47 METERS DOWN REVIEW

Two sisters vacationing in Mexico are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. With less than an hour of oxygen left and great white sharks circling nearby, they must fight to survive.

Starring: Mandy Moor, Claire Holt, and Matthew Modine

Directed by: Johannes Roberts

Written by: Johannes Roberts and Ernest Riera

   As a big horror fan, it’s hard to find a horror movie that truly gets me to jump out of my seat. However, with a true fear of sharks, shark movies have always kept me on edge. Envisioning being in the situation these characters find themselves in always keeps a little terrifying tingle in me. So how terrifying is it “47 Meters Down?”

  Lisa (Mandy Moore) and Kate (Claire Holt) are sisters with different personalities. Lisa is the cautious type, and may be even described as boring. Kate, on the other hand, seems to always be up for the next adventure. When two locals ask the girls to join them in an underwater experience with great white sharks, it’s no surprise which one of sisters is all in. 

  After the slow introduction to the sisters, they make it to the boat, and see a cage that only a crazy person would get in. Yes, they’re crazy, and in they eventually go. It’s all beautiful looking out into the ocean with several giant whites around until the cable breaks, and 47 meters down they go. Finally the movie has my full attention, as I begin my string of “hell no’s” to everything the sisters do to try to save themselves.

  Being the more experienced diver, Kate swims out of the cage to get radio communication with the boat. It might not seem like much, but the darkness surrounding her and knowing sharks are out there is crazy. Soon enough, it’s Lisa’s turn to swim out of the cage, which is even crazier because she’s no where near as calm as Kate. It’s almost laughable cause she really has no idea what she’s doing. The sisters hang on just long enough to appear to have been rescued. The cage begins to rise, but then the audience gets an even wilder fall back to 47 meters down. 

  Running out of air, both sisters find themselves in pure desperation mode. It’s here that the movie really makes its mark with some unexpected chain of events. Without spoiling these events, I’ll move onto the sharks. If the audience is expecting this to be bloody, and filled with deaths…forget about it. Much like “The Shallows,” the sharks do more swim by scares, then killing anyone. It’s definitely more psychological through most of the movie, just knowing they’re out there, but not ever being sure when they’ll appear. Probably the best moment with the sharks occurs with the use of some underwater flares, and what comes shortly after.

  Mandy and Claire both do a good job handling their roles. Mandy seems to have the harder job because her character did more of the freaking out. After watching “The Shallows” and seeing most of the action take place just off shore, it’s good to see an underwater shark movie. However, much like “The Shallows,” it’s lacking in deaths by sharks. Seriously, if audiences want to see sharks and no deaths, they can see real ones on Shark Week! Because it still has moments that will freak out someone who fears sharks like me and a nice twist, I give "47 Meters Down" 2.5 pools of blood.

  HorrO

THE MUMMY REVIEW

An ancient princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia, and terrors that defy human comprehension.

Starring: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, and Jake Johnson

Directed by: Alex Kurtzman

Written by: David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman

  A while back fans found out that there would be another mummy movie. More recently they then found out Universal has bigger plans in store with the introduction of the Dark Universe. Forget about The Avengers, and The Justice League, bring on Dracula, and Frankenstein. But first, can “The Mummy” get the Dark Universe off on the right foot?

  Being a mummy movie, someone needs to find its tomb, and unleash its evil on the world. That someone is Nick Morton (Tom Cruise), along with his partner in crime Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), who are looking for treasure in a dangerous area of Iraqi. They’re forced to call in an air strike in order to save themselves from some unfriendly locals. Of course the air strike opens a hole to the tomb, and the adventure is about to really begin.

  With the help of archeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), they get the U.S. military to pull the coffin out, and onto a plane. It doesn’t take long for strange things to start happening, including Nick seeing visions of Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) in ancient Egypt before she became a mummy. These visions plague him throughout the movie, as Ahmanet has formed a bond with him. The visions are important to what’s happening to Nick, but also seem to make his character seem a little stupid at times. His character kind of stumbles along the process, as opposed to being a hero and adventurer the audience might think him to be. It also seems to dumb down Cruise’s performance.

