Split (2016)

Directed and written by: M. Night Shyamalan

Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

---

TV's been throwing the trailer of Glass (2019) at me, and I really want to see it. However I hadn't seen Split yet, so I decided to finally watch it so I can go see Glass when it comes out. Oh yeah, haven't seen Unbreakable (2000) either, so that one's probably going to be next.

The peculiar thing about this movie is that apart from the problematic aspect of it, it should be thrilling. And it sort of works, it's thrilling, it's beautifully shot... But it ends up being weirdly clumsy and not as good as I was hoping it would be. There's certain awkwardness about it, something that makes it feel kind of "meh".

This film is definitely too long. I'd edit out all the flashbacks because what purpose did they serve? They gave us something about Casey's past, sure, but did we need it? Did it actually affect anything?

Best part about this movie is James McAvoy's performance. He's a gifted actor and can pull off playing different personalities well.

The problematic aspect I mentioned? Holy shit is this movie disrespectful to actual people with DID.

I'm fine seeing this movie once and I don't regret it, but I definitely don't feel like watching it again. On some level it just doesn't work, and that's a shame. I wanted to like this movie.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Evil Dead (2013)

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Screenplay by: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues

Based on a motion picture written by: Sam Raimi

Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.

---

I've heard "surprisingly good" comments on this movie. I've also heard "don't watch it". And since I'm on a roll, I decided to defy all warnings and watch this movie.

It's weird seeing the same thing again. I've just seen Evil Dead, Evil Dead II which recapped Evil Dead, The Army of Darkness which recapped those two and now I'm watching that recap again, except this time it's different.

There are good things to the story, like how they are trying to get their friend of drugs and therefore it's not clear if there's possession or if it's all in her head. ... Except that makes no difference, because we know it's real. We know it's really happening because we know what Evil Dead is about. And it doesn't take long until it's confirmed this thing is happening for real. It would be different if it was an ongoing thing, no one would ever know what was happening or if it was happening for real. It would work well in another movie, but here it's just kind of useless.

The problem here is that it's a remake. That makes us automatically compare it to the original, which is something you can't really do again. The original Evil Dead is unique, weird, shocking and funny all at the same time. You just can't copy that atmosphere.

And talking about how Evil Dead was actually funny, this movie had no humor in it whatsoever. Like there wasn't a single funny scene, and that's kind of a shame. Humor is a big part of the original, at least to some viewers, and here there's no trace of it.

Another big thing is the effects. Since these ones are done with a big budget, they don't look the same compared to the original. And those effects were pretty damn impressive. And all the creative monster make-up? Holy shit! And here? Just throw in a pair of contact lenses. Seriously?

This movie is not Evil Dead, and I think everyone knows that going in. It's an average horror film with elements of the Evil Dead.

I did like the ending. The problem is I had to watch the whole movie to get there. Was it worth it? Almost. I wouldn't watch it again.

☆☆☆

3/10

Army of Darkness (1992)

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Written by: Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi

A man is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., where he must battle an army of the dead and retrieve the Necronomicon so he can return home.

---

I meant to dedicate December to Xmas films, but instead ended up starting with a horror comedy. 

Finally! Army of Darkness has been on my list since I saw the first two Evil Dead movies ages ago. But because during Halloween I went to see the first one in theaters and watched the second one yesterday, I thought it was finally time to watch Army of Darkness as well.

The movie starts with a quick recap, but unlike in the second movie, it's clear this is a recap and not just the first movies simplified into a few minutes. It's immediately less annoying, because it's fast in the right way compared to the recap in the second film. 

The beginning of the movie is quite slow, but once things get going, they really get going. There are incredible moments that make you wonder what the hell you are watching, but you enjoy every minute of it. It's comedic gold. 

The action towards the end can get a bit boring, but eventually the story and the movie is really enjoyable to watch.

Army of Darkness is different from the first two movies, considering it's not even called Evil Dead III, but it works. It's continuing the story in a different, but still fun and creative way. Ash is an enjoyable character, who I've started to really love. I enjoy the humour and the atmosphere of this movie. What it lacks in horror, it makes up in cool make-up, action and the hilarities. The effects are a bit dated but in the fun way, and some of them actually hold up quite well. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

8 / 10

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Directed by: Drew Goddard

Written by: Drew Goddard & Joss Whedon

Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin, where they get more than they bargained for, discovering the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

---

I had heard a lot of good things about The Cabin in the Woods, and my friend had heard a lot of mixed things about The Cabin in the Woods. It came up on Netflix and we decided to watch it.

