Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) in Movies

Mar 11, 2018 (Updated Jan 10, 2019)  
Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
Strangers: Prey at Night (2018)
2018 | Horror
Bailee Madison is a bad ass (2 more)
Great storyline
A sequel that doesn't ruin the original
Some jumps and gasps and WTF's... fun for the whole family
Going into a sequel that is ten years after an origin film is dangerous water to tread into for any horror film fan. Raised expectations can drown out what you are hoping happens and it takes the fun out of the movie for you.
The second installment of The Strangers was not a fun movie... for poor Bailee Madison. She is stabbed sliced and beaten up like she has never been before. Everyone remembers her as the little girl in Guillermo del Toro's Don't be Afraid of the Dark. But in this film she really establishes herself as a young Scream Queen in the making. Defining the Final Girl role in spades.
The Strangers themselves are all terrifying giving the viewer jump scare after jump scare by just popping up at random throughout the movie, causing scream after scream in the filled theatre I was in.
Though I am positive that there will not be another installment in this mini franchise. It would not surprise me in the least to see Pinup Girl, Dollface and The eerie monster, Man in the Mask once more.
If not... the writers have done a great job keeping my interested in what happens in this movie to satisfy my taste buds for gore blood and story... and I hope in all honesty that they don't go to the well again expecting clean drinking water.
8 out of 10 knives to the back with a special twist for good measure.
  
REC (2007)
REC (2007)
2007 | Horror
9
7.5 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
There is a real sense of realism, immediacy and threat to everything in this film. The special effects are all physical. The violence and gore is guttural and intense, and the film uses every one of its 78 minutes to make you sweat. (0 more)
A little predictable at times (0 more)
28 Days Later in a stairwell
Possibly one of my favourite films, REC has everything that makes 28 days later such a monster of a movie, but it doubles down on claustrophobia and adds in the found footage aspect too, which makes the action just seem all the more immediate and in-your-face.

They do a great job of putting the viewer right there in the film, the performances feel genuine, and before long you are just along for the ride, the cameraman being your eyes and ears into a world when the infected become aggressive, murderous and frenetic, and the survivors are trapped inside an apartment building with no means of escape and no way to adequately defend themselves.

The film is paced marvelously, establishing its rules quickly, and without the need for huge amounts of clumsy exposition, and then begins an ebb and flow between periods of character recovery, followed by frantic action as the infected threaten to overwhelm the survivors.

There is just such a genuine and earnest feel to this film, reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the way that the glossy sheen common to well made movies is not present, and in its place is something which feels visceral, full of flawed but realistic characters.

If you like 28 days later or train to Busan, this is a must see.
  
40x40

Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Witcher in TV

Dec 29, 2019  
The Witcher
The Witcher
2019 | Action, Fantasy
Better than expected
I know nothing about The Witcher books or games, so I went into this Netflix series with an open mind and overall I was pleasantly surprised at how this turned out.

Henry Cavill is a great choice as Geralt, charming and witty yet threatening, and let's just say I also wasnt complaining about the amount of time he spends with his top off. The effects in this are very good and the action and fight scenes are well choreographed and wonderfully gory and bloody. The whole show just looks great, from the costumes to the scenery. I did find the diverging timelines of the three main characters a little confusing to begin with and I had to really pay attention to figure out where everything was up to. The lives of Ciri and Yennefer are interesting and Yennefer especially is a wonderfully smart and intriguing character, however I did feel a little frustrated that we spend so much time across the episodes with both of them. Whilst they both tie into the main plot, for me Geralt was the most engaging thing about this show. His monster hunting and interactions with other characters, especially his rather funny relationship with Jaskier, were what really kept me entertained and I may have rated this a little higher had he featured a lot more.

Oh and the ending was just ridiculously frustrating and such an anticlimax. Overall though this is a surprisingly good watch and I'll be interested to watch the second series, I'm just sad this won't be for a few years yet!
  
Victor Frankenstein (2015)
Victor Frankenstein (2015)
2015 | Drama
Victor Frankenstein is basically a prequel to Mary Shelly’s book, Frankenstein, where we get to meet Igor and a younger Frankenstein as they get to meet each other.

We start off with our story teller, Igor played by Daniel Radcliffe, and how he came to be rescued by our movies namesake, Victor Frankenstein played by James McAvoy. The movie begins showing the trials Igor went through, growing up, as the lowest sideshow freak who just happened to learn how to read and become a self-taught medic for the circus that keeps him. Victor came to the circus to find more animal parts to make his homunculus, which he is building out of various animal parts he has been able to procure from zoos, as his prototype for his ultimate endeavor, making a human and bring it back to life.
 
Igor and Frankenstein are brought together when Igor’s paramour Lorelei falls from her trapeze and they both run to help her. Victor is about to give up and let her die when the Igor’s genius shows through and is able to save her with his quick thinking and knowledge of the human anatomy. Victor’s shrew perception bring him to offer Igor a new life and to escape from the circus.
 
I give Victor Frankenstein 4 out of 5 stars only due to the fact that being a prequel to the novel and not the many movies about Frankenstein and his Monster will confuse many. If you go in expecting an action movie instead of a film done in the noir horror genre in the styles before the 1950’s, you will be disappointed.