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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Black Christmas (2019) in Movies
Dec 19, 2019
Horrendous
There are a lot of films that are so bad they're good, but unfortunately Black Christmas is so bad it's terrible. There is nothing redeemable about this film at all. I came out of the cinema after watching this feeling frustrated, exasperated and bored as hell.
This is the worst example of a horror film I've seen in a long time. The scares arent scary and despite the fact that it's a 15 certificate there's no blood or gore either. There's no tension, no suspense - there is literally nothing in this film that makes it an even halfway decent horror. It starts off slowly and doesn't get any better, and the acting and script are truly awful. Even Imogen Poots who I've previously thought was good in other films is terrible in this too. 30 minutes into this film I would've happily walked out and not cared about the outcome. And the worst thing about this is the plot and the completely irrational actions of the characters. The men vs women plot is trying to be modern and relevant, but actually comes across as preachy and beyond stupid. And some of the actions and decisions by characters in this film had me nearly shouting at the screen in exasperation.
This film was only 100 minutes long but it felt more like 100 hours. I went to see this purely because I was intrigued as to whether it turns out exactly like the trailer, and sadly I wasn't wrong. Don't waste a couple of hours of your life watching this, just watch the 2 minute trailer instead - it sums up the entire thing and is actually a lot more exciting! This is without a doubt the worst film I've seen at the cinema all year.
This is the worst example of a horror film I've seen in a long time. The scares arent scary and despite the fact that it's a 15 certificate there's no blood or gore either. There's no tension, no suspense - there is literally nothing in this film that makes it an even halfway decent horror. It starts off slowly and doesn't get any better, and the acting and script are truly awful. Even Imogen Poots who I've previously thought was good in other films is terrible in this too. 30 minutes into this film I would've happily walked out and not cared about the outcome. And the worst thing about this is the plot and the completely irrational actions of the characters. The men vs women plot is trying to be modern and relevant, but actually comes across as preachy and beyond stupid. And some of the actions and decisions by characters in this film had me nearly shouting at the screen in exasperation.
This film was only 100 minutes long but it felt more like 100 hours. I went to see this purely because I was intrigued as to whether it turns out exactly like the trailer, and sadly I wasn't wrong. Don't waste a couple of hours of your life watching this, just watch the 2 minute trailer instead - it sums up the entire thing and is actually a lot more exciting! This is without a doubt the worst film I've seen at the cinema all year.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Insanitus in Books
Jan 9, 2020
Insanitus: Into the Darkness by William P. Thomson has a writing style that almost reminds me of H. P. Lovecraft. What might surprise unsuspecting readers is that this is a collection of three short stories.
What if vampires were real but not in the way society typically thinks of them? What if someone detached from themselves decides to commit suicide by means of the judicial system? What if a secret group of military scientists created something that appeared human but had no emotion and could be programmed? These are the horrors readers will find within these pages. This book makes readers question just what it is that makes someone or something human, and what happens when you take that factor away.
What I liked best is that this book is disturbing and creepy without being outright scary. The short stories build tension extremely well without dragging anything out. They were also creative and believable, making them all the more disturbing. What I didnÂ’t like was that the writing was very dry, almost so much so that it felt like reading a report or biography. This style almost made me judge the book too harshly at first and I wanted to set the book aside early.
Although the content is disturbing I see no reason why young adults couldnÂ’t handle reading this book. It may be more ideal for older audiences that won't be upset by the odd and bazaar. I rate this book 2 out of 4 as an interesting and creepy book. It introduces readers to believable concepts that are also extremely strange. The dry style is defiantly a major negative point but if readers can power through it they will be rewarded with a truly interesting read.
https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/insanitus
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
What if vampires were real but not in the way society typically thinks of them? What if someone detached from themselves decides to commit suicide by means of the judicial system? What if a secret group of military scientists created something that appeared human but had no emotion and could be programmed? These are the horrors readers will find within these pages. This book makes readers question just what it is that makes someone or something human, and what happens when you take that factor away.
What I liked best is that this book is disturbing and creepy without being outright scary. The short stories build tension extremely well without dragging anything out. They were also creative and believable, making them all the more disturbing. What I didnÂ’t like was that the writing was very dry, almost so much so that it felt like reading a report or biography. This style almost made me judge the book too harshly at first and I wanted to set the book aside early.
Although the content is disturbing I see no reason why young adults couldnÂ’t handle reading this book. It may be more ideal for older audiences that won't be upset by the odd and bazaar. I rate this book 2 out of 4 as an interesting and creepy book. It introduces readers to believable concepts that are also extremely strange. The dry style is defiantly a major negative point but if readers can power through it they will be rewarded with a truly interesting read.
https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/insanitus
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
JT (287 KP) rated The Ward (2010) in Movies
Mar 16, 2020
Poor acting (2 more)
Laughable twist
Not scary
Carpenter must have been having an off day
his is a massive disappointment and there is no place to hide here for John Carpenter who making a return to directing since 2001′s Ghosts of Mars has delivered us a real ‘dog’ of a film.