  With the help of Jenny, and Dr. Henry Jekyll, they’re actually able to capture Ahmanet. And yes, apparently Dr. Jekyll is now into capturing creatures like the mummy! Really not sure why they introduce Jekyll into the movie unless they have plans for him somewhere else in the Dark Universe. There’s a decent scene of him transforming and fighting Nick, but that’s really it for Jekyll.

  As expected, the movie is light on scares, with the mummy sucking the life out of people and creating zombie like creatures probably being the most extreme thing that happens. The mummy herself isn’t even that scary looking. Really audiences should be looking for the action more than horror, and even that seems a little light. There’s the dramatic plane crash, a few chase scenes, and then the final sequence. None of the action feels like what audiences might expect for a summer movie. A good example of this is a nice looking scene of Nick swimming away from these zombie creatures, but while it looks nice, it amounts to very little. 

  Overall, “The Mummy” can’t be the way Universal wanted to kick off the Dark Universe. There isn’t anything new or exciting here. The mummy is found, unleashes a little evil, and then comes the final show down. Tom Cruise’s character isn’t that fantastic, and his best moments might be playing off Jake Johnson’s character. While it’s not a surprise there’s not many scares, it’s surprising the action isn’t bigger, and more daring. With that, I give it 2 pools of blood.

  HorrO

IT COMES AT NIGHT REVIEW

Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Directed and written by: Trey Edward Shults

  “It Comes At Night” opens with a family in the  middle of an apocalyptic world. Unfortunately Bud (David Pendleton), Sarah’s (Carmen Ejogo) father and Travis’ (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) grandfather, has fallen ill. Paul (Joel Edgerton), the head of this family, has to make a tough decision, and ends Bud’s life for the safety of the others. The scene gives the audience a quick look at the new world the family lives in, and the possibilities of what’s to come.

  As the story starts to unfold, it will soon become evident that this is a slow moving film. Yes, it has a few creepy moments mostly courtesy of Travis’ nightmares. Then there’s a few more intense scenes like when Will (Christopher Abbott) tries to break into the family’s home. He claims that he didn’t know anyone lived there, and is just looking for food and supplies for his wife and child. After a family discussion, Paul decides to allow Will and his family to stay with them.

  So why is it a slow moving film…because it’s very character driven. Paul is the strict leader of the family, who sets rules to ensure their safety. Sarah is a loving mother to her son, and always right at her husband’s side. Now Travis is a little bit of an odd teenage boy, which may simply be because of his new found way of life. He’s kind of quiet, plagued with nightmares, and no one can blame him for developing a crush on Will’s wife. Will and his wife seem normal, and are just looking to survive like Paul’s family. Of course when you put two families together who protect their own interests first, something will go wrong. 

  The real problem for this movie is that it leaves too many unanswered questions. From the beginning, the audience is thrown in the middle of this family’s life. There is no mention of how long the world has been turned upside down, or the cause of it. There’s a sickness, but the audience is left to assume how they get sick and what happens to them when they get sick. Do you become a zombie, or what? The most frustrating moments are when they act like there’s something out in the woods, but is there? Most importantly, what ultimately is “it,” and did “it” ever come at night?

  Don’t be mistaken, even with all those questions, “It Comes At Night” is still a well done movie. The times at night in the house are very dark, and intense. The few nightmares that Travis has are creepy, and even can be disgusting. With a character driven story, it’s important that the acting is good, and it’s definitely solid all around. It’s alright to leave a couple of questions unanswered, however this one leaves a few too many. With that, and the slow pace, I can’t give this movie more than 2 pools of blood.

  HorrO

ALIEN: COVENANT REVIEW

The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Written by: Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett, Jack Paglen, and Michael Green

  Looking back at my “Prometheus” review, it seems I felt there was too much creation talk, and too little alien action. So it’s safe to assume in “Alien: Covenant” a little less talk, and more action would be nice. And how does the movie open…with more odd conversation about creation. Alright, patience is needed, but the aliens are on the way!

