16 posts tagged “horror”
Basically a man and woman are alone in a cabin when someone knocks on the door looking for someone. They tell her she has the wrong place but of course a few minutes later there is knocking at the door again and the girl is again asking for that person. Soon there is a man and another woman all in unusual masks terrorizing and killing people. While I wasn't really fond of the original Funny Games it was better than this and the original When a Stranger Calls is also better than this.
The movie fails for a number of reasons. The main one is that there is no motivation for the killers. Now in Funny Games that isn't as large of a problem because in that film it is clear that there is some message about movies and violence that is going on here. However, in The Strangers there really isn't any message anywhere to be seen -- well, at least not a message as interesting as in Funny Games.
I say that because, like all too many horror films, there are some messages here. The most obvious one and perhaps the most cliched one is that rural areas are scary and fully of killers. Now being from a rural area I pretty much hate that cliche because it simply isn't true. You don't see rural areas debating gun control laws even though lots and lots of people in rural areas have them. As a film fan I also hate that cliche because it is worn out and, well, a cliche. Try something different!
The other message is that women are the cause of all problems and need a man. When the film starts we find out that the woman has just declined the man's wedding proposal. Mistake number one, right? (in fact, in the scene where the man is about to ask the woman to marry him there are some ominous headlights that imply that the killers were following them which of course asks how they knew that these killers knew that these two people were going to a cabin in the woods. Maybe the killers are romantics and if she had said yes they wouldn't have killed anyone!)
Then the woman runs out of cigarettes and the man goes to get some which of course leaves her alone. The terrorizing begins. So don't smoke, ok ladies??? And finally, like to many female characters in horror films (final girls aside) she spends most of the film helpless and cowering. Only the man can do anything even remotely effective. Interestingly, although the first of the killers we encounter is a woman and one of the other s is also a woman it is the male killer that is in charge, gets the most screen time, and the women seem little more than hangers on.
This isn't to say that the film is worthless. Perhaps the larger tragedy is that the film had potential. It is really well directed. There's no million edits per minute and there are some real nice moments were the killers are hiding and sneaking around. There's no cheap scares and there's no overly dramatic music. And the fact that we never see the killers' faces is a nice move. It is a shame that the writer/director of this film seems to be a better director than he is a writer.
one thumb up
when a stranger calls
is mashed up with Funny Games
not a pretty scene...
So the premise is that a group of former contestants on a show that is basically Survivor but called some made up name are brought back for what they think is some kind of all star sequel and they get killed off one by one. The reason it fails is that there never really is any mystery as to who is killing them because in the first ten minutes they talk about the killer. To make matters worse, what isn't discussed is the specifics of the killer's problem. Some of it is shown but there is references to him doing something else that was much more dramatic but what that is they never explain.
Unlike most good slasher films there really isn't any sense of mystery nor is there a sense of dread. The people are all almost killed off by random traps so we don't get much of the killer chasing people or anything like that. Nor is there ever any question over whether or not one of the main characters is the killer or even in on the killings. No twists. No nothing.
one thumb down
a messed up concept
that is so five years ago
what a silly film
This movie is blatant false advertising. This film is not about elves at all. It is about an elf. Singular. There is only one elf in this movie. On the other hand, however, it does have Dan Haggerty. That's right. Grizzly Adams vs. and evil Elf.
So there's this very 80s girl (although the film came out in 1990 it is super ultra 80s in look and style) who lives with her mean mom and kindly grandfather. She hates Christmas and so her and her friends do some sort of anti-Christmas ritual in the woods releasing an evil elf that looks like and for half the film is referred to as a troll. She works in a store and Grizzly Adams used to work there but was fired for some reason. The store Santa gets killed (by the elf) and they let Grizzly take over. The girls have a party with some boys in the store after hours and the elf kills some people. Then Grizzly Adams dons his detective hat and figures out what this elf thing is about.
