While I enjoyed the journey, and the ideas explored, it was not as rich an experience due to the lack of likable characters. Our main protagonists, and the surrounding characters were all thoroughly unrelatable and unlikable, which left me feeling like something was lacking. It definitely has something to say, and it's worth a watch for the ideas it explores, but it could've been amazing with a little something more. Mia Goth is clearly very talented, and she is well and truly becoming the new arthouse horror it girl, she delivers a great performance by being thoroughly unlikable, but maybe thats just her.
Reviews
147 Reviews
Bio-Zombie
(1998)
Hong Kong's Answer to Romreo's Dawn of the Dead
29 December 2022
Directed by Wilson Yip long before he became famous for the amazing Ip Man franchise. It's from 1998, but the low budget, practical effects (lotsa red blood and decapitations) and shopping mall setting give it more of an 80s B-movie feel. The two leads are small time crooks and despite their questionable actions they still end up being lovable rogues mainly due to their comedic performances and wannabe tough guy antics. Some frenetic handheld camera work and corny video game graphics keep things interesting and the effective score sets the mood well.
An underrated Asian zombie classic from a time long before Train to Busan.
An underrated Asian zombie classic from a time long before Train to Busan.
Dead Body
(2017)
Slasher Whodunnit
6 February 2022
A single location slasher murder mystery in the vein of the classic Clue. A group of friends spend the night at a cabin in the woods but when a parlour game turns serious and the bodies stay to pile up you'll be puzzling along with the characters to work out well the killer is and why.
The Door
(IV) (2014)
Fun creepy low budget horror
4 February 2022
This takes a simple but interesting premise and then manages do something both fun and creepy with it. The main character need a job, he gets offered a job guarding a door, making sure it never opens, seems simple right? But what's behind the door, why can't people come opt after 2 minutes, and what will happen after house friends turn up and end up being forced to investigate what's behind the door.
Terrified
(2017)
Good Dark Creepy Horror
12 January 2022
Really enjoyed this story of a little community being haunted by something unknown. Some great creepy scenes and some good scares. The characters were well played, though the non linear storytelling that happens at times might put some viewers off.
Vacancy
(2007)
Fun Little Violent Thriller
12 January 2022
This film does a solid job of building tension, suspense and especially dread, as a married couple on their way to divorce, face the sort of nightmare that we all fear. Definitely worth a watch for a short, fun, thriller, though I felt the ending hinted at more then finished quite abruptly.
The Loved Ones
(2009)
Best Aussie horror since Wolf Creek
15 November 2021
An absolute balls to the wall thrill ride. Thanks to the talent of the writer/director this is better than Aussie horror fave Wolf Creek. With more interesting characters and a better plot through the linking of side stories, this rises above the torture porn, despite definitely including it's fair share of it. The tension escalates but is balanced on a knife edge to keep you on the edge of your seat as repeatedly raises your hopes and dashes them. Loved it. Must see for horror fans.
Fun Polish Slasher
5 November 2021
In the vein of Wrong Turn but better than any of the sequels, this fun little camping-in-the-woodd slasher from Poland is worth a watch. It brings nothing at all new to the table but it knows it's audience and hits all the right cues well enough.
House
(1985)
Classic 80s Cheese
31 March 2021
A great horror movie you can show your kidd because there's nothing much scary in there at all. William Katt is over the top, his neighbour is hilarious, and sonehow its also about dealing with the trauna of the Vietnam/American War.
Vivarium
(2019)
Definitely not for everyone
27 March 2021
This strange, surreal slow burn of a film will definitely not appeal to everyone's tastes, but for those who enjoy something new, creative and just plain weird, this could be a favourite.
Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg lead the film which only has 4 characters in total, and they do a fantastic job of their roles with such a completely off the wall script.
The simple premise is that they are looking for a house and when a creepy agent takes them to a maze like neighbourhood where every house is identical and there seems to be no way out, they are forced to live there in a world that is an especially bland kind of hell.
