proxyisalive Reviews

The Shock Labyrinth (2009)

All you need is the trailer...

[3/10 · 26 February 2014]

Where do I even start? The story begins with a group of friends, some good acting,but multiple confusing flashbacks, typical dialog, and a tangled mess of motives,ideas and effects. I don't watch horror often and am reasonablysusceptible to scares and atmosphere when done well. The main hangup is that this entire story makes NO SENSE! Apparently, a group of kids leave their parents while at an amusement park to go to a haunted house under construction. Later on in the story though, when the characters need to find a hospital, they drive there instead. Lo and behold, it actually is a hospital now! Well, at least some parts of it. These people somehow forgot that this haunted house/hospital was the scene of the deadly accident that has plagued them for so many years. One credit I will give this movie is that it has some cool moments. However, they are all in the trailer. Literally, I wish I had just seen the trailer. There is one special gem of utter stupidity that makes this movie stand out in my mind though as a rare kind of bad: The "Grudge"-esque girl died from falling from a spiral staircase in the haunted house, so, naturally, one of her methods of offing her friends is to repeatedly throw herself off the stairs, bludgeoning him to death with her own body, climbing up the stairs after each successful dive. If this doesn't tell you everything you ever needed to know about this film, I don't know what will.

Gusha no bindume (2004)

Thought-provoking, but...

[6/10 · 30 December 2013]

It's difficult to say weather I liked it or not. Its interesting and thought-provoking, with action, but it is over the top excessive with the blood and a little short on detail. I will say this, you believe that there is a city and an atmosphere past the elevator doors and you get a very good feeling for how their society works without seeing much of their world at all. The acting is good, the visuals are good, the atmosphere is very well done, but it veers off course a little. The dystopian society is great, and the sociological/psychological element are quite enjoyable, but the bloodbath was overplayed and the story was just a little loose. I would recommend it to those with strong stomachs interested in psychology, bizarre horror and Japanese suspense.

Devil's Pass (2013)

Excellent ideas,

[7/10 · 27 December 2013]

Overall, I was entertained by the film. Although I don't usually watch horror, I found that this one had enough to it that I could watch and enjoy it without being very disturbed. Granted, it is frightening at points, particularly the last third of the film, but it was paced well. The way this film takes the found-footage theme is quite well done with good twists and turns, keeping your attention. The acting is quite good, the characters were well-defined and funny when they wanted to be and the camera work is very well done. The visuals, background, camera-work and atmosphere are some of my favorite parts of the movie. It doesn't look like it's being recorded on a roller-coaster until it wants to and when it does, it does it very well, disorienting you until there is something it wants you to see. In conclusion, it is a well done movie, but it feels a hint rough when it comes to story. Pretty good concepts, but just a little rocky coming off. I would recommend watching it if you like found-footage films or if you like suspenseful horror.