STREAMING REVIEWS: ‘Take no prisoners’ film-making (Sabong News)
Author
Philip Cu Unjieng
Date
MARCH 22 2022
The two films today demonstrate how the horror film genre has evolved and diversified. Fresh is one of those ‘take no prisoners, dare you to flinch and turn away’ kind of films, while Master is proficient in making social commentary, while providing jump scares.
Fresh (Hulu) – Sebastian Stan’s name may be the initial come-on when people see the poster for this film; but get ready for a wild and crazy ride, an exploration into how far you can take a horror film that’s constantly asking if you can keep your eye on the screen, and not look away in disgust. Directed by Mimi Cave, this one is visually stunning, while constantly playing with your mind and imagination as you think the worse, and are given that. Related to films like Promising Young Woman (2020), this has to do with the perils of dating today, and how the dating apps are hopeless – so Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) takes a chance on a seemingly chance encounter with somebody she meets in the fresh produce section of the local supermarket. This would be Steve (Sebastian Stan), who’s good-looking and charming.
Of course, it isn’t long before the film descends into something sinister and disturbing to the max. No spoilers here, but let’s just say Steve has a taste for the unusual and exotic – but is a stickler for keeping things fresh. The chemistry between the two leads is a joy to watch, and after watching Stan play Bucky in the Marvel Universe, it’s refreshing to watch him take on something so offbeat and different. He’s hilarious, and obviously having a lot of fun with this role. Daisy Edgar-Jones is a young actress who first shot to fame for Normal People, and she’s great in this role, providing some great asides and drop-dead lines with aplomb. Like PYW, there’s something serious being said about dating in general, and the plight that many young women have to face. And you’ll admire how the film knows to stick to the genre it’s playing in.
Master (Amazon Prime) – Directed and written by Mariama Diallo, Master is the type of film that wouldn’t have existed before Jordan Peele’s Get Out opened the door for movie treatments of this kind. Like Get Out, it utilizes the Horror film genre as a means to say potent things about race and politics, and to make scathing social commentary; while still delivering on the creepy, grisly, and jump scares that constitute the Horror films of today. And to her credit, Diallo achieves all this within the context of a hallowed Ivy League type university, that’s called Ancaster for the purposes of this film. Ancaster then becomes the microcosm for examining the plight of the African-American, to make the observation that while so much progress and changes have been made, in many ways, things also haven’t changed.
We’re offered three perspectives from which to observe this – one is Professor Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), who’s just been appointed Master of one of the Ancaster Houses – and it wasn’t lost on me how Master was the term used by slaves in plantations when referring to the head of the house. Then there’s Liz (Amber Gray), a light-skinned professor seeking tenure. And we have Jasmine (Zoe Renee), a freshman at Ancaster, who’s subjected to the prejudices and attitudes that remain part of the African-American experience – and to make matters worse, Diallo touches on how Blacks treat fellow Blacks within certain social situations. Intelligent, astute, and still scary; the only criticism I’d level at Master is how it doesn’t seem to know how to bring everything to a close. The journey is so much more than the end of the ride.
