Hey, folks. This is just a nice, organized list of my horror movie reviews arranged by year of release (i.e., the earliest release date including film festivals). These are my horror movie reviews including links to our Podcast Discussions.
2025
2024
Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep
2023
Insidious Chapter 5: The Red Door
2022
2021
The Passenger (aka, La Pasajera)
2020
2019
Color Out of Space (podcast discussion)
2018
All the Creatures were Stirring
Insidious 4: The Last Key (podcast discussion)
2017
Good Manners (aka, As Boas Maneiras)
Happy Death Day (podcast discussion)
Satan’s Slaves (aka, Pengabdi Setan)
The Babysitter (podcast discussion)
The Ritual (podcast discussion)
The Shape of Water (podcast discussion)
2016
10 Cloverfield Lane (podcast discussion)
A Cure for Wellness (podcast discussion)
Blair Witch (podcast discussion)
Don’t Breathe (podcast discussion)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (podcast discussion)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
The Belko Experiment (podcast discussion)
The Creature Below (aka, The Dark Below)
The Conjuring 2 (podcast discussion)
The Forest (podcast discussion)
The Witch (podcast discussion)
2015
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
The Hallow (podcast discussion)
The Last Witch Hunter (podcast discussion)
2014
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Honeymoon (podcast discussion)
2013
Evil Dead (podcast discussion)
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
The House at the End of Time, aka La Casa del Fin de los Tiempos
Warm Bodies [one of the best RomZoms ever made]
2012
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
The Cabin in the Woods [My favorite 2012 horror]
The House at the End of the Street
The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh
2011
Fright Night (podcast discussion)
The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings
Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead
2010
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Resident Evil: Afterlife (podcast discussion)
Tucker and Dale versus Evil [if you could only see one 2010 horror, make it this]
2009
The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond
Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl
2008
Embodiment of Evil (aka Encarnacao do Demônio)
2007
Resident Evil: Extinction (podcast discussion)
Trick ‘r Treat (podcast discussion)
2006
Pumpkinhead III: Ashes to Ashes
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
2005
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis
2004
Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (podcast discussion)
Sars Wars: Bangkok Zombie Crisis
2003
2002
Resident Evil (podcast discussion)
Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled
2001
Children of the Corn VII: Revelation
Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell
2000
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
1999
The Blair Witch Project (podcast discussion)
Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return
Warlock 3: The End of Innocence
1998
Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror
1997
Event Horizon (podcast discussion)
1996
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
1995
Bloody Muscle Bodybuilder in Hell (ala, Japanese Evil Dead)
Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest
1994
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead
1993
Crawlers (aka, Contamination .7)
Necronomicon: Book of the Dead
Witchboard 2: The Devil’s Doorway
1992
Amityville 1992: It’s About Time
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (podcast discussion)
Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice
Doctor Mordrid, Master of the Unknown
The Unnamable 2: The Statement of Randolph Carter
1991
Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh
Curse III: Blood Sacrifice (aka, Panga)
Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (NOES 6)
Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College
Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker
The Sect (aka, The Devil’s Daughter)
1990
Dark Angel (aka, I Come in Peace)
Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Metamorphosis: The Alien Factor
Silent Night Deadly Night 4: Initiation
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
The Suckling (aka, Sewage Baby)
1989
Amityville Horror 4: The Evil Escapes
Food of the Gods II (aka, Gnaw)
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Shocking Dark (aka Terminator 2, Aliennators)
The Horror Show (aka, House 3)
1988
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice (aka, Catacombs)
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
Howling IV: The Original Nightmare
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Return of the Living Dead part II
Transformations (aka, Alien Transformations)
1987
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Blue Monkey (aka Invasion of the Body Suckers and Insect)
Evil Spawn (aka, The Alien Within)
It’s Alive: Island of the Alive
Killer Workout (aka Aerobicide)
Silent Night, Deadly Night part 2
1986
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
1985
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
Fright Night (podcast discussion)
Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf
1984
Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
The Mutilator (aka, Fall Break)
1983
1982
Satan’s Slave (aka Pengabdi Setan)
1981
An American Werewolf in London
Croaked: Frog Monster from Hell (aka, Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake)
The Howling [the second best werewolf movie ever made]
Visitors from the Arkana Galaxy
1980
Scared to Death (aka, Syngenor)
1979
Screamers (aka, Island of the Fishmen)
1978
The Manitou (podcast discussion; and another much sillier review of The Manitou)
1977
Shock aka Beyond the Door II, and Schock
1976
1975
The Possessed (aka, Demon Witch Child)
1974
1973
1972
1970
1965
1961
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Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
MY CALL: This film aims for greatness and has all the right tools for success, but it just turned out mediocre, if that. The acting, CGI effects and writing all disappoint. But it truly would be great for family night with the kids.
