Evil Dead (2013)

As an homage/sequel to a cult classic, this was pretty effective.

(Full review forthcoming.)

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Well, that was a rather disappointing evening--let's hope this is the end of the franchise.  While others complained that PA2 and PA3 were simply more of the same, I forgave the films and found something to love, be it a character or an interesting tie-in to the plot.  But, having recently rewatched the third installment, I now find myself very put out with the constant reuse of swinging chandeliers, falling objects, and bickering domestic partners (though this is part of the plot, as tension exacerbates the violence of the entity).  And as if I weren't already begging for the runtime to elapse, the end proved to me that the filmmakers weren't interested in taking the opportunity to add a fourth installment seriously.

Let me now join the ranks of others who focus on the silly logistical liberties that drive found-footage and mockumentary movies.  Usually I can overlook the usually thin reason behind the continuous filming (as opposed to the character or characters dropping the stupid camera, getting a grip on reality, and taking sensible action), but this one is all over the place, with the spliced-together footage taken across all manner of Apple devices.  I couldn't help but be reminded that this was a movie because of all the necessary editing.  And again, yes, this is something that happens all over the previous two installments, as our characters setup multiple cameras, but this time there were jump-cuts edited in for scare tactics that wore out their welcome and killed the charm established by the original Paranormal Activity.

Putting aside my disdain for all the trademark PA antics, I will say that I quite enjoyed the two main characters, Kathryn Newton as Alex, and Matt Shively as Ben.  Finally, some teenagers in a horror movie that I am pulling for instead of against.  In fact, I actually came to like and care for these characters, even if the movie didn't pull me into the realm of feeling a sense of the fear they felt.  The chemistry between Alex and Ben was spot-on; I liked the on-the-cusp-of-friend-zone dynamic that drove their interactions.  The parents, however, were completely dismissible.  I know they were supposed to remain aloof and distracted from the goings-on in the house by all their domestic tensions, but their distractedness felt too forced.  Stephen Dunham may well have been sleepwalking through the movie.

The backstory that drives the movie is revealed in such as way as to produce hardly any effect at all.  It's just like, Oh, and guess who this really is?  DUM-DUM-DUUUUMMM!  And the very last frame is not only a complete copy of one of the previous PAs; it is completely ridiculous to boot.  I've made it clear that there are no new scares brought to the table here, but in retrospect I realize that the main scare was centered around a certain character's appearance.  And, for me, it actually worked.  I felt a nice little chill travel my spine.  But, sadly, this and the dynamic between Alex and Ben are the only things of worth I was left with.  I don't think I've been this excited and then disappointed since Alexandre Aja's Piranha.

Rating: 2/5

The Possession (2012)

The first dud of 2013!  I'll be honest: I turned this one off with about 10 minutes left; so unless anyone out there can convince me otherwise, I will not be watching the last 10 or any other minutes of this movie.  But don't take that as an embittered, angry disdain for the film--I'm not that emotional over it.  In fact, it's the opposite.  I am completely unmoved by it.  Writing a review of The Possession feels tantamount to writing a review of Coke (the drink).  I've had the drink a million times, and chances are you have too--what's to say?

Watching this one reaffirmed one of the major reasons why I loved The Last Exorcism, because the latter film took an exhausted genre and breathed some life back into it with some simple twists.  Having recently watched The Apparition, and being familiar with other Hollywood exorcist-genre retreads like The Haunting of Molly Hartley, The Haunting in Connecticut, and The Unborn,  I knew going into this that it was going to be in a similar vein.  But I didn't realize just how unoriginal, formulaic it would be.  If one were teaching a class in genre formulas, this would be a great exemplar.

From the opening shot it neatly follows the rules: (a) use FX to show that there's something threatening about an object; (b) setup a backstory that puts a plausible strain on a young child (in this case, divorce); (c) quickly run through a montage of scenes that depict said child exhibiting increasingly aberrant behavior; (d) setup opposing forces: the father who knows something is wrong, and the mother who doesn't believe him; (e) show a research scene; (f) and, of course, the exorcism itself, which the filmmakers must know will not come close to the exorcism scene from 1973.

