The Sacrament (2013) #391

"The Sacrament" is an mediocre offering from director and writer Ti West, with horror fiend Eli Roth serving as one of the producers. The film stars regular Ti West collaborators A.J Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Amy Seimetz. The film might be a little too polished for a first person perspective film but at least the viewer is saved from an overly shaky and nauseating experience. The film doesn't offer anything new to the material that it covers but it does present that content in an entertaining fashion.

"The Sacrament" is a simple, effective, straightforward, and yet predictable horror film about two independent web-journalists, Sam and Jake,  and a collaborator, Patrick, who go to an unnamed country to make a documentary about Parish Eden, a possible religious utopia for former drug addicts and social rejects. Patrick wants to find his sister Caroline, a recovering drug addict, who wrote a letter to her brother asking him to come. When the three first land, they are taken to the parish by armed locals, giving them quiet concern. While the sibling reunite, Sam and Jake interview the parish residents about their new life and what their leader, Father, is like. Sam and Jake begin to see the positive aspects about the simple life that the parish residents are living but when they meet Father, their fears and concerns quickly return. Soon they realize that there are secrets that are being kept from them and that their lives are in grave danger.

Father being interviewed by Sam and filmed by Jake

Sam and Jake

Caroline holding her brother Patrick

You're Next (2011) #386

"You're Next" is a thrilling standout in the home invasion horror sub-genre. The premise presented delivers an excellent reason as to why there are so many potential victims and an even more delightful and satisfying reason as to why the film's heroine is so well suited for the chilling situation that she finds herself in. The acting is solid, the pacing is perfect, and the movie's twist and turns feel fresh and exciting even if you see them coming (which I didn't). Finally, the way that the victims are killed off one by one are creative and varied, making "You're Next" a must see horror film.

Like other home invasion horror movies of recent memory, like "The Purge" and "The Strangers", "You're Next" hides the identities of the invaders by using simple and not overly complicated masks. The use of the animal masks, which were heavily used in movie posters and other forms of advertisements, effectively strike a chord and heighten the sense of terror.

The adult children and their respective significant others gather together in a large rural house to celebrate their parent's anniversary and their father's recent retirement. During dinner, the family is attacked by a group of unknown assailants wearing animal masks. The family is killed off one by one until Erin, a new girlfriend of one of the sons, begins fighting back.

Favorite moment - A clever use using a blender to kill someone.

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"