Disturbing

I Spit on Your Grave 2 (2013) Review

September 12, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: (from IMDb) Katie is trying to make it in the cutthroat world of modeling. When she innocently accepts an offer to have new photos taken for her portfolio, the experience quickly turns into an unthinkable nightmare of rape, torture, and kidnapping. When a twist of fate finally frees her from her captors – beaten, battered, bruised, and broken, she will have to tap into the darkest places of the human psyche to not only survive her ordeal, but to ultimately find the strength to exact her brutal revenge.

My Quick Review: A sequel to a remake might not always sound like a good idea with such movies as The Hills have Eyes 2 and Rob Zombie’s Halloween 2 in recent years. But I Spit on Your Grave 2010 is one of the best horror revenge flick in recent years and its sequel is still directed by Steven R. Monroe who did an excellent job 3 years ago.

The movie’s premise is of course similar, with the movie divided in 3 parts: Rape, Failed Escape leading to more Rape and Revenge.

The first hour, once again proves difficult to watch at times but even if the pain and suffering laid upon Katie are. to some extent, even worse than what Jennifer went through, the movie fails to recreate the same crass feeling of the first one.

The revenge part is also a bit of a let down when compared to the imaginative sequences in I Spit on Your Grave 2010, with the exception of the last torture scene that is, by far, one of the hardest to watch (especially if you’re a man). I have seen many torture movies but even I had to look away a few seconds.

So what’s left of I Spit on Your Grave 2 is a satisfying revenge flick with great performances and production values (even for a low budget) that might not reach the highs of the first film but still delivers enough shocks and thrills.

My Rating: 6.5

Director: Steven R. Monroe

Origin: US

Click Here to Watch and Own I Spit On Your Grave 2

I Spit on Your Grave (2010) Review

September 10, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.

My Quick Review: Since the sequel is being released now, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit the remake of one of the classic of rape-revenge movies, I spit On Your Grave.

It’s amazing to think that this movie was directed by Steven R Monroe who also directed House of 9 for 4 times this film budget. The least I can say is that It’s a huge improvement.

I spit on Your Grave looks great, is well shot and scored, and the acting from all the cast is plain brilliant with a special mention to Andrew Howard who plays one of the most despicable character ever put on screen, and of course, Sarah Butler who plays her role as convincingly as possible.

The movie is divided into 2 parts, the rape and the revenge. And if the rape is already tough to stomach (not the worst put on film but still disturbing) the torture scenes that will follow when Jennifer is getting her revenge, are some of the most gruesome, and imaginative I’ve ever seen.

This was my second time watching I Spit on Your Grave and it hasn’t lost its intensity despite having seen numerous revenge/torture movies since.

I have to applaud the cast and crew of the movie to have make one of the best horror remake out there and I’m now ready to dive into the sequel, I Spit on Your Grave 2, still directed by Steve R Monroe.

My Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Steven R. Monroe

Origin: USA

Click Here to Watch and Own I Spit on Your Grave

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

Modus Anomali (2012) Review

August 14, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: A guy wakes up in a shallow grave in the woods with amnesia and has to work out what’s going on. He finds a cabin and the mystery begins to unfold. (from IMDb)

My Review: Modus Anomali is a strong entry into Indonesian horror cinema. Joko Anwar’s (The Forbidden Door, Dead Time:Kala) 4th movie has a simple but efficient pitch that maintains the tension high throughout the whole movie.

By keeping the camera very close to him, Anwar creates a suffocating feeling making us as lost and wary of the surroundings as his main character. While some of the scenes in the forest tend to be a bit on the lengthy side, as soon as something is happening, we are right back in the middle of the action.

On the negative side of things, I wasn’t a big fan of the use of english throughout the film since this is not the actors first language. Why make such a decision, especially since there aren’t that many lines in the film anyway.

The violence in Modus Anomali is raw and sometimes unexpected with the right amount of gory effects while the mystery surrounding the killer(s) in the woods offers a satisfying conclusion. The last reel actually kept me on the edge of my feet.

Once again Joko Anwar is proving that he is a director to definitively keep an eye on and, together with the Mo Brothers (Macabre, Killers) and Gareth Evans (The Raid:Redemption) belongs to an exciting new wave of young directors out of Indonesia..

My Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Joko Anwar

Origin: Indonesia

Art of the Devil II (2005) Review

August 1, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Original Title: ลองของ (Long Khong)

Synopsis: A group of high school friends reunite after two years when one of their fathers’ committed suicide. They all spend the night at their friend’s place. When darkness falls, strange things begin to happen to them one by one. It is as if someone is using the black arts on them in revenge for an act this group of friends committed together back in high school.

My Quick Review: Long Khong’s english name is misleading as there is absolutely no connection with the first Art of The Devil. Western distributors just named the movie Art of the Devil 2 as it does share common use of Thai Black Magic.

Art of the Devil II is a much more graphic movie than the first one and actually ends with one of the hardest to watch torture scene ever put on film (there are some similarities with Audition since we have the pretty girl inflicting pain here as well).

It is a pity then that the script is completely uninteresting and quite confusing in its plot lines.

What could have indeed been a Torture Porn classic ends up short of greatness because the gory/creepy scenes are surrounded by bland storytelling and poorly defined characters.

My Rating: 4.5/10 (5.5/10 for torture lovers).

Director: Ronin Team

Origin: Thailand