Just Watched Movies (2012)

[slayrrr666]

Spores-After deciding to investigate a supposedly abandoned stone mill, a group of friends find the area infested with vicious alien creatures who crash-landed on Earth in meteorites, and must find a way of stopping them before they can escape. This was actually a far better effort than it should've been, and there's a lot to like about it. One of the more enjoyable aspects is the effective use of the location, which is quite thrilling and seems to be a perfect location to unleash such a film with lots of dark, creepy places to either lurk about in ambush or just a perfect place to spring out unexpectedly from the different hallways or hiding spots within, and by utilizing their surroundings nicely it gives it a little bit of chills from time-to-time. There's even some exciting confrontations spread throughout as well, with their attacks leading to some rather impressive action scenes as they either escape or barricade themselves within, and in doing so offer up some nice gore shots as this is surprisingly bloody at times. There's some dropped momentum with the inclusion of the police-officers on the scene as it drags out the film a little bit getting them introduced, but overall this one is a whole lot of fun and quite enjoyable.

Devil Doll-After witnessing a ventriloquist's show with a seemingly-magical puppet, a reporter and his girlfriend get close to the performer but learn the deadly secret of his controlling puppet and his deadly obsession with her. A pretty inciting British killer doll film, though this is actually a bit more flawed than expected. Since the majority of the film revolves around the mystery of who the doll is and why he's able to be reanimated makes the film seem to drag to a crawl in the middle segments once the initial investigation is launched. As well, the whole reasoning for his obsession is incredibly weak and makes no sense as to really make an impression. There's still some good stuff here, including a genuinely creepy dummy that gets in some truly chilling moments, a creepy mystery that gets resolved and even some fun action in the finale that offers some great excitement overall. It's not that bad, but it does have some problems overall.

[Fenril]

- Yotsuya kaidan (1959). One of many adaptations of a famous japanese ghost story, having to do with a downtrodden samurai who gets a chance to earn fame and fortune with a beautiful rich woman. Too bad he's already married, but perhaps a certain poison can help him with that...

Regarded as a classic entry in Japanese horror, this movie hasn't aged very well, and so the early parts seem involuntarily funny (not to mention melodramatic), while the hauntings are a bit disminished by the use of extremely obvious makeup on the ghost. There's also a completely unnecesary subplot with the samurai's sister-in-law (to be fair, her resorceful and wisecracking manners make her one of the most sympathetic characters in this movie filled with broad strokes), which makes the movie feel even more padded than it already is.
That said, this remains an important part of asian horror cinema and helped to stablish certain staples of the genre (for example, the use of stagnant water to convey an atmosphere of dread and hidden sins), and as such is at least worth a look.

[slayrrr666]

Is that Nobuo Nakagawa's version of the story? That's the version of the story I've seen as well.

Mother's Day-Returning to their home like normal following a botched bank robbery, a group of criminals begin to terrorize and torment the new owners for the money they believe is being hidden away from them, forcing them into a deadly battle to escape. Hyper-stylized remake that has a lot of rather poor points rather detrimental in nature. The most obvious is the film's extremely long running time which has a lot of extra time in useless scenes or subplots that drag the film's running time out, from the useless antics of the group out on the errands to the different failed escape attempts as the group bickers and complains about everything, leaving this one exceedingly long. Another rather big problem is the stupidity of the villains, since not only do they fail to keep a check on the group but the whole manner of stumbling into the situation is lazy and feels way too contrived, as well as denigrating into a typical Torture Film routine to deliver the majority of it's scares. While the big confrontations are rewarding action scenes and there's plenty of gore to be had, it's too flawed to overcome them.

[Fenril]

Sept 18, 2012 10:58:48 GMT -5 slayrrr666 said:

Is that Nobuo Nakagawa's version of the story? That's the version of the story I've seen as well.

No, this was an earlier version (by a couple months, at most) from Kenji Misumi, who is mostlly known for the "Zatoichi" movies.

[slayrrr666]

Oh, okay. I know which one you're referring to. Perhaps you should track down Nakagawa's version (known as Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan officially) which I saw a couple months ago. It's good stuff.

Southern Gothic-Trying to get his life back in order, a suicidal bouncer tries to protect the stripper at his club that has become the target of a religious zealot who has become a vampire threatening to unleash armageddon on mankind through his newfound condition. This could've been a potentially enjoyable and rousing vampire effort instead is a classic example of a wasted opportunity. The main thing on display here is the fact that the religious zealot of a main character is thoroughly unconvincing, intent to mope about the shadows and yammer on in a series of Biblical cliches concerning the downfall of man or abducting the woman than actually doing anything, and his status as a back-woods preacher that barely holds fifty-people in his congregation makes his world-domination plans way too comical, aided in no small part by his ineffectual human help and lack of vampiric back-up. That also brings about the real lack of vampiric activities overall, since there's very few scenes of confrontations between the hunter and his query, as indeed the film's lack of hunting them down is substituted for endless scenes of him trying to cope with his life or integrating himself into their family, which are nicely handled for once but lack any action. These are compounded by the film's good points which signal this could've been something enjoyable, from the great violence and gore to a rather intriguing plot that sets itself up for a potentially endless series of great action scenes, but instead is a giant wasted opportunity.

[slayrrr666]

Rammbock: Berlin Undead-After confining themselves into an apartment complex following a massive zombie outbreak, two strangers try to survive without infection while trying to help the others stranded in the complex with them stave off the encroaching undead hordes outside the building. This was a pretty enjoyable effort, though there's some rather pronounced flaws here. Most notably, the fact that this one barely lasts an hour in length doesn't allow much time to do anything in terms of getting the story developed, as we know nothing about what's going on, the start of the virus or anything else, they just show up at the start of the movie and an hour later it's over. That leaves a huge mark as to be completely unsure of what's going on, and then combined with the utterly banal human characters that aren't that interesting to follow and what we should be following them, it's really hard to get into this one. Thankfully, all the zombie scenes here are where it's at here, with the undead hordes being quite involved in the proceedings and getting lots of close calls as they swarm around the group trying to get out, the make-up isn't that atrocious and some of the gore gags are done nicely. It's nothing new we haven't seen before, but it's done well what's here so it's pretty enjoyable.

Wreckage-Getting trapped in a car junkyard after breaking in to find spare parts to fix their stranded car, a group of friends find themselves attacked by a masked madman who begins killing them one-by-one, forcing them into a deadly struggle to get out alive. A somewhat flawed slasher effort here, which really could've been quite entertaining had it not focused on the stupidity for the sake of delivering a clever twist. While the twist here is indeed clever in concept, it really makes no sense as to why it was included here because an explanation isn't offered due to it being discovered so late into the film leaving the entire twist to be relegated to an afterthought, as well as the fact that it makes specific events in the film quite contradictory due to what happens due to the revelation offered. It's the worst kind of twist and is featured here, which also harms the film due to a lame body count offered up as well. This could've been quite good because there's some nice action scenes as they stalk the killer through the abandoned junkyard, the setting for such a film is quite original and every effort is made to make it a creepy setting which is a nice touch. Had this been a better story, this could've been something.

[slayrrr666]

Heartless-Tired of living in a squalid section of London, a man with a deformed birthmark makes a deal with a demonic figure to get through his terrible life but finds the deal changed and must confront the results of the changed deal. Utterly intriguing and inviting effort that gets so much right that it's far more enjoyable than expected. Utilizing a far more accurate and realistic depiction of a squalor than most of the types out there, with an urban Hell of gangs running unchecked, a lack of police presence despite their constant appearance, fires, burglaries and gun-use which create a very threatening atmosphere upon which the horror starts up. Far, far more brutal in tone than expected, though the execution is lacking somewhat but there's enough there to leave an overall impression. Once it changes over and gets the deal executed which renders him a lot more normal and strips away the urban Hell of the early stages, it looses it's footing and concentrates on far more useless areas, such as the tepid adoption angle or the cliched romance that takes up way too much time, is dragged out far beyond it's usefulness and makes the far far longer than it needs to be, moreover the fact that this section is played with a touch of black humor that clashes so jarringly with the gritty realism of the beginning that it really snaps you out of the film and thus this section constitutes it's only true flaw. While it again breathes some nice points with a pretty good finale and some overall nice touches, the middle segment keeps this down somewhat.

[Fenril]

Sept 19, 2012 10:41:11 GMT -5 slayrrr666 said:

Oh, okay. I know which one you're referring to. Perhaps you should track down Nakagawa's version (known as Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan officially) which I saw a couple months ago. It's good stuff.

Yeah, I have heard very good things about Nobuo Nakagawa's movies in general, so I'll definitely see what I can find. This one just happened to be playing at a nearby festival.

Meanwhile, saw a couple dumb yet fun action-horror hybrids:

- Abraham Lincoln: Vampire hunter. It's exactly what it says on the tin, based on one of *those* books.

I wasn't really interested in this when it was announced, but I heard from one friend that it was still a pretty entertaining movie, and later that the book is apparently a better piece of satire than it sounds like.
As for this movie, it really doesn't work as a satire, as it never quite seems to know if it wants to take the period setting and trappings seriously or not. However, it's an extremely entertaining monster hunter movie (funny how that has come to become an established genre) with several exciting action pieces --the fight in the middle of a horse stampede and the entire sequence aboard a train on fire are standouts. The acting and the script are serviceable, nothing more. And what few dark jokes got through work for the most part (notably a rendering of the US map in blood drops).

- Resident evil: Retribution. The latest installment in a surprisingly long-running franchise.

One thing for the Resident Evil movies: they have absolutely no pretentions about what they are, which over time has come to actually work to their advantage. Case in point: the plot here is irrelevant because it's simply an excuse to get our characters from one setup to another, and to introduce or discard threads as benefits the action. The special effects have been ramped up to emphasize how artificial the entire movie is, such that we never forget it's a spectacle first and foremost. I guess it comes out to be a solid popcorn movie.

[slayrrr666]

Camel Spiders-When a soldier's body is shipped back to the US after being killed in the Middle East, a small town comes under siege of the vicious Camel Spiders hiding within his body and are forced to protect themselves from the ravenous creatures. Absolutely amazing Sci-Fi Channel entry that really has hardly anything wrong with it but a lot to enjoy. As per normal, it's hard to take the CGI in this as anything but a total joke here, which should be quite normal and really doesn't damage the movie too much. The rest of the movie is incredibly fun, with the main attraction being the high amount of action depicted here. From the spider's chasing victims through the woods, a diner ambush that's quite a lot of fun, the survival group stowed away inside the school and finally the industrial complex that stands as the centerpiece of the main finale, it's got a lot of rather fun and exciting action scenes as the numerous creatures attack and are dispatched throughout the movie, keeping the pacing up rather nicely. With the numerous attacks comes a lot of blood and gore, and while still CGI the amount of damage done to the high body-count is rather nice and definitely works here. With the real-world implications of the creatures and a few tense moments during the shootouts thrown into the mix, it's got a lot going for it.

Shadow-Taking a biking tour through Europe, a former soldier accidentally angers a troupe of hunters poaching in the nearby forest, but soon find themselves tormented by a far more deadly threat that has no intentions of letting them leave the area alive. A very troubling effort, as this entry really could've been great but does have a problem with introducing a few too many flaws at times. Basically two movies in one, the first half is a cliche-but-enjoyable romp in a forest as two people fight to escape from the hunters, which includes some thrilling chases through the forest roads on bikes as the hunters chase in an armored car shooting at them, confrontations with their vicious dog and more, all done under the cover of a heavy fog in a woodland setting to give a perfect chilling atmosphere to everything, despite it being routine and far from believable as there's really no motive for the hunters to turn as vicious as they do as quickly as shown here. The last half is pretty lame as the gang is captured by a maniacal killer in the forest and are tortured by the madman, with on reason offered for the scenario. The tortures don't make sense, and are interjected at random, but there's some good stuff to come from the compound escape and the chilling nature of the set-up, only for the ridiculous twist ending to come along and ruin it all. That hurts it almost as much as the length, so this is really flawed but still has some good stuff about it.

[slayrrr666]

Nightwing-When a series of strange deaths surrounding an Indian reservation are shown to be the work of vampire bats, a scientist enlists help from a local priest to help rein in the beasts' rampage before they can spread out to other areas. A pretty average creature feature, this one's watchable but certainly not without a few problems. As is typical of the time, there's far too much bull-headed characters that, instead of showing them to be free-spirited and display strong core values, paint them as backwards and far too tightly controlled by their spiritual past which makes it hard to get involved in the beginning here with the reservation under conflict with the oil mining companies that come off as just stale in this day-and-age. We still get a nice, modern build-up of the creatures' appearance with animal attacks giving the tell-tale clue to their existence and it's not until people are attacked do we even see the creatures, as they make their first on-screen appearance quite late in the film, resulting in the two sides coming together and using their skills to rid themselves of the menace. This is all good stuff, with some nice action scenes that show the creature attacks as well as the tactics to get rid of them, the finale is tons of fun and there's even some decent special effects for the creatures that aren't as laughable as expected. Overall, it's quite fun if still flawed.

[slayrrr666]

Blood Dolls-Tiring of living in his mansion as a deformed freak, an eccentric billionaire decides to use his living dolls to seek revenge for the years of treatment he's received only for an unexpected twist to take over the dolls and threaten the success of the mission. One of the Full Moon killer doll classics, this one turned out rather enjoyable. While the decision to change the doll characters around makes no sense, the story here takes a backseat to the doll carnage and depravity depicted here which is overall utterly fun. From the rather gruesome and bloody deaths by the dolls, the suspenseful stalking they achieve throughout the houses and the action-packed confrontations that's filled in here is quite fun, and then there's the depravity with so much oddball stuff that it's overall quite entertaining, with the chained-up female rock group, clown-painted assistant, sex games and much more here that it's all quite twisted and utterly enjoyable. It's certainly repetitive of the other killer doll films out there and doesn't really offer anything new or innovative, so it has that against it, but the real damaging effort is the final twist which makes no sense and doesn't really have a whole lot about it that serves the film well. It's certainly a lot of fun if you're into this sort of thing but it's quite flawed if you're not.

[slayrrr666]

Stevie-After adopting a nice girl, a workaholic couple come to learn the truth behind her fear of an imaginary friend only she can see, and as their lives begin to unravel they find the true cause of the being's appearance and must stop it before it's too late. A pretty flawed effort, this one really has a lot to really drag it down but not a great deal that it gets right. The few bright spots are the few times it really lets the ghost's presence be felt, which isn't often but generate some fine sequences nonetheless, including the dollhouse attack and the fire in the kitchen among a few others. Beyond those, though, there's not a whole lot this really gets right as it's an endless series of cliches built upon the nonsensical nature of no one believing the mother who they continually claim to be unbalanced and mentally unstable, which goes nowhere and has become very tired overall. That really drags the middle of the film down and really brings the film to a halt far too often, giving this one a pretty dragged-out feeling and more of a Drama feel than out-and-out Horror. On top of that, it's not sure what kind of film it wants to be, since there's a feeling of it being either the ghost of the girl's deceased adoption home friend or the spirit of her unborn baby seeking revenge for being forgotten, and it plays both out while never connecting any threads and making it one big mess. It's been done before and better, so this is a very flawed effort.

