Horror Movies

[DJ]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)


Not to dismiss the negativity in here about this movie, but I want to show it some support! No this movie is not better than the first 2, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lot more heavy-handed with modern horror tropes, but I think it did enough to stay true to the vibes that made the first 2 films in this franchise so popular. It leaned more to the mystery horror theme which presented some fallacies (as pointed out by others), but I thought it it was still very entertaining and a fresher take for the franchise. Playing towards the same plots as the first two could have grown stagnant, much like what happened with the Insidious franchise. There's only so many times that you can rinse & repeat before it gets stagnant & boring. And people complaining about the jump-scares must not have remembered the previous films, because it used the same amount as these films always do. They were a little more telegraphed at times but the scare makeup is still the same.

One thing that was lacking was with character building. The previous films did a great job of connecting us to everyone involved in the story, whereas this film did little to make us care about anyone outside of Ed & Lorraine Warren. The Arne Johnson character should have pulled a lot more emotion, and they had an easy opportunity with his step-brother (?) & girlfriend. They gave him numerous moments to do so (none more so than the ending when awaiting his verdict at trial) but they all fell very flat. They did play up the Warren relationship angle again, going further into the background to explain what makes them click, which was a highlight. I hope they weren't going for a sense of closure to their characters, and rather continuing to build the connection that makes these 2 so much fun to watch.

The film has a good pace and a decent story, even if it does present some problems. As always its helped by the tenuous link to a true story basis which adds a more terrifying undertone. I didn't get the feeling that the majority of scenes felt staged. Everything was polished & felt fluid. The psychic visions are meant to look & feel dream-like & surreal. It did take a lot more risks in this bold new venture. The first 2 Conjuring films were mostly contained in one location with the Warrens facing off against the demons in a battle of attrition type confrontation. This film took on more of a small-town setting where the Warrens traverse the town while they investigate the paranormal/occult mystery. This changed the dynamic of the film where the constant pressure & tension is broken up by periods of run-time for investigative threads. While interesting & ultimately worth the pay-off, this did dilute the "Conjuring experience." The dark occult magic angle was open to a lot more interpretation, which presented some logical flaws. Everything from how the curse totems worked, to how the possessions & demons manifested... It worked ok but did present more questions than answers. But I thought the witch/occultist character was decently vetted out enough to work with the plot, and it leads me to believe that it was pulling an emotional string on the Warrens and ultimately how they raise their daughter.

If you're a fan of the previous films then you know what you're going to get. Well produced, slick horror with paranormal mystery, jump-scares and well-timed score. From top to bottom its well made and tailored to unsettle the audience. But as I said before, this movie has a different dynamic that is much bolder and as a result it doesn't have the same amount of tension as the previous films. Which isn't to say that the movie isn't good. It is still a very good film. It just didn't raise the bar as it was being sold to do. Saying things like "the most terrifying case the Warren's worked on" made it appear to be raising that bar. I certainly hope this isn't the last we get to see the Warrens.

A bold & fresh take on the Warren saga... 7.5/10

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)


Not to dismiss the negativity in here about this movie, but I want to show it some support! No this movie is not better than the first 2, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a lot more heavy-handed with modern horror tropes, but I think it did enough to stay true to the vibes that made the first 2 films in this franchise so popular. It leaned more to the mystery horror theme which presented some fallacies (as pointed out by others), but I thought it it was still very entertaining and a fresher take for the franchise. Playing towards the same plots as the first two could have grown stagnant, much like what happened with the Insidious franchise. There's only so many times that you can rinse & repeat before it gets stagnant & boring. And people complaining about the jump-scares must not have remembered the previous films, because it used the same amount as these films always do. They were a little more telegraphed at times but the scare makeup is still the same.

One thing that was lacking was with character building. The previous films did a great job of connecting us to everyone involved in the story, whereas this film did little to make us care about anyone outside of Ed & Lorraine Warren. The Arne Johnson character should have pulled a lot more emotion, and they had an easy opportunity with his step-brother (?) & girlfriend. They gave him numerous moments to do so (none more so than the ending when awaiting his verdict at trial) but they all fell very flat. They did play up the Warren relationship angle again, going further into the background to explain what makes them click, which was a highlight. I hope they weren't going for a sense of closure to their characters, and rather continuing to build the connection that makes these 2 so much fun to watch.

