Beyond the Darkened Door - Horror Movie Reviews

Reviews of horror films throughout the ages. Open to any suggestions anyone would like to send. For reference, my average rating is a 7/10. Anything below that is below average; above, obviously, above average. Along with reviews, I will post anything related to horror that catches my eye, including VHS covers, GIFS, news, etc.

[michaelx-blog]

Sorry for the absence

But I think I may again start posting more reviews of horror flicks on here. Haven’t been sitting idly, though - in October 0f 2017, I participated in another October Challenge (basically, watching horror flicks throughout the month), and ended up watching 132 movies I’d never seen before.

Below is the full list of the movies I watched, with run-times:

1) Get Out (2017) - 104 mins. 2) Perdidos (2014) - 96 mins. 3) Incubo sulla città contaminata (1980) - 91 mins. 4) Meathook Massacre (2015) - 60 mins. 5) Murder Elite (1985) - 99 mins. 6) Dark Summer (2015) - 82 mins. 7) Doomed to Consume (2006) - 78 mins. 8) Dead Silence (2007) - 92 mins. 9) The Pit (1981) - 96 mins. 10) Most Likely to Die (2015) - 81 mins. 11) Virgin Witch (1972) - 89 mins. 12) It Follows (2014) - 100 mins. 13) Resurreción (2015) - 102 mins. 14) The Boogey Man (1980) - 82 mins. 15) Bering Sea Beast (2013) - 86 mins. 16) La bestia y la espada mágica (1983) - 108 mins. 17) Satan's Black Wedding (1976) - 62 mins. 18) Dark Signal (2016) - 99 mins. 19) Pin (1988) - 103 mins. 20) The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959) - 70 mins. 21) Psycho Cop (1989) - 87 mins. 22) The Void (2016) - 90 mins. 23) Stripped to Kill (1987) - 87 mins. 24) Nightwing (1979) - 105 mins. 25) Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive (1992) - 94 mins. 26) Nightmare Sisters (1988) - 82 mins. 27) Sangue negli abissi (1990) - 90 mins. 28) Sleepy Hollow High (2000) - 81 mins. 29) Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl (2016) - 76 mins. 30) Silent Tongue (1993) - 102 mins. 31) Night of the Wild (2015) - 89 mins. 32) Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws (2006) - 82 mins. 33) Mansion of the Doomed (1976) - 86 mins. 34) Zinda Laash (1967) - 103 mins. 35) Kill Game (2017) - 102 mins. 36) On Bloody Sunday (2007) - 84 mins. 37) Supernatural (1933) - 64 mins. 38) Toxic Shark (2017) - 87 mins. 39) The Mutations (1974) - 92 mins. 40) The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015) - 92 mins. 41) Soul's Ark (1999) - 80 mins. 42) Bunny the Killer Thing (2015) - 88 mins. 43) Dead Still (2014) - 94 mins. 44) The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) - 96 mins. 45) Lost Prophet (1992) - 74 mins. 46) The Veil (2016) - 94 mins. 47) Criminally Insane 2 (1987) - 62 mins. 48) Beneath (2007) - 82 mins. 49) A Cure for Wellness (2016) - 147 mins. 50) Heartstopper (1989) - 90 mins. 51) The Tattooist (2007) - 89 mins. 52) Morirai a mezzanotte (1986) - 85 mins. 53) Father's Day (2011) - 99 mins. 54) Pledge Night (1990) - 82 mins. 55) Embrace the Darkness (1999) - 105 mins. 56) The Warning (2015) - 91 mins. 57) The Devil's Candy (2015) - 81 mins. 58) Die Präsenz (2014) - 83 mins. 59) The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) - 98 mins. 60) Trailer Park Shark (2017) - 85 mins. 61) Cabin 28 (2017) - 83 mins. 62) Hidden (2015) - 83 mins. 63) Hell House LLC (2015) - 91 