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SXSW Review: Free Fire

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Free Fire

Director, Ben Wheatley has yet to let me down. Since his film Down Terrace he has put out consistently challenging stuff. His latest film Free Fire is easily the best of these and that speaks volumes to how amazing this one is. Wheatley, also compounds the fact that he is one of the most interesting directors working today.

The setup is an easy one, some folks meet up in the middle of the night at an abandoned umbrella warehouse. The plan is to hand off some cash in return for guns. Simple, right? Well, not with this group, with the exception of Justine (Brie Larson) who looks to be the only sane one in the group, but more on that later. When confrontation is sparked between the two groups one gunshot is met with several gunshots echoing throughout the rest of the film.

Since the isolated gun fight lasts about an hour and ten minutes and the film is only an hour and thirty minutes, every bit of choreography is carefully conducted like a white-knuckle ballet for brutes. I’m a huge fan of single locations films, and this one sets the bar on how to go about making one. The filmmaking is an island onto itself in terms of both, ingenuity and fun.

The cast is tip-top and perfectly pitched, with a subtly underrated performance from Sam Riley as the a scuzzy, druggie who triggers the gunfight. All the characters are dressed in hyper-realistic wardrobe that allows the viewer to take in the stylized action in as a spectator watching a Roadrunner cartoon. Characters are wounded to big laughs, instead of heavy drama, or overdramatized death. Instead, a character is shot and screams “What was that? You fucking shot me!?” before returning fire, by the central point no one is left unscathed.

The laughs come as fast as the bullets fly. Surround sound goes a long way to give us some pretty hilarious moments where an off-camera character shouts obscenities at another. As the two groups of gussie-gunmen (and woman) crawl, shoot and dive their way around the warehouse, the sound design lends a hand in knowing where geographically each character is positioned. The brutality is constantly amped up leading from superficially getting winged to the more serious headshots or getting set on fire, the glistening violence is a perfect pairing for the stakes being raised through each moment of the film. With a case of money at the center of the room, these armed cage mice will become increasingly aggressive in order to reach the cheese.

This is a rare, perfect film. The way the action is treated is fantastic and a method we don’t see put to use enough. Since these are all bad guys it is fair to pick your favorite and hope they manage to be the one to get out of the building but in any case, you are in for a hell of a film. The amount of times, I was laughing out loud almost mirrored the number of bullets fired in the film and with a movie titled Free Fire one can only assume that is a ton of laughs. Free Fire holds itself high on my list of pulp crime films, it now takes its place among Reservoir dogs, Snatch and Pulp Fiction. Wheatley and crew have created a one of a kind experience that I can truly say is worth the time and money in order to experience it with a sold-out, loud theater.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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Spirit Halloween Unleashes Life-Size ‘Ghostbusters’ Terror Dog

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Halfway to Halloween and the licensed merch is already being released for the holiday. For instance, the seasonal retailer giant Spirit Halloween unveiled their giant Ghostbusters Terror Dog for the first time this year.

The one-of-a-kind demonic dog has eyes that light up in a glowing, terrifying red. It’s going to set you back a whopping $599.99.

Since this year we saw the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, it’s probably going to be a popular theme come October. Spirit Halloween is embracing their inner Venkman with other releases tied to the franchise such as the LED Ghostbuster Ghost Trap, Ghostbusters Walkie Talkie, Life-Size Replica Proton Pack.

We saw the release of other horror props today. Home Depot unveiled a few pieces from their line which includes the signature giant skeleton and separate dog companion.

For the latest Halloween merch and updates get on over to Spirit Halloween and see what else they have to offer to make your neighbors jealous this season. But for now, enjoy a small video that features scenes from this classic cinematic canine.

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