Island Of Killer Kids

I made a promise to myself over the weekend. I will see how well it holds up, since I am really bad at keeping them. If I promise someone else then I actually will do whatever it is I promised. When I promise something to myself though, I end up not doing it at all. I did better than I thought I would this month, even if my post numbers don't show it. I ended up reviewing almost as many films over at Top Horror Movies Club this month. Still, I feel like I let myself down only having eleven posts here this month. So I promised myself I would do better this month, starting with a week full of reviews. For today I watched Who Can Kill A Child? (1976). As you might guess from the title, and the poster, I was ready to watch some kids being killed!

Tom (Lewis Fiander) and his wife Evelyn (Prunella Ransome) are on vacation somewhere in Spain. Tom wants to visit an island off the coast that he had visited years before. After spending the night on the main land, and watching the town's fireworks show, they manage to rent a boat to the island. As they reach the dock on the island, a group of kids help them secure the boat. Tom and Evelyn, who happens to be pregnant, begin to look for a place to stay. As they walk through the small town though, they notice that they can't find anyone. Outside of the children at the dock, they haven't seen anyone else. The come across an ice cream cart, but again, no one is around. They decide to help themselves to the ice cream, and discovered it melted. At the bar they can't find anyone there either. The TV is still on, a chicken is still roasting away, but where is everyone? While Tom goes to a little shop that he remembers, Evelyn stays at the bar. A young girl comes in, and is interested in Evelyn being pregnant. She feels Evelyn's belly, and listens to the baby, but never says a word. Eventually, she just wanders off again. Tom and Evelyn still haven't figure out what is going on yet, when they finally find an older man using a cane. Before they can talk to him though, another young girl comes up to the man. She takes his cane away from him, and begins to beat the man with it. Will Tom and Evelyn be next?

Who Can Kill A Child? has a slew of alternate names: Who Could Harm A Child, Could You Kill A Child, Island Of The Damned, and Island Of The Dead, to name a few. The film opens with a guy talking to us about how adults are the main cause of children being killed. It shows real footage from World War 2, the Korean War, and Vietnam. It is basically telling us that through the actions of adults, mainly wars, it is the children that suffer the most. A lot of people have trouble watching this part of the film, since it is real footage. But the film itself never reaches this type of suffering. It takes a while before much of anything happens in this film. It is a slow burn up until the last half hour or so. It wasn't until Tom and Evelyn were having a lot of trouble finding anyone that I noticed how slow the plot was moving along. This section seemed to go on for a very long time. This was the biggest problem for some people, but for me it was the main characters. They are just so stupid in this movie. Tom discovers some things that should have caused him to look for a weapon, but he never does. Evelyn watches as a child beats an older man, and then sees at least one dead body, but she still can't seem to connect the dots. I know it is an odd situation, and they are children. But at least find something to defend yourself with. I was also having a problem with Tom running off all the time, while leaving his wife behind. Don't worry about your wife there Tommy boy. She will figure out her life is in danger, when someone stabs her in the back while you are gone. Thanks for nothing there Tom.

Not really a lot of effects to be found here. Some great bullet holes are to be found though. Not because of how they look, but because of who they appear in. Some blood to be found, but it is the kind that I hate from movies in the 1970s. Bright red and looks more like paste than blood. The acting was good, even if I didn't like the main characters. I can't blame the actors for how stupid the script makes them. I have to give a lot of credit to the kids in the film though. I didn't really think much of their acting, until towards the end of the film. At this point I was really surprised by their reactions they have on film. Some good stuff there.

Who Can Kill A Child? is filmed in both English and Spanish. Before the movie started, it wanted to know if I wanted English subtitles, or Spanish with English subtitles. I was a little confused by this. I picked the first option, thinking it meant English dubbing. When it got to parts where people were speaking Spanish though, they were speaking in Spanish with English subtitles at the bottom. So I'm still confused as to why there were two options for the same thing. Anyway, check out the extras on the disk, because there are two interviews that are both fairly informative. Even though Who Can Kill A Child? starts off slowly, I was still surprised when I noticed that 45 minutes had already gone by. It drags a little bit in the middle, but makes up for it by the end of the film. It does manage to be shocking in some ways. Tom does manage to find the answer to the question in his own personal way. Since I have included this film in my 9 Killing Children Films category, it shouldn't be much of a spoiler if you are wonder if any kids are in fact killed. This isn't what shocked me though, since I knew this going in. But it was a scene where some boys are seemingly undressing a woman that was killed, that shocked me most. I bet that will never show up in an American film. Why the kids have suddenly decided to kill adults is not completely explained, and how they are recruited is equally bizarre. With the film dragging a little too much, and the very stupid main characters, I enjoyed the film, but didn't love it. The ending helps in a big way in my reaction. Worth a watch, but I'm not sure I would sit through it again anytime soon.
3 out of 5 Give me that gun! I will show the kids how serious I am.

