WEEKEND WARNING: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Like the original "10 Cloverfield Lane" arrives on a wave of Buzz. Although not as strong as the original the concept at hand looks way more intriguing. Now I'm not sure how much this actually has to do with the original film but the trailers are exhilarating and hold promise for what will be one of the years most innovative and satisfying genre films.

THE DEAL: Centering on a young woman played by the amazing Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard, Faults) who gets into a severe car accident and awakens chained up in an underground bunker. She is told by her Captor played by a welcomely creepy John Goodman that's something terrible and mysterious has happened to the outside world and he is her savior. But as time passes she begins to question the situation finding holes in his story. Eventually learning the horrifying truth of which I have no idea what it is.

THE BUZZ: Buzz is very strong the film is sitting at 100% positive on rottentomatoes.com. which leads me to believe that this will be one hell of a movie. Now critics are saying that the actual relation to Cloverfield is on the light side butt it's  still one hell of a tense thriller leading to a shocking third Act.

POSITIVE: 

Mara Reinstein of Us Weekly says "For the Love of Google don't scour the web for third act spoilers. Just know that an Old Fashioned scary movie can still make you squirm laugh and gasp for air."

Justin Chang of Variety says "A sensationally effective semi sequel that bears virtually no narrative are stylistic resemblance to its predecessor." 

Mike Ryan of Uproxx says "It's all very exhilarating and at times it's one of the scariest movies I've seen in a long time."

David Sztypuljak of Hey You Guys says "A roller coaster ride which will have you clinging to the edge of your seat from start to finish!"

Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly says "It's lean and taut and tense and moves with Swiss-clock precision."

Eric Davis of Movies.com says "A psychological cinematic chess game stuffed with Thrills chills and a neat little premise that keeps you guessing till the very last shot!"

Alan Scherstuhl of Village Voice says "As a game like simulationist PG-13 horror chamber piece, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a success: well shot and staged arresting acted, edited with a crisp unpredictability."

Tim Grierson of Screen International says "Forget monsters in 10 Cloverfield Lane it's the paranoia and claustrophobia that will kill you." 

Greg Wakeman of Cinemablend.com says "Concise, suspenseful, yet still playful and smartly orchestrated."

Matt Prigge of Metro says "A crackerjack exercise not just in genre but genres, with exacting direction, three great Performances and a genuine respect for audience patience, intelligence and willingness to go with a story that drags you hither and thither."

Jamie Graham of Total Film says "Cloverfield was all about making viewers gasp and pant. 10 Cloverfield Lane demands you hold your breath as unnerving as it is surprising."

CONCLUSION: So it looks like people are really taken aback by what is sure to be one of the most entertaining genre films of the year 10 Cloverfield Lane may end up finally bringing out the horror film that we've been wanting for since The Conjuring. If you haven't seen the electrifying trailer which is one of the best I've ever seen I highly recommend you click on the link below and see it for yourself! I am 95 percent sure this will be an amazing movie!

RETRO REVIEW: POPCORN

POPCORN
Columbia
1991 Color
91 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace and Kelly Jo Minter star.
Written by Todd Hackett
Directed by Mark Herrier
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

The Posses, posses, possessor! Anyone who knows what I'm referring to saw this hidden gem in theaters when it came out in 1991. I thank my father every day for blessing me with the horror education of my youth.Popcorn is such a unique genre film. Centering on a group of film students throwing an all night horrorthon who find an old film about a creeper who murdered his family on stage back in the day. Soon after people begin to disappear as the killer moves towards a young woman named Maggie who bears a questionable past. I don't wanna say much more than that. The film is filed with nightmarish imagery, strong performances inventive makeup effects that still hold up and at atmosphere of surreal, mounting dread. The film stars scream queen of the time Jill Schoelen (Stepfather Phantom of the opera)  as well as genre vet Dee Wallace (Cujo, Critters) and genre fave Kelly Jo Minter (Nightmare 5, People Under the Stairs). Unfortunately the film didn't do well in theaters and has never really found it's deserved cult audience and sadly director Mark Herrier never went on to bless us with more genre features. However, recently the film has had a bit of a reemergence and more and more people seem to be referring back to this hidden horror gem. Popcorn was a huge part of my childhood. it's not a perfect film by any means, that cheesy horror vibe finds it's way in it's finale but the film still stands as an innovative little genre feature that's drenched in horror nostalgia and isn't afraid to be different.****.75/5

NEW BLOOD: CONTRACTED PHASE 2

CONTRACTED PHASE 2
IFC Midnight
2015 Color
78 Mins.
Horror
Matt Mercer, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown and Anna Lore star.
Written by Craig Walendziak
Directed by Josh Forbes
N/R conatins language, violence, gore sexuality and nudity.

