Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

What would you do when everything you ever dreamed of happened to your sister?

Would you congratulate her? Would you be happy for her? Would you be jealous? Would you do everything in your power to take away? This is exactly how Baby Jane Hudson feels when she comes to realization that her older sister, Blanche Hudson is a successful actress and she is just a washed up "could have been".

In the beginning, we are introduced to 'Baby Jane', a prosperous singer/actress living the dream of an idolised golden child with her sister Blanche caught in the shadow of her success. As time passes, the tables begin to turn. Blanche is suddenly the star of the show. The one with all the glory. The one with all the money. 'Baby Jane' is now nothing more than a has been. The success however brought nothing but tragedy for the spotlight sister Blanche. One evening, the sisters arrive to the gate of their home- Jane drunk as a skunk and Blanche sober with pride. A terrible accident occurs. The girls' car is driven straight into the fence of their luxury home. But that's not the worst of it. Blanche is left paralyzed from the waist down, resulting not only in the loss of her legs but the loss of her career. 'Baby Jane' is nowhere to be seen.

Fast forward to today, the sisters are living together in Blanche's mansion; Jane being the sole carer for her sister. It is clear that Jane has some issues, well a lot of issues regarding the downward spiral of her own career. There is seriously something mentally wrong with her. She has vendetta against her sister for the success she didn't have, especially with the recent airings of Blanche's movies on national television - spiking an enormous amount of jealousy. Relying on Jane for her almost every need, Blanche has little power in her own house which does not work out well for her in the slightest. That's an understatement, it really doesn't work out well. The things Jane does to her sister are absolutely horrible. Some are sadistically funny, but still horrible. Blanche is a real positive thinker though, a trooper, until she has the realization that Jane is in fact mentally unstable. 

We are taken on a journey where Blanche almost dies, Jane falls in love with a man who has a horrible English accent, (NEEDS TO BE SAID) gets her heart and career aspirations broken and ends with the girls reunited in a place where they once felt much joy in their lives, well Jane did. 

This is a 1960's movie, so if you don't mind black and white films I would highly recommend watching this one. I would rate it an 9/10 as it's the first black and white film I've watched and a story where I've been able to retain interest throughout the entire period. Plus, if you ever need a true character to dress up as for a party, Baby Jane (Bette Davis) is your answer. That white makeup and toy doll... gives me chills just thinking about it.

 

Mama

Two little girls, left alone in the woods. No form of contact with anyone, too young to take care of themselves. 

A father shoots several of his co-workers, then his wife and runs away with his daughters before he is left to face the consequences. Driving faster and faster to escape reality, the father loses control of his car and crashes in the woods. No one is hurt in the accident. The father leads his daughters to an abandoned house, where the father contemplates his next move.  Five years on, after extensive searches of the woods trackers are lead to a run down house. The house standing strong appears to be vacant, however, into the house they go hoping for a miracle. Confronted they are by exactly what they were hoping to find and so begins the story of 'Mama.'

The girls begin their lives in the observation room of a hospital and soon make the transition into their family home, with their uncle and his partner. A doctor has taken a major interest in the girls and can't help but feel inclined to understand how the two managed to survive - the condition of which the girls are initially found will impact any audience. As the story progresses, we notice the girls are never really alone. Something or rather someone is watching over them, and does not like how the girls lives are changing. (For me, when children are involved in horror movies it makes the connection that tiny bit stronger) Strange things begin to occur in the home, with the man of the house having an accident, well not exactly an accident, but results with him hospitalised for majority of the movie. 

His partner, a women clearly not ready for motherhood takes the role of the sole guardian for the girls and she begins to notice there is something very strange about the girls. They talk to themselves, play games with themselves and call out "Mama" when there is nobody around. Probably what you would expect when you've been living on your own for five years right? The girls soon reveal they were not alone. They did in fact have "Mama" looking out for them, and, ironically enough, she is still looking out for them - according to the children. The intrigued doctor continues to observe the children and begins to form his own conclusions of what had happened, slowly drawing the "Mama" character created by the children to be a real figure.

I don't want to give too much away, but I really enjoyed this movie - easily one of the best horror movies I've seen in a while. I would rate it 8/10 for it's ability to keep me engaged throughout the entire movie. I was however disappointed in the ending, such a typical end to a horror movie.

The Purge

You can do anything you want for 24 hours. Anything.

2013's movie 'The Purge' consists of just that. Anyone, and I mean anyone can do anything they want... but for only 24 hours. And yes, this includes murder (surprise, surprise).

Set in present times, we are introduced to the picture perfect American family- or so it seems. A family who seems less than nervous for the annual purge. The one time in the year where anyone can do anything they like, without having reason, without having to suffer the consequences. As the family home goes into lock down, the youngest song does not appear to be coping with the horror which is occurring outside. Despite all the precautions taken by the rest of the family, the boy lets a scared man into their secured home. -This seems awfully predictable, out of anyone in the family the youngest, who knows little about the true events which take place on the evening, is the one to take action and show compassion. 

Not long after the family realise what's going on, the people hunting the man show up at the families door step giving them an ultimatum - Bring the man outside or they will come inside and retrieve him, showing no sympathy for anyone in their path. Once again, surprise surprise. The rest of the movie becomes a giant game of deadly hide and seek. And when I say deadly, I mean guns, knifes and blood. I won't ruin the ending, but you I guarantee you be able to pick how the movie ends. And in saying that, it would have been nice to see the aftermath of the annual purge... however, it is not shown. 

Classified as a horror/sci-fi movie, I would rate it a 7 out of 10, purely because of the predictability throughout the movie.