Borrowing from the effective style of The Wizard of Oz (1939), Oz the Great and Powerful opens in black and white and narrow-framed as we are introduced to Oscar “Oz” Diggs (James Franco; Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 127 Hours), a magician with a traveling circus in Kansas. Like any magician, he is trained in misdirection and illusion, however his selfish personality aims his talents away from being a great man and instead towards manipulating women’s emotions. James Franco, being experienced in playing likable, charismatic and understated characters, serves as an obvious choice for the clean cut, “all talk and no walk” Oz. Unfortunately, this was not one of Franco’s better performances.
Escaping a confrontation with an angry carney, Oz sets off in a hot air balloon which meets a tornado and somehow transports him to Oz. Cue widescreen and color!
Much as did (or would, this being a prequel) Dorothy, Oz finds many well-placed parallels between his life in Kansas and Oz. These are challenges–from which he shied due to fear or cowardice–represented by a porcelain China doll girl he is able to mend and an angry lion that he fends off. Components like a fearful lion and scarecrows also harbinger Dorothy’s adventure. These devices, with one rather forced exception, were tactfully delivered and greatly enhanced the film.
First we meet Theodora the good witch (Mila Kunis; Ted, Friends With Benefits), who explains that Oz has clearly come to Oz, a land of the same name, to fulfill a prophesy decreed by the past wizard and king of Oz. He is to kill the Wicked Witch and claim the throne. Being a man of little action and many words, he uses his comforting smile and showmanship to play the part–so he may claim the riches that come with the kingdom.
Another parallel, Oz meets a small anthropomorphic winged monkey (Finley) voiced by Zach Braff, who also plays Oz’s underappreciated assistant in the carnival. Finley pledges his servitude to the great wizard. As Finley, Zach Braff steals the show with great lines as he stands for the voice of over-cautious reason and guides Oz into discovering his latent leadership and goodness. Braff is also the only actor who performs well throughout the film, although that may be more to the writers’ or director’s fault. I was also very impressed by the young Joey King (the China doll girl, of The Dark Knight Rises and the upcoming haunter The Conjuring), who is responsible for the movie’s most touching moments.
Theodora and her sisters Evanora (Rachel Weisz; The Bourne Legacy) and Glinda (Michelle Williams; Win Win, My Week With Marilyn), flying monkeys, singing munchkins and especially the Wicked Witch all feel forced upon us, and often awkward, as we watch an “agenda” being slowly unveiled.
The special effects were just as forced and ineffective as the bulk of the acting. The tornado sequence was meant to be exciting and impressive–I couldn’t wait for it to end. Our CGI introduction to Oz and its nature attempted to emulate Avatar but used close up shots with over-exposed bright colors which distracted rather than unveiling the grandiose world. All scenes involving flying appeared stagnantly blue-screened and behind their time instead of exciting (like Avatar) or other-worldly (like Peter Pan). Worst of all were the effects attributed to the witches’ magic–painful (like Your Highness).
Somewhat redeeming was the music, the sentiment and the family-appropriateness. Danny Elfman, as always, does a fantastic job scoring the right moods into the film. When endearing moments offered a break from wooden acting, the sincerity was tangible and I felt like a better person for witnessing it. I was also shocked that Sam Raimi (the Spider-Man trilogy; Evil Dead; Drag Me to Hell) managed to make such a family-friendly movie while presenting the origin of wickedness in the Wicked Witch.
Most important was the ending. That was done very well and was very touching. The ending reminded me that this was just rated PG and while, for adults, I’d say skip this terrible movie at all costs, I’d go out of my way to sit down and watch this with kids. It sends the right message even if it does it without Oscar-worthy performances.
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John’s Horror Corner: Rawhead Rex (1986)
The most straightforward, honest movie poster I’ve seen in a long time.
MY CALL: The worst thing to happen to Ireland since the potato famine, red hair and liver failure. But like these things, at least this made me smile. [C-] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Not that this was very original, but I cannot come up with any suggestions of similar movies.
Before there were World of Warcraft orcs, there was Rex.
Rawhead Rex is a demon that is released by a curious farmhand and a random lightning strike on his imprisoning monolith in the middle of an Irish countryside. How’s that for a random, bad 80s horror premise? I think we’re in for something good here!
Howard and Elaine (Kelly Piper; Maniac) have come to Ireland with their young children while Howard investigates something for work. But when folks start dying, Howard is the only one in town who seems to know what they’re up against… a death-dealing demon cryptically prophesied in the local church’s stained glass windows.
