Spell: Never Forget Your Roots

Spell is a horror film directed by Mark Tonderai. The plot sees successful lawyer Marquis (Omari Hardwick), find out that his abusive father has died. As a result he takes his family back to where he grew up to pay their final respects. During the trip the family’s plane goes down over Appalachia and Marquis wakes up in the attic of an old school hoodoo practitioner who has sinister designs for him and his family.

I went into this film with high expectations and it met them. I enjoyed the examination of traditional folk magic, it is not a topic often covered in the horror genre especially this type, but here it is done well and to great effect, creating some genuinely tense and unnerving scenes.

Like most good horror films, this one priorities atmosphere over jump scares. Over its runtime the film creates a constant sense of unease, we never know if Marquis is going to escape or what the fate of his family is and there are a lot of teases and red herrings scattered in throughout to throw us off.

There are also some grizzly bits of gore that will make you skin crawl and make you wince, yes I am talking about the nail scene.

My one complaint of the film would be its ending. Yes, the final showdown is exciting to watch, but it feels too neat. Things go from a tense cat and mouse game that seems skewed against Marquis, to a brawl that will either see him and his family safe or dead: naturally this does away with any tension.

Overall, a very effective horror film that I enjoyed very much if the ending could have been better it would have been getting top marks.

Pros.

The atmosphere

The gore and the scares

The focus on folk Magic

Omari Hardwick

The supporting cast

Cons.

The ending is too neat

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Come Play: The Misunderstood Monster

Come Play is a horror thriller film directed by Jacob Chase. The plot sees a lonely little boy become the target of a malevolent entity that resides on the otherside of the screen (electronic device screen that is). His parents have to battle the evil and save their son from its cold, clammy embrace.

This was an unexpected treat. I found the premise to be very good, it is similar to Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook as the monster isn’t really a monster so much as it is an emotion, in this case the monster is loneliness manifest. I found this idea to be quite intriguing as it gives the antagonist a layer of sympathy, which makes them far more complex then just your standard demon or ghoul.

I also thought this film had a lot of interesting comments to make about autism and raising a child with it. We can see the plight that Oliver (Azhy Robertson), goes through and honestly It is heart-breaking. Furthermore, I thought Gillian Jacobs did a good job as the mum who loves her son, but struggles to cope with him, the relationship feels real and believable.

Finally, and no spoilers here, I enjoyed the ending. It felt very earnt and satisfying, what’s more it leaves the door open for more to come.

Overall, this is a very strong horror debut for Chase full of promise, it has a lot of interesting sub-text and is also quite scary.

Pros.

The parent child dynamic

Emotion made manifest

Jacobs

The scares

The ending

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Call: Jigsaw Has Finally Found Something More Important Than Revenge

The Call is a horror film directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. The plot sees a group of teens drive Edith Cranston (Lin Shaye), to suicide after they believe she is responsible for the death of one of their numbers sister’s death. However, they messed with the wrong person and soon her husband Edward (Tobin Bell), summons the teens to their house with the promise of cash money if they do one last thing for Edith, ring the phone that she is buried with and stay on the line for a minute.

This might be one of the best horror films I have seen in a while, yes there are a few jump scares, but by and large the film creates and off kilter atmosphere that really pays off with the scares. Shaye and Bell are terrific and prove to everyone why they have been genre mainstays for all this time. I feel like if you are a hardcore horror fan you will get a lot out of this film.

The plot I thought was quite inventive, I have not seen anything like this before. The twist around the sister’s death I thought worked against the film a little bit as it made the lead characters far less likeable. Said characters were obviously were bland, but that is always the case with teenagers in these sort of films; you aren’t watching for them you are watching for horror legends Shaye and Bell.

Overall, a very entertaining horror film that is boosted by the performances of seasoned pros.

Pros.

Good scares

Shaye

Bell

Unique, at least for me

Cons.

A few jump scares

The teens are awful, and the twist doesn’t make them any better

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Conjuring: A Fun Game Of Clap Hide And Seek, Anyone?

The Conjuring is a horror film directed by James Wan, loosely based on the real-life adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren. The plot sees the Warren’s summoned to a farmhouse to help a family that is being plagued by a malicious spirit.

The mainline Conjuring films are defiantly the best this shared universe has to offer, while the Nun and the later Annabelle films had some good moments, by and large they were reliant on jump scares, whereas these films especially the first was not so.