Typically I would talk about cinematography, acting, thrills that stood out, and so on, but I've got nothing further to share.  I'll give it one star for simply being a horror movie.

Rating: 1/5

Apartment 143 (2011)

The cover art proclaims, "Paranormal Activity in just about every way, but with more action" (quote source illegible).  Well, nothing could be further from the truth, so I'll leave it at that.  Unfortunately, as the quote implies, this is an attempt to capitalize on PA's success by trying to win over those of us who complained that not enough actually happened in PA.  (I was in this camp until about my fourth viewing of PA.  As of then I've been smitten by its subtle charm.)  And thus I can't recommend Apartment 143 as a must-watch, but if you're addicted to flavors of the paranormal-thriller like a lot of people are addicted to zombie flicks, however redundant, then by all means watch this one.

Rating: 3/5

The Devil Inside (2012)

For me, one of the most memorable episodes of How I Met Your Mother features Barney's video resume.  Throughout the television series, Barney makes references to his blog and his web site, and in this particular episode he has his friends pull up his video resume online.  To my memory no address is given, but at this point, after reading his blog online and his printed book The Bro Code (also referenced throughout the series), I knew a quick Google search would take me directly to the video featured on the show.  Tactics like these--pulling the viewer into the world of the show via external sources--works well with How I Met Your Mother.  In the case of The Devil Inside, however, such devices have left me unmoved and slightly annoyed.

But before jumping to the matter external to the movie (matter I didn't even discover until the end of the movie), let's focus on the movie itself, which opens in the documentary style.  I wondered if it were going to remain like this throughout--which would've been more than welcome in my opinion--but, sadly, it does not.  Sadly?  Yes, sadly.  I say this because, after having seen the film, I can say that it would've been fresher had it remained a collage of newspaper clippings, interviews, etc., as the opening sequences gripped me much more than the switch-over to a mockumentary/found-footage form.  I thought perhaps I'm just too immune to this stuff now.  Sticking strictly to documentary made Lake Mungo and Cropsey great because it was so different (to be fair, people have pointed out that I wouldn't feel this way if I watched Unsolved Mysteries more often!).  But that's not to say found-footage still doesn't have life in it--all it takes is a good story with some change-ups to keep it fresh (The Last Exorcism, for example).

Coincidentally, I fell asleep shortly after the film switched from documentary to found-footage.  (I do realize that the film was intended to be "turned into a documentary"; I'm just referring to the form that we actually get as the audience).  The film kept jolting me awake to the raucous sounds of exorcisms, and I would rewind and try to get into it again, only to return to my slumber moments later.  Finally, as I awoke to the credits lethargically moving up the screen, I decided to go to bed.  Thus I had to give the move a proper watch the next day.  This time, I realized why I kept falling asleep.  The movie is barely 80 minutes long, but it is congested with politico-religious banter, none of which is anything new: the Church doesn't do what's right; the Church won't condone our attempts at finding out what's wrong; I need to do what I believe is right; they just keep her drugged up and won't properly evaluate her; the institution versus the individual; and so on ad infinitum.  I get that the film has to establish each character's conflict to justify their actions, but can I please get a fresh story?

But for all my negativity, the movie isn't a flop.  There are some pleasing elements, such as the overhead camera perspective during the exorcisms, which provided some nice angles and effects.  (The car-mounted cameras, on the other hand, are a strange and useless choice.)  And the exorcisms themselves (well, at least the first one) are pretty intense.  The verbal intensity isn't quite on the level of the film that spearheaded the exorcism genre 40 years ago, but it definitely pays its mandatory homage.  Audio design is well done, and there is more than one blood spattering, which threw me a curve-ball in light of the fact that this was a wide theatrical release.  In fact, I'm really surprised this dark indie horror was picked up and distributed on such a wide scale.  I'm used to films like this being packaged as unforgivingly horrific masterpieces, but actually being glossy PG-13 thrillers designed to reach the widest demographic scope possible (read: make the most money possible).  So, the film, within it's scant 80-minute runtime, does offer some pleasing effects--especially the contortionist effects, which always stir me (The Last Exorcism, The Exorcism of Emily Rose).

