'DEVIL'S MILE' (Screener Review)

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT 

RATED- Unrated

RUN TIME- 88 Mins

WRITER(S)- Joseph O'Brien

STARRING- David Hayter, Maria Del Mar, and Casey Hudecki

DIRECTOR(S)- Joseph O'Brien

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A relentlessly-paced hybrid of a gritty crime thriller and Lovecraftian supernatural horror, The Devil's Mile follows a trio of kidnappers who take an ill-advised detour en route to deliver their hostages - two teenage girls - to their mysterious and powerful employer. When they accidentally kill one of the girls during a botched escape attempt, their simmering mistrust explodes into shocking violence. But what they thought was their worst case scenario is only the beginning, as they are engulfed by the hellish forces that haunt the road - a road they realize they may never escape. Now captors and captive must fight together to escape the monstrous forces pursuing them and somehow survive...THE DEVIL'S MILE.  

Quite literally, this film starts off with a bang. We see Jacinta (Casey Hudecki), Cally (Maria Del Mar), and Toby (David Hayter) who apparently don't get along very well, traveling by car. After taking a wrong turn, and tempers flare, we come to realize that they're kidnappers who have two helpless Asian girls in the trunk, who will be held for ransom. However, things go terribly wrong when we find out that one of the girls isn't the right one, and her parents aren't rich. The proper girl, who was meant to be kidnapped, tries to escape but is ran over and killed instead by Cally on "accident". So the trio of criminals' situation goes from bad to absolutely terrible.

Throwback Thursday Review: 'THE SENTINEL' (1977)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 92 Mins
WRITER(S)- Jeffrey Konvitz and Michael Winner
STARRING- Cristina Rains, Ava Gardner and Chris Sarandon
DIRECTOR- Michael Winner



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Not ready for marriage, a fashion model moves into an unbelievably nice Brooklyn Heights apartment, where scary occurrences turn into a much more frightening turn of events. 



 The 1970's took on a different approach to horror films then we do today. The early to mid 70's gave us films like The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jaws. The entire decade is filled with great movies that have stood the test of time, and they achieved it by scaring their audiences. In the late 70's and early 80's is when comedy started sticking its head into the genre, but before that movies were more cruel in the sense that there was no comedic relief.

'DELIVER US FROM EVIL' is contagiously scary

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT 

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 118 Mins
WRITER(S)- Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris 
STARRING- Eric Bana, Édgar Ramírez and Olivia Munn
DIRECTOR- Scott Derrickson 



Synopsis taken from IMDb
NY police officer Ralph Sarchie investigates a series of crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rituals of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorizing their city. 




Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana) is a New York police officer who is estranged from his wife and daughter due to working long laborious hours cleaning scum off of the streets. His partner, Butler (Joel McHale), is rough and rugged and full of confidence, and a great sense of humor. Together they bring criminals in, but they do it based off of what Sarchie's "radar" is telling him. Officer Sarchie has a gift where he's borderline psychic, he simply gets a gut feeling, and looks for civilian call-ins that suit whatever he's feeling.

DARK VISION (Screener Review)

MILD SPOILERS THROUGHOUT 

RATED- Unrated

RUN TIME- 86 Mins

WRITER(S)- Darren Flaxstone and Bernie Hodges

STARRING- Bernie Hodges, Suzie Latham, and Judith Haley

DIRECTOR(S)- Darren Flaxstone

Synopsis taken from IMDb

There is more in the darkness than you know...Mind-full host Spencer Knights puts his crew in peril whilst trying to win his own series as part of the paranormal competition Dark Vision. Find out what manifestations lay in wait for his team inside Baylock's Folly- a place where a dark history and possibly a darker present. Who is it's mysterious caretaker Clem and what are the twisted motivations of the producers at the "Dark Vision Hub"? Step into the darkness and find the answers in this new wave Gothic horror from Stray Spark productions. 




Five teams start off in a contest, competing against one another. Who ever wins the ratings war, gets their own series. Seems pretty simple right? Well, it is. That is until some real paranormal activity starts to occur. As the films go on, we're updated on how many teams are left. But, one of my biggest flaws with this feature is that we don't actually see any of the other teams.

A HAUNTED HOUSE 2 falls short on the laughs

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 86 Mins
WRITER(S)- Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez
STARRING- Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly, and Cedric the Entertainer
DIRECTOR- Michael Tiddes



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Having exorcised the demons of his ex, Malcolm is starting fresh with his new girlfriend and her two children. After moving into their dream home, however, Malcolm is once again plagued by bizarre paranormal events.




This second installment in the "A Haunted House" series starts immediately where the first film left off, and packs in the laughs. Within the first five minutes I laughed several times, it opens strong and goofy. I've always been a sucker for stupid humor, and I've liked the Wayans brothers for a long time. Their movies are usually right up my alley.

