Last Shift Review

There’s something about being isolated, and alone in a job. I used to sell caskets for a living, and that job had me alone with a lot of caskets all day and night. It was a job that left me with a lot of boredom, and well, it just wasn’t fun at times. Dead jobs are relatable to me, so when I heard about “Last Shift” I immediately thought about that isolation. However, the movie is a lot more horrific than anything I had to deal with, even though the premise starts out quite simply.

The movie is about a cop that is working the last shift at a station. As she moves through her shift, a madman shows up and starts to cause trouble. Then as the movie progresses, so does the strange happenings, and a lot of things just don’t seem right. We’re talking supernatural moments, with locked doors, moving chairs, and lots of jump scares to cause you alarm.

“Last Shift” does a good job in presenting the isolation of working overnight in a building, let alone a police station. There’s a sense of boredom that our main character feels at first, and then things go off the rails as the film progresses. There are plenty of jump scars, as I stated, and there’s an attention to details related to the loneliness and boredom that comes with isolation. However, the movie takes a turn into the macabre several times, and you are in for a great treat if you stick with it.

The pacing is a little slow at first, but it slowly builds drama, and eventually unleashes a torrent of scary moments. It isn’t full of gore, it features very few people involved, and it just simply works on several levels. You don’t need much to make a good horror or psychological film, and “Last Shift” is definitely one of them. It has a lot of tension, and supernatural elements to make you keep watching. Even though it starts off slow, it picks up just in time and leaves you enjoying the moments. It’s not the best movie, but man does it get you at times. I liked it. I recommend it, and of course you should check it out.

Add “Last Shift” to your dvd collection or stream it byclicking here. 

Mom and Dad Review

Mom and Dad (2018) Poster 

Have you ever wanted to see Nicolas Cage go full blown Nic Cage? Well, then for that reason alone you have to take some time out of your oh so busy schedule to check out the psuedo-horror film, "Mom and Dad", which takes on a whole new meaning to the ideas of zombies, and technology as a whole.

The start of this movie is safe enough, the average home, and then things start to get a little odd. Nic Cage starts to have a bit of a problem in his ear, and there's an audible issue that no one is really sure why. Then we are taken to an average high school where the teachers are finding out that there's a problem. The problem? Parents are starting to kill their children, and that they should not be left out.

Of course, that doesn't stop a couple of kids from escaping, but all hell breaks loose as parents break down the gates and doors and start attacking. This is like zombies, but we don't see anyone getting eaten, as much as they are getting killed. We see a few notes of the parents, their problems, and the way that life was with backdrops that are interesting, but overall this is a showcase of horror for Nic Cage and Selma Blair, whom are middle-aged and having marital problems, blaming it on their kids.

The movie is fast paced, without a lot of filler, focusing on the larger story, then going back and forth to fill in the gaps for why Nic Cage and his Wife are feeling a bit down about being parents and in their 40s. There are call backs to the past, but there's a frequent focus on the frenetic pace afterwards, with a lot of shaking of the camera, and fast running with a zombie like frenzy at times. If you like the Italian zombie movies, then you'll like the way this is treated, as the parents are in a frenzy to kill their kids.

Meanwhile, the kids get the upper hand, and there's a lot of push back, and it all leads to some pretty gruesome sequences, and some hard hits, with great stunt work. I'm surprised at the quality of the cinematography, considering this wasn't a big budget movie at all. In fact, I was so impressed, that I ended up surprised by the ending, which doesn't really bring about closure. However, there's some serious fight here.

"Mom and Dad" is a movie that takes a zombie type of premise, and then shoves in a revenge plot and much more. It's hardcore, yet it's somewhat tame in certain areas. It's Nic Cage going full Nic Cage, to a laughable level at times. It's a fast paced, good working movie, and something that I doubt you're going to hate, unless you hate Nic Cage. I loved it. I am highly recommending this one.

Hey, hey, if you want to get this movie on Blu Ray, make sure that you click HERE and pick it up.

Deep Red Review

Deep Red Poster (1975)

One of the best directors in horror is Dario Argento. He is an Italian horror director that creates lavish set pieces, with amazing colors and commentary that is absolutely grand. I love his work, and have reviewed many of his movies on this website. However, today, we are going to talk about one of my favorite movies of his, and it’s “Deep Red”. This is a movie that features a lot of different elements that you would get from horror, and with the idea of “Gialo” detective movies. The music, the visuals, and the story will definitely stun most.

The movie features a man that looks a lot like Paul McCartney, and he is a piano player. He is working on a piece when something happens during a lecture. A psychic seems to see something evil, and she senses it. When this is all said and done, she goes to her apartment, and out comes a figure in the dark and hatchets her to death! I kid you not. You don’t see the killer, you get a POV version of the events. This also occurs to several other people that have something to do with the music, and our main composer is on the hunt, alongside a journalist. The two have a slight love story, but the bodies keep piling up. Along the way, you get to see POV style death sequences that are over the top, grotesque, and yet charming with the way that Dario Argento works through the color palette and the music of Goblin. Great stuff.

The movie is a bit slow, and my version of the movie didn’t have subtitles at all. It would cut in and out of Italian, and it was a bit difficult to manage. There was dubbing for half of the movie, and the other half had Italian. Now, I speak Spanish and Italian is not too far away from it. I liked that, and it was interesting to listen to the languages. Goblin’s score is great overall, and I loved it.

As for the movie, this is an interesting take on horror, and features a detective subplot, with a little love thrown into the overall elements. However, when the killer is revealed, you feel like air is coming out of a balloon slowly. The buildup is epic, but you’re going to end up laughing at the ludicrous nature, and the overall findings. It’s funny, and not at all what you’d expect. However, the special effects, the visual design, and the movie is quite good overall.

Dario Argento’s “Deep Red” has a lot of creepy moments. Good direction, misdirection, and quality music from Giorgio Gaslini and Goblin. It really is a good horror movie, and it’s paced well, with some great elements of fear, especially considering this was from 1975 of all years.

You can pick up “Deep Red” on blu ray by clicking here. It’s worth checking out, especially on Halloween!

Did you see “Deep Red”? If you did, drop me a comment below.

Alien: Covenant Review

Alien Covenant Movie Poster 

I finally sat down to watch the latest movie in the “Alien” series. “Alien: Covenant” is supposed to be a sequel to the science fiction film from 2012 “Prometheus”. If you saw that one, then you already know how this is going to turn out. Ridley Scott helms the director’s seat for this one, and while I was excited to see it at first glance, it turned out to be a little different than I wanted. In fact, this was not that grand, and unfortunately, the more I think about the movie, the less I like it compared to a lot of the other movies from the past.

“Alien: Covenant” is a movie about a ship that gets stuck on a rescue mission. As they are trying to rescue a ship, they go down to a planet and investigate, only to find out that there’s something disturbing on board, aliens! That’s where the problems begin for me. There are several elements of the movie that make no sense, including the death of someone’s wife, that doesn’t lead to an ultimate revenge. If you recall “Skull Island”, a character loses his platoon, and he vows super revenge, and it goes through the movie, motivating the character. This time around, someone loses their wife, and you just get some odd facial expressions, and that’s about it. That’s not all, the aliens themselves are CG and it looks terrible compared to the people in the movie. I saw this on Blu Ray and it particularly looked bad.

The movie was slow. So slow that I wanted to give up on it. It had several layers, and a nod to Mary Shelley at one point, but it was so tedious that I was bored to death by the time things started to go off the rails. This is a movie that requires your attention, and you have to forgive it for a lot of the plot holes and lackluster writing. However, as far as atmosphere, Scott does a good job of creating a good overall movie that fits within the series. “Alien: Covenant” is not my favorite, it lacks a lot of elements, and it is paced so slow.

This is not a great movie. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s definitely not what you’re going to expect if you’re a fan of the original. I think it’s worth checking out, but as far as the bigger picture is concerned, I’m not a fan of this movie. “Alien: Covenant” is just a slow moving science fiction film, which is not memorable at all. Maybe there’s a silver lining upon further viewings, but honestly, I don’t really want to dig through this movie again, it kind of bored me. It has some good visuals, good gore, interesting plot points and setup, but the follow through and ending just isn’t the same as the original or even as good as “Prometheus” if I’m being really honest.

You can purchase “Alien: Covenant” on Blu Ray by clicking here.

Did you see “Alien: Covenant”? What did you think? Drop me a line.

Interstellar Review

I didn’t want to watch Interstellar when it first came out. I thought it would be boring. So I didn’t watch it until it finally came out to streaming. After seeing it, I can definitely say it is one of my favorite science fiction movies. If I had a top 3 for last year, I would say that Ex Machina, Elysium, and Interstellar as my favorites from the past year. Whatever the case may be, this is a movie that deserves your time, even if some may say that it’s too long. Interstellar is one hell of a movie.

The movie has a complex premise. The world, in the future, is getting dusty and farmers are going to have a difficult time feeding the world. NASA needs to send astronauts to other worlds to get data to inhabit another earth, or humanity is doomed. Meanwhile there’s an issue going on at a former pilot’s house. A smart daughter, a dumb son, and their future seems to be pushing forward through life, setting up something grand for the future. Now, there’s a subplot here involving a ghost, and the first lines of the film give away that, but most don’t realize what is going on, so they keep going. The movie then pushes forward with our astronauts heading to a new planet to see what is going on.

In the course of over 3 hours, we meet our astronauts, NASA, and much more. There are surprising elements, including a villain that is cryogenic freeze. A fist fight on another planet, and an incredible tidal wave that looks like a building. Science is explained often, and there’s even a video about all the science issues that are described in the movie done by Cinemasins.

You can purchase Interstellar on Blu Ray Here (amazon).

Interstellar is a long movie. It’s a long epic film that nods at Stanley Kubrick’s vision from the past, but gives you something new. There’s a lot of heady material here. It’s perhaps the most science heavy movie that I’ve seen, and really enjoyed the way the movie comes through. The larger picture is a lot more villainous than meets the eye, and it’s done in such an interesting manner. Christopher Nolan pushes the limits here, once again giving you a visual feast. The movie is spotless in a lot of ways, and deserves to be seen in a large format. Imax would’ve been absolutely splendid.

