Horror Movies

[Taddy Mason]

Man, I really hate Netflix at times. Saw there was a Cabin in the Fever movie from 2016, looked like and sounded like it was a remake of the original and a very shitty one at that. Either way, it was trending and the first horror movie I saw on there that I hadn't seen before. Well, it lived up to the hype and expectations. It really was a remake of the 2016, why they would bother to do that, I have no idea. I still felt violated from the sequel to the original (I think I was still able to enjoy it, as I knew it was going to be shit,which I don't mind (if you're asking the difference between the sequel and this, they went to remake the original in a shitty way for no reason that I can tell other than it's in style to try to remake a movie and hope a younger audience accepts it as new).

 

[Taddy Mason]

Anyone happen to catch The Cloverfield Paradox on Netflix, yet? I won't reveal anything, as it was just released on Sunday (after the Super Bowl), but I happened to watch it last night, and I found it disappointing. Just curious as to others' thoughts.

I haven't watched it yet, heard it was disappointing, that being said, I saw a headline that mentioned how it was related to the other cloverfield movies, which kind of messed me up, as I didn't think the other two cloverfield movies were related (unless they were talking about something other than Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane, if so I must have been asleep that day). Do plan on watching it over the weekend either way.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

The Ritual on Netflix was a really decent horror flick. The fiancee read the book and although it diverted a bit she said it was good.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Man, I really hate Netflix at times. Saw there was a Cabin in the Fever movie from 2016, looked like and sounded like it was a remake of the original and a very shitty one at that. Either way, it was trending and the first horror movie I saw on there that I hadn't seen before. Well, it lived up to the hype and expectations. It really was a remake of the 2016, why they would bother to do that, I have no idea. I still felt violated from the sequel to the original (I think I was still able to enjoy it, as I knew it was going to be shit,which I don't mind (if you're asking the difference between the sequel and this, they went to remake the original in a shitty way for no reason that I can tell other than it's in style to try to remake a movie and hope a younger audience accepts it as new).

Wait... So they remade the remake? lol. When I saw it on Netflix I assumed it was the remake I had already seen.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

The Ritual on Netflix was a really decent horror flick. The fiancee read the book and although it diverted a bit she said it was good.

It was good. It had all the makings of that horror movie you have seen 100 times where there is this huge letdown and you say ..."this is so stupid"

Well for the most part that does not happen here ..or at least when your done watching it you don't feel you wasted your time.

I would say it just makes it to a 7/10

 

[GNG]

Most horror movies suck... If it wasn't for the special effects nobody would watch them.

 

[outofyourmind]

This one was great.
Was fed off the Soap Opera show of the 1970's.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Wait... So they remade the remake? lol. When I saw it on Netflix I assumed it was the remake I had already seen.

Wait, that movie from 2002 (cabin fever) was a remake? i never even knew. if that's the case, they took that remake from 2002, which i enjoyed, liked seeing my boy from boy meets world ryder strong doing something else. from there, they expanded the universe... they did it poorly, especially with marketing. the same mr. strong, which was my main reason to watch to first, "hey, it'd the dude from boy meets world" it was a well done movie for the time. sorry, i lost myself the sequel mentioned strong, but year, he wasn't in it at all.

you may have seen the sequels to it, as i have (don't think i saw the third), but if you're thinking of something completely different, i'm listening.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Wait, that movie from 2002 (cabin fever) was a remake? i never even knew. if that's the case, they took that remake from 2002, which i enjoyed, liked seeing my boy from boy meets world ryder strong doing something else. from there, they expanded the universe... they did it poorly, especially with marketing. the same mr. strong, which was my main reason to watch to first, "hey, it'd the dude from boy meets world" it was a well done movie for the time. sorry, i lost myself the sequel mentioned strong, but year, he wasn't in it at all.

you may have seen the sequels to it, as i have (don't think i saw the third), but if you're thinking of something completely different, i'm listening.

I must have misunderstood you then. We are likely talking about the same 2016 reboot. I reviewed it some time ago...

Horror Movies

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Devil's Gate (2017)


The story in this movie was as interesting as it was unnerving, but the way that it played out was a bit awkward. The writers & director took some risks by interweaving a tangled storyline so I can understand the average ratings that it has received. The flow of the movie was a tad choppy, and a lot of people got confused by it. In my opinion this film wasn't perfect by any means, but the ratings are too low. The production values & acting were excellent. Milo Ventimiglia plays unhinged characters very well. Of course the individual plot elements have all been done before because, at this point in horror genre, pretty much every plot element has already been used. But this particular combination and expression is original as far as I can tell. And most satisfyingly and rather unusual for this genre, it's not just dripping with gaping plot holes. The climax may not be for everyone but it is exactly what it should have been, whether people liked it or not. It boils down to reason, not popular opinion. It did leave the door open by just enough that a sequel could easily be made. Personally, I hope that it happens. This movie was good. The creature was particularly frightening. The movie could have benefited from more scare tactics, but the eerie & ominous atmosphere did just fine. This was an unexpected treat.

