Hell Fest

"Hell Fest" (2018, Gregory Plotkin, Tucker Tooley Entertainment, Valhalla Motion Pictures, CBS Films, Lionsgate) is a slasher film set at a Halloween theme park.

A group of teen friends visit the Hell Fest themepark together, enjoying their VIP passes. However, they soon notice that they are being followed by The Other, a masked man. Is it just another of the park's entertainment or have they attracted the attention of a serial killer?

While the film is serviceable, it is largely trope-ridden. The scares don't always successfully land and you don't get to know any of the characters well enough to make them much more than slasher fodder. The killer himself is also fairly forgettable and lacks any interesting quirks or characteristics that would let him in with any chance of joining the slasher villains' rogue gallery. It is nice, however, to see a film not just falling into the 'the park staff are in on it' story.

The festival itself looks fun and is a great scene for this type of story. The set design and range of horror themes threaded through the theme park are really well done and make the film worth seeing for that element alone.

All in all, it's not very original but is worth checking out if you're a slasher fan looking for something new to watch.

[Image: Tucker Tooley Entertainment, et al]

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Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

"Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988, Dwight H. Little, Trancas International) is the fourth instalment in the Halloween franchise and a direct sequel to Halloween 2.

Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur, Tom Morga & Erik Preston) wakes from a coma and discovers that his sister Laurie has been reported dead, but had a daughter called Jamie (Danielle Harris) who is living in Haddonfield with a foster family. He makes a murderous bee-line towards Haddonfield to find her, whilst being tailed by Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence).

The film is a pretty by-the-book slasher movie and pales, of course, in comparison to the original. Donald Pleasence, as ever, manages to deliver a dedicated performance, and Danielle Harris gives a strong performance as the young Jamie, however overall Michael is just slashing over familiar ground and it lacks the tension of its predecessors. Despite that, it remains an entertaining film and is still worth visiting for some old fashioned slasher movie nonsense.

[Image: Trancas International]

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Haunt

"Haunt" (2019, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Broken Road Productions, Nickel City Pictures, Sierra/Afinity) is a film about an extreme Halloween haunted house attraction.


Are extreme Haunts a real thing? Regardless, this story follows a group of students who go searching for a way to keep the party going after the clubs close on Halloween night and venture into an extreme Haunt they find on a secluded road. But the convincing scares they witness at the start of their tour might be more than clever tricks and they soon realise that they themselves may be the next part of the attraction.


It's a premise that's been done before in films such as 2014's "The Houses October Built" , however, I'd hasten to add that filmmakers Beck and Woods, who are better known perhaps for "A Quiet Place", have selected a different style of storytelling and steered clear of the found footage style, which differentiates this work from others of its kind. The action is pretty good and the gore is very well realised. The pacing of the film is also fairly sturdy with very few long pauses between action.


My main and only gripe with the film, really, is that the characters are so unlikeable that I didn't feel like I was rooting for anyone in particular. Even protagonist, Harper (Katie Stevens), is not as sympathetic as she could have been. This isn't a comment on the acting, however, and is admittedly not uncommon in slasher movies, where most of the cast are really just fodder anyway. In that respect, the film delivers a good bounty of kills and gore as well as not delving too far into trying to explain the reasons behind the murder and mayhem. Certainly worth checking out this spooky season on Shudder.

[Image: Broken Road Productions, et al]

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You Might be the Killer

"You Might be the Killer" (2018, Brett Simmons, Chuck Wendig, Curmudgeon Films) is a horror comedy set at a Summer Camp in America.

Sam (Fran Kranz) is a camp counsellor who awakes from a blackout to find that there has been a massacre at the summer camp he works at. He can't remember much before the blackout, but while on the phone to his horror movie fan friend, Chuck (Alyson Hannigan) things begin to clear and he begins to question his role in the bloodshed.

A fun and extremely meta horror comedy which plays tropes from a range of genre favourites for laughs. Starting out as a viral Twitter conversation between authors, Chuck Wendig and Sam Sykes, the film is very playful, suitably gory and extremely tongue in cheek.

