Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Collection (2012)


The Collection - A Fun Trailer!

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

(Liked It) 


Netflix Synopsis: After escaping the dungeon of a serial killer, a man is forced to return to a house of horrors to help save a woman now in the killer's clutches.*

The Peeps:  Marcus Dunstan (co-writer, director); Patrick Melton (co-writer); Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Lee Tergesen

Quick Run Down: So Many Writer's Privileges, Atmospheric, Gore Gore Gore

Worth the Watch: Yeah!

Three friends are on their way to a secret party, where a slew of less-than-25-year-olds (seriously - past that, we gotta work) are chugging booze and dancing half naked to bass heavy music pumped out by a hot DJ.  Unbeknownst to all involved, though, there's a guest at the party that wasn't on the list, and he's more lethal than any drug or amount of alcohol being ingested.  In fact, he's a sadistic killer!  But the killer leaves the party with a victim - Emma - that has connections, and those connections want to bring her home.  So enters Arkin, our lead, who's one of the only people that has managed to escape the killer and is now being commissioned to help a team find Emma.  Their hunt leads them into a chamber of horror and carnage they've never seen the likes of before!  

The Collection picks up an unknown but presumably short amount of time after its predecessor, The Collector, a title eponymous of the main character - a beady-eyed and black-masked serial killer that's part extremo-sadist, part Einstein/Tesla mastermind.  The first film (only available on DVD through Netflix) was a clever, atmospheric slasher taking place in mostly one location with minimal actors and a bunch of trap and gadget scenarios reminiscent of Saw (Dunstan and Melton wrote the last 4 installments of this franchise; they are also responsible for the scripts of the Feast trilogy).  It wasn't great, but it was fun, well-done, and a nice breath of fresh air from all the bad too-smart-to-be-stopped serial killer flicks spawned by the original Saw.  It's ultimate success led to an inevitable sequel too, and thus we have The Collection, a movie that proves that a bad script can work if there are other elements that are really strong.

Alright, maybe the script isn't that bad.  There's a cohesive plot, a basic narrative, and characters that are stock but solid.  Still, this movie has a LOT of writer's privileges.  If you watch this film and you're a person that needs your fingers to count, you'll have to take off your shoes to tally up the number of times you'll say, "Well, that wouldn't happen" or "Yeah, right".  Just tons of unbelievable stuff going on here; yet, there are enough one-liners (some dubbed after the fact) to keep the viewer from thinking the things happening are too ridiculous. I know it's a horror movie, but there has to be some kind of credibility or the audience stops giving a damn.  The Collection comes so close to that but manages to stop just before going to far, the tips of its shoes hanging precariously over the edge. Based on the editing, it looks like the script probably had a lot more in it, but Dunstan (director) decided to cut out a lot that either didn't work, didn't come out well, or did in fact push the flick over the aforementioned cliff. This should hurt the film, but, actually, it doesn't.  There are a lot of other things going on that are really fun to watch.  The acting is good, with Josh Stewart (Arkin) reprising his punk thief role adequately and Emma Fitzpatrick (Elena) an expressive, beautiful face in a crowd of tough men and ravaged bodies.  I have a soft spot for Lee Tergesen, so I think he's great, even though he doesn't really do much here.  Melton and Dunstan try to throw in some little jokes and quips, but they don't work as the dialogue is mostly unnecessary throughout the film.  What really keeps the film going is the production design, cinematography, and special effects.  The rooms in the movie are cast in deep blue, green, or red or the opposite - bright florescent, making things eerie and uncomfortable because of strange colors and lack of vision or so visible that there's nowhere to hid, both instances keeping tension stapled to the viewer.  Marry this with some bizarre production design ideas like fly zappers, jars of bugs or miscellaneous body parts, plus general carnage, and you've got a sadistically effective couple.  The final touch though, the priest making this unholy union complete, is the special effects.  Gary Tunnicliffe is responsible for the body parts and gore gore gore in The Collection, and he outdoes himself.  There's SO much to look at, from scattered limbs to eviscerated corpses to simple bone breaks to arterial spray.  It's all done really well and shows Tunnicliffe is at the top of his game. He's done make-up for a crap load of movies - a couple of Hellraiser's, Mission Impossible II, Feast, Scary Movie 5, so his range is unprecedented.  He doesn't seem to be slowing down, either, as he just finished the effects for Fincher's new one, Gone Girl.  So, some impressive stuff from him and a big highlight for The Collection.  I can't wait to see what his next horror movie stuff looks like.

All said and done, if you wanna watch a movie that lacks in script but has some bad-ass special effects, creepy settings, and a lot of general gore, check out The Collection.  It's an above average slasher flick that I think you'll enjoy.  You know where to find it - Netflix!

This is what happens when you have too much
Tunnicliffe at a party.

"I can't believe your dad let you out of the house with that psycho on the loose." - really?
___
*Netflix is TM and copyrighted.  Any material used or stemming from the site is theirs, exclusively; all rights reserved.  This site is not, in any way, affiliated with Netflix.  It's only a horror hound helping consumers find the best (and worse) horror movies available on the website. Happy watching!




Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Detention (2011)


Detention - Trailer
☆ ☆   

(Liked It) 


Netflix* Synopsis:  When a past-her-prime prom queen with homicide on her mind shows up at the senior prom, it's not just the kids in detention who miss the big event.

The Peeps:  Joseph Kahn (director, co-writer); Mark Palermo (co-writer); Josh Hutchinson, Riley Jones, Spencer Locke, Dane Cook

Quick Run Down:  All Over The Place, Relentless Pop Culture/Film References, Fun

Worth the Watch:  Yeah

Riley Jones is a cynical and disgruntled high schooler with an opinion on everything, an unrequited crush on the popular boy - Clapton Davis, and classmates that are being offed by someone in a Halloween mask from the horror-movie-within-the-movie movie Cinderhella. Also, there's a kind of high school love triangle. Also, there's a boy that has fly blood. Also, there's a time traveling bear. Also... there's a lot is going on in this flick.

Detention is hard to describe.  The Netflix synopsis barely touches the tip of the iceberg, and my own write up just mentions some of the random stuff that happens. Neither relay just how much goes on in the film, and it would take some serious paragraphs to give an adequate description of everything. So, suffice it to say:  there's a killer, a bunch of high schoolers way too smart for their own good, and a time-traveling bear.  Those are the most important things you need to know.  Don't let this confusing or vague summary deter you from clicking on Detention, though. It's actually quite fun.  It has an overwhelming amount of material for just 93 minutes, but it's paced well, has innumerable one-liners and some fun visuals. The flick constantly references 90's pop culture and homages/rips off other films, from Roadhouse to Breakfast Club to Vice Versa/Like Father, Like Son/Freaky Friday (there's even a debate on who would win between Patrick Swayze and Steven Segal.), and this is entertaining, despite verging annoying at times.  Also, the movie uses stuff like writing on the screen to describe things, breaking the fourth wall, using frames to announce the upcoming segment of the film as "The Lonely Ballad of Billy Nolan" or "The Disturbing Abduction of the Time Traveler Bear", and showing text messages beside their typists written in that indecipherable text lingo that only high school kids actually understand. This kind of material can be one note, and therefore get old quick, but Kahn and Palermo (writers) use an array of actions to entertain us while employing this same humor across the board. The movie becomes bat-shit in the second half as things get more and more far-fetched (and more difficult to follow), but the acting and visuals keep it together and make the film fun.  Hutchinson, who plays the young popular guy - Clapton Davis, does a cool high school kid well, and Shanley Caswell (Riley Jones) is good as a pissed off teen.  They both have lines like, "You are more concept than reality" and "Good taste is not a democracy", but we are willing to forgive that kind of pretentiousness because the film is still making us laugh.  Dane Cook plays a principal, and he's got a couple of good lines but nothing great.  (If you don't like Cook, I have a sneaking suspicion you won't like this movie, but you should still check it out - Cook gets his.)  All of these things together make the film feel ADD, but it keep its charm and doesn't become annoying, though it gets very close.


One of the films that is mentioned in the movie is Scream and I feel like Detention was very much trying to pull off a modern version of that.  With it's meta-fictional opening, insistent movie referencing , and general attitude, it seems Kahn (director) was trying to present something fresh and witty in what the movie calls the "post-irony" era of fiction.  I don't do labels well - modern, post modern, post post modern: whatever - but if Detention is a kind of wave of the future for horror movies, I hope it doesn't take off.  I enjoyed the movie but not enough to watch several versions of it over and over again.

So, if you wanna watch a fun but busy flick that does a lot of interesting things while providing non-stop pop culture and movie references, check out Detention.  It's doesn't have a lot of substance, but it's an energetic film with fun lines and segments all throughout.  If you don't believe, find out for yourself - it's on Netflix! 

I wanna see this

"You let a mass murderer feel your bosom."

___
*Disclaimer: Netflix is TM and copyrighted; all rights reserved.  Any material used or stemming from the site is theirs, exclusively.  This site is not, in any way, affiliated with Netflix.  It's only a horror hound's effort to help consumers find the best (and worse) horror movies available on the website. Happy watching!


Sunday, September 7, 2014

The Final (2010)

The Final - Trailer
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 

(Hated It) 


Netflix Synopsis:  Using gruesome forms of torture, an unpopular high school kid leads a group of outcasts in taking revenge on the "cool" kids who've always harassed them.

The Peeps:  Joey Stewart (director); Joshua Kabolati (writer); Marc Donato, Lindsay Seidely, Justin Arnold

Quick Run Down:  Dormant, Boring, Mostly Torture-less

Worth the Watch:  Nope

Dane and his friends are bullied by high school peers day in and day out, but they finally can't take any more and decide to stage a party where they plan to exact revenge.

Revenge movies are straight forward.  You've got the crime followed by the vengeance.  The action and the consequence.  Bully films are an even easier version of this.  A bunch of big kids pick on small kids, the small kids get pissed off, and go after/kill/torture the big kids. Simple math: the tormented becomes the tormentor.  We've all been bullied too, or at least felt helpless at the hands of some colossal asshole, so when we watch these films the characters are easy to relate to.  The audience is quick to identify with the 'picked on', and the film is usually able to give us a form of catharsis in the end, cheap and vicarious though it may be.  Still, we expect to feel some kind of release, maybe even pleasure, when we see the weak rise against the strong.  I think this is because we ourselves feel weak, that weakness is the bullhorn of subjectivity - our own insecurities, our own faults, and our desire to be accepted by others despite those things, but I don't know.  And this is a horror movie blog, not some psych lecture. So, The Final...

... is not a good movie.  It follows the basic formula but does nothing with it.  In the first half, there's an adequate set up for figuring out who the jackasses are, and there's even a kind of energy coming from the 'bulliers' that keeps you interested in the film.  Bradly - the biggest bully, played by Justin Arnold - does a good job at just being an asshole.  We all recognize him and can probably pick him out of our H.S. memories.  The acting, in general though, isn't good, so you're not really interested in the characters that much - bullied or not.  Still, you're willing to see the film through because you wanna know what the tormented kids are going to do once they finally have the upper hand. Unfortunately, that turns out to a let down.  Taking the place of what could have been good, physical torture is a bunch of highfalutin dialogue about bravery, nobility, and other romantic concepts that the lead kid - Dane (Marc Donato) - goes on about.  It's time and words wasted in a bully/torture flick and leaves the film feeling flat and preachy.  Plus, the things that DO happen are boring and amateurly presented.  There are a lot of awkward moments, way too much silence, and tons of gaps and/or loose ends.  The energy from the first half - when the bullies are doing the damage - is completely lost, and the film starts to feel constrained, too controlled, almost like it's chained in some way.  You WANT something good to happen, for the bullied kids to freak out or lose it, but the story forces them to maintain themselves too much, making everything feel calculated and unnatural.  This makes the real torture having to sit through Dane's speeches. which is maybe a fast one the director (Joey Stewart) was trying to pull on us, but I doubt it.  I think the movie just forgot what it was supposed to be doing.  Two final things: there's a sub-thread involving a Vietnam vet that is entirely pointless and unnecessary, and one of the scenes is a blatant rip-off of Audition.

So, if you want to watch a torture flick that doesn't have much of any actual torture in it but might be considered torture if you sit through it, check out The Final.  Honestly, I'd just watch the trailer and, if you're still interested, visit Youtube for other scenes from the movie.  It'll save you time.  If you feel like still giving the flick a go anywho, you know where to find it - Netflix!


This isn't near as cool as it looks.

"Think of this as the final, and there's only one question - what did I do to deserve this?"


Thursday, September 4, 2014

Proxy (2013)


Proxy - Trailer

☆ ☆ 
  

(Liked It) 

Netflix Synopsis:  A series of revelations causes a shattered young woman who was assaulted during pregnancy to rethink her new relationships. 

