[Feature] - My Top 10 Games of 2021

10.) Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown

Sure, the netcode may have left a LOT to be desired, but I was just happy to have a new Virtua Fighter again. Even if it is just Virtua Fighter 5 with a new coat of paint. Not that it’s a bad thing considering Virtua Fighter 5 is one of the greatest fighting games ever created from both a technical and visual level. At least this might finally pave the way for SEGA to finally commit to a Virtua Fighter 6 down the road. One can only hope! But as is? I really enjoyed my time with VF5: Ultimate Showdown. I only have two requests. 1.) Bring it to Steam and 2.) Research Rollback Netcode for future Virtua Fighter titles.

9.) Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

Perhaps the best visual showcase on the PlayStation 5 thus far and arguably one of the best reasons to own a PlayStation 5 (if you can even get your hands on one considering limited stock supplies.) Rift Apart doesn’t necessarily deviate from the formula as much as I would have liked. It is still ultimately more of the same Ratchet and Clank. You will run, gun and platform against countless hordes of enemies as you level up your guns. But it’s still just as much fun as it always has been…even if it doesn’t evolve the formula as much as I might have hoped. Graphically speaking, it’s the closest Insomniac games have come to delivering on that promise of Pixar-like CG.

It really is a beautiful looking game in motion as particle effects fly from every direction at a rock solid 60fps. But graphics aside, the true star on display is the power of the SSD as you seamlessly warp from world to world sans load times. It is quite an impressive showcase of just how fast the SSD in that system really is.

8.) Hitman III

Hitman III delivers another set of mini sandboxes to creatively kill your target in a multitude of ways. But damn if it isn’t still just as fun as it was in the previous two installments. One of my favorite missions in the game involved hunting down my targets in a crowded nightclub. It’s one of the best representations of a nightclub I’ve ever seen in a video game as the dance floor is jammed full of bodies writhing together. Not to mention the joys of discovering the multitude of methods at your disposal to kill your target. Want to make it as simple as poisoning their drink? You can do it! Wanna go over-the-top and drop a lighting rig on them? You can do that too! Hitman III feels the most refined of this trilogy and still packs a massive punch in the number of open-ended creative ways it lets you tackle your mission.

7.) Forza Horizon 5

Sometimes you just feel the need to zone out, drive really fast and enjoy the scenery around you. That’s exactly what Forza Horizon offers for me. Forza Horizon 5 sets a new standard for open-world racers thanks to the power of the next-gen hardware and a development team hitting the peak of its craft. Not only is this the best-looking racing game to date, but its varied Mexican landscape is brimming with exciting things to see and do, and the enormous selection of real-world vehicles will please everyone from novices to the most discerning gearheads. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best video games of 2021 and is escapism at its best.

6.) Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury

I never actually played Super Mario 3D World when it first released on the Wii U. Truth be told, I never had a Wii U long enough to play it. I gave up on the Wii U very early on. Thank Nintendo for the Switch and its multitude of Wii U ports as 3D World is some of the most fun I’ve had playing a Mario game in quite some time. While not the most overly taxing or challenging of Mario games, its level design is still incredibly solid all around. Some of the later levels do pack at least enough punch to satisfy and it's just a beautifully crafted game all around in typical Nintendo fashion. It’s just pure fun in that typical Mario fashion. But the real surprise here is the included Bowsers Fury which is perhaps a prototype for what a true open world Mario game may feel like should it go in that direction.

5.) Persona 5: Strikers

The pseudo sequel to Persona 5…or the closest we will get to a Persona 5-2. Strikers is a direct follow up to Persona 5 but gone is the traditional turn based RPG mechanics and in its place are Muso mechanics. I’ve got to be honest. I’m not really a big fan of Muso games. Most of them are just too repetitive for my liking. There’s only so much fun you can have from mindlessly beating up hordes of brain dead enemies. But my love of all things Persona fuelled me to keep playing and in spite of myself, I ended up having more fun with this then I ever thought I would. It of course helps that it is set in the Persona universe and my love of Persona in general helps a great deal. It’s a nice follow up nonetheless. I enjoyed spending time with these characters on another journey to find justice in a cruel world.

4.) Resident Evil: Village

While Resident Evil VII was a direct return to the survival horror roots of the RE franchise, Village manages to find the fine line between Survival Horror and Action much the same way that Resident Evil 2 did way back on the original PlayStation. It’s a much tighter and leaner game as a whole. Village boasts plenty of fearsome moments, even when you're armed to the teeth. In what feels like no time at all after admiring the reveal of the imposing Gothic castle, you're surrounded by werewolves, left scrapping for survival with a mixture of bullets, red barrels, and sheer dumb luck. Playing it on Hardcore was quite the unnerving experience indeed. But it really is that fine line between action and survival that it manages to straddle that makes this entry stand out as one of the best games in the series thus far.

3.) Shin Megami Tensei V

For those unaware, SMT is basically a much darker version of Pokemon. It’s a turn based RPG that is all about conversing, negotiating and collecting a multitude of demons to use in battle. SMT V is an incredible evolution of the cult-like beloved SMT franchise. It manages to take the kick-you-in-the-balls old school difficulty that the SMT games are known for and shoves it into a pseudo open-world. Gone are the old school dungeons and in its place is a semi open-world for the player to explore. While it doesn’t have the same story depth as its spin-off franchise Persona does, it excels in just about every other way possible. The turn-based combat is tough as nails but rewarding.

2.) Guilty Gear: Strive

Hands down the best fighting game of the year. Especially that netcode. That wonderful use of rollback netcode is exactly what all fighting games should be striving towards in the future. It’s no joke when I say this game has some of the very best netcode in a fighting game I’ve ever seen. Coming from thousands of hours of delay based netcode in Tekken 7, this felt like a god-send.

Every match I’ve had has felt nothing short of responsive. I can’t stress enough just how good this netcode really is. Not that the netcode makes me a better player, I still ultimately suck at fighting games but that wonderful netcode makes up for a lot of shortcomings when learning this game. On top of that, the game is just incredibly fun and rewarding to learn. It’s a hell of a fighting game all around bolstered by some of the best netcode I’ve ever seen in a fighting game. Take note Namco, SEGA and Capcom. This is how you do proper good netcode! Strive towards replicating it in the future, please.

1.) Lost Judgment

It is largely more of the same Yakuza formula…but I’ll be damned if SEGA doesn’t do that formula so damn well. Lost Judgment follows up from where Judgment left off and tells another compelling story of morality and justice. In fact, it might be one of the best stories that Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has ever crafted.

Yes, all the things you expect from a Yakuza game are still in place. There’s side stories to encounter. There’s mini-games galore littered throughout the world. Hell, you can even ride a skateboard freely around the open world this time. But the real star of Lost Judgment has to be the High School side quests as our hero joins numerous after school clubs at the high school he is infiltrating. Also, the return to beat-em-up combat is greatly welcomed and greatly improved upon from even the last installment of Judgment. The addition of snake style is incredibly well and fun to level up. It may be more of the same, but SEGA continues to refine this formula and do it oh so well.



