A Good Marriage Review

I admit, I haven’t read nearly as much Stephen King as I’d like to pretend that I have. I have worked on several of his novels, and listened to a lot of different audio books. This is a movie that I didn’t really search out until now. I had some free time and wanted to see what it was all about. While I cannot speak to the collection of “Full Dark, No Stars”, I can at least talk about the movie as a whole, and well, it wasn’t what I thought. The marketing made it seem far more sinister than it really was, and while this is classified as a “psychological thriller”, I wanted it to be a full-fledged horror movie.

The lines are blurred in regards to horror movies today. “A Good Marriage” was marketed as something of a horror movie, but it’s ridiculous how neutered this movie seemed. The movie is a tightly wound film that really is fascinating at first glance. I tried to give it a lot of attention, and some serious thought, but it was a slow moving train that led to nowhere.

The premise is interesting enough. A wife finds out that her husband has a creepy secret. She figures out that he’s a serial killer and now must do one of two things. Tell the authorities or keep it in and just roll with it. The movie moves slowly into a psychological push, and eventually the climax reveals so much more. The most interesting part of this movie was the private eye that is on to the wife’s secret, or rather the husband’s secret.

The movie parts of this movie are slow. The processing seems a lot like a “lifetime” movie, rather than something that is supposed to be for theaters. Even though this was released to movie theaters, it isn’t really on par with the best in the business. This is NOT Stephen King’s best adaptation. “A Good Marriage” has some good moments, but more than ever, this seems like cash grab.

You can take your chances with “A Good Marriage” blu ray, or you could pick up “Full Dark, No Stars” for cheap. Either way, you can figure this one out on your own. I’m not a big fan of this movie. It just didn’t hit me like I thought it would. Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, and Kristen Connolly do well enough, but there just seems to be something missing, and I can’t really put my finger on it. It happens from time to time.

Open House Review

I love a good movie poster, especially those that can be doubled as porno movie posters. I grew up in a time where video stores weren’t corporate at all. The Asian people in my neighborhood owned them and they would actually put up awesome horror movie posters in the horror section. With that in mind, I was able to watch this classic 1980s slasher flick of epic proportions called Open House.

The plot of this movie is a lot like a Dario Argento Gialo mystery horror film. The movie features a great deal of mystery and you only see the weapon, the killing, and the aftermath as you roll through the movie. The villain isn’t exposed and nothing is explained until the end. As the story goes, a radio disc jockey and a real estate agent are embroiled in a situation where people are getting killed inside vacant homes for sale. When a red herring appears not to be the culprit, the killer sets his eyes on the disc jockey’s girlfriend, who just happens to be a real estate agent!

The movie is funny at moments, but gets really serious at times as well. The movie is set up exactly as you would expect from a slasher movie of the time, and it picks up in the final moments, only to get the same tone as Rambo! The ending is just odd, and the villain doesn’t appear to be as smart as he does in the rest of the movie.

For fans of gratuitous nudity, there is an awesome 1980s style nude scene at one point that just goes to show that the bodies of yesteryear were just so much more natural than what you see today. I think I went through puberty again at one point, but I’ll digress.

The movie isn’t particularly good, it doesn’t have a lot to remember other than the classic Argento style, but I really wanted to just see an Italian horror film and not this thing. You’re not missing much here, except for the cool poster.

Open House is not worth your time, unless you’re like me, and you have to see all things horror movies.

Coffin Rock Review

I remember when Wolf Creek came out, I fell asleep, and don’t remember much of the elements of it. The producer of that film was the main draw for me on this one, as it seemed pretty cool. That being said, today we will look into the film Coffin Creek, as it is an interesting tale of lurid acts, consequences, and horror. Even though it’s not listed as straightforward horror, it’s still got enough elements to scare people into thinking twice about indiscretions.

The plot of the film revolves around a couple in Australia trying to conceive. Apparently there is something wrong, as is the case with many older couples trying to have children. My version of this movie would have lasted about 10 minutes, because I would have mentioned adoption. But I’ll digress, the couple is trying to have a child but they aren’t having such a good time with it. After trying to no avail, the main character has sex with a drifter in a drunken mistake, and that sets into motion a major catastrophe.

The drifter starts to become a part of the couples life, and when it turns out that the wife is pregnant, our now stalker believes it’s his child. This sets into motion a series of events that involves all sorts of insanity, including the death of a baby kangaroo, setting a man on fire, running someone over, getting dumped off a cliff and some more gruesome points.

The movie is an exercise in futility when the end showcases a twist that I saw coming a mile away. In a way the movie reminded me of the Richard Gere movie “Unfaithful”. While that movie seemed to work in a way, this one seemed to lack that certain sexuality that it needs to fully come to a climax. (No pun intended)

The movie dragged at one point and it just seemed to play to the development of an anti-hero, but that too never came to full fruition. When the final act starts, things start to move fast, with a certain level of emotional pacing that made me like how it all turned out, but even that doesn’t save this film from being one of the movies that I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to everyone. It is a much better movie than some of the other films with similar stories, mainly because of the drifter’s psychosis. However, it’s not that memorable, with exception of the final act, which featured some cool spots. Coffin Rock is a cool movie if you have a couple of hours to kill, but you don’t need to own it.

Die Review

I’ve seen a lot of movies that copy others. Look through the archives of Scary Film Review and you will see a great deal of movies that I have watched and talked about that are completely ripped off from another famous or infamous movie. When I first read the premise for “DIE” I figured it was another clone of the “SAW” series, and while it pretty much is, there is a little bit of gusto to think about that will make you think a little.

The first thing that I noticed about the movie was the way they shot the main villain; he played and talked in the same manner that Bruce Wayne would talk. If you mixed the Dark Knight and Saw you would get this villain named Jacob. He speaks as though he’s doing something noble, but in reality he’s making another stab at The League of Shadows, only this is far more gruesome.

We are presented with a story about salvation, but it’s not what you might think. Six people show up in a dark warehouse and are wondering what is going on. They each have to roll a dice in order to see whether or not the other person will die. After going back and forth between different people, there are only a couple of people left to kill off before the villain reveals the purpose of this entrapment. Meanwhile, there is a rogue detective on the hunt, trying to figure out what is going on, who is kidnapping people and whether or not they are still alive.

The movie does a lot of things well, especially setting up a believable type of cult scenario. Jacob is by all intents and purposes a better villain than Jacob, and the “Jesus” salvation complex and visuals definitely plays to the favor of the movie. There was a bit of a slowdown in the middle of the movie, but after that, this thing truly went off the rails.

The visuals are nice, not too gorey, and there are sequences that were lifted directly from the Batman movies. You switch characters in here to match up the latter and it would be just fine. I found that to be the most compelling thing about this movie, which really plays like a made for television mini-series more than a full fledged film.

DIE is not a great movie, but it’s adequate and does the work that the SAW sequels didn’t get done in 5 tries. I liked it enough to recommend it, so make sure that you check it out. If you want a movie that mixes genres, this is definitely worth checking out. If you miss it, you’re not going to kick yourself, but if you’re a horror fan, you have to check it out. It’s another piece to the puzzle of watching all things scary movie. Hey, if I could sit through it, you probably can too, so check it out today.

Scary Film Review December 2012 Contest: Win Walking Dead Season 1 and 2 Blu Ray

Scary Film Review has had a great year. Somehow, by some miracle we have established a nice fan base of a few readers that like to leave a few comments, go to the facebook page and bug me, and then completely ignore me as well.

Since this is the season of giving, I wanted to give back to all 7 of you that still come by the site to read my random thoughts on horror. This month of December 2012 if you leave a comment, you will be entered into a chance to win The Walking Dead 1 and The Walking Dead 2 on BLU RAY!



To enter, you must leave a comment on any of the reviews that I’ve posted before or will post in the month of December.

This time, around I will make sure to make a big announcement as to who will win or wins after the New Year comes through.

My hope for this site in December is to get more interest in this site.

As you might know I’m 100% freelance and do not work a traditional 9 to 5. I write for a living and the past few months have been exceptionally difficult. To combat that, I have been taking on more and more work, doing 7 day (10 hour+) shifts and am burning out.

If you would like to help my cause, check out the Amazon links, book mark them and use them for your holiday shopping.

That’s it.

Other than that, happy commenting! The more you comment, the more times I’ll throw your name into the hat.

Oh and PLEASE DO NOT SPAM the comments. Drop me a legit comment, suggestion or something along those lines. Recommend this site to a friend, link back to me, and say hello, I spend a lot of time on the web.

If you would like to donate to the cause, (my cause) and have extra dough, you can always email me for my paypal address and donate that way. Thanks again.

Coma (2012) Review

I’m always excited to see new horror novels, and then I realized that what I thought was new is really old. That’s why I was shocked to learn that this series is a rehash or update of the original movie that was based on a 1977 book by Robin Cook. This horror story is one that is poignant, and very timely, and all in the same breath scary. This four hour drama really is condensed into around 2 ½ hours or so if you catch it on blu ray or through streaming of some kind. Coma is one of the slickest mini-series adaptations that I can remember in recent times. Far better than the last one I reviewed on this site, “The Langoliers”.

The series starts out as a medical drama, a young graduate student is starting her first rounds in a hospital and everything seems normal. However, after a flurry of patients start to dip into mysterious comas, she is alerted about what is really going on. As she starts to investigate, she starts to find out information that the hospital higher ups don’t want her to know. Meanwhile, a blossoming romance starts between a rogue surgeon and the coed, and then this series takes a wild turn into the unreal before leaving the plot hanging in the midpoint.

This very much felt like a made for television production, however, the tense moments between each interval point forward made for some very suspenseful and scary tie ins to real life. You see, the story becomes not so far fetched when you understand the underbelly of what’s going on. Government cover ups, medical science, comas, and all sorts of little details go into making this one of the more brutal ideas of medical studies gone wrong. Yet, it seems to be almost possible, it really does tow the line really close for comfort; especially with the way the characters react to certain developments.

