Tag: Joel Edgerton

10 Great Slow Burn Horror Movies (and where to stream them)
Slow burn horror movies done right can be some of the scariest movies in the genre. Here are some of our favorites!

Horror movies today rely on unsuspecting *JUMP SCARES* to entertain audiences. But we all know—at least you should—that a good horror movie is built on suspense and tension. That’s why some of the best horror movies are slow burn. These movies don’t tell you everything. Instead, they’re puzzles that you have to solve. And sometimes the terror is in what you can’t figure out.

From folk horror to ghost stories to slashers, here are some of my favorite slow burn horror movies!

The Invitation (2016)

What it’s about: Will (Logan Marshall-Greene) and his new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) are invited to his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband’s (The Haunting at Hill House’s Michiel Huisman) house for a dinner with old friends. However, a reunion isn’t the only thing planned for the night.

Why it’s great: Of the movies on this list, Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation is arguably the most underrated. It is the definition of a slow burn. Really nothing happens in the plot until the last 25 minutes. But by then, you’ve run through all the possibilities for what’s actually going on in your head and you’re prepared to find out exactly what’s happening.

The amount of tension—both horror and emotional—that the movie builds before its conclusion is incredible. And any payoff would work. Still, it feels like the movie still picks the best possible ending—and the final shot is stunning.

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Funny Games (1997)

What it’s about: Georg (Ulrich Mühe), his wife Anna (Susanne Lothar), their son Georgie (Stefan Clapczynski), and their dog Rolfi arrive at their lakeside vacation home for a week of relaxation. However, when Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering) arrive, their weekend becomes anything but.

Why it’s great: Funny Games might be an uncomfortable experience, but it’s impossible to turn away from the screen once it gets going. The movie’s slow-burn pace never feels sluggish as Paul and Peter’s games become more sadistic and the family’s attempts at survival more fleeting.

It’s a lean and mean horror-thriller that clearly has more on its mind, but it’s never overindulgent. There’s also a shot-for-shot English remake directed by Haneke himself, which is just as good as the original. 109 mins.

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The Lighthouse (2019)

Here’s what it’s about: In the late 19th century, a lighthouse keeper (Willem Dafoe) and his assistant (Robert Pattinson) slowly descend into suspicion and madness as they become isolated on a tiny New England island by a storm.

Why you should watch it: Just like his breakthrough first feature The Witch, The Lighthouse is an immersive experience. Shot with stark black-and-white cinematography and presented in a glorious 1.19:1 aspect ratio, Robert Eggers throws you headfirst into the deep end of the late 19th century with every period detail intact — it’s almost unbelievable that the lighthouse was built for the film.

The layered sound and striking visuals make it feel like the movie is wrapping around you as the pair fall further into insanity. The story, compelling from beginning to end and aided by a career-best performance by Dafoe, challenges your perception of what is real before leaving you either perplexed or jaw-dropped. Just let it take you.

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It Follows (2015)

What it’s about: Jay (Maika Monroe) is a normal teenage girl who spends time at the pool and goes on dates. But after sleeping with a guy, she is tracked down by a mysterious entity that takes the form of anyone—a stranger or someone she knows—until “it” finally gets her.

Why it’s great: It Follows takes the classic slasher movie rule “never have sex” to the extreme. What’s really interesting about the movie is that it subverts a couple of different genres. It has the elements of a slasher movie and a ghost movie which makes the finished product something else entirely.

However, instead of jump scare prone ghosts or agile serial killer, the eponymous “it” is slow-moving and creeping in its pursuit of the teenagers. And unlike the other movies on this list, It Follows isn’t about uncovering a mystery—it’s about surviving.

There is also little jump scares, but the movie leverages creepy imagery to add to the tense atmosphere. Plus, Disasterpiece’s pulsing synth score makes every beat all the more intense.

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Hereditary (2018)

What it’s about: After the death of her mother, Annie (Toni Collette), her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne), and their kids (Alex Wolff and Milly Shapiro) begin to uncover sinister secrets about their family.

