will Braden attracts such big distribution over its one-weekend release, all aimed at raising money for cats in need. It’s the fifth one so far.
CatVideoFest screens across this weekend (2-3 August) on more than 150 screens.
THE FRIEND * (120 minutes) M
The venerable Naomi Watts headlines one of the most boring dog movies ever as she takes custody of the troublesome pooch of her dead friend (Bill Murray). Set in New York, the premise probably would have been better served as an old Disney family film.
BRIDE HARD * (105 minutes) M
As much as we may love the comic stylings of Rebel Wilson, the funny gal has graced us with a long string of comedy films that have redefined mediocre (Senior Year, anyone?).
Now add to the list Bride Hard, a strained action-comedy that invites us to buy into the idea of Wilson as an action hero – a laudable endeavour, no question, but one that might have worked a lot better had the reliance on her stunt double (Meredith Richardson) not been so apparent in so many scenes.
Riffing on Die Hard, the shabby story sees Wilson as a secret agent who has to contend with a group of well-armed crims that invade her best friend’s wedding.
There’s not much to go on here as a smattering of laughs try hard to hold together a yarn underpinned by Rebel attempting to get back the bride’s most favoured person status.
Even diehard fans might mind the degree of forgiveness demanded here a bit too much.
THE STOLEN PAINTING * (91 minutes; subtitled) M
Totally dull French comedy-drama about a…well…a painting by Egon Schiele, stolen by the Nazis that has resurfaced. Directed without much wit or insight into the vagaries of the art world. A snoozefest.
HAPPY GILMORE 2 *** (117 minutes) M
Having waited almost three decades Happy Gilmore 2 has arrived at last.
And the long-pined-for sequel to the 1996 golf world comedy that, along with Billy Madison, established Adam Sandler as a reliable comic filmmaker is actually very good.
Having saved his grandma’s house in the first film after winning prize money, this belated add-on finds the former hockey player on the down slope of his career.
After accidentally killing his wife (Jill Bowen from Modern Family, almost unrecognisable in the original), Gilmore has given up golf and has taken up drinking.
Motivated by his daughter’s need to attend ballet school, he is encouraged to clean up his act and enter a tournament promoting a new jazzed up version of golf.
Featuring a non-stop cascade of references and visits from the original cast, along with cameos of golf world notables, it’s a well-cobbled, snappily-paced jaunt that is as slick and polished as most comedies from the Sandler stable.
Made as a modest low-brow comedy, the original film (inspired by Caddyshack) built up a huge following, especially amongst golfers who revere the film as a classic.
This follow-up doesn’t reach that pitch, though its #1 ranking on Netflix – scoring its biggest opening weekend for an original work – suggests it is pleasing the multi-generational Happy Gilmore fanbase no end.
It also demonstrates how smart an operator Sandler is. He was one of the first A-listers to strike a multi-picture production deal with a major streamer and has delivered for it an unbroken string of strait-to-streaming hits.
All we need now is Billy Madison 2. Let us pray.