Movie Review: We are what we are (2013)

 

Directed by: Jim Mickle

Starring: Bill Sage, Michael Parks, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Jack Gore and Kelly McGillis


As with a lot of movies it’s best not to know all the details. So if you’re just like me and want to be surprised by a movie, please don’t read this review.

As mentioned above I was pleasant surprised by this movie. Didn’t see any trailer. Just the poster. If you’re a horror fan and you look at the poster, one thing immediately comes to mind: Bill Sage has an awesome beard. To start off hooray for Bill Sage. This indie-actor has been a favourite of mine in movies like Mysterious Skin, American Psycho and many Hal Hartley film, the latter are definitely no horror movies, but if you are in to indie comedy’s, check out Hal Hartley, serious, I beg off you.

But on with the review.
The movie starts on a rainy Friday. We see a woman in a remote house at the end of town. She decides to go to the butcher to get some meat. While she is walking back to her car she starts to feel sick and coughs up some black slime. Then she fall back, hits her head and drowns in a pool of rain.
We cut back to the house where we meet her two daughters (one is 14 and the other around 2 years older) and son (around 6). They look pale and when the boy states that he’s hungry, but the sisters say they are not eat anything, because God says they have to fast. The father (Sage) is in the shed outside and is fixing watches. After he leaves his shed, the police arrives to bring them the bad news.
The family is devastated with the dead of their wife and mother, but don’t really open up to other people. They stay very reluctant and you feel that there is something wrong with this family. The father keeps quoting his own biblical lines, and the children just wander through the house.

In the other part of town Doc Barrow (Parks) is doing an autopsy on the body of the mother and notices some weird implication and he thinks it was the start of early Parkinson’s disease. Later as he is walking with his dog, he’s finds a piece of bone near the creek. He goes to the Sherriff for help, but he thinks it’s nothing. The Doc’s daughter and several other girls had gone missing of the years, so he has his doubts.

The movie depicts it’s subject matter very slowly. In the first few moment when you meet the whole family, you know something is wrong. And very soon you know you were right. The setting of the movie is very beautiful, nature plays a big part in this movie. This is a movie that works because of the constant tension, instead of gore. Don’t get me wrong there are some stomach turning scenes in here that can be hard to swallow. But overall it plays more like an Hitchcock or Terrence Malick film. The performances are downright excellent, Bill Sage shines as an intense figure with a lot of inner demons and his temper goes from unsettling to brutal. The children are also very good, you really believe their strong bound. As much as I love Michael Parks, he is good in this movie, but I found his character pretty standard.

This movie was written by Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, who also made the indie-horror, Stakeland. But movies show great quality and tackle horror movies in such a way that it stays fresh. There seems to be a good deal of director’s coming up these last few years like Ti West (House of the Devil), Adam Wingard (You’re Next) and Ben Wheatley (Kill List), just to name a few, who make these interesting low budget horror movies with great scripts.

Last note:
At the end of the movie I saw this was actually a remake of a Mexican film with the same name. But after some research I think that it’s more an reimagining than a full on remake. So both movies could be enjoyed in their own merit.



+Beautiful setting and stunningly photographed
+Bill Sage performance
+Slow tension build up


-Michael Parks’ character
-You see the plot coming


Overall

4 out of 5

Review: Primal (2010)

 

Directed by: Josh Reed

Starring: Zoe Tuckwell-Smitch, Krew Boylan, Lindsay Farris and Wil Traval


This Australian movie “oozes” low budget. From the remote campsite setting, to the six bland friends (3 boys, 3 girls) and the bad acting. But with these tropes in the movie, there can still be the factor that it is enjoyable.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this movie. It starts off with a prologue of a Caveman making cave drawings. He is attack by some sort of deformed human with long sharp teeth (actually if you played the Mortal Kombat games, its Baraka, the creature looks like an updated Baraka). Some years pass, and we find ourselves in present day Australia, or at least somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Six happy friends led by anthropology student and Alpha Male named, Dace, the group sets out in to the wilderness to look for some cave drawings. Once they are in the cave, one of them, Anja, cuts her arm and her blood drips into the moist surface of the cave. After that we see some parts of the nature react, something bad is rising…

The group sets up camp and because this is a low budget horror movie, there needs to be skinny-dipping. Once the blond girl of the group, Mel, goes into the water, she wants to lure her boyfriend Chad in, but he’s afraid of water or something, it doesn’t get quite clear why doesn’t want to go in. But luckily for him, after Mel comes out she’s covered with leeches. After Alpha Male Dace used salt to get them off, Mel goes to sleep, just to wake up in the middle of the night with a fever. The group wants to take her to the hospital, but the car tires are being eaten by… killer ants. So they plan to go on foot, but sweet Mel finally turns in to a female Baraka and start to attack everyone.


