Category Archives: Saturday is Horror Day

Saturday is Horror Day #138 – Oculus

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Oculus

Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) has an obsession  – she is determined to prove that it wasn’t her father who killed her and her brother Tim’s (Brenton Thwaites) mother, but rather supernatural forces. First she obtains the mirror once owned by her parents, at a dear price. Then she picks up her brother on his release from the mental institution where he has been incarcerated since he was a teen for the murder of his family. She needs his help and wants to prove everything to Tim as well.

Kaylie has everything set up, including multiple cameras and alarms, and even a fail-safe plan with a kill switch should everything else prove fruitless. Tim is skeptical but can’t convince his sister that she is wrong, helpless to stop her as they both recall the events that led them to this point.

Oculus flips back and forth from the past to the present, which is a little confusing at first as both Kaylie and her mom have red hair. In the past, we watch as the family unit disintegrates,  including the father’s own obsession with the mirror, the mother’s fears that he is losing him to another woman, and the helplessness of the children to do anything. Kaylie is trying to induce the mirror to kill again, and she wants to get it on video.

Oculus is certainly not a bad film, and its director, Mike Flanagan, no stranger to the genre, having also directed such films as Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Ouija: Origin of Evil. I like Karen Gillan and have ever since she played Amy Pond. But I found her character offputting her, almost like she was sleepwalking through everything. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I couldn’t like anyone in this film and that becomes problematic when you have no one to root for.

Perhaps I couldn’t get behind the idea of the mirror itself as an evil entity – or was it something inside the mirror? Was the movie creepy? That it was. Did it hold my interest? Not really. I know there are a lot of favorable reviews, so it comes down to a matter of individual taste. And that, after all, is what reviews are about. I just couldn’t really get into it, and thought it availed itself of rather common tropes. But decide for yourself. As for me, I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #137 – You Are Not My Mother

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

You Are Not My Mother

Char (Hazel Doupe) lives in North Dublin with her mother Angela (Carolyn Bracken) and her grandmother Rita (Ingrid Craigie). Life is tough for the young girl, with her grandmother in poor health and her mother often depressed and lying in bed. School is also hard and Char is often bullied because she doesn’t fit in with the other students. One morning, while taking Char to school, Angela announces that “she can’t do this anymore”, and later her car is found abandoned in a field. Char and Rita report her disappearance to the police, but little is done to find her.

A few days later, Angela returns, acting as if nothing has happened and all’s right with the world. But Char is suspicious of this “new” mother. Strange things happen, including the poisoning of Char’s Uncle Aaron. Char becomes friends with one of her former bullies, and confides the story of how her grandmother, believing her to be a changeling, placed her by a fire to get the real Char back. Her friend, Suzanne says the new Angela must also be a changeling and they have to repeat the fire ritual in order to get her real mother back.

I’ll just say this movie was not for me. It had nothing to do with it being a slow-paced, slow-burn kind of story, but I could never connect with it. Maybe because changelings are not a common theme here, I don’t know. But I couldn’t tell if the movie was really about changelings or about mental health issues, as it rather blurred the lines. The acting was good enough, but I was just not engaged. The film has a lot of positive reviews, but there are also others who did not like it. You’ll have to decide for yourself. I’ll give this movie 3 shaky Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day $136 – Cobweb

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Cobweb

Peter (Woody Norman) is a shy, introverted boy with no friends, who is constantly bullied by is peers, especially by Brian (Luke Busey). When he hears tapping in his room at night, his parents, Carol (Lizzy Caplan) and Mark (Antony Starr) tell him he just has an overactive imagination and refuse to take him seriously. Even after he tells them someone is speaking to him.

Peter has a substitute teacher, Miss Devine (Cleopatra Coleman) who is concerned for him, especially after she sees a picture he painted which she interprets as a cry for help. She goes to the family home and speaks to Carol, who assures her that her son is fine, just imaginative. But the voice Peter hears continues, and encourages him to do things, one of which gets him expelled. His angry parents ground him, but not in his room. Instead, they make him stay in the dark dank basement.

