Reviews

I have just finished watching this movie via Netflix and I am stunned to see it has such a low rating! This is a genuinely frightening horror movie!

Set in 1986, a brother and sister (Jackson & Angela) led team of 4, scam those believing they are haunted by the supernatural, with fake cleansings, as a way to make a living. The brother and sister use the notoriety of their deceased mother, a medium of some fame, who's gift with speaking to the supernatural led to her gouging out her own eyes, and her suicide.

Angela (played by Florence Pugh) is failing in her studies in Uni, is feeling guilty, and wants to end their scams, while her brother, who owes money to some dangerous people wants to continue their scams. After an unusual event at their last cleansing and some strange dreams where she saw her mother, Angela agrees to another cleansing scam. This one, however, takes place at an old large mansion, where 3 young girls where supposedly murdered by the owners son.

From here there are some very frightening and violent scenes as first Angela, and then Jackson, begin to see the supernatural, as their own inherited gift to communicate awakens. There are some twists that, whilst not really surprising, were still shocking.

The cast is terrific, especially Florence Pugh as Angela and Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Jackson. Pugh is surely to become a star with her performance. As Angela, Pugh gives a terrifically understated, nuanced and realistic portrayal, showing emotion and range beyond her years. Lloyd-Hughes' portrayal as her arrogant, selfish and cynical older brother, is played beautifully opposite to Pugh's Angela, being loud and brash to her quiet and thoughtful, yet so obviously so reliant on his sister.

The film is a genuinely interesting and scary supernatural horror, without resorting to the tropes seen in the big Hollywood blockbuster horror movies like The Conjuring and Annabelle. Malevolent is well paced, tight and atmospheric, and unapologetic for what it lacks (Hollywood names, budget), turning them into strengths.

A certain 10/10. A sequel with the surviving (and not surviving!) characters would be terrific!

Cynthia (2018) is reminiscent to the 1974 movie It's Alive and it's sequels.

The movie begins with a couple, Robin and Michael, trying desperately to have a baby. They are approaching 30 and have been trying for a few years, at great financial and emotional cost. Now using cheaper Asian substitute IVF and fertilisation drugs/injections the couple finally become pregnant.

A small issues leads to Robin needing a minor surgery to remove a cyst or tumour like mass, which leads to the viewer to understand that Robin is having some weird nightmares! To further complicate Robins life, she begins to think that Michael is having an affair, as Michael becomes more and more distant, coming home late.

The birth is a C-section, where a massive cyst is removed after the baby. Immediately we see whatever was within the cyst start to kill. We see through the eye of the creature, as it moves around, following Robin, Michael and their new baby Samantha home. (As the new family leaves the hospital, we here meet Bill Moseley's brilliantly bizarre cameo character, Buttercup, as a homeless transvestite).

The murder of a visitor to the home, leads to Michael confessing that he is gay and is having an affair. After throwing Michael out, Robin falls asleep. Waking to find Samantha missing, Robin follows Samantha's cries into the air conditioning ducting in the walls, where we find out what the cyst really was, a deformed child, Samantha's twin, which Robin accepts lovingly.

Just days prior to the court case to determine custody, Michael returns to their home to find it a pigsty. Dirty nappies on the floor, dishes everywhere, Michael and his partner Randy, an Australian, have come for Samantha's birthday party. We find Robin completely different to her former self. As Michael and Randy take photos to show the judge at the custody hearing they enter a baby's room, however one that is absolutely filthy. As they search the room they come across Robin's baby book, that talks of how Samantha and Cynthia have been progressing as infants. Robin locks them in, where they are attacked by Cynthia.

The ending is a bit disappointing, especially how Sid Haig's character behaves with the kids when alone, but he gets what's coming to him.

Reminiscent to movies like 'It's Alive, CHUD, and Critters', this movie succeeds because of some very bizarre scenes of violence and insanity (such as Robin's dream scenes, and the birthday party and fight in the ball pit), some terrific performances and lines of dialogue delivered perfectly by Randy (James WIlliam O'Halloran), Michael (Kyle Jones), Detective Edwards (Sid Haig), Robin's sister Jane (Rebecca Marshall), and Buttercup (Bill Moseley), and the understated performance of Scout Taylor-Compton and her transformation from devoted spouse and mother to be, to a single mother of 2 who'd do anything to protect her children.

Fans of horror comedies will enjoy this movie, just remember this is not a traditional horror movie, rather a call back to the VHS days of cheap horror movies as silly escapism.

