Just Watched Movies (2012)

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The Thing-Discovering a stranded spaceship in the ice, the crew of an Antarctic research station find themselves under attack by a shapeshifting alien intending to take over the world and must stop it before all on the base are infected. An immensely wonderful effort, as this turned out to be one of the better remakes out there. While there were times where this one was infinitely familiar the fact that it was the only real flaw here makes this a lot of fun. The fact that the paranoia and utter cluelessness of who's-who in here is perfectly handled and makes the suspense really stand-out. The visuals here are top-notch, with the snow-bound setting, high-tech research center and shifting alien meshing well together here and creating an atmospheric location perfectly suited to house the action within. That action is indeed a lot of fun, with highlight quality scenes including the transformation of the doctor, the kitchen sequence and the transformations done during the testing and all the fire spit out. That creates a sense of fun to witness all the attacks be utilized with that tactic, and generates a sense of fun here, especially with the different designs for the tentacled beast shown. Despite an over-reliance on lame CGI for the creature, it's a lot of fun and scores nicely here, making this a highly enjoyable effort.

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Added an uncut copy of Species III to the collection.

Haunted High-After becoming stranded in a high school, a group of students find the cause to be a reawakened spirit of a demonic headmaster and his minions, forcing them to battle the deadly spirits to get away alive. This here turned out to be one of the more impressive and enjoyable Sci-Fi Channel original films for the channel. One of the more impressive elements here is the rather nice suspense displayed, which comes from the exceptional use of the creepy-looking school location displayed here, with it's endless corridors and hallways littered with lockers as well as the uncertainty of the early actions that get them trapped inside. As those are combined with their tormenting the students throughout with all manners of tactics including reanimation of dead bodies, hallucinations, demonic powers, mind tricks and much more, which when combined with the nice gore make for a great time overall. While the ending's fantasy-derived solution, atrocious CGI and rather lame feel do drive this down somewhat, as a whole this was quite a bit of fun.

Bounty Hunters-Agreeing to ditch their target for a potentially richer score, a team of bail enforcement officers gets caught up in a mob war to kill off their prize and must fend off the group targeting him for execution. A pretty big disappointment, as this one could've been a really enjoyable entry but instead is really flawed. The first problem is the fact that the good guys are so easily corrupted here that on several occasions they ditch their target to get after more money at the drop of a hat, not really traits to get you behind them. The other, bigger issue, is the utter lack of action scenes that are carried out here, as beyond one measly shoot-out and a mild brawl early on, nothing happens until the finale, which is back to greatness with a lot of fun about it, but until then nothing happens and it's pretty lifeless at times. While the finale is a bit of a boost, mainly in an outstanding female martial arts battle that's quite a bit of fun, it's not nearly enough to make up for this one.

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Angel Heart-Agreeing to take on a case, a private detective finds his target's connection to Satanism and black magic far more dangerous than expected and tries to escape them before succumbing to their threats. This was a rather fun entry, though there's some definite problems with it. One of the main issues here is the rather convoluted manner in which the entire mystery is found out, which tends to run all over the place and features a lot of extraneous parts that really could've been streamlined over time as the investigation seems to go on forever without really coming to any real conclusion in most cases, being told rather than fully investigated. That said, the rest of the film is quite enjoyable with a thoroughly involving mystery that needs to be sorted out, a rather potent mixture of black magic and voodoo which creates a nasty atmosphere and a rather shocking twist that ends the whole affair nicely. Not too much wrong here, though, so the positives really overwhelm the negatives.

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Curse of Alcatraz-After finding a strange Indian relic boarded up on Alcatraz, the research team studying the remains find themselves under attack by a strange curse affecting the others on the island and force them to battle it off to survive. A pretty unimpressive offering, especially since this one had a ton of opportunities to be really great. The usage of history mixed into the storyline and the ramifications in the present is pretty chilling, and the infamous prison location where it all takes place is pretty unnerving. That said, there's not a lot else that it gets right. The quick pace means that it slowly builds up the excavation and research into the strange object that there's hardly anything happening, with all the stalking and killed crammed into the last half-hour of the film. The kills aren't that spectacular either, whenever we can see them, and the creepiness of the location isn't taken to it's most extreme here as the prison could've been utilized far better. These here hold it back quite a bit.