Another saving grace of the film is Fernanda Andrade, whom I had never seen before.  Aside from the obvious placement of a beautiful girl at the forefront of the film, she is a superb choice for the role.  And there are times when the movie seems to be aware of itself, though not in quite the meta-film way of, say, the Scream franchise.  For example, the dog-jumping-against-the-fence stock scare; and the I'm-just-the-annoying-camera-guy bit.  In the end, the film's subtle self-awareness and the fresh face of Fernanda Andrade weren't enough to bring me back (unless you count the fact that I fell asleep the first time and had to re-watch it the next day).  And when the film ended and I promptly visited the supplemental web site, as directed, I found myself annoyed at the marketing of external resources to generate forced controversy and buzz around the film.  But they've sure done a great job.  Don't believe me?  Just check out the lengthy discussion on said supplemental web site, which prompts you to "be a part of the ongoing investigation."

[REC] 2 (2009)

When the original [REC] (known to American audiences as Quarantine, the remake) was over I wanted more. In fact, I wanted the movie to continue from exactly where it left off. Well, little did I know the franchise would continue as desired. And there's a third installment on the way! I really like what they did with this one. The action begins immediately and the filmmakers make use of multiple character/plot POVs and fancy PIP (picture in picture) cameras to keep the movie interesting (we know the real deal at this point after all). Plus, we get another great ending that has become the trademark of a great new horror series. Well done, Spaniards!

Insidious (2011)

It's been a while since I've seen a new release. Or, rather, it seems as if it's been a while--probably more like a month. I just haven't been blogging. Anyway, I've managed to steer clear of reviews, trailers, and other spoilers, diligently taking note of upcoming release titles and filling my Netflix queue, waiting patiently for DVDs to arrive. There are a lot of titles I've been waiting for: Cropsey, Stake Land, YellowBrickRoad, Serbian Film, The Ward. And as with Insidious, I know nothing or almost nothing about these films.

The problem is that I can't tell if being caught off guard was a good thing or not this time around. Typically I stave off all hype because I don't want my imagination to start shaping the movie, potentially resulting in a huge let-down when I realize that the movie "isn't what I expected." I don't want to expect anything, and this usually secures the fun and entertainment of experiencing someone else's creativity. With Insidious, however, I don't think I could have prepared for its often bonkers antics at all. I was caught completely off guard, and I'm not sure I liked it.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The scares are not really scares, and there's very little of the subtly that viewers will expect since Paranormal Activity is plastered on the marketing material. After the opening montage, which itself has a really odd tone, the viewer knows the deal: it's a haunted house without the mysteriousness of invisible entities. Every entity is placed right there for the viewer/character to see. Halfway through it gets very old. How many more ways can they show me another entity, I found myself thinking. So, again, I'm caught in this weird state of not knowing whether I liked being caught off guard by the nonchalance of the merging of the two dimensions, the matter-of-fact manner in which entities appeared, or not.

Not to mention the array of cliché devices that were halfheartedly deployed. In an attempt at brevity I'll stick with three. First and most obvious, the police are never involved. But reading Richard Laymon novels has rid me of my incessant need for characters to call the cops! Then again, the alarm is going off in the house, the front door is open, the wife and kids are upstairs, and this dude decides to wield a firepoker and mosey around for himself? Later in the film, the husband refers to himself as the "voice of reason," but he moves them out of the house (a first in haunted-house genre history?) and entertains the trio of paranormal investigators.

Second, the allusion to a husband with a big secret. This was the strangest portrayal I've ever seen. He's a (high school?) teacher who works until nearly midnight, telling his wife he's been grading tests and working late to pay medical bills. Two things here: teachers don't stay at work that late to grade papers, and they certainly don't get paid extra for it. Plus, just in case we're wondering about an affair, we get shots of him in an empty schoolroom doing nothing but flashing to the same bland shot of a kid in bed, which is used later.

And third, the exposition underpinning the husband's vague visions and the little quip about how he's terrified of having his picture taken. What was supposed (I think) to be a shocking revelation was delivered in yet another pattern of casual storytelling. I found myself thinking, Oh, okay, figures. Then, in the end we realize that it's another means of being able to show more entities in creative ways. Oh, and a setup for the ending.

