Showing posts with label Ghosts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ghosts. Show all posts

Thursday, May 9, 2013

my thoughts on.... 'Sinister'

Sorry it's been so long since I've written a review, but life seems to have caught up with me. I hope this is a small repayment on a larger investment. Anyway....

Being an old school horror guy, who's been in love with monsters since he was a kid, it's hard for me to feel a scare anymore. It's nice to have that rush every once in a while. 'Sinister' started out with the real potential to be something great. The opening sequence is disturbing, unsettling and generally kind of creepy. What happens for the next 45 minutes after that is also pretty damn frightening. However, at the end of the day.... the payoff just wasn't there. It was yet another horror movie with a great premise and great promise, that seemed to have the writer's lose their train of thought at the end. We've all been in this same situation. I can't tell you how many times I've come up with a fantastic idea for a story and the more I try and flush it out, the less and less fantastic the story becomes. It's as if the producers of this movie only heard the basic concept and didn't take time to hear the whole treatment. This would be one of those times where I wish that a director would take over a movie from another director and re-do his ending, rather than remake another movie that may or many not need a remake. Not that I'm against remakes per say, I'm just tired of watching something and loving it up until the end, only to feel cheated.

What makes this movie interesting, is the back story of the main character and the motives of the killer. Ethan Hawke does a great job, as usual, of playing a writer who'e haunted by the books he writes. He infiltrates the headspace of serial killers and writes books about them and the murders they committed. Sometimes he gets so involved that it causes him to have to move several times and is costing him his marriage and family. Soon, his mind seems to be starting to go too. As he begins work on his new book, we find him moving in to yet another home. What his family doesn't realize is, that this is the house where the last murders took place in his book. Nobody in town wants him living there or in their town and his kids aren't too keen on it either. Soon, he discovers a box of old films and a projector in the attic. Unable to help himself, he begins watching the films. What ends up being on the films are the murders of each family he's writing about. It's almost as if he's being fed information by the killer himself. As he continues watching the films, he starts noticing a figure that seems to show up at each murder site. This plummets him into the mouth of madness and just as everything seems to be falling apart.... we find out the true story behind Mr. Boogie and the murders contained on each film. I just can't say you'll care.

I keep thinking about the ending of this movie and trying to justify what I saw. Sadly, the killer who made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, turns into something far less frightening. The special effects go from disturbing to just plain silly. Ethan Hawke continues to try and sell what you're seeing, but it's just so far fetched and "green screened" that you never regain the fear you had in the beginning. I feel that this is a solid 3 out of 5 star outing. I still want to give it 4, but the way it all wrapped up was just too far fetched and far from the original concept. Why oh why did they have to poop on the finale? If the Bluray has an alternate ending on it, I'd love to see it. Maybe it sheds a better light on things?

My final thoughts are this: The individual 16 mm home movies of each killing, are pretty intense. I've seen far worse, but for a standard Hollywood horror flick, they are better than average and far more disturbing. The killer is fairly scary looking. Anymore, it's hard to come up with something we've never seen before and Mr. Boogie seems to fit that bill. Finally, I've said this many times before about many different movies.... turn this one off about 20 - 30 minutes from the ending. Your guideline on when to stop, is somewhere around when the backwards walking kids start showing up. I have no freaking clue who thought it was a good idea to have the kids filmed backwards and they played forwards, as a device to make them more creepy. Perhaps they took a cue from all of the J-horror flicks out there, but that's not exactly what they're doing and that's not what the J-horror directors were intending. It just comes off as stupid. The whole 5 - 7 minute montage of the kids moving all around Ethan's character, is supposed to be scary. The end result is anything but that. It comes off more as a joke. An unintentional joke.

