Posted by Hallo | 1 Comment

Insidious – Review

reviewed by hallo
directed by James Wan, 2011
_________________________

The writing and directing dynamic duo of Leigh Whannell and James Wan, the pair who changed horror movies with their 2004 release Saw, are back in a low budget haunted house film called Insidious.  It will scare the pants off you.

The title card is perhaps the most stunning, effective, and uncomfortable sequence I have seen in any horror movie.  No other film comes to mind that better captures the anticipation of the viewer than Insidious’ opening title sequence.  As a matter of fact, and acknowledging the danger of taking this too far, the movie as a whole can be summed up by the title card:  Eerie, artistic, fun, and at times, cheesy.

The movie is about Josh and Renai, a young couple who have three children and are moving into a new, spacious home.  Renai is a composer and has taken a sabbatical from a “real job” to pursue her music and stay home with Callie, the infant.  Josh is a school teacher who seems to roll with the punches quite well and begins staying late at the school to grade test papers.  Their son, Dalton, begins to complain of being scared and uncomfortable in his room.  Then, after an ill-timed trip to the attic, Dalton falls into a deep coma that no doctor can explain.  Three months later, Renai begins hearing strange noises and seeing incredibly spooky people in her house.  One scene involving the baby monitor will bring you out of your chair.  Josh, although reluctant to believe Renai at first, eventually becomes convinced that not-good-things are happening – being suprised that his mother is taking Renai’s side through all of this.

The couple, on the advice of Josh’s mom (played by Barbara Hershey), hires a psychic to come into their home and investigate.  She immediately grasps the weight of the situation and explains to Josh and Renai that Dalton is an “astral” traveler, meaning that his spiritual person can go places without his physical person.  This time, unfortunately, he has traveled too far and is lost in a place called “The Further.”  Here is the one glaring problem with the film – Wan opts to reveal to the audience exactly what is happening through the means of a 10 minute exposition on the part of the psychic.  Think of the last 5 minutes of Hitchcock’s Psycho and you have that concept in the middle of this film.  I personally do not mind explanations like this, but it is very noticeable and does erode the possibility of giving the film a superb critical recommendation.

From this point, we learn that Josh used to be a “traveler” in his young days as well, something he has suppressed, and must now return to the “further” in order to save his son.  What follows are scares, delights, and a world of fun for any horror fan.

Wan is a special talent.  He uses zero special effects for the ghosts, they are just solid-bodied people (he didn’t have the money for effects!), and yet they are some of the more spine-tingling images on film I have seen in a long time. I was somewhat underwhelmed by the actual face of the lead demon in the “further” as it appeared that George Lucas brought Darth Maul back to life for this film.   Wan goes way overboard in some areas, staying consistent with his over-the-top style as seen in Saw.  For example, in once seance-type scene, the psychic is wearing a gas mask with a long tube extending from the mouth that is attached to her assistant’s headphones.  He writes down her words.  This takes a very normal and mandatory “seance” scene for any haunted house movie and adds a fun, dramatic, and spooky touch.

I found it interesting that a movie so focused on possession, afterlife, and “other” world activity never once mentions religion, the name of God, or the concept of Christ.  There is one priest that makes a very brief appearance, but that’s it.  Instead of “May the power of Christ compel you”, we get “leave this vessel.”  I don’t have any problem with Wan opting for a religionless possession film, but it is unusual and worth mentioning.

Finally, the movie teeter-toters between beautiful, manicured imagery with genuine scares and downright cheesiness.  In some strange kind of way, when the cheese happens, we are relieved to know that cheese can still be cool and Wan bats 1000 every time.  Of this I can promise you – if you view Insidious in the theater, you will get spooked, you will jump, you will yell at the screen, and you will smile.

Yep, for that alone it is worth 10 bucks.

Read More

Posted by Hallo | 0 Comments

The Mummy – Review

reviewed by hallo
directed by Terence Fisher, 1959
___________________________

Legendary horror director Terence Fisher cemented his status as horror icon with the release of the 1958 masterpiece Horror of Dracula.  The movie set box-office records in the UK and the US, only to be broken one year later by the release of The Mummy.  Yes, Hammer Horror was establishing itself early on as a force to be reckoned with, arguably remaking Universal’s most prized horror gems into even better stories and adaptations.

The Mummy is about a team of archaeologists in the 1890’s who discover the tomb of the Egyptian princess Ananka.  There is much celebration over the once-in-a-lifetime find except when Ananka’s high priest returns from the dead to destroy those who desecrated her tomb.  They can’t say they weren’t warned – just before the team opened the tomb, a messenger of doom (who reminded me of Kazim from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), who still worships the God Karnak, declared that all who desecrated Anaka’s place of slumber would be destroyed.  It is this mysterious Egyptian who eventually summons the power of Kharis, the high priest, and bids him the task of hunting down and killing the archaeologists.