- Daniel M

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[Japanese] - Shenmue - "Years ago...I was Chinese"

If you've ever played Shenmue before, then you've no doubt ran into this infamous line of dialog.  

The line of dialog in question being:

“Years ago...I was Chinese. Now I’m a Naturalized Japanese. In China, my name was Su Jian Ren.”

Sounds odd, right?

Now here is the original Japanese as presented in game:

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昔、中国人だったからだよ。日本に帰化したんだ。中国にいたときの名は....

Mukashi, Chugoku Jin Datta Kara Da Yo, Nihon Ni Kika Shitan Da. Chugoku Ni Ita Toki No Na Wa….

“Because long ago, I was Chinese. I naturalized in Japan. In China, my name was Su Jian Ren.”

Still sounds odd, doesn't it?

One of the major issues with Shenmue's original translation is that they translated everything so directly from Japanese to English. As such, it highlights the, at times, incompatibilities between the languages.

The line in the original translation is very much the same as what is said in Japanese. That’s fine with things like honorifics, but elsewhere it is awkward and stilted.

Alternatively, they could have translated it more like this:

“Years ago, when I grew up in China, my name was Su Jian Ren. I changed it when I naturalized.”

However, the concept of Naturalization is still lost in translation here. To keep it simple, Japanese naturalization typically requires a foreigner taking a Japanese name. For example, a number of Rikishi (Sumo Wrestlers) have done this. Most notably Akebano Taro (born Chad Rowan.) This is why Itoi-san mentions his original Chinese name as Su Jian Ren. Only this detail is ultimately lost for those unknowing of the cultural differences.

Akebano Taro on the left (born Chad Rowan)

Therefore Itoi-san has long since taken a Japanese name and now just considers himself a natural Japanese citizen. But alas, this cultural detail is lost in translation and therefore the line of dialog just comes across as stilted.

While Shenmue does stay very true to the Japanese script, it also unfortunately highlights the lost subtle detail going between language and culture.


-Daniel M

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[Feature] - My Top 5 Dreamcast Games

When I was a child, I grew up with a massive love of everything SEGA. I was as far from the Nintendo kids as one could get. SEGA was my number one guy! The first console I remember in our household was the original SEGA Master System. You know? The big bulky one that came complete with an E-Card Slot that we never once used. My sister and I would play the hell out of that thing. Our three go-to games being Wonder Boy, Sonic the Hedgehog (the much slower Master System port) and Alex Kidd.

Time moved on and I eventually graduated to the Mega Drive. I got to say, I loved the hell out of that console as a kid. I spent countless hours with the likes of NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat II, Sonic The Hedgehog, Street Fighter II among others.

I actually skipped out on their next console, the SEGA Saturn. As much as I wanted a SEGA Saturn, my parents saw the writing on the wall as games were being cleared out on discount tables and opted for the more secure Sony PlayStation. I loved having a PlayStation but deep down, my heart remained with SEGA.

Cut forward to the year 2000 and the SEGA Dreamcast. The Dreamcast marks a special event in my gaming life as it was the first console I bought with my own money. While its lifespan was ultimately very short lived, I still had an absolute blast with that console. So much so that it remained hooked into my TV long after it had officially died in the marketplace.

The Dreamcast has a very special place in my heart and remains a console that I still play regularly to this day. So with all that said, and because I had nothing else better to write about today, let’s take a trip down memory lane as I count down my top 5 Dreamcast games of all time.

5.) Crazy Taxi

Who would have thought that the simple hook of being a Taxi Driver could hold so much appeal in a score attack arcade game? Crazy Taxi is essentially the ultimate escort game. The goal is simple. You have ‘X’ amount of time. You drive around a mock recreation of San Francisco picking up passengers and delivering them to their destination. The faster you get them there, the more time gets added to your clock. Drive with reckless abandon and you earn more money adding to your total score. Rinse and repeat until your time eventually runs out. It’s that simple score attack hook that ultimately makes this game so damn good.

Crazy Taxi’s gameplay focuses on risk and reward mechanics. It’s all about stringing together drifts and near-misses with oncoming traffic to build your combo meter which results in better pay offs from your customers. Drive with reckless abandon and they will reward you...just so long as you don’t crash into anything.

I think it’s clear that Crazy Taxi went on to influence a number of Arcade Racers going forward, most notably Burnout. Burnout shares a similar sense of speed and focuses on rewarding near-misses with oncoming traffic the same way Crazy Taxi does. Also, I have to mention the soundtrack provided by The Offspring and Bad Religion. The soundtrack screams pure 90s punk and further adds to the reckless irreverent charm that Crazy Taxi has about itself. Driving down the hills of San Francisco with The Offspring’s ‘All I Want’ blaring from your car radio makes for a memorable experience indeed.

The simple score attack hook of Crazy Taxi is ultimately what makes it so incredibly endearing. Like all the best games, it’s incredibly simple to pick up but difficult to truly master. That and its infectiously cherry mood makes for a great pick me up experience on those days when I find myself down in the dumps.

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4.) Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia is a wonderful full fledged 3D RPG that takes many of its cues from early 3D Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games. It’s a turn based adventure that takes us to the skies in flying airships. The overmap is set into six different civilizations coexisting on floating continents orbited by six moons of different colors. You play as Vyse, a headstrong and optimistic natural born leader, who is resisting the empire alongside his best friend Aika. After rescuing Fina, who is one of the survivors of an ancient civilization, they go on a journey to find the powerful Moon Crystals before the empire.

Okay so the story is nothing new if you’ve played countless RPGs, but the setting is really what makes Skies of Arcadia. It’s Sky Pirates fighting in mid air on hovering ships, how can one not love that setting? But it’s really the vast array of interesting characters that help make up for the story’s more generic offerings. That and the turn based combat is really enjoyable. While it never really breaks new ground in terms of the RPG genre, it is still very much a highly enjoyable RPG and one that I sank hours of my life into as a kid. No regrets whatsoever. The soundtrack is great, the expansive world is a blast to explore, and the combat is very satisfying. All of this makes for one of the best RPGs on the Dreamcast.

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3.) Jet Set Radio

Jet Set Radio is a perfect example of SEGA at its peak in terms of creativity. The best way to describe Jet Set Radio is that of a Skating/Graffiti Platformer. The aim of the game is simple enough. You ride around on turbo charged inline skates through various locations in Japan and America tagging walls with spray cans that you collect. You can string all of this together by grinding and wall-riding around the various maps to score-attack. Although the more you tag, the more attention you’ll gain from local authorities as they chase you down and try to catch you.

Much like Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio has a very punk attitude about itself. It’s completely anti-authoritarian to the core as it revels in the joy of youth culture. Jet Set Radio is a perfect reflection of the time it came from as the 90s were a time of anti-establishment and rebellion. The soundtrack underneath it is absolutely phenomenal and plays a huge part in its lasting appeal. Its soundtrack bursts to life with a variety of genres including hip-hop, J-pop, electronic dance, rock, acid jazz and a little funk to boot.

