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TacoDave (3502 KP) rated Funhouse (2019) in Movies
Feb 15, 2022 (Updated Feb 15, 2022)
Editing (2 more)
Writing
Acting (mostly)
This movie is better than it has any right to be...
Contains spoilers, click to show
I like to watch bad horror movies. I'm not sure why. I'm not a big fan of many modern horror movies (often referred to as "torture porn") like Hostel and Saw, but rather I like small, independent horror movies that focus on a single central conceit.
I go into these movies with rock-bottom expectations, hoping against hope that they will be slightly better than expected. "Funhouse" was suprisingly entertaining, when compared to similar genre films.
The premise is simple: eight wannabe famous people (think: influencers, normal people who married celebrities, low-level MMA fighters, etc.) sign up for a reality TV show in the vein of Big Brother where they will be locked in a house together and voted out by the public.
There's one catch, of course: the guy running the show - who uses a digital avatar of a panda to speak to the "contestants" - is a nutjob and the loser of the public vote gets killed in a gruesome way.
Is it real? Is it fake entertainment for the online era? Will reacters on Youtube believe it is real? How does society treat the death of someone who really, really wants to be famous, but is only barely-known?
These questions are good ones and the movie doesn't shy away from them. In fact, after each "kill" there is a cut to people in the real world reacting to it that gives the movie a lot more nuance than a typical horror film.
The kills are very graphic and gruesome and I actually looked away for a couple of them because (as I said before) I'm not a fan of torture porn. And there is some female nudity in the movie, specifically when one character decides to strip to earn viewer votes to stay alive.
Still, all in all I was entertained. And that's all I wanted for those 90 minutes - to shut off my logical brain and just watch something different. This movie fit the bill.
I go into these movies with rock-bottom expectations, hoping against hope that they will be slightly better than expected. "Funhouse" was suprisingly entertaining, when compared to similar genre films.
The premise is simple: eight wannabe famous people (think: influencers, normal people who married celebrities, low-level MMA fighters, etc.) sign up for a reality TV show in the vein of Big Brother where they will be locked in a house together and voted out by the public.
There's one catch, of course: the guy running the show - who uses a digital avatar of a panda to speak to the "contestants" - is a nutjob and the loser of the public vote gets killed in a gruesome way.
Is it real? Is it fake entertainment for the online era? Will reacters on Youtube believe it is real? How does society treat the death of someone who really, really wants to be famous, but is only barely-known?
These questions are good ones and the movie doesn't shy away from them. In fact, after each "kill" there is a cut to people in the real world reacting to it that gives the movie a lot more nuance than a typical horror film.
The kills are very graphic and gruesome and I actually looked away for a couple of them because (as I said before) I'm not a fan of torture porn. And there is some female nudity in the movie, specifically when one character decides to strip to earn viewer votes to stay alive.
Still, all in all I was entertained. And that's all I wanted for those 90 minutes - to shut off my logical brain and just watch something different. This movie fit the bill.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Martyrs (2008) in Movies
Mar 29, 2019 (Updated Mar 29, 2019)
Hard to handle
Director Pascal Laugier said he modeled the ideas and script for this film after "Hostel" and you can see a lot of comparisons from the obvious plot similarities to the definite two sections of both films showcasing different styles and subtexts.
Martyrs is more cerebral, darker and more supernatural getting into the characters minds somewhat, but still having that brutal, visceral element for sure.
I would have to say some of the brutality may be unnecessary; however, I think one of the points of the film is how much a human being can endure, so it's hard to make a conclusion on that.
If you don't like movies like Hostel or Saw I can't seeing you like this one either since they have similar plot devices. I found a lot of this film interesting as it takes chances and definitely shows you things you haven't seen before.
If someone said it was "torture porn shite" it would be hard to argue with them either. All your point of view I guess.
Martyrs is more cerebral, darker and more supernatural getting into the characters minds somewhat, but still having that brutal, visceral element for sure.
I would have to say some of the brutality may be unnecessary; however, I think one of the points of the film is how much a human being can endure, so it's hard to make a conclusion on that.
If you don't like movies like Hostel or Saw I can't seeing you like this one either since they have similar plot devices. I found a lot of this film interesting as it takes chances and definitely shows you things you haven't seen before.
If someone said it was "torture porn shite" it would be hard to argue with them either. All your point of view I guess.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Wrong Turn (2003) in Movies
Mar 4, 2021
Wrong Turn is pretty standard early-2000s cannibal/slasher horror, but manages to be memorable thanks to a decent cast playing tolerable characters.
The cannon fodder teenagers in this are also pretty standard, with the exception of the two leads played by Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington. They don't come across as the usual empty headed victims that make stupid decisions, and as a result, it's easy to become invested in their fight for survival.
