Home Sweet Home Will Chill Your Bones

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 80 MINS
WRITER(S)- DAVID MORLET 
STARRING- MARTY ADAMS, SHAUN BENSEN AND MEGHAN HEFFERN
DIRECTOR- DAVID MORLET



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A young married couple comes home from a date night to discover that they are imprisoned in their house with a methodical killer inside.




While on my recent tirade of Netflix film, I couldn't decide what to watch, nothing on my queue looked appealing at the time. So, I scrolled through the new releases and found a film from this year called "Home Sweet Home". The cover had me guessing it to be a low quality film, but I figured what the hell, and clicked play.

Right away, I could see that I was wrong about this one. I found myself not wanting to take my eyes off of the screen the entire film. And that's a rare thing. This movie is like "Halloween" meets "The Collector" and had a baby that looked a lot like "The Strangers". It's definitely a creepy film, there's no denying it.

This is another one of those home invasion films that just gets into your bones and makes your skin crawl. There's a few good jumps in it and an even better amount of suspense. I was really on edge watching it. It was like a common slasher film, but it has it's own touch and it stands out. One of those reasons is that the antagonist had a different outfit. Not that we haven't seen it before, but we haven't seen this particular outfit used as a slashers costume before. And his mask is cold and creepy as hell, as well as original!

The movie starts with a good build up. Nothing really happens the whole first half hour, but it's intriguing and never gets boring. When I realized this, I knew I had to give this movie a respectful nod. This film is the opposite of what you're used to seeing. Instead of a movie that makes you afraid to leave your house, this one makes you afraid to go home.

I was invested in how you spend some time with "The Killer". I liked how even though you know nothing about him, he gave off enough to show that he's a normal human being, just completely twisted. Shaun Benson really brought it while playing the role. You can see hints and traces of Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees' (head tilt), but it's not too much or overpowering. There's some well done homages in this film, and I always like it when a film can give another film a wink without stealing from it.

When the lead characters, Sara (Meghan Heffern) and Frank, (Adam Macdonald) realize there's someone in there house and it's too late to do anything. The movie carries on with Sara and Frank enjoying their night, not even knowing that the killer is in their home and has made it impossible for them to leave. You never know when he's going to come around the corner and catch you. The dialog seemed a little forced at points, but for the most part Sara and Frank came off as a real couple.

There is some gore in this film but, it's not a gory film at all. There's not an over abundance of blood, it's only used when necessary, and not overused, so I appreciated that. However, I know I've been singing this films praises, but it's not a perfect film. For one, the twist was very good, and a lot probably won't see it coming, but I did. Even though I liked the twist, having already predicted it hurt the impact it had. And there's some over acting as well. 

I won't go into a rant about it, because it wasn't awful, you can just easily tell these aren't pro actors, but they do a decent job. And the biggest flaw with the film is how the ending dragged out. I didn't care for the slow motion close-ups with opera music blaring. I don't think that part fit into the film well because, the rest of the film isn't like that. It's almost as if they wanted it to suddenly become an artsy horror film, and I didn't like it. The ending is unsettling though, and leaves you shaking your head in disbelief.

Although this film suffers from some cliches and slight predictability, it's actually a good slasher film. There's only a few small things wrong with it, and had they been done better, this film would be a damn near perfect slasher film. It's taken down a peg or two due to flaws, but it's a good and entertaining horror film that's actually scary. If you get the chance to watch any Netflix, add this one to the queue.

Entrance (2012)

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 83 MINS
WRITER(S)- KAREN GORHAM, DALLAS RICHARD HALLAM, PATRICK HORVATH AND MICHELLE MARGOLIS
STARRING- KAREN BAIRD, SUZIEY BLOCK AND FARLEY BURGE
DIRECTOR- DALLAS RICHARD HALLAM AND PATRICK HORVATH



Synopsis taken from IMDb
ENTRANCE is about the limits of our perception, how the things lurking in the periphery of our lives can lead to horrific conclusions; about how she fell out of love with the city, but it wouldn't let her go.




A friend recommended this film to me, because I have never heard of it before. It looked a little weird from the start, I wasn't sure it'd be my thing. But this is what I call a slow burning horror film. It takes it's time building up, never ceasing to be creepy. And you're always waiting for the payoff because you know it's coming.

