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Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
Happy Father's Day?
I haven't been watching a lot of movies lately because I have a hard time sitting through something that lasts for well over an hour without getting restless. Either ending up on my phone or just getting out of bed to do a couple laps in my flat, which is really just two steps forward and two steps back. But, it's October, and I really wanted to watch at least one horror movie this month. Still haven't gotten around to it.
At best this is a slasher flick riddled with slapstick humor. Most of the horror is replaced with what can barely be described as dark humor, and there's not much that's surreal about the nightmare world. Carlos' kill was pretty neat, but other than that I don't have much in the way of positive words. I really don't appreciate the movie exploring Freddy's life, I much preferred him when he was a more mysterious supernatural creature. Turns out he was just another twisted kid turned serial killer? Lame.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
An OK fantasy horror.
Reading what others think of this movie really makes me wonder if I'd be enjoying the later movies in the Halloween series a lot more if I wasn't obsessing so hard about the original cult classic, and to some extent, it's sequel. It's entirely possible that I'm simply setting my standard way too high, and getting annoyed when these movies don't fulfill the criteria I've set for a movie in the Halloween franchise.
Anyway, on to this one, the sixth installment, which explains a bit more about the mysterious man clad in black that we saw glimpses of in the previous movie. Not a whole lot is explained other than that they're experimenting with pure evil, and Jamie's baby, who is born on Halloween, plays an important part, in the movie, and for this cult.
I'm no longer going to demand goreless killings. The precise Myers is long gone, and the current Myers is all about using whatever he can get his hands on, as well as the surroundings, to take care of business. He still has his patented kitchen knife every know and then, but flashy is the new silent, and Myers at least does that well.
This movie however, goes over the top. The cult really adds nothing to the story. It could've been good, but it suffers from a complete lack of backstory, and while it's important for the story to progress, the fact that it is so unbelievable and that very little is actually explained about the cult and its members makes it come off as a bad joke.
The movie kicks off with Jamie and her newborn child being saved from the cult by a lady that took pity in her. Jamie makes it to a public bus station with her baby, where she manages to get on air with a radio station covering the Myers murders, calling for help from Loomis. Myers does eventually catch up to her, ending her in a spectacular fashion, but she manages to hide the baby before it happens.
The cult wants this child, and Tommy Doyle, the kid Laurie babysat in the original Halloween, takes it on himself to protect the baby, as well as Danny and Kara Strode. Danny has somehow gotten some sort of connection with Myers from sleeping in his room, so he's also of interest to the cult. So now, not only are they running from Michael, but also these cultists clad in black.
What this movie makes up for in spectacular deaths and somewhat better acting, it loses in writing. It's too confusing, it doesn't make sense with the lack of explanations, but it's still a decently scary flick. Myers is still a scary bastard!
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Probably the worst in the series.
You know the whole "so bad it's good" thing? Halloween 5 isn't that. It's just a bad movie.
If we're not counting Halloween 3, which at least on some level works if you consider it a standalone movie, Halloween 5 was the worst of the series at the time, and the furthest we have been from the original. Michael Myers has gone from the clean simple kills of the first movie, to slicing people up with scythes and stabbing teenagers with pitchforks.
Like with Halloween 2, this movie picks up right where it's prequel ended, with Myers falling down a well, that they subsequently blow up. Of course, he survives. Jamie is put in a children's hospital, and finds a friend in Billy, a boy her same age. Rachel is still around, as is Loomis and one of the cops from Halloween IV, but everyone else is gone. There's a new pair of friends to be slaughtered, some of which you're supposed to want dead. Loomis has finally gone completely insane, and I really did enjoy Pleasance's portrayal of the character, from beginning to end... if only this was the end.
With regards to the cinematics of the movie, the long straight cuts are for the most part gone, though there are still some of those slow-moving shots where you'll see Myers' shadow or mask in the background, though I can't say I got the chills from any of them. The effects range from OK to down-right dumb, some of those gunshots look more like someone using a tinderbox than anything else, and I had some serious issues with how poorly some scenes were dubbed. The substantial cut in budget is very obvious. Why they decided to spend some of it on making a new mask for Don Shanks to wear.
The plot is confusing, and has one of the weirdest endings you couldn't imagine. It's an obvious setup for a sequel that was put on ice for years because of the horrible reception this movie got. Jamie's somehow got some sort of a mental bond with Myers, and she's gone mute. Every time Myers kills, or is about to kill, she has a seizure of sorts where she sees what is happening. Loomis, who's completely obsessed by Myers at this point, is constantly pestering and pushing her for information, which she (at first) is unable or unwilling to share. I have no clue why they decided to have Rachel be the first kill, while trying to make us care about a couple of teenagers that we just met, before Myers gets around to killing them.
You don't really care about any characters besides Jamie and Loomis. I mean, you might hate some of the new characters, like the kid who puts on a copy of Michael's mask, you know, like they already did in a Halloween movie. I'd like to believe that no kid would ever be stupid enough to do that, knowing Myers' history and that the police would be on edge about it. I'd like to believe. Anyway, Michael seems to be targeting Jamie, and anyone she loves, and it honestly seems like he's really thinking it through, killing Tina's boyfriend to get close to Tina, and later going after the Children's Hospital to get the cops away from the Myers House, where he knows Loomis and Jamie are waiting for him. It all seems very well planned, compared to the much more random killings he's done in the past.
The most mind-numbing twist comes at the end. Throughout the movie you get shots of a man dressed in all black, coat included, and some iron-tipped cowboy boots. At the end, after Myers' capture, the same man shoots up a police station and breaks him out. Out of absolutely nowhere. For no reason.
The good thing about Halloween 3 was that you could judge it as an independent horror movie. You can't do that with this one. It's a Halloween movie. A terrible Halloween movie that really should have been the end to the series.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
A whole new Myers
At this point in the series, it feels like we're never going to go back to the Myers we were introduced to in the original movie. The slow-moving, menacing, precise, terrifying and discomforting massive character that could walk without making any noise, and show up anywhere, at any time.
Well, he can still walk without making a noise, and show up anywhere and at any time, but other than that, he's a very different character.
Surprise! Myers didn't die after getting blown up by (and along with) Loomis. Neither did Loomis. Now, Myers is back, covered from head to toe in bandages, looking for his niece (that is, Laurie Strodes daughter), so he can once again murder one of the females in his family. Except this time she's just a kid.
I wouldn't have much of a problem with this movie if it wasn't for me still clinging to the old Myers style. It's action packed, it's got a couple jump scares and a couple of somewhat creepy moments, and there's plenty of killing.
Except the music isn't anywhere near as good as in Halloween 1 and 2, and the atmosphere suffers greatly from it. To me, the atmosphere was what made the Halloween movies special. Now, it's just another murder fest with a familiar character doing the killing.
That all said, I still somewhat enjoyed it. It might just be because it's October and I'm a sucker for horror in October, but I still found it to be an entertaining movie. Also the ending was pretty damn brilliant.
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Disregard the title.
This movie shouldn't bear the Halloween name. It shouldn't be considered part of the franchise, but it is. If you go into this not expecting anything other than a horror B-movie, then you might leave somewhat satisfied. I did, at least.
Apart from the movie taking place during Halloween, there's nothing in common with the series. A mad Brit is trying to eradicate humanity by using parts of a stone from Stonehenge (that he somehow managed to steal), latex Halloween masks, and a TV commercial. By attaching a tag that carries parts of the stone to the masks, he can somehow trigger a reaction by airing an epilepsy-inducing TV commercial at a time he knows all the kids will be watching, which will... make the masks rot, and the kids turn into bugs and snakes, that in turn will kill the parents.
It's the perfect plan. Except, Conal Cochran (that's the mad Brit), didn't take the nosy doctor Challis into account, who hears about this from a seemingly deranged old man that arrives at his hospital while the other doctor is unavailable. This Doctor Challis is divorced, and clearly suffering from it, spending most of his time at the bar, or flirting with younger women.
The deranged man is murdered at the hospital, death by having his cranium torn apart by a robot disguised as a human (controlled by Cochran, of course), and I'm gonna go ahead and guess that the reason the doctor is interested in the entire thing is because the deranged man had a really cute daughter. For some reason, without actually discussing it or getting to know each other, the two decide to pose as man and wife to infiltrate the small town where Cochran's company, Silver Shamrock, and its factories are located.
Pretty much the first thing they do once they get a room at a motel, is have sex. True, they only have two days to solve this before god knows what happens, but first, sex. Considering how there's no actual nudity, I don't see how there's any point to the two having a sexual relationship whatsoever. But hey, I'm not the movie maker around here.
The most infuriating part is that the movie tries to avoid having to explain anything at all by having the lead bad guy say "trade secrets".
Still, with all that bashing done, the actor's aren't bad, and there were a couple moments that had me giggle. Some of the killings are seriously brutal, and all the insects definitely made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I wouldn't classify this as one of the "so bad it's good" movies. It's a decent flick if you want something that isn't too serious.
Halloween II (1981)
Might alienate some fans of the original
Making a sequel to an instant classic like the original Halloween movie was never going to be an easy feat, and there was probably no way they could make a sequel that would please both fans of the old and people new to the soon-to-be franchise. Halloween's ending was left completely open, and the formula used was obviously working, and the slasher/horror genre was definitely a crowd-pleaser, Friday the 13th, released the year before Halloween II, also drawing in large crowds, though with some more mixed reviews than Halloween.
A higher body count and more gruesome deaths was expected, and the movie delivered on it. The most surprising (and pleasing, I might add) part for me was that the movie decided to pick up right where the original left off, instead of jumping ahead in time and coming up with some terrible excuse for Myers' return to haunt some completely new teenagers.
No, instead this movie decided to take Myers, and build up his back story and character. While the plot in the original was limited to a madman who had been imprisoned for years going on a seemingly meaningless killing spree on teenagers, Halloween II gave out favorite murderer a reason for his killings. Not a very reasonable reason, but a reason nonetheless. It's revealed that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is Michael Myers' (Dick Warlock) biological sister. The seemingly random murders now seem more like Myers planning on finishing his job by killing his second sister.
As was the case with Halloween, the sound track and the sound effects used in this one are absolutely amazing, and play a vital part in setting the mood for the viewers. The camera-work is still good, with long shots in dark settings, adding even more chill to the movie, as if it didn't already have enough.
Pleasance is as great as ever in the role as Loomis, and though I'm seriously questioning Laurie's decision to hide instead of running from Myers, she repeats her performance from Halloween very well. The saddest thing for me is how 'The Thing' seems so much less intimidating compared to previously. On top of that, he's moved away from his precise, clean and simple killings, to more gruesome and bloody murders, which just seems to not fit the style. Sure enough, it becomes the new style for the future movies, but it certainly does take something away from the creepy aura that seemed to be emanating from Myers in the original flick.
Halloween II has its flaws, there's no doubt about it, but it's still a great movie. As long as you don't go into it with your expectations too high (really shouldn't ever set your bar too high when it comes to sequels), you'll enjoy it. And I'll recommend it.
Halloween (1978)
Timeless spook
This review for Halloween is nothing more than a drop in the ocean of praise for a timeless classic like this. A movie that kicked off a series of sequels and spin-offs and remakes of varying quality, and that has become one of the most famous slasher/horror flicks ever made.
When you think about it, Halloween is a very simple film. Michael Myers stalks and murders teenagers on Halloween after escaping from the high security facility that used to hold him. That's all there is too it, as the masked murderer goes on a spree in an otherwise very calm and silent town.
What makes this seemingly simple slasher into such an uncomfortable horror movie is, for me anyway, mostly in the way it's been shot, combined with the music and sound effects used. With long, steady shots instead of the jump cut-like shots that seem to be so much more popular in more modern horror films. Sure enough, there are a couple jump scares where Myers will pop up right next to someone or appear behind a door, but the scary scenes are where you see his shadow appear briefly behind one of the future victims. Or when you finally spot him in a steady shot of the street. Most of the scenes are shot in a rather dark setting, often accompanied with an eerie ambient music that really helps set the mood.
The acting is overall pretty good. The only actor I felt really did a particularly great job was the late Donald Pleasence in his portrayal of Dr. Sam Loomis, Myers' doctor for many years. This slightly unstable, desperate doctor's hunt for Myers, whom he firmly believes cannot possibly be human, really adds a whole lot to the movie. Jamie Lee Curtis' portrayal of the shy teenage girl Laurie Strode was at times a bit off, though she mostly really managed to pull it off.
Absolutely an easy recommendation to anyone remotely interested in horror, with a warning that the sequels are, for the most part, not worth the watch.
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
Utter garbage
Olympus Has Fallen is damn near degrading to watch. It seems like it takes it for granted that the viewer is a complete, gullible fool that will accept anything as long as it has guns and blood. Not a single part of this movie was anywhere near entertaining, and I spent the last thirty minutes just waiting for it to end. I could never stop a movie before it ended.
SPOILERS BELOW
The White House is attacked by a rogue Korean terrorist group looking to teach America a thing or two about starvation and poverty. This is to be achieved by setting off every missile (or nukes only, this was never made entirely clear) in their silos, laying waste to large parts of America. To do this, they need access to something called Cerberus, which has three different codes they need to get. Luckily for them, the three different people that know these codes just happen to be in the White House at the same time. Great! Now, the difficult part is getting to the White House. Luckily for the terrorists, the US has absolutely no way of stopping an unidentified aircraft until it is literally right above the White House. And even then it's got a couple minutes to circle around and shoot innocent people. Now that they've got people's attention, a bus loaded with Korean tourists (turns out they're actually paramilitaries) and explosives will make its way straight through the front gates of the House.
So after every single agent in the White House has been killed, and the Koreans have established base in the bunker below, there's only a single man left on the inside. And luckily for us, he's superhuman, makes no noise, feels no pain, has no emotions, and is a total bad-ass. Except he's not really a bad-ass, he's just plain bad. Queue terrible lines and 50 minutes of fighting and shooting.
Fast forward those 50 minutes, the lone superhero wins the battle against the terrible North Koreans, shuts down this Cerberus program by inputting a code and waiting 5 seconds. God Bless America. God Bless.
Really, don't waste your time. This garbage is not worth anyone's time.
World War Z (2013)
Gets by on CGI
I put off watching this for quite some time, after hearing mostly bad things about it from friends and relatives. Still, it's not unusual for me to disagree completely with what my friends think, so I decided to give it a shot. This was not one of those movies.
I should mention upfront that I have not read the source material for this, and came into it with zero expectations. With that said, this movie is not exactly good advertising for the book. It consistently failed to impress me and I found myself pretty bored after about an hour of watching. Sure, the CGI was so well done that I for the most part didn't mind the fact that many of the zombies were animated in, and there was plenty of action to at least keep you from falling asleep.
No, what bothered me the most was the entire idea that some retired investigator would be the trump card for the UN in a disaster such as this. That they were willing to send their absolutely most important person to a zombie-infested area along with a handful of soldiers and this one investigator, as if the character played by Brad Pitt was some superhuman? I don't get it, and it annoyed me all throughout the movie.
Please, please stop making the characters in movies where suspense is so prominent constantly kick over bottles, touch a fence, or make any other noise by accident? I understand that the zombies reacted to sound, something that you were constantly reminded of, but it's not exactly good when you have to make every action-filled sequence start with someone accidentally make a noise. And then suddenly, on the airplane, the zombie makes zero ruckus till the elevator is brought up, in spite of being ON A NOISY PLANE.
This is in no way comparable to the classic idea of zombie movies. Going for a PG-13 rating was probably the worst decision made. Zombie flicks have always had a fairly heavy focus on gore, blood, and the absolute terror caused by the walking dead. The closest you'd get in this film would be CGI blood, and that was probably the only part where the CGI really didn't work out for me.
When I heard the title I expected much much more. I expected more than just a single man travelling from country to country in search of a cure. I expected a war, not people hiding in cramped settlements, trying to stay away from rather than battle the zombie "invasion". Overall, it was extremely underwhelming compared to what the trailers and teasers and title made me expect.
Dredd (2012)
No more than a shoot-em-up action flick
Going into this without ever having checked out any of the source material, I wasn't sure to expect. I'd heard people liked it, and I'd heard others hate it, so it took me some time before I finally got around to checking it out. Though I'm not terribly disappointed, this is definitely not going to be a film I recommend to anyone.
I understand that the idea is that in this dystopia the Judges are judge, jury and executioner due to the high crime rate that is inevitable with so many people squeezed into so little place. And I also understand that Dredd is supposed to be this hard-ass legendary Judge that knows what he's doing, and seemingly lives only for his job and nothing else. Karl Urban plays the role well. Though I couldn't help but laugh at that frown of his.
Sadly, Urban is the only thing that really stood out to me. I don't have a lot of good things to say about the CGI, the blood and gore just looked way too fake, and the script was sub-par. For a mindless action flick it's a fair enough choice, but to me it wont be anything more than that.
Misfits: Episode #3.4 (2011)
Doesn't add to the series.
Misfits is a charming show, the cast is rather small and the story isn't necessarily deep or really engaging, but it's a quite entertaining show with some really hard hitting jokes and interest plot from episode to episode.
This episode, however, confused me and I really didn't like it. The storyline is three inches deep, and it is not believable at all. Don't misunderstand, Misfits isn't believable, it's a fictional show, but I'm thinking more of how this Nazi empire seems wholly unorganized, how nothing's really changed, except for there being Nazis around, and, I mean, why would they use the community center as a prison if they've occupied all of England? I don't feel that this episode adds to the show at all, and it's a pretty big disappointment.