Horror Movies

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Sweetheart (2019)


This film is a pretty simple & effective creature feature. The suspense was decent for how thin the plot was, relying solely on the creature. I loved the way they first made it appear in the flare scene. Pretty badass intro, and an immediate escalation of suspense. I did not watch the trailer beforehand (just read the synopsis) so that helped my case, because I really didn't know what I was in for. The synopsis only stated "dark forces that come out at night". I did, however, become immediately annoyed with the filming of said creature. Instead of giving us a clear shot of it, we get obscured glimpses & dark silhouettes... Sort of frustrating when some of the scenes were deliberate to bring the creature out into focus, and yet the director didn't feel the need to show it? It wasn't for a lack of budget as the creature itself was very well made (makeup/latex monster). I don't think giving us a better glimpse of it earlier on would have detracted from any suspense. Just a quick 1 look would have been good enough to strike fear. The sound fx for the creature were awesome.

There were a few oddball plot strands that didn't get explained. The blood on the boyfriend's pocket knife & the blood in the raft implied that some foul play occurred. And I don't know if that was supposed to be linked to the 2nd body that washed up on the island? Could have used some follow-up on that. Also the previous visitor photographs should have been more honed in on for better effect. They went with a really simple breadcrumb route there, but I don't feel like that really instilled any feelings of dread like they attempted to do. The climax was one of those "go for broke" scenes, which from a screenplay standpoint was a tad farcical. And there were multiple chances in that scene for the creature to rip her guts out (or at the very least maim her) but it didn't, so yea it definitely had a staged feel to it.

The lead role did about the best job you could do with limited dialogue and most scenes are well framed. It had a pretty nice 80's sci-fi style score too. There was some character stupidity, but it was semi-passable given the context of being stranded. Fighting for survival from multiple external forces, both circumstantial & existential, would make it very difficult to make well-thought-out plans. I think the only scene that could have been done "smarter" was the hammock scene. I'm fairly certain the framed shot looking down from the hammock was supposed to make it appear higher up than it did. But to me it only appeared that she hung that hammock around 10-12ft off the ground. She might as well have just hung herself up by the feet & rang the dinner bell like she did to that shark by the tail fin.

Overall this movie was a decent watch. It's an incredibly thin plot and fairly predictable as a result. It has some readily apparent weaknesses mixed with some plot holes, but it was good enough for what it wanted to achieve. Could have used a bit more gore to achieve more shock factor.

BM: 0/10

Effective creature feature... 7/10

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Girl on the 3rd Floor

Just fucking terrible.

Don't ever let CM Punk do another movie again...

You were not kidding, disaster from start to finish.

Any semblance of a scary moment in this movie was overshadowed by my complete and utter confusion. CM Punk is a brutally bad actor.

I honestly wouldn't bother with this one.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Girl on the 3rd Floor

Just fucking terrible.

Don't ever let CM Punk do another movie again...

You were not kidding, disaster from start to finish.

Any semblance of a scary moment in this movie was overshadowed by my complete and utter confusion. CM Punk is a brutally bad actor.

I honestly wouldn't bother with this one.

The wife tried to get me to watch it over the weekend. Thankfully I remembered someone in here saying it was garbage. Going to go ahead and down vote it on Netflix so that the wife doesn't feel tempted again.

Thank you both for the heads up!

 

[Sparhawk]

The wife tried to get me to watch it over the weekend. Thankfully I remembered someone in here saying it was garbage. Going to go ahead and down vote it on Netflix so that the wife doesn't feel tempted again.

Thank you both for the heads up!

For the most part, professional wrestlers that are good on the mic tend to do well in the movies.
80% on Rotten Tomoatoes?????
4.7/10 IMDB

Something seems off...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

For the most part, professional wrestlers that are good on the mic tend to do well in the movies.
80% on Rotten Tomoatoes?????
4.7/10 IMDB

Something seems off...

Could be a troll job lol. RT is full of shit though and its been proven multiple times that they've been paid to give ratings boosts.

IMDB does a decent job with its user ratings. Although it is definitely prone to boosting/inflation in the early life of a film. Give it a few months and it typically settles out in to more accurate territory. My rule of thumb for IMDB ratings is any film with less than 2-3k votes is not to be trusted. 5k for the big-budget blockbuster films.

 

[Sparhawk]

Could be a troll job lol. RT is full of shit though and its been proven multiple times that they've been paid to give ratings boosts.

IMDB does a decent job with its user ratings. Although it is definitely prone to boosting/inflation in the early life of a film. Give it a few months and it typically settles out in to more accurate territory. My rule of thumb for IMDB ratings is any film with less than 2-3k votes is not to be trusted. 5k for the big-budget blockbuster films.

3.5/4 from the Ebert site.
Are they in on it as well?

