Tag Archives: Lin Shaye

Saturday is Horror Day #192 – Grace: The Possession, Sympathy for the Devil

Leave a reply

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Grace: The Possession

Born to a mother who died afterwards, Grace (Alexia Fast) has been raised by her grandmother Helen (Lin Shaye). Eighteen years later, she is off to college and more than a little nervous, having little actual experience with people. Her new roommate is rather forward and outgoing, and introduces Grace to a few of her friends, but Grace finds herself quickly left behind. It doesn’t help when her grandmother calls to admonish her for not taking the Bible with her when she packed for college. Luckily, Grandma has corrected that oversight.

To be honest, I didn’t get any farther than this. The camerawork was driving me crazy, done from Grace’s POV, and Grace herself was a very uninteresting character. Not much to say other than I didn’t care for it and never watched far enough to see Lin Shaye, who was in the Conjuring series.  Oh well, can’t win them all. I recommend skipping this one.

Sympathy for the Devil

A man (Joel Kinnaman) is driving to the hospital to join his wife, who is in labor with their second child, the first having died in childbirth. He is naturally anxious about the pending birth and wants to be with his wife. But he is unexpectedly joined by a man with bright red hair (Nic Cage) who tells him to simply drive. And by the way, he has a gun….

I’ll be honest with you, there is only one reason to watch this film – if you are a fan of Nic Cage, as I am. His performance is high energy cray-cray at its finest. I was actually misled by the title, assuming Nic Cage was playing the devil in human form, but such was not the case. There are some tricks and twists to this film, which is mercifully short, but not of that compares to watching Nic at work. This all takes place in and around Las Vegas. I didn’t like the Driver, he was very weak and uninspiring, but I absolutely loved Nic. If you want to see this, see it for Nic. If you aren’t a fan, you might as well skip it.

I’m giving this film 3 Stars, purely because I love Nic Cage.

Sorry, not exactly winners this week. Better luck next time. Feel free to make suggestions for films you want to see reviewed.

Saturday is Horror Day #74 – Trollhunter, The Grudge 4: The Untold Chapter

Leave a reply

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Trollhunter

Johanna (Johanna Mørck) and Thomas (Glenn Erland Tusterud) are film students at a college in Norway. A series of unexplained mysterious bear killings leads to their discovery of a man they suspect is behind the deaths. But Hans (Otto Jespersen) is no ordinary hunter, and bears are not his game. It’s his job to control the troll population of Norway and keep people safe from them. Looks like Johanna and Thomas are about to film the movie they never dreamed of…

I have to admit I was intrigued when I saw the trailer. Trolls are not your typical movie villains, although popular in Scandinavian culture. This is another found footage film. If you watch the movie, you’ll see why. The special effects are pretty amazing. Sometimes it’s hard to believe there aren’t really such creatures roaming the planet. They looked pretty damn real.

The students are both dedicated and brave…braver than me. I’d have been gone after the first sighting, I

have to admit. Those trolls are terrifying. The movie is fast paced and well filmed. I was curious to see what else the director has done. To my surprise, I found he directed The Autopsy of Jane Doe, with Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch, which I saw and thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t believe I reviewed it, so maybe I’ll have to watch it again. I think I’ll give Trollhunter 4 Stars.

The Grudge 4: The Untold Chapter

Fiona Landers (Tara Westwood) hurries home to the US from her job in Tokyo because her family needs her. Little does she know she’s bringing a curse along with her.

Okay, that’s the short version. This is how they continue the series, although the curse was already brought to Chicago in the film before this, but that isn’t brought up. This film takes place over three different timelines, which eventually intersect, much like the original film. But if you don’t know this, it makes it hard to follow. I finally just looked it up on Wikipedia so I’d know what was going on.

Despite some of the people involved, such as Demian Bechir, John Cho, and Lin Shaye, this film didn’t cut it for me. I didn’t find it scary, rather tedious. Makes you wonder why are you still making these films? It’s only an hour and a half, feels longer. I’ll give it a grudging 2 Stars, basically for Demian and John and Lin. Watch at your own peril.