The House of the Devil

The House of the Devil

2009

Directed by Ti West

I really wanted to enjoy this film more that I did. I really loved the 80s feel to the film. The font of the opening credits... the freeze frames... 80s fashion and hair. What I was disappointed by was the narrative. I felt that the film was too obvious... it was too similar to many other film about cults that kidnap young women. The film had a slow eerie quality to it, but this was undermined by the cliched plot.

Rustin Allison

The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man

1973

Directed by Robin Hardy

What a film! The Wicker Man is a British horror film that has quite a cult following. I knew practically nothing about the film before watching it. I don't even want to write too much about the film, because I think going into it totally new really added to the experience of watching it. 

The film is not technically the best film. Dubbing is very obvious at times and some of the acting is a bit questionable. The strange thing is that even though there are obvious mistakes, these mistakes add to the uncomfortableness of the film. The film itself is about a very religious police detective investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a Scottish island where the inhabitants all worship a pagan religion. The detective wants to fulfill his search, but at the same time does not want to associate with these people. He constantly has a felling of unease and discomfort.

Rustin Allison

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead

2004

Directed by Zack Snyder

I wanted to watch this film for two reasons. The first is for Sarah Polley who has always been one of my favorite actresses. The second is because it is the first feature film by Zack Snyder (he also directed 300 and Watchmen). I enjoyed parts of this film, but it didn't seem to flow as well as I would have liked. The opening scenes were brilliantly edited together. The rest of the film just seemed to be a let from the engaging opening. Some of the plot points were a little too predictable, but I did enjoy the small group of characters that have to work together to survive in the shopping mall.

Rustin Allison

Bug

Bug

2006

Directed by William Friedkin

A disturbing film with equally disturbing performances. This film follows a woman who allows a man into her motel and he drags her into insanity. Ashley Judd gives a very powerful performance in this film... a mixture of loneliness that descends into madness. The film itself is very claustrophobic and takes place pretty much just in the room of the motel. This is not an ordinary horror film, and there is quite a bit of discussion between characters which allows a lot fo room for character development. The film is not jump out of your seat scary.... but very disturbing and creepy.

Rustin Allison

"Masters of Horror" - The Black Cat

"Masters of Horror"

The Black Cat

2007

Directed by Stuart Gordon

This is the first thing that I have ever seen directed by Stuart Gordon. I know that he has a reputation for over the top gore, and this episode of "Masters of Horror" certainly delivers on that. I chose to watch this episode mainly for the fact that it was an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe short story, one of my favorite authors. It is actually a really good episode that combines the original short story with bit so of Poe's life. The narrative also follows the original short story very closely and Poe is portrayed as a man torn between providing for his wife and succumbing to his inner demons.

Rustin Allison

Dead Space: Downfall

Dead Space: Downfall

2008

Directed by Chuck Patton

This will be the last short post. I just had too many films backing up on me and too little time at the moment to catch up! I do want to keep my New Year's resolution and write about every film that I have seen this year, so even though they may be short -- I'm still writing!

I enjoyed the video game quite a bit. It had a great way of building dread and suspense in a very claustrophobic atmosphere. I can't quite say the same for this film. The film is worth watching for a bit of back story leading up to the events in the video game, but this information can be gathered from the game anyway. The film didn't really create any sense of dread or horror, and the characters weren't fleshed out enough to care about.

Rustin Allison

Splinter

Splinter

2008

Directed by Toby Wilkins

This is a great little horror film. It is one that I had heard about when it was released... but again it was missed at the theater. 

The best aspect of this film is that it has such a small cast. The film focuses on four characters and their attempt to overcome a parasite that slowly infects its victims from the inside out. The victim then seeks out other possible hosts for the virus. By just focusing on four characters and having them stranded at a gas station, the film is very successful at creating a suspenseful feel.

Because of the small cast, the characters are a bit more fleshed than in normal horror films. I really enjoyed the fact that the male hero is a bit inept and has to really strive to overcome his shortcomings to survive the horrible situation that he and his girlfriend have to face.

The special effects in this film are very good for a low budget film. The creature effects are especially creepy with disjointed human appendages making it very difficult to look at the infected victims.

Rustin Allison

Drag Me To Hell

Drag Me To Hell

2009

Directed by Sam Raimi

I thought this was a fun and funny horror flick. The story follows a bank loan officer who is pressured to refuse a credit extension to an old woman. The old woman ends up cursing Christine and Christine is stalked by an evil spirit with the intent of dragging her to hell. A straight-forward story-line, but it is one that Raimi has quite a bit of fun with at the same time. 

One of the things that I enjoy about Sam Raimi's style is that he can make something horrific and hilarious at the same time. There is a scene early on in the film where Christine and the old gypsy woman are fighting in her car. Christine manages to push Mrs. Ganush out of the car and has the door locked. Mrs. Ganush disappears and Christine pushes her head against the window to try to see where the old lady has gone. I'll post the clip below to better illustrate this part of the film. 

