The Call (2013)

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Director Brad Anderson’s thriller “The Call” is entertaining and unique only thanks to its ludicrous premise, and abundantly stupid characters. While the first half of the film presents glimmers promise with great tension, and taut atmosphere, it falters mid-way and never comes back from the depths of idiocy. Halle Berry is an experienced 911 operator who is tasked with helping a young girl who is being terrorized by a burglar, breaking in to her house. When the burglar kidnaps her, and the young girl is discovered in a shallow grave days later Jordan is traumatized and leaves her job. She blames herself for the girl’s murder. And for good reason. If you advise a victim to hide under the bed and keep quiet, then the phone is accidentally disconnected, why in the hell would you call them back knowing they’re still hiding and risk giving away their location?

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Comet (2013)

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Director Derek and Dan Morrow’s short film “Comet” has potential to really be the next fun kids film about two unlikely friends. Made on a small budget, and a limited crew, “Comet” is a short claymation film with very limited budget qualities, but great potential. The classic tale of a visitor from another world stuck on Earth, the Morrow brothers manage to plant the seeds for a wonderful narrative that they hope will blossom in to a feature film.

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The Conjuring (2013)

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It’s amazing how James Wan once went from the man who brought us movies about a maniac torturing people to one of the most horrifying ghost tales ever brought to the big screen. “The Conjuring” lives up to its hype as a slow boil and immensely scary supernatural tale about an average family terrorized by a vicious demonic entity that’s intent on ruining their foundation from the inside out.

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Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear [Blu-ray]

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After the last few outputs from Chiller Films, I had almost no confidence in “Chilling Visions” as an anthology compilation. Surprisingly, as a display of talented filmmakers, “Chilling Visions” really offers five tales based around the human senses that are unique, entertaining, and often creepy. While the whole lot isn’t perfect, three out of five of the tales are really good genre entries. I’m always open to a new basis for an anthology movie series, and I’d love to see Chiller release a new five senses movie anthology every year to see what filmmakers can do with the ideas.

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Chastity Bites (2013)

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Surely, “Chastity Bites” is a horror comedy you’ll either really enjoy, or very much loathe. And for the same reasons. It’s incredibly niche, and overbearing in its commentary about women, consumerism, and materialism in our society. How far are women willing to go to stay young? Would they even make a pact with the devil and murder those around them? “Chastity Bites” is a combination of “Stepford Wives,” “Dracula,” and bit of “Mean Girls” without any of the inherent genius behind the aforementioned tales.

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The Children (2008)

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As much as I wanted to love Thomas Shankland’s horror film “The Children,” it’s yet another genre entry that’s all build and no bang. In fact the first hour of the whole film is nothing but build-up and off screen chaos, and there’s almost no pay off to anything that occurs. Whenever Shankland has a chance to blast the audience with carnage and havoc, it’s all so abruptly ended. You assume a movie about a mysterious chemical that turns children in to rotten maniacs merciless in their pursuit to murder adults would be straight forward and frantic. In reality it’s very slow, and there’s nothing straight forward about anything here.

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Click (2010)

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Fear of the unknown is perhaps one of the greatest elements of horror. It’s one of the greatest tools we have in the arena of the genre, but it’s rarely ever used. And when it is, it’s squandered in a sea of over explanation and tedious exposition. It’s rare we’re ever given horror movies these days that rely on what we don’t see and don’t know.

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