A crop of unconventional (and largely unsatisfying) thrillers from 2014 that somehow slipped through the cracks when they were initially released…
Under the Skin…This is primarily known as the movie where ScarJo gets naked, and the movie seems slyly aware of that since her predatory alien lures horny men to their doom. The problem with this film is that that’s about all that happens in the first two-thirds of it. Just when you’re bored to death by endless scenes of her stalking and picking up, the last thirty minutes hint at a much more interesting movie where her ambiguous alien wants to see what it’s like to be human or at least have human experiences. But it feels like too little, too late. This is all the more disappointing because I’m a fan of director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) and the novel this film is based on has a much more direct and interesting plot. [For example: the central alien works for a celestial corporation that is taking the men to her home planet because human meat has become a delicacy, and it’s really a satire of corporatism. This film is much more vague in every sense.] Grade: C+
The Guest…A nasty little thriller that jumps off from an intriguing premise: a seemingly straight-laced soldier shows up at the door of a family still grieving the loss of their eldest son in the Iraq War. He says he served with their son, and wanted to convey his wishes, but what’s he really up to? Downton Abbey’s Dan Stephens plays the title soldier and he’s the best thing in the movie as a (who knew he had it in him?) nefarious badass that could rival the Terminator. His dryly comic performance toes the tricky line between homicidal and humorous. Unfortunately, the film goes way over the top in the last third and this director seems obsessed with bringing back the soulless thrillers of the 80’s (he also made You’re Next) and even sympathetic characters we care about are dispatched with a wink that feels particularly mean-spirited. Grade: C+
Night Moves…This is a film where Jesse Eisenberg and Elle Fanning plot to blow up an environmentally damaging dam, but to call them eco-terrorists might make them sound more put-together and major league than they really are. Peter Sarsgaard mysterious blowhard seems to know more than they do, but is he really as dangerous as Eisenberg if things go south? It’s a kick to see Eisenberg play his first (to my knowledge) killer, but the film feels seriously aimless and padded out in certain stretches. It’s not a long film, but it feels like a long film and it doesn’t really utilize all the interesting things it sets up, ironic for a movie about wastefulness. Grade: C+