Hell Fest

Happy Halloween! Even though it's not quite October 31st, it is time to gear up the horror movies! I found myself with a little extra time recently while out of town for work and had credits on my Regal account that were about to expire, so I thought I'd see what is playing at the theater. It's not often I see many movies in the actual theater these days because of the high cost, so I really had no clue what was playing. I pulled up the Regal app and began to browse and I ran across Hell Fest. I had no idea what this movie was about, but I did recognize Tony Todd's name. I watched the preview and then proceeded to get a ticket.

IMDB.com sums up the story:

A masked serial killer turns a horror themed amusement park into his own personal playground, terrorizing a group of friends while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show.

While I haven't attended a haunted attraction in quite some time, part of me understands how terrorizing this story is because of how "real" it could be. Today it seems as if many if not most amusement parts have some sort of Halloween theme event in October. I know the local theme park in my area, Cedar Fair's Carowinds has their annual Scareowinds event. The older I've gotten the less I like these type of events and would rather just sit down in the comfort of my home to be scared.

First of all let me say how refreshing it was to see a new movie that returns to the slasher format...even if it did fall short in a few areas. While overall I enjoyed the movie I did leave with a few questions. Of course I don't want to give too much away because I would encourage you to go and see the movie yourself. 

The movie introduces you to the killer right off the bat, but gives you ZERO backstory. What is his incentive to kill? How is he able to obtain a mask that allows him to blend in seamlessly with the other actors at the venue? Where are the rides at Hell Fest? I joke about that last question, but seriously the only ride depicted in the group's trip at Hell Fest is a small cart that drives along a track inside a house...something you'd see at your local county fair. Regardless, the formula of the movie hearkens back to the days of Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer in a way. The killer wears a mask and uses whatever tools he can get his hands on. Think Michael Myers. He'a a silent killer that shows patience, waiting for his moment to strike.

I wasn't familiar with any of the actors or actresses minus Tony Todd and his role was rather small. The acting, while not horrible, was on par with your average horror movie. Each college kid played up to their typical stereotype pretty well, however if this is a real depiction of how young adults act in real life then I'm glad that our paths don't cross because several of them really came across like real jerks.

If you're like me and tired of all the Conjuring type movies and grew up with the slasher type movies, then you may want to see this one. It's not full of gore, but what flashes we got were done well. A lot of silly jump scares, but that should be expected seeing where the movie takes place at. Kudos to the writer/producer for not throwing in the gratuitous sex and nudity that young adult horror films are known for! Overall I'd give the move a B minus. Parts could have been better, but the whole movie could've been much worse too. 

Rites of Spring

Happy Halloween everyone! I figured I better get at least one more horror movie review in before we turn the calendar to November. While I didn't get as many new movies reviewed this month as I had wanted to, partly due to some movies I watched were just so horrible they didn't deserve reviewing (looking at you Hayride 2). However enjoy this last movie review before I get back to a stack of new toys just waiting for their spotlight.

Finding a good slasher movie these days can be hard. It seems the horror movie trend has moved past the iconic 80's slasher flicks like Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Now all you find are demon possession and supernatural horror. Blah. Thankfully I took a chance on Rites of Spring while browsing through the not so impressive horror line up recently on Netflix.

This movie is from 2011 by producer Padraig Reynolds (also credited for writing this movie). The description of the movie is rather simple.

A ransom scheme turns into a nightmare for a group of kidnappers who become victims of a horrifying secret that must be paid every spring.

Looking at the original movie poster and reading that description one should be able to put two and two together and realize this movie has something to do w/ sacrifice. The farmhouse and stalks of corn is a dead giveaway that this ain't taking place in a big city.

For starters let me just say this movie's story is a mess. It's all over the place. I feel like the producer/writer takes way too long to fill in the holes of the story. None the less I'll try to break it all down.

The movie has two main story lines at the beginning that don't see related at all. It opens up w/ two girls at the local watering hole. Upon leaving their car has a flat...how original. Before they know it some guy knocks them off w/ chloroform I'm guessing on a rag and throws them in the back of his van.

The story then switches to two guys discussing their plans to kidnap some little girl. You hear the plans, but there is no real motive behind what they are doing. The story follows up the plan complete with the kidnappers taking refuge in a abandoned school while they wait for the ransom money to arrive.

