Tag: Horror

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Movie Review

The Unseen (2016)

Director: Geoff Redknap

Writer: Geoff Redknap (Screenplay)

Starring: Aden Young, Camille Sullivan, Julia Sarah Stone, Ben Cotton, Max Chadburn, Alison Araya, Maxwell Haynes

 

Plot: A man who abandoned his family now risks everything to find his missing daughter, including exposing the secret that he is becoming invisible.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Very Impressive

 

Story: The Unseen starts when Bob Langmore (young) Must return to his family that he abandoned after his daughter Eva (Stone) starts to show signs of wanting to run away, still friendly with his ex- Darlene (Sullivan) he returns home to help, while getting a job done for the shady Crisby (Cotton).

When Eva goes missing, Bob will stop at nothing to get her back as she may also have the same disease he has, one that has been turning him invisible. Can he find a cure before it is too late for his daughter, that is the most important task for him.

 

Thoughts on The Unseen

 

Characters – Bob is a one factory worker, he has left his family for unknow reason, he has kept his end of the financial side of raising a child though, he must return when she wants to go explore the world, before going missing, but his secret has more history in genetics than he could imagine as he starts to go invisible. Darlene was the ex to whom Bob had a child with, she has raised her and must turn to Bob when she has started to act out, putting her own life in danger. Eva is the 17-year-old that is wanting to explore, she takes risk which puts her in danger as she must start to lean about the generics she got from her father.

Performances – The performances in this film are wonderful, Aden Young shows us just how withdrawn his character is through the struggles with reality that he will be facing, we see and feel the pain he is suffering from. Camille Sullivan is good without needing to do as much as the others with Julia Sarah Stone getting to improve as the film continues on.

Story – The story here shows us how an isolated man with a secret that he is slowly turning invisible that must return to his family to prepare his daughter for the change after she goes missing, while dealing with criminals who are forcing him into job. This story has so many layers it may take a while to talk through them all. First we will start with the job angle which is the weaker side of the film and by the books not being much of a challenge to keep up with. Where the story does shine comes from the slowly turning invisible side and needing to rebuild a relationship to prepare his daughter for a chance which will come her way. We could say there are elements of the Invisible Man here, but this is the slow change over an instant one. we get everything from this relationship and it only makes us want to see what the change will take from him next, this is a truly engaging storyline that must be watched all the way through.

Action/Horror/Sci-Fi – The action could be considered the safe side of the film we get the basics without seeing too much happen, the horror comes from seeing the change, we only see bits but each time we get to she the next level which will only shock. The sci-fi side of the film shows how the change is happening and puts this in the middle of an everyday lifestyle.

Settings – The film gives us an everyday setting which only adds to the shocking events of what is going during the film

Special Effects – The effects are only used when needed, to show the invisibility happening, this is easily the most shocking moments in the film because you are not sure what will start to change first.


Scene of the Movie – Saving the daughter.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It does start slowly than it needs to.

Final Thoughts – This is a slow burner that is well worth the wait, the shocking reveal will leave you shocked and only grab your attention to see what will happen next.

 

Overall: Must watch sci-fi horror

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

In Darkness (2018)

Director: Anthony Byrne

Writer: Anthony Byrne, Natalie Dormer (Screenplay)

Starring: Natalie Dormer, Emily Ratajkowski, Ed Skrein, James Cosmo, Joely Richardson, Neil Maskell

 

Plot: A blind musician hears a murder committed in the apartment upstairs from hers that sends her down a dark path into London’s gritty criminal underworld.


Tagline – Fear Blinds the Truth

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Overly Complicated Thriller

 

Story: In Darkness starts blind pianist Sofia (Dormer) starts getting worried about her neighbour Veronique (Ratajkowski) who eventually gets murdered by Marc (Skrein) who sees that Sofia on the night he commits the murder, worried she could expose him, he starts to get close to her learning that she is blind and that she isn’t a threat.

Sofia does have her own secret though which dives into a much bigger conspiracy as to what is going on within the main suspects, will the truth come out or not.

