Search Results for: horror movie review

Horror Movie Review – Jack in the Box

Title: Jack in the Box (2019)

Synopsis:

When a vintage Jack-in-the-box is un-earthed and opened, its new owners soon have reason to believe the creepy clown doll within has a life of its own. (from imdb.com)

Genre: Horror

Opinion:

The creepy clown doll has more life than this movie. Not recommended. Read on to find out why.

The movie opens with an older fellow in a field with a metal detector. We horror movie veterans know he’s going to find something he shouldn’t which is going to wreak havoc for the rest of the movie. What does he find? Well, true horror fans, you’ll be pleased to know he finds the creepiest Jack in the Box ever. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of things that jump out of boxes, and this clown is super creepy. But let’s face it folks if it weren’t so scary looking then it wouldn’t be a horror movie now would it?

This opening sequence has very little dialogue but it does have a lot of action and right off the bat we’re privy to what the occupant of the box actually does. I like when horror movies like this do that. It lets the audience know what to expect from the movie monster and all we’re doing is watching to see who gets it first and how.

The movie’s protagonist is some milquetoast dude named Casey and he is supposedly an American. But I will tell you this, he neither looks nor acts like any American I’ve ever seen in any horror movie ever. While I suspect the actor himself is not American I’m not going to quibble about their casting choice. the real movie opens 12 years later after the opening sequence in a Toy Museum. apparently the Jack-in-the-Box has found its way there and sits in the storeroom just waiting to claim its next victim.

Note: The box has four letters along the top and when it is first revealed the letters spell DYBK (I think, I couldn’t be arsed to rewind, so if I’m wrong let me know in the comments), which immediately made me think of the Dybbuk box. Just a side note to show how horribly detail oriented I am. Also, how less than impressed I was with the acting.

After the movie gets going with a bit of character development and backstory, we find out the history of the Jack in the box, which I thought was rather interesting. I love the “expert”: a black dude who comes in, gives his lines, and disappears into the “night”. Very cool part. (Also, he wasn’t around to die.)

I went along with the ride of the movie until about a half hour in, then I became annoyed. There was a lack of …..time passage? I didn’t know how much time passed between scenes. Characters appeared and disappeared without explanation. The main example of this is the woman who worked at the toy museum before Casey got there. She hangs around long enough for the story to get started, then she’s just….gone. She does come back later in the movie, but it’s just odd the way the movie rolls out.

Through the obligatory internet search, we find out about the Jack in the Box and the evil contained within.

What I also found interesting about this movie was the number of people who took the time to pause, stare, and speak to this creepy looking exhibit. Plus, though they seemed to be put off by it, they had no problem insulting it! Personally, I see something like that, I’m walking right by that mess.

All in all it’s not a great movie. I watched the rest of it just to see how things turned out, but as I mentioned, I had checked out thirty minutes in.

After much ado, I did finish it. Sigh. Unfortunately, good premise,but poor execution. In fact, on some levels it was rather boring. There was some stabbing, some yelling and some Latin. I’m telling you, I was so done with this film, I didn’t even bother to rewind to hear the Latin words. I….didn’t care.

Questions and quibbles:

What was the point of the protagonist being from America? Except for a visit to an American-type diner, this wasn’t mentioned at all. He just as well could have been from France or Canada or Mexico. Also, they never mentioned a state….just “America”.
In the diner, the glasses of soda they are served have no ice and the glasses are dirty. Also, the straws are already unwrapped and put in the glass. Yuk.
Most of the women did not carry purses. I’m sorry, but it’s super rare to see a woman without a purse or a fanny pack or something. (Yes, it’s a small detail, which is why it’s a quibble, LOL)
The protagonist’s backstory was like….wut? It didn’t set him up as sympathetic.

I will say the special effects/costuming of the monster clown was effective and creepy. They did put a lot of work into it and it was done very well.

That’s all folks. I’m sorry this movie wasn’t good and wasn’t bad enough to be fun. It was tedious, illogical, and seemed strung together. Again, great premise, poor execution. The script needed a lot of work.

Horror Movie Review: Butterfly Kisses

Title: Butterfly Kisses

Genre: Thriller/Horror

Synopsis: (from imdb) A filmmaker discovers a box of video tapes depicting two students’ disturbing film project featuring a local horror legend, The Peeping Tom. As he sets out to prove this story is real and release it as a work of his own, he loses himself and the film crew following him into his project.

