Leatherface

"Leatherface" (2017, Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo, Campbell Grobman Films, Mainline Pictures, Millennium Films, Lionsgate Films) is a prequel to the 1974 original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the eighth film in the franchise. It is, however, admittedly only the third film in the franchise that I have personally watched. 

The film follows the character who will become Leatherface, Jed, giving some background on his upbringing and the traumatic events which lead him to become the chainsaw wielding, face-book collecting villain that we all know today.

The film has suffered some negative critical response which is largely undeserved in my view. It manages to exist within the same universe and setting as the 1974 original in a fairly believable way, despite being made more than 40 years later. The characters and action have a familiarity that ties it in to the franchise very well.

The Sawyer family are instantly recognisable as characters and are pitched at correct ages to tie in to the original film. Grandpa Sawyer particularly, in his more mobile 'youth', is a nice nod to the character's future. While the shock factor maintained within the original film is not reclaimed, "Leatherface" pays a strong homage to Hooper's original.

The identity of teenaged Jed is kept as a 'secret', although it's not exactly well hidden. However, he is joined by a host of other characters on, not a slasher style spree, but a Bonny and Clyde style kidnap roadtrip. This change of pace really appealed to me as it further explains the changes in Jed's mental situation from young man with some serious issues to young maniac intent on collecting faces. The film is not a purely Slasher film, managing to blend mental asylum, road trip, body horror and slasher genres into a gory adventure.

The death scenes are gruesome and intense with a bit of necrophilia also thrown in for added ick factor. This film certainly accomplished a few scenes which made me squirm.

An origin story for a much appreciated ('loved' seemed like the wrong word) horror icon that manages to create a worthy plot and character development, with strong performances from the cast. I'm not usually one for reboots, prequels and remakes, but for once this one played out as a refreshing change of pace, an homage to the original and not an attempt to kick start another wave of franchise additions or change the outcomes for the characters.

[Image: Lionsgate Films, et al]

Hani

Emilie

"Emilie" (2016, Michael Thelin, Uncorked Productions) is an unnerving home invasion thriller preying on the fears of a lot of parents leaving their kids alone with someone new.

When their usual babysitter is unavailable on the eve of their anniversary dinner, the Thompson's arrange for a new babysitter called Anna to take care of their three children. When Anna shows up she seems perfect, but it isn't long before the kids come to realise that Anna is not who she says she is....

A well executed film that really builds some tension as it gets going. "Anna" (Sarah Bolger) is revealed to be a twisted young woman called Emilie who is keen to push the kids to dangerous levels. The film is difficult to watch, particularly as it involves the endangerment of the kids. The kids themselves give an excellent and believable performance.

While the film isn't completely without flaws, the pacing for instance can be a little patchy, it does enjoy an excellent shocking creep factor and pushes the boundaries well.

[Image: Uncorked Productions]

Hani

Creep 2

"Creep 2" (2017, Patrick Brice, Blumhouse Productions, The Orchard) is the sequel to 2014's "Creep".

Following on from the previous film, our murderous weirdo (Mark Duplass) is now going by the name Aaron (which is the name of his victim in the original film). He seeks the desperate help of aspiring (and failing) YouTuber, Sara (Desiree Akhavan), having lost his thrill for the kill during his most recent stalking of a guy called Dave (Karan Soni).

Sara's experience with seeking out weirdos online to film for her YouTube show make her a stalling subject for Aaron, as she is more than willing to take his weirdness face-on and doesn't seem phased by his antics whatsoever.

The two spend some time trying to scare one-another before Aaron unleashes his full weirdness upon Sara in an attempt to 'end' his film.

Although it lacks some of the mystery that the original thrived on, I enjoyed Sara's character not falling into a 'damsel' role and maintaining a strong, if flawed, protagonist character. She puts herself into a terrible situation and does not escape when it's smart to in her desperation to succeed in making her video. But she handles Aaron's behaviour and comes across as an equally weird, yet determined character.

Duplass maintains his usual wackiness as the titular creep and, although the film is fairly meandering and awkward, it keeps its strange charm that makes you want to stick with it to the end and see where it's going.

