Tag: 2019

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Movie Review

World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route (2019)

Director: Matthew Hausle

Writer: Paul Freedman (Screenplay)

 

Plot: The story of the unsung heroes who deliver the ‘Stars And Stripes’ military newspaper to soldiers in Afghanistan. Part of the film shows the paper delivery to Camp Lightning after 90 minutes on a Chinook helicopter, two miles up a mountain, and further travel on Humvees.

 

Runtime: 58 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Important to See How the Stories are Told

 

Story: World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route starts by telling us what the Stars and Stripes newspaper is and why it was created, to give the American soldiers in the military a chance to read about the stories of conflict they are fighting and has been running for years now, still being used today. We get to see how the journalists and photographers were able to capture some of the most shocking, important and special moments in conflicts.

 

Thoughts on World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route

 

Final Thoughts – When you look at this documentary you get to see just a newspaper can help tell the truth about war, be it for the real world or more importantly for the soldiers that want to know what they are fighting for. The insight these journalists have in beyond brilliant, we get to see how they can have intimate stories that show how united the soldiers are. We get to see how journalists have worked from the early 1950’s right up to the current affairs issues that have been able to show the conflict, we get to see how the paper has evolved to deal with the change in technology. We get to see the good the paper has created to survivors of the wars. One of the weaknesses comes from the almost glossed over moment of looking at how difficult to deliver the paper is, which wile learning how important the paper is, it would have been interesting to focus more on how difficult it would be to spread the word this paper does. The documentary does connect the members of military that will always be one of the go to for the many people in the services.

 

Overall: Headline worthy documentary.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Clinton Road (2019)

Director: Richard Grieco, Steve Stanulis

Writer: Derek Ross Mackay (Screenplay) Steve Stanulis (Story)

Starring: Erin O’Brien, James DeBello, Ace Young, Katie Morrison, Bo Kietl, Cody Calafiore, Ice-T

 

Plot: A widowed firefighter seeks closure after his wife goes missing on an actual haunted road in rural New Jersey but must unlock the roads secret if he wants to get out alive.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Run Around the Woods Horror

 

Story: Clinton Road starts as we learn about a notorious stretch of road in the United States which within its 10miles stretch has an unusual number of murders and strange events going on along it. Michael (Young) has lost his wife along this stretch of road, without getting any closure, he has started to move on with his life with a new girlfriend Kayla (LaVera) when he gets called by his ex-wife’s sister Isabella (Morrison) who wants to investigate a new lead about what happened there.

After getting advice for a paranormal expert Begory (DeBello), Michael, Isabella, Kayla, Tyler (Calafiora) and Gianna (O’Brien) head out to the mysterious Clinton Road for answers, which takes them down a path they aren’t prepared to understand.

 

Thoughts on Clinton Road

 

Characters – Michael has experience the loss of his wife in unusual circumstances, he has moved on with his life, trying to finally put everything back together again, he does still want the final answers which Isabelle his sister-in-law could be about to give him, this sees him joined by his new girlfriend to look for the answers in the last place she was seen. Isabella is the sister of the missing woman, she has always wanted to get answers which leads her to turn to a paranormal expert to help solve the mysterious. Tyler is Michael best friend and the total opposite to him be louder, usually the one that gets them into trouble. Gianna is the connection with the paranormal expect, as we can tell here we don’t get the best development around the rest of the cast as we do with Michael and Isabella.

Performances – Ace Young in the leading role doesn’t do much wrong, but does struggle to bring his character to life, Katie Morrison struggles from this too because the characters aren’t written as strongly as they could be, they are difficult to bring to life, the whole cast struggles here and the big names are used more for the cameos to say they had a big name in the film.

Story – The story here follows a group of friends that go in search for answers about one of their other friends that went missing a year ago on a mysterious well know haunted stretch of road only to find themselves the target of the strange goings on upon the road. The story here uses the inspired by true events line which does spike the interest and the research required to see how true this road is and after doing my research the road is real and the haunting events around it are real too, the story we watch happen here are not. The idea of investigating the haunted area without any experience in other worldly entities doesn’t help the character’s decision-making process which soon plays into all of the weak clichés in horror, being mostly running around in the dark.

