Scary Film Review: April 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Monthly Death Toll April 2009 Edition

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Horror Movies That Came Out April 2009

Here we are again, the last Tuesday in April and Here are the exciting movie releases for the week followed by the rest of the movies that came out this month. I've started to include Anime, as it is a fringe dvd category that people have asked for. I also added a few of my own picks and science fiction releases. Overall April has not been the biggest month so far in horror movies, but it was adequate. There are a few gems if you are going to purchase some dvd's. I have included links so that you can navigate your purchases easier, if you are going to buy any of these.

First up the horror movies that came out 4/28/2009:

Beck: Box Set Dvd
Cargo 200 Dvd
The Centerfold Girls Dvd
The Da Vinci Code Blu Ray Dvd
Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo The Complete Series Dvd
Kanon: The Complete Series Dvd
Martyrs Dvd
One Eyed Monster Dvd
The Possessed Dvd
Project Blue Earth SOS: Complete Box Set Dvd
Psychos in Love Dvd
The She Beast Dvd
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Blu Ray Dvd
Stephen King Presents Kingdom Hospital The Entire Series Dvd
Storm Cell Dvd
The Third Complete Collection Dvd
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie Seasons 1 & 2 Dvd
The Uninvited Dvd
The Uninvited Blu Ray Dvd
While She Was Out Dvd

And here are the movies that Came out in April 2009, beginning with the list above and going through the first of the month:

Beck: Box Set Dvd
Cargo 200 Dvd
The Centerfold Girls Dvd
The Da Vinci Code Blu Ray Dvd
Gankutsuou: Count of Monte Cristo The Complete Series Dvd
Kanon: The Complete Series Dvd
Martyrs Dvd
One Eyed Monster Dvd
The Possessed Dvd
Project Blue Earth SOS: Complete Box Set Dvd
Psychos in Love Dvd
The She Beast Dvd
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Blu Ray Dvd
Stephen King Presents Kingdom Hospital The Entire Series Dvd
Storm Cell Dvd
The Third Complete Collection Dvd
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie Seasons 1 & 2 Dvd
The Uninvited Dvd
The Uninvited Blu Ray Dvd
While She Was Out Dvd
Ba'al: The Storm God Dvd
Disturbed Dvd
The Death Factory Bloodletting Dvd
Day the Earth Stood Still Dvd
Day the Earth Stood Still Blu Ray Dvd
Final Destination Blu Ray Dvd
Giant Spider Invasion Dvd
House Dvd
The Loyal 47 Ronin Dvd
The Shaw Brothers Collection (personal favorite, not horror)
Swamp Devil Dvd
Taking Lives Blu Ray Dvd
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Dvd
Bled Dvd
Death Note: Box Set, Vol. 2
Exosquad: Season 1 Dvd (only cause I loved E-Swat on the Genesis)
My Best Friend's a Vampire (the Lost Collection) dvd
November Son Dvd
Repossessed Dvd
Slaughter High Dvd
Splinter Dvd
The Telling Dvd
Air: The Motion Picture Dvd
Air: The Complete Series Dvd
Ah My Buddha Volume 2 Dvd
The Arrival Blu Ray Dvd
The Burrowers Dvd
Ghost Train Dvd
Hellraiser: Box Set Dvd
Hellraiser Blu Ray Dvd
I Dismember Mama Dvd
Laid To Rest Dvd
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Complete Collection Dvd
Moonlight Mile: Complete First Season Dvd
Sam's Lake Dvd
Voyage of the Damned Dvd
The Wrestler Dvd
X-Men Trilogy Blu Ray Dvd
The Wrestler Blu Ray Dvd

There you have it, all the dvd releases in the horror/science fiction genre that were released this month. If you missed out on earlier months of movie releases, check out the following links:

Horror Movies That Came Out March 2009
Horror Movies That Came Out February 2009
Horror Movies That Came Out January 2009

Coming up tomorrow is the end of the month review post with all the movies that this blog has reviewed, and for Friday, finally a special review of a Dario Argento film as we begin May's horror movie reviews with a classic.

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, April 27, 2009

Nightmare City Review

I saw this video a while ago, but then I recently got a dvd of this film and instead of just throwing you a list, I'm going to review this film, then sending you through list hell for the three days following. This movie has a lot messed up things. There is a lot of different scenarios that are so unrealistic that you will laugh. The best part about this film is not so much the lack of story at times, it's the fact that the zombies are fast, they are smart, and they don't necessarily eat you. This is a great little Italian film that I enjoy, but not necessarily for the right reasons. So join me in a little review of Nightmare City.

