Plot: Tom returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine’s night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame is the only one that believes he’s innocent.
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: My Bloody Valentine starts when a mining accident causes a miner to snap and go on a rampage. The day was remembered as the Valentine’s Night Massacre. 10-years-later Tom (Ackles) returns home to find his former flame Sarah (King) married to his old friend Axel (Smith). The locals still blame Tom for the original accident, however, when a killer starts picking off the locals, Sheriff Axel investigates.
He believes Tom is behind the killings, as the original murderer was killed on their rampage. However, Tom searches for answers, as the bodies start piling up. Can the killer be stopped before it is too late?
Verdict onMy Bloody Valentine
My Bloody Valentine is a horror remake following a small town coming under attack by a murderous miner. It follows a former resident returning home and finding themselves as the prime suspect in the attacks. He must prove his innocence and save his former flame as the bodies pile up.
This is a fun slasher remake that doesn’t hold back on any of the violence or gore. It brings a fresh approach to the story and leaves you shocked with the final reveal. At a time when remakes were happening a lot, this one does everything to stand out from the crowd.
Plot: Anna returns home after a stint in a mental hospital, but her recovery is jeopardized by her father’s new girlfriend and ghastly visions of her dead mother.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Uninvited starts when Anna (Browning) gets to leave a mental hospital, after struggling with the grief of her mother’s (Massar) death. Her father Steven (Strathairn) takes her home to help her readjust to her new life. However, an unexpected revelation that Steven has a new girlfriend Rachel (Banks), makes life complicated.
Deep down, Anna is most looking forward to seeing her big sister Alex (Kebbel). The two get reunited and Anna finds someone else to discuss the troubles she has been through. However, Anna starts getting visited by the spirit of her dead mother, suggesting more foul play in her death.
Verdict onThe Uninvited
The Uninvited is a horror mystery following a disturbed teenager who is grieving her mother’s death. However, when she returns home, she starts to suspect her father’s new girlfriend as the prime suspect. Even if not everything is quite as it seems.
This is a horror remake in the era of remaking a lot of Asian horror movies. It is known as one of the movies with a killer twist and this one delivers that on the same sort of level. This is one that on a rewatch gives you a chance to pick up on the clues more even if certain points don’t quite match up to what the movie ends up showing us. With solid scares, we get a horror that is a good watch and shows how difficult living with mental health problems can be.
Plot: Six friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Triangle starts when Jess (George) joins her friends Greg (Dorman), Downey (Nixon), Sally (Carpani), Heather (Lung) and Victor (Hemsworth) on a sailing trip. Jess has been struggling with her autistic son and this is a chance to take a break. However, an unexpected weather event sees the boat hit a storm and overturn.
They lose contact with one of the passengers, while the rest wait for rescue. A ship passes by and the five find safety on the ship. However, they can’t find anyone and Jess is going through Deja Vu. That is just the least of their problems, as they learn the shocking truth about what is going on.
Verdict on Triangle
Triangle is a mystery horror thriller following a group of friends who go on a sailing trip. However, a storm forces them to take shelter in a larger ship that is abandoned, or so they thought. Even then, it takes things in a drastic turn, as the friends find themselves dealing with a much darker series of events.
This is a movie which truly keeps you guessing. Just when you think you might understand what is going on, the rug is swept out from under you once again. Melissa George is amazing in the leading role, which sees her evolving as a character throughout the story. Even after watching this a couple of times, it doesn’t become completely clear what happens. However, this lets you speculate and theories which make this a topic of discussion on many levels.
Plot: M.I.T. professor John Koestler links a mysterious list of numbers from a time capsule to past and future disasters and sets out to prevent the ultimate catastrophe.
Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Knowing starts when MIT professor John Koestler (Cage) sees his son Caleb (Canterbury) pick an unusual item from a school time capsule. The item is a mysterious list of numbers, but once he starts ticking his brain over them, he discovers something. John discovers they are dates and locations of disasters from the last 50 years.
Once John looks deeper into the number, he learns that not all disasters have happened. John sets out to stop the latest disasters from happening. However, the truth is even more shocking for John, and he learns more about the bigger position in life.
Verdict on Knowing
Knowing is a sci-fi mystery following a professor that discovers a series of numbers that predicted disasters in the last 50 years. However, the list also includes disasters that haven’t happened yet. He looks to prevent the latest ones but finds out about a bigger problem nobody could have prepared for.
This is a movie that offers a big question about what you would do in the same situation. It makes bold decisions in how it handles the idea of seeing disasters before they happen. There is a massive battle to figure out what is happening. However, it is how the movie ends that will leave you shocked.
