I was going to write something thoughtful and review John Carpenter's Halloween, but I don't feel there is any need to. This is a film that has inspired so many filmmakers and still holds the spot of being one of the scariest movies ever. If you have been following my blog then you most likely have seen this. I would find it hard to believe anyone who is interested in horror films hasn't seen Halloween. I would like to close this entry with thanking all of you who have been reading my 31 Days of Horror. I have never done anything like this before and I probably wouldn't have kept writing if I didn't have your support. It really means a lot to me. While doing this blog I have found that I really enjoy writing so maybe it's something I'll keep doing. Maybe I'll write a screenplay, who knows! :) Thanks again, I'll see you next October. Happy Halloween! -Colby.
"Feels not just like a series of stories set on Halloween, but a
blood-spattered portrait of what makes this holiday so beloved, so
dangerous, and so much damn fun." - Brian Juergens, campblood.org
After spending all of yesterday and this morning trying to figure out what my picks were going to be for tonight, I finally found them. I knew I wanted to post about 2 films that a) take place on Halloween night b) are very bloody c) involve candy in someway, and finally d) have set the bar or brought back memories of when horror movies seemed flawless. Well, guess what? There are only a handful of those films and I watched all of them last year.
I know I said I wasn't going to repeat anything from last year but I am also big on traditions when it comes to certain events, Halloween being one of them. I didn't want to take a chance picking a movie that would leave a bad taste in my mouth (or yours). I absolutely had to end on a good note. Last Halloween I ended with The Exorcist, which in my opinion, is STILL one of the scariest movies to ever be made. Originally I wanted to end every Halloween night with it but I think if I watch it too often it's not going to be as shocking.
My Halloween picks of the evening may not add up to The Exorcist, but they are two of the greatest Halloween Horror movies ever made. One is a classic (which I'll reveal later) and the other is a film gave hope for the horror genre again. In 2009, the Saw franchise was still going strong. I have said in previous entries that I don't necessarily hate the franchise, I simply believe in putting and ending to something before it has the chance to disintegrate. Saw IV-The Final Chapter certainly exceeded its time and even kept other horror movies out of the theaters.
Trick 'r Treat just so happens to be one of the films that was prevented from seeing the big screen. It was originally supposed to be released on October 5, 2007 but was pushed back by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. The companies feared it would have created a disaster in the box office while competing with Saw IV. Trick 'r Treat finally started screening at several film festivals and was critically acclaimed. It eventually became a direct to DVD and Blu-ray released exactly a year after it was supposed to be seen in theaters.
"This movie loves Halloween so much you can almost taste the candy corn." - Rob Gonsalves, efilmcritic.com
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 85%
Trick 'r Treat easily became one of my favorite movies instantly. There's so much to love about it. The ambiance, the scares, the soundtrack, and the cast are flawless and make Halloween even more intriguing. This is the best Horror anthology I have seen since Creepshow (V/H/S is probably tied now). If your in the mood for something fairly new and perfect for this holiday, this film is your best selection.
Maniac is a slasher film from 1980. I picked it for today is because I meant to watch it earlier this month but forgot about it. Yesterday I was reminded that there is a remake of this movie coming out next year and it's received phenomenal reviews so far. Bloody Disgusting gave it a 4.5/5, IFC Midnight is putting it out, and it was written by Alexandre Aja (High Tension). Not to mention the lead is played by Elijah Wood. I would say those are enough reasons to see the remake.
Around the time of the original's release, it was somehow overlooked by the popular slasher films Halloween and Friday the 13th. However it helped pave the way for other movies including A Nightmare on Elm Street. Due to its extremely violent content it was blacklisted.It eventually became a cult film 15 years later and is still enjoyed by many '70s and '80s horror fans.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 38% It blows my mind that this film received so many negative reviews. There are times it felt like I was almost watching Taxi Driver. Well, not quite that good, but it certainly had a similar feeling. The action is non-stop and it's definitely bloodier than most '80s horror films. I would say it has made my top 10 slashers list. -Colby.
