Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

  The most impressive thing about Wrong Turn 4, besides it's great practical gore effects, is how it manages to make me despise a group of 20-something party brats more than the bunch of vicious convicts from the previous movie. They're almost as annoying as the 'rookie soldiers' from The Hills Have Eyes 2. They're nothing but obnoxious sex machines. I couldn't care less about who lived or died, save for maaaybe two characters. Also, just like The Hills Have Eyes 2, this is a movie that punishes intelligent thought. When a character suggests playing it safe, or being logical, everyone scoffs at him like he's an idiot. These aren't just college brats, these are stupid college brats. Imagine for a moment how fast a movie like this would be over if the characters were actually smart?

Wrong Turn III: Left for Dead

  Not as stylish and atmospheric as the first, nor as crazy as the second, Wrong Turn 3 just seems to... exist, and little else. I suppose the way odds and such go, that even bad movies can have a few really good moments in them. Even an interesting concept behind it all. Wrong Turn 3 seeks to juxtapose a ruthless criminal against the hillbilly mutant cannibal known as Three Finger. "I don't know who's worse-" a character points out in one scene. The problem is, it's a no brainer. No matter how bad the ruthless criminal is, he won't stab you and then start eating you alive. He's motivated by survival, not a homicidal sense of fun.

Ant-Man

  Ant-Man is Marvel's latest stylish entry in their cinematic universe, and by far it is one of the most fun. Not saying it's one of the best, but certainly one of the most enjoyable. It has one thing going for it that none of their movies have had since the original Iron Man, and that would be the fact that it's simply uncomplicated. Sure there's easter eggs and nods to the other films in the franchise, but Ant-Man works independently of those movies. It's also not a dog and pony show like the Avengers movies. It's just a fun little adventure flick. With Daredevil darkening things up on Netflix, and Age of Ultron complicating the hell out of things on the big screen, it's nice to see a Marvel movie that does neither- it's just pure Saturday matinee fun.

Avenged

  I gotta admit, the poster art (sampled in the banner above) for Avenged (a.k.a. Savaged) really caught my eye and got me to look the movie up. Though granted the poster is a shoddy Photoshop job upon closer inspection, but still... it did it's job, and I tip my hat to the designer accordingly. Because this movie is friggin neat. I can tell it was a labor of love, and by one man above all. This movie was written, edited, and directed by Michael S. Ojeda. I've never heard of this guy before, but I'll be keeping an eye out for his movies in the future. He spun a wicked tale of murder, rape, and revenge and all with a big supernatural twist. Avenged is part romance movie, part horror, part fantasy, and part action movie. What more could you ask for?

Crimson Peak

  Sure, Crimson Peak might be predictable and people are taking issue with that because the movie carries itself like a mystery but I think in reality it's little more than a showcase of style and atmosphere. On those terms, Crimson Peak is fantastic. It's a brooding and lurid romantic tragedy with ghosts, murder, sex, and lots of eeriness. It's plot might not be it's strong suit, and the casting might be a little stale in some areas, but the majority of Crimson Peak is something to cherish. I've heard plenty of people say this isn't really a horror movie, and I guess they're right to a large degree- but it's more legitimately frightening than a lot of horror movies that consider themselves as such. Why the distinction? Crimson Peak is many things. It's a period piece, a romance, a drama, a fantasy story, a ghost story, and most certainly a horror movie. But, above all... Crimson Peak is simply great.

The Hills Have Eyes 2

  Oh man, if liking Wrong Turn 2 made me question if I've grown fond of crappy horror movies, The Hills Have Eyes 2 had the answer, and the answer is a big resounding "No." I don't see how anyone could like this one. In this 80 something minute slog, there's maybe 5 minutes that are actually watchable and borderline good. If you lower your standards even more, maybe- just MAYBE you could possibly find the last 20 minutes approaching something resembling 'interesting'. But, in all honesty this is one of those movies that you either feel you have to see, or you're a sane person and stayed the hell away.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

   By all known laws of the universe, this movie should be a horrible piece of crap. It's a direct-to-video sequel to a modestly successful horror movie that had one vaguely recognizable actress in it, and this one virtually has none. So how is this one so friggin fun? Either some serious magic went down behind the scenes here, or I've become keen on shitty horror movies. I'm much more inclined to believe the former. I think the first thing this movie does right is that it never takes itself too seriously. It's a ridiculous movie and it's aware of this. It seems very conscious of the fact that it should be crap, and they must've had a blast defying all those expectations.

Joy Ride

  Another blind buy from last month's impulse grabs, this white-knuckle thriller took me entirely by surprise. I'm learning new lessons every day, and this movie taught me not to judge a book (or in this case, a movie) by it's cover. It's not a new lesson per se, but it's one that's easy to forget- or at the very least, fail to heed. For all intents and purposes, The Green Inferno should've blown me away, and this should've been a turd. Quite the opposite in point of fact. I feel bad, because in the past- I took one look at all the young hip and ridiculously photogenic actors on the poorly photoshopped DVD cover and dismissed it as lowest common denominator drivel from an era of movies that nobody is going to give a shit about in ten years.

The Green Inferno

   Director Eli Roth has a big reputation for making extremely gory movies, and the prospect of him tackling the cannibal genre tickled me pink. Especially since Cannibal Holocaust is one of his favorite movies, and probably one of the most disturbing and notorious cannibal movies ever made. How could this possibly go wrong? Right? Well, lemme just say right now I enjoyed The Green Inferno. I thought it was alright. Is it great? Not really. It's kinda silly to be honest. It's little more than a soft-pedaled intro into what's usually a much bloodier genre. Newcomers to cannibal flicks might enjoy it a lot more than veterans would. But, when all is said and done it's not a bad movie. Just an underwhelming one.

Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation

  This was like a splash of cold water to the face after watching practically nothing but horror movies for a whole month. Swinging back into action is Ethan Hunt and his IMF team. This time, there's a whole anti-IMF agency called The Syndicate. They're set up as a major threat, like Spectre is to Bond and MI-6. Only the Mission: Impossible movies don't have that kind of franchise-long dedication, so we know by the end of the movie the Syndicate will be brought down. If you think that's a spoiler, you haven't been paying attention to these movies. Nevertheless, Rogue Nation is a fun thrill ride with plenty of familiar faces that have definitely become franchise mainstays as much as insane action sequences and death defying stunts.

Ash vs. Evil Dead

   What a way to end October and kick off November! I'm probably going to be spending most of November revisiting horror faves of mine that didn't make the cut for my October horror-thon, which most likely means I'll be digging up the original Evil Dead movies. Not to mention I just ordered the Shout Factory release of Army of Darkness, so hell yeah. Bring it on. But, even more exciting than that was the premiere of Ash vs. Evil Dead. It marks the return of Bruce Campbell to his most famous role, that of Ashley J. Williams, the protagonist of the Evil Dead trilogy. I don't know what inter-movie connectivity they have going on since the Evil Dead remake, which was apparently not necessarily a remake at all. (Scroll a little more than half way down on the page that links to) So... what does that mean for this show?

Creature from the Black Lagoon

   As a movie buff in general, there's always a whole heap of classic films I feel guilty for not watching. When weighed against a lot of the junk I usually watch, it's almost a crime. With my October Horror-thon and Halloween itself coming to a close, I decided to end it with a bang. What better flick to cap it all off with than one of the original creature features? It was a no-brainer actually, and one I had been planning all month. I dimmed the lights, popped the popcorn and started the movie up. It's breezy 80-ish minute long runtime left no room for sluggish pacing. Almost right away, Creature from the Black Lagoon was proving it's reputation with frightening gusto. This is definitely the penultimate granddaddy of all creature feature flicks.

Ringu

  Now here's a movie with a ton of exposure. Ringu is the victim of at least two remakes, one prequel that I know of, and a few sequels so far. So, in the wake of all of that... how does it hold up? Exceptionally well actually. It's far from what I expected, and much better to boot. I thought this was going to buckle under it's weighty reputation a lot like The Exorcist did for me, but that wasn't the case at all. Ringu is a horror movie in the sense that it revolves around horrific things like a deadly supernatural curse and murder and stuff like that- but... Ringu is nothing like a conventional horror movie.

Dog Soldiers

   Another werewolf movie that has simply blown me away. I'd heard about Dog Soldiers a long time ago, and always meant to watch it, but just never got around to it. After the fantastic Late Phases, I figured I owed myself another solid werewolf flick. This one might get off to a weird start, and the thick English/Scottish accents are almost indecipherable at times without subtitles, but make no mistake, this movie is a hell of a ride. It has the same kind of tension and scary action as Aliens does, and that gives it major brownie points in my book. Yet, it wouldn't get any praise from me if it wasn't done right. Dog Soldiers pulls it off and then some.

Candyman

   All I knew about Candyman before watching it was that it had Tony Todd as the eponymous villain, a hook-handed killer spawned from urban legends, and Virginia Madsen in it as the lead protagonist. I figured it would've easily fit alongside other popular horror flicks like A Nightmare on Elm St. or Child's Play. Yet I should've known better. With Clive Barker attached, and it being based on one of his works, I should've known this would be anything but conventional. This is right up there with Hellraiser. Candyman is a thoroughly surprising, unique, and disturbing psychological terror trip. I'm just surprised I hadn't seen it sooner.

The Uninvited

   I knew that by the end of the day I was going to end up in crappy territory. Lo and behold, I was right. I don't know why this movie got three stars from Roger Ebert, or why user reviews tend to be so favorable towards it. It's cliche, drawn out, anti-climactic and a chore to sit through. I kept hoping it would get better, but I blame the script. The directors clearly know how to generate tension and scares through visuals and the like, but the characters are so static and un-engaging that by the time we get to the twist ending, we've only traded one crap story for another.  Regardless, if you must know, the movie isn't entirely without merit.

Let Us Prey

   Let Us Prey is a movie that for the most part just lets you make up your own mind about what happens, and boy... a lot of stuff happens. The movie is about a rookie cop's first night on the job in a small Scottish town where a mysterious man arrives, and appears to know something about everyone. I mean, that's about as much info as we can really grasp onto for 95% of the movie. It's not so much a horror movie as it is just... a gory movie, but it also doesn't really fit neatly into any other genre I can think of either. So, horror will just have to do. Anyhow, the movie is full of killers, scumbags, and generally just... really bad people. A big theme of the movie happens to be paying for your sins, or something. Well, there's no shortage of sin around these parts!