Coma goes into full throttle in the latter stages, and if you’ve developed any care for the characters you start to panic when the twist reveals more than just a hospital trying to harvest, but also a psychopath willing to kill for his freedom, and then throw in a psychopathic drug trip and you have all the makings for one of the cooler developments in mini-series history than “Who Shot JR”. Ok, I had to do it, but it’s better than a giant spider in a cave, right? Right?

I honestly recommend Coma (2012) as a scary series, and am looking forward to purchasing the novel by Robin Cook. For those that aren’t familiar with his work, he’s a neurosurgeon and medical doctor that has parlayed a lot of his experience into some of the most poignant horror medical novels and thrillers ever created. He seems to be on top of things, and well, this movie made me think twice about getting my knee fixed, that’s for sure. Check out this series and drop me a comment and let me know if you liked it.

9 Dead Review

Picking up yet another independent horror movie, I found another interesting piece with some interesting moments. While this movie was not the greatest ever, it did feature some quality moments, which made the genre that was started by the Saw sequels urgent and somewhat entertaining. 9 Dead is a movie that features all the best in horror and all the worst in horror all at the same time. You can call it whatever you want to call it, but this movie has an entertainment quality that reminds fans why they like the genre to begin with.

9 Dead is a movie that features a group of people that are put together in a room and should know why they are there. A sadistic killer is there and he’s asking them to figure out why, and as they go through the motions of trying to figure it out, complications arise and each one is killed off one, by one. As the movie progresses their intertwining stories start to come out and the puzzle pieces start to fit quite nicely over layers of flashbacks.

Melissa Joan Hart stars in this movie and she is out of place for the most part, she can’t carry the load of being in despair, although it is something that she tries really hard to convey overall. I found that her performance really pushed me far away from what I feel would’ve been a good overall horror movie. Her performance isn’t the only lackluster one, however you have to look past those things.

9 Dead has its moments, but it’s not going to be on any top 10 lists at all. The movie really falls flat in the end, and the way things are left just screams for something more. The movie passes through the motions that you’d expect from a thriller and right when you think that Jigsaw will appear, the credits roll and leaves you with a half a chub and a smartphone looking for Clarissa Explains it All on dvd. This is one that you’ll want to check out, but won’t necessarily be favorite by anyone outside of diehard horror fans. I liked it, but didn’t think it was the best of the “saw” clones.

Midnight Movie Review

Ever since I decided to end my relationship with Time Warner Cable and go without cable, I’ve been able to watch far more movies than I can shake a fist at. This movie has been on the shelf for a while, and I only heard about it being available on dvd recently. It first came out in 2008 and it has been ignored by most idiots, like myself, until now. Midnight Movie is an interesting mix of genres and truly delivers on a variety of fronts, including the end.

The movie stars out with a bang, it features a psyche ward and a crazy person being allowed to watch their own movie. When this happens, he disappears and goes into his film and on a rampage….four years later. We catch up with a midnight movie being shown in a small town, and the viewers end up being part of the show, whether they want to or not.

A great deal of genres are mixed in this movie, with the primary one being slasher. There is a killer gutting people and taking them from the real world into the film world. This is done with a cool looking drill piece that is shoved into the stomachs of victims. The main killer seems to just want to kill for the sake of it, until he’s knocked out cold and killed, but then we get to see a second party, and a revival that is quite good.

The movie is a nice paced film that tries hard to make things good on a one million dollar budget. The acting is ok, the cinematography is good, and the music is a good mix of instrumental and rock music. I found that the gore effects were done nicely and effective as well. In fact, I found a lot of things to love in this one, and when the revealing twist happens, I was cheering.

Midnight Movie is a good slasher hybrid with good effects, funny moments, and twists that you may see coming a mile away, but still want to see play out. The ending is bleak, but I won’t spoil it for you. As far as independent horror is concerned, this is one that entertains and delivers a hefty punch. I was surprised yet again at another indie horror film capturing the imagination and ethos of the 1980s with style and lots of substance. Sure there are some downsides, but they are easily overlooked for an impressive film that breaks taboos and pays homage even if it might be inadvertent.

Favorite Midnight Movies

The clock strikes midnight, you’re wide awake and you don’t know what to watch. You decide on the genre of horror, but what will you watch at such a late hour? You brew some coffee and mull over the decision and that’s when you decide to check out your favorite horror movie review blog, and you look for something that will be good around midnight.

Well, if you’ve found this post and you’re looking for Scary Film’s favorite midnight horror movies, then you will be glad to know I’ve got you covered. Here are 3 of my personal favorites to watch around midnight and the likes. Pick them up via amazon.com here, or click the links to help support this blog.

My 3 Favorite Midnight Horror Movies



The Shining Blu Ray – When it comes to adapting Stephen King’s work, you really have a lot of work on your hands. He writes like it’s going out of style and continues to fill pages and pages with writing. He probably writes about as much as I do, the only difference is he makes millions and I’m lucky if I can make this month’s rent. (Seriously, help me out please) He didn’t like the adaptation of his novel, but I sure as hell do. Kubrick took a lengthy novel and made something so killer that if you’re up at midnight, you will enjoy. Get it on blu ray and put on the surround sound, and get ready to enjoy a thrilling horror picture of epic proportions. I for one love it.