The film builds its scares organically, and focuses on character, mystery and atmosphere knowing that they can lead to stronger scares. The blind folded clapping scene from this film is far scarier and far more impactful than 100 jump scares.

The casting of Patrick Wilson and Vega Farmiga as the Warrens was sheer genius as they are the perfect protagonists, both believable enough to think that they can actually defeat the demons, but also human enough to be relatable and warm. They are very likeable, and you end up rooting for them throughout. I strongly believe the casting of these two makes this film what it is, without them and with lesser stars it could easily have faded into the bland horror background.

Overall, this shows the strong origins of the series before they gave in to jump scares.

Pros.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga

The scares

Building atmosphere

Cons.

The family as a whole is quite forgettable and generic

It feels a little samey after a while

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hellraiser 3: A Late Night Satanic Standup Performance At A Local Church, It Is A Laugh Riot

Hellraiser 3 is a horror film directed by Anthony Hickox. The plot again serves as a continuation of the last film, wherein Pin Head (Doug Bradley), became imprisoned in a statue. Obviously, he tricks some gullible humans into feeding him their friends, thereby restoring him, he then goes on a rampage. The only people willing to fight back are news reporter Joey (Terry Farrell) and the manifestation of Pin Heads good side, also played by Bradley.

After the god awful second film I very nearly gave up with this series, but a part of me wanted to see if it could get worse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film is hands and shoulders better than the second film, whilst still being leagues off the first film.

The main thing I enjoyed about this film was that it does not even try and be serious, or even remotely like Barker’s short story anymore, it just goes full on goofy. I found the 90’s charm of having these evil beings cracking wise to be somewhat charming.

I thought this film have several memorable moments such as the church scene as well as some of the early club stuff while still imprisoned, these are really well done and are suitably tense.

The new final girl does not have a patch on Kirsty and that is a simple fact.

Overall, a good end point for the series as it manages to claw back some of its dignity. I know this is not the end, but I am leaving it here (for now).

Pros.

It abandons any serious notion

Several memorable scenes

The one liners

Cons.

The new characters are bland

It has lost all sense of identity’

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rec: Yet More Found Footage

Rec is a Spanish found footage horror film directed by Jaume Balaguero. The plot sees a reporter (Angela Vidal), cover a firefighter intervention at a nearby apartment complex, however, as the night draws on she becomes locked down in the building with in becoming ever more clear that something else is going on.

Much like when I reviewed Rosemary’s Baby the other day, I feel like because this film is so highly regarded in the horror community I should like it, that was the main reason I gave it a chance in the first place, but I have to say after seeing it I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.

The one pro I will give this film is that I enjoyed the tight confined setting of an apartment block, I thought it gave the film a strong claustrophobic sense of atmosphere that helped it greatly.

Conversely, I thought the characters were poorly written. I didn’t care about them and that made all of the drama and the tension in the film become rendered null for me, the reporter didn’t seem to have much personality beyond being a reporter.

Likewise, the scares and the situation did little for me because I have seen it before, and better. The idea of an outbreak with people turning into these monsters (maybe Zombies?), is not a new concept and this film fails to do anything interesting with it.

Overall, strongly disappointing.

Pros.

The claustrophobic setting

Cons.

The main character has no personality

The scares feel done before

I could guess how it would end

I left disappointed

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

A Bay Of Blood: The Granddaddy Of The Slasher Genre

A Bay Of Blood is an Italian giallo film directed by Mario Bava. The plot follows a series of murders taking place around the titular bay.

I enjoyed seeing early slasher elements pop up in this film, I thought it was very interesting to see the genre cross pollination. For example the bed spear scene would later be used in Friday The 13^th Part 2, as well as the machete to the face kill. If you are a fan of genre cinema or film history that is a really rewarding part of the film.

I thought keeping us guessing about who the killer was, rather than showing us outright was a smart move as I often had my expectations subverted and the end reveal feels satisfying. This is defiantly less of a traditional giallo film as the mystery of who the killer is feels secondary to the body count, which is suitably creative and gory.

I thought it was well paced and none of the scenes felt too long, which is often a complaint of mine. The acting was also strong and all the performances seemed genuine and real, a lot can be learnt by comparing the performances of the teen ‘victim’ character in films like this and in our modern day slasher films; it is night and day, with a less favourable view going to today’s performers. Have our standards dropped?

