Short Movie Reviews – Spooky Season Week, Day 7

 

So, I ended up watching quite a few scary movies for this week of blogging, but if I gave each movie an individual post, there would be too many posts for only seven days, and I'm pretty sure people would get bored of seeing them.

Thus, after writing full reviews for The Blair Witch Project and Pet Sematary, I figured I could compile all of the others into one post, and give mini reviews for them.

Let us commence!

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On a black and unholy Halloween night years ago, little Michael Myers brutally slaughtered his sister in cold bold. But for the last fifteen years, town residents have rested easy, knowing that he was safely locked away in a mental hospital – until tonight. Tonight, Michael returns to the same quiet neighbourhood to relive his grisly murder again…and again…and again. For this is a night of evil. Tonight is Halloween!

My Review!

I have always heard it said that people get frustrated at horror movie characters, for being so annoyingly dumb, but I have never come across a movie before where I actually felt such a thing. If you are not sure the bad guy is actually dead, don't drop the knife right next to his body and turn your back to him! A slasher movie from the 70s, this film includes a man, who killed his sister when he was only six, who breaks out of a mental hospital, and returns to his hometown. His doctor works to try and find him before people get hurt, and babysitting teenagers are the ones who end up in Myers' grasp. The main character, Laurie, is lovely, and incredibly likeable, but although she is very smart, she doesn't seem to have much sense when faced with someone trying to kill her! All in all, it's a good movie if you're after a little bit of suspense, as long as you don't mind predictability and a bit of nudity here and there.

Much-lauded comedy, described by its makers as 'a romantic comedy - with zombies'. Written by Simon Pegg, creator of the hit TV series 'Spaced', the film fuses the style (and copious bloodshed) of classic zombie films with observational suburban comedy. Shaun (Pegg) is a useless but likeable thirty-something who works in an electronics shop in Crouch End. He doesn't get much respect from his fellow staff, even though he's standing in as temporary boss; his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) has had enough of his lack of direction and penchant for downing pints in the local pub; and he doesn't get on with his stepdad (Bill Nighy). Things get worse when the living dead make their appearance, threatening to spread their zombie curse across the nation. Will Shaun be able to rise from his sofa to save the lives of the two women he loves - Liz and his dear old mum?

My Review!

Not everything about this season needs to be overly horrifying and scary! We are allowed to watch movies that have some comedy in them as well, rather than just gore! Shaun of the Dead is a movie I have seen before, but it is certainly one that you can watch over again. With zombies who are happy to stop and wait for people to finish their conversation before attacking, and popping round the shop for a Cornetto, this movie mixes comedy and horror together, into a strange but almost delightful amalgamation of a group of people trying to stay alive when everything they know seems to have disappeared. If you are after a bit of a laugh, but also want to stay on theme with the time of year and throw in a couple of zombies, this is definitely a movie to watch!

Five battle-hardened American soldiers are assigned to hold a French Chateau near the end of World War II. Formerly occupied by the Nazi High Command, this unexpected respite quickly descends into madness when they encounter a supernatural enemy far more terrifying than anything seen on the battefield.

My Review!

This isn't a movie I watched for the first time this week. In fact, I have seen this movie multiple times now, and it has actually got better with each time I watched it. Thinking they've caught a break, the five American soldiers are happy to arrive at the French Chateau to protect it. They can sleep in beds, eat properly, rest for the first time in ages. But, what they are faced with isn't the dream they expected, but a nightmare. This is the kind of movie that has unexpected layers to it – there are the layers that reveal themselves, but then you realise there is still more to come, and then more still. This is almost a horror movie within a horror movie, although it is not until the very end that everything seems to fall into place. On rewatching it, you start to notice little things, things that will have been irrelevant the first time watching it, so unimportant that you might not even have noticed, but when you understand what is happening, what has happened, and what will happen, this film becomes all the more amazing. Rewatching it, this movie becomes a search for those little things, that just prove how much work went into creating this film. It is one that I highly recommend you watching. If you are after a scary, historical, military, supernatural film, that will put you slightly on edge and leave you staring in shock and awe as the credits roll, this is the one you must watch.

Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) are a happily married couple with three young children who have moved into their idyllic new suburban home. When tragedy strikes their young son, Josh and Renai begin to experience things in the house that are beyond explanation. Before long, their lives are turned upside down by demonic forces, hell-bent on terrorising their very existence. Forced to seek help and protect their family, they learn the terrifying truth…… it’s not the house that’s haunted but something far worse…

My Review!

I decided it would be a good idea to watch this movie, because image of the man with the red face standing behind Josh really freaked me out. There’s something about just how inhuman the red face looks that makes a chill run up my spine. Watching it at night, as well, was perhaps a mistake. If I knew what this film was about before I watched it, I wouldn’t have done that. But, as it stands, I finished watching a movie about nightmares and the hellish things the sleep world can hold, just before going to sleep. One thing that always seems to be utilised in horror movies is the lack of light, and wow, do the family in this movie have a lot of lamps, and use them way more often than the main lights. It’s almost like they want a spooky atmosphere. Another thing, is characters always act like they're in a horror movie. If you heard a strange voice over the baby monitor, surely you would run to get to your baby, rather than stand at the bottom of the stairs and listen to it? Nevertheless, it is a horror movie, and I suppose these ‘flaws’ are necessary for the movie. There were a lot of things that scared me about this movie, especially so the man with the red face, but one thing in particular was when the title was shown. Turns out, you can make anything scary if you put very loud, erratically played string instruments over the top of it. If you want to watch a movie that will scare you, freak you out, slightly annoy you with horror movie things, and make you afraid to go to sleep, go ahead and watch this one. Just not at night. And not right before you have to go to sleep. And not in the dark.

And done!

Spooky Season Week has, unfortunately, come to an end, which means we are now back to posts on only Wednesdays and Saturdays. It does mean, though, that I don't have to write as many posts last minute – I finished this one last night.

That's all for now, then.

Bye!