Kingp35's Horror Viewing Log

Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009)

The fact that this film is entitles Lesbian Vampire Killers and stars Matthew Horne and James Corden of Gavin and Stacy fame tells you pretty much everything you need know. The basic story follows two mates who travel to the English countryside to escape some problems their having at home. Turns out the place they traveled to is cursed by a troupe of Lesbian Vampires and they must team up with a local vicar and female backpacker in order to save the day.

Ok so bar some nice gore scenes there is very little horror to be found here, this film is played almost entirely for laughs and whether or not you enjoy this depends on whether you find James Corden and plenty of low brow humour funny. At only 80 minutes bar credits it's a short film and moves along at a good pace, the story is solid enough, the action decent and I found it quite funny with some nice one liners and plenty of hot looking women.

It's certainly not gonna win any awards but it's a nice turn your brain off film that provides good entertainment.

7/10

The Ghostmaker (2012)

Supposedly based on true events (this has to be a gimmick, there is no way this can be true), The Ghostmaker is a reasonably low budget horror film about three friends who discover a 15th century coffin that allows someone to experience the world as a ghost by recreating a near death experience. What starts out as being fun quickly becomes dangerous as the coffin begins to bring their bad side as well as them being tracked by a mysterious grim reaper style character.

The only reason I got my hands on this film was because of the concept, it is very similar to Flatliners but with a paranormal aspect. The back-story behind the coffin and the groups first experiences with it are is excellently done and sets the film up nicely but the second really falls apart and offers very little in the way of scares or interesting plot developments. It becomes a little predictable and the Grim Reaper character doesn't feature heavily enough for my liking. The ending is ok but your left feeling that this was an opportunity lost, a little more focus on creating some nice horror moments and a more interesting second half and this could have been a winner. Unfortunately it's not.

5/10

Rites of Spring (2012)

First time writer/director Padraig Reynolds must be commended for and trying to create a more intricate slasher film that the usual low budget fare and for trying to and mostly succeeding in creating a plot that holds your attention throughout. The first two acts of the film mainly focus on a group of people who execute a robbery kidnapping of a rich family and hold up inside an abandoned factory. All the while this is happening, we are also shown a blood ritual to a mysterious creature being performed by a farmer using two women he kidnapped. This creature eventually escapes and makes it's way to the factory leading to a well shot and above average slasher film final act.

There are other intricacies to the plot but that would be giving too much away. Although the acting is not great, it's to be expected with a budget so low and it never becomes too noticeable. The first two acts are very well done, the robbery is interesting enough to keep entertained and easily beats the usual 45 minutes of filler scenes you get in the average slasher film. The final half hour is good slasher fun as the killer hacks his through various victims and looks good doing it. The only real flaw is the manner in which are killer is dispatched, it's hinted throughout that he's a supernatural entity so the final scene is a little underwhelming. Otherwise it's a well made and above average thriller/slasher that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected.

7/10

Beneath The Darkness (2010)

Beneath the Darkness is a very frustrating film. For much of its running time it's largely mundane and extremely predictable, you know almost from the get go the underlying reason for what is happening to the characters. It's largely tedious, not frightening at all and lacking any real sense of horror or suspense but then the ending comes about and you realise that writer/director Chad Feehan actually had a very interesting and good idea but really failed to execute in a good way.

The plot follows two people who stop at a motel for the night and strange things start the happen to the man as he meets some odd characters who seem to know information about him as well as seeing things and strange happenings throughout the motel which all lead up the ending I was talking about. Really the majority of "twists" are incredibly predictable but the final 5 minutes when the larger picture is explained are very interesting but will undoubtedly leave you ruing the fact that Feehan couldn't put together a better film to go with his idea.

5/10

Paranorman (2012)

Paranorman is an entertaining animated horror film for kids and adults alike that has plenty of nods to genre classics throughout it's running time. Shot using stop motion style similar to the excellent Caroline, the animation is fantastic throughout and you won't be able to take your eyes off it. The plot involving zombies, witches a kid who can see ghosts and various other characters is always entertaining and the jokes are mostly funny too. If you're looking for a fun film that you can't go wrong with Paranorman.

