ashecatlin Reviews

Halloween (2007)

Added a lot of flavor the original didn't have

[9/10 · 7 November 2020]

I love this movie, it's one of those remakes that actually bring something to the table. The reinvention of Laurie Strode is phenomenal, in the original she has as much as personality as a wet blanket. From the get go she's fingering bagels in this, which for me was the perfect introduction. She's still that innocent girl but she more bouncy and jokey in this one, she feels like an actual person instead of a cardboard cut out.

I think Rob Zombie, developed a lot of things that the original didn't bother with. Like the escape from the asylum, there isn't a bunch of loons loose in this walking around with Michael just jumping on a car and then driving off it in. It's much more grounded where the wardens are being filthy scumbags and due to their incompetence, he escapes.

The only thing I don't think this movie does as well as the original is Loomis, Michael Mcdowell does a fantastic job and is captivating to watch. But Loomis looses a bit of tenacity that Donald Pleasence, there is no replacing him though I do love Mcdowells rendition, he comes off as lot more caring when it comes it Michael.

What else can I say about this movie? Well it's not perfect, I think a little bit from the beginning and end could have been trimmed. We didn't need so much of Michael's school life, I did like the introduction of Loomis and his family but I don't know it just felt longer than it needed to be. Same with the ending, it kind of has a subtle ending but the there is a chase after, which Michael literally tearing the house apart, where that is interesting. On rewatch it didn't feel as intense and dragged a little bit, I think the worse part is where young Michael is running down the halls and the classic theme plays, it's just so out of place. Aside from the minor gripes I love this movie, it brings a much needed flavor that original didn't have.

The Grudge (2019)

Hated it the first time but really liked it on second viewing

[7/10 · 7 November 2020]

The first time I saw this, I absolutely hated it. You get a glimpse of Kayako at the begging but through the rest of the movie she doesn't show up. While I do like the homeage it does also feel like a massive slap in the face to fans. Instead this movie replaces it with similar ghosts but there mannerisms, are more like the conjuring ghost than the grudge. They do the whole croaking thing but it's just not the same, given the type of movie is it I understand why the replaced the ghost, I'd say that's the movies biggest weakness.

Aside from that I genuinely enjoyed everything on this movie, it didn't piss me off going from story to story. Like the original American Grudge does, the premise is more or less the same, where people enter the house and then are haunted by the ghosts, that can follow them anywhere. I just liked all the characters in this one so much more than the original, that story just felt too long for me. Where never takes to long to expand a story and all felt like they added something to the narrative. John Cho did an amazing amazing job in his segment, the whole story about the troubled birth was very interesting take I haven't seen before. Same can be said with Lin Shaye's story about the assisted suicide, it's just such a fresh that I haven't seen in a horror movie before. I do feel like she wasn't the best character in that segment, the goes to her boyfriend and nurse like John they felt like they brought there A game. Even the cops story who connects them all felt better the second time, I wouldn't say I enjoyed her more but the whole story was entertaining nevertheless.

I actually think this movie is hurt by the Grudge brand, I understand why they used it, the brand sells. But aside from the homages to there isn't a lot to do with the Grudge series, yes you have a house aspect where ghosts can follow you, the conjuring does that as well. I think if you kept the story but replaced it with Kayako, Toshio and Takeo this would have preformed a lot better at the box office, and satisfied fans of the franchise a lot more. At the end of the day most of us come to these movies to see the Kayako family wreak havoc on unsuspecting victims.

So yeah aside from the weaker ghosts, I think movie does a better job than the first American remake as the characters actually bring something to the story instead of fodder, you care for them whilst being interesting in what happens to them. I do enjoy the first American one it's just very long winded, the scenes with the Kayako family are amazing but the rest of the movie is just a bit bland with lackluster characters, kind of the reverse of this.

The Grudge 3 (2009)

Worth a watch but weakest out of the trilogy

[5/10 · 28 October 2020]

It's funny, I watched the Grudge 2 and thought the ending of this movie belonged to that. Looking back on that I can see, not much of this movie is memorable aside from the ending which is awesome.

I did like a few things in this movie like them bring back the kid from the third, although unlike the Karen situation, it didn't really add much to the plot. I think the best parts of this movie is when it focused on Kayako's sister she was the only character that I liked. Her introduction with her husband was a bit weird, she shares that scene with him but then when moving to Chicago he's not even mentioned, it's a little odd he just disappears. Was there really much point in including him in the first place?

