Horns: Where Brooding Meets Teen Angst

Horns is a fantasy horror romance film directed by Alexandre Aja, based on the Joe Hill book of the same name. The plot sees Ig (Daniel Radcliffe), have to clear his name after the brutal death of his girlfriend, aiding him in that effect is the fact that he has started to grow horns. These horns allow people to be completely honest with Ig and tell him their darkest thoughts and desires.

Having for once read the book, before viewing, I can honestly say that this film is a pale imitation. In the process of turning a novel into a film obviously a lot of things will be left out, there has to be some degree of translation, but this film misses out keys themes and plot lines from the book whilst also shoe horning in moments to act as a kind of fan service to book readers.

The obvious demonic metaphor is more easily conveyed here, as we can see his transformation. Though said change is interesting initially, it soon becomes a bit repetitive. Ig is surprised that people don’t seem bothered by his horns, this makes sense the first time not the 30^th. The final devil design is okay it is a little underwhelming as I was hoping for something grander.

The acting is okay, Radcliffe manages just about to keep an accent for the entirety of the runtime, but he is not as strong an actor here as he is today. For me this film just felt a bit too teen angsty, trying too hard to be edgy, I don’t know maybe I have just outgrown it.

Overall, it is perfectly serviceable, but it does not fully embrace the concept of the book and it feels too broody which becomes cringey the longer the film goes on.

Pros.

A few strong moments

The transformation

Cons.

It beats plot points over the head

It leaves key details out

It feels very teen angsty

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

Hellbound,HellRaiser 2: I Never Knew Hell Was This Boring

Hellbound Hellraiser 2 is a slasher horror film directed by Tony Randel. The film serves as a continuation of the first film with hero Kirsty (Ashley Lawrence), venturing into the world of the cenobites to try and save her dead father. However, once she arrives she realises that there is more afoot than she first thought.

So, Clive Baker’s involvement with this film is much less than in the first and you can feel that in all the worst ways. Clearly, this sequel was made because the first was a success, but without a reason other than that for it to exist. It doesn’t add much to the first film and honestly, throughout its entire runtime it never justifies its existence.

The plot is messy and muddled, there is a lot of different things going on at the same time, far too many, and things quickly get muddled; this film goes out of its way to be exposition heavy and it really suffers for it. The issue with the writing in this film is it explains its lore a bit too much and unless you’re taking detailed notes you won’t really understand what is going on, but you will feel bored.
Also the cenobites themselves are worse here as they are the main focus. Part of the reason Pinhead (Doug Bradley), was so effective in the first film was because he was a demon of few words he was enigmatic, the few scenes we had teased us but didn’t give anything up; he was given limited screen time. However, here he is front and centre and by giving him this limelight he is demystified and though he is not the main villain here, that is some other throw away character, his presence is felt far too much.

Overall, a sequel that shows everything wrong with the concept.

Pros.

Some cool imagery

Cons.

Overusing Pinhead

Far too much exposition

So many throw away characters

It never justifies its existence

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Blood From Stone: Even Vampires Go On Benders, Blood-lust Quenched

Blood From Stone is a vampire western film directed by Geoff Ryan. The plot follows decades old vampire Jure (Vanja Kapetanovic), as he goes on a rampage killing human victims left and right. Revealing himself in the process.

When I first thought vampire western, I imagined it literally, and while this is not that, it is so much more. This feels more like a character study to me, a study in what happens to a person, or in this case a vampire, when they have been denied something they desire for a long time. We see that relapse in all its gory splendour here.

This is a tale of two vampire primarily and though Darya (Gabriella Toth), is a strong character in her own right this is really Jure’s film. I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to say that both Toth and Kapetanovic both give terrific performances. There is something broken in Kapetanovic’s performance which just feels so right for this role.

The horror of this film is not really the sort that makes you jump; it is more akin to dread. Think about how you feel when you watch a biopic knowing it’s a sad ending, or when you watch a film about banker robbers knowing they can’t keep getting away. You get that feeling right from the off and you know it is all going to end poorly, but you can’t help but watch and hope that it doesn’t.

Overall, a very tragic but also fascinating film that enthrals you from the get-go.

Pros

Kapetanovic

Toth

The horror

The sense of dread

The ending

Cons

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Witches (2020): Suitable For Kids?

The Witches (2020) is a family fantasy horror film directed by Robert Zemeckis. The plot follows a young boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno), who discovers that Witches are very real after he and his Grandmother (Octavia Spenser), become targets.