Yeah, we have that stained glass pattern in my church, too.
Our demon looks like one of the 80s Evil Dead demons possessed a tall hairless gorilla with an ratty 80s hard rock mullet and glowing red eyes; he reminds me of a coked-up Gene Simmons. He knocks lots of thing over and breaks stuff between POV shots of chasing his victims.
Meet Rawhead Rex. His hobbies include proving that “red eye” removal was a great photo-editing tool, ripping of Irish people’s heads, listening to Danzig albums and ignoring sound dental advice.
When Rex claims a member of Howard’s family as a victim, it’s personal! Howard finds clues in the church and discovers the pre-Christ origins and weakness of Rawhead Rex.
Rex actually reminds me a little of the Image Comics character Pitt.
Hmmmm..maybe Pitt isn’t so original.
They really pushed the bad special effects hard, but such a low budget packs very little punch. We see prophetic visions in the form of video transformed by green prism filters and “lasers lights” producing laser-like lightning and laser-lit objects. The gore is nothing impressive, but at least it’s sufficiently frequent later in the movie. They tried–sort of.
Is this the GWAR concert?
Written by a young Clive Barker (the Hellraiser franchise), this prestigious film illustrates the respectable notion that paganism outranks Christianity in terms of credibility. The short story on which this movie was based was quite good. However, the movie itself, boasting a magic rock and a crappy light show that save the day, was not so good.
Eh, give it a chance if you ever come by the DVD. It’s rare.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Devil Inside (2012)
http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/bodies-twisted-deformed-devil-inside.html
MY CALL: So much promise and a great first act were squandered away by lousy possession scenes. This went from “could be great” to “good Lord” around the halfway mark; a 4 star opening and a 0 star finish. What a shame. [C/C-] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: The docu-style and semi-satirical nature should point viewers to Grave Encounters (2011) and The Last Exorcism (2010).
This film is presented as a documentary following the main character Isabella (Fernanda Andrade). This tactic has been adopted by Grave Encounters and The Last Exorcism, though neither included testimonials or expert opinions of individuals that weren’t involved in the story.
http://xmegamovie.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-inside-2012-bluray-720p-700mb.html
Twenty years ago this Isabella’s mother brutally murdered some of her congregation members during a church group exorcism (her own exorcism).
http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/bodies-twisted-deformed-devil-inside.html
One of Isabella’s mother’s church group.
After being found innocent (insanity plea) she is sent away to a very special facility specializing in exorcisms in Italy operated by the Vatican. Just like a show on the History Channel we hear Isabella’s testimonials and experiences as well as those of medical professionals and priests on the topic of mental illness and/or demonic possession.
http://xmegamovie.blogspot.com/2012/07/devil-inside-2012-bluray-720p-700mb.html
Let’s see if we can’t zap the crazy out of her…
The Vatican denies all involvement in exorcism but evidently has a graduate school program dedicated to the age-old practice just like in The Rite. Exorcism stock footage is observed and followed by open forum diagnosis of the “patient.” The priestly “students” are just like uber-academics; they think they know everything, they’re irritatingly argumentative and they’re suspiciously passionate about their work.
http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/bodies-twisted-deformed-devil-inside.html
Being an attractive young girl with a life Isabella responds to them appropriately: like they’re a bunch of good-intentioned, awkward geeks. They give her some useful input, though, on coming to one’s own terms with that which is mental illness and that which is possession. How will I know, she asked. Annnnnnd, cue the cliché: “You’ll know it when you see it.”
http://thehorrorhotel.blogspot.com/2013/01/horror-hotel-management-worst-horror-of.html
Isabella visits her mother’s special facility and the doctor denies the possibility of possession in lieu of abnormal mental function. When visiting hours come, she is warned to make no mention of God, religion, fate or the like, as these things elicit violent outbursts. Mom is quite sedated, wearing vacant expressions that randomly trade out for discomforting tones, a healthy compliment of different voices (as if harboring multiple personalities) and self-destructive commentary. I was just waiting for her to do something messed up at any moment.
Back with the young exorcists they analyze the footage of her visit, during which Isabella’s mother seemed to know something she couldn’t possibly have known. We also learn that these rogue exorcists are performing exorcisms without the church’s support. To help her mother she must learn about exorcisms, not in a class but in person. Possession scenes are complete with painful contortions, blood in all the wrong places and threats in multiple languages.
http://montanamancavemassacre.blogspot.com/2012/01/wtf-blogosphere-dissenting-opinion-on.html
Victims of demonic possession are always so flexible.