Now this movie is beyond perfect, the main focus is on some girl who's more interesting in having sex in various rooms in an apartment building. Whilst her brother has trouble with losing tenants and slowly losing his mind. Now why they chose to focus on these two instead of Kayako's sister is beyond me, aside from what I've said there is very little to both of their characters. When we do get a little more from the girl, with a I love you scene with the boyfriend he is suddenly killed so it made the whole thing kind of pointless.

I do think the whole Kayako and Toshio were mishandled in this, Kayako kind of lost her spirt abilities instead mainly focuses on the crawling walk. When she does walk straight she sometimes throws her arms back and it just look awkward most of the time, in all the previous installments I know she played by someone else. I'm not going to blame the actress just think they could have choregraphed her scenes a lot better, as for Toshio he left to looking through handrails and making cat noises. It's just over used, each scene they're in they don't need to rely on the same thing, that was abundantly clear in the previous installment when Kayako was pulling people through windows, making them disappear and coming through ink. They were all very creative, it just felt very lackluster in this.

This one dropped the non linear story tell, which felt a little odd at first but as the story progressed I'm glad they did. It just wouldn't have worked with the kind of movie this is. I think they did an amazing job at recreating the apartment building form The Grudge 2, it looks identical. While some things were a miss like them filming on the same floor and trying to make it look different didn't really work, I appreciate the time it must have taken to recreate that location being this came out 3 years later. There were some plot holes in this as well, like how did Kayako's sister get a hold of her blood? She's been dead for 3 years at least, did she take it before she died or something? It felt very weird and out of place, that's my only complaint about the ending.

In the end this is a decent film, I wouldn't say it's good by any means but I did enjoy watching it as a whole. There is a lot of stuff that could have been done better, I do think the brother getting possessed by Kayako's husband was pretty good before that he was just a whining idiot. Loved all the bits with her sister, did feel a bit sorry about how she ended, the Kayako at the end was amazing. It's kind of a shame we didn't get to see what happened to the house in this one, being that it was only a little burn. Would of been interesting to see how the new grudge was effecting people there whilst Kayako was terrorizing people in Chicago.

The Grudge 2 (2006)

Improvement over the first

[8/10 · 27 October 2020]

I watched as a double feature with the first one, it pays off as it concludes the Karen story from the last, it doesn't even take that long either which is nice.

What I didn't like about this movie was the intro scene when the wife is making breakfast, the guy is being aggressive and pour boiling oil onto him and taps him on the head. It came off as something out of scary movie, it completely goes against the whole tone of the movie.

Otherwise this is great, it had a tone of atmosphere unlike the first one. The majority of the were interesting, the ones that weren't got killed off fairly quickly so no complaints there. There isn't any forced love story either which I quite enjoyed, all the Kayako scenes were once again phenomenal. I did like Toshio and the father in this as well. The whole none linear story telling works in this one, it doesn't give too much away unlike the first one.

I find it funny that out of Ju On The Grudge 2 and this one, I prefer over them both over there processors. They just have so much more going for them, I will give Ju On The Grudge 2 the edge as that one was something else. That doesn't diminish this one at all, they both go about evolving the course, in very different ways. The Japanese one focus on rebirth where as this one takes more of an infection stance, which is very interesting. Especially when our heroine goes around trying to stop the curse, only to kill anyone she comes into contact with that very good twist.

Aside from the intro nothing felt out of place, the atmosphere was coherent throughout and this felt more like a horror movie than the first one. I had a blast watching it!

The Grudge (2004)

Good movie, a little long at times

[6/10 · 27 October 2020]

It's been forever since I've seen this, I thought I remember quite a lot of it but turns out I didn't. What I did remember well all the Kayoko scenes which were all fantastic, from the under the cover to the floating spirt, I loved every scene with her in.

What I didn't really like in this were any of the characters, I just didn't care for any of them. The non linear story telling didn't help that either, it took a lot of suspense out of it because you know what is going to happen. As it's revealed in the segments before, out of all the segments I like Susan's the most. It had the most atmosphere with Kayako kind of playing with the victim, it was simply amazing. The same can't be said for the rest, a lot of the time things felt a little dragged out. I really didn't care for Karen she is portrayed as being more important that she is, unlike the Japanese version she is given a lot more screen time in this, but they never add anything to the character.

