Quench My Thirst

Day three is over, thank God. If you would like to hear about day two, and find out how I liked Shutter, you can head over to Top Horror Movies Club in order to read about it. I actually didn't do much today at the convention. I walked around for a while, and eventually got an autograph by Bill Moseley for a friend of mine. I can be a very nice person sometimes. I talked to Bill for a little while, since I was the only one at his table at the time. Told him how much I liked The Devil's Rejects, to which he said that was a very satisfying film. He also told me that he liked working with Rob Zombie. After I talked to Bill, I went looking for Zach Parker, the director of Quench (2007). Since his film is truly independent, like his other film Inexchange, I'm more than happy to write up a review for it. I was hoping to get to talk to him, and possibly set up an interview as well. At the time I went looking for him, I didn't see him the other two days (I think because I was looking at the wrong place), his film was showing again, so I think he was there. Since I was feeling burned out, and really there isn't much to do there once you have looked at everything and watched all the movies, I decided to take off, and have a good meal (something not fast food in other words) with some people that I met there at the convention. A friend of mine that I ran into yesterday, who was planning on staying longer, said he would talk to Zach for me, which he says he did. So if all goes well, I hope to have an interview going with Zach shortly. If you should read this Zach, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you in person, and hope you understand.

Quench starts off with us meeting Derik (Bo Barrett), who is returning to Indiana after being away in college. We learn that he has experienced a personal tragedy while away, and is looking for someone to possibly talk to. He turns to Jason (Ben Schmitt), Derik's best friend for nine years. Jason has changed some over the years though. He is married to Veronica (Samantha Eileen DeTurk), and is part of a family. The family doesn't like outsiders, they are afraid that the outsiders will see what they do as wrong. Gina (Mia Moretti), who is also part of the family, takes a liking to Derik though. Will the family drive Derik away, or will Jason and Derik overcome their differences and become friends once again?

Quench doesn't pretend to be a horror movie, but there are small hints to being one, here and there. It is a drama, and is listed as such, with no horror tag given to it. This was the first film shown Saturday, and the first Sunday. In fact, it was one of only two films shown a second time for Sunday, Martyrs being the other one. It was great that Zack Parker was sitting with everyone watching his film with us. It would have been nice to have a Q&A at the end of the film, but can't have everything I guess. With his film Inexchange, I had some issues with the sound, so I ended up giving it a lower rating because of that. I'm happy to say that I had no such issues with Quench, outside of the room making the sound hollow at times, which could make it hard to hear. But that wasn't the film's fault. I had that issue with all the films shown there. Much like Inexchange, Quench is big on character development. As much as I enjoyed that, it did seem like it was taking forever for anything interesting to happen. We meet the family, and discover what is going on there, which is more than just the goth look. The climax at the end gave me a "that's it?" feeling, once it came around. I guess I was expecting more of a horror film, since it was being shown at a horror convention. Still, I think that Quench does improve over Inexchange. Lets hope the next film improves even more.

Not a lot as far as effects, but I wasn't really expecting much. A few cuts, and a severe beating at one point, is about all you will find. Both looked very well done though. The acting was hit and miss for me. Each actor does a good job with their role, but each felt a little off to me at times. It was never what I would call bad acting, just off a little. Mia Moretti became my favorite actor out of the bunch. The interaction between Mia and Bo Barrett is fun to watch. You get the sense that Bo's character wants to belong, but because of the things he sees going on, he isn't so sure about it. Plus his past demons come into play as well. Not too many people showed up for the movies they showed on Friday. Saturday was a different story though, except for Mum & Dad, which barely had ten people watching. The crowd for Quench seemed to enjoy the movie rather well. Everyone laughed at the right moments, and I believe cringed at the right moments as well.

From what I remember of Inexchange, Quench has improved. It is a well shot film, with some very cool looking sets. It still has a low budget feel to it, but not as bad as what I seem to remember from the other film. Quench isn't really my type of film, but I have to admit that it wasn't all that bad. If you like dramas, and especially if you are into the goth scene, this is one for you to check out. I would have liked to have had more things happening, but that is me. Give this one a look sometime, it is out on DVD.
3 out of 5 At least drinking blood is gross

No Trespassing Please

I'm back after my first day at HorrorHound Weekend. Thanks to a ton of delays, plane was delayed, took forever to get a rental car, got caught in rush hour traffic, we ended up being a little late to the convention. I had a half hour before the first movie, Alien Trespass (2009), started. With that in mind, I did a quick lap around the convention floor, to see if there was anything I just had to check out. Went by the guests, and spotted the likes of Corey Haim, Derek Mears, Jason Mewes, Bill Moseley, John Saxon, and Adrienne Barbeau. After our lap around, we decided to see what was in the middle of the floor. To my utter surprise, there sat Amy Steel! She was not on any of the guest lists I had seen before the trip. There was a small line of people waiting for an autograph, so I headed to the movie instead of getting in line. Right after the movie, since I had a good 25 minutes before the next one, I went straight to get in line for Amy Steel. Since I didn't take a lot of money with me, I don't have a lot at the moment, I wasn't planning on getting any autographs. I had to make an exception with Amy though. I never thought I would actually get to meet her, and there she was. I got to talk to her for a short while, told her how much I enjoyed her work, how Friday The 13th Part 2 is probably my favorite of the series, and even told her I really liked April Fool's, which she seems to like a lot as well. This alone has made my weekend. This was part of my first day. The other part was taking in two movies. There were actually three screenings, but they didn't show much of Halloween: The Happy Haunting Of America, since it is a three hour documentary. I have two reviews then. The other, Shuttle, I will write up over at Top Horror Movies Club sometime tomorrow. If I'm not to tired that is, I have six movies to get through tomorrow.

Alien Trespass starts off with a news reel about events happening in the year 1957. One of the news items talks about a film, Alien Trespass, that has been ordered to be destroyed by the studio. Since some of the news items seem to fight with the plot of the movie, I was never sure if Alien Trespass is supposed to something like a true story from that time period, or if we are watching the supposedly lost film. Either way, we then go on to meet Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack), an astronomer. He is having a cook out with his wife, Lana (Jody Thompson), when they see shooting stars. One of these "stars" happens to be a flying saucer, that is having some problems. Meanwhile, we meet Penny (Sarah Smyth) and Dick (Andrew Dunbar), boyfriend and girlfriend, that are parked out on lover's point. The saucer, now covered in flames from entering Earth, flies over their car, and crashes somewhere in the mountains behind them. Ted eventually is able to get away from his wife to go investigate, and finds the space ship. Upon entering the ship, he is grabbed by something, and then later comes out, claiming to be someone named Urp. Urp is looking for an alien that could destroy all humans, if left to do so. Of course, only Urp can save us all.

From the trailer that I posted last week, I assumed that Alien Trespass wasn't going to be much of a horror film. I'm glad that this was the first film they showed, since I was right about it. Since it was shown at a horror convention though, I'm still going to review it. Alien Trespass is more of a throwback to the 1950's science fiction movies. It pokes fun at the 50's culture some, like showing two beds in Ted's bedroom. The plot is easy to follow, and a bit easy to figure out what is going to happen. I think people were a little disappointed with the ending of the film. When it reached its big climax, I heard a few people say "Oh come on." I guess some people are just getting a little tired of the happy ending rule. One thing I really liked though is the teens in the film decided to go see The Blob (even though it was actually released a year later, but we won't be picky about that will we?). The events it shows in The Blob, with the blob attacking a movie theater, parallel the events in our movie in a way. While there are deaths to be found, they all take place off camera, and are pretty uneventful as well.

Not a whole lot as far as effects. The main alien, Urp, is shown in his natural state, and reminded me of something that can be found in a few other sci-fi films from around that time period. Metallic looking and very tall. The alien he is after is a little hard to describe. It has one big eye, and seems to use one tentacle to grab things with. It can seemingly disappear when it needs to. The rules around this alien are rather confusing. It can apparently pass through objects while invisible, since we never see doors open or anything like that. When it is visible, it has to open doors. We only see one death sort of happening. One of the police officers is being pulled to the alien, and when he touches the main body of the alien, we see this goop start coming out of his pants legs. That is all that is left of people that are killed by the alien you see, a puddle of goop.