"Among the current crop of ghost stories, this is an outstanding effort. Ti West is shaping up as an authentic Master Of Horror." - Kim Newman, Empire Magazine
I just can't get enough of Ti West. I truly believe he is on the rise, especially after reading about his next film, The Sacrament. The movie will feature Joe Swanberg from his segment in V/H/S and A.J. Bowen from The House of the Devil. For the past 3 weeks West has been in Savannah, Georgia shooting the film. According to Worldview Entertainment, plot details are being kept securely under wraps. I have no doubt in my mind that this could be his best yet. Now the question is...will he use his formula? The Innkeepers is one that not everyone is going to like. In fact, I have had a friend who absolutely loves horror tell me she was disappointed in it. I think the main reason I wasn't let down by this film is because I saw it before The House of the Devil (which the same friend recommended to me). I have also read in reviews that it didn't live up to their hopes and kept comparing and contrasting it to HOD. Honestly the two are completely different and it may only seem like they are similar because West put his style on it. This formula involves a ton of dialogue and he usually waits until the 3rd act to give you any scares. I appreciate this because the guy really knows how to write and give you a chance to get to know the characters. By the time something happens I actually care about the characters its affecting.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 79% The Innkeepers is the ideal horror movie to watch on Halloween for those of you who don't settle too well with gory scenes. The characters are interesting, the acting is good, and the suspense is the best part. This movie is a first of a few so I'll be back with more. -Colby.
It's getting very difficult to choose what to watch. When I was preparing for this blog I downloaded a ton of movies and there's several that I have yet to even get to and probably won't. The pressure is on for me these last few days to please those of you who actually read this and I want to do a great job. As much as I would love to repeat traditional favorites from last year, I'm going to stick with my challenge of posting movies that I haven't.
"Anyone who says they don't make 'em like they used to just isn't looking hard enough." - Jeremiah Kipp, filmcritic.com
The first pick of the night is another Ti West film, his second in fact, entitled The Roost. Ever since I watched The House of the Devil the other day, I have been looking up any information I can find on this director and stumbled across this movie. The moment I read "Halloween night" in the synopsis, I knew it would be fitting for this evening. Plus, just look at the poster!
The Roost was ranked in the top 10 movies of 2005 on horror website, Bloody-Disgusting. It also screened at South by Southwest Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Fright Fest, The
Fantasia Film Festival, and Los Angeles Film Festival the same year.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 53%
"A bludgeoning, bloody trawl through the cliches of survival horror, with
a strong contemporary political subtext - and as with any good
barbecue, there is plenty of red sauce, and absolutely nothing has been
left underdone." - Anton Bitel, Film4
When I first heard of Frontier(s), I was waiting to eat at Kuma's Corner. For those who don't know, Kuma's is a restaurant that serves enormous burgers named after metal bands. They are not your average place, for example, they have a TV and will not put on any sports. Instead they play nothing but kung fu and extremely violent movies. It just so happens, I saw this one in their stack of DVDs. I looked it up when I got home and noticed that it was French. This wasn't too long after I saw Inside for the first time, so right away I knew that it was going to be good. It happened to be praised by many of the critics the I follow as well. The main reason I picked it tonight was because I read that it was better than Haute Tension and it just had to make this years 31 Days of Horror.