I really liked Ted Raimi in this, I'm not if it's because of who he is or his character but I was just hooked whenever he was on screen. The same can be said with Kayako and Toshiro. I didn't real like the reveal that she had been stalking some school teacher, which lead to her death. Her journal saying that she loved him, felt a bit off with the series. I don't recall that in the originals either, I think it's much more creepy when the husband doesn't have a reason to kill her.

Overall I enjoyed it, there were some moments where it was a bit too long. The detective was probably the most interesting character, even though he didn't get a lot of screen time. The explosive ending is easily the best moment of the movie, It's not the masterpiece I remember it being but I still had a lot of fun watching it, I do think the sequel is a lot better.

Rings (2017)

Easily the best sequel to the ring, yes including the Japanese ones

[8/10 · 26 October 2020]

Now whilst I think is the best sequel to the ring, I haven't had a chance to see any of the Sadako movies or Spiral being they aren't available in my country.

I consider the American Ring a masterpiece in horror, it changed the game. Whilst The Ring Two wasn't great it was a decent watch, now this one I wouldn't class as a masterpiece by any means but I think film is a lot of fun.

The whole thing Gabriel finding the tape and doing an investigation into the afterlife was fascinating. Kind of wished he had stayed around a little long, though I understand the reason they decided to go the route they did. The investigation part seems be a big part of the franchise now, it was good finding out about who her father was. We did a similar thing with the Mother in Two but there really wasn't a pay off whilst in this, holy hell that finale was amazing. Not sure it would have been that impactful without Vincent D'Onofrio but yeah he really delivered, as did Johnny Galecki.

I do find it funny that out of three of the American movies, the first one was the only one to focus on Samara being scary. In this for the most part she there but the scares come from her mother and the visions, and by the end of it, it's clear who the villain was of the story. It's a shame this didn't get a sequel, I would have really liked to see where they took the series after that ending.

I was fascinated by extra's on the Blu Ray as well, it's clear that everyone working on it was having a blast and really enjoyed themselves. I think shows with the finished products, whilst there isn't a masterpiece like The Ring or even Birthday, it's the best sequel, given that Birthday is a prequal.

The Ring Two (2005)

Worth a watch but not a horror masterpiece

[6/10 · 26 October 2020]

Nowhere near as good as the first, they decided to focus on Aiden in this one. Whilst he was a little creepy in the first one, just by being him. In this it felt a little forced, don't think the preppy haircut helped.

A lot of people seem to be comparing this to Dark Water, now after watching it, I get it. There is a lot of focus on Water and the whole mother daughter angle, it's even directed by the same guy who did the Dark Water movie.

So this focuses on Samara taking over Aiden's body, whilst people are watching tapes. Now I get why they included the bits with the tape but it doesn't really add much to the narrative. Samara could have easily gone after Aiden straight away, that would have at least trimmed 40 minutes off of this movie. The whole Samara's birth mother was kind of just in there as well, it wasn't all that memorable. Same can be said with the love interest, both were tossed away fairly quickly.

Whilst I don't think this is as good as The Ring, some movies just don't need sequels. I think it's still worth a watch, there are elements that the Japanese Ring 2 did as well and I think did a lot better, which is kind of funny as it was made by the same person. So I think he cherry picked the bits he liked and inserted it into this one, I personally would have liked it to focus on Samara instead of Aiden. I will give it credit though, after watching this I had an eerie feeling unlike when I watched the first one. Not sure what bought it on but was pretty impressed with it after that.

Rings (2005 Video)

Felt longer than it is, though it's worth watching before The Ring Two

[4/10 · 26 October 2020]

So this is a 15 minute short but whilst watching it, it felt so long at least 45 minutes. None of the characters are interesting, felt kind of pointless until I watched the Ring Two afterwards. This short essentially sets up the events of the intro of Ring Two, if you didn't want this before it would just feel like a throw away.

Being a short I understand there isn't much, you can do with developing the characters, just wish there was a bit more meat to it.

The Ring (2002)

Masterpiece in horror, had a lot of fun rewatching it

[9/10 · 25 October 2020]

There is no denying that this is a masterpiece in horror, there's good reason why this movie took the world by storm, it's just that good.

On the recent rewatched, I realized how different it is to the original. This one didn't feature a psychic mother that Samara was trying to protect, in this was she just adopted and was kind of evil. Which is fine it suits the narrative of the movie and comes of as quite creeping in doing so, I forgot how much she actually speaks in this. It was a little weird hearing that, I'm not used to hearing her talk.

