Jimmy and judy are a pair of dysfunctional teens who find love together and embark on a crime spree captured by their ever present video camera.
This is a story told many times, and it is, quite frankly, one that has been told much better. The hook here being that the movie is filmed by the main characters themselves.
The self filmed angle would, you might think, allow the viewer to see more of what goes on, but in fact this is not so. Excluding a couple of scenes, most of the violence is off camera, though they do manage to capture quite a bit of nudity.
The acting is pretty good mostly, if sometimes a little too OTT, and the relationship between the characters is generally believable.
A lot of this movies problems lie in the fact that it seems to think it’s cooler than it is. The main characters, tho likeable enough, don’t really engage the emotions enough to make you care, an aspect that is desperately needed in a film like this.
I bought this movie from a pound shop, and as such it’s not a bad movie, but I would have been unhappy to have spent more on it.
Overall I would say if there’s nothing else on, give it a watch, but don’t put yourself to any trouble to see it.
Summary: not as clever or as cool as it wants to be, but a reasonable watch. 4/10
The story begins with the main character, Ray Pye, killing two girls who are camping in cold blood, to ‘see what it feels like’. He bullies his two friends into helping him bury the bodies and cover up the crime. The story then moves on four years and Ray is still uncaught but his narcissistic pychosis may be unravelling and this can’t mean good things.
Once again this was a film I knew little about, and I imagine there are a good many people out there who also haven’t heard of it. This is a huge crime, this film is excellent. Based very loosely on the crimes of Charles Schmid, it’s a harrowing tale of a disturbed mind breaking apart.
The film is shot in very interesting ways, sometimes in the style of 70s road movies, sometimes quick MTV style cuts and jumps, grainy picture etc, but this is never so overdone as to interfere with the viewing pleasure. My only criticism of the cinematography is that some of the scenes were far to dark, but this also helped with the realism.
Realism is the key with this film. There is no glamorising of the killer here, there is no stupid teens running into the old abandoned house, it’s just horror stemming from the awful acts of a psychotic bully and the destruction of people who don’t deserve it. Also, they manage here to have the villain as the main character but still allow you to care about the victims, something most films of this type don’t.
The violence in the film is very well done, unflinching but never gratuitous, brutal and horrific but never indulgent. Be warned, there are some shocking moments in this movie but it never feels overdone.
The villain of the piece is played masterfully by Marc senter who encompasses the explosive and unpredictable nature of such a psyche. He brings to mind a young, allbeit edgier christian bale. The supporting cast are just as good, each dealing with their own dysfunctions and problems adding a depth that so many films lack.
I think fans of horror, especially the serial killer genre will love this film, and find it a welcome change from the self indulgent crime movies that litter the DVD store.
Summary: chilling, shocking and realistic. 8/10
The story revolves around a radiologist who, after a mirror breaks at her fathers birthday party, sees herself driving past her in the street. She follows this other self and finds herself descending into a nightmarish mystery.
I didn’t know much about this film going in, and I’m glad I didn’t. It allowed me to learn things as the main character did. Anyway, this film is a story that has been told many times in many different ways, however, never have I seen it told with such subtlety.
Be warned, this is not a fast paced horror thriller, and some people will find it a little slow. But if given the chance to be absorbed slowly it will really get under your skin.
This is a huge change from most horror movies of today, with a creeping pace and sinister air it makes the rare moments of true horror or violence all the more striking.
The way the film is shot is beautiful, simple, but effective, adding to the air of the real world being interrupted by mystery and paranoia. The acting is excellent and they manage to make you sad to see even the smallest characters go, something many films don’t manage with a main character.
This film will not be for everyone, with it’s slow paced, atmospheric build, and somewhat lack of answers offered. But in my opinion, these things add to the overall nightmarish feel of the movie.
If your looking for action and in your face horror then this is not the place to look, however if your looking for a horror movie for grown ups that is creepy, sinister, intelligent and will stay with you, you can’t go far wrong here.
Summary: creepy and beautiful, but some may find it slow. 7/10.
To be reviewed tomorrow.
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The movie is the story of a family terrorised by a ghostly/demonic presence. This is documented by the family trough video camera and in house CCTV. This movie takes place around two months before the events of the first movie.
I was intregued to see this as i had enjoyed the first one, but couldn’t really see how they could bring anything new to the story. I was wrong. They far surpassed the original in almost every way.
Of course a lot of the same elements are here: things moving around (an ongoing battle with an electric pool cleaner thats always out of the pool for example), strange noises, unusual behaviour etc, but, in my opinion, a lot of this is done much more creepily than in the first. Shaking pots and pans have never seemed more forboading!
One of the best things about this movie (I won’t spoil it) is how they tie it into the first movie. It’s wonderfully done.
There are, of course, some negatives.
The house is covered in CCTV cameras but they only check these on a small number of occasions, the dad in the family is completely dismissive of his daughter and wifes feelings that something is wrong (despite quite a bit of evidence for it), and some parts of the film are simply staring at nothing happening through the CCTV cameras.
Despite these small problems, the film is a creepy masterpiece, the peril being increased by the presence of a teenage daughter and new baby, the latter being the focus of a lot of the activity.
In a film that I think many saw as a simple rehash of the first, they have managed to create a totally different atmosphere and therefore a new type of fear.
Summary: excellent and creepy 7/10.
‘Furnace’ is the story of a detective investigating strange suicides linked to a prison, who eventually finds himself in a battle against a supernatural enemy.
Now, I bought this DVD from a poundshop, so my expectations were not high from the start. This film did little to prove me wrong.
I will begin with the positives. The cinematography was not all that bad, with the abandoned parts of the prison looking pretty creepy and there was minimal lame filters used, as seems to be the fashion with other cheaper movies. Also the acting, tho rather uninterested was above the par for a film like this. The ghosts looked pretty creepy too when they were used well.
Now, the negatives. The plot is incredibly flimsy, side stories that go nowhere, a relationship that literally comes from out the blue, stupid characters (they completely believe one inmate killed himself by boiling his own head in the sink), the ghosts seem to be able to appear anywhere at any time, but somehow a brick wall had kept them at bay for years?? It’s just pretty much all wrong. As a prison movie, it’s not prisony enough, as a ghost story it’s just not scary enough and as a general movie you just don’t care what happens.
I could go on and on with what’s wrong with this movie, but I think I’ve said enough.
Summary: Avoid. 2/10.