In t
he end, Lavender is a suspense driven almost first person story with a great deal of mystery and frankly confusion. The fragmented story telling that accompanies the way Jane thinks and views the world both enhances and detracts from the experience at the same time. The acting by all with the exception of Diego Klattenhoff (Alan) is solid and just felt like it belonged. I was disappointed in the lack of more for Alice’s character and what she could have been, but the ending more than made up for that, leaving me feeling like sitting all tensed up for an hour and a half was well worth it for the satisfaction we get along with Jane. Well worth a watch for fans of horror, mystery, suspense, and many other genres that get mixed in, with nice results. – 4.1/5 – Genre
Psychological
The Complex
The Complex really just took a bunch of elements from multiple genres, psychological mystery, drama, horror, and anything else you can think of and tossed them in together. This is rarely a recipe for a good movie and The Complex is no exception. Slow moving, a 50 minute first act is just a bit much, too many main story lines and long drawn out scenes for no reason all contribute to making this not a scary movie. It is interesting in some regards as you want to know how the stories conclude, but once they do you’ll probably wish it had been left a mystery. I wish I could say better of it, but The Complex is probably not worth watching unless you enjoy Japanese horror movies a lot, horror movies in general a lot, or if you’re curious how I could write this much about a movie I really didn’t like all that well. – 2.9/5 (genre) Continue reading
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (have to keep checking that title to make sure it’s right) is a long winded, overly self obsessed hipster monologue about the imprint of death on a house. Nothing more and nothing less, except the extolling of how the living no longer have claim over a house after someone has died in it. It’s tedious, monotonous and just boring with the exception of the spoopy moments that were supposed to be “scary” but just couldn’t get there. Unless you plan to make it a drinking game where you drink every time you see a chair on the ceiling I would stay as far away from this not so pretty movie as you can. If you watch it, watch another movie after to cleanse your palette, trust me you’ll need it. – 2.1/5 (genre) Continue reading
Darling
In the end, Darling is a fairly unique movie which takes the guts of other horror/suspense movies and puts them together in a new way. The slow burn and intensity build up throughout the chapters of the movie make it very entertaining, and a bit unsettling to watch. However, if you’re looking for a movie that you don’t have to constantly be thinking about, going over why this is happening and what does that mean, and why won’t someone answer the damn phone, then Darling is probably not for you. Loud screeching noises, random cutaways that seem to lack any linear time cohesiveness, and dialogue that could probably fit on one page of the script all contribute to making this both a good and bad movie. The ending offers no respite or satisfaction and is by all measurements lackluster, but the black and white choice was perfect for the film, a nod to the Hitchcock style of movies. – 3.3/5 (genre) Continue reading
The Lazarus Effect
“The Lazarus Effect starts out very strong, and maintains a good stride for the first hour with a very interesting topic explored in a very interesting way. But in the last half hour it manages to not only undo all the ideas it has created but to twist them into a simplified, easy to digest ending for us to consume. Surely this makes some comment on what the writers/directors think about their audience, but I might be reading a bit much into it. Definitely worth watching, a lot of fun on both a purely philosophical level as well as a good horror/suspense level, just expect to be disappointed by the turn it takes just past the one hour mark.” – 3.4/5 (genre) Continue reading
Estranged
Estranged is a very special type of movie, it’s a type I’ve watched before but are often few and far between. It transcends genre, and finds its way eventually into almost all types of movies. This is the type of movie that, at the end, leaves you feeling as if you yourself have done something wrong. By being a willing participant in the events that transpire through watching them unfold, you are actively acknowledging that this is happening and you are doing nothing to stop it. Of course there is nothing you can do, but you still feel just as dirty at the end as the characters do. – 3.3/5 (genre) Continue reading
The Great Hypnotist (Cui mian da shi)
On the face of it The Great Hypnotist promises to be nothing more than the tired genre that is psychological thrillers. In fact it does little to cast off this notion in the beginning, despite the opening being very entertaining, and only reinforces the idea that we won’t see anything new here. But get past the first twenty minutes and you’ll find that there is a much deeper and refreshing take on this plot line. With a series of short narratives, and a far less superficial story than just the mind-bending, what is and what isn’t real, we find a tale about loss, pain and forgiveness. To sum up the movies message, “You don’t forgive someone because they deserve it. You forgive them because they need it.”. (Yes I know that’s a misquote) – 3.8/5 (general) Continue reading
The Abandoned
“I did
n’t think there was ever a chance I would say this, but I would rather watch The Hollow, a SyFy made for T.V. movie focused on special effects with no thought for writing, acting or directing than The Abandoned. Or for that matter even The Damned. My entire world has been turned upside down. There is no possible way I could have found a more boring, less believable, unoriginal and derogatory movie than The Abandoned. I guess someday I may be saying that about another movie, as I am now, but it boggles my mind to think so.” – 1.2/5 (genre) Continue reading
Anguish
“Anguish is the horror movie that finally made me jump! While it was small, and it made my cat jump more than me, it finally succeeded where others had failed. And it did this without blood, gore, demons, (movie) witchcraft or even the “hey lets do it because it’s shocking” that has become quite popular. It just took me by surprise, and I love it for that. Watch Anguish with high expectations and you won’t be let down; watch it with low expectations and you’ll be extraordinarily happy.” – 4.31/5 (genre) Continue reading
Return to Sender
“Return to Sender is a harsh and unforgiving tale. From the very visceral experience of Miranda’s rape, to the end result of someone as disturbed as her finding a way to “cope”. Coupled with the disintegration of a father-daughter relationship and the callous and calculated brutality towards Benny (the dog) and William, it all adds up to a rather horrifying story. And it does so with such a sense of calm throughout that just how unsettling it is doesn’t sink in until sometime much later” – 3.6/5 (general) Continue reading
Shiguo's Myth 
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