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Dark Skies Review

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Plot: Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton star in this horror/scifi/thriller as a couple who has trouble convincing friends and neighbors that an alien is entering their house each night to terrorize their children. So they take matters into their own hands.

Review: My expectations for Dark Skies were very low going in. First – It’s a PG-13 horror film. Second – I was told by credible horror critics that it was a dud. My fellow critics are wrong! This is one massive horror surprise to me and I only have a few faults. Continue reading and get your alien freak on.

Finally, a “serious-style” horror film that don’t open with “Based on a true story,” instead we get a great quote before any visuals are present. It goes something like this “There are without a doubt two sides, there is either other intelligent life forms besides us humans or not, these are the facts, in either case both are equally frightening.” What a great statement, and true that, in my case I don’t believe in little green men, but do generally get freaked out by the good horror movies that have them, ala Fire In The Sky, Alien and Screamers, amongst many more.

The story is a simple one; a family of four going through financial troubles gets visited by aliens in their home. At first it starts frivolously but quickly turns downright horrifying. There are numerous jump scenes that literally made my hair stand on my neck. The directors timing was impeccable and had me wincing in my seat holding on for the next one. Plus, it always helps when young kids are involved, I think it raises the level of scare-factor, and in Dark Skies, the youngest (about 6 or 7) is the main target with the mother getting the second brunt of the alien attacks. The movie had an incredible aura and atmosphere, dark in key scenes while the surroundings being lit up enough to be squeamish. Even the subtly faint score was a massive positive, keeping the undertones going strong throughout the whole film with the pop coming at the right times.

While I am praising Dark Skies to the high heavens, there are 2 things that tick down my overall rating, and it mainly comes with the little kid actor. His presence was mediocre at best. While he did have an “invisible friend” as many tots do, when the shit hits the fan, he was emotionless, and at that age you would be scared out of your mind. To me, he just wasn’t a believable cast member, and the producers could of got a better child actor. Secondly, although may seem petty, there is a problem with the story, the kids have marks all over them (from the aliens) and people in power are aware of this. There is no way in hell that the parents would be able to take their 5 year old home from the hospital when he has deep marks and branded-wielding burns. Still though, it doesn’t diminish the film by much.

Dark Skies is about the 50th horror film I seen so far in 2013 and stands above all the rest to date. Dark Skies proves that a PG-13 film can be awesomely scary, even though it don’t happen to often. Do not hesitate whatsoever by getting your hands on Dark Skies as soon as possible. You will not want to leave your seat once while watching, it is so engaging that tests your mind “Is it possible that aliens are here, and if so, could this happen…” Turn off them lights, crank up that sound system and you will “feel” for the family’s plight while being terrified – Dark Skies is a horror hit!

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Railway Children Review

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RAILWAY CHILDREN

Year: 2012
Studio: Independent
Director: Jason Figgis
Stars: Catherine Wrigglesworth, Emily Forster, Adam Tyrrell
Language: English (UK, Ireland)
Length: 1:46
Sub-genre: Infected (zombie)

This haunting film looks at the day to day survival of two sisters, Evie (Catherine Wrigglesworth) and Fran (Emily Forster), as they struggle to survive in the aftermath of a worldwide viral epidemic in which the adult population has been decimated. In a genre which is (let’s just admit it) oversaturated, Director Jason Figgis manages to find a fresh wrinkle. The survivors of the epidemic, must deal with their new surroundings, which continue to be horrific, even though the infected have all (presumably) died.This is the situation the two young sisters find themselves in. To keep each others’ spirits up, they read from the classic childrens book, The Railway Children, that the film gets its name from. Eventually, they encounter other young people who are just trying to survive, as well. These kids, however, have not managed to transition to the new reality as smoothly, and are more hostile and ruthless.

Now this movie is not a conventional horror movie, but it is unsettling, as we follow the two sisters dealing with their challenges, which could result in dire consequences for either one, all the while presenting flashbacks of the encounters many of the characters survived. In these flashbacks, we get most of the horror in this film. It did disappoint me, as a horror fan, that they chose to pull back from anything resembling gore in these sequences, but it did set the psychology of the survivors. The real meat of the story is how the various surviving kids adapt to the situation, and their inherent mistrust of everything, considering they were largely attacked by their infected parents. Some try to survive and maintain a level of morality, most tread the line while huddling together behind amoral, survive as a group mentality, and some dip into the survive at all costs mindset that includes (insinuated) cannibalism. The film definitely brings to mind the classic, Lord of Flies.

The film is shot wonderfully, and presents a nice collection of views from wide shots of surrounding landscape to huddled intimate scenes. It captures the bleak situation of the tale adequately, and is one of the films’ strong points, along with good acting from nearly all participants. The few adult actors do a great job of portraying the madness they suffer once the infection sets in. It is really chilling. Another suprisingly startling scene involves an encounter one of the characters has with a young boy who is alone drawing pictures in an abandoned building. The child’s reaction to being interrupted was well thought out, and helped bring depth to the story.

There really isn’t that much gore at all. An underachieved shotgun wound, and facial contusions are about it. There are the “cannibal” scenes, which are extra disturbing considering it’s small children devouring the human flesh, but it is far from graphic.

