Christmas Evil

"Christmas Evil" (1980, Lewis Jackson, Pan American Pictures) is a holiday slasher movie with a conscience.



Harry stayed up late to see Santa once as a child in the '40s and witnessed 'Father Christmas' make love to his mother. Dismayed, he grows up to become obsessed with Santa and works in a toy factory. His home is filled with Santa memorabilia and he is even spying on the local children and keeping his own (rather elegantly bound) naughty and nice lists.



Throughout the film Harry begins to unravel further until he eventually snaps, going on a rampage in his Santa costume (complete with glued on beard!) that is part killing spree and part burglary, charity run and party entertaining.



An odd film. There are scenes of gore, but primarily this film acts more as a social commentary on consumerism, mental health, innocence and the sad side of the holidays.



Harry cuts a sympathetic character, not a monstrous serial killer. And really he's just trying to be a good Santa for the good children and punish the non-believing adults. In his own twisted way, he's doing the right thing... It's just that his moral compass is a little off.



It's neither good nor bad, it just kind of IS.... Vague, I know, but it was just a weird one!

[Image: Pan American Pictures]

Hani

What We Do In The Shadows

"What We Do In The Shadows" (2014, Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Paladin Pictures) is the horror comedy about four vampire housemates from the guys behind "Flight of the Conchords".

Four vampires from different time periods are sharing a house in New Zealand in today's modern world. We follow a fly on the wall 'documentary' and get to witness such delights as house meetings, arguments about chores, shopping and recent altercations with their nemesis gang; the local pack of werewolves.

A very entertaining film with some good one liners and a lot of nod-nod-wink-wink references to vampire lore of all types.

I really enjoyed it and, although it's not exactly a 'thoughtful film' or really a horror in any way, it hit all the right buttons and brought a big smile to my wee fanged face. It's smart and cheeky and bound to please anyone looking for some tongue-in-cheek vampire commentary on today's world.

[Image: Paladin Pictures]

 

Hani 

As Above, So Below

"As Above, So Below" (2014, John Erick Dowdle, Legendary Pictures, Universal Pictures) is an American jump scare, found footage horror based in the catacombs of Paris.

Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) is a student of alchemy, following her father's works after his death. She is obsessed with finding the Philosopher's stone, which is meant to grant eternal life, healing powers and, of course, the ability to turn base metals into gold. Oh alchemy, you weird 'science', you.

She, her ex, George (Ben Feldman) and their cameraman, Benji (Edwin Hodge), enlist the help of local urban expert, Papillon (François Civil), and his girlfriend, Souxie (Marion Lambert) to guide them into and around the Catacombs of Paris.

As they go deeper in the Catacombs, they come across some freaky sights. They also come across a small door which none of the locals will go through, stating that a friend of theirs had gone through, never to return.

Eventually, they have no choice if they wish to progress, so they go through the door and that's when they begin to question if they have accidentally opened the teensy tiny doorway to hell.

A fun little flick that manages to add a small charm to found footage that found footage hasn't had since Troll Hunter. Jumpy, kind of daft scenes and good timing make for a fun, rollercoaster experience.

While it's not for everyone, I actually found that I enjoyed this film which came as a surprise because I am not usually one for found footage.

There are a lot of horror tropes in there, granted, but I thought that they were used remarkably well and, although the film leaves you a bit disorientated and a little seasick from all that shaky cam, it's certainly not one of the worst I've seen this year.

There is, however, an awful scene that jumps into Lara Croft single player POV for a while and I just found that weird and a little dumb. Surely, if it took them a whole film to reach that point, going back would not take five minutes? Pah!

Regardless, it's not a ground breaking experience but I've seen worse.

[Image: Legendary Pictures]

 

Hani

Starry Eyes

"Starry Eyes" (2014, Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer, Snowfort Pictures, Parallactic Pictures, Dark Sky Films) is all about the fame game.

Budding young actress, Sarah (Alex Essoe), is becoming desperate to catch her big break. Her housemates, also actors, have all given up and are planning their own indie film instead of looking for paid work, but Sarah has bigger dreams. Finally she thinks she's found her chance, but is she willing to make the necessary sacrifices to reach her goals?

A film that is very slow to get started, I was starting to think I'd made a mistake when the plot began to speed up and drag me right back in. A really masterful film which creates a dark and sinister build up to a quite shocking and impressive payoff.

The effects are impressive and the actors create some really well rounded characters, despite minimal screen time. Essoe is an excellent leading lady, proving herself to be very diverse and able to hold an audience in thrall.

Well-trod ground in terms of the inspiration, but a truly unique film that I enjoyed. I don't want to give too much away, so rest assured that if you let this film run, it's worth it.

[Image: Dark Sky Films]

 

Hani

Ouija

"Ouija" (2014, Stiles White, Platinum Dunes, Hasbro, Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures) was last Halloween's rush-job jumper brought to you by Hasbro.... Yep, you guessed it, it's pretty much a really long toy commercial...

Laine (Olivia Cooke) and her best pal Debbie (Shelley Hennig) used to love to play with a ouija board. Then they grew up and got into just filming everything ever (from the mundane tasks of cleaning their attic to their highschool conversations) with a digital camera instead, and the ouija board was banished from their minds.

Unluckily, it resurfaces again when Debbie cleans said attic, and the spirit she contacts with it is less than fluffy. Soon the whole gang are being hounded by this vengeful ghost, but is everything as it seems....?

...Of course it is. This film was nothing but a string of tropes. So predictable was every clichéd scene that my boyfriend and I began shouting out what was coming before it happened in order to actually entertain ourselves.

Another thing is its complete lack of pacing. The film takes forever to get to the point, and then wants to bombard you with typical horror fayre thereafter. By the time the action hit I was bored.

The big 'twist' is so obvious it isn't even worth being wary of spoilers and the teens are extremely catalogue-y.

Generic as all hell. I recommend for teens and sleepovers, and that's all. And, how unscary is the name Doris? Seriously?!

[Image: Hasbro, et al]

Hani

Dracula Untold

"Dracula Untold" (2014, Gary Shores, Universal Pictures, Legendary Pictures) depicts the origin tale of Dracula.

Vlad Tepes, the Impaler, Prince of Transylvania (Luke Evans) seeks some unorthodox help to defeat his Turkish ex-captors and maintain the freedom of his homeland and its people. Much to his detriment, as we all know.

I wouldn't call this a fantastic vampire film, but I equally won't bestow on it the bile that many online bloggers have. Yes, the film is not Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it never claims to be. Yes, there are historical inaccuracies, but it's not a documentary. In fact, I found it to be a refreshing take on a classic tale, even if it does often delve into the more comic book action genre than anything resembling horror.

It's not a serious film, nor an accurate historical character study, nor even a horror movie. But it does well to capture the era, the desperation and shows a more human side to the famous character than previously investigated in the rather bloated world of vampire cinema.

Evans creates an attractive Vlad, but Charles Dance steals the show however, with his fabulous talent for creepiness with a touch of bitter disappointment and that fanged grin.

Image: Universal Pictures

 

Hani

The Babadook

"The Babadook" (2014, Causeway Films, Cinetic Media/eOne Films International, Jennifer Kent) is the story of an unlucky family who become plagued by a nightmarish creature after reading from a mysterious, creepy children's storybook.

Amelia (Essie Davis) is a woman who has had a tough hand in life; the early death of her husband has been something that she has struggled to cope with. Couple that with a her imaginative but unruly, undisciplined child, Sam (Noah Wiseman), and you have a pretty sad tale.

A slow burning and depressing tale, the film is more about feeling and presence than scares and I found that the lack of action did become a bit monotonous after a while. However, the scenes with the creepy shadow monster are really quite chilling and atmospheric and there is a horrible reality of the fear of bad parenting and the black pit of grief in there too.

The acting is great. The characters feel realistic, if slightly unhinged, and there's even a few nice jumpy bits. I especially liked the styling of the story book which in itself is terrifying.

Mr. Babadook could be a terrifying monster, joining the infamous ranks of our other favourite boogeymen. Unfortunately, the slow, artsy style of the film did take away some of the pace of the story, even if it did make for an elegant looking end product.

A great debut piece, and a thoughtful take on a boogeyman story, but style overtook substance a little too much in my view.

[Image: Causeway Films]

Hani