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The Wicker Tree-Agreeing to travel to Scotland on a missionary trip, a Christian couple find their host family part of a clan that practices Pagan rituals and worship that are intending on using them for one of their next ceremonies. This here was a really poor and rather frustrating sequel that doesn't really have as much going for it as it's predecessor, though even taking it on it's own terms it's not that great. One of the film's main flaws is it's inherent inability to really get itself in a groove as to where it wants to go, whether this is about the pagan society or the different customs on the island corrupting the couple. This makes the film wander around and showing them experiencing the different ways of life there or showcasing how the locals live, never once preparing for the ceremony, what exactly it entails or why the whole affair is to go down. The one explanation given isn't anything to really get worked up over, either, as it's just plain idiotic and takes away from the films' connection to the original as well. With a dreary pace really only getting interrupted in the final minutes, this only has bounteous nudity to get it going, leaving this one a colossal disappointment.

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Added an uncut copy of The Beast Must Die to the collection.

Hands of a Stranger-After losing his hands in a tragic accident, a gifted pianist finds that the surgically replaced hands he now has take a murderous life of their own and must try to stop them from acting out the deadly urges. This here turned out to be pretty much a fun and enjoyable effort, brought along by the film's central point of a lot more focus on the hands' murderous qualities. Since they're far more crucial to the film's plot rather than any other side-quality, the fact that this is able to put more focus on that is an enjoyable affair as this gives us plenty of good scenes including the carnival altercations, the murder of the blind man and the stalking of his girlfriend in the movie theater, where it has more creepy qualities than expected. While there's still some focus on the surgeon and his radical experiment here, the fact that this one seems to spiral between being a serious horror effort and more campy material during the examination scenes makes this one loose some steam along the way, and the rather underwhelming finale does it no favors. Otherwise, this one was quite entertaining.

Mad Love-After an accident leaves him with crushed hands, a concert pianist's wife goes to the obsessed doctor in love with her to help him get over the accident, and when he agrees, the serial killer's hands he chooses for the operation have a life of their own after the successful surgery. This was enjoyable for what it was, though it's still quite flawed at times. As was the case most often with these early 30s horror efforts, not a whole lot of time is spent on actual horror, as the love affair showcased isn't all that well thought-out, leaving this one to just completely meander around during the beginning. While this makes his transformation into a psycho all the more credible, the actions don't move the film along into the horror arena. It's also pretty incredulous to believe the complete lack of knowledge gathered into who's hands were used, as the police investigation turns up nothing and the reporter never solves it, but for such an important procedure to take place, the fact that there's hardly anything known about that isn't brought up makes this section wholly unbelievable. While not a lot of action is done to suggest that this is a horror film, it certainly looks the part with it's impressive visuals, great layout and rather chilling sets as well as the fun final twenty minutes when the ruse has been uncovered, which does drag it out of the doldrums but is hardly enough to make it an out-and-out classic.

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Silent Scream-Agreeing to accompany a professor to a cabin in the woods for a psychology experiment, a group of students find themselves stranded with a savage killer knocking them off one-by-one, forcing them to try to get away alive. Pretty much standard issue slasher fare here, not that it's a bad thing by any stretch and actually has some solid points to it. The atmosphere, with it's wintery woodland setting out in the middle of nowhere, the growing realization of what's going on and the different traps create a pretty nice set-up here, and then the fact that the killer tends to show up whenever it's necessary to off someone makes for some really enjoyable moments as well. The pace is great and the kills are outstanding, so it's got a lot going for it even though there's a few flaws. The final twist reveal is a total cheat and really works against the film, the characters' actions are plain idiotic, and the cheapness does shine through on occasion. Otherwise, this one's pretty fun.

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Growth-Arriving on an island to sort through an inheritance, a group of friends find the supposedly-finished research on parasites intended for human evolution advancement are still swarming on the island and try to fight them off before succumbing to the deadly creatures. This here was a pretty disappointing effort that really could've been quite fun. There's a great deal here about the changes that are undergone once becoming infested with the creatures, which is where the film gets a lot of mileage out of by having it really just emphasize the changes undergone once they're infected and getting both some nice gore shots and plenty of gross-out moments. There's also some pretty decent action shots here of the swarming parasites going after victims and there's some fun to be had there, but the main thing that really hurts this one more than anything is way too many loose strands in the story. Far too much goes unexplained or even questionable about it's inclusion, which has a pretty big impact on the story when there's a twist in the last few minutes to try to make sense of everything. Otherwise, this here isn't too bad.

