Just saw Last Shift... Daaaamn, what a crazy ride! Definitely Silent Hill-like. Spoiler That ending though, shit! I hate interpreting endings. It couldn't be all in her head because there's no way she could have known who Monica was... Unless the calls she made were also all in her head? Oh boy, this one is going to keep me wondering for a while.
Good choice! Loved the old school silent hill feel it had going for it and the acting was great all the way around. Spoiler Yeah the ending was a bit confusing and I think it was either the ghosts messing with her head or if you want to be a little more creative you can even stretch logic a bit and consider that maybe whatever the hazmat suited guys were supposed to deal with drove her insane considering her family history and all. I usually prefer a more open and shut ending with my horror but this flick was so creepy I can accept the odd ending and still be perfectly happy. I saw The Darkness which had an impressive cast so I thought it couldn't be too bad. I was wrong. It was horrible. Probably the most empty horror film I've seen in years. The dialog was garbage. Every actor phoned it in and looked like they were just there for a paycheck. The effects(when there were any at all)sucked on a hilarious scale. It was like a ripoff of Poltergeist expect without the acting and effects and scary parts and the poltergeist. I know it wasn't just me being overly critical either because I watched it with friends who are never picky about horror and enjoy almost everything just because it's nice to sit and have a drink and hang out but they both hated it and could not believe these actors agreed to be in this shit movie. I mean c'mon, Kevin Bacon was in Tremors and Stir Of Echoes which were both great flicks. He should know better. And the blonde woman from the first Silent Hill(which wasn't great by any means but it sure was fun)should know better too.
I decided to go for one more movie before bedtime... The Taking of Deborah Logan. I can't believe I'm saying this about a found footage movie (which I had no idea it was before pressing play, I was kind of just winging it after reading the description) but it was actually really enjoyable. It was just a lot of crazy, tension, and a good balance of supernatural and realism. AND there was enough story to keep me interested, despite it being a tad too long. Then again, it's 4:30am... Maybe my judgement isn't completely there. But whatever, it was fun. And I'll take your word for it and stay far away from that movie, haha. There sure are a lot of stinkers out there with "good" actors...
Oh my. Darkness. That one was honestly such a stinker I wish I could block it from my memory. I even saw it in the theatre. I knew nothing about it going in (which, in hindsight, was probably for the best) but man, what a load of utter rubbish. I agree with everything you said. Atrocious performances, no story or development whatsoever, nothing at all to remotely pull the audience in or offer any scares or depth to the picture, just.... bad. How this movie got made, let alone distributed is shocking. At any other time this would have been filed to the direct-to-video or tv-movie special category. Just don't waste your time. I think they were trying to go with a heavy-handed 'values' movie, and make a 'horror' pic that could go in a light PG category, but wow, miserable execution, and this film proves that doesn't work. Worse still is that it is actually offensive in its schtick, and honestly, I wish I had my money back. Please do not support this movie. I did not enjoy Taking of Deborah Logan either, but not nearly to the same extent. I suppose for a 4:30 viewing it is passable entertainment (but don't try this with Darkness, or you will likely fall asleep soon into the film ).
I didn't care for Deborah Logan either. I didn't finish it actually, and I'm not one to shut movies off. It was on a lot of "best of" lists, but didn't do anything for me.
I think the thing about Deborah Logan was that it catered more to the psychological/rising-tension/taboo-ritual side of horror than the blood and guts side... Which is okay with me, I like lots of types of horror. Shame you didn't get to the end though, the end was actually the best part imo. That's when shit got real serious and the ending ending... Hohohohoooo. If you really will never give it another shot: Spoiler You get to see her spit snake venom in a cop's face, unhinge her jaw and try to eat the little girl headfirst, and they end up shooting her (non-fatally), burning the remains and freeing her while saving the kid... After that it shows news clips of the ensuing rescue, the acquittal of Deborah because of her deteriorating condition, and then the birthday of the little girl, whose cancer is now in remission. The newsman asks her what she wants to be in the future, and she says "I dunno" and the news guy jokingly says she has to decide soon enough what she wants to do with her life. She says "I know" and he asks what, she says it's a secret, and he laughs and thanks her for her time... And she turns to the camera with a smile that slowly becomes fucking creepy, aaaaand you realize the ritual succeeded in a way, because he's definitely in that little girl's body now. FUCKING CREEPY CHILDRENNNN
I thought it was watchable. Had that slow burn asian horror feel to it but the subject matter was a little difficult personally. Spoiler
Yeah what the hell man. It takes so much money and effort to make a movie with known actors and good production value. How can you do all that and just ignore the writing and acting and effects completely. Such a waste. Tonight I get to watch The Other Side Of The Door. Hopes it's fun!