Nightmare City is a 1980 Italian film by famed director Umberto Lenzi. The movie has been released in different names on video, including "Incubo Sulla Citta Contaminata" and "City of the Walking Dead" and of course Nightmare City. The movie immediately looks like an Italian movie, meaning that the distinct horror movie style that we have noticed in previous Italian Horror movies like "Cemetery Man", "The Church", and "The Night Train Murders", is again seen here. These "tells" of Italian genre horror is more than just terrible dubbing, it's olive tones, and muted colors alongside casual acting and panicking.

Here is a trailer for the 1980 Nightmare city:

The story is about a military plane that has emergency landed in an unnamed European airport, and the press is waiting for a scientist that is coming down. As the press and military await the plane's opening, something weird happens, it's not really explainable really, you just have to see the film. The doors open and out come fast zombies come busting out, stabbing and shooting people outside. This is insane, because the zombies don't really eat the victims, they jst kill them. They stab, shoot, and fight their way through people and magically, don't eat the victims.

The movie then slows down completely. you either love this portion of the film or you hate it. The movie slows down to a crawl and the story starts to take center stage and the film really doesn't make a lot of sense. The zombies also seem to show up at impromptu times, in odd places, an it just continues.

The makeup effects on some of the zombies is lackluster to say the least. The Zombies, at least some of them, have just black stuff on their face. There is a complete lack of attention to detail here, and it makes you kind of sad and/or mad. There are a lot of lazy moments in this film, and then the film pulls the ultimate lazy move...it restarts.

That's right, the end of the film is a restart of sorts. This will jolt you into a frenzy, and it is upsetting. I won't tell you the technique, but it's bad.

Is Nightmare City Scary? : No. This film is entertaining to me. However, there is nothing scary about it to me. Sure there are moments in other zombie films that are meant to be scary, but this film misses everything. Every point that you could possibly have to scare someone is missing in this film. This film is slow paced, and really only worth it for diehard fans of the genre.

I tried to think of the scariest thing for you guys, and the only thing that I could think of was the sub plot of the people stuck at the airport worried about their families. Yes, that can be scary, thinking that your family can be in the line of fire. Without technology, like cell phones, this movie makes a lot of sense and could be scary, only if you really think about that. The film is dated, it feels dated and really isn't worthwhile.

If you are a fan of the genre you might like this, otherwise you should just avoid it. Nightmare City is a nice little piece of film, however there are a lot of holes, and some obvious lazy film making. Nightmare city is scary, but not in the way you expect or want.

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, April 24, 2009

Crank 2 Review

Alright, I had to really think about doing this review. However, this morning I decided that I'm going to review this film for this site because it is nothing more than Exploitation. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of exploitation and grindhouse films, growing up in the mid 80's I used to go to these cheesy movie theaters because my dad had no moral compass for me. So I saw some crazy movies growing up, and I miss them. That's why this site has movie reviews from a certain era, a lot of the times. So when I saw Crank 2 last weekend, I was amped! This film is pure exploitation, and so it deserves a review here. I know the title of this blog is Scary Film Review, however, I'm going to give this movie a small review, not in the context of scary films, but more of an exploitation scene. Seriously, this movie is so much like the grindhouse films, that you're going to poop your pants in excitement!

Here is the trailer for Crank 2 High Voltage:

The movie stars Jason Statham as a cartoon character, still alive after falling out of a helicopter, fighting his archenemy on the way down. If you saw the first, then you know that part. We start this movie with Chev Chelios getting an artificial heart, he wakes up mid surgery and overhears the doctors talking about cutting off his penis next, so he gets mad and fights them. He then chases down his heart for the rest of the film. This movie goes into macabre right away with a main villain putting ashes into his open chest cavity! That's a level of sickness that is not found in even the most disgusting horror films.

Oh no? Not disgusting? Not horror? Ok, within ten minutes of the opening credits, done in 8 bit NES format, Chelios sticks a shotgun in some guys butt and the camera doesn't turn away. He stops short of pulling the trigger, but this is exploitation! This is the best categorized action film, which is rad. We move forward with this film, and I really loved how Chelios shoots up a strip club and lives! First thing I thought was, this isn't possible, then I remembered "Scalped vol. 1" where the main character goes into a barn with his partner and a shotgun and goes nuts, and lives.

