Month: October 2019

Director: Takashi Shimizu

Writer: Craig Rosenberg (Screenplay)

Starring: Ryan Kwanten, Amy Smart, Leslie Bibb, Jamie Chung, Scout Taylor-Compton, Nicky Whelan, Jerry Ferrera, Christian Serratos

Plot: Flight 7500 departs Los Angeles International Airport bound for Tokyo. As the overnight flight makes its way over the Pacific Ocean during its ten-hour course, the passengers encounter what appears to be a supernatural force in the cabin.

Tagline – At 30,000 feet. There’s Nowhere to Run

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Tries too Hard

Story: Flight 7500 starts by letting us meet the crew Laura (Bibb), Suzy (Chung) and Captain Pete (Schaech), along with the passengers including couples Brad (Kwanten), Pia (Smart), Liz (Whelan) and Rick (Ferrara) along with a host of singletons Jacinta (Taylor-Compton), Raquel (Serratos) and Jake (Frost) who are traveling from LA to Tokyo on an overnight flight.

When a passenger suddenly dies on the flight, it is only the beginning of a nightmare journey, which brings a supernatural force to the plane, one that nobody is prepared to fight against.

Thoughts on Flight 7500

Characters – Brad and Pia are a married couple looking to take a vacation away from their normal lives, there is some tension between them because of the decision, Brad will help out more during the supernatural phases of the flight as he is prepared for an emergency situation. Laura and Suzy are the two flight attendants, one is having an affair with the pilot, the other is waiting for her wedding day, they are quick to judge the passengers on the flight. We do meet slightly too many characters in this film because we have newlyweds on their honeymoon, a rebellious looking woman, a prankster and a woman worried about her past. By giving us this many characters it makes it hard to learn everything about them.

Performances – We have a cast that are all known actors here, most you might not remember their names, but you will have seen them before, first we have Ryan Kwanten, who like most of this cast is going to get the same problem with their performance, they don’t get time to make an impact, we seem to waste Amy Smart getting not enough time to make any impact for her talent. Leslie Bibb is stronger, but only because her character is in the position to be allowed to make a different.

Story – The story follows the passengers and crew of a 10 hour flight that start getting haunted by a supernatural presence mid-flight causing them to need to figure out what is going on before it is too late, with nowhere to run. This story does end up throwing us into a mystery about what is happening, which doesn’t really get solved by the characters on the plane, only to end up trying to turn to a big reveal on the truth, which feels more like a cop out leaving too many unanswered questioned in the story.

Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi – The horror elements are interesting because we do get to focus on the idea of something supernatural going on, this does dive into the mystery, sci-fi elements of the film because once we learn what the answers are.

Settings – The film is set on a plane which is important because once in flight, there is nowhere our passengers can go and when things start going through the supernatural events.

Scene of the Movie – Adding the pieces together.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It just seems to end.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror mystery which starts off keeping us interested, only for it to run out of ideas and just end suddenly.

Overall: A horror without a true ending.

Rating

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writer: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor (Screenplay)

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, Dwight Yoakam, Carlos Sanz

Plot: Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.

Tagline – If his heart stops pumping adrenalin… It will be the day Chev Chelios dies

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Relentless Action

Story: Crank starts when assassin Chev Chelios (Statham) has been poisoned by his rival assassin Verona (Cantillo) in an attempt at revenge for a job gone wrong. Chev has one hour to live before his heart stops, he learns that if he can keep his adrenaline up, he can remain focused and keep himself alive for longer, which sees him racing around LA in an attempt to locate Verona.

With Chev leaving a host of bodies in his path, he finds a way to keep his heart rate up thanks to his trusted doctor Miles (Yoakam) as he starts to face his own fate before seeking his own girlfriend Eve (Smart) to tell him his mistake.

Thoughts on Crank

Characters – Chev Cheilos is an assassin that has been drugged while knocked out, he has one hour to live unless he can keep his heart rate up, he uses all his violent side to keep his heart rate up as he searches revenge before his time runs out, he uses his connections and isn’t afraid to attack either side of the law. Eve is Chev’s girlfriend, she doesn’t know about his life as an assassin thinking he has a normal everyday job, she doesn’t understand to start with just what is going on. Verona is the man that has poisoned Chev, he is enjoying the idea of getting one over Chev, only he doesn’t want to face the consequences. Kaylo is the connection around town, he looks for the people that Chev wants to find keeping his ears to the floor.

Performances – Jason Statham is the clear star of the film, he gets to unleash all his action star potential, while using his straight-faced delivery to get a couple of laughs along the way. Amy Smart is mostly the damsel in distress figure, she doesn’t play the smartest character doing what she can with it. Jose Pablo Cantillo is the main villain only he doesn’t feel like a threat to Chev in his performance.

