Tag: Horror

REVIEW: ‘Blair Witch’ Has A Few Thrills, But Not As Memorable As Its 90s Counterpart

This true sequel to the 1999 found footage picture brings audiences back to a familiar place, and that’s not just in reference to the location. On top of the movie’s setting, this edition also borrows heavily from the first film’s formula.

Ignoring the 2000 film “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2,” this flick opts to just be a direct sequel to the original and follows the character James. James is the brother of Heather Donahue, who was one of the people who went “missing” in the original picture. Since her disappearance in rural Maryland, James has been obsessed with trying to discover her whereabouts and finds a clue by way of an internet video.

In response, James and a group of his friends go out into the same woods that the previous crew ventured into in an attempt to pick up more pieces of the puzzle. However, once they enter, eerie things start happening to the protagonists.

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REVIEW: Despite Unlikable Characters, ‘Don’t Breathe’ Has Edge Of Your Seat Thrills

Take note horror characters, never go in a creepy looking house.

“Don’t Breathe” tells the tale of three home robbers trying to make enough money to get out of a dilapidated area of Detroit. The trio, including Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto), get a major opportunity for a big score when they are tipped off about a blind man who is sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The three eventually begin their plan to break in and pull off the heist, but they don’t get very far. It’s not long before the would-be robbers find out that the person their stealing from, despite being blind, has complete control over his senses. On top of this, they also find out that the Blind Man (Stephen Lang) is aggressive and ready to kill all of the trespassers without mercy.

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REVIEW: Poorly Handled Subtext Pulls The Plug On ‘Lights Out’

“Lights Out” likely could have been a better horror flick if it had handled one aspect better.

The movie centers around the character Rebecca, played by Teresa Palmer. Rebecca is trying to make the best of what she has in life but is troubled by her mother’s clinical depression and the effects it has on her younger brother, Martin (Gabriel Bateman).

The situation becomes extraordinarily worse when Martin sees his mother, Sophie (Maria Bello) speaking to some sort of dark being and it doesn’t take long for Rebecca to believe him.

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REVIEW: Third ‘Purge’ Uses The Same Formula As The Second Film, But Doesn’t Deliver Same Results

If you enjoyed “The Purge: Anarchy” from 2014, you may not need to see “The Purge: Election Year,” since they are so similar.

Returning from the 2014 feature is former police sergeant Leo, played by Frank Grillo. After the events of the second film where he was involved with helping a group of individuals survive the Purge, Leo is now the lead security official for U.S. Sen. Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell).

Roan is a presidential candidate and is running on a platform of ending the Purge and moving the country in a different direction, making her a target for those in favor of the newest American holiday. For this reason, Roan and Leo are forced to go on the run on Purge night after an assassination attempt and they have few people to trust. However, they do get some help from others trying to survive the night.

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REVIEW: The Boy

Known for her work in “The Walking Dead,” Lauren Cohan switches to the big screen in “The Boy,” playing a recently hired nanny who is being sent to work for a family in a rural area of the United Kingdom. Her life takes an unexpected turn, though, when the young women, named Greta, finds out that her employers want her to look after a doll.

The problem is that her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire (Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle) actually think the doll is their real child Brahms and subsequently, want Greta to treat the object as a real boy, too. While Greta is skeptical at first, strange occurrences start to make her believe there is more to the doll than she initially thought.

While the first act of “The Boy” comes off as a bit silly and hokey because of its obnoxious subject matter, the film does in fact start to get really good in the second act. Despite having a wacky story about a doll that may be alive, the movie is able to build up a pretty solid, creepy atmosphere and it was actually interesting to watch Greta’s character lose her mind because of the doll. Heading into the final act, the film had won me over.

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Krampus review

Director:
Michael Dougherty
Cast:
Adam Scott
Toni Collette
David Koechner
Emjay Anthony
Conchata Ferrell
Rated: PG-13

“Krampus” is a horror and dark comedy that centers around a dysfunctional family who have gathered just a few days before Christmas. The youngest in the family, Max (Anthony), is having a tough time with the whole situation, though, because the holiday just doesn’t feel as enjoyable anymore.

In a fit of anger he tears up his letter to Santa and tosses it out the window. It turns out to be a bad decision, though, because it summons the evil spirit Krampus who punishes those who don’t honor Christmas.

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Halloween Horror Fest 2015: The mess that was the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ franchise

To those who’ve followed my work, it’s no secret that I love “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” I find it to be one of the best horror films ever made thanks to its style, detail, setting and more. I also admire its sequel for being a legitimate attempt at a horror-comedy which focused more on humor than downright scares.

Following the original two, though, the series took a complete nose dive with two more films that may or may not have been sequels to the original. Now, with all fairness, there was a reboot in 2003, and for all its faults, I think the 03 film comes close to at least trying to recapture the original film. I don’t consider it a horror classic and still think it pales in comparison to the original, but it’s an OK horror picture.

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Crimson Peak review

Director:
Guillermo del Toro
Cast:
Mia Wasikowska
Jessica Chastain
Tom Hiddleston
Charlie Hunnam
Rated: R

In “Crimson Peak,” Mia Wasikowska plays Edith Cushing, a young woman who is whisked away to the U.K. after meeting and falling in love with a man (Hiddleston) just after a family tragedy.

As she begins living with her new husband, Thomas, and his sister Lucille (Chastain) at their gothic mansion, she begins seeing frightening and disturbing things that make her start to question her decision.

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The Visit review

Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
Cast:
Olivia DeJonge
Ex Oxenbould
Deanna Dunagan
Peter McRobbie
Kathryn Hahn
Rated: PG-13

In “The Visit,” a pair of siblings named Becca (DeJonge) and Tyler (Oxenbould) are sent by their mother (Hahn) to visit their grandparents they’ve never met. While doing so, Becca decides to film the visit to create a documentary. Upon meeting the two grandparents, played by Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, the brother and sister find them to be nice and welcoming.

This begins to change, though, when the grandparents begin exhibiting odd behavior and eventually start acting somewhat threatening.

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Insidious 3 review

Director:
Leigh Whannell
Cast:
Dermot Mulroney
Stefanie Scott
Lin Shaye
Leigh Whannell
Angus Sampson
Rated: PG-13

The third installment of the “Insidious” franchise serves as a prequel rather than a sequel in the franchise’s timeline. The film follows a girl named Quinn (Scott) who is being haunted by an evil spirit.

As the haunting gets more severe Quinn and her family seek the help of Elise (Shaye), a spirit and demon expert who may be able to assist. The only problem is Elise is dealing with problems of her own.

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