shaun8305 Reviews

Magnos the Robot (1983)

An enjoyable, but mindless flick.

[8/10 · 4 April 2024]

Magnos the Robot is a compilation of the first quarter of the series Magne Robo Gakeen, and despite all of that it manages to be a fairly coherent movie. The story revolves around the Earth being under siege by ancient aliens who use giant monsters to try and destroy the world. In return a band of scientist and martial artists use a giant robot to fight back.

As a movie it really just flows from one battle to another, taking key components from the early part of the series to try and make it work. As a result there are some moments that seem out of place as a result (such as a monster attacking a city but no fight occurs).

For an early 80's anime dubbing, it's done surprisingly well. There are moments of campiness, but compared to others at the time it's done well, especially since it's a pretty much unknown cast.

I'm going to end this by saying that I do have a lot of nostalgia for this, but despite that it is a semi coherent, enjoyable flick. It's one of those you can relax and enjoy. It won't win any awards, but it's still fun regardless.

Tales from Deep Hell (2018)

A complete waste of time

[1/10 · 7 April 2023]

I don't even know where to begin describing this one as it has absolutely no plot to begin with. This movie, is an anthology of shorts centered around bizarre and gory segments intended to be a decent into hell. However because there is no plot to speak of, all your watching is gory segments with absolutely no substance. We go from clip to clip with a grainy poorly focused segment that involves some degree of violence and nudity. If anything this is a showcase of special effects, but even then there is absolutely no point to this which ultimately is what hurt it more than anything else. The best way to put it, is that it is an art house gore film. I'm all for a good gory film, but at least give it some degree of substance to keep me engaged. Hard pass on this one.

History of the World: Part II (2023)

Such a monumental disappointment

[1/10 · 31 March 2023]

When I first saw this announced, I was excited. A follow up to a classic movie done in the style of a mini series, with Mel Brooks involvement how could you not be? Then I sat down and watched the first episode and good lord you want to talk about a disaster. Not only was it woefully unfunny, but it missed the mark in every aspect.

The central stories center around the Russian Revolution, the final days of Jesus, The end of the Civil War, and Shirley Chisholm. Each story is split into smaller segments spread across the 8 episode run, and not a single moment did I find any of it funny, which was a shame given the cast involved. The stories try hard to poke fun at modern sensibilities while lampooning history but none of it working, such as Rasputin turning basically into Jack Ass, or Jesus and and the apostles somehow going from Curb Your Enthusiasm to the Notebook and finally the Beetles. It just didn't work at all.

I wanted to like this, but it was just so abysmally bad that I can't. This was easily one of the worst things I have ever seen.

The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021)

Meh

[5/10 · 10 January 2022]

The Matrix Resurrections is the the 4th entry in the franchise, and perhaps the most unnecessary. The movie takes place decades after the previous films, and Neo is brought back for reasons. Morpheus and Agent Smith are recast but it's explained away within the movie as to why.

The movie tries to be a throwback to the previous films with a few twists along the way (that can be seen from a mile away). A lot of archive footage is used and the movie tries to be a little to meta. Overall despite saying and doing a lot, this movie still felt empty and unnecessary. I was pretty bored at points and while the ending was action packed with a twist, this movie still doesn't feel needed. This movie is an average flashy spectacle, that tries to say more than it actually does.

8-Bit Christmas (2021)

A fine Christmas movie.

[7/10 · 7 December 2021]

An 8-bit Christmas is a fine, though ultimately forgettable affair. The story is about a father recounting to his daughter the Christmas he got his NES and the lessons learned from it. The movie is filled with some degree of 80's nostalgia, sight gags, and occasional gross out humor.

Overall it's a harmless affair, though it's not likely to become a Christmas classic. Still for the holiday season, it's not a bad watch.

Frightvision (2020)

Falls flat on so many levels.

[3/10 · 22 November 2021]

Frightvision is a horror anthology that tries to blend horror and comedy, and doesn't really succeed with either one. This low budget anthology offers a variety of stories, some more sexually explicit than others but it's neither erotic nor entertaining. I found myself bored more often than not.

