Missing (2009)

AKA: Sil Jong

Starring: Chu Ja-hyeon, Mun Seong-kun
Director: Kim Sung-hong


Premise:
A woman gets captured by a serial killer in a remote Korean village. Her sister searches for her and experiences first hand what happened to her.

My Take:
A familiar story is made watchable by a believable cast and a few gut churning scenes.  

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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True Detective, Season 1 (2014)

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey,



Premise:
Two former detectives get called in for questioning about an serial killer investigation they solved twenty years prior.

My Take:
One of the best new series to come along in years. The series cuts back and forth between the original investigation and the current questioning to create a tension filled mystery. Then the two former partners decide to reinvestiage the case to bring the correct killer to justice. Fascinating televesion.

Rating: Instant Classic



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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The Fields (2011)

Starring: Choris Leachman, Tom McCarthy, Tara Reid
Director: Tom Mattera, David Mazzoni


Premise:
A young boy goes to stay with his grandparents in a rural farming community after his parents split up. Soon they are all terrorized by a unknown group.

My Take:
A slow moving drama where the viewer is lead to believe these attacks are due to the young boy's over active imagination. It ends up not being the case. And there is a lot of bizarre and strange scenes to enjoy. Plus Choris Leachman is fantastic. But by the end, it's all a tad under satisfying of an outcome.

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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Hell (2011)

Starring: Hannah Herzsprung, Stipe Erceg
Director: Tim Fehlbaum


Premise:
Global temperature has risen to the point where drinking water has dried up and the sun's ray are toxic. A family makes their way across Germany in search for shelter.

My Take:
A decently plotted movie which doesn't add a lot to the subgenre but manages to keep things interesting. Great cinemaphotography in each frame.

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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Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes (2012)

Starring: Drew Rausch, Rich McDonald, Ashley Wood
Director: Corey Grant


Premise:
An investigative crew goes to the rural California forest to find out about a hunter's claim on finding a Bigfoot body. They document the findings in hopes of turning it into a television program.  

My Take:
This is boring movie with a group of "investigators" who keep stumbling into non scary situation and screaming into the camera. I dont know how many times a character did something like saying "you guy wont believe this" into the camera, then setting the camera down to go look at whatever it is they are talking about it. The group is suppose to be filming a series! It's annoying and is a good portion of the film.

Rating: Steaming Pile






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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X Games (2010)

AKA:  X Gêmu


Director: Yôhei Fukuda


Premise:
A group of students wake up in an abandoned school room where they are forced to play a game of torture where there can only be one winner

My Take:
I ended up not caring about any of the characters playing the game therefore I couldn't care less how it ended. Plus it clocked in at nearly two hours which is way to long for a film like this. 

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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Sleepy Hollow: Season 1 (2013)

Starring: Nicole Beharie, Tom Minson, Lyndie Greenwood, Orlando Jones, John Cho, John Noble, Clancey Brown, Katia Winter



Premise:
Icabod Crane gets resurrected into modern times to help stop The Headless Horseman, who has returned and is actually sent to start the apocolypse. He gets help from a local dectective named Abby who's family history is more involved in this mystery then she ever imagined.

My Take:
I first went into the series a little hesitation based on the premises I read, but the show turned out to be very entertaining and unique. Each week more to this mystery is revealed and more layers are actually uncovered. The first season was a fantastic ride and will eagerly be awaiting more. 

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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Hidden In the Woods (2012)

Starring: Siboney Lo, Carolina Escobar,
Director: Patriciio Valladares



Premise:
Two sisters and their brother are raised in rural Chile by their psychotic, drug dealing, abusive, rapist father. The siblings finally stand up to their father and run away to make it on their own. He goes ballistic and eventually gets arrested. The local drug kingpin denies the man help to get out until he reveals where the drugs are stashed and instead goes off to find the kids, thinking they know about the drugs.

My Take:
The film is gritty and really defies a lot of logic, in fact the story goes all over the place from child abuse and rape to a deformed sibling to prostitution to cannibalism to crazy drug dealer shoot outs, but despite the flaws it is hard not to get sucked into this crazy ass world. The characters play it all with the upmost believability. The movie is not for everyone but I found it interesting.

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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Uninhabited (2011)

Starring: Geraldine Hakewill, Henry James
Director: Bill Bennett


Premise:
A young couple go to a small, uninhabited island for a vacation only to find out there are not the only one's there.

My Take:
Hey, it's an uninhabited island. Let's stop here and a fun couple of days. Oh wait, why have my things been messed with and spread all over camp? What are those strange sounds in the woods? Bicker, bicker, bicker. It's obviously a ghost wanting revenge. At least the two main actors are likeable and the scenery is gorgeous.

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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I Can See You (2008)

Starring: Benjamin Dickinson, Larry Fessenden
Director: Graham Reznick


Premise:
A group of co-workers take a trip to the woods in order to gain inspiratiion for a client's campaign. Then one of the members go missing. 

My Take:
Most of the movie is slow moving and the viewer is not exactly certain who's madness is unraveling before us. And it works fairly well until the last fifteen minutes where the movie turns into this ultra strange, hallucinagentic sequence that becomes really damn annoying.

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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Paradise Lost II: Revelations (2001)

Director: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky


Premise:
Five years after convicted being for the brutal killing of children, their West Memphis Three have gained lost of media noterity and people wanting a retrial due to lack of evidence. And there are still many who say the verdict was just.

My Take:
The circumstances surrounding the case become even more interesting as the years have passed. Witnesses keep popping up who claim the boys had nothing to due with the murder. And free legal councils search for an appeal. Then there is one of the victim's parents, John Beyers, who's wife has now died under mysterious causes and is racking up trouble with the law, not to mention it feels like he he playing up the camera every time it's one him. This is still a fascinating court case and the continuation of their saga causes intrigues.

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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Enter Nowhere (2011)

Starring: Sara Paxton, Scott Eastwood, Katherine Waterston
Director: Jack Hellar


Premise:
Three strangers arrive at a cabin in the middle of the woods. Slowly they start to uncover their linked past.

My Take:
A slow burning flick that reveals little details to unravel the mystery. There's good performaces and cinemaphotography. However, it's not enough to really stand out or be too rememorable.

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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The Devil's Curse (2008)

AKA: Credo

Starring: Myanna Burning, Rhea Bailey
Director: Toni Harmon


Premise:
After getting kicked out of their apartment, a group of kids squat in an abanadoned building. While there they hold a seance to try to prove the existence of Hell. In the process unleash a force they were not expecting.

My Take:
This movie is really just boring and by the time the little twist happens in the end, this viewer didn't care.

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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Riddick (2013)

Starring: Vin Diesel, Katee Sackoff, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Dave Bautista, Bookem Woodbine,
Director: David Twohy


Premise:
Riddick crashes on a planet where he must contend with it's lieform to survive. He activates a homing beacon in hopes of stealing a rescue ship. Instead he gets two crew of bounty hunters.

My Take:
This sequel sort of throws back to the original Pitch Black where it is more about survival against alien life forms. For the most part it works and the creature are rather bad ass. But in the end it still just feels like a sequel and not adding much to the whole mythos of the character.

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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The Man From Deep River (1972)

AKA: Sacrifice! / Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio

Starring: Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai
Director: Umberto Lenzi


Premise:
A photographer on assignment in Bangkok accidentally kills a man and flees the city. His plane crashes in the jungle where a tribe takes him in. He marries the Cheif's daughter and helps the tribe fight out another tribe of cannibals.

My Take:
As far as the Italian cannibals film at the era, this one is quite tame. In fact, it's mostly about this man adjusting to tribal ways and falling for the girl. The threat of the other tribe doesn't come until the end of the movie. Depends on what the viewer is wanting to see, but if it's gore then search elsewhere.

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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