The writing is compelling, though it feels as though it could have been better told in a pair of films, or even a miniseries. The pace gets a bit hastened toward the end, and leaves a bit too much of the story unexamined. I really would like to know more about some of the characters.

The soundtrack is very melodramatic. A bit TOO much for my tastes, though I loved the exit track, and some of the main music was enjoyable. Pretty mediocre overall.

That being said, this film gets in your head, and you really get behind the two sisters in their struggle. It is also a very female led event, which ads to the appeal of the movie. I can’t begin to recommend it to the hardcore horror audience, due to it’s underwhleming lack of gore, but those whose tastes are a bit more adventurous will certainly find much to like in this little gem of a movie!

Reviewer: Boss Butcher

Date: 11/26/2012

Rating: 7/10

Recommendation: High rent /For Hardcore horror fans: AVOID

Video Diary Of A Lost Girl Review

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Video Diary Of A Lost Girl

 

Year: 2012

Studio: Independent

Director: Lindsay Denniberg

Stars: Priscilla McEver, Casey Puccini, Chris Shields

Language: English (USA)

Length: 1:35

Sub-Genre: Demon, Artsy, Feminism

 

Let me start this review by saying that certain viewers will probably find this film magical. I, however, do not fit into that category. I am not in the target audience.  I can see the level of thought and expression that was captured, but it doesn’t appeal to me in very many ways. I feel confident it won’t appeal to you either.

Synopsis: A young woman who works in a video rental store realizes that the man she has been having a relationship with is the ghost of a former lover. That is because she is basically the offspring of the first female creation, Lillith. She is a Lillin, or a succubus. when she copulates, the male participant dies.  She is torn. She really loves this man, but if she follows the relationship to its natural destination, he will die. If she doesn’t, SHE will die.

 

Video Diary of A Lost Girl is a film that most viewers will probably turn off in the first 10 minutes. Only the artistic/creative types will ever venture further.  It begins with a setup scene, shot on video with many green screen effects and blacklight color elements that portray Lillith’s betrayal and rape by Adam. Lillith leaves for the red sea and copulates with many demons and gives birth to a new race of females: The Lillins. They are basically succubi.

After the intro credits, the story becomes a pinch more conventional, however it is still shot in the garish tones of a black light poster and the scenes are more reminiscent of a stage production than that of a motion picture. The acting is less that stellar, but there are a few moments one can get lost in. The lines are campy, but a few manage to get a chuckle. One happens when the suitor of Louise (the main character) puts on 3D glasses at Nosferatu. Louise says, “You do know this isn’t in 3D?” to which he remarks. “No. But YOU are.” That’s about as good as it gets in this flick.

The writing is a mixed bag. I actually like the idea of the conflicted Lillin, Louise. Trying to decide whether to follow her desires and love the man who is in love with her (which will result in his death),  or follow her heart and die by not copulating with him. The execution is another thing. The script is mostly boring, and not delivered well by the actors.

Then there is the visual presentation. The cinematography is adequate. everything is in frame. It is captured well enough. It is shot overwhelmingly with green screen effects with dayglo tones. It is simply not for everyone. It is merciless in it’s presentation of this style. You will either like it or hate it. I liked it…for a while. But watching over one and a half hours of this style was tedious to me, and I feel most viewers will share my sentiments. I did like some of the creative uses of video static in the moon and Louise’s menstrual blood. Credit that to green screen cinematographer, Taylor Wood.

As far as the acting goes, Priscilla McEver is by far the best actor, but her good moments are a bit sporadic. Also of note is Casey Puccini who portrays Louise’s boss at the video store. He provides a bit of stability, ironically.

The music was by far the most appealing part of this movie for me. It is a driving soundtrack of alternative, new wave sounds. Some of the tracks are reminiscent of Siousxie and the Banshees, which was cool. there are also some cool low key electronica spots during transitional moments that I found enjoyable. Another inclusion that helped this movie along was the interspersed clips of great old (public domain) horror flicks including, Nosferatu, Night of the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls.

This movie will appeal to a narrow segment of the movie-going public, but even more adventurous viewers will find that Video Diary of a Lost Girl leaves them cold.

 

Reviewer: Boss Butcher

Date: 11/10/2012

DVD: N/A

Rating: 3/10

Recommendation: Avoid

The Card Player Review

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Plot: Police officer Anna Mari tries to stop a card playing serial killer in this chilling tale from Dario Argento. Anna’s forced into a dangerous game with the maniac, and if she loses, she must witness the gruesome deaths of the man’s victims via webcam.

Review: Many things in life are seemingly determined by luck.  Meeting the girl of your dreams on a random stop at a coffee house or hitting the daily lotto numbers are two great examples.  However, in the Dario Argento film The Card Player, a serial killer uses luck as the ultimate form of terror.

The premise of the film revolves around a serial killer that goes by the name of The Card Player.  He kidnaps women and kills them over the internet based on the outcome of a single game of Video Poker.  If the killer’s opponent loses the hand, the person on screen is tortured and then killed.