By the time all of this unravels you are already 40-45 minutes into the movie. Still not knowing how these two stories relate to each other, one of the women that is kidnapped at the beginning of the movie finally frees herself and finds that she is being chased by the movie's nemesis, something called Wormface. You see very little of the assailant, which is a bad thing as it appears the special effects used on this guy are pretty good. He carries some sort of bladed farming tool. Not quite a scythe or a sickle, but it appears to be something that could be found on an old farm. The woman running for her life eventually finds the school and meets up w/ the kidnappers in the middle of an argument. Finally the two individually stories collide...but why?

The acting, while not great, isn't horrible. The special effects seem to be of a lower budget, but instead of having a campy looking death scene many of them cut away via Alfred Hitchcock style. Outside of the story having some holes and taking way too long the flesh out, my biggest gripe is not seeing more of Wormface on screen. Who is the real star to most slasher movies? It's Jason, Michael Myers or Leatherface. Wormface just feels forced and not used properly.

Overall I'd give this movie two and half stars. Unlike some horror flicks I found on Netflix this Halloween that left me feeling like I just wasted and hour or so of my time, Rites of Spring was still enjoyable. It's broken and could have benefited from maybe 15-30 more minutes to round out the story, but by no means is it unwatchable,

Month of Horror continues with Berkshire County (Tormented)

Growing tired of sifting through all the boring horror movies Netflix had to offer me, I decided to stop by a Red Box on my way home from work to see if their horror flick offerings were any better. I remember reading the description for Tormented on Red Box's website, but none of the kiosks around my home stocked the movie. Needlessly to say I was surprised when this one popped up.

From what I can gather, this movie, originally released as Berkshire County in Canada, is an independent Canadian film. Apparently it was given a new name (Tormented) and a new cheesy movie poster for it's U.S. home video release. Despite the poster and it's equally lame tag line, the movie isn't that bad.

There are a lot of sub-genres of horror these days. To me it seems like most of the modern horror movies being released are of the possession, ghost, supernatural type. I could care less for these in most cases. Every once in awhile I may come across a decent movie of that style, but where has the modern slasher movies gone to? While Berkshire County isn't exactly your typical slasher movie, it's the closest I've found in my recent search for horror movies in the month of October. With previous movies such as "When a Stranger Calls", "The Strangers" and "You're Next", there is a new sub-genre of horror...home invasion. 

Berkshire County doesn't really offer anything new to this genre. It's your typical movie where a girl is stuck in a house w/ invaders trying to get in. However don't write it off just yet. Where as the protagonists in "You're Next" wore creepy plastic animal masks, the protagonists in Berkshire County wear some pretty awesome looking pig masks. It seems as if these killers have a real pig fetish too. There isn't a lot of gore in the movie, but what there is was handled quite well and looked fairly realistic.

The movie opens up w/ your female lead, a high school girl who battles low self-esteem, getting a little friendly with a guy at a Halloween party. Let's just say the whole ordeal is video taped and quickly spreads through the High school. Now the purpose of this I'm not sure. Are we supposed to feel even more sorry for the lead female as we already know she is going to be victimized and terrorized in a house at some point in the movie? Personally they could have left out the sexual innuendo part and came up with something a little better to set the stage for the main character. Thankfully though the rest of the movie is free of anything sexual.

I don't want to give much of the story away. Kind of hard too when the story isn't really explained. Much like with "The Strangers", there doesn't appear to be a story. It seems as if it's just another movie where the protagonists are killing "just because". Frankly I hate crap like that. I wish there was a little more back story on why the killers were doing what they were doing...or at least a tiny tidbit of background info on them and their "pig-mobile" they drive around.

The acting I found to be pretty good. Actress Aylsa King (lead character, Kylie) I thought gave a pretty good performance. She appeared to be genuinely frightened through most of the home invasion scenes. I'm not quite sure however that I bought her "bad ass" self that appears later in the movie. I also wondered why she didn't appear to be limping or why she didn't appear to be in pain towards the end after what had happened to her. I already commented on how good the pig masks looked, but how on earth did the big hulking guy make such authentic pig noises?! I wasn't expecting that. The only real gripe I have is the ending scene. It seems forced and pegged on at the last minute. Once you watch the movie I think you'll see what I mean and agree with me.

Overall I'd say this is a slightly above average movie. It's by far the best movie I've viewed in the first 9 days of October for sure. This movie did make some noise in it's native land of Canada and I can see why. To be a independent movie, it's well put together for the most part. I hear that this was the first movie for the director Audrey Cummings. In my opinion it's not a bad start to a directing career. I should mention there is a brief post-credits scene so make sure you don't stop the DVD when the credits first roll. If you're interested in this movie make sure to check out your local Red Box or you can rent and stream it on Amazon.

