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Harrowed1
Reviews
Dagon (2001)
Is it REALLY so hard?
Once again a HPL movie down the proverbial drain! *SPOILERS*
I watched Dagon with a friend of mine and we couldn't believe our eyes. Yes technically this is a well made movie, but the rest...
First of, why film in Spain? If you are low on money, is it not cheaper to film at home, and avoid situations like having a village where no one seems to speak more than 20 words of English, but the only local willing to explain the goings on, has a nearly limitless vocab?
Second, in the original story the narrator discovers the strange nature of the Innsmouth look in stages, in the film he sees gills on a man in the first ten minutes. And it doesn't really seem to bother him.
Thirdly and IMHO, what I find most annoying is the main hero's capability to wield the strangest improvised weapons with lethal efficiency, like a toilet lid, his cellphone etc. But when given a real weapon like a knife he fumbles about like he was drunk.
What really baffled me though, was the films strange tendency to either fanatically stick with the original tale or go off in the completely opposite direction. Example: In his hotel room our "hero" removes a bolt from one door and fastens it on another to give him time to escape. HPL wrote that. Then we find out that the cultists have a passion for skinning people. Where did that come from?
And finally, what are all the tentacles doing here? There are no tentacles or Cthulhu lookalikes in "Innsmouth"
Avoid this one and stick to the Reanimators (and possible the Resurected) if you want a good Lovecraft film.
Undying (2001)
Amongst the top 5 ever!
When a friend of mine told me of this game I was curious, but when I started playing it, I was blown away!
Having played FPS's since Wolfenstein 3d, I'm rather picky with what I install anymore. The Doom series was very good (looking forward to Doom 3), Quake 1 kicked some major A** and I love Blood and Blood2: the Chosen.
Undying though is something new. More than just a FPS or a horror/adv. game (a la alone in the dark) it mixes both superbly. If you like any of the above mentioned games, then this is a must!
Hint: play with a horror-sensitive person sitting next to you. I was creeped out by the magnificent ambience and settings already, but with my wife screaming and grabbing my mouse-arm, it became an experience to remember!
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Worked for me...
Now I've been debating this film with my friends for hours on end, so the general reaction here did not surprise me. I loved it. Some of my friends loved it. Most of them didn't care or hated it. And I understand why. *spoilers ahead*
Having been a major horror fan for more than 15 years, I expected very little positive as almost no movie has ever scared me even a little. I saw it at a theatre during the day (a very bleak winter day) and there were like five others in the salon. No one on my row or on the rows near me, i.e. I was alone in the dark...
I loved the tense building for the horror, was more than a little creeped out by the tent scene and Josh's screaming. Not to mention when they find his teeth. I have almost never felt terror like when they run in Parr's house and Mike stands in the corner...
On my way home, the "bugs" started to hit me. You dont run in panic through the woods with a camera in front of your eye etc, but I still had trouble sleeping at night the following week.
I'm very glad it worked for me, but I do understand those who think it is rubbish. Everything depends on your mood, the surroundings etc when you see it. Watch it alone at night with headphones and you might get lucky, dont watch it during a boring Sunday afternoon...
The Haunting (1999)
Fancy wrapping on an empty box.
Well, most people here have already stated just about everything that can be said about SFX and storylines, so I'll only add my general opinion.
Pros: Incredible setting Nice cast of actors Interesting idea
Cons: You see more anguished angel heads than the rest of the house The actors must have been sleep-deprived for real (most of the time) The idea doubles back midway
Get this: in the first half of the movie, all but Nell are convinced that there is no such thing as ghosts, and that she is nuts, but all of a sudden they behave as if the supernatural was as common as icecream!
I felt creeped out once! The rest of the film istn't scary even as a ghost story... Very surreal and interesting but not scary!!!
I saw the Haunting during the same time as House on Haunted hill (remake) and was really disappointed when Haunting didn't come even close to the other one...
I guess this might work for some, but for horror buffs, it's more a joke than a scare.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Not all it could be.
Well, I've seen worse, thats for sure. Beautiful sets, clothes and effects, but not really a horror movie. To say that the original story is "scary" is perhaps a bit much but as one of the founders of modern horror, it's worth reading.
The actors are good if not sterling in this movie, though there are several memorable scenes. It playes more like an erotic Victorian dream than any other Dracula I've seen. Not a bad 2 hours entertainment, but I'll give it no more than 6 out of ten, as I am a fan of the genre.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
To each his own...
*Contains some spoilers* I for one loathed this sequel. The original was wonderful, and really touched a cord in me. Although films like Halloween and Friday the thirteenth were scary because the victims were nobody, meaning you could be next, the Nightmare was about a set group of people, being stalked for a reason.
Now where is the reason in this one? Admittedly it has been a long time since I saw it, but I remember the beginning as very good. However it quickly deteriorates as the kids become "dream warriors"... Super strength? Wizardry? Bad ass acrobatics and a leather bitch with knives? Get real! And the worst part is, it don't even work...
I was very let down with this one, such a great start and then downhill. As a horror fan for over fifteen years I have seen a lot, and I think many "camp" movies are great but take my advice and avoid this one.