This is a nice, little low-budget indie film. We follow the lead character around and watch her boring life day after day. She has no friends, other than her roommate, because she's new to the city. The realness that's portrayed in the film really builds up that sense of dread and loneliness that the lead character feels. It puts us right in her shoes with her.

Always on edge, she notices everyone around her, weary of them. You can see the fear and nervousness running all through her as she walks the streets of the city. Guys try and talk to her, cars follow her, she's really uncomfortable and out of her element.

Unbeknownst to her, there's noises coming from inside her house every night. She hears them a few times, but is too scared to act. Other times, it occurs while she's sleeping. She and her roommate are being watched by someone. Yet again, this is another one of those creepy home invasion movies. One of the scariest things is to think that you're not safe in your own place of living. 
It's a very unsettling and effective to think your not in control of the place you sleep every night.

Then, one morning she wakes up to find her dog missing. This really effects her because her dog is all she really had. He was her companion, and best friend. Now he's missing and the last time she saw him was in her building, in the next room from her, while she slept. So, she puts up flyers and calls everyone she can to try and get her dog back. Taking her dog was actually a really terrifying thing, to make her completely abandoned in a city she's already afraid of, puts you in that state of panic with her.

The acting is actually really well done, for once I can't really think of any bad, or poor dialog. It all just seemed very genuine, and that's what works for this film. That, and the mystery of what's going to conclude the film.

As the film reared it's end, things really get out of hand and it becomes a serious, nail biting horror film. We discover who is watching her and why. It seems so real, like you're watching it really happen. It's downright creepy, and not one I'd recommend if you're home alone, because things get crazy. This movie will send chills down your spine!

The ending leaves you with that eerie feeling, like you need to take a shower. It's not a happy movie, and it doesn't end very happily. It just sits with you for a while because, people really do act like this and do these things. So to have them done in such a realistic manor is really scary. The last 20 minutes of the film becomes like "The Strangers", and we've all seen how messed up and demented that film is.

If you're able to check this out, I highly suggest you do. It's on Netflix instant right now, that's how I watched it. As I said before, don't watch it alone, and especially alone at night. However, the first bit of the movie tends to be a bit too slow for my liking. So I'm not giving it as high of a rating as it could have gotten. But it's a good little effective movie.

Funny Games (1997)

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 108 MINS
WRITER(S)- MICHAEL HANEKE
STARRING- SUSANNE LOTHAR, ULRICH MUHE AND ARNO FRISCH
DIRECTOR- MICHAEL HANEKE



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.




Recently, all that I have on my Netflix instant queue is foreign horror films. I've watched just about every other English horror film I've added. So now I'm chomping away at watching 30+ foreign movies, little by little and day by day. This is one of the ones I've had on there for a while and have never gotten around to viewing it, until the other day when I finally decided that "Funny Games" should surface to the top. It seemed the most appealing. What I do is I pick 3 movies on my queue and then view the trailers for all three on youtube, whichever looks the most appealing is the one I go with.

One of the reasons that I chose "Funny Games" is because it's content is extremely close to "The Strangers" and Ethan Hawke's new film "The Purge". If you haven't seen the trailer for "The Purge" you may do so now and thank me later. It looks as though it's going to be a very creepy movie and with Ethan Hawke as the lead it should be promising. Ethan Hawke is a very strong actor and is utterly convincing in some of his roles. Like "The Purge" and "The Strangers", "Funny Games" is a home invasion movie.

What's so scary about home invasion movies? It's the shock of not being in control in your own house. The not so good feeling of being helpless and ultimately it's the invasion of privacy. Your home is your domain, it's your castle, so to speak. When someone trifles that, it strikes home and hits you where it hurts. Here you are paying rent, working a job (possibly even multiple) and some stranger comes along and makes it all go to hell. 

Permanently scaring you and causing you paranoia whenever you're alone. Scarring you for good. Ruining your vision of your comfort zone and constantly reminding you that no matter where you are, you're never safe. To feel that helpless in your own home, a place that you've put all your earnings into, is unsettling. I can't even imagine the mental state some families are in when they go through this. To be a victim in the one place that you feel safe and feel you can hide is not only chilling but terrifying.

"Funny Games" starts with Georg, his wife Anna and their son Georgie arriving at their Austrian lake house with their dog, Rolfi. They seem like an average happy couple and people we all can relate to, and thus making the characters known to us so we can sympathize with them during the events of this movie. The film surprisingly doesn't take long to pick up the pace and start rolling the ball.

