Culture Shock

 


Name: Culture Shock

Directed By: Gigi Saul Guerrero

Subgenre: Thriller

Series: Spooktober 2020 entry #4; review #66; Blumhouse's Into the Dark entry #2

Review: You can probably make a decent guess at this film's plot based on its title and poster; the film follows our main dame as she makes the grueling journey from Mexico to the good ol' U.S. o' A. only to be stopped short by the border patrol. What happens from there is as dark as it is unexpected. Culture Shock, as suggested by the aforementioned title and poster, presents a heaping helping of social commentary spun in a fairly compelling and unique manner, even if the writing gets a bit ham-fisted at times. While the film definitely has horrific elements (and I'll slap down a SA content warning here), the plot is wrapped in a fairly entrancing mystery that's more frightening in idea than in execution. That said, it's still well worth the watch. Oh, and Creed from "The Office" is the bad guy. So, that's pretty cool.

Addendum: apparently Culture Shock was released in the same series of independent but related Blumhouse films in their Into the Dark series (previously discussed with the 2020 Halloween entry, Uncanny Annie), this time riffing on the American holiday of Independence Day. While it bills itself as a TV series, each Into the Dark entry is feature-length and unaffiliated with the others, I'm keeping them separate in terms of my own reviews.




Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 Chads forced into reliving the 4th of July. Did Culture Shock scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: Culture Shock is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shevenge

Image
  Name :  Shevenge Directed   By :  Various--check the IMDB page linked below, as each of the segments in the anthology were directed by a different director. Subgenre : Anthology Series :  Spooktober 2019 entry #10; review #41 Review : Shevenge is an anthology of horror shorts entirely directed by women and centered around the central concept of women seeking out vengeance against those that have wronged them in some way--shevengeance, if you will. The film is broken up into 12ish stories (if we include the sign off from the mostly unnecessary Hostess character leading us through the various entries and segments) that are loosely tied into four over-arching themes: Kiss and Kill, Murderous Moms, Anger Management, and Love You to Pieces. After watching the similarly titled and themed Prevenge , I knew I had to check this one out. Now, that motivation was also spurred on by the fairly glaring reviews against the film that, frankly, come off as a notably misogyn...
Read more

Tigers Are Not Afraid

Image
  Name :  Tigers Are Not Afraid Directed   By : Issa López Subgenre : Foreign, Fantasy, Thriller Series :  Spooktober 2020 entry #20; review #82 Review : Let me start by saying that I love this movie. It's a multi-layered modern day ghost story / fairy tale fusion that's as uncompromising as it is creative. I absolutely want to gush about this movie, but doing so would rob each of you of a more pure, first-time experience with the film. Stop what you're doing and go watch it, then come back here, finish the review, and then leave me a comment. So, while my reviews tend already be fairly succinct, this review will be even shorter than usual. Hey, we've all got those days. But seriously, go watch it and then tell me how wrong (or right) I am. Tigers Are Not Afraid is a Mexican film about a young girl, who happens to be gifted with three wishes, as she joins with a group of kids who have all made orphans by the local cartel. Given the mix of dark whimsy and even bl...
Read more

Absentia -- Mike Flanagan's First Foray into Horror

Image
  Name :  Absentia Directed   By : Mike Flanagan   Subgenre : Creature Feature Thriller Series :  Spooktober 2021 entry #18; review #111 Review : Mike Flanagan is so hot right now. You may already know this from my review (or literally anyone else's, as there's no dearth of opinions floating around the internet) of Midnight Mass , or you may know Flanagan from his work on Doctor Sleep, Oculus, The Haunting of Hill House and/or Bly Manor ; either way, putting his name on a horror project is like printing money. And that's largely due to him proving how original and creative his visions are, so I wanted to go back and check on his first foray into the realm of horror: 2011's Absentia . Absentia is a good film, but it's not without it's flaws. After binging Midnight Mass before checking this one out, it's fun to see just how much Flanagan has grown as a writer and director. Originally funded via a Kickstarter campaign, Absentia follows Tricia as she tak...
Read more