I used to read Fangoria back in the day and they have Girl on the 3rd Floor as a chainsaw award winning film.

Now I'm friggin' curious, but for whatever reason I also trust the judgment here (anonymous message board!).

The humanity of it all....

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

I honestly wouldn't bother with this one.

and yet... you did.

The wife tried to get me to watch it over the weekend. Thankfully I remembered someone in here saying it was garbage. Going to go ahead and down vote it on Netflix so that the wife doesn't feel tempted again.

Thank you both for the heads up!

For the most part, professional wrestlers that are good on the mic tend to do well in the movies.
80% on Rotten Tomoatoes?????
4.7/10 IMDB

Something seems off...

It was trending Top 10 on Netflix (I think it was #4), so I figured I'd give it a shot.... and I was feeling lazy, not wanting to seek out anything. I didn't even know Netflix added that feature. Fool me once...

It's rare I stop a movie in the middle, but I came extremely close with this one. If not having to get up early for a daughter's v-ball tourney, I would have, and started something else.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

@Sharkonabicycle - have you seen Sweetheart (2019) yet? Pretty cool aquatic creature they used. I'll write a review shortly.

Watching now.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

@FaCe-LeE-uS

Sweetheart, not a bad film, but I feel it really lost some of it's pacing when the other survivors showed up. It would've been interesting if the main actor (who did a pretty good job IMO) just stayed by herself and they focused a bit more on the mythology of the creature. Like when she found the photos with the eyes of the creature, etc? That was really cool... and maybe she could've found some stuff from the prior family that talked about the creature a bit more?

I dunno, when the annoying guy/girl showed up the movie really fell flat for me. And that's when it started with so many of the stupid horror cliches (not believing her, irrational actions, etc.). It's also when they started to show a little too much of the monster.. keep it like Predator.

Everything up until that though was great. The initial chase scene after the lightning was excellent and the flare reveal was top notch. I feel like the director/writers got a little nervous on the slow pacing so 'let's throw in two random plebs to die and we need more action!' Too bad they didn't stick to what made the first half so good.

Not a bad watch, I'd give it a 5/10 (IMDB standards, first half was a solid 6-7, second half was a 3-4 for sure).

 

[Win TWINS!!!]

I dunno, when the annoying guy/girl showed up the movie really fell flat for me. And that's when it started with so many of the stupid horror cliches (not believing her, irrational actions, etc.). It's also when they started to show a little too much of the monster.. keep it like Predator.

I watched this a couple months back, and I agree. The movie fell apart for me, when the 2 showed up. Wasn't necessary IMO, unless the sole purpose was for her to get the raft...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@FaCe-LeE-uS

Sweetheart, not a bad film, but I feel it really lost some of it's pacing when the other survivors showed up. It would've been interesting if the main actor (who did a pretty good job IMO) just stayed by herself and they focused a bit more on the mythology of the creature. Like when she found the photos with the eyes of the creature, etc? That was really cool... and maybe she could've found some stuff from the prior family that talked about the creature a bit more?

I dunno, when the annoying guy/girl showed up the movie really fell flat for me. And that's when it started with so many of the stupid horror cliches (not believing her, irrational actions, etc.). It's also when they started to show a little too much of the monster.. keep it like Predator.

Everything up until that though was great. The initial chase scene after the lightning was excellent and the flare reveal was top notch. I feel like the director/writers got a little nervous on the slow pacing so 'let's throw in two random plebs to die and we need more action!' Too bad they didn't stick to what made the first half so good.

Not a bad watch, I'd give it a 5/10 (IMDB standards, first half was a solid 6-7, second half was a 3-4 for sure).

I watched this a couple months back, and I agree. The movie fell apart for me, when the 2 showed up. Wasn't necessary IMO, unless the sole purpose was for her to get the raft...

Agreed that those 2 characters could have been done without. Did anyone make any connections or figure out the bloody pocketknife & raft bits? Seemed to imply foul play but I didn't make any connections after that? My wife was thinkin that 2nd body that washed up long before they arrived had something to do with it?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Office Uprising (2018)


Yet another chapter to the ever-growing "office horror" series. I believe it all started with Office Killer (1997), which grew into Exam (2009), Bloodsucking Bastards (2015), The Belko Experiment (2016), Mayhem (2017), and now this movie. But these last 3-4 are almost identical, merely rinse & repeating the plot with a different take & a new set of characters. But thankfully for this movie, it's more of a horror comedy so it doesn't take itself seriously like the predecessors do, and it also has a fairly short runtime. Not that it would have deterred me from watching if it did take itself seriously though, because I'm a sucker for cheap thrills regardless.

