The Unseen: A Better Invisible Man Movie [Review]

A sawmill worker with a mysterious condition that slowly turns him invisible must risk everything to find his missing daughter.

I'm sure after reading that sentence you are asking yourself "how is that better than the Invisible Man of 2020?" Well, first we all need to be on the same page and that page is that Leigh Whannell's film may have been an okay watch, it was  by no means an Invisible Man movie. It was a movie about a man with a suit that made him appear invisible, this fact is a huge distinction that needs to be made.

For a movie to even be considered an Invisible Man story the main character must be biologically invisible, meaning his skin, and all internals, are unable to be seen by the naked eye and are not aided by mechanical means or tech. The Unseen doesn't just use this rule as a foundation, but expands on the premise in more detail than any that has come before it.

The story follows Bob Langmore (Aden Young), who eight years earlier, abruptly left his wife Darlene (Camille Sullivan) and their daughter Eva (Julia Sarah Stone) behind, only to isolate himself in a small northern Canadian town where he works in a sawmill. Prior to this Bob was playing in the NHL and is know throughout the country because he delivered a brutal beating to an opponent in his final game.  Bob tanked his career and left his family because of his rare condition: he is becoming invisible in an irregular, random way that presents him in a ghoulish fashion. When his ex-wife Darlene reaches out to him, he returns to the city for one last chance to reconnect with his daughter, but when she goes missing, he will risk everything to find her, including exposing the secret that he is becoming invisible.

The film is written and directed by Geoff Redknap who has done special fx on everything since 1996 (Deadpool, FD5, Watchmen, Cabin In The Woods). This is Redknap's first feature film and he nails it to perfection. The dialogue, character development and overall plot are so smooth that you feel like your watching a master of horror at work; akin to Wes Craven.

On screen Aden Young does most of the heavy lifting and gives an unmatched performance, think Claude Rains in the original Invisible Man; yes, it is that good.

If you want to watch a true Invisible Man film and not a story about an obsessive weirdo running around in a golf ball dimpled suit then this film is the perfect match for you.

Rating: 9/10 Stars

 

Freaky: A Bright Spot In A Dark Year [Review]

 

2020 was most likely to go down as one of the blandest years in film history simply due to the lack of theatrical releases. But in an unlikely turn of events, Blumhouse and Vince Vaughn have swooped in and rescued the genre with the best release of the year; Freaky.

Seventeen-year-old Millie Kessler spends her days trying to survive high school and the cruel actions of the popular crowd. But when she becomes the latest target of the Butcher, the town's infamous serial killer, her senior year becomes the least of her worries. When the Butcher's mystical dagger causes him and Millie to magically switch bodies, the frightened teen learns she has just 24 hours to get her identity back before she looks like a middle-aged maniac forever. 

first, and foremost, Christopher Landon deserves a huge round of applause. This mans has been on a roll for nearly fourteen years, knocking out hit after hit. His last two films, Happy Death Day/2U, were really good but left me wanting to see him lean into a hard R instead of PG-13. Well, Freaky shows that when he has free range, it is even better than you could imagine. From the dialogue and character development to the beautifully executed kills, Landon brought it in spades.

But great writing and directing can only take you so far. Enter: Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton.

The entire cast here is good, but, make no mistake, Vaughn and Newton steal the show. 

Vaughn and Newton deliver like Cage and Travolta delivered in Face/Off. These two are able to jump in and out of their respective roles seamlessly and so well that you'd believe they really swapped bodies. Vaughn knows how to get laughs and adding on the layer of him playing a seventeen year old high school girl is just icing on the cake. Newton is able to lean into her years of playing on Supernatural and really let that killer side shine. 

Everything about this film is enjoyable and down-right fun. It has been a tough year to find a good horror movie but Freaky just hit a grand-slam in the bottom of the ninth to save the genre for one more year. 

 

Rating: 8/10 Stars

 

 

The Barn (2016) Is a B-Movie Masterpiece [Review]

It's Halloween 1989 and best friends Sam and Josh (Mitchell Musolino and Will Stout) are trying to enjoy their last "Devil's Night" before graduating high school. Trouble soon arises when the two pals and a group of friends (Lexi Dripps, Cortland Woodard, Nikki Darling and Nickolaus Joshua) take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside...The Boogeyman, Hallowed Jack and The Candycorn Scarecrow. Now it's up to Sam and Josh to find a way to protect their friends and defeat the creatures that lurk within The Barn.

