Favorite scenes/lines?
I realize that nobody on here had decided to create a 'favorite scene' thread yet, so I figured I might as well be the one to do it, LOL. Anyway, what are your personal favorite scenes and lines in the movie and why?
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There weren't that many. The writing was not as good as GS. There were a lot of pauses in this one, and a lot of times where Emily Perkins was on the screen alone.
Here are the only ones I remember.
"Reign of moral terror . . ." That one's head and shoulders above the rest.
"Must be great being a role model." Not bad.
Not really anything else comes to mind.
Hey, it's cool seeing you on this board, freeist. I know you thought this film wasn't as great as the original, but I appreciate your imput regardless. Anyway, is there at least one scene that you enjoyed in this?
shareOkay, sorry for the long post, but you got me started. I want to love this film, but it's a dysfunctional relationship. If you look at my review, I gave it a 5/10.
Yes, there were good scenes in it, and that's what was so maddening about GSU. It started out with that incredible credit sequence with the cutting and shooting. It had a plot concept that was as good or better than the original, and had three good scenes to follow the credits.
The scene immediately after the dreaded "masturbation scene" between Brigitte and the figment Ginger was marvelous, and was-- in fact-- the first scene I ever saw of the series (after catching the credit sequence). It made me stop watching so I could see the first movie. And wouldn't you know, I loved that one and when I saw the entire second one, it was a letdown.
Emily Perkins outdid herself performing in GSU. She carried the entire first half of the movie. If she's not really Brigitte, she pulled off a miracle. There was a great scene in the middle with Brigitte escaping and getting her leg broken.
But then so much went wrong with the movie. Brigitte gets to the hospital, seemingly, an excellent place to tell the story, and they don't know what to do there. She has little interaction with any of the girls, except Ghost.
The source of the trouble is two-fold. The director, Brett Sullivan-- the editor in the first movie-- makes some great inter-cuts into scenes, but isn't nearly as skilled at lighting or pacing. (Color palate? What color palate? Aren't we shooting in black and white?) But worse than him, the writer-- Megan Martin-- had no writing credits before GSU.
That's right, they got a first-time writer to script this. Only chintziness can explain that decision.
So, they had a first time director and a first time screenwriter. They gave the project over to the rookies. For a sequel to a popular movie, that's practically making it to fail.
To start out, they get this really creepy place to shoot in, a mostly abandoned building-- a TB sanatorium (could it be haunted?)-- which has plenty of places in which a werewolf can make a lair and hunt from. A perfect setting for a low-budget horror movie.
But then midway through, they change their minds and leave!
The script spends so much time explaining-- implausibly-- why Ghost is there and giving us her background that it doesn't leave much for other characters. Here's the irony: Ghost was a great character. I just think she was in the wrong movie. GSU was almost like a crossover with a movie series they hadn't made yet. Without that background, they didn't have time to shoehorn her into GSU and keep up the pacing. So much had to be explained.
Moreover, the film had a huge loose end. Who the hell was that other werewolf? Where did it come from? Why was it obsessed with Brigitte? It was like they lost an entire sequel between GS and GSU. I feel like I missed the good sprequel.
Then there's the end . . .
Like I said, I can understand why you thought the movie was a letdown...I just feel that it was as solid as the original IMO. Also, I think that it was pretty clever how they manipulated the audience into believing that the rehab center would be the setting for the whole film, and NOT have the werewolf stalking and killing everyone there. Actually, I honestly believe that's what fans of the first movie were expecting when they read the plot (myself included)...so by changing the location for the third act it went against their expectations and showed that the filmmakers had some guts, so to speak. Besides, these three films are more unique and original when compared with other ones about lycanthropes, right? So it makes sense that they would do something "different" IMO. To be honest, I think that the director/writer felt that having a wolf killing people in the rehab center would be a pretty typical idea if the film was in the hands of someone else, so they refused to go that route and I applaud that.
Anyway, whether you enjoy the film or not I appreciate you responding on here, freeist.
Thank you for the conversation.
However, I don't find anything whatsoever in the record of the movie that says they switched settings to be atypical. I think it just ended up like that. Brigitte needed a character to play off of. Ginger was dead, and she was a very hard act to follow. So, they had to come up with someone spectacular. It couldn't be an ordinary girl, so they came up with Ghost. They loaded a lot of baggage on the character, and overplayed her.
I don't know of one werewolf movie that has the creature killing people in a hospital. Therefore, the creators were hardly defying established conventions or staid cliches. Defying fan expectations only counts when there's actually a formula. GS2 already had left formulas behind with their starting plot concept.
Usually it's better to fulfill expectations within a single movie, especially when you already had a great story concept and the audience had every reason to hope you'd finish it. I could think of a better way to throw our expectations for a loop: what if that building was haunted? What effect would spirits have on a werewolf?
Even simpler than that, where you're expecting Brigitte to sneak into the abandon parts and hunt, it would be the werewolf that's stalking her that does this. Brigitte's the one fighting it, while she fought against the changes in herself. It's pretty much what they did at Ghost's residence, except there would be more lives at stake.
It was not in the third act that they switched settings. It was at the exact midpoint that Brigitte and Ghost leave. That's a very long third act. And a lot of it is spent telling us about Ghost's life. I'm sorry to say, it was boring.
I can't count switching settings and plot tracks as a "plot twist." It happened too slowly. It was like a gentle plot curve. If you're going to surprise the audience in a horror story, there's got to be that startled, confused moment. There was nothing of that here.
Sorry, I stick by my assessment: they had a first-time director and a first- time screenwriter. There's no way they did it right. If they switched the plot to create the twist you described, I would think they would not be able to stop talking about how well it went.
As it is, GS has failed to gain the popularity it deserves. I actually think part of it is the sprequels. They're okay for people who already loved the first movie, but they aren't going to gain a wider audience for it. In short, they failed. I think the makers all but admit that when they say Unleashed did poorly in the box office and the prequel went straight to video.
Yeah, I appreciate you writing about this too. I might sound grouchy, but Unleashed is a big disappointment for me.