Dog Soldiers: Howling At The Moon

Dog Soldiers is a British horror film directed by Neil Marshall. The plot sees a group of soldiers come under attack by a pack of werewolves while doing a training exercise in a remote part of Scotland. The two groups must fight to the death as only one can walk away victories.

I watched this film again recently and have to say it hold up far better than I thought it would based on my childhood remembrance. I think the thing that works so well about it, and lasts the test of time, is the practical effects of the werewolves themselves; they are people in costumes and makeup rather than CGI. Across the course of the film we get a good look at these creatures and they are impressive, they look big and intimidating; they look like how you would imagine werewolves would look.

The cast features some great performances from familiar faces. Sean Pertwee plays Sargant Harry G. Wells, the fierce but loveable leader of the group of soldiers; Pertwee brings his usual roguish charm to the role and has a number of memorable lines and funny movements. We also see a hateable turn from Liam Cunningham as special forces solider Captain Richard Ryan; Cunningham plays the villain surprisingly well and the mystery around his character is really well done.

This film very much has a B movie sensibility to it that it uses for all the pulp fun it can. There are moments of comedy in the film as well that are surprisingly effective, they don’t take away from the horror or the tension rather they add to it in a strange, but also cool way.

Overall, this is a very strong debut for Marshall, who is by all means one of the most underrated directors in the horror genre today, well worth checking out if you can get your hands on it.

Pros.

The tone and also the dark humour.

The B movie feel.

Sean Pertwee.

Liam Cunningham.

The werewolves themselves. Practical over CGI.

Cons.

The beginning is slow, too slow.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Kill List: A King To Be

Kill list is a British crime horror film directed by Ben Wheatly. The plot follows two ex-soldier hitmen Jay (Neil Maskell), and Gal (Michael Smiley), who’s job soon takes a turn for the strange as they become entangled with a cult, though they don’t realise it at first.

I think this film is excellent, truly excellent. I think if any film could be the Wicker Man equivalent of our modern times it is this; and that is not just because they share some similar plot threads. The reason why I think so highly of this film is because of how subtle it is, you don’t realise that you’re watching a horror film, most of the film is more crime focused, until the last 10 minutes; but then when the film ends you see how it was really a horror all along.

The performances are superb and so are the characters. Jay and Gal are not written to be likable, right from the off we see Jay through a negative lens, but that is the point. This film achieves something few others do, it takes characters that are fundamentally bad/unlikable and by the end it makes you care about them. In the final sequence of the film you want Gal and Jay to be okay, you really do.

The folk horror aspect is also really well done, as I mentioned before a good comparison would be The Wickerman, but there is also some Hereditary in there too. I think the ending is fascinating and it makes all of the events of the film take on a whole other meaning; a rewatch is a necessity. I loved how all the actions of the two main characters had been mapped out by the group and everything was leading up to that moment.

Overall, I think from a writing and structure point of view this film is a triumph and I think from a horror point of view this is also incredible. I think more people should see this as it seems to be quite unknown to some. One of the best films I have recently.

Pros.

The folk horror.

The crime thriller aspect.

Making you care about awful people.

The ending.

All of the little details.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Wolf Creek: The Australian Michael 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

The Sacrament: When Does Something Become Bad Taste?

The Sacrament is a horror thriller film directed by Ti West. The plot sees two Vice reporters Sam (AJ Bowen), and Jake (Joe Swanberg), tag along with Patrick (Kentucker Audley), to visit his sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz), in a remote commune somewhere in Africa. However, once they’re there they release that it is far from God’s Kingdom on Earth and things quickly turn murdery.

As you all know I go back and forth on Ti West as the director I really like House Of The Devil, but everything else I have seen from him has either left me cold, or I have outright hated. After having a conversation with someone about West they recommended that I watch this film and so I did and I have to say, I enjoyed it more than I thought I was going, but I have mixed feelings about it.