 

Thoughts on In Darkness

 

Characters – Sofia is a blind pianist that makes the best of the surrounding sounds which is why she is so respected in the music industry, she hears the murder of her upstairs neighbour which leads her down a spiral of conspiracies which she is just as involved in. Veronique is the upstairs neighbour that has been worried about her life, she does stay honest with Sofia though, until she gets murdered, which sees her connection to everyone being the key to everything. Marc is the man that is sent to kill Veronique, he needs to tie up the loose ends which sees him starting to target Sofia until he learns her position in everything. Niall is the connection that Sofia has to her past, he will help where he can always willing to help her.

Performances – Natalie Dormer does a great job in when it comes to the blind side of her character, it is when it comes to certain other sides, things start to show the weaker side of her performance. Emily Ratajkowski struggles like she always does in acting, while Ed Skrein and James Cosmo do as well as they can with their roles in the film.

Story – The story here follows a blind woman that hears a murder only to find herself in the middle of a bigger conspiracy going on with the people involved in connection with the victim. The story plays out like a thriller that wants to be bigger than it actually is capable of being, trying to through in a twist in nearly every scene which just seems to make it out that the people involved here are a lot more trained and skilled than they are portrayed for the opening parts of the film. if we had just played most of this straight, we might have gotten away with certain twists along the way, but in the end we just try to over complicate for the sake of it.

Mystery – The mystery in the film seems like it gets revealed early on, it is more why it happened, which does try to keep us guessing only to keep throwing more twists in along the way.

Settings – The film is set in London, which barely gets used to make an impact in the locations used.


Scene of the Movie – The funeral.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many twists in the story.

Final Thoughts – This is a mystery thriller that just makes things more complicated than it needs to be, this format would have played out better in a television series over a film.

 

Overall: Here is a twist, there is a twist, everywhere there is a twist.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

D-Railed (2019)

Director: Dale Fabrigar

Writer: Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Dale Fabrigar, Everette Wallin (Screenplay)

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Frank Lammers, Tonya Kay, Jack Betts, Shae Smolik, Gregg Christie, Daniel O’Reilly, Carter Scott

Plot: Passengers on a train that crashes into a river must decide whether to risk waiting for help in the wreckage or take their chances in the murky depths below.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Brilliantly Surprising Story

Story: D-Railed starts when Abigail (Smolik) a young girl is joined by Everlyn (Scott) on a murder mystery train adventure, preparing for the big event, explained the rules by the Host (Lammers), the lights go out and the first murder occurs. Within a flash it has turned into a real heist seeing the criminals taking the actors and the guests jewellery, but this does leave the Conductor (Betts) injured and the train derails.

Thinking the worst is over Everlyn, Thomas (Wallin) and Abigail look to escape to shore for safety after it appears to be a flesh-eating creature from the deep waiting to feast on them.

Thoughts on D-Railed

Characters – Manny is the host of the mystery journey, he is meant to be the one to give the clues as he is the only one that isn’t meant to be in the room for the murder, he worries about the condition of the train and his actors, when the robbery starts up. Evelyn is one of the guests on the train, she is one of the few that get out of the wreck, trying to protect the young girl within the young girl looking to survive. Abigail is the young girl that is desperate to enjoy a murder mystery adventure, she has dragged an unwilling parental figure and is the one that everything is trying to save. Thomas is another one of the guests doing everything he can to survive and save the young girl. When it comes to characters it does feel rushed in places when it comes to meeting the number of guests or actors or robbers.

Performances – Carter Scott takes the leading role in this film, she shows the desperation to survive through the night and doesn’t panic as much as the rest of the crew. Shae Smolik does a wonderful job for her character, showing a child in peril. The whole supporting cast are strong throughout the film, nobody seems to look out of place even if they don’t get the full amount of time on camera.

