Horror Movies

[jakedog56]

I watched Stung last night. A decent but flawed horror movie.

Positives:
Special effects were good. Both cgi and real were good. The creatures were pretty cool. The gore was good.
Characters were ok and the main wss likeable.
Lance Henriksen! One my all-time fav horror actors.
Story was decently paced. Things moved along and generally kept me interested.

Negatives:
Storyline was interesting but not well executed. It could have been done much better.
Lance Henriksen was generally wasted. He had a rather gratuitous character but they force fed him to the viewers because he is who he is and they wanted to give him screen time.
Dialog was a bit up and down in quality.

It came off like a good syfy chanel movie (maybe it was?). Cheesy at times, lacking in some areas, excelling in others. Worth a watch if you like the insect horror genre.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Sorry about the drought hooplans! I've been on vacation & just had my first horror night since. I'll post some reviews early next week.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Extinction (2015)


Thanks for the rec @Psych-Ward !

Pretty much everyone is getting somewhat exhausted with the zombie genre by now, because not many directors seem to be doing much to try and change up the formula. But this movie did just that. Set in the typical zombie apocalypse setting, but further north than we're accustomed to seeing judging by the snowy landscape. The main story doesn't focus on the usual survivalist techniques, but on the relationship between the two main male leads. Although there are zombies in the movie, they aren't the focus of the story, merely the backdrop. As you can guess, that leads the genre towards more of a drama makeup than horror. But don't be fooled, the movie may be a bit slow to build the story, but it mixes in small doses of suspense to keep you enthralled. This type of movie works really well. The mystery surrounding the plot keeps you guessing for a while. And the climax isn't so wild or subtle that you don't guess it really early on, but it is really well done, nonetheless. There is suspense and moments of tension until the zombs are finally revealed. Great cinematography, acting, and cgi. Only things that I didn't care for was there are a few too many jump scares and the storyline had some glaring holes. Also could have used a little more intensity to build better suspense. Ultimately, the drama aspect enhances what would otherwise be a boring zombie movie and makes it into a very decent film. Like I said, its not the typical survival zombie movie, but if you want to try something a little bit different in the genre, then give it a go.

Not your typical zombie flick... 7.5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

White Settlers (2014)


Later renamed "The Blood Lands" because of heavy racist criticism lol. This is pretty much a by-the-book home invasion horror movie. It was basically the movie Torment done all over again but not as good. It was decently executed and the performances were believable. There is some overly-obvious character stupidity that was unnecessary, which comes off as very annoying. The director cared very little about the characters because you never really find yourself caring what happens to them. The climax is what sets this movie apart. It's likely to rub many horror fans the wrong way. For me, at first, it was abrupt and didn't make sense since it offered little to the viewer. But in a way, I can understand why the director did it. Endings such as these tend to stick out above the rest of the movies within the genre. It was a decent attempt, however I'm not likely to watch this one ever again.

Boozed-viewing material... 5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Morgue (2008)


I'll be honest from the get-go, this wasn't worth the time. I took a chance on this one because of Bill Cobbs. He's a good actor and I have respect for him. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This film is the definition of below-average. The rest of the cast ranged from subpar to just plain bad. The storyline was nearly non-existent and oddly executed. Also it was extremely predictable, which is something that annoys me more than most errors in film. A kid in kindergarten could have predicted the plot twist. The filming was ok, I suppose, but the editing was absolutely awful. They attempted to do the always-dreadful abstract filming with quick flash cuts and overlapping background dialogue. I would much rather take a cheese grater to my brain. The film had a lot of problems, and it was hard to continue watching.

Worthless... 3/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Cooties (2015)


Had to wait a year for this one to finally release. Its not your typical zomb-com due to the plot setting and application, but it pulled it off. A lot of people were disappointed because the comedy element was somewhat dry, but I thought it was great. There is enough adult humor (sexual references & adult language) mixed in to keep audiences of all ages entertained. A lot of it was injected subtly which I ended up missing some of it and had to ask the wife why she laughed. They also injected some reference humor which was awesome. Rainn Wilson referred to Elijah Wood as a hobbit at one point lol. Some of the characters were odd, and their comedy element was a little hard to understand, but they grow on you. By the end I found it hard not to laugh at almost every line. This is something I will have to use to break my kids into the zombie genre with lol.