The acting is a little corny, but I think that is the way R.W. Goodwin, the director, wanted it. I guess it does fit the genre, and time period, well as far as the acting goes. Jenni Baird plays the part of a waitress that ends up helping Urp the most. Aaron Brooks plays the best friend of our two main teenagers. Dan Lauria plays the Chief of police. And the cast is rounded out by Robert Patrick, who plays one of the officers. I was probably more impressed with the last two, more than the rest of the cast, because they seemed to act more like I would expect people to act, until towards the end of the film anyway.

I wasn't all that impressed by Alien Trespass. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving it a "bad" rating because it isn't a true horror film. If I still like the film, I will give it credit for just that. It might be true that I would have liked it better as a horror movie, but then again, I might not have. If you like these type of throwback films, you might consider catching this one once it hits DVD. The only other review I could find for it, so far, thought that this was an average film, but above average for this type of film. For me though, just isn't my cup of tea, so to speak.
2 out of 5 At least there was a little puddle left by a little girl

Interview: Kimberly Amato

In honor of Under The Raven's Wing being released to DVD, I decided to go ahead and post the interview that I started with Kimberly Amato. Kimberly plays the lead role in the film, that of the character Raven. After I did my review for their film, I didn't have a poster for it. Kimberly emailed me a picture of the poster that I could use for the review, since Susan wasn't feeling too good at the time. After I finished my interview with Susan, I was throwing the idea around of doing an interview with Kimberly as well. I said something to Susan about it, and she thought I should go for it. Since I had Kimberly's email address, I did just that. That will teach you to email someone Kimberly!

One thing I learned about Kimberly during the interview, is how great of a person she is. I balk at doing interviews, I guess because I'm not someone that does this type of thing for a living. When I decided to start doing interviews, it was a big step for me. So far everyone has been super nice about the interviews. Granted I knew Terry before his interview, so that helped a lot right there. I have to give special thanks to Kimberly, and Susan, though. They didn't know me at all, but over the weeks, months, and even years since the interviews, they have become more than just someone I know over the net to me. In between questions and answers, we would get to talking about different things. It was a real pleasure getting to know them both, and I hope we are able to keep in touch.

Sadly, I never completed this interview. Between college, swimming, and whatever else that would come up, it would take weeks, if not months, between questions sometimes. It is completely my fault, and I apologize to everyone for that. The interview was almost done actually, so if Kimberly is interested still, maybe I can throw in a couple more questions to finish it properly. As it is, I think it is still a good interview. If we should finish it up, I will let you all know when I update this post. Until that time, enjoy what is here. I will stop running at the fingers, and give you Kimberly Amato.

Heather Santrous: Hi Kimberly. I wish to thank you for doing this interview with me. I have read about you on your site, and in another interview you did. I also know you a bit from talking with Susan Adriensen. For those that read my blog but don't know you, would you mind telling us about yourself?

Kimberly Amato: Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Heather. As for your reading public, I am an actress, writer and producer. Currently, you can catch Under the Raven's Wing which is hitting various film festivals across the country. I portray the lead "Raven" in Susan Adriensen's project.

HS: Speaking of Under The Raven's Wing, as I understand it you needed to audition for the role of Raven. How did you hear about the film?

KA: There's a funny little note about the original casting. I have been saying for some time that I saw saw the casting listed on nycastings.com and decided to submit my old headshot. Yes, I sent in my old headshot, but it was Susan who actually found me on NYCastings.com. I actually found the original email asking me to submit. Funny right? Anyway, I couldn't attend the first round of auditions in New Jersey, but I was given an audition time on a Wednesday in NYC. It was the hottest day of the summer and the air felt so thick. I was not dressed for the audition at all. I was totally dressed down, my hair was up in a ponytail and I had no make-up on. I swear it would have melted off my face if I tried. In the end, I just sucked it up and went. I think it worked out for the best.

HS: I agree with you. Your performance was wonderful and one of the things I really enjoyed about Under The Raven's Wing. I think I remember reading another interview that you did and you stated that this was your first acting job. Am I remembering that correctly, and why did you decide to try out for the part of Raven?

KA: Oh gosh no, you might have confused me with another cast member. I've been performing in various projects for awhile now. As far as my decision to submit for Under the Raven's Wing, it looked like a very interesting job. I mean the casting notice mentioned a psychotic, dark character who can also be very loving. I always like playing the darker characters with more than one dimension to them. I didn't think too much beyond that in case I was never called in to audition.

HS: I'm sorry, I thought I did read that. I know I would like to see other movies that you have been in. Could you tell us the what other projects you have worked in?

KA: Not to worry, I know how difficult it is to stay on top of all the actors in our film. As far as other films you could see, I have clips up on my website and some on youtube.com. There are two shorts that I wrote, starred in and produced with Lights Point Cinema, that should be hitting film festivals this fall. There is also a television pilot that should be hitting festivals as well called Something Blue. Other than that, there are a bunch of short films I starred in, but none of them are available to the public at this time.

HS: I will be sure to check out everything. You have me interested, since I really enjoyed your performance in Under The Raven's Wing. In my interview with Susan, she talked about your audition. I would like to hear your side of it. How did you think it went? Did you think going in that you would get the part?

KA: I'm glad you enjoyed the film and my performance. It is very gratifying to hear that your work is appreciated. My audition, it was very different from anything else I have experienced. As I mentioned earlier, I was not dressed to impress. I walked in, sat down and was asked if I was reading for "Angel." I was so nervous and mentioned I was there for the character of "Raven." After a brief discussion, I read the sides with Brian Jude portraying the male character. Somehow we got into a conversation about my acting choices. We spoke about the character breakdown I made days before the audition. I followed a psychological breakdown I used during my studies for my masters degree. It was a relaxed discussion about points of view, background of the script and characters. It honestly felt like I was spending time with Susie my friend from high school having a normal conversation. When I left, I honestly didn't think I had the part. I felt due to the relaxed nature of the audition/interview, that meant that I was not going to get the role. Obviously, I was very wrong.

HS: It is nice to be wrong sometimes isn't it? You mentioned a masters degree. Would you care to elaborate on that?

KA: Oh yes, sometimes being wrong is wonderful. As for my degree, I received a masters degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

HS: Okay, I have to ask. How did you go from Forensic Psychology to acting? Does one fit into the other and thus makes it easier?

KA: Surprisingly enough, I found the jump to be rather easy. I had always wanted to continue acting in some fashion regardless of my paying job. When I got my degree, I decided to start using everything I learned during my years of schooling to develop the characters better. When I auditioned for Raven, I actually made a profile for her based on a psychological evaluation. It was something I use when auditioning, in order to get an understanding for a character based on what little the casting directors give you. Sometimes, like in the case of Raven, I was pretty close to who she was as a person. Other times I have been way off. It doesn't make acting any easier, but it prepares me for whatever tests an casting director might throw at me during an audition.

HS: After watching the film, I was really impressed with your acting. It was one of my favorite things about the film. It makes me wonder though, since you did such a great job of being Raven, was it hard to become her when it came time to do so?

KA: Yes and no. I had a music play list on my mp3 player with various songs from Evanescence, Linkin Park and a bunch of others Susan and I had chosen. They helped get me begin to get into Raven. That coupled by the make-up was enough. That being said, sometimes it was more difficult to become her. During shooting days or the most intense sequences, I isolated myself. I would sit alone to the side of production, and go through everything Raven had gone through in her life, to get to where she was at that moment. That coupled with the music brought me to the emotional state I needed to be in.

HS: I know that Susan created all of the characters, including Raven. What did you try and bring to the role that wasn't already on paper?

KA: Susan gave me such a wonderful foundation for developing Raven. This answer might sound cliche, but I just brought her to life the best way I knew how. I wrote up a psychological profile for her and created a huge back story with names, situations etc. Susan allowed me to voice my opinions on wardrobe, and other things that would help make the character more real. Beyond that, I tried to showcase her torment trapped inside her soul. Susan gave me such leeway with the performance aspect that I fell into the character and just became her.

HS: I'm sure people that have watched the film has told you what a great job you did at becoming Raven. Was there a scene, or scenes, that proved hard for you to get through?

KA: The most difficult scene was in the kitchen, when Raven was discussing her past. It really required me delving deep into my darkest emotions and holding them there, for as many takes as necessary. The entire section ranges from joy to tears to pure anger. Although it comes off well on screen, due to excellent direction, editing and performance - it was something I took home with me at the end of the day.