It's definitely been a very long time since I saw this last, it didn't leave me in awe this time. As I've said it's still a great movie just didn't have the wow factor not sure why that is. I also didn't feel as creeped out as I have done in the past, this was on of the only horror movies to actually scare me but on rewatched it didn't make me have to leave the light on or anything. Guess that's part of growing up, I've watched a lot of horror movies since then.

I still love everything about this movie, that hasn't changed. Watching it time flew by, even though I've seen the investigation countless time and the coming out of the tv but it was still amazing.

Invisible Agent (1942)

Probably the second best movie, out of the original Invisible Man series

[4/10 · 24 October 2020]

Though the third best isn't saying much, another disappointing Invisible Man movie. That just happens to be better than most of the series, things don't make a whole lot of sense in this either.

So at the beginning, a guy is approached about having the serum. There are a few mafia guys, it turns out later that two of them were leaders of two very different fractions, one being the Japanese, even though the bloke clearly wasn't Japanese. And the leader of the Nazi's now why would either of the leaders of both parties be with some mafia goons to get the serum in the first place is beyond me. The guy somehow beats them and runs away to the military who say they want the formula, which he again declines until pearl harbor. Which I thought was far away from WW2 but after google turns out it was part of it. So now the plot points of him landing in Germany, where as I thought he was landing in Japan to take them down but none of the dudes were Japanese. That confused me, oh should mention the main guy declined to give it to the government again and said he'd take it.

So he's off trying to save the world from the war, which I'm not to sure what he actually a accomplishes in this. Sure he gets rid of some Nazi records but that's about it and wasn't sure if they were trying to make the Nazi likeable or not either way he died at the end so it all seemed a bit pointless.

The bulk of the movie, like most of these damn Invisible Man movies seems to be the romance. He finds he woos her, I don't get how these invisible people pull this off being you can't see them, for all you know they could be grotesque. But yeah there some stupid stuff like him putting on woman's make up a towel on his head and a gown to go asleep, really what's the point? Also why can you see his teeth when he's got make up on it's just comes off as a little weird. I don't get how they could have movie the comes out 9 years later but have worse effects than the original.

Of course there is more forced humor in this, with him pranking the Nazi guy that likes the woman. Though I would imagine back then she would have been killed for making a fool out of him, maybe that's the propaganda speaking.

I didn't mind the three leads we got but they didn't exactly captivate me, kind of wished the Nazi guy lived after all he went through even though he was kind of grey character wise. Though that's what I liked he wasn't clear cut like the rest, the love aspect I could have done without and the whole leader of the Japanese and Nazi going to get the serum at the beginning was just stupid. Not as much as the Japanese killing the Nazi guy and then offing himself for plot convince. Kind of wished there was more representation for Japanese in this, I never said it before but all the stooges of his were Asians and just standing there silently I think it would have worked a lot better to have the leader to Japan be Japanese, I didn't really like the whiny guy they had anyway.

So as I said it's not a great movies, there is a lot wrong with it but I think it's a lot better than the rest of the Invisible Man movies. I'll even give it credit for being original unlike The Invisible Man Returns, which felt like an impersonation. At least this one had it's own plot going for it, I think it's funny that out of the whole series, these are the only 2 movies that are actually connected to the original. Returns featuring the Invisible Man's brother and this one having his grandson, kind of fitting that they are the best three. I got back and fourth in my head if this is better then returns or not but I'd say they're on par with each other.

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)

There is no revenge, it's another reboot of the series

[2/10 · 24 October 2020]

There is hardly and invisible man in this, like most this is another reboot of the brand.

Some guy escapes a nut house, they never made it clear if he was or wasn't a killer before hand. Then buys a suit, breaks into someone's house and says he's owed most of their money as they had a deal. They drug him and throw him out, as normal people would do. Then he stumbles across a random bloke an stays with him, then they break up and he bumps into a mad scientist. Who turns him invisible then he goes with the random bloke to play darts. After that he threatens the people he went to first., the tell the scientist to turn him visible again so he can get with a girl. He kills him and then I forget how the movie goes.