Two young men by the names of Peter and Paul arrive at the house, saying they're with one of the neighbors and need to borrow 4 eggs. They're liars, of course, and are only using the egg situation as a means to disable Anna's phone and to scope the house. When Anna picks up something's strange with the boys she asks her husband to make them leave, only to make the situation worse. 

Peter and Paul take the family into the living room after crippling Georg with a golf club. From here they start mocking the family and start to play games with them. What I found truly disturbing is that Peter and Paul have no remorse. They're heartless bastards who need a good old ass whooping from their daddy. They're actually amused at taking this family and terrorizing them. It's all fun and games to them, no pun intended.

There are several parts where Paul looks at the screen and addresses the audience and thus reminding us, the viewer, that this is only a movie despite how screwed up it is. I believe they did this because the movie's so horrific and tragic with how the victim's are terrorized. But despite being unrated, the film hardly has any violence in it. Most of all the brutality happens off screen but we get the idea of what happened. This shows you that you can create enough tension and terror that you don't need to show gore or overly violent deaths or tortures.

The whole movie you're just waiting for Anna to make her move and take atleast one of the young men out. They toy with her son by sacking his face (cover picture) and threaten to hurt him unless Anna undresses and shows them her body. Peter and Paul also do some major damage to Georg, and I couldn't help but get upset at how smug these guys are. They really played their parts well. Unfortunately, Anna doesn't get to get redemption. None of them do. 

And Anna watches her family murdered in front of her eyes before she herself is tied up and thrown into the lake, meeting her demise. What really unnerved me was that not only do Peter and Paul get away with this atrocious crime, but they continue the cycle as the movie ends with them going to Anna's neighbors house and asking to "borrow some eggs".

"Funny Games" was definite a good watch and it gets my seal of approval. It's the realism of it that unsettles you. However, I couldn't help but think that if I was Georg or Anna I would have done more to stop the evil scum terrorizing their family. I understand Georg's leg was messed up but unless my legs were chopped off I would have still severely hurt Peter and Paul and it wouldn't have been pretty. I'm afraid it's Anna and Georg's lack of action that results in their death and their son's death.

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

Sleep Tight (2011)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 102 MINS
WRITERS- ALBERTO MARINI
STARRING- LUIS TOSAR, MARTA ETURA AND ALBERTO SAN JUAN
DIRECTOR- JAUME BALAGUERO



Synopsis taken from IMDb
You wake up day after day to the comfort and security of your home. But how safe is it really?



Sleep Tight is a Spanish horror film that was developed under the title Flatmate.

The film centers around Cesar (Luis Tosar), an apartment building manager. Cesar is a very depressed man. The film starts with Cesar narrating, saying how unhappy he is and how he has never ever been happy, not once.

Cesar is fixated on a tenant named Clara (Marta Etura), she's got a beautiful smile and always appears to be in a happy mood, the ideal girl. She's also very nice to Cesar.

Marta starts looking rough and disheveled in the mornings, when Cesar asks her what's the matter she says she doesn't think she's sleeping right and is tired. Even though she gets plenty of sleep.

Little does Marta know that Cesar is to blame. Cesar is sneaking into her room every night and hiding under her bed. He waits for her to fall asleep and then uses chloroform to keep her unconscious so he can crawl into bed beside her and cuddle with her.

Cesar does this night after night until one night when he hears Clara making fun of him on the phone to her boyfriend. After this he decides it's time for Clara and himself to step things up, take things further...

Throughout the whole film Cesar is blackmailed by a little girl living in one of the apartments, she's onto him and uses that to get what she wants. This really added a good dimension to the film, keeping it very suspenseful.

When Clara brings her boyfriend over it only makes things more hectic and complicated. This is when the film picks up and really starts hitting hard. Clara's boyfriend isn't as blind when it comes to Cesar, he knows he's suspicious and doesn't like him.

This film comes off like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, it's brilliant! It's slow paced and takes its time building up. The suspense is nothing less than nail biting. It can be paralyzing. There are some good jumps as well.

What makes this film so terrifying is the realism of it. It taps a core nerve, the fear of invasion, living your life while someone obsesses over you and knows your every day routine. Someone being in your home night after night without you ever knowing.

The acting in this movie was great, Luis Tosar did put on a powerhouse performance. There are scenes with his mother where you get to see a more emotional side of Cesar, get to see what's in his head and how he thinks. Tosar's performance sells this movie, he's the main focus and carries the movie.

This movie is a gem and should be seen by any fan of the genre. It's one of those movies that creeps you out days after you've seen it. Sleep Tight will keep you looking over your shoulder...or under your bed.

THIS FILM GETS 4 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

ATM (2012)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 90 MINS
WRITERS- CHRIS SPARLING
STARRING- ALICE EVE, JOSH PECK AND BRIAN GERAGHTY
DIRECTOR- DAVID BROOKS



Synopsis taken from IMDb
On a late night visit to an ATM, three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.



Let me start off by saying how weird it is seeing Josh from the Nickelodeon hit series Drake & Josh in a movie like this. Total opposite of what he's usually doing. I suppose this is his way of trying to be taken as a serious actor and good for him.

ATM was one of those movies that seem to find you instead of you finding the movie. I first came onto this movie when I was using the nearest Redbox machine and I passed on it. But it seems like I started seeing the movie everywhere and a friend even asked me if I've seen it. So I used my free rental and picked it up. What's the worst that could happen? I got it for free!

I liked the vibes I was getting from the start of this movie, it had a chilling atmosphere where you could feel something just under the surface. The music seemed good and was setting the mood right. I was already beginning to get high hopes for it.

There was alot of character development in this movie, which I loved because whenever you have alot of character development it makes you feel for the characters and makes the movie all around more believable. Corey (Josh Peck) and David (Brian Geraghty) had good screen chemistry and were convincing as well as Emily (Alice Eve) who is David's love interest. They made a good trio. Nothing overly impressive but this group did a good job.

On their way home from a party Corey interferes with David's attempt at hooking up with Emily due to being drunk. On the way home he insists they stop at an ATM so he can withdraw some money to get food. Here's where the movie picked up.

The whole time Corey is in the ATM David and Emily stay in the car to chat. When Corey starts taking to long David and Emily go into the ATM to see what the hold up is. On their way out of the ATM is where the problem lies...

I thought the suspense was great. The killer is very mysterious, keeping you guessing who it is and why they won't let them leave. It could be anybody. A robber, a killer, a rapist or an escaped mental patient. He just stands there and watches them. Very psychological.

After watching the movie I gotta say that I didn't like the killer or his scheme, but after it sat with me for a few hours I came around. I think this villain is a good choice.

We see even more character development when the trio is forced into "survival mode" and it's a nice addition to the movie. Making you see how real and grounded this trio is and how they act in desperate measures.

As if problems aren't bad enough the trio realizes they have to leave the ATM or else they're going to freeze due to the weather dropping.

Towards the very end there is a jaw-dropping scene of something wickedly unexpected happening that I loved. It made the characters more vulnerable and I liked that touch. The ending disappointed me because I saw it coming from about half way through the film. To see this film become predictable was hurtful.

I thought the film could have had a better ending for sure, and as much as I give the actors credit for acting their butts off I gotta admit that there were points here and there where the acting suffered. The idea of the film was creative and original, which is why I took to it so much.

This movie didn't try to be hip which I give it credit for, it was a straight shooting horror film. And it definitely makes you think twice before using a ATM a night. You never know who's out there.

It wasn't a perfect movie but it was pretty damn entertaining watching this trio fight for their lives. I'm a fan of this movie and I think it's a nice addition to the better horror films of 2012.

THIS FILM GETS 3 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

Rosewood Lane (2011)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 97 MINS
WRITERS- VICTOR SALVA
STARRING- ROSE McGOWEN, LAUREN VELEZ AND BILL FAGERBAKKE
DIRECTOR- VICTOR SALVA


Synopsis taken from IMDb
The Psychiatrist and host of the radio talk show Talk Line, Dr. Sonny Blake, returns to Rosewood Lane, in Stillwater, one year after the death of her father to live in his house. Sonny was raised by brutality by her father and is a traumatized woman that was submitted to therapy by Dr. Cloey. Sonny's boyfriend, the DA Barrett Tanner, helps to bring her things to her new home. On the arrival, her next door neighbor advises Sonny that the paperboy is a dangerous weirdo. Sonny finds that the paperboy has broken into her house and might have killed her father, but Detective Briggs and Sabatino do not believe Sonny and think it's her imagination. When Barrett is attacked and missing, Sonny and her friend Paula Crenshaw call the police, but he is not found in the house. Is Sonny freaking out or is the paperboy an evil being?

