House of Wax (2005) #420

"House of Wax" is more than your standard, run of the mill slasher film. It's slick, stylish, and feels like it has a decent budget. Although it shares the name of the 1953 Vincent Price film, this movie is not a remake; the only real similarity between the the two films is that the antagonist wears a mask made from wax to hide their disformity. 

"House of Wax" may not be well remember due to the fact that it came out in 2005, a time when more grisly films like "Hostel" and the "Saw" franchise were drawing the bulk of attention in the world of horror. "House of Wax" did cast Hilton Paris, who was constantly in the spotlight at the time, as one if the young adults who falls victim to a gruesome death. If this helped or hampered the film at the time I really don't know, but watching the film now, she fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast. 

Overall, "House of Wax" is a fun popcorn thriller to watch on Netflix if you feel like a horror movie.

Devil's Rejects (2005) #412

One thing that Rob Zombie is extremely gifted in is the ability to draw so many recognizable names to appear in his films; from Danny Trejo to Kane Hodder, to Ken Foress to even comic Brian Posehn. Sadly, he isn't nearly as gifted at creating a solid horror film. Granted, "The Devil's Rejects" was only his second feature film and is an obvious homage to the grindhouse films of the 1970's but it stands to argue that it is he weakest production, overly violent without a purpose, and it is simply not entertaining for the casual horror film viewer. Besides the fact that the movie stars three of the characters from Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses", "The Devil's Rejects" barely functions as a horror movie in the first place.

Pray (2005)

"Pray" is a 2005 Japanese horror film concerning ghosts. The movie jumps right into action and keeps the viewing trying to figure out what is going on. There might have been something lost in translation because there are a few facts that don't seem entirely clear to me and so I may have to watch it again to see if I missed something...otherwise, the movie is overly complicated for no real good reason. The scares and violence are kept to a minimum in this film and the atmosphere doesn't carry the weight of the movie as other Japanese ghost films have been able to.


Mitsuru and his girlfriend Maki have kidnapped a young girl named Ai, and the three head to Mitsuru's old school which has since been closed and abandoned. When they call her parents to demand a ransom for her return, they're told that Ai had died a year ago. Ai soon disappears inside the school even though the two adults had drugged her with sedatives. The tension between the two quickly builds to screaming matches as they search the school grounds for Ai. Mitsuru begins to have subtle visions that confound him. While looking for Ai, Mitsuru finds three of his friends at the school, claiming that he had told them that this was a cool place to hang out. Mitsuru finds the girl but lets her run off after having more visions. Soon, one of Mitsuru friends is killed and is found with his left hand severed off. Is Ai more than she appears to be or is there something even more sinister hiding inside the school?

The Booth (2005)

"The Booth" is a Japanese horror film from 2005 that takes place in a haunted radio broadcasting booth. It opens with a scene from a few decades ago when the radio host took a call from a caller who claimed to have committed suicide 30 years ago. Before the producers know it, the host had hung himself in the room. Fast forward to today as a popular night time radio host and his crew are working in that old radio booth while they are in the processes of moving from one office to another. Shingo, the arrogant but charismatic host, is steadily called a liar by a phantom voice that keeps interrupting his show. Shingo begins to have flash backs from his childhood as well as events from the past few weeks and realizes that  his secret is about to be revealed or that the crew he works with is calling him out for all of his rude and patronizing comments.

What is fascinating about this film is how each caller brings up a story or situation that directly compares to Shingo, either with his co-workers or his girlfriend. The writing for this film is top notch and the suspense is carefully built up throughout the movie. I though that too much was revealed within 20 minutes but I was pleasantly surprised.

One Missed Call 2 (2005)

I must admit that I have never seen the original "One Missed Call" or it's American remake but it's safe to say that any viewer will pretty much gets the idea of what the story is about in the sequel without needing to see them. The theme is the same, a victim will receive a missed phone call and that the victim will receive a voice message on how they are going to die. The cursed phone call comes with a unique ring tone that the phone's owner doesn't recognize. While there are some clues that carry over from the first film, a new set of circumstances replace those and up the ante of the curse. In the film, you discover that the rash of "murders" is also occurring in not only Japan but also in Tawain, where the curse ultimately began. The suspected killer in the first film turns out to be a victim themselves and the curse is older than any one could have guessed. The race is on to fins a way to break the curse as more characters receive the cursed phone call with a mysterious date in the near future....