Not to mention the visual style of the game as it was one of the first games to really highlight the use of Cell Shading. The game is incredibly bright, colorful and welcoming as its use of heavy ink lines make it look like a cartoon in game form. It was pretty mind blowing for its time having never seen the Cell-Shaded effect before.

I’ll be honest, the first time I played Jet Set Radio, I didn’t like it. For you see, I came to Jet Set from Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and was so incredibly accustomed to the way that Tony Hawk played that I made the mistake of trying to play Jet Set as if it were a Tony Hawk clone. My thought was rational to me at the time. Both were skating games. There were already a glutton of Tony Hawk clones so I honestly thought Jet Set was just another Tony Hawk clone. Thus, I didn’t like it the first time I played it as I felt it was way too floaty and didn’t control well.

Then I played it some more and actually got used to the short/long jump mechanics. That was when I began to realize that Jet Set Radio wasn’t a Tony Hawk clone. Rather it was a platformer in the guise of an extreme sports game. Yes, the jumps are floaty but once mastered, I began to realize the appeal of the game is having full control mid-air to line up your next grind as opposed to Tony Hawk’s more magnetized grind approach. That was when I started to fall in love with it. It’s not perfect; the lack of camera controls leave a lot to be desired. But it is a game that rewards mastering and once you fully get the hang of it then it’s a pure blast to play from beginning to end chasing those Jet Rankings.

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2.) Soul Calibur

Soul Calibur is easily one of the greatest fighting games of all time. Launched with the Dreamcast in 1999, it quickly became the killer title for the Dreamcast. Not only a graphical showpiece as to what the new console could do but it also played incredibly well and was packed with single player content to keep you coming back for more. It’s one of those rare cases where it actually looks better on the Dreamcast than it did in its original arcade form. And to think, it was ported by a relatively small internal team at Namco in a very short time period.

A sequel to the weapons based fighter named Soul Edge, Soul Calibur is a marked improvement over its predecessor on every level. It was the first game in the series to introduce the Eight Way Run system, which allowed for full 3D movement whereas most 3D fighters were usually limited to movement along the third axis. This allowed for a full sense of freedom in movement opening up greater strategy for the player.

But the real appeal of the Dreamcast version for me was its fantastic quest mode. Much like Mortal Kombat’s krypt, it was a time sink of various random missions for the player to complete. In doing so, it rewards them points to unlock various goodies such as concept art and other features. I spent hours of my life in that quest mode trying to unlock everything I could. With its combination of addictive quest mode and tight rewarding fighting mechanics, the game is just a true blast all around and is easily one of the greatest fighting games ever made.

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1.) Shenmue I and II

Of course! I mean how could Yu Suzuki’s grand-opus not be at the top of this list for me?

It’s hard for me to separate these two games as they do feel like one cohesive package. Shenmue 1 and 2 highlights everything that made the Dreamcast special. It was a time where SEGA was literally throwing everything at the walls and seeing what sticks. As a company, they weren’t afraid to take massive creative risks. Some could argue that Shenmue is the greatest risk the company ever took.

But unfortunately, it was perhaps just too grand a vision to ever really pay out. Rumored to have cost $70 million dollars to develop (although Yu Suzuki has said it was realistically around $40 million), Shenmue was AAA before AAA existed. It was a massive undertaking for a vision unlike any other. It was in many ways one of the pioneers of the open-world genre. Not the first, but definitely the one that took it to another level. And man, am I thankful for what they gave us.

Starting life as a Virtua Fighter RPG where you would play as Akira on his quest to become the greatest fighter that ever lived, Shenmue eventually took on a life of its own as it aimed to tell a epic multi-parted Kung Fu Revenge story by way of a full blown Life Simulator. At its core, the Virtua Fighter roots are still there as it employs the same fighting engine. Otherwise it became something very different. It’s a full blown evolution of the classic Adventure game that weaves elements of a Detective, Adventure and Action game all into one package.

What always grabbed me about Shenmue was the journey itself. It takes you on a full blown journey from your quiet hometown of Yokosuka through China as Ryo Hazuki. An aspiring young martial artist with much to learn before he can even think of facing his arch nemesis, Lan Di. It’s the little details such as the vital life lessons that makes these two games shine. I’ll never forget traveling to China and learning about the Four Wude. Four simple life principles that you could easily apply and live by in real life. While some of its gameplay may be laughed at by the mainstream, I believe there’s a real ambition to its storytelling that I greatly appreciate. It wants you to live the life of a martial artist. It really wants you to live and learn as Ryo does.

For instance, one of its more mundane gameplay moments is simply a stretch of days where you are forced to carry books out into a yard to air them out. While it’s easy to laugh at this as being a boring or frustrating quest that hinders you from the action, I actually think it’s a slice of narrative genius as it is trying to impart a vital life lesson of patience and discipline upon the player and Ryo. Much the same as a real martial artist would be taught. It’s boldly ambitious storytelling through gameplay and I have always applauded Yu Suzuki and his team for the brass balls they had in just going for it.

Shenmue 1 and 2 are very near and dear to me. For those of us who love it, we know why we love it. We love it because it really encourages us to live the life of Ryo Hazuki. We love it because it is more about the journey than the destination. We love it for its world building. We love it for its atmosphere. We love it because it feels lived in. It’s a game that you just have to soak in and let it simply carry you along at its own pace. Don’t rush it! Just take your time with it and embrace it for everything it is. These two games remain incredibly dear to me. And they always will. Not only are they the culmination of everything Yu Suzuki has done, they are also the embodiment of everything that I loved about SEGA from that era.

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So that’s my list and I’m sticking by it. But what do you say? What were your favorite Dreamcast games? Why not let us know below?

-Daniel M

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[Review] - Last Night In Soho

A young, pretty and naive country girl heads to the big city with aspirations of becoming the overnight success story she always dreamed of. Only to be confronted by a barrage of perverted predators looking to feed on hot young flesh in return. Tell me if you haven't heard that story before? It’s an age old riff that we usually see play out under the neon-lights of a Hollywood backdrop. However, ‘Last Night In Soho’ transports this age-old story to the swingin’ psychedelic 60’s Soho in London.

Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) is an aspiring young fashion designer who moves to Soho as she enters University for her first semester. Having grown up under the loving eye of her grandmother, she has developed a deep love for 60s Brit-Pop culture. However, this makes her stick out like a sore thumb amongst her more trendy dorm-mates leaving her as a target of ridicule. Seeking solace away from her catty roommates, she finds a cheap apartment for rent under the watchful eye of an edlerly landlord (Diana Rigg).

As Eloise’s head hits the pillow, she finds herself dreaming of Soho in the 60s. She dreams of a woman named Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy); a strikingly beautiful doe-eyed blonde and also an aspiring singer. Sandie finds herself being charmed by a debonair named Jack (Matt Smith). It all seems too good to be true and with good reason as we quickly discover that Jack is not all he seems.

