Bigfoot, The Lost Coast Tapes: The Adventures Of Discount Tom Cruise

The Lost Coast Tapes is a Bigfoot centric found footage film directed by Corey Grant. The plot follows a group of people who go out into the wilderness to meet with a man who says he can prove the existence of Bigfoot. Once the group get their things start to go wrong, and the threat is all too real!

When I first put this on, I was expecting the worst, I was expecting a cheap, low rent, bargain basket esque film. However, I am pleased to say I actually enjoyed it a far bit and would recommend it. I love the focus on Bigfoot, and I think it added a nice bit of variety to the usual found footage dross. I liked the exploration of what a Bigfoot would be like and what it could do: alien or not.

Although, never before in all my time watching films have I ever met a lead character more unlikable than the lead in this, Sean Reynolds (Drew Rausch). I came to call the character discount Tom Cruise and I feel like if you watch the film you will see why. There is just something so obnoxious about him, I don’t know if that is how the character is suppose to be, or if the actor if just unbearable, but in nearly every scene he is the worst character in the room; taking the idea of a ‘dude bro’ to the extreme.

I thought the Alien or possible demonic suggestion at the end was a nice twist and left you with something to think about. I personally enjoyed the ambiguity and the fact that we never got a good look at what a Bigfoot looked like; it keeps the mystery alive.

Overall, I think this is a surprisingly good found footage movie cursed with one hell of an unlikable lead, but if you can get past him there is a decent film waiting for you.

Pros.

The handling of Bigfoot.

The ambiguity.

The ending.

It is very interesting.

Cons.

The lead is utterly hateable.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Howling: Wellness Retreat Ends In Werewolf Attack

The Howling is a werewolf themed horror film directed by Joe Dante. The plot sees local news anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace), go to a mountain retreat after a near fatale run in with a serial killer. However, while there Karen does not find herself or her inner power, rather a colony of werewolves that have been living amongst us for years.

I am a huge Joe Dante fan, as many of you may know I have a huge love for Gremlins 1 and 2 as well as for some of his other projects like Burying The Ex, so I will try and remain impartial while I am writing this review.

Truth be told, I did not love this film as much as I was expecting to. In fact I found it to be boring at times and a little hard to follow. I think from a narrative perspective a lot of the ideas don’t come together, they are fine on their own, but don’t make sense when viewed as a whole. I found the beginning particularly bad for this, but it does improve as the film goes on.

I think the best thing about this film is the creature design. The werewolf costumes are of course practical, and I am a big believer in practical effects over CGI, they look very convincing and even hold up to our modern standard years later. I also thought the transformation scenes were well done, not American Werewolf In London good, but still terrific.

I also loved the ending, I thought it was bold and striking; shame about the sequel baiting at the end though.

Overall, a little boring and rough around the edges, but if you like werewolf film there is still something to enjoy!

Pros.

The creature design.

The ending.

Dante’s direction.

Cons.

It is boring and hard to follow at times.

The sequel baity ending

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Borderlands: Sometimes The Old Ways Take Over

The Borderlands/ or as it is otherwise known as The Final Pray is a British found footage horror movie directed by Elliot Goldner. The plot sees a team of Vatican Investigators descend upon a small English town after a local priest claims to have witness a miracle, or at least something unexplainable. The team soon start to notice odd things going on and suspicions grow.

I was on the verge of not watching found footage films anymore, films like Found Footage 3D and the second Blair Witch film had led me to lose faith in the genre with film after film feeling like samey, boring, repetitive trash. However, after a few people on Twitter recommended this film to me I decided to have one last hurrah and give it a go and I am pleased to tell you I enjoyed it.

For a start it is nice to see a found footage horror film set in the UK, in a quaint little village no less, rather than some endlessly expansive wood somewhere Stateside. Another thing I appreciate about this film is that it does not drag things out. We all know how it goes, first you get some bangs, then maybe something falls off the wall, then they put up cameras, then they hear something etc; it is at this point formulaic and obvious. However, before the first 20 minutes are over in this film a group of the local youth have set a sheep on fire to scare the priests and their associates, there is no boring, drawn out built; this film gets right to it.

