In Fear - Mini Review

 From the UK, comes "In Fear".  It is about a couple on a somewhat "date" to a hotel in the remote countryside.  Things start going wrong on the way, and soon they feel they are in mortal danger!

The film is good at building the tension.  There are some very creepy moments in the film.  The ending was a little bit of a let down.

There is a behind the scenes feature on the Blu-ray, that explains the interesting way the film was made.  Basically, the actors didn't know what was going to happen to them.

I like the film.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Blast Vegas - Mini Review

 Another Syfy produced film, like the movie, Scarecrow, that I just reviewed.  This is the better film between the two.

  A group of friends in Vegas, steal a sword and initiate an ancient Egyptian curse.  Soon, devastation is set upon Sin City.   This was a fun movie.  While not taking itself too seriously, it was a fairly good horror/disaster flick.

  Though not totally perfect, the visual effects / CGI was done well.  It was cool witnessing Vegas landmarks get annihilated time and time again.  The acting was great and the writing was intelligent.

 I would give the film 4 out of 5 stars.

Scarecrow 2013 - Mini Review

 This is a mini review for the Syfy channel original movie, Scarecrow.  First off, you might be enraged to learn that this movie does not contain a single crow, whatsoever! 

  The story involves a teacher taking a bunch of trouble teens to a farmhouse, where there is a legend about a killer scarecrow.  The film suffers from lazy writing, the kind many a horror flick falls victim to.  An old legend that no one believes- check, cell phones don't work- check, troubled, sex-crazed teens- check, truck won't start- check, etc.  My favorite part was when five of the characters were knocked unconscious at the same time, and awoke a few hours later, all at the same time.  The characters don't act realistically at all.  They behave irrationally and many times when they are being chased, they take their time and frequently pause to assess the situation.  The movie also doesn't explain many things about its plot.

  There is a lot of overacting in the cast, although, Lacey Chabert and a couple of the others in the cast do a fairly good job.  The creature is not a typical scarecrow.  It is created using Syfy's typical "discount" CGI.

  I did like some of the locations, particularly, the boat graveyard.  In summary, it was an adequate movie, just a typical straight forward kill the teens movie.  I would give it 2 out of 5 stars.

 

Ticks - Mini Review

  From the pre-CGI early nineties, comes Ticks!

  This campy horror film is infested with a  good cast, with many familiar names, including a young Seth Green.

  The story is about a group of troubled teens who are sent to a wilderness camp (filmed in Big Bear, California), to confront their inner demons.  Little do they know, they are about to encounter real monsters, like mutated ticks and worse... crazy locals! 

  The movie is fairly good.  The practical effects are mostly well done.  There were some issues near the end, where there were jumps in the editing.  It was like they rushed through some of the ending shots. 

  I enjoyed the film.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Random Acts of Violence - Mini Review

This is a documentary style film about a British man who casually kills people in New York. His main motive for this murder spree is to drive out all the pretentious rich people, so the artsy, real people can return to New York City.

The film has a dry sense of humor.  I think it is inferior to similar films, like "Behind the Mask".  It has a few twists, but I found it hard to stay interested in the film.  Despite being listed on the cover, Kirsten Dunst only makes a very brief cameo, as herself.  I thought she was going to be one of his victims, but no.  A loss of a cool opportunity.

The DVD has no extras.  I would give the film 2.5 out of 5 stars.

I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Mini Review

 This is a dark, horror movie with a dash of romance.  It is very reminiscent of the 1998 movie "What Dreams May Come".

  Mischa Barton plays a woman questioning her faith in religion, after enduring a tragedy.  She starts experiencing some strange phenomena in her life. Someone she cares about disappears and evidence seems to indicate he went, willing or otherwise, to the top floor of his apartment building.  The only problem with that, is the building used to be a mental hospital and the top floor is an abandoned, haunted hellhole.  After the police don't believe her, she and three friends must brave the eerie hallways to try to find him.

  The movie is very slow paced, during its almost two hour length.   The first part of the movie is the build up to the horror-filled second half. 

  The acting is good, and in a rare feat for a horror movie, the characters are actually intelligent.  They don't foolishly do stupid things, to create further plot complications due to lazy writing.  The story was interesting and unpredictable.  The movie doesn't dumb itself down to explain things to the viewer.      

  Where the movie shines is in its build up of the horror on the top floor and the creepy atmosphere / cinematography
of those hallways.  Once the four characters get off the elevator to start the search, the dread in the air and the danger they face is apparent and equally felt by anyone watching the movie.  These are the qualities that really make a good horror movie.

  While very well done, the movie is not perfect.  At times it gets a little too crazy.   It also might not be for people with attention deficit disorder.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Mischa Barton and Walmart

In this age where retail stores are now rarely stocking independent horror dvds and blu-rays, we horror fans have an unlikely ally, Walmart.  Walmart is one of the last brick and mortar stores that still stocks independent horror movies and at a bargain to boot!  Many of the dvds that Amazon list at over $20, Walmart sells for $10 to $15.  They typically get around 3 new titles a week.

  I have been a fan of Mischa Barton since the great movie, Lawn Dogs.  I guess she was eleven years old when she did that film.  Lately, she has been doing a lot of independent horror/thrillers that have gone straight to DVD.  She has done Cyberstalker, A Ressurection, Apartment 1303, and the recently released, I Will Follow You Into The Dark.  Of these, I have only watched Apartment 1303.  That movie had its moments, but was overall disappointing.

What does Mischa Barton have to do with Walmart?  Every single one of her recent DVD movies has been released at Walmart for $9.99.  As far as I can tell, all these DVDs are from different companies/distributors.  That is quite a coincidence since, even though Walmart stocks about three new horror titles a week, most new horror DVDs never see the light of day on a Walmart shelf.  Does the person who decides what DVDs to stock at Walmart have a crush on Mischa?  Does Mischa have a side job at Walmart in the DVD purchasing department?  A mystery is afoot!