GET READY… on JANUARY 14th the phones will start ringing, the doors will unlock, the knives will plunge, guts will spill and Sidney Prescott will return home to Woodsboro where a new series of killings are taking place… from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett the directors of V/H/S and Ready or Not comes the latest chapter in one of the greatest horror franchises… SCREAM
Director : Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli – Cast Includes : Matilda Lutz, Francesco Russo, Will Merrick, Yuliia Sobol, Justin Korovkin
So I’m excited… why you may ask? well I just watched a new horror movie by two Italian filmmakers I’d never heard of and it was freaking AWESOME !! A CLASSIC HORROR STORY is directed by Italians Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli and was made for 3 million euros, the film stars Matilda Lutz last seen in the brilliant Coralie Fargeat movie Revenge and was filmed in Apulia and Roma, Italy : the film starts with a bunch of strangers travelling in a RV through the countryside of southern Italy when an accident leaves them stranded in the woods, with no phone signal and with one of the party injured they must fight desperately to find away out and stay alive… what I found so enjoyable with A Classic Horror Story was that it felt like a mash up of some of my favorite horror movies, it had the creepy vibes of The Village and Midsommar, the brutality of Texas Chainsaw and the weirdness of Cabin in the Woods… I loved that the runtime was kept short & sweet, the way the story twists and turns like the arms of an octopus with it’s finale leaving you open mouthed like the end of a Shyamalan pic and the film’s unsettling violence that made me wince a few times… I really enjoyed the way the fear factor is ramped up when the mention of the three deities Ostro, Mastosso and Carcagnosso, that Purge like noise of the siren going off alerting the group that trouble is coming their way, this after digesting a scene of unimaginable horror moments before and that dinner table scene around an hour in with Matilda Lutz covered in blood, tied to a chair trying to scream for help is painful to watch : along with Lutz who shines as Elisa there’s also a wickid turn by Francesco Russo who plays Fabrizio : overall A Classic Horror Story is CREEPY, BLOODY and a DAMN GOOD TIME ★★★★
Following the Abbott family who are forced to venture into pastures new as they quickly realise that the alien creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats lurking beyond the sand path : A QUIET PLACE Part II opens up with a flashback… Day 1 starts with happier times where we get to see the the small American town where the Abbott’s lived right before the Alien invasion took place, there’s smiles aplenty as the kids are playing baseball, we get to see Brody’s Pizzeria an obvious nod to Spielberg’s Jaws and we get our first look at a new character Emmett played by Cillian Murphy, a family man watching the baseball when his and everyone’s life changes forever : if your a horror fan then the darkness of the Cinema is the best place to watch A Quiet Place Part II as Polly Morgan’s imaginative camera work, the muted sound with flashes of screeching, screaming Alien attacks and the tension with each scene as the family attempt to navigate their now crushed world without making a sound is unbearable : I know I touched on this after 2018’s first movie but I have to say how impressed I am with Millie Simmonds who’s easily the star of this sequel, her character Regan is fearless & clever and the train and boat yard scenes with Cillian are terrific to watch, Emily Blunt of course is superb, the pain Evelyn feels in defending her children & insurmountable loss is the backbone of the movie, from heartfelt moments such as leaving her wedding ring on the cross and her fight with the creature whilst carrying two oxygen tanks is formidable, Peaky Blinder Cillian Murphy is a welcome additon to the cast, his character Emmett plays a pivotel role in the Abbott families survival and The Undoing’s young star Noah Jupe is once again fabulous, that scene where Marcus is running out of air in the safe had my pulse racing and my knuckles turning white as I gripped the arms of the chair, nearly knocking my popcorn all over the place : it’s no mean feat to direct a sequel that stands up well alongside it’s original yet somehow John Krasinksi has managed just that… yes if I was being slightly picky the film finishes rather abruptly and could have benefitted with an extra thirty minutes… but since a third film in the franchise has been green lit with no other than Jeff “Midnight Special” Nichols directing then I’ll let this one pass and look forward to another chapter where being quiet is the new norm : TERRIFYING ★★★★
