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Showing posts from May, 2017

Get Out (2017)

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After a couple days away from modern horror movies, I decided that I wanted to finish off May with something newer. After some thought, I decided to watch the 2017 horror flick Get Out. Plot/ It's time for a young African American to meet with his white girlfriend's parents for a weekend in their secluded estate in the woods, but before long, the friendly and polite ambience will give way to a nightmare. I had waited to pick this one up at Family Video for a few days. This wasn’t because I didn’t want to see it, it was because I swore in my mind I already had from the synopsis. Ironically, there is something about this flick that I can’t place because even as I watched it, I felt like I had seen it before. While some of the storyline was predictable and cliché (which could leave the impression as I have seen it before), it is an entertaining film that was a perfect blend of mystery, thriller, and comedy. Not only did I connect to the film, I found mysel

Night of the Demon (1980)

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Once I finished with some classic 1950s sci-fi/horror, it was time to find something a little different last night to finish off my holiday weekend. After some searching, I settled on the 1980 exploitation/creature feature Night of the Demon from 1980. Plot/ Professor Nugent and his students try to track down Bigfoot, but end up uncovering something more sinister at work. This is the epitome of the classic no-budget drive-in exploitation flicks of the 1970s and early 1980s. While it is extremely flawed on almost every level, it is full of sporadic moments that make you laugh and keep you entertained. Yes, the micro-budgeted flick has a laughable and conflicting script, flat performances, uneven editing, rough special effects, and a myriad of head scratching moments, but that seems to only push this closer to the exploitation/grindhouse cinema of the day. Fortunately, the storyline is interesting with an interesting combination of creature feature and occult dri

The Alligator People (1959)

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After spending the weekend dealing with rain and heat at a USSSA Memorial Day Super NIT softball tournament, I needed some down time today to recover (and I didn’t even play). Having some time before heading out to grab the kids, I decided to kick back and watch something different. I decided on the 1958 creature feature The Alligator People. Plot/ A woman in a hypnotic state recounts to two doctors the details of a horrific experience from her past life that began with the mysterious and sudden disappearance of her husband. After talking with my youngest brother earlier today, I was in the mood for a classic 1950s creature feature and I settled on this one. I am glad that I did because what I found was much more entertaining than I expected. Complete with a solid cast including Beverly Garland and Lon Chaney, this film offered an interesting storyline, inspiring cinematography, and some decent effects for the era and budget. I definitely looked like a film that

XX (2017)

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As I sit here on the holiday weekend hoping for the rain to leave, it was nice to take a break from movies as I have spent time in Twin Peaks and American Gods this week. After two days of investigations and research posts, I decided to get back to a movie with the 2017 anthology XX . Plot/ XX is a new horror anthology with a gender twist - all segments will be helmed by female directors and will star female leads. The directors have been given free creative rein within budget and time constraints, but all of the segments themselves will involve the horror genre. Having spent the past couple of days working on a few different pieces of material for the blog, it was nice t get back into some horror. When I saw this anthology at Family Video, I thought the idea of watching a modern anthology would be perfect. While this one did have some positives, I don’t feel that it totally reached its potential. The animation used as the bridge between installments was amazi

Another Look at Hollow Earth

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The world is a crazy place, and just one look around will show that science and history are at a crossroad. Many of the scientific or historic items that were once embraced as fact are now slowly being proven to be myths. Water on Mars and the potential that life once existed on the famed red planet are just a couple of items that have made headline news in the past few years (NASA, n.d.). What about here on Earth, do similar hypothesis exist? Absolutely, and one such concept is the potential of life existing inside the planet, or something known as Hollow Earth theory. For years, skeptics around the world have dismissed this theory as insanity or impossible. After all, geologists study the structural make-up of the planet and have for hundreds of years, and no definitive proof has been discovered to back up this theory.   However, the same thing could have been said about water on Mars until NASA made their announcement in September (Chang, 2015). This discovery definitely

Dissecting a Myth - Polyphemus

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As I have started watching American Gods, I decided to take some time and look back at some of the ancient Gods and the mysterious lore that surrounds them. Today I will take a journey back into the vaults of time, to an era governed by gods and documented in the mythos. The specimen is a creature so horrible and hideous, his name can still strike fear in the masses. Throughout antiquity, the legend of Polyphemus, a man-eating Cyclops with a single orb-shaped eye set in the middle of his forehead would be heard throughout Trinacria (Sicily) and the Mediterranean world. Today I plan to dissect it for you.  Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the southernmost region of Italy, lying south of mainland Italy separated by the Strait of Messina. This region, consisting of nine provinces: Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Siracusa, and Trapani, has a vast history and is a modern link to the folklore of an enlightened day. At the

Refuge (2013)

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Once I left the softball field and caught the fourth episode of Twin Peaks: The Return, i t was nice to get back to finding movies that will capture my attention. The next one did just that and left me wanting more. What was it; just the 2013 post-apocalyptic tale Refuge ( AKA The Mansion). Plot/ As food and supplies dwindle and the threat of marauders becomes more apparent, the family must ultimately face the decision to either stay in hiding or go in search of an elusive mansion they've heard of - that may or may not exist. Now that I have finished the first four episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return, it was time to get back to my usual viewing cycle and I am glad that I did. This is a film that I knew nothing about and was excited to see how this film took on the post-apocalypse environment. What I found was something that was both atmospheric and entertaining, and a film that definitely stepped outside the box when creating this world. Similar to The W

