Ghost

The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh

January 11, 2014 by Eric S. 1 Comment

Synopsis: An antiques collector inherits a house from his estranged mother only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult. Soon, he comes to suspect that his mother’s oppressive spirit still lingers within her home and is using items in the house to contact him with an urgent message

My Quick Review: It’s tough to be too negative with a movie that shows a lot of heart and is trying something new with the genre.

With that being said it’s also hard to recommend a movie that should have been a short segment in an anthology and that is stretched way past the point of boredom.

The Last Will is all atmosphere and rests on the shoulder of his main character, perfectly played by Aaron Poole and voiced by Vanessa Redgrave. This is a movie about loneliness and fanatic religion and as such it works and makes you think. That is, if you can stay awake and get involved with the story.

Because if you’re looking for genuine scares, you might have already turned off your screen before anything really exciting happens.

Rodrigo Gudino (founder of Rue Morgue) shows talent behind the camera but The Last Will should have been another short of his since it does not have enough meat to sustain a full length feature.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Rodrigo Gudiño

Origin: Canada

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The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill (2013) Review

December 19, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: In 2010, a documentary team was assembled to investigate the legend of the Clophill witches and to try and uncover the truth behind the paranormal events. What followed during that long weekend at Clophill was a terrifying journey into the unknown.

My Quick Review: Clophill is a UK entry to the Fake documentary genre and, despite some lengthy exposure, it does the job.

While watching Clophill you feel like you’re watching one of those Ghost chasers show, and this is actually not as bad as it sounds. The documentary crew seem genuine enough and the location is an actual infamous haunted ground.

If you’re into paranormal stories based on real places/events, you should be able to enjoy Clophill and get yourself immersed in the story. And this is probably the only way you will be able to feel some jolts towards the end when there is a cresecendo in the ghostly happenings.

It’s a pity that the filmakers (who are behind the Zombie Diaries movies) felt they had to add some family scenes (in the beginning and at the end) to give the movie more meat and bring even more scares towards the end. Those scenes are the weakest and fell very staged.

The documentary part works as a creepy investigation of the paranormal and will satisfy a niche audience. For most horror fans though, the lack of scares or genuine horror will have them turn off their tv way before the movie ends.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Michael Bartlett, Kevin Gates

Origin: UK

The Castle Project (2013) Review

November 28, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: As Brian and his team tackle the intimidating task of renovating the historic Croke Patterson Mansion in Denver, CO into a Bed and Breakfast hotel, the workers begin to report supernatural occurrences, from sightings of apparitions, whispering voices and peculiar odors.

My Quick Review: I’m still not sure about the true motivation behind Brian Higgins’ film The Castle Project.

Is it a 100% real documentary, another “haunted house” found footage movie, some twisted christian propaganda or a great commercial for his newly opened Bed&Breakfast inn. Somehow I believe it’s a mix of all the aforementioned.

The movie quickly grabs the viewer’s attention with quick editing between previous home owners interviews, and a few live shot inside the house. When Brian starts to record himself spending the night in the mansion, the creep factor goes up a notch and, at this point, we are expecting some well deserved frights, that never come. It’s a pity that from this point forward, the documentary turns into some journey in the search of purgatory’s history and christian art throughout the ages.

The Castle Project ends with a somewhat interesting but far fetched explanation for all the unexplained events that have happened in the Croke Patterson mansion. It’s an unsatisfying ending that leaves us wanting more but works well as a teaser to the soon to be opened (at the time of shooting) inn.

My Rating: 6 (as a documentary) 4 (as a horror movie).

Director: Brian Higgins

Origin: US

Click Here to watch The Castle Project Online 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!

Hashima Project (2013) Review

November 5, 2013 by Eric S. 2 Comments

Synopsis: A group of film students are being sent on a mission to shoot a documentary about the infamous haunted Hashima Island in Japan. When they come back something evil has followed them.

My Quick Review: Went to see this one in my local theater the first week it was showing. I’m a big fan of Thai Horror and so far 2013 has been quite disappointing, with most of the movies trying to replicate Pee Mak formula.

I was glad that Hashima project wasn’t another poor attempt at horror comedy and did come back to the roots of thai horror: ghosts and possession.

Its a pity that the talent behind the camera does not quite match the one in front of it. From the trailer, I guessed, wrongly, that there would be a lot of found footage style scenes and the movie looks to be a good mix between traditional thai horror and found footage movies such as Grave Encounters.

The problem is that the first half of the movie has a great real location but lacks any creepy tension that you might expect from such movies. There are some jump scares but they are not well timed and totally unoriginal.

The second half goes more into ghostly apparition/possession stuff but again the director fails to create any kind of atmosphere and we are left watching the unfolding events without any emotion.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Piyapan Choopetch

Origin: Thailand