Peter Cushing stars at John Banning, one of the three desecrators, and Christopher Lee portrays the high priest/mummy.  Although The Mummy lacks the charm, elegance, and beauty of Horror of Dracula, there is still much to be appreciated in the film.  Lee presents a sympathetic monster who is more concerned with his true love Ananka than he is on the destruction of the desacrators.  When Banning’s wife appears on the scene and looks strikingly similar to the Princess Ananka, the intentions and loyalties of the mummy dramatically change.  In this way, The Mummy reminds the viewing audience that the heart for a woman can soften even the most determined acts of revenge.

In a neat piece of trivia, The Mummy was one of those films where the principle artwork and posters were released before the movie had even finished production.  Many times, the artwork was not in parallel with the imagery of the film.  So, when Christopher Lee saw the movie poster with a big hole gaping in the mummy’s chest, he was determined to make sure that happened.   So, at the end of the movie, we see the mummy getting elephant guns blasted through him.

This is just simply a classic that must be viewed by every horror fan.  Don’t go into it expecting Brendan Fraiser.  It is way better than that.

Click Here to purchase The Mummy

Read More

Posted by Hallo | 0 Comments

Cabin Fever – Review

reviewed by Hallo
directed by Eli Roth, 2002
__________________________

Is Cabin Fever a horror movie?  Of course it is; who can deny the graphic and grotesque deterioration of the human body  that lands Eli Roth’s film safely in the sub-category of body horror.  But still we must ask, why?  What makes Cabin Fever different than, let’s say, the 1995 movie Outbreak starring Dennis Hoffman and Morgan Freeman.   Both films concern a deadly outbreak of an unknown virus that rapidly and morbidly disintegrates human flesh.  Whereas most “body horror” films have a clear “evil” persona to them, such as The Fly, or the Cronos device, the alien in The Thing, or even the deranged Dr. Heiter in The Human Centipede, the villain in Cabin Fever is the disease itself (and, of course, the inability of the friends to get along).  No one is coming back from the dead to hunt humans.  No one is masterminding the spread of the disease.  No single character personifies the disastrous results of contracting the virus.  It is simply a survival story of 5 friends in the woods.

Perhaps one answer is that we should re-think whether or not a film like Outbreak is actually a horror movie.  My colleague and team member, Danny, has some ideas as to what constitutes a true horror film, specifically related to body horror, and his review of Black Swan seems to indicate his willingness to place films under the horror category that might not normally be labeled as such.

But it is Roth’s direction and inclusion of vivid imagery amongst a rather normal story that pushes Cabin Fever firmly into the world of horror.  The fact alone that “5 friends venture in the woods for a weekend getaway” is about as cliched horror as you can get.  And Roth would have no problem with me saying as much.  From the outset of Cabin Fever, writer and director Eli Roth was determined to make an “80’s horror film” that steered away from much of the PG-13 garbage that was taking the box-office by storm at the time.  Compromising on violence, over-the-top images, and nudity (although there is not much) was simply not going to happen and the final result is a horror movie that is much more enjoyable that it really should be.

Roth heavily borrows from legendary directors.  The influence of Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and Wes Craven is unmistakable.  The movie attempts to be comedic throughout, but does not capture the same kind of iconic comedy-horror for which the Evil Dead series is so famous.  It could be argued that Cabin Fever also exists as a satire of the 80’s universe of campy horror, but again it doesn’t push that envelope.  It seems that this film is just a fun, gruesome, at times ridiculous horror movie about bad things that happen in the woods.  Perfect!

What I don’t understand is why Roth was so heavily applauded by his colleagues and some reviewers as the next great thing to happen to horror.  Perhaps Roth still will be a major force at the end of his career, but I have a hard time filing that conclusion away from this film.  His 2005 film Hostel was met with mixed reviews, currently holding a 59% rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

So, if you enjoy body horror, funny lines, cliched “go into the woods” setting, and a lot of fun, then I highly recommend Cabin Fever.  But don’t be expecting the next thought-provoking, mind-numbing horror flick.  It just aint that.

Click Here to purchase Cabin Fever

Read More

Posted by Hallo | 0 Comments

Dead Meat – Review

reviewed by hallo
directed by Conor McMahon, 2004
______________________________

Dead Meat is an Irish horror film (Ireland makes horror films?) distributed in America by Fangoria/Gorezone distribution.  The movie is, essentially, a zombie movie about a heavily mutated strand of mad cow disease that begins turning human beings into mad, flesh eating cannibals.  I will say upfront that I enjoyed Dead Meat and was impressed with some very unique imagery in the midst of what is certainly a worn out sub-genre.   Yet, the film could have been so much more.