"It has to be the sickest, the most twisted, the most deranged movie so far this year. And I'm giving it thumbs up because it's very good at what it wants to be." - Richard Roeper, 2005
The Devil's Rejects is Rob Zombie's follow up to House of 1000 Corpses. Lions Gate Entertainment made back all their money for Corpses the day of its theatrical release. As a result they talked to Zombie about making another movie. While he was writing the script to his previous film he had other ideas for stories involving the same characters. One of these ideas involved the story that eventually became The Devil's Rejects. Zombie had quite the dilemma of getting an R rating for the film. After sending it through seven times receiving an NC-17 for each submission, the MPAA finally told him that they had a problem with the overall tone of the story. After discussing a certain scene (one of the most uncomfortable), 2 minutes were edited and it finally earned an R. The 2 minutes were restored in the dvd release.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 53% The Devil's Rejects may be considered a sequel but it has never felt that way to me when watching it. It's been said that Sheri Moon Zombies has mutual feelings. Sure it's the same family from House of 1000 Corpses but this movie is night and day from Zombie's first film. The scenes are much more disturbing and at times can almost make you feel too uncomfortable. I'm really not surprised this movie had problems with the MPAA. Zombie wanted to make the characters more horrific and less cartoonish, he certainly did with The Devil's Rejects. I love this movie and thought about not watching it this month since I already watched Corpses, but it's completely different. I also traded in my DVD to eventually upgrade to blu-ray, as I knew that I would end up buy it at some point. Over the weekend I finally picked it up and couldn't resist. I apologize to those of you who don't enjoy Rob Zombie films, but if you haven't seen this, you should give it a try. It's definitely one of the best horror films in the last decade. -Colby.
Candyman's plot follows Helen Lyle, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is conducting research for her thesis on urban legends and stumbles upon the legend of "Candyman". It is said that Candyman can be summoned by saying his name 5 times while looking into a mirror. He will then murder the person who summoned him with his hook for a hand. The film is based on a short story entitled Forbidden, written by Clive Baker, and was directed by Bernard Rose. It is accompanied with an incredible soundtrack scored by the amazing Philip Glass. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1992 in the Midnight Madness lineup. After a successful premier the film became a box office hit and made a lot of top horror lists.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 74% This is such a great story and definitely a top choice for the weekend before Halloween. Though I hadn't seen this movie until 2009, I remember hearing about who Candyman was back in first grade. The stories I heard about them were enough to give any 6 year-old nightmares. The fact that it takes place in Chicago is another plus! -Colby.
Ahh, the Paranormal Activity films... the latest horror franchise that will not come to an end. I was okay with this at first but after the fourth installment came out this month, my feelings towards these films are starting to change. When Paranormal Activity first came out I put off watching it for a year. I wasn't that interested in the plot at first and just wanted the hype to settle down before I gave it a chance. I heard a lot of mixed reviews from some friends but like I've said before, when it comes to horror movies, I don't listen.
I watched Paranormal Activity at home in the dark, the way you should enjoy these films. I can't imagine seeing any of these movies in the theaters. First off, there's a lot of quiet moments that add to the scares. All it takes is for one person to whisper, laugh, fart, etc. to ruin a scene that was intended to scare the audience. These films are meant to make you jump and if you take that away, it's hard to enjoy them.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 68%
While Paranormal Activity 3 isn't as powerful as the first two, it's still enjoyable if you like these movies. You can tell they are dealing with a bigger budget
now but they are using it in all the wrong ways. The separates this installment from the others is there's a lot more CGI involved. What made part 1 and 2 so enjoyable was the fact that it almost seemed real. By adding CGI in this film I felt it took away its realism and I even laughed at a certain scene.
I haven't had the chance to see Paranormal Activity 4 yet because I am waiting to watch it at home. I'm not really impressed with the trailer but I would still like to see it. They already announced Paranormal Activity 5 and it put a bad taste in mouth because I was hoping the 4th one would wrap things up. Saw is the perfect example of a franchise that started out pretty solid and just took a nose dive in creativity and horror. Paranormal Activity is the new Saw. My advice to put it down before it kills itself.
The title does not fool you. This is a movie about strippers who turn into zombies and eat their clients. It stars Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and porn star Jenna Jameson. Zombie Strippers is probably my least favorite entry in my 31 Days of Horror so far, but it's worth getting together with some friends to laugh at with a couple of beers.
Even though I am lacking options while I am at my parents' for my wedding this weekend, Child's Play is not a last resort. Any kid who grew up in the '80s and '90s knows who Chucky is. The question is, how do they remember him? There's the kids who found the character as a face of evil and was terrifying. Of course there were the tough guys who said Chucky is stupid and only babies are scared of him. Then there's people like me who found the idea of a doll actually coming to life and terrorizing its owner fascinating.
