Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

In a Nutshell: A young girl discovers creatures in her new home that start to terrorise her.



This is one of those films that’s ‘presented’ by Guillermo Del Toro, he also co-wrote the screenplay for this remake of a TV film from the 70’s. That basically means Del Toro produced it and the new director of the film is a no-name, so the Pan’s Labyrinth director gets top billing. Regardless, his name is attached so that is reason enough to take notice.

The story is rather formulaic and horror-lite, yet it manages to create quite a threatening atmosphere. Diehard fans of the genre won’t find anything too scary here, but there is a couple of jumpy bits in there and it’s not afraid to get a bit brutal in places. There’s a solid lead performance from young actress Bailee Madison, and Guy Pearce and (surprisingly) Katie Holmes are apt as her father and his new girlfriend.

Don’t expect the sort of orchestrated brilliance that makes Pan’s Labyrinth and Devil’s Backbone so great, by the end it’s a poor imitation of far better movies. It doesn't quite pull off that dark fairytale style that Guillermo Del Toro's does so well, although it does provide some fun, if forgettable entertainment all the same.

6.5/10

The Woman

In a Nutshell: A successful lawyer captures and tries to 'civilize' a feral woman, the last remaining member of a violent clan. Putting the lives of his entire family in jeopardy.



First of all, I started to watch 'The Woman' with my wife. She couldn't stomach it and she had to stop watching; It's dark and disturbing stuff, and I'd only recommend it to hardcore horror fans. I'm surprised to see a film this weird, shocking, and utterly insane come out of America! It's a ballsy film.

Directed by Lucky McKee (May) and written by controversial writer Jack Ketchum (The Girl Next Door), 'The Woman' is at times a quirky black comedy, and it switches to truly sinster and depraved in the blink of an eye. It's an odd tone, and it sets a pretty unsettling atmosphere. Pollyanna McIntosh (Offspring) is 'The Woman', a part she plays incredibly and with so much screen presence! I actually believed she was this feral beast that could rip me apart.

The father of the family, Lawyer Chris Cleek played by Sean Bridgers reminded me of a twisted and EVIL 'Will Ferrell', and the rest of the dysfunctional family are all played very well. My only minor complaint is that I found some of the music a little grating and I thought some of the sadistic stuff lingered a bit too long, but this is subjective.

NOW, when the violence comes in fully it hits you like a sledgehammer and it goes straight for the jugular! I think there's some intelligence behind it all though and it seems to be carrying a strong message, delivered in a rather brutal and thought-provoking way! Compared to most horror coming out of America it's really original too. If you're a fan of subversive horror, and if you can go in with an open-mind and you aren't easily offended, WATCH IT!

8/10

Insidious (Review)

In a Nutshell: A family’s home appears to be haunted while their oldest child is in a coma.



A film by the creators of ‘Saw’; director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, a duo that changed the face of modern horror with their indie debut. They took it down the gory for shock value path that spawned several sequels and films like the ‘Hostel’ franchise. The original 'Saw' was actually quite a fresh idea and not a bad movie in its day, a simple premise executed rather well. It’s now been tainted by countless shallow sequels, we’ve had a new Saw every year (7 to date) since the original (I become bored of the series after the third movie). Now with 'Insidious' they’ve come full circle and it seems they’re trying to bring the scares back into horror. FINALLY! Can mainstream Western horror get back on track?

Well, kinda...this is a frustrating film to review, so I’ll break it into two parts, because for me that’s what ‘Insidious’ felt like, two completely different films.

The first half is a creepy horror flick with some genuinely freaky little moments and ‘tingly bits’, a nice atmosphere is crafted and it’s a fun little ride while it lasts. Good-looking couple Patrick Wilson (Watchmen and Hard Candy), and Rose Bryne (Bridesmaids) play their roles aptly, the film builds the tension nicely and the score (one of the films strongest areas) orchestrates the visuals superbly. Then we move into the second half of the film…

The movie seems to take a sudden shift in tone, it quickly becomes like a shoddy version of ‘Poltergeist’; there’s a little comic relief (that’s ok), but then the scares start to get really silly. It no longer maintains that eerie atmosphere created in the first half of the movie, the final act is so poorly executed and tacky it completely loses steam. It’s infuriating! I enjoyed the start, did they just bottle out? By the end of the movie I really can’t see any true horror fans or film goer in general finding it anything but fluffy and cringe worthy. A shame because there was potential.

6/10

Silent House (Original)

In a Nutshell: Laura and her Father spend the night in a house that they are helping to restore so it can be sold. While her father sleeps Laura hears a sound upstairs.



There’s been a lot of talk about Silent House at film festivals, it was made in Uruguay for an estimated $6,000 using a HD handheld camera and apparently all done in one take (many have stated not possible with the camera used). It also infamously made hardened film critics squirm at press showings.

Silent House starts quite slowly, setting everything up and crafting a creepy atmosphere. It is low-budget, yet technically it’s quite accomplished; with long tracking shots and well-orchestrated scenes, although it is flawed it does well with its limitations. At times it does feel a little bit set-up, but even then it still manages to scare.

It’s a fine example of creating tension, it is one of the most intense Horror films I’ve seen in a long time and in my opinion the scariest film since Ringu. It’s only let down by an iffy conclusion, that will probably leave its audience divided. As we’ve come to expect with modern Horror in the West, this will (unnecessarily) get an American remake the year after its release.

