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Reviews
The Devil's Candy (2015)
A good candy
Out of all those years that the horror genre has given the same disappointing movies with regards to this kind of story (about the beast and its activity), one has finally stood out and didn't affix itself as an another exhausting screw up.
The Devil's Candy has a lot to say in giving out suspense and dread that the movie alternately throws-off in your head back and forth until your senses are too battered to function; then you'll find yourself drowning on its "metallic" madness. Yup, the movie is that terrifying...
Byrne just created a masterpiece that got stock in an undicovered gem-state that if anyone would dare to see it, they will learn how this film is carved to be a proclaimed horror classic in an instant!
Prevenge (2016)
ALICE LOWE : The next director?
How many people can say they wrote, directed, and starred in their own movie while they were pregnant? Writer/director Alice Lowe portrays a pregnant woman whose lover recently died in a climbing accident. Blaming his climbing companions and egged on by what she believes to be the disembodied voice of her unborn child, this woman goes on a vindictive killing spree. Prevenge has a novel premise and Alice Lowe has a natural eye for both disturbing detail and gallows humor. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie turns out to be the start of a very interesting directorial career.
Sam Was Here (2016)
« Sam was here », but where was the script?
First you are attracted by the poster, the teaser and then come reality : the movie.
It's a shame cause at first i was really impressed by the look of the picture (seems to be a first feature film), but hey what is the story about? What is the point? I'm not against unexplained ending, i got to say i like that, but not when it tends to absurdity and let me alone with no point, it didn't catch on ! sounds like a rip off unfortunately.
The pretentious opening credits scene of almost 10 min (Yes 10 min ! before the title) let you think you will get involved in a long and dark thriller but in the end it leads us to : Nothing. Slow and steady win the race. RUSTY JOINER is pretty charismatic but fights against a series of American horror clichés (Cops, doll, grand ma
) and suffers a series of random events. The synth soundtrack sounds huge and is made of the same DNA of Carpenter's score but again sometimes it fells you are watching a video clip tribute of the master. Is it a copy or a homage?
I know Nemesis seems to be a low-budget film but in the end, it's once again a direct to VOD Carpenter like B movie, but without real talent and innovation. A flashy CinemaScope picture (ready for the cinematographer's show reel) is not enough to build strong characters and a story. Give me my money back.
Grave (2016)
Raw THE Independent french horror movie
The best horror films are dramas. This much has always been true. With Raw, the family drama of the difficult relationship between the protagonist and her sibling serves not as a backdrop to the gore. Rather, it transcends and enhances the grotesque imagery. Well acted from all sides and written with surprising sensitivity and thought, it poses some seriously dark questions about pleasure, basic human need and sexuality, and the rather thin line between them all.
Having said all that, the graphic display of blood, guts and deformed flesh are easily the most memorable of all. They have the ability to simultaneously turn the stomach, admire the talent of the actors and also to commend the production design, make-up and cinematography.
Raw is an intensely disturbing film that decides not to judge the weird and often psychotic characters, but to display human desire for exactly what it is, in the nastiest way possible.
It Follows (2014)
Like the demon that lumbers with deadly inevitability, It Follows stays with YOU...
The indie scene is where horror lives today. Forgot the twentieth Halloween reboot or the January dump truck that unloads all the mid-budget horror flicks that the studio wants to die quietly. The past few years have given us Oculus, The Witch, Don't Breathe, and admittedly the return of M. Night Shyamalan to elevated B-movie form. Micro-budgets and filmmakers eager to subvert the genre are giving us some of the most well-crafted scares that we've had since a creative dearth gave us seven Saw movies.
What elevates the best of the best with supernatural horror is a willingness toward social allegory. Our worst fears are the ones that hit closest to where and how we live. Cabin in the Woods and You're Next started the trend by slyly flipping the game board and suggesting that moviegoers are too clever for the same old song and dance. Enter It Follows, which takes a simple premise (a demon is slowly coming for you) and elevates it to sexual assault allegory. The demon is passed like an STD and can only be gotten rid of temporarily by passing it on to someone else. This raises questions about self-preservation. What lengths would you go to in order to prolong your life, but doom somebody else? Under the perilous and terrifying circumstances, taking up the "doom somebody else" sword isn't hard. Fear is a powerful motivator. Like an STD, passing it on won't save you though. It only ends up buying you more time. It's a hamster wheel situation. Death comes one way or another.
Shot and performed with a delicate grace, It Follows steeps everything in a palpable terror. Its anachronistic setting complete with e-readers, tube televisions, classic cars, and a complete lack of cell phones is an ever-present reminder of the characters' futility. It's a perpetual post-recession dystopia full of dilapidation, overgrowth, and despair. And backed by haunting synths, it's a pall that never lifts.
Like the demon that lumbers with deadly inevitability, It Follows stays with you. It's a terrifying perversion of the world we live in and a well-crafted showcase of what horror still has to offer
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The conjuring : a Series
James Wan continues the series that gripped America and made us sleep with the lights on, with an admirable follow up to the first Conjruing film. The first half of the movie had terrifying scenes that build tension and dread that really stick with the viewer. Wan uses camera angles that are incredibly effective that magnify the scares. While the movie was effectively scary, it did not match the flair of the first film. The first film, built the tension much more effectively, and the sense of dread was more prevalent. Again this film was creepy, it really was, it just didn't have those moments that stuck with me like the first film did, and that is the challenge with sequels overall in trying to outdo the first film. I will say the young actress who was targeted by the presence in the film was absolutely fantastic and stole the scenes. Again good movie, with good scares, just not on the level of the first film.
The Void (2016)
Carpenter Like
With an early nod to Romero's original Night of the Living Dead this movie starts off promising with killer cults and creatures. Police officer Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole) encounters a raving and blood soaked man by the side of the road, but the real fun begins when they arrive at the hospital. It's not safe outside, as the hospital becomes surrounded by an ominously still cloaked cult-like crowd, and it's not safe inside either when members of the hospital staff become inexplicably violent and Thing like creatures begin popping out of bodies. This slimy creation goes deep through the eye sockets and deep into the gross out factor. Lots of exploding creature blood and guts mixed with a healthy dose of oozing pissing creature goop. Eventually the gorefest takes a turn into Hellraiser Like territory, and I half expected the main villain (no spoilers here) to beckon to Carter with promises of "such sights to show you".
The beginning really did it for me with some great imagery of the cloaked figures, the middle not quite as much though it was still a fun gore fest, and the ending not nearly so.
If you grew up on Carpenter, Barker and the like, you'll probably love this in spite of its shortcomings.