Kingp35's Horror Viewing Log

100 Feet (2008)

100 Feet is yet again another horror film that has a decent concept but almost wholly fails to capitalise on it. The plot tells the story of a woman who is under house arrest for killing her abusive husband and therefore is unable to leave her house as she can't stray more than 100 feet from the sensor mounted in her house for more than 3 minutes. This becomes a problem when it becomes apparent that her husband has decided to come back into her life as a ghost and continue with his abuse.

So the concept of someone being unable to leave a haunted house is a good one, it adds plenty of menace to the situation and provides good opportunity for scares. The second part of plot though is not so good, an abusive husband coming back as ghost sounds like something that belongs on the Lifetime or Hallmark channel and not in a Hollywood horror film. It just doesn't work as the director had hoped and offers very little in the way of frightening scenes. At one point it's almost as if the woman just accepts that he is back in her life . Bar some interesting enough scenes near the end it's a very bland film and is certainly not for aficionados of supernatural horror films.

5/10

Livid (2011)

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury of Inside fame, I had high hopes for this French horror film given the talent that was behind it. Oh how disappointed I was by the end! The story follows a trainee care giver named Lucy who learns that comatosed woman she looks after has hidden treasure somewhere in here house. Convinced by her boyfriend and his friend, the trio head off on Halloween night to break in a steal the treasure. It quickly becomes apparent that the house is not as it seems and neither is the old woman.

It starts off very well, the first 45 minutes are excellent and as the characters are introduced and the scene is set but once they break into the house it quickly turns into a confusing and muddled mess that will leave a lot of people scratching their heads. I suppose the most frustrating aspect is that it's very well made, has some nice visuals and does have a creepy atmosphere at times but the script is all over the place, so much so that I almost lost interest in what I was seeing. Despite the excellent visuals etc the final half hour is just too muddled to be worth watching and really kills and otherwise very good set up.

4/10

Donner Pass (2012)

Run of the mill straight to DVD slasher film, Donner pass is not terrible but it's far from good either. Four friends go on a trip to one of their parents winter cabin only for a number of jock type people to crash the party after being invited behind the hosts back. Cue 50 or so minutes of filler involving the usual drinking etc chock full of incredibly annoying characters. Finally our killer shows up and starts offing the annoying people in uninventive ways which all leads to a couple of reasonably predictable twists at the end.

There is nothing new or original to be seen here, the characters are very one dimensional and mostly annoying, the kills are poorly done and rather tame and the twist will be predictable to a lot of people. Still it's reasonably well made and is about on a par with the countless other slasher films of the same type. Basically it's a straight to DVD slasher film at it's most derivative.

5/10

Silent Night (2012)

I enjoyed the original Silent Night, Deadly Night and I have also mostly enjoyed Steven C. Miller's previous films so I was looking forward to this remake as I was expecting a fun B-Movie slasher. Unfortunately it turned out to be anything but.

It starts off promising enough with an entertaining opening scene but once Malcolm McDowell shows up it goes down hill rapidly. His acting is so over the top it's beyond rodiculous and it gets tiring very fast. In fact the acting from everyone bar Jamie King is terrible. The pace is actually quite slow and even when the killer is on screen it seems to drag. The kills are nothing to write home about and there is just a serious lack of fun and comedic moments. It was very disappointing and I recommend giving it a miss.

3.5/10

Rec 3 Genesis (2012)

The latest entry into Spanish horror franchise is a wholly different beast to the two that came before it. In fact I was completely surprised by the way the it was filmed and the tone of the film itself, it brought a freshness to the franchise despite the fact that it is largely a hit and miss film.

The opening 30 minutes or so are shot using the same camcorder/cinema verite style as the previous two entries and focuses on a young Spanish couple and their wedding day. Unfortunately for them, their uncle is infected with the zombie virus and all hell breaks loose as he starts to infect the wedding guests. After about 30 minutes though the cinema verite style is abandoned and the rest of the film is shot in a straight up way. What surprised me the most though is the tone of the film, it's very much a black comedy and quite a good one at that too. The previous two entries were entirely serious but this one has some great visual jokes and is very entertaining and over the top at times. Yes the jokes do miss at times and there are about ten minutes in the middle that drag but otherwise it's very well made. It doesn't really move the story of the zombie outbreak along very much but it is certainly the entry that provides the most fun.

Serious fans of the franchise will probably be angry with the approach to this sequel but for me it was a bretah of fresh air and despite it's faults manages to be an entertaining film.

7/10

The Possession (2012)

The Possession is very much a Hollywood horror film in how it is shot, loud noise scares and CGI abound, but the central story and mythos is strong enough to overcome the Hollywood cliches.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays a father who has just split up with his wife and is trying to get his daughters settled into his new home. He buys his youngest daughter a mysterious box at a yard sale that turns out to be a DIbbuk box which, according to the Jewish faith, is a box used to contain an evil spirit. the box begins to take over the girl and slowly poesses the girl leading to him seeking help from a Rabbi to perform an exorcism.

Yes the main story is similar to countless other films released in recent times in that a girl becomes possessed which all leads up o the final act where an exorcism is performed. What makes The Possession stand out from the others is the use of the Dibbuk box and the mystery surrounding it. As far as I know no other film has focused on a Dibbuk box before. For a PG-13 film it is quite intense at times, some of the loud noise scares work but most don't. It's well acted and it does have an ominous tone at times but ultimately the predictabilty of what the film is building towards lets it down.

The Possession is your typical Hollywood horror film that manages to create an interesting mythos. It's worth a look for that alone.

6.5/10

Sleep Tight (2011)

I have been waiting for this film to be released over here for some time now as it had a very intriguing concept and is directed by Jaume Balagueró of Rec fame. I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed.

the film revolves around a concierge working in an upmarket apartment block who has taken a very unhealthy attraction to a woman living there. He sneaks into her apartment every night, drugs here and makes subtle changes to her beauty products etc trying to make her unhappy. Things quickly spiral out of control however which all leads up to a nice conclusion.

It's a very well acted film, moves along a nice pace and has plenty of uncomfortable moments throughout. Perhaps the most shocking aspect of this film is just how easy it would be for someone to do this to you, the mere idea of a man sneaking into your house every night while you sleep is unsettling. The characters are well drawn out and the ending has some nice gore and a brave conclusion.

This is well worth a watch.

8/10

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

This is snot strictly a horror film but rather has horror as it's subject matter. I have read quite a few rave reviews about this film but having seen the trailer I was reluctant to watch it. After seeing it I wish I hadn't.

The plot focuses on an English sound engineer to goes to Italy to work on a Giallo film. The opening half is interesting as we get an insight into how sound production worked for this films but it quickly descends into a boring mess that is incredibly pretentious and tries to be far too clever for it's own good. The last half an hour is incomprehensible and I was really struggling to make it to the end. It's well acted and well made but unless you like your films with a huge dose of pretension then stay away from this. It's clearly a "Love it or Hate it" type of film.

3/10

When The Lights Went Out (2012)

It seems as if possession films are very much the in thing when it comes to horror films in the last few years, even when it comes to films produced outside of the Hollywood studio scene.

This applies to When The Lights Went Out too, a British horror film set in Yorkshire in the 1970's where a young family move into a new house only to find out that the house contains a ghostly presence that has taken an unhealthy fascination with the teenage daughter of the family. It becomes clear that an exorcism is needed but things don't exactly go to plan.

Ok so first things first, there is absolutely nothing new to be found here. The fact that it is supposedly based on real events is the only thing that sets this film apart from the many others of the same genre, otherwise it has all the elements we have come to expect from a possession film. The slow build up, things go bump in the night and eventually a exorcism is performed. I do have to give credit for the brave ending though and despite it's unoriginality it's a well made and well acted film that does exactly what it says on the tin.

6/10

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

At this stage anyone who watches a Paranormal Activity film knows exactly what they are going to get, all four films are almost a carbon copy of each other in how they are made and this fourth one is no different. It offers some decent enough scares, a couple of gimmicks but ultimately it has a huge plot hole that lets it down.

This fourth entry yet again focuses on a single house that seems to be haunted when a family take in a young boy from across the street. The teenage daughter of the house begins suspect it has something to do with the young boy but of course we get a twist that we can see coming a mile off. It's well filmed, provides a decent atmosphere and some nice jump scares but what really lets it down is this: about midway through the film the daughter and her friend install cameras throughout the house to try and film any ghostly activity. Yet when the ghostly happenings really kick off and the parents refuse to believe the house is haunted the girl does not check ANY of the cameras even once! They are completely forgotten about and simply serve a sway to film the action. All she had to do was review the tapes to see what was going on and show her parents. It's a huge plot hole that the film never recovers from.

Sadly this film doesn't move the central story on much and a huge plot hole lets it down. Otherwise it's actually quite a solid film.

5/10

Sinister (2012)

Despite the largely very good reviews, I somehow managed to miss Sinister when it was in a cinema so I had to wait for the blu-ray release. Perhaps my expectations were a little too high because of the long wait so although I definitely enjoyed the film I was still somewhat underwhelmed.

