The Bird With Crystal Plumage: Take Away, Never Intervene In A Murder

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage is an Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The plot sees Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante), an American writer holidaying in Rome become tangled up in a series of bizarre murders. As the killer creeps closer Sam has to figure out who it is and stop them.

What I enjoyed the most about this film was the merging of noir elements and supernatural slasher elements to create a hybrid of sorts. The killer in this film is menacing and mysterious, almost more so than any of the slashers that would come after them, pair this with the fact they also doesn’t feel out of place in this very realistic world. It is a tight rope walk, but one that this film pulls off well.

Pacing wise this film is a model that other films should strive for, it used its hour and a half runtime well it build the mystery and sense of threat over the course of the film well, never giving it a moment to drop or drag. Moreover, the mystery was never obvious, it kept you guessing, and I appreciated that.

I thought the acting was top notch as well, Musante was a compelling lead who had just the right amounts of vulnerability and capability to never feel anything other than a real person. He is not some invincible force of justice, neither is a terrified victim, rather he feels rounded.

Overall, a fantastic example of Italian genre cinema. A strong mystery adapted well that has more than enough thrills and chills to keep you invested

Pros.

The mystery

The killer

The leading man

Paced well

Cons.

It would have been nice to see the female characters be more than just sex objects and victims

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek 2: Making A Hero Out Of A Cold Blooded Serial Killer

Wolf Creek 2 is an Australian horror film directed by Greg McLean. We again follow Mick Taylor (John Jarrett), the tourist killer extraordinaire as he cleans up his part of Australia once again from those evil invading backpackers. This is vaguely based on a true story, incredibly loosely though.

So yeah basically this time around Mick is the hero, or at least the main focus of the film. We don’t really get a protagonist (maybe the English dude), we just get a series of characters for Mick to pick off over the course of the film. None of them seem to have any shred of personality or character development, but I’ll get to that.

Maybe the executives realised that no one really cared about the boring vanilla survivor characters from the first film hence the Mick focus this time around. Also this film plays up Mick’s craziness a lot more, making him way more manic and almost strangely a lot more comedic too. Though I didn’t like the first film, at least the way it portrayed Mick was accurate to the cold-blooded killers that his character is based on, here he is a one liner cracking, goofy, pain sponge that can get up from any hit with minimal damage. They turned their villain into somewhat of a joke.

Jarrett is again the best part of this film and is clearly having fun and you can tell that throughout, sadly it does not translate to audience enjoyment.

Pros.

Jarrett is having fun

Cons.

Sadly it is not fun to watch

They don’t have characters just victims

They make Taylor less scary

The jokes don’t work

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Intrusion: Disconnected: The Final Girl After The Final Showdown

Intrusion: Disconnected is a horror thriller film directed by Kyle Cates. The plot sees Holly (Katie Stewart), a survivor of horrific violence, become convinced that the man who tried to kill her has returned from beyond the grave as the local unexplained death toll starts to rise around her.

This is an unsettling watch, there is just something about it that made me uneasy. We are never quite sure as to Holly’s mental state, and as such we get sucked up in her own paranoia with her. The killer almost becomes a mythical figure as he stalks her every waking moment, very much like a more real version of Freddy or Jason.

I thought Stewart did a great job here. She was a very rootable lead, she was easy to cheer for and it was an inspired choice to focus on what happens to ‘the final girl’ after the showdown; with regard to the mental tole and effect that has on their life. We see Laurie Strode after Halloween, but her mental state and the effect her life or death confrontation had on her life going forward is glossed over.

I found this to be a harrowing watch through and through.

Overall, I enjoyed the performances and the very real threat of the killer that also felt somewhat mythic. It is unsettling to watch; My only issue is that this film has some pacing issues and some parts of it drag on and on and make you lose interest.

Pros.

Katie Stewart

The real sense of threat

It is unsettling

I enjoyed the mental health focus

Cons.

It has pacing issues throughout; it could have been structured a lot better

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Random Acts Of Violence: A Reflection On Our Society

Random Acts Of Violence is a horror thriller film directed by Jay Baruchel. The film follows Todd (Jesse Williams), a comic writer who starts seeing the murders within his comic come to life around him, as the serial killer that the comic is based on becomes active once again.

I enjoyed this film for having a hard look at violence within our society. What inspires what? If a killer watches a violent movie that then inspires there killing does the movie bare any responsibility? Obviously the answer is no. Can we become trapped in cycles with forces that define our life for the worst almost forming a co-dependant partnership with them? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but the film sure does take a good stab at it.

I thought the idea itself was quite novel, moreover the execution was incredible; especially considering that Baruchel is an inexperienced director. The tension and real sense of fear in this film is unlike anything I have seen in a long time; it is a very human threat that we could all be susceptible to.

My one issue would be due to this strikingly real-life theme, the film itself is quite depressing. With something like the Conjuring you can divorce it from reality, because it is so larger than life, however you can’t do the same with this. It is not really an issue though as it is to be expected with this type of film.

Overall, a startingly good debut for Baruchel, very well done.