A terrible beginning. Suspected murderer Jack Cain goes free due to the failure of experienced police officer Frank Hollister to tell the suspect his rights (because he forgot, after/due to the chase down). Something that should be impossible! Anyway, due to this the search of the suspects person, home and vehicle is deemed illegal and the suspect goes free. The court case alone almost had me turning the movie off, it was that poorly written and executed.

Soon some of the family members of the victims, and Hollister, capture, string up, mask (in a strangle Smiley mask), and kill Cain, yet not before the suspect recites some sort of occult-ish curse before being shot to death and buried.

One year later one of the group of men who killed Cain commits suicide out of guilt. The blood of the suicide victim mixes into the earth where Cain was buried, and causes the resurrection of Cain, who begins to hunt those responsible for his murder.

Hollister becomes the last survivor and tells his (oddly American) fellow officer the truth about the murder of Jack Cain. At this time we discover that the officer has since discovered that Cain was not the murderer, that a person who had since been arrested for different murders confessed to the original murders too.

The police officer finds a friend of Jack Cain, who is also into the occult, who discusses Cain's practices of the occult, and his ideas of life after death. Linking to the Roman, druids, and Celts time of 40-400 A.D, Cain's friend discusses the Druid's belief in self sacrifice, suicide to increase his power. The police officer in a moment of panic and disbelief, attempts to arrest but shoots Cain's friend.

At the nearby Halloween party the American police officer arrives to take the other police officers daughter to the station. Cain arrives and starts to kill party goers (who for some reason all freak out and try to run when Cain in his mask arrive (even thought it's a Halloween concert!). Cain kills several people, and soon comes face to face with Frank Hollister, who turns on a gas propane bottle, and blows himself and Cain up.

One year later Hollister's daughter visits the graves of her father and Cain, whose arm (of course) bursts through the dirt and grabs her.

This is the definition of a low budget movie, yet this is in no way a fun cheesy B movie. This could have been better with a few million dollars and a proper script, however this is a bad movie. The dialogue is bland, the kills happen off camera so there is no scare factor, the acting is average, with some being passable (the police officers daughter, American police officer) and others being awful (the rest).

Don't bother.

This is one of my favourite movies and the cast consists of some of my favourite actors including Mark Duplass (The League), the stunning Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover (Comminity), and Evan Peters (X-Men movies).

The premise isn't really original, and without giving away to many spoilers - A group of scientists are working on the means to prologue the time a person can be brought back after dying or flat-lining, without neurological damage. They succeed, but greater then they expected, with the serum being capable of opening up numerous neural pathways at the same time (rather then 10% at a time). When the procedure is performed on a certain character after a fatal accident, they are not only resurrected, but bring back memories of years in hell. S&^% roles down hill after that. The ending is a little bit of a let down. Personally, the whole idea would be better as a tv series...with a different ending.

So we all know how it ended. They all had to go into stasis as they traveled out of the galaxy, as there was not enough supplies to last the journey. Only Eli stayed awake to ensure that the ship traveled safely.

So time for the show to return!!! None of the cast are doing particularly well so why not have it return, on one of the many new channels and subscriptions. How do we get this in motion?!

I loved it! This is a great movie!

So the nukes have dropped all over the world. The movie focuses on a group who hide in a basement and try to survive. Until the end there is not much more to it then that.

HOWEVER the acting is terrific. C.J. Thomason is incredible! Edward Furlong and Monica Keena are awesome too (for a change). The story and characterization really draws the viewer in and the direction is so claustrophobic and intense that you cant help but be moved by what happens.

I am a fan of the apocalyptic film so I really enjoyed it. I give it an 8

At the end of the movie it is easy to see this as an attempt to be Psycho meets Mr. Brooks. Dennis Quaid plays against type as Eli a mortician with a secret, and a dark compulsion. He can kill with no remorse and he has the body of his deceased wife in his house. Unfortunely Quaid is one of the weaknesses of the film. He lacks the chilling menace that Costner had in Mr. Brooks and just comes across as a psycho.

The story is lacking in exposition and caused me some annoyance as the movie progressed. Why wait to the end and shoehorn in a ton of explanation in an unnatural fashion, which takes away from the twist at the end. The twist should be the penny that drops to link all the treads together ala The Sixth Sense (the best example of this).

The best part of the film would have to be the young cast. The four friends are great together, very believable as friends. The lead, Travis, is great and reminds me of a young Christopher Gorham (Harpers Island).

The story itself is good and entertaining, unfortunately it is lacking in the execution.