Doctor Sleep

"Doctor Sleep" (2019, Mike Flanagan, Intrepid Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures) is the film adaptation of Stephen King's 2013 follow up to his novel, "The Shining". It's also a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 classic film adaptation of "The Shining".

Mike Flanagan continues to impress with his spooky style and crafting. As a big fan of both The Shining and also the novel of "Doctor Sleep" itself, I was pleased to thoroughly enjoy this film.

Danny Torrance (Roger Dale Floyd) and his mother Wendy (Alex Essoe) move to Florida after the events at the Overlook Hotel. Danny is deeply affected by what he saw and learned in the Rocky Mountains, but he's also being dogged by the hungry spectres of the hotel who have followed he and his mother. Luckily, the spectre of Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly) is also still around and with his help, Danny is able to find a way to lock the Overlook's ghosts away.

Years pass and we find Danny (Ewan McGregor), now "Dan", has followed his father's footsteps and become an unemployed alcoholic with anger issues. But when he is contacted through the Shining by a young girl called Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who believes that she and other children with the gift are in danger at the hands of the devious True Knot gang lead by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), he finds himself and his friend, Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis) are the only ones able to offer their help.

It's a great tale and the film is perfectly cast, with possibly the exception of Jack Torrance who is a smidge unconvincing as a young Jack Nicholson. Essoe, however, is fantastic as Wendy without feeling too much like an impersonation. Carl Lumbly also brings Hallorann back to the screen exceptionally.

McGregor gives his usual great performance and delivers Dan Torrance right from the pages of the book. Kyliegh Curran also gives a strong performance throughout giving Abra the right level of spunk and optimism.

Our villains are perfectly villainous. Rose the Hat is page perfect, and manages to be monstrous but also demonstrates her own misguided determination to maintain her 'family'. The True Knot are fabulously brought to life and perfectly cast. It's almost a shame we don't get to know them better but the screen time we get with them is fun, dark and twisted .

The recreation of the interior of the Overlook is lovingly done and stands extremely well as a side to side comparison with Kubrick's film. The ghosts also are great fun and recreated with a fan's eye. Some scenes in the exterior of the hotel are a little less shiny, but overall don't mar the film.

All in all, I found this film to be exactly what I would have asked for. I look forward to it being released with some behind the scenes or documentary footage.

[Image: Intrepid Pictures, et al]

Hani

Ghost Stories

"Ghost Stories" (2017, Andy Nyman, Jeremy Dyson, Altitude Film Entertainment, Warp Films, Catalyst Global Media, Screen Yorkshire, Lionsgate Films) is an anthology film based on a stage play.

Philip Goodman (Andy Nyman) is a Professor who debunks fraudster psychics and other paranormal healers on his TV show. He explains at the beginning of the film that his disdain for such beliefs arose out of his own experiences where his strict, religious father disowned Philip's sister for dating someone whom he did not approve of.

Philip is thrilled to be asked by his hero, Charles Cameron, whom he had thought deceased, to investigate some cases that he had been unable to resolve himself. Cameron tells Philip that he no longer believes that there are no ghosts. Philip pursues the three cases, keen to prove the old man wrong.

Philip visits first a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) who believes that he was haunted by the spirit of a dead girl. However, he also has guilt over not visiting his own daughter who is ill and Philip believes that the watchman is simply haunted by his own guilt. This segment was perhaps the slowest, and I did find myself a little bored. Although, I do like Paul Whitehouse.

Philip is then introduced to a strange young man (Alex Lawther) who believes that he ran the devil over when joy riding in his father's car. However, Philip observes that the boy is obsessed with the occult and has a dysfunctional relationship with his parents and so surmises that the boy has simply imagined it. This segment did not go the way I was expecting, but I can't help but think that more creep factor could have been made from the parents.

Finally, Philip meets a Financier (Martin Freeman), who explains that he was haunted by a Poltergeist during the birth of his child. His wife died during the ordeal and the child, it is intimated, is abnormal; but in what way it is not revealed. This segment was my favourite of the film and featured a shocking scene that was delivered with such calm sobriety from Freeman that it made it all the more chilling.

Returning to Cameron, Philip begins to experience strange happenings of his own and the film takes a bizarre and unnerving twist that somewhat saved it from being yet another anthology horror.

The film was somewhat slow burning and some scenes were extremely dark, however, I enjoyed the various reveals throughout and the cold, cold ending.

[Image: Altitude Film Entertainment, et al]

Hani

Parallel

"Parallel" (2016. Ieva Makselyte, Parallel Entertainment) is a supernatural thriller about alternate dimensions and love.


Heather (Faye Sewell) is chatted up by Neil (David Magowan) at a party. The couple hit it off and suddenly they enter a bit of whirlwind romance. Their whirlwind is stopped, however, when they encounter a mysterious psychic called Machlis (Brian Carter) who tells them about the parallel world; a world similar, and yet different from our own where there are parallel versions of us living different lives.