This film is directed by Victor Salva, you all know him as the writer/director of the Jeepers Creepers movies. I'm still looking for answers on if there will be a third installment in the Jeepers Creepers series. I keep hearing about a third film subtitled Cathedral, definite's on this are none, so I'll wait and see. Salva was charged with pedophilia for doing some despicable acts to a 12 year old boy during production on Salva's 1989 horror film, Clownhouse. The film was about some boys who go to a carnival and are tormented by escaped mental patients dressed as clowns. I've never seen it, but it's on my list. I'll get to it.

With Rosewood Lane, Salva delivers another shocking, twisted tale. I've credited Salva before for being a good director and writer, and in this movie he brings the shocks and suspense that has become his standard of film making. This film keeps you on edge and engulfs you, wrapping you in a mystery and keeping you enthralled until the end. You're surrounded by so many unanswered questions that you have to keep watching and see where it's going. Salva also gives a nice nod to his Jeepers Creepers series by making the town of Stillwater right next to Poho and Pertwilla, the towns the Jeepers Creepers films took place in.

Rose McGowan plays the lead, Sonny Blake, who specializes in psychology after having to go through therapy herself after growing up in an abusive home. McGowan, who's mostly known for her role as Paige Mathews on the hit Television series Charmed, puts on a convincing performance that helps make you, the viewer, scared for her. You're rooting for her, hoping she can find help and find answers before she finds herself in deeper trouble that can mean life or death. She's a stunningly elegant woman, but very powerful and brave.

Daniel Ross Owens plays Derek Barber/paperboy. Daniel was in a movie I didn't like too much that I watched here recently called The Final, funny thing was that I didn't recognize him when watching Rosewood Lane. He plays a weird lunatic who is feared by all the residents of Stillwater, due to his unorthodox behavior. The dogs of the town know when he's around, it drives them into barking fits and they chase him down several times in the movie. Another weird thing about the paperboy is that he has black eyes, pure black, no color at all. It helps add to the mystery of this character.

I knew this movie was going to be good when I first put it on. Like most of us horror junkies, we have our fair share of bad horror films. You get to seeing so many bad ones that you can start to tell within the first 10 minutes if it's going to be good or not. This was one of the ones I knew I wasn't going to have to turn off.

Rosewood Lane starts off very real and grounded, getting you to see Sonny and what her life consists of. You see how her life is barely back together when she comes to be involved in the paperboy's shenanigans. What's interesting to me is how she reacts to being stalked by the weird and black-eyed paperboy who neighbors won't even talk about. Then the question of whether or not he's supernatural enters the equation, and it makes Sonny and the viewers thirst for answers.

One thing that gets me is how weird the concept of the movie is. If someone came to me with the idea of a paperboy who's also a stalker I'd think that the idea was already done. Maybe not done with a paperboy, but the idea of a woman being stalked has been done just about every way possible. But this isn't your average stalker film, Salva takes an ordinary and overused concept ad makes it fresh and original, which is pleasantly surprising and enjoyable.

Sonny finds out that her house has been invaded by the paperboy when she returns home from work to see her nick nacks are rearranged. That is just the start as she also starts receiving phone calls at work from him, speaking nursery rhymes to her on the air of her radio talk show for all her listeners to hear. The situation progresses even more as he starts to target ones that are close to her.

To me, Sonny was a little to lenient, she gave him too many chances before pulling out the big guns. There's a scene where she has a baseball bat and only threatens to swing it and giving him the chance to advance on her. At this point she's been through enough, and whatever pain she can inflict on him she should inflict on him. Even if he is a minor.

The situation is allowed to worsen because the police and her companions think Sonny is losing her mind and making a big fuss about a silly paperboy for nothing. They even suggest she goes back to therapy and that she's still not stable since her fathers death. One scene that stood out to me is where Sonny is driving home from the radio station and sees the paperboy on the side of the road, way out in the middle of nowhere where she works. I won't spoil anything, but this scene was chilling and it's one of those scenes that just sticks with you.

Overall I liked the movie. I thought it was off the wall and totally original and creative. However, it isn't Victor Salva's best. The ending was what hurt the movie for me. It has a disappointing ending for what I consider to be an above average horror film. If the ending were strong like the movie it would rate higher with me. It deserves a better ending but it's a genuine chiller.

