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WinterThe-Masquerade

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Yep, been watching the trailer a lot today. And yes, that's mostly the scene where Lara is seen stroking the image of Sam in the photo of her and friends.


Anyone who's been with me a while knows that I'm more then a little obsessed with Sam Nishimura from Tomb Raider. I find her to be a severally underrated character with a lot of depth and development in the series, arguably even more so then Lara who's character arc is stuck on a loop, at least as far as the games go.


Helping matters is Lara and Sam's relationship which I see as the true heart and soul of this series. Oh sure the sequel games and the 2018 adaptation of A Survivor is Born tried to make it more about Lara and her father but for many, myself included, the relationship falls flat due to Richard Croft's limited screen time and development. In the base game of Rise of the Tomb Raider he has, no joke, about 4 minutes of screen time and while there are a ton of Audio logs from him that Lara listens to he doesn't reveal much about himself.


It's only in the DLC, Blood Ties, that he's given more depth and development and, again, that's DLC meaning as good as it is it's not required to advance the game.


Sam, in just the first game not counting any of the comics, we learn quote a bit about her. We learn how and why she became friends with Lara, her passions for filmmaking, her feelings on other crew members and her connection to Himiko and Yamatia.


Sadly, soon after the first game was released Crystal Dynamics ordered Sam to be "Parked" much to the confusion of the writers and fans who liked the character. CD has never given an official reason and while I have my suspicions I've no interest to talk about right now.


But now there seems to be a good chance of Sam actually returning to the series. Why? Because of this

The Photo from the Past 2

This is a scene from the trailer, not an Easter Egg hidden in the background, not a comment made by one of writers or actors and not a rumor mentioned on a fan site. This is in the trailer at 27 seconds into said trailer that's placed front and center with nothing else to focus on. Shown right after a scene that is a major wham shot that clearly shows magic in use and right before the final shot of Lara in the trailer. Add onto that the fact that this is THE first trailer for this series meaning the show is placing this as a major point of importance for the show.


Which then leads to the next question: is the trailer, and by extension the show, hinting at a romance between Lara and Sam?


Check out the Trailer and look at this moment. Lara is shown stroking the image of Sam specifically and while it's more than possible she's thinking of all the people in the picture again, The Trailer Is Focusing On This Moment From The Show. They didn't just show the picture with Lara's hand just resting on the picture they show her stroking the image of Sam in the picture. Not Jonah, Not Roth, Not Reyes. Sam!


Also keep in mind that Netflix is no stranger to including LGBT in their shows and movies. Sure a lot of the time it's restricted to just flirting and we won't so much as get a kiss (as shown in Arcane) and sometime they go for the "It's Heavily Implied" route where it's hinted but never said until the end even when it's completely obvious (see She-Ra, the first season of Warrior Nun and Stranger Things with the character Will for examples) or have it as secondary lead character (Kipo). And other times they don't actually intend for a character to be LGBT they just include it in later seasons (Disenchantment).


So, it could happen but it could also just be hinting at the idea of it happening.


Lara and Sam remain a popular ship despite Sam not appearing in the games for over 10 years and being limited to the comics and keep in mind that Lara has had other love interests over the years. Also keep in mind that Lara is seen as a Queer Icon with her most popular pairing being women and the ongoing rise of LGBT representation in games and shows (though sadly not nearly as big as some think) it could happen and I for one WANT it to happen.


Closing Thoughts


The main reason for my own idea for a Tomb Raider series was to bring Sam back and to explore the relationship between her and Lara which included all the baggage from the drama of the comics which included Lara needlessly abandoning Sam not once but twice. I do worry if the show will try to make Sam a villain or if she'll be brought back only to be used as a damsel again or is only a minor character mentioned here and there but never shown.


But I'm hoping that won't be the case. That show runner Tasha Huo will see the untapped potential of this character and her relationship with Lara and will have her as the second protagonist of the show. Showing her as what she was made out to be in the comics, Lara's Equal. Not the friend who always needs saving but someone who is a match for Lara and someone who helps make Lara more human.

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Not gonna lie, kinda annoyed that one year after I announced my idea for a TR animated series Netflix did the same thing. I've no doubt it was just a coincidence but still, annoyed.


Doesn't look bad though but the trailers for Rise and Shadow of the Tomb Raider looked good and those ended up being just lazy retreads of the first game so I'm not holding my breath. On a side note I always find it funny how people who dislike the first game keep claiming that the sequels had a better story when it's just the same story with minor alterations and often bad ones. I don't blamed the writers or anyone else on the development team as there was apparently a LOT of Executive Meddling from Crystal Dynamics for the sequels. I'm hoping with the CD now out of the picture that the show can do more but only time will tell.


I am at least glad that they showed a picture of Sam in this trailer (which also showed Reyes, Roth and Jonah) which has Lara rubbing her hand against the image of Sam so hopefully that means Sam will be FINALLY coming back and that her relationship with Sam will be explored (hopefully in a romantic sense). I mean come on, Netflix has a LOT of LGBT shows, many of which have been very successful and are some of the sites best (Arcane, Stranger Things, Sense8, Warrior Nun and of course She-Ra and the Princesses of Power spring immediately to mind).


However, in regards to this show and mine can we all agree that I have the better Subtitle? Netflix's is "The Legend of Lara Croft" mine is "Scars of the Survivors". One is a generic title that doesn't really tell you anything while the other establishes the dark tone, gives you an idea of the themes of the story and works as a spiritual sequel to the unofficial subtitle of the first game "A Survivor is Born".


I honestly don't try to go "My fan fic is so much color then your official show" especially given how hard people work on those projects but in terms of naming I think this is the exception to the norm.

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Last year I posted an article on things that I didn't enjoy in Horizon Forbidden West. It was mostly little things that just kinda added up that bugged me more than anything else with one exception which but we'll get to that later. However, I still greatly enjoyed the game and while I haven't played it all that much that is SOLELY due to me waiting for both the New Game + AND waiting for the game's expansion pack, Burning Shores. Burning Shores is a rather interesting as the more I learned about the game the the more curious I became.


