Category Archives: Horror Reviews

Feb 5 2012

City Of The Living Dead

Viewed – 04 February 2012  Television

In the early eighties, a bunch of horror movies were deemed, at least here in the UK as too shocking for public consumption, and were banned outright.  In subsequent years these so called ‘video nasties’ began to slowly emerge, more often than not in a censored form.  Thankfully these days many of them can be found uncut, and one of the pioneers of such movies was late Italian director Lucio Fulci.  I have only seen a couple of his movies, but can attest they do live up to his moniker of ‘the godfather of gore’.

This 1980 release has a priest hanging himself in a cemetery whilst at the same time a psychic see’s the incident in a vision during a séance.  Soon after weird things start to happen, and recently deceased persons start coming back to life.  The psychic and a group of other people then journey to Dunwhich, where the priest hung himself to hopefully prevent the end of the world … as you do.

This is typical 80′s horror fair, with questionable acting, a couple of pretty females, and stand out moments of gore.  Lucio Fulci was a skilled director that’s for sure, even if his stories were usually wafer thin and incoherent.  This movie is no different, as the plot is mostly left unexplained (like what was the priest all about?) and the characterisation non-existent.  The movie is very creepy however, with some decent atmosphere and the soundtrack certainly works to crank up the tension.  For a Fulci movie the gory moments are a bit hit and miss (the drill sequence is stunning, but the vomit-up-ones-own-guts bit, is just ridiculous) and whatever interesting ideas it has to start with, just degenerates into your average zombie movie towards the end.

This was entertaining though, and I’m glad I have finally managed to see it.

Verdict:  3 /5

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Jan 24 2012

Red State

Viewed – 23 January 2012  Pay-per-view

When most people think of the name Kevin Smith, they immediately conjure up images of slacker comedies like Mallrats and Clerks and characters like Silent Bob.  Yet he has also turned his hand to somewhat deeper themes in the likes of Dogma and Chasing Amy.  With that being said, he has never really been known for horror or thrillers – until now.

This follows the story of three friends who answer an add-on website to hook up with a woman for sex.  These hormonal guys think it’s their ticket to getting laid, and are soon setting off to meet the woman at her current residence – a trailer.  Yet all is not as it seems, and before long the guys have been drugged and become the hostages of a local, notorious religious cult, lead by unhinged preacher Abin Cooper (the brilliant Michael Parks).  At the same time, a Sheriff being blackmailed by the preacher due to some questionable nocturnal activities, calls in a local special agent (John Goodman) to lay siege to the cult.

This movie borrows heavily from real life cult situations like that of The Manson Family and Waco, and for me was totally gripping.  The three teens may not have a personality between them, and their plight is somewhat self-inflicted, but the cult and their beliefs was believably scary and unpredictable – meaning I was always wondering what was going to happen next.  Several times the movie surprised me, and some deaths really knocked me back in my seat.  For the subject, I don’t think Kevin Smith offered any new insights, and just why the cult did what they did wasn’t very clear.    Smith has previously explored controversial subject matter, and like his earlier Dogma, this touches on subjects that some may find questionable.  Sadly there isn’t the depth to really get to the point on any of it, turning more into an action movie half way through, despite a promising opening.  Yet with a powerful, creepy performance from Michael Parks, who also stood out in movies like From Dusk Till Dawn and Kill Bill, and a great turn from Goodman, who is always a joy – this was still entertaining.  Also, with some interesting nods to 9/11 and how America has changed in the wake of terrorism, I was also left with plenty to think about.

Verdict:  3 /5

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Jan 21 2012

Friday The 13th

Viewed – 20 January 2012  Television

I have no problem with remakes, if that is they bring something new to the franchise / classic movie or at least show they are trying.  Good examples of recent worthwhile horror remakes include The Thing, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Revisiting one of the longest running horror movie series in memory however, is a different matter entirely.  Normally any horror fan has seen one of the Friday The 13th movies somewhere along the line, and everyone will have a favourite (mine is Part 4), so you would thing with such a wealth of material to take from, the makers of this would be able to come up with something new, fresh and relevant.  Did they buggery!

This treads the same old ground as many stalk and slash horrors over the years … sex mad teens, an isolated location, and a masked psychopath, picking them off one by one.   A ten or so minute opening pretty much wraps up the storyline to the first two movies, glossing over the most interesting aspect of the franchise (the killer’s mother) in a few seconds, and then its on to the pretty but personality-free cast as one man returns to camp crystal lake in search of his sister, who went missing months previous.  Now this could have been an interesting angle, but is overshadowed by the usual jock douche bags, bare breasted bimbos and dope-heads … all of which this viewer had no problem whatsoever seeing murdered.  Sadly killer nut job Jason Voorhees has lost much of his presence over the years, and now just ‘appears’ and kills without any particular imagination.  The murders are instantly forgettable, and what tension there could have been is lost in the fact the movie is almost pitch black dark most of the time, meaning its difficult to see exactly whats going on.  The epileptic camera work only makes this issue worse.

So it’s a real shame that a bit more thought or imagination couldn’t have been applied here … as at one time, Friday The 13th was good stuff, even if for me it was always the poor man’s Halloween.  What we have here is a badly made, imagination-free insult of a horror movie that nobody really needs to see – especially the fans.

Verdict:  1 /5

Dec 23 2011

John Carpenter’s The Thing

Viewed – 23 December 2011 Blu-ray

John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi horror remains one of the defining moments of eighties genre film making.  Kurt Russell, hot off Carpenter’s own Escape From New York plays MacReady, part of an American research team based in Antarctica who discover an alien life form that can simulate other creatures … including humans.  As tension builds and the creature wrecks havoc, soon everyone is looking at one another in order to find out who might be ‘the thing’.  This great premise is given no end of tension and believable atmosphere from Carpenter’s classy, slow-burning direction, and showcases how assured a talent he once was.

Aided by a foreboding score by legendary composer Ennio Morricone, this is a movie filled with unease and truly yukky practical effects from award-winning make-up guru Rob Bottin, that arguably have a greater impact than the recent CGI work in the remake/prequel.  In comparison to that movie, there is much similar here and I was impressed just how well both movies tie in with each other, yet with a more interesting range of characters, and a fair bit more tension throughout, along with an ending that leaves the audience with a few things to ponder – this is a better all round experience, but not streets ahead … meaning both movies complement one another nicely.

The Blu-ray has a very nice, clear image with plenty of detail.  The Arctic photography looks gorgeous in the opening moments, and the various effects scenes stand the test of time well.  Sound-wise there are a couple of problems such as Kurt Russell’s voice sounding like it’s been re-dubbed at times, which is weird to say the least, and brief moments of lip-sync issues.  Yet overall this is an acceptable audio/video presentation for a movie that’s nearly 30 years old.  Extras consist of a very entertaining commentary from Russell & Carpenter, as well as picture-in-picture talking heads that reveal plenty of info over the movie’s legacy.  We also get outtakes, galleries and also the documentary John Carpenter’s The Thing: Terror Takes Shape.  Very impressive.

Verdict: 4 /5

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Dec 19 2011

The Ward

Viewed – 18 December 2011  Blu-ray

At one time, the name John Carpenter was a seal of quality.  During the late seventies and much of the eighties, the acclaimed director was responsible for some of the most enjoyable and well-crafted movies out there, including gems like Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York and Big Trouble In Little China.  I’ll even add the much underrated In The Mouth Of Madness to that list.  Seriously, he barely put a foot wrong.  Then with the dawn of the nineties, his output began to get much less critical and commercial acclaim … and ever since, the director has struggled to get his mojo back.

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