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  #11  
Old 01-12-2009, 08:15 AM
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ChronoGrl ChronoGrl is offline
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Last night the two of us ventured out to Revere again to see...


The Brøken





So far, this is the movie that is getting the highest rating from IMDB. It's also causing a bit of buzz in the horror community. And I can see why: Sean Ellis is a meticulous director with an eye for subtle suspense thriller that I immediately pinned "Hitchcockian." His composition is elaborate, his gaze steady and slow, and his ability to create a creepy atmosphere is successful.

Couple that with the absolutely stunning Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), the seasoned Richard Jenkins and a talented cast of lesser-knowns, you have solid, believable acting set within a well-directed atmospheric piece.

So why did I hate it?

To tell you the truth, I found it utterly boring. At first I thought that it was just me: Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Maybe my attention span is shot. Maybe I just don't know how to appreciate intellectual cinema...

Nah - That can't be it.

While Ellis is clearly a meticulous director (Hitchcock, Miike, and even Lynch come to mind in terms of purposefully long drawn out single shots), there's a point where enough is simply enough. What started out as intriguing well-composed horror film soon turned into a self conscious pretentious attempt at an intellectual thriller. The "horror" of The Brøken revolves around the derivative and cliched doppelganger syndrome - broken mirrors result in our doubles literally hunting us down. Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Mirrors in a predictable portrayal of a horror vehicle that, quite frankly, has been done. If you're going to be a derivation, at least add a new spin on it. The Brøken, unfortunately, does no such thing. I was disappointed.

2.5/5

...

Du saram-yida (Voices)




It was refreshing that ADH once again decided to bring a foreign film into the mix (ADH I, after all was the vehicle for 2005's gem Rinne). Voices is directed by amateur Korean director Ki-hwan Oh. The story centers around a high school girl whose life takes a turn for the worse when her Aunt is almost murdered on her wedding day and then all of a sudden her friends, family, and confidants seem to want her dead.

Not your typical Asian ghost movie, Voices examines the human monster in all of us: jealousy. How often do you say to yourself, "I could KILL them!" either in rage or in irony - There's a point where the phrase "I'll KILL you/him/her" has become an expression of speech and, incidentally, has lost all meaning. Voices considers the concept: What if that urge became real? What if you couldn't control that urge? What if those around you couldn't control that urge? A base, everyday emotion (usually ignored and taken for granted) suddenly becomes a legitimate threat. I thought that concept in and of itself was brilliant.

There are also some well-done supernatural aspects to the film. Ki-hwan Oh creates some truly haunting imagery and suspense that literally caused me to jump in my seat. I felt true horror and threat for the plight of our heroine; what would you do if your friends and family suddenly tried to kill you?

Perhaps what is most striking about Voices is Ki-hwan Oh's ability to truly put the audience in the shoes of our heroine; when she's in love at the beginning of the movie, you're surrounded by cheesy stereotypical Asian flourishes while, when she's haunted in the end you are caught up in a truly suspenseful and atmospheric film.

An innovative addition to Asian horror, Voices has been a true highlight of the festival. I highly recommend.

4.5/5


...


Perkins' 14





If you're the winner of Massify's Ghost in the Machine After Dark Horrorfest contest you would think that the least thing Massify could do is give you lighting.

I'm not joking; low budget is low budget, but putting out a movie that doesn't have a SINGLE well-lit scene is absolutely inexcusable. It's a shame that the winners of the Ghost in the Machine contest had but a short victory before becoming the laughing stock of Horrorfest III (literally: quite a few people were chortling in the film last night).

What I CAN give them credit for is actually a pretty fantastically pulpy concept: Pharmacist Ronald Perkins is arrested and kept in jail when it's revealed that, over the course of 10 years he has been abducting the town folk's children (14 of them to be exact) to keep them in his basement, perform experiments on, AND THEN UNLEASH THEM TO THE UNSUSPECTED TOWN!!!

This is the kind of thing that actually might have been a BLAST if taken up by innovative indie splatter director John Gulager (Feast, Feast II); characters should have been more extreme, deaths more ridiculous, and so on.

INSTEAD, this movie is so poorly done it's comical. The lighting is so dark that in no scene can I actually distinguish what is going on, the writing is laughably insipid, and the acting is just... bad.