Pros.

The sense of genuine fear

The premise

It keeps you on the edge of your seat, pardon the cliched phrase

You care about the characters

Cons.

Maybe it is a little too dark, a little too close to home

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sleepaway Camp: Sickening

Sleepaway Camp is a slasher horror film directed by Robert Hiltzik. The plot sees a traumatised young girl be sent off to summer camp, while she is there things go from bad to worse and people start dying left and right, but who is the killer?

I will start this review off by saying I don’t like this film, it felt uncomfortable to me in a lot of ways. I think some of the scenes, that I will get to, felt very predatory and the whole film as a whole felt very icky. I would strongly recommend no one watches this film as it doesn’t deserve it, it deserves to be forgotten.

Let’s get to the root of my issues with the film. Firstly very early in the film it is revealed that one of the staff at the camp is sexually attracted to kids, this is then treated by the other characters as no big deal. He then tries to assault one of the kids, again no one seems to say anything. Yes, the character is the first to die, but I ask you what was the need to include him in the first place? Did it add anything to the story? I don’t think so.

My second issue comes from a scene later on in which a camper is showering, it tries to parody Psycho, my issue with this scene is that the girls’ age is questionable, she look quite young and the way it is shot feels predatory. It is almost as thought the film is trying to sexualise this character, despite her supposedly being young. There are a lot of other tasteless scenes scattered through that raise alarms for me, but no doubt some people will call me puritanical, these scenes made my skin crawl and like I keep saying are very unnecessary.

The twist at the end, I didn’t see coming, but it also didn’t blow me away.

I think this film likes to think that it can compete with other 80s slashers, maybe it even thinks it is better than them, but to me this film shows everything that is wrong with the time period and the genre. Give me Friday The 13^th or A Nightmare On Elm Street any day of the week over this predatory trash.

Pros.

I didn’t see the twist coming.

Cons.

It is way too sexual about young kids.

The needless peado character.

The shower scenes that feel icky.

It is slow for an hour and 20 minutes.

It shows the worst of the genre.

0/5

Reviewed by Luke

Terrifier: Pennywise Who?

Terrifier is a slasher horror film directed by Damien Leone. The film sees the return of Art The Clown (David Howard Thornton), who previously appeared in All Hallows Eve and was the breakout star of that film. Once again, we see Art go on a rampage, hacking up men, women and doors to satiate his supernatural bloodlust. This time targeting sisters Tara and Victoria (Jenna Kanell and Victoria Heyes).

This film is what All Hallows Eve 2 should have been! Just as you would imagine it to be, it is loud, gory and aggressive; which is just what it needed to be. The level of violence and the over the top nature of it won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you can get past it you will find a great film. Personally I found the bombastic violence almost comedic in the best way, it horrified me, but also it made me laugh.

Other than Art The Clown, who still remains pretty mysterious, none of the characters are really developed, or explored, but again in this kind of film I wouldn’t expect them to be. This isn’t a deep character piece; this is a film about an evil clown with a bag full of tools cutting people up.

Art once again steals the show and single handily manages to make killer clowns cool again; breathing life into the genre. Despite being silent for the whole of the film, Art still feels like he says so much and we as an audience feel like we know him; even if the bit when he briefly pretends to be a woman does feel a bit bizarre and throw away. He is also of course super creepy and manic; he will haunt your dreams for nights after you have watched this!

Overall, this won’t be a film to everyone’s taste but if you do give it a go, you’re in for a good time.

Pros.

The manic craziness.

Art The Clown.

It makes killer clowns cool again.

The over the top gore.

Cons.

Some of it does feel a little too bizarre and could do with being developed more.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek: The Australian Micheal Myers

Wolf Creek is an Australian horror thriller film directed by Greg Mclean. The plot follows a group of tourists that become targeted by a demented xenophobic serial killer who hunts them down with the intent to kill them. This film was based on a series of real-life backpacker murders that happened in Australia a few years before the film was released.

In horror circles, this film has a reputation, it is held up as being a great slasher film and one of the best Australian horror films. However when I put it on I was incredibly disappointed with it. I thought it was boring and that it couldn’t hold a candle to other Australian horror gems like The Babadook and Boar.

I thought the only redeemable thing about this film is John Jarrett. Jarrett is an Australian national treasure and his involvement with this is the thing that got me excited for it. He plays the evil killer Mick Taylor and he gives the best performance he can, he is manic and off the wall and his character is the only really memorable part of this film.

My issues start with the fact that this film is boring, there is only about 10 minutes of it that are actually interesting and watchable. This film suffers from some of the worst pacing issues I have seen in a long time, the first act is a chore to get through and makes you want to turn it off and it doesn’t pick up until the last 10 minutes; even they aren’t worth the wait.

The characters are bland and forgettable and the based on true story bent to it has been done to death and this film is not doing anything new or interesting with it.

Overall, this film is a bore and one that is a test of strength to finish

Pros.

John Jarrett.

Cons.

It is boring.

It does nothing new with the format.

