chestburster Reviews

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

Alien Covenant without the bad parts

[9/10 · 3 September 2020]

When I watched Alien Covenant, all I want to see is the clash between David and the religious colonists.

Thank God (who is a fictional construct of the human mind according to Ridley Scott) this show got made. Praise the miracle that Ridley Scott is finally free to do what he wanted and promised us to do.

Captive State (2019)

Half Life 2: The Movie

[10/10 · 16 March 2019]

In which you don't see Gordon Freeman. You follow a resistance cell trying to destroy the underground citadel in City Not-17.

Offscreen, in the badlands outside the Cities, Gordon Freeman is fighting his own fight.

And further offscreen, in the outer world slave colonies (Xen?), other stories are happening.

This is one of those movies that builds a great world in which you can let your imagination go wild.

Prospect (2018)

Space Western, superbly written

[9/10 · 6 February 2019]

The story follows the usual conventions about prospectors in the Gold Rush. Nothing truly groundbreaking here.

Where this movie shines, is that it how it remixes the Gold Rush with gritty, grounded sci-fi world building. There are so many rich details in every scene. The implied story universe is so big that you the audience can let your imagination run wild.

Gnaw (2017)

Like Badadook and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark had a baby

[9/10 · 27 July 2018]

The monster is a metaphor for the girl protagonist's anxiety and helplessness. Good overall plot structure, but the low budget clearly shows. The creature just looks pretty lame.

Snowpiercer (2013)

A Crazy Parable

[9/10 · 24 March 2014]

First I want to say that this is one of the best (and entertaining as hell!) social commentary films I've seen since Terry Gilliam's Brazil and Paul Verhoeven's Robocop.

Yes there are a lot of plot points that don't make much sense if looked at from the perspective of our "reality."

But this film does NOT aim to be "realistic." In fact, I'd say the goal of the director is to make it as "surrealistic" as possible.

And I applaud him to be so successful in that: in many moments during the film, I felt I was experiencing a fevered dream of a fried fish. -- That's how insane this film is.

It takes great genius to present something as insane as the plot of Snowpiercer.

This film will be remembered, analyzed and revered for a long, long time.

The icing on the cake is that the social commentary content is actually intriguing. The film is decent enough to leave enough ambiguity so that the audiences can make their own conclusions.

9 out of 10.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010)

A movie that exactly captures my childhood nightmares

[10/10 · 30 August 2011]

I understand some people find this movie not scary. But for me personally, I feel that it perfectly captures the fear I had when I was a child.

When I was Sally's (the movie's protagonist)age, around 5-10, I always imagined about nasty, furry rat/monkey-like creatures with white bright eyes lurking behind furniture and underneath my bed. When the light was turned on, they hid. And I thought that was the reason why the adults weren't able to be convinced that they exist, why my parents always tried to convince me that it was just my imagination.

I was so afraid that I requested my mom to either keep the light on, or accompany me when I slept. But just as what every adult would do, they would always turn off the light and leave the room after the child fell asleep. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night, and I thought I heard strange sounds (probably rats in real life). I would try to cover my self up with the blanket, shaking, desperately wishing that the sun would come out sooner. --Btw, I miss those childhood days lol.--- This movie has perfectly re-captured all those memories.

I am almost 30 years old and not the squeaky kind (I'm a horror movie fan but I haven't really been scared by any horror movie in the last five years). However this movie reminded me of my childhood days when I was so afraid of the dark that I couldn't sleep with the light off. Since del Toro was able to so accurately capture my personal fear, I think the fear of furry rat/monkey-like goblins is probably not unique. If you're one of these people that shared similar childhood nightmares, please do go see this movie. It's nearly perfect.