Do you remember the 80s like, really, really remember them? Especially the second half of the decade when horror hit VHS and ever other movie starred Linnea Quigley? Well, maybe you remember the 90s and shows like USA Up All Night and MonsterVision. Either way you know what I'm referring to, it's that classic B-movie that might not have been the best movie but, god damn, you loved it because it had a special charm to it. Shows like MonsterVision and Up All Night made a killing airing these movies and if you told me that in 2016 some could capture (really capture it) that 80s charm I'd I've told you that was impossible. But The Barn does just that and more.

Funny enough The Barn features Linnea Quigley in what could only be described as the best 80's B-movie ever, that was not made in the 80's. The Barn has the crazy ability to mainline sweet horror nostalgia straight to the brain and make you feel like an 8yr old kid again.

The cast is awesome, the score is fantastic and the practical FX are perfect. It has cinematography that is better than most million dollar budget films and the "film grain" filter really does add to the overall final product.   

Please, do yourself a favor and watch this movie. Not for you now, but for that 8yr old kid inside who remembers what it was like to be scared by a B-movie. Who always stayed up late on the weekends to binge on edited for TV horror. Give'em that sweet treat of good old B-movie awesomeness.


Rating: 7/10 Stars

**Go watch The Barn now on Amazon Prime**

Doctor Sleep Is An Almost Perfect Sequel [Review]

If you weren't aware Doctor Sleep is a sequel to The Shining that shows us what became of Danny Torrance after the events at the Overlook Hotel. If you haven't seen The Shining then maybe go watch it and come back... I'll wait.

For those of you that have seen The Shining but have yet to see Doctor Sleep then stop reading and just go see it right now. I'll be blunt it is fantastic and there is no why you will walk out thinking it was as good as the first. Now run along and watch then come back so I can tell you about the one thing I think would have made it perfect... I'll wait for you also.

Okay, are we all caught up? Because from here on out I probably going to drop a few spoilers, so this is your last chance to stop. Oh, you don't wanna stop reading? Okay, suit yourself.

Danny Torrance is still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook Hotel and has caused him to become an alcoholic, like his father. Danny has fought to find some semblance of peace but that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the shine. Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality. Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra's innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before-at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

There is a lot to unpack here and the synopsis above doesn't really do the story justice but hopefully you get the gist of it. See there are a lot of people with the shine and that shine is the reason things went so bad for Danny as a child. The Hotel wanted him as food because of his power, but out in the world there are also people who want his power and those people have figured out a way to prolong life by draining anyone with a hint of shine.

The cast here is one of the best I have seen in a long time and Ewan McGregor steps into the role of Danny seamlessly. After all his films he still continues to bring performances to the screen that are head and shoulders above anyone else.

Mike Flanagan has really grown into the role of great director. What could have been a basic career has flourished recently with his adaptations of Stephen King's work. The more he makes the better he gets and that is no easy feat.

For all intents and purposes this is a perfect film, well, if you don't let one little detail hinder your experience. This is that spoiler I was talking about..

At the end of the film Danny knows the only way to beat Rose The Hat is to lure her to the Overlook Hotel and before that can happen he needs to "wake up" the hotel and it is at this point that he makes his way to the hotel bar and he see his father for the first time in 40 years.

The scene is good and Henry Thomas does a decent Jack Torrance but it would have been a lot heavier had they brought in Jack Nicholson to reprise the role. There are two ways they could have played it and both wold have worked. The option to de-age him is easier now more than ever or you let him be and show a beat down aged Jack Torrance who never left the bar. But just the act of getting Jack back for this scene who have been huge. Now is it possible they reached out to Jack and he said no? Sure, but him not being there in that role does spoil the moment.

With regards to the situation it doesn't break the film, it is just one of those things that would have provided "Fan Service" and excluding that the film is a perfect follow-up to The Shining and, most likely, the best horror movie of the year.



Rating: 9/10 Stars 



Rich Stile  @TheDevilsEyes1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Sam Elliott Is Superlative In The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot [Review]

Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott), is an old man living his last days in his quiet hometown with his dog who is haunted by his memories of World War II where he undertook a mission to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He was successful in his mission, however the operation was classified and never revealed to the public. One day two men approach him identifying themselves as joint American and Canadian government agents. They explain that all life on Earth may be coming to an end as a strange virus has been killing people and animals around the world and the original source of the virus is Bigfoot itself. Knowing Barr is a highly trained tracker and survivalist, and one of the few people on Earth immune to the virus, the agents try to recruit him to go into the wilderness and kill the Bigfoot in hopes it will end the epidemic.

