George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead

Hey Spooks! Like I said before, I just couldn't end Zombie month with a bunch of zombie movies that were not up to par. So, I racked my brain trying to think of a movie that would give it some spice and dignity. Then it finally hit me...how could I watch a months worth of zombie movies without seeing at least one that was by the Godfather of zombie movies?! Now, granted this one isn't the first, but the remake. But he did do the screenplay and was a producer. So let's give a great big shout out to the master of zombie's, George A. Romero and the 1990 remake of Night Of The Living Dead.

We are first introduced to Barbara and her brother who are visiting their mothers grave. While there, the two are suddenly attacked by an undead man. During the struggle Barbara's brother is killed and she herself flee's the scene. She takes shelter in a farmhouse, where she run's into some more zombies. Another survivor name Ben, soon shows up and helps her dispose of the undead. While devising a plan to board up the house, they find that there are other survivors who have hidden themselves in the basement. One of them is the cousin of the former owner, Tom, his girlfriend Judy Rose, and Harry Cooper and his wife and daughter. Ben and Barbara are told that the little girl is sick, and Cooper keeps suggesting that they all get back into the basement until help arrives. Ben believes the basement to be a death trap and that they would be better off fortifying the house where they have escape options. The small group of strangers soon figure out how to better defend themselves if they are ever to escape the hoard of living dead heading for them.

This is how its done people! This movie is awesome. I will admit...I haven't seen the original. I know, blasphemy. But I have seen bits and pieces of it and I get the concept. One thing I got to point out is I love the fact that they changed Barbara's character from a helpless and, dare I say pathetic character, to the arse kicking, zombie killing woman that she is in this movie. Granted in the beginning she is obviously traumatized and needs a small smack in the face to snap her out of it. But she show's that she can fight if she need's to (as the character of Ben points out). She is also one of the stronger character's other than Ben. And Ben? Oh man is he a go get 'er. I want him on my zombie team. And the jerk character. Oh man. You just wonder how karma is gonna get back at him, and when it does its satisfying. Now, I will admit that while watching this movie, I couldn't help but point out all the mistakes the characters were making. Like, I was thinking, why don't you guys just go upstairs? Why not look for that infamous attic and hid in there? But as it was from the 90's and I own the Zombie Survival Guide, its easy to point out those things.You also get a bit of time with the zombies. What I mean by that is that you see them interacting with the environment that they are in. There is one scene where we are watching a zombie sitting there eating slugs and even in a way, reacting to one another. Its nothing big, but it gives you a sense of how gone these creatures are. And the emotional scenes are just right. You can feel the break down and frustration. You can feel them being human. And that makes it more real and even more frightening.

Overall, I can't recommend this movie enough. The zombies are great, the characters are just wonderful, and the ending makes you think. You are zoned in on everything that is going on and even if you know what's going to happen, you still stay on board for the ride. And it is a good one. If you ask me, this is a good one to end zombie month on. Also to the spirit of George A. Romero, thank you for the living dead ghouls and movies. You are and will always be the master!

Undead

Hello fellow Spooks. I swear zombie month has zombified my brains. I don't know how I keep finding these hair brain movies. One of these movies seems to of been left behind by our dearly departed founder, and voted sexy corpse of the year, Nick. So I decided to see what type of movie it was other than a zombie flick. I don't know what he was on when he got it but I don't want it. I give you, 'Undead'.

Set in Australia, in a small town called Berkley, we are given a hasty introduction to our characters. Each one with t he personality and acting skills that make you want to jab a syringe in your eye cause it would be less painful. Anywho, a small meteor shower hits the town causing anyone who has been hit by these space rocks to become zombies. One of our characters, after witnessing some zombie violence, finds herself at an old weapons and fishing store where the town outcast resides and seems to be prepared for this coming zombie apocalypse. They are joined with a pregnant girl (who has grudge against our first leading lady) and her baby daddy, as well as an uptight Constable and his rookie partner. Together, this rag tag squad must fight their way through the legion of the undead and learn that not only is it the zombies that they have to worry about, but also a possible danger from beyond the stars. I'm talking aliens people.

You know, there are some things that go together like, peanut butter and jelly, lycans and vampires. But zombies and aliens? I kind of don't think so. Sure you can have horror and sci-fi mix and make some great flicks. You can also put in some ridiculousness in to make it more comical. But it has to be a smart type of ridiculousness. A perfect example is Shaun of the Dead. That movie gave us a zombie apocalypse with just a couple of average Joe's who fight off zombies while giving us some great humor in the process, as well as scenes that gave you some strong emotions. It had great actors and a great script. You could also tell that it was suppose to be a comedy set in a horror theme. It was also indicated by the trailer. In Undead, the trailer is so misleading. It makes you think that its going to be a serious zombie flick. When you see it, you are blind sided by the hokey acting, over the top gore, and I hate to say, poor delivery of comedy and drama. Some of the parts in the movie just boggled me. One of the characters punches a zombie fish. A zombie fish! You'd think I'd laugh at that but I was so confused as to what was going on that I sat there just dumbfounded. There was one scene where I genuinely laughed. One point gained movie.

As you may have guessed by my rant, I wasn't fond of this movie and don't recommend it. The story is everywhere, you don't care about the characters situation, and the acting is just too over the top for me. Granted there are some places where you get what the emotion is, and it matches the situation. If this movie was trying to be a comedy, it failed. If it was suppose to be serious, it failed that too. Watch it yourself if ya want to, I ain't your mom. But I can't let zombie month end like this. We need something or someone who can bring life to this corpse of a horror genre. A movie that can bring us the true horror of zombies. Maybe even the master of zombies....I dare say, George A Romero?

GallowWalkers

Hello fellow spooks. Tell me, what defines a zombie flick? Is it the dead walking upright. Is it the consumption of human flesh? Head shots? That's what seems to come to mind when we think of zombie flicks. But what if that flick that advertises or is said to have zombies in it, doesn't exactly deliver? Well let me tell you a tale of the GallowWalkers.

We are first introduced to our main character, Aman. who gives us a narrative into his life. We learn that he is getting revenge on a gang that had assaulted his lover. The twist is however, that he had already killed them. Only, because of a curse set upon him, anyone he kills comes back to life and the only way to kill them again is a head shot. He recruits a young man named...*sigh* Fabulos (I swear I'm not making that up. Google it), Anyways, he recruits Fabulos to aid him in his revenge in this supernatural western, to finish the job and put the gang back into the grave.

Dude...I got to say this...flavored false advertising! I was expecting zombies. Zom-beeezzz. Not cursed people who can't die cause some other cursed person kills them. Now its not the movie itself that says anything about it having zombies in it. On some sites, they are the ones who say this is categorized as a zombie flick. Netflix being one of them. Just type in 'Zombie movies' and this one will pop up. That's neither here or there. Onward. The movie had a decent idea, but it was blown out of its skull. You'd think a western with the living dead would be a neat story. But this one, no. It can't seem to focus on one thing at a time. You are introduced to so many different stories and random characters that you can't figure out what the blood and gore is going on. And you have so many questions that are not answered. Questions like: Why did Aman recruit this Fabulos dude? We don't get told how the gallow walkers came to be known or how they got their name, just that they are known. And who the bloody mess are these bleach blonde goobers who seem to live in this cult we see for like a good 10 minutes???? Go home movie, your drunk.

I really don't recommend this film. I kind of had high hopes for it. It had Wesley Snipes and he is usually pretty good. I mean, how could Blade disappoint? The one cool thing about these, *ahem*, zombies, is that in order to maintain their bodies, they need to take the flesh of the living and mold it onto their bodies to keep from looking like the walking corpses they are. Hey, that's kind of zombie-ish. You win this round bad movie. Its like a beauty treatment. We can call it...'Fresh Face'. Skin care for zombies. Anyways, see it, don't see it. If you have over an hour to kill go ahead. Make the call yourself. Me, I'm gonna go and see if I could sell this 'Fresh Face' idea. Excuse me Mr. Zombie, you care to sample our facial care product, 'Fresh Face'. Ummm, sir, you don't eat it you put it on your face... you know what, never mind.

What We Become

Hey there lovers of spookiness. Well, we are continuing our month of theme horror, that being

zombie month! Our next flesh eating movie comes all the way from the land of Denmark. Let's discover what happens when a nice little neighborhood is threatened with the prospect of ravenous zombies.

In the little town of Sorgenfri, a family of four and their neighborhood are swept from the sweet laid back world they are use to and thrown into a pit of chaos. A virus has begun to spread and though they doubt the severity of it, they are suddenly put under quarantine by the army. Their houses are covered in overgrown trash bags, and are given food and water rations to live on. The teen boy, Gustav, having the hots for the neighbor girl is concerned about her well being after seeing the military take a family member of hers away. Soon, the outbreak that seems to be under a certain amount of control, is let loose and with flesh hungry zombies at their door step, the family must try and survive the bloody horror.

Selfish and stupid acts that happen when zombies attack. That's one of the things I experienced while watching this. You get a thrill watching as the army guys doing the quarantine keeps people on a need to know basis, and when you see the act that makes all hell break loose, you go bonkers. Seriously, when I watched this I so wanted to smack a dead body. Its crazy and in a way frustrating. While the individual had good meaning behind their act, they failed to see everything. Its also frustrating when you see the many mistakes that the family makes. Example: after everything goes array, the little girl, Maj, leaves the house and no one notices! They noticed when Gustav got out in the middle of the night, but in broad daylight they don't see that the one who needs the most protection is gone??? Ya'll be insane.

Aside from the human part of this movie, I think it was good. The characters were not the usual rise above and become fighters that you usually see. They made mistakes and had the privilege to just be regular people who were put into a situation that no one is really prepared for. I got to give them that. It also showed the ugly side of people. How we are capable of not only great care and charity, but also very self centered acts and poor decision making. I really do recommend this for your zombie watching pleasure. Now lets update that zombie outbreak kit...water, food, blunt objects, lighter, and fireworks. Zombies love a good firework show.

Train to Busan

Hi there spooky and kooky ones. Riddle me this...what happens when a zombie outbreak happens and your on a train? Well the answer is in this epic zombie flick straight from the beautiful lands of South Korea. Let us dive into zombie month with the flick, Train to Busan.

We are first introduced to the first victim of the up and coming doom...a deer. Seriously. I hate spoilers too, but watch it and you will see. Anyways, we are then introduced to our main character, Seok-woo, a fund manager who is extremely dedicated to his work. We are also introduced to his little girl Su-an, whose only wish is that her father would show her some attention and not work so much. On Su-an's birthday, her only wish to go see her mother who lives in Busan. Seok-woo agrees and accompanies her. While on the train, Su-an notices a sudden violent attack on a train worker while the train is departing. Soon an outbreak of fast running zombies accords and soon what was once a pleasant train ride becomes a fight for survival as chaos reigns in both the outside world and the train.