Once Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) and his new girlfriend move into their home, it's simple things like ad libbed dialogue that gets the giggles out of you. Such things as referring to his new dog as Shiloh the sequel (since his first dog, Shiloh, died in the first film) got laughs from me. It's intentionally dumb, and that stuff usually gets reactions out of me.

Once Malcolm and his girlfriend Meg (Jaime Pressly) discover a weird doll's in their house by the name of Abigail, things get really out of hand, leading to an elaborate but funny sex scene between Malcolm and the doll. Once again, Marlon Wayans pushes the ratings barrier with raunchy and downright explicit humor.

Then if that isn't enough, the doll becomes obsessed with Malcolm, and sends him a friend request on Facebook. Again, the stupid things like this are what I find to be ridiculously funny. There's another scene that takes a page from "The Conjuring" where the infamous wardrobe scene is imitated. This also resulted in my laughter.

Malcolm's ex, Kisha shows up and disrupts the new life he's build since splitting on her in the beginning of the film. Once Malcolm has to explain his relationship with Kisha to his new girl Meg, we see some more raunchy humor and a hilarious head spin referring to "The Exorcist". And this is where things go from bad to worse for Malcolm, and leads to an exorcism scene.

Basically, although the first and second act are amusing and downright funny at parts, it's really just more of the same. It's just a lot of parodying cliches along with other films such as "The Conjuring", "The Possession", "Sinister", "Paranormal Activity", and the "Evil Dead" reboot. There's also an abundance of racist jokes that are stereotypical, and just aren't that funny. The movie almost becomes a mockery of itself for the third act.

At about 50 minutes into the film, I knew that I liked the previous movie more. Although I was laughing here and there, I wasn't laughing as hard as I had in the first film. And I wasn't enjoying myself as much. I even found myself getting bored and checking my cell phone, increasingly losing interest in the film as it neared its end.

This movie just seems so recklessly put together and sloppy. A lot of scenes drag on far too long and rely on ad libbed babbling to be funny, and it's just senseless and a waste of time. There's usually a lot of deleted and altered scenes in spoof films like this, so I'm sure there's a lot of stuff that didn't make it into the movie. But it makes me wonder if they really couldn't have used some of that footage instead of relying on so much randomness. What a waste.

Not even bringing back Cedric the Entertainer and adding Gabriel Iglesias is enough to save this flick, which is a shame. I was one of the few people who backed the previous film up, and argued its humor. But there's nothing to defend on this one. I am completely let down. I can only hope that if there's a third film, that it rebounds with a big win. Otherwise, this series is about as useless as the "Paranormal Activity" films. I've seen a lot worse, but I expected a lot better.

2.5 stars out of 5

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES misses its mark

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 84 Mins
WRITER(S)- Christopher Landon
STARRING- Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, and Gabrielle Walsh
DIRECTOR- Christopher Landon



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Jesse begins experiencing a number of disturbing and unexplainable things after the death of his neighbor. As he investigates, it isn't long before Jesse finds he's been marked for possession by a malevolent demonic entity, and it's only a matter of time before he is completely under its control.




Oh boy, where do I begin. This spin-off and fifth installment in the "Paranormal Activity" series is directed by Christopher Landon. Landon only has one other film to his credit directorial wise, and that's "Burning Palms" from back in 2010, which didn't get favorable reviews. This mark in the paranormal franchise is just plain weak. I was really hoping that they'd pick it up a bit after the mess that was "Paranormal Activity 4", but they dropped the ball again, and this time it's even worse.

"The Marked Ones" isn't scary at all. There isn't a single scene where I was the slightest bit scared or even amused. It's not suspenseful, and it relies on quick and cheap jump-scares even more than the previous films. It's the same recycled stuff over and over again. It really makes me wonder if they're honestly even trying anymore. I mean, it's totally amateur looking.

I know that these films aren't made in a lot of time, and I know that they aren't too costly. But, you can really start to see it now. This movie looks like it cost $100 to make. The whole concept is dead, and if they're going to try and keep this thing going, they're gonna have to reinvent the entire concept and get real creative. In my honest opinion, this installment in the series pulled the plug on a series that was surviving off life support. It really begs the question of how are they not straight to video movies by now?

The makeup effects and cgi are honestly laughable. I receive screeners for some independent films with almost no budget that have better makeup effects than the work done in this. Overwhelmingly underwhelming FX to say the least...

 And the characters aren't even likable. The lead characters are total morons and annoying. Stupid characters doing stupid things. What do you do when a demonic entity is catching you when you fall backwards? Apparently, according to the idiots in this movie, you make a great time of it and have jolly good laughs.

When briefly discussing time travel, Hector, the lead character Jesse's best friend, says "I'd time travel to the Bahamas." What the hell? I'm pretty sure genius Hector was thinking of teleporting. This whole ad libbing mess has got to stop if this is what the actors are saying. Again, were they even trying?

The Ouija board is out, and Simon Says is in, didn't you hear? Yeah in this flick the source of contacting the demon is through a Simon Says. Stupidity at its finest. Lame. I'd be ashamed to have my name on this movie.