I had suspected that we would fight a Metal Devil, aka the Horus, at some point and that we would also get underwater mounts but I thought that these would be held off for the third game, not DLC before Horizon 3 was even announced. Hell some of the new abilities were ones I also thought we would get in a later game but apparently it was all included in the DLC as well. We got a new skill that allows us to do this cool grapple strike on a downed machine and what is basically a GUN. Okay it's more sci-fi and with nano tech but it's still basically a gun.


And finally there's Seyka, but that part of the conversation will have to wait but suffice to say she also added something I was certain we were never going to see in this series and has HUGE implications for the next game. For right now let's focus on where this DLC improves on the base game starting with


A Little Less Climbing and a Lot More Platforming


One of my biggest issues with HFW was the rather awful climbing system. I won't go to much into it again but let's just say that I GREATLY appropriate NG+ allowing me the option to get a flying mount early the game so I can skip over the climbing as much as possible. The EP still has climbing but it's generally short and the few places were it is longer is no longer an issue because there are WAY more Grappling Points.


So, what would have originally taken me a minute to or even two to three minutes now only takes me 30 seconds at most. And that's assuming you even need to climb in the first place. One thing that game added that is a real game changer in terms of open world exploration and even combat are the Geysers. Sprinkled throughout the open world are Geysers that go off every few seconds and if you are close enough and you time it right this will lunch you into the air via your shield glider.


There aren't many but some are placed so you can get around the islands a bit more easily if you've lost a flying mount and just have to get to another location. Or even better they can be used to scale buildings in a single blast.


Even better is they can be used in combat, the gun I mentioned before can be used while gliding so if you need to out of enemy fire you can lunch yourself into the air and get off some shots on enemies giving you a hard time. Combined with the new grapple attack and this completely changes combat.


But the climbing is what we're focusing on right now and I can honestly say that if this is how getting around the world is going to be handled in either future DLCs, the upcoming Horizon Multiplayer game and Horizon 3 I wholeheartedly approve as it gets rid of one of the series most annoying features and replaces it with something so much more fun while keeping what already worked.


Like I said in my last post platforming is fun but climbing was not and HFWBS wisely got ride of something that was hindering open world exploration and replaced it with something more fun.


A Fantastic Final Level


Easily one of my biggest issues with the base game is the last level. It wasn't God awful or anything but was a huge let down given all the buildup the game put towards it. The final level in the base game was pretty much just you and Erend going from one uninspired arena to another, killing one or two machines and then we got to the last two bosses of the game.


It was short and most of the cool stuff happens almost exclusively during cutscenes and while the final boss was great the second to last boss was TERRIBLE and honestly to easy. There was just so much potential for this final level and the game dropped the ball HARD here which was not helped by one of my biggest issues with the game in terms of writing (again I'll cover that soon but let's focus on just the level as a whole.


Burning Shores on the other hand managed to completely avert this which is impressive as there was actually even more hype for this DLC's final level then the base game's final level.


The hype started during the end of last year when the trailer for the DLC was announced.



Right from the start the game was setting up a lot of hype of buildup for this. This was a major factor in why the DLC was Next Gen Exclusive as it took a LOT of memory for this thing to even be used in the game. And it does NOT disappoint.


At first I was a little worried as it seemed we were going to get a repeat of the base game's final level just instead of Specters (a machine used exclusively by the Zeniths) we would be dealing with Corruptors. But RIGHT After the first arena the game flips the script as the villain activates one of the arms and forces you to go into stealth as this this will kill you in a matter of seconds if it spots you.


So while you're technically doing the same thing over and over again it works because it's building up the tension and doing next to no climbing. And the end of this part the game cranks it up a notch when the Metal Devil is reactivated and begins moving.


It's a standard platform and hit the obvious weak sort of boss fight but it works so well and with this kinda of boss less is more. The game also switches things up and in the final stage and it puts more of your skills to the test thanks to this being a Half Platform Half Puzzle Boss.


Though I will admit that it does fall apart in the final stage as we enter the Horus' core and fight the DLC's villain there where he has limited attacks that do limited damage which makes the final fight more annoying then engaging and his limited dialogue just adds to that but that's ultimately minor nitpick in the grand scheme of things as the rest of the boss fight and level is just fantastic. It's going to be REALLY hard for the next game to top this


Seyka, Just Seyka


Sadly only half of my issues with the game are addressed as I still feel as Aloy's relationship with Gaia is still very underdeveloped, the villain is as one note as any of the others with an added bit of annoying to go with it and the side quests go in the exact opposite direction as there are now far to few of them which makes the DLC feel far shorter then the first game's Expansion Pack Frozen Wilds.


WITH ALL THAT SAID! This DLC fixes one of my biggest issues with the base game which was how the character of Tilda was written. To recap Tilda is a character defined solely by her sexuality. She's not a lesbian who happens to be a villain she's a lesbian villain. Most of what we learn about her is filtered through her interest, or more accurately, obsession with her former lover Elisabet which extended to her Clones aka her Daughters.


Tilda being defined solely by her sexuality is just bad writing and is ultimately rather harmful as it reinforced a stereotype that should have died out by now.


And while Tilda is completely unchanged the game directly addresses this issue with the character Seyka who is the first character in the series that the player has the option to fully romance. Yes, you read that right, Aloy has a girlfriend now! :D


I should note that originally I thought Aloy was Asexual as she had shown no interest in anyone but replaying the game it's obvious that the game was setting up that Aloy would have a romantic interest somewhere down the line in the series. I'll be honest for the longest time I DIDN'T Want Aloy to have a love interest and I honestly didn't see much in the way of romantic chemistry with any of the characters in the series. I entertained the idea with some like Erend, Talanah, Vanasha and even Petra for a bit but truth be told none of them really struck me as a real romantic match.


But Seyka was different as my the halfway point of the DLC I was fully onboard with the idea of her being Aloy's love interest and I think I know why.


Something I don't think anyone has talked about is who Seyka has the most in common with in the series. No it's not Aloy but it is someone Aloy was very close to and does explain why Aloy feels the way she does for Seyka which is often a major factor in people when we look for romantic partners even if many of us don't realize it.


The character who is the most like Seyka is Rost who was the person Aloy was closest to throughout most of her life. Think about it, both are strong willed, are very dedicate to their tribe even when that same tribe treats them like dirt, are EXTREMELY protective of their loved ones to the point that they are willing to break their tribes most sacred laws and traditions and are the only ones who can make Aloy stop and listen.