  The crew of the Covenant faces some challenges right off the bat, as they lose their captain when a shock wave hits the ship while they are in a sleep state. They must gather themselves under the new captain, Oram (Billy Crudup), and repair the ship. After repairs are made, they receive a strange signal from a nearby planet that might have human origins. Oram is faced with the tough decision to investigate a new planet, or continue to make their way to their original destination. Of course they head to the new planet to investigate, and just when it looks like a great place to settle in, it all goes wrong. 

  One of the most memorable moments in the Alien franchise is the first time an alien comes bursting right out of a crew member. That same event is one of the best things about this movie, as the audience gets to see this happen in fierce and bloody fashion on more than one occasion. The aliens come primed and ready to go on the attack right away. The crew gets stranded on the planet facing down an alien attack before they are rescued by the only remaining crew member of the Prometheus, David (Michael Fassbender).

  This is when the movie takes some time to really get back into creation. David is completely obsessed by it, and tries to convince his robot twin Walter (Michael Fassbender), who serves a similar role on the Covenant, about what he’s learned. David is definitely an odd robot, and being alone on the planet gets him in an experimental mood. There’s a flashback of when David got to the planet, and what happens to the beings that lived there. Now that would have made for a more exciting opening scene than the conversation, but it’s easy to see why they decided to reintroduce David to the audience in the beginning.

  Soon enough the biggest and baddest aliens start hunting the remaining crew members. This leads to some exciting action as the crew fights its way back to the ship with the aliens continuing to come at them. As exciting as it is, there’s also some predictable things going on as well. There’s one thing in particular that they want the audience guessing at, but the audience has to know what’s going on. After the excitement dies down, the movie ends reminding the audience once again that it’s all about creation. 

  “Alien: Covenant” definitely has moments that will remind the audience of the original. It takes the audience back to the aliens ripping their way out of the humans, which is just bloody awesome. There’s also a nice face hugging scene or two, which is always fun. Daniels (Katherine Waterston) is no Ripley, but she holds her own, including going face to face with the alien. And then there are the robots David and Walter, reminding the audience of how Ash seems good at first, but also had plenty of bad intentions in it. Because of its similarities to the original, and having more aliens in it then “Prometheus,” I give this movie 3.5 pools of blood. 

  HorrO

NIGHT KALEIDOSCOPE REVIEW

A cynical psychic investigator who peddles his gift for anyone willing to pay. His abilities depleting, he must take powerful drugs to induce his visions. After a series of brutal murders in the city, a contact in the police comes to him for help tracking down the killers.

Starring: Patrick O'Brien, and Mariel McAllan

Directed by: Grant McPhee

Written by: Megan Gretchen and Chris Purnell

  People are always trying to find something different in horror. Sometimes it’s the story, or other times it’s a character. There’s the way a movie is shot like audiences have seen with found footage. And now comes “Night Kaleidoscope,” believe it or not, a movie shot to make the audience seem as if they are looking through a kaleidoscope.

  Seriously, it won’t take long for the audience to wonder what’s going on with the screen. It’s a little all over the place and blurry at first, but then the audience can settle into the look of the movie. It does use a good mix of colors in some scenes, and other scenes are very dark. To top off the crazy imagery, they add a pretty nice 80’s rock soundtrack.

  Now on to the story which follows an investigator with psychic abilities, who is hired to solve some recent murders. The investigator has visions, which gives the movie another opportunity to dive into the kaleidoscope theme. He soon finds out he’s up against a pair of vampires. While he tries to figure out how to stop the vampires, they continue to feast on people creating some nice and bloody scenes. However, the story is a little hard to follow because the audience can get lost in the kaleidoscope view. Also, there aren’t many scenes with a lot of dialogue.

  Overall, if you’re looking for something different “Night Kaleidoscope” might be for you. The way the movie is shot makes it unique, and gives itself its own style. The style overshadows the story, and might leave some lost. Regardless, I give them credit for trying something different, and give it 2 pools of blood.

  HorrO