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THE FIFTH TEST OF HDC IDOL 2008-09


I am here to address the Goblins.

For your Second Test, the common theme chosen is - GENEROUS CRITICS.

Here we go...


Choose from - The Village, Alien vs Predator, Boo!, Killjoy, Boogeyman, The Exorcist II, Jaws The Revenge.

Two contestants may pick the same movie, but their loving and doting reviews should not be too similar with each other, or both of them stand to lose points.

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

Alien Vs. Predator: Modern Horror for the Intellectual

With the failure of 2000’s Alien: Resurrection, it was clear that the horror audience needed more in their franchise than just another scary monster movie. And perhaps with the advent of this addition to the franchise, those same viewers will be reticent to spend their money on “Just another Alien flick.” But this is where I must stop you and appeal: Alien Vs. Predator is not just another horror/scifi crossover franchise flick.

Veteran horror/scifi director of Event Horizon and Resident Evil, Paul W.S. Anderson is back again to frighten and entertain his fans with the latest installment of the Alien and Predator franchises. Coupled with his experienced eye is Special Effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI), whose previous work includes both Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. The result of this cinematic pairing is two truly gruesome and believable monsters within a literal Pandora’s box of horror.

Set in a pitch black Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica, AVP follows the story of a hapless team of scientists following a mysterious heat signal under the watchful eye (and finance) of Billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen). The setting, a clever nod to previous scifi greats like The Thing From Another World, immediately alienates our heroes while, unbeknownst to them, a Predator ship enters the Earth’s atmosphere. The action unfolds without delay: Geiger’s iconic Alien is paired up against the galaxy’s most feared Predator within a phantasmagorical maze that would make Escher drool and will strike fear in even the most jaded film-goer.

But what really separates AVP from other films in its genre is, surprisingly, its intelligence. Where the average horror movie strives simply to shock and awe with pedestrian antagonists, cheap scares, and pitifully scantily clad coeds, AVP challenges the intelligent viewer by creating a completely original pourquoi story that reimagines one of the most debated mysteries in the history of the World: the building of the Great Pyramids. Just as the founders of ancient Egyptian society invented their pantheon, so does Paul W.S. Anderson apotheosize the canonical Predator: In this alternate history, the Predators are considered Gods, with the great structures of the ancient world being built in their honor. Never before has a horror movie created an origin story that is so fascinating and all-encompassing, touching upon the history of not only Egyptian, but also Cambodian and Aztec civilizations.

Alien Vs. Predator is not just another Alien movie. Nor is it just another Predator movie. AVP is a clever re-visioning of Origin that shows that horror doesn’t always have to be about shock and awe.

5/5

Originally Posted by ferretchucker

Jaws: The Revenge

An Exciting New Direction for the Series

After the tragedy that was Jaws 3, I went into the theatre to see this with low expectations, but boy was I wrong! Jaws: The Revenge excels everywhere Jaws 3 fails! But where do I begin?

I'll start with the most prominent change: The Shark. In all of the previous films, the shark has been a rather stupid brute ending up dead by it's own foolish mistakes. This film, however, decides to show the shark in a whole new light, as an intelligent, malevolent killer hellbent on torturing the Brody family. Afterall, there have been four sharks previously that simply happened to end up facing off against the Brodys for no other reason than to please fanboys who would scream their little socks off if, heaven forbid, a new set of characters met the incredibly rare beast. This shark concsiously seeks out the Brodys to kill them, possibly avenging it's murdered buddies.

But that is only the tip of the iceburg compared to what's to come. Lorraine Gary too serves as a brilliant force in the film, creating a familiarity with the viewer. Not to mention Michael Caine as an aeroplane Pilot and Lance Guest (Halloween II) as Michael Brody. These three characters have clear chemistry, seeming like a true family.

On top of this, there is the cruel reminder that death isn't picky, and two previously invincible characters are both pronounced dead in the first few scenes! Though I wont name them, you have to find that one out for yourself!

All of the scenes flowed together, with the help of a brilliant score and flawless directing. This film will surely go down as one of the best sequels in history. I totally recommend this, I've already seen it three times! I can't think of anything I don't love about this, being easily as good as the original, putting the others to shame. If I could give this a 6 out of five, I would.

5/5 - AWESOME.

Originally Posted by alkytrio666

Boogeyman- Psychological Terror for the Intelligent Viewer

As far as I'm concerned, horror is about connections, and connections start in the human psyche. The genre isn't for everyone, and being a general film critic, I don't have biases...I'm also very inclined to grade shockers tightly and critically as I find the genre today almost degradingly by-the-book.

These practiced expectations were upturned, however, when I saw Boogeyman. Here was something I could enjoy, something that didn't involve unbearable torture sequences, pushy sexism or gut-wrenching gore; instead I found an engaging, and at some points touching look at a man and his own personal demons, a metaphor of enormous humane value which also happened to have a few good scares.

Now, I earlier mentioned the importance in film of connecting with an audience...something the horror genre hasn't done since it handed us 1991's Best Picture. As of late, horror films have been heavy "R"s, only suited for people of adult age.

But to my delight, the theater I saw Boogeyman in was loaded with an enormous variety of excited movie-goers. Now the last time I checked, the aura made the horror film, and what better environment is there to enjoy a few well-calculated scares in but one laden with a diverse selection of thrillseekers both young and old. I feel much more comfortable sharing a thrill ride in this manner, as opposed to with a few other groups of drunken late-teen boys.

The film had me at opening credits anyway, and I soon lost myself in it. Human detachment has been a kink in the genre chain for years now as we've had to suffer through cannibalistic stories involving bratty teenagers or insufferable upper-class only. How can we be expected to connect with a victim if we feel lower then them, or hate them? Herein lies the beauty (or should I say terror?) of Boogeyman. Our central character- Tim- is an absolute human being if I've ever seen one. The movie opens with a bang as his parents argue over the content of the child's bed-time stories in relation to the "bogeyman" who he sees every night. But as his father is brutally murdered by the very demon his parents had scoffed, we begin to see that this film will explore not the amount of blood in the human body but other things that lie within the soul...and the heart.

The film is a breathtaking journey of a man who must journey back to his nightmarish home as an adult and fight the inner-demons who have haunted him his whole life, and it is this brave search for freedom which kept me glued to the screen for the short 90 minute run time.

As the credits rolled, I looked around me and saw, for the first time in a long time, what horror is all about: a theater filled not with disgusted dissapointment but emotionally shaken people, rattled by some perfectly-calculated scares and a story they could give a damn about.

And that's when I recalled that, yes, horror CAN mean something, and that once upon a time films like Cat People and The Haunting could scare the living daylights out of us without showing a single dismembered body part or an ounce of blood.

Boogeyman has its heart in the right place. The film is a tour-de-force of refreshingly intelligent horror and to miss it would be to pass by a rare thing.

***** out of *****

3 entries by the Goblins. I ll request all Judges to evaluate them and send me their Grades, and post their criticisms and appreciation, if any.