On the surface this film is a nonsensical & somewhat immature horror comedy. But an underrated highlight to it was the social/societal subtext provided in the dialogue, for which this movie used to drive satire. Commentary on feminism, racism, arms of industry, moral imperatives for social irresponsibility, etc. Some of it was more off the cuff than others, but the way it poked & prodded these social issues was pretty fun & surprisingly genuine. Apart from that satire, the story was sort of flat and impractical.

The acting was decent. The protagonist was sort of an odd duckling but he had good delivery. I was surprised to see Jane Levy in this role, compared to some movies she had done before it (Evil Dead (2013), Don't Breathe (2016)). Sort of a drastic step down for her, as her character didn't really provide a whole lot to this movie other than brief moments of humor and a 'romantic interest' for the protagonist. Karan Soni's character was pretty damn funny. Most of you will know him as the cab driver in the DeadPool movies.

Not a bad watch as far as horror comedies go. And if you're a fan of the 'office horror' types then its a win-win. Just don't expect much more than cheap thrills or popcorn entertainment.

Nonsensical but fun... 6.5/10

 

[Taddy Mason]

Girl on the 3rd Floor

Just fucking terrible.

Don't ever let CM Punk do another movie again...

so i shouldn't give that a view this weekend?

just watched the latest into the dark offering, so many more misses than hits (and it's not like the hits are all that great). a bit disappointing as i thought the second season got off to a decent start with that board game one for halloween, the pilgrim one for thanksgiving, and then the christmas one, which really wasn't horror and had more of a who's afraid of virginia woolf vibe, though still might have been my favorite of the series. now it's immediately been followed by three duds in a row.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Occupation (2018)


If you ever want to see a movie that tries to autotune your emotions via its score, this is it. I shit you not it was a like watching an Aussie Disney flick about an alien invasion. Dude on the keyboards was trying to create his own symphony. I found myself paying more attention to the score than I did the movie itself. Seriously distracting. Not that I was missing much of anything though.

This movie was just plain bad. The plot was worthy of a sequel of a bad movie to begin with. It starts off ok, introducing us to a lengthy list of characters with brief background-building scenes. But it goes downhill fast after the initial invasion. Stereotypes & clichés ran rampant, and the cgi/fx was reminiscent of the late 90's. Reminded me of my childhood watching Power Rangers. This film tried so hard to be like Red Dawn (2012) or Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010), and possibly even Falling Skies (tv series) but didn't even come close. And the acting was a notch under "below average".

This movie is a great example of inflated ratings. It's not as often as RT, but it still happens on IMDB. This movie has an average IMDB user rating of 5.4 right now and was as high as 6 for a time, but in reality it should be closer to a 3. I'm not even sure how my wife & I made it halfway into this film, but we eventually turned it off. And that's rare grounds for me as I'm a glutton for punishment with bad sci-fi/horror films. I typically stick it out no matter what. If you want to be reminded of what 90's Disney movies were like with splashes of Sci-Fi then this may be just the movie for you.

And guess what!? They made a sequel (expected this summer): Occupation: Rainfall (2020) - IMDb

Oh happy day.

Dreadfully bad... 2/10

 

[seattlefan75]

Just watched it as well and will review it shortly. Agreed, very strange. The predictability was sort of painful for me. But I loved the imagery, score, and subtle fx/cgi. The score was almost hypnotic. That maypole song in particular, holy hell.

Quite the experience. Felt like the viewer got to partake in the hallucinogens as well.

I also wished we got to see or experience more of the deaths. I don't recall if we ever got to see what happened to Will Poulter's character, Mark? The one that pissed on the elder tree. He just followed that chick out into the woods and we never saw him again. Nor did we get to see how Josh or Connie died. Just got a quick glimpse of Josh's leg in a garden.

Just saw the movie I am not a fan I would barely put it in as a horror and I agree they should have shown more of the deaths I actually had to google how connie died. After watching hereditary I thought this was going to be an awesome movie but it was a let down

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Look Away (2018)


This movie wasn't necessarily great, but it delivers allthesame. The suspense is lacking and the story sort of devolves at midway to drive a character arc, but the progression is still enthralling. That in combination with a stellar cast made for an easy watch.

The progression for this movie was pretty good. It develops into a very moody & creepy movie from an early point. There was a solid plan with this movie, but around the half-way mark that plan seemed to devolve into a story of obsession & self-pity. I didn't care for where the story went with alter-Maria (Airam) and her friend's boyfriend. It was passable though and plenty sinister for my tastes. I just didn't like how it went from being evil & clever and focused more on an emotional arc. But in hindsight it was necessary for Maria's character arc. We did get to see her enact plenty of revenge, culminating in a wild climax to get her ultimate revenge on the man that essentially created her poisoned soul.

