Scary Film Review: August 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

End of the Month Death Toll August 2010 Edition

That's it folks, August is done. This month flew by, and well, I didn't even realize it. The comments are way down, the traffic is way down, and no one seems to buy anything from the links, but I'm still watching and writing.

Here's the last posts I've done.

If you missed something, check it out.

I won't be posting every link ever, but you can catch up easily by clicking HERE.

Child's Play 2 Review
Virginia Creepers Review
REWIND: Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Revie...
REWIND: Ghoulies II Review
4 Years Running
REWIND: Ax Em Review
From The Mailbag Mid Month August 2010
REWIND: American Gothic Review
The Making of the Black Devil Doll Wobler Video
Shuttle Review
The Thaw Review
End of the Month Deathtoll July 2010 Edition

Friday, August 27, 2010

Child's Play 2 Review

Child's Play 2 came out in 1990 and I was 7 years old. My parents took me to see this opening night, and I saw in Santa Monica alongside a packed house. That was back when vhs and dvd weren't readily available to people and going to the movies meant something important. So while I was coming of age at 7 years old, learning about sick gore and what not, others were probably barred from seeing this film as a kid. I guess I was lucky.

A lot has been said about Child's Play as a series and film, but the sequel isn't exactly as prominent. I'm not sure why either, it could be that the gore levels are different, the character returns after being blown to oblivion in the first film, but back in the early 90's no one seemed to be as critical as they are now. The tag line to this film is "Sorry Jack...Chucky's Back" and boy oh boy is he more blood thirsty than ever.

I like the strength of sequels, specifically trilogies, because many of them are actually quite good, even if the majority of music reviewers will be quick to disagree with me. This film is set a couple of years after the first film, and Andy is placed into the foster care system, and while his new parents are trying hard to be nice to him, he finds out that his old pal Chucky is back in action after being resurrected through the oldest cliche in horror....electrocution.

So with Chucky back, Andy has to adjust to living in a new place with a new family and no one believes that the mischief that is being caused is being done by Chucky. Much like ALL OTHER horror movies, no one believes the protagonist except for a lovely young lady. That's that.

The movie is easy to follow and flows quite well for a horror film. The gore is not there, there are a lot of edits and cuts away from the main gore, as the doll kills. However, the gore levels rise in the final act and showdown where Chucky is 1/2 human and he starts getting severed piece by piece. The film climaxes with some of the coolest gore/melt effects. My favorite part of this film is the lack of CG, which I LOVE!

Is Child's Play 2 A Scary Film?: NO.

This film is NOT scary. Seriously, it's not that scary at all. I wasn't even scared when I was 7 years old. However, in today's society I could see how this film could scare kids. Specifically the children of heavily protected, bubble children. I mean, my own niece lives in a bubble where she can't do anything, or even go to school because she could get "corrupted". So she'll get freaked out and scared and probably cry.

Those parents that are a little more "wild" or just don't care, will find that their kids and even themselves, will love this movie for both nostalgia's sake, and the fact that it's actually entertaining. Much more than the newer films in the series, Child's Play 2 is quite good. Yes, there are moments where I hated this film, and it just sounded "corny" but the 7 year old inside me was jumping for joy, specifically the blood scenes towards the end. I mean, Chucky cuts his hand off and drives a knife through it to form a weapon! SICK!

I'm not sure why or how they made a 3rd, 4th, 5th and I hear 6th film in this series, but hey, that's what happens when film makes money. Child's Play 2 is not the greatest in the series, but it follows suit the first events with some awesome moments. I like it, after all these years.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Virginia Creepers Review

I was given a copy of this cool documentary, that is quite fascinating. Virginia Creepers is a documentary about late night television that was a major part of many a child hood. Much like Elvira and others, there were a bevy of horror movie hosts that would beckon people to tune in and watch cool film. I love it.

I grew up with horror hosts, and these horror hosts would introduce b-movies, horror movies and so much more. I always wondered who would come up with these things, and why it is that the format worked.

This documentary focuses on the Virginia television side of things and not necessarily the rest of the country, but it's poignant. Between commercials and movies came a cool batch of skits and comedy angles.