Don't bother with this one.

1.25/5


...

Coming up THIS evening:
Butterfly Effect: Revelation
Dying Breed

(unfortunately it appears as though we're going to miss From Within, though since it is ONLY being shown during the week at 6:00, that tells me that they don't WANT people to see it... well, not working people anyway)
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Last edited by ChronoGrl; 01-12-2009 at 08:34 AM.
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  #12  
Old 01-12-2009, 08:49 AM
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Thanks Crono.

I'll stay the hell away from Autopsy then. ;)
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  #13  
Old 01-12-2009, 09:07 AM
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ChronoGrl ChronoGrl is offline
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Originally Posted by newb View Post
Great job on the reviews Chrono.

I eagerly await the rest.
Thanks, Newb! Have you checked out either of the previous Horrorfests?

Quote:
Originally Posted by urgeok2 View Post
i'm trying to collect these sets - apparently they're sold as box sets in the us . but not here in canada - so i've been doing it in bits and pieces..

only have about 4 from each of the 1st 2 sets so far
I'm actually glad that they sell them individually. The box sets are a bit much, but I'm willing to purchase the ones that I REALLY like (i.e. Crazy Eights, Mulberry St, and Borderland).

Which ones do you have? And do you like them?

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Thanks Crono.

I'll stay the hell away from Autopsy then. ;)
LOL

Glad I could help. :D
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  #14  
Old 01-12-2009, 09:31 AM
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ChronoGrl ChronoGrl is offline
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So I've talked about the BEST of After Dark Horrorfest II and NOW...

The WORST of After Dark Horrorfest II - A Look Back

Nightmare Man




There's B-Grade horror and then there's b-grade horror.

This film is about a woman who receives a creepy mask and then thinks she's haunted by the Nightmare man, a demon that comes to her in her dreams... And then it becomes her reality...

I honestly have no issue with monster/slasher films, but the production value of this film was so incredibly low that everyone in the theater couldn't help but give way to laughter. The demon's mask was absolutely pathetic, and attempts to catch the victim were just... poorly choreographed... The dialogue was stereotypically bad, but not so bad as to be self-conscious parody... Just an all around bad movie. As in, I want that hour and a half back. WOW.

1/5

...


Lake Dead





I mean, with a quality title such as this, how can this movie possibly be bad?!

...

So three sisters find out that the grandfather that they thought was already dead, wasn't until, well, he actually died and left them a motel in a remote location. They travel up to the motel for the weekend... And are hunted down with such poor direction that there is no suspense, horror, or slashing at all... Bad writing, TERRIBLE direction, and a really horrible poorly executed storyline.

.75/5


What truly offends me the most about both Nightmare Man and Lake Dead is that there have to be SCORES of indie horror filmmakers out there trying to catch a break, but it's this awful low-budget tripe that was hooked onto the festival circuit. At least Perkins' 14 has the excuse of being a "contest winner" - After Dark actually sought out and PURCHASED Lake Dead and Nightmare Man. Cinematic abortions that came too far into term. They truly should NOT have seen the pale lights of the cinema.

...

Tooth and Nail





So the Earth has suffered through the apocalypse; fuel has been completely depleted and for some reason, the world's population is decreased by 2/3 in a matter of, oh, three years... yeah... So a group of local tools (seriously - tools; if you survive an apocalypse, I'd imagine that you'd be pretty badass... But not in Tooth and Nail) hole up in a hospital and are targeted by a gang of cannibalistic rogues.

The film covers SUCH quintessential horror themes as Post apocalypse and Society vs. Anarchy / Cannibalism... But... Yet... Executed... So... Poorly...

I find it difficult to believe that the Earth would be cut down by 2/3 in a matter of 3 - 5 years and that the survivors would be pathetic cultish victims (there are possibilities in here!)... Michael Madsen had a very, very small role... But not enough to keep this thing interesting. The redeeming value of this film are the action scenes... The rogue cannibals adorned themselves in viking gear and yielded delightfully pointy objects (spiked clubs and that whatnot)... They definitely tear through the hospital and turned this movie into a siege film... But not a good siege film. Not really worth your time.

2/5


...


The Deaths of Ian Stone





The Matrix meets Dark City meets Groundhog Day... But not in a good way.

At first glance, the concept seems intriguing and well thought-out. The scares are fantastic. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the first 2/3 of the movie was possibly some of the best horror film bits that I have seen... ever.

The last 1/3 however... The movie seems to tack on inconsistent Hollywood themes as well as HORRIBLY written exposition and a poorly-designed and executed Monster. Considering how great the beginning of the movie was, the end was just... Terrible to take and ruined the rest of the film for me.

2.5/5 (and that's being generous)


...


Unearthed





This movie doesn't try to do anything novel; Monster movie ripping off Alien 3. Yes, Alien 3. Didn't bother ripping off either of the good ones...

The script was poor, the direction horrible (the director made up for lack of budget by over-using the shaky cam), and the special effects were pathetic. I consider this movie essentially Alien 3 with slightly better CGI but in the desert on an Indian Reservation.

In short, Unearthed is a B Grade monster movie. Nothing more, nothing less. If you LIKE B-Grade monster movies and Unearthed happens to be on television and you have nothing better to do... then this is your movie. Not exactly my bag, though.

2/5
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  #15  
Old 01-12-2009, 09:42 AM
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Coulnd't agree with you more on Deaths Of Ian Stone.

To begin with the story was simply amazing. Really original, and i remember constantly thinking "How the hell will they manage to pull this one off with success?". Sadly, they didn't. For shame...


Think i gave it a 7/10 for the effort nevertheless.
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  #16  
Old 01-12-2009, 10:30 AM
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Coulnd't agree with you more on Deaths Of Ian Stone.

To begin with the story was simply amazing. Really original, and i remember constantly thinking "How the hell will they manage to pull this one off with success?". Sadly, they didn't. For shame...


Think i gave it a 7/10 for the effort nevertheless.
Yeah, I think part of the reason I wasn't so generous with the rating was that the beginning was SO incredible (innovative, brutal, well-done) that when the ending failed it completely negated all of the positive that I thought that the beginning brought to horror.


***SPOILERS***


And what the HELL was with him transforming into a giant, poorly-CGI'd Fabio-monster???


***/SPOILERS
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  #17  
Old 01-12-2009, 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by ChronoGrl View Post
Yeah, I think part of the reason I wasn't so generous with the rating was that the beginning was SO incredible (innovative, brutal, well-done) that when the ending failed it completely negated all of the positive that I thought that the beginning brought to horror.


***SPOILERS***


***/SPOILERS

I've happily forgotten that part. :D
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  #18  
Old 01-12-2009, 05:58 PM
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ChronoGrl ChronoGrl is offline
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Aaaaaaaaaactually, it didn't happen. :o

We're both pretty tired and decided to stay in and watch Oldboy and Unforgiven as opposed to travel an hour to the asshole of Massachusetts.

SO

THE SCORE SO FAR:
  1. Autopsy: 4.5/5
  2. Du saram-yida (Voices): 4.5/5
  3. Slaughter: 2.75/5
  4. The Brøken: 2.5/5
  5. Perkins' 14: 1.25/5

The Unseen:
Unfortunately, what's playing tomorrow are three of the films that I've already seen and the FEST is over on Wednesday (which is my HOLIDAY PARTY - yeah, talk about good timing!). I wish that the films had been organized in the same fashion as last year (you could go Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and see all 8; this year the film timing was pretty awkward - and it's getting to a point in my old age that I just don't feel like driving to Revere on a Monday night).

Oh, well.

I'LL have to wait to catch those three.

In the meantime, let me know what, if any you've been able to catch - I want to know your feedback. Who LOVED Autopsy? Who LOVED Broken? Who was more forgiving about Perkins' 14? And let's continue talking about past FESTS.
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  #19  
Old 01-12-2009, 06:21 PM
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Which ones do you have? And do you like them?
i cant remember - borderline is one ... the ? lives of whatshisname is another..


i downloaded a bunch but i want to replace them with origionals ..


havent watched any yet .. i cant remember when i watched a horror movie last - never get a chance ... it's bugging me.
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  #20  
Old 01-12-2009, 11:41 PM
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but if one is going to pin that movie as "torture porn,"
I really wish people who actually like horror films stopped using his gutter press created term..
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