Horror Movies

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Poltergeist (2015)


Dedicating this review to our late friend @RoboticDreams ... You would have loved this movie buddy!

First things first, I DO NOT think this movie was better than the original. Remakes RARELY ever surpass their predecessors, especially when the original is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Obviously it is very difficult for remakes to be as groundbreaking as the original, however, that does not mean that it wasn't a great movie. I thought they did an excellent job recapturing the magic that fans once fell in love with in the first place. The cult-followers of the movie will be quick to point out its flaws, because it obviously tweaked the original. The introduction of technology, the elimination of the original "beast", the extended roles of the siblings, first-person visuals of the spirit realm, twist on the ending, etc etc. The brother annoyed the shit out of me early on, but most of the actors did a pretty good job overall. The biggest drawback of this remake for me was the lack of character development. The original had much better acting, more due to the character relationships being more believable. This remake felt a little rushed, and I think that is mainly where the characters lost a bit of credibility. The presence of Sam Rockwell really elevated the movie though. He did an excellent job. The CGI/fx of the movie is what made this remake worthwhile. And they didn't overdo it, which was good (I was afraid they would). The spirit realm cgi was a bold new look. Probably one of the biggest selling points.

Not better than the original, but excellent nonetheless! 7.5/10

(tagging a few that had asked about my thoughts... @jakedog56 , @Win TWINS!!! , @Center Ice , @Chef99 )

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Pyramid (2014)


This movie reminded me a lot of one of my favorite horror movies, The Descent. Same sort of situation, but different setting & creature(s). It wasn't as good as it though, but it was still highly entertaining! The cgi was fairly subpar, but the budget was probably the culprit. It could have benefitted from investing a little more in that category. However the nice thing about the shotty cgi is that they didn't make it the main focus, which sort of bypassed its cheesiness. Catch my drift? Catching small glimpses of it, instead of making it front & center... They did have one moment at the end that went against that theory, but it still worked. The plot was a little farfetched, not very scary, but still fairly original with the right amount of suspense. The actors will annoy you, as they all do in the majority of horror/thriller films. I was still surprised by this one, and I will definitely watch it again!

Recommended! 7/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Culling (2015)


Whoa, another indie-horror flick that follows a group of students who get trapped at a creepy house and creepy stuff happens. Screams originality! This movie in a word? Generic. The typical clichés, bad acting, poor plot development, and lame climax. The Culling is a generic movie with a generic plot, generic characters, and generic genericness. It offers nothing new to the genre in any way, and not much works because of it. I wish they spent less time on developing the "drama" or tension between some of the characters and focused more on the creepy shit. Film quality was good, which is about all I can say is good about it. Mild entertainment, so save this for a "starved for new material" sort of night.

Yawn... 5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Extraterrestrial (2014)


As I got to 30 minutes into it, I thought I was going to hate this movie. The beginning & middle are cliché but the ending is a surprising twist. It had the perfect ending that made this movie unique even though the rest of the movie is just, meh. Clever mix of classic teenage horror & classic sci-fi/conspiracy-theory genre. If you are a fan of sci-fi you will enjoy it, but horror enthusiasts will be a bit disappointed. The directors clearly didn't want to make the movie scary, other than jump scares, because the aliens are seen in plain sight all throughout the movie so it turns it into more of a slasher type film which relies more on the element of surprise to scare the viewer. I wish they would have kept them hidden more so it added more of a creepy element. If you are looking more for horror then I would recommend The Fourth Kind (2009) - IMDb instead of this one. This isn't a "found footage" film, but it seems to want to be one. It's sort of a found footage film that simply wasn't shot that way, resulting in something rather awkward.

Entertaining 6.5/10

 

[DJ Fieri]

@jakedog56 did you see this gem that just got added to Netflix???

Going to have to check that out.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Going to have to check that out.

lol... Looks like a sure-fire classic

 

[DJ Fieri]

lol... Looks like a sure-fire classic

No doubt. Looks like a movie made by Sy FY.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I watched the zomedie Detention of the Dead last night.

Not the best zom-com out there. of course Shaun of the Dead is considered the pinicle, but movies like the classic Dead Alive (Peter Jackson's initial breakthrough), Dance of the Dead, Deadheads, Dead Snow, Return of the Living Dead (considered another "classic"), Zombieland, etc. are all superior to it

Zom-coms are not for everyone. They are often gory but rarely scary. Kind of a strange horror sub-genre.

I feel like the zom-com genre is getting overplayed. Shaun of the Dead was groundbreaking, but it should have been left alone after that. I think the only other zom-com that was worthwhile was Zombieland. But that was more due to Woody Harrelson than the movie itself. Emma Stone was a plus, and a short cameo of Bill Murray helped, but the rest was fairly meh.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Regent made the other thread containing the new del Toro movie preview, Crimson Peak.