Silent Night, Deadly Night – Ever since I was a child, I have loved this movie. Sure, it’s brash and it bastardizes the Santa Claus role, but so what? This movie is awesome. It has something for everyone including sex, violence, and nuns! If you’ve been bad, then watch this movie and keep being naughty!



Cabin Fever Blu Ray – I love Rider Strong. I love him as the sidekick in Boy Meets World and I love him in this movie. He plays “Paul” and makes it to the end of a movie where no one should survive. This movie is Eli Roth’s first film out of school and he truly made a classic. I absolutely love it, and feel that it’s underappreciated in todays gore filled marketplace.

The aforementioned are going to get you back to sleep after waking up in a cold sweat at midnight. If you haven’t already done so, check them out on blu ray and dvd. Click the links, help me out, or simply go back to bed and enjoy a dream or whatever.

DIEner Review

I’m not a big fan of zombie movies; I just get bored of it after a while. Even though I enjoy certain programs and movies in the genre, it’s one of those things that have been done to death, much like Vampires. While I can watch a decent movie about it, I am often times bored by the way it’s presented. That’s not the case, however, for this movie DIEner…get it? Which came out in 2009. This movie clocks in around 1 hour and 20 minutes and is not a compelling piece but offers some good overall action.

The movie’s plot revolves around a drifter that is killing people in a very small town. When the people he has killed start coming back to life, he commissions a couple to help him thwart an invasion, but that doesn’t prove to be possible. The zombies come through a diner and start to eat their way through any living thing that is in the area.

This movie is an example of what a low budget and a cool idea can do. I found it to be an interesting take on the whole Zombie thing, but there was no real explanation as to why things were going the way they were. I found moments to be laboriously done, and the pacing slows down before it ramps up to a full frenzy in the end.

When the movie is over, you truly feel like you just saw a made for tv special that only last’s an hour. Cut up, this would be a good 1-hour presentation on the SyFY channel. It most certainly needs another 45 minutes to get really good, but then again, maybe it’s not that great. DIEner…Get It? Is available now, but I’m not sure if anyone will buy it.

3 Indie Horror Gems To Watch Again

When it comes to independent film making, the horror genre is one of the most packed. People love making horror films for a variety of reasons, and they excel in many ways. Some of the studios in recent memory have invested heavily in independent horror to the fact that some were paying upwards of six figures per film to release the dvd. I saw many of these classics while working at a video store in Los Angeles.

Although now I write for a living, I sometimes wish I could go back and be a video store clerk. I feel like I was made for that type of job, but alas, it’s time to look at different things.

Here are 3 indie horror gems to watch again. Click on the links and buy them online to help this blog continue to move forward.



Feast – There are monsters outside of a small town bar and a group of people is trapped. Sounds like a cliché right? It kind of is, until you start to unfold what lurks outside of the doors and you get showered in blood. There are some awesome characters found here, and you’ll love the way things play out in this gorey independent horror film.



Wrong Turn 2 – The sequel to the box office hit is one of 5 sequels that have come through dvd and bluray. This is a good one only because Henry Rollins is in it and he’s BADASS to the very end. If you want gore, and horror mixed with that great sarcasm that can only come from Henry Rollins, then you owe it to yourself to check out Wrong Turn 2 again.



Serum – This independent film is a gem that was shot on HD cameras but made straight to dvd. The movie is a standard monster type film where a doctor discovers an interesting ride through what can happen medically when money is on the line. I didn’t sell that well at all… it’s a cool “cure all” movie with dire consequences.

As per usual, I beseech everyone to pick these up on dvd or streaming services online, they are instant independent film classics.

Monthly Death Toll October 2012

Here I am sitting around at the end of my work day listening to a band named Flanders and am posting this end of the month recap. For those of you that love Halloween, hooray for you! For those of you like me, you'll probably watch something on tv and go to bed early or something.

If you missed anything this month, here are the links, if you caught it all, thanks.

If you can donate, do so at the link to the right, and if you can buy anything do so with the amazon links we have on our site.

The winner of the prize has been notified!

Here are the posts from October 2012:

8MM Review

November 2012 is Werewolf Month

Phantoms Review

The Woman In Black Review

Club Dread (Again) Review

More Holiday Movie Madness

More Horror Film Remakes Better Than The Originals...

Cabin in the Woods Review

Scary Movies For Children on Halloween

Holiday Themed Horror Insanity

October 2012 Win the Hellraiser Box Set FREE

Holiday Horror Films

More Horror Film Remakes Better Than The Originals

More often than not, attempts to remake a film often lack the vision, atmosphere, or wow-factor as the original. Let's just face it: you just shouldn't mess with a good thing. If it's not broken, don't fix it. It's very rare that a remake is just as good as the original, rarer still when the remake is actually better.

To prove the point, here are five remakes that blow their parent material out of the water.

