loomis78-815-989034 Reviews

The Visitant (II) (2014)

Simple Haunting film is well done

[6/10 · 5 August 2015]

Samantha (Feren) works as a fortune teller at the local amusement park. She doesn't really believe in the supernatural but she needs the job since she was widowed a year ago when her husband died in a freak car wreck. An after-hours client named Lee (Glaner) shows up and demands her help. Lee has been plagued by a demon that she can't shake. Samantha goes through the motions and tells the spirit to leave Lee alone. Samantha goes home and the suspect spirit has attached itself to her and her big house starts playing supernatural tricks on her. Samantha's best friend Maya (Wiu) consults with her by telephone and web-cam. Maya is a supernatural expert and the one who talked Samantha into being a fortune teller. As the night progresses Samantha becomes more terrified until she gets the idea that it could be her dead husband trying to communicate with her. Will she open herself up to the spirit? And is it her husband or something more evil lurking? This tightly made independent film claims to be based on actual events. Who knows, but Director Jon Binkowski makes the most out of a very small cast and limited locations with a strong production and a flair for delivering some spooky moments. Using lighting and very subtle digital effects at just the right time, Binkowski raises some goose bumps and keeps the viewer engaged. A great moment happens when Samantha just misses seeing a charging spirit on the screen of her TV she just turned off. An above average musical score from Stephen O'Connor helps the overall effectiveness of the film. Written by Binkowski and Stephen DeWoody, The Visitant's biggest flaw comes from the two characters having a constant conversation to further the plot. More characters would have helped break this up a bit. It didn't help having the two characters arguing over the validity of the paranormal which begins to wear on the audience as the movie goes on. The scares are well done, and at least this movie has some, even though more hardcore audiences might find it a bit on the light side without any blood or gore. Hey it isn't "Insidious" but it isn't trying to be either, it is a simple straight head haunting thriller with a chilling ending that may be predictable but still works.

Haunted (IV) (2014)

Too much talent involved for the second half to fall apart.

[5/10 · 5 August 2015]

Nick Di Santo (Kleintank) has the ability to touch someone and see how they are going to die. Having struggled with this gift his whole life he visits his institutionalized mother (Lesley-Anne Down) on his 23rd birthday, who informs him that the father he never knew may still be alive. Nick has seen an old mansion in his dreams his entire life, and with his friend Ryan (Perez) and girlfriend Eve (Mckenna) they set out to find the house which he now holds the deed to. It was washed away in a flood years ago but still remains sitting in the middle of a desolate field. Once there he meets a scary man named Seth (Bell) who warns him to leave. Spirits appear in the woods and chase our crew with axes and weird behavior only for the group to eventually end up back at the house. Everything isn't what it seems and through a series of twists, Nick himself is something entirely different than what we think he is. Once Charles Agron's story begins to reveal itself to the audience this movie slips seriously from an interesting, and at times scary horror film into a series of confounding explanations that will probably leave most people shaking their heads. Director Victor Salva of "Clownhouse" and both "Jeepers Creepers" movies knows how to deliver solid scares and he has added a few to this movie. These moments happen early on, but the second half of the story admittedly goes for an epic storyline and Salva quite frankly just doesn't deliver it. Once this happens in the story, the movie simply stops being fun and the wonderment that the filmmakers obviously thought we were going to be experiencing falls flat. There are a few cute ties ins to the "Jeepers Creepers" franchise including the 23 year bit being carried over to Nick's 23rd birthday here. The movie is certainly watchable and manages some nice moments in its first half, but the story just crumbles and doesn't work once it really kicks in.

Trick 'r Treat (2007)

The best Halloween themed movie since Carpenter's 1978 classic.

[10/10 · 5 August 2015]