I didn't make it to that part. That was pretty awesome. Who knows, maybe I'll give it another go some day. I know I didn't mind watching Michelle Ang.
Just saw The Canal. Another 4am flick, haha. Pretty decent but ran way too long. Could have been shorter and gotten the point across just as well. I like the fact that you don't know for sure what's real or not though... Until the end, that is. Spoiler BUT THAT FUCKIN REAL ESTATE AGENT! SHE KNEW
Found it funny I posted this the other day because it's EXACTLY what I should have done today about 20 minutes into Primal. So. Not. Worth. Watching.
As cheesy as The Return Of The Living Dead series of movies was unlike most nowadays where a bullet to the brain solves most problems these zombies cannot be killed. They can be hacked up, shot and mutilated beyond repair and still manage to track down targets. I think i would be more afraid of this version than the more common version we have nowadays in media. Im putting the spoilers out incase ppl want to see the entire movies but i mean these have been out for years now. Spoiler Here is a documentary of the movies as well. I found this to be really cool to watch.
This, Mark. I am the same way. I find no matter how awful a movie is - and between horror and sci-fi genres, there are a whole lot of stinkers - I just cannot make myself quit a movie partway through. EVEN as much as I want to. It is a real problem. Especially at the end when you feel so dejected about the pile of crap you just waster 90+ minutes of your life on. Makes me angry sometimes, even though it is really my own fault for subjecting to myself to garbage in the first place, and not be willing to give up. But I am the same way with books too; I find it very hard to put something down, and even if I have to take a 'break' from something really bad, it always nags at me until I sit down and slog through it again. I've got a number of movies I haven't finished through yet still (mostly because I was watching them with someone else, who wouldn't have the patience), which I ought to just 'purge,' but can't bring myself to do it without making it to the credits.
I always hope against hope that there will be something to redeem the movie in the last 20 minutes or so. Not the case here. It had it all: bad CGI, really, really bad make-up (basically just a set of stupid looking teeth that were obviously not real), grating music, and no story. The acting wasn't bad, but didn't really help the situation. Bummer.
Just watched "Late Phases" on Netflix. 2014 werewolf drama/invasion movie. Reminds me of Dog Soldiers meets Gran Torino.
Saw "The Hallow" just now. Interesting, but I wouldn't say particularly good or bad. For me it was kind of just something to watch. I guess one of the problems is the character progression never really happened, I didn't get attached to any of the characters well enough to really be into it. Pretty cool "monsters" involved in this too, spoiler if you want a big hint... Spoiler ... cordyceps!
Yeah, I think it started off there, with every intention of building up the characters and story, but then after a while they felt like they needed to just get right into it, and it ramped up from build-up to full on horror-fest, without ever really earning the transition or giving you some idea of how they go there. As I said before, the standout of the movie really was the creatures and practical effects, which makes it that much more of a shame that the story was squandered. It would been much cooler to gradually build up the mythology of Irish folklore and have some setting for the audience, rather than throwing the book in there as replacement means of extremely cheesy and convenient exposition. It felt contrived, never pulled you in to the believability or greater context of the tale, and caused the whole movie to suffer from that point on.
I agree completely. Also the whole "who is the real Finn" phase of the movie just seemed to drag on forever. It felt almost like two movies or two big chapters. Kind of annoying to see wasted potential on what could have been a much more interesting movie, but oh well... Such is life. At least I saw it on Netflix rather than having rented it.
Loved that flick. The practical effects were awesome. The main actor has been in lots of zero budget horror movies so it was great to see him get a main role again after Stake Land which was great too.
