After the second part focused on entirely different characters, Sarah Butler is back for the third part, "I Spit on Your Grave: Vengeance is Mine", to reprise her role as 'Jennifer Hills'. She had changed her name to 'Angela' though, and we pretty much see the aftermath of the events that took place in the first film. Of course just of the remake and not the first first one. Directed by R.D. Braunstein, with whose work I am not familiar with at all aside from this film here, I must say that I enjoyed this one as well. It is nowhere close to be as good as the first part, but here is some genuine character development to be found. Not only with 'Jennifer' but also with 'Marla' (Jennifer Landon) and 'Oscar' (Doug McKeon), whose character I absolutely loved and it is great he was included in this film. It gave it so much more depth. To amp up the gore, this film uses many fake outs though. Meaning, that you actually get a decent amount of cool bloody shots, but most of them turn out to be just in 'Jennifer's head. Like in an -what if- scenario. It kind of shows that mental state she is in at this point, but sometimes it feels, like there were scenes only included for the sake of having them in them. The last one we get to see, for example, makes no sense. Usually this film went for it in an understandable way. Someone says something offending to her, she bludgeons them as a response, then we cut back to reality and she walks away without having harmed anyone. As if these scenes showed her desire of what she'd love to do in that moment. in the end you see her getting attacked by two fellow prison inmates, which she deals with in the usual violent fashion. Then the therapist shows up to stop her and she just turns around and still on an adrenaline rush 'Jennifer' takes her out, too. And it was a fake out again. She walks away, not covered in blood... nothing actually happened. But she wasn't reacting to anything in that moment. So what? Does she now randomly fantasize -what if- scenarios? Becoming totally mental? I think, this scene hurt the movie actually a little, because it will not just leave me confused. But makes for a good start to theorize the hell out of it, just as I did after I watched it with my wife. It's cool when movies make you wanna talk about them afterwards. For a third part this was good, but nothing all too special. "I Spit on Your Grave: Vengeance is Mine" has some really good moments, especially when it comes to the character build stuff. But it isn't that thrill ride we're used to from previous parts.
Reviews
55 Reviews
2036 Origin Unknown
(2018)
Very monotone and boring
29 June 2018
Only one year after "The Beyond", director Hasraf Dulull releases his next take on the Sci-Fi genre in form of "2036 Origin Unknown". And once again we get a movie that is quite boring. Even more than "The Beyond". For pretty much the entire runtime Katee Sackhoff (who is mostly known for the lesbian merc who wanted to get laid by Riddick...) is alone in one room, communicating with the A.I. system of the ship or her character's sister via a monitor. And here we get the main problem. Let's face it, Katee Sackhoff is not a Tom Hanks kind of actress, to pull this off properly and you feel that very early on in the movie. She does a decent job working with what she is given, but in the end this movie is very monotone and yes, boring. On top you do get some shots from "Mars", but nothing that even get's close to look good at all. If you are looking for that, watch "The Martian". "2036 Origin Unknown" doesn't feel terrible or unwatchable, it just feels like a waste of time. Even for hardcore Sci-Fi fans.
The Wailing
(2016)
Somewhere in the middle
18 June 2018
Watching "The Wailing" is quite an undertaking. With a runtime of almost 3 hours this Korean Horror-Triller is a shear beast. Unfortunately I feel like pretty much more than half the runtime should have been cut. "The Wailing" circles around in a seemingly endless "who done it" or, to be more precise, "who is it" and even though the acting of our lead Do-won Kwak was not too bad, the dialogues bothered me constantly. I find myself repeating this for about every Asian movie and I assume it must be a cultural thing. I mostly find the talk so generic and pointless, that you could reduce some movies to 5-10 important lines and let them be quiet for the entire rest of the runtime. And this movie is no different. The best acting performance was delivered by Jun Kunimura, who not only presented a great play with mimic, but also refused to talk much (I bet he knew I would appreciate that). The cinematography was pretty good and I liked the realistic appearing gore effects. Not so much on the "possessed zombies" but therefore on the crime scenes and such. With that many pro's and con's "The Wailing" ends up somewhere in the middle and can therefore be labeled average.
