Teenage

The Dirties (2013) Review

January 9, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: Two best friends are filming a comedy about getting revenge on the bullies at their high school. One of them isn’t joking.

My Quick Review: I have to admit, I feel kind of cheated by The Dirties. The whole movie teases you of a big impending doom that never completely comes and, as such, the ending is a big letdown.

The Dirties takes a found footage approach to tell this classic story of High School Bullying. The use of POV shots is justified by the movie within the movie trick and, it kinda work at the beginning but, as the film moves on, you’re just wondering about the mute cameramen and why they are always there shooting.

Both main characters are immediately sympathetic and the dialog never feels forced. It’s therefore very easy to connect with and get attached to them.

The tension slowly rises when it becomes obvious than one of the duo is getting more serious about filming an actual shooting and his sense of reality starts to blur away.

The problem with The Dirties is that this creates a lot of buildup but not much reward in the end and therefore, seems pointless.

So, while The Dirties has 2 main leads with great chemistry and a skillful blend of dark humor and dread, it ultimately fails to deliver anything new or original to the genre . Skip it if you’re looking for something grittier and with more horror/violence.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Matt Johnson

Origin: Canada

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House at the End of the Street (2012) Review

November 27, 2013 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: When a teenager and her mother move to a little town, the girl finds that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. But things get complicated when she befriends a boy who is the only survivor in the accident.

Quick Review: Unfortunately, I don’t have much to say about House at the End of the Street since it is an average run-of-the-mill pshycho-killer story.

Everything here is generic (victimized loner, cute heroine showing cleavage in tank top, clueless adults, jackasses school students, pointless friends of the heroine….) and the only redeeming factor is the presence of both Jennifer Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue. They provide strong performance amongst other weak cast members and despite a very poor script.

I don’t want to spoil much here but needless to say you won’t be much surprised or shocked by the few twists in the movie and you will wish that House at the End of the Street actually had a shorter running time since the last 30mn is an overlong game of cat and mouse between Jennifer Lawrence and the killer, that seemed to have been designed for the sole purpose of placing the camera where Jennifer’s cleavage would be at her most advantageous.

This movie was probably produced with young teens in mind as the perfect target market and is a really disappointing effort from Hush director Mark Tonderai.

My Rating: 5/10

Director: Mark Tonderai

Origin: US

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Haunter (2013) Review

October 30, 2013 by Eric S. 4 Comments

Synopsis: The ghost of a teenager who died years ago reaches out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate.

My Quick Review: Since he made Cube, I’m always looking forward to Vincenzo’s Natali next movie and with Haunter generating a fair amount of buzz at Frightfest I could not wait to put my hand on it.

Right off the bat, the movie got my attention and never let me go until the end. I really enjoy horror movies that go a different way than the traditional slasher/ghosts variations, and by flipping the table on the haunted house genre and having it seen through the perspective of the ghosts, writer Brian King brings originality to a tired genre filled with Paranormal activity and Insidious knock-offs.

And while I did not care much for The Further scenes in Insidious, there was a dream-like quality to the afterworld scenes in Haunter that were reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street. There is actually a strong nostalgic vibe in the film (helped by the fact that the characters are from the 80’s) with a whole feel and look similar to the Freddy movies but also Poltergeist and, of course a hint of GroundHog Day.

Everything else in the movie: from the acting, the eerie cinematography, to the sound effects contribute to making Haunter a natural choice for Best 2013 Ghost story contender.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Vincenzo Natali

Origin: Canada

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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

The Call (2013) Review

June 23, 2013 by Eric S. 1 Comment

Synopsis: When a veteran 911 operator takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl’s life.

My Quick Review: The call, starring Halle Berry and directed by Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist, Transsiberian) is an exciting thriller that keeps the momentum going for most of its running time.

I’m actually surprised that nobody before, at least to my knowledge, did a movie around 911 operators. Talking about a stressful job!! I don’t think people realise how difficult this job actually is. You really need to keep your cool at all times and be a fine psychologist to handle the many different incoming calls, some trivial, some really time sensisitive (break-ins, and in this case kidnapping).

I had a much better time watching The Call than I did, Buried, a movie with a similar concept of somebody in a tight space with a phone. Of course the comparison stops there but I like how Brad Anderson mixed the intimacy of the situation (2 individuals on a phone) and the bigger scope (police chase, the kidnapper attempt to escape).

Halle Berry does a fine job as the 911 operator but once again Abigail Breslin (Zombieland) proves she has serious acting chops.

Unfortunately, I did not care much for the ending. It was a little too serial-killer cliche for me (Silence of the lambs and Maniac, seen recently come to mind) but at that point i already had a good time so it did not matter that much.

The Call is an efficient thriller-ride that does almost everything right (apart the ending) and delivers on its promises.

My Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Brad Anderson

Year: 2013

Origin: USA

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