Horror/camp director who got big under the wings of Tarantino. Most of Roth's work can't make good on its promise and there are much better horror films around, but he did direct some absolute classics, so there's no ignoring this guy.
Movies
Eli Roth does classic slasher. It has all the elements of a typical Halloween flick, but we're now dealing with a slightly different holiday (and a different mask). It's a tiny bit more graphic than your usual slasher, and that's about all the novelty you can expect from this film. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn't call it a future classic. And so a masked killer holds a small town in his grip during one of its most festive days. The kills are fun and the horror is tongue-in-cheek, but it's all a bit too familiar without ever being next level. There were also some typical American elements (like the rocker dude) which felt a bit out of place for a 2023 movie. Simple horror fun, aptly executed, but lacking anything distinctive or memorable.Read all
Eli Roth reboots the Death Wish franchise. As you might have guessed, it's a bit of a marketing stunt, not in the least because the series was mostly built around Charles Bronson's persona. This film does stick to the premise of the original film, but it could've been just really any other revenge story. Bruce Willis is pretty decent and there are a couple of nice, brutal action scenes, but you can't help but wonder why they decided to revive this franchise. The plot is pretty bland, Roth adapts it as if it was a 90s video rental, and there's quite a bit of fat that should've been trimmed. Not terrible, but I sure hope we won't be seeing a sequel.Read all
It's obvious this film only exists because it's a popular franchise that comes with an interested user base. It's certainly not a very good film, but as lazy blockbusters go, it's also not the worst I've seen. And it kept its runtime well under two hours, which is something to be celebrated for this type of film. The performances are bad, they could've done a lot more with the setting and Claptrap is downright annoying. But the pacing is solid, the film doesn't take itself too seriously and there are some goofy, memorable moments. The world could've done without this Borderlands adaptation, but there's still some fun to be had here.Read all
Eli Roth following in Rodriguez' footsteps. This "horror for kids" is pretty plain though. Sets and production design are nice enough, but all the rest is incredibly childish, unimaginative and boring. The fact that its based on a book is no excuse. It's a shame because it's clear this material deserved better.
