Film Review: DORM (2006)

Ton Chatree (Charlie Trairat) is at an age where his father believes that he would better be suited at an all-boys boarding house for his continuing education and it would be better for the family in the Thai horror film Dorm (2006).  It is hard for Ton to adjust at the school as he is bullied by other boys and resents his father for sending him away.  Things get worse when the other boys scare Ton with ghost stories about the dorms which puts him unease.  When another young boy by the name of Vichien (Sirachurch Chienthaworn) befriends him, Ton believes that he just might be able to survive his new life.

When Ton really does start to see ghosts roaming the school, he soon realizes that Vichien may be connected in some way but will that interfere with their friendship?

Director Songyos Sugmakanan does a great job creating atmosphere and mood since the film lacks suspense.  As written by Sugmakanan and Vanridee Pongsittisak and Chonlada Tiaosuwan, this film comes off more as a drama with supernatural elements than a horror film.  This doesn’t mean that the film isn’t any good; in fact, the film is quite good as it tells the coming of age story of a young man forced to grow up in a world which just happens to have supernatural elements.  Keep this in mind and Dorm will be a film you thoroughly enjoy.

Film Review: AMERICAN POLTERGEIST 2 (aka THE POLTERGEIST OF BORLEY FOREST) (2014)

Originally released in 2013 under the title “The Poltergeist of Borley Forest”, AMERICAN POLTERGEIST 2 is not a sequel but more a stand-alone film that has nothing to do with the previous film.  This film has a pretty standard plot in which a teen out partying goes into a forest that the locals call haunted.  She unexpectedly brings back with her a ghost that has become infatuated with her and then she spends the rest of the film trying to get rid of the ghost.

Written by R. Presley Stevens and directed by Stephen McKendree this is a pretty standard ghost story that lacks any defining traits to separate it from all the other dreck being produced.  This film is brought down by the bad acting of generally every actor in the cast and the lack of interesting ghosts or any make-up FX of any kind.  The film meanders through a lot of bad jump scares and incompetent cinematography that produces no suspense whatsoever (this can also be attributed to the horrendous editing). 

This is just a bad film all around with absolutely no redeeming qualities (not even entertaining ones).  It’s a shame that ghosts/haunting/poltergeist films have become a new dumping ground for indie film-makers because even with zombie films I’ve seen more creativity than what is on display here.

Film Review: AMERICAN POLTERGEIST (2015)

Over the years there have been just as many ghosts & poltergeist films produced as there have been zombie films and for the most part they are truly forgettable.  The same can be said for AMERICAN POLTERGEIST (2015) in which five friends move into a house with only one other tenant that just isn’t really there.  One of the friends Taryn (Ashley Green Elizabeth) starts to feel a strange connection to the house but the more she learns, the more she comes to realize the malevolent past of the house and how she is connected to a serial killer whose spirit is tied to the house and to her.

This being said, this is a pretty standard and bare bones poltergeist film with the jump scares (that don’t actually make you jump) but little in the way of logical plot or interesting characters.  I would forgive the film if it had any interesting gore or action sequences, but all this is lacking as well.  The poltergeist, when revealed, does very little that you haven’t seen before (and done better) and isn’t at all that interesting despite being based on an actual story.

The film is written by Nicole Holland and Michael Rutkowski (who also directs) and despite following the conventions of a typical ghost story it isn’t really executed in any way that would interest either lovers of horror film or ghost stories.

Film Review: AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING (2017)

Writer/director Franck Khalfoun is the latest to tackle the undying Amityville franchise with AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING (2017).  The style and suspense from Khalfoun’s previous films P2 (2007) and MANIAC (2012) are lost in this remake/reboot of the Amityville story that at times acknowledges the existence of the original two films as a means to keep the story fresh in an age where every possible franchise is being rebooted.

Joan (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is desperate to move her invalid and comatose son James (Cameron Monaghan) to the hospitals and doctor that can best be able to help him recover.  This is contrary to her daughter Belle (Bella Thorne), James’ twin who believes that her brother is too far gone and they should just let him die in peace.  Moving into the infamous Amityville house is supposed to help the family financially but it doesn’t take long before Belle realizes that something in the house has nefarious plans for her and the rest of her family.  When James starts to magically recover from his condition, Belle seeks out answers to prove whether or not the house is to blame but it leads her down to some deep family secrets and trauma.

This all seems like an interesting plot to delve into but most everything on display has been down in previous films in the franchise including The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), another “based on true events” ghost story.  No gore is on display and for the most part the film plays it completely safe.  Rumors say that Khalfoun originally made a Rated-R film that was then trimmed down to a PG-13 but regardless, without more original ideas the end result probably would have been the same.  This is a sleek and great looking production with a very good cast that just cast elevate this mediocre material.

Film Review: HORROR STORY (2013)

Seven friends decide that after a night of drinking that the best way to cap off the night is with a trip to an abandoned hotel that is rumored to be haunted in the film HORROR STORY (2013).  Now, I’ll forgive the film for the oblivious cliché of a horror set up even though there is no logical explanation given for these seven friends to ever even be interested in going to an abandoned and rumored haunted hotel but without these characters’ bad decisions we wouldn’t have a horror film to watch.

There is not an original story element to be had in this Hindi horror film which borrows heavily from horror films from the ‘90s.  Characters make stupid choices that usually end up pretty bad for everyone.  This being said, the film itself looks really good with some amazing production design for the abandoned hotel.  The film is very creepy and the actors, despite doing the best that they can with the material, are not all that bad either.  The film has a lot of atmosphere with some engaging cinematography that fits the story and moves the plot along.

Unfortunately, all these great elements are lost in a film that is over twenty years past its expiration date.  An interesting film for horror fans looking for something else but little else.