Halloween (2007)

I never was a big fan of John Carpenter's Halloween franchise. I've seen most of the movies, but the Michael Myers character just never appealed to me in the way other horror villains have. When I heard Rob Zombie was releasing his own version of Halloween I didn't know what to expect, but I eventually saw it anyway. Wow. What an intense ride.

So there was this big debate over John Carpenter versus Rob Zombie and which version of the movie and or Michael Myers is more terrifying.  Who cares.  I read that John told Rob to make the movie "his own" and that's what Rob did.  Both are great movies and you can't go wrong with either.  I just found Rob's version of the movie a little more, well, violent.

In the original you don't get to see Michael's family much so you really don't know why he turns out as he does.  In Rob's version you get a more in depth look at Michael in his early years and his dysfunctional family.  For me this helped set up the movie a little bit more.  I get the whole argument of we the movie viewer isn't supposed to feel compassion for the killer (who felt sorry for Freddy Kruger?) and not knowing what sets off someone and turns them into a killer is far more scary.  I get all that.  Valid points.  Remakes aren't for everyone, but if you can be subjective enough and separate the two movies and take them for what they are I think you'll see that both movies stand on their own as fantastic additions to the slasher genre.

You're Next

Long before the WWE's Erick Rowan wore the now iconic plastic sheep mask, the mask first made it's debut in You're Next. The Davison family assembled for a family reunion weekend. Mom and Dad were happy to have all of their family reunited, but who invited the axe wielding maniacs?

You're Next is another entry into the home invasion genre of horror. I knew little to nothing about this film when it was released in 2011, but the trailer alone got me into the theater. I was one the edge of my seat through out the entire movie. Its a well written and slick movie. There are so many turns and twists to the story that I can't say much more without giving everything away. It's not an overly gory film, but it's got just enough horror type violence that will satisfy most fans. Some reviewers love the film for all the same reasons I do, while others criticized some of the story elements. Watch the movie for yourself before casting your vote of yeah or nay.

Friday the 13th Part VII - The New Blood

Are you surprised that a Friday the 13th movie didn't make an appearance before now? While I love the first film it's been showcased all over the place so I wanted to pick another movie in the series. While I'm partial to part 3 (long before 3D special effects were used in just about every new movie), but for some reason I chose part 7 instead (Kane Hodder?). As a whole most of the Friday movies are pretty good, heck even Jason X has it's moments. The tag line for part VII: The New Blood is "Jason is back, but this time someone is waiting for him!"

Tommy Jarvis chained Jason Voorhees to the bottom of Camp Crystal Lake where he has laid dormant for many years. That is until a young telekinetic girl, Tina Shepperd inadvertently awakes him from his long slumber.

I guess what I remember most about this movie was how Jason himself had a nemesis of sorts. In the previous movies there really is no adversary for Jason as he just hacks away at his helpless victims. Not so much in this movie. I love the scene towards the end of the movie when Jason and Tina go head to toe. Tina throws (literally) a lot at Jason and he takes the abuse and keeps getting up for more. Kudos to Kane Hodder here as his acting is great. In my opinion Kane was the best actor ever to wear the iconic hockey mask. During the fight scene Jason truly looks puzzled over what is happening to him. There is this sense of disbelieve that he is having someone stand up against him. Take a look if you don't remember the scene:

I don't know about you, but this was an entertaining film thanks to the big fight scene. All of the Friday the 13th movies have their moments. Some are better than others, but part VII will always stand out in my memory. As a bonus treat here is another video I found compiling Jason's kills.

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Long before I heard of the awful 3D remake I discovered this 80's slasher gem online. I originally had a hard time tracking down the DVD. Apparently this movie originally was given an X rating by the MPAA. That didn't sit too well so the movie had to be heavily edited for it to get an R rating. I've seen still images of the cut scenes and they aren't any more graphic than other movies released around the same time.

You probably wouldn't recognize any of the names attached to this film...I know I didn't, but it doesn't matter. The film takes place in the fictional town of Valentines Bluff in Novia Scotia about a killer that took the lives off several miners and couples on Valentine's Day several years ago. You see there was an accident at the local mine 20 years ago and a miner by the name of Harry Warden was the only survivor. The man in charge of the mine that fateful night was off at a Valentine's Day party.

Fast forward to the "current" time and the killer is now more of a urban legend. That is until a box of chocolates containing a bloody heart shows up in town. It's been 20 years since Valentine's Day was celebrated and the young people are eager to throw a big party. Much to the chagrin of the sheriff the party goes on as planned. That is when the bodies start to hit the floor.