Forsaken
(II) (2016)
Not again!
17 June 2018
Justin Price did it again. He created a Horror film so bad, that it almost hurts to watch it and only true survivors will be able to sit through this horrible movie all the way to the end. If you have seen "The 13th Friday" you kinda know what will await you in "Forsaken". At least in terms of quality. Bad acting, bad writing, bad dialogues but at least one or two nice make up effects. Of course this won't carry an entire movie and so "Forsaken" should be avoided at all costs. So far I have only seen this one and Price's follow up "The 13th Friday". But for me there is definetely a pattern to spot. As soon as a future (or past) movie has the "Director: Justin Price" tag on it, I won't watch it. Lesson learned.
One Missed Call
(2008)
When the film itself already lacks any form of vision and respect for its origin...
19 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
"One Missed Call" is a remake of the Japanese version from 2003, was directed by Eric Valette and stars Shannyn Sossamon in the leading role. The plot was as simple back then as it is here and now. People receive a call from their own future self to their own cell containing the last few seconds of their deaths.
The only problem with this remake is, that the film makers had no idea what they were doing and in my opinion the material of original director Takashi Miike was pretty much raped and left for dead. Not only that this remake doesn't have the creepy feeling of the original "Chakushin Ari", even the characters have been "white washed". We have seen this already with the US remake of "The Ring", with the differenece that in that remake a lot of respect was shown towards the original movie "Ringu". Not so in "One Missed Call". The significant ringtone was changed to a dull and relaxed one, taking completely away that sharp and chilling aura surrounding these calls. On top director Eric Valette completely missed the point of "One Missed Call" being a franchise such as the already mentioned "The Ring" and also "The Grudge". Of all these franchises solely "The Grudge" was able to stick to the basic idea behind the Asian vengeful spirit, probably because original director Takashi Shimizu also took on the US remake. Yes, there were mostly non Asian characters in it and that was fine for the spirits in form of Kayako and Toshio kept their Japanese origin, making the 3 US remakes still relatable to the origin "Yu-On" franchise. "The Ring" already failed to do so by replacing Sadako with Samara, but at least it was a really good movie with a great atmosphere.
"One Missed Call" was supposed to carry the tradition forth with Mimiko, but instead we got some random characters you don't even care about and the PG13 crime gives this remake its death blow. You loved the original especially for the extended bone breaking, limb twisting death scene in the film studio? Forget about that in this one. This here is made for children's eyes. Sure, the CGI ghost effects towards the end were somewhat charming, but it is just about as creepy as some effects presented in "The Pirates Of The Carribean" and such. The hugging scene of the mother with rotten flesh falling off her fouly body piece by piece? Not even included! The only correct similarity seems to be that in both films the little girl who later becomes the vengeful spirit died due to an Asthma attack ignored by the mother(s). But that's about it.
This remake is shot nicely and also the leading actors Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns tried their best to carry the film, but when the film itself already lacks any form of vision and respect for its origin, it just ends up as being a pointless, soulless cash grab product with a few nice visuals. If your kids are 13 you can show this atrocity to them, but please... as soon as they are old enough, do them a favour and show them the real thing. To all the fans of the original: stay away from this one. It will only anger you and leave a very bad taste in your mouth... Or is that due to the red candy? You have been warned!
The only problem with this remake is, that the film makers had no idea what they were doing and in my opinion the material of original director Takashi Miike was pretty much raped and left for dead. Not only that this remake doesn't have the creepy feeling of the original "Chakushin Ari", even the characters have been "white washed". We have seen this already with the US remake of "The Ring", with the differenece that in that remake a lot of respect was shown towards the original movie "Ringu". Not so in "One Missed Call". The significant ringtone was changed to a dull and relaxed one, taking completely away that sharp and chilling aura surrounding these calls. On top director Eric Valette completely missed the point of "One Missed Call" being a franchise such as the already mentioned "The Ring" and also "The Grudge". Of all these franchises solely "The Grudge" was able to stick to the basic idea behind the Asian vengeful spirit, probably because original director Takashi Shimizu also took on the US remake. Yes, there were mostly non Asian characters in it and that was fine for the spirits in form of Kayako and Toshio kept their Japanese origin, making the 3 US remakes still relatable to the origin "Yu-On" franchise. "The Ring" already failed to do so by replacing Sadako with Samara, but at least it was a really good movie with a great atmosphere.
