This is an indie horror movie running on less than a B-movie budget (one can only assume based on lighting and music), with all the tropes that come with that and yet it still isn’t the worst movie I’ve seen, even this month. Long pauses with no sound or dialogue that should have been relegated to the cutting room floor (and would have made the movie much shorter and more coherent) are rampant throughout. The close up shots on the main characters are obnoxiously close, like “Hello there pores how are you today?” close. The lighting is either too bright, has an unexplained source, or is non-existent making it literally difficult to watch. The music is just plain bad, and adds nothing to the movie. But…there is some hope in there as we wade through the mess that is The Girl in the Cornfield to find a more interesting, if rather standard, story. – 2/5 (Genre) Continue reading
Suspense
Coherence
Coherence tells us that the evil version of ourselves we’re so afraid of, is us. This is a movie that walks across several genre lines including suspense, thriller, mystery, and science fiction to tell a story that is both 
highly relatable and at the same time thoroughly confusing. Playing on our fears of other versions of ourselves (which we assume must be the evil versions, see every sci-fi alternate reality movie/t.v. show ever made), Coherence forces us to confront the idea that maybe we aren’t the good version of ourselves after all, and in fact may be the evil one. Or maybe there is no evil one. Coherence lives somewhere in the dark spaces between science fiction mystery alter and sci-fi horror/suspense, much like the dark spaces between houses in the movie, you get the roulette wheel with the watching of it. – 4/5 (Genre) Continue reading
The Blackcoat’s Daughter
The Blackcoat’s Daughter is an original and unique take on the possession horror story, that deviates greatly from what we’ve become used to with the Exorcist style. A deeply slow burn that interweaves three different women’s stories with a great deal of success, making for an intense and unrelenting story that gives way to a well executed, if somewhat confusing, ending. – 4.1/5 (genre) Continue reading
The Wicked
The Wicked was a wonderfully intense, sadistically satisfying revenge horror film. The atmosphere and continuous unrelenting intensity make for a movie that will stretch your ability to hold back at the jump scares. Well acted all around for the three primary characters, and the switching up of genre from drama, to suspense, to mystery and finally to horror gives The Wicked a unique feel that a lesser movie could never pull off. The slow burn is definitely worth it for the ending which is completely satisfying and has a nice moderate twist, if you can call it that, maybe more of a misdirection. If you’re looking for a good horror movie to really test your limits The Wicked is an excellent choice and made a perfect Halloween night film. – 4/5 (genre)
What We Become
If you need something to watch on Halloween, or any other night, and don’t want to be overly scared (read: not scared at all) but still want to feel like you’re taking part in the spooky fun then watch What We Become. If you just need a zombie fix, then this will suffice. If you want to actually watch a good horror movie because it’s Halloween then I suggest you keep on surfing. Mediocre acting, poor pacing, disjointed story telling, and a very disturbing romance arc all lead to a messy and just bad ending. What We Become never really even tries to explore what it is we would become under these circumstances, which is a real missed opportunity and one I was very hopeful they would capture. Oh, and if you like rabbits keep moving, there’s nothing you want to see here. – 2.6/5 (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
We Are What We Are
We Are What We Are, a somewhat lengthy movie title, is [just] that. A slow burn, a very slow burn and lengthy movie that sometimes loses it’s way in campiness and tropes, but in the end finds it’s footing in a horribly disturbing and peaceful way. The combination of these two elements makes it work the whole way through, and is put to good use as the driving force behind all the most salient moments. The ending delivers what I can only describe as a serene tragedy, a bubble of peacefulness as two girls perform a horrid act. This movie isn’t for everyone, it certainly isn’t for you if you can’t deal with cannibalism, blood and a little gore, or the long play. It’s a slow burn that may feel like it gets you no where, or it may put you in a place you don’t want to be. Either way, if you can deal with it, it’s worth a watch even if not the best thing out there. – 3.5/5 (genre) Continue reading
The Ring Two
In the end we get a movie that has the feel and look of the original, but gives us none of the mystery, intrigue, or fearfulness that made it good. As a stand alone (given sufficient background) it would be a perfectly good horror movie, but as a sequel it flops kind of hard. We are left with the framework built by the original movie, and it’s repercussions, but have no substance to sustain it. I was never bored since I had a vested interest in the characters (well played writers), but I was never really fearful for them or even concerned that there was any real peril. The Ring Two walks a line between whatever The Ring was and a supernatural horror/suspense movie, and that leaves it feeling a bit underwhelming, never really living up to either…If you liked The Ring and really need to fill in the gaps it left then I would recommend The Ring Two, but if you like the open endedness of The Ring then don’t watch this one or you’ll lose that feeling. – 3.7/5 (genre) Continue reading
The Ring
The Ring was the key horror movie that revived a genre, but was also a personal revival in my interest in the horror genre. It was steadily paced, suspenseful, and had a well crafted story that kept you intrigued all throughout. The ending was unique for the time and still holds one of the best final moment scenes of any horror movie I’ve watched. If asked to choose my all time favorite horror movie The Ring would be a top contender and hard to beat, but there is some competition. With the second sequel Rings coming out soon, if you haven’t seen The Ring watch it. It is a must see movie, and unique for so many reasons. – 4.1/5 (general)
In addition: My quarter century review (#25 that is) will be The Ring Two, the first sequel and my first viewing. 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
Shiguo's Myth 
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