This is not like the other film version in a number of ways, there is a clear effort to set this one apart from the other adaption as well as the book version, there is a lot of added material that is not in the book or other film. While not all of this new stuff works, I am glad they added new scenes and plot lines as it allows this film to feel like it stands on its own rather than just being another remake.

There are also a lot of things in this film that I question whether they are appropriate for a children’s film. There are mentions to things like suicide, which is used as a sort of joke, as well as the arms scene which I would specifically draw light to. The arms scene is actually quite scary, there is something about the uncanny valley nature of the scene that adds to it and makes it scarier, it looks like something out of the recent IT films only better done.

I didn’t like the ending, I thought having them all stay mice doesn’t really work and pushes the film into a ridiculous territory that makes it end on more of a jokey note, which cheapens the entire experience.

Octavia Spenser is terrific and makes the film as well.

Pros.

Spenser

The new additions

The arms scenes/ some genuine scares

Cons.

Not really suitable for kids

The ending is laughably bad

The supporting cast, namely Tucci is given nothing to do.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rosemary’s Baby: The Horrors Of A Toxic Relationship

Rosemary’s Baby is a psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski. The plot follows young woman, Rosemary (Mia Farrow), who finds herself suddenly pregnant one day after having a horrific dream. Over the course of her pregnancy more and more odd occurrences play out, before things take a sharp turn towards the sinister.

The demonic angle of the story didn’t work for me, I won’t go to much into it as I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I didn’t find that part of the story scary. I could see from the beginning where they were going with it, but no matter how much they built the reveal it did little for me in the end.

Rather where I do find scares in this film is the way it depicts the life of a woman in the 60s. The bias towards the husband, the blatant sexism, the belief that women can just be hysterical. I found the abuse and mental anguish that Rosemary suffers from those around here to be far more chilling than anything else in the film. Maybe that was the intent?

I think in terms of horror cinema as a whole you can see how this film would go on to inspire a lot of other people and projects. There are elements here that would become genre main stays for decades after. So credit must be given for that.

Personally, I didn’t find it very interesting and often found myself losing focus with it and becoming distracted, I think it was very slow in pacing and didn’t have a lot to keep me engaged.

Overall, though I can understand its significances, I found it to be overly slow and the main horror aspect of the film feel flat for me.

Pros.

The genre significant

Showing how hard it was to be a woman in that time period

A few memorable moments

Cons.

The demonic plot line did nothing for me

It was far too slow

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Prophecy: Viggo Mortensen Is Under Your Bed

The Prophecy is a fantasy thriller film directed by Gregory Widen. The plot sees angel of death Gabriel (Christopher Walken), seek to find an evil soul and use it to wipe out mankind. It is set to a backdrop of a centuries long angelic civil war.

This is pulpy good fun, will it win awards no, but it was solidly entertaining for an hour and a half and it made me want to check out its sequels, stay tuned for reviews of them. I enjoyed the deeply 90s aesthetic of the film it reminded me a bit of films like The Crow. I thought the world building was incredibly on point, they create a huge world with a lot going on, but don’t spend big parts of the film spouting exposition which is appreciated.

The performances are really a conversation about two actors Christopher Walken and Viggo Mortensen. So, Walken played the menacing angle of death well, he was a very believable badass and managed to seem worse than the devil himself. Speaking of, Mortensen’s Lucifer is only in the film briefly, but he is a scene stealer while he is there, he is so manic and unhinged it is truly chilling; the performance has become one of my all-time favourite Devil performances.

Overall, if you want a schlocky good time with a surprisingly deep world and a few great performances then give this a try.

Pros

Walken

Mortensen

The deep lore

Not overcomplicating things and being a lot of fun

Cons.

It is quite dated now

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Thr33 Days Dead: The Sort Of Fishing Trip That Includes Running From Zombies

Thr33 Days Dead is a zombie horror film directed by John M. Ware. The plot follows a group of friends who head down to the lake for a spot of fishing, however their trip is ruined when they find out that their town has been overrun by zombies.

I enjoyed this film it resorted my faith in a tired sub-genre. Very much like found footage, zombie horror has been done to death, but this film proved to me there is still more life within the genre. I thought the film treated its zombies with a great deal of care, giving homage to past classics while trying for something new.

I thought the film had a few good scares that I didn’t see coming, so I will give it props for that. The more comedic elements were hit and miss for me, sometimes it made me laugh when I don’t think I was supposed to, and other times funny moments left me cold.