No News Is Good News

This weekend I managed to take in both The Final Destination and Halloween 2. After some trouble getting to the theater, I eventually did make it there. If you would like to read my thoughts on both films, please head over to Top Horror Movies Club and check them out. I was worried that both films were coming out on the same weekend. I don't recall the last time that two horror films went head to head at the theater on opening weekend. So who won out? This may be old news to some of you, but I just found out myself. The Final Destination won out with an estimated opening of $28.3 million. That was the top film for the week. So this week we can expect commercials proclaiming it to be America's #1 film! I hate those things. Anyway, Halloween 2 came in third place with an estimated $17.4 million. As it happens, the film that made the most money was my favorite of the two. Since my reviews hit the net late Saturday, I really don't think they had anything to do with it.

What I found interesting about the article I am getting my information from wasn't really how much money each movie made. In the article they talk about Halloween 3. That is what I found more interesting. Zombie will not be back for the third film, at least that is the claim for now. Zombie claimed he wouldn't be around for the second film either, so we shall see. The Weinstein Co., who has released the Halloween films, is saying that the third film will pick up the story where Zombie left it. They are also saying that they plan on giving Myers a new twist. Not sure what that means, and to be honest it scares me just a little. Since 3D films are the big thing right now, Halloween 3 is being planned for a 3D release next summer. What do you say?

Be Afraid Of The Dark

I'm behind in my writing if you haven't noticed that already. I have been working away this last week, which didn't leave me much time to work in a film anywhere. I was working on a special project for another blog, here and there though. I will let everyone know when that post shows up and where. This weekend is sequel weekend over at Top Horror Movies Club! If you read my reviews there, you will find Halloween 2 and The Final Destination. Since I have yet to watch them, look for them either Saturday or Sunday, or maybe both. One thing I have been doing is reading. I finished up another James Herbert novel, The Dark, first published in 1980. I had three pages to go yesterday, but my break was over so I had to put it down. I hate it when that happens. This is a book I have read before, but didn't remember much about. I noticed some things about it, which I will get into a little later.

In The Dark, we are told about some events that are happening. A little girl sets fire to her home, with mom still asleep inside. A woman waits for her cheating common-law husband to come home, and kills him when he does. A man kills his neighbors after they verbally abuse him. All actions people have heard about all over the world. But what makes these events special here, is the fact that they all happened on the same street. Plus they happened on a street in London where nine months earlier, people inside a house called Beechwood, committed mass suicide. Chris Bishop was supposed to investigate the house for the owner, to discover why no one would live there. He was the first to discover the bodies, and something else that he has pushed from his memory. Jacob Kulek, and his daughter Jessica, believe that a man named Pryszlak is behind the recent happenings on Willow Road. Only problem is, Pryszlak was one of the people that died in Beechwood. As more and more things begin to happen on Willow Road, Jacob tries to convince Bishop that Pryszlak has somehow managed to take the evil inside himself, and his followers, and turn it into an actual force. No one believes this to be possible of course. Even Bishop, who believes in the paranormal, doesn't really buy into it. Each night though, more people begin to kill. Has evil found a way to take a form of its own?

Having read some of James Herbert's more recent novels lately, I noticed that Chris Bishop felt like a precursor to David Ash. David pops up in a couple of Herbert's novels later on, in case you haven't caught some of my other reviews. Their back stories are different from one another, but at times I felt like I was reading about David all the same. There is also an Edith in this book, as well as in Haunted. Their last names are different, and again their back stories are different. But for Edith, each has the same psychic ability and general description. I thought I was reading the same character for the longest while, but it ended up not being so.

One of the problems I had with The Dark was that I would get confused over how much time has elapsed between events. This wasn't a problem for me just in The Dark, but in all of Herbert's novels I have tackled so far. It isn't always as noticeable as it was in The Dark though. There are times when Herbert is telling us what is happening with Bishop and Jessica, and then switches to telling us about how The Dark is growing in strength. Herbert makes it sound like he is talking about the same night, or possibly the next night. When we catch up with Bishop again though, we find out a week, or sometimes longer, has passed by between the two events. I was getting a little annoyed by the passing of time in this story. We get a series of events all at once, and then suddenly three weeks have passed. During that time either very little happened, or not enough for us to worry about. I also felt that maybe Herbert bit off more than he could chew, in describing just how bad London was getting because of The Dark. The Dark is what everyone ends up calling this force. Herbert keeps telling us that more people are being affected every night, but he doesn't always get into just how many people that is. It is also hard to figure out how much of London has been affected by events.

The story itself is interesting at least. Evil as a force that can't be affected by anything other than light makes for a good story. It was easy to see where the story was going to go in order to resolve it. That doesn't really ruin the ride to the end though. There are some tense moments to be found, and most involve Bishop. What happens to Bishop's wife was a very good part of the story. As in most of his novels, Herbert gives us little side stories at times, to give us a better understanding of what is going on in the world around the main characters. The Dark is a good book, but I don't feel it was one of his better books. The time issue was getting to me a little too much at times. The ending could have been better, since it ends in a diary type fashion, with a quick overview of how the book ends. It is a good book, but one that could have been better.
3 out of 5 Little girls look so cute playing with matches

Don't Drink The Water

Last Friday I watched Zombie Girl: The Movie. At the end of the credits it gave the web site for the film Pathogen (2006), which was the film that Emily Hagins was working on during the documentary. Before I wrote my post about the documentary, I ordered Emily's film. For the price of $10, which includes shipping, I couldn't pass it up. I didn't know when I would get the movie in the mail, but I wasn't expecting it any time soon. To my surprise though, it arrived on Monday. I can't honestly remember the last time something I ordered got to me so quickly. It also came with a small note from Emily herself! So if you should happen to read this Emily, thank you.

