Horror Movie Central

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Jason — Sat, 08 May 2010 02:15:15 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Supernatural
	Overall:	9/10
	Scary/Suspense:	9/10
	Gore/Yuck:	2/10
	Story:	8/10
	SFX:	7/10
	Acting:	7/10

Quick Synopsis:

Katie has been bothered by a supernatural force for many years. It isn’t until her boyfriend, Micah, decides to start documenting the activity that things escalate. Failing to heed the recommendation of a psychic, Micah takes actions that ultimately provoke the demon to new levels of terror.

The Bad:

Micah is kind of a goof. He ignores things a little to easily early on.

The Good:

I liked the escalating level of night-time horror.
Yes, standing there next to the middle of the bed for nearly two hours is pretty terrifying.

Final Thoughts:

This movie did a good job of creating scary without going overboard. I kept expecting something like the Exorcist at any moment and I am glad it didn’t do that. They did a good job of thinking of creepy different night-time scenarios. The attic cover scene was awesome!

The Burrowers (2008)

Jason — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:08:10 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Creature
	Overall:	7/10
	Scary/Suspense:	8/10
	Gore/Yuck:	8/10
	Story:	6/10
	SFX:	6/10
	Acting:	6/10

Quick Synopsis:

The year is 1879. A pioneer family in the Dakota Terrorities is discovered mysteriously murdered when Fergus Coffey comes to pay a visit to his sweetheart. Not everyone in the family are accounted for, and a rescue party is formed to chase after what is assumed a party Sioux Indians. They find out all too late what is not only chasing them, but the Indians as well…

The Bad:

The movie is very dark. I had to turn off lights to see what was happening.
The burrowers didn’t make a whole lot of sense anatomically. Why the weird jointed back legs and no hair?

The Good:

I liked the originality. I was half expecting to see worms like on tremors.
The western setting was interesting and different from most horror movies.

Final Thoughts:

This movie featured a good mix of suspense, gore and horror. You could really had the sense of being surrounded by danger. There were plenty of unexpected twists. Scratch scratch scratch…

Day of the Dead (1985)

Jason — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:26:00 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	UR IMDB
	Category:	Zombies
	Overall:	6/10
	Scary/Suspense:	4/10
	Gore/Yuck:	8/10
	Story:	4/10
	SFX:	8/10
	Acting:	1/10

Quick Synopsis:

A group of survivors composed of soldiers and civilians have taken refuge from the undead hoard deep within the earth in a historical records preservation tunnel. Amongst the records and relics from history’s past the group tries to find a way to stop the zombies so that mankind can survive. Dr. Logan, better known as Dr. Frankenstein, may have discovered a way to connect with the zombies when when his test subject, Bub, shows signs of intelligence. Little does the group realize that the real threat is actually themselves…

The Bad:

Some of the worst acting ever from the survivors.
Very little creative use of their location.

The Good:

The intelligent zombie, Bub, was really well done.
The zombie corral was a pretty neat idea.
Really well done special effects.

Final Thoughts:

A pretty weak and mediocre follow up to Dawn of the Dead (1978). I think this movie has become my new standard for worst acting ever (for the survivors). The intelligent zombie, Bub, was the best part of this movie. I think this movie has perfected the half mutilated zombie look.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Jason — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:30:48 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Zombies
	Overall:	7/10
	Scary/Suspense:	4/10
	Gore/Yuck:	7/10
	Story:	7/10
	SFX:	7/10
	Acting:	5/10

Quick Synopsis:

A traffic reporter and his news-station-executive girlfriend team up with two Philadelphia SWAT members in an attempt to flee the city overrun with zombies. They escape in an news helicopter and eventually find refuge in an abandoned mall in Monroeville, just west of the city. The group works together to secure their new living arrangements from the lumbering dead, but soon a band of very much alive raiders-on-motorcycles turns their world upside down.

The Bad:

The acting was pretty weak, even for a horror movie.
Roger acted too much like an idiot.
Stephen was also an idiot.

The Good:

The movie did a good job of building up and tearing down the feeling of safety for the characters.
The special effects are pretty cool, even for 2010 standards. I love the shots with zombies taking big bites out of their victims.
There is a lot of creative ideas throughout this movie involving things people could actually do.

