Movies
[BD Review] ‘Sightseers’ Shocking, But Still Falls Flat
Director Ben Wheatley slammed into my world last year. His Kill List topped my list of the best horror of 2011, and quickly became “the” filmmaker to watch. Keeping his festival run afloat, Wheatley’s black comedy Sightseers screened with much anticipation at the Toronto International Film Festival. Unfortunately, what works so well in Kill List is what ultimately tanks this genre film.
Sightseers follows a relatively young couple – Chris (Steve Oram) and Tina (Alice Lowe) – who take a journey through the British Isles in Abbey Oxford Caravan. Chris is quickly pushed over the edge and the vacation becomes littered with dead bodies.
Sightseers is Wheatley’s version of Natural Born Killers or God Bless America, only instead of taking on the media and pop culture, he focuses on the elitist and self-absorbed attitudes of today’s youth. After beating someone’s head in with a stick, Chris is quick to point out that people get away with being pieces of sh*t and nobody does anything to stop them (basically they get away with “murder”, so to speak).
Wheatley’s message is clear and focused, only his decision to keep it snail-paced is what gums up the entertainment. While Kill List‘s pace is all about the impact finale, Sightseers is supposed to be a comedy with some energy. If anything, there’s no energy here, albeit, plenty of shocking moments fierce with impact. And it’s not very funny.
While Sightseers is beautifully made, and features rock solid performances by the entire cast, it just sort of falls a bit flat. The joke gets a bit old, quickly, and while there’s some juxtaposing between Tina and Chris, the message doesn’t have much impact post the initial kill. Sightseers may be worth a glance, but it’s not a place you’d visit again.
The killer tomatoes are back in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, and the offiical poster for the brand new movie has been unleashed tonight.
Additionally, we’ve learned that the film’s theatrical release is set for this August, with a panel set for San Diego Comic-Con this month featuring the world premiere of the trailer.
While you wait, check out the official poster down below.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence will be released in select cities across the US beginning August 7th in major cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Diego, and others, and expanding to further locations throughout the month.
The fifth installment in the horror-comedy franchise pits the eternal power of nature against AI’s best and brightest.
In Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence, a young biotech prodigy develops a revolutionary genetically engineered vegetable designed to solve humanity’s problems. But when the experiment spirals out of control, it unleashes a new generation of killer tomatoes, setting the stage for another outrageous chapter in the long-running cult franchise.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes co-creators Costa Dillon and J. Stephen Peace return to write and executive produce. David Ferino directs.
The film features an ensemble cast led by franchise icon John Astin (The Addams Family), reprising his role as Professor Gangreen, comedy legend David Koechner (Anchorman), Academy Award nominee Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight), horror favorite Catherine Corcoran (Terrifier), comedy veteran Dan Bakkedahl (Veep), Myrna Velasco (Star Wars Resistance), Vernée Watson (Shrinking, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), and Paul Bates (Coming to America).
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes launched in 1979, followed by 1988’s Return of the Killer Tomatoes, 1991’s Killer Tomatoes Strike Back, and 1992’s Killer Tomatoes Eat France.
The franchise also spawned an animated series in 1990.
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