‘The Life of Chuck’ Review – A Quiet, Beautiful Reminder of Why I Love Movies

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My first experience with Mike Flanagan came in 2016 when I watched Hush, a horror slasher with a deaf protagonist. This was a very simple movie, but felt incredibly fresh and inventive. Afterwards, Flanagan went on to make Ouija: Origin of Evil (aka the good Oujia movie), and a few series for Netflix, like Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, among others. By far his most impressive feat in my opinion though was Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining. With this movie, Flanagan had the impossible task of not only following-up one of the most legendary films of all time (that also departed from its source material), but he had to do it by adapting another Stephen King book. In short, this was a movie doomed to fail and yet, it didn’t! I was actually impressed with the film and how much I enjoyed it and my Gram, who also loved The Shining, felt the exact same way.  From that day forward, I’ve been preaching the gospel of Mike Flanagan. Midnight Mass was one of the last shows I ever watched with my Gram and I’ll always adore Flanagan for all of his horror films and shows that connected my Gram and me together.  Life of Chuck is something of a departure for its writer/director Mike Flanagan. While based on a Stephen King short story, it’s not one in the horror genre. As always, I like to give as little detail as possible, but this movie has such a great synopsis that gives you just the right amount of information: “Charles “Chuck” Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.”  So is Flanagan better off sticking to his horror roots, or is The Life of Chuck proof that his true genre… is greatness? My Thoughts Simply put, I’m so glad to see this departure for Flanagan. Something about his style just allows for the feeling and emotion to ooze out of every scene. The story is told in reverse and it makes the movie really come together beautifully. It’s not just a gimmick to be different, it serves the story so well.  Chuck is played by various actors including Tom Hiddelston, who plays Chuck as an adult, Cody Flanagan (7 year old Chuck), Benjamin Pajak (11 year old Chuck), and even Jacob Tremblay (17 year old Chuck). Each iteration of Chuck is excellent, but I want to give credit to Benjamin Pajak who was the biggest standout for me. It’s these moments in Chuck’s formative years that so much of the emotion enters the movie and contextualizes everything we’ve seen and experienced so far. Pajak’s acting and his dancing were absolutely spectacular and without such a capable performance, the whole movie could have failed to reach the highs that it did.  Perhaps it was because of my expectations, but the only thing I really felt missing was a bit more time with Tom Hiddelston as adult Chuck. Make no mistake, he makes the most of his time, but I felt like there was a piece missing to really dial up the emotions as the whole story came together. We will definitely get more into this when we talk about this movie on our podcast, so if you’re not worried about spoilers and want to hear more, make sure to check that out! Another standout for me was the music. The score was a bit simplistic at times, but it was always incredibly effective. Complementing the score though was the soundtrack. Dancing is a big component of this movie and the songs they use in this at every turn felt absolutely perfect. The dance numbers and the emotion they pour into them made me feel so much that I was kind of shocked. I am decidedly not a dancer, but I was so moved by these moments that it made me envious of the experience and the impact they have on the people that get to experience it.  The supporting cast here, which is absolutely loaded with Flanagan regulars, all deliver in their own ways, some bigger and smaller than others. It didn’t detract from the movie or anything, but I’m worried that in the future the group of regulars can feel more like a spectacle on their own. For example, in this movie there are so many of them, and some of the roles are small enough that it could feel almost like cameo fatigue. Now make no mistake, I’m not implying that’s what is at all happening here. None of the appearances amount to cameos (except for a flash of Flanagan himself) and the movie doesn’t want us as an audience to pop in excitement at the mere appearance of a familiar actor. Each character has a crucial role to play in the story and all of them excel, but I couldn’t help but feel a slight amount of me getting temporarily pulled out of the movie when these familiar faces would appear.  As a whole though, this movie is absolutely beautiful. I would describe it as happy/sad in all the best ways. It drew plenty of emotion out of me, even getting me to tear up a little bit at times. If anything, I really wanted the movie to have a moment where the dam would break and the tears would pour out of me. I’m curious if on a second watch that I can reach the emotional catharsis the movie really primed me for. Verdict To answer my own question: yes. The Life of Chuck proves that Mike Flanagan’s true genre is greatness. Honestly, after reflecting throughout this review, I came to the realization that boxing Flanagan in as a horror filmmaker doesn’t do justice to his body of work. Sure, they usually have your typical horror elements, but what sets Flanagan’s horror work apart from all the rest is the characters and the heart that permeates all throughout his

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SLA at Fantasia: ‘Oddity’ Review