"One Missed Call" was supposed to carry the tradition forth with Mimiko, but instead we got some random characters you don't even care about and the PG13 crime gives this remake its death blow. You loved the original especially for the extended bone breaking, limb twisting death scene in the film studio? Forget about that in this one. This here is made for children's eyes. Sure, the CGI ghost effects towards the end were somewhat charming, but it is just about as creepy as some effects presented in "The Pirates Of The Carribean" and such. The hugging scene of the mother with rotten flesh falling off her fouly body piece by piece? Not even included! The only correct similarity seems to be that in both films the little girl who later becomes the vengeful spirit died due to an Asthma attack ignored by the mother(s). But that's about it.
This remake is shot nicely and also the leading actors Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns tried their best to carry the film, but when the film itself already lacks any form of vision and respect for its origin, it just ends up as being a pointless, soulless cash grab product with a few nice visuals. If your kids are 13 you can show this atrocity to them, but please... as soon as they are old enough, do them a favour and show them the real thing. To all the fans of the original: stay away from this one. It will only anger you and leave a very bad taste in your mouth... Or is that due to the red candy? You have been warned!
Use the phrase horrible
29 April 2018
It will always be a mystery to me, why these kind of movies get made. Setting things up in nazi Germany around the 1940s usually goes 2 ways. It will be either extremely authentic with a lot of love to details, focussing on the cruel mindset of the fanatically following soldiers, or, just as we can see in this movie as simply another one of countless examples out there, with the main focus on crappy German accent throughout the entire dialogue lines, preferably adding nothing special to the plot and already were annoying at times of Indiana Jones and such alikes. Just because there are actors like Schwarzenegger (I know, Austrian origin, but the point remains the same), who never ever felt the need to visit a language class to get rid of this accent after living in the US for decades, it doesn't justify a movie made in 2018 to still base entire fims on this atrocity of a conversation tool. And The Revenge of Robert the Doll delivers basically only that. Terrible lines, horrible acting, bad effects and no scares whatsoever throughout the entire film. People get asked a question in this dismembered English and answer back in German. Several times with the lousy cliche "nein". Someone at some point found this funny for no reason. Imagine a country constantly jiggeling over a "no" for almost a century. Your only thought will be: What the...? I can honestly say that I had this thought all the way through, no matter what the movie brought up. On top they like to throw in some other German vocabulary and then it becomes even worse. These actors were not even able to pronounce the words or names of the cities correctly. For sakes of authenticity please use real Germans (even if it might just be for a quick voice over) or stick to your guns and do it in your native tongue. Whatever you do, stop pretending! In this movie there was only one woman fluent in the language and she was not even relevant to the plot. What a sad summary. This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. I never saw the other parts and that seems to be a good thing after this wasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. You can call this a Horror movie, but only because everything in it was aweful. Not to use the phrase horrible.
Contagion
(2011)
Even though at many points the pace is held slow the movie doesn't get boring.
25 March 2018
An entirely new virus is threatening humanity and the audience finds itself surrounded by not only an enourmous cast of familiar faces but also many talented actors and actresses who did a very good job on this one. It has been quite a while since I really enjoyed one of these virus/epidemic movies and this movie bounces nicely between the United States and Hong Kong (the city/country) where the virus initially occured for the first time. Even though at many points the pace is held slow the movie doesn't get boring and as it shows you the public in panic the director absolutely scored! The film does not scare away to include aspects of politics, the internet's power and basically every character here is potentially vulnerable. The virus could jump to anyone and this alone keeps you highly invested in what is going on at the screen. One of the best films I've seen so far on that topic and totally worth a watch.