The premise may sound like a crazy B-movie but do not be fooled, this is a story of loss, struggle and regret while also touching on the idea of duty and what it means to truly have a gift that is both a gift and a curse. It's less about the assassination of Hitler or the hunting of the Bigfoot but what those actions leave in its wake.

The key to this film working so well lays solely with Sam Elliott. He plays the character of Calvin straight with no hint of how absurd his characters life experience is. Had he shifted a hair left or right then this becomes something tonally different, it would go from dramatic to tongue-in-cheek instantly. Thankfully Elliott committed to the latter and gave, what one could argue, is the best performance of his career.

But don't let the true focus of the movie cause you to tapout prematurely because even after the deep character study we are treated to the coolest scene ever filmed. Sam Elliott fighting Bigfoot in a no-holds-barred fight to the death.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot has so much packed into it that anyone can walk away feeling more than entertained. Regardless of genre preference this is one film you don't want to skip on.


Rating: 8.5/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark [Review]

Scary Stories focuses on the Bellows family of Mill Valley who had a daughter named Sarah that they kept locked up in a basement room. Her only contact with the outside world was telling her scary stories through the walls of her room to curious local children who came snooping around the house. Many of those children mysteriously disappeared. Sarah eventually hanged herself, and the Bellows house was abandoned boarded up.

But on Halloween night Stella, Auggie, Chuck and new found friend Ramón visit the Bellows home and find the secret room where Sarah was kept, along with her book of stories, said to have been written in the blood of the children she purportedly killed. A curious Stella takes the book home, which awakens Sarah's vengeful spirit. Anyone who was in the Bellows house at the time is now a target—not just Stella, Ramón, Auggie, and Chuck, but also Tommy and Chuck's older sister, Ruth. One by one, new stories featuring each of them appear as if by magic in Sarah's book. Then the stories come to life in the real world.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is one of those rare films that is better than the source it is adapting. The short stories that where curated by Alvin Schwartz were decent but it was the imagery that accompanied them that sent your imagination running wild. And since each story was usually a page in length Del Toro along with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton chose to expound more on the imagery than the story itself. These are not word for word adaptations and that why it works so well.

Ovredal's does a fantastic job of building the perfect Halloween atmosphere, one that hasn't been seen on film since 2009's Trick 'r Treat. Visually the film is a thing of beauty, from the practical FX to the small details found throughout you are fully immersed in a small Pennsylvania town on Halloween night in 1968.

If the images from Scary Stories are what stuck with you through life then this film will make you blush like a virgin on prom night.  Pulling those images and turning them into a fully realized three dimensional existence is purely a work of art. Add to the fact that it is framed in a narrative that ties everything together in a way that feels completely natural and you have yourself a genuine horror film that doesn't need an R rating to work.


Rating: 9/10 Stars



Rich Stile TheDevilsEyes1

  

Mark Hamill Makes Child's Play Enjoyable [Review]

For months the thought of seeing a Child's Play remake seemed pretty stupid considering the original series is still alive and kicking but as the movie drew closer, and they announced Hamill as the voice of Chucky, my interest became piqued.

Child's Play sees the return of familiar names, Andy and Chucky, but for legal reasons that is about it. Gone is the Charles Lee Ray character and anything thing involving voodoo as is the Good Guy Doll. Instead we a treated to a Apple like company called Kaslan who has just launched the Buddi, a revolutionary high-tech doll primarily designed to be life-long companion to their owner. It learns from its surroundings and acting accordingly, Buddi can also connect to and operate other Kaslan products.

That setup is what makes the movie work and the design of the doll make sense in this entry. Make no mistake the doll is very awkward looking, but it is a toy with a huge amount of tech inside it so its mannerisms and range of motion all fall inline with what you'd expect from something like this. The only problem with the setup thought is that the third act complete ignores these rules and see Chucky moving way more fluidly than he should.

The movie doesn't just dive into Chucky being bad either because, frankly, he is not. Chucky is loyal to a fault to Andy and wants nothing more than keep him safe and happy. The problem being that he is very literal and if Andy says I wish you'd disappear then you are going to disappear. It's also not the dolls fault that he operates this way either, Andy and his friends showed him horror films without the preface that it was all pretend and actually cutting some with a chainsaw (they were watching TCM2) is only funny on film.

Those scenarios are why Hamill shines as Chucky, he brings this child-like innocents to the doll that makes him unhateable. He explains is actions like an adorable five year old, that he was just having fun or wanted to protect Andy so that they could simply play uninterrupted.