Speaking of the ending, the crazy musical sting behind the bold red-lettered INSIDIOUS is so strange in the beginning but a good confirmation at the end. It was then that I realized I should've viewed the bizarre, off-centered opening montage as a staging of the entire pattern of the movie: a normal haunted-house movie slightly skewed at an attempt to be unique. Not sure if I can call it unique or not, actually; I'm not even sure I can consider it a good movie; but it's definitely entertaining if only for the interesting manner in which it is delivered. I can't help but feel the filmmakers took the two biggest complaints of Paranormal Activity (we never see anything, and, they never attempt to leave the house) and addressed them in the extreme.

Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

I wondered to myself how in the world one would make a sequel of this movie. Well, here it is, and it wasn't a bad effort. Nothing amazing, but it worked. At times it feels like more of the same, but overall, seeing as how a sequel was inevitable after the enormous success of Paranormal Activity, it was a fine effort.

The Ceremony (2008)

Rating: A
Experience Vitals: Netflix Instant on Wii.

Movie Spotlight! Has anyone else heard of this one? I looked around and can't find many reviews. Just like yesterday's movie, The Perfect Witness, this is one I never would've found without Netflix. And it was a hit! I love these slow-burn psychological/supernatural thrillers. The slow-burn structure typically yields more character development/sympathy/empathy and intensifies the creepiness of the subtle horror. I admit that this one, like Lake Mungo, was able to creep me out without overdoing anything--indeed, because of not overdoing it! If you liked The House of the Devil and Paranormal Activity (I recently took a liking to PA, so don't be misled by the old review), you'll like this one. The lead deftly carries the movie through the banal, the creepy, the absurd, and a messed up ending. This one is to be watched late at night, alone, with the lights out.

Bloody New Year (1987)

Rating: C
Experience Vitals: Netflix DVD shipped to house roughly two months back and lost amidst bills and credit card offers, on a full stomach churning from late-night Mexican food, settled into chair around 2345 with, of course, Horror Cup¹.

I thought I'd ring in the new year with a New Year's-themed horror movie. Turns out there aren't a lot out there (please comment suggestions if you know of any), especially compared to, say, Christmas-themed horror flicks. But there was this one, Bloody New Year, and though it didn't stand up to the Thanksgiving-themed flick I had the privileged of checking out over Thanksgiving break (ThanksKilling; yes, that is the title!), it was still a real treat. Yes, it's that type of 80's movie--the one you invite friends over to watch and criticize and laugh at. All the cliché characters and situations are here. We get severed arms but you can see the character's tucked extremity inside their shirt. We get a harrowing sinking boat scene only to find that the boat's (more like the dingy's) terrified occupants are merely fifteen feet from shore! ("You know I can't swim, Tom!") And, to top it all off, this movie is a myriad genres and the "explanation" is well set against the 1959-1960 epoch of government paranoia. At the very least, if you're like me, you'll speak in an exaggerated British accent for the next few days!

[1] Horror Cup is a 16-ounce orange plastic cup with a jack-o-lantern emblazoned on the side, that I have used for various beverages during horror movies for ~4 years.

Devil (2010)

Rating: C+
Experience Vitals: BluRay from Blockbuster, watched in privacy of own home around 2200, fully awake and actually perhaps a bit too caffeine-stimulated.

I know: M. Night Shahm-uh-lawn, right? Steadily downhill since The Sixth Sense save for Signs, and all that, right? Well, yeah, me too, but Devil isn't too shabby, though of course--and maybe because of the fact that--it isn't directed by MNS; the story is written by him then transposed to a screenplay by someone else, let's see, uh, Brian Nelson, and finally directed by John Dowdle (Quarantine [watch the original, [REC], instead], The Poughkeepsie Tapes [this will never release]). And so but anyway, à la District 9's boasting of the name Peter Jackson, MNS's name is plastered everywhere for the marketing of Devil. Don't be fooled. But, also, don't be fooled by my praises either (if they are in fact bleeding through here) because, while it "isn't too shabby," it's not great either. Perhaps this is a good way to sum it up: I remember enjoying the movie, but I don't really remember the movie--and I watched it last night.

