Tag Archives: George Romero

Saturday Day is Horror Day #18 – Dawn of the Dead (1978), Sinister 2

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

The zombie situation is only growing worse, with no idea how it started and how it can be stopped. The undead are growing in number and they are everywhere. Two guys from a Philadelpia S.W.A.T. team, along with a traffic reporter and his pregnant television executive girlfriend take shelter in a shopping mall in the seeming middle of nowhere. But, of course, the dead are everywhere.

 

 

At first they think they’re safe from the zombies outside of the mall, but that, of course, proves to be a false hope as the dead enter the building. Now it becomes a matter of surviving the restless horde so they can make some sort of escape. Things only grow worse when a motorcycle gang sees an opportunity and becomes part of the problem.

 

The second installment in George Romero’s Dead franchise is in color, but that isn’t necessarily an

improvement over the first film, which was in black-and-white. The blood is red, yes, but it’s obvious also that it isn’t blood. The effects and costumes are cheesy, and I kept wondering about these so-called zombies. I mean, they’re dead and they’re risen from the dead (no idea how any of them were killed or where they came from, but surely some at least were buried), and yet they are pristine. Clean clothes, no sign of blood (until someone shoots them which begs the question do zombies have blood circulation), and the gray shade of make-up on their faces that passes as a sign of death is lacking.

Attempts at humor are definitely made, such as the appearance of the young Hare Krishna as well as the nun, but I didn’t really find anything funny. I’m not sure if there is some sort of social commentary here either, maybe against consumerism. Such as the two S.W.A.T guys who go full-on thief mode and attempt to steal anything that’s not nailed down, and even knock over the bank in the mall (what do they think they can spend it on with the world in such chaos?) The pilot and his girlfriend get dressed up and have a candlelight dinner for two, and she also gives herself a makeover. Oh, did I mention she’s pregnant? My guess is that allows for the passage of time because she is like 3 or 4 months pregnant at the start, and a lot more by the end. Also, there is a horrible scene at the beginning where she is asleep, and Peter (Ken Foree), a S.W.A.T. guy and Stephen (David Emge) the pilot are discussing her pregnancy, and Peter asks Stephen does he want to terminate the pregnancy. Wtf? Seriously? I know it’s that infuriating 1978 way of thinking, but it was upsetting to me, so imagine how Francine (Gaylen Ross) must have felt.

 

This film lacks the things that made the first one interesting, including characters we care about. I didn’t care about anyone, honestly, and plot and character development was lacking. The zombies were more comical than scary, thus eliminating most of the horror element. I kind of figured out how it was bound to end, and I was right. All in all, this is a weak follow-up to the original. I hope the remake is better, but I’m going to follow the original franchise for now, so Day of the Dead should come next. I give this one 2.5 Stars.

Sinister 2

A single mother, Courtney Collins (Shannyn Sossamon) and her twin sons (Robert Daniel & Dartanian Sloan) move to a new home to escape her violent husband. She freaks out when a man seems to be watching them at the grocery store and uses the code word rutabaga, which tells them to run. The so-called stranger danger is actually the ex-deputy who had befriended the late author Ellison Oswalt. Unable to let Oswalt’s death go, he has been destroying the houses where the deceased families once lived.

Things are getting creepy at the new house. Dylan is having weird dreams. Worse than that, he sees the children of the deceased, the missing children. They force him to watch their home movies, each of which entails the gruesome death of each family. Dylan doesn’t like it but he feels helpless. He can’t even stand up to his own twin, Zach, who bullies him too often, much as Dylan’s father once did.

 

The ex-deputy finally convinces Courtney that he hasn’t been sent by her husband to take the boys, and explains that he is researching what happened to Ellison Oswalt. She agrees to let him look around, with the proviso that he tell no one they are there.

To make matters worse, the boys’ father, Clint (Lea Coco) shows up to take them back. The ex-deputy

talks him down – for now – but it’s just a matter of time until he returns. The children are pressuring Dylan to finish watching the movies, but he really doesn’t want to. They warn him that if he doesn’t, Bughuul (Nick King) will be very angry.

The sequel to Sinister carries on where the other left off, sometime after the death of Ellison Oswalt. You may remember the deputy from the first film. He was supposed to collaborate on the case with the author, but of course that can’t happen. If he wants to provide support to his theory of the children and their mysterious leader, he has to investigate himself.

I actually liked the second film more than the first. The kids who played the ghostly children did a good job of being creepy, as did Bughuul’s Nick King. The story seemed to make more sense, although we never did find out what Bughuul’s backstory is and why he kidnaps vulnerable children, like he’s the warped patron saint of little kids.