Having Chucky as an AI also sets the stage for some decent kills, but for some reason or another they pull back on the extreme visual side of it. The kills work and make sense but only two of the kills seem to go the bloody 80's style with it.

The downside to the movie is that most of the cast is just okay. They do what they are there do but it seems almost phoned in. There are no scenes that makes you connect with Andy and his mother that would make you root for their survival. You like them, but you like Chucky more. The other is, again, the third act. The third act has a great scene that looks like something out of The Collector but it goes to a point where the doll functions in a way that it quite possibly couldn't according to the movies pre-established rules (range of motion of the doll and movement fluidity). Also for this part the CGI  is very heavy and looks subpar, it's okay but doesn't fit with the rest of the movie.

With that said the movie is a fun little flick that walks a razors edge of good and bad, but Hamill manages to land the movie squarely on the good side. It may not be the best Chucky movie but it is better than at least three of the previous entries.


Rating: 6.5/10 Stars




Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

  

The Dead Don't Die Is a Poor Man's Plan 9 [Review]

When you hear that a zombie movie is being made and it will star Adam Driver, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover and a plethora of other heavies from Hollywood you can't help but to get a little excited. But then you notice Tom Waits is involved and the writer/director is Jim Jarmusch... Okay, lets still see how this plays out, because on paper this looks like it could be really good.

Yep..... Looks. Good. On. Paper. The famous last words of every person who has ever made a poor decision.

The Dead Don't Die synopsis reads as follows: In the sleepy small town of Centerville, something is not quite right. The moon hangs large and low in the sky, the hours of daylight are becoming unpredictable, and animals are beginning to exhibit unusual behaviors. News reports are scary, and scientists are concerned, but no one foresees the strangest and most dangerous repercussion that will soon start plaguing Centerville: the dead rise from their graves and feast on the living, and the citizens must battle to survive. I know, sounds pretty cool, Right? But IT'S A TRAP.

I'm going to assume that you (the reader) are familiar with a small movie called Plan 9 From Outer Space, it's probably the greatest worst movie ever made by director Ed Wood. See Ed genuinely thought he was making a great horror/sci-fi picture, but the end result was a debatable failure. Ed didn't set out to make a bad movie it just happened, but because of his passion for the material the film actually comes across quite enjoyably. Now 57 years later we have Jim Jarmusch who is doing exactly the same thing, just with a bigger budget, but is missing the one key ingredient that made Plan 9 actually work, a genuine love and respect of the material.

Jarmusch doesn't care for zombie movies, which he has stated many times, he just wanted to do a goofy movie with people he knew and liked. That's fine and had the movie been just that it might have been decent. It is when he goes on to beat you over the head with social and economical themes that he straight lifted from George Romero is where it goes off the rails.The difference being Jarmusch lacks the nuances that made Romero great at telling a story about zombies while weaving in commentary on society as a whole.  

Yes there are many nods to Romero and enough social commentary jokes to fill a stadium but the whole thing lacks any structure. There is no rhyme or reason to the movie and the lost plotlines and characters can only be construed as a shitty riff on Plan 9 (which up to this point in time I'd of thought impossible).

There is more frustration than entertainment here. The brief glimpses as to what could have been are fleeting and only make the movie that much worse.



Rating: 4/10 STARS

   

Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Pet Sematary Remake Proves Sometimes Dead Is Better [Review]

Pet Sematary 2019. Is it a remake, a fresh adaptation or a re-imagining of one of Stephen King's most beloved books? Well, at this point you can call it whatever you like because it's all the same to me. But in all truth this was just a rushed attempt to capitalize on the success of the IT adaptation.

The movie is a scattershot of good acting, terrible writing, incomplete thoughts and scenes that make no sense, but hey it looked really cool and made you jump.  Yet all that could be overlooked if it had stuck to the actual theme of  Pet Sematary and not went for the Evil Dead/Night of the Living Dead hybrid that it quickly devolves into.

Mary Lambert's 1989 film knew that the story was never about bringing back the dead and having them attack the living (zombies). The story is about grief, loss and the lengths that people would blindly go to in order to conquer that which is inevitable; death. Death is a hard thing to deal with and when it comes without rhyme or reason to those who are young it makes it even that more tragic and unbearable.

Pet Sematary 2019 decided to take the shock route and changing things up. It loses the moment where Louis comes close to pulling his child back from the road only to fail and instead making Church the harbinger of death by luring Elli out into the road to meet her fate with the Semi. Then from that point on it becomes a mess of a story and falls further from good story telling to just shock value.