Drag Me To Hell is filled with these great fright-filled gags and it made the whole film a fun one to watch. The plot may be a bit predictable at times, but the humor and frights are so clever they more than make up for this little short-coming.

Rustin Allison

The Howling

The Howling

1981

Directed by Joe Dante

I am not sure what to make of this film. I enjoyed parts of the film. I thought the creatures looked great, and some of the effects sequences were very well done. I enjoyed seeing Patrick Macnee in another role (he's famous for playing John Steed). Some parts of the film just seemed too silly though. I enjoyed the humor of the film... it's just that some of the more serious moments came off as just plain silly.  

Here's what I enjoyed about the humor: the intercutting of a Disney Big Bad Wolf cartoon with a werewolf attack was really funny... in a dark sort of way. I didn't like how some of the people in the Colony acted. I felt it gave away the secret of the Colony way too early. Also, the love scene by the fire just looked way too fake. This may have been intentional... but to me it just looked bad and distracted from the film.

Rustin Allison

Coraline

Coraline

2009

Directed by Henry Selick

I just saw this film during a preview weekend here in the UK. We have had to wait a little while longer to see this film here, but it was well worth the wait. Coraline is a film that everyone who has worked on it should be proud. 

I have always been a fan of Neil Gaiman's work and Henry Selick did a great job adapting the novel in a film. The film looks fantastic and there is such amazing detail put into every scene. Stop-motion involves such patience and hard work that it is hard to imagine just how many hours (well, days and years) it took to finish the film. 

The voice acting in this film was also very good. Teri Hatcher deserves applause for her chilling portrayal of the Other Mother... sweetness and light with little bits of dark and evil spilling through at just the right moments. I also enjoyed Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders performances as the old actresses, Miss Forcible and Miss Spink. They added just the right amount of eccentricity to their parts.

I did see this film in 3D and thought it looked great, but I could not see a reason just to see it in 3D. This is a film that would look great under normal viewing and I can't wait until I have it on DVD so that I can enjoy all of the little details that were added to this film.

Rustin Allison

Army of Darkness

Army of Darkness

1992

Directed by Sam Raimi

This is the third Evil Dead film... and the one most focused on comedy out of the three. There are some great one-liners in this film and Bruce Campbell does a great job as the macho hero Ash. The film really is a tribute to the work of Ray Harryhausen and there are some very funny skeleton army scenes. Not all of the humor works, but this is still a fun film to watch with a group of friends.

Rustin Allison

Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby

1968

Directed by Roman Polanski

So, I have finally seen Rosemary's Baby. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised by the ending of the film. It has been referenced to and parodied so many times it would be hard not to know about the ending. So did I still enjoy the film even though I knew what was going to happen? Yes, I did. 

One of the themes that runs through Ira Levin's work is that a community is working against an individual. In The Stepford Wives, it is the husbands conspiring against their independent wives. In Deathtrap, it is the playwright and his student who cause the playwright's wife to die from a heart-attack. In Rosemary's Baby, it seems that almost everyone in the apartment building in which she lives that is conspiring against Rosemary. The protagonists almost have nowhere to run because they can not really trust anyone. If they do trust someone, it may turn out to be a lack of judgment and the placement of trust turns out to be a betrayal.

This is the aspect of this film that I really felt was the most compelling. Rosemary is constantly pushed to be isolated from the outside world and the only people that she comes in contact with are people that she can not trust. Even though I knew the ending, the film was still very suspenseful because of Rosemary's situation. 

The film has an odd sense of humor as well. This is interesting because some things are deliberately funny. Mrs. Castevet (played by Ruth Gordon) is an example of this odd humor. She is an over-bearing and very nosy neighbor which leads to some comedy, but as she is also felt as a threat to Rosemary, her character is an odd mixture of humor and horror. I think this points out a theme in the movie as well. The film is a balance of the normal and the occult, and because of this strange balance it gives the film a very off-kilter feeling.

Rustin Allison

 

The Fog

The Fog

1980

Directed by John Carpenter

I was a bit disappointed in this film. I really enjoyed The Thing, so I have been interested in watching more of Carpenter's films. I think that he took a bit of a misstep with this film. I liked the narrative of the film enough... I just think it was made to be more of a slasher type film than it should have been. The story of the film follows a sea-side town that was cursed on the night of its founding 100 years earlier. A fog rolls in during the centennial celebration and people are slaughtered as an act of revenge for the greed of the town's founders. I think that if the town's secret had been kept a bit more mysterious until the end, the film would have made a great ghost story.

Rustin Allison

House of the Dead: Overkill

House of the Dead: Overkill

2009

Published by Sega

This is a game that I picked up pretty cheaply this week. I have to say it was well worth the purchase. I have never play any of the other games in this series, but this one is pretty outrageous. The film follows the look and narrative of a 70s exploitation horror film. Everything about the game is over the top and it make sit quite fun to play.

