Tag: Horror

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Movie Review

Mercy Black (2019)

Director: Owen Egerton

Writer: Owen Egerton (Screenplay)

Starring: Danielle Pineda, Janeane Garofalo, Elle LaMont, Austin Amelio, Dylan Gage, Lee Eddy, Miles Emmons

 

Plot: Fifteen years after stabbing a classmate to conjure an imaginary phantom known as Mercy Black, Marina Hess is coming home. She’s being released from psychiatric care to live with her sister and young nephew. But in the years since her crime, the myth of Mercy Black has gone viral inspiring internet rumors, stories, and even copycat crimes. Marina is haunted by what she has done and the phantom she imagined. Though she would rather leave the past buried, her nephew becomes increasingly obsessed with Mercy Black. To save him, Marina must face her past and uncover the truth behind Mercy Black. What she discovers is a very real and very deadly horror that will stop at nothing to claim her and her nephew.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Basic Horror

 

Story: Mercy Black starts as Marina (Pineda) is being released from psychiatric care home after 15-years because of her childhood incident, Dr Ward (Garofalo) has been working with her for years now believing she is ready to leave. Marina’s sister Alice (LaMont) takes her in as she starts to put her life back on track, still dealing with the nightmares of Mercy Black.

Marina is still living through the memories of what happened, only to learn that her story become an internet story, which bought out copycat killers and other stories of people bringing her to life, Marina must face these stories and put the urban legend to bed.

 

Thoughts on Mercy Black

 

Characters – Marina is just being released from a psychiatric care home, 15-years after committing a terrible action for the ghostly figure of Mercy Black, she has spent years trying to recover from her experience, once she is released, it doesn’t take long for her past to come back and haunt her and her nephew, Marina must remember her past before it is too late, to understand just what her promise was for Mercy. Dr Ward has been treating Marina and is happy to let her leave the care home to re-enter the world. Alice is the sister of Marina who is letting her sister live with her family, she doesn’t want anyone to know about the past, especially her son. Bryce is the son of Alice, he quickly becomes fascinated with the Mercy Black story and soon believes he is seeing her.

Performances – Daniella Pineda in the leading role is solid enough, the problem with most of performances, comes from the characters who are not written to be that interesting. Janeane Garofalo does feel wasted in her role which felt like it was meant to be a bigger part of the film.

Story – The story follows a young woman that is released from a psychiatric home after committing a crime as a child which saw her believe she was helping an evil spirit take away the pain in her life, once released her nephew starts following the same path she must figure out how to stop the legend spreading. We have seen the idea of an urban legend spread like wildfire before it just becomes the belief that it is real. We get to follow through the normally interesting investigating the idea behind hauntings going on just doesn’t become the interesting factor it should be. We also end up going down one of the most predictable paths we have seen in horror stories.

Horror/Mystery – The horror in this film comes from the idea that an urban legend could be true, the mysterious figure known as Mercy Black is still killing people while waiting for her promise to be kept. The mystery adds into the horror as to whether it could be a true story or not.

Settings – The film is set mostly in the remote house outside of a town, which we never seem to visit, the woodland area where the events of the story happened.

Special Effects – When it comes to the effects, we have basic and not the most effective ones here.


Scene of the Movie – The first visit.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Caught in the middle of two ideas to often.

Final Thoughts – This is a safe by the book horror, it doesn’t have too many scares, the ones we get you can see coming a mile away along with certain directions the story goes.