Story – The story here follows a murder mystery train adventure that takes a nightmarish turn which sees the passengers getting hunted down by a creature from the deep. This is a story that goes in very different directions, it stays with what seems like a simple train journey, leaves us with a huge part of uncertainty, before turning into a B-movie creature feature, with an ending you simply won’t see coming. While we do have to keep guessing and we never get to feel comfortable knowing where things are going or what we are dealing with, we do jump onto the next stage way to quickly for us to keep up with what is happening to the number of characters we meet. For the pure surprise factor of what happens during the story, we must praise this story, because what better way to keep us invested, than keeping us guessing.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from creature that is picking off the passengers, it is bloody, creepy and doesn’t seem like a creature that could be stopped.

Settings – The film is set mostly on the train, it makes the action feel contained and with the deadly creature waiting on the outside waiting to eat them. Having a trapped location adds tension involved because the people can start turning on them.

Special Effects – The effects are brilliant when we get to practical, with the creature and kills, wonderful, there is a couple of CGI moments with bugs, that just looks cheap though.


Scene of the Movie – The create gets to eat.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Characters don’t get introduced enough.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror thriller that just keeps you guessing from start to finish will continue to surprise you until the end.

Overall: Creature Filled Horror.

Rating

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Movie Review

The Clovehitch Killer (2018)

Director: Duncan Skiles

Writer: Christopher Ford (Screenplay)

Starring: Dylan McDermott, Charlie Plummer, Samantha Mathis, Madisen Beaty, Brenna Sherman, Lance Chantiles-Wertz, Emma Jones

 

Plot: A picture-perfect family is shattered when the work of a serial killer hits too close to home. Dylan McDermott stars in this chilling portrait of all-American evil.


Tagline – Every family, every man, has a secret.

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Nice Spin on the Serial Killer Movie

 

Story: The Clovehitch Killer starts as we head to a small town that has been living in the shadow of a serial killer branded Clovehitch because of his style of knot. We meet the picture-perfect family with Don (McDermott), Tyler (Plummer), Susie (Sherman) and Cindy (Mathis) who go to church every week.

When Tyler discovers a photo in his father’s car, he starts to think the killer could be closer to home than he first thought, he turns to the local Kassi (Beaty) who has been studying the killer for years to see if his father could be the town’s serial killer.

 

Thoughts on The Clovehitch Killer

 

Characters – Don is the father of the family, he has always helped his son with his boy scout assignments including knot tying, he helps around the neighbourhood too with his time in the church. He is hiding a secret that his son starts to figure out and does what he can to keep this from the rest of the world, Don is created in the same light as what we saw The Trinity Killer in Dexter. Tyler is the son that starts to think his father is the serial killer that scared the town, he tries to investigate which only makes things more difficult to one believe the truth and two keep a secret from his father. Cindy is the wife of Don, she is involved in the church believing they are living a happy life. Kassi is the estranged teenager in the town, she is considered an outsider because if her search for the Clovehitch killer, she is the one that Tyler turns to for help.

Performances – Dylan McDermott does give us a very disturbing performance which shows us just how easily a serial killer could operate in this world. Charlie Plummer gives us a strong performance as 2018 year was a fantastic year for him. Samantha Mathis is here and doesn’t get that much to do in the film, while Madisen Beaty brings the investigation figure to life well through the film.

Story – The story here follows a teenager that starts to believe his father is the town’s serial killer and starts investigating whether this is true or not. This is an interesting spin on the serial killer film, we do go down the line that Dexter had with the character which is all good because we see how one operates and manages to keep things secret from their family. The idea that the son is trying to learn the truth keeps us on edge, but seeing the action unfolding we get an intense story that manages to keep nearly everything calm through the events of the film.

Horror/Mystery – The horror follows the idea of a serial killer being in the family, it gets to show us how they can seem like they are everyday people which only makes the serial killer coming off worse. The mystery of the film follows whether he is the killer or not, well it is meant to, only for it to give away everything way to early.

Settings – The film uses the small town settings to make us believe just how the town has been in fear since the serial killer, it shows how one could operate without being looked at differently.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are very simple, we get to see just how he does the kills, only we don’t need to see anything graphic.


