28 Weeks Later (2007)

Happy New Year's Eve!!

"28 Weeks Later" is one of those very rare films where I had to hit the pause button while watching it because it got too intense for me to handle the first time I watched it. This film is violent and unforgiving, and the way it is filmed only adds to the intensity of the events that are happening on screen. Danny Boyle has given up the director's chair and has taken on the role of executive producer. Robert Carlyle stars as Don and has great support from Jeremy Renner and Rose Byrne.

The film begins at the height of the original RAGE outbreak, where Don and his wife are living with four other survivors in a boarded up house. During their meal, a boy comes to the house and begins pounding on the door begging to be let in. They let him in but a few minutes later a mob of infected attack the house and quickly over run the place. Don barely escapes, leaving Alice behind after she decides to try to protect the boy. He catches a glimpse of her being attacked as he runs away to a boat waiting down at a stream. He escapes to live another day...

28 weeks later, a portion of London has been cleared and declared safe for a small portion of residents to return and start the rebuilding process. A U.N. team led by Americans are providing military support and protection of the quarantined area. Don's two children return to London after being away in Spain during the outbreak; they catch the attention of Major Scarlet Levy, the chief medical examiner, who was not informed that any children would be in the first group coming back. During her medical inspection of Tammy and Andy, Scarlet notices that Andy has different colored eyes, just like his mother had. Once home, Tammy and Andy ask their dad how their mother died, forcing Don to lie and tells that that he saw Alice being killed by the infected when all he saw was that she was attacked. The kids decide to sneak out of the quarantine zone and visit their old house, where Andy finds his mother in a feral state. The kids are discovered by the military and take them back to the zone, along with the mother to be inspected. Scarlet discovers that Alice is carrier of the Rage Virus, having been exposed to the virus but hasn't become fully infected; Scarlet also notices Alice's different colored eyes and suspects that her genes have a natural immunity from the virus. The Commander orders Alice to be killed and body destroyed immediately but Scarlet begs that Alice be spared because she could offer a cure to the virus. Before Alice can be killed, Don sneaks in and visits his wife, apologizing for leaving her behind. He goes in to kiss her and her saliva infects him, "turning" him immediately. Having loss all control, he ruthlessly kills Alice and begins to kill and infect the nearby staff. The virus quickly spreads throughout the quarantine zone, forcing the military to turn their weapons on both the infected and innocents who are trying to survive. Scarlet finds the kids and tries to protect them. With the help of Flynn, a sniper who realizes that London is lost and will be nuked, the group makes an attempt to escape London while being chased down by the infected, the military, and a very clever infected Don who is driven to find and kill his children.

Scarlet, Flynn, Andy, and Tammy

Flynn rescuing Scarlet and the kids

Don running away from the infected

Infected Don

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

"Gremlins 2: The New Batch" is the delayed, less successful follow-up to the smash 1984 hit by director Joe Dante. After being given complete artistic control, Mr. Dante finally agreed to make a sequel six years after the first film, taking the chance to create a satire of his film and sequels in general. This film is much more of a comedy than horror, keeping the violence at a minimum and less intense. Horror fans will be delighted to see Christopher Lee making an appearance as an "evil" scientist whose experiments result in some of the gremlins evolving into more chaotic creatures. With the different types of gremlins, Rick Baker was brought in to work some of his special effects magic.


After Mr. Wing dies of old age and his grandson is no where to be found, Gizmo ends up in the science labs of Clamp Enterprises, located inside an office building in Manhattan. It isn't long before Gizmo has some water splashed on him and he multiplies again, and of course it isn't long before those new mogwai grab a bite after midnight and turn into the evil gremlins. But it just so happens that Billy and Katie, now his fiancee, also work at Clamp Enterprises and saves Gizmo from the gremlins. Together, along with the help of Clamp Enterprises ego-driven owner Daniel Clamp, they try to keep the gremlins from escaping the office building and causing havoc all across New York City.