Why it’s great: Hereditary is without qualification the scariest movie I saw in theaters. It’s also a horror fan’s dream. It’s a puzzle that you have to solve and unlike a lot of slow burn horror movies, it gives you the clues, you just have to find them.

Hereditary is also patient in its scares—in addition to its story. The horror set pieces are long drawn out and some you don’t even notice until a second look. That’s what makes this a masterpiece. It replaces jump scares with truly frightening imagery and an unsettling atmosphere.

Everything from the score to the production design to the sound design drip with evil. And it also has a smoldering family drama underneath it all. Not to mention one of the great horror performances from Toni Collette. It’s also one of our favorite movies of 2018.

Where to stream it: Hereditary is available to stream on Prime Video! It’s also available to rent or buy.

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The House of the Devil (2009)

What it’s about: It’s the 1980s, The Fixx is burning up the charts, there’s a full lunar eclipse, and Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) has a babysitting job at a mansion in the middle of nowhere. What can go wrong?

Why it’s great: The House of the Devil is a pitch-perfect homage to the satanic panic films of the 70s and 80s—think Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen—complete with camera zooms and freeze frames. Another thing it nails from the era is the slow burn.

You never truly know what’s going on in the movie until it lets you in on it. And I will warn you, this movie is the slowest of slow burns. It doesn’t give you much indication—or horror—for a good while. But the ending is worth the wait.

Plus, there’s bad 80s pop rock, feathered hair, and Sony Walkman. It’s all you can ask for.

Where to stream it: The House of the Devil is available to stream on Shudder! It’s also available to rent or buy on Amazon.

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It Comes at Night (2017)

What it’s about: After a mysterious apocalyptic illness wipes out the population, a family (Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.) must battle the horrors outside the house—and some inside.

Why it’s great: It Comes at Night suffered from its marketing in its initial theatrical run. While it was being sold as an apocalypse horror, it was closer to a psychological thriller with truly unsettling moments.

Trey Edward Shults—who also directed the phenomenal Krisha—balances unnerving imagery with a slow burn story that isn’t about what’s going on the outside, but what’s going on on the inside.

The chilling final 20 minutes are the payoff of an emotional rollarcoaster where relationships are tested and trust is earned and lost.

Where to stream it: It Comes at Night is available to stream on Prime Video. It’s also available to rent or buy.

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The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

What it’s about: The Murphy Family, cardiovascular surgeon Steven (Colin Farrell), his wife Anna (Nicole Kidman), and his two kids (Raffey Cassidy and Sunny Suljic), become the fascination of a mysterious teen Martin (Barry Keoghan) who seems to be up to no good.

Why it’s great: Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ signature style—deadpan acting and generally nihilistic worldview—is sometimes hard to appreciate, but it applies so well to the psychological thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

There is a sense of impending doom throughout the entire film as Martin’s increasingly nefarious plan falls into place. What makes him such a compelling villain is that you never truly know what he is up to. Neither does the Murphy Family—until it’s too late.

During the last act, Lanthimos’ style adds even more tense energy as a decision on the level of Sophie’s Choice is made. It’s darkly funny, suspenseful, and creepy. The perfect combination for a slow burn horror movie.

Where to stream it: The Killing of a Sacred Deer is available to stream on Prime Video. It’s also available to rent or buy.

The Ritual (2018)

What it’s about: After a tragic incident, four friends reunite for a trip into the mountains and forests of Sweden. However, little do they know they’re not alone.

Why it’s great: A slow burn story is almost a requirement for a folk horror movie, and The Ritual is no exception. Though the story is one that we’ve seen before—it’s comparable to The Descent earlier on this list—The Ritual delves into incredibly interesting mythology.

While the group of friends ventures deeper into the forest—The Blair Witch Project-style—increasingly distressing and creepy occurrences build suspense until the movie finally reveals exactly what’s going on.

The Ritual is paced incredibly well and never lets any tension go. And while it might be the least original of the movies on this list, its execution makes for a perfect stormy movie night.

Where to stream it: The Ritual is streaming on Netflix.

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The Witch (2015)

What it’s about: In 1630s New England a devout Christian family is exiled from their settlement to live in the wilderness. All is well until weird occurrences start to make the family members question if they can trust each other.