Zombie train. That's what this would of been titled I bet here in the states. But you can't beat this movie no matter what the title. It is that awesome. The zombies in this are like the ones in World War Z. Fast and very animal like. Which makes them even more freaky. And once your bitten, there is no wait time like, 30 minutes till you become sir bites-a-lot. No, you start shifting in less than a minute. Heck, the zombies are unable to enjoy the feast since you turn so quickly. The characters are your typical ones you get in just about every horror movie, but they are so well played in this.You got the self centered guy who redeems himself, you got the guy who is just naturally a hero, the coward, the major asshole, and the herd of people who act out of primal fear. Of course in this you know who the real asshole is and your just shouting, 'kill that prick!' In all honesty this movie really speaks to human nature in a disaster. Your either the savior, the asshole, or the sheep.

This movie is totally on my recommend list. Especially for a zombie flick. You not only get action and good on the edge of your seat thrills, you get to see karma. Watch it and you will know what I'm talking about. Now if your'll excuse me I need to check and see what is the trains emergency protocol if there is a zombie outbreak...what? There is no zombie protocol for the train??? Next thing you'll be telling me is that there isn't one for the planes...there isn't????? Ever heard of preparation???

The Other Side of the Door

Greetings my fellow spooks. I must ask, is it too much to ask that people follow certain rules? Don't touch a hot stove. Look both ways before you cross. And don't open doors to the land of the dead. Well here is a movie that shows why some doors should stay locked, and the key destroyed, or launched into space.

In Mumbai India, after a tragic accident, Maria is consumed with grief as the accident claimed the life of her son Oliver. She is also overcome with guilt cause during the accident she chose to save her daughter Lucy first before Oliver leaving him to die. After surviving an attempted suicide, her housekeeper, Piki, tells her of a temple where the line between the living and the dead is thin and there, Maria can say one last goodbye to Oliver. Piki give's her instructions. One instruction is that Maria is to never open the door no matter how much Oliver pleads with her. Sure enough, at the temple, Oliver shows up and Maria speaks to him. However, he tells her he has to go. Not wanting him to leave, Maria opens the door and finds he is not there. Unknown to her, she has disturbed the balance between the living and the dead, and what has come home with her is not the sweet boy she remembers, but a dark version of Oliver.

This movie had some potential, that was drowned out by missing information. There are numerous examples. One being the Shamans that seem to pop up everywhere. We are given a short but informal fact about them. BUT, we are not given information as to why they are doing various things. One scene is that they approach Maria and put ash on her face. There is no explanation for it. No reason. Just, 'here is some ash on your face. Have a nice day'. I would of loved to hear a reason for that. Or how about what they are chanting? Or why is every plant dying? As you watch the movie it starts to make sense, but a little bit of fill in the gaps would be nice. Plus, this movie is basing the haunting on the Hindu beliefs. We get such a small taste of it, that we are left in the dark. And some things are just never explained.

I got mixed feelings about this movie. On one hand its just your average scares and story of ghosts. But on the other hand, with the culture twist added, it makes it more interesting. True it borrows some familiar ghost story layouts, but on a small level, it works. Aside from that, I wouldn't say don't watch this movie, but I wouldn't say you have got to watch this. Much like the character Oliver, its in limbo. As for the whole door thing, I wouldn't open the door even if the spirit said it had pizza. What spirit? Its a large pepperoni with cheesy stuff crust? And a nice cold soda? And you have choloate cake??? Come on in! Oh crap....

We are still here

Children of the night, prepare yourselves for a tale of tragedy, revenge, and ghosts that look like a well done steak. I give you We are still here.

In 1979 Ann and Paul, who have lost their son has moved to a new small town in order to start anew. Once moved in, they begin to have strange occurrences. Pictures breaking, balls bouncing down the stairs. The usual timid start to show that there are spooks in the house. Ann believes its their son Bobby's spirit. Paul, being a skeptic, shrugs it off, believing its just Ann's imagination fueled by her grief. Of course things escalate fast when a repair man is maimed by an apparition. Ann decides to invite her friends May and Jacob, in the hopes that May, who is also a medium, can help get in contact with Bobby's spirit. Soon the small group learns about the truth of their new home, the town, and that the spirits that reside there, are out for blood thirsty revenge.

This movie was just right. I mean sure there were some things that got me a little, befuddled. Example; some of the establishing shots were really long. I mean, ten seconds long. But aside from that, it was good. They didn't take long to get to the spooks, and the suspense before the ghosts did their jump scare was exceptional. Heck, there were times that I was bracing myself for that jump scare. Plus the twist was decent. It was nothing really new. But the story itself was what made it a success.

This is one I would recommend. Its got a good plot, some interesting characters, and the burnt ghosts are nice and crispy...I mean creepy. Like a charbroiled steak...medium rare...with cursed potato salad...now I'm hungry.

Sacrifice

Hey my fellow dark dwellers. Ever saw a movie and thought; it may not be a full blown horror, but it may be a good thriller. I mean come on. Its full of old runes, ancient sacrifices, and an island full of conspiracy. Sounds great right? It would of been if it didn't seem so boring. Let's check out the movie, Sacrifice.

