The Collector (2009). A ballet of mechanical paranoia and torture from the writers of Saw, this one is a splendid way to get your squirm on. The first act sets the tone for the attendees of this sick party, with the remaining time best left to discover new devices for body fluids and parts to abscond from their host to see the world. Saddled with plot holes, the driving force of this nasty flick does not allow time for such deliberations. The acting, especially lead Josh Stewart, was more than solid. The writing and direction were effective, the editing far from peaceful. The score was industrial strength creepy, creating an atmosphere of dread when the music stopped. Overall this was a great way to exercise the crinkle muscles of the forehead. Late.
Genruk

Huh. Usually our tastes are in synch, but I was not a huge fan of this one... I just couldn't suspend my disbelief... The more elaborate the traps are, the more I think, "Really? Really? HOW could he have POSSIBLY set that up?!"

Saw IV.

I was only able to watch half of it but it did feel like the 1st Saw in a way and John Kramer's backstory was interesting aswell.

starship troopers 3
the killing fields

Machete- 7/10

Good, eh? My boyfriend's pretty psyched about that one... I'm on the fence.

...

May


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Still one of my favorite indie horror movies ever. Angela Bettis is simply incredibly. And it's so artfully directed. Really can't get sick of this one (though, oddly enough, the boyfriend thinks it doesn't have much rewatchability... I have to disagree though). It's currently on Comcast on Demand for free. Check it out if you have the service.


4.75/5.


...


Primal


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Not bad, but not great, this Aussie low-budget horror film is pretty schizophrenic... The premise is a bit too goofy for the film to take itself as serious as it does... But there are some moments of ironic gore delight - but I found myself confused because it honestly does take itself seriously...

It has really good gore and folly effects. Decent, if not incredibly low-budget direction (including overused shaky cam). It just left me a bit wanting.

At a minimum, it's not your average slasher and it's not your average monster flick - There's a bit of super natural folded in that makes this movie refreshing if not outstanding.

2.75/5.

May rules. I should really pick up a copy since mine went missing. I've had The Woods sitting on my shelf for ages too I really should throw that in the player sometime.

Forgot about Primal might have to give it a go especially if it's got lots of splatter.

The Woods is pretty good - He's so damn good at creating atmosphere.

He also did an episode of Masters of Horror called "Sick Girl" - Bettis was in it as well. It's not great, but it's a good, uncomfortable watch (another weird quirky character pic).

Primal had some decent gore - I think it should have been more over-the-top. It should have pushed itself more. It was odd how serious it took itself. Again - It's not bad, but not really great. Not really worth the $7 we paid for it, but definitely better than average horror fare that's out there - At least it's something slightly different.

What you SHOULD do is watch Evil Aliens. ;)

I dug Sick Girl... it made me cringe. Might watch The Woods tonight then. The guy is quite an overlooked director when it comes to modern horror movies. One of the few with a unique style. I need to check out his other flicks too.

I'm getting round to Evil Aliens don't worry :D

Cold Prey (2006)

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>>: A-

For me the fun of the incredulous capacity for this industrious killer blunted my disbelief.

Gaslight (1944). Flouting plot holes in order to tell this creepy tale, this psychological thriller takes its protagonist to the brink. The setting paints a picture of post-aristocratic London with aplomb, making for a wonderful canvas upon which to allow events to unfold. The acting was superb, with Ingrid Bergman using her eyes to reveal the explosive sense of despondency as her world turns against her. With solid direction and wonderfully soft camera work, events move towards their inevitable denouement with nary a chance for a reprieve. With a wonderfully satisfying ending, this classic is sure to remain at the top of its game for years to come. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

Same here. The 'realistic or practical' aspect or possibilities doesn't concern me sometime while enjoying a decent thrill ride of a film like this one.


Cold Prey 2 (2008)

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Just finished watching this fantastic follow up of 2006's sensational Norwegian hit Fritt vilt aka Cold Prey. Like the original Halloween II (81) it started just after the massacre of the first film and I must admit this is not only one of the few films that may all-around surpass its predecessor but also one of the Greatest Slasher films ever made...at least in my account of this beloved sub genre of horror. Gore is perfectly present as far the body count progress & incidents require, suspense grows in an awesome fashion along with the careful & adequate development of the characters but above the major credit goes to the director for his masterful skills in camera work to keep the pace & tension brilliantly all through the movie. Undoubtedly it's a very rare gem for the fans in this 'remake & homage' age of Slashers.

>>: A

Damn I totally forgot about Cold Prey. I was waiting for it to hit the stores here which never happened.

-----

Paranormal Entity

Figured this would fill the void until Paranormal Activity 2 comes out. This one lacked the subtlety of PA especially when it came to the staging of shots. Loved the ending but the build up to it could've been fleshed out more and made more menacing.

The Hitcher II

Yeh... pretty lame really. I remember not minding it when I caught it on TV awhile back but thought it was average this time round. Still not as much of an insult to the original as the remake.

I loved Cold Prey 1 and 2.

