The Ring

Okay, I’ll be honest with you. I hate horror movies. Most of the time, I laugh my way through them because of how obvious they are and how stupid they are. Not to say that the ketchup blood has definitely gained some better graphics, but the plots and scare tactics just bother me.

However, when I watched “The Ring,” I had a new respect for horror. At last, there was a story line and a mystery that was combined with the horror. This start with a journalist who finds a video tape that has killed some teenagers. She now has to find exactly what killed these youth and why. Her investigation is what leads her to finding the “horror catch” as well as solving a mystery that you get to solve along with the main character.

This film came out in 2002 (I know, it’s still kinda old). The star is Naomi Watts, acting as Rachel Keller, the journalist. Her side kicks are Martin Henderson, David Dorfman and Brian Cox.

Oh, and for a little extra history of this film, this was a re-do of a Japanese film on the same topic, known as Ringu. The Japanese version is said to be more of the mystery side than the horror side when it was put together. And, for those of you who actually do like horror, you can follow this up with the Ring Two. It’s just as good.

So, if you are not a horror buff, like me, start with ‘The Ring.” It’s definitely better than an actual horror movie, with some good substance and a story line that keeps you involved, not just through adrenaline rushes.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist is a classic and I guarantee if you’re watching a horror movie from back in the day, you will see nothing like it. The movie is a masterpiece that catches the viewer’s attention by making it feel as though you are there.

In the movie, there is a young girl named Reagan who, out of the blue, begins acting very strangely. There are extreme changes in her personality and mood, not to mention all of the unexplained things happening in the house.

Because Reagan’s mother is extremely worried about her, she takes her to numerous doctor’s in order to have random tests done on her to see exactly what is wrong. The doctor’s can’t seem to find a thing so they automatically assume that it’s some sort of psychological disorder. Because Reagan’s mother doesn’t believe this is so, she calls in a priest.

During the priest’s sessions with young Reagan, things begin to get more out of hand than ever. The young girl stabs herself with a crucifix, begins speaking in another language in a voice that is not her own, her eyes change into a demon-like state, and all of these effects seem completely real.

The exorcist is an amazing movie with a great cast. Linda Blair was only a young girl when she played Reagan, but she did an outstanding job to say the least. I would have scared myself so much that I’d have to give up the role. No matter what day and age we’re in, I believe that the Exorcist will remain a classic that everyone can watch without having to fast foward through the boring parts. The movie is well put together for the time that it was made.

This movie is one of those that will never be forgotten.

Day of the Dead (R:2008)

Day of the Dead (Rated R: 2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489018/
Directed by Steve Miner with Screenplay by Jeffrey Reddick. Starring : Mena Suvari, Ving Rhames, Nick Cannon, and may others.
An interesting flick based off of George A. Romero’s classic flick “Day of the Dead”. The military comes in to enforce a quarantine and stop the spread of the disease that seems to have infected this small town. Not at all like the original Day of the Dead, this movie takes place in one of the historic mining towns in Colorado known as “Leadville” where a military lab experiment goes wrong and causes an epidemic of magnitude proportions. As people perish, survivors realize that the virus is creating the walking dead who crave human flesh. A wild race of zombies invades the town like no other zombies often displayed … they are full of rage, faster, stronger. Only a small number of people are immune to the virus and those few survivors must battle to fend off the infected zombies while trying to make it out of town alive. I thought the movie was decent, especially since I’m a big fan of Mena Suvari who I thought played a tough yet very compassionate soldier. I thought her and several of the others acted very well, but the movie just was missing something. I’m also not sure if I’m a big fan of fast running zombies. Some of the graphics, makeup, and special effects were good. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

The Vault of Horror Movie Review

The Vault of Horror was released in 1973 and is making a comeback. It is based on a set of men that are trapped away in a basement. They begin to tell their tales and the story unfolds. The eerie part of this movie is the thoughts that these men share with one another. There are some gruesome scenes that you will need a stomach for.

I found myself riveted to the screen and captivated by the minds of these men that were trapped in the basement.
Out of 5 stars, I’d give this movie 3 stars.

The Ruins: R - 2008

The Ruins (Rated R)
Director: Carter Smith; Writers: Scott B. Smith; Starring: Johnathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, Joe Anderson, Sergio Calderon, and many more. Filmed in Australia.
Release: April 4, 2008. Genre: Horror / Thriller. web site: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963794/

It’s a tale about two couples who went on a Mexican holiday and being a little bored by doing the “tourist” thing sheltered under the resorts, on their last two days meet a German tourist who has an offer to excite their holiday. The German tourist has a friend who hasn’t come back yet from checking out these un-marked ruins with a local archaeologist. He invites the couples and the next day they set off to go explore the ruins and look for the missing friend. Before they know it, they run into a Mayan tribe who won’t let them leave the ruins because they touched the sacred vines. Before long they learn the secrets to the ruins and why the Mayans are so afraid of the pyramid and the horrors within. They get plucked off one by one with skin crawling terror as they fight to survive. Man against nature. It’s an interesting movie with twists sharing elements from “Cabin Fever” and “Turistas”. Very interesting twists. Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5. Viewed 4/4/08.