We then move forward, and the film showcases no political correctness, no feminist ideas, and throws a brick in your face as Chelios has to charge up his heart to stay alive. This film is a continual fist to the mouth, and as you slow down to digest it, it's a kick in the stomach, and then an onslaught of fractal face blows that will either kill you, or wake you up.

Statham makes a believer out of all film fans that love Exploitation, Sexploitation, Action, and even horror movies. This film is an overblown massive horror film disguised as an action film. Seriously, think about how scary the ideas are in this film. There's a series of crime syndicates seeking someone's heart? There are extreme stereotypes that are exploited, and loyalties so strong that one man cuts his nipples off to prove that he's still worthy of being in the gang!

Crank 2 High Voltage is a perfect example of how in today's market, you can still do exploitation cinema at a major studio. This movie is nothing more than a true adrenaline ride. I talk about a lot of gore and massive crazy films, however, this one takes the hat because the filmmakers not only know they are being nuts, they revel in it! This is the type of ballsy cinema that made me cheer for hero's and villains in the 80's and made me cringe when watching Eli Roth's films at times. It is wrapped in a package and delivered to you with a soundtrack featuring Mike Patton and TSOL to name a couple.

Am I glorifying the depravity of this film? No. I live in a society that is really scared of things like Swine Flu. I live in a society that thought Titanic was an amazing movie. I live in a society that believes all Christians are closed minded bigots, and yet they themselves are the most closed minded people in the universe! As the film closed and everyone who mounted up and said "FUCK YOU CHELIOS" I cheered as Chev was lit on fire and blew through his enemies in pure comic book fashion and you know what? This film was the best film I've seen this year. It took what I love, this sort of Superman character and mixed it with exploitation, sex, violence and more and then packaged it in a frenetic pace and sold it to me and those smart enough to enjoy something like this in the proper format and really sold it. However, I'm not in the majority. Miley Cyrus beat this film, and so did so many others, so I'd rather be in the minority than to be part of the #1 film of that weekend. Crank 2 is a modern example of doing what you love, and while it's not a full SCARY MOVIE in the proper sense, it sure makes me as a horror fan, blogger, and even Christian cheer. It's brutal and it's honest at times, it's awesome. If you don't like it, fine, don't watch it. Crank 2 is rad.

If you are still upset that this is not a pure horror movie on a horror movie blog. Consider the science fiction aspects of this film. A fake heart? Electrically charging yourself to life? You have to admit, this is rad, and well, I liked it. We're approaching the end of the month so expect a best of post on Monday, Tuesday Movie releases, Wednesday all the movies that were released in April, and Friday a review of Dario Argento's Tenebre, followed up by a review of Nightmare City.

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, April 22, 2009

The Jacket Review

This post has been bought/sold for an upcoming Time Travel book.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Interesting Horror Movie Releases 4/21/09

This week in horror movie releases is again a light one. I was asked by a reader to start reviewing science fiction anime, since I say that I will review "sci-fi" under the banner of horror. I'm not sure if that's really going to happen, but I've included select anime dvd's in these movie releases.

I also added a personal note with The Wrestler included here. Not a note, but I've added the link on this list because I'll be purchasing The Wrestler as it is something that I like. I have a professional wrestling review site so that is an interest to me. The rest are here and there in regards to horror movie releases. Here you go, this weeks dvd releases...with links so you can get to them easier.

Air: The Motion Picture Dvd
Air: The Complete Series Dvd
Ah My Buddha Volume 2 Dvd
The Arrival Blu Ray Dvd
The Burrowers Dvd
Ghost Train Dvd
Hellraiser: Box Set Dvd
Hellraiser Blu Ray Dvd
I Dismember Mama Dvd
Laid To Rest Dvd
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory Complete Collection Dvd
Moonlight Mile: Complete First Season Dvd
Sam's Lake Dvd
Voyage of the Damned Dvd
The Wrestler Dvd
X-Men Trilogy Blu Ray Dvd
The Wrestler Blu Ray Dvd

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, April 20, 2009

Retro Horror Double Feature Review

I had some spare time so I took a small dive into trying to watch a couple of retro horror movies from the 80's. I may have tried to dive into these films before for the site, but I don't remember doing reviews for them. I will tell you this much, once again these movies aren't going to get the royal treatment from me. They aren't worth it, they are just not worth it.

We'll Start up with Cannibal Campout.