[slayrrr666]

Underworld: Awakening-After the discovery of both species is discovered by humanity, vampire Selene is captured only to awaken years in the future where she must protect her daughter from the vicious Lycans intending to use her in their crusade to wipe out the vampires. An extremely fun and extremely enjoyable entry in the franchise that contains a lot to really love about it. One of the main things with this one is the fact that, as an action movie it hardly fails since we get outstanding spectacles that are outstanding and quite fun. From the opening dispatch of the police squad supposedly hunting them down in the apartment complex that's filled with great hand-to-hand fighting, gunfire and even impressive fireballs, mixed together with an exciting visual flair that serves the scene well, to the escape from the laboratory and the ambush on the vampire lair, it's got a lot of action and even lots of great gore here as this one is exceptionally bloody at times. By including a new form of the werewolves into this, there's even more fun to be had with the hulking monstrosity featured, and the finale in the parking lot is a lot of fun. That, though, introduces the film's two main problems, in an over-abundance of lame and pedestrian CGI that really ruins the entire sequence as the whole thing appears to be shot in that manner and it's an extended, drawn-out battle so there's plenty of time to grow irritated at the practice. Of course, it's only so long because of the sudden change in the creature's personality, which is maddeningly inconsistent since it's more interested in throwing her around instead of just killing her swiftly like it's done to all the others it's encountered before. Still, it's not all that bad and really is quite watchable.

[slayrrr666]

Lake Placid: The Final Chapter-Having discovered the existence of the crocodiles living in the local lake, a former hunter joins forces with the town's sheriff to keep the crocodiles at bay when both a relentless poacher and a group of teens descend on their nesting grounds. A really great entry here, one that manages to get a lot right about it and not a whole lot of flaws. In fact, it's only got the true flaw of these Sci-Fi Channel entries in the atrocious and truly terrible CGI used for the crocodiles, which doesn't even come close to the real thing and used for scenes that really shouldn't have needed them. Beyond this, though, there's a lot to like here including some outstanding action scenes featuring both the hunters stalking the crocs in the water or on land as well as the creatures chasing after the stranded teens in several really fun sequences. In addition, there's plenty of croc action which allows for some nice bits of gore and a couple nice stalking scenes throughout, which is always a lot of fun to have here and makes this one quite enjoyable. Plus, the fact that this one manages to feel as though it's a true continuation of the series, not only spouting off events that previously happened in the series but also continuing off on threads introduced there and presenting itself as a true follower of the previous entries, which is rarely seen. A frenetic pace and a ton of cheese provide the last points for this one, perhaps the best entry in the series.

Hunger-Awakening to find themselves trapped in an underground bunker with no way out, a group of people find themselves subjected to an experiment in food deprivation to determine the effects of hunger on a person, and begin slowly loosing their humanity. A pretty dismal and really uneven entry, this one doesn't have all that much going for it. Beyond the initial appearance and trappings of a torture film, the particular area of study conducted by the madman dictates that hardly anything at all even happens in this one as they sit around talking to each other or attempting escapes while they're being watched over, letting the film seemingly go on forever with absolutely nothing happening or even getting any kinds of answers to questions since the lead psycho never utters a word and all of the notes undertaken don't come off legibly. While it does have some grisly, realistic violence and gore shown here, the fact that this is more of a human psyche study than an out-and-out carving up of the human body, it's not as suspenseful, chilling or even creepy as it stands and really only serves those looking for the deeper meanings while those looking for more traditional efforts will be utterly bored and disappointed.

[slayrrr666]

Circle-When a serial killer escapes from prison and returns to his childhood home, an FBI team races to stop him from continuing his rampage on the grad students who have moved into the home to conduct research on the very psychopath. A surprisingly decent and far more watchable slasher effort than expected, as this one manages to contain some pretty interesting and intriguing stuff than expected. This is mostly due to the rather fun times contained within the opening set-up, which not only manages to get them there in a pretty timely manner but also sets up their purpose nicely as to their investigation and discoveries around the house with typical slasher film expectations thrown in before it gets to the stalking and abducting, which are pretty creepy at times and definitely worthwhile. The only flaw to this, which really has a lot of good stuff about it as well, is that this stuff is running congruently with the team investigating the escape and his criminal past, which includes them butting heads with each other, trying to use their area of expertise to get ahead over the other and the eventual discovery that working together allows them to solve the case. It's all pretty cliche and definitely quite dull, but is odd since the slow unraveling of the clues and the puzzle of it all is pretty interesting and keeps the film going along nicely, but had this dropped the tons of cliches and put the crime-scene-investigation antics to a minimum this could've been much more enjoyable.