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. 

DARK CIRCLES leaves you wide awake

RATED- R

RUN TIME- 87 MINS

WRITER(S)- PAUL SOTER

STARRING- BRET BEOUBAY, ASHLEY BRAUD, AND PHILIPPE BRENNINKMEYER

DIRECTOR- PAUL SOTER

Synopsis taken from IMDb

Alex and Penny are sick of the hectic city life and decided a move out to the country to raise their newborn child. But they don't expect the horrors threatening their relationship and family.

   

Once again, I knew next to nothing about this film before I watched it. I only saw the trailer, that's it. And believe it or not, I'm not one to say this often but, this movie creeped me the hell out! I was both shocked and excited about that. Not too many films generate that type of response from me nowadays.

Alex (Johnathon Schaech) is a man torn with his life. He's being forced into big life choices that he's going to have to live because his partner, Penny (Pell James) is pregnant with their son. We see both that Alex is not happy with the choices that he's allowed himself to make, but also how Penny is worrisome and paranoid. It's the reason she wanted to move in the first place. Alex is just along for the ride, and he's very patient with her. He even leaves his band behind to move away with Penny.

From agreeing to move, we see Alex losing his cool more and more, even though it's within himself. We see him struggle with always biting his tongue or always being picked at. All on top of the fact that he didn't want to move away from his life. He becomes so stressed that he can't even practice on his piano, add to this that he and Penny haven't been sleeping due to the odd hours newborns keep. So the stress factor was really high amongst both lead characters. Now, adding on to all of that, they're both seeing a mysterious woman in their home at random times, in random places.

This film is really smart in the sense that it goes in new directions. Just from what I've described above, most would assume it's going to play out the same way. And that would be that they're going crazy due to lack of sleep and stress. Or, one would assume that it's a ghost and they're so out of reality that they don't know if it's real or not. Rest assure, it's not that simple and easy. It not only makes sense but, it completely plays out and makes total sense.

It's not one of those trippy films that make you lost like the characters are. It keeps you watching with tons of suspense and quick jumps, both of which caused me to check over my shoulder several times throughout the duration of the motion picture. 

The first film that comes to mind when I think of this is 1990's "Stir of Echoes", which I love and consider my favorite horror/thriller. The scenes with the female in Alex and Penny's house will get you good and paranoid, especially if you watch it alone in complete darkness, as I did. Finding out how it all plays out is worth it, and I was extra pleased with the fact that it had a payoff ending.The final shot is a bit slow, but the point is well taken.

The fact that Alex and Penny are so exhausted, and frustrated, and stressed out is really played up to create a claustrophobic atmosphere that will keep you very edgy. This movie is as psychological as it is a haunting film. The twist is great, and reminded me of an episode from the CW's hit series, "Supernatural" that I remember from when I liked the show.

In conclusion, if you're the type of person, like me, who likes watching films that dig inside your brain and get under your skin, then you should watch this. I am really satisfied with this one. It's not cheap looking, it's well shot, and it's a good scary movie. Only faults it has are the acting, and the story. The acting suffers from all ends, but has stand out moments as well, I'll admit that. And the story really is non-existent, because it's simply about a guy and his girl problems, more or less. 

There's no real plot to this film but, somehow it's held together well by the suspense and atmosphere created. 

Is Blu-Ray Artwork Replacing Classic Movie Covers?

Last month, in mid August, for my 26th birthday, one of the best gifts I was given was John Carpenter's "The Fog" on Blu-Ray. I already love the film, but I fell back in love with it again after watching it in such a crystal clear format. This actually swayed me in the way of officially being a fan of Blu-Ray, I've always liked them but, I like having my films look gritty and old, it adds a creepy factor, and I believed clear picture quality would kill that aspect. What I didn't anticipate is, that the old feel of the film is still there, even though the picture is astoundingly clear. So, I admit that I was wrong to assume. "The Fog" is by far the clearest transfer I've seen of an 80's horror film to Blu-Ray.

However, not only did I enjoy the new special features, but what was really the icing on the cake for me, was the cover art. I absolutely love the cover, and how it looks retro, yet it's new. I particularly like how it captures the feel of the motion picture in such gorgeous artwork. Thing is, "The Fog" is actually my 2nd favorite horror film poster of all-time, right after "The Howling". 

So, as much as I enjoy the new cover the collector's edition provides, it arose a question: do I like it more than the original poster art. The answer was a bit bitter...

After looking at some of the other Blu's that I own, as well as ones that I plan on getting, it's unbelievable how fantastic the cover of these movies are, and they really compliment the films in which they represent. Shout Factory has been knocking them out of the park left and right! As much as I love the original poster art to these classics, the new artwork for them is undeniably better. Unless you're not a fan of art, I'm certain most people agree with me.

However, as great additions as these new cover arts are, they're not replacing the classic posters that are embedded in my head. Maybe it's because I grew up with these awesome films, so I have memories attached to them and their older covers. Or maybe it's simply because somewhere deep, inside I find myself attached to the primordial advertising, since it's what I'm used to.