The acting is very low grade, painfully bad, which is fine, I can take campy acting, but this seems particularly bad, and it seems like it's a trend with a lot of modern low budget flicks where they're not even trying. The movie looks, and feels cheap. I had a hard time enjoying this one, really can't recommend it.

Halloween Kills (2021)

Overall an enjoyable ride.

[7/10 · 15 October 2021]

I'll start off by saying I'm not a huge fan of the Halloween franchise. Most of the movies I find to be forgettable. That said while this movie is flawed, it was still an effective and enjoyable ride.

This movie takes place immediately after the previous film, and this time around focuses more on the town of Haddonfield taking matters into their own hands to stop Michael. You can guess how well that goes.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this movie. It was well made, very brutal and bloody, and overall I had fun with it. It has me intrigued to see where this story arc ends.

I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2019)

Well, that was something.

[2/10 · 26 September 2021]

I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu was well, pointless. Taking place decades after the original it follows the family members of the rapist from the first film out to seek revenge for their deaths. They kidnap Jennifer Hill (protagonist of the first movie) and her daughter and chaos ensues.

So after watching this, I found that despite it's premise, it lacked any of the shock or impact of not only the original, but the remake trilogy as well. The villains weren't anywhere as near as memorable as the other flicks, and if anything this movie had a heavy religious overtone to it. I don't know if the movie was trying to portray the hypocrisy of religious zelots or what, but it just fell flat on all fronts.

Overall this movie failed on all fronts, the rape wasn't anywhere near as graphic as previous entries, the violent vengeance also wasn't anywhere near as effective. Lastly, and this is what hurts the movie the most is that it is way, say too long. It's 2.5 hours, and it shouldn't have been more than 90 minutes. I'd say this movie was too self indulgent, but you couldn't even argue that. Overall this is just a really, really bad sequel to a classic horror flick.

Lillith (2019)

Better than I expected.

[5/10 · 24 September 2021]

I wasn't expecting much from this when I saw it pop up on Tubi, but I figured I would give it a chance anyways. To my surprise it was better than I expected, still not great but better than what I was expecting.

Lillith is about a college girl named Jenna who after catching her boyfriend cheating on her, gets the help of a friend to summon Lillith, a sex demon to exact revenge. Needless to say it doesn't go as planned.

Lillith is for all intents and purposes a c-gtade horror flick. However I give it props for some ok make up effects, and a mostly entertaining story. What makes the movie particularly entertaining is the character of Lilly the Succubus who hams it up pretty well and makes for an entertaining villain. She's really the highlight of the movie with a decent amount of wit and bubbly personality to shine through. For a modern horror film I enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

Underworld (1985)

A campy, but ultimately unremarkable film.

[5/10 · 30 August 2021]

I stumbled across this as Clive Barker's Underworld on Prime, and intrigued I checked it out. Ultimately while interesting enough, it was ultimately a forgettable watch, which given that this was based off of the work I expected it to at least be interesting.

The story centers around an adventurer who is hired by a crime boss to find a prostitute that he once loved. In his search he stumbles across a sinister drug that has unforseen side effects on those who take it.

This movie started off strong enough, campy, but strong but quickly got boring fast. The characters are dull, and the effects on the creatures of the underworld was quite bland. In fact if anything it just looked like they had some skin sores and nothing more. The villains we're one dimensional and even the main character was no one you really cared of for. Overall this is a middle of the road flick, not bad but not good either. Just, meh.

Spookies (1986)

An odd mishmash that makes for a weird but fun time.

[8/10 · 29 August 2021]

Spookies is an oddity, two films that are merged together, makes no sense, and is still quite entertaining. The movie is about a group of partiers who go to a house where an ancient Warlock is trying to bring his love back from the dead.

What makes this movie enjoyable is the various creature effects. It does a lot of different and unique things, comes off as silly, but is still fun. Add in an 80's cheesetastic score and you can't go wrong.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation (2021)

Hard to say who this was for, but I was entertained

[8/10 · 27 July 2021]

I remembered watching Masters of the Universe as a kid, I watched the live action movie and have read some of the comics. I won't pretend to be a hardcore fan, because I'm not. That said I was interested in seeing this, and after watching it wasn't disappointed outside of the fact that it goes into the typical first season Netflix length of a few short episodes.