The movie is hard to watch if you’re tired. It’s not action packed. There are no explosions for the sake of it, there’s nothing that you would find in a Michael Bay film. There’s a lot of layers to this movie. From science, cinematography, art, and acting. Even though there are minor gripes, the majority of the movie’s focus on love, loss, distance, time, science, time travel, and visual design is epic in scope. It’s for this reason why we go to the movies. I was more compelled by Interstellar than ANY Star Wars film ever made. There’s a reason why this movie lost so many, and it’s an intelligence factor that wins me over.

There’s fear in this movie, a real fear. You’re going to sense it as you get into the isolation that the astronauts are in. The performances are done well, including the future, past, and present. I am once again completely flabbergasted by Matthew McConaughey’s performance. Anne Hathaway is good, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, and Matt Damon put on a showcase. There are some other great performances here, but this movie really does great to showcase the power of acting, and cinema as a whole.

Interstellar is a heady film. It’s on the same par as Primer and Timecrimes. Two of my personal favorite movies. You have to check this one out. It’s a beautiful movie. It’s available right now on Blu RAY and quite a hefty movie. It is more than just a science fiction movie, and you’ll see it when you decide to settle in for the moody dialogue and more.

Check out Cinemasins below to see spoilers, and science notes about the movie.

The Twilight Zone Mr. Denton on Doomsday (1959) Review

Mr Denton Contemplates Fate

Back to our regularly scheduled program, we have been discussing The Twilight Zone from start to finish, and here I am with another edition. This time around, we are at episode 3. This episode originally hit the airwaves in 1959. It stars Martin Landau, Jeanne Cooper, and Dan Duryea. It’s well acted, streamlined, and hits you right in the “what if” cycle of life. There are some interesting puns used for this episode, and things really get through to a whole different wavelength then the previous two episodes of the series. This is a serious mind numbing episode, because if you’re like me, you are a bit anxious about your own abilities. The story is interesting, set in the wild west, a drunkard is made to dance and sing for his drink. There is a group of bullies that continually tease and cause him to dance and drink, and he hits rock bottom. Jeanne Cooper here is absolutely beautiful, as she comes out of the saloon to talk to Denton and encourage him for to change. Denton being the drunk.

The Twilight Zone One For The Angels – Season 1 Episode 2 (1959) Review

Twilight Zone - Episode 2: One For The Angels - Blu Ray Here

The second episode of the mighty Twilight Zone series was definitely a serious one. It hit me hard as I watched it again for the purpose of a review for this site. This one written by Rod Serling, is a powerful, and moving story of a man that meets up with death. Ed Wynn plays Lou Bookman, and Murray Hamilton plays “death”. When a man is approached by death himself, he starts to panic, and tries to get out of dying, as he wants to continue staying alive. It’s his time though, but Bookman, finds a way to get a little more time, thinking he has outsmarted death this time around, and therefore puts on a showcase, only to find out that if he doesn’t go, someone else just might. It’s there that the morality play starts and ends, in my opinion.

The Skin I Live In Review

The Skin I Live In - Blu Ray/DVD Combo Available Here

Pedro Almodovar put together one of the most compelling and horrific movies I’ve ever seen. I forget to talk about it, so today, we’re going to take a look back at the 2011 movie “The Skin I Live In”, as it is one of the most horror filled, psychological thrillers I’ve ever seen. It’s a very fascinating movie that moves towards horror as the story reveals. It’s perhaps the finest Spanish movie I’ve seen in a long time, and if you haven’t seen it, oh boy, you’re in for a serious trip.

The movie is simple enough. A plastic surgeon has been working towards helping create a resource for individuals that have skin disorders. He works on mice, and there’s been great results. He talks about how he has been working with live individuals, and upon doing so, he is fired. The doctor now without help is told to stop experimenting immediately, etc.

The Twilight Zone Where Is Everybody – Season 1 Episode 1 (1959) Review

Where Is Everybody? Episode 1 Season 1 of The Twilight Zone

As promised, here we go, talking about all things Twilight Zone. We start with the first episode entitled “Where Is Everybody”. Going back to see this one, my wife and I were guessing as to the plot twist. Knowing full well that Rod Serling twists and turns in his writing, we each had different ideas as to what was going on with the character.

In this episode a man finds himself alone in an empty town. He has a lot of dialogue, and yet he isn’t talking to anyone. He keeps looking for people and eventually gives up. When a phone rings, he figures he has found someone and can call for help. It’s to no avail. As he goes through the empty city, there are signs of life, but he starts to panic. As panic keeps setting in he eventually realizes that he’s alone, and perhaps he may be the last one. The direct symbolism that is shown with the books “The Last Man On Earth” really comes through as our hero runs into mirrors, tries to figure out what is going on, and just can’t seem to figure out what is going on and why he is stuck.

The Twilight Zone Season 1 Blu Ray - On Sale here!

Pick Up The Twilight Zone Box Set by Clicking Here, and save up to 40% on the complete Blu Ray Edition of the series!

Earl Holliman here does a great job. He plays it straight before going into a deep madness. When he thinks it’s all over, we see a group of men sitting in a room watching. They are from the Air Force, and it’s revealed that our hero was stuck in a sensory deprivation, virtual reality room. It took him 484 hours and 36 minutes to finally panic from the isolation. As the press rushes in they question the Air Force, and it is revealed that they were testing to see how long a person can last alone, traveling in space, and that Mike Ferris was able to go 484 hours, ample time to get to the moon and back without going insane.