I feel like this film started out with so much promise. I liked the semi-satirical documentary approach. I liked that we got to know the characters through their own narrative via video log entries as much as by their actions. I really thought I was finally in for a good possession movie. Lord knows, it’s been a while. But almost as soon as the possession scenes begin the film slowly falls apart until “the ending that wasn’t there.”
http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/bodies-twisted-deformed-devil-inside.html
http://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/bodies-twisted-deformed-devil-inside.html
I don’t recommend this movie and to be specific as to why would spoil the film for those who wouldn’t heed my warning anyway.
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John’s Horror Corner: The Funhouse (1981)
A thoroughly misleading movie poster.
MY CALL: This is a fun, underrated (and under-known) horror gem. Fans of the genre should give it a shot! Just lower your expectations a bit. IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and sequels all the way up to Texas Chainsaw 3-D (2013).
Teenager Amy Harper (Elizabeth Berridge), her boyfriend Buzz (Cooper Huckabee; The Curse, Night Eyes; True Blood), and their friends Liz (Largo Woodruff; Jeepers Creepers II) and Richie (Miles Chapin; Pandemonium, Howard the Duck) go on a double date to a traveling carnival. The same carnival which left two young girls dead in its wake last year. This carnival is complete with deformed livestock, mutant fetuses, a go-go club tent with some lunch buffet-quality strippers and creepy carnies.
This is what happens when you don’t use a condom.
These troublemaking teens lie to their parents, smoke pot, and decide that it would be a good idea to spend the night in the carnival funhouse. [This exact idiocy was duplicated in a museum in The Outing (1987)]
That night they witness some masked hulking menace of a carney murder his palm-reading worker (Sylvia Miles; The Sentinel). This monstrous murderer has the mind of a child, the sex drive of a teenager, a serious speech impediment, and he hides his extensive deformity and paternal psychological abuse behind a mask. Essentially, this is a less interesting version of Leatherface.
A face that only a mother could love.
This movie, while generally underrated, moves at a slow pace until the third act. A lot of time is wasted over-justifying the killer’s abusive relationship with his father. Similarly, we watch the teenagers bicker about nonsense and what they’re going to do far longer than is warranted.
When it comes to killing off the protagonists, this movie is typical of the lower budgeted constituents its era–pretty much the middle ground of kill scenes. We don’t see the kills as ostentatiously as in Freddy movies (or Saw, Hostel, Chainsaw Massacre, etc.), but the kills don’t go completely unseen. It’s better than seeing a shot of a knife, a shot of a screaming victim, a shot of blood spraying on a wall and finally a shot of a knife already in someone’s chest.
The final showdown between the spastic, mutant killer is incredibly awful and, when viewed with the right attitude, pretty funny as well. My biggest disappointment was the general paucity of gore.
Horror master Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Lifeforce, Salem’s Lot) took me by surprise with this movie…not in a good way, but a super-campy way. The opening scene is a shower scene complete with a bare-breasted girl who is hardly passable as eighteen. This is a cheap, hormones-raging, schlocky tactic–and in the opening scene? Now don’t get me wrong. Some bad horror has utilized this cheap tactic as soon as the first minute of running time and still managed to pull off a great bad horror flick (e.g., Of Unknown Origin). But after Hooper’s dark, twisted, macabre Texas Chainsaw Massacre along with its graphic brutality which had hardly been seen to date (in 1974), I was shocked to this from the very same director seven years later.
This is a fun, underrated (and under-known) horror gem. Fans of the genre should give it a shot!
An alternative poster which tells a more honest story about the movie.
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Bad Movie Tuesday: The Day Time Horror Film
When you commit to writing a column called Bad Movie Tuesday you set yourself up for copious amounts of bad cinema. The thing that keeps you going is finding the silver lining to the badness. However, with bad horror films there is no silver lining. Most of the time when bad horror films end I am left with a grimace and a feeling that time was wasted. I might be biased and Co-writer John might disagree but I find the horror genre the most frustrating. I am not a fan of horror films. I appreciate them but very few catch my attention. They’ve been destroyed by too much information, too many twists and seemingly hundreds of remakes and prequels.
The Awakening had one strike going against it already. The tagline read “all the children are gone. Except one.” So, I knew I was about to watch a film about evil kids who create many jump scares whilst actors look glum and inevitably becomes ghosts or realize they are ghosts. So, in order to prevent the inevitable scowl I watched the film on a well deserved weekday off and focused much of my attention to writing, playing with my cat and processing my thoughts about The Master.
Did she die? Did she live? Who takes care of the lawn? Who was that evil kid? Why didn’t Dominic West punch a ghost? I have the answer to none of these questions. The most intriguing aspects are the beautiful grounds and never ending house. I had a hard time believing that there was only one person taking care of all the shrubs, bushes and grass. Roger Ebert had a question as well “The real mystery is, what were the English thinking of when they build these scary stately homes and actually went to live in them?” I am convinced that 90% of all horror films would be prevented if people lived in one bedroom apartments.
