THE GREEN INFERNO

October 7, 2016 by moviemanster

Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) holds a special place in my cold, crumpled HEART. Whenever I hear about a new project involving him I enthusiastically anticipate its release. When The Green Inferno was announced, however, I was hesitant. I had already seen Cannibal Holocaust and didn’t think much of that so I didn’t have any hope for a practical remake. The trailer didn’t seem to have any substance, I thought it looked like a carbon copy of its predecessor, and when it was finally released the critics were not very kind. Continue reading →

THE NEON DEMON

October 6, 2016 by moviemanster

Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive [high up on my favorites list], [the abysmal] Only God Forgives) and Cliff Martinez (ditto) have teamed up once again to bring forth a new movie featuring beautiful scenery, subtle themes, mesmerizing music, and, of course, actors taking long pauses to gaze into their colleague’s eyes before delivering their lines. The Neon Demon puts a magnifying glass up against the ROTTEN underbelly of the L.A. fashion industry and the obsessed models attempting to claw their way to the top. Elle Fanning’s (Super 8) sixteen-year-old new-in-town model Jesse starts off sweet and innocent but soon starts blossoming into something she can’t take back, leaving her to question how far she will go and if it is all really worth it. Continue reading →

WOLFCOP

October 5, 2016 by moviemanster

This movie is a hoax people. Wrap it up and go home! What had the potential to be a tongue-in-cheek, grindhouse-style cult classic turned out to be one of the most boring, non-funny stack of shit pancakes I’ve ever had the displeasure of eating…WITH MY EYES! Nothing-is-good-about-this-schlock-fest-and-yes-I-know-I’m-getting-carried-away-but-I-just-want-to-get-this-over-with-so-I-can-stop-talking-about-WolfCop!

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STAKE LAND

October 4, 2016 by moviemanster

Stake Land is a 2010 post-apocalyptic road movie set to the tune of vampirism. The film was conceived by apparent dynamic duo director Jim Mickle (Cold in July, We Are What We Are) and star Nick Damici (Late Phases) who both came together to pen the script. Connor Paolo (Mystic River), Kelly McGillis (Top Gun), and Danielle Harris (Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers) round out the rest of the cast. Martin (Paolo) finds himself in the care of Mister (Damici) after his family is brutally murdered before his eyes. Mister teaches Martin (possibly named after the George A. Romero movie, also about BLOODSUCKERS in Pennsylvania?) the ways of vampire hunting as they head north to the promised land of New Eden, encountering strangers along the way. Continue reading →

THE UNBORN

October 2, 2016 by moviemanster

The Unborn is a film from 2009 about a girl in college who starts having nightmares and visions of a creepy kid. She soon finds out that she had a twin brother that died before they were born, so she tries to find the connection. Is it all in her head or is something sinister really happening? Continue reading →

HOUSEBOUND

October 2, 2016 by moviemanster

Welcome to MASSACRE MARATHON 2016! It seems to be a budding tradition that I must watch a comedy/horror out of New Zealand. Last year I started the celebrations with the excellent What We Do in the Shadows and tonight I kicked it all off with Housebound. I had heard pretty good things about the latter for a couple years now so I decided to test the validity of the warm reception. Jump on in folks, it’s time to party! Continue reading →

Where are you?

September 30, 2016 by moviemanster

BLAIR WITCH

September 22, 2016 by moviemanster

There was a time when a little horror movie was being developed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next) under the moniker “The Woods”. Then, in an abrupt turn of events two months ago at San Diego Comic Con, that film was revealed to be a third entry in the Blair Witch series. To help keep the secret while in production Wingard actually filmed the movie in Vancouver, as opposed to the original being filmed on location in Burkittsville, Maryland. I think it’s safe to say that nobody saw this coming, especially nearly 20 years after The Blair Witch Project took the nation by storm. Immediately following the reveal I was extremely void of excitement. The trailer looked like a cheap attempt at rebooting a classic and left me with not only a bad taste in my mouth, but a streak of anger. But as the release date got closer and the reviews started pouring out I found not a single write-up that condemned Blair Witch as I assumed they all would. So, I decided to re-balance my expectations and see it in the theater. Maybe there was a lot more to this incarnation that wasn’t hinted at in the trailer. Continue reading →

THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR

July 14, 2016 by moviemanster

purge-election-year-poster

The Purge has become an almost annual tradition, much like its promotional material implies. As Saw used to be to the Halloween season, The Purge has started to mark its territory as the 4th of July. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they still have sequels up their sleeves to continue into “milking it” territory, but for now I’m OK with the yearly installments because they are (somehow) managing to keep this fantasy world fresh with new ideas. By now I’m sure the majority of people reading this already know what The Purge is about. One night out of the year the future government declares all crime legal in an effort to reduce crime for the remaining 364 days. From the trailers of these films alone one could easily write this trilogy off as torture porn with no substance and I would understand, but if they actually took the time to watch any one Purge film they would find a much deeper societal/political dialogue hidden behind the blood.

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SAW III

November 4, 2015 by moviemanster

♆♆♆ Saw ♆♆♆ Saw II ♆♆♆

STOP
If you haven’t read the previous reviews, you might not understand what I’m talking about in this one! Click the links at the top!

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Saw III starts up with the echoing screams from the ending of the last one, throwing you right back into the mix. It’s a nice opening to get the horror juices flowing, whether you just watched Saw II or not. Jigsaw is on his deathbed and has a new acolyte carrying out his twisted games while he pulls the strings behind the scenes. The brainwashed follower captures a surgeon from a hospital with the intent of preserving Jigsaw for as long as possible. A second story runs parallel with a man named Jeff, played by Angus Mcfayden (Braveheart, Equilibrium), who had lost everything waking up in a run of traps. Wandering through the obstacle course, he faces the people he accused of ruining his life and must decide what becomes of them.

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