Another thing I will applaud this film for is you’re never quite sure what the monster is. Even in the final moments of the film you are none the wiser as to what is killing the men. A Pagan God seems like the most logical suspect, but nothing is ever confirmed, and the ending is deliberately ambiguous.

The one thing I will bring the film up on, is the use of camera effects such as cutting out and distortion. Whenever something paranormal happens the camera picture starts to break up, obviously so they didn’t have to find a practical way to show what was happening, and normally I wouldn’t mind this, but here it felt a little overused.

Overall, a marvellous found footage film that might have reignited my interest in the genre.

Pros.

It is nice seeing it set in the UK for a change.

The ending and the ambiguity.

It gets right into it.

The scares.

Cons.

The camera trickery is overused.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Red Dragon: Replacing Clarice Again

Red Dragon is a crime thriller film directed by Brett Ratner; serving as a prequel of sorts to the Hannibal films. Obviously, Ratner is a very troubling person for a lot of reasons, but I will try to look past that for the purposes of this review. The plot this time around focuses on the man who caught Hannibal Lecture (Anthony Hopkins), Will Graham (Edward Norton). Once again, an FBI agent needs Hannibal’s help to catch the latest twisted serial killer; they really need to start paying him to consult.

I would rank the Hannibal films I have seen so far in this order, descending in quality, Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon. I don’t by any means think this is a bad film, far from it in fact, I just think it can’t hope to compete with the others. The relationship between Norton’s and Hopkins’ characters is interesting, but it is no will they Clarice and Hannibal; though I did enjoy that little tease at the end.

My thoughts on the film’s villain The Tooth Fairy (Ralph Fiennes), are the complete counter to what they were when I reviewed Hannibal. I think unlike in that film, where Gary Oldman’s character was pushed to the side in favour of Hannibal, this time it is the other way around. For a Hannibal Lecture film we get surprisingly not a lot of him, Fiennes is definitely the main focus. Hopkins gives his all when he is onscreen, which is commendable as always.

The balancing act between Hannibal and whatever serial killer him and his FBI associate are trying to catch is always the crucial thing with these films and it goes both ways, neither good, with the only film in the series to get the balance right being The Silence Of The Lambs, but that is a hard film to follow.

Overall, it is still good, just not as good than the film that proceeded it.

3.5/5

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

What We Do In The Shadows: Raising A Glass To Steve

What We Do In The Shadows is a horror comedy mockumentary film directed by Taika Waititi and Jeamaine Clement. The plot follows a New Zealand based group of vampires as they allows a film crew to follow them around for a few months, we get to see what goes on in the day to day of these vampires and see the wider Wellington supernatural community.

This film might be Waititi best. As far as comedy horror films goes this film is amazing. It manages to play off Vampire legends/mythology so well whilst also introducing its own mythology that only serves to deepen these vampires as characters. The comedy is also pitch perfect managing to be hilariously absurd and wonderfully weird.

Clement’s character of Valdislav is easily the best, being effortlessly cool and funny. The joke of having ‘The Beast’ turn out to be an ex-girlfriend of his is funny and it really serves to humanise the character as we see just how hung up on her he is. The other character are also amusing and charming, but none more so than Clement. Though Rhys Derby as the leader of a group of Werewolves is a close second, his and Clement’s chemistry is fantastic even though they’re only on screen for a very small amount of time together.

I love the world the film sets up, a world where zombies, witches, werewolves and other supernatural creatures exist, it is fascinating. To that end I also thought the character were really well fleshed out over the course of the film and by the end we had a good idea of what sort of vampires they were, a perfect example of characterisation done well.

Overall, a terrific horror comedy, definitely one of the best.

Pros.

The characters.

Clement.

Derby.

The world.

The humour.

Cons.

The TV show is just slightly better.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Ps. Check out the fantastic TV show it is one of the best things on right now!

The Witches: Be Careful What You Eat

The Witches is a family comedy film directed by Nicolas Roeg. The plot follows a young recently orphaned boy Luke (Jasen Fisher), and his grandmother (Mai Zetterling), as they become wrapped up in a Witches plot to turn all the children in the UK into rats. The film is based on the Roald Dahl children’s book of the same name.