When I was younger I had a wild imagination and still do. Way before Toy Story was released I'm sure every kid thought, "I wonder if my toys come to life when I'm not around?". Todd Holland brought that vision to life in the most horrific way (for the '80s) and I have yet to see another doll horror film that has been as interesting as Child's Play. I will say I don't condone the sequels. I personally have only seen 1-3 and never bothered with the rest because they look terrible. Up until 2008 I thought part 3 was decent but as I got older I realized it's shit. All you need is the first and second. The original Child's Play is one of my favorites because it's dark in comparison to the others. The jokes are kept to a minimum as well as actual shots of Chucky. Most of the scenes he's in, the camera is set within his point of view which makes the violent scenes much scarier.
Jennifer Lynch is the daughter of American filmmaker/television director David Lynch (Blue Velvet). By age 22, Jennifer had already published her first novel entitled The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, which was spin-off from her father's show Twin Peaks. In 1993 she released Boxing Helena, making her Hollywood's youngest female filmmaker at the time. After her debut she took a 15 year break and returned to Hollywood in 2008 and has made a handful of films since.
Lynch's latest, Chained, is extremely disturbing and intense from the moment it begins. A 9-year-old boy and his mother go to a movie one afternoon and decide to take a cab home. The cab driver drives past their exit and starts to worry his passengers. When the mother realizes the driver isn't following any of her instructions she starts threatening him and questions her safety. They arrive at a house in the middle of nowhere and the driver pulls the woman out of the car and brings her into the house. The kid remains in the car and can hear his mom screaming through the closed garage door. The driver returns and pulls the kid into the house. He tells him that this is his home now and orders him to follow a set of rules... for the rest of his life.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: NO REVIEWS YET
Chained was released earlier this month on October 2nd, but I'm surprised there aren't very many reviews on it. Bloody Disgusting gave it 4/5, which is really good coming from them. I personally enjoyed it; it may be a lot to take in but the acting is brilliant and there's several twists and turns along the way.
"Sleepaway Camp belongs to a pool of slasher films known for their generic prolificacy; it must be noted that it is one of the first and best." - Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
I've heard a lot about this one in the last few months, even though it's from 1983. Before watching it I did some research, saw the poster of the film and was sold on that alone. After seeing the artwork I didn't even bother looking up the plot, ratings or anything else. I'm certainly not saying to trust a movie by its cover; In fact there's an abundance of terrible films with badass artwork but I had many reliable sources assure me that it's amazing. Sleepaway Camp has all the cliche moments you would see in an '80s slasher film and if you don't take it seriously, you will love it! This movie is hilarious if you have a dark sense of humor. The acting is terrible and most of the "intense" scenes are hard to take seriously but this is one to watch with your friends. It's definitely worth creating a drinking game out of.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 70% All in all you may or may not like Sleepaway Camp. It's a cult following for a reason and I had a great time watching it. Definitely a lot lighter than last night's entry and in a way, I kind of needed it. It's turning into a slasher week so far but I have no idea what's in store for tomorrow. -Colby.
What do you know, another great slasher film done by the French! Haute Tension (High Tension in America) nails it and proves once again that the French are doing all of the right things. This film is actually scary... like if you took John Carpenter's AND Rob Zombie's Michael Myers and threw them together. High Tension brings the gore, shock, suspense, and excitement while you drink your pumpkin ale of choice and carve your jack-o-lanterns.