A four part anthology movie with all four stories interwoven together taking place in a small town in Ohio on Halloween night. The clever tales have characters from each story crisscrossing each other and a wraparound that features the spirit of Halloween itself, known as Sam. We don't know what Sam (Quinn Lord) is exactly, until the final story, but the story tells us that if anyone disgraces the rules and traditions of the holiday Halloween, they will have to answer to Sam. The opening scene shows Emma (Leslie Bibb) blowing out her pumpkins before midnight and she is attacked in a bloody way by Sam. One story revolves around a middle age man named Steven (Baker) who is also the principal of the local school. This unpleasant sort poisons kids and teaches his young son (Connor Levins) about his grisly Halloween night tradition. Another story follows four hot young women who are in town to pick up men. The shy one of the group, Laurie (Paquin), is having trouble picking up a guy until she runs into Steven from the first story. She brings him to a party in the woods where the girls shed their skins and reveal themselves as savage werewolves who rip the men (Including Steven) to shreds. Another story centers on a practical joke set up by 3 early teens on an idiot-savant character named Rhonda (Todd). Years earlier a school bus carrying the towns' mentally disabled children had an accident that left the kids dead. The town people wanted it, and the bus driver took the wrap. Rhonda is brought to an abandoned rock quarry where the incident took place and she is terrorized by the story and the kids joke until the ghosts of the bus kids return for real and Rhonda may have the last laugh. The final story revolves around Mr. Kreeg (Cox) a sour old man whose yard is a mess and he hates everyone. He's watching TV on an old set and playing pranks trick or treater's with his dog until Sam (Short for Samhain) pays him a vicious visit and shows him not to disrespect the holiday. There are several great twists including the true identity of Mr. Kreeg and an even more chilling visit he gets at his door after Sam is done terrorizing him. This brilliant horror film from Writer/Director Michael Dougherty mysteriously sat on the shelf for almost three years until finally being dumped to disc without a theatrical release. Thanks Warner Bros, you just stiffed one of the best Horror films made in the past 15 years! Trick 'r Treat has it all, everything that a horror fan could want. A more than clever story, Suspense, chills, atmosphere, gore and blood, humor, great effects, scares and an iconic character in Sam. Depending on what you like in your horror film will determine which story you like best here but it is guaranteed you will like something. It is quite amazing that Dougherty was able to put all this together and not have it be lopsided somehow, but this movie literally has everything a horror film should have and more than most. Fans who enjoy the holiday 'Halloween' and like Horror films who use the holiday, this is your mother lode. Not since John Carpenter's classic "Halloween" in 1978 has the night of October 31 been as fun and scary as it is here. Simply a must see for any serious modern horror film fan. The only thing that would have made viewing this film any better, would have been seeing it on a big screen on a cold and windy night in late October! Thanks for screwing that up completely Warner Bros, shame on you.

Poltergeist (2015)

This is why Remakes blow.

[2/10 · 5 August 2015]

This remake to the 1982 classic changes the family to the Bowen family and moves them into their new/old house because Dad Eric (Rockwell) has been out of work for a while and Mother Amy (Dewitt) wants to write a book and this is all they can afford. At a dinner party they are told by the neighbors that the entire Suburb was built over an old graveyard. The over sensitive son Griffin (Kyle Catlett) freaks out when he discovers a closet full of creepy clown dolls and a squirrel is found in his room. Griffin sees and experiences a few things in the house but is such a whiner he can't get anyone to listen to him and rightfully so. The spirits in this remake show up very early on, and put the family under siege until a group of investigators come to the house when the youngest daughter Madison (Kennedi Clements) is snatched up by the other side through the TV. Eventually, a reality TV star named Carrigan Burke (Harris) whose job is to clean houses of spirits gets pulled in to try and save Madison. This sorry remake is yet another example of why remakes suck. Taking none of the style, suspense or scares from the original, this modern version has unbelievable characters acting like idiots saying poor dialog that should have the original writers and Film makers shaking their heads. Director Gil Kenan panders to the ADHD generation by rushing the ghosts and cellar corpses to the forefront as quickly as possible leaving no mystery or wonderment to the story at all. What makes it even worse is none of it is scary outside of a few freaky moments with the multiple clowns in the kid's room. Sam Rockwell's portrayal of dad Eric Bowen as a smart-alike wise cracker is so obnoxious that it is impossible to believe the character when he is crying wanting his missing daughter back. I won't even bother to explain how anticlimactic the end scenes are and what a complete let down this entire movie ends up being. From the generic Musical score to the end credits this movie offers nothing and everything that is fun and scary in the original is missing in this one. Do yourself a favor, watch the original and bypass this overinflated junk.

Twixt (2011)

Did anything work in the movie?

[2/10 · 5 August 2015]

Hall Baltimore (Kilmer) is a third rate horror novelist who is on a book tour of his latest novel. The tour takes him to Swann Valley in which the local hardware store doubles for the town's bookstore. He is approached by the crazy Sheriff Bobby LaGrange (Dern) who has an idea for a book and wants Baltimore's help. Eventually Baltimore agrees to meet the Sheriff at the morgue where he is shown the body of a victim of a serial killer who died with s stake in her heart. Baltimore and LaGrange collaborate on the book as the history of the dead girl known as V. (Fanning) is revealed through dreams Baltimore has and dreams that have him talking to Edgar Allen Poe (Ben Chaplin) himself. This troubled movie tries for a Gothic tone sprinkled with modern elements and pulls neither off. The script is far more confusing and incredibly disjointed. Val Kilmer sleepwalks through the lead role and other fine character actors are wasted in this film that just never connects at any level with the audience. How can one of the great American Directors of all time, Francis Ford Coppola be responsible for this non-scary and weak excuse for a horror film? I don't know but he is. You'll forget it while you're watching it.