The first thing you are going to notice about this film is the quality of the recording. The recording is really low budget, even for the 80's. I don't just mean random low budget crap, this is like handy-cam footage with very little lighting effects, or even attempts at helping the sound. There is no foley, there is just a handy-cam, most likely recorded on vhs and the actors. This is a terrible thing, trust me. The movie gets worse and worse as it progresses.

The movie is about some nasty hillbillies who prey on campers as they come to visit the camp site. That's all you need to know because the rest of the film's storyline is really convoluted to the point where I'm not really sure these guys even had a story to tell.

Then we get to why you might want to watch this movie. It's the gore. This movie has buckets of gore, serious buckets of gore. Pointless at times, but serious amounts of guts, and I do mean entrails and eating. There are people eating other people, there are gunshot wounds, there are is everything you could possibly want from this type of movie. It's a gorefest of sorts, and it's the only reason why you would even want to try to watch this movie. The movie is so graphic, so violent, that I don't even think it could be rated by the MPAA, it is just so out there.

If you really want a Cannibal Movie here you go, knock yourself out with Cannibal Campout. This is what you would probably dub as "trash core" or "gore core" because it really doesn't let up at all, once the blood starts director Jon McBride takes things to an all new level of horror that you never see anywhere else.

Here is also a trailer for the movie "Cannibal Campout" however, it's gorey so don't get offended. It's not for the weak of heart or easily offended...it's a rough gorey trailer.

If that wasn't enough for you, I decided to check out another film by Jon McBride it's called Woodchipper Massacre.

Woodchipper Massacre might as well be the sequel to Cannibal Campout. This movie sucks so bad. However, we get the trademark McBride gore. Yes, we get to see every bucket of blood, scores of deaths and just a stupid amount of gore for apparently no reason.

The story is about a family that confronts a serial killer somewhere in Connecticut. Each of the actors are terrible, they are beyond terrible. Seriously, this is the worst attempt at a movie I've seen in a long time. This movie makes Ax'Em look like an Oscar contender.

I can't even go any further with this film. I don't know what else you would want to read from me on these two films. This film, much like the first film, has a gross amount of gore, and looks like it was taped on an old vhs tape, then dubbed onto another vhs tape to make a copy then transferred from a tape deck onto a dvd-r and then copied onto a dvd for you to buy/view. I'm not sure why they made this movie other than they did something.

I credit the actors, film makers and anyone involved with these 80's trash movies, because they didn't just sit around and consume media like many of us do, they made a MOVIE! Yes, it's a terrible movie, yes it is not worth watching, but they did it! How many of us can say we made a movie? Yeah, I know I haven't. Although, I was in a backyard wrestling federation for a while.

The final verdict on these 80's trash horror movies are terrible. Woodchipper Massacre and Cannibal Campout do what other movies don't dare to do, be stupify-ingly gorey. There is just nothing else to these movies. If you're a huge fan of gore, then you're in for a great treat, because these movies are full throttle horror gore movies.

Here is a trailer for Woodchipper Massacre, once again, not for the easily offended, so watch out.

Good luck when trying to view these two films, you'll need it.

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, April 17, 2009

Pinocchio's Revenge Review

The year is 1996 and Trimark pictures is making another last ditch effort in making a name for themselves in the horror genre, so they create a movie about Pinocchio. This piece of junk movie must have made a small splash because years later Lionsgate would purchase the dvd rights and send it out to people like me, who review movies for spare change. So guess what? Here is the puppet movie that I foreshadowed in Wednesday's post and it's not a traditional review, this movie made my brain hurt, and now it's hanging upside down. So join me, as I try to make sense of the horror movie Pinocchio's Revenge.

Here is a trailer for Pinocchio's Revenge:

The movie has a funny tagline, it is "Evil Comes with Strings Attached", now that's clever. However, a nice tagline isn't going to save the film from being terrible, and we see that first hand here. The movie really finds itself in a weird situation, and creates a dysfunctional horror film from the start.

We are introduced to a single parent, Public Defender who is trying to get a serial killer off due to the fact that he didn't commit the crime. However, he wants to die, and while I had my hypothesis at first, the movie never confirmed anything in regards to that story line. The story progresses with a puppet that is found amidst this trial, and it is introduced to the Lawyers home, where a little girl becomes quick friends with it.

There is a full hour or so where the puppet starts to kill people off, however, the camera and the director do not show you the puppets motions at all, making you think that it is just a scapegoat in another identity crisis movie. I hate those, by the way, and this movie plays with your head until you realize that it's nothing more than that.

