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Girl On The Third Floor (2019)
Girl On The Third Floor (2019)
2019 | Horror
8
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Girl on the third floor is a slow paced film about a man, Don Koch who is renovating a rundown house. Of course there is something strange going on.
The film has Amityville vibes, with leaking plug sockets and bleeding walls but also vibes with Fatal Attraction, it's true that there are strange things about the house but it doesn't necessarily mean it's haunted, right, and, this way the film does leave you wondering what is happening. At least for a short while.
Like a lot of haunted house movies, Girl on the third floor, starts slow, there are weird stains and sounds, the dog barks at nothing and marbles roll around. Occasionally you can catch a glimpse of something in a mirror or something moves in the back ground but these are all well used tropes and the film plays on a lot of familiar tropes. This doesn't mean that it is a bad film but I found myself trying to work out where certain characters fitted in.
One thing 'Girl on the third floor' does do well is only feed you the information you need, giving you a chance to work out what is happening before it puts most of the peace's together because there is one character I'm not sure about and one thing about the ending that I'm... Well I'm not going to spoil that but, if they did what I think they did then it's been done better.
I did see reviews saying that 'Girl on the third floor' was one of the films that is so disturbing that you watch it to the end but I didn't find that true. True it is atmospheric and there are a couple of scenes that are a bit gross and a couple of the themes push things a bit but they are only briefly mentioned or cut away from. Maybe I've just seen too many horrors but it was well watchable, I think something like 'Hereditary' was much more disturbing.
Girl on the third floor is a good film but I found that it had all been done before, nether the less it is probably above average.
  
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
2019 | Horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
The movie starts Halloween in the 1960s, and a group of teens are planning a trick or treat prank on the jocks in their school. It's just the classic poo in a bag but the jocks get mad and chase them in to a drive in movie, where the teens jump into a young lads car to hide. This lad tells the jocks to basically do one and saves the teens from being pulverised.
As a thank you, the teens invite the young lad to a haunted house with them. They have a look around and start to see strange things, such as an old lady and a dog. After a terrifying ordeal the teens escape and go home. One of them, Stella, had found a book of scary stories in the house which she takes home with her. Stella begins to read the book, and as she reads the scene moves to Tommy (one of jocks) and shows that what she is reading is coming true. When Stella realises this, she takes the book back to the haunted House, however it is not that easy as the book reappears in her bedroom and begins writing another story, only this time it's about her friend August.
The teens decide they must find a way to stop it before the book takes the rest of the group.
I found the start of the movie very slow paced, but once the book comes into it, it moves at a more decent pace and I started to enjoy it, I even looked forward to sei g who the book took next and how.
Word of warning, if you don't like spiders you won't like Ruth's story, I had to look away a lot during that scene. Chucks story started creepy until it showed what was after him, and it just looked ridiculous, I honestly couldn't help but laugh! And Ramones story was also pretty laughable, it made me wonder if it was meant to be a comedy. Sadly from that point I couldn't take it seriously any more.
  
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House
2018 | Horror
Outstanding
I'm not familiar with the book that this Netflix show is based on, but then from what I understand this is meant to be more a 'remix' of the book anyway. All I can say though is, faithful to the book or not, this is without a doubt one of the most incredibly brilliant shows I have seen in a very long time.

The Haunting of Hill House is all about the Crain family, flitting between then, now, yesterday and varying points in their lives. From their early years of living in a haunted house and having to leave quickly one night following their mothers suicide, to adulthood and trying to keep it all together in order to live some kind of normal life. The show takes a little while to settle in and to get comfortable with who is the adult version of which child (there are 5 children in total) and where they're all currently at in their lives, but after that the show just goes from strength to strength. Taking a few episodes to cover each child's story, all the while carefully taking the time occasionally to go back to their childhood life in the house, piecing things together for us. Continuing to add layers to each character and highlighting key points in those early years that subsequently affect their behaviour towards other family members as grown ups. It's like a much darker version of 'This is Us', with added horror and jump scares!

