Category: Movie Review

Director: Tom Elkins

Writer: David Coggeshall (Screenplay)

Starring: Abigail Spencer, Emily Alyn Lind, Chad Michael Murray, Grant James, Katee Sackoff, Morgana Shaw

 

Plot: A young family moves into a historic home in Georgia, only to learn they are not the house’s only inhabitants. Soon they find themselves in the presence of a secret rising from underground and threatening to bring down anyone in its path.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Solid, but Flawed Sequel

 

Story: The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia starts when the Wyrick family, Lisa (Spencer), Andy (Murray) and daughter Heidi (Lind) move into an historical home, Lisa like her sister Joyce (Sackhoff) has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts and as her daughter starts seeing them too, what is the message being sent?

Heidi befriends one of the spirits, one that previously lived in the home, but it is the history of the events of this house which will be the one that leads up to the true terror in this story.

 

Thoughts on The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

 

Characters – Lisa is the wife and mother of the family, she does have an ability to see spirits with her mother helping her through these experiences. In her new home she starts to see more spirits that has trying to send her messages and must use her skills to figure out how to save her child. Andy is the husband and father, he is the only one that doesn’t have the ability to see the spirits which shows him taking on the situation as if there would need to be a logical reason behind it all. Heidi is the daughter of the family, that can also see the spirits and it is her visits which guide us to where the story goes this time, she is encouraged by her Auntie and discouraged by her mum. Joyce is the free-spirited Auntie that joins the family, she tries to embrace the idea of the spirits needing help and will guide Heide unlike her sister.

Performances – This is a sequel with no returning cast members, no connection to the original, so the cast is brand new. We do have a couple of known actors from television, Abigail Spencer, Chad  Michael Murray and Katee Sackhoff, they do what they can with the material, but the poor decisions they are forced to make doesn’t help. Emily Alyn Lind does well for a child star put in horror situation.

Story – The story is based on real events or sold on this idea anyway. We have the events of the story taking place over short amount of time, as we see how everything seems to escalate, which is fine for a horror story. the idea the sisters and daughter can see spirits naturally is a good spin on the idea where only one can usually see the ghosts. The problems do some into this too as the one person who can’t see the spirits still sees them and most of the decisions being made are poor throughout. For the mystery behind everything it does keep us interested throughout and does give us shocks along the way.

Horror/Mystery – When it comes to the horror in this film we get plenty of the normal jump scares, most of which just play out like you would imagine, the casual fan will jump along the way. The highlight is the mystery behind what is causing the hauntings because history is always filled with surprises.

Settings – The setting for the film is good because it is an old house that is bound to be filled with history that could be a terrifying as what we learn as the film unfolds.

Special Effects – The effects in this film are mixed because the way the flashbacks are shot does look do and feels different to current events, the negatives come from how the injuries can look while inflicted to the modern characters.

Scene of the Movie – Cut the cord.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The moments Andy saw a ghost.

Final Thoughts – This is a solid enough sequel even though it has no connection to the actual first film, it does have smart ideas but terrible character decisions.

 

Overall: Horror fans should enjoy.

Rating

 

 

Director: Fritz Bohm

Writer: Fritz Bohm, Florian Eder (Screenplay)

Starring: Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, James Le Gros, Troy Ruptash

Plot: A blossoming teenager uncovers the dark secret behind her traumatic childhood.

Tagline – Discover your true nature.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Fantasy Filled Horror

Story: Wildling starts as we meet young Anna who is living with her father, only known as Daddy (Dourif) in a remote cabin in the woods, she isn’t allowed out and has been raised to believe a creature will get her if she leaves the house, when she starts getting older, Daddy starts drugging Anna to prevent the aging process, when Daddy shoots himself, Anna is rescued.

Anna (Powley) is taken in by Ellen Cooper (Tyler) and her brother Ray (Kelly-Sordelet) who help her adjust to the world, despite the fact she is still in fear of the wildling out to get her.

Thoughts on Wildling

Characters – Anna was raised by a man in the middle of the woods, she has been drugged to stop her going through her womanhood until she is rescued. Taken in by the local sheriff, she learns about the world for the first time, only she isn’t prepared for everything, finding it hard to adjust to everything. Daddy is the man that has raised Anna, he did educate her, while warning her about the outdoors, while he does drug her, the mystery is around why he kept her isolated. Ellen is the local sheriff that takes Anna in, she does her best to teach her about being a woman, while others just want to lock her away. Ray is the sister of Ellen that is still in high school, he tries to help her on a social standpoint, while being one of the only people left for her to trust.

Performances – Bel Powley is great in this leading role, she must go through a transformation and play the fish out of water figure too. Brad Dourif is just as creepy and you need him to be, always going to work in this type of role, with Liv Tyler being the cop that believes they know what will be right for victim, trying to be the role model figure.