There's something really peculiar about this movie. Sure, it's a horror comedy, but it stands out from typical horror comedies that are mostly bad, annoying parodies like Scary Movie. This is up there with Jennifer's Body. A horror comedy, that's actually pretty good, clever and stands out.

It plays out like a typical horror movie, and even though it's a satire, those cliches are still annoying, even though they have a perfect explanation them. But there are also so many funny details and scenes. We actually had to rewind one scene just to laugh at it again.

I don't know how much I can say without spoiling the fun. But The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a special film, and I still have hard time saying if it's good or not. But I'm going to go with good.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

The Shape of Water (2017)

Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro

Written by: Guillermo Del Toro & Vanessa Taylor

At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.

---

My friend and I wanted to go see another film half ironically, but they were all so booked we couldn't sit next to each other, so instead we went to see The Shape of Water which probably was way more romantic than the one we intended to see.

There's one word I'd use to describe The Shape of Water: Beautiful. It's beautiful in so many ways:

The story and especially the love aspect of the story feels more genuine than anything I've seen in ages. The love between the characters develop and while it's of course unusual, it feels more real that way. All the characters in typical romantic movies are the same, but Elisa and the "amphibious creature" are different from those characters.

Alexandre Desplat's score was also astonishing. It was light, simple and after the film ends it makes you feel like you're half dancing out of the theatre.

And of course we can't talk about beauty of a film without talking about the visual side. The cinematography is stunning. The film is unbelievably colourful. I especially love the use of green and blue throughout the movie. Honestly, this is what I hope I could achieve one day as a cinematographer.

The Shape of Water is a beautiful film in so many ways, while still managing to be brutal when needed. Totally a masterpiece, worth all the nominations and awards.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10

The Babysitter (2017)

Directed by: McG

Written by: Brian Duffield

The events of one evening take an unexpected turn for the worst for a young boy trying to spy on his babysitter.

---

The Babysitter has been on my list on Netflix ever since it came out. It seemed like a fun splatter film to watch. I was right. The Babysitter is an excellent, kind of B-movie horror comedy. It's so over the top it's fun, yet it's actually really thrilling to watch. 

Especially horror comedies can sometimes be way too cheesy when they're going for the certain B-movie look. In The Babysitter they often used text over the film, which is sometimes a nice touch, but sometimes it did feel a bit useless. You don't necessarily need that, so why use it? But it was a minor detail, however, and it wasn't over used. 

Another little annoyance in horror movies can be the jump scares. In the worst case you can see them coming miles away and then it hits you. If they aren't done well they are just tacky and even though they give you a fright you just get more annoyed than actually thrilled. But jump scares or the wait for the jump scare where used well. 

The Babysitter is a fun, quirky yet thrilling horror comedy, and definitely worth seeing, if you're looking for this kind of a movie. If you want something serious or something actually terrifying, then no.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

Skeleton Crew (2009)

Directed by: Tommi Lepola & Tero Molin

Written by: Tero Molin &  Teemu Molin

An asylum is being used by a film crew trying to film the movie "Silent Creek" based on murders that occurred in the 70's. The institution was shut down after Doctor Andersson "The Auteur" was caught making snuff films of himself torturing patients to death. It was believed that all the films were confiscated, yet the location where they were developed and screened was never found. While doing recordings, the crew find a hidden room. It contains the Doctor's undiscovered recordings, although the crew is disgusted by the snuff films, they decide not to call the police. The director of Silent Creek, becomes obsessed with Anderssons' films. He begins to act deranged, claiming their film is "not real enough".

---

I actually wanted to see this movie so bad I straight up bought it. Didn't cost much, I bought it used, but still... I haven't really bought movies without seeing them in ages, except if they have my favourite actor in them and I can't find them in the rental store - that's what happened with The Legend of Barney Thomson, and other movies featuring Robert Carlyle.

This time, did I want to see this movie because of an actor? Well, if like 4 second role counts, yes, but mostly I just have been going through the IMDbs of my teachers to find anything interesting, and Skeleton Crew seemed like the most interesting movie there is to find. One of my teachers was a gaffer and a co-producer for this movie, and the plot seemed so awful it had to be at least entertaining, so I wanted to see this. And it feels weird saying this here since in July I did give the address to this blog to said teacher but I'm sure he only checked it out once, if even that, so I think I'm safe and he doesn't have to know one of the reasons I got this movie was to see his magnificent performance as a "snuff victim 3". By the way, it's weird seeing your teacher get murdered on screen. Anyway...

