Would You Rather (2012) #460

What would you do if you had the chance to become financially secure, freeing yourself and your family from overwhelming medical bills and stress. “Would You Rather” explores how far a young woman would attempt to endure to save herself and her brother from financial ruin and to get him the medical help he desperately needs. A dark psychological horror film starring Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, and Robin Lord Taylor.

Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect) stars as Iris, a young woman struggling to find employment while taking care of her younger brother who is slowly dying from leukemia. They are unable to afford the cost for his treatment and the future seems dire. Her brother’s doctor introduces her to a philanthropist named Shepard Lambrick, who offers to take care of her debt as well as find a bone marrow donor for her brother. All she has to do is to come to his residence and play a evening of the game Would You Rather. Considering his generous offer, Iris agrees. 

Shepherd Lambrick, played by the amazing Jeffrey Combs “ “, “ “, and “ “, has assembled eight poor souls who are in desperate need of winning the grand prize at the end of the game. The guests joining Iris all have problems of their own which include an elderly paralyzed woman, a gambling addict, and alcoholic, and more. Shepherd’s son Julian and several butlers also join the group. The game begins during dinner when Shepherd offers Iris $10,000 to eat a steak and foie gras after learning that she is a vegetarian. She accepts the offer as she swallows her pride and principles. The game continues playing on the guests weaknesses, becoming more awful as the prize increases.

“Would You Rather” is a gruesome, chilling movie. It has a similar theme to others movies I’ve reviewed such as “Kindan No Osama Geemu” and “13 Sins”. Not quite torture porn, the film walks a fine line with its level of blood and violence. The games go dark very fast and never let up. That’s not to say that character development is a second thought. Some characters have chemistry with each other and bonds are made as they suffer together. My only disappointment, from a narrative standpoint, is the development of Julian. It felt like that there was more to his relationship with his father and their family history after a few subtle comments made early on in the film. 

American Mary (2012) #413

"American Mary" is a stylish and sexy horror film staring Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason,
a med student who begins performing extreme body modifications to pay her mounting debts. The film is directed and written by the Soska Sisters, who appear in the film as patients/customers of Mary's, spinning an interesting story that tastefully walks the line between torture porn and mad-scientist genres. Mary feels like a real character which makes it easy for the viewers to relate to her. "American Mary" keeps the audience intrigued throughout the film but feels like it sputters to an abrupt end with it's somewhat anticlimactic ending.

Mary Mason decides to become a stripper so she can keep up with her mounting bills that she is incurring while she is at med school to become a surgeon. While "interviewing" at the strip club, Mary is paid $5000.00 to save the life of a man who appears to have been tortured in the club's basement. A few days later Mary is approached by a dancer from the club who asks Mary to perform a body modification procedure on a friend of hers. Mary is reluctant but decides to accept the job and it's $10,000 offered fee. Mary soon becomes popular in the counter culture world of body modifications, meeting clients and making her art. But her actions have repercussions that come back to haunt her...

Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason

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.

Sadako 3D (2012)

"Sadako 3D" is another chapter in the "Ringu" Japanese saga, this time focusing on a cursed video clip that makes the viewer commit suicide after hearing the words "You're not the one". The film has it's scary moments and tries to return to the powerful chilling level that "Ringu" first brought to audiences around the globe. This is outright horror film and doesn't try to be anything but that. The story is an interesting take on the "Ringu" saga and freshens up the Sadako mythology. The film was shot in 3D and the scenes are beautiful to watch on a non-3D screen. The acting is solid and the CGI effects are not nearly distracting as they can be in other films. I'm excited to see the sequel, "Sadako 3D 2" that was filmed and released last year.


Everybody is talking about the hot new "cursed video" that is out. Rumor has it that if you find it and watch it, you'll end up killing yourself immediately afterwards after hearing the words "You're not the one". No one really believes this and the thrill of seeing it is too much for some, including s high school student. The student's teacher, Akane, finds out that the student had looked for the cursed video on her phone earlier that day. When another student begins watching the video, after she found an Error 404 message, the video pops up once she's alone. She watches as a man is killed by a woman with long crazy hair, but when the ghost's arm reaches out of the video screen, Akane saves the student in the nick of time. The ghost grabs Akane and says that "You are the one". Meanwhile, two police detectives are working on the series of suicides, with the younger one believing that the cursed video is the reason behind it all, going so far to prove his point by watching the video and falling prey to it's curse. The older detective then tracks down the creator of the film, Kashiwada. Kashiwada's home looks like a movie set but the detective discovers that Kashiwada was trying to resurrect Sadako Yamamura by throwing women with long black hair down the well. By doing so, he only created imperfect versions. To find the perfect host for Sadako's spirit, he created the cursed video. Now Akane and the police detective must put a stop to Kashiwada's twisted plan before Sadako becomes flesh and blood once more!

