7TH DAY (2012)

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 80 MINS
WRITER(S)- MARK LEAKE
STARRING- CHAKA BALAMANI, HELENMARY BALL, AND ALEX BARONE
DIRECTOR- JASON M. KOCH



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A pervert, murderer, and hopeless romantic, Allen Dean is on a a 7-day journey to discover his real true love. He is torn between Denise the waitress, who he believes he loves, and his first true love, murder.

Every now and again, there's a film that'll make you take a step back and shake your head. Such is the case with "7th Day". Even though there's a very good amount of dark humor, some have even compared it to "American Psycho" (2000). But, although there's quite a bit to laugh at, it's not a funny movie in any way. In fact, it's very disturbing due to its realism, and partially why I liked it.

Viewing the film, you're following Allen (Mark S. Sanders) for the duration of a week. In that week, we learn a lot about Allen, and what makes him tick. Very chilling performance, and although the acting wasn't anything of brilliance, it is done effectively. He doesn't understand why he's a psychopath. He thinks he was born the way he is, and truth is, he's just desensatized to all of the trauma that he's undergone. As the viewer, it's clear as day where his problems began and why he is the way he is.

His mother was basically the whore of the neighborhood, his brother did some despicable things to him growing up, and his father committed suicide in a very stomach churning way. Yet, Allen talks about all of this as if he were discussing what he wanted off of a menu at McDonalds. He's so resigned to it all, that he doesn't think it's out of the ordinary or abnormal. So, to subconciously take out his hurt and anger, he enjoys the torture and slaughter of random "selections". Within the week, we see him at his dishwashing job, all the way to how he hunts and stalks his prey. You really get to see all sides of the box with this character, and it's why the movie has the effect it does.

Allen's obsessed with Denise (Daisy Gibb), a waitress from his job. And his relationship with her really shows you how delusional he is. He sees one thing, and thinks something else is going on. You really see how out of touch he is with reality, and it's unsettling and very believable.

Aside from the story, there's also some fantastic visual effects by Aftermath FX Studio who also did work on "V/H/S/2" (2013). There's actually not an abundance of gore shown throughout but, there's plenty to go around in the scenes where it's present and we see Allen at work!

Though the pace seems a bit drawn out at times, and as I mentioned, the acting suffers, but there's still a lot to watch this movie for. Very rarely does a film of this quality achieve the effectiveness that it does. It sounds typical, but you may really want to wash your hands after giving it a watch. It leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling...

The overall presence of this film is one that you won't forget. Despite its flaws, it'll stick with you and really get under your skin. The realism of it really sets everything off, and works very well. Give it a shot when you can find it, and prepare yourself. It's not the grossest or most disturbing thing you'll ever see, but it's one you'll talk about, for sure.

Chained (2012)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 94 MINS
WRITERS- DAMIAN O'DONNELL AND JENNIFER CHAMBERS LYNCH 
STARRING- VINCENT D'ONOFRIO, EAMON FARREN AND EVAN BIRD
DIRECTOR- JENNIFER CHAMBERS LYNCH




Synopsis taken from IMDb
This movie is about a cab driver called Bob (Vincent D'Onofrio) who picks up women and takes them back to his house where he kills them. But on this one day he picks up a woman and her 9 year old son, Tim. Bob then makes Tim live in the house with him all while he keeps killing women.  Time grows up there, watching, seeing all that happens. Bob wants to make him his protege. Will Tim carry on the legacy?




Jennifer Lynch comes out swinging with this psychological horror film that completely envelopes you. The movie is full of despair and it makes your heart sink to see the torment Tim goes through and how he's forced to live a life of hell after being captured by Bob, the cab driver. It hits everyone's worst fear, the fear of hopelessness and of being stuck somewhere with no where to go and no one to turn to.

Tim and his mother get dropped off at the movies by Tim's father at the movies. After being dropped off, Tim's mom tells him that since his dad isn't there she'll allow him to see the horror film he wants to see. It'll be their little secret.