Eloise’s dreams then become nightmares as she watches Sandie descend into the sordid world of prostitution at the hands of Jack and his buddies. Meanwhile, Eloise’s own life turns to hell as the ghosts of the past seemingly cross over from dream-world into reality as they haunt her day-to-day life.

The 60’s is an era that certainly has an ever-lasting appeal. 60’s fashion comes in and out of style regularly amongst hipsters. Bands like Oasis still riff on The Beatles to this day. It was a time of sexual liberation and changing social attitudes. A time of emerging rock-and-roll. But it was also a time that had its own fair share of seediness boiling beneath the surface. Not unlike the world we live in today if you consider the likes of the ‘Me-Too’ movement. As times change, some things remain the same and that’s ultimately what is revealed at the heart of this dark parallel story.

Right from the outset, Thomasin McKenzie does well to portray Eloise as an old-soul stuck in a time period she doesn’t fit into. She lives in her own bubble, dancing around her room to Brit-Pop tunes. She has her own unique brand of oddball fashion as she is first introduced wearing a dress made from old newspapers. It’s all very clearly 60’s inspired. All of which makes her the perfect fish out of water upon entering the big smoke.

As she continuously enters the dream world of Sandie, she becomes more and more consumed by the glamour of nostalgia. She becomes more and more enraptured by the seemingly glamorous life of Sandie. So much so that she goes on to try and recreate Sandie’s physical appearance in a vain attempt to embody her.

One of the more striking visual highlights of the film is when Eloise first steps back into the past and finds herself bombarded by the bright garish lights of a cinema-marquee promoting ‘Sean Connery in Thunderball.’ Another sequence of note is an incredible dance number where the perspectives of Sandie and Eloise change constantly mid dance. It's very well executed as a whole. Alongside the gorgeous cinematography by Chung Hoon-Choo is a dazzling 60’s soundtrack to help build the mood. It really goes out of its way to capture the glamour of its time period.

But it also highlights the stark contrast between 60s Soho and the more dingy and worn-down present day Soho. For not only are the ghosts of the past haunting Eloise, they’re also still haunting the city landscape in general. It evokes much the same love-note feeling as Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ as it transports you back in time perfectly recreating an idealistic version of former ‘Soho’.

Being a Horror film though, it doesn’t take long for the glam to be stripped away exposing the real horrors lurking beneath. It’s here where Wright really excels. While this technically isn’t his first foray into the horror genre, it is most certainly a more straight laced horror film than anything he has made before. ‘Soho’ clearly takes its influences from the Argento school of Horror. Obviously, the Argento comparisons can’t help but be made given the visual flair ‘Soho’ has about it. Thankfully though, it still manages to find its own voice along the way.

As the time periods merge, the story further twists and turns. If there is maybe one critique to be had, it’s that it does get a little too familiar in the back-end and doesn’t entirely break new mould. But as a coming-of-age story meets psychedelic horror piece, it does pay off well enough in the end.

It doesn’t always make complete sense in the logic department. Though being a film of such high concept means it can get away with that from time to time. After all, this is a film that is more concerned about the theme than it is a cohesive logical narrative. In that department, the theme rings loud and clear. Even if that theme is maybe a little played out at times. Still, under the confident hand of Edgar Wright and company, ‘Soho’ makes for a most effective and stylish piece of psychedelic horror-cinema all around.


-Daniel M

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[Feature] - A Look Back At Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist

For the past few years now, John Ajvide Lindqvist has become one of my favorite horror authors. The man made his name a few years back with his most well known work, Let the Right One In. A classic story of a bullied 12 year old boy befriending a vampire. The novel became so quickly beloved that it earned two feature length adaptations of both Swedish and American origin. Much has already been written about Let the Right One In. Hell, I've even written about it here on this very blog. However, not much has been written about his follow up novels. To date, I’ve read almost everything that has been translated into English.

But there is one novel of his in particular that continues to stand out in my mind. That being his 2010 novel, Little Star. A brutal and, at times, darkly funny satire aimed at the Teen Idol sensation. Little Star is an examination of what can go wrong when idol worship is taken to its extremes. It just might also be the best work he has written thus far. Yes, I’d even put it above Let the Right One In.

Little Star tells the story of two teenage girls, Theres and Teresa. Theres is indeed a very peculiar young woman. As a baby, she was left for dead in a plastic bag out in the middle of a Swedish mushroom field. However she is discovered by a man named Lennart who just so happened to be out picking mushrooms in the field. Lennart notices the baby in the bag and breathes life into her only to discover something shocking.

As the baby cries out, he notices a single pitch perfect note within her cry. Being one part of a former one hit wonder pop-duo, Lennart instantly notices the pitch-perfect notes and decides to take the baby back home to his wife. His wife who just so happens to be the other half of that aforementioned one-hit wonder pop-duo.

Back at home, Lennart decides he will keep the baby down in the dark cellar. He does this as a means of keeping her pure and clean from the outside world for he plans to harness her raw musical talent. His wife Leila is far from pleased with this but has long since resigned to her husband's domineering ways and doesn’t dare argue. As time goes on, the baby girl grows up with no real knowledge of the outside world to speak. Two things are for certain though, not only does she develop into a strikingly beautiful young girl, but she also develops the singing voice of an angel.

Fan Art belongs to scarletgothica.com

To keep her from wandering outside and arousing suspicion or curiosity, Lennart makes up a story that there are big people and there are little people. The big people want to eat the little people. If she wants to stay safe then she needs to stay hidden in the cellar. Naturally, this warps her mind leaving her in a constant state of paranoia. After this, she begins to clutch to an electric drill as she sleeps at night for fear of the so-called big people.

As Theres grows older, her only real contact with the outside world is through Leila and Lennart’s middle aged son, Jerry. Jerry has a number of mental issues himself based on his own tortured upbringing at the hands of school bullies. Realizing her for being as much an outsider as he is, he takes an affectionate liking to the girl.

Naturally things go horribly wrong as Lennart’s plan backfires on him. Theres eventually snaps and brutally kills Leila and Lennart with her trusty electric drill. Jerry comes to pay his parents a visit one day only to discover his parents dead on the ground. He quickly decides to take Theres out of the house and back to his apartment in order to protect her.

Fanart Source HangingRabbit

Meanwhile, in a nearby working-class suburb, we meet the other girl. We learn about Teresa from birth up until she enters those awkward teenage years. Her mother doesn’t quite understand her while her father doesn’t have much time for her thanks to a new promotion at work.

As a child, she had difficulty fitting in with the other kids. She does eventually make one friend. A boy named Johannes who quickly grows to adore her like a little puppy dog. For a while, the two become inseparable. It can be said that while he adores her, she still kind of keeps him at arm's reach based on her own peculiarities. But as the two enter puberty, their friendship begins to fracture as Johannes starts to gain the attention of the new pretty girl in school. Meanwhile, Teresa goes the other way as she gains weight, develops terrible acne and becomes entirely self-loathing.