Horror – When it comes to the horror elements in the film we get to see how the mystery about the road plays into the scares required for the film, the darkness and isolation add moments of tension, but we just never get the creep or scare factor we could achieve from this story.

Settings – The film is set on a mysterious road and wooded area around it, is does create isolation by showing us just how much unexplained mystery is around the area.

Special Effects – The effects are consistent through the film with how the ghostly characters are created, they have a glow about them, when the practical effects are used the wounds are strong throughout.


Scene of the Movie – The leg injury reveal.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too much just running around the woods in the dark.

Final Thoughts – This is a by the book run around the wood horror movie that tries to play into a real life mystery only to end up being largely forgettable.

 

Overall: Basic horror.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime! (2019)

Director: Lucia Helenka

Writer: Lucia Helenka, Stephen Arnell (Screenplay)

 

Plot: A story about the 8 time Tony Award-winning director, choreographer, and cinematographer Bob Fosse which focuses on some of the gray areas of his life and his self-destructive side. It highlights his ability to adapt for each new decade moving from stage, to film, to TV filling the space with artistic genius. Including a specially recorded dance sequence “in the style of Fosse.”

 

Runtime: 1 Hour

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Fascinating Look Behind the Glitz and Glamour

 

Story: Bob Fosse: It’ Showtime starts as we see how Bob wanted to work in Hollywood, not making it there first, he ends up diving in choreography on Broadway, it isn’t long before he becomes the most popular pick in town winning Tony Awards for his work, we see how he went onto movies, with only his second movie being Cabaret, before his success went to his head, seeing him turn to his addiction controlling his life, even if he went onto become a legend on the industry.

 

Thoughts on Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime

 

Final Thoughts – We know the name Bob Fosse, because of his legacy, with his reputation in choreography, Oscar Winning movies and Tony Awards, but learning more about the man behind his legacy is interesting to learn like always. We get to see how film critics, modern British music talent who have performed in his creations before and dance experts that all get to talk about the influences that Bob gave them. We do spend a lot of time looking at his lifetime achievements, but one side that becomes even more fascinating is seeing how his work is still being used today to influence the modern creators and even used in modern culture terms. We do get to learn about another man that ended up going through difficult times away from the spotlight where everything seems so bright for them.

 

Overall: Documentary on an icon.

Rating

 

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Movie Review

Ma (2019)

Director: Tate Taylor

Writer: Scotty Landes (Screenplay)

Starring: Octavia Spencer, Diana Silvers, Juliette Lewis, McKaley Miller, Corey Fogelmanis, Gianna Paolo, Dante Brown, Luke Evans

 

Plot: A lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and decides to let them party at her house. Just when the kids think their luck couldn’t get any better, things start happening that make them question the intention of their host.


Tagline – Welcome to Ma’s

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Octavia Spencer Steals the Show

 

Story: Ma starts when Maggie (Silvers) moves to her mother’s Erica (Lewis) home town to put their lives back together, it isn’t long before Maggie becomes friends with Haley (Miller), Andy (Fogelmanis), Chaz (Paolo) and Darrell (Brown) who enjoy to party, only they can’t buy the booze yet.

The friends meet Sue Ann (Spencer) a lonely veteran nurse who agrees to help them buy booze, only if they use her basement to party, so she knows they will be safe, only for curiosity to get the best of them after they break the rules and Sue Ann shows a different nature to the caring one she starts with.

 

Thoughts on Ma

 

Characters – Sue Ann is a lonely veteran nurse that starts to befriend the local teenagers after buying them booze and offering them a place to drink in safety. Sue Ann gets nickname ‘Ma’ which makes her feel loved, only she is haunted by the events of her past which sees her starting to slowly show a darker side which puts the teenagers lives in danger. Maggie is the new girl in town, it doesn’t take her long t make friends and find a love interest, it is an unrealistic time scale this happens, she is trying to fit in which means going outside the normal support of her mother, Maggie is a mix of the innocent member of the group and the rebellious teen. Erica is her mother that is just trying to hold it together for her daughter, which means bringing her daughter back to her home town, she is the attempted cool mum that is trying to understand the decisions, but wanting to remain as the best friend figure in her life. Haley is the girl from school that welcomes in Maggie, she does fill the sluttier one of the two girls, she does get a couple of funny lines, but she is just the beginning of the annoyingly written teenagers that are generic as they come, make it seem like all they want to do is drink, get high or have sex, this doesn’t make any of them likeable, making it hard to support them.