Why it’s great: Described as a New England folktale, The Witch does a fantastic job of immersing you in the world—the old English, the perfect production design, stunning performances. It’s all ground setting for a chilling tale.

However, the slow burn doesn’t come from whether or not there is a witch, that question is answered relatively quickly. Instead, the mystery is who you can trust.

And the movie doesn’t give you a clear answer. But along the way, you encounter terrifying scenes from a creepy black goat to one of the most stunning exorcism scenes I’ve ever seen. Plus, there’s a fantastic performance by newly anointed scream queen Anya Taylor-Joy.

Where to stream it: The Witch is available to stream on Netflix and Prime Video! It’s also available to rent or buy.

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The Night House (2020)

What does a house feel like when one of its inhabitants is gone? It feels empty. Incomplete. Cold. That’s the feeling that director David Bruckner’s new film The Night House, which premiered as part of the Midnight section of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, gives off at the start as Beth (Rebecca Hall), a high school teacher, copes with the suicide of her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). As she strolls through their lakeside home, built and designed by Owen, you can feel the vacant space. It probably doesn’t help that the home is filled with large windows opening into the darkness of the woods and lake. However, eventually, like Bruckner’s last film The Ritual, that feeling eventually gives way to a pervasive dread.

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More movies, less problems
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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February 1, 2020
‘Red Sparrow’ review — Muddy plot to match Jennifer Lawrence’s muddy Russian accent

Red Sparrow delivers a thinly plotted, gratuitous espionage thriller that fails to take off despite a strong cast (with some questionable accents)

At the end of Red Sparrow, the entire audience at the screening all physically recoiled when the screen cut to black. A few seconds after that, someone began to slow clap sarcastically and the entire audience together had a chuckle. The plot of the film is mystifying, to say the least. It has all the twists and turns you’d expect in an espionage thriller, but it seems that the film twists just because it feels like it. Not because it plays into a deeper plot. Though, it eventually tries to tie up loose ends in what really feels like an afterthought of a scene.

Red Sparrow doesn’t start that way, though. Its opening sequence is riveting. It’s a prime example of cinematic storytelling. Dominika (Jennifer Lawrence) is a famed Russian ballerina and niece of Ivan Igorov (Matthias Schoenaerts), a high ranking official in Russian intelligence. We’re introduced to Dominika’s daily life, which includes caring for her ailing mother, Nina (Joely Richardson), and dancing in the ballet. This is all we know about her at this point (and the rest of the movie, honestly). We’re then introduced to Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton)… Yes, that’s his actual name. He’s preparing for a mysterious meeting with his contact, who is a mole in Russian intelligence. What was he going to achieve in the meeting? How did they get the mole? What information was the mole doing? None of this we know at this point (and the rest of the movie, honestly). The scenes begin to intercut. Nate prepares for his meeting while Dominika prepares for her performance. The dramatic score and artful cinematography make the scene engrossing. Nate’s meeting ends with his contact nearly being caught and Dominika’s performance ends with a career-ending injury. The pacing and editing of the scene are masterful, something the rest of the film aspires to but never reaches.

As she struggles to take care of her mother after her injury, Ivan forces Dominika into an ultimatum and sends her to become a Sparrow. Highly trained operatives of Russian Intelligence that specialize in seducing their targets to get information. She, as Dominika points out, is essentially going to whore school. This may be a good time to bring up 2017’s Atomic Blonde, another female-led espionage thriller. Without the gratuitous nudity and violence that Red Sparrow boasts, Atomic Blonde reads as a story of female empowerment. Through the Sparrow training scenes, it’s clear that the feminist gaze that views Charlize Theron’s character in Atomic Blonde is traded for a keenly male one that stalks Jennifer Lawrence in Red Sparrow. It’s a key reason the film doesn’t work.

Matron (Charlotte Rampling) puts Dominika and the other recruits through grueling and cruel training sessions that teach them how to read the desires of their targets and exploit them, often sexually. Rampling is great as the ruthless headmistress and delivers key information about why Red Sparrow should be relevant in today’s environment, however, these scenes are shortlived to the detriment of the film. These are the only scenes in place to convince of Dominika’s natural talent as a Sparrow, however, all they tell us instead is that she knows how to pick a lock.

