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 Silenced
The Silenced is a complex horror/suspense/drama that unfolds in one of the more unique ways I’ve seen in a long time. It interlaces multiple story threads, much like the threads in the quilt that the girls of the school were making; lot’s of rising and falling of different stories that collide with each other at some point in the movie, forming the final tapestry we see in the end. If you can avoid being off put by this, and the extreme hamming it up of the adult actors, you’ll find a beautiful acted (the girls), deeply moving, and unique retelling of a story we’ve seen before, but which feels completely fresh and new. There are some great horror-type scenes, but the friendship between Ju-ran and Yeon-deok is by far the most compelling aspect of the movie, and the final minutes with these two make the entire movie worth watching. – 4/5 (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
Beneath
“So how did I end up feeling about Beneath? It was solidly acted with excellent use of music and backdrops for ambiance, which contained all the elements necessary to be a good horror/suspense movie. Somehow however, Beneath just never puts those pieces together into anything that takes a meaningful shape, leaving us feeling like we just watched a murder reenactment show on the Discovery channel, only we know these things never happened…I’d say watch it if you like mild horror, mostly suspense type movies, and need a filler on an off night when you normally wouldn’t watch a movie.” – 2.7/5 (genre) Continue reading
Pandemic
“Pandemic is a shaky roller coaster, FPS style, zombie apocalypse ride. It is a seamless flow from start to finish on what begins as a singular directed story and evolves into something much more emotionally intense. The forced first person perspective is just plain awful, especially when you throw in the more contrived shots to give us a wider perspective. But through all of that there is good solid story about a mother and her daughter, however brief that daughter may appear on screen, which leads us to find greater character depth from our main cast than would be expected for this type of film. Pandemic is solid, and a good watch. Just be aware, it is a zombie movie so there will be blood, lots of blood.” – 3.4/5 (genre)
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
Shiguo's Myth 
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