Heartbroken and alone, Teresa begins to withdraw into herself. Her only outlet for her pent up frustration being through the internet as she begins to master the art of trolling under anonymous accounts. She also shows a flair for writing poetry as she spends her days writing on a site where users can submit amatuer poetry. It’s here where she first captures the attention of Theres. Theres encourages her to keep writing her poetry and from here the two quickly strike up a friendship. Leading to the makings of a very dangerous and destructive partnership.

The thing that fascinates me most about Little Star is that it is the one book of John’s that actually deviates from his usual formula. The usual formula of a Lindqvist book is that of the ordinary coming into contact with the other and watching how it plays out. Little Star doesn’t strictly adhere to this formula and instead tells the story of what happens when the other meets the other. 

Neither of the girls are supernatural beings. Instead, they are clearly two very mentally disturbed girls who eventually coax the worst out of each other. Two very important themes emerge from this parallel story. One being the argument of nature versus nurture. And the other being the dangers of idol worship.

One of the major questions asked in the novel is what makes a psychopath? Theres is very much a one dimensional character. She doesn’t really kill out of malice rather she kills out of both what she perceives as self-defense and curiosity as to what is inside the head of another person. At a young age, Theres grows obsessed with a portable CD player gifted to her by Lennart and asks him as to where the music comes from. Lennart tells her that the music comes from inside people's heads for lack of a better answer. This leads to Theres dismantling her one prized possession for no other reason than to find the music within. As she grows older, she is constantly complimented for the amazing power of her singing voice. Lennart and Leila express nothing but love for that voice of hers.

Therefore when she kills Lennart and Leila, it’s not really out of malice, rather she opens their heads to try and find the quality of ‘love’ inside of them. Other than this, she also has an intense mistrust of adults in general thanks to the lie fed to her by her surrogate father. Jerry tries to correct this later on but that deep seeded suspicion of the big people is something she will most likely cling onto for the rest of her days. In many ways you could argue she is the product of nurture as her actions are purely based upon her sheltered upbringing. She knows no better than what she has been taught.

On the other hand, Teresa had a very painstakingly normal upbringing. While misunderstood by her parents, they are still very loving, attentive and trying their best with her. Unlike Theres, she grew up with an understanding of right and wrong. She has a full understanding as to how the world works. And yet, there is still something not quite right about Teresa.

She doesn’t show outward emotion and is very obsessive about certain things. There are hints here that she is somewhere on the autistic spectrum as she is painstakingly logical. For instance, as a little girl, she doesn’t understand why the other kids would want to play make believe as she is very logical and to the point. On that point, both Theres and Teresa share this hint of autism as they both have their own traits. For Theres, one of her traits being she does not like to be touched. Eventually when Teresa meets Theres, she becomes almost entirely possessive over her as their friendship grows. Little by little, Teresa’s true nature is revealed as we watch her moral decline into becoming a full blown psychopath.

The pair then become an internet sensation as Theres records a song with lyrics written by Teresa called Fly. The song quickly becomes an overnight sensation on Youtube. As is described in the book, Theres singing voice has a certain hypnotic quality about it. At first, I believed this to be a hint of the supernatural as is typically the case with all of John’s previous works. But on further reading I don’t believe this to be the case.

Rather the song and it's awkward lyrics become an anthem for the equally lost and confused. Supernatural power is replaced by the simple strangeness of celebrity status and how all it takes to speak to the lost is to play on their deep seated insecurities. Theres has a wonderful voice that can draw you in, but it’s just as much Teresa’s words that hold an equal amount of power. Further playing up that singer-songwriter dynamic between the two.

So what motivates them exactly? Why is Theres so desperate to have her incredible voice shared? I guess the answer is that she’s still searching for that quality of ‘love’ expressed to her by Lennart and Leila. Her motivations aren’t driven out of anything material, rather they are simply driven by her search for that certain quality inside people's heads. The same motivation could be said of Teresa. That Teresa is ultimately just searching for love and acceptance in which she misguidedly finds through Theres.

When the song blows up in popularity, Teresa becomes so deeply depressed that she is committed to a mental hospital for a brief stay. Her depression comes from the fact that she no longer feels like the song belongs to the both of them anymore as it attracts the attention of more lost young girls. One day, she goes to visit Theres only to find Theres interacting with another girl thus she breaks down completely as she believes that she is no longer important to Theres. This goes back to her very possessive nature over Theres in general. But on a side note, it is also maybe a sly comment on the nature of an artist letting their baby go out into the public. I think the key to this is that neither are searching for fame; rather they are simply searching for ‘love.’ In this moment, Teresa feels that ‘love’ and affection shared between them is being snatched away from her. 

Eventually they find themselves the leaders of a group of outcast teenage girls. Teresa comes to realise that none of these girls pose a threat to her shared bond with Theres and begins to accept this wolf pack of sorts. The one common thread all of these girls have is that they are entirely lost at a delicate time in their life. Some of them were abused. All of them feel overlooked and discarded. They’re deeply insecure and desperately yearn to be noticed. The same insecurity that maybe drives young girls to sexualise themselves in front of web cameras.

As such, they all become hopelessly devoted to their idol as they feel she is the only one they can truly identify with. There is also certainly the factor that Theres seemingly knows exactly what to say to all of these girls almost as if she were a crazed cult leader. She is the one person that understands them the best. Or perhaps the real truth is they simply are what they are and all it takes is a little bit of nurturing to coax it out of them. A little bit of nurturing delivered by a voice that can melt hearts and crush brains while at it.

All of which leads to a gruesome massacre orchestrated by these girls. Lindqvist’s writing captures the awkward and painful teenage years of a teenage girl so wonderfully well that you would almost believe he was one. He truly gets inside these girls' heads and finds out what makes them tick. Jealousy, insecurity, anxiety and the strive for finding love and acceptance remain at the heart of this dark fable.

With Little Star, there exist some parallels to his debut novel. Loneliness remains a key theme through both novels and much like Oskar finds himself attracted to the first person to understand him, so too does Teresa fall for Theres. As too does the search for identity and love come through in both novels. However, unlike Oskar and Eli, where Eli’s blood lust is simply driven by a need to survive, Theres and Teresa’s bloodlust is entirely senseless to everyone bar themselves. Hence their ‘love’ becomes one of a ver perverse and destructive nature to everyone that crosses their path as they become the Alphas’ of their dedicated wolf pack. 

Come the end of the novel, Teresa does try to justify their actions with a final letter that she sends to the media. “You will ask why?” she writes before answering her own question with a simple “BECAUSE! Because we were once nice little girls. We once screamed and wept on cue. We worshiped ourselves when you made us stars. We bought ourselves from you.” Making Little Star an entirely fascinating case study into the minds of two thoroughly disturbed individuals and what happens when they find one another.