Story – The story here follows an assassin that must race against time to get revenge on the people that have poisoned him before the poison in his blood ends his life. The story isn’t going to be get into any levels of deep, which is all we need it too be, it is just one man on a rampage, it does have a real-time feeling to everything as Chev only has an hour to live. We get the usual dealings with gangs always searching for power which is why the two sides are going to war with Chev in the middle of it all.

Action/Crime – The action in the film is wildly over the top with each fight, chase or incident becoming larger in scale as the film roles on, with the crime side of the film taking us into the criminal world seeing how the assassins and leaders try to stay in control.

Settings – The film is set in LA which helps the film show us just how busy the streets would be, with the criminal behaviour happening around every corner too.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show the different levels of suffering that Chev is going through, be it the blurred vision or seeing how his heart is shaping up after or before an incident.

Scene of the Movie – Final showdown.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is hard to support Chev either after what has happened to him.

Final Thoughts – This is a non-stop action adrenaline ride, once it starts it just doesn’t stop which show the energy needed to make this film work on so many different levels.

Overall: Fun and over the top.

Rating

This has been selected for Z because of the director ‘Travis Zariwny’.

Director: Travis Zariwny

Writer: Travis Zariwny (Screenplay) Rob Kennedy (Original Screenplay)

Starring: Robert Englund, Gabrielle Haugh, Lin Shaye, Grayson Gabriel, Michael Sirow

Plot: A girl and her friends find a game in the attic that summons a creature known as The Midnight Man, who uses their worst fears against them.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Late Night Horror

Story: The Midnight Man starts with a young lady Alex (Haugh) caring for her elderly grandmother Anna (Shaye) who does have a dark past, when Alex and her friend Miles (Gabriel) discover a mysterious box in the attic, it sends Anna crazy forcing a Dr Harding (Englund) to check up on her.

When Alex and Miles decide to play the game from inside the box, they unleash the Midnight Man, a figure that will come and haunt its victims with their own fears if they don’t follow the strict rules of the game. They must now battle to survive the night against the deadly supernatural enemy.

Thoughts on The Midnight Man

Characters – Alex is a young lady who has been caring for her elderly grandmother, she lost her parents at a young age, she follows her routines put in place, until she takes part in the game bringing the Midnight Man to life. We don’t learn much about her life away from caring for her grandmother though. Miles is the best friend that has come to keep Alex company, there is hints of a romantic interest between the two, he is happy to play along with the game, but is the only one to search for the full rules before playing. Anna is the grandmother that played the game when she was a child, seeing her friends take by the creature, she has barely left the house since. Her secrets are kept from Alex though. Dr Harding is the trusted family doctor, but he too has a secret with his connection to the Midnight Man.

Performances – Gabrielle Haugh takes the leading role and she doesn’t do anything wrong here either, she shows the caring side needed and the smart side when it comes to fighting back. Grayson Gabriel is solid too, without needing to do too much. We do have horror legends in Robert Englund and Lin Shaye who both deliver everything to show their experience in this genre.

Story – The story here follows two friends that accidentally unleash the game of the Midnight Man who brings to life their biggest fears. The story does come from a CreepyPasta which means it could become one that catches fire in the horror community. The rules laid out are long, but effective to create the Midnight Man figure and using the ideas of your fears is an easy way to get away with in horror. We do have a few twists along the way, but otherwise we will get everything we need for a simple and effective story.

Horror – The horror from the film comes by using the creation of the Midnight Man, he has a unique look and how he uses his rules, he can create the fears needed. The kills are built into the horror, with age not being something this film is scared of using.

Settings – The film is set in one location, the house, which is part of the rules, this is effective and does help play into the idea that playing supernatural games are not a good idea.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show how the kills happen, they are effective and feel more practical than CGI.

Scene of the Movie – The game rules.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – If Alex had a fear of blood, she wouldn’t get involved in anything involving blood.

Final Thoughts –This is an interesting idea for horror, it does create a new villainous figure that could strike fear into people.

Overall: Horror game that uses the rules.

Rating

Director: Damien Leone

Writer: Damien Leone (Screenplay)

Starring: Katie Maguire, Catherine A Callahan, Kayla Lian, Sydney Freihofer, Cole Mathewson

Plot:  A babysitter finds a VHS tape which features various sinister murders performed by a psychotic clown.

Runtime: 1 Hour 23 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Solid Homage to 80s Horror

Story: All Hallows’ Eve starts as babysitter Sarah (Maguire) sees one of the children who she is babysitting for receive a video tape, forced into letting them watch it only to see that it is an amateur short horror film.

Forcing the children to bed, Sarah continues to watch the video to see more horror shorts before she starts hearing and seeing things around the house.

Thoughts on All Hallows’ Eve

Characters – Sarah is our babysitter that is watching these horror shorts, she is trying to be responsible to the children she is babysitting for, the other characters we meet are from the shorts which are horror made and our typical heroines that don’t stand much of a chance against their enemies. The clowns are a big part of the film too appearing in certain parts right along the way and soon are just as involved in the horror.

Performances – This is a low budget movie and most of the shorts that were used, were done with actors that were just getting started, you can see the talent there without them being truly standout. Katie Maguire does the most work and is good for her part in the film.

Story – When it comes to anthology films we always need variety in the horrors we are watching, we get that which is good, the style of the shorts feels like 80s too, so we get to play with the trademarks of the horror for that era. The story outside that connections the stories works well too because it brings the unexplained to the mix to why the video was given to a child. We clearly have stronger stories which i feel was the third one and as always the middle ones are often the weakest.

Horror – When it comes to horror we get to see different styles of horror with an 80s theme throughout, each one gets to play on what we have come to know about where things will go, but with the low budget effects we know just what we have gotten ourselves into.

Settings – The film takes us to different locations which makes each story feel unique to what we are experiencing.

Special Effects – The effects are low budget which can make things look cheap, though they are used to make them have a grindhouse feeling which was nice to see.

Scene of the Movie – Most of the third tape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – I felt the first story is too short and I wanted to see more.

Final Thoughts – This is a nice solid horror anthology which goes mostly for gore over suspense, it works and I can see the horror fans enjoying this one.

Overall: Nice low budget horror anthology.

Rating

Director: Steven Kostanski

Writer: Suzanne Keilly (Screenplay) Mark Jones (Creator)

Starring: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, Sai Bennett, Linden Porco, Emily Reid, Mark Holton, Ben McGregor

Plot: The Leprechaun returns once again, when a group of girls unwillingly awaken him, when they tear down a cabin so that they can build a new sorority house.

Tagline – Be Careful What You Wish For

Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Failed Re-launch of a Franchise

Story: Leprechaun Returns starts when the daughter of Tory Reding (Jennifer Aniston, who isn’t in the film) Lila (Spreitler) arrives rebuild the house her mother once lived in for her college home, she is joined by Katie (Sonuga), Rose (Bennett) and Meredith (Reid).

With the new activity around the house the Leprechaun (Porco) returns to continue his search for his gold and terrorising the drunk teenagers trying to make a difference to how they live.

Thoughts on Leprechaun Returns

Characters – Lila is the daughter or Tory (from the original) she is moving back to the same house in the vents of the original to be part of a college sorority, she is clearly the outsider of the group desperate to make new friends after a lifetime of looking after her mother. She learns to start believing what her mother did and proves to be resourceful throughout the film. Katie is the slutty of the friends, Rose is the one trying to make a change and Meredith is the drunk one, while they are meant to be portrayed as smart, they are painfully generic and dumb throughout. The Leprechaun has returned looking for his gold and this time he isn’t going to be a friendly, trying to get his power back. He uses rhymes to try and scare the characters and new powers to make object move to kill.

Performances – Taylor Spreitler does every she can in the leading role, trying to step into the shoes of Jennifer Aniston isn’t going to be easy for anyone, Pepi Sonuga, Sai Bennett and Emily Reid are the basic supporting performances, playing confusing characters. Linden Porco does well as the leprechaun being evil enough.

Story – The story picks up 25 years after the original film where we follow a new group of students that head to the house from the original only to find themselves being haunted by the leprechaun who just wants his gold back. The idea that we are taught to forget any of the sequels is a good thing and arguable the only good thing about the story, the rest just makes the characters seem confusing, with the story wanting to say these girls are smart with what they are doing, but as soon as the horror starts they just become screaming messes. It does keep the tone of a slasher story though it just never captures the tone of the first film enough.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy comes from the painfully rhymes that the leprechaun gives, they are very pun heavy which will often make your eyes roll. The horror does come from the kills which are bloody and one is in fact an original one too.

Settings – The film is set in the same house as the original film, it needs to be rebuilt so people could live there, it shows the evil hasn’t left this place after 25-years.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are easily one of the better parts because we get the unique looking kills that don’t shy away from the camera.

Scene of the Movie – Solar panel

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The characters being confusing.

Final Thoughts – This is a disappoint horror sequel reboot, it is filled with too many puns and tries to be self-aware of everything going on.

Overall: Leprechaun is better off dead.

Rating