Overall, if you’re a fan of slasher cinema then you owe it to yourself to watch this film.

Pros.

Keeping the killer mysterious

The kills

The pacing and the acting

It’s a big part of horror history

Cons.

It is a little dry by today’s horror standards

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sleepy Hollow: Christopher Walken In All His Snarly Goodness

Sleepy Hollow is a horror fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, based on The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. We follow Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), a New York police constable who is sent out to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders.

I remember watching this a lot when I was younger, it was my go-to horror film, especially on Halloween, for a long time. However, I recently rewatched it and saw it entirely differently then I did when I was younger and am now left thinking how much of my remembered enjoyment is the fabled rose-tinted glasses.

I still enjoyed some of the horror elements of the film, such as Ichabod’s tragic back story and the flashbacks involving his mother, as well as the headless horseman as a character. I find the fact that said horseman is silent for most of the film makes him more scary and you have to use your imagination. Having Christopher Walken play him when he does have a head is a masterstroke as he fits the role so well, stuffing it with malice and fear.

The acting is all fairly solid, Christina Ricci and Johnny Deep basically play similar characters to what they normally do, so your enjoyment of their performances will come down to how you find them in other roles.

My big complaint with the film that I didn’t previously notice is the tone; in that it is all over the place. Despite claiming not to be, this feels very much like family friendly horror, the darker elements are counter balanced with these oddly comedic moments and the two clash horribly as you would imagine.

Overall, it is still good when it is being scary, but the odd ball humour really ruins it as a whole.

Pros.

The headless horseman

Christopher Walken

The gore and so genuine malice

Cons.

The main performances from Depp and Ricci are just them playing characters that they have played before again and claiming it is new.

The humour really hurts any kind of tension

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Blood And Black Lace: Even Killers Need Dress Codes

Blood and Black Lace is a giallo horror film directed by Mario Bava. The plot sees a series of brutal murders involving models at a Roman fashion house, these murders seem to be in aim of recovering a secret laden diary.

So, this film shifts from the standard giallo to some degree we start to see more of an early proto slasher, complete with white face mask, much like the one Michael Myers would come to wear years later.

I thought the mystery of the film was probably it’s strongest part, with the focus often straying towards the killer being a good thing for the film in the long run. The mystery itself was not obvious or overly simplistic, it kept me guessing until the end, but when revealed felt natural and well built towards.

The acting is strong if a little over the top, but that adds to the charm. None of the performances particularly blew me away, but nor did they bring me out of it.

Though I can understand why this film is important, in genre, to me it just felt a bit too similar to other giallo films I have watched recently, they have all started to blend together.

Overall, though I can see it’s important the strong mystery and over the top slightly campy performances are the only selling points the rest of the film feel very by the numbers.

Pros.

The mystery

The genre importance

The over the top camp

Cons.

Very by the numbers

The characters feel quite thin

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

A Nightmare On Elm Street: Put The Bottle Down, An After School Special

A Nightmare On Elm Street is a slasher horror film directed by Wes Craven. The plot sees a group of kids become the target of a vicious serial killer, Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund). However Freddy has been dead for quite some time but has returned as a creature of dreams to carry on killing the youth of America.

I have always been torn on this film; it is neither my favourite slasher film nor is it my most loathed it is somewhere in-between. I can see it’s important to the sub-genre, but also don’t think it holds a candle to Halloween (the Carpenter original), or to Craven’s own Scream that would come out years later.

I enjoyed the dreamlike elements in the film and how it played with reality. In this respect I thought the ending that served as a subversion was well done and actually quite surprising. I thought the sequences within the dreams all felt a little similar, but at least later films would correct this issue.

The iconic kills are all there and they still feel impactful, though the effects seem a little dated. The blood tornado death is still probably the most impressive to me from a technical point of view.

I thought Freddy felt a little toned back and docile here, though I am more use to the later films where he is churning out one liners every five minutes like it is going out of style. I thought Englund was good, but he did not blow my socks off.

Overall, my memory of this film has aged better than the film itself and while it is by no means bad it certainly has lost something over the years.

Pros.

The kills

The dream like parts

The subversive ending

Cons.

Freddy seems quite tame

The effects are noticeably bad

It is somewhat disappointing

3/5

Reviewed by Luke