-Daniel M

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[Feature] Happy 21st Birthday to the Shenmue Dojo

Man, it’s hard to believe it’s been 21 years since I first played Shenmue on my Dreamcast way back when. It’s even harder to believe it’s been at least 19 years since I first heard of the Shenmue Dojo. My first time hearing about the fan site known as the Shenmue Dojo was way back in 2002. I found the Dojo through a simple web search upon looking for info on Shenmue in general. I was hungry for news on Shenmue III given the cliffhanger ending of Shenmue II. Little did I know that it would result in a 14 year wait for it to be officially announced.

The Dojo was one of those sites I would often lurk when looking for new information. Back in my younger days of toying around with web design, I always dreamed about starting a fan page and at that time Shenmue was the number one candidate as I was in love with those games. Then I saw the Dojo and felt a pinch of jealousy. I figured there was no point in making a fan page when these guys had already done a bang up job making one.

I always admired how extensive and knowledgeable the site was regarding Shenmue in general. Although, for reasons of my own, I never actually joined the forum during those formative days. To be honest, I had bad experiences with toxic Anime Communities and really didn’t want my love of Shenmue to be shattered for fear that the community would be just as insufferable. However I did lurk that site for years on end. I would always check in looking for new info while occasionally trawling the forums. That was until 2009, when I went through that period of doubt that I think every Shenmue fan went through at least once in their life. That period of feeling like Shenmue III was an impossibility.

Let’s be real here; SEGA is no longer the SEGA it once was in the 90s. At that point, we were barely getting Yakuza games in the West as once upon a time, we the fans had to beg SEGA to bring them to the West. My oh my, how times have changed in regards to the popularity of Yakuza. But yeah, what chance did we really have of getting Shenmue III if we had to beg SEGA to bring over the latest Yakuza games? So I went through that brief period of doubt. I kind of let my lust for it die as I came to the realization that it probably wouldn’t realistically happen. Although, I would still occasionally lurk the Dojo forums as I couldn’t let that hope die entirely.

Jump forward to 2015 and that amazing Sony E3 conference. That conference has since gone down as legend. The one where all our dreams came true. Being a Fumito Ueda fan, I didn’t think it could get any better than the opening re-emergence of The Last Guardian. Boy, was I wrong though! Because then came the greatest moment of all. The re-emergence of Shenmue with the announcement of the Shenmue III Kickstarter. It was a moment of pure bliss for me and a much needed shot in the arm for the community as a whole. It showed that there was still life to be had in Shenmue and it was a day of celebration for both the die-hards and the skeptics alike.

It was also a day that taught me a valuable life lesson. Don’t give up on your dreams! No matter how impossible they may seem. If Shenmue III could happen against all odds then anything in this life is possible!

And yet, I still didn’t join the forum. I was lurking the forums again, but I didn’t actually sign up until February 2019. Having finally joined the forums; I can honestly say that it has been nothing but a wonderful experience for the last 3 years. I got to join in on the pre-hype for Shenmue III. I’ve translated and written a few pieces for Phantom River Stone since then. But most importantly, I also got to meet and befriend so many amazing people within this community.

Despite the polarized reaction to Shenmue III within the fan base, what surprises me most is that the fire is still burning in all of us. We are now in a much better place than we were before. We have the Anime to look forward to in 2022. We have all this new merchandise that seems to pop up on a daily basis. And there is always the continued hope of getting Shenmue IV. The fire still burns within this franchise and this community continues to push on refusing to let it die.

As such, the Dojo helped re-ignite a passion in me that I thought I had lost a long time ago. In more ways than one. Not only am I back to writing a blog again, but I’m also now running my own Shenmue fan-page on Twitter and Instagram. In the small time that I have been a part of this community it has been very good to me in return and for that I can only thank them.

Much like Shenmue has been teaching me life-lessons without me really noticing, so too has the Dojo taught me something in life. Don’t give up on your dreams! Always reach for the stars and never take no for an answer! So with all of that said, let's salute a Happy Birthday to the Shenmue Dojo.

Congratulations on keeping the fire alive for 21 years!


-Daniel M

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[Feature] - Cold Fish (Or An Examination of Societal Pressures In A Conformist Society)

Have you ever felt downtrodden? Have you ever felt past your prime? Have you ever felt so disrespected and overlooked that it makes you boil with anger deep inside? Have you ever felt so powerless to actually let that anger out in any healthy fashion? Have you ever felt that deep resentment fester until it reached its boiling point? Welcome to the world of Nobuyuki Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) in the Japanese film, Cold Fish.

Our first impressions of Shamoto are that of a meek, mild mannered and mostly unmotivated owner of a store specializing in rare tropical fish. A widower who has recently remarried, although his daughter deeply resents both him and his new bride. His new bride also doesn’t seem to think much of him as it seems to be a marriage born out of financial security rather than true love.

Deep down in his heart, all Shamoto wants is that loving harmonious family unit. The type of perfect model family you might glimpse in a photo frame at your local store. While visiting his favorite pastime, the local planetarium, he frequently dreams of such a perfect family moment. He envisions his new wife and daughter by his side enjoying his company and laughing together. In reality though, what he really has is a completely dysfunctional family that is bordering on the edge of self-destruction.

One night while out with her boyfriend, his daughter Mitsuko is caught shoplifting. The store owner summons Shamoto and his wife down to the store in order to deal with his daughter. Enter Yukio Murata (Denden), a regular patron of the store and fellow rare tropical fish store owner. He persuades the store owner to drop the pending charges against Mitsuko and invites the family back to his own store.

Back at his store, Murata convinces Shamoto to allow Mitsuko to not only come and work for him but also to live with him. For it turns out that Murata has taken in a range of young girls with the aim of giving them work as in-store models/saleswomen of sorts. The old adage of “sex sells” is alive and well here as they flaunt their young feminine bodies around the store in skimpy outfits.

Shamoto is taken aback at first but then sees it as an opportunity to get his daughter out of the house and a chance to get some private time with his new bride. He agrees to this also based on Mitsuko’s enthusiasm at the offer at hand. Eventually the two store owners go into business with one another in more ways than one as Shamoto quickly learns of the darker side of Murata’s day-to-day operations. That Murata is quite literally killing the competition.

Sion Sono’s film Cold Fish is loosely based on a true murder story in which a dog breeder and his wife killed at least four clients in what would become known as the Saitama Dog Lover Murders. The film uses this as a loose basis in order to study both a dysfunctional Japanese family unit and to also examine the harsh realities of Japanese society in a microcosm.

Screenwriter Yoshiki Takahashi has altered the scenario from being about Dog Breeders to Tropical Fish Suppliers for reasons of removing the potential hassle of dealing with numerous dogs on set. Another reason for the change, as stated by Takahashi, was due to his willingness to examine these characters' actions through the lens of the aftermath of the bubble economy that Japan experienced during the 80s. Which resulted in the financial growth of many Tropical Fish Stores at that time.

This directly plays into the stark contrast between Murata and Shamoto. As aforementioned, Shamoto is largely unambitious and set in his ways. His store does well enough to keep the lights on but it's clear he has no real aspirations for personal or even financial growth. He’s more than happy not to disrupt the flow of things.