It's not memorable to say the least, it's just another stinking reboot of a good brand. Why after the had a phenomenal first one, they decided to piss up stream is beyond me. Hollow Man as well as the remake shows the potential that this series could have lived up to, heck they could have even done a Mummy of Frankenstien route were it's not always the same bloke. But for some baffling reason they insert comedy into the series and try to force the invisible aspect into the movies, it just never works.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

Another waste of the Invisible Man

[3/10 · 24 October 2020]

So this was essentially a boxing match featuring the invisible man, man after the first one this series really went down hill.

It begins with the idiots becoming detectives, then some guy comes in and hires them. He get followed by the police goes to his house becomes invisible, then wacky antics ensure. Eventually the story catches up and it's a final is a boxing match and somehow that is supposed to pass as a good movie.

The fat guy gets turned invisible at the end then after forcing himself on women, cause that's funny. He turns visible and his feet are on backwards and he runs through a wall.

Now I've watched the whole series, whilst this isn't the worst, that doesn't make it a good movie. It is much better than their Mummy movie, it's just the invisible man doesn't do anything. It's not even his story it's theirs's, he's just a background character. What was even the point of them being detectives in the first place, they could have easily been boxers in fact the story would have made a lot more sense if it went that way instead.

The Invisible Man (I) (2020)

Great movie just not that rewatchable

[8/10 · 24 October 2020]

There is no doubt that this is a great film, though I wouldn't say it's the most rewatchable film. I've watched it 3 times this year, the first was utterly phenomenal, the second was decent and whilst I enjoyed it a lot more the third time, it simply didn't pull me in as much as watching it the first time.

I'd say it has the same effect The Dark Knight has were it's a masterpiece in the genre, but when you're sitting down wanting to watch something simpler to enjoy, this isn't exactly what you're going to go for.

After watching all the other Universal Invisible Man movies, this is clearly the best if not second best to the original. They're very different movies so it's hard to compare, on the third watch I'd say I preferred the original more just because it was a bit more quirky.

Elizabeth Moss provides a great performance in this, it's just not that interesting when rewatching it. I myself loving the bits where she had someone to bounce off of, even it it was the invisible man. I do love the fact the actor actually wore the green screen suit to do all of his bits, instead of just being the guy to show up in the beginning and the end as the character, he was the same all around and I really appreciate that.

So yeah it's a great movie, just not something I would watch multiple times a year. I did notice a plot hole this time, when the sister comes in with the news that Adrian is dead it's a news website, how did that happen? Being that he faked his own death I get the brother bits where he saying he's dead and pretending he's in the urn but for it to be on a third party website came off as a bit weird. Being that at the end it shows that he was tied up under his house, if that was the case why where the police sent to search that area being that he was supposed to be dead. It just felt a little off, as I said the brother and the whole solicitor thing made sense, they could do that. But the media and the police, it just contradicts itself.

Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)

Vast improvement over the previous 2, felt like a horror movie this time.

[8/10 · 24 October 2020]

Unlike the previous 2, this definitely felt like a horror movie. It was really good as well, 4 of the jump scares got me.

The ghosts felt a lot more creepy looking and acted that way as well, there was one funny moment but I wasn't laugh at how bad the ghost designs were, unlike the first 2.

The lead actress getting his by the car, came out of nowhere it just left my jaw hanging. The James Wan cameo was a nice touch as well, Leigh Whannell definitely has a flair for horror, I look forward to what he does next.

So yeah I loved every moment of this, even though it's a prequal I think it's better than the previous 2 installments. All the references and callbacks weren't forced in either, they added another dimension to the movie. Loved seeing the bride getting her ass kicked by Lin Shaye, she nutted her it was bloody amazing.

The Invisible Woman (1940)

What was the point, it's not even funny

[1/10 · 21 October 2020]

I don't even know why this was included in the Invisible Man boxset, it has nothing to do with the story.

A woman isn't happy about being told off for being late, so she takes an offer to get turned invisible by a nutty professor. She then gets her revenge, that takes up the first 20 minutes of the movie. Then without anything left they insert some random mafia guys who want their boss to be turned invisible so he can see his mum, yep they really went with that. Add a billionaire who falls in love with the woman and that's the movie.

I couldn't really watch all of it, it was so dreadful! I kept looking at my phone it was so dull. The initial scene set this movie up perfectly, with a butler tripping on a wine bottle and falling down the stairs, only to get a knock at the door answer it and then get knocked over again. There is some much forced humor in this and non of it was funny, they love story was just thrown in. The guy likes to sleep with woman and somehow he becomes smitten with her, from some unknown reason.

