Search

Search only in certain items:

It Comes At Night (2017)
It Comes At Night (2017)
2017 | Horror
Well written dialogue (1 more)
Great performances
Not What I Expected
This movie surprised me in a good way. If you are a fan of movies like the Conjuring and Insidious and that is the sort of tone and style that you are expecting from this, then you will probably be disappointed. This movie is so much more than that. I don't think I've seen tension done this well in a horror scenario since 10 Cloverfield Lane last year. The performances are solid all around and we are given a good amount of context for the drastic decisions that we see certain characters make. This movie is chilling and thought provoking and is probably more creepy than it is scary, but it is still most definitely worth a watch.
  
The Nun (2018)
The Nun (2018)
2018 | Horror
Nice visuals (0 more)
Weak storyline, low creepy factor (0 more)
Fair to Middlin'
I really wanted to love this movie. The Conjuring has been one of my favorite horror movies since its release. Sadly, this film relied on jump scares and predictable outcomes instead of the insidious creepiness that I loved in the previous movies. Although it does succeed in bridging the gaps between the two Conjurings, the storyline itself was weak and disappointing. With all the time it took to be released, I feel that a much better film could have been produced. Visually it was great. The Nun character is still as horrifying as before, but the movie glosses over the origin of the demon. I appreciated the few comedic bits, but overall this movie was a letdown.
  
The Nun (2018)
The Nun (2018)
2018 | Horror
I’ve always been a sucker for supernatural thrillers that are based on “actual events”, even if the way it’s portrayed in the movies nowhere resembles the truth. For some reason, it’s always intriguing to watch a film and imagine that these things could potentially happen. This has always been the draw of The Conjuring films, which are loosely based on the lives of Ed and Lorraine Warren, whose paranormal investigations were the inspiration behind not only this series but the Amityville Horror. So, when I heard that The Nun was another movie set in the same cinematic universe as The Conjuring franchise I anxiously awaited the opportunity to review it.

The Nun begins with two nuns who are attempting to destroy an evil being that has cursed an abbey in a small Romanian village for hundreds of years. After a young man who goes by the name Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet) discovers one of the nuns has hung herself, the Vatican summons Father Burke (Demián Bichir), who is known for his special skills in exorcisms and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a young nun-in-training to investigate the matter. With Frenchie as their guide, they travel to the abbey to uncover the mysteries of the nun’s suicide.

The Nun reintroduces us to a familiar demonic figure that was originally introduced in The Conjuring 2. Sadly, this is where the similarities to the other Conjuring films end. The Nun has its share of jump scares, but the entire film seems to be a compilation of various horror tropes including everything from crosses turning upside down to using holy water to get rid of demons. All the typical exorcism movie elements are there, but none of them really add any context to the story or answer any questions as to why the priest and nun were sent to investigate the suicide. There is no discernable path that the characters take to unravel the mystery, and it attempts to build suspense only to “Hollywood-up” the ending. They sacrificed suspense and mystery and replaced it with monster filled battles and cheesy one-liners. Instead of beautifully haunting ghosts and demons we got what I could only describe as nun-mummies which can now be taken down with shovels and shotguns. A shotgun was not part of Father Burke’s exorcism arsenal but towards the end of the movie you start to think maybe that should have been his weapon of choice all along (who needs a cross and holy water, when you have your trusty 12-gauge).

The setting is as beautiful as it is creepy, and it’s hard not to wonder how they could take such an amazing setting and dumb it down. The Nun herself is particularly creepy and the characters at first glance appear to be interesting which is why it’s so disappointing that the movie feels so much like a missed opportunity. The pacing of the movie is incredibly slow as well, with all the buildup of the investigation most of the time you are just waiting for something to happen. To make it even worse, most of the buildups lead the audience down a path of confusion and not only raise more questions that will never be answered, but also destroy any believability of the story.