Only the Brave
(2006)
Nothing really touches you when seeing this.
25 March 2018
I began this movie with having no info about the real history behind it, only knowing that it is based on true events and I hoped to learn something new by watching Only The Brave. Well, it didn't really work. The movie is confusing. Pretty much in the beginning we see Jimmie, the main protagonist of the film, sitting in the dark and stare into nothingness. His wife desperately tries to reach him, but he doesn't respond. Then the movie takes us on a journey through his mind, so it seems. Back to the battlefield and and the soldiers he fought with. Constant flashbacks follow, showing their lives at home with wives, girlfrinds, kids, etc. and at some point you just begin to question, why are we seeing the flashbacks of other characters when we are within the main characters mind? How can he see the private lives of his fellow companions? At some point you just ignore it and try to focus on other things, leaving logic aside. For a war film, there must be some intese moments, right? But nope, all we get to see is one side. The opposing German soldiers are nowhere to be seen and the characters which we got to know fire towards whatever. With no enemy in sight the battles seem unreal. And even if "our" characters got hit by a bullet you don't really care. None of these soldiers have anything interesting to tell and so the audience is forced to listen to generic dialogues about poker games, heritage mocking and what women they desire. On top one of the soldiers is so stupid, that the doc even has to explain the concept of a flesh wound to him. This movie tries to drown you in sadness and self pity, but nothing really touches you when seeing this. You only end up in feeling sorry for the time you invested by watching this boring thing.
Exorcist: The Beginning
(2004)
Everytime tension was buit up basically nothing happened.
24 March 2018
It's been quite a ride through all the Exorcist movies so far and Exorcist: The Beginning is just another one of those showing the audience a make believe of events that supposedly happened before the first film. This concept never really worked for me because in general the film makers just make up inconsequent stories out of thin air and try to ride on the success of a name which earned its credibility for being unique and shocking for the time period it got released. In this movie events take us to Africa to a church that was discovered buried under sand and all this decades before Christianity even took place in that region. After they dig it out strange things start to happen and of course it is a clash with the superstitions of the local inhabitants. As I said, thin air. The first half of the movie seems to drag endlessly even though the acting is okay. Continuous flashbacks really begin to test the patience of the audience until finally the big showdown is in sight. Here we do get some good visuals on the now possessed Sarah, the main female protagonist who works as a doctor in the area. But since all attempts of curing anything fail, she is otherwise quite useless to the plot other than being a possible trophy for the horny men close by or, well, as a vessel to put the demon into so the appearance can be somewhat similar to the original movie. I enjoyed the visuals maybe just because of these similarities and the overall atmoshphere was acceptable, but for most of the movie's duration I was incredibly bored. Everytime tension was buit up basically nothing happened and at the end you have been through so much of this, that you don't even bother in letting the tension within you build up anymore. Simply by assuming you will end up being fooled again anyway. This movie had a lot of potential, but with all the generic Hollywood 101 most of that fades into, yes exactly, thin air.
Death Wish
(2018)
A typical good guys vs. bad guys flick.
23 March 2018
We have seen Bruce Willis in many different roles to date and usually we feel very familiar seeing him shoot rounds and rounds until the entire set is on fire. Not so in Death Wish. Willis playing a surgeon adds a new layer to the facettes of his incredible career and even though he soon picks up the firearms in this one as well, it is refreshing to see him play a newbie on that matter. I haven't seen the other installments of Death Wish and so I went in blind, only expecting this movie will at least be decent due to the many films I likes with Willis over the past years. Sure, it is not a revelation or the holy grail of movies out there, but I really enjoyed the writing and acting of actually everybody involved in this remake. The story got me right from the get go and even though the basic storyline has been brought to film many times before I didn't have that feeling of this being an unnecessary repeat. This is a typical good guys vs. bad guys flick, so get yourself a cold one and don't take things too serious. This was definetely way better than the last Die Hard sequel but, of course, it will not reinvent the entire genre at all.
Hellraiser: Revelations
(2011)
Low budget movie for low-expectation Horror fans.