Ginger Snaps Back aka Ginger Snaps 3 (2004)

What happens when you have a werewolf story about two sisters and one of them dies in the first film and then the other one transforms in the second? Well, you reboot the concept and take both sisters and place them in the Canadian wilderness during the winter of the 1815! In "Ginger Snaps Back", the Fitzgerald Sisters are back, trying to survive the harsh winter after their trading party never returned from the Hudson Bay. I love the time period that this film takes place and I always want to watch it as a double feature along with "Ravenous". The chemistry between actors Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle is as strong as ever and come across as two devoted sisters who only have each other. Add in the venomous distrust of a hateful reverend, a fort filled with men who are weary and tired of constant attacks by werewolf's, and a dangerous secret that could ruin everything, you end up with a powder keg situation ready to explode. And when the time comes, it does explode in a beautiful and bloody way.


Brigitte and Ginger are wandering the Canadian wilderness, travelling aimlessly after losing their way. They come across an nearly empty camp, where a wise Indian women gives them each a talisman in the form of a necklace and tells them that they must "kill the boy", otherwise one sister will kill the other. A hunter then takes them to Fort Bailey until it's safe to travel again. It is here that their troubles begin as they become the focus of suspicion from the members of the camp who have been under attack by unnatural forces. In the fort itself, Ginger is attacked by the leader's son who is a werewolf. She becomes infected and is determined to kill the boy so she won't kill Brigitte. The chaos soon spirals out of control as the leader, the reverend, the hunter and others react to the situation, leaving Brigitte to face the terror that her sister has caused.

Scream 2 (1997)

"Scream 2" is a delightful follow up to the hit that resurrected Wes Craven's career just at the right time. He's back with writing partner for the sequel, one that proves to be just as effective as the first. It has more scares and more victims but it also has too many faces with too little screen time to ever clearly suspect who the killer or killers are this time around. The opening scene is fantastic and sets up the mood perfectly for the rest of the film.


The film takes place two years after the Woodsboro Murders from the first film. After a gruesome double killing at a preview showing of the movie "Stab", which was based on the Woodsboro Murders, news reporters flock to Sidney Prescott once again to see what she thinks about the situation. She wants nothing to do with the media circus, preferring to focus on her college studies and her boyfriend Derek and her friends Randy (from the the first movie) and her best friend Hallie. It's not long before Dewey arrives on the scene as well as Gale Weathers, who attempts a one on one confrontation between Sidney and Cotton Weary, the man Sidney accused of being her mother's killer. After all of the stress and awkwardness of the day, Hallie convinces Sidney to come to a party with her. Of course the new Ghostface Killer/s shows up and kills one student before attacking Sidney. She escapes and the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse game as Sidney tries to figure out who the killer is while trying to stay alive.

Final Destination 2 (2003)

"Final Destination 2" follows the same line of logic that you can't escape Death's Grand Scheme, although you might be able to delay your death for a time. The film has a new catastrophe that is avoided by a group of strangers when one of them has a vision of the near future. The survivors soon learn that even though they escaped certain death, their lives are not yet saved and find themselves being killed off one by one in gruesome ways. There is the added element to this film that each character was some how associated with one the survivors/victims from the first film! Only one character from the original, Clear Rivers (played by Ali Later), has survived since the original. The movie has several moments of comic relief and keeps the death scenes unique and entertaining.


Kimberly is on her way to Daytona Beach with a group of her friends. As she approaches the freeway on ramp, she has a vision of a terrifying mass-car pile up where several people are gruesomely killed, including her and her friends. She also realizes that it's the one year anniversary of the airplane explosion and the story of the group of survivors that left the plane before it took it. As the line grows behind her of drivers wanting to get on the free way, and cop comes up and asks her what's going on. Kimberly gets out of the car and tries to explain her "crazy" story to the cop, but while doing so the accident's chain of events begins to the surprise of everyone, and Kimberly watches in disbelief as her friends who are still in the car are killed by a speeding truck. The story then focuses on Kimberly, the cop, and the eight others behind her car who were meant to die in that accident, and how they are killed off one by one in clever, nasty ways. They try to band together to save each other and even ask for help from Clear Rivers who eventually agrees, after hiding herself away in safety in a mental hospital.

Author's Note - Show Us More!

