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The Ruins (2008)
So quick and so lame.
I'll just say right now that the book this is based on is much better and you should read it if you love psychological or survival horror. This is not expressed well in the film adaptation.
I found this movie to be so odd in its presentation. It felt hastily put together in a way I had never seen before. Things just happen and characters make decisions that don't feel natural. As someone whose read the source material, I was just waiting for the next recognizable thing to happen, which is really annoying when I saw how poorly executed it was. Even if you've never read the book or didn't even know it's based on one, this just isn't an effective horror flick.
I will say that the gore effects weren't terrible and I could tell that the actors were trying; they were just in service of something that didn't seem to give a damn. There didn't seem to be any dynamic built between the characters and the scenes are paced so quickly that they're never given time to talk about their ambitions, their fears, or anything.
I won't try and go over everything that the book did better, but it's worth noting that the changes made for the film just simply don't make sense. Changing the location from a clearing in the jungle to a temple made it far less ominous and missed the chance at great visuals of the fates of the travelers that came before the lead characters we're following. The book lends itself so much for a talented director to take it and make something mind-blowing.
The book played on so many levels of psychological manipulation and capturing a sense of isolation and hopelessness. It put the reader in a position where you know it's not going to end good for the people, but you need to know what's going to happen next. But really, what use is there trying to build atmosphere, tone or tension if we simply aren't given a reason to care? That's the worst thing this movie could have done; make it boring.
TL;DR - Don't waste your time on this unless you've just read the book and want to see how poorly done a story like this can be.
The Stuff (1985)
Grossly executed.
I found the advertisements for this movie to be more terrifying than the film itself. The premise is great: the population unknowingly eating something that'll slowly kill them. This opens the doors for great social commentary on the food we consume, especially in the US, but this movie doesn't seem to be interested in that.
I understand that it's trying to be a horror-comedy, but it doesn't do either genre very well. The main character is somewhat amusing, but he's not enough to carry the film.
The effects also don't this film. There's a really bad scene that's ruined by an obvious greenscreen. The Stuff itself feels like a joke within the movie; it never feels threatening because it's never developed beyond the mind-controlling element.
This feels like one of those movies that's ripe for a remake, and I hope I live to see that film.
Bullet Train (2022)
Stylish, but lacking in substance.
I liked the movie overall, but the editing could have been better. There were multiple scenes where it would cut to something that had already been shown, even though the audience would have been able to put the pieces together themselves.
Most of the humor worked for me, but I noticed a couple routines that went on too long. There were even whole sections that could have been cut (what was with that water bottle??). The music choices also felt out of place. I get that this movie is trying to be over-the-top and super stylish, but I just found it obnoxious. It's like the director didn't have confidence that the film was being cool on its own.
TL;DR: Not bad by any means, I just thought it overstayed its welcome.
Would You Rather (2012)
Cool Premise, but could have done more.
I do like this movie, but I think Squid Game did it a lot better. This just feels like it's on the same torture porn bandwagon that a lot of other movies were on. Still worth a watch though.