Byzantium (2012)

"Byzantium" is another supernatural tale by director Neil Jordan. His first film that dealt with the supernatural was "The Company of Wolves" which was essential a few short stories connected by an over arching narrative. His second work is the renown "Interview With the Vampire" which followed, more or less, the story represented in the novel by the same name; this was a straight forward narrative about the past. His third visit to the supernatural is the 2012 movie "Byzantium", a film that is unable to find it's pacing and shifts from present to past to present again without any real rhyme or reason. It's the easiest film to follow and the scenes that take place in the present feel like that there are various scenes that are missing.

One other note - the film doesn't follow the typical vampire mythology. In this film, the vampires are able to walk around daylight and have rosy complexions. This isn't a deal breaker because such films like "The Moth Diaries" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula" also have their vampires walking around in the sun.


Eleanor and her mother Clara are vampires from the days of the Napoleonic Wars. One half of the movie shows what theirs lives were like before and after becoming vampires while the other half shows them dealing with the events in the present. After killing another vampire and setting their apartment on fire, the two are force to flee and end up settling in a seaside town. They move into an old hotel that Clara turns into a brothel (she was a prostitute herself when she was mortal). Eleanor attracts the attention of a young college age kid named Frank. She tries to keep him at arm length but his persistence eventually wins her over. Soon the past comes to haunt both Eleanor and Clara when the other vampires finally hunt them down with the intention of destroying the two once and for all.

Clara

Eleanor

Citadel (2012)

Horror movies with innocent little kids or babies always make me more jumpy than I normally would be while watching them. Maybe it's because I'm the oldest sibling so I can empathize with the character's who are trying to protect the little kids? Whatever the reason is, I found myself jumpy while watching the film "Citadel" and kept saying to myself "get the baby!". "Citadel" is a truly effective low budget horror film about a very young father who suffers from extreme agoraphobia who is trying to raise and protect his nine-month old daughter in a very run down, failed "projects" in Glasgow, Ireland. The cast is minimal, the city streets are empty, and the film is full of dread throughout. 

Tommy and his pregnant wife live in a condemned old apartment building. One day while moving out (I think), Tommy's wife Joanne is attacked by a group of hooded teens. By the time he is able to get to her, she is unconscious and has a syringe sticking out of her. She is rushed to the hospital where she falls into a coma, but not before giving birth to a healthy baby girl. Tommy and his daughter Elsa, live in cheap housing near-by so Tommy can visit Joanne and so he can receive help for an extreme case of agoraphobia that he developed after witnessing the attack. After nine months, Joanne is finally taken off life support. At her funeral, a foul mouth priest warns Tommy that the gang will be back for his daughter, and the warning rings true. Tommy finds solstice and help from the clinics nurse, but she too falls victim to the murderous gang. Tommy is forced to help the Priest after the teens take his daughter, having to go into the apartment building once again with plans to blow it up and rescue Elsa.

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

"The Cabin in the Woods" is exactly as good as everyone claims it is, winning over people who state that they don't care for horror movies. It took me a very long time to get around to watching this film just because it felt like everyone else had already seen it and those people all told me that I HAD TO see it. So I waited until it wasn't on everyones mind and quietly watched it last night, free from other people's opinions and in an environment where I coul'd judge the film for myself. And I liked it. The script and banter between characters reminded me of the whimsical nature that the characters on "Buffy" and "Angel" had. The violence was fun to see, seeing exactly how far Goddard and Whedon would go with an "R" rating. The over all concept was not surprising since I knew who the creators where.