[Image: Blumhouse Productions]

Hani

Knock Knock

"Knock Knock" (2015, Eli Roth, Camp Grey, Dragonfly Entertainment, Sobras International Pictures) is a home invasion thriller.

Evan (Keanu Reeves) and Karen (Ignacia Allamand) are happily married with kids, a dog and an idyllic home. When Karen and the kids go away for the weekend, Evan stays at home to work but his night is interrupted when two young women (Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas) come to the door in the pouring rain looking for a house party. Evan tries to call them a taxi but the girls proceed to make themselves comfortable before the cab gets there... and what started as him helping them out becomes a potentially life ruining game of seduction and violence...

An interesting premise that became a little repetitive as the film went on. It is essentially one big cautionary tale: On one hand, that women can be predatory too and that it's pretty easy to ruin your life in one easy step.

The characters aren't developed in Roth's usual style, although the film differs vastly in style and genre from Roth's previous films so much that it's not really worth comparing. Reeve's misguided and somewhat naive character is set up from the start with a few scenes portraying his loving family man side and his sexually frustrated side. It's disappointing, but not surprising when he gives in to the two promiscuous ladies cavorting around his home. The devious vixens themselves are not as well rounded as characters and go from victims to cackling, comic villains pretty quickly with not as much build up as I anticipated.

There are one or two fun scenes, but the more torture-orientated scenes seemed satirical and the film in general would have benefited greatly from either delving more deeply into the implications brought up or by maintaining the satiric humour throughout.

A lot of people have expressed disappointment in the end of this film, but I thought this was probably the scariest part of the movie. All in all, the film had some weak points, but overall it was an interesting 99 minutes.

[Image: Camp Grey, et al]

Hani

Basket Case 3: The Progeny

"Basket Case 3: The Progeny" (1991, Frank Henenlotter, Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment, 20th Century Fox) is the third instalment in the Basket Case franchise. And the worst.


Following on from the events of the second film where Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) had tried, in a fit of madness, to sew his deformed, evil twin, Belial, back onto his torso, we find Duane locked up in a padded room at Granny Ruth's home for 'unique individuals'.


Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) is planning a trip for the whole group to visit her ex-husband's home so that Belial's girlfriend, Eve, can give birth to a litter of fleshy, evil lumps. Duane attempts to escape on several occasions, gets caught up with law, meets a girl called Opal (Tina Louise Hilbert) and generally fails at life, despite being able bodied and no longer telepathically controlled by his evil twin, who is giving him the silent treatment after his previous sewing escapades.


Henenlotter has made a few funny, weird films. The first being the original "Basket Case" (a bad movie night favourite) and of course not discounting the fabulously irreverent "Brain Damage" and the cheesy fun that is "Frankenhooker". However, if I'd thought "Basket Case 2" was pretty bad, I certainly wasn't prepared for the third one. An often dull and ridiculous film that can't even be saved by cartoonish gore. I found it frankly uncomfortable to watch. Imagine if the deformed creatures from "Spy Kids" ended up in a nursing home run by a crazy old bat and you have this film.


I have a pretty good threshold for bad B-movies, but this one wasn't even fun.

[Image: Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment]

Hani

The New York Ripper

"The New York Ripper" (aka "Lo squartatore di New York", 1982, Lucio Fulci, Fulvia Film) is an Italian giallo film based in New York. It was also the subject of much censorship and banning.

I'm visiting NYC soon for my first trip there, so naturally, my first line of research into the city is to watch an Italian made slasher film. I'm sure it's very representative... Ok, no. At least I hope not!

So this film is chalk full of prostitutes, burnt out detectives, scantily clad young ladies, mental old ladies and mysterious slasher killers speaking like Donald Duck, only more psychotic. There's not much in the way of plot and pretty much every second scene is NSFW due to nudity, sexual acts... etc...

A strange film which is all about the (hopefully exaggerated) older, sleazier side of New York's culture. Fulci shows unflinching scenes of attacks on women by his deranged killer with some truly gross effects. Usually, this would not phase me, but the film is possibly just a little too sleazy for me. It's not an enjoyable gross-out-fest, it's just a bit uncomfortable to watch.