This notion of being trapped in a home for seemingly endless time, where the days just blur together, is so perfectly fitting for this year. The fact that this movie was released the month the pandemic began in the US makes it such a surreal prophetic coincidence that is almost impossible to believe. In fact this should probably come with a trigger warning for anyone who chooses to watch it during lockdown, though perhaps you will be thankful that your situation isn't as bad as theirs.
While the premise might seem so simple that you wonder how they fill the run time, please know that they keep things moving with the introduction of further plot developments which I won't spoil here. While it may drag for some I feel this is the intention, to put the viewer in the same frame of mind as the characters living through this hellish nightmare. And there is an underlying subplot that goes some way to explain the situation they found themselves in, which, while not unexpected, is definitely interesting.
If you enjoy strange films, surreal places with, where reality is slight twisted in a surreal or paranormal way, then this is definitely worth a watch, and it will stay with you for some time.
Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg lead the film which only has 4 characters in total, and they do a fantastic job of their roles with such a completely off the wall script.
The simple premise is that they are looking for a house and when a creepy agent takes them to a maze like neighbourhood where every house is identical and there seems to be no way out, they are forced to live there in a world that is an especially bland kind of hell.
This notion of being trapped in a home for seemingly endless time, where the days just blur together, is so perfectly fitting for this year. The fact that this movie was released the month the pandemic began in the US makes it such a surreal prophetic coincidence that is almost impossible to believe. In fact this should probably come with a trigger warning for anyone who chooses to watch it during lockdown, though perhaps you will be thankful that your situation isn't as bad as theirs.
While the premise might seem so simple that you wonder how they fill the run time, please know that they keep things moving with the introduction of further plot developments which I won't spoil here. While it may drag for some I feel this is the intention, to put the viewer in the same frame of mind as the characters living through this hellish nightmare. And there is an underlying subplot that goes some way to explain the situation they found themselves in, which, while not unexpected, is definitely interesting.
If you enjoy strange films, surreal places with, where reality is slight twisted in a surreal or paranormal way, then this is definitely worth a watch, and it will stay with you for some time.
The original and best comedy horror!
27 March 2021
The classic monsters; Dracula, Frankenstein's Montser, the Woflman (and even the Invisible Man), plus the classic comedians; Bud Abbott and Lou Costello come face to face in this hilarious film. With some of the great actors portraying the roles they made famous; Lugosi as Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr as the Wolfman, this is definitely one of the comedic highlights of this era of Universal Monsters. To show how well it's held up, I watched this recently with my 9 year old and he had a great time and asked for more of the same. It's a great way to introduce young kids to horror themes before moving on to the scarier stuff. Definitely a must see for fans of classic comedy, classic monsters, and good family fun.
Sputnik
(2020)
Slow burn creepy sci fi horror
26 March 2021
This fantastic little movie does is enhralling in the setting of behind the iron curtain during the space race. The lead character, a female psychologist, does an amazing job of bringing such depth to her role. This is a smaller scale yet possibly deeper than arrival and obviously with a horror twist. I have a feeling this one will stay with me.
Captain Blood
(1935)
Swashbuckling Classic
25 March 2021
Swordfights, cannonfire, slavery and romance, every thing you need for adventure on the high seas and in the colonies. Errol Flynn delivers a fantastic performance as the easy going larrikin, who is also intelligent, hardworking and levelheaded lead Captain Blood. Olivia de Havilland is lovely in her role as the rich young love interest who snaps him up from the slave auction. The settings are fun, the sea battles are action packed, it's got everything you want and more.
Ginger Snaps
(2000)
Better Teen Werewolves than Twilight
24 March 2021
A fun little Canadian werewolf/coming of age tale about a pair of quirky teen girls with a fascination for the macabre. Good Werewolf movies are hard to come by these days, and while this isn't perfect its definitely good fun. It manages to include a good dose of Werewolf lore and tropes while also being a fairly original film with its own characters and themes. It brings something new to the table and thats a good start for me.
