FILM: JACKASS 3D

Elliot Hyams takes a look at the latest slice of gross-out fun from Johnny Knoxville and his band of Jackasses.

There are some things in life that are an acquired taste. That, as the makers of Marmite would suggest, you either love or you hate. Whilst the idea of stepping out of your comfort zone is a noble one, there are some things that simply aren’t for everyone. For example, a fan of legendary thrash metal band Slayer would probably not enjoy going to a Justin Timberlake concert. Whilst there can be no denying that Justin is a talented performer, his skills would be wasted on someone who preferred heavy guitar riffs to nifty dance moves and R & B harmonies. The point I’m trying to make here is that there are some things that certain people are predetermined to like and others are destined to despise, and the latest offering from Johnny Knoxville and his band of lunatics, Jackass 3D, definitely fits into that category.

Like its two predecessors, Jackass 3D has no narrative or story, but is instead comprised of a series of pranks and skits that revolve around Knoxville and his team inflicting pain on themselves and each other for maximum comedy effect. Anyone who thought the creative well would have run dry after the last two films is wrong and the team return in a series of all new escapades that will have you squirming in your chair. From giant slapping hands, to fun with buffaloes, to exploding toilets, to midget fights, to bungee jumping porta-loos, to mini-bike stunts, to a pig eating an apple from the anus of a morbidly obese man, this film has it all. But even the most avid fans of the show will have to admit that the joke started to wear thin a few years back. The problem with shock humour is it doesn’t stay shocking for very long, so in an attempt to bring something new to the franchise you can now see all of these horrific images in glorious 3D.

Not being a fan of the current trend towards 3D it is much to my chagrin that I must admit that in the case of Jackass 3D it actually does work quite well. The recent spate of 3D films have used the technology as a gimmick to sell tickets rather than forward the narrative or add anything of value to the storytelling process, this is ultimately distracting and disappointing for the viewer. But since Jackass 3D has no narrative it can utilise 3D as pure attraction, adding a new element to the gross out appeal of the franchise. There is good comic value in dildos, vomit, and human excrement flying out of the screen, provided this is the kind of thing that you happen to find funny. At ninety minutes Jackass 3D does overstay its welcome somewhat, it's a formula that definitely works better in small doses. It’s unapologetically tacky, gimmicky, childish, and disgusting, but it is also hysterically funny in parts. It won’t be for everyone, but fans of the Jackass franchise will enjoy this film.

Review by Elliot Hyams

FILM: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Elliot Hyams gets ready to be spooked by the follow up to Paranormal Activity

To say that Paranormal Activity did quite well for itself would be a bit like saying Elvis Presley sold a couple of records. The film telling the story of a young couple named Micah and Katie and their horrific experiences at the mercy of a demonic presence didn't just do well, it broke records. Like the other big indie/horror success story of recent times The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity was shot entirely in first person perspective on a camcorder, featured unknown actors, and was marketed as genuine footage of spooky events, it was also slow moving and full of gaping wide plot holes. However, Micah and Katie were likable well portrayed characters, whose reactions seemed entirely believable and as such the viewer felt for them in the face of impending doom. Costing a mere $15,000 to make it would go on to gross $196,681,656 globally, this level of success made it almost inevitable that there would be a sequel.

So as the hype machine began to warm up those amongst us who remembered the shambles that was Blair Witch 2 began to grow increasingly more sceptical. But the good news for fans of the original is that Paranormal Activity 2 delivers on its promise. A prequel, rather than a sequel, Micah and Katie return in this film set a few weeks before the events of the first. However this time the story centres on Katie’s sister Kristi and her family, husband Dan, stepdaughter Ali, and baby Hunter. After what they assume is a break in leaves their home vandalised the family fits security cameras around the house to monitor the situation, but as their Mexican housekeeper tries to warn them, it’s not vandals that they need to fear. As with the last film things start off innocently enough with a few loud bangs and opening and closing doors, but it’s not long before the baby is levitating and unseen assailants are dragging people around the house.

As a sequel the film plays on the expectations of those who have seen the first one, often the greatest moments of tension occur when nothing is happening but the viewer feels that at any moment it could. Unlike the in your face gore of this month’s other big horror release Saw 3D, Paranormal Activity 2 is subtle and builds slowly towards an explosive climax. The acting, as with the last film, is great, but an hour and a half of watching security camera and camcorder footage makes you long for the days of Italian cinematography. Also there is one plot hole so wide that you feel like phoning up the makers of the film and demanding that they explain it to you immediately. Ultimately Paranormal Activity 2 is more of the same and if you didn’t enjoy its predecessor then there is little chance you will enjoy this one. But it’s a film worth seeing once, if for no other reason than so you can make up your own mind without the coercion of hype.

Review by Elliot Hyams

FILM: SAW 3D

Elliot Hyams gets ready to play the game in the seventh instalment of the Saw series.

The announcement that a seventh Saw film was going to be made came as no great surprise to anyone. Despite the inescapable feeling that this series has gone well beyond the point of flogging a dead horse, the Saw films continue to turn a reasonable profit. Saw VI ended with the Jigsaw killer’s successor, Detective Hoffman, escaping from a trap set for him by his dead predecessor’s wife and presumably intent on gaining some form of overly conceptualised revenge, and so the scene was set for Saw VII. Only this isn’t Saw VII, it’s Saw 3D. Traditionally in long running series the transition to 3D is a last ditch attempt to refresh something which has grown formulaic and stale. However, in modern times 3D is a gimmick that can be applied to just about anything and with Halloween being upon us it would seem that the success of Saw: 3D is almost guaranteed.

Like every Saw before it some unfortunate soul has to play Jigsaw’s game, this time it’s the turn of Bobby Dagen, played by Sean Patrick Flannery. Bobby is a survivor of one of Jigsaw’s games and has since become the author of a successful self help book. Clearly this was never going to sit well with the husky voiced killer. Whilst Bobby works his way through each elaborate trap, Costas Mandylor’s Hoffman continues his hunt for Jill Tuck, along the way we are treated to a series of extravagant scenes of torture and mutilation that are the calling card of the Saw films. Bodies are torn apart, sawn in half, smashed, burnt, impaled and eviscerated all in glorious 3D. But more than this long time followers of the series are rewarded with the return of a previous victim of Jigsaw in the form of Cary Elwes’s Doctor Gordon, who was last seen hacking off his foot in Saw I.

Seeing Ewles brought back memories of watching that first film, it was new and exciting. Yes there was gore but the true genius of it came through its construction and the intensity of watching two men forced to go to extremes to survive. Seven films later and Saw is little more than torture porn with a plot. What narrative there is takes a back seat to the real aim of the film, to get to the next gory jigsaw killer set piece, and whilst watching a woman get cut in half and explode out of the screen may seem like fun the truth is it isn’t, because we’ve seen it all before. What made Saw a great film was that Adam and Dr. Gordon were well rounded characters, it would seem that characters in Saw 3D are little more than fodder. Ultimately Saw 3D does what it says on the tin, if you want to enjoy a gory movie where guts fly out of the screen then watch Saw 3D, if you want to watch a well constructed piece of psychological horror then watch The Shining. The choice, as Jigsaw would say, is yours.

Review by Elliot Hyams