As a fan of both Kranz and Hannigan, I can't say I went into this film anything but keen and open minded, but I'm happy to report that the film was solid and irreverent enough that I know I would have enjoyed it anyway, even without those two filling the key roles. Kranz, however, continues to be able to get away with (on screen/in universe) murder while remaining a very sympathetic character.

Like most horror comedies, the main plot joke does lose some of its sting by the end of the run time. But its cheeky styling and ability to poke fun at the genre whilst remaining respectful of horror as a whole makes this a playful and entertaining watch.

Available to watch on Shudder.

[Image: Curmudgeon Films]

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Halloween (2018)

"Halloween" (2018, David Gordon Green, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions, Trancas International Films, Rough House Pictures, Universal Pictures) is a direct sequel to John Carpenter's original 1978 classic slasher, "Halloween". The film is set in present day and ignores all other sequels existing in the series.

We catch back up with Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) who has lived a life of seclusion and paranoia with PTSD after the events of Halloween night 40 years previously in Haddonfield. She is estranged from her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) and her family, but her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) is keen to reconnect with her.

Concurrently, we learn of the fate of Michael Myers (Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney) through the investigations of Aaron (Jefferson Hall) and Dana (Rhian Rees) who are researching him for their true-crime podcast. He has spent the last 4 decades in a high security sanitarium. When being transferred to a high security prison, however, Michael manages to escape and heads for home to celebrate Halloween in the only way he knows how: by murdering a bunch of innocent bystanders...

Seeing the film on opening night was definitely a good experience. The crowd were good fun, but not rowdy enough to ruin the tense scenes in the film. The film plays out a little more like an action movie than a horror, but pays good homage to the original in so many ways without feeling like it's treading old ground. Where the original is a study in tense pacing, this film packs in a lot of action and some very effective gore. There are also bursts of humour that I felt added to the plot (I particularly loved the scenes with sassy kid, Julian (Jibrail Nantambu), who seemed to be the most sensible person in the movie).

Jamie Lee Curtis gives us an emotionally charged, but feisty return performance as Laurie; a woman who has been through a lot and not been able to move on. And both Karen's and Allyson's actions and feelings are understandable. The women are all strong characters but are not infallible. Their humanity is in great contrast to the Shape's lack of it.

A strange turn of events reminiscent to Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers does present itself, but does not derail the overall plot. All in all, I really enjoyed this sequel and, while it's certainly not perfect, I felt that it both slotted in as a continuation and updated the franchise effectively; bringing back Michael Myers once again to his ominous glory.

[Image: Blumhouse Productions, et al]

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Most Likely To Die

"Most Likely To Die" (2015, Anthony DiBlasi, Snowfall Films, Marvista Entertainment) is a slasher movie about a high school reunion gone wrong.

A group of friends arrange a party the night before their 10-year high school reunion. They soon realise that they're being picked off one by one by a slasher-killer wearing a graduation outfit. Each of them meets their fate in a way related to what they were voted "most likely to..." in their high school year book. The friends begin to suspect that the killer may be a guy who they played a terrible prank on in senior year, resulting in ruining his life... But, how could it be, when they were sure he was dead?

The film has a very 90s feel to it, despite being made in 2015. However, its predictable nature and style wears a bit thin after a while and it become less charming and more formulaic. The characters are very disposable and 2-dimensional, so there's very little emotion invested in their untimely deaths.

All in all, it has a made-for-tv quality that puts it firmly into the teenage-sleepover-party movie box.

[Image: Snowfall Films, Marvista Entertainment]

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Hush

"Hush" (2016, Mike Flanagan, Blumhouse Productions, Intrepid Pictures, Netflix) is a psychological thriller/slasher/home invasion movie. 

Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) is a young, deaf author who is living alone in a secluded house whilst trying to finish her latest novel. She is targeted by a masked killer (John Gallagher Jr.) who soon notices that she cannot hear and tries to take advantage of this fact as he baits her.