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The Truth About Demons-Upon finding himself under attack by a strange demonic cult, an anthropology professor tries to come to terms with his attitude when dealing with such groups in the past as he struggles to fight off the group's demonic ambushes. Pretty enjoyable effort at times, though this is still pretty flawed. The best parts here are clearly the attempts at reality-altering that occur throughout the film, consisting of numerous visions that seem to occur at random times throughout the story, which range from bloody mutilations to demonic hallucinations and the appearance of real demons that really make this pretty freaky at times since there's a great tendency to use it for both reality and the hallucinations, making it unclear what's really happening. The use of black magic in the finale is pretty fun, and the deaths are plenty gory enough, though this one's problems do rear up. The villain here is a total joke and inspires nothing to fear, the followers are even worse as they look just like punks on adrenaline, and the continued implications that tell us otherwise are tiresome after a while. Plus, there's also the mistake of not doing any explaining of what's going on, leaving this slightly confusing as to what's the point. Though it's still watchable, these were enough to knock it down a little.

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Spirits of the Dead-A collection of three different Edgar Allen Poe tales: a sadistic baroness finds that a wild horse is the reincarnation of a doomed soul she condemned to die, an exact double causes trouble for a sadistic courtesan, a boozing actor falls under his impulses and personal demons when arriving to shoot a new movie in Italy. Rather than do all three individually, all I'll say is that this has two good ones and one rather lame one. The first two are better, with the first (Metzengerstein) easily the best with it's Gothic atmosphere and action meshing nicely with the sadism and depravity before getting to a rather nice ending. Part two (William Wilson) is certainly watchable enough with an engrossing mystery as to the identity of the double and why he's there, a bit of depravity in the later half and the final sword-fight being quite good, though the segment tends to meander from the same set-up to the next without any variation, really keeping this one from doing anything entertaining with it's premise. The last one (Toby Dammit) was overall quite boring as the entire segment plays out as though it's an acid-trip nightmare. Sure, it's overtly weird and generally quite stylish visually, but that doesn't really make it scary. The drive through the deserted streets at night is about the only thing worthwhile here, as it's a lengthy, extended sequence that really gets far more enjoyable over time, though the majority of time taken up by the strange award ceremony rather than being scary really dooms this entry. Not enough for the movie overall, but just slightly.

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Subspecies IV: Bloodstorm-Having escaped from the castle, the dreaded vampire king sets off to rescue his fledgling from the hands of a scientist and his assistant who have inadvertently stolen her to cure her of her vampiric condition. Utterly enjoyable and fascinating entry, continuing the series along nicely and making for an really entertaining time. The Gothic atmosphere of the situation is incredible, with the enormous castle lit up with tons of candles, decorations and ornamentations befitting something of that look, the deformed look of the lead vampire and the underground catacombs where the finale takes place as the huge cemetery where it takes place is just incredible with it's graves, tombstones and other such ornaments make for a chilling location to hold the action, which is top-notch all around. Those action scenes, including some great moments in the hospital where the attempts to cure her are undertaken, a marvelous trap to capture him and a rather bloody escape all allow this one a great pace overall. While the plot could've used a little more meat on it to flesh out the different allegiances and such, overall this one was a lot of fun.

Sand Sharks-When a series of strange attacks and accidents on a remote beach are found to be the result of a mutated species of shark that can live in the sand, a small community bands together to stop them before they ruin an upcoming music festival. Pretty cheesy Sci-Fi Channel entry, pretty much filled with the normal prerequisites for the style in grand fashion. The concept of the shark's habitat for hunting, the obvious amount of time with the CGI for the creatures and the second-half concert where it all takes place is just glorious cheesy fun all around, helped along by the film's rather nice-looking design for the sharks when they're seen from a distance or only fleetingly, since they look less so in close-up, and the continued use of a cliche with the discovery of more creatures here becomes routine and not so much a surprise anymore as this one's main flaws. Still, the large body count and rather impressive amount of action featured here make this one rather worthwhile and watchable overall.

2-Headed Shark Attack-Getting stranded in an oceanic atoll in the Pacific, a scientific research team finds the area stalked by a monstrous, multi-headed shark and tries to stop it's rampage before they become truly trapped in the area. Immensely, utterly fun and exciting entry that perhaps illustrates the Sci-Fi Channel at the top of it's game. For starters, the CGI for the shark attacks aren't mind-numbingly atrocious as they actually look acceptable despite being somewhat noticeable of what's going on. The use of the animatronics for the close-up attacks are pretty good as well, so overall the effects are actually not that bad looking. While the story might be fantastic, it's certainly realistic and has a minor basis in reality which is another rather nice sign. As this is filled with lots of bloody, violent attacks on women in bikinis and less, it's also got a lot to enjoy there in it's exploitation offerings, and with some fine action scenes scattered through the film allow this one to be one of the more entertaining experiences around.

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Here Espantan-Upon moving into a new house, a pair of newlyweds find the place haunted by a couple of ghosts utterly intent on keeping their familiar resting place out of the hands of the pair and try to force them to leave through whatever means possible. While this Mexican affair is more comedy than straight-up horror, this is still a pretty funny affair and has enough to like about it. The fact that the ghosts tend to resort to means of extreme physical comedy to get the couple out of the house, from spying on them in various different states, altering the purpose of different items around the house to drive them crazy, appearing as ordinary people to disrupt the different activities performed around the house and all the confusion they cause by interacting with everyone else, which makes this one just insanely funny at times especially when they force the couple to keep the other from knowing what's going on, resulting in some great fun. While it does have some rather lame attempts at empathy late in the film, it's just enough to knock it slightly down from the top.

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Full Clip-After returning to his hometown for his father's funeral, an ex-special forces officer learns of his murder by a sadistic gang-owner and recruits his old unit to help rid the peaceful residents of his reign of tyranny. A rather decent actioner overall, this one manages along nicely enough with just enough shoot-outs, fist-fights and confrontations to make it enjoyable enough with it's rather plentiful pace, though there's still a few problems with this one overall. The first is that the twist here is just way too contrived and makes no sense at all, especially since there's absolutely nothing given beforehand about the reasoning for the turn to be worthwhile, and it also needlessly drags the film out a little longer. It's also pretty hard to take the central action figure seriously as well, given the constant intercutting and quick-shot editing to make it look like they're performing the moves when it's obvious they're not, so this drags it down somewhat but not enough.

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YellowBrickRoad-Heading off into the woods to solve an ages-old mystery of a town that disappeared, a team finds the wooded area so cursed that it begins to damage their psyche and turns the trip into a literal nightmare. This was a rather extreme disappointment and not really all that worthwhile. The big thing here is the fact that this is just so slowly-paced that either hardly anything happens until so late in the film, or what happens isn't that fun to watch. It's not that enjoyable to continually see things like the instruments going haywire, the running joke of where the GPS has them located or the different ways the group begins acting toward each other as the supposed twist where they all start to turn on each other makes no sense and is so poorly written. On top of that, the useless padding with the videotaped experiments and the different groups splitting up along the trail, hardly anything creepy happens to anyone and the purpose of featuring them is in doubt, which is coupled with the film's inability to answer anything that leaves more questions than answers to the situation. This is brought about by the fact that this could've been really good, with a great premise, some nice gore and a few inventive tricks and gags, but the flaws are too detrimental to overcome the good stuff.

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Equinox-Heading out into the mountains, a group of friends find a slew of demonic agents running through the woods trying to recover a book of Satanic incantations they've stumbled upon and try to get out before they fall victim to the beings. A pretty enjoyable, if utterly cheesy effort that treads a fine line between cheesy-bad and cheesy-good. The fact that this one feels pretty creepy at times, with the use of demonic incantations, symbols and the entire investigation early on, where the group comes across all manners of rather creepy goings-on that set the stage for a pretty decent mystery to unfold. There's also enough action to satisfy, with the different creatures that appear throughout create a pretty imaginative world by themselves, then with the rather fun confrontations to be had it's pretty enjoyable from time-to-time, but the fact that knocks this one down so much is the film's incredibly low-budget feel that renders a lot of the good stuff moot. From the lame effects work on the creatures to having more imagination than what to do with, to many unanswered questions about it, these work against it enough to knock it down despite having some rather decent qualities.