We know quite well that horror movies love to spawn sequels. Just as often as there are rushed, poorly conceived, low budget, poorly acted pieces of crap that are thrown out into the universe to capitalize on the surprise success of an original film, there are those sequels that actually strive to be a decent or even great movie on their own accord that also stands up to comparison with the movie that it is following. They might not be as great but they are still fun and scary and hopefully build upon the elements that were introduced in the original film. This week I will be focusing on such films, the ones that you were thrilled they made after you begged for more!

The Crazies (2010)

The 2010 remake of "The Crazies" is a more enjoyable and creepier version than the original. There are several reasons why this movie is an overall stronger film and the main reason is because this version focuses solely on a group of survivors who are trying to escape the town; trying to follow both the residents and the military broke the tension too much, having to keep track of several characters rather than a small handful. The talent of the actors is higher, the budget is heftier, and the suspense and pacing are kept tight. This version also shows the survivors having to defend themselves from their "crazy" neighbors who only want to kill.

David is the local sheriff of the small town of Ogden, Iowa. During a local baseball game, a local resident comes stumbling into the field with a shotgun in his hands. David asks then orders the man to drop his gun and is forced to kill him when the man raises the weapon at him. This is the first of many such occurrences that David and his deputy Russell begin to notice happening around town. The two soon find a military aircraft that had crashed in a nearby swamp, and that it's payload has been introduced to the town's drinking water, contaminating it. Within hours of the discovery the military happen to show up and place the town under martial law and take all of the residents into quarantine at the high school. The camp is overrun with "crazies" and David and his wife Judy escape with the help of Russel and a teen named Becca. They spend the rest of the night trying to hide form both the military who are now shooting anyone who might look infected on sight as well as trying to survive the onslaught of assaults from their former neighbors.

Gremlins (1984)

"Gremlins" is one of the best horror movies set during Christmas, as well as being one of the best horror movies with a PG rating ever made. It is a brilliant mix of horror and comedy, finely directed by Joe Dante with a heavy influence by producer Steven Spielberg. The soundtrack is incredibly catchy and easily becomes an ear worm when you least suspect it. The film's violence helped to encourage the rating of PG-13 to be created, mainly for the scene where a gremlin is killed by a microwave. The mogwai and gremlins were created with puppetry and not computer animation which is wonderfully; multiple puppets were created in all sizes for the various scenes that were shot.

Billy is given the most unique present a boy could ever have, a mogwai! Billy's dad found it while doing business in Chinatown and secretly bought the miniature creature from the owners grandfather. Billy is told the three important "rules" of owning the mogwai, named Gizmo; keep it out of bright light, never get it wet, and never ever let it eat after midnight. Of course all of these rules are broken in due time and that's when havoc breaks loose. When Gizmo gets wet, he multiplies. And when the new mogwai break Billy's clock and he feeds them after midnight, the cute fuzzy creatures become devilish and violent little imps. It's up to Billy, Gizmo, and Billy's love interest to save the town from Stripe and his horde of green misfits.

Gizmo

Stripe

Shadow (2009)

In yet another film that contains a villain torturing his captives, "Shadow" is a film full of little plot points that you don't expect. I have probably already said too much but I did find it enjoyable and I was pleasantly surprised by a few moments in the film. It takes place in an unnamed country in Europe where people speak English with an accent from somewhere in the UK. The film was directed and produced by an Italian crew, so that doesn't help narrow down where the story takes place. But does it really matter? In the grand scheme of things, no it really doesn't.

The movie opens with a voice over from the main character David, a young American soldier who is serving in the Iraq War. He is writing home to his mother, telling her that he plans to go biking in a gorgeous area in Europe, a forest that is called The Shadow in a magazine article that his friend gave him. The movie then shows him biking around a lovely forest. He stops by a small bar where he meets a cute girl and the bar owner; they are the nice people. The mean people are two hunters and their dog that begin harassing the girl for no reason. David intervenes so she can leave and then the bar owner intervenes so David can leave. The girl, Angeline, is also biking around the forest and the two meet up and travel together. They come across the hunters about to kill an elk so Angeline yells out and ruins their shot. The hunters are pissed off and chase the two down, shooting at them and hitting David in the arm. David and Angeline get away for a moment before the hunters are on them again. They take refuge in a part of the forest that Angeline was told is haunted. Not exactly but close enough because an unseen menace captures the four and kills the dog. When David wakes up, he finds himself tied to a metal table in between the two hunters. A skinning European (he reminds me of a young, hairless Richard O'Brien) wearing leather pants comes in and begins torturing the men, first by cooking one of the hunters and then cutting off one of David's eyelids. David escapes and the rest of the movie becomes your typical cat-and-mouse movie except for the plot points that I mentioned before. Hmmm......

