It’s another remake, but it’s a brilliant one. Jim Mickle’s patience with We Are What We Are turns the film into a slow-burning nightmare that makes up in its lack of scares with a jaw-dropping final act that will leave you speechless. The film centers around the Parkers, a reclusive family who follow ancient customs, find their secret existence threatened as a torrential downpour moves into their area, forcing daughters Iris and Rose to assume responsibilities beyond those of a typical family. Continue Reading…
Archives For Reviews
Seeing as how I never got the chance to review James Wan’s The Conjuring when it scared up theaters back in July, I figured a Blu-ray review only made sense. Hitting shelves on October 22nd, acclaimed director James Wan’s The Conjuring follows a pair of paranormal investigators who help a family haunted by a demonic force, only to find themselves trapped in their own horrifying nightmare. The film stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Ed and Lorraine Warren; Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor as Roger and Carolyn Perron. Continue Reading…
Poor Carrie White, she just wanted to be like everyone else. Sometimes it’s okay to be a little different though, something the film struggles with from the get-go. Kimberly Peirce’s take on Stephen King’s classic novel of the same name tries much to hard to please the wrong audience and ends up being a missed opportunity. Carrie is a horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom. Continue Reading…
Marina de Van’s Dark Touch had plenty of potential, but with an unconvincing lead and its disjointed story the film ultimately loses itself after a solid first act. In a remote town in Ireland, eleven-year-old Neve finds herself the sole survivor of a bloody massacre that killed her parents and younger brother. Suspecting a gang of homicidal vandals, the police ignore Neve’s explanation that the house is the culprit. To help ease her trauma, dutiful neighbors Nat and Lucas take her in with the supervision of a social worker. Neve has trouble finding peace with the wholesome and nurturing couple, and horrific danger continues to manifest. Continue Reading…
James Wan’s Insidious: Chapter 2 may have been a somewhat forced sequel after the major success of the first film, but Wan does everything in his power to make it one that not only holds up to the original, but takes you deeper into the further in a strange as hell ride. Wan has stated that this will mark his last film in the genre as he moves on to newer and exciting things so it’s no surprise that he really wanted to leave behind a wickedly weird and entertaining flick that is riddled with enough scares to make Insidious: Chapter 2 an absolute blast. The sequel picks up right where the original left off as the haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. Continue Reading…
Jonathan Levine’s All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has finally gotten a release Stateside after what felt like an eternity. Now that horror fans can get their hands on Levine’s teenage slasher, will it live up to the hype? There’s a lot of things that All the Boys Love Mandy Lane tries to do right but it unfortunately falls under a curtain of cliches and terrible characters that it ends up digging its own grave that only gets deeper and deeper as the movie goes on. The film follows a group of high-schoolers who invite Mandy Lane, “a good girl” who becomes the object of everyone’s affection after returning from summer break, to a weekend party on a secluded ranch. While the festivities rage on, the number of revelers begins to mysteriously drop one at a time. Continue Reading…
The Seasoning House marks the first directorial effort by renowned British special effects artist Paul Hyett. You may not recognize his name, but you will no doubt be familiar with his brilliant special effects/make-up work found in films such as The Descent, The Woman in Black, Doomsday, Eden Lake and so much more. It was only a matter of time before Hyett took a seat behind the lens and with The Seasoning House being his feature film debut he managed to find a way to leave his stamp on the horror genre. The film follows deaf and mute Angel, who is abducted and ditched in a grim Balkan brothel. The ex-soldier who runs the place, Viktor, puts her to work tending to the other women, but when she sparks a friendship with one of the women, things take a turn for the violent. Continue Reading…
Almost 20 years after Interview With the Vampire, Neil Jordan explores the vampire mythology once again with Byzantium as he breathes new life into a tired genre. Led by both Saoirse Ronan and Gemma Arterton, this vampire tale is a dark and moody flick with brilliant visuals and just enough of an original spark to make it one of the best vampire films since Let the Right One In. Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence. Continue Reading…
Written and directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes, 100 Bloody Acres is a blood splattered blast that seamlessly blends comedy into the horror genre. This marks their first feature film together and it follows two brothers, Reg and Lindsay Morgan, who are struggling to keep their organic blood and bone fertilizer business in motion. Their secret “recipe” for success was a huge boom to business, but lately supply has been gravely low. When Reg stumbles upon 3 travelers stranded on the side of the road, he comes up with a ridiculous solution to their problem, and a way of finally gaining the respect of his big brother. Continue Reading…