One thing I love about “Wildfire” is there’s just so much exhaustion and emotional stress, coupled with the heat that you can just feel the characters are on the verge of cracking. It’s bad enough no one has had time to sleep, but now they’ve lost the Atlanta camp after the vicious zombie raid in “Vatos.” You can sense that all real logic and common sense has been depleted in a hail of shock, as the general mind set is summed up through Andrea and her refusal to leave the body of her sister Amy.
Tag Archives: Horror
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 5: Wildfire
One thing I love about “Wildfire” is there’s just so much exhaustion and emotional stress, coupled with the heat that you can just feel the characters are on the verge of cracking. It’s bad enough no one has had time to sleep, but now they’ve lost the Atlanta camp after the vicious zombie raid in “Vatos.” You can sense that all real logic and common sense has been depleted in a hail of shock, as the general mind set is summed up through Andrea and her refusal to leave the body of her sister Amy.
While his methods aren’t the most likable, Daryl Dixon is the only person in the group who seems to be working with some sense of reality on his side. Despite losing Merle, he understands that the bodies of Amy, and their fallen friends could jump start another walker uprising destroying the rest of the survivors. “Wildfire” is a lot of the characters walking around and processing the events of the night before, with occasional moments of real compelling drama.
Lord of Illusions (1995): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
I appreciate what Clive Barker set out to do with “Lord of Illusions” by introducing us to Harry D’Amour, a reluctant private eye who’d be thrown in to horrifying situations that far outstretched mobsters and cheating wives. In “Lord of Illusions,” Scream Factor gives Barker the chance to present audiences with the director’s cut. This new cut is longer, re-edited, and given a heavier emphasis on the neo-noir crime investigation by D’Amour that leads him to the front door of a satanic wizard that intends to destroy the world, and everything in it. I really wish I could have seen what D’Amour would get in to in future cases. Perhaps the cenobites? Something Lovecraftian?
Under the Skin (2014)
Girl drives. Girls picks up guy. Girl lures guy into black muck. Girl drives. Girls picks up guy. Girl lures guy into black muck. Girl drives. And that’s the gist of “Under the Skin.” I’m not sure if I’d recommend “Under the Skin” to even the most open minded arthouse buff. It’s not to say that “Under the Skin” is awful. It’s just an experience that won’t lend well to repeated viewings. Especially when you consider that much of what occurs is either explicitly stated and or subtly hinted at for ambiguity. For the sake of science fiction, much of “Under the Skin” is obvious, while director Glazer also vies for a gritty realism that’s sorely out of place when we see it.
The Babadook (2014)
In a time where studios aim for shocks over substance, especially with the advent of the found footage sub-genre, it’s great to see a horror movie that’s horrifying and about something. Director Jennifer Kent’s first outing as a horror director is a downright flawless effort that doesn’t just shock audiences, but has a ton of subtext, and undertones that deserve to be examined by literally everyone. It’s not just a movie about a mother and son being terrorized by a monster, but a movie about the mother and son dynamic. More to the point, it’s about the birth of a child, and how blame can often be misplaced on the unborn child for circumstances beyond their control.
Tusk (2014)
With “Tusk,” director Kevin Smith completely rips off Stephen King and Tom Six, mixing together “Human Centipede” and “Misery” in to one really awful concoction that I was barely able to make it through. Serving as a simultaneous ad for his crappy podcast, this time rather than James Caan as a respected writer, Justin Long is an amoral moronic podcaster whose own celebrity status has transformed him in to a fame obsessed pseudo-Howard Stern. Much like Kevin Smith. I can only laugh at Smith’s self-congratulatory inference that today’s podcaster is the modern storyteller like the writer. But hey, at least he got to squeeze in obligatory cameos from his and Johnny Depp’s daughter.
5 Reasons Why You Should Buy “The Strain: Season One” and 5 Reasons Why You Should Pass
Season One of “The Strain” is finally here, and after a pretty good run on FX in America, its mixed bag first season is ready for consumption. Perhaps it plays better as one fluid marathon, but as a week after week series, it garners a lot of filler, some really inconsistent direction, and a crew that can never be sure if they want to embrace the vampire formula, or ignore it altogether. “The Strain” is a fine horror series, just a very mixed bag that will frustrate as well as entertain. Here are 5 Reasons to Buy and 5 Reasons to Pass On Buying “The Strain” Season One.