A couple plans their next activity together: To kill a random stranger. As they plan, prep, and discuss the possible murder, they start to disagree on things and it becomes clear that one of them is very into the idea of murder while the other is not so much. Written by Nick McAnulty who co-directed with Brian Allan Stewart, this found footage film does a few things right such as casting two leads that are rather unfamiliar, a move reminiscent of Paranormal Activity, and it shoots in a clear manner, meaning that is happening and said can be clearly seen and heard which is something many film of the sub-genre do not pay enough attention to. This film shows what is happening and the emotions very clearly and it works in its favor as it brings the viewer in and let them get invested in the story.
Tag Archives: Horror
Holy Hell (2015) [Blood in the Snow 2016]
After witnessing a troubled family, the Bonners, decimated by a murderous family, the MacFarlanes, Father Bane goes on a rampage punishing those he deems not deserving of forgiveness with his new handgun, The Lord. As he punishes left and right and protects the only surviving member of the family, he also decides to go after the murderous, incestuous killers. Written and directed by Ryan LaPlante, Holy Hell throws everything possible at the screen, violence, sex, incest, rape, murder, blood, gore, inappropriate jokes, insensitive jokes, bad jokes, and the whole nine in an effort to be shocking or subversive. This is done with zero good taste and penchant for exaggerated action and ridiculous dialogue.
Don’t Breathe (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
Director Fede Alvarez’s thriller is a pitch black take on “Wait Until Dark” with a hint of “People Under the Stairs” taking a blind man who turns the tables on perpetrators. This time around though, the blind victim is a very prepared war veteran who skulks around like a predator even in his own home. When he begins challenging the thieves that infiltrate his oddly armed home filled with various pitfalls, he stalks them with confidence, even without eye sight. Stephen Lang’s Blind Man is an oddly horrific and intimidating new horror character who works on his own moral code. Whether or not he’s a villain may depend on the interpretation by the audience, and what they consider pure evil or just pure justification. Fede Alvarez teams two groups of victims against one another in a world that’s taken away all of their futures and ideas of hope.
Killjoy 3 (2010)
“Killjoy 3” is a simultaneous rip off of “Waxworks” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” as Full Moon works desperately to create a new horror icon. Killjoy is a character who, let’s face it, could probably get his ass kicked by Chucky’s son Glenn, if things got hairy enough. Nothing about “Killjoy” makes too much sense, but you have to admire how the movie tries its damndest to transform mimes in to terrifying villains. Set very specifically in one location, we meet four college students as they’re preparing to have a get together one night involving drinks and horror movies in the house of one of their professors. Student Sandy decides to hold a gathering while he’s away, oblivious to the fact that he just made a broken pact with Killjoy.
Killjoy’s Psycho Circus (2016)
Full Moon sinks deeper in to pseudo-Troma territory by delivering another installment of “Killjoy’s Psycho Circus.” If you’re prepared for a movie that has literally no plot but spends ninety minutes advertising its product tie-ins, then you might enjoy what’s on display here. During Killjoy’s demented TV show, there’s an ad featuring the characters from “Evil Bong,” and the movie literally stops to promote the “Adam and Eve” website. They even bring on a model to talk to Killjoy to promote their products. I’ve heard of product placement before, but I’ve never seen a movie so lazy that it literally stops in its tracks to promote a product for a company.
Emilie Black At Home with Guillermo Del Toro’s Monsters
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is hosting an exhibit of a part of filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro’s horror-centric art collection. This includes everything from movie props (from his own films and others’), to paintings, to photographs, to sculptures, to storyboards, to sketches, etc, etc, etc. This small part of his collection is insane in the best of ways and any movie nerd that can should go and see it before it closes on the 27th of November.
As a proper movie (horror especially) nerd, I went and took a ton of photos. Unfortunately, it is dark in there and flash photography is not allowed to protect the art and other people’s enjoyment of it. With no further ado, here are some of my photos of the exhibit in all their dark and grainy glory!
The Trail of Dracula (2016) (DVD)
It’s funny how I know so much about Dracula and still can’t get enough of the character or the concept no matter where I turn. Intervision’s “The Trail of Dracula” is an hour long look in to the history of Dracula through the ages. There are tons of interviews and accounts from the creation of Bram Stoker’s novel, and the unauthorized adaptation called “Nosferatu,” right down to his pop culture influence in the modern age like “Vampire Hunter D” and “Castlevania.” While I would have loved a more thorough examination of the vampire legend and its various incarnations of cultures all around the world, “The Trail of Dracula” explores how Dracula eventually was crafted.