2024 is seeing a slew of horror hitting our cinemas: The Trap, Longlegs, Late Night with the Devil to name a few as well as a handful of remakes of old favorites: Beetlejuice, Twister and another Aliens. What a time to be a horror lover. But there is an element of uncanny valley in the movie making machine that we will come back to soon.
The Trap… well well well. We meet Cooper (Josh Hartnett, 30 Days of Night) and his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue, Blueback) off to a concert as a treat for young Riley. The Lady Raven concert has enough screaming fan girls to fill a bathroom at a Taylor Swift concert (20,000) but all is not as it seems. We find Cooper, our suburban Dad eagerly watching the milling police presence. The tension builds as we find the concert was a trap to capture the serial killer ‘The Butcher’ after a tip off that he would be at the concert. We are treated to a few half-hearted plot twists which carry on to the very end of the movie. I have read a few reviews that have themselves ‘butchered’ this movie. But it it not as bad as the bad reviews make it out to be. It is a work of entertaining fiction and not a documentary. Indeed, you will need a large cup of suspension of disbelief while watching this movie but it is a tension filled, if flawed piece of cinema.
I was thinking hard about whether to review this movie. There is not a lot to say about it – it’s not gory, or scary, the tension and suspense is ok. It does not leave you super satisfied and wanting to tell everyone you know about it. But it’s not bad and not a waste of your watching time.
So why write a review?
I’m glad you asked. This is where the uncanny valley of entertainment comes in. It has been lingering in my mind since I read that Taylor Swift grossed about 2 billion dollars in 2023, this was after reading about Beyonce earning about half a billion from her world tour. For singing. Understandably the top of the pile entertainers these days are a corporation unto themselves, they’re not taking a late night gig down the local bar. But it was the realization that it is about the brand and how money and fame beget money and fame.
Here we’ll segue back to movies. The money, fame and unreality of the entertainment business came right back to me after watching Arcadian – partly produced by Nick Cage’s production company – such is the Nick Cage brand that he could be unconscious for the majority of the movie and still have his mug front and center on the movie poster. But hey, poor Nick probably has his eye on another dinosaur, and they’re not cheap. In Trap, produced by M. Night Shyamalan’s production house we see the juggernaut of brand and money raise it’s head again. After such a momentous start to his film making career he now self funds most of films. double tick for keeping more money for yourself and creative freedom. Who is this Lady Raven in the Trap? Saleka Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night Shyamalan. Ok, Ok, we all know that nepotism has been alive and kicking in Hollywood since it’s inception. But. If we look at the majority of movie offerings, they are not for us – they are vehicles to make people money. So is this just a movie to promote his daughter or another movie to line his pockets.
Go ahead, go look at the top grossing movies this year. I’ll wait for a bit if you like. You may be as stunned and disappointed as I am.
Right, did you have a look?
Top 10 – all part of a franchise. September 24 we have: Inside out 2, Deadpool and Wolverine, Despicable Me 4, Dune: part two, Godzilla x Kong, Kung Fu Panda 4, Bad Boys, Planet of the Apes, Twisters, Alien Romulus. We are being played. You liked last nights dinner? Well good, here it is again but it’s now got some peas in it! We wonder why we get dissatisfied when we watch movies and are expecting something great that we’ve been looking forward to. Well, the disappointment was locked in the moment the money was placed on the safe bet – another rehash movie in a franchise. Yeah, they loved it last time! We’ll make another one. But we eat them up (peas included) and they make another one and we eat that up to.
I feel a bit jaded when I think that we are pawn to the brand business. Is there a moral? Is there a solution? It’s bigger than we are and there is a lot of money at stake. All I can say is keep your eye out for the little gems like Late Night with the Devil.
I’m off to hunt out some gems. I’ll share them with you when I find some.
Uncanny Lounge 
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