Tag: 2007

Categories
Movie Review

Metamorphosis (2007) Movie Review

Metamorphosis – Movie Review

Metamorphosis is a late-night horror film where a researcher falls for a vampire, revealing deep historical secrets and engaging in supernatural battles.

First Reaction – Metamorphosis is the late night horror 101

Director: Jenõ Hódi

Writer: Jenõ Hódi, Tibor Fonyodi, Allan Katz (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Keith is writing a book about Countess Elizabeth Bathory and traveling through Hungary with his friends J.J. and Kim researching her life. While trying to find the monastery, he meets the gorgeous and seductive Elizabeth, who guides the trio to the place. Keith and Elizabeth fall in love for each other, and after a car accident, they have a supernatural journey with revelations and fatalities.

Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Metamorphosis starts when Keith (Sevier), Kim (Higham) and J.J. (Hollway) head to Hungary to research Countess Elizabeth Bathory. They meet a beautiful stranger (Violette) who joins them in the monastery for his research. However, the stranger turns out to be Elizabeth herself, a known vampire roaming the area.

Once Keith learns the truth, he learns the deep secrets of her place in the world. However, he is drawn into a bigger battle for control and attempts to end the curse placed on the locals for centuries.

Verdict on Metamorphosis

Recap

The movie follows a researcher wanting to explore the history of a countess in Hungary. However, he meets the person he was studying and finds himself drawn into fighting the bigger battle going on between the warring sides.

Best Parts

The environment and diving into the history is interesting and helps elevate the darker stuff committed in history. Elsewhere, the performances are solid for the movie.

Worst Parts

This doesn’t do too much new for the bigger idea of vampires from generations before. It has basic horrors but never anything which feels scary and is more action based. This could be a solid enough late-night horror.

Final Thoughts –Metamorphosis is a standard late-night horror movie.

Categories
Movie Review

Fire Serpent (2007) Movie Review

Fire Serpent – Movie Review

Discover the intense suspense of Fire Serpent, a thrilling horror movie about alien creatures attacking Earth.

ABC Film Challenge – Horror – F

Director: John Terlesky

Writer: Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Judith Reeves-Stevens (Screenplay)

Writer: William Shatner (Creator)

Cast

Plot: Alien creatures emerge from the sun and attack Earth.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Fire Serpent starts when firefighter Jake Realm (Brendon) helps put out a wildfire. However, tragedy strikes as his partner is killed in a blast, and Jake sees something he can’t explain. Christina Andrews (Holt) hopes the wildfires can be dealt with before it takes too much of the local area, as reporter Heather Allman (Langlois) searches for a big story.

Elsewhere, Cooke (Beltran) has been tracking the incidents for military resources. Meanwhile, an ex-firefighter Dutch (Mantooth) tries to support Jake in his fight against creatures coming from the fires.

Verdict on Fire Serpent

Fire Serpent is an action horror movie following a group of people who fight against creatures that manoeuvre through fire. They must deal with government involvement and a threat they never imagined.

This movie uses a real scary threat in wildfires and mixes it with an alien invasion concept. It creates a terrifying threat because everyone is scared of fire. Even if the story ends up becoming one-dimensional, it checks the boxes for everything you expect from a late-night monster movie. It is nothing fancy, but you can have some fun with it.

Where to Watch

JustWatch

Final Thoughts – Fire Serpent is a fun creature feature-style movie.

Categories
Movie Review

Blood Predator (2007) Movie Review

Blood Predator – Movie Review

"Blood Predator" features survivors seeking shelter in a remote cabin after a plane crash, facing an unseen extraterrestrial threat lurking within.

First Reaction – Blood Predator is the typical late-night horror movie.

Director: Paul Gagne

Writer: Paul Gagne (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Merry Simkins
  • Bill Devlin (Jailbird)
  • Mark Irvingsen (Aftermath)
  • Rayne Aspengren
  • Jared Cohn

Plot: A handful of people wind up stranded in a desolate snowy mountain area in the wake of an airplane crash. They seek refuge in an old abandoned cabin. The group find themselves being terrorized by a lethal predatory extraterrestrial beast residing in the basement of the cabin.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Blood Predator starts when a group of people including Sandy (Simkins), John (Devlin), and Tom (Irvingsen) crash land in a mountain range. They band together to find shelter in an old, abandoned cabin and prepare to see out the storm.

As the night comes strange noises come from the walls and the survivors investigate the cabin. However, they are unprepared for the deadly force living in the walls, waiting for it’s latest victims.

Verdict on Blood Predator

Recap

The movie follows a group of survivors taking shelter in remote cabin in the snowy mountains. However, the walls have a bigger secret and they must prepare to fight back against an unknown threat.