The Thing (I) (2011)

Good prequel to Carpenter's classic

[8/10 · 5 August 2015]

Before it gets confusing, it should be said that this is a prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter Classic which of course was a remake itself. Set in the winter of 1982 in Antarctica, this tells the story of the Norwegian geological station that discovers a frozen spaceship and eventually set loose the alien form that takes on the shape of what it imitates and attacks. Having seen Carpenter's film we know the outcome to this group when a group at the American camp goes to investigate. The question really becomes how the Thing destroys the camp. Writer Eric Heisserer cleverly gives us what we expect to see from the Carpenter film, along with new information. A nice new wrinkle reveals that the Thing cannot reproduce anything that isn't organic such as jewelry or in once case a plate in someone's head. This makes for some interesting (and tense) moments at several key moments including the ending. Director Matthijs Van Heijninjen Jr. and his sharp production design team make this a detailed homage and attempt the look of Carpenter's film. Some scenes do make this feel like a remake, but then this script takes a turn and surprises us going in another direction. Such as the blood testing scene, which sets up initially like a direct redo suddenly changes once a character announces that the blood samples have all been destroyed. The cast is good with Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the lead role and the movie certainly never gets dumb. The biggest mistake this film makes is mostly in how the Thing is seen. In the original MacReady announces that the thing doesn't want to show itself, it wants to hide inside an imitation. In this film, the Thing has no problem taking center stage and in one scene rips through doors and buildings talking out multiple characters in the process. Some of the mystery and tension of the original is lost because of this, and all though the digital effects are decent for the most part, they can't hold a candle to the amazing practical effects that Rob Bottin achieved in Carpenter's film. Heijninjen makes his film fun and entertaining and achieves a similar atmosphere and delivers some nice scares along the way. The decision not to remake the Carpenter film was a very smart one, especially in this world of constant remakes. Then take the fact that this film takes itself serious and is dedicated at being a true lead in film to the 1982 classic is quite remarkable. This film actually achieves the status as a true prequel that works hand in hand with Carpenter's original. Bravo.

Madhouse (1974)

One last starring role for Vincent

[5/10 · 5 August 2015]

Paul Toombes (Price) is an acclaimed Horror film star who rose to stardom playing a character called Dr. Death. As the film starts, Toombes discovers his blonde fiancée (Linda Hayden) dead at a Hollywood party causing him to go into hiding for years. He is lured out of retirement for a British TV series in which Paul will be able to reprise his role of Dr. Death by the films screenwriter Herbert (Cushing). Once on location, a mysterious killer dressed as Dr. Death is stalking about killing cast members. Has Toombes gone off the deep end and is killing people for real? Or is it someone else trying to frame it. This joint production from AIP and Amicus has a distinct British feel to it despite Price in the lead role. The movie flirts with being a slasher movie and the gore is amped up with decapitations and the like, but the plot is straight out of the early 1960's and is quite predictable. Price chews up the screen in a role that reflected himself at the time of an aging horror actor. Cushing is completely wasted in his minor supporting role, and the entire story feels like it should have been made ten years earlier. Dr. Death is a cool killer and the prowling scenes work well, but you can guess everything that is going to happen way before it does, and the surprise ending doesn't surprise anyone. This would strictly be for Vincent Price fans who want to see the legend in a starring role one last time.

