Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Night of The Demons 2 Review



Before diving into this review, I'd like to request that you visit amazon and pick something up, I'm an affiliate. If you're going to shop, click here, and pick up some horror stuff, it helps me keep watching, reviewing, and what not. Thanks.

When I was a kid, “Night of the Demons” was one of my favorite horror movies. It had everything you could possibly want from a scary movie. It had sex, drugs, classic cartoonish characters, and crazy death sequences. With the sequel, we get a lot of the same, only done a bit more comedic and well, there’s just some more outlandish fun in this 1990s sequel. “Night of the Demons 2”, is not going to win awards, and it may not even be for everyone, but as a sequel it works on the same or at least similar premises from the first, and does so with gusto.

This movie is set 6 years after the past party ended. We get thrown into a catholic school and get to see a few people’s lives go through the boredom movement that is private education. Along the way you get introduced to a cast of characters that are stereotypical in horror. The cool guy, the sex obsessed guy, the shy virgin, and more. For fans of nudity, you’re going to get hit with a lot of breasts while this movie is setting up. It’s gratuitous to say the least. As you get through the casting, you realize that the story is going to go back to the Hull House.

One of the main characters brings about a demon through a book that he has, and while he’s a nerdy getting bullied here, he’s definitely an anti-hero. As the movie gets going, a bunch of kids that are punished and isolated to their bedrooms gang together to go and party off campus. It’s there that they are greeted by Angela, the demon, and she wants to kill her sister (the shy virgin) so that she can live again? When the priest and main nun realize that the kids are gone, they spring into action, alongside the demon summoning kid to take on Angela and her dangerous elements.

Overall, the premise is a bit convoluted, but it works here. The makeup effects are amazing at times. There is little to no computer graphics or animation here. There’s some stop motion, but it’s a lot of latex effects that really make this awesome. The holy water trope is all the same as you’d expect, and religion plays a role in defeating her, but the story gets overly comical over time.

This isn’t exactly the most compelling or scary of movies, but there’s enough cheap gags, nudity, and fight sequences to make this one a solid sequel. If you liked “976-Evil”, then you’re going to love the direction that this takes. I found it to be funny, and somewhat gruesome at times. I recommend checking this one out, and perhaps doing a marathon with the original, this one, and part 3 in one night! “Night of the Demons 2” is solid horror fare, and I recommend picking it up.

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.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Death Race 3 Inferno Review


Death Race 3 Inferno DVD

I ate the worst burrito in the world today, and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I had a headache and one thing on my mind, Death Race 3. This movie is the third of the sequels that came through with the remake featuring Jason Statham, only this is straight to video and stars Danny Trejo, and Luke Goss. This time around the formula is similar, but has been thrown into a washing machine, because you’re going to find it to either be very boring, or quite fascinating towards the end. I found it tedious to start, but then things really took a turn for the better, and this started to make a lot more sense.

The movie centers on Luke and his pit crew getting sent to South Africa to start racing for a new prison warden. The warden is taking things international, and he’s throwing out the old policy of freedom after winning 5 times. Frankenstein is on the verge of winning big, but now he’s stuck trying to fight back and he’s not going to get any leverage. Meanwhile, he reveals to his crew that the person under the mask is none other than Carl Lucas aka Luke. The gang hates him, but oh well, he then reveals the real reason they are there.

As you expected, there is some racing here. However, the Ford Mustang is gone. Goodbye mustang and hello some dune boogie piece of crap. The rest of the cars are all retrofitted for the sands and dunes of this desert prison area. I don’t like it, but then again, it works for what it is. As the movie progresses, the teams race and things go in order as you would expect. There are minor details here and there that makes this more of a combat movie, then things explode into a frenzy towards the end of the film.

In the third act you start to realize that Frankenstein is not going to win, he has other plans. With a stroke of genius, or perhaps luck, this whole things blows up in the favor of Frankenstein when he and his crew escape the prison with the help of an insider and a new guy changes places with him. This is very much like the first movie, and it goes in line with the notion that the monster can be replaced by any idiot. As you start to wonder why this is all going down the way it is, you’re given the full reveal. The movie bounces back to where Lucas was giving away his “truth” and you realize this was the plan all along.