The plot follows a true crime writer who moves his family into a house where a family was hanged. He ends up finding a box of super 8 films in the attic which end up being snuff films dating back to the 1960's leading him to believe that he is researching a serial killer. It soon becomes apparent that the killer had an interest in the occult and may be much more dangerous than first thought.

First off Sinister is very well made. It has a nice creepy atmosphere throughout and utilises the "loud noise" scare very well, it's extremely rare for me to be caught out but I did get a fright a couple of times throughout sinister. It's well acted by Ethan Hawke and the idea of finding snuff films to do with the occult is an excellent one. Unfortunately though I don't think the story ended up being quite as interesting as I thought it would be. At 1h50m long it's quite a long film for a horror and so you would expect to be little bit more background into the occult elements but it's somewhat lacking. This is all the more frustrating considering there clearly was an excellent story in there. Also the twist was a little too predictable but I'm not sure if it was supposed to be such a bug surprise.

All in all Sinister is a good horror film and certainly one of the better ones released in the cinema lately but I can't help but feel it could have been a classic.

7/10

Redd Inc. (2012)

Redd Inc is a low budget British horror/thriller film about a demented corporate headhunter who has been locked up for the murder of various corporate types. He manages to escape though and captures 6 people, all of which had something to do with him being jailed, and holds them in an office area and forces them to perform a number of tasks, one of which is to try and determine who the real killer of the people the headhunter was accused of murdering. If they don't follow his rules then serious repercussions ensue.

Ok so there is nothing particularly original about Redd Inc, in fact there are numerous other films focusing on a group of people held captive and forced to perform tasks, but Redd Inc, does manage to provide a slightly deeper story than the usual fare. It is a well acted film with plenty of top quality gore thanks to Tom Savini. Perhaps it slows down a little too much in the mid-section and the big twist is blatantly obvious but there is plenty of entertainment to be found here and it's well worth a look.

6/10

The Innocents (1961)

Unfortunately this film had been built up so much in my head over the years that when I finally came to watch it it was bound to be a disappointed but I wasn't expecting to be disappointed this much.

The plot follows a woman who moves into a huge country estate in order to look after two young children. She slowly becomes convinced that the house and the grounds are haunted and may have something to do with the children.

There is nothing wrong with the plot and the setting for the film is excellent and full of potential for creepy moments. What really let the film down though was the absolutely awful acting from everyone involved. It's the real fake cheesy pompous British way of portraying small children and upper class people that is so laughably bad that it completely stops you from becoming involved the creepy atmosphere. The scares amount to a face appearing and disappearing at a window and the supposedly great ending didn't do much for me.

I'm left with the opinion that The Innocents is one of those films that was ahead of it's time and thus people heap praise on it for nostalgia reasons. unfortunately it has suffered very badly from the passage of time and is no longer frightening or all that interesting.

5/10

The Changeling (1980)

The Changeling is one of those horror films that I have been meaning to watch for a long time but I've been putting it off for fear that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. I'm happy to saw that now I've watched it I can say that it is indeed a creepy and very effective horror film.

The plot follows a classical musician who moves into a secluded mansion after the death of his wife and child in a car accident. Unfortunately for him the mansion seems to be haunted by the ghost of a child which is trying to communicate something to the owner by using the mans despair as a tool to unlock the secrets of mansions past.

There is nothing particularly special about the plot, in fact it sounds almost identical to countless other horror films. What makes The Changeling stand out is how well it's made. Right from the off there is a creepy atmosphere permeating throughout every scene and once the ghostly happenings really get going there are plenty of frightening visuals. The acting is solid as well and the pace of the story works very well as certain details are kept secret while others are revealed reasonably early on. It's the wonderfully effective visuals and atmosphere that really make the film though and gives The Changeling the reputation the film deserves.

8/10

In The Mouth Of Madness (1994)

In The Mouth Of Madness is yet another highly regarded horror film that I hadn't gotten around to watching yet which is all the more surprising considering it was directed by a legend of the genre in John Carpenter. Having watched it not I am annoyed with myself that it took me so long to give it a look!

The plot is quite complex so it's difficult to explain without giving away too much but it focuses on an Insurance fraud investigator that is hired to look into the disappearance of the worlds most famous horror writer named Sutter Kane. He ends up in the small town of Hobbs End which doesn't feature on any maps, the reason being that the town is a figment of Kane's imagination and it turns out that many other horrific things that Kane has written about are slowly beginning to come true.