I’m a big fan of his work, but that is his early work with the likes of Halloween and The Thing as my personal favourites, but here Carpenter’s trademark suspense is all but lost in a story that is as predictable as it is stupid.
After setting fire to a barn Kristen (Amber Heard) is sent to a mental hospital, where she is terrorised by a ghost, a hidden past his reflected upon but never fully delved into. There is of course more to it than that, and Heard spends a vast majority of the time either locked in her room or trying to escape while at the same time piecing the puzzle together with the help of some of her fellow inmates.
Carpenter’s use of the wide camera angle is effective in places, and the long cold corridors of the ward are enough to give anyone the chills. However, it is not built on in any way and all the suspense is somewhat lost by the poor acting and monotonous build-up to the next potential terrifying scene. When the ghost is revealed it is, to be honest laughable and not in the least bit frightening which is probably one of the main downfalls of the film.
The twist ending is anything but predictable and you could have spotted it a mile off, it’s a poor effort this perhaps not helped in the writing department, but Carpenter is one of the masters of horror but here he hasn’t even bothered to turn up.
I’m a big fan of his work, but that is his early work with the likes of Halloween and The Thing as my personal favourites, but here Carpenter’s trademark suspense is all but lost in a story that is as predictable as it is stupid.
After setting fire to a barn Kristen (Amber Heard) is sent to a mental hospital, where she is terrorised by a ghost, a hidden past his reflected upon but never fully delved into. There is of course more to it than that, and Heard spends a vast majority of the time either locked in her room or trying to escape while at the same time piecing the puzzle together with the help of some of her fellow inmates.
Carpenter’s use of the wide camera angle is effective in places, and the long cold corridors of the ward are enough to give anyone the chills. However, it is not built on in any way and all the suspense is somewhat lost by the poor acting and monotonous build-up to the next potential terrifying scene. When the ghost is revealed it is, to be honest laughable and not in the least bit frightening which is probably one of the main downfalls of the film.
The twist ending is anything but predictable and you could have spotted it a mile off, it’s a poor effort this perhaps not helped in the writing department, but Carpenter is one of the masters of horror but here he hasn’t even bothered to turn up.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Child's Play (2019) in Movies
Apr 11, 2020
Creepy but not in the way they intended
Let’s face it, nobody has high hopes when it comes to a reboot of a classic horror and Chucky is one of those characters that has been done to death over the years. Whilst this film wasn’t as terrible as I expected, it was still rather lacking.
To start with there’s the huge elephant in the room, or should I say the huge Buddi doll in the room. I really do not know what they were thinking with the design of the doll. It looks horrendous. It’s creepy, but not in a scary way. It’s creepy because of how awful it looks. The doll from the original looks a lot better (and scarier) than this. It spoilt a lot of the film for me as I spent most of my time cringing or cracking up laughing at how bad it looked.
Which was a shame, as I liked a lot of what they’d done with the rest of the film. It was a great idea to introduce the technology side with the smart devices and makes it a lot more relevant to modern society, and quite scarily realistic. At first I wasn’t keen that they’d changed Andy from a younger child to a teenager, but as the film goes on I started to realise this was actually a good idea. Sadly though Aubrey Plaza was a little underused, but I love that Mark Hamill was the voice of Chucky. There’s also a decent amount of blood and gore in this film which is always appreciated.
There is a slight sadness that this film hasn’t included more references to the original but overall it would’ve been a rather decent and enjoyable horror if it hadn’t been for the damn awful design of the doll.
To start with there’s the huge elephant in the room, or should I say the huge Buddi doll in the room. I really do not know what they were thinking with the design of the doll. It looks horrendous. It’s creepy, but not in a scary way. It’s creepy because of how awful it looks. The doll from the original looks a lot better (and scarier) than this. It spoilt a lot of the film for me as I spent most of my time cringing or cracking up laughing at how bad it looked.
Which was a shame, as I liked a lot of what they’d done with the rest of the film. It was a great idea to introduce the technology side with the smart devices and makes it a lot more relevant to modern society, and quite scarily realistic. At first I wasn’t keen that they’d changed Andy from a younger child to a teenager, but as the film goes on I started to realise this was actually a good idea. Sadly though Aubrey Plaza was a little underused, but I love that Mark Hamill was the voice of Chucky. There’s also a decent amount of blood and gore in this film which is always appreciated.
There is a slight sadness that this film hasn’t included more references to the original but overall it would’ve been a rather decent and enjoyable horror if it hadn’t been for the damn awful design of the doll.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Crawl (2019) in Movies
Feb 16, 2020
Crawl is silly. Like a lot of these types of horrors, it's really silly.
