As Above, So Below

The only way out is down. 

Story: When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.

Its a good solid thriller that delivered the chills and thrills. Not since The Descent have I been so pleased with a movie. The film has a terrific start as its starts off as your not so normal shot-footage horror flick, its starts off as more of a tomb raider type found footage film. I love Perdita Weeks as Scarlet. She is a relative unknown but when she first comes on screen I could instantly see her playing the next Lara Croft. She does do a few illegal things and is one not to listen to authority but it gives her an edge, she does things others would not want to. She's a badass who gets shit done. 

The others were good, she had good chemistry with George (played by Ben Feldman of Drop Dead Diva and Mad Men). The story was terrific, first delving into Scarlet's search for the philosopher's stone (not to be confused with Harry Potter) and then when it is found, they also discover something more horrifying, the gate way to hell. 

Maybe my one complaint was that hell should have been unique, a little more terrifying. The way there was scary, but once they got down there, they were constantly being chased by hooded figures. I was scared for the characters but I would have been more so if a man beast came out from a flaming hole and started chasing them. 

With a bigger budget (budget around 5 million) the film could have come out as more of a crazy trip through hell than a less bloodier (and feminine) version of The Descent. 

A solid thriller which has an excellent leading lady with some good twists and surprise character deaths. 

Rating: B+

Godzilla

Has the monster finally returned? Has he come to terrify another generation?

For the most part the new Godzilla flick by Monsters director Gareth Edwards is a win. Godzilla is done to perfection. The film takes a more realistic approach to the creature and recreates him just as he was originally.

The prologue/main titles details back to the beginning of the original movie, released in 1954. The nuclear tests in the pacific were meant to kill the beast known as Godzilla. It did not, however, and that is a good thing as 50 years later MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) start to come forth.  They cause havoc upon the humans until Godzilla comes forth to defeat them. It does end as a kind of monster brawl and it is fun to watch. The way it is all built up is also very interesting. The visual effects in this film are also quiet amazing. Godzilla is terrific looking and the M.U.T.Os are crafted to perfection.

While the movie has some great monster mashing, and some brilliant disaster effects, the humans do tend to get left by the wayside. The main characters in the film focus mainly on the Ford family (consisting of Aaron Taylor Johnson, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Olsen) and the scientists/military (consisting of Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, and David Strathairn). The cast is great but Gareth seems to have an inability to create compelling characters. The film has a great prologue sequence as we see what happens to the Ford family early on. Its after a certain character's death (a shocking one at that) where the human characters get dull and listless. I mean it is as the writer had no clue what to do with the human charters. Every one of them gets underdeveloped and left hanging. And no offence to Taylor but he's no where near as top notch as Bryan Cranston or Elizabeth Olsen are in the acting category. He plays his part with too much brooding. As for the scientists, they say nothing that makes them intelligent. They just keep rambling about how Godzilla must be the one to defeat the MUTOs, and not the U.S military. Now, there is a reason for this as the creatures feed off of the military's nuclear supply. I just wish there was a better explanation as to why Godzilla should be allowed to do as he pleases. Ken goes on saying the lines we heard him say from the trailer but they have no weight in the movie, they carry no meaning besides catching the moment he gives these lines of biblical dialogue.

Thus Godzilla of 2014 won't really terrify as you are at times cheering the big green giant on, it is a much more realized version of the monster than 1999's Godzilla was. The creature is better created here and is truer to the character. He is only surrounded by a so-so movie production.

Godzilla is as entertaining as one would compare to Independence Day. The human characters are not the draw here, but Godzilla is and they got him right. It just would have been nice to have some compelling human characters to cheer along the sidelines with as well.

Rating - B

The Quiet Ones Poster

Coming soon, I love the poster design for this! 

Oculus Review

From what I can recall this may be my first horror film I have seen this year in theatres. Others I wanted to see were Devil's Due and The Marked Ones (Paranormal Activity Spanish Spin-off) but the reviews kind of scared me off, still, I plan on watching The Marked Ones (after I see Paranormal Activity 4). 

