Hush Review

Story:  A Deaf woman is stalked by a man, John Gallagher Jr. (10 Cloverfield Lane) in her secluded
home.

An interesting thriller thats directed by Mike Flanagan (Oculus) and has a nice limited cast. While the setting is nothing beyond familiar, a house in the woods, the premise is very interesting, a deaf woman stalked by a psychotic killer.

While Mike is a favourite director of mine, Oculus was beyond terrifyingly good, his work here is average as some of the characters are pretty stupid at times. There are two characters who come screaming for help of our lead heroine, who is DEAF!!! They seemingly forget this. Our lead also does some stupid things, like "SPOILER" the lead shoots the bad guy in the shoulder, does nothing, and she whines up loosing an arrow and getting a broken hand.

The character building is good and the intensity and visual flare is great, the characters are just stupid sometimes.

The Newton Brothers (composers) provide a good score, but slightly down from their excellent score for Oculus.

Sadly, while Hush has an interesting premise Oculus provided more of the scares and horror and Hush is an above average thriller which starts out good but gets silly when the lead is seemingly stuck in one spot and the characters start acting stupid.

Mike's second horror film is a good thriller just not as good as Oculus.

Rating: B

P.s The killer only wears the mask until the lead says something that leads him to getting rid of it. If the characters didn't act so stupid and the killer kept silent and wore the mask I would of liked the film a lot better.

10 Cloverfield Lane Review

Now, this is a movie I would categorize as both horror and science fiction. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead (A Good Day to Die Hard, The Thing (2011) and John Goodman (Monsters Inc, Argo) comes a thriller based mostly in a man's bunker. Its a real character piece that builds on tension rather than graphic violence, though things get more intense near the end.

 All the actors involved are at the top of their game. John Goodman plays Howard, a very mysterious character who you don't know much about. He adds to the tension and really digs into his role. He was very intimidating and real in this movie. Mary is also top notch as she starts out as a person trying to escape and then goes down the Ripley path and turns into a badass. We learn she's also an artist too which is cool.

I know people have been told that this has some connection to the 2009 docudrama titled Cloverfield and while its not a dead on connection, there is a surprise near the end that really turned the movie around.

John Gallagher Jr also plays the part as the other member who wanted to be let in to the bunker. He's a bit of a jokester/wild card. He does become friends with Mary's character Michelle and also helps her uncover a terrifying truth about Howard.

From start to near the end the movie plays straight up like the type of film Hitchcock would direct, even Bear McCreary does a fantastic job with the score. Keeping himself restrained an providing a very delicate and taught score. In a way the film also reminds me of Stephen King's The Mist as it also had a twist ending.

Lined with such discussion possibilities about how one predicts the end of the world and how people can trust one another. Its a great movie to discuss and peal apart its many layers.

With that, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a tension filled hitchcockian thriller with a surprising third act and is quiet the spring surprise!

Rating - A+

Horror of 2016

Here's a list of horror films I intend to review this year:

The Forest
The Boy
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
10 Cloverfield Lane
Before I Wake
The Conjuring 2
Lights Out
A Cure for Wellness
Underworld: Next Gen
Ouija 2
The Witch
Goodnight, Mommy

Crimson Peak

Story: In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.

As with every Halloween there are family horror and then there is ghostly frights, Crimson Peak is such a ghostly thriller. While light on the scares, Peak does not disappoint. The film follows a young girl as she falls in love with a handsome widower but once she enters his home she realizes all may not be as it seems.

Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, a young entrepreneur who falls in love with a mysterious man by the name of Thomas, played magnificent Tom Hiddleston. The film is more of a gothic romance with some fantastic visuals, makes one feel they are watching a film by Tim Burton as there is a fair amount of blood (reminiscent of films such as Sleepy Hollow and Sweeny Todd). Jessica Chastain plays Thomas' sister Lucille, she plays the part with dark mystery. The film is the first gothic type film that I have seen and it was fantastic.

Other actors such as Charlie Hunnam and Supernatural's Jim Beaver play the parts of friend and father. While Jim (spoiler!!) doesn't last too long Charlie steps in to become a protector of sorts for Edith. Charlie holds back from being overly heroic and plays the part of the gothic type hero perfectly. Jim, with what screen time he has, plays Edith's father with his usual vigar that he had on supernatural. Mia is a little dimwitted as the heroine but eventually earns her smarts.  But my favourite is Doug Jones, who plays the part of a few ghostly ghouls. Edith's dead mother and the ghost that haunts the home of Thomas. He plays the parts with his usual ghoulish flair and it is perfect.

Visually, Crimson gives off a darkly haunting atmosphere. The set designs are tremendously beautiful. Designed to perfection Guillermo can do no wrong.

Crimson Peak is an excellent visual masterpiece wrapped around a hauntingly gothic tale with a talented cast. For fans of gothic horror this is a must see.  

Rating: A-

Goosebumps

Story: A teenager teams up with the daughter of young adult horror author R. L. Stine after the writer's imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.

Its Halloween and its time for some Halloween treats. For this film I am writing a shorter review as I want to just get to the basic point of the film and not reveal to much as it is a fun filled adventure. I consider this both a horror and regular film (by regular I mean more of an adventure)

Goosebumps starts off with our young adventurer Zach coming to a new neighbourhood with his mother, who has obtained a job at the local high school.  Zach, on his first day at the new school, meets Champ, a brace faced popular kid who was named Champ by his parents. Zach falls for the neighbour's kid but is eventually banned from seeing her. Said neighbour is R.L Stine, played brilliantly by the always hilarious Jack Black.

The film was directed by Rob Letterman, who directed Jack in the lackluster film Gulliver's Travels, surprises here as the film does an excellent job at balancing the comedic elements with the cheesy horror aspects of the material.