The Blob (1988)

Nothing can stop the blob! Or can it? Released thirty years after the original, this remake recreates the sense of popcorn-snacking fun while adding more action and sense of urgency that the original lacked thanks to a more aggressive titular gelatinous alien and increased gore factor. But the ultimate perk? Actors that made more believable “teenagers” than Steve McQueen ever could. Oh and Shawnee Smith is in this one...you know, the hot chick from Saw?

The Thing (1982)

Not to be confused with the dude from The Fantastic Four, this is a remake of the '50's classic, The Thing from Another World. Breathing life into an old, crusty black and white from the early days of science fiction fright-fests, John Carpenter (a master of thrillers in his own right), takes masterful control and takes this grisly creature-feature and turns it into a paranoid psychological thriller.

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

A third indication that most good remakes should have a 25-30 year buffer zone from the original, House on Haunted Hill revamps the tale of a challenge to spend a night in a haunted house and infuses it with edgy direction and better special effects that make the original's skeleton in the closet on a string and other visual fright gags seem more silly and less terrifying.

The Ring (2002)

Of all the remakes of Japanese horror films, The Ring is easily the best. Compared to The Grudge or One Missed Call, The Ring articulately captures the ghost-story creepiness of Ringu. Gore Verbinski's stellar direction and fantastic performances from the cast, it's quite possible to say that this American version is just a tad more polished than the original.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

This might seem as total blasphemy to say that the remake of George Romero's classic zombie flick is better than the original, but this remake actually tops it in almost every way except for originality. Zack Snyder took Romero's groundwork and kicked it up several notches to fully capture the scope and feel of a totally possible zombie apocalypse. Yeah, they cranked up the action and manipulated the plot to make it more palatable to Hollywood, but it strangely works. Except that zombie baby. I still get nightmares from that.

Honorable Mention: Evil Dead 2 (1987)

Technically, it's a sequel. But let's be real: this was a bigger budget remake of The Evil Dead, and as a bonus? It was directed by Sam Raimi, who brought us the original and starred the exceptionally gifted chin of Bruce Campbell as the chainsaw wielding Ash. Shop smart, shop S-Mart.

If you don't believe me, try a side-by-side comparison one night and you be the judge.

Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a Hellraiser Boxed Set. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.

5 More Bad Horror Remakes

Hollywood can't seem to resist breathing new life into old ideas. Remakes are about as certain as death and taxes these days, and the horror genre has had it's fair share of hits and misses when it comes to that department. When they are good, they can be very, very good. But when they are bad? Lets just say sometimes, you need a bad movie night.

Here's five of the worst horror remakes to watch, lampoon, and parody.

Psycho (1998)

It's one thing to remake a film, another to do a shot-for-shot remake of the influential Hitchcock classic that was a precursor to the whole slasher film genre. Gus Van Stant's experiment in attempting to breathe new life into a classic falls flat with a lack of originality and bad casting choices. Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates sadly couldn't capture the boy-like sensitivity and disturbed innocence that Anthony Perkins portrayed on scene. In retrospect, this foray into remakes only highlights Hitchcocks brilliant capabilities.

One Missed Call (2008)

Of all the American remakes of Japanese horror films, this one definitely rates as the worst among them. This ghost story about a curse spread through cell phones seemed more plausible in the able hands of Takashi Miike, who directed the original. This version is blandly told with generic, pointless "scary images," and a groan-inducing ending that would make you wish that chick from The Ring would put you out of your misery.

The Wicker Man (2006)

This movie can best be summed up at this: watch a manic Nicolas Cage get stung by bees, manhandle children, yell at children, bike jack an elementary school teacher, go undercover in a bear suit, yell at some more people, sucker punch a woman in the face and then kick Leelee Sobieski into next week. Sometimes I think this was meant to be more of a dark comedy than a proper remake of the 1973 original, but we all have to admit: Nick Cage is good at parodying himself, and it's hilarious to watch.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1996)

Meet Kenneth Branagh, perhaps one of the best Shakespearean actors of our time. See him as he directs this vanity piece interpretation of the 1818 novel that is manically paced, pretentious, and unintentionally hilarious as he wrestles a naked Robert DeNiro in baby oil while the titular monster skulks around like a master ninja against sweeping backdrops. Branagh's grandiose style of acting makes Nicolas Cage in The Wicker Man look subtle and nuanced, and that's saying something.


Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE 2. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.

Let the Right one In vs Let Me In

Every now and then, while perusing through the film section of a local media boutique, or hanging out at a hole-in-the-wall art hause coffee shop, a little known foreign film is recommended by the employees or a management attempting to appear trendy or hip. Sometimes those films are horrifically bad (like 2002's “Pinocchio”, written, directed, and starring Roberto Benigni) while others are unexpected cinematic journey's just waiting to be experienced.




Such is the case with “Let The Right One In”, a 2008 Swedish soul (and blood) sucking “romantic” horror film that leaves you breathless, wondering, and wanting more. Based on John Aivide Lindqvist's novel of the same name, it recounts the relationship of Oskar, a 12-year-old boy bullied by schoolmates and stuck in the middle of his divorced parents, who develops a dark friendship with Eli, a child-of indeterminate gender in a Stockholm Suburb.