The cartoony voice does serve its purpose, that of making this film memorable, but on the whole it kind of negates any threat the killer had. Essentially, we are just lurching from kill to kill at a slow, drunken pace whilst our detective goes down all the wrong paths on his investigation.

Not the best example of Fulci's work.

[Image: Fulvia Film]

Hani

May

"May" (2003, Lucky McKee, 2 Loop Films, Lions Gate Films) is a film about a lonely young woman who's only friend is a creepy doll her mother made her.

May (Angela Bettis) has always been an outsider. As a child (Chandler Riley Hecht) she had trouble making friends, so her mother made her one: a china doll called Suzy.

Now as an awkward adult working as a nurse in an animal hospital, May still has no close friends. She lives alone with her doll, to whom she shares all of her secrets. She has a crush on a cute mechanic from down the street who enjoys making macabre home movies and she has a complex relationship with her colleague, Polly (Anna Faris), a quirky lesbian woman who has a soft spot for May, but won't let that get in the way of her affair with another woman called Ambrosia. May is also prone to self harm.

As May's attempts to make friends with those around her fail she becomes more frantic. She perceives her failings to be the cause of Suzy and blames the doll for her situation. Although she tries desperately to fit in and to be a good person, as the film goes on she becomes more dangerous in her desperation.

I enjoyed this film. It's fairly slow burning with a nice balance of crazy and empathy built up around our title character. Bettis creates a three dimensional character who you really feel for, but know that she's not able to cope with normality. The plot keeps moving and there's a good amount of gore, suspense and fantasy. The final scenes are a good pay off and the end scene is very reminiscent of a favourite film of mine: "Pieces". There's enough humour peppered throughout to keep the tone light and the scenes are well shot and put together.

All in all, a really fresh film, even a few years on.

[Image: 2 Loop Films]

 

Hani

88

"88" (2014, April Mullen, WANGO Films) is not really a horror movie. It's more an action movie reminiscent of the likes of "Pulp Fiction" and others.

Whilst yes, it isn't a horror, I still want to mention it here because it's good, it's gory and it stars one of my favourite modern day scream queens; Katharine Isabelle. I love her. I can't help it. Not only because she is super hot and in some of my favourite films, but also because she is downright hilarious and, as proven in this particular film, extremely adaptive as an actress.

Gwen (Katharine Isabelle) walks into a highway diner with an injured hand, a gun, a backpack and no idea what the hell is going on... From there we're taken on her journey between two timelines where we get to know more about who she really is and what has brought her to this diner. As it happens, she's a pretty dangerous lady on the lookout for whoever killed her lover. And, wouldn't you know it, it was probably someone pretty dangerous who did it!

A fun and very violent film with more than one similarity to Tarantino (timeline styling, violence, gang banter....). The characters are all very colourful, very memorable and very disposable. It's stylish, witty and not scared to make you think a bit. The story manages to avoid too much confusion, despite the fractured timeline style, and everything links up nicely by the end.

So, if you're a fan of Katharine Isabelle..., or you like Tarantino-esque films..., or you like action movies.... or gore.... or if you are anyone at all... I recommend giving this movie your time. It's worth it.

[Image: Wango Films]

 

Hani

Order of the Ram (2013)

"Order of the Ram" (2013, Scott Lyus, Crossroad Pictures, Posh Dinosaur Productions) is a short Satanic cult film from young UK based director, Scott Lyus.

Clocking in at just over 15 minutes this film demonstrates Lyus' potential to create a much longer piece, although it does suffer from some flaws.

Mary (May Kaspar) is a young college student who spends most of her time alone. We're introduced to her in a normal morning as we follow her about her day. The camera work is interesting here with a focus mainly set on Mary, fuzzing out the background slightly so that the audience are drawn to her as the protagonist.

Mary is also apparently a keen nature photographer, a hobby that is destined to put her into an awkward and life threatening situation when she is cornered by the Order of the Ram (a local Satanic cult led by Mother (Danni Scott-White)) who have taken a disturbingly keen interest in Mary.

The Order are convinced that Mary is the ultimate sacrifice required to bring forth Satan, their lord and master. And like all cults, they plan to do just that...

