HELL FEST REVIEW

A masked serial killer turns a horror-themed amusement park into his personal playground, terrorizing a group of friends while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show.

Starring: Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards, Amy Forsyth, and Tony Todd

Directed by: Gregory Plotkin

Written by: Seth M. Sherwood, Blair Butler, William Penick, Christopher Sey, and Akela Cooper

  As someone who has become frustrated by all the PG-13 movies, it’s good to see a rated R slasher in theaters. When it comes time for the killer to make the kill, it’s nice to actually see the kill, and not watch the camera pull away to screams. It’s great to see the blood and brutality again. No there aren’t any earth shattering kills in “Hell Fest,” but the point is being able to see them.

  Besides the kills, a horror-themed amusement park makes such a great setting for a horror movie. It’s fun seeing what kind of park they create, and watching random people get scared in the background. Actually, the movie might have focused a little too much on that, and not on what’s going on with this group of characters, and the killer. Actually, so little about the killer is revealed that it sets up a very intriguing ending.

  No “Hell Fest” isn’t going to break records, but it’s a not a bad way start to October. For someone who loves slashers, and horror-themed amusement parks, it’s really enjoyable, and makes one wish they were there (minus the serial killer). The park is just a bonus to actually being able to see the kills, and a different ending. If you’re looking for an appetizer before the main course that is “Halloween,” then give this one a chance. With that, I give this movie 3 pools of blood!

  HorrO

THE NUN REVIEW

A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

Starring: Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet

Directed by: Corin Hardy

Written by: Gary Doberman, and James Wan

  “Insidious” seemed to set a new era of scares, and paved the way for The Conjuring Universe.  A whole universe that’s built on scares, but the scares seem to be getting less effective as they go. It doesn’t help that what might be the best scares of the movie are given away in the trailer. Will it be any different in “The Nun?”

  Another problem with these movies is that it takes so long for them to get anywhere important. It almost seems like they make it drag just so that the scares wake the audience up. Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga) go to the Abbey to investigate the recent death of a nun. However, it’s a halfhearted investigation at best, and there’s nothing exciting about these characters. The only interesting character, Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), leaves during the portion of the movie he’s needed the most.

  Overall the scares are alright, but as usual it doesn’t seem like there are enough of them. They try to keep up a level of tension by adding constant loud dramatic music that ends up being more annoying then anything. Too bad the audience has to wait to the end of the film for the nun to let loose. She’s definitely creepy and scary, and deserves more screen time in that form. Too bad for most of the film, the nun is shown coming out of the shadows, and the scares end before getting to appreciate how scary looking she is.

  Besides the slow pace, and annoying music, the most aggravating moment might have been when a small twist is revealed at the end. It draws a direct connection between this movie and “The Conjuring.” It’s the same thing they pulled at the end of “Annabelle 2.” Sorry but that’s lazy to do the same kind of ending twice. How about some more thought and originality, and include the connection somewhere else in the film? In the end, “The Nun” isn't different from the last couple of movies in this universe so I have to give it 2 pools of blood, and hope the eventually sequel is better!

  HorrO

THE MEG REVIEW

After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible. 

Starring: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, and Rainn Wilson

Directed by: Jon Turteltaub

Written by: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Steve Alten

  While “The Meg” took a bite out of the box-office, did it do enough to dethrone the shark of all sharks, Jaws? This is definitely an action packed shark movie that’s perfect for summer viewing. While not able to karate kick the shark, Jason Statham does his best to take the fight to the shark. 

  However, while advertised as the biggest shark of them all, it just doesn’t do enough damage. While it has a chance to swallow tons of swimmers, it prefers to just swim around under them…why? And the few times it does attack people, there’s an extreme shortage of blood. It’s a shark movie, lets see it sink its teeth into someone. 

  There’s plenty of excitement in the final scene, as Jonas (Jason Statham) does his best to rid the ocean of this beast of a shark. It’s all good until he gets some help from some unlikely friends. Sorry, but they needed to find something a little less ridiculous and fake looking to conclude this story. "The Meg" is no "Jaws", but still worth a look, so I give it 3 pools of blood.

  

  HorrO

Trailers, Teasers, Panels, and More from SDCC 2018

Here are some trailers, teasers, and posters from some of the horror movies and shows featured at SDCC 2018! More will be added as information becomes available...

UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB REVIEW

A teen comes into possession of a new laptop and soon discovers that the previous owner is not only watching him, but will also do anything to get it back.

Starring: Rebecca Rittenhouse, Betty Gabriel, Stephanie Nogueras, and Colin Woodell

Directed and written by: Stephen Susco

  Talk about an awkward feeling. Sitting here writing a review about a movie featuring a person being stalked on their laptop, and wondering…is someone watching me write this? Could I be next? Double check if the green light is on! Does that even matter? Well hopefully they agree with what I’m writing! Focus…time to review “Unfriended: Dark Web.”

  While not a direct sequel to “Unfriended,” this sequel is shot in a similar way. This time the audience is viewing the action from Matias’ (Colin Woodell) computer. Well sort of his computer, as apparently he has gotten his hands on someone else’s computer, and they want it back. He opens some familiar sites like Facebook, FaceTimes his deaf girlfriend, Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras), and Skypes a group of his friends. The computer is giving him some problems, so he starts digging around. He finds some files, and trouble starts when he begins looking through them. 

  The real owner of the laptop has been watching him, and threatens Amaya in order to get it back. They use a technique to cloud their image in the video making them almost seem like a ghost. Instead of just giving it back, Matias opens more files in front of his Skype friends, and they see some extremely shady videos. These videos are the true horror in this story, and it would have been nice to see more of them. 

  There’s no turning back for Matias and his friends, as they’re eliminated one by one. While the deaths are brutal, the view on the laptop takes a little something away from them. It's the same thing that took away from the deaths in the original movie. Also, once the audience sees that it’s a character's time to die, what’s about to happen to them is kind of predictable. 

  Seeing “Unfriended” definitely prepares the audience for all the clicking back and forth on the big screen. After a slow start, the plot thickens, and mystery and tension set in. They end up putting together a nice story for something that all takes place on a laptop. Secrets and twists play out along the way, with the biggest one being who is behind all the deaths. While this isn’t a direct sequel to “Unfriended,” it might actually be nice to see a direct sequel to this one focusing a little more on why this all happened. So if you’re watching, hopefully I don’t offend you by giving “Unfriended: Dark Web” 2.5 pools of blood! 

  HorrO