The Last Exorcism (2010)

The first horror movie I've seen since The Human Centipede back in early October, The Last Exorcism is an excellent return to my cinematic love. Sure, draw up a Venn diagram of possession-genre devices and you're bound to see TLE overlapping with The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Rosemary's Baby, et al., but TLE still manages to postulate some originality and an unique tone. There are no cheap, ready-made gimmicks, e.g. jump-scares, musical stings, etc., just good old-fashioned suspense-building, tension, and subtle chills. I've seen a lot of people thumbs-downing the ending, but I disagree just as I disagreed with the derision of The House of the Devil's ending. This is a fine film. Good eye, Mr. Roth!

Paranormal Entity (2009)

Rating: B
When people see this title, they're going to scoff, as I did, and dismiss it as a poorly done Paranormal Activity knockoff. Well, I'm here to tell you that, while it is a knock-off, it's not a bad little film. In fact, it's pretty good. Sure, it capitalizes on Activity's success--the characters even reference the film as a means of capitalization (though not of Activity directly), which wins points from me--but the suspense is effective, and the film obviously decided to mollify those who denounced Activity by addressing their complaints. The chief complaint being that nothing (physically) threatening really happens in Activity. Entity isn't without some holes despite decent editing, but the acting is mostly good when the mother isn't around, and the end works for me. One of my gripes with Activity was the addition of CGI, which Entity omits. Any horror fan would do well to check this one out. If you're wondering where this "mockbuster" came from, check out The Asylum.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

I'm probably the last person to see this movie, or at least the last horror movie advocate, anyway. I purposely decided against seeing this one in the theater as I knew it would elicit text-messaging, Twittering, giggling, laser pointers, and the inevitable audience commentary that comes with a theater-going experience. It also happens to be the first movie I've purchased in years; at a petty $15, I couldn't resist. And I managed to watch it at two in the morning, the house silent and all the lights doused!

Now that I've seen it I read a bunch of reviews. Only one of the eleven reviews I read were on-the-fence; all others were loved-it or hated-it reviews. As for me, I'm on the hated-it side of the fence, but I didn't hate it. I am simply a victim of the hype, and it pains me to know that there are thousands of people out there who were finally affected by a film. It hurts to know that I missed out on a truly scary experience. I tried, tried, tried to shun reviews. I covered my ears when people would talk about it. But it's hard to do when it is heralded the scariest movie ever made everywhere I turn.

* Spoilers Ahead *

The movie was over-hyped which led to high expectations (despite my attempt at suppression) which led to disappointment. Nothing scary ever happened. A door closed. A character stood in place for a couple of hours. A bed sheet moved. Some footprints appeared. And so on. Nothing scary ever happened. Obviously the scares were in the tension produced by the waiting for something to happened. But Paramount decided to wreck that by adding a rumbling at the beginning of each night. I think ZERO score would have increased the creepiness.

Paramount also decided to add a CGI ending to what I'm guessing is the theatrical version since I selected theatrical version on my DVD. This poor CGI ending felt completely out of place. All along we are never actually seeing anything, everything is real. Then, we get to see the same face that Megan Fox makes in Jennifer's Body. Come on. I tried the alternate ending and it wasn't much better. Can someone tell me what happens in the original ending and why they did keep it? I've heard inklings that Katie comes back into the room alone and rocks herself in place for like two days, but this so-called original ending isn't consistent across the sites I've checked out.

What the movie does have is stellar acting. You would think these two, whose real names are Micah and Katie (cool), were seasoned professionals. The candid footage of their everyday life sells them as two very real people and effectively adds to the film's reality. When they are startled, they are seriously startled. Most of the time an actor or actress playing up fear comes off cheesy, and I have to try and see past it in order to stay focused on the movie. Not so in Paranormal. Absolutely stellar acting.

So, what to do now besides post this and let the comments collect. I don't know. Will it be any better the second time around? I hope so. Sometimes it takes that first viewing to properly align expectations. Then again, this is the type of movie that evokes fear by keeping the audience in suspense over what happens next. Oh, well. I wish I hadn't heard anything at all about the movie. I will be watching it with the wife and several groups of friends here and there, so at least I'll get to keep an eye on their reactions since I know what is (or rather isn't) coming.