Best Parts

The idea and location used is great for the movie. It does come down to survivors seeking shelter but needing to fight back against a bigger threat idea. This is the strongest side of the movie.

Worst Parts

The movie struggles with the horror elements and the monster waiting to pick off the survivors doesn’t click as well as hoped. Elsewhere, the survivors are a mixed of the most generic figures you could imagine.

Final Thoughts – Blood Predator is a late night horror movie 101.

Categories
Movie Review

Carnivorous (2007) Movie Review

Carnivorous- Movie Review

Carnivorous presents an intriguing premise of trapped strangers facing monsters, but ultimately falters due to budgetary constraints and execution.

First Reaction – Carnivorous has a promising premise but can’t handle the ambition.

Director: Drew Maxwell

Writer: Drew Maxwell (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: After being kidnapped, Kate Walker wakes to find herself trapped in a small chamber. She realizes she’s not the only prisoner, as nineteen others share the same fate.

Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Carnivorous starts when Kate Walker (Rose), Ian (Schaufler), Vincent (Lodewyck), Rock (Ukena), and others find themselves trapped in a chamber. They are hunted down by monsters waiting to feed on them as they navigate the labyrinth of tunnels.

The strangers must understand why they have been selected for this challenge. However, the deeper they travel the bigger the mystery behind their selection becomes.

Verdict on Carnivorous

Recap

The movie follows a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in a labyrinth of tunnels, hunted by monsters. They must put their differences aside to understand what is happening if they can escape.

Best Parts

The concept is interesting and has a lot of potential because the horrors of the tunnels and creatures hunting them are interesting to see. There is also an ambitious idea of a bigger picture, which helps give us something more significant happening.

Worst Parts

Sadly, the movie doesn’t have the budget to live up to the ambition. The green screen usage is jarring and takes us out of the horrors, and the CGI monsters don’t live up to expectations.

Final Thoughts –Carnivorous struggles to adapt to the ambition.

Categories
Movie Review

Eye of the Beast (2007) Movie Review

Eye of the Beast – Movie Review

Discover a thrilling Sci-Fi movie review of Eye of the Beast. Join Dan and Katrina as they investigate the creature lurking beneath the water in a small fishing town.

ABC Film Challenge – Sci-Fi – E

Director: Gary Yates

Writer: Mark Mullin (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A young scientist arrives to a small fishing town to fight against the creature living under the water.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Eye of the Beast starts when Dan Leland (Van Der Beek) is sent to a small fishing town. He has been set to investigate the lower number of fish and the locals start going missing. Katrina Tomas (Castillo) must get Dan and local fisherman Gunnar (MacPherson) to work together to investigate what is going on.

When the bodies start getting discovered, Dan believes they are dealing with a squid attack and must figure out how to deal with the problem. It means putting together a team and taking on the creature to save the residents and their livelihoods.

Verdict on Eye of the Beast

Eye of the Beast is a sci-fi creature feature following a small fishing town which has come under attack by a giant squid. They must band together to defeat the creature if they are to keep their community alive.

When it comes to the creature feature world, we get plenty over the years. This works perfectly well within those movies and gives us a fun little creature. It has the dangers and most importantly a potential real threat, as nobody knows what is in the truth depths of the ocean. Parts of the movie can feel cheesy, but as long as it is fun, which it is, you can have a good time.

Where to Watch

JustWatch

Final Thoughts – Eye of the Beast is a fun late night creature feature.

Categories
Movie Review

Planet Terror (2007) Movie Review

Planet Terror – Movie Review

"Planet Terror is an entertaining, chaotic film about survivors fighting zombies after a bio-weapon is released in their town."

First Reaction – Planet Terror is great fun.

Watch Planet Terror Here.

a
JustWatch

ABC Film Challenge – Favourites – P

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Writer: Robert Rodriguez (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it’s up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Planet Terror starts when the residents of a small town discover an experimental bio-weapon has been released. Go Go  Dancer Cherry Darlin (McGowan) finds herself working with her ex, Wray (Rodriguez) to find survival. Elsewhere, Dr Dakota Block (Shelton) tries to escape her controlling husband Dr William Block (Brolin).

When the rag-tag group come together, they must fight against undead zombie-like creatures. However, they will discover who is behind this if they are going to stop the spread and make it out alive.

Verdict on Planet Terror

Recap

The movie follows the residents of a small town who discover they have had a bio-weapon released. They must come together to fight back against the undead and everyone responsible for releasing the weapon.

Best Parts

This movie plays respect to the old school grindhouse movies. It is meant to be chaotic, over the top and full of blood. This embraces the ideas and makes it one of the most entertaining movies of the release. It has crazy action and unique ideas that might have only been seen by the biggest cult cinema fans.

