Reviews

This is just some Paul Anderson cash grab, crap fest abomination that carries Resident Evil title, features some zombies, loud music, gun shots, explosions and one of the worst directing and editing I've ever seen. Every scene in this movie, right from the start, is shot with shaky camera and fast cuts.I don't know who thought that this approach would make The Final chapter a better movie, because it made it the worst, and hopefully the last under the supervision of Paul Anderson. There was only one scene, one moment, where the glory of the real Resident Evil showed some signs of life, but that scene was butchered with amazingly awful editing that made my eyes hurt. What the hell happened to you Paul? It seems the glory of Event Horizon will remain the peak of his career. Now lets just hope they let Resident Evil rest for some time before they reboot it with proper people behind the camera, people who understand what RE is all about.

These movies were never made for Oscar consideration, I understand that, but the first three at least tried something. Creating some kind of mythology, war between vampires and lycans. Solid concept for the fans of these types of films that offer a bit of story and focus more on action and gore. First Underworld, released back in 2003, is pretty solid action-horror film. Sequel, Underworld: Evolution expanded the origin story for these species, while Underworld: Rise of the Lycans served as prequel, giving us idea how and why the whole grudge between vampires and lycans started. Then came 4th film, Awakening, solid concept but lame execution. Very forgettable film, even for Underworld fans. And now we have Blood Wars, 5th and worst in the franchise. Nothing in this movie works. Action, the strongest point in these types of films, was so poorly edited and is completely boring. Overall, movie is so badly directed and edited, filled with lame dialogue and shameful acting. Even the effects were not that great, with so many cringe worthy moments. Such a disaster.

Denis Villeneuve is without a doubt an upcoming director and I can't wait to see Blade Runner 2049. Prisoners, Sicario and now Arrival (haven't seen Enemy yet, or some of his earlier work). Denis knows how to capture the tension. It is almost the strongest point of all of his films. Minimal use of computer generated images, and main focus on story, characters, acting and thrilling scenes. Back on IMDb board, I have noticed a lot of people calling Arrival a boring movie. So many hypocrites these days. People trying to point out every possible flaw to look and sound smarter while at the same time hailing far worse movies. Calling it boring and slow while at the same time complaining no originality in Hollywood, only giant CGI laser explosions extravaganza. Go watch Independence Day. In Arrival there is no action, no explosions, just some amazing acting performances combined with good directing, editing and cinematography. There was not a single moment I felt bored.

If you are tired of modern horror films filled with cheap and forced jump scares constructed in a way of muting down the sounds and then throwing an explosion of loud noises in your face to try to scare you, and are rather interested in watching a film filled with tension, dreadful atmosphere, interesting characters, symbolism and pure nightmare images look no further. Baskin (aka Police Raid) is a Turkish horror film directed by Can Evrol (in his directorial debut) and is based on short horror film of the same name. Story follows a group of police officers who stumble upon a Black Mass in an abandoned building. Sure, probably not an original scenario. You might feel like you probably seen this before, but it is the approach and execution that allows this film to rise above most of today's horror films. Tension is always present in Baskin, and it's dark and dreadful atmosphere builds all around you and won't let go so closing your eyes will mean nothing but surrender. Also, instead of a group of stupid, drunk and naked teens, this time we have a group of mature, experienced police officers and seeing them being overwhelmed with terror is even more frightening. There is a scene in which one of those police officers enters a room only to behold scenery so terrifying he loses his mind and starts screaming. There were no jump scares, just genuine terror. Maybe the last 20 minutes were kinda disappointing compared to the first half of the film, but Baskin is still overall a strong horror ride. If you are not a fan of violent and gory films, better skip this one. But if you're open minded and enjoy all types of horror movies you should definitely pay a visit to this hellish nightmare.

From director André Øvredal (Trollhunter) comes one of the best horror movies of 2016, The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Suspenseful, clever and creepy from start to finish this horror movie follows the story of father and son (played by Brain Cox and Emile Hirsch), both coroners, as they experience unexplained and paranormal events while examining the body of an unidentified woman (played by Olwen Kelly). Execution is superb, from directing, editing, camera-work, color grading, sound editing, dialogue. Movie also features some fine acting, most notably from Brian Cox (no surprise there) There is not a single moment where I felt bored, tension is always present and creepy atmosphere makes it very enjoyable. Also scares don't feel forced but rather real and well earned. Maybe couple of shortcomings or sins here and there prevent it to be a masterpiece, but it is still a very damn good movie. Simple story skillfully executed. Horror is not dead, it is still here and very alive, you just need to have passionate and talented people working behind the cameras.

This has to be one of the finest zombie and horror films in general I have ever seen. Extremely thrilling and captivating from start to finish. Everything in this film has done with passion and care. From the characters and heartbreaking moments they go through, visceral zombie attacks, acting and camera work down to dialogue. Everything works great. This is what World War Z should and could have been. Sure the plot of the film is not original, because yet again we are shown the struggle and survival of people during zombie pandemic, but the way the story is approached and executed is beyond most of the average mainstream horror movies we get these days. If you are a fan of zombie films you will definitely enjoy this horror gem.

I want to start this review with saying that I am not completely against jump scares. They play integral part of horror movies, but when a movie mostly relies on them and is not supported with great story, I am always left displeased. What makes The Wailing so special is that there are almost no jump scares at all in this film. Instead, we, the viewers, are taken through a story rich with mystery, great characters and their struggles, dark atmosphere with well designed and amazingly crafted horror scenes that make your blood run cold. Also, in addition the movie carries a great subtext left for the viewer to question, find evidence and interpret it. You can feel that the director took some time and did some research to give us as much real horror experience as possible. One might find The Wailing a bit boring because the film is a slow burner and not constructed as most of modern horror films, or might find the film too long (running time 2h 36min) but if you are patient man it will pay off by the end.

Who says that the horror genre is dead. You just have to look beyond those cash grab mainstream horror films with wide releases and you might find some hidden gems.