Final Thoughts – Knowing is an ambitious, shocking sci-fi movie.
Plot: Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: District 9 starts with the history behind the alien arrival in Johannesburg. They arrived and were placed in slim-like conditions. However, years of tension between the aliens and the locals have caused a drastic decision. The aliens are going to be relocated and Wikus Van De Merwe (Coplay) is leading the movement.
Unaware to Wikus, the company is using the operation to collect alien weapons. When Wikus gets infected by a substance from a group of aliens trying to get home, he finds his life changing. His company wants to experiment on him, and he starts to transform into one of the aliens getting relocated.
Verdict on District 9
District 9 is a sci-fi movie following a man assigned to help with relocation to aliens who finds himself transforming into one. He must race against time to escape the military that wants the weapon he can now control. All while learning the real struggle of being in the slums like the aliens have been for decades.
This is one of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made. It has a political message about treating people just searching for a home differently. We see the aliens stranded and wanting to get home, only to find themselves the enemy of the country. The special effects are jaw-dropping as the aliens look completely natural in the world. This is one of the few movies that a sequel would be truly welcoming and it feels like we deserve one.
Final Thoughts – District 9 is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.
On February the 13th 2009, the remake of Friday the 13th was released. It was the latest from the Michael Bay remake the iconic movies phase. We get to see Jason Voorhees return to go on his latest rampage. 15 years later, we still haven’t seen a sequel to the successful reboot and this has gone on to become a popular entry in the franchise.
Friday the 13th: 15 Years Later
Michael Bay Remakes
After the Box Office success of Pearl Harbor and Armageddon, Michael Bay turned his head to producing horror movies. He wanted to bring the classic movies of the 1970s and 1980s back to life. First was, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, followed closely by ‘The Amityville Horror’ and ‘The Hitcher’. However, Friday the 13th would become the penultimate of his remakes. ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ would finish the remake era of Michael Bay. Although, he did continue to produce more original horror movies including, ‘Ouija’, ‘A Quiet Place’ and ‘The Purge’.
Box Office
Friday the 13th was produced on a budget of $17 Million and went on to make $92 million at the worldwide box office. It easily became the best-performing movie in the franchise at the box office. When it comes to the domestic box office, it ranks number 3 for the year, and close to number 2 ‘The Final Destination’. ‘Paranormal Activity’ topped the horror year worldwide. However, on the worldwide side of things, ‘My Bloody Valentine’ beat it to the number 3 spot, with Friday the 13th holding on to number 4.
Critical Reception
Friday the 13th doesn’t have the strongest critical rating with a score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was generally seen as more of the same from the franchise, without bringing much new to the table. Comparing it to the other Friday the 13th movies, it gets a lower rating than ‘Freddy vs Jason’, ‘The New Blood’, ‘Jason Lives’ and the only fresh-rated movie in the franchise, the original 1980 release.
Positive
Alonso Duralde for MSNBC quotes ‘It’s not a spoiler to reveal that the film ends in a sequel-friendly manner. So I guess it’s a testament to this new Friday the 13th that I didn’t leave the theater dreading such a prospect.’
Clark Collis for Entertainment Weekly quotes ‘This film is (be)head and shoulders above the recently reanimated likes of Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine.’
Negative
Tasha Robinson for AV Club quotes ‘It’s almost charming in its sheer lack of ambition, but the lack of creativity in its by-the-numbers shocks is harder to excuse.’
Amy Nicholson for Boxoffice Magazine quotes ‘Even by slasher standards, the bar for a satisfying Friday the 13th entry is unabashedly low: Take teens, kill.’
Friday the 13th Rebranded
We previously talked about how ‘My Bloody Valentine’ changed the ending for added shock value. Friday the 13th did something even more drastic by having Jason’s mother rampage being the opening credits sequence. This took away the infamous reveal from the original and the question which got Sidney killed in the opening of ‘Scream’.
Even once the movie starts properly, it does a fake-out introduction killing off 4 of the group we meet. The lone survivor Whitney becomes the catalyst for one of the new cast to arrive at Crystal Lake. It brings a much more vicious and violent Jason to life, which is seen in the twisted sleeping bag scene.
It was reported that after a screening of the movie, Michael Bay walked out claiming there was too much sex and nudity. This was reflected in the test audience ratings too, which trimmed it back even more, even though, there is still a lot more in the movie. There are 5 female stars in the movie and 3 of them are involved in extended topless or sex scenes through the movie.
The Transformers Guy
One of the funniest things about this version of Friday the 13th, is the inclusion of a Transformers character. Trent, the asshole boyfriend, returns from being the same figure in the 2007 Transformers movie. It is fun seeing Travis Van Winkle expanding on his character, making us hate him even more along the way.