At the end she is beating up the mafia, seriously. Then the guy comes to the rescue so she pretends that she is in danger, he set off and automatic gun that shoots and him and his friends but when he finds her and dives in a pool to save her. She just laughs and it's a happy ending, it's just awful, to the point where I'm actually looking forward to watching abbott and costello meet the invisible man.

The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Felt like a poor imitation

[4/10 · 21 October 2020]

From the get go of this movie I was confused, a prisoner is turned invisible to escape death row. It doesn't make it very clear on who the person actually is though, it wasn't until the end that I figured out he was just some random guy not the original invisible man. Instead he is turned invisible by the invisible man's brother, who somehow knows about the formula.

I didn't like this movie very much, it felt like a knock off of the original. It doesn't bring anything new to the table, the invisible man in this very softly spoken and his cackling sounded very forced. I was shocked to find out that it was Vincent Price playing him, he didn't even have the eloquent nature his voice usually has. The first invisible man, had so much power and charisma from his voice alone, this performance simply doesn't compare.

I didn't like this movie very much whilst watching it, in fact I was going to give this a 3. But after watching the rest of the series, I realize how this got a lot right where the others didn't So I appreciate it more, based on how dreadful the rest are. The story is fairly decent just very confusing, the prisoner is targeting people who got him arrested, he just wants to clear his name. Might sound bad but I don't actually remember the the ending of this, even though I watch it yesterday, so yeah.

Not a good movie by any standard but is leaps and bounds above the rest of the series.

The Invisible Man (1933)

There is a reason it's considered a classic

[8/10 · 21 October 2020]

It's a great movie, love every bit that features the Invisible Man. The quality dips when the focus is on the police force, they're just not that engaging or interesting to watch. It's still an awesome movie, just think they could have trimmed the fat a little, love it when he just goes mad and starts messing with people whilst cackling to himself.

From the introduction of a stranger covered in bandages, to the mummering of all the towns folk about what happens to him. It's just a really engaging and intriguing movie. Shame non of the sequels come anywhere close to the quality of this film.

Never Hike in the Snow (2020 Video)

Tonally different from the franchise but worth a watch

[7/10 · 17 October 2020]

I wasn't exactly rate this as a Friday the 13th movie, it's because it's a fan film. Something was just very different, I think it was the tone of the movie. Usually you have sex and violence, with a cast of mischievous teenagers but in this the focus on a kids disappearance. With the cops doing some sort of cover up, it was very good for what it is, just doesn't feel like a Friday.

I loved seeing Tommy Jarvis's actor back, that was a real shock for me. The whole cast is great, the Jason arrow kill was a bit iffy. Otherwise I really enjoyed this, defiantly worth a watch for a Friday fan.

Insidious (I) (2010)

Better the second time round

[7/10 · 17 October 2020]

So I watched this a while ago and absolutely hated it, I ended up watching the 4th one and really enjoyed it so I gave this a second shot.

I'm not sure I would rate this as a horror movie, as I kept on laughing throughout. There are just so many things that tickle me, like the ghosts one of them straight up looks like an old age vampire. When he's attacking people it's supposed to be scared but it just came off as funny to me, there are so many scenes where this is supposed to be really suspenseful but I just found it hilarious. It's not a bad movie, in fact I really enjoyed watching it. Time flew by, even though I remember the ending and the big plot points.

The big bad is a perfect example of why this film is so funny, he starts off as a creepy silhouette, which works. But they keep going back to him and making him more absurd as the movie goes on, like the second time he has darth maul face paint. Then he gets a Freddy claw, then a tail and finally a really bad CGI crawl on a wall. It just made the whole thing silly,

Again this was well worth a second watch, just keep in mind it's not quite a horror movie. Patrick Wilson was incredible in this though, thoroughly enjoyed watching him throughout, the rest of the cast were pretty good to.

The 3rd Eye 2 (2019)

Nowhere near as good as the first

[4/10 · 5 October 2020]

So it turns out the sequel they baited for last time was just that, as the only thing that carried over was Mariah, the ghost. But instead of having a giant circular hole in her back with her spine showing, she got stabbed in the back instead and they made her much more ghoulish. Since she didn't look dirty in the end of the first one, speaking of which. The first one made you truly care for all of it's characters, especially the sisters, their bond is one of the best things about the first. And right from the get go in this they choose to kill the little sister, for shock value, rendering the whole saving her spirt from the ghost world in the first pointless.

