The Woman (2011)

With my weekend almost over, I decided to get back at the blog by looking at some of the flicks that I caught so far this weekend. Honestly, this has been a very entertaining trip into the world of horror. The first movie I watched this weekend was one that I had never heard of, The Woman from 2011.  

Plot/ When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy.

When this movie walked into the house Friday, I did not know what I was in for, as I did not know anything about it. What I found was an extremely interesting and complex storyline combined inside a somewhat surreal family setting. There was a lot to like about this movie, which had just the right amount of gore and disturbing elements to keep me enthralled by the focus on the disjointed family aspects. Sure, there was nothing new in this one, as much of the torture and violence has been seen before. Yet, the combination of solid acting, interesting characters, subtle comedy and sound cinematography made this decently atmospheric and even somewhat original.  In the end, if you are a fan of the works of Jack Ketchum, you will like this. It is not for everyone, but it is an entertaining look into a disturbing world.

Offspring (2009)

After spending the past few weeks in either killer doll or vampires, I decided that it was time for something different. So when I was searching FearNet and found Offspring, about flesh eating feral children, I was all in. Could there be a better change of pace?

Plot/ Offspring based on the book by Jack Ketchum tells the story of a young group of Feral Children who somehow manage to hide in caves and avoid detection while making dinner of locals in various towns as they move from town to town on the coast. After a run in with the flesh-eaters, two women strive to survive their abduction by the cannibals and save their children.

There is a lot to like about this movie. Yes, the storyline isn't the greatest, but there is something there that really made it interesting. To be honest, I have never read a Jack Ketchum novel, and after seeing this, I may want to. The acting, direction and cinematography were excellant, with a definite feel throughout, especially with the amount of violence depicted. The killers, the flesh-eating "offspring" are tremendous, and really come across well with the amount of pain, terror and carnage they inflict throughout the film. In many ways, I wish some of the other movies with similar storylines.

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