Ticks (1993)

Great effects! No need to think

[6/10 · 5 August 2015]

Some marijuana growers in the California forest area are using steroids to enhance their plants. Unfortunately the effect has mutated the Ticks in the area to grow to about the size of a human hand. This happens at the same time that two social workers (Scolari & Allen) have brought a van full of troubled teens into the same area on a retreat that is supposed to help the kids with their problems. The group of kids is written as obnoxious or stupid so we could care less about what happens to them. Director Tony Randel seems to know this so he brings the ticks on early and the gooey bloody fun begins. Following a 1950's style monster movie plot, this movie has fun with the crawling creepy ticks doing maximum damage. Clint Howard as one of the pot growers makes the most of his limited screen time in a truly inspired and nasty demise. He gets his leg caught in a bear trap and the ticks burrow into his flesh which includes his face as he overacts and screams into the camera "I'm infested"! A truly fun scene that should put a smile on any horror film fans face. Randel keeps the action coming and the top notch gore by KNB will amaze and keeps any monster movie fan watching. The gory entertainment continues as you continue to ignore the bad characters being introduced and concentrating on what crazy thing the creepy little ticks are going to do next. The great mix of gore and entertaining fun doesn't necessarily make this frightening, but it does make it a great no-need-to-think action horror film that delivers. You may find yourself watching this one with your feet of the ground.

The Wicked (2013 Video)

The script needed more cooking.

[5/10 · 5 August 2015]

This movie centers on an old town ghost story that the abandoned house in the woods is occupied by the spirit of a witch. The local kids use it as a dare to go out there and break the windows which is told will invoke the witch's spirit. When a young girl named Amanda (Caitlin Carmichael) disappears after doing just that, the locals blame it on the legend of the witch. This doesn't stop Zach (Deeley) from taking his friends out to the site to party, have sex and then of course break the windows of the house. Before you can say "eye of newt" the group is being captured and killed by the CGI witch as they try to escape and save the imprisoned Amanda. The by-the-numbers story and cardboard characters don't help this pretty predictable movie that makes it tough to find a character to side with. The closest we come to is Zach's younger brother Max played by Devon Werkheiser and his spunky tomboy girlfriend played by talented actress Diana Hopper. The mostly CGI witch doesn't do much in the way of getting scares, but the movie does paint the screen red at times with the demise of a few characters. It just seems like writer Michael Vickerman should have written one more draft of this script to iron out the bumps and a shorter running time could have turned this into a nice B flick to enjoy. The movie is well made and certainly watchable, but the undercooked script and story drain it from truly being effective.

Necrosis (2009)

Poor characters sink this

[3/10 · 5 August 2015]

Three young couples go to a snowy cabin to enjoy a long weekend. What none of them realize is that the cabin sits on the spot where the Donner party massacre happened in 1846. Apparently the spirits of the Donner party are around and begin appearing to the group and different members of the group begin to suffer mental breakdowns. What could've been a fun low budget blood bath in the snow turns out to be an ineffective and poorly written horror film. The characters and their actions are very inconsistent from scene to scene and this, along with some poor dialogue takes a toll on the acting as well. A couple chills are provided and some blood eventually is spilled but the characters never really connect on any level with the audience making this film pretty pointless in the end.

Hold Your Breath (2012)

Hold your Breath? Better to hit the stop button.

[2/10 · 5 August 2015]

A group of twenty something friends and couples head to the mountains for some fun. When they approach a graveyard they're going to pass Jerry (Bowden) tells everyone to hold their breath so no spirits can enter them and possess them. Supposedly based on an urban legend know one including the audience has ever heard of. Of course pothead Kyle (Seth Cassell) inhales his smoke along with the spirit of Van Hausen (Keith Allen) a notorious serial killer executed at a nearby prison and buried in the cemetery. Before you can scream "lousy digital effects" Kyle is possessed and slaughters a cop who stops by to help when no one else is around. This spirit can hop into other bodies which it does multiple times while picking off members of the group along the way. This tedious film has terrible characters, lousy dialog and even worse digital effects. With almost no practical make up effects at all, the filmmakers put their trust in digital effects and fail miserably. The digital blood (and there is a lot of it) splashes around like you were watching a cartoon. The characters whine back and forth making any audience member over the age of 25 want to see them all die. The cast is good looking and try to make this believable but it is so poorly written nothing could save it. Once again, I don't have to mention there isn't a scare in sight. Do I?

Haunter (2013)

clever and compelling

[6/10 · 5 August 2015]

Teenager Lisa (Breslin) is literally repeating the same day over in over in the style of the film Groundhog Day. Her family in the house doesn't understand what she is saying and a thick fog surrounds her house not allowing her to leave. This time warp she is caught in also has an evil force in the scary vision of a Pale Man (McHattie) who keeps warning Lisa to leave things alone. Lisa soon discovers her level of reality can be broken as she warps into the body of a girl in the future named Olivia (Eleanor Zichy) who is trying to make contact with Lisa. Realizing that Olivia is actually contacting her spirit, Lisa realizes she is dead along with the rest of her family. She can still save Olivia from her fate in the future. Director Vincenzo Natali and Writer Brian King challenge the audience to keep up with this layered story as it unfolds through the eyes of young Lisa. The story is both clever and compelling and the movie plays out almost like a mystery. There are some shocks that deliver jump scares and a certain eerie feeling that Natali keeps for the entire film. Solid performances especially from lead Abigail Breslin makes this an engaging horror film that plays out well.

