• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Film
  • DVD
  • Editorial
  • About ScreenFish

ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • News
  • OtherFish
  • Podcast
  • Give

Get Out

Culture Shock: Blowing Up Independence Day

July 4, 2022 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Set at the Mexican-American border, Culture Shock tells the story of Marisol (Martha Higareda), a young Mexican woman who is fleeing the dangers of her home in search for a new life in America. Yearning for freedom and safety for her family, Marisol fights and claws to cross the border only to discover that the world she’s dreamed of may actually be more of a nightmare.

Released as part of Blumhouse’s Into the Dark horror anthology, Culture Shock is a fun and increasingly dark sci-fi horror with a social conscience. For her first feature film, director Gigi Saul Guerrero shows an incredible amount of confidence behind the camera. There is a fire within her direction that drives the film and underscores her passion for justice. Part Get Out and part The Stepford Wives, Culture Shock has all the ingredients necessary to cook up something special and executes effectively. Fueled by an inner rage, the film is as sharp in its satire as it is brutal in its gore. 

Although the film features solid performances across the board, Shock benefits most from some excellent work by Higareda. As Marisol, Higareda’s performance contains a strength that carries the film. Whether she’s fighting the perils of crossing the border or attempting to navigate a community BBQ, Higareda attacks each scene with ferocity and courage. (It’s also worth noting the most surprising performance comes from Creed Bratton. Best known for his work on The Office, Bratton’s comedic chops are rarely utilized here. Instead, there’s a snarl and grit within his performance that catches the viewer off-guard.)

Visually, Shock is an absolute treat as well. Although she begins with muted colours and heavy shadows, Guerrero eventually fills the screen with clear and crisp red, whites and blues as her vision of the American Dream takes hold. Once Marisol crosses the US border, she is met with the purest of Americana, including fireworks, barbeques and flags galore. This world is meant to represent the very best of US ideals, embedded with a sense of purity, safety and, above all else, hope. 

However, Shock shows that not all dreams are reality. 

Leaning into the darkest edges of American immigration, Shock speaks to the dangers inherent to starting a new life. As Marisol leans into the life that she (thinks) has always wanted, so too does she begin to see her identity slip away. Pressures of language and food subtly chip away at her Mexican heritage, shaping her into a White American model. More than this, however, Shock exposes the pain and suffering it is caused by American immigration policies (especially those under the Trump era). From the separation of families to sacrificing one’s cultural identity in order to ‘fit in’, Guerrero uses her horror to underscore the tragedy of recent real-life events.

But therein lies the irony.

Into The Dark — “Culture Shock” – A dystopian horror film following a young Mexican womanÕs journey across the border into Texas in pursuit of the American Dream, only to find herself in an ÒAmerican SimulationÓ virtual reality. Ricky (Ian Inigo) and Marisol (Martha Higareda), shown. (Photo by: Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP/Hulu)

As stories of xenophobia and racism unravel before our eyes, Guerrero highlights the fact that the greatest myth of the American Dream may be how easy it is to attain. In Shock, we see a world of open doors and opportunity… yet soon discover the deeply rooted pain that lurks underneath. While these stories become more commonplace, these systems show themselves to be designed primarily to keep people out as opposed to welcoming them inside.

In other words, it’s possible that the greatest horror in Shock is that it’s no longer shocking at all.

Culture Shock is available on Super Channel on Monday, July 4th, 2022.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, ScreamFish, VOD Tagged With: Aaron Ashmore, Creed Bratton, Culture Shock, Get Out, Gigi Saul Guerrero, immigration, LatinX, Martha Higareda, The Stepford Wives

The Retreat: Blood and Justice in the Woods

May 21, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Is there anything scarier than hatred and bigotry?

In new horror/thriller The Retreat, Renee (Tommie-Amber Pine) and Valerie (Sarah Allen) are a young couple who venture off into the wilderness for some secluded romance. With their relationship hitting a crossroads, the two women hope that this weekend in a remote cabin will provide the spark that they need to move forward together. However, as they attempt to navigate their issues, they are terrified to realize that their lives are in peril. Hunted by a group of para-military extremists, Renee and Valerie must put their relationship woes aside and fight in order to escape with their lives.

