spookywoo Reviews

An English Haunting (2020)

I had a lot of fun with this!

[9/10 · 7 April 2020]

This is my first experience of a Dark Temple production, although I've been keeping half an eye on them since I saw a trailer for Barge People. I was excited for this one when I saw it on Prime Video, because I was already interested in the company and love an English ghost story.

The good news is, I liked it a lot - the photography and editing are superb for a low budget feature, and the score is genuinely first rate. I wanted some atmosphere and scares and the film delivers both. In terms of script and acting, there are a couple of wobbles (awkward lines of dialogue, or scary bits that border on comical) but frankly I've seen worse in the cinema, and the hits make up for the misses.

Basically, I've watched a lot of straight-to-video horrors and this is 100% the kind of thing I'm hoping for when I go looking for them. If you're in the mood for something subtle or grounded, it won't hit the spot, but I reckon it's a case of horses for courses.

The Bad Nun (2018)

I'm clearly in a minority but really enjoyed it!

[9/10 · 8 March 2020]

I've probably been a bit generous giving this nine stars, but that's partly in recognition of the fact that it's a very low budget indie, and also a reflection of how pleasantly surprised I was, given the other reviews.

I found the film very tense in parts, and some of the scenes were extremely effective. For instance: I groaned when they first did the "text messages shown on screen" thing, but it's used to tremendous effect a couple of times. The opening credits are based around some old footage which works very well, both here and when it pops up throughout the film.

Of course, the "knock knock" scenes are the creepy heart of the movie and work very well - especially when the nun finally loses her temper. The door itself is an asset here, because the windows on either side make you feel like Aesha is exposed, despite the layer of wood between them. The possibility of a jump scare adds a constant layer of tension to these scenes.

The dialogue is definitely sometimes awkward, but in a believable way (like the characters are a bit shy and uncertain how to act in conversation with each other). If you accept the natural style of acting as a creative decision it works well, which might be luck rather than judgement. The score is very good.

For me, the desperate cash-in marketing actually worked in the film's favour. The film is on sale in the UK as The *Satanic* Nun, which is an outright fib. But if the film had been advertised as a straight thriller, I would have felt sure of the ending very early on. Instead, I thought the eventual "twist" was a definite contender, but also braced myself for a supernatural angle or mix of the two (e.g., perhaps the villain was being used as a pawn by a demonic entity). So instead of feeling cheated, I'd felt like I'd been engaged by the story and keen to find out which it was (that one definitely *is* luck rather than judgement, though - because no one designed the DVD cover with that in mind).

Still, like I say, I really enjoyed it. I was engaged by the story and at times my heart was pounding. That's really all you can ask for, when you're watching a low budget indie horror.

The Demonic Tapes (2017)

I adored it (and am not being ironic)

[10/10 · 26 October 2019]

I had this on my watchlist for ages. I thought it was a zero budget found-footage movie that might be good for a laugh, à la Paranormal Farm. I finally watched it just now and am taken aback by how much I love it. The idea is very original, insofar as much of the story is told through an audio device. The character finds some dictaphone tapes of a paranormal investigation, which are played as he either listens or gets on with his life. It's an unusual concept, but it works for two reasons. Firstly, the visuals are beautifully and intelligently shot, and echo the recordings in clever ways. Secondly, the tapes are done superbly. The actress has a wonderful voice, and the lo-fi recordings sound spooky and believable. Together, the sights and sounds create an atmosphere that I found intoxicating throughout. There are some genuinely tense and chilling moments, and one jump scare that I found extremely effective. Also worth a mention: there are two beautiful sequences with perfectly chosen music. It's very much an elegant piece of cinema, rather than a found-footage or mockumentary style film.

A lot of love and craft went into this, and I consider it a masterclass in doing more with less. When I like a film with a low score, I make an extra effort to review it, so fired up the app as soon as the credits ended. One of my favourite films of the year, and I couldn't be more surprised!

Apocalypse Cult (2014)

Very good indeed

[9/10 · 23 October 2019]

I was gripped from the moment the women started singing "Can you hear, can you hear him?"

I found it very effective in its creepiness but wouldn't say it had any outright scares. It's more grimly fascinating with some great eerie moments. I found the acting of the women and cult leader continually unsettling and was happy with the ending, which had a genuine surprise (for me at least) in the last few seconds. This is one of my favourite found footages, and I'm a fan of the genre in general.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)

A masterpiece of the genre

[10/10 · 20 October 2019]

For me, this film is very nearly flawless. The direction, sound, lighting and reveals create an unrivalled atmosphere of claustrophobic spookiness.