I think doing a found footage version of the Jones Town Mass Suicide is a risky move, even if they did call it something else. This film is apparently inspired by said mass suicide, but in parts it is almost beat for beat the same. This, in my opinion, is a risk that pays off as it adds a real sense of danger and tension to the film and the suicide scene itself stays with you a long time after you have seen it; it is truly haunting.

However, I think the suicide scene does go a little too far, it crosses a bridge of just being shocking for the sake of being shocking and enters into the realm of bad taste. We don’t need to watch a baby getting injected with poison for it to be an impactful scene, all of the people writhing around on the floor in an eerily realistic manor does that job just fine.

I think this is defiantly in the stronger half of West’s filmography for sure, the acting is great all round, there is a keen sense of unease and worry throughout. The drama feels slowly ramped up over the course of the film rather than it just happening near the end, which is one of the main things I don’t like about West’s other work; this film feels like it flows, rather than being in two halves like The Innkeepers.

Overall, I think this is a good effective horror movie, that pushes the boundaries of taste and maybe goes a little too far with it along the way. If you don’t like Eli Roth’s Hostel because of how it presents itself, you won’t like this. Definitely one to watch if you have the stomach for it.

Pros.

Good acting.

It flows well.

The sense of drama and danger.

The ending.

Cons.

The ending.

It goes too far.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Brahms The Boy 2: Are Haunted Doll Movies Dead?

Brahms The Boy 2 is a horror film directed by William Brent Bell; it is a sequel to the 2016 film The Boy. Revolving around a family that, after a home invasion, moves to the British countryside to try and regain a sense of normality. However, they move in a stone’s throw away from The Hillshire Estate, which has one special prosocline resident that quickly becomes obsessed with the new family.

Please let this ‘franchise’ end here, there was no need for this film and my god there is certainly no need or reason for a third film. This film spends its hour and a half runtime tearing apart and ruining everything interesting from the first film and replacing it with haunted doll clichés. The first film earned my praise when they revealed that no nothing paranormal was going on, instead it was a killer in the walls.

However, this is how the second film continues that reveal, the Braham’s in the wall is just never mentioned again, and the doll is revealed to be evil or possessed or something. So, they go from a smart twist to a wannbe Annabelle film; what a waste. Rather than be a sequel that fits with the first, this feels incredibly at odds from the beginning.

The acting is nothing special either, Katie Holmes fills the Lauren Cohen role from the first film and is hugely outperformed by Cohen. The only difference between Holmes’ character and Cohen’s is that Holmes is a mother that has to worry about her disturbed kid. You would think this extra character dimension would allow for a more emotive performance, but no Holmes’s expression doesn’t change once over the course of the film, other than to occasionally shout, clearly this was just a paycheck role for her.

The kid is annoying right from the beginning and doesn’t get better, however, as I have said before I am not going to call out a child star for being bad at acting, it is low hanging fruit.

The only good thing about this film is the performance by Ralph Ineson who plays the groundskeeper who is secretly under the control of Brahms. Ineson seems to be the only person in this film that cares about giving a good performance and you can tell he is trying; he deserves better than this.

Overall, this film wasn’t as terribly bad as I thought it was going to be, that is as much praise as I can afford it. It is lazy, the cast other than Ineson don’t care, and it ruins the first film entirely.

Pros.

It is not terrible.

Ralph Ineson.

Cons,

It is lazy.

Clearly no one cares.

It ruins the first film.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Blackcoats Daughter: The Best Episode Of Sabrina Ever

The Blackcoats Daughter is a psychological horror film directed by Osgood Perkins. The plot is split into three separate narratives, one for each character, that culminate together in the final act. It tells the story of two girls who are left behind at their Catholic boarding school over break. Things quickly become sinister when it becomes clear that one of the girls is in league with a demon; a bloodbath ensues.

When I first saw this film the other night, I didn’t know what I thought of it, a few days later as I am writing this review I still don’t. This seems to be a recurring theme of Perkins work; it is incredibly polarising.