THIS FILM GETS 2 1/2 REAPERS OUT OF 4

V/H/S (2012)

Synopsis taken from IMDb
A POV, found footage horror film from the perspectives of America's top genre filmmakers. A group of misfits are hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house in the countryside and acquire a rare tape. Upon searching the house, the guys are confronted with a dead body, a hub of televisions and an endless supply of cryptic footage, each video stranger than the last.



That's right! If you have Comcast as your cable provider you can view this movie now. I was waiting for this day since I first saw the trailer. I'm on a mission to see everything Ti West does or takes part in. For those of you who don't have Comcast, you'll have to wait to see the movie in theaters on October 5TH.


I'll start off by saying what I thought over all by the movie. I loved it. I thought it was brilliant. This movie has my vote for best horror film of the year thus far. Incredibly original. Every story is from a POV perspective.

Some people may complain about the movie do to there being some unknown dialog being said due to bad sound. However, this movie is totally authentic, they keep everything realistic. They didn't give you cliche's. It really felt like you were watching people and not actors. 

I thought the concept was engenius and top of the line in quality. I enjoyed every one of these stories. It's too early to say but it may be my favorite anthology movie. It definitely ranks among the elite.

The endings are really open and none of the stories explain anything. They kept it authentic. It's like you really just found someones video and watched it. It's very realistic.





TAPE 56
DIRECTOR- ADAM WINGARD
WRITTEN BY- SIMON BARRETT
STARING- CALVIN REEDEER, LANE HUGHES AND KENTUCKER AUDLEY

This story starts with a band of punks, guys looking for nothing but trouble destroying and graffiti-ing houses and running up on girls and pulling up their shirts all while recording it. We see them break into an old mans house, which they were hired to do. Their objective is to get a V/H/S tape from the house, only the old man has tons of tapes and this makes it impossible to know which is the right one. They then find the old man and owner of the house dead in his easy chair.


I liked this story and was intrigued to see where it was going and you knew that guys like this had something bad coming. 




AMATEUR NIGHT
DIRECTOR- DAVID BRUCKNER
WRITTEN BY- DAVID BRUCKNER AND NICHOLAS TECOSKY
STARRING- HANNAH FIERMAN, MIKE DOHLAN AND JOE SYKES

This story is about a group of guys who buy their friend glasses with a built in camera and go out on a guy night to score some chicks. And they do. And it's a night they'll never forget...

I loved this one and it may be my favorite of the bunch. I'm going to re-watch it again before I make my final assessment. I truly didn't know where this one was going and I was creeped out. 




SECOND HONEYMOON
DIRECTOR- TI WEST
WRITTEN BY- TI WEST
STARRING- JOE SAUNDERS, SOPHIA TAXAN AND KATE LYN SHEIL

This story is about a couple on their second honeymoon being stalked by an unknown female. While in their hotel room the couple receives a knock on the door to reveal a girl asking for a ride somewhere tomorrow. Later that night while they sleep, the girl returns to stalk them and watch them as they sleep.

This story had creepy written all over it. To think of someone watching you like that chills me and is disturbing. Ti West did another good job. The end has a pretty gnarly twist I didn't see coming.




TUESDAY THE 17TH
DIRECTOR- GLEN MCQUAID
WRITTEN BY- GLEN MCQUAID
STARRING-  NORMAN C. QUINONES, DREW PERLEIN AND JEANINE YOGER

This film was a new take on slasher. A group of teens go into the woods for camping only to find out they're in the woods of a maniac serial killer.

I thought this film was a very clever. The deaths are brutal and gory. This one is a salute to the slasher fans. The killer is somehow unable to show up on tape as other than a blur or pixelated. 




THAT SICK THING THAT HAPPENED TO EMILY WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER
DIRECTOR- JOE SWANBERG
WRITTEN BY- SIMON BARRETT
STARRING- HELEN ROGERS, DANIEL KAUFMAN AND LIZ HARVEY

This one is about a girl named Emily who moves into what she finds out is a haunted apartment. She and watch the horror happening in her apartment through web cam.

What an original idea, right? I loved this one. This one stands out as one of the best to me. The ending is pretty crazy and twisted.




10/31/98
DIRECTOR- RADIO SILENCE
WRITTEN BY- RADIO SILENCE
STARRING- CHAD VILLELLA, MATT BETTINELLI-CLIPIN AND TYLER GILLETT

This bit is about a group of teens going to a Halloween party only to see a murder about to be performed in the basement. They rescue the girl but their troubles are far from over.

