Hell House LLC is very creepy and unsettling. If you enjoy found footage, this is a good one to watch. There's twists and turns and you're on the edge of your seat for most of the film.
Reviews
13 Reviews
Lords of Chaos
(2018)
Metalheads get a bad reputation and this doesn't help things...
18 February 2022
Where do I even begin with this. I have so many complaints, but I'll try to make this brief.
The fact that the main characters are all American bothered me to no end. Much of the main supporting cast was also American or or English, with the exception of Valter Skarsgård who plays Faust and Arion Csihar who is actually the son of Attila Csihar. The actors themselves are good actors, nothing against them, but I would have loved this to have actually been played by Scandinavian actors. Heck if there were some actors that were from elsewhere, but could pull off a Scandinavian accent, then fine.
Jonas Åkerlund was in Bathory for their first album which many will argue was the first black metal album. To say he doesn't have clout would just be a lie. Though he went into filmmaking when, according to him, black metal became too serious. That said, it doesn't absolve him of making a movie about underground black metal, but for a very mainstream audience. That's not something that's easy to do and honestly just shouldn't have been attempted at all.
The character of Ann-Marit is unnecessary. Plain and simple. Being a female metalhead myself, it's always annoying to see because Euronymous did have girlfriends, but it was nothing like Ann-Marit from everything I've read.
While the average person probably doesn't care about the inaccuracies, for a lot of the metal world this story is very important. I mean, they missed a giant opportunity about Glen Benton meeting Euronymous (and yes, I know there's a lot of dispute around that meeting, but it's such a famous thing that it's shocking they didn't even touch on it).
There's not enough black metal. I know this was supposed to be for mainstream audiences, but it still bothers me.
Pretty much the only positives are the actors and that it really upset Varg cause let's face it, Varg is a jerk.
If you actually are interested at all in what really happened during that time, I highly recommend you watch Until The Light Takes Us.
The fact that the main characters are all American bothered me to no end. Much of the main supporting cast was also American or or English, with the exception of Valter Skarsgård who plays Faust and Arion Csihar who is actually the son of Attila Csihar. The actors themselves are good actors, nothing against them, but I would have loved this to have actually been played by Scandinavian actors. Heck if there were some actors that were from elsewhere, but could pull off a Scandinavian accent, then fine.
Jonas Åkerlund was in Bathory for their first album which many will argue was the first black metal album. To say he doesn't have clout would just be a lie. Though he went into filmmaking when, according to him, black metal became too serious. That said, it doesn't absolve him of making a movie about underground black metal, but for a very mainstream audience. That's not something that's easy to do and honestly just shouldn't have been attempted at all.
The character of Ann-Marit is unnecessary. Plain and simple. Being a female metalhead myself, it's always annoying to see because Euronymous did have girlfriends, but it was nothing like Ann-Marit from everything I've read.
While the average person probably doesn't care about the inaccuracies, for a lot of the metal world this story is very important. I mean, they missed a giant opportunity about Glen Benton meeting Euronymous (and yes, I know there's a lot of dispute around that meeting, but it's such a famous thing that it's shocking they didn't even touch on it).
There's not enough black metal. I know this was supposed to be for mainstream audiences, but it still bothers me.
Pretty much the only positives are the actors and that it really upset Varg cause let's face it, Varg is a jerk.
If you actually are interested at all in what really happened during that time, I highly recommend you watch Until The Light Takes Us.
Onward
(I) (2020)
So. Many. Onions.
18 February 2022
Wanna talk about a movie that hits you right in your feels? For me this hit extra hard because my dad died when I was 7, but I was old enough to remember him. My little brother was only 3 and has basically no memories. While I'm the older sister instead of brother in this, I'm also a metalhead and geek and saw myself so much like Barley in this. What I wouldn't give to have my father back for a day.
So if you want to cry, but watch an amazing adventure, this is definitely a film I highly recommend. There's lots of laughs, magic, geek out moments and of course lots of feels.
So if you want to cry, but watch an amazing adventure, this is definitely a film I highly recommend. There's lots of laughs, magic, geek out moments and of course lots of feels.
The Columnist
(2019)
Slaying The Trolls!
