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Reviews
Vivarium (2019)
Surreal, Mindbending
Vivarium is a psychological horror set in a surreal, everything is exactly the same. Same houses, same streets. Matter of fact once here you can never leave. The couple is given a child to raise. A nightmare. All in all not a bad movie, a bit claustrophobic, but that's part of the horror. Give it a try. Not bad.
Alice in Murderland (2010)
Not sure why all the hated
I held off on watching this due to the reviews here. Rated 1.9 and bad reviews, I don't know why. Expecting the worst, I got a movie that wasn't soft core porn, like someone suggested. It wasn't bad, nothing to write home about, but still decent. If you're looking for a movie that isn't the greatest, but has some charm, then look no further
Dark Touch (2013)
I Love This Movie
But you may not. It's not what I would call a horror movie, although it does have horror elements.
Niahm, an abused child of 11, is the protagonist of Dark Touch. The movie opens with Niahm running through the woods in the rain, not dressed for being outside in the rain at night we wonder what she is fleeing, running from, because it just doesn't appear she is running to anything in particular. A dog stops her running and when the neighbours see who it is they start touching her, trying to hold on to her. At the neighbour's house Niamh is fine until they start touching her, again. These neighbours are not touching her in any untoward fashion, just trying to be helpful. Seemingly the house is possessed as it seems to kill Niahm's parents, in a most entertaining way.
Niahm is a superhero as she rescues other children living with abusive parents. Another house possessed? Seems. I won't reveal much more of the plot, just enough to get you to watch.
The production values were fairly high. Good cinematography. Very good acting and direction. In the 30-40 times I've seen Dark Touch I was never let down and thoroughly enjoyed the film
Stephanie (2017)
I like this movie probably more than I should
Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers
Did I mention spoilers, you may not want to continue.
It's true, I like this movie. It does start off a little slow, kinda like granny driving. It maintains this pace. We are left wondering how and why Stephanie was abandoned by her family. We then see that there is a monster that returns when Stephanie least expects it. What is the nature of this monster that lives beyond the woods? Paranormal? Could be. Some genetic mutant? We just don't know, which adds to the suspense. Stephanie does a good job of hiding from it, but things get tense for her and for us. Around mid-point we find Stephanie's brother is left to care for her, but he is in his bed and we never see him, just a lump under the blankets. Later we find out that he died and it was his fault mom and dad left. Monster attacks and we see the damage it can do, not a small monster, not by a long shot. Eventually mom and dad return. Seems as though they are medical people and were needed elsewhere. Still no clue as to why they left the children alone with a monster on the loose. How did brother die, it is presumed that the monster got him. Mom and dad plot to kill Stephanie to stop some illness, some infection. There is a nice twist in the end at which point it becomes a space alien sci-fi flick. All was good until that point. But I still liked it. I think it would've been that much better if it had stayed a paranormal monster/demon, but, alas they went another direction.
The Crescent (2017)
Ugh, what a waste of time
I should've listened to the other reviewers. This movie has no discernible plot, they try to add on at the end, but it fails miserably. We got it right off that everyone is dead and unlikable. No sympathetic characters. Right off you find the protagonist is someone you just can't care about. And that kid, what an annoyance. It is boredom then at the end when they introduce what they think is plot but just more crap. Total crapfest. Don't say you weren't warned
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
A good movie, which surprised me
So this will be like the 192nd review of Annabelle:Creation, one which no one will read, but I have to post anyway.
I was highly skeptical when I first went to see it. Annabelle sucked, the Conjuring was not bad, but I got tired of all the Ed and Lorraine Warren where the first 15 minutes is hype for which ever movie was up next. I expected that on this one. I was more than pleasantly surprised when that didn't happen.
Love the kids, Lulu Wilson was her usual great self portraying Linda. But I was amazed at Talitha Bateman's performance, her Janice was spot on. The only who seemed lost was Anthony LaPaglia's Samuel Mullins. I think it was part of who he's become rathe3r than bad directing for the rest of the movie was directed well.
