I’m not a gamer. While I can kinda sorta understand the appeal of playing video games, the elaborate world of it, including the mind-boggling watching a stranger play video games is beyond me. But video games are all the rage, people cannot get enough, so it has seeped into the movies now. And combining slasher scares and video games aka the popcorn and soda (same stickiness and caloric value) of lowbrow entertainment apparently works like a charm. That is to say, this movie, despite underwhelming at best reviews, was a huge box office success with sequel already on its way.
The plot goes like this: a ne’er-do-well young man with severe PTSD from years ago witnessing abduction of his baby brother (played by a former child star who never got tall enough for much of an adult career) is raising his kid sister alone while losing job after job. The pressure is on, though since his aunt (played by a random 80s and 90s star in a Razzie-nominated turn) wants custody of the girl. So now he has to take the only job available (according to his career placement person played by a very tall but too goofy-looking for a leading man material 90s upcycle): nightwatchman at an abandoned Chuck-e-Cheese-from-hell place. To no one’s surprise, even aside from his experimentations with lucid dreaming while on the job. Mike’s stunt as a nightwatchman doesn’t quite go to plan. Despite the friendly assistance of a cute (though still too tall for him) lady cop (Beck from season 1 of YOU) who keeps turning up and up and up. Part serial killer mystery, part ghost story, wrapped in a slasher skin, the movie is creative enough to use actual puppets and practical effects instead of CGI, but that’s mostly where the creativity ends. So they throw in some jump scares instead. Apparently that works. I looked up the game and its creator (also co-writer on the movie) is an interesting character. It makes you wonder how something as notoriously liberal as the movie industry would get behind a person like that so enthusiastically. But apparently, in the end they only see dollar signs. Even the game creator couldn’t stay retired for more than a couple of years. Everyone just can’t get enough of those raggedy animatronic mascots. There are even book tie-ins. Why? Seriously, how many ways must there be to experience this dubious masterpiece? Anyway, aside from all that, the movie is kinda sorta fun in a B movie dressed up to pass for an A way. Don’t expect much, and you might be entertained.
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