Anyway, that's it! If you have some spare time, you could do far worse than 'Sinister'. It really reminds me of another set of let down of a good start movies, 'Insidious' and 'Dead Silence'. (both of which were done by James Wan.) Just check your brain at the door, turn off the lights and drink heavily. Perhaps by they time the kids start moving strangely, so will your brain and your vision and you can see past the crap that follows. ENJOY responsibly.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

my thoughts on.... 'Apartment 143'

Good lord, where do I begin? First off, I really dig the 'found footage' movies that are out there. There have been a few pieces of garbage, but overall, they're pretty solid. 'Apartment 143' was suggested to me by a friend and falls vaguely into the 'found footage' sub-genre. Secondly, It was billed as a 'Paranormal Activity', but with the action those films were missing. Sadly, it was missing all the good stuff from those films and the action they were talking about was horrible.... at best. It showed its low budget shortcomings loud and clear. I've seen countless films that had little to no budget that have pulled off amazing things. This one obviously had some money behind it, but they must have spent it on milky white contacts, instead of a good script or decent actors. Everything felt stiff. It was like watching paint drying on cardboard. This movie was really just an exercise in trying to cash in on a proven sub-genre. The only really new things it brought to the table were.... nothing.

The plot was centered around a guy and his two kids that moved to an apartment. The house they used to live in became haunted after his wife (the kids mother) died suddenly. However, once they moved.... the spirt moved with them. So, they got involved with a paranormal investagative team and soon the team was hunting ghosts. There's some vague sub-plot about murder and possilbe incest. None of it ever really goes anywhere. There is some backstory with the investagators that is bland and unfinished. That's about it. Good guys win.... or do they?

All in all, this movie was a turd. Maybe I missed the hidden nuggets of candy that were wedged in the middle of the movie? Maybe I was not in the right mindset to watch a movie of this type? Maybe it just sucked? I think so. I didn't care about the characters. I lost interest in the movie after about 20 minutes in. The special effects were poor. They location was okay, but there are tons of apartments out there that are kind of creepy. And to top everthing off, there's a little 'surprise' at the end. I only wish I'd turned it off before that part happened. It made an already terrible movie, that much worse.

I think what the reviewer must have missed about the difference between this movie and the 'PA' films was the stuff you didn't see. I hear that said a lot about movies and films that rely on your brain over CGI. 'PA' is so successful because it plays on our fears and only we know what those fears are. So, if you have a fear of spirits or the things that go bump in the night, then you can relate to the films. And since you never really see what's haunting the characters in the film, then you can make that horror anything you want. 'Apartment 143' laid all its card on the table and left you with no room to imagine the horror within. Because what you are afraid of in your mind is FAR scarier than anything a guy behind a computer can create. But if you are someone that has to SEE the scary parts, the maybe 'Grave Encounters' is more for you. It falls into the same sub-genre as 'Apartment 143 and the 'PA' films. It also shows you the stuff you're scared of. The big difference between 'Apartment 143' and 'Grave Encounters' is, the ghosts in 'GE' are unique and actually quite frightening. There's suspense and terror there. 'Apartment 143' just re-hashed every ghostly cliche you've ever seen. Another one that is in the same boat is 'Paranormal Entity'. It's really just a 'PA' knock-off, but it succeeds on so many more levelas that 'Apartment 143'. It feels like something you've seen before, but it still creates tension and horror. I'd recommend that one over this one any day of the week. That's it.... plain and simple. 'Apartment 143'....it sucked.

All in all, I give 'Apartment 143' a 1 out of 5 star rating. It's a ghost story with no real scares and no re-watchability. If you decide to watch it, keep your expectations low and you bottle of Jack Daniels even closer.

Other films that 'Apartment 143' wanted to be like: 'Paranormal Activity' 1 through 4, 'Grave Encounters' and 'Paranormal Entitiy'

Saturday, January 28, 2012

my thoughts on.... 'Paranormal Activity 3'

Let me start this review by saying that a lot of the trailer isn't in the film. Most obviously, the "Bloody Mary" sequence. Having read about the film after its release, I found out that there is a huge amount of additional footage that was shot and that this is what ended up in the trailer. In the end, tons ended up on the cutting room floor. Since the DVD release, you can now see it in the special features and they've also release a version of all 3 films called the 'Chronology'. It places all the films in order and includes additional footage. (This does not include the Japanese 'Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night') With that clarified, we move on....