 

Overall: By the book horror.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Rottentail (2018)

Director: Brian Skiba

Writer: Brian Skida (Screenplay) Kurt Belcher, David C Hayes, Kevin Moyers (Graphic Novel)

Starring: Dominique Swain, Corin Nemec, William McNamara, Gianni Capaldi, Vincent De Paul, Brian Skiba, Tank Jones, Gianna Frangella

 

Plot: Rottentail tells the bizarre tale of young Peter Cotton, who grew up in the town of Easter Falls and loves rabbits. Peter’s Science project on rabbit breeding is ruined when the school bullies beat up, and actually kill, his rabbit. Years later, the kind but still shy Dr. Cotton works steadily and gently with his rabbits to cure human infertility. Unbeknownst to Peter, the military is perverting his work, developing fierce soldiers with strength far exceeding a human of their size, and with Peter’s fertility serum, the ability to breed in the field.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 46 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: B-Movie Madness

 

Story: Rottentail starts in a secret military research facility where Dr Serius Stanley (Capaldi) has been working with the military on new dangerous killer rabbit, while Peter Cotten (Nemec) has been working on his own infertility research. When Peter is bitten by one of the enhanced rabbits, we slowly starts to change turning into a rabbit himself, with two different personalities.

With Peter now turned into Rottentail, he looks to get revenge on the people that wronged him in life, including former high school bully Jake Mulligan (McNamara) who is planning on using his power as a pastor to change the church from the local history.

 

Thoughts on Rottentail

 

Characters – Peter Cotten is a shy scientist working on an infertility treatment using rabbits, he was bullied in in high school, which has seen him become vengeful and after he was bitten by a genetically modified rabbit, he turns into a giant killer rabbit who gets to unleash all his rage on everyone that crosses him. Anna is the girl from high school that has returned to protect her family church from Jake giving her a chance to see Peter after all the years away. Jake Mulligan is the celebrity pastor who is returning home to build his latest church, he used to bully Peter in school and he still use the bully techniques to get what he wants. Dr Serius Stanley has been working on genetically modified rabbits for the army, he keeps working on ideas that could stop the newly created Rottentail.

Performances – Corin Nemec playing the two roles here, goes to both extremes, the quiet shy nerdy scientist to the foul-mouthed killer rabbit, both side help with the nature of the film. William McNamara and Gianni Capaldi are both well over the top which again help with style of the movie. Dominique Swain is more restraint with her performance, but this is what the character is meant to be.

Story – The story follows a scientist that has been pushed around and bullied his whole life that becomes infected by a generically modified rabbit, turning him into a killer rabbit that can take back his frustration the world has caused him. First thing you need to know about this story is that everything is told through a b-movie style, we do get an over the top style which does work as we have the mad scientists, the over masculine military person and an evil pastor that only cares about money. The idea of a man turning into a killer rabbit man isn’t going to be something you have seen before and works for a b-movie. As long as you don’t go into this story for a serious story, you will end up enjoying this one.

Comedy/Horror – The comedy in this film comes from just the concept, the reactions and style of kills, it might go too far for some people though. The horror is everything you would expect from a B-Movie which for horror fans is something we can enjoy, we have wild kills, blood flying everywhere and evil scientist.

Settings – The film is set in a small town called Easter Falls which shows how the people will always be connected through their past.

Special Effects – The effects have blood filled practical effects which are wonderful, but certain sides of Rottentail’s attack seem like CGI which don’t always work.


Scene of the Movie – The escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The sex scene is uncomfortable to watch.

Final Thoughts –This is a fun b-movie style horror comedy, it will get the laughs when it needs to, splatter blood when required and a character in Rottentail you won’t forget easily.

 

Overall: B-Movie Delight

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Look Away (2018)

Director: Assaf Bernstein

Writer: Assaf Bernstein (Screenplay)

Starring: India Eisley, Jason Isaacs, Mira Sorvino, Penelope Mitchel, John C MacDonald, Harrison Gilbertson, Kristen Harris

 

Plot: LOOK AWAY is a psychological thriller that tells the story of Maria, an alienated high-school student whose life is turned upside down when she switches places with her sinister mirror image.


Tagline – Love/Fear. Passion/Seduction. Free/Trapped.

Runtime: 1 Hour 43 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Sinister Horror

 

Story: Look Away starts as we meet outsider school girl Maria (Eisley) who keeps to herself, with her one friend the popular Lily (Mitchell), her doctor father Dan (Isaacs) tries to let her be her own self, while her mother Amy (Sorvino) is constantly worrying about her daughter. When Maria starts talking to her reflection which uses the name Airam, she starts to come out of her shell more.