With the Twilight Zone’s first season, you really got a sense for the series. Earl Holliman should be praised for his acting skills in this one. He plays it well and then goes insane over the course of a half an hour. The writing is crisp, even though it was originally aired in 1959. Rod Serling has a way of writing very well, with good overall music by Bernard Hermann, and cinematography by Joseph La Shelle.

This episode made me question isolation myself. How long could you go without human interaction? I work solo, as a writer. I haven’t had a coworker since 2009. I wonder how long it will take me to crack? Until then, this is a great episode of this classic series.

The Twilight Zone Complete Season 1 is available here on Blu Ray. You can also see it via streaming  media, but if you want to collect this, go for it, and get the box set by clicking here. It’s well worth your time, if I do say so myself.

Carrie (1976) Review

Carrie is one of those movies that people claim is a classic. Recently, I purchased it on Blu Ray, and wanted to watch it again. The previous time I saw it was when I was a teenager. I picked this up and watched it with fresh eyes, and realized that there are some very interesting ideas pushed forward. Brian De Palma directs this movie, and while it definitely does well to introduce the world of Stephen King to the masses, it doesn’t hold up the way I thought it would. De Palma’s direction is on point, but other than that, I found myself reconsidering some of the ideas pushed in the movie.

There is no real reason why people hate Carrie. Maybe in the book they explore it a bit more, but in the movie, things are just no good for 17-year old Carrie. People seem to hate her, her mother is bad, and she is just trying to navigate high school like anyone else. It’s very odd to me, but you get through the movie with the set up that no one likes her.

Sissy Spacek is a lovely girl, but when watching the opening for this movie, I found De Palma over sexualizing things. The camera goes through like a porno movie from that era. If you have seen any adult cinema from the 1970s you immediately get notes from the many movies that were of the era. What I didn’t like here is that the viewer is looking into a teenage locker room, with full nudity. You’re supposed to be seeing underage girls naked? I found the notion a bit odd. Yes, it’s a movie, and all the actresses are over 18, but they are playing underage, it’s a bit unnerving.

Aside from the sexual tones of the movie, there is a quality revenge coming through. Just when you start to like Carrie, she breaks because of the swerve that happens to her. The blood, her telekinetic powers, and the ultra-revenge comes through. Not as bad as “They Call Her One Eye”, but nothing can be so graphic. Carrie gets her revenge, the movie goes into disaster, her mom gets it too, and then it just ends. I didn’t like the sudden ending and nothing else.

Overall, the movie is stated to be a Stephen King classic. Carrie from 1976 isn’t half bad. I don’t think it’s as amazing as some people say. I don’t think it’s as grand, but Spacek’s acting, and the over sexual tones make this a nice glimpse of the 1970s and how many changes have come to movie making. De Palma’s work is good here, even though it’s far from his best movie. If you’re going to pick this one up, get the Carrie Limited Edition Blu Ray, otherwise, meh, I can go without seeing it again for a long time.

Pick up Carrie on Blu Ray Here, for fans of Stephen King and classic 1970s cinema. 

Elysium Review

I am pretty jaded about a lot of things. However, this weekend I was able to sit down and watch Elysium on blu ray. I’m one of the few that still rents movies from Netflix, and this was definitely one of the options I have been waiting to see for some time. I didn’t know anything about the movie going in, other than it was a science fiction movie and that Matt Damon was in it. That’s all I knew about it.

The story as it goes is a compelling one. The visual design flow of the movie is absolutely fantastic. There’s a lot going for this movie in terms of looks. I love the views. I love the presentation of a dystopian Los Angeles in contrast to the Elysium luxury living element. I loved the clarity of the presentation, and I didn’t get lost in anything.

The movie flows through a major theme of poverty, immigration, and the future. I felt compelled by the story because I am a naturalized American. I was born in Mexico and came to this country for a better life, and in the movie it’s represented in a fashion that is closely held to my heart. It showcases a struggle, and it showcases reality in ways that great media does.

Aside from the themes, we get a good performance from Matt Damon. I loved his working class job, his heroics in hopes of helping himself not only live, but his first love’s child live. I love the juxtaposition created with the rogue agent as well, and the political elements involved were grand too. Overall, the movie had a lot to offer in terms of story, visuals, and continuity.

This movie made a lot more sense in terms of fighting and themes than “The Dark Knight”. I loved the way things moved forward in this and the social class, justice system, and science fiction elements all work like a very good novel. I knew the story before I saw it happen on screen as there’s some predictable moments here. However, I found myself completely enthralled with the movie as a whole. There are so many great elements here, and the end result, is a hero’s tale that is absolute, it’s perfect. I loved it.

Elysium is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. Thematically it’s brilliant. The acting is good. There is a lot here, especially in terms of fighting, political exploitation, and so much more. There’s layers to this. I don’t know, maybe I just connected with the notion of immigration and health care. Maybe it’s not that great, but I know one thing’s for sure, this is a heady and serious movie if you let it be. Otherwise, it’s an entertaining science fiction movie with lots of tropes you already know, but with a passion for something greater. I loved it. I highly recommend this one. Visually complex, great narrative, and heavy handed at times, I think it’s the best in a long time.

Pick up Elysium on BLU RAY here, It’s a great science fiction picture.