On the one hand it is incredibly drawn out, to the point of feeling indulgent or as though it is trying to kill time, at points and the split narrative can be confusing even after you have seen it; as there are a lot of little details that are easy to miss, I recommend if you are going to watch this film to watch it twice.

However, when you do start to pick up on the little details and things it becomes far more engaging and far creepier to. In fact I thought this film was genuinely quite scary and it made me jump, more than I have done in a long time, at one point in the film. I think the horror in this film comes as a result of figuring out what is really going on and how everything fits together.

Another to praise in this film is the performance of Kiernan Shipka as Katherine, the main girl and the one who is in league with the forces of evil. Up until watching this I was convinced she couldn’t act, her performance in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is painfully bad, though now I think that this might have been bad writing, because here she was fantastic. Shipka plays evil and creepy so well, she is really quite menacing in this film and puts the performances of everyone else to shame; this film will serve as a testament to her acting forever more.

Overall, certainly not a film for everyone, but if you like slow burning horror then you will find something to like here.

Pros.

A great twist.

Shipka.

Creepy and unsettling.

Well done.

Cons.

Slow and confusing at points has to be watched twice to fully appreciate.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Tusk: I Am The Walrus

Tusk is a horror comedy film directed by Kevin Smith. The plot sees internet famous podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long), go to Canada in search of a weird story for his podcast, there he meets Howard Howe (Michael Parks), a man who is obsessed with bring his dead best friend Mr Tusk (a walrus), back to life. What follows is an increasingly menacing situation as Howe tries to turn Bryton into a human walrus hybrid.

This film marks the start of Smith’s True North trilogy, (which as of the time of writing only has Yoga Hosers as the other film in the trilogy), however unlike Hosers, this film is tonally a mess. Yoga Hosers was a comedy from the get-go, it didn’t take itself seriously and was slightly serious at times. Tusk, however, has moments when it tries to be serious and dark and moments that are comedic and over the top, these two parts of the film don’t mesh together and feel at odds with one another. It seems to be as though Smith couldn’t make his mind up over how he wanted the tone of this film to be.

The performances in this film are a mixed bag, one the one hand you have Parks who plays the crazed walrus fanatic superbly; he is menacing and threatening whenever he is on screen. However, Long is not a convincing hero, his Wallace is deeply unlikable (before you even find out how bad he is towards his girlfriend), from the moment he opens his mouth he is irritating. As a result of this you end up wanting him to suffer and be turned into a walrus as it seems a fitting punishment.

Johnny Depp as disgraced detective Lapointe is easily the best thing about this film and much like in Hosers has all the best lines. He is the only character you will remember once the credits role.

Overall, this is a weak start to Smith’s trilogy as it is tonally inconsistent and Long is loathsome. However Parks and Depp make up for it. A very so-so film.

Pros.

Depp

Parks

It is an interesting idea.

Cons.

Tonally inconsistencies.

Long.

The end.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Fantasy Island: Lucy Hale Redeemed?

Fantasy Island is a fantasy horror film directed by Jeff Wadlow. The plot sees a group of people go to an island which can supposedly make their greatest desires come to life, whether that is to settle down and have the life they always wanted, or to punish a high school bully. Surprisingly once people start getting what they want, things start going badly wrong; the island is far more sinister than it first appeared.

Before I put this film on I had incredibly low expectations, I had heard nothing but bad things about this film and was expecting the worst, however I was pleasantly surprised by this film. It wasn’t the best horror film I have ever seen, or the scariest, but it is a very interesting concept and it is surprisingly well executed.

The main red flag for me was the fact that Lucy Hale has a main role in this film, Hale for those of you that don’t know has been in such great films as Truth Or Dare and Fear Island, and for some unknown reason Blumhouse keep putting her in films even though she is terrible. She is one of the worst, least convincing actors working today, her acting ability is a joke. However, she is passably okay in this film. The twist ending when it is revealed that she is the evil force behind it all is well done, she is believable as someone who has been hung up over one thing her whole life and has become insane.