Here’s the trailer for HALLOWEEN KILLS… I’m a huge fan of Michael Myers and the film franchise that was started back in ’78 by Carpenter spawning numerous sequels and remakes, so the thought of visiting the cinema this October for another dose of Haddonfield has me all excited… I know what your thinking… you just can’t beat the originals and yep you would be right, but there was something fresh I took away from David Gordon Green’s Halloween back in 2018, I didn’t think it was as atmospheric as Carpenter’s masterpiece or as nasty as the Rob Zombie remake but I did love it’s story by Green & Mcbride, the film was well shot with it’s scares coming thick and fast and Myers was in devilishly good form, I really enjoyed the Judy Greer casting and of course seeing Jamie Lee return as Laurie Strode was the icing… so after you’ve watched the trailer for the sequel below why not (like I’m about to do) revisit the Halloween franchise, and see which ones are you favorite… Halloween Kills scares this October…
A chilling true story of the supernatural, a violent murder and an unknown evil that shocked even the experienced paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren : If like me your a fan of The Conjuring franchise and invested in it’s characters and the horror universe it plays out in then Michael Chaves movie will get under your skin and deliver plenty of knee jerks, shivers and chewing of finger nails, yes of course I was disappointed to hear James Wan wasn’t returning to the franchise he started but after watching Michael Chaves brilliant directorial debut The Curse of La Llorona I was more than happy to enjoy another chapter of Conjuring : the third film of course sees the return of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren a real life husband and wife team of paranormal investigators who are now looking into the possession of David a young boy from Connecticut and the alarming events that followed : I watched this movie on the big screen, allowing the darkness of the movie theatre to consume me I was ready…. or so I thought…. in typical Conjuring fashion those sudden ear bursting moments of screaching SOUND really caught me off guard, especially at the beginning of the movie when David is being tormented by some evil entity and Ed & Lorraine with the help of some family members & a local priest are trying to perform an exorcism really startled me…. and AGAIN when David goes all Regan on the dining room table the SOUND matching the horrific intensity of the scene, really standing my hair on end : loved the nod to The Exorcist early on as Father Gordon arrives standing outside the Glatzel house looking up at the window, so poetic, Ed & Lorraine’s love story arch with it’s emotion and early flashback are beautifully handled (that gazebo scene had me like niagara falls), the supporting cast that includes Fringe’s John Noble (when is he not great eh?) & Ruairi O’Connor who I last seen in Teen Spirit are excellent and along with the well worked screenplay written by Aquaman’s David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick it’s the chemistry of it’s two stars Wilson and Farmiga that once again deliver believable and emotional characterisation of the Warren’s, this third film has more backstory allowing both stars to grow their respective roles even further : overall THE CONJURING 3 is a superb entry into the franchise and one that has everything you’d want from a horror movie : it’s super SCARY, has a COMPELLING and facinating story and the ATMOSPHERE you could cut with a knife ★★★★
During a vacation in the Catskills, an author and a stranger from a neighbouring cabin are thrown together after a power outage strikes the area : Both decide to pass the time by telling ghost stories which leads to chaos and their ultimate fears slowly starting to become reality : Josh Ruben’s Cabin in the Catskills horror movie SCARE ME is certainly my kind of movie jam, a slice of original horror that showcases the ability to scare whilst acting almost theatre like with it’s sharp and smart dialogue that’s executed in a fresh and creative style : Ruben and his co-star Aya Cash who’s energy matches the display she gives as Stormfront in the television show The Boys are outrageous, both feeding off each other like piranah’s with the movies ultimate payoff being delivered with satisfying style : I really dug how Ruben utilises the sound effects in the movie to enhance the visuals creating this scary vibe that’s deliciously atmospheric and adds so much to it’s horror telling, you just know something’s going to happen and it’s fun finding out when….. a low budget gem and one I feel would benefit from multiple viewings ★★★★
A couple get stranded in an abandoned 6-meter pool alongside a deadly Crocodile that has recently escaped captivity : I love watching world cinema and recently discovered the work of Thailand’s Ping Lumpraploeng an excellent writer/director who’s latest work THE POOL captured my imagination, so without further ado here’s my movie thoughts : Theeradej Wongpuapan is one of Thailand’s most popular stars and his performance in The Pool is one of the main reasons the movie is so damn watchable, from it’s opening shots of Wongpuapan’s character Day slowly opening his eye’s to find himself in the depths of the drained pool and as he tries to fend of the jaws of this gnarly crocodile with a bucket I knew instantly this would be my movie jam : what I really look for in a good survival movie is whether it’s filmmaker can bring something new to the party and keep the film from being the same old…. well Lumpraploeng’s The Pool is certainly not stale, it’s inventive and for it’s 90mins runtime your truly on the edge of your seat : I love the way the film shifts it’s dynamic and goes from Day’s crocodile attack at the beginning to “6 Days Earlier…” it’s quite brilliant as we not only discover how Day and Koi find themselves at the bottom of this abandoned pool but we also get the build up to the events of those opening survival shots : along with it’s cast and location another triumph in creating the film’s high anxiety levels is the film’s sound, of course the growl of the Crocodile or the crack of thunder is effective and nerve jangling but it’s the atmospheric score that really does ramp up the tension levels : some of my favorite moments in the movie include that scene with an injured Day crawling through the underground drain tunnels and manages to get through an adjacent manhole… also that moment when Day tries to retrieve the tape from the open jaws of the basking Crocodile is nail biting… in these type of movies you can usually call a few things before they happen but I have to say that what happens to Lucky the dog absolutley floored me, it came right out of the blue and what followed straight after was insane and tough to swallow : so if you love your survival movies then look no further than Ping Lumpraploeng excellent THE POOL it’s SUPERB and highly ENTERTAINING ★★★★
A devout community suffering from a plague is torn apart by a beautiful young woman and the forces of witchcraft and possession : I do love me a good folk horror movie, with the likes of Witchfinder General, Blood on Satans Claw, The Witch amongst my favorites in the genre, films that oooze the occult, darkly bewitched by supernatural elements, carry the stench of an evil force fighting against or part of a religious group and there usually set in some sort of rural farm community or isolated island in the middle of nowehere : Thomas Robert Lee’s The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is another such movie, one that evokes a slow burn foreboding with flashes of unsettling scenes alongside it’s dark and eerie setting : the story in the movie is fine but does get a bit messy in parts and some it’s characters are a little underused but nevertheless there’s a trio of very strong performances from the likes of Catherine Walker who plays Agatha, Catherine was excellent in Liam Gavin’s very scary horror movie A Dark Song, Jared Abrahamson who was last seen in American Animals and Jessica Reynolds in her movie debut gives a haunting painful display as Audrey : I really felt for poor Bridget in the movie played by the wonderful Hannah Emily Anderson, she first looses her child and then this hideous curse is placed upon her to devistating effect, the tooth scene, shaving blade and that moment with the sheep is very upsetting : the idea of transporting Audrey in a box as not to be seen by the towns folk was terrific, as was the idea of Agatha’s land only producing crops, I also found the film’s sets and lighting superbly effective throughout : so overall if your a fan of these slow building, folk horror movies then The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw will thrill and chill your bones : LOVED IT ★★★★
Sometime in the future, prisoners housed in a Vertical Self-Management Center watch as inmates in the upper cells are fed while those below starve : Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s directorial debut The Platform is a trip into the depth’s of madness, a disturbing dystopian gem that’s not for the faint hearted : the movie follows Goreng a normal guy who has agreed to spend 6 months of his life in this prison centre for the promise of a diploma on the outside world, of course this is dependant on whether he makes it through his term as each 30 days spent in the center the residents are transfered to another cell on a new level, the higher the cell number the more chance of survival : the story written by David Desola is fresh & downright scary and the work by Iván Massagué in & Zorion Eguileor in bringing Goreng & Trimagasi to life respectively is paramount to how the movie plays out, I could not keep my eyes off the pair of them, it was like watching some sort of depraved stage show, the desperation and brutality in surviving their term is absolute bonkers : the woman travelling up and down the food lift looking for her kid is messed up, that dog scene and Baharat’s attempt to climb a level had me feeling utterly nauseous : overall if your looking for something new & nasty in the horror genre then look no further than The Platform it’s a white knuckle ride that had me rocking in my chair praying for some kind of merciful resolution ★★★★½
What can I say about the lovely DEE WALLACE who was born on the 14th December 1948 : what an actress, what a scream queen and what an impact this gal from Kansas City had on me, who lit up my favorite genre with superb turns in movies such as The Howling, Alligator II, The Hills Have Eyes, The Frighteners, Critters and the best of the bunch Cujo a Stephen King adaption that still scares me even now : the first time I remember watching Dee was back in 1982, when she played Drew Barrymore’s mum in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. and what a fabulous performance in such a great movie : luckily for us Dee Wallace is still knocking out the films and was seen recently in 2017’s Death House, 2019’s 3 from Hell and 2016’s Aussie Horror Red Christmas : me personally I hope Dee’s around making movies for another 30ys : such an ICONIC movie presence
One of my favorite Dee Wallace quotes : “Cujo was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the film I’m proudest of. You know, how far can you break down? When do you break down? How do you break down? It was just relentless”
Two women in South Korea who are from different times connect through a phone call which interchange their fates in an unexpected & devistating way : the horror genre in South Korea is insanely exciting, beautiful and shocking at times and THE CALL from director Lee Chung-hyun continues that trend with it’s blistering violence, originality and crazy twists that leave you breathless when the film ends and your pondering what on earth just happened? : I love the way Chung-hyun slowly builds the tension making you belive one thing and then quickly turning the screw with flashes of diabolical cruelty that has an effect on both main characters in the movie, Kim Seo-yeon played by the wonderful Park Shin-hye recently seen in #Alive and Oh Young-sook played by the tremendous Burning actress Jeon Jong-seo, both actresses are top notch with Jong-seo delivering a searing display that’s quite unforgettable in the film’s final third : the camera work around the house by Jo Young-jik is tremendous giving each & every scene a darkness, a sense of foreboding and combine this with the film’s lightening and sound The Call really is a tense, agonising watch : there are loads of haunting moments in the movie but the highlights for me are Young-sook and the strawberry guy when he discovers the bags in the freezer is utterly bone chilling, those scenes with Young-sook being whipped by her adpotive shaman mother is terrifying, Kim’s dad disintegrating whilst sat in the passenger seat of a car she’s driving is mouth wide shocking and those final ten insane minutes will blow your mind : so if you love your South Korean horror or you’ve not seen any and want a superb introduction then check out Lee Chung-hyun The Call it’s SUPERB ★★★★
Yesterday we lost a giant in Daria Nicolodi : her contribution to the horror genre and Italian Cinema can only be described as immense : her legacy will live on through her work, starring in films such as Deep Red, Tenebrae, Opera, Paganini Horror and Inferno and her partnership with horror maestro Dario Argento she also co-wrote Suspiria and provided the voice of Mater Suspiriarum, Daria also wrote the Argento classic Inferno : her work has played a huge part in me growing into the Cinephile I am today and my enjoyment of her work will continue to play on until I too find myself in the arms of whatever comes next RIP x
Bodies are discovered, mutilated after each full moon so it’s upto the local sheriff and his deputies to find the killer before they strike again : Firstly let me say how visually stunning the introduction is to THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW almost like The Shining the camera follows the mountainous backdrop of the films location, at times it’s scenery is cleverly reflected above as the camera reaches it’s destination….. a big old grisly moon, what a terrific intro and the perfect mood-setter for what’s to follow : I personally LOVE everything about this bat shit crazy slasher from it’s director & star of the movie Jim Cummings who’s nutty sheriff is having the worst few days of his fucked up life and boy this guy loves to SCREAM : I found the dialogue really witty and at times I didn’t know whether to laugh, console or shout at this poor guy loosing his shit with everybody who crosses his path : the snowy Utah backdrop and action scenes are well shot by Natalie Kingston, it’s quirky Lynch-esque characters are somewhat adhering, we get to share in the great Robert Forster’s final screen outing, a stand out performance from the delightful Riki Lindhome and it’s Agatha Christie keep you guessing narrative The Wolf of Snow Hollow is an absolute riot that tackles addiction, dealing with your demons, marital separation and a killer on the loose : it’s so much movie goodness wrapped up in the smallest of run-times with a bunch of character’s I hope we get see more of….. some time soon : IT’S SO GOOD ★★★★½
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