Director: Deon Taylor
Writers: Michael J. Pagan, Deon Taylor & Diana Erwin
Released: 2010
Labels: Gore|Slasher|2010's
A group of High School students become the focus of a technology hating serial killer when they choose not to forward his chain-letter.
Chain Letter is one of those horror films in which we see a series of gruesome deaths strung together with some loose storytelling. The person responsible for the murder spree here is a serial killer that hates technology and those that use it (dunno why). That's all we are told really. It would have been interesting to explore the killer's motives but we are not given the oppurtunity because the film-makers simply want to display their best array of long, protracted killings using (yup, you guessed it)....CHAINS.
Nothing is explored here, all the characters are left narrow and one dimensional, including the killer. There is no coherency in the storytelling. It is hinted that the killer is working with others in the movie, but it's not really revealed one way or the other and just moving the story along one kill at a time becomes a bit pedestrian after a while. The finale is simply a repeat of the opening scenes of the movie, spoiling any potential surprise, and it all seems a little confused at the end (much like the viewer will be).
You get the feeling that this movie is attempting to launch a franchise like "Final Destination" or "Scream" but the atmosphere of the film is overwhelmingly dark and cynical and certainly does not leave you eager to see more.
Director: Adam Gierasch
Writers: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch & Joe Augustyn (Original 1988 film)
Released: 2010
Labels: Gore|Supernatural|2010's
Seven party-goers get locked in a creepy mansion and have to fight evil demons in order to survive and stop hell being unleashed upon the world.
This is a dumb movie,... but in a good way. A reworking of 1988's "Night of the Demons", this version has all the feel of a film from that era. Like other 80's classics, "The Evil Dead" or "Return of the Living Dead" it never takes itself too seriously. It mixes salacious sexiness with nasty body-horror, it knows how to use a relatively low-budget to full gooey effect and the actors do a passable job at being humans but a great job over-acting as the Demons.
The history of the house and the reasons behind the demonic possession are told clearly in flashback, so there is no confusion in the viewers mind as to what the heroes must do in order to defeat the evil and there is a clever little climax to the action.
It won't scare you, but it still gives plenty of thrills and the sheer enthusiasm and energy from all involved is clear to see.
Director: Chris Shadley
Writer: Patrick Wehe Mahoney
Released: 2010
Labels: Thriller|2010's
A masked gunman kidnaps nine strangers, chains them up in a small cell and threatens to shoot one of them every ten minutes. In order to survive, they must work out what connects them to each other and to their captor. As the clock ticks away, who of the nine will live and who will die?
It's an over-used premise for a horror/thriller movie nowadays, but if executed well (forgive the pun), there is no reason why the "strangers in a room in peril" theme can't be an absorbing and exciting movie experience. Sadly though, Nine Dead offers little excitement. In fact, it can be described as positively pedestrian.
The kidnapper has been granted too much sympathy and comes across as a nice guy, whereas the "victims" are annoying and earn no sympathy from the viewer whatsoever. What does keep you from ejecting the dvd (or relinquishing your Netflix subscription) is the story behind why they are all there and what it is that links the nine. You only find out the reasons for the kidnapping and the links between the victims as they work it out.
So for that, it does hold your interest until the end; it's just a shame that it is such a dull ride that takes you to the film's conclusion. Equally disheartening is the conclusion itself. The film has a natural point at which it should end, and it would have been a better movie if it had, but then there is this last ten minutes sitting uncomfortably looking like it's been tacked on by the filmmakers in order to appease the star and her pushy agent mom.
Director: Kevin Munroe
Writers: Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer
Based on: Comic Book Series written by Tiziano Sclavi
Released: 2011
Labels: Action|Comedy|Monster|2010's
Based on one of the world's bestselling comic book series with over 70 million readers worldwide, "Dylan Dog: Dead of Night" blends horror and humor set in the backstreets of New Orleans...a city with a long and storied history with the supernatural. The story revolves around Dylan Dog, the world's only private investigator of the undead with a business card that features his slogan, "No pulse, No problem."
