TEMPLE (2017)

Three American tourists venture to Japan for vacation when they come across a map and diary to a secret temple in the film TEMPLE (2017).  The set up is pretty basic with Kate (Natalia Warner) taking her boyfriend James and best friend Christopher (Brandon Sklenar and Logan Huffman, respectfully) on a trip to hopefully get Christopher to reconnect with the world.  Since Christopher speaks Japanese, he’s the best person to help them all navigate through an unfamiliar country.

When they come across an ancient diary detailing an exotic temple the three decide to go on an adventure.  It’s a short trip away but it is far from civilization and anything they’re ever known.  When they get to the temple, they realize that they are not alone and that spirits of the dead prevent them from leaving the temple twisting their minds and what they believe to be real.  Their hope to survive the night continues to fade as one by one they become consumed by that which inhabits the temple.

Although the story is pretty derivative, the actors do a really good job of bringing life to their characters and to the film itself.  You’ll get more nuance to the characters than is typical of these types of films.  The script is written by Michael Barrentt (who also directs) and the story is by Neal Edelstein, Shinya Egawa, and Mike Macari.  If you enjoy the slow burn then you might enjoy this film but if you’ve already had your fare share of ghost stories (with haunted locations) then you can skip this film as even though it is well made it doesn’t really offer anything that you haven’t seen before.

KRISTY (2014)

Justine (Haley Bennett) is alone on her college campus during the Thanksgiving break in the film KRISTY (2014).  Her boyfriend Aaron (Lucas Till) is with his family, whom she can’t stand and she can’t afford to go home right now so Justine plans on spending her alone time catching up on homework.  A chance meeting with Violet (Ashley Green) in a gas station will turn Justine’s holiday into a nightmare.

 

Justine soon discovers that Violet has followed her back to her college campus and brought along with her three masked men all with the purpose of torturing and then killing her.  Now Justine must evade these killers as they hunt her down all over the campus armed with only her wit and ability to stay alive.

Written by Anthony Jaswinski and directed by Olly Blackburn this is a very capable film that treads well warn territory but presents it in a new and exciting way.  It helps that the cast is exceptionally good as is the cinematography, which brings menace to every corner of the campus.  This is a surprisingly entertaining and engaging film as Bennett really brings empathy for her character.

THE HATRED (2017)

Writer/director Michael G. Kehoe’s THE HATRED (2017) has a couple things going for it but not enough to elevate it above being anything other than a passable horror film.  Andrew Divoff stars as Samuel Sears, a man who leaves on the outskirts of town with his wife and his daughter away from the outside world in total isolation.  When his daughter tries to defy him, in a fit of rage he murders her and hides the body so that his wife doesn’t find out.  Instead, he claims that his daughter ran away which doesn’t hold water to his wife.  After the police leave there home for further investigation Samuel is killed by his wife who then, with nothing left to stay, leaves her home to rot.

Years later, Samuel’s home is resold to a new family.  Regan (Sarah Davenport) arrives  at the house with a group of friends to see to the new owner’s young daughter Irene (Shae Smolik) but then soon run afoul when they discover secret documents claiming that Samuel may be a former Nazi who was charged with the protection of a magical amulet with the power to harness “hatred” of those in its possession.  Soon Regan and her friends run afoul of an evil spirit that will unleash all the hatred that has been building up in the house once lived in by a Nazi and his reclusive family.

Divoff does the best he can with the material in regard to the elongated opening of the film (I doubt he was on set for most of the production).  The rest of the cast actually do a great job, overall, but the film itself lacks credibility and nuance to elevate it above the typical horror film cannon fodder.  The film looks good and I love the costume design for Divoff’s character but it’s still just an easily forgettable horror film.

IRON SKY: THE COMING RACE (2019)

Okay, so, I’m a huge fan of the original film Iron Sky (2012) and I’ve had to wait seven years to finally see the sequel…and it’s totally worth the wait!  IRON SKY: THE COMING RACE (2019) and it’s forbearer is one of those great guilty pleasure films that has so much going for it that you kind of forgive its faults probably because its faults add to its charm.

Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) and the last remaining survivors of Earth after the devastation at the end of the previous film find themselves back on the dark side of the moon on the now former Nazi base.  Years later the base is on its last leg and the only person keeping everything working and operational is Richter’s now grown daughter Obi (Lara Rossi) who is the only one that believes that time is running out and they need to leave the base before it is too late.

