I am a big fan of “Evil Dead” and Sam Raimi once again displays his skill for horror and movie-making brilliance. Though “The Gift” is tonally uneven, it’s still worth a watch if only for the mood and inherent dread present. The movie’s scenery is comprised of a country setting, but the entire landscape of the trees and bayou is so grim and dark like a painting. The night scenes are the best, showing off the odd structure of the Dali-esque trees and scenery. When a young rich woman, Jessica (Katie Holmes) disappears, Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) the local town psychic reader must investigate the murder, but to the relentless harassment of an abusive man named Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves) who is angry at her advice to his wife about Annie advising her to leave him.
Tag Archives: Thriller
If I Die Before I Wake (1998)
This is a low budget movie and proves not all low-budget thrillers are bad. I’m still holding my breath from this one. “If I Die Before I Wake” opens on a dark night and starts off very fast with three hillbillies breaking into a house. Quickly they beging terrorizing and torture the poor defenseless suburban family within their home. The oldest daughter realizes her house is being infiltrated early, and hides herself and her little sister, devising a plan to get back at the murderers and defend her house once and for all. “If I Die Before I Wake” is an excellent thriller, mainly for the atmosphere and breakneck pacing.
Cast Away (2000)
Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the age old story of man vs. Nature! In one corner, a city man who is stranded on an island, on the other corner, a deserted island in the middle of nowhere with no food or shelter! Who will conquer? You have to watch to find out! Every once and a while, every two or three years, a movie comes along with such power, such strength, and such drama, it makes me realize maybe Hollywood hasn’t lost all of its hope in making a good movie. Tom Hanks’ role is so excellent and powerful, that he actually touches you through the screen with his performance.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
This is the action-packed sequel to the dull “Mission: Impossible” based on the show from the 60’s. Now. this is a change from the confusing original and a very good sequel. It’s about an agent from IMF who steals a very deadly virus. Ethan Hunt is enlisted by Anthony Hopkins who tells him to enlist three members for his team to retrieve virus. One of which is the beautiful Nyah who Ethan falls in love with.
Felix Vasquez’s Top 10 Horror Movies of All Time
10. The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
Directed by: Jack Arnold
The creature is a misunderstood fella; and mostly is considered as the lesser known and all around lesser creature from the Universal monster family because his movies were released later in the monster movie days. However, this film stands as my all-time favorite of the Universal monster series. An archaeological team is informed of a discovery on an island of a fossilized hand from a prehistoric creature. Intrigued, an assembled team of explorers journey to the island to research the hand but arrive to find the village of previous diggers brutally slaughtered by a mysterious animal. What they’ll soon learn is that the creature they’re learning of that was long believed to be dead is alive and living within the lagoons of the island. It soon begins wreaking terror on the crew, and falls in love with the lead explorer’s girlfriend (Julie Adams). I fell in love with this movie when I was a child simply because of the sheer entertainment this movie provides. I love how director Arnold doesn’t show much of the creature until the middle of the film where we’re really surprised to see his appearance as he carries off actress Julie Adams into the water. The monster is purely creepy and very cool, and the entire movie is creepy fun. It was later followed by two sequels which were just as good.
The Matrix (1999)
This has only been around for a little while and already it’s a cult classic and has a huge following, not to mention two more movies out. The movie starts off with Trinity running away from the agents in a sequence that instantly caught my attention and made sure I paid attention. Then we go into Neo (Keanu Reeves Hardball, Dracula) who is at his computer and gets a mysterious message telling him that they’re watching him. He disregards this message and decides to applies for a job the next day. But little does he know what’s in store for him. He receives a phone call from someone telling him that some men are after him. The caller instructs an escape for him but unfortunately the people catch him.
Vampire Hunter D (Banpaia hantâ D) (1985)
“Vampire Hunter D” is an underrated movie; sure, it may not rank up there to some with other anime masterpieces, but it will always top my list of the best anime horror I’ve ever seen. Though kind of an obscure animated horror/action classic, “Vampire Hunter D” is one of my favorite animated films of all time and is worth the watch. In the animated adaptation of the manga, we meet Doris, a lonely demon hunter and farmer who lives alone with her little brother. One night while hunting a monster, she meets up with a vampire warlord named Magnus Lee who brands her with his patented vampire kiss of death.