In Pathogen, we meet Dannie (Rose Kent-McGlew). Dannie has been having dreams about the water in the town of Austin, Texas. Trouble is, she can't remember the dreams all that well. In Austin, we discover that a research company is looking for the cure for cancer. The cure turns out to be worse than the disease though, as it attacks the healthy cells, and eventually turns the person into a zombie. A janitor throws away a microscopic slide that has this "cure" on it, which eventually finds its way into Austin's drinking water supply. At school, Dannie begins to notice the kids around her are getting sick. Remembering her dreams, she manages to figure out what is going on. She bands together with Sam (Alec Herskowitz), Christine (Tiger Darrow), and Cameron (Tony Vespe). How is a group of young teenagers supposed to survive in a city full of zombies?

From watching the documentary about the making of Pathogen first, I was able to understand the film a little better. The story is easy enough to follow, but I was talking more about how the film was made. I knew that Emily did all the directing herself, using one camera to film everything. I knew that Megan, Emily's mom, ended up being a one woman crew for the most part, covering the sound and make up duties. I knew that Emily took on the task of editing her film. I also knew that Emily was only 12-13 years old during this time. Put all that together, and it makes watching Pathogen more fun. There are mistakes that maybe some people would not forgive. At times it can be hard to hear what is being said by the actors, and you can tell when Emily is holding the camera while filming. Perhaps some of the lines could have been better as well. Even with its mistakes, Pathogen is a blast to watch. The first thing that struck me is that the cast is mainly made up of young teenagers. This made the film more interesting in itself, since it was nice to see how something like a zombie outbreak would affect them. The way people become zombies is also pretty original. The only time I remember water being a key plot point is in Cabin Fever, and that is a completely different kind of film. Another thing I liked is that these teens did what I think a lot of teens would do when faced with zombies coming after them. They ran for the hills! There are times they decided to fight, but mostly when there was no other choice.

When watching Zombie Girl, I was a little worried about what the effects would end up looking like on film. It wasn't that Megan wasn't trying to do her best. I just didn't think the effects looked great. I have to eat my thoughts in a way for this though. I was actually surprised at how well they looked once on film. The way Emily shot them also helps I think. The zombies look pretty good, with some nasty looking wounds added in at times. We get an eyeball on a needle, and a beheading. It isn't graphic really, but this is where knowing the story behind the film helps. The acting was also a bit of a surprise. Our group has no, or very little, acting experience behind them. Like the film itself, mistakes are made. But I never felt the acting was so bad that it was hurt the movie. I didn't check everyone on IMDb, but it seems Tiger Darrow has the longest list of acting credits.

The DVD offers up a bloopers reel, and two audio commentaries. I have not watched/listened to these yet. I wanted to watch the film and get a review up first, but I am looking forward to them. Another thing that surprised me was the sound effects. There are some well placed sound effects here, and I also enjoyed the music that was selected. Having watched as many films as I have over the years, I have managed to come across some very bad horror films. Even accepting the mistakes, you can see that talent, along with a lot of heart, went into Pathogen. I have watched films that were made by people with more experience, and more than likely a bigger budget, that were much worse films. What started out as a group of friends making a film, turned into something much larger. Emily never gave up on her vision. As many people have said before me, that was the important thing, Emily made it to the end of her film. Pathogen is far from perfect, but it is one hell of a fun ride. If you haven't already, please consider getting a copy of this film at Cheesy Nuggets. I'm really looking forward to Emily's next film, which I am sure will be even better.
4 out of 5 Give up swimming or become a zombie...zombie it is

Sometimes Dead Is Better

Have you ever read a book that a movie is based on before watching the movie? I did that with Pet Sematary (1989) many years ago. I was considering renting the film, but decided to read the novel first. To this day, I have never done that again. I loved the book, as it is the only book that I can remember truly being scared by. Then I watched the movie, and found that not one of my favorite parts of the novel made it into the film. So of course, I hated this movie with a passion. When I came across it on Netflix, I quickly gave it a one star rating. So why did I watch it again today? One simple reason, a kid gets killed. Plus I was curious to see how I would feel about the film today, and surprised myself.

Louis Creed (Dale Midkif) has moved his family to Maine, for his new job. He has been hired as a doctor at the local college, and has a hell of a first day there. But I am getting ahead of myself a bit. Louis' wife, Rachel (Denise Crosby), and his two children, Ellie (Blaze Berdahl) and Gage (Miko Hughes), are excited because this is the first time at their new house. Ellie spots a tire swing, which breaks after she spots a path into the woods. Louis and Rachel rush to make sure she is okay, completely forgetting about Gage, who looks to be two or three years old. Gage spots a big truck coming down the road, and heads towards the road. He is saved by Jud (Fred Gwynne), just before Gage makes it to the road. Jud lives across the street from the Creed's, and quickly becomes friends with the family. Jud eventually informs Louis that the path leads to a pet cemetery (spelled sematary by the kids that first started it), because the road claims many pets. Jud suggests to Louis that he get Ellie's cat fixed, so he doesn't wander away from home. Louis does just that, even though I think it would have been easier just to make Church a house cat. Taking the cat to the vet is also Louis' first day at work. A guy named Pascow (Brad Greenquist) gets hit somewhere on campus. Louis does his best, but is unable to save him. Because Louis at least tried though, Pascow comes back as a ghost to try to warn Louis about the place where the ground is sour. Never tell anyone that, it just gets their curiosity up. To prove my point, the cat gets run over! Jud, not wanting to hurt a little girl's feelings, shows Louis where to take Church. The next day Church is alive, but no longer so loving. Of course this just begs the question, what happens when you bury a person there?

