Chernobyl Diaries (2012) #379

"Chernobyl Diaries" is horror film that was written and produced by Oren Peli, the director and creator of "Paranormal Activity". Once again, Mr. Peli delivers a decent horror movie made with a minimal budget and sparse special effects. It was only a matter of time before someone created a wide released horror flick that took place at or around the old Chernobyl power plant. While the film doesn't take complete advantage with the possibilities presented, what the movie does contain is still fun and entertaining. The characters may not be fully developed or very interesting but I personally enjoyed seeing Ingrid Bolsø Berdal play such a different kind of character than I've previously seen in her other work such as "Frett Vilt" and "Frett Vilt ", and watching the commanding presence of Dimitri Diatchenko as the extreme tour guide who takes the group of friends on their ill fated trip.

"Chernobyl Diaries" is your typical horror flick about a group of friends going someplace that they have no right going to and getting killed off one by one. This time the setting takes place in the abandoned town of Pripyat, which sits in the shadows of the Chernobyl Power Plant. Four American friends, a Norwegian and and an Australian take an "Extreme Tour" led by Uri into Pripyat, having to bypass border patrol guards who would not allow the group to enter the city. Once inside, they explore the city and have a close encounter with a wild bear in an old apartment building. When they return to their van, Uri finds that engine has had it's wires cut and that the group is stuck until morning. Noises are soon heard off in the dark of the night, and Uri becomes the first victim of the inhabitants hiding in the darkness. Soon the group is attacked, mauled, and chased around the town, being killed off one by one.

Absence (2013) #378

The movie "Absence" is a fine little film if you're only interested in watching a home movie about a family vacation and not a horror or Sci-Fi film about alien abductions...but that is what the film is supposed to be about. The director and co-writer of the screenplay, Jimmy Loweree, apparently wanted to make a movie about aliens that abduct people as well as their unborn children, but had no ideas in which to share with the audience except for the rushed abduction at the very and a few insipid "weird lights" in the distance moments in the middle. I kept watching the film hoping that it had a slow burn kind of approach to the action but sadly it never came. The concept of a soon-to-be-mom suddenly losing her child without any idea how or where it went caught my eye but the filmmakers obviously had no clue on where to take the story after it's initial opening sequence. It is films like these that waste people's time and spoil a cool and refreshing concept, ruining it for others who may have had an actual story to tell.

Jug Face (2013) #377

"Jug Face" is a refreshing and unique horror film that I came across while searching around the Internet for recently released movies. Although it had a limited budget, the film looks and sounds beautiful, choosing to use simple camera tricks and a strong story and well developed characters rather than trying to scare the audience with gore and frightful visions. The script was strong enough that it won the Slamdance Screenwriting Competition in 2011, which drew the attention of the producers who would help it become a full length feature. Sean Young and Larry Fessenden ("You're Next" and "I Sell the Dead") were cast as the parents of the main character Ada and as the leaders of their truly backwoods community. Sean Bridgers ("The Woman") was delightful in the role of Dawai, giving the character a real sense of humility, simpleness, and awkwardness as being the chosen "potter" for the community. Finally, Lauren Ashley Carter gives a solid appearance as the main character Ada, the poor girl who has been chosen as the next sacrifice whose life must be given to satisfy the demands of the local "healing pit". This movie reunites Lauren Ashley Carter and Sean Bridgers after they both appeared in 2011's "The Woman".

An extremely superstitious backwoods community worships a mysterious hole that they refer to as the Pit. It heals them when they are sick and soothes them when they need to pray for answers. The Pit also demands sacrifices from the community, placing dim witted Dawai into a deep trance, during which time he crafts detailed jugs. If a jug is created bearing some one's face, that person is sacrificed in front of the entire village at the Pit. When Ada finds her face on the newest jug that Dawai has crafted, she steals it and hides the jug in the woods. Besides not wanting to die so young, Ada also wants to try to save the life of her unborn child. Unfortunately, the child's father is her own brother, a selfish boy who wants nothing to do with her or the child after she is betrothed to another young man in the community. Ada begins to have gruesome visions and her neighbors and family members begin to be killed by the demonic spirit of the Pit. The longer that she denies the Pit her blood and life, the closer the killings come to her loved ones. A deep family secret is soon revealed and Ada learns what happens when the Pit is denied what is demands.

Ada steals the jug that bears her resemblance, starting a gruesome and deadly chain of events

Dawai shows the jug that he created while in a trance, the face belonging to the next chosen sacrifice

After having his face appear on a jug, a local is then sacrificed to the Pit

Dawai and Ada chained up as offerings to the Pit

The Returned (2013) #376

"The Returned" offers a fresh and unique perspective for bloated zombie sub-genre by offering a film where the threat of zombies is very real but you never really see one except for the opening credits and a minor flash-back sequence. In fact, the word zombie is only used in one scene, and this single moment is made all the more intense just because of that word. Instead of the word zombie, the preferred politically correct term used in the film is "the returned"; those who have been infected with the virus that turns someone into a zombie but who was saved by medical means before the infected took over the body completely. Because of this set-up, the film is driven by emotions and relationships, paranoia, and social clashes over how those who have become "returned" should be handled. With strong performances by Emily Hampshire (Kate) and Kris Holden-Reid (Alex), "The Returned" is an intense and enthralling horror film without the usual blood and guts, making this movie safe for those who would typically avoid horror movies in the first place.

Kate works as a doctor at a clinic that treats those who have been infected by a zombie bite. By administering a vaccine daily, the infected patient becomes a "returned", those who have been saved from the horrible fate of becoming a zombie. Kate's lover Alex is a "returned", and during a dinner party, Alex finally reveals his secret to his best friend Jacob and Jacob's girlfriend Amber. Although initially shocked, Jacob and Amber remain friends with Kate and Alex. When news spreads that the national stock pile of the daily vaccine that Alex needs is running out and that there isn't a reliable alternative, Kate and Alex begin to fear the reactions of their neighbors and government more and more as the days pass. Special military controlled camps are opened and all documented "returned" must be transferred to a camp or else. Kate and Alex leave the city with Jacob and Amber, but soon this course of action develops it's own problems for Kate and Alex. As their options and their personal supply of vaccine runs out, Kate and Alex are forced to take desperate measures in order to prolong their time together....