8/10

Sint (Saint) (2010)

Being as it's getting close to Christmas I decided to finally watch the dutch horror film Sint which is based on Sinterklaas, a figure that is comparable to Santa Claus but visits on Dec 5th. The film distorts into a evil character by portraying him as a ghost who murders people when the night of Dec 5th coincides with a full moon. It's up to a cop who saw his family killed by Sinterklaas when he was a child to try and save as many people as he can.

The film starts of great with some very well shot and executed action involving Sinterklaas and his minions slashing their way through a family. In fact whenever the Sinterklaas character is on screen you will not be able to take your eyes away as there is plenty of bloody action and a nice helping of black comedy. The problem is though that he is not given enough screen time and large swathes of the film feel quite boring in comparison. There is plenty of black humour but it's not engaging enough. The ending is also quite a let down as it happens very suddenly.

Sint is very much a mixed film, brilliant at times but forgettable at others, it's still definitely worth a watch especially at this time of year.

6/10

House At The End Of The Street (2012)

After watching House At The End Of The Street I'm finding it very difficult to actually call it a horror film considering that the vasy majority of it is nothing more than a teenage love story where the girl falls for the troubled guy. Luckily things pick up in the final third but it's not enough to save a largely forgettable film.

The plot revolves around a mother and daughter who move into a new house that just so happens to be next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. The girls brother, who wasn't present that night, now lives in the house and he hits it off with his new neighbour providing us with a mundane hour of teenage love. Luckily though the brother is not quite as innocent as he seems.

It actually starts off quite well with an intense opening scene but the next hour is largely forgettable despite teh occasional good moment. The final half hour is decent entertainment but again I would be hard pushed to call it horror. The main twist is interesting but most of the minor ones are predictable. Being as it's very much a PG-13 film there is almost no horror and zero gore. The acting is decent enough and production is good but if you're looking for a proper horror film this is definitely not for you.

5.5/10

The Millennium Bug (2011)

The Millennium Bug is a horror film produced by No CGI Films who, as their name suggests, make films using only practical effects work. As a result Millennium Bug is a nice little through back to those 80's low budget creature feature horror films that were full of inventive effects and plenty of blood an guts.

The story is set on Dec 31st 1999 and revolves around a family who decide to go camping in the woods to avoid the millennium bug hysteria. They are taken captive by a group of inbred hillbillies though but unbeknownst to everyone bar a crazy scientist there is a creature sleeping under the forest that only rises once every 1000 years that rises on that particular night and wreaks havoc throughout the forest.

Ok so the plot isn't exactly great and the acting is poor but this film is all about the old school effects which are a delight to watch. It's clear that a huge effort was put into creating the creature which looks great, this certainly isn't a guy in a rubber suit type film. There is nice gory moments too and this film just screams fun throughout. You will have plenty of laughs and nostalgic moments watching it all unfold.

Millenium Bug is a fun film that certainly won't be too everyone's tastes but it's great to see a film that relies on practical effects rather than cheap looking CGI.

6/10

The Road (2011)

The Road is a horror film from the Philippines that was rather painful to sit through. I'll be honest and admit that I turned it off after an hour having realised that there was still another hour to go. It was extremely derivative and uninspiring stuff that was totally devoid of scares or anything interesting happening. This is more of a warning than a review, I advise you all to stay away from this one.

Grabbers (2012)

Grabbers is an Irish horror/comedy film that is great fun to watch from start to finish. Most of the other attempts at horror/comedy to come from this country have been nothing short of awful so it's great to finally see a film that works.

The plot is based upon the fictional Island of Erin Isle where a meteor strikes just off the coast unleashing multi-tentacled sea monsters that can also come on land during rain. It seems as if these creatures can be killed if they ingest alcohol leading to the brilliant Irish logic that of you get as drunk as you possibly can then you will be inedible. It's up to the local cop, a replace female cop and the locals to try and save the day while having a pint.