Here come possible spoilers.
The opening sequences show a bus full of young girls from an orphanage. They are headed to the house of Sam Mullins where they will be staying as their orphanage closed. We are brought in to Janice and Linda sitting in the back of the bus talking about possible futures and promise to stay with the other no matter what.
Not long after their arrival at Mullins' house the other girls want to go exploring and ask if Linda and Janice wanted to go with. Janice was hesitant because Janice has polio and cannot walk. So Linda leaves her in spite of the promise on the bus. This happens a couple times. Eventually, Janice takes to exploring inside the house and enters a room, one forbidden to them to enter. In this room she finds a secret, locked door. She opens it to reveal the doll that would be Annabelle.
Once Annabelle is awakened the paranormal happenings in crease exponentially. Janice is drawn in more and more. Annabelle was the name of Sam Mullins' daughter who was run over 12 years earlier. the entity in the doll assumed the name Annabelle. As we learned in The Conjuring Annabelle doesn't want to possess the doll, she wants to possess Janice. Will Janice survive or will she be Annabelle?
Ravenswood (2017)
Surprisingly Good
I picked this up the other day, took a couple days to actually sit and watch it (to be honest, my expectations were so low, I wasn't sure I wanted to watch it.
A group of 4 Americans are vacationing in Australia. The one, Sophia, loves things paranormal and booked them all on a ghost tour of an infamous insane asylum. One runs into a woman who has been inside for the last 2 days ans is just now being unpossessed, after "they" made her kill her boyfriend. So the spirit of Sara, a patient murdered at the hands of psychotic doctor, needs to find another host so can be carried beyond the walls so she can be free. She enters Sophia, and from her past trauma the two are closer linked than has Sara been with others. The insane Doctor possesses the boyfriend of Sophia's best friend. It is now the possessed friend chasing after and trying to kill the possessed Sophia, for the doctor wants to kill Sara and that means Sophia needs to die, unless they can trap the spirit in the friend and kill them both.
For half the movie I think this is going to be one of those scary movies where no one dies. I was wrong. Then come all the twists and turns. Just when you think you have it figured out, it changes up. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and gave it a 7.
Wicked Little Things (2006)
I love this fairly stupid movie
It's a horror movie and most of them are known for their greatness, but that's okay, I love them anyway.
I think there is a fairly good story here. At one point it was named Zombies, but watch and see if you see zombies. I did see an army of the dead, but they didn't appear as zombies, although they do eat their victims. It's all great except that all our cannibals are children, young children. People think they are vile and vicious, and they are, but with cause. One of our living children, Emma (Chloe Grace Moretz) goes in the cave where our murderous waifs reside. She instantly makes friends with Mary trading dolls. Emma is protected, is the rest of her family? I love this movie even though it seems rather stupid in places. But I don't like anything that is perfect
American Romance (2016)
Daveigh Chase
What to say about this movie. I picked it up simply because Daveigh Chase was in it, not really knowing anything about it. It's been two days hence and it is still throwing me for loops, and with chronoceptive hallucinations those loops get real weird, real fast, I digress. The opening scene is haunting, disturbing when that very old hippy dude extends a hand to a very young girl of 6 or 7 we know what is happening, but if we are slow on the uptake they added evidence through the boy who was playing in the sandbox with the girl. trip ahead, what 10 years? yeah maybe 13 years and we see dead bodies set in dioramas. The grown boy and girl are our protagonists. The old truck driver seems to be our killer, we see him kill, so we really can't go wrong suspecting him (I didn't) The script is kinda all over the place, there are two timelines to follow and they do a good job of confusing us, has to be intentional, because if it isn't they are bad filmmakers. There are some conversations, some murders, then it's over and we are left wondering what the one timeline had to do with the story, just some weird plot element that just didn't work. Daveigh gave a decent performance. There is an undercurrent that is never really fleshed out and that's the connection of the first scene and the rest of the movie. I think we are asked to find that ourselves. Even though it knocked me, I enjoyed it. No it is NOT a 10, but if you enjoy it what difference does the rating make? See it, hate it, enjoy it, whatever just remember it has Daveigh Chase
American Fable (2016)
Accidental Allegory
To be honest I almost didn't make it past the fifteen minute mark. I was just too lazy to change it. Did it get better, I can't say that it did. I can say that I began to appreciate it more. I still don't really like it, but on another level I really do like it. I hate it for the missed potential where both screen writer and director dropped the ball, almost like they weren't sure what to do with it.