HS: I don't want to compare you to other actors, but I have noticed that Heath Ledger said much the same as you. That after filming The Dark Knight, it was something that he took home with him. Given both of your performances, I'm wondering if it is the mark of a great actor.

KA: The Dark Knight, what an amazing film. There was so much I learned from watching Heath Ledger's performance. I'm not sure if all actors go through the same thing. I will admit I had issues letting go of some things during shooting. Specifically, the kitchen scene. Raven talks about being molested and abandoned. At the end of the day, I felt so lost. It was hard to let those emotions go. I went home, sat in a chair and stared at nothing. The shifts of her emotions were so great, I needed to dig deep to get to that point. There is always some part of that scene that I will always carry with me.

HS: On the flip side of my last question, what are your favorite memories about the film?

KA: Principle photography being complete! I'm just kidding. There are so many moments that I would take with me, but one moment stands out more than others. Susie wanted Raven to be sitting in a trance in the bathtub. Sounds easy right? Not a chance. I laughed every time the camera came in. I couldn't contain myself. It felt so absurd flexing every muscle in my neck and rolling my eyes back. I would try to focus on anything to stop myself from laughing - I failed. In the end, I had to bite the inside of my cheeks very hard to get a few good takes. I have to admit I still laugh hysterically when I see the scene on film. Susie has amazing patience!

HS: As you know, I interviewed Susan as well. I got to know her while talking to her, much like I have with you. I was wondering, what it was like working with Susan?

KA: Susan is simply amazing. She's a talented and versatile filmmaker, who always listens to her cast and crew. She was very open to my interpretation of Raven and her actions. Even if those ideas were not exactly as she had written the character on paper, she respected me enough to listen. In fact, during shooting if any actor brought up an interesting idea, she would record a take to see how it worked. Sometimes it looked good, other times not so much, but she allowed us to express our gut instincts. Her direction was simply stellar, and I am a better filmmaker after working with her.

HS: I admit that I was nervous before I started to interview Susan, but she always came across very friendly. Glad to know she is like that while working as well. You earned the title of Producer. How did that come about?

KA: Yeah, Susie is a trip to work with. As for the producer credit, I actually did a lot of work during the film regarding press, designing the website and a bunch of other things. I had actually produced a lot of my own projects, so it was second nature to me. I just appreciated Susie allowing me to get more involved with the project.

HS: I know some actors don't like to watch themselves on screen. Are you like that as well? What is it like to see yourself on screen?

KA: To be truly honest, watching myself on screen is torturous for me. No matter how good the performance is, or if everything is exactly as the director wanted - it's very difficult to watch. I am my worst critic, so I start to question myself on screen. Like, "Why did I roll my eyes there?" or "Why did I deliver that line like that?" It's especially uncomfortable when there are other people watching the film with me. I'm always very concerned about other people's view on my performance. If I could avoid seeing myself, I would. However, in this industry you have to do it eventually, so I do my best to deal with it by accepting that my job is done and I can't change it.

HS: It is easy to second guess yourself. I do it often too, with my writing and swimming. You talked about some other films earlier that you are in, what have those roles been like?

KA:I have been blessed to have been cast in a variety of roles ranging from a British exchange student with a horrible job in Weekend Rental, to the sexy lesbian bartender in the TV pilot Something Blue. Each one has been very rewarding and challenging in it's own right. Hopefully, these same challenging roles continue to come my way.

HS: A "sexy lesbian bartender" you say? That sounds like an interesting role. Any word on the pilot yet?

KA: Yeah, see what happens when friends see a screening of your work? You are dubbed with a title, and never live it down. I know the pilot was covered in Curve Magazine, and the most up to date information on the pilot is available on the website: http://circlesoffireproductions.com/.

Going To Edbrook Manor

Another day, another review. When will it end? Not for a while if movies have their way with me. Tonight I put in Haunted (1995), which I believe Jed suggested to me a while back. He couldn't recall the name of the film at the time, but what he described to me sounded like this film. If I'm wrong, then please correct me. I picked the wrong time to try and watch a movie though. With little kids running around, crying, and doing other little kid things, it was a little hard to stay focused on the movie at times. No I wasn't babysitting, but my roomie was. Why she couldn't go over to their house is beyond me, but I sure wish they had. It also made me glad I don't have any of my own. I'm always being told it is different when they are your kids, since you love them (aww). Do I want to find out though? Not really.

Haunted starts out with a young brother and sister. The brother is trying to fish, while the sister is being a pain. The brother gets tired of it and starts to chase his sister. As they run though, it is obvious this is something they have done before, since they are laughing and having a good time. The brother catches his sister by her dress as they cross a wooden plank, but she manages to pull away. When she does though, she loses her balance, hits her head on a rock, and falls into the little stream that the plank is over. The brother dives in after her, but is unable to find her amongst all the weeds. After his twin sister's death, the family moves away. Many years later, David (Aidan Quinn) returns to England as a professor of psychology at the University of Camberley. During his time away from the University, David travels to haunted houses and visits mediums in order to debunk them. He has even written a book about it all. It is this book that an elderly nanny, Miss Webb (Anna Massey), reads. She writes to David, and asks him for his help, since she truly believes the house she lives in is haunted. David accepts, since he feels he will be helping this lady out more than anything. Once he arrives, he soon learns that she isn't living alone. She lives with Christina (Kate Beckinsale), Robert (Anthony Andrews), and Simon (Alex Lowe), who are siblings that the nanny has been taking care of. Will David be able to prove there is no such thing as a haunted house? Or will the secrets of the house prove David wrong?

Haunted is based on a novel, with the same name, by James Herbert. This happens to be one of my favorite horror authors. Stupid me has the book, as least I'm pretty sure I remember buying it, but I have yet to read it. It is my understanding though that the novel is much better than the movie, which has always been the case for me. Even though I have done it before, it really isn't fair to judge a movie while comparing it to the book. Sorry, but the book is always going to win out. After all, a novel can take its time telling a story a lot better than a movie can. Maybe one day I will read the novel, once things have slowed down movie wise, and compare the two more that way. If anyone is interested in that anyway. As far as the movie goes though, this is how I wished the remake of The Haunting had turned out. The plot is a little slow in places, but it keeps you interested enough in figuring out what is going on. I was able to figure out the big twist this time around. It wasn't able to trick me this time, mainly because the nanny gives it away. Just watch how she reacts to certain things, and you will be able to figure it out as well. I wasn't able to figure out why things were going on though.

The effects were kept simple, until towards the end of the movie. It isn't that the effects go over the top really, it is just that I felt like they were getting a little silly with it. Up until the end of the movie, the biggest effect is just a small whirlwind that picks up some powder and takes on an almost human shape. It was a nice effect really. The effects at the end of the film weren't really bad, I just felt they were starting to get a little silly. Faces in flames? Looked kind of cool, but thought it could have been done better. The acting was pretty good. I am just now starting to realize how much of a horror background Kate Beckinsale has. I haven't looked at her filmography, but I can name off five horror movies she has been in now. Not too bad for someone that is a known name in Hollywood. Her role in Haunted is a bit different from other roles she has been in. Some didn't like Aidan Quinn, but I felt he did just fine. They had a good chemistry going on between them most of the time.

As much as I enjoyed Haunted, it felt like it was lacking something. It never came close to scaring me, and I thought it would at least give me a jump scare. I have to give it credit, even though I knew the main twist, it still had me sitting on the edge of my seat while trying to figure out how it all pieced together. You will find some nudity here. I don't believe it is Kate doing the nude scenes though. With some careful editing, it looks like she might be doing it, but I believe a body double was used in all scenes. Someone on IMDb posted a quote from her bio that also fits with the use of a body double. "Tired of playing young innocents, she took the part of the mischievous and possibly malevolent siren in Haunted. Directed by Lewis Gilbert, who'd helmed Alfie and Educating Rita, and co-starring Aidan Quinn and Anthony Andrews, this was a superior ghost story but Beckinsale - quite reasonably - had a problem with the nudity and sex. Though originally a tiny part of the screenplay, this exponentially expanded as shooting began. "I despise that", she said later, just as she despised it at the time, demanding the use of a body double." Even Quinn used a body double in the sex scene. I have no idea why since there is no nudity on his part. Even though I thought Haunted could have been better, I still liked it a lot. If you are into the supernatural, this is a film to catch. From what I have heard about the book though, the plot from the book would have worked a lot better.
4 out of 5 At least the body double looked close in figure to Kate

Invisible Naked Women

Despite CRwM making me blush today, see his blog (And Now The Screaming Starts) to find out why, I'm still ready to do my next review. Luckily for me, this week is spring break! Instead of going anywhere special though, I decided to try and get over my cold. I have never been big on going somewhere for spring break. It is fun, but not really my type of fun. I like to party, I just rather do it with people that I know, for the most part anyway. Plus I have the convention to go to at the end of the week, so it all works out in the end. In between doing a little swimming, not as much as normal though, going to the bank and odd things like that, I managed to watch the next film in the Invisible Man set, The Invisible Woman (1940). Even though it still has a horror tag, on IMDb and other places, I knew going in that this one wasn't a horror film.