Streaming on Amazon Video.

With the introduction of so many streaming services and places to watch movies and other media online, it is difficult to find quality entertainment to watch. This is especially true in the world of the horror move lover: anyone with a good enough camera (including the iPhone 5 camera) and some willing friends/associates can create a film and upload it for viewing. This explains the huge number of simply terrible horror movies one runs into on any given service. Even the so-called “big finance” movies can be failures, no matter how good they look or how pervasive their marketing is. (I’m looking at you The Open House).

On the other hand, if you watch enough movies, as I do, you can sometime find some gems hidden in the coal-dusted rubble. I’m not saying these are diamond, but they’re a lot better than the usual fare found in the horror genre.

For this blog post, I’m going to be writing about Butterfly Kisses, an Amazon Prime offering. Amazon Prime has a LOT of horror movies, and it takes a patient soul (like me) to wade through the chaff to get to the pure grain of the good movies.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know I have preference for found-footage horror. Some like potted meat, I like found footage horror. While I love the genre, found footage can be a serious hit or miss. Basically, some of the worse I’ve seen are like some of the ghost hunting shows on cable, complete with boring parts.

However, every once in a while, I get lucky and find a mediocre to good found footage horror film that doesn’t have a lot of heavy breathing and people asking “what’s that”?

Butterfly Kisses is a found footage horror film resting on an interesting premise: a film within a film. A filmmaker discovers a box of tapes in his home. These tapes depict the project of two film students who were investigating a local urban legend call the Peeping Tom. The bulk of the film is this filmmaker trying to prove that this legend is true while he sifts through the footage the students left behind. There’s two stories running: the filmmaker in the “present time” and the students “in the past”.

All in all, it was a pretty interesting movie. I liked the multiple layers of the film and the subplots which weaved in and out of the narrative. There was very little shaky-cam and a few good jump scares. I actually watched the movie twice to catch all the little details that came into play later.

Certainly, it’s a theme/plot device that’s been addressed before in numerous movies and shows, but the execution in this movie is pretty good. The acting is decent and there are some parts which are actually kind of touching/sad.

Not to wax overly philosophical, but the film also brings up themes of what is real/what is not, and how far one is willing to go for a vision and/or belief.
Give Butterfly Kisses a try. While it’s not a great film, I’ve seen a lot worse.
Grade: B+

Horror Movie Review: Sinister

Title: Sinister

Date: 2012

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Fred Thompson

Director: Scott Derrickson

Sinister is a supernatural horror film in which a crime writer, Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke), moves his family to a new house in order to work on a new book. (What a great name, by the way, right?) His last real hit was ten years ago and since then, his books haven’t done well. This is his last ditch effort to make money on a family’s murder and disappearance of the daughter. However, he does not tell his family that they’ve moved into the house where the actual murders took place. And when he finds a box of film reels and projected in the attic, he begins watching them, unwittingly giving strength to a supernatural force than intends on possessing his family.

Sinister is not a movie we haven’t seen before, but the execution and the cinematography is top notch. Ethan Hawke hits perfect notes as the jaded writer, desperate at writing another book which will be as successful as his last one. In his words, he doesn’t want to become a “textbook writer” even though that will pay the bills. He’s an artist, after all, right?

When he and his family first move into the neighborhood, they are greeted by the superb character actor Fred Thompson, who expresses a near disdain for Ethan Hawke coming in and disrupting the neighborhood with his presence. He’s professional about it, but his deputy, a young fresh faced dude, is pretty star struck, much to the disgust of Mr. Thompson.

Nevertheless, Ellison persists, even after his son starts to have night terrors and he begins to see visions of children floating around. I must say, those scenes are some of the best jump scares I’ve seen in a while. They’re not cheap, either and they are scarily effective. Even upon a second viewing, I still cringe a little when I know they’re coming.

Purchase a DVD of Sinister here:

The entire movie had a deliciously creepy vibe and the excellent cinematography keeps you intrigued. At times it was little dark, making it difficult to see exactly what was going on, but I soon realized that was the director’s trick to make you peer more closely at the screen so he could REALLY grab your attention.

There are snuff movies within the movies that are truly disturbing, especially when you learn the truth behind them. These film were shot on 8mm film to lend them more “realism”, and let me tell you, it worked, as did the rest of the visual effects of the film.

