my thoughts on.... 'Aftershock'

I've said that Eli Roth was the next generation of horror film makers. That started back in 2002 with his debut horror film, 'Cabin Fever'. Since then, he's made a mark in the horror genre with several nasty little gems of movie making. Over the years, he's become a bit of a questionable commodity in Hollywood. It seems as though people have lost faith in him. I'm not sure why this is? Granted, I haven't seen his Netflix original series 'Hemlock Grove' yet.... but I've never been a fan of werewolves. I'll get around to it eventually though and I'm sure I'll love it. Also, along the way, Eli has been continuing to push his limits from being a director and into an actor. He has the charisma and enthusiasm, but I really would prefer him being the camera. Maybe that's just me?

'Aftershock' puts him partially at the helm of this vessel as the writer and co-producer, but it puts him out front as a lead actor. I wasn't sure what I'd make of this movie, as I intentionally kept myself in the dark about the plot. All I really knew was that there was an earthquake or something and everything and everybody went to heck. Meaning, the true nature of people came forward in a crisis, but not the good side. I'm actually kind of hesitant to give out the details, as I want you to be taken along for the same ride I was. Here's what I will say: The story centers around a man who travels to Chile to spend time with some friends. While he's there, a disaster happens and it's a fight for survival during the 'Aftershock'! (I should write those things for a living!) Seriously though, that's the most basic version of the plot. The secret of this movie is in the not knowing. The less you know, the better. Granted, this movie won't re-write any film making textbooks and won't shock jaded movie watchers. What it will do, is take you on a white knuckle ride through every travelers worst nightmare. Yeah, it's that kind of movie!

I'm guessing that the biggest complaints that people will have about this movie are two-fold. 1) They'll say that the ending was cliched and dumb. 2) That it took to long to get to any action. Let me handle those comments in reverse order. 2) The reason it took so long to get to the "good stuff" was because they were trying to get you attached to your main characters. I mean, how can you care if someone dies, if they have no back story or time to develop? The movie took a slow boil to the story line and there was a little over 30 minutes before anything even got started. This gave us, the viewer, a chance to get to know each and everyone involved and to build up some motion. Kind of like when you're going up the slow hill on a roller coaster. It creates tension and terror, so that when you get to the top and start going down the hill.... you're terrified and scream at the top of your lungs! This method was used here, as well. There was no rush and none was needed. It actually felt a great deal like how Eli handled the beginnings of 'Hostel' and 'Hostel 2'. Very similar. 1) Yes, the ending was a bit forced. I 100% agree with that statement. I even guessed what was going to happen, before it ever happened. Did that lessen the overall impact of the movie? I don't think so. It was still a great movie that was superior to other recent releases in a lot of ways.

'Aftershock' is a great little late night survival horror flick with no monsters, no masked killers and no demons. The only real bad guy here, is ourselves. This shows the darker side of humanity. It has a few twists and turns and some surprises here and there, but if you've been around the block before.... there's not much that's gonna get passed you. At the end of the day, I really enjoyed 'Aftershock', flaws and all. I would recommend this one to anyone looking for something a little different than what's out there right now. It's well done in every since of the word and has some beautiful locations to boot. If it was me, I would maybe re-write the ending, but I'm not quite sure what else Eli and company could have done to make it hit harder. It is what it is and I like what it is. Heck, it even had a strange guest appearance by Selena Gomez. Too bad her ex-boyfriend wasn't killed in some strange way in the movie. Oh well, we can't have it all.

Check this one out, for sure.

If you like 'Aftershock', check out some other Eli Roth classics: 'Hostel', 'Hostel 2' and 'Cabin Fever'

4 out of 5 stars, despite the ending.

my brief thoughts on.... 'Vertige aka High Lane'

I praise the French on a regular basis for their expertise in horror filmmaking. I have yet to see one of their films that I didn't like. I recently watched the French survival horror film called 'Vertige aka High Lane'. One part 'The Descent' (in regards to going 'off the beaten path' for adventure storyline) and one part 'Wrong Turn'. However, the comparison to these two other films only goes so far, as 'High Lane' never really got off the ground. It started out strong enough and showed some promise, but the further into into the story I went the less and less I cared what happened. It really pains me to say that because I love the French horror cinema so much. However, I am not going to lie to you about what I saw.... it was only mediocre at best. I mean, any film that starts out heading in one direction and then makes a bit of a left turn suddenly, it better have a good reason for it. I just never saw it here.

