Weekend Watch: Fear Street Part 3: 1666, And Gunpowder Milkshake
The horror trilogy concludes and Karen Gillan gets violent
Image Credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Netflix’s horror cycle concludes and female assassins find themselves facing an army of goons. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
It’s always pleasing to report when something I’ve been enjoying – and recommending, via my reviews of Fear Street’s first and second parts – sticks the landing. And that goes double for something that had to tell its story across multiple episodes, or, in this case, films. The Fear Street trilogy has been a particular pleasure, a horror cycle that even this grumpy old, doesn’t-scare horror skeptic has enjoyed.
Co-writer/director Leigh Janiak and her cast and crew have achieved something great here – a winning combination of likable characters, resonant themes, and, yes, some gory kills with plenty of tension leading up to the claret spilling. Part 3 spins the clock back to 1666 and investigates the truth behind Sarah Fier’s murderous, demonic legend. As you might expect, there’s a lot more to it than those in 1994 or 1978 have been told. Superstition and suspicion once again go hand in hand, and if the film’s setting in the past means it’s perhaps not as shockingly scary as the first two entries, it more than makes up for it with atmosphere. The reliable cast returns, here playing various ancestors of people we’ve met, and while several struggle with dodgy accents, there’s enough to latch on to and keep you watching. Think a less stylish version of The Witch, though goats play a part here as well.
Mostly, though, it all feels both layered and earned, given heft from what has gone before and adding to what we know. You’ll learn a lot more about what went on before Shadyside and Sunnyvale were built, and Janiak isn’t afraid to keep prodding ideas of hatred, fear, and gender imbalance.
Oh, and for anyone worried that the first part didn’t wrap up as neatly as it might, your patience is well and truly rewarded here. Overall, the three films work superbly as an overarching story that benefits from the pre-planned trilogy idea, and while it’s no easy feat to pull off, it works. These could well end up as perennial, re-watchable classics perfect for cold, dark nights.
All three parts of the Fear Street trilogy are on Netflix now.
Image Credit: Netflix
Gunpowder Milkshake is one of those movies that ends up so very frustrating. You’ve got a superb cast anchored by Karen Gillan giving it her all. Some stylish visuals split between neon-drenched German brutalism, 1950s nostalgic Americana and classic architecture, and a few good ideas here and there. Unfortunately, it’s also the very definition of less than the sum of its parts.
Borrowing heavily from the likes of John Wick, Shoot ‘Em Up and a host of 1990s thrillers, this at least frontloads the ensemble with some of the best actors working today – the roll call includes Lena Headey, Michelle Yeoh, Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, and Paul Giamatti, plus smaller parts for eccentric British performers such as Michael Smiley and Ralph Ineson. Yet the story surrounding is so off-the-peg, it’s frustrating.
Gillan is Sam, an assassin who works (via her handler, Giamatti’s Nathan) for a bunch of crusty old white dudes called The Firm. On assignment, she gets into some bother and ends up the target of Jim McAlester (Ineson). And then there’s an accountant (Samuel Anderson) who has stolen some of The Firm’s money because random criminals kidnapped his daughter Emily (Chole Coleman). Sam is sent to deal with David and retrieve the cash but – wouldn’t you know it? – decides to help Emily. It all stretches back to a strained mother/daughter relationship between Sam and her own parent, Headey’s Scarlet, who has been gone from her life for 15 years after her own run-in with killing the wrong person. And when she needs help, Sam turns to the Librarians (Gugino, Bassett, and Yeoh), who run a quirky service that provides guns inside books. It’s that sort of detail that should make this action-comedy all the more charming, but it feels a little like director/co-writer Navot Papushado trying just a little too hard to ape other movies in the genre.
Gillian makes for a convincing action hero, and some of the fight scenes (especially one in a dodgy doctor’s office) are effective. Yet while there is definitely something to be said for watching Michelle go full-on action again, toting a massive machine gun, the film never quite makes the best use of someone who regularly kicked/punched/shot rings around their male co-stars. Then there’s the traditional offbeat dialogue and characters taking their time trading quips when trouble is knocking at their door, just because that’s what’s required rather than logical.
Gunpowder Milkshake might scratch some action-comedy itches, but it’s never as cool, funny, or as original as it thinks it is.
Gunpowder Milkshake is on Netflix in the US now. It’ll be out in UK cinemas on 17 September.