Vile (2011)

"Vile" is another film where a group of people are forced to accomplish a gruesome goal within a strict time period or be killed by their captors, and yet again this concept feels forced and hokey because it doesn't have the same gravitas that "Saw" had; this film is more like "Kill Theory" than "Hunger" but has some how managed to achieve the ability of being harder to believe than even those two movies. What saves this movie from it's unbelievable premise is the acting and the very satisfying epilogue of the film. What almost kills this movie right off the bat is the incredibly slow and meandering beginning and the non-stop torture-porn once it begins. This is not a film I would recommend for entertainment purposes unless you enjoy scenes of innocent strangers torturing each other (I don't).

Taylor is on a camping trip with her boyfriend and another couple. She's trying to tell him that she's pregnant but never finds the right moment. On the way back home, they pick up a woman who says that she ran out of gas. They take her to her car, which is in the direction they want to go, and after she gets out she comes back and gasses the the main characters. The four wake up in a strange house locked in with six others. The group watches a video of an older woman explaining that they must fill up a container connected to their brains with the chemicals that are produced when someone is experiencing extreme pain, and that they only have 22 hours to complete their task. The group is civil (for the most part) and try to accomplish the task so they can go home. But things don't go the way they should and someone knows more than they are sharing with the others....

Final Destination (2000)

"Final Destination" is the first film in a franchise that features a different group in each film that has somehow avoided a gruesome death only to be killed off one by one in a different, violent fashion. Each film builds up on the last while adding it's own unique detail in how Death is completing it's job. The original film keeps things simple and effective, proving to have it's fair share of interesting death scenes involving whatever might be around the victim at the moment. The acting is equivalent of most slasher films and that's ok, this is just a creative slasher flick without a slasher.

A high school group is on their way for a senior trip to France, accompanied by two teacher chaperones. Alex Browning has a terrifying vision that the plane is going to explode shortly after it takes off and has a panic attack, screaming that everyone has to get off the plane. He is kicked off the plane along with his best friend, a trouble maker and his girlfriend, a kid who was running late, a chaperone, and a girl who just believed what Alex was saying. While the fight continues at the gate, the group sees the plane explode and fall into deep shock. Each one is questioned by the FBI who is highly suspicious of the event, keeping a close eye on Alex.

A month after the event, the survivors begin to die in bizarre and mysterious ways that at first look like suicides. First Alex's best friend Tod is killed in his bathroom and then at a chance meeting in town by the entire group, Terry, the rival's girlfriend, is killed when she steps in front of a speeding bus. Alex soon realizes that everyone is dying in the order that they were sitting in on the plane, essentially dying in the same order as if they had stayed on the plane. With this new information, he tries to save the next victim, the teacher Valerie but she is killed in an explosion at her house, where Alex leaves evidence that makes it look as if he killed her. Clear Rivers, the girl who followed Alex off of the plane, is still the only one who believes his theory and tries to help him solve the mystery as to how to stop Death's design.

The Crazies (1973)

"The Crazies", also known as "Code Name: Trixie" is an early film written and directed by George A. Romero that focuses on the military and how they handle a the accidental release dangerous biological weapon. In comparison with movies today, this film feels slow and plodding and awfully low budget. I must admit that it took me two attempts to watch this film in it's entirety but when I finished it, I was happy with the results. The content is dark and terrifying and it paints a grim possibility of how things could have happened back in the 1970's if such an accident did occur.

An untested biological weapon known as Trixie is released into the water supply of a small Pennsylvania town. The weapon is highly contagious and quickly infects most of the residents, making them violent and suicidal. When not trying to kill each other, the residents are busy attacking the military, who have their own orders to kill the residents on sight. The movie focuses on David, a firefighter and his girlfriend Judy as they struggle to escape from the town, and Dr. Watts, a specialist who is working on finding a cure. The military tries it's best to contain the problem but by the end of the film, the effects have spread to larger cities near by.

