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

Alien (1979)

“In space, no one can hear you scream”

The perfect tag line for one of the best movies of all time, “Alien” set a new standard in horror. There are so many reasons why I and millions of other people love this movie. From the frightening landscape and look of the alien that was brought to us by the talented Mr. H.R Giger, to the Lovecraftian sense of dread and foreboding atmosphere, to the honest reactions and terror of the actors themselves, this movie has it all. Some may say that it’s just a cleverly done slasher flick where crew members are killed off one by one; and this is partly true but it is so much more beyond that. The alien is a monster from our nightmares. It is lithe, it drools, it’s huge, it changes, it screams, and it bursts out of your chest after you think the worst has passed. Just admit it, the face-hugger itself was enough to give you nightmares once upon a time. When you add in a killer cyborg that you thought was just the prerequisite prick of the crew, you have no idea who or what to trust at that point!

The ship Nostromo is heading back to Earth with its crew and a payload of millions of tons of minerals when it picks up a faint distress transmission. Following programed protocol, it changes course and heads towards the beacon and awakes the crew from stasis. The crew is thrilled at first because they believe that they are a week or so away from home but quickly find out that they are still in the middle of nowhere. The crew follows protocol as well, landing on the small planetoid and searching for the source of the transmission. What the rescue crew find, which is made up of Capt. Dallas, Officer Kane, and Navigator Lambert, is a large derelict ship. Inside they find a large alien corpse that has a damaged chest area as well as a vast chamber under the main cockpit room. Kane goes down to investigate and finds hundreds of large leathery eggs. One has movement inside and as he bends over to look at it, a face-hugger lunges forth and attaches itself to his helmet. Dallas and Lambert drag Kane’s body back to the ship but Officer Ripley refuses to let them on, following protocol and in fear that they could be infected with whatever is on Kane. The science officer Ash breaks the protocol and opens the door so they can board. Once inside and in the medical lab, Ash and Dallas try to remove the alien from Kane’s head but are unable to do so without killing him, but several hours later the creature let’s go and crawls away to die. Eventually Kane wakes up without remember what had happened to him. The crew has one last meal before going back into stasis but their joy of returning home is interrupted when Kane begins to spasm violently and as they are holding him down, a terrifying little baby alien bursts out of his chest, looks around and quickly runs away. Kane has died but he is not the last to do so….

Favorite moment - too many to list! But I would have to say at this point my favorite is the scene where Ash break downs and tries to kill Ripley.

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.