FINAL DESTINATION 3D REVIEW

Sometimes following a formula works, and this series does just that. The usual opening scene where one of the characters sees a terrible event about to happen, and proceeds to get their friends out of there in time. Soon after, everyone who was suppose to die, does just that. The survivors try to break the killing streak, and every time they think they have, death catches up with them again. One great change this time, killing in 3D!

The star of this movie by far was the 3D deaths. When I first read that they were going to do this movie in 3D I said, "what a great idea if done right!" They certainly did the 3D right. If you like the traditional 3D action where stuff seems to being flying out at you and you like blood and guts, then you should like the 3D in this movie. I wish they could go back and do the roller coaster scene in part 3 in 3D.

As with the other Final Destination movies, the opening scene must set up multiple deaths and a chance for the main characters to survive. This time it is at a NASCAR racing event. Without going into the great detail, let's just say it is worth seeing in 3D. All kinds of car parts flying around, people getting smashed and sliced apart, and a stadium falls apart. The scene sets the bar high for the deaths to come later in the movie, which most don't disappoint. I like how with each death, there was a certain level of suspense. First you see pieces of the puzzle from the visions of the lead character. Then the character who is going to die is set up in the location where they are going to die. Slowly things start unfolding piece by piece until the death finally comes (usually). 

Without giving away all the deaths in the movie, let me just mention a few things I liked and didn't like. Obviously, loved the deaths being in 3D, and wonder if I would have liked them as much if they weren't in 3D. I liked the death of the mechanic. Seeing part of his body squeeze through the fence was the kind of gory I look for. I was hoping for more from the car wash scene. I didn't really buy what happened to the guy at the bottom of the pool. I thought that was the weakest death. I know some people may not like it, but I like how sometimes you see people die in the visions or dreams, but they eventually don't die in that way. It just adds to the deaths in the movie without really having to kill someone. 

I haven't mentioned much about the movie itself until this point because there is not much to mention. The acting is terrible. For sure they saved their money for the 3D effects and spent little on finding actors. None of the characters are that interesting. The entire movie was dedicated to them eventually dying. There wasn't much back story, so when they died you couldn't feel bad for them. You were happy you didn't have to deal with their awful acting anymore. Like I said, the formula is the same as with the other movies, so there was not any great surprises. The only creative thing about the movie again were the deaths.

If you liked the other Final Destination movies, I don't see why you wouldn't like this one. Pretty much the same formula, but this time in 3D. Most of the deaths are worth seeing in 3D, and again are the stars of the show. The acting, and the characters were bad enough to root for their death. If you don't really like 3D, and can't deal with bad acting, don't see this movie. I, on the other hand, loved the 3D deaths enough to give this movie (the deaths) 3 pools of blood.

HorrO

PS: I can't believe I gave this a higher rating than H2. So disappointed!!!

HALLOWEEN 2 REVIEW

Brutal, violent, merciless, vicious, bloodthirsty, remorseless, ruthless, and savage. These are just a few words to describe Michael Myers actions in this movie. His character progresses in H2 into one mean killing machine. Stabbing people repeatedly, stomping on them, beating them, and tossing them around like rag dolls. And these are the scenes that pretty much make the movie.

Let's start off by saying I thought part one was great, the way a remake should be done. Zombie took a risk by making H2 in his vision, and I don't think that risk paid off. I can't blame him for wanting to do his own story, but this story really wasn't that great. The movie becomes a lot about the psychology of Michael Myers and his sister, Laurie. Laurie is traumatized by the events that took place in part one, and who can blame her. She battles with dreams of Michael coming after her, and then has to deal with finding out she is Michael's sister. We see into Michael's mind that his mom, and his childhood persona are pushing him to find Laurie, and make her part of the family. Eventually, Laurie and Michael's visions are basically really the same in a weird ending (which I won't give away). As the movie goes through this psychological mess, it really wasn't that exciting except for when Michael was killing someone.

Some comments on Michael. First, all of the words I used to start this off are how you feel about him as he is killing someone. In part one, I think Michael's character stuck to the original character with all of the stabbing, and was still violent enough. H2 makes him even more aggressive, like his kills are a way of letting go of a great deal of stress. Don't get me wrong, love the kills, tons of blood, and definitely some pain felt for the victims. No problem with him being more violent. What I didn't like was that you hear him making grunting sounds as he kills. Maybe some people will ignore that, but I think it takes me away from the original Michael in a way I don't like. His silence to me is a part of him, and he didn't do that in part one so why start now. I think Zombie should have passed on destroying his silence just to have him show more aggression. I also didn't like that you saw his face several times in the movie (not clearly every time). I don't mind his mask being torn up, but I didn't feel a need to see him. I think it is better to see what he looked like as a kid, and the Michael with the mask. By the way, a different child actor plays Michael as a boy, and he just wasn't mean enough looking as the child actor in part one. And if you were wondering what Michael eats to keep his large figure, that will be answered.

