I mean sure, “The Stand” had many biblical themes to it, and I don’t hold that against it basically because it’s my favorite television movie of all time, and my favorite King mini-series, but that’s because it never used the biblical themes so blatantly before. I have to say “Desperation” is one hell of a disappointment. It’s a cheesy, ridiculous, and utterly un-scary practice in babbling, that actually required a considerable amount of effort to sit through. After weeks of anticipation and excitement, I finally tuned in and basically zoned out by the second hour. If there’s any indication that producers have run out of material for Stephen King min-series, it’s “Desperation”.
Tag Archives: Supernatural
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)
All horror fans are familiar with the bumbling of Morgan Creek and their insistence on kicking out experienced director and screenwriter Paul Schrader in exchange for the hack Renny Harlin to direct the prequel to “The Exorcist”. We didn’t need a prequel, but if the studios felt that they could have drained one more film from this franchise, then they could have and should have done it right in the first place. After all the problems, “Dominion” was finally released, and while it will never win any awards, I enjoyed it more, not to mention I found it to be more consistent in quality. “Dominion” is basically the same deal. Father Merrin, disenchanted with the church, goes out on archaeological expeditions, finds an underground church, and faces against the demon. Except, Schrader’s film is much more coherent and cohesive.
Infection (Kansen) (2004)
“Infection” is a moral tale in the vein of “The Telltale Heart”; a low rent basically abandoned hospital with a staff of merely five or six people find themselves in the throes of an epidemic one fateful night. An ambulance rushing a diseased man to safety struggles to find a hospital and leaves him at the doorstep of the hospital which refuses to admit him. “Infection” is an often bleak and grim moral horror story about the power of our conscience in spite of our loss of control under circumstances. Much like Poe’s story, “Infection” is the tale of our minds becoming our worst enemies and Mochiai focuses on stark almost flawless shades of green and red to convey the psyche turning on the characters, and express the sense of disgust within the low-rent hospital. Mochiai’s film is spooky and through disgusting and gruesome imagery, we learn of this disease which becomes a manifestation of their guilt, and their dirty deeds.
Pulse (Kairo) (2001)
Yes, it’s happening. Very soon, the US will release its own version of “Pulse” and I have surprisingly high hopes. It looks like a very scary movie, so I decided to watch the original film, since originals are always better, and I finally did. “Kairo” is without a doubt one of the most bleak horror films I’ve seen in years, it’s a film that never really casts an optimistic brow, and it’s a horror film that reaches down to the core of human emotions and brings out the horrific implications of what we can do to ourselves that can spell the end of the world as we know it.
The Halfway House (2004)
Eddie: Who’s my sweet baby bitch?
Cherry Pie: I am.
Eddie: That’s right.
In the mood for a lesbian horror thriller? Well, who isn’t? And “The Halfway House” will surely cure what ails you. It’s a movie that is so awful, it’s actually quite entertaining, and “The Halfway House” rises to occasion in terms of garbage, but throughout the entire run time, I did enjoy some of it. About thirty percent of it, which would account for the generous rating. It’s cheesy and exploitative, but it’s also pretty fun, especially when the “screenwriter” rips lines from other films (in the climax, the heroine spouts “Smile, you son of a bitch” before killing the monster).
Dark Water (2005): Unrated
I must say I don’t know what I was expecting from “Dark Water” ultimately. I know it wasn’t supposed to be horror, I know it’s technically not horror at all, but it was marketed as such, and thankfully not a lot of audiences fell for it. I know it’s a remake I’ve yet to see as well. Now, with “Dark Water” I was surprised that I liked it. I didn’t love it, and it’s far from perfect, but there were certain, or many aspects within its story and characterization that just clicked with me. It’s a pretty heartbreaking supernatural drama that really examines not only the bond between a mother and a daughter, but how easily children can fall through the cracks in adults own self-centered pursuits and problems.
Masters of Horror: Haeckel's Tale
So we have the season finale, finally. Excuse the inadvertent pun. With a season of highs and lows, good and bad, and hits and misses, “Masters of Horror” season one comes to an end. With a period piece concerning death and the living dead. Sure, to some it may seem like yet another retread, and in many respects it was, but as a standalone, I really liked this episode, and because it involves zombies, and has the great Gregory Nicotero, you know you’re about to see some wicked zombie make-up effects. Haeckel is a young doctor who seeks to discover the mysteries of the necromancers, their necromancing, and the voodoo that they do so he can use it for his current scientific project of re-animating dead corpses, but he finds he’s gone too deep when he is taken in by a couple one night and discovers the wife holds a mystery.