Category Archives: Horror

2012, B-movie, Dark, Gloomy, Horror, Mediocre, Supernatural, Suspense

The Woman in Black (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Dispatched by his boss to an isolated seaside village to tie up a recently deceased client’s affairs, a young London lawyer finds himself in a community grappling with dark secrets — and a haunting presence with a sinister agenda.

Yet another haunted house arises to waste our time. Despite good, mostly dark, production values, there is nothing special to recommend this mildly horrible horror film.

Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”) was the only actor I recognized. Ciarán has put on a lot of weight.

Expect a slightly surprising ending if you do actually bother to watch this movie.

2011, Could Be Hard To Watch, Dark, Disturbing Image, Grim, Horror, Mental Illness, Occasional gore, Sex Scenes, Violent

We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Eva’s relationship with her son, Kevin, has been difficult from the beginning. When the 15-year-old boy’s cruel streak erupts into violence, Eva wonders how much blame she deserves for his actions.

If your child delights in killing small animals and blinding his sister in one eye, you might think of taking drastic measures. Why these two parental idiots did not report their budding psychopath to the proper authorities is beyond me. In fact, I don’t know what they could have done. Can you say to some helpful member of law enforcement “Our son is a dangerous sociopath, could you suggest something ?”

Tilda Swinton stretches believability. She suffers almost in silence the outrageous behavior of her son Crazy Kevin for all of his 16 years. John C. Reilly plays a doting father who somehow never sees the psychosis in darling Kevin. Get real!

Motivation for this film was probably the fact that there are indeed disturbed (am I being too harsh ?) teenagers that enjoy shooting as many of their classmates as they can manage in one exhilarating afternoon. What in fact was going on in those families ?

Hats off to Ezra Miller who plays the monster as a teenager. It doesn’t get any creepier.

But then, don’t you have something better to do with your time?

1982, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, Horror, Occasional gore, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Violent

The Thing (1982)

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From NetFlix:

Scientists working in Antarctica are forced to abandon their research after a helicopter crashes near their camp, bringing a lone dog into their midst. But the plot thickens when the otherworldly canine changes form in the middle of the night. As it turns out, the dog is a shape-shifting alien that can attack animals — and unsuspecting humans. Kurt Russell stars in this creepy John Carpenter-directed remake of the 1950s classic.

Who knew they had such special (digital ?) effects way back in 1982! After watching the 2011 version of “The Thing”, several of you urged me to see this 1982 version. In fact you had to explain to me why the 2011 version was a prequel to the 1982 version. Answer: the 2011 version gives the origin of the dog that starts the 1982 version.

If I had to prefer one version over the other, I would have to say that 1982 was the better version: the acting was better, the testing for alien versus human was better, the sense of “no way out” was better, and I thought the role of the single female in the 2011 version was a bit weak. We just did not need the professional status competition between the woman and man scientists.

At any rate, the appearance of the Thing in all its gory glory was duplicated in the later version in order to maintain consistency. Lots of juicy gore in both versions might make for a great date movie. Again not for the squeamish.

2011, Could Be Hard To Watch, Disturbing Image, Horror, Mayhem, Occasional gore, Sci-Fi, Suspense

The Thing (2011)

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From NetFlix:

This terrifying prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic of the same name tells the story of a team of Norwegian scientists who find an alien ship frozen in Antarctica. When the organism inside awakens, blood flows across the frozen landscape. Leading the group is pilot Carter (Joel Edgerton), who allies with paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in a desperate attempt to rally the paranoid workers to combat the deadly threat.

When I was a mere lad of 12 (in 1951) I went with friends into downtown Baltimore to see
the first edition of “The Thing”. You never saw the alien throughout the film until the very last scene in which they burned it up leaving something resembling a baked potato. During that scene I hid under my coat so that in fact I never saw “The Thing” in all its glory.

In 1982 there was another version which I never saw.

Finally welcome to 2011. With digital enhancement there is no end of the gore you can create. In the last part of this version you get to see two mangled human bodies that have been transformed into a creature that crawls like a spider with tentacles. This is just a warning in case you are a bit squeamish. Don’t you wonder who lies awake at night just dreaming up these visual horrors?

