[REVIEWS] Films: Horror
Nov. 5th, 2011 02:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thewlisian_aferOctober is over but I'm still pluggin' along with the horror reviews. I had a couple more sets started when November showed up, so I might as well finish them!
The Final Destination (2009)
Young Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) thinks he's cheated death when he keeps a grisly premonition from becoming reality, saving his friends and himself from being crushed in a catastrophic accident -- but the survivors soon realize that fate has other plans. Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb and Nick Zano also star in this fourth installment of the Final Destination franchise, the first film in the series to be lensed in 3D.
Will they ever stop making these movies so I can stop watching them? I feel that going into this with that attitude worked to my advantage. I was feeling skeptical and cynical and critical, so I wound up liking it more than I expected to. I still only really like the first Final Destination. But this one only runs for about 80 minutes and I didn't once check to see how much longer I had before it was over. And while I don't have anything especially good to say about it, I also don't have anything especially bad. Well... Except that it was filmed for 3D. I really don't like 3D; it makes me feel queasy and if you watch the films in 2D, it's almost obnoxiously obvious that lots of things were added specifically for the 3D gimmick. [Rating: 3 stars]
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
When popular horror writer Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, his publisher hires investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) to find him. Trent tracks Cane to a small New England town, which is filled with nightmare scenes right out of the author's books. Encountering one gruesome scene after another, Trent wonders if Cane's fans have gone psychotic and begun imitating his writings, or his "novels" are really nonfiction. John Carpenter directs.
This film felt like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Bentley Little raised a baby together, and that baby grew up to write a mediocre movie script, which was passed off to a very good director. I loved it. The end. [Rating: 3.5 stars]
Mimic (1997)
In this cinematic kissing cousin to the giant-radioactive-ant flick Them, etymologist Mira Sorvino eradicates disease-carrying cockroaches only to create a new breed of lethal, man-sized insect in the sewer systems of New York City. Co-starring Charles S. Dutton, Jeremy Northam and a nest of creepy, computer-generated bugs, Mimic will send you running for the Raid.
Okay, a couple of things you need to know: Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors of all time, and I am extremely phobic when it comes to creepy crawlies. So pretty much from start to finish, this movie scared and delighted me at the same time. It even made me laugh a few times. That's about the most fun I can have while wearing pants! I have to admit it took me about half the movie before I stopped thinking of Mira Sorvino as Romy White, but that's more a comment on my viewing (in)abilities than anyone's acting or directing or writing. XD [Rating: 3.5 stars]
Saw VII (2010)
Insane, intense cruelty is the calling card of the Jigsaw killer, whose twisted spirit and terrifying human traps are recalled in horrific flashbacks by Jigsaw's past victims, led by survivor Bobby Dagen.
Like with the first film in this review set, I went into this thinking, "When will they stop making these movies so I can stop watching them?" Well, in this case, the answer is "Now. For now." The movie was marketed as The Final Chapter and the guys in charge of the franchise said that there won't be any more Saw movies very soon but that it's too popular to go away forever. Anyway, even going into it with a bad attitude, I kinda liked this movie. I definitely think it's the best "part 7" ever. It was shot for 3D and probably the thing that impressed me the most was that, watching it in 2D, there were only two instances where I thought "That shot was especially for 3D." Thinking back afterward, I thought of several more spots that would've been 3D-licious but it was only annoyingly blatant to this 2D-viewer twice. Anyway, other than that, I just have to say I still really like Costas Mandylor's face, I remember Chad Donella from the episode of The X-Files he was in and I love him, and I gave the film an extra half a star because it included bare-chested Patrick Sean Flanery. Yeah, sometimes I'm that shallow. stfu. XD [Rating: 3 stars]
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
A malign and murderous spirit continues to dwell within a San Diego home in this second creepy sequel to 2007's chilling Paranormal Activity. Hoping to catch photo evidence of Bloody Mary, the residents soon become victims in their own horror film.
As a reminder, the first Paranormal Activity is one of my favorite horror films, and I liked the second one almost as much. Actually, what I said about the second one was that it didn't scare me as much as the first but that I loved getting more backstory and that I was looking forward to the next installment. That's ... basically how I feel about this one! A bit less scary but awesome backstory and I want more. Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it wasn't exactly less scary. It was just a different kind of scary. My heart wasn't pounding and I wasn't nervous about walking through my house but I felt such sympathy for the poor terrorized characters. I mean, the Bloody Mary scene? I wanted to hug them. Also, there was some great acting in that scene in particular. [Rating: 3.5 stars]
The Final Destination (2009)
Young Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) thinks he's cheated death when he keeps a grisly premonition from becoming reality, saving his friends and himself from being crushed in a catastrophic accident -- but the survivors soon realize that fate has other plans. Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb and Nick Zano also star in this fourth installment of the Final Destination franchise, the first film in the series to be lensed in 3D.
