by Ray Velez

Let me begin this review by saying that John Carpenter’s films are one of the many reasons I became interested in filmmaking. From “The Thing” (Keith David!) to “Prince of Darkness” to “They Live” (Keith David!!), the man hit a stride in the 80’s that has yet to be matched. He’s been absent from the film scene for a while, so I was hoping that “The Ward” would be the shot in the arm that the horror genre genuinely needs. Sadly, this is not the return to form I was hoping for.

“The Ward” follows Kristen, an institutionalized young woman who becomes haunted by a ghost that has been killing the other patients. Amber Heard stars in the film, and she is actually the bright spot of the movie. This shouldn’t be a surprise to most, as anyone who has seen her performance in another genre picture, “All The Boys Love Mandy Lane”, knows she can bring some genuine acting skill to horror films. Actually, to be fair, the acting across the board is fairly well done. Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Laure-Leigh star as the other patients on the titular ward, and they all do the film justice.

The script wasn’t necessarily the problem either, as it does a good job of getting the audience where it needs to be. As for the visuals, this is where the film hooked me! I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t get just a little excited when the titles rolled at the beginning of the film and “John Carpenter’s THE WARD” popped on screen in that familiar font. Also, it’s good to know that Mr. Carpenter still has a keen visual eye for shots, as the film had some striking visuals up it’s sleeve.

Nope, the problem here was the tone of the film. It just didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be.  It was all over the place. It switches back and forth between a ghost story, Japanese horror flicks, and mind-bending thriller. Under the right circumstances, someone could have made it work, but unfortunately John was not that guy. I was pretty much down for the ride I was being taken on throughout the film, but by the end, I didn’t really feel that the story came together very well. And maybe I’m jaded from the numerous flicks I have seen that pulled similar endings off to greater effect, but the ending here felt odd and somewhat tacked on.

Overall, I was kind of middle of the road on “The Ward”, but only because it felt like a warm-up exercise for John Carpenter to get back to directing something good. The visuals were the great part, the acting the good part, and I’d have to say the script is the weak part. I’d give this movie a 5/10.

Frequent co-host and contributing writer here at Death to the Movies, Tom Jones, is launching The CineFiles Project tomorrow and we’re excited to give you a little sneak peek into what you can expect. Below you will find an introduction to The CineFiles Project from Tom, as well as an example of what The Cinefiles Project is all about.

The CineFiles are a collection of YOUR stories. It is a place where you can tell everyone how film became a part of your life and why you love it. Take the time to visit our site and be a part of the launch. The Project will begin on June 18, 2010, so please take the opportunity to share your story and send it to mystory@thecinefiles.com. We look forward to hearing your story.

-Tom

MY STORY by Tom Jones

My love for film began at the early age of 5 years old. My mother (a rabid Michael Jackson fan at the time) had just acquired a VHS copy of Thriller. I remember the first time she watched it and I was in the room, I was both intrigued and frightened by the mood of the opening scene. Then the full moon is revealed, Michael Jackson’s eyes turn yellow and the fangs are showing, I swiftly bolt behind the easy chair and cover my ears so as to not here the screams as MJ undergoes his transformation into the werewolf. Still curious and intrigued by this new movie I began, without my mother’s knowledge, watching it on my own and viewing a little bit more each time before running behind the chair. Once I finally made it to the end of the tape I went to remove it from the VCR when something else began playing. This particular copy of Thriller had the Making Of segment at the end of the tape. I watched in amazement at what went into making the video. Watching them put the makeup on MJ and the various zombies and hearing John Landis and Rick Baker talk about how much fun it was to make Thriller was a life changing experience. I decided at that moment that my future as an astronaut would have to wait because I was going to make movies when I grew up.

This experience caused me to see films in a completely different light. Rather than just sitting and watching a film I began to try and figure out how the filmmakers made the movie. I spent the next couple years watching countless horror films wherever I could get my hands on them. Older cousins came in very handy for watching the slasher films of the 80’s and due to a tape accidentally being left out and queued to just the right spot I experienced a bloody “chestburster” from a rented copy of Alien at the age of young age of 6. That was awesome!