After seeing the horror movie they catch a cab home. On the way home the driver takes a wrong turn, alarming Tim's mom. The cab driver gets out of the car and knocks out Tim's mom. Shortly after, Bob takes Tim and his mom to his house where he proceeds to murder Tim's mom.

Bob tells Tim that he didn't want him but now he's stuck with him, so he lays down the ground laws for Tim. He tells Tim that he is owns him and that Tim will obey him, turning Tim into his slave and making him do such things as clean his house and have dinner ready for him after work or else he'll face the consequences. He gives Tim the name of Rabbit.

Vincent D'Onofrio does a great job at playing Bob. This film really shows off Vincent's acting ability that some may not have known he had. Vincent delivers a chilling performance that showcases his acting in this film. Bob was the victim of being bullied by his father, taking the brunt of his father's abuse to protect his younger brother. Vincent transforms himself in this role, giving himself a hunch in his back and making himself have a lisp and a stutter that almost made him unrecognizable to me at first.

This film mainly focuses on how Bob is an average man who could blend in anywhere, nothing stands out about him to make you suspect him of anything. Jennifer Lynch takes advantage of how this could happen anywhere and drives it home with a suspense and fear that gnaws at you the whole movie.

As Rabbit starts to grow up, Bob decides he's going to start teaching him things he'll know to "be a man". To Bob, this means that Tim will learn how to hate women and kill them, making him see how they all "deserve" it because they're all born "whores".

The actors playing young and late-teen Tim do great jobs, Tim is a sympathetic figure you feel pitiful for. He's subjected to seeing Bob kill women on a regular basis and has to clean up the mess for years. We see how emotionally damaged Tim is, and how his hopes of escaping dwindle as the years pass. He's only allowed to eat what Bob leaves on his plate and can only speak when spoken to and he lives like this for years.

The most terrifying thing about this is how Bob doesn't see a thing wrong with what he's doing! When Tim grows up and starts to see that what Bob does is wrong, Bob calls Tim sick in the head! To think of people living with that type of "normal" standard is disturbing and terrifying.

Bob starts to make Tim learn the human anatomy so he can start killing women like Bob does. Teaching Tim the tools of the trade. Even with resistance, Tim goes ahead and reads the anatomy books.

Will Tim become truly hopeless and suffer the same fate as Bob, or will Tim hang on long enough to make an escape?

Bob makes Tim pick out a girl he likes, Tim picks a girl named Anne. Bob catches her for Tim in high hopes that Tim makes Annie his first kill. This was a breaking point in the film because it begs the question of how much of Tim's humanity has he lost after growing up in such a twisted environment.

When I first saw this trailer I knew I was going to like this movie. Overall I was very impressed with it. I didn't think that it dragged on too much at any part, I found it consistently entertaining. I thought the acting was top-notch and added to the well written story. This film is atmospheric and shows you how horrifying "daily life" can be.

This is one of the best horror film of the year for me, no doubt. I liked it instantly and it has a good twist.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

House at the End of the Street (2012)

RATED- PG-13
RUN TIME- 101 MINS
WRITERS- DAVID LOUCKA AND JONATHAN MOSTOW
STARRING- JENNIFER LAWRENCE, MAX THIERIOT AND ELISABETH SHUE
DIRECTOR- MARK TONDERAI



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Newly divorced Sarah and her daughter Elissa find the house of their dreams in a small, upscale, rural town. But when startling and unexplainable events begin to happen, Sarah and Elissa learn the town is in the shadows of a chilling secret. 




House at the End of the Street was originally set for an April 2012 release but got pushed back 'til September 21st, 2012. While the movie seemed to have success with it's target audience (teenagers), it received mostly negative reviews.

Jennifer Lawrence plays the lead, Elissa. Lawrence is know for her roles in Winter's Bone (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011) and more recently smash film The Hunger Games (2012), based after the popular book series. A sequel for The Hunger Games is in the works and set for a 2013 release.