mins. 64) Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996) - 95 mins. 65) Leprechaun: Origins (2014) - 90 mins. 66) May (2002) - 93 mins. 67) Ragin Cajun Redneck Gators (2013) - 88 mins. 68) Nightmare on the 13th Floor (1990) - 85 mins. 69) Bates Motel (1987) - 95 mins. 70) The Hollow (2015) - 85 mins. 71) Beyond the Gates (2016) - 82 mins. 72) The Bisbee Cannibal Club (2002) - 74 mins. 73) The Lights (2009) - 86 mins. 74) Ravana's Game (2014) - 108 mins. 75) Die Die Delta Pi (2013) - 79 mins. 76) City in Panic (1986) - 86 mins. 77) Crystal Force (1990) - 83 mins. 78) Amsterdamned (1988) - 109 mins. 79) Cruise Into Terror (1978) - 96 mins. 80) Mississippi River Sharks (2017) - 90 mins. 81) Atomic Shark (2016) - 90 mins. 82) Ozark Sharks (2016) - 88 mins. 83) Night Watch (1973) - 99 mins. 84) The Mummy Lives (1993) - 97 mins. 85) Splatter University (1984) - 78 mins. 86) Truth or Dare (2017) - 90 mins. 87) The Sandman (2017) - 90 mins. 88) Neverknock (2017) - 90 mins. 89) House of the Witch (2017) - 90 mins. 90) Dark Shade Creek (2012) - 88 mins. 91) Webs (2003) - 84 mins. 92) Tower of Evil (1972) - 90 mins. 93) Los Parecidos (2015) - 90 mins. 94) Córki dancingu (2015) - 92 mins. 95) 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto (1970) - 81 mins. 96) Southbound (2015) - 89 mins. 97) Eden Log (2007) - 98 mins. 98) Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro (1968) - 84 mins. 99) Secreto Matusita (2014) - 77 mins. 100) Fun Time (2015) - 73 mins. 101) October Moon (2005) - 112 mins. 102) The Suckling (1990) - 89 mins. 103) The Neighbor (2016) - 87 mins. 104) Hellgate (1989) - 91 mins. 105) Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: Yûrei manshon (2005) - 94 mins. 106) Quella villa in fondo al parco (1988) - 78 mins. 107) The Dollhouse Murders (1992) - 89 mins. 108) The Carrier (1988) - 99 mins. 109) Cat Sick Blues (2015) - 94 mins. 110) Zhong gui (1983) - 86 mins. 111) Waxwork (1988) - 98 mins. 112) Deadly Lessons (1983) - 94 mins. 113) Ominous (2015) - 88 mins. 114) Frog-g-g! (2004) - 80 mins. 115) The Murder Game (2006) - 86 mins. 116) Último deseo (1976) - 81 mins. 117) Cards of Death (1986) - 92 mins. 118) The Hallow (2015) - 97 mins. 119) The Severed Arm (1973) - 91 mins. 120) Blacula (1972) - 93 mins. 121) 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971) - 103 mins. 122) Yûrei yashiki no kyôfu: Chi wo sû ningyô (1970) - 71 mins. 123) The Incredible Torture Show (1976) - 88 mins. 124) Gargoyles (1972) - 74 mins. 125) Headless (2015) - 86 mins. 126) Castle Freak (1995) - 95 mins. 127) Los cronocrímenes (2007) - 92 mins. 128) Antropophagus (1980) - 91 mins. 129) Dead & Buried (1981) - 94 mins. 130) Wolves at the Door (2016) - 72 mins. 131) Le notti del terrore (1981) - 83 mins. 132) The House on Sorority Row (1983) - 92 mins.

A lot of good stuff, some great stuff, and some god-awful stuff.

I’ll see what I can do about starting to get back into posting reviews on here, but for now, I hope you are all well.

[terror--dome]

[michaelx-blog]

Thrill me

[depths--of--despair-deactivated]

My review on Hush plus a give away ! What did you think of Hush ?

[michaelx-blog]

I rather got a kick out of Hush, and thought it came across as a really solid movie. Think I gave it something like an 8.5/10 when I reviewed it (my average being a 7/10). Good review.

