Review: Spring (2014)

Quite good and different. I didn't know what to expect, but I liked it a lot. A unique love story to say the least. The acting is extremely believable and natural. Plus, the Italian location is insanely beautiful like the lead actress. There is a tiny touch of CGI, but I think it's handled rather well. All the effects and transformations are pretty cool. It could've used a little more horror I guess since it's light on scares and more of a romantic drama; however, I don't think all horror films need to be the same. That is actually one of the best parts of the horror genre: its flexibility. You can really tell whatever kind of story you want. I really love the opening of Spring. It quickly gets you on the side of the main character and makes him sympathetic. Even when he gets into a fight, he does it to save his friend. That is smart storytelling. This kind of character could've easily gotten annoying via "woe is me" all the time, but they wisely sidestep that dilemma. I'm always a fan of Lovecraftian twists, and this one definitely doesn't disappoint especially for an indie.

Review: A Horrible Way to Die (2010)

Not bad but pretty long and the constant fading to black then starting a scene out-of-focus only to go out-of-focus again at the end isn't bad by itself but when the film does it over and over again, it was a bit annoying. The score is creepy though and establishes a great sense of unease. The first scene gets things off to a nice dark start, and I like the lead actor (AJ Bowen from You're Next, The Signal, The House of the Devil, etc.). I think the writing is quite good too, and the twist at the end was well done although some seem to hate it, but I disagree... I didn't see it coming at all. I wouldn't say it's up there with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but it's an indie made for $96,000 (can't believe it cost that much actually) so you can't expect The Silence of the Lambs. It's absolutely the best low-budget independent film on a serial killer I've ever seen. True, I haven't seen many of those, but the movie is pretty good, and it's clear both the writer and the director are talented (we did get You're Next from them after all and The Guest!).

Review: Blood Glacier (2013)

I like the practical effects even though sometimes, they're a little too stiff and not as good as they could be. Plus, you never get a great look at the monsters like you want. The little bit of CGI is done well too aside from the blood glacier itself, which doesn't look so realistic. The major issue with this film is the horribly-stupid, hilariously-bad ending. What were they thinking? It's so bizarre and silly. I won't spoil it for you, but I think for 99% of the people out there, it's going to ruin the movie, which really was pretty good until they decided to jump off a cliff with that bonkers finale. I get that they kind of set it up, but it still doesn't make any sense, and it isn't believable at all. I was insanely excited for this one too, and I was into it until the filmmakers decided to metaphorically put a gun to their head. It really has to be one of the worst endings ever. It sucks too, because what I'd love to see more of are monster movies with good, old-fashioned F/X. Oh well, I hope Harbinger Down is good.

Review: Crawlspace (2012)

This one really reminded me of The Dark Lurking except the performances were a lot better. In order to tell you the real problem though, I've got to spoil something so if you just want to see it for yourself without knowing anything, stop reading. Ok, here it is: there aren't any monsters in this movie. With the corridors from Alien and Aliens, you really expect some creatures or demons or something, but all you get is one animal that was experimented on. When I was watching it, I was excited since that happens kinda early on so I thought that was the tip of the iceberg. Nope, that's it. What they do instead is alright, but it would've been awesome with some unique, terrifying monsters. They've got some pretty cool characters with good actors in the roles. The thing is it all reminds me of Aliens minus the other major component of what made that film so memorable. By using that aesthetic and not delivering the goods, they shot themselves in the foot. It's not awful, but it could've been amazing.

Review: The Dark Lurking aka Alien Undead (2009)

The special effects are outstanding in this Australian indie, but the acting is abysmal, and the shaky cam close-ups ruin everything (just watch the scene below). They had so much potential for an amazing Aliens-type action film (and the monsters really do rip off Giger's design as you can tell from the poster although they have some other different plague-like creatures too), but they screw it up. All the guys try to talk like badasses, but it's obviously ADR and sounds horribly fake. You've also got some extremely annoying characters that do nothing but whine and instead of dying immediately, they stick around to drive you nuts. In the US, this movie was released as The Dark Lurking, but in the UK, they put it out under the title Alien Undead. Either way, it sucks unfortunately. I thought for sure I'd at least be able to enjoy the practical FX, but with the fuckin shaky cam, it's impossible. Why the hell do filmmakers do that? Don't they understand how awful it is?