A huge amount of credit has to be given to writer Michael De Luca who has created a complex and original horror script that really stands out from the usual repetitive nature of the genre. Straight from the off the viewer is hooked as we open with our investigator inside a mental institution clearly insinuating that something strange is afoot. Once we get to Hobbs End the film really takes off though with some excellent horror imagery, plenty creepy scenes and real foreboding atmosphere that Carpenter is the master of creating. Things gradually get more and more crazy as the plot is unraveled and it all builds up to an excellent. The entire film is a reminder of what can be achieved when a little imagination and thinking outside of the norm is used to create a unique horror film. The acting from all involved is top notch too, particularly Sam Neill as the investigator.

In The Mouth Of Madness is a film that offers something different, has plenty of imagination, nice horror moments and plenty of entertainment. I don't how it took me so long to give it a watch.

9/10

Wilderness (2006)

Many people will argue that Wilderness is not strictly a horror film but it has enough elements of the genre to be considered a horror/thriller.

It's a reasonably low budget British film about a group of male young offenders that, after one the inmates commits suicide, are brought to an isolated island in order for them to learn to treat each other better. When the arrive they notice that there is also a small group of female young offenders there but that's where their luck ends as there is a crazed man on the loose that seems to be hellbent on picking off every person on the island one by one. The group needs to band together in order to survive.

Yes this is a plot that we have seen used countless times before in low budget horrors; a group of people head off into the woods only to be tracked down by a crazed killer. Truth be told Wilderness offers absolutely nothing new compared to these films and is a completely by the book film yet it is well filmed, has plenty of gore and provides enough entertainment for it to be a decent entry into the sub-genre. There are two main problems with it though; firstly almost the entire film is shot during the day which takes away a lot of the horror elements it was aiming and secondly some of the characters begin to get very annoying very fast which takes away from the enjoyment somewhat.

In the end Wilderness is a film we have seen plenty of times before but ends up being a passable and mildly entertaining film.

5.5/10

Stitches (2012)

Stitches is an Irish made ans set comedy horror film starring comedian Ross Noble as a clown who comes back from the dead in order to enact his revenge on a group of teenagers that treated him badly and were ultimately responsible for his death. The teens are having a house party and Stitches the clown is determined to pick them off one by one is inventive and gory ways.

I have to be honest that before I sat down to watch Stitches I didn't know it was an Irish film, I assumed that because Ross Noble was the star that it must be a British production. The fact that it was an Irish film certainly increased my enjoyment of it as a lot of the humour is very "Irish", so much so that I would imagine people from other countries swill struggle to understand the humour. The first 45 minutes play out purely as a comedy, it's very hit and miss but manages to elicit enough laughs to avoid it feeling like filler material. It gets going properly though when Stitches shows up. The kills are quite inventive and there is plenty of gore but there is too much reliance on CGI blood which is incredibly annoying. Noble gives a good performance as he is both menacing and funny on occasion. Most of the teens are passable but the over the top gay character who is supposed to be the main source of comic relief is poorly played and gets annoying very quickly.

All in all Stitches is a decent horror film that, if not taken seriously, provides good entertainment. It has some comedy, gore and a decent antagonist but it's certainly not without its faults. 6/10

Stoker (2013)

Stoker is yet another film that has elements of a horror film without being an out and out genre film. It's directed by Chan-Wook Park of Oldboy fame and is his first English language film which will know doubt attract a lot of viewers for this reason alone.

The plot is based around a young girl named India whose father has just died. Her Uncle Charlie, a man she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her mother and it becomes increasingly clear that Charlie may not be quite the man he seems and India becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

I want to get this point out of the way first, Stoker is definitely not a film for everyone as it has a very slow pace and has quite a strange narrative. In fact I would imagine it has quite a high walk out rate from cinemas despite being very well received by critics. The visuals it what really stand out about Stoker, in fact there are long stretches without any dialogue yet Park manages to convey the plot using purely visual means. In fact the entire film looks beautiful and is without doubt it's strongest point. It's well acted from all involved, particularly Matthew Goode as the uncle as he is both a charming and disturbing man at the same time. It all builds up to a nice little twist ending that is both powerful and interesting. The film does have its problems though. It's a little too slow for me at times, I found my mind wandering through some scenes. Also the plot meanders a bit too much at times and becomes a little muddled which may confuse some viewers.

Overall Stoker is a visually powerful film that's well made but suffers from some pacing issues and a strange meandering plot thread. That said it's still well worth your time, especially if you like slow burning character driven art-house style horror/thrillers.

7/10