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Jessabelle (2014)
Underrated!
Why such a low rating on IMDB?? It it definitely one of the best horror movies I have seen in recent years. It has great atmosphere and an original plot with a good portion of mystery and detective elements. Sarah Snook is really amazingly good in her part. And the film is scary, it reaches its goal perfectly! The atmosphere of the house she is forced to live in is really uneasy and eerie. You really feel walking in Jessies shoes as the story develops.
By the way, I dislike horror films with an evident plot. I like horror films with a secret at the core of their plot which is (at least partially) resolved in the end. There are so many users here claiming that the plot reminds of a certain other movie and is predictable and has been done before. To me, it was a very original story, and I did not guess the secret until the end. And I have seen the other film the users are referring to and found it completely different from Jessabelle. If a movie is set in similar surroundings, it does not mean that the story is the same!
Give it a chance, it is worth it and way better than your usual horror flicks.
Byzantium (2012)
What a beautiful piece of art
This film is well written, well directed, well acted, incredibly beautiful in its scenery and cinematography and always tasteful, despite some of its motifs being sensational. Please note also that this unusual vampire movie has been released before Jim Jarmusch's sophisticated Only Lovers Left Alive.
The film (and in first line the play it is based upon, I suppose) not only has a consistent and beautifully told storyline; it shows a deep knowledge of the cultural tradition it deals with. It is no coincidence that the origins of the nowadays story take place 200 years ago (and not, for example, 300 or 400 years). The early 19th century was a heyday of gothic novels, neogothic castles and gardens - and the very period where the cultural myth of the vampires took its beginning. It was later but still in the 19th century when Victor Hugo published his novel Les Miserables upon which one of the main themes and storylines of the film are based. Not to mention the allusions to Stoker (whose Dracula begins on the seaside) and Lovecraft. So the Gothic feel which this movie has to it makes perfect sense in terms not only of atmosphere but of its themes, too.
I knew Saoirse Ronan was an outstanding actress from the moment I first saw her in Lovely Bones. She has a charisma which makes it literally impossible to draw one's eyes off her. All of the other actors were also just perfectly cast. Gemma Arterton (and the contrast between her character and that of Saoirse Ronan) is great, and Caleb Jones (whom I had never seen before) is a perfect match for Ronan's character. And, oh my goodness, how beautiful the cinematography is. The green dress of Arterton on the misty sea-coast or the red hood of Ronan above the bloody handkerchief remind of the Preraphaelite artists. The music score suits the film perfectly, it is so full of melancholy and longing.
Please, please, can we have more movies like this??
The Skeleton Key (2005)
Compelling thriller with elements of horror
Good movie, making sense and credible in its story and development. It is hard nowadays to find a thriller/horror film with a good, consistent script. Very good performances by the elder actors. The only thing I do not understand about this film is why the main character is so charmless. She claims wanting to help people but has nothing sympathetic about her look or behavior. Strange cast, in my opinion. The story still works.
Hereditary (2018)
Poorly acted and directed ego trip without sense and substance
In fact, most bad movies still deserve a couple of stars - for sound, cinematography or for one good actor. The reason why I am giving Hereditary only one star (and would give zero if I could) is that it is not just a simple bad movie; it is a pretentious bad movie, taking itself deadly serious and pretending to be ART - without being it. This claim is what makes me so furious. Be bad, be unprofessional, be unintentionally comical - but do not pretend you are something that you are not!!
Hereditary is bad, because it can never decide whether it wants to be drama or horror - and does not succeed in both. The horror is not gruesome, and the drama does not work because you feel no compassion for the characters and have no interest in them. How could you, if they are shown as unsympathetic - not to say, repelling - from the very beginning on?? This repulsive quality seems really hereditary! The neglected mother looks like a long-time alcoholic, the daughter has disturbing looks and behavior (a very well-acted part, but evoking no sympathy at all), and the son is so miscast and badly acted it is just impossible to care about him. The only figure that deserves some sympathy is the poor father of this deranged family (why for God's sake did he marry this woman?..).
The plot is messed up and confusing. More than that, the film gets unintentionally funny where it tries its hardest to be dramatic, and the poor acting makes it even funnier. I never saw Toni Collette before but the job she is doing here is dismal. Her performance is one-key, without any nuances. Where is this whole gamut of emotions other reviewers are speaking of?? Look at her eyes (there is ample chance to do so, due to the many close-ups). The eyes of any good cinema actor are his or her key instrument to convey emotion. Her eyes are empty, without any expression. Her only way to portray emotion is getting hysterical - and not even then is she compelling. I do not know whether she is a bad actress; the fault is anyway the director's. I am usually very prepared to sharing the emotions on screen, especially regarding loss and sorrow. But this time, my friend and me had to laugh when she tried to play a nervous breakdown - this says a lot...