Genesis & Aftermath: Two shorts by Nacho Cerda. Genesis is a pretty good short about how much an artist can put into their work. Very well done. Not as graphic as I thought of since I watched it after Aftermath. Aftermath is about a morgue tech that takes things a bit too far. Really, really well done. No dialogue, but damn do you ever get a feel for the main character. Definitely not for the squeamish at all.

Runaway Train: Highly recommended. Pretty tense action throughout. Plus it has this absolutely great exchange:

Sara: You're an animal!
Manny: No, worse! Human!

Runaway Train is nothing short of brilliant. Really dug that one. Quite fond of Aftermath too. Beautifully shot and grizzly.

La Horde (2009)

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>>: B+

Strange Days (1995). This long and rather slow paced sci-fi uses its time to get to the climax with aplomb. The story itself was solid and intriguing, blending strong elements of technology and the non-PC realities in living the American dream, all set in the peri-apocalyptic moment of the new millenia. The acting was solid, though the dialog was at times lamentable. The direction was strong and the camera work excellent. Though it could have been editied down to around two hours, I suspect that Director Kathryn Bigelow had her reasons to do keep the reel so fat. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

Fritt vilt aka Cold Prey

after much positive hype, I finally got to watch this one.

It was a pretty much "by the numbers" slasher. Surely didn't break new ground.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010

I don't expect much from remakes,I keep my expectations fairly low and perhaps that is why I can usually find at least a modicum of enjoyment in even the most modest of "reimaginings",not in this case I didn't.
I thought Jackie Earle Haley was excellent in Watchmen and on the back of that I thought he was a good choice to play Freddy when the casting was announced,I have now changed my mind.I didn't find Haley's Freddy to be at all menacing,or to have any real presence.I don't think this lack of menace and presence was at all helped by the way several scenes were shot making Freddy look so diminutive that he resembled I child wearing a Halloween costume.I didn't like the make up either,I know they were going for a more authentic burns victim look,but all I saw was a miniture,bald version of Vincent from the Beauty and the Beast TV series.
The teen characters were so bland and utterly devoid of charisma that it was hard to care when they met their (Predictble) ends,in fact the entire cast (Ironically) seemed to be half asleep throughout,although to be fair I don't think they had a lot to work with.Even the more memorable and impactful scenes from the original were reproduced here with such a lack of style and imagination as to render them criminally ineffectual.For me this is the worst remake since The Fog.

"Resident Evil: Afterlife"

The further adventures of professional zombie ass kicker Alice, this time in L.A.


Phantom's Review: If you liked the other ones, you'll like this one.

Predators

Loved it. Should've taken the time to see it at the cinema. Quite similar to Terminator: Salvation in a way. But yeh... killer.

Jar City (2006). An Icelandic triumph? This crime drama from the cold and dreary realms of Iceland could almost rely on the laurels of its cinematography, which transports the viewer to an alien land of frozen glaciers and bogs that are volcanically and geologically fussy. But this flick is more than a visual treat, for the characters are just as wonderfully tough and bitter as the weather, rugged cookies with real and twisted lives, just like in the states and everywhere else I suppose. As this film unfolds, we almost get a taste of this isolated country, with a trip to a fast food joint providing fare that is as chilling and disgusting as the seedy tastes of this frosty society. The acting, pooling its talent from a rather small pond, provided a wonderful cast for the job at hand. The story itself, cookie-cutter at times, sprinkled with humor both light and dark, was also a multilayered affair with twists and turns, an occasionally disjointed time-line, which has its seemingly tangential events come together in its denouement. An island half the size of England with around 320,000 people, there is almost a small town feel to the whole of it, heaping an almost incestuous air onto these isolated peoples. With all aspects of this movie handled with adroit flare, it was a rare treat to be transported into this forgotten island of humanity.
Genruk

Lake Dead - Directed by George Bessudo

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Rating: 3/10
This movie was just plain awful. Really, just terrible. It could barely hold my attention throughout. It's formula is as generic as it gets. The "psycho killers" in this film look like the Geico Caveman. It's only nice quality was a decent gore scene in the beginning. Apart from that, it seemed really amateur, and quite frankly, boring. It's part of the "After Dark Horrorfest" which I am a pretty big fan of. This movie just didn't cut it though. If you insist on completing the entire series, then give it a go. Otherwise, avoid it.

I HAVE to agree with you here, this move was fantastic! I saw it a few weeks ago for free as well, on Verizon's FEARnet. Angela Bettis was amazing, and Jeremy Sisto was also great in this. The two characters complemented each other perfectly. That awkward tension throughout was really incredible. I've seen it twice now and I can't get sick of it either. I wasn't expecting much out of it when I turned it on, but it proved to be a really fun, and unexpectedly deep indie horror flick.

I agree 100%- this movie was a crapper.

Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitto to both of you guys.

I found this movie to be absolute crap. And what really pisses me off is that there HAS to be other indie filmmakers out there who are producing quality films (I mean, think about movies like Murder Party or Evil Aliens - Total low budget films that are GOOD) and THIS is the kind of tripe that gets attached to Afterdark Horrorfest.