Deep Blue Sea Review

I know I promised to talk about the Leprechaun series, but I have been having a hard time transitioning. I moved from Los Angeles to Indianapolis, and my hopes of meeting new people, and having a different life has really been thwarted by the same issues I’ve always seemed to have. If you want to help me out in any way, make sure that you use the Amazon options that I recommend to pick up movies. Each sale helps me out a little bit. That’s partially the reason why I am not writing as many reviews, as I don’t have a way to watch more movies, now that I do not have Netflix. I did manage to catch “Deep Blue Sea” so here I go, giving you another shot in the arm from the longest running horror blog that I know of, because I don’t know about a lot of others!

This movie takes the concepts that you may have seen in first person shooters and takes on “Jaws”. There’s a secret lab where scientists are working with sharks, helping them get smarter, in order to cure human disease. However, during the course of their work, they have caused a great deal of problems. Mainly, the sharks are now getting mad and know how to fight back, or whatever. The movie doesn’t really take off until the sharks starts to go mad and traps a research team. The team must escape, and overcome their own personal issues to rise through the flooded research center.

Pick up “Deep Blue Sea” BLU RAY, or other horror films by clicking here!!!

So while this movie isn’t scary, it has horror elements that are supposed to “thrill”. It’s listed as science fiction, and it truly does put on a showcase. I can see this as a pulp novel, and it truly works well in that regards. The characters are all archetypes. Thomas Jane, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, and Samuel L. Jackson are the stand outs, especially the ultimate death scene! The biggest death scene here is of course Jackson throwing down an amazing speech, only to get eaten by a shark! I loved it, you loved it and the internet meme’d the crap out of it.

Breaking down this film into anything other than just a throwaway blockbuster is disingenuous. I can’t really say that this is a bad movie, because it’ not “bad”. But it’s not exactly great, or good either. It’s a nice romp through a very isolated area. It’s nice to get a throwback to that classic science fiction style that made the 1960s so grand. However, outside of some shining lights from Jackson and LL Cool J, this is a trope that is so predictable, you get tired.

You either love “Deep Blue Sea” or you don’t, it’s that simple. I found it to be funny, and enjoyable. However, it may be fueled by the fact that I’m having a hard time financially, so it was nice to have a distraction for a couple of hours. You can pick up “Deep Blue Sea” on BLU RAY here, or don’t, no one ever listens to me anyways.

Tusk Review

Kevin Smith made one of my favorite movies. When “Clerks” came out, I was 11. I didn’t know that just a few years later I would fall in love with being a video store clerk. To this day, I wish I was jocking a counter instead of being an idiot. I loved every minute of it. However, today, is not about the past, it’s about the future, or rather present, or something. Today I will be trying to make sense of a movie that my wife decided to nearly throw a shoe at. “Tusk” is a movie that will divide your senses as you perceive it as a dark comedy, or a horror movie. Whatever the case is, this is one hell of a narrative.

The setup is simple. An abusive, idiot of a douche played by Justin Long is on his way to interview an internet sensation. He has a podcast that talks about weird people, and things. He ventures to Canada where he finds himself at a loss. The interviewee dies and he’s left without someone to interview. Told through flashbacks, however, is his life with his girlfriend and friend. It turns out he’s not such a good guy and you start thinking that he deserves whatever is coming to him. What he ends up moving forward with will have you creeped out, especially after you realize that this concept is based on a story that Kevin Smith came up with after reading Craigslist ads.

The movie moves towards horror in the mid-section. Our interviewer meets an eccentric old man who literally turns the guy into a walrus. That’s right, gore and all the dude turns his victims into walruses, and that sparks his friends to come search for him. Well, that leads to a midpoint of boredom. Johnny Depp shows up as a detective, although his story takes too much time to explain, and nearly forced me to sleep.

All in all, “Tusk” is a horror movie with comedy elements. There are some sick moments, some absolute twisted elements. However, there are also comedic disjointed positions. Overall, it’s a movie that fills the time with “what if”, and then launches you into a “Twilight Zone” level production. The end result is one of my favorites, seeing as this movie appears to be more related to a grindhouse film than anything else. It’s slick, it’s done well, it lags a bit here and there, but in the end, you go full Walrus. I loved it. I recommend “Tusk” as an oddity of horror and comedy. I think Troma should’ve done this one, but that’s just me. Smith does well here, and it shows. Check it out on blu ray today.

5 Horror and Science Fiction Movies Where The Future Sucks To Live In

For literary fans, you’ll already know that the future is not fun. Whether you choose Bradbury or Asimov, or just about any writer that talks about science fiction, the future is going to be awful. Then there is the mighty cinema world, and you’ll find that the horror movies, and stories that are lifted from the science fiction world as well, point towards a future that just isn’t fun.

There are a lot of movies that deal with the future, and I have even been toying around with making my thesis fit the mold. When cycling through movies to watch, and you want to set a theme, there are a handful of movies that you have to watch in order to get a feel for this notion that the future is going to be grim.