Dead Silence (2007)

Could have been classic! lousy Studio!

[7/10 · 5 August 2015]

A young couple has a creepy looking Ventriloquist doll delivered to them at their apartment. Husband Jamie (Kwanten) goes for takeout food and upon returning finds his wife Lisa (Laura Regan) dead in gruesome fashion having her tongue ripped out. Jamie remembers an old legend from his home town about a Ventriloquist named Mary Shaw (Judith Roberts) who was suspected of killing a boy and was hung and buried with her dolls. Jamie returns home to see if there is connection with a detective (Wahlberg) who suspects Jamie is responsible for his wife's death, following him. Meeting up with his estranged Father (Gunton) and his new wife Ella (Valletta) Jamie begins to poke his nose into the legend of Mary Shaw. With absolute style to burn, Director James Wan and Writer Leigh Whannell follow up the impressive "Saw" film with this larger budgeted ghost story. There are plenty of scares mixed in with the moody atmosphere like a truly unnerving scene early in the film that has Jamie in a motel room with Billy the dummy giving him the eye and a sudden appearance of the Mary Shaw ghost. Once Jamie and the Cop realize that someone has returned all the dolls that were buried with Mary to they're proper cases in the back of a rotted theater, tension is high and a creepy clown doll blows this scene wide open. It was said by both Whannell and Wan that the studio messed with the final outcome of the film and both were disappointed with the end result saying it wasn't what they pictured. We may never know what the studio did, but this film simply has too many ideas at work that make the plot a bit out of focus. There is a little too much explaining and more back-story than probably was needed. The unnecessary plot twist at the end, feels like Wan and Whannell thought they needed to give you a big twist ending as they did with "Saw", and this film just didn't need it. Plenty of fun is to be had for horror fans however despite the problems with the story. This movie seems to serve has a warm up for Wan and Whannell for their masterpiece next film "Insidious". Dead Silence is a scary horror film how it stands with many excellent ideas at work and a style and look that is unique.

Blood Runs Cold (2011)

yes but what the hell is he? or it?

[2/10 · 5 August 2015]

Winona (Oldenburg) is a successful musician who needs a break from the fast life. She returns to her home town and her agent rents a quiet house in the snow in the middle of nowhere for her to relax in. She goes to the local bar and runs into her old boyfriend Richard (Saxe) and along with another couple go back to her rented house. When they get there they party, have sex and eventually realize they are not alone. What can best be described as a cannibalistic slasher in a frozen snow suit is walking around with an ax stalking and eventually hacking up the cast. Despite being shot and stabbed (in which air, not blood comes out) our silent killer continues until it's just Winona left. With a classic slasher film set up, this modern slasher film still manages to miss the mark. Okay the killer is creepy, but what exactly is it, or he? In one scene he's eating part of his victim, so is he a cannibal? Is he a supernatural being? Is he alive or some sort of reanimated dead? These are questions the audience has when we first see the killer. The problem is, you still have all these questions when the end credits are rolling. This movie never really explains anything. There is even a bloody scene that starts the movie that makes no sense and ties in nowhere to the story. The rest of the characters are underdeveloped and despite a good set up, this film doesn't have a clue how to generate a slasher scare or suspense.

The Gallows (2015)

The Gallows should be sent there.

[4/10 · 5 August 2015]

This movie starts in 1993 with the tragic death of an actor who was hung in a high school play called "The Gallows". Some 20 years later Preppy popular girl Pfeifer (Brown) has convinced the drama teacher to re do the exact play. Football jock Reese (Mishler) secretly likes Pfeifer so he joins the play which leads him open to endless criticism by his buddy Ryan (Shoos) and his girlfriend Cassidy (Gifford). Ryan convinces Reese that he is going to bomb so the three of them decide to break into the auditorium to sabotage the sets so they can't do the play. Pfeifer unrepentantly shows up and the four of them get mysteriously locked in. Ryan is filming everything as supernatural events being to take place and they start to die. This found footage movie attempts a few twists along the way, including its ending, but still fails to satisfy. Anyone who has seen three found footage movies in their life will be able to tell you what is going to happen next. Unfortunately, Directors Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing never steer this predictable movie off its chosen path. The scares and jumps may be effective on young teens, everyone else need not apply. The end twist works on a certain level and provides the movie a good chill, however the film ends up being just another seen it all before found footage film.

