Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on May 8th, 2017
When The Ring (2002) first came out, if you looked hard enough you could still find movies on VHS, so the thought of a mysterious tape that kills you seven days after watching it wasn’t so entirely farfetched. Now that we are in 2017, if someone were to find a mysterious VHS tape, well, they’d be out of luck for the most part, since I’d wager most of the US population no longer has a VCR. But Hollywood won’t let this stop their successful franchise from moving forward, even though it’s been 12 years since The Ring Two, this weekend is the release of the third film in the series, and quite frankly, I have to wonder if anyone really wanted this.
Samara is back, and she is hungry to take the lives of anyone foolish enough to watch the video, and as the film opens we’re in a plane along with a passenger who has seen the film and only has minutes to go before his seven days are up. While this is a fun scene that gave me hope for what would continue, I couldn’t help but feel that the scene was perhaps a throwaway sequence from Final Destination. Then, oddly enough, the film seems to start again, two years later when we see Gabriel (Johnny Galecki), a college professor, purchasing an old VCR. Once Gabriel gets to his apartment, he gets a surprise when he discovers a tape with the words “Watch Me” written on it. Just like all foolish characters in horror films, he watches the film and immediately gets the phone call.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 20th, 2017
When it comes to writer/ director M. Night Shyamalan, it’s hard to find a more polarizing director between film critics and film geeks. I was a fan up until he did The Village. It’s not as though I “hated” the film; I just was getting sick of the gimmick plot twists that seemed to go hand in hand with his work. As he continued to release films, I just would shrug at the trailers, and my enthusiasm for his films quickly declined. For me Unbreakable has grown to be my favorite work of his, which is funny to me because the first time I saw it I had a hard time deciding how I felt about the film. It was a comic/ superhero film that showed us perhaps what it would be like in the real world if some regular Joe realized he was perhaps meant for something greater. It’s been 16 years, but Shyamalan has finally released a film in my opinion that can stand toe to toe with Unbreakable, and it’s with his new film Split.
Split is a return to form. Gone are the big budgets and special effects. What Shyamalan delivers is what got us to appreciate him in the first place: great real-world characters caught up in an extreme circumstance. Kevin (James McAvoy) is not your average guy, at first glance he may seem normal, but trapped inside are 22 other personalities who have their own agendas and are wanting to take control of his mind and body. Why he isn’t locked away in some padded cell is a question that is never answered to my satisfaction in the film, but if he were locked away, there wouldn’t be much of a film, so I suppose I’ll have to let this slide. For Kevin and his numerous personalities there is something frightening about to occur: the rise of a new personality, one which has been deeply suppressed and is possibly the most dangerous of them all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 14th, 2017
Every year there are dozens upon dozens of horror films released, each with the intention to make an impact on the genre. Horror is easily my favorite genre in film, but it’s a genre that easily allows itself to spill into other genres. It doesn’t matter to me what the budget is, or whether the special effects are on point; what matters most is if the story holds up. I mention this because going into The Bye Bye Man I had heard some pretty bad things, but I don’t usually let that get in the way of my opinion of a film; after all, everyone has their own tastes. For me the film’s tagline “Don’t think it. Don’t say it.” should have the added line, “Don’t remember it.”
Three friends decide to move in together in an off-campus home, Elliot (Douglas Smith) and his girlfriend Sasha (Cressida Bonas) seem to be the happy couple as Elliot’s childhood best friend, John (Lucien Laviscount) seems to be the third wheel. They think they are supposed to be moving into a fully furnished home, yet upon walking through the door, the furniture is out of sight. After investigating the new home they find that all the furniture has been stashed away down inside the basement.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 10th, 2017
Season 1 of From Dusk Till Dawn gave us a ten-episode remake of the hit original movie while setting up a mythology to stretch its story over numerous seasons. Season 2 took us deeper into the culebra syndicate, and we got to see how they operate in their world as Carlos (Wilmer Valderrama) searched for an ancient blood source and sought to sit at the throne as the leader of all the culebras (a snake/vampire hybrid of sorts). All while the baddest outlaws North and South of the border, the Gecko brothers Seth (D.J. Cotrona) and Richie (Zane Holtz) were forced to work out their differences ever since Richie was made a culebra. Things have definitely taken some drastic turns from the original film, and I’m more than happy to say that Season 3 continues down its blood-soaked, horror western path, and this time it leads our band of misfit anti-heroes to take on a new enemy that is straight out of hell.