This is the point when it turns really weird. See, it turns out that the Nazis were researching elves to use as some sort of ruthless killing machine/ultimate soldier. So it isn't just Grizzly Adams vs. an evil elf, but rather Grizzly Adams vs a Nazi elf! Now how much would you pay??? What if I told you that the elf was a guy in a rubber mask and that the rubber mask had its mouth permanently held open? Now what if I told you that there was also incest? Finally what if I told you that at one point they steal George Romero's line about "When there's no more room in Hell, the dead will walk the Earth" and replace "the dead" with elves? Seriously.
five thumbs up
only one elf here
but there is never enough
for Grizzly Adams
This is a really interesting film and a great premise but its pacing is all off.
The premise is that a series of seemingly normal people with no connection to one another begin to go on a killing spree and when the police arrive and ask why they did it they always say, "God told me to." Unfortunately, we are really only shown two of the killers (one of whom is Andy Kaufman as a police office who starts to shoot people while marching in a parade with dozens of other police officers. "God told me to" is his only line). Once that happens the film goes off in an odd direction which I found a little too cryptic and unresolved for its own good.
If it could have stayed with the police office, our hero, as he tried to figure things out a bit more before going into the weirdness it might have worked better. Or if it were done a bit better. Maybe I missed it but at one point near the end the police officer says something about him being special and I was like, "he is?" I just thought that he was a random cop assigned to the case but apparently he was special. Maybe making that clearer would have been more effective. There's also a subplot about his estranged wife and his girlfriend that seems as if it could have been eliminated although I admit in hindsight there is at least one bit of information that comes out about the cop that does indicate something about his specialness. I think that could have been revealed without the complication of the girlfriend and the added scenes with her that distracted from the more interesting murderers.
That's not to say that there aren't some good parts. There are quite a few. The beginning is solid and two other scenes stick out. The cop goes to talk to a man who killed his wife and child(ren? I can't remember). It is really eerie to see the guy so calmly and dispassionately talk about shooting his wife and then trying to talk his daughter out of a locked room so he can kill her too. Then there is also a scene, and again, perhaps I wasn't paying attention, where you think the person is talking about one guy but then you realize the person is talking about someone else entirely which was pretty good as well. The film is certainly worth a watch though
four thumbs up
remake this movie
so it is more like Se7en
then it would kick ass
So I swear that I didn't watch this just because Jenna Fischer was in it. I actually was interested in seeing this back when it came out. That being said, Jenna Fischer's husband, James Gunn, the director of this, must be a jerk. I mean not only is he separated from Fischer, but Slither is actually a pretty good movie and he hasn't directed anything since. The only reason for this that I can think of is that he must not be that nice to be with. If he was a nice guy, and this film is pretty good, so wouldn't the studio let him direct something else?
The story is nothing special. A worm thing from outerspace lands in the woods and a guy finds it and the worm goes inside him. The worm multiplies. The cop who has a crush on the man's wife saves the day. So what makes this different than just your average horror film is that there are some humorous parts. So not only is it a film about worms taking over and eating people, but there are also a couple a laughs here.
Gunn worked for Troma and the film does almost have a Troma film with outlandish creatures and humor throughout There aren't any boobies or overly gross humor so it isn't entirely like a Troma film but you can tell there is a connection.
three thumbs up
I hate you James Gunn
but I didn't hate your film.
All is forgiven.
Whatever happened to the multimedia experience? Sure Cloverfield had the marketing where the first trailer didn't even say the name and stuff, but there really needs to be some other stuff for me to look at in order to like this film a lot more. Like stuff that tells what exactly the monster is or why the movie is called Cloverfield or something like that for instance.
I don't begrudge the film for not having that information because the way the film is made there's not really any way to put that in. On its own, I liked the way it was made. It was entertaining and I liked the characters. However, I was left unsatisfied at the end because there weren't any answers and there wasn't any way to get answers.