A creative film for the genre, with some really good casting and smart, tense scenes. The action is gory and fast paced. Our protagonist is a strong lead, despite her lack of spoken words. Our antagonist is also pretty strong as the sick, twisted psycho who's motivation we are not truly sure of. And the few other supporting characters manage to create rounded, sympathetic roles despite a small screen time. "Hush" is a really excellent piece that breaks down tropes and keeps the viewer engaged throughout. 

Definitely worth your time.

[Image: Blumhouse Productions, et al]

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The Boy (2016)

"The Boy" (2016, William Brent Bell, Huayi Brothers Pictures, Lakeshore Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment, STX Entertainment) is a horror thriller set in England.

Greta (Lauren Cohan) is a young American woman who's come over to England to work as a nanny for Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire (Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle) and their son, Brahms. She arrives at the large, grand, country house to find it empty, except for the local green grocer, Malcolm (Ruper Evans), who takes a fancy to her. Eventually the Heelshire's arrive home and introduce her to her charge, Brahms, and explain her routine and responsibilities. To Greta's surprise, Brahms, is not at all what she expected and her job is weirder than she could have anticipated.

A fun, jumpy film with some nice twists and turns and a strong lead character who pulls off the scared female role and the fight or flight mode really well. The jarring change in direction the film takes could be seen as unwanted by some viewers, but I appreciated the change in pace. The setting is perfect, and although the film overuses some tropes (dream sequences, for example), it is creative, if not ground breaking. It was an enjoyable 98 minutes.

[Image: Huayi Brothers Pictures]

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The House of Him

"The House of Him" (Robert Florence, 2014, Bold Yin) is a film about a masked killer who lures women to his house before killing them at his leisure.

Set in present day Glasgow, a masked man (Richard Rankin) is pursuing Anna (Louise Stewart) around his boarded up house as he attempts to kill her. As he chases her, he is troubled by the presence and judgements of his previous victims whom he has buried within his home.

"The House of Him" is a low budget film, having been made for only £1,000. The setting is very simple and the premise appears simple from the outset. It turns out to be more than a slasher, however, with an underlying comment about domestic abuse and misogyny. It can be an uncomfortable watch as our menacing, hateful, woman-hating killer talks with Anna, making his thoughts on her, and of women in general, clear.

The film has a good score provided by Iain Cook of the band Chvrches, but is otherwise very quiet. This sometimes lends itself well to creating a raw and uncomfortable atmosphere, but often makes the scenes feel long.

The climax of the film is not what I was expecting at all, and I also didn't expect a low budget film to have such a deep message about not only victimisation and blame, but about how the real monsters in this world are supposedly normal people whom we interact with everyday. Powerful stuff.

Not everyone's cup of tea, for sure. But, with a fair few legitimate Glaswegian accents. I appreciated this film's deviation from the norm.

[Image: Bold Yin]

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Tales of Halloween

"Tales of Halloween" (2015, Neil Marshall, Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Lucky McKee, Andrew Kasch, Paul Solet, John Skipp, Adam Gierasch, Jace Anderson, Mike Mendez, Ryan Schifrin, Dave Parker, Epic Pictures, Film Entertainment Services) is a horror anthology of ten short films which are all interlocked.

With cameos from John Landis, Joe Dante, Barry Bostwick and Adrienne Barbeau (to name but a few), this horror anthology is a good bit of gory fun. 

Although the shorts are indeed.... short... they are entertaining. More often leaning to horror comedy than true horror, each story is a fun gem of cheesy, self awareness that's bound to please, with a few surprising twists which keep you keyed in on the action. I'll admit that some are of course, better than others (to my taste), but there's something in here for everyone. 

A great film for Halloween night.

[Image: Epic Pictures]

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The Final Girls

"The Final Girls" (2015, Todd Strauss-Schulson, Groundswell Productions, Studio Solutions, Ulterior Productions, Stage 6 Films, Vertical Entertainment) is a satirical slasher horror comedy.

Max (Taissa Farmiga) is the daughter of a B-movie scream queen called Amanda (Malin Åkerman) who has been typecast since her role as shy-girl Nancy in cult 80s B-movie "Camp Bloodbath" (a clear homage to "Friday the 13th"). On their way home from one of Amanda's auditions they are involved in an awful car accident, leaving Max as the sole survivor.

