Sightseers (2013)

Starring: Steve Oram, Alice Lowe
Director: Ben Wheatley


Premise:
A couple take a trip across Great Britian in his RV. She's mentally troubled due to her mother's mental abuse over the years and he is a killer with a rage issue. Soon both of these traits come to the surface and the couple is forced to work through each other's problems.

My Take:
Director Ben Wheatley makes another incredibly interesting flick by throwing horror elements into unlike genres, this time a relationship drama with a sadist twist. There are a lot of awkward moments between the characters as they figure out how to deal with each other and geniune tenderness. A lot of underlying comedy in the situations too. The two leads are outstanding and their journey leads to a conclusion which completely caught me off guard. One of my favorite horror films of the year.

Rating: So Good






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The Purge (2013)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Rhys Wakefield
Director: James DeMonaco


Premise:
In the future, America has taken care of its crime problem by allowing one night a year where anything becomes legal. A wealthy family helps a victim only to become the new target of his attackers

My Take:
I was disappointed in this movie. Mainly because the premise just doesn't work in my mind. Just because their is one night a year where crime is legal doesn't mean it was be reduced the rest of the year. And nearly every character becomes robotic when talking about "The Purge" and "The New Founding Fathers", it's udderly ridicous. Sure their is a decent underlying message about the priviledge versus the poor but it's really not enough.

Rating: Warning





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Lost Souls (1980)

AKA: Da She


Director: Tun Fei Mou


Premise:
Illegal Chinese immigrants are caught trying to sneak into Hong Kong are caught by a gang and subjected to devious methods of torture.

My Take:
If you into films where a group of sadistic men rape, torture, and kill naked woman and sometimes men and children, then maybe this movie is for you. Even though it was probably far more shocking when it was released, it is still quite disturbing. But there is really no rhyme or reason for the violence or explanations behind the actions. Some rave over this "classic explotation" movie, but I am not one of them.

Rating: Warning






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My Amityville Horror (2012)

Director: Eric Walter


Premise:
The eldest son in the famous Amityville Horror case, Daniel Lutz, is now a man in his 50's and still troubled by the happenings there. This documentary tells his story of what when on that day, how he has coped with it since then, and what he is doing now.

My Take:
No outsider will ever really know what happened in that house. There have been several studies from different resources. Daniel tells his version in a mostly confrontational manner. He comes off as an asshole most of the time and a defintely scarred by the events, how ever real or not those events were. It's an interesting piece which ultimately falls short because of Daniel Lutz and no real answers on this strange events are given.

Rating: In the middle






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The World's End (2013)

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnon, Michael Smiley
Director: Edgar Wright


Premise:
Twenty years after their failed attempt to conquerer "The Golden Mile" (12 pubs in one night), five friends reunite to with the same goal. Only they soon find out their old hometown has been taken over by alien robots in human form who want them to assimulate.

My Take:
The team of Wright, Pegg, and Frost get together for the third part of the unofficial "Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy" for a very enjoyable and fun flick. It's humorous with lots of over the top cartoonish violence and action. A fantastic cast pulls off the crazy material effortlessly.

Rating: So Good






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Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror (1986)

Director: Andrea Bianchi


Premise:
An ancient stone unleases hoards of zombies on unsuspecting guests at a country manor.

My Take:
The cult classic, and I use the term loosely, is far over rated. A person can only take so many shots of a person falling on the ground screaming cut to slow moving zombie no where close to them cut to person screaming cut slow moving zombie cut to screaming cut to zombie attack. Several times in this movie. The person could have ran away in the thirty seconds they spent screaming. Combine that with just plain stupid decisions by the characters and a weird incestal storyline and I will just give the movie a huge pass. Decent make up but dont bother with this one.

Rating:Warning







Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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R.I.P.D. (2013)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Mary Lousie Parker, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper, Mike O'Malley
Director: Robert Schwentke


Premise:
A cop is murdered by his partner after they steal gold during a bust. In the afterlife he is recruited to Rest In Peace Department which specializes in protecting the world from the undead. He is paired with a new partner and insists on solving his own murder case, which turns out to be part of huge plot to unleash the dead on Earth.

My Take:
Good stars (with Jeff Bridges doing his Rooster Cogburn impersonation again) and solid special effects but the movie feels like it just missed on something. Not sure what the something is though... maybe a little more character depth and details to the plot. The movie could be worse.

Rating: In the middle






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Curse of Chucky (2013)

Starring: Brad Douriff, Fiona Douriff
Director: Don Mancini


Premise:
A wheel chair bound young lady and her mother receive a large box in the mail containing "everyone's friend to the end", a Chucky doll. Shortly after the mother dies mysteriously and then the fun really starts

My Take:
There's a lot been stretched out of the Chucky series since it began in the 80's. The sixth in the series does a lot right. It adds a little gore and a lot of suspense and decently ties together with all the others. Its one horror series that keeps going strong which is amazing considering it probably has the silliest killer of the big name series.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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The Flesh Eaters (1964)

Starring: Martin Kosleck, Rita Morely, Barbara Wilkin, Bryon Sanders
Director: Jack Curtis


Premise:
A pilot with money trouble agrees to fly an actress to her set before a violent storm hits. The crash on a remote island and soon find out the sea surrounding them is full of creatures which survivor on flesh.