Honestly, Afterdark Horrorfest gets a really bad rep, but I generally defend it - I think that it's had quite a few good films over the years... But when they roll out shit like Lake Dead, I find it absolutely embarrassing... I mean... COME ON.

A Serbian Film (2010)

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>>: B-

Dark House (2009)

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>>: D+

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

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Fully agree with you except...it was even worse than The Fog remake, IMO.

Their too smart idea to gave it a more dark tone & a real burn victim look to Freddy failed horribly. Along with Haley's Freddy all the characters turned out awfully boring throughout the movie and which resulted a terrible slow pace to carry the film till the end. It seems all the cast & crew members were forced to making the film in a limited schedule. While watching the cast & crew interview I was just wondering how people can be so blind, ignorant & stupid while they were working on such a sensitive project...to remake a so popular & acclaimed film like Wes Craven's ANOES...one of the most innovative, interesting & lovable films in the genre ever made. It was sad to see such an awful entry New Line have added to the franchise, the low rated later parts of the original was far & far better than this total piece of crap.

>>: D


Naboer aka Next Door (2005)

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An excellent psychological thriller from Norway. Check this out asap if you haven't seen it yet.

>>: A-

I thought they did really well with the Elm St remake.

I like the new Freddy a lot. Dark and twisted.

Of course I like the original more for sentimental reasons and the fact it did it first but the remake is solid and I hope they get to make some sequels and flesh it out some more.

The original series is still there so it's not the end of the world and this film was a hell of a lot more interesting than what I could see the studios doing with it.

I dunno different strokes for different folks :)

As it's coming from you...now it actually seems the End is near! :eek:

Just Kidding, bro;) but yeah...I couldn't able to find any single scary or fun moment (except the boo in the closet was a little decent effort) in the film. 'Nancy' looked or appeared like she wasn't sure what's her part in the film. The story progressed with that hot chick Kris at first then it took little bit time to decide "okay...who's gonna now take the lead?" and throughout the film they failed to develop a single solid lead...it seems they were bit confused how to handle those characters. One of the most interesting elements of an Elm Street film is the subtle slide back and forth from the real world to the dream world which they didn't get at all right here. Moreover, there wasn't any whimsical world of nightmares. Wooden acting, complete lack of tension & suspense contributed a very low energy from the start to end and btw, I can't remember but was there any signature ANOES like background music that they use in this version?

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7/10


Damn.. what a nasty.


Awsome actor, Srdjan Todorovic.

Repo Man (1984) This flick manages to capture the essence of the eighties and nineties in a fashion that only a historian could grasp, and sets this to film in a wonderfully quirky and disjointed fashion. The empty meaninglessness of consumption is expressed to a T, especially with the literal labels used on comestible packaging. The story meanders its way to its end, culminating in a fashion that would make Takashi Miike proud. The cast provided the perfect ingredients for such a project, with Emilio Estevez offering one of his best performances. Harry Dean Stanton of course adds his ingenious flair, and the rest spice up the players to full effect. The result is a cult classic that cannot be pigeon-holed comfortably into any genre. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

The Town

Even though it sometimes felt like I was watching two different movies, it was still pretty solid. And you could make the argument that some sections dragged, but I enjoyed the acting and dialogue just fine, so it didn't feel so long to me. 7/10.

Elephant (2003). Just another banal day at school? A bleak take on the dreary reality of the bureaucracy that molds our little children into perfect citizen adults, this dark flick serves to expose the murderous ennui that is to be our posterity. Seen from a voyeuristic camera, Elephant is a look at the seemingly mundane day and events of some high school kids. Told in an almost boring fashion, such a technique fills us with the senseless boredom and emptiness that infuses these students to seek out something more, be it good or evil. Evil seems to have won out here, and it is this sense of darkness that keeps the viewer on edge, not bored at all. As the camera follows our unsuspecting players down endless corridors, a journey to nowhere, we feel their isolation, their sense of superficial pointlessness, where anything good or bad might finally deliver them from such tedium. That's when the third act comes in, almost as the savior, in its wicked role to remove the abuse of their grim and dull existence. In the end, we are jolted out of our stupor and are faced with a violent absurdity that is the result of the closeted empathy that has permeated the schoolyard and its endless halls of inanity. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

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One of those movies which was made to be watched on Blu-Ray.

Fantastic film. See it if you are a fan of fantasy and Neil Gaiman.

The cgi was too poor for my taste..

I thought it was brilliant, and really captured the essence of Gaiman. Too bad you didn't like it, Angra. I would recommend reading some of Gaiman's works first, and really getting into the tone of the artwork of his stories. It's insane, bizarre and really creepy stuff. Maybe you ll like the film a bit more then.

Great movie!

Thats wierd I just watched this 2 nights ago. OK storyline, the visuals were stunning though. Made me wish i still did phychedelic's while at the same time reminding me why i dont. Overall if you have a Blu-ray with surround sound and a big TV its definitely recomended for social/party type viewing with a crowd. Will get alot of WOWs from the CGI and graphics.