Final Thoughts:

A great zombie movie. This has a VERY different feel than the 2004 remake. This movie inspired game levels in the Left 4 Dead video games. It was fascinating to watch the characters try to secure their needs just like a real person would. Not many movies would go into this kind of depth nowadays.

Critters (1986)

Jason — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:10:09 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	PG-13 IMDB
	Category:	Creature Horror
	Overall:	6/10
	Scary/Suspense:	7/10
	Gore/Yuck:	6/10
	Story:	6/10
	SFX:	7/10
	Acting:	5/10

Quick Synopsis:

A group of Crites break out of maximum security prision on a penal astroid somewhere across the galaxy. They steal a ship and make a quick getaway in search of a place to hide, eat and breed. A pair of shapeshifting bounty hunters are sent to hunt them down and a farm outside the small dusty town of Grovers Bend Kansas soon becomes the stage for an intergalatic confrontation.

The Bad:

Most of the acting is pretty cheesy.
Half chewed up Dad is feeling just fine except for a slight limp and weak arm.
There were some pretty random scenes with the bounty hunters.

The Good:

The critter puppets are done amazingly well. Thank God it was made before computer graphics.
The Brad character kept the movie going.
Shooting nerve toxin spines, lots of teeth, rolling, and the ability to get really big make for some great PG-13 scary stuff.

Final Thoughts:

This movie is a classic. I remember watching it many times growing up and aside from the B grade acting, it is actually done really well. I’ve always preferred this movie over Gremlins just because of the edgy story. My favorite moments include the critter eating the fire cracker, and the one exclaiming “F**K” after his pal is blasted to goo with a shotgun moments after finishing a discussion about how the humans have weapons.

Lord of Illusions (1995)

Jason — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:09:26 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Supernatural Horror
	Overall:	5/10
	Scary/Suspense:	6/10
	Gore/Yuck:	8/10
	Story:	5/10
	SFX:	6/10
	Acting:	4/10

Quick Synopsis:

Harry D’Amour, a NY private detective, that has some past history of supernatural cases is drawn into the world of magic and illusion while on a case in LA. The wife of the mega star illusionist, Swann, hires Harry to protect Swann from the members of a cult that is awaiting the return of their master, Nix. And Swann should be worried. As a former Nix cult member he was the one responsible for the banishment of his former master.

The Bad:

The acting was terrible. Scott Bakula…enough said.
The story was a juxtaposition of pretty random topics. (Evil Cult, Magic Show, NY Detective)
Swann was a wussie considering his powers.

The Good:

The Butterfield character was truely evil. Too bad Nix didn’t appreciate him more.
The banishment of Nix was different and creative.
The wacky cult house. I like the huge stickman drawing that was eating people.

Final Thoughts:

This movie dragged on in spots. The police never seemed to care Harry was always in the middle of all these random crazy murders. The special effects were at times goofy, but worked. I think you’d find better acting in daytime soaps. The whole “illusion” aka magic show aspect was really weird, but I guess a profession you’d take if you really had supernatural powers.

Splinter (2008)

Jason — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:20:10 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Horror
	Overall:	7/10
	Scary/Suspense:	7/10
	Gore/Yuck:	8/10
	Story:	5/10
	SFX:	7/10
	Acting:	6/10

Quick Synopsis:

Two wilderness vacationers, Seth and Polly, stop to help a woman on the side of the road and quickly find themselves hostages of the a convict boyfriend on the run. The whole group quickly finds themselves in even bigger danger when they hit some meaty animal in the middle of the road which mysteriously punctures both a tire and the radiator. They seek supplies at a remote gas station, which quickly becomes their prison, as they find out what kind of biological abomination they are dealing with.

The Bad:

Seth. He is supposed to be a PhD student in biology yet he is remarkably weak and idiotic.
The escape and end of the movie is kind of half-assed. They should have just gone with their first plan.
The origination of the splinter organsim was explained by an “experimental oil field” sign as they drove past.

The Good:

The splinter organism reminded me of 28 days later. Fast and easily infectious.
There was lots of gore and limbs moving the wrong directions.
The movie created a good sense of being trapped.

Final Thoughts:

Wow, using a box cutter an a cinder block for amputation purposes doesn’t get much creepier. The oily splinter organism was a cool idea that captured the same panic as 28 days later.

Dagon (2001)

Jason — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:00:45 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Horror
	Overall:	6/10
	Scary/Suspense:	7/10
	Gore/Yuck:	5/10
	Story:	6/10
	SFX:	6/10
	Acting:	6/10

Quick Synopsis:

Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, an unnatural fast moving storm causes a lesuire boat to run aground injuring one of the passengers. Vacationers Paul and Barbara go to shore seek aid from a mysteriously quiet fishing village. They quickly find the elusive villagers are hiding something, and that they are the in big trouble.

The Bad:

You cannot understand Ezequiel half the time.
They never explained how Howard or Vicki ended up in the village.
No explaination of why the villagers prized the human skins.

The Good:

Uxía Cambarro was the perfect blend of alluring and totally creepy.
The half transformed fish people were unique and disturbing although not very mobile.
The back story with the creepy ship captain was cool.

Final Thoughts:

A decent rendition of a H.P. Lovecraft story. I thought the Miskatonic University sweatshirt was a nice touch for Lovecraft fans! There were several parts that weren’t explained, but they weren’t critical to flow of the story. Macarena Gomez did a great job with the character Uxia Cambarro.

Frailty (2001)

Jason — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:59:31 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Horror
	Overall:	8/10
	Scary/Suspense:	8/10
	Gore/Yuck:	3/10
	Story:	9/10
	SFX:	3/10
	Acting:	9/10

Quick Synopsis:

Mr Meiks receives a series of visions from God in which he and his sons are to destroy “demons”. The oldest boy, Fenton, doesn’t believe in his father’s visions and is horrorfied once he starts to bring these his victims home to be destroyed. The younger son, Adam, easily accepts their mission and carries it on after their father is gone.

The Bad:

The performance by Powers Boothe – FBI Agent Westley Doyle.
I didn’t even realize the FBI agent’s name was Westley Doyle so I missed the significance when it was on the piece of paper.

The Good:

The performances by the two boys were outstanding.
The change in perspectives which explained the movie.
The level of tension.

Final Thoughts:

Wow! This was a creepy one. There are plenty of twists, and the ending is great! The actors that played young Fenton (Matt O’Leary) and young Adam (Jeremy Sumpter) did excellent jobs. This movie relied on psychological tension rather than gore or startling scenes. Excellent!

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Jason — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:15:30 +0000

	MPAA Rating:	R IMDB
	Category:	Slasher
	Overall:	8/10
	Scary/Suspense:	7/10
	Gore/Yuck:	8/10
	Story:	8/10
	SFX:	8/10
	Acting:	7/10

Quick Synopsis:

Nobody remembers Freddy Krueger after the people of Springwood successfully quarantined all those who remembered him. Those who remember Freddy are institutionalized and given anti-dreaming pills. Freddy makes a deal with Jason Vorhees to help the people of Springwood remember, but it doesn’t all go to plan and soon Freddy has to deal with Jason’s rampage.

The Bad:

The “pinball” fight between Freddy and Jason in dreamland.
Deputy Stubbs dies too quickly.
Lori’s friend Gibb kind of dies in a lame way.

The Good:

The young Jason Vorhees at camp.
The background story on Freddy.
When Freddy’s makes his return with Mark.

Final Thoughts:

I thought was actually really well done. There were lots of faithful tie-ins to both storylines. After all this time, I never knew that Camp Crystal Lake was just down the road from Springwood!

Horror Movie Central

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Overall:

9/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

The Burrowers (2008)

Overall:

7/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Day of the Dead (1985)

Overall:

6/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Overall:

7/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Critters (1986)

Overall:

6/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Lord of Illusions (1995)

Overall:

5/10

Quick Synopsis:

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The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Splinter (2008)

Overall:

7/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Dagon (2001)

Overall:

6/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Frailty (2001)

Overall:

8/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts:

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Overall:

8/10

Quick Synopsis:

The Bad:

The Good:

Final Thoughts: