The Hills Have Eye: Keep On Driving

The Hills Have Eyes is a horror film directed by Wes Craven. The plot sees a family traveling through the desert on their way to California, when they stop midway through their trip they come under attack from a group of cannibalistic murders a battle for survival quickly ensues.

This was my first time watching this film and I am pleased to say it holds up well, it was frightening and menacing throughout and best of all it had a constant sense of dread that would not let up. Right from the first scene of the film you realise that something is wrong, then it builds and builds throughout. The moment when Beauty, the dog is killed, made me sit up and take notice

This film makes you wonder just who is out there, could there really be cannibals in the hills? All of the savage cannibals are terrifying, but Jupiter (James Witworth), was perhaps the most unsettling. The moment when Jupiter nails Big Bob Carter (Russ Grieve), the father of the family, to a makeshift cross it truly shows you just how evil these people are and perfectly illustrates what is to come. I liked the fact that they took the time to explain Jupiter’s backstory I thought it made him more rounded as a character.

I thought the choice to have most of the heroes be horribly inept, expect for when they manage to kill Jupiter in the end and instead have Beast, the other dog, be the one that picks off most of the baddies, is almost wonderfully comical. I would guess that it is not supposed to be humorous, but seeing this dog destroying this some what organised/experienced killer family one by one could be a film in and of itself.

The thing I like the most about this film is the fact that it feels stand alone, the ending neatly wraps everything up without too many lose threads. Of course there was a sequel, but it feels like this film closes the arc, which is how films should be, you shouldn’t have to watch another film to know how the last film ended.

Overall there is a reason that this is a horror masterpiece, a must watch for sure, Craven is a master of the genre.

Pros.

Beast the dog.

The explanation and backstory.

It has great atmosphere.

Everyone is giving great performances.

Cons.

Some of it almost feels comical and that is not great for a horror film.

4.5/5

The Furies: Killing In The Name Of

The Furies is a horror thriller film directed by Tony D’ Aquino. The plot sees Kayla (Airlie Dodds), be abducted and taken to a battle ground where young women are forced to fight mutant looking men, what’s more each woman is paired with one mutant as a protector, so it is not only a battle between the women and the mutant, but also a battle between the women themselves as well as between the mutants themselves.

I have a series of issues with this film that made me loss interest quickly and want to turn it off.

Firstly, a lot of it makes no sense, things just kind of happen without any rhyme or reason and they aren’t explained. The very first scene of the film is what I thought was a flashforward, but it never seems to appear in the film, and it makes me think, what is it, is it a misplaced scene or something?

Secondly, none of the characters are likable they seem to do everything they can to be as unlikeable as possible, like Kayla herself is prepared to let every single girl in the game die, just so she can find her friend. Yes, not every character needs to be likable, but there is not one character you can root for in this film.

Thirdly, the ending when Kayla gets out of the game and tries to hunt down the men who are responsible for the slaughter is better than the film itself. If this film ever got a sequel, I would like to guess that it would be far better as the premise alone would be infinitely better. The ending is for sure the best bit of the whole film and that it only practically because it is the end.

Finally, the constant references to evil men and the patriarchy becomes a bit jarring and dated after a point, a lot of the time they aren’t actually referring to the men that are hunting them down and killing them rather just men in general, which strikes me as odd, but no doubt it was in an effort to seem trendy.

Overall, this film is painfully average, it doesn’t make sense and it is hard to watch.

Pros.

The ending.

Cons.

It is hard to watch.

It is repetitive.

It tries too hard to be trendy.

None of it makes sense.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Preservation: The Deadliest Prey Of All

Preservation is a horror thriller film directed by Christopher Denham. The plot sees young couple Wit (Wrenn Schmidt) and Mike (Aaron Staton) as well as Mike’s veteran brother Sean (Pablo Schreiber), go on a hunting trip, however once they get to the woods, they realise that they are the ones being hunted and a battle for survival ensues.

I have had a run of bad luck recently with the films I have seen, maybe I need to change my viewing habits I don’t know, but of a bad bunch Preservation is probably the best. Though there is very little new on display here, it is about as formulaic and generic as you can get, it is passable as horror comfort food, hollow and meaningless, but entertaining all the same.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Pablo Schreiber’s name come up in the credits, I think he has a great stage presence and is defiantly a young actor to watch. He is great when he is on screen, he plays the veteran who can’t readjust to society type of character, he wants to go and live out in the woods off the grid, the character lacks any kind of nuance and is really just an easy stereotype, but Schreiber plays him well.