Unbeknownst to Oskar in the beginning, Eli is a vampire and is protected by Håkan – a sort of guardian for the under-age appearing Eli. It is Håkan who is responsible for procuring nourishment for the reclusive Eli, who like Oskar, is very lonely. The entire gritty and dark photography in the film plays off of that sense of a foreboding loneliness that both Oskar and Eli share, though Eli moreso than Oskar.

Without spoiling too much of the plot, one failed attempt at bringing Eli's dinner begins a chain reaction of events that culminates in a very open-to-a-sequel ending.




The 2010 American remake of “Let The Right One In”, renamed to “Let Me In”, and starred Chloë Grace Moretz of “Kick-Ass” fame. While it follows the majority of the same story, there are a few key elements that were changed to make it more accessible to it's American audience: the Swedish names were changed to English ones, the location moved from a suburb of Stockholm to Los Alamos, New Mexico, and the lingering mystery of Eli's gender is thrown out entirely as Eli is now a more decidedly feminine sounding “Abby”.

But which is better: the original or the remake? It's so easy to hold the original as the gold-standard to compare all others against, but at the same time, you really can't. Especially not when both are merely interpretations of the same source material.

Both films are have great heart-caught-in-your-throat moments, often of the same scene, but the directors and the young actors involved in both the Swedish film and the American remake each bring their own interpretation to an intensely dark film, so much to the point that they need to be viewed as two separate entities rather than an original and a remake.

It is very rare to encounter two films like these that can stand side by side and not be entirely dwarfed by one or the other, and these two fine examples of macabre cinema do just that without sacrificing quality or story.

Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE 2. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror

And now, a guest post, about a movie that I find to be amazing. Enjoy, while I set up more movies and what not to review in the near future.

When it comes to scary movies, there are plenty to choose from given their long history. Going as far back as 1922 with the release of “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror”, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok, this German Expressionist horror film truly gave rise to the scary movie genre through director F.W. Murnau's inventive use of the German Expressionist film ideals and chiaroscuro lighting effects – the former now defunct and the latter used rarely in film.

The film opens with an idyllic scene between Thomas Hutter and his wife, Ellen. Interspersed with narrative cards, it isn't long before Thomas is off to go and seek out his client, the good Count Orlok, whom resides in Transylvania.

Doesn't this sound a tad familiar? It should, as “Nosferatu” is adapted from Bram Stoker's “Dracula”, with Thomas and Ellen Hutter as analogues to Johnathon and Mina Harker, and Orlok to Dracula himself. Now imitation is the surest form of flattery, but as there was no film version of “Dracula” prior to this release, one can hardly accuse the German filmmakers of rehashing something that had already been done. The same cannot be said for Hollywood today, which is filled with remakes of classics such as “The Exorcist”, “The Amityville Horror”, and “Halloween”.

In 1922, when “Nosferatu” was released, supernatural horror, and scary movies in general, were not commonplace. Instead of relying on the tried and true gimmicky tactics of today's films; blood-soaked jaunts consisting of thrilling chases and virginal teens running away from their tormentor, this unauthorized version of Bram Stoker's “Dracula” relied on a live symphony playing the score for this silent film gem.

The original score to the film was composed by Hans Erdmann, but due the majority of it being lost, what is heard during recent runs of the film is only a reconstruction of the score as it was played in 1922. Despite that fact, what begins as a light film in terms of the musical score, quickly descends into the macabre. The music and the visual scenery combine to fill viewers with stomach-dropping dread, putting you into a perpetual state of anxiety, wondering what the next scene will bring.

This is a film that doesn't scare as so much haunts with its atmospheric visuals and music. While by today's standards, “Nosferatu” might not stand out as the forefather of the scary movie due to it's unique and dated style, it is nonetheless a film that has endured the test of time and has been widely praised by film critics far and wide as one of the most influential masterpieces ever made.

“Nosferatu” is an undisputed classic of the scary film catalog that paved the way for other classics like 1932's “Freaks”, 1935's “The Bride of Frankenstein”, and of course 1960's “Psycho”. Without Murnau's vision, or Schrek's gaunt and creepy Orlok, the film landscape would not have been the same.

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5 Scary Things About Demolition Man

One of the points of this website, especially earl on was to review all types of movies, not just the splatter flicks, not just the obvious ones, and I stick to that in many ways. Case in point, this science fiction action film, Demolition Man. On the surface it’s an action movie starring Sylvester Stallone, but underneath the surface there are a lot of scary moments you might miss while laughing at my proposed thesis statement. Before you judge too hard, remember, that this website reviews science fiction as well as horror, and this movie has some heavy science fiction ties which is why I’m reviewing it. However, instead of going through each plot point or anything like that, I’m going to give you 5 things that are horrifying in this film, and then you decided if this isn’t a scary premonition of a future you will live in.

Demolition Man should scare you for five major reasons, and if it doesn’t, maybe you’re just too callous to play along.

