Hush (2016) #430

Writer and director Mike Flanagan has delivered another fan favorite, word of mouth sensation called "Hush". A home invasion thriller, "Hush" pits a deaf/mute writer against a mysterious killer in a thrilling game of cat and mouse. Unlike his previous film "Oculus", "Hush" has a straight forward, simple narrative. With a budget of only $70,000, Flanagan and his cast and crew create an awesome little film. It's encouraging to see that solid horror films can still be made on the cheap and still have a polished and professional look to them; I would never have known that this film was made on such a tight budget without reading about that fact.

The situations presented in the film are intense and feel realistic and that might be where the film could have some editing; I personally feel that they had too many failed escape attempts before finally moving on to a different course of action. Another minor downfall to the film is that it is incredibly dark, as in unlit, through a good portion of the movie. These are petty complaints for an otherwise engaging and fun thriller that finishes on an adrenaline fueled high note. Flanagan avoids simple "jump scare" tactics and really uses the lack of silence beautifully at various points of the movie.


"Hush" stars Kate Siegel, who co-wrote the film with her husband Flanagan, and gives an amazing performance as Maddie, the deaf reclusive writer. Giving an equally solid performance is John Gallagher Jr as the masked killer her joyfully plays with his prey. Samantha Sloyan and Michael Trucco round out the other prominent cast members as Maddie's neighbors who become involved with the horror in their own way.

 "Oculus"

The Witch (2015) #429

Please be warned, this entry contains mild spoilers.

A favorite of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and distributed by A24, "The Witch", or "The VVitch" as the cover suggests, is about a Purtian family suffering from the paranoia, religious zealotry, and evil supernatural forces. It is an apt representation of how brutal life was for the settlers in New England in the 17th century and how easily their fragile existence could become undone. The attention to detail as well as the use of language is incredible, although it is difficult to follow at times. Watching the film a second time through helps illuminate subtle plot points that may have been overlooked the first time through.

The story is straight forward and chilling, as it follows William, his pregnant wife Katherine, elder daughter Thomasin, elder son Caleb, and twins Mercy and Jonas attempt to build a life outside of the New England plantation that they have been exiled from. The family is forced to leave due William's conceited pride, and so they leave and build a farm on the edge of a vast forest. Katherine gives birth to a son that they named Samuel. just when life for the family seems to be going well, Samuel goes missing while being watched by Thomasin; Katherine becomes depressed and begins praying all day long, hinting that Thomasin is responsible for losing Samuel as well as her favorite silver cup. Mercy playfully suggests that she's a witch and that Black Phllip, their goat, talks to her and her brother Jonas. Mercy then blames Thomasin for losing their baby brother, so Thomasin tells her little sister that she's the witch to scare her sister away. When Caleb goes missing in the forest after he and Thomasin went to check on their hunting traps, she is blamed yet again. After another tragedy, William's zealotry reaches it's climax as he locks Thomasin and the twins in the barn with Black Phillp, to allow God to sort things out.

Bone Tomahawk (2015) #428

Is it a western? Is it horror? Whatever it is, "Bone Tomahawk" is a dark and gritty film that holds and builds the tension from beginning to end. This isn't the first rodeo for horror veterans like Kurt Russel (x) and Patrick Wilson (x) who help drive the action and story forward. Note to viewers, the action that I speak comes much later in the movie than one might expect; the first two acts are filled character driven conversations that fill in the mundane gap of cross country travel. This film feels real throughout because of the scenes on the first two acts, and it becomes easy to forget that the film is about cannibals; it's this particular dark element that has the film crossing the genre line from western to horror after all. When the story reaches the third act, the action shifts from realistic to horrific while maintaining a true sense of realism. I don't want to spoil the surprise so I'll just admit that I was impressed with one action sequence in particular.

Writer/director S.Craig Zahler tries to make a clear separation between Native Americans and the cannibalistic tribe of Troglodytes, relying on a theory people actually had in the 1800's. The town of Bright Hope is seen as being very inclusive for the time period, and every opinion and voice is heard and considered. The Troglodytes themselves are represented as being under developed and basic while having some very interesting advancements of their own.

After their burial ground is disturbed by two thieves, a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes seek retribution by kidnapping a town's doctor and deputy sheriff. It's up to Sheriff Hunt, his second deputy sheriff Chicory, the doctor's husband O'Dwyer, and a gunslinger named Brooder to go into the mountains and rescue the two before it's too late.