12 Hour Shift
(2020)
Dark Comedy Not Horror
24 March 2021
Damn this was funny, and dark, and bloody... but I'm not sure it's horror. More like horror adjacent. Sure, it contains horror elements, and the gore and practical effects are good fun, but its definitely a comedy. A hospital full of crazy characters, a junkie nurse involved in a little organ harvesting and a crazy cousin with the IQ of a chihuahua. A fun movie where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, and every attempt to fix things just makes it so much worse. David Arquette has a small role but he's looking fit. The cast are hit and miss but the dark comedy is consistent, and you'll definitely cringe a few times and laugh out loud a few times too.
You Might Be the Killer
(2018)
It knows its stuff but...
23 March 2021
This pos-modern slasher knows its stuff but doesn't make it great. It's still pretty good though. It plays all the 80s Slasher tropes well, and even discusses them like Scream thanks to Alyson Hannigan's Randy-esque character Chuck (short for Charlotte). There's a camp in the woods, a masked killer, some gorgeous young counsellors, everything you need to have a good time. The premise is Given away fairly early on, but its still interesting to see whete they go from there. It does however get a little repetetive at times. But its definitely worth a watch for Slasher fans and meta humour fans too.
Unnecessary
23 March 2021
The Human Race
(2013)
Another Battle Royale Twist
23 March 2021
Here is another film that takes the idea of Battle Royale or Hunger Games and tries to spin its own twist on things. Here the twist is running to survive, keep off the grass and don't get lapped. This premise wasn't too bad, but while the previous films I mentioned are all set in reality, this one takes a step back from reality with the people being magically transported to this running location (which still looks like an average neighbourhood location), you spend the film wondering, is it magic, is it supernatural, is it alien, do I really care? And why if the powers behind this race had such ability would they choose all the people from a small city block area rather than individuals from a variety of places? And why this area specifically?
The cast are passable, and the writing definitely attempts to give depth and diversity to the characters, but there are as many bad characters as good which leaves you struggling to relate to most of them. Apparently the film was made of many years and perhaps this is why it feels a bit disjointed and lacks a cohesive flow. It's not terrible but it would definitely be very low on your watch list and there are much better films you could be seeing.
Beyond the Black Rainbow
(2010)
Homage to Weird Old Scifi
23 March 2021
If you enjoyed Tarkovsky's Solaris, Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey or Godard's Alphaville then this might be up your alley. It's a slow paced surreal sci fi film, with warbling, droning synth music, 80's film colouring and the occasional blurred visuals as if you are sedated. Which if fitting as it tells the story of a powerful young girl being held captive and under sedation by a mysterious and futuristic cult, that seems to be conducting some kind of scientific experimentation.
Very little really happens in most of the film, just striking visuals, long stares, pulsing lights (matched by a pulsing synth soundtrack), and slow shots of the kind of things that people thought to be futuristic back in the 80's.
If you like the sound of any of this then check it out, if not then definitely give it a miss and save yourself the time.
Mom and Dad
(2017)
Dark Black Comedy Horror
23 March 2021
I guess it's okay to label this as a black comedy, but there are very few laugh out loud comedy moments, the comedy comes more through the premise of the film. It also feels as if this movie is a major venting of frustration for modern parents who are stuck with the spoilt brats they gave birth to. Selma Blair gives a solid performance as a gorgeous mother who is starting to pass her prime and worried that her best days are behind her, she is not shallow enough to stoop to sleeping with the yoga teacher to make herself feel better about it. Nicolas Cage plays the aging father who tried his best for a while but has basically given up and withdrawn, looking for simple ways to reclaim some of his youth such as building a perfect snooker table. As something causes parents to lose their inhibitions and become like many wild animals who will occasionally kill their offspring, things get crazy in the schoolyard, the streets and in homes. The kids of our two leads do their best to survive the ordeal and this battle is the climax of the film.
It's definitely a new and interesting idea, and while it doesn't fully tap Nic Cage's potential it definitely allows him a few great moments to go full 'Nic Cage'. Avoid it if you have a real problem with over the top violence against children, but if you have no issue with that then watch it on a day when your kids are being particularly bratty haha.
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