The Slayer (1982)

atmospheric tale with a great monster that we needed to see more of

[6/10 · 5 August 2015]

Offbeat painter Kay (Kendall) is joined by her brother Eric (Flynn), sister in law Brooke (Kottenbrook) and husband David (McRae) on a remote fishing island for a much needed vacation. Recently Kay has been plagued by nightmares, and upon arriving on the island realizes many of the details of her nightmares are here in the island and she has been painting them, including an unseen monster that is lurking around. It takes a while, but her Husband is decapitated in the basement by a trap door and is found hanging there. Later her brother is hooked by a large fishing hook and dragged out into the water at night. Brooke is stalked by an unseen thing that plunges a pitch fork through her back and out the front! Eventually Kay must confront the monster from he dreams for real. Director J.S. Cardone has fun with the graphic moments in the film, but the overall film would have benefited by a higher body count. Filmed of the coast of Georgia on Tybee Island, the movie has some great atmosphere and Cardone does a good job of building up dread and the stalking scenes have a nice touch of suspense to them. The middle section drags a bit and could have easily been juiced up by showing the impressive monster in a few quick cuts. Instead Cardone waits until the film's final frames before we get to see the very impressive monster which makes you wonder why we didn't see more of it. Creepy and atmospheric, this low budget outing curiously keeps your attention throughout and is effective in an odd way.

The Den (2013)

Builds and Builds and then punches you in the gut.

[8/10 · 5 August 2015]

Elizabeth (Papalia) is thrilled to get a grant for a passionate project she wants to study. Her study revolves around an online site called "The Den" in which she stays logged in 24/7 and records all her encounters. She comes across all types, some humorous until she believes she witnesses a snuff type murder and is shocked. She begins to investigate which has her and her friends and family being stalked by a brutal masked killer. Elizabeth gets deeper and deeper with little help from the police until a gear stripping plot twist happens in the last 15 minutes which is shocking and brutal. This interesting found footage film comes from first time Writer/Director Zachary Donahue who gives this format a considerable shot in the arm. While Elizabeth and the audience are busy watching her life and others in The Den website, Donahue begins to slowly let you realize maybe someone is looking back. The jarring plot twist towards the end is shocking and brutally hard to watch but also terrifying in a realistic and sick way. The final scene of the movie which is very subtle packs an underlying chill that would make any web surfer question what he is doing online. The movie seems to have a message about online sites and questions the moral core of each person online who freely clicks on anything. This is deep stuff and certainly timely. The movie has some true jump scares and the violence explodes and is unforgettable. The plot twist is necessary but some audience members won't be ready for the disturbing and graphic ending which will leave them with their mouth hanging open as the end credits role. But that is exactly what Donahue wanted.

It Follows (2014)

Fun & Original

[7/10 · 5 August 2015]

Jay (Monroe) is a Michigan teenager who goes on a date with Hugh (Weary) and ends up in his car having sex. Afterward, Hugh explains to Jay that he had to pass on to her what was passed on to him. He warns that strangers will show up and try to kill her until she passes it on by having sex. Jay is stunned but only half believes him until she experiences it herself in a scary scene where she is pursued. Her sister and friends come to her aid and Jay must come to terms about what to do about the situation. The killer can look different every time but the effect and how it is used is effective and makes for some jarring moments in the film. Writer/Director David Robert Mitchell makes the most of his straight ahead plot by having a solid cast and characters you care about. All though they're adults around, we rarely see any of them during the course of the picture giving the impression that the teens are on their own to figure this out. Suspense is generated with the unsuspecting killers showing up in the corner of the frame and advancing before Jay can see them coming. This technique works quite well especially in the first half of the film and makes for some intense moments. The production design seems to be making an attempt to make this seem like it was set in the 1980's but they're too many inconsistencies to know for sure. The old school mostly electronic musical score by Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland) is both effective and out of place depending on the sequence. When it is effective, it is refreshing and dead on perfect with the visuals, but when it is off it seems to stick out like a sore thumb. The plot wears a little thin towards the end and the up in the air ending is abrupt which may leave a bad taste in the mouth of some viewers. Overall, It Follows is a fun and original film that does supply some good chills and scares.

The Boogens (1981)

Bloody good Monster, just wish we saw more of him.