The film has a good pace and a decent story, even if it does present some problems. As always its helped by the tenuous link to a true story basis which adds a more terrifying undertone. I didn't get the feeling that the majority of scenes felt staged. Everything was polished & felt fluid. The psychic visions are meant to look & feel dream-like & surreal. It did take a lot more risks in this bold new venture. The first 2 Conjuring films were mostly contained in one location with the Warrens facing off against the demons in a battle of attrition type confrontation. This film took on more of a small-town setting where the Warrens traverse the town while they investigate the paranormal/occult mystery. This changed the dynamic of the film where the constant pressure & tension is broken up by periods of run-time for investigative threads. While interesting & ultimately worth the pay-off, this did dilute the "Conjuring experience." The dark occult magic angle was open to a lot more interpretation, which presented some logical flaws. Everything from how the curse totems worked, to how the possessions & demons manifested... It worked ok but did present more questions than answers. But I thought the witch/occultist character was decently vetted out enough to work with the plot, and it leads me to believe that it was pulling an emotional string on the Warrens and ultimately how they raise their daughter.

If you're a fan of the previous films then you know what you're going to get. Well produced, slick horror with paranormal mystery, jump-scares and well-timed score. From top to bottom its well made and tailored to unsettle the audience. But as I said before, this movie has a different dynamic that is much bolder and as a result it doesn't have the same amount of tension as the previous films. Which isn't to say that the movie isn't good. It is still a very good film. It just didn't raise the bar as it was being sold to do. Saying things like "the most terrifying case the Warren's worked on" made it appear to be raising that bar. I certainly hope this isn't the last we get to see the Warrens.

A bold & fresh take on the Warren saga... 7.5/10

See, this is one of those moments where I would love to sit down with you to watch and discuss it lol. We are on polar opposites here lol.

 

[returnofjakedog]

We made it to page#

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

We made it to page#
View attachment 272703

And we ain't even close to bein done!!!!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

See, this is one of those moments where I would love to sit down with you to watch and discuss it lol. We are on polar opposites here lol.

Definitely. Nothin but respect though my dude. I've always said that I value the range of opinions we have in here! Always makes for more interesting convo!

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

Definitely. Nothin but respect though my dude. I've always said that I value the range of opinions we have in here! Always makes for more interesting convo!

Honestly, I love to discuss movies with people. I do it at work all the time lol.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Honestly, I love to discuss movies with people. I do it at work all the time lol.

I used to have that outlet with a coworker that loved horror movies but I don't work with him anymore. Only have my wife & you degenerates in here lol

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

If you guys want a frustrating movie to talk about then give the new sci-fi thriller Awake (2021) on Netflix a go... Interesting sci-fi concept but almost zero explanation or logical flow. Tryin to decide if I want to review it. Not horror at all, and if I review somethin like that in here I usually reserve that for movies that are worth your time lol.

 

[returnofjakedog]

It's been awhile, but just watched my man Henry Rollins in He Never Died. IMO the trailer gives too much away, but here it is anyways.


Good supernatural biblical comedy action horror flick. Certainly a different vibe.

I won't pull a full review on it, but worth watching. 8 out of 10 but I am biased to anything Rollins related.

So I just watched She Never Died (2019), which is kind of a spiritual remake of 2015's He Never Died which starred Henry Rollins.


I never did a full review of He Never Dies. It is a solid horror with some really dark comedy. Henry Rollins plays a reclusive loner who happens to be an immortal fallen angel doomed to walk Earth for eternity. He finds out he has a teenage daughter, then runs afoul of some organized crime guys trying to save her.
I am very biased towards Henry Rollins but I think he did a great job in it, and I would certainly recommend it.