Taco Bell – The fast food war made it so that you can only eat 1 type of food. That type is Taco Bell! That’s right, the only food in the future is Taco Bell, but not your traditional tacos and burritos. You’ll have to eat what seems like tortilla chips with a little bit of something on top. It’s not until John Spartan goes to the underground where he gets a burger, albeit, not from cow.

No Sex – In the future you can’t have sex. None. No kissing either. Sandra Bullock is hot too, and while I don’t want to see Stallone’s ass, it would’ve been a small price to pay to see Bullock in a love scene. That doesn’t happen here, we get this weird cyber sex thing that you already knew would be the future because you saw “The Cone Heads” didn’t you?

The Big one of 2010 – I live in Los Angeles, and since I was a small boy the media has been pushing the notion that there will be a huge earthquake that would kill us all. Well, the movie makes reference to this and that it would happen in 2010 killing off millions and breaking apart Los Angeles and unifying several pieces of the southern California area. We all know that this didn’t happen, but if it ever does, our future is completely screwed.

Arnold Schwarzenegger President – Stallone has an interesting jab at Arnold here where he finds out that the other action star becomes president of the United States! Imagine that? Don’t be a girly man, it could happen? I mean if a Kenyan born president works why not an Austrian? (just saying, don’t believe it, just saying)

Laser Disc wins Media War – There is a moment where Huxley mentions the media format that ended up winning the high definition entertainment world and it’s not blu ray, it’s laser disc. Truth be told, Laser Disc has amazing quality, however, the size of each disc is massive, and if you had even a spec of dust on the disc your whole movie was screwed. It was like an oversized compact disc, only more sensitive and now, more expensive than you can imagine. I never adopted, but apparently the future was to be owned by that format.

There are some other things that make this movie scary, but the above are the things that I caught while watching this action packed science fiction actioner from 1993. I recommend Demolition Man, it’s still quite an entertaining movie, and the sci-fi aspect really lends well to what goes on through the story.



Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE 2. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.

976-Evil 2 (1992) Review

Sometimes you have to look back to your own past to find movies to review, because there are just so many options out there. I have millions of choices, and I have to narrow down the selections each day, watch something, then write about it, and hope that someone out there will be inspired to purchase something from amazon or click an ad so that I can feed my hobby. Today, I picked a movie to review that reminded me of the old school rental shops. You know the ones, the one in your community that was run by the Asian guys, and they usually had a stack of vhs tapes behind them, all categorized by number. They let you rent whatever, age didn’t matter, and a lot of the times they would leave the porno section open for little kids to wander in and get an education in Snuff Film: Death On Camera
. I found this movie while in the horror section, often times called the “terror” section, and I thought it was a porno. The design of many horror vhs tapes, if you recall, often times resembled porn, and t hat was probably the intent so that people would rent the films. Man, I miss those days. The movie I’m reviewing today is a classic to me, maybe not to you, but it’s from 1992 and it’s a sequel to the Robert Englund directed film about a phone sex line from hell, it’s none other than 976-Evil 2!

The cool thing about this movie, at least the first thing that you get are boobs. You get a full-blown shower scene with a hot coed, and for those that are looking for that sort of thing, you get it up front. If you wanted to wack it before you got through the film’s main plot, the director hooks you up fast. There’s something different about nude scenes from the last 20 years and how the bodies have changed. Even porn, the bodies are all weird, but that’s neither here nor there, we’re talking about a gift to all the teenagers that picked this movie up and thought it was a porno, congrats, you have entered puberty! Ladies, I’m sorry.

The movie is an odd one, it doesn’t follow the original’s plot in a way, in fact it steals from the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series quite a bit. A college professor gets in trouble for trying to rape and kill a student, and he starts to get his powers by calling the evil 976 number. When he asks for his release, the number tells him that there is someone greater that will replace him, and he starts to panic. But before that manifestation occurs he goes on a killing spree from jail, he gets into the minds of his victims and then takes them out ala Freddy, only with no glove. The deaths are pretty cool, including good gore here and there. At one point a mack truck completely obliterates a guy into a million pieces, which is kind of a cool effect for 1992.

The rest of the film is your classic chase and run final girl type of movie. However, there is a secondary hero here, his name being Spike. He’s a perfect foil and antihero but he too is evil as we find out, and well, the final girl is not so final, well she kind of is as she lives.

The movie is interesting, funny, and a classic homage to the 1980s slasher films
that we love so much. The deaths are funny, the town doesn’t believe what’s going on, and the villain is super natural. There’s also a cool twist at the end, which could provide a nice entry point into a third film! This movie is everything you want from horror that doesn’t necessarily scar you to death. There are a few jump scenes, and the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it’s a good one. I liked it. I recommend checking out 976-Evil 2 today! No, really, I do.



Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win a KINDLE FIRE 2. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.

End of the Month Death toll August 2012

Did you really think I’d make it this far in the world of horror movie blogging? I didn’t think that at this point I’d be blogging to an audience of around 20 or 30, but look, there are people that actually like to read the site, even if I’m the worst movie reviewer since Jon Lovitz. This month’s winner of the Total Recall Blu Ray has been contacted and it will be sent via mail soon. Thank you for those that participated in our first major contest in a long time.