The dreams and/or visions in the movie become weirder as the movie goes on. One involves some pumpkin headed people sitting at a table. If someone knows what they represent, please let me know. The movie shows the weird you expect from a Zombie film, and I liked in his other films, but not so much in this one. Speaking of weird, there is even a surprise appearance from Weird Al himself. The shots in the movie are great. I like the way he films his movies. The thing I really liked was how he showed Michael as a kid overlapping Michael the adult killer. Very interesting visual look at how Michael continues to battle with what happened to him as a child. Too bad that is about as interesting as it got. I can also say I liked some of the dialogue in certain scenes. Zombie threw in some jokes, and the usual naked ladies. And my favorite Halloween theme music wasn't used until the end. Come on, I love that music playing as he is killing.

Overall, I thought what made part one great was that it was more interesting than weird, while H2 was more weird than interesting. Love Zombie's films, but his weird view of things didn't work here. Besides the killings, the movie kind of drags along. Filling time watching Dr. Loomis trying to sell his book just made a joke of his character. Maybe measuring this to part one isn't fair, but I had high expectations after that one. Also, I didn't get the feel that the audience was happy about the movie while leaving (not good). I was excited to see this movie, and hoped to give this 5 pools of blood, but I can't (maybe only if I based it just on the kills). Disappointing to say, I can only give this one a weak 2 pools of blood.

HorrO

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT REVIEW (Unrated version)

So you are relaxing one night at your summer home until some strangers show up at your door claiming to have been in an accident. Being the nice people you are, you let them in (never a good idea), and offer them the guest house for the night. You have a feeling that there is something not right about them, but hey, stranger things have happened. You are about to call it a night and then there is another noise outside. What now? Your 17 year old daughter is at the back porch about half dead. You bring her inside and do everything it takes to save her life. In the process, you find out that the people who have just beaten, shot, and raped your daughter are sleeping in your guest house. What would you do (thoughts of Hostel, Saw come to mind)? Oh yea, let the fun begin!!!

This movie definitely pulls at your emotions for the different characters. I was surprised they didn't make you feel more for Mary (daughter who is almost killed) before she is actually taken hostage, but they make up for it quickly. The girl is beaten, watches her friend get stabbed and bleed out slowly, raped, shot, and left to drown. Sometimes people find ways to feel for the bad guys in movies, but not this one. They get what they deserve! And Justin, Justin, Justin... what a screw up! The movie makes you have mixed feelings about him. Should he be punished for being part of this or does helping out the parents make up for it? He started all of this just because he wanted some cigarettes and maybe a little attention. And the parents, who could blame them for what they did.

So what did the bad guys deserve? Everything and probably more than what was given to them. For those who love lots of blood, well they give you plenty of it. You have to love everything that happens to Francis, who is an ass, beginning with the car crash (thought it was cool how the car was ping ponging off trees). He ends up breaking his nose, but you really don't get to see how bad it is until Mary's dad (a doctor) fixes it. Did you feel the same pain I did as he resets the nose back in place, and then sticks a needle in it? Nice touch leaving the needle there to fix the lights before finishing sewing up his nose, ouch!!! But this is nothing compared to what happens after the parents find out what happened to their daughter. The mom and dad tag team against him, drowning him in the sink. But we need blood so stick his hand in the disposal. There we go, and then bash him in the head one more time. I noticed that since the dad is a doctor he wasn't as affected from the all the blood like the mom was. 

More blood you say. Bring it on! How about a nice gun shot right through the eye? I liked that better than the typical shoot them in the head, or chest 50 times. Kill of the night, had to go to the bad father. Suffered the same fate as TV dinner left in the microwave too long. Liked the head explosion, but I was thinking maybe his head should have melted. What do you think? Speaking of blood, I wasn't rooting for Paige to die, but I liked how they stabbed her in the front and the back, and did it smoothly. Plus the one extra stab for the road. Also, thought it felt real when Mary was shot while swimming away, and the blood spilled into the water.