100 Feet (2008)

"100 Feet" was a moderately effective ghost story about a woman who is under house arrest and is haunted by a ghost. Starring Famke Janssen, this film makes the action stay in one place which forces Famke to carry the film on her performance. My only complaint about this film, as it is with some other ghost movies, is that we see too much of the ghost, actual outlines of his shape too early and too often. This alone makes the movie feel forced and not able to slowly build the specter's presence through other means.

Marnie Watson is under house arrest for killing her husband, Mike, in self-defense in the house that they shared. She is fitted with an ankle bracelet and has to remain within 100 feet of the sensor otherwise the machine will go off in three minutes and she'll be forced to serve out a ten year sentence in jail. Her sentence is so harsh because Mike was a police officer and his former partner Shanks believes that Marnie is a cold hearted killer. The truth is that Mike was extremely abusive and Marnie had been too afraid to do anything until one day when Mike's abuse was nearly a deadly level itself. It's not long before Mike's ghost makes itself known to Marnie and begins the abuse once more. Mike's rage reaches new levels when Marnie begins to have a relationship with a delivery boy named Joey. Mike kills Joey, showering himself with the boys blood. When Shanks comes to arrest Marnie, he sees Mike throw her across the room, not willing to let her go. Mike sets the house on fire, and Shanks realizes that Marnie had been telling the truth the entire time. Shanks distracts Mike so Marnie can escape the burning house. The two escape but Mike grabs Marnie and drags her back inside. She finally takes her of wedding ring, telling him that she doesn't belong to him. The house goes up in a ball of flames, and Marnie is seen as a hero for saving Shanks life.

Author's Note - Random Week...Christmas Week Edition

It's time for another week of movies that have nothing to with each other other than the fact that they are have elements of absolute horror! I was tempted to make this week all about Christmas themed horror movies but there aren't that many and I wasn't in the mood to review both originals and their remakes. And I couldn't find any to rent...

Poltergeist 2: The Other Side (1986)

When a film is so extremely successful, the temptation to try to recapture that magic in a sequel is hard to resist. Sadly, the magic was not to be found in "Poltergeist 2: The Other Side". While the film is decent and watchable, it brings down the quality of the franchise by being such an inferior entry; the good news is that it is still vastly better than the third and final entry of the franchise! The movie focuses on the Freeling family, with all the same characters and actors as before with the exception of the older daughter Dana, played by Dominique Dunne and who killed in 1982 by a jealous boyfriend. Jerry Goldsmith wrote a new score for the sequel, only using Carol Anne's theme from the original film.

The Freeling family has relocated to Arizona and is living with Diane's mother, Grandma Jess. Grandma Jess is a clairvoyant and tells Diane that she and Carol Anne have this ability as well. This is one reason why the evil Beast from the original film is able to find them; the Beast has taken on a human form known as Kane. He finds the family and makes several attempts to steal back Carol Anne. It's discovered, by Tangina and her friend Taylor, that Kane was an deluded reverend who led his congragation into a cave believing that the end of the world was coming, but after the date had passed, he refused to let anyone leave. And of course that cave was right underneath the Freeling's home in the original film! The family decides to take a stand against the Beast/Kane by following him into the cave and on to the "Other Side". Indian Shaman magic takes place, Carol Anne almost goes in to the Light, and Grandma Jess makes a last moment appearance saving the day.

Steven and Taylor

In the cave

The Beast, the Reverend Henry Kane

The Others (2001)

"The Others" is a stylistic ghost film set in England at the end of World War 2. The film strength relies on the darkness with the sun being hidden behind thick, heavy curtains, and from the pure isolation of the country house where the characters reside. They are cut off from the rest of the world, for better but much more for the worse. The soundtrack adds a layer of drawn out intensity and Nicole Kidman is the driving force as the main character Grace. This film might be a bit too slow for some and once you know the ending, the film loses whatever replay value it may have had. The story itself isn't very deep but this is a straight forward ghost story that delivers the promise of a ghost  or two.