There is not a whole lot of gore in this film, although there are a few "accidents" that never really kill anyone as much as they hurt them. This is terribly done and it's just a stupid way of prolonging the story. There is a sex scene, but it's the most tame, piece of junk sex scene in the world. With lots of slow motion and little to no nudity, it's just a time piece filler to exploit the scenario of single parent and neglect of a child, as the child hears her mom moaning...so weird.

The third act has Pinocchio, for lack of a better name, doing a lot of talking, with no movements of his mouth. The final act though, we get a full live action puppet going around trying to kill people. This is the worst animation and/or robotics ever made. This is a terrible scenario of film making and really makes me hate the film that much more.

The film explodes into the terrible zone with a scapegoat ending, making sure that you never see the puppet in the end, and all you see is the mother and daughter! The same type of thing happened in the Robert De Niro horror film Hide and Seek. This movie wasn't scary, and really was a waste of time. I don't really need to ask if it was scary, because it wasn't. It felt like a tv movie, complete with toned down gore and random crap.

This isn't the first time in pop culture that we have seen identity crisis or toys killing.

Remember The Evil Krusty Doll? Yeah that was an interesting take on the evil toy idea.

We reviewed the movie "Dolls" on this site which featured evil stuff. Oh and I posted a "Puppet Master" comic book scan in this site too. Of course there is also the following movie posters to illustrate the point of evil toys/dolls...as a little bonus for this review not being too serious.

Demonic Toys took a shot at Dollman in the above movie. Interesting, but terrible production values.

Dollman! Not half bad.

For those of you that are R.L. Stine fans, you might remember this popular series of books featuring an awesome Puppet/Dummy, easy reads, but awesome none the less.

Puppet Master II, one of my favorite little horror movies.

The writer of Saw made a very drawn out detective horror film, featuring puppets...it was strange.

Black Devil Doll! I haven't seen it yet, but I await a dvd version of this film.

Obviously, these are not all the doll/puppet films ever made, but it will give you the idea that these are not new kind of stories. They are rehashed and usually to terrible effect.

Oh yeah! Don't forget to check out my other reviews about movies that have this sort of "identity crisis" turn of events at the end of the movies:

Identity Review
The Prestige Review
High Tension Review

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, April 15, 2009

From the Mail Bag Mid April 09 Edition

This time around I answer your comments, questions and emails. Nothing too fancy here just a mid month post to see where we are at in terms of horror reviews, news and things. It's all about your comments, so if you didn't comment, you aren't getting an answer or follow up. So if you read this site, and are out there, go ahead and email, comment, and keep coming back. Oh and please patronize our sponsors, so that I can keep buying, renting and reviewing horror movies and the likes. Maybe one day I can make enough to buy a real dot com! Oh well, I'll try my best.

the posturing (and admittedly rather irritating) little popinjay said in response to The Midnight Meat Train Review:

midnite meat train is undoubtedly one of the best horror films of recent years, but vinnie jones is a load of old rubbish simply because he is british.

Yeah, Vinnie Jones isn't the greatest actor in the world, but it wasn't half bad. I liked him here, he didn't have to say much, he just had to be brutal. The ending of the film really got weird, but the build up was stellar and the gore effects were intense for a cg addition. I liked it a lot, and you're right it's the best horror movie to come out in recent years, and it's a shame more people didn't know about it.

the sneering (homo-phobic) snob said in response to The Curse of the Werewolf Review:

i just remember the gorgeous chick with the massive knockers, she was breathtaking.

Ah yes, there's something wonderful about the women of the 60's. The body types were different, the mood was different and the breasts were real. It's one of my favorite eras of female form. Sure it wasn't the most open minded era, but the women were so pretty, at least to me. I'm weird I guess. So yeah, you got the right idea.

Rick Swift said in response to The Strangers Review:

Good review, bad movie. I was going to do my own review of this one, as I rented it via Netflix - but, like you said, after it was over I was just kind of glad it was over. The decision to never unmask the killers seemed good on paper, but in reality it fell kind of flat. The killers weren't interesting really, and I like my evil characters to have more form personally. Also, I was so amped to see this movie because of the BOATS lure - serves me right for relishing in others misery.

