Milo-Jeeder

I wouldn't call this sequel a waste of time, but that's probably because I'm too invested in this franchise by now, so this felt like watching a filler episode of a TV series: you find it forgettable, but if you enjoy the series as a whole, it's no big deal. That's pretty much how I felt about this sequel: I'll probably never watch it again, but it was acceptable for a single watch. However, if you see "High Desert 3" as a standalone flick, without any knowledge of the previous films, chances are you're going to dislike it a lot and maybe rightfully so.

One of the things I praise about the "Horror in the High Desert" movies is that they don't rely on annoying jump scares and the fact that the horror imagery is subtle, but effective. However, upon reaching the third installment, I'd like to have some more action, maybe answers and a better look at the humanoid creatures that lurk around the forest. I understand building mystery and lore, but at this point, we sort of need to get more in contact with something slightly more explicit. Slightly! I'm not asking for gore and kills, but one can settle for off-screen horror only to a certain extent. "Horror in the High Desert 3: Firewatch" is somewhat of a taxing experience, as it is shockingly uneventful. At one point, we read a warning message that says: "Viewers descretion is advised". Why?? There's nothing to see, what discretion could be advised here? At this point, I feel that this is basically a rehash of the previous films, but done in a dull way. However, I can be patient and I'll wait for the two upcoming sequels. But seriously, at this point they need to reveal something a little bit less vague.

Leaving aside the uneventfulness of the movie, my real problem with this sequel is that if focuses way too much on the main character's personal drama. The main character, a Mexican vlogger named Oscar Mendoza, is incredibly annoying and even though I can understand character development, there is such a thing as overexposure and this is a clear example of that. Yes, we get it: Oscar is a former alcoholic and junkie, but do we really care enough about him to go on and on about this issue?

Oscar claims that he's going to the forest looking for answers about what happened to Gary Hingle, another outdoors enthusiast who went missing (wow, what a smart thing to do, Oscar). Throughout the film, Oscar appears talking to his camera and explaining that he's not doing what he does to get followers, but at the same time, it's clear that he does: he exploits his own personal drama, because he is attention-seeking. He's also very loud, overenthusiastic and, at some point, he jokingly mentions that he's going to light a fire and "hopes he won't burn himself or the forest". That seems particularly disgusting to me, because it makes me think of those idiots who don't have a problem in doing something stupid and dangerous, as long as they get attention from strangers on the internet. Basically, Oscar is the definition of an entitled teenager, who only does things for attention and validation, however... he's not even a teenager, he appears to be in his thirties. I understand that main characters are supposed to be flawed and not role models, but when you're rooting for the main character to die, that's not a good thing. Maybe that's what Dutch Marich intended? Hard to say, but the movie is difficult to digest, because the main character is an idiot.

Regardless, I like this franchise, I respect the director and I hope the upcoming sequels are a lot better than this. For some reason, I'm really rooting for these movies, I'm just not a fan of Oscar (nothing against the actor, of course).

In "Mystics in Bali", a woman named Catherine, who is visiting Indonesia, wants to investigate about a black magic cult known as "The Leák". Her boyfriend, a local man named Mahendra, arranges a meeting between her and a master of the Leák magic, who is simply known as "The Queen". Catherine gets to meet the evil witch, a creepy old woman who promises to train her in the dark arts. After being taught a few things by the Leák master, Catherine ends up paying a very high price, as she becomes the old witch's personal slave, who uses her to get young blood that she needs to keep herself alive and strong.

Well, let's see: "Mystics in Bali" may be a lot of things, but boring ain't one of them. This flick is definitely a wild ride and it is almost impossible to lose interest, even if you think the movie is dumb. While it's certainly cannot be taken seriously, it features some redeeming qualities and some mildly creepy moments (not necessarily scary, though), but, first, we'll talk about the awful.

One of the biggest problems that I had with "Mystics in Bali" is that the narrative clumsiness damages the movie considerably. There are a few poorly edited narrative ellipsis, which severely affects the connection between one situation and the other, to the point that, in some cases, it is difficult to tell whether a scene has ended or if it's still going on. For example, at one point, the two main characters, Cathy and Mahendra, head to the forest to meet with the witch for the first time. After having an exchange with her, we then see Cathy and Mahendra again, walking around in the same forest, wearing different clothes and through a dialog, we learn that they are expecting to see the witch for the second time, but this is shown in a very confusing way. While it is true that the characters have different clothes and explicitly say that a whole day has passed, the way this is shown gives the impression that there's a continuity error, rather than the idea that this is a different scene.

In addition to the clumsy narrative ellipsis, the characters also reference certain situations that happen off-screen, but these mentioned events are too important to be left out like that, which is something that made me feel somewhat alienated and confused. If I had to guess what the hell happened here, I would say that, perhaps, some scenes could not be shot due to budgetary reasons or maybe they were shot, but they weren't included in the final edit, because they did not come out as expected. For example: at some point, the two main characters are talking about how Cathy murdered some innocent people and whatnot. These types of narrative flaws are very frustrating and one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to story telling.

This is a horror flick that deals with shapeshifting creatures and witches and warlocks shooting magic energy at each other, which is challenging, to say the least. Considering the time and the modest budget, the CGI should have been avoided or, at least, used with a little bit of restraint ... but it wasn't the case here. Apparently, they absolutely felt the need to use CGI and it just came out truly awful, which is something that definitely adds up several points in the "unintentional hilarity" department. Be that as it may, after a while, I finally ended up accepting the fact that the awful CGI was just part of the charm (?) and, somehow, I sort of managed to reluctantly "forgive" it.

On the other hand, the practical effects are somewhat well made. A few scenes are done with such care and dedication, that they manage to look good, regardless of the budget. Specifically, a scene comes to mind in which Cathy and the Queen Leák turn into snakes. Yes, sure, the effects are not at the level of a big production, but something so difficult to do is achieved in a way that it is genuinely horrifying and disturbing.

"Mystics in Bali" features a large amount of "what the fudge?!" type of moments and, obviously, I cannot list them all, but I will mention the two that "stayed" with me.

At some point, our beloved main girl, Cathy, begins to vomit what turn out to be two mice. The boyfriend, Mahendra, who watches in horror as she is puking the two rodents, tries to calm her down, by telling her that she probably has an indigestion, as a result of having had an eating binge the night before. Uh ... buddy, throwing up two mice (not one, but TWO!) is not a sign of indigestion.

Second most random and bizarre moment is when the witch literally transforms into a humanoid pig type of creature, with big saggy boobs, while fighting with her old rival. It's just something that one doesn't forget so easily in an entire lifetime. This image will haunt me for good.

Bizarre as it is, "Mystics in Bali", as I said before, has its redeeming qualities: the main characters are very likeable and people who watch a lot of horror flicks may know very well that this isn't always achieved. Though the acting appears rather stiff, probably as a result of the dubbing, more than anything, both Mahendra and Catherine are characters that are easy to root for, which is something that I very much appreciate. As for our main baddie, the wicked witch of Bali, ridiculous and over-the-top as she is, she's also a very fun and creepy villain (and pulling off "creepy" and "ridiculous" at the same time is not easy).

Look, ridiculousness is just part of the charm here and I can assure you that regardless of what you think of it, "Mystics in Bali" is definitely not a flick that you'll easily forget. You decide whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. It is definitely a wild ride and bizarre things constantly happen, so, really, there's no room for surprises. While it's probably nobody's classic, it delivers for sure... and then some!