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SonOfThunor
Reviews
Cuando acecha la maldad (2023)
Promising up until the ending
The movie starts off strong and keeps your interest with a well-paced story and excellent special effects. Gratuitous violence, gore, and body horror galore. Some scenes contained will definitely make a jaw or two drop for the casual watchers of horror cinema. But, where this movie really falls short is the ending. You lose all sympathy for the protagonist (in my case, annoyed) while being left with more questions than answers and a feeling of dissatisfaction as the end credits start to roll. To me, the ending really just came across as rushed and lazy. Had it ended where you think it's going to end (before returning back to the protagonist for the closing scene of the film) it may have left a better taste in my mouth. Overall it was a good movie whose ending kind of shot it in the foot.
Halloween Ends (2022)
True trash
This film is garbage. It's an absolute piss taken on the franchise and its longtime fans. The fact the director is now moving on to ruin The Exorcist is an extremely sad reality. There is nothing that can be said to redeem this film. The only way it would have worked is if they made a new story that excluded Michael Myers and used a different title (this is coming from someone who is a huge Halloween 3 and Jason Goes to Hell fan). My only hope is that this film gets buried and forgotten in the annals of time and fades into obscurity. Shame on everyone involved in the making of this film for giving Halloween fans the biggest middle finger to the face in the franchises history. Totally undeserving of even the 5 stars it currently is rated at the top of the page.
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
A film that neglects proper lighting
What could have been a fun movie is ruined by bad lighting and amateur directing. I had read that the bad lighting was due to 1. Wanting to mask what the creators of this film felt were "bad sfx" and 2. That they didn't want the creatures in the spotlight of the film... But the film is called ALIEN VS PREDATOR; those two things are literally what people watch this movie for. My question to the directors is why even pick this screenplay up? Why not pass it on to someone better equipped to direct a feature film? I think the directors lesson to be learned here is to stick to music videos, feature films are not in your wheelhouse. I hope someone worthy of continuing the franchise picks up where part 1 left off and right this wrong.
August Underground (2001)
Excellent Extreme Horror
The found footage film to end all found footage films. Vogel set out to create a shockingly realistic presentation of life thru the eyes of a psychopath and did just that. AU is relentless in its dehumanizing brutality, yet with the occasional cut scene on the home video camera to more innocent and "normal" behavior by the killer. This contrast adds to the horror of the fact that you can never trust a stranger despite how average-Joe they may seem. The convenience store scene, in particular, shows how something that starts as seemingly harmless can very quickly escalate into a nightmare made reality. Considering the extremely low budget, the special effects here are superb; enough to make the uninitiated viewer question the fiction of what they are witnessing. If you want gore here, you got it. If you want to put your sensibilities to the test, you got it. And if you want a masterclass on practical special effects of the most extreme degree, look no further. I give AU the highest recommendation for gorehounds and viewers looking for an adventure in the darkest and most brutal backalleys of horror cinema.
Ku bei (2021)
Not a Zombie movie
First, let's address how the movie was marketed... It is absolutely not a Zombie film, as there were no "undead". This is more like 28 Days Later meets The Crazies (basically, people just going full blown maniac-mode by way of viral infection). I'd also say it misses the mark in being considered an "extreme horror". Not much going on here except the over the top bloody visuals which you've likely already seen in other films before. Given the premise of the film and how the self-aware infected operate without any limits, there was alot of missed opportunities for more imaginative & creative kills and deaths. Again, everything has a very predictable and "seen this before" flow to it. One redeeming factor is that I noticed little to no CGI, which is a plus especially for a movie like this. But, unfortunately there isn't much of a story being told here and therfore lacks any suspense, character development, or captivating aspect (you can get on your phone for 5 mins and look up and not have missed anything important). I also felt the ending was rather inconclusive. Overall, if you want a mindless barrage of splatter and gore then this might scratch that itch - but that's really all the film has going for it. I give it a 5 outta 10 only because I did enjoy the scene of the first "infected" of the film.