When Maria suffers one final humiliation, she turns to Airam to takeover her life, this sinister side soon starts turning heads and getting revenge for Maria in life, but can Maria return once she has finished.

 

Thoughts on Look Away

 

Characters – Maria is the shy high school student, an outsider who only has one real friend, that being Lily, she gets bullied by some of the students and has started talking to her reflection in the mirror. She gets pushed to far and her reflection Airam wants to get into the rea world, tricking Maria into swapping places with her. Maria is left helpless as Airam starts taking over her life. Dan is the doctor father of Maria, he is having affairs with his clients, while trying to encourage his daughter to come out of her shell. Amy is the mentally unwell mother of Maria, she is mostly housebound, until Airam comes out pushing her to learn the truth. Lily is the best friend of Maria, she is the popular girl at school with her reputation keeping Maria off the bottom of the pile, she does like her around even if she has her own reason for doing this.

Performances – India Eisley takes on two roles here which she her play very different versions of her character, one is the shy timid one, while the other is the rebellious sinister natured one. being able to pull off both the roles shows off her skills as an actress. Jason Isaacs and Mira Sorvino both bring the experience to the film, even if their characters fall into the background at times.

Story – The story follows a troubled high school student who meets her alter ego in the mirror who helps her take control of her life, only for this to figure to bring of a sinister side to her life. This does give the reflects of just how life has become difficult for an outside, while we do have a twist that does seem easy to see coming. We do have the high school bullying theme running through the film which shows how difficult life has become for Maria and how a home life that doesn’t feel connected works too. We could have had more sinister nature from Airam which is hinted heavily at, we do get a mix of Jennifer’s Body and Carrie though.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from the action of Airam, be it how she seduces Maria into working with her or how she acts in the real world once she is released.

Settings – The film is set in an everyday environment for Maria, we have the school, home and parent work life, but it is anything ice skating related which is the highlight of the film.

Special Effects – The dual performances come with strong camera work and use of effects to make happen, we don’t get as much as we could, but we don’t need much more than we get.


Scene of the Movie – Ice Skating improvement.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Airam could have gotten up to a lot more.

Final Thoughts – This is a sinister styled horror, it does feel like it has borrowed from other films from the similar genre. Is has a strong leading performance from India Eisley that shows her talent as both shy and twisted figures.

 

Overall: Horror with strong leading performance.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Blood Craft (2019)

Director: James Cullen Bressack

Writer: James Cullen Bressack, Madeleine Wade (Screenplay)

Starring: Madeleine Wade, Augie Duke, Michael Welch, Dave Sheridan, Mark Rolston, Dominique Swain

 

Plot: Two sisters who suffered abuse as children at the hands of their sadistic father decide, after his death, to use witchcraft to bring his spirit back to get revenge.


Tagline – How far would you go for revenge?

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Disturbing Horror Revenge

 

Story: Blood Craft starts when a stripper Grace (Wade) gets news of her abusive father’s death forcing her to return home to see her sister Serena (Duke) and face the memories from their past, with Minister father (Sheridan) and their mother Hilde (Swain) who was terminally ill when they grew up, but did teach the girls the early stages of witch craft.

Serena talks Grace into using their witchcraft to bring their father back to life they can punish his spirit for what he made the girls do when they were growing up.

 

Thoughts on Blood Craft

 

Characters – Grace is the eldest daughter, she left the abuse, heading off into the world, turned to stripping, she is making a health living. With the news her father has died, she returns home to face the nightmares of her past, to confront her father’s spirit. She has managed to hide away most of the abuse in her life. Serena never managed to escape their father’s abuse, she has worked on ways of getting back at him, which involves witchcraft, only this will see her talk Grace into turning to these arts, as she doesn’t forget any of the abuse they suffered.