Not soon after Obi discovers that Vril Wolfgang Kortzfleish (Udo Kier) has been hiding on the base.  He tells her that if she’s goes back to Earth to a hidden world in the center of the Earth she will be able to find a power source that will extend her and her peoples’ live while providing her a means to power a ship to get everyone to safety.  When a rag-tag ship crashes on the moon she enlists the aid of its captain Sasha (Vladimir Burlakov) to help her get to the center of the Earth and help her.

With the help of Sasha and his ship, her best friend Malcom (Kit Dale), and an eccentric religious leader Donald (Tom Green), Obi plans to take a daring adventure into the heart of the Earth and steal the most precious power source on the planet in order to save her people on the moon.  Unfortunately for her she’ll have to combat Vril Adolf Hitler (also Kier) and his monsters and madmen on an adventure like none other.

If you enjoyed the original film, this one is just as bat-shit crazy but you get Kier in two of his best roles in years, pet dinosaurs, and everything you didn’t know you wanted in a Nazi fantasy film.  Director Timo Vuorensola returns for the sequel and crafts a film in the same vein as Big Trouble in Little China, The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonsai Across the Eight Dimension, or The Golden Child.  Although the film is extremely funny it never veers into campy territory which is why it (and its predecessor) are so effective and entertaining.

The only real gripe I have with the film is that there isn’t enough of Stephanie Paul as the Vril President.  She has so few scenes in the film that her absence is totally a missed opportunity.  This being said, the film is still very entertaining and one not to be missed…unless of course you are one of those few weirdos who didn’t love the first film.

ITSY BITSY (2019)

I’m a sucker for a good giant monster movie and after seeing the trailer for ITSY BITSY (2019) I was instantly intrigued but sadly what I was given is not as interesting as I would have hoped.  Kara Spencer (Elizabeth Roberts), is a down on her luck nurse whose just uprooted her two children to move to a new town for a job taking care of Walter Clark (Bruce Davison), who is an eccentric collector of exotic items which includes a relic that houses a spider goddess.  When the relic is broken, the spider goddess is released and sets out to kill.

The visual and practical FX for the spider is great!  The problem is that the spider doesn’t really do much in the film as the film itself is more concerned with telling a good myth regarding the spider goddess and more concerned with family dysfunction of the main characters and their secrets.  This is all great background for characters but what you want in a giant monster movie is the scares, the fun, and the absurdity that comes with this genre of film.  Instead, the film is very much a drama until the action is kicked into high gear in the third act which for some may too late.

If you do stick with the film the third act is at least entertaining with the film never getting too boring it just won’t be what you are expecting.  Davison does an excellent job as the character responsible for all the background info about the spider goddess and the rest of the cast is equally good but the film-makers themselves may have just been trying too hard to make a film with actual real life characters with problems and conflicts.  These conflicts just don’t fit in a giant spider film.

DOOM: ANNIHILATION (2019)

A group of UAC Marines are tasted with answering a distress call from a secret base on Phobos, one of Mars’ moons.  Thus, begins the latest film adaption DOOM: ANNIHILATION (2019) of the popular video game.  Although this film takes inspiration from the video games it has nothing to do with the previous live action film of 2005 and instead goes on a different path. Joan Dark (Amy Manson) is one of these Marines who must learn the nature of the secret military base once they arrive and realize that they cannot communicate with any of the staff or personnel.  They don’t have much time as they soon learn that they base is set to self-destruct if they can’t get everything back online in time.

To make matters worse is the fact there is something else on the base with them that wants to kill everything it comes into contact with.  Like Most films of this type, it borrows heavily from Aliens (1986) while also making sure audiences who enjoy the game also get what they are expecting.  Manson does a great job bringing her A-Action Game for this film as I was constantly reminded of actress Millia Jovovich in the Resident Evil films especially when the creatures reveal themselves.

There are many hokey elements to the film, but they actually add to the overall entertainment of the proceedings especially if you’re a fan of the video game and know what you’re getting into from the start.  Writer/director Tony Giglio is obviously a fan of the game and wants audiences to become one soon after watching his film. 

The visual FX are really good, and the production design is excellent making for a highly enjoyable film despite the clichés that come with this genre of film and its low expectations.  Video game adaptations are not usually films that audiences really lavish much attention to but this version of the game is far superior to the previous and opens the door for future sequels.  Doom: Annihilation may not be the best film adapted from a video game but its certainly one of the better ones.

MOTHMAN (2010)

MOTHMAN (2010) the familiar horror film story about a group of friends who when they were young did a horrible thing that led to the death one of the group.  Years later the group finds themselves all together again and something is killing them one-by-one.  This derivative horror film is led by the talented Jewel Staite (of TVs Firefly) who plays Katherine Grant, a reporter forced to return to her hometown for a story about the Mothman Festival.  Her return home triggers the arrival of the real Mothman that starts to kill Katherine’s friends in order to avenge the wrongful death that they covered up years before.

Unless you’re truly a fan of the Mothman legend and mythology then there will be little for you in this film despite the presence of Staite who does her very best with the material despite the bad CGI FX in regards to the Mothman himself.  Screenwriters Sung-Jin Lee and Patrick Walsh try to add flavor to the story by adding hints of the actual Mothman legend to the story but since it is all background info and nothing that really is pertinent to the actual story it all adds very little.

Once the Mothman makes itself known the action does kick into high gear with some sequences that feel out of place but they at least give the film a boost of much needed energy.  This Mothman film is not one that will either educate you about the nature of the myth or legend nor will this film entertain you enough to care.  There are other Mothman films that you can search out for if you need something to occupy your time.

BETTER WATCH OUT (2016)

It’s the holiday season and there’s nothing like a good old horror-holiday tale to bring in the spirit of Christmas.  Unfortunately, BETTER WATCH OUT (2016) is probably one of those gifts that can stay wrapped under the tree until the new year.  Robert and Deandra Learner (Patrick Warburton and Virginia Madsen, respectfully) are going out for a much-needed date night and leaving their teenage son Luke (Levi Miller) with babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge).  Luke is too old for a babysitter but he and his best friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) have hatched a plan for Luke to make the moves on his babysitter whom he’s had a crush on for longer than he can remember.

Unfortunately for Luke his plans to get closer to Ashley don’t go as planned due to her current boyfriend and the fact that over the years, he has watched her go through one bad boyfriend after another.  Oh, and there is the unexpected arrival of a home invader.  By Luke sees this as a great opportunity to show Ashley that he is better than all her other boyfriends.

When Ashley discovers that the home invader is really Garrett who is trying to help Luke get closer to Ashley everything that Ashley believes to be the truth is turned to question.  But Luke is not willing to give up on Ashley which includes torturing her and manipulating her boyfriends into coming over so he can demonstrate to her what frauds her boyfriends really are.  From there, everything only gets bloodier and disturbing as Luke will stop at nothing to get what he wants from Ashley.

The film itself is actually really well made and the production values are fantastic, but I know my opinion is colored by the trailer as the film is completely different than what I was expecting.  This is a film that’s like a modern-day version of The Good Son with a holiday twist and torture that goes on far longer than it should.  It lacks the finesse that it needs and once the twist is revealed halfway through the film loses its charm.  The performances are good, but the film relies on horror film clichés to get it through the overly long third act.  This being said, the film is still entertaining but holds little replay value.

Film Review: MADISON COUNTY (2011)

It’s hard to describe the film Madison County (2011) without also describing a whole lot of other films just like it.  A group of college kids travel to an old mountain community called Madison County in search of the truth about a killer based on the account of a writer from the town.  The moment they arrive they realize that the town is a place they would rather keep their secrets secret as they have no idea who the writer the kids are looking for is and they claim that there never were any killer or murders.  What they do get is a warning to get out of town as soon as possible.

The group don’t heed the warning and upon further investigating they soon come across a killer wearing a pig’s head who starts to knock them off one by one (or capturing them for later).  There is a subplot involving the writer who has to bring sacrifices for the pig killer but little really makes much sense in this film that strives to give a little more plot to the tire “Wrong Turn” story yet never actually accomplishing it.  The death are pretty gruesome and effective and the film is well filmed but there isn’t anything that really differentiates it from the countless (and endless) Wrong Turn sequels and its brethren.  The characters are not at all that interesting and neither is the killer for that matter.  It’s a pretty dull affair from beginning to end.

Written and directed by Eric England the film tries to bring something new to the backwoods killer film but fails to deliver on the goods.

Film Review: HELLHOUNDS (2009)

In the film Hellhounds (2009) Greek warrior Kleitos (Scott Elrod) must venture into the Underworld in order to save the soul of his beloved Demetria (Amanda Brooks) who was poisoned.  Time is of the essence as the longer Demetria stays in the Underworld the easier it is for Hades to corrupt and make her his bride.  Through the Underworld, Kleitos and his men must journey down the River Stix and battle vicious hellhounds who want to rid the Underworld of the living spirits who have trespassed.

Despite having subpar CGI for the hellhounds the film is actually quite entertaining as it comes off more as an adventure film than an overall horror film and it doesn’t rely on the hellhounds for a lot of the horrific fun.  There are just as many human monsters as there are monsters from the Underworld in this film which gives the film more personality than your typical B-Movie.  It also helps that the cast is pretty even across the board and do a good job of selling the premise.

The film is directed by Ricky Schroder more known as the actor from Silver Spoons and Lonesome Dove and he brings out the human drama in the film.  The teleplay is written by Jason Bourque and Paul A. Birkett (who also provided the story).  There is nothing in this film that will have jumping up and claiming it’s a cinematic masterpiece but you also won’t leave thinking you’ve just lost ninety minutes of your life that you won’t soon get back.

Film Review: ICE SPIDERS (2007)

Director Tibor Takacs’ Ice Spiders (2007) is about as ludicrous and entertaining as most of his films having been directed the cult favorites The Gate (1987) and its sequel Gate 2 (1990) and I, Madman (1989), among many others.  The biggest fault with his films in this modern day and age is the over reliance on CGI good, bad, and otherwise.  You get a lot of the otherwise in this film.

The film concerns former ski bum Dash Dashiell (Patrick Muldoon) whose fed up with teaching rich people at the ski resort the “fine art” of skiing when they would rather just be having a good time.  When Dr. April Sommers (Vanessa Williams) military science experiment of deadly mutated spiders decides to jump ship from the secret government laboratory on the mountain everyone’s lives are nothing more than spider-food.  Unbeknownst to Sommers her spiders were injected with a growth hormone to speed up their growth and aggression and now they are bigger, stronger, and more deadly than she could have possibly imagined.  And did I also mention that the cold has no effect on them whatsoever?

Now Sommers must team up with Dashiell to protect the survivors on the mountain and find a way to outsmart and kill the giant spiders before they all become spider-food.  The whole film is pretty ludicrous but Muldoon and Williams are game and keep the film entertaining even through all the bad CGI spiders.  Even legendary producer Stephen J. Cannell (The Rockford Files, 21 Jump Street, The A-Team, and Stingray, to name a few) shows up in a major supporting role as the owner of the ski resort. 

Overall the film is pretty bad and a far cry from Takacs’ previous ‘80s films but he still knows how to entertain regardless.

Film Review: BEAR (2010)

In the world of animal attacks horror films Bear (2010) is one of the few that claims to use a real bear in the modern age of PETA and CGI animals.  Written by Roel Reine and Ethan Wiley and directed by Reine the film concerns two couples (Brandan Michael Coughlin, Patrick Scott Lewis, Katie Lowes, and Mary Alexandra Stiefvater) whose car gets in an accident in the middle of nowhere.  When they are attacked by a bear one of them pulls out a gun and shoots it dead.  Things just get worse when they realize that the bear wasn’t alone and that its mate is very much around and doesn’t take too kindly to the humans coming into its backyard and causing chaos.

With their car incapacitated the four must try to stay alive after all their bullets have been spent and they have nothing to protect them from the second bear other than the safety of their car.  There are a lot of conventional horror plot tropes in the film and the film-makers keep the proceedings moving as the action with the actual bear is entertaining but unfortunately when the bear is the best thing in the film it doesn’t really look well for the under developed human characters or their cliché relationships and complications.

There is some means of substance to be had in the third act, but it comes a little too late to save the overall mediocre film.  If you enjoy bear verses humans (and I do mean it in that order) then you might enjoy this little film otherwise dull humans make for a dull film.