The Awakening started off solid enough by establishing the main character as a paranormal hoax investigator. Rebecca Hall (The Town, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Iron Man 3) is a wonderful actress and she lent the film a much needed dose of credibility. However, once she arrives at the large mansion the movie goes awry. There is something about an evil kid, a massive doll house and Bran from Game of Thrones obviously being a ghost or massive punk. After the stock shock ending I was happy I chose not to pursue this film when it was in the theaters.
The best thing about this film is that it inspired me to force another horror sub-genre on the world. My Tank Top Horror was a success so I’ve deemed The Awakening “Day Time Horror.”
Day Time Horror films are so bad, boring, twisty, remakey and sequely (Those two words were made up) that you can watch them during the day and not fret about missing scares and plot. The Day Time Horror (DTH) label can save many date nights and horror gatherings. There is nothing worse than expecting a scare and being stuck with The Apparition, House at the End of the Street or The Ward. The DTH label is a must in a landscape of terrible cinema. Why risk watching a good horror film during the day and wrecking a wonderful experience? I know that studios will never thrust the DTH label on their films so here are some things to look for.
1. Is it a remake or sequel?
2. Does it heavily feature a tank top?
3. What is the Rotten Tomato score?
4. Are there evil kids who are blurry, pale or sullen?
5. Does it feature Ashley Greene looking at stuff?
6. Is it PG-13 and named The Boogeyman, Dark Water or The Messengers?
7. Is it called The Last Exorcism 2 (huh?) or Final Destination 4 3D?
If the horror film features these criteria I recommend watching it during the day. If you watch these while doing homework, cleaning, writing, exercising or napping you will feel like a better person. Your time will not be wasted because the movie is being used for background while you better yourself. Thus, you get the gist of the movie and not all the junk that goes with it. I would do anything to get the time back that I spent in the theater watching Paranormal Activity 3, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Grudge.
There are several films THAT YOU NEED TO WATCH in cinemas. So, research the film to make sure they all bring something new to the table. Insidious, Drag Me To Hell and Devil were all rare treats that I fully enjoyed while sitting fully immersed in the dark theater. They had original stories, wonderful visuals and solid acting. The three mentioned films all dared to break free from the mold and give us something new. Goats become evil, Philly went upside down and people actually moved out of a haunted house. If Sam Raimi is directing and not producing I recommend the theater. If it tells an original story without evil kids or long stretches of boredom (AKA attempts at tension) watch it in the dark. Also, if it is directed by James Wan (Insidious, Saw (only the first) Dead Silence, The Conjuring) check it out. Wan will never hit a home run but the dude always swings for the fences and has managed to pile up a lot of doubles and triples. His latest film The Conjuring looks epic judging by the trailer. Ti West is pretty great too FYI.
Nothing new happens in The Awakening and that is what makes it a DTH film. There is a big house, a doubter, blurry kids and a twist. I saw these traits in the preview and that is why I watched it during the day while doing other things. The best thing I noticed about it is that it didn’t feel like attractive people looking at things like The Apparition and The Darkest Hour did.
If you embrace the DTH label and use your time creating while watching badness your day will be well spent. We movie lovers consume mass quantities of cinema and it is important not to overdose on subpar offerings. Some movies deserve your attention. Day Time Horror films do not.
Thoughts? Questions? Angry? Suggestions? How many times will you jump while watching The Conjuring?
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John’s Horror Corner: Grave Encounters 2 (2012)
http://frommidnight.blogspot.com/2012/10/fmwl-indie-spotlight-grave-encounters-2.html
MY CALL: I came into this expecting the worst. Online reviews were NOT favorable. However, if you enjoyed part 1 you should enjoy this as well, although a little less. [B-] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Grave Encounters (2011) and The Last Exorcism (2010). FILMING STYLE: Grave Encounters 2 continues the found footage, first person POV filming style; shaky and candid.
YouTube horror critic and college student Alex (Richard Harmon; Trick ‘r Treat, Bates Motel), who looks like Robert Pattinson less a few good-looking genes, sets out to make a great horror film. During his endeavors, our freshman director receives some strange emails from a anonymous source with videos that seem to be “extra” scenes from the movie Grave Encounters. Alex then believes that the events of Grave Encounters “really happened” and decides to prove it on film along with his friends Trevor (Dylan Playfair), Tessa (Stephanie Bennett), Jared (Howie Lai; Supernatural, Fringe) and Jennifer (Leanne Lapp; Zombie Punch), who looks a bit like Amy Adams.
http://foritismansnumber.blogspot.com/2012/10/grave-encounters-2-2012.html
OMG. Soooo Robert Pattinson and Amy Adams, right?