The Peeps:  Zack Parker (co-writer, director); Kevin Donner (co-writer); Alexia Rasmussen, Alexa Havins, Joe Swanberg

Quick Run Down:  Great Premise, Strong Strong First Half, Lacking Second Half

Worth the Watch:  The First Hour, Absolutely; The Second... See Below

Esther Woodhouse is lying on her back in the room of a prenatal care center.  Her pregnant stomach is exposed, and we can tell she's about to pop - her belly looks like the bald head of a Caucasian giant.  A technician sits next to Esther, and she is preparing an ultrasound, all the while chit-chatting about the goods and bads of knowing a baby's sex before birth.  Esther offers little comment and mainly just stares at the ceiling with an oscillating, indecipherable expression - despair? trepidation? fear? - on her face.  The conversation continues, the ultrasound is completed, and Esther leaves.  She gets about a block away from the hospital when a hooded figure smashes a brick into the back of her skull.  When she finally wakes later, her situation has changed considerably and the path of her life has taken a serious turn.


I struggled with how much to divulge of Proxy. The above is just the opening scene written out with some lines thrown in at the end to tease the rest of the movie, and I only tease the remaining - instead of explaining - because there's a lot in this flick that works really well.  Little things and scenes that play off in a strange, uncomfortable way.  A way that, between the writing and director, make the movie almost completely engrossing, and I don't want to spoil those things because the first hour is, I think, friggin' awesome.  It's mysterious, unpredictable, fresh, and intriguing.  Esther, played by Rasmussen, appears innocent and naive, maybe even a little simple, but there's something festering under the surface. Something craving and maybe depraved.  Something that comes through in the character's actions and reactions but Rasmussen keeps hidden well through her flat expressions and delayed, almost stoned-like, attitude.  She's a character feeling things and wanting to feel more, hoping there's more to feel.  We still don't know what her true intentions or motives are, though, what she really wants, and, while we are trying to figure that out, we are suddenly presented with another character that has her own set of issues.  Issues that ultimately raise questions in the mind of a character that WE have questions about.  It's all a subtly but seamlessly layered presentation of mystery, character, screwed up emotional universes, and twisted actions done to satisfy basic human desires. And then all of that is lost.

**Spoilers Ensue**


There's a scene in the middle of Proxy that I think is brilliant.  Very cleverly directed, highly emotional if not shocking, and totally attention grabbing.  With the preceding events at play, it's hard to turn away because you're curious just what this character is going to do and then, the director gives you something AWESOME.  Something shot in a very unique, fun, and ballsy way.  It's a beautiful scene with really really really good music, but, afterwards, the tight, interesting, perfectly paced script begins to skip.  It loses focus and starts to follow too many characters.  We get away from Esther (who you don't really realize is the stitch that holds the yarn together until later in the movie) and start to follow people that we're interested in but not enough to spend the rest of the movie with.  In fact, I'll say that, after the first hour, you're going to get restless, maybe bored, because the story begins to unfold just like any other uneven horror movie - through characters we don't really care about in ways that seem unrealistic and ridiculous.  Parker (the director) might have even felt this way himself because, in that last hour, we don't have near the creativity or emotion coming from the camera.  It's all routine stuff either done in the first half or in every other movie made.  And that's sad too because that first half is cool.


For the miscellaneous stuff, there aren't any scares here but good tension that rings through a lot of the first hour scenes.  The acting from Rasmussen is very downplayed and appears lazy at times, but I'm thinking this was the choice for the character.  I've only seen her in one other movie - Losers Take All - and she was fun but not great.  I'm thinking her acting is par, but this particular character's attitude happen to suit her and that made all the difference.  Alexa Havins, who plays Melanie, does a really good job, and, even though the story loses momentum, she stays steady til the end of the film.  Joe Swanberg (Patrick) is weak, as he's been in the three or four other things I've seen him in, and Kristina Klebe (Anika) just can't pull off the nuances Havins and Rasmussen can, which leaves her out-acted.  What there is of blood, the scenes are shot in non-exploitation, if not artistic, ways to avoid drawing any kind of attention to it.  Something I noticed in the movie is that there are almost no male characters.  The first half has a very minimal cast, and every one of them are female.  Not until about mid way through do we actually get a male character, and then they pop up sporadically through the rest of the flick.  Interesting choice on Parker's part.

So, if you want to watch a movie that has a really strong first hour with some beautiful shots, really interesting plot changes, and good to great acting but finishes with a lacking, uneven, and unfocused second hour, check out Proxy.  I say I "Liked It" because I can't deny that the first half was great for me, so much so that I think it's worth the watch despite the rest.  If only they had shortened the... whatever the case, Proxy's both good and bad, all in one.  If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.  It's on Netflix!

I'm pruneeey!

"We all need someone to listen."