Tag Archives: horror

Saturday is Horror Day #163 – Late Night With the Devil

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Late Night With the Devil

It’s the 70s, and Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) is a late night TV talk show host who is determined to compete against the Tonight Show for ratings. But he never quite succeeds, no matter how hard he tries. He has his own sidekick, Gus (Rhys Auteri), as well as his own band. It’s Halloween, and he has some special guests lined up for the occasion, including a psychic Christou (Fayssal Bazzi), a woman who wrote a book about conversations with the devil, June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and the girl who is the subject of her book, Lilly (Ingrid Torelli) as well as skeptic Carmichael Haig (Ian Bliss). Christou seems fraudulent at first, fumbling with his “psychic” impressions, until he hits on one that resonates with the host. Mysterious afflicted suddenly, Christou is rushed to the hospital, to everyone’s horror.

Lilly comes off as very bratty and an attention-seeker. Haig has an ongoing offer to anyone who can prove

the existence of the supernatural. When the audience clamors to see June bring out the so-called entity inside of Lilly, the one she calls Mr. Wriggles, she reluctantly agrees. And then things get even darker…

When I saw the trailer for this film, I admit I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to see it, hoping I wasn’t seeing all the best scenes. I was not disappointed. This is rather unique in horror films, and very entertaining. It captures the feel of late night talk shows from the 70s, and David Dastmalchian does a great job as the main protagonist. Everyone does well, including the Ed McMahon-like sidekick, Gus, who tries to warn Jack not to meddle with things, that he is in over his head. It’s well-written and well-acted and directed, and leaves you in suspense as to what is going to happen.  I haven’t touched on everything in the film, because I don’t want to give spoilers. I highly recommend this film and I’ll give it 4.25 Stars

Saturday is Horror Day #161 – Victor Frankenstein

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Victor Frankenstein

A young hunchbacked man with no name (Daniel Radcliffe) works for a circus in Victorian England. Although he is abused, and treated like he’s stupid, he secretly studies the subject that interests him – life – in the form of medical books. And he crushes on one of the ladies in the circus, Lorelei (Jessica Brown Findlay). An accident brings him face to face with a medical student in the audience, Victor Frankenstein (James McAvoy), who recognizes the young man’s brilliance and steals him away from the circus. He takes him to his new home, names him Igor, and proceeds to involve him in his experiments, which involve the creation of life itself. Unfortunately for them, a determined policeman, Inspector Turpin (Andrew Scott) is on the case of the missing hunchback and will stop at nothing to find him.

This is the familiar tale of Frankenstein as seen through the eyes of Igor (who, of course, is a completely

original character not from the book). I think it can be considered an origin story as such.  The obsessed Frankenstein manages to find a like-minded patron at the college he somewhat attends, one who is fortunately very wealthy and willing to fund Victor’s research. Having been transformed from being a hunchback, Igor is very grateful for Victor and his friendship. But he begins to wonder about the ethics of what they are doing. Also, who is this Igor he is named after, and where is he?

The film is very creative in sets and design, the writing and directing are good, but, at least for me, it didn’t quite make it. Something fell just a little flat, although I’m not sure I can put my finger on what. Perhaps it didn’t quite make me believe, didn’t ground me in its reality. While Daniel Radcliffe is good as Igor, his transition from supposed circus idiot to brilliant biologist was a little too quick to be really believable. McAvoy’s Frankenstein is a little two-dimensional, and reveals nothing of the person beneath until we get to the story of his brother at the end, and that’s just too little too late. Andrew Scott’s Inspector Turpin (sorry, I keep wanting to say Moriarity lol) is sufficiently obsessed and off his rocker  as well as being a religious fanatic who thinks they are doing the work of Satan, but he doesn’t ring quite true to me.

At what I believe to be the heart of this story is the question of science vs morality – just because we know how to do it, should we? Or are there things that are better left alone, such as the creation of life? Of course, there is no definitive answer as this is the lead-in to the Frankenstein story itself, which explores that theme as well.  Was it worth watching. Yes, but it wasn’t quite the film I had hoped for, despite a great cast. I’ll give this film 3.5 Stars.

Saturday is Horror Day #96 – Cannibal Holocaust

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Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Cannibal Holocaust

A documentary crew disappears in the Amazon rainforest. Professor Monroe (Robert Kerman) heads up a rescue mission to find them. Following their trail, they discover the footage that was taken by the missing film crew. And watching that film leads to an understanding of what happened to the four filmmakers.

This film is told in documentary style, but of course it isn’t true. However, what it is is pretty disturbing and very violent. And from what I read, although no actors were harmed during the making of this film, and all the blood is fake, but apparently some animals did actually die. Keep in mind this was made in 1980, so I’ll guess the standard disclaimers of no animals being harmed was not a thing.

Watching the found footage, there is little doubt as to why these people met the fate they did. What is

less clear is why they did what they did. There is a lot of savagery here – and not all on the part of the cannibals. Of course there is cannibalism, but also rape, torture, murder… This is a difficult film to watch, and it’s not what I would call entertaining. It’s truly horror for the sake of horror. Know this going into it – there are no happy endings here. Makes me wonder what The Green Inferno is like, which is mentioned in this film more than once. Not the film, but I guess a place.

At any rate, if you have a strong stomach and want to see why this film was originally banned give it a try. I’ll give it 3 Stars but won’t ever watch it again. Once was enough.

Saturday is Horror Day #3 – The Hamiltons, Bad Match, and Dog Soldiers (x-posted at Full Moon Dreaming)

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Reviewed by: Julie Lynn Hayes

The Hamiltons is a 2006 horror film written and directed by the Butcher Brothers, aka Mitchell Altieri and


Phil Flores. Following the unexpected death of their parents, four siblings are left to fend for themselves the best way they can. As a result, they constantly move from place to place, never staying too long in any one location. That’s for the best, for they can’t afford to let anyone discover their family secret.

David is the oldest. He works outside the home. After him are the twins, Wendell and Darlene, who give new meaning to the idea of twinship. Francis is the youngest, a teenager still in school. He hates the constant moving, and he hates what they are. He doesn’t want to be like them, not for anything.

 

Wendell meets two young women who are traveling across the country for fun. Which, of course, makes them perfect targets as no one will realize they’re missing for a long time. Wendell brings them home for a little taste of Hamilton hospitality. A terrified Dani can’t help but wonder what is hidden behind that locked door. The sounds that come from there are horrific…


The Hamiltons is a slightly different twist on a familiar theme. The sensitive Francis videos every chance he gets. One wonders what he intends to do with all this footage, if anything.  I didn’t guess the Hamiltons’ secret until close to the end. It’s not what I would call a great film, but I’ve seen worse. The acting is half-way decent, if not exactly stellar. The writing holds its own. All in all it’s an interesting hour and a half. I might give it 2 1/2 or 3 stars, somewhere in there. I have to admit I did focus on the scenes with the twins, which were a little intense.

The Hamiltons gives family dining a whole new meaning…

Just found out there’s a sequel, The Thompsons. Will Review that once I get it and watch it.

Bad Match (2017)

Harris (Jack Cutmore-Scott) is a real love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy. As he explains his philosophy


to his friend Chuck, the more he swipes right on the dating app (which I assume is meant to be Tinder), the greater likelihood he’ll end up with a date. Good ol’ Harris stands for one and done. Beyond a lot of sex, he has no use for his conquests, and invariably sneaks out in the middle of the night. What he really enjoys is playing online games and making fun of the teenager he plays with.

Enter Riley. Riley is one of Harris’ conquests. The difference is she wants more than he is willing to give. And she doesn’t seem to understand that he is rejecting her. It’s not that he deliberately tries to hurt the women he sleeps with, but Harris just doesn’t care enough to get involved.

 

When Riley won’t leave him alone, he doesn’t know what to do to get her out of his life, so resorts to cruelty. But when she mentions suicide, he reluctantly steps in. And finally she gets the picture.


Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

And now bad things are happening to Harris. This isn’t funny any more. How the hell is he going to get out of this mess?

This is basically a one-note film about a guy who is a player and the girl he hurt who wants him to feel her pain. Yeah, we get it. Harris is a bad boy and he shouldn’t use women like that. But how far should someone who’s been hurt be willing to go to make her point? The film is just under an hour and a half and builds up to an unexpected twist. Even so, the reveal isn’t enough to save this film from being less than stellar. I’ll give it 2.5 stars and call it a day.

My final review for today is for a 2002 film called Dog Soldiers

Private Cooper (Kevin McKidd, Rome) is a soldier trying to get on with an elite group of soldiers led


by Captain Ryan (Liam Cunningham, Davos of Game of Thrones). But when he refuses to shoot a dog on command, he finds himself assigned to Sergeant Wells (Sean Pertwood, Alfred Pennyworth of Gotham) instead. Wells and his men are assigned to participate in war games in a remote wooded area, far from anywhere. The soldiers swap stories, such as the one about the couple who were killed in this area, and the condition in which they were found. 

The men begin to hear unnerving noises in the middle of the night, something that sounds inhuman or otherworldly. When they come across the slaughtered remains of another troop, they realize something is not right here. In the midst of the dead, they find Captain Ryan, who is injured and not quite right

 

Something is in the woods, and it’s preying on the soldiers. Momentarily rescued by a young woman, they hole up in a nearby farmhouse. If they can stay alive until dawn, they might have a chance of coming out of this alive.


I’d heard about this film a long time ago, just didn’t get around to watching it until now. I liked it, even if I was spoiled for it long ago. The story is different, and well-written, the acting good. I especially like the main characters, Pertwee, McKidd, and Cunningham. Be aware that there is a lot of blood and gore, so this might not be for the faint-hearted. It’s a unique take on an old monster story, and it’s not without its twists and turns. (Of course, if you study the posters for this film, you can get an idea of what you’re in for).

I would give this a solid four stars. It’s well worth the watch.