Just Watched Movies (2013)

[Fenril]

- Dark skies. The Barretts, Daniel and Lacy, are going through a rough patch --he was laid off and is having difficulty finding a new job. They don't quite approve of teenage son Jesse's choice of friends. And then there's the younger son, Sammy, who has been having increasingly disturbing nightmares concerning "The sandman". But are those just nightmares or has someone actually been breaking in their home at night, rearranging their furniture, stealing their belongings and leaving all sort of marks on their bodies?

So this is the movie that I mentioned on my blurb for "V/H/S". It is (and what I'm going to write is revealed right in the first scene, so I don't think it's a spoiler) an alien invasion film presented as a haunted house tale. This started out great, with a script that quotes from Clark Ashton Smith and E.T.A. Hoffmann and a focus on adult fear --being unable to support your family or protect your children, for instance. The second act keeps up the suspense as well, with the leads trying to come to terms with the idea that they are under attack by something impossible to believe and against which there's very little they can do. But the climax is pretty weak, with a predictable twist and a not quite efficent shift in focus, from the parents to the children. Basically this has some nice suspense and one or two good scares, but was overall dissapointing.

[slayrrr666]

The Island-Having grown up in a strict community with other survivors of a devastating plague, a couple learn they've been created as clones for people to live longer and go on the run to expose the truth, forcing a mercenary team to race to stop them. This one turned out to be quite a troubling effort as there's an equal amount of positives and negatives here. The main one that hurts this one the most is the absolutely ridiculous amount of camera distortion that plagues this one, as the camera can't stay still at all. This one shakes around so much that not only is it impossible to get a handle on what the scene is supposed to feature but also to ensure that what's on-screen is so distorted it can't be made out. Not even the background props in the scene can be made out during this tactic beyond whatever action is supposed to be happening, and it takes a few seconds after the fact to realize what's happening here. That this is mostly taking place in the second half is quite problematic, since there's almost nothing of interest in the first half beyond the twist of the type of environment they're living in. It's handled well, but it doesn't come off as interesting as not a lot happens to warrant interest and it just plods along at a pretty boring pace. That said, the second half is just all sorts of awesome with plenty of outstanding action pieces including the spectacular chase in the city on the back of the transport truck, the helicopter gunfight and the high-speed hover bike sequence which is just flat-out fun. Stops the action to get a little too heavy on the espionage, but the action works too well to matter and features enough humor in their learning of the human society to generate some counter to the negatives.

[Fenril]

- The conjuring. A husband and wife team of paranormal investigators are called to help a family who fear the house they have just moved into is haunted. And it is; but exorcising the inhabiting spirits might come as a deep personal cost for both Lorraine Warren and Carolyn Perron. After all, certain spirits know there is no better prey that innocent children...

Popular haunted-house movie from the director of Insidious and Dead silence; based on a real-life case from the same team behind the infamous Amityville Horror. It's very well directed, it has good jump scares and the cast is pretty good (Vera Farmiga --Norma in "Bates Motel" --in particular stands out as a sensitive psychic detective). The problem here is that the script is insultingly dumb, piling on cliché after cliché and the kind of supernatural occurrences that could be very easily dismissed by simple logic --but since this is a movie, of course there is an actual supernatural presence at work (to be fair, this is based on an actual case, so of course every incident is conveniently easy to recreate in real life). Very nice visual design, however.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of XXX: State of the Union to the collection.

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The Marine 3: Homefront-Returning home to check on his family, a marine is forced into action when they stumble upon a plot by a madman to destroy a local commerce area and must get her back before they can implement their plan. Somewhat of a disappointment here as this really could've been somewhat fun but is just too plagued to make it worthwhile. The biggest focus here is the fact that the main villain is such a complete joke that there's just no way to buy him as a credible threat. His main ploy here is utterly laughable to think it would make any difference as to actually work the way he planned it, it's not even a plan of action that makes him out to be a bad guy as they try to give him sympathy for his cause that instead just makes him out to be a total nut-job with no grip on reality and to think it garnered him the use of commandoes as skilled as these guys are portrayed to be for a cause that stupid. There's a real lack of action within this as well, which is quite shocking considering the premise practically calls out for such an extreme amount of action with the kidnapping ploy demanding he go through the group, and while that happens the amount of time taken up with him talking to her or his henchmen about the plan is showcased far more often and leaves the few action bits to hit in short bursts. There's some big scenes here that work nicely, with the raid on the hideout turning into a gigantic shoot-out with tons of bullets flying all over and explosions going off, his Marine skills allow him to take over the ship quite nicely in a nice sequence and the final showdown in the streets of the town make for an exciting sequence so it has some good things going for it, but not enough to counter the flaws.