Miss Divine, very concerned by now, comes by the house once more, ostensibly to give Peter his last paper, but she has written her phone number on it so he can reach her. The voice tells Peter that she is his sister and he must rescue her! And she says their parents have committed murder. In the meantime, Brian the bully decides, with the help of his older cousins, to get vengeance for what Peter has done to him. On Halloween night, of course.

I thought this film had possibilities at first. The idea of knocking on your wall in the middle of the night is terrifying, if handled well. But that isn’t the case here. The titular character of the sister reminds me of a spider-like version of Samara, the girl from The Ring. There are definitely things that don’t make sense here, such as why the parents chose to distance themselves from their oldest child, rather than help her. The sheer inhumanity of what they did to her is mind-boggling. From the beginning, they seemed off in their attitude toward Peter and to the world at large. A lot of the plot feels cliché, from the stereotypical bullying to the strange parents. The ending is odd, with Peter and his teacher locking the sister up again and her threatening to haunt him forever. Are they actually going to leave her to die? I assume the mother had been taking care of her. Also, how are they to explain all this to the authorities? What will become of Peter then? Looks like room for a sequel. I honestly don’t think it deserves it. I’ll give this film 2 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #135 – Wrong Turn (2021)

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Wrong Turn (2021)

Scott Shaw (Matthew Modine) is concerned about his daughter, Jennifger (Charlotte Vega). She and her boyfriend, Darius (Adain Bradley), along with two other couples, Adam and Milla (Dylan McTee and Emma Dumont) and Gary and Luis (Vardaan Arora and Adrian Favela) left to hike the Appalachian Trail. But he hasn’t heard from Jennifer and he can’t reach her, so what else is a father to do, but head for the trail to look for her.

Six weeks previously, the three couples set out to hike the Appalachian Trail. They book rooms in a small

inn in a very small town and decide to go to a local bar for the evening, and begin the hike the next day. They quickly learn that not everyone in the deep woods is friendly to outsiders, and they almost rumble with some of the men at the bar. A well-meaning woman tries to discourage them from going, and warns them to never leave the trail. But when is good advice ever taken?

As they are hiking, and having a good time, Darius says he knows of a nearby fort that dates back to Civil War times and proposes a detour. Everyone goes along, although Jennifer reminds them of the woman’s words to stay on the trail. But Darius argues that it won’t take long and they’ll get back on track once more. Ah, the best laid plans…

Hopelessly lost in the woods, they make camp and go to bed. Jennifer thinks she sees a silhouette outside their tent in the middle of the night, but then decides it’s her imagination. Until the next day when all their phones go missing. Then an accident takes a life, someone goes missing, and Adam is dragged away on a chain. They had come across a plaque talking about an old group called The Foundation, formed prior to the Civil War. Is it possible that their descendants still live in the area? And if so, what is their intent toward the young people?

The only thing this film has in common with the other Wrong Turn films is the title.  Okay, same author, and also set in the woods. No inbred cannibals with bad make-up here. No gratuitous sex scenes. Not saying this is a great film by any means, but it is a cut above those others. I found the most interesting thing about this movie was the debate concerning right and wrong, and the willingness to accept the consequences of one’s actions. If one character hadn’t acted rashly, perhaps the other events would not have been triggered. On the other hand, those like the Foundation who choose to live by their own rules aren’t exactly role models either.

Jennifer is an interesting character, well acted. The ending suggests the possibility of a sequel or two. Hopefully we’ll see Matthew Modine again. I’ll keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, I’ll give this film 3 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: October 11, 2023

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Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #90 (19.2) by Julie Lynn Hayes

I admit that there are times when I can be somewhat oblivious to the world around me, especially when I’m with Ethan. But even I couldn’t help but notice that we were not headed in the direction I had assumed we’d be traveling. I shot Ethan a confused glance. “Aren’t we going home?”

Ethan didn’t answer immediately, which sent a chill creeping down my spine. Was something wrong that I was unaware of? What now? Hadn’t we

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Saturday is Horror Day #134 – The Sadness

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Sadness

After a year of combating a relatively mild pandemic, known as the Alvin virus, citizens are skeptical and become careless in taking precautions. Kat (Regina Lei) and Jim (Berant Zhu) had planned a week-long get-away, and Kat becomes upset when Jim tells her he has to work a shoot that week. He is sorry, but work is hard to get.  A discontented Kat heads to work.