Since it has been forever since I last read the book, and watched the movie, most of the details had been forgotten. I am sure I will read the book again someday, but I figured this would be a good time to judge the movie for what it is, and not for what it isn't. After all, Stephen King did write the screenplay, so it can't be as bad as I first thought, can it? After watching it again today, I can honestly say that it still sucks compared to the book. However, I have to admit that it isn't as bad as I first put it out to be. I think it could have been a whole lot better, but it isn't bad. Maybe the remake, set for next year, will include some scenes I liked from the book. Pet Sematary wasn't as bad as I remembered it being. The best part is still Gage learning the hard way that trucks don't play nice. The worst part is that asshole Pascow. Sure he means well, but Casper he is not. Instead of making sure Jud stays awake to stop Louis from making a mistake, Pascow instead decides to try and help Rachel make it home. This is fine, except that Rachel is too far away to do shit about it. Pascow also gives Ellie nightmares, what kind of good ghost crap is this? Every story that Jud tells about the burial ground is a bad story, so why take Louis there to bury the cat? If he doesn't, we don't have ourselves a story. But you would think they could have found a better way for Louis to have discovered this secret.

Not a lot of effects to be found, but there are a couple of good ones at least. Pascow gets the side of his head pretty messed up, and looks even worse as a ghost. Most of the effects are found towards the end of the film. I won't spoil those, but they get somewhat gross at least. But I think it is a good gross too. The acting was also strong. I didn't care for Denise Crosby all that much, but she does have a couple of scenes where she gets it right. I liked Dale Midkiff in the lead role, but I was more impressed with the child actors. While the character of Ellie could be a little annoying at times, I would think she could read by then, Blaze Berdahl does a great job with the role. This was her first role ever, which I was a little surprised by. Her twin sister, Beau, must of doubled for her at some point, since she is listed in the credits as well. Miko Hughes wasn't given a real big role, but it was an important one. He sure had looking mean down to an art form. The best actor of course was Fred Gwynne. He seemed to steal every scene he was in, without even trying.

Speaking Of Gwynne, have to love his telling Gage he has something for him. If you have watched the movie, you already know what it is. I know I have said more bad things about Pet Sematary than good. I guess I still hold a grudge that it isn't the film I wanted it to be. But I'm also (wo)man enough to admit that it isn't all that bad. Even if it is easy to tell that Louis is wrestling around with a dummy, I did enjoy my second viewing of this film, a whole lot more than my first. I had forgotten that this film gets double points when it comes to the reason I was watching it this time around. That made it all the better. Maybe this isn't the best book adaption to be put on film, but it is an okay film in its own right.
3 out of 5 I would be pissed too if I was brought back without an eye

Zombie Girl

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like you were drawn to something? Today is my day off from everything. I have been working a lot of hours this week, plus making sure to show up for job interviews. It has been a busy week, but I made sure I had some down time. I'm going to a convention tomorrow, so I will probably be away all day. It has nothing to do with horror though. I could have gone to a horror movie festival this weekend, but I just don't have the cash for it. It is far enough away that I would have to get a hotel room, which was the deciding factor in going or not. I should have plenty of fun tomorrow all the same. Anyway, I was going to watch a movie today, but later in the day. I was just playing around on the net, and for whatever reason, decided to go to Hulu. If you have never been to that web site, it streams TV episodes, and also has some films on it.

While at Hulu, I came across Zombie Girl: The Movie (2009). This isn't a horror movie, but it is a documentary about a horror film called Pathogen. It was released back in 2006. Zombie Girl: The Movie is a feature length film about the film maker and her movie. I almost passed on it, but two things stopped me. First and for most, Emily Hagins is a fellow Texan. The other thing that caught my interest is that Emily was only 12 years old when she started filming. As much as I love horror films, and films in general, I have never wanted try and make a film myself. I have never felt the call to be a film maker, but Emily has. I thought this was pretty cool, so I decided to give it a watch. The documentary is about Emily, of course, and her parents. Megan, her mom, is very supportive of Emily, and does whatever she can for her daughter. It also deals a lot with what Emily had to go through, in order to make her first feature length film. Emily had shot some short films before this, and had made up her mind that it was time to make a feature length film. With the help of her parents, and friends, she has done just that.

The documentary does spoil Pathogen a little bit, since we get a lot of behind the scenes footage. I felt that the documentary did drag just a little bit in places, but overall it is a very interesting film. Maybe it would have been better with a shorter run time. A documentary such as this is a little hard to sit through, when it is an hour and a half long. I also wish that had shown people's reactions after watching her film. I almost forgot to say that Pathogen is a zombie film, thus the title for documentary. Emily is now 16 years old, and is working on (or has completed, not sure which) and new film called The Retelling. If you are interested in watching Zombie Girl: The Movie, you can watch it for free on Hulu until August 20th.

