TheMovieBanter.com » Horror Movie

Tribeca Review – The Bleeding House

Rande Iaboni — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:15:24 +0000

‘Meet the Smiths – a family full of secrets who keep to themselves living on a back road outside a small Midwestern town. But their lives are turned upside down when a sweet-talking Texan arrives on their doorstep on a mission for retribution. Will he succeed in his goal to bleed them of their sins or will the family’s haunted past prove to be even more deadly than he bargained for?’

So does Writer/Director Philip Gelatt’s new thriller live up to its bloody title? Yes, but is it a good film? Not really. I’m a huge fan of the horror genre, specifically slashers, so I was really excited for this one but unfortunately it failed to deliver for me. The film started out fine with a great ominous tone thanks to an uber creepy score by Hildur Guðnadóttir, and an eerie setting – a country house in the middle of nowhere. We also got some nice character development from our family, quickly learning that Marilyn (Betsy Aidem) wears the pants in her relationship with husband Matt (Richard Bekins), Gloria (Alexandra Chando) is a dark and weird young girl (who only answers to the name ‘Blackbird,’ never explained why), and Quentin (Charlie Hewson) is a typical teenage boy only looking to have a good time with girlfriend Lynne (Nina Lisandrello). But something is wrong with this family, there is a dark cloud over their lives and the film constantly wants us to guess what it is. Eventually, a sweet-talking southerner Nick (Patrick Breen) arrives at their door searching for a place to spend the night while he waits for a mechanic. From there the “thrills” begin but unfortunately this film mistakes unnecessary gore and carnage for actual scares.

‘The Bleeding House’ offers plenty of twists and turns but sadly they are all predictable, and even if they weren’t why should we care for these characters? Even though a good amount of screen time is given to them they all managed to be unlikeable, especially Quentin’s girlfriend Lynne who just might be one of the most annoying characters in horror movie history.

Alexandra Chando as the lead heroine for this film just didn’t sell it for me. Sure I get that she is supposed to be that dark and sullen young girl, but once the mayhem really kicked in I expected her character to display just a smidgen of emotion or fear, but nope she kept the same facial expression throughout. I also found the editing to be very sloppy as one second a character would be hysterically crying and the next shot would show them with a completely different emotion altogether.

Overall, I spent the majority of the second half of this film in complete confusion, not to mention I could not forgive any of the dumb character moves throughout. I get that it’s a horror movie and we need these characters to make poor decisions to keep the plot going, but many of the characters had numerous opportunities to escape and continued to put themselves back in danger.

While the film opens somewhat promising, it soon becomes a complete mess and delivers predictable twists while failing to produce any actual scares.

SKIP IT

Snap Review of Scream 4

Rande Iaboni — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:11:51 +0000

Before I start this review I should preface that I am a huge fan of the ‘Scream’ series with the original ranking among one of my favorite films ever. I love the slasher genre and specifically the self-referential tongue-in-cheek dialogue this series offers. So, to say that my expectations for this film were high is an understatement, but fortunately, they were met, and possibly even exceeded.

The film follows our previous survivor of the last three installments Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell, who hasn’t aged one bit in these last 10 years) returning to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour for her self-help book about recovery. Once there she is reunited with old friends Sherriff Dewey (David Arquette) and his wife Gale (Courtney Cox). She is also joined by her Aunt Kate (Mary McDonnell in essentially a throwaway role) and her cousin Jill (Emma Roberts), our new young heroine. But Sidney’s arrival also brings the return of the infamous Ghostface killer and the brutal killings begin.

Like every ‘Scream’ film, the opening scene is crucial to the film and Scream 4’s opening is no exception and while not topping the legendary Drew Barrymore opening of the original it is still extremely witty and creative featuring cameos from some of your favorite actresses (Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell especially).

One notable difference this time around is the introduction of a new generation of characters for Ghostface to dispatch. While it was wonderful to see familiar faces in Sidney, Dewey, and Gale (with all actors turning in extremely comfortable performances), it was refreshing to see some new faces this time around. It is a rather difficult task to effectively mesh the original characters with these new faces and I had my initial doubts but the film manages to incorporate these new characters with ease. With Roberts stepping in as the new heroine her friends find themselves the target this time around. We are quickly introduced to best friends Kirby Reed and Olivia Morris (Hayden Panettiere and Marielle Jaffe) as well as creepy ex-boyfriend Trevor (Nico Tortorella), and finally the boys who run the cinema club at Woodsboro High, Charlie and Robbie (Rory Culkin and Erik Knudsen). What was so great about these new characters was their ability to seem fresh while at the same time strongly resembling the group of friends from the original ‘Scream.’ But the body count in this film is much higher than its predecessors so don’t get too attached to all of these new characters.

Performance wise other than the main trio the true standouts for me were Hayden Panettiere and Erik Knudsen. Panettiere especially manages to create an extremely likeable character in a batch full of shallow and insensitive ones. Others to look out for are Alison Brie as Sidney’s bitchy publicist Rebecca and Adam Brody and Anthony Anderson as the two dim-witted cops.

What’s so great about the ‘Scream’ franchise is it’s ability to poke fun at its own genre and this entry is no different. The first film mocked horror films in general, the second one took a hit at sequels, the third entry was a satire on trilogies, and this one takes a stab (no pun intended) at remakes and reboots. There are too many references of horror films to even count but audiences should love the constant mentions of pop culture and cinema, especially in one chilling scene when Panettiere’s Kirby attempts to save a friend’s life and rattles off a list of horror remakes that had my theatre cheering.

Finally, one of the most vital components of every ‘Scream’ film is the climax where our Ghostface killer(s) is revealed. This ending did not disappoint as the reveal is unexpected and resulted in many gasps from my audience. Even if you guess the killer(s) before the final act it doesn’t change the outcome of your experience as the suspense is still there.

Overall, ‘Scream 4’ is a refreshing entry into an otherwise boring decade of horror films filled with constant torture porn and endless shaky camera “documentaries.” While it is not better than the original ‘Scream’ (you can’t beat the original), it is definitely the best sequel of the series with a clever opening, witty dialogue and comedy, and an ending that doesn’t hold back. Bring on ‘Scream 5.’

SEE IT

Snap Review of Insidious

Rande Iaboni — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 03:41:47 +0000

From the writing and directing team of the original ‘Saw’ (Leigh Whannel and James Wan) comes ‘Insidious,’ a new supernatural film about a family who looks to prevent evil spirits from possessing their young son. As the film opens we are introduced to our family, Mom and Dad (Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson) and their three children, two young sons and a baby daughter. The only child we really spend any time with though is Dalton (Ty Simpkins), and it’s pretty clear from the start he is the focus of the supernatural elements. Early on in the film young Dalton goes into an unexplained comatose state and that is when the creepiness ensues.

Moviegoers should keep in mind that this film does take quite a while for the scares to kick in, so for those of you with little patience you should steer clear but let me tell you, when the scares finally kick in they are worth it. There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about this film as it’s a run of the mill haunted house flick with the standard doors and windows closing and opening uncontrollably and noises that go bump in the night. Even though these are pretty standard for a haunted house movie they are still very effective and there were quite a few moments when the audience, myself included, jumped in our seats. There is one moment in particular that really gave me the chills involving the baby’s room and a menacing face. That is all I will reveal in fear of spoiling any of the good stuff.

‘Saw’ collaborators Whannel and Wan are definitely straying from what is expected of them as this is not torture porn and frankly there is barely any gore in this at all (it’s a very obvious PG-13) but this is a great thing for the film because it is at its best when the scares are subtle and not so in your face. That brings me to the negatives of this film, and there are quite a few. While the beginning offers great character development, and the middle offers some chilling scenes, the third act falls completely flat. Remember how I said the subtle scares were the best? Well that is exactly what the third act lacks as we come face-to-face with some of these demons/ghosts that are seeking to take over young Dalton’s comatose body. The demons are their scariest when we get a quick shot of them or a flash in the dark but when we get full view of them they lose their touch completely and many audience members spent the majority of the third act laughing instead of being scared. While the idea of astral projections (out of body experiences) is an interesting element in this otherwise formulaic film, the end is just far too silly and while it may have seemed unique on paper it did not translate well on film.

As far as the casting Rose Byrne did just fine as the mother and Patrick Wilson did what he could with his part (although there were moments where the audience was laughing at his lines which were unintentionally funny). The possessed Dalton didn’t have much to do except sleep and the other children are barely shown once we reach the middle of the film. We also get Lin Shaye as our “ghost doctor” which again brought on some laughs but this was mostly intentional. The personal standout for me was Barbara Hershey as Patrick Wilson’s mother who shined in every scene she was in and I only wish she was given more to do. Most of you will probably recognize her as the mother in last year’s ‘Black Swan’ (where she had a much meatier role) and Hershey is certainly on my radar now.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about ‘Insidious.’ For the most part the cast did fine and the scares really did pack quite a punch in the middle but the third act was just far too silly for me and the rest of the audience I saw it with definitely agreed judging by their laughter at the decidedly cheesy moments. This film is by no means bad but it was very disappointing for a film with such a promising first two acts to fall so completely apart in the last 30 minutes. In the end I would recommend this film but not for theatres as it isn’t anything different than you’ve already seen, but it is definitely worth a rental when you’re looking to have a few good scares.