In short, hurricane season hits Florida, and when Haley sets of to find her father, they both end up stuck in the crawlspace under his house, trapped in by large alligators, and rapidly rising flood water.
It's straightforward, no messing around, and gets right to the characters being in peril. For the most part, it's a neat little thriller, that actually has the odd moment in tension, paired with decent performances from Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.
The relationship between their two characters carry the film pretty well, and the actors resolve to stay muddy and soaked throughout is admirable.
The CGI effects are pretty terrible. Nowhere near Sharknado levels of embarrassing, but the small budget of Crawl really shows it's ugly head when it comes to the alligators. When they're in water, it doesn't look so awful, but out of water, they look ripped from a PlayStation 3 cutscenes. This includes the first time we see one, which significantly reduces the impact it could have had, especially after it comes immediately after a pretty good jump scare.
In terms of horror, Crawl isn't scary. As mentioned above, it's more a jump scare type of deal, but they're actually quite effective, and just about reigned in enough to not overdo it. The scariest thing about the movie is mother nature, with all too real stormy conditions on display.
Crawl is mostly enjoyable, buts it's not as fun as The Meg for example (5/10) and not quite as good as The Shallows (6/10) so it sits nicely somewhere in between. Worth a watch if you enjoy a silly monster horror now and again.
In short, hurricane season hits Florida, and when Haley sets of to find her father, they both end up stuck in the crawlspace under his house, trapped in by large alligators, and rapidly rising flood water.
It's straightforward, no messing around, and gets right to the characters being in peril. For the most part, it's a neat little thriller, that actually has the odd moment in tension, paired with decent performances from Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.
The relationship between their two characters carry the film pretty well, and the actors resolve to stay muddy and soaked throughout is admirable.
The CGI effects are pretty terrible. Nowhere near Sharknado levels of embarrassing, but the small budget of Crawl really shows it's ugly head when it comes to the alligators. When they're in water, it doesn't look so awful, but out of water, they look ripped from a PlayStation 3 cutscenes. This includes the first time we see one, which significantly reduces the impact it could have had, especially after it comes immediately after a pretty good jump scare.
In terms of horror, Crawl isn't scary. As mentioned above, it's more a jump scare type of deal, but they're actually quite effective, and just about reigned in enough to not overdo it. The scariest thing about the movie is mother nature, with all too real stormy conditions on display.
Crawl is mostly enjoyable, buts it's not as fun as The Meg for example (5/10) and not quite as good as The Shallows (6/10) so it sits nicely somewhere in between. Worth a watch if you enjoy a silly monster horror now and again.
Hopeless 2: Cave Escape
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Pennywise Returns - Not As Scary As Chapter 1, But Still Great
It Chapter 2 is a 2019 supernatural/horror movie directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It was produced by New Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, and Rideback, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, and Bill Skarsgard.
The evil clown Pennywise returns to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine after being defeated by the members of the Losers' Club 27 years ago. The childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways but are called home to keep their promise by Mike Harlon who never moved away. Not quite remembering everything from their past but each traumatized by their own scars, the Loser must conquer their fears and destroy Pennywise for good.
This movie was great. Personally, I think chapter 1 was better, but this film definitely didn't disappoint. Right from the beginning it set the tone with a opening scene of a gay couple being severely beaten. I really liked the casting and who they chose to portray the children of the Losers club, they did a great job. The acting from everyone was good, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader's performances were superb. I enjoyed how this movie expanded on the lore of Pennywise and his origin. Even with a long run time, it didn't feel like a super long movie. To me some of the most enjoyable parts were the flashbacks where you got to see the younger cast. It was good that they had a big part in this movie too. I give this movie an 8/10 and it also gets my "Must See Seal Of Approval".
The evil clown Pennywise returns to terrorize the town of Derry, Maine after being defeated by the members of the Losers' Club 27 years ago. The childhood friends have long since gone their separate ways but are called home to keep their promise by Mike Harlon who never moved away. Not quite remembering everything from their past but each traumatized by their own scars, the Loser must conquer their fears and destroy Pennywise for good.
This movie was great. Personally, I think chapter 1 was better, but this film definitely didn't disappoint. Right from the beginning it set the tone with a opening scene of a gay couple being severely beaten. I really liked the casting and who they chose to portray the children of the Losers club, they did a great job. The acting from everyone was good, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy and Bill Hader's performances were superb. I enjoyed how this movie expanded on the lore of Pennywise and his origin. Even with a long run time, it didn't feel like a super long movie. To me some of the most enjoyable parts were the flashbacks where you got to see the younger cast. It was good that they had a big part in this movie too. I give this movie an 8/10 and it also gets my "Must See Seal Of Approval".
Lee (2222 KP) Dec 19, 2019
Sarah (7800 KP) Dec 19, 2019