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Well, it looks like Fantasia saved the best for last! We closed out the festival this year with Oddity, a new horror movie from writer-director Damian McCarthy (Caveat) that I’m hoping blows up as much as Longlegs did. It’s deserving of all the hype Longlegs had and then some. I haven’t felt this much palpable tension and in-your-bones dread in a movie theatre since Skinamarink. But whereas that was an experimental Rorschach blot of a movie with little plot, Oddity is a genuine, old-school scary movie. I won’t spoil too many plot details, because I think you should try to go into this one as blind (pun intended) as possible. I’ll just say that the story involves a house, a murder, a blind medium who can commune with objects, and a creepy human-sized wooden doll (that is used to exquisite effect). I’ll say it right off the bat: this is my favourite horror movie of the year so far and one of my favourite horror movies in recent memory. As a pretty seasoned horror viewer, I sometimes feel like a buzzkill when friends or people I know heap praise on new horror releases that often just don’t do it for me. But I can’t remember the last time I felt this enamored of a modern-day horror movie. I really just loved everything about it, from the excellent performances (especially from Carolyn Bracken) to the sound design to the narrative choices and structure to its unabashed oddness. It all just works. Admittedly, I am a sucker for a supernatural horror story, and I love ghost stories in particular. I think they can be some of the most effective vehicles through which to not only scare the daylights out of people but also tickle the parts of our psyches that are rooted in the most primal instincts and emotions we have. A ghost story isn’t just cheap thrill or senseless gore—it’s a story, after all. And we are storytelling animals first and foremost. The immediate touchstone for me here is Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. No one understands the real and figurative power of a ghost story better than Flanagan. Watching Oddity, I felt a kinship between the film and Flanagan’s work in tone, atmosphere, and subject matter. But Oddity is also very much its own thing, and it feels like a breath of fresh air in today’s horror landscape. The movie is supernatural and spooky in a way that feels reminiscent of the heyday of 2000s horror, but it’s also darker and weirder and still modern-feeling. And it’s very funny! There were so many moments that had our whole theatre laughing, but the most brilliant part was that none of the film’s dark humour detracted from the tension or scares. Let’s talk about the scares, because I’m sure everyone wants to know just how scary this movie is. Obviously, this is highly subjective, but I felt genuinely on edge watching Oddity in a way that is rare for me. Part of that is that the movie makes masterful use of jump scares. While “jump scare” has become almost a dirty word among horror aficionados—connoting a cheap and easy way to scare an audience—there is nothing quite like the involuntary and visceral bodily reaction of fear that a well-executed jump scare can provide. Even being able to predict when or how they might happen here didn’t dilute their effectiveness. It all comes down to execution, really. McCarthy does a phenomenal job of building up tension, then releasing it, in ways both expected and unexpected. In particular, the camera work, editing, and sound design all work incredibly well together to play on audience expectations and craft a sense of dread that lingers well after the movie has played its hand. It’s that slow build up of anticipation that really gets to me. One of the scariest parts of Oddity, I think, is how it uses a supernatural lens to play on everyday fears. The idea of feeling unsafe in my own home, for example, is one of the most terrifying things imaginable to me. It’s why haunted house and home invasion stories are so effective. And it’s the kind of thing that plays on the imagination after you get home from a good horror movie—being afraid to turn out the lights and go to bed, thinking you’ve seen a figure looming at the end of a darkened hallway at night, not being able to sleep in your own bed. These are the kinds of feelings that Oddity evokes. And it does so with just a handful of well-executed elements. A setting, a setup, props, music, camerawork—but McCarthy knows that the mind will finish the job and build up fear and anticipation and dread all on its own. This movie fully pulled me into its world and kept me on the edge of my seat. I think it’s exactly what I’ve been missing from horror for a while. Verdict Everything here is just executed to perfection. Right from the opening sequence, I knew we were in for a brilliant ride, and Oddity did not disappoint. But don’t take my word for it. Go and see Oddity for yourself, ideally in a cinema with a crowd, if possible! If you’re into oddities, ghost stories, and old-school supernatural horror with modern sensibilities and a dark sense of humour, you may fall in love with Oddity as much as we did. Shout out, also, to the crowd at Fantasia, because nothing gets me more jazzed about cinema than hearing a room of people laugh, start, and even scream in unison. The crowd and the energy could not have been more perfect for this one, amplifying the tension and making the release all the more effective. What a phenomenal way to close out our very first (and most certainly not last) Fantasia Festival.

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SLA at Fantasia: Shelby Oaks – Spoiler Free Movie Review

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If you’ve ever talked to me about movies, chances are I have brought up a person whose videos I’ve watched on YouTube religiously for around fourteen years. That person is Chris Stuckmann. On a basic level, Chris and I shared the same taste in movies, but it was more his approach to talking about movies that really pulled me in. More than anything, Chris was a fan of movies first and foremost, and it was the passion above all else that has made me a long-time subscriber to his YouTube channel.  In fact, it was Chris’s approach that inspired the very website you’re reading now. I started Screen Love Affair because I love movies and I wanted to share that feeling with the world. Like Chris, I wanted to put that passion out there with the hope that someone will discover a new movie that inspires them, because they read about it here.  For Chris, though, talking about movies wasn’t enough. He has been a filmmaker since he was a kid and, as executive producer Mike Flanagan said tonight at the world premiere of Shelby Oaks, it was obvious that Chris would be here someday.  I was able to attend the world premiere of Shelby Oaks as part of the coverage we’ve been doing of the 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal. We got to hear from Mike Flanagan, who was also there to introduce Chris before the movie. The cast and crew in attendance stuck around for a Q&A afterwards as well. If you’d like to see that and our coverage of the rest of the Fantasia Film Festival, be sure to follow us on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter)! Shelby Oaks is a mystery-horror movie written, directed, and produced by Chris Stuckmann. The film stars Camille Sullivan as Mia, Brendan Sexton III as Mia’s husband Robert, Michael Beach as Detective Burch, Robin Bartlett as Norma, Keith David as Morton Jacobson, and Sarah Durn as Mia’s sister Riley.  As for the plot, I’ll only provide you with a fraction of the synopsis because I think it gives you more than enough detail to know what kind of movie to expect: “Mia frantically searches for her sister Riley, after Riley ominously disappeared in the last taping of a show by a group of paranormal investigators called the Paranormal Paranoids.” Before we get into the review itself, rest assured that like all of my reviews, this will be SPOILER FREE. Also, for full disclosure, I was a backer on the Shelby Oaks Kickstarter campaign. I have no financial stake in the movie or anything, but when Chris announced the Kickstarter, it was important for me to give something back to the person that had given me so much for so many years. So, without further ado, let’s get Stuckmannized!  My Thoughts To state it right at the top, I’m thrilled to report that this was a strong feature film debut for Chris Stuckmann! There was plenty of buzz and excitement around this one, especially amongst the sold out theatre in Montreal that came to watch the premiere.  The performances were great all around, but the real standout here is the lead performance by Camille Sullivan. The whole movie rests on her shoulders and she does a fantastic job conveying the grief and the hope that her character carries throughout the movie. Another standout for me was Robin Bartlett as Norma. She had the entire theatre in the palm of her hand for every second she was on screen and was a genuine delight to watch. Sticking with what I liked, Stuckmann’s direction was probably the biggest highlight of the whole thing for me. There was a confidence I could feel throughout the movie with almost every shot. Stuckmann isn’t just a fan of horror movies, he’s a student of the game, and he knows how to use the frame and audio to create specific feelings of dread in the audience. Even I, as a seasoned horror veteran, found myself getting drawn into these moments and experiencing some genuine scares. When I anticipated a jump scare approaching, Stuckmann would linger a beat or two longer than most horror movies. This restraint causes just an extra notch of suspense that really goes a long way when it comes to building and then releasing tension.  To contrast the horror, though, this movie is also really funny. There were plenty of laughs to be had, not in the form of annoying quips or forced jokes, but in recognizing the humour that can only be found in the horror genre. Oftentimes in horror movies, there are certain moments that are so absurd that you can’t help but laugh. Shelby Oaks succeeds where most horror movies fail in this regard, because it recognizes the humour in those moments, while lesser movies insist on trying to make the absurd scary, which causes a disconnect with the audience.  Another highlight was just the perspective of the movie itself. I won’t give anything away, but this was one of the best and most unique aspects of the movie. In a genre as populated as horror, it’s always impressive to me when you can do something new, and that’s what Stuckmann was able to do here.  When it came to the sound, I was a little more mixed. One of the things that really takes me out of a tense scene in a horror movie is when I notice the audio drop out completely. It’s not just a subconscious thing that makes it easier for me to pay attention to every little sound, it makes me acutely aware of the fact that something loud is going to appear on the screen suddenly. I lose all sense of tension as I sit there simply waiting for that thing to happen. When it comes to the sound mixing and design, I find a more subtle approach, with a very limited score throughout, keeps me a little less aware and prepared for

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