You're right, this film wasn't that great. The killers had little to no personality, and while the movie did have an element of torture to it, it seemed to lack humanity. I know, we're dealing with horror here, but a little humanity goes a long way in these types of movies. I'd cite the movie "Vacancy" or "P2" for injecting a little humanity into the film to allow for the killer to have a vapid sense about himself. Although, one might argue that too much humanity is a killer which is why some people hated "High Tension" so much. All in all, bad movie, and I thank you kindly for enjoying the review and complimenting it. I don't think highly of my reviews, I just feel they are extremely amateur, so a compliment goes a long way. Thank you.

Anonymous said in response to Against the Dark Review:

Not a great movie. Was Steven even in this one; seems like he played a minor supporting part with minimal character development. It was a bad knock off of 28 days later. Very few redeeming qualities.

I dare you to disagree.... "We are here to decide who lives and dies.......... I am going hunting.."

Yeah, Steven was producer and was barely in this film. I don't know what was going on, but yeah he played a minor role in the film and was featured in the marketing and box cover. It was a bad knock off in many different ways, and yes the few redeeming qualities are the only reasons why anyone should even try watching this one. It was nice to see a mix of Kung Fu and horror though, not since Hammer Horror's late 70's attempt at horror do I remember the two mixing.

So that cleans that up. I encourage all readers to leave me comments, news, information and just anything. I spend a lot of time writing on this site and watching movies, but each comment is read and most of the time commented back on the same page. Sometimes I get caught up with other things and rely on posts like this every month to talk about them. Thanks again for those of you that commented, and please come back again soon. I'll have some more interesting horror reviews coming this week and Monday. Including one that features a "puppet" of sorts. Stay tuned for sure.

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, April 14, 2009

Interesting Horror Movie Releases 4/14/09

Today in Horror, not much in the way of action. There's just not a whole lot of good horror coming through these days. It's just an interesting course of action for March, maybe horror fans aren't buying anything. I'm rambling...here are the latest and greatest horror movie releases for today. Nothing too great, lots of comedy horror and a few anime movies.

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Dvd
Bled Dvd
Death Note: Box Set, Vol. 2
Exosquad: Season 1 Dvd (only cause I loved E-Swat on the Genesis)
My Best Friend's a Vampire (the Lost Collection) dvd
November Son Dvd
Repossessed Dvd
Slaughter High Dvd
Splinter Dvd
The Telling Dvd

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, April 13, 2009

The Curse of the Werewolf Review

Here we go again, another film from the Hammer Production studio. This film from way back when, 1961, features a clever take on the Werewolf myths, based on a French Novel "The Werewolf of Paris" by Guy Endore. In the annals of werewolf movies, this thing is not memorable, and it really isn't too shocking in terms of gore, but it's a Hammer Horror film none the less, and it is worth noting and viewing, for this great movie blog...well it's an ok movie review blog...at best. So come with me as we go back to the 18th century Spanish world and read the styling of Curse of the Werewolf.

Right off the bat this film sets you up for character development. This movie is deeply moving in terms of acting and character development, with lavish sets setting a great back drop to a somewhat scary idea of werewolves in the age of pre-American traditional lore. For being a 1961 movie, the sets are well put together and the film looks like it had some serious money and artistic ability behind the production, and it really is a great testament to how much Hammer Film Studios paid attention to details.

Here is a trailer for the 1961 film The Curse of the Werewolf:

The stars of this film were Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Catherine Feller, Anthony Dawson, and Michael Ripper, and they do a really good job in this. These people are not fly by night actors, they really try to do the best they could with the material given to them. It really does make you wonder what happened to horror films. Today, you don't really get good acting in standard horror films.

The story starts out with a beggar arriving into a Spanish village and ends up in the courts of royalty. There they treat him like a pet, until they eventually send him to the dungeons. He befriends a mute girl while he is there, and eventually she grows up to be beautiful. Then, the beggar strikes when you begin to think that this film is a love story, and we get to the good stuff, werewolf transformation!

Now, you usually get transformation sequences that range from stupid to good. Recall the transformation in the movie "Wolf" and you know that things aren't always good in the realms of turning men into wolves. This film goes with a more realistic approach and do not elongate the face like you see in "Howling" which was definitely exaggerated in a lot of different ways. There is no crazy transfer and the u can distinguish between the beggar and the wolf.

At this point we start getting serious character development and story, and the majority of viewers will just go to sleep, because the film is treated as a serious thing, instead of a scary and obscure horror film. With movies like "The Howling" we saw some serious dark tones involved with the exploration of the werewolf idea. This film doesn't have that, you don't see a lot of smoke and mirrors, and you aren't mysteriously led into transformation sequences, sexual scenes, or anything that you might want to think of in terms of recent werewolf films. It's just tone down in a lot of ways, and you might not enjoy that.

