31 Day Horror Challenge Day Thirteen: Sinister(2012)

A story is a very interesting and meticulous thing reminiscent of mechanical watch.  If one of the parts fails to work, the entire machine shuts down.  Sinister is a prime example of this as it is a film that could have been great but is done in by its own typical ending.

Prolific true crime author, Ellison Oswalt and his family move into a new home to serve as inspiration for his next book.  While putting things away in the attic, he discovers a box containing an old super 8 camera and 5 films.  Each film shows the brutal and savage murder of a different family.  The only thing linking the films seems to be the presence of a dark figure.  As Ellison starts uncovering more and more about these films, it begins to effect him and is family in several terrifying ways.

Sinister has some of the scariest moments, aside from a few cliche jump scares, I can recall in recent cinema.  The acting from lead characters is great, the direction is fantastic but the story just had too many holes and too weak a pay off for this to be a classic in my book.  Either way, the first hour or so of this movie makes it all worthwhile.

7/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge Day Twelve: I Saw What You Did(1965)

This is the second William Castle title on this list so far and there may be more this year.  Let’s just say I’m doing a bit of catching up on his catalog.  I Saw What You Did is a fun, if not somewhat disappointing film that has some noteworthy scenes.  It’s not the best of William Castle but it is worth watching at least once.

Libby and Kit, two teens, spend the evening prank calling people saying “I saw what you did and I know who you are.”  It’s all fun and games until they actually call a man who has just committed a murder.  Obviously, this leads to consequences and eventually the girls end up fighting for their own lives.

The premise of this film is awesome but sadly, I felt that it didn’t deliver too well.  However, there are definitely worse films to be watching.  Give it one chance!

6/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge Day Eleven: Scary or Die(2012)

Sadly, it seems as though the majority of the films this year are not very good.  I guess this is to be expected considering I’m reviewing films I’ve never seen before but this is another one that could have been much better.  It goes to show that anthology films still require a good amount of attention to detail in every single chapter.  Failure to do that in this film resulted in only one of five stories being enjoyable.  What a shame.

I’m only going to go over the plot of the one good story in this film.  It’s called Clowned and it stars Corbin Bleu; yes, the guy made famous from High School Musical.  Anyways, he is bit by a birthday clown and starts to transform into a clown.  He also gains a bloodlust for his brother and has to decide whether he loves him enough to not feed on him.  It was pretty horrifying.

As a whole, this movie is terrible and other than Clowned, the other stories aren’t even worth mentioning.  If you can, just fast forward to that one segment and check it out.  Trust me, it’s worth it.

Clowned: 9/10 stars.

Movie as a whole: 3/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge Day Ten: Rosewood Lane(2012)

Rosewood Lane, Victor Salva’s comeback to horror, is getting crapped on by critics and viewers alike for being “absurd” and “unoriginal.”  In all honesty, I didn't think it was that bad.  It kept me entertained and engaged and there were some genuinely creepy and even scary moments.  Giving this film a shot is not the worst thing you could do with your evening.

After her father dies, Sonny Blake moves back into her childhood home and intends to settle down in this somewhat serene neighborhood.  The local paper boy takes a certain interest in her and things start spiraling out of control.  She becomes paranoid that he is stalking her and sneaking in and out of her house.  Suspicion changes to danger when the blood starts flowing.

I would definitely encourage you to judge for yourself on this one but you may just find that it is fairly well done.  I thought the writing and direction was clever if not somewhat cliché.  The acting could use some work but it doesn’t take away too much from everything else.  Give it a look!

7/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge Day Nine: Grave Encounters 2(2012)

When Grave Encounters was released last year, it was a refreshing break from the typical found footage film.  It had an awesome premise, a creepy setting and some insane scares.  Grave Encounters 2, however, seems to be missing these things.  While the premise Is decent, it is not executed well and it’s safe to say that I’m reasonably let down.

A film student becomes dangerously obsessed with the first Grave Encounters film and set out to prove that the location and the film are all real.  Taking a group of friends/fellow filmmakers along with him, he does in fact stumble upon the abandoned mental hospital from the first movie.  Strange and horrifying things start to occur and they realize they are trapped inside.

The story isn’t bad but about halfway through, I felt it became too similar to the original and didn’t try hard enough to do its own thing.  The direction wasn’t as good and this is probably due to the fact that it is a new director.  The acting is pretty bad, even for a found footage film.  When it comes down to it, this is just a disappointment but not a terrible film to see if you like the first one.

4/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge: Day Eight: Pumpkinhead(1988)

There are movies that are well known because they are really good and there are movies that are well known because they are really bad.  Pumpkinhead is just bad and unmemorable.  Maybe the fact that this film has such good special effects, courtesy of the amazing Stan Winston, is fuel for its recognition.  I truly may never know.

Ed Harley is an honest, hard working and truly good person.  When he returns to his general store after leaving for only a few minutes, he finds that his son has been accidentally killed. The culprits are a group of teenagers passing through on vacation.  Desperate for revenge, he finds out where a local witch lives that can help him.  She summons the demon known as Pumpkinhead and one by one the teens are picked off.

Stan Winston was always well known for his wonderful special effects but never really took off as a director.  I don’t think that’s super surprising after viewing Pumpkinhead.  In all honesty, there are good parts but it’s probably not worth your time.  If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself but you have certainly been warned.

3/10 stars.

31 Day Horror Challenge Day Seven: Cat's Eye(1985)

Back in the heyday of film and television, and even up through the eighties, anthology style stories were all the rage.  The Twilight Zone, Dead of Night, Outer Limits, Creepshow, Amazing Stories, and many more showed that having several different stories is always welcome.  Sadly, we’ve come to a point where people would rather have a story that continues every week or a continuous movie.  Fortunately, there are plenty of movies that we can revisit.

Cat’s Eye is a fun little anthology of three different horror and suspense tales.  Each story is linked by a stray cat trying to find a little girl in distress.  These creepy tales tell of a shady business that uses “unorthodox” tactics to help people quit smoking, a millionaire that likes to play games with people’s lives and a tiny troll that lives in the walls of a little girl’s bedroom.  Each chapter is thrilling and enjoyable.

All in all, Cat’s Eye is worth your time.  It’s not the greatest anthology movie but it is entertaining and it moves well.  It’s also great for the Halloween season.  Give it a try!

7/10 Stars