This first entry in the franchise is a far cry from the more digital looking, torture porn leaning sequels, and boasts some decent practical gore. The designs of the mountain men are suitably unsettling, thanks to Shane Mahan and Stan Winston, and it's easy to see why Thee Finger became something of a horror icon following this film's release.
Wrong Turn won't set your world aflame, but it's a competent and watchable horror that stands well on its own, and is a pretty fun, especially when compared to it's plethora of shitty sequels (the second one isn't too bad to be fair...)
The cannon fodder teenagers in this are also pretty standard, with the exception of the two leads played by Eliza Dushku and Desmond Harrington. They don't come across as the usual empty headed victims that make stupid decisions, and as a result, it's easy to become invested in their fight for survival.
This first entry in the franchise is a far cry from the more digital looking, torture porn leaning sequels, and boasts some decent practical gore. The designs of the mountain men are suitably unsettling, thanks to Shane Mahan and Stan Winston, and it's easy to see why Thee Finger became something of a horror icon following this film's release.
Wrong Turn won't set your world aflame, but it's a competent and watchable horror that stands well on its own, and is a pretty fun, especially when compared to it's plethora of shitty sequels (the second one isn't too bad to be fair...)
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Upgrade (2018) in Movies
Feb 25, 2021
Probably the most interesting of the three here by some way, Upgrade comes at the angle of cybernetic amendments to human capability in an almost, but not quite, original way. It postures and ponders a lot of pseudo-science and cod philosophy before getting to the bits people are going mad for: the fight scenes, which are indeed jaw dropping, feel new and are brutally graphic enough to amuse even the most hardcore gamer. Trouble is… this makes it almost a torture-porn movie, because the only real thrills are in the grossness of the violence. The acting is of negligible importance, because character and plot are not that important to the success of Upgrade as a spectacle. It feels cheap and B movie grade in places, which of course it is. If you enjoy seeing impressive things done with less than a premium budget then this could be worth watching. But… there is a nastiness and a somewhat teenage / pothead vibe to it that ruins anything remotely good. It is also shamelessly derivative. Not bad then, but by no means good, or properly recommended.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty, #1) in Books
Nov 14, 2018
One day I was just looking online through random books that I could read and I came across this trilogy and it sparked my interest. I thought I would give this book a go. All I knew about it was that it was an erotic twist on a fairytale, I thought it might even be quite sweet...wow! One word comes to mind after reading this book...HARSH! To sum it up I would say 'torture-porn', and how tortured these characters indeed were. Although the story was well written it went beyond enjoyment and straight to 'I don't think I can even finish this book, it's pretty horrendous!'. But I stuck it out and finished it with a gob-smacked expression on my face. This isn't a sweet, fluffy and easy-to-read novel, its hard-core and sadistic. This review sounds like I didn't like the book yet I gave it 3 stars...this is because I really liked the challenge of getting through this book and it left me in shock, so many books i finish with a shrug then move on but this book is definitely something to remember. I am now reading a comedy inbetween carrying on with the series as even I feel like the characters need a break.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Untraceable (2008) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
𝘜𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. Wants to be a 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘴 x Saw hybrid, ends up being 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘋𝘰𝘵𝘊𝘰𝘮 with most of the fun stuff subtracted, and if it were a piece of tacky CBS cybercrime dross. There's some real heat to the torture porn here but it's undercut by the fact that they consciously choose to rarely show it at all and overedit it to hell and back when they do (both fronts offended even worse than 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭: 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘐) - instead opting to be a rote procedural where everyone dumps heavy bouts of cheesy exposition about things that it's clear no one actually knows what they're talking about, until its final moments where it takes a dumbass pivot where it decides to be a preachy, hypocritical, defanged commentary about technology which is about as non-knowledgeable as your average "Black Mirror" episode. Diane Lane gives it an honest try but it saves absolutely nothing from this lifeless white noise. One of the only positives is that it's unpredictable, but only in the sense that there's nothing to predict. At least it's one of the precious few of these things to make realistic online comments - and Lane very seriously repeats the full acronym for 'rofl' during a live snuff film. Still sucks though.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Apocalypto (2006) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
*"Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses plays aggressively, on loop*
Oh yeah, still rules - fucking *brutal*, much like most of Gibson's other films it's really nothing more than over two hours of good-looking torture porn. But unlike something such as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, this doesn't pretend to be more than just that; and when it does, it hardly shows it. A textured, ferocious, teeth-bearing splatterfest - real wrath of God shit. Arrows constantly flying inches past people's heads, armor made out of human jawbones, *multiple* hearts ripped clean out of chests whilst still beating, countless heads on stakes, copious amounts of blood flying everywhere, so on and so forth. A bit too heavy on the motion blur at times, and a disappointing amount of the shots are way too close - it's a jungle for God's sake, use some scale - sometimes looks like a fullscreen film stretched to widescreen. Otherwise Gibson is totally elemental, utilizing every element of space not only with the staggering, all-timer production - but even within the closed quarters of the jungle itself. We never know what could lie just beneath some brush, or behind a tree - or what could be used as a weapon. An even better instance of formulating a jungle into a warzone than 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. Ending is sudden, but it's for the best.