30 Days of Night

30 Days of Night was a very intense movie and filled with a great deal of blood and gore. The concept of the movie is that vampires do exist and takes place in a quaint and quiet Alaskan town. With 30 days of no sun, the vampires have the perfect feeding ground to quench their thirst and put terror in this town.

I would give this movie a 5 out of 10 stars. It was mediocre. Much of it was predictable. I must admit that there were times though that it did give me a quick, good scare and made me jump.

There were times that I wanted to not watch the rest of it. However, I was determined to find out what happened to the group of citizens that were hiding from the vampire creatures. I did end up watching the entire thing though.

If you like blood and gore, you will definitely like this movie.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (R:2007)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (R: 2007)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/
Johnny Depp .. Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter … Mrs. Lovett, Alan Rickman … Judge Turpin, Timothy Spall … Beadle Bamford, Sacha Baron Cohen … Signor Adolfo Pirelli, Jamie Campbell Bower … Anthony Hope, Laura Michelle Kelly … Lucy / Beggar Woman, Jayne Wisener … Johanna, Ed Sanders … Toby, and many more.

Set in London, in dark Victorian England, the story of Sweeney Todd is brought to the screen by noneother, but the fabulous artist Tim Burton. With his favorite actor of choice, Johnny Depp, plays the wrongly imprisoned barber who sets out for revenge on the judge who imprisoned him. A tragic love story where lovers are separated, by greed and lust, and unspeakable evil. Returning he teams up with a cannibal, and off they are set to give mankind what they feel they deserve. A clean shave and a meat pie. Based on the story and the Broadway musical, this film is stunning with panoramic talent, excellent cinematography, and stunning visuals. Acting was excellent as well. I’m not the largest fan of musicals, but this one was enchanting. Rated 5 stars out of 5.

Wasting Away (R:2008)

Wasting Away (R: 2008)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027762/ or http://www.wastingawaythemovie.com/
Director: Matthew Kohnen; writers: Matthew and Sean Kohnen. Release date: 4 July 2008. Cast: Jose Acevedo … US Soldier, Christopher ‘Critter’ Antonucci … Zombie, Betsy Beutler … Cindy, Michael Cornacchia … Frumpy Guy, Matthew Davis … Mike, Colby French … Nick Steele, David Garcia … and many more.

preview/ premiere pre-screening at Festivus Film Festival ath the Oriental Theater in Denver, CO
An excellent new vision of zombie flicks where the plot is viewed from the zombies perspective. You get to see the world in the eyes of a zombie, where everyone else seems to have gone mad and crazy. Re-animating zombie creating toix green goo seeps into Mike, Tim, Cindy, and Vanessa’s ice cream gives to the unsuspecting victims what they see as brain freeze. But all of a sudden, they have super-human powers that they learn are from becoming super-soldiers. Flashing from black/white to color, seeing through the lens of a human and the lens of a zombie - its a fight of survival and figuring out why humans want to kill zombies, and why brains taste so great. They find the secrets of life - love, destiny, and a sense of purpose. With a great twist of having some zombie lovin’ … we get to view young zombie love from the inside. Excellent indie film with a great new perspective. A must see. A great comedy. Rating 4.5 stars out of 5.

Residential Evil Review on DVD – Thumbs Down

Well, I just had to see what all the hype was about Residential Evil and got the DVD. Wow what a surprise. I knew that this would be a zombie based movie but had no idea how zombie based it would be. Hmmmm.

I found the first part of the movie to be quite good. The opening scenes really catch your attention. There was a lot of graphic gore in the movie that I think would’ve had the same effect without the quite as much gore. Unfortunately as the movie drug on, I began to lose interest.

There was little character development to make you feel much emotion at all for any of the characters. The focus was on the zombies and their feeding frenzies. I learned very little about the secret company and really could care less who escaped and who didn’t. Unfortunately, I would have to give this movie all the thumbs down.

Disturbia Review

I went to see Disturbia when it first came out. From the previews, I couldn’t wait to see what the movie. I was thrilled that I made this decision. This is one of those movies that you don’t want to get up in the middle of to refill your drink or get a second round of popcorn.

Disturbia gets max stars from me for movies that are thrillers. This was very suspenseful and the roles were exceptionally well-played. It really makes you stop and think about your neighbors that you have in real life. There was wonderful suspense in Disturbia mixed in with some humor at times to.

I really liked that there was a bunch of blood and fore in this movie. You wanted to see what was going to occur around the corner. Just the thought of a serial killer living next door to you and getting away with murders is an uneasy feeling. The tension in the movie set the stage to give you a thrill. The thing is the way the movie was set up, you could actually start to wonder about your neighbors that are living near you.

If you haven’t seen Disturbia, you definitely need to watch it but remember to have all your snacks and drinks ready because it is a thriller you can’t miss a moment of.

« Previous Page — Next Page »