Creepy

The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) Review

December 14, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: A man, upon entering his fiancée’s family mansion, discovers a savage family curse and fears that his future brother-in-law has entombed his bride to be prematurely.

My Review: It’s always a nice breath of fresh air to watch old classics after spending weeks looking at bad CGI and found footage movies.

Back in the days, there was a particular care towards building great sets (The House of Usher really comes to live here), casting versatile actors (Vincent Price in one of his best role) and using actual orchestra music to score the most memorable moments and add to the tension of the script.

With that being said I’ve got to admit that House of Usher left me unsatisfied. I expected more creepiness, more scares and a better ending. House of Usher does not have much going for it besides the few positives mentioned in the paragraph before and would probably work better as part of an anthology. I’d have found more pelasure watching it if it had been one of the segment of Black Sabbath for instance.

In the end, if House of Usher works as a good display of Vincent Price and Roger Corman’s skills, it fails in the frightening department and barely spooks its modern viewers.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Roger Corman

Origin: US

Click Here to Own and Watch The Fall of the House of Usher Now

Short of the Week: Sicko (2013)

December 12, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Pitch: Sicko is a “A short experimental horror film, made in a grindhouse style…” featuring a serial killer nightly routine.

Director: Luke Adey and Vincent Gallagher

Origin: UK

Quick Review: I don’t know how I feel exactly about Sicko since it’s not really original (it reminded me of Maniac, which is a good thing actually) but if you’re a fan of vile creepy movies, you will enjoy it.

All Hallow’s Eve (2013) Review

December 7, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: While watching two children on Halloween night, a babysitter finds an old VHS tape in the kids’ trick or treat bag. The tape features three tales of terror, all linked together by a murderous clown.

My Quick Review: I’m a fan of anthology movies and wasn’t expecting much of All Hollow’s Eve but let me tell you now how wrong I was.

All Hollow’s eve, despite its very low budget, is surprisingly good. Everything from the music (reminiscent of the best 80’s horror scores), to the direction (this movie is extremely well shot and edited for an indie movie) and the practical FX (even if they do look like makeups or masks I’d still rather watch practical effects rather than cheap CGIs) help elevating the material at hands (which is not very original I have to admit).

And who can forget Art the Clown, the creepiest clown to be on screen since Stephen King’s IT.

The 3 different shorts within the movie are quite different in looks and stories but all have a specific creep factor and evolve around women being attacked/abducted/murdered in some gruesome ways.

The first one, was shot by Damien Leone, the director, back in 2006 and reminded me of a nightmare out of the imagination of Clive Barker. Fans of demons and other satanic cults will enjoy that one.

The second short is probably the weakest but there is something so weird about the alien invader that, in spite of obvious budget restriction, it all works out in the end.

The last short features Art the Clown in a more prominent way. Here, he is a serial killer chasing an innocent victim. It’s gory, scary and delightfully creepy. I especially loved the ending.

The main story featuring the babysitter ends as expected and was fitting to the rest of the movie.

Despite some lackluster moments, All Hollow’s Eve provides all the necessary scares for fans of anthology movies and killer clowns. Somehow Damien Leone was able to patch all of these segments together and shows that he is a director to keep an eye on. Definitively my Guilty Pleasure of the year so far.

My Rating: 7/10

Director: Damien Leone

Origin: US

Click Here to Own and Watch All Hallow’s Eve Now!

The Bell Witch Haunting (2013) Review

November 22, 2013 by Eric S. 1 Comment

Synopsis: Based on true events. The Robertson County Sheriff’s Department has released footage found on the bodies of the Sawyer family’s cell phones and video cameras. What was first thought to be a murder-suicide is now believed to be the return of a centuries-old demon responsible for America’s most famous paranormal event.

My Quick Review: The Bell Witch Haunting is the latest movie whose story is inspired by the bell witch legend (Blair Witch project being the most famous iteration so far).

While it starts as a standard but honest found footage movie, it quickly loses appeal when the script decides to cram as much “shocking scenes” as possible one after the other.

Suddenly, the acting becomes forced, the situation more ridiculous and useless than the others (the cable guy getting electrocuted in one of the most hilarious death scream I’ve ever heard; the badly made levitating bed cover; the possessed dad coming back home as if nothing happened; same with the sister; the awkward and fairly useless exorcism….).

What’s left of The Bell Witch Haunting is a mess of a movie, ripping off, unsuccessfully, scenes from Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch. If anything, it does prove that you still need talent behind and in front of the camera to make a satisfying found footage movie experience.

My Rating: 4/10

Click Here to Watch The Bell Witch Haunting Online Now!

Imprint (2006) Review

November 9, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: In the 1800s, an American returns to Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with, but instead learns of the psychical and existential horror that befell her after he left.

Quick Review: This segment of Masters of Horror was considered so violent that it wasn’t even shown on cable. While I’m not cautioning this decision, I can understand where it’s coming from.

Indeed, as usual, Takashi Miike does its best job at bringing intense shocking imagery on our screens. All of the biggest american taboos are to be found in Imprint: Incest, Child molestation, conjugal violence and extreme abortion.

Miike’s camera does not shy away from all the horror on display and when an intense torture scene that will make you cringe is not the most shocking scene in the movie, you know you’re in it for a wild ride.

It’s just a pity that Billy Drago’s performance is such an horrendous mess (one of the worst I’ve seen in a long while) and that the whole film has been made in english. Had it been in japanese and the main character played by a more competent actor , I believe the impact would have been greater.

Still, with its nightmarish imagery, violent perversions and great practical fx, Imprint will stay in your mind for a long time.

My Rating: 6.5 (would be higher if not for Billy Drago’s inept acting)

Click Here to Get Takashi Miike’s Imprint on DVD