[michaelx-blog]

Offerings (1989)

Director: Christopher Reynolds

So, you all know me: if it's an 80's slasher, chances are high that I love the movie. And this late 80's addition to the genre is no different. After a prank goes awry, those involved are slaughtered ten years later. Plot-wise, there's not much going on, and I thought it worked out just fine. This independent Oklahoma rip-off of Halloween was a lot of fun. It's low-budget, but has a lot of heart (think HauntedWeen, and this won't be the last time I make the comparison). The musical score is a complete copy of Halloween's, and the final twenty minutes (along with the fact the killer is mute, and just escaped from a mental institution) takes heavily from Halloween also. Even so, there's some memorable stuff in here, from hammy acting to decent kills. While the gore was kept to a minimum, there was some decent blood during a few scenes (which is definitely one area where HauntedWeen one-ups this film). The acting was about how you'd expect, but I got a kick out of it. Our main girl Gretchen (played by Loretta Leigh Bowman) did her part well, and was an attractive young lady to boot. We got two zany side-characters, one being a mortician's intern (played comically by Mark Massey – his only other role was in the SOV horror film The Ripper form 1985) and the other being Deputy Buddy (played by Barry Brown – his only other film being an early 90's crime/thriller, which, worth noting, is the only other film the director of this movie directed). Both were zany goodness with strong Oklahoma accents (which is a trait shared by almost every cast member, our lead girl with the most notable accent). Perhaps my favorite character, though, is Sheriff Chism. He's a genial, nice guy, who actually tries his best to help the girls out. Really, Chism's a great character, and I had fun with him. The actor who portrayed him, G. Michael Smith, has only this single movie under his belt, which is a shame. Most likely, he's just a citizen of Oklahoma City (where this was filmed) who the director thought fit the role best, and boy, does he ever. This movie had a few comedic scenes thrown in (including one juxtaposition near the end which I laughed aloud at), and overall, Offerings was a fun film. While lacking in the gore department, I got a kick out of this one, and while it might appeal purely to slasher fans of the bygone era, it's a movie I recommend. 7.5/10.

(This is my first viewing of this movie)

[michaelx-blog]

Broken Notes (2008)

Director: Alex Slevin

If you're a fan of Silent Hill 2 (the video game, to be clear), then you may get a kick out of this moderately obscure Spanish flick. It's basically a live-action version of the game, which has it's pros and cons. Pros being, if you're a fan of the game, then you'll probably enjoy how closely the movie follows it. But if you're like me, and know next to nothing about the games, then the movie seems mostly like a mess. There's a plot, being a man going to Silent Hill in order to find his wife (who died three years earlier, but as he got a letter from her, that's suspect information), but it feels rather disjointed. The dialogue is both stilted and awkward (though that may be partially due to the translation from Spanish as opposed to the script-writer, or due to the fact much of the dialogue is taken straight from the game), and some things don't make much sense. Almost everything's a metaphorical representation of something, and while occasionally deep, that doesn't do much for me. Parts of the movie just don't seem to follow the previous scenes, and that's not something I care much for. What also has to be discussed is the audio quality of the film. There's not a whole lot of talking in this movie, but there's also not much “in-world” sounds, and by that, I mean if a character hits another character with a crowbar, there's no thump. It's just silent, as if it's in a vacuum. It happens throughout the film, and it's at best mildly distracting. The color scheme of the film (sort of a faded palate; you can see different colors, but the only one that really sticks out is red) was unique, and did help with the dreamy quality of the film. That's one thing the film should really get props for – the dreamy atmosphere. It's helped along by the aforementioned disjointed scenes, odd dialogue, color scheme, and audio. So basically, everything in this movie adds to the dreamy atmosphere, which does come across as cool, but again, that's not something I'm a big fan of. It's somewhat similar to another obscure film titled Silver Cell (2011), though I actually liked that one quite a lot more. Broken Notes seems to be for hardcore fans of Silent Hill 2, but anyone else who watches it, while they can get a plot out of it, will feel as though something's missing. So for the right crowd, this movie may actually be, if not a fun, an interesting ride. For me, though, given it's hour and 40 minute run-time, it was just tedious. 4.5/10.