Grace is a lone mother raising her two small children in a secluded country house far from the battlefields of World War 2. She is patiently waiting for her husband to come home from the war front by her loneliness is becoming apparent. The film begins when three strangers arrive to take positions as servants within the house. Grace hires them and as she shows them around, she explains that her children suffer from a rare disease that prevents them from being exposed to sunlight without being harmed. The rules are so strict that Grace makes sure that everyone knows that one door must be locked so the next may be opened to avoid any accidents from taking place. About the time that the servants arrive, Anne begins telling her brother Nicholas about a young ghost named Victor. She scares her brother to the point that Grace has to punish her but Anne refuses to apologize because she hasn't done anything wrong. Anne later draws a picture of four ghosts including Victor, a man and a woman, and an older women. After Grace finds various doors left opened that the servants swear that they did not use, she becomes concerned that there are others in the house with them. Odd events continue to take place including the disappearance of all of the thick curtains that are used to protect her children as well as the sudden appearance of Grace's husband Charles. Charles seems lost and distant and after a single day he tells Grace that he has to return to the front, even though the war is over. After this, the presence of the "Others" becomes stronger, forcing Grace to confront the truth about what is really going on.

Stir of Echoes (1999)

Welcome to my 250th review! Here is a movie that is one of my personal favorites and one that I was able to rediscover just a few months ago.

"Stir of Echoes" is another excellent story written by Richard Matheson which was adapted into film in 1999. This movie has some intense, scary moments and a disturbing sense of tension builds as Kevin Bacon delivers an outstanding performance as the main character Tom Witzky. Everything about this film is nearly perfect from the pacing to the performances of the other actors. The film truly utilizes the Rolling Stones song "Painted Black" with eerie and haunting precision (even though the version used is a cover). The song plays such an important role that it feels like a character itself, moving the story forward.

Tom Witzky is a hard working blue-collar guy trying to take care of his pregnant wife Maggie and young son, Jake. Jake has the ability to talk to ghosts but his parents just think he has an over active imagination. One night at a party for the adults, Tom is hypnotized, deeply, by his sister-in-law Lisa. While hypnotized, Lisa suggests that Tom become "more opened minded" because he is a non-believer in the paranormal. Over the next few days, Tom begins to have visions of a violent fight involving a teenage girl and he hears a faint melody that he can't name and is unable to get out of his head . Around this same time, Jake begins talking to a ghost named Samantha. It's soon revealed that Jake's babysitter is Samantha's sister and that Samantha went missing about six months earlier. Tom's behavior becomes erratic as his obsession over Samantha intensifies. The people around him become more and more concerned as both he and his son won't give up on Samantha, no matter how dangerous this obsession might become.He eventually discovers the dark truth about his visions and how they will affect his family.

Lake Mungo (2008)

First of all, "Lake Mungo" should not have been a part of the After Dark HorrorFest 4 series for the simple fact that this movie is not scary in the least. The film is presented as a mediocre mockumentary and this format doesn't allow for tension or scares to be built or delivered. As for the movie itself it is extremely slow, difficult to understand the people who are being interviewed, but has an unique and interesting "twist" that is eventually revealed at the end. It takes an incredible amount of patience to watch the film from beginning to end and I'm pretty sure that the majority of horror fans will find the film to be a waste of time.

A teenage girl named Alice dies while swimming at Lake Mungo, a damn in Ararat, Australia. The family tries to move on but their home begins to have ghostly occurrences taking place. Slowly the family learns the truth about their daughter and some of the details in her life that she was afraid to share and ultimately how she faced her own death.

Darkness Falls (2003)

I love a movie that is focused on a local legend, even when it comes across as a slightly altered story of Freddy Kruger's beginnings. "Darkness Falls" takes the time to set up the legend about a nice elderly woman who gave the local children gifts and coins when they lost their teeth; she was like a real life tooth fairy. She is burned badly in a house fire and now that she's terrifying to look at, the parents become suspicious of her for no real good reason. And when two kids disappear, the town's parents turn on her, thinking that she kidnapped them. The parents hang the poor old woman, exposing her burnt face to the open air. She curses them for their actions and comes back as a ghost that kills anyone who sees her. Great set up but after this the movie falls flat into a typical run-and-hide from the monster movie. I can appreciate that it's about a young man who survived his first encounter with the Tooth Fairy while his mother died, and years later he returns to help his childhood crush with a problem concerning her little brother. Nice story set up but the resulting film doesn't present anything new. It's fun to watch the first time through but it lacks any replay value.