23 March 2018
What a pain to sit through this movie. Not only was the script already so bad that we now have Pinhead played by Stephen Smith Collins beacuse original actor Doug Bradley turned the role down but this movie is also a shining example of those movies you can watch with a bunch of friends, get drunk and then start playing "find the only good actor". In case of Hellraiser: Revelations you all will end up being drunk to almost unconsciousness because there simply is none! Not a single dialogue even tried to make this movie enjoyable or make you like any of the characters and the only moments this film becomes watchable is when the dark scenes come up, depicting the world the cenobites live in. Yes, the view of "hell" is still the same and therefore this movie at least sticks to the original, but the constumes are far from being exciting. The lighting is bad, the acting is bad, some gore effects (basically nothing you already haven't seen in a few of the other sequels) were acceptable but ... the entire atmosphere is gone. Low budget movie for low-expectation Horror fans.
12 Strong
(2018)
The strength of 12 Strong lies simply in the raw intensity when all hell breaks loose.
23 March 2018
12 Strong shows you more of the raw aspects of war and you can't really compare this movie to Saving Private Ryan or similar war flicks. Here things are getting serious and there is no beautiful storyline that makes you feel for the personal lives of the soldiers. Sure, most of them have families, kids... people to go back home after the mission is finished, but these smaller details get brushed off in a very rushed way. All you, as the audience, have to care about are the soldiers fulfilling their duty to retaliate after 9/11 took place and kick some Taliban accross the field. To make it easier for us to relate to the characters we get Mr. Thor himself with Chris Hemsworth in the leading role, who does a great job on acting though. In this constant grind of war this movie slows down from time to time and tries to give some more depth to the other men of the 12 man strong team, but in many aspects this turns out very genereric and some of this fans of war movies have seen over and over again. The strength of 12 Strong lies simply in the raw intensity when all hell breaks loose and in these moments the movie scores big time. So if you only care for that you will love this movie. But if you want some more in depth character development and a rollercoaster of emotions, you might end up being slightly disappointed.
Kindergarten Cop
(1990)
Though the eyes of a kid...
23 March 2018
Back in the 90s there were tons of Comedy movies with a very weird twist or idea behind them, and without a doubt Kindergarten Cop is one of them. After the main villain Crisp (Richard Tyson) got arrested for murder by Detective John Kimble (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the cops were not able to find the money involved in a case before recent events and assume it must be put aside by the (now former) wife Joyce (Penelope Ann Miller). She started a new life in Oregon with her little son Dominic (played by Christian and Joseph Cousins) and so Kimble and his partner and former teacher, Phoebe O'Hara (Pamela Reed), plan to go undercover. A stomach flu forces the duo to change their plans and now instead of O'Hara, Kimble has to pose as the teacher for the kindergarten class. And that is where the fun starts, because he basically has no clue what to do with these young kids. There are quite a few funny moments in this movie and it will work just great to show it to your own kids while they are still young. It's definetely one of those movies who are nice to grow up with and I also have lots of feelings of nostalgia when I think about Kindergarten Cop. Re-watching this as an adult on the other hand doesn't have this impact at all though. Movies got a lot better during the years and this makes a film like this seem very naive and innocent, which can be a good thing, but unfortunately also quite incompetent. Now we notice all the flaws we didn't even care about as we saw it though the eyes of a kid. Having experienced both sides of the coin let's just leave this movie with a smile and put it to the average flicks we loved back in the good old days... But show it to your kids!
Tidal Wave
(2009)
10 to 15 good minutes won't erase over one hour of uselessness.