This remake was unnecessary and did nothing but allow the studio to make a quick buck while retaining the rights to the King story for just a bit longer. Even though the performances were really good it could not make up or save the movie from very poor writing. Yes, sometimes, dead is better and some franchises or stories should be left in the ground and remembered for what they were and not try to remake them into something they will never be. 


Rating: 5/10 Stars


Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Overlord Perfectly Blends Horror and Action [Review]

Overlord set out to tell a good horror story that has a ton of action set against the backdrop of World War II, so if you are looking for a historically accurate war movie just move along. Now for those of you who want to see the Third Reich create mutated super-soldiers that are unstoppable killing machines, then this is the movie for you.

With only hours until D-Day, a team of American paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a mission that's crucial to the invasion's success. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi lab beneath the church, the outnumbered G.I.s come face-to-face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen.

The cast of Overlord is an excellent mixed bag of character actors who all deliver great performances but the duo of Wyatt Russell and Jovan Adepo shine the brightest. Their on screen chemistry is akin to Wyatt's father and Stallone's in Tango and Cash. These two play well off each other and, in turn, give the ending more depth. 

The effects and set pieces are worth their weight in gold. From the opening paratrooper jump sequence that is, probably, the best ever put on screen to the final shot of Wafner (Pilou Asbaek) in all his undead glory; this film has everything you could want from two different genres blended into awesomeness.   

Overlord is a fun film that feels like a really dark take on Captain American and the super-soldier serum. Instead of fighting for justice with new found power we get ravenous mutated Nazi's who will tear you apart and devour your innards. 


Rating: 8/10 Stars  



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Ahockalypse Is The Hockey Zombie Movie We Needed [Review]

In Ahockalypse the greatest sport ever gets mashed with the greatest horror sub-genre and creates one of the funniest indie sports/horror/comedies the world has ever seen. Well, it is the only sports/horror/comedy that exists so by default it's the funniest.

Ahockalypse follows Jonsey, BJ and Wave as they celebrate their team, The Prairie Kings, winning the league championship only to have the party cut short as zombies begin to invade the town. Accompanied on their journey of hilarity and mayhem is Jenny, Jonsey's girlfriend, a Random girl and Mrs. Johnson, the hot house mom who has a thing for Jonsey.

The movie makes references to many a movies in spectacular spoof fashion with call backs from Home Alone to Mad Max: Fury Road. Everyone involved knows they are going for laughs and they play the scenes accordingly. Nothing here is overly dramatic, it's more inline with Special Dead, than say, Night of the Living Dead.

The kills are decent but have to fallback on a lot of CGI due to budget constraints. However, the final kill does go full on practical and the payoff is worth the wait.

To be fair.... The movie does a lot with the limited resources it has and makes good use of its locations. It's a movie that sets out to make you laugh and if a Mascot doing karate on zombies with two girl sidekicks doesn't make you chuckle then I don't know what will.

Ahockalypse is the hockey zombie movie that we didn't know we needed but are thankful that it now exists.


Rating: 7/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

The Predator Only Managed To Kill The Franchise [Review]

The Predator series has taken many twists and turns throughout its history. Some good and some outright bizarre, with most believing Requiem is as bad as the series could get... Not true. The latest installment of the Predator series not only undermines the basis of the franchise but sees the creation of an intergalactic PETA (with humans being the ones who need the ethical treatment).

There is so much here that is bothersome and mind-blowing. How do two writers as talented as Shane Black and Fred Dekker churn out a script that makes AvP:Requiem look not so bad. Looking at their track record this should have been a walk in the park for the duo, but instead it will go down as their worst project collectively.

The premise of the movie complete kills the mythos of the Predator species. They are supposed to be a species that hunts all different creatures but respects what they hunt if it gains the upper hand in battle. Its not a sport for them but a test of ability and a way to gauge their species superiority as a whole. This entry implies that there is a faction of predators who think that humans need protected and should not be hunted at all. And this faction has been in contact with the government and planning to help them out with a weapon; The Anti-Predator.

The Predator looks okay for the first half of the movie but when they bring out Super-Predator it becomes a silly, overly CGI'd mess.

There is very little to like here. The acting is very lackluster with the exception of Holbrook, Brown and Busey who actually commit to their roles and play their parts perfectly.

The Predator is an entry into the series that was in no way needed. This entry should have been a follow-up to Predators and not a Predators for the Ethical Treatment of Assholes story.   