The Invisible Woman starts with us meeting Richard Russel (John Howard), a rich playboy, who isn't so rich anymore. It seems he has given away most of his money to the women that have come into his life. Professor Gibbs (John Barrymore) works for Richard, and thinks he has perfected making someone become invisible. He needs someone willing to let him test it though, so he naturally puts an ad in the newspaper for just that. From there we meet Kitty Carroll (Virginia Bruce), a model who works for Growley (Charles Lane). Growley doesn't treat his models very well, and Kitty has had enough of it. Much to Gibbs' surprise, she offers herself up to become invisible. This time around, instead of a drug mixed with other chemicals injected to make the person invisible, it is a machine that Gibbs has invented that makes people invisible. There is still an injection of some chemicals, but that is only half of it. Kitty wants to become invisible in order to get revenge on her boss. Throw in some mob type guys that want the machine as well, and we have ourselves a story.

Since I knew this was a comedy, not a horror film, I wasn't all that disappointed while watching it. The only reason I'm still giving it a review is because it is part of the set. As comedies go, I didn't think it was great, but it did make me laugh at times. Any comedy that can make me laugh isn't all bad. The reason I titled this post the way I did is because they made a big deal about Kitty being nude while invisible. This isn't something I remember being a big deal in the other two films. If it was ever brought up, it was done so in passing. Here, in The Invisible Woman, they said something about it more than a few times. They didn't always come right out with it, but you knew what they were saying all the same. At one point all she puts on is her stockings, so to say they played up the imagination is an understatement. I didn't have any problems with this film, other than it could be a little slow at times.

The mob story added to the overall plot, and helped extend the film's running time. I don't know that it was actually needed, but I did like it for one reason. One of the guys in the little gang was Shemp Howard. Yes I know who he is, and yes I have watched The Three Stooges. It was cool to see him in something outside of that. It was also cool to see John Barrymore, Drew's grandfather. I have watched Drew in many movies, but I think this is the first one I have watched her grandfather in. From what I understand, Virginia Bruce never became a big name actress, but I thought she did a fine job with the lead role. Unlike the other invisible people, we see her visible a few times during the film. Her romantic lead, John Howard, was also good. I can't go without saying something about Charles Ruggles. He also did a very good job, and was given some funny lines at times. The effects are not too bad either. If you pay attention, you can see some wires being used at times. The invisible effects were still being used with black velvet. There is a scene you can see the black velvet when her arms cross her legs. The black velvet stands out when that happens.

Even if I didn't know this was going to be a comedy, the film made it obvious right from the start. With the butler tripping over a bottle, and falling down the stairs. Then the butler opens the door, and gets knocked down doing that. All the same, I am glad I knew beforehand. It is hard to get into a movie when you think it will be a horror movie, and find out it isn't one at all. The Invisible Woman doesn't make a good horror movie, I don't know why it is even labeled as such, but it doesn't make a bad comedy. I didn't find it to be one of the better comedies out there, but it wasn't all that bad either. One of the letters that Gibbs gets, when looking for someone to become invisible, got a good laugh out of me. Not sure if this film should be considered a sequel, maybe more of a spin-off. At least that is what it felt like to me.
3 out of 5 Too bad it wasn't horror, it needs more mad women

Visiting Hell House Remake

With my cold on the ropes, I hope anyway, I sat down tonight to watch the remake of The Haunting (1999) for my 999 Challenge. I could put this movie under two of my categories, but why do that when it just gives me the excuse to watch another movie? A couple of the films I have picked out could be put under more than one category, but that felt like cheating to me. So I picked one category and went looking for a different film to fill the other. I will try to include a few more this week, since this weekend it will have to take a backseat, unless some of the films at the convention fit into a category. I'm looking at, hopefully, nine films for this weekend, so that will make for a lot of writing. Following close in on the heels of those films, comes the release of the new 8 Films To Die For set. I want to work my way through those next, which is why I want to try and get two or three more challenge reviews up during this week. If I'm lucky, maybe I can get four more in before Friday.

The Haunting starts off with us meeting Eleanor (Lili Taylor). She is arguing with her sister, and brother-in-law, over what will happen to the house now that their mother has passed away. Eleanor's sister wants to put it, along with everything in it, up for sale. Eleanor has no place to call her own, so she wants to keep the house. Eleanor feels she has a right to the house since she has been living there, taking care of her mother. Her sister leaves, on a not so good note, and Eleanor gets a call from someone pointing out an ad in the newspaper. The ad is looking for people that have trouble sleeping to volunteers for testing. Then we meet Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson), who is doing the tests. What the test subjects don't know, is that David isn't as interested in why they are having trouble sleeping, as he is in what affects fear will have on them. He gets Eleanor, along with Luke (Owen Wilson) and Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones), to meet up at Hill House. Once there he fills them in on the history of the house some. Is the haunting something that David has made up, or is there something really happening?

The Haunting is directed by Jan de Bont, who is more known for his action movies, and the special effects in his movies. At least as a director anyway. With films such as both Speed films and Twister, would The Haunting be much different? This is where the remake makes its biggest change from the original film. It doesn't have much more action in it, but it does have a ton of effects. The plot, while different as well, does manage to stay somewhat close to the original film. This is how I prefer my remakes actually, different but at the same time there is a nod to the original film as well. Even though it has the markings of a remake I like, it didn't work out so well this time around. In my review for The Last House On The Left, I quoted another review where the person accused the director of the remake of trying to trump the original film in every way. I didn't feel that was true, but I had that feeling when watching The Haunting. The house was more elaborate, the script tried to expand the plot, and the effects went over the top. In other words, it tries too hard. We get rooms that, while looking very cool, never have anything to do with the plot itself. We get a couple of characters that are only there to show the house might actually be haunted, and then they are gone. It is things like this that could have been done differently, or taken out completely, which would have cut some of the almost two hour run time down a little.

The effects are mostly the CGI kind. They didn't look like the bad CGI kind, but they were way over board while doing the different effects. There were some that I thought were pretty neat. Using the shapes of the house to make an evil face looked very cool. Hearing very loud footsteps and seeing the stone shift also looked cool. It would have worked if it had been kept at simple things like that. Instead we get ghostly children showing up everywhere, and a bedroom that comes alive. They actually manage to throw in a gore effect with a beheading! The acting wasn't too bad. I have never been a big fan of Owen Wilson to be honest. I know a lot of people like him, but I never really have. I was a little sad watching Liam Neeson, knowing that his wife passed away a few days ago. I thought that Catherine Zeta-Jones was well cast for this role. She looks somewhat close to Claire Bloom, so that is an added bonus.

Since Lili Taylor never acted scared by the ghostly things that were mostly happening to just her, I had to wonder if things were happening to just her or not. I think the film made it clear though that things were happening, and to everyone in the house. The changes in the story didn't bother me all that much. I didn't really understand why they changed the group to people that can't sleep though. The lesbian angle is still there, but they made it a little more up to date, I guess, by making Theo bi sexual. The basic story remains the same, but they did change things up some. The names of the characters remain the same, expect for the doctor. Eleanor's back story remains the same, but they didn't include the connection with the house this time. Actually they tried to change that connection, and it doesn't work as well this time. The changes didn't bother me too much, I could live with them. But it is the fact that they tried to make it so much better than the original film that did get to me. Sometimes keeping it simple is much better, something they should have taken to heart while making this remake.
2 out of 5 Too bad you can't kill off ghost children

I'm Not Really Here Again

Since my cold has my sleep a little messed up, I decided to watch a movie to pass the time. I ended up watching The Invisible Man Returns (1940), the next film in that series. Towards the end of the film I started to get really hungry, and french toast sure sounded good. So that is what I just finished doing, eating some good french toast. I will probably end up sleeping for a little longer before I finish writing this review, but it will get done. I was a little surprised that I didn't find many reviews on this film. At least not too many linked on IMDb. With this being the first horror film, sorta kinda anyway, that Vincent Price can be found in, I thought maybe more people would be talking about it.

