Editorials
The 5 Horror Episodes of Netflix’s “Love, Death & Robots” You Need to Watch Immediately
Netflix has unleashed so many original shows in such a short span of time that many of them have inevitably fallen through the cracks, but the brand spankin’ new “Love, Death & Robots” is one series that most definitely stands apart from the pack thanks to fantastic episodes that are brimming with creativity, sexiness, fun, extreme violence and total insanity.
Each of the series’ 18 “episodes,” actually, are short films, brought to life with various different animation styles. Some are of the “Saturday Morning Cartoon” variety, while others are photo-realistic, looking like high-end video game cut scenes that blur the lines between animation and reality. The series, created by Tim Miller (Deadpool), is one of Netflix’s most exciting and bingeable to date, and the good news for folks like us is that “Love, Death & Robots” is *extremely* horror-heavy, loaded with monsters and splattered with the red stuff.
Which horror episodes should you be watching? Here are 5 of the first season’s best.
“Sonnie’s Edge”
Easily the coolest episode of the season, “Sonnie’s Edge” introduces us to Sonnie, a scarred up badass with a rough past. The photo-realistic short is set in the world of underground monster fights, where Sonnie and her fellow fighters mentally link up with monsters and use them to battle to the death for prize money. But Sonnie has a special edge, as the title suggests, making her (and her monster) the most dominant fighters in the game. When Sonnie is offered big money to throw her next fight, we learn precisely what that competitive edge really is.
The episode is highlighted by a three-minute monster fight that is one of the coolest, gnarliest things you’ll see this year, and like all the best episodes of “Love, Death & Robots,” it presents a main character you’ll care about as well as a world you’ll be begging to see more of.
“Beyond the Aquila Rift”
Fans of Event Horizon will surely love the space-horror episode “Beyond the Aquila Rift,” another photo-realistic short that centers on the crew of a spaceship. When he wakes up after traveling light years off their intended course, the ship’s captain is reunited with an old flame, but he soon realizes that all is not as it may seem. It’s sort of hard to talk about these shorts without spoiling anything, but let’s just say that the twist in this one is a standout highlight of the wildly imaginative creativity that’s proudly on display throughout “Love, Death & Robots.”
Again, you’ll be left wanting more from this episode’s world.
“Shape-Shifters”
Literal dog soldiers are the subjects of the werewolf episode “Shape-Shifters,” set in Afghanistan. For an advantage in the war, shape-shifting werewolves have been brought in to take out the enemy forces in a way human soldiers cannot in this photo-realistic short, which pits one of the American dog soldiers up against not one but two enemy shape-shifters.
Every good werewolf movie has a killer transformation scene, and “Shape-Shifters” is no exception. The transformations, wherein human skin cracks, peels and is ultimately ripped away, are exceptional, and the aforementioned fight scene is gruesomely violent and so damn cool. Animation allows the limits of gore to be pushed, and “Shape-Shifter” pushes them.
“Helping Hand”
The Oscar-winning film Gravity introduced the terrifying premise of astronauts being stranded in space, and “Helping Hand” takes that whole idea to an even more horrifying level. After a freak accident, astronaut Alex is left completely alone, floating in space and with a fast-depleting oxygen tank. In order to survive, well, she has to take extreme measures.
*That moment* of the episode is extremely brutal, but the entire thing is rich with tension and dread. One of the most impressive things about “Love, Death & Robots” is the way that each episode really makes you care about the plight of the central character(s), no small feat given none of them run longer than 16 minutes. The photo-realistic “Helping Hand” is only 9 minutes, but you’ll likely find yourself rooting for Alex’s survival and feeling her pain when she’s forced to do the unthinkable. I’ve cared less about characters I’ve spent 2 hours with. Go figure.
“The Secret War”
Lifelike animation is again the style present in the final episode I want to spotlight here today, “The Secret War.” Otherworldly demons rise from the depths of Hell and do battle with the Red Army in this one, which is a must-watch for gorehounds and creature lovers. The monsters are nightmarish and the mythology fascinating, the episode highlighted by an extended “humans vs. monsters” battle sequence that’s crazy, bloody, and truly epic.
Last year’s “Overlord” proved that the blend of war and monster horror can be a very entertaining one, and “The Secret War” will leave you begging for a feature length expansion.
There are only a couple episodes I didn’t much care for in the debut season, so I’d personally encourage you to carve out a little bit of time and watch the whole damn thing. “Three Robots,” “Suits,” “The Dump,” “Lucky 13” and “Ice Age” are other standout favorites of mine, but as a whole, the series is proving to be a huge win for both the animated and bite-sized artforms.
This is what creativity fully unleashed looks like. And it’s one hell of a treat.
Editorials
‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel
The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.
The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.
Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.
With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).
It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.
The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.
The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.
Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.
Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
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