Rating: 5.5/10 Stars

Victor Crowley Is Exactly What Horror Needs [Review]

Victor Crowley (Hatchet 4) is the sequel that no one saw coming but everyone knew they needed. The film was shot in complete secrecy and on the 10th anniversary screening of Hatchet fans were treated to the first showing of the fourth installment in the Hatchet franchise.

Do you remember the days when horror wasn't a overly serious social commentary that had a hidden message or tried to be more than just a good slasher flick? All that was required was a somewhat sensible plot, a killer and a supporting cast to be feed to the meat grinder. Well, it seems Adam Green is the only person these days who knows how to deliver just that.

The fourth entry into this tried and true franchise could not have come at a better time. The bogging down of cinema with ghosts, action movies playing horror pretend and art house statement projects cluttered 2017 for most of the year.  So it's nice to get back to the meet and bones of just good old fashion carnage candy.

This installment sees Victor Crowley brought back to his old stomping grounds after a decades long hiatus. The scene of the original trilogy is now a popular tourist destination and most people believe that Andrew (Perry Shen's paramedic character in part 3) is the one who killed everybody. In a final attempt, with some greed involved, to set the record straight Andrew agrees to return to the swamp to do a interview about the massacre. But, of course, nothing goes as planned and Crowley returns to wreak havoc.

The cast, just like the previous three, is perfect. Perry Shen shines bright in this series and does a damn fine job of headlining this outing as the stories main protagonist. As a welcomed addition we have Laura Ortiz playing Rose and just like the great Ray Wise she is incapable of delivering a bad performance. Also Dave Sheridan kills in his role and truly knows how to hit his beats with perfect comedic timing.

Once again we are treated to glorious practical effects, thought slightly scaled down for cost. Yet Kane Hodder's Crowley looks the best here out of the entire series. The blood flows, the kills are clever and Hodder does what he does best. Oddly though the death that is the hardest to watch is one not even by the hands of Crowley. Tiffany Shepis (Casey) has a death scene that hits a note that is rarely seen in horror and really makes you feel for the character. You want her to live and no go out in such a simple but horrible way.

The only downside, to a degree, is the way the film was shot. Its not quite as cinematic as the previous films but by no means does it render the film unwatchable. It's just an odd thing you'll notice at first but it quickly becomes less and less of an issue. If I had to guess I'd just chalk it up to the budget allocation of equipment used for filming.

 If you're a fan of this series you need to see this and if this is the first one you are thinking of watching, what is wrong with you get out there and watch'em in order.


Rating: 7/10 Stars 




Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Better Watch Out Is a Christmas Horror Masterpiece [Review]

This year has been a bit of letdown in horror with so many movies failing to deliver, but then there is Better Watch Out which delivers way more than you could ever expect.

Better Watch Out is the horror movie I've been waiting for for this entire (2017) year. It's has clever, original writing in a year that has been bogged down in remakes/sequels/prequels; and delivers horrific craziness with Funny Games level dark humor. 

The cast is fantastic, from the parents to the ex-boyfriend but Levi Miller and Olivia DeJonge are the pillars of which this movie rests. The chemistry between the two characters of Ashley and Luke is reminiscent of Heather Langenkamp (Nancy) and Robert Englund (Freddy) in a Nightmare on Elm Street. To elaborate would spoil the movie and do the viewer a disservice.

The writing, directing and cinematography are absolutely perfect. As is the horror movie that the kids are watching which foreshadows the first half of the movie beat-for-beat. And this is all set to a beautiful Christmas soundtrack; there is nothing like a good horror chase scene set to a Christmas song.

There is so much to gush over in Better Watch Out but it would spoil everything and this is one of those movies that deserves to not be spoiled. Hell, even watching the trailer will not reveal a thing about the plot. Do yourself a favor and go watch this right now, you won't be disappointed.


Rating: 9/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Slasher: Guilty Party Is Carnage Candy Fun [Review]

Do you miss the bloody violence from slashers of old? Well look no further as Slasher: Guilty Party has you covered with enough carnage that it feels like you just stepped out of an 85 Delorean. 

While working as counselors at Camp Motega a group of friends made a decision that will forever change their lives; the murder of one of their own. Now five years later these friends must reunite to move the body of their victim before the land is developed for a new resort. But the now defunct camp has now become home to a community of yoga hippies and to make matters worse the body is missing. Now the entire group must navigate bloody waters as they try to decipher who moved the body and who is picking them off one by one.