She’s quickly swept away on a mission to make contact with Nash, gain his trust, and find out who his contact is. A lot of things happen in between involving an odd but hilarious Mary Louise-Parker cameo, brutal torture, a lot of double-crossing, and a lot of bad Russian accents, but demystifying the plot of Red Sparrow may be the real thrill of the movie. It feels as if the screenwriter and director Francis Lawrence — he directed Jennifer Lawrence in the last three Hunger Games movies — had ideas and plot points and set pieces that never ultimately fit together. Everything ends up feeling muddled, characters included. Though Cirian Hinds, Jeremy Irons, and Sakina Jaffrey do the best they can with what little they’re given in supporting roles

Red Sparrow thinks its a smarter movie than it is. The plot of Atomic Blonde is admittedly nonsensical, but it makes up for it with characters the jump off the screen and some of the best action set pieces in years. Red Sparrow had neither. The central relationship between Nash and Dominika, which should be a driving force behind the film, feels like an afterthought. Even with violence and enough nudity and sex to make Tarantino blush, the film doesn’t even succeed in the exploitation genre. That opening scene is kinetic, thrilling, and beautiful. In contrast, the rest of the movie chugs along in a dull fashion. If only the talent onscreen was given the material they deserve.

★★ out of 5

March 14, 2018
Midnight Special Movie Review — A pitch-perfect 80’s sci-fi throwback

Midnight Special proves that you don’t need huge explosions, action set pieces, or over-the-top special effects to make a great sci-fi movie

The 80s are back in style. From Carly Rae Jepsen’s EMOTION to Stranger Things to Everybody Wants Some, it seems like Hollywood had a board meeting and decided that this is the decade we’re going to be homaging this year. However, unlike the clear homages that these were, Director Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special feels more influenced by the decade. And specifically by E.T., It’s influenced by its character-driven plot that overshadows the sci-fi one and it inherits the decade’s anxiety about the extent of the government’s control.

However, the story is much small than that. Boiled down, it’s a story about a father and the lengths he will go to protect his son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher). However, Alton isn’t just any 8-year old kid. He possesses incredible powers that are not of this world (which seem to be influenced again by E.T.). This has made him a hugely sought after property by two groups in particular: The Ranch and the government. The Ranch is a cult that sees Alton as a Jesus figure while the government sees him as a weapon. Both groups will go to extraordinary lengths to retrieve him, which Roy (Michael Shannon), Lucas (Joel Edgerton), and Sarah (Kirsten Dunst), won’t let happen.

The entire movie begins en media res. From there, Nichols builds a compelling narrative that doesn’t concern itself with huge ideas (though the ending betrays this, but I’ll leave that for you to decide). All we know at the beginning is that there is an amber alert for a 9-year old boy. The government is orchestrating a cross-country chase for Alton, Roy, Lucas, and Sarah which is being led by Paul Sevier (Adam Driver), a surprisingly amicable NSA agent. As the group makes a run for it, we learn what exactly they’re running to and why so many people are interested in a 9-year old that wears giant headphones and swimming goggles.

One of the most amazing things about Midnight Special is its incredible trust in its audience. It is a true exercise in showing, not telling. The most obvious example (although the movie is strewn with subtle ones) comes from the character of Lucas. Nichols is so careful with his framing of Lucas. He never shares the frame with the full family, and when he does he’s relegated to the far background. To me, Lucas’ storyline is the most intriguing. He has no reason to help Roy and Alton. However, with smart cinematography and Edgerton’s career-high performance we are able to attain that he is looking to be a part of a family. Just some lingering looks he gives is all we need to know that he cares.

Overall, the movie has wealth of phenomenal performances. There’s Michael Shannon whose struggle to be strong for his son is outlined by his clear fear of losing him. He tells him at one point: “I’ll always worry about you, Alton. That’s the deal.” Kirsten Dunst;s perpetually worried Sarah, who is Alton’s mother, offers more outward emotion compared to Shannon’s intrinsic approach and becomes the emotional center of the film. However, Joel Edgerton is the true standout for me. His understated performance is a pitch-perfect complement to the film’s naturalistic style.