If I could dock less than a point from the score, my only criticism would that's there's an unnecessary bit of exposition (or rather speculation) towards the end, which seemed to be paving the way for a different ending. Since the finale swerved away from that, we're left with a brief passage that isn't required and slightly tested my suspension of disbelief. But really, I'd only dock about 0.3 stars for that. It's a contender for the best horror film of the 21st Century.

Fractured (IV) (2016)

Clever and well-produced thriller

[8/10 · 17 October 2019]

My only disappointment is that I found this film when I was searching for horror movies and was hoping for some spooky goings-on. I very much consider this a thriller/mystery rather than a horror (I don't think that constitutes a spoiler because it's just clarifying the genre).

There's nothing really to fault with the direction, acting or production. If I saw it on the big screen I'd think "indie" rather than straight-to-video. It's a clever story with a unique structure and engaged me throughout.

This is one of those situations where I not only disagree with the bad reviews but genuinely don't understand them. I don't see what there is in this film that anyone could object to - unless maybe (like me) you were looking for a horror movie? It's a short, well-made film with a good story and definitely worth a watch!

The Haunted (2018)

Superb, lean haunted house pic

[9/10 · 14 October 2019]

I've been on a British horror binge lately, but it took me a while to find out about this one. I'm surprised at the other reviews because I consider it one of the best I've seen in this category. The film is short (~70 mins), and basically one long "night in a haunted house" scene. The writer chose to cut out the usual daytime bits that give viewers chance to relax, while the characters read up on local history or talk to a priest, or whatever they need to do to move the plot forward. There IS a plot, but the heroine has to discover it in the heat of the moment, because the whole film is a single night in a haunted house. The result is a very lean ghost story that keeps the tension simmering and eventually boiling over, without any "down time" for the viewer.

This could be draining and two-dimensional, but luckily, the scary stuff is done very well: the acting, direction, lighting and score all combine to create a very solid effect. I can't imagine they had much of a budget, but nor can I recall any moments when the production really suffered for it. It lives within its means and does what it can to a high standard. None of the scares are original on paper, but they're just very well executed to my eye.

Of course, horror is very personal, and if you aren't scared then you won't enjoy it, because there's frankly very little else to the film. I just thought it was a very well made, scary film with no flab.

I docked one star because I have mixed feelings about the very end of the film. I don't think the final bit added much, and wonder if it (maybe) needlessly muddied the waters, in a film where simplicity had been a virtue. But I've literally just finished watching it, so I'm still turning that over in my mind.

The Spiritualist (2018)

Enjoyable ghost story with some twists

[7/10 · 9 September 2019]

I watched this despite some low scores because I'm really chugging through the horrors on Amazon, and, with it being on Prime, thought it was worth a gamble. I'm glad I did because I was engaged with the story throughout and taken by surprise a couple of times. The spiritualist herself is a great character played very nicely.

The story requires a bit of concentration, but I felt I understood it and was pretty satisfied by the payoff. It's fairly well-shot and produced and doesn't feel like a bargain basement feature (I'd say it has solid TV-quality production values) so 100% worth a watch if you like supernatural mysteries. However, it's definitely not terrifying, so avoid if you just want scares!

The Void (I) (2016)

Possibly my favourite film

[10/10 · 9 September 2019]

I saw this for the first time recently and can't get over how good it is. I love gross physical effects (The Thing, Hellraiser, etc.) and Lovecraftian horror so had very high hopes. But two things really set it apart for me: the superb stylish direction, and the pace of the story (it gets going quickly and barely lets up till the end). Absolutely adored it.

Webcast (2018)

My favourite found footage

[9/10 · 9 September 2019]

I put off watching this because of the uninspiring title and generic cover art. In the end I gave it a shot because a) it was included in Prime and b) it's British, and I like British horror. Being British myself, the familiar accents make it feel a bit more "real".

I'm really glad I watched it because I loved it. The performances range from good enough (= some of the neighbours) to great (the two leads and the mum). I found the story quite gripping between the scary bits. The overall finale was very good, but I wasn't keen on the very very end. It was definitely unsettling but I didn't feel like I understood it?

(After reading some of the other reviews, just to clarify: I have no connection to the production or distribution of this film and have never had any contact with anyone who is associated with it.)