This film terrified me as a kid, so did the book for that matter. The way this film sets up witches with the mythology it creates is incredibly well done, the witches of this film are both terrifying and also hilarious. You can tell the creators of the Muppets were involved with this as the creature design is both distinctive and memorable. You will not see anything else like when the grand high witch (Anjelica Huston) takes off her face for the first time.

I think as far as family films go this film has some genuinely scary moments, maybe it is the crazy late 80’s early 90’s drug fuelled feel of it all, but the first time a kid gets turned into a rat will scare any child and maybe even some adults, for sure.

I think there is a lot to enjoy about this film, it is good fun, and quite a great whimsical adventure. If you enjoy fantasy, then you will definitely enjoy this. It is also a really great adaptation of Roald Dahl’s seminal book, so if like me that book has a special place in your heart then you will really enjoy this film.

I feel like as far as Roald Dahl based films go this is incredibly underrated and is often overlook in favour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this is actually a better film. Check it out!

Pros.

Great monster design.

Genuinely scary.

The best Roald Dahl film.

The madness of it all.

A feel-good adventure.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

All Hallows Eve: Creepy Clowns Are Back!

All Hallows Eve is horror thriller film directed by Damien Leone. The plot sees a babysitter finding a video tape that features a series of grisly murders committed by a sinister looking clown. As the film progresses the murders featured on the tape start to spill over into the real world and the babysitter becomes the clowns next target.

Despite being quite the low budget affair, this film is scarier than any horror film I have seen in recent memory and shows that talent trumps big budgets any day of the week. This film is consistently menacing from start to finish, the clown is by far the creepiest thing about this film and only becomes more frightening as the film goes on; he put Pennywise to shame.

The one thing I didn’t understand about this film was how it all fit together. At first, I thought all three of the tales on the videotape were connected and it was all part of a larger narrative, but then the second feature has an alien in it and really has very little to do with the other two segments. So, I don’t understand what it was meant to be because surely if it was an anthology film the third segment would be unrelated to the first. I thought that was a strange decision.

I liked the ending when the clown broke out into the real world, I thought this was for sure the scariest moment of the whole film.

Overall, I think this is one of the best hidden gem horror films I have seen in a long time, it is terrifying and bone chilling to watch. The clown is the scariest I have ever seen in cinema and I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up in my nightmares. If you’re a fan of horror, then this film is a must see!

Pros.

It is terrifying.

The clown is hellish.

There are some great jump scares.

The ending breaks the fourth wall in the best way.

Cons.

I don’t understand if it was supposed to be one whole feature or an anthology.

4/5

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

The Isle: Lost At Sea

The Isle is a British mystery thriller film directed by Matthew Butler-Hart. The plot sees a group of sailors become stranded on a remote island. As they begin to recover and start to explore, they soon realise that something is very wrong. The island is haunted by a ghost hell bent on revenge.

I genuinely don’t think there are enough films about seafaring and sailing as such I found this film to be refreshing. In many ways this film had a similar vibe to Robert Eggers excellent The Lighthouse, crucially we need more sea-based horror films.

I think the thing that is the most striking about this film is how original it is. It has such a strong sense of personality and is truly unlike many other horror films. The horror is a slowly built over the early part of the film, a lot of the horror focus is placed on atmosphere and creating this unpredictable sense of mystery; where you aren’t quite too sure what is going on.

I think the acting is all superb and is refreshing to see such well done performances, my one note would be that the backstory of the sailors could have been explored more. I understand that the island and its residents are the main focus, but the sailors do get a little short changed. The backstory of the haunting is interesting if a little disappointing, as the film teases the wife of Hades and I was hoping that was where it was going, but it wasn’t.

My other issue is with the design of the ghost herself. She is essentially just a woman in makeup there is nothing wrong with that it could be done creepily, however when she starts using her powers, especially during the final sequence, it looks terrible. The effects themselves are not well done, I don’t know whether it was a budget problem, or a technical one, but they look almost laughably bad and really serve to take you out of the final battle scene.

Overall, this film score points for originality and strong performances, but is short of glory because of its side-lined sailors and terrible effects.

Pros.

Originality.

Creepy.

Strong performances.

Cons.

The effects.

The sailors feel side-lined.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke