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mattangley
Reviews
A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
Just awful
I love horror and I'll say up front that I'm not a slasher fan. But this week I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to watch some classic horror. But I now remember why I hate 80s slasher flicks. They generally just suck. The stories are weak, the acting is subpar, and the special effects are lame. This sequel embodies all of these. The first Nightmare movie was decent for a slasher film but this sequel was awful for all the reason I listed. The story went nowhere and there was no character development so you didn't sympathize with Jesse, the main character. This is very much a typical 2. The production felt rushed, like they had no time to write a decent script so they just threw something together at the last minute and it shows. I was thoroughly and utterly bored.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
2+ hours of pointlessness
This is a weird movie. Its also not a good movie. I don't know how this has scored so well. Its marketed as a nostalgic coming-of-age indie film about falling in love in 1970s California. But it just doesn't go anywhere. It's quite a simple plot, really. The problem is it gets muddied by long, drawn out, boring, dry, pointless scenes that have nothing to do with the story. It's not executed well at all. None of it is interesting, none of it makes any sense. It's just a jumbled pile of dialogue. It's exactly as the title suggests; Nonsense. I hate that I wasted two hours of my life watching this.
Fahrenheit 451 (2018)
Just awful
This adaptation strays so far from the book it's laughable. The acting is bad and the story is poorly told and developed. They Seemed to be so preoccupied in making it look cool that didn't stop to make sure it was good. It's just a bad movie. It looks like some half baked made for TV movie. Fahrenheit 451 deserves a better effort than this. Really. Especially considering how important the message is.
The Lighthouse (2019)
I expected better
The previews of this looked so much more promising than what we got. I was expecting moody, atmospheric horror with spooky visuals and a captivating story. Unfortunately it turned out to be much more interpretative, especially toward the end. I'm not one for wanting a movie spoon fed to me. I can take a little interpretation and audience participation but this went a little out of my realm. I didn't like the movie too much but the soundtrack is excellent. I wish the movie made me feel the way the soundtrack did.
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Leaves a lot to be desired
I know it's a Pixar film but it falls far short of expectations for a Pixar film. It's slow, boring, and misses the mark in. Even the name is misleading. You think Arlo is going to be some kind of angel that sets him apart from other characters in the movie. But it's really just about a scrawny, cowardly dinosaur that gets lost and tries to find his way home with the help of a came kid who acts more like a dog than a human. It's a weird film. The story is weak, there is hardly any character development, and a surprisingly little amount of dialogue to keep kids interested. My 5yo got up and started playing with toys about 30 minutes in. I feel like Pixar knew it was a bad film but they had already invested so much they had to finish the project. I'd save yourself time and just watch The Land Before Time, which is what I'm pretty sure this movie is trying to rip off of. This is definitely Pixar's worst film to date.
Evil Dead (2013)
Not a gore guy
I'll say up front I was not expecting it to be such a gore fest. I should've known by the original but I guess I figured the original was so overly campy that a remake would be a little less so. I was wrong. Lots of cringeworthy gore in this flick. I'll also say I am not a gore fan but I won't rate the film based on that because if you happen to like gore, you'll love it.
I'm glad they stuck mostly to the original. The few things they changed I think improved the story. For instance, instead of a few friends meeting up at he family cabin to get wasted, which is tired and played out, they are there to help a friend get sober. It's a welcome change from the norm. I also like all the hat tipping they did to the original film. The fast zooming through the forest, the necklace, incorporating the original actors in some way. I won't go through them all but it's nice they kept one foot in 1981. But speaking of including stuff from the original....
Something I did not like was not including the famous "were gonna get you" scene from the trailer, especially since it's the most memorable part of the original film. I was looking forward to it the whole movie but they if never happened. Disappointing
The acting was okay. I liked mias character. She seemed genuine in her acting. Everyone elses acting was forgettable.
Other than that, I could've gldone without all the gore but that's my fault for not really doing my due diligence and seeing what people said about it first m
Dark Was the Night (2014)
WORST color grading I've ever seen
Who edited this film? A blind person? I made it about five minutes in before I had to turn it off. The color grading was WAY too blue to the point of being obnoxious. I almost thought there was something screwed up with my TB's white balance but it wasn't. Idk what the editors were going for here but they should be fired immediately
Pet Sematary (2019)
Horror for the mindless viewer
I was dragged to this pathetic excuse for a horror film against my will and I really resent going. Anyone that rates this trash higher than a 3 is just plain uneducated on true horror. This is your typical, predictable Hollywood teen scream cash grab littered with plot holes, poor acting, no audience participation, and zero character development. I've broken down my gripes into numbered thought points.
1. ZERO CRITICAL THINKING. I can't stand when the audience isn't challenged to think a little, especially with a horror where getting into someone's head can be so effective if done correctly. A good horror movie has elements that force you to think, whether it be about the scene or the character. There was no critical thinking involved whatsoever in this movie. Everything is just spoon fed to you so you know EXACTLY what is about to happen, which is EXACTLY what a horror movie is not supposed to be; predictable.
2. Weak scene interpretation. The psychological aspects to this movie that allowed the audience to think about the meaning of a scene we're pretty weak and add to my first point of zero critical thinking. Everything was so one dimensional.
3. Really. Bad. Acting. The only remotely good acting I witnessed was from veteran actor John Lithgow and one scene involving Rachel, the mother. That's it. Everyone else acted as if it was their first movie.
4. Poor character development. Developing a character is so important in a horror. It sets a tone for how you're to feel about them so that when something happens to them, you feel something. If a character dies that wasn't properly developed, you don't feel the way you're supposed to about it. In this case, I felt nothing when Ellie died because they couldn't care less about making sure they planted a seed in your head. Granted she ends up being a vengeful zombie in the end but initially she is just a 9 year old girl who died tragically, and I felt nothing. While we're on the subject of characters, what was the point of Gage's character? The little boy that added literally no value to the movie. He just...existed. You can totally remove his character from the movie and nothing about the story would change. His character was absolutely useless and really only got in the way of the story most of the time.
5. Jump scares. Omg the jump scares are incessant in this movie. Aren't jump scares getting a little old? Stop scaring us with loud noises and scare us with dread! I'm so sick of horror movies relying on jump scares to carry it. It's lazy.
6. Cheesy effects. This may be nit picking a bit but...low lying ground fog? Really Paramount? I know this is an 80s reboot but come on. Ground fog?! I can't remember the last movie that had ground fog in it. I think it was an episode of Goosebumps in the 90s. And disappearing apparitions? Seriously? Sooo lame.
In conclusion, I would not waste your money on this junk. If you really feel the need to see it, just don't. Instead, watch a REAL horror like The Ritual or Hereditary
Errementari (2017)
Just awful
Im struggling to understand why there are so many positive reviews. This movie was atrocious. Initially this movie looked really promising. The trailer depicted a chilling take on a classic fable, but there were several things that just made this movie crumble.
I'll start with the good things. The cinematography is very good. Very well shot and the scenery created a great mood. The special effects and makeup was 10/10. Very good depiction of the gates of hell, very good makeup on the demons. But this is sadly where the positives end.
Onto the negatives. The writing and acting of the demon was just flat out bad. He was literally the village idiot of hell. There's simply no other way to put it. He's goofy, silly, incompetent and uses cliche Lines like "come closer little girl and I'll tell you" I couldn't take this character seriously, especially when you're expecting a horror movie. If anyone remembers the SNL skit where will Farrell plays the part of the devil. That was absolutely this demon. He sounded and looked just like him. I half thought this was a joke, which I actually would have preferred. At least then there would have been an excuse for the terrible acting.
There was a scene towards the end where one of the other demons hadn't seen the main demon in a long time and they started casually talking like they were at the water cooler at work. Literally saying things like "where have you been? Good to see you. We didn't think you were coming back". I was literally laughing at this point. Finally, as cool as they made the gates of hell look and what I imagine was the devil, this magnificent beast was brought down by...wait for it...chick peas? Apparently demons have a thing about counting chick peas when they're spilled out on the ground? The blacksmith beat the devil with chick peas... I'm at a loss for words. This movie would absolutely rock if they didn't hire SNL writers to write the movie. Save yourself the time and don't watch this atrocity
Under the Skin (2013)
Way too abstract to make a good movie
I am not a simpleton. I don't need mindless plots and simple stories to entertain me. I do like to think when I watch movies. But this is just too far out there. It is way too abstract, even more than a Stanley Kubrick film, which says a lot. I had to go online and read the summery halfway through because I just didn't understand what the hell was happeninng and why. I concluded there is no real plot. There is no real point to any of it. There's no story, the plot sucked, the imagery was just okay, and there was very little dialogue. It seems like this director wants to be the modern day Kubrick but he's going to have to try harder than just some abstract imagery to achieve that
Tusk (2014)
Beneath every actor in this film
I can't even gather the words to describe how much of a waste of time this movie was. It's beneath every actor in it. I mean, Johnny Depp wasted his time on this joke? This tarnished the reputation of everyone involved. The Shane was it started out ok. The atmosphere in the room between Justin long and the old guy wasn't bad. Then you can get into the fact that his leg gets cut off. People like gore. Whatever. But then when Justin long is sewn into a walrus suit and he's left flapping around like one just made me laugh. I can't believe this movie made it past the pitch
Insidious (2010)
Scariest movie I've seen
I love the horror genre. I love being scared. Unfortunately most of today's horror movies dont have that effect on me anymore. This genre is being beat to death by cheap jump scares, really bad acting, and recycled plot lines. I still search for the few good ones amongst the bunch and often come out empty handed. It seems one good horror movie will come out every few years with a bunch of really bad ones to fill the gap between them. How's the saying go? You gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. It's like that, but with movies
Well, Insidious was one of the good ones. No, scratch that. It was one of THE BEST horror movies I've ever seen to date. Right from the beginning with that unnerving low volume tone playing during the intro, I was already feeling anxious. I went and saw this in the theatre and I can honestly say it was the first time I've ever actually been scared at a movie. My palms were cold and clammy the entire time. It wasn't just a heart racing kind of scare during the scary scenes, but a kind of scary that makes you uncomfortable, even between scenes.
Unfortunately they continue to cheapen this film by releasing terrible, awful, laughable sequels just to make a quick buck so I don't recommend even seeing them. Just watch this one. James Wan (director) used to be better. He's mainstreamed, however. How many spin-offs of the conjuring must we endure?
The Descent (2005)
What's the buzz all about?
I've heard and read a few reviews that this was a good horror flick. I'm still trying to figure out what all the buzz was about and how it scored 7/10 stars on here. Did we watch the same movie? Because the one I watched had mediocre acting and a predictable story. For one, we saw way too much of "the crawlers" and they lost their ability to scare us pretty early on. Not to mention they weren't really that scary to begin with. They look like humanoid aliens but definitely not anything that would haunt my dreams. There was no suspense because it was predictable. You knew what was behind every blind corner waiting to the point where I considered turning it off. It became pretty obvious about halfway through that no one but the main character was making it out alive. There was some cheap gore and some even cheaper jump scares along the way. I expected better for the score it has on here. Disappointed I wasted a night watching what essentially amounted to a lame summer teen scream
Insidious (2010)
Scariest movie I've seen
I love the horror genre. I love being scared. Unfortunately most of today's horror movies dont have that effect on me anymore. This genre is being beat to death by cheap jump scares, really bad acting, and recycled plot lines. I still search for the few good ones amongst the bunch and often come out empty handed. It seems one good horror movie will come out every few years with a bunch of really bad ones to fill the gap between them. How's the saying go? You gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. It's like that, but with movies
Well, Insidious was one of the good ones. No, scratch that. It was one of THE BEST horror movies I've ever seen to date. Right from the beginning with that unnerving low volume tone playing during the intro, I was already feeling anxious. I went and saw this in the theatre and I can honestly say it was the first time I've ever actually been scared at a movie. My palms were cold and clammy the entire time. It wasn't just a heart racing kind of scare during the scary scenes, but a kind of scary that makes you uncomfortable, even between scenes.
Unfortunately they continue to cheapen this film by releasing terrible, awful, laughable sequels just to make a quick buck so I don't recommend even seeing them. Just watch this one. James Wan (director) used to be better. He's mainstreamed, however. How many spin-offs of the conjuring must we endure?