[6/10 · 17 April 2015]

Old newspaper clippings begin this movie telling of an accident in 1912 that closed a Colorado silver mine, with reports of miners being bitten and attacked. Jump to present day with the mine being investigated and getting ready to be reopened. A few horny guys and girls get together at a house nearby to party and live it up but there is something lurking in the basement. Nasty tentacle creatures from the mine have burrowed tunnels that lead to many of the local houses basements. With the goofy cast interested in drinking and sex no one notices the sounds coming from the basement until it's too late. What you have in The Boogens (I still don't understand the title but it sounds cool) is essentially a modern monster movie. The films claustrophobic mine and snow everywhere gives the movie some decent atmosphere and the movie delivers on some scary moments as the unseen monster chases a victim around the cabin in an early scene. The biggest problem with this movie is that Director James L. Conway practically had no budget, and unfortunately the film suffers from it. We don't get to see the actual monster until close to the end. Once we do it's a scary looking thing with a mean streak that causes a lot of gore and dead characters. It just takes too long to get to that point, but once it finally does The Boogens delivers some excellent monster movie moments. This isn't to say the film is boring. To his credit Conway still manages to make things interesting by spacing out the attacks and delivering good suspense and scares when the monster strikes even if you don't see it. The frustrating part is once you see how great the monster is and the damage it can do, it sure makes you wish you could have seen more of it during the films running time other than the last 10 minutes. Notorious for being unavailable for home viewing for a long time, this film was almost like a lost movie from the 1980's. It's still a solid horror film despite the missing in action monster most of the time; perhaps it could've been a classic with a bigger budget.

Night of the Lepus (1972)

Killer Bunnies? Really?

[1/10 · 17 April 2015]

After a prologue that explains how rabbits have multiplied and become a serious threat to humans, we head to the Arizona desert where scientists Roy (Whitman) and wife Gerry (Leigh) try to slow down the rabbit population problem in the area. They inject a lab rabbit with a growth hormone-altering serum, and before they could say "where did he go doc?" the critter escapes and infects all the other rabbits making them grow to enormous sizes. The over running rabbits paw and chew the population of the small nearby town as the Sheriff (Paul Fix) and concerned scientists (including a sleepwalking Deforest Kelley Star Trek's Bones McCoy) try to stop them. So the real question is how this ridiculous idea ever made it to the screen in the first place? Chalk it up to the overblown excess of some of the early 70's movies had at the time. As you might expect, everything is taken deadly serious making it even dumber. Some campy humor would have gone a long way with this unbelievable plot line. The actors try to make this convincing but the attacks are silly and the blood looks like red paint. Director William F. Claxton brings no suspense or even a scare to this limp horror film. It was bad enough making rabbits the evil in a movie, but to have them grow to the size of bears and kill humans by ripping them to shreds? This was sunk before it was ever launched.

I, Madman (1989)

Classic 1980's Horror

[8/10 · 17 April 2015]

Virginia (Wright) works in a used bookstore who just loves to read. She comes across two books written by an obscure horror writer named Malcolm Brand (Cook). She quickly becomes fascinated with the books even though they spook her to the bone. Strangely, the books are titled nonfiction and the deranged character in the book is Malcolm himself. Malcolm cannot secure the love of his life so he begins cutting up other people and taking their features to make himself more attractive. Virginia begins seeing the terrifying Malcolm in real life and she soon finds herself in the place of Malcolm's lost love. Virginia isn't sure at first if what she is seeing is real until people around her begin to die. Her boyfriend Richard (Rohner) at first doesn't believe her but is soon convinced and the two join forces to stop the deranged Malcolm. There are some nice plot twists that make some of this believable and Director Tibor Takacs makes an improvement this time from his first feature "The Gate". The plot itself is clever and Takacs makes the most out of his central character's over imagination. There are several sequences where the audience is kept off balance between what is real or in Virginia's imagination. There is a good deal of atmosphere between Virginia's dimly lit apartment and her stuffy over stocked bookstore. The book is gruesome and when passages are shown from the book, Takacs doesn't hold back on the gore. Malcolm is a great screen psycho with an unnerving appearance of sewn on body parts. Probably the scariest moments come from Malcolm expectantly showing up in Virginia's life, including a hair- raising and intense scene in an elevator. The characters are well developed and the cast do a decent job. The movie has a surreal feel that makes this a hidden gem you should seek out.

Shrooms (2007)

A Trip worth taking.