Ultimately, fans of The Conjuring franchise will likely leave disappointed and with even more longing for The Conjuring 3 to be released. The movie lacks much of the suspense and outright terror that the previous movies in the series were well known for and ultimately feels like a spinoff movie that lacks any real connection to the movies preceding it. The Nun isn’t a terrible movie, and I didn’t leave feeling as though I had completely wasted an hour and a half of my time, it just really doesn’t do anything to break new ground or move the franchise along in any meaningful way. While there are parts of the movie that will have you jump, the reality is, that the scenes following these moments will keep you bewildered and likely cause you to forget what made you jump in the first place. It has some interesting concepts, but nothing that hasn’t been done better in similar movies before it. In the end it’s a movie that people will not likely hate but will not feel satisfied with either. I certainly wouldn’t recommend paying full price to see it, but it may be worth the Saturday matinee price or watching it when it comes to Blu-ray. If you want a good ghost or demon movie to get you in the Halloween spirit, this isn’t it. You’d be much better off watching the spectacularly classic Poltergeist or The Exorcist if you really want to be scared out of your wits.

What I liked: The setting and atmosphere, The Nun herself was pretty freaky

What I liked less: Disjointed story, Too many unanswered questions, Overall “meh” feeling
  
Annabelle: Creation  (2017)
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
2017 | Horror
Starting to become tedious
Quite a standard horror flick, filling in the gaps of the original @Annabelle (2014) film and the first @The Conjuring (2013) film on the origins of the haunted doll. No doubt, there are moments which are sinister, but overall, it fares less on the terror scale than others in this franchise.

It follows the story of a doll maker's family and the tragic loss of their young daughter after a car accident. In a bid to move on, they open their home 12 years later to a group of orphans, with serious consequences.

The idea as been explored many times before and done with varying degrees of success. The chill factor is very low but the story line moves at a steady enough pace to keep you watching.
  
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
2016 | Horror
James Wan's style is all over the film (1 more)
Well made high budget horror
The accents and some of the acting are hard work, particularly in the beginning (0 more)
You get exactly what you ask for
First off, if you liked the first conjuring, you will like the second one.

James Wan's classy approach to horror, complete with clever camera movements, tension building sustained shots and a patient approach to scares are still consistent throughout the movie, and there is simply no doubt that this is one of his movies.

The plot continues to follow the controversial Warren's investigations into paranormal events, with the excellent Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga perfectly capturing the cooky and over the top personalities of the Warrens, and adding a bit of light-heartedness to what is otherwise a fairly grim and unrelenting plot-line.

This time the story is set in England and revolves around the story of the Enfield Haunting, a very famous "real story" about a family experiencing a poltergeist in the 70's.

Obviously Wan and Co take this story and ramp it up to 11, introducing new characters and making it much more of a spectacle, and it is largely an enjoyable rollercoaster, with just enough jump scares to keep you on the edge of your seat, but without getting tiring.

Horror Reddits and Forums constantly argue about whether the conjuring 1 or 2 is the stronger film, and I choose not to enter that particular argument, other than to say that one is probably as good as the other, similar in tone and presentation as they are.

Some will argue that these films are not particularly original. and they may have a point.

Still there is no doubt that James Wan delivers on high quality, well made horror, and that is something for us all to enjoy.
  
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
2019 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Enjoyable, not as good as Annabelle Creation
Annabelle Comes Home is the third standalone movie for the creepy looking doll since her introduction during the original Conjuring movie. It's also the seventh feature movie from the ever expanding 'Conjuring Universe', a series of movies that have seen wildly varying degrees of quality and success thus far. I tend to start my reviews for this series of movies by declaring my love for the first Conjuring, before wishing that the latest release I'm reviewing might actually match that. But so far the only other movie in the series to come anywhere close to doing that for me was the last Annabelle movie - Annabelle Creation. So, I had very high hopes for this next Annabelle installment.