21 March 2018
What a weird movie. First thing to notice is, that the visual of the film looks pretty ok. Some decent camera work was definetely one of the stronger sides of Tidal Wave aka Haeundae. Being a Korean disaster movie I already had some worries due to experiences in the past with movies coming from Asia. And I didn't have to wait long. Immediately those horrible nonsense dialogues came up, causing that you won't like any of the characters at all. Basically everybody without a high degree of any sort falls into this category and all the interactions and relations don't matter anymore. You just want the wave erase 95% of the cast right from the spot and show us epic slow motion shots of how entires cities get washed away. Romantic aspects, and there were quite a few which were forced upon us all fall flat and appear unrealistic. The funny thing is, they are not! Living in Asia myself I can tell first hand that romantic issues are handled a lot more different, very indirect and seemingly naive. It may be authentic to a certain point, but it is definetely painful to watch. Another aspect of the 101 of Asian film making (of course there are exceptions to the rule) is at least one goofy character who always has to be the clown, no matter how serious the topic of the movie may be. As if there is a Comedy quota that has to be reached by any means. And yes, Tidal Wave deals with all of these flaws excessively. And this makes most of these films nearly unwatchable. The only good aspects of this movie are indeed the disaster elements themself, even though they rely on extreme usage of CGI as far as the eye can see. Some of these shots were really epic and fun to watch. But what does this help if you have suffer through this gruesome acting? Sad to say, but this movie would have been beeter if they wouldn't have even bothered in building up characters or relations of any kind and instead simply go nuts on epic destruction. 10 to 15 good minutes won't erase over one hour of uselessness.
Apollo 13
(I) (1995)
A true classic!
21 March 2018
Always great to watch, no matter how many times you already have seen it. Apollo 13 is one of those movies for sure. First class directing, a cast that is simply mind blowing, character interactions you actually believe and a good soundtrack on top. This is Hollywood at its best. Needless to point out that Tom Hanks scores in this movie big time, for he is one of the greatest actors of all time in my opinion. What I do want to shine a light on is the amount of heart he transports in his role as Jim Lovell. In one word: impressive! Also Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris deliver an outstanding performance. The film may build a little slow at first, but when things are about to get serious you can't take your eyes off the screen anymore. Apollo 13 is one hell of a movie and this was definetely not the last time I watched it. And I probably have seen it about ten times before already. A true classic!
Containment
(I) (2015)
Quite hard to sit though
21 March 2018
If you are looking for another virus movie, people bleeding out of eyes and ears, helpless people mutating in any kind of sort, etc... Containment won't be for you. This movie scratches more the idea of people waking up, their flats are sealed and what should have been starting as an ordinary day turned into an emotional ride, as soon as they see the "officials" outside walking around in high level security suits. Willing to shoot everybody who attempts to escape. The problem of this movie now is that the writing is pretty bad. The sequences seem allover the place and a real plot is nowhere to be found. On top of that comes the low budget production which may give Containment a little bit of a realistic look, but for audiences it is quite hard to sit though. The reasons why this movie does not completely fail are Lee Ross and Sheila Reid who acted quite well with what they have been given. Especially Sheila Reid reminded me so much of Gladys (Eileen Ryan) in Eight Legged Freaks (aka Arac Attack) and she was given some very beautiful moments of screen time. The other characters are very stereotypical and this movie is placing itself closer to Quarantine 2 on the movie shelf than... let's say: Outbreak.
Solar Attack
(2006 TV Movie)
You might forget this movie soon after you have seen it
20 March 2018
Solar Strike aka Solar Attack is a Disaster movie which was made straight for TV, if I am not mistaken. And you immediately can tell that the budget was not all too big to make this film. This clearly reveals when it comes to visuals and dialogues, which can be very cheesy at times. I liked Mark Dacascos in this role though and even if the film is pretty much generic, it was not as bad as some other ratings imply. If you don't take things too serious you might even enjoy this one. Bill Lake in his role as the Russian captain was even fun to watch. Louis Gossett Jr. (some of you might remember him in his role as Jerry from the gorgeous Enemy Mine) as the president of the United States? Well, in movies everything is possible. You might forget this movie soon after you have seen it, but that doesn't mean it is painful to watch or something. If you just want to kill some time by watching a disaster movie, there are way better ones. But also way worse ones.
Wonder
(I) (2017)
Great acting, great message and on top beautifully shot and directed.