It's actually very common for people to fall for someone who is similar to our parents which helps to show why Aloy falls for Seyka and it also ties into another factor in her relationship with her. Remember that Seyka and Rost are both people who are shunned by their tribe and yet do everything in their power to protect that tribe even as they insult them to their faces and they are the ONLY characters Aloy ever tries to talk out of leaving the tribe that hurts them.


She could never convince Rost to do so as he sadly died before she was given the power to let him return to the tribe but with Seyka is her second chance to save someone from a people who mistreat her.


With Varl, Erend, Alva, Zo and Kotallo she will point out parts of their respective tribes that annoy her but she never tries to pull them away from their tribes because, for all their faults, there is someone for them to hold onto, people they love and a culture that is near and dear to their heart and one they have the power the change. Seyka and Rost don't really have that.


Rost lost his family before he was given Aloy and was shunned by the Nora even after he died to avenge their lost and save their children and Seyka's relationship with her sister is already in bad shape before we even meet her (I mean, she's in a Cult). And while both have a high ranking member of that tribe who sees them for the hero and human being their are in the end, there's little love there.


And thus we return to Aloy. She comes crashing into their lives and turns their whole world on its head and yet come to love her both in their own way (Rost as a father and Seyka as a lover) and makes it clear that she doesn't see their tribe as worthy of their dedication to it. And with Seyka she gets through to her, shows her that what she is fighting for is not what she really wants and that she can have some Real.


For the record I was of the idea that Aloy was Asexual and that she was never interested in anyone in a romantic way. And at the end of Burning Shores I choose the romantic option because it just made sense for her character as I realize she wasn't Ace she just never met anyone who could instill these feelings in her and I think that's because of how much Seyka is like the person Aloy cared for most in her life.


But more then that Seyka is just a great character in her own right. She is honestly my favorite companion in the series as she is more then just Aloy's love interest. She has her own goals and growth and her feelings for Aloy feel natural and earned. And while the option to have Aloy kiss her and make the romance official is up to the player the honest truth of the matter is that Aloy DOES have romantic feelings for Seyka. I mean, it's not even subtle and it's honestly really adorable to see Aloy getting so flustered as she goes through all these emotions that she's never felt before.


And on top of fixing one of the game's biggest missteps it also drew my attention to another issue I had with the game which was that of Beta and Aloy's Companions and her personal growth.


Aloy does NOT lack depth or development and neither does her sister or her friends and through all of them she has an overall really engaging arc that sees her change as she goes from shouldering the eight of the world alone to realizing that she can share this burden with others who are willing to help her in her struggle.


However, something that I realized was lacking in the base game is that there really isn't a character whom both Aloy and the player are equally invested in and as a result leaves us with little to get invested in the story of Aloy the character. Beta is a cutscene exclusive character who adds nothing to gameplay, she may appear as a voice while playing the game but she offers little to the player. As such there is a disconnect between the player and Beta which hinders the overall experience.


It's honestly a problem I had with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, all the major character stuff was locked away in optional cutscenes that are not required to advance the game. Likewise you can skip all of the cutscenes in this game and as a result you can miss most of Beta's character and her relationship with Aloy.


Same thing with Sylens (Rest in Peace Lance Reddick. The series wont be the same without you) as he's really doesn't add anything to gameplay and is a cutscene exclusive character who just happens to speak to you while you play the game.


Aloy's friends are a bit better. Like I said in my other post I WANTED to help them in their personal quests but replaying it after Burning Shores made me realize something, none of these characters are really that helpful during gameplay. They'll help but you're the one doing most of the heavy lifting while they just pelt the enemies with smaller hits in the background.


Seyka is, with a doubt, the best companion in the game not just because of her role in DLC's story but also her role in combat. Seyka will often take down Machines, either knocking them to the ground so you can land a devise blow or plant a blast canister on them so you can do extra damage to them. I honestly would have died if not for her helping out as the enemies in the DLC can get REALLY tough during combat even on the easier settings.


During one mission we had to fight these Frog Machines along with their tiny fly helpers (who are SO ANNOYING!!!) and I ran out of smoke bombs and was down to my last few arrows and Seyka managed to knock down one of them which gave me the window I needed to take it out of the fight and sooner after that she did the same thing with the other one.


One of the problems with my companions side quests is that they sadly aren't part of the main plot and as such they're given little to do in the main story. Honestly after their part in the main story is done you can just ignore them (hard as that is) which gave them less impact on the overall narrative. But Seyka and her personal quest is mandatory for the story to progress and is THE focus of the story which helps to flesh out her character so much more.


In essence Seyka is given a Mass Effect 2 style Loyalty Mission which is sadly lacking with the rest of your companions.


And, as Aloy's love interest, she helps to flesh out Aloy even more both she and I were on the same page when it came to Seyka. With everyone else Aloy was helping them because she could but with Seyka Aloy WANTED to help her and that changed her in ways that we've never seen before and because Seyka is so helpful during gameplay it made her all the more engaging.


So, yeah, that DLC not only has more LGBT characters front and center who are not solely defined by their sexuality but by their characters but it also helped me see what was missing from the base game with your other companions. Seyka is awesome and she SHOULD return in the next game and continue playing a major role in the story.


Closing Thoughts


While not perfect Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores greatly improved upon an already great game and while there is still a few things that the series NEEDS to improve on (PLEASE give us a better villain and have better designed side quests and give Aloy's relationship with Gaia more depth) it is a better and if this is a sign of how the next game will turn out Horizon 3 Could be AMAZING!!!

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Svk

Sadako vs. Kayako is arguably the single most interesting film of all the crossovers we've talked about as it's simultaneously the best film we'll be talking about but also the worst crossover.


Let me explain.


As a film this is VERY well put together and as a Horror film it is, IMHO, the best of all the movies we've talked about. There's some great build up, solid scares and the atmosphere is just great. And most important of all, this has, IMO, the best characters out of all the other crossovers. While in the other films the characters were usually pretty bland and forgettable with a few exceptions here the human characters are mostly all engaging and, at the very least, likable.


Yuri is actually a great character with a fantastic and very tragic arc that puts her on the same level as other great final girls like Nancy Thomson. And the two psychics in this film are AMAZING as they steal every scene their in and are just fun to watch. With the exception of Lex over on AVP, I was honestly cared more about these characters then I did the rest of the other human characters in both Freddy vs. Jason and Alien vs. Predator (again with the exception of Lex).


The film also does what any good Vs. film should do, show the respective skills of both characters to help build up to the titular fight of the movie... And that leads to my issues with the film and let's just get the worst part of it out the way, the titular fight between Sadako and Kayako sucks. It takes almost an hour and half to get to the fight and the film is only 1 hour and 39 minutes meaning that the two only are onscreen together for about 10 minutes and they only fight one another for about 5 minutes.


In both the other crossovers we talked about it took about an hour for the two monsters to fight one another and they spent half an hour doing so with only a few breaks to give the viewers a chance to breath. And on top of that the fights were varied and interesting and took full advantage of both monsters skills.


But in Sadako vs. Kayako... well... Kayako grabs Sadako and drags her off-screen. Sadako uses her hair to grab Kayako and then blows her up with her literal death glare. Kayako crushes Sadako's video tap and Sadako grabs Kayako's hand with her hair... And that's it. We waited 1 hour and 30 minutes for this!?!?


Alien vs. Predator did more in their first fight which only lasted for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. In 2 minutes and 30 seconds we had these two alien creatures trying to rip each other apart and destroyed the room they were in.


Hell, the film Bunshinsaba VS Sadako had better fights and that was basically a high budget fan film made in another country WITHOUT the backing of the rightful owners of the series. Sure, the fights weren't great but they were leaps and bounds better then what we got here.


And yes, this is a problem. When you have a movie based on two monsters fighting that are basically impossible to kill, can contort their bodies in unnatural ways and and can move through water, walls and TV Screens and one of them has the power to move things with her mind! We should be getting more then basically nothing. We came here to see these two try and kill each other and see how creative the fights could get, not to see the two barely do anything to one another.


Another problem with the fight itself, the film favors Sadako over Kayako with Sadako taking out Toshio (Kayako's son who's also an undead ghost killer (worst bring your kid to work day ever)) before the fight even starts. And in the actual fight Kayako pulling Sadako off screen and destroying the cursed VHS tape seem rather tame next to SADAKO BLOWING UP KAYAKO WITH ONE EYE!!! And in the buildup to that moment we have Sadako basically torturing Kayako with her hair which rips through Kayako in order to force Kayako to look at her.


Honestly, the buildup to the fight was more engaging then the fight itself. Seeing Sadako emerge from the TV Screen is always cool and Kayako descending from the stairs is likewise scary as Fuck.


Such a pity that the actual fight doesn't even come close to living up to the all the hype behind it.


And that's sadly not where the film's problems end as while the Sadako stuff is all great, the Kayako side is sadly lacking. Yuri is a great character as are the two psyches but Suzuka (the Kayako protagonist) is sadly kinda bland and REALLY stupid. Seriously, she is told how to avoid getting killed, she can sense that there is something wrong with the haunted house and she STILL goes in and as a result, gets her parents killed and herself cursed. Horror fans DON'T enjoy this, sure they want to see creative kills but people being stupid for the sake of the plot is something No One Enjoys!!! It's lazy writing and just comes off as the writers just sort of gave up.


And Natsumi is just a jerk. I get giving into despair but her basically dooming the whole world for seemingly no reason other then spite feels like it comes out of nowhere and needlessly raises the stakes by bringing the whole world in on a grudged match (no pun intended).


And that's another problem with this film, Sadako and Kayako don't really have a whole lot of reason to fight each other. Sure, neither of them wants the other to take their victims but it's more a result of the characters trying to avoid dying that brings these two into conflict and ends up making the big fight rather impersonal.


With Freddy vs. Jason the latter started killing the former's victims while Jason learned that Freddy used the form of Jason's mom to manipulate him. And with Alien vs. Predator the former is trying to prove they're worthy to become adults and the latter is bitter about being held captive and want to kill those who imprisoned them and leave to cause havoc across the galaxy.


It's not much but you get why these monsters on in conflict with one another and it is kind of personal for them. But with Sadako vs. Kayako it feels more like these two are fighting because that's the point of the film.


I know I'm harking on about this but the whole point of this film is to get these two to fight one another and the film is kinda lazy on how this fight happens and doesn't treat both monsters as equals. For all the problems of Freddy vs. Jason, Jason still felt like an equal to Freddy when it came to kills and overall power the two were pretty evenly matched with Jason having a notably higher body count then Freddy. In Alien vs. Predator, while the Predators are the ones who get the plot moving the Aliens are treated as the greater threat that requires the Predators to alley with a human to try and stop their old enemies from destroying the world.


But in Sadako vs. Kayako it feels like Sadako is the only real threat and Kayako is just part of the problem.


So, yeah, this final fight leaves a LOT to be desired but outside of that the rest of the film is really good. As I said the buildup to the fight is great and easily better then the fight itself and the characters are really engaging and there are so many great moments like when some priests try to perform and exorcism to get rid of Sadako only for her to kill the priests by breaking their necks and then headbutting Morishige (someone who's a fan of Sadako) which results in this wonderful shot

0-43-20-Morishiges-warped-face (2)

Yeah, this looks kinda silly but the scene in question is so well done that it comes off as more horrifying then anything especially since the film doesn't focus on it for very long.


There's also the bit where Suzuka first sees the Saeki house for the first time which is done perfectly. It's mostly quite as Suzaka seems to sense something calling to her and she slowly walks over to where the house is and the camera pans up and we see the house for the first time with this great vertigo zoom.


One of my problems with the other two crossovers we've covered is that the horror was kinda tamed which undercut the menace of the threats. But here, we're always reminded just how dangerous these two are and even if Sadako is treated as the real threat it never let's you forget that Kayako can be just as dangerous.


And then there's the film ending and out of all the crossovers we've talked about I think the ending of SVK is the best because just for how tragic and horrifying it is. The heroes soon realize that Sadako and Kayako can't destroy one another so they decide to seal them both in a well but in doing so the two fuse together and possess Yuri. This results in a new monster called Sadakaya and while that may sound silly the film handles this reveal perfectly with the new monster have character traits of both Sadako and Kayako but with Yuri's face.