Do I have to mention that this film makes a game out of constantly referring to the great classic horror films, especially Shining and Rosemary's Baby, without ever coming close to their quality? We are art, because we play with art! No. You are not.
If you want to see this movie, wait until it is on TV or Netflix or something. Do not go to the cinema. Do not waste your money. And, much more important: do not support this wanna-be ego trip with your money.
Oculus (2013)
Spoiled again by bad script - a pity
This is basically not a bad movie; it is interesting to watch, it keeps the tension, and there are some emotional scenes in it. But it suffers from major problems with logics and plot holes in a way which does not allow it to be a good movie. Shortly said, the script is so full of implausible turns, especially regarding the psychology of the characters, that the movie had no chance whatsoever to come out as a coherent and consistent story.
Besides, I wonder how so many here call it a new and original story. The plot is as old as the world. A magical mirror is a motif best known from myths and fairytales. A family moving to a new home which soon becomes threatening in one or another way is an age-old story. The device of blending present and past, showing figures simultaneously as children and as grown-ups is nearly as old as the cinema itself. So what is new or original about this plot or this device?.. Neither the development oft he events nor the ending are surprising as well, they follow as expected under the given circumstances.
And now to the script failures: in the first five minutes of the film, it is revealed to us that a young man has been released from a mental asylum where he has spent more than 10 years for murder. And here the problems start: This murder was out of self-defence - would a young boy ever be shut in a mental asylum for self-defence?? We are being told that he received psychological help, but his sister did not. How come that in modern days America a little girl who survived a family tragedy never received any psychological help?.. Now the story goes on with this same sister, taking her brother to the home of their parents almost immediately upon his release and confronting him with the evil mirror story. Would a loving and caring sister, which she is constantly shown like as child, upset his brother in such a brutal way just upon his release? Well, after all that has happened to them (you will see) she might not be the same loving and caring person any more. But the question still is: if you know from your own experience that the mirror is that evil , would you really risk staying tete-a-tete with it? Such problems spin further, on and on.
It's a pity that today's script writers do not seem to care about credibility at all. It destroys many movies with good potential. Not to mention this film relies heavily on "Shining" but has nothing from Kubrick's masterpiece accurate, compelling plot and lead act genius.
Ich seh, Ich seh (2014)
This film is an offending plagiary!
I decided to find and watch this film because of some good reviews on IMDb, stating it was a state-of-the-art movie in terms of cinematography, shot framing, atmosphere and aesthetics. I am a lover of cinema as art myself, but this film has little to do with art. And the worst thing about it is that the whole story is stolen from another movie of which a remake already exists, so I have seen the same story already twice before watching this film.
Even if I had not seen it, the 'twist' about the plot is made so apparent here - as opposed to the original, where it came for me as a surprise, really - that you have got it after three minutes from the start at latest. The directors spared no effort to make the 'twist' as evident as possible to the viewer in the very beginning. As a result, the narrative perspective is marred, because if you see the story under the premise of the 'twist', you cannot switch to the perspective of another person, who would see the whole thing different - but exactly this happens later in the movie (unfortunately, I cannot say more without spoiling it).
The film is annoyingly boring. It is so boring I switched it off in the middle and watched it to the end later only to prove my first impression of it. It has a strong claim to be "art-house cinema", but the directors misunderstood this concept: art-house does not mean being as boring as possible, and it in no way involves stealing the plot from an earlier movie. Yes, there is some skillful cinematography in it, but it serves only to make beautiful things look ugly: not only do all characters look ugly and evoke no sympathy at all, but even the landscape and the house look dull and ugly. Psychologically, the film is also completely flawed because this family never communicates with each other for no evident reason, so as a viewer, you keep asking yourself why they never talk. You do not care for any of the characters, there is no tension, no grip, no actual reason for watching. And, as I said earlier, all these flaws are completed by simple plagiary.
Spare your time and do not watch this flawed, pretentious piece of wannabe-art-house. Watch the original from which they stole instead.
