Horror Film Review #10

Happy Death Day

A movie marketed as a horror film that is brought to you by Blumhouse productions. A company known for producing all the ‘Paranormal Activities’, ‘The Purge’ and ‘Insidious’ films. The company’s model is to roll out films at a low to very modest budget, which has become a staple of its success.
Happy Death Day is no exception, given a PG-13 rating.

For violence/terror, crude sexual content, language, some drug material and partial nudity.

All of the criteria marked in its rating are correct; it is a horror movie without gore. It’s a film that is very much aware of its self and spins humor and above average intelligence into a story with an otherwise simple narrative.





The Premise: Sorority/college student Tree Gelbman discovers she is reliving the same day over and over again. It just so happens to be her birthday, and the day she gets murdered.  To break the cycle and survive to see the next day; Tree must solve who is trying to kill her, or is doomed to live, repeat, and fail.

The cast are all new faces, which works’, we the viewers can believe they are everyday average students, as the actors put in a set of solid performances, into a smart script. The screenplay can be argued and criticized, or the direction can feeling somewhat limited for not going further in horror elements. But with that in mind, it should be pointed out the film is set for a general audience with a 4.8 Million dollar budget.
The groundhogs day movie connection is obvious, but this movie  draws more from other contemporary time-looping films like  Edge of Tomorrow, 12:01,  and more closely to a Taye Diggs Television series called ‘Day Break’.

Happy Death Day was a financial success raking in over 55 Million dollars, that's nearly eleven  times it' estimated budget, and opening up in 1^st place on its opening day weekend.   Amazing when it you consider its entire cast are unknown actors.

Horror Film Review #9

Better Watch Out


By Hollywood standards, Better Watch Out is a horror film brought to us through a relatively new creative team. Writer/Director  Chris Peckover and Co-writer Zack Khan, has come to us with holiday home invasion movie that follows a horror trope, in which its' biggest twist is revealed at the end of the first act. 
The premise is Parents of pubescent teen named Luke (played by Levi Miller of  Pan) go out to a party and enlist a babysitter named Ashley (Olivia DeJonge of The Visit) who is 5 years Luke's senior to look after their child.  The film starts off with Luke and his best friend Garret (Ed Oxenbould of The Visit) discussing ways to lose their virginity, as Luke's parents prepare to leave.
Ashley, unaware that Luke will be attempting to get to second base with her; will be swatting away any advances he innocently and awkwardly tries, and as you can imagine everything is light hearted until they realize someone(s) have entered the house, where-upon the babysitter must now protect her young wards.
It is also around here at the thirty minute mark, that we conclude the first act and the twist gets dropped.  Peckover uses one trope of having a scene play out and then hold a few extra beats to allow us  the viewer to see and focus on an item that might be foreshadowing. For example a sound monitor under the bed, a pencil under the carpet, and the laundry room. All random, but done with deliberate intent with big or small pay-off as the movie progresses.  The approach to the film is refreshingly similar to A Cabin in the Woods where we find out what's going on at the beginning of the movie and then follow how it all plays-out. Better Watch Out draws and gives inspirational nods to the original Home Alone movie and sadistic home invasion movies like Funny Games, and a 90s Brian Bonsall starring film. The logistics of how every scene is played out can be argued.  The time frame from incorporating carolers to arrival of boyfriends and how acts and sounds happen almost in sync at completely different places; and with how the invader(s) motives and true nature can leave intent viewers scratching their heads.

The movie is for a genre specific fan base; it is elevated by rising above a conventional plot and if you can suspend a glaring disbelief in that plot. Better watch out should develop a cult like following and stronger appreciation in time.