[michaelx-blog]

Nightwatch (1997)

Director: Ole Bornedal

When I first saw this film, I rather enjoyed it. Or at least that's what my IMDb rating (an 8/10) would lead me to believe. Perhaps the second viewing of this film falters for everyone, or it's not nearly as good as I remember it being, though, as I was mostly not that enthralled with it this time around. The whole atmosphere of the film seems sort of off, especially regarding Martin's (Ewan McGregor) friend James (Josh Brolin). James just doesn't seem to care about anything, and his attitude is one that's difficult to relate to. He's just an odd character, and didn't feel right to me. The movie's decently slow – it doesn't really pick up until an hour and 15 minutes (the whole run-time is an hour and 40 minutes), which was a major detriment. We had some memorable actors, such as Nick Nolte (who had a great role), Brad Dourif, and John C. Reilly (who was, for some reason, uncredited, despite having significant screen-time near the end), but the story itself didn't do much for me this time around. It's a disappointment, really: I was rather excited about seeing this one again, but not only does it not live up to what I remembered, and not only did it feel average, overall, I thought the film was a bit below average. Truth be told, I don't have much more to say about this one. It had solid actors, moderately decent gore, and it picked up near the final thirty minutes, but everything beforehand fell a bit flat. Despite previously enjoying this, it just doesn't hold up. 6.5/10.

[michaelx-blog]

Are We the Waiting (2017)

Director: Michael Taylor Pritt

This is the first movie from 2017 I've seen, and the second Michael Taylor Pritt film I've been able to watch (Mile Before Sleep, which I previously reviewed, being the first one). And though this is Pritt's newest film, I actually preferred Miles Before Sleep. Before any of that, though, let's briefly discuss this movie. A group of five friends go to a secluded house to party before two of them defect to Canada, but shortly after getting there, they're stalked and killed off by a mysterious killer. The plot's simple enough, and honestly, the film doesn't throw many unique plot points out at you. The kills are decently done (especially one toward the end), but overall, I don't know how memorable they'd be. The design of the killer's mask (which is partially glow-in-the-dark) is pretty cool, and other small things, such as the atmosphere (save for the ending, which I'll expand on shortly) work out well. The acting's a mixed bag – I rather liked most of Pritt's acting, and others, such as Alyssa Cordial and Rob Pemberton, did a pretty good job, but some of Bridgette Kidd's lines felt forced. Actually, quite a bit of the dialogue was flaky, and sometimes fell a bit flat, but most of the time, that was tolerable. One of the places this was most notable, though, was the reveal of the killer. It felt a bit rushed, and I think that's something that could have been done better. The final ten minutes felt rather out of place, though. Obviously, I won't go over plot points, but let's say that the ending, in my opinion, came out of left field, and really, I didn't feel the final ten minutes were necessary. At an hour and 15 minutes (the final five minutes being credits), I think the movie could have been cut down a little bit, maybe trimming the ending (or removing it entirely) and a few scenes throughout the film. Miles Before Sleep, not counting the outtakes, was around 53 minutes, so given how this one was about twenty minutes longer, I couldn't help but feel as though it was dragging a few times throughout the film. All this said, it's a perfectly acceptable low-budget slasher flick. It's more formulaic than Miles Before Sleep was (or at least that's my impression), but I rather liked the group of friends as a whole, and thought that they did well together. It's a bit below average, but for a fan of lower-budget horror, it may well be worth checking out. 6/10.

(This is my first viewing of this movie)

[michaelx-blog]

Hay all - update

Just saw the 1989 slasher Offerings. Though it ripped-off Halloween in more than a few ways, I got a kick out of it, and highly recommend it.

I’ll be posting the review, along with reviews of other horror films I’ve seen recently, over the next few days.

[brundleflyforawhiteguy]

[s1umb3r-party-massacre-deactiva]

Slumber Party Massacre || 1982 || Rita Mae Brown

“The Ultimate Driller Killer Thriller!”