Late Phases

  I'm well aware I've been slacking off with my nightly horror reviews, but this should be the first of a couple I cram in today. If they're all as good as Late Phases, I'm in for a real whole-day-long treat. I'm not overly fond of werewolf movies. I love the concept, but haven't found too many that have struck any real chords with me. Many refer to An American Werewolf in London as a great werewolf movie. It's humor and lack of an actual werewolf for the majority of the movie threw me off, and I ended up disappointed. This movie though... damn. It's as stylish and cool as it is bloody and intense. The movie revolves around a blind and aging Vietnam vet named Ambrose, who recently moved into a small retirement village... town... thing, only to find that it's been plagued by a monster.

From Hell

  A movie about Jack the Ripper, starring Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, and Ian Holm. What could go wrong? I ask un-ironically as that was literally the pitch that made me want to watch this movie. From Hell is a nightmarish and highly fictionalized romp that plays fast and loose with facts despite dealing with real events. But, see, it's not based on real events. It's based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, etc.). Oh and this movie is not directed by Tim Burton. Go figure. The movie is directed by The Hughes Brothers, who's previous efforts include Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. Neither of those movies clicked with me, but their foray into Gothic slasher territory has at last caught my attention.

[REC] 2

   I'm not a massive fan of the found footage genre. Not even a moderate fan. However, from time to time I do find myself enjoying certain found footage movies like the original [REC], The Taking of Deborah Logan, and a few others. [REC] and this one, [REC] 2 are sterling examples of how found footage can be an excellent storytelling medium without being annoying or contrived. I discovered the first one a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, and soon after a good friend of mine urged me to watch the sequel. I got myself a copy straightaway, but never got around to watching it until now. Oh man, I had no idea the awesomeness that I had just laying around, un-watched, for a full couple years.

Wrong Turn

   This blood n' guts thriller predates The Hills Have Eyes remake by three years, but I was going through some major deja vu while watching this. It feels like a cousin to the 'Eyes remake. Well... a cousin, and a brother. Simultaneously. Y'know, because... the flavor of the week here isn't atomic radiation, it's the effects of inbreeding! Nevertheless, swap the new mexico desert for the woods of West Virginia, and swap one batch of stranded people for a different group of stranded people, add some inbred mutant cannibals and presto! Wrong Turn!

The Hills Have Eyes

  I may not have been into horror movies when this one came out, but the concept of killer cannibal mutants terrorizing a family stranded in the desert stuck in my head. Over time curiosity would get the better of me every now and again, and I'd look the movie up, but never brought myself to watch it. Yet the concept grew on me. I liked the backstory of atomic tests in the desert resulting in these people mutating. Scary stuff man. Anyway, a while ago I decided to at least watch the original, which I quickly found out had none of the mutant stuff. The antagonists were just deranged cannibals. No atomic testing, no mutants, and my interest quickly waned. But, I had no idea then that I would come right back to this one, and enjoy the hell out of it.

The Serpent and the Rainbow

  This is the third Wes Craven movie I've reviewed in the span of a month or so. Give or take a couple weeks. They've all been wildly different, and all far from his towering icon of terror, A Nightmare on Elm St. It's been fun to explore his filmography, but it really hasn't been intentional. I didn't set out to watch Wes Craven films, I set out just to watch horror movies. I suppose those two things are wholly synonymous any way you slice it. Last House on the Left, Deadly Friend, and now this one, The Serpent and the Rainbow- have all been very unique experiences, but this movie was undoubtedly the odd one out. Set against the backdrop of revolution and corrupt local politics in Haiti, the movie is about an anthropologist hired to investigate the process of "zombification", which seems to have been perfected in the area.

Evil Dead

  A long time fan of the franchise, I was keen to see what they'd done with this remake back in 2013, and without fail, I immediately saw it, and reviewed it. But, I wasn't thrilled with it. It was just 'okay' to me. Yet for some reason, it seriously stuck in my head and I've been nursing a desire to see it again for well over a year. Given that it's October, and I'm all about seasonal viewing this month, I figured... why the hell not? I've mainly been shooting for movies I haven't seen before, but I was really going to dig into this one and give it a good thorough once-over. I can safely say it was one of the best picks I've decided on all month. This movie was simply begging to be let out of the cellar.

Deadly Friend

  So, Deadly Friend is basically Frankenstein + Short Circuit. I mean, that should tell you all you need to know about this movie. It's painfully dated, but still ridiculous fun. I had heard opinions from both sides about this movie. Some people hate it, some love it- but regardless, the most common gripe was about the tone of the movie, not the quality of it. I popped this movie in without expecting much, despite the fact it was directed by Wes Craven. It was going to be nothing but a filler entry between yesterday's It Follows and my planned entry for tomorrow. Yet, despite not being very into it, the movie drew me in and made me more invested than I had any intention of being.