This one was solid, very chilling tale. This one gets good points for creativity.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPERS OUT OF 4

Silent House (2011)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 88
WRITERS- GUSTAVO HERNANDEZ AND LAURA LAU
STARRING- ELIZABETH OLSEN, ADAM TRESE AND ERIC SHEFFER
DIRECTOR- CHRIS KENTIS




Synopsis taken from IMDb
This movie is about Sarah as she and her dad go to their lakeside retreat to pack things up inside because it is being sold. While there, her uncle also helps get the place up to scratch so they can sell it. The uncle has to leave to get an electrician to check the wiring, but after he goes she starts hearing noises and seeing are people inside the house. Soon she and her dad are attacked by someone or something and they end up in a fight for their lives. But there's something more going on here than she thinks.




When I first saw the original foreign version I was hype to see it but ended up being disappointed. I loved the  concept but it just didn't mesh well. I think all the things it had going for it were great but there was just something that didn't click well with me.

So I was hoping this one would be better and maybe smooth out the rough edges that the original had. I wasn't as hyped to see this one as I was the other due to being let down the first time. So I didn't have alot riding on this one, but I always remain optimistic.

From the instant the film started I liked Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah. I'm not familiar with her, haven't seen any of her other work, so this helped me see her as the character and not as someone acting. She was believable and sympathetic. And the scenes where she's freaking out due to the chaos going on were well done and really put you in the moment.

When Sarah starts hearing taunted by the intruder things pick up intensely. I knew where the film was going, I knew the twist so it hurt these scenes a bit for me because I wasn't really effected by them.

I think that if you pay close attention it's kind of easy to predict who the intruder is. Especially in this one. They make it very obvious and that hurts the film bad. At first I liked where they were going and then I changed my mind. I didn't find it creative at all. They're trying to fool you but are making it too obvious.

When the uncle returns to help out with the hunt for whoever is screwing with them things quickly go even faster down hill. But like I mentioned, the suspense didn't do anything for me since I knew the payoff. I was kind of hoping they'd go somewhere else with it but it was pretty close to the original.

When the truth comes out and Sarah figures out just who exactly it is who's screwing with her and her father and uncle it hits home. It's a good twist but was executed way better in the original. It was overly obvious and that hurt this film alot.

Long story short. What could have been a better attempt at the original concept turned out to be worse. The payoff isn't worth the 88 minutes you sit through.

THIS FILM GETS 1 REAPER OUT OF 4

The Landlady (1998)

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 95 MINS
WRITERS- GEORGE SAUNDERS AND FRANK REHWALDT
STARRING- TALIA SHIRE, JACK COLEMAN AND BRUCE WEITZ
DIRECTOR- ROBERT MELENFANT



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Melanie decides that one of her tenants would be perfect as her husband and decides to eliminate everyone who might interfere in her plans.


The movie starts off with Melanie (Talia Shire) spying on a couple having sex. She stares at them through their half open window and absorbs all the filth being done. We see the look on her face telling us that she's upset by what she's seen.

She then goes home to poison her husband's food at dinner. And she does it like she's a pro. Not second thoughts or panic attacks. She simply does it and moves on. At this point I could get where the film was going and what kind of film it was. I knew it wouldn't be very believable but wanted to see what could come of it. And it's not everyday you get to see Mrs. Balboa be a serial killer.

Shortly after the murder of her husband Melanie inherits an apartment building in which she is to be the new owner/landlady. She has no idea how to do her job and doesn't really care. She soon starts to take charge and becoming decent at her job which includes cracking down on tenants who haven't paid rent in a long time. It turns out the previous owner was very lenient with the tenants who can't afford rent.

She instantly gets off on the wrong foot with the 2nd in command at the apartment building and threatens to throw her out if she doesn't pay her rent, even after it was explained to her that her 2nd in command isn't supposed to pay rent. This gets her in deeper water when she finds out her 2nd in command has done some background digging and found out about Melanie's late husband and intends to blackmail her. This doesn't go over well with Melanie and Melanie only knows of one way to dispose of the problem...kill it.

Melanie draws some attention through this, because the building maintenance man is a close friend of the 2nd in command who's now gone mysteriously out of town (in Melanie's words) and he instantly smells something fishy.

Melanie then discovers a young, strong and handsome young man living next door to her who she instantly becomes obsessed with. Talia did a good job of showing you just with her eyes and expression that she was pulled into the young gentleman's lure.

