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Reviews
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021)
Informative and Entertaining
An outstanding look at the folk horror subgenre. There's lots here I didn't know and it's fun to watch and make a list of all the films you've yet to see, because I can promise you that there will be many you've never even heard of from all sorts of countries. The film is over 3 hours which might make it a bad idea for one seat viewing, but it's just as good if you want to watch it in smaller portions.
My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Relentless and Well Made
As far as early 80's slashers go, My Bloody Valentine is one of the ones that gets the most right. The locations are claustrophobic, the actors/characters feels like real people, and the murder scenes have both suspense and enough gore for the bloodthirsty among us.
The Conjuring (2013)
A Little Overproduced
The Conjuring is at its best during its more classical haunted house moments where characters walk around in dark places with candles or flashlights as the sound designers take over and let your imagination run wild. The more the ghosts are revealed, the more silly it becomes, but the cast is solid and tries their best to keep the film's head above water.
Just Before Dawn (1981)
More Deliverance Than Friday the 13th
Just Before Dawn has a natural, calm atmosphere that makes the creepy moments like an inbred psycho crossing through a picturesque waterfall all the more frightening and unforgettable. The music score is sparse and there's just enough gore to give the terror scenes the required punch without overdoing it.
Insidious (2010)
Truly Frightening
Insidious pulls out out every horror film trick to keep its audience under its thumb and orchestrates some of the biggest and scariest jump out of your seat moments in recent history. All this fear is delivered by a likable cast which goes a very long way in keeping the audience on their side and not rooting for the monsters and ghosts.
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Low Budget Horror Film To Judge All Others
After several more comedic sequels, it's always a surprise to rewatch The Evil Dead and remember that, while it has a great sense of humor, it succeeds well as a straight horror film and delivers some really scary images. Bruce Campbell also delivers a grounded and believable performance in the midst of all the madness.
The Descent (2005)
One of the Best Horror Films of the Past 20 Years
It'd been awhile since I'd seen this, but it's just as intense, suspenseful, and terrifying as the first time I saw it and that's no easy feat for a horror film. With most horror films, it's usually one and done, but this one still has tremendous power even during rewatches. I love the friendships between the women and the claustrophobic setting in the underground caves and that big scare where we first see what the women are up against is still brilliant enough to make you leap out of your seat.
Be sure to watch the original version with the complete ending for the full impact.
Prom Night (1980)
Too Slow For Most
A masked killer stalks a high school prom, hoping to snuff out the teenagers responsible for the accidental death of one of their classmates 6 years ago.
Though it's sold as a vehicle for Jamie Lee Curtis (then, fresh off Halloween and The Fog), it's more of an ensemble piece with each victim a little more finely drawn than most films of this type. Of course, this comes at a price with the film's pacing lagging to a crawl at several moments and the unnecessary red herring subplot involving an escaped mental patient could have been left out altogether. Once the film reaches the titular prom, it starts firing on all cylinders and ends up being pretty terrific, but it takes about an hour for that to happen and I wouldn't blame less patient viewers from checking out before that point.
Cherry Falls (1999)
R.I.P. Brittany Murphy
Brittany Murphy gives another great performance as Jodie, the heroine of Cherry Falls, but the film isn't really sure if it wants to be a dark comedy along the lines of Heathers or a straight forward "serial killer returns to avenge the sins of the town's past" slasher flick. Sometimes, they work together well and, other times, it gets awkward.
The lack of gore doesn't help, but I heard there were censorship issues throughout the production, so you can't really blame the filmmakers for that. There are still enough fun moments throughout to give this one a recommendation.
Hell Fest (2018)
Average
Average in every single way. The cinematography is average, the script is average, the kills are average, the music is average, the acting is average, etc. There's nothing particularly standout about anything in this movie, but it's not the worst viewing experience you could put yourself through.
There's one semi-interesting moment towards the end when you think everything's been wrapped up that took me by surprise and made me think there were the makings of a more unique film in here, but that's about it.
Gloria Bell (2018)
Julianne Moore Carries It
One of those artsy fartsy movies that thinks following around a character as they go about their boring, day to day lives is profound. The bones of Gloria Bell are strong, but not much happens and poor Julianne Moore has to carry the entire film on her shoulders when the script fails her and gives her nothing to do. Most of Gloria's character motivations felt foggy and many of her choices were unearned and came out of nowhere.
It's well shot and Julianne Moore is excellent, but I wish something had happened. It didn't have to be a crazy melodrama, but I wasn't moved in any way by what I saw. I wasn't moved to cry or to laugh or smile or to even be angry. I felt nothing.