You can find the trailer for Pathogen and The Retelling at the end of this post. Emily has put Pathogen, which she wrote the script for at age 10, on DVD. If you would like to help support Emily, please visit her web site, Cheesy Nuggets. I have placed my order for Pathogen, so look for a review in the upcoming weeks. I found it a little odd that even though I had no reason to look for anything on Hulu, I still went there. Maybe someone was directing me to there without my knowing it.

Anything For Family

The last few days I haven't had much time to watch a full length film. I have been working as a lifeguard, for the moment. I have started with interviews for jobs in the field of work I went to college for though. Even though I think things are going well, feel free to wish me luck! Before going to work today, and debating if I had enough time to work a movie in, I realized I didn't have to watch a full length film. Maybe I am cheating a little bit, since the Masters Of Horror are actually TV episodes. I like to call them short films though, since they are a full hour long. I knew I could work one in today, and I need to watch seven more (now anyway) for my challenge. So it all works out. I just picked one out of the skull (the DVD holder), at random. It turned out to be Family.

Harold Thompson (George Wendt) seems like a normal single guy. On the surface that is all he is. At home though, he reveals a much darker secret. In his basement he has an older man that Harold refers to as his father. The older man is sitting in a metal tub as Harold pours a very strong acid on him. The man is already dead though, so don't worry about him. Since Harold has never been lucky enough to have a family of his own, he has created one. This is a family that will never go away, unless Harold wants them to. As we find this out about Harold, we also discover that a new couple has moved in a couple of houses away. David (Matt Keeslar) and Celia (Meredith Monroe) have moved from L.A., in order to try and start a new life together. They have lost a child and feel the move might help them get past that in their relationship. They managed to hit Harold's mailbox, after being out and drinking. They meet Harold and invite him over for dinner. Everything goes well at first, but then Harold starts to get some ideas in his head about Celia. Could she be next to join Harold's little family?

I was trying not to give too much away in my little synopsis. Harold's secret isn't much of one in fact, since they get it out of the way in the opening shot of this episode. If it sounds like a certain other movie, you would be right in a way. Harold does hear each person he has killed in his head. He has wired their skeletons together, and has even gone as far as dressing them up. What sets it apart though is that director John Landis takes the time to show us what Harold sees in his own head. To Harold they are all very real still. He sees them moving around, talking to each other, and even interacting with each other. This is what sets Family apart from other films like it. I felt a little disappointed by Family as it went on, because it was feeling pretty standard as far as the plot was playing out. Then right towards the end, we get a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all. For a moment I was feeling a little confused at what was going on. It didn't take me very long to figure out the twist, as they didn't say it out right, at least not right away. It was the twist that really sold me on this one.

The effects are mainly done with CGI. The guy in charge of the effects said with these short episodes, they don't have time for actual makeup effects. So they have to go with the CGI type. It sounded like a cop out to me, but what do I know? At least the making of feature was nice in showing how they did the special effects for this episode. They did get into the details of it, and I was glad to see that Landis is not completely sold on computer generated effects. Only one effect didn't look all that good, the hammer to the face effect. The blood in that scene looked very fake. But I'm thinking maybe that is the way it was wanted, since it was all in Harold's mind anyhow. It was great to see George Wendt is something other than Cheers. I know he has been in other movies/shows, but I have watched very little of him. George shows he can act mean when he needs to. I thought he did a very good job with his role. While watching Family, I kept wondering where I knew Meredith Monroe from. During the making of feature, they helped me out with that by saying she was in Dawson's Creek, and then it clicked in my mind. Yes I actually watched that show. Looking her up on IMDb, I was very surprised to learn she was 30 years old while playing a teenager on that show. I was surprised by some of the lines she was given, but she does a good job.

The more I think about the twist, the more I feel I'm not completely sold on it. I can't get into it here with giving too much away. But maybe I can talk about it the comments. I've always been surprised at Landis being one of the directors tapped for this series. He hasn't filmed very many horror movies, but I realize the ones he has made are very popular with horror fans. What starts out as an average episode of Masters Of Horror, ends up being an above average one instead. If you have yet to watch this one, give it a shot.
4 out of 5 Staying away from guys who always lock their doors

One Evil Kid

When thinking up nine categories for my challenge, the first one that came to mind was films in which kids are killed. It is no secret that I very much like these types of films. It is also fun to see an evil child killing others as well. I'm not going to explain why I enjoy it so much, I just do. After spending some time away from it, I figured it was about time I returned to it. The majority of the films I review here are ones I have never watched before. There are a few I might have watched once, and even fewer I have watched a lot of times. For whatever reason, I have a harder time writing a review of a movie I had watched more than once. With The Good Son (1993), I remember watching it once before tonight. It was actually the first film I thought of when coming up with a list for this category. It has been a long time since watching it, so it was almost like watching a new movie.