Death Race 3 Inferno is not a great movie. However, if you’ve invested in the first two, you might as well finish this one. I found it to be slow at first, but there’s enough action and a good fourth act to really get into it. I actually didn’t hate it that much, and that’s saying a lot. Tanit Phoenix is hot, and waiting for a nip slip is about as crazy as you’re going to get here. I liked the grindhouse style, and I do appreciate the continuity, but overall, this is not as good as the first, and that’s not exactly “Citizen Kane” or anything. Overall, if you’re going to get this, get it as part of the Death Race Trilogy or don’t watch it. Then again, buy something, I need the money, and you need to add another dvd to your collection, so how about it?

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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Death Race 2 Review



I remember when I first saw the remake of Death Race. I was living in Seattle and was at a mall. While walking through the mall, I noticed that a jean company was giving away movie tickets for trying on pants. I was curious, so I went in and tried on a pair of pants and afterwards was given a certificate to use for the movies. Since nothing was really out, I decided to look into Death Race, the remake, and was surprised with the film itself.

Fast forward 5 years or so and I finally sit down to check out this movie. While it’s not a horror film, and it’s not meant to be, there are some nice moments that remind me of grindhouse cinema, especially the way the gore gets ramped up towards the mid-point and end of this movie. Death Race 2 is a prequel to the Death Race series and goes into looking into “Frankenstein” the mythical driver. While I appreciated the original, and liked the remake a bit, this is one that really grew on me. I didn’t like it at first, and really thought it suffered from horrendous plotting, and terrible acting. However, Luke Goss sold me on it towards the middle of the film and Ving Rhames definitely adds some character. The movie has some sick driving at first too, and I’m a huge fan of the Cobra Mustang, so seeing that run through the action was good.

The preliminary set up for this movie is that criminals are fighting to the death via pay per view or internet streaming. That goes so far and eventually the whole thing is turned into a race to the death around Terminal Island. It’s within that realm that Luke gets burned alive and creates the template for Frankenstein!

Overall this movie is not great. However, there are some really good elements in it, and I couldn’t stop staring at Lauren Cohen’s cleavage. Wow! I’m just saying, what an amazing, never mind. The movie flows through the same elements you would expect from the previous incarnation, and you get some nice driving sequences. However, you’ll have to turn your brain off for this one, there are loopholes everywhere and it’s completely unbelievable at times.

Death Race 2 has some nice driving, some good action, and it sits well with me. Danny Trejo’s involvement sold it for me. With all that in mind, you’ll want to check this one out as a way to unwind and really not think about anything important. It has an ok soundtrack, some good driving sequences with the Mustang, and Laruen Cohen’s cleavage. Solid release, and a start to something more compelling, I’m sure. Rent it, buy it, do something.

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Friday, November 14, 2014

Horns Review



Joe Hill can write. For those that aren’t familiar with who that is, you should know that he’s a stellar writer and he’s the son of Stephen King. My dad was a soccer player, a professional, I can’t kick a soccer ball without falling on my face. I wonder what happened to me? Regardless, Hill wrote a bestseller called “Horns”. I purchased the book in hardcover for my girlfriend when it was released. I found the book at a dollar store in the giant pile of books that no one else wanted to purchase. One dollar well spent, and now the movie is here and it’s relatively close to the writing and I’m impressed with the adaptation.

Sold as a horror movie, this is much more sinister than just straight horror. I looked into the budget and apparently it wasn’t very much. That’s my only major gripe with the film, it looks as though they didn’t have enough money and production was somewhat limited. Other than that, there is some strong components to this film, and it has a lot of layers to unravel. It feels like a coming of age tale at times, and then it goes insane with the notion of the horns that grow from Ig’s head.

Overall, the movie is not as much a horror movie as it has supernatural elements. This is a mystery film and really does well to push the devilish elements that were present in the original book. It’s a solid performing thrill ride as you unravel the pieces and start to realize all that is going on. Daniel Radcliffe’s performance is good, it serves the purpose and he does well through the transitions between scorned lover and serious devil. I liked it.