Skip forward to 2019 and She Never Died. This project started out with the intention of creating a series, but that fell through so they repurposed the script to make a sequel instead. Because of this, it is essentially the same plot as the first movie, only with actress stars Olunike Adeliyi in the fallen angel role, a random street chick in place of the daughter, and a 70 some year old police officer thrown in for no apparent reason except to set them (street chick and old detective) up for the non-existent series.

The good:
*The storyline. It was good in the first movie, and still is here. But the changes that were made hurt rather than help.
*The lead actress Adeliyi is pretty good. She isn't as solid as Rollins was, but she handles the role well.
*Soundtrack is decent.
*Professionally shot.

The bad:
*The biggest issue to me is that it feels like the pilot of a tv series, as it was originally intended to be. This reeks of laziness, or at least serious time constraints involved. If you are going to change from a series pilot to a movie, then your intentions regarding wrapping up storylines, character development, etc should also changed. It seems here like they barely bothered with any rewrites.
*The humor of the first is almost nonexistent here.
*Generic bad guys with the possible exception of the big main muscle guy.
*The flow is a little off and character reactions don't all seem very natural.
*Lack of a solid conclusion, again probably due to the original intent of making it a series.

A bit disappointing overall.
I gave He Never Died an 8 outta 10. Even @Taddy Mason gave it a fairly positive review and he is often a sharp critic.
I'll go 5.5 to 6 outta 10 range on She Never Died. It just fell short of the original.

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

 

[Blackshirts BLVD]

If you guys want a frustrating movie to talk about then give the new sci-fi thriller Awake (2021) on Netflix a go... Interesting sci-fi concept but almost zero explanation or logical flow. Tryin to decide if I want to review it. Not horror at all, and if I review somethin like that in here I usually reserve that for movies that are worth your time lol.

Yeah, I feel the same about Willys Wonderland. I have kind of been putting off reviewing it as it didn't feel like a real movie. Felt more like a fan-made short for fun (even though it is feature-length).

But here goes. Pretty low budget, but they utilize it to work ok. The acting is pretty bad, the effects aren't very good. The camera work is weird, some solid looks, other REALLY REALLY BAD takes. I think they were using a rectilinear lens or something for some of the shots, either way it looked really bad and made it look lower quality than I think they were hoping for.

Spoiler alert.... Cage doesn't say a word in the entire movie lol.

Come in with these low expectations I have set for you and you will enjoy it somewhat. 3/10 as an actual movie. 6/10 for as a weird, fun Chuck E. Cheese-style horror nonsense.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Yeah, I feel the same about Willys Wonderland. I have kind of been putting off reviewing it as it didn't feel like a real movie. Felt more like a fan-made short for fun (even though it is feature-length).

But here goes. Pretty low budget, but they utilize it to work ok. The acting is pretty bad, the effects aren't very good. The camera work is weird, some solid looks, other REALLY REALLY BAD takes. I think they were using a rectilinear lens or something for some of the shots, either way it looked really bad and made it look lower quality than I think they were hoping for.

Spoiler alert.... Cage doesn't say a word in the entire movie lol.

Come in with these low expectations I have set for you and you will enjoy it somewhat. 3/10 as an actual movie. 6/10 for as a weird, fun Chuck E. Cheese-style horror nonsense.

I wonder what Nic Cage was thinking when they pitched that role to him…

Probably not much thinking was involved since he never turns down a role

 

[UVA_Guy81]

I wonder what Nic Cage was thinking when they pitched that role to him…

Probably not much thinking was involved since he never turns down a role

I feel like that's a lot of former top tier celebrities now. Bruce Willis, Robert DeNiro and John Travolta to name a few others.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I feel like that's a lot of former top tier celebrities now. Bruce Willis, Robert DeNiro and John Travolta to name a few others.

Yea the old guard sotospeak is definitely seeing some turnover. There are a lot more cheaper actors out there that have equal (if not better) acting skills that have similar 'presence' in their acting abilities. Those older vets were probably asking too much for too long until the work dried up.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

 

[DJ]

 

[DJ]

I got so fucked up recently....