Skeleton Crew is definitely a weird movie. And I guess it's because I kept telling myself (and my friend) that this is going to be so bad, that I'm almost positively surprised. It was bad, but like with so many movies like this, it's kind of the point. If a movie like this would be made completely seriously and well, it wouldn't have any kind of charm, would just make you wonder if the writers are okay. When it's done with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, it's usually more entertaining.

Skeleton Crew plays with horror movie tropes in a fun, fourth wall breaking way, while being brutally violent and just... fucked up. It's been hours since I saw the movie, and I'm still confused about... well, everything.

It's a bad movie, but I definitely had fun when watching it. So if you do watch it, make sure you watch it friends, because this is one of those movies where it's just sad when you watch it alone and can't really laugh about it at the same time.

(Lighting was on spot, by the way, if my teacher does read this.)

☆☆☆☆

4 / 10 

Nurse 3-D (2013)

Directed by: Douglas Aarniokoski

Written by: Douglas Aarniokoski & David Loughery

By day, Abby Russell is a dedicated nurse, but by night, she lures cheating men to their brutal deaths and exposes them for who they really are.

---

After a night of hard drinking it's good to relax with a movie full of blood, gore, sex and deranged nurses, right? A friend promised to borrow me this movie, so since she stayed over we decided to watch it and eat some pizza.

Since I saw the trailer it was clear that this movie is kind of a B-movie. Not so much when you look at the quality of cinematography, editing, stuff like that, but mostly because of the plot, the writing and the acting, which was weirdly porn-y and just uncomfortable, especially when it comes to Paz de la Huerta, who played the nurse Abby Russell.

The plot actually made me think about American Psycho 2, and how I've often said that movie would be way better if you just took away all the American Psycho references. Nurse is incredibly similar to American Psycho 2, but it's hard to say if it's a good thing. On the other hand there's blood and gore, more than in American Psycho 2, but the story doesn't seem as rich.

The movie was surprisingly colourful and looked really nice. Only problem is we didn't see it in 3D, which I guess is somewhat the point, so sometimes some effects look really tacky. Are they less or more tacky with 3D?

Nurse is an alright horror movie. There are so many things I'd like to change about it to make it even better, though. It has potential, but doesn't reach it. Still, fun to watch at least once.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Carrie (2013)

Directed by: Kimberly Peirce 

Screenplay by: Lawrence D. Cohen & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Based on a novel by: Stephen King

A shy girl, outcasted by her peers and sheltered by her religious mother, unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

---

I went to see Carrie when it came out in the cinemas four years ago, and I thought I'd revisit it. Actually I was going to watch the 2002 version first but then realised how super bad it is, so decided to go with this one. I still haven't seen the original one, which is why I can't really compare this to the original one, I can only compare it to the novel. And I didn't like the novel.

First time seeing Carrie I loved it so much for some reason. But this is the third time and it's losing its charm. There's some really beautiful cinematography in the film, and some amazing lighting, but eventually the story doesn't really stand seeing it several times, or I've grown out of it in the past four years.

There's something kind of sweet about some parts of the story, and the rest is just really awful. That's a weird combination, because on the other hand it's this shy girl learning she has powers, but on the other hand there's a really disturbing abusive religious mother and all those students who are horrible to Carrie... I think especially now that I'm older I see better how sad the whole story is.

As a movie Carrie doesn't feel like anything great. It's a remake, and of course that affects it a lot. The story is well made, even though I didn't like the novel. The movie looks amazing, but something is off. Maybe I'll know better once I see the original.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Little Evil (2017)

Directed and written by: Eli Craig

Gary, who has just married the woman of his dreams, discovers that her six-year-old stepson may be the Antichrist.

---

I was browsing through Netflix when I found Little Evil, which had come out recently. It seemed like a fun horror comedy, perfect for the day, so I decided to watch it.

There are many things I like in Little Evil, but it doesn't go above average. Of course the idea isn't original, isn't this a play on very typical stories about kids who seem to be the spawn of Satan. Most of them are actual horror movies, though. Little Evil mixes that horror story with the theme of being a stepparent in a humorous way, which itself is fresher than the movie might feel when you read the summary.

But in the end the story doesn't go where you'd want it to go. Of course some of the plot points are good, and the movie is fun and light, and there's something very special about it. But in the end the only thing this movie ends up being is somewhat funny. Everything else is actually quite superficial, and let's be honest, the humorous side probably wouldn't be as good if you watched this movie several times.

So definitely worth seeing once, if you're not too serious for horror comedies, but that's all.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Evil Dead II (1987)

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Written by: Sam Raimi & Scott Spiegel 

The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

---

I liked the first Evil Dead and I finally manage to rent the second one. The whole debate on whether or not this is a sequel or a remake did create some confusion when watching, though, but afterwards IMDb gave some real answers though. Thank god for that site, huh?