[6/10 · 17 April 2015]

Five American friends travel to Ireland for recreational drug use in the out of the way woods. Tara (Haun) is interested in reconnecting with Jake (Hutson) the local who is serving as the guide of the adventure. Jake tells the group they will be hallucinating while taking shrooms, and warns the group to stay away from a certain kind or certain death is assured. Jake tells of ancient druids who took the forbidden shrooms would gain entrance to another dimension if they survived. Tara has of course, already eaten one and soon there is a terrible killer stalking and killing our drugged out characters. Is it the hallucinations or is this slaughter really happening? This clever idea of alternate states allows this movie to get away with what is basically a stalk and kill movie underneath. There is definitely some fun to be had with this one, as the kills are pretty graphic and the imagery flashes with shocks. There is a big twist at the end that some may or may not see coming. Some good tension is built up and the movie works on a certain level delivering some solid scares along the way.

The Collection (II) (2012)

Slightly better than the original

[6/10 · 17 April 2015]

A sequel to "The Collector" has young Elena (Fitzpatrick) attending a hidden party at an underground club when her friends talk her into going. Little does she know that the entire club is nothing but a large booby trap set by The Collector (Randall Archer). Once the trap is sprung, the party goers are sliced, diced and crushed to death in a very elaborate way in this completely over the top gore scene. Elena barely escapes death and comes across a red trunk. When she opens it, our thief from the first film Arkin (Stewart) falls out and escapes leaving Elena to be caught. Elena's wealthy father (McDonald) hires a team of mercenaries including Arkin to break into The Collector's insane home which is in a huge warehouse. With traps everywhere and live and dead victims displayed like art through the house of horrors. Our crew attempt to find Elena and survive The Collector who is aware of their presence. A slight improvement over the original the even though we know what The Collector is capable enough. The trap heavy warehouse outdoes the house in the original and the creepy and sick decor helps the dark and gory mood. This movie is an absolute bloodbath and even though it's really just glossed over torture porn, some of it winds up being entertaining anyway. Even though people suffer and die in this one it doesn't feel as lingering and heavy as it did in the original. The opening slaughter in the warehouse is a head shaker and is one of the bloodiest moments put to film in some time. Unfortunately, this film isn't interested in true scares, just shock value and gore and on that level it delivers.

April Fool's Day (2008 Video)

Was this needed?

[3/10 · 17 April 2015]

Loose remake of the 1986 film starts at an April fool's day party where wealthy spoiled Desiree Cartier (Cole) has a prank backfire resulting in someone's death. A year later the people responsible for the death are being hunted on April fool's day and meet ghastly ends. Since all the characters are rich asshole snobs we could care less if they die. It takes a while to get going so strike two. All though competently made, the film has no flow or style to it at all. Add to it the scares are by the numbers and rather uninspired so scares are out of the question. Strike three! The original wasn't anything to get excited about and this one barely resembles it but the film makers and writers obviously couldn't find anything fresh to do with this. Even with all the twists at the end, this movie fails to entertain or scare and the twists can be guessed pretty easily. Makes you wonder why they even bothered.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

From the bottom of a soul

[5/10 · 17 April 2015]

Remake of the notorious 1978 film of the same title, that doesn't waver much from the original in content, just updated. Jennifer Hills (Butler) is a hottie from the big city who rents a cabin by a lake in the middle of Hicksville USA. She's there to write a book and immediately has a run in with three local idiots and their slow friend Matthew (Lindberg) who obviously has never heard about women's lib or equality. To them she is a piece of ass and only that. They spy on her for a while and one night they just walk in and proceed to terrorize and eventually take turns at raping her. She somehow escapes and walking through the woods in shock and nude from the waist down she runs into the local sheriff Storch (Howard) who is out hunting. Thinking she's safe he brings her right back to the Cabin and ends up being part of the gang taking his turn. Knowing they can't have a witness they are about to shoot Jennifer until she drops into the lake and disappears. They think they're in the clear, but Jennifer has survived and one by one plans a horrific fate for each member that tops what happened to her. This is a really well made movie by Director Steven R. Monroe with an outstanding performance by Sarah Butler as the unlucky Jennifer. The shocking subject matter once it starts, never stops. The violence is brutal and nasty and very hard to watch. It's hard to enjoy watching a movie like this (just like the original) because it is truly horrific. If you can sit through the subject matter you will feel some twinges of redemption as Jennifer starts her revenge killing spree. The men in this movie are so despicable that the audience members that can bear the lengthy attack on Jennifer will no doubt enjoy her revenge. Just like the original, you have to make the decision before hand if you want to watch the true bottom of the human soul in action.