andersmerrild10 Reviews

Castlevania: Nocturne (2023– )

Weaker than the original in pretty much every way.

[6/10 · 5 November 2023]

I'll give this a 6/10 because the show is fine but it's not more than fine. The original series was better in basically every way. It was better in terms of the story, the characters, the voice acting and the pacing. The villain in this series, Erzsebet, is so weak compared to Dracula. He had a pressence and a depth of character that Erzsebet just doesn't have. Her plan is to summon an army of demons (Just like Dracula) but unlike him she can only do this on one specific day after several years of planning. Dracula did it after only a year and didn't need special circumstances. She's far weaker and I still have to take her serious? Nope.

The new trio of heroes haven't had the time to shine yet but I'm hoping they'll get it in the next season. Imo they're not as good as the OGa but Annettes character is pretty good and her VA is great so I still got hope for this. The series is based during the french revolution, a pretty objectively interisting time period, but I don't think there's proper time invested into it. I guess that's my biggest criticism of this show. The fact that there isn't proper time invested into anything. There's to many characters, to many little storylines, not enough build to recieve proper payoff etc. The show is only 8 episodes but it should've honestly been 16 at least to properly flesh out the story and build the characters without it seeming so rushed. It's a real shame because the original show seemed to have so much heart and passion and that just seems absent from this.

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

This is not a horror movie but it doesn't need to be.

[4/10 · 1 November 2023]

Let us get this out of the way at the start? Is this meant to be a horror film? No. Does it need to be? No.

I struggle to think of a single moment in this film that was genuinly scary. Even if I'm trying to put myself in the place of teen watching this I still can't imagine that I'd think it was scary.

At the end of the day this movie doesn't need to be scary because it's really targeted at a younger audience that is gonna watch it primarily for the easter eggs. They want to see Freddy, Bonnie, Foxie and Chica in all their glory and in this department the special effects team absolutely nailed it. The feel and look of the animatronics was on point. I can't think of a single criticism in regards to them or their look. The fans want to see Springtrap enter the room and feel as though he's actually a threat and I think the movie succeeded in this as well. Sure, the "I always come back" line was forced and didn't really make sense in context but it's what the fans want and they got it.

Overall this isn't a movie I'm going to come back to a lot but I'm still glad I watched it. I'm fine with the directors taking liberties with their story (Because the official story is a mess) but I still think the writing and pacing could've been better. That's why I'm only giving this a 4/10 rather than a 6/10.

Cobweb (2023)

A confused storyline

[4/10 · 30 October 2023]

It seemed to me as though this film was trying to be several different things at once. The first act seems like a film about a child stuck in abusive household. The second act took seemed as though it was going to be about a haunted house and finally the third act was an outright monster movie. I think it's a shame because any of the three could've worked really well but when you mix all three you end up with this confused mess.

The movie has good or decent performances, mostly from Anthony Starr, and I just don't think they get to shine the way they deserve because the film couldn't decide on what kind of movie it wanted to be. Lizzy and Anthony played really well together in their scenes with Woody and you really started to feel for the kid but way to quickly the feeling of dread I thought they wanted to build was spoiled by the transision into a haunted house movie. The potential of a ghost story was also ruined when the plottwist was revealed. Overall I liked the idea of a monster sibling and the sisters design was okay, except for the scene where they showed her face, but at that point the parents were dead and I think it would've been a better choice to have the mom and dad try to save their son from his sister and thereby reveal that they'd only ever tried to protect him. That would've required better writing though so we didn't end up getting that.

There's also several points in the film that make no sense. The sister is capable of climbing on walls and ceilings with ease BUT she can't brake down and old crumbling wooden wall? Cleapatra Colemans character destroys the wall to get to Peter on the other side and she had little problem with it. It's a major inconsistency and imo just doesn't really make sense.

I think people can get enjoyment out of this film but it's by no means fantastic. It's pretty average, if not slightly below, but it could be good for a one time watch if nothing else was on. It's also barely 90 minutes so it's not a big time commitment.

There's Something in the Barn (2023)

A movie for the holidays

[4/10 · 30 October 2023]

If you go into this film expecting a suspenseful and horrifying experience... You'll be really goddamn disspointed. If you instead approach this as a ridiculous and comedic experience with horror elements you'll probably have fun with it.

Overall I think that this movie can serve as a good introduction to horror films for people that are new to the genre. There are horror elements and limited gorre but it's all wrapped in a comedic and festive package.

The performances in the movie aren't perfect but they're okay for what this film is. It's not a masterpiece and doesn't require great acting.

The movie is fine and I'll give it a rating of 4. The reason it isn't higher than that is because the first 30-40 minutes or so did drag a little. After that the movie doesn pick up some speed and becomes more enoyable.

Nightwatch (1994)

A movie that made organ donations drop.

[7/10 · 30 October 2023]

The title is not a joke. This movie had enough of an impact that it made more than 100 people withdraw their commitment for organ donations. After having watched the film I understand that now.

Ole Bornedal wrote a fantasticly sick and suspenseful film and when his script and directing is joined by the acting of Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, Kim Bodnia and even Ulf Pilgaard you know you're in for an amazing ride.

Growing up as a horror fan in Denmark I was always told about this movie but never got around to seeing before now. After having seen this for myself I don't know what took me so long. I'll also say that I feel proud that my small country produces entertainment of this calibre.

Children of the Corn (2020)

Almost unwatchable and not worth 90 minutes of your life.

[2/10 · 1 April 2023]

Some movies are so bad that their good but this really isn't one of them. This is 90 minutes of boing unwatchable dreg.

Nothing in this movie makes any sense what so ever. The parents don't fight back, the story is awful, the acting is poor and the soundtrack is just bad.

Religion has always played a major theme in these movies but it just wasn't a part of this movie what so ever. Considering the succes of The Vvitch and Midsommar I really thought that this movie would be leaning more heavily into those themes so that there would be actual amosphere but there's none of that. Instead you get boring, bland and lifeless.

Sick (2022)

It ain't Scream but...

[5/10 · 19 February 2023]

Is this movie great? No. It isn't, but it's still pretty good. The movie managed to create a decently tense atmosphere, good dialouge and somewhat likeable characters where everyone served a purpose.

When I first started watching the film I was worried that it would be a sad attempt at a slasher with poor effects but the effects are pretty good, the kills are creative and when the killer gets kicked in the face you feel an actual impact.

There were several scenes that I would say are both tense, original and creative. A good example of this would be the scene on the lake. I was not expecting that to be as well executed as it was but it really added tension to the film.

Prey (VI) (2021)

Boring and bland

[3/10 · 12 January 2023]

This movie does literally nothing new.

Pretty much every character is nothing but a cliche. Noone in this film act in a logical fashion.

There are a few, and I do mean a scant few, actually good scenes in this film that have some genuine tension but overall they are few and far in between. The rest of the film is bland, doing absolutely nothing new, and it's simply a slow paced mess to get through.

I'd already figured out the drama between the two brothers within 20-30 minutes of the film and honestly it's just enother generic trope that adds basically nothing to the film.

Overall this film just isn't rather good. Everything about it has been done before and done far better, far too many times for this to be worth a watch. I recommend people skip this one. It's just not worth the time.

Hellbound: Episode #1.1 (2021) Season 1, Episode 1

Overall a decent start

[6/10 · 11 January 2023]

First episodes aren't always easy to get right and a lot of series can have kind off a bumby start, I think that, as far as first episodes go, this is a decent first episode.

The pacing is moderate and they don't dwell on anything for to long but at the same time certain scenes are allowed to linger a bit to leave an impact. The mystery of what exactly is happening is pretty compelling and it's being used well to introduce a few interesting themes that can have some potentially good payoff later.

The CGI isn't the best and some actors are overacting but if you can see past that I think people will enjoy this.