Oh yeah, still rules - fucking *brutal*, much like most of Gibson's other films it's really nothing more than over two hours of good-looking torture porn. But unlike something such as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, this doesn't pretend to be more than just that; and when it does, it hardly shows it. A textured, ferocious, teeth-bearing splatterfest - real wrath of God shit. Arrows constantly flying inches past people's heads, armor made out of human jawbones, *multiple* hearts ripped clean out of chests whilst still beating, countless heads on stakes, copious amounts of blood flying everywhere, so on and so forth. A bit too heavy on the motion blur at times, and a disappointing amount of the shots are way too close - it's a jungle for God's sake, use some scale - sometimes looks like a fullscreen film stretched to widescreen. Otherwise Gibson is totally elemental, utilizing every element of space not only with the staggering, all-timer production - but even within the closed quarters of the jungle itself. We never know what could lie just beneath some brush, or behind a tree - or what could be used as a weapon. An even better instance of formulating a jungle into a warzone than 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥. Ending is sudden, but it's for the best.
Jamie (131 KP) rated Naja (volumes 1-5) in Books
Jun 4, 2017
An underwhelming and strange assassin mystery
What a shame. The comic had an interesting concept and started off pretty well but in the end was really lacking. Naja is a badass to be certain, but she has almost no personality. She was the stereotypical ruthless femme fatale and not much more than that. The other assassins from Zero’s organization were genuinely interesting and the fights were memorable. I just wish I could have cared more about Naja. The plot drags for the first few volumes and I had wished for a little more from the story.
I ended up regretting that wish.
The more that was revealed, the more it just seemed like torture porn. The sad part is, even after some traumatic experiences from Naja’s past was revealed, I didn’t find myself feeling much more for her character.
The comic crashed and burned spectacularly with the final volume honestly leaving me feeling rather angry and disgusted. It seemed to me that the story was almost like a twisted retelling of Romeo and Juliet, tragic star crossed lovers each hailing from rival families with a sprinkling of incest. It was disturbing in the worst way possible and I honestly wish I hadn’t finished the series off.
On the bright side, the art style is modern and edgy and very easily one of the best aspects of the comic. The action sequences are fast and bloody and were fun to read. Overall I can’t recommend this one given the weak story, but Bengal’s art is definitely something to admire.
I ended up regretting that wish.
The more that was revealed, the more it just seemed like torture porn. The sad part is, even after some traumatic experiences from Naja’s past was revealed, I didn’t find myself feeling much more for her character.
The comic crashed and burned spectacularly with the final volume honestly leaving me feeling rather angry and disgusted. It seemed to me that the story was almost like a twisted retelling of Romeo and Juliet, tragic star crossed lovers each hailing from rival families with a sprinkling of incest. It was disturbing in the worst way possible and I honestly wish I hadn’t finished the series off.
On the bright side, the art style is modern and edgy and very easily one of the best aspects of the comic. The action sequences are fast and bloody and were fun to read. Overall I can’t recommend this one given the weak story, but Bengal’s art is definitely something to admire.
Andrew Kennedy (199 KP) rated Cube (1997) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
The puzzles (1 more)
Original concept
Before Saw and Hostel conjured up the term "torture porn" and it was rammed home with each sequel, a little Canadian film called Cube came out to little fanfare in 1997.
Made for a mere $400,000 dollars and with a lot of the special effects provided by local Canadian companies for free.
It is a simple yet ingenious premise, six strangers awaken in series of cube like rooms no recollection of how they got there or even why they are there. It also seems some of the rooms contain traps.
The tense and almost claustrophobic surroundings force both friendships and mistrust in equal measure.
The characters are well rounded and deliver believable performances of people trapped against their will, for the most part. There is a one point I disliked that felt too preachy but I did like the character.
The other thing I enjoyed was the forced interaction between the main protagonists because while there are traps this isn't some Saw film, the traps are present but just to provide the threat of one false move. I would even argue that at times the traps don't provide much of a threat but the "silent cube" really rings every drop of tension out of that scene.
The most interesting thing I found was that some people criticized the ending. Yes by the end not everything is explained, there is a lot of questions left unanswered and this is a good thing.
