Exorcism

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!

This is The End (2013) Review

September 17, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: (from IMDb) While attending a party at James Franco’s house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and many other celebrities are faced with the apocalypse.

My Quick Review: OK, This is The End is not your typical Horror Movie and some might frown upon having this film on a Horror Movies Blog.

With that being said, there is no denial that there are a few elements of horror in This is the End, and after all, I already reviewed A Haunted House so why not another mainstream Horror Comedy to the list.

This is the end is a buddy/movie or should I say buddies, reuniting most of the cast of Pineapple Express. Those actors are friends and it shows. Most of the dialogue is classic Judd Appatow/Seth Rogen stuff, so expect very crude language and a lot of swearing.

What makes This is The end belong into the Horror Comedy genre are the few violent gory deaths and the demons apparitions. The special effects are well done and there are a couple of efficient jump scares as well.

There are of course many cameos in this movie but if there is one everybody will remember it is Michael Cera’s. He plays such an obnoxious d***head that you almost wonder if he is like that in real life (probably not). Watch out for Channing Tatum as well, who is not afraid to play against character!!

As a horror comedy This is The End works well but if you’re not a fan of James Franco or Seth Rogen and hated Pineapple Express or Superbad, then this movie won’t be for you (unless you like to see a lot of demon cock).

My Rating: 7/10

Director: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen

Origin: US

Click Here to Watch This is The End Online Now!

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 Devil Inside Review

May 12, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Year: 2012

Director: William Brent Bell

Summary: (from IMDb) In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism.

My Short Review: When it first came out in theaters, The Devil Inside received a lot of bad press and critical backlash. I usually do not pay much attention to reviews and prefer to make my own opinion of a movie before actually starting to read what other people think of a film.

But somehow, those negative ratings kind of pushed The Devil Inside on the bottom of my watch-list. Until 2 days ago, when I find it to be on a TOP 10 of 2012 Horror movies List. Then, of course I had to see it.

And I have to admit, while I do not regret my decision, I can only add to the negative reviews that this movie received.

The Devil Inside is another found-footage movie with exorcism and demons at the center of the plot. The problem is that, apart from one exorcism scene that is well made, and a couple of classic jump scares (involving a dog and some loud noises), the movie is just plain boring.

On top of that I really could not get past the fact that suddenly everybody in Italy can speak very good english, including priests, cops, nurses…… If you set your movie in Italy, at least do some efforts and have most of the characters talk in Italian.

And the end….well, I can definitively understand why most of the audiences who watched The Devil Inside were booing and throwing stuff at screens. Just when everything started to be exciting, the movie ends abruptly and tells us to go check a website to know more… WTF??!!

It reminded me of the end of Blair Witch when the movie would also end during a high tension scene, but somehow it was way more effective back then and kinda served the story. Not really the case here.

My Rating: 4/10.

Click Here to Own and Watch The Devil Inside Now!