Oceans Rising (2017)

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After watching and being amazed by Twin Peaks: The Return last night, it was hard to sit down and write a review on anything today. There was so much going on in the first two episodes; it was one of the greatest mental journeys I have gone on in a long time. Unfortunately, my next review will be on the opposite end of the spectrum. That is the 2017 SyFy disaster flick Oceans Rising from The Asylum. Plot/ A scientist builds a boat after his warnings of an Earth-destroying flood are ignored. But when it's evident the disaster will occur, those who maligned the scientist now turn to him in desperation, boarding the ark and seeking his answers before the world drowns in a never ending sea. If you have been following the blog, you would know that I went through a streak of rather flawed movies recently. While some of them were bad, I can honestly say that none of them sunk to the lowly depths like this one. Actually, I am convinced that this may be the worst m

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

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It’s happening again! Yes, after 25 years, Twin Peaks is finally returning to the screen and I couldn’t be more excited. David Lynch and the Twin Peaks series are   two of the main reasons that I wanted to become a writer. While I knew this was on the horizon, I decided to clear my mind in preparation. That is when I decided to pick up a film from one of my favorite franchises with 2016s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Plot/ Alice returns to where the nightmare began: The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse. Let me start off by saying that this has been one of my favorite zombie themed series and I was sad to hear that this was gong to be the final chapter. Fortunately, they decided to go out with a bang. While many people will not enjoy this mindless trip into Raccoon City for a final time (and understandably so), the non0stop action and gore is

Patriots Day (2016)

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After a long day with an open house at the institute followed by an extremely hard nap, I decided to kick back and watch a film that I had heard mixed things about. That movie is the 2016 account of the Boston Marathon Bombing Patriots Day . Plot/ The story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists responsible. This is a movie that I had stayed away from for a while but decided to hive it a shot. While I do agree there are some moments where it feels like there is some propaganda added in the dialog, it was somewhat easy to look past and focus on the movie. One of the biggest positives that I can point out is the way the film takes on an event that is still rather fresh in a viewers mind and creates something that is both entertaining and tense. There are solid performances, the pacing is strong, and the cinematography captures as authentic feel. Yes, as I mentioned earlier there were a f

Here Alone (2016)

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Lately, after finishing After the Static , I have stayed away from the realm of zombies. After spending months writing about them, I needed a break. With that book in the design process (and due out soon), I figured it was time to jump back into the arena (plus, my streak of subpar flicks needed to end). With that in mind, I decided on the 2016 zombie flick Here Alone for my next flick. Plot/ A young woman struggles to survive on her own in the wake of a mysterious epidemic that has killed much of society and forced her deep into the unforgiving wilderness. After my streak of subpar movies, I decided to jump back into something that I love: zombie flicks. I love that genre because to me there is potential with them that they can usually offer a viewer something different. This entry may be more of a slow burn drama than an all-out action flick, but it delivered. This was extremely realistic and focused more on the other side of the realm with the characters inst

Freshwater (2016)

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After suffering through Man Vs. , I decided that I wanted to follow that with a straight low budget creature feature. Unfortunately, my selection, 2016s Freshwater , almost made me wish that I were trapped alone in the woods fighting a CGI alien. Plot/ A new take on the classic story of a group of twenty-something kids' weekend of terror at the lake house. And my streak of subpar movies continues. Luckily, I was somewhat prepared for that since this was a low budget creature feature, but it was still below what I had hoped for. This one was not all bad with an interesting soundtrack and a couple of decent performances. Unfortunately, the special effects, cinematography, editing, and scripting did not hold any weight and left the movie fall flat. In the end, this one is not worth your time; stay away.

Man Vs. (2015)

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Now that I am settled back into a routine, it is nice to mix some horror/sci-fi flicks with working on a nonfiction project. After a lot of debate, I was so motivated after the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Camping Adventure to not only head back into the field but to revisit Searching the Abyss and update it with some new information and material. While I was working on that last night, I decided to kick back and watch the 2015 horror/sci-fi entry Man Vs . Plot/ As host of the hit TV series, MAN VS ., Doug Woods is forced to fend for himself for five days in remote locations with no crew, food, or water, only the cameras he carries on his back to film his experiences. Doug's in the remote woods for a routine episode until he's awoken by an earth-shaking crash. Things get weirder as it becomes clear Doug isn't alone. Someone or something is watching him. As days go by this week, I think I am stuck in one of those cycles with my movie selections. In this case

American Mummy (2014)

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After spending yesterday with the family, I figured that it would be a good time to jump back into the blog with another low budget entry that I grabbed at Family Video. That selection is the 2014 entry American Mummy (AKA Aztec Blood ) Plot/ A group of university students in the New Mexico desert unearth an ancient mummy, on which one of the students performs a secret, primeval blood ritual. This awakens the death-hungry spirit of the Aztec Lord Tezcalipoca, intent on finishing his centuries-old reign of terror. Soon, the mummy's curse possesses the students' souls, turning them against each other in a bid to spread his evil to the entire world. When I picked this one up, I expected a low budget, mindless horror flick and that is exactly what I got. This one was extremely laughable from start to finish with uneven performances, strange soundtrack choices, an incoherent storyline that was a head scratcher at best, and a script that not only left many thi