This film essentially rehashes the first, in the most uninteresting way, it doesn't add anything new. The things it tries to, just irritated me even more. Like the killer reveal it wasn't a surprise, the fact the Mariah was a good ghost didn't do much for me either because I just didn't care. One of the characters I cared about, Abel was needless killed. Then replaced with someone who looks exactly like her, it took me a minute to realise that it was a different character. Then low and behold her stitch was exactly the same as Abel, why not just keep Abel instead of replacing her with someone who's identical, I don't see a point.

There were some pretty easy rules set up in the first one, which this just tosses out of the window. Like when travelling to the ghost dimension, you need to have a ghost with you. So Nadia, Abel's replacement dies and takes Alia's replacement to the ghost world to save Alia but then Abel comes down from heaven tells Nadia that she needs to live and somehow she's not dead anymore. It's such an ass pull, you also have more powers. Like being able to see the past through magic items as well as looking into a spirits eye, to see the past. It negates what the first one set up, I'm genuinely surprised this is from the same people who made the first one.

You get more sequel bait at the end of this one to, wonder if they retcon that as well. Oh and I forgot to mention Alia adopts Nadia, effectively replacing Abel at home as well that was the last straw for me. There were so many times that I paused this movie to give myself a breather, it could have been a much better movie. Like having the same story but include Abel into it, as she is an integral player. Plus everyone in these seemed to see ghosts, where it was rare in the last one. There is someone who can sense ghost, like Alia in the first one but only has her 3rd eye slightly open. She still blames the kids for pulling pranks on her, I noticed there is a lot more focus on trying to scare the audience as well where as the first was much more subtle.

I know that I've compared this to the first a lot, it's just that was such an outstanding horror movie, one of the best I've seen recently. Then this comes and it's mediocre at best, maybe if I watched it again, I might enjoy it but unlike other horror movies that rehash the story, this doesn't add anything good. It's not even that fun of a ride, if they make a 3rd I'll still watch it, I just hope it brings the quality back.

Unfriended (2014)

Decent flick, not the greatest horror movie ever

[5/10 · 4 October 2020]

Originally gave this a 7, in 2017 for my 31 Days of horror. However rewatching it, I definitely wouldn't say it was that good, more of a 5.

This is fairly decent movie, not the best of it's kind. I liked how we're introduced to the leads and they're friends. The whole premise behind the haunted social media is just funny, the ghost wants revenge because she killed herself. The reason she shot herself was because she pooed herself at a party, see ridiculous.

Saying that though, it's still a decent way to pass time just not the greatest movie ever. Probably really cheap as well given the amount of companies that had advertising in this.

Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)

Just stick with the first one

[3/10 · 4 October 2020]

This was just hard to watch, I was constantly pausing it to have a look at my phone. Unlike the first one where the characters play off each other well, and it's buyable they're friends. They just didn't they had no chemistry with each other, it felt like pandering, with each friend having a different ethic background and a gay couple. I don't have a problem with that but it didn't feel sincere.

Another problem that I had was the first 30 minutes of this movie was completely irrelevant, nothing happened. Then they come across some snuff movies on a laptop that was stolen, which irritates me even further because snuff movies and the dark web are completely different things. Yes you can find snuff movies on the dark web but since they're on a laptop and there was no exploration of the dark web, the title doesn't make any sense. It's catchy but this movie has nothing to do with the dark web.

The last 30 minutes was genuinely good but being that it's a drag to get there, I'm not about to give it higher than three stars. There were so many inconstancy's as well, like the guys girlfriend being deaf but the guy who broke into her house who knows everything, said that she's getting dressed and will never hear him coming. It was just so stupid and the end were everything was planned was utter nonsense as well, I buy the ghost who's killing them because she pooed herself more than this group. There are just to many coincidences, the asain girl didn't even need to die as she wasn't part of the story when they found the snuff movies but they killed her anyway, for some reason.

The first one was decent, should have been left alone, guess with all the sponsors though this movie got made for pennies, stupid greed corporations.

The 3rd Eye (2017)

One of the best horror movies on Netflix

[8/10 · 4 October 2020]

It's a damn shame that I can't buy this, as it's only on Netflix, I'd love to watch it again.

The story revolves around two girls, one is being attacked by ghosts whilst the other is a none believer. So The sisters go to a medium, to awaken the sisters third eye. Once she does that, she is attacked by the same spirts.