John Brooder, Deputy Chicory, Sheriff Hunt, and Arthur O'Dwyer

We Are Still Here (2015) #427

"We Are Still Here" is an amazing ghost story that doesn't pull any punches and just wants to have gruesome scary fun. The first act is full of over used tropes and themes that makes you wonder why you're bothering with this movie at all but then it all makes sense and comes together as the second and third acts kick in and the film surpasses any and all expectations. Horror veterans Barbara Crampton ("Re-Animator" and "From Beyond") and Larry Fessenden ("Jug Face" and "I Sell the Dead") drive the film forward wit the help of Lisa Marie ("Mars Attacks") and Andrew Sensenig. Director and writer Ted Geoghegan delivers a great film and makes the brilliant move of keeping the movie under 90 minutes long; every scene is there for a reason, even during the ending credits. What I love most about this ghost story is that it turns into a monster movie and the supporting make-up and special effects are outstanding. More movies need to be brave enough to be so bold and have fun.

After the accidental death of their son, Anne and Paul move out into a snowy rural area of New England, where they hope the seclusion will help them heal from their emotional wounds. However, Anne soon begins to believe that their son's spirit is with them in their new home. After two weeks, they are visited by a couple of the townspeople who tell Anne and Paul about the horrible history associated with their house, which was originally built in 1800's as the town's mortuary. Still believing that the ghostly activity is due to their son, Anne invites her friends, two spiritualists, to come and determine if the ghost is their son or the previous owners. Soon the dark secret of the town is revealed and the all hell breaks loose.

The Voices (2014) #426

"The Voices" is a Horror-Comedy starring Ryan Reynolds (who better?) and Anna Kendrick. It's a straight forward film about a schizophrenic who hears his cat and dog talking to him, encouraging him to act in positive or murderous ways. The concept is fun and although not unique or different, it is used in an almost innocent way. Ryan's portrayal of Jerry is sweet and caring and makes him one of the most lovable antagonists I've ever seen. It's a fun movie worth watching once or twice. The horror and comedy elements do feel a bit uneven and the transitions between the two could have been more smooth at times but when it wants to be a horror movie, it does a great job; same with the comedic moments. For me, the most entertaining parts of the film were when Ryan's character wasn't taking his medication and the world around him was happy and magical like a Disney cartoon movie. 

Jerry (Renolds) has recently been paroled and his only friends are his dog Bosco and his cat Mr. Whiskers, who live with him in converted apartment above a bowling alley, but that may soon change after he begins to fit in and be accepted by his coworkers at a bathtub fixture manufacturing company. He is chosen to represent the shipping department for the company's annual work party, he falls a pretty girl, and a different pretty girl falls for him. Jerry's good fortune quickly unravels after an unfortunate accident and taking the advice of his pets and other "personalities", with whom he can hear and talks with, begins making some very bad decisions. Even though Jerry tries to be a good person and doesn't want to hurt those around him that he is beginning to care for, one thing does leads to another and soon it's too late.

The Green Inferno (2013) #425

"The Green Inferno" is Eli Roth's ode to the cannibal movie sub-genre of 1970's and 80's, a film that offers plenty of gore as well as Roth's signature sense of dark humor. The movie is perhaps best known for it's mainstream theatrical release after it was dropped by its original distributor, even though it was well received during its time shown in the film festival circuit. When it was finally released on the big screen, I did see it with about a dozen other people at a local cineplex. And was it worth the wait? Meh....

The violence, the gore, and the very nature of the movie isn't meant the average movie attendee, but to have its distributor drop the film is a bit suspect. It's not the first or the last to have this happen and you can almost gunarentee that when it does occur, the film in question will earn more discussion than if it quietly appeared as planned. Much like Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses", I was expecting something more after hearing about all of the hype.

Essentially the movie is about a group of student protesters from Columbia University who fly down to Peru's portion of the Amazon in order to stop a logging operation that will destroy innocent tribal villages left untouched by the outside world. After successfully halting the operation and getting arrested in the process, the protestors begin to fly back to the city, but the plane that they are on crashes, killing some of the people on board. The lucky survivors are then found by members of the "innocent" tribe and are brought back to the village, only to find out that the tribe are cannibals. 

Martyrs (2016) #424

"Marytrs" is the 2016 American remake of the 2008 extreme French film of the same name. As the trend with most remakes, the new version is rarely as good as the original. This film is both too much like the original and yet strays horribly astray when it tries to be different. The first half of the film feels like a shot for shot redo that scales back the intensity while the second half fails to deliver any scares and the story feels weak; the choice to write a new third act is commendable only if the new material actually adds to the established narrative because what takes place feels uncreative.

Besides having questionable story choices, the elements that makes the original do scary are either reduced or removed altogether. Why remake a tame version of a movie that is considered to be one of the more extreme films of the past ten years? It's a confounding move that doesn't do well for the film.

Lucie is a young girl who is being held captive and being systematically tortured in a rundown industrial building. She manages to escape but her captor is unable to be found. She is placed in an orphanage where she becomes close friends with Anna, a girl who's her age. Even though she physically heals, she is still tormented by a monster that only she can see. Ten years later, the two friends find Lucie's abusers but end up discovering something far more terrifying.