Film Review: WE ARE STILL HERE (2015)

There are no such things as evil houses, just evil people, which is what we are always told but that is not the case in We Are Still Here (2015) which follows Anne and Paul Sacchetti (Barbara Crampton and Andrew Sensening, respectfully) who rent a New England home to get over the death of their child.  They’re not long in the house before they start experiencing strange things leaving them to believe that maybe their child has returned to them somehow. 

Their friends May and Jacob Lewis (Lisa Marie and Larry Fessenden, respectfully) show up and they all decide to have a night on the town not realizing the strange glares they get from the locals.  It seems that Anne and Paul’s appearance at the strange house has been orchestrated and that they are part of a nefarious ritual that occurs every thirty years when the spirits of the house need to feed.   Now Anne and Paul must decide whether or not it’s more important to find a way to be with their child or survive the fate that lies before them.

The film has a very interesting premise and a great cast but it’s a slow burn with lots of exposition.  Unfortunately, this is one of those films that you actually don’t want to be a slow burn as it spends too much time on characterizations.  This being said the film has a fine cast and it’s always great to see Fessenden chew on the scenes.  It’s also another welcomed appearance from Crampton as well as a distraught mother who embraces the paranormal.  She’s been gone from the horror scene for far too long and it’s good to know that she’s back.

There are some great moments to be had in the film but it just takes its time getting there.  If you’re willing to take your time with the film then it will be worth it as the climax is a bloody good mess.

Film Review: LITTLE DEAD ROTTING HOOD (2016)

The story of Little Red Riding Hood is as old as it has been re-interpreted by different story tellers and film makers and even been used several times as the basis for a werewolf film which is where Little Dead Rotting Hood (2016) comes in.  It follows Samantha (Bianca A. Santos) who has been recently sacrificed by her Grandmother (Marina Sirtis of Star Trek: The Next Generation) in order to prepare for the coming epic battle of werewolves verses humans. 

Trapped in the middle of all this is Danny (Romeo Miller) who is searching for his girlfriend Samantha when he discovers what she’s become.  With the help of the local Sheriff Adam (Eric Balfour) the two must find a way to stop the werewolves from rising and killing all the humans in their town but it won’t be without the help of the supernatural Samantha whose sacrifice has made her into something that even werewolves fear.

The film is saddled with an unimaginative script and bad CGI, which wouldn’t be all that bad except its really bad CGI.  The only thing that’s remotely interesting is the story about Balfour’s Sheriff whose search for the truth is actually an interesting one and he does a great job as an actor in the role.  It’s hard to believe that he’s so good yet everyone else around him is so mediocre (if not all out bad).  It’s good to see Balfour giving 110% even when the film doesn’t deserve it.

A film really only (barely) for the curious and the werewolf fans.

Film Review: CONTRACTED: PHASE II (2015)

Contracted: Phase II (2015) begins where the previous film ends with Samantha England (Najarra Townsend) after her car accident and being confronted by police and she killing her mother in the streets.  The first film dealt with Samantha contracting a virus through a single sexual encounter.  That virus slowly turned Samantha into a blood thirsty zombie.  Phase II begins with Riley (Matt Mercer) whose brief encounter with Samantha has left him infected as well. 

Seeing the chaos that has erupted around Samantha with the police investigation, Riley decides to find the person that infected her in hopes of finding a cure for himself.  As he succumbs to the slow decaying nature of the virus Riley learns that Patient Zero isn’t dying like he is and that there is more to his plan than just spreading the virus from one person to the next.

Unlike the first film which has a slow decaying Samantha and her descent into the undead, this film is faster paced and less of a character film as it is built around Riley finding the truth of what is going on.  He has to maneuver between a police investigation and discovering who Patient Zero is so this film has a completely different feel than the previous one.  This could be directly the result of a new writer and director behind the film (Craig Walendziak and Josh Forbes, respectfully).  This is not exactly for the best as the personal and character aspects of the film that made the original so unique are lost and therefore this sequel comes off as a predictable yet entertaining film.

This film may not be as cleaver as the first but it’s entertaining and a decent time waster as it could have gone worse.