A slow burning film which uses a lot of really nice camera work and a score reminiscent of Hammer Satanic classic B-movies such as "The Devil Rides Out" to tell a story of a lonely girl who becomes entangled in a terrible situation.

The wooded setting is well placed with some nice finishing touches including some wildlife for Mary to photograph.

The approach of Mary in the woods by her captor is successfully menacing. Unfortunately the menace ends here. The subsequent scenes, where the real horror starts, is tarnished slightly by some hollow acting from our cult leader, Mother, who has the most dialogue in the film.

Mary also doesn't give a completely convincing impression of being terrified or putting up much of a fight which takes away from what could have been a very effective scene.

The male teacher, however, plays a really quite creepy character without having to do or say much. He looks completely too happy to be there!

The ending also leaves a feeling of wanting further development. Although a longer feature could focus on what the Order do if they are unsuccessful in achieving their ultimate goal, considering the act it took to find out.... It is abrupt, but it works.

All in all a watchable piece with great potential and very promising for future works with a bigger budget from Mr Lyus.

Catch the film's teaser trailer here: http://youtu.be/vQRYA8SAlRw

[Image: Crossroad Pictures]

Hani



Nightbreed

"Nightbreed" (1990, Clive Barker, Morgan Creek Productions) is an oddity of a movie, based on Barker's own novella "Cabal".

Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer) is a bit mental. His frankly evil doctor, Philip Decker (David Cronenberg), has convinced him that he is a murderer. Aaron dreams of a place named Midian where monsters and murderers are accepted. He longs to go there.

A series of events leads Aaron to the acquaintance of Narcisse (Hugh Ross), a deranged killer, who confirms his belief in Midian and tells him how to get there, whilst giving himself a rather extreme facial....

While Boone searches for acceptance amongst the deformed creatures of Midian, his girlfriend Lori, (Anne Bobby) is trying to find him, unsure as to why he has run off and left her in the first place.

A very typically styled film from Barker, with elaborate sets, wonderfully outrageous effects and makeup and some nice gore. Unfortunately, the plot wears out after so long and the main character is dull.

On the whole, "Hellraiser" is a much better film, and "Nightbreed" pales in comparison, however, I, as usual, enjoy the styling and feel of this film and can see why it has reached Cult status.

I'm tempted now to read the Novella as my research has shown Barker is particularly disappointed with the way this film was cut and edited. Perhaps his true vision is much more disturbing. I also have to admit I have not put myself through the much longer "Cabal Cut" of this film...

B-movie cheesiness and a fun evil doctor in Cronenberg. Possibly one of the oddest love stories ever captured on film, and a lot of interesting effects makeup. If you're looking for something to keep you smiling on a rainy day, you can do much, much worse.

[Image: Morgan Creek Productions]

Hani

Proxy

"Proxy" (2013, Zach Parker) is a film about a young pregnant woman called Esther (Alexia Rasmussen) who is attacked outside of her doctor's office by a hooded assailant and loses her baby.

 

She begins attending support groups and encounters another grieving mother, Melanie (Alexa Havins), who could be as damaged as she is...

 

Actually the film is about so much more than that but that would be giving an awful lot away.

 

Definitely not a horror film, this chiller is a weird, artistic and violent piece which enjoys some gore, splatter and a shockingly brutal opening scene.

 

There's also a good change in direction, but on the whole the film is very slow to unfold. If you're prone to letting your mind wander you may be unable to sit through the whole slow burning mystery-ride.

 

However, if you go in with only a vague notion, you can certainly enjoy watching this odd and intense plot unfold.

 

 

Hani

Misery

"Misery" (1990, Rob Reiner, Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment, Columbia Pictures) is the film adaptation of Stephen King's fantastic novel "Misery".

I hold this film in high esteem because it captures a lot of the themes from the novel and the changes it makes are beneficial for the on-screen adaptation. It doesn't just chop and change features for laughs and creates a few levels of intrigue and dread without trying to go too deep.

The casting is also flawless with James Caan as author turned captive, Paul Sheldon and Kathy Bates frankly makes the role of crazy 'number one fan', Annie Wilkes, her own. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part. She is truly terrifying.