Five friends set off to spend a weekend off at a cabin in the woods, completely "off the grid". There's Marty (the Fool), Jules (the Whore), Curt (the Athlete), Holden (the Scholar), and Dana (the Virgin). While hanging out during the first night, they end up investigating the cellar after the cellar doors unexpectedly pop open. In the cellar, the group finds various trinkets and oddities. Dana finds a journal, written by the daughter of the original owners of the cabin. The diary tells about the atrocities that her family committed and included a phrase in Latin which Dana read, unintentionally resurrecting the zombie red-neck torture clan. Before long, Jules is the first to be killed by the zombies while trying to have sex with Curt out in the forest.

Unknown to the group of friends, their actions are being closed monitored and "controlled" by a team of engineers and technicians in an underground facility. They are busy at work carrying out a ritual, one of several that are taking place around the world. The stakes are high because all of the others have failed and this is the last chance to get things right. And the five, now four, friends are the chosen sacrifices.

Favorite quote - "Good work, Zombie-Arm" -  Marty

Dana

Marty, Curt, and Jules

The Collection (2012)

Marcus Dunstan, the writer of "Saw 4-7" and "Feast 1-3" wrote and directed "The Collection", a follow up to his 2009 film "The Collector". I have not seen "The Collector" but I can tell that "The Collection" is set on a grander scale that the first film. But bigger isn't always better. The movie feels too much like "Saw" while lacking it's "twisted" morale code; there are traps, not "games" that kill people throughout the film. The movie also wants to borrow obvious elements from classics like "Silence of the Lambs", at least that's how I see it. I am impressed with the character called Arkin, the only survivor from the first film. He comes across as fully developed and has a real sense of what he's doing in the film.

The movie opens with a series  of news reports, making it well known that The Collector is a wanted man and is being searched by a massive police force after being connected to the murder or disappearances of over of 50 people. He traps people in their homes or places of business and kills them, but he always takes one survivor back to his "lair".

The film then moves on to Elena, who is talked into going to a party with her friends. Of course the party ends up being the next target of the Collector, who easily kills everyone in a matter of seconds from his traps, more than doubling the number of people he has killed so far. During the chaos, Elena finds Arkin inside a large trunk. The two dodge traps as well as they can but Elena is ultimately caught in a cage, chosen as the survivor of the night. Arkin takes a dead body and uses it to break his fall as he jumps through a window and lands on a car below.

Elena happens to be the daughter of a very rich, important man. Elena's father has hired a group of mercenaries to rescue her but they need Arkin to tell them where she is and how to survive the Collector's traps. Arkin agrees to help after they offer to have his criminal record cleared. Arkin is able to lead the mercenary team to the abandoned hotel that the Collector is hiding at. Arkin is forced to join the mercenary team inside, and this is when everything goes to hell. The hotel is filled with traps, the Collector uses guns and dogs to attack the intruders, and Elena escapes, causing more confusion in the process. The rest of the film is a violent, thrilling journey into a mess of a film that shouldn't be analyzed or scrutinized at all.

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.

V/H/S (2012)

I was really excited to see “V.H.S” and I am still unable to express how disappointed I was after I saw it. I was bored and uninterested during most of the movie and this feeling grew as the movie dragged on and on. I was only amused by two of the six shorts and they happened to have been at the beginning of the film. Overall the scripts were weak and the acting was even weaker. The effects were fine and I was thrilled to see some of the clever uses of the devices that gave a P.O.V perspective but there was one story that wasn’t even from the point of view of a video recorder of any kind?!? This was a great concept that just didn’t pan out.

The first and wrap around connecting story is about a group of punks who are hired to burglarize a house and return with a specific VHS tape. They go to the house and find a messy room with stacks of tapes and an old dead man. One of the kids stays and begins watching different tapes while the others searched the other rooms. The old man turns out to be in a zombie-like state and kills the intruders.

The second story, “Amateur Night”, is the strongest of the set. It’s seen through the eyes of a guy wearing a pair of Google Glasses which records everything that he sees. His friends are trying their best to hook him up with a girl for the night. While at a club, he meets a quiet girl who only says “I like you”. They take her and another girl back to a hotel room where they begin to have sex. One girl is drunk and passes out, leaving the quiet girl alone with the three guys. The two friends try to have sex with her while the main character watches; suddenly the quiet girl changes, developing scales and a weird face. The quiet girl is in a murderous mood and only wants the shy boy, repeating over and over “I like you”.

The third story, “Second Honeymoon”, is about Sam and Stephanie, a married couple travelling around a desert “Western” area. While they sleep, a stranger uses their video camera and films themselves going through their belongings. This happens a few times until things turn violent.