Three years later, on the anniversary of her mother's death, Max is convinced by her best friend's horror-obsessed stepbrother, Duncan (Thomas Middleditch), to attend a screening of "Camp Bloodbath" at the local cinema. Her best friend, Gertie (Alia Shawkat), and her crush, Chris (Alexander Ludwig) both agree to come with her. During the show a horrific fire breaks out and Max, Duncan, Chris, Gertie and Chris' possessive ex, Vicki (Nina Dobrev), all escape by tearing a hole in the cinema screen. When they get through they realise, however, that they have somehow found themselves inside the film and are unable to escape!

The gang have to join the film's cast of clichéd 80s horror characters in the film's plot and attempt not to get killed by the machete wielding, masked murderer, Billy (Dan B. Morris). However, thanks to Duncan, they are all too aware of the horror 'rules' and Max also has to get used to seeing her mother again in the flesh as an unwitting, teen camp counsellor.

An interesting premise which sounds a lot hoakier than it is. This film was really entertaining. The cast, as well as being recognisable, are really great. The characters are a great blend of purposefully twee and actually likeable. The plot is silly, but the film enjoys some really nice camera work and good comedic writing. Whilst it's not an entirely original idea to explore the horror 'rules', "The Final Girls" also enjoys a surprising level of emotion and stands out as a fun example of satirical horror.

[Image: Groundswell Productions, et al]

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The Tour

"The Tour" (2014, Alex Mathieson, Damon Rickard, Raedar Productions) is a short horror film that is 15 minutes long.

This compact little film crams a practically whole film plot into its small runtime. But it does this without feeling rushed.

Two young American girls, Cassie (Heather Dorff) and Morgan (Jessica Cameron), are doing a European tour. They have landed in England and have joined a haunted house tour in a small, quiet town. Darkmoor House is the key highlight of the tour; it's steeped in mysterious deaths and disappearances, however, unfortunately the tour does not go inside.

Tom the tour guide (Tom Gordon) takes a shine to Cassie and invites the two flirty girls for a private tour of the house. Once inside, however, things become a lot more sinister than just spooky stories by torchlight...

Managing to create a whole film within 15 minutes without coming a rushed mess is impressive. The scenes are remarkably well shot and the full product is well put together. Whilst the plot came across as quite average, there were actually a couple of well placed twists that made the short stand out against other haunted house stories, and the acting was very competent and believable with every character defining their own personality.

The scenes within the house were effective, if low budget, and there was even a nice jump or two that had the room of viewers twitch.

Scream queens Heather and Jessica, who acted together on other projects, create a good team and a lot of screams. The film benefitted from having a classic feel to it without being too predictable, and came together very effectively.

[Image: Raedar Productions]

 

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Girl House

"Girl House" (2015, Trevor Matthews) is a slasher set in a place that can only be described as the "Playboy Mansion" meets the "Big Brother House".

We are first introduced to a heavy boy being taunted by young girls (one of whom you may recognise as little cat woman in "Gotham"). The girls unfairly tease the boy and call him 'Loverboy' over and over. They eventually push him too far and he exacts some pretty graphic revenge.

Jump to present day and Kylie is a college student in need of money. She decides to enrol as a new sexpot starlet for reality porn website which is filled with 24 hour cameras and hot babes going about everyday life... and then some. And, wouldn't you know it, she gets the job.

Kylie is given the tour and is introduced to her new housemates who, of course, range from bitchy, to lesbian, to busty, to kick ass, to nice. Kylie's given her room and her laptop and left to it. She soon proves she has the stuff "Ugly Coyote"-style by dancing in her pants for all the drooling viewers. That makes her an official girl now, so that's that out of the way.

Soon we are reintroduced to, now fully grown and still trodden-upon, Loverboy (rapper Slain); a frequenter and regular of the porn site. All the girls know his name and, because they cannot judge him on his looks because it is a one way camera set up, they think of him affectionately as a simple sweetie and nothing to be scared of. Unfortunately, being too nice to this guy can cause issues and Kylie manages to go too far. Even more unfortunate is the fact that Loverboy is pretty good with the ol' IT skills and, donning standard slasher attire, he finds the house and turns this film from a weird softporn film into a weird softporn gorefest.