The Invisible Man Returns starts with us learning that Geoffrey Radcliff (Vincent Price) is about to be hanged for a murder he has been found guilty of. He swears he didn't do it though. Frank Griffen (John Sutton), brother of the invisible man from the first film, has agreed to make Geoffrey invisible, so that he can escape and find the real murderer. While he tries to track down the real killer, the police are busy trying to track him down, even if they can't see him. Meanwhile, Griffen is busy trying to find a cure. He has figured out how his brother was able to turn invisible, but he doesn't know how to reverse it yet. Why is this important? On of the drugs used does have that nasty side effect of making people go mad, and want to rule the world.

The Invisible Man Returns is less of a horror movie than the original film, but the sense of urgency was felt a little more in this one. Since Radcliff is as normal as anyone at the start of the film, it is even more important to find the cure. Again it was the effects that drive the film. While there were times I thought the effects weren't done as well this time, I could make out a faint outline, overall I thought that they had improved. Sometimes the outline was done on purpose, like when we could see him in the smoke or rain. Those scenes I could understand and liked them well enough. But then you have the scene with the gun floating in the air that was done with wires. How do you know it was done with wires? Because fifty percent of the time you can see them.

I wonder what people thought of Vincent Price when the film came out. We know what a star he became now. I know he felt he was typecast as a horror actor, not that I really see anything wrong with that. I never really understood why an actor would want to leave a genre or TV show if they were being paid well enough for it. Anyway, I thought that getting Price for this one was a smart move at least. He is another person that is well known for his voice, which is needed since once again we don't actually see him until the end of the film. Nan Grey was also in the film and does an ok job I thought. I'm looking forward to the next film, since it has a woman in the lead role. Seems like the women didn't get very big roles in the first two films.

I didn't feel that The Invisible Man Returns was as good as the original film, but I didn't think it was all that bad either. It was nice hearing Price, and a bit of a shock to see how young he looks at the end of the film. He was a very handsome guy back in the day! I was a little surprised that this one was almost a full length film, at least going by films of today. I have noticed that a lot of the old Universal films are more around the hour mark, whereas this one was almost an hour and a half. Not a bad sequel, but if what Vicar of VHS had to say about the sequels is correct, I'm in for for some bad movies. Look for my next review over at Top Horror Movies Club. I will, hopefully, have a review up there Saturday.
3 out of 5 Thinking guys would only be disappointed if I was invisible in their showers

Movie Reviews Coming Soon

Next weekend I will be going to a horror movie convention. I'm pretty excited about going to it, not only for the guests that will be there, but also because of the films they plan on showing. Since the convention is roughly a week away, I thought I would post what trailers I could find for the films that will be showing there. The films are subject to change, so hopefully these will be there after all. There are a few that I am really excited about getting the chance to watch. I will try and post reviews of each, and every film, here and also at Top Horror Movies Club, so be on the look out for them. I'm not sure how many I will be able to post over that weekend, but I will do my best. Enjoy the trailers!

I Have Been Awarded

Yesterday Holger Haase, over at Hammer And Beyond, was kind enough to grant me the Premio Dardos Award. What made the award doubly special, is that he happened to do this on my birthday. Couldn't have asked for a better time, even if he had planned it. I don't think Holger knew it was my birthday when he passed the award onto me, it was just one of those strange twists of fate. So what is the Premio Dardos Award? The Dardos Awards is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web. Even though Holger is new to my blog, thanks in part to the 999 Challenge, he likes my writing enough to pass the award on to me, along with some others as well.

Like Holger, I don't really consider myself a writer, or a very good one for that matter. Some of my reviews I end up feeling disappointed in after I finish them, and others I feel really proud over. Just about every review I end up forgetting to bring up a point about the film I had meant to talk about. That is what I get for not taking notes I guess. I don't take notes, because I feel like it will take some of the enjoyment out of the movie if I do. Besides, the points I sometimes forget to include aren't really all that important. I'm glad that Holger, and others, enjoy my "work" enough to keep coming back to read more. I try not to sound like a "movie critic," even though I am writing reviews of movies. The simple truth is, I enjoy talking about movies, horror movies more than anything. When I started Mermaid Heather, I was trying to think of a way to do just that, talk about films. I figured the best way was to write reviews, and hopefully people would like them enough to agree or disagree with me, and let me know that. While it doesn't work for every movie, since some are movies most people have never heard of, I still enjoy writing about each film I have reviewed over the years.

Accepting the award is only part of the deal. Since the award is given by bloggers, I'm supposed to pass the award on to those I feel deserve it. Even though I am bad about leaving comments to others on my blog, and comments on other blogs, I do read ever comment left, and every post left on blogs that I like to visit. I am supposed to pass it on to at least five other blogs, and let them know. So with that in mind, in no real order, here is who I have selected to pass the award on to:

And Now The Screaming Starts
The Horror Section
Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies
Black Hole DVD Reviews
Tomb Of The Headless Werewolf
Dr. Gore's Movie Reviews

Thanks again Holger.

Visiting Hill House

For the next movie in the 999 Challenge, I selected The Haunting (1963). I picked this movie for two reasons. One is that I have always heard a lot about it, but I had not gotten around to it yet. The other reason is because I have already watched the remake, so I wanted to compare. It has been a long time since I have watched the remake though, so I will be watching it again shortly. I think I will file it under remakes though, since I can find plenty of other haunted house films to fill my nine movies. Hopefully all the movies I have picked for the challenge actually fit the category. If not, I guess I will just have to find some more movies to watch. I never knew reviewing movies could be such a tough job.

In The Haunting, we are given a short history of Hill House. We are told about the deaths in, or around, the house over the years. Some people think it is the most haunted house around. From there we meet Dr. John Markway (Richard Johnson), who is meeting with the owners of the house, requesting permission to investigate the haunted house with a team. The owners agree, but send Luke (Russ Tamblyn), who is a relative, to be apart of the team. The focus then shifts to the main character of the film, Eleanor (Julie Harris). Eleanor is someone that has a past that mirror some of the events that took place at Hill House. Eleanor has taken care of mother, while her sister lives a more normal life. Now that their mother has passed away, Eleanor lives with her sister, which isn't working out too well. She is looking for a way to get away, and the invitation to be part of this group is something that she jumps at doing. To round out the group, there is Theodora (Claire Bloom). It seems that Eleanor is able to feel things that have already happened, while Theo is able to see into the future. Things go well at first until...well, I will just let you find out for yourself.

I have always heard about The Haunting because it is a film that leaves everything to your mind, meaning that you never actually see anything. While that isn't completely true, it might as well be. The only effect to be found is a door being bent inward. This was done by making a rubber door, which is what I assumed it was, when seeing this effect. People were on the other side of this door pushing on it, giving it the bending look we see in the film. Everything else is just some noises or voices that we can hear, but it is left up to us to decide what they are. I was hoping I would really like this movie. I know it's a classic, considered one by many at least, that leaves things to me to picture what is going on. That is one of the reasons I loved The Blair Witch Project so much. Sadly, I didn't get that same feeling from this film. The only time I felt creepy from things is when Eleanor thought she was still in bed with Theo, and I was under the same impression, and thought someone was holding her hand painfully. Now that was a little scary to me. It is too bad there weren't more things like that, instead of a lot of loud bangs. I also thought the ending was a bit too anticlimactic.

The acting was good, but I was starting to get annoyed with Eleanor. It wasn't the acting, it was just the character. I have a hard time tolerating people that feel the need to vent about the same thing, every time I start to talk to them. Not that I don't care, I just get tired of hearing about it after awhile. Since the character was able to make me feel that way, it goes to show how well the acting was by Julie Harris. Claire Bloom was my favorite here actually. I was surprised at how her character could act so nice one moment, and then say something mean in the next breath. Everyone in this film was good as far as acting really. With a film like this, the acting has to be very good, and it was.