This is one of those movies that deserves being watched. Most people probably didn't know when the 3D remake was released a few years ago that it was a remake. Sometimes well known actors and slick special effects just can't top an original classic.

Toolbox Murders (2004)

Continuing my ignorance of movies I didn't know were remakes is the 2004 version of Toolbox Murders. Directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) I had to give it a try.

From what I can tell this version stands heads and shoulders above the 1978 film of the same name. The movie stars Angela Bettis (May) who moves into this old building (the Lusman building to be exact) currently under major renovations. At this time we are also introduced to the other residents.  These include Juliet Landau (Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to even a small role by Sherri Moon Zombie. It doesn't take Angela long to realize this house is full of evil as the residents are slowly knocked off - usually killed by power tools. The very creepy and odd maintenance man is the obvious choice, but that idea is quickly discarded as the movie carries on. For the most part the movie is really good. There is a lot of mystery about the house and the strange markings that are found all over the property. The killer isn't revealed until later in the movie so until then there is a lot of guessing. Some of the kills are very clever and the special effects pretty good. I was entertained from the very beginning to the end. Recommended if you are a fan of slashers.

The Burning

I can't exactly remember how I found out about this little known 80's slasher flick.  It may have been when I was looking up something on Tom Savini (Friday the 13th) as he helped with the special effects.  The movie was partially written by Harvey Weinstein in 1981.

I had my doubts going in, but I gotta say this one surprised me at how good it was.  The movie centers around an alcoholic summer camp caretaker by the name of  Cropsy that is seriously burned and disfigured by a group of teenage boys.  5 years later he returns to the same camp to exact his revenge.  Tom Savini's special effects are top notch in this movie.  The killer's weapon is a pair of ordinary garden sheers.  Let me tell you though Tom found some excellent and realistic ways to impale and kill the kids and counselors.  While the movie has a pretty good story and the acting isn't half bad (you get to see a young Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame) the movie does fall prey at times to the 80's slasher cliche - pretty girl + boy + woods = hanky panky which = victims for the killer.  That aside this was a fun ride and worth a watch if you've never seen it before.  I believe you can currently find it on Netflix.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976)

I'm always looking to discover new horror films to watch, especially in the month of October. While I sometimes check the Red Box near my work for something new to watch, I usually default to Netflix to find my next movie.

This week I ran across an article ranking the best 30 horror movies currently available on Netflix and the original The Town that Dreaded Sundown was the one I chose to watch.

This is one of those low budget horror movies from the late 70's. I'd classify it as a slasher flick, but it's well ahead of it's time. Set in Texarkana, TX, this movie is based on an actual crime that took place in the 40's. The killer, simply known as the Phantom Killer was never caught. He attacked 8 and killed 5 people during a four month span. The killer simply wears a sack over his head w/ two eye holes cut out. Could this killer have been an early inspiration to Jason Vorhees as shown in part 2 of Friday the 13th?

The movie stars Academy Award Winner Ben Johnson and Dawn Wells (Mary Ann of Gilligan's Island) among others. The pacing of the movie is a little slow for modern movie watchers, perhaps that is a reason the movie is being remade and will be released later this month (Oct. 16th, 2014). The movie reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock film as a lot of the violence takes place off screen. This could be because of the low budget, or simply for the matter that what you hear and envision in your mind is more frightening than anything you can see.

I found the movie to be entertaining. It's a little older than what I would normally search out, but it came highly recommended from several sources. I had to keep reminding myself that the movie takes place in the 40's and life was just a little different back then. On that note it was refreshing that the movie was full of gratuitous sex and nudity, as I'm sure the remake will feature. Ben Johnson and Andrew Pine both put in solid performances as their respective characters who are chasing the killer.

As I've mentioned, this movie is currently available to stream on Netflix and it's worth the 1:30 running time.

Chopping Mall

Does anyone else remember the old show on the USA Network called "Up All Night" hosted by Gilbert Godfrey? Well I originally caught this super cheesy B flick back then. Filmed in 1986 a bunch of teens hide inside a furniture store inside a local mall to throw a big party after hours. What they don't know is the mall is guarded by 3 robots and that the mall is sealed off from the outside world come 12 midnight. A bolt of lightning proceeds to strike the mall which in turns short circuits the robots and turns them into killer robots!  Told you it was cheesy. By the way, this movie is sometime referred to simply as Killbots.

