Arnold Schwarzenegger is not back in “The Predator” a sequel – even though it’s essentially a reboot – of the movie series that began with Schwarzenegger, continued with Danny Glover and then joined Alien for a couple movies before attempting a comeback in 2010. The big difference with this comeback is that Shane Black, who had a brief role in original but went on to a more successful career as a writer and director (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” “Iron Man 3”), is in charge of the new film, and with a talent of writing comedic dialogue, makes “The Predator” very funny at times … an element the original film didn’t have much of.
“The Predator” stars Boyd Holbrook (“Narcos,” “Logan”) as Quinn McKenna, a military operative who witnesses the crash of a spaceship with a Predator amidst a drug smuggling operation, who quickly lays waste to everything in its way, including Quinn’s entire unit. Convinced the government won’t believe him, Quinn takes some of the Predator’s weaponized armor, which he ships to the home of his estranged wife (Yvonne Strahovski) and son (Jacob Tremblay).
AUDIO: Tim reviews “The Predator” and talks Jesse “I ain’t got time to bleed” Ventura with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” Click to listen!
Determined to keep the crash off the books by any means necessary, a top government agent (Sterling K. Brown) soon finds that he has a bigger problem when a second, since Quinn’s son activates a beacon that alerts the Predator’s location. As a result, a larger and even deadlier Predator arrives, and his actions reveal a much bigger plan for the alien creatures, and it’s up to Quinn and a band of fellow solider outcasts to stop it from happening.
While the setup is very familiar, Black’s addition of humor to the film (sometimes through dialogue, other times through over-the-top gore), along with some impressive special effects and a solid ensemble cast (including Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane) more than make “The Predator” a worthwhile sequel. Plus, there’s no denying that the Predator after all these years is still a fantastic-looking creature that definitely commands all of the attention it attracts.
Naturally, fans of the original film will be disappointed at the lack of a Schwarzenegger cameo, even though he was reportedly offered one. That’s not to say he can’t appear in another “Predator” sequel, since Black has left the door wide open for another film. Until then, the new “Predator” is a nice welcome back to the franchise.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Fall movie season officially got underway last weekend with the release of the horror thriller “The Nun,” which debuted with a smashing $54 million take at the domestic box office and $77.5 million overseas for a worldwide total of more than $131 million, a particularly impressive number for an R-rated film.
Those who caught the film likely were delighted to find that in addition to the film’s unnerving displays of tension, horror and gore, are scenes in “The Nun” that were broken up with comic relief — something that screenwriter Gary Dauberman feels is essential to give moviegoers the complete package.
“I’ve been banging that drum for a while that you need comic relief. If you can have those moments of levity, it makes the scary parts even scarier, and the funny parts even funnier because you have a contrast,” Dauberman said in phone conversation Friday from Los Angeles. “If you go too far in one direction and just stay there, you run the risk of it flatlining. So, if you can throw humor in there you have to do it. That’s why I love horror because you can get away with that stuff. You’re not switching genres, but you get to play around with different things — and other genres you don’t necessarily have the license to do that.”
“The Nun” is the fifth movie in what has come to be known as The Conjuring Universe, where all the films — “The Conjuring” and its sequel, “Annabelle” and its prequel “Annabelle: Creation,” and now, “The Nun” — have been tied together thanks to some indelible supporting characters who have taken on lives of their own. It began with Annabelle, the creepy, demonically-possessed doll introduced in the opening scene of “The Conjuring” that got a solo movie and was further explored with the prequel “Annabelle: Creation”; and in the interim, the character of Valak — evil which takes the form of a nun — made her unnerving debut in “The Conjuring 2.”
Dauberman, the scribe who co-wrote the 2017 blockbuster “IT,” is a key contributor to The Conjuring Universe, having written the screenplays to both “Annabelle” movies. He also wrote the screenplay and is an executive producer on “The Nun,” based on a story he co-wrote with The Conjuring Universe architect James Wan, who wrote and directed both “Conjuring” movies.
“What I like about being in the Universe, and James says it is accidental and it really is, is that it’s happening organically,” Dauberman said. “If we feel there’s a movie that’s a supporting character that established in another movie, we go after that. But I don’t think we go into any of these movies, saying, ‘Hey, let’s see if we can find something we can spinoff into another movie.’ I like that it’s unfolding organically and at a pace where we are allowed to dig in and come up with some cool stuff. I also think one of the reasons why The Conjuring Universe has had the success that it’s had is because we’re just really genuine fans of it ourselves. We’re very protective of it.”
Directed by Corin Hardy, “The Nun” stars Demian Bichir as Father Burke, a priest dispatched by the Vatican in 1952 to investigate the suicide of a nun in a remote abbey in the hills of Romania.
