Edgar Allen Poe was one American's most prominent writers. Famous for his Gothic-themed detective stories as well as explorations of the human psyche, his work has been a constant source of inspiration in Hollywood for decades. In The Raven, director James McTeigue explores Poe's work from the point of view of the author in his final six days of life. Supremely aptly Poe's … [Read more...]
Final Destination 3 (2006) review by That Film Brat
I have very strong feelings about this movie. I would not normally write a review this emotionally, but this calls for it. Okay, I'm now officially convinced that Final Destination is one of the biggest horror cash cows. Yes, I did like Final Destination 2, but this film has every sign of a movie fast-tracked into production so it could be released while the series was still … [Read more...]
The Tunnel (2010) review by That Film Guy
The crowd-funding method of film production has provided film-makers a new way to raise money for their creative projects. The most famous of these films is the 2010-released The Tunnel, which was part of the 135k Project used it's website and social media to sell frames of the film for $1 a piece. The idea being that a 90 minute film has 135,000 frames and thus with a dollar a … [Read more...]
Army of Darkness (1992) review by That Film Guy
After the commercial success of Darkman, director Sam Raimi found himself in a position to complete his Evil Dead trilogy. Using a script idea that was originally planned for Evil Dead II, he takes the action back to the middle ages in Army of Darkness. Shot on a budget of $13m, Army of Darkness proved to be a moderate success, taking just over $21m at the box office. … [Read more...]
The Crazies (2010) review by That Film Guy
Based on the 1973 George A. Romero film of the same name, The Crazies is part of a large collection of horror remakes that have been released in recent years. Much like Friday the 13th, or Rob Zombie's Halloween, this take on The Crazies clearly hoped to elicit some decent box office success by trading on a cult title. What is a pleasant surprise it is then, that this is one of … [Read more...]
Evil Dead II (1987) review by That Film Guy
Having created low-budget horror classic The Evil Dead, director Sam Raimi decided to move onto new things, notably Crimewave a comedy-crime drama. As it floundered to gain any critical or commercial success, he was convinced to go back to his horror roots with Evil Dead II. Initially conceived as a history-spanning adventure in medieval times, Raimi did not have the budget … [Read more...]
The Last Exorcism (2010) review by That Film Guy
Released in 2010 and heavily influenced by The Exorcist, the Eli Roth-produced The Last Exorcism is one a host of modern found footage horrors. Working on the basis that the footage you're watching was found after the traumatic events of the film, it became a popular movement in Hollywood after the staggering success of The Blair Witch Project. The micro-budget of most found … [Read more...]
Final Destination 2 (2002) review by That Film Brat
Final Destination 2, released 3 years after the first, was put into development after the first film was a big hit at the box office, grossing $112 million against a $23 million budget. Jeffery Reddick, creator of the series and co-writer of Final Destination, was not involved in the production, as well as James Wong and Glen Morgan, co-writers and, in Wong's case, director. … [Read more...]
Session 9 (2001) review by That Film Guy
Released in limited cinemas in 2001, Session 9 is a low budget horror film set in an abandoned mental asylum in Massachusetts. It follows a team of five aspestos-removal men hired to clear out the whole building in only a week. As the days tick by, the team, lead by Gordon (Peter Mullan) become More and more stressed, while Mike (Stephen Gevedon) discovers a series of tapes … [Read more...]
The Evil Dead (1981) review by That Film Guy
In 1979 fledgling film-maker Sam Raimi and his long-time friend Bruce Campbell set about making a low budget horror film. Visiting drive-In cinemas across America, the two began looking into the audiences for horror films to see exactly what they wanted. With this knowledge they began work on a film entitled Within the Woods. A a short film that followed a group of four friends … [Read more...]