All the cast are male with the exception of one young female scientist who dares to make a counter suggestion to the learned and arrogant lead scientist. Guess what happens!

Not for children and probably not for adults of a certain ripe old age.

Why is this called a prequel ?

2010, Acceptable Trash, Bullying, Dark, Disturbing Image, Drama, Grim, Horror, Made For TV, Occasional gore, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Zombies

The Walking Dead (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to discover the world plagued by zombies and small bands of human survivors forced into small, fiercely protective groups. Falling back on his old job, Rick sets out to lead mankind out of darkness.

While giving blood samples (coincidence ?) at my yearly physical I got to talking with the medical assistant about TV series. We both liked “True Blood” and “Six Feet Under” and “Dexter” which prompted her to suggest “The Walking Dead”. Zombies? You have to be kidding!

Believe it or not, despite the proliferation of zombies, the writing and acting and plot line are all well done. Expect a lot of suspense and, of course, gore. But it is the human interaction that makes the series worth watching. Who’d a thunk it!

1956, Black and White Film, Car Chase, Classic, Conspiracy, Dark, Flirting, Grim, Horror, Old-Fashioned, Sci-Fi, Suspense

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

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From NetFlix:

Something is amiss in the sleepy California hamlet of Santa Mira. Initially, Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) dismisses reports from the citizenry accusing friends and family of behaving like automatons. But the doctor soon makes a startling discovery. Extraterrestrials capable of replicating humans and assuming their identities have invaded Santa Mira. It’s up to Bennell to sound the alarm and almost single-handedly battle the alien forces.

Suppose you could trust no one around you, could you survive ? Of course, wartime spies are somewhat in that position. But this story is a famous extreme example. As an experiment in film comparison (which I also did with True Grit (1969) and True Grit (2010)) I decided to watch at least two if not three versions of this film.

For those of you too young to remember, Kevin McCarthy played many roles in the 1960 TV series “Twilight Zone”. Dana Wynter (the female lead) played Eva Wainwright in the 1966 TV series “The Man Who Never Was”.

What makes this film seem old ?

  • Black and white
  • Real orchestra music composed by Carmon Dragon that seems corny by today’s standards.
  • Precious few special effects except for the pods bursting open
  • The actors themselves actually had to run on streets and hills
  • Unfortunately in this version, the ending is a terrible cop-out

Following is an excellent review that I found in IMDB attributed to someone billed as InfoFreak:

‘Invasion Of The Body Snatcher’s is my favourite 1950s science fiction movie alongside ‘Forbidden Planet’. Both are very different movies. ‘Forbidden Planet’ is arguably the first SF blockbuster, an intergalactic adventure, in colour, with a large budget and impressive special effects. ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatcher’s is a smaller movie, a low budget black and white paranoid thriller that is a classic of its type. Many subsequent movies have been influenced by this one, and there have been at least two remakes (Philip Kaufman, Abel Ferrara), but it still takes some beating! Director Don Siegel is best known for tough guy crime dramas like ‘The Killers’ and ‘Dirty Harry’, but shows his versatility with this extremely effective and disturbing horror story. The legendary Sam Peckinpah had an uncredited hand in the script, and (keep an eye open for) a small cameo as a meter reader. Kevin McCarthy is terrific as the small town doctor turned hero. His performance is excellent, and made him a legend to SF and horror fans everywhere (he reprises it briefly in Kaufman’s excellent 1970s remake by the way). The lovely Dana Wynter leads a strong supporting cast, and buffs will get a particular kick out of seeing Carolyn Jones (a.k.a. Morticia Addams) and Whit Bissell. (‘I Was A Teenage Werewolf’, ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon’ and too many others to mention!) This movie has aged very well, much better than say, ‘The Thing From Another World’, and still stands as THE 1950s paranoid SF/horror movie. An absolute classic that I guarantee still packs a punch! Highly recommended!

Have fun!