Midnight Special isn’t going to be a movie that everyone loves. While the pretty simple, linear narrative is the set-up for most crowd-pleasers the focus on the family unit and their motivations may cause some people to ask, “what’s the point?” Government conspiracies, cults, and even the sci-fi elements take a back seat to the family drama surrounding Alton Meyer. While the entire movie is exciting with incredibly realized set pieces, the love that the principle characters show for each other is what makes it a great movie.

7/10

Midnight Special is available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital on Amazon!

September 5, 2016
It Comes At Night review — A stunning and terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller

Atmospheric and menacing, Trey Edward Shults’ sophomore feature It Comes At Night is a family drama disguised as a horror movie that works on both levels.

The “it” in the title of Trey Edward Shults’ sophomore release It Comes At Night is as much of a mystery as the plague that has driven the characters in the movie into seclusion. Though the set-up of the film feels familiar — a pandemic has plagued the population and pushed resources to their minimum — Shults, the visionary behind the terrifying Thanksgiving dinner in Krisha, does away with the exposition quickly and leaves us with a truly terrifying humanist drama.

The pandemic in It Comes At Night is never the focus of the film. All we know is that people are becoming sick and dying, resources are scarce, and the living are doing their best to protect from contamination and anything else lurking in the woods. Shults, who also wrote the film, doesn’t go for the cheap scares. If anything, the anxiety of anticipating the scare is more terrifying than anything a studio horror film could muster up. Instead, much like his debut film, he goes for atmosphere and building tension. The camera — Krisha‘s DP Drew Daniels also shot this film — slowly navigates the dark nooks and crannies of the remote forest home that the movie takes place in while Brian McOmber’s screeching score with a heartbeat baseline plays in the background. It Comes At Night features the worst attribute an audience member can go up against in a horror movie — patience.

The film opens with Paul (Joel Edgerton), Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), and their teenage son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) surrounding Sarah’s sick father as he slowly succumbs to the pandemic. After disposing of his body, we are introduced to their home — and dog, Stanley — which they have boarded up and turned into a stronghold. Paul maintains strict rules that are meant to keep his family safe and maintain a sense of normalcy — they all eat dinner together every night and unless absolutely necessary, they do not go out at night. However, when they have a run-in with another family, they take the opportunity to add some companionship to their day to day lives. This other family consisting of Will (Christopher Abbott), Kim (Riley Keough), and their young son Andrew (Griffin Robert Faulkner), is taken in by Paul and Sarah and shown a hospitality that is often shown in moments of distress. And for a time, life seems a bit easier. However, like anything good, it has to come to an end. Tensions rise as mistrust begins to run rampant in the house. And like any other animal, when back against a corner, humans attack.

I think A.O Scott put it best in his review saying, “Mr. Shults’s first feature, the remarkable Krisha, was a family drama that often felt like a horror movie. It Comes at Night is the reverse.” The horror elements of It Comes At Night, largely relegated to Travis’ nightmares, are the centerpiece of the movie. However, the bulk of the movie is this question of the lengths people will go to protect themselves and their loved ones when times become desperate. Shults explores it intimately but leaves all the answering to the audience. It’s one of the most interesting things about the movie. There are no clear answers or signs pointing in a particular direction. If anything, any symbolism that Shults includes almost further complicates any dissecting that can be done in the movie. It’s what makes this movie so polarizing. Anyone expecting a straight horror movie will not get that. However, what you do get can only be described as a masterpiece.

Joel Edgerton gives what is, in my opinion, the best performance of his career, which is only another indication that he is becoming one of our greatest actors — his performance in Loving was originally, for me, his best performance. It’s a realistic performance that shows our innate conflict in difficult situations flawlessly. Carmen Ejogo also does great work as a woman who is desperately trying to hold on to her morals and Kelvin Harrison Jr. tackles the difficult task of being our point-of-view beautifully. However, in addition to Edgerton, the biggest standout for me is Riley Keough. Her role is less plot-focused than the other characters, but she represents, along with her son, innocence in the situation. She’s seeing everything from the perspective of the old world even though nothing is the same.

