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Scary

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) Review

February 5, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

paranormal activity the marked ones reviewSynopsis: Jesse begins experiencing a number of disturbing and unexplainable things after the death of his neighbor. As he investigates, it isn’t long before Jessie finds he’s been marked for possession by a malevolent demonic entity, and it’s only a matter of time before he is completely under its control.

Quick Review: Many people dubbed the marked ones: The latino paranormal activity. Sure, we are going away from the usual white upper class neighborhood to some more middle class grounds but there is not much in terms of latino culture, if not for some tired cliches (the funny grandma who only speaks spanish, the gang-bangers…).

So what are we left with here? Paranormal Activity The Marked Ones plays out a bit differently than its predecessors, for the best (we are getting out of the confine of one main location) and the worst ( I did miss the security cameras from previous episodes.

The story is all about possession again and, similar to recent previous entries, ends up within the witchcraft community.

What really bothers me this time around was the actual reason behind the whole camera shoots: there is simply none. I know the found footage concept is getting tired but somehow it was made more obvious in this movie than any other Paranormal Activity before.

There is a reason to set up security cameras around one’s house to check for “paranormal activities”, there is none to follow your pals around with a camera and always keep it in your hands while being chased by crazy and/or possessed people.

My verdict: The Marked Ones is slightly better than Paranormal Activity 4 but still not up to the scare factor of the first three entries.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Christopher Landon

Origin: US

Filed Under: Hollywood Horror Movies Tagged With: Demon, found footage, Scary, Supernatural

In The Mouth of Madness (1994) Review

December 15, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

in the mouth of madness reviewSynopsis: An insurance investigator begins discovering that the impact a horror writer’s books have on his fans is more than inspirational.

My Quick Review: It feels so good to watch In The Mouth of Madness almost 20 years since I first watched it in theater.

Back then I was a teenager and already a big fan of Horror Movies, and John Carpenter was the Man, the Master of Horror who had yet to make a bad movie (I’m not considering Memoirs of an invisible man to be a Carpenter’s movie). In the Mouth of Madness was fascinating to my younger self and I have to say it hasn’t lost much of its impact with me after a second viewing.

This is indeed Carpenter at his best and while the film is a blatant homage to horror writers such as Stephen King and of course HP Lovecraft (whose work heavily influenced the creatures introduced in this film) it also fits well with 2 of his other monsters/apocalypse movies, The Thing and Prince of Darkness.

Carpenter relies heavily on practical effects and makeup (highly appreciated in an age of everything digital) and succeeds in creeping us by giving us a feeling of uneasiness thanks to some truly nightmarish visuals (The old guy on a bicycle, the husband handcuffed to his wife ankle, the arm creeping outside Sam Neil’s asylum room, the  painting…).

if you’re a fan of Carpenter or Lovecraft or just an old-school horror afficionado, you can’t afford to miss In the Mouth of Madness, one of the most underrated gem in John Carpenter’s career.

My Rating: 8/10

Director: John Carpenter

Origin: US

Click Here to Own and Watch In The Mouth of Madness on Blu-Ray Now

 

Filed Under: Hollywood Horror Movies Tagged With: Classic, Creepy, Demon, John Carpenter, Monsters, Scary, Supernatural

All Hallow’s Eve (2013) Review

December 7, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

All Hallow's Eve reviewSynopsis: 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!

Filed Under: Indie Horror Movies Tagged With: anthology, Clown, Creepy, Demon, Gory, Monsters, Scary, Supernatural

Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) Review

October 17, 2013 by Eric S. 5 Comments

insidious chapter 2 review Synopsis: The haunted Lambert family seeks to uncover the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world.

My Quick Review: I have to admit that after watching the first Insidious, Chapter 2 was a bit of a letdown.

It was to be expected since I knew that we would be spending more time into the Further than we did in the first movie. And this was definitively not my favorite part of Insidious.

Chapter 2 starts with a young Josh being haunted by the ghost who appeared at the end of Insidious. There we met a young Elise who successfully help Josh get rid of it as well as his memories and abilities in astral projection.

Back to the present, Josh is possessed and his family starts to feel something is off. The haunting of their new home will push Renai to seek some paranormal help again.

The main problem with Insidious Chapter 2 is the lack of genuine scares. I believe I only had one jolt whereas I had more than a few in the first Insidious (even during a second viewing). The main ghost here is not creepy enough and his backstory is somewhat lacking as well.

I did appreciate the way some events tie in directly into the first movie (similar to how some Saw sequels explained some events of past movies) and, technically, the film is superb. James Wan has truly become a Master Of Horror and he will be missed by horror fans as he apparently decided to quit doing scary movies for a while.

If you enjoyed the second half of Insidious you will love the way Chapter 2 expands on the Further. For people looking for more scares, they might be a bit disappointed and should maybe stick with The Conjuring, the scarier of James Wan 2013 movies.

My Rating: 6/10

Director: James Wan

Origin: US

Filed Under: Hollywood Horror Movies Tagged With: Creepy, Ghost, James Wan, kids, PG 13, Scary, Supernatural

Insidious (2010) Review

October 16, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

insidious reviewSynopsis: A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.

My Quick Review: Since I will finally be able to watch Insidious Chapter 2 at my local theater, I thought it would be best to watch the first Insidious again since part 2 is supposed to start right at the end of the first story.

Back in 2010 I had rated Insidious 7/10 but while I was watching it again I had the feeling that I had been a bit harsh and the movie deserved even a higher rating since the first 40mn or so had me on the edge of my seat again and actually made me jump a few times (and there were some hair rising creepy stuff as well).

Unfortunately, the second half of the movie reminded me why my rating went down. As soon as Darth Maul appears (couldn’t find better description for the demon) the scare factor goes down a notch and we are more in pure fantastic zone than in frightening zone. While it keeps things moving and quite original, everything happening in the Further is, at least for me, not as interesting as the moments of tension and the sudden ghosts apparition found in the beginning of the movie.

But believe me that, despite the change of dynamic halfway through, Insidious is an extremely well made horror movie and probably one of the scariest of recent memory (an even more impressive feat when knowing that this is PG13 stuff). Highly recommended to all haunted house movies fans.

My Rating: 7/10

Director: James Wan

Origin: US

Click Here to Own and Watch Insidious Now!

Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews Tagged With: Creepy, Demon, Ghost, haunted house, James Wan, PG 13, Scary, Supernatural

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