Thanks to people’s negligence, the virus unexpectedly mutates, and the result is catastrophic. Blood and

violence erupt as those who are infected begin to rampage, the virus escalating the need for violence, including sexual assault.

While riding the subway, Kat is harassed by a businessman who won’t leave her alone. And as the virus begins to affect those around them, he becomes one of the casualties, releasing inner demons. And he is determined to have Kat. After great bloodshed, Kat escapes the subway and heads to the nearest hospital with a wounded young woman, Molly (Ying-Ru Chen). It’s closed but the two women are admitted so Molly can get treatment.

Jim and Kat text one another, and Kat gives Jim her location. He vows to get to her, to protect her. The question is, will she survive until he can arrive? And can he reach her in one piece with blood and mayhem everywhere?

The Sadness is a different take on a zombie film, with the infected having their limbic system invaded, crossing violence and sexuality in a horrific way. I have to warn you, this is not for everyone. There is a great deal of blood and sexual violence. Some may be triggered. It is riveting, as you wonder how it will turn out, and will this couple find their way to one another? Also, how will this carnage end? I think it was worth watching. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #133 – The Eternal Daughter, Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Eternal Daughter

Julie Hart (Tilda Swinton) and her elderly mother return to an eerily almost deserted hotel which was once their former home in order to find answers to unanswered questions. The hotel receptionist (Carly-Sophia Davies) is unpleasant at best, and not very cooperative. It doesn’t take long for the hotel to get to Julie, and she isn’t sure how much of it she can take.

I normally don’t read reviews before I watch something so that I can make up my own mind about a film.

In this cast, I wish I had made an exception to that rule. This is not a good movie, despite having Tilda Swinton in a double role, as both Julie and her mother. I suspected the truth from the outset and was proven correct at the end. What came in between beginning and end was not very scary nor interesting. In fact it wasn’t much of anything at all. My advice is to avoid this at all costs. I’ll give it 1 Star, just for Tilda.

Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort

An unexpected inheritance of a resort hotel in the middle-of-nowhere West Virginia brings Danny (Anthony Ilott) and his friends to investigate the windfall. The resort is being managed by Jackson (Chris Jarvis) and his sister Sally (Sadie Katz), who welcome their newly found kin with open arms. There is some confusion as to the relationship between Jackson and Sally, since she slides between calling him brother, husband, and cousin. But hey, it’s West Virginia, so some people have a different definition of family.

Danny’s girlfriend Toni (Aqueela Zoll) isn’t sure she likes this place, nor Danny’s new kinfolk. Especially Sally.  But if she could read Sally’s mind, she would like her even less. Strange things began to happen and people are getting hurt. And they begin to discover that maybe there are other people here who are, let’s say less than normal. Toni wants to leave, but Danny is adamant that he wants to get to know his family better, and they him (especially Sally). But at what price?

Well, I managed to finish watching this one, which is more than I can say for the three that came before it, which should tell you something. I sit great cinema? No, but it’s done fairly well considering the writing and the horrible plot. I think part of the reason it is better is that there are fewer of the inbred freaks, and the two family members with the most interaction appear deceptively normal. Jackson is even considered by some of the older female guests as very charming and attractive and they like to attract his attention in silly ways. Even if that attraction turns deadly.

Once again, I could have done without the gratuitous sex scenes, but whatever. If that’s your cup of tea, so be it. If you like cannibalism and gore, you might enjoy this. There is one more in the series (as of this writing0 and I read somewhere it was good, so I guess I’ll let you know when I watch it. In the meantime, I’ll give this film 2 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #132 – Skinamarink

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Skinamarink

Kevin (Lucas Paul) and his little sister Kaylee (Dali Rose Tetreault) find themselves suddenly alone in the middle of the night, their parents nowhere to be seen. To make matters worse, the doors and windows of the house have all vanished.

Skinarmarink is an atmospheric horror film by writer/director Kyle Edward Ball. Everything takes place within the confines of one family’s home. No lights are turned on, so the action is perceived through the darkness. The children have to cope with their new reality, especially after they realize they are not alone.

This movie is not necessary for everyone. Not a great deal happens, in that the children try to go about

their lives. At the same time, it is totally creepy, especially as the disembodied voice begins to show its control of and dominance over the children. Themes regarding childhood fears of abandonment and helplessness are brought to the fore. Ball has a unique voice and style, and I would like to see more of what he can do. I’ll give this film 4 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #131 – Saw II

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Saw II

Detective Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) has a troubled relationship with his son Daniel (Erik Knudsen). The rebellious boy is acting up and getting into trouble. Eric Matthews gets mad at him and yells at him to leave if he wants to so the boy does. Eric finds himself investigating a murder with his partner Kerry (Dina Meyer), but there’s a twist – the killer has left a personal message for the detective. What is going on?

The victim was someone Matthews knew, although facial recognition was impossible due to the way the

man died. But he recognized his unique tattoos and knows he was someone he once put away. Matthews reaches out to his son, to no avail, but soon finds himself immersed in the case as it becomes obvious the killer is none other than Jigsaw. Acting on certain evidence, they locate John Kramer (Tobin Bell), and it seems like a slam dunk…but, of course, it isn’t. The detectives discover a bank of monitors which reveal several people on camera who are trapped together somewhere…including Matthews’ son Daniel. Kramer explains about the nerve gas that is slowly killing them if they don’t get out within a certain period of time. But he says if the detective is patient and waits, he will get what he wants. Of course, Matthews chooses otherwise. Let the games begin…

The second installment of the Saw series is every bit as bloody as the first, maybe more so. And there are definite twists you won’t see coming, including a previous location. The first death in this film was memorable to me, as I looked at what needed to be done and realized I would just have to die too, I couldn’t do what it would take to get free.

I absolutely love this series, but I know it isn’t for everyone. The scene with the pit filled with needles made me cringe. I don’t think I would have the nerve to go into that. Looking forward to rewatching the rest and also the tenth Saw that is coming out at the end of September. I give this film 4.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #130 – The Tomb of Ligeia

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Tomb of Ligeia

Marriage is supposed to be till death do us part…but Verden Fell (Vincent Price) can’t get over the death of his beloved wife Ligeia. He becomes a recluse, living in the ruined abbey where she is buried. He wears strange glasses because of a peculiar sensitivity to light, and shuns the company of all. However, chance in the form of a hunt throws The Lady Rowena Trevanion (Elizabeth Shepherd into his path). Separating from her hunting companions, she comes upon the ruins and the isolated grave, but a black cat spooks her horse as well as the sudden appearance of Fell, and she is injured.

Rowena’s friend and hunting companion Christopher Gough (John Westbrook) rushes to her side at the sound of her scream, and recognizes Fell as an old friend of his, much changed. Fell carries the injured Rowena into the house and cares for her. She becomes instantly taken with him, and can’t get him out of her mind, even after she is returned to the home of her father, Lord Trevanion (Derek Francis).

Seizing a chance opportunity to visit Fell on her own, Rowena boldly puts the moves on him, and they are soon married. Everything seems well with them, he has even removed his glasses as they leave for their honeymoon. But that all changes on their return, when he falls back into his old habits, and she finds herself isolated from her new husband, who is clearly obsessed with his late wife. What secrets is he keeping from her? Rowena begins to wonder if Ligeia is really dead at all…

This is another of Roger Corman’s Poe-derived films starring Vincent Price, with a clearly padded story. Vincent Price is awesome, as usual, although the lady’s sudden fascination with his character doesn’t really make a lot of sense. Also, what is the point of the black cat? A familiar, perhaps? I have no idea. Some of the tropes of that time period are insulting, such as the weak woman who is always either hurt or frightened, such as the scene in the bell tower where she is paralyzed with fright over a cat and a tolling bell. Although Poe liked to play with the idea of a thin line between life and death, here it just becomes absurd.

Frankly, I would watch anything Vincent Price is in, but that doesn’t make them all great movies. This was not one of the better ones, I’m afraid. I’ll give this film 2 Stars.