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leiram45
Thrillers and animated movies are also nice
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Death of a Vlogger (2019)
A ticket into the show called social media, horror style
A vlogger captures what appears to be hauntings while in livestream, and this subsequently catapults him into the virality stratosphere. With the aid of his girlfriend and an overambitious paranormal expert-slash-vlogger, they try to uncover the truth. It was a typical found-footage horror film up to that point, but what happens after that was unexpected, and I think, brilliant.
The acting overall was good. Not the best, but I think the actors played their parts pretty well. It doesn't have too many characters and the plot was easy to follow, which are good qualities for found-footage. There were some jump-scares but not too much to be annoying. These things were well and good, but the film's idea was a stand-out for me. I found it refreshing, intelligent, and cool.
This movie is not for every horror fan, but if you don't mind horror being used as a medium to maybe tell something else, then you may find this film pleasantly surprising.
So, was it real, was it fake, who to believe, does it matter? Look at their arguments and arrive to your own conclusions, and maybe get something more.
Deleter (2022)
Solid start but became stale and very predictable
A content moderator experiences bizarre visions and nightmares after her co-worker dies. The aftermath of this death criss-crosses with the stress of her job and her own past. The first 30 minutes was good: dark subject matter, eerie atmosphere, appealing questions to answer. It was a fine setup. Sadly, the film went down from there but not so much as to call this film a failure.
The best part about this film is the rarely explored world of content moderation. We see here the trauma that workers in this field experience, how even though they try to disengage from the terrible videos they watch regularly, they can't. Watching just the snippets of these videos in the movie made me look away, and I can't imagine what these people go through. They tackled this well and that is the biggest reason why I gave this film 6 stars and not 5 or 4. I wish they explored and used this theme more than they did.
The acting, overall, was nice. There were scenes where I wanted more from the actors, but the positives outweigh the negatives. Also, I wish they used their characters more or gave viewers more information about them.
The atmosphere was creepy in the first half but downgraded from there. It would have been better if they went all-out and removed some background music. Also, the dark lighting of the film became tiring to the eyes as the film went on.
The biggest downside of this film is the mystery/reveal. That was a letdown considering the good setup from the beginning. They have something great and yet they chose a weak, uninventive answer to the mystery.
The ending was another letdown. It's open to interpretation but it was bad.
This film had an interesting subject, decent acting, and nice first-half atmosphere. But, the second half didn't hold up to the first one, especially with the weak mystery and bad ending. Still, I think it had some positives that Filipino horror filmmakers should build on.
Tee Yod (2023)
Has creepy moments but, in all, a wasted opportunity
A family living in a farm is struck with supernatural occurrences which coincide with one member getting sick. The story's structure, like the other commenters said, is typical, even the personalities of some of the characters. That's not necessarily bad, but the film has to have strong details to make it unique from the others in the genre, not to mention cohesive storytelling--and that's where the film missed the mark.
Folk horror films rely heavily on the legend, and this legend has to be explained, especially if the film makers intend to screen it internationally. The legend of the antagonist on this film was just scratched on the surface, and the "rules" were sketchy. Too much exposition is bad but it should be enough for the viewers to understand how things really work. We didn't get that here. Maybe on the sequel?
From the first third of the film, there were already disconnects. There were reactions from characters that were out-of-place; sometimes they reacted too much considering what they only knew, sometimes they said things too early. It's like there were deleted scenes or maybe misplaced ones.
The acting in this film was mixed. One actor was great but there were some who I don't know if they just chose to act that way or the film makers told them to. One character looks overly concerned at times while one character was often nonchalant. I'm not sure if it was meant to be comedic but it made me laugh, I thought it was a horror-comedy film. That's a minus for the atmosphere.
There were also too many characters. That two-hour run time should have been used to flesh out the legend, give more time to the antagonist rather than give dialogue to characters that were hardly used.
The positive on this film is it had creepy moments scattered across those two hours. It had a nice opening scene, the antagonist was scary, the characters are likable, and early on I thought it had the potential to be like 2021's The Medium; however, the insufficient legend information, and the confusing storytelling and atmosphere made this film a wasted opportunity.
I should be giving this film a 6 if not for the big contradictory information it had. There were two contradicting statements made about a character. It's an important detail in the mystery so it's surprising it went unchecked. I'm hoping the sequel is better.
Marrowbone (2017)
A drama film with just a pinch of horror
I watched this because it was classified as horror, and with horror, I was anticipating suspense. This film is not like that, but it is still a worthwhile watch.
The film is about 4 siblings who vow to be together, and a kind girl who becomes their friend. They had a series of traumatic experiences, and more still to come. You'll care for the characters and root for their happiness. They were written well and portrayed finely by the actors.
I came into this film knowing it was a horror film-plenty of suspense and mystery, faster pacing-and though there are elements of that, overall I was unsatisfied as a horror fan. Halfway through the film, I admit I felt bored, but I cared for the characters that I wanted to know what happened to them next. They are one of the most traumatized characters I've watched in a fictional film. And what's alarming is there's probably people like them in the real world.
