The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls – Dirs. Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi (2014)

Nothing against computer animation, but it is a shame that it has supplanted hand-drawn and stop-motion as the predominant art form. What a strange sight it is to see CGI versions of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Charlie Brown. Thank goodness there are still hard working animators dedicated to keeping traditional methods alive.

The Portland-based Laika continues to make strides in stop-motion animation with films like Coraline and ParaNorman, both of which were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. The Boxtrolls continues that streak, but it's the slightest entry in their oeuvre and if I had my druthers I would have slotted The LEGO Movie in its stead.

The Boxtrolls is set in the Victorian-era village of Cheesebridge, a charming little burg built on top of a mountain. Cheesebridge does have one major drawback. They are plagued by subterranean creatures known as Boxtrolls, who earned their name for their penchant of wearing cardboard boxes like turtle shells. When parents want to scare their kids straight, they tell them the Boxtrolls will snatch them out of their beds and gobble them up.

However, none of those tales are true. Just ask Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), an orphaned boy who has been raised by the little critters and actually believes himself to be a Boxtroll. It seems these lies have been spread by one Archibald Snatcher (Ben Kingsley), who has fashioned himself a premiere pest exterminator. Make no mistake, he has no altruistic bent. Snatcher wishes to use the Boxtrolls in a scheme to climb the social ladder and join the exclusive White Hats. Led by the Mayor of Cheesebridge, Lord Portley-Rind (Jared Harris), the White Hats gather together to taste some of the world's finest gourmet cheeses.

If I've discussed Snatcher more than I have the protagonists, it's because the villains are the most interesting characters in the film. With his stringy hair and hook nose, Snatcher takes obvious inspiration from the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He goes to such great lengths in demonizing the Boxtrolls that he dresses in drag and performs a stage show as Madame Frou-Frou. Snatcher has three henchmen under his employ, the first being Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan), a diminutive lunatic who simply repeats the last word he heard. There's also Mr. Trout (Nick Frost) and Mr. Pickles (Richard Ayoade), who try very hard to convince themselves that they are the good guys of the story.

The Boxtrolls themselves don't play much of a factor. The Boxtrolls opens with a terrific introduction to their underground lair filled with knick knacks that have been transformed into Rube Goldberg-ian gadgets. After that, they're simply creatures who must be rescued by their human friends. Eggs is a surprisingly bland hero while his companion Winnie (Elle Fanning), the daughter of Lord Portley-Rind, is defined only by her morbid fascination with assorted grotesqueries ("I was promised rivers of blood!").

That's not to say that The Boxtrolls isn't without its charms. The details in the production design are exquisite with elements of Gothic horror, German expressionism, and Roald Dahl. The animators' passion can be seen in Snatcher's ragged, red jacket and every cobblestone that paves the street of Cheesebridge.

Laika's track record proves they make pictures that appeal to audiences of all ages while never condescending to their youngest viewers. The studio hasn't shied away from giving the kids a good scare, from an otherworldly creature sewing buttons into your eyes or a town plagued by puritan zombies. It's all in good fun and never in a manner that would rack up therapist bills. The Boxtrolls follows suit with a plot drawing parallels to Nazi Germany with the title characters serving as scapegoats for a power hungry madman. The city's leaders are portrayed as ineffectual twits and the townspeople are a few pitchforks shy of becoming a rabid mob. Although Snatcher wants nothing more than a seat at the White Hat table, he is violently allergic to cheese and his face swells to gruesome extremes.

There's a mid-credits scene in which Trout and Pickles ponder the notion that an invisible puppetmaster is behind their every move. This shifts into a time-lapsed video of Laika CEO Travis Knight animating the henchmen's movements. It's a clever button to a movie that could have used that same inventiveness in the screenplay loosely based on the novel, Here Be Mosnters! by Alan Snow. The Boxtrolls doesn't measure up to Coraline or ParaNorman, but the animation and off-kilter sensibilities can still be admired.

