Renfield, Mafia Mamma, The Pope’s Exorcist | ABC4 See It or Skip It

Salt Lake City, Utah (See It or Skip It) — Nicolas Cage dons the cape and fangs in Renfield, but will you Dracu-love it, or will it be down for the count? Patrick Beatty is here to talk about the weekend watches and what to see or skip.

Renfield

Bosses can suck, especially if they’re a vampire. Renfield (Nicolas Hoult) has been a familiar for Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for ages now and has come to the realization that he’s in a toxic relationship. He never feels appreciated and is forced to bring victim after victim to someone who doesn’t even seem to notice him. When Renfield discovers codependency group therapy, he decides it’s time to stop taking orders, stand up for himself, and have a life.

This is a hilarious and honest premise packed inside one of the bloodiest and most gleeful horror films I’ve seen in a while—and I loved every minute of it. This is my favorite film of 2023 so far, and if you are a fan of the great Nicolas Cage, you are in for a treat. Not only does he pull from every iteration of Dracula and inject his own acting sensibility into them, but he looks like he’s having the absolute time of his life as Dracula.

Nicolas Hoult is our lead and holds his own brilliantly against Cage. He has great comedic timing, and the action scenes were a sight to behold. Awkwafina and Ben Schwartz were great in their roles and brought a lot of the comedic moments with Dracula and Renfield. The violence in this is hilariously overdone. One punch from Dracula and you might just explode, but it’s done in a way that fits the tone of the film and feels fresh and unique, like a John Wick vampire fight.

Overall, this is my watch for the week. Not for kids, but it could be a great date night for adults who just want to have a fun time in a Megaplex.

See It or Skip It: See It

Check out my full interview with Renfield director Chris McKay talking about the film and his Dracula inspirations!

Interview w/ Director Chris McKay

Mafia Mamma

Toni Collette stars as suburban mother Kristin, who inherits her grandfather’s Italian “business.” She quickly learns, after flying to Italy and meeting Bianca, played by Monica Bellucci, that this business is a front for one of Italy’s most deadly mafias. Now faced with de-escalating a potential war with a rival mafia, Kristin will need to learn how to be a gangster in this wacky comedy that fails to be either a good mafia film or a good comedy.

This feels like a mid-level version of “Spy” starring Melissa McCarthy—just swap 007 with “The Godfather.” I love all of the actors in the film, but the story is all over the place. I’m fine with suspending realism for silliness if the film can handle it, but in this case, the writing holds it back from potentially being a great comedy thriller.

In the end, this could be a watch on streaming, but there’s no need to rush to the theaters for this one.

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The Pope’s Exorcist

“The Pope’s Exorcist” follows Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe), the Vatican’s leading exorcist, as he investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret. This is based on a real person who has documented many cases of exorcisms. Much like with the Conjuring franchise, we’re following one of the cases of horror that only works because of how good an actor Russell Crowe is.

The material is nothing we haven’t seen in other exorcist movies. The only way it is elevated is through our lead’s performance. The scares feel overdramatized. As if being possessed by a demon wasn’t suspenseful enough, director Julius Avery decides to Hollywoodize the story and make it all feel too far from reality.

This is also a film that may be worth checking out once it’s on streaming, but with stronger horror films literally a weekend away, I’d keep your money and wait for them.

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