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Ressurecting an old thread...my bf and I made a concerted effort to go to all 8 films this year after only managing to see 2 from last year. (That being Gravedancers and Penny Dreadful.)
I enjoyed going just because I really enjoy horror movies and various takes on the genre. To their credit there was not a single repeat of any one type of horror movie...not 2 movies about monsters hiding in the dark, or 2 movies withcrazy men with hatchets.
There were some that when we were done we simply sat there and looked at each other and realized a few things were missing.
~In Unearthed there are half a dozen characters that live quite a while and never receive a name
~In Tooth and Nail they don't explain why everyone is named after a car (save for two individuals). They also fail to give us any reason to be concerned the people are dying. I say that keeping in mind I really liked the premise of the film, a post-apocalyptic world where we ran out of oil.
~Crazy Eights - INFORMATION. Not enough back story concerning why they were where they were, who they were, why any of it was even happening. And this is not in the usual "we stumbled in to something huge and we're getting slaughtered with no idea what's going on." kind of ignorance. The one where it's obvious they've created a history for what's going on with the screen, they're just not sharing any of it.
I really liked the Deaths of Ian Stone, although the explanation for the story was somewhat handed to you. Granted, had they not done it that way it is quite possible Ian would've never caught on to what was happening so I won't fault them for that.
I also really liked Borderland (probably the renamed Frontiers as I thought I remember that one on the website but never saw it listed with a showtime). I liked the way it was shot, and that it was based on a true story. Everything supernatural had a rational explanation in the end which actually made it seem more scary and real.
Probably hands down my favorite, though, was Mulberry St. Also shot really well, it is just the story of a group of people trying to survive the evening. There are no experts that swoop in. Any information about what's going on is caught via blurbs heard over TVs and radios in the background. We aren't given an omniscient overview of what is happening in the whole city. The complete confusion and desperation of the situation is well captured. along with the personalities of the characters in it. When this one hits video, I am purchasing it.
If anybody's interested in a quick non-spoilery synopsis of the other movies I can do a rundown but honestly they'll probably be on Sci-Fi next Halloween, following the pattern that tne 2006 ones did this Halloween. They're at least worth viewing on cable if you can. If for no other reason, you can laugh at the use of obviously bad masks and prosthetics in some. :)
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