I was going to start the review by saying how much better Evil Dead II is story-wise, but since it's a sequel and all the inconsistencies in the beginning are there mostly to give a short recap, I can't really say that anymore. Instead I can say that while Evil Dead was mostly horror, ghosts and blood, Evil Dead II gives something new to the story, it gives lore. And for me, interesting lore is always a big plus. The audience wants to know more, they are intrigued.

And luckily Evil Dead II is a wonderful introduction to the Army of Darkness, which is like a big promise on more lore and background to the movies. 

But pretty much whatever I said about the first movie goes here too. The cinematography is weird but interesting. Time is used effectively - movie is only 80 minutes long yet a lot manages to happen in that 80 minutes. The effects are completely awful but mostly they make creepy situations even creepier. 

In short, Evil Dead II may be a weird sequel but it gives something new to the story and I really want to see Army of Darkness already.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

6 / 10

Get Out (2017)

Directed and written by: Jordan Peele

Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parent's for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.

---

Usually when a movie is very hyped there's a chance it disappoints you, but that's not the case with Get Out. Everyone's been talking about how brilliant Jordan Peele is, and I have to agree.

The very first thing I have to say is I can't believe Get Out is Jordan Peele's directorial debut. The film show such profound understanding of cinema, that many directors don't grasp even though they've done more films than Peele. Also Peele's done some  very thorough work. I saw this movie last night and I'm only know writing this review, but during this time I've procrastinated I've re-realised so many moments and details of this movie. They weren't details that made no sense, they were details that either seemed like just an addition to the story or just the kind of stuff you usually have in this genre. The movie itself was completely amazing, but the more I keep thinking about this, the more I'm convinced Jordan Peele is a god damn genius.

All the ingredients of an amazing film are here. The pacing is amazing, so is the build up. The story is detailed, characters carefully planned and multi-dimensional. The soundtrack is incredible and haunting, and it definitely helps to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Get Out also has everything you need from the horror genre. The way the story and the horror progress is amazing and close to perfection. It's just unnerving, then turns into something really disturbing, then turns into absolutely terrifying. All the good elements are there: psychological horror, mind control (or hypnotism) and blood. Also they have manage to keep the audience absolutely excited during the whole thing.

Some of the white audience have been angry at the racism aspect though. But it shouldn't be hard to understand why the white people in this movie are so terrifying.

Get Out is absolutely brilliant movie, and without a doubt the best horror movie I've ever seen.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

10 / 10

Ravenous (1999)

Directed by: Antonia Bird 

Written by: Ted Griffin

In a remote military outpost in the 19th Century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.

---

Again, I can start my review by saying that this movie was recommended to me by my dear friend Rose. Ravenous was probably the first movie she told me to watch after she found out about how much I liked Robert Carlyle. I was starting to grow suspicious of these recommendations though. Annie suggested Eragon knowing it was awful, Rose suggested 28 Weeks Later, which was good, but Carlyle's role did kind of frustrate me. ... So I started thinking what would be wrong with this one.

Ravenous seemed interesting because it deals with cannibalism. Cannibalism is an intriguing theme considering how dark it is, and it is a trusted way to give your horror movies or thrillers some kind of shock value. However in Ravenous it's not just there to shock you, it's what the whole story is about, it's one of the major themes. That is a refreshing change to how cannibalism usually is in thriller and horror genres: a fleeting detail, barely worth mentioning few times, but too disgusting to actually make a movie about that, and the wendigo myth. 

Wendigo myth has been quickly tapped into TV shows like Hannibal, but since the show doesn't have actual fantasy elements to it, it's not that important. The myth has been always interesting to me, but I do sometimes what the Native American people whose culture the myth is part of think about movies like this one. 

I expected this movie to be scarier since it's listed as a horror film, but the story is still intriguing and thrilling. It may start slowly but there's just enough mystery to keep you interested, when the plot starts to thicken. The plot and story just seem to go on when you think this is the story, this is what's important. That makes the movie feel longer than it is. 

The story isn't close to perfect. There are many ways the plot could be improved, but this is the story the filmmakers wanted to tell, and it is good. 

There are few things that made this movie seem a bit odd. It is hard to grasp the atmosphere at first, what the movie is like and what it is about, though it does clear up eventually. But there are few details that make this sometimes seem almost comedic. That weird comedic feeling that doesn't exactly belong to the film is mostly created by the soundtrack. The music is brilliant most of the times, but there are times when you can't help but wonder if they truly chose the right tracks. 