There really isn't much to tell about the plot. It is all shaky cam and there's a monster and people try to survive. That's pretty much it. So the whole thing is mainly about the people. On some level it is sad that the movie is really a love story and there's the fact that the way that a lot of the love story couldn't be told like that. They keep flashing back to another video that was on the tape but see the problem is that we are told in the beginning that this is on an sd card and digital files don't really work like that. And there's the problem that we don't really need to see those scenes because the whole damn movie is basically about what the guy is willing to do to save the girl so we know that he loves her because he does something to show how much he loves her.
For me the most relatable character is Hud the god natured guy who ends up filming things for most of the film. He's the best friend of the main guy. He's got a big mouth but he means well. He's interested in a girl who doesn't even know his name. He's the real star of the film not some five o'clock shadow guy with a cool job and who screws up his relationship with a hot girl.
three thumbs up
Hud is the man dog
but what is the monster thing
can someone tell me?
I'm not a fan of Full Moon movies. Films like the Puppet Master films are usually too cutesy in their corny-ness for me. I would rather have a film that is corny but trying to be serious than a film that is trying to be corny and just comes off cutesy.
I am, however, a fan of Jeffrey Combs who is the man. He is the only actor to play two different characters in the same episode of Star Trek series.
So because of the Full Moon angle I wasn't expecting too much from this but I did get it because of Combs' involvement. I'm glad I got it. This is probably one of the best Full Moon movies.
What makes it so good is that there aren't any of the Full Moon signatures: no puppets, no humor, and obvious teaser for a sequel. In fact, for a film that does revolve around a creepy guy who has been trapped in a basement for years, it is kind of thoughtful. Honestly, the final scene really surprised me with its (almost entirely successful) attempt at artfullness and emotional impact.
Combs finds out that he has inherited a castle and he and his wife and daughter go to Italy to check it out. The daughter is recently blind due to an accident in which Combs drove drunk. That accident also resulted into death of the son. Because of this, Combs and his wife are on the edge of a divorce. Although Combs has been sober for 90 days the wife still blames him for the death of the son. After a fight, Combs goes into town, gets drunk, and brings a prostitute back to the castle. The next morning the prostitute is missing and Combs is suspected. Because of some stories and some sounds his daughter had been hearing, he tells the cops that it is the scary guy that has been kept in the basement for years. They, of course, don't believe him.
four thumbs up
It really is good
just give it a better name
Like, "Jeffrey Combs Rocks."
This is the worst movie I've seen in a long, long time. That means a lot coming from me.
I'll be honest, I didn't even watch this whole thing. I fast forwarded through nearly all of it because it was just that bad. I could tell from the lifeless monotone horribly unenthusiastic unenunciated voiceover in the beginning that this was going to be a bad film. Actually, I could tell by the long opening credits of a guy driving a truck while some lame song played and each name lingered on the screen for a long long time. Then the lame voiceover came on and that sealed the deal. This film was a piece of crap.
With a title like "Zombies Gone Wild," you would think that there would be all sorts of T and A. Well, that's what you get for thinking. There's only one boob shot in this and it is some dream sequence.
You would also think that with a title like, "Zombies gone Wild" that there would be some zombies in it. Well, if you turned it off less than 30 minutes before the end you would be right. The film is something like 100 minutes long and it isn't until after the 70 minutes mark that the zombies show up. And then the last five minutes are just completely inane.
So then what is in that 70 minutes? Something about three nerds on a road trip to spring break or something. Three nerds played by people who may be a lot of things but certainly aren't actors. They do this lame and obnoxious stereotype of nerds and the dialog is horrific. After the stupid voiceover the first scene we see is one of the guys on the toilet taking a dump, complete with fart noises and grunts. One of the other nerds calls and the guy on the toilet claims he is having sex so he makes lame sounds of a woman. On the phone instead of hearing the other guy talking we hear the sterotypical high pitched "mermna mermina minerma" sounds from lame cartoons and sounds like the guy from Police Academy makes. No the best way to start a film. The introduction of the other two nerds is just as bad and includes them having crazy parents who are apparently supposed to be funny but aren't.
