Prom Night: Are High Schools Ever Safe?

Prom Night is a slasher film directed by Paul Lynch. The plot sees follows a group of high school seniors as they are stalked and killed by a masked man seeking vengeance for a crime that happened 6 years prior.

Some say that this film is a giallo/ slasher hybrid, and with certain aspects I can see that. The more surreal dream like elements are very reminiscent its true, they are also easily the best thing about the film.

Personally, I found this to be deeply generic. If you look at the other big Jamie Lee Curtis slasher film that came out only a few years prior Halloween, you see a film dripping in style and identity, with this it could be any other slasher a group of teens being chased by a masked man and picked off one by one; real original.

I thought the story was also quite convoluted, I lost track of the motivations a lot of the time as the film can’t seem to stick to one plot line for any length of time.

I didn’t think of the characters were particularly likeable and I don’t think the cast did anything of note to impress, I think it was all deeply by the numbers and low effort.

Overall, I understand some people regard it as a cult classic, but to me it just screams generic.

Pros.

It is watchable

Cons.

The story is convoluted

The cast are very bland

It feels very by the numbers

The kills feel repetitive

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Annabelle Creation: Demons Love A Good Chair Lift

Annabelle Creation is a horror film directed by David S. Sanberg, serving as both a prequel to the first Annabelle film as well as adding to the Conjuring Universe as a whole. The plot this time around serves to explain the origins of Annabelle the doll, showing how the possession occurred.

This is the best film in the Annabelle trilogy by far, as it is actually scary. I enjoyed the tragic reveal of Annabelle’s creation and I think it is smart to actually show us the demon controlling the doll rather than just the doll itself. I am surprised to note that the demon actually looks like how you would imagine a demon to look, not like the Conjuring Universe’s other demons that are basically just people with yellow eyes.

Personally, I think the scarecrow scenes where the scariest and best done of the whole film.

I think by and large the film wastes most of its cast, with veteran actors like Miranda Otto brought in to do very little. Though it does continue Lulu Wilson’s rise in the horror genre, she has been in 3 ‘good’ horror films to date and is shaping herself to be a generation z scream queen for sure.

I thought the ending was clever, tying the end of the prequel into the start of the first film it is not a new idea but it is effective here and it helps us to further understand the timeline.

Overall, though a series of clever decisions this film proves itself to be more than just a collection of jump scares.

Pros.

The scarecrow scenes and showing us the demon

Lulu Wilson

The ending

It does what it says on the tin, it explores Annabelle’s origins and it does it well

Cons.

The cast bar Wilson is wasted

4/5 Reviewed by Luke

Demons: Never Put On A Conveniently Placed Mask

Demons is an Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava. The plot sees a group of cinema gowers become the victim of a centuries old mask that turns people into demons.

This is the film that killed the giallo subgenre, the Americanisation is clear to see, this film owes more to films like The Evil Dead then it does something like The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, which is not in and off itself a bad thing, it is just noteworthy.

My main complaint with this film would be that the plot felt confused, I wasn’t quite sure what it was saying most of the time, a lot seemed to be going on and not much of it made any sense. That said I did like where the film ended things teasing a world overrun by these demon creatures and a human safe haven/resistance.

It feels very 80’s in approach, with the music and the tone, but it also feels very forgettable as a result. It blends in with a sea of other 80s based slashers and supernatural affairs. The acting is also quite so so, no one is memorable and most seem to be over acting in an effort to get noticed.

Overall, a sad death of a subgenre

Pros.

It has a promising ending

Cons.

It feels generic

The acting is bad

It has lost touch with its roots

It is hard to follow

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Conjuring 2: A Random Elvis Sing Along Interlude

The Conjuring 2 is a horror film directed by James Wan. The plot this time around focuses on the Warrens (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), involvement in the Enfield Haunting. As the Warrens head to London, they are stalked by a mysterious demonic nun, who seems intent on Ed’s death.

Personally, I find this film scarier than the first. Hilariously bad English accents aside, this film is genuinely frightening, the crooked man is by far my favourite part of the film and the segment with him in it is really well done; still waiting on that spin off film.

I found Valek the demon nun scary at first, but then I think it gets over exposed. Also a lot of the horror this time around is jump scary related which gets very stale very quick, see a dark corner, hear a drop in the music, here comes a jump scare.

I still find the Warrens to be likeable protagonists, Wilson and Farmiga are charming leadings. They have their personalities expanded a bit more here which proves to be sweet, but it also serves to derail the tone of the film. Of course I am talking about the Elvis scene, where midday way through the film, as the demonic activity is still going strong, we get scene where Ed just starts playing a guitar for the whole family and singing. Why? Any tension that was there in the film is immediately taken away.

Overall, the world and new horror elements (The Crooked Man), makes this worth checking out, there are some odd choices that ruin the film somewhat, but it is still worthwhile.

Pros.

The Crooked Man

The Warrens are still very likeable

Quite a few good scares

Cons.

The Elvis scene

The use of jump scares

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

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