18 February 2022
Seriously, who hasn't wanted to hunt down some internet trolls. I'm not saying you should actually do it, but I'm sure the fantasy of at least scaring them has crossed all our minds at least once. The Columnist/De Kuthoer is one of those movies where you quickly end up cheering for the killer because these people aren't just trolls that poke some fun; no they are saying they know where she lives and they are threatening her and being extra awful. We quickly see how the addiction to social media does so much harm, but also how Femke seems to now be addicted to killing. The character development in this is wonderful. We see so many sides of Femke, the harm this addiction does to her, her boyfriend and her daughter; who is inspired by her mom and trying to speak out against issues regarding freedom of speech. There's a lot of irony in this with Femke silencing people for their words while also saying she supports free speech. Femke mostly writes a pretty neutral column, but she does end up getting a lot of hate because she is anti-Zwarte Piet/Black Pete. She's also under stress of deadlines from her publisher for a book she's writing. It seems the killing helps her with her writing though, so I guess that's good for her and sucks for the trolls?
Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum
(2018)
Nightmare Fuel Forever!
18 February 2022
Most movies don't scare anymore. There might be a jump scare that startles me or images that gross me out, but truly scaring me isn't easy. This movie frightened me to my core. I'd encourage you to watch this without reading the overview on most streaming services because there's some key plot points that are given away. This film is so unsettling and it has a great story and feels really realistic. Especially since it was inspired by an actual CNN Travel article "7 freakiest places on the planet" which the group even refers to in the movie and talks about which of the places they've been to. Their goal with this livestream is to hit 1 million views and make money on ads. I will say this group is insanely prepared and along with a whole live stream set up, everyone has a GoPro that monitors their face and what's in front of them so you could really feel like you're in the moment with them. Plus there's cameras throughout the building. Seriously though, I'll never get some of those images out of my head. Go watch it if you want a good scare!
The Boy Behind the Door
(2020)
I'm Not Gonna Leave You!
17 February 2022
Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey) are best friends that can't wait to grow up and move to California. They promise to be best friends forever, but when they are kidnapped, they must work together to try and get out alive. The whole movie feels so tense and even the music seems to have a heartbeat sound, which just makes it feel all the more real. I could easily feel like in that situation you'd be so scared that you could hear your heart beating in your ears. The movie is shot so brilliantly, the acting is absolutely top notch and you get so sucked in from the first moment. This movie starts out on 11 and barely goes down the whole time. There's even horror movies playing in the background and it's fun to listen and see if you can figure out which ones. I list them on We All Pod Down Here's podcast (episode 18) and on a more detailed review that has spoilers can be found on our website.
April Fool's Day
(1986)
No joke, this is a fun watch
27 January 2022
If you're looking for a fun film with a lot of twists and turns, then give April Fool's Day a watch. A group of friends go to spend spring break at a friend's house on an island her family owns. Of course this vacation happens to fall on April 1st. There's definitely going to be pranks, but as someone starts picking off the friends, it's quickly becomes a nightmare.
The whole movie keeps you guessing. It's a fun slasher, but with so many surprises. It's hard to say much about this movie without spoiling it, so just take my word for it and give it a chance. There's a couple plot flaws, but it does not take away from the enjoyment of the film.
The whole movie keeps you guessing. It's a fun slasher, but with so many surprises. It's hard to say much about this movie without spoiling it, so just take my word for it and give it a chance. There's a couple plot flaws, but it does not take away from the enjoyment of the film.
New Year's Evil
(1980)
Murdering At Midnight... But Only In The Continental U.S.
26 January 2022
New Year's Evil had a lot of potential, but really fell short of the mark. We follow Blaze aka Diane Sullivan (Roz Kelly) as she hosts her countdown to New Year's show. During the show people call in to say what they think the song of the year should be, but one caller informs her that he'll be killing one "Naughty Girl" at midnight on each time zone and she's going to be the last one. He calls himself "Evil" and unfortunately for him sounds like Richard Karron, so rather than being intimidating, you may just imagine him saying "get the honey" and chuckle.
This is a slasher that was attempting to capitalize off the wave of slashers that were themed to a holiday that had been coming out around that time. Most notably: Halloween (1978), Black Christmas (1974), and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972). It feels like a film that is doing just that though, rushing through a script to try and capitalize on this theme as quick as possible.
The kills are done decently, but the without getting into spoilers, the whole reason behind this killing spree is very weak. The pacing of the movie feels very slow and the pay off just isn't there at the end. The best part of the film is the music, but if you're not much for rock, punk and metal, then this may not be a plus for you. This is not a film I'd watch again unless I was getting a group together to riff on it.
This is a slasher that was attempting to capitalize off the wave of slashers that were themed to a holiday that had been coming out around that time. Most notably: Halloween (1978), Black Christmas (1974), and Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972). It feels like a film that is doing just that though, rushing through a script to try and capitalize on this theme as quick as possible.
The kills are done decently, but the without getting into spoilers, the whole reason behind this killing spree is very weak. The pacing of the movie feels very slow and the pay off just isn't there at the end. The best part of the film is the music, but if you're not much for rock, punk and metal, then this may not be a plus for you. This is not a film I'd watch again unless I was getting a group together to riff on it.
Triassic Hunt
(2021)
These dinosaurs certainly put the "ass" in Triassic!
20 January 2022
Triassic Hunt is a sequel to the 2018 film Triassic World, clearly a mockbuster of Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Instead of a dinosaur zoo/theme park though, we have dinosaurs that were supposed to be growing human organs and when that failed miserably, they decided to transport a male and female to Costa Rica, because of course.
Things quickly go wrong from the start, not just in terms of the dinosaurs immediately escaping and killing people, but in terms of the plot and major plot holes. I don't think even having our wonderful creature feature star, Danny Trejo could have saved this disaster of a film.
After the dinosaurs get away in an industrial park of some sort, the for hire mercenaries that were transporting the allosaurs must get their whole team together to recapture them...alive. But it turns out the company that hired them has set them up as a demonstration to sell the allosaurs as a weapon. They are supposed to have human level intelligence as well making this even more difficult.
There's so many problems with this. Let's first start with the fact that they are trying to sell these 2 allosaurs' as a weapon, which already is a bad idea since they are supposed to be really smart, but apparently don't do as they are told. They also are taking a huge risk that one or both of these creatures could end up being killed, which there goes your profit. Next, let's also take a quick moment to talk about the design of these allosaurs' cause it's bad. Aside from the subpar CGI, they have the biggest hips, so these are killing machines that probably won't be able to walk in a couple years due to massive hip dysplasia. Another huge plot flaw is the list of countries bidding that supposedly have a GDP to afford them. They could have at least done a quick google search to see which countries could afford them, but they start the bid at a half a billion and that's only for 1 of these dinos! While some of the countries that are listed are believable, I have a really hard time believing that Kosovo, Cyprus, and Moldova can afford this.
This movie's really only redeeming quality is that it's fun to riff. If you enjoy watching a movie to laugh at with friends, then you'll have a great time with this, but aside from that, then don't waste your time with this.
Things quickly go wrong from the start, not just in terms of the dinosaurs immediately escaping and killing people, but in terms of the plot and major plot holes. I don't think even having our wonderful creature feature star, Danny Trejo could have saved this disaster of a film.
After the dinosaurs get away in an industrial park of some sort, the for hire mercenaries that were transporting the allosaurs must get their whole team together to recapture them...alive. But it turns out the company that hired them has set them up as a demonstration to sell the allosaurs as a weapon. They are supposed to have human level intelligence as well making this even more difficult.
There's so many problems with this. Let's first start with the fact that they are trying to sell these 2 allosaurs' as a weapon, which already is a bad idea since they are supposed to be really smart, but apparently don't do as they are told. They also are taking a huge risk that one or both of these creatures could end up being killed, which there goes your profit. Next, let's also take a quick moment to talk about the design of these allosaurs' cause it's bad. Aside from the subpar CGI, they have the biggest hips, so these are killing machines that probably won't be able to walk in a couple years due to massive hip dysplasia. Another huge plot flaw is the list of countries bidding that supposedly have a GDP to afford them. They could have at least done a quick google search to see which countries could afford them, but they start the bid at a half a billion and that's only for 1 of these dinos! While some of the countries that are listed are believable, I have a really hard time believing that Kosovo, Cyprus, and Moldova can afford this.
This movie's really only redeeming quality is that it's fun to riff. If you enjoy watching a movie to laugh at with friends, then you'll have a great time with this, but aside from that, then don't waste your time with this.
The Deep House
(2021)
Haunted House Under Da Lake
20 January 2022
This is a very unique concept. I've always thought the idea of underwater ghost towns was creepy and there's so many out there.