Ravenous was surprisingly good, while I thought it might be a simple slasher B-movie. It's thrilling, intriguing and most definitely worth watching if violence and blood and guts won't bother you.

At the beginning of the review I said I wondered what was wrong with Ravenous. So was there something wrong? Well, let's just say that this is yet another really interesting role of Robert Carlyle's in the list of the roles I've seen him play.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

7 / 10

The Evil Dead (1981)

Directed and written by: Sam Raimi

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

---

If I'm watching horror, I tend to prefer zombies and / or violence instead of ghosts and possession. Why? I watched The Grudge 2 when I was 12 and it scarred me for life and I'm still not into any horror movies where the horror comes from ghosts and that kind of supernatural stuff. (Yes yes, zombies are supernatural, I know, but it's different because I didn't watch zombie stuff when I was 12). I still wanted to see The Evil Dead partly because of its status among horror films, but also because I really want to start watching the show Ash vs. Evil Dead, and obviously I need to see the original ones first.

My expectations were high. When I said I rented the Evil Dead, most people asked if it was the original one. I didn't even know there was a remake. But if that many people care, this one obviously has to be good, right?

Watching The Evil Dead in 2010s is kind of weird. It feels like one hell of a trope fest, but you can't help but think, how many of these tropes did this movie start? How can I judge that when I don't know, and it's for a review on a blog and I'm too lazy to do some research? And it's better to not actually address all that, because then I'd have to talk again about how stupid the characters are, because everyone's always a total idiot in horror movies. If I had to address that every time I watched horror movies, I'd probably never watch another horror movie again.

While the story is great, and this is an excellent things there are few things that bother me. One of them is the cinematography. It's sometimes so weird and bad it ruins the mood. And sometimes it feels like the movie is a bad home video made by my dad. That is an eccentric look and it could be either good or bar. In this movie that look did work, but then most of the cinematography was just weird.

Another thing was the effects, but hey, it's the 1980s, so it's not like I was expecting something hyper realistic. And I think it's better this way. All that crappy make up and stuff makes everything even more horrifying. You can't really get that same feeling with CGI.

While I notice and can acknowledge why The Evil Dead has that reputation as cult classic, and I see why it was a big deal when it came out, it kinda leaves me cold. Could be the fact that it's kind of short, and I'm hoping to see more of Ash. There's something really charming about Bruce Campbell as Ash, and I don't know what it is yet. But even if I'm not a big fan of the Evil Dead, I'm definitely going to see the second movie, and also The Army of Darkness. Just probably not immediately 'cause I have so many other movies to see, but soon.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Written by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffe, Enrique López Lavigne & Jesús Olmo.

Six months after the rage virus was inflicted in on the population of United Kingdom, most of the infected have starved to death. The US army has secured a small part of London to begin re-population. As people move back to London, the virus starts spreading, and the nightmare begins again.

---

Originally it was 28 Weeks Later that my friend Rose recommended for me, I just wanted to watch 28 Days Later first, mostly to understand the story but partially because it was directed by Danny Boyle. It was of course a bit disappointing to see 28 Weeks Later wasn't directed by Danny Boyle. It's not that I wouldn't like Fresnadillo, considering this is the first movie I've seen from him. It was just mostly when a sequel has a different director, there might be a drop in quality. Of course it's not a fact, it just has happened way too often (Hostel 3, anyone?) 

But my friend Rose made a great point while we discussed the movie. Sometimes you have to lose something great to gain something great. Maybe we lost Danny Boyle as a director, but we gained an astonishingly good Scottish actor, Robert Carlyle. He is the main reason I watched this movie. If it wasn't for him I might've left it at the first one, because it hardly felt like it needed a sequel.

Did 28 Days Later need a sequel? Probably not, but I'm still glad we got one.

The story in 28 Weeks Later is happening in significantly smaller area. In 28 Days Later the main characters travel a lot while in this one the characters mostly stay in London, and especially that small, secured area in London. The more confined milieu gives the story something more, since the virus and the infected aren't really a thread somewhere outside, but it's inside, among you. And it creates even more chaos when the US soldiers are trying to control the situation. It's brilliant and agonising.

While all of the movie is very good, one of the most effective moments is at the beginning of the film, when Don (Robert Carlyle) runs when the infected attack his wife. Another friend of mine had seen the movie and described it to me when we were younger, when I was about 11 or 12. And I still remember the way she described it and how impressive, maybe even awesome that scene was. You're used to seeing people being heroes in movies, and that was the opposite. Even if we may not really experience Don's fear in that scene, his actions are incredibly powerful. 

Also the shaky camera, quick and fast shots at the beginning were a bit worrisome. I was afraid that's what most of the movie was going to be like, because it just kept going on and on. It's effective, but also makes everything really hard to follow. Yet you could see the most important things. 

The only thing I like less about this movie is how American it seems. Of course it takes place in UK, and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a Spanish director, so it's not the movie itself. It's mostly how the US army is involved in securing London, letting people back in London. It's annoying, but also it seems really fucking typical. It's annoying because you know that's exactly how it would go.

28 Days Later doesn't necessarily need a sequel. 28 Weeks Later is different, and a certain touch is missing with Danny Boyle, but Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has made something haunting and amazing. You don't need to see it, since the story is different, but it's still absolutely worth your time.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

28 Days Later... (2002)

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Written by: Alex Garland

28 days after a mysterious, incurable infection starts spreading through the United Kingdom, Jim wakes up from a coma. He is puzzled by the almost empty city until he finds more survivors. Together they are trying to find sanctuary.

---

I rented 28 Days Later because my friend Rose recommended it to me. Actually she recommended both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later but I wanted to watch this one before renting the other one. And this one's directed by Danny Boyle. Danny Boyle has never disappointed me, and he definitely didn't disappoint me this time.

I like zombie movies, I just don't watch them as much. My current favourite is Shaun of the Dead, which isn't exactly that serious. 28 Days Later is probably the first more serious zombie movie I really like.  Of course the problem is most of these movies have a similar structure to them. It's always about survival, having to kill someone you care, all that. Comedies of course take different kind of turns.

Plot structure to 28 Days Later seems pretty similar to the other movies I've seen or heard about. There are still some twists I really enjoy, and very many scenes I like. 

But the main reason this movie stands out is because of the characters. I usually am not extremely fond of characters in horror, because you never know what's going to happen. But then I realised how attached I was to the characters of this movie. That realisation happened during some of the most serene and so very nice scenes, like the one at the grocery store. Those little scenes are so nice and heart-warming it makes everything else even more painful. You just want them to have nice, good lives, but horror movies are what they are.

The cinematography is interesting. It's annoying at first, because it's grainy and really poor, but it keeps getting better. Also I really like the music in this film. It's simple, it amplifies the feeling in each scene, and it isn't just scary music used to make the scenes seem more threatening. It's a perfect soundtrack when you don't want to take any risks.

All in all 28 Days Later is a great genre movie. Danny Boyle sure knows how to direct all kind of stuff, huh?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10

11 Great Horror and Thriller Movies to Watch This Halloween

Last night I had the idea to make this list. I haven't made many lists on my blog, and most of those are just "My favourite movies" and "My favourite TV shows", and frankly those are tiring. They are boring for you and they are boring for me. So I'm making my first themed list, and since it's 31st of October, that theme is horror and thriller. 

I've read through my blog and gathered 11 movies that I thought I could re-introduce on this list. I've wrote about these before, sometimes even twice. Not all of these are very new to you, but you might have forgotten about few. And of course there are some classics we should remember to watch.

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Attack The Block (2011), dir. Joe Cornish

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A teen gang has to defend themselves from an alien invasion. I watched this movie with my friend once and we thought it would be some kind of B-movie, but it was way scarier than we thought. This film is absolutely astonishing visually, the writing is clever, cast is brilliant and it will keep you on the edge of your seat. There are few quite obvious jump scares, but this movie was still amazing.

9 / 10

Battle Royale (2000), dir. Kinji Fukasaku

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

In Battle Royale, a class of students is forced to fight and kill each other. Now Battle Royale isn't exactly scary, but it's still a thriller, and a damn clever one. This one is a cult classic, so if you're not into horror, but you like violent cult movies, this is the movie for you.

9 / 10

Death Proof (2007), dir. Quentin Tarantino

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

Two different groups of women are being stalked by an ex-stuntman with a death proof car. I wish I'd watched Planet Terror by now, so I could throw them both on the list, but no. Anyway, Death Proof is a homage to this kind of exploitation movies. Again, not scary, but amazing and thrilling. A cult movie everyone should see, and definitely worth a watch. Hey, it has to be good, if I usually hate car chases and car related movies of all sorts yet I love this.

9 / 10

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), dir. Robert Rodriguez

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

Two criminals end up in a bar populated by vampires. This is a B-movie, and it's absolutely ridiculous, I love that. The dialogue is clever, since it's written by Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez is a marvellous director. If any other people were behind this movie, it would be a disaster. Well, it's kind of a disaster now, but in a fun way.