[slayrrr666]

Scarecrow-Trapped in the countryside while visiting a friend's house, a group of troubled teens and their teacher learn that a local legend about a haunted scarecrow living on the property and begins to hunt them down one-by-one as part of the special ceremony for it's release. This here turned out to be quite a disjointed and scattershot but still left enough positive points that there's some really good parts. One of the biggest problems here is the fact that the scarecrows are introduced so early on that there's several missed opportunities with this tactic. There's never a chance to build any suspense in this through the gradual discovery of who's performing all the grisly murders and who's around the house with them makes for some compelling moments, yet that is wasted here by the early reveal. As well, the fact that this means it has to eat up a bunch of screen-time being introduced to everyone without the scarecrow murdering people means this one tends to work backwards, being introduced to the horror before going for the character build-up and that leaves a very disjointed and off-kilter pace that really means that there's a lot of down-time after the initial attacks have taken place, which just doesn't seem to work all that well. The fact that these take place when they're all huddled together in the farmhouse not doing anything makes them all the more obvious, and frankly that's a little tough to take. Add in the fake-looking CGI for the creatures and there's some pretty big problems to overcome. There's still some good stuff, though, in that the kills are all really bloody and gory offering plenty of fun there, the fact that the killer is loose means the second half is all chasing which is certainly a big deal and the fact that the finale is action-packed, with the ambush in the second farmhouse leading to the water-taxi depot and all the explosions and stalking in that location makes for quite a good time as this is certainly an action-filled effort. As well, the backstory about the creatures is quite a bit of fun and is certainly different from the usual fare associated with these movies. All in all, it's got enough to like along with some flaws.

[slayrrr666]

Again, with the screwy computer, last two nights worth of watching:

The Apparition-Looking after their family's house while on vacation, a couple's idyllic life is interrupted when a malevolent spirit appears and threatens their lives, forcing them to confront the deadly secret in his past that's the prime motivator for the vicious spirit. This here turned out to be a decent and enjoyable if way too brief ghost film. One area for which the film is quite hard-pressed to get away from, as has been mentioned, is the extreme brevity to this as it lasts barely an hour long and features a lengthy intro sequence so there's a lot of time spent on an admittedly-important plot-point, but it's a lot of time to use up on something that could've gone towards more terrifying matters here. The rating is another issue since it really takes a lot of the intended threats away where it could've been all the more terrifying if it really would've attacked the couple everywhere or actually did something beyond just appearing behind them menacingly or dragging victims off-screen. With no true on-screen kills yet still boasting some kind of body-count, there's very little threat taken from the main creature and it makes for a pretty light entity. As well, the lone chilling sequence of it attacking one of them in bed and utilizing the sheets on-top to form the impression of what's happening beneath would've had more impact with a bigger rating giving it a more disturbing outcome. Still, there's plenty of attacks throughout that work well, the backstory to the ghost is imposing and it's quick enough to not get boring, so it's good enough but really could've used a lot more to get by.