I'm not too used to reviewing documentaries, simply because I focus more on horror film and the likes, so You'll have to excuse my review for not being incredible, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out this amazing piece of history.

For those of us that grew up with horror movie hosts at Midnight or later, tihs is a rare gem. I didn't see the characters they showcased in this documentary, but rather I grew up in Los Angeles where we had a different kind of host.

I miss it.

Television is not the same, and for whatever reasons no one has revived this long standing tradition of cool horror characters. You owe it to yourself to visit this film and documentary and look at how awesome it was to be a horror movie fan yesteryear.

Here's a mini-doc, and some clips from the documentary.

For those that are not familiar with the horror host shows, consider the movie Fright Night, as they have a portrayal of that. Also, see the Simpsons episode where BOOBARELLA is on. Similar stuff.

This documentary is really cool. Despite the name and regional focus, it has a broad stroke and exploration of television and why the format has passed away in a sense. HBO tried to do Tales From the Crypt with a host, but it's nothing like the old days, that's for sure.

I loved this documentary, and it was a nice change of pace from watching the traditional horror movie that I see here.

Get more info on Virginia Creepers by visiting the official website. You owe it to yourself to watch, and learn. this is a good one, and I'm not just saying that.

Monday, August 23, 2010

REWIND: Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives Review

The worst thing, well a bad thing happened. I caught a cold over the weekend, and didn't get a chance to sit down and pound out a review. I'll try to get back in time for a Wednesday update, but for now, you'll have to relish in another classic review. This time around it's FRIDAY THE 13th 6!

A classic.

I'm going to go lay down and get more rest, I feel like crap.

The sixth film in the Friday the 13th series is one of my personal favorites. The film is about Tommy (made famous in the previous effort “A New Beginning” by Corey Feldman), who wants to incinerate Jason’s body so that he can never be brought back again. In the process a lightning bolt hits the grave and resurrects Jason!

Tommy runs to the police and tries to convince them that Jason is at it again, but they don’t believe him and they try to run him out of town. Meanwhile, a new camp is being set up by a bunch of inexperienced people and Jason is on the loose. He starts to kill people left and right, meanwhile Tommy is put into jail and things get out of control fast in this slasher film from 1986.

This movie is an easy one to watch. The film quality is not half bad, and the movie doesn’t pretend to be anything more than it is; a slasher film featuring Jason Voorhees. The budget on this film was 3 million dollars and it grossed 19 million dollars, so it was a great success for Paramount films back in the mid 80’s and rightfully so. The actors in this film actually try harder than most films that land straight to dvd these days. There are laughable situations, however there are moments where you really believe the emotion that is thrown at you via the actor’s portrayals of different characters.

On an interesting sidenote, this film was produced by Don Behrns. You might not know him very well and to tell you the truth, I don’t know him all that well either. However, I was in high school and on the Varsity Football team and we had a football party of sorts, where at the end of the season we has a bbq. It was held at the house of Don Behrns in Santa Monica, California. He was very nice and I told him I loved horror in which case he showed me the original script for this film alongside an original Jason Mask. It was surreal indeed, and he told me all kinds of cool stuff about movies and the making of this film. He’s a strange dude, that’s all I can say about that. His house was nice though. Maybe that’s why I have an affinity for this film. I don’t know.

Here is a trailer for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives:

This movie still holds up and with 86 minutes, goes through standard Friday the 13th fare without complicated the script with odds and ends. That might be it’s ultimate failure, it seems like a rehashing of other Friday the 13th films and really doesn’t do a whole lot to separate itself from the 5 other films that have already made its way into American screens at this point. Even with a horrible storyline, and laughable sex crazed people, this movie still finds a way to entertain and it’s relegated to a notch above a popcorn flick in my opinion.

Why it’s scary: The movie itself is somewhat laughable now. I don’t even know anyone that sends their kids to sleepaway camp of sorts. I don’t know any person that goes camping with cabins and other kids and counselors. However, when I was a kid, my parents let me go to a camp with other kids and church leaders. It was NOT like Jesus Camp, just to make that clear. However, the camp eerily looked like the one in the Friday the 13th films. The idea of a slasher attacking people in a revenge scheme or just as a punisher of the wicked appeals to me in a sense, however, as an adult I’m not necessarily scared. While the film offers plenty of gore, and that in itself can scare many fragile minds (my mom for instance can’t see a horror movie cause she gets nightmares easily). However, the scary part of this film and all Friday the 13th films is two fold.