What I've come to conclude is that, even though the newer artistic Blu-Ray covers are superior, they'll never replace the originals. Reason being, what comes to my mind when I think of these films is, the original covers back from the days of V/H/S, which are mostly all of the films' theatrical poster art. The new updated look the videos are providing are great, and make nice additions to any film collection. But, if you're a cinema buff, you have a picture that comes to mind when you think of certain motion pictures. And new, creative covers aren't going to change that. 

So in short, I would use the word gorgeous to describe the new looks of the films. But, unless you're just getting into the movies put out on these editions, I don't think you'll find these covers anything more than an awesome take on the cinema's you cherish. They're clean, better designed, well done, and almost impossible to not stare at, but they're simply not the classics. And as Chucky would say, "a true classic never goes out of style". 

WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

                  

      

  

MAGIC MAGIC has no tricks up its sleeve

RATED- R

RUN TIME- 97 MINS

WRITER(S)- SEBASTIAN SILVA

STARRING- CATALINA SANDINO MORENO, AUGUSTIN SIVLA, AND LUIS DUBO

DIRECTOR- SEBASTIAN SILVA

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A naive young tourist's road trip across Chile with friends turns into a waking nightmare.

   

I literally came across this film out of the sheer fact that I had nothing to watch and was looking for a newer horror film. Instead of re-watching a DVD or Blu-Ray, I went with something I've never seen before. Mainly because I'm saving all of the films I own for my Halloween marathon in October, where I revisit all of the classics. Point is, I had no expectations going into this one. And as it turns out, that's a good thing...

Before I go into the film, here's a few things you should know about this film: it's actually based off of true events from an incident in Chile in 2010, that effected an Italian exchange student. And, this movie is now currently used frequently in both Psychology MS and Phd programs, where the students are faced with the task of evaluating Alicia and diagnosing her illness.

That being said, regardless of how much truth there is to this flick, I severely disliked it. The fact that nothing is explained is lame. Hell, they could have at least added captions at the end letting the viewer know exactly what the hell was going on. Even if they don't know what Alicia suffered from, they could have added a 'to this day, experts still haven't discovered what it was that had stricken Alicia'. But, there is nothing that let's us know that we're not wrong in feeling confused and lost.

If you read my work, then you know that I have no problem with films leaving a little mystery. But there's a difference in a little mystery and not knowing what the hell is going on. Or better yet, being so bored out of you mind that you don't even care. I literally waited through the whole movie, being tired from lack of anything going on, just to discover there isn't a payoff or decent ending. I walked away from this film very frustrated. And while it comes off as straight forward, I can't help but notice the artsy take on the whole thing, which is something else I disliked. 

Just long, drawn-out shots of nothing happening but stuff you don't understand because not a single effort is made to entertain you. Without knowing what Alicia suffered from, it would have been a nice twist to see the director and writer, Sebastian Silva, have his own interpretation of what he thinks occurred. Instead of leaving it completely open.

I guess the acting was decent, but still, it's nothing worth talking about. No one gave a great performance that is something I can compliment this motion picture for. Michael Cera played a very feminine male, who was as weird as Alicia. I was especially disappointed with his acting, because one of the main reasons I wanted to see this is because I was intrigued to see how he takes on a serious role. Maybe he would have done better if the cinema in which he's acting actually held some water? Doesn't matter, totally forgetful performances, even if it is a step above a SyFy channel movie.

As it played and played, and I remained tortured for the duration, I looked down thinking that something was going to happen because it only had 25 minutes left before it ended. And all that's happened up until that point was senseless idiocy, like running around barking like a dog and sniffing people's asses. Oh, and Alicia acting completely crazy while no one wanted to really help, other than merely saying "she needs to be medicated" or "she needs a doctor, she's not a bad person". Those quotes aren't exact, just saying. 

They do mention that there is a hospital five hours away but, that's no excuse for not helping her. Situations like this is where my inner Liam Neeson from 2005's "Batman Begins" arises, and I hear him say "Training is nothing, the will to act is everything!" And that's where I stand with this film. Driving five hours would have been a lot better than letting Alicia mentally deteriorate for days on end.

To conclude this, unless you're looking to be bored out of your skull and completely confused, avoid this film. I will say that I remain hopeful that Cera will do a serious role in a horror film again one day, and make it count. As is, I've got no reason to really like the guy as an actor, so I was expecting to be proven wrong. Or maybe I was hoping to be proven wrong. Either way you look at it, I wasn't. I was even less enthralled with how tiring and exhausting this movie is. 

I find this to be a complete and utter waste of time. And to think, I put off watching "Ghost Shark" for this one. At least I'd have been entertained with that one, even if it is in a bad way. I'd take being entertained at all over being bored to tears. 

Was it the hypnosis that got Alicia? Was it insomnia? Guess who has two thumbs and doesn't give a damn either way? This guy.

No offense to anyone involved in the real incident. My opinions are solely based off of this terrible film.