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The Unborn (2009)
The Unborn (2009)
2009 | Horror, Mystery
Story: The Unborn starts when young woman Casey (Annable) starts seeing visions and getting warnings about someone wanting to be born, with her best friend Romy (Good) and her boyfriend Mark (Gigandet) Casey starts to investigate and learns that she did in fact have a twin brother who died in the womb.

When Casey turns to a friend of her mother’s she learns about a spirit that is trying to find his way into the real world and she must turn to Rabbi Sendak (Oldman) for answers and a potential cure from the possession.

 

Thoughts on The Unborn

 

Characters – Casey is a young woman that seems to have a normal life until one day she starts seeing visions, getting strange messages, she must research her past to protect her future, a past that is filled with pain and loss as well as a secret she would never be prepared for. We do follow Casey for most part of this film, the problem with her character is that we don’t learn anything about her before the unusual starts happening, is she a good or bad person, we learn nothing, it just starts with her being visited. Rabbi Sendak is the man Casey must turn to for help, he understands how the exorcizing would need to be done while offering the basic advice to Casey before stepping in himself. Mark is the boyfriend, that is about all we learn about him, he isn’t as supportive of the supernatural side of the events. Romy is the best friend, she will help on everything Casey is going through in an attempt to save her friend from the evil haunting her.

Performances – Odette Annable is the perfect fit for the leading role, she is a beautiful woman whose life is falling apart, she has a good horror scream and you believe it when she is scared. Gary Oldman, well the guy needs to make money, he does bring class to the role even in his limited role. Cam Gigandet is fine without doing too much Meagan Good gives us the only laughs in the film without being anything great in the supporting role.

Story – The story here follows one young woman that gets starts getting haunted by visions of a young boy and must figure out how to rid herself of this haunting. This story doesn’t take long to start with us going instantly into the first haunting and this pace doesn’t seem to let off, we are constantly going from moment of scares or explanation to what is causing the haunting. This hinders the story because we don’t get a chance to learn anything about the characters we are meant to be supporting, mostly Casey we know nothing about her or what her everyday life is, making it harder to support her. The story follows the horror genre with ease and is saved by a strong twist ending.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film comes from jump scares, well attempted jump scares, most of the horror happens in the dark and is a small child haunting Casey, it does the basics well, though it won’t get the hardcore horror fan to jump. The mystery is more interesting as we must learn the truth about the haunting which goes in direction you wouldn’t see coming.

Settings – The film is set in Chicago which only adds to the horror because of the big city feeling to everything Casey is experience showing that even in the biggest crowd people could suffer possessional activity.

Special Effects – The effects have good moments, we the body folding moments being the highlights of the effects which gives us more towards the horror in the film.


Scene of the Movie – Sofi’s last night.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not learning anything about who or what these people do in everyday life.

Final Thoughts – This is a basic horror that gets the scares done simply, gives us weakly written characters and could pass the time simply enough.

 

Overall: Simple late night horror.

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/the-unborn-2009/
  
Echoes of Fear (2019)
Echoes of Fear (2019)
2019 |
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – Alisa sees her last family die suddenly, she must head back to the house where she was raised to decide what to do with it next in what seems like a routine, tidy up and sale plan. Her plans are thrown off when she starts hearing noises, suffering nightmares and experiencing visions, which leads to her wanting to learn the truth, going through the house to unlock the truth, which each clue becoming more disturbing for her. Steph is the best friend that can visit at times and will help her with the investigation. Brandon is the boyfriend who is happy to help plan the changes, looking for a quick sell and start of a new life. David is the neighbour that does offer a few answers and is willing to help Alisa with any problems.

Performances – Trista Robinson is the star of the show, she is the one getting haunted, trying to solve the problems she is experiencing and you believe every moment she is going through. Nobody else is getting too much outside the simple to do, with none of them doing anything wrong through the film.

Story – The story here follows a relative that inherits a home and soon starts getting haunted by the ghosts of the house, leading her to try and solve the situation. This is a story that does keep us wondering what is going on with us learning more just as Alisa does, which is why this story works so well, because it enters the most interesting sub-genre of horror, with the haunting helping unlock the mystery. We could have a couple of questionable moments including a bit of miss-direction when it comes to what could be going on, this doesn’t really add up, but is nice to guide us away from the truth. This story does try to break certain rules created and does a wonderful job at this too, but lets just ask, why is there a sniffer mouse?

Horror – The horror side of the film does use a couple of ideas, with the haunting being the biggest moments, while others come off more disturbing by the end.