In 1988 a new type of film sparked my interest when my family went to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I had not been this mystified by a film since Thriller. How did the filmmakers have cartoons interacting with real people? I began having my parent record anything on TV about the movie. One night the Disney channel aired a making of the movie documentary and my parents let me stay up late to watch it with them. Immediately upon finishing with both my parents sleeping on the couch I rewound the show and watched it again. This was the time my parents took notice of my passion and began to help with broadening my horizons a bit when it came to my choice of genres and showing me many classic films. The Academy Awards was like the Super Bowl in our house and movies were watched daily. By the age of 9 I had become a regular film buddy with my parents.

Sadly I did not become a filmmaker. My desire to work in the industry turned from special effects to writing then to directing. I have been fortunate to spend some time around the filmmaking process but have since found another job path that fits me quite well. Horror is near and dear to my heart because of the role it played in my life, but thanks to nourishing parents my horizons were broadened and I learned to appreciate all film for the beautiful art that it is.

I write this article not just to share my experience but also to start a discussion. So often we get to hear from filmmakers and actors their experience with film and how it became a part of their lives. However, there are more of us out there who truly love film and will rarely, if ever, get to share our stories with anyone outside our small circles of film loving friends. So this is your opportunity. We started The CineFiles Project because whenever we as humans are passionate about something we seek out others who are passionate about the same things. We enjoy hearing other people’s origins stories about how they came to be involved in the thing we enjoy so much.

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Every year a select few films are released that evoke very strong reactions from their audiences. There is often no middle ground with these films. These films elicit one of two reactions “love it” or “hate it”. I wish more of these films were released. These films cause discussion, discussion causes people to think, when people are forced to think this causes the film to be memorable. Memorable films, loved and hated, are what filmmaking is all about. Directors set out to make films that people will talk about and ultimately remember.

Director Vincenzo Natali has effectively done this twice now. He first caused many to talk about one of his early films Cube. It is difficult to find a sci-fi/horror fan that did not see that film. I remember having many discussions in this ancient thing called a chat room about Cube. It was either love or hate back in 1997 when that film was released. Fast forward to 2010 and Natali’s Splice is causing the same discussion among audiences.

I believe people are not comfortable with being uncomfortable. Splice makes you uncomfortable from the opening credits until the final fade to black. Splice is meant to disturb and in some cases horrify audiences. I went into this film fully expecting to see some disturbing images of violence and gore. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. I found the characters and relationships in the film to be far more disturbing than most violence and gore that could have been put on the screen. We are introduced to a family dynamic in this film unlike any we have seen on the screen before, especially in a film marketed by a major studio like this one.

Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are in excellent form here. Both of them succeed in portraying the feelings many new parents experience as they are learning to raise a child for the first time. Many of these experiences are extremely exaggerated of course. However, the basics are still there like the frustration of not understanding what your child wants/needs and the anguish of seeing your child in pain and not knowing how to help or what to do and also the frustration of dealing with maturing teenagers. This film introduces most American audiences to Delphine Chanéac who plays the character of Dren, the creation of the two scientists (Brody & Polley), with an eerie animal like performance. Chanéac’s movements as the childlike creature are quick and precise like the animals that have been spliced with her human DNA and yet she has this innocence about her that is so effectively childlike as if she really is experiencing everything for the first time. The fear and curiosity in her eyes is something few actors are capable of pulling off so effectively.

Splice, in it’s first two acts, is superb at building the tension and causing the audience to really get involved in the film and invest in the characters. The third act however, starts off strong, but an expected “change” takes place and the movie falls into some conventional horror movie pitfalls. I felt everything in the last 10 minutes of the film was too forced and out of sync with the rest of the film. Thankfully the ending did not ruin the film for me though. I thought as a whole it was well written, well acted, and well directed. This equals a win in my book. I commend everyone involved with making Splice for taking a bold new step into the world of sci-fi/horror and giving us something original to remember and discuss for years to come.