And before we see what Sadakaya does the film ends JUST as we see her face!

 Sadakaya

GREAT Ending! Truly memorable and really made up for the overall lackluster battle.


Closing Thoughts


Sadako vs. Kayako is the hardest movie for me to figure out as in many ways, it's the best of the crossovers we've covered while in other ways it's the worst. It easily has some of the best characters in all the film's we've talked about but the titular fight is a joke that lacks any real tension. It also arguably has the best atmosphere of the three film's we've talked about, with great buildup but also has characters doing REALLY Stupid things in the story that undermines that tension.


And worst of all, as we've gone over, as a crossover it's honestly kinda crap because it unfairly favors Sadako over Kayako and the film as a whole suffers for it. It almost feels like the filmmakers wanted to do a Ringu movie but were forced to include Ju-On and just spent as little time on Kayako as possible.


But on the flip side That Ending! Of all the other crossovers we've talked about this felt like the endings were not as good as they could have been as they felt like cop-outs that ended in a draw to avoid annoying fans of either character. But with Sadako vs. Kayako it felt as if Evil itself had won. Like this was a losing battle and the film sets that up brilliantly so it doesn't feel like it comes out of nowhere.


You cannot control evil or force it to destroy itself as all that will do is destroy you in the end. You get invested in these characters, come to care about them and in the end, they all die. No one survives and in the end all they did was make things worse by trying to get the two curses to destroy one another.


On the whole I'd say that Sadako vs. Kayako is good but I feel it could have been better.


Final Thoughts on All Horror Movie Crossovers


In all honesty I had a lot of fun going overall these films and while none of them were perfect I honestly think they're better then many fans give them credit for. All these series have hit a number of low points with some truly awful films but I wouldn't count Freddy vs. Jason, Alien vs. Predator or Sadako vs. Kayako as one of those films. All the characters are overall likeable and engaging, the fights are for the most part solid and at the end it gave me what I came here for, monsters fighting each other.


I do feel, however, that there is a truly great film in all three of these films and that all have something the other one needs. Sadako vs. Kayako is the best in terms of characters and atmosphere but Freddy vs. Jason has the best fights. All three films make good use of their respective monsters but Alien vs. Predator is the only one that feels like it fully utilizes both instead of favoring one other the other like in Freddy vs. Jason or Sadako vs. Kayako.


I guess on the whole the reason I like AVP the most is that it's the most balanced film we've covered. It's actions are not as good as FVJ but are leaps and bounds better then what we get in SVK and while AVP's characters aren't as fleshed out as in SVK they are a lot better then what we get in FVJ. And again, it's the only film that feels like it's a proper crossover that fully utilizes both monsters instead of just being a single monster show that happens to feature another iconic monster as a side threat.


If we could get a film that had the action of FVJ, the well structured plot and equal footing of AVP and the characters of SVK then we could have a real classic movie that stands with the best of any movie, horror crossover or otherwise. But at the end of the day what we have is still good and are films that I am happy to re-watch again.


Happy Halloween! ;)

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Avp

Alien vs. Predator is the most interesting film for me to talk about because it's actually my favorite of all the film's will be talking about this month. I'm serious I think this movie is really underrated and while it may not be a masterpiece like in other Alien and Predator films it's by no means the worst film in either series. And just in comparison to the other movies we'll be talking about it feels like the most balanced film of the lot, but more on that in a later journal entry. For right now let's take a look at my favorite Horror Movie Crossover.


The Aliens


One thing I really enjoy about this film is how the Aliens are written as it retains what makes them so menacing and remains loyal to the central theme of the Alien series: This is a monster that cannot be controlled or contained and trying to do so will only lead to your own downfall. The only difference is that the ones trying to control the Aliens are other Aliens, in this case the Predators.


A problem I had with Alien: Covenant was how this theme was basically abandoned in favor of an idea that, frankly, is kinda stupid. All throughout the series it was been shown time and again that the Aliens cannot be controlled and yet David was able to do so... because he can. AVP remains true to the idea that the Aliens are beyond even the Predators ability to control as shown by how many temples and cities they lost on Earth as a direct result of their attempts to use the Aliens in their hunts and how that continues to be the case.


Honestly AVP is more loyal to the ideas and concepts of the Alien series then what we got in the most recent films because they're presented as this dangerous and unstoppable force that no one can control. Not much else to say other then that I like how the film presents the Aliens and while they may not be as terrifying as they are in other films I honestly think they're a LOT better then other takes on them in the series.


The Predators


What I find so interesting about the Predators in this film is how much it ended up influencing them throughout the series. This was the film that introduced the idea that Predators only ever hunt in packs of threes which is something that we later saw in Predators and this film also was the first to give more personality to the Predators instead of them just being an attempt to copy the Original Predator which was done to great effect in Prey.


However, what I find so interesting about the Predators here is that this was the first film to give me something I've long wanted to see and that being to have a Good Guy Predator. The Predators are among some of the most unique alien races we've seen in Sci-Fi. They're not an invading force that has come here to conquer Earth and yet their not peaceful settlers who seek to make peace with us. They're game hunters who are here because we're the best game in the galaxy. And yet, they have a code or rather rules they fallow. They won't hunt or harm anything that's clearly not a threat, if said Prey is hurt by something that had nothing to do with them they will leave it be and if their Prey is in someway handicapped or Pregnant they will leave it be.


These are aliens that are a bit more morally grey so it would make sense that they would work with us when facing a greater threat, like say another Alien Race of pure malice that sees only as a means of growing their young. The Predators are bad but the Aliens are worse and seeing them team up with humans is something I've wanted to see for so long and it was so great to see it happen in this film.


However, what really makes these Predators so engaging for me is that their personalities. After the first film the Predators were all mainly attempting to just be the First Predator again. Sure the City Hunter was given a bit more depth but it was more a case of doing what had already been done and still wasn't given much in the way of a personality beyond "Kill for Sport".