Performances – Madeleine Wade in the leading role gives us a wonderful performance of a lady haunted by her past, not wanting to enter her past, living the best way she can after a life of trauma. Augie Duke brings us a character that does remain calm through the situation the character has been through. Michael Welch does take on a dual role at times, neither does he get to show any true determination. Dominique Swain might be the big name draw, but her role is only in the supporting role not getting enough time even though her scenes are big impact.

Story – The story here follows two sisters that want to make the spirit of their abusive father pay for what he once did to them, it involves witchcraft, which shows how adults can look to deal with abuse. The dealing with abuse is easily the highlight of the story’s quality because it shows how two different adults have dealt with it and shows just how much damage it can have on the victims. Mental health has been used in horror before and always makes it one of the more powerfully elements from the real world. when it comes to the revenge side of the film it can be seen as something different because it asks the question on how to deal with revenge on the dead? The story is also filled with plenty of twists along the way, which surprise and become even more disturbing along the way.

Horror – The horror in the film comes from dealing with the real world abuse the sisters have experienced and how they are planning to confront it. We do get elements of witchcraft which works, though isn’t truly as scary as it could have been.

Settings – The film is set in one location, the house where the sisters grew up, suffered their abuse, it keeps the problems they are dealing with in house, which is what is need for them to confront them.

Special Effects – The effects are simple enough, we don’t get many, but the ones we get are used we enough.


Scene of the Movie – The morning after.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There was a lot more to process than I was expecting.

Final Thoughts – This is a horror that digs deep with the emotional factors, it tackles real-world problems and shows the extremes two people would go to confront them.

 

Overall: Shocking and Disturbing.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Pet Graveyard (2019)

Director: Rebecca Matthews

Writer: Suzy Spade (Screenplay)

Starring: Jessica O’Toole, David Cotter, Hindolo Koroma, Rita Siddiqui, Katie Milner Evans, Hattie Willow

 

Plot: A group of teens are tormented by the Grim Reaper and his pet after undergoing an experiment that allows them to revisit the dead.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 38 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Afterlife Delight

 

Story: Pet Graveyard starts when struggle college student Lily (O’Toole) is pressured by her internet famous brother Jeff (Cotter) to take part in one of his latest videos, one that will push the boundaries of science and the natural world in a hope to speak to their late mother. Joining the siblings are Zara (Siddiqui) and Francis (Koroma) who are both wanting to reconnect with lost ones.

The three will kill themselves to travel to the afterlife, where they do get to see the lost loved one before Lily brings them back to life. The problems start when the three start getting haunted by what they saw because once you enter the afterlife it doesn’t want to let you go.

 

Thoughts on Pet Graveyard

 

Characters – Lily is the student nurse that has been struggling with her grades after the death of her mother, she reluctantly agrees to help her brother with his latest stunt video, being trained to bring the back from the afterlife, she is the one that investigates when the strange events start happening to the three that went to the other side. Jeff is the now daredevil internet celebrity looking for his latest fix for views, he does want to see his mother once again after how they last saw each other, he will need to let lily help once the experiment starts having darker side effects. Zara is one of the other people to take part, she wants to see her little brother again, she is the first to go under, giving us the idea of what we will be experiencing. Francis is the third member of the experiment, he wants to reconnect to the girlfriend he lost, he tries to go back to his normal life after, but what haunts him will not stay away.

Performances – We have four main actors in this film, Jessica O’Toole does take the leading role with her needing to balance the grief and responsibility required for character. David Cotter does make us believe we are watching an internet celebrity figure, or at least one trying to become a superstar, bringing the carefree attitude to life. Rita Siddiqui brings her characters traditional beliefs to the film which works for the supporting roles, with Hindolo Koroma completing the cast with supporting performance that works well.

Story – The story follows four people that perform an experiment to visit lost loved one only for the grim reaper to come calling for them. The first element of the story we need to address, is the title of the film, this has nothing to do with pets, in fact it is closer to Flatliners. Getting past this, we do have an interesting horror that does address the question about whether you should try to community with the dead or not. When it comes to the figure that visits, we do get a new looking figure that is one you wouldn’t want to meet, that does give a unique kills too. It might have certain moments that are by the book, but for a horror story this is easy to follow and that’s all we need.

Horror – The horror comes from the visit to the afterlife, the figure that comes for the victims, it does feel like we could have a new horror figure too.

Settings – The film keeps the settings simple, we have the ritual location which is filled with spiritual creepiness, while the rest of the settings include everyday life, showing how the hauntings will follow them home.

Special Effects – The effects are simple, we only use them when needed and they don’t look out of place.


Scene of the Movie – The afterlife world.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The cat.

Final Thoughts – This is a strong horror that will ask a question about the afterlife, introduces us to a potential new horror icon and has unique kills.

 

Overall: A new horror killer is born.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Elizabeth Harvest (2018)

Elizabeth Harvest is available on Digital Download on the 1st of April 2019 here

Director: Sebastian Gutierrez

Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez (Screenplay)

Starring: Abbey Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, Dylan Baker

 

Plot: A brilliant man marries a beautiful woman and shows her his home, stating that it’s all hers – except a room she can’t enter. First chance she enters and discovers what might be human cloning. When the husband returns she pays the price.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Sci-Fi Mystery Consequences

 

Story: Elizabeth Harvest starts when newlyweds Elizabeth (Lee) and Henry (Hinds) return to his mansion to start their lives together, he has workers in his home with Claire (Gugino) and Oliver (Beard) doing the household jobs, while Elizabeth is banned from one room.

Left alone in the house, Elizabeth starts exploring more which does take her into the forbidden room, which only angers Henry to new levels, where he must start his plans again.

 

Thoughts on Elizabeth Harvest

 

Characters – Elizabeth is the new wife ready for her life of luxury, she is delighted with the number of clothes she has, the size of the house, but she isn’t prepared for what she finds in the forbidden room, a clone of herself, she spends the film learning who she is and why she is being cloned. Henry is the husband that has been bring his new wife home for the household, he has been planning this for years, with his clones being used to complete his perfect world, the deeper the story goes, the more we learn about his decisions. Claire is the scientist hired to help Henry with his clones, she doesn’t agree at first before learning just what this could mean for science. Oliver works around the house, he is blind and has been waiting for his chance to learn about the work within the house.

Performances – Abbey Lee takes on the leading roles of Elizabeth, each one is slightly different which shows how the science has continued to improve through the versions, this comes out in her performances as somebody who becomes riser as the film unfolds. Ciaran Hinds is always going to be strong in the scientist role, with Carla Gugino in the mentor figure and assistant that works well with Matthew Beard doing everything needed for his shining moments in the later part of the film.

Story – The story follows a young woman marrying a scientist and learning that he has been working on a bigger project which involves clones. This is an interesting story because it plays into the ideas of whether clones should be used in the real world, which is always going to be an interesting conversation. The story does however jump around the timeline with the flashbacks filling in the blanks for Elizabeth. It could get moments that are confusing because keeping up with certain characters can be hard to figure out which is which, but otherwise this does everything needing to make you think you are watching an episode of Black Mirror.

Sci-Fi – The sci-fi side of the film uses the idea of clones being welcomed into the world or how they are secretive for the first designers.

Settings – The settings keep the film in one location which does show the world that Elizabeth must get used too.

Special Effects – We keep the effects simple and effective to show the wounds inflicted to the characters.


Scene of the Movie – The meeting of the clones.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many time jumps.

Final Thoughts – This is a sci-fi film that does ask a question about cloning, and whether they should be included in the world or not.

 

Overall: Black Mirror in film form.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019)

Director: Daniel Farrands

Writer: Daniel Farrands (Screenplay)

Starring: Hilary Duff, Jonathan Bennett, Lydia Hearst, Pawel Szajda, Ryan Cargill, Bella Popa

 

Plot: Pregnant with director Roman Polanski’s child and awaiting his return from Europe, 26-year-old Hollywood actress Sharon Tate becomes plagued by visions of her imminent death.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Tasteless and Exploitative

 

Story: The Haunting of Sharon Tate starts by showing us a news report of the Sharon Tate murders, along with the four guests at the house, this is one of the most famous acts of violence committed in Hollywood and made The Mansion Family famous. We flashback to three days before the events of the murders, when an 8-month pregnant Sharon Tate (Duff) returns to her Hollywood home with guests Jay Sebring (Bennett), Abigail Folger (Hearst) and Wojciech Frykowski (Szajda) to prepare for her new baby.

The next couple of nights strange things start to happen around the house, as the Mansion Family starts to visit, getting closer until they find themselves committing the acts that shocked the world, even if it was in Sharon’s dreams first.

 

Thoughts on The Haunting of Sharon Tate

 

Characters – The characters in this film are based on the real victims of the tragic and shocking crimes. Sharon Tate is an actress married to Roman Polanski expecting their first child, she heads home to prepare and soon starts suffering horrific nightmares of the friends being murdered. When we meet the friends, we don’t get to learn much about them, Wojciech is a stylist, while the rest are just friend male and friend female seemingly.

Performances – Hilary Duff, that’s a name we haven’t heard about for a while, she does struggling playing the famous young actress, the scare reaction just doesn’t feel authentic in anyway, this poor performance style continues through the supporting cast who just don’t get going in this film in anyway.

Story – The story here follows the three days leading up to the murder of Sharon Tate and her friends by the Mansion Family. First we must respect that this is a real event which happened and we shouldn’t be making entertainment out of these events. We do play into the idea that Sharon had vision of nightmare which involved big death in her life, this was a fact, she gave interviews about her vision before too. The problem with this story comes to use the idea of Intruders coming into the home, only as this is based on the real crimes, it feels even more uncomfortable to watch because we know what really happened.

Horror – The horror side of this film comes from the idea of where the group of people are being pestered at first by the family, it is mostly a home invasion movie, mixed with nightmare visions.

Settings – The whole film is set in the one location, the house which the murders happen, it shows how the family can take advantage of people being away from help.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are weak be it the weak blood splatter or weird camera usages for the dream.


Scene of the Movie – It was hard to find one.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The usage of the real murders seems too much.

Final Thoughts – This is a poor attempt of bring us a home invasion movie that is forced to use the real life murders to try and cash in on the Mansion Family actions.

 

Overall: No Haunting, Invasion we know the outcome off.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

Devil’s Path (2019)

Director: Matthew Montgomery

Writer: Matthew Montgomery, Stephen Twardokus (Screenplay)

Starring: Stephen Twardokus, JD Scalzo, Jon Gale, Michael Hampton, Steve Callahan

 

Plot: Two men encounter each other on a dangerous gay cruising park trail, and quickly find themselves caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

 

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Twist Filled Thriller

 

Story: Devil’s Path starts as two men Noah (Twardokus) and Patrick (Scalzo) both go to a notorious gay cruising park about to go about the business of the quickie hook up, before getting attacked by two men.

As the two men search for safety and to stay one step ahead of the attackers, the two men get to know each other, learning they are different than what they were expecting from the hook up, the dangerous game of cat and mouse only adds to the intensity of whether they can make it out alive.

 

Thoughts on Devil’s Path

 

Characters – Noah heads into this forest to search answers, he is acting like the rest of the men as he locates somebody to help him in his search, he carries tarot cards which he uses as a conversation starter, he has his reasons which will become clear after spending time with Patrick. Patrick is another man in the woods, he is looking for the quick hook up even if he does have a secret which will keep his time with Noah there for a reason. We don’t meet anyone else for more than a couple of scenes, even with the two men hunting down our couple.

Performances – We have two main leads in Stephen Twardokus and JD Scalzo who both give strong performances as we see how they go through the uncomfortable meet, while trying to learn the truth behind each one being in the woods.