Performances – Octavia Spencer gives one of her bet performances of her career, she breaks away from the wholesome figures we are used to seeing to make us feel uneasy whenever she is on screen. Octavia’s performance completely eclipses the rest of the cast, with most of the younger cast, Diana Silvers or McKaley Miller struggle to keep up with her, while Juliette Lewis, Luke Evans and Allison Janney rounding off the experienced supporting cast well.

Story – The story here follows a group teenagers that become friends with a lonely woman that offers them a chance to party in a place of safety, only it soon takes twisted turn when they learn about her true nature. This is a story that has plenty of positives and negatives, first the positives, which is the character of Sue Ann, which shows how a woman could balance two different sides to their nature, which is interesting to see which side of her we will be seeing each time we see her, the reveals along the way are supporting the decisions too. When it gets to the negatives, it does have the most generic unlikable group of teenagers, they do have more of a life away from drinking, drugs and sex which seems to be all they care about. Elsewhere on the negative side we get the typical bad decisions in horror which only frustrates throughout.

Horror – The horror elements of this film comes from Sue Ann’s mental state, which sees her doing actions which just make use feel uneasy, think having Annie Wilkes with a larger amount of people.

Settings – The film uses the small town setting to show us how everybody has a connection to each other an with the right connection you could have parties in secret.

Special Effects – The effects are only used very well when needed, we have a couple of moments which has the audience gasp and we don’t just go to the need to nothing.


Scene of the Movie – Sue Ann finally snaps.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The annoying teenage characters.

Final Thoughts – This is a movie that Octavia Spencer completely steals, it is easily the highlight of the film, because when it comes to the supporting characters around her, we get decisions that just feel out of place.

 

Overall: Octavia Spencer is truly fantastic.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

BOO! (2019) Movie Review

Director: Luke Jaden

Writer: Luke Jaden, Diane Michelle (Screenplay)

Starring: Aurora Perrineau, Jaden Piner, Jill Marie Jones, Rob Zabrecky, Charley Palmer Rothwell

 

Plot: A torn suburban family refuses to heed the warning of an innocent prank left upon them which causes an unknown supernatural force to wreak havoc.


Tagline – You’ve been chosen.

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Shock Value Horror

 

Story: BOO! Starts when the suburban family, James (Zabrecky), Elyse (Jones), Caleb (Piner) and Morgan (Perrineau) receive a mysterious Boo parcel, which is a Halloween prank, only the legend behind it requires you to pass it on.

As tonight is Halloween, everybody wants to go out in their own separate way, with Elyse looking or a drink, James heading to the library, Morgan wanting to spend time with her boyfriend and young Caleb left home alone, where he starts experience strange goings on, only they all start experiencing something horrific, is this just the night or has the curse of the prank caught up with them.

 

Thoughts on BOO!

 

Characters – Morgan is the teenage daughter that is going through the stage of breaking the rules, wanting to spend time with her boyfriend over her family, she will argue back against them at all times and soon starts getting tormented on this night. Caleb is the youngster child of the family, he gets left alone even though he believes something evil is within the house, he does have a creative side, though it does seem like he may have a few learning difficulties. James is the father of the house, he is the one that starts researching the truth behind the prank using his religious beliefs to get his family through the problems of the night. Elyse is the mother that does have a secret from her past, she likes to go out for drinks still, while trying to reconnect with her daughter before it goes.

Performances – When it comes to the performances the four main actors all struggle to make the big impact required because of how the story plays out, we get the generic performances of the rebellious teenager, the youngster that just knows just where to go, the grieving mother and the distant father, never making anything fresh to the character.

Story – The story follows a family that comes under terror after they don’t pass on a chain prank which will soon sees the family needing to face their demons to escape. The story does seem to have problems early on, it is strange because each four members of the family are just an important as the rest on screen time, which means each character gets moments to have horror which means we do get an odd scene here and an odd scene here, that never feel connected. We do get hints of foreshadowing through the film which is head to the direction we conclude. The lack of connection does work because it does show how the family is starting to fall apart and will need to reunite to figure out how to get out alive.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film does look for shock value over with the jump scares which just use false jump scares too early, the mystery does come from just what is going on and why the family has been targeted.