Wolf Creek (2005)

"Wolf Creek" is an unrelenting, realistic horror film about three taking a cross country trip around Australia who meet up with a sadistic hermit. The film draws inspiration from previous grind house style movies and delivers a similar dark and brooding atmosphere. The violence in the film is realistic and simple which is why it comes across as begin so effective. The realistic intensity is reinforced by the claim that the film is inspired by real events.

Ben, an Australian, is taking his two British friends, Liz and Kirsty, on a trip across the Great Northern Highway in Australia. Along the way they stop at Wolf Creek, the location where a massive meteor had crashed into the earth. When the three return to their car they find that it won't and that they are stuck there until someone comes along. Eventually a "local" hermit named Mick shows up and offers to tow their car back to his camp where he can repair the car. Seeing that they don't have many options, they agree but soon find that they are being driven farther and farther away and that they are completely lost after a few hours. Once at the camp, the four enjoy dinner and some water that happens to be drugged; the three friends pass out and are left to the whims of the mad man they just met. The movie then focuses on Liz and Kirsty suffering the twisted abuse and trying to escape from Mick's secluded camp.

Hide and Seek (2005)

Robert De Niro is an excellent, beloved actor who never seems to be loved when he takes part in a horror movie. He's tried a few times over the years with films such as "Angel Heart" and "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein"; his performance in "Frankenstein" was panned so much that some critics could not understand why an actor who "does nothing but gangster films" be cast as the Monster. "Hide and Seek" is another film where the suspense and mood seem to never truly develop and the viewer is left bored and unsatisfied. I personally feel that this has more to do with the attempt to create a spooky psychological movie than De Niro's performance.


Dr. David Callaway and his daughter Emily move out to a quiet rural town after Emily's mother commits suicide. David and his daughter have a troubled relationship and he tries the best he can, using his background as a psychologist to make some kind of breakthrough. Emily begins talking about her friend "Charlie", whom David takes to be an imaginary friend. David's friend Katherine believes this is healthy, but when David finds angry messages written on the wall and the family cat drowned in the bath tub, Emily claims that"Charlie" did it. Soon "Charlie" becomes violent and David is powerless to find or stop Emily's dangerous friend. Will David and Katherine be able to save Emily from "Charlie" before it's too late?

Isolation (2005)

"Isolation" is one of the creepier films I have seen in the past few years. The atmosphere of the film is dark and foreboding, with the characters trapped on a secluded farm in rural Ireland. Maybe its because there are only a few actors who don't try to hog the screen more than they're needed? Maybe it's because the location of the film takes place on a large, empty, decrepit cattle farm? Whatever the reason, the film is effectively creepy and original.


Dan is the owner of a rundown, rural cattle farm in rural Ireland. He has an agreement with a bio-genetic company and is allowing them to use some of his cattle as test subjects. Something went terribly wrong with the pregnant cow that was being tested on and Dan is forced to pull the calf from the mother before it kills her. Orla, a local veterinarian, performs an autopsy on the calf after they are forced to kill it and discovers that is has six mutated embryos inside it. One of the embryos is still alive and escapes unnoticed. The lead doctor from the bio-genetic company comes to the farm and realizes that everyone on the farm, including two young adults hiding form their families, are now trapped on the farm until they find and destroy the quickly growing, extremely dangerous creature.

The Ring 2 (2005)

"The Ring 2" is the kind of sequel that carries over bits and pieces from the original film but attempts to be it's own movie with it's own strengths and flaws. The film tries to evolve but struggles in doing so, feeling overly complicated and silly at times. Hideo Nakata, the director of the Japanese versions, takes over in this installment from Gore Verbinski and offers the viewers something different that was not previously presented in the Japanese films. Naomi Watts and David Dorfman return as Rachel and her son Aiden.