Directed by Pat Mills, The Retreat is solid horror fun that blends its terror with social commentary. Though only 81 minutes in length, Mills makes good use of her runtime. By keeping the exposition to a minimum, Mills keeps this story locked into the moment. In doing so, she manages to keep the film focused and energetic. At the same time, the film also benefits from some solid performances from its cast. With some enjoyable chemistry, Pine and Allen hold the film together. With energy and enthusiasm, the duo work well and their relationship serves as the film’s emotional core. 

As the film’s villains, Rossif Sutherland and Aaron Ashmore invest themselves into their characters, giving them an unyielding menace. Admittedly, it’s a little frustrating that talents like Sutherland and Ashmore are relegated to such one-dimensional characters. However, that’s also necessary in this case. These particular monsters are not meant to have any redeemable qualities in them and fleshing them out may have made them more sympathetic than they are supposed to be. 

Though light on ‘jump scares’, The Retreat‘s greatest asset is its social commentary. Following in the tradition of recent thrillers like Get Out and The Invisible Man, The Retreat uses its scares to highlight the pain caused by bigotry and hatred. However, instead of issues of racial discrimination or feminism, Mills chooses to focus on intolerance of the LGBTQ community. (In fact, it’s worth noting that The Retreat also serves as an opportunity to break free from the ‘bury your gays’ trope that often happens in genre movies such as this.) 

As Renee and Valerie venture out for a weekend of romance, this secluded retreat becomes a metaphor for the vulnerability that still take place when members of the LGBTQ community step out into the light. To their attackers, Renee and Valerie’s relationship is perceived as a threat to their more conservative way of life and that breeds into hatred. With this in mind, there’s a cry of hurt and anger that underscores the film and adds depth to its meaning. While they battle the evil around them, they show their resilience and strength in a place of oppression. As such, their journey becomes about much more than simply getting free from their captors. In essence, as Renee and Valerie fight for their lives, so too are they fighting for the right to be themselves. 

As the credits roll, The Retreat has accomplished its goal as pure horror fun. Filled with the required blood-thirsty villains and violence, the film makes for an evening of enjoyable entertainment. Nevertheless, the real value of the film lies in the statement that it makes. By giving voice to the LGBTQ community in the face of oppression, The Retreat feels as much of a claim to hope as it does a cry for help. By using Renee and Valerie’s struggle to survive as a metaphor for the resilience of the LGBTQ community, the film shows the damage incurred by the hatred of others and the strength needed to overcome it.

The Retreat is available on VOD on Friday, May 21st, 2021.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Aaron Ashmore, Alyson Richards, Celina Sinden, Get Out, horror, Pat Mills, Rossif Sutherland, The Invisible Man, The Retreat, thriller

5.12 Let’s Talk about US

March 31, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

http://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/5.12-Us.mp3

This week on the show, we dive into the shadow realm to talk about US, Jordan Peele’s latest mind-bending sci-fi horror. Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, US follows the Wilson family as their beachfront vacation is disrupted by a home invasion. Even more terrifying? Their attackers look exactly like themselves. But does the film give us good vibrations? Or is this one vacation we’d like forget? Tethered together for this episode is ScreenFish film analyst, Chris Utley and Catherine Erskine to talk about the film’s exploration of modern culture, what justice looks like within the film and whether or not we can really run from our shadows.

You can also stream the episode above on podomatic, SoundCloud or on Spotify! Or, you can download the ep on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or more!

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

5.12 Us

Thanks Chris and Catherine for joining us!

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Get Out, good vibrations, horror, Jordan Peele, Lupita Nyong'o, US, Winston Duke

Primary Sidebar

THE SF NEWS

Get a special look, just for you.

sf podcast

Hot Off the Press

  • She is Love: The Quiet Rage of Relationships
  • Black Ice – What’s needs to change in Canada
  • How Do We Do Evangelism?
  • Arctic: Our Frozen Planet – Baby, It’s Cold Outside
  • Dear Edward: Sitting in Sadness, but Never Alone
Find tickets and showtimes on Fandango.

where faith and film are intertwined

film and television carry stories which remind us of the stories God has woven since the beginning of time. come with us on a journey to see where faith and film are intertwined.

Footer

ScreenFish Articles

She is Love: The Quiet Rage of Relationships

Black Ice – What’s needs to change in Canada

  • About ScreenFish
  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 · ScreenFish.net · Built by Aaron Lee

 

Loading Comments...