Robocroc-Trying to control a top-secret experiment, a military scientist reluctantly teams up with a zoo-keeper when it appears the experiment mutates one of the resident crocodiles into a cybernetic fusion and must try to stop it before it's rampage grows out of control. This here turns out to be quite an entertaining and enjoyably cheesy offering. While the general plot device of allowing a normal crocodile to be infected and infused with cybernetic robotics to turn it into a killing machine is flat-out ludicrous, the manner in which it goes about dealing with this is quite nice with the overall deception played throughout the film against the zoo personnel, and in return, the viewer so we don't know any more than what's told. This makes for a potentially-frustrating time since there's little nuggets placed that aren't quite as forthcoming in revealing what's going on as it should be, and the final twist that enables the whole conflict to continue on is quite irritating for it's decision to incorporate such a clichéd option to keep this one going after the appropriate finale that was given here. That said, there's plenty to love in the film's outright cheesiness, which is just pure fun with the film getting a lot of play out of the initial concept of a robotic crocodile going on a rampage with the as-per-usual lame CGI keeping the sections of robotics coming through the normal crocodilian skin looking rather cheesy, there's some nice action scenes of both the crocodile in the adjacent water-park chomping on tourists to the military's battles with the creature in the open and utterly failing. It's actually quite fun and enjoyable for what it is.

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Paranormal Activity-After a series of vicious and brutal attacks in their new house, a couple's efforts to video-tape the culprit leads to a more harrowing series of attacks by the ghostly perpetrators and force them into ever more dangerous methods of getting away from the creepy beings. Frankly, there's not enough here to really care at all for it. The main issue with this one is the main selling point of the movie, that the found-footage aspect of this one manages to completely undo the film on several vantage points. From the very first seconds of frame-time, the film makes a big deal about the whole effort being shot with a hulking video-camera instead of a smaller, more portable device throughout the duration of the film, and essentially that means numerous opportunities of having to handle the unwieldy object through situations that require the safety of their own well-being before documentation is required, so a lot of time is spent on them trying to keep the camera rolling rather than get to a safe location, and it really takes a lot of the suspense away from the scene. As well, the fact remains that the events have to be captured by the camera to be able to figure out what's going on as there's no way to tell what's going on from time-to-time, since the camera can't capture everything so noises, banging and scratches that go off-screen are exactly that, off-screen noises that leave no definitive take on what's going on. Those issues are combined with two other big negatives here, the ungodly amount of build-up that basically leaves this one with very little going on for the majority of the time since they're reacting to everything around them first before the main attacks come in, which really aren't that dangerous since the stationary camera doesn't go chase them to see what's going on and certainly makes this feel a lot longer than it should. That said, there's some good stuff here as the last half where the attacks actually get physical rather than just the odd or the off-screen are absolutely fun and enjoyable, including the beating in the bedroom hallway and the encounter in the dining room which are pretty creepy, and the fact that it's got a creepy story set-up works for it. Overall, it's a real mixed bag but ends up on the bottom rung of decent.

[slayrrr666]

A Little Bit Zombie-Heading out into the woods to plan their wedding uninterrupted, a group of friends come to realize the strange behavior of the groom is due to a zombie infection and must try to help him cope with the oncoming changes while keeping the wedding intact and him safe from hunting scientists. This here turned out to be quite an entertaining and enjoyable zombie comedy with so many fun and funny moments. The fact that the infection is so early in the film makes the fact that he's resisting for so long the central point in generating the comedy as he can't act as a typical human due to the presence of the infection, yet that infection is causing him to produce more zombified activity that a normal human wouldn't consider, and thus generates some outstanding comedy. From the interaction with the rabbit, the group forced to buy animal brains to get him to eat at a meat-processing plant and the absolutely gut-busting antics of the group being okay with his zombified behavior as it allows them to basically treat him like a human crash test dummy for their own amusement, and it's just so hilarious that the premise is allowing this kind of activity to occur by itself is enough to make the movie worthwhile. While the early parts of him trying to hold it in for his wife's sake and the general disgust amongst the friends towards her for treating him like that are funny in their own right, it's really at the end where it gets really funny. The confrontation with the hunters packs the film's only real gory moments in some fantastic head-shots and blood-splatter, the fact that it's not in that mode at all might be quite a disappointment for some looking for a funny-yet-over-the-top zombie comedy, the fact that it's got the courage to only feature a few of them while concentrating only on the comedy of the premise rather than delve into the conventions of the genre makes for a good time all around.

