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Dagon ( 2002 )

The plot centers around two couples on vacation, whose ship suddenly runs aground off the Spanish coast and one of the women becomes trapped below deck as the boat begins to take on water. Our male and female leads take a boat to a nearby fishing village to seek help, only to discover that the townsfolk have been enthralled by something that is slowly turning them into blasphemous abominations. Something evil... Something ancient... Something from the deep. And it wants it’s tribute.

Probably my favorite Stuart Gordon/Lovecraft outing next to Re-Animator, and one of the more true to form adaptations ( even though it’s more like a reimagining of The Shadow Over Innsmouth as opposed to Dagon... Cuz Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna never seem to get the titles to match the screenplays for some god damn reason ). Arguably one of the most faithful films in regards to the source material and it’s mythos. Dagon nails the nightmarish, otherworldly, and warped atmosphere of one of Lovecraft’s tales, while mixing in Stuart Gordon’s signature style with some impressive practical creature/gore effects. The story borrows heavily from the original narrative, while also changing enough to keep it from being a straight up adaptation, is more engaging than I expected, and I felt the twist and ending were well executed. My only real complaints are standard fare for most low budget foreign flicks. The dubbing can be a little hokey and distracting at times which can detract from the overall dark and serious tone, and the few CG effects are clearly unpolished or not finished ( but thankfully they are both brief and sparse ).

Overall, I’d highly recommend this one to fans of both Stuart Gordon and Lovecraft respectfully. As well as anyone looking for a creepy little creature feature with decent effects and an interesting, cult themed, story. Also, fans of horror themed games should check this one out, as the original story and this film inspired the level design and enemies in games like RE4, Bloodborne, and by far the most intense ( and my personal favorite ) part of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.

7/10

Orphan (2009)

I give it a 3/10. That was the stupidest horror movie I have seen in recent years and I don't understand why so many people liked it. The plot twist was so absurd and you could see it coming from 10 miles away, and I didn't like how Esther was portrayed as another evil Russian stereotype especially when a lot of the "innocent" American characters around her were less likable than she was. Like you had her adoptive brother who told her to go back to Transylvania because he thought she was a freak (and not only was he too stupid to realize that she was from Russia but that Transylvania isn't even a country and somehow her pointing out his ignorance made her more evil), you had the little elementary school ***** who tried to bully her just because she wore a dress to school instead of jeans like all the other "normal girls" (I think that brat deserved to get pushed off a slide and break her leg I felt no sympathy for her at all), and then you had her adoptive parents themselves who are getting their freak on right in the middle of the kitchen with their kids upstairs... Yeah, I hated every character in this movie!

I saw this some time ago and l also thought Resident Evil 4 during the early parts of the movie. Perhaps I'll watch it again someday. I remember the girlfriend was hot. The movie got kind of silly but there are some scary parts in the movie. That bed scene was freaky.

I watched it years ago on the SciFi channel and I thought it was pretty good too. It did kind of remind me of the game Resident Evil 4 as well as another horror game called Siren. Both games were about a cult village where the residents turned into monsters just like in this movie. Maybe those games were inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft too?

The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey (2012)
7/10

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A hobbit reluctantly agrees to be help some dwarves and a wizard journey to regain their home.

I hadn't seen this film since seeing it in the theatre in 2012. I remember coming to the end of the film, after 2 hours and 49 mins, being disappointed... why is the movie ending when the Hobbit never went into the mountain to grab the special stone! I had no idea this was going to be a three part series. The beginning of the film didn't tell me this was "part one of three". Un-met expectations can really hurt a review.

So now that I know it's in three parts, I tired to reassess the film. Really, the film has some very good segments, like the beginning meeting the dwarves, and the riddle-filled confrontation between Bilbo and Gollum. I think what hurts the film is a lack of defined purpose. We know what the group wants to do once they get to the mountain, but the film is entirely about the journey there; and so the film feels a but disjointed, like a string of isolated experiences along the way.

The key plot of the film is set up early when the wizard Gandalf says to the hobbit Bilbo, "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back. And if you do... ...you will not be the same." The film was not entirely successful in demonstrating how Bilbo was changing. Bilbo became willing to risk his life for the cause, but I don't think we understand why.

All-in-all, it's a rich, interesting and oft visually stunning adventure, with some very entertaining moments and a fair degree of heart, but there's an undeniable lack of focus.

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I didn't like Seed of Chucky as much as Bride of Chucky. It felt too silly in my opinion.

Primal Rage, 2018. 7/10

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Great creature feature.. : )

Wait..What?.. Is what you'll be sayin' a lot with this flick the incongruity is enough to keep it interestin' tho...That and bald, bloodied, machete and crowbar wieldin', maniacally laughin', cannibals runnin' around in an old creepy abandoned hotel. Actors with interestin' features and the flick almost has a foreign feel about it. Good one.

The Hotel of The Damned (2016)

Family Blood, 2018. 6/10