The plot from http://www.Netflix.com: "In this French thriller, a mountain climbing trail closed to the rest of civilization becomes a path to adventure and horror for a group of friends who dare to go beyond its barriers. It's not just because they trespassed into forbidden territory or because they're testing the laws of gravity. It's because they're not the only ones willing to push the envelope out there, and their visitor isn't very welcoming at all." That basically sums it up, however the "visitor" is more of an inbred mutant type thing. (see the photo below.)
I really wish this would have been better. The biggest problem is that this territory has been rehashed a lot in the past decade and finding a new story to tell is nearly impossible. And this film only had one inbred mutant guy and he was uninteresting and uninspired. I could've cared less if he was even in the film. As far as I'm concerned, this would have been just as interesting if it was strictly about the friends trying to get back to civilization. Not too mention that the Netflix OnDemand version of the film was dubbed, not subtitled. That always makes foreign films really hard to watch because you focus more on the dubbing than the acting. 'High Lane' did however leave a little bit of a positive impression. I actually gave it a 3 out of 5 rating, even with all the flaws it was still better than a lot of garbage that's out there. I just wish the filmmakers had realized the changes they needed to make before they made this. It could've been a whole lot better.

If you're bored this upcoming Friday and you've seen every other French horror that's out there, give this one a chance. Maybe I'm just jaded about this genre. Perhaps this film is a whole lot better than I'm giving it credit for. It could've been that I was just expecting too much, the French can't always make a winner. Everyone deserves a less than stellar outing every once in a while. Hell, we're all guilty of it once in a while. This review may be my 'less than stellar outing'.... who knows?

if you want something similar, but maybe better: 'Wrong Turn 2', 'The Hills Have Eyes' (2006) and 'The Hills Have Eyes 2' (2007)

my brief thoughts on.... 'Frozen' (2010)

what a terrible thing to happen to someone.... to get caught out in the freezing cold with minimal protection and no way to save yourself without sustaining a deadly injury.... not to mention that the first chance to be saved isn't going to happen for several days.... this is the premise of 'Frozen' and is enough to instill fear in me right off the bat, even before the movie starts.... besides the frightening plot, what's impressive about this is the fact that the movie is basically 3 people on a ski lift.... for almost the whole movie that's almost all you see.... it's difficult to pull off a movie under these circumstances, but 'Frozen' makes a valiant effort.... it's not the first movie to use this type of strategy.... but this doesn't always work.... when it does, it can be extremely powerful.... but when it fails, it just comes off as being dull and uninspired.... lazy writing.... in the case of 'Frozen', i think that they accomplished exactly what they were going for.... and they didn't have to resort to the hand held camera tricks that so many movies are using these days....

i've already outlined the basic plot already.... what happens is that 3 friends go out to ski on a mountain.... they bribe a lift operator to let them go for one last run before they shut it down for the weekend.... a mix up occurs and the 3 get stuck halfway up and the ski resort shuts down unaware.... the 3 people start to freak out about their situation and try and come up with ways to get down.... after some attempts and some horrific results, things start to look really bleak.... the rest of it is something you'll need to see on your own....
i really looked forward to seeing this movie.... and it lived up to the majority of my expectations.... there was very few things about it that bothered me.... and those things weren't enough to outweigh the good things.... i liked it enough to give it 4 out of 5 stars.... it was entertaining and at times nail biting.... there isn't much to speak of in the way of action.... most of it is talking about what to do.... and because of that, when the few action scenes take place, it makes things that much more intense.... it is available right now OnDemand, but i don't know for how long.... so i would recommend you check it out soon.... in closing, i think that 'Frozen' lived up to my expectations.... it didn't surpass them, but it left a good impression.... i'm glad that people are still out there writing for the actor and the audience, not the box office.... i don't ski, but the next time i do i will stick to the bunny slopes that don't required a lift.

if you like simple movies with minimal action: 'Open Water', 'The Blair Witch Project', and 'Buried' (2010)

my brief thoughts on.... 'Ils aka Them'

the French continually impress me with their horror films.... this one may classify as more of a thriller or something like that, but it's extremely terrifying regardless.... this plays on one of my fears, home invasion.... it's not the first time a film has been made about this subject.... the most recent one that comes to mind is 'The Strangers'.... i think this film might be a bit more frightening then 'The Strangers'.... and one of the reasons for that is something that i don't want to give away, you'll just have to see it to find out what it is.... if you've seen 'Eden Lake' then you'll have an idea what the secret is.... anyway.... the budget seems fairly low for this film.... or perhaps it's just that they use so few sets.... the majority of the time is set in the home of the couple that's being terrorized.... regardless of this, the film is very effective on so many levels.... they also keep the villans hidden and early on all you see is a flash of light or a knock on the door.... you don't actually see them until the last like 15 minutes of the film....

the story is about a couple who have a home that's seculded from other people.... they come home after a normal day only to begin being terrorized by unseen attackers.... it starts out innocently enough, but gradually becomes more and more agressive.... soon the attackers are in the house and the couple is split up.... and it's a fight for their lives from a group of relentless unseen enemies....
this is a film that you should watch late at night with the lights off and all alone.... it plays on our most basic animal fears, those of being out of control and fighting to survive.... this film, although fairly simple in storyline, succeeds in so many ways.... and takes you on an exhausting journey that will stick with you for a few days after the fact.... if you don't mind subtitles and have just a little bit of time to kill, i highly recommend that you see this film.... currently it's avaiable only to rent from Netflix, but it's well worth the time.... it's a solid 4 out of 5 stars and a film that doesn't need anything changed about it.... it's the right length of time, a simple enough storyline, well done cimematography, great direction, good acting and a pretty satisfying ending.... all in all, something that is hard to find in films these days....

if you like this, watch: 'The Strangers', 'Eden Lake', and 'August Underground: Penance'

trailer is in English, but the film is in French:

my brief thoughts on.... 'Broken'

i've just finished this movie and i can honestly say i have no idea how i feel about it.... it doesn't make "Saw look like a children's film." but it starts out pretty harshly.... and was hard to watch.... but the entire 2nd act is far from gut wrenching or disturbing.... it's a lot of washing of pots and pans and our heroine trying to escape from her captor.... i can say this about the movie.... i had no idea where it was going.... i mean, it seemed pretty cut and dry, but it never really let on how it would end.... so it did hold my attention.... and when another women joined the group as another captive, things got more interesting.... it just never reached any sort point or reason why we should bother watching it.... it's weird to feel that way about a movie.... but it's kind of the sense i got.... that i was just watching it because it was on and it wasn't really going anywhere specific.... i can honestly say that after finishing it, that the writer was dragging us along for this ride just so we could reach the ending.... it was just shocking enough and disturbing that it left you feeling like the wind got knocked out of you.... and maybe that was the point of the rest of the movie being so evenly paced.... so you get lulled into a sense of safety.... i don't know....

a person just listed in the credits as 'The Man' is hard at work putting women through a series of tortures to see how far they'll go.... and if they're worthy to ultimatly be his slaves.... you see more than one woman unable to take the torture.... but one woman is so determined to find her child that she's willing to do anything to live long enough to find out what The Man has done with her.... and this is no short period of time we're talking about.... nearly two months of being held captive and yet she holds on to hope that she'll escape and find out what happened or her captor will tell her something....
this movie got a lot of bad press for it's treatment of women and i see why.... the first 20 minutes are pretty hard to watch.... but if you've seen 'Saw' or 'Hostel', it's nothing you can't stomach.... but as you can imagine the woman gradually gains the power.... and it's no longer about women in bondage.... but as i said earlier on, do we really care in the end....? i can't say.... it's such a weird little movie.... it reminds me slightly of 'Wolf Creek', but without the non-stop horror.... this movie is more about the put coming to a boil.... anyway.... i gave it 2 out of 5 stars.... not something i would recommened.... and if you want to know the ending, drop me a line and i'll give it up to you.... so you don't have to sit through the rest.... this is mediocre at best.

other similar-ish movies: 'Wolf Creek', 'Saw' and 'Hostel'