After venturing into the past with the previous Annabelle movies, Annabelle Comes Home begins by expanding on the events of The Conjuring. The Warrens take the Annabelle doll into their care in order to keep it safe in their home, under lock and key in their famous artefact room. The car journey home is an eventful one though and it is a real joy to be back in the company of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga and their portrayal of paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their characters, and their performances, have been the most enjoyable aspect of these movies for me and this opening chapter with them gets things off to a great start. With Annabelle in the artefact room, blessed by the local priest and contained in a cabinet made out of chapel glass, the evil is contained. And Annabelle is now home.

From there we shift forward a year, where the focus of the movie turns to the Warren's 10 year old daughter Judy (Mckenna Grace). Her parents occupation and reputation is clearly having an effect on her life, with other children at school poking fun at her and refusing to come to her birthday party at the creepy Warren house. That uncomfortable, uneasy feeling of having a room in your house where unspeakable evil is being contained probably doesn't help things either! When her parents have to go away one night, friendly babysitter Mary Ellen comes over to take care of Judy, stepping in to the role of much needed friend. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela arrives to join them a little bit later, uninvited and proving to be a little less straight-laced than Mary Ellen is.

Daniela is currently grieving from the recent loss of her father and is suffering with strong feelings of guilt surrounding the circumstances of his death. She is clearly fascinated and intrigued by the work of the Warrens, so while Mary Ellen and Judy are outside rollerskating, she wastes no time in hunting down the keys to the artefact room so that she can take a poke around inside. As Daniela slowly and carefully examines the room and its many contents for us, it's clear that we're getting a pretty good introduction to the variety of horrors set to be unleashed on the girls in some form later on in the movie. It's a slow buildup though, and on top of the babysitter buildup we've had so far, it's probably a good 45 minutes into the movie before anything substantial happens. I read my review of Annabelle Creation before seeing this movie, and I'd noted that following a similar pattern, with very good results, so I wasn't overly concerned by all of that if the payoff was worth it.

The thing is though, when things do start going a little crazy, the results aren't entirely successful. To be fair, there are some genuinely creepy and very well executed scares. But there are also plenty that don't work so well too. Some new spirits are introduced too, no doubt destined to have their own spin-off movie at some point - 'The Ferryman', who guides souls into the afterlife and requires payment of two coins placed on the eyes of the dead, and the 'Hellhound of Essex'. One of those works considerably well, the other just being distracting and silly.

Despite it's slow-burn start, and it's generic baby-sitter horror setting, I definitely enjoyed Annabelle Comes Home. It's certainly not as good as either of The Conjuring movies, or Annabelle Creation, but it's definitely much better than The Nun or The Curse of La Llorona.
  
The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring (2013)
2013 | Horror
The Conjuring Review
Contains spoilers, click to show
Originally wrote in 2013:

As an avid fan of horror I look for a few little things which if aren't apparent within the first minute decide on whether I'm going to bother with the rest of the film. Usually the company releasing the movie is a good starting point, reputable/recognised director or producer, recognisable actor/s, good production values - that sort of thing. I've seen some hum-dingers over the years - those films where Johnny Nobody has gathered several of his buddies together with a cheap camcorder or two and filmed some alleged zombie epic in the woods at the back of their school.

**The Conjuring is not one of those**

I like to think I have a strong disposition when it comes to scares - usually it takes a lot to make me squint. Examples that come to mind are 'Sinister', 'The Grudge', the end of 'The Ring' (you know, the scary dark haired girl climbing out of the TV!). The Conjuring is one of those - I watched this in the middle of the morning and found it pretty scary in places.

James Wan certainly knows how to make a movie of this type and is great at evoking atmosphere and notching up the scares as the film develops. In a nutshell, this is the alleged real life story of the Perron family who in 1971 moved into a new farmhouse. It isn't long before the usual shenanigans begin - pictures pulled off walls, doors knocking in the dead of night, the children befriending mysterious 'imaginary' kids (who we all know watching are going to show up at some point). The film sticks to the tried and tested story - gradual possession of one of the adults (Lily Taylor), gradually increasing appearances by ghostly figures, calling in the ghostbusters, gathering the proof, then the exorcism. It may be join the dots territory but it works.

Patrick Wilson shines and seems to be making his mark in films of this nature (Insidious and Insidious Chapter 2) - he portrays real life paranormal investigator Ed Warren who with his wife Lorraine (played just as well by Vera Farmiga) become immersed in the life of the Perron's making themselves targets of the supernatural force at work in the process.

The demonic spirit at work is that of a witch who was married to the guy who built the house back in the 1800's who cursed the land before committing suicide after murdering their child whilst a few days old. There is one particularly pant browning scene where the witch makes her first appearance atop a bedroom wardrobe....and I'll leave it there!

Quality. Best horror I've seen since Sinister.
  
40x40

Paul (106 KP) rated Swamp Thing in TV

Jun 2, 2019  
Swamp Thing
Swamp Thing
2019 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Great actors, great special fx and great use of atmosphere for jump scares. (0 more)
With some involvement with the man behind The Conjuring The Swamp Thing offers an interesting spin on this Horror DC character. Not to give much away but from the opening scene with the people on the Swamp and what happens to them you are being eased into a more adult DC experience, which to me really does fit the source material. It's also nice that they introduce the story before cramming in the Swamp Thing which works better as it builds up the tension.
Its got excellent special effects which was reminiscent of John Carpenters the thing at one point and a great soundtrack. That paired with the quality of the acting and if the rest of the show lives upto the pilot it should be a brilliant addition to the DC universe streaming service.
  
40x40

Paul (106 KP) Jun 7, 2019

It's been cancelled by DC Streaming unfortunately ?

Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
2019 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Annabelle's Horror Doesn't Live Up To The Hype In Her Homecoming
Annabelle is a 2019 supernatural/horror movie written and directed by Gary Dauberman and from screenplay co-written by James Wan. The film was alos produced by James Wan and Peter Safran and by New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions and The Safran Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie stars Mckenna Grace, Madison Iseman, Katie Sarife, Patrick Wilson, and Vera Farmiga.


Four years after Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmigia) brought the Annabelle doll into their home, they leave Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman), a babysitter, in charge of their daughter, Judy (Mckenna Grace) while they investigate a case overnight. Mary Ellen's friend Daniela (Katie Sarife), sneaks into the artifact when she comes over uninvited and accidentally leaves Annabelle's glass case unlocked causing the terror that ensues.


This movie was pretty good. I liked it and thought that it was genuinely scary in certain parts for a PG-13 movie, but then afterwards I looked it up and saw that it was rated R. I don't feel that this movie lived up to its potential, it being rated R and also being in The Conjuring franchise. The plot felt very loose and not very put together and instead of being about the couple, it centered on their daughter. This I felt definitely made it feel a little scarier since she has none of the experience and knowledge of her parents when it comes to fighting these evil forces but I felt the audience was robbed of a better story the franchise could have told with the parents not really being involved at all. Also I felt that they tried to add too many ghosts/characters for one movie, which was kind of cool in certain ways but also seemed less because of it. All in all, if you like The Conjuring franchise you'll like this movie and I give it a 6/10.
  
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
J.R.R. Tolkien | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
9
7.9 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fantastic descriptive used throughout the book (0 more)
Sometimes hard to follow location names if you aren't familiar with his work (0 more)
He is a master!
It has been a while since I have read anything by Tolkien, but as usual he never disappoints.

From the first page of the book he weaved his magic and I was once again transported to Middle Earth. He has such a gift for writing and storytelling you feel like you are there living and breathing the story. No wonder the man is a legend, his imagination knows no bounds from the poetic location names to the wealth and personalities of the characters, especially in this version as I listened to the audiobook my mind was conjuring up all sorts of colourful images. I guess it help having read previous books in the Middle Earth Universe collection, lots of the place names and characters were familiar to me.

No-one writes elves, goblins or dwarfs quite as well this man.