Story – The story here follows a young girl that is raised in the woods, only to be released to discover who she really is and what she is capable off. This story does follow the traditions of seeing a young girl taken and raised in secret, before something happens to bring her into the real world, this side of things has been done before, it works and is an effective way to bring a stranger into a modern world. Where this story takes an interesting turn comes from the reason behind why she was being kept, we do get to see what she really is, but we don’t get to see if she is a threat to everybody else, we do get a couple of message in this film too that want to point out certain motives in hunting, but overall the story keeps us guessing and surprised by the truth.

Fantasy/Horror – This film does dive into fantasy when it comes to learn what Anna really is, we have ideas early on, but we are never truly sure what she will become, this does help with the horror side of the film because it keeps us waiting to see if there will be more bloodshed.

Settings – The film is set in a town surrounded by woodlands, this shows first where she was raised and where the people will welcome her, right back to where she feels more comfortable.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show the wounds and the look of the Wildling figure, there give us a creepy but natural looking creature and the blood isn’t afraid to be splashed about here.

Scene of the Movie – Home from the party.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could spend more time learn the normal human life.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun fantasy horror, it doesn’t hide the blood and is happy to give us a twist on the traditional storytelling.

Overall: Fantasy Horror 101

Director: Craig Moss

Writer: Chad Israel, Emanuel Isler (Screenplay)

Starring: Callum Blue, Nadine Velazquez, Makenzie Moss, Erik LaRay Harvey, Alden Tab, Danielle Lauder

 

Plot: A long abandoned slaughterhouse is transformed into modern lofts in a re-gentrified urban neighborhood. Soon after tenants move in they are tormented by a dark secret that has been trapped in the building for over 30 years.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Simple Horror

 

Story: The Ghost of Charnel House starts with Alex (Blue) and his wife Charlotte (Velazquez) turning the once abandoned former slaughterhouse into a modern day luxury apartment building, with the soft opening underway and the first few tenants moving in including Devin (Harvey), Emily (Lauder) and Jackson (Davies) everything seems to be going well.

It doesn’t take long before the past ghosts of the build start visiting Mia (Moss) the daughter of Alex and Charlotte, before long the whole house starts to receive visits from a spirit with unfinished business.

 

Thoughts on The Ghost of Charnel House

 

Characters – Alex Reaves is the man behind the refurbishment of the building, he sees this as a fresh start for his family which will give them financial support for life, he starts having visions which will bring the connection back to the previous owner. Charlotte is the artist and designer (I think she did this too) who has help turn the building into the apartments and soon becomes the one that needs to fight to keep her family together. Mia is the daughter of the couple who starts seeing the little boy haunting the building, treated like the imaginary friend for the most part, she has behavioural problems and follows in her mother’s artistic nature. Devin Pyles is the man that has a connection to the previous use of the building, he is here to investigate just what happened here and knows about the darker side of the building.

Performances – Callum Blue in the leading role is fine without ever standing out in the leading role, which is going to be a theme when looking at the performances, nobody does anything to make themselves feel stand out in the film.

Story – The story here follows the re-opening of an old slaughterhouse as luxury apartments, but the ghosts of the old building are still there haunting the people that move in. this does give us the limited characters as the building isn’t officially opened, but will let people move into the property they have purchased early, this helps the story because an over crowded building would have only dragged the film down. The story is trying to be clever with certain connections only to fall mostly short with this side of the story telling. Once you do work out where the story wants to go you will work out the ending pretty easily which again disappoints and as for the supporting characters they seem to have no connection to the actual hauntings and are here just to give us a body count.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from the ghost visits and the technology not following the rules it should be, again simple scares which don’t give us anything to be frightened off.

Settings – The film is set in one house, we have an apartment building with history which gives us the haunting side of the film. it works well for the most part too.

Special Effects – The effects are not over used, they are simple when needed but nothing that becomes clear to what is happening in the film.

Scene of the Movie – Butch the Yorkie.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The pointless disposable supporting residents.

Final Thoughts – This is a very simple horror, it does the basics right without ever being put in the position of being anything special or standout, nothing is terrible, it is just average throughout.

 

Overall: Average horror.

Rating

 

 

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Writer: Jocelyn Moorhouse, P.J. Hogan (Screenplay) Rosalie Ham (Novel)

Starring: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Julia Blake, Shane Bourne, Kerry Fox, Shane Bourne

 

Plot: A glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.

Tagline – Revenge is back in fashion

Runtime: 1 Hour 59 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Quirky & Dark

 

Story: The Dressmaker starts when Tilly Dunnage (Winslet) returns to her small home rural town to see her mother Molly (Davis), Tilly isn’t welcomed by all because of something that happened in the past resulting in the death of a child.

Tilly is out for revenge, only she starts turning heads and offering to design dresses for the local women in town, she grabs the attention of the town bachelor Teddy (Hemsworth) with her only friend being Sergeant Farrat (Weaving) who has his own eye for fashion.

 

Thoughts on The Dressmaker

 

Characters – Tilly Dunnage is a glamorous woman that has seen the world learning the fashion world, she has returned home for revenge after being forced to leave the town as a child, she helps the women of the town look gorgeous and extra special, while she convinces herself that she isn’t cursed. She knows how to turn heads using her cloths to make this happen. Molly is the mother of Tilly who has been living in isolation for years, she didn’t want her daughter to return, even though she doesn’t start to bond with her after all these years apart. Teddy is a young man in the town, he is one of the few people that looked after Molly while Tilly was away, he soon takes a shine to her, wanting to prove that she didn’t do anything in the first place. Sergeant Farrat is one of the people that is happy to welcome Tilly back to town, he does have his own secret which involves his cross dressing, making him easy to twist when Tilly wants information.

Performances – Kate Winslet is great in this leading role, bring us a character filled with guilt who is just as happy to show a positive confident side to the people in the town. Judy Davis is a scene stealer in this film, being able to get the laughs required to make her the most memorable part of nearly ever scene she is in. Liam Hemsworth is at the best he has ever been, which is great to see him breaking away from the roles that aren’t working for him. Hugo Weaving gets to have a lot of fun in his role too.

Story – The story follows a woman who returns home to get revenge on the people that forced her to leave, only to learn that town has just as many secrets within the walls, that revenge is just about letting them out. We get to see how a town can turn enough heads to make everything seem like nothing is wrong, only for a curse to be waiting to be lifted if it isn’t inside somebody’s mind. We do get a lot of characters being introduced which can make things difficult to keep up with because we get plenty of little factors that do lead up to the personal conflict between the characters. this is a lot more fun of a story than I was expecting even though it is sprinkled with very dark moments.

Comedy – The comedy in the film does come the quirky nature of the events as they unfold, we have plenty of fashion related comical moments as well as small town gossip, which will get laugh along the way.

Settings – The film is set in a small rural Australian town, where everybody does know everybody else, we are filled with gossip and instant reactions to anything that goes on in the town too.

Scene of the Movie – Leaving town.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Slightly too many characters.

Final Thoughts –This is a quirky dark comedy that is sprinkled by the elements of revenge, which does keep us wondering just what is the endgame of her decision making process.

 

Overall: Dark quirky comedy treat.

Rating

 

 

Director: Oz Perkins

Writer: Oz Perkins (Screenplay)

Starring: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Boynton, James Remar, Lauren Holly, Greg Ellwand, Elana Krasz

 

Plot: Two girls must battle a mysterious evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Think I Misses Something

 

Story: February starts as two girls Kat (Shipka) and Rose (Boynton) are left at a boarding school over winter break, waiting for their parents to pick them up. We also see Joan (Roberts) another girl who looks lost in the world being taken in by Bill (Remar) as a man that lost a daughter looking to help her return to where she is from.

At the school Kat and Rose must deal with a mysterious presence that is drawing Kat to act strangely, while Joan’s story looks to become complete when she returns.

 

Thoughts on February

 

Characters – Joan is a lost girl that is trying to return home from a hospital which brings along a couple that want to help her to make up for the fact they lost their daughter, Kat is the emotionless quiet girl at the school who hasn’t heard from her parents before winter break and must stay there with Rose. Rose is the other girl that got left at the home, I feel she is older and expected to be the one to look after Kat.

Performance – The three girls Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton are all good through the film, they each create their own personality for their characters which does make us care what they are up to however confusing it all gets.

Story – The story here is very confusing, we follow two seemingly different story arcs about girls that find themselves becoming possessed by an evil spirit, we don’t get to focus on either of them enough and they don’t seem to meet up at any point to explain why we need to watch two different stories unfold. I do feel this does end up coming off attempting to be too smart for its own good leaving us with nothing important happening.

Horror – This tries to play into the psycological horror but ends up falling slightly short because it ends up being confusing.

Settings – The settings don’t help here either because we follow the two stories one is on the road while the other is around the middle of the home the girls are staying.

Special Effects – The effects are good without being overused and mostly used for gore effects.

Scene of the Movie – Stop here, because it is shocking.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It was just too confusing.

Tagline – She Returns.

Final Thoughts – This film is just too confusing really, it makes everything hard to follow which didn’t make it enjoyable to follow.

 

Overall: Too Confusing.

Rating