Settings – The film does keep most of the action inside the house, being a location, that Alisa would know, but hasn’t been to in a while, with he changes adding to the horror of the film.

Special Effects – The effects are used to create certain moments of horror, which most coming in the haunting moments.


Scene of the Movie – The final 20 minutes.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The sniffer mouse is very strange.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that does keep us guessing, it has a disturbing outcome with the haunting being the highlight of the scares.

Overall: Horror with Plenty of Scares.
  
We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Lionel Shriver, Kate Mosse | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.1 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Haunting
This is truly a harrowing read. This isn’t surprising considering the subject matter, but what I was surprised at is how much this book sucked me in and made me carry on reading.

The plot itself is unusual but sadly in a situation that is far too common nowadays. The story mechanism itself is interesting, and Eva writing letters to her ex-husband discussing Kevin, his life and her views on him really helps drip feed us everything we need to know just to keep us hooked. It makes you keep reading to get the full picture of Kevin’s life. Slowly building up to the event itself that are mentioned, but never discussed in detail, until right at the end. A story told by just one character is potentially dangerous, but this works really well. Yes at times the letters become a bit rambling and pretentious, but to me this is how Eva’s mind and personality are meant to come across. And the ending itself, after getting through however many pages, it is not a disappointment. It’s even safe to say I was shocked at the ending, it was in part unexpected and this has really made this book for me. It stands out.


Yes it’s a haunting read and definitely not a lighthearted one, but this is one that will really stick with you.
  
The Haunting Of Hillwood Farm
The Haunting Of Hillwood Farm
Kathryn Knight | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
There seems to be a haunting at the Hillwood farm, but maybe there are two hauntings? No one knows why there a mean one or violent ghost? Alice is be attacked but also be helped by her husband Henry? It gets so bad that Callie is called in to help?

Luke seem to no want to believe that there are ghosts? You will be surprised as the event continue to happen when Luke and Callie are together and when they are apart? One is trying to get warn and one is about danger?

We get everything the author wants in a story. We get hauntings and the paranormal effect and along with it we get a romance that blooms. Whether this is the author intent or not, does not matter as it seem to just happen.

The plot is done well. I loved it. It one that got my attention as I was reading. I wanted to know who the ghosts were. Especially the one that was haunting the Turners and Callie? This is answered at the end. The reason for two ghost and who was who is revealed. One was protecting and the was hurtful? We find out why it happen as well. If you are into hauntings or ghosts or even paranormal aspect in the book this one is good.
  
    Girl at War

    Girl at War

    Sara Novic

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Growing up in Zagreb in the summer of 1991, 10-year-old Ana Juric is a carefree tomboy; she runs the...

    Girl A

    Girl A

    Abigail Dean

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    'Sensational. Gripping, haunting, and beautifully written' RICHARD OSMAN 'Haunting, powerful, with a...

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Action/Adventure
Staggeringly deep open-world with huge variety of strategies and item upgrades (4 more)
Impeccable production values and haunting audio
The most-accessible MGS game yet
Ingenious game-structure-as-metaphor with philosophical depths
Attaching an upgraded fulton balloon to *anything*
Intense pacing from initially daunting to incredibly tough (0 more)
MGS5 is a masterpiece. It's hard to imagine another AAA game that will be allowed a five-year development cycle, yet feel so completely the work of one man. A game where you can visit a prisoner's cell and hear Joy Division
Critic- Games Radar

Original Score: 10 out of 10

Read Review: http://www.gamesradar.com/metal-gear-solid-5-phantom-pain-review/
  
The Princess Diarist
The Princess Diarist
Carrie Fisher | 2017 | Biography
9
7.5 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
Excellent, raw, comedic writing. Also a truly honest self-reveal (0 more)
I cried!
Carrie was a lovely person, a wonderful writer, and the honesty and courage with which she tells this story are commendable! It’s hilarious and self-deprecating humor are both refreshing and depressing. I couldn’t help but feel for her. She will be missed on screen and off. Her willingness to speak so loudly and often about her mental health struggles did SO much for others with similar issues and she rarely is credited for those advancements her frankness gave to the field of mental health study. A haunting read so close to her death.
  
Emma and Granny have traveled to Las Vegas to investigate a ghost haunting a lightbulb. What they discover leads to a murder and a kidnapping. Can they stop this new chain of events?

As always, the plot is strong with some nice work from the characters and plenty of great twists before it is all over. The characters, new and old, living and dead, are strong, and I enjoyed spending time with them. All told, a great trip to Vegas that won't leave you broke from gambling.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/04/book-review-ghost-of-gamble-by-sue-ann.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.