The Cast
Jared Padalecki went head-to-head with his fellow Supernatural lead Jenson Ackles this year. Both movies did extremely well at the box office, as we previously mentioned. However, neither returned to the potential franchise machines. A lot like Jenson, the safety blanket of Supernatural stopped him from appearing in many more movies.
Danielle Panabaker followed up with a couple of horror movies including ‘The Crazies’, ‘The Ward’ and ‘Piranha 3DD’. She has most recently been seen in the DC television universe as Caitlin Snow, with most of her appearance in ‘The Flash’.
Amanda Righetti joined the pair in a long-running television series. She appeared in ‘The Mentalist’. Recently, she appeared in ‘Christmas at the Ranch’ and ‘Showdown at the Grand’.
None of the rest of the cast have gone on to appear in many shows since. To be fair, not many get much to work with throughout the movie in what is largely a forgettable supporting cast.
Jason Voorhees
Derek Mears became the latest man behind the mask. He stands at 6’5’’ giving him an imposing presence in the movie. Derek is taller than the franchise favourite Kane Hodder, who was suddenly replaced in Freddy vs Jason. Kane had appeared in the most movies in the franchise with a total of 4. The last performance to play Jason was Ken Kirzinger who is the same height as Derek, proving that imposing size became the most important thing in the role.
The Director
Marcus Nispel is the director of Friday the 13th. He has a background in music videos before jumping into feature films. His first movie was the Bay, produced ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ and followed it up with ‘Pathfinder’ and eventually ‘Conan the Barbarian’ remake. It never managed to launch his film director career, like other movies.
The Sequel?
This is one of the biggest franchises in horror movie history, with this being the 12th outing for the film. It looked to rebrand the concept and like a lot of the Bay-produced horror remakes, it didn’t bring new life to the franchise. The question remains, why was this?
Friday the 13th has fallen into a legal battle since this movie. It has become extremely messy and stopped the movie from getting any new additions. You can check out the full details HERE. While it does look like the legal matters may have been sorted. It still feels like we are a long way away from getting any more movies in the franchise.
What do you think of the 2009 Friday the 13th Movie?
15 Years Later: Is Inkheart a Mistimed Fantasy Tale?
On the 23rd of January 2009, Inkheart was released in the USA. Inkheart is an adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s novel and saw one of the most popular action-adventure stars of the time Brendan Fraser take the leading role. Not many people talk about this movie, and today, I am going to look back and see what might have caused the franchise to never have been returned.
15 Years Later: Inkheart
Story
A teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook’s hero.
Box Office
Inkheart was produced with an estimated budget of $60 Million and only made $63 Million worldwide. But why did it struggle so badly at the Box Office? The staggered release didn’t help, as the UK and other parts of the world received the movie in late 2008. While the biggest audience USA didn’t receive it in January, right in the middle of award season. After years of having a Harry Potter movie released around the Festive period, this seemed like an attempt to plug that hole, as the magical wizard had moved to a summer release.
Critical Response
Inkheart has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 38%. The consensus is that it is a bit clumsy and basic in how everything is presented. This is seen across the positive and negative reviews, which give a middling series of ratings.
The Fresh Ratings
Kim Newman’s Empire Magazine review quotes ‘Magical, if messy – this gets by on a good heart, high adventure and an unashamed love for books.’
Peter Bradshaw’s Guardian review quotes ‘CGI fantasy adventures in the post-Potter, young-adult, old-child mode are not quite my taste, but this one is likably boisterous, and Iain Softley directs with flair.’
The Rotten Ratings
Roger Ebert’s Chicago Sun-Times review quotes ‘No child seeing Inkheart will ever want to be read to again.’
Sara Michelle Fetters’ MovieFreak.com review quotes ‘Instead, much like a forgotten piece of pulp fiction, this film evaporates instantly from memory, the book closing on this one’s chances of success long before they even have a chance to begin.’
Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Maria Funke is a German author who wrote a host of fantasy novels. In 1993 the first of her ‘Wild Chicks’ series was released along with the ‘Ghosthunters’ series. Followed closer by the ‘Dragon Rider’ series.
In 2003, the Inkheart trilogy started, with follow-ups ‘Inkspell’ and ‘Inkdeath.’ As we know, we never got to see the sequels turned into movies, but there was potential there. Elsewhere, ‘MirrorWorld’ series has been released. Nearly all of her work as been adapted over the years, with Inkheart being the biggest worldwide appeal.
Fantasy Fatigue
We mentioned Harry Potter before, the juggernaut which dominated box office charts through the 2000s. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ came out later in 2009. After previously being pencilled in for a 2008 release. Elsewhere, in the fantasy world ‘Twilight’ had just kicked started another novel series of movies taking the world by storm. ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ has released a third movie.
You must remember that in the early-2000s we saw the beginning of Harry Potter. The ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy stormed the Box Office and Awards shows. Studios jumped at the opportunity to greenlight any fantasy novel which had a global audience. By the time Inkheart was released, we had already seen some of the biggest attempts fail at the Box Office.
‘The Golden Compass‘ was the previous biggest failure. It couldn’t bring to life Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’. Which has become a popular television series in its own right in recent years. Outside of pure fantasy, The Marvel Cinematic Universe was about to start, taking away much of the similar fantasy love in the most recent years.
Cast
Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser had been on top of the world after his appearance in ‘The Mummy’. Unfortunately, his career didn’t take on the way others had in the past. He appeared in a string of movies that didn’t find real success. ‘Dudley Do-Right’, ‘The Quiet American’ and ‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’. Brendan did appear in the Oscar-winning ‘Crash’, but we all know how popular that movie is now.
In 2008, Brendan starred in ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ and the third mummy movie, ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’. With two fantasy films already completed, Inkheart made it three.
After Inkheart, Brendan fell off the map for major releases, turning to television for a return. In more recent years it emerged he was unfairly blacklisted for reporting sexual misconduct by a higher-up in Hollywood. 2023 saw Brendan making his triumphant return to Hollywood, winning the Best Actor Oscar for ‘The Whale’. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. Hollywood has welcomed Brendan back with open arms and we can’t wait to see what he does next.
Eliza Bennett
Eliza Bennett is the youngest member of the cast, playing the daughter of Mo. She previously appeared in ‘Nanny McPhee’ before guest starring in a host of television shows. Her biggest movie role since is ‘Do Revenge’ the teen comedy available to watch on Netflix now.
Other Cast Members
Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent, Andy Serkis, Jennifer Connelly, Sienna Guillory, Stephen Graham and Jamie Foreman filled the supporting cast. Just like many fantasy adventures, we get a massive cast of stars. Everyone involved understood their roles and has continued to have successful careers in Hollywood.
Could It Return?
Inkheart could return in some shape or form. I feel it would struggle as a movie, but there is no reason why we couldn’t do a television series. The streaming services are always after their latest big cornerstone project. However, this could be a lot smaller project that gathers steam. Any fantasy adventure could work in the modern era of entertainment. To add to this, we have seen the previously mentioned ‘His Dark Materials’ Disney has brought the ‘Percy Jackson’ series back and Amazon has been making the ‘Wheel of Time’ series.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, Inkheart came out too late into the fantasy boom, leaving it in the shadows of larger franchises. Harry Potter, Twilight and Lord of the Rings became the biggest and a lot like many others, Inkheart got lost in the shuffle. It has nothing about the lack of source material or performances. Unfortunately, it never captured an audience previous fantasy movies had.
Unmasking the Truth: My Bloody Valentine 15 Years Later
On the 16th of January 2009, the remake of My Bloody Valentine was released. The horror movie follows a man returning to his home town on the tenth anniversary of a Valentine’s night massacre. However, his homecoming isn’t as pleasant as he would have liked. The whole town believes he was behind the murders and now the murderer has returned, he must prove his innocence.
Today I am looking at how the movie was received at the time of release, and whether it is one to watch today. Along with the typical look through the cast and careers in the years following on.
15 Years Later: My Bloody Valentine
Remake Era
In the mid-2000s Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon of remaking older horror movies. Some like ‘House of Wax’, ‘The Crazies’, and ‘Stepfather’ which didn’t find the biggest success upon first release. However, Hollywood decides to remake some of the biggest franchises too. ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Halloween’, ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘Dawn of the Dead’ led the charge.
3D Success or Failure
From the first eye-popping moment, My Bloody Valentine jumped at the opportunity to utilise the 3D gimmick. It is a gimmick which hasn’t always worked and, personally, I’m not too fond of the idea. I find 3D nauseating and also believe it doesn’t work to the best effect when you are colourblind. While I personally don’t like 3D, the movie does seem to benefit from the gimmick of throwing weapons at the screen.
Blood and Gore
My Bloody Valentine isn’t a movie to shies away from the graphic bloody kills. From the opening bloodbath in the hospital to the first encounter with the miner. Patrick Lussier has never been afraid to put as much blood and gore into his movies. Along with his previous work with Horror legend Wes Craven. There are brutal kills, and the practical effects team did an unbelievable job.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the movie received countless complaints about the violence involved leading to many people wanting the movie banned. Despite the movie carrying the highest rating a cinematic movie could receive.
A Brave Twist (Spoilers Included Here)
When it comes to the identity of the killer, the remake does something drastically different. In the original, Axel is revealed to the killer due to his connection to the original killer Harry Warden. However, in the remake, Axel is convinced the returning Tom is behind the murders. However, the movie does an extremely creative job at portraying him as a paranoid character. He has been cheating on his wife, the lead Sarah pointing every possible finger away from Tom having anything to do with what is happening.
However, this takes a twist which many people complained about because at first glance it seems strange. It is revealed that Tom is the killer and it throws everything we would normally imagine seeing from a slasher out the window. By doing this, we make the seemingly nice guy returning to his home town the killer. While the asshole cheating husband is the one who sees the biggest danger. Most horrors would never dare change the dynamics of the basic character design. As well as having the typically heroic Supernatural star being a sudden villain.
Critical Response
My Bloody Valentine has a ‘Fresh’ Rating of 62% from 110 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Which might only be 4% higher than the original, which gives the movie a feeling it could be considered on a par with the original. Most of the reviews are heavily commenting on the 3D aspect of the movie.
Wendy Ide’s ‘Rotten’ rated review quotes ‘The only reason to see this fairly average horror is its playful use of 3-D technology. Flinch as sharp objects hurtle out of the screen directly towards your eyes; wince as a supporting cast member gets her head sliced in half by a spade.’
Joe Leydon’s ‘Fresh’ rated review quotes ‘Director and co-editor Lussier (a frequent Wes Craven collaborator) plays the 3-D gimmick for all its worth.’
On Metacritic, My Bloody Valentine has only 11 reviews with a rating of 51. Only 2 are positive, while 2 are negative, however, the majority are mixed.
Box Office
My Bloody Valentine was produced on a budget of $14 Million and went on to make over $100 Million in the worldwide Box Office. It got beaten out by other horror movies including ‘The Final Destination’, and ’Paranormal Activity’. While being on a par with ‘Zombieland’. But considering not a single horror movie made over $200 Million this year. It must be considered a big box office success.
Cast
My Bloody Valentine is led by ‘Supernatural’ heartthrob Jensen Ackles. Jensen has had a career dominated by television performances and voice work. It felt like this was an attempt to do something different, but he never got any more big breaks.
Jaime King takes the female leading role and her career has been sprinkled with supporting roles. I first saw her in ‘Happy Campers’ back in 2001. Her most famous roles include ‘Bulletproof Monk’, ‘White Chicks’ and ‘Sin City’.
Kerr Smith has spent most of his career in television, with his most famous other horror movie coming in 2000, ‘Final Destination’. You will also see earlier roles for Edi Gathegi and Megan Boone. They both went on to have successful television careers. Megan is in ‘The Blacklist’ and Edi is currently seen ‘For All Mankind’. The main cast is rounded off by horror icon Tom Atkins, who has appeared in countless horror movies throughout the years.
In Conclusion
My Bloody Valentine is one of the better remakes, it improves on the original and doesn’t hold back on the violent nature of slasher movies. The practical effects team deserve a lot of praise for their incredible work. To make things better, despite the large box office return, we never got a forced sequel, and it proved 3D could work in the right environment. Never overusing the concept, which other movies have forced upon us. All this as Tom actually survives and escapes, ready to return one day.
Plot: In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?
Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Terminator Salvation starts as the machines have won the war. John Connor (Bale) fights for the resistance who learn of the latest attack on them. He must locate Kyle Reese (Yelchin) after he becomes the primary target of the machines.
Elsewhere, former criminal Marcus Wright (Worthington) finds himself thrown into the battle. He starts searching for answers before learning the truth about his involvement with Skynet. The three will come together for a showdown against the machines hoping to put an end to the war.
Verdict on Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation is an action sci-fi sequel, it brings the action to the future where the war between man and machine is underway. This does see John Connor needing to protect Kyle Reese, bringing the circle of what Sarah Connor has from the first movie.
When we look at the story, it is nice to see the battle in the warzone from the war. We have previously seen three movie, we had always seen a present day race to survive. This new twist on the story is a lot more interesting world to enter. Sadly, this movie did bring a new twist to the movie that ended up getting ruined in the trailer.
In the Terminator universe this is one that standout being different, even with the later instalments. By having this factor, we will remember this movie, which will help improve a standard story.
Final Thoughts – Terminator Salvation is a welcome addition to the Terminator universe on the world building side of things.