Scene of the Movie – The newest victim.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – It could have been slightly more mysterious or just given us that he is a killer early on, it just doesn’t commit either side.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror film that does take things in new direction which keeps us on edge even if it does miss a chance to commit to one side of the film.

 

Overall: Serial killer film with a twist.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

The VelociPastor (2018)

Director: Brendan Steere

Writer: Brendan Steere (Screenplay)

Starring: Alyssa Kempinski, Gregory James Cohan, Daniel Steere, Yang Jiechang, Jesse Turtis, Fernando Pacheco de Castro

Plot: After losing his parents, a priest travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas.


Tagline – A Man of the Claw.

Runtime: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Completely Self-Aware

Story: The VelociPastor starts when Doug Jones (Cohan) whose parents are murdered leading to him to loses his faith, Father Stewart (Steere) sends him of a self-discovery holiday, which sees him head to China, when he returns he finds himself having horrendous nightmares and after he meets a hooker Carol (Kempinski), he tries to put everything together.

Once Doug learns that he can turn into a dinosaur, he works with Carol to fight crime to clean up his own town, including the man that murdered his parents.

Thoughts on The VelociPastor

Characters – Doug Jones is a priest that has followed God for years until his parents are murdered outside his church, he goes on a voyage of self-discovery in China, which sees him infected with an illness. Doug have the ability to turn into a dinosaur, where he decides to use this new power to fight crime in his town, getting revenge on the person who murdered his parents and bring down the drug lord. Carol is a local hooker that meets Doug and sees first-hand just what he is capable off, she pushes him into fighting crime, while she can handle herself in combat too. Father Stewart is the mentor of Doug, he has always helped him keep the faith and is willing to let him discover his faith once more. Wei Chan is the local drug lord that has been controlling the crime in the town, along with his ninjas he will be the fight Doug must take on.

Performances – This movie does have the over the top performances which does only help make things more entertaining, Greg Cohan in the leading role knowns when to hold things back before going over the top, which helps the character. Alyssa Kempinski is fun in her role, which brings the change in our lead character through the film. The whole cast know exactly the tone of this film and it shows in the their performances.

Story – The story here follows a priest that gets infected with something that turns him into a dinosaur and decides to go on to fight crime with this new ability. The first thing you must be prepared for is knowing that this film doesn’t take anything serious and is well aware that everything is as ridiculous as it sounds. The idea behind the film is truly original, it is purely fun and wildly over the top. If you do go into this story thinking you are getting something serious, you will be disappointed because this film is completely self-aware of what it is trying to tell.

Action/Comedy/Horror/Sci-Fi – The action in the film does play into the comedy, which is silly and over the top, which does include the dinosaur fighting ninja, which helps with the horror and sci-fi elements in the film.

Settings – The film is set in a small town, this does help with the idea of how silly this film takes itself without needing to go into anything too serious once again.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are practical, this again plays into the self-aware side of the film, which does show with the dinosaur suit fighting ninja.


Scene of the Movie – Dinosaur v ninjas.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The random Father Stewart backstory.

Final Thoughts – This is one if not the most self-aware movies you will see, it is so funny you can enjoy laughing through how ridiculous this film is.

Overall: Purely fun.

Rating

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Movie Review

The Faceless Man (2019)

Director: James Di Martino

Writer: James Di Martino (Screenplay)

Starring: Sophie Thurling, Lucas Pittaway, Andy McPhee, Roger Ward, Albert Goikhman, Brendan Bacon, Daniel Reader

 

Plot: Emily is a recovering cancer survivor of three years. Faced with her fear of getting sick again, her best friend Nina plans a weekend away. Six friends venture out to a country holiday house to party over a weekend. Cut off from the rest of the world they soon learn the inhabitants are unsettling red neck individuals who terrorize and humiliate travelers. At the same time a para-normal monster seen as the faceless man haunts the house pushing the friends to their limits.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Splatter-fest

 

Story: The Faceless Man starts when Emily (Thurling) a recovering cancer survivor who has starting to put her life back together is spending a weekend away with friends, Nina (Kauffeld), Kyle (Pittaway), Brad (Facciolo), Dave (Astifo) and Chad (Walia) are having a weekend away for parties.

