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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated
1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going
to review every single movie I see. I’m
going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the
rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future). You can always ask me why I gave the ratings
for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses
under the ‘About Me’ section).
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Eli G/VG
Netflix film about a boy named Eli taken to a facility that
promises to cure him of a condition preventing him from being outside. This treatment facility located away from
civilization (aren’t they all?) obviously houses something sinister. Before we are given the reason behind this
shady organization, this is a fairly standard supernatural movie yet still somewhat
atmospheric enough to make me want to keep watching. The big reveal, once revealed, made this a
much better movie. At least I thought
so. [POTENTIAL SPOILER] This could very well be this generation’s Omen.
10/29/2019
Trick OK/G
The set-up is simple:
Someone wearing a Halloween mask slaughters some people at a party in
2015 and similar things happen every year up to 2019 in the same general New
York area. Is it the same guy who
appeared to be killed the first night? (Horror
101---there’s always a chance the villain survives no matter what’s done to
them). Is it a ghost? A copycat?
This film that’s longer than necessary is 100% style with very little
substance and a slight twist towards the end.
There’s gore aplenty, not nauseating but more in the fun slasher sense,
so this will likely only appeal to gorehounds and/or those that enjoy plotless
horror films. It takes place on
Halloween too, so ‘tis the season! 10/29/2019
Candy Corn OK
Candy corn. That
flavorless candy synonymous with the Halloween season no one really likes but
will eat addictively if right in front of them (at least I’m guilty). The candy is featured in this film, but the
generic plot involves a typical revenge scenario in which a somehow resurrected
man takes vengeance on a group of local small-town folks responsible for his “accidental”
demise. Now, I might’ve been okay with
that unoriginal plotline as it’s very hard to be original these days, but this
is one of those movies with so much potential that made me think how I would’ve
made it better (I hate when that happens).
Director Josh Hasty definitely has his heart in the right place (in
regards to genre) and even managed to grab a few genre faces like “Malachai”
from the original Children of the Corn
(Courtney Gains), P.J. Soles (the original Halloween
and Carrie, Rock ‘n’ Roll High School), and “Candyman” himself (Tony
Todd). The film has that cozy, pre-millennial
feel (particularly the Eighties and early Nineties) set around Halloween as
well, and the killer’s mask was definitely worthy. Where I would’ve done things differently were
the kills themselves. Save for a double
limb removal, I wasn’t really impressed with any of the murders; the gore or in
their execution. The killer used his
bare hands for one thing; I would’ve given him some sharp weapons (or any
weapons really) to use as that is what many of us horror fans, if not all, like
to see. When I watch a slasher film, I
want to be impressed with the kills in addition to everything else (the
performances, the cinematography, the locations, etc.), and if at least a good
portion of them don’t work, the film as a whole doesn’t, unfortunately. 10/29/2019
Bonus reviews:
Rattlesnake OK
It might not be a good idea taking a detour due to traffic
lest you end up in a Texas desert with a flat tire. Especially if you have a young child that
wanders off into said desert while you’re fixing said flat tire. Especially in a movie called Rattlesnake, because they’ll likely come
across the titular reptile and get bitten.
That all happens in just the beginning of this “sell your soul to the
devil” Netflix film. Many people, if not
all, say they’ll do anything for their children, even kill. Many just say the kill part hypothetically,
never expecting (or hoping) to actually be in the situation like the mother in
this film that’s informed she must take a life (within a certain time) in order
to save her daughter. She comes across
ghosts that were in the same situation in the same region, so she knows this is
what she must very much do. Who should
she kill though? A dying patient? An abusive husband? This thriller was just okay (as my rating
implicates) since I felt I’ve seen these stories several times before and it
didn’t get as dark as it could have. 10/29/2019
Tone-Deaf OK/G
This begins somewhat like a “chick flick” before becoming a Psycho-esque slasher film. It does play around with horror conventions
quite a bit and one may think it’s a spoof for doing so, but it generally feels
like a serious horror film aside from when Robert Patrick (you know his face
more than his name---Terminator 2, The Faculty, etc.) occasionally breaks
the fourth wall. Those few instances
made me take the film less seriously, but I mostly had fun with this. 10/29/2019
Other
movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):
Booksmart >>>EH
Burn >>>OK/G
---Sean O.
10/30/2019
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