Settings – The film is mostly set in the house which again manages to show how the family isn’t connected anymore.

Special Effects – The effects in the film do get used well for when they are needed, coming off as one of the strongest aspects of the film.


Scene of the Movie – An eye for an eye.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The false jump scares.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that tries to reflect a family falling apart with the idea they can be haunted by their demons without being able to communicate which could consume them, it does struggle to put that point over though.

 

Overall: Horror that just doesn’t click the way it wants to.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Looking Glass (2019)

Director: Tim Hunter

Writer: Jerry Rapp (Screenplay)

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Robin Tunney, Marc Blucas, Ernie Lively, Jacque Gray, Kassia Conway

 

Plot: A couple buy a desert motel where they find that strange, mysterious events occur.


Tagline – Seeing is deceiving.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Anti-Climatic

 

Story: Looking Glass starts when Ray (Cage) and Maggie (Tunney) take over a small motel to help then get over their own loss. With Ray working on the renovations of the motel, they have a soft opening, which sees them attract their first guests.

When Ray discovers secret corridors with windows into each room, which he becomes interested in watching through, then the mysterious events start happening, starting with a pig dumped in the swimming pool.

 

Thoughts on Looking Glass

 

Characters – Ray has just purchased the motel to try and start over with his wife, he is a handy man by trade, using his time to fix up the motel. He learns about secret windows watching through them, he sees strange events happening and wants to get to the bottom of the events going on around his motel. Maggie is the wife of Ray, she is happy to move away from their past, but struggles to trust Ray after his own past. Howard is the local sheriff that keeps visiting searching for the former owner, he is overly friendly too often for the couple. Tommy is a regular that uses the motel for his liaisons while on the road.

Performances – Nicolas Cage is having one of his weaker performances here, he just doesn’t make his character feel like it is one of the own Cage like ones. Robin Tunney does a solid job in the supporting role, as does Marc Blucas and Ernie Lively.

Story – The story follows a couple that take over a motel only to start dealing with strange events surrounding something that happened before they got there. The story starts off feeling like a mystery about what once happened here which is interesting enough right, well it soon takes a turn down a path where seemingly nothing actually happens here, a woman goes missing, Ray becomes a peeping Tom and a nosey cop gets too involved with the motel, this story seems like a bad soap opera episode because it seems like we get a starting thread of a story only for it to go no where. We seem to just end the story without any real twists or investigations going on, it just felt like a bunch of random stuff happening.

Mystery – The mystery is presented, only we don’t spend any time watching what happens which only ends up leading us rather flat about what we have just watched.

Settings – The film is mostly set at the motel which shows how you will never know what could happen in a motel.


Scene of the Movie – The meeting in the desert.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Did you do it, did I do what? This scene lasts an awkward two minutes, it felt like a lifetime.

Final Thoughts – This is a movie that ended up going in no particular direction and ends up feeling like just a bunch of stuff happens, instead of a storyline.

 

Overall: Messy, directionless and empty.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Shed of the Dead (2019)

Director: Drew Cullingham

Writer: Drew Cullingham (Screenplay)

Starring: Spencer Brown, Lauren Socha, Ewen MacIntosh, Emily Booth, Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley, Michael Berryman, Brian Blessed

 

Plot: Trevor is ‘between jobs’. He spends his days avoiding his overbearing wife by hiding out in his allotment shed and painting figurines for his wargames with his agoraphobic friend, Graham, and dreaming of his heroic alter-ego, the battle mage Casimir the Destroyer. When Mr Parsons, one of the other allotment tenants, petitions to have Trevor removed from his disgrace of a plot (he’s not there to grow stuff!) an argument ensues that leaves Trevor with a corpse to hide. Unfortunately, this untimely accident coincides with the zombie apocalypse and Mr Parsons’ return is just the beginnings of Trevor’s problems. More pressing is whether or not he should try and save his wife and her beautiful best friend, who both he and Graham have a thing for.


Tagline – An unlikely hero’s tale of blood, sweat, and shears !

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Fun Zombie Horror

 

Story: Shed of the Dead starts as we meet Trevor (Brown) a professional slacker, who spends his days between jobs in his allotment shed in a fantasy world, he doesn’t take care of his allotment though which has seen the other resident led by Mr Parsons (Hodder) want him out.

Trevor lives his with wife Bobbi (Socha) who works at the local hair dressers with Harriet (Booth) and he hides out with his best friend Graham (MacIntosh). When a zombie apocalypse happens Trevor must team with Graham to save the women in their lives.

 

Thoughts on Shed of the Dead

 

Characters – Trevor is the slacker, he is stuck in a fantasy world in his allotment where he puts off life responsibilities, so much so that h doesn’t realize the zombie apocalypse has started. Once he learns about it, he must live out his fantasy by trying to figure out how to save his wife. The zombie apocalypse brings out a new side to Trevor, a braver version of the cowardly one in life. Bobbi is Trevor’s wife that works at the hairdressers, she is constantly shouting at him forcing him into hiding. Graham is the best friend that tends not to leave the house, he is into the wargames too and has a massive crush on Harriet as part of their fantasy world. Harriet the best friend of Bobbi, she is the one the guys both fancy and she knows how to look after her clients. Mr Parsons is the man that wants Trevor out of the allotment because he never looks after his plot like the rest of the residents. Doc is one of the residents that does seem to be ready for the end of the world, as he is found cutting them down through the film.

Performances – Spencer Brown is our main star which he does make the most of showing the evolution of his character. Lauren Socha, Ewen MacIntosh and Emily Booth bring the grounded characters to life, while the horror icons, Kane Hodder, Bill Moseley and Michael Berryman get the horror moments in the film.

Story – The story here follows a slacker that must take responsibility once a zombie apocalypse starts outside his allotment shed. This story does continue to build on the ever-increasing amount of films that use (Location) of the Dead to bring to life a new idea for a horror comedy story. this does work because it pushes our character into needing to focus on taking life more serious even if it means the end of the world will make it happen. When it comes to how the story unfolds, it doesn’t bring anything new to the genre, we can almost use the checklist of how everything unfolds too. The weakness in the story turns to sex-based jokes or references or dreams which just gets turned to when the story feels like it has run out of ideas.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy in the film does work in places, only a lot comedy ends up turning to sexual fantasy instead of focusing on the story unfolding, while the horror elements of the film target the idea of a zombie outbreak with different creation of zombies.

Settings – The film uses the allotment shed as one of the main locations, only we don’t stay head long enough to get the most out of the idea in the title.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are strong, be it the make up for the zombies or the created fantasy world the characters sometimes turn to.


Scene of the Movie – Trevor snaps at Mr Parsons.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We didn’t spend enough time in the shed.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun zombie movie, it gets the required moments right, laughs and horror without being anything completely new.

 

Overall: Beds in nicely.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Adventures of Aladdin (2019)

Director: Glenn Campbell

Writer: Glenn Campbell, Tammy Klein (Screenplay)

Starring: Adam Hollick, Lucia Xypteras, Daniel O’Reilly, Monroe Robertson, Naya Abou Mousa, Lord Kraven

 

Plot: With the help of a magical lamp, an impoverished young man transforms himself into a prince in order to win the heart of a beautiful princess.

 

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Low Budget TV Fun

 

Story: Adventures of Aladdin starts when the sultan passes away leaving his daughter Shahzadi (Xypteras) to rule Bagdad, with Vizier Maghreb (O’Reilly) not being impressed with his decision. Shahzadi wants to see her people with an acrobat Aladdin (Hollick) catching her eye.

Vizier decides to use Aladdin’s skills to get a mysterious magical lamp, only to show his true colours leaving Aladdin buried in the cave, with the lamp. When Aladdin rubs the lamp a Genie (Williams) appears to grant him his desires, turning Aladdin into a prince to win Shahzadi heart.

 

Thoughts on Adventure of Aladdin

 

Characters – Aladdin is a street acrobat, performing for any spare money or food with his friends until he captures the eye of the new Sultana Shahzadi. He gets tricked into finding a lamp which sees him need to use his skills to escape the traps. Once he has the lamp he ends up using the Genie to get what his friends always wanted. Vizier Maghreb has been waiting for his time to be Sultan, he is angry is doesn’t get the chance and now he will find his own way to become Sultan. Shahzadi has been made Sultana after her father’s death, she doesn’t want to follow the tradition wanting to give the people more freedom. The Genie comes to grant wishes, he is filled with riddles and doesn’t give a limit to the number of wishes granted.

Performances – Adam Hollick is Aladdin, he does give the charm required and like the rest of the cast they are all solid through this film. Lucia Xypteras is strong in the Jasmine role (we can’t use that name for legal reason), while Daniel O’Reilly as the villainous figure brings the evil needed. Tionne Williams is the one we want to see more from his character, because he seems like he is the most interesting character in the film.

Story – The story here does follow everything storyline wise from the original Aladdin, it holds back on the comedy to narrow down the idea that good and evil are trying to win the heart of the Sultana with the help of a genie that will grant wishes. This might not be the most original story, but it keeps everything simple enough for the audience, it doesn’t dive into the comedy like the animated version. We get the morale messages about letting the world unfold the way it should instead of wishing it away, we also get into a darker side of the story which is a surprise with deaths in the film.

Adventure – The adventure side of the film shows how Aladdin goes from street performer to a position where he needs to stop an evil ruler.

Settings – The film is set in what is meant to be the outskirts of Bagdad, it shows the different class system that we are seeing.


Scene of the Movie – Getting the lamp.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It feels too safe.

Final Thoughts – This is a simple and safe version of Aladdin, it takes out the comedy to show how average the story behind the original really is, the genie is again the most interesting character and we would have liked to have seen more of him.

 

Overall: Safe and Simple.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

I Trapped the Devil (2019)

Director: Josh Lobo

Writer: Josh Lobo (Screenplay)

Starring: AJ Bowen, Susan Burke, Scott Poythress, Chris Sullivan, Jocelin Donahue, John Marrott, Rowan Russell

 

Plot: A man descends into paranoia after trapping what he believes to be the devil in his basement, but things take a dark turn when his family unexpectedly arrive for Christmas.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Intensely Atmospheric

 

Story: I Trapped the Devil starts when Matt (Bowen) and Karen (Burke) visit Steve (Poythress) who has been living in the family home alone for a long time. Steve has been off the radar for a reason though, which is to do with the mysterious man he has locked in his basement.

Steve believes he has trapped the devil and must convince his brother and Karen to believe this person is in fact the devil and this is for the greater good.

 

Thoughts on I Trapped the Devil

 

Characters – Steve is the man who has lived alone for too long, he has isolated himself from the world, with a man locked in his basement, one he believes is the devil. He believes he has evidence to prove this and must convince his brother this isn’t a stunt looking for attention. Matt is the brother who has returned with his wife to celebrate Christmas, he is caught in the middle as he doesn’t want to give up his brother, but knows if this is an innocent person, they can’t be kept in the basement. Karen is Matt’s wife that wanted to see the family at Christmas, she gets put in the same position, while looking at the reality that this could well be the devil.

Performances – Scott Poythress as the brother that has trapped the man, completely performs in this role, we feel his characters paranoid nature through each moment in the film, while believing he has done what he has said. AJ Bowen is great as the brother caught in the middle, we see the conflict going on in his head, while Susan Burke completes the main cast with a role that makes you see how people do believe what they can be told.

Story – The story follows one man that believes he has captured and locked up the devil in his basement, when his brother and his wife visit, he must convince them that this is the devil, while they question whether he has lost his mind or not. This story does get to pose the questions of what if somebody had captured the devil, would you risk letting them out or not? Would you risk letting the devil back into the world or is there no such thing as the devil. We get plenty of questions on how you could react, while also hearing the voice calling for help. We do get moments that are designed for shock, while most of the story is designed to keep more away from us, leaving our imaginations to run wild. This does help build the atmosphere through the film, because you just don’t know what will happen next.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from seeing how each character reacts to what could be going on if this is in fact the devil, with Steve believing he is the one in the right.

Settings – The film keeps the settings simple, we remain in the house for the whole film, this shows how the joint secret will need to be discussed, with the boundaries being drawn out.


Scene of the Movie – The final shot.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could have seen more of what caused the strain between Steve and Matt.

Final Thoughts – This is an atmospheric horror that keeps us guessing by asking the difficult question about what would you do if you trapped the devil, even if it wasn’t the devil, could you risk letting them out?

 

Overall: Horror that makes you think.

Rating