What a Frightening Sight! Part Two.

Titch-Films

Hello guys and ghouls, and welcome back to a SELECTION of some of my favourite horror films. My movie picks may not be the best, they may not even be scary, but I am almost certain they will entertain.

We begin with...

Scream (1996)
One of director Wes Craven's slasher classics in which a serial killer is stalking a group of teenagers in the same way as in a horror film.

This film is guaranteed to make you both jump and laugh. For me, personally, Scream is one of the best slashers out there.

Trick 'r Treat (2007)
This movie features four interwoven stories that take place on Halloween: A woman who hates Halloween has to deal with her husband who is obsessed with the holiday; an ordinary high school principal leads a secret life as a serial killer; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a college virgin may have found the man she has been waiting for.

Trick 'r Treat pokes fun at the horror genre, and finds success in delivering the laughs.

Pontypool (2008)
A psychological thriller in which a deadly virus infects the inhabitants of a small Ontario town called Pontypool.

Most of the action takes place inside a radio station studio; as the story unfolds for the characters, it does so for the audience at the same time. This film will have you with the characters and impending danger right until the very end.

Cube (1997)
Before there was Saw, there was Cube.


Seven total strangers with widely varying personality traits are involuntarily placed in an endless Kafkaesque maze containing deadly traps.

Yes there is blood and gore, but there is also plot and story. Believe me, this movie will keep you gripped.

Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010)
I'll probably be slated for sneaking the third Lost Boys into my favourites, but that's my decision and I'm sticking with it.

Why?

One word.

Fun.

If you don't believe me, see for yourself.

Resident Evil (2002)
Based on a computer game, Resident Evil is about a special military unit sent to fight a powerful and out-of-control supercomputer, as well as hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.

Pounding soundtrack. Zombies being blown to pieces. Pure adrenaline rush!

I hope I've inspired you if you're planning to hide behind the sofa this Halloween.

What did you think of my picks? Which ones were hit? And, which ones were a miss?

Read PART ONE.

What a Frightening Sight! Part One.

Halloween is coming, and with it I'm sure 'top ten horror films' lists will be appearing all over the blogosphere. I could do the same, but I won't, I'll save that for another time. Instead, I will use the time leading up to the 31st October to give you a non-discriminate selection of my personal favourites in the horror genre (and they won't all be classics either).

Remember to let me know what  you think of my picks. Are they a trick or a treat?

Candyman (1992)
This film is about Helen Lyle, a student, who decides to write a thesis on the legend of Candyman - a one-armed man with a hook for a hand who appears when you say his name fives times in front of a mirror - as she investigates further and tests the legend, it unfolds in front of her eyes.

Candyman subtlety mixes horror and dark humour. And, to be honest, horror fave Tony Todd is actually rather dashing as the one-armed monster. Also, I find his character rather sympathetic; or is that just me?

The Bride of Chucky (1998)
Why did I pick this one and not Child's Play? Because this film is more fun! Simple.

Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) hooks up with an old flame, another homicidal doll, and they go about trying to return to human form.

Not very serious, not very scary. Very, very funny.

Let the Right One In (2008)
Completely different kind of pick from the previous two.

Set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg, 1982, Let the Right One In is about Oskar, a 12-year old boy who gets bullied at school, he meets and falls in love with Eli who harbours the dark secret that she's a vampire.

The film is dark and romantic, and beautiful in many ways. A must see!

The Lost Boys (1987)
Whether you like to admit it or not (and some don't), The Lost Boys has become a classic. Vampires, cool soundtrack, motorbikes; what more could you want?

Really, this film needs no explanation. So if you haven't already seen The Lost Boys (where have you been?), I say, do it now! Or, whenever you have 97 minutes to kill...

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
I'm on a bit of a vampire theme here, but let me just roll with it.

Two criminal brothers (played by George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) kidnap a family and their camper van in order to get across the border to Mexico, and to a bar called the 'Titty Twister'.

When they reach the bar, they soon realize they have unknowingly walked into a vampire lair.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, From Dusk Till Dawn flawlessly goes from crime to horror without completely throwing the audience off course.


Well, that's all for now. But be back, part two is coming soon!
Nicola E.

Devil (2010) Review

My hopes were high for this film; I enjoy horror-mysteries and this one looked like it would be full of suspense. Co-written by M.Night Shyamalan, I expected the film to keep me guessing until the end. But unfortunately, it didn't.

Warning: Do not read on if you do not want the movie to be spoiled.

Devil is a film about a group of strangers who get stuck in a lift together. One-by-one each person gets killed off by an evil entity (the "Devil") whom they believe to be someone inside the lift.

We are presented with five bland, one-dimensional characters: a security guard, a young woman who dates older men for money, a salesman, an older woman who cries a lot, and a man who was involved in a hit-and-run which killed two people. It appears that the development of a character depends on how long they survive the film.

The "Devil" turns out to be the older woman - who after a fake death, involving her seemingly being hung, comes back to life - so she goes from weepy older woman to creepy older woman. To be honest, I probably could have worked that out from watching the trailer. In my opinion, creepy older woman is a way too obvious choice for an evil entity in a movie.

Devil disappointed me on so many levels; it wasn't thrilling, suspenseful, or even much of a mystery. This is a film I'll probably avoid buying when it is released on DVD.

What do you think?

Why I Hate the Saw Films

I remember sitting down to watch the first Saw (2004) film on DVD with high expectations, and in no way shape or form were they met. This is by no means the first time an overly hyped-up movie has left me feeling this way. However, Saw not only felt like it had let me down, but it also felt like it had insulted me by acting far more clever than it actually was.

Saw wasn't original or clever, in my opinion, it did what had been done before and did it worse. Take the film Cube (1997), for example, it has a similar plot to Saw; it has less gore but that's due to the higher quality of both the plot and story. The Saw films are nothing more than a bunch of overgrown children playing with prosthetics. It would be best described as "Torture porn."

It is hard for me to understand how this franchise has done as well as it has. The Saw films are poorly acted and poorly scripted; they seem to mainly consist of people panting. Yet an audience still buy into it, why is this? These films aren't even particularly scary! Is it truly just for the mutilation?

As each film goes by the low standards drop even lower, as if there is no such thing as quality control. Obviously these films must be money-makers for the studio to churning them out. But surely I can't be the only one insulted by the stupidity of it all.

On top of being terribly silly (and all-round dreadful), it is also on the borders of "snuff movie" territory. Obviously, what we are seeing is clearly not real, but with minimum plot and story, and maximum blood and gore, there is a sinister element to the enjoyment gained from these films.

The Saw films will, hopefully, never rank among the greatest. And their following will never cease to amaze me. I know, personally, I would be insulted to part with my money for these films. What do you think? Do you agree with me? Disagree?