RENT IT

Fantastic Fest 2009#039;s Horror Prodigy

Nick Ondras — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:30:36 +0000

The first horror movie I ever saw was Stephen King’s IT

, which remains to be the scariest movie I have ever seen. I know it’s cheesy and all, but it’s because I saw it at such a young age that I continue to be terrified of clowns to this day. That being said, there was no reason that I didn’t enjoy it. Although horror movies nowadays aren’t as good as they were back then. The Saw Hancock movie series was promising however more of a thriller/bloodbath, now that we’re at the sixth installment. What happened to the days of The Blair Witch Project, Cujo and, yes, IT? Just a few days ago, I heard about this movie at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas called Paranormal Activity

that is supposed to be “one of the scariest movies of all time” according to Bloody-Disgusting. They also promise that it will bring nightmares. Hell yes.

From the only trailer that Activity The Leon (Professional) download has released, you have no idea what it is about besides that it involves an evil spirit that haunts a couple’s home. Funny thing is that this is writer-director Oren Peli’s first major movie. He studied graphics and animations. The same can be said of the writer-directors of The Blair Witch Project, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. They both went on to make bigger movies, however I have to assume that Witch Project is what they owe all of their success to. The reason I’m so excited for this movie is because I was too young to even remember Blair Witch Project

and now that I’m old enough, Paranormal Activity Shattered video could be generation Y’s low-budget, memorable horror movie. I’ll tell you what I think of it when the screenings reach Connecticut.

End of the Line divx

The One-Too-Many Returns of Michael Myers

Craig Kessler — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:30:24 +0000

Watching the Halloween series on TV, whether it be the better ones (e.g Halloween III) or the more corny ones (e.g. Halloween 6), has always been a late October tradition for my friends and I. To us Michael Myers is the original name in horror. That’s why when the remake of Halloween download Double Jeopardy dvd written and directed by Rob Zombie was released, we were sort of pissed. You never mess with a classic horror movie franchise without messing something This Christmas

Team America: World Police movie

up. Although we were pleasantly surprised after seeing the movie. The Halloween The Brothers Solomon movie remake wasn’t a John Carpenter-style movie; it was gruesome, disgusting and oh, so satisfying. I didn’t mind Zombie’s remake all that much, so when the sequel Halloween II was announced, my friends and I were psyched to check out the first real horror movie since March’s The Last House on the Left

, which we also highly enjoyed. Reviews of Halloween II were positive as well from horror movie fans.

Rob Zombie quit the Halloween remakes after H2, a good move if he does want to be taken seriously as a horror director. (Well, if he wants fanboys to like him, anyway. The “critics-approved” ship set sail after House of 1000 Corpses.) He’s moved on to do a recapture of The Blob (somehow). Just when I thought that Hollywood was done with the series for a while, the Weinstein Company didn’t want their success with Michael Myers to end yet. Bob Weinstein told the LA Times recently that the studio was doing a Halloween 3D Against the Dark aka Last Night video set for release next summer, with High Tension’s Alexandre Aja supposedly in talks to direct. Luckily, Zombie wanted no part in this. Ever since California discovered 3D filmmaking, there’s been countless amounts of trash released. The Final Destination just this weekend, for example. Of course there are the harmless (and fun) horror movies in 3D like January’s My Bloody Valentine 3D and quality 3D movies such as Coraline

and Up, but I can’t see good ol’ Mikey’s hand reaching out of the screen; that’s not where John Carpenter imagined his franchise would end up. He has already received major cult status and $72.5 million for the original two he was involved in.

Though Bob Weinstein has promised the new director, whoever he/she is, will provide a “different take” on the Michael Myers character. Friday the 13^th, The Omen, The Last House on the Left and My Bloody Valentine were all incredibly risky to redo and only some passed the line of decency. However Halloween in 3D is worse than when Loomis shot Michael Myers six times in the first movie. Although this time his return will come as no surprise.

This is a guest post by Nick from his blog Nick’s Movie Blog. He will begin interning for the banter next week so expect some more quality rants to come from him.

Snap Review of Halloween 2

Craig Kessler — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:30:13 +0000

Outlander ipod Teeth trailer

Halloween 2 is the second movie written and directed by Rob Zombie Mostly Ghostly ipod as he once again brings back and remakes the horror movie classic. Continuing the movie from where we left off from the first one, we learn that Michael Myers escapes when being taken to the hospital after we initially thought he was killed. Trying to bring his family together in the afterlife, he goes on a killing spree to find his one remaining sister. This movie has the blood and gore you would expect from a Rob Zombie horror film and fans of the genre and series will eat it up and want more. The movie is graphic all the way throughout the movie and twisted in more ways than in the original series. Rob Zombie takes a new approach and into the head of Michael Myers and his twisted brain and thought process with scenes of chaos for his actions and love for his mother he lost at a young age who in his mind is telling him to reunite the family which leads to the bloody rage. It takes on a new level to the horror classic and is dives deeper into the mind of the killer. Halloween 2 is fun for horror fans and better than the first remake movie. Michael Myers fans will be pleased.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What did you think of Halloween 2? download Loose Cannons movie