The documentarians try to track down Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson; Grave Encounters, Underworld: Evolution), the host of Grave Encounters, to discover that he has not been heard of since filming Grave Encounters. To get to the bottom of it all, they all decide to go to the abandoned hospital where Lance Preston and his team was last seen. The dynamic: Trevor and Jared do most of the camera work, Tessa just seems to sit around and “look pretty,” and Alex has a crush on Jennifer.
They sneak onto the property from Grave Encounters and, like the original Grave Encounters team, they set up cameras in the old asylum which is now peppered with police crime scene tape. From this point, Grave Encounters is basically re-imagined with a new crew and a slightly different goal, but the same sets. Their documentarians recap the events from Grave Encounters and then semi-duplicate the original team’s actions, encounter the same situations and similar things happen to them. In some ways, it almost feels like a remake/re-imagining for a portion of the film.
http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/grave-encounters-2-2012/
The story suffers toward the end as Grave Encounters 2 tries to tie together elements from both movies. But I didn’t let that ruin the movie for me. The whole product was a few steps down from the quality of the original, but I enjoyed it for all the same reasons.
http://cinefilles.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/grave-encounters-2/
Most damning to the story was that once Alex and his crew decide that the Grave Encounters footage is real, they never once acknowledge that means that ghosts exist! They’re simply hellbent on proving that the footage is real. Even when they arrive to the site where it all happened, they’re in no way concerned about the poltergeists they saw kill some of the crew on camera in Grave Encounters!!! But, like the original, the movie is funny, decently acted, sets a creepy mood and has its share of scares.
http://unseenfilms.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-im-disappointed-in-grave-encounters.html
In the past I’ve mentioned unwarranted sequels that nobody expected or maybe didn’t even want. The kinds of releases that provoke reactions like “they made a sequel to that?” Such sequels include The Last Exorcism 2 (2013), Insidious 2 and Sinister 2. Like Grave Encounters, they all tell an entire story and end with an appropriate twist. One could even argue that to sequel them would be to simply reiterate, go through the motions, or re-imagine the original. When they don’t do that and aim for originality, then things can really get FUBARed.
That did not happen here. While a B-version of the original, Grave Encounters 2 entertained me and even did so when I came in with bad expectations.
Give this film a chance. It may shock you, too.
http://www.containsmoderateperil.com/grave-encounters-2-2012/
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John’s Horror Corner: The Last Exorcism 2 (2013), is it really the last “last” exorcism?
Let’s start by addressing the obvious…the “last” exorcism “part 2.” No. You know what? This is just going to upset me. That’s enough.
MY CALL: A completely unwarranted sequel that nobody wanted and did nothing for the storyline. [F!] WHAT TO WATCH INSTEAD: The Last Exorcism (2010)
Abandoning part 1’s director and the found footage, shaky video camera POV for a more traditional approach, part 2 picks up right where The Last Exorcism left off. The day after Cotton and his cameraman bit the dust at the cult rally during Abalam’s “birth”, 17 year old Nell (the possessed farm girl from part 1, Ashley Bell; The Last Exorcism) is found in a neighbor’s house under severe psychological shock.
Nell is taken to a transitional home (sort of a juvenile halfway house) for troubled girls after being diagnosed as the victim of cult abuse. Eventually she starts acclimating to a less simple, superstitious, God-fearing world to which she’d never been exposed; a world with boys, jobs, YouTube, catty roommates, alternative music and iPods.
During Nell’s social rehabilitation she begins to have visions and strange things start happening. The delusions are a mix of warnings about the demon Abalam and others of some force (presumably Abalam) coming to claim her. Her caretaker thinks she’s unstable, but Nell eventually finds members of some kind of good cult who wish to help by dispatching her demon–resulting in a ritual which is similar to an exorcism.
Attempts to set a creepy mood with eerie special effects largely fail. There is almost no action outside of Nell’s vision-induced hysteria and, worse, I never felt any suspense or shock. This movie wasn’t scary, hardly even seeming to try to be scary, nor was it interesting. The justification of this movie was limited to one repeated notion: that Abalam wouldn’t be complete with her. Yet I never felt nervous/worried about Abalam at any point in the movie.
So…dumb plot, ineffective effects, no suspense, and no story-based reason to really make this movie. On top of that, this felt in no way like a possession/exorcism movie! It was more like some scared, fragile girl being stalked by an evil force/cult/whatever. The one upside is that this movie can stand alone for any viewer who missed part 1.