Confessional (2019)
Nothing thrilling about this thriller
This really could have been 30 mins tops. Long, drawn out, lacking climax or anything really interesting. The film, moving at a snails pace, feels like more of a chore to sit thru than anything else and the ending leaves the viewer wondering why they stuck it out the entire time. I hate to leave such a negative review about someone's efforts, but it just missed every mark.
Gerald's Game (2017)
Quite good
I thought this movie was great. Very minimal with the amount of actors / settings involved, but doesnt lack any of King's staple darkness. Plenty of uncomfortable to watch scenes, some eerie creepiness, and a gore scene that feels like you need to force yourself through without shielding your eyes. One thing I really liked about it is that it somehow had that early-mid 90s vibe that King's film/TV adaptations had during that time. It is a bit of a slow burner, but any fan of King's stories knows that it always pays off in the end.
Trauma (2017)
As far as horrorsploitation goes - not bad, but not great
Imagine something like a recipe made with one part "I Spit on Your Grave", one part "I Saw the Devil", and sprinkled with the seasoning of "A Serbian Film" and, voila, you get "Trauma".
The movie, overall, is not bad for its type in the genre of exploitation / horror. For those who have never seen flicks like "Salo", "A Serbian Film" (uncut), or "Irreversible" I'm sure this film will absolutely ruin your day. But those who have experienced the sheer horrors of the aforementioned movies may be underwhelmed.
Dont get me wrong, there are some truly shocking and vile scenes (most of which take place in the first 30ish minutes of the film). The opening where a boy is drugged / jerked off and then forced by his father to have sex with his bloodied and tortured mother only to have her brains blown out during intercourse is one such scene. Another scene that I found particularly upsetting was the flashback to the father as a young man with jar of lube which lead to fingering a baby in its crib at the command of his own psychotic military politician father. And then theres the ever-so-gross father & son incest scenes that take place between the boy from the beginning (all grown up, now the father) and his son who was born out of incest with his own sister (who he keeps chained up in his weirdo dungeon cave).
Some aspects that cheapened the overall effect for me were things like CGI blood splatter (always looks dumb to me), the antagonist John Wick-ing an entire room of guys with guns drawn on him (great choreography, but a little over the top in terms of believability), and the countless times throughout the movie that the victims could have either escaped or killed the bad guys but didnt (I found myself yelling at them more than the villains eventually).
After the first 30 - 40 minutes of the film it plays out more like a catch-me-if-you-can vigilantes on a rescue mission type of film. Only, nobody really wins / lives in the end
So, again, for the type of movie this is it wasnt bad, but it wasnt anything I'd rank as "top 3 most shocking / brutal movies of all time." (fortunately, theres far more gross / shocking movies out there...)
Terrifier (2016)
Sticks to the formula, but doesnt disappoint
In a world where American horror cinema seems dominated by James Wan films and endless remakes; this movie was quite refreshing. By no means was this film ground breaking or "new" in regards to the genre, but something about it just worked. A pretty standard slasher storyline, victims that lack all notions of common sense, and a monstrous villian in the form of a clown comprise the setting of the film. As I said, nothing new, but extremely well done for what it is. Some of the visuals in this movie really bring it together with some excellent shots of violence and haunting creepiness that will stuck with most viewers after the credits roll. Had this been made in the 80s, it may have become quite the icon. I'd say that even the most devoted horror nerds can find something to appreciate in Terrifier.
The Shallows (2016)
garbage *spoiler.. I guess
If you want to watch a GOOD shark attack horror/thriller that has a well crafted story, good character development, and much better acting then watch Jaws. The Shallows is more than not worth your money, but it's not worth the time of the movie. This should have been made for TV, how it got the big studio budget it did is a mystery to me. The movie starts out seeming like it may have a prospect of being decent. Even the first third of the movie has you thinking it might have been worth the price of the ticket. The movie continues repetitively and underwhelming until the last quarter of the movie where the eye-roll worthy action starts. The movie is marketed as "you'll never expect how it ends" which I can't decide as being completely false advertising or a spot on description (I truly didn't expect the film to end as lazy and terrible as it did.) And then the last scene of the movie might as well be an insult to anyone going into the theater expecting to see a horror film. Skip it.