The Boy (2016)
Bad plot holes
This is not a horror movie, rather a thriller. And the thriller is not good either, because the actors are more than mediocre and the plot has inexplicable holes. The 'clever' twist undoes the complete story we have been told before, and - all the worse - it is just improbable, because with this premise, you cannot explain why the parents of the 'boy' behave the way they do. There is no good reason for watching this movie, it is just an example of bad screenplay writing and acting. There are some beautiful views of the old English manor, the unsettling doll etc., but it all makes no sense in the end. This movie feels as if a young and stupid American tried to imagine a creepy story in an old British manor. ;)
Vinyan (2008)
Very smart and well-shot horror film
Since some highly rated reviews here state that "Vinyan" is not a horror film, I would like to emphasize that it certainly is. "Vinyan" is in fact not a slasher/splatter movie, but splatter is only a sub-genre of horror. It has all elements of classical horror in the wake of Hitchcock's "Psycho"or Kubrick's "Shining", as there are, mainly, an unsettling plot and a story set around fear which is also evoked in viewers by cinematic means, including suspense. This being said, I encourage all fans of classical horror to watch this: you will not be disappointed, this IS a horror film, and a very good one.
There are also reviewers stating that the story is basically realistic and 'could happen in real life'. It will remain an open question if this actually could happen (I personally do not consider it probable), but the fact is that the director does not let it look like a realistic story. "Vinyan" portrays dreams, thoughts and fantasies of the characters, so that it is often impossible to tell them from 'real' events. It can be interpreted as a ghost story or as a psychological story of grief and madness without any supernatural components; both readings are justified by the clever screenplay and directing.
The story line is consistent and plausible; the atmosphere is very dense and getting more and more eerie throughout the film; the whole story has a touching emotional depth; and the cinematography is of an exquisite beauty which compares to the most beautiful films I have ever seen in my life. The visuals are really unforgettable in their atmospheric grace. Watch this! It is a piece of very fine cinematic art - art-house, yes, but of a successible kind.
Session 9 (2001)
That's what happens if you work with asbestos a lot :)
This is a very stylish, very homogeneous and thoroughly thought-out movie. It is not stylish in terms of trying to impress you with bright effects; it has an elegant, sophisticated cinematography, a minimalistic but effective soundtrack and a kind of showing you things and faces which contributes to its eerie atmosphere. The characters and acting are flawless in my opinion; it is important that you are being told what you are told about the characters - and no more. The things you get to know will get you in emotionally.
Intelligent plot, which gives you enough hints on what is happening from the beginning on, but these hits are veiled and only to be recognized by the connoisseur. And there is more than one option to interpret what is happening, you are left thinking about the possibilities for a while after having watched the film. There are a couple of plot holes, though, but not nearly as much as in most other horror films. And the ending is completely comprehensible and logical (I don't know what you guys did not get about this ending?..).
Intelligent, original, eerie and also very sad.
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Solid, well made movie
I am ashamed having to admit that I have not seen the original. But I liked this version very much. It is not exactly a scary movie; but being scary is not its goal. It is quite unsettling and very well-made in terms of cinematography, directing, acting and soundtrack. It is a story of a family, and the characters are very well presented, offering some surprising and convincing development. The plot is very solid, too. There were no moments when I kept asking myself: why the hell is he/she doing this or what the hell is happening now?.. The plot is much more clear and comprehensible than in most of the horror movies which tend to be vague and 'mystifying' for one simple reason, namely not having a credible idea or explanation for what is happening and why.
For me, it is rather a quite emotional family drama than a horror movie. But it surely has its deal of shocking moments and unsettling atmosphere, so I clearly recommend it to any horror film fan to watch.
[Rec] (2007)
Appalling crap
Once again I got deceived by all the good reviews on IMDb. Listen... if THIS is a good horror movie, if THIS is scary, then I am a Spanish cameraman. What we have here is: - a shaky camera all the way through (extremely unnerving, and yes, I know this is an usual way to film (horror) movies nowadays, but knowing this does not help either) - a heap of clichés instead of a plot (yes, you know what will happen during the entire movie after having watched the first 'scary' scene, and it is in no way different from 1'000'000'000... other movies all over the world, not a single detail different) - a completely psychotic atmosphere where all the characters, including police officers and firefighters, stay constantly screaming and nearly crying as if they were little girls. Spanish temperament?.. Very unnerving, if so. Not to mention the female lead who is screaming, shrieking, cursing and hyperventilating ALL THE TIME. Do you want to hear it for one hour?.. - completely stupid actions of most of the characters (welcome to the standard teen slasher - oh, I thought this was none? - or would you keep your ill child out of bed for many hours, for example?) - and after all, no credible reasons for the cameraman to film (don't tell me 'it's his job'; there are situations in this film when no professional cameraman would film either, there is a notion of personal rights and data protection in the end).
After all, an unnerving, full of cliché flick, neither scary not original, with an unjustified claim to 'documentary'. I am just glad to not having paid any single cent for this.
The Flock (2007)
Disturbing movie about (missing) justice
I did not expect much of this movie but I am glad to have watched it, since it combines good acting with some issues which are crucial and problematic in terms of "state founded on the rule of law".