This movie was somewhat ambiguous. It doesn't provide enough information for the viewer to decide one way or the other as to what the truth is behind all of this hidden mayhem. It can be deduced as either psychological trauma or merely the more evident possession. The father is a suppressing control freak that mandates perfection within his house (both behavioral & physical appearance), and the traumatized mother seems to struggle with disillusionment &/or mental illness in an all-too passive manner. It's a very poisonous atmosphere for a young & impressionable mind to grow up in, combined with all of the social trauma from high school, so the psychological route seems plausible (bipolar/dissociative identity disorder). But the movie doesn't really allude to it, rather it focuses on the messed up childbirth event giving way to the possession route. Her mother's apparent 'connection' to her daughter was sort of difficult to comprehend, so maybe the spirit of her dead twin was imprinted on her. Everything makes more sense with that understanding.

The cast was great. India Eisley was exceptional to say the least. Don't believe I have ever seen her before, at least not in a lead role but she knocked it outta the park. Playing 2 characters essentially: going from a disturbed & meek teenager to a confident, angry alter-ego was flawless. She played her character's tragic story remarkably well. I would love to see more of this young actress in this genre.

It was far from a polished product. There are flaws and I think the ending needed something more, but I was hooked all throughout and I'm glad I stayed the course because it delivers. It was like a more modernized vision of Carrie (1976) and takes concepts from The Unborn (2009) & Mirrors (2008). Definitely worth the watch, even if this isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea!

BM: 6/10 (full frontal added 3 alone)

Sinister entertainment... 7.5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Just saw the movie I am not a fan I would barely put it in as a horror and I agree they should have shown more of the deaths I actually had to google how connie died. After watching hereditary I thought this was going to be an awesome movie but it was a let down

Definitely a different and unexpected experience. Bizarre & strange to say the least, but it was worth the watch.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

VFW (2019)


This movie wasn't even close to being fun as I thought it would be. The excitement from the trailer took a long time to arrive & it was oddly paced. There was a tiresome amount of banter dialogue around the bar in the early goings that completely took me out of it, but once the chaos picks up it gets somewhat better. The execution of this grindhouse film left a lot to be desired, and it barely delivers on the violence I was hoping for. The gore was poorly shown due to atrocious lighting and amateur framing. The production was all around bad. The finale was very poorly done from a production standpoint. Cutting up three different times of day into a single sequence just hoping no one notices is bush-league. Not to mention the entire plot takes place in 2-3 locations which were supposed to appear in close proximity, but they didn't. These are film-school level mistakes. Shame on Fangoria.

The cast should have been better, and I blame the writers & director for it. The script was odd to say the least, and it didn't really allow for any one of the actors to shine or make any sort of mark. And the girl they are defending should have been tossed out into the street for being such an ungrateful twat. Seriously, F that character.

Current ratings should be viewed as overrated, but give it time to settle down to its more accurate 4-5 territory. Grindhouse fans that enjoyed Hobo With A Shotgun (2011), Machete (2010) or Planet Terror (2007) may like this one more than I did, but it was definitely LOW-budget material.

Bush league grindhouse film... 4/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Lost another film titan & horror icon today gentlemen...

RIP to the legend Max Von Sydow!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Dead Shack (2017)


Shudder exclusive film. This is one of those horror comedies that requires you to buy into its gimmick for it to really work its magic, else you'll feel like this was a half-baked, lackluster & derivative film. It either works, or it doesn't. For me, I was drawn in by the father from the beginning. His brand of off the cuff bullshitting, aka dad mannerisms, combined with his alcoholic obliteration had an instant connection to my funny bone. His humor, even in tense moments was damn funny. "Ugggh this is so boring!" or "Is it bad!? Yea it's pretty bad!" The sister also had some good lines, but it was more a product of her father that drove it. The motor-mouthed brother wasn't as candid and arguably came across as excessive, but he wasn't a problem. They're all branded as immature assholes from the beginning, so the humor may not land very well with everyone. The narrative threads between the characters is repressed by that realization. Also, the majority of the commentary is geared towards younger generations.

I'll admit that this horror comedy starts off stronger than it finishes, but there is still some good moments sprinkled throughout the remainder of the film that make it all worthwhile. The film deploys some fun set-pieces, like the suiting up montage, and delivers a few worthy gore gags. Fun fact, this canadian film used a kickstarter to fund itself. The shoestring budget made it more impressive as there was certainly no shortage of gore, and the blood fx was all very well done. Not to mention the cinematography was excellent.

Overall it was a decent horror comedy. Its definitely tailored to a younger audience, and it takes a leap of faith for the audience to buy into its gimmicky nature. It doesn't try to intertwine much "scare" into this film as most of the ideas are intended to be humorous as every tense moment either has comedic undertones or a punchline to follow suit. For whatever its worth I enjoyed the film, but I don't know if it will land as well with others.

Gimmicky but fun... 6.5/10