7 / 10

Hostel (2005), dir. Eli Roth

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

Three backpackers end up in a hostel in eastern Europe without knowing what kind of hell awaits them. Hostel is full on torture porn. It's not exactly scary, but it's super disgusting and full of gore. So if you're into that, Hostel is your movie. Obviously this goes for Hostel Part II as well, I just didn't want to have two Hostel movies on the same list. But don't watch the third one. Everything is wrong with that one.

9 / 10

Jennifer's Body (2009), dir. Karyn Kusama

Scary (a little bit) / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A high school teenager turns into a succubus who preys on her male classmates. Jennifer's Body is written by Diablo Cody, who is amazing writer. Again, this movie is ridiculous in a way, but it's one of my favourite movies. The cast is amazing and there's not one thing I don't love about this movie.

8 / 10

Oculus (2013), dir. Mike Flanagan

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A woman tries to prove that a murder that was pinned on his brother was actually committed by a supernatural phenomenon living in a mirror. I saw glimpses of this movie at school once. This movie fucks with your mind and plays with time a lot. The movie is so creepy. I've only watched it once, but it affected me a lot never the less.

7 / 10

Orphan (2009), dir. Jaume Collet-Serra

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A family adopts a nine-year-old, who turns out not to be as innocent as they first thought. When I watched this movie I already knew the most important plot twist, yet it was still so unnerving. This movie is very creepy and definitely worth another watch if you've already seen it.

7 / 10

Saw (2004), dir. James Wan

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

I've never seen the rest of the Saw movies, only the first one. The rest seem like they are just gore and they want to get as much money as possible, but the first Saw was brilliant. There's not so much unnecessary gore and it's very clever. So if you've been avoiding Saw movies because of how much they are spilling blood, watch the first one. It's good.

8 / 10

Shaun of the Dead (2004), dir. Edgar Wright

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A man decides to win back his girlfriend and get rid of the zombies wandering around in the neighbourhood. Shaun of the Dead is a hilarious zombie movie. It's amazing British horror comedy. This movie is so much fun, yet it has all the drama of a good old zombie movie.

9 / 10

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), dir. Jonathan Demme

Scary / Funny / Thrilling / Disgusting / WTF / B-Movie

A young FBI cadet has to catch a serial killer with the help of another. This is the movie that made me into thrillers. Absolutely brilliant movie, so very slow  yet still absolutely thrilling. The whole cast of this movie is astonishing. This is a classic, and if you haven't seen it yet, or haven't seen it in a while, watch it. Just watch this astonishing movie.

9 / 10

We Come In Peace! Alien Theme Week! - Alien (1979)

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Written by: Dan O'bannon & Ronald Shusett 

A deep-space mining crew gets an distress call. While exploring the source, a member of the crew is attacked by an alien life form. The crew member is allowed back to the ship against the quarantine rules, and the rest have to deal with the lethal consequences.

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When I came up with the idea for an alien themed week of movie reviews, Alien was the most obvious choice because of the name and more. It's a classic, and every other movie of this type seems to be copying this one, intentionally or not.

Once the film started, I felt like I had seen this before. There are so many space travel horror movies that follow the exact same pattern than Alien. Now I don't know if Alien is the first one of its kind, but it's definitely the best known. I actually saw Prometheus before any of the Alien films, and it's almost annoying how closely Prometheus followed the same pattern as this one. The writers of that movie should've come up with something slightly different, because if you've seen Alien, that makes Prometheus predictable - and the other way around. 

But it shouldn't be surprising every science fiction horror filmmaker wants to make a film like Alien. Alien's pace is just right - it's slow, but it doesn't feel too stretched. It's making everything even more intense than it'd be with faster pace. But with faster pace it would probably be harder and more annoying trying to keep a track of this movie. 

One really effective thing about this film is how gross everything looks. There's always some gross liquid coming out of somewhere. Otherwise the effects seem sometimes ridiculous, like the little baby alien running away. How can you take an intense, dramatic scene like that seriously when the effects are what they are?

I don't enjoy this movie as much as other people can. I appreciate the horror elements and the value this film has, but I hate space travel science fiction. Simple setting is better, and of course the setting of Alien is simple - it's one ship, barely one planet and so on. Still I felt like I didn't completely understand what was going on.

I appreciate this movie, and I recognise it's good, but I don't really like it, which affects the medium score I'm giving this film.