The aspect of the VHS tape and watching the film on it plays a very small role in this film and is only dealt with in the very beginning. Samara's power of coming out of the television is revisited and expanded on because now she is able to pull victims through the screen and bring them into her world. When this happens, I can't help but to think of the alternate world from "Silent Hill", how the characters become trapped and left alone.


Rachel and Aiden have left the "big" city of Seattle and have relocated to Astoria, Oregon. Six months after their encounter with Samara, her ghostly activity begins again after local high school students begin watching copies of her film. Rachel tracks down the copy and destroys it but it's too late because Samara has already found them. Samara possesses Aiden (why?) and Rachel looks like an abusive mother as her son's body becomes bruised and unhealthy. Rachel is forced to seek out Samara's real mother and find out even more back story/mystery surrounding the child.

Favorite WTF moment - Rachel and Aiden are driving home through a heavily wooded area when their car is attacked by a heard of CGI deer. It made sense in "The Ring" that horses would be driven crazy by Samara or those with her curse, brought upon the by the mental abuse that her adopted father inflicted on her, loving his horses more than her. But why would deer be affected? Beyond the fear of the unnatural of course. The scene is over the top, silly, and completely unnecessary for this movie.

Cigarette Burns (2005)

John Carpenter is in rate form with his first entry for the "Masters of Horror" series. His episode "Cigarette Burns" is easily one of my favorite productions that he has directed and my overall favorite of the series. It's a simple tale of a man who is hired to find a film that was reportedly destroyed after it was screened once during a film festival, after the audience became violent and started killing themselves. It has a similar vibe that "The 9th Gate" had , as the investigation takes the hero to various countries and meetings with interesting characters. It also has a religious undertone, as the film that is being sought after has a scene where a real angel has its wings cut off. The episode is filled with mysterious tension and suspense which is perfect for this piece. Staring Norman Reedus as the protagonist Kirby, I highly recommend this episode above all other in the "Masters of Horror" series!

Jenifer (2005)

"Jenifer" aired during the first season of "Masters of Horror" and was directed by famed Italian director Dario Argento. The episode finds a nice balance between erotic tension and gruesome violence...even if the script itself is weak. Steven Weber stars as the protagonist Frank, and once again this is a poor choice that seems to happen fairly often in this series; the casting is very hit or miss. Besides these two faults, this episode is worth watching and is one of Dario's stronger productions as of late.


Frank is a police officer who happens to hear a disturbance taking place near his unmarked squad car. He arrives in time to save a disfigured young woman from a meat cleaving maniac. Frank goes home but is haunted by visions of the woman, who has a beautiful body but a gruesome looking face. Frank goes back to work and finds out that the woman he saved is named Jenifer and she has been sent off to a local insane asylum. He takes her home where she scares away his wife and son. Jenifer seduces Frank when he tries to take her away and so he brings her back to his place. She then kills a young neighbor and then kills a carnie that Frank hired to kidnap her and take her away. Frank is forced to take her out to a deserted cabin in the woods and finds a job working at a small local grocery store. After killing again, Frank takes her out into the woods to kill her but he's killed instead by a passing hunter, and thus the cycle of seduction begins anew.

Dreams in the Witch House (2005)

"Dreams in the Witch House" aired during the first season of "Masters of Horror"; adapted by Stuart Gordon from the short story written by H.P Lovecraft. Gordon, who gave us the wonderful film adaptions of Lovecraft stories such as "The Re-Animator", "From Beyond", and "Dagon" works his magic again by modernizing this intricate tale and casting "Dagon" star Ezra Godden as Walter Gilman. This adaption takes the strongest beats from the story while ignoring others due to the 55 minute time limit. The changes and story is a great fit for the "Master of Horror" series and is one of my personal favorites.