Having left the world of the supernatural behind after the death of his wife, Dylan is pulled back into action to solve the murder of a mysterious woman's father. Along with his zombie assistant Marcus, he finds himself drawn into the middle of a battle between the clans of vampire, werewolf and zombie for possession of a rare artifact to control both the mortal and monster world. Dylan must go where the living date not in order to solve the case, save mankind and keep his partner from losing any more body parts. (Taken from Official Website)
It doesn't take much investigation to discover that Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is hated by fans of the original Italian comic book on which it is based. This seems to be because the filmmakers have not even tried to stick to the original concept and feel. The biggest complaints are that the movie makes light where there should be dark and that major liberties have been taken with key characters and settings. So putting the source material aside let's look at this film as a piece of horror genre cinema.
The film places it's flag firmly in the camp (pun intended) of horror-comedy. The interplay between the characters is rife with wit and sarcasm, much of which is well written and entertaining, particularly the relationship between Dylan Dog, played by Brandon Routh and his un-dead sidekick Marcus, played by Sam Huntington. If this pairing seems familiar, thats because they played Clark Kent/Superman and Jimmy Olsen respectively in the 2006 film ''Superman Returns''. Routh's fresh-faced-superman good looks doesn't really lend itself to a portrayal of a hardened PI for the supernatural underworld, but his strong physicality backs up the role. Overall the acting is good throughout including a small but fantastically campy performance from Peter Stormare (Fargo).
The realtively low-budget of $20M ensures that this movie looks like a TV pilot rather than a cinematic experience, and the special effects are certainly akin to the production values of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. The Werewolves are very much in the B-movie humanoid style, the Vampires are dark, hip and hedonistic (as they always are nowadays), and the Zombies provide the comic relief with some nice gags about diet, spare body parts and a support group.
The story is a bit tired in an ''ancient artifact has power to release mythical beast from slumber to wreak havoc on the world, it mustn't fall into the wrong hands'' type way, but the regular introduction of new un-dead creatures and scenarios keeps you interested along with some tidily directed action sequences.
As you can imagine there really is no depth here but it is an enjoyable romp and very easy to enjoy for what it is.
Let Me In is a beautiful melancholy story of a young boy Owen, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) living alone with his alcoholic divorcee Mom. He is bullied relentlessly at school and as a result is emotionally isolated and very withdrawn. A seemingly young girl, Abby, played by Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass) and her apparent 'father' move into the apartment building. Abby has a secret, she is a Vampire, many years older than she appears to be. Her 'father' (who we now realize is her human handler/protector) sets about attempting to kill people from the neighborhood in order to harvest their blood for Abby, he fails and Abby is compelled to collect some for herself leaving a bloody mess that he has to clear up. Meanwhile, Owen and Abby have become friends, more than that really, they fall in love.
Abby's 'Father' continues to try to obtain blood for her and his attempts lead to an accident that he can't walk away from. He pours acid onto his face so that he can't be recognized by the police in a bid to protect his beloved Abby. She visits him in the hospital and in a scene that answers some questions posed at the very start of the movie, she bites and drinks from his neck and lets him fall from a balcony to his death. Owen has guessed by now that Abby is, in fact, a Vampire and seems pretty accepting of this fact (that's love for you!). The climax of the movie is when Abby 'helps' him with his bully problem in a bloody, yet incredibly effective, way. This seals his love for her and as the film ends we see them leaving together (albeit her in a box) to start afresh with Owen as her new, devoted handler.
Let Me In is basically a direct re-make of the Swedish film,Let the RightOne In (2008)(which itself is taken from the Novel, Let the Right One Inby John Ajvide Lindqvist). A lot of the scenes are exactly the same and both films have a very similar feel in direction, cinematography and casting. There are some slight differences in plotline, the US version introduces a Detective (Elias Koteas) into the story who is following the bloody trail left by Abby and her handler and the Swedish film is perhaps slightly less palatable for those that are easily offended, but none of these things detract from the quality of both of these movies.
If we had to choose one to recommend to you then it would be Let the Right One In simply because it is refreshing and original and Let Me In is a straightforward re-make. But, if you really don't get on with foreign language films (and some people don't) then enjoy the US version for the great movie that it is.
