Category Archives: Horror Reviews

Apr 27 2012

The Awakening

Viewed – 26 April 2012  DVD

In the wake of World War I the world is gripped in the mourning of loved ones.  A hoax investigator plagued by her own demons, is called to an elite boarding school where sightings of a child ghost have the occupants fearing for their lives.  The simply gorgeous Rebecca Hall, hot off playing hostage to Ben Afflek’s bank robber in The Town is Florence Cathcart, a published writer and self-confessed skeptic who sets out to disprove claims that the boarding school is haunted, using her knowledge of science and a collection of gadgets.  But will her non-believer attitude finally be put to the test?

Now first of all this was familiar territory.  Picturesque but creepy old-England countryside and big stately homes dripping in foreboding atmosphere.  It reminded me of two movies, firstly Daniel Radcliff break-out The Woman In Black, then Spanish shocker The Orphanage … both quality heritage to borrow from (and their like) in my opinion.  With a credible, complex turn from Hall who really should be a bigger name than she is, as well as good support from Imelda Staunton and Dominic West, this had some decent scares, a cleverly written storyline, and a setting that certainly sent a few chills my way.

Directed effectively by Nick Murphy (TV’s Primeval) in his feature debut, this may wear its clichés like a coat of arms (do we really need another key hole meets scary face moment?), suffer from a few dodgy effects shots and could have been even scarier, but once I’d realised this was more a supernatural drama that an all out horror movie … I began to appreciate the acting, good ideas, twists and turns … making this well worth checking out.

Verdict:  3.5 /5

Apr 7 2012

Cronos

Viewed – 06 April 2012  Blu-ray

Special Edition

I have long been an admirer of Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, whose style of fantasy horror has led to such genre classics as Pan’s Labyrinth, Blade II and the Hellboy movies.  He has a great eye for action, creepy imagery and comic-book excess, and would have been an ideal choice to direct the forthcoming Hobbit movies if it weren’t for production difficulties causing him to jump ship.  Thankfully we have a rich back-catalogue of movies to enjoy, none more notable than this 1993 debut.

Jesus Gris is an elderly man who owns an antiques shop, who comes into possession of an Archangel figurine, and unknowingly discovers an ancient mechanical device hidden inside.  He learns the device can grant him youth if he allows it to latch onto him, but soon discovers one major drawback – it turns the user into a vampire.  At the same time, a wealthy tycoon on his death-bed has been searching for the device for years, and when he learns of the man’s discovery, a battle erupts for who will claim the device for their own.

Co-starring del Toro regular Ron Perlman as the tycoon’s nephew (and hired muscle) this is a gripping and unusual take on the vampire myth, boasting a quality performance from Frederico Luppi (The Devil’s Backbone) as well an enjoyable turn from Perlman.  Yet this is largely Guillermo’s show and his artistry and imagination is shown off brilliantly in some great camera work, set design and imaginative, how-did-they-do-that make-up effects.  For a horror movie it may lack shock moments or jump scares, but is still undeniably freaky, feeling very Edgar Alan Poe in its atmosphere.  I was also surprised by how effective some of the moments between the old man and his granddaughter were, proving quite moving at times.  For a debut it also proves that del Toro was a real talent from the off.

The Blu-ray boasts a very nice picture, that although lacking in fine detail, is clean and free of artificial enhancements.  Sound-wise the Spanish and English dialogue is clear and precise and the haunting soundtrack is delivered fittingly.  This isn’t a brash, noisy movie but quite subtle, yet is still very effective.  This special edition from Optimum has a wealth of extras, including interviews, a director’s commentary (always a plus from the enthusiastic del Toro), a making-of and various stills galleries.  An impressive treatment for a classic of the genre.

