Horror Movie Reviews

Cults are a problem that continue to plague society. We as outsiders particularly find them fascinating in regard to their practices and way of life. Films about cults typically do well, from The Village to Eyes Wide Shut to The Master.

Children of Sorrow tells the story of Ellen (Hannah Levien) who attempts to locate her missing sister by joining a religious cult in an isolated desert location, where her sister was last known to be. The cult, being lead by Simon Leach (Bill Oberst Jr.) consists of several members who all have different backstories and are looking for belonging, community and acceptance. However after a short period of time from arriving, Ellen discovers just how insane Simon and his followers eventually become and finds that much darker things are going on.

Perhaps the creepiest thing that can be said about this film is that it portrays cults realistically and that, in reality, these cults are not fictitious. For centuries cultic groups have risen up, lead by so-called prophets. From the deCloud and Manson families to Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple to Heavens Gate, these groups often end with tragic results with their members being brainwashed into committing drastic actions.

Most of the film is shot from a first person perspective. Ever since the hugely successful horror film The Blair Witch Project was released in 1999, the camcorder filming style has become a favored technique of filming with independent filmmakers for its simplicity and ability to work on a micro budget, which this film definitely falls under. If you are a fan of this particular genre, this film might be worth watching.

https://youtu.be/CW_FRa5HhNE

This film accomplishes what is set out to do, which is to shoot a realistic looking mockumentary. Hannah Levien and Bill Oberst Jr. give the best performances in this movie. Most of the other actors do a decent job in portraying everyday people who slowly become more and more brainwashed. The characters are given some backstory which leads to better character development than other horror films. But overall there isn’t anything special this film adds or contributes that hasn’t been done before.[amzn_product_inline asin=’B00GOYHSBU’]

One thing this film can be sometimes is slow. It takes awhile for things to really get interesting and might become boring for some viewers. Also, even though this is filmed with the camcorder technique, sometimes the camera shakes a lot. So much that it sometimes becomes irritating and can distract us from dramatic moments.

Watching the members of this cult being brainwashed into believing Simon Leach is an elevated human being is sometimes creepy. But I felt the transition from calm to extreme creepiness is a little too fast. A slower build up to insanity would have worked better for this film. This is director Jourdan McClure’s second film and his first time producing and also writing, and it’s certainly not too bad. If you’re a fan of the  “found footage” genre, you might enjoy this movie. But if you’re not too cracked up about the genre, I’d suggest passing this one by.

MOVIE RATING

Reviewed by Ivan Karhoff
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The Exorcist, Halloween and Psycho are some of the best horror films ever created. One film that won’t be part of that list is The Zombinator directed by Sergio Myers. This micro-budget zombie film accomplishes something that very few films can, which is being totally unredeemable in anyway. In nearly every area of this film, from the script to the acting and the effects are a disaster. And what’s worse is it’s not even a horror film that’s so bad it’s funny, like Plan 9 From Outer Space.

The Zombinator revolves around a successful fashion designer who is the subject of a documentary being filmed in a small town in Ohio. All of a sudden a zombie apocalypse breaks out and a man called The Zombinator appears and tries to stop the breakout because he knows who’s responsible.

The film is shot in the exact style as Diary of the Dead and The Blair Witch Project. It’s the favored style with low-budget films because it’s inexpensive. Which is a completely acceptable thing, when it’s done right. The acting by the characters is awful, but because it’s in a documentary style, it’s supposed to be realistic. They could’ve casted any rookie actor to play the roles, which they did. There are way too many characters to follow, in the beginning there’s around eight or ten. And because we know nothing about them we don’t care when they die. In one scene a couple breaks up, but since we don’t know them and their acting is horrendous, we don’t care.

In the beginning there’s a scene where the characters are at a wake. It’s one of the most bizarre scenes ever. A young troop died overseas and yet it looks like a party. Everyone’s drinking alcohol, there’s a heavy metal band and it’s full of younger, college-aged kids. I have doubts as to wether or not the director even knew what a wake was. And probably one of the biggest flaws ever in a plot occurs near the beginning. A seemingly innocent man appears to some of the main characters to talk when all of a sudden creepy music starts to play. I don’t recall music playing at all up until that point, and the conversation was friendly, so obviously he must be a bad guy.

While watching I couldn’t help but notice some similarities to another bad horror movie, Birdemic: Shock and Terror. But with that film, it’s so bad it’s funny while The Zombinator isn’t funny for its level of awfulness. Both feature very successful women in fashion who become endangered after a breakout occurs of something wanting to kill them. If this film would’ve had a little worse acting and didn’t consist of scenes that were in small spaces, The Zombinator might of joined the club of films so awful their enjoyable like Troll 2 and The Room.

I could go on and on with what’s wrong with this film. Other problems include jump cuts during action scenes, not containing a single scary moment, horrible dialog including “I guess we’re alive until we die.” not to mention the terminator looking guy is hardly in the film despite being on the movie poster, he’s present probably twenty five percent of the time. Just avoid this film at all costs.

 MOVIE RATING

Reviewed by Ivan Karhoff
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