As the film progresses, the film winds up being a game of cat and mouse between the serial killer and the local police.  The killer presents several potential victims to the police and each time they play against him, they lose and the victims are killed.

When the commissioners daughter is kidnapped, the police enlist the help of a poker prodigy to try and free the girl.  The poker pro is successful in securing her release but the killer is now suspect something is amiss and things go downhill from there.

This films sees the police use state of the art technology and criminology in order to track down this killer.  Overall, this film comes across less as a horror movie and more like an episode of the hit TV series CSI.

That is not necessarily a bad thing as CSI is one of the highest rated shows in CBS history.  Those looking for lots of blood and gore will be a bit disappointed as this film does not take advantage of that as other films created by Argento in the past.

However, The Card Player is a solid attempt to integrate the madness of a serial killer with modern technology.  If one does not go into watching this movie expecting a classic horror movie and approaches it more like a psychodrama, it should prove to be a rather enjoyable experience.

Overall Rating – 6.5/10

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Jacob Review

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Jacob

Year: 2011
Studio: Odyssee Pictures
Director: Larry Wade Carrell
Stars: Grace Powell, Dylan Horne,Krystn Caldwell (Psychic Experiment), Larry Wade Carrell, Leo D. Wheeler (Domain of the Damned), Joe Grisaffi, Parrish Randall, Jeremy James Douglas Norton
Language: English (USA)
Length: 1:32
Sub-Genre: Revenge, Supernatural, Slasher

Plot: Sheriff Andy and his Deputy, Billy have a big problem on their hands: the enormous son of a local waitress, named Jacob. Only Jacob’s sister, a small but strong girl stands between Jacob unleashing an unstoppable killing spree on their little Texas town. What happens if she can’t stop him anymore, and he listens to the evil spirits he hears?

Review: This indie film, directed by Larry Wade Carrell, brings what I would call an entertaining and even fun horror movie experience. Despite it’s faults, which I will detail, I really enjoyed this movie, and it’s throwback feel. The movie starts with the Sheriff being called because a group of local boys on their bicycles are headed toward and abandoned house that is part of a local legend. The Sheriff (played by director, Larry Wade Carrell) talks with the one boy left behind, which leads into the main body of the story. Back in the 70s, when Sheriff Billy was just a young deputy, and was called out with then Sheriff Andy, to a domestic abuse call. When they arrive, they find the abusive man of the house (who happens to be Billy’s brother, Otis) on the verge of being killed by his huge, mentally challenged stepson, Jacob. Jacob isn’t responding to their orders until his little sister gently takes his hand and leads him away. From here, the story follows Otis’ wife, Edith who is a waitress at the local diner. Edith was previously married to a man named Lawrence Kell, who had inherited a house and became obssessed with it and a strange book he found in the floorboards. This unleashed evil spirits which drove Kell to a showdown with the small community. These spirits are still around, but only Edith’s daughter and son, Sissy and Jacob, can hear them. Sissy’s gentle guidance of her brother is all that stands in the way of history repeating itself, as their home life threatens to boil over.

The acting in this film is a mixed bag, but I really enjoyed the dual roles performed by Larry Wade Carrell, who plays both Billy and his drunken, violent brother Otis. I particularly enjoyed his portrayal of Otis with his mullet style hair, and exaggerated expressions. The little girl, Sissy (Grace Powell) was charming, as well, and Dylan Horne who plays Jacob looks menacing, with his hulking stature and bald head. Also of note is a cameo by the car from John Carpenter’s Christine, and a nice performance from Michael Beihn (Aliens, The Terminator, Planet Terror) as Lawrence Kell.

Though the locations and sets are mostly good, there are a few flaws, such as squad car lights that appear unstable. The props are good, especially the evil book and occult items that are found in the house. There are also many nice old cars in the film, and I missed any anachronisms, if there were any.

When it comes to makeup and practicals, the overall execution is good. The blood and gore effects are nice, and compliment the wide variety of kills in the film. Everything from dismemberments, stabbings, and bodies cut assunder are covered. My two favorites are a body cut in half by a machete, and a nice head bash with a unique weapon called The Slugger. It is basically a baseball bat fitted with a buzzsaw blade. The detached limbs are a bit rubbery, but it is forgivable. The one glaring flaw in regards to makeup is the aging effects and the moustaches and sideburns. They are fairly destracting, but not fatal to the story by my estimation. I didn’t detect any cgi in this movie. Maybe on some of the gunshots.

The camera work is good overall, and at times the film has the appearance of a bigger budget production. This also comes into play regarding the soundtrack. Really the only part of the soundtrack I disliked was at the beginning when the local boys are riding through the town like a bunch of rascals. It just had a Disney-like quality that felt out of place in a horror film.

I am going to recommend watching this movie when it becomes available. It isn’t a particularly scary film, but it does have some gore and a nice, satisfying payoff toward the end. It is a fun, old school revenge tale, and is a bit humorous without a bunch of overbearing comedy. A nice balance which I found entertaining.

Reviewer: Boss Butcher

Date: 10/25/2012

DVD: N/A

Rating: 6.5/10

Recommendation: Strong rental

Social Media: Odyssee Pictures on Facebook