Goosebumps is the family halloween treat with a great lead performance and for those who fell in love with the books and TV series they will be treated with fond memories.

Rating: B+

Maggie

Story: A teenage girl (Abigail Breslin) becomes infected, during her transformation her loving father (Arnold Schwarzenegger) stays by her side.

One can say that zombie movies can never be good movies, but over the past few years I think people should change their tune. Back in 2013 we got what was thought to be a disaster turned out to be an extremely, entertaining blockbuster. The film I am referring to is the Brad Pitt staring vehicle World War Z. An amazing, entertaining blockbuster from the director of Quantum of Solace. While it had its issues (PG-13 seemed forced) it was still a fun ride.

Now, a different type of zombie film has come around, and it is a masterwork. While the film with Brad Pitt was an energetic, action romp, the Arnold staring vehicle is a slow burn of the eventual infection of a loved one.

Its great to see Arnold (The Terminator) stretch his acting chops and do a film where he is really restrained in the action department. He stars as a father who must deal with the aftermath of his daughter's infection. His daughter is played by the amazingly talented Abigail from Little Miss. Sunshine. She has grown into an amazing actress and goes toe to toe with Arnold. Their chemistry is extremely strong and that is a huge plus with a film like this.

 And here is the big surprise, the film is also rated PG-13. The difference here though is that its not forced. While in WWZ there were moments that needed the gore effect, here its all natural. They don't end up in a corner where they have to show gore, much like World War Z kept doing. When Maggie chops her finger off, we see blood, we see the finger all bent out of shape. In World War Z, we cut away from a woman's hand being chopped off. PG-13 ratings can be pushed, the only limit would be explicit language, intense gore (zombie chewing), etc. What also should be said is the zombies in Maggie are by far the most horrifying creations you will ever see. You will have nightmares after seeing some of the dead creatures seen here.

A scene I refer to is when Arnold has to kill his infected neighbour and his daughter. The effects and detail are so realistic and life like it is truly horrifying. The little girl was also a terrifying sight to see. It just proves that if you are told to make a PG-13 horror movie, it doesn't mean you have to lessen the mood. PG-13 has a good long limitation, you can push the rating pretty far. I was surprised to see the film was rated PG-13 as I firmly felt it was an R-rated picture, that is how good the director worked within the rating to create a film with such a dark and unsettling mood. However, he does provide the film with a very heartfelt ending that will most certainly earn both a tear and a cheer.

Maggie is a true horror masterpiece that retains what I feel is a must in horror movies of this type need, showing the humanity of its characters and what they go through during such harsh times. The film felt real, it pulled at your heart strings and made you really care for these characters. Arnold is by far the best part of the film as here he puts everything into it, he really got into the role. With him and Abigail and the unique portrayal of its zombie inhabitants Maggie feels more like a real zombie film than any that have come before.

Rating - A+

Insidious Chapter 3 Review

James Wan and Leigh Whannell started a horror franchise that I have come to really enjoy, the insidious series. Its becoming unique in its take on ghosts, paranormal activity and PG-13 horror. Never has there been a more creepier franchise than Insidious. 

The first film, titled simply Insidious, was the start of this horror franchise and brought the spookiness of PG-13 horror and ghosts back to cinemas with startling success. While the sequel was less than original, it still filled you with a sense of dread and terror. The latest chapter is probably the best one out of the two follow-ups as it matches the first film in originality and depth. 

Chapter 3 tells the story of a girl (Quinn Brenner) who wishes to speak to her mother, concerning unanswered questions. She goes to the psychic Elise (played once again by Lin Shaye) in order to make contact, but since loosing her husband to suicide Elise has decided to discontinue her psychic readings. She further tells Quinn to no longer try and contact her mother on her own and leave it to another professional. 

With the stress of school, her family, and a future career in acting, Quinn tries contacting her mother again in hopes of reaching her, but sadly, as things go sometimes, someone else reached out to her. A new ghostly apportion nick-named the face breather and played by the actor who played Sloth in Se7en. This villainous ghost is by far the most intriguing ghost in this franchise and finally is the most terrifying. Even Elise has trouble confronting this dark spirit, who pricks at her own emotions at one point. 

Insidious 3 is by far the best chapter in this franchise as it develops new and old characters alike to give us a very emotional undercurrent throughout the film where each character is at risk (either physically or mentally) Elise especially goes through a hard path of becoming a psychic again and as such seeks out an old friend of hers for advice. Steve Coulter makes his return to the franchise as psychic Carl to push Elise to help the people who can't help themselves, especially in situations such as this. 

I did think for a time that Tucker and Specs would not be in the movie, or at least Specs (played by the amazing Leigh Whannell) as he has taken over directing duties this time round. I was wrong as the film also develops the growth of the two high-tech nerd ghost explorers to become the famous ones we know from the last two films. 

As for Leigh's direction, he does a super fantastic job and even tops the last film in every manner. I mean, he was the writer and creator of the complete franchise and he really digs into the mythology this time out. We also get some ghostly surprises from the past. One being the initial frightener with the red face and then the eerie woman dressed for a funeral. 

I enjoyed this instalment because it is essentially a perfect reboot to what could have become an age old franchise. Leigh Whannell breathed new life into the series with this third instalment. I very much enjoyed the development of the characters and the slight references to some of the great horror films, such as The Exorcist and Poltergeist. 

Insidious Chapter 3 is an essential instalment and a must watch for any fan who was slightly disappointed by the first sequel. With strong direction, nifty scares, some solid acting and a very sinister and spooky villain, Chapter 3 earns its medal for being just as good as the first film, even topping it in certain places. 

Rating: A-