The series takes places years after the original series and it starts with the final battle between He-Man and Skeletor.. From there it goes into a number of years later and the Universe is dying so it's up to the other masters of the universe to try and save the day.

The series tries to blend a mix of a dramatic story and action, and for the most part it is successful. The voice acting is phenomenal, and really bring the characters to life. Many of the classic characters make appearances which was nice. It was interesting to see where these characters would go without He-Man and Skeletor.

That said I can see how fans of the classic series would be pissed with this series. It took out two of the key characters that people remember and pretty much discarded them after the first episode (ironically the hint to this is actually in the title). However as with anything the most important thing is that I was entertained. I'm intrigued to see where the story goes next and am interested in going back and watch the original series. A lot of people may not like this, but for me personally I enjoyed it.

Army of Darkness (1992)

A wildly entertaining, riot of a ride.

[10/10 · 11 July 2021]

Army of Darkness is at its bone a wildly entertaining and incredibly funny ride. It's filled with action, comedy, and overall is a highly entertaining b movie ride. However I also see where those who are big fans of the previous entries might be disappointed. Gone is the more horror aspects (though the Deadites still play a significant role) as well as much of the gore. What we get is a fun filled, swashbuckling action fantasy.

This is where Bruce Campbell really came into his own as a cult movie star. His performance is over the top, and his charisma really shines through.

Overall this movie may not be for everyone, but for me it's a movie I can watch anytime it comes on and still be incredibly entertained, and that's the most important thing.

Shriek of the Mutilated (1974)

A strange yet entertaining piece of 70's schlock

[5/10 · 10 July 2021]

This is one of those movies that simply put they don't make like this anymore. It's pure, unadulterated 70's cheese.

The movie is about a group of college students that go on an expedition to hunt a yeti, it goes about as well as you would expect.

This is a fun B-movie. It's poorly acted, laughable effects, but it has a charm to it that's evident from its era. It doesn't drag, and is just a laughable good time with a couple of brews and friends.

Kolobos (1999)

Real world meets Saw, sort of.

[6/10 · 5 July 2021]

Kolobos is the kind of movie that tries to be smarter than it is, and just doesn't come together well. The movie revolves around a group of people hired to do a reality show that's basically The Real World. However once there they are picked off one by one by a killer who has trapped the house.

The movies concept was solid enough, but the execution came off pretty weak. The kills were fine, but the characters were pretty much unlikable, and the twist was pretty obvious. Despite that it's entertaining enough for a lazy afternoon or a late night time waster.

The Great American Snuff Film (2004 Video)

An overly boring waste of time.

[2/10 · 4 July 2021]

I didn't have high expectations going into this one, but I figured it could at least be mildly entertaining, gruesome and so forth. Instead what we get is a very poorly acted, dull waste of time.

The Great American Snuff Film is about a pair of serial killers who capture a couple of girls for the purpose of filming them torturing and brutalizing them.

This movie is mainly narrated by one of the killers who tries to come off as eloquent, but instead is dull. The main issue with this movie is that it is incredibly boring. A low budget affair can still be entertaining with the right degree of violence,gore, and camp. This has none of that. A boring, unremarkable affair.

Willy's Wonderland (2021)

Good, dumb, fun

[9/10 · 19 June 2021]

Willy's Wonderland knows exactly what it is, good dumb fun. A silent Nicholas Cage acting bad ass against animatronic killers. It's B-movie gold. The time moves quickly and is never boring. If you want a fun movie to watch with friends, throw back a few beers and have a great time.

An American Terror (2014)

A much better film than expected.

[7/10 · 13 June 2021]

I'll admit I didn't have high expectations of this going in. The story sounded like your generic torture porn fare. What we got instead was a movie that was surprisingly better, and more engaging than expected.

The story revolves around a trio of teens who are routinely bullied by the popular kids. Filled with pent up anger they plot a mass shooting of the Homecoming Dance after being inspired by Columbine and other mass shootings. The one planning the whole thing is the clear psychopath while the others are following his lead. It's when they go to steal guns from a redneck that the torture porn elements kick in.