As we catch up with Seth and Richie they are stuck being collectors to the Lords (basically ancient leaders of the culebras), they’re not happy being bagmen and being at the bottom of the totem pole, but they really don’t have much of a choice. That is until a new breed of villain steps in, the xibalbans. The xibalbans are pretty much demons straight out of hell that use the culebras as slaves in their world. The introduction of the xibalbans also re-introduces us to Kate (Madison Davenport). Last time we saw her she was left for dead before some ancient blood got into her system As it turns out this ancient blood contained Amura, the queen of hell, and she is who has possessed Kate.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 10th, 2017
In 1999 The Blair Witch Project was released, and it was a horror film that created a stir like I had never seen before. I remember going to Tampa Theatre to see it opening week. The line was wrapped around the building for the sold-out screening. Discussions were going on in the line about the film actually being real, some even talking about how they heard the bodies of the three filmmakers were never found. It’s this kind of mindset going into the film that made it such an impact as I walked out of that first showing. At the time I knew I had seen something unique, but I never would have expected it to spawn an entire style of genre filmmaking that would be copied over and over again. Now nearly two decades later, director Adam Wingard (You’re Next) attempts to inject new life in the found-footage genre and into the film franchise that started it all.
The film picks up years after the disappearance of the film students in the first film. James (James Allen McCune) has been looking for evidence since his sister first disappeared. A digital video has surfaced that may have more clues as to what happened to his missing sister. It’s this hope that takes James and his friends to the woods where is sister vanished and where the legend of the Blair Witch continues to flourish. Lisa (Callie Hernandez) makes plans to document the trip to the woods as they hope to acquire this new evidence, and she comes armed with an array of high-tech gadgets to document the journey.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 9th, 2017
There is something about a Rob Zombie film that will always be a draw, and it is always the realism that he brings to the screen. Whether it’s The Devil’s Rejects or his version of Halloween, he always presents it in a way that I feel is grounded in reality. Perhaps it’s also because I live in Florida, and there are some small towns that you don’t want to break down in at night for fear of crossing some crazed backwoods types. To put it out there, I was a fan of Rob Zombie before he was putting out movies, and I have all of his albums; he’s just a guy who does stuff that I really dig. That being said, I can be objective in saying his films have been a bit all over the place, but Lords of Salem was a piece of work that I simply loved, and I felt it showed a lot of growth from his previous films and worked well as a slow burn. Now he’s released 31 upon the masses, a Kickstarter film that was initially (if not mostly) financed by fans. Is it worth the investment? Well, it depends on what you were hoping for.
The film opens in a static shot with Doom-Head (Richard Brake) approaching the camera and unloading a menacing monologue. This is the kind of opening that should get any horror fan excited and anxious for the kind of violence that is about to be unleashed in the film, yet sadly the film never quite lives up to this scene. This doesn’t mean the film is bad; I just mean that the opening is just THAT good, and it just leaves you with anticipation to see so much more with this character.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on January 2nd, 2017
Since we are knee-deep into the holidays, it would only be fitting to discuss the independent horror film Never Open the Door; after all it takes place on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a shame we don’t have more horror films to watch during turkey day, but for some this new title may be a nice fit to change all that. When I picked up the title I hadn’t heard a peep about it, but I’m a sucker for horror, and seeing that it was shot in B&W just made it all the more enticing. Now, when I watch a title like this, one thing has to work. It has to have a story that engages me; story is what matters with these smaller films, because the budgets tend to not have room for big makeup FX or big-name actors. The limitations placed upon the filmmakers seem to force their hand and have them get more creative with the execution of scenes, whether this means creative camera work or unique storytelling. Many of my favorite directors came from shoestring budget beginnings: Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, and Kevin Smith, to name a few. So is the next up-and-coming directing star putting his goods on display here?