Will they ever stop making these movies so I can stop watching them? I feel that going into this with that attitude worked to my advantage. I was feeling skeptical and cynical and critical, so I wound up liking it more than I expected to. I still only really like the first Final Destination. But this one only runs for about 80 minutes and I didn't once check to see how much longer I had before it was over. And while I don't have anything especially good to say about it, I also don't have anything especially bad. Well... Except that it was filmed for 3D. I really don't like 3D; it makes me feel queasy and if you watch the films in 2D, it's almost obnoxiously obvious that lots of things were added specifically for the 3D gimmick. [Rating: 3 stars]
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
When popular horror writer Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) goes missing, his publisher hires investigator John Trent (Sam Neill) to find him. Trent tracks Cane to a small New England town, which is filled with nightmare scenes right out of the author's books. Encountering one gruesome scene after another, Trent wonders if Cane's fans have gone psychotic and begun imitating his writings, or his "novels" are really nonfiction. John Carpenter directs.
This film felt like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Bentley Little raised a baby together, and that baby grew up to write a mediocre movie script, which was passed off to a very good director. I loved it. The end. [Rating: 3.5 stars]
Mimic (1997)
In this cinematic kissing cousin to the giant-radioactive-ant flick Them, etymologist Mira Sorvino eradicates disease-carrying cockroaches only to create a new breed of lethal, man-sized insect in the sewer systems of New York City. Co-starring Charles S. Dutton, Jeremy Northam and a nest of creepy, computer-generated bugs, Mimic will send you running for the Raid.
Okay, a couple of things you need to know: Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors of all time, and I am extremely phobic when it comes to creepy crawlies. So pretty much from start to finish, this movie scared and delighted me at the same time. It even made me laugh a few times. That's about the most fun I can have while wearing pants! I have to admit it took me about half the movie before I stopped thinking of Mira Sorvino as Romy White, but that's more a comment on my viewing (in)abilities than anyone's acting or directing or writing. XD [Rating: 3.5 stars]
Saw VII (2010)
Insane, intense cruelty is the calling card of the Jigsaw killer, whose twisted spirit and terrifying human traps are recalled in horrific flashbacks by Jigsaw's past victims, led by survivor Bobby Dagen.
Like with the first film in this review set, I went into this thinking, "When will they stop making these movies so I can stop watching them?" Well, in this case, the answer is "Now. For now." The movie was marketed as The Final Chapter and the guys in charge of the franchise said that there won't be any more Saw movies very soon but that it's too popular to go away forever. Anyway, even going into it with a bad attitude, I kinda liked this movie. I definitely think it's the best "part 7" ever. It was shot for 3D and probably the thing that impressed me the most was that, watching it in 2D, there were only two instances where I thought "That shot was especially for 3D." Thinking back afterward, I thought of several more spots that would've been 3D-licious but it was only annoyingly blatant to this 2D-viewer twice. Anyway, other than that, I just have to say I still really like Costas Mandylor's face, I remember Chad Donella from the episode of The X-Files he was in and I love him, and I gave the film an extra half a star because it included bare-chested Patrick Sean Flanery. Yeah, sometimes I'm that shallow. stfu. XD [Rating: 3 stars]
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
A malign and murderous spirit continues to dwell within a San Diego home in this second creepy sequel to 2007's chilling Paranormal Activity. Hoping to catch photo evidence of Bloody Mary, the residents soon become victims in their own horror film.
As a reminder, the first Paranormal Activity is one of my favorite horror films, and I liked the second one almost as much. Actually, what I said about the second one was that it didn't scare me as much as the first but that I loved getting more backstory and that I was looking forward to the next installment. That's ... basically how I feel about this one! A bit less scary but awesome backstory and I want more. Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess it wasn't exactly less scary. It was just a different kind of scary. My heart wasn't pounding and I wasn't nervous about walking through my house but I felt such sympathy for the poor terrorized characters. I mean, the Bloody Mary scene? I wanted to hug them. Also, there was some great acting in that scene in particular. [Rating: 3.5 stars]