“Tuesday the 17^th” is an odd piece about a group of friends being killed off by a killer who is all blurry. This is the section that is not POV.

Yawn……

“The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger” is a piece that is about a couple that is using Skype to talk to each other. The girl is having strange things happen at her apartment and has a weird bruise. The boyfriend pretends that he cares but he knows what’s really going on.

“10/31/98” is about a group of guys and their experience in a haunted house.

"I like you"

Lords of Salem (2012)

Like every other movie Rob Zombie has directed after “House of 1000 Corpses”, “Lords of Salem” is a clever idea that fails to deliver. This time around, Zombie has written a story that has less gore, less out right violence, and tries to make his characters more grounded and believable. His penchant for focusing on the film’s villains is still present, as the main character is slowly seduced as she becomes the newest member of a modern day witch coven. While his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, gives a better-than-expected performance in this film and the rest of the horror star-studded cast do a thorough job as well, the overall chemistry still falls flat somehow. This is Rob Zombie's first original film that is easily accessible to a mainstream audience.

Heidi is a DJ at a radio station in Salem, Massachusetts. She receives a mysterious record that she decides to play on the air, even though it clearly does not fit with the station’s normal style or rotation; the track is a recording of witches chanting. While Heidi is befriended and brain washed by three modern day witches, a local historian is following his gut feelings and trying to find out who the “Lords of Salem” really are.

Favorite moment - Realizing that one of the modern day witches is Patrica Quinn (Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show)!!! 

Modern Witches

A Salem Witch's Execution

Heidi and the Beast

A possessed Heidi

Maniac (2012)

“Maniac” is a “stalker/slasher” film about a serial killer who scalps his victims and staples his trophies to the headpiece of his mannequins. Starring Elijah Wood in a very different role than we are used to, this was a remake of a movie from 1980. The movie is film from the perspective of the killer, Frank, using the P.O.V technique. We rarely see Frank except for moments when he sees his own reflection or at brief moments that are used for artistic purposes. Because you are watching the film through the eyes of the killer, the viewer isn’t able to experience the horrible events from a distance and in a different context. The film was produced and the script was co-written and Alexandre Aja, who was also the producer and writer for the excessively violent French film “Haute Tension”. This was a very difficult movie to watch and I found very few moments entertaining. I will admit that the best scene in the film is at the end when Frank is killed by his inner demons, and oddly enough, the perspective is from his victims looking down at him as they tear his face apart.

Author's Note - New Releases

Movie studios appear to be in high gear at the moment, producing some memorable solid horror films over the past two years. I might not personally enjoy each one but I can see how other people will; high production values, excellent casting, and sequels and remakes that deserved to be made. It’s an exciting time to go to the movie theaters or eagerly wait for the DVD release of the movies that are coming our way!

A Taste of Things to Come

Sinister (2012)

"Sinister" was my favorite horror movie that I saw in the theaters last year. I was hooked and enthralled from the very beginning and up to the last 15 or so minutes. When the big reveal came as to why and not who the killer was, I was sadly disappointed. I was really hoping for any other reason than for the one that was given. In my opinion a secret cult would have been the most awesome explanation. But when I noticed that the dates of the murders were at times too close for a mentor/victim relationship to occur, I knew that my hopes were dashed. But this is still an awesome movie with its storyline, spooky home movies, and decent cast. 

Ellison Oswalt is a true crime novelist who is struggling to write his next big hit. He moves his family into the house where a gruesome murder took place and doesn't tell his wife about it. He soon finds a box full of Super 8 home movies that contain graphic murder scenes including the one that happened at his new home. He becomes obsessed with finding out who filmed the movies, hoping that he can solve the murders and gain the fame (and fortune) that would come from it. Unfortunately it only leads him and his family further down a dark and dangerous.

Favorite moment - there is a scene that was very beautiful in the way that it was timed. Ellison (played by Ethan Hawke) is walking through his house, surrounded by the ghost/spirits of children. They move out of his sight just at the right time, running around him and simply being creepy.

REC 3 (2012)

The final movie for my Spanish theme week is “REC 3”. I liked this one much more than “REC 2” for several reasons. First, it doesn’t take itself as seriously and actually has several great moments for some dark comedy. Second, it changes up the format; about twenty minutes into the movie, it drops the found footage/POV style that was used in the first two films are becomes a straight forward film. This was a great choice to make by director Paco Plaza (who wrote and directed the first two films) because it shows that he’s trying to break the mold and not make a copycat movie. That attempt clearly did not work for “REC 2” and the change of style and mood fits perfectly in the storyline for “REC 3”.