The acting is all solid, the actors seem to care about the film and are trying; that is evident in their performance. I thought Bryan Boylen was particularly good, and his performance made the film for me.

Overall, a nice unique zombie film that restores my faith in the subgenre even if the tone sometimes goes in the wrong direction.

Pros.

Restoring the sub-genre

Handling zombies with care

Good performances

Some good scares

Cons.

The more lighthearted moments and a lot of unintentional laughs

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Vampires Vs. The Bronx: The Conspiracy Theorists Were Right, Gentrification Is The Work Of Vampires

Vampires Vs. The Bronx is a comedy horror film directed by Oz Rodriguez. The plot sees a group of gentrified vampires try to buy up and take over the Bronx, killing residents as they go, it is down to a group of young kids to defeat the hordes of the undead.

This film was one of the best horror comedy films I have seen in a while, it did both in spades. The jokes made me laugh, or at the very least smile, and the chills were quite effective when used; the bodega scene speaks for itself.

I enjoyed the gentrified twist of Vampires and I think that it worked well as a more meta comment on societal change and keeping one’s identity. I liked the Vivian (Sarah Gadon) twist, I thought though it was quite obvious, I was glad that they developed her character rather than just have her as a plucky helper character for the main group. I also enjoyed it when Vivian became the evil vampire general, I thought Gadon played the character well with just the right amount of menace.

I also thought it was an inspired choice to go a bit more old school and out there with the vampire characters, like at one-point Vivian is flying after the boys, I just think it adds extra whimsey to the film and is a nice difference addition.

Overall, a fun film that is far deeper than it might first seem. Very much worth a watch.

Pros.

The vampires, and going old school

The comedy and the horror

Developing Vivian

The surprisingly emotional turn with Tony (Joel ‘The Kid Mero’ Martinez)

Cons.

Slightly familiar

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Anonymous Killers: A Smart Gorefest

Anonymous Killer is a crime horror film directed by A.R Hilton. The plot sees a group of killers, from various walks of life, get captured and tortured and forced to judge one another by a mysterious man who seems to know them all deeply.

I enjoyed this film, I would say it is a thinking person’s Saw and I mean no disrespect to any with that, as I enjoy Saw as well, but this just feels better from a character point of view. The characters in this film have strong focus, we explore their pasts and their drives to get to know them on an almost intimate level; this might be some of the finest character development I have seen in a film all year.

I thought the threat and menace was there and done well, the gore didn’t overpower the film either. That is a common complaint of a lot of people with the Saw films, but I have to say the gore here is done tastefully well, but is still grisly at times.

I enjoyed the building mystery; it genuinely surprised me and went in a direction I wasn’t expecting it to go. No spoilers here though.

Overall, a well-acted, well written crime thriller that keeps you guessing and always on edge. It has just enough gore to appeal to gore fans, without too much that might put off more casual horror viewers. Don’t sleep on this film, make it your Halloween watch.

Pros.

Well written characters that feel fully developed and real

A nice amount of gore used tastefully

The mystery is compelling

The threat and the menace

Strong acting

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Prophecy 3: God’s Plan

The Prophecy 3 is a fantasy action thriller directed by Patrick Lussier, serving as a continuation of the Prophecy series. The war in Haven rages on, and now the Angel of Genocide Pyriel (Scott Cleverdon), has arrived on Earth to finish what Gabriel (Christopher Walken), started and wipe out the Nephilim and the humans with them.

This film completes the obvious character arc of Gabriel, and makes him a hero, which it turns out was God’s plan all along. Yes, this time around Gabriel wants to save the humans, as he himself is now one, and fight along side them to defeat Pyriel. I enjoyed seeing Walken play the character differently, it gives him chance to flex his charm and show his more loveable side.

I thought this film was a step up from the second but is still behind the first. The main reason for this is Cleverdon’s Pyriel. Pyriel is a much better antagonist, than a played-out Gabriel and has much needed presences and menace, I enjoyed seeing him ham it up as a very over the top evil villain and he looked like he was having fun.

The ending to this film also adds a nice sense of finality to the series as it feels like a lot of the lore and plot stuff has been tided up neatly and can be filled away; I am aware that there are two more sequels and maybe one day I will watch them.

Overall, still a lot of pulpy heavily 90’s fun and a decent final note.

Pros.

Cleverdon

Walken

The ending

Gabriel becoming the hero, even though it was cheesy and predictable

Cons.

It feels unnecessary

The production quality is still quite low

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke