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Reviews
The Devil's Candy (2015)
Potheads As Protags?
Immediately the viewer is asked to see a pothead family of three as protagonists, which is nearly impossible for most people since the whole lifestyle smacks of drug use and rebellion. This film in the first five minutes showed me how I, a former drug user and alcoholic, was once seen by people with their heads on their shoulders instead of so far up their asses that right seems wrong and wrong seems right. I just can't get behind any character who represents a societal dumb-ass with no intention of changing--and worse, with every intention of raising children with the same amorality.
February (2015)
Excellently Shot & Acted
A beautiful, dark story of true Christianity, and true demonic activity. There is abandonment here, and need for love, and terror, and horror, and non-narrative. Not often does a film disturb me like this one does--and I am a published writer of Horror. Watch this one more than once.
House of Evil (2017)
Great Setting, Hackneyed Story
The acting was fine, the setting really great, and much of the plot both believable and fresh. A photographer and a painter move into an old Spanish Revival house outside of New Orleans. Things seem alright until entities, both demons and ghosts, begin to appear, first seemingly only in dreams. We hope for a climax to match the slow-burn creepy story line and eerie atmosphere created by excellent camera work and superb lighting (though at times a bit too dark, but maybe that was the point.) Then, bam!, like being hit in the face with a hammer we are offered as the whole point of the film, and nothing else, a rehash of Rosemary's Baby. It's then we realize that the male lead has really been no one other than the husband in The Amityville Horror for most of the flick, and we feel duped. Really, really duped. A homage to 1970s horror films was attempted here, much like with The House of the Devil, and since we have all come a long way with film this attempt was far better than many of the originals, but the story itself failed in a miserable way.
Song for a Raggy Boy (2003)
Brutal, and Brutally Honest
This is a companion piece to the film The Magdalene Sisters, but is more brutal, and also more beautiful. Not for the squeamish, this work of art is a fantastic example of why we have film as an art form and as a way to bring light to social injustices. There are countless holy people--true saints--who have found Jesus through various Christian constructs such as Roman Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, and a wide variety of Protestant versions. However, for the most part those involved in maintaining the structures themselves are not Christlike at all, but demonic. Jesus promises that if anyone hurts one of his little ones, it is better that a millstone is tied around his neck and that he is then thrown into the sea. Maybe it's just me, but I never want to be on the other end of that warning. It's really too bad that there are those who do find themselves there, hiding their evil behind self-righteousness.
Silence (2016)
Every Christian Should See This Film
I only give this film a 9 out of 10 because of the sometimes-quirky dialogue (people didn't say 'Okay' until ca. 1839). But quirk can be overlooked easily enough. Not many films are made which show Christian martyrs, and even less are made which focus on Christian martyrs and their power over their persecutors. SILENCE, a remake of a 1971 film of the same title, shows Christian martyrdom in as powerful a way as the original (and far superior) version of THE WICKER MAN. History buffs will like this film, those who hate Christians and want to see us persecuted will like this film, and Christians who love Jesus will like--nay, love--this film. For this latter crowd, it's a hard film to watch, especially at the end when things go pear-shaped like you would not believe. And, yes, I'll go ahead and say it: this film is light years ahead of the Mel Gibson release about Jesus, especially when you know that the priest responsible for writing the Latin dialogue between the Roman soldiers used the most perverted sentences he could find--or make up as he went along. I'd say 'Enjoy!' but that's just not what SILENCE is at all about.
Hannibal (2001)
Different Than Silence Of The Lambs
Silence Of The Lambs was creepy almost in a classic 1980s fashion like its predecessor Manhunter filmed in the 80s. Hannibal, on the other hand, has an updated feel most likely because of the advancement of film technology from 1991 to 2001. Simply put, films just got better during that decade.
Quite a few critics like to contrast Silence with Hannibal, but there is no reason to do this. They are two different story lines shot completely differently from one another. What makes this film stand out over the other are the gruesome gory scenes filmed slowly, deliberately designed to test the squeamishness of the viewer. Silence is an amusement park haunted house where no one ever gets hurt, Hannibal is that same haunted house in which a murdering psychopath lives undetected.
I don't recommend this film to anyone who is sensitive to torture scenes or sudden violent death scenes, no matter his or her age. And children should not see this film until they are old enough to fully grasp that there is evil in this world which is beyond what most of us ever experience--at least physically. Psychically is another matter altogether.
At the end of the film Hannibal makes the statement that St. Paul hated women. This is patently untrue, but we must consider the source of the statement--a man with a seared conscience who enjoys his kills with as much relish as anyone who immerses himself in his favorite hobby.
The blatant child abuse at the end of this film could have been avoided since it added nothing to the story whatsoever. But once again, we must consider the source of the abuse--and steel ourselves against the human nature inside all of us which could, and very easily, create psychopathic destruction given the perfect conditions. More and more the world in which we live becomes that cesspool of perfect bacterial conditions.
Solo (2013)
Tough-As-Nails Girl Takes On A Psychopath
There are some twists and turns, and some unexpected story line thrills. The gore rates a 5 out of 10--realistic enough but not too creepy for anybody over 14 maybe. Stellar performances from all actors involved--character personalities are quickly defined. Girl in pain from a past mistake and naturally humble, confident friend (seen only in the beginning), jaded Summer camp director, mysterious camp counselor who defies the viewer to trust him, and a smooth-talking psychopath (aren't they always?) masquerading as a fisherman. The main glitch of the film is that the girl was supposed to be on the island only one day and night, but for some reason never explained she stays on the island two days and two nights. As Psychopath Horror films go, and there are many of them, this one turns the genre squarely on its head.
A Viking Saga: The Darkest Day (2013)
True Christianity Uplifted & Defended
This film is really a hidden gem. The writer and director drive home their point that Christianity reigns supreme over all the old gods (demons) once worshiped in Angleland (England). 'Become my wrath' says Jesus in a vision to the monk protagonist, and here we see God infusing his authority in those who have been specifically called to maintain peace through the use of force. A beautiful, subtle scene is when a Pictish girl from Northumbria reveals to the monk that she and her people had accepted Christ before the heathen Vikings came and wiped out her village, she alone remaining and taken as a sex slave. The themes in this film are as relevant for our own day as they were for some of our ancestors then. I deeply recommend this film to all Christians, and then to any person who may want to know about our desire to uphold the power of the Gospels as the Light for our dark world. Christ has risen from the dead; and through death he trampled upon death, then granting life to we who lived in the tombs. This film is a glimmering beacon of hope in a great sea of terrible story lines which come at us all the time like bloodthirsty Vikings.