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You are here: Home / Archives for thriller

thriller

Dark Skies Review

May 13, 2013 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

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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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Filed Under: Featured, Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: Alien, aliens, alliance, atmosphere, dakota, dark, family, films, goyo, hamilton, josh, kadan, keri, pg-13, pg13, rockett, russell, scifi, scott, skies, stewart, thriller

Hate Crime Review

August 29, 2012 By Horror Palace 1 Comment

Hate Crime Cover PosterMovie: Hate Crime
Year: 2012
Studio: Psykik Junky Pictures
Director: James Cullen Bressack
Stars: Jody Barton, Nicholas Clark, Debbie Diesel
Language: English
Length: 73 Minutes
Sub-Genre: Found Footage, Torture, Thriller

 

Plot: A family is held hostage by sadistic home intruders.

Review: I want to elaborate somewhat on the story as very little is stated on the wide range of horror websites that have summaries. So here goes;  A Jewish middle class family of 5 is celebrating a birthday and Dad always films these special occasions. At the point they were about to sing Happy Birthday there was a loud noise. The father ran to see what it was and 4 masked, swastika tattooed men had gotten into the house, proceeded to gather all the family members, tie them up, degrade and do unimaginable acts of violence. This turns out to be a terrorizing brutal night, a families worst nightmare.

The movie  has a very simple concept, a middle class family is held against there will in their home by 4 masked men and brutally tortured by these Hitler loving racist lunatics. Which is where the movie gets it title Hate Crime.

For starters the film is entirely handheld shaky camerawork which was a turn off immediately! Someone, anyone please tell me why so many directors and film writers are going in this direction????? I absolutely hate the shaky cam. Maybe they think that it adds a sort of realism or makes you feel as though you are in the moment with the actual events that are taking place….hmm….NO I DON’T THINK SO!!

It seems as though most of the movies that go in this direction the characters end up doing some brainless and moronic actions! Picture this "your filming a family gathering to celebrate your son’s birthday when all at once 4 masked men barge into your home wielding guns and knives, I would think that your first instinct would be to drop the fucking camera and try to protect your family, not run and hide under the bed while still filming." It’s actions such as this that really irritates me and alienates me from the story right from the get go.

Some other weak aspects of this movie would be the physical violence, like some scuffles with punches that were clearly obvious misses and if you’re going to commit an act of violent sexual nature then make sure the underwear is off or at least down on the person being violated. Plus, there is no soundtrack!! If this would of had some chilling, eerie music playing in the background in parts it would of boosted my rating for sure!

The gore in this movie is very minimal and the actual acts producing this were shied away from. There are gun shot wounds but no blood. The acting is split across the board in my opinion. Some were convincing in there character roles and others were just blatantly substandard. The men who played the intruders were actually pretty good and they had some hot bodies….lol, as far as the family goes, I was not convinced they feared for their life.

Some good points, oh that’s right there aren’t any……just joking. There is actually a scene that takes place in the opening of the movie in which I was totally shocked, it is something that rarely happens. My jaw dropped and my eyes were bugged out of my head, but they didn’t show it…….oh wow would of loved to see some blood splatter all over there! There also was another potentially gore fest scene in which I would of loved to see what happened but was let down again and only the aftermath was shown. Mr. Bressack had some very good ideas, to me they just fell a little short.

Boy I think this is one movie that could of been a pretty decent horror torture flick if it wasn’t for the handheld shaky camera, have a little more gore, actually show what is taking place and get some actors that are a little more prominent or skilled, who could pull of a convincing part.

I want to thank James Cullen Bressack for giving me the opportunity of watching and reviewing Hate Crime. I think he is a very talented man that has greater things to come.

 

Reviewer: ChrisiFix
Date: 08/29/2012
Rating: 3/10
Recommendation: Avoid
Trailer: N/A
DVD: N/A
BluRay: N/A
Social Media: Twitter

Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: barton, bressack, clark, crime, cullen, debbie, diesel, hate, james, jody, junky, nicholas, pictures, psykik, thriller, torture

Donner Pass Review

August 19, 2012 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

Donner Pass Cover PosterMovie: Donner Pass
Year: 2012
Studio: Arroyo Filmworks
Director: Elise Robertson
Stars: Joel Stoffer, Erik Stocklin, Desiree Hall
Language: English
Length: 86 Minutes
Sub-Genre: Cannibal, Thriller

 

Plot: More than 150 years after a party of settlers came to a gruesome end in the snowbound Donner Pass, a group of teenagers on a ski trip are horrified to discover that someone in the area still has a voracious appetite for human flesh.

Review: The story of George Donner and his party back in the 1800’s who turned cannibalistic never ceases to die. There have been many horror movies of this same premise, most notably Ravenous and the aptly named The Donner Party that starred Crispin Glover. At least Donner Pass is not a dated piece albeit this movie does start with an opening sequence spent back in time that sort of explains the story.

There are a few minimalistic changes in Donner Pass but nothing particularly exciting explaining. The basic idea is that when you eat the flesh of a human it gives you all sorts of power, cravings and hunger for more human flesh; a wendigo, and a dozen more movies in the same vain. It’s always better making sure that the human meat is fresh which gives you even more visions and strength. 

In Donner Pass you are following a bunch of high school students who are out for a good time in the Nevada mountains. The story almost flows like a slasher, you have stalkings (extremely poor ones at that), killings and dumb teenagers that do the opposite things that you would, if you were put into a situation like this. Suffice it to say, the movie drug at times with stupid kid antics and annoying character portrayals.

The acting was hit and miss, with some being bearable and others being utterly annoying. There are a few positives; the film was shot well, the action was discernable and pleasing at times taking place in the snow. And the soundtrack was decent for this style horror movie, nothing outstanding but it did work. Now onto a few negatives; CGI snow and blaring green scenes while in the cars, quite pitiful to be honest. Plus, the climax of the movie was such a let down, predictable, retarded and uneventful.

Finalizing my review of Donner Pass, I would like to throw this out to writers and filmmakers; how about this idea; get off these old legends and stories that have been done umpteen times. You could have had the same movie without ever mentioning the Donner Party with very minor changes. Give us viewers a break because Donner Pass is getting docked a few points simply for rehashing the same old myth. My final words are this; Donner Pass is a run of the mill movie that falls flat on many fronts, chalk this up as an avoid.

 

Reviewer: BillChete
Date: 08/19/2012
Rating: 4/10
Recommendation: Avoid
Trailer: Watch
DVD: Amazon
BluRay: N/A
Social Media: Twitter

Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: arroyo, cannibal, cannibalistic, crispin, desiree, donner, elise, erik, filmworks, george, glover, hall, joel, Party, pass, Ravenous, robertson, stocklin, stoffer, thriller

Dawning Review

June 28, 2012 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

Dawning Cover PosterMovie: Dawning
Year: 2009
Studio: Wholecrue Productions
Director: Gregg Holtgrewe
Stars: Najarra Townsend,  Christine Kellogg-Darrin, Jonas Goslow
Language: English
Length: 82 Minutes
Sub-Genre: Thriller, Supernatural

 

Plot: Strange things start happening when a brother and sister show up to visit their father and step-mother in northern Minnesota, beginning with a mysterious attack on the family dog. But the plot thickens when a stranger appears, and his arrival upsets what at best was only a tentative balance and the pretense at civility begins to crumble. Soon, their lack of trust in each other exposes their weaknesses and what the stranger has started, whatever is waiting in the dark may finish.

Review: Let’s see where to start on this crud. We will begin with a few facts this time. Dawning was made for $115,000 which is quite substantial for an independent horror film. After you see the movie though, you will be in amazement at what in the world it was spent on. Another tidbit for Dawning is; while it is listed as a 2009 movie, which is when the movie wrapped filming, it actually didn’t get released until June 2011, probably due to editing, post-production and distribution.

Moving on to the story. You are dealing with 4 family members the whole movie. And what was such a turn-off is; as a viewer, you are witnessing a dysfunctional family which gets so tiresome and sickening. Sitting through almost 80 minutes of arguing and bantering with nothing happening. You do get a ever so small jolt with the fifth character in the film; a stranger shows up played by Daniel Jay Salmen, who is without a doubt the best actor in Dawning.

Eventually as time passes, grueling time might I add, you are led to believe that there is some unknown evil presence that is coercing and playing tricks on the mind, turning everyone against one another. That is, if you can even make it that far in the film and don’t shut it off. Nothing, and I mean nothing happens in this movie.

Let’s summarize Dawning; stupid story, poor acting, jerky camerawork, weak dialog, completely unbelievable scenarios, and I feel I must spell it out, B-O-R-I-N-G. I struggled to stay focused on this movie, and this is one that you will fall asleep on. Final words, way too many faults and please heed my warning; avoid like the plague.

Reviewer: BillChete
Date: 06/28/2012
Rating: 1/10
Recommendation: Avoid
Trailer: Watch
DVD: Barnes & Noble
BluRay: N/A
Social Media: Twitter

Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: christine, daniel, darrin, dawning, goslow, gregg, holtgrewe, horror, independent, jay, jonas, kellogg, najarra, productions, salmen, thriller, townsend, wholecrue

Enter Nowhere Review

June 15, 2012 By Horror Palace Leave a Comment

Enter Nowhere Cover PosterMovie: Enter Nowhere
Year: 2011
Studio: Caliber Media Company
Director: Jack Heller
Stars: Sara Paxton, Scott Eastwood, Katherine Waterston
Language: English
Length: 89 Minutes
Sub-Genre: Thrillers

 

Plot: After each facing hardships that changed their lives, three strangers find themselves mysteriously gathered at a remote cabin — and as they discover the connection that links them, they must join forces to survive and make it out of the woods.

Review: Enter Nowhere begins with a run-of-the-mill convenience store robbery when one of the assailants wants the clerk to open the safe before escaping the crime. The cashier says something bizarre, and right when you are ready for some action, the story shifts to a woman in the woods with only a broken down cabin around.

From there a few characters appear out of nowhere, and basically, there are 3 people stranded in the woods trying to cope with getting back to their lives. One of the three characters is Sara Paxton from Shark Night 3D and the new, lethargic ghost movie, The Innkeepers.

The story starts to drag at an unprecedented level with the only mystery being how are all these people are connected. Even when it is revealed, 90% of viewers would have probably of guessed what the twist is. There are very few scares and while this does hit the horror genre, it is one that doesn’t particularly deserve it.

There are a few good things to mention with Enter Nowhere, namely the acting, the characters were all vastly different and it made for some interesting conversations. Another positive point is there are a few flashback style scenes that were pulled off well, with crazy coloring, bright hues and spiraling camerawork.

Enter Nowhere was just released on DVD at the end of April, and for the horror fan, their just isn’t anything here to grab your attention or maintain any level of fright whatsoever. The movie is a bore and one I could see many fans stopping the film before it is over and going to something else. Enter Nowhere is a drag and should be avoided. If you want a Sara Paxton film to watch I recommend the remake of The Last House On The Left, a much better horror movie for sure.

Reviewer: BillChete
Date: 06/15/2012
Rating: 3/10
Recommendation: Avoid
Trailer: Watch
DVD: J&R
VOD: Amazon
Social Media: Twitter

Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: caliber, company, eastwood, enter, heller, house, innkeepers, jack, katherine, last, left, media, night, nowhere, paxton, remake, sara, scott, shark, thriller, thrillers, waterston

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