I went in knowing practically nothing about this film. The opening credits are very...well, smutty, really, but I decided not to let me get put off. About half way through I was caught between actually being curious about this plot and also wondering when the horror was going to start, but believe me, there's a lot of gore payoff after the first half.

Actually this film is quite effective. Yes it's full of tropes and, yes it is pretty much a slasher in a house full of honeys in sexy undies, but actually some of the gore is quite creative and the acting is really good, if sometimes a bit cheesy. As well as the sexy ladies and our "Heffner"-like character, we also have love interest, Ben, and his nerdy college roommate, Alex; who proves to be a very good comedic foil.

The plot is not ground breaking, but it's quite fun. I'd hasten to add this is obviously not everyone's cup of tea; it is set in a porn-mansion. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find out this film was not a train wreck and was oddly a funny, naughty, blood-soaked cheese-fest.

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Fear Clinic

"Fear Clinic" (2014, Robert Green Hall, Bearing Entertainment, Dry County Films, Fear Chamber Productions, Anchor Bay Entertainment) is based on a web series of the same name. I haven't seen the web series, but it didn't hinder my understanding of the premise of the film.

Dr.Andover (Robert Englund) is a psychiatric doctor who has invented a machine (which is reminiscent of an Iron Lung) which he uses to help his patients confront their greatest fears and phobias, curing them of such.

A group of people who all experienced a traumatic incident together, but who previously were unacquainted, have all been patients of Dr. Andover after the terrible events left them with crippling phobias.

They had thought themselves cured, but a year after their treatments, they all begin to be plagued once again. They independantly return to the clinic, to discover that it is all but shut down and that Dr. Andover is having serious doubts after one patient dies during the treatment and some very real manifestations begin to torture both him and his remaining patients.

So, what to say....

It's a good premise. It's got some really talented genre actors in it and it also has Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour in it (and a shedload of not-so-subtle Slipknot and Stone Sour references laced through it). The characters are fine; some interesting even. Maybe not all developed particularly...

The hallucinations are fun and a little gross with some nice, good old fashioned physical effects. And the setting is as to be expected (creepy, old, run down hospital).

So, why am I not raving its praises? Because it's just not worthy. I was confused due to disjointed scripting and thus bored. And not scared.

Robert Englund's character is haunted and withdrawn. He's meant to be that way; it's part of the story. But it just took away some of his iconic charisma.

But that's not my problem. Essentially my problem was the lack of rules. It felt like they had a concept story and a 'verse planned out and then forgot to cement the rules. By the end it was just all the characters going loopy, which didn't fit with the tense, slow build up throughout the rest of the film. And a mishmash of information given to us at the start was left unused, but not in a clever red-herringy way.

It has a lot of potential but just doesn't deliver what I was expecting. A bit of a disappointment really.

Oh, and as much as I love Robert Englund, I've never ever needed to see so much of his bare backside!

Image: as marked

 

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Torment

"Torment" (2013, Jordan Barker, Filmmax Intrernational) is about a father, Cory (Robin Dunne), and his son who go up to their holiday cottage with Cory's new, young wife, Sarah (Katharine Isabelle), in an attempt for young Liam to bond with her. So far, it's not going well.

Things are bound to get worse, however, when they discover that people have been squatting in their home... Recently.

Upon checking out their only neighbouring cottage and finding it suspiciously empty, Cory becomes concerned. But soon, a shocking turn changes the family's lives forever when they discover that they have become the latest hunted prey of an insane family of teddybear mask-wearing killers, hellbent on torture.

A fast and well executed affair with a surprisingly low budget and a good amount of gore, violence and actual characters.

Katharine Isabelle is a favourite of mine and she portrays a fantastically believable female character who is both terrified but capable and doesn't spend the whole flick either screaming or inexplicably kicking ass as if she's Buffy Summers.

Dunne creates a good father character, humanised by his desire to both welcome his new wife into his home and desperate for his son to accept her.

