The horror genre, possibly more than any other in cinema, has specific tropes and clichés that recur over and over again. The teens in peril sub-genre is so templated that the makers of the Final Destination franchise are able to make minor variations on the same film over and over again and still turn a profit “ a lot of their audience want to play at working out who'll be … [Read more...]
Review: Ghost Ship (2002)
After a successful rescuing of a sinking boat, a ship salvaging crew is celebrating in a local bar. That is, of course, until John Ferriman (Desmond Harrington), a weather service pilot comes to congratulate them and offer them a job. On a routine fly over, he spotted a ship adrift in international waters, and couldn't get in contact with it. And since it appears to be a … [Read more...]
Piranhaconda (2012) review by That Film Guy
Another week goes by and another best worst film is created and shown on the Syfy channel. We've had a Sharknado and a Birdemic, a Mega Piranha and Dragonwasps. But it wasn't until now that we had the wonder that is Piranhaconda. That's right, a genetic freak that is part equal parts piranha and anaconda, two of the favourite monster film creatures. Nonsensical to the extreme … [Read more...]
The Wicker Man: Director’s Cut (1973) review by That Film Journo
The Wicker Man is the perfect cult film, one that comes with its own ready-made mythology and bizarre history. Its subject matter alone - a pious Christian policeman investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a remote Scottish island that's home to a pagan community - would have been enough to have raised eyebrows on its release in 1973. Add to this the mystery … [Read more...]
Riddick (2013) review by That Film Brat
Back in 2000, before Vin Diesel was the big star we know him as today, he starred in a low-budget sci-fi B-movie called Pitch Black. In the film he played Richard B. Riddick, a convict and murderer who was mysterious and unpredictable, not to mention the fact that he was essentially a ninja who could sneak out of everywhere. The film was probably much better than anyone could … [Read more...]
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection (2013) review by That Film Klown
In 2005, the Onion reported that a group of scientists, philosophers and mathematicians were close to completing a list of everything that can go wrong. In tribute to this noble effort, and due to the incredible number of insanely bad things about Birdemic 2: The Resurrection, here's a review in the same style: … [Read more...]
Review: Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)
James Wan is really starting to come into his own as a horror director. Saw's direction was good, but was a little fast-paced and music-video-esque for the film's tone. Insidious was a step in the right direction, with it being a delightful little homage to old school Hammer horror films that was scary and entertaining. However, it was the year of 2013 that Wan released his … [Read more...]
Pitch Black (2000) review by That Film Guy
Before Vin Diesel was known for his super-camp driving exploits in The Fast and the Furious he broke through into the mainstream in the David Twohy-directed science fiction action film Pitch Black. … [Read more...]
The Grudge (2004) review by That Film Brat
Between 2003 and 2010, horror remakes seemed to be all the rage. This can most likely be attributed to Michael Bay's production company and the plethora of horror remakes they produced. The vast majority of the time, this films have been bad. They've been very bad. In fact, I can't think of a single one that wasn't bad. So it was was great caution that I decided to watch The … [Read more...]
Review: The Conjuring (2013)
Riding a wave of critical success in the States, The Conjuring has outsold almost every big budget blockbuster of the summer with a meager budget of only $20m in comparison. Directed by James Wan, the man who kick-started the torture-porn sub-genre a decade previously, The Conjuring is a surprisingly blood-free horror that bears more in common with his last work Insidious than … [Read more...]