7.5/10

Bedevilled

When the pleas of an abused woman are ignored, things turn nasty on a Korean Island.



Bedevilled is a South Korean Drama come Slasher Horror film...that sentence alone should be enough to grab your attention! This is one of the most emotionally and often visually bleak films that I have ever seen and I've watched a lot of dark and extreme cinema. I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone; it's a slow burning film that gradually gets under your skin, the subject matter is very disturbing and it doesn't pull any punches. I can guarantee Hollywood won't be attempting to remake this one, and if they do I highly doubt they'll keep much of what makes it so brutal and disturbed. A strong and open-mind is needed to experience this film.

Talking about the films plot will spoil the experience and impact of the film, so I will keep details to a bare minimum (avoid IMDB until you've seen it too, there's spoilers in the films synopsis). Yeong-hie Seo who plays the abused Bok-Nam is absolutely phenomenal, perhaps the best performance I saw from an actress in 2011 (UK release)! The cinematography is beautiful, the story original, and the tone of the film is unsettling and realistic. Anyone looking for an all out Horror flick should look somewhere else, the drama comes first here. And the drama is solid, emotional and truly heart wrenching! When the shit hits the fan be ready for some intense, extreme and disturbing brutality! It's hard to 'recommend' it, it might be too much for some people. It's not something you 'enjoy' as such. But, I did like it very much so!

8/10

A Serbian Film

‘A Serbian Film’ leaves a bad aftertaste in your mouth. The debut film by 'Spasojevic' is growing in notoriety for its controversial scenes, banned in most places (including the USA) and released in the UK with over 4 minutes of cuts by the British Board of Film, the most cuts in 16 years.



The film follows an aging pornstar hired to star in a new 'art film', that descends into the dark, depraved world of underground pornography. I DO NOT recommend that anyone watch this film. But as a reviewer I will give my critique of what I watched; the film is actually pretty well made, there’s some great cinematography, camerawork and editing, and the acting, although dodgy in a few places is mostly solid by the main cast, it sustains threat and builds tension.

BUT, the films plot is constructed to allow shock tactic sequences for the sake of it, anyone looking for a deeper reasoning from the films horrid finale is giving the film more credit than it deserves. 'A Serbian film' is a repugnant piece of vile, hateful film making. The unnerving ending made me feel quite sickened, and I’m an open-minded fan of the weird and disturbing and I believe in freedom of expression. This is a nasty piece of exploitative work. It really is not brutal or sick (for lack of a better word) in an 'entertaining' way.

I've seen way more graphic films; I've seen films with more graphic sex (Baise-Moi) and violence (Inside), and I've seen films with more thought provoking impact (Irreversible). BUT, in the end, it's the tone, delivery and themes that make 'A Serbian Film' just plain nasty. Any deep message or moral hidden within does not give it artistic merit enough to redeem it.
If you still have some sort of morbid fascination about watching this film, remember; what has been seen, cannot be un-seen. Unless you are the most hardcore of horror fans, unless you aren't easily phased, or unless you just want to feel violated, do not watch it.

This is the hardest film I have ever tried to score. Like I've already stated; the actual quality of the production in general is solid, and based on that alone I'd possibly give it around a 7/10. Including the nasty stuff it becomes so repellent to me it drops right down to a 3/10.

The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

In a Nutshell: Tourists are ‘transformed’ into a Human Centipede by a mad scientist.



There’s a lot of talk surrounding the idea behind Tom Six’s film, the basic premise is as disgusting as expected. But, it’s done rather well for what it is…

There are shades of early David Cronenberg (Shivers), a touch of black comedy and at times it gets quite dark, yet it constantly shifts from serious to the sort of thing 'Troma' would make. I was surprised to find that it’s actually a somewhat competent horror flick, the simple idea is somehow simultaneously stupid and (dare I say) quite brilliant. But, this is where the problems arise; the idea is stretched out too thin and it was an idea that was maybe best told as a thirty minute short. There’s not enough going on here to justify a feature film, not to mention a sequel and a planned trilogy due to the original films success!

It’s not as graphic as some might lead you to believe and anything ‘shocking’ is tame in comparison to ‘A Serbian Film'. It is a disturbing concept and it’s quite well constructed, but it holds back on the imagery if you're expecting an ultra-sick-fest. It would have been good as part of an anthology, but as a feature it’s a shallow experience. It's worth a watch for curiosity sakes, just don't expect anything too serious.

6/10

House of the Devil

In a Nutshell: A college student takes on a strange babysitting job.



Ti West plays homage to 70/80’s horror and captures that style PERFECTLY! House of the Devil is a slow burning, tension building chiller in the classic sense.

There was a time when horror took its time to weave its tale of terror and get under your skin, and fear and atmosphere ALWAYS came before blood and guts! HOTD is a pitch perfect tribute to those days, from the aesthetics to the delivery, everything is spot on! It’s so good that I think if I’d have put it on without knowing it was a recent film, I would have thought it was some long lost treasure from Horrors glory days!

It puts recent nostalgia trips ‘Death Proof’, ‘Planet Terror’ and ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ to shame in terms of capturing the feel of retro horror (don't get me wrong though I do like those movies!) It’s ironic that in a genre dominated by shock-splatter such a familiar film is now fresh again. I think Ti West has made one of the best Horror flicks of recent years with a lot of passion and I look forward to his future projects.

8.5/10