The Horsemen (2009)

I guess I must be one of the few who really, really enjoyed this. I’m a sucker for serial killer movies anyhow, but I found this one to be a pleasant surprise, especially since I had probably only seen the trailer once back in 2008.

And this was from Platinum Dunes? Wow. Definitely one of their stronger movies AND original/non-remake ones.

I thought it was quite dark, twisted, and disturbing to watch. The crime scenes reminded me of something from ‘Saw’. Definitely must have been inspired from those movies. It always kept me interested and entertained, and you gotta love it when there is a killer female. I loved Zhang!

The ending came by surprise, too. Cool twist.

A solid 7/10 from me. Has its’ flaws, but it was a highly entertaining ‘cop hunts serial killer’ flick.

Paranormal Activity

The smash hit horror phenomenon “Paranormal Activity” (2007) is riding high in the U K horror charts and I hear a sequel is on the way. Films like “Paranormal Ascendancy” (2008) and “Paranormal Entity” (2009) appear to be capitalising on the success of this acclaimed scary movie which has terrified audiences worldwide.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/

I got reading about sleep paralysis on numerous occasions in conjunction with the film’s imagery which I thought was an interesting thing to ponder. In classical art and literature, sleep paralysis has been interpereted in a number of ways, including demonic possession, hallucinatory experience (sometimes linked to substance abuse), and live burials. I remember two films released when I was a boy that drew imagery based upon ideas of sleep paralysis, “The Serpent And The Rainbow” (1988) and “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990), both of which I think are very effective in terms of horror.
Dreams and dream states have long occupied the minds of genre filmmakers. For example, some of my favourite horror films like “City Of The Living Dead” (1980), “Night Of The Hunted” (1980), and “A Nightmare On Elm Street” (1984), I relate to my experiences of lucid dreaming. Dreams and nightmares have long been translated in terms of terror, and the word commonly applied by film students is oneiric.

‘Don’t you smile like you’re so happy with yourself.’

A classic line taken from future classic “Paranormal Activity” that is spoken between the couple at the heart of the film. They revel in their own personal indulgence for much of the running time, inviting the viewer to observe them together in their luxury abode. They are priveledged enough to test the limits of tedium, with an excess of recorded home video footage that carries little in the way of palpable atmosphere. The couple are intolerant of others, making dismissive comments and rude gestures, and they are largely self-contained. But is their boredom fascinating, as boredom so often can be, or is it simply boring?

‘Night of the Living Dead plumbed untouched depths of frantic despair, all-pervading hopelessness and nihilist terror while delivering visceral gross-out horror in the allegorical process.’

- Alan Jones, ‘Night of the Living Dead’

It’s a question most people appear to have different answers to, with “Paranormal Activity” establishing itself as a divisive exercise in scare tactics that has not yet been embraced by everybody. It makes me think of the whole no budget D.I.Y. aesthetic and where it can potentially take us. There were some films that punks in the 1970s took as their own because they believed the makers were aiming to achieve similar goals in the arena of independent film as bands were seeking to do on the fringes of the music industry. Punks came from all backgrounds, and they understood boredom better than anyone because they lived it, which is why it gathered pace as a movement. The same can be said of low finance, independent genre filmmakers who were out stealing footage, often without permits, working tough hours when units could be assembled, and thinking in filmic logic wherever they went. I don’t think “Paranormal Activity” falls in the same bracket though, even if there is some overlap.

‘The epochal exploitation horror Last House on the Left emerged from the New York underground concurrently with the burgeoning punk movement, and was soon adopted by the freaks and misfits populating the downtown art scene, who for the first time felt like they recognised their frustrations being depicted in a horror movie. Last House was an intense visceral assault staged in purely human terms, an attack on institutionalised thinking that used techniques culled from cinema verite and anarchist film, and a penetrating social document characterised by an innate sense of nihilism, carrying with it a conterminous political subtext that felt very very real to us; the feeling that this could really happen is what they said we were feeling, but few of us were in any doubt that it already was, and as things turned out, on a far greater scale than we had imagined.’

- Tony Collins, ‘Jet Boys and Power Girls’

“Paranormal Activity” is availabe to buy on dvd. I purchased it for £3.99 which I think is a reasonable price. I will look out for the sequel. I have not seen “Paranormal Ascendancy” or “Paranormal Entity”.

Necromentia (2009)

Just finished this one, and my feelings on it are mixed. It contains some scenes that border on brilliance, but it also has some that are sleep inducing. It borrows heavily from Hellraiser, and throws in a little bit of Saw for good measure. There’s a creature that looks just like one of the cenobites from the Hellraiser movies, and the lead demon is based on Pinhead, but has a voice that reminds one of Jigsaw. It has an excellent torture bit, and a wonderfully twisted scene with a fat guy wearing a pig mask while dancing around and singing a demented kids song about suicide. The main problem is there’s not enough of the twisted stuff to make this a great movie, and too much of the sleep inducing stuff. 5/10

Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

I just got this in the mail. I hadn’t seen it since I was probably 10, and I remember it creeped me out as a kid. I got it for free (along with NOTLD: Reanimated) from a certificate I won at work. I was really hoping it held up, and I’m glad to say it did. It’s a genuinely creepy film, with a great score and atmosphere. The themes were surprisingly darker than I remember, especially for a made-for-TV movie. Anyway, anyone else here a fan? If you are, the DVD is worth a purchase. The quality is fantastic. The only features are an old CBS promo for the movie and a commentary, which are good enough for me. Well worth a look if you’ve never seen it as well.

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

I understand now why this title pops up every now and then on on forum boards. You can’t stay indifferent to a film like this and it kept my attention throughout. Save for some initial scenes I thought the acting was good. Regardless how much I hated Matthew as a character (what a moron!) I must admit the actor did a good performance.

Despite its controversial reputation it is not the first film of its kind or anything like that. The concept is basically the same as in Thriller – A Cruel Picture (1974): A girl gets raped and takes her revenge on the rapists -illustrated with graphic rape/sex scenes and cruel revenges. I came to think about The Last House on the Left (1972) too of course. 491 (1964) that I watched the other day is actually nastier than any of these but the worst things goes on outside the camera view there.

7/10

Zombie/Ghoul – Great Budget Horror Makeup

Zombie

Dawn of the Dead – original UK theatrical trailer

Suspiria

After being horribly disappointed with Lucio Fulci (City of the Living Dead is the next movie I’m going to watch because I’m determined to find something worthwhile by the bastard) and Italian horror in general I was in no rush to see Suspiria because I really didn’t want to not like it. After about 10 years of procrastinating and two false starts, I sat through the entire movie last night.

It was absolutely AMAZING! Not only was it gorgeous to look at but very atmospheric. It had some of the things that I don’t like about Italian horror but did it in a way that was only kind of peculiar and made me pay more attention instead of being distracting and taking me out of the film. I really don’t like movies with weak narrative structure unless they do something very special with it and this movie was special indeed.

Blood Rage (1987)

Just re-watched this one yesterday…. Yowza! I forgot how good it was. Well, not good in the technical aspect, of course, being this is a very low-budget slasher flick from the ’80s. But it’s a fun one for sure. The gore fx are very impressive and plentiful, featuring plenty of nasty machete killings… impalements, hacked off hands, split heads, and even a body torn in half. Featuring a pulsating synthesizer score, a reasonably faster-pace than most others of its ilk, and a deliciously macabre ending…. I highly recommend this to slasher fans as its stands up pretty well next to the more well-known films of the time.

Note: I’ve only seen this via the Prism VHS but I hear the cheapo DVD under the moniker “Nightmare at Shadow Woods” is missing most of the gore, and if that’s the case, then what’s the point? Track down the Prism tape to see all the grue the way it was intended.