TheMovieKing4 Reviews

Ten Minutes to Midnight (2020)

The Return of Stretch Brock!!!

[10/10 · 17 August 2020]

Being a die hard Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan and in turn naturally a fan of horror icon Caroline Williams this one was a must see and to my pleasant surprise "Ten Minutes Till Midnight" did not disappoint. It is always enjoyable when a horror film can show off the talent of those involved and it all begins with the films lead character Amy Marlowe, played with tremendous depth and range by the uniquely talented Caroline Williams. Marlowe and the film as a whole pays a lot of tribute to her Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Scream Queen Stretch Brock which will no doubt bring a lot of smiles to Chainsaw fans! One could even go so far as to call it an unofficial continuation to Tobe Hooper's first sequel to his beloved genre defining classic. If that wasn't enough there is some fun nods to other horror sub genres and icons and that combined with some truly engaging writing and directing from genre up and comer Erik Bloomquist will keep you enthralled for the film's rather short 72 minutes, which may be is only room for improvement, but sometimes there is nothing wrong with short and sweet and leaving the audience wanting only more!

Investigation 13 (2019)

Some amazing and novel film techniques!

[10/10 · 10 September 2019]

Slasher films are always a lot of fun, but unfortunately for as many Halloween's, there are 10 Silent Night Deadly Night: Part 2's. What is so great about Investigation 13 is that it takes some strong and an out of the box film story telling techniques, IE found footage and even Flashback animation (Krumpus style) to take a already above average horror story up a couple levels, and that alone sets this one apart from some other fare you might find in the 2000s slasher market. Meg Foster gives a chilling performance, but also everyone else acts their heart out as well. It's these type of high quality films that put the South Florida film circuit back on the map. What could have been a lazy attempt, ended up being a great genre offering.

Saw 3D (2010)

A Very Acceptable Conclusion

[7/10 · 12 November 2010]

Since Halloween 2004 a "Saw" movie has graced the silver screen and started what is tentatively going to be caped as a seven year tradition. The seventh and purportedly the final installment of the Saw franchise titled "Saw 3D" hit theaters with a bang the 2010 Friday before Halloween and has been received by most followers of the franchise as closure and a wrap up of a great succession. As the title suggests this seventh chapter is being presented in a third dimension which unlike some of the other 3D films out there, appeared to make great use of this strategy including having blood and guts come flying at the audience and giving the viewers many nice first person perspectives of the terror that blazes throughout the picture. With the "cool" 3D aspects set aside, the story of the Final Chapter seems to be a little weak and uncreative when compared to other better received previous installments including "Saw II" and "Saw VI" the latter Saw 3D shares a very similar story line with where the audience follows a protagonists and his journey through transformation of traps designed to give him and his acquaintances a better outlook by means of a series of painful tests and allegorically placed traps. As mentioned before Saw III and Saw VI shared this similar basic plot structure, however unlike the forth mentioned Saw 3D brings many other aspects to the table along with the main game so in a sense this repetition is considered to be "ok" by the reviewer. One of these new aspects includes the return of Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) whose character had not been seen since his escape from the industrial washroom trap of the first movie. The idea of bringing back past characters is a significant part of Saw 3D, and really gives it a push for tying up loose ends, something that this film did to near perfection. Perhaps another new theme which should be noted is the amount of sympathy that the viewer may feel for the struggling characters even though not much screen time was put into their personality development, something which is rather new to the series, as is the past most of the victims are so unlikable or represented in such an appalling way that there is little or no sympathy for their pain and demise, although it should not go unsaid that there is still the traditional arrays of low characters which include the lead singer of Linkin Park and his Neo-Nazi followers as they participate in a side plot of the film, which sees perhaps the one of the most shocking chain of events in the series played out in a matter of seconds. This shock, along with many new and creative tests and traps can only put points in the plus column of this concluding film. With such a sincere combination of a traditional Saw horror and action, along with the added bonus of the third dimensional facet, Saw 3D does exactly what it set out to do, eliminate all loose ends and unexplained story lines, while keeping with all the traditional themes and inspirations which has given this franchise the legacy it holds today.

Saw VI (2009)

Much Better Than Expected

[10/10 · 18 February 2010]

When the teaser trailers started preceding our late summer entertainment last august, the fact that yet another installment in the ever popular franchise would be hitting theaters this Halloween, was met with groans and phrases like "are you kidding me" or "these films have overstayed their welcome." However do not count the sixth chapter in the Saw series out just yet, as it definitely tops the previous two installments, and may even goes as far as to maybe join the original as the best in the series. Saw VI takes on a visually enticing plot and brings back past occurrences, while explaining plot holes from its processors. The action on screen is sprinkled with plenty of the allegorically significant traps we have all come to love in these films. In addition to the non-stop thrill the picture offers, Saw VI places a touch of political charge involving our nation's health care system, something always popular in governmental opinionated arguments. If you are a fan of the Saw films, or just a horror fan in general Saw VI will not disappoint you, and I implore anyone who has given up on the series to please take a closer look, because SAW VI has not only redeemed any mistakes the past films have made, it may have just reborn the series for a whole new era of twisted, yet cleaver entertainment,

The Final Destination (2009)

Take a Detour on The Road to Your Final Destination

[5/10 · 18 February 2010]

The new installment into the popular horror/ suspense franchise Final Destination has taken new turns and for many opinionated fans, a turn for the worse. The Final Destination building off of the success of its previous three chapters follows the premonition of teenager Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) who then leads his friends and several other spectators out of the doomed Speedway avoiding a massive accident. And then in the traditional Final Destination style all of the survivors are mercilessly haunted down by a supernatural force. As a fan of the previous pictures, I was very let down by this unoriginal and overly predictable blood fest of a movie. The Final Destination lacked many if not all of the factors which made its processors so entertaining: The viewer is given no character development of any of the victims, which causes for little or no sympathy when the doomed person's fate is finally played out. Furthermore a fair number of the accidents exhibited are not due to a supernatural force but rather the ignorance of the victims and their surroundings. This being exemplified through accounts of highly skilled ambulance drivers running over innocent pedestrians without making the slightest effort to avoid the collision, nurses leaving therapy tubs running which then overflow and cause a massive flood, which in turn causes a sturdy hospital roof to cave in, and of course who could forget seeing a young adult "sitting" at the bottom of a pool for over five minutes with dozens of people swimming around him, and not one person the wiser. With the overflows of uncreative story lines and plot holes set aside there are some positive factors which The Final Destination has to offer, such as being shown in Digital 3D, which in my opinion is just an excuse to make up for the movie being so dreadful, or taking a fan pleasing much more violent approach to its human being's death sequences, including depicting in full detail the heroine's appendages being grinded in an escalators motor system, or a so conveniently placed stone being whirled via lawnmower at an unsuspecting MILF's eye. From a behind the scenes perspective The Final Destination is directed by David R. Ellis who brought us such other crowd favorites as Snakes on a Plane and Asylum, as well as the much more positive reviewed Final Destination 2, which can only make audience members question why Ellis' job on his second time in the director chair for the series steers so far downhill from his previous release. In conclusion The Final Destination has been deemed by many admirers as a frustration, but for horror fans in general a fun filled exhibition. What category you fall into is up to you.