Anyone who's read my blog and my previous reviews of the other 'Paranormal Activity' films, knows that I am a big fan of them all. Despite the "uncoolness" of using the 'found footage' genre, these films continue to impress me and use that genre to its fullest potential. I think the market is a bit oversaturated, sure, but there is always room for anything that's good no matter what the format. That holds true for everything. Put out a good product and it will overcome any obstacles. When I came into this film, I was ready to see the series fall on it's rear end. I was hoping for something great, but expecting something mediocre or worse. When it was over and I was watching a blank screen, I felt like I took the rollarcoaster ride all over again. It was like this was the first film and it was all still brand new. I needed the references from the old films to make this one make sense, but taking that part out of the equation, it was a great film all on its own. It brought the slow burning creepiness from the others and the constant curiousity of what was going to happen next and from where. I was literally glued to the screen for the entire run time. The script was creative and kept the story alive, without it slipping into a cheesy soap opera comfort zone. It didn't really up the ante any, but rather kept things on an even playing field with the others.... that way you can watch them in any order and end up with the same result, fear. That, to me, is an accomplishment.

The story begins with a box of videotapes missing. The contents of the tapes are unknown, but the sisters from the original films eventually find out. While viewing the tapes, we flashback to 1988 when the girls are kids. Their home is haunted by a spirit or spirits (as mentioned in the original) and no one seems to see it, but them. As the activity becomes more and more intense, soon the adults are starting to see what's going on. As we delve deeper and deeper into the horrors of the spirits, we learn that something far more sinister may be going on underneath it all. That's my basic version of the storyline. I couldn't find one that really summed it up in a way that I agreed with. The story is there and complex enough, but it's really something you have to see to enjoy. It's one that plays on our deepest fears as a child and all of the things that we eventually grew out of. It kind of makes you wonder if perhaps what you were afraid of.... really was something to be afraid of. Granted, I am in need of a second viewing to really absorb the ending, as it is a bit 'unique' and I am not 100% sure how I feel about it. You'll have to make up your own mind on that one.As this is a sequel/prequel to the first two in the franchis, many of the same characters return. Maybe not in the way we met them, but as their younger selves for most of the film. It's a good plot device and a good way to get repeat viewers back into the storyline by having something familiar to latch on to. This film also answers a lot of questions laid out in previous installments. It also fills in some gaps and somehow advances the story in reverse. Not that we needed a visual explaination of the past events, but it's kind of nice to re-live it the way the girls did. There are many genuine scares here. Anytime you have little kids and ghosts mixed up, things get creepy. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but it's a proven formula and it's taken full advantage of here. Those wonderful little moments where a child sees something that isn't there. Is it really there? Or are they just imagining it? It also makes us wonder if when our kids are out of our sight, what is really going on? Are the things that happen to them really happening or is it just a game? It's all that much more striking when you have kids of your own and see this film.

Here's a quick timeline for the films, before I sum everything up: (in chronological order)

1) 'Paranormal Activity 3' (2011) [takes place in 2006 and 1988]

2) 'Paranormal Activity' (2007) [takes place in 2006]

3) 'Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night' (2010) [according to Wiki, it takes place in 2010.... however, the storyline actually takes place in 2006, pretty much right after the original 'Paranormal Activity']

4) 'Paranormal Activity 2' (2010) [it takes place 2 months prior to the original and then immediately right after the end of the original]

Now that this one is under my belt, I'm already hearing rumors of a 4th in the franchise. I am concerned that this win streak can't go on forever. We'll just have to wait and see on that one. In the meantime, we have 3 solid films with 1 additional for good measure and that's plenty. If this was the end of it, so be it. This is yet another 4 star experience and one that will be added to my DVD library some day soon. It's a trip that I want to take again, to see what I missed and to have that creeped out feeling all over. This may not be the same way everyone will feel about 'Paranormal Activity 3'. I can already imagine that many of you think that this well has run dry or perhaps you won't like it because it's a prequel. However, you're in the minority. This film was very well received by critics and fans alike. Not saying that you're wrong, but rather just asking you to keep an open mind when you see it. You may be surprised at what you see. This isn't the greatest ghost story ever told. It's not the greatest horror film of all time. The acting isn't amazing and the direction isn't the best I've ever seen.... but that doesn't mean it can't be a great film anyway. Sometimes it just takes a good established storyline and a lot of heart. It seems funny to say that about something like this, but it's exactly the way I see it. This is a great chapter in a great story and one that I think will stick with me for years to come.