As far as Oculus goes (a film with a similar entity to the movie ironically named Mirrors) it takes the idea of a mirror that kills people and really works with the manipulation of mind side of things. I have never seen a movie that really worked its way into my head like this one did. It's a real, trippy kind of ride. 

The film stars Karen Gillan (Dr. Who and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy) and Brenton Thwaites (The Giver and The Signal) star as brother and sister Kaylie and Tim Russell. The story starts off after an adult TIm finally comes to terms with what he had done, he had killed his father. This he had done in self defence as his father had killed his mother and was about to kill his sister. Kaylie, however, remembers that night, and she believes that the mirror manipulated the family into killing one another. 

From there the siblings eventually come together and start to discuss what really happened that night. We're flashed back and forth from the present to 11 years prior before the murders. Katee Sackhoff plays the mother and she is brilliant, she gives a heart wrenching and believable performance. James Lafferty is just as menacing in the role of the tormented/manipulated father, who eventually kills the mother and then the two siblings. 

Brent and Karen hit it off instantly, they are great together. Karen has a ferocity like a tiger, same with Brent and they work off each other in such a real manner that for a moment you feel they could be brother and sister. Brent I loved, due to his interesting portrayal as it reminded me of Sam Winchester (Supernatural) Now I took it has a plus that he played the part similar to that character, it made me really enjoy him develop on screen. Karen is a beauty and was excellent as well in the role of the confidant sister who knew the truth. 

Events do spiral out of the siblings grasp as they both begin to loose sight of whats real and what's not. Oculus is such a fascinating movie in how it digs into the mind and makes you believe things and then turn the tables. I would actually go as far as saying that this is close to being in Alfred Hitchcock territory. I know I am saying a lot when I say that guy's name but hear me out. The film does not play out like a normal movie, it manipulates the viewer, turns the table back and forth, and what is really happening might not be. 

The whole idea about how fragile the mind can be and how easily people can be played into believing something that isn't true is a truly tantalizing idea. The mirror fights for its survival by messing with the minds of its distrusters until it kills them. I believe the mirror was building a sort of spiritual cult. It drains the plants of life and does take animal sacrifices but uses past victims to manipulate future victims. I would love to see an origins movie on this mirror. 

Oculus is directed by Mike Flanagan and is actually based off his short "Oculus: Chapter 3 - The Man with the Plan about some guy who sets out to prove a mirror is haunted. That sounds like a good idea for a sequel. I'd call it Oculus: Rift. Yes, that name is also of the new gaming platform but the subtitle would stand for the rift that is formed between the mirror and its ability to manipulate its currant owners. The idea for a sequel for me would be that of a specialist into unknown artifacts would hear through word of mouth or a friend about it and he would try to solve it. Who would I cast as the lead, Hugh Dancy (who's by far given the best portrayal ever of Will Graham on the show Hannibal). 

Oculus is a mind-bending horror show with some great acting and a terrific third act. You may be shocked at how it ends, it all builds up to a surprising twist. What the film may have benefited from, possibly is a better build on the family dynamic, some slightly better character development and a few more scares. The movie was dark but it didn't really have me screaming with fear. 

Horror has its rare treats "Your Next, The Innkeepers" and this is another one. 

Rating: A- 

Horror movies I have but not watched

The new Riddick movie has been out for a while and I have yet to see it. I also have to watch The Purge.

So, as far as reviews for horror movies go:

Oculus
The Marked Ones
The Purge
Riddick

The Marked Ones

And also this was a movie I had planned on seeing but never got the chance, its out on dvd and Blueray now so maybe I'll give it a watch! 

Movie Reviews to come

Hello all, I know this blog has been low of late but I am planning on doing more on this blog. I will hopefully get the chance tonight to see the new horror movie, Oculus. And possibly to do more on this site I may even review horror shows and comic books / books as well.