Verdict:

(the movie) 4 /5

(the Blu-ray) 4 /5

Feb 29 2012

The Woman In Black

Viewed – 28 February 2012  Cinema

Daniel Radcliffe has done very well with the highly regarded Harry Potter movies, and it’s good to see him breaking out and carving his own career outside of such a heavyweight franchise.  This being his first major role, it offers the young actor a chance to be taken more seriously, and not be known just for one, admittedly admirable role.  Whilst mourning the death of his wife, a young lawyer (Radcliffe) is given a job to gather together the belongings relevant to a recently deceased woman’s will, and travels to a sleepy town that is more than a little troubled, following a series of children’s deaths.  He soon realises there is something very strange going on, and it all seems linked to the mysterious woman in black, a ghostly figure he see’s at the abandoned mansion he’s been asked to visit.

Based on the famed book of the same name and written for the screen by Jane (Stardust, Kick-Ass) Goldman, this is well made and very creepy, in the grand tradition of classic haunted house horror movies.  No surprise when it’s made by Hammer, who cut their teeth on this stuff back in the day.  How refreshing it felt to sit down to a more traditional horror that relies on genuine scares rather than blood and guts.  Radcliffe is very good and carries the movie well, being both gutsy and shit-scared at times, even if overall the role doesn’t exactly stretch him.  He’s also supported well by one or two recognisable English thesps.  The movie reminded me a great deal of Tim Burton classic Sleepy Hollow, and also had elements of Spanish chiller The Orphanage.  Although I did see many of the scares coming, as it does wallow in genre clichés … they were still executed effectively and made me jump and gasp throughout.  The set design and the location as a whole were also enough to send shivers.

I’d say the family-friendly rating prevented the movie from really going for it however, and the overly-familiar setting and situations meant I wasn’t totally freaked out.  I would have liked to learn more about the ghostly woman’s past, and the ending seemed to come by all of a sudden – yet this was still entertaining, and had enough good moments and tense atmosphere to make it one to watch.  On this evidence, I look forward to what the former Harry Potter does next.

Verdict:  3.5 /5

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Feb 24 2012

Fright Night

Viewed – 23 February 2012  Blu-ray

I was a big fan of the original Fright Night, which if I am correct starred William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon and the late Roddy McDowall.  It was a great concept, that of a kid who is obsessed with a TV show hosted by vampire hunter Peter Vincent (McDowell) and then finds out his new neighbour is a vampire.  So naturally, as with Hollywood’s growing trend for remaking classic horror movies of late, we come to this … and to be honest, I quite liked the idea of revisiting these characters.

Anton Yelchin plays school kid Charley Brewster, currently dating the hot girl and leaving his nerdy past behind him, by ignoring former best friend Ed (the wonderful Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who is convinced that Charley’s new next door neighbour Gerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire.  Of course this turns out to be true, and before long Charley is turning to renowned magician and vampire expert Peter Vincent (David Tennant) for help.  This sticks fairly close to the original story (no shock as its penned by Tom Holland, who wrote the original) but deviates in several areas, perhaps to make it more up to date by having Peter Vincent as a Vegas magician than a TV show host, and by having the character of Ed the paranoid vampire obsessive.  Charley is portrayed somewhat more heroic than in the past, which surprised me, as this pretty much makes David Tennant’s character pointless, who as a result seemed mostly in the way.  Thankfully Farrell delivers the goods as charismatic vampire Gerry, and although much of his actions are a little stupid (such as killing two teen guys in a car in the middle of the neighbourhood) and with no actual depth (he’s a vampire – that’s it), he still made for a great villain down to pure screen-presence.  Christopher Mintz-Plasse naturally steals the show every time he appears, and he continues to be one of my favourite young comedy actors.  I didn’t like how quickly Gerry was accused of being a vampire though, and a throwaway line connecting him to Peter Vincent was clearly tacked on.  Thankfully such shortcomings are masked well with quality vampire effects, lots of blood and several memorable lines (watch out for the reference to Ebay).

Overall then, this was an enjoyable ‘tribute’ to one of the best horror movies of the 80s, and even if the script has its limitations and some of the casting doesn’t exactly nail it – I still had a good time.

Verdict:  3 /5

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:  2.5 /5

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