Walter Gilman is a grad student writing his thesis on string theory. He finds the perfect place to rent a room while finishing his work. There he meets Francis Elwood and her infant son Danny as well as an elderly neighbor named Mr. Masurewicz. While studying one night, Walter is stunned that the walls in one corner of his room are just like those that he's working on, with slants and intersections that might make inter-dimensional travel possible. The next day Francis asks Walter to watch Danny while she goes to an interview; Walter agrees to but is visited by a naked woman who looks like Francis who seduces him and scratches a pentagram on his back. Walter discovers, all too late, that a witch lives in the space behind the walls and makes the men who live in that room do her bidding...which is to kill and sacrifice young children. Walter even wakes up at the university with the Necronomicon opened to a page on sacrifice! Walter now must do all that he can to resist the spells of the witch and save Danny and Frances as well as himself!

Saw 2 (2005)

“Saw 2” came out to the theaters the year after the original premiered and builds nicely upon the established storyline. James Wan had moved on to other projects by this time and Leigh Whannell came back to rewrite a script that the current director, Darren Lynn Bousman, had written previously. The end result is another clever work that seems larger and feels like a step in the right direction.

The film is the Jigsaw Killer, aka John Kramer, who is apprehended by the police during a raid. John is cocky and self-assured and reveals that he wants to play one of his “games” with Detective Eric Matthews. All Detective Matthews needs to do is to listen to John talk for two hours and if he does so, he’ll be able to see his son again. At this point it is revealed that Detective Matthews son Daniel is playing a “game” of his own; Daniel is trapped in an inescapable house with seven other victims, one of which is Amanda Young, the only survivor of a Jigsaw “game”. The eight victims in the house have two hours to work together to find a way out before a deadly toxin in the air kills them. The eight victims are all connected by being convicts who were falsely arrested by Detective Matthews after he planted evidence on each of them, and none of them realize that Daniel is his son.

The first victim, Michael, is a police informant, a useful contact for Detective Matthews. His "game" is that he needs to dig out a key that has been surgically placed behind his eye. He had one minute to dig into his head with a scalpel, get the key, and unlock a iron maiden-like spring trap on his head.

The first "game" in the house wasn't intended for any particular person. The rule was simple, don't use the key in the locked door. One unnamed guy did and he was shot in the eye by a booby trapped gun.

The second house "game" is for Obi. He is a con artist who helped kidnapped the other housemates. His "game" is to climb into an oven and retrieve two vials of an antidote. He goes in and gets the first one without a problem. The second needle triggers the door to close and the oven to turn on. Obi has the chance to turn a valve that will stop the flames but he would be seriously burned by doing so. By not, he'll burn up and die anyway....which he does.

The third house "game" was for Xavier. The group finds a room that has a pit full of syringes with a key somewhere inside. Xavier throws Amanda into the pit and she finds the key but Xavier doesn't use the key on time to free them.

The final "game" is a trap that traps a person's hands (and cuts them up). The player of course puts both hands into the slots so they can't free one without the other. Who knows who this trap was meant for.

One house guest dies from the toxin before getting to play a game while Daniel and Amanda never find their own "game" to play.

Detective Matthews fails his game after he beats John up badly and John finally agrees to take the Detective to the house. But Detective Daniels failed his "game" and is now gone when the safe in John lab opens automatically and reveals his son safe inside.

The big twist at the end of this film is the reveal that Amanda is actually Jigsaw's apprentice and helper. It explains how he was able to kidnap and set up the "games" in the first movie! 

The best part of this film is when Daniel and Amanda escape into the industrial bathroom where Dr. Gordon and Adam were chained up! Seeing the aftermath and the decayed bodies is incredible and a great way to tie both films together.

The informant and his "game"

John Kramer, the Jigsaw Killer

Hand trap!

Amanda playing Xavier's "game"

The housemates

The Fog (2005)

The remake of John Carpenter's "The Fog" is one of saddest remakes I've ever seen. Just like the remake of "Halloween", everything is overly explained as if the audience needs everything pointed out to them. The cast is full of pretty people who can't act; even Selma Blair falls flat more so than usual. The CGI effects are used too much and are not scary. The worst offense is that both John Carpenter and Debra Hill served as producers. This is one of those seemingly rare PG-13 rated movies that just bombs.

The only positive note I can give this film is the fact that they chose to create a remake of this title in the first place. Unless you are a big horror fan or a John Carpenter buff, you might not know about “The Fog”. I like it when something else besides the biggest names are remade and given a second chance. But with that second chance comes the possibility of a horrible movie. It happens and it’s a shame.

The original ghosts

The Descent (2005)

“Hostel” is an example of the kind of trouble guys can get into while “The Descent” is an example of what could happen to a group of women who enjoy extreme sports who accidently pick the wrong set of caves to explore. “The Descent” is the second film that writer/director Neil Marshall created after his amazing first feature film, “Dog Soldiers”. In this film, we see a group of women dealing with both natural obstacles such as getting lost in unmapped tunnels and becoming stuck in very small, tight passage ways as well as dealing with a more unnatural, evolved race of cave dwelling cannibals. The tension is thick and heavy in this movie and the violence and terror is relentless. This film is unique in that the main characters are all women, a rarity in the horror genre as well as most movies in general. Mr. Marshall also attempted to try to create characters that weren’t just clichés and standard stereotypes. He intentionally cast actors with different accents so the viewers could tell the characters apart while they are in the dark and underground.

The main character, Sarah, is dealing with the tragic loss of her husband and daughter who both died in a horrible car accident after one of Sarah’s extreme sport outings. Like Jenna from “247°F”, this event has a direct impact on Sarah’s choices and actions in the film. But unlike Jenna, Sarah is believable and convincing; we care about Sarah and we are rooting for her to survive the ordeal. The ending is made stronger and stings more because we know the source of Sarah’s pain and we can relate with her.

Five friends gather once every year for an extreme sporting event; Sarah goes even though she is still emotionally recovering from losing her husband and daughter in a terrible car accident the previous year. This year the group heads down into some caves in the Appalachian Mountains. Almost as soon as they begin they become trapped after a cave-in, forcing them to try to find a way out. The person who planned this adventure admits that she doesn’t know the cave system at all, saying that she thought it would be great if they explored an uncharted area. While they go deeper into the tunnels, they begin to realize that they are not alone; a cannibalistic clan that were trapped as well begin attacking and feeding upon the friends. It’s a living nightmare that seems to have no escape…

Favorite moment - The scene where everyone is trying to squeeze through the small passage way and when Sarah becomes stuck, escaping right before the passage collapses is super intense. 

Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)

In the mid 1980’s, Lance Henriksen was offered the role of Uncle Frank in the original “Hellraiser”. He turned it down only because he wanted to star in the vampire film “Near Dark”. So almost twenty years later Mr. Henriksen is offered and accepts a role in the “Hellraiser” franchise, staring as The Host in ”Hellraiser: Hellworld”. This film also stars the yet unknown actor who would one day be the next Superman, Henry Cavill. “Hellworld” also marks Doug Bradley’s eighth appearance as Pinhead, a horror icon as timeless as Jason, Michael, or Freddy.  This is also Rick Bota’s third and final “Hellraiser” film that he has directed.

“Hellraiser: Hellworld” is considered by most to be the most disliked of the “Hellraiser” films, or at least it was until “Revelations” came along. I personally really enjoyed “Hellworld” because as I’ve mentioned before, I was a fan of the “Hellraiser” comics of the 1990’s and this feels like it could have been one of the stories. “Hellraiser” at its core it all about the human condition and what people are willing to do to fulfill their desires. In this instance, it’s not about pleasure or wealth but about revenge which as we all know is still one of the seven deadly sins.

The Host has lost his son after committing suicide, being driven to do so after becoming addicted to an online game based on “Hellraiser”, the Cenobites, and the Lament Configuration. The Host blames his son’s friends because they introduced him to the game and didn’t try to stop him from killing himself. So two years later he throws a party and invites the friends (who think they won the invites by beating a section of Hellworld”. They arrive at a house out in the woods that is full of sexy revelers, all who wearing masquerade masks. Each person is given a cell phone and a mask and is taken on a private tour by the Host himself. No one knows who the Host is so they don’t have any reason to be suspicious. Because of this, he is able to poison the friends before letting them join the party. The film continues with hallucinations of Pinhead and other Cenobites, waking up in a coffin buried alive, and dying from their terrors. Two survive and the Host meets his end when he solves the real Lament Configuration and learns that “Hellraiser” is not a game….