The movie opens with a doctor named Tora Hamilton. During a consultation with a woman about to give birth, Tora is reveled to be pregnant herself as we witness her having a miscarriage. A few months later her and her husband Duncan, go to the Shelton Islands, Duncan's old home. There they hope to adopt a child. During the 12 month wait, Tora discovers in their backyard, the body of a young woman who had given birth but has had her heart cut out and ancient runes carved into her body. She is then told that the body is of a woman who died hundreds of years ago and is what is known as a 'bog' body. However, Tora suspects otherwise and begins to conduct her own investigation. What she finds is a secret, ancient cult full of blood sacrifice.

Now that may all sound like the premise for a good thriller. And you maybe right. However, in this movies case, no. You are subject to ultimate boredom and also the question...why is this chick so freaking into this mystery? If I was told by people who are experts, that this is just an old, well preserved body, I would just say, 'cool', and leave things alone. But she takes an obsessive turn. I get that even in her own house there are these old runes that seem fresh carved into the building and such that are near the same as the ones that the body had, plus she is a doctor and knows a thing or two about bodies. But, I still can't really see the reason for her to really suspect anything other than she's bored. A lot of this movie is centered around her trying to identify the true origins of the body. And it just leaves you screaming, 'get to something interesting!' Its almost 45 minutes to the movies ending that anything interesting happens. Everything takes way to long. And your brain goes numb.

Even though there are some interesting bits, there is just not enough. I have to condemn this movie. It dull, it makes it hard to get into. And the things you want to learn more about or see, you don't. Check it out if you want. What am I your mother? I hope not. Last thing I need is to be sacrificed. What? I go through all that and instead of a baby shower I get a ritual sacrifice? Oh hell no!

JeruZalem

Hey spooklings. When you are watching that one doomsday movie that involves demons, you want to see the demons right? Well, get ready to barely see some demons with the magic of mockumentary done through not just any camera lens, but the camera lens from those freaking Google glasses. Introduced in this movie, JeruZalem.

This movie starts out with an old home movie where two priests are in Jerusalem to investigate a woman who had died three days ago but had come back from the dead, only she has become hostile and demonic. Fast forward to the present where the main character Sarah and her friend Rachel are going on vacation to Tel Aviv. Partly so that Sarah can recover from the loss of her brother. On the plane, they meet young archaeologist student Kevin, who is interested in things like religious mythology. He talks the two girls into joining him in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur. There they meet Omar at the hostel that they stay at and enjoy some partying. However their fun is cut short when the gates of hell open up releasing an army of winged demons set on unleashing their fury on all the world. All this recorded on Sarah's handy dandy Google glasses.

This movie, while an idea with promise, has some issues. The biggest of them all being...its a freaking mockumentary! And not only is it a mockumentary, its a mockumentary done with Google glasses! So you get the glory of seeing things like, text messages, facebook look ups when it recognizes someone, Google maps for when they are lost, and the glasses malfunctioning. All this distracting the audience from the story and what is actually going on. And if that isn't enough, it takes 48 minutes which is near half of the movie to get to any real action. We get to go on the adventures of bars and going through the city, with nothing interesting happening. And when the demons show up, we hardly get to see them. That shaky Google glasses just doesn't focus long enough. I don't think so personally. Plus, there is a gigantic demon terrorizing the streets and we have no idea who it is. Is is Satan? The golem that was mentioned earlier in the movie? Is it just a big demon? What is it?? And why don't you hold your head still enough so I can see it??!!! I wanna see the big scary demon monster! Also, why is her brother dead? Was there an accident? Did he die of cancer? Fill in the blanks people. Don't do these back stories and character development and leave out information! Yeesh. There is more, but I'm gonna stop while I'm ahead.

I put this in limbo because even though the POV camera work in this doesn't help the story in any way (at least I don't think), and your left with more questions about everything, its a neat concept. We have seen many different world end movies, very few involving religious influence, And to have the world fall under judgement through these zombie like demons is decent. If you've seen the REC movies, its got some religious influence, but at least with those movies they have a great story line and you can actually see the evil zombies, even with the camera shake going. I think if this movie was to of been done with the traditional style camera work, more history and information on these things, and less time focused on party times, it would of made a decent movie. Its not the worse but not the greatest. Its one of those, 'lets just watch something. I don't care, I'm not gonna be focused on it anyways', movies. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna ask that big demon thing some questions. Hey Mr.Big Demon! Can I have a moment of your time?...hey don't you walk away from me. I'm talking to you! I will bite your ankle you over grown gargoyle!

Lights Out

Hello my fellow spooklings. Are you afraid of the dark? Well, you should be! After seeing this movie, you will want the night light, the glow worm, screw it! Just get into that tanning booth. You'll look like a old baseball glove but at least you'll be safe! Lets check out why in the movie, Lights Out.

After the death of her husband, Sophie, who has a sever form of depression is discovered by her son to be talking to an imaginary friend named Diana, who can only be seen in the dark. Sophie's son, Martin, is frightened by Diana and because of this he cannot sleep. After falling asleep in class, his school contacts his half-sister, Rebecca, to come and get him when his mother doesn't answer their call. Rebecca takes Martin to her place so he can get some sleep and be safe. While there, Rebecca is nearly attacked by Diana in her own apartment, showing that the specter is real and dangerous. Soon Rebecca learns the truth about who Diana is and in that truth learns that everyone, including her mother, is in real life threatening danger.

