Guess who’s back? Back again? M. Night’s Back. Tell a Friend. After the absolutely raucous horror film that was “The Visit,” M. Night has returned once again to deliver another fine chiller. Rather than opting for simplicity again, “Split” is a much more abstract tale about childhood trauma, mental illness, and the power of belief that can power us in to manifesting elements within us we never knew existed. M. Night seems to have a great faith in the ability of the mind, and how it can overcome certain obstacles and evolve in to various forms greater than itself. Almost every movie from M. Night has been a study of the human mind in some form, and “Split” is no different.
Author Archives: Felix Vasquez
Day of Reckoning (2016)
“Day of Reckoning” is a pseudo-biblical horror movie that teams “Doom,” “Day of the Dead,” “The Walking Dead” and the Roland Emmerich disaster pornos in to one ball of baffling entertainment. “Day of Reckoning” is teeming with potential and actually manages to be entertaining every now and then. When a mining company accidentally unearths a hibernating brood of demonic monsters, the beasts arise from their slumber to begin wreaking havoc on humanity. The monsters are a variety of winged, stampeding, anthropomorphic demons with varying degrees of appearances and habits. Sometimes they’re a random herd of monsters, and sometimes they’re scheming and planning. They can poison people to apparently turn on everyone else, and they have a thirst for human flesh. Best of all they can be taken out by dousing them with enough salt.
Five Reasons Why “My Bloody Valentine” Is A Slashterpiece
It’s shocking how well 1981’s “My Bloody Valentine” holds up. While it is a holiday themed slasher film that would end up becoming one of many, it can be placed in a league of its own for how creepy, eerie, and tense it still is. Sure you can argue that George Mihalka’s film is a bit rough around the edges. In one scene when character Hollis discovers a young couple impaled on top of each other, in a quick edit, you can see the actress breathing. But that doesn’t stop “My Bloody Valentine” from turning in to a very tightly written and engaging horror film about a psychotic miner who really hates Valentine’s Day. Mihalka’s film transforms in to a slick amalgam of “Friday the 13th” and “The Town that Dreaded Sundown,” where our maniac Harry Warden is created after the result of gross negligence.
The Monster (2016) [Blu-Ray]
Bryan Bertino has a talent for depicting the inexplicability of evil, first with “The Strangers,” and now with how a seemingly chaotic force of nature threatens to destroy a mother and daughter. What’s worse is that when we do meet the titular monster, it’s about to completely obliterate a relationship already on the cusp of falling to pieces. Director and writer Bertino succeeds in creating a creepy monster movie that also builds a compelling relationship that pulls us through the emotional wringer time and time again. Zoe Kazan and Ella Ballantine are an excellent pairing as Kathy and Lizzy, an estranged mother and daughter that are constantly at war with one another.
My Ten Favorite Modern Horror Actresses, Part Two [WiHM 2017]
I continue my top ten with the final five celebrating ten modern horror actresses I’m quite a fan of. The rankings aren’t definitive, nor a reflection on the quality of these actresses, it’s just arbitrary ratings for the sake of the list. These are the remaining five great modern horror actresses making their mark in the horror world in celebration of “Women in Horror Month 2017.”
The Trouble with Terkel (2017)
An animated re-release/recycling of a hit Danish animated film, “The Trouble with Terkel” was released in 2004, and rather than remake the original animated movie, this new version is re-released with a new title, and a hastily recorded American dub was slapped on to the film. There’s no update to the animation, no re-editing, or anything of the sort. 2004 feels like a whole other century ago, so it’s not surprising “The Trouble with Terkel” watches like a painfully outdated mess. It also doesn’t help that the producers kept all of the country’s background signs and whatnot. So when our characters are in the candy store buying “Sukkerfryd Slik” with “Fedt Nuder!” it’s impossible to not get pulled out of the paper thin narrative.
My Ten Favorite Modern Horror Actresses, Part One [WiHM 2017]
It’s February at last, and February marks “Women in Horror Month,” a twenty eight day celebration of women’s contributions to horror in all forms and mediums. From directing, writing, acting, graphic art, modeling, etc. The month represents the impact women have made in the horror world. In honor of the month, I thought I’d list ten of my favorite modern horror actresses that are currently making waves in horror film and horror television. This list pays tribute to ten talented, savvy, charismatic, and beautiful actresses that have chilled, riveted, and made an impact in the genre.
Let Me Know Some of Your favorite modern horror actresses in the comments.