The ending makes sense, and ties in with the ending of the very first "Paranormal Activity" film. However, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. So I predict we'll be getting some answers in the next film, but I honestly don't care enough anymore at this point to find out the answers. They say you've jumped the shark once you cross a line, well this film just takes you to the ghetto and possesses one dimensional characters.

I'm gonna steal a line from Elvira here and say that this flick is "about an hour and a half too long".

.5 stars out of 5

THE CONJURING Blu-Ray giveaway!

Well sickos, "The Conjuring" landed on Blu-Ray and DVD yesterday. And I'm here to give a copy away!

All you have to do, is run your mouse over the GIFs and post your favorite freaky fact into the comments section below! It's that easy guys. I'll be posting the winner's name on Friday, October 25th. That gives everyone two days to get their entries in. Posting your favorite freaky fact enters you into into the contest, and I'll randomly pick the name of an entrant to take home the prize. Good Luck!

Based on a true story, the movie tells the horrifying account of how famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were summoned to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse which they recently bought. In fighting this powerful demonic being, the Warrens find themselves in the middle of the most terrifying case of their lives! 

*NOTE* When you post a comment in the comments section below, it will not show up immediately. I first review the comments before they're posted, to weed out any false entries. Your comment will be added after I've approved it.

*GUIDELINES* Each household is only eligible for 1 The Conjuring Blu-ray via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.


1) The Conjuring is directed by the acclaimed James Wan, the Australian-born director of the fright-fests Insidious and the Saw series. His Twitter handle is @CreepyPuppet. Say no more. 2) The Conjuring has been given an “R” rating by the MPAA. Not because of blood, gore, or violence, but simply because it’s just so scary from start to finish! 3) The Conjuring’s cast and crew experienced creepy events during filming. Scratches appeared out of nowhere on Vera Farmiga’s computer soon after she agreed to act in the movie, the crew were routinely woken by something in the “witching hour” between 3 and 4AM, and the real-life Carolyn Perron fell and broke her hip while visiting the set. 4) The Rhode Island farmhouse where The Conjuring is set once belonged to an accused witch, Bathsheba, who tried to sacrifice her children to the devil and killed herself in 1863. 5) Hold your applause! The Conjuring will make you terrified to clap! Whether it’s playing a traditional game of hide-and-seek by following the clapping sounds like the mother and daughter in the movie, or being terrorized by ghostly claps in different rooms of the haunted farmhouse, these claps throughout the movie will give you the creeps!

PARANORMAL ASYLUM: THE REVENGE OF TYPHOID MARY Will Make You Sick

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 90 MINS
WRITER(S)- FRED EDISON AND GREGORY SCOTT HOUGHTON
STARRING- ROSALIND ASHFORD, PAUL BRIGHT, AND CAMERON CHIUSANO
DIRECTOR- NIMROD ZALMANOWITZ



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Best friends Mark (Aaron Mathias) and Andy (Nathan Spiteri), both aspiring filmmakers, are seeking their next project. They decide to investigate the mystery of Mary Malone, aka Typhoid Mary (Jenny Lee Mitchell), who was sent to North Brother Island, a New York insane asylum, to live in a quarantined isolation after she was blamed for spreading Typhoid Fever.

This is a flick that can be viewed on Netflix, the source in which I watched it. Now, some of you may not be familiar with Typhoid Mary, and neither was I, until I did some research. Turns out that in 1900 to 1907, Mary worked as a cook in the New York area. Pretty much, everywhere she went and worked, resulted in people getting really, really sick. And after all fingers pointed back to her, she was put away in quarantine, then released. Then, she was put back in quarantine, and that's where she died of pneumonia in 1938, at age 69.

Now, after reading up on Mary, and Typhoid Fever, I was anxious to see how "Paranormal Asylum: The Revenge of Typhoid Mary"  would play out. And if used properly, Mary's story could be tweaked to be made into a horror film. The question was, would this film take that leap and succeed? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

I am truthful when I say that this film had potential, but it's vision was just out of reach for such a low-budget movie. The story ends up becoming cliche and typical, and it doesn't go anywhere daring to keep the viewer engaged. I honestly don't know how many paranormal films can keep being made. There's a film for just about every haunting now, and most of them fail miserably. It would be nice for once someone could pull a rabbit out of a hat and really deliver a solid film.

The story and plot are so common that the lack of effort takes the wind out of the movie's sails. It tries to remain suspenseful, but lacks in all suspense and scares. And tries to get away with cheap, loud jumps and quick flashes, simple tactics that don't work on a professional level. I don't know what's so hard about making a ghost story! All the writers, Fred Edison and Gregory Scott Houghton, had to do is look at every other common ghost story around and make a film that's not like them. 

Instead, we're given a film that joins right along side the weak and lackluster ghost stories.

