For some time now I've had a subscription to Netflix and for some time I've seen their selection decline in quality. First, Crtierion Collection went to Hulu (and now it's even moved on from there). Then all these other streaming services popped up and suddenly there were more websites willing to pay more for the rights to stream popular and decent films. Thus, because Netflix, despite continuing to grow their profits, refuses to pay more for titles their selection has degenerated and much of their fare is small distribution company releases, IFC originals, boring cable television and Netflix originals. However, there are occasionally a few diamonds that stand out from the rough. Here are a few I've watched recently:
Carnage Park (2016)
This is an IFC Midnight (their horror designation) release, which basically makes it a Netflix exclusive. It is directed by IFC/Netflix young-auteur favorite Mickey Keating. This films starts by evoking a series of tropes from classic and contemporary horror films: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (suggesting in the beginning that it's based on a true story), Insidious, Natural Born Killers, House of 1000 Corpses, Quentin Tarantino, Saw, My Bloody Valentine, Deliverance. Mickey Keating's previous film Darling was also a pastiche, this time in tribute to David Lynch and Roman Polanski. This film does have an element of social commentary and there is an exploration of the dialectical contradiction between the human world and nature akin to Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf. To further prove Keating's loyalty to horror, genre auteur/actor/director Larry Fessenden actually appears in the film. Carnage Park is a genre fan's film and as a genre fan it was enjoyable. It was a contemporary take on frequently explored tropes. Above all the pastiche the sountrack, the cinematography and the editing contributed to a creepy, affective idiosyncracy that sets this film apart and solidifies Keating's status as genre auteur.
Rating: 8/10
What About Bob (1991)
Mascots (2016)
Mascots is a film by mockumentary auteur Christopher Guest. It is a Netflix exclusive, but, like Bob and David, they seem to be able to get classic creators to revisit the masterpieces that made them famous. Mascots is an ode to Guest's classics such as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. [**POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING**] In fact, Corky St. Claire appears in the film. [**END POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING**] Many of the actors are standards in Guest's films like my favorites Parker Posey and Fred Williard. They also interact with several newer actors such as Zach Woods from the Office and Susan Yeagley from Parks and Recreation. A very upbeat, light, feel good film, but certainly not without its moments of absurdism.
Rating: 7/10
Carnage Park (2016)
This is an IFC Midnight (their horror designation) release, which basically makes it a Netflix exclusive. It is directed by IFC/Netflix young-auteur favorite Mickey Keating. This films starts by evoking a series of tropes from classic and contemporary horror films: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (suggesting in the beginning that it's based on a true story), Insidious, Natural Born Killers, House of 1000 Corpses, Quentin Tarantino, Saw, My Bloody Valentine, Deliverance. Mickey Keating's previous film Darling was also a pastiche, this time in tribute to David Lynch and Roman Polanski. This film does have an element of social commentary and there is an exploration of the dialectical contradiction between the human world and nature akin to Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf. To further prove Keating's loyalty to horror, genre auteur/actor/director Larry Fessenden actually appears in the film. Carnage Park is a genre fan's film and as a genre fan it was enjoyable. It was a contemporary take on frequently explored tropes. Above all the pastiche the sountrack, the cinematography and the editing contributed to a creepy, affective idiosyncracy that sets this film apart and solidifies Keating's status as genre auteur.
Rating: 8/10
What About Bob (1991)
Everyone who thinks What About Bob is a harmless family film, they should take another look at this Bill Murray classic from 1991. The film is about an agoraphobic mental patient who, though this megalomaniac psychologist, is able to get the courage to become a narcissist. He proves the success of this unique therapy by, to the painful chagrin of the psychologist, befriending and indoctrinating the psychologist's family. Abruptly, the family takes Bob's side over their own patriarch. Bob is inappropriately physical with his psychologist's family and even ends up even marrying his sister which causes him to have a breakdown of his own. Perhaps Bob has transferred his demons to his psychologist. Perhaps we are never really rid of our demons. It is a bleak thought, but maybe, like energy, negative emotions can't really ever be created or destroyed. Maybe they can only be transferred.
Rating: 7/10
Mascots (2016)
Mascots is a film by mockumentary auteur Christopher Guest. It is a Netflix exclusive, but, like Bob and David, they seem to be able to get classic creators to revisit the masterpieces that made them famous. Mascots is an ode to Guest's classics such as Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show. [**POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING**] In fact, Corky St. Claire appears in the film. [**END POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING**] Many of the actors are standards in Guest's films like my favorites Parker Posey and Fred Williard. They also interact with several newer actors such as Zach Woods from the Office and Susan Yeagley from Parks and Recreation. A very upbeat, light, feel good film, but certainly not without its moments of absurdism.
Rating: 7/10
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