Accompanied by a novitiate, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), Burke and the young nun in training soon encounter the demonic spirit Valak, who appears in the physical world as a ghoulish nun (Bonnie Aarons), and learn of the gateway from hell from which the evil entity emerged.
“The Nun” has everything horror fans love about the genre, a distinctive villain, moments of piercing tension followed by jump scares, gore used in a judicious and not gratuitous manner, and of course, the welcome element of humor. On top of that, the film has a sense of dread bubbling just under the surface to keep its audience members ill at ease thanks to its foreboding atmosphere (with great shots of fog rolling in a graveyard, etc.) and a Gothic setting reminiscent of the great Hammer Horror films of the 1960s and ’70s.
“I think approaching the corner is far scarier than turning the corner and seeing what lurks there and shining a spot on the monster. I think knowing something’s under the bed but not seeing it is far scarier. It’s theater of the mind sort-of thing that you can play around with,” Dauberman said. “I give all the credit in the world to Corin Hardy, as well as Maxime Alexandre, the director of photography, who did a fantastic job just painting these beautiful pictures like the fog in the graveyard, and Jen Spence, who continues to knock it out of the park with her production design. It was really just a great team who we worked with before that we’re comfortable with an have a shorthand together.”
While Dauberman is no doubt celebrating the big opening weekend of “The Nun,” he can’t leave the champagne uncorked for too long.
He is also the sole screenwriter on “IT: Chapter 2,” which is currently in production and slated for a September 2019 release, and is taking on dual duties of writer and director of the next, yet-to-be-titled “Annabelle” film, which goes into production in October just as “IT: Chapter 2” wraps shooting.
Until then, Dauberman said he’ll be remaining in the company of a pair of unforgettable props from The Conjuring Universe, dreaming of how to frighten people next.
“I’m sitting in the offices of ‘Annabelle 3’ right now and I have Annabelle the doll sitting across from me, and I have a painting of ‘The Nun’ hanging on the wall to help inspire me as I help craft the scares for the next one,” Dauberman enthused.
Thankfully, when Dauberman leaves for the night, he leaves his scary plaything and painting behind; but that’s not to say his creative mind doesn’t play tricks on him.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that when I come back in the morning, I go, ‘Is everything in the right place? Did anything move?'” Dauberman quipped. “It’s the equivalent of checking under the bed at night.”
“The Conjuring” Universe makes it five-for-five in the winner’s circle with “The Nun,” a top-notch horror thriller and excellent kickoff to the fall movie season. Like its scary predecessors, “The Nun” successfully continues to build a connected universe of horror films rooted in the true-life case studies of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, all while establishing its own unique identity.
In this case, the story of “The Nun” is set in the 1950s, yet its Romanian backdrop gives the film a Gothic atmosphere and tone of dread bubbling underneath the surface that conjures up the greatness of the Hammer Horror films from the 1960s.
The said title character in “The Nun” made her unforgettable debut in the form of a ghoulish “Night Gallery”-like painting in “The Conjuring 2” in 2016, where the demon spirit appears to haunt the Warren family. The indelible supporting character made such an enormous impact that producer James Wan brought director Corin Hardy and scribe Gary Dauberman (“Annabelle,” “Annabelle: Creation” and “It”) on-board to flesh out a back story, set in a remote Romanian abbey where the mysterious suicide of a young nun has attracted the attention of the Vatican.
Summoned by Vatican officials to investigate the death, Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and a novitiate, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) soon find out that evil spirit Valak (Bonnie Aarons) is lurking in the cloistered abbey, and the two have nothing more than their faith to protect themselves from the entity, which has manifested itself in the shape of a nun.
“The Nun” is terrific from the get-go, as Hardy establishes a foreboding tone that escalates in tension broken up only jump scares and welcome bits of comic relief. It’s the marriage of those moments in the film that contributes to the complete theatrical experience, and as a result its a blast to watch audience members jump, laugh or shriek in unison during the films scariest and/or funniest moments.
Best of all, though, Dauberman slyly implements a plot turn that ties “The Nun” into the first “Conjuring,” which brings the tale of “The Nun” full-circle. Of course, since “Annabelle: Creation” showed that we can get back stories to other back stories of characters, hopefully the continued success of “The Conjuring” Universe will allow for yet another tale of “The Nun” — and it can’t come soon enough.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
Without question, one of the most entertaining scenes during the three-season series run of STARZ’s “Ash vs. Evil Dead” happened in Season 2 in 2016, when star Dana DeLorenzo’s kick-ass Ghostbeater, Kelly Maxwell, encounters a Muppet-like hand puppet in villain Baal’s insane asylum. Named “Ashy Slashy” after the institution’s newest resident Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell), the foul-mouthed, wise-ass puppet was first introduced as a warm and fuzzy therapy companion to Ash, but quickly turned to the dark side when he met Kelly.