Great fun! 8/10

 

[Chef99]

Cooties (2015)


Had to wait a year for this one to finally release. Its not your typical zomb-com due to the plot setting and application, but it pulled it off. A lot of people were disappointed because the comedy element was somewhat dry, but I thought it was great. There is enough adult humor (sexual references & adult language) mixed in to keep audiences of all ages entertained. A lot of it was injected subtly which I ended up missing some of it and had to ask the wife why she laughed. They also injected some reference humor which was awesome. Rainn Wilson referred to Elijah Wood as a hobbit at one point lol. Some of the characters were odd, and their comedy element was a little hard to understand, but they grow on you. By the end I found it hard not to laugh at almost every line. This is something I will have to use to break my kids into the zombie genre with lol.

Great fun! 8/10

On Netflix?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

On Netflix?

Nope. Just got released so its in theaters. But I watched it online. There's a great quality version on primewire.ag

 

[Chef99]

Nope. Just got released so its in theaters. But I watched it online. There's a great quality version on primewire.ag

Thanks. Now that I think of it, pretty sure I asked you this already. I wanna watch this movie.

 

[Chef99]

Seen the posts for Jeepers Creepers - not sure I get the love for these movies. I know I've seen the first one, don't remember a lot about it. Just happened to catch the second one yesterday. It had some decent stuff in it - I loved the ending in the barn - and the monster had some cool effects with the wings and such. I also liked the "every 23 years" bit. Even the basic plot (kids and mentors trapped on a bus and being terrorized/picked off) was fine.

I just thought it was incredibly stupid, so much so that when most of them left the bus, the movie lost me. I kinda liked the bit where the top jock tried to divide the kids into upper and lower classes, but they killed off that aspect of the story pretty quickly. And I just wanted to slap the dream-girl and tell her to STFU.

Something I'm missing here? Maybe I need to watch the first one again and reevaluate?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Visit (2015)


Pretty decent movie. The kid actors were oddly placed. Not sure if it was intentional, but the girl came off as very pretentious & privileged which could have been from the dreaded "over-acting". She was tolerable for the most part. The little boy inserted some pretty good comic relief, but it was a little over done. And for whatever reason M. Night Shyamalan thought it was necessary to have the little boy be a budding rap artist and give multiple "freestyles" throughout the movie. Really stupid IMO. It distracted from an otherwise predictable plot. The gma/gpa actors killed it! Their performances did an amazing job creating tension. The climax had a good twist but if you thought about it long enough you could have guessed something like that was happening. After the climax there was a good wrap up to end the story. It wasn't very scary, but the jump scares were welcome additions, which I don't say very often. Overall it is worth the watch, but not worth the $10 to see it in theaters.

Oddly good... 7/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Hidden (2015)


This needs to be a movie that you watch very soon. The plot in this movie was awesome. The direction, progression, etc were perfectly executed. Set in a zombie-esque apocalyptic wasteland. It slowly develops the story while building great amounts of tension all within a small 2-rm bomb shelter. The coolest thing about it is that it never tells you what exactly they are hiding from, which keeps you guessing. And just when you think you've reached the twist, BOOM! 3-4 climaxes all unravel in a row, one after the other... Its like getting hit in the face repeatedly by a climax shovel! And it was very well done! Each climax complimented the other, and completely mind boggles you from whatever you were expecting. This movie went above & beyond to recapture the apocalyptic survival genre. Like I said before, it is a bit slow to start but everything was a necessity from the start to build the finish. Character stupidity was a little irritable, but nothing overly absurd. Actually, looking back it was merited. I'll definitely be owning this movie when it releases.

Watch this ASAP! 9/10

 

[GNG]

"Keeping up with the Kardashians" is the scariest show on television.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Last Shift (2015)


Clearly this was a low budget film. But the director & producer compensated with solid creativity. The film makes good use of their locale, and builds suspense that slowly begins to pay off. One nice touch is the use of silence to build tension. In a few places, the music becomes intrusive, but a lot of the creepiness is in odd sounds. I thought the lead actress was believable through most of the film, but had her flaws. If the film faltered anywhere, it was closer to the end when the lead character began to respond in more typical horror film victim fashion. However, considering the psychological state of the character, I think she deserves a pass. The twists employed were good and kept me enthralled. I wasn't overly excited about the plot, but again it was low budget. The noise investigations were getting a little old after the 3rd or 4th attempth lol. Otherwise, very solid effort, making a fairly original film on very little money.