☆☆☆☆☆

5 / 10

Sharknado (2013)

Directed by: Anthony C. Ferrante

Written by: Thunder Levin

When a freak storm hits Los Angeles, the shark will swim on the flooded ground and fly through the in some fucking tornadoes.

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You might be wondering who would even watch Sharknado, but a better question is who would actually write a review of this movie. That's right, I would. I knew Sharknado was a B-movie, and I knew its reputation, yet I was honestly so bored I wanted to watch something and Sharknado seemed stupid enough. That's exactly what I thought to myself before watching this movie: "Well, this seems stupid, let's watch."

I can appreciate B-movies and cult movies, no matter how stupid they are. The makers of these probably don't give a rat's ass about what anyone else might think. In a way I see that profession as one of the best. You can just come up with whatever and make it, and whenever it's viewed as bad you can say "well DOY." These films are mostly fun because of how stupid they are, but they don't always reach that level of hilarity. Did Sharknaddo reach that level? I don't think so.

Sharknado does have few of those amazing funny details that make it hilarious. First of all, the sharks are so shitty, yet everyone reacts to them so dramatically. One of the most ridiculous things about this film is how serious it seems. The soundtrack is dramatic, so is the acting - honestly, I expected something much, much worse - and the way there's a slight hing of some depth in the main characters, though that is nowhere near as deep as what would actually surprise you. 

But while it's all fun and ridiculous, Sharknado is actually pretty boring. While they are all fighting and running for their lives, nothing seems that interesting. You don't root for anyone, and it isn't that much fun you could watch it alone like the best of B-movies. 

Of course Sharknado is bad, it's supposed to be bad. But it's not bad in the fun way, it's just utterly lame and boring. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm disappointed - I thought this would turn out to be better.

☆☆

2 / 10

Knock Knock (2015)

Directed by: Eli Roth

Written by: Anthony Overman & Michal Ronald Ross (story), Eli Roth, Nicolás López & Guillermo Amoedo (screenplay)

Evan's wife and kids are out of town for the weekend, and he's supposed to get some work done. He is interrupted by two girls who are lost. Evan lets them get inside safe from the rain, but it's soon revealed how big this mistake was.

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The first thing I can say about this movie is I'm glad it's over. I didn't exactly enjoy watching this movie, but this is not the kind of "glad it's over" that's result of a really boring, bad movie that mostly made me frustrated. I wanted to see this movie because it is directed by Eli Roth, yet I had no idea it would be this twisted and sick. And when we're talking about horror movies, twisted and sick isn't a bad thing. And the biggest reason for the relief when the closing credits start rolling is the fact that you feel so hopeless during the whole movie. Evan tries his best yet he can't do anything, and all that. While you're watching you think "Even if he is left alive, how could he ever overcome this", and all that.

While Knock Knock is just 99 minutes long, the structure is amazing. The film is very slow, yet that 99 minutes doesn't feel too short. The whole situation develops slowly: at first it's seemingly normal, then turns weird, then turns disturbing, then it's just twisted and you experience all kind of feelings in the "What The Fuck" -spectrum. And that's the most wonderful thing about this film. Every other good technical detail feels kind of blurred after this really fucked up story in general.

Since this film is a remake, it's hard to say which parts of the writing come from the original movie, and what comes from Roth, López, and Amoedo. The dialogue is good. I always say good things about horror movie dialogue: it's natural. Well, maybe not during the most stressful scenes, but when nothing bad is happening, the dialogue is natural, relaxed, and extremely realistic. Another interesting thing are the few humorous moments. The thing is, their timing makes them so bad. They shouldn't be funny but that's why they make you laugh or at least chuckle: they are so horrible, ironic, whatever is the right word.

There are a lot of weird, awkward moments. One semi-annoying scene was when Bel and Evan discussed music, and Evan talks about how diverse his taste in music is. That's like one, two lines, but it feels like it's the writers patting themselves on the back, because they know weird bands or artists they can use in the movie. While all of that chit chat type of dialogue is quite unnecessary, that felt even more gratuitous.

It's hard to say what score Knock Knock would deserve. I was mostly so disgusted and confused it was hard to concentrate to if this is good in the most objective way possible of reviewing a movie. Thinking about the story, cinematography, and all those little things, Knock Knock is average. A viewer's opinion is mostly affected by how you feel during this film. And you without a doubt feel sick and disgusted or maybe even angry about how a movie like this ruined your night. Well yeah, the writers probably wanted that to happen. I don't think a movie like Knock Knock is made so you can enjoy it, it's a sick, twisted horror movie. It's meant to make you feel negatively, so this film definitely did its job.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

6 / 10