Two years later … just when you thought it was safe to go back to Sesame Street (or more appropriately Avenue Q) … movie and TV collectibles-maker NECA has released its second full-scale version of the Ashy Slashy hand-puppet, the Possessed Ashy Slashy. Unlike the first release of Ashy Slashy last year, the possessed version has jagged teeth and a chainsaw with its own set of teeth sticking out of its blade. In short, he’s battle-ready for those who dare to bring him to life to take a bite out of anybody who gets in his way.
In a phone conversation about “Ash vs. Evil Dead” earlier this year, DeLorenzo fondly recalled her time filming with the fuzzy little bastard, or as she famously called him in the scene, “you felt f—k!” The scene began with Ashy Slashy trying to sweet-talk Kelly, until he bares his choppers, starts up his chainsaw and an all-out throwdown begins.
Among the most memorable – and disgusting – parts of the scene was Ashy smashing Kelly’s face into a used bedpan. As it turns out, DeLorenzo recalled, producer Rob Tapert didn’t think Ashy Slashy splashy bedpan sequence “wasn’t gross enough” and had her blow bubbles to enhance the effect.
“The blowing bubbles in the bedpan was added later. It was an insane, intense 13-hour day of shooting the original scene with just the puppet, it was exceptionally complicated, it was all crew on deck with stunts and blood rigs, like when Ashy’s puppet head exploded from the gun at the end — that took almost a hour just to set up. So weeks later when Rob Tapert said, ‘We need to reshoot the puppet scene,’ and my stomach dropped, and with big eyes I asked, ‘The whole scene?’ and Rob said, ‘No, just the bedpan scene. We’re going to add something to it … we need you to blow bubbles.’ I guffawed because this is what it means to be an actor on a show called “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” DeLorenzo mused. “But hey, at least the scene was with a puppet! Not many people can say that they were in a scene where they got their head slammed into a bedpan they had to blow bubbles in by a demonic, perverted puppet.”
Of course, the duel ultimately ended with DeLorenzo saying the classic line, “Always bring a gun to a puppet fight,” where Ashy Slashy was effectively reduced to a bloody stump with Kelly’s decisive kill shot.
“That’s one of those lines that you know is sooo good and you have to resist the urge to show that you know it’s a good line and try not hitting the gas, or put your weight on it. I recalled the lessons I learned from Bruce Campbell, which was, ‘Just let it be, say the line,'” DeLorenzo recalled. “Since we filmed the scene in sequence that day, by the end I was exhausted and a little sore so it came out in a authentic way, and I think we got it in one take. What a great line. I’m in perpetual awe of writers, particularly ours.”
As it turns out, DeLorenzo said filming the Ashy Slashy fight scene was one of her favorites during the entire series – and lucky for her, she’s been immortalized in world of toys and collectibles since NECA put a photo of her kicking the puppet’s ass on the both sides of the Possessed Ashy Slashy packaging.
“Filming the scene was one my biggest challenges, but like life tends to be, the biggest challenges end up producing the biggest rewards,” DeLorenzo enthused.
Oddly enough, the Ashy Slashy scene was somewhat wish-fulfillment for DeLorenzo, although she originally imagined being a part of a much more innocent puppet scene.
“My first seedling of being an actor and an entertainer when I was 2 came with watching ‘Sesame Street,'” DeLorenzo recalled. “There were kids on there talking to puppets, and I was obsessed with Big Bird, and Bert and Ernie, so it’s always been a bucket list item. The Ashy Slashy scene was not quite that, since I never knew my puppet dreams would come true by grabbing myself in the thigh and giving myself Charley horses, but man, it was pretty close.”
Look for DeLorenzo to be sharing her stories about Ashy Slashy and other memories from “Ash vs. Evil Dead” at a pair of upcoming horror conventions in the coming months. From September 21-23, she will appear with fellow “Ash vs. Evil Dead” cast members Ted Raimi and Lindsay Farris at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and on October 27 and 28, DeLorenzo will appear at Crypticon Minnesota in Minneapolis along with fellow “Ash” cast member Lee Majors.
Until then, fans can now see the complete “Ash vs. Evil Dead” series with the release of “Ash vs. Evil Dead” Season 3, new on Blu-ray and DVD (STARZ/Anchor Bay).
As for the real Possessed Ashy Slashy, the puppet went for $5,102 in an “Ash vs. Evil Dead” prop auction earlier this summer via VIP Auctions. Sorry, fans: The puppet’s demise in the show was just a stunt — and a bloody good one at that!