In case you've been under a rock since 1987 (when the book was published), the plot is simple: Paul Sheldon is the author of a successful fictional series called "Misery" (named after his title character). He is caught in a terrible car accident, and is horribly hurt. The car crash scene is very arty with the music. Love it.

He wakes to find that he's been saved by Annie Wilkes, a strange lady who proclaims to be his number one fan and a nurse. She nurses him back to health, but upon reading his pre-copy of his latest novel and discovering that he intends to kill off her beloved Misery, Annie gets nasty. Real nasty.

An excellent study of jailer and captive behaviour and a tense mental game of wits, I'd rate this film as one of my favourite King adaptations as well as an excellent psychological thriller.

While there are certainly 'eep' moments, this film is not a gory film or a jump-infested spook fest. It's a slow building dread, which eventually unleashes some real mental scares.

Also, there's a pretty epic fight scene that still makes my eyes water at a certain part!

[Image: Castle Rock Entertainment]

Hani

Stage Fright

"Stage Fright" aka "Stage Fright: Aquarius" aka "Deliria" (1987, Michele Soavi, DMV Distribuzione Filmirage) is an Italian/American slasher film set in a theatre.

 A troupe of actors are rehearsing a crappy, artsy musical about a masked killer called the Night Owl, when some real killings are discovered to have taken place. Could it be that a real Night Owl has returned to roost, claimed his mask and is on the hunt for more prey? Too many bird of prey jokes? Yes? Who will survive now that they are all locked inside with the killer?

A fun film, Soavi enjoys tricking his audience with misleading and cleverly panned shots. The characters are surprisingly well rounded despite a lack of deep back story. And this was Soavi's debut as a director, so I think he did rather well.

Our killer is wonderfully menacing with an extravagant mask and a dancer's style. He's also willing to use different tools from drills to axes. You've got to respect a man who can adapt to a situation.

Not the most technically advanced film in the world, but definitely fun, and with a distinctive feeling of Italian horror cinema, even when it was beginning to wane as a genre.

It's full of plot holes, some bad dubbing and some extremely B-movie acting, too.

 

 

[Image: DMV Distribuzione Filmirage]

 

Hani

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

"The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974, Tobe Hooper, Vortex, Bryanston Pictures) is the original of what was to become a franchise with the memorable gruesomely masked, chainsaw wielding killer, Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen).

Sally (Marilyn Burns) and her wheelchair bound brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), are travelling in a camper van with their friends, Jerry (Allen Danziger), Kirk (William Vail) and Pam (Terri McMinn) on a road trip to their old family home in the country. They hear of some odd goings on at the graveyard, pick up a psychotic hitch hiker, get some odd chat (and barbecue) from a local petrol station and eventually make it to the deserted house. Only they find that this isn't the end of their troubles as their neighbours would like to have them for dinner...

 This much copied Tobe Hooper classic is still standing strong to this day with some truly chilling scenes and disturbed themes. Although by today's gruesome standards it's not as splatter happy as it was back in the 70s, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" still manages to make audiences fidget uncomfortably in their seats. And it's still disturbing.

I like a Slasher film as much as the next horror nut, and Leatherface and his family are a truly scary bunch. The depravity of the film makes it one I don't watch too often, but when I do I have to admit that it is a creepy and unnerving film which, regardless of its age, still scares me on a base level.

[Image: Bryanston Pictures]

Hani

Pontypool

"Pontypool" (2009, Bruce McDonald, Maple Pictures) is a psychological thriller but it has a few splashes of gore too. It's also quite low budget, but I wouldn't have guessed!

It's Valentine's Day and ex- 'shock jock' radio DJ turned local radio host, Grant Mazzy (Stephen McHattie), is on his way to the station in the small town of Pontypool, Canada for his shift during the wee hours when he has an encounter with a strange murmuring woman. But that's not the strangest to happen to him that morning, when reports begin to roll in of strange and violent happenings in the town...

A clever film which feels bigger than it is thanks to clever camera work, good sound, nice effects, wit and humour and excellent acting.

Our charismatically grumpy protagonist keeps the plot going forward and I enjoyed his relationship with the station manageress Sydney (Lisa Houle) and technical assistant Laurel-Ann (Georgina Reilly).