The film is divided into chapters and these chapters play like they are trailers for various films. There is a great narrator throughout the entire game that warns players of explicit scenes or says the names of the films such as Pappa's Palace of Pain. The game also has quite a few original songs that are quite funny and often offensive.

Rustin Allison

The Ruins

The Ruins

2008

Directed by Carter Smith

This unsettling film follows the story of four university students on vacation in Mexico. They are bored with the resort they are staying at and tag along with a new German to an archaeological dig site. This proves to be a horrible mistake as the ruins are overrun with deadly vines with a mind of their own and a taste for flesh.

I read the original novel when it first came out because I was a fan of Smith's A Simple Plan. Where that novel and film showed what depths of greed "nice" people would steep to, this novel showed how paranoia and fear could rip a group of friends apart. The film of A Simple Plan was a great adaptation of the novel. The film of The Ruins is a good film but it focuses more on the aggressiveness of the vines rather than the relationships between the people. In some ways I felt the film showed way too much (one example is Amy thinking that the vines have invaded her body), in the book this is presented as possibly the character just going insane from the situation.

Rustin Allison

Jack Brooks - Monster Slayer

Jack Brooks - Monster Slayer

2007

Directed by Jon Knautz

This was a film that I had never heard of until it showed up on my LoveFilm recommended list. This is one of the things about the internet that I DO like. The fact that companies like LoveFilm and Amazon can recommend things to me based on past likes and dislikes. I think this is referred to as The Long Tail effect.

This was a fun little film. It was especially enjoyable watching Robert Englund in a more kindly role rather than as the character he is most famous for (Freddy Krueger). The title character definitely owes its inspiration to Ash from the Evil Dead series, but he is different enough to stand on his own and support what looks to be the start of a franchise.

The other aspect about this film that I enjoyed was the complete lack of CGI to do the special effects. All the monster effects in the film looked to be all practical effects. That is they were done at the same time as the rest of the scene was filmed. I think there is something about this that adds to a horror movie rather than takes away from it. I like it when a film makes me go "Oh, how did they do that?" 

Rustin Allison

Scary Movie 2

Scary Movie 2

2001

Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans

The follow-up to the incredibly successful first film fails a bit in keeping to a coherent narrative. I did think some of the gags in this film were funnier than in the first, but I think the first film is the better one.

Rustin Allison

Black Sheep

Black Sheep

2006

Directed by Jonathan King

Black Sheep was a film that I remember seeing the trailer for, but unfortunately it never played in a theater near me. I may have lucked out on that point. I was quite disappointed in the film itself.

The film had the potential to be a great horror-comedy, but I felt the film was filled with too many gags that ended up just falling flat. I thought the idea of people running away from a sheep was hilarious, but this was muddled by using every sheep joke available.

The effects were quite good, but the film isn't worth watching just for them. The sheep creatures were excellent, and you could tell the filmmakers were going for more comedic approach... I just feel they missed their mark just a bit.

Rustin Allison

The Thing

The Thing

1982

Directed by John Carpenter

I really, really enjoyed this film. This is one of those films that I have always heard about, but I have never seen. It truly lives up to its reputation as one of the great horror films.

The aspects of this films that stood out to me are the themes of isolation and paranoia. These men are stuck in a base in the Antarctic at first investigating an alien presence and then trying to escape from it. These are men who can not escape their fate and the inevitableness of the film is one of the things about it that really appealed to me.

The alien can change shape and can take the form of its victims. This leads to a growing sense of paranoia amongst the men as they can no longer trust the people that they have been. This is where the true horror of the film plays out, and I thought the film's greatest moments were when the men could no longer trust one another.

This is one of the few times where I have watched a movie twice back to back and I honestly would not mind watching the film a third or fourth time. The effects were disturbing and amazing and the twisted alien forms had a horrific look to them. I highly recommend this film to any horror or science fiction fan.

Rustin Allison

Dog Soldiers

Dog Soldiers

2002

Directed by Neil Marshall

I guess I am in horror movie mode at the moment. Of course, I do enjoy the genre. One of the odd things about horror films is that usually they are made to genuinely scare but sometimes there is a bit of humor added to those scares. Evil Dead 2 is definitely one of those films and I would say that Dog Soldiers falls into the same category as well.

One of the other aspects of this film that is worth talking about is gender.  This film puts a squad of six male soldiers against a werewolf enemy. Obviously there is a strong masculine dynamic to the relationships and there are many struggles for power between the main characters. I only bring this up because one of Neil Marshall's later films is The Descent. This film follows a group of women adventurers encountering a monstrous enemy in the depths and darkness of a cave, and similar relationship dynamics are explored in that film as well.

Rustin Allison