Koldo and Clara are getting married and all of their family and friends are there to celebrate, even Koldo’s uncle who was bitten by a dog at the veterinarian office that he works at. All of the standard wedding moments are caught on film including the ceremony, cutting of the cake, a groomsman sneaking off with a guest of the bride, but when the dancing is about to begin, Koldo’s uncle falls off a balcony and onto a table. His wife rushes over but it’s too late, he’s been turned and bites her in the neck. Infected people biting unaffected people chaos takes over and Koldo and Clara are separated. The film then follows Koldo and then follows Clara until there are finally reunited and many more guests are killed. It’s a fun bloodbath kind of movie with moments that seem inspired by “Dead Alive” and “Shaun of the Dead”.

Favorite moment – Koldo and a waiter sneaking around looking for Clara while wearing armor and carrying a morning-star that they found in a shrine to Saint George.

Second favorite moment – Clara killing infected guests with a chainsaw!

Red Lights (2012)

The movie “Red Lights” is the least horror-like film I’ve reviewed so far but it contains supernatural themes and is a great comparison to the movie I reviewed yesterday, “Apartment 143”. Both movies are about proving, or disproving, supernatural phenomenon. While “Apartment 143” the lead seemed a bit aloof, the investigators in “Red Lights” are believable and are deeply invested in their work. “Apartment 143” used fancy gadgets that seemed too fancy but “Red Lights” used techniques that make sense and that could be used in everyday situations. The funny twist to this comparison is the fact that both movies were written by the same man!

Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant, physicist Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy), spend their time disproving supernatural occurrences when they are not busy teaching a college course on the same subject matter. Examples include hauntings in an old house and the medium that is trying to make contact the spirit to a convincing but ultimately fraudulent miracle healer. In both cases, their tricks are easily explained and even demonstrated for the class. Whenever Dr. Matheson tries to ask why such a brilliant person like Buckley remains at the college helping her with her work, he always changes the subject. He is clearly passionate about this line of work because he is instantly fascinated by the sudden return of the famous psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro). After Dr. Matheson suffers a major medical emergency, Buckley becomes obsessed and tries everything he can to prove that Silver is a fraud. Silver claims that his powers are real and agrees to undergo testing at the very university that Buckley works for. After completing the tests, Silver announces his retirement and final show just as the test results are to be verified and publically announced. Buckley goes to the show for one last chance to reveal the truth and a final standoff with the psychic.

Favorite moment – I really enjoyed the process of how Dr. Matheson, Buckley, and student Sally (Elizabeth Olsen) uncovered how the miracle healer was working his magic. 

The Bay (2012)

“The Bay” isn’t your typical lost footage style film; this is a movie where a particular fatal outbreak occurs and as a result, all of the recordings of all kinds are collected and confiscated so the government can cover up the incident. As far as everyone is concerned and is told, warm tide waters and high algae levels were responsible for killing thousands of fish. The real events are revealed over the course of the movie by one of the survivors as she gives an interview to a reporter over Skype three years after the incident. As she explains what happened, you the audience watch the various news reports, cell phone recordings, security cameras, online conversations between an ER doctor and the CDC, and so on. “The Bay” took a popular filming technique and used it in a fresh and exciting way. The best thing about this movie is that there is very little shaky-cam, which means that you won’t feel too motion sick if that kind of thing bothers you.

I appreciate the nature of the film and how it deals about an avoidable environmental disaster without being preachy about it. This movie avoids feeling like a morality lesson because the main tragedy happens in a single day rather than a realistic span of weeks or months, and the results are disturbing and grotesque. Without spoiling anything, I will share that certain realistic decisions concerning local businesses and a lack of government approval or certification have a drastic effect on the bay. After the outbreak begins, there is a poignant scene near the end between the CDC and a Homeland security officer showing an absolute breakdown in communication and a feeling of indifference about the situation at stake.

“It’s just a small town.”

“What are you saying?”

“It’s a small town. You have to keep these things in perspective.”

Favorite moment – The video evidence of the aftermath at the hospital, filmed by the lead doctor of the ER.