A couple of things I found interesting is that there seemed to be more character development instead of story, and the lesbian overtones that were there. While I would have liked to have seen more character development with the other characters, we did get a lot for our main character, Eleanor. The Haunting gets pretty deep into Eleanor, so that in itself was pretty interesting. I just wish they had found a better way to give us some of that information. The constant voice overs were getting as annoying as her character at times. The lesbian overtones surprised me considering when the movie was made. I know the 1960's are considered a time when there was more sexual freedom, but it still surprised me. It isn't like they were hitting us over the head with it, but it was there. Claire Bloom said that is one of the reasons she decided to play the character of Theo. She was intrigued with playing a woman that was attracted to another woman.

I did enjoy watching The Haunting, but I couldn't get into enough to really love it. Nothing against those that do love this film. I wanted to like it more than I did, but it didn't work out that way for me, this time around. Then again, I am being hit with a head cold at the moment, so maybe that has something to do with it. Sometimes how a movie affects a person all depends on their mood at the time they are watching it. Either way, I'm glad I got to sit down and watch this one at long last. Even though I have other movies in front of it, I think I will watch the remake after watching something from my own collection. That way I can compare a little better, since I will have a stronger memory of this one.
3 out of 5 Wishing I could investigate a haunted house someday

I'm Not Really Here

I promised more reviews, and I'm trying my best to do just that. To update my 999 Challenge, this review will mark my eleventh film, so I just have seventy more to go! Friday I went to the theater to take in The Last House On The Left, which is of course a remake. If you would like to read my review, you can head over to Top Horror Movies Club, and check it out. When I got up today, I was trying to decide which Universal classic set I wanted to start in on. I've had an itch to watch The Invisible Man (1933) for a while now, so that is what I decided on. I don't know why I have been wanting to watch this set, but I learned long ago not to question my reasons behind things like this.

The Invisible Man starts with us watching Jack Griffin (Claude Rains), who's face is all bandaged up, walking in a snow storm to a small town. Once there, he heads to the Inn, and basically demands a room. He leaves instructions to be left alone as well. A week passes, and Jack still hasn't paid any rent, so the owners are considering throwing him out. When they confront Jack over this, he gets angry and throws them out. This leads to the police being brought in, which is when they discover that Jack is actually invisible under all those bandages. Jack has unlocked the secret of being invisible, but he doesn't know how to reverse it. With a few chemicals injected under the skin, Jack slowly turned invisible. What Jack doesn't know is that one of the drugs he is using tends to turn people into mad men. With thoughts of ruling the world, Jack feels he can't be stopped since no one can see him.

The Invisible Man is probably best know for its effects. It was the first time effects of this kind was ever used. To make Claude Rains appear invisible, they used black velvet on the area that would appear to be invisible, and filmed it against a black background. They would film the actual room, and then edit it all together. At times the effect looks a little off, but I was surprised at how well it actually holds up even for today. According to Jack Pierce, who did the effects, the hardest one to do was when Claude Rains was standing in front of a mirror while unwrapping the bandages. This required them to edit together four filmed shots. The acting, while over the top at times, was also very good. Even though we only see Claude Raines once in the whole film, he does manage to have a screen presence thanks to his voice. According to the documentary included on the DVD, as soon as James Whale heard Claude's voice, he knew he had his man for the role. Most people, including me, seemed to be annoyed by Una O'Conner, Jenny the inn keeper's wife. James Whale loved her performance, as he thought it added some much needed comedy. While her performance was funny at times, I found that it was the way Forrester Harvery, the inn keeper, played off her performance that was the true comedy. He looks like he is in more pain hearing her screams, than he is from falling down the stairs. Gloria Stuart plays the love interest. William Harrigan plays the rival, so to speak, who Jack seems to trust for some reason.

I enjoyed watching The Invisible Man, but at no point did I feel like I loved this one. While the effects are fun, it did get rather boring watching things seemingly move around on their own. With all of Jack's grand plans of taking over the world, he never really seems to do anything about it. Only picking on people that are searching for him. Why not just take off to somewhere else, partner or no partner? I know he is mad, but that just seems like a lame excuse to me. I guess his being mad would also account for the random person he would kill. Even though he is invisible, he leaves behind a trail of dead bodies, so everyone knows he is around. It makes no real sense why he would turn visible again once he dies. But I guess that complaint is like saying he would be blind if he were truly invisible. Just have to go with it I guess.

I can see why people like The Invisible Man. If you are more interested in acting than anything else, this will make a good movie for you. With Claude Rains having to express things with mainly just his voice, it explains why it is a little over the top at times. Even though I only liked this movie, not that that is a bad thing, I'm still looking forward to the next film in the set. I'm just not sure how "horror" these movies are going to be.
3 out of 5 Thinking I would be sneaking into shower rooms if I were invisible

MIWTS: Orphan

This trailer was on before The Last House On The Left for a movie called Orphan. There was also a trailer for Drag Me To Hell, which I will probably check out at some point, but didn't look all that interesting to me. If you would like to see that trailer though, just click on my link for The Horror Section, since Jay was kind enough to post the trailer on his blog. I don't know how good Orphan will end up being, but with a kid appearing to hurt other kids in the trailer, it can't be all bad. Enjoy!

Creatures In The Underworld Part Two

Since things have slowed down for me a little, and I need to catch up on getting some reviews in, I sat down to watch Underworld: Evolution (2006) tonight. Before I get into the review itself, I will say that this one surprised me some. I will get into that a little more later though. Looking ahead slightly, if all goes according to plan today (haha), I will be going to The Last House On The Left. If not today, I will be going this weekend for sure. I will be reviewing that film over at Top Horror Movies Club as part of my 9 Remakes. From there I will work on other movies I have added as part of the 999 challenge from Netflix. I will also mix in films that fit from my own collection, mainly Universal films and Masters Of Horror. Once I run out of those, I don't know if I will work completely on the challenge, or work in other films as well. I guess I will see how long it takes me to get to that point, and then decide.

If you don't want to know what happens in the first movie, skip over all this. It is hard to talk about Underworld: Evolution without giving away some of the plot points from the first film. Underworld: Evolution picks up shortly after the ending of the first film. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman) are on the run. Selene's plan is to wake the last elder, Marcus (Tony Curran), before Kraven (Shane Brolly) can kill him. Little does everyone know that Marcus has already awakened, and is also now a hybrid. With the other elders dead, Marcus wants to find his brother, William (Brian Steele), who we learn all about in a flashback sequence at the start of the film. Marcus doesn't want much. He just wants to be a God, and rule over everyone with his brother at his side. With Selene and Michael the only ones to stop him, will they be powerful enough?

One thing I noticed about the people that didn't like this film, is that they said there is no real story here. While I agree that the plot from the first film has been pushed to the side, there is still a story to be told in this film. The all important hybrid, Michael, gets glossed over in this film, while other characters are pushed to the front. Another thing they didn't like is that the horror side is presented more evenly with the action this time around. Since Marcus takes on the looks of a bat, I assume because he has become a hybrid and takes the characteristics of his vampire side (what he was before becoming a hybrid), he uses this as a weapon. Because of this, there is more gore to be found. I liked the story more this time around. I liked that it took us back to the start of both vampires and werewolves. Even though Marcus is considered a hybrid now, his vampire side is still there.

This brings me to the effects. I loved the way they made Marcus look, when he was in his hybrid state. They did a really good job with his makeup. On the down side, they used CGI effects a little more this time, and it didn't come across as well as it did in the first film. In some parts of the film, the CGI was looking really bad. They did make up for it by giving us some nice tearing heads in two. The acting was once again very good. I was disappointed that Shane Brolly is barely in this film. That's how it goes sometimes. At least Kate Beckinsale is still in her leather outfit. Tony Curran and Steven Mackintosh are the two main new characters found in this film. Both did a good job, but neither are as good looking as Brolly.

