Category Archives: Horror

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Amityville: The Awakening (2017) Movie Review

40 years after a brutal murder took place at a house in Amityville, New York, a family moves in. The mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) wants things to be normal for her two daughters (Bella Thorne and Mckenna Grace) in spite of the medical condition of her son (Cameron Monaghan).

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Given this condition, it makes little sense that he would be in a house and not a hospital, but we can let it slide. It is the reason why the family moves to the house in the first place, and it is an excuse for Continue reading Amityville: The Awakening (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw VI (2009) Movie Review

This review of Saw VI is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

It was only a matter of time before Saw went socially conscious, and it does it in the only way it knows how: by pitting a smarmy insurance company suit (Peter Outerbridge) in a warehouse full of amusement park death traps.

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Before this, however, we get the signature cold open trap, which is as silly and ridiculous as you would think. One thing to note about this scene that makes it more than merely a lazy and audience-baiting torture introduction is Continue reading Saw VI (2009) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw V (2008) Movie Review

This review of Saw V is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

Continuing in the tradition of the Saw franchise, which somewhere along the way became more of a police procedural than a horror series, Saw V follows the exploits of Jigsaw’s protege (Costas Mandylor) as he corners in on the FBI agent who is cornering in on him, Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson).

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Strahm finds himself early on in a trap which, unlike other Jigsaw traps, is not designed to have a feasible escape. With some quick thinking and a pen, he is able to Continue reading Saw V (2008) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Pack (2010) Movie Review

This review of Franck Richard’s The Pack is part of the New French Extremity Retrospective series.

Charlotte Massot (Emilie Dequenne) is running away from something. Her car is packed full, and she is driving until she runs out of CDs to listen to. Along the way, she picks up a hitchhiker (Benjamin Biolay) and they wind up at an off-road bar. When the hitchhiker disappears, Charlotte is too curious not to investigate the bar further.

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Too bad for her, as she gets conked on the head and winds up in a Continue reading The Pack (2010) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw IV (2007) Movie Review

This review of Saw IV is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

Following the death of John Kramer (Tobin Bell), aka the Jigsaw killer, a tape is discovered in his cadaver’s stomach detailing a new game. Two police officers related to the Jigsaw case, SWAT member Rigg (Lyriq Bent) and Lt. Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), disappear.

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Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) is tasked with solving the latest Jigsaw mystery.

But who cares, really? Saw IV continues the Continue reading Saw IV (2007) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw III (2006) Movie Review

This review of Saw III is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

Saw III might be the most dull installment of the torture porn franchise. Directed, like with the first sequel, by Darren Lynn Bousman, this seeming end to a trilogy sees the final waning days of John Kramer (Tobin Bell). Kramer is an aging man with terminal brain cancer. He is also an eccentric serial killer known as Jigsaw.

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While needing critical brain surgery (he kidnaps a woman and forces her to operate to solve this issue), Jigsaw has another crazy plot Continue reading Saw III (2006) Movie Review →

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The Babysitter (2017) Movie Review

McG’s new film, The Babysitter, is immediately abrasive. Within the first five minutes, we find ourselves in four different locations. Cole (Judah Lewis) is introduced as too squeamish to accept a shot from the school nurse. A strange introduction, to be sure.

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Cole is your stereotypical high school nerd. He stutters his way through conversations. He is bullied by the stereotypical bullies. He has a massive crush on his babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving).

Bee is a great babysitter. She is down to earth, sees things on Cole’s level, bends the rules. Did I say bend the rules? I meant Continue reading The Babysitter (2017) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Saw II (2005) Movie Review

This review of Saw II is part of the Saw Franchise Retrospective series in anticipation of this month’s release of Jigsaw.

Is Saw II genius for its opening scene, which alludes to the horrifying opening to Luis Bunuel’s surrealist masterpiece Un Chien Andalou? Is Darren Lynn Bousman making some commentary on how art repeats itself, making a bold self-reflexive statement about where the Saw franchise was headed back in 2005?

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No. Okay, just checking.

Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) is a father and a cop. That’s about all you need to know of his character. Lucky for him (?) he stumbles on Continue reading Saw II (2005) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Halloween Horror, Horror, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Them (2007) Movie Review

This review of David Moreau and Xavier Palud’s Them is part of the New French Extremity Retrospective series.

The premise of Them is exceeding simple: a couple (Olivia Bonamy and Michael Cohen) is trapped inside their isolated home in the country when unseen assailants torment them from the outside.

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And that’s it. The short, not-quite-80-minutes-long film comprises this one conceit (and a cold open that accomplishes the exact same conceit but in a well-paced, taut nine minute span). The tension of this home invasion plot is Continue reading Them (2007) Movie Review →

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Martyrs (2008) & Martyrs (2016) Movie Review

This review of Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs and its 2016 remake is part of the New French Extremity Retrospective series.

Note: This review goes into spoilers for both films. You’ve been warned.

Pascal Laugier’s 2008 film Martyrs is perhaps the crowning achievement of the New French Extremity, as it ties together the disparate themes and generic components of the movement in the most cohesive and intriguing way.

The American remake of the film, directed by Kevin and Michael Goetz and distributed in part by Blumhouse, is not in conversation with the films and filmmakers of the New French Extremity. It is entirely removed. As such, it is merely an exploitation film.

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Now, Laugier’s Martyrs is no walk in the park when it comes to excessively violent subject matter. But for most of its running time it doesn’t feel like an exploitation film. It is a film about Continue reading Martyrs (2008) & Martyrs (2016) Movie Review →