The acting suffers dearly along with the slow and boring pace of the movie. It's a flick that you pay attention to, but don't get anything out of. I just watched as the non-layered character development went on, never feeling or caring anything for any of the cast. Seems like some actors and actresses didn't try at all, and others that did try, tried too hard.

Andy's fiance, Michelle starts acting strange, and both Andy and Mark can see something is wrong with her. This of course, ties in with the fact that Michelle contacted the spirit of Mary through a seance. Some people just never learn...

The film becomes a struggle of survival, but the threat never really seems there due to the seriously low suspense rate. It's very dry and dull, and misses the point. Ghost stories like these are a dime a dozen. They're ridiculously common, and it's a shame that ghost stories like this are currently mimicked and used as the latest standard. Sorry, I just expect films with a little more effort. Can't say I'm a fan of this one.

On a side note, I am currently in a slump of movies. Every so often, I will be on a roll of good movies. Sometimes, I view 10-15 decent flicks in a row. And then, I hit a low, where I watch a large amount of bad pictures in a row. Hopefully, I'll get past this rut soon and get back on track with reviewing films that I actually like. Of course, I have to find some first.

4 DEAD GIRLS: THE SOUL TAKER (2012)

a.k.a. "The Rental"

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 95 MINS
WRITER(S)- MIKE CAMPBELL AND TODD JOHNSON
STARRING- KATHERINE BROWNING, MIKE CAMPBELL, AND LEAH VERRILL
DIRECTOR- MIKE CAMPBELL AND TODD JOHNSON



Synopsis taken from IMDb
The Rental is a horror feature film about 4 girls who move into their first off-campus house only to find that the owner is a soul-eater.

"4 Dead Girls" is the latest screener I've viewed. Off the bat, you can instantly see the quality of the film isn't very good. The lighting is off, and makes the whole film have the feel that it was shot with a handheld camera, which it might have been. 

The acting isn't of the highest quality, either. But, one actress, Katherine Browning, stood out and was the most convincing performer of the cast. I understand that the actors are amateurs, and I'm not going to rip this film apart for that, but I have to be honest, and acting can make or break a movie.

I think the soul eater route is a good choice, you don't see too many of them around. I find the story to be too simple and easy. I don't think writing this script or coming up with ideas for it was a very difficult task. It maintains being original but, loses any effect due to lack of complexity. It's too effortless. Part of me isn't sure if budgets are what got the better of this movie, or plain laziness.

I've never heard of a soul eater only grubbing on evil women's souls, so that's new to me. I know that some say soul eaters would eat the souls of men who were cursed by witches but, I never heard of them only feasting on women. I like how this film tries to take the folklore and change it, but it doesn't have the right means to effectively use it.

When the soul eater reveals that he wants the girls to kill each other so he can eat their souls, it becomes a fight to the death amongst four females who were all good friends just a few minutes before. These girls turn on each other fast! No one wants to die, and everyone wants to be the last woman standing. 

The girls all have somewhat conflicting personalities. Two of them are homosexual, one is very loose with men, and the other is a good girl who has morals. Some of the interactions are pretty interesting, and I feel that they touch up on real topics, and confront the harsh truth of reality. I like how you see the argument from all sides.

I try not to bash or harshly criticize motion pictures made on tiny budgets, because I understand resources are slim. But, when you're making a movie that you want taken seriously, you have to deliver and make an impact. Such is not the case with this flick.

THE HAUNTING OF HELENA (2012)

a.k.a. Fairytale 

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 84 MINS 
WRITER(S)- CHRISTIAN BISCEGLIA 
STARRING- HARRIOT MacMASTERS-GREEN, SABRINA JOLIE PEREZ, AND JARRETH J. MERZ 
DIRECTOR- CHRISTIAN BISCEGLIA AND ASCANIO MALGARINI 



Synopsis taken from IMDb 
A single mother moves into a new house with her daughter. Soon after the young girl has her first baby tooth fall out, she begins to recount that she is having nocternal visits by a tooth fairy. It seems the house has a sinister history. 

If this were a newer movie from this year, my title would read "THE HAUNTING OF HELENA is another terrible and pointless ghost flick". However, it's not a newer film, so I have to reserve that title for another ghost motion picture that is equally as bad, which unfortunately, there's never a short supply of. 

This was one that I found not only hard to sit through but, hard to get through. If it wasn't for my OCD, I would have turned this off less than a half-hour in. I'm adding this onto my list of movies that I strongly advise others from watching. It's not scary. The acting is atrocious, and the story is just plain old lame. It has potential, but it is washed away with hideous storytelling and lack of conviction in anything. 

I liked the tooth fairy angle but, I hate what they did with it. Taking children's teeth and putting them in her own mouth, really? What the hell kind of ghost, fairy, spirit, or whatever is dumb enough to try and fit children's teeth in their mouth? So stupid! Looks like "Darkness Falls" remains the scariest tooth fairy motion picture around... 