Rating: ** (*****)

Fright Night

Fright Night - Dir. Craig Gillespie (2011)

"Hey, guy. You've been watching me. I've been watching you. Your mom, there's a kind of neglect. Gives off a scent. And your girl? She is ripe. It's on you to look out for them because there are a lot of bad people out there…"

The strip mining of 80's culture continues with this remake of the 1985 cult classic directed by Tom Holland (Child's Play). The original Fright Night was never one of my fondly remembered 80's vampire movies. I always preferred The Lost Boys, The Hunger, and Near Dark. Still, it had some charm, particularly a fantastic performance from Roddy McDowall as horror television host Peter Vincent. McDowall's character was a throwback to the protagonists of the classic Hammer horror films. The name itself was an homage to Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. The remake of Fright Night is one of those rare do-over's that actually improves on the original by quickening the pace and steeping it into modern pop culture.

twists its predecessor's suburban setting by taking place in an artificial oasis just outside of Las Vegas. This is a prefabricated neighborhood of innocuous tract homes with "For Sale" signs littering the front lawns and the neon lights of Sin City illuminating the horizon. High schooler Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) lives here with his mom, Jane (Toni Collette), a real estate agent trying to sell these houses. Charley is one of the most popular kids in school with a beautiful girlfriend in Amy (Imogen Poots). But, it wasn't always this way for Charley. He was once a nerd who engaged in goofy LARPing in his back yard with former best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who was cast aside for the sake of Charley's popularity.

Charley reluctantly meets with his ex-BFF when several classmates mysterious disappear. Ed suspects Charley's new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire. Charley is naturally disbelieving until Ed vanishes as well.

The hip nature and clever dialogue of Fright Night owes a lot to the screenplay by Marti Noxon, one of the chief architects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Noxon is no stranger to writing believable teenagers (I Am Number Four, notwithstanding) and scary bloodsuckers with a mix of horror and comedy. The story plays with the perception of vampires in a post-Twilight world as well as all the usual tropes of the mythology. Let the Right One In answered the question of what happens to a vampire when they come in without an invitation. Fright Night answers the question of does a vampire need an invitation if the house has been abandoned due to a collapsing market. There is an unexpected poignancy to the movie with Noxon touching upon themes of teen angst with vampirism serving as an allegory for the predatory nature of high school and status supremacy. Charley isn't all that nice of a kid for having so cruelly shunned Ed in favor of the jerks who would have mocked him not long ago. Jerry too is attempting to build his own social circle by using some of his victims to repopulate his species.

Jerry as played by Chris Sarandon (who does the obligatory cameo) was more in line with the classical, seductive vampire. Colin Farrell's version exudes in alpha male arrogance. He's Dracula in a tight t-shirt and denim jeans. It's a role that Farrell is clearly relishing and it's one of his most fun performances to date. Not as nuanced as In Bruges, but not as cartoonish as Horrible Bosses or Daredevil. In the original film, it never made sense for Jerry not to kill Charley outright. Here, it's a case of Jerry toyed with his food before the big bite. He's centuries old with an unfathomable body count. What does he have to fear from a boy? This is exemplified in a suspenseful sequence in which Charley breaks into Jerry's home (with the help of a handy lock picking app) in order to free a hot blonde neighbor. It is clear Jerry knows they are there, despite their feeble attempts to skulk about unnoticed. The finish to the scene is a real kick to the balls.

Director Craig Gillespie earned strong critical notice for the indie comedy Lars and the Real Girl, but he shows a true flair for stylish action in Fright Night. In addition to the break-in sequence, there's a thrilling set piece that begins with Jerry ripping up the Brewsters' gas line and igniting their abode ("Don't need an invitation if there's no house."). This kicks off an exciting chase scene done as a continuous tracking shot with Jerry hurling a dirt bike at Jane's SUV and trying to carve his way in with his "fucked up vampire hand." The only detraction to these parts is the obvious CGI. Aside from these scenes, the special effects are strong, but the 3D version should be avoided as it dims the already dark night scenes.

One of the major changes in the remake is the envisioning of Peter Vincent as a larger-than-life stage magician. Vincent is portrayed wonderfully by former Doctor Who, David Tennant, who plays him as Criss Angel by way of Russell Brand.

Fright Night may have been dumped into theaters during the doldrums of August, but it's the kind of thrill ride that should have been released on Halloween. No sparkly bullshit here, Fright Night takes the vampire back to his spooky, bloodthirsty roots.

Rating: *** (*****)