From that point on the movie goes around in circles. The same thing happens over and over again. The group guards the camp, Mel kills one of them, they fight her off, and repeat. A movie like this can be a lot of fun if the humour was funny, which is not, even the unintentionally bad acting doesn’t make up for it. The gory effects are ok, but not much present. The only recommendation I can give this movie is if you want to see a Kangaroo get attack by a turned human, than you’re in luck, this movie has that. Not to give the ending away, but it had some really bad effects, and made everything more unclear.

But in the end, all the clichés, bad acting, the repetitive nature of it all, it saddens me to say that it doesn’t make for a good horror movie. Although I hope that the director keeps making movies, hopefully the next time will be better.


+ It has a killer rabbit
+ Decomposing Kangaroo

-Bad Acting
-Repetitive story
-Not enough gore


Overall score:

1 out of 5

Top 5 Zombie Movies

 

Zombies are hot. And they have been that way quite a while now. The walking dead are everywhere. In cinemas, on tv, books and in a lot of video games. For movies it’s always a new challenge to create an original way to let the zombie apocalypse happen. May it be at the hand of a pharmaceutical company, a mad disease or some ancient spell, when the dead start walking, some delicious things can happen.

Here are my top 5 favourite zombie movies. And as always, it’s my personal opinion.


5. Night of the Living Dead (1968) George A. Romero

The one that started it all. There were other movies before it using the zombie lore, but George A. Romero took the genre to new heights. Made on a shoestring budget, it still remains as one of the creepiest zombie movies ever made. Remade in 1990, but my advice is to watch the original first.




4. 28 Days Later (2002) Danny Boyle

For some it’s debateable if this movie can even be called a zombie movie, because the word Zombie is never mentioned. But the set up and the story are definitely aimed at a zombie breakout. The greatest thing of this movie are the different stages it portrays. Cillian Murphy walking through the streets of a deserted London, bonding with the new allies and finally fighting two different enemies, this movie has it all. Great Cinematography and with infected who can run, you can’t go wrong. The sequel 28 Weeks Later does not improve on the original, but is an enjoyable ride.







3. Shaun of the Dead (2004) Edgar Wright

Shaun of the Dead is an amazing horror comedy, which does everything right. It has a good script, it’s funny and it has a lot of fun with Zombie movies clichés. One of the best achievement in blending two genres so seamlessly. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are amazing people.







2. Dawn of the Dead (1978) George A. Romero

Although Night of the Living Dead (1968) set the blueprint for all future zombie movies. It is its sequel that perfected the formula and stands as one of the best zombie movies ever made. True, the make-up looks dated for today’s standards, but the sheer brilliance of the plot and the tension that comes with it are top notch. Survivors are stuck at an abandoned mall, infested with zombies. Their survival and personal dramas are what keeps you at the edge of your seat. The 2004 remake is also watchable, but it comes nowhere near the original.




1. Braindead (1992) Peter Jackson

Call it overly campy or in Peter Jacksons case, bad taste, this movie is the most fun I had with a zombie movie. Its gory, overacted with a crazy sense of humour. But what you get is one of the greatest splatter movies ever made. The prosthetics and make-up look fantastic and the lawnmower scene is a classic. I understand that Peter Jackson is now doing major Hollywood films, but I really would like to see him return to the genre, just to do one more film in the style of Braindead. We all have our dreams…





Zombie movie I didn’t like:

Zombi 2 (1979) Lucio Fulci

Lots of people recommended this Italian zombie movie to me, but I don’t understand the hype around it. Ok, it’s one of the few, perhaps the only zombie flick, that has an undead battling a shark, but even with this scene, I found the rest of the movie rather dull and slow, without much happening in between.

Hope you enjoyed this list, if not, maybe you’ll find enjoyment out of something else.



Goodnight and sweet screams….

Movie Review: Cockneys Vs. Zombies

Directed by: Matthias Hoene


Starring: Harry Treadaway, Rasmus Hardiker, Michelle Ryan, Jack Doolan, Georgia King, Ashley Thomas and Alan Ford


With a title as dull as Cockneys vs. Zombies you might think you’ve found another cheap horror movie. Yes it looks pretty cheap, but it’s also a fun flick.