Sci-fi creature-feature mixed with supernatural mystery... 7.5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Mayhem (2017)


The first 15-20mins or so it tries really hard to create background for the plot. Mainly it paints the picture of the office relationships. The humor is all about social satire in this case, which works fairly well for those of us that have experienced the corporate/cubicle workplace. The infection itself is a satirical play on sociology. Yes the premise for the virus is a bit overblown and unrealistic, but who cares! It's meant for mindless entertainment. And the humor is not outright funny unless you can relate to it. Who hasn't felt like punching their boss right in the face at one point or another. Whatever the case, if you enjoy action in an infection survival type scenario, or the "what would I do" situations, then this movie is perfect for you. It is well acted & scripted from a technical standpoint, even if a lot of it was unnecessary. But it is loaded with a plethora of bloodlust action. Something I think any horror/thriller fan can enjoy. Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving's characters were both fun to watch and provided good laughs amongst the mayhem & violence. This isn't a dramatic piece or great horror by any means, but rather an hour & a half of straightforward, solid, gory entertainment. Overall the story carries fairly well and it's fun to watch. Very similar to The Belko Experiment.

The perfect film for a cubicle drone on a lazy Sunday afternoon... 7/10

 

[Nasty_Magician]

More Scifi than horror but I enjoyed the Cloverfield Paradox.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

More Scifi than horror but I enjoyed the Cloverfield Paradox.

Good to know not everyone was disappointed! Probably going to watch it this weekend.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Neverknock (2017)


Yawn. The plot in this film is a clichéd endeavor for sure. How many times have we followed a group of adolescents down this rabbit hole? Lets dare each other to provoke a supernatural entity, and then spend the next 60 minutes running for our lives! Sound familiar? As you can assume the overall story-line prevails as nothing more than an exhaustive piece full of character stupidity & bad acting. They did manage to hold a certain allure to the creature, which was the sole bright-spot of the film. From a visual standpoint the demon creature was very well done. It stood out as practical and not cgi-laden like most blockbuster films do. IMO that is how creature-features should be made, so I can certainly applaud them for that. Some of the kill-scenes were crazy. The hay-bale maze scene stands out in my memory. Honestly compared to some other SyFy original Halloween films this one isn't the worst, but its not entirely great either. Just another destined-to-be-forgotten-about piece added to the scrap heap. Some of the filming styles were a nice surprise. The overall atmosphere was decent. However the exhaustive nature of this film & subgenre overshadowed anything that this movie accomplished. There is nothing special or unique to it. Just another tired clichéd creature flick with the usual cast of fodder characters, and the idiotic actions that follow. This film could've been so much worse - but still had relatively bad, glaring cons.

Could have been better or worse... 5.5/10

 

[Chef99]

Neverknock (2017)


Yawn. The plot in this film is a clichéd endeavor for sure. How many times have we followed a group of adolescents down this rabbit hole? Lets dare each other to provoke a supernatural entity, and then spend the next 60 minutes running for our lives! Sound familiar? As you can assume the overall story-line prevails as nothing more than an exhaustive piece full of character stupidity & bad acting. They did manage to hold a certain allure to the creature, which was the sole bright-spot of the film. From a visual standpoint the demon creature was very well done. It stood out as practical and not cgi-laden like most blockbuster films do. IMO that is how creature-features should be made, so I can certainly applaud them for that. Some of the kill-scenes were crazy. The hay-bale maze scene stands out in my memory. Honestly compared to some other SyFy original Halloween films this one isn't the worst, but its not entirely great either. Just another destined-to-be-forgotten-about piece added to the scrap heap. Some of the filming styles were a nice surprise. The overall atmosphere was decent. However the exhaustive nature of this film & subgenre overshadowed anything that this movie accomplished. There is nothing special or unique to it. Just another tired clichéd creature flick with the usual cast of fodder characters, and the idiotic actions that follow. This film could've been so much worse - but still had relatively bad, glaring cons.

Could have been better or worse... 5.5/10

I, on the one hand, enjoyed it. On the other hand, I don't remember it now, so I think this is a spot-on analysis.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I, on the one hand, enjoyed it. On the other hand, I don't remember it now, so I think this is a spot-on analysis.