The following horror movies and cult classics show a future that is not good, but that’s ok, because there’s hope for a brighter future in iconic characters, killer sets, and pure frenzy. You think “The Purge” had some screwed up moments, check the following movies for absurdity, or perhaps a future that is just not worth living in. (Don’t do anything drastic, this is just a blog)

Escape From New York (1981)

Oh no, the president is trapped on an island that has become a prison! Kurt Russell not only introduced Super Bowl teams and drives a sick ride in “Death Proof”, he is none other than “SNAKE”. He is the only man that can go into Manhattan, which is now a prison island, and rescue the president. Not since “Bad Dudes” have we seen such a badass premise. The movie holds up well, and the future world here is a cesspool that becomes awful, thanks to World War 3. No, not the WCW ppv where 60, yes 60, professional wrestlers are involved in a single battle royal. It’s 3 rings, it’s 60 superstars, and the winner gets a shot at the title or it gets the title themselves. There was even a point where a bit of controversy happened. You know, when Macho Man won the title and it was supposed to be Hogan. A visibly upset Hogan protested but it was Macho that one. Anyways, “Escape From New York” is an incredible cult classic that showcases Kurt Russell’s ass kicking persona, after he wore tennis shoes and was a computer. Oh man, where’s Little Dee Dee Ramone? He’d find this funny. Too bad you can’t bury the hatchet with someone that has gone missing. I’ll digress. They made a sequel, but this remains an insane piece of cinema, and one that you’ll have to see. The movie was set in the far off year of 1997! Oh no! Those damn dirty Apes….what? Wrong movie? Right.

Robocop (1987)

Detroit is a mess. More so than it is now, in the future the police force becomes a private affair. A libertarian’s dream, the police becomes privatized, and we get a super cop. No it’s not Jackie Chan as inspector Lee, it’s a man they call “Murphy”. No, not “Beverly Hills Cop”, but “Robocop”. In the future, ultra violence and overkill becomes a standard. You’ll recognize Red Foreman as one of the villains, long before he was threatening to shove a foot in his teenage son’s ass, he was tearing up the mean streets of New York. According to the internet, the ultimate source for misinformation, Robocop is set in 2043 or 2044, and the way things are going, it very well may be right. Before you go and see the new movie, get a group of friends (or in my case, no friends, just 3 cats) and watch the trilogy again. Released in 1987, this ultra-violent movie was probably one of the coolest movies my parents let me see when I was a kid. I was 4 years old when this one hit theaters and my dad let me check this one out in the grindhouse theaters of East Los Angeles. Classic double features, I don’t remember what this one was paired in.

Time Crimes (2007)

I’ve never been to Spain. Perhaps it’s because I’m Mexican, but Spain doesn’t always get the romantic symbolism that the rest of the world gives it. That has nothing to do with this entry, but I thought I would try to say something about it, because I want to create more word count, or “fluff” as some article marketers blame me for. You try writing 500 words on trampolines, and then tell me you can’t put fluff in it. Yeah, it’s not easy. Especially when the client gives you a picture, and you’re supposed to create 1,000 words from it. Anyways, Time Crimes is a Spanish film that is incredible. It is the first movie that I found to be a mix of horror and science fiction within a very good time lapse. This movie follows a man that is being chased by a man in a mask. However, as the story unfolds, more and more time paradoxes are created and the story starts to unravel so many points of view that you’ll be asking question after question. Some may find Hector to be a stupid main character, others will see this as a smart, killer science fiction movie. Only after writing a great deal of this, did I realize that this is not a future shock movie at all. Actually, it kind of makes me wish for the future, because it’s not half bad.

Judge Dredd (1995)

Quite possibly the worst movie on this list, which immediately makes it the BEST movie on this list, right? Stallone’s iconic poster is incredible, at least for me. The movie is set in the third millennium, and the Earth is horrible. Left to waste away and die, essentially, the justice system is no longer what you may think. The police is now judges (very much like the Bible), and street justice happens all to many times. When a serial murder escapes, the Law has to chase down the culprit, but not without introducing Judge Dredd aka Stallone. This movie may be awful to most, but it went on to make 113 million dollars, proving yet again the critics are stupid and don’t showcase any sort of intelligence. This is a legitimate action film, but features dystopian qualities, and has nothing to do with horror. Ok, maybe a small thing to do with it, or perhaps I’m just reaching here. Yeah, I’m reaching, but that’s because I can’t remember every single film that has a dystopian view point, maybe “Book of Eli” should’ve been in here.

Soylent Green (1973)

The 1973 film “Soylent Green” features a future in 2022. It is an awful place, where poverty, global warming, overpopulation, and oh crap it’s already happening! This movie features an interesting premise, where the food supply is pushed onto the world with a whole new sense of appeal. Soylent Green is a food ration that is supposed to save the planet, only it’s being made of a very strange substance….or perhaps not so strange! Should I ruin it? No, just go and watch the movie and see why Charlton Heston makes a compelling character. This is a cool film, that features a future that is completely scary. It’s a slow moving, somewhat boring movie, but it is still an iconic tale of a future that may not be so far off. The future definitely sucks in “Soylent Green”.

You can always come up with other movies, like Alien, Book of Eli, Generation Doom, Tank Girl, and so many other movies that could easily fit in this category. I didn’t want to focus just on dystopia. However, movies that are set in the future and fit the category of horror is tough. I guess I could’ve talked about The Omega Man, but eh, by the time I got to this I stopped caring about the title and even the grammar, citations, and more. I guess that’s what happens when you are a sole writer, editor, and sometimes reader of this site. Want to help? Buy a dvd or two from the links provided.