This is the kind of movie that needs to establish itself within the first five minutes. Let’s face it, we want to see zombies. And by god, do we get zombies right away. At a building site, workers dig into an old tomb that’s filled with dead bodies. This is where the mayhem starts. After the workers are bitten by the undead the flashy intro starts, accompanied by the song Monster by The Automatic.

We get to meet Terry (Hardiker) and Andy (Treadaway), two brothers, delivering meals on wheels for retirement homes. When they deliver the meals at their grandfathers (played by English veteran Alan Ford) home, he gives them a speech about doing more with their lives, than just bringing food to elderly people.
In fact the two brothers have some other plans. Because the building developers are looking to expand and they want to demolish the retirement home. For the love and respect of their Grandfather, the brothers decide to rob a bank.

With the help of a paranoid friend, a crazy ex-soldier (with a steel plate in his head) and their lovely niece Katy (Ryan) they set their plan into motion. Needless to say, a lot goes wrong.

This is the kind of movie that will entertain you, if you’re looking for some “Brainless” escapism. The zombies look pretty good and the humour is funny at times, there are definitely some laugh out loud moments present.
Another good choice is to show the Zombie outbreak from two different points of views. On the one hand we have the brothers and crew doing a bank heist, trying to survive the zombies and each other. At the other side of town we see the people in the retirement home working together and show us that old people can still kick ass.

In the end it you could do a lot worse than Cockneys vs. Zombies. It’s not as witty as Shaun of the dead, but if you like zombie movies in general, you'll probably end up enjoying it.




+ Zombies are fun
+ The acting is tolerable
+ Michelle Ryan makes a great female heroine

- CGI blood
- The ending drags a bit

Overall score:

3 out of 5

Top 5 Werewolf Movies

Please note that the movies listed here are personal opinions

5. Wolf (1994)

I love how this movie shows us a kind of business side to the Werewolf story. As Jack Nicholson loses his wife and job to James Spader, he gets bitten by a wolf. At first he starts to feel good again and gets his life back together, but slowly the wolf in him is rising. I like the tension build-up and James Spaders' creepy role as the nemesis.

4. Dog Soldiers (2002)

This Scottish-set horror comedy hits all the right notes. A group of soldiers go into the woods for a training program, as they stumble upon a troop of werewolves. They have to take solitude in a cabin and fight off their fearsome attackers. Great gory effects and the werewolves look fantastic. Directed by Neil Marshall, who later made another horror triumph, The Descent (2005).

3. Teen Wolf (1985)

Ok, not really a horror movie, but hey, it’s a Werewolf movie. One of my favourite movies growing up sees Michael J. Fox transform into a hairy beast, and everyone around him seems fine with it. Of course it’s aimed at kids and teenage viewers, but if you’re a kid from the 80’s it’s hard to dislike Teen Wolf.

 

2. Ginger Snaps (2000)

The story revolves around two sisters, Katharine Isabelle & Emily Perkins. They’re kind of social outcasts, but when Ginger (Isabelle) is bitten by a Werewolf her persona starts to change. The fun here is that the sisters are still teenagers, and the transformation can be seen as the growth in to adulthood. Fun satire with lots of gore and funny one-liners. Followed by several sequels which are also worth checking out.

 

 

1. An American Werewolf in London (1982)

This John Landis classic has two guys hiking through England. After a wolf attack, one of them survives, but at what costs. Though many intense scenes, especially when they show the point of view from the Werewolf, this movie is mostly a comedy. The best lines come from Griffin Dunne, who plays the ghost of the dead friend. Also hailed as the movie with one of the best transformation sequences.

Worst Werewolf movie:

The Wolfman (2010)

This movie butchers the fantastic 1941 classic and replaces it with strange plotting, bad acting performances and a lacklustre experience. A waste of time.

Goodnight...

Introduction

Dear Reader,



Welcome to my first full English Blog. My other blog is mainly for material written in Dutch. I’ve wanted to do an Horror themed blog for quite some time now and with Halloween right at our doors, I’ve finally made the big step. Please note that English is my second language and if you noticed something in my writing that annoys you or if I can write it in another way, please don’t be shy to give me feedback, it will be respected.

So like I said, I will use this blog for the love of Horror movies, but I will also diverge into Books, Games and other media I will encounter.

Now sit back and enjoy, or not.




Rich