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
Mystery
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)
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
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
Paradox
“Paradox really shines in the moments when it isn’t spouting ridiculous dialogue, coated with pseudo-science and large volumes of expletives. It is a fun ride trying to figure out who the killer is, why they are killing everyone and how this whole mess got set into motion. Where Paradox fails is that it [did have] it’s characters talk. Honestly, every 30 seconds someone was saying something…ridiculously asinine. [However], if you like science fiction, time travel, action and suspense rolled up with mystery, give Paradox a go. Just don’t hold you’re breath waiting for the paradox.” – 2.3/5 (genre) 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
Neverlake
“as the overarching story line is simplistic, Neverlake attempts to push depth on us through confusion. The scenes are often disjointed and don’t connect in any meaningful way until much later. To further exacerbate this issue the narration by Jenny partially brings about a tone of importance and significance that is self imbued. It’s as if the movie is proclaiming itself to be of great depth and importance without the consent of the audience.” – 2.9/5 (genre) Continue reading
Shiguo's Myth 
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