20 March 2018
Wonder is a beautiful film, there is no doubt about that. The development of the characters is done so well, you actually start to feel for all of them in some way. I usually have a big dislike for children actors in general, but in case of Jacob Tremblay who portraits the main protagonist Auggie, I was absolutely impressed and I enjoyed the entire movie a lot. With Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson we also have two huge names in the cast, who presented this story very well. In the past I got a little tired of seeing Owen Wilson, no matter in which role, but here as Auggie's dad, I have nothing to complain about. This is one of those movies where all the pieces come together and you just have a great time watching it. If you liked movies like Forret Gump or I Am Sam (I am not saying that Wonder plays in the exact same league), you might want to give this one a try as well. Great acting, great message and on top beautifully shot and directed.
The 12 Disasters of Christmas
(2012 TV Movie)
I laughed so hard seeing how poorly this was executed
19 March 2018
The 12 Disasters Of Christmas is a weird movie. It is weird, because everything in it seems to be bad. The acting, the dialogues, the plot, the writing and not to forget the incredibly bad CGI (one of the worst I have ever seen). In a small town, young Jacey (Magda Apanowicz) has her birthday. And this event triggers the reappearance of 12 plagues the Mayans have encountered 1000s of years ago. But do not worry, her grandma knows she is "the chosen one" and passes an old ring on to her to stop the end of the world. There are 4 more rings to be found to stop armageddon and that gives us one and a half hours of whatever this movie is trying to be. I don't want to go into details that much, but I have to point out the CGI effects on the electric wires. I laughed so hard seeing how poorly this was executed, that the rest of the movie just left me with a smile. And not even a sour one! I even found myself enjoying it. Usually your first reaction would be, well, it was like that in the 80s sometimes. And then you notice the movie is from 2012. Nevermind then... This movie is a great opportunity for you, to show it to people who even complain about top notch CGI today. After they saw this here, they might appreciate it a lot more!
Gerald's Game
(2017)
The entire first hour almost puts you asleep
18 March 2018
While watching this movie you constantly have another film in your mind. Misery. A coincidence? I don't think so. To me it appears that Stephen King was not entirely done with his story on Misery, just that this time around he wanted to view certain angles from a different perspective. While in the 1990 film there was always that glimpse of hope that Annie Wilkes would change her mind. Not this time. The husband lies dead on the floor and there is nobody to interact with. Handcuffed to the bed with very little possibility to move at all, Jessie (Carla Gugino) has a lot of time to face her inner self and one could say that her inner voices are leading her through different stages of consciousness. A very interesting take on mind games and the sheer threat of death. Be it dehydration or influences from outside. Unfortunately this movie is so slow paced, that the entire first hour almost puts you asleep and I found myself not even caring for Jessie's character. For sure it was nowhere near back then when Paul Sheldon was trapped in the bedroom. Artfully speaking this movie has a lot of weight. But is it entertaining from a cinematic viewpoint? Not really. I haven't read the book, but I am pretty sure that it will be way better than this movie.
Dead Silence
(2007)
Turns out to be very enjoyable
18 March 2018
Director James Wan is known for his passion for Horror movies. So it is not a surprise at all, that Dead Silence turns out to be a very enjoyable Movie about puppets coming to life. Instead of going the direction towards Child's Play this movie sides more with Puppet Horror such as Annabelle, but before you already turn it down just by hearing the title reference, you can relax. Dead Silence succeeds where Annabelle has failed in my opinion, simply because James Wan is getting his effects done right. I am not really sure if I like Ryan Kwanten in the leading role, but this may only be me. The acting was good and I was really happy to see Bob Gunton in the role of Jamies' father. It's been a long time since I have seen the villain of the glorious The Shawshank Redemption and even though he of course has aged I noticed him right from the spot. If dolls are creeping you out, this movie will do just fine to add some chills to your spine. Enjoy!
