Film Review: THE PRODIGY (2019)

Sarah and John Blume (Taylor Schilling and Peter Mooney, respectfully) are about to be very happy new parents at the start of the film The Prodigy (2019).  Unfortunately for them, a serial killer is killed at the exact same time as their child is born.  As their son Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) grows order he starts to display strange and unusual behavior.  He not only grows up to be far more intelligent than most children but he also has a vile sense of violence that comes to a head when he assaults a fellow student.  Prompted by a specialist, Sarah begins that there is a supernatural reason for her son’s strange behavior which is solidified when he starts talking in his sleep in an another language.

Sarah learns that her son’s body may be inhabited by another spirit and she has a limited amount of time to get the spirit out of her son before her son’s spirit is gone for good.  The film is written by Jeff Buhler and directed by Nicholas McCarthy and they try really hard to present this old idea in new ways but it just simply lacks the drive of better thrillers.

Performances all around are actually quite good but the material itself just doesn’t break any new ground in terms of similar horror films and even with the R-rating the film lacks any real punch in terms of gore.  General audiences may not mind the ride as it is a solidly made film but horror fans may not feel up for the lack of any new ideas or something to say.

Film Review: THE DEVIL’S DOLLS (2016)

THE DEVIL’S DOLLS (2016) is a thriller that concerns itself with the story of worry dolls.  Written by Danny Kolker and Christopher Wiehl and directed by Padraig Reynolds the film concerns a police detective Matt (Wiehl) who has just captured a serial killer who died while being apprehended.  While taking some of the evidence home his car, his daughter Chloe (Kennedy Brice) takes with her a wooden box filled with little dolls that she thinks are trinkets.

Chloe ends up using the dolls as jewelry to sell to people that come into her mother’s store.  When the people who have purchased the dolls start going homicidal and killing loved ones it appears like there is more to Matt’s serial killer than he original thought.  When Chloe becomes ill after coming under the influence of the doll’s power, Matt must put aside his beliefs to discover the true nature of the worry dolls and how to save his daughter before she becomes another victim.

 Although the cast does an excellent job the film itself isn’t all that interesting in terms of story.  It’s a very subtle horror-thriller in which when the horror happens there is nothing that you haven’t already seen before.  This being said, the film looks great with Adam Sampson behind the cinematography.  The story itself isn’t that bad either and is written very well, it’s just that the overall film is just a little lacking probably due to the subject matter.

Reynold’s is a very capable director having done the film Rites of Spring (2011) and I’m looking forward to his latest film Open 24 Hours (2018) which I’m sure will be a step up for him.

Film Review: CREEP 2 (2017)

Writer/Director Patrick Brice and writer/star Mark Duplass return to craft the next chapter in their found footage/serial killer saga CREEP 2 (2017) in which we find our serial killer now calling himself Aaron (Duplass) now turning forty and in the middle of a mid-life crisis as he doesn’t know what to now do with his life.  At the end of the previous film he killed the real Aaron, an inspiration to him but he now films his killing spree to be more like a regular job instead of the fun hobby it’s supposed to be.

Sara (Desiree Akhavan) is an internet personality who has lost all inspiration for her show Encounters which is on its last leg.  Both Sara and Aaron are at a cross roads when Aaron hits on the idea of doing a documentary film in which he can reveal his true nature in front of the camera and show the world his true nature.  Sara answers his ad to film his story seeing it as the wake-up call she needs to jump start her career again.  Now, two people who have lost their inspirations will find it together in this twisted and imaginative sequel.

 This is a more interesting film since it is revealed right away to Sara that Aaron is a serial killer; she just doesn’t believe him and even though she comes to learn that he is eccentric and at times a “diva” she still finds him a captivating subject that she just can’t get away from.  In turn, Aaron finds Sara interesting because she is the first person where he’s truly been able to be himself and not hide behind all the fake personae that he’s created to justify his horrific actions.

This film has a lot going for it and is a much better film than the previous film in terms of story and execution and its truly chilling to see Duplass revel in the role of the misunderstood serial killer.  I hope they continue this fascinating franchise about the inner workings of a serial killer.

Film Review: THE HORROR SHOW (1989)

Max Jenke (Brion James) is a cleaver and ruthless killer responsible for more death and killing than any other known serial killer and he’s just been captured by Detective Lucus McCarthy (Lance Henrickson) and this is just the beginning of what is to come in The Horror Show (1989).  After capturing Jenke and seeing his partner die, McCarthy’s professional and personal life begins to unravel and he thinks that being present for the execution of Jenke is the only way for him to get his life back. 

There is more to death then just dying as pure evil such as Jenke just doesn’t die but can transform into something else.  Jenke becomes a being of energy that manipulates the things around him to tease and torture McCarthy.  Now McCarthy, with the help of an eccentric scientist Peter Campbell (Thom Bray) who understands what Jenke has become, must find a way to destroy Jenke before he continues on his killing spree.

James, as usual, knows how to play to his strengths as a crazed killer with menace in his blood.  Henrickson gives 110% and the two of them together make for formidable opponents.  As produced by Sean S. Cunningham (the man behind the Friday the 13^th franchise and House films (of this was originally conceived as the third film)) and directed by James Isaac this is a fun and entertaining film that should appease fans of ‘80s horror films.

Film Review: HOLD YOUR BREATH (2012)

Friends on a weekend camping trip fail to abide by the urban legend of holding your breath when you drive by a cemetery and unwillingly unleash the spirit of a serial killer killed at the nearby prison and buried in the cemetery.  Here in lies the basic plot of the film Hold Your Breath (2012). 

There’s not much to be said about this by-the-books low budget horror film as the plot follows that of most films that have a group of friends that venture into a place they shouldn’t.  They stop momentarily after passing by the cemetery where they are experiencing car troubles.  They venture into the abandoned prison where they experience some paranormal happenings one of which is that the serial killer that they have raised can switch from person to person so that none of them know who to trust from one moment to the next.

The one thing you have to hand it to the film-makers is that it’s never boring as it has the required sex and violence and gore and is entertaining in a dumb z-movie way.  The story is by Kenny Zinn but the screenplay is written by Geoff Meed and the film is directed by Jared Cohen.  There is nothing in the film that will be new to horror film enthusiasts and you’ll probably forget about this film soon after viewing it.

Film Review: THE DEN (2013)

Elizabeth Benton (Melanie Papalia) is researching the habits of web cam chat users when she comes across what she believes is an authentic killing of a young women by a masked killer.  When no one believes her she decides that she can’t sit by and do nothing but by becoming involved and not letting it go she comes under the presence of the killer.  This is the plot of the film The Den (2013) a film that users the technology of the web cam chat to tell its story of Internet stalking and murder. 

Elizabeth has been given a grant to remain online and using a website called The Den to conduct her research.  The problem is that when she opens herself to everything online it opens her up to all the evil that is out there.  Soon Elizabeth is being stalked herself and friends of hers start to disappear.  By the time the police actually believe her it may be too late.

Because the film unfolds over several days watching the film via web cam chat room gets really monotonous really fast and some of the things that the masked killer does seem impossible or unbelievable.  Papalia does a capable job of holding the film together since she’s the person you follow from beginning to end.  The film is directed by Zachary Donohue who also co-wrote with Lauren Thompson.  Despite having a slow beginning the film does pick up and actually does a really good job in the third act which is where Papalia gets to really show her stuff.

 The film has an interesting concept in the way of presenting a modern day “snuff” film for the digital age.  It’s not the best film of its kind but it’s a decent one that not a complete waste of time.