The characters are paper thin.

It takes a lot to finish it.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Aquaslash: Blood In The Water

Aquaslash is a horror film directed by Renaud Gauthier. The plot sees a group of recently graduated high schoolers head to a waterpark to celebrate, however once they get there, they realise that there is a killer on the loose and heads and torsos then begin to role.

In a world where never everything possible has been turned into a film I would have thought a slasher set at a waterpark would have been done before, but I have never seen quite anything like this film. This is a strange film of inconsistencies; the tone goes from light and jokey to dark and menacing in a split second this happens often and is bizarre. However, where in other films tonal issues can break the film, in this they confusingly work.

However, it does take things a bit far a few times. An example of this would be that the character of Tommy (Paul Zinno), right from the beginning we see that he beats his girlfriend and is just a terrible person, yet in the third act he becomes somewhat of a hero and we are supposed to root for him? It is an odd character turn and I for one was happy when he got sliced into little pieces.

The gore in this film mainly comes from the fact that the killer has placed blades inside one of the parks three waterslides and then people start going down them; you can imagine what happens next. I found the gore to be just to my taste, it was grisly, but never too much.

The plot of this film is nonsensical and the late in the game reveal of who the killer is only serves to stretch the already thin plot thinner. However, you are not watching this film for a tight, insightful story, you’re watching this film to watch a gory, slasher film set at a waterpark, so does it matter?

Overall this is a bizarre film, if it was something else this would almost certainly be a bad review, but Aquaslash works in a way I can quite put my finger on, the gore is well done, and it is nice mindless fun.

Pros.

The gore.

The premise.

The laughable plot.

Cons.

Making a hero out of a domestic abuser?

If you want more than just mindless gore, then you might be disappointed.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

We Summon The Darkness: Christianity, Satanism and Heavy Metal Music

We Summon The Darkness is a metal themed horror film directed by Marc Meyers. The plot sees 3 girls head to a rock show, whilst there they meet a group of boys, the girls then proceed to drug them and kill them. They do this to bin blame on Satanists, and create a moral panic sending people into the arms of their hardcore church.

I don’t know if I have seen too many of these sort of horror films or what, but the idea of a few of these guys dying and then the remaining hero picking off the evil religious fanatics one by one, eventually converting one of them and then getting away at the end, just feel cliché to me at this point. This film is nothing new, there are a million other horror films out there will slightly different, but overall the same premise and I for one am bored of them.

This film has one or two neat ideas, the premise is solid and could be done well, however it isn’t. It’s dull. Alexandra Daddario is having fun as Alexis the leader of the female fanatic trio, she is manic and over the top at every turn, which does get slightly grating after a while, but she is clearly trying to get away from her more family friendly image. She is the best performer in the film by a country mile and I applaud her for giving it her all. Sadly the direction and writing just weren’t there.

Moreover, Johnny Knoxville plays Alexis dad Pastor John Henry Butler, so if you wanted a blast for the past watch this film. Good on Knoxville for still trying, he too gives it everything he has and actually manages to shift his normally nice guy persona and be menacing at times. I think the acting of Knoxville and to an extent Daddario show up the rest of the cast and put them to shame a little bit.

Overall, a film with this premise, with Alexandra Daddario and Johnny Knoxville in, shouldn’t have been as boring as this film was.

Pros.

Cool premise.

Daddario.

Knoxville.

Cons.

The execution of the premise is disappointing.

The rest of the acting sucks.

It feels ten a penny.

It is dull/ painfully slow at time.

2/5

Ruin Me: The Slasher Experience

Ruin Me is a horror thriller film directed by Preston DeFrancis. The plot sees a group of people attend a slasher film inspired weekend camping experience, only for the fun and games to become shockingly real; a fight for survival soon begins.

This film is the anti-Found Footage 3D, because it approaches a tired, overstuffed horror sub-genre and actually iterates and does something interesting with it. This film plays off the tropes of slasher films and flips the script; the film constantly wants you to be thinking is this weekend away these people are on real? Or is it something far more sinister? As such, the narrative keeps switching between the two ideas.

This choice paired with the writing is genius because it makes you feel unsafe, in situations that would normally be safe in films, it makes you constantly be on edge and as a mystery it keeps you guessing right up until the end, never being clear; even when it ends. I loved the ending of this film as it showed you a whole other side to the horror that you might not have even considered and the twist works incredibly well. Almost Shyamalan levels.

The lead performance by Marcienne Dwyer is also incredibly, we are trained from the off to distrust her and distrust her narration, but we see as the film goes along that she is not crazy at all, but other characters want her to think she is. Her performance is realistic, as in it takes the form of how a normal person would be in that situation, whilst also feeling earnest and likable; we warm to her over the course of the film. The rest of the cast do quite well with what they’re given, but there can be only one final girl.

Overall, an interesting take on the genre, that offers something truly new.

Pros.

Interesting approach/ premise.

Great lead.

Unreliable narrative.

A loving homage to the genre, while also doing something new.

Cons.

Slightly confusing in parts.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke