Captivity (2007) August 4, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Uncategorized, Horror, New Movies , 1 comment so farCaptivity hit the headlines earlier in the year when the billboards for the film were withdrawn in New York and LA after complaints, all ‘good publicity’ for the movie the producers no doubt thought, how wrong they were.Three weeks after it’s release it had only pulled in a miserable $3.6M, and registered just 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, oh dear, things aren’t looking good as I settle down to view the latest “torture-porn” flick vomited out of Hollywood.
Directed by “acclaimed director” Roland Joffe, he of “The Killing Fields” and “Super Mario Brothers”, which he likes to omit from his c.v. the question was, is this as bad as people say? Well in all honsety, yes it’s a very poor film, but it’s biggest crime is that it’s so dull.The “Saw” and “Hostel” film franchises are pretty average to poor horror movies but at least they’re fairly interesting, the first hour of this film was akin to watching paint dry.Things do pick up a little towards the end but by then you’ve gone past caring.
The only plus point I can muster from this film is the eye candy that is Elisha Cuthbert, great to look at in a leather dress, but this doesn’t disguise the fact that she still can’t act for toffee.
Another major failing of the film is that for a horror/thriller it is neither suspenseful nor scary.The film just about fails on all levels really.
4.5/10
Vacancy (2007) July 16, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, New Movies , add a commentI had high hopes for this film.Things start of promisingly, if a little predictable.A bickering couple, Kate Beckinsale and Owen Wilson, break down in the middle of nowhere.They begrudgingly decide to stay the night at a run down motel.Soon though they start to hear strange noises but things really turn sinister when they discover some video tapes and realise they are to be the future stars of a snuff movie! So far so good.
**SPOILER ALERT**
What completely ruins this film is the appallingly lame ending.I was really expecting an evil twist to precedings but all you get is our heroine managing to dispatch with all the villains, call for the Police, and find that her husband wasn’t actually killed when stabbed by one of the gang!I can’t remember when I was so annoyed at a films finale, utterly lame, and one of the most disappointing movies of the year.
5/10
Paradise Lost (aka Turistas) 2006 July 14, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, New Movies , add a comment‘Paradise Lost’ starts off looking like a promising little horror movie.A group of back packers are stranded in Brazil after their bus crashes, they think they’ve hit the jackpot when they hook up with some locals in a secluded beauty spot, beach, beer and babes, what could go wrong?
Soon though the film descends into a world of 21st Century horror clichés, evil locals, semi naked women, lots of screaming, running and one hell of a lot of swimming!
It transpires that an evil local doctor wants their organs to sell to the rich, the film includes a scene you won’t forget in a hurry when a naked girl has her kidney removed, a scene so gory it brought back memory’s of the 1980’s video nasties!!!
Sadly though there’s very little here on offer to recommend this film, we seen it all before in the ‘Hostel’ and ‘Saw’ series.
6/10
The Crow (1994) July 9, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, old movies revisited , add a commentI have to admit I’ve only seen this film once before, way back in the mid 90’s when it debuted on video, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember a thing about it, many of my friends raved about it so when I saw it advertised on Film4 I hit the Sky+ button, well the equivalent button for a Telewest TvDrive!
Directed by Alex Proyas, who brought us the fine ‘I Robot’ and the criminally under-rated ‘Dark City’, ‘The Crow’ is a beautifully shot, yet eerie tale of love and revenge.The late Brandon Lee stars in the lead role, a man out for vengeance after ‘he’ and his future wife are murdered.One by one he hunts down and kills the members of the gang responsible.This eventually leads him to the gang leader “Top Dollar” played by the excellent Michael Wincott, this guys one of the one of the screens great baddies, menacing, mean and moody, this is one villain you wouldn’t want to tangle with.
The film is a ’super-hero’ film very much in the same vein as the sublime ‘Batman Returns’, there’s no damsels in distress to rescue, just revenge to extract on the scum that walk the streets.
Brilliant.
9/10
The Hills Have Eyes II (2007) July 6, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, New Movies , add a commentA few years ago it was announced that there would be a remake of Wes Cravens 70’s classic exploitation horror flick ‘The Hills Hav Eyes’, this quite frankly filled be with much trepidation until Alexandra Aja was named as director.Aja’s previous feature had been the superb French horror flick ‘Switchblade Romance’ and he delivered the goods again with a top notch remake.
So as the remake was a hit out comes another ‘Hills’ movie, there was actually a ‘Part 2′ originally released back in 1985, also directed by Wes Craven, which was a bit of a turkey by all accounts.
This film though follows straight on from the first one.A group of soldiers have to deliver equipment to a group of atomic scientist in New Mexico where search and destroy missions have been taking place to kill all remaining mutants.
Well we’re soon in cliche-ville, the soldiers all bitch at each other, manage to lose their weapons, wander off on their own and get a pick axe in their head.You know what’s going to happen as each dumb ass goon get’s picked off one by one. The film has zero suspense and the dialogue is appaling, though there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes,the film isn’t boring which it must be said is it’s one and only plus point.
6.5/10
Planet Terror (Grindhouse 2007) July 5, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, New Movies , add a commentI was recently forwarded a rather dodgy website that streamed movies, and what was on that list that was on the top of my ‘to see’ list, yes Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez ‘Grindhouse’ double bill.
The ‘film’ comprises two full movies, Planet Terror (Rodriquez) and ‘Death Proof (Tarantino) interspersed before, and in the ‘intermission’ are loads of fake trailers for movies such as ‘Werewolf Woman Of The SS’, ‘Machete’, Hobo With A Shotgun’ and the quite brilliant looking ‘Thanksgiving’-directed by ‘Hostel’s’ Eli Roth, boy I’d love to see a full feature of this!!
So with much anticipation I clicked play on the pc, first up was ‘Planet Terror’.Now ‘Grindhouse’ had been getting quite a few less than favourable reviews, and these were mainly aimed at Tarantino’s effort, so I was pleased this was first up.
What can I say, from the man who brought us ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ and ‘Sin City’, this is one zombie horror roller-coaster you will lap up in droves.Gore galore, loads of humour and very reminiscent of ‘Dusk’ with a bloody splash of ‘Return Of The Living Dead’, I loved pretty much every blood splattered minute.Yes it does take a good quarter of an hour to get going but once it does boy you’re in for some fun.
Well after watching the first film I thought I’d have an intermission before viewing ‘Death Proof’, trouble was the intermission was a few days and when I came to view the second part the link on the site was dead, bloody unreliable bootleggers!!
The ‘good’ news is that due to ‘Grindhouse’s poor box office showing the film will be released as two separate films on dvd, but also when it gets its UK box office release.I’ll rent ‘Death Proof’ to see if it is as poor, or should I say boring, as critics would have us believe, but I’ll definitely splash the cash on a copy of ‘Terror’, lets hope the trailers are bundled in there as well
8.5/10
1408 (2007) July 1, 2007
Posted by robwilliams1967 in : Horror, New Movies , 1 comment so farI’d read positive reviews of this film so I had a look at the trailer, boy it looked good.Written by Stephen King, starring Samuel L Jackson and the God that is John Cusack, I was really looking forward to this cookie.
Cusack plays a horror writer who spends the night in the infamous room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, a room that legend says, no man nor woman has stayed in for an entire night.
After having to endure the new wave of ‘horror’ that has spewed out of Hollywood such as Hostel and House Of Wax in the past it was a real pleasure to watch such a riveting well acted and nervy film as this.No all out gore for gores sake, no nubile teens running around to keep the male audience awake, no, just a good old fashioned horror movie that keeps you guessing to the final frame.
Quite reminiscent of the classic ‘The Shining’, this is one of the best psychological chillers since ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘The Sixth Sense’.
9/10