The scene where the ex-deputy prevents Courtney’s ex from taking the boys is great. There are more than a few jump scares to be had, as well as some strong creepy vibes. I am giving this a solid 4 stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #15 – Night of the Living Dead (1968), Brahms: The Boy 2

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Barbra and her brother Johnny make a yearly pilgrimage to their father’s grave on behalf of their mother, in order to place flowers on his grave, despite the fact that it’s a six hour round trip. And they only stay for a few minutes, while placing the flowers.

 

 

Johnny is a playful brother and likes to tease his sister by scaring her, telling her that people are coming to

get her. He points at a lone man who is slowly making his way through the cemetery, and tells her “They’re coming to get you, Barbra!” Laughing, he turns away, but his laughter ends abruptly when Barbra is attacked by the man. Johnny goes to her rescue, only to be thrown violently down, hitting his head on a tombstone.

Barbra runs for her life but can’t get far in the car, because Johnny has the keys. She coasts as far as she can then runs to the nearest home. She enters the farmhouse and looks around but there is no sign of life. Heading upstairs, she makes a gruesome discover – a grisly corpse, looking much the worse for wear. Terrified, she runs, only to see headlights and then a man comes rushing in. His name is Ben and he needs gas and stopped there, seeing the gas pump behind the house. Unfortunately, Barbra has no idea where the key is. And the number of people outside only seems to be growing, as they work at getting inside, trying to kill Barbra and Ben.

 

It turns out that there are people hiding in the cellar. Mr. Cooper and his wife and ill daughter, and Tom and his girlfriend Judy. Cooper doesn’t see the point in leaving the cellar, but Ben says they’ll be sitting ducks there. As night falls, things go from bad to worse…

Director George Romero’s film started a trend in horror films that continues to this very day, namely the zombie film. Although over forty years old, this film withstands the test of time. It was a very low budget film, and the zombies were played by friends and relatives. I’m willing to bet you won’t soon forget the final ironic scene. Worth revisiting, for sure. I give it a solid 4 stars.

Brahms: The Boy 2

After a horrific home invasion, Liza (Katie Holmes) and Sean (Owain Yeoman) decide to make a fresh start somewhere else, so they move into the remote English countryside, along with their son Jude (Christopher Convery). Ever since the incident, Jude hasn’t spoken, communicating only with the use of his writing pad, and his parents are naturally concerned.

 

 

Delighted with their new home, they decide to explore the area around it. Jude spies a hand sticking up from the dirt. He unearths it to discover a most unusual doll. He takes it home and they clean it up. Jude seems to like the doll, which bodes well for his recovery, right? When asked his name, Jude writes that it is Brahms… and that the doll told him this. Of course his parents chalked that up to their son having a great imagination.

Or does he?

 

Jude seems to be growing more and more defiant after presenting his family with the rules according to Brahms. Of course no one in their right minds would go along with such rules. Not to mention it’s only a doll, right? But Liza becomes very concerned when she finds pictures Jude has drawn, showing him standing over the dead bodies of his parents, holding a shot gun. She confides her concerns to Jude’s therapist, with whom he remains in contact via Facetime

Jude tries to tell them that Brahms will hurt them if they don’t follow the rules. Accidents happen, but are they really accidents? Is Jude acting up in Brahms’ name… or is there something more sinister going on?

Liza is determined to get to the bottom of things. They live near a manor house known as Heelshire,

abandoned and desolate. Liza follows Jude there and discovers a small entrance that leads behind the walls. Later, the caretaker/man in the woods tells her about the previous family, whose son killed a young girl and then lived for thirty years behind those walls. What was the boy’s name, she asks. 

Brahms.

Liza knows she has to do something or she’ll lose her son – and maybe her whole family – forever.

This is the sequel to The Boy, which I recently reviewed. And what made the first film interesting has been completely changed, but into what?  ****SPOILERS FOR THE BOY ahead*** In the first film, the doll turned out to be just a doll, and Brahms was actually alive and living in the walls. Much creepier than believing in a strange doll entity, right? But in the second film, there is no such explanation, and it’s all on the doll.

How does that even work? I don’t know, but stretches credulity. The film itself isn’t badly made or directed, despite the thin plot. However, Katie Holmes doesn’t give a particularly strong performance. Christopher Convery as Jude is sufficiently creepy, and so is the caretaker, played by Ralph Ineson, whom I never could decide if he was safe or sound or batshit crazy.

At the end of the film, Liza discovers that this doll goes back a long time, which seems to negate the premise of the first film.  Although the two films share the same director, I think someone else wrote the second, which explains much. I’m not sure what sort of vibe they were going for, but if it was supposed to be scary, it failed. 

Okay, I just read something about the ending explained. Let’s just say, it missed the mark, at least for me. I hope they’re done with this franchise. There are better films to watch. I’ll give this 2.5 stars, and shaky ones at that.