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#21
04-09-2010, 09:37 AM
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Zombies of Mass Destruction was pretty good. It took a while to get going but once it did, the gore is pretty cheesy and plentiful.
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Click for bwind22's 1 Minute Movie Reviews! 
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#22
04-16-2010, 08:41 AM
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So I will use that comment as a perfect segue to my next review... ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction  This movie was a lot of fun. I felt like I was watching director Kevin Hamedani's version of Dead Alive - Fantastic cheesy gore, and a cast who was obviously having a lot of fun with it, ZMD is a good addition to the Zombie and Splatterpunk Comedy sub-genre. Not just a fun splatterfest, the movie also makes a political statement about homophobia and racism and xenophobia in a post-9/11 world. It's a little preachy and our characters are more caricatures than anything else, but that's ok; the over-the-top preachiness actually went along well with the over-the-top gore. My only real complaints with this one is that it's pretty obvious that you have rookie actors here; I felt as though I was watching a student film at times instead of a polished movie, but again, that's OK; it's a good place to start for a horror director who clearly loves the genre. Also, I thought that the movie dragged at times - It sort of felt like boring narrative punctuated by fantastic gore scenes. Also, I felt as though it didn't necessarily bring anything new to the Zombie comedy genre per se. While a great, fun, addition, it's not really ground-breaking or new. Regardless, if you're a Zombie Comedy fan, DEFINITELY check it out. You'll have fun with it. 3.75/5. Last edited by ChronoGrl; 04-22-2010 at 06:24 PM.
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#23
04-16-2010, 09:00 AM
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Dread
 Ok. I'm a little torn about this movie. Quite possibly because I'm having a hard time giving an objective review for a genre that I really don't like... But here goes. I'll start with the plot outline, to save me some explaining: Assisted by two naïve classmates, duplicitous Quaid (Shaun Evans) conducts a devious research project examining students' innermost fears. Once armed with data, Quaid methodically torments his hapless subjects, taking full advantage of their weaknesses. So you know from the outset that our main character Quaid will eventually go crazy and start tormenting the students involved in the project... It's really only a matter of when. Despite the predictable outcome, though, the getting there portion of the movie actually surprised me. Director Anthony DiBlasi and our actors did a REALLY good job of character development; I found myself honestly caring about the characters and not WANTING to face their fate in the inevitable outcome. I honestly empathized with the characters more than I do in the average horror movie... Even though the writing was strained at times, these characters felt like actual people to me, so when their time came, I was absolutely horrified at their fate. The weakest character, unfortunately, is the unhinged Quaid, and friend-turned-villain in this film. It's not entirely his fault, however; he has some pretty awful dialogue that he has to deliver. I wish that they had made him a little more sympathetic, so that he could have been viewed as more of a "person" than a "monster." The movie is also over-directed at times, the overly moody EMO music really hammering your eardrums... But that's ok; I used to be an EMO girl... Anyway. The movie is a bit slow the reach its inevitable climax, but when we get there, I care so much about our victims that I'm extra-horrified at the torture that Quaid exposes them to. Take that and couple it with the fact that I am not a huge fan of torture/exploitation films, and I was left feeling pretty uneasy and uncomfortable (Congratulations, DiBlasi! I gave you what you wanted!). At the same time, however, I have a hard time classifying this movie as a straight-out torture flick. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to the torture hounds around here, but it's definitely good at creating a mood of pathos and discomfort for our victims. This movie honestly left me unsettled and unhappy :(. It did it's job, though, in the end. Kudos... I think... So I have a hard time rating it. The movie made me unhappy, but it's designed to. I'd really like someone else on the forum who's seen it to weigh in. It's definitely a successful movie, boring at times, great character development, and torture that isn't completely "torture." How's THAT for an awesome synopsis? 3/5 I guess...
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#25
04-17-2010, 02:23 PM
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It's so sad that out of all the years of the Afterdark Horror fest, I've only seen 2 movies from them total.
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#26
04-18-2010, 02:40 AM
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I thought Dread was very disappointing. Very predictable, very cliched, slow and repetitive. The scripting was uneven, and the direction was anything but inspiring.
The other slow burner, Hidden, is actually quite good and engaging. My preference of the two slow ones in AD IV.
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"If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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#27
04-18-2010, 06:48 PM
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I gave up on the Horrorfest stuff after the second one. There were a few decent entries here and there, but I found them mostly pretty dull. Dread looks awesome though, might give it a look sometime soon.
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#28
04-19-2010, 07:56 AM
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But I'll use your comment about Hidden as a perfect segue... Skjult (Hidden)  As V mentioned, this is a real slow-burner... Something that Netflix users are definitely complaining about in their reviews, but, to tell you the truth, I didn't find this movie boring at all. In fact, the creepy atmosphere and clean direction had me absolutely captivated throughout. The basic plotline: Painful memories arise when Kai Koss goes back to his childhood home after 19 years and inherits his dead mother's house. At first glance, this sounds like your average haunted-house-battling-your-own-demons (I immediately thought of ADHF's first year Abandoned) type of film. But there's a lot of delightful creepy quirkiness that goes along with it. The haunted house is sufficiently creepy, with some great slow, deliberate filming that had me clutching my boyfriend's hand... What honestly stood out to me, though, is the strange hotel that our hero finds himself in; this brilliantly Lynch-esque woodsy holiday hide-a-way complete with bizarre vixen concierge was a great addition to the already uneasy mood. There are a couple of flaws, however: The end is ultimately predictable and I thought a bit pedestrian; considering how brilliant the filming and acting was, I think that it deserved a better resolution. I felt ultimately dissatisfied by the end... But the journey was pretty damn good getting there. If you're looking for a solid little creepy foreign ghost movie, check it out, but it's not really anything that I would say is a MUST SEE. 3.25/5.
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#29
04-19-2010, 08:58 AM
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I actually really liked Dread, far more than I was expecting to. Honestly, other than Reincarnation, its my favorite of these that I have seen. I also felt more for the characters than I usually do and had a VERY strong emotional reaction to the film, and that made it a winner for me.
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#30
04-19-2010, 09:07 AM
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