A lot of sequels don’t need to be made and, really, aren’t even wanted by the fans. In this case, part 1 told a whole story ending with a twist and was presented as a satirical documentary in first person POV narrated by the exorcist star. Part 2 is traditional third person POV and presented as a traditional (non-satirical) horror film. This isn’t the continuation of a story. This is a re-imagining of The Last Exorcism that happens to take place after The Last Exorcism with a crappy plot. Sinister (2012) had its sequel announced before it hit Blu-ray release! Again, I’m baffled at how they plan to continue this story. Insidious (2010), another movie which told a whole story ending with a twist, was loved by many. As such, I’m nervous about Insidious 2, but at least that movie ended in such a way that I can clearly see how one could extend the story instead of simply reiterating the previous installment.
When a sequel comes out and we say to ourselves “they made a sequel to that?” That’s probably a good indication that you should skip it. For this movie, that’s the case. Skip it. Don’t wait for RedBox or an HBO premiere, just skip it forever.
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MY CALL: This movie is to exorcism movies what American Psycho is to slasher flicks—a well-done satire. Not as well-done as American Psycho, not by a long shot. But it’s a good satire. While scare-seekers will be disappointed, well-seasoned horror-goers should find this change of pace to be a fun ride. [B+] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Duh…The Exorcist (1973).
Patrick Fabian is immediately likeable as a sensationalistic minister (Cotton) in this documentary-style horror. He is an exorcist who openly calls exorcism a scam and does not even believe in demonic possession, maybe not even in God. His son has a Novocain-y, cottonball-muffled voice which adds to the endearing set up that serves its purpose well as I begin to care about the protagonist and his family.
To prove his point before going legit, Cotton decides to have his camera crew follow him on one last exorcism job, which he picks randomly from an abundance of “save us” mail. His pick: Ivanwood, Texas. During the drive to the site of this last hoax he shares his observation that this poor, largely illiterate area is a breeding ground for the demons and superstition that fill the pockets of would-be exorcists. He is amused when he has the opportunity to support his point simply by chatting with some locals. It’s a bit mean to small-towners, but cutely done. Our exorcist is very charismatic and the movie has a foundation of humorous charm that keeps me grinning.
As we are introduced to our victem, a young girl named Nell from a shallow breeding pool, we are bombarded by nauseating innocence. Cotton asks to see the young girl’s room and he proceeds to “rig” it (unbeknownst to the victim and her family) like he’s a producer for an episode of Ghost Hunters. After performing a mock exorcism on the girl—with Cotton’s amusing behind-the-scenes commentary—he pockets what hard-earned cash her father managed to rustle up and leaves.
From this point on, the movie takes a more serious turn. Cue weird! Weird. But still not creepy or scary.
Despite the non-horrifying nature of this satirical horror, I’m gonna’ say see it anyway. The first half was REALLY well done in terms of developing a likeable antihero and the documentary within the movie was well-orchestrated. These two elements could not have worked without one another and their product was something noteworthy. The second half of the movie experimented with some things which, I think, blew up in the director’s face; especially the ending. But hey, perfect movies are rare.
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MY CALL: Only die hard gore and horror anthology fans should even consider this schizophrenic mix of wildly inane short films. But I’ll bet you could make one Hell of a drinking game out of it! [C-/D+] IF YOU LIKE THIS WATCH: Some other fun, decent and/or clever anthologies include (in order of release date): Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), Creepshow (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Creepshow 2 (1987), Tales from the Dark Side: The Movie (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Campfire Tales (1997), 3 Extremes (2004), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012) and The Profane Exhibit (2013).
This movie features a wide range of filming styles, varied and creative special effects, some nice use of slow-motion and all manner of gore. As a fan of gross-out gobs of gobbledy-gook horror and creative and/or funny and/or just plain awful twisted death scenes, I thought that this movie would NO MATTER WHAT be a big pleaser for the darker side of my soul. I was largely wrong.
Like a child’s ABC book, the film is comprised of 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter. Each director had total freedom to choose a word to create a story involving death; 26 directors from around the world have contributed all manner of random death clips.
I’m a huge fan of horror anthology movies. They get a little flack because they come from a range of writers, directors and production quality–but that’s what I like. It also makes horror shorts available to those of us who do not attend film school or genre-geared film fests (e.g., Fantastic Fest). If you don’t like a film in Creepshow (3 stories) you’d wait 20-30 minutes for the next story. With V/H/S (5 stories) one need wait only 15-20 minutes. However this has 26 stories, so you’d only have to wait what? Maybe 5 minutes? Sadly, because of generally low quality and uninspired shorts, you’ll find yourself waiting a lot.