There are a few things I wanted to talk about before I give you the links from this past month’s writings, especially for those that are looking forward to see what else I’ll be doing for September.

Contest for September



For the month of September, if you leave a comment, email me, or like me on Facebook you will be entered in a drawing to win 1 Kindle Fire 2 ! That’s right, you will receive a Kindle Fire for your comments, likes, and whatever. This is no joke, you will be receiving a brand new Kindle Fire 2 to enjoy all the movie streaming, book reading, porn watching and web surfing that you can handle.

If you are out there and reading this, I need you. I need guest bloggers to network horror movie sites with and to present writings from. If you want me to be a guest I can do that too, but this is a call to my fellow horror movie fans. If you want to rant about anything, I will give you the forum to do so! Come on down and write for me!

Patronize the Sponsors

I put up links to where you can purchase a lot of different things, and I could really use your help. If you are going to buy something already, go check out the deals and what not that I have listed, I will receive a cut, you will receive your goods at no extra cost and I can finally save up for that dot com and podcast for Scary Film Review. If not, that’s ok. I know times are tough.

The past Month

The past month I’ve upped the number of posts that I’ve made, and I’ve tried hard to keep this thing going. For September you can expect more of the same, and then some. I’m toying with double posts, but it probably won’t happen. I will however be posting more “articles” in regards to horror and what not, because I need the traffic and right now the readership is low, and would love to have more readers and eventually rent out a theater in Los Angeles for a special screening of “Silent Night Deadly Night”. Now that’s a dream….sadly.

Top 5 Hammer Horror Movies

Nightmares Review

Black Sabbath Review

Dreamcatcher Review

Top 5 Best Selling Horror Blu Rays Right Now

5 Horror Collectibles From Hell to Your Door

5 Underrated Horror Movies to Watch One More Time

Demon Knight Review

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Win Punisher Max Volume 1 and 2

Graveyard Shift Review

3 Things Wrong With The Total Recall Remake

Top 5 Most Overrated Horror Movies

The Lawnmower Man Review

Top 5 Hammer Horror Movies

The Hammer Horror studio is best known for putting Christopher Lee in the role of Dracula time and time again, and while some people absolutely loathe the movies that came out of the studio, others find the films to be awesome, especially those that mixed exploitation and horror quite nicely. Admittedly, some of the movies are horrible, and boring, but there are some shining gems amidst a lot of the movies that were continually being pushed to the public. Here is my list of the top 5 Hammer Horror movies.



The Brides of Dracula – The Brides of Dracula put together sex and vampires together long before HBO decided to throw it all together. This film from the 1960s has that classic old school feel and while the pacing can use some work, the blood and artistic viewpoint of the Dracula myth is all presented quite nicely. The brides come out of their graves to become the antagonists of this gothic horror picture, and while we get another shot at Peter Cushing in his infamous rolls with Hammer, it’s Baron Meinster that really gets the credit here. I love it, and you might enjoy it too.



Dracula Has Risen From The Grave – The year was 1968 when this movie came out and Christopher Lee played Dracula, in one of the better interpretations of the original tale. When you see this movie you will feel as though you are on set, or watching a stage play, the way the camera moves, the way the costumes are meticulously made, the way the acting draws you in. The whole time you are not sure whether to cheer for the vampire or to cheer for the hero, because Christopher Lee makes the old bastard look so cool.



Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed – A year after the aforementioned film, Peter Cushing reprised his role of an evil Baron, only this time he isn’t a protagonist, he is all bad. This guy is pure evil and he is out to somehow get his way and create a monster that will do his bidding. While some people will be mad at me for including this film in this list due to the strong rape scene, I will say that it’s just a movie and a Hammer movie at that. Grow up, it’s not making it “cool”, ok. Peter Cushing and his monster get the #3 spot, even though Frankenstein must be destroyed!



The Curse of the Werewolf – This wasn’t exactly a great one, but after repeated viewings this movie is actually not half bad. The movie has a lot of slow points, then really picks up in the third and fourth act, with the wolf going nuts and getting beaten and shot. The cool thing here was the mutation scene, which was far better than the Universal Monster movies. Although, my favorite wolf transition happens in The Howling, this one is kind of cool, even though it was from the early 1960s.

Now, at this point you probably are wondering what I would pick for the number one spot, and when you see it, you’ll understand, especially because the poster is so rad.



Dracula 1972 – One of my favorite movie posters is also my favorite Hammer Horror movie. This film updates the story of Dracula and places him in the present (well at the time it was the present), and with an all-new updated cast of cronies to help him. We also are introduced to the descendent of Van Helsing with Jessica Van Helsing, and Johnny Alucard. (Alucard is not a descendent, but teams up with the girl) The movie is a bit dry, but it has some awesome moments with Christopher Lee once again playing the role of Dracula and making it hard not to cheer for him.

There you have it, 5 of my favorites from Hammer Horror, what are your favorites? Drop me a line.

Remember to leave a comment, to be entered to win Total Recall on Blu Ray. Winners will be announced at the end of the month.