The story begins with a major nod to George Romero as a young couple, Helena and Martin, are in their car and literally run into a guy on the side of the road.  Come to find out, the guy has decaying skin and seems to be dead.  Before Helena and Martin can get the gentleman to a hospital, he comes alive and begins gnawing on Martin’s neck, leaving Helena to run off seeing help by herself.  She makes her way to a cottage where soon afterward, Martin attacks her, now in zombie mode himself.  She cleverly dispatches of Martin by attaching a vacuum tube to his eye and turning on the machine.  Fun.

Helena runs for her life and ends up bumping into Desmond, the shovel toting gravedigger (actually, he bumps into her and saves her from being run over by a car).  Desmond is one of the coolest characters I have seen in a while, making unbelievable use of a shovel and carving himself out almost as a superhero.  Together, the two try to find a way out of the danger, bumping into more and more zombies.  Finally, after a brief visit to Desmond’s home, they run into two more unaffected humans, Cathal and Francie.  Although reluctant at first, Cathal eventually gives Helena and Desmond a lift in their car (and a little girl named Lisa, but we won’t worry about her.  She doesn’t last long).  After their car gets stuck in the mud, they are forced to fend off all kinds of threats, including a cow!  The movie ends with Cathal and Desmond succumbing to the massive onslaught of zombies when they try to take cover in some old ruins.  Helena survives when a group of “zombie hunters” shows up.  She is placed in the back of a truck and crammed in with dozens of other survivors.  A wooden door is shut and the screams of the living, now trapped as if they were dead, are heard from inside as the truck starts down the road.

This movie almost needed to be sub-titled.  Obviously, set in Ireland, the characters are speaking English, but the accent is so strong that I had to strain to make out the dialogue.  The film perfectly captures the essence of what a stranded day in the middle of Ireland might look like, offering beautiful views of the Irish country side and portraying the varying shades of brown that we would expect for that geographic location.  This coupled with the staggering, quick movements of the walking dead create an eerie combination.  Dead Meat is simply a survival film, where the action starts immediately and does not relent until the end of the movie.  There are some great visual kills and the gore is plentiful.  Plus, McMahon offers some twists to the typical zombie themes, providing some neat ideas that I had never seen.  For example, at one point Helena and Desmond are terrified to see they are surrounded by zombies.  Yet, the undead never move in for the kill.  They realize that this particular group of zombie are asleep (standing up) and if they are quite enough, Helena and Desmond can simply walk past them unharmed.  Then, there is the incredible kill scene while the group is trapped in the car.  It is so wonderful that I dare not give it away here.

I also like how Dead Meat provides a solid and very believable source to the zombie infestation.  It is not a stretch at all to think that an outbreak of mad cow disease, which is not unusual in Ireland, could have devastating effects on humans.  Whereas most zombie films just ignore the cause of the infestation, Dead Meat tackles it head on, which is refreshing.

The film is certainly not without its problems.  First, the editing is mediocre at best.  Continuity is a problem with Dead Meat and it brings down the overall quality of the film just a notch.  Most of these issues seemed to be somewhat manageable in the editing room.  The action sequences would be great – great – great – then “ooh, that looked awful.”  Helena, at the beginning especially, seems to just be somewhat out of sorts that her boyfriend is now a rabid zombie trying to kill her.  The reactionary elements in Dead Meat may be the weakest part of the film.  Also, the soundtrack is sketchy, leaving the already difficult accents even more difficult to understand.

I enjoyed this film.  Coming in at only 1 hour 17 minutes, it is a quick and easy watch and worth every second of it.  If you like zombie and gore, then take a look.

Click Here to purchase Dead Meat

Read More

Posted by Hallo | 0 Comments

9 Dead – Review

reviewed by hallo
directed by Chris Shadley, 2010
___________________________

Chris Shadley, who has several appearances in Hollywood blockbusters as a video assistant, tackles his first directorial debut with the Saw knock-off 9 Dead.  Nine seemingly random people are kidnapped, locked in a room with no windows, and are forced to discover why they are there.  If they are unable to come up with the answer, one of them will be killed every 10 minutes.  As you would expect, the group has a difficult time getting along with each other and wastes all kinds of time with needless jabber or drawn out storytelling.  They finally manage to figure out the reason, which unfortunately is not as fantastic of a tale as we would have hoped, with three of them still alive.  One of the three survivors, Kelley, is a female prosecutor who is unwilling “at all costs” to let her secrets get out.  So, she ends up killing the kidnapper and remaining survivors.

9 Dead takes place almost entirely in a small room where the group are chained to poles.  Because there is virtually no action or much body language, this film lives or dies by the acting and script.  Neither are exceptionally good.  Melissa Joan Hart, who is most famous for successful “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Clarissa Explains It All” is the female lead and only survivor.  This is certainly not her best performance.  She is accompanied with other mediocre performances leaving the film feeling a bit flat.  Although the dialogue is fast paced and the urgency of the 10 minute recurring deadline is always looming, somehow the movie still feels to slumber its way through the story.