So let's start with the negatives. First the acting isn't the strongest, it's about as average as it can get. The second is the color scheme of the film just felt, off. It just didn't do it for me. Lastly the killer was unremarkable. I didn't even know it was Brian Thompson until I saw him listed here.

The positives is simply the story. It was really the strongest aspect of the movie. The characters, especially for those who were outcasts were relatable, and while you may not fully understand the need to kill, you can understand the anger caused by being bullied. It's really the slasher elements that feel almost out of place in this movie, but it does serve a purpose to the overarching theme of the movie. I was quite pleased with this one, and definitely recommend giving it a watch.

Wicked Lake (2008)

Not the worst thing I have ever seen.

[3/10 · 13 June 2021]

Wicked Lake is the kind of movie that is so stupid, you sometimes wonder how it got made. In a nutshell the story is about a group of college girls out in the woods, attacked by some deranged perverts only to turn the tables and reveal their true colors.

This movie is pretty low brow, and really is only about the boobs and blood. The acting is really bad, the story in execution is terrible. Everything about this is cheap and poorly done. That said I give it props for at least a different take on the home invasion genre, and I will admit I did get excited to see Tim Thomerson in it (even though you can fully tell he was it in it for a paycheck).

Overall it's pretty bad, but not the worst thing I've ever seen.

Things (1989 Video)

So woefully inept, it ranks as one of the worst things I've ever seen.

[1/10 · 6 June 2021]

Checked this out on Joe Bobs Last Drive Thru, and had originally seen a video about it on YouTube, but holy hell you want to talk about bad. I've seen some terrible flicks, but this one easily joins the bottom of the barrel of god awful horror films for me. No real plot, drags on, incredibly bad dubbing, does every single thing wrong and yet it somehow has it's charm and fan base.

That said I'm not a fan of this. This ranks as one of the top ten worst movies I have ever seen.

Leprechaun Returns (2018)

An overall solid affair.

[7/10 · 18 March 2021]

I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the Leprechaun franchise. For the most part I don't particularly care for it. That said this was a solid and ultimately quite entertaining entry to the franchise. It's got some fun gore, the story is ok, it's very tongue in cheek, overall I had a good time watching it.

Howling: New Moon Rising (1995 Video)

A baffling bad entry.

[2/10 · 17 February 2021]

It's no secret that they Howling sequels tend to be of low quality. However this is easily the bottom of the barrel, low grade trash that unsurprisingly killed the franchise for a great many years. The story is dull and all over the place, trying to tie together the previous three entries into one coherent storyline (even though none of them were connected). There are a number of flashbacks to previous entries (well 4-6) and the overall flow of the story just reeks of made for TV laziness.

Really the only thing oddly fascinating about this movie is the over use of actual locals for the principle cast. It does add an odd charm to the movie, even if the acting is so wooden you could build furniture with it. The country western, hick theme oddly works.

Honestly if they put more focus on the werewolf (actually seeing it) and the kills, than this would be more entertaining. As it stands though, this is an incredibly dull, cheap movie.

Silent Night (I) (2012)

Remake probably sounded better than sequel.

[7/10 · 12 December 2020]

Silent Night is technically a remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night though it could have easily been Silent Night, Deadly Night 6 and have been just as effective. That said this movie is still a bloody good time that was better than expected.

Silent Night is about a killer Santa who is unleashing his wrath on Christmas Eve. It's up to the local law enforcement to stop him.

Overall Silent Night is a fun movie. It's got a lot of violence and gore, moves at a good pace, and pays homage to the first two films. Overall if you want a fun Christmas slasher, check it out.

Destroyer (1988)

Meh

[3/10 · 5 December 2020]

I wasn't sure what I was expecting with this movie but overall I was bored. Destroyer is a prison based slasher that tries to play a slight supernatural angle with a walking behemoth of a killer, but overall it's just dull.

Late Fee (2009)

Not worth the time.

[2/10 · 5 December 2020]

Late Fee is the kind of movie that could have been good, but just failed on every level. The wrap around story is about a couple renting some scary movies is dull, with no real pay off, and the two takes of Terror are mediocre at best. There really isn't anything too redeeming about this one. Give it a pass.