Best Slasher Movies

Edward Furlong! Seriously, I love that guy. He might be looking a little rough and pudgy, but that has nothing to do with his acting and his performance in Dark Reel. I still think he’s adorable, and he’s great in this movie.

Dark Reel is far from a masterpiece. The flaws are numerous, but let’s focus on the positives. The biggest positive for Dark Reel is definitely the killer. I had no idea who the killer was for most of the movie. I had my theories, but the use of the old red herring here was in full effect and used masterfully. The movie keeps you guessing from the very beginning. Nice work.

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Australian horror is making a resurgence and Acolytes is at the head of the pack. There is nothing I didn’t like about this movie. It also serves as a prime example of why it’s so important to ignore IMDB reviews and discover a movie for yourself. I’ll leave my opinions on IMDB critics for another day, but basically, the negative reviews for Acolytes almost made me skip it, and that would’ve been a shame.

Acolytes starts out as a revenge tale – two boys are raped by a local bully and blackmail a serial killer to carry out their vendetta. It backfires on them and soon they find themselves battling for their own lives.

The suspense in Acolytes is intense and the jump scares are effective. The performances from the entire cast is above-par and although the movie is light on the gore, it doesn’t need it to be frightening. Very well done.

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Some people might be a little confused about the name of this movie, so I decided to put it under what typically appears on the DVD cover which is Red Mist. Apparently the name was changed to Freakdog (what the killer, Kenneth, is called by most of the characters throughout the film) because Red Mist was giving too many people the impression it was a sniper movie. I’m not entirely sure. In any event, whatever you call it, it was a pretty damn good movie.

The plot starts out very familiar – group of pretty young people tease a creepy loner and trick him into thinking they’re friends only to have it go horribly awry for everyone involved – but veers off in a new direction when the somewhat supernatural comes in to play.

Kenneth is comatose after the meanies give him drugs which he reacts badly to. One of the meanies has a heart and feels bad for him. She tries to save his life by giving him an experimental injection. This is where the supernatural element comes into play.

Excellent little film and definitely worth a watch. The open ending really allows you to draw your own conclusions as to what the conclusion really is and doesn’t insult the viewer’s intelligence by trying to wrap everything up.

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Its hard to make someone feel for a drunken hit and run driver, but somehow Hit and Run does. I give the credit for that to Laura Breckinridge (Amusement) who gives an excellent performance as Mary Murdock – our drunken hit and runner. Turning in an equally impressive performance as Timothy Emser, the man that goes from being the victim of the hit and run to the sadistic stalker bent on revenge, is the delightfully creepy Kevin Corrigan (Superbad).

Hit and Run’s greatest strength is in its cast and the way it makes you wonder what you would do if you found yourself in Mary Murdock’s position. This is a movie that stays with you which isn’t a bad thing at all.

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I really don’t understand why people who don’t like horror movies go to see horror movies. “Oh there are so many plot holes!” “Oh why did she do that?” “In real life she wouldn’t be doing that.”  Here’s a piece of advice for anyone that uttered any of the above statements or asked any of the above questions during Amusement – stop watching slasher movies. Seriously, do all of us a favor and just stop. I don’t wanna hear your whining and you presumably don’t want to waste your time.

I think the people that complain the loudest about Amusement were the ones that were scared most by it. There are some great performances and the movie is generally very scary. Sure there are plot holes but nothing as glaring and obvious as the bad reviews would have you believe. And as for characters doing things you consider stupid, if you took out those things, what would you be left with for a movie?

Amusement has some excellent gore and a decent cast. It isn’t a taut, suspenseful cat and mouse thriller, but it’s an entertaining movie that’s worth a lot more than the naysayers give it credit for,

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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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Now c’mon… Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are magic together. Throw in a little Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter, Dogma), Sascha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show, Borat, Bruno) and Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) and you have gold.

That said…

I felt slightly let down by Sweeney Todd when the movie ended. Sure the gore was more than expected which was a great bonus and the acting was top notch. The songs were great and Johnny Depp sings better than I was expecting. Helena Bonham Carter doesn’t have the greatest voice, but she tackled the role with vigor and it came across well. Jamie Campbell Bower was the real stand out for me – excellent actor with an incredible voice. The songs were great and it didn’t seem as flamboyant as most musicals are. It was a musical without the over the top theatrics and it worked well. The dark colors used for the costumes, sets and makeup were a perfect fit for a deliciously dark story. It should have been a roaring success.

In the end though, I felt Sweeney Todd was missing something. I can’t say exactly what it was. Perhaps it was nothing more than not being able to meet the ridiculously high expectations I set for it. I’ve watched it several times and I must say my somewhat empty feeling after the first trip through London with Mrs. Lovett and her demented love interest was hasty and unfair. With a more open mind and lowered expectations, I enjoyed Sweeney Todd much, much more.

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