The kid is fantastic. He's a little shit, but he's got good reason.

On the whole the action is great. I wasn't too excited about the reasoning behind the masked 'father's' obsession with tormenting people and building his own little death family, but watching the aftermath was fun.

A film that does what it sets out to do without getting too precious about it.

A definite highlight at Glasgow Film4 Fright Fest!

 

[Image: Filmmax International]

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The Funhouse

"The Funhouse" (1981, Tobe Hooper, Universal Pictures) is an American slasher.

A group of teen couples decide to sneak into the travelling carnival's Ghost Train, or "Funhouse", for an overnight romp only to witness a murder and then have to run from the deformed killer and his travelling family!

Pretty standard slasher fare, I was surprised to find it was a post-Chainsaw Tobe Hooper film. However, there are a few laughs, an enjoyable deformed mask (complete with slobber) and a pretty good axe through the head scene.

The setting is always going to be a winner with creepy sideshows and spook house nonsense and the simple plot lends itself well to the setting and doesn't try to go into any backstory.

A simple, pleasing, if slow, slasher film. Not Hooper's best, but still a good fright night movie.

[Image: Universal Pictures]

 

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You're Next

"You're Next" (2011 - released 2013, Adam Wingard, Lionsgate, Icon Pictures) is a 'home invasion' slasher film.

The advertising for this film was very promising. From the creepy masks, secluded setting and traditional stalk-and-slash genre, it seemed like a winner.

I'm sure from the tone of this post, however, that you have guessed that I did not find this film to be much of a winner...

The kick off is fast and bloody. It almost has a 70s slasher feel to it, too, which is then carried on into the next scene where we are introduced to some of our main characters Crispian (A.J. Bowen) and his fiancée Erin (Sharni Vinson), who are on their way to visit Crispian's wealthy parents in their new luxury holiday home. It seems that all of Crispian's brothers are also visiting for the weekend with their girlfriends/spouses and fiancées too.

Unfortunately, the family reunion is to be spoiled when a small band of animal-masked killers target the family with a range of weapons in an organised assault.

An odd film, it couldn't decide if it was going for the feeling of an older film or trying to be modern.

The characters also lacked a lot of development, resulting in them becoming, to me, very disposable. I found myself rooting for the killers just to see what imaginative killing devices they had cooked up next!

Where the backstory was provided it seemed forced and patchy, and acted as nothing more than an excuse to create a kick-ass female character. Now, I'm not complaining. I'm a Whedon fan. A kick-ass female lead is always fun, but maybe a bit more thought could have went into the character set up there.

The twist, because let's face it there was always going to be one or two... or three..., is intriguing but not clever. And the plot is painfully slow, allowing me to begin thinking about other things while our boring collection of characters did some stuff.

Also, the mother looked younger than her 'sons'. A bun hair do is not sufficient as 'older person' make-up!

Of course, I do have nice things to say about this film too.

The action, when it gets around to it, is impeccable. The gore is fun and shocking, the killing techniques are interesting and believable. The scary bits are indeed scary. The masks are an excellent touch and the blender kill is pure genius!

While I would hasten to add that I think gore hounds and horror fans should definitely all see this film just to appreciate its ups, I found its downs to outweigh the fun and horror and leave me feeling mostly unimpressed.

 

 

[Image: Lionsgate & Icon Pictures]

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Halloween 2

"Halloween 2" (1981, Rick Rosenthal, Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Corporation) is the sequel to John Carpenter's masterpiece.

Michael Myers (Dick Warlock), the unstoppable madman, is still home for his favourite holiday and he's still hell-bent on tormenting Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) and other teens in Haddonfield. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is still tailing him. And, wouldn't you know it, everyone is still pretty unprepared for the events, despite a whole load of murders in town already...

A pretty slow film, which holds none of the artful suspense of its predecessor but makes up for it with a lot more gore/violence, it serves as an unrequired and uninspired sequel to a good film. Rather than adding to the plot, it instead imitates its own imitators.

Not my favourite Halloween film. But still an interesting piece of cinema in respect to styling.

 

 

[Image: Universal Pictures]

 

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