For the most part, Slasher has a solid cast and pretty good main plot but the tangent stories tend to slow the pace of the series down a bit; luckily, though, they never last long enough for you to get bored and stop watching.

The FX are all practical with a few shots here and there touched with CGI but never to the point where it looks terrible. Each kill is unique and out does the previous one in glorious 80's fashion. This is where the series really shines, you don't make a show called Slasher and not deliver the goods and they deliver the goods in spades.

Slasher: Guilty Party may not be as tight, storywise, as season one, but it delivers one may other fronts than the previous season. If you love Friday The 13th (1980) and Psycho then this season is a definite watch.


Rating: 7/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1
 

Happy Death Day [Review]

Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) is a blissfully self-centered collegian who wakes up on her birthday in the bed of a student named Carter. As the morning goes on, Tree gets the eerie feeling that she's experienced the events of this day before. When a masked killer suddenly takes her life in a brutal attack, she once again magically wakes up in Carter's dorm room unharmed. Now, the frightened young woman must relive the same day over and over until she figures out who murdered her.

Happy Death Day is a movie that takes themes from other genres and tries to twist them into something new and to an extent it succeeds. The problems do not come from the cast or the story but from the hindrance of a PG-13 rating.

The cast delivers really well but it is Rothe who carries the movie. She is able to give a performance that works both ends of the genre spectrum. Her comedic timing is on point as is her final girl delivery of dread and inevitable death.

The story, even though the main premise has been done, is quite fun. But what should have been a setup for countless gory and inventive kills quickly becomes dull due to the hard cut to avoid any scene showing blood, with the exception of a trooper getting ran over. This is the crux of the movie, how do you make a horror film that should be very brutal, but without brutality? Answer, you don't. You make a comedy with horror elements.

The director, Christopher Landon, does an awesome job with what he had at his disposal and as a comedy-horror it plays very well, but as a straight horror movie (which could have herald more new slashers to the big screen) it is a big missed opportunity.

Happy Death Day should be seen if you are looking for a fun movie with a twist on the time-loop trope; but if you are a gorehound looking for the next big slasher then you will leave parched because there is not a drop of blood to quench that thirst. 


Rating: 6.5/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

Cult of Chucky Is Terrible but Enjoyable [Review]

There is a difference between a bad movie and a movie that is enjoyably bad. A bad movie has no redeeming qualities and flat out sucks (Annabelle); an enjoyable bad movie still sucks but has it moments that really shine making you say "Well, that part was pretty good." (Freddy vs Jason). The latter is where Cult of Chucky lands on the scale of movies.

Returning to the series is Alex Vincent (Andy), Jennifer Tilly (Jennifer/Tiffany), Fiona Dourif (Nica) and everyone's favorite horror icon Brad Dourif (Chucky). Each actor brings their A-game while delivering very exceptional performances.  Vincent shows that he can still command the screen and really slips back into the Andy role as if he never left. Fiona, again, delivers flawlessly as Nica and adds a little something to the role that calls back to her character on Dirk Gentley. And, of course, Bard Dourif fires on all cylinders delivering Chucky one-liners that steal each scene he graces.

The problem with Cult of Chucky isn't the acting, the FX or setting, it's the story. The story is all over the place and tries to shoehorn in a secondary plot that, though cool and original, doesn't really add anything of substance to the movie. At most it just makes for some very funny dialogue, but bogs the movie down with needless additions. The story, though, could be overlooked if it had a definitive plot; yet there is absolutely no plot nor reason for any of this to take place.

The second part of the problem is the under utilizing of the awesome cast. Alex Vincent is back as Andy, yet he only has, maybe, 12 minutes or screentime and Jennifer Tilly has less than or equal to that. Then instead of focusing on Fiona's Nica while in the institution, time is wasted on patients who are not entertaining and clearly there to be cannon fodder.

... But, as stated before, there are a few enjoyable parts.

Cult of Chucky is the weakest of the series and really screws up the headway made in Curse, yet Chucky and the kills are still top-notch. But this might be the blow that stops the franchise dead in its tracks. If anything, at least Seed will no longer be looked upon as the worst in the series.


Rating: 5.5/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

The Houses October Built 2 [Review]

The Houses October Built was an original movie that blended real life haunt attractions with a fictional narrative about  an extreme haunt called The Blue Skeleton. The execution of the story was decent but the what could have been excellent fell apart in the final act due to a lackluster ending. Luckily this time around the gang gives us a complete movie that makes up for the shortcomings of the previous entry.

In The Houses October Built 2 we pick up with the group of haunt hunters at the end of the first movie giving us an epilogue as to how they are alive and with all the footage. Then we have a time jump, Zack (Zack Andrews) is tight on money and wants to cash in on their 15 minutes of internet fame by going to haunts across the country, again, and rating them as internet-celebrities. He gets the guys together with no problem but Brandy (Brandy Schaefer), who is the real draw thanks to her viral video branding her as Coffin Girl, has had enough of the haunted house scene to last her a lifetime. After some persuasion she agrees to return with the promise that they will only attend normal haunted houses.

The Houses October Built 2 is most definitely a retread of the first movie but that isn't a bad thing. This time around the movie feels more refined and the story comes across as complete; not poorly open-ended. The major plus with these movies, again, is their ability to capture the excitement that many find while visiting their favorite haunts during October and highlighting some of the more creative haunts around the country.

If the ending of the first movie bothered you then this will more than make up for it. But if you didn't like the first at all then I'd expect you wouldn't enjoy this one either. 


Rating: 7/10 Stars



Rich Stile  @TheDevilsEyes1

Leatherface Is a Awesome Blood-soaked Prequel [Review]

Someone somewhere screwed up the marketing for Leatherface and they need to be fired. The trailers were lackluster and the synopsis sounds boring, which automatically set the stage for negative reviews. But if you ignore everything you heard you will be delighted by a movie that sets the stage for one of the silver-screen's favorite killers; Leatherface.

Leatherface takes place before the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and it delves into more than just the man-with-the-saw's backstory. It shines a spotlight on each member of the Sawyer clan before they became the fine tuned family that kills.

The setup is simple; the Sawyers are disliked by all and the local law enforcement wants them gone, but can't manage to make a case against them. However, when the local sheriff's daughter is found dead, he rounds up all the young Sawyers under the guise of child endangerment and places them in a institution. After 10 years of being separated, Verna (Lili Taylor) marries into money and attempts to use her wealth to find and release her son Jeb. When her plan doesn't succeed she improvises and creates a mass riot resulting in the escape of her son and three others.

The script was penned by Seth M. Sherwood who does an amazing job of setting the stage of what will become the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the icon Leatherface. With many foreshadowing events of the future and a few homages to the more crazy installments, Sherwood created a prequel that fits tonally with the rest of the series.

Casting for this installment couldn't have been better. With heavyweights like Stephen Dorff and Lili Taylor taking up roles it gives the picture a deserving sense of legitimacy. Yet it one of the younger stars that steal the show; Jessica Madsen gives a performance that is outstanding, no it's more than that, it can only be described as perfectly flawless and to say anymore would ruin the movie.

The gore here is plenty and it really stands out as the most blood-soaked entry in the series to date. From the kills to the practical FX many a fans of the series should be happy with how visceral the movie is. And what will really standout is not a kill but a twisted sex scene that involves a long dead corpse (I've said too much).  Also the attention to detail for the Sawyer house is fantastic, they nailed even the most minute detail in reproducing the house.

Leatherface is more than just a slasher origin story, it's a ride that shows you how a person can become so broken and stripped away that they see no option but to turn to the saw. And after all the Saw Is Family.

Rating: 8/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1

47 Meters Down Has Bite [Review]

Shark movies are a tricky formula to crack, you either get it right or you don't. From Jaws sequels to last year's The Shallows none ever hit mark, they come close but still no cigar. Enter 47 Meters Down a movie that get it so right you feel like you are watching shark week.

 47 Meters Down sees sisters Kate (Claire Holt) and Lisa (Mandy Moore) traveling to Mexico for a vacation filled with sun, fun and adventure. Lisa needs some extra persuasion when Kate suggests that they go diving in shark-infested waters. Safe in their protective cage, the thrill-seeking siblings come face to face with a group of majestic great whites. Their worst fears soon become a reality when the cage breaks away from their boat, sending them plummeting to the ocean floor with a dwindling supply of oxygen.

Unlike the previously mentioned movies 47 Meters Down does not go with over the top CGI and sharks that roar, instead they stick to a very realistic feel in the vein of Open Water.

Claire Holt and Mandy Moore carry this movie through out and neither steal the show because they both deliver solid performances. And, even though he is on screen briefly, Matthew Modine gives a good turn as the boat captain who runs the operation.

47 Meters Down has everything you could want in a shark movie and then some. It will hit you with so much that when you think the ride is over, well, you only just begun. This is definitely a must see.


Rating: 8.5/10 Stars



Rich Stile @TheDevilsEyes1