Horror Movie Reviews

You will find on this page all the latest Horror Movie Reviews. My reviews are usually short and avoid spoilers. The idea is to give you a quick feedback on whether I believe a movie is worth watching or not.

Feel free to agree and disagree in the comments or submit your own reviews.

The Conjuring (2013) Review

August 28, 2013 by Eric S. 1 Comment

Synopsis: (from IMDb) Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.

My Quick Review: I have to admit I wasn’t as impressed by The Conjuring as most of my fellow reviewers/critics.

Is it an efficient horror movie that provides a few scares and thrills? Most certainly so. Is there anything original about the proceedings? Unfortunately not.

Of course I did enjoy the 70’s settings and how James Wan is paying homage to some of the biggest classics from this period (The Exorcist and The Amityville Horror come to mind of course). He is crafty enough to give it a modernized style inspired by Asian Horror Cinema.

Therefore, the movie relies on tense build-ups, rare ghost/demon sightings and convincing performances to provide the goods, and you will find yourself looking for things in the dark more than once. But this is where the main problem lies. By not wanting to show us much, the scares are few and far between.

James Wan is improving as a movie director with each of his movie and the Conjuring is probably his best-made film so far. Unfortunately it’s not the scariest (Insidious was) or the most horrific (Saw). It’s an extremely decent hollywood horror movie but for horror fans there is something lacking.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Director: James Wan

Origin: US

The Forbidden Door (2009) Review

August 25, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Original Name: Pintu Terlarang

Synopsis: The life of a successful sculptor is turned upside down when he begins receiving mysterious messages from someone who asks for his help.

My Quick Review: My first Anwar’s movie experience was recently with Modus Anomali, a very intense Thriller with a twist. I was already seduced. But this Lynchian experience that is The Forbidden Door has cemented my initial feelings.

With Pintu Terlarang, Joko Anwar definitively proves indeed, that he is a master storyteller and cinematographer and a director/writer to keep following in years to come.

The movie’s visual clues, the shocking bursts of violence (some child abuse scenes are especially hard to stomach) and the excellent acting across the board (special mention to Fachry Albar in the main role) all add to the eeriness of Pintu Terlarang and will keep you guessing till the end.

The Forbidden Door is a movie that truly deserves multiple viewings to be better appreciated and understood. It is far from being perfect (some plot points drag a bit too long and the editing has a few problems as well) but I, for one, cant wait to see what’s next for Joko Anwar.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Joko Anwar

Origin: Indonesia

Apartment 1303 (2007) Review

August 22, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: (from IMDb) A modern ghost story which turns a love hate relationship between mother and daughter into a tale of horror.

My Quick Review: I can’t believe that they actually made a remake from Apartment 1303, a subpar entry into the Japanese Horror Movie genre.

There is nothing fresh about this haunted apartment ghost story and the usual tricks are being deployed, this time with poor camera work and atrocious acting.

Except for the main actress, Noriko Nakagoshi, everybody’s acting is extremely laughable, especially in the first 15mn of the film. As for the “scares” I was unimpressed and the ending is just plain silly.

Apartment 1303 is a pale copy of far superior movies such as Ju-On and Dark Water, and it seems that the recent american remake is even worse. Bravo!

My Rating: 4/10

Director: Ataru Oikawa

Origin: Japan

Art of the Devil 3 (2008) Review

August 21, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Original Title: Long Khong 2

Synopsis: The youngster Ta returns to his hometown. He misses his mother Daun, who was poisoned by his father Prawase, and soon he learns that his family will use black magic to bring her back. However, Ta’s family will quickly discover the price of the black magic.

My Quick Review: I was a bit confused while watching Long Khong 2 until I realized this was actually a prequel to the first Long Khong (Art of the Devil 2).

The problem with a movie like Art of the devil 3 is that it actually deserved to be called a Torture Porn movie since we can actually fast forward through most of the movie just to watch the good stuff. With no characters to relate to or empathize with, and a messy script, Art of the Devil 3 only exists for its Black Magic scenes. And then again there is nothing we haven’t seen in Art of the Devil 2, and usually not as impressive or gruesome.

My Rating 4.5/10

Chernobyl Diaries (2012) Review

August 20, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.

My Quick Review: For some reason I had it in my mind that chernobyl diaries was a found footage movie. I had seen it in some found footage list, and the trailer, as i recalled, looked to be this way as well.

Apart from some scenes, Chernobyl Diaries is shot in a traditional way, albeit using a lot of tricks and jump scares found usually in found footage movies.

But I believe Chernobyl diaries is actually a better movie this way. The first half of the movie creates the right amount of tension and characters exposition to get us ready for what is to come.

Unfortunately, once the nature of the “monsters” who are after our group of tourists is revealed, Chernobyl Diaries starts to accumulate genre cliches at an alarming rate. What was a fine chiller during the first 45mn or so, become a generic “run for your life” movie that never really lives up to its potential.

Despite its problems, I would still recommend Chernobyl Diaries as I did enjoy the ride and never looked at my watch once which is already more than I can say about most of the movies I review.

My Rating: 6/10

Director: Bradley Parker

Origin: US

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