I admit, this was not a bad movie. Seriously, if you were freaked out at first by dark rooms at night, this movie will make you think that the figure you may have seen in the corner, is actually there. The scares were good with the whole lights being turned on and off. Really building anticipation. Especially when they are toggling the lights on and off you are nearly screaming at the t.v. 'keep the freak'n light on!' It works pretty well. But of course not all movies are perfect...

One pet peeve I had while watching this was that when they are telling the story of Diana, you are more intrigued by that story, than the main story. At least I was. I had so many questions that there is no answer to. Unless they do a prequel. Also with Rebecca's father, not to give much away, when you learn of his fate you are very confused. Lets just leave it at that.

Other than some usual things, Lights Out is not that bad. I do recommend it. I wouldn't own it, cause the lights on/off thing gets old, but you should at least see it once. And, and, it was actually based off of an original short film from 2013. I saw it, and it was really creepy, especially at the end. Oh, I was freaked out at the end. More so than the big movie. So if you see this movie, check out the short film first if ya can and judge for yourself. As for me, I'm gonna shut off all the lights that are not needed right now. Cause you know whats scarier than a ghost afraid of the dark? The electric bill! AAAHHHH!!!!

Ava's Possesions

Welcome back fellow creatures. Ever wonder what happens AFTER the possession? We all know that song and dance. Person becomes possessed, priest comes in, we see split pea soup, and things go back to normal. But then what? Well, the answer to that is in this movie, Ava's Possessions.

We first see the main character, Ava, being exorcised. After the demon is expelled, she gets up the next day to find her family cleaning up her apartment that is very trashed. Not only that, her parents look like they had been beaten up. Ava has a hard time believing what had happened since she has no memory of any of the events that took place. She is shown video of her attacking a stranger by her lawyer, and is told that she is facing jail time unless she goes to either a type of mental facility, or attend a meeting for the recently possessed. She chooses to attend the meetings and learns that some of the steps are apologizing for the chaos that she caused to individual people. Also since she has no memory, she is to figure out everything that she had done while possessed. During her discovery she finds that she did some real damage as she has lost friends and even her job. The deeper she goes, the more disturbing and dangerous her discoveries become.

This movie was actually really good. I mean lets face it, we have all seen the 'what happens during possession', but afterwards, no. Not a thing. Ok, some would argue that we see it with the Exorcist 2 movie and what not, but I'm not counting that so forget it. This movie is more of a dark comedy. No, your not laughing your chesticles off as you watch this. Its just not as dark as you would think. Its not scary, but it is kind of a thriller mystery. You want to figure out what this girl did while under the demons control. You want to know why she was possessed, and you keep guessing as the movie progresses. Its like a fun puzzle. But with memory loss and demons from the seventh circle of hell.

I recommend this movie. Aside from some dark points, its really fun. Its a good movie to have a friend or two over to watch. Have a drink or two as you watch the mystery unfold. At least if you drink you only have memory loss for just that night. Then you use the power of holy coffee to help exorcise the hangover demon.

Sinister 2

Welcome back my black hearted lovely's. And what little flick have we got to review? How about the sequel to a pretty decent horror film? I'm talking about that sequel known only as Sinister 2. Time for spooky ghost children and the boogie man to team up again. In the most boring way possible...

We are reintroduced to the homicidal tendencies of the children whose souls now belong to the evil Bughuul. A young boy named Dylan seems to be having bad dreams because of the evil creature. Meaning he may be the next one selected to kill his family. The deputy from the first movie, is investigating the murders of the Oswalt family and other families who have suffered the same fate. Dylan and his family, mom named Courtney, and twin brother, Zach, had moved into an old farmhouse to get away from his abusive father. Visited by the ghosts of the other children who had killed their family, Dylan is told to watch the films they made of them killing their families. The deputy shows up because the house that the family are in right now has a church right next to it that was the scene of a grotesque murder that was similar to that of the Oswalt's and families before that. Knowing that the family is in danger, the deputy must find a way to break the cycle before the family becomes the latest sacrifice to Buguul.

I have one word for this movie...bored, bored, bored, bored! Unlike the first one, I was not on the edge of my seat. In fact, I was laying down on my couch trying to stay awake. Yes, its interesting cause it follows the kids process as to how they become seduced into serving Buguul, but at the same time its, not interesting. You get a decent idea I suppose of how this creature chooses their next servant, and you see what the kid goes through, but aside from that, the side plots just don't hold your interest. With the deputy going around trying to figure out the connection between the murders and how to stop the evil monster, that was interesting but not discussed much in detail. And the polar opposites of the brothers, one being meek the other aggressive, adds a bit of a, 'ah, so that's why boogie man chose him'. It adds to everything, but you just don't care. With the other movie you get a nice creep factor going and your glued to the screen. With this one, your waiting for something interesting to happen. And it doesn't until the end. Even then your left going, WTF??

So for final observation, not gripping, not scary. The only time you even get a bit of twisted goodness is when you learn how these kids killed their families. I don't really recommend this sequel. In fact, stick with the first one. You get more from it. With this one, you get the urge to take a nap. If you want to see it, see it. You may like it, I don't know. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Boogie asked me to babysit while he goes and blows off some steam at a local bar. Come here kids, lets watch a scary movie. How about 'Sex in the city'?... Stop screaming!!!

Victor Frankenstein

Hello fellow creatures of the night. Time for us to check out a movie that is not only a known story, but a sci-fi movie of death, life, insane scientist, and a semi new twist to a known story. I give you, Victor Frankenstein!