Meanwhile Murata is the total opposite. A man driven by greed and excess. He openly flaunts his worth with exquisite vehicles such as the Red Ferrari he drives. His wife screams that of a ‘Trophy Wife’. His store is twice the size and caters to more foot traffic than that of Shamoto's store in thanks to his shrewd business tactics. Murata is very much a ‘moriagaru’ type. Boisterous to the core and completely in your face. He relishes in the power and fortune he has accumulated and will gladly curb stomp anyone who stands in his way. Take his first shared private moment with Shamoto’s wife where he forces himself upon her and seemingly rapes her without regard. It's clear given his stature in life that he feels completely above the law.

The female roles in this film are certainly a factor that has raised a few eyebrows as some have labeled the film as being misogynistic. Sex and violence is a huge factor in this film and the two main women largely serve both sides of the coin. One side being the pure victim and the other side representing the instigator. I would argue though that the film offers a harsh critique of the modern expectations of the female role in Japanese society more so than it does any sort of actual reinforcement.

Shamoto’s new bride Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka) looks to be approaching her early 30s. It seems entirely obvious that her marriage to Shamoto is one born out of convenience rather than anything approaching love.

There is a saying in Japan that if a woman is not married by the time she is 25 then she is a “Christmas Cake.” A rather sexist slur comparing women to pastries that can’t be sold past the date of December 25th. This is a rather harsh societal pressure placed upon Japanese women as they either marry young or else be considered of little to no value.

Based on this societal pressure, it seems obvious that her marriage to Shamoto is a total sham born out of convenience as she yearns for her former days of hedonism. We see this as she pushes Shamoto aside any time he makes a pass at her. It’s clear she has no real desire for the man and perhaps for good reason considering the shell he hides himself in. Therefore, she plays the role of the good obedient domesticated wife while burying her resentment at the life she has settled for. As noted, she is also very much the perpetual victim as she finds herself thoroughly abused by the men in her life.

His daughter Mitsuko has a rebellious fiery spirit about her. Lost and confused after the death of her mother, she deeply resents her father and his new choice of bride. She certainly isn't shy in expressing this as she lays her boot into her step-mothers stomach. With Shamoto’s complete withdrawal, she has no real male role model in her life to look up to. If her own father has no self-respect then why should she have any for him in return? Hence her attraction to Murata’s boisterously overflowing self confidence.

Then we come to Murata’s wife Aiko (Asuka Kurosawa), who is perhaps the most fascinating female character in the movie. Aiko is not only fully aware of her husband's crimes but is also completely complicit in them. She completely owns her psychopathic tendencies and relishes in them if not more than her husband does his own.

She is completely and utterly damaged goods as she is more than willing to use her sexuality to seduce her victims before delivering the final blow. As for her feelings regarding her husband, it’s hard to say if she has any real respect or even love for him, or if she is just stringing him along too as she seems to do with everyone else she comes into contact with.

At one point, she makes a pass at Shamoto and tries to pressure him into replacing Murata entirely as her new lover and partner in crime. If she were to be compared to an animal, she’d be best compared to a black widow. She’ll make love to you, but will also eat you alive the moment you no longer serve her any benefit. Unlike Taeko, she's anything but the obedient or domesticated housewife. Instead, she completely owns her true nature and has entirely freed herself from the aforementioned societal pressures.

As for Shamoto, he serves mostly as a conduit for the audience to observe the mayhem surrounding him. His progression is not dissimilar to that of Dustin Hoffman’s character in Straw Dogs. As he becomes more and more entangled into the sordid world of Murata’s killings, he finds his own morality being severely tested. The Murata’s methods of killing usually involve a digestive form of poison. Once their victim is dead, they take their bodies out to a shack in the remote countryside and hack the bodies to pieces before burning the pieces and scattering the ashes in the nearby river. Make no mistake about it, it’s not at all shy in presenting its gore as the film highlights just how messy it is to hack a body to pieces. You could almost say it’s as if the Coen brothers directed a Japanese serial killer movie.

Shamoto is initially sickened by the lack of humanity on display as he plays witness to the Murata’s hacking their victims to pieces with glee. But eventually he starts to grow indifferent as the bodies pile up. Still, he plays the weak subservient assistant to Murata just hoping to survive another day.

Murata eventually tires of Shamoto’s weak willed nature and finally lays the harsh truth on him. He berates Shamoto, belittling his manhood by calling out his failures as a husband and father. He goads and taunts Shamoto as he lays the truth on him about his weak willed nature and his inability to solve the problems he has faced throughout life. Before finally revealing the truth that he fucked Taeko.

At first, it’s obvious to see the mechanical point of this scene as it serves Shamoto’s final breaking point at the hands of Murata. But on another level, one could maybe argue that this speech is potentially a scathing indictment of the passive nature of Japanese society in general.

I can only speak as a foreigner looking in from the outside here and perhaps I’m wrong in my assessment. But based on my own experiences of studying some Japanese culture, I have come to learn that the nature of this culture is very passive in general. To my understanding, it is a tendency for Japanese people to avoid confrontation wherever they can as politeness is key to a functional society. Murata is the polar opposite of this though. He’s not shy in voicing his complete and utter disdain for Shamoto or those around him.

Shamoto may as well represent your common Japanese man or woman. He’s entirely passive and almost afraid to step out of line. Whereas Murata has fully embraced his psychopathic tendencies and has entirely freed himself from all of the bullshit that comes with society. Or to quote Yoshiki Takahashi; “Murata is the missing link between the old strong and fearless Japanese army-type in contrast to the quiet-reserved type of character you see these days.”

In Japan, there is a saying that people wear three faces; the face you show to the public, the face you show to your inner circle and the face that is your true face. To an extent, the Shamoto's abide to this as they hide their true feelings even from one another. While the Murata's mostly wear their true emotions out on their sleeves. Murata himself is almost a complete rejection of this notion. I say almost because he is still wearing the one mask posing as a respectable businessman for the public eye. But outside of his little secret, he is very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of man. Thus this speech winds up feeling like it could be more so an indictment of passive Japanese society as a whole. But I can’t say for sure being a foreigner and all.

Shamoto eventually breaks under the pressure of this goading and develops a new found backbone. He rushes back to the store and grabs his daughter by the hair dragging her kicking and screaming to the car. He drives back home where he orders his wife to prepare a final meal of sorts. They eat as a family unit although the tension in the air is palpable. Mitsuko is called outside by her boyfriend but is intervened by Shamoto as he lays his boot into the boyfriend before knocking his daughter unconscious dragging her limp body back inside.

He then confronts his wife about her and Murata. Before his wife even gets a chance to explain herself, he beats her to the ground and lays on top of her demanding the truth. In this moment, the truth is finally revealed as to just how much she loathes him and his daughter. If this charade of a family unit wasn’t already fractured, it’s now completely obliterated. This leads to Shamoto forcibly raping her making her yet again the passive victim. Gone is the weak spineless little boy and in his place is an assertive albeit completely broken man. Maybe, just maybe if he had been a little more assertive in the first place then all of this could have been avoided.