Whenever I read any positive reviews for the movie Hereditary, everything they describe about what made it great for them is totally what I got out of this show. It's the complete opposite to what I got from Hereditary, and I came away from that just feeling angry, frustrated and hugely disappointed. With The Haunting of Hill House though, every episode gripped me, sticking with me for a long time after. Episodes featuring beautifully elaborate long takes draw you into the drama, camera weaving between and around the characters and scenery, creating opportunities for some fantastic effects, especially within the house at night. Perfectly paced storytelling, effective without overly used scares, and some truly heartbreaking sadness at times. I loved it all, from start to finish.
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Lee (2222 KP) Oct 29, 2018 (Updated Oct 29, 2018)

@Daniel Boyd I found the first episode interesting but to be honest I wasn't as keen on the second episode. However something made me stick with it and I'm glad I did. For me it was just all about that settling in period with the characters, especially as there are a few of them, both young and old versions. But maybe it's just not for you. Maybe give episode 3 a go before giving up? I remember that episode being the 1 that really got me hooked. I watched it before going to work one morning and have never felt like throwing a sickie so much in my life, it was so good! Episodes 5 and 6 are amazing too, and that's where it peaks to be fair.

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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) Oct 29, 2018

Cheers @Lee I'll maybe give it another shot tonight.

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Joe Dante recommended The Old Dark House (1932) in Movies (curated)

 
The Old Dark House (1932)
The Old Dark House (1932)
1932 | Horror
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"To go back to the ’30s, which is the movies I saw when I was growing up on television — it was one that they never showed, because it was lost for years and it was by James Whale. It’s called The Old Dark House, 1932. It’s currently about to be reissued on Blu-ray. For years, all you could see were these sort of beat-up prints I think they found in the mid-’60s, and they had been lost, because of a remake and some rights issues and stuff. Now, it’s sort of come back, and it’s got a great cast of Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Raymond Massey. It’s the classic “travelers stranded in the haunted house and the bridge has washed out”, but it’s the template for all the movies that followed it. It’s still one of the more watchable and disturbing movies from that period. And it’s a shame that it isn’t better known; it never got television distribution, and it wasn’t included in the package of Universal horror pictures because it wasn’t in their library anymore. It’s a chance, I think, for people to catch up with it now. I’m a big James Whale fan, and this might be his best picture."

Source
  
Malevolent (2018)
Malevolent (2018)
2018 | Horror
6
6.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A Netflix unoriginal
Horror-by-numbers from Netflix. A young American man looks to make some money by tricking Glaswegians into believing their house is haunted and banishing the spirits. He makes his sister pretend to have the gift of communication with the spirits, and the use of some technology to baffle the mid-80s victims. Just before their last such scam, his sister discovers she may have some real sixth sense after all.
The acting is mediocre (Celia Imrie totally hamming it up from the off), with the rest of the (non-Scottish) cast adequately carrying their roles.
James Cosmo is something of a standout as their grandfather in his one scene, telling of how their mum became more and more odd and reclusive until her death.
The plot is far from original with some half-decent jump scares along the way, though quite spaced apart in the short runtime.
  
LO
Lord of the Wings (Meg Langslow, #19)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The town of Caerphilly is hosting the first annual Halloween festival, and Meg is hoping she can take it easy since she is only in charge of the Goblin Patrol, the extra volunteer security force. However, a break in at the haunted house, a foot in the alligators, and a dead body complicate matters.

I love this series, and this book is another fun addition. When I realized it was set at Halloween, I almost set it aside until October, but I just couldn’t wait. The characters are strong and charming as always, and the various aspects of the plot keep things moving forward quickly. I was disappointed that one character introduced a couple books back is once again absent, but that is my only complaint in another fantastic read.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-lord-of-wings-by-donna.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.