Tag: Thriller

REVIEW: ‘The Shallows’ Is A Thrilling Story Of Survival

It might not make you afraid to go in the water, but it will entertain the hell out of you at the theater.

“The Shallows,” directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who previously helmed Liam Neeson thrillers “Unknown” and “Non-Stop” tells the story of Nancy. Played by Blake Lively, Nancy is a young woman who has taken time out of her pursuit of a medical degree to ride the waves at a secluded beach. The location the film takes place at is special to her, since her mother surfed at the same beach years ago.

After a full day of surfing, though, Nancy soon finds herself in a feeding ground of a great white shark and her only salvation away from the shore is a small rock formation. This means she is left to discover some way of getting to safety while being secluded.

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REVIEW: ’10 Cloverfield Lane’ Highlighted By Acting, Claustrophobic Atmosphere

Since it’s right in the title, I’ll address the elephant in the room first. For those thinking this might be a sequel to the 2008 giant monster movie “Cloverfield,” you’re out of luck. The J.J. Abrams produced “10 Cloverfield Lane” has nothing to do with the creature that attacked New York City and does not serve as a sequel.

Instead, this film acts as a sort of anthology successor, maintaining the same mysterious tone of other Abrams’ pictures while still being its own film.

The movie starts off with a quick introduction of the protagonist, Michelle, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who has decided to leave her fiance. On the way out of town, though, she is caught in a car accident on the highway.

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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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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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Goosebumps review

Director:
Rob Letterman
Cast:
Jack Black
Dylan Minnette
Odeya Rush
Ryan Lee
Amy Ryan
Jillian Bell
Rated: PG

“Goosebumps” is a film inspired by the childrens’ books written by R.L. Stine. The film is, in a way, in the same vein as “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare,” since R.L. Stine (Black) is actually a character who has to face his own creations.

The movie follows Zach (Minnette), a teen moving to a new city because of his mother getting a new job. As he gets settled into his new home, he meets Hannah (Rush), a teen living next door whom he befriends. He comes to find out, though, that her father actually is Stine. Stine right away comes off as frightening and things go from bad to worse when it’s discovered that his novels can come to life when they open.

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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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Poltergeist review

Director:
Gil Kenan
Cast:
Sam Rockwell
Rosemarie DeWitt
Kennedi Clements
Kyle Catlett
Jared Harris
Rated: PG-13

The 2015 remake of the 1982 film “Poltergeist,” doesn’t stray too far from its original roots. Like the first film, “Poltergeist” follows a family with a father, Eric (Rockwell), a mother, Amy (DeWitt) and a couple of kids. The family is under a financial strain, however, they do move into a new house hoping that their fortunes will change.

Long story short, they don’t. After getting settled in their new home, the family starts coming across strange occurrences, each growing more frightening than the last. It’s made worse when the parents learn that their house was actually constructed on a burial ground.

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Ex Machina review

Director:
Alex Garland
Cast:
Domhnall Gleeson
Oscar Isaac
Alicia Vikander
Rated: R

Domhnall Gleeson plays Caleb in “Ex Machina,” a sci-fi film directed by Alex Garland. Caleb works for a company that is more or less the equivalent to Google in our world. The film opens with Caleb being invited to spend a week at the home of the tech company’s founder and owner.

Upon arrival, Caleb learns that the CEO Nathan (Isaac) lives in a subterranean type home and his residence is actually used for research and development.

Currently, Nathan is trying to create an artificial intelligence system and asks Caleb to test the A.I.

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