So after an hour them meet some women who turn out to be zombies or something. Then it goes all normal zombie movie and people start to get eaten by the zombies. Then 5 minutes before the end a fat man portraying a stereotypical gay character comes on and everyone stops. Apparently this guy is the hairdresser or something and the zombies are all just actors. One actor says "screw this. I'm not getting payed enough for this" and walks off then the others do too. The end. So whatever. Even though the beginning voiceover was in the past tense indicating that the narrator had survived these events apparently it was just a movie. Even though there was no indication of that beforehand.
eight thumbs down.
Complete and total
one hundred percent pure crap
no zombies were wild
I can, that's who! The crux of this movie is that people are freaked out by killer kids and can't kill them. If I was attacked by a group of killer children I would certainly kick their asses. In fact, I happen to know for a fact that I could could take 28 five year olds in a fight.
However, the adults in this film aren't so lucky if only because there are way more than 28 kids and nearly all of them are over 5 years old.
The movie starts off with a montage of newsreel clips showing real atrocities that have been committed against around the world. From WWII to African genocide there are some reminders of how horrible people can be. I suppose that the film is trying to make a statement about how children are treated in war and to show that in the real world there are those who have no problem killing children. However, it is really too long and the first time I sat through it I turned it off.
I'm glad I did give it a second chance because the film is pretty darn good. It has a British husband and pregnant wife touring a Spanish-speaking country (I couldn't figure out if it was Spain or Mexico or some other South American country) who are going to go to a rustic island a couple miles off the coast. Once there the film goes straight into Children of the Corn territory -- even though this film was made years before that one and was released near the time when the short story was written. They get to the island and can't find any adults. Of course they soon find that the kids have killed every one. Then they have to try to get away.
Some have criticized the fact that they never explain why the kids went evil and there is a scene where an evil kid stares into the eyes of a normal kid and the normal kid turns evil. I, however, didn't find this to be a problem because it really doesn't matter. Without some sort of opportunity to cure the kids or prevent other kids from turning evil there is no reason why we need to know the reason. This film is really Night of the Living Dead with kids instead of zombies complete with some Gustav Vigeland-style kid fighting and an ending with some similarities to Night.
The film isn't perfect. The woman not only doesn't know Spanish (everyone but the husband and wife speak Spanish) but perhaps because she is pregnant is totally helpless. There is a part where a kid has a gun pointed at her head and is smiling and so the husband has to kill the kid and the wife just freaks out about it. That combined with the actress's horrible overacting was a major strike against the film.
However, the smiles on the kid's faces as they kill people and the scenes of them merrily playing (and the knowledge that the director just said, "Go out there and play, kids") which are then juxtaposed with them playing with the dead bodies is pretty chilling. There's also a great scene where the kids come up over a hill and you see that the adult is just screwed is also really excellent. The film isn't really scary and there aren't any real scenes to make you jump but it did slowly draw me in and the end of it is great and draws more parallels with the zombie movie genre which always makes me happy.
five thumbs up
I can kill a child
but not that I really would
unless they were bad.
Basically, there Sean Bean and Maria Bello and their characters have a daughter. Dad lives on the coast of Wales and they go visit. Wouldn't you know that farmhouse was once the home of a cult that all killed themselves by jumping into the ocean. Guess what happens? Their daughter falls into the ocean and disappears, presumably drowned.
There is some legend that someone lost someone and threw themselves into the ocean and that brought the person back. As the husband and the locals search the coast for the daughter, the mother starts to see stereotypical scary girl who looks just like the girl that was the daughter of the cult leader.
There's some interesting stuff about the afterworld and spirits -- for example did you know they have flashlights in the afterlife? Who knew? There is a scene when the mother is in the afterlife (you can tell because it is all sepia) and she goes into a dark house and she picks up and turns on a flashlight.
Although it is supposed to be based off of a book the film is heavily influenced by j-horror, especially the aforementioned Ring (moreso the US remake than the original) and Dark Water, there are some interesting things because I didn't quite know how they were going to resolve the whole lost daughter and ghost girl thing.
two thumbs up
derivative films
are OK some of the time
this is almost one.