1) No one believes the truth. Tommy in this film knows Jason is alive and is killing again, however the police and those in charge of the camp do not believe it until it is too late to stop him. They then rely on Tommy to save them, and rightfully so. (Naturally you should remember that Tommy, played by Corey Feldman, killed Jason in part 5 of the series) This piece of the puzzle is the first and foremost scary notion in these films. While many might argue that the dumb police and dumb people have it coming, you might also consider that if you saw a similar act of violence set to the backdrop of an urban legend in your city, the police might not jump at the chance to hunt them down. Furthermore, it is scary to think that such hysteria is not treated with even an ounce of credibility and that to me is scary. To think that someday, maybe (even though I believe it’s farfetched), I might need to count on authorities for help, there is a chance that they won’t believe me, is scary. That portion of these films is far scarier than the slashing of so called “innocent” victims.

2)The second part of the horror of this film and therefore throwing a “scary” title on it, is the unstoppable nature of Jason Voorhees. They shoot him, they try to maim him, they even drown him and cut him with the propeller of a boat, and he doesn’t go down. I’m reminded of a Sam Raimi film called “The Quick and The Dead” in which one of the characters is a Native American that claims he can not be shot with bullets. He shows up for a gun fight and then is riddled with bullets and keeps on coming. You might also consider “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and how much offense it takes to bring the villain down. This is a recurring theme in horror, having a villain seem nearly impossible to kill, and it lends itself well to video games too. This sort of reanimation is scary on a lot of levels. What if you can’t kill something that is attacking you? I was bit by a dog once, and I tried to beat it up to let go of my arm and it didn’t help. Eventually the owner got the dog away from my arm but the damage was done. I know that it’s hard to compare an animal to a horror movie villain, but Jason has no speech, has no real conscious, he’s just for the lack of a better word, a killing machine. To fight an evil and/or killer that just doesn’t die is insane and scary. This is true on the microscopic level too, imagine a disease you can not kill? (I’d say aids, but Magic Johnson seems to be fine)

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is a scary movie, but not unless you think about it. Sure, over thinking such a “laughable” movie is not exactly why many people watch movies. However, I’m not the average movie watcher, and therefore I think about these things when watching stuff like this, or else why even watch it? If logic is applied to Jason Lives, then there’s no reason to even watch. Logically, this movie makes little sense, and even if you’re a believer in the supernatural or re-animation (which I don’t believe, unless you consider the Bible, which I’m not going reference right now, at least not more than I’ve already done by mentioning it), it still won’t work well for you.

I highly recommend Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives if you’re a fan of the series, however, do one of two things. Consider why this is a scary film, or simply grab some popcorn and turn off your brain because if you do not do either one of these things you will most likely hate seeing Jason Lives and you’ll end up thinking I’m a complete moron, which maybe the case.

Bonus Points: The film's main song was done by none other than Alice Cooper! That's right, the end credits roll and this infectious tune roles through and it's Alice Cooper! He's at his 80's best and it's funny to listen to, if you can find it. I wouldn't recommend the soundtrack to this film, but it's nice to see that the budget for the film at least garnered them with some new music from the legend of macabre theater music Alice Cooper. Make sure you take note of this, because you can use it for trivia down the road.

and here you go kiddies...the song I speak of:

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives will never look the same to you again, now will it? I still like this film, dang, it's 22 years old.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, August 20, 2010

REWIND: Ghoulies II Review

Well, I did receive a new dvd in the mail, and was all ready to see another bout of horror films, but guess what happened? The wife wanted to watch a whole lot of "Friday Night Lights" so I wasn't seeing anything horror related.

I will have the weekend to watch several movies, because I'm cool, and my wife works instead of me. Ok, I get paid to sit here but come on!

This little rewind is one of my favorite movies to talk about. I also love Ghoulies Go To College, but whatever. Toilet creatures? You gotta love it.

