Releases 2/14/2020 Michael Peña, Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Jimmy O. Yang, Austin Stowell, Portia Doubleday, Ryan Hansen, and Michael Rooker First trailer: Second and newest trailer:
The original show had a couple dark moments. The remake went more explicitly dark, giving the guests what they deserved more than what they thought they wanted. One would expect nothing less with Malcolm McDowell at the helm instead of Ricardo Montalbán. Not a totally unnatural progression to go all Monkey's Paw on the concept. Then again, not particularly original, either. I'm not likely to see it unless enough other sacrificial guinea pigs get slaughtered at the theater...errrr, I mean other movie viewers see it first and like it.
I'm excited for this one. I won't watch the trailers. But I saw the posters a while ago and they are really good and mysterious to me. I like the "anything you desire, everything you fear" tag line. It reminds me of something from those old horror / sci-fi TV shows where someone wants something and gets it but the twist is horrific. Strange thing is I know I watched the original show a bunch of times when I was young but I don't remember any episodes. So that will be something I rewatch one day. Perhaps I'll watch some of the TV show at the time of the movie. I never heard of the remake so I'll check that out too. I've never heard of Monkey's Paw. Added to the list.
It's not a movie (although been adapted and re-adapted countless times over the years) but a famous short story where an object (the titular monkey's paw) grants the bearer a number of wishes, which always come with a price tag for messing with fate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkey's_Paw
Cool thanks. Sounds like those genie stories with the three wishes. I remember that one X-Files episode.
I'm in - loved the show as a kid (came on right after The Loooooooooove Boat!), and this looks like fun with a new darker twist.
It's weird that there are no Thursday night screenings for this. It wasn't screened for critics either. It also has a near 2 hour running time, which is a lot for a movie like this.
Ever watch the show? Almost on a weekly basis at least one of the stories involved something "not pleasant".
I caught the earliest showing today in an effort to dodge the Valentine's Day / President's Day weekend crowds. Meh. It's pretty much what it looks like. WB horror for teenagers. Personally, I don't mind movies like Wish Upon or Shark Night, so I was mostly okay with it. That said, I don't think I would recommend it. The set-up is really fun, mostly all revealed in the trailer. The middle drags quite a bit, but it comes back towards the end for a few bursts of fun. It's all really silly and stupid, so don't expect to be scared or extremely invested. This is nothing more than dumb teenager horror. It's fairly easy to look at, even if there's not much going on upstairs. For a lot of the running time, the movie has sort of an anthology structure, where it jumps around between four different storylines. The most entertaining storyline by far is the brothers, played by Ryan Hansen and Jimmy O Yang. They are the heart of the movie, and I wouldn't have minded if the whole movie had just followed them. Also fun is Lucy Hale's mean-girl-revenge storyline, which is mostly spoiled by the trailer. For what it's worth, the big trailer scene happens in the first half-hour, however this storyline doesn't really go anywhere from there. The other two storylines follow Maggie Q's character and Austin Stowell's character, and to be honest both of these storylines are extremely boring. I do have to credit Blumhouse though, as they are notorious for showing the entire movie in their trailers, and the trailers here show absolutely nothing about Austin Stowell's plot. It doesn't show much of the brothers' plot either. Not that the movie has much to offer in the way of secrets or surprises anyway. There are a few recognizable cast members in here that aren't revealed in the trailers, including a horror veteran. I don't really understand what is with Blumhouse and their fetish for magical statues that leak black goo. It was stupid in Black Christmas 2019 and it's stupid here as well. They must think black goo statues are the next big thing in horror, but they need to stop trying to make it happen. It's not going to happen. So yeah, I'd probably say skip this one and wait for cable. The most clever thing about it is the final moment, which includes a cute nod to the original series. This is a movie made for teenagers on dates, not for adult horror fans.
I noticed this as well. Typically I see early shows so it didn't really affect me but just seemed a bit odd. Other than it did run a bit long I enjoyed the film. The trailer didn't give away all the plot twists or kills which was a nice change. Maggie Q is such a beautiful woman (although a bit on the slim side). For me this is worth a theatrical viewing.
This is something I felt even back in the 1970s. There was something about even the premise of the show that was Mephistophalean: disclosing your secret wish to some exotic guy in a suit with a tiny assistant that you got involved with is one of those things that in lore is usually sealed with blood and a parchment and not with a travel agent. Even in the 70s had it not been blocked out with Love Boat to establish the tone, it wouldve raised a curious eyebrow as it always did play out like Faust rewritten by Barbara Cartland. Where I come from if some dude is hosting 3 stories of peoples' deepest wishes with twist endings, no matter how sweet I will always be suspicious that the letters "EC" aren't far behind.