My Take:
Not sure why this B movie rates so highly as a cult classic. I found it to be an interesting premise plagued by cardboard acting and terrible effects. But to each their own.

Rating:Warning






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Byzantium (2013)

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Atkinson, Johnny Lee Miller, Sam Riley, Caleb Landry Jones
Director: Neil Jordan


Premise:
Two women are constantly on the run from the mysterious Brotherhood turn up in coastal town where one makes friends with young man and tells him the pairs secret.

My Take:
An inventive twist on vampire lore which is beautiful filmed and paced. It adds just the right amount of drama and eerie mystery as it bounces between the women's origin and their current lives. Also extremely well acted by all involved.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Manhattan Baby (1984)

Starring: Christopher Connelly, Laura Lenzi
Director: Lucio Fulci


Premise:
An archaelogist unknowingly unleases an evil Egyptian spirit which possesses his daughter and goes on a killing spree.

My Take:
A terrible title that really has nothing to do with what the movie is about and honestly this is not one of Fulci's best. It's rather boring and fairly tame considering some of the director's efforts. And the child actors are just annoying.

Rating:Warning

 




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World War Z (2013)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mirelle Enos,, David Morse,
Director: Marc Forster


Premise:
A United Nations investigator is called upon to help figure out what caused pandemic which turns people into zombies and to see if there is a cure.

My Take:
Zombie apocolypse breaks out. Brad Pitt goes off to help solve the problem, gets seperated from his family, then spends the rest of the movie trying to get back to them. This is a boring mess of a flick. And it's too bad because the source material is outstanding.

Rating: Warning

 




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Death Laid An Egg (1968)

AKA: La Morte Ha Fatto L'uovo

Starring: Gina Lollobrigida, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ewa Aulin
Director: Giulo Questi


Premise:
Workers at a chicken farm are involved in a love triangle where the man also is a killer of prostitutes.

My Take:
An interesting film which doesn't piece things completely together. A husband and wife are both interested in their young secretary. The husband is also a bit deranged. He hires and murders prostitutes as the secretary keeps denying his advances. Also there farm is becoming more high tech and the need for workers becomes less. Strange accidents keep happening around the farm which former laborers are suspected. There is beautiful imagery from start to finish.

Rating: So Good

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carey, Donald Faison, Clark Duke, John Leguizamo, Morris Chestnut
Director: Jeff Wadlow


Premise:
Kick Ass joins a group of citizens who have decided to become superheroes and Hit Girl tries to back away from the superhero lifestyle and become a normal high school girl. In the meantime Red Mist assembles a team of thugs to destroy every one Kick Ass loves.

My Take:
A fine sequel to the orginal. I dont recall the first movie being this gory, which is why I added it. The story is great and the cast is solid. There is plenty of action, comedy, and a surprising amount of splatter. Hopefully this sets up another sequel.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Temptation (2009)

Starring:  Caroline Haines, Laura Evans, Rachel Waters
Director: Catherine Taylor


Premise:
A young woman is raped and left for dead by a cabbie when a vampire saves her. Now the woman must deal with what she is becoming.

My Take:
Really, the movie is just boring. It tries to be sexy and dramatic but fails at both. Not much gore either. I think the effort by cast and crew was there but only so much can be done with bad material.

Rating: Warning

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Pacific Rim (2013)

Starring: Charlie Hunnan,Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Clifton Collins Jr, Ron Pearlman, Rinko Kikuchi
Director: Guillermo del Toro


Premise:
After Earth is attacked by giant beasts from another dimensions, Nations come together to create giant robots controlled by humans to battle the invaders.

My Take:
The story is decent, the acting is great, and the special effects are amazing. But over all I was a little disappointed in the movie. Maybe I expected more from Del Toro as he is one of my favorite directors. Still, it's an entertaining flick.

Rating: In the middle (though a bit underwhelmed)






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Nothing Left To Fear (2013)

Starring: Anne Heche, Clancy Brown, James Tupper, Rebekah Brandes
Director: Anthony Leonardi III


Premise:
A pastor moves his family to a small community that holds a secret, ancient evil.

My Take:
The are good special effects and a few sequences worth watching but over all this a boring flick full of holes and not much explanation given about "the ancient evil" which possesses the new pastor's daughter and why it has to occur.

Rating: Warning






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Watcher In the Woods (1982)

Starring: Bette Davis, Carroll Baker, David McCallum
Director: John Hough, Vincent McEveety


Premise:
A family moves to the countryside where their daughter gets involved in a disappearance of girl thirty years earlier.

My Take:
Though it is a bit out dated and the acting is a bit rough, the movie has a decent story behind it. And Bette Davis is very creepy.

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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