There's no believable dialogue spoken, no likeable characters, and there's no substance to it. It's just another half-assed attempt at cheap tricks and loud noises to create a jump from the audience. The catch is, the music overcompensates for how non-scary this picture really is. The score turns up so loud that it gives the scare away and misses the point completely. Rather than tell us when to be scared, I prefer a more classier tale that lets the viewer know when to be terrified on their own. We learn the past of the home in which Helena (Sabrina Jolie Perez) and her mother, Sophia (Harriot MacMasters-Green)are now living, and it's underwhelming. 

Although at the end, there is an effort to make a solid twist. However, it falls flat like the rest of the film. There's hardly any gore in this one as well, which doesn't sit well with me. I try to be on a positive note as often as always, this is just one of those type of movies that don't do a thing for me. It's also one that I can't understand why anyone would like it! Usually, I see what some people may find intriguing about a motion picture that I don't like. 

That's not the case here. In the end, this is a lost film and a lost cause. Screw finding it in the $5 bin at your local Walmart, you can probably get this one at a flea market for under $5. And I'd still consider that overpaying. With no redeemable qualities whatsoever, I must confess that I despise this flick as a whole. Movies like this is why some say horror is dead. 

So, I make it a point to drive home how awful this, and films like it are. The only way I'd recommend this movie is if you're looking for a bad movie that's so stupid and pointless it'll put you in a foul mood. There's nothing memorable about it other than the bad taste you're left with after wasting precious time of your life watching it.

AMITYVILLE ASYLUM will drive you insane

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 88 MINS
WRITER(S)- ANDREW JONES
STARRING- SARAH LOUISE MADISON, SOPHIA DEL PIZZO, AND KENTON HALL
DIRECTOR- ANDREW JONES



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Lisa Templeton begins a new job as a cleaner at High Hopes Hospital, a mental institution in Amityville, Long Island. Initially delighted to get the job, Lisa soon realizes that all is not as it seems.

This marks the 11th film in the Amityville franchise. And I openly have to admit that I do not like any of the Amityville films. I didn't revisit the original movie until recently, which would make it the better part of seven years since I've last seen it. And, it still did nothing for me, I wasn't entertained. The same is to be said for the sequels for me as well. I know part II has a big following behind it but, again, I wasn't impressed. 

I've even watched the newer documentary of Netflix called, "My Amityville Horror", in which the focus is about Daniel Lutz, and his personal confessions about his life, and truth about the haunting's. Strangely enough, I didn't like that one neither. And I now find the things that happened in that house to be more fake and unbelievable than before. Anyway, let's get one with it...

Seeing as the Amityville series has already about milked the cow for every last drop, I was surprised to see such a new take on the whole thing. Rather than make another crappy haunting film, this picture has vision and goes to new places. However, I didn't say they were good places. Before I get critical, I'd like to start by giving props to the filmmakers for trying to go somewhere fresh with this series.

Basically, this film is about Lisa Templeton (Sophia Del Pizzo) and how she needs a job. Despite doing everything but ruining her interview at the hospital, she gets the job as a janitor/cleaning lady. The excitement doesn't last long when she starts to see things around the hospital, like a woman who died earlier in the day. Then she tells her superiors about her visions and suspicions, and like every other predictable ghost story, everyone looks at her like she's crazy, and thinks her to be so. Now, you're probably thinking how this has anything to do with the Amityville series, and I'm going to tell you. 

See, the hospital in which she and everyone else is working is built on top of where the Amityville house was demolished. So of course, Lisa does some digging and finds dirt, like usual. And she comes to find out that she's in over her head with everything going on around her. Again, this film is solely based on fiction, seeing as the real house is still good and standing. This movie is an attempt to take a stab at a new situation, since all other possibilities are wore out from being used in the prior installments. 

The thing that I hated most about this film is that it takes forever getting to it's point. And while you're waiting, you're bored to tears. It's entirely too slow and you're stuck watching characters you don't give a damn about, doing nothing important. This is one of those movies like ones I've mentioned before, where you can get up, use the bathroom, get a snack and drink, text, and come back in the room without having hit pause and still understand everything going on. Watching, I could tell where the film was going, and it was excruciating to stick around for it to play out. So predictable, yet we're dragged through the mud just to see what we already know is going to happen, happen. 

To me, this film goes out of sight, and out of mind like the rest of them. They can be in Walmart's $5 bin all they want, I consider that too high of a price to pay for any of them. And even though it's new, this film will be in that bin with them in no time. 

An American Ghost Story (2012)

A.K.A. REVENANT 

RATED- UNRATED

RUN TIME- 95 MINS

WRITER(S)- STEPHEN TWARDOKUS

STARRING- STEPHEN TWARDOKUS, LIESEL KOPP, AND JON GALE

DIRECTOR- DEREK COLE

Synopsis taken from IMDb

When Paul, an unemployed writer, decides to rent and live in a house that's rumored to be haunted, he puts his life and his relationships in grave danger as he obsessively attempts to get the story that will finally make his career. 