Well if you remember the movie only because of the creature then, sure it’s enjoyable. But if you remember the entire movie then you’ll understand everything I wrote!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Babysitter (2017)


On Netflix! This was a hilarious cheesy slasher comedy. It's chalked full of clichéd narratives but that was done for humor purposes. Lets take the usual high school stereotypes of the jock, the cheerleader, the hottie, and the humorous token black friend, and have them all dabble in the occult. Pretty damn hilarious if you think about it by itself. What happens on screen is exactly what you would expect, but delivered better than you could have imagined. Don't overthink this movie because you will miss out on what it aspires to achieve: entertaining & silly Halloween horror. Simple as that. The filmmakers didn't try at all to be serious but rather providing you with an escapism to the exhaustive clichés we see all too often in this genre. It is very self-aware of all the slasher films that it mimics and proves more than capable of providing comedy to those tropes. The leads in this movie did a phenomenal job with what little they were given to work with. The writers kept things simple, but still provided just enough mystery & thrill to keep you hooked til the end. If the plot doesn't hook you, then the comedy certainly will. If you're looking for dramatic & horrifying then you'll be severely disappointed with this film. But if you're in the mood for a great blend of fun, humor & gore, then you'll love it.

Entertaining horror comedy... 8/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Better Watch Out (2016)


I was very apprehensive before watching this film based off the juvenile cast alone. I cringed at the thought of watching a horror film where 90% of the runtime involves a cast all under the age of 18. But thankfully for the holiday season (watched this back in December) I decided to go through with it, and I was pleasantly surprised. Hats off to the young actors in this movie. There were very minor flaws which had more to do with script & writing than the actors themselves. The antagonist was especially good. For a young actor to be able to portray a psycopath without annoying the audience is a pretty rare feat. The director deserves a lot of credit too as I'm sure it was difficult to deliver what this film achieved. The filming style offered a wide variety of unique shots. It was cool to see the director use reflective xmas decor to offer blind shots. This thriller has plenty of clever twists that keep it entertaining throughout. Some character stupidity was expected but it wasn't a glaring downfall like it is with most horror films. It has original concepts and builds drama well from the beginning, allthewhile never becoming predictable. It even offers a fair amount of comedy. This film was like Home Alone meets The Strangers... However Kevin is the psycho. Overall this film was an unexpectedly fun ride.

A Holiday treat... 7.5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Dead Awake (2016)


Said it before, but the concept of sleep paralysis intrigues me. Whether you've experienced it or not, its a frightening reality. I've endured it only once and I hope I never have to again. Sadly this movie missed its mark. It had the potential but the delivery was nothing more than a blatant ripoff of The Ring & Nightmare On Elm Street, amongst many others. Aside from 1 or 2 jump scares, the entity didn't come off as scary at all. And the film relied heavily on that entity to create atmosphere & suspense. It didn't come close to achieving either of those. As you can imagine it was a very boring & bland experience. Ironically, the movie was about sleep disorders and it put the audience to sleep. Maybe if it delivered more jump scares it would have provided more energy to the film, but that is a sad excuse for horror. Nothing to see here.

SNOOZEfest... See what I did there? 4/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Ritual (2018)


On Netflix! Wow this movie was a surprise! After watching the trailer I thought, welp I've seen this plot scenario maybe a couple hundred times, where a group of tourists wander into the wilderness to encounter some sort of creature, and I've seen maybe less than 10-20% of those movies end up being somewhat successful. Those movies that came to mind... Blair Witch (2017), Devil In The Dark (2017), Indigenous (2015), The Barrens (2012), It's In the Blood (2012), etc etc. The list goes on & on. All of which, according to my memory, were semi-flawed in their own ways but still pretty good. None of which ever really blew me away though. Now I won't call this movie perfect, but its the closest thing I've seen to it within this sub-genre. I loved this movie. From top to bottom it was solid. A lot of people are knocking the ending, and I can understand their complaints as I shared a few with it. First off, the creature's form. I don't want to give anything away, but from a physical standpoint the movement abilities it had throughout the entire movie seem impossible for it. But don't get me wrong, the form it had was absolutely terrifying. And the way they used it throughout 90% of the movie was exactly how they should have used it. Secondly, I wasn't all too enthused with how the climax came to an abrupt ending. I understand their desire to end it the way they did, as the entire film for that character felt psychologically depressing and at some point something needs to give (like drowning and needing to come up for air). I should have picked up more on the continuous flashbacks to the traumatizing backstory as foreshadowing the climax. It made much more sense as I look back on it. But as I watched I couldn't help but feel like the ending was a cop-out ("That's it? That's all?"). But honestly I won't be remembering this film for these shortcomings. It was still one of the most tense and exhilarating films that I've watched in a long time. And from a production standpoint, it was perfect. The acting, the score, the setting, the filming, etc... Overall this film was psychologically thrilling, spooky and downright terrifying. Exactly what I want a creature feature in the forest to be like. I heard that this film was based on a book. I will have to look into that because the book is probably amazing. Looked up the director and it was none other than David Bruckner, of whom I've recently become more & more familiar with. He directed The Signal, Southbound, and the bat-lady segment titled "Amateur Night" on V/H/S (2012). He's a very creative director and one to keep your eyes on.

Well worth the watch... 9/10