I was mainly surprised by Underworld: Evolution because I feel it surpassed the original film. The action is still there, but toned down a little as far as guns go. They are still in use, but not nearly as much. And it seems they did manage to practice on their aim in the short time between films. Could it be because Serene was using the single shot mode that Jed was talking about? I think it could. This film could have been a little better if they had expanded on the character of William just a little more, and also not have ignored Michael. That being said, the film was already close to two hours, which may have been a factor in which stories were told. That is a problem with film, not always enough time to tell everything. As it is, it did manage to lose me here and there with some of the plot points. It did feel a little rushed at times. Not too bad, but enough to lose me a little. I was able to keep everything straight though, and found the story to be very interesting. If you are expecting another action movie, you might be a little disappointed with Underworld Evolution. But if you wanted more horror in the first film, you will likely find this one more to your liking.
4 out of 5 Missing Kraven already

Creatures In The Underworld Part One

Moving right along with my posts, I watched Underworld yesterday after I finished up my 500th post. I had planned on watching this one last month, while the third movie was still at the theater. The plan was to do a series review, but the third film was pulled quicker than I thought it would be. That is usually how my plans work out for me. Since I already had the second film here, I figured I would go ahead and watch the first two films for my 999 Challenge. Even though Underworld (2003) is slightly more about the vampires, it does have a lot of werewolves in it, which happens to be one of the categories I picked for the challenge. Before I get into the review though, Susan Adriansen sent me an email informing me that her film, Under The Raven's Wing, is now out on DVD! Part of my New Year's deal was to help more with the indy film makers, her email comes along at the perfect time. Please do yourself a favor, and buy this DVD here. The price is a little high, but look at this way, Susan can make more great movies! Remember, you can find a review, and an interview with Susan, for the film here on my blog.

Underworld starts off with meeting the main character, Selene (Kate Beckinsale). We soon discover that she is a vampire. We are told right away that the vampires are at war with the lycans (werewolves), who used to be slaves to the vampires. The lycans were the day time guardians for the vampires, until an ill advised romance happened. Now it is six hundred years later. Viktor (Bill Nighy) has ordered that the lycons be exterminated, even if they have to do it one lycan at a time. Lucian (Michael Sheen) is the leader of the lycans. Lucian discovered a secret that could change the war. Because of this, Lucian has traced down Michael (Scott Speedman), who might be the key he is looking for. Will Michael become the first hybrid vampire/werewolf?

This isn't the first time I have watched Underworld. I will admit that the first time I watched this film, I hated it! The trailers were making the film seem like it would a straight up horror film with the war between vampires and werewolves. What I got instead was an action movie with horror overtones. Since this wasn't what I was expecting at all, I couldn't stand it. A couple of weeks went by, and I decided to give it another watch. This time I kept in mind that it is an action movie, and I ended up liking it better the second time around. I enjoyed it yet again when I watched it again for this review, but I still fail to see how it could make a scary horror movie list. I know that when we get werewolf movies, more than likely there will be at least some gun play involved. I guess I just wasn't ready for how much guns would play a role in this film. There are some full scale gun battles going on here in Underworld. What is funny about it all, no one can seemingly hit shit! I think they would miss the walls if there weren't so big. What makes it worse is some of them have been around for six hundred years plus. I would think they have had plenty of time to train themselves. It also has what could be the longest delay of death scene in movie history. All this aside, it does have some nice action sequences.

I think what impressed me the most, wasn't the effects so much, as it was the stunt work that was done. Lucian running behind the car was all done with stunt work. Selene shooting her way through the floor, which proved to be impossible according to the Mythbusters. My favorite, done with wires, is in the opening sequence. Selene jumping from the building she is in, which looks to be a very long way up, landing and walking away, all in one smooth movement. The werewolf effects are a combination of CGI and makeup. The change from human to werewolf is obviously CGI. Sometimes the werewolf itself was CGI, but they used actual human made effects whenever possible. I was impressed when I learned this, but I have never really been sure how well I like the werewolves look. The acting was something that I have always liked, even the first time I watched it. It is a little too easy to forget about Kate Beckinsale's acting though. She looks damn good in that tight leather outfit she is in most of the movie. To me though, it was Michael Sheen that gave the best performance. I also liked Shane Brolly, who played Kraven. I know I usually just talk about how good the women look, but I don't mind day dreaming about Shane at all.

The plot is pretty interesting. It has taken me some time to figure out how the whole hybrid thing works, but I think I've got it now. Since I have the second movie ready to watch next, I'm looking forward to it. Someday I will get the third film worked in as well. While I still don't love Underworld, I admit that it grows on me a little more each time I watch it. I can't believe how wasteful they are with their new and improved bullets. Since I know Jed is a gun nut, maybe he can explain all of this to me. If you love action films along with horror films, Underworld is a film you will want to watch.
3 out of 5 Hoping they will practice their shooting some more before the sequel

Number 500!

Even though it took me a little longer than I thought it was going to, it is here at last. To be honest with everyone, I never thought I would be doing movie reviews, or blogging for that matter, for this long. There have been times I have thought about giving it up, which is sometimes why my posts slow down, but then I start to get excited about doing reviews again. While I haven't done 500 reviews, this does mark my 500th post. To change things up once in a while, I decided way back at the start, that I would use every 50th post to just talk about a film that has become one of my all time favorites. They aren't in any real order, since I find it impossible to figure out which movie is better than the next one, when it comes to my favorites anyway. Not all my favorites are great movies, but I still love them for whatever reason. I have been putting off The Ring (2002) for some time now. I had planned on talking about it long before now, but in a way I'm glad that I waited for this post to do it. My 500th post seems extra special to me, and The Ring has always felt that way to me as well.

For whatever reason, I didn't go to the theater to watch The Ring. I waited for the DVD to come out, and then watched it. I had heard a lot about The Ring by then, and to be honest, I was afraid that I wouldn't like it because of that. Sometimes when a movie has been hyped up by the time you watch it, it doesn't always live up to the hype. The Ring, for me, not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it as well. Even though there was a lot of hype around this movie, I wasn't sure how seriously to take it. I mean, we are talking about a film that deals, in part, with a video tape that kills. Over the course of the film though, we learn that isn't completely true. That is something I have always loved about The Ring, we are taken on the journey along with Rachel. Since it has a supernatural tale, in part, it is hard to guess what the plot is about. As the plot unfolds for Rachel, it does for us as well. While not everything is explained, we never learn how or why Samara has her powers, we are told everything we need to know in order to follow the plot.

While there wasn't a lot as far as effects go, it was the acting that really sucked me into the story. Naomi Watts was someone I had watched in films before, but I wasn't a big fan of hers. In truth, I'm still not a big fan, but if I happen across one of her films, I am glad to watch it. There are moments in The Ring where I completely believed in the character of Rachel. Her son, played by David Dorfman, was just ok. The only time I liked his acting was toward the end, when he realized that Rachel had helped Samara. Nothing against the actor, but it really bugged me when he kept calling his mom by her actual name. I would never do that, and I don't care for others that do. Daveigh Chase, who played the part of Samara, isn't in the film as much as I seem to have remembered. The few scenes she is in were very creepy. I wish she had been in more scenes, but maybe because we don't get to see her much is why it feels more creepy.

If I had been doing reviews back then, The Ring would have easily been a five star review. It scared me, a lot even. It wasn't so much the video, as it was to realize that a young girl didn't care if she hurt others. The one scene that gets to me every time is the scene when Samara is talking to the doctor. The doctor says something to the effect of, "I know you don't want to hurt people Samara." And Samara looks at him and says, "But I do." Even today it will send a chill up my spine. I guess people that don't see this film as scary don't feel the same way about kids as I do. I know girls can be mean at times, but I never thought of them as being that mean! With an evil little girl like Samara, and a plot that unfolds slowly, but carefully, I sat there glued to the screen. I had no idea that nearly two hours had passed by the end of the film. Because of all of that, it is easily one of my favorite films.

I knew at the time, thanks to a friend, that The Ring was a remake of a Japanese film. I was at Best Buy one day, and they happened to have Ringu, so I grabbed it. A lot of people swear that the original Japanese film is the better of the two. My vote, after watching both films, goes with the American remake. My reasons why is because the story flowed a little better in the remake, and made more sense to me as well. Some feel that the remake butchered the story, but in truth, it isn't all that different. I did like the original film, it just so happens this is one time I felt the remake surpassed the original film. Something I feel happens very, very rarely. So this puts me at 500 posts! I hope everyone sticks around for another 500, if I make it that far. I was going to include this post as part of my 999 Challenge, but since this isn't really a proper review, and I have plenty of other films to watch, I have decided against it. I have a slew of of movies coming up for the challenge though, so I hope you are all ready for it!

Hearing A Cry In The Night

I woke up early in the morning today, not able to just turn over and go back to sleep. So I got up, and decided to watch a movie. By the time it was over, I was sleepy enough to get a little more rest. I was going to watch another movie I have here from Netflix, but I noticed the DVD is cracked all the way through. I could have put a different film in, but I got online instead. After a quick update, I watched a film on Netflix's web site called The Cry (2007). When I first ran across this film, I thought that fellow blogger, CRwM, had already reviewed this film. It turns out that he had reviewed a different film, one that is based on the same legend. So I was half right.