After an extremely successful screening at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival - Midnight Madness, Lions Gate Entertainment picked up the distribution rights. Due to the graphic violence in the original cut, the film was rated NC-17. It eventually was edited down to receive an R rating hoping that it would get more commercial appeal. However, the directors cut is now available on Blu-ray.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 41%
Pay no attention to what the critics say. If you like slasher films at all this will be a new addition at the top of your list. It's very rare to see movies like this anymore (done right) and High Tension is perfect for post-Halloween party entertainment. Probably not a good date movie though...then again maybe :)
"The film may provide an introduction for some audience members to the Hitchcock eon definition of suspense: It's the anticipation, not the happening, that's the fun." - Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times Ti West is slowly becoming one of my favorite filmmakers right now. I say slowly because the majority of his movies that I have seen, I watched without knowing he directed them (e.g. V/H/S, The Innkeepers, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever). West certainly has a style that you either get or you don't. In my experience with his films, they start out with a slow pace but the dialogue is just as important as the action. After an hour, shit hits the fan and there's no going back. The House of the Devil is phenomenal and will please anyone who is a fan of late '70s and early '80s horror. West does an amazing job of making you feel like you're watching an actual movie from 1983 (the year the film is set in). Everything from the makeup, the clothes, hairstyles, and even paper Coke cups, has '80s written all over it. West even used similar technology and filming techniques that were used around that time. The plot begins with college student Samantha Hughes looking for work. She is short on cash and desperately wants to move out of her dorm room she shares with her best friend Megan. Sam finds an ad posted for someone in need of a babysitter. She calls the number and leaves a message. After she hangs up the phone immediately rings and the man offering the babysitting position asks to meet for an interview in which he stands her up. Samantha gets frustrated after waiting and meets up with Megan who tells her that the man had called and left a message. She returns the call and the man introduces himself as Mr. Ulman. He apologizes for not showing for their meeting and says he originally found someone else but they ended being completely unreliable. He says he's in need of a babysitter right away and offers Samantha $200, doubling his original offer, for the night. She goes to the house and finds out that the babysitter position isn't for a child. Mr. Ulman explains it's hard to find someone who will care an elderly person and asks if she will watch his mother-in-law. Samantha feels uncomfortable and turns down the position. Ulman tells her he will pay her $400 for four hours of work and assures all she'll be doing is sitting around. Samantha accepts the offer and has no idea what she's gotten herself into.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 86% This is a great Halloween movie. In fact, you can find it in the Halloween Favorites and Horror categories on Netflix. When I started watching it I thought to myself, "This will be a good one to recommend to those who don't like bloody horror movies!" I ended up being completely wrong but you can always just cover your eyes :) -Colby.
Like V/H/S, I have been waiting all year to watch Livid. I originally tried to watch it last Spring, but being a French film it was impossible to find a copy with english subtitles. I finally found a copy a few months ago but it took every ounce of self-control to not watch it until this month.
Livid is the second film by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, the writers and directors of my favorite slasher film right now, Inside. They originally wanted to shoot in the United Kingdom, making their English-language debut. Unfortunately, during the beginning stages of production they started losing control over their creativity. This resulted in Maury and Bustillo moving to French production with a lower budget.
Even though these directors are still emerging from their rookie status, they are some the best out there right now. I feel like they are a couple of the few writers that can tell original stories and I'm not just talking about those in the horror genre. After seeing this film, I truly think they are capable of anything.
Maury and Bustillo are incredibly gifted with the camera as well. They posses a admirable vision accompanied with marvelous creativity that translates beautifully on the screen. When someone can take a scene full of graphic violence and turn it into art, they are cool in my book.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 88% Once again these directors deliver a plot I can't really talk about without spoiling it. Just watch it. Inside too. - Colby.
I was hesitant on whether or not I wanted to watch a sequel this month but honestly I don't think I could go an October without Freddy Krueger. Since I watched the original and remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street last year, I had to figure out which sequel would be the best to watch. Needless to say the decision wasn't very difficult considering very few of the Nightmare sequels are worth watching more than once.
"This film gives us all the terror of the original without any of the sarcasm of the rest of the series. Wes Craven's return is impressive and rivals the original in terms of quality." - Wesley Lovell, Cinema Sight
Wes Craven's New Nightmare has been a favorite of mine for many reasons:
1. First and foremost, it was written and directed by Wes Craven, the creator of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Scream anthology.
2. It features Heather Langenkamp, who played Nancy Thompson in the original.
3. The script is perfect.
4. The "boys have a penis, girls have a vagina" kid from Kindergarten Cop plays Heather's son.
5. It has the best death scene in a Freddy movie since Johnny Depp's in the original. You'll know when it happens.
6. It was the first Nightmare movie I saw. I was 9 years old and it was edited for television but I fell in love with Freddy immediately.
I could go on but that's enough to get my point across.
Even though the Nightmare franchise isn't as solid as some of the others, Freddy is still one of my favorite villains. Michael and Jason are great but Freddy is much scarier than both of them. When I was little I remember walking through the Horror section looking at the covers of all the movies. I'm not sure how I knew who any of these killers were, but the covers of all the Nightmare films always stuck out to me; probably because one featured Freddy swallowing a woman.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 79%
The ultimate reason Freddy has always scared me is because he's not real. Other slasher movies of his time were always featuring someone with a knife, whereas Freddy is only in your nightmares, which is completely out of our control; anything can happen within a dream. We've all had those nightmares where we wake up and are afraid of going back to sleep because there's a chance the dream may continue. In the Nightmare films, if Freddy is in your dreams, there's nothing you can do to stop him unless you stay awake. What's scarier than being afraid to go to sleep?
It took me a long time to decide whether or not I wanted to watch The Thing this month. I only say this because it's THE perfect blizzard or snow day movie, and I usually save it for winter time. Some of my favorite horror/thriller movies are based in snow settings (e.g. Fargo and The Shining). I think that when snow is added to the film's environment it makes everything more complicated, whether it's trying to run away from something or driving. It also adds more options to scare the audience. In my opinion The Thing is John Carpenter's second best movie. I've heard many say that it is their favorite but my boner for Halloween will never go away. Yes, The Thing contains some of the best special effects for its time, but I once heard someone say there's nothing more terrifying than a person who loses their mind one day and picks up a knife. I have to agree to not only that but it's obviously more realistic too. I feel when you add realism to the story it makes you feel like you're apart of the movie thus making it more horrific.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 79% The Thing did poorly in the box office but mainly because it was competing with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At the time Carpenter felt like a complete failure after receiving negative comments from fans, critics, and even the director of the original (The Thing from Another World, 1951), Christian Nyby. Today it is considered to be one of the best science fiction horror films of all time and is still praised for its special effects. -Colby.
"Unbridled fun for every kid who ever daydreamed about kicking monster ass." - Kieth Breese, filmcritic.com
The Monster Squad is an '80s classic that should be traditionally watched every Halloween. It's basically The Goonies meets 1950's horror, what's not to love about that? There's rumors about a remake but I'm crossing my fingers that it doesn't happen.
Sean and Patrick are best friends. The reason they are so close is because they share one thing in common; monsters. They enjoy the subject so much they have meetings with their friends in their club house. Little do they know Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Gill Man, and The Wolf Man are coming to their town to receive and amulet to control the world. Sean and his gang team up to battle the forces of evil and protect their small town.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 53% The Monster Squad may not have done well in the box office or among most critics, but it certainly has a cult following. Pretty much anyone who was born before 1990 or appreciates the horror genre will have a good time with this movie. Monsters, a decent old school horror soundtrack, and fall weather is a great combination for Wednesday October night. -Colby.
"It's a well made film. One for the gore fans." - Julie Rigg, MovieTime - ABC Radio National
While doing this blog I have had a few people give me recommendations and some have also asked me to check out specific movies to see if they're good or not.The Loved Ones is one of those movies. I hadn't even heard of it until it was recommended to me. I am a big fan of slasher films. When I looked The Loved Ones up and saw that it was a slasher movie, it immediately had my attention.
The Australian film has not had an official U.S. release yet. The movie was screened at several international film festivals throughout 2009/2010, including Toronto, Dallas, San Francisco, and SXSW in Austin, TX. It was finally released in select theaters throughout the U.S. last June and Paramount Pictures ended up buying the U.S. rights.