Mark Evens (Elijah Wood) is finding out pretty quickly that life isn't always good. We are introduced to him as we find out that his mother is about to die from cancer. To top things off, his father (David Morse) is about to leave on a trip for business. It is a chance for Mark's father to make life better for him and his son. It is decided that Mark will stay with his uncle's family. We soon meet Henry (Macaulay Culkin), who happens to be the same age as Mark. This turns out to be a good thing, as Mark and Henry hit it off, and seem to be on their way to becoming good friends. Things are looking better for Mark now. His Aunt Susan (Wendy Crewson) is an understanding person, who is also blaming herself for the loss of her youngest child. Mark and Susan begin to form a bond because of their losses, but this doesn't go over too well with Henry. Before we know it, Henry is showing a side of himself to Mark that makes Mark very afraid for Henry's family.

About the only two things I remembered about The Good Son, was that Culkin played the bad boy role and the ending of the film. I forgot, or didn't know, that Macaulay's real life sister, Quinn Macaulay, also played his sister in this film. Once you see the two of them, there is no mistaking that they are related. Even though The Good Son is much more of a thriller than a horror film, it is still a very good movie. Director Joseph Ruben does a great job of setting up a few scenes for a lot of tension filled goodness. Even though I knew how the film was going to end, I was still sitting on the edge of my seat for it. The down side is that there are not enough kills. The body count gets up to an amazing three! One of those doesn't really count, since it was death by cancer. Well it counts, it just wasn't murder or letting someone die. Another one is an animal death. Is Henry evil? To a point he is, but he would lose out to some of the other evil kids out there on film pretty easily. Henry certainly tries at times, but it never seems to work out for him. This was the only major thing I didn't like about this film. If they had tried to make Henry even more evil, I think it would have been an even better film.

The only effect to be found is when Susan gets her hands all scrapped up. Looked really good, but kind of wish there was more to be found here. The nice thing about The Good Son, as far as the acting goes, is that they managed to get two kid actors that had some experience behind them. Not saying someone new couldn't have pulled it off, but they would have been taking a bigger risk. Elijah Wood and Macaulay Culkin were the age, or close to it, they portray in the film. I thought they looked younger than twelve actually. Some people feel that next to Elijah, Macaulay showed how bad of an actor he really is. I don't completely agree with that. Elijah wins out I think, but Macaulay did show he could act at times. When he was showing his evil side, I think Macaulay did an excellent job with it. It was when he was trying to pull off the more tender moments, that I felt didn't work as well. This could have been on purpose though, considering his character is evil. Wendy Crewson was very good as the mom in the film. Maybe her character was a little too nice, but some mom's are just that way. Quinn Culkin was just okay, but she wasn't given much of a role in all honesty. To date, this was her first, and only film.

What I found interesting is that they allowed the kids to do all of their own stunts. If you have watched this movie before, then I'm sure you will find this surprising as well. I know they did everything to keep them safe, but they did a great job of selling the danger. I'm disappointed that the body count wasn't allowed to be higher than it was. At the same time, I give the studio credit for allowing the ending of the film to go through. They could have easily demanded a different ending. I don't want to spoil things too much, but let's just say a kid goes splat! Truth be told, I am on the fence with this one, but I think I will go with the higher rating. This usually only happens with my two and three rating. The acting and tension is what brings it all together, but a higher body count would have been so nice.
4 out of 5 Every Home Alone hater's dream come true

Haunted House In Portugal

Even though it looks like I haven't been reviewing films much this month, this is only the third film here, that isn't completely true. This actually makes my fifth review in seven days, which I don't think is all that bad. Head on over to Top Horror Movies Club, to check out a couple of reviews I have done there, if you haven't already. Tonight I decided to watch Bad Blood (2006), which I had selected as part of my haunted house category for my challenge. This is a film out of Portugal, and I almost didn't include it. It does involve a house and spirits though, so I declare it a haunted house film. It isn't in a style that I am used to seeing though.

The Oliveira Monteiro family has decided to move from the big city to a house that Xavier (Adriano Luz) has inherited. Xavier is a biology professor, and is looking for a new start. He thinks is the perfect way to do that. His oldest son, Rui (José Afonso Pimentel), has decided to stay behind because of exams. Xavier takes the rest of his family with him, which includes his wife Helena (Manuela Couto), daughter Sofia (Sara Carinhas), and son Ricardo (João Santos). Things seem normal enough, until Ricardo starts to see people that others apparently don't see. He also hears footsteps from inside the house, and realizes he is the only person there. Xavier waves it all off, but Helena starts to notice things as well. When Rui arrives, after his exams, he starts to act unlike his usual self. The small village is a very superstitious, and believes the Devil comes in many forms. Father Cruz (João Pedro Vaz), the local priest, is also somewhat new to the area. He isn't sure what to make of all the superstitious things the people in the village believe in. But he does know that something very bad once happened in the home Xavier and his family now live in.

