Aliens (1986)

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Sequels should always strive to be better than the original while paying homage to the film that came before it. James Cameron does a bang up job with a film that, in another reality, would have failed big time. Cameron takes what was a slow burn and gradually unraveling horror science fiction film about a woman battling a phallic alien and transforms it in to a brutally and entertaining action horror film. While some of the more ardent fans of “Alien” might have been thrown off by the change in tone, James Cameron embraces the action genre for a brand new generation, offering an extension of Ridley Scott’s film that compliments what came before.

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The Walking Dead: Alien

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

This is the story of Jeff, a visitor to Barcelona Spain. Furthering my idea that there are endless stories to be told in Robert Kirkman’s universe, Brian K. Vaughan takes on a one shot about the story of a tourist named Jeff and how he fared in the zombie apocalypse. Jeff is not the solid and heroic kind of man, and unlike his family, Jeff is one with a Peter Pan complex seeking a future of his own. Though many have theorized that the zombie apocalypse was unleashed in the US, Vaughan explores how it ravaged Europe just like it did in the South.

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Krampus (2015)

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Michael Dougherty is brilliant at completely rethinking and reformatting our image of popular holidays and the lore the masses have subscribed to for centuries. After doing an amazing job with Halloween, Dougherty tackles Christmas with what is easily one of the most demented holiday horror films ever made. “Krampus” is an intelligent horror comedy based around the lunacy of the holiday and how the hollow rituals and traditions practiced can build a sense of cynicism and pure hatred for what is supposed to be a fine time of year.

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The Phoenix Incident (2016)

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

On March 13th 1997, mass hysteria and dozens of conspiracy theories followed the sighting of a massive series of lights over the city of Phoenix Arizona. Known as “The Phoenix Lights,” said sighting has been a hot topic for UFO enthusiasts for years, and remains a mystery that the government has been very vague about discussing since. Director and writer Keith Arem has a good idea on his hands with “The Phoenix incident” and dares to combine various filmmaking formats including found footage, documentary, and action thriller. While it doesn’t amount to a flawless science fiction thriller, Arem’s ambition and concept is still pretty admirable when you step back and soak in the entire experience.

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Howl (2015)

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Emilie Black

A train breaks down in the countryside only a few miles from its departure point. The few passengers on board are getting restless as the train staff attempts to figure out what is going on when all of a sudden, a beat howls outside. The train becomes under siege by a beast who wants to snack on its passengers like canned food. The setting and premise here are simple: People in one location, being attacked, needing to escape. Co-written by Nick Ostler and Mark Huckerby, both of whom mostly have children tv show credits, the script works within its limited setting. They build the characters just enough which is to say, most characters are fairly basic, but they work as beast fodder that the viewer care enough about to have a reaction to their demise.

It also means that the last survivors are easy to spot as they are the most developed characters, which is fairly par for the course with horror movies like this one.

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Plan 9 (2016)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

There’s a huge problem when it comes to sitting through “Plan 9.” It’s essentially a remake of the infamous but hilarious Ed Wood disasterpiece “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” While Ed Wood never intended his film to be considered a comedy it ended up being accidentally one of the funniest movies of all time due to the ineptitude of its production. So how does a filmmaker with arguably more resources approach a remake of “Plan 9”? Basically director John Johnson tries to have his cake and eat it too, giving us a movie that’s literally all over the place. Sometimes “Plan 9” is a straight faced zombie movie with real stakes. Sometimes it’s a meta-remake with dark comedy. And other times it’s a pseudo-remake tha acknowledges the original film from Ed Wood exists in this universe. The latter idea makes no real sense when you consider the ideas presented in “Plan 9.”

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Camino (2016)

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

It’s pretty entertaining to see how much Zoe Bell has grown both as an actress and action star. Though “Camino” isn’t a masterpiece, Bell shines among everyone else as a vulnerable heroine who manages to make it out of a violent situation thanks to her wits and ability to endure hell in the jungle. Bell doesn’t play up the image of female Rambo this time around, opting instead for a more empathetic and layered character portrayal of a war photographer who has seen the worst of humanity, and then ends up becoming a victim of what ugliness humanity is capable of. Bell handles the role well, giving urgency to her character’s plight, and we root for her the entire way through.

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