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Kill List (2012)
Kill List (2012)
2012 | Horror, Mystery
7
6.3 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Performances are strong (1 more)
Gruesome and Violent in a very effective way
The ending is very divisive (1 more)
Lots of elements are left unexplained
Intense, memorable but lacks clarity
Contains spoilers, click to show
Kill List is a very British Horror, that follows a clearly damaged ex-soldier that is drawn into the world of hit-men and assassinations in order to earn his way out of financial trouble.

Featuring a number of recognizable British tv actors, and a interesting edit style that chops out extraneous seconds here there and everywhere, often overlaying conversational narrative over a shot displaying a different scene, effectively giving you two informational elements at the same time.

It has some brutal violence, as the two hitman proceed to move down their list discovering generally bad people, which allows the viewer to avoid the moral conflict that might otherwise complicate the premise.

There are nods that the people hiring them know more than they are letting on, and the film builds to a slightly confusing crescendo with an ending similar to another very controversial horror film of recent years, that will shock some and disappoint others.

Overall it is an enjoyable but challenging film, that would have benefited from signposting a few more of the confusing elements more clearly, though the ending and its insinuations are more than likely intended to be of a vague and open nature by design.

Violent, upsetting and very dark in theme, Kill List is definitely a horror, and definitely not one for those of a weak constitution...it is flawed, and not a classic but it certainly is a solid choice for a rainy evening.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Silent House in Books

Mar 14, 2020  
The Silent House
The Silent House
Nell Pattison | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
6
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A pretty good debut
This is a pretty good debut thriller from this author and one which is fairly unique given that it focuses on the deaf community. I say pretty good and not excellent because I found it a little tedious in parts.

The story starts well with the gruesome discovery of the body of little Lexi ... she has been brutally murdered in her own bed but in a house inhabited by a family of deaf people, no one heard a thing. Paige is called as an interpreter for the Police but on finding out she has a connection to the family, rather than distance herself, she becomes embroiled in the investigation leading to her receiving threats herself. Sounds good right? Well yes, overall it is but it just takes a while to get there.

The characters are ok but a little one-dimensional. The pace was good in part but there were quite large sections of dialogue where nothing much happened when I found myself skim-reading, which is never a good sign. The real winner here is the glimpse into the life of the deaf community which, not being deaf myself, was a real eye opener and clearly the author knows what she's talking about.

Not the best book I've ever read but certainly not the worst either and I would recommend it to others if only to get a little insight into the challenges faced by the deaf on a daily basis.

My thanks go to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.
  
    RAGE HD

    RAGE HD

    Games and Entertainment

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    Critical acclaim for RAGE: “This is the best looking game on iPhone . . . an addictive arcade...

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire
Kerrelyn Sparks | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
171 of 200
Audio
How to marry a millionaire Vampire ( love at stake book 1)
By Kerrelyn Sparks

Roman Draganesti is charming, handsome, rich ... he's also a vampire. But this vampire just lost one of his fangs sinking his teeth into something he shouldn't have. Now he has one night to find a dentist before his natural healing abilities close the wound, leaving him a lop-sided eater for all eternity.

Things aren't going well for Shanna Whelan, either. After witnessing a gruesome murder, she's next on the mob's hit list. And her career as a dentist appears to be on a downward spiral because she's afraid of blood. When Roman rescues her from an assassination attempt, she wonders if she's found the one man who can keep her alive. Though the attraction between them is immediate and hot, can Shanna conquer her fear of blood to fix Roman's fang? And if she does, what will prevent Roman from using his fangs on her ... ?





I wanted to like this more than I did! I like some of the ideas in the book and I suppose that’s what kept me listening! Maybe I should have read the book rather than listen as the narrator was just bloody awful with accents and voices!! A lot of the dialog was a bit corny and my go if I heard the word Gods blood one more time my tablet was going up the wall!! I don’t usually leave reviews under 3 stars but I think if people read the book instead of listen too it they may have a better experience!
  
Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)
2003 | Horror
Competent. Scumbag Salva finally learned how to shoot something that doesn't look like a bad TV movie that they show you in like driver's ed class or something; but while this unquestionably looks more professional than the (still superior) first movie it's near totally gutted of all its weirdness and idiosyncrasy. This had all the ingredients to be a recipe for some real legendary success: pristine top-notch effects which lend themselves to some bang-up imagery like The Creeper flying in front of the moon or swooping down onto a group of fleeing high school students, an inherently winning plot which basically amounts to "fill up bus with walking appetizers then Creeper eats them one by one while they go mad and form a hierarchy based off of who the creeper wants to eat the most and hellbent Ray Wise hunts it down with a giant truck-mounted speargun (lol)", numerous bombastic action setpieces, a much larger arsenal of Creeper weaponry, etc. It's a testament to how overtly basic this was executed that this classic in the making somehow - against all odds - came out as "just fine". Still adore The Creeper, hanging upside down while pointing finger guns and licking at his next victims just as memorable as ever - the javelin skewer and head-replacement segments are *wickedly* gruesome. But it's clear that they tried to make him (and this) a more conventional horror movie product rather than the odd French Extremity curio the first one was, and that's a shame even as flawed as that one was. For sure still has enough flickers of inspiration to ultimately satisfy but fire and jail Salva already.
  
Hangman  (Special X, #8)
Hangman (Special X, #8)
Michael Slade | 2000 | Crime, Thriller
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.8 stars [Not a 4 because of the slow start. More than 3.5 because of how quickly I became interested once it picked up for me]

This book started out so slow for me, honestly. The storyline sounded interesting and I wanted to get as anti-Valentine's Day as I could, so I grabbed the closest book on my TBR list. I was reading what I assume was a 2000 paperback copy, so the print was really small and took some getting used to. For the first hundred pages or so, I found my attention straying. Somewhere between page 100 and page 171, I became involved. Finally, the mystery was getting juicy and the murders were getting more gruesome. I had so many different suspects - Justin, Ethan, Peter himself!, a juror from Peter's trial, a psychotic fanatic. Of course I won't give anything away. But the twists and turns are so unexpected, you can't help but scramble for people to be the face behind the mask. It may have taken me a while to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. I'm ashamed to say I almost put this aside to finish at a much later date or just not bother with at all, but because I'm stubborn, I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. The only spoiler I will provide is this: I'm greatly disappointed that we don't discover who killed Anna, the little girl Peter was accused of murdering. It may not have been important to the overall moral of the story, or even the plot, but it would have been nice to see some kind of justice for that poor girl.
  
    CSI: Hidden Crimes

    CSI: Hidden Crimes

    Games

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    Join more than 20 million investigators & solve gruesome crimes in Las Vegas CSI: Hidden Crimes...