I was definitely not a fan of the original movie. Although an interesting angle I found it to be painfully unnecessary. Centering around a troubled young woman who receives a killer STD after being raped at a party. She soon after begins to exhibit grotesque symptoms that get increasingly worse. What begins as the sniffles soon manifests into vomiting, bleeding and rotting from the inside out. All pushing her towards her final zombified state. This one picks up where that one left off. Lacking the ambition or creativity of the original this entry focuses on a side character from the first who slept with the infected young woman. He begins to exhibit symptoms and accidentally passes them to others. So basically the same setup as the original except nastier which includes but is not limited to chunky blood urine, horrific nosebleeds and puss maggot filled skin abrasions. The infections becomes a sort of epidemic and the film tries to spread it's focus to patient zero and his hysterical motivations as well as a useless Canadian/Irish/English police detective. It all plays out in an extremely amateur fashion and despite a charming lead performance from Mercer is completely uncomfortable, unnecessary and unintentionally funny. Each scene seems to become stupider than the last moving towards it's actionesque finale thats neither believable or effective on any level. If you must, know that this film pales in desperate comparison to the mediocre original but the storyline and the way the subject matter is approached no matter how inconsistent or ridiculous is still slightly interesting. So despite my miserable experience with this film I'd probably still show up for a sequel just too see what idiocy happens. *.5/5

NEW BLOOD: SOUTHBOUND

SOUTHBOUND
Orchard/ Dark Sky
2016 Color
89 Mins.
Horror Anthology
Chad Villella, Matt Bettenelli-Olpin, Kristina Pesic, Fabianne Therese, Nathaie Love and Hannah Love star.
Written by Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettenelli Olipin, David Bruckner, Susan burke, Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath
Directed by Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath and Radio Silence
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

Well I'm still waiting for the next great horror anthology after Trick or Treat. That being said this is more a step in the right direction than the forced VHS franchise, In the Dark or the overly mediocre ABCS of Death. At least this film tries to maintain an air of consistency. Ultimately it fails but the everything leading up to each storys lackluster finale is dark, innovative and nightmarishly immersive. It starts off strong enough with a story about grim reaper like creatures and than we move onto a story about a satanic cult, an accident victim with loads of impressive gore, a missing sister and finally we loop around to the beginning of the first story which centers around a brutal home invasion. Every tale is narrated at the beginning by genre vet Larry Fessenden giving the audience a bit of a setup and centering around an infamous highway, one bad decision and the consequences that follow it.  None of the stories are explained satisfyingly but are intriguing and weird in a twilight zone way nonetheless. Featuring strong performances and accomplished starts from all the writers and directors. I only wish it would have culminated to more. Still Southbound is worth seeing if only for the promise of the film it could have been. ***.25/5

NEW BLOOD: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
FOX
2016 Color
96 Mins.
Horror/Thriler
Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto and Sofia Rosinsky star.
Written and Directed by Johannes Roberts
Rated R for language violence and gore.

Expectations weren't high walking in. But I'm happy to say that The Other Side of the Door is the best pure genre film to come out this year. Where movies like The Forest, The Boy and The Witch failed this movie succeeds in establishing an immersive, intriguing and suspenseful environment. The movie centers on a mother who looses her child in a tragic accident while living in India. Overcome with grief and after an attempted suicide her housekeeper reaches out to her about a temple buried in the woods by her childhood village. The temple has a reputation as being a gateway to the land of the dead. It is a place where you can commune with the deceased but you must follow one rule, never open the door. Well she of course does and it brings fourth the spirit of her son which begins to manifest itself as something evil. Accompanying him is the freaky ass God of the underworld who guards the gate and desperately wants his spirit back. The territory has been visited in better movies but this solid entry approaches the subject matter in an intriguing way. Steeped in cultural folklore the proceedings are creative and refreshing. The solid execution from Roberts creates a thick atmosphere of nail biting suspense and an almost surreal, nightmarish memorable cinematic experience. Accompanied by disturbing visuals, inspired classicesque horror cinematography, solid performances especially from Callies and Sisto and great character work. Not everything in the film works it's obvious that it's limited by a low budget and when it goes into possession territory it becomes a bit forced as does the performance by the young girl. But that ending is a kicker! All things included make "Other Side" a must see for fans of supernatural horror films! It's been a while since we've seen a film of this type bringing a focus on a foreign culture which works especially well if you're feeling nostalgic for the genre greats of yesteryear like Serpent and the rainbow and The Believers. ****/5

WEEKEND WARNING: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR and more

It looks to be a quiet weekend for us genre fans. Here's a compact look at what the weekend has to offer us.


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
Fox
2016 Color
96 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto and Sophia Rosinsky star.
Written and Directed by Johannes Roberts
Rated R for violence and gore.

SETUP: Arriving quietly this weekend is this generic looking supernatural thriller. It centers on a mother who looses her child and than tries to contact him in a ritual that goes horribly wrong. The premise is intriguing and it's nice to get a film with shadings of cultural superstitions. I'm not sure how all of this will end up because reviews have been middling and limited. But the March release date and the pre screen for critics shows that they have a little faith in the product even though it's been severely under advertised.


BUZZ: Out of 7 reviews the film is sitting at 43% positive which is decent for a film of this type. And the reviews seem to be a little of both. Look below to see some critics reactions.


