Photo © Universal Pictures
Nicholas Hoult and Nicholas Cage in 'Renfield'
Nicholas Hoult and Nicholas Cage in 'Renfield'
Chess Story
(Film Movement DVD and Digital)
Dr. Bartok is a Vienna attorney representing high-class clients, specifically Austrian nobility who—with the Nazi threat on the rise—have already begun to hide their money in secret accounts. He is devil may care about Nazi Germany and the threat it poses to Austria, even as raucous Nazi demonstrations occur in the streets. When finally convinced of the danger, he burns documents but is unable to escape as Germany swiftly occupies his country.
Based on the final novel by Stefan Zweig, the Austrian refugee author, Chess Story is a grim, almost David Lynchian film about Bartok’s confinement in one of Vienna’s grand hotels. He has a room, a bed, a bathroom—an imprisonment unlike most Nazi victims because his cultivated Nazi handler hopes to persuade him to reveal bank account numbers. Chess Story is about several forms of torture, many of them psychological, as Bartok’s sanity dissolves. Behind the one cultivated Nazi is the mob of ultranationalist, angry populists, resentful of the elites who let them down. (David Luhrssen)
The Pope’s Exorcist
(In Theaters April 14)
Walking the line between silly and scary, this film is a heavily fictionalized version of Father Gabriele Amorth, the Catholic priest who served as head exorcist for the Diocese of Rome. With an unflappable Russell Crowe as the exorcist, the action is set in 1987. Father Amorth visits those claiming to be possessed, referring 98% of these cases for psychiatric treatment. With his position on the verge of being abolished, Amorth arrives in Spain to examine young Henry (Peter DeSouza-Feighoney) who lives with his mom and sister in a dank, ramshackle abbey. The atmosphere gets even more gothic when Amorth, along with local priest Father Matthew (Daniel Zovatto), discovers the terrible secrets hidden in the abbey’s catacombs. The profanity-laden, R-rated script, enjoys nifty special effects, but earns what credibility it gains from Crowe’s nuanced performance. (Lisa Miller)
Renfield
(In Theaters April 14)
Casting Nicolas Cage as Dracula in this horror-comedy, proves an inspired choice for director Chris McKay. Nicholas Hoult appears as Dracula’s much-abused assistant, Renfield. He accompanies the vampire to New Orleans where Dracula plans to team up with a powerful crime syndicate. Renfield sneaks off to attend a local support group, and here he meets a traffic cop (Awkwafina) with whom romance blossoms. She offers her help, quickly coming to regret that impulse because when Renfield tells Dracula he’s quitting, the vampire pledges to kill anyone and everyone Renfield cares for. Though no match for Dracula, Renfield knows the vampire’s weaknesses, and is super-strong, having been fortified by his master’s blood. Renfield’s tolerance for sunlight is an advantage, but whether he can stop Dracula is gleefully explored by the film’s bloodthirsty action and humorous dialog. The R-rated result violently earns its classification, but its humor is its real superpower. (Lisa Miller)
