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!