Just watched "We Are Still Here". Pretty decent, the musical score definitely stood out to me, especially the music in the beginning and the credits. Very chilling. The movie itself... I wish a little more was explained. They were doing a great job of that at first, but then had you kind of put the pieces together yourself. Honestly, I need help figuring this one out. Spoiler For instance, I'm kind of confused... Did killing the funeral parlor family start the curse, or was the curse there before and they became the sacrifices? The way the old dude explained it, it made it seem like the town let the ghost family kill because they needed sacrifices anyway, and it made it more convenient. Just overall very confused on that subject. Also, the ending... So vague. You don't know if the ghost family is welcoming them into death, or giving them access to their son because they realized they have a common enemy (the town)... Wish they didn't choose to make the ending so open-ended. Effects were pretty good, and the "spirits" were somewhat original. Glad they did get around to throwing some blood and gore into there as well, it was very tame for quite a long while. Still, not super impressed. Could have been executed better. (I seem to be saying that a lot lately.)
I think I wrote some very similar thoughts here on the film too, Maddie. It had some great potential, and well-executed atmosphere and setting, but given any thought to the story it all kind of falls apart. I like where there were going with it, but about midway through the movie, or whenever the 'reveal' comes, it kind of just doesn't make any sense, and seems to contradict itself (especially as it plays out). But the ending is what really bothered me I think. For one, I think a movie that was establishing itself solely as 'atmospheric' and tense, it felt like they suddenly threw in all that gore and graphic stuff at the end as a way to appeal to fans of that genre, which I have no problem with, but comes off as very disjointed from the rest of the picture. And the 'resolution' at the end really bothered me. It has been a little while since I watched it, so I might be willing to give it another go, but I seem to recall feeling much the same way as you after it. Not so disappointed maybe, but not all that bothered either.
I'm a big fan of We Are Still Here, and it does require a second viewing to catch what's going on in a few scenes, but here's an answer to your question about the "curse." Spoiler The curse was there before, under the house. The townspeople sacrificed the Dagmars to it, and, as you stated correctly, the Dagmars then became the means of sacrifice to the entity. Guess they didn't want to do it anymore and turned on the townspeople, letting the Sacchetti's live and reunite with their son. At least what they think is their son. I don't mind the ending at all. I like open-ended movies. They allow me to mull it over later on, and come up with what I think happened. There are some lapses in logic, like the part with the waitress, but I think that fits with the homage aspect of the film. It heavily references the films of Lucio Fulci, particularly the Gates of Hell trilogy, and those movies have MAJOR lapses in logic, and plot holes you could drive semis through. Might as well add some quicky reviews: --Scarecrows: Dumb dumb dumb. Decent effects, but nothing else at all redeeming about this pooper. --Sleep Tight: Creepy little Spanish flick. The end is MESSED up in a wholly psychological sense. --Hostel 2: Realized I'd never actually sat through this one. It is what it is. --The Woman: This could have been great. Really effed up black comedy with some interesting ideas, but didn't quite hit the mark. The music was a huge distraction. Pollyanna McIintosh though. --Let Sleeping Corpses Lie: Fun Italian Zombie movie that predates Dawn of the Dead. Great sound effects, good gore. Plus it has a story that makes a bit more sense than most other Italian Zombie flicks of the time.
Thanks for clearing that up, makes a lot more sense now! Don't get me wrong, I don't like it when movies spoonfeed you a plot... but I like them clear enough that my 4am self can catch it. Looking back on the movie throughout the day... Spoiler ...I think I understand the Daggar's "change of heart" more. During the possession scene, it seemed like Mr. Daggar was equally as angry at the town as he was the intruders to "his house." When things finally came to a climax, I think it became a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation. The townsfolk coming to kill the homeowners became an opportunity for his family to finally get revenge. Perhaps in a moment of clarity after all that cathartic killing, he realized that he was just a tool for the town he hated so much and had to break the cycle somehow. I almost wonder if the Daggars gave themselves up to feed the curse rather than just "moving on" as spirits. A lot of stuff to think about.