It isn’t long before the group of friends have upset the local rednecks who decide to terrorize them, a ruthless drug dealer Viktor Nov (Goikhman) searching for them, while Emily is dealing with her own insecurities about her recover, which manifests itself in a faceless figure haunting her.

 

Thoughts on The Faceless Man

 

Characters – Emily is a cancer survivor, she made it with friends, not family and has just started to put her life back together, despite having the fear that one day it would return, which appears to her in living nightmares including a faceless man figure, out of the group of friends this is the only character that gets much outside the generics traits we learn, we have the friend that wants more of a relationship, the one that will push the limits of drugging people, a few jokers and the best friend who can’t handle their substances. Eddie is the owner of the rented house, he comes off creepy to the city slickers as he puts it, he doesn’t want trouble in his property and will deal with anybody that causes it. Viktor Nov is the ruthless drug dealer that has been hunting for his drugs which have a connection to the group of friends, he uses his muscle to kill anybody that disrespects him.

Performances – Sophie Thurling in the leading role is one of the highlights in the film, seeing Sophie balance the mindset of her character through the film will keep us wondering just what will happen next, Albert Goikhman as the ruthless drug dealer is fun to watch, we always know something violent is going to happen when he is on the screen. Andy McPhee does bring the awkward local to life well too.

Story – The story follows a group of friends that want to go on a drink & drug filled party weekend, only to end up in a town that isn’t happy with this lifestyle and that want to send a message to them, while we also see one character haunted by a terrifying looking faceless man. This story does have plenty going on, which works in and against it because you could easily drop one of the side stories and still have an enjoyable horror movie, but mixing them together does add to the mystery of what will happen next, because it does feel like nobody is safe from what is going on. We could have had more development on the group of friends, as it they end up coming off like your usual slasher cast. With the different arcs we do get plenty of violence which is what the film wants to pay respect to the Ozploitation era of cinema, which will help understand the tone of the film.

Horror – The most impressive part of the horror in this film comes from the Faceless Man himself, it comes early in creepy moments, but the reveal of the creature is one of the most terrifying figures in horror this year.

Settings – The film is set in a small town location, with most of the action happening in the one house picked for the party, it shows how things can get out of hand and how uninvited guests can cause more problems in life.

Special Effects – The effects to create the Faceless Man are brilliant, he will scare you, where this film also shines is by letting us imagine the damage being down, with the chainsaw scene being played out longer than needed, which only adds to the horror being inflicted.


Scene of the Movie – The Faceless Man, first full reveal.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The group of friends are not that interesting.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror film built of paying respect to the Ozploitation era of cinema, it brings us plenty of blood and keeps us guessing along the way.

 

Overall: Ozploitation has returned.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

Slender Man (2018)

Director: Sylvain White

Writer: David Birke, Victor Surge (Screenplay)

Starring: Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso, Alex Fitzalan, Taylor Richardson, Javier Botet

 

Plot: In a small town in Massachusetts, a group of friends, fascinated by the internet lore of the Slender Man, attempt to prove that he doesn’t actually exist – until one of them mysteriously goes missing.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: The Worst Horror Film of 2018

 

Story: Slender Man starts with four high school friends Wren (King), Hallie (Telles), Chloe (Sinclair) and Katie (Basso) decide to learn about Slender Man on the internet, they watch a video to summon him and the next morning the girls have had nightmares, before Katie vanishes.

The three remaining girls start searching for answers after the police come up with nothing and soon find themselves the latest target for the Slender Man.

 

Thoughts on Slender Man

 

Characters – Usually I would start to describe the characters here, but this film could well be the worst character development film I have ever seen, we have Wren and Hallie who are the longest surviving members of the group, who mostly just scream and think they are better than everyone else. Chloe is here too, she doesn’t listen to instructions and Katie is the one that goes missing. This is how little we learn about the characters in this film.