The first thing I have to mention is how good the CGI looks for such a low budget film, the creatures all look excellent and the design is top notch too. The comedy comes thick and fast, perhaps some of it doesn't quite hit the mark and there is a 15 minute spell in the middle when it kind of dries up but by and large it's a funny film. All of the actors do a good job and there is plenty of action. It's unfortunately very light on the horror but this is to be expected in a film of this type.

Grabbers has finally given is a good Irish horror/comedy film. It's best enjoyed after a beer of two!

8/10

Rammbock: Berlin Undead

Rammbock is a surprisingly good German zombie film that clocks in at only 59 minutes long. It tells the tale of a group of people that get trapped inside an apartment complex during a zombie outbreak. What makes this film work isthe acting from t=all involved and surprising minimal amount of zombie action, the majority of film focuses on the decisions the people make to stay alive rather than to escape or kill the zombies. The effects are good, as is the gore and it all amounts to a satisfying ending. I am not usually a fan of Zombie films as they are mostly far too similar but this one is well worth a look. Perhaps the short run time worked in its favour.

7/10

Citadel (2012)

Citadel is an Irish made horror film that has been doing the rounds around various festivals for a while now and has finally been released on DVD. It's a very ambitious film that mostly works but is certainly not without its problems.

The plot revolves around Tommy who has become a serious agoraphobic after witnessing his pregnant girlfriend attacked and put in a coma. He is now forced to look after his daughter while always being afraid to leave the house. It turns out though that the "kids" who attacked his girlfriend have taken an interest in his daughter so it's up to Tommy and a very unorthodox priest to try and save her before it's too late.

What makes Citadel stand out from usual Irish horror films is how well it's made. Director Ciaran Foy has created an extremely bleak film with an excellent atmosphere as well as top class production values. The central story is an ambitious one and the theme of fear is well used throughout. The only major down point is the main character of Tommy. He is simply not a person you can root for. He is afraid of his own shadow, makes idiotic decisions and only becomes the hero when is literally forced into it leaving no other choice. His character definitely need some better writing and it would have brought the film on even further.

As it stands Citadel is a very well made and creepy film with an interesting plot that builds up a satisfying ending. The theme of fear features heavily but the sniveling main character lets it down somewhat. It is still well worth a look though.

7/10

The Collection (2012)

The Collection is the follow up to The Collector, with both films directed by Marcus Dunstan, a man better known as one of the writers in the saw series. If you have seen The Collector then you will clearly see the influence of the Saw films throughout but although The Collection has many similar elements it also brings a few new things to the table to insure it doesn't just seem like more of the same.

The Collection pretty much begins where the last film ended with the main protagonist still locked in the box that he was trapped in at the end of the first installment. The Collector entices a group of people to his hideout by putting on a dance party which quickly turns into a massacre but our main man manages to escape from his box. One of the guests is a daughter of a rich man though who hires a team of mercenaries to go back into the house and free the girl. The mercs force our protagonist to go back into the house and try to free the girl. All hell breaks lose as they have to survive The Collectors traps and get back out alive.

The first film of the series was basically nothing more than a series of traps within a house that had to be avoided and survived. It was very episodic in that it simply went from one trap to the next. This sequel has a bit more plot to it and although the traps are all still very evident, the killer also uses a hands on approach making The Collection feel more like a rounded film. Unfortunately though it's extremely short at about 70 mins long excluding credits. Very few of the characters are developed and we learn almost nothing new about the killer.

As a turn your brain off bit of entertainment The Collection does it's job well but it would have been nice had we been treated to a bit more backstory.

6/10

Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

The first Grave Encounters film was one of the better found footage films of recent times so it's no surprise that they decided to release a sequel. Luckily for us though it's not simply a rehash of the first film and actually tries to do something new.