The movie opens with the line of 'we all know the story'. The narrator then takes us to a time before the horror of the Frankenstein monster. A poor hunchback with no name works for a circus as a clown. Although treated cruelly, he has a unwavering thirst for knowledge. Mostly about human anatomy. After a aerialist artist (whom is his love interest), falls and is severely wounded, the hunchback and a circus spectator use their knowledge to help save her life. The spectator is revealed to be Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein frees the hunchback from the circus because of his intelligence and wants him to assist him in his work. The hunchback is apparently not a real hunchback, as the hump on his back is just an overgrown abscess that has not been drained for near 18 years. Victor then gives him the name Igor, after a roommate that seems to not be around. Victor shows Igor his ambition to give life to dead things, and the two team up with the goal to create life from death.

The Frankenstein story is as redone as Dracula's. All versions have their own twist to the story. Heck one of my favorite Dracula stories is the one with Gary Oldman in it. These redo's of these stories are usually done to give a new fresh spin to a classic story that is known by virtually everyone. This one in a way does that as the story is seen through the eyes of Igor. Giving him a background story and a bigger part. Even though he isn't actually in the original story...well, that's not the point. This movie borrows a few elements from movies like Sherlock Holmes. Example being, the way Victor and Igor see people and animals. They see their anatomy. Which is pretty cool. The love connection between Igor and the aerialist is nice, but it would of made more of an impact if she has showed him some kind of interest before he lost his hump and became a nice looking fellow. That would of added to her character. Plus, why  not just keep him as a hunchback? Yes, they made Igor sweet and awkward, but I would of really been rooting for him if they had just kept him as the underdog with a hump.

 Aside from the flaws its an ok movie. Its the movie you watch when nothing else is on. Its a movie that maybe only a few will find it ok, some may love it, and others may just plain despise it. The sets are beautiful and Igor being the moral compass of the duo rather than the creepy guy is not too bad of a change. One final thought however. People, Daniel Radcliffe is grown up. He is not Harry Potter anymore. Let it go. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna reanimate this rotten avocado....IT'S ALIVE!!! And its trying to eat my foot.

The Veil

Hello fellow creatures of the night. I bring to you a tale of tragedy, documentary making, and why cults are never a good idea. Put down that poisoned drink or food and check out the movie, The Veil.

We start out seeing the dead bodies of a cult who has apparently committed mass suicide. The cops who are collecting evidence and such stumble upon a little girl who smiles at them and tells them, 'don't worry. He's gonna bring them back'. Fast forward a few years later and that little girl has grown and is called Sarah. She has been asked by film maker Maggie, to go with her and her crew to the cults old home to find out what really happened to the people of the cult. Maggie says that they can find out because there are old films there that may hold the answers. Reluctantly, Sarah says yes and once there, she begins to remember little bits and pieces. Soon they find the tapes and more than Sarah's lost identity is found. Instead, the crew and the lone cult survivor discover that this cult was doing more than just being a cult. They were experimenting with death.

I have to admit, this movie was pretty interesting. It held my attention even though most of it was flash back via old 'home' movies and such. Heck, I would of love to of seen the beginning of the films cult by making a movie of said cult as it rises to its tragic end, and the original movie the sequel. But I guess that's were the movies flaws show. It starts out like other horror movies. We see the tragic start that fuels the continuation of one or more of the main characters. We are introduced to side characters (that are sometimes forgettable). We get introduced to the dilapidated building or area of said tragedy. We get some scares and background history...you get the idea. The point is that I was more interested in the cult and its beginning and characters, than the 'present' day characters and their story. I wanted to know how this guy found out he had this power and how he got more and more recruits to follow him. Instead of that though, you will get a lead character who is the stereotypical over obsessive film maker who will do anything to discover the truth, (even though many signs are pointing to 'get the frack out of Dodge') because of a personal reason.

Aside from some plot holes, its a movie worth a watch. The ending will make you scratch  your head in confusion, but what horror movie ending doesn't anymore? Its a movie that if you see it, you see it. And if  you don't, you will live. Plus it shows that joining cults is not a good idea. Unless its the cult of Pyramid Head. Come my fellow Pyramid Heads! Let us wear our triangle hats, carrying our large knifes, and wearing our butcher aprons. Don't judge me. I'll sick Alyssa on you!

Late Phases

Hey there all you spooky freaky people. Time to go to your friendly Retirement Community. Full of older folks baking cookies, being nosy, and your blood thirsty neighborhood werewolf.

We are introduced to Ambrose. A blind senior who is moving to a local retirement community, and as you can guess, he is not very happy or pleasant Yep, he is the grumpy old man. He greets his neighbor nicely though, but the welcoming community, not so much. Anyways, he and his dog are settling in for their first night in their new home, when he hears a violent disturbance at his neighbors. He is then attacked by, as you can guess, a werewolf. He fights off the large lycan, learns about his neighbors bloody demise, and the fact that apparently once a month these types of attacks happen. With his heightened sense of smell and hearing, he goes off to track down the murderous creature and put it down.

This movie was not so bad. I mean there are a lot of bad werewolf movies out there and its so hard, at least for me, to find a good one. This one was decent. I like that the focus is around a very unlikely hero. I mean a blind senior man fighting werewolves? That is a pretty creative idea. Especially with the senior part. You always see these werewolf movies that are centered around younger people. Plus this takes place in a retirement community and spoiler alert, the werewolves are NOT young people. But you do keep guessing about who the werewolf is and your constantly rooting for this man who is the only one trying to do anything about it. The cops are pretty much portrayed as 'useless'. Especially the one who keeps making fun of the elderly even in serious situations. If your looking for a character to hate, go with the bad cop. I wish he would of been eaten by the werewolves.

