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Reviews
Sissy (2022)
A nice gem of a horror movie
There has been a trend for horror movies with a message over the last few years and some of them have left me cold. The message part often means that the horror aspect is down played so as not to offend a broader audience. Luckily, this is not the case with Sissy.
This film addresses issues like mental health and social media influencers but still has a cracking horror movie at its heart. It borders on horror-comedy at times - but, if you're a gore hound - there's PLENTY for you here. I wasn't expecting a lot from this movie but it was nicely set up, the acting was good, the blood was splurting and, overall, it was an enjoyable 82 minutes.
Deadstream (2022)
"The Evil Dead" meets "The Blair Witch project"
I've been looking for a good horror comedy for a while and this definitely scratched that itch. If you like the idea of "Evil Dead" meets "The Blair Witch project" then this is one for you.
It owes A LOT to "The Evil Dead" (the original series rather than the remake) - so if you liked that, you'll like this too. It's funny, but there are some properly scary and gory bits too.
It's very contained - so only a few characters in it, and it feels quite low budget as a result. The practical effects are, however, good and while there's plenty of atmosphere (or should that be atmos-fear) building, there are some decent jump scares too!
Highly recommended!
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
4.5 / 10. Seriously??.?
Although it has nothing to do with Michael Meyers and, therefore, comes across as an odd entry in the Halloween movie series, this is one of the great Hallowe'en movies and a great horror movie full stop.
Although it's directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, he's clearly channeling his inner John Carpenter. The premise is fantastic, the execution is perfect and the ending will stay with you for the rest of your life. In places it's a little cheesy - but this was 1982 people?!?!? It doesn't lessen the horror one bit.
Negative reviewers need to wake up and re-evaluate their motivations for down marking this. It's a genuine Hallowe'en classic.
Leprechaun: Origins (2014)
Not as bad as the other reviews suggest
This may not sound like a ringing endorsement for this film and while I'm not saying that this is a great horror film, I have to say that this is far from the worst I've seen but it has some interesting ideas and forgoes the comedy horror of the original series in favour of more traditional shocks and gore. In terms of ideas I loved the - potential spoiler alert - 'sacrifice' concept, which is another departure from the original. I'd go so far as to say that this film bears very little similarities to the original set of films but is all the better for it. Perhaps this is why the film is attracting so much ire – but I personally applaud the different approach the film makers took and found it a fun addition to the genre. It's a cut above your average Sci-Fi Channel film, for example, with good acting, reasonable special effects and a decent number of shocks.
Flukt (2012)
A simple but well executed and satisfying film
I stumbled across this little gem on Amazon Instant Video and was persuaded to watch it by the numerous good reviews. I'm so glad that I did because it is a great little film – using a combination of gritty visuals, great acting and the stark but beautiful landscape of the Norwegian mountains to tell a simple but gripping tale. The pacing is great and the way that the characters are fleshed out (for the most part) is pretty well done – although there are a few unanswered questions about how the gang of robbers came to come together. The writers also did a good job of making the story harrowing but not dwelling too much on the suffering of individual characters. There's some blood – but it's not excessive and the potential sexual element (as is natural for a story about a young girl kidnapped by a bunch of depraved bandits) is an ever-present threat but never strays into exploitation territory.
This certainly deserves a LOT better than the 6/10 rating it currently has on IMDb!
Jailbait (2014)
Just awful
I watched this after watching 'Orange is not the only black', which was very enjoyable. This was not. It's not a comedy like 'Orange' largely is – but nor is it a serious film about what life is really like inside a woman's prison. If you're looking for something deep and soul searching then look elsewhere – but if you're looking for cheap thrills then this is, however, probably exactly what you're looking for. It's basically a violent soft core porn movie. The acting is AWFUL – not a single actor was in anyway credible and the fight sequences were some of the worst ever committed to celluloid. In short, if you're looking for an exploitative sex film and are prepared to put up with the most wooden acting you've ever seen then you'll have a blast.
The World's End (2013)
Disappointing
I am a big fan of both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and was hoping for something similar. Sadly this wasn't a patch on those comedy classics and despite a few moments was a real disappointment. While 'Shaun' and 'Hot' were parodies of genre classics, this didn't have anything to pivot off and, as a result, felt aimless. Sure, there were hints of Invasion of the body snatchers or even The Stepford Wives but not enough to impact the narrative. I guess this makes the film more original - and I didn't think this was a bad film - but it just wasn't as good as its brother films and, consequently, was a missed opportunity.
Dracula 3D (2012)
Rubbish
There hasn't been a proper adaptation of Dracula and this is no exception. This is an extremely loose adaptation of the story and is done in a Hammer-sequence fashion but with none of the menace or style of those classic films. If there's one element of redemption, it's Rutger Hauer, who puts his all into a spirited Van Helsing. Unfortunately he arrives far too late in the production to rescue it.
For goodness sake - can someone - anyone - do a proper version of Dracula that avoids 'reimagining' the story. It's one of the most enduring horror stories of all time and deserves a proper adaptation.
This film is one of the feebler attempts to bring this story to life and should be watched only by the curious with nothing better to do for a couple of hours.
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Something wrong with the reviews process
Sometimes a big budget film like this can be a bit of a disaster and it deserves all the criticism it receives. In this case, I think that a great injustice has been done. 'The Lone Ranger' was a really fun, enjoyable mix of action, comedy and just the right level of darkness to stop it from being twee. I'm really at a loss as to why it flopped at the Box Office. I personally enjoyed this more than films like Star Trek 2 and as one of the best films I've seen this year, I think that it's a real shame it's unlikely to be the start of a new franchise. Why did it flop? It was undoubtedly the ridiculously harsh reviews for this film from most professional critics and, perhaps, the lack of any real desire to see this particular story retold. The cast involved, however, should be proud of this and professional critics should question their role in helping people choose which flicks they should and shouldn't go and see.