Hellraiser: Deader (2005)

The seventh film in the “Hellraiser” series is “Deader”. The title refers to the cult-like group that follows Winter LeMarchand, a decedent of the creator of the Lament Configuration. He believes that he is the rightful heir of the Box and should be the ruler of the Cenobites. The only problem is the fact that he can’t open the box himself. So he creates a cult of down and out and emotionally damaged individuals that he kills and then brings back to life through necromancy in hopes that they are now able to open the Lament Configuration for him. The cult gains some level of fame and attracts the attention of a media editor who sends his best reporter Amy to investigate the story. Amy finds the Box, gets wrapped up in the cult, is killed and brought back, ultimately solving the Lament Configuration and allowing Pinhead and his Cenobites to damn the cult before killing them all. Rather than go to Hell with Pinhead, Amy kills herself and the movie ends.

Like the last two movies, this storyline came from a generic script that was then adapted to fit in the “Hellraiser” elements. While the first two feel like natural fits, this one takes a touch of forgiveness from the viewing in accepting all that’s going on. Surprisingly though, the movie is fun to watch and the plot is best ignored for serious thought. The nearly the best film nor is it nearly the worst film in the franchise, “Deader” is just there to give the fans more Pinhead and another way to look at the “Hellraiser” world.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is the cautionary tale about the aftermath of an exorcism gone wrong. Sometimes people who are possessed die and this movie follows the court trial of the priest who performed the exorcism, switching from scenes of the court case to flashbacks involving Emily Rose. It’s an effective court drama as well as a reasonable horror movie. Jennifer Carpenter did a fantastic job of bending her body in the various demonic contortions without the aid of visual effects.

“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” focuses on Erin Bruner, a defense lawyer who is working on a case where her client, Father Richard Moore, is charged with negligent homicide after he attempted to perform an exorcism on Emily Rose. Erin approaches the case with a clear and realistic point of view and ignores Father Moore’s request to let him take the stand. Father Moore truly believes that what he did was in the best interest of Emily Rose and her family, and as the movie goes on, Erin begins to understand his assertions. When Emily Rose first became possessed, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and having seizures. But as the drugs that she was given didn’t have the proper effect and her conditioned worsened, her family asked Father Moore to intervene. He tries to help but is unable to cast out the demons. Before she dies, Emily Rose has a vision that gives her hope and release and once awake, she writes a letter explaining her options. At the end of the movie, Father Moore reads the letter to the court before receiving his judgment. 

Favorite moment – I really like the flash back scenes of Emily Rose and how the scenes were tense, effective, and engaging without having to be violent of gory.

White Noise (2005)

It’s never fun to see one of your favorite actors star in a horrible movie and phone in their scenes, but that is exactly what Michael Keaton admitted doing when in the 2005 film “White Noise”…and I don’t blame him. There was very little that he could have done to save this movie; the script was weak and the first time director chose to use some very odd and annoying camera shots throughout the film. Sadly, most of the movie is just Michael Keaton standing or sitting next to a radio or TV and listening to the static. The focus of the movie is contacting the dead via EVP and while this technique is used in many ghost hunter style movies, in “White Noise” it’s not enough to keep the viewer interested. 

Jonathan is successful architect who is happily married to a successful writer named Anna. One day Anna goes missing and it is assumed that she might have died while she was changing a flat tire. Eventually her body is found and the cause of death was by drowning. Jonathan is approached by Richard who claims that he has recordings of Anna that were made after she died. Jonathan’s grief and curiosity win over his common sense and he visits Richard to see what he can offer. Richard has a large set-up of electronic equipment that he uses for EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) purposes and shares a recording of Anna’s voice with Jonathan. Jonathan becomes an instant believer and becomes obsessed with trying to contact Anna’s spirit. He ends up attracting the attention of three evil spirits who begin to interfere with Jonathan’s life. Jonathan discovers that he can also catch glimpses of people who are still alive and area about to die, so he does what he can to save them. People die, the three evil ghosts possess people, and Jonathan makes the ultimate sacrifice at the end.