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Child's Play (2019)
Child's Play (2019)
2019 | Horror
Nice ideas around smart tech (0 more)
Doll design (0 more)
Friends 'til the end
Yet another reboot of Child's Play. I'm not sure we need another Chucky film to be honest but at least this had some new ideas. Set present day the Buddi doll can interact with a mobile app and other smart devices. This at least does allow for some fun plot elements and variety in kills. So it does differ in some ways from the original. The biggest problem is the look of Chucky. Not cute enough to be believable as a toy and not creepy enough to be scary. It's not bad as a Slasher film but nothing particularly memorable.
  
Midsommar (2019)
Midsommar (2019)
2019 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Contains spoilers, click to show
This will contain spoilers
A group of friend's travel to a remote Swedish village to study their ancient midsummer festival and, let's be honest, if you've seen more than a few horror moves you know it's not going to go smoothly.
Midsommer is a film by the same people who made Hereditary and, almost from the start you can see the similarly in tone, theme, music and cinematography. Midsommar shares some of the same themes as its predecessor, touching on mental illness and ramping up the drug use but it's main focus is on family, customs and tradition.
Midsommar is different film to Hereditary being more of a thriller in the style of 'the Wicker Man' than an out and out horror, relying more on a growing tension than on any outright supernatural threat. People die but, with only one exception you never see them killed and, in most cases the deaths are not treated with much importance (except where there is specific plot relevance).
As I said, Midsommar is similar to 'The Wicker Man' but only in the same way the film 'Battle Royal' is based on 'Lord of the Flies', the film has taken some of the basic ideas and updated them leaving us with an atmospheric thriller with traces of slasher (with no slasher) and psychological movies which works to create a beautiful, disturbing movie which takes you on journey of friendship, love and family.
There are moments in the film which point to the strangeness to come but, unlike Hereditary there are some moments where the tension lets up (If only for a few minutes) most of which are provided by the character Mark who i found seemed to be slightly out of place. He didn't seem gel with the other characters well and, I felt he would have been more at home in a traditional slasher.
I found that there was a familiarity to Midsommar, influenced as it is by 'The Wicker Man' but, with a run time of almost 2 and half hours there is plenty of time events to play out how they do.
  
Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
1987 | Horror
8
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I, and I can't stress this enough, fucking love Slumber Party Massacre II. It may not be as cinematically mature as the first one, but it's 100% more entertaining and batshit crazy.

The lead characters, as per usual, are walking, talking, cliché slasher victims, but much like the first, they benefit from a decent slab of development, and feel like a believable group of friends. One could argue that the amount of times we get to see their band play is a little over the top but it sort of works.
Some of the shooting style is completely bizarre. A lot of characters talking directly to the camera which is a little cringey, but mainly uncomfortable. This style is also adopted for an extended dance sequence about half way through. Honestly, it's all a bit bizarre but kind of in keeping with the sheer absurdity that is eventually thrust upon the audience.

That absurdity is of course, this movies antagonist, simply credited as The Driller Killer. This dude is dressed head to toe in leather, with a rockabilly style quiff, and sports a huge drill as his weapon of choice, that happens to be mounted upon a demonic looking electric guitar, a guitar he likes to rip solos on whilst simultaneously piling up bodies. I can't truly describe how ridulous this villain is, but he's certainly memorable, full of one liners (surely a direct reaction to the popularity of Freddy Krueger), and you guessed it, even gets himself a musical number (whilst still drilling people to death of course)
This completely off the rails approach to the slasher sub genre is what sets the movie apart from a lot of its peers, and is the reason why it's become such a cult classic.

Slumber Party Massacre II is a movie that was never going to win academy awards, and is considered by many to be another trashy slasher. Personally, I think it's a blast. It doesn't take itself too seriously, the killer is low-key hilarious, it has some decent practical gore, and encompasses everything cheesy but magnificent about 80s horror. It deserves unconditional love.
  
Halloween II (1981)
Halloween II (1981)
1981 | Horror
8
7.4 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating
From suspense to slasher, but still delivers
After the original Halloween film paying ground with a lot of modern horror elements, the 2nd film really felt like a continuation since it begins simultaneously when the first film ends.

This one is more gruesome with more elaborate and bloody death kills, but those who are watching are expecting this to happen.

The film moves from the neighborhood from film one to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital where Laurie Strode is transported to tend to her injuries. Michael of course follows her there leaving a trail of bodies behind him.

Just as entertaining as the film film without some of the suspense in favor of gore instead.