Cosia Ruim (the Portuguese title) is an odd film in that it mixes several genres into one movie. It is more of a mystery type film instead of a horror film. Many people label it a horror film, even though nothing scary actually happens. It deals mostly with what the people in the village believe in, which I actually found really interesting. The house itself could be haunted, since we hear strange things in the house, and see spirits just outside of the house. An exorcism, and a possession are also thrown in. Even though there are all these different elements, they manage to gel together nicely. It is all done in a way that you can believe something supernatural is actually going on, or accept some more rational reason for it. All this is stuff I really enjoyed about the movie. Now for the bad news. Even though all of these different elements are in the film, it gives you the impression that not a whole hell of a lot is going on. Bad Blood is a very slow paced film, with a lot of talking in it. I did find the conversations taking place interesting, but since this is a subtitled film, it made it hard to keep up with all the reading. Since there is so much reading to do, I was afraid of missing something important happening in the scene. Bad Blood rates as a below average film on Netflix, with very few reviews to say why. With the pacing of the film, I think I can pin point it to that. Not many people like these slow, mostly talk, type films. The ending of the film also leaves a bit to be desired, as it seems to end too quickly with little explanation.

As far as effects go, there is a little blood to be found, but for the most part nothing else. The acting was very good. Everyone in the family was nice to watch. The youngest of the kids didn't get to say much though. The parents were both very good actors, but it was Sara Carinhas that impressed me the most. Even though her character was a bit withdrawn, because of her being a young single mother without much support from her father, once she let loose, it was fun to see. Her character is one that is hard to judge. She is the middle child, but it is hard to put an age to her. Even Sara admitted that she couldn't really figure out how old Sofia was supposed to be. I really liked how she looked in the film, but she looks slightly different in the making of feature on the DVD. It isn't a true making of feature, since it interviews the cast more than it shows how the film was made.

I really enjoyed watching Bad Blood for different reasons. The fact that is a slow moving film didn't bother me so much, since I was enjoying the topic of the film. The writer and directors included a lot of actual legends and stories from the area they filmed in. To me, this added a lot to the film. Did you know that sometimes the Devil will take the form of a cat, and pee on a woman who is in "heat"? What that has to do with anything is beyond me, but it is something that they actually believe in. It was stuff like this that kept the film interesting to me. I couldn't decide if they were trying to scare me at any point or not though. I didn't mind that there were no sudden loud noises or music cues to try and make me jump. That was refreshing, but I have to wonder if they couldn't really make up their mind what type of film they wanted. Since Bad Blood gets pulled in different directions, it kind of feels like it ends up going nowhere. Many believe that Coisa Ruim is the best film to come out of Portugal to date. Since I have yet to see any other films from this country, I can't make that claim. If it is the best of the best though, they still have a ways to go with their horror films.
3 out of 5 Going to be more careful around cats now

Trapping Spirits

Last night I got pretty bored. I wasn't going to watch a movie at all, but I ended up changing my mind. After the film, I did my usual look up on Netflix and IMDb, to see what other people thought of the film. By the time I finished doing that, I discovered it had gotten pretty late. Instead of starting a review, that I knew wouldn't get far, I went to bed instead. There was one film that I added to my instant queue on Netflix for my 9 Haunted Houses. Anymore I just add it to that queue if I can watch it online, instead of having the DVD sent to me. Sure I miss the extras, but some of these films don't come with much. I ended up watching Spirit Trap (2005), which ends up being a British film.

In Spirit Trap, we learn that due to over booking, the local art college is placing select students in houses off campus. We meet four such students as they all arrive at an old house. It looks a little run down, but livable. Jenny (Billie Piper) and Nick (Sam Troughton) are the first to arrive. As they settle in, Jenny runs into Tina (Alsou). Soon the other two students arrive, lovers Tom (Luke Mably) and Adele (Emma Catherwood). If you are keeping track, that is five people. When they realize Tina is an extra person, they do nothing about it. They don't even question Tina about it. Maybe it was the fact that Tina is amazingly beautiful. Either way, I was surprised that the subject of an extra person was so suddenly dropped. After a while in the house, we discover that each person has a secret, and the house is using that secret against them in some way. When Jenny, who is slightly psychic, gets a message from her dead mother, she tells Nick that someone will die.

Not caring that there is an extra person in the house still bugs me. Anyway, I was surprised at how well I ended up enjoying this film. It is given a slightly below average rating on both Netflix and IMDb. Those that give it an above average rating, usually do so because they are really into one of the actors in the film. I can understand that, since I have done it myself. One thread on IMDb, from people that live in the UK, didn't like the film because it messes with British history some. Like a film has never done that before. I didn't see the big deal personally. I don't watch horror movies for a history lesson after all. The house ends up being a spirit trap, thus the name of the film. The only way a spirit can leave the house, is if there is someone there to replace that spirit. This ends up getting a little confusing by the film's end though. Since I knew this was a haunted house movie, and as soon as I learned Tina was an extra "student", I figured she was a ghost. In order to be released, Tina needs someone to take her place. If no one does, by a certain time, then everyone becomes trapped. That is only part of Tina's plan. Adding the few or all does manage to up the tension between the different characters. By the film's end though, I was confused over the rules of the house.

Not much here as far as effects go. We get some interesting looking flashbacks. But as far as gore goes, you will just have to find a different film for that. There is a lynching, but it implies more than it actually shows. There is some blood to be found, just not very much. The acting was pretty good. This has been Alsou's first, and so far only film. Apparently she is a singer, who came in second place on Russia's version of American Idol. She is very pretty, but she is a much better singer than actor. She isn't given much to do though. This could be because she isn't a very good actress, or she just wasn't given enough to show her acting talent. Billie Piper is also a singer turned actor. She has been in films, and on TV before though. She has a role on Doctor Who, but Spirit Trap is her first lead role. Luke Mably is also known by UK fans. He has only been in one other film that I have watched so far, 28 Days Later. I liked him in this film. He has the kinky bad boy act down well.

