I just wasn’t a fan of “House on Haunted Hill.” William Castle’s utter masterpiece was turned into a Nine Inch Nails video with rapid fire editing, goofy atmosphere, CGI overload, and terrible acting even from Geoffrey Rush. “Return to House on Haunted Hill” was something I really wanted to give a chance. Thankfully, this is not a sequel in name only. This new installment takes place shortly after the ending of the first film where Sara’s (Ali Larter) sister Ariel discovers she’s killed herself after a mental breakdown, and learns of the house where Stephen Price held his party and allegedly went on a murder spree. Cue plot catalyst. Ariel discovers by a professor that there’s an ancient statue of a satanic cult somewhere in the hill house and he wants it. Lo and behold we have a rival group of relic hunters who also want it and will kill anyone for it.
Tag Archives: Ghosts
KillerKiller (2007)
Karma is a bitch and many times the manifestation of payback can provide some truly blood drenched results. “KillerKiller” is not a horror film that started off on the right foot with me. The audio was pretty crummy and the story began like a typical slasher film, but as the story progressed, “KillerKiller” won me over. Not only is it a great little horror film, it’s a great survival film, and a very good branch off the “strangers in a house” sub-genre tree that soon becomes a fascinating glimpse at predator and prey formulas. In Higgins’ slasher mystery, the victim is the murderer and soon the killers will make for the body count. A horror movie of this gamut with such a low budget would usually fall flat on its head, but thankfully it doesn’t.
A Christmas Carol (1951): Ultimate Collector’s Edition (DVD)
It’s surprising that after all these years, after fifty five years of technology and CGI, and stylish directors bringing up this old story, that the 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol” is still the best. Why? Well, there are so many reasons. For one thing “A Christmas Carol” is filled with dread and utter morbid reveling, as it is intent on exploring the world of Ebenezer Scrooge and the punishment he’s earned for himself. Secondly, the hauntings by his old business partner are still rather chilling, including his utterly horrible howling at Scrooge’s defiance. Brian Desmond Hurst unravels a creepy and woefully dreadful vision of “A Christmas Carol” as he films most of Scrooge’s house in stark blacks while relying on factory devices of sound and mind games.
Wicked Little Things (2006)
Of course, if you’re looking for something new or original, you’d better look elsewhere. “Wicked Little Things” offers the same old things for the audience, and none of it is ever pleasing. You mean there’s a ghost that can communicate with the youngest daughter? You mean the youngest daughter is the only one that can see her special ghost? You mean, they’re moving into a small town up in the middle of the woods? Who actually does that beyond cults? And, what a surprise, the cell phones the characters own aren’t working, there isn’t help for miles and miles, there are newspaper clippings of missing children plastered all over walls, there’s a hillbilly local station manager, and of course there’s the young child attune to the supernatural, and the older child that’s rebellious and smart mouthed; how utterly original.
The Grudge 2 (2006)
The curse gathers in the next place of death, says the opening subtitles. You just have to love how such a nice house is considered a place of death. Give me a nice house with a ghost over my current apartment any day of the week. Now that’s a horror movie. While “Ju-On” was a pleasant horror flick, I am one of many who thought “The Grudge” was simply a horrible movie. Void of any atmosphere, and completely missing the point of the original, turning Kayako into a run of the mill monster, as opposed to her actual purpose in the original. Well, here’s the sequel, and it’s actually no different. It’s repetitive, it feels like three hours, and there’s really no character you can root for.
June 9 (2006)
Ah, “The Blair Witch Project.” Now a canon for budget horror filmmaking, whether we like it or not. Some people love the film, some people utterly despise it. I love it, personally, but I’m always very weary at budget films that copy the formula. This concept is very difficult to mimic. Sometimes it comes off well, and sometimes we have nothing but a bunch of dipsticks running around with a camera screaming like morons, sans the tension and suspense. I can count the number of films that achieved this formula on one hand, and surprisingly, “June 9” did it right most of the time.
Cinema Crazed's Worst 10 of 2006…
10. The Lake House
Yet another cheesy marketing ploy. Watch the cardboard cut out and America’s Sweetheart who hasn’t had a hit in years team again to star in one of the stupidest most absurd romance dramas ever made. A man communicates with a woman through a mailbox that can travel two years into the future. Why such a weird number? Who knows. Regardless, the time differences are barely noticable, the entire film is soapy, and the mailbox becomes an irrelevant plot device in the second half as suddenly, these two get the power to change time to fit their romance. Goody. Correction: Crappy.