Performances – With terrible characters, comes no chance for the poor actresses in the main roles of the film to get anything memorable in, it is hard to give any of them any praise for their performance, mostly because it was hard to tell Joey King and Julia Goldani Telles apart too.

Story – The story follows four girls that play along with a Slender Man mystery that leaves them being terrorised by the mythical monster. The problem with this story is that we are force to follow four boring high characters that are given nothing to make them standout in a crowd, we have a internet video starting the nightmare which doesn’t create any sort of rules behind the mysterious figure. We have one person literally vanish, another one getting chased which just makes it hard to believe just what is happening with the characters will be going through. It is the most lacklustre pointless story we have seen that almost feels like everything is complete list of what not to do when making a movie.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in the film could be high tension moment, only for it to come back flat on its face not building the tension just, this is a scary moment, over. We even have a mystery which should be interesting but soon turns into nothing important.

Settings – The film is set in a city, didn’t notice which one, but it is surround by woodlands which only get to add what could be the mystery about the Slender Man who could use this area for hiding places.

Special Effects – The effects are just complete the weak attempt to make a movie here, with the Slender Man never getting anything remotely looking scary which he should be if he is literally kidnapping children.


Scene of the Movie – Ummmmmmm, the credits were good.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The kids have nothing that makes them look different.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the weakest horror films you will ever see, it is just a terrible mess, with no scares and doesn’t give the talent a chance to shine in.

 

Overall: Bad is being nice.

Rating

 

 

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Movie Review

The Night Sitter (2019)

Director: Abiel Bruhn, John Rocco

Writer: Abiel Bruhn, John Rocco (Screenplay)

Starring: Elyse Dufour, Jack Champion, Jermaine Rivers, Amber Neukum, J Benedict Larmore, Ben Barlow, Bailey Campbell

 

Plot: A con artist poses as a babysitter to steal from a wealthy occult enthusiast. One of the kids she’s sitting unwittingly summons a trio of witches known as The Three Mothers.


Tagline – One thief. Two kids. Three witches. No mercy.

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Blood Covered Horror

 

Story: The Night Sitter starts when a con-artist Amber (Dufour) poses as a babysitter for her latest job, she finds a wealthy occult enthusiast child Kevin (Champion) to babysit for the night, along with his father’s new girlfriend son Ronnie (Campbell).

With Amber setting up her plan with her partners in crime Rod (Rivers), Lindsey (Neukum) and her over-protective stalker who thinks he is her boyfriend Martin (Larmore), the boys enter the relic room and unwittingly release three witches upon the household.

 

Thoughts on The Night Sitter

 

Characters – Amber is a con-artist that poses as a babysitter for her latest job, she has the experience to trick the adult into believing she is qualified for the job and keeps the kids occupied enough to prepare for her robbery. She remains calm however many obstacles get thrown in her way including her partner bring his girlfriend, her stalker boyfriend and obsessed man from across the road. Kevin is the son from the house, he isn’t willing to get overly involved in searching around the house, he doesn’t want to be friends with Ronnie and spends time trying to prove the witches are real. Rod is the criminal partner, he brings his girlfriend on the latest job which shows him being a slacker when it comes to the jobs. Lindsey is the girlfriend of Rod’s she comes dressed like a cat burglar getting into the role of criminal thief, willing to get involved in everything going on.

Performances – Elyse Dufour in the leading role is the strongest of the cast, she shows the calm required while keeping her character in control through the night. Jack Champion is the young actor playing one of the children, he brings the nervous innocence needed for this film. Jermain Rivers does get a lot of the comedy to do with his character being the dumb one in the criminal act. Each actor does give their character enough to be a standout.

Story – The story here follows a con-artist working on her latest job which turns into a nightmare when three witches are released into the house searching for their latest victims. This is a story with plenty going on, in other films this hasn’t worked, for this one it does, the kids are troublesome like you would imagine, the criminal characters bring the laughs, which has moments that feel like we are watching the Home Alone thieves and once we add the witches into the mix, everything ties together effortlessly. If you have seen Annabelle Comes Home, you can see certain similarities, though this movie was made first before anyone thinks I am calling it a copy, having the household needing to deal with hauntings from a secret room, shows that this could be compared.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy in the film comes from criminals for the most part, with them not having everything going to plan, the horror comes from witches that have started to haunt the members of the household for the night.

Settings – The film is set in the one location of the house that has the occult material inside, they become trapped which plays into the idea of what the horror is coming for them.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are great, we get to see the blood covered moments that the witches put on their victims.


Scene of the Movie – Heading down to the basement.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Martin the character, mostly because he changes through the whole film, starting nervous, turning into the ass by the end.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun horror comedy that will get a couple of laughs, while giving us the blood needing for the witches getting the blood needed.

 

Overall: Three Witches, One Solution, Enjoy.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Wicked Witches (2019)

Director: Martin J Pickering

Writer: Mark Pickering, Martin J Pickering (Screenplay)

Starring: Duncan Casey, Justin Marosa, Kitt Proudfoot, Samantha Schnitzler, Jasmin Clark, Laura Coleman

 

Plot: After being thrown out of his home by his wife for being promiscuous, Mark finds himself back at Dumpling Farm, a place of youthful memories and parties, but things aren’t quite right. His old buddy Ian, who has never left the place, is possessed by a group demonic, flesh eating Witches. Using Ian and his farm, these beautiful Witches honey trap Mark and his friends to consume their souls.


Tagline – A Harvest for the Devil

Runtime: 1 Hour 18 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Blood Splatter Fun

 

Story: Wicked Witches starts when Mark (Casey) gets thrown out by his wife, turning to his old friend Ian (Marosa) who lives on a farm where the men grew up on, partying and away from the world, it isn’t long before Mark sees the Ian isn’t acting the way he used to though.

Mark is joined by another friend Stevie (Proudfoot) for a party, but the strangeness around Ian continues to grow as the women in the local area seem to be putting spells on the men, with Mark becoming the latest target from the flesh hungry witches.

 

Thoughts on Wicked Witches

 

Characters – Mark has just been kicked out by his wife, he had been the one cheating on her and turns to an old friend to help him get back on his feet, he returns to a childhood party location, where he brings his friends down for a party only to learn that a coven of flesh eating witches are waiting for their next prey, he must fight to survive, Mark is like that friend you have that always talks up his cocky attitude and we don’t learn much about him other than this. Ian is the man living in the farm, he is happy to reunite with an old friend, only he has changed, he can snap at a click of the fingers and isn’t as friendly as Mark remembers, he is filled with surprises though. Stevie is the best friend who also arrives for the party, he helps to continue to bring out the worst in Mark with his attitude towards drink, drugs and women. The High Priestess is the one controlling the witches, she has the other witches help her collect the souls required.

Performances – Duncan Casey does have the most to do through this film being the lead, he does bring us the cocky figure with ease, but like most performers, the scared reaction scenes are over the top. Justin Marosa does do the snap of a fingers switch well through this film. Kitt Proudfoot doesn’t get enough time to make him go to the full into the worst side of his character. Samantha Schnitzler leads the host of beautiful women being the witches in the film.

Story – The story follows a recently kicked out man that turns to an old friend only to find himself being hunted down by flesh eating witches.  The story isn’t the deepest and doesn’t bring us the most likable characters in Mark, Ian or Stevie, we don’t get enough focus on the witches either which does disappoint because once they are unleashed, we get the blood splatter. The story does have a lot of almost filler which just follows the party or travel sequences and by the end we get everything in this story which is just blood splatter horror, letting the effects tell the story over anything else.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from the witches, with a lot of unsettling moments early on before letting the blood flow later on.

Settings – The film is set in a remote English farm, which does what we need in this film, create isolation for the witches.

Special Effects – The effects in this film come from the witches getting their hands on their victims, we get the blood covered moments through the film.


Scene of the Movie – The witches unleashed.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t learn enough about the characters.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun blood splatter horror, we get simple characters but plenty of blood.

 

Overall: Fun Horror.

Rating