I'm going to go to sleep now, but later, I'll watch more crap and review it for all 3 of you readers.

Today, we get another review, but this review is yet again not so serious. It's not that I'm trying to screw over you, my 2 readers, it's just that I haven't been getting a lot of great "serious" horror lately. Plus, with no requests, no recommendations, and my schedule, I can't really get so serious. So today, I present to you a sequel, Ghoulies II. That's right, the second film in the Ghoulies quadrilogy. A little bit of trivia, did you know that Matthew Lillard's film debut was in Ghoulies 3? Yeah, that's the one where they went to college...sadly this horror comedy wasn't as good as the premise of Ghoulies III.

Before I get into the full review, or lack there of, here is the trailer for Ghoulies II:

Ghoulies II has a simple premise. There is a carnival that is being invaded by the Ghoulies! There's no more explanation to this, they are just there. Well, to be fair, a truck driver and his son show up at a gas station and the ghoulies go into the truck on their way to the next stop of the carnival.

The subplot of this film involves the owner of the carnival telling all the carnies that if they don't make money, they are through. So with the pressure on, the horror themed ride that our main characters run gets a special boost; the Ghoulies. The Ghoulies start terrorizing people that are visiting the ride, and things go downhill.

As the film progresses, the Ghoulies start to mop up and the main characters try to fight them off. Eventually they figure it out, and well we get the mother of all Ghoulies to end the film.

This movie is a notch above straight to dvd. The movie really lacks good acting, and to top it all off it's only pg-13. Despite many variations of the F-Word, the movie is not rated R and shows no major gore. The kills are cut out, hard edited, with little to no impact. This movie is terribly filmed, terribly acted, and stupid to most horror movie fans. This horror comedy is worst than the original, and looks like a parody of Gremlins or dare I mention Critters.

Check out Ghoulies II on dvd, if you must, however it's not that great. I don't recommend this film to everyone, but if you're big on the Mystery Science Theater style movie watching, you'll enjoy this one. You'll be making fun of all sorts of things in this film.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

4 Years Running

Today is my 4th Year Wedding Anniversary.

So instead of writing a review, or watching movies, I'm going to hang out with the wife.

Don't worry, we'll watch something horror related in honor or you, all 2 of you readers.

By the way, add me on "aim" or yahoo messenger, drop me a line and we'll get it rolling.

Enjoy a day off...or whatever, and if you have extra money patronize the sponsors.

WOOO 4 years!

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Monday, August 16, 2010

REWIND: Ax Em Review

Worst movie in the world?

Maybe.

It's a heavyweight contender for it, at least. This movie is one of the rare gems for those of us that love watching bad movies. Most people haven't even heard of this one, and good for them. It's one of the poorest excuses for film, yet I saw and reviewed it early in my career here at Scary Films.

My 4th wedding anniversary is coming up, so I'm not working on horror all the time, but I will have something new for Wednesday, a little indie film I was sent, and then we'll keep this horror train going.

Enjoy a blast from the past, and please, patronize the sponsors.

Some people say that this is the worst movie ever made. It might as well be. This movie is so bad, that I don't even know how to explain it really. So I stole the synopsis from obscurehorror.com, my favorite site for horror reviews, and this is what they said about it:

A weekend retreat at a cabin in the woods for a group of childhood friends turns into a nightmare as a former friend, whose family was killed years, earlier comes looking for revenge.

I guess that wasn't too hard. I'm just lazy these days.

This film is NOT worth its weight, not worth buying, but maybe worth seeing once for posterity's sake. This movie is just horrible. Everything about this film bad except for the movie and dvd poster, which has some ok reference.

The film quality is low budget, but extremely low budget. Like a VHS camcorder was used for this film, which is the worst thing I've ever seen. The Sound quality is not stereo, and I'm having a hard time believing it was even mastered at all. This film is just the pits. The acting is bad, but you can't even hear them talk, and when you turn up the sound there is a lot of hiss and static, proving that there is a bottom rung on the straight to dvd market.

If that wasn't bad enough, there are a lot of unnecessary fade outs for scenes that really don't make sense.