Why must we have everything explained? Leave thinking and wondering. Director Vincenzo Natali did film a longer ending and it was the first thing he cut.
Made for a mere $400,000 dollars and with a lot of the special effects provided by local Canadian companies for free.
It is a simple yet ingenious premise, six strangers awaken in series of cube like rooms no recollection of how they got there or even why they are there. It also seems some of the rooms contain traps.
The tense and almost claustrophobic surroundings force both friendships and mistrust in equal measure.
The characters are well rounded and deliver believable performances of people trapped against their will, for the most part. There is a one point I disliked that felt too preachy but I did like the character.
The other thing I enjoyed was the forced interaction between the main protagonists because while there are traps this isn't some Saw film, the traps are present but just to provide the threat of one false move. I would even argue that at times the traps don't provide much of a threat but the "silent cube" really rings every drop of tension out of that scene.
The most interesting thing I found was that some people criticized the ending. Yes by the end not everything is explained, there is a lot of questions left unanswered and this is a good thing.
Why must we have everything explained? Leave thinking and wondering. Director Vincenzo Natali did film a longer ending and it was the first thing he cut.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Death Wish (2018) in Movies
Mar 13, 2018
Bruce Willis killing bad guys
5 minutes before DEATH WISH started there was just 2 of us in the movie theater (by the time the film started, there was probably around 20). I turned to the only gentleman sitting there (about 2 seats down) and asked him if he'd like break into a "discussion group" after the film. "I'm just here to see Bruce Willis kill bad guys.", he said.
He did not walk away disappointed.
Directed by Eli Roth, DEATH WISH is a remake of the early 1970's film starring Charles Bronson about a "normal, family man" who snaps after his wife and daughter are assaulted. The Police' hands are tied, so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts committing "vigilante justice".
Bruce Willis stars in this remake - and he is perfectly fine as the Doctor turned vigilante. Joining him is Vincent D'Onofrio as his brother, Elisabth Shue as his wife and BREAKING BAD'S Dean Norris as the cop who is chasing him. All of these actors do a perfectly fine job with what they are given to work with, but (let's be honest), fine acting - or intricate plot developments - are not what you are looking for in this film.
As my new friend put it - "I'm just here to see Bruce Willis kill bad guys".
And "kill bad guys" he does. But...not as often as I though he would. And...not nearly as graphically as I was expecting. Director Roth is known as a Director of Horror "splatter" films, "torture porn" fare like the HOSTEL films and CABIN FEVER. I was pleasantly surprised by the restraint that Roth has shown in the graphic violence in this film - I was expecting it to be a lot worse, almost stomach churning - but it just wasn't (except for 1 torture seen involving a car). It was "basic" violent fare - and well done.
To be honest, I thought they spent too much time of the film setting up Willis' character turn to "the dark side", at one point wondering "get to killing the bad guys already". But, when the film gets there, it is entertaining, indeed.
As I walked past my "new friend" after the film was over, I asked him what he thought:
"I saw Bruce Willis killing bad guys, I'm good."
And that about sums it up.
Letter Grade B- (just know what you're getting into)
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
He did not walk away disappointed.
Directed by Eli Roth, DEATH WISH is a remake of the early 1970's film starring Charles Bronson about a "normal, family man" who snaps after his wife and daughter are assaulted. The Police' hands are tied, so he decides to take matters in his own hands and starts committing "vigilante justice".
Bruce Willis stars in this remake - and he is perfectly fine as the Doctor turned vigilante. Joining him is Vincent D'Onofrio as his brother, Elisabth Shue as his wife and BREAKING BAD'S Dean Norris as the cop who is chasing him. All of these actors do a perfectly fine job with what they are given to work with, but (let's be honest), fine acting - or intricate plot developments - are not what you are looking for in this film.
As my new friend put it - "I'm just here to see Bruce Willis kill bad guys".
And "kill bad guys" he does. But...not as often as I though he would. And...not nearly as graphically as I was expecting. Director Roth is known as a Director of Horror "splatter" films, "torture porn" fare like the HOSTEL films and CABIN FEVER. I was pleasantly surprised by the restraint that Roth has shown in the graphic violence in this film - I was expecting it to be a lot worse, almost stomach churning - but it just wasn't (except for 1 torture seen involving a car). It was "basic" violent fare - and well done.
To be honest, I thought they spent too much time of the film setting up Willis' character turn to "the dark side", at one point wondering "get to killing the bad guys already". But, when the film gets there, it is entertaining, indeed.
As I walked past my "new friend" after the film was over, I asked him what he thought:
"I saw Bruce Willis killing bad guys, I'm good."
And that about sums it up.
Letter Grade B- (just know what you're getting into)
6 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)