For me the hands-down best short films were “D is for Dogfight”, “T is for Toilet”, and “X is for XXL.”
Below is an ABC guide to the shorts, their directors and their past work, a few components of the short and an occasional comment…
“A is for Apocalypse” by Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, The Profane Exhibit)
Spanish language; dismemberment. This was not good. The violent gore was funny but brief. This was basically just a violent scene linked to nothing. Oh, and what apocalypse?
“B is for Bigfoot” by Adrián García Bogliano (Penumbra)
Spanish language; nudity. Awful on all accounts. This was basically about bad parenting folklore.
“C is for Cycle” by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (Mandrill, Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman)
Spanish language. This one was senseless. Not good.
“D is for Dogfight” by Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl)
Well shot, largely in slow-motion. I really liked this one. They created a credible man-dogfight. Sort of a neat idea. And the filming and lighting–solid!
Goooood dog. Good dog. Nice pup.
“E is for Exterminate” by Angela Bettis (Roman)
Terrible CGI, terrible POV concept, terrible sound effects and music. This plays on a spider urban legend involving laying eggs “in” a human. Not played out well! Even the acting sucked ass.
“F is for Fart” by Noboru Iguchi (The Machine Girl, RoboGeisha, Mutant Girl Squad)
Japanese language; butt nudity. Disappointing. I normally like this director’s work. But this was a stupid, grossly perverted beyond standard exploitative means, lesbian sexualization (or fetishization) of deadly farts! That may sound funny, but it is not as funny as it should have been.
Super weird short film. Some love it, some hate it.
“G is for Gravity” by Andrew Traucki (The Reef, The Jungle)
POV. Random and I didn’t understand it really.
“H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion” by Thomas Cappelen Malling (Norwegian Ninja)
Genital mutilation; semi-nudity (prosthetic); dog people; Nazi strippers. Extremely stupid, over the top ridiculous effects. But, when drunk, sufficiently entertaining on a WTF basis.
“I is for Ingrown” by Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are)
Spanish language; vomit. Nothing to do with the title.
“J is for Jidai-geki” by Yudai Yamaguchi (Meatball Machine, Yakuza Weapon)
Japanese language; suicide; decapitation. Looney prosthetic effects–somewhat funny. The title means “samurai movie.”
“K is for Klutz” by Anders Morgenthaler (Echo)
Feces; toilet. Title makes no sense.
“L is for Libido” by Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre)
Full frontal female nudity; masturbation; semen; pedophilia; amputee fetishism; torture sex; vomit; mid-coital homicide.
“M is for Miscarriage” by Ti West (The Innkeepers, V/H/S)
Toilet; miscarriage. Pointless and hardly 60 sec!
“N is for Nuptials” by Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter)
Some foreign language (maybe Thai?). Stupid and sort of funny.
“O is for Orgasm” by Hélène Cattet (Amer) & Bruno Forzani (Amer)
Nudity. I have no clue what was going on here!
“P is for Pressure” by Simon Rumley (The Living and the Dead, Little Deaths)
Mascoticide. I honestly have no clue what I’m watching right now!
“Q is for Quack” by Adam Wingard (You’re Next, V/H/S)
Nudity. Funny reality thing.
“R is for Removed” by Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film)
VERY gory. I guess interesting. Made no sense.
“S is for Speed” by Jake West (Evil Aliens, Doghouse)
Injection; vomit. Grindhouse homage? VERY dumb. Maybe the worst dialogue of all the shorts.
“T is for Toilet” by Lee Hardcastle (claymation TV show Done in 60 seconds. With Clay)
Clay nudity. AMAZING clay gore.
“U is for Unearthed” by Ben Wheatley (Kill List)
Decapitation; POV; vampire. Shitty!
“V is for Vagitus” by Kaare Andrews (Altitude, Cabin Fever: Patient Zero)
Cool short film.
“W is for WTF?” by Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse, The Venture Brothers)
Animated; nudity; decapitation; gory. WTF is right!
“X is for XXL” by Xavier Gens (Hitman, The Divide)
French language; utterly disgusting food binging; SERIOUS self-mutilation. I LOVED this one. Gory, brutal, a little tough to watch even. Sick! Simple. Understandable.
“Y is for Youngbuck” by Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun)
Decapitation; pedophilia. If you could mix homosexual pedophiliac’s dream with a deer hunter’s nightmare you might end up with this.
This image should reveal all of the inappropriate nature of this short film.
“Z is for Zetsumetsu” by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl, Helldriver)
Genital mutilation; ejaculation; rape; weaponized penis and vagina; full frontal female and male nudity; Nazi. Cool gore and filming and effects. The title means “extinction.”
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