Cold Fish serves as much more than just a true-murder film. It is both an intense study of the dysfunctional family unit and a seemingly scathing indictment of the harsh realities that come hand-in-hand with societal pressures in a mostly conformist society. Sion Sono has said about it that he wanted to depict “a sense of total hopelessness” that he felt was lacking in Japanese cinema. To a large extent, I believe he and his screenwriter Yoshiki Takahashi have achieved just that and a little bit more.

But outside of the barbaric and prevailing sense of nihilism that the film is soaked in, what still really fascinates me to this day is its seemingly harsh critique of societal pressures in general. One thing is for certain though, regardless of gender, no one comes out of this film for the better. There is a prevailing nihilism about all of its characters in general that I quite appreciate.

Sure, Shamoto eventually grows a backbone of sorts, but it comes at the cost of his own sanity. Meanwhile, Mitsuko doesn’t really seem to learn anything as even in her fathers death she still shows him nothing but disrespect and contempt.

All Shamoto ever wanted was the perfect model family. And in the end, he got nothing. Leading to his final words; “life is pain.” Sometimes, it truly is just a sick, sad, cruel little world we live in with no reason or rhyme.


-Daniel M

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[Review] Home Sweet Home Alone -- (or Better Left Alone In The Trash)

I believe that we now have a new genre for certain films. I like to call this genre “Movies for the Lobotomized.” Surely that’s a bit mean, you say. But I ask, have you seen Home Sweet Home Alone? A Disney Plus affair that makes the perfect case for my argument. Because I firmly believe that the ONLY people who could get any enjoyment out of this are the lobotomized.

Home Sweet Home Alone is a direct-to-Disney Plus pseudo-remake/sequel to the original 90's Christmas Classic. Set in Chicago, it tells the story of Jeff and Pam MacKenzie, a down on their luck couple who have hit hard financial times and are forced to sell their cute little home in the suburbs. Jeff discovers that a rare old doll he has in his possession is worth a fortune and could just be their ticket out of selling their home. Only problem is the doll has gone missing.

Wait, wait, hold up. I thought we said this was Home Alone? So where’s the usual Home Alone formula of the bratty kid being left alone at Christmas only to learn a lesson in life? Meet Max Mercer (Archie Yates). A British expat living with his Mum in a lavish mansion with what I guess is a Stepfather? I don’t know, the film never bothers to explain any of this as it rushes forward at attention deficit disorder levels of pacing so why should I care? In desperate need of a bathroom, Max and his mother find themselves stopping in during an open house at the MacKenzie residence. Here Max meets Jeff and discovers his rare doll collection.

Back at home, we’re then quickly introduced to Max’s rowdy step siblings.Naturally it's Christmas chaos as the family prepares to head to Tokyo. Max wishes they would all just disappear and in typical Home Alone formula, the kid gets his wish as he finds himself miscounted and home alone.

Getting back to the MacKenzies, Jeff believes that Max has stolen the rare doll in question and plots to get it back by breaking into what he believes is an empty home. Little does he know that Max is still home and thus the wacky hi jinks begin.

In case you couldn’t already tell, the one minor clever thing that you could potentially praise this film for is that it attempts to flip the typical Home Alone formula on its head. It attempts to focus on the would-be Burglars by seemingly making the kid the villain. The only problem being this is Disney we’re talking about and of course, we can’t have the kid be the villain. I could see this premise working in a potential R-Rated Dark Horror Comedy but as is presented here? It’s grossly misjudged and ultimately confused as to who the good guys really are.

So this entire movie hinges on a bogus misunderstanding that would take all of 5 minutes to clear up in the real world. But unfortunately these characters are all seemingly as brain dead as the screenwriters writing for them.

There is no sense of reality in this movie. For as cartoony as John Hughes and Chris Columbus’ original movie got in the back end, that movie at least tried to adhere to some sense of logical reality. In Home Sweet Home Alone, I am convinced we are looking at characters who have been completely lobotomized as they make some of the dumbest decisions I’ve seen made in a movie in a LONG time.

Naturally, we get the usual Home Alone booby traps as Max believes they want to kidnap and sell him on the black market, but honestly, who fucking cares? They make this couple so empathetic that they forget the one rule of Looney Tunes-style slapstick comedy. It’s not fun to laugh at their pain if we actually like them! That’s the problem. They are too sympathetic for their own good. They’re down on their luck and are making stupid illogical choices. So why should I laugh when the kid is firing Billiard Balls at their face?

The reason it worked in the original film is simply because Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern were the bad guys as seen through Kevin’s eyes. We were watching that story through Kevin’s perspective. They were villainous, they were capable of hurting him. Hell, they wanted to hurt him! Hence it was funny to laugh at their pain in the same way that it is funny to watch the Roadrunner mess with Wile E Coyote.

That’s the resounding feeling I got while watching Home Sweet Home Alone. What is the point of this film? To watch stupid characters make bad choices? To watch pratfalls that aren’t funny because the characters are too empathetic? To watch a kid I don’t come to care about in the slightest learn the same moral point as in the original? That being away from your family at Christmas sucks. Why wouldn’t I just watch the original Home Alone then?

For as much as snobby film fans like to rag on Chris Columbus and his over reliance on sentimentality, there is at least one thing even that type could say for certain about the original Home Alone. Chris Columbus and his crew were actually trying to make a film that would stand the test of time. They actually cared about what they were making.

The original film is warm and inviting with its red and green Christmas color palette. John Williams' original score is one of his best works (sadly they try to evoke that score here which only added to my anger as it’s completely unearned.) Macaulay Culkin was a charming and likable kid.

Not only that but the adult cast is also really funny in that original film. As I get older, I find myself really appreciating the adult cast more and more. Catherine O’Hara is wonderful at finding the line between desperate and comedic in that film. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern make a very amusing pair at evoking the Rocky and Mugsy type. Not to mention the wonderful Church scene with Robert Blossoms that steals the film entirely. And the eventual pratfalls are actually funny in a warped Looney Tunes fashion.

The original film still resonates with my generation to this day for all of those reasons. There is absolutely NOTHING about Home Sweet Home Alone that stands out. There was no reason for this film to exist and I am convinced it is but another disposable piece of shit made for the sake of quantity over quality. Yes, I am aware this franchise has already been dragged through the mud time and time again with the other made-for-TV sequels and this is nothing new. But I honestly think this one is even more insulting than those because it tries so desperately evoke the nostalgia for that original film and fails so miserably.

The color palette is dull and grey. The house is cold and uninviting. The kid is not charming in the slightest. The adult cast is not funny or given anything of interest to do. There is just NOTHING here that I can actually praise outside of that one subversive idea that could be interesting in a different movie. Excuse my language, but fuck everyone involved with this miserable cash grab. At least Culkin had the good sense not to get involved with it.


-Daniel M

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