APARTMENT 143

by PAZUZU on May 1, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Posted In: Reviews

APARTMENT 143 (2011)

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I’m not going to lie… I had VERY LOW expectations for this movie. The found-footage genre is getting so repetitive and forgetful, that only a few movies manage to actually pull it off… Cannibal Holocaust and Chronicle seem to be the only ones I don’t seem to mind.

Alan White and his two kids are plagued by unknown forces no matter where they go. Minutes after his wife died, the events began… And fearing for his children’s safety… He contacts a Paranormal Investigative team to move in with him and document everything. Not even an hour after they set up, they witness horrifying phenomena. As they investigate the events surrounding the family, they slowly uncover the truth to what is going on.

Just a few minutes in, I realized this was not another knock off of Paranormal Activity. I expected to be exposed to small hauntings that built up over time, feeding off the family’s fear. Boy, was I wrong. The hauntings pick up immediately, and it is paced unlike others belonging to this genre, in that you never know what’s going to happen next.

The acting was carried out well. I enjoyed seeing the two investigator assistants interact with each other. They acted realistically, which almost never happens. I guess Gia Mantegna carried out her part well, because I wanted to bitch slap her into next week. She plays Caitlin, Alan’s Distespectful rebellious teen daughter, who not only blames him for her mother’s death, but ends up being a key ingredient to the truth surrounding them.

There is a lot of mystery to this movie. It is never truely established what actually went down, but we do get plenty of theories to make everyone happy. Is the house haunted? Are they plagued by a demon? Is she possessed? Is the little boy like Damien? Who knows… It’s up to the viewer to decide.

All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised by this flick. Good scares mixed with knowledge of paranormal investigation.. And kept it believable, unlike “Grave Encounters”. I recommend this to anyone who was disappointed by what Paranormal Activity promised and ended up delivering… Because this film has all sorts of levels that are waiting to be explored.

PAZUZU-APPROVED

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CROWHAVEN FARM

by PAZUZU on April 30, 2012 at 3:15 am
Posted In: Reviews

CROWHAVEN FARM (1970)

Maggie Porter (Hope Lange) inherits some property from distant relatives, causing her and her Husband, Ben, to pack up their lives and move into the isolated farm. Immediately upon arrival, Maggie can’t shake the feeling that she’s been there before. She knows where the secret doors are hidden and even begins recalling past-life memories. Turns out.. Not only is the land haunted, but a coven of witches have something planned for one of them. If that wasn’t bad enough… Add a creepy little orphan, pacts with the devil, And John Carradine.. being creepy as usual…And you got yourselves a story for a creepy, unknown, made-for-TV movie.

The acting was surprisingly well-done… Especially for a made-for-TV movie. I can’t really vouch for Carradine’s performance, because EVERY SINGLE FILM I’ve seen him in… He plays the same creepy man. I consider Hope Lange and Paul Burke performances to be slightly above average… But in all honesty.. They could have been Oscar-Worthy and nobody would have known. Just about everyone was out-shined by Cindy Eilbacher, who played the Creepy-As-Fuck Bipolar Orphan Girl.

At first I was kind of disappointed that this was not the typical haunted house flick. I was in the mood for some atmospheric horror film that didn’t rely on CGI or jump scares. Most of the ‘scares’ are off screen. If you don’t have much imagination… Or hate pacing that wasn’t developed for the ADHD Generation… You will be disappointed. And for God sakes… When will people learn to NEVER BUY A HOUSE IF JOHN CARRADINE IS INVOLVED!

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Celebrated V-Day with the REC3 Trailer

by PAZUZU on February 16, 2012 at 2:43 am
Posted In: News

Yesterday was a very special Valentine’s day for me. Why would this day be any different in the eyes of a single guy surrounded by those annoying couples who pretend their relationships DONT completely suck for one day of the year? Because the Official Trailer for [REC]3- GENESIS was released… and I can’t wait to see it.

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Amityville Haunting

AMITYVILLE HAUNTING

by PAZUZU on January 2, 2012 at 6:44 pm
Posted In: Reviews

 

When I was a child, I was very sheltered in the world of Cinema. The most violent film I was able to see was a made-for-tv Christian flick. Then one summer weekend, I went on vacation with my friend and his family… Where I was introduced to my first horror film of all time: THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. It opened my eyes and ushered in New possibilities. Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with Horror Movies. So, even though it wasn’t THAT GOOD of a movie, Amityville holds a special place in my heart for opening the gates of Violence, Bad Jokes, Gorefests, and Nudity.
So… That being said… When I heard that there would be additional entries into the Amityville universe… I didn’t hesitate to track down a copy and let the good times roll…

Unfortunately… There were no good times… Why? Because this was a rushed attempt to ripoff an upcoming big budget Amityville sequel… Who would do such a thing? Asylum, of course….

From the very start, I knew this would be dropped in the $2.00 bin at my local used video store. It not only tries to be a sequel to the franchise… But it manages to get all the facts wrong. For example, in the intro, it is said that the Lutz family lived in the house for 2 years… When it’s widely known that they stayed for less than a month. I facepalmed and braced myself for as much fail as an hour and a half movie could pack in.

The film surprised me a few times, I will give it that. It wasted NO TIME AT ALL with the killing. Some of the kills came out of nowhere, so I will give them credit for that. It also doesn’t follow the ‘Found Footage’ formula too much. It tried to bring it into a new direction at times, which I appreciated. When the ghost is shown, which doesn’t happen that often in this film, it was delivered very well.

However, the bad outweighed the good by far. Most of the acting was…. Not up to par.. To say the least. The way the film was edited annoyed the shit out of me. When a new scene would begin, the first frame would remain paused for a second or two before playing. So during the scenes of ‘Tension’… The attention is immediately lost and results in not caring at all. What kind of camera did they use anyway? The only camera I had that on rare occasions did that was a Hi-8 Handicam. This takes place in the present. This is evident by the video the main character finds that is stored on a victim’s iPod touch.

It was no surprise that this was going to be a negative review… Being associated with ASYLUM usually brands that to you automatically. This would be best watched as a last resort due to boredom.. Or if you are an Amityville Junkie who has OCD when it comes to anything related to the Amityville Saga.

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POSSESSED (2009)

by PAZUZU on December 12, 2011 at 5:36 pm
Posted In: Reviews

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I’m not gonna lie, I expected a mixture of RINGU and THE EXORCIST when I pushed play on this flick. I was at that moment I learned not to judge a film by its title. This movie is not your typical Head Spinning, Pea Soup Purging, intense make-up kinda movie.

The story involves a young woman who learns that her sick sister is missing. She travels back home to find her, but just as soon as she gets there, people start dying around the building. Now she has to solve the mystery of her sisters disappearance and reveal the sinister force surrounding her.

This movie keeps a really slow pace. It’s hard to stay interested in it. The story goes all over the place. One minute it tries to be a mystery, then it tries to be The Grudge, and occasionally it shows elements of all the exorcism movies.

I’m not going to recommend this at all. Although some of it is interesting and redeemable, the film just can’t stay on task… Maybe it needs some Adderall or Vyvanse. It’s an interesting viewing, but nothing special.

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