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theantleredcrown
All of my novels are stand-alone novellas, each with a cast of people I hope my readers will come to love as much as I have.
I love to blog about my love of movies, books, sustainability, conservation, gardening and much more. Through IMDB, I hope to help horror and thriller fans like me to find good movies and to build connections.
To connect with me, you can find me on any of the social media below:
Instagram (personal): @authorionacaldwell
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Twitter: @IonaCaldwell7
Goodreads: @IonaCaldwell
Book/ Movie Review Blog: theantleredcrown.weebly.com
Personal Blog: theoakenking.home.blog
For any inquiries involving reviews, contact me at theantleredcrown@gmail.com
Reviews
Gnaw (2017)
Nice Creature Design
I have mixed feelings about this movie. It moved incredibly slow and while it did introduce the faceless menace through the form of the bites, it became repetitive to the point I was saying "Enough already." The world was very shallow as were the characters despite the movie being a character driven plot. This being said, I did like the inciting incident. It happened very suddenly and shifted the feeling of the story drastically.
Something else I liked about this, aside from the adorable little creature design, was the way the main character was able to act on her own. The story didn't rely on a small group of people to keep the terror moving. Penelope Mitchell did a wonderful job with her character acting.
I also really liked how the main character didn't rely on a male counter-part to stand against the creature. It seems to be a thing nowadays in horror movies where a woman needs help from an alpha male. As a matter of fact, the popular trope was replaced by a character named Terry whom I happened to be a very big fan of. He was very sweet and supportive, respectful and appreciative of Jennifer.
In the end, this movie was entertaining. The creature, though creepy as hell, was something I found adorable. I really wanted the pewter figure for my own room. It reminded me of a fae. If anything, watch it for the final showdown between Jennifer and the Jedak, it's worth it.
Dark Was the Night (2014)
Beautiful Characters, Wonderful Story
I have had the pleasure of watching Dark Was the Night not once but twice. It is a supernatural horror filled with an overwhelming amount of tension set in the small town of Maiden Woods. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) has suffered an extreme loss - one he punishes himself for on a daily basis while trying to balance the demanding job of a town under siege. Aided by his young deputy (Lukas Haas), the two are the only thing that stands between the small town and a hungry beast. What begins as supposed prank by the local kids soon darkens when Sheriff Shields must accept he is dealing with something not of this world. I personally found this movie a truly beautiful experience. It is full of tension immediately following the gruesome murder of a team of loggers. A powerful example of a story hook if there ever was one.
The cast of characters breathed life into the very real pain any parent who has lost a child suffers. Sheriff Shields gives us a sense of feeling haunted yet teeters on the edge losing control of his sanity which he copes with by drowning himself with work. He is down on himself, a character embodying darkness before the creature is even introduced. His deputy Donny (Lukas Haas) serves as a character of light, the opposite of the sheriff, almost a saving grace. This is further supported when we learn of Donny's own brush with death after being shot in the busy New York streets.
Cool filters are added to give a blue hue to the film which enriches the movie with the perfect tonal setting. The season in which the production was shot is in the winter. All of these factors add to the overall tone, setting the perfect stage prior to the grisly murders. This movie has one of the most beautiful soundtracks - a perfect balance of tension, horror and downtrodden - tracks. It is one I often listen to when writing my own horror novels and one I recommend to horror authors looking for a good mix of tonal beats.
One of the best things about this movie was how the creature remained faceless, something I wish the screenwriter, Tyler Hisel, would have kept unknown. Revealing the creature took away the horrifying setting the movie worked hard to create. It's something I wish more horror and supernatural thriller writers would do - keep the faceless malice. I find it makes the movie more powerful (at least to me).
With the strong character flaws, gorgeous cinematography, great music and a creature guaranteed to leave viewers looking over their shoulder at night, Dark Was the Night is a horror film I'd recommend to lovers of creature features. This being said, I'd urge anyone watching the movie to leave their minds open and see the film for what it is - a look into the human condition.
Messengers 2: The Scarecrow (2009)
Had Potential, Fell Flat
The cast of characters appeared very flat to me and a bit oblivious. At the beginning of the film, the wife seemed supportive and indicated she stood by her husband no matter what hardship may come their way. The children didn't even appear to have a purpose and popped in and out, which, as an author, indicated to me that they were characters capable of being omitted in their entirety. This showed a small amount of weak writing since all characters need to remain pertinent to the script. The characters themselves, excluding Rollins, remained oblivious to blaring obvious signs something was wrong. In modern horror, what makes it powerful is when the characters themselves become aware something is wrong and remain consistent unless signs are not as transparent. In this movie, one could not ignore these signs, yet the wife blames her husband and breaks the promise of "support" despite what he tried to tell her. As I said, this would not be a problem if the supernatural signs weren't so easily noticed. If the wife truly knew her husband, she would know he wouldn't have murdered the lover she clearly pushed away. The son would stand with his father and try to tell his mother about the scarecrow since he was the one who noticed the trouble in the first place. Many little things like this broke believability and created a massive inconsistency.
Many horror movies I've reviewed utilized different filters, such as in Dawn of the Dead and Dark Was the Night, to really bring out the mood of the movie. Messengers 2: The Scarecrow did not do this. This lack of lens filters does not crucify the tone since the mood of the family and the condition of hopeless and helplessness was there. However, adding something, even the smallest of filters might have helped unify the different components and might've made it more appealing to the eye. For this movie, as with My Bloody Valentine, I found myself not truly immersed in the environment due to this lack. Even Stephen King's It and Pet Sematary (2019) utilized this most basic of cinematography to unify the tone.
Now, I enjoy the scarecrow as a figure of horror. I believe it is often under-used since the figure itself is bathed in a plethora of dark folklore. But, this movie, I feel under-used this rather powerful symbol in the aspect of horror. While I enjoyed the design of the scarecrow itself, the fear of it appeared to lack in many of the movie's aspects. The use of dreams and visions during the later part of the film really amped up the tension but I would have liked to see and feel this all throughout the movie.
The ending of the movie ruined it in its entirety for me. I enjoy the "faceless terror" and "cursed object" themes very much so bringing the scarecrow to life shattered these things for me. The ending scene itself was ridiculous. That kid on the tractor showed a level of cheesiness typical of B-type horror unnecessary for this feature. Rollins burned the creature and it remained unharmed, yet being run over by a tractor and pulled apart managed to stop it for the time being? Doubt it.
All in all, this movie disappointed me. Norman Reedus is someone I expected more of since he has done so well with Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead. I do not recommend this movie unless you like typical cheesy horror or are a fan of scarecrows in general.