"Lola Stone asked Brent Mitchell to the prom, but Brent said no, and now
he's screwed. What happens when Lola doesn't get what she wants? She
enlists Daddy's help to throw a prom of her own where she is queen and
Brent is king, whether he likes it or not. The Loved Ones is what
happens when puppy love goes horribly, violently wrong. Brent should
have said yes."- Paramount
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 97%
With that high of a rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 4/5 on Bloody Disgusting how can you go wrong?
"Hardcore horror lovers will soak up the gruesome morsels." -
Here it is, one of the movies I have been waiting to see all year... V/H/S.It's been all over the internet and horror fans are raving about it. On October 5th it was finally released in select theaters after a video-on-demand release in August. I was incredibly tempted to watch it when it came out but I thought it would be better to save it for tonight.
V/H/S is considered to be an anthology horror film that features a series of "found footage" short films. These shorts are written and directed by Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and a directing quartet known as Radio Silence. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January earlier this year.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 53% This is my favorite movie I have watched so far this month! I am a sucker for short stories in films (e.g. Trick 'r Treat and Creepshow) and this one had me nervous nearly the entire film. Just when I was starting to get sick of the "found footage," I found my favorite. Do yourself a favor and watch this on VOD or see if it's playing in an indy theater somewhere. This is the horror movie to watch this October! -Colby.
Cloverfield is a monster/horror/thriller movie that falls into the "found footage" sub-genre. The film follows six New Yorkers who are attending a going-away party on the same night that a monster attacks the city. Cloverfield was directed by Matt Reeves (Let Me In), written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), and produced by J.J. Abrams (LOST). These three brilliant minds managed to create the monster movie of our generation; think a modern day Godzilla or King Kong, only better. Reeves, Goddard, and Abrams have all done similar work but each have their own signature styles written all overCloverfield.
Before deciding on an official title, Cloverfield was marketed as 01.18.08.
The cinematographic technique used in the film ("shaky cam") caused some of its viewers in the theater to experience nausea, motion sickness, a temporary loss of balance, and proneness to migraines. As a result, theaters everywhere were told to put up signs and verbally warn anyone who was attending the movie. ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 77% The main reason I chose Cloverfield this evening was based on the weather this weekend. Walking the streets of downtown Chicago and constantly looking up at the dark clouds, wondering when it was going to start down pouring reminded me a lot of this movie. Some scenes are somewhat predictable but it's entertaining nonetheless and PERFECT for nice rainy October Sunday. -Colby.
When I first saw the trailer for Sinister I had no idea what to think. It's incredibly easy to be fooled by an amazing trailer, but after seeing the movie itself I realized that the synopsis wasn't completely revealed and there was a lot more underneath than what the trailer let on.
"Genuinely creepy horror movie, which suggests more than it shows but shows enough to make non-genre fans watch from between closed fingers." - Maitland McDonagh, Film Journal International
Dead Poets Society being one of my favorite movies of all time, I have always been a big fan of Ethan Hawke. I felt his performance in Sinister was definitely at the top of his game. Hawke plays true-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt, who has already had his 15 minutes of fame as a writer and is willing to do almost anything to get it back, even if it means jeopardizing his family. Hoping to write his next bestseller on the brutal homicide of a Pennsylvania family, Oswalt moves his wife and children into the very house where the previous tenants met their tragic fate. During the moving process he finds a box of Super 8-recorded home videos in the attic. Upon viewing the videos, Oswalt finds that each one ends in the ghastly murder of an entire family, leading him to begin questioning his own sanity and the security of his family in their new home.
ROTTEN TOMATOES RATING: 63% Sinister had a few kinks that could have been worked out but nothing too terrible. It definitely provides entertainment that is suitable for more than just your average horror audience. I would say that it was more suspenseful than terrifying. There are several jumpy parts and disturbing images but the gore level is kept to a minimum for those of you with queasy stomachs. This is definitely a film to check out while it's in the theater this fall. -Colby.