The best part of this film for me, is the ending, when the werewolf gets tore up, he acts like an animal! Seriously, he gets shot and he jumps around like a real life animal, which made a touch of realism to an otherwise non existent romp through horror.

Is The Curse of the Werewolf Scary? No. This movie isn't really that scary. Sure there are horror elements, but for today's horror aficionado's this film doesn't create enough mood to scare. In 1961, this film was censored in a few frames upon release, and was recently restored when released for dvd recently. So maybe it was scary at one time, but overall this isn't as scary as the other Hammer Horror films. This is not a vampire film, and this is toned down a lot in comparison to any modern day horror film.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I really think that this film would be an ok introduction for children and horror film. The movie has such a slim line, stream of horror that a child would find somewhat scary. If you watch this with your child, you might have to explain that werewolves are not real, but you won't have to explain a ton of other things. There's not a ton of innuendo, sex, and gore. So this movie in 2009 seems a lot like a "Goosebumps" book rather than a real horror film. You really have to put your 1960's hat on and consider the time that this film was in and enjoy it. Don't approach this film thinking that this is a horror, gore, and sexual fest. While there are arguments that can be made in regards to that, they are tame and done with a sense of taste and class, so you might not even see them coming.

This 1961 Hammer Horror film is really cool. It's a cool film. Hammer Horror's The Curse of the Werewolf is a tame horror entry, but it was scary at one point. 40 years ago this thing would have scared a lot of people and rightfully so, but I think I nailed it on the head in saying that this is really tame in today's standards. It is even probably something that I'm going to show my kids as they develop their tastes into horror movies. Check this one out, but don't expect a thrill ride, it's really slow to develop and the action doesn't make the film, the acting makes the film. I know, that's a strange thing.

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Surviving The Game Review

I've been saying, since the inception of this site, that horror is not always blood shed and supernatural forces. True horror is sometimes found in the subtle, shortness of breath that comes from being in a situation that is life and death. However, that doesn't mean that all thrillers and mystery films are meant to be in the horror genre, but some get to a free pass on the site because there are moments of sheer horror that can not be denied. That was the case with this cult film, that has been floating around my brain since I first saw it at age 11 in 1994. I recently got this film again just to see Gary Busey's method acting in the midst of lesser known and now famous actors. Some have tried to make movies like this in the past, but many have failed to capture the sheer brutality of this film, and at the same time there are obvious flaws that can't be fast forwarded in this film, so it definitely isn't an instant winner. However, Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, Gary Busey and the dude from Scrubs make this 7 million dollar film into a piece of exploitation goodness, even if it was made in the mid 90's. So strap in your seat belts, get your helmets on, and get ready for the review of Surviving the Game.

The movie is a loose, and I do mean loose translation of the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. The movie right off the bat is interesting due in large part to the realism shown in the homeless world. We follow a man named Jack Mason who has lost everything. Now homeless he has to steal to live and when a meat robbery goes bad he loses his friend and his dog. Completely low, he decides to end his life, but along the way he meets with a man who offers him an interesting prospect of a second life.

The second life will allow him to get paid to survive. However, no major details are given outside of being a "hunter". Little does he know what the hunt will be. Fast forward to a cabin in the woods and we see our man Mason amidst a bunch of other hunters, all who are "feeling" him out, and one nearly starts a fight with him. This set up is fast, and while the running time is a little more than you probably expect from such a film, it still manages to go swiftly through the process, creating a good amount of story, including a special speech from Gary Busey. The speech that Busey gives is one of the major highlights of this film, and I stand by my thoughts on Busey, being under appreciated in the realms of exploitation film. Not that he did a lot of them, but I think he could pull off a few good movies, with Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Come on! Give Busey a second or third chance, he's psycho, he could pull it off well.

The movie then turns on a dime, Mason learns he is the hunted and he has a head start. He runs fast through thick woods in the Pacific Northwest while the hunters eat breakfast and let him get his head start. The hunters then go out on motor vehicles and hunt Mason! That's where things get bad, this film really pushes the limits of horror when Mason, a homeless man, must now fight to live, and if he makes it to civilization great...if not, he's dead.

One thing I forgot to mention is that in the start of the film, there was a point where you saw a Homeless man running in the woods getting killed by this group of hunters. That earlier shot comes to play here as Mason runs through the woods and tries to keep low profile.

