Best Slasher Movies

If you’re read my reviews of the The Grudge and The Grudge 2, you know I wasn’t really a huge fan of this series. They were interesting and not as bad as the reviews made them sound, but they weren’t great either. I still decided to give The Grudge 3 a chance. I was especially unsure of it as it was one of those direct to video sequels that usually blow the big one. To my surprise, The Grudge 3 wasn’t that bad – in fact, I liked it more than its two predecessors.

Going with Shawnee Smith (Saw series, Repo! The Genetic Opera) was a great choice. I love the girl. She alone made the movie worth watching.

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So, The Grudge 2 is not only a sequel, but the sequel to an American remake of a Japanese horror movie. I don’t think I need to further comment on why my expectations weren’t terribly high going into this one. I decided to give it a go anyway. I figured I might be surprised. And I was – pleasantly, even.

The Grudge 2 is nothing new. There isn’t really any furthering of the story aside from adding a slight twist to the curse from the original. The poor victims of the curse no longer need to enter the cursed house to fall prey to the evil – it follows the afflicted so that anyone that comes in contact with them also suffers. It made for a more workable plot and added a little something to the story.

Other than that, the scares are the same and so is the general creepy feel the first remake had. The story is told a little differently as well, and I think that’s where a lot of the negative reviews came from. If you’re not paying attention or generally have a logic deficiency, you may have a hard time following the direction The Grudge 2 takes. Everything comes together in the last ten minutes, though, so be patient.

And let’s not talk about the ‘plot twist’. If you don’t see that coming I’m  not sure there’s hope for you.

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I’ve always liked Sarah Michelle Geller so I was pretty excited to see her in The Grudge, and I’m going to be honest – I’m still (five years later) not sure if I liked this movie or not.

Let’s be honest – in general, American remakes of Japanese horror films suck. It’s just a fact, so there’s not much point in exploring that further. The Grudge is of course one of those American remakes and whether or not it’s better than the average film in this category is really something I’ve never really been able to decide.

The Grudge succeeds in being creepy and giving the audience plenty of decent jump scares. I’m one of the few that actually really liked the ending. Although it’s not overly gory, it is frightening and if that’s what’s what you’re looking for, this is a good movie for you – a good, creepy, watch-with-the-lights-out movie with gorgeous Sarah Michelle Geller in the lead role.

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Resident Evil: Extinction seems to suffer the same curse as Resident Evil: Apocalypse although the reviews with this one were a little more balanced. Again, people just don’t seem to know what they want. Resident Evil wasn’t enough like the same. Apocalypse was too much like the game and now we’re back to having Extinction not being close enough. The audience needs to make up its mind.

Naturally, the movies are going to be compared to the games they’re based on. It only makes sense, but at some point, the comparisons need to stop and the movie needs to be taken on its own merit. That seems to be impossible for some fans of the Resident Evil games.

Personally, I’ve never been huge into video games, but I’ll admit, I love the Resident Evil series. They’re great games. The thing is, I didn’t watch these movies wanting a live action rendition of the games. I went into these movies hoping for a scare, some suspense, hot chicks and some decent gore. I got everything I asked for. Milla Jovovich makes an amazing heroine and it’s good to see her sticking with the Resident Evil series. Ali Larter (Final Destination, Final Destination 2, House On Haunted Hill, Heroes) and Ashanti are great additions to the cast. Keep all that in mind and you should be perfectly satisfied with this series. I’m looking forward to Resident Evil: Afterlife.

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I can usually understand bad reviews or can at least see where the critic is coming from. Not so with Resident Evil: Apocalypse.

It seems to me this movie was doomed in many eyes before it even opened in theaters. Milla Jovovich is back as Alice and she kicks just as much ass as ever. People were turned off by the fact that this movie gave Alice mind powers which weren’t present in the first because it took away the believability from the first. I want to know who would see a movie about viruses turning people into zombies for believability. The entire premise is a stretch, but it’s a stretch that works.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse has also been vilified for being too close to the video game. That would be a valid argument had the first not been beaten up on for not being close enough to the game.

Browsing the reviews for this movie reminded me that, in general, the public has absolutely no idea what they want – aside from a chance to bitch and whine.

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Resident Evil is one of those movies that will disappoint people who go into it expecting something specific – in this case, an adaptation of one of their favorite video games. While the movie is based on the game, it doesn’t stick as faithfully to it’s namesake as other adaptations (see Silent Hill). There are some of the key elements of the game included in its big screen adaptation, but much of the sequence of events was changed to make the movie more fast paced. I, for one, say it worked well.

Milla Jovovich is a babe. She’s so smokin’ hot in Resident Evil it’s a little painful to look at her. And man, that girl kicks some serious zombie ass. Then there’s Michelle Rodriguez and really, what can you say about Michelle Rodriguez? She is one of the few women who pull off being both scary and sexy. Girl is gorgeous and crazy intimidating. Milla and Michelle are reason alone to watch Resident Evil. Add to that the fact that the movie succeeds in being frightening, suspenseful and action filled (with more than a little good gore) and you have a winner.

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So, the sequel was great. The third can’t be good too, right? Wrong. Final Destination 3 is an incredible addition to this series.

Once again, we find a bunch of teenagers battling with death. It’s their turn and we know they’re going to die, but Final Destination always has you wondering how. Never before – that I can recall – has a movie so creatively killed off a cast. The deaths are always gory, but above that, are always original.

I was a bit skeptical going into this one. I’d heard it was a sort of remake of the first, and I can see how some got that impression, but it really wasn’t. Final Destination 3, unlike the second movie in the series, is a movie that could really stand on its own, which enough cross overs to keep fans of the first two interested.

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Final Destination is a rare example of a sequel living up to the original. Everything I loved most about Final Destination is present in this movie – and major bonus points for Tony Todd playing a bigger role. I love that guy and he’s fantastic in this movie.

Final Destination doesn’t try to separate itself from its predecessor, but manages to maintain its feeling of originality. I especially love the way they tie the second movie in with the first without making it seem to contrived or plotted out. That’s not an easy task to accomplish, but they did it well.

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Final Destination had just about everything going in its favor. The premise was unique. The deaths were gory and creative. The performances were excellent and the movie was tense and suspenseful the whole way through. I even loved the ending. I really don’t understand why this movie isn’t at or near the top of every best slasher movie list.

Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Seann William Scott all turn in incredible performances and Tony Todd (most widely known as the ‘Candyman’) is deliciously creepy as the guy in the morgue. To have such a strong cast in a teen slasher flick is almost unheard off.

Considering the somewhat modest budget for Final Destination, the special effects are top notch. The plane crash that kicks off the movie – from both the passenger’s and observer’s point of view – is especially well done. I seriously had reservations about flying after watching it. Good job.

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Michael Myers is back and still hunting poor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis reprises the role she did such a fantastic job playing) in Halloween II and this time, it’s bloodier. The gore and mess missing from its predecessor is out in full force and blood-lusters couldn’t be happier.

While Halloween II maybe not be as good as the first, but damned if it isn’t close. The movie picks up where the first left off. Laurie is being taken to a hospital while the police search for Michael. One need not think too hard to figure out that he’s going to show up to finish what he started with poor Laurie. We’d have a pretty boring movie if he didn’t. What happens from there is slasher movie brilliance.

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