Horror Film Review #8

Curse of Downers Grove

This hardly classifies as a definitive horror movie, its more of an intriguing mystery, wrapped in teen angst and surrounded by high school social shark waters.
The premise is recounted near the start as a narrated history lesson. For decades the final week leading to high school graduation has lead to a student dying, and its been well documented that the curse has dated back over 40 years.
Each death is different, random in cause and in location, the only constant is its only one student who dies, and its within the final week leading to graduation. Once a death occurs everyone else is free to graduate safely and unharmed
The single mother of the lead actors somehow forgets her children are graduating high school that week and goes on vacation with a potential suitor, leaving them to fend for themselves, and she appears oblivious that the curse which was spoken about in great lengths in her home town for decades; has still decided to pick up and leave her kids, not showing a trace of concern for their potential safety.
The Daughter attends a frat party and unleashes the Ire of disgruntled star quarterback, that sets in motion deadly encounters for her and her brother when the gang of footballers  begins to terrorize them.
The movie is passable,  The curse is interpreted to be native american in origin, when we see an angry native indigenous ghost warrior carrying around a shaman stick, evoking a glimmer of a vengeful curse.  The Ghost warrior is never explained why he is there or what exactly the curse is.

The foreboding circumstances all points to a deadly confrontation between the football jocks and the young brother and sister duo, and that someone will die. Which begs the question will this satisfy the curse of downers grove or will the worst be still to come.  Comparative 80's films would be Tuff Turf, Bullies, and  3:15 ( aka class of 89) though these films are not directly relatable, but the notion of an individual facing a clique or a gang in order to protect and save themselves and thus find the strength to battle back the oppressing odds have similar themes.

Horror Movie Review #7

A Christmas Horror Story

A surprising anthology of 4 short stories woven together to prepare us for the coming of Krampus.
First and foremost, the clarification of Krampus' by definition Krampus is a counterpart of Santa, a beast who punishes the wicked children and takes them to his lair, as opposed to giving gifts to the good children.
This film is also not to be confused with the self-titled movie scheduled to be released on december 5th, 2015.
The Premise: Over a 12hour period on christmas eve, Krampus will rise and the doctrines of Krampus will begin to unfold on this sleepy mid-western town of Bailey Downs.
The first story has 3 students video documenting, an unsolved double homicide in their school.  The unrested
spirit is closing in on them as they delve deeper into the story. The second story revolves around the on duty investigating officer of that double homicide who is on medical leave, he takes his young family to cut down their first christmas tree.  He decides to enter a restricted property for the better trees and they take home a lot more than what they had bargain for.

The third story involves a husband who takes his family to visit his estranged rich aunt, Ironically his wicked children who drew the first glimpses of Krampus as the demon rises to the surface.  The final story is set in Santa's workshop, an infected Elf turns all the alleged immortal elves into terrifying zombies, which leads to Santa a face to face confrontation with the fully risen Krampus.  With the legendary William Shatner to ease us into the christmas spirit, A Christmas Horror Story is a simmer of suspense, mixed with a twisted sprinkle of surprise that goes down smoothly with Shatner's egg nog.  Its' substitutes the usual horror gore for a tingling winter chill as it goes back and forth between stories. A classic tale to appendage itself to a Black Christmas, if you are fan of that movie.  It doesn't allow itself to dip down as a b level movie, by taking itself seriously to give the viewer a movie with no stench of it being a christmas ham.

Horror Film Review #6

Green Inferno

It is an Eli Roth film,  if you are familiar with Roth's  body of work behind the camera, then he is mostly associated with torture porn big screen feature film adaptations. The most notarized would be the Hostel trilogy of films.  This movie is a tangent of Blum House productions  which has been ear marked as being the 7th of 10  films being released this year by the company, whose production model is usually to film in California as means of  cost controlling its over head. The movie did modestly well and exceeded the company's lower expectation. In contrast to its most recent double box office flop of  'Paranormal Activity The Ghost Dimension' and 'Jem and the Holograms'. which had high expectations.
The Premise: Green Inferno is a south American Horror story. Essentially university activists in a bid to protect some indigenous natives in the Peruvian jungle accidentally crash lands in the backyard of those they set out to protect, unaware that these savage natives are also cannibals.  The story is quite brilliant, the heroine played Lorenza Izzo ,who gets her spark of activism by a world issue lecture regarding treatment towards women, and in this multiple staged conclusion, she becomes engaged again as a victim of her own convictions. As Roth really drives home the dichotic irony of this film.  The plot of the movie is pretty laid out from beginning to end, the drama and tensions comes from actions and options remaining to the activists as their numbers dwindle.

Witnessing the fall in stature of their activist leader and the villainy of corporate business share a reversal of roles is also nicely crafted  layer to the film, giving brevity to what is a dark toned story.  This is a movie of little surprise or twists, but instead it is a straight in your face movie of man vs his environment  and those who enter in places they are not wanted. A movie that spear heads you to its point.

Horror Film Review #5

I Spit on your Grave 3
  Vengeance is mine





Before I begin, for the record I feel this movie should not be considered as a horror genre, more thriller or abstract drama.  In the most simplest of terms this film revolves around sadistic torture violence and suggestive rape.  Eli Roth movies are now synonymous with torture porn, this movie could easily fall into that category, but it shouldn't.  The movie is about vengeance and as we learn in early portion of the movie, The main character's birth name is derived from angel of unique circumstance.
So lets start with The premise, the main character is a survivor of a very brutal rape attack which is shown in quick images or flashbacks to the original movie.  The result of which puts her through the school of Liam Neeson, as she as developed a set of skills that make her an unusually dangerous woman and good at dishing out vengeance to those who deserve it.  In this instalment, we see what happen to the heroine after the first movie concluded, and how she has been able to move on and cope. Seeing a therapist our heroine tries to fit into society, but is surrounded by aggressively evil men, or people with no virtues' intentions. She joins a rape counselling session group and befriends a member, but goes back to her old ways when tragedy hits, and thus dispatches vengeance when justice is not delivered.

For those who are unfamiliar with this particular movie and its original movie staring the its lead actress Sarah Butler, is based on a remake from a 1978 film of the same name.  Which is why my comparative references will be films from 1980's for those seeking out similar themed movies or shared constructs.

For mainstream comparisons you can stop at Charles Bronson Death Wish movies, a quintessential vigilante themed sub-genre.  As I began to watch Grave 3,the earliest connections to other themed based films was to the Avenging Angel Trilogy of movies, which the near end of this movie kind of takes direct reference too.  I recommend for those interested into the psychological end of a similar theme film, seek out ' Ms. 45' ,  Sudden Death, and/or Dressed to Kill.

Spit on your Grave 3 is a direct sequel to the original, it is not as gruesome in comparison, but offers flashes of suggestive violence. Giving account the potential of violence in us all, almost vicariously if allowed; to runaway with our own imagination to extract vengeance or pain on to others. This movie is a reflection of that pool of thought.  The actual descent into vigilante mode takes place in the middle of the second act and the consequences of doing so in the real world, a vigilante with justified intentions is looked upon by the law as no different from the offenders who do harm onto others.  And the final act actually fleshes out that reasoning with some cause and effect stages to drive the point home.  Overall its a homage to 80's films and to its 1978 original, but elevated more to suit todays audience.

Its definitely worth looking at for those who saw the 2010 movie, to get some residual closure, but its a half decent stand alone movie, and empowering in a malevolent way.

Horror Film Review #4

Cooties

If the tagline read an infectious good time,  Cooties would fits the bill; The movie features an all star of television actors stemming from Hawaii 5-0, The Newsroom, Wilfred, and 30 Rock and it features one of the creators of the Insidious and Saw movies.
The Premise is pretty simple a small town in the Midwest is faced with a viral pandemic affecting its children, Its Children of the Corn meets The Walking Dead, thanks to a shipment of tainted Chicken nuggets which at a certain point in the movie serves as a double entendre.  The adults represent a cascade of middle american stereotypes, of whom also represent the teaching faculty.  The children at the beginning of the movie were not portrayed as a wholesome bunch either, they were more reminiscent to the feeding of a cute Mogwai after midnight and being plagued with Gremlins in the wake of such an action.  The pace of the movie picks up to a frenzy, and allows the core audience, to feel the tension as teacher's window of escape begins to dwindles as the night begins to fall.









There is strong language and graphic violence,
13 and older is the general rating or adult accompaniment would best describe the choice of the ratings board towards this film.   Its a pretty decent film to watch with the family, and has a smooth and tight script that doesn't drag or feel like low point.