It might sound generic but, it's probably one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long time. For a start it strays away from what most of the American horror movies, when dealing with ghosts and possession. There isn't much holding it back, and the twist with Devin being a ghost this whole time was simply amazing, I did not see that coming. Same with the old guy coming after them in the ghost realm.

I'm not too sure how I feel about the ending, being it left it open, baiting for a sequel. But I bloody enjoyed the hell out of it, hopefully Arrow Video or a similar company puts it out in physical media.

Transporter 3 (2008)

Most enjoyable movie of the franchise

[7/10 · 2 August 2020]

I'm genuinely surprised how good this film was, after the dumpster fire of the second one and the boring finale of the first. I kind of expected this just to be an ok film and wow it was awesome, the action was on point. It was filmed a little differently with a lot of jump cuts, like no fighting scene was just one bit thing it was all jumpy which definitely gave this it's own flavor.

Strangely I don't have any complains about this movie, as I said just surprised that I liked it so much. Never got bored of the action, the villain was an actual villain this time, there was a throw away line about him being hired but you can tell by the final that he's the big bad. The action kept getting better and that ending was so satisfying, Frank finally got the girl. Granted she acted more like a petulant child in this and didn't really have chemistry with Jason Statham but it was nice for Frank to actually have a win for once.

Being I watched the whole franchise in a week, I'm going to take a moment to compare them. So let's get the second film out of the way, it's not a good movie by any standard and really tarnishes this franchise. Whilst the other two are very good films, I will say I think the first one is a better film overall. It's just the third act doesn't really know what it's doing which let it down, so I'm going to rate this one slightly higher. I just enjoyed it a lot more and it didn't bore me what so ever, grant the love interest and the back and fourth with the inspector was better in the first this was awesome. Granted there isn't much depth in this one but you don't really need it, much like the second the third doesn't really reference what happened prior, in fact Frank is back in France again as if nothing happened. It's just a flawless action movie, that I'd happily watch again.

Transporter 2 (2005)

Probably the worst Jason Statham movie I've seen

[3/10 · 2 August 2020]

This just wasn't a good movie, not even by Jason Statham standards. You get no closure for what happened in the first one with the lovely Asian, was actually surprised the cop for the first one was in this. Granted the role wasn't exactly much but it was nice to see him, his scenes might have actually been the best in the whole movie.

The action sucked in this, it was even worse than the bloated third act of the first one. It's even more stupid but not a fun stupid like fast and furious or crank, it just annoyed me. Like there is a fight in a doctors office, to kidnap a kid but it doesn't go well obviously so when Frank takes the kid back to his parents they have a sniper targeting his head so that Frank (Jason Statham) can't do anything. What was the whole point of a 20 minute action scene when it adds nothing to the film, they get the kid and drug him with something that makes him highly contagious. Even if he breathes on them, they become infected. I honestly think that's a great idea, then Frank has to search for the cure. He injects one of the guys cronies and you can tell by the close up shots this guy gets right from the get go that he's the main henchman. That whole thing last for about 20 minutes but I quite liked that bit, heck would have easily given that a 5 stars but then the third act and it's back to being piss poor.

There are so many things to hate about this movie, like the fact that credits at the beginning of the movie take up a whole 7 minutes, what the hell. You get a bit of Statham in between and then some city shots but the majority is credits it's just plain awful. Now I know the film is called transporter so I guess he has to stick at his job, it's nice that he's picking up a kid from school. I thought he learnt a nice lesson from the first film but then he said he's still doing dodgy stuff, just to his mum like it's no biggy what the hell.

So I liked all the call backs to the first like the rules, the guy he's saying he's the cook like a girl in the first did, that's the thing the best things about this movie are the callbacks to the first. That's all this has going for it, even the girl on the cover annoys me. At first I thought he was a love interest but she's just the girl the big bad is banging, she like to walk around with big guns shooting everything up in a bra and knickers. Great, I didn't mention the big bad because he doesn't do anything, he gets a weird intro where he's doing kendo with people and overpower 7 of them at once but later on gets his ass handed to him easily even the henchmen put a a better fight then him, she didn't that she was just as bad.

So in conclusion, interesting idea about virus and finding the cure. The only good bits aside from that are callbacks to the first and I kept on having to pause this movie to do stuff in between because it was that boring.