I always say that if you’re going to derive from another better and well established concept, you’d better sure as hell do it well. Or do it to the point well it feels unique. The sequel to “White Noise” is a bonafide take on my favorite “Twilight Zone” episode of all time, “The Purple Testament.” Except this time it’s updated to a man who has a Near Death Experience after attempting suicide. When he returns from the dead, he can see white auras around people who are about to die. As well he can also hear EVP’s, and see transmissions of the dead on televisions, and he’s really about to experience something he never thought was possible. “White Noise 2” is by all accounts a superior film to the original, and that’s odd considering the original had so much potential, while this sequel had the odds stacked against it.
Tag Archives: W
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)
Hell, I liked “Wrong Turn.” It was, by my book, an underrated and sadly obscure little horror flick that really deserved to be looked at from a different perspective. Yes, I bitch about movies being recycled, and cliché, and awfully rehashed, but when it’s done with enough entertainment value as “Wrong Turn” was, I can be forgiving. “Wrong Turn” has been done before and better, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a blast. Suffice it to say, I was excited for “Dead End.” Would it be a direct take off from the original, or would it be a name only sequel? Is “Dead End” the original title before Lion’s Gate slapped on “Wrong Turn 2”? That was the only horrific element of this viewing experience: the anticipation and the guessing. The only truly good thing to look forward to was the presence of Henry Rollins.
Wanda, the Wicked Warden (1977)
Gone is David Edmonds, gone is the original storyline, and in remains the shameless exploitation. Also, there’s Dyanne Thorne. How could you possibly dislike her? You can’t. Ilsa, who yet again hasn’t aged a day, nor does she resemble corpse, is now a brunette warden for a cruel prison. Hey, I don’t ask questions, I just go where the boobies are. This prison is being touted as a clinic, yet it is being operated as a concentration camp treating “disorders” such as lesbianism, nymphomania or prostitution.
Waiting… (2005)
In the end, “Waiting” is yet another “Clerks” rehash, but alas, it’s a rehash that works. And why? Mainly it’s because it manages to cast the talents of folks who can actually handle comedy; Luis Guzman, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Long, Anna Faris, the list goes on. Suffice it to say, the cast is an all-star cavalcade of comedy actors, save for the likes of Andy Milonakis. “Waiting” is also supposedly a film that perfectly captures what it’s like to be a waiter or work in the restaurant industry, and goes behind the more disgusting facts of working in a restaurant, including the restlessness of its workers to keep from going insane. “Waiting” may not be a comedy classic, but for what it is, it made me laugh quite often.
The Warrior (2001)
It’s a shame that not many people are even aware of this film, because what “The Warrior” offers audiences is much more entertaining, meaningful, and engrossing than most modern thrillers can muster. “The Warrior” is the journey of a man through a life of violence, and his realization that what he does has horrible consequences that comes too little too late. I enjoyed this film, and I wish more people could experience what it offers. But sadly, even with Anthony Minghella presenting the film, “The Warrior” has remained an obscure suspense thriller that’s soaked in a sense of dread and horror that many thrillers can’t mimic.
Wicked Little Things (2006)
Of course, if you’re looking for something new or original, you’d better look elsewhere. “Wicked Little Things” offers the same old things for the audience, and none of it is ever pleasing. You mean there’s a ghost that can communicate with the youngest daughter? You mean the youngest daughter is the only one that can see her special ghost? You mean, they’re moving into a small town up in the middle of the woods? Who actually does that beyond cults? And, what a surprise, the cell phones the characters own aren’t working, there isn’t help for miles and miles, there are newspaper clippings of missing children plastered all over walls, there’s a hillbilly local station manager, and of course there’s the young child attune to the supernatural, and the older child that’s rebellious and smart mouthed; how utterly original.
Who's Ma Ma! Joe Ma Ma! (2007)
Sean J.S. Jourdan seems to have a knack for perfectly pinning humanity in all its chinks and warts, and that’s a true talent. Not many directors can properly capture the human tragedy and when it comes along, it has to be appreciated. “Who’s Ma Ma!” is a short documentary about a simple family of men who have endured horrible tragedies in their lives and yet—they still stagger on.