The Crucifixion
(2017)
No exception to the rule
18 March 2018
Let's face it. Most of these movies on exorcism are pretty much alike and The Crucifixion is no exception to the rule. The story is not really interesting and I had a bit of a hard time to even get into the movie storywise. The acting was quite good though. And by this I mean not only the main actress Sophie Cookson, but also the small side roles like the hotel manager/receptionist. It is well shot and the strongest parts are actually those where you see the actors being actually possessed. The effects then come out great and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. Aside from that the movie is unfortunately a little boring and when it really comes to the final showdown you really can feel the tension within you rise from out of nowhere. The abrupt ending is pretty disappointing then. The best way to describe it is, when your partner is teasing you and you both are on a high of lust and passion, but then your partner is done, stops without caring if you had your fair share and just turns around to sleep. And you lie there and just think: wait... that it? Really? Seems like someone here didn't care much about the audience.
Bite
(I) (2015)
Love of detail, no matter the budget
17 March 2018
The beginning of the movie left me already winding myself in my seat and my first reaction was "oh no, not another one of these terrible low budget movies". But the further the movie progressed, the more I got sucked into it. This is one of the movies where you shouldn't care about the plot, the dialogues or even the characters themselves. Instead just focus on the practical effects they used and how they add more and more layers of film art step by step. This is one of the movies known for the audience leaving the cinema because they couldn't take it anymore at some point. And I can totally understand where this is coming from. If you have a problem with vomiting, slime and goo... or insects in particular, you might not enjoy this movie at all. Those who can sit through something like this will get rewarded with an awesome example of how to create a creepy creature and using just the right lighting to not ruin things. I applaude this movie! Thank you for the love of detail, no matter the budget. If you liked the visuals of The Fly, you will love Bite. If this movie would have the acting and the writing of The Fly, it could be maybe even become another classic of our time.
The Pact II
(2014)
A sequel that is better than the first one. Who would have thought?
16 March 2018
Two years after the first part the sequel came out and usually you expect not much of them. Most of them are cash grabs and mostly they add nothing special to even justify their sheer existence. Not so with The Pact II! Instead of director Nicholas McCarthy we get two directors with Dallas Richard Hallam and Patrick Horvath, the budget must have been much higher (already assumed because of the way better camera work) and with Camilla Luddington not only a very beautiful actress, but also someone who immediately transports the film out of the amateur-like appearance of the first part. Even FBI agent Ballard, played by Patrick Fischler, did a great job by playing this type of personality that you immediately want to hate. Scott Michael Foster didn't convince me in this movie at all though. Maybe that was a lack of chemistry thing between him and Camilla.
Part two may not have that many scary moments as the first one, but therefore it adds way more tension via the writing. And it does show another thing very clearly. By letting the main actresses of both movies act together in some scenes, you can compare the screen presence perfectly. But don't get me wrong, the first part is essential for the story and you should see it before watching The Pact II. I still like the first one, just found myself enjoying this part here way more. A sequel that is better than the first one. Who would have thought?
Part two may not have that many scary moments as the first one, but therefore it adds way more tension via the writing. And it does show another thing very clearly. By letting the main actresses of both movies act together in some scenes, you can compare the screen presence perfectly. But don't get me wrong, the first part is essential for the story and you should see it before watching The Pact II. I still like the first one, just found myself enjoying this part here way more. A sequel that is better than the first one. Who would have thought?
The Pact
(II) (2012)
Don't expect the next Halloween
16 March 2018
This low budget Horror movie can be descibed in one word: watchable. Right from the start you realize that this movie was done with a low budget, 400k to be exact, and so it had a little bit more than Halloween. Yes, the cult classic, Mr. Michael "Slashergod" Myers, the legend. The Pact will not live up to this expectation ever. But here is the thing. The Pact still can be a lot of fun if you let that guard down and just focus on the story and this slightly eerie atmoshphere that is carried throughout the entire movie. Most of the dialogues were a bit stiff, but when things get intese actress Caity Lotz pulls it off quite well. Funny that the appearance of Mark Steger alone is enough to creep you out. He was a great casting choice! Haley Hudson as the blind "medium"... unfortunately not so much. To me this movie was pretty intense as I first saw it. After rewatching it a lot of the fascination got lost. If you never saw it, definetely see it. Just don't expect the next Halloween.
Tell Your Friends