If you like this, check out the other three films: 'Paranormal Activity', 'Paranormal Activity 2' and 'Paranormal Activity: Tokyo Night'

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

my thoughts on.... 'Grave Encounters'

Hoooo boy, another 'found footage' movie! I know that's what you're saying right about now. However, before you jump to the usual conclusions, let me tell you a little bit about 'Grave Encounters'. First of all, it's got a bit more going for it than the average 'found footage' movie. The Vicious Brothers, who wrote and directed this, took their time to get some nasty special effects going on. Instead of relying on sound and things that aren't there, these two show you EXACTLY what you're facing. These ghosts are creepy and scary. When they turn on the 'BOO!' factor, it's on full blast! Secondly, they've taken a new twist on an old theme. What we have is a movie based on all those 'ghost hunting' reality shows that are out there right now. But in this movie, they say that 'Grave Encounters (the show) was way ahead of its time. You see a lot of behind the scenes stuff that probably happens on the real shows, but we never get to see it. That alone makes this movie fun to watch.

Here's the basic plot from Netflix.com: "In this horror flick, the stars of a paranormal-investigation TV show spend the night in a derelict psychiatric hospital, hoping to uncover what's been going bump in the night. As their cameras roll, they find themselves trapped -- and hunted." The last sentences there is what really sets this apart in the end. In the beginning, it feels like very familiar territory. Low budget scares and night vision shots or things moving or opening and closing. In the second act, things change. Suddenly, the TV crew realizes that everything has changed in the building and it seems that the building is not going to let them get out.... alive. Everything keeps shifting and moving so they can't ever find an exit. The crew goes round and round for, literally, days trying to get out. In the end, will anyone make it out alive? You have to see it to belive what happens. (That last part is showmanship, the ending is kind lame actually.)I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It's by far, NOT the best movie in this sub-sub-genre.... but it's a whole lot better than most. It kind of makes me wonder what The Vicious Brothers have next on their plate? I can honestly say that I'm anxious to see whatever else they put out in the future. This was a strong indie movie that shows great promise. I couldn't see myself giving it more than 3 stars. The ending was so poorly thought out, that it almost seemed like an afterthought. However, don't let that distract you from the good things in this movie.... like the scares. This felt like a new movie to me in a very saturated market. You all may have already seen the commercial or the YouTube.com trailer for 'Grave Encounters'. It gives away a few of the high points in the movie, but there is so much more than that.

'Found footage' is never going to go away and I feel that over time, it's going to become more and more common. These kind of movies are cheap and make a profit, it's the indie zombie movie of this next generation of film makers. Whereas, you can find 1,000 indie zombie films to watch because every first film maker wants to start that way. Now, it's the found footage movies that are taking their place. Is that a good thing? That remains to be seen. This movie gives me hope, as there are glimmers of hope sprinkled throughout.

If you like this, check out similar titles like, 'Paranormal Activity', 'Paranormal Activity 2', and 'Paranormal Entity'

Thursday, July 28, 2011

my thoughts on.... 'Insidious' aka 'The Astral'

James Wan is a talented film maker. He started out really strong with the original 'Saw'. He's gone on to make the films 'Death Sentence', 'Dead Silence' and now 'Insidious'. All of these films have some really strong points to them and all of them are ones that I either own or have thought about owning. The only problem with James Wan's most recent films, are that they start off so incredibly strong that they can't possibly keep up the same level of awesomeness throughout. Perhaps he'll be able to overcome this little obstacle in future flims, but for now.... it feels like 'Dead Silence' and 'Insidious' just fell a bit short of the mark. I can see the potential in him and the influence he's already had on other film makers. He's a young guy with a long career ahead of him. I know I'll be watching his path closely. That being said....