It Comes At Night is about anxiety and the toll that it can take on you physically and emotionally. It’s about the lengths to which we will go to survive. It’s about the compassion we can feel in the darkest of situations. It’s about trust, how it’s earned, and how it’s lost. Shults balances all these themes without straying from its psychological thriller roots. He is a visionary filmmaker that understands that film is not only about making the audience feel but also think. And think you will. Sometimes the thinking is the scariest part of the film. Because once you think you understand something, you see it from another perspective or something happens to make you rethink everything. This is a morality play at its finest. There are no heros and no villains. There are simply humans in a house.

★★★★ out of 5

Watch It Comes At Night on Amazon!

June 12, 2017
Loving Movie Review — Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga are quietly powerful

Though unsentimental to a fault, Loving is a surprising and beautiful portrait of the reluctant revolutionaries, Richard and Mildred Loving

Movies based on real events often fall into the trap of just showing plot point after plot point, often at the expense of real character development. Take The Theory of Everything or J. Edgar. However, when it goes right — see The Social Network or Malcolm X — it could be something truly amazing. In Jeff Nichols’ Loving, the entire movie is made up of the moments between the plot points. This is not a story about the case Loving v. Virginia. This is a story about Richard and Mildred Loving.

Interest in the Lovings has been renewed with the legalization of gay marriage earlier this year. The Loving v. Virginia case was even cited in the majority opinion. As one-half of a gay interracial couple, I owe a lot to the Lovings. However, if I ever got the chance to thank them in person, I think they would shrug it off. The Lovings weren’t looking to change the world. When the film begins, they are just a couple excited that they are expecting their first child.

Like any decent man in the 1950s, Richard asks Mildred to marry him. So, they hike up to Washington, D.C. to be wed. For them, even marriage is a modest affair. They didn’t even tell her mother and sister. However, as simple as they wanted their lives to be, it got a lot more complicated when the police broke into their home to arrest them for violating anti-miscegenation laws.

Jeff Nichols is a master at knowing where to point his camera. Seemingly random shots like that of a group of men drinking around a table or two women hanging clothes take on a new meaning in this film. The former is a form of scathing judgment, the latter is a form of acceptance. It adeptly portrays the dark period of time in this country. However, that darkness is juxtaposed against the love story of the Lovings.

For such a quiet movie, Loving moves at a lightning pace. We cover nearly two decades of the Lovings lives. Thanks to the incredible craft, particularly the costumes and editing, we feel like we are dropped into those periods. As we watch their children grow up and their case progress, we watch their everyday lives (with one too many bricklaying scenes — literal bricklaying). However, when there are more emotional scenes, Nichols adds the flair that he showed in Midnight Special earlier this year. One of those scenes show a photo shoot the Lovings did with time, which yielded one of the most famous photos of the couple:

My biggest criticism of the film is that it’s unsentimental, often to a fault. Sometimes you just want to yell at the screen and tell them to show some emotion. It was an interesting choice. The Loving story is ripe for big emotional reactions, grandstanding speeches, and difficult to watch scenes. Instead, Nichols finds emotion in the stolen glances and soft reactions.

Without Ruth Ann Negga and Joel Edgerton in the role of the Lovings, the movie could have easily faltered. They perfected a chemistry that few on-screen pairs can achieve. Negga’s performance, in particular, is a revelation. She is an emotional powerhouse with such little dialogue. Scenes like when she discovers they’ve won are quietly powerful.

Loving isn’t a film trying to be bigger than it is. Honestly, that’s how I think the Lovings would have wanted it. You can call them reluctant heroes or revolutionaries. What they really were was a married couple that wanted to live in their home state. The film could have tried to make a stand on the fundamental right to marry, but it’s not even a question that they felt they needed to answer. While in the film we do hear that they’re happy to help other couples like them, it isn’t a triumphant declaration. It was more of a nice sentiment. In the end, the struggle they went through could be justified in a single line that Richard directed at the Supreme Court: “tell them I love my wife.”

8/10

Get Loving on DVD, Blu-Ray, or digital on Amazon!

December 14, 2016