Worst Parts

This was originally designed as a double feature, and that is shown by it feeling a lot shorter than you would imagine it to be.

Final Thoughts –Planet Terror is pure chaos and a blast to watch.

Categories
Movie Review

Hitman (2007) Movie Review

Hitman – ABC Film Challenge – Video Game Movies – X (Xavier Gens) – Hitman – Movie Review

Hitman – ABC Film Challenge – Video Game Movies – X (Xavier Gens) – Hitman - Movie Review

Director: Xavier Gens

Writer: Skip Woods (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A gun-for-hire known only as Agent 47 hired by a group known only as ‘The Organization’ is ensnared in a political conspiracy, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military as he treks across Russia and Eastern Europe.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Hitman starts when assassin Agent 47 (Olyphant) goes to complete his latest job. He kills his target, however, things take a turn. Agent 47 finds himself a target now, after finding himself framed.

Agent 47 looks to save the only other witness Nika Boronina (Kurylenko), while learning the truth. It sees him using all his skills to uncover the web of lies he has walked into.

Verdict on Hitman

Hitman is an action thriller based on the video game of the same name. It sees the lone assassin using his skills to overcome the odds and discover the truth. However, he finds his training tested when it comes to dealing with an assignment that isn’t as simple as it looked.

This is an entertaining slick action movie that uses the concept from the video game well. A lone assassin dealing with large numbers using their skill for stealth. While it might not be as flashy as others, it gets everything it need to into the story. Timothy Olyphant is great in the leading role of the movie. This could be one of the better early video game movies.

JustWatch

Final Thoughts –Hitman is a flashy slick action thriller.

Categories
Movie Review

Postal (2007) Movie Review

Postal – Movie Review

Get ready for a wild ride with Postal. Read our review of this dark comedy and find out why it's a must-watch for fans of unconventional films.

ABC Film Challenge – Video Game Movies – Postal

Director: Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark)

Writer: Uwe Boll, Bryan C Knight (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: In the ironically named city of Paradise, a loser teams up with his cult-leading uncle to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park. The recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Postal starts when a down-on-his-luck man Dude (Ward) takes a dead-end job in a cubicle working for an over-demanding company. Meanwhile, cult leader Uncle Dave (Foley) is facing a tax charge which could ruin his perfect scheme.

As Dude tries to sort his life out, the city around him is filling up with violence. Soon after Dude clashes with a criminal, he turns to Uncle Dave for help, and it unleashes a much darker side to his character.

Verdict on Postal

Postal is an action comedy following an average Joe who finds himself getting involved in helping a cult. All while a terrorist group operates in his back garden leading to a series of troublesome events.

This movie is based on one of the few games I knew nothing about going into it. It plays out as an outlandish comedy pushing a lot of limits on what would be considered acceptable.  Sadly, these ideas only make it come off too offensive and the story struggles to stay contained. It easily becomes one of the worst video game adaptations I have seen.

Where to Watch

JustWatch

Final Thoughts – Postal is offensive on all the wrong levels.

Categories
Movie Review

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007) Movie Review

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale – ABC Film Challenge – Video Game Movies – I – In the Name of the King – Movie Review

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale – ABC Film Challenge – Video Game Movies – I – In the Name of the King - Movie Review

Director: Uwe Boll

Writer: Doug Taylor (Screenplay)

Writer: Jason Rappaport, Dan Stroncak, Doug Taylor (Story)

Cast

Plot: A man named Farmer sets out to rescue his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of his son, two acts committed by the Krugs, a race of animal-warriors who are controlled by the evil Gallian.

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale starts as we head to kingdom run by Gallian (Liotta). He runs with an iron fist killing anyone who gets in his way. Meanwhile, Farmer (Statham) operates his small farm with his wife Solana (Forlani) and son, despite being a fierce warrior.

When Gallian’s animal warriors invade the Farmer’s village, his son is killed and his wife vanishes. Now, the Farmer decides to return to a former life and build a team to battle back against Gallian.

Verdict on In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a fantasy adventure movie. It is based on the game Dungeon Siege and follows a farmer seeking revenge on an evil sorcerer who killed his loved ones. However, his journey sees him facing a host of different enemies.

This is one of the more critical panned video games, even though it seems to distance itself from the game series. It is the typical journey through a fantasy world that tried to recapture the magic of the Lord of the Rings franchise. While it fails to achieve this and largely become forgettable. This being said, the cast is fantastic that never gets to show their full potential.

Final Thoughts –In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is a largely forgettable fantasy movie.