The plot follows a film student who becomes convinced that the events depicted in the first film are true events. He gathers a group of friends and sets to investigate at the asylum where the original was shot. Unfortunately for him and his friends he turns out to be right and the encounter the same malevolent presence that the first group encountered.

The idea to portray the original film as true events actually works very well as it's different enough for this sequel to feel sufficiently different and new from the original film. It adds a bit more depth to the story while also allowing for much more of a build up before the group gets to the asylum. Once there we are treated to pretty much the same that we got with the original, loud noise scares, creatures jumping from dark places etc but again it's filmed very well. We also find a lot more out about the Asylum itself and the ghostly presence withing. Unfortunately though the films ended disappointed me quite a bit, it just didn't sit right with me and somewhat taints what came before it.

Grave Encounters 2 is a solid sequel for the type of film it is. The ending could have been better bit the new approach and solid production make this sequel worth a look.

6/10

Silent Hill Revelation (2012)

I'll just do a quick review for this film. I actually quite enjoyed the original film. As game to film transfers go I thought it was most definitely one of the better ones. Unfortunately this sequel is anything but. It is the definition of all style and no substance. The set design, creature works, effects, sound etc are all top notch. The production team have created a really frightening looking film full of great imagery but a film need a plot to back up the imagery and this film has almost none. If the writers had done their job as well as everyone else then this could have been another surprise hit but bar the opening ten minutes it simply has nothing to offer in the way of story and the final twenty minutes are laughably bad. It might be worth viewing for the visuals but do not expect anything in the way of plot or you will be very disappointed.

4/5/10

American Mary (2012)

I'm still not sure whether American Mary can be considered a horror film but it does have horror elements to it and so it's probably worth it's place here. The story follows a surgical student named Mary who is becoming increasingly broke and desperate for money. She decides to take a lapdancing job but while at her "interview" she's asked to perform no questions asked surgery on a gunshot victim for $5k. The allure of the easy money is too much for Mary to turn down so she becomes involved in increasingly strange surgical jobs eventually dropping out of med school to to perform extreme body modification procedures on the underground market.

See the problem with this film lies with it's plot, there isn't really one. Bar the outline above where Mary becomes involved in the body modification world there isn't much that happens after that fact. The progression of her character from wholesome student to an almost crazed surgeon just isn't believable at all. There are plenty of good elements, particularly the Betty Boop character and the woman who wants to become a doll but these elements don't really do much to move the story along. The ending also feels like just a way to wrap the film up as it wasn't really going anywhere.

The central story of a surgeon performing extreme body modification is a good one but the actual main plot isn't, the writers needed to come up something more than just a synopsis. Bar some interesting and occasionally disturbing scenes, American Mary mostly disappoints despite the praise being heaped upon it by various horror websites.

5/10


Treevenge (Short Film) (2008)

Treevenge is a short film from the eventual director of Hobo With A Shotgun that tells the story of Christmas trees coming to life and attacking the people who "tortured" them by cutting them down and putting them in their houses for Christmas. It's very entertaining, has plenty of funny moments and the last 5 minutes are great gore soaked fun. At only 15 minutes long it's well worth a watch and is available to watch in full on youtube.

8/10

Midnight Son (2012)

Midnight Son is a very low budget horror film that on the face of it seems to be jumping on the "vampire" bandwagon that has been rolling along for quite some time now. Luckily though writer/director Scott Leberecht has somehow managed to create a vampire film that seems both fresh and original.

The story follows a night security man named Jacob who has a rare skin disorder that makes his skin burn very easily when exposed to sunlight. His life changes when he meets a woman but his condition worsens when he seems to crave human blood causing his life to change once more.

I suppose the real difference between Midnight Son and the countless other vampire films out there is that it aims for a sense of realism and is more of a character study than a true horror film. The film purely focuses on the character of Jacob and what how he struggles to cope with his new cravings and his love for the new woman on his life. Things slowly get out of control for him and it all builds up a nice ending. There are some problems with the film though which are mainly down to its budget, the acting from some of the bit parts is very poor and some of the camera work leaves a little to be desired. There are also some pacing issues on the mid-section where it gets very slow at times and might test the patience of some viewers.

