February 2020 Review: The Best Movies I Saw Last Month
Originally published March 1, 2020
February has been a decisively better month than January. I am not sure what it is about the movies I have seen so far, but the overall quality has been much higher. Not only that, but I am pleased that movies released in 2020 have been much stronger than last month. This month I watched 25 horror movies. I am very happy with this crop of movies and hope next month is just as strong. Here are the three best movies I saw in February 2020. Enjoy!
BEST #3) Come to Daddy (2020); Director: Ant Timpson; Canada/Ireland/New Zealand/United States
Any movie that begins with a juxtaposition of quotes about fatherhood from William Shakespeare and Beyoncé before introducing us to any of the action is bound to be a unique journey. Come to Daddy follows Elijah Wood as Norval, a man traveling deep in the wilderness to connect with his long-lost father. What follows is a series of murderous hijinks that will leave your sides split. Through a few twists and turns, audience members learn that not all is what it seems in this cozy seaside mansion. Elijah Wood acts as the emotional anchor of the film. Wood’s performance begins with puppy dog eyes and yearning monologues for paternal bonding that crescendos into unhinged hilarity. Norval feels like a real person. He’s charming and seems to genuinely care about family while still posturing as a materialistic poser. Come to Daddy works because it so earnestly injects a healthy dose of fun into the formula of typical child-parent reunification horror. The violence is over the top, the comedy is fresh and well-timed, and the supporting cast give solid performances. It won’t please all audiences but Come to Daddy is sure to be a contender for one of the best horror comedies of the year, and it is only March!
Overall Score? 7/10
BEST #2) Color Out of Space (2020); Director: Richard Stanley; United States
I wrote about the beautifully gorgeous Color Out of Space earlier this month (check it out here) so I will not go into too much depth. Beautifully shot and boasting an engaging story, Color Out of Space is a captivating stint in Lovecraftian horror that deserves to be seen in all its phantasmagorical glory.
Overall Score? 8/10
BEST #1) The Lodge (2020); Directors: Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz; United Kingdom/United States
The Lodge follows a woman and her two soon-to-be stepchildren spending the holidays in a remote house in the middle of a snowstorm. The less that is said about this movie, the better. The Lodge is a dark and disturbing tale of how trauma and grief push good people into doing terrible things. Riley Keough stars as Grace, the other woman of the father of Aidan and Mia, played by Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh respectively. The majority of conflict in The Lodge centers around Grace’s attempts to bond with the children and their cold reception to her olive branches. Severin Fiala and Veronika Freanz have a knack for crafting claustrophobic and tense relationship-center horror films. The duo helmed 2015’s creepy Goodnight Mommy and have followed it up with this sister-film. The dreary cabin exudes darkness and lifelessness which further punctuates the creeping dread and isolation of the hapless inhabitants of The Lodge. Keough gives a wonderfully tragic performance, walking the line between heartbreaking naivety and something softly sinister. Martell and McHugh boast impressive performances given their age and the maturity of the themes The Lodge tackles. Both handle everything with aplomb and dark innocence. The Lodge is a frozen horror picture of unrelenting tension and dread that is sure to get under your skin.
Overall Score? 8/10