Haunting at Silver Falls (2013)

I typically prefer the ghost movies I watch to use the ghost or ghost effects sparingly so the suspense and chills can develop. Some movies, though, love to have their spectral characters up front and center as often as possible and "A Haunting at Silver Falls" is such a film. This fact doesn't distract the movie nearly as much that the two ghosts having different motives in the movie. One ghost wants her ring back that she lost before she died and the other ghost wants to lead the girl who found the ring to follow it to its killer. It’s more than a bit confusing because the two ghosts look almost similar; it’s also feels like the writer didn’t know which ghost to follow. The problem is that the ghosts are sisters who were murdered so both are equally important. The film does a better job follow Jenna, the teenage girl who finds the ring and is unable to remove it no matter what she tries to do. Her character develops feelings for the awkward nerd instead of the classic jock turned hero, she has typical teen angst and a rocky relationship with her care takers after her parents die. The ending and reveal of the killer is well done and is its other saving moment. It’s a decent movie at best and two viewings might be needed to really understand what’s going on. 

The Sixth Sense (1999)

"The Sixth Sense" was one of the most talked about and seen movies of 1999. It was a breakout movie for writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, another great performance by Bruce Willis, and a line of dialogue that became one of the most memorable and repeated since. The film does a great job of building suspense, tells an excellent story, and has a twist that makes so much sense at the end that you feel like watching the movie over again to see it all the more clearly the second time around.

Dr. Malcom Crowe is a child psychologist who is attacked by a former patient at his house one night, being shot in the stomach before the assailant turns the gun on to himself. A year later, Malcom begins working with a new patient that has a similar psychological symptoms that his attacked had. Malcom promises to not give up on the young boy, Cole. Together, they discover and explore Cole's unique ability to "see dead people".

Author's Note - Children and ghosts

Ghost movies are so popular and numerous that there is an entire sub-genre focused solely on films where a child or teen is the primary character. They might be the one who has the first or only interaction with the spirit world or they might be the spirits themselves, trying to reach over to us for help. Some of the films I have in mind are truly effective in creating a spooky and chilling atmosphere by keeping things simple while a few others depend on special effects and the intensity is clearly dampened. Even though I’ve already reviewed “The Shining” and “Poltergeist”, there are still several strong films left to watch and talk about.

Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

"Resident Evil: Retribution" is the most recent release of the "Resident Evil" movie franchise. Written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the film once again leaves the realm of horror in favor of a sci-fi feeling with nods to classic films such as "Aliens", "Westworld", and "Blade Runner". This movie requires a few viewings before you are able to fully make up your mind as to whether or not the film is any good. I would say yes but only for those who loved the game and the other films in the series. If someone who hasn't seen the other films (in order even) picked up this movie and tried to watch it, their experience would be greatly hampered. The best part of the film was the inclusion of the characters Barry (from the original game) and Leon (from "Resident Evil 2"). The extra monsters are kept simple and at a minimum this time around.

The movie picks up right where the last one ended, with the entire fleet of Umbrella's air force attacking the Arcadia and Alice. The battle is quick and over before you know it.

Sometime later, Alice wakes up in an Umbrella faculty in Russia, being interrogated by the mind-controlled Jill Valentine. Alice escapes when the computer shuts down for two minutes. It turns out that is was Ada Wong, an assistant of Whesker's, who helped Alice escape. Ada's mission is to rescue Alice from the faculty and to keep her alive; A team is coming in to meet them half way, coming from the outside in. The movie then becomes a series of fighting zombies, bigger and meaner monsters, and soldiers and clones of previous faces that have helped Alice at one time or another who are now trying to chase her down and kill her.Along the way, Alice meets a young girl who's mother was an Alice clone. Alice brings her along and does her best to keep her alive as well.