The movie is all about confession, which is fitting since one of the victims is a priest.  If they are willing to dive deep inside their souls and reveal their darkest secrets, there is a chance for survival.  It seems the movie is attempting to say that for some, death is a better option than revelation.  Kelley is willing to murder the father of her son and another “innocent” victim just to keep her secret a secret.

9 Dead tells a decent story with a fair amount of suspense, par-for-course acting, and a horrifically bad ending.  I wouldn’t completely stay away from it, but it should go pretty low on your updated “movies to see” list.

Click Here to purchase 9 Dead

Read More

Posted by Hallo | 0 Comments

Dark Night of the Scarecrow – Review

reviewed by hallo
directed by Frank de Felitta, 1981
____________________________

Dark Night of the Scarecrow was originally released as a made-for-television movie and aired on October 24, 1981 as part of the CBS Saturday Night Movies.  Today, DNOTS is considered to be the scarecrow movie by which all others are judged.  After the film had been somewhat forgotten, briefly released in the 80’s on VHS format, it was re-released as part of the “Texas Frightmare Weekend” in April of 2010.  In September of the same year, it found a home on DVD format, being distributed by VCI Entertainment.  Immediately after its release, horror forums, magazines, and ezines began heavily promoting the return of the classic.  When I attended the “Spooky Empire” horror convention in October of 2010, there was entire display and table devoted to its release.

The movie is about a mentally challenged 36 year old man named “Bubba” who has the mind of a 9 year old.  He is best friends with a little girl named Marylee.  Several of the men in the small county of Bodan do not like the relationship between Bubba and Marylee are eagerly wait for any opportunity to take violent action.  The ringleader of this posse is Otis Hazelrigg, portrayed by the veteran actor Charles Durning.  Otis is a postman and never takes his official postmaster outfit off the entire movie, even donning the cliched rounded mailman hat.  When Marylee is attacked by a vicious dog, Bubba steps in and saves her life.  Unfortunately, the town folk assume Bubba was the reason for her injuries.  The doctors expect Marylee to die, sending Otis and his band of beer chugging men out as a lynch mob to hunt down the innocent Bubba.  Meanwhile, Bubba has ran back home where he explains to his mother what has happened.  She tells him they are going to play “the hiding game.”  The hiding game consists of Bubba dressing up as a scarecrow and standing in the field until danger passes.  It has worked in the past, but this time the redneck boys have dogs with them, and Bubba’s scent is picked up.  Once the men realize he is the scarecrow, they empty 21 rounds into him.

Moments later, “Harless” (played by Lane Smith, the man who played the prosecutor in My Cousin Vinny), gets a call on his radio that the girl is not dead and she has explained to the authorities that Bubba actually saved her life, not attacked her.  Oops.  To cover up their crime, the men place a pitchfork in the hands of Bubba.  Cut to the worst courtroom scene that has ever graced the screen where the men get off due to a “lack of probable cause.”  Bubba’s mom freaks out and screams that “there is other justice in this world besides the law.”  You can probably guess what happens from here.  A scarecrow starts popping up in the mens yards, and one by one they start dying.  Otis is left to the very end where he ultimately meets his doom from the pitchfork of Bubba that he had originally placed in his dead hands to cover up his crime.  The movie ends with Marylee and Bubba exchanging a flower.

Interestingly, Bubba in scarecrow form never shows up as the “killer” until the last couple of minutes of the film.  We are left guessing that it might be his mom, the disgruntled prosecutor, or even Marylee.  In this way, DNOTS doubles as a great suspense film that most anyone could handle.  There is zero gore and the scares are mild.  Still yet, the film succeeds in being a fun, well written, and decently acted thriller that was no doubt perfect for a late night television audience.  I was a little underwhelmed by the “chase scene” at the end with Otis running from a slow moving tractor.  All he really had to do was take one step to the right or left.  And, of course, the competence of the Bodan County judicial system leaves something to be desired.

At the core of DNOTS is a tale of revenge.  Although we are left guessing throughout the movie, I was hoping that the killings were coming from the hands of Bubba’s reincarnated scarecrow form so that he could have the pleasure of dispensing the kills rather than someone acting his place.  All of the kills, save for the last, come from the point of view of the victim; we never really see the threat with our own eyes, but only through the reactions of the targeted men.  This makes DNOTS rely more on story than on effects, which suited the film perfectly.  This movie is still better than a good bit of the horror garbage released even today.  Pick up a copy when you get a chance.

Click Here to purchase Dark Night of the Scarecrow

Read More