I wanted to like this, although not as much as I want to see a day where there isn't a need to make a point of something being "directed by a woman!!!". Unfortunately, probably the most inspired thing here is the Gothic stop-motion-esque filler between the segments.
"The Box," from a short story by Jack Ketchum, is the strongest narrative on offer. It's traditional horror fare and, as such, very predictable, but it's well put together and there's nothing egregiously wrong with it... but all that's really memorable is how flat and dull the characters are. The most in-depth thing the film seemed to be trying to express was perhaps - given all the birds-eye close-ups of massive plates of food - something about the nature of greed and consumption in modern America, but honestly it was hard to care.
"The Birthday Party" offers the best set of characters, and is a quirky segment that stands out from the rest, but not necessarily in a good way. Augmented with a dissonant, loud score (the scoring throughout is like being hit over the head with a timpani), the emphasis here is on character, and Melanie Lynskey gives a good performance as tight- wound Mary, struggling with a dead body in an out-size panda suit. The crux of the film is anxiety and social pressure, and it's competently directed and presented in candy colours by Annie "St. Vincent" Clark, but it feels too much like some sort of Woody Allen rip-off congratulating itself on its New York-style neuroses to really go anywhere, and would probably have been much better served as a stand-alone piece instead of being sandwiched between more conventional horror stories.
"Don't Fall", a segment involving probably some kind of riff on a bastardised concept of skinwalker legends (maybe?) is wholly unmemorable, despite its obvious efforts with special effects. Body horror aside, the most frightening thing is once again the flatness and dullness of the characters, and the predictable grind of a horror formula followed without much panache or spirit.
The final segment I'm afraid to say I can't even comment on, because I gave up. Four stars for the obvious efforts and especially for the stronger first two films, and because it is good to see more portmanteau horror, but I wouldn't really recommend this unless a) you want something on in the background, b) you're especially interested in cinema/directing and want to pick everything apart shot-by-shot. There's more meat on the bones here from a technical standpoint than story-wise, so that might prove more satisfying.
"The Box," from a short story by Jack Ketchum, is the strongest narrative on offer. It's traditional horror fare and, as such, very predictable, but it's well put together and there's nothing egregiously wrong with it... but all that's really memorable is how flat and dull the characters are. The most in-depth thing the film seemed to be trying to express was perhaps - given all the birds-eye close-ups of massive plates of food - something about the nature of greed and consumption in modern America, but honestly it was hard to care.
"The Birthday Party" offers the best set of characters, and is a quirky segment that stands out from the rest, but not necessarily in a good way. Augmented with a dissonant, loud score (the scoring throughout is like being hit over the head with a timpani), the emphasis here is on character, and Melanie Lynskey gives a good performance as tight- wound Mary, struggling with a dead body in an out-size panda suit. The crux of the film is anxiety and social pressure, and it's competently directed and presented in candy colours by Annie "St. Vincent" Clark, but it feels too much like some sort of Woody Allen rip-off congratulating itself on its New York-style neuroses to really go anywhere, and would probably have been much better served as a stand-alone piece instead of being sandwiched between more conventional horror stories.
"Don't Fall", a segment involving probably some kind of riff on a bastardised concept of skinwalker legends (maybe?) is wholly unmemorable, despite its obvious efforts with special effects. Body horror aside, the most frightening thing is once again the flatness and dullness of the characters, and the predictable grind of a horror formula followed without much panache or spirit.
The final segment I'm afraid to say I can't even comment on, because I gave up. Four stars for the obvious efforts and especially for the stronger first two films, and because it is good to see more portmanteau horror, but I wouldn't really recommend this unless a) you want something on in the background, b) you're especially interested in cinema/directing and want to pick everything apart shot-by-shot. There's more meat on the bones here from a technical standpoint than story-wise, so that might prove more satisfying.