Heather is fascinated, and although Neil is not convinced initially, he too becomes interested after a session with Machlis. They find that their parallel lives are very different. In this reality, they do not meet one another at the eventful birthday party, and instead become romantically involved with much less savoury people.


Having both become obsessed with following their alternate lives, Heather and Neil risk losing everything. And there's that ever hanging thread of doubt that what they're experiencing is even real...


An interesting premise that's handled well for a low budget, indy film. The characters have some good chemistry and there are a few twists and turns in the plot. However, there are a few sound issues which are distracting and take a little away from the quality of the film.


The film won semi-final status at Los Angeles Cinefest 2016 and is available to stream on Amazon UK and Amazon Video.

[Image: Parallel Entertainment]

Hani

The Dead Zone

"The Dead Zone" (1983, David Cronenberg, Dino De Laurentiis Company, Lorimar Film Entertainment) is an adaptation of a Stephen King story.

Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is a schoolteacher in the small American town of Castle Rock. After spending the day with his girlfriend and colleague, Sarah (Brooke Adams), he declines her offer to spend the night at her place and drives home in a storm. He is involved in a terrible accident and ends up in a coma.

Five years later Johnny awakes not only to find that Sarah has married another, but also that his coma has caused Johnny to develop certain psychic abilities. He reluctantly helps the local police with some cases, but his abilities lead him to more and more trouble. Johnny decides to try to use his powers to stop a huge catastrophe, but he may not live to tell the tale...

A relatively slow moving film, that remains engrossing regardless of its pace. Walken brings the role to life in his usual characteristic and intense manner. More of a thriller than a horror, the film manages to make you almost forget entirely that you're watching a film about supernatural abilities: it seems so matter of fact and normal. It's also quite true to the source material and feels like its made by a master, despite being more mainstream than Cronenberg's usual films.

Poor Johnny gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this film. Poor guy.

[Image: Dino De Laurentiis Company, et al]

Hani

Don't Look Now

"Don't Look Now" (1973, Nicolas Roeg, Casey Productions, Eldorado Films, British Lion Films) is an independent Italian-British film.It's actually based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier.

John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura (Julie Christie) have recently moved to the city of Venice after their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), had tragically drowned at their home in England (because the first thing you'd want to do after a water-related tragedy is move somewhere that is full of water...).

Whilst eating out, Laura meets two elderly sisters, Heather (Hilary Mason) and Wendy (Clelia Matania). Heather is blind and claims to be psychic. She tells Laura that she has spoken to her daughter from beyond the grave and that she is happy.

Although sceptical at first, John begins to see creepy things himself one of which is a child wearing a red coat similar to the one his daughter was wearing the day that she drowned... Despite being warned by Heather to leave Venice, John continues to search for answers, and it may not be ghosts that he's seeing...

A really intriguing and weird film with beautiful scenery, a slightly confusing, but engaging plot and a few nice twists and turns along the way. The story is really a study on grief and eloquently captures the journey of this couple's grief. It's not a horror in the usual sense, more a thriller, but has some really key horror aspects to it that make it a haunting and classic tale.

[Image: Casey Productions, et al]

Hani

The Black Cat

"The Black Cat" aka "Gatto Nero" (1981, Lucio Fulci, Shameless Screen Entertainment) is a film loosely based on the Edgar Allen Poe story.

A black cat stalks an English town, killing under the orders of its master, Psychic Medium Professor Miles (Patrick Magee). However, it would seem that the murderous moggy has turned upon its master, and is now killing at its own will!

It's not on the level of "House by the Cemetery" and its gore cannot compare to many of Fulci's other works, but "The Black Cat" is a moody piece with some very good scenes.

Whilst it's not likely to give you many nightmares, and it does suffer from long dull scenes between kills, it has the same wonderful charm of many Fulci pieces added to some nicely selected scenery.

Underrated, but admittedly completely batshit insane with a thin, shaky plot.

 

 

[Image: Shameless Screen Entertainment]

Hani

Puppet Master

"Puppet Master" (1989, David Schmoeller, Full Moon Productions, Paramount Pictures) is the first film in the Puppet Master series. Coincidentally, it was also the first film I ever streamed back when that was a novel idea!

An old puppeteer named Andre Toulon (William Hickey) is interrupted in his work (making, caring for and bringing to life weapon toting little puppets) by two Nazis. In order to escape them he hides his creations and then kills himself.

Now in the 80s, the hotel where the above took place is now a large house. The owner of which, Megan (Robin Frates), is mourning the sudden death of her husband, Neil (Jimmie F. Skaggs). Megan is also entertaining guests, the psychics and magicians of her husband's circle. All of whom are nasty, except Alex (Paul Le Mat), Alex is ok.

It would appear that ol' Neil has found Toulon's secret and brought back the puppets. But only a true Puppet Master can control the little beggers, and Neil is dead! So who can stop the puppets as they kill each of Megan's guests?

