Film Review of the Week

Action

Ballerina (15)

Review: When you deal in blood, there must be rules or you will not survive. Moral codes have always guided characters in the John Wick universe as they pursue vengeance and hard-fought salvation, set in motion in 2014 by the death of a beagle puppy given to Keanu Reeves’s former hit man by his late wife. In the past 11 years, the title character has fuelled the profits of numerous funeral directors with his daredevil antics across four films, while the New York branch of The Continental chain of hotels has merited a 1970s-set spin-off TV series. Ana de Armas puts her body through the wringer in an action-packed thriller set during events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the third instalment, goes solo for Ballerina, constructing an origin story around Wick’s visit to the Ruska Roma crime syndicate fronted by the Director (Anjelica Huston) to secure safe passage out of New York. Bone-crunching fight sequences that have become the franchise’s trademark are pleasingly evident from the breathlessly staged prologue, which establishes the protagonist’s tragic backstory and the source of her righteous anger in a high-stakes world of bounties and contracts. Wiseman harnesses his experience behind the camera of two Underworld pictures to orchestrate these fisticuffs with ease and de Armas copes with the physical demand of her role with similar grace.

Twelve years after the murder of her father (David Castaneda), orphan Eve Macarro (de Armas) completes her training in the traditions of the Ruska Roma. She combines combat and weapons training with ballet to improve her strength and agility, guided by no-nonsense mentor Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), who schools her to exploit every advantage as a woman and, if necessary, cheat.

For her first mission, Eve protects Katla Park (Choi Soo-young) from an anticipated kidnap attempt. The assignment culminates in bloodshed and Eve seeks sanctuary at the Continental Hotel under the protection of owner Winston Scott (Ian McShane). To avenge the past, Eve defies direct orders from The Director and single-handedly infiltrates a cult controlled by the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne). Trained killer Daniel Pine (Norman Reedus) and his young daughter (Ava McCarthy) are caught in the crossfire.

Ballerina is a rowdy second cousin to the John Wick films with clear potential for sequels, intersecting existing mythology in a meaningful way to allow de Armas and Reeves to clash on screen. Flamethrowers and grenades are used extensively to distinguish Eve’s fighting style against taller and heavier opponents, delivering visually spectacular set pieces of stunt people ablaze. Lance Reddick’s final appearance as The Continental’s concierge Charon is extremely poignant in a story soaked in loss and lamentation. With Nogi’s guidance, Eve can learn to cheat most opponents, but death will eventually outflank her.

Horror

Clown In A Cornfield (15)

Review: Coulrophobes traumatised by the Terrifier film franchise and the two-part big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s It take heed. Director Eli Craig’s slasher horror, adapted from Adam Cesare’s novel by the filmmaker and co-writer Carter Blanchard, introduces another demonic killer with bright face make-up, squeaky oversized shows and a rictus grin to give comical circus performers a bad name. Clown In A Cornfield overdelivers on the promise of one deranged killer harvesting human organs among the crop fields in a community proudly rooted in tradition, hard work and small-town values.

Unfortunately, Craig’s picture fails to deliver on the promise of devilish irreverence in the midst of carnage and some of the gallows humour is uncomfortably mistimed and misjudged. One character’s impassioned and timely speech about America’s bright future resting in the hands of an ecologically conscious, compassionate and tolerant new generation would resonate if tonal gear changes between slaughter and laughter had been successfully established in the opening hour.

The script strives for Scream-like self-mockery and occasionally comes close. “Is he dead?” asks one wary survivor, staring at the body of a lifeless clown, which horror film convention dictates could spring back to life for an obligatory jump scare. “I don’t think he’s meditating,” deadpans a gal pal. Regular bloodletting with sharp blades and a chainsaw ensures audiences won’t be napping, nor will they care about a faltering big reveal at the end of 96 minutes of gleeful dismemberment.

Following her mother’s death by overdose, 17-year-old Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) relocates to the economically ravaged Missouri community of Kettle Springs with her father Glenn (Aaron Abrams), the new town doctor. The Baypen Corn Syrup factory, which provides jobs to locals, has recently burned down and Quinn and Glenn arrive as Mayor Arthur Hill (Kevin Durand), his son Cole (Carson MacCormac) and residents prepare to mark a century since the creation of the town’s sticky sweet lifeblood.

Cole and his authority-flouting entourage, Janet (Cassandra Potenza), Matt (Alexandre Martin Deakin), Ronnie (Verity Marks) and Tucker (Ayo Solanke), befriend Quinn and enrol her in their film-making club, which posts homemade horror videos online featuring Baypen’s clown mascot Frendo as a frenzied killer. A psychopath dressed as Frendo goes on the rampage and the new girl is marked for a grisly demise. Socially awkward teenage loner Rust (Vincent Muller), who loves to hunt wildlife, is the obvious prime suspect.

Clown In A Cornfield pokes fun at genre tropes but ultimately embraces them, delivering pedestrian thrills and spills we have seen countless times before. Douglas’s grief-stricken heroine works hard to earn our affection and sympathy as the local mortuary overflows with eviscerated neighbours. The wonky wheels come off in the final 30 minutes. Send back the clowns.

Thriller

Dangerous Animals (15)

Review: On land, humans like to believe they are apex predators, sitting atop the food chain without any natural rivals. In the water, however, the tide turns in favour of killer whales, sharks and crocodiles among other species that ruthlessly punish intruders to their fresh- and saltwater realms. Apex predators in both habitats become unlikely accomplices in a twisted Australian horror thriller directed by Sean Byrne, which can be crudely summed up as The Silence Of The Lambs meets Jaws.

Screenwriter Nick Lepard pares down a simple yet ingenious premise to the bone, introducing us to a serial killer played with snarling menace by Jai Courtney, who gets his kicks by feeding young women to ravenous sharks off the back of his boat. He stores VHS cassettes of each kill with a lock of the victim’s hair and believes his “true calling” is to revere the carnivorous fish using live human bait.

He meets his match in Hassie Harrison’s spunky, nomadic surfer, who refuses to accept her grim fate and fights back against her sadistic captor. The bruising battle of wits doesn’t outstay its welcome with a trim running time of 98 minutes but director Byrne struggles to maintain a steady rate of knots with an antagonist who refuses to stray from his modus operandi. By the time a third victim is dangling over open water with a hungry shark swimming a few feet below, ghoulish repetition takes the wind out of the film’s sails.

Zephyr (Harrison) seeks the best waves in the Australian community of Surfers Paradise where she meets sweet-natured real estate agent, Moses (Josh Heuston). He persuades her to momentarily let down her emotional blockade and reconsider her mantra to answer the solitary calling of the sea. Spooked by the possibility of something meaningful with Moses, Zephyr flees his homemade breakfast and unknowingly crosses paths with Tucker (Courtney) at the beach.

The stranger injects Zephyr with a sedative and when she regains consciousness, she is handcuffed to a metal bed in the belly of Tucker’s boat alongside British tourist Heather (Ella Newton). The captives are pitted against a seasoned murderer, who records his kills on a handheld camera. “Tell me that isn’t the greatest show on Earth!” gushes Tucker as he stares through the camera’s viewfinder and witnesses razor-sharp shark teeth tearing through sun-kissed human flesh.

Dangerous Animals paddles confidently towards a preordained resolution, powered by combative screen chemistry between Courtney and Harrison. The romantic subplot overloads sweetness to the point of risibility. Screenwriter Lepard has a sharper ear for compelling intimidation than flirtation. Satisfying jolts of strong, bloody violence and gore serve the lean plot. It’s definitely not safe to go back into the water.