It is a shame he is killed off within the first half an hour of the film.

I didn’t really like or care about any of the other characters so that was were I checked out really.

The only positive I will say of this film is I thought the kills were good, they were suitably gory and intense and had a nice weight to them that made them seem impactful. I thought the violence of this film was very visceral and well done, it never reached a point for me where I think it went too far.

I think the twist at the end where it turned out the people hunting the main character were just a group of kids didn’t really do much for me, if it was meant to add depth, or raise moral questions it didn’t do either of those things for me.

Overall, it is a passable watch if you have nothing else to watch, however it is not good just merely average.

Pros.

Pablo Schreiber.

It is entertaining enough.

Cons.

You don’t care about the film or the characters really.

It is dull.

It has been done better before.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Hunt: Politics In America

The Hunt is a satirical horror film directed by Craig Zobel. The plot sees a group of far-left extremists gather together a group of people who have written mean stuff about them online and then hunt them down. They perceive the people they are hunting as right wing and as a scourge to society; the film goes out of its way to satirise the current political climate making a joke out of both sides.

Before I get into the review let me just say that this film is incredibly political, it rams politics down your throat, so if you don’t like that sort of thing don’t watch it. When I first started the film, I didn’t like the politics of the film, I thought it felt jarring and dated, however as the film went on and I saw more of it and crucially more of the satire, I realised that it was actually really well done and funny.

This isn’t a horror film that is the pivotal misconception it is far more of a dark comedy; the film is actually really funny at times and has some great laugh out loud moments. Betty Gilpin who plays Snowball has the majority of these funny lines and is by far the standout performer in this film, she is a great action heroine.

The gore and action of the film is also surprisingly good, these sequences are both tense, but also humorous. The bit when two shopkeepers kill three of the captives at the beginning of the film, is really well done it is tight and exciting.

Hilary Swank plays the films villain Athena and she to is excellent. She plays the manic cult leader type so well it seems eerily real; she is a great love to hate the villain. The fight scene she shares with Gilpin in the final act is fantastic it is well choreographed and Swank brings a great physicality to the role which is matched perfectly by Gilpin.

Overall, this film is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but if you stick with it and let the satire work on you it will make you laugh, Gilpin and Swank are both giving it their all and it makes for a great overall experience.

Pros.

It’s funny.

Gilpin and Swank are both great.

The action scenes are superb.

The premise is intriguing.

Cons.

The politics will be off putting for some.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

47 Meters Down Uncaged: A Shark Attack Film Where You Want The Shark To Win!

47 Meters Down Uncaged is a survival horror film directed by Johannes Roberts. It is a sequel to the passably alright film 47 Meters Down, a film that didn’t need a sequel. The plot this time around focuses on a group of girls who go diving in a newly discovered cave, only to become trapped and at the mercy of a shark.

I have to say it is hard to screw up a shark movie this badly, I applaud the makers of this film for being this inept this utterly devoid of knowing what people want. This film is laughably bad.

First off, this is an incredibly PG affair, there is very little gore even when the sharks are ripping people apart it is all very bloodless, which to me feels like an effort to try and get this film out to the younger teen audience, but in doing so it spits in the face of what modern shark movies are and that is gritty bloodfests.

Secondly, unlike the characters in the first film who were serviceable, the characters here are your usual collection of teenage girl stereotypes and clichés. They are supposed to be experienced divers for the most part, or at least people who have a basic understanding of how diving works. Yet despite this they spend all their time underwater screaming near constantly, which uses up all their oxygen, someone who has been diving once could tell you that.

What’s more the characters in this film are annoying, they spend all their on-screen time either screaming and crying or doing dumb things that will only make their situation worse, but they don’t seem to care, maybe they want to be eaten alive?

The shark itself doesn’t show up until a third into the film which wouldn’t be that bad if the film without the shark was at all in any way interesting, but sadly this first third is a slog and one that is very hard to get through, when the shark does finally appear it leaves you saying finally an end to this tedious boredom.

Overall, Sylvester Stallone’s daughter made her acting debut in this and if this in any indication for things to come, her career is going to be short and very hard to watch. A train-wreck of a movie from start to finish.

Pros.

There are one or two interesting scenes.

Cons.

The characters are dumb and annoying.

The film manages to ruin sharks.

The acting is incredibly weak.

It has no regard for logic or survival skills, even though it is a survival film.

1/5.

Reviewed by Luke