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Horror With New Eyes

It was Saturday March 29, 2008 in the early morning that I first came up with the website Scary Film Review. That was after a few months of me writing a blog called The Mexican Dvd Review. I ran that thing for around 8 months before shutting it down to work on something else. I first wanted to do a site called “Sir Jorge’s Macabre DVD” and that didn’t last long.

After throwing around some ideas, I finally got a circuit of free time and decided to go with the name Scary Film Review. It started modestly out of an apartment in Seattle’s lower Queen Anne district. I was living next door to Pesos, a popular Mexican food joint. I recall some good times and some bad times there, nothing that I want to really elaborate on, but I would rent a lot of horror movies from Blockbuster. At the time I had Blockbuster’s rival for Netflix and it had unlimited exchanges for rentals inside the store. So in a week’s time, I could watch roughly 18 horror movies a week. I took full advantage since we didn’t have cable television for a minute. We eventually got cable, and it was a point of contention for a long time.

The site progressed and it went through a lot of changes, ups and downs and eventually became the powerhouse that you’re reading today. I went through a lot of stages, and talked to a lot of people about horror movies, what I liked and disliked, and just found myself using it as an excuse to try and make some money with something that I love.

The times change, and well, I’ve changed a lot too. I see things a bit differently, and celebrate a lot more ideology than previously admitted. I’m not religious, not married, and no longer a stranger in Seattle. I’m now a 30 year old stuck in Southern California, or not stuck, but rather new to the area that I’m in. I still feel isolated, with no family, no friends, and just a few cats and my girlfriend. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s definitely far from the vision that I had for myself.

Scary Film is a website dedicated to all things horror and will continue to be such. However, I have new eyes. I’m older, I am amidst graduate school, and I am finding things out about myself that I never thought of before. I see this site as a work of great labor, and since March 2008, have done something grand. This site lasted longer than my marriage did, and I’m trying hard to keep it alive and well.

I could use help.

If you can buy a dvd, bookmark the amazon links, or donate, do so. This is part of my income stream and I do not have a 9 to 5 job. If you like horror movies and want me to continue, than please, subscribe, comment, and join me on Facebook and what not. I’m returning to a whole new set of movies that you may have seen me talk about in the past, but with new eyes, as I feel far different than I did in 2008.

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Anna Scream Queen Killer Review

Chemical Burn Entertainment has been sending me a lot of stuff and I am a terrible person, because I keep forgetting to review their stuff. But that is all changing because I’m now starting to watch things and the first one is this one, Anna: Scream Queen Killer. This release had a lot of upside at first glance with a lot of cool things to consider. The synopsis was interesting, the cover art is good, and then what you get is something that you may not expect.

The movie is essentially one woman’s tour de force performance about being a scream queen in the world of horror. It starts with her auditioning for a part and going through a lot of the motions that many actresses probably deal with. As the movie progresses however, she is asked to do more and more extreme things until things get really bad. The more she goes into the audition, the more sinister things become and the more she ends up doing against her will.

After while she starts to get asked to do insane things, bloody things and well she is trapped, kidnapped, raped and tortured. As the movie progresses, she has to fight back and eventually things start looking better.

The synopsis aside, this is not a great film. It’s a boring romp that takes a lot of will power to watch all the way through. It is a very low budget affair, and it features a lot of dialogue with one person and a camera. It’s very much a POV type of role that is not too entertaining at all. I found that the star, Melanie Denholme has done a good job here but it lacks progression, cinematography and compelling plot points and separations. It’s a good idea, but it’s not executed well. I didn’t really like it, and don’t know a lot of people that will love this film. However, that is not to say that you should try, give it a shot if you love horror, as Chemical Burn is trying hard to unleash the best and sometimes worst in horror movies and independent film. They are doing more than I am, that’s for sure. That is worth commending. Melanie Denholme makes this movie watchable, but it’s not easy. I wouldn’t mind meeting her, and discussing things, but alas, I’m a blogger that has no real power.

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4 Movies To Watch After The Collection

I reviewed The Collection here, and it sparked an interesting thought process for me, one that I am going to expound upon here. The movie is very much in the same profile as many others that have come out in the past. For those that are looking for horror movies similar to The Collection, here are 5 films that you want to take a look at, as they may impress you more. At the very least, you will enjoy the stories, as they are similar in tone.

Cube – Strangers found in a strange locale is not new to the horror genre, but when you go with a minimal budget and throw in the idea of a maze that is very much isolated to a structure that is geometrically shaped, you have a movie that hits you like a punch to the jejunum. It isolates the fear and suspense in a minimalist way, without relying on parlor tricks to get you to squeal. By the time the main character figures out just what is going on, it’s just the beginning. This one stands up amongst similar movies in this genre.

Hostel – A party turned into a disaster? Well, no movie does it quite as well as Eli Roth’s follow up to “Cabin Fever”. I hate the term notion of “torture porn” as I do not feel that it’s worthy of the use of either term. I found it to be very much a scary pitch into what many students experience on a regular basis. Just as Amanda Knox whether or not this gives her nightmares. Sometimes fiction and reality come crashing in a deluge of emotion, and this is one that can do a lot of damage to you if you’re afraid of traveling abroad.

House of 1,000 Corpses – When Rob Zombie decided to make a horror movie that would showcase his love for the genre, few people imagined he would go the route that he did. Some called it a clone, I call it a tribute, as it certainly had elements of many of my favorites. An up and coming Chris Hardwick and Rainn Wilson are two of the main actors in this movie, and it really is like The Collection in tone, if not more isolated gore and nudity. There are a lot of layers here, so pay close attention to the tributes.

Saw – The mother of the genre, in many people’s minds, still holds up today. It does so in a way that most people still want to call “porn” but I don’t feel that way. When I first saw it, it blew me away. It still holds up because of the way it’s all played out. It is very subtle in the way it approaches the subject matter, and then uses brutality as a way of redemption. It works. The sequels don’t, but the original does quite well overall.

These 4 movies are similar in tone to The Collection, but overall they stand on their own for a variety of reasons. If you’re a horror movie fan, you’ve probably already seen the aforementioned so this exercise in repetition will not necessarily be something out of the ordinary. If you haven’t picked up these movies, purchase them today and see how they measure up to the latter.

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The Collection Review

Last night I was feeling great, I had taken a shake in for a try. It had hemp in it, and I made my classic “I’m getting high” joke. For those that aren’t familiar with hemp, it’s a derivative of marijuana, but has no thc. It does however have a high protein content, and is gluten free, soy free, and safe for those that have hypothyroidism. I don’t have it, but I like making hemp jokes, even if I am the only one that finds them funny at this juncture. After said shake, I decided to watch The Collection. I’ve been putting off watching a lot of horror movies because I have been depressed for some time, and it’s just been difficult overall. I’m feeling a tad bit better, so today, we will explore this film.

Another Saw Clone?

The Collection is in the same line as the movie that came out in 2009 called The Collector. I reviewed that movie, to no fanfare on August 10, 2009. That was when I was still living in Seattle, Washington and working for Snowboard Connection. I sometimes wish I still worked for them, I loved the action sports industry, but alas, here I am watching and writing this review.

This movie turns up the ultra-violence fast. It has possibly one of the most gore-filled scenes in movie history, and even though it’s all computer graphics, it still hits hard. The idea of a mass slaughter is not a good concept to me, but it’s effective in presenting how villainous the main character is. Once again, I have a hard time deciding who’s really to praise here, as we see a great deal of dichotomies formed from the start.

Following the plot is simple, we have our same victim from the first film, being rescued, but commissioned to return to the hell house to try and save a girl. We get a sliver of a back story and then we are thrust into a film that is very much like “Saw”. If you like a lot of gore, traps, and mazes, here is another great one. Although, the main character is not like Jigsaw in any way. He’s instead a masked villain that never shows his face.

A Different Movie At The End

In the final act, this movie really took on a whole new life. The visuals were very much like a Stallone movie from the 1980s. As the camera panned on our pseudo-hero, he looked very much like Sly with biceps bulging, and sweat dripping off of him in an inferno that he surely would die from. I just about had it with the movie at this point and was going to walk away unsatisfied with the whole thing, and then something grand happened.

I won’t spoil the ending, but holy crap, the last 10 minutes or so impressed the hell out of me. Visually, this portion is a masterpiece. The way it’s shot, the noises, the plot twist, and the way everything just became an art film, was just impressive. It is a payoff that I didn’t see coming, even though the credits ruined the whole thing. Classic slasher twists and turns, with a gore edge, which is worth a look. Is it my favorite? No. However, there’s enough here to get jaded horror movie fans to at least pay attention, and the film makers did a good job recreating the elements that made the first film worthwhile for me at the time. Check out The Collection on blu ray or dvd by clicking here.

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Sinister Review

There are a lot of movies that come out with the same premise as others, and this one seemed to have a similar idea going for it, although, it tried to make something new out of the trend of found footage horror movies. It’s with that in mind that we start to realize that the genre is not going anywhere, and while I may not love it, it is here to stay, much like the idea of torturous films after the “Saw” series came and went. With that in mind, enjoy the review of Sinister.

I wanted to see this movie when it came out initially, but as always, I wasn’t able to go for a variety of reasons. I tend not to have any money, and since no one that reads this site helps me out financially, it just isn’t possible for me to get entertained and write at the same time. It’s one or the other, and neither one pays. It’s that sort of reality that drives this movie, as we meet our hero, a struggling writer that moves into the house where a whole family is killed on a quest to write the best true crime book that he can. As he starts to connect the pieces of what really happened in the home, a manifestation starts to appear.

Much like other found footage movies, this one relies heavily on the premise that there was something supernatural on the other side of the film that caused the problems. In the end we get to see this demon of sorts and well, it’s highly predictable and laughable the way it ended. I didn’t like the way it turned out as it was a long and tedious romp through boredom to get to the final answer and to really understand what was going on.

Premise and boredom aside, Sinister does bring to light some very unique elements into the horror genre. There is the found footage thing, but the acting, and the urgency of the characters involved made you think twice about simply throwing in the towel for other entertainment choices. I found myself not only caring for the main characters but also wanting them to survive without a scratch. You know that wasn’t going to happen, and when you get the reveal, you feel a bit uneasy.

Overall, Sinister is an ok horror movie. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, unless they are diehard collectors. If you want to get it, it’s available on Blu Ray and other formats. Check it out, buy it on amazon and help a brotha out.