Jump scares! 6/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Splinter (2008)


This movie kicked ass and I would recommend it as a MUST SEE! It features really cool effects, allegedly without the need for CGI. The plot is complex, and makes us think about internal and external threats. Essentially there are 3 layers of terror going on in this movie which sounds overdone, but is simply brilliant. First off there are convicts, second there is a fungus/parasite, and last there is the creature. All wrapped up in this are 2 unfortunate honeymooners trying to have a romantic escape. The progression takes you on a fully engaged roller coaster ride all throughout the movie. The acting was perfect. I had problems with the way the creature was displayed because rather than show how truly creepy the damn "thing" was, they only showed it in short glimpses of shaky filming with loud noises. In short, the editing was crap. But don't let that ruin the movie because I thought this was a really fun and entertaining movie.

A Fungus Among Us ... 8/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Echoes (2014)


Not an outstanding or original story by any means, but solid and made for a good classic revenge story. The acting was good, but at times it was hard to empathize with the lead actress. Her character/actress could have used more depth to her particular performance, but I don't know if thats the actress' fault or the director's. Overall she was generally believable. The concept of sleep paralysis is an intriguing phenomenon and I don't recall if this is the first time I have seen it in a feature, but it was pretty interesting! Definitely has the look, pacing and feel of a European movie where the majority of the action happens towards the end. The movie could have used a bit more suspense throughout. Not a bad movie though as it was quite unique of its genre today, so I would personally recommend it. Its not exactly scary, but the thrill is more of intrigue. There are sprinkles of horror elements throughout the movie though.

Uniquely creepy... 7/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Curse of Downers Grove (2015)


The title of this movie fooled me into thinking this was more of a horror film, which it wasn't. It was a stalker thriller of sorts, could even call it a revenge story. The producers are selling it as horror, but don't get your hopes up for that sort of movie. So for those wanting to read about horror, ignore this post. But for those open to decent thrill rides, read on!

The setting is typical of high school dramas, smaller town and the majority appears to be urban neighborhoods. The actors do a good job in creating likable characters, which is sort of unusual for teen movies because usually you have inherently stupid kids making poor decisions. Yes there is stupidity, but its more tasteful and doesn't get under your skin. The action in this movie is very linear. No twists or turns through the plot building, so the climax is predictable. There is a twist in the closing moments after the climax. It was surprising, but in my opinion, was not necessary. Overall, an enjoyable thrill ride.

Not horror, but enjoyable... 6/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Delirium (2015)


The movie had some interesting concepts, but its direction and progression squandered it. The plotline was confusing at best, which could have benefited from a much simpler direction. Take away a few of the subplots and you have yourself a pretty decent movie. In other words, less human conflict and more supernatural conflict! All of the back & forth between reality and the possessed reality is what lost me. It basically gave the director an excuse to include nudity lol. It certainly didn't lead to any sort of impact on the climax. But after that reality switching stops, the plot becomes more clear and enjoyable. At that point you start to realize its a horror movie. It was entertaining, but a little overcooked. The filming was good, but the editing wasn't.

Halfway decent... 5/10

 

[Nasty_Magician]

The Visit (2015)


Pretty decent movie. The kid actors were oddly placed. Not sure if it was intentional, but the girl came off as very pretentious & privileged which could have been from the dreaded "over-acting". She was tolerable for the most part. The little boy inserted some pretty good comic relief, but it was a little over done. And for whatever reason M. Night Shyamalan thought it was necessary to have the little boy be a budding rap artist and give multiple "freestyles" throughout the movie. Really stupid IMO. It distracted from an otherwise predictable plot. The gma/gpa actors killed it! Their performances did an amazing job creating tension. The climax had a good twist but if you thought about it long enough you could have guessed something like that was happening. After the climax there was a good wrap up to end the story. It wasn't very scary, but the jump scares were welcome additions, which I don't say very often. Overall it is worth the watch, but not worth the $10 to see it in theaters.

Oddly good... 7/10

Was pleasantly surprised by this one.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

It's In the Blood (2012)


This one was hard to rate & review. The movie overall is excellent and creepy. But the plotline is very complex and hard to follow. The storyline had a slow progression, but it was never boring. You get thrown into what seems like a straightforward monster survival movie, but the plot secretly hides a family drama with a dark past occurrence which begins to unveil itself as the story progresses. The director clearly wanted the 2 plotlines to blend almost as one was the metaphorical view of the other. Its confusing, but the cool thing about it is that the tension/suspense is constant, pulling the viewer and never letting go. I felt caught up in this family drama, not just as a spectator. Some people may not care for the subplot, but if you boil it down you find a clear case of good & evil (primarily evil lol). This movie may take a while to grow on you after you're done watching it, but you can always just appreciate the simpler survival plotline which was enjoyable in itself.

Convoluted entertainment! 7/10