2011, Horror, Imperfect, Mayhem, Mediocre, Supernatural, Suspense

Insidious (2011)

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From NetFlix:

After moving into a new home, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) confront terrifying tribulations when their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls into a coma and his body starts to attract malevolent forces from a mysterious netherworld. But when the family decides to move again, hoping to leave the evil spirits behind, they realize that their problems are just beginning. James Wan (Saw) directs.

“Blair Witch Project” meets “Ghostbusters”. Patrick Wilson must be desperate to be in a film, any film whatsoever. What value could there be in watching this poorly made farce? Answer: it is so bad, it is funny. Perhaps the filmmakers ran out of money when it came to creating Chief Devil. To cap off the damage, the ending is somewhat daring. You would do better to shop for some other film.

2009, Black and White Film, Car Chase, Dark, Horror, Suspense, Violent

Dark Country (2009)

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From NetFlix:

“Hung” star Thomas Jane directs and stars in this thriller that follows the hellish adventures of a newlywed couple who rescue a wounded stranger on the side of the road on their way back from their Las Vegas nuptials. When the almost-dead man goes berserk on them, the couple’s nightmare is just beginning. Ron Perlman (Hell Boy) and Lauren German also star in this chiller penned by Guerillas in the Mist writer Tab Murphy.

More “Twilight Zone” than horror, this plot by Tab Murphy is more subtle than works by Stephen King. Note that Thomas Jane was 40 when he both directed and acted in this film. His films often have saxophone blues as music. As far as I can recall, this is a black and white film.

You will either be bored by or fascinated by this film. From almost the very beginning I had correctly guessed what was going to happen. (Do I watch too much trash for my own good ?) Nevertheless I felt compelled to endure to the end.

Good news is that the dialog, acting, atmosphere are well-done. Both the realistic interaction between Jane and German and the suspenseful plot details held my attention. There will be no gore in this creeper except a man’s bloodied and disfigured face.

Is it bad news that you should not expect a happy ending ?

WARNING: This film is certainly not for everyone, especially for someone who tends to be impatient.

2010, Acceptable for children, Could be boring, Horror, Independent, Suspense

Monsters (2010)

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From NetFlix:

Six years after aliens invaded Earth, a security force maintains tenuous control in the Infected Zone straddling the U.S.-Mexican border. Andrew (Scoot McNairy), a photographer, is documenting this war-torn area when he’s interrupted by an unexpected rescue mission. Samantha (Whitney Able), daughter of a media mogul who just happens to be his boss, needs an escort home, and Andrew reluctantly takes on the job.

Only superficially is this a horror film. Rather it is more an independent film that is somewhat like a travelogue showing an American man and woman trying to get out of Mexico’s monster-infected region and back safely into the United States. Underlying the trip are his problems with his illigitimate son and her problems with her parents and her fiancee. Kids would be bored to death and if you do not like slow-paced films then you too can be bored to death. Yes, you get to see a monster or two, but it really doesn’t matter.

Probably the most impressive site was the gigantic Hadrian’s wall that has been constructed on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. For details about the many mistakes and the effort involved see the Wikipedia article.

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Grim, Horror, Occasional gore, Suspense, Violent

Carriers (2009)

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From NetFlix:

As a lethal virus spreads across the globe, brothers Brian (Chris Pine) and Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci), along with Bobby (Piper Perabo) and Kate (Emily VanCamp), seek a supposed plague-free haven. But while circumventing those infected, the travelers begin to turn against one another. Real-life brothers Alex Pastor and David Pastor write and direct this apocalyptic chiller, which co-stars Christopher Meloni.

More apocalypse than horror film, this film about the human race dying of a plague really concentrates on two brothers and the two women traveling with them and their relations with one another. These relations are challenged to the extreme by the need to follow certain rules designed to keep them plague-free. Tough choices are made throughout the film.

Among the four travelers Brian (Chris Pine of Unstoppable (2010)) is clearly the leader. Actors Pine and Pucci carry their parts well.

Christopher Meloni of “Law and Order: Special Victims” fame, has a part as the father of an infected young daughter. His role is just a bit more than a cameo, but he does it well.

Children would be frightened by the sight of the dying and dead infected blood-encrusted victims. But the film is really about choosing between survival and whatever criteria we had for good human behavior in the pre-plague past.

Never a dull moment!