[michaelx-blog]

[horrorpicturemaniac]

All aboard! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[michaelx-blog]

Isle of the Dead (2016)

Director: Nick Lyon

A military squad is sent to a scientific island base to battle zombies and discover horrifying truths. Now, that's a terrible description of the film, but as Isle of the Dead is an atrocious movie, it only seems fair. Almost all of the military individuals were interchangeable, and it doesn't take a palm reader to tell who the survivor of the film is going to be. Predictability aside, though, this movie has a lot of flaws. Chief among them are the uber-zombies. These super-zombies can speak, hold grudges, and brawl in fist fights. And some characters even inject themselves with a serum to also become uber-zombies to fight against the other zombies. There's normal zombies too, though. And actually, I'm pretty sure there was even another class of zombies mentioned. Which brings me to another point: this movie, despite having what one might think is a simple plot, got moderately convoluted about half-way through the film. Why the bazooka launched a nuclear weapon at the end, I didn't catch. Perhaps they explained it, but the audio quality seemed lacking (which, for a movie on SyFy, was odd). The CGI gore was intolerable (though there was one scene, including a bug crawling out of someone's eye, that I got a kick out of). The characters were unremarkable (for the most part), and the plot, at least insofar as it could be followed, was just your run-of-the-mill zombie movie. And don't get me started on the final thirty minutes of the film; as soon as the uber-zombies started appearing, the movie got much worse. The one highlight of this movie is D.C. Douglas, who played a manic scientist. His sometimes over-the-top acting was deeply amusing, and I rather enjoyed his character (and in fact, he reminded me Kyle MacLachian's performance as Cal on Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Douglas was a fun character, and I appreciated that, but overall, it couldn't save this movie. An utterly generic and atrocious film, Isle of the Dead is a movie I'd not at all recommend. 4.5/10.

(This is my first viewing of this movie)

[michaelx-blog]

Seclusion (2016)

Director: Joe Bandelli

In Seclusion, a group of friends are slowly killed off while they're at an isolated cabin for a destination wedding. As this movie is mostly moved by characterization, and there's not that many characters to speak of (eight total cast members, not counting the extras at the beginning), it'd have been really easy for the movie to fail, but actually, it mostly worked out moderately well. While the plot isn't overly creative, the interaction between the characters seemed real and accomplished it's goal. As for the identity of the killer, that's more a mixed bag. There's plenty of red herrings throughout the film, and while they skirted that with the reveal, things still weren't done as well as they could have been. I don't even know if the killer could realistically killed those that died, as the time-frame seems off. That's not mentioning a scene prior to the reveal, which seems to contradict what was revealed after. Basically, a few scenes needed tightening up a bit. Another thing worth mentioning is the music, which seems to be stock violin music. It's difficult for me to explain, but the music sounded really cheap, for lack of a better word. To end on a positive note, though, most of the actors and actresses did a pretty fine job. Nicole Pacent (who's character I am still mixed on) stole the scenes she was in, Alyson McKenzie Wells did a perfect blonde airhead slut, and while Matthew Wise wasn't remarkable, his character wasn't either, so all's well there. The only problem I had insofar as acting's concerned is Clea Alsip. Throughout the film, she was a sappy newlywed, never missing a chance to tell her new husband that she loves him. I know there are people like that out there, but in the situation they were in, it sort of got on my nerves. Seclusion isn't going to win any awards, but it was a pleasant enough movie made average by a failure to fully explain a scene or two, and adding in some unnecessary red herrings. All things considered, this probably falls somewhere around being average. 7/10.

(This is my first viewing of this film)

[michaelx-blog]

Pet (2016)

Director: Carles Torres

This was an interesting film. While I expected some of the twists throughout the film, others came as a surprise, which is a positive thing. The shift in the film that occurs a little over halfway into the movie was a unique one, and changes the dynamics of the movie and the characters. Hell, for the most part, I even liked the ending. It's not perfect, of course. I thought portions were extremely unrealistic, especially toward the end, and I have doubts about how the “solution” to the problem, as it was. I have to admit also, as much as I thought the main twist was interesting, I lost interest a bit, as the rest of the movie seemed to fall into a suspected mold. All-in-all, though, the positives outweigh the benefits. The problem is, while it's a technically fine film, and I had little qualms with it aside from what's been mentioned, the movie didn't do a lot for me. It's reminiscent of Green Room, actually – I liked the movie, but beyond a slightly positive outlook, it didn't stand out. While Pet's plot is a memorable one, I find myself feeling lukewarm toward it. It's not that it's a bad movie, it just didn't do much for me. Because of that, I'll rate it around average, though to others, I'd suspect a warmer reception to it. 7/10.