The movie does a great job with character building. You hate the boyfriend (Ben) and sympathize with the girlfriend (Tina). There's so much tension in the film, not only from just being underwater, trapped in a house, but also the unholiness that is trapped there with them. It's got some well placed jump scares, but doesn't rely on those heavily for the horror.
Can you say, practical effects?? Cause this film is full of it! Even the ghosts or zombies, whatever they are supposed to be, were played by free divers, including an 11 year old girl How amazing is that?!
I think there's some more they could have done with building the mythos around the occult story, but it didn't take away from it overall.
The movie does a great job with character building. You hate the boyfriend (Ben) and sympathize with the girlfriend (Tina). There's so much tension in the film, not only from just being underwater, trapped in a house, but also the unholiness that is trapped there with them. It's got some well placed jump scares, but doesn't rely on those heavily for the horror.
Can you say, practical effects?? Cause this film is full of it! Even the ghosts or zombies, whatever they are supposed to be, were played by free divers, including an 11 year old girl How amazing is that?!
I think there's some more they could have done with building the mythos around the occult story, but it didn't take away from it overall.
Antlers
(2021)
Folklore As An Afterthought
19 January 2022
Antlers is a movie I've been looking forward to since I first heard about it in early 2020. When it was finally released I was very excited to finally see it. I think I built this movie up in my mind to be really great and that might play into why I felt it was a bit lackluster. I feel like they were trying to use the Wendigo as a metaphor for abuse and addiction, but it just felt all over the place. The legend is something that has been really twisted over the years and while I know the antlers have long been a defining feature, this is not present in the original folklore.
Obviously, based on the title I didn't think we were going to get much of the original folklore, but there was a chance to insert that when the legend is talked about. The talk about it is very brief and really felt like it was just being glossed over, which bothered me. The actual design of the Wendigo was good though, which I'm sure was helped by Guillermo del Toro's presence. The acting is also top notch, especially by Jeremy T. Thomas who plays Lucas Weaver. That said though, the biggest fault is still with the plot itself. This movie didn't really know what it wanted to be, was is trying to talk about the folklore, use the legend as a metaphor, focus on family issues, a monster story, a possession story or something else?
I've read "The Quiet Boy"; Nick Antosca's short story which this film is based on and this is one of the many times that the book, or in this case, short story, is better than the movie. Without spoiling anything, while the father and brother are described as having antlers, it's never stated that they are Wendigo and one could easily interpret it in a very different light, but for that you'll need to read the story.
Obviously, based on the title I didn't think we were going to get much of the original folklore, but there was a chance to insert that when the legend is talked about. The talk about it is very brief and really felt like it was just being glossed over, which bothered me. The actual design of the Wendigo was good though, which I'm sure was helped by Guillermo del Toro's presence. The acting is also top notch, especially by Jeremy T. Thomas who plays Lucas Weaver. That said though, the biggest fault is still with the plot itself. This movie didn't really know what it wanted to be, was is trying to talk about the folklore, use the legend as a metaphor, focus on family issues, a monster story, a possession story or something else?
I've read "The Quiet Boy"; Nick Antosca's short story which this film is based on and this is one of the many times that the book, or in this case, short story, is better than the movie. Without spoiling anything, while the father and brother are described as having antlers, it's never stated that they are Wendigo and one could easily interpret it in a very different light, but for that you'll need to read the story.
The Invitation
(I) (2015)
Is it a cult or a pyramid scheme?
12 January 2022
The Invitation is a masterpiece, let's just start with that. This is a film that will keep you guessing up until the very end and even then will throw you through more loops. It's shot so beautifully, perfectly playing with angles and makes you feel unsettled. The music is so on point with gradually building and contributes to the feeling of unease and dread. The whole time you are seeing this from Will's perspective and wondering what is real and what isn't. Is Will just being paranoid or does he have real reason to be afraid? If you have not yet seen The Invitation, I strongly suggest you take a moment to watch it, you will not be disappointed.
Willowvale Harbor
(2021)
Tighter script needed to bring this together
2 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Overall, I felt this was a fun watch. I enjoyed that there was some comic relief, great camera work, sound design and music was really enjoyable. I did feel there were several plot holes that it would have been nice to have cleared up though. I'll go into more detail below, but if you don't want spoilers, I feel this is worth a watch. You can tell everyone involved really worked hard and cared about this project. It really felt like it was inspired by something like Centralia, PA and The Crazies.
Spoilers past this point.
This film had a lot of fun ideas that I think could have used more fleshing out. I forgive a lot due to this being a low budget film, but story is something that I think really needed some work. It was overall a good story and clearly had some holes that needed filled. A minor one is that Mike seems to go into the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, but it's not really clear how Dan knows where to find him. We assume directions were somehow given to him, but this is not shown. Again, this is minor though and I don't think really takes away from story. Another minor issue is that Dan is really not dressed for this, but this could just be because I get cold really easily, but it was snowing, so at least a bigger jacket would have been a good idea. At one point he passes a sign that says "Willowvale Harbor" but if this was some big government coverup, you'd think they'd destroy that sign. I grew up not far from Site R in Maryland and it is very locked down. If there were zombies like creatures loose with something like a rage virus, then you'd think it'd be more like The Crazies where the government would be taking them out. It seems more that this area was supposed to be abandoned. A couple other things that were a bit confusing, at one point Dan is running from some of the zombies and it's night, but then later he's running and it's day. Are we supposed to assume he was running all night? At this point though he finds a place to hide and rest, though it's not clear how he got away from them, he has a dream that we find is like a memory. It seems he got away as a baby, but I can accept that this area might have some supernatural aspects. There's a part later where his sister seems to move some things with her mind. This is where we find out that Dan was born here and he was immune to the virus and everyone else had to stay and suffer and they'd been trying to find him. This part also lost me a bit. It seems they knew where he was and made an effort to lure him in. If they knew where he was and who his friends were, then why not just go get him? Even with that point, if he might have had a cure in his blood, then couldn't they tell him and take some samples?
Now, I know this all seems really critical and I only say this because I feel this group really could do some amazing stuff in the future. They had the outline of a great story and even reference Romero and Night of the Living Dead; clearly an inspiration. You really feel those vibes, especially with Dan being killed at the end just like how Night of the Living Dead ends. I enjoyed the nostalgia with the floppy disks. The nutty conspiracy theorist friend was fun. The acting was good, though there were areas for improvement with some of the more minor characters. The area they used to film was really good and really felt isolated and creepy. If this could have a tighter script to fill in those holes, then I think this would really improve the overall movie.
Spoilers past this point.
This film had a lot of fun ideas that I think could have used more fleshing out. I forgive a lot due to this being a low budget film, but story is something that I think really needed some work. It was overall a good story and clearly had some holes that needed filled. A minor one is that Mike seems to go into the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, but it's not really clear how Dan knows where to find him. We assume directions were somehow given to him, but this is not shown. Again, this is minor though and I don't think really takes away from story. Another minor issue is that Dan is really not dressed for this, but this could just be because I get cold really easily, but it was snowing, so at least a bigger jacket would have been a good idea. At one point he passes a sign that says "Willowvale Harbor" but if this was some big government coverup, you'd think they'd destroy that sign. I grew up not far from Site R in Maryland and it is very locked down. If there were zombies like creatures loose with something like a rage virus, then you'd think it'd be more like The Crazies where the government would be taking them out. It seems more that this area was supposed to be abandoned. A couple other things that were a bit confusing, at one point Dan is running from some of the zombies and it's night, but then later he's running and it's day. Are we supposed to assume he was running all night? At this point though he finds a place to hide and rest, though it's not clear how he got away from them, he has a dream that we find is like a memory. It seems he got away as a baby, but I can accept that this area might have some supernatural aspects. There's a part later where his sister seems to move some things with her mind. This is where we find out that Dan was born here and he was immune to the virus and everyone else had to stay and suffer and they'd been trying to find him. This part also lost me a bit. It seems they knew where he was and made an effort to lure him in. If they knew where he was and who his friends were, then why not just go get him? Even with that point, if he might have had a cure in his blood, then couldn't they tell him and take some samples?
Now, I know this all seems really critical and I only say this because I feel this group really could do some amazing stuff in the future. They had the outline of a great story and even reference Romero and Night of the Living Dead; clearly an inspiration. You really feel those vibes, especially with Dan being killed at the end just like how Night of the Living Dead ends. I enjoyed the nostalgia with the floppy disks. The nutty conspiracy theorist friend was fun. The acting was good, though there were areas for improvement with some of the more minor characters. The area they used to film was really good and really felt isolated and creepy. If this could have a tighter script to fill in those holes, then I think this would really improve the overall movie.
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