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

"Silent Hill: Revelation" is a film for those who loved the first movie and possibly the game franchise and simply want more of the same. What we see in this sequel is just that; more of the same, but at the same time we are not provided with antagonist characters that we care enough to hate or be afraid of. Carrie-Anne Moss plays the lead villain this time around and the role falls flat while the brief scene with Malcom McDowell feels like a  much stronger payoff. Sean Bean returns and is again not given enough screen time or lines to really dig in considering his strong presence and talents. The visuals are again fun but there is really nothing new to be seen.

Sharon is now almost 18 and is going by the name Heather. But she was trapped in the ghost realm of Silent Hill, wasn't she? Yes she was but her mother Rose found a way to briefly talk to her husband and send their daughter back to him. So now Heather and Harry have moved to a new town, trying their best to avoid the agents of the Order who want and need Heather to come back to Silent Hill so they can kill her and the evil Alessa that is keeping them trapped in their living hell. They managed to kidnap Harry which prompts Heather to go to Silent Hill in order rescue him. Even before she makes it to the haunting deserted town, Heather enters the "Night Zone" and faces the various demons that terrorize Silent Hill on a regular basis. Heather faces down the leader of the cult, finds her dad, and discovers the powers that she can wield since she is the "loving, innocent" half of the evil Alessa.

Silent Hill (2006)

"Silent Hill" is a fun and visually enticing horror film that was adapted from the the game series of the same name. Knowing that is it adapted from a video game allows for enough room for the movie to move along and get to the heart of the story without having to explain all of the little details that might be demanded for in a typical horror flick. Who and what are these different creatures that are stalking the heroine isn't important, just the fact that she is being chased by such creatures is. Never having played the game before, my only impression is purely what the movie provides and I liked what I saw. The cast is solid and delivers an entertaining performance while the eye candy is tasty and delicious.

Rose and Christopher are the adoptive parents of nine year old Sharon. Sharon sleepwalks, draws eerie pictures, and talks in her sleep about a town called Silent Hill. Looking for answers, Rose takes Sharon without Christopher knowing to Silent Hill...where things quickly go out of control. First Rose has a car accident and awakens to find that Rose has wandered off, and then she is confronted with police officer Cybil (played by Laurie Holden from "The Walking Dead"). They are suddenly attacked by one of the creatures that roam Silent Hill. Rose continues her quest to find Sharon and the mystery that surrounds her daughter and the curse that haunts Silent Hill. What are those air sirens about? How many demons are there to hide from? Why are there demons? And why does ash constantly fall from the sky?

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

"Resident Evil: Afterlife" is the fourth film in the franchise and marks the glorious return as Paul W.S. Anderson as both writer and director, and it shows! This films feels more like the original in terms as a horror film with a sense of desperation and being trapped by a horde of zombies. The film's pacing is a bit slow at times, more so than needed, but it still has plenty of action scenes that keep the movie going forward. The issues about Alive being overly powerful and cloned are quickly dealt with in the beginning of the film, a perfect way for the proverbial "reset" button to be pushed in a very satisfying fashion.


The film opens with an exciting showdown between Albert Whesker and the Alice Army. Both Albert and a power-stripped Alice survive.

Later, Alice finds the helicopter that the survivors from Las Vegas used to fly to Alaska. She is attacked by Claire, who is under the control of a mind control device. Alice is able to disable the device and Claire is left without any memory after finding the Arcadia. The two travel to LA where the Arcadia has traveled to (it's a ship) and find more survivors. Together, they fight zombies, find the Arcadia, fight Whesker, fight more zombies, and claim the Arcadia as their own. And then the Umbrella air force arrives and the credits begin to scroll.

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)

"Resident Evil: Extinction" is able to regain a bit of a sense of horror by presenting the world as a post apocalyptic wasteland. The action remains fast and intense but the story line is straight forward and very predictable. Mila Jovovich's Alice continues to discover new abilities and remains the primary focus of the franchise as she attempts to take a group of survivors from the middle of the Mojave Desert up to the vast wilderness of Alaska. Along the way she is forced to deal with the agents of the Umbrella Corporation, the company responsible for the T-virus. The ending of "Extinction" is open ended bu sets up the beginning sequences of the fourth film perfectly.