 

I viewed a private screener for this only a few days ago, after hearing about it from several other bloggers. Like everything, I went in open minded and gave it a chance. Made on an estimated $10,000, I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of it, but I always remain optimistic.

When the film ended, I had mixed emotions. There were things that I liked, and strongly disliked. For one, this is a slow burning horror film. I've got nothing against movies that take their time building suspense and atmosphere. This one, however, was a let down in the sense that nothing ever really happens. This one burns a little too slow, and instead of building the aforementioned atmosphere, it takes the viewer out of the film. 

It is excruciatingly boring at times. I don't mind that it takes a while for events to occur but, this movie really draws out and takes it's time. And the most disappointing thing of all is that the scares that do eventually happen, they aren't worth the tiring wait that you've sat through.

Secondly, when things did happen, when the big scares did occur, they weren't anything original that we haven't seen before. It was recycled scares. At first, I was a bit creeped out, and I've gotta give the film credit for managing to get a reaction out of me at all. However, the effect wasn't long lasted and was shortly lived the second I had a minute to register what had happened. The scares are good for quick responses but, other than that, nothing memorable there. The biggest of scares has to do with a moving sheet, something we've seen 100 times over in such films as the "Paranormal Activity" series.

I can't say that I was expecting great acting but, the performances actually weren't that bad. Like all films of this quality, a lot of dialog seems forced and not genuine, and the acting can be dry and flat at times, but in the end, it wasn't too shabby. Not saying it was anything worth talking about either...

The character development is there, but it's not fully brought out and allowed to bloom. So even though the story's there, we never see anything that brings these characters out of being one-dimensional.

The story however, to me, was a watered down version of 2012's "Sinister". Guy moves into a house, and is hellbent to stay, regardless of how much damage it'll do, all for the sake of writing a book. So, the film loses out on the originality aspect too. I get that resources for low-budget/indie films are very scarce, but I expect a little more than just the standard ghost story. I want to see an inventive take on things, and a movie that isn't afraid to take risks, in which this one takes none. 

Being unbiased, I've gotta take a second to mention that I do appreciate the vision this film was going for. Instead of blowing the budget on some cheap, terrible effects, simple and subtle actions were taken. On a positive note, this is a little effective flick for what it is. It's just nothing you're going to walk away from and recommend to friends.    

In conclusion, this is worth a one time watch to anyone willing to give it a chance. It's a good motion picture to get a few goosebumps out of you, if only for a few moments. Could have been better, could have been worse. Can't say I'm really impressed, can't say I despise it either. It falls in between somewhere. Not sure I can say me and this film will ever cross paths again, life goes on. If this picture had more substance it would have been a lot more effective. 

The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (2012)

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 77 MINS
WRITER(S)- RODRIGO GUDINO
STARRING- AARON POOL, VANESSA REDGRAVE AND JULIAN RICHINGS
DIRECTOR- RODRIGO GUDINO



Synopsis taken from IMDb
An antiques collector inherits a house from his estranged mother only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult. Soon, he comes to suspect that his mother's oppressive spirit still lingers within her home and is using items in the house to contact him with an urgent message.




Today I'm reviewing a chilling, mind turning film called "The Last will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh". Again, this is another film available on Netflix, so if you want to give this a watch, it's right at your fingertips. I watched this one late at night and by myself. To be truthful, I'd be lying if I said I fully understood it, there's a lot to this movie, and it may take more than one viewing to fully digest what the movie offers. I myself, will be watching it again very soon, maybe even tonight.

I've heard mixed reviews on this one, and I can be totally truthful when I say, that I see both perspectives when it comes down to it. I can see why some would love it, and I can see why some would hate it. Like a lot of horror films, not all genre fans are going to be on the same page when it comes to opinions. This is aimed at those who don't need gore thrown in their face. This is a slow paced haunting film with story and characters. It takes the slow burn route and really just slowly seeps into your skin and brain. 

I'd like to think it's aimed at mature viewers, because it's not all about what you see. You have to think and use your brain. The viewer is treated as intelligent, instead of throwing around cheap jumps and noise to scare you. Though, I will add that some of the music gets to be a bit much, and may make you want to turn your television down. It can actually get quite annoying at times.

What drew me to this film is that it has a sad undertone to it. It's not a happy film and it doesn't try to overcompensate by trying to be overly scary. The pace of the film may seem to move at the pace of a snail at times, but it still manages to keep you watching. Mostly because you're trying to figure out what the hell is going on! Don't take that in a negative light though, I always like a little mystery to my films. Sometimes explanations can kill the hook the movie has on you.

The narration by Rosalind (Vanessa Redgrave) is somber, touching and creepy. You really get a wide array of emotions going when watching this film. One minute you feel one way and the next minute you're all twisted up. This works exceptionally well when applied to ghost/haunting stories. This may not be the greatest paranormal film you'll ever see, but it certainly will sit with you for a bit after you watch it, and make you do an aforementioned second watch.