The film is surprisingly engaging considering that there is very little to see (they barely leave the station) and a good sense of dread and claustrophobia builds up as the audience learns of the circumstances along with the characters.




Whilst it's not the most realistic thing to ever have a film made about it, it's certainly worthy of a few chills and manages to keep itself clear of the 'just another zombie movie' tag a film like this could so easily have been placed under.

An unsettling film which had me enthralled from the beginning, I found it innovative and intelligently pieced together. I'm not sure about the bit after the credits though...

[Image: Maple Pictures]

Hani

The Eye (2008)

"The Eye" (2008, David Moreau, Xavier Palud, Cruise/Wagner Productions, Vertigo Entertainment, Lionsgate Paramount Vantage) is the American remake of the original Chinese film from 2002.

Sydney (Jessica Alba) is a blind classical violinist. She undergoes a cornea transplant in order to restore her sight. The surgery is a complete success with one main drawback: she begins to see things.... Oh, and dead people, she also begins to see dead people.

Very reliant on jump scares, but they're pulled off quite well with sufficient overuse of the looking-through-the-peephole technique. It's also quite reminiscent of "The Sixth Sense" in style, but is not on par with the quality of story telling becoming bogged down in a stale plot.

What annoyed me the most, aside from the fact that her doctor (Alessandro Nivola) is a patronising arse for most of the film, is that she never once utters the words 'Grim Reaper' despite the fact that:

a) that is essentially what she's seeing and
b) that is a well known terminology and would have explained a lot more to the doctor than her descriptions did! No wonder they thought she was nuts! Geese!

Why is it that film and TV script writers always have to pretend like the protagonists have never heard of anything supernatural before? It's just like in every zombie movie ever where nobody ever goes "Well, fuck! That's a zombie! Quick, shoot it in the head!".

Sorry, rant over.

I did enjoy that one of the first things she buys upon regaining her sight is a flatscreen TV and also that "The Dresden Files" was on when she flicked through the channels. Good one, Lionsgate!

All in all, I found Jessica Alba to be a competent lead, which I was admittedly not expecting, and despite a drawn out plot, the film is watch-able and makes good use of the jump-scares.

Asian horrors as a whole are generally creepier and more effective. However, while this film doesn't add anything new to the American Remake bundle, it's certainly a scary movie you could introduce horror-keen young teens to! Average, but it could be an excellent sleepover movie, I reckon.

[Image: Vertigo Entertainment]

 

Hani

Lovely Molly

"Lovely Molly" (2011, Eduardo Sánchez, Amber Entertainment, Haxan Films) is a supernatural horror.

Molly (Gretchen Lodge) has just married her lorry-driver lover, Tim (Johnny Lewis) and moved in to her dearly departed parents' family home. Upon moving in, strange noises can be heard in the house and the alarm begins to sound when everyone is in bed.

But, as Tim heads back to work long-distance leaving Molly alone in the house, she begins to unravel. At first she is disturbed by a presence in the house but soon she feels that she is being followed wherever she goes! As she folds in upon herself, shying away from her sister Hannah (Alexandra Holden) and Tim she becomes sure that the force haunting her is her deceased father, and we begin to learn more about she and Hannah's dark childhood...

A bit of a hodge-podge of found footage and normal film, the scenes play out with quite a strange atmosphere. The colouring is also quite sombrely hued, which, added to the setting of the film, gives it more of a French or British horror feel than an American one which I quite enjoyed.

Solid performances from Lodge, Lewis and Holden add to the quiet but panicked atmosphere. The feeling of dread builds up and up until we see that Molly has really lost it.

The film manages to keep the creep factor on high, despite not actually showing very much which works really well with the setting and harks back to more classic films.

It's not a game changer, gives an air of uncertainty as to the full plot, and is a little slow burning with only a few jumps which any seasoned horror viewer should see coming, but I reckon it would be excellent to watch it alone in the dark!

[Image: Amber Entertainment]

 

Hani

The Shining

"The Shining" (1980, Stanley Kubrick, Warner Bros., Peregrine Productions, Producers Circle) is one of my all-time favourites. I love the book, but then again, it's Stephen King, what's not to like? It's a truly creepy read, and if you haven't already, I highly recommend!

