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The Bye Bye Man (2017)
The Bye Bye Man (2017)
2017 | Horror
When someone tells you not to think about something or not to talk about something it is the hardest thing not to do. This is exactly what “The Bye Bye Man” is all about. If you think about him or if you talk about him he will know. After college students Elliot and his girlfriend Sasha move in together with their friend John to a creepy old house their lives are changed forever. Elliot begins to notice that their is something strange going on when he finds a name scribbled in his antique nightstand left by the original owners. He wasn’t expecting to have his world turned upside down with just saying that name. The Bye Bye Man!

If Stacy Title was going for a horror comedy she would’ve hit the nail right on the head but unfortunately this is categorized as a horror thriller. By my standards this film didn’t even come close to that. Originally “The Bye Bye Man” was based off of a short story entitled “The Bridge to Body Island”. Until I read a portion of this story myself I didn’t understand certain aspects of the film. That being said, how is anybody supposed to understand certain things about the film before reading the short story first.

 

I was not really familiar with the cast and their acting seemed forced and not natural. The only good part to the cast was Doug Jones and his exceptional way of always creeping me out with his characters. In person he is the sweetest guy but on screen he always brings the creepy factor of the film up a notch. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to keep this film afloat for me. Perhaps if I had gone into the screening expecting to see a comedic horror film I would be okay with it as being just that. There was more laughter from the audience than screams.
  
Mandy (2018)
Mandy (2018)
2018 | Action, Thriller
Oh Mandy
#Mandymovie is an intoxicating & nauseating experience that left my head spinning & my body warm/tingly sunk into my seat. From the second #mandy starts i was simply hooked, #nostalgia running through my body & its #perfect visuals glistening off my eye balls. I felt almost in a #trance with its soothing/#hypnotic #soundtrack & its cinematography bathed in colour Mandy is simply #gorgeous right to its core. Atmosphere begins #beautifully creating so much intrigue, a sence of wonder/#mystery & a massive sense of love/commitment however its not long until this flips to deeply #unerving, #unsettling & down right skin crawling fast. So many scenes are Dialog sparce but with so much depth in the visuals & sound its really not missed or needed at all. An example of this is Cages love for mandy is shown as complete devotion, #passion/commitment like he sees her almost as a godess/his reason to live (shown using glowing light and warm fire acompanied by soft slow dialog) yet other peoples love for her is the complete oposite more as an #obsession, an object or a #desire (shown using pulsing red light, slow zooms and freeze frames and frantic pitch changing broken dialog). Its a masterful way of telling us about the characters & story making us feel/experiance there #emotions rather than wait for dialog to develop them for us. Acting is also stellar with this being #nicolascage best role in a very long time. His character is a #haunted & troubled man & his #pain can be felt deeply whenever he is on screen. Infunces/homages are everywhere here from #darioargento to #fridaythe13th & other #80s #horror movies. Infact mandy could easily be mistaken for a film released decades ago its that well made & its also destined to become a #cultclassic its self. Mandy is an absolute rare gem, every scene its drenched in such style, care & mesmerising #beauty youll be pushed to find another film like it now days. Im being vauge here on purpouse because to watching this film in the dark, on a big screen, turned up loud trully is one of the best experiences ive had watching a film this year. Insanely good & the perfect #arthouse #horror movie. #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmcritic
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) May 13, 2019

What a great film!

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Hag 12 Down (6 KP) rated Night Film in Books

Dec 30, 2017  
Night Film
Night Film
Marisha Pessl | 2013 | Horror
9
7.7 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Written in unique style with magazine clippings (0 more)
The length (0 more)
This Book is a challenge, but in a good way.
Brilliant, haunting, breathtakingly suspenseful, Night Film is a superb literary thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of the blockbuster debut Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

On a damp October night, the body of young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. By all appearances her death is a suicide - but investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. Though much has been written about the dark and unsettling films of Ashley's father, Stanislas Cordova, very little is known about the man himself. As McGrath pieces together the mystery of Ashley's death, he is drawn deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of New York City and the twisted world of Stanislas Cordova, and he begins to wonder - is he the next victim?

This is a page turner that makes you want to be in the mystery. You will want to watch the Horror films yourself.
  
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Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies

May 5, 2019 (Updated May 5, 2019)  
Upgrade (2018)
Upgrade (2018)
2018 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Gore and storyline (0 more)
Some of the script (0 more)
What if Robocop wasnt a cop??
Stumbled across this beaut of a film. Premise is man and wife get into a car accident and then robbed. Wife is killed and man is left paralysed below the neck. Mans friend (who is a computer designer type person) offers him the chance at a normal life with a new chip that can operate limbs for you. Man takes off and starts to investigate his wife's murder and mystery and who done it starts. This film is at its heart a thriller but is based in a sci fi futuristic world. It is also has some excellent body horror and gore in it including a 'mouth cut' which was bloody awesome! Some of the dialogue is a bit silly with the main character giving crappy 1 liners whilst fighting the people who he suspects of killing his wife but it's not that off putting and I was able to laugh these off. All in all a really good film and well worth a watch.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Madbatdan82 (341 KP) May 6, 2019

It was really good. Wasnt expecting much - love it when I stumble onto a gem.

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Andy K (10821 KP) May 6, 2019

Yeah me too.

Shannon Hammer loves her life and her job of working on the many Victorians in Lighthouse Cove. She’s agreed to go on a blind date with Jerry Saxton, but he turns out to be a complete jerk. To Shannon’s horror, she finds his dead body in one of her houses a couple of days later. With the police looking at her as the prime suspect, she has to build a case against someone else. There are no shortage of suspects, but who did it?

More than a mystery with clues and red herrings, this book is a series of mysterious events, with Shannon reacting to the latest. There are some interesting twists, but the lack of true investigation bothered me. Still, the book does come to a logical climax. I loved these characters. Shannon has a strong group of friends and family, and I really liked them.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/02/book-review-high-end-finish-by-kate.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.