A delightfully low budget gore fest with lots of simple effects, shady 'puppet view' camera angles and excellently animated puppets. The death scenes are hokey, but excellent in that nice blood spatteringly 80s way.

The dialogue is a little boring and stilted, but it remains one of my favourite 'possessed doll' horrors to date.

[Image: Full Moon Productions]

Hani

The Others

"The Others" (2001, Alejandro Amenábar, StudioCanal, Warner Bros., Las Producciones del Escorpion, Cruise/Wagner Productions) is a haunted house movie and a psychological thriller.

Grace (Nicole Kidman), a devout Christian, is raising her young children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley) alone in her large country manor home in Jersey while her husband, Charles (Christopher Eccleston), is away fighting in World War One. Both children suffer from an uncommon disease and are photosensitive so the curtains are always closed.

Just as she needs them, three new servants turn up at the house hoping for work: a maid and nanny, Mrs Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), a gardener called Mr. Tuttle (Eric Sykes) and a young mute girl called Lydia (Elaine Cassidy).

The children are determined that the house is haunted by several spirits, especially that of a young boy called Victor, but Grace pooh-poohs this. That is until she begins to suspect something is wrong herself.

A quiet and slow-burning film that has the feeling of an older horror-thriller. Well paced and intriguing enough not to become boring, but it doesn't make use of many jump scares and uses very few effects.

The child actors are terrific and really give an excellent performance. However, perhaps having seen too many twist endings in my time, and regardless of clever suspense building techniques, I guessed what was coming a lot earlier than I would have preferred.

Regardless, it's a good story and has a darker element to it than you might expect.

[Image: StudioCanal & Warner Bros.]

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

The Innkeepers

"The Innkeepers" (2011, Ti West, Dark Sky Films, Glass Eye Pix) is a haunted hotel story.

A slow burning jumper of a film, we follow the otherwise dull lives of two young hotel employees, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy), who are manning the front desk for the final weekend of the "Yankee Pedlar Inn" being open. There are only a handful of guests staying at the doomed hotel, and the owner is away sunning himself in Barbados.

Claire is an awkward teenager, who has recently dropped out of college and is feeling lost in her now directionless life, as she prepares to lose her job at the hotel. She's heavily asthmatic and is also prone to entertainingly flaky outbursts and exasperated half-tantrums.

Luke is slightly older, and is also a college drop out, but unlike Claire, he is happily nestled into his rut in life. It is he who has the main interest in ghost hunting in the hotel, and he runs a website about the strange happenings. Although it becomes apparent throughout the film that his interests in the paranormal are primarily all talk and he is more of a lazy, casual enthusiast.

Luke's interests in the hauntings by a young woman who hung herself after her new husband left her on their honeymoon at the hotel, has become quite an obsession now with Claire, who is most likely trying to find something to fill the hole in her life. Luke is evidently head over heels for her, and although deep down he has no actual interest in finding or facing a real ghost, he keeps up the charade to be close to Claire.

One guest is a retired actress-cum-psychic who uses her divining crystal pendulum to communicate with the spirits. Now, I have friends who are into this kind of stuff, and I can promise you that is not how you're meant to 'use' a crystal, but whatever! I enjoy that the 'wise man' part is played by a 'wise woman', considering that the main character is also female.

It seems that Claire and Luke's meddling in the supernatural with their EVP recording equipment, video cameras and so on have caught the attention of the spirits and kind of pissed them off, because soon it seems that they are now after Claire. Although she doesn't help herself much. Seriously, I spent quite a lot of this movie shouting things like "Why? Why, Claire? Why are you going into the basement?! Didn't you listen to The Ramones song?"

The film is slow paced with little happening for a while. The repartee between Claire and Luke is realistically casual and good fun. In fact, for a while you can maybe even forget that you are watching a horror movie at all, as you just take in the lives of this young pair and their awkward not-a-romance.

Now and again, though, West likes to remind you that the hotel is haunted and give you a quick flavour of horror. Although it's not a guts and blood squelch-fest, these little titbits of ghostly activity keep the pace up and keep the audience engaged.

Back to the original style of ghost story telling seen in latter day black and whites such as "The Haunting", most of the jumps are false alarms or tension breakers which are thrilling and also lull you into a false sense of security.

My only problem with this film was the end. The whole way through, tension is built up and up, keeping you waiting on a twist that's not coming, a big finale, or a prelude to a non-existent sequel. But... nothing. The end is the end. The plot is rounded but also unfinished and the hotel remains haunted!

One thing you have to say though is, all those horrorfans who like to boast about always seeing the twist in a film, well you should make them watch "The Innkeepers", because they will definitely not see the 'twist'.

A good little yarn with some relatable characters and a setting that isn't actually overly eerie, despite following the same set up as "The Shining" (virtually empty hotel with ghosts).

Definitely worth a watch, but not sure I'd sing about it as loudly as others have done.

[Image: Dark Sky Films & Glass Eye Pix]

Hani