I was a little surprised with the characters of the film. Jenny and Nick are pretty normal people, even if they do have their secrets (who doesn't?). Tom and Adele though are pretty kinky when it comes to sex, and Tom seems to be into drugs as well. Believe me, there are both types at a college. It just felt a little odd that there were two of each type of person in the house. It also makes it too easy to figure out who is going to make it out of the house. I can see why people think of Spirit Trap as a boring film. It doesn't offer a lot of scares, and the story is an easy one to figure out. The rules of getting out of the house end up being confusing, even if they don't sound that way. Still, I didn't think this was as bad as most people put it out to be. Hardly one of the greats, but not bad either.
3 out of 5 Can was see more of Alsou please?

Very Boring Hauntings

I don't know how long it has been since I last gave a film a one star rating. I know it has been a long time now. Perhaps there have been a couple of films I should have given a one star. I try to avoid giving a film that rating when I can. Even if it is something minor that I didn't find annoying, I talk myself into giving the film two stars. You are probably wondering why I am starting out this review for Dream Home (2006) this way. I selected this film for my 999, Challenge because it dealt with a haunted house. I have never heard of the film, but that isn't a big deal. It doesn't take long at all to realize it is a low budget film, which is also not a big deal. I started off talking about one star movie ratings, because it had to happen again eventually. This is one of them. So if you don't want to know about the rest of the film, I will see you at the next review.

Dream Home starts off with us meeting newlyweds Darryll (Corey Stills) and Faye (Chantelle Winchester). As they drive down some road, talking about how Darryll promised a house once he got that promotion at work, Faye spots a house (nothing like the one on the DVD cover), and falls in love with it right away. Even though they keep driving, and Darryll doesn't want to look at the house, we get the same shot of the house when he finally does look. They manage to buy the house cheaper than was being asked for it. Before long, Darryll starts to hear stories about something happening in the house. No one can seem to tell him exactly what happened there though. All Darryll does know is that if something bad happened in the house, he isn't going to live there. Faye finds a necklace with a beautiful cross on it, that was left under one of the beds. When she decides to wear it, she starts having dreams about "the past and I'm there...but it's not me." She is dreaming about a girl that gets the very cross Faye is now wearing, and is killed by her father. But we find out it wasn't her father after all. It was her mother that killed the girl. We are not told why she was killed, or anything else about it. Faye dreams this, and then Darryll runs in and manages to wake her up. The end. Stupid huh?

Even though Dream Home is only around 70 minutes long, I just saved you wasting it on this film. Now you can hopefully find a better movie. There is a blooper reel right after the film, about five minutes worth, and then another ten minutes of end credits. This brings the film to almost an hour and a half, which is what they want you to think the run time actually is. The fact that it was easy to tell it was a low budget film, didn't turn me off of it right away. I soon noticed a problem that I hate in the films I watch, sound problems. Two actors talking to each other, but you hear different things when hearing each actor. Traffic noise is loud with one actor, but barely noticeable when the other actor is talking. In fact, this film is so low budget, that at one point you can actually hear director Amir Valinia say cut. I had to go back to make sure I actually did hear that. It stands out because the actors in the scene were not talking at that moment. I kept waiting for the plot to advance itself, but it never really does. We learn a little bit about what happened in this house, but not enough to get excited over. After the film reached the hour mark, I was waiting for something other than warnings from ghosts to happen. The dreams are fine, since they slowly reveal what was supposed to have happened, but they aren't enough. I suppose Faye was having the dreams because she was going to die as well, until Darryll managed to get to her in time. Again though, it wasn't enough.

Only effects to be found are when a ghost would fade away. Spooky huh? What made it laughable are the reactions from the actors. These ranged from being scared to just looking puzzled and asking where the person went, it was all bad. When you see someone walk past you in your own home, I can understand being scared to a point. When you then just go back to loading the dishwasher, instead of finding out who this person is and why they are in your house, I have to wonder if the person has any sense. When I give a movie a one star rating, it is because the film and the acting were very bad. The lead actors of Dream Home show a little promise at times. In some scenes I enjoyed the interaction between the two leads, while there were also times when their acting came out very flat. All of the supporting acting feels very flat as well. One guy does a better job talking with his hands than speaking the lines, if that tells you anything.

The cover art does look very cool, but it is too bad it is so misleading. I noticed that the rating was low before I watched Dream Home, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy it. For once I have to agree with all the low voting. To my utter surprise, seven people did give this a ten star vote on IMDb. I always hate it when people on IMDb claim that the only people that would like a certain film are the ones that made it. I find that statement untrue, since there are some films I really like, that many others hated. In the case of Dream Home though, I don't see how even someone that did manage to like this film would give it a ten rating. Do yourself a favor and remember the title of this movie! This way you can avoid it much easier.
1 out of 5 Maybe it would have been better if it was one big blooper reel