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium-After finding a sealed canister on their grounds one day, inmates at a psychiatric hospital begin to undergo a strange metamorphosis and eventually learn the hospital was the site of a military accident involving a virus that brings the dead to life and now follow that action. This here turned out to be quite a terrible and overall disjointed effort. One of the biggest issues is the fact that the film takes so long to introduce the zombie pathogen that it's almost hard to believe that was the main focus of the plot the entire time. While the fact that they're changing throughout after being exposed and it generates a fair amount of tension as the deterioration keeps occurring and changing them, the fact that this takes place at a mental hospital means the entire time is spent around those that are way too mentally-stunted to understand the obvious, more-so how the virus got loose among them in the first place being the high-point of their stupidity that makes no sense were that to occur in the real world. As well, the fact that there's about ten different subplots surrounding the inmates that don't really make any real point of interest in the whole film that these combined efforts force the zombie carnage until the very end of the film. Even still, these scenes are rather lame with various extras being swarmed over by the zombies as they scream in panic yet nothing is shown of the body dismemberment or entrails removing that seems to pop-up in the scene, leaving the gore to remain in the opening carnage flashback scene as well as the assault at the end on the human assistants, which gets some points but overall, this isn't anything we haven't seen before and done better which leaves this one lacking considerably.

[Fenril]

- Insidious, chapter 2. Minutes after their ordeal with astral projection gone wrong, Renai and Josh attempt to move back to a normal life and leave behind the death of their helper. But assorted spirits aren't done with them; and soon they'll have gather every ally in their power, both alive and not, and reach to the past if they want to save their future.

Fairly average sequel to a surprisingly frightening movie. Rather unnecesary, but certainly a thrilling watch.

[slayrrr666]

Added an uncut copy of The Midnight Meat Train to the collection.

[slayrrr666]

Paranormal Activity 2-Convinced a strange series of household disturbances are the result of intruders, a family's efforts to contain the culprits on hidden cameras result in them discovering evil spirits are haunting the house and obsessed with their danger, putting them in danger to get out alive. This turned out to be a wholly entertaining effort on it's own and is certainly better than the original. The fact that this one finally gives us a storyline plausibility for the hauntings is where it gets a majority of the positives here, as this is a fairly new idea that's in play which is so rarely used it's a shame that so few use it that it feels new and original for it's being utilized. As well, the fact that this makes such a cool impact on the proceedings of the film within that there's a far more damaging take on the actions against the family, as there's finally a reason for the hauntings to take place here since it plays in nicely with this story, and those hauntings are just so much fun. From drawers and dishes clattering open at just unexpected times in one massive strike to lifting the infant out of the crib through seemingly-invisible means, itself a chilling sequence, to similar scenes attacking the family itself that make for a non-stop continuation during the finale, this has some rather fun scenes in here that make it quite enjoyable and gets a few jumps out of it. There's still some flaws here, mainly in the way it's supposed to interact with the first one that never feels at all like the events are connected beyond the shared cast, since the events don't really line up all that well and none of what's explained in here gives an explanation for what happened in the first one, especially when it comes to the finale which is just a mess. The first-person camera isn't an annoyance to the tune the first one was, but it's still pretty hard to make stuff out at times which again really hampers what's going on within the scene when you can't tell what's happening, and with a slow build-up it takes a while to get going with the hauntings since the set-up doesn't allow for any on-screen happenings until later on in the film. Overall, though, it's still quite fun.

[slayrrr666]