I'm only including this movie to the feature because of how terrible it is - not because it's a good movie. It's watchable, but I can't really recommend it. You can probably find most of the good scenes on YouTube (like the one below) if you search for them. It'll save you a lot of time.

Extreme headache!

The Hills Have Eyes (2006)

Are all the modern day horror movies remakes?! First off let me say that I've never seen Wes Craven's original The Hills Have Eyes so I won't be comparing these two. In fact I'm not even sure when I originally saw the trailer for the 2006 remake that I knew it was a remake.

This was another film that I caught in the theatre while in college. I didn't know anything about the movie going in other than what I had seen in the trailer. Wow. What an intense movie. I genuinely felt for the family being terrorized throughout the film. While it has become one of my favorite horror movies I find it hard to re-watch it. It's not that it's a bad movie or even the gore. It just seems so authentically real that it creeps me out a little. Now being the father of 2 young girls there is one scene in the movie that is really disturbing. It's not that it's graphic - it (mostly) happens off camera. If you've seen this movie then you probably know what scene I'm eluding to.

All in all this is a fantastic movie. The character development is great. The "hero" of the movie is probably the last person you would expect. That may be a little cliche now, but it worked then. I was totally joyous in rooting for the family to survive.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

OK. You may have not agreed with me about the 1990 version of The Night of the Living Dead being better than the original, but what about this remake? And by the way, don't let the name Michael Bay fool you...this ain't no Transformers garbage here!

Trailer

I saw the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the theaters before I ever had watched the original. I walked away from the movie a little shaken, but highly entertained! I knew my review would be biased and incomplete years ago so I searched out the best version of the original on DVD. While I can appreciate the original, Michael Bay's 2003 version simply blows the original out of the water...no offense Tobe Hooper. I could say that Jessica Biel in this movie is worth the price of admission alone (can I get an amen?), but seriously this movie is excellent - from the opening credits to the closing credits. I was on the edge of my seat for practically the entire movie. R. Lee Ermey's language did get on my nerves as it's very vulger and laced with profanity, but it just shows you how messed up of a character Sheriff Hoyt really is. Just re-watching the trailer again made me tense up. I have pretty thick skin and a strong stomach when it comes to horror movies, but this one got to me. In a good way though. I highly suggest this version of TTCM if you haven't already seen it. The modern day prequel is pretty darn nifty too!

Walled In

I discovered this movie earlier this year while I was laying on the couch sick. Thank goodness for Netflix! I was a little skeptical about the movie after reading the description, but I wasn't going anywhere so I fired it up.

The movie centers around the family demolitions business' daughter that sets out to supervise her first job after acquiring her degree. What she doesn't know about the mysterious Malestrazza building that she'll be overseeing is the history and mystery surrounding her. It turns out that several of the building's former tenants have been buried alive inside the very walls that will be torn down! The main character is played my Mischa Barton who I've seen on TV, but not really aware of what she has acted in. The movie was a lot better than I expected. There was this certain creepiness surrounding the tenants left in the building. She actually spent several nights in the building before it's scheduled demolition and this is when the truth starts to unfold.

I'd say this is more of a thriller than your typical horror movie, but it's still entertaining none the less. I'm not sure if it was a direct to video movie or not, but it is one worth checking out in my opinion.

Month of Horror continues with Mountaintop Motel Massacre

Now let me preface this post by saying this is NOT one of my favorite horror movies of all time, but it was just quirky enough for me to add to the list. This is one of the movies I found available on Netflix, but I had to search for it on the website and add it from there.

"Please do not disturb Evelyn. She already is."

Trailer

Released in 1983, the movie revolves around Evelyn, the owner of the Mountaintop Motel. There she runs the facility with her daughter. However all is not right w/ Evelyn. Having recently been released from an insane asylum, she kills her daughter in a fit of rage. She tries to make it look like an accident to the local police however. From then on she starts terrorizing her guests in the motel.

Is movie is one of those classic 80's B rate horror flicks. Its really cheesy, yet it continued to hold my interest until the end. Perhaps it was the actress Anna Chappell who plays Evelyn. She was so crazy I had to see what she was going to do next. The acting is pretty bad, however the bright spots had to be Anna and Major Brock, who portrays Crenshaw, one of the guests. The lighting is pretty poor and with the movie taking place a night (during a thunderstorm no less) it can be hard to tell what's going on at times. 

This movie is not worth buying, but you can stream it on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. If you like cheesy, low budget 80's horror then you may want to look this one up.