Some other thoughts on the movie. I have never seen the original version of the movie so I can't compare it (sorry). Tired of seeing a cop car pull up to train tracks with a criminal in the back... everyone knows what is going to happen. Not much is specifically mentioned about the brother that Mary has lost. I thought maybe you would feel worse for her if you knew how he died, but his death amounts to giving her a reason to carry a necklace around. The movie explained away the cell phones, which almost every movie has to do now. Must be annoying for writers. I liked how it was dark and rainy at the end, but I thought it was just a little too dark. I couldn't catch everything that was happening. Noticed the mom and dad were better fighters as a tag team rather than alone. Also, so much for doctors dedicated to saving people. The small scenes with the shower pole and the microwave gave away there use later in the movie. I think they should have just left that as a complete surprise for later on (especially the microwave). 

 In the end, I liked this movie. It did a good job of pulling on your emotions for the different characters. I don't have a daughter, but it made me think about what I would do to seek revenge if I was in the same position. As opposed to seeing a lot of victims get killed, it was nice to see a lot of bad guys spill blood. Good story about revenge and guilt, enough blood, so this movie gets 3.5 pools of blood!!!

HorrO

DISTRICT 9 REVIEW

What do you get when you cross a beetle, roach, and a grasshopper? A "Prawn" of course. That is what the aliens are called in this new sci-fi feature. Getting right to it, I thought this was going to be more about the usual human vs aliens battle, but I was wrong. The aliens don't do a whole lot of fighting back. 

The movie centers around a character named Wikus van der Merwe, who is put in charge of moving the aliens from District 9 to a new, much smaller location. In the process of serving the aliens eviction notices (yes they evict aliens), he sprays himself with an alien chemical, in turn, transforming himself slowly into an alien. This leads us to the usual plot of humans out for alien technology, willing to stop at nothing, including chopping up the poor guy. See, only an alien can activate the aliens weapons, hence the movie from this point on becomes a chase for Wikus, who gets help from an alien that says it can help him transform back to a human again. We see Wikus not only transform into an alien, but from a nerdy pencil pusher to a hero. You definitely feel for what the guy goes through. The biggest problem I had with his character was his accent. At times, I couldn't understand what he was saying. 

The movie starts out like a CNN documentary, interviewing many characters that knew Wikus in some way. I thought they carried on with this style too long. As the movie goes on, they go back and forth between this documentary style, and just regular movie shots. It becomes a little annoying and inconsistent. One minute they are interviewing someone, the next they are showing what the aliens are up to, but it is not part of the documentary. Even in one scene they show blood hit the camera, but you do not get the feeling you are watching the scene as part of the documentary. I did like that the story was located in South Africa. You get tired of seeing movies always in NY, LA, or even London. 

The action scene that concluded the movie was great. Lots of fighting, guns, and of course a gory review's favorite blood and guts splattering all over the place. When the humans get shot, they turn to nothing but blood splatter. Wikus becomes one with a robot suit that kicks some major ass. Loved some of the things he went through while transforming, and how some people got what they deserved (won't give it away). 

Some things to wonder about. How were Wikus and the alien able to communicate with each other? They just seemed to understand each other's language with no problem. They never explained what the aliens wanted. They just kind of parked their ship there about 30 years ago with no plan, and no reason. They didn't even want to get out of the ship. And what was up with Christopher Johnson (main alien)? Why was he smarter than all of the other aliens? Was he a human at one time and that is why he knew what was happening to Wikus? And why was he one of only a few aliens to wear clothes? The marketing for the movie was good. Like I said, thought it was going to be more like aliens vs humans with all of the "No Humans Allowed" signs, and the teaser that showed people questioning an alien who just wants to go home (by the way tell me if you see that scene in the movie).

To conclude, good movie worth seeing, just don't be fooled like I was. The movie isn't about the fighting, it more about Wikus's fight to be human again, his love for his wife, and the growth from nerd to hero (probably even deeper meaning which I don't want to get into). The movie leaves a lot of things open at the end. Maybe a part 2, could be, may answer some of my questions. All things said, I give it 2 pools of blood out of 5. 

HorrO

Welcome horror movie fans!!!!

This blog for all of us horror and sci-fi fans. I have watched tons of horror movies and always have an opinion to share about them. Now I bring my opinions to this blog. I hope to spark a good conversation about the movies we love and hate and why. My favorite horror movies include anything with a lot of blood and guts. Love the usual names like Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface, but I hope to review some movies maybe you haven't heard of. I will review movies not just in theaters now, but movies that you can go out and rent today. I hope to also post some news on upcoming movies, and anything interesting I stumble upon. I will try not to give any twists because I would hate it if someone told me the twist before I saw the movie. Well enough about me and this blog, let's get to the reviews!!!!

HorrO