Max Thieriot, who's known from the movie Jumper (2008) plays the weird neighbor with a secret. As well as Elissa's love interest.

Shortly after moving into their dream home, Elissa and Sarah find out a secret. Years earlier, in the house next door, a murder happened. The daughter of the family, Carrie-Ann, killed her parents and vanished. Leaving Ryan behind and alone. Ryan still lives in the house alone. Some say Carrie-Ann is living in the woods, but no one knows where she is for sure or if she's even alive.

The townspeople hate Ryan and treat him as an outcast, because he not only reminds them all of the tragedy that happened, but he refuses to move. His refusal to move is driving down property values in the neighborhood. They want his house demolished. A lone police officer supports Ryan, knowing Ryan is a good kid who's been dealt a bad hand from life.

Sarah accidentally bumps into Ryan and they like each other. Sarah, isn't happy with this so she makes Elissa and Ryan promise that they won't hang around each other unless Sarah is home. Sarah makes it clear that she doesn't trust Ryan with her daughter.

Against Sarah's wishes Elissa and Ryan continue to sneak around and see each other. Ryan begins to reveal more about his sister Carrie-Ann. Ryan tells Elissa he was sent away to take care of a sickly aunt and wasn't home when the murders happened to his parents.

Throughout the film, we see Ryan going into a back room and taking care of the hostile Carrie-Ann. I'm not giving away spoilers, don't worry. They reveal this point in the trailer, so if you know of this movie you already know. Ryan tells Carrie-Ann not to mess with Elissa because he likes her.

While visiting Elissa at a battle of the bands competition at her high school, Ryan's car is vandalized and he is jumped by a group of teens jealous that he's dating Elissa. Ryan breaks one of the bully's ankle's in self defense and runs home. Elissa follows him in order to stop his house from being burned down by the disgruntled teens. But when she arrives will she find out Ryan's secret? And will Ryan be able to save her from the wrath of Carrie-Ann?

I thought this movie started off good, had good suspense and alot of mystery. Unfortunately, this only lasts about 20 minutes. It quickly becomes very boring and predictable. So essentially I was just waiting for the movie to go off.

This movie wasn't scary at all. There was one or two quick jumps that I didn't see coming, but that's it. Nothing scary and no suspense. I figured out the twist rather early and wasn't impressed. If you watch alot of horror you'll see what I mean.

I was hoping this film would be as scary and chilling as they made it look in the trailer. This film is one of those that makes the trailer look better than the film is capable. It's completely hollow, a hollow shell of a horror film. I was giving it the benefit of the doubt, but this film was another bad attempt at a PG-13 horror movie.

The very last scene tries to pull another twist and take a kind of Sleepaway Camp twist. At this point the movie's beyond saving and the twist falls flat. I already had the twist figured out way before the end and yet again I wasn't impressed.

THIS FILM GETS 1 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

The Final (2010)

RATED- R

RUN TIME- 93 MINS

WRITERS- JASON KABOLATI

STARRING- MARC DONATO, JASCHA WASHINGTON AND WHITNEY HOY

DIRECTOR- JOEY STEWART

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.

After work the other day I had time to squeeze in a movie and relax, so me and the girlfriend picked "The Final". It sounded decent and since I haven't seen it before I went for it. The synopsis got me intrigued, anything that has to do with bully's getting their just deserts always peaks my attention.

I was never really bullied in school, I kept my head low and kept to myself, but I hate bullies. Even though I wasn't a victim of any myself, I can't stand the idea of people being picked on or beaten up and humiliated all for the satisfaction of making the bully feel good about himself. It angers me at times to think how cruel people can be for no reason but to further their own popularity. To me, there's nothing cool or funny about making people's lives a living hell.