Story – The story follows two singletons heading into the woods in search of a quick hook up only to find themselves needing to hide from two men searching for them, only for everything to get turned on its head, when the true motivation of being in the woods comes out. This is a thriller that deals with the twist and suspense elements, it isn’t going to be as routine as two people hiding or fighting back the whole time, we get the twists which help us reach the final goal. The story does feel like it is well written with each moment having an importance to the final outcome of the film without having any pointless filler too.

Thriller – The will keep you guessing as you are never sure what to think about either of the two men, who is holding a secret or not, which is nice to be watching things unfold.

Settings – The film is set in the woods, it is known as a location for hook ups which is all we need to know.


Scene of the Movie – The truth.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Running shaky cam.

Final Thoughts – This is a thriller that will keep you guessing and will surprise you with how it all ends up playing out.

 

Overall: Smart thriller.

Rating

 

 

Categories
Movie Review

The 6th Friend (2018)

Director: Letia Clouston

Writer: Letia Clouston, Jamie Bernadette (Screenplay)

Starring: Jamie Bernadette, Chantelle Albers, Dominique Swain, Jessica Morris, Tania Nolan, David Villada, Monique Rosario

 

Plot: Six college best friends throw their own private graduation party that goes terribly wrong when an uninvited guest arrives. Five years later, the girls gather once again and endure a night of far more horror and bloodshed.


Tagline – how far would you go for your best friend?

Runtime: 1 Hour 25 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Horror Fans Enjoy the Slasher

 

Story: The 6th Friend starts when six college friends Joey (Bernadette), Melissa (Albers), Heather (Swain), Katie (Morris), Sahara (Nolan) and Becca (Rosario) who have reunited after a traumatic experience while high on drugs, the group come back together to help each other move on with their lives, only for them all to be suffering with their own problems.

The night takes a dramatic turn when the past comes back to haunt the women and they must now fight to survive against a masked killer, one they believe to be waiting them since the original traumatic night.

 

Thoughts on The 6th Friend

 

Characters – Joey is one of the six women, she is the least interested in the reunion because has dealt with the night in her own way, never wanting to face the reality of that night she is forced to when a killer comes back for the friends. She takes charge while others panic and her decision seems to be the one the friends lean towards. Melissa is the one that bought the friends back together, she has become a celebrity because of the previous events, it is her family home where the women are spending the weekend, though she is the first to lose control once they face the killer. The remaining four women are Heather, Katie, Sahara and Becca each have their own traits to make them be their own characters even if they do fall into the generic supporting figures.

Performances – When it comes to the performances our lead is Jamie Bernadette who also co-wrote the screenplay, we see Jamie deliver another strong leading performance fitting in the final girl figure that we have gotten to know in the slasher genre. Chantelle Albers as the arranger of the big reunion is strong too because of the range she must show, playing the figure that is used to the spotlight. The remain women are solid in their roles and show good chemistry for the friendship between the women.

Story – The story follows six friends that head out for a reunion five years after a traumatic night it soon turns sour when a masked killer from their past arrives and they must fight to survive. This does fit the slasher genre well for a story line, it is the additions which do give this story another edge, because we get to see how after the first event the women have raised to celebrity status, which reflects how the modern world is treating the victims. This is a horror so, imagine we would get twists and this is full of them, even if certain moments of the film you feel you are about to put your finger on what is going on things take a change.

Horror – The slasher genre is one of the easiest to watch in the horror sub-genre, it has a generic formula which this film does follow, until the final act which needs to be different to make the film stand out.

Settings – The film is set in a cabin in the woods, with no where to run and with the cars disabled, we get isolation for the characters involved.

Special Effects – The effects used are strong for the most part, I liked how the killer’s appearance comes off, even if certain injuries are not at the strongest level.


Scene of the Movie – The final act.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The goodnight process.

Final Thoughts – This is a good fun slasher, that offers a twist you won’t see coming, even if certain moments can feel like you have seen before.

 

Overall: Slasher film you can enjoy.

Rating