If you're still watching towards the killing scenes, you might find a few things cool about it, but it's really hard to manage, and it just makes you want to smash your television and go outside and see what's up with the world.

Don't buy Ax'Em, and avoid it if you see it in the bargain bin at Wal*Mart, it's really bad.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, August 13, 2010

From The Mailbag Mid Month August 2010

I know, it seems way too soon for the middle of the month, but we're about there. I pulled the trigger on this because I've had these comments in my inbox for a while and I got tired of looking at them. So I decided, why not?

A quick update, I've been playing a lot of poker on face book, wishing I had a real job, and maybe some friends to chat with on aim. So far, no go...on all fronts. Oh and I've learned that I suck at poker.

Anonymous said in regards to my "Child's Play Review":

I totally love the Chucky films but I think Childs play 3 ruined them a bit.

Part 3 ruined them? Did you see part 4,5, and 6? Yep...terrible.

Anonymous said in regards to "Brainscan Review":

My favourite Horror Film.

Really? Your favorite? Edward Furlong has really fallen off, but this one was technically cool. I think it's a great example of being ahead of its time. I liked it enough, and I think that many people miss such good films...not saying this one was THAT good,but I guess. I like it now.

That's the end of that folks. Two comments, 400+ posts, several years and running.

I just wish I had a few bucks for all the movies I've been watching. Or comments...in fact, anything to show that people are reading.

I'm going to get back to looking for a new job, I've been unemployed and freelancing for 10 months...sadly.

**Note, this was posted on a thursday...but was meant for a friday...so friday if you see no update...blame me for working on the site at 5 am instead of sleeping...sigh...

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

REWIND: American Gothic Review

I'm tired. So enjoy this throwback review...while I get some sleep.

The year is 1988 and another classic horror movie came out, and for years I passed by it on the video store shelf, but eventually mustered up the courage to see it. That film is none other than American Gothic.

The movie has a simple plot. A group of twenty something’s are going out on a vacation when their plan has an emergency landing, causing them to get stuck in what is the middle of nowhere. The crew stumble upon a cabin where a strict biblical family lives and things really get bad for them overall.

They discover that the elderly couple have middle age children, but they act and dress like little kids. The father and mother are overtly Christian and really take things to the extreme. As time progresses in the film, they are all slaughtered, leaving an interesting ending for everyone to enjoy, and no I didn’t spoil this one.

Here is a trailer for American Gothic:

The movie really has subpar acting. The actors try to be serious, but they really blow their lines and their decisions are mired by poor acting. The best acting is done by the family who play their roles so well. Ma and Pa are genuinely scary and the kids are surprisingly good, and over the top in their roles.

The scenes are kind of dreary, even though they are in what appears to be the Northwest forest, it just doesn’t seem lively at all. The movie even gets boring towards the middle and you really hope something is going to happen, then the glass ceiling shatters on you and we start to see things go down from bad to worse.

The people involved are constantly trying to get away, as things progress from creepy to deadly. There is some great gore effects, especially one scene where a girl shoves a unicorn into the eye of a victim. It is a great scene and overall good stuff in the effects department. The scene involving a basement full of “human dolls” is also equally as creepy and insane. I haven’t seen something like that in recent memory, except for the short lived horror television movie “Cabin by The Lake” which featured human gardens under water.

Why Is American Gothic Scary?: This is an interesting question. The movie doesn’t terrify me at all. I am not overtly threatened by the film, nor do I fear the woods or the people that live out there. However, there are some genuinely scary notions cast throughout the film.

If you follow along you see madness settle in our one character, Cynthia. Cynthia is so traumatized by the loss of her child (we learn through flashbacks) that the sequences that involve her friends being slaughtered create a stigma for her mind and she really has problems overall. Towards the end of the film she becomes more and more desensitized, and you begin to cheer for her as she becomes the final girl in the film. Just like other 80’s horror movies, this one has a great twist ending and really does have a good revenge theme at the closing. The scary part is the real cases in history where madness caused someone to start killing. Some might be quick to cite films like, “The Amityville Horror” , “The Number 23”, “Identity”, “Secret Window”, or “Terror Train” as films that share the madness of the villain and overall turn of the hero. The difference here is that the villains are not figments of imagination or identity crisis’s in general. The slow moving madness of Cynthia really parallels a lot of cases in our world. For instance, we can claim that Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy were all criminally insane and are examples of how far out your mind can get to the point of killing. It is scary how much trauma can manifest itself into the current situation and turn your mind into a complete psychopathic state of being. We see this in Cynthia, and her transformation through the film, as subtle as it plays out is insane.

Adult children scare me. They should scare you too. I’m not talking about the adult children found in movies like, “Jack” or the man child movies like “Step Brothers”, “Grandma's Boy” and other comedies perpetuating the stereotype that any adult that plays video games is automatically immature. I’m talking about psychologically disturbed individuals that believe they truly are children. I’ve never met any adult children in my lifetime, but this movie sure makes things insane. The parts that really showcase scary motives is how sexuality is treated. There are two children that are having incest, but we are lucky not to see them. They make references to sex in their dialogue with each other and they treat it as a disgusting act that for whatever reasons they are drawn to.

What makes things even worse in the sexuality department is that there is a rape scene involving necrophilia. This is punished however when Pa finds out what has happened, he beats the living daylights out of his grown up son, and it is an interesting scene to note. Over thinking this film is easy, as these character traits are a psychology project in themselves, and they really create the synapse for terror in this film.

Outside of these two examples, it is a terrible thing to be lost on vacation. It is even worse considering that this movie does not cite futurism at all. There are no cell phones, no computers, no internet, no phones even! There is no electricity or modernity to speak of. The scariest thing about the film is when you really allow yourself to get caught up with the time period. What would you do if you had no gps, no phone, no comforts at all? Could you survive this plot?

After viewing this film and thinking about it, I really considered what I would do. I would have tried to swim for it, the landing of the plane occurs on a lake or the beginnings of an ocean. I would rather swim and drown than to be bludgeoned in the head with a unicorn spike or get thrown off a cliff while on a swing set. Oh modernity! I probably would drown, I have no stamina, I’m a sitting duck.

American Gothic came out in 1988, it is among one of my favorite films of all time. It really reminds me of a lot of other horror movies out there, and it does stand alone as an interesting take on a lot of scary themes. While most people might think it is only a slasher, it really provides an interesting twist on the genre. In the long scope of things, it’s not that great at all. It’s a subpar slasher film at best, but I like it. This one is going in the guilty pleasure pile, as it really has some cool sequences, and isn’t as well known as some other films. I recommend American Gothic if you’re a fan of 80’s horror, just don’t expect a big budget or anything overtly crazy. There are some good spills, a good twist at the end, and an interesting look at a horrible situation.

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Making of the Black Devil Doll Wobler Video

Even though I'm broke, and probably can't afford one, the Black Devil Doll Wobler is being made and boy do I have a treat for you guys. The following video showcases the process of making the wobler/bobble head from concept to actual production! It's really cool on a load of different levels, especially if you ever wondered how these things are made. The 13 minute video is quite good and shows a lot of intricate details you won't usually see with other woblers out there.

So here you go, a video of the Making of the Black Devil Doll Bobblehead:

Friday, August 6, 2010

Shuttle Review

Oh yes, another independent horror film, and this time around it looked promising. I saw the previews and they made it sound like it's a viable horror film, so I got it and checked it out.

The story is simple enough, a group of friends get onto an airport shuttle bus that is set to take them home. The shuttle gets lost and a strange car causes them to blow out a tire. While changing a tire, one of the friends gets their hand chopped off and away we go!

The more we go along with the film the more we see that the driver is not on the up and up, and he takes everyone hostage on a ride to hell! Well, not necessarily real hell, but a torture filled romp through some back streets near the airport. The film started to lose steam with me then the second act had one heck of a twist and a third twist made this thing worth it.

While there were some instances where I thought it was stupid to just not run away and keep running, I understand the idea behind it. I've been in a lot of shuttle buses, and I can attest to the nature of the interiors not allowing you to just jump out onto the concrete.