Leon (Aaron Pool), Rosalind's son is settling his mother's estate and starts to encounter weird things and happenings such as statues showing up and moving on their own. What's unique about this film is that Leon is practically alone through the duration of the film. The whole film centers around him and how he's reacting and dealing with his mother's death. We almost instantly know how he feels of her, which isn't very good. There's a lot in his past that he's not happy to remember. We come to understand that he was harshly abused as a child by his mother for not sharing her belief in God, and moved away to get away from it all.

When Leon comes back to deal with his mother's estate things go from weird to crazy, and them back to weird. The whole movie keeps you guessing as to what is really happening, up until the sad and haunting ending. There's really not too much to give away without confusing any reader, so I'll stop right here. Just know that if you're in the mood for a film that will keep you intrigued and may cause an eyebrow to be raised a time or two, this is worth a watch. Especially if you like haunting films and wouldn't mind giving it a second viewing once the smoke clears from the first time.

There's some bad acting at times throughout, which is the same I can say for the editing. This isn't one of the best ghost stories you'll ever see, not even close. It's also not the worst either. This is a movie that manages to do it's job without an abundance of gore, nudity and killings. It's an easy, laid back horror film that'll keep you're mind going the whole time. So yeah, it's absolutely worth at least one watch by anyone up for a decent haunting story.

Speak No Evil Will Leave You Speechless

RATED- UNRATED

RUN TIME- 74 MINS

WRITER(S)- ROZE

STARRING- GREG BRONSON, ANNALISE CAVENDER AND ELISABETH CAVENDER

DIRECTOR- ROZE

Synopsis taken from IMDb

Speak No Evil is the story of Anna, a single mother, fighting to protect her daughter from demonically possessed children in town gone mad.

After speaking with Roze about his new film, I was eager to test it out and see what it's about. As a horror fan, I'm always looking for an original horror film, and this seemed right up my alley.

After viewing a private screener for the film, I can honestly say that this is one of the best screeners I've seen to date! While it's not very long, the beauty of it is, it never drags on, or gets boring. It doesn't outlive it's purpose. It's short and sweet and to the bones. This is undoubtedly an indie achievement.

With no time to spare, the film picks right up the ball and runs with it almost instantly. The whole film we're trying to figure out who kidnapped Anna's (Gabrielle Stone) daughter, Joey (Olivia Cavender). Was it her father? Or something else? We learn that Joey was taken by a demonic force known as Adramelech. As theories of Joey's whereabouts get discredited, the story becomes deeper and more mysterious.  

Anna is a single mother, struggling to keep things together in her personal life. After splitting up with Dale, Joey's father, the cops are lead to believe Joey's disappearance is a runaway case and refuse to give an valid help. So, Anna is forced to search for her daughter without the assistance of the police. Only she could never be prepared for what she'll discover.

Once more kids go missing, it starts an uproar in the town, forcing some into religion. At this point, everyone is certain it isn't humans doing the kidnapping, and that something supernatural has involved itself. The missing kids (including Joey) all return eventually, but things only get worse when we discover they're all possessed and vicious, and hungry. There are some really intense scenes that naturally, on instinct, make you want to turn away. Of course I didn't though, I was too intrigued in what was going to happen.

The makeup is really well done. To be truthful, I was actually surprised by how good it was. A lot of indie films don't deliver on the effects or makeup, so I wasn't expecting much in that field, and it was a pleasant surprise. The Mule headed demon that is Adramelech looked fantastic! 

I really like that the gore isn't overdone. It's there, but they don't overuse it, and turn this into a gore flick. It's used when needed, like gore should be used. That with the mixture of dialog that isn't forced and seems natural, are two very key things to this film. The focus is all in the characters and story, the way it should be. I can tell that writer/director Roze definitely has good taste in horror films, because he made one that is classy, but still packs the scares and entertainment factor.

The movie was made on an estimated $150, 000, so it's not a big budget picture by any means. It is however, very well shot and the story is well told. Not to mention the originality of it. This just goes to show that not everyone out there in the indie circuit is an amateur, and some really do know what they're doing. The only negative thing that this movie suffers from is a bit of over and under acting at parts throughout the film by the main and supporting cast. 

However, these aren't pro actors and actresses yet, and it's an indie movie. So to watch this and criticize it for some of the acting is pointless, because nobody expected a Michelle Pfeiffer or Daniel Day-Lewis performance.

The last thing that I'll say is, if you like films that don't explain everything, you'll truly enjoy this. It doesn't explain everything to the viewer, there's mystery to it. I like that.

Finally Speaking My Mind About "Evil Dead" (2013)

When the film hit in April, I went to a premiere screening of it. However, at that point I was taking a break from writing for a few months. So I never did a review for it. But I figured now, since it's been out a while and it hit home video, that I'd finally touch up on the subject of what is the remake of one of the biggest and most iconic horror films ever filmed.

The day of the premiere I had my close group of horror friends over, and we watched the original Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell trilogy and had a good ol' time. I don't think there's a chance of not having fun when you watch any or all of the original 3 films. Though 2 remains my favorite, they're all perfect in their own ways and for different reasons.

Before we left, I had to dress in fashion, so I got out my limited edition t-shirt of "Evil Dead 2" and headed to the event.

Watching the film, I remember feeling very tense and on edge, ready for anything to happen. I had a lot of hope going into the movie, and watching it was a thrill. I loved the way the possessed looked, they were creepy as hell! Definitely some scary makeup effects.

The violence and sheer brutality of the film had me guessing as to how it managed to get away with an R rating. Not to mention the gore! This has to be the goriest horror film I've seen in a cinema in a long time. Usually you don't get blood like that until the unrated version hits video.

Leaving the theater, the one part that stuck with me the most is the nail gun scene. That is the most terrifying scene in the film in my opinion, it is just non-stop, relentless terror. Then there's the bathroom scene with the syringe, which was the other part I kept thinking of. Once the scares started, they never really let up!

I felt something else leaving the theater as well; disappointment. Not because I disliked the film, but because aside from the 2 scenes I mentioned above (although I knew most of the bathroom scene already), all of the good parts of the film were already showed to us in the awesome red band trailers. So really, seeing the film was just filling in the gaps of what you weren't shown in the trailers. I remember thinking upon first viewing them, that if they let that much out in the commercials, what are they saving for us in the movie that they aren't showing us? And it was a letdown to find out that there really wasn't that much else to it. It would have been  much better had they not released all that footage and saved it, and I think it would have gotten even more positive reviews than it did.

There's two things that I really didn't like about the remake, and I'm not comparing it to the original when I say this, but I felt that the possessed were dulled down. I think for a remake you're supposed to go bigger and badder, and instead, they died way too easily. In the original film, you had to cut them up into pieces in order to stop them. Now in the is one, one of the possessed loses both her arms and dies. I don't like that. Being a balls-to-the-wall remake, they should have gone better and made the possessed even more resistant and unstoppable as opposed to making them easier to kill.

The other thing I disliked is the tree rape. I'm not sick or perverted, well, okay, maybe I am. But I'm not going to bash a film for having a bad rape scene, because saying there's such a thing as a good rape scene is a bit twisted. But, yet again, I felt that this was dulled down and lessened as well. Now that I've watched the film on my exclusive Target steelbook blu-ray 5 times since I bought it on it's release date, I realized that the branch that penetrates Mia is covered in thorns! This makes up for the scene being lackluster a bit, but it still could have been done better.

It wasn't really rape, it was just something that crawled insider her like a snake.

With these two major flaws, I know why that one critic said "A near perfect experience". It's very close to being a great film, it just doesn't deliver on all fronts like we were lead to believe it would. And something else that I thought that made the original superior was that, even though the remake had more of a story and character history to it than it's predecessor, there wasn't as many likable characters. If the film wasn't so short, it could have changed that by not feeling so rushed and allowing true character growth. Which is why so many of us crave for an unrated edition!

I know it seems as though I'm only mentioning things about the film that I don't like, but I actually loved the movie! As a stand alone film it's awesome, and it's a nice nod to the original and fits in with the series rather lovely. It's a modern day take on the original, and it's extreme. Overall I rate the film  3.5/5. And had there not been so many hiccups, I would have gladly given this film a 4. Remake or not, this is a real horror film, and we haven't had a movie like this that's mainstream in a long time.

As I mentioned above, this movie does have more story to it than the original 1981 film. It's not just some college kids going to hang out in a cabin, the 2013 version has a back story that's simple, yet relatable and fitting. One of the major things that I've heard people criticize the reboot for is that there's no character development which is false. And there's hardly any in the original, so to bash this one for being no different doesn't make a lot of sense.

People were really saying that horror is dead when they didn't like this remake, and they think they're being taken seriously when they say this. I'm convinced that some people only bash movies just because it gets them attention. To say a genre is dead over one film? Unheard of. And besides, most of the people who harshly criticize things and make idiotic statements are so used to giving out bad reviews that they don't even know a good film when they see it anymore.

For more on why and how horror isn't dead and never will be, read my critically appraised article for MoviePilot.com, that will about sum it up for you. Why some say Horror is Dead

Ultimately, this film is not the original. But guess what? It wasn't supposed to be! This is it's own film, and it's a really good one at that. Those who don't like it, and say that it ruined the integrity of the original need to pull their head out of their ass. Remakes don't tarnish originals, and if you don't like it, you don't like it.

Nobody's forcing it on you! Hell, I hated Rob Zombie's "Halloween" remake, does that mean the original isn't the same to watch anymore? Hell no, that's moronic!

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and cannot wait for the sequel! Let's just hope this time that they don't put too much in the trailers and spoil the best parts for us again.