The Cry begins by telling us a little bit about the urban legend (actually a folktale) of La Llorona, The Crying Woman. This is a tale that is told, in different variations, all through the America's. The tale we deal with for this movie, a woman drowned her child when the father cheated, and eventually left her. According to the legend, there is no rest for a woman that kills her own child. She is cursed to search out the soul of her child (or in some cases children), and will kill other children that cross her path. In The Cry, La Llorona can also possess other mothers, who then drown their child. She does this so that other mothers will share in her pain. The Cry takes place in New York City. There are a bunch of unsolved missing children cases, and at least one case of a woman drowning her baby in the bath tub. On the case, for both sets of crimes, is Detective Alex Scott (Christian Camargo), and his partner, Sergio Perez (Carlos Leon). They soon learn of the La Llorona, but will they believe it? We also meet Maria (Adriana Dominguez), who has visions of what is happening to the different children. Because of this, she knows that La Llorona is real. Maria also knows that La Llorona is after her child, but why?

The Cry is directed/co-written by Bernadine Santistevan. In an extra, which I didn't see since I watched it online, she explains that she has studied this legend, and has been wanting to make a film around the legend for a long time now. The Cry does have an interesting legend behind it, but the film itself isn't so interesting. The main problem is that there isn't enough plot to fill a full length film. Maybe if they had fleshed out the investigation some more, it would have made a better plot. The missing children are never really talked about. We only know about them because once in a while they will show a map of New York City with pictures of the missing children around the map. I am assuming the map is there to show the last place the child was seen. To fill in the extra time needed, we are treated to a lot of flashbacks. The main flashback, which gets extended far longer than was needed, tells us about how Alex lost his own child. What I didn't understand is that we find out what happened to his child, long before the flashbacks reveal it. To me that made the flashbacks rather pointless. It would have been different if it had revealed something we didn't already know, but that wasn't the case.

Not much for effects can be found. Sometimes the specific mother will cry blood, I assume this is because she is possessed at this point. Only once do we see tears of blood. The others times it is just blood around the eye lids. We get a couple of throats cut, or maybe they were ripped open. It is hard to really tell, since the makeup there wasn't very good. We never get to see La Llorona, except in flashbacks where we see her hand, and possibly her feet. We know she is around sometimes though, because we get a point of view shot that gives everything a blue tint. The acting could have been better at times, but overall wasn't bad. Adriana Dominguez mainly spends most of her time running away from La Llorona, but when she does get to act she does a good job with it. Christian Camargo spends most of his time looking like he has a lot on his mind. I realize this was a low budget film, but when there isn't a lot going on in the film, not a whole lot of acting either, you take a very good chance of losing the interest of those watching it. When the film started I was wondering if there was any speaking roles in this film. It was around nine minutes in before someone actually said anything.

I noticed a lot of people complaining that the film takes place in a major city. I never had much of a problem with that. I think they were just trying to show that La Llorona isn't bound to a certain area, she can be anywhere. There was also a lot of complaints that the film never bothered to explain why La Llorona is suddenly in New York City. Actually this is explained in the film. I don't know how so many people missed it, unless they had just stopped paying attention at that point. On the plus side of things, the film itself looks very nice. I didn't have any problems with the way the filmed looked or sounded. Sometimes that is a major problem for me when it comes to low budget films, so I was glad neither was an issue here. Maybe the budget for this film prevented them from fleshing out the plot, but I would liked to have seen that instead of so many flashbacks. I made this part of my 999 Challenge since it deals with mothers killing their children, and we are also to assume the missing kids are being killed by La Llorona. Even though we never actually see a child being killed, it is hinted at.
2 out of 5 Giving the saying "cry me a river" a whole new meaning

Slashing Through Norway

Even though this messes up my plans for the next two movies, I will just have to find a different one for the next post, I decided to go ahead and review this film now. I was going to wait to review this film over at Top Horror Movies Club, but a friend of mine wanted me to wait on her, so she could watch it as well. Since I was already running late with my weekly post there, I went with Dead In 3 Days instead. I wasn't expecting my friend to come over until the weekend, or possibly next week, but she said she had the time Thursday, so we watched it, along with Teeth. I guess I could have waited one more day after all, but that is ok. After watching Teeth, she was getting jealous she was one of the few that hadn't watched it yet, so I put in Cold Prey (2006).

Cold Prey starts off with a kid running away from someone, or something. Then, while the credits roll, we get news clips about a boy that has gone missing. We see his parents talking about how he has never run away before, and things like that. Then we meet Jannicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen), Mikal (Endre Martin Midtstigen), Ingunn (Viktoria Winge), and Morten (Rolf Kristian Larsen). The group of friends are heading to the mountains to do some snowboarding. Once they find the mountain they are looking for, they make the long climb up. On the way, we discover that Jannicke and Eirik are a couple, as well as Ingunn and Mikal. The curse of being the odd guy out is apparently taking a fall, and breaking his leg. Morten takes a fall, and Jannicke notices that it is a compound fracture. With the help of the others, Jannicke puts the bone back in place. They are trying to figure out if it would be faster to get back to their car, or to the nearest town, when they spot a building that is much closer. Wanting to get their friend to some shelter, they head to this place. They discover that it used to be a hotel/resort type place, that has now been closed for over thirty years. Thinking they have the place to themselves they decide to settle in for the night, and will get some help in the morning. What happens though when they discover that they aren't alone? Being out in the middle of nowhere, having someone that doesn't want you around is the last thing they need, but is what they get.

Cold Prey comes out of Norway, if you didn't gather that from the title of the post. Before I added this to my queue, and bumped it up, I had been hearing a lot of good things about it. One review even said it was one the best slasher films in years. That is a lot to live up to, so I had to check it out. The fact that it is a foreign film didn't bother me in the least. While subtitles can be a pain, a good movie is still a good movie. Actually, I believe that you can change it to dubbed for Cold Prey and Dead In 3 Days. I have read reviews where they were talking about the film being dubbed. I just tend to press play and if it's subtitled then fine, if it's dubbed then that is fine also. Cold Prey started with subtitles, so I left it at that. It is a pretty straight forward slasher film. A group of people get stranded in a very isolated spot, where there just happens to be a killer. They only hint at the background for the killer. If you know how horror movies work by now, it is easy to figure out who the killer is long before the big reveal. One of the problems I have with Cold Prey is the fact that the background for the killer is only hinted at. It doesn't make complete sense to me. It can be pieced together what happened, up to a point at least. More information might have been dropped in some newspaper clippings that were found. They didn't bother to give us subtitles for any of this though, so we have no idea what they say. One nice thing they did was give a nod to The Shining. The hotel has the same name (I think it does anyway since no subtitle on the clipping that gave the name, but it looks close), and there is also a reference to a certain room number that something bad happened in. This was a nice touch, and something that I don't see in foreign horror movies all that much. At least nods to American horror movies.

Not a lot of blood to be found in Cold Prey. One murder scene is very bloody though. For the most part the killer uses a fire ax, Norway's version of a fire ax anyway, it does look different than ours. Even though there wasn't a lot of blood to be found, I still enjoyed what they gave us. The acting was also good. For once, a movie gives us a group of characters that can be related to. Instead of having a bunch of people that seem interested in nothing but sex, drugs and drinking, we get a group that are obviously friends, who care about each other. It was a nice change. That doesn't mean they don't drink or think about sex, it just means it isn't all they are trying to do. The only one that comes off as a bit of a jerk is Mikal, who blows off his girlfriend after she says she isn't ready to have sex. He does realize the error of his ways though.

The killer looks very cool in the snow gear. It is hard to tell if the killer is a big person or not because of all the gear, but I think that just added to it. A killer that looks good, some good effects, and characters that are likable. What could go wrong? Cold Prey is actually a little too by the numbers. It's not hard to figure out who will get killed, and when. Because it is easy to figure out ahead of time, it came across a little boring to me. Still, this is a well made film. The mountains make for a beautiful location, and they do add a sense of dread, since you know there is no help around. Even though the film could have been less obvious at times, it was still a good movie. One to check out, if you haven't already!
3 out of 5 I hate it when someone leaves their hiding spot as soon as the killer passes by