The Predators in AVP (and in the sequel) were given so much more depth and very distinctive personalities. Celitc is the most aggressive and is shown to prefer getting up close and fighting with his bear hands while Scar is calmer and is more of a ranged fighter and is also kind of a troll as shown here-

I love how he just does that to freak Lex out. lol


Not much to say about Chomper as he sadly doesn't get that much screen time and dies before he can actually do anything but I'm okay with that as the other two have more then enough character to go around. I also like how the film sets up Celtic as the lead Predator at first which is something that not a lot of fans talk about is that first the first half of the film Scar doesn't actually do that much and Celtic is the main Predator we focus on.


Celtic is the one who kills the first human, the one leading the pack and the one who we focus on for most of the film while Scar is more of a minor character. And then Celtic dies leaving Scar to take over.


It's not the greatest Decoy Protagonist twist but it's still well handled IMO and handled a LOT better here then in The Predator which did something similar with, again IMO, diminishing returns. In that film it sets up Decoy Predator as the lead only for another Predator to take over about half way through the film. The problems here is that the Fugitive Predator doesn't make a whole lot of sense. We're told that he is trying to help humans but instead spends most of his time hunting a random group of soldiers with only one of them being someone he might actually wants to kill but instead of focusing on just him he instead hunts the entire group for what seems to be the thrill of the hunt even though the film is trying to retcon the motives of the Predators.


In AVP it makes sense because Celtic is clearly the leader of this pack and is seeking to prove himself and is clearly itching for the upcoming fight and trying to insure that no evidence is left behind hence why he kills all the humans he encounters.


Scar, by contrast to the (sigh) Ultimate Predator also makes sense within the story as a replacement for the Predator we've been following up to that point. In The Predator UP, like the Fugitive Predator, doesn't make a whole lot of sense in terms of motives. He seems to be there to acquire the Iron Man Rip-off I mean the totally original and definitely original and not at all made just to set up a sequel that will (Prey to God) never happen only to drop that in favor of hunting the humans the Fugitive Predator was already hunting and then he wants a kid with Autism because the film thinks autism is a super power and the next step in human evolution. For those of you checking your eye sight or glasses right now no you didn't read that wrong. The Predator honestly thinks that autism = super genius and that Predators are interested in said autism because they believe this will make them stronger.


This is on par with Star Trek: Voyager's Threshold which thought that humans would evolve into lizards as a result of traveling at a certain speed of light. To quote MANY people who have seen both AVP and STV WE ARE NOT POKEMON! Evolution is just a fancy term for adaptation. It's not this magically thing we a set path we evolve to deal with certain challenges that we are fast with. We evolved to be intelligent tool users because that was what was acquired to survive.


But back to the film about aliens punching each other, what I like about the Predators in this film is just how much more depth and personality they are given which is something we hadn't really seen in the series before and didn't see after until the movie Prey which gave the Feral Predator it's own unique personality which was done to great effect.


It's one of the things I truly love about this film which is how it adds to the history of the Predators, how it makes them heroes of the story while also not forgetting that their the reason all these terrible things happen.


Effects


Now normally I wouldn't really focus on this as I'm not really someone who's supper interested in effects for any kind of media. I don't really have much to say about CGI, Practical Effects or what style of animation a show, film or game is using. But AVP is a great film to look to when it comes to balancing CG and Practical Effects and the effects on both fronts are really great. For the most part the film uses Practical effects and only uses CG when needed, (such as the more complex and fast paste movements of the Aliens and Predators).


The Alien Queen is one of the best examples of the balance between the two with a MASSIVE Anomatronic being used for several of the close up shots and whenever the Queen isn't moving around to much and CG for bits like her running or moving around in a way that Practical Effects wouldn't be, well, Practical.


This is especially noteworthy in regards to Freddy vs. Jason which used Practical Effects whenever possible but it often feels like the film Overused CG and in both cases the effects of that film aren't all that convincing. Now the reason I didn't bring that up is because, again, it's not something I really care about normally but with AVP has such a good balance between the two and does such a great job at both that I felt it Needed to be addressed.


Especially when contrasted with later Alien and Predator films with, Alien: Covenant and The Predator overusing CG and both of them, TBH, kinda sucked. While the effects in AVP aren't going to win any awards they honestly look great for the most part. Sure you can tell that their plastic but the effort is clearly there to make these monsters intimating and honestly I think these are some of the best looking Aliens and Predators I've seen.


Not really much more to say, the effects look really good.


The Lore


One of the most interesting things about AVP is how much it adds to the lore of both series which honestly has had a bigger impact on both series then I think most fans are aware of. For Alien fans this film was the first to introduce the Wayland half of the Wayland-Yutani aka the Corporation/Secondary Antagonist and provided it's own unique twist on the company. Namely that for this film they AREN'T the antagonists in anyway.


While there is mention of the company's founder, Charles Bishop Wayland, being something of a shady figure the film presents him as a decent and good man who just wants to be remembered. We'd later see something similar in the video game Alien: Isolation where the WY Employees are presented as good people who try to help the hero. Sure one of them is there to try and capture an Alien but as soon as she sees how dangerous they are she stops and does what she can to help stop them.


There's not much else added to this as the film doesn't try to add or change anything about the Aliens and that's a good thing because, as Prothemeus and Alien: Covenant showed, sometimes trying to add to or expand the lore of the series will only weaken what made it work to begin with. The Aliens are a threat that no one can control and trying to do so will only lead to disaster.


The Predators on the other hand there's a LOT added to their side of the series. As stated before this was the film that introduced the idea of Predators hunting with no more then three Predators in a hunt and also was a film that showed just how long the Predators have been coming to Earth, which we only got hints of in Predator 2. And while Prey seems to have retconned this keep in mind that both the directors of Predators and The Predator considered AVP canon and included references to it in their films so it may yet be a part of the series lore.


This is also the first film to really delve into the culture of the Predators by showing how they are made into adults by hunting the most dangerous Creature in the galaxy, the Alien. Sadly this is the only film to have really explored this angle of the Predators as the next 4 films just go back to the standard Predator plot of them just hunting something. The Predator is the only exception but that was so badly handled and included a needless retcon that it's really best just to ignore it.


While AVP didn't add much to the lore of either series what it did add was fascinating and clearly something other writers liked as we've seen this ideas explored in Alien and Predator. Some of those ideas were handled better in later films others, I think, handled it rather poorly but in the end it was still clearly interesting enough for future writers Wanted to explore it.