POSITIVE:


Kathryn McLaughlin of The List says " Whilst you're in the midst of its dark embrace it's reliably creepy."


Kim Newman of Empire Magazine says " A solid Haunting possession movie with good character work and unusual local colour, this works in a few surprises, sufficient scares and a nicely barbed punchline."


NEGATIVE:


Geoff Berkshire says " The type of sporadically silly and patently predictable horror pic that would look like filler on Syfy's weekend lineup."


Dave White of The Wrap says " There is an annoyingly liberal use of horror's cheapest gimmick, the jump scare."


CONCLUSION: I think the film looks decent and with a positive buzz it's definitely intriguing. It's definitely not a positive sign that it's from the director of Storage 24. I think this will fare a bit better than the forest but I wouldn't expect anything great. I believe there is a 60% chance it could be a solid flick. Check out a creepy TV Spot below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDcxrf1Wevs


AVA'S POSESSIONS
Orion
2015 Color
89 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Louisa Krause, Carol Kane, William Sadler, Lou Taylor Pucci and Dan Fogler star.
Written and Directed by Jordan Galland
Rated R for language, violence, gore and adult themes.

SETUP: Riding a wave of extremely positive buzz Ava's Possessions centers on a young woman recovering from demonic possession. The film approaches in a creative, comedic manner is supposed to be a major treat for genre fans.

BUZZ: Out of 8 reviews it has 75% positive. A pretty high percentage and I'm crossing my fingers that it's gonna meet my expectations. It's been talked about since premiering last year so let's see what it's all about!

POSITIVE:

Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage says " A fresh spin on a classic theme."

Perri Nemiroff of Collider says "Galland is a skilled world builder. He takes these very familiar big screen scenarios, puts his own smart spin on them and than he winds up with these especially appealing and thoughtful concepts that are a blast to consider well beyond the feature."

NEGATIVE:

Rob Hunter of Film School Rejects says " It isn't a bad film by any stretch but it's frustrating to watch it plod along while an abundance of promise sits right outside the frame."

Mark H. Harris of About.com says " It becomes increasingly serious, creating an awkward middle of the road tone in which neither comedy nor horror delivers a punch."

CONCLUSION: If you've seen the promising trailer you can see that this film looks wild. And with the abundance of positive buzz I'm hoping that it ends up delivering on it's inspired promises. However the lack of any studio push does leave you questioning the quality of the product. That being said with everything considered I'm 70% sure this will a fun flick. Check out the kick ass trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjkfTD_MW1M


ROAD GAMES
IFC
2016 Color
95 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Andrew Simpson, Barbara Crampton, Josephine De La Baume and Feodor Atkine
Written and Directed by Abner Pastoll
N/R contains language, violence gore and adult themes.

SETUP: A young couple becomes entangled with a mysterious married couple and a local road kill collector while hitchhiking. The synopsis isn't too exciting but 100% positive reviews demands your attention.

BUZZ: Out of 8 reviews it has 100% positive! Enough said.

POSITIVE:

John DeFore of Hollywood Reporter says " Stripped down thriler benefits from it's setting."

Mike McGranaghan of aisle Seat says " Fueled by strong performances and some genuinely riveting twists and turns, It's a solid genre film that delivers the goods in a largely fresh way."

Laura Kern of Film Comment magazine says " Nothing is quite what it seems on this psycho road trip and crazy revelations are eventually spilled."

NEGATIVE: none.

CONCLUSION: The buzz is very promising but the lack of any studio push is questionable still between the tense trailer and the positive buzz I'm 70% sure this will be a treat. Hopefully it will deliver on the genre goodies. Check out the nightmarish trailer below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI8guzFYSPI

RETRO HORROR FIX: THE UNHOLY

THE UNHOLY
Vestron
1988 Color
102 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Ben Cross, Ned Beatty, Hal Holbrock and Peter Frechette star.
Written by Phillip Yordan and Fernando Fonesca
Directed by Camilo Vila
Rated R for language, violence, gore, sexuality and nudity.

Who remembers this fun little Good vs. Evil flick? Although it never had the impact it should have. There's no time like the present to revisit this tight little, goofy religious themed horror thriller. Although never as creepy as it should be the film is damn entertaining. Centering on a priest who is chosen by the church to battle the unholy unknowingly. After being thrown from a hotel by a suicidal young man and receiving no injuries he gets his own church where two priests have been brutally murdered before him. Soon after he discovers a local satanic club and tries to help a young girl all the while being tempted by a seductive demon who floats around showing her breasts in lots of different sheer outfits. The Unholy is such a fun little film. The practical effects don't hold up but the craftmanship is impressive as is the film's fun tone. There's a lot of hokiness here from the glossy satanic rituals to the sexy demon who saunters through each of her scenes speechless. And the finale features a frighteningly silly creature that takes center stage as the priest does battle with it. Ben Cross is solid in the lead and the film's structure although reminiscent of so many better films doesn't take itself too seriously here. So if you're in the mood for a nostalgic little devil flick the unholy delivers cheap thrills and 80's horror in spades! ****/5