In this film however, the victims take it a bit too far. A good swift ass kicking would have worked. But instead these outcasts pretty much throw their lives away to get revenge on those who have mentally and physically scarred. The kids in this movie are really pushed to the edge and it's sad because when you see them before they exact revenge you see that they're good kids, they just had too much humiliation for a lifetime.

It angers you as the viewer to see the youths having milk thrown at them and laughed at, to see them get jumped in the bathroom and break their camera. It's a sick feeling in your stomach to see people victimized like that for no reason.

At first you can see the youths are planning something, but you're not exactly sure what it is. But you know it isn't good news. None of it. The bullied youths have put a plan together to get all the bully's that have tormented them for so long. And seeing as they're nerds, you know their plan is more than likely a good one.

I really liked the costumes the teens wore in this movie. They're eerie, creepy and haunting. Their costumes showed you that underneath the masks and outfits you knew they're emotions matched that of the costumes. Cold, heartless and broken. Nothing left but to get the satisfaction of revenge.

All the bully's that have taken joy in their belittling are all invited to a private party, and little do they know that they're heading straight for their demise. They wake up chained together on the floor of a house. And they're hosts are hidden behind creepy masks and they find out quickly that this isn't the party they were wanting it to be. 

It got truly chilling to see how far these teens were pushed by the bullying, they're stone cold brutal and have no remorse. They have one simple goal- to make sure that none of them leave without something to remember them by. The torment they endured day after day turned them into a group of psychopaths who take things to far. They not only stoop to the bully's level but then do worse and damn near traumatize them. They cut off fingers, put cream on some of the popular girls' faces that is some sort of acid and eats away the flesh on their faces.

The worst for me is when they sever one of the bully's spinal column with a knife. You started to feel really bad for these bully's and they beg for forgiveness and to be released. But there's no sympathy left in these teens.

Dane, who establishes himself as the leader of the pack of outcasts calls all the shots and even starts to kill off some of his own pack for showing signs of weakness and sympathy. He's drunk on power and revenge and he's ruthless. He only wants to inflict pain. 

However, the film starts going down hill once Dane takes his mask off. With his mask on his voice is distorted and mean, but when he takes it off and you can hear the emotion in his voice the his inflection it takes away from the effect the voice distortion had. Mostly because the acting was bad, so bad it makes the movie a little cheesy. 

As the movie progresses we see the pack fall apart and inner turmoil arise. It's a downward roller coaster and you don't know what's going to happen next. Although you're grinding your teeth at how bad Dane's acting is and it makes it hard for you to take the movie serious anymore. It's like the first half of the film was a different movie then the 2nd half. It changes and not for the better. The first half was really, really good.

The movie has a tragic ending, not one I'm surprised with, but it was a good ending. But the taste of cheese is a bit hard to shake at this point and it's taken it's toll.

THIS FILM GETS 2 REAPERS OUT OF 4

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

When I saw the trailer for David Fincher's American remake I was sold on having to see the originals. So I have David Fincher to thank for watching this movie. David Fincher, of course, is the guy who gave us Fight Club and Se7en. So before I see his more recent take on the 2009 movie I wanted to go back and give the originals a shot. P.S. I heard David Fincher and the gang are preparing to shoot the sequel very soon.

My first impression of the movie when I was watching was that I was going to really like it. I liked the build up and the true grittiness of this film. I knew I was watching a movie with no boundaries and that's exactly what it was. It was a near perfect movie. I'm truly impressed. I'm already itching to see the next one.

The acting in this movie was just so convincing and believable, it was incredible. The story was top-notch and was so twisty and turny that I was almost confused but then it all came together wonderfully, it fit perfectly.

This movie didn't hesitate to bare it's sharp little teeth at us and shock me as well as awe me and I loved that, I like a movie that isn't predictible. I'm even debating reading the books now. Maybe something to do for the new year.

All I can say is that if you haven't seen this film you really, really should. Really, really.

3 1/2 stars for me. Solid movie.
Synopsis taken from IMDb
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.