At the end of the day, this is not a horror movie, it’s lacking some elements. However, it is a deeply disturbing picture that features some horror elements. At one point the gore gets turned up to 11 and you get a nice mix of action thrown in with the drama of love, loss, and more. Overall, the concepts work well enough, and the movie is worth checking out, however, I was a bit disappointed with the lackluster cinematography at times, and pacing. It’s better than most things I’ve seen recently, and definitely worth picking up for cheap.

Pick up Horns by Joe Hill here, and check out the blu ray here.

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.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Cabin Fever Patient Zero Review



One of my personal favorite movies is “Cabin Fever”, and while I say that, I do not mean that the sequels are my favorite. In fact, this is a hard one to watch at times. The beginning of this movie made me want to sleep, and it was just a hard one to start with. The second film in the series at least gave me hope as Rider Strong was in it, and that is something well worth investing time into. However, aside from that cameo, I didn’t find the second film to be grand. This one however, is a far cry from the original with a few exceptions here and there.


Sean Astin is by far the best part of this movie. He plays Porter, a man who is trapped in quarantine because of a medical experiment gone wrong. He drives the main plot of getting the virus that infects the people in the movies. He wants to get out of his quarantine and devises a plan to get out by attacking the nurses and doctors. Meanwhile a bunch of young adults are headed to a remote island for sex, drugs, and sex. The group end up stumbling on the medical facility, and through swimming in the water contract the disease.

The movie itself is filmed with shoulder cams or something because it’s really shaky at times, especially when it shouldn’t be shaky. There’s an obvious lack of depth here, but you kind of let it go to watch what happens. Through the midpoint of the film you’ve either invested in the story enough to watch it to the end or you have given up. I found myself pushing through because I knew I wanted to review it for the site.

The best part is the gore that comes through the infection as it’s far worse than the original film. The latex and gore effects are tremendous here and that’s what really sold me on the movie. The story line is lackluster, but the effects are not all CG, which I really appreciated. There was a lot of blood spilled through the movement in the second and third acts. As Astin’s character escapes and nearly dies thanks to a rogue scientist, we get treated to a cycle of violence on a boat that encapsulates the whole series quite nicely.

At the end of the day, this is not an iconic film. “Cabin Fever Patient Zero” is a laughable sequel, but it’s better than the second to me, at least for the tying up of the backdrop of the virus. That being said, it’s not as good as the original, and it shouldn’t be expected to be as good, right? I wouldn’t recommend this one to everyone, but if you liked the original, you might as well invest in it for your collection to have the trilogy together. If you’re going to buy “Cabin Fever” go blu ray, and get it here. Otherwise, watch it on streaming or at a friend’s house. I don’t know.

I wanted to give a quick shout out to our sponsor The Boneyard. They have some sick movies for you to check out, so click here and do so or click the banner above. Thanks to The Boneyard for helping this site stay afloat. If you want to donate, help the cause, or just get me to write for you, use the sidebar, buy a dvd, and help keep this site going. Thanks.

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.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Buy More Horror Movies

Yesterday was Halloween, and while millions of people were in the streets, I was not. I was at a bar, then I was at a book store and realized that I’m getting old and have no friends. It is what it is, but I did find myself looking through a lot of horror novels while drinking coffee and thinking about the future of this site. I have opened up the doors to advertising, and am working on finding other options to help build some sort of interest here. One option that is never going to go away is to buy more horror movies from amazon.

Seriously, Buy More

If you’re going to spend any money via Amazon, you should check out the links that I have in the reviews and through the sidebar. When you shop for more horror movies via amazon, the site gets a small kickback. It’s very small, but it helps me keep writing and keep watching horror movies.

If you like what I’m doing, and you want to support the cause, you can either shop via the links, or you can visit fiverr.com/sirjorge and order a $5 gig. When ordering just write in the details that it’s a donation for Scary Film Review, it’s that simple.

More reviews are coming, but for now, why not buy more horror movies? It can’t hurt to ask right? Click here and see what’s available. There’s a TON of blu ray discs out there, so go for it while I get to the reviewing and writing of more movies.

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.