She even goes as far as to watch him through a two-way mirror that connects his and her rooms. Only it isn't double sided for him, to him it's just a mirror. He has no clue he's being watched. And this all happens when she offers him her 2nd in command's apartment now that it's vacant, a plot she came up with soon after he mentioned to her he was interested in a bigger apartment.

Once they're in Melanie's apartment and having a nice home cooked dinner, which to him is a dinner among friends, he finds out that she's madly in love with him. He tries to let her down nicely but she won't hear it. Forcing him to be rude about it hoping to make her back off. Instead she only goes crazier...

Now, she already kills off several other people in the building who pose a threat to her and her new love interest but after she finds out he doesn't like her she practically takes him hostage. Forcing her will and opinion on him. She wants him all to herself...forever.

This movie has alot of flaws, making alot of it unbelievable (as I said earlier) and making some of it even laughable. It's a corny movie that's hard to really take seriously but it's entertaining. Not necessarily something I'd say I'd watch again but it isn't something I'd say I regret watching.

I do think Talia Shire was good in this role, she plays a good crazy chick. But Melanie's very sloppy and has poor excuses, which to me would have had her caught within days of her first murder. If they had kept Talia as the same character but put a little more thought into her stories it would have been alot better.

THIS FILM GETS 1 1/2 REAPERS OUT OF 4

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

RATED- PG
RUN TIME- 104 MINS
WRITERS- DARIO ARGENTO, LUIGI COZZI AND MARIO FOGLIETTI
STARING- MICHAEL BRANDON, MIMSY FARMER AND JEAN-PIERRE MARIELLE
DIRECTOR- DARIO ARGENTO


Synopsis taken from IMDb
Roberto, a drummer in a rock band, keeps receiving weird phone calls and being followed by a mysterious man. One night he manages to catch up with his persecuter and tries to get him to talk but in the ensuing struggle he accidentally stabs him. He runs away, but he understands his troubles have just begun when the following day he receives an envelope with photos of him killing the man. Someone is killing all his friends and trying to frame him for the murders... 




I had heard of this movie and almost bought it at Best Buy about a year ago but never did. I believe I ended up buying a CD instead. But here we are a year later and it arrives via snail mail from Netflix. I was interested to see this film because after all it is a Dario Argento film. If you don't know who Dario Argento is then look him up and start watching his movies. ESPECIALLY Suspiria, I consider Suspiria t be Argento's masterpiece.

So I sat down in the comfort of my parents living room and we all watched Four Flies on Grey Velvet in the dark and in the company of my favorite crowd to be around (my family and girlfriend). And while I can't say that I walked away disappointed, but like other Argento films this has a few things about it that eat at me. He's a good director with a good style but sometimes the acting in his films is unbearable. I heard him say that he doesn't give his actors and actresses direction before a shoot, he just puts them in the scene and lets them act how they want to react to the situation. That's a downfall, because some actors need direction, otherwise you get like what you have here in Four Flies on Grey Velvet, where it looks like bad acting. I think he should let them interpret it their way and do a take with his direction, I think he'd get better results.

I liked the plot alot, thought it was good and promising. I also thought some of the deaths were pretty awesome. Especially the end death right before the credits, brutal.

The lead character gets so paranoid due to the stalking that he beats up a cop in a hood because he thinks he's the stalker. This got a few laughs out of me but honestly you can't blame the guy, I probably would have done the same. You can only take some much...

The stalker/killer in this movie wears a creepy mask, especially in dark scenes where you can see the mask and it's expression, and even though it's not a scary mask it sure as hell looks creepy. Argento did a good job with picking the mask. Very common and non threatening, and that's what works about it and actually makes it creepy.

However, I saw the twist (killer) coming a mile away. I don't know if this is due to me having good intuition or if it was just poorly executed, but I knew from about 20 mins in who the stalker/killer is and I was right. I wasn't the only one either, my sister guessed it as well.

The special effects in this film were good for their time, like all Argento films, even if the kill looks fake it's just shot in a way that makes you feel it in your gut.

I wouldn't say I loved the film but it was enjoyable and I can see where it gets it's classic reputation from. Even though I predicted the ending I still found it entertaining. I've seen better though. And I don't understand the PG rating. They need to change that.

THIS FILM GETS 2 REAPERS OUT OF 4