Richard Gere is very good in this one; as somebody said before, he manages to be neither good-looking nor charming in order to depict a convincing character. His character is confronted with the issue of the society failing to punish sexual offenders and murderers for any reasons - and, as a result, starts executing self-justice on them. It is a very important and disturbing moral question whether one is supposed to follow the official rules and respect the human rights of criminals or to follow his own sense of justice and of moral values which are neglected by police and the courts. The movie does not provide a definite answer to this question; instead, it simply shows how the matters of justice can ruin a human's existence, but it also shows that the rights of victims are often neglected in order to preserve the rights of offenders and that there is not always a chance of "recreating" criminals to decent people - and lets the spectator contemplate on these issues. Since the movie is loosely based on such cases of serial murders as Frederick & Rosemary West or Paul Bernardno & Karla Homolka, is has a very realistic component about it.
I did not particularly like Claire Danes in this one, but I never do. She is a mediocre actress without charm or even a pretty face, so her character is not convincing in this movie. But this is a problem of miscasting and not of bad directing or script.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
If you want a gruesome film, here you go
I am a hardened spectator; that means, I have only seen a couple films in my whole life which I considered scary. I like horror films but usually get disappointed with them, as 99% of them do not frighten me in any way. This one did. It is an extremely consistent and successful effort to create a sense of horror which is, in the end, the ultimate means of the genre. It is not even about the plot; it is about the director's possibility to create an atmosphere of hopelessness which penetrates the film from the beginning on. The tension is built in a masterful manner, cinematic means like light, soundtrack and camera shots highlight the events in the most fitting way, the pace is just right, all elements contribute to a consistently thrilling and gruesome outcome. This film seems very modern in its effects and camera style but somehow retro in its imagery which is a successful tribute to the original version of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". A seldom example of a good remake.
Vertige (2009)
Worth seeing the first 1/2 hour of it.
I stay wondering why so many directors and screenplay writers of wannabe-horror movies ruin the good ideas they have in the beginning. This movie starts really good, it seems to deal with hobby mountain-climbing and interpersonal tensions. Indeed, mountain-climbing can turn out to be real horror if you are not particularly good at it and if you take a closed (certainly not without a reason) path. In the first 1/2 hour of the movie, nice camera shots and great landscapes convey a feeling of vertigo and a vague sense of danger - which is very, very credible in the given situation. Things can go wrong, ropes can tear, vertigo can drive you to madness, you can get lost in the mountains, there can be a tempest - all that is horror, because it is likely to happen in real life. So WHY the hell is there any need for "boosting" a life-like situation with some maniac moron hunting the characters? WHY do they always turn a real horror situation into a stereotyped, paper-thin, seen-over-a-thousand-of-times slasher? It is the same with "The Descent" which had excellent premises to get really scary (in the end, there are not many things as gruesome as being trapped in some huge subterranean labyrinth of holes without any map) but instead, decided to put in some stupid monsters which ruined the whole suspense and the sense of horror. Horrific are only things which seem realistic or in some way convey the sense of the possibility to get realistic. There is no need for additional "boost"! Folks, show me a horror movie based on completely natural premises and the appropriate development of characters in the given situation - and I will sing you a love song. But it seems easier to get some mad hunter or monsters in than to develop real tensions and real situations.
Waking Ned (1998)
Enchanting, human, touching
... is this little movie, completely unpretentious and still managing to be very funny and truly melancholic at the same time - a skill which the British are particularly good at. The worth of friendship is pictured and played in a completely authentic and convincing way. Phantastic soundtrack. A little sparkling treasure in the movie world.
Old friends Jacky and Michael learn that some of their neighbors in the small village Tullymore must have won the lottery - but they do not know who. The possibilities are indeed restricted, since there are only 52 people living in Tullymore. Jacky and Michael try to find out - and learn that the old Ned Devine lies dead in his house, still smiling at his unexpected luck...
The Descent (2005)
Bad disappointment
There were so many good reviews so I decided to watch this movie - and got completely disappointed. Do not expect too much of it. The director never can decide whether he wants to make a drama or a horror movie, and the film suffers extremely as a result. The outcome is full of pathos and unintentionally ridiculous at very many points. Neither the story of the relations between the female friends is consistent and well-told nor the horror part of the film is scary in any way because it is completely predictable. You can see at any moment when the "horror" is about to start. The film has no suspense, no really moving story (only some pretensions at drama which do not, as I said, get fulfilled), and it does not induce fear. The ending is nice, but does a nice ending excuse a boring and pretentious movie?