'Insidious' is not your typical ghost story. It does have a lot of the same earmarks of other American ghost tales, but the twist on the theme is what sets it apart and actually kind of hurts it ultimately. I saw the ending coming within the first 15 minutes of the film and I think that Mr. Wan was intending on the big reveal to make his film stand out. What it really did was kind of take the wind out of its sails. There is some unsettling images, creepy music, 'jump' moments and an absolute fear factor. I don't know how he could have made it better, but it just felt unfinished and a bit cliche. Why would you spend so much time and energy creating some of the coolest ghost hunter gear and characters or the grab you by the throat ghostly beings and then just slap a lame excuse for it all? I mean, the scene with Lin Shaye wearing the gas mask and talking with the little boy was creepy as hell. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do. That's what we should have seen in the ending as well. Something along those lines.Without giving too much away, for those who haven't seen it or who don't catch on to the ending right away.... it reads a little like this: (according to Netflix.com) "After moving into a new home, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) confront terrifying tribulations when their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls into a coma and his body starts to attract malevolent forces from a mysterious netherworld. But when the family decides to move again, hoping to leave the evil spirits behind, they realize that their problems are just beginning." Sounds pretty cut and dry, right? James Wan takes that simple concept and mushes it up in the end, but it's still above a lot of other crap that's out there and based on that, I still recommend this movie.

One of the nice things about this movie is the casting of Patrick Wilson in a nice guy role. After the bad taste he left in everyone's mouth after 'Hard Candy', he deserves some positive press. I also am a fan of Rose Byrne, especially after seeing '28 Weeks Later'.... she was a stand out in the film. She proves again in 'Insidious' that she's destined to be a big star. And finally, Lin Shaye. I think most people will associate her with her roles in the different Farrelly brothers movies she's appeared in. (they're small roles, but she's a scene stealer.... not too mention her role in the original 'A Nightmare on Elm Street')

Despite its shortcomings, 'Insidious' still deserves some notice. I give 3 out of 5 stars for giving it the old college try. James Wan continues to impress me with his film making expertise. I can only expect that time will improve his abilities and that there are still great things to come. The man knows what buttons to push to get a reaction out of his audience and that's a gift that not everyone has. In the meantime, I'll be staying in my bed at night and not looking too closely at photographs of myself.

If you like this movie, check out the three other James Wan classics: 'Saw' (2004), 'Death Sentence' and 'Dead Silence'

Friday, February 18, 2011

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Death of a Ghost Hunter'

how many movies are they going to make about ghosts and film them from the first person perspective....? i can't say that i'm 100% sick of seeing them, but only the good ones.... this was an independent take on those movies, so the budget was lower and the actors are unknown.... the story is somewhat original.... so that's good.... but by the end of it, i kind of wondered if it was worth the time to have watched it.... the picture on the DVD cover above was very very effective and creepy.... however, most of the other 'scares' weren't qutie up to that standard.... it was, all put together and added up, only a 2 out of 5 star movie.... possibly worth the time to watch OnDemand on Netflix, but probably not worth the time to rent the DVD....

here's what i remember about the story.... a woman is hired to go to a home that's supposedly haunted and document what she finds.... she's required to have a camera person, a reporter, and a spiritual guide.... normally she works alone, but she creates an unsteady friendship with her companions for the duration of her stay.... things start out slow, but quickly begin to unravel as they're terrorized by an unseen force.... they eventually get proof of the existance of spirits.... however, they don't learn the truth behind the hauntings until much later and by then, is it too late....?
this ended up being better than the reviews would lead you to believe.... i've seen better, but i didn't feel like it was really a waste of time.... since i can't speak to each one of your individual tastes, read some other reviews and watch the trailer.... for all i know you may really enjoy this or you might not even want to spend the time to bother watching it.... this movie is by no means going to re-write the manual on making a scary ghost movie.... but it's above par for an indie horror movie and for that i gave the filmmaker's credit.... and i look forward to seeing what they have to offer in the future.

for a similar type of movie, check out: 'Paranormal Activity', 'Paranormal Activity 2', or 'The Blair Witch Project'

Thursday, February 17, 2011

my very brief thoughts on.... '100 Feet'

every so often a movie comes along that has a lot of promise and a great actress, but just ends up being mediocre.... a 3 out of 5 star movie.... '100 Feet' is an example of raging mediocrity.... granted, Famke Janssen is good and the ghost is creepy for a mojority of the movie, but in the end none of that makes much of a difference.... you can't overcome a bland script and questionable special effects.... tried really hard to like this movie, it actually held my interest for the first hour or so.... after a while, things just started to go south.... and by the end, the ghost was a bit of a joke to watch and it turned into the 'Hollow Man'.... there was a reason this was direct to DVD.... it would never have survived in the theaters....