It’s Thanksgiving, and a group of friends have gotten together to celebrate by making a trip to a secluded cabin in the woods. While the dinner is going on, we get a perspective from outside of a man running through the woods. Most of this is through his POV, so there is plenty of shaky camera footage here; thankfully it’s not too bad. The dinner is interrupted by a knock on the door, Tess (Jessica Sonneborn) gets up to answer it and as a result has blood spat upon her from a stranger that falls to the ground giving an ominous warning about answering the door. There’s nothing new here, and we can pretty much telegraph what happens next; the problem is most viewers are not going to care.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on November 29th, 2016
Fresh out of the vaults comes another cult classic. Vestron Video has decided to unleash Return of the Living Dead 3 for horror fans to snatch up this holiday season. Considering the titles that Vestron has already released, for some this might be a title that will leave fans scratching their heads about there being an urge to re-master this film, much less crank out a Blu-ray with so many features. Well, the simple answer is that the person in charge of acquiring and releasing these titles knows that there are fanboys like me out there who will shell out the money for a product that’s given this kind of attention. Return of the Living Dead is a cult classic and is mostly responsible for casual moviegoers making the connection with zombies and brain eating (yes, we real horror fans know better, but I always thought it was cute when an old girlfriend would dress as a zombie for Halloween and shuffle around moaning “brains”). If I’m being straight with you, I can’t remember the sequel at all, but the third I do remember, and there are some fond memories that still hold up with this title.
When Curt (J Trevor Edmond) picks up his girlfriend Julie (Melinda Clarke), he’s got a surprise for her, only it ends up being the start of the many bad decisions to follow. He’s decided to steal his dad’s key card and use it to access Top Secret areas on the base his father works at. His father is Colonel John Reynolds (Kent McCord), and as it would turn out, the Colonel is in charge of a program that uses a unique chemical, Trioxin, to re-animate corpses. That’s right; the military is at it again trying to create a weapon that will no doubt turn against them. Curt and Julie slip far enough into the base to get a glimpse at some of the gruesome experiments and reluctantly decide they’ve seen more than they can handle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 30th, 2016
This is one of those titles that came along where I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was a horror title, and really that is about it. The problem with doing films in a single location, though it may save you money when it comes to the actual production, is that in return you put an added pressure on your performers and the story to not be boring and keeping the story moving. It can be done; after all, 10 Cloverfield Lane is one of my favorite films of the year, and most of it takes place in a bunker. When it comes to The Id, how did the film turn out? Well, I feel it was a victim of its own design.
Meridith (Amanda Wyss) has pretty much spent her entire life at home, and her youth has been spent taking care of her father. Her father, Mr. Lane (Patrick Peduto) is far from the loving father who appreciates what his daughter has sacrificed to take care of him. He’s a mean old coot, and very early on in the film we wouldn’t blame Meridith if she snapped and killed him one day. Well, that’s actually all this film seems to really be about, a woman being brought to her breaking point where she can justify to herself that it’s OK to kill her father.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 23rd, 2016
“Everyone is afraid of the dark…and that’s what she feeds on.”
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am a full-grown adult. That means I can’t in good conscience admit to being afraid of the dark. The most I’ll concede is a sense of uneasiness if I’m in a dark space because I might bump into something. And if I hear a strange noise in the middle of the night, my mind might start creating sinister shapes out of shadows. (Hold on…am I afraid of the dark?!) Either way, that primal and unshakable fear of what could be hiding just out of sight is what powers Lights Out, one of the leaner, nimbler, and flat-out most enjoyable low-budget horror flicks in recent years.