I recommend this movie indefinably. Its not a big budget movie. The werewolves were pretty much people in obvious costumes. Not the best, but the transformation scenes were where the extra money went. They weren't 'American Werewolf in London' great, but it wasn't terrible. The story pretty much makes up for that. See it, and enjoy. Just beware of retirement communities and that friendly old lady. She may be making cookies by day, but becomes a vicious schnauzer at night. No granny, that's a bad granny! Stop chewing on your neighbors!

The Shrine

Hey there my fellow blood and gore fans. Time to bring out your creepy iron masks and passports, cause we are heading for Polish country.

Our story begins with a couple, Carmen and Marcus, heading for break-up town cause Carmen is so focused on her journalist job. Wanting to do something that is considered serious writing, she learns about a local guy who had gone missing in Poland. She and her intern, Sara, take up the case, and with Marcus, goes to the last place the missing man was seen, a small village called Alvania. Once there, the threesome find the villagers unwelcoming and very stand offish. As they wonder around they see what looks to be a thick fog cloud in the forest. As they head towards it they are stopped by the villagers who insist that they leave. That doesn't stop them though as they find another way to the fog. Carmen and Sara journey into the fog. What they find is a evil looking statue. What they don't know, is that once you see the statue, you have sealed your fate.

This movie  may not have been scary, but its a dang good story and thriller film. It was slow in the beginning, but once you got to Poland, wow. Your in for the time of your life. And the people you think are the bad guys, are not what you think. You learn the reason for the coldness that the villagers have to new people, you learn that nothing is as it seems, and you also learn that if you don't know Polish, you can't understand what the frack these people are saying! Seriously, would it have spoiled the plot if we had some subtitles??...maybe so. Very clever. Anyways, I highly recommend this movie. See it and enjoy!  
You know, if Silent Hill has taught me anything, its that places with permanent fog are to be avoided at all costs. Take the lesson people! You may not run into Pyramid Head in that fog, but you still will not like the results.

Alter

Alright my spooky children time to make our way back into an old haunted mansion and renovate the spirits out of it. Grab your sledge hammer, its time to check out the movie, Alter.

In a English country side a family is off to an old manor. Mom, being the main bread winner of the family, has been commissioned to restore the house to its former glory. Unknowing to her, a couple of spirits are awaken and as she goes about her job, her children start seeing funky ghosts and her husband starts going through a dark sinister change.

Now this movie held a lot of promise. The story seemed to be getting very compelling as it moved on, and you were intrigued by the change in the father and wanted to know more about the history of the house and its past occupants. Sadly, that's were it ends and you are left with more questions than answers. You want to know the history of the house but all you get is a quick 'oh, this artist lived here with his wife and they died'. That's the history lesson. You don't get a flashback to tell you what happened, you don't get a diary that one of the family members reads, you don't even get the ghost saying what happened to them. All you get is a quick internet search done by the mom and even that doesn't answer anything. If anything your sitting there thinking, 'what was the point? Who were these people and why are their spirits doing this? And why should I care? The ghost effects were pretty novice. It looked like a first year film students attempt at creating a ghost effect. And if leaving you with more questions than answers gets under your skin, than the ending will too.

Aside from all that, I think it was...eh. It did keep me interested. Its one of those movies that maybe if I watched it again I'd get the entire plot, I don't know. It wasn't terrible, but I'm not sure if I'd watch it again even if it meant getting the whole history of the manor. I leave it up to ya'll to decide. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sledge hammer, and I'm not gonna let it go to waste. Dee smash!!!!

Hellraiser Inferno

N: I was quite amazed that Christy from the first few films showed up; all grown up now and married continues to survive as Pinhead hunts her. But things once again become quite obscured and a strange mystery evolves. Chrisies husband lands in hot water; accused of murdering his wife. His memory has become faltered and his dreams seem to come alive right before him. People are dying all around him. I finally find myself enjoying this trilogy and hope that the next few films are worth watching.

Written by Founder Nicholas Lewis on 11/2/14

hellbound-Hellraiser II

N: The trilogy continues as Pinhead takes the previous characters directly into the labyrinth of hell. A maze of which has no ending. A place controlled by your fear and watched over by the Senebites. Again the box that has been open must be shut in order to escape from this hell and return to the natural world, but as this flick evolves; flesh brings pleasures and pain that can not be turned away.

Written by Founder Nicholas Lewis on 11/2/14

Hellraiser Bloodline

N: In some sort of an attempt we are taken into outer space where a recluse has just opened the box and unleashed once again Pinhead, but it becomes a bit confusing when we are taken way back to when the box was made by the "Toy Maker" which I thought was was cool because I like the Victorian period. But yet again it was just a lot of dribble and filler.

Written by Founder Nicholas Lewis on 11/2/14

Hellraiser III-Hell on Eearth

N: We continue on another night tuning into the third installment of the Hellraiser series. But I must admit that though I enjoyed the concept and visual quality of a rich boy kid buying art that has trapped Pinhead and the others; its a blood bath at the nightclub which spills out into the streets. A reporter that has been taking this case after a kid had been torn apart by chains finds her self being lured and as she tries to escape through the city. Yet I find this hell on earth a failed attempt and a poor movie production attempt. It seemed that hell on earth was bound to only a few city blocks. But oh well.

Written by Founder Nicholas Lewis on 11/2/14

The Damned

Time to enter into a new world of possessions. No, not the usual evil demon possession we all know and love in our horror movies, but the big bad witch who just won't die.
David is in Colombia with his fiance Lauren to convince his daughter, Jill, to attend their wedding. Reluctantly she agrees to but claims that her passport is actually in a nearby town that she had been staying in. With her maternal Aunt and boyfriend accompanying them, the odd family goes to get the passport. Ignoring a warning from a local cop to not go further cause of the roads becoming flooded, the car is swept off the road, leaving them with minor injuries and searching for shelter from the storm. They come across a old inn run by a man who first wants them to leave, but lets them in with much hesitation. The group soon discovers the old mans secret: a little girl locked in a box in the basement. They let the little girl out only to find what they had released an evil that cannot be contained and knows all their deepest, darkest secrets.
As interesting a concept as this movie was, it just didn't keep me as interested as I would of hoped. I mean, when you got a movie with a creepy little girl, doing the creepy little girl things, examples being, popping up out of no where, blankly staring, and a new one...groping, you got a bit of an expectation going. And when you learn about everyone's deepest secrets, you think, 'oh man, there's gonna be some extra drama and everyone is gonna turn on each other and create more suspense'. No, you don't even get that. Instead you got the possessed person exposing to secret to the person who is keeping the secret, and then, spoiler alert, killing them. I fail to see the point in doing that unless it was just to torture the person you are planing to kill and posses...I think I just answered my own question.
This movie wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Its more of a, 'we got time to kill? Lets just watch this', sort of movie. I loved the idea of it, but I just couldn't get into it. I will say this though, when you learn how a curse is passed on and you do something that you are not suppose to do, and pass that curse on, the consequences could be dire. Dire I say!

The Rezort

How much would you pay to go to a resort that lets you pick up a gun and shoot at some flesh hungry zombies? (From a safe distance of course). 500? 1,000? How about your life? In this zombie flick, we learn the hard way that some resort ideas are a really bad idea.
Years after a zombie war, humanity is getting itself rebuilt and picking up the pieces. One way is creating vacation destinations. One destination, known as 'The Rezort', offers its guests a chance to take out all their aggression on the undead who have in a word, 'survived', the zombie war and been taken to a deserted island to contain them. When security is breached, and the zombies are let loose, a group of survivors must make their way through the freed undead before the island is bombed in order to keep the undead virus from spreading.
This movie was...AWESOME!! Think Jurassic Park, but with zombies. Some critics have actually compared this movie to Jurassic Park. So I ain't the only one thinking it. When the zombies are released, you think, 'not only are they gonna be hungry, but they have got to be pissed'. I loved the mix of both fast and slow zombies. The fast zombies are you could say, 'newborn' zombies. While the slow ones are the ones that have been 'dead' longer. The one flaw was that you don't get too much of a back story on some of the main characters. But you do forgive that once the action starts. The other thing that was driving me crazy about this movie was that I couldn't figure out who that one actor was who was playing the calm, cool guy who was a good shot. Oh well, anyways...the twist near the end really makes you think about a lot of things. Things like business ethics and humanities greed and at times, blood lust.
I highly recommend this. Its got action, zombies, a great story,,.zombies. Its just epic. Very well made. I'm not sure if I'd want a resort that allows you to shoot zombies. It does raise some very moral and ethical questions like....oh, oh! I know who that guy was!! Dougray Scott!!! Dang, that was bugging the living dead out of me! Anyways, see this movie. Its awesome.

The Unborn

The first movie review for the new year is one that makes you either make you weary of your twin, or grateful that you were not a twin. Time to check out the 2009 movie, The Unborn.
The Unborn tells us the story of Casey, a collage student who all of a sudden is being haunted by a literal bright eyed, creepy boy. She first dismisses the sightings, (even though she was given a very creepy and violent warning from a kid whom she was baby sitting) until more odd things start to happen. Things like big bad bugs, having vision problems where she is seeing the boy and eerie messages, and the big thing, her eye starts changing color. After learning that she was actually a twin, she starts getting clues left behind by her deceased mother, and is told that what she is being haunted by is actually a dybbuk. A demon from Jewish lore that wishes to enter the world of the living. Casey must then find a way to defeat the evil dybbuk before everyone she cares about ends up dead.
The beginning was a bit boring to be honest. Aside from the weird dog and kid. Main character talking to her friend on the phone about dreams, walking around in her girl version of tighty whities. Trivial things. There were some decent jump scares, and one awesome possession scene. This old guy going into a really cool contortion, head twisting thing. That actually caught my attention. The Jewish lore and roots was also really interesting. A nice change from the usual Catholic lore we are more familiar with. Aside from the brilliant Gary Oldman and the two creepy kids, the acting could of been better. I felt that her screaming was more believable than her line delivery. But that's just an opinion.
All in all, this movie wasn't terrible. I mean, I've seen worse. But this one seems like more of a movie that you watch when your bored and there is nothing to watch even on cable. Unless you want to see that possesion scene. Then you can probably find it on Youtube. Now pardon me while I smash all the mirrors in my place cause apparently they are doorways from the spirit world to ours...not in my house you evil twin!!!