in the movie, Famke Janssen plays a woman who's just come home from prison where she's been locked up for killing her husband.... she is to serve out the rest of her term as a prisoner in her own home.... complete with an ankle bracelet and a maximum radius that she can move it of: wait for it.... 100 feet.... soon she begins to be terrorized by the spirit of her dead husband.... and things start to come out about how he beat her and what not and she begins the long journey to getting him to leave.... it's over the top and silly at times.... but it has a certain charm that i can't quite put my finger on.... that doesn't mean that i want to watch it again anytime soon.... even though it's OnDemand right now.... and as i stated earlier on, i gave it 3 out of 5 stars.... mostly because i like Famke Janssen and was happy to see her in a starring role.... i suppose if you don't expect the greatest ghost story ever told then you won't be let down.... if you wallow in the most mediocre and mundane things, then you're gonna be in hog heaven over this one.... LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU! IT'S A WIFE BEATING GHOST....! yeah, that about sums it up.

other ghost stories that are worth watching: 'The Ring' (2002), 'The Grudge' (2004), and 'Paranormal Activity'

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Kuchisake-onna aka Carved: The Slit Mouthed Woman'

this movie had so much promise.... an evil looking spirit.... an interesting concept based on an urban legend.... it was a 'ghost' movie not made in America.... but what i saw was something so much less than i was promised.... granted, it had its moments where it seemed like things would be scary, but that's just it...they were moments.... in another context, the slit mouthed woman could have been a great horror icon.... they created something very iconic.... but in the end this was just another foreign ghost story with no big payoff at the end.... if i knew then what i knew now, i would re-watch it with only the good parts left in and instead of an hour and a half it would be like 15 minutes.... but a good 15 minutes....
according to Netflix, i gave this 2 out of 5 stars.... and the reason i know this....? because i'm the one who rated it.... if you have the choice, watch some of the other better known foreign ghost stories instead of this one.... i gave it a chance because of all the images and the trailer i saw, sometimes picking a random movie based on only a little bit of info is a dangerous thing....

instead of seeing this, watch.... hmmmm.... i can't think of any recent ghost stories that were very good

Monday, April 5, 2010

my thoughts on.... 'Paranormal Activity'

i rented this movie with no other knowledge about it other than it was similar to 'The Blair Witch Project'.... and that's the way i wanted it.... i wanted to come in fresh and with no expectations.... i usually enjoy a movie more the less i know about it.... i'd heard good things about this movie.... and had even heard some people say that it really scared them quite a bit.... and it's been a while since i've been scared of a movie, so this peaked my interest even more to rent it....

a couple buy a video camera to document strange goings on in their home which they think may be paranormal.... they soon find proof to back up their gut instincts.... but this just leads to more questions as we find out that the main girl in the movie has been followed from house to house by an entity since she was a little girl.... they then call in outside help to get more information about the spirit and how to get rid of it and that's when things get really dark.... i don't want to give the entire plot away.... but it's interesting enough to be worth your time to rent this one and watch it alone in the dark....

with the comparisons to 'Blair Witch', i'd say some of them are grounded.... but overall the only real relation is that it's all very 'reality show-ish'.... it seems like it's all unscripted and that you're watching footage from a police file or something.... there's not a huge amount going on in the movie.... and the plot is sparse at best.... but the atmosphere makes up for all of that....

all in all.... a clever twist on an old theme.... very effective scares.... and some of the tactics are based in reality.... i found myself getting swept up in the storyline and got a little bit of a jump at the end of the movie.... but this vs. 'Blair Witch'....? i'd take the witch anytime over this.... 'Paranormal Activity' is worth a watch and possibly a second viewing.... but i don't know how much staying power it has.... i'd give it a good 4 out of 5 stars.... most certainly not crap....

if you enjoy this movie, check out: 'The Blair Witch Project', 'Suicide' and any of the paranormal shows on basic cable