(This is my first viewing of this movie)

[michaelx-blog]

Miles Before Sleep (2016)

Director: Michael Taylor Pritt

Two inbred country brothers assault four individuals from the city for being sinners, while the third brother battles with himself, and whether or not he should intervene in his brothers' quest to cleanse the world from the wicked. It's a mildly fun plot, albeit not that complicated. Miles Before Sleep has a lot of heart, in my estimation. It's a short film (under an hour, and the last six minutes or so are outtakes anyway), but does a good job of not waiting until the end to pick up. Which is a minor complain also; while the fun might be in the chase, I'm not sure how much fun I had watching these individuals trying to escape the two brothers (plus their mute sister) over and over again. Around the forty minute mark, I did feel as though it was dragging a bit. But that aside, the ending was an okay one (and the flashbacks strewn throughout the film were welcomed, because while we didn't need background information on the killers and their family, I thought it was a nice touch). A funny thing I wanted to point out: Valentine, who is the hesitant third brother (and infinitely more civilized) was played by the director of the film, Michael Taylor Pritt. No matter how much I tried, every time I saw Pritt on screen, I couldn't help but think of John Bradley (who portrays Samwell Tarley in Game of Thrones). The two insane brothers (being Christian's one thing, but they take it to another level) did their jobs well, and overall, despite the low budget of the film, I thought everyone did a pretty decent job. The story's nothing overly creative, but I had fun with it (the outtakes themselves were quite enjoyable also), so I'd recommend seeking this out if lower-budget movies are your thing (though as it has less than five votes on IMDb, I don't know how widely available it is). 7/10.

(This is my first viewing of this film)

[michaelx-blog]

Fender Bender (2016)

Director: Mark Pavia

Mark Pavia, the director of this film, also directed a movie I rather enjoyed, being 1997's The Night Flier. Here's what's interesting: The Night Flier was the last film that Pavia directed before this one. So it's been just under twenty years since Pavia's directed anything, and one would (reasonably) think that after such an extended hiatus, he'd be able to craft, at the very least, a movie on par with his last work. Sadly, that's not the case here. 17-year old Hilary (played by Makenzie Vega) gets into a fender bender with an odd individual, and later that night, the man attempts to kill her and her friends. It's not necessarily all that amazing or creative a plot. What holds it back most, though, is the fact that, save the opening sequence of the movie, it takes a while for the horror elements to come into the film. The movie's a normal-length film, at just around an hour and thirty minutes, and it's not until an hour in that the killer actually starts making an appearance. Before that, there were some tense scenes, but it was nowhere near enough. Truth be told, though I liked Hilary and her two friends, I was bored for a large portion of the film. When things do start happening, nothing really stands out in those scenes either. The ending wasn't a bad one, but it wasn't overly satisfying either, and the killer's final words make little sense. So the story is rather average, and the only thing it can really boast is decent production value and a somewhat cool (if not generic) looking killer. The kills aren't bad, and can even come across as brutal in a way, but much like the movie as a whole, they weren't memorable. Really, the most interesting thing about this movie are the names involved. Pavia's directorial involvement aside, our lead character is played by Makenzie Vega, who isn't a big name, but did play Lawrence Gordon's daughter in the first Saw, so it's a nice surprise to see that she's still acting and I have to say, does really well with her character. Her father in the movie is played by Steven Michael Quezada, who portrayed Steve Gomez in Breaking Bad, which was another nice surprise (though Quezada doesn't get much screen time). All-in-all, though, Fender Bender doesn't have that much to offer us as viewers, and it's really a forgettable experience. It's truly a shame that this is the product of a twenty year break. 5.5/10.

(This is my first viewing of this movie)