The always good Vincent D’Ononfrio makes a cameo as a professor who’s there to fill in the gaps when Ellison needs some explanation of what is going on in his house. James Ransone plays the young deputy that is Ellison’s connection at the police department. He’s so very happy to be assisting the famous writer with his research work. I thought the dude was kind of bland, but given that he goes on to star in the sequel to Sinister (which I did not see), I guess someone liked him.

I’ve seen this movie more than a few a times, and I have to be honest, it creeps me out every time. The performances, the staging, the overall crawling dread that follows you from the first frame….I have to recommend this movie. True horror fans won’t be disappointed and if you really get into it, it may give you nightmares for sure.

4 stars out of 5: Highly recommended

Horror Movie Review – Tales from the Hood 2

The one thing I enjoyed the most about Tales from the Hood 2 was Keith David. The moment I saw his face, I knew that at least the wrap-around story would hold my attention. Mr. David has a strong screen presence and a resonant, unique voice and thus is the perfect choice for a storyteller. However, while I did enjoy his presence in the movie, the stories left a lot to be desired.

The first story, “Good Golly”, had a lot of promise. The Museum of Negrosity’s proprietor talked about the atrocities visited upon Blacks that the silly visitors (one black, one white) were making light of. I appreciated the reminder/history lesson of what Africans went through as slaves and as second class citizens in this country, much of which continues to this day. I also liked how the segment insisted that we in the present not make light of the past, but to learn from it. Excellent job on that part.

Then, the segment went downhill from there. I will not spoil it, but suffice to say I laughed out loud at what eventually transpired. Why? Because it came out of left field. There was no foreshadowing, no clues…it just happened. Yes, I understand the theme behind it, but honestly the execution left a lot to be desired. That is not to say I was not entertained, because I was.

The second segment, ”The Medium”, was my favorite. I loved the setup and the execution. The actor who played John Lloyd, the psychic nailed his role all the way through. (Fun fact, he also played Sal in Mad Men, and I liked him there too.) He hammed it proper, giving us a great performance in an interesting story.

“Date Night”, the third story was something most horror fans have seen in one form or another. The story was rudimentary and full of tropes. Absolutely nothing to write home about here.

The fourth segment, “The Sacrifice”. (long pause)….I truly hate to say this, but it seemed more of a hardcore after-school special than a segment in a horror movie anthology. Listen, I got the underlying message, I did. Great idea, poor execution. I also think this was the longest of the segments and I felt every single minute. This could have been a spectacular segment if the plot had been tightened a little more. The narrative was not as cohesive as it could have been, and the story suffered from it.

The end of the wraparound story was predictable, and the effects looked exactly like the effects in Halloween 3 (the lasers). And who didn’t know that Keith David was more than he seemed? The robot was pretty cool though.

The bottom line? I was entertained. I’m glad it was made, but it certainly was not on the level of the original Tales from the Hood. I would watch that before I watched this one again.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Horror Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

Title: Paranormal Activity (2007)

Genre: Horror, Drama, Not so bad after all

Summary: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence. (from IMDB)

Yes. The film is over ten years old, but I wanted to include some of the horror movies that made a splash in more recent times. Also, I rather liked Paranormal Activity. It’s a charming little film that doles out the scares just enough to keep the you interested. There are two main characters, Katie and Micah, a couple who have a cute little home except for the issue of what may or may not be an issue with haunting.

The film is shot in POV style, which is a fancy way of saying one of the characters has a camera and makes it their business to film any and everything thing. In this case, it goes with the plot, since Katie and Micah want to see what’s happening while they’re asleep.

I won’t give away the movie on the off chance that you haven’t seen it by now, but suffice it to say I did enjoy this movie, although I feel the characters made some questionable choices. I also felt that Micah was kind of a jerk at some points, as he deliberately went against Katie’s wishes in a few instances. And I think that in doing that, he was the cause of the final events.

But if he followed all the rules, there wouldn’t be a movie, now would there?

I’d also like to note that I’ve seen both endings, and personally, I can see the value in both. I can also see why they did the modified ending, to open up that sequel door!

I recommend Paranormal Activity, if you haven’t seen it already. It’s worth it to see what all the fuss was about.

Grade: B