V/H/S-Hired to acquire a rare VHS tape in a remote house, a crew discovers a series of strange videos inside: a group of guys partying find themselves stalked by a malicious demon, a honeymoon couple may have something sinister with them on the trip, a group of friends at a lake-side retreat are stalked by a vicious unseen killer, a video-chatting couple believe someone is in the house with them, a group of guys attending a Halloween party run afoul of occultists. Frankly, I don't understand the hype with this one as there's so much to dislike here as nearly everything has some flaws. The first one is so chaotic and random that it's hard to make out what's going on at times since it's gimmick of keeping the camera on the leads' glasses means he's jerking and weaving his head around during the moments we want to watch what's going on and those scenes are just painful to watch, after making it impossible to care about who the group of guys are since they're all total jack-offs. The second one has no scares, no thrills, no energy and no reason for being made at all, it has no good qualities at all and should've been removed from the entire film. The third effort tends to forget so many of it's own rules and set-ups at will simply to get the good scare or suspense scene and tends to wander between chilling and lame too frequently. The fourth one takes a sense of stupidity to startling heights with her inability to recognize her own danger after the attacks have begun. The last tends to feel as if it was miscast with 30-year-olds acting in a scenario meant for 20-somethings and means their behavior is quite out-of-character and actually feels the least likely to have filming the whole efforts remain a top-priority and forsaking one's personal safety to do so, considering the events that transpire throughout. Still, there's some good here: the demon revelation in part one is handled well and the final confrontation there is incredibly-chilling, the stalking and killing in the third one is some fun with the traditional slasher elements coming into play as well as a chilling role-reversal that comes out of nowhere and is played perfectly, the nudity in the fourth keeps it interesting after a few cheap scares and the last one is just maniac and chaotic with a ton of strange and thrilling visuals. It's definitely the best one, but it still has problems, much like the film as a whole.

[slayrrr666]

Grave Halloween-Setting off into Aokigahara Forest, a teen and her friends' mission to put to rest her lingering fears of her mother's death put them into danger when the restless spirits of the dead around them take out their anger on the group for their attitudes toward them and must find a way of stopping them. This here turned out to be quite an entertaining and enjoyable effort that gets a lot of great points about it. One of the better elements here is the use of the local custom that plays such a central part of the storyline that it really starts to feel as though the events could happen to play out as they do. Being that this is Japanese the culture and heritage of honoring one's deceased echoes throughout this one in so many ways that the great pride it places on the subject earns the eventual rampage from the ghosts later on once the mocking had been committed. It's all completely justified and rational, and that makes the ghostly actions all the more fun with several incredibly chilling gags, from simply transporting you to a different dimensional plane of reality without realizing it in order to prevent their friends from finding them in time to prevent your death, vanishing behind trees, rocks or landscape changes to avoid detection, putting your own thoughts against you and making you do something against your will or just flat-out attacking you with their ghostly powers in vicious, brutal attacks. By doing this in such a chilling and creepy location, almost seemingly filmed at the real forest itself as the attention to minute features of the area makes for an absolutely chilling, creepy area to remain the entire time, and offers up plenty of suspense from the landscape itself. With a fast pace that keeps things moving along briskly, a couple of brutal and quite bloody deaths dished out, a real sense of danger when it comes to the treatment of the cast since they're all in the firing line at some point and not too many flaws here, this is a spectacular, stand-out effort.

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Eye of the Devil-Returning with her husband to his chateau in the French countryside, a woman gradually learns of his impending desire to yield a good crop field by partaking in a pagan ritual sacrifice that puts her and her children in danger and must stop it from transpiring. This here turned out to be quite an unusual and disappointing effort. The film's biggest issue here is the fact that there's the utterly overused angle of thinking it's creepy when people knowingly withhold information crucial to the survival of others and yet can't reveal anything, essentially being unable to stop talking about it but never saying anything. This is a common theme in numerous movies and has never worked out well since it basically keeps the movie going along but does nothing with it that hasn't been done in those other efforts, making this off to be a cliche as well as basically doing nothing for the film anyway. As well, the details of the belief that powers through this is just utterly confusing, never really making any bit of sense as to why the ceremony was adopted or what it's supposed to prove which just makes the whole effort confusing, and as well the film does seem to run on a little longer than it should, stretched out by the needless withholding of information causing unnecessary investigations that go nowhere since they're all stone-walled or dead-ends, and it's only piecing everything together at the end does this evoke any sort of terror. That said, it's still got some solid, enjoyable moments here, for the discovery in the forest mausoleum leading to the raid by the black-hooded figures is chilling, the town-hall ceremony has a few surprises and the finale employs a clever trick to really sell what's going on quite nicely. Beyond that, the eerie behavior of everyone around is quite a bit of fun and gets pretty chilling at times, especially towards the one girl who is so off that there's an unnerving atmosphere that plays into the whole secrecy surrounding the whole proceedings, making for a better film than it sounds but still not as good as it could've been.