Despite not being particularly true to the novel, Kubrick's film is an outstanding piece of cinema, and really a film that everyone should see at least once.

With a disturbing score that is reminiscent of Italian horror films such as "Suspiria", where a harrowing, off-key backing track really builds tension and unease! It really sets my teeth on edge, which is just how Jack is feeling!

Struggling novelist, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) has taken a job as an off-season, live-in caretaker of the salubrious and remote mountain hotel, The Overlook Hotel. He, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) move in and settle in for a long winter.

Danny and his 'imaginary friend' Tony are not keen on the hotel, but he plays on regardless, despite being troubled by terrible visions of the hotel's bloody past.

Wendy carries on doing Jack's job while Jack, who is becoming increasingly 'grouchy' as the days tick on, sits in the large main hall and writes.

But soon Jack's grouchiness is leaning more into insanity as the bloody events of the hotel's past seem destined to repeat again and again, "forever and ever and... ever..."

A creepy film which has given me the shivers in large hotels since the tender age of six (when I first watched it), it is responsible for many an iconic scene including the creepy Grady twins and that wonderful "Here's Johnny!" moment.

Nicholson is in his element playing the creepy, ever maddening husband, while poor Shelley Duvall plays the traumatised wife and mother to a tee!

Gripping but relatively quiet, until Jack gets his axe that is, it is a film that is both extremely late 70s, early 80s in telling and in dress sense, but it still remains an effective piece that can thrill and shock viewers to this day.

[Image: Warner Bros.]

 

Hani

Case 39

"Case 39" (2009, Christian Alvart, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Pictures) is a demon-spawn kind of film.

Emily (Renée Zellweger) is a social worker working 38 child abuse cases. She is handed yet another case; that of little Lilith/Lily (Jodelle Ferland) who appears to be being abused by her parents. Feeling that this case is particularly important, Emily steps in and soon becomes the actual guardian of Lilith. However, soon she begins to suspect that perhaps there was good reason for Lily's parents being the way that they were...

Starting off as a bit of a slow burner, I have to admit I was verging into boredom. There are a few scenes where the building feeling of threat is really effective, but I don't think the feeling of panic I was expecting was ever fully developed.

I think this film might have been better had I not seen "Orphan" first, which is a far superior adopted-child-is-actually-evil film. Although I can't fault the creepy acting from Jodelle Ferland in "Case 39", she really can jump from 'butter wouldn't melt' to 'I know too much and I will use it against you' very well.

I wouldn't say I didn't like it, but I'm glad I saw it on Netflix rather than bought it on DVD. It's just a little dull is all.

[Image: Paramount Pictures]

Lilith from "Supernatural" was much scarier, though

 

Hani

Children of the Corn

"Children of the Corn" (1984, Fritz Kiersch, New World Pictures) is based on Stephen King's story of the same name, but is not identical story-wise.

The children of Gatlin, Nebraska have rebelled, killing all of the adults and following the teachings of a strange Preaching boy named Isaac (John Franklin) who tells of a demon named "He who walks behind the rows". The demon is responsible, so says Isaac, for the failure of the corn crops and desires to be worshipped with the blood sacrifice of adults. Gatlin, previously a farming community, has become a backwoods cult deadzone, where no adult is safe from Isaac and his blood thirsty followers, even those who have grown up there...

Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) stumble upon the town when given bad directions from a local garage owner who's paid off by the Gatlin kids to send straggling adults their way.

With the help of two non-believing children, Job (Robby Kiger) and Sarah (Anne Marie McEvoy), can Burt and Vicky avoid being lead to slaughter? And can they defeat Isaac and his right hand boy, Malachai (Courtney Gains)? And is there really a demon back there behind those rows of corn?! Well, watch and see.

While dated and a little slow in places, this film doesn't disappoint with sudden action. From rampaging, murderous children to road accidents, there's a lot going on. There's a small amount of gore, and a fair few parts always make me think this story must have inspired some of the storyline in "Silent Hill", but on the whole it's hardly a shudderfest and is best approached with relatively low expectations and an understanding that it is, afterall, a B-Movie.

[Image: New World Pictures]

Hani