Even though she is passable in this film, her sub-par acting is highlighted by good performance given by Maggie Q and Michael Pena. Both are great, especially Pena, he plays the calculating evil mastermind well and he also plays the hero well. He manages to have the most charisma in the film easily. When the film ends, he is the only character you want to see more of.

Overall, this film is better than it has any right to be, and the film itself is intriguing and raises some great questions.

Pros.

A good premise.

Interesting questions.

Lucy Hale is actually okay.

Maggie Q and Michael Pena are good.

Cons.

It is not scary in any way.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Starry Eyes: What Is The Price Of Fame?

Starry Eyes is a horror drama film directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. The plot follows Sarah (Alex Essoe), a young actress who is presented with her big break, but in order to get it she must cross a line. The line transcends morals and decency, and instead leads straight to evil. Is sell her soul worth a life of fame and fortune?

This film is brutal, it pulls no punches at all, it shows the deeply out of whack power dynamic of Hollywood and the casting process; showing the depths of human depravity. It touches close to home in our modern climate as Sarah is asked to strip naked for the role and later, she is asked to perform sexual favours for it. However, it does not stop there, though that is already horrific, the movie executive force Sarah to give up her humanity and be demonically reborn.

Taking the supernatural elements out for a second, this film is an incredibly frightening social commentary on the film industry, the message of the film is a pertinent and relevant one and one that bares further reflection.

Essoe is great in the lead role, we really buy her mental and physical breakdown over the course of the movie. The hairpulling scenes are especially tragic and really help to highlight the characters desperation, showing just how much of a victim she is in all of this. The character was easy to warm to and was easily empathetic throughout.

My one critique of the film is that in parts it is slow. It is only on for slightly over an hour and a half; however it feels much longer, proof of pacing problems. The first and third, third of the film is fine, it is just the second act that is slow.

Overall, a frightening film for a number of reasons and one that I believe should be watched as it has a very timely message for all of us.

Pros.

The scares.

The subtext/ social commentary.

Alex Essoe.

The ending.

Cons.

The second act drags and is hard to watch.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Droving: A True Sequel To The Wickerman

The Droving is a thriller horror film directed by George Popov. The plot sees Martin (Daniel Oldroyd), return from a tour of duty to find that his sister has gone missing in a remote community. He then sets out to find out what has happened to her and find those responsible. Descending further and further into a world of violence and death.

This is a superb horror film, it reminded me in a lot of ways of the Wickerman it has a very Wheatly esque folk horror vibe to it. There is something about these sorts of films that remind you just because Britain has developed over the years, there are still wild parts scattered here and there. There is a deep sense of isolation and tradition in these places and that is scary in and off itself.

There are plenty of twists and turns throughout this film, all of which are really good and add to the overall scope of the mystery. The ending especially did this, when we see that the folk traditions that have underpinned this whole story are in fact all true, and the ending sees Martin fall under the influence of the evil.

The performances are also fantastic, Oldroyd has such a great presence throughout the film. His Martin goes from zero to one hundred in under a second and it makes all of the scenes incredible tense. I love the unpredictable temperament his character has, and it seems so realistic for someone who would be in that situation. Someone who is doing everything they can to save someone they love, but also further sliding into the dark.

The atmosphere in this film is also great, it is menacing and oppressive, it feels like the character we are following is alone in a hostile world, where supernatural things happen and are real, this leads to a lot of good scares and terrifying moments.

Overall, this is a terrific film, it feels almost like a spiritual sequel to the Wickerman, the performances are great, and the ending sets up a lot of very interesting questions for future sequels, which I really hope they make.

Pros.

Great atmosphere.

A terrific lead.

The ending.

Fantastic scares.

The twists and turns.

Cons.

It becomes repetitive after a while.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke