The 2023 mystery/comedy Glass Casa is literally a darkly comic look at murder. Featuring a pretty funny homage to all things Scooby Doo, the film is very entertaining.
I love films made by people who love films. Tarantino, Rodriguez and now Laa Marcus who writes and directs Glass Casa. This film features a number of new favourites, in terms of cast and,of course, Marcus. You have to love someone who sneaks in the old Wilhelm Scream.
The Story
Jamie is having a bachelorette party with her three besties. A couple of guests turn up who were not on her list. Things go downhill rapidly after one of them is killed.
The Cast
Harley Bronwyn is Jamie.
Nicole Clifford is Bianca.
Geri Courtney-Austein is Evie.
Alison Iles is Drew.
Justin Michael Terry is Charlie.
Jon Huybrecht is Pete.
Travis Laughlin is Alex.
Lizet Benrey is Maria.
What works
Each time the “gang” go to investigate another mysterious event, they head out in a Scooby Doo formation. To clarify: In the cartoon mystery series, there are four members of the gang. Add in Scooby and there are five.
Watch the scenes where the four girls and Charlie head to the scary incident and they are huddled together, terrified. Once I got that image in my head, Glass Casa took off.
*Of course there are no Scooby snacks and I could never quite figure out if Charlie was Scoob or Fred.*
But homages, or allusions, aside, the film works for a number of reasons. The cast are nigh on perfect. As I said in the opening to this review, three new favourites are now on my list to watch out for. Marcus aside, here are the other two.
Nicole Clifford
This actor manages to pull off the loopy, drug addled character of Bianca brilliantly. She does this, seemingly, without effort. Kudos for coming up with a “more than” character. This could have been a two dimensional performance but Clifford nails it. *Of course the script also deserves its fair share of praise.*
Clifford shines here, keep an eye on this one.
Justin Michael Terry
This actor leaps into Clayne Crawford/Anthony Lemke territory here. *Crawford made his name in the television version of Lethal Weapon and Lemke came to my attention in the Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie Syfy series Dark Matter. (A brilliantly put together show.)* Terry exudes the same sort of “Aw shucks” natural delivery that allows him to almost steal the entirety of Glass Casa.
His wanna-be Jack Kerouac type character is great and Terry fills his character’s shoes with ease.
This guy is good. Another one to watch out for.
What works II
There a lot of nods and winks in this one. As I said before, you can tell that Marcus loves movies. Or maybe just celluloid in general. The inclusion of a telenovela in the story line is as amusing as it is brilliant.
The feeling of the Glass Casa bounces from straight mystery, to ghost story, to comedy. All of this is captured with aplomb by cinematographer Ryan Broomberg and pieced together almost perfectly by editor Rich Varville.
The practical FX were very good. Nothing was bodged or jarred in any way. Kudos to special makeup effects artist Andy Harvey for this one.
Scenes in the film are, for the most part, almost claustrophobic in nature despite the majestic setting of the glass house. This works as each one of these are focused more on the group dynamic rather than the actual setting. The setting itself is almost another, more elusive, character in the tale.
A Tiny complaint
The magic gun.
The .38 special that Alex fires repeatedly and not needing to be reloaded. This weapon carries six rounds. Alex’s piece carried a few more apparently.
The verdict
Glass Casa earns a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars here. The film loses a half star due to not everyone convincing in their roles and because of what appeared to be a couple of plot holes.
But.
There are enough twists and turns to make the overall experience of watching Glass Casa entertaining and fun. This is, after all, an award winning film. The film drops on Amazon 17 December.
As 2024 winds to a close, it is interesting to note that most of the films I have reviewed recently have all been of such a high calibre. This one is yet another that I have been pleasantly surprised to find so brilliantly top notch. Check it out on 17 December.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.