It looks fantastic!

That does look pretty good! I saw the trailer at the theaters before I saw Poltergeist. Looks pretty intense!

 

[Chef99]

Haha, I might make a little time for "Zombeavers" this afternoon.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Haha, I might make a little time for "Zombeavers" this afternoon.

The tagline is absolutely ridiculous... Or simply too clever for words...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

COMING SOON!

The Gallows (2015)



The Gallows (2015) - IMDb

RELEASE DATE: July 10th

Sorry, but presenting a trailer with the quotes "Perfect horror" and "Scared the living hell outta me" is really pathetic. It makes me think this movie is really reaching for audience, ie it's going to suck so they want to boost sales for opening day. Also, its pretty suspect when they don't release a trailer until a little over 1 month before it comes out. Kind of interested to see what Warner Bros (New Line Cinema) have in store though since they have a pretty good horror/thriller reputation. The Conjuring was awesome, Annabelle not so much. But they at least know how to cast & put together decent films. I'll keep an eye on this one and see how it develops leading into opening day.

 

[beardown07]

Extraterrestrial (2014)


As I got to 30 minutes into it, I thought I was going to hate this movie. The beginning & middle are cliché but the ending is a surprising twist. It had the perfect ending that made this movie unique even though the rest of the movie is just, meh. Clever mix of classic teenage horror & classic sci-fi/conspiracy-theory genre. If you are a fan of sci-fi you will enjoy it, but horror enthusiasts will be a bit disappointed. The directors clearly didn't want to make the movie scary, other than jump scares, because the aliens are seen in plain sight all throughout the movie so it turns it into more of a slasher type film which relies more on the element of surprise to scare the viewer. I wish they would have kept them hidden more so it added more of a creepy element. If you are looking more for horror then I would recommend The Fourth Kind (2009) - IMDb instead of this one. This isn't a "found footage" film, but it seems to want to be one. It's sort of a found footage film that simply wasn't shot that way, resulting in something rather awkward.

Entertaining 6.5/10

The Fourth Kind was fantastic.

The real footage was fucking crazy.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Fourth Kind was fantastic.

The real footage was fucking crazy.

One of my all-time favorites...

 

[Chef99]

Poltergeist (2015)


Dedicating this review to our late friend @RoboticDreams ... You would have loved this movie buddy!

First things first, I DO NOT think this movie was better than the original. Remakes RARELY ever surpass their predecessors, especially when the original is one of the greatest horror films ever made. Obviously it is very difficult for remakes to be as groundbreaking as the original, however, that does not mean that it wasn't a great movie. I thought they did an excellent job recapturing the magic that fans once fell in love with in the first place. The cult-followers of the movie will be quick to point out its flaws, because it obviously tweaked the original. The introduction of technology, the elimination of the original "beast", the extended roles of the siblings, first-person visuals of the spirit realm, twist on the ending, etc etc. The brother annoyed the shit out of me early on, but most of the actors did a pretty good job overall. The biggest drawback of this remake for me was the lack of character development. The original had much better acting, more due to the character relationships being more believable. This remake felt a little rushed, and I think that is mainly where the characters lost a bit of credibility. The presence of Sam Rockwell really elevated the movie though. He did an excellent job. The CGI/fx of the movie is what made this remake worthwhile. And they didn't overdo it, which was good (I was afraid they would). The spirit realm cgi was a bold new look. Probably one of the biggest selling points.

Not better than the original, but excellent nonetheless! 7.5/10

(tagging a few that had asked about my thoughts... @jakedog56 , @Win TWINS!!! , @Center Ice , @Chef99 )

Great review, and I did not know it was a Raimi film. I'm all in.

 

[Chef99]

Speaking of Raimi, has Drag Me To Hell been mentioned here? A fun, crazy-ass movie.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Speaking of Raimi, has Drag Me To Hell been mentioned here? A fun, crazy-ass movie.

Not yet. But feel free to post a review!

I saw that movie a few years ago. Pretty wild! Hated the disgusting old gypsy. Frickin bodily fluids flyin around! Her hacking made me gag.

 

[Chef99]

Re: Zombeavers

Watch. This. Movie.

You won't be sorry, and you will laugh your ass off. If you liked the humor of Cabin Fever, you will like this. And it has plenty of gore to spare.

Added bonus 15 minutes in: Boobies!

 

[DJ Fieri]

Watching Constatine with Keeanu Reeves.

Pretty damn good flick. Haven't seen it in many years.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Re: Zombeavers

Watch. This. Movie.

You won't be sorry, and you will laugh your ass off. If you liked the humor of Cabin Fever, you will like this. And it has plenty of gore to spare.

Added bonus 15 minutes in: Boobies!

Wait... Bewbs in low budget horror/sci-fi films? Never heard of that! lol

I'll probably save this movie for a drinking night lol.