All in all though Midnight Son is a solid low budget horror film that mostly succeeds in bringing something new to the vampire genre. It's definitely worth a watch.

7/10

sweetie wrote: »

Great reviews as usual - Id personally swap the ratings for the innocents and the changeling

Thanks.

Ah I'm sure I'm in the minority when it comes to The Innocents, most people seem to think it's an excellent film but it just didn't work for me. Maybe it was the mood I was in but I definitely thought that The Changeling was the better of the two.

April Fools Day (1986)

April Fools Day is one of a slew of slasher films that came out in the 1980's in order to cash in on the popularity of films such as Friday the 13th and Halloween. The vast majority of these slashers had very little new and original to say and many were simply terrible but April Fools Day managed to be both different and enjoyable.

The plot follows a group of eight college friends who travel to a mansion on an island, which belongs to another of their friends, in order to celebrate April Fools Day. Once their though they realise that there is a killer among them has begun to pick them off one by one. They begin to suspect each other of being the killer and each one must try and survive the night.

It sounds like your typical slasher set up and for the most part it is. We are again treated to about half an hour of filler material but the killer shows up and things really get going. Luckily though the filler material is quiet funny and entertaining as it features different members of the group playing pranks on each other and is an entertaining way of introducing us to each other. When the killer does show up the film becomes much more serious and becomes almost a character study in paranoia as various people are suspected as being the killer. I have to admit that it is in no way a frightening film, there are few jump scares and the atmosphere isn't all that creepy but it's who dunnit nature of the film and the famous ending that really elevates it above the usual fare.

April Fools Day is definitely one of the best of the 80's slasher films with funny moments as well as horror and an excellent ending. Give this one a go but make sure read nothing about it beforehand.

8/10

Mama (2013)

Mama is the latest "Guillermo Del Toro Presents" film that is based upon a 3 minute short film that Del Toro found and loved so much that he decided to get a feature length version made. The director of the short film, Andrés Muschietti, is also the director of this feature length effort which showed a huge amount of loyalty on the part of Del Toro as Muschietti had never directed a feature film before.

The story is about two young sisters who were left to fend for themselves in the middle of a forest for 5 years after there father killed there mother and attempted to kill himself and the girls in a cabin in the forest. Their uncle spent the 5 years searching for the girls and once he finds them decides to take them into his home to live with himself and his girlfriend. Obviously the girls have suffered hugely in the intervening years and have a wild streak about them. They also keep mentioning Mama, a person it's believed they made up to help them survive in the forest. It turns out that Mama is anything but make believe and she wants to two girls back for herself.

The opening of the film starts of strong as we are shown how the girls came to be left in the forest and that there is a ghostly presence in the cabin where they are left. We then skip forward 5 years to when the girls are found and moved in with their uncle. This is the point where Mama turns into your typical seen it all before horror film as the second act is a let largely a let down given the excellent set up. We are treated to dream sequence after dream sequence where you only know it's a dream when the final big jump scare happens and the character wakes up. This is very lazy film making, yes the odd dream sequence is ok and heightens the tension but to do it on four occasions is really pushing it. There are much better ways to scare the audience. Luckily though the final act is a huge step up as the back-story to Mama is revealed and she really makes her presence felt. The tension is really ramped up as are the scares due to plenty of frightening visuals. The ending is decent enough although I can't help but feel it could have been done better.

In the end Mama is a slightly above average horror film let down it's lazy second act. It's essentially a story about a woman growing into her job as a mother as well as a horror story about a malevolent spirit. There are some frightening visuals and excellent sound production but if the second act was as good as the third then it would have been a real stand out.

7/10

The Tattooist (2007)

The Tattooist is a horror film that I heard about a few years ago but never managed to see it. I noticed while browsing Netflix that it was available to view so I decided to give it a watch. I shouldn't have.

The story follows a tattoo artist named Jake who steals an ancient tattoo implement from a group of Samoan artists and accidentally cuts himself with the wooden tool. This causes him to unwittingly unleash an ancient spirit that seems hell bent on killing anyone who Jake has tattooed since cutting himself. Jake must figure out what's going on and try to save the new love of his life Sina from suffering a harrowing death.

The first 45 minutes or so of The Tattooist follows Jake as he travels around various tattoo exhibitions with the only interesting scene involving the Samoans and the taking of the tool. The actual main plot involving the spirit doesn't get going until the final half an hour which is actually an enjoyable 30 minutes of horror as various characters get killed off the spirit is suitably menacing. It just makes you wonder why the director couldn't have gotten the spirit to show up earlier and done away with a lot of the needless filler. Jason Behr as Jake is also incredibly annoying with his acting range limited to him looking broody. The CGI effects are well done and the film looks good but it's the inordinate amount of filler that ruins this film.

The Tattooist is a film with an original idea that could have turned out very well but instead the director was too interested in showing us the world of tattooing and various people getting tattooed rather than letting the spirit be the main focus of the film. The final half hour is good fun but wading through the previous hour to get there is not.

5/10

The Bay (2012)

The Found Footage style of film-making seems to divide people on whether or not it is a valid form of film-making or simply a gimmick. I would fall somewhere in the middle, when it is done right it can be a very effective genre and really add a sense or realism to the proceedings. When it's done badly though it's almost unwatchable. Luckily The Bay falls into the former category and ends up being quite an effective film.

The story is based in a small town in Maryland, America where an ecological disaster occurs which causes much of the towns population to suffer serious boils on their skin and to eventually succumb to a painful death. The US Government has tried to cover up the disaster but a student journalist has gathered together her own footage and various other sources of footage of the outbreak and released it online. The film is this footage put together to show what really happened on the day in question.

The Bay is directed by Barry Levinson who is quite a big name director to use the found footage style. He originally wanted to create a documentary to highlight the threat an ecological disaster would cause but instead decided to go down this route as it afforded him more dramatic license to portray the events. I have to admit that the documentary would have portrayed his message much better but The Bay is certainly the more entertaining way to do things. The story is told through news footage, police cameras, handheld camcorders and CCTV footage. It's very well made as we are slowly introduced to the scare by looking at the footage of two biologists and once the disaster hits then we the pace is ramped up as we see the carnage it causes, There are some nice horror moments and the effects are excellent thorughout but perhaps the scariest thought is that it's feasible for something like this to actually happen and the message that we should look after the environment is very well realised by the film.

The Bay is an eco-horror film with a strong message that is entertaining and well made. A documentary would have been able to provide much more detail but this found footage film is still a powerful reminder of what could go wrong if we mess with the environment.

7/10

A little Bit Zombie (2012)

Just a short review for this one as it's certainly more of a comedy film than a horror.

A Little Bit Zombie is a low budget comedy/horror film about a group of four people who travel to a cabin the wood for a little get away. One of them is bitten by a mosquito that has recently feasted on a zombie and so he is slowly starting to feel the effects of turning into a zombie and so gets an overwhelming urge to eat brains. He must also try and live with his bridezilla to be as his friends to try and help him with his condition.

It's very much a hit and miss film. Some of the jokes are genuinely funny while other fall very flat. The entire town of the film is very cheesy from start to finish and it's clear that the director had no intention of trying to scare the viewer but rather to make them laugh. There are some nice practical effects and some decent gore and the film has to be given credit for trying to so something different with the extremely tired zombie genre but having someone slowly turn into a zombie.

There is just the right amount of comedy and original ideas to make A Little Bit Zombie worth your time. Give this low budget film a watch, you might just enjoy it.

5.5/10

Evil Dead (2013)

As far as remakes go, this Fede Alvarez directed and Sam Raimi produced film based on his own original has been getting solid reviews right across the board. With this in mind I was quite looking forward to giving it a look and I went in with my expectations raised somewhat. Unfortunately, for me anyway, it wasn't as good as I expected and I left a little underwhelmed.

The main plot is almost identical to the original barring a couple of slight changes and the absence of the Ash character from the original; a group of five friends travel to remote cabin in the woods in order to help one of the group to kick a drug habit. They find a strange book closed with barbed wire in the basement along with a number of dead cats. One of the group decides to open the book and despite the numerous warnings contained withing, utters a chant that releases and Evil spirit that begins to possess and kill of each of them in gruesome ways. They must try to decipher the book which will help them to rid themselves of the malevolent presence.

What made the original so good despite it's extremely low budget was the unique blend of comedy and horror that worked perfectly. The film was both genuinely funny but also genuinely frightening while also being very gory for it's time. This remake has decided to play it completely straight and do away with the comedy elements and instead aiming for an out and out horror film. The problem is that it just isn't frightening, not one little bit. Alvarez has simply made a completely gore soaked film that admittedly has some terrific gory scenes with top class practical effects but very little effort was made to try and scare the audience. There is even a near complete lack of loud noise scares making the film entirely devoid of scares. Now this doesn't mean it's a bad film, in fact it's great fun and the decision to only use practical effects really worked in it's favor but as an Evil Dead film it doesn't quite fit bill.

Evil Dead is an entertaining film but comes nowhere near the quality of the original. I can't help but feel it should have been made as a stand alone film with nothing to do with the Evil Dead franchise and maybe it would have receive more credit. Do give it a watch though as it is still good gory fun.

6/10

Tindie wrote: »

I hope Carrie remake is better

The trailer looks awful, I have very low expectations for it.

Hatchet 3 (2013)

A very poor and disappointing sequel to the reasonably popular slasher series featuring the deformed hatchet wielding killer Victor Crowley. Alarm bells should immediately start ringing when you realise that creator and director of the first two films Adam Green is only producing this one and it's safe to say that this is purely a money making exercise. The acting is poor throughout although that is never huge a problem in films like this but the script truly is terrible, the gore effects have seriously diminished in quality and there is a half an hour in the middle where very little happens. When Crowley is on screen it picks up a little but the kills are very uninteresting and the whole film is just a disappointment. This could be the end of the series.

4/10

Would You Rather (2012)

This is a film that not many people have heard about and if they have they could be forgiven for thinking that it is yet another Saw rip off. 8 people in desperate need of help are invited to a dinner party by a shady club where they are told a game will be played and the winner will have all of their problems solved. They are not informed what the game will be but all are so desperate that they show up anyway. It turns out (unsurprisingly) that the 8 of them are forced to play a sick game of "would you rather" a childs game where you are given a choice between the things and must pick one to do. These choices become increasingly more macabre and violent with the eventual planned outcome of only one person standing at the end.

Yes it is a horror film that is based around torture and very little scares but it does flag some interesting moral choices throughout and begs the question what would you do given the choice. It's well made and acted but does suffer from a slow pace at times and a predictable outcome. It is a somewhat original idea, especially when compared to other Saw type knockoffs and it does manage to make you think a bit at the end. Certainly no masterpiece but this is worth a watch.

6/10

The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is without doubt this years biggest horror film release having already taken over $100m in the US alone. Directed by James Wan of Saw and Insidious fame, the plot is based on a famous case investigated by true life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren where a family was being terrorised by a dark presence within their secluded farmhouse.

First thing is first, the Conjuring has every single horror cliche you can imagine in there somewhere and really offers absolutely nothing new. That being said everything it does it manages to do very well and there is a real sense of terror permeating throughout. The final half an hour is very intense and wonderfully shot and there plenty of creepy moments and jump scares that will catch out all but the seasoned horror film watcher. Unfortunately I fall into this category so I could see the majority of the scares coming but it was still an engaging, well acted and well filmed horror film that the average horror film watcher will love. The fact that it has done so well can only be a good thing for the horror genre. Expect the inevitable sequel some time soon.

8/10