horror
Something about Halloween just makes you want to be scared. It’s the one time of year when it feels truly fitting. And nowhere is that more easy to accomplish than with a horror movie.
Dracula Untold tries to be a lot of different things – a PG-13 horror movie, a historical epic, a Gothic romance, a superhero origin story – and it does it all while at the same time trying to kick start an Avengers-style shared movie universe. Whether you call that ambitious or just the obvious product of too many cooks in the kitchen, it doesn’t succeed on every front. But remarkably enough, as a pure popcorn movie, it doesn’t completely fall apart, either.
What do Fleetwood Mac, surgical mutilation and a delightfully chubby Haley Joel Osment have in common? Along with a recurring erotic nightmare of mine, Kevin Smith’s new film Tusk. Based on an episode of Smith’s long-running “SModcast,” Tusk tells the story of podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) who embarks into Manitoba on a quest for new material.
I was first introduced to this short film by the director I’m working on a short film with. I showed him Francis, which reminded him of Lights Out, so he showed me. Trust me when I say I’ve already been seeing things when I turn off the lights around the house since I saw the short.
The Quiet Ones director John Pogue took a risk – inviting the viewer to follow along with Professor Joseph Coupland’s (Jared Harris) “experiment” to prove that the supernatural is simply a manifestation created in the minds of the mentally disturbed. What Professor Coupland and his team didn’t expect was a genuine haunting. The Quiet Ones was unexpected, different.
Escape From Tomorrow is a nightmare in black and white. From the opening moments to the final scene, the story unfolds in the most mind-bending ways. I grew up with very little black and white film.
Remember Mrs. Doubtfire? It’s not a spectacular movie, but I remember it fondly, having enjoyed it when I was little.
A well-executed horror film is quite possibly the most pure and affecting of all cinematic experiences. A horror film can be the ultimate ‘pop-corn’ movie – a work that draws you into its world, gnaws on your emotions and intellect, and finally spits you back into your seat, thrilled and grateful and dripping with adrenaline. It makes sense that horror films illicit a strong response – after all, we are naturally hard-wired to fear.
I’m honestly not much of a horror fan, especially the ghosts I cannot handle (nor the high-pitched violin shrieking and shots that give me heart attacks). Zombies are something else, though. I’m pretty good with the blood and gore and they’re generally not too scary.
In The Purge, a happy, wealthy family gets ready for the annual night of the Purge, a 12-hour period during which all crime is legal. This new way to fight crime has been very successful – crime is at an all time low, as is unemployment. Moreover, it is supposedly an easy way to rid society of those who do not contribute.