The movie is set in the Heartland, the Bread Basket of America, on a farm, with farm people. The timing is back in the early eighties when we were losing our family farmers to banks and speculators. Well a woman the dad meets has a plan to raise money, why she would partner with a complete stranger was never addressed. Her plan was to abduct one of the speculators and hold him for ransom. in a silo on our farm. This farming family has a couple of kids, the wholly psychopathic son and Gertrude, known as Gitty. One day while Gitty was out playing with her chicken, Happy, she was by the forbidden silo and heard the captive. As he hasn't eaten in a couple days he asks Gitty to help him. Reluctant our 11 year-old heroine ends up helping him. She is small enough to fit through the opening at the very top of the silo. They become friends, he teaches her to play chess. Is he her friend or just cozying up to her to the end of freedom? I don't know, the movie is fragmented, sort of. The acting is decent, especially from our young protagonist. Several times Peyton's portrayal of Gitty brought to mind Lizzie Samuels (not sure I'll ever forgive Carol murdering her, I digress. Some other stuff happens (fairly boring) but then we are at dinner and the psychopath cooked. Did I mention he's a psychopath who hates his sister and now he's running around with a gun. Earlier he chopped off the finger of the captive then tells Gitty he is going to kill her. A little bit of this and that and if I gave any further detail you could skip the movie and just read this.
Now, is this movie about a kidnapping? Not really. It seems to b=me to be more of an allegory for Gitty growing up. We learn there are no books in the farm house, but Gitty thirsts for knowledge and experience. As she hangs with the captive her dress and hair style change subtly, slightly more mature, she develops goals for future career, a writer. Works much better as allegory that straight crime drama.
See it. Heck just writing this I liked it one star more, who knows maybe that will go up next time I watch it, and I will be watching it again. Give it a try.
Rings (2017)
Rings (2017) Recapitulates Rings (2005)
I have been waiting for this movie for 2-3 years, there were a couple false moves, one the film was scheduled for release in Fall of 2014, gets put off for 6 months, then another 6. Finally in the end of 15 we were given a Halloween date which was bumped ahead another 6 months. So, I went to see it today with some trepidation, after all The Ring Two was a total crapfest, Rings isn't.
Has everyone seen the short Hideo Nakata, director of The Ring Two made as a segue betwixt The Ring and The Ring Two titled Rings? Well, it seems that this short was the basis of Rings 2017, a short I loathed as it treated Samara as some toy or game, teasing her. Well they all deserve what they have coming for that alone. I digress, yet again. In Rings 2017 we see the game picked up by a professor, of what I don't think we know, played by Johnny Galecki. The game is you watch the movie then trick someone else and see who Samara gets. It didn't make a lot of sense in the short, makes less here.
The water manipulation from The Ring Two made it into Rings 2017, but not as cool. Sure wish they had an original idea.
We learn Evelyn is not Samara's mom, but she was a foundling, but another Evelyn who was held captive and raped by the local priest. The priest is her father, the guy who set her beside the road to die, or however he threw her away. I call bullshit, I have Samara's birth certificate which clearly states Anna Morgan gave live birth to baby Samara. How did I get it, frame by frame through The Ring taking still shots.
Rings 2017 is not scary, although it is tense and has a jump scare or two. I went knowing it wouldn't be too terribly scary, for the first is really a simple murder mystery. But don't let that keep you away. Despite all my complaining about unoriginality, straying from cannon, etc., I enjoyed Rings, certainly liked it much better than The Ring Two