How far would you go to live? That's the question you have to ask yourself as you watch Mason panic through the woods.

Another highlight in this film is when Mason runs back to the cabin, while the hunters are in the midst of the woods, and he tries to get some weapons to fight back. He stumbles upon a closet with several cases, all containing floating heads with names on them! This is when the horror feeling hits you like a brick to the temple, this is insane. You see severed heads, Mason falls to his feet, and he is completely scared when he sees an empty jar with the name "MASON" written on it. This is the last straw and he goes and finds some Gasoline and lights the cabin on fire!

Meanwhile, this is where things get really good, Gary Busey's characters finds Mason and the two have a drag out and tumble fight sequence. The two, I swear, don't seem to have stunt doubles and this fight nearly rivals "They Live" with intensity as Busey gets thrown through a door and is blown to bits as the cabin blows up due to the gasoline! This was rad, and while the movie isn't really an action film, this detail and fight made me cheer for Mason!

The music is terrible in this film. The music consists of terrible synth, and acoustic sounds alongside the traditional movie score that Symphonies probably get paid to play for. The musical ques are completely off, and really make you want to think twice about this film. You also get some terrible acting in various places by some of the hunters. The film quality is also odd here, for a 1994 film you would think that the director of photography would have chosen better shots to compile the film, instead you get really awkward edits and cuts and you have to really wonder if the people behind this film were really proud of the end product. Maybe they were going for that grindhouse, gritty, film quality, but it seems very under produced in this film, and that's pretty crappy considering how good the story is, despite the inherent flaws.

Charles S. Dutton does a wonderful job in this film. He plays the recruiter, then he plays the coach, and then he is the hunter! He really brings a lot to the role and brings a lot to the film. Rutger Hauer is genuinely creepy in this film and really made me second guess what the outcome of the film was going to be.

Is Surving The Game Scary?: Yes. This movie has some seriously scary moments. You have to really put yourself into the situation at hand to appreciate the horror in this film. This is 1994, so there's no global positioning satellite that is going to help you. There are no major cell phones that you can take to the forest of Washington State. Secondly, you are dealing with a man that has nothing to lose. Lastly, you have to consider the question that I asked earlier, how far will you go to survive?

We'll discuss the first. There are no GPS devices that can assist you here. They haven't been invented for personal use yet. Yes, there are military grade GPS systems in 1994, however the hunted is not going to think to bring such a device, considering that he is a homeless person and considering that he feels that he's getting a job here. He also doesn't really consider that notion when he's burning down the cabin and fighting Gary Busey on the porch.

Secondly, cell phones, they aren't here. My stepfather had a brick of a cellphone in the mid 90's but that thing would drop phone calls, and was terrible. It was a terrible piece of crap Motorola phone that rivaled Zack Morris' brick of a phone from Saved by the Bell. Even if Mason had a cell phone, the movie really makes you believe that these people are in the middle of nowhere and there aren't going to be any carriers that have signals out there. It just isn't the case in 1994. A scary thought.

Thirdly and really importantly, you have to consider Mason's plight here. He has lost his wife and child, he has lost his best friend and now has nothing. He's living on the streets and he has nothing left. He's a dejected man with nothing to lose and admits to suicidal notions in the beginning of this film. Had Charles S. Dutton's character not seen Mason walking by the mission, we are lead to believe that Mason would have killed himself out of hopelessness. With that in mind, you have to consider that this man has nothing left to lose, so he's going to go balls to wall in order to stay alive. He's going to even kill you, and that's when things start to lift into the horror realms and point themselves towards a more serious flim.

The horror element is injected with the simple question of "How far would you go to stay alive?". That's when you need to think about yourself. Put yourself in this situation, if you were tricked into taking a new job and they were hunting you, would you kill? If not, would you hide? Would you roll over and die? Think about this, and then enjoy this popcorn thriller of a film.

The end of the film really breaks down and turns into a revenge film, but not without a few twists. However, this film drops you off in Seattle, Wa with nothing more. It's interesting to note that there is a sense of ownership that you feel about this film at the credits because it doesn't really answer your final question. What happens next? You won't get that answered at all, and I haven't felt upset about an ending since I read the book "Vision Quest" in high school. Surviving The Game is available on dvd and it's really cool. It's an interesting action, thriller and in my view horror. There is a horror element to this movie that you can't deny, even if that wasn't the intention of the directors and writers...or was it? You decide.

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