Now I'm off to make my 2009 Top 10 list...

Shocker (1989)

To use an oxymoron shared by so many in the horror movie fan community, Shocker is a great terrible movie. The story is all over the place, the effects are outlandish, the lines are extra cheesy, and the musical score is an onslaught of 80s metal. And speaking of the score, Shocker is complete with some of the most prolonged and raucous of stings I've encountered. It seemed like an explosion of a thousand MIDI samples every time someone unexpectedly turned the corner!

I would love to have been there when Wes Craven wrote this script. Protagonist: a young (high school? college?) football player in a platonic relationship, who has his own house, is able to "feel" the antagonist and "confront" him via dreaming. Antagonist: A serial murderer who gets juiced on television electrodes before slaying his victims. He is also apparently involved in some form of dark worship based on references to animal sacrifice. (Later in the movie, we find that this dark force our antagonist worships is an enormous pair of electronic lips!)

These two central characters are then pitted against each other in true Craven style. The movie is a mash-up of Nightmare on Elm Street, Poltergeist, and Fallen, though Fallen released nearly a decade later. Like Nightmare, the protagonist is able to face the killer, but a buddy, Rhino in this case, must wake him before it's too late. Unlike Nightmare, Shocker throws this in and then abandons it, most likely because, well, it's already being used in the Nightmare series. But I'm not complaining. This is one reason I love Stephen King novels (emphasis on novels); it's great when an artist mixes in elements across his or her body of work.

The movie is loaded with gags and gimmicks, ranging from the ghost girlfriend, who constantly appears from the bathroom, to the ending. The ending is an enormous success for Shocker, and again, I wish I could've been there to witness the writing. Two characters dive into a television set and duke it out across channels. Then, back in reality (is this movie ever really in reality?), the remote control is used to govern the killer's actions--a nice little precursor to Haneke's Funny Games, though Haneke took it to a different level.

BC at Horror Movie a Day recently organized a screening of Shocker with Craven and others in attendance. Here is a short clip from the Q&A that took place before the screening. He also has some great commentaries here. If you haven't heard of Horror Movie a Day, then I'm shocked that you have heard of this blog, and I urge you to start reading HMAD. This horror aficionado has been watching a horror movie every day since early 2007!

The Screwfly Solution (2006)

Buffalo wings. I'm addicted to them. Seriously addicted. When a new Buffalo Wild Wings opened less than a mile from my home a few years a ago, I would instantly become a regular and the future recipient of an ulcer or two. And, recently, I discovered a better way to eat Buffalo wings: baked, with Frank's Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce! So, you can image my satisfaction on Saturday night when I sat down with a big bowl of baked Buffalo wings and watched a horror movie!

Just like the wings (which were demolished within three minutes), the movie was great. Of the Masters of Horror offerings I've seen, The Screwfly Solution ranks among the strongest in both concept and execution. No easy feat when you have under an hour; but for this time constraint I love the Masters of Horror series. With features just under an hour in duration, they are the perfect solution for someone with severe A.D.D. Or, if it's late and you're tired, but you can't go to sleep without watching a horror movie: MoH!

Anyway, back to the movie. Great plot, though not original; click here for the Wikipedia information on the 1977 short story by Raccoona Sheldon. Plot: Something is causing men everywhere to brutally murder women who arouse them--a common, frequent occurrence in the life of a typical, heterosexual man. This alone set the stage for some truly creepy scenes, whether you're a man or a woman. The movie plays off the notion that we humans are merely insects in a garden (many references to the biblical Garden of Eden), and an exterminator (God? Aliens?) has been sent to eradicate our existence; and what better way to eradicate humankind than by killing off all the women?

Sam Hamm (writer) and Joe Dante (director) do a great job adapting Sheldon's story. I loved the character shift from the (female) epidemiologist, first and foremost. Just when I thought the movie was going to follow this assertive heroine as she fought through bureaucratic government forces to uncover and expel the root of the epidemic, that door is closed and the focus shifts to Jason Priestley and his family. Dante is able to pull off some fairly dramatic moments despite being pressed for time; and despite poor acting on part of the daughter, the viewer is drawn into their lives enough to care what happens. The always reliable Elliott Gould is under utilized, thrown in for good measure. But he still manages to add some depth to the film, and reveals his true purpose toward the end.

Cheers to Dante for the consistent white-noise transitions that ultimately brought the film to a close; for injecting a quick clip of a Miike film (Imprint?); and for foreshadowing the notion of aliens. Wings and The Screwfly Solution were a perfect pair for a late Saturday night. I thoroughly enjoyed the film from start to finish, and I look forward to future MoH installments I haven't seen yet. Thanks to Netflix for instant, streaming movies, a selection that includes quite a few from this Showtime series. If you haven't seen this one, check it out. Have fun!

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

And here I was thinking the calamity couldn't be any more tumultuous than The Evil Dead or Drag Me To Hell! In true Sam Raimi style, characters are tossed, slammed, whipped, thrown, jostled all over the screen and covered in all manner of liquids and juices. This is more similar to the Raimi we recently witnessed in Drag Me To Hell.

BOOK: One Rainy Night

With the advent of grad school it's been a while since I last read a horror novel. I think the last horror novel I read was Jack Ketchum's re-release of Cover, but I didn't get around to reviewing it on this site. For months now it's been a survey of the English literary canon from 1300 to present day, excluding postmodern horror. That's not to say it hasn't been fun--it's been a blast!--but it was time for a good modern horror read from one of my favorites: King, Ketchum, Keene, Laymon.

One Rainy Night, like most Laymon novels, places vivid, likable characters along a simple, harrowing plot. A warm black rain suddenly falls upon the town of Bixby, and everyone the rain touches begins to crave flesh and blood. If you're familiar with Laymon, you're familiar with his ability to write frenetic splatterpunk novels. This is a showcase of said talent. The pacing keeps the pages smoking, while your fingers ache from gripping the book too tightly.

The best part about this one is that it isn't just a typical "zombie" plot. Laymon throws a few other twists in as he always does and keeps the story interesting for just over 400 pages. For me, this is impressive. Especially with modern splatterpunk horror, it is difficult to keep the juice turned up and the reader's eyes unblinking for more than roughly 200 pages. That is, unless the reader enjoys long, detailed stories, laden with tons of exposition. (I'm one of them, but I've found that this trait is atypical among the majority of readers.)

If you're looking to burn a few hours with an exciting read, this is one for you. Although, I wouldn't recommend it for those who don't like explicit violence. If this is you, why are you on this blog?

From Within (2008)

Much better than the recent Slaughter. This flick offered a well-developed plot, strong characters, taut pacing, and visualyl stimulating thrills. Sure, there are a multitude of films out there based on the "religious zealotry" plot, but something about From Within just worked--I was glued to the movie from beginning to end. More than anything else, I enjoyed the strong lead by Elizabeth Rice and the redneck antics of Adam Goldberg.

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009)

What's with the DVD menus these days? I purposefully abstain from reviews and trailers before watching a movie because too much is given away. Now, with the DVD menus in movies like The Unborn and The Haunting in Connecticut, I am forced into an onslaught of all the mood and thrills of the movie, delivered in a rapid--yet comprehensive--collage that plays before AND after I select play movie.

Tonight, as I encountered this, I looked away from the screen until it was over. Extreme behavior? I've been known to exhibit extreme behavior at times, sure; but why throw away the mood and horrific imagery before the movie even starts? I don't want to see any of it. I want to be scared for the same reason the characters are: because they are witnessing things for the first time. Anyway, I haven't even started the movie yet--had to vent out my frustration.

On with the show...

Well, that was disappointing. This movie offered nothing new to the audience: one of the family members see "frightening" visions, the family becomes concerned, the doctors confirm that nothing is wrong, a priest attempts to expel the evil from the house, some library research is done, and so on and so on. I thought The Amityville Horror remake did a better job than this movie. The only deviation from the format we've all been subjected to time and time again is the multiplied number of "scares." Seriously! I couldn't even keep count of how many times this movie used the exact same scare tactic.

Boo.

You may argue, but I recommend The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) above this movie.