This film is not for a horror fan looking for suspense(as I was when I watched it). I won't recommend it to a horror fan unless they want a drama film with just bits of horror. But as a film, in its entirety, it's good.
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Thought-provoking, compelling. A film where every thing has meaning.
Films are a form of entertainment, and when done right, can be channels of compelling messages. They affect us differently, one factor being where we are in our lives. This film, it hit me deep.
Whoever's reading this, go ahead and watch. It's better knowing less. I didn't know a lot about this film other than it had horror elements and it was real good. Then after watching, you can read about it. I admit that I did, and that made me understand the film. I was blown away.
The acting was great, the structure of the film was brilliant, and the mystery was thrilling. All these are topnotch, but it was the story and the message behind it that made this film platinum.
I am very happy that this film was made when it was made and that the story was presented in a well-thought-out and delicate manner. There were no insignificant scenes just for the sake of it, each one has meaning. I liked that a lot about this film.
This movie served as a powerful instrument for me, a gracious reminder for self-reflection. Films can be amazing, and in rare occasions, life-changing. This film will not do that for everybody, but watch it, it's really excellent.
Evil Dead Rise (2023)
Okay on it's own but disappointing compared to earlier Evil Deads
I really liked Evil Dead 1 and the 2013 version. The acts/sections were good, overall they were solid, and had scary moments especially the 2013 one. I was expecting this to be the same level or near it, but it was not. It's okay on its own, but just break-even compared to the films in the franchise I watched.
Maybe I just expected much. Some of the kills/gore were good but it isn't really a big criteria to films that aren't slashers, and to me personally. Some of the acting were wanting, too, and the main characters weren't presented in a way where you'll really root for them. The kid was cute and I wanted the lead to survive because of her baby but there was just something missing with these characters. I think I cared for the neighbors more, actually.
The setting also was kinda weird. Cabins and the woods just match seamlessly with these types of stories. How and where they discovered the book and recordings were questionable, too, but that was something a viewer can let slide. Like the other reviewers here, there was just something missing for me, or maybe it was just insufficient in a lot of areas.
It's not bad. It may even be good for someone whose first film in the franchise is this. It was just pulled down by high expectations.
Summer of 84 (2018)
This could have been good
The kid/teenage characters were cute. They were acted well. I also liked that some of their family dynamics were shown or hinted at. Of course, there's that mystery of are they right or wrong, which I thought was nicely done.
But, oh man, just when it should have wrapped up and be a good movie, something happened. This something was inconsistent from the rest of the film. The last 15 minutes or so were tainted by events that were unrealistic(not something you can just shake off), decisions/behaviors that were out-of-character, and a shift in tone that was rough and too late in the film. These things were done in a level that was unbelievable. If they wanted this ending, they should have steered to it, not suddenly hopped to it.
I wish it just ended before that shift, just a few in-line-with-the-tone wrapping of things. It had some thrills but... oh, well.
Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)
Intelligent and scary, at the top-tier of its kind
I watched other horror films involving people in their webcams and films involving the dark web, and this is definitely in the top-tier for me.
The first minutes were slow as the story was being built up. This set-up needed, though, to inform the audience about the the characters. Having watched portions of the first Unfriended, I did not know if something supernatural suddenly comes up, even though it seemed unlikely from the film's description. About 30 minutes in, the film really got going and did not let up.
The acting was good, and the plot was not confusing. I also liked that the technical terms were defined, not too much, but just right for the entire audience. Dropping a not well-known term in a film and not defining them is just irritating. There's also a twist in the end that explains how and why some things happened. This was an enjoying and thrilling watch, and gave a different kind of scare.
Before I watched this, I just read the short description and one review that said just watch it and not read more, like a judge-for-yourself review, and I'm glad I heeded to it. I can see why this film may not appeal to everyone, but go ahead and see if it does for you.
The Tunnel (2011)
Successful in telling the story it wanted to tell, at least for me
The movie was presented as a documentary with interviews and film footage, and it is about a four-person news crew who investigated an underground tunnel in Australia. The story structure of the movie was quite simple and straightforward. It gave just enough context about the characters' dynamics and about the mystery of the tunnel to tease what is to come. Then, it told and showed the crew's experiences inside the tunnel.
The information given in the crew's interviews added to the story, none seemed out-of-place, although the repeated close-up portrait shots were annoying. The acting was okay and the characters weren't bad. The most important thing was it had a good thrilling part that the horror audience waits for. It wasn't all-over-the-place, it's not confusing who holds the camera, what happened made sense with it being a horror film. Finally, the mystery was given an answer.
This movie is not special, the story is not extraordinary, but it was done well and it was thrilling. The questions were answered and there were no unnecessary complications. With that, I give this a 7.