Lex


Lex is a rather interesting character. She has the misfortune of being in the company of not only some of the greatest horror movie monsters of all time but she's also fallowing in the footsteps of some of the greatest horror movie Heroes of all time and it's inevitable for her to be compared to them. With Alien we had Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, and with Predator we have Dutch, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and for many Lex, played by Sanaa Lathan, is often regarded as lifeless and lacking the charisma of the other leads in the series. I can see why many feel that way as Lathan doesn't seem to be giving this film much in the first half of the film and her performance does fall into Dull Surprise for a good chunk of the film.


However, I personally like Lex and feel that she's underrated and while I do agree that her acting in the first half of the film is kinda lifeless it DOES make sense with the character at that point in the film and during the second half she really starts showing more emotion as the situation she's in gets more and more dangerous.


And, TBH when compared to other characters in both Alien and Predator she is by no means the worst. Hell, even compared to some of Weaver's characters in Alien Lex is not only not that bad but almost an improvement. While Ripley in the first two films is a great character in the third film it felt like just a retread of her arc in Aliens and in Alien: Resurrection the clone Ripley was honestly, one of the worst characters in the entire Alien franchise. Not the worst but certainly in the top 10, if not the top 5.


Lex's biggest problem is that she doesn't have much of a overall arc in the film but that's honestly an issue I had with most characters in both series. They don't really grow, more they just try to survive the nightmare they've found themselves in. This extends to Ripley in the first Alien film as while in Aliens she was given more of an arc, in the first film she's just one of the people trying to survive and is only unique from the other characters in that she manages to do so.


And truth be told, Lex has a lot more character then Ripley did in Alien and Dutch in Predator. She's a survivalist who will not put up with anyone's crap and takes charge of the situation not because she demands to be followed but because she is the best suited for the job. We even get some nice backstory for her during the first act of the film which helps us understand why she does what she does and why her losing everyone on the expedition hits her so hard even though she barely knows anyone here.


Her main two relationships in the film are also rather interesting. With Wayland you really feel the bond the two have which helps sell Wayland's tragic death towards the end of the film. And then there's Lex's relationship with the lead Predator Scar and... yeah, I ship it.


One other thing I like about Lex is that, much like with Ripley and Dutch her story in the film is a rather tragic one. Like with the others she looses everyone which includes Wayland whom she had developed a father/daughter relationship and it's because of that relationship that I'm glad that she doesn't join the Predators at the end of her film. The reason for that is that the whole point of this expedition was Wayland trying to find someway to be remembered and Lex promised to help him do that and while the Pyramid was lost along with everyone who went to find it Lex proved herself as a warrior to the Predators who gave her a gift for her fight against the Aliens.


While her fate is left unresolved we do see her heading to a snowmobile so she likely survived and we see her Alien tale Spear in The Predator so I'd like to think she not only survived but gave the Predator spear she was gifted as a way of fulfilling Wayland's dream of being remembered. Thus while her story is a tragic one there is a note of triumph within it.


Honestly, much like the film itself I think Lex is underrated.


Wayland


One thing that I really enjoyed about AVP, especially in contrast to Prometheus, is the other all character of Charles Bishop Wayland. One of my biggest issues with both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant is that the characters weren't all that engaging. Now as stated with Lex the characters in this AVP film are by no means the best but they are far from being the worst and easily one of the best characters is Wayland. Unlike his Prometheus counterpart I actually Care about this Wayland and find him to be an overall interesting character.


Like with Peter Wayland Charles is on deaths doorstep and is searching for ancient aliens (though Charles is unaware that aliens are involved in his expedition). The key difference is Peter is doing so to try and stop dying while Charles is doing so because he wants to be remembered for something other then founding a company that seems to have a rather... interesting reputation based on the characters reactions to it.


Something else I like about Charles is that, unlike Peter and his Daughter and "Son", he actually respects those he hires and defers to them during the exposition. The most notable of these are Lex whom he puts in charge because he knows what she's doing and doesn't have any moment where he pulls her aside to tell her that He and his men are the ones who are really in Charge while acting all sinister. No. Lex lays the rules on what to do and he aggressive because that's why he hired her.


A big part of why Charles works is down to his actor Lance Henriksen whom I don't think has ever given a bad performance even if the film, game or show he was in was kinda crap or even if I hated the character he played and in AVP provided him an interesting challenge. As many of you no doubt know Henriksen also played Bishop from Aliens and the idea that AVP is aiming for is that the person he is modified after is the founder of the company who made him, Charles Bishop Wayland. And that actually does make sense I mean we are still making statues of famous people and there have even been rumors that an animatronics of Walt Disney Himself will be made for Carousel of Progress.


For AVP this created the interesting challenge of trying to have Charles have similar character traits to Bishop while still being his own character. Like Bishop, Charles is a overall kind and decent person who has a great deal of respect for the film's protagonist and even willingly puts himself in danger to help others. However, one nice thing I like is that Charles never acts like a robot while Bishop did.


What I mean by that is that in Aliens Bishop had these moments that made him seem almost in-human like how sometimes he would turn his whole body instead of just his head or how he would sometimes not have any expression on his face. In AVP Charles has no such moments, he acts like a human and even has a thing for theatrics as shown by how he hires his crew and how he reveals himself.


It's not the best but there was clearly effort put into making Charles and how to make him stand out from Bishop. Is Charles a great character? No but he's still likeable and I felt bad when he died which shows that the film is doing something write.


Supporting Cast


There's not really a lot to say about the Supporting Cast in this film. Everyone's likeable enough, no one's overly stupid and they're all played pretty well. However, one thing I do like about this cast, ESPECIALLY in regards to the Alien Prequels and The Predator: NOBODY IS STUPID!!!


You know that old saying "I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached to me" well somehow the idiots in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant all forgot their brains when they came on this expedition. There are so many stupid moments where characters do clearly stupid things in what I can only assume is them trying to win as many Darwin Awards as possible.


I bring this up because after watching Prometheus I went back to AVP and I was AMAZED at how much more competent the characters where in AVP. If the cast of AVP was replaced by casts of either Prometheus or AC I'm 100% convinced we would have had someone insisting that the Facehuggers were cute and try to pet them. That Sebastian would have gotten drunk because he learned that the Predators were not infallible gods and Adele Rousseau (one of the security guards) would have stuck her head right into a Facehugger after being told it was safe.


And why am I convinced these clearly stupid things would happen? Because they DID in Prometheus and AC. Yes, characters are THAT stupid in those films. It's almost as if the characters being stupid was Intentional and the only reason it might not have been is because the film keeps insisting that they are smart and the best of the best.


The only stupid things the characters do in AVP is go down to the Pyramid without proper training (which is addressed in the film and they do follows Lex's advice) and taking the Predator's Guns when told not to... That's it and admittedly there was noway to know that taking the guns would trigger the apocalypse as that's not something anyone could prepare for.


So, yeah. Not the best but leaps and BOUNDS better then what we've gotten in other Alien or Predator films.


Act I and II


One thing I like about AVP is how it waste almost no time in getting to the plot, we're introduced to the three main, human, characters in a matter of minutes and their general personality and character are all established quickly and because of this nothing drags. A big part of that is due to the film actually doing something I wanted to see in Freddy vs. Jason which is having teh first half of the film be a mystery. We know that the Predators are the ones who made the Pyramid and we know that they're the ones who activated it to draw the humans in so they could be used as hosts for the Aliens to start a hunt.


This is all obvious but instead of just saying that at the start the film trusts us to figure this out and doesn't bother trying to explain itself... for the first half. Yeah, sadly the film does dump a LOT of exposition towards the end of the second act at which point it's kinda pointless to explain the plot as the audience has already figured it out what was going on. But honestly that's a rather minor complaint as by this point the monsters have already begun fighting so this can honestly be overlooked.


And again I like how the film wastes very little time in getting to the point, much like FVJ it takes about 40+ minutes to get to the monsters fighting one another but it never FEELS like that because the film does an overall good job at building up to the threat. It's not as good as, say, the buildup to the Raptors in the first Jurassic Park movie but it's still pretty good. The only real complaint I have about the buildup to the second half is how much the film keeps the heroes moving around as they explore the Pyramid as the film isn't great at building suspense on its own but honestly it's harmless and not as bad as other films that do something similar.


I also like how the film takes the time to establish the monsters through visuals. We don't see the Aliens or the Predators unil about 30 minutes into the film and when we finally do it's treated as a big deal which, in many ways, it was at the time. Keep in mind that it had been about 7 years since we'd seen teh Aliens and 14 since we saw the Predators on the big screen and their return here is treated as a major moment even before we get to them fighting one another.


And as soon as the Aliens are unleashed the film picks up the pace and almost never relents with the few bits where the viewer can catch their breath being few and far between. So, yeah while the first 40 minutes aren't perfect they're honestly really good and no scene drags on for to long. Everything ties into the plot and the few bits that don't quite work aren't bad and thanks to the cast being overall likable and competent it never gets frustrating.


Act III


However, the real strength of the film comes in at the third act which is, without a doubt, the best part of the film. See at the end of the second act Lex and Sebastian realized that the only way to save teh day was to give the remaining Predator, Scar, his gun back in the hopes that he would kill the Aliens and spare them as the Aliens are to great a threat and sometimes the only real way to fight fire is with fire. Or, as the film says, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.


And in all honesty the third act is not only the best part of the film I think it's truly on par with some of the best moments in either series. Bits like when Lex teams up with Scar



The scene where Lex has to kill Sebastian because he's been infected and the bit where the other Aliens free the Queen are all really enjoyable and and engaging. This is helped further by how the film drops the dialogue and sticks mostly to visual storytelling. I honestly wish we could have gotten more of this because it reminds me of Evil Dead 2 which had a smaller cast and put most of the focus on Ash for the first half of the film.


I honestly think that if most of the film had been like this that AVP would be more fondly remembered because how well handled this part is.


Which leads us to our final point the climax.


Weird thing about the Predator series my general thoughts about them can be summed up in how I felt about the ending. For Predator that's best summed up as Creative, exciting and terrifying. Arnold Schwarzenegger helps to elevate this already great film into a classic and the Predator is just a great villain and unique in the slasher genre. Predator 2 has its moments but honestly it feels like it drags on for a way to long. The action is good but outdrawn. The supporting cast is likeable but besides Bill Paxton I can't think of anyone who really standout to me. I love how it adds to the lore and fleshes out the Predators but I honestly feel the film is just kinda okay.


Prey, like the first film, this is a greatly creative film and exciting with a nice mix of horror and action. Amber Midthunder as Naru is great and the Predator is the one of the best in the series. Wish it was a bit longer and it does stretch suspension of disbelief in places but nothing to bad. And the puppy lives so it gets a +1 bounce from me. :D


Predators is an interesting concept but I feel the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The so called Super Predators honestly seem less effective then the classic ones and it never really FEELS like we're on an alien world but just a location on Earth. Also it has to many call backs to the first film which makes it feel like a retread of the original rather then the next level.


With Aliens vs. Predator: Requium I find my self constantly thinking TURN ON A LIGHT!!! Seriously I WANT to praise this films amazing practical effects and fights but I can't because I can barely see anything. Also you killed off the only character I actually liked while the rest of the cast are so forgettable that I can't actually remember anything about them. Wolf is a great Predator he has the misfortune of being in one of the worst films in either Alien or Predator series.


And The Predator is just dumb, I can't fallow anything that's happening, it needlessly changes the lore and the action is subpar at best. I don't care about anyone and this movies understanding of Autism is BLOW my understanding of Rocket Science.


Thus my thoughts on AVP can be best summed up as fun, exciting and weirdly romantic. Just take a look.



The only major problem I have with the first film is the last shot with the Pred-Alien but that is more because I know what that leads to and not because of the scene itself. But on the whole the third act of teh film is still great and is a major factor as to why I think this film is so underrated.


Closing Thoughts


While Alien vs. Predator is by no means a perfect film I honestly think it's a lot better then fans give it credit for. The cast is overall likeable, it presents the monsters as equals and makes good use of its premise. The action may not be as good as in Freddy vs. Jason but it's hugely entertaining and makes good use of both monsters skills with each fight standing out from each other with the first and final fight standing out as the best in the in either series IMO.


Not the best but better then some of the other films in either series. Next up Sadako vs. Kayako, see you then. :)

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