Bad acting of course is here, no major signs of nudity and sex, but the torture sequences were quite well done. Best part? I would have to say people getting run over by the shuttle, and then getting backed up on. The film fights itself to make sense, and makes some great points when the only ones to get the driver razzled was the women in the film.

Knives, flares, and a rogue shuttle with a crazy driver? Not half bad. But is it scary enough to get you to watch it?

Is Shuttle A Scary Film?: No.

I can agree that the idea is a little fresh, but the execution is not. The pacing and the turns are easily spotted and I saw them coming. Sure, there was one nice turn that I didn't really expect, but the rest? Just another cookie cutter way of throwing kids around into a situation that they should be running from, but rather make stupid mistakes and get caught up with a psychotic killer.

The main villain (the bus driver) does a good enough job, but I didn't buy that these guys couldn't take him out. The film goes through some tight sequencing and some sick hits with the car. The gore levels are done just right, and there's not a lot of focus on blood spills and CG blood.

Yes, this film had it's moments, but overall it wasn't the best thing I've seen in a while. I found myself wanting to finish it, but not sure why. Shuttle has some very scary overtones, some gut wrenching painful attacks, but overall, it's just another horror movie you can live without.

I don't highly recommend this film, but I do say check it out. It's not as bad as Wrong Turn 2 or anything like that, and it at least had a clever premise, even if it was a little boring after a while.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The Thaw Review

We begin our journey this with a science fiction film and boy was it creepy. Val Kilmer stars in this horror film and I must admit, it wasn't run and gun, nor was it full of similar things. I fell asleep during the previews, but once the movie started, I was ready with a cup of coffee.

The Thaw starts out with a confessional from Val Kilmer's character. Throughout the opening of the film, we are not given a full explanation of what's going on, and throughout the views we see what is going on. On a glacier, a wooly mammoth is discovered and inside it are some eggs with parasites that pose no immediate threat, at first.

The movie is a slow moving ride. To say that this is slow, is an understatement. This thing was quite slow, and will most likely have people throwing in the towel, until the second act leads to one of the best gore scenes I've seen in a long time. Sure, the gore in "The Ruins" was sick and left me uncomfortable, but nothing like this one. In this film there is a sequence so sickening and realistic that they should win an award for realism and effects of the moment. Let's just saw "Saw" has nothing on limb execution, and I will leave it at that.

The film quality is similar to that of a UK BBC production. It's more than just straight to dvd, but the "green/blue" tone of the film really makes things interesting. The way it was filmed leaves me to think that I'm watching a soap opera and the more twists and turns that occur the more I was interested in this film.

When you strip away the gimmicks, this film can be easily plotted and written about as another "Cabin Fever" type film with bugs. The premise is simply that Global Warming is thawing out fossils and some parasitic bugs can wipe out the planet because they can stay in below freezing temperatures. That's not too unlike recent news reports that certain spiders can have sub zero venom! Anyways, the film essentially locks a few scientists in a cabin as they are slowly dying, and when hope comes, it turns into an explosive scenario of "who lives and who dies", and before anyone is warned....act four goes into high gear.

Is The Thaw a Scary Film?: Yes.

The longer the movie played out, the more tense it got. The limited soundtrack, and the gore levels were quite scary. The sound that the bugs make, is eerie to me because there are bugs here in Moscow, Idaho that sound exactly like them. The idea that a bug can lay eggs inside your skin and eat you out and kill you, is a scary notion, and furthermore, if Global Warming is in fact real and there could be a thawing out of fossils in the tundra, leading to an epidemic, that's a scary notion and therefore this film is scary.

Even though the acting leaves much to be desired, I found the film effective in its minimalist approach, and I can't get over the gore sequence that nearly made me throw up. Sure the acting was odd, but the sheer terror of drastic measures and non-comedic blood flow made this film quite a scary production.

I recommend The Thaw as a very horrific film, but only to those that like slow burners. You have to invest a lot of time into this one, but once things start to break down it starts getting really good, and dare I say, Val Kilmer actually did a great job with the character. The final sequence also makes me like the film, but you'll have to watch it to find out. Click here to buy The Thaw, or rent it or something...it's worth it.

Monday, August 2, 2010

End of the Month Deathtoll July 2010 Edition