My thoughts contain spoilers. Everything else doesn’t.
The Possession of
Michael King (2014)
Plot: An Atheist
documentarian loses his wife and then challenges all the forces of evil to
prove they are real by offering himself up as the target of their spells and
rituals, hoping nothing will happen and this will prove to the entire world
that everything outside of a science lab is fictional, but the plan backfires
and he gets possessed by something that makes him do darker and more horrible
deeds than he thought he was capable of.
Thoughts: We got
just enough of his wife to mourn the fact that she was dead and the scene where
his tarot cards are read perfectly sets us up for the rest of the film, but I
didn't care for any of the other characters because we hardly spent any time
with them, and what little time it there was lacked any emotional quality. Oh,
your kid is cute and innocent. Your sister is awesome for filling in the
motherly role. Your camera man is solid for wanting to get you help. But I
didn't really care that much when anyone in the film died, except the
protagonist. I also wasn't impressed with how cliché the occultists were. Of
all the people to put in your movie you choose the most obvious, cookie-cutter
one, rather than do a lot of research and use any of the thousands of cults out
there for inspiration. I really liked the overall message that you should love
and cherish what you have right now and not what you have lost, but the ending
was a bit confusing and made me question if I was right or wrong with what the
actual moral was. If you now know that evil demons are real, isn't it time seek
someone on the opposing team for help rather than throw yourself out of a
window and end your life? Were you just too fed up to go on, or too week to
hold the evil inside for just a little longer? Does your choice somehow
validate the belief system you held, even though the movie obviously
invalidated it?
Verdict: Despite
all of this, I still thought it was an okay film and worth a watch. The idea is
actually incredible, but the delivery not so much.
At the Devil's
Door (2014)
Plot: The Book of
Revelation is true, and now it's up to a real estate agent to uncover it while
selling a house where a family's daughter is currently missing.
Thoughts: Yeah,
that plot I just wrote out is actually more honest than any other you can find.
First off, the story follows three leads. The first one is the young whore of
Babylon who gets pregnant by Satan. The second one is the real estate agent who
investigates the strange history of the house. The third one is the sister, in
a Hitchcockian protagonist switch. That, in my opinion, was awesome. The film
also has a lot of symbolism leading back to the Bible, such as the first girl
meeting the Satan recruiter in the desert, and of course the choice in colors
even evident on the poster itself. But the story does a few things that serve
more to confuse us than to actually move the story along. Rather than just give
us most of the details up front, we have to learn about the first girl through
flashbacks. The middle girl isn't as interesting as her or the third girl, and
I assume she was painted in the good girl image because Satan is very
particular about who he wants carrying his child, and she must be a whore or bust.
But then the first girl wasn't a whore either, so why did Satan choose her,
only to kill her, hibernate for a while, wait for the good girl to show up, and
then flock to her sister? But I actually liked the third girl, so if I was
going to knock anyone of them up, it would be her. She was cooler. So in order
to make sure she has the baby, Satan puts her in a coma for long enough so the
baby can be born. And then six years later mama wants to track down the baby to
kill it? It was this shit that ruined Lost Souls and films much like it.
Verdict: I liked
this film, am in love with the idea of a vengeful god who wants nothing more
than to destroy his creation for their inability to be decent people, but it
could have been amazing and wasn't. I honestly think if it had a better
director, added about a half hour in length, and was a bit more giving in
pertinent details, it could have been great.
Animal (2014)
Plot: Two groups
of unlucky campers get isolated in a cabin where they cannot escape because
they are being viciously stalked and attacked by Ving Rhames.
Thoughts: I was
informed that me saying the beast in this film looked like Ving Rhames wasn't
funny and that it is unbelievable in this day and age that racist people still
exist. I agree, and would like to add that it is even more unbelievable that
people who crusade against racism can be racist themselves, because I was
referring to him starring as the titular character in a film called Animal, and
not that he looked like the creature in this film, racist! Although they could
be related now that you mention it. That idiot aside, this film is a lot of
fun. It's stock characters, but they did a good enough job acting, and the
story, while also nothing new, was written well enough that I cared about my characters
and wanted them to live. Fortunately for us, they all die in the perfect order,
upping the stakes each time, except for our lone survivor. It was predictable
that there was a second beast and I wasn't in awe that there was a third, but
it was nice enough. Some people weren't fans of the effeminate gay character
and how he screamed a lot but that aside, he wasn't written as a damsel in
distress, which gave him a pass from me. I guess if I was gay I would be tired
of only the most stereotypical gay characters appearing on screen, but alas,
the gay community has Nightmare on Elm Street 2, and it took 20 years for
straight people to realize the guy was gay. Win, win.
Verdict: It's
like a serous Feast film. Typical creature feature in a slasher shell, but I
really liked the character for a movie that is basically designed to off them
in quick secession. I recommend it for a group where you're looking more for
fun to entertain your guest than to stimulate your brain.
The Purge 2:
Anarchy (2014)
Plot: Five people
band together on the night of the purge in order to survive, although one of
them has an agenda of his own, and must decide where he stands.
Thoughts: Similar
to the first one, only this time we are in the middle of the actual purge. This
time, I really got a feel for the lower working class. I've noticed, since V
For Vendetta, that there is a growing number of films examining the discontent
with the ruling class and this one is no exception. The first thing that really
annoyed me was the couple whose car breaks down. Am I the only one who would
have been prepared well in advance, avoiding being broke down in the city? The
mom and daughter being hunted by mercenaries of the elite worked well and
seemed like real relatives. But I was let down that the creepy thugs in the
trailer were nothing more than scavengers picking up on scraps so they could
make some cash by selling them to the rich. The cop on a mission really stole
the show. Usually, a protagonist is given one person to weigh them down. This one
was given four, yet he stood by his duty to protect and serve, even when he
didn't have to. The vengeance he sought showed him as a conflicted anti-hero,
but his final choice actually revealed a real hero, something that is lacking
in modern films. A few more gripes are the intervention of the resistance
group. Would probably love that as a third film, but would have preferred the
cop to organize a plan, and his dead weight to rise to the occasion, especially
when you're going to kill one off anyway. I also would have liked a little more
romance between the mom and cop at the end. It made me feel good, knowing he
made a right and just decision, so I wanted concrete evidence that he gained
what he was really seeking the entire time: a family.
Verdict: If you
liked the first Purge film, this one was actually better, the Aliens to Alien,
with more action and a much larger story. I recommend this if you're tired of
bleak endings.
Perfect Sisters
(2014)
Plot: When their
mother’s drinking gets out of hand and she starts making poor life choices, her
daughters decide it’s best to end her life.
Thoughts: I
watched this film because other horror bloggers had reviewed it. As I watched,
I asked myself if it could even classify as horror. Well, it’s based on a true
story. Seriously, it is. Two daughters murdered their mom because she was an
alcoholic. Let that sink in for a second, and then add to the fact that they
bragged about it and got a little notoriety, even before they were caught. We
watch a decent family starting over and then realize there is a problem: the
mother and whichever guy she’s shacked up with. The movie is basically a drama
and it’s hard to sit through a couple of teens yapping back and forth,
regardless of how interesting they are. It’s not dark enough to be Ginger
Snaps, although the girls are a bit on the morbid side. Overall, the only
horrific part about this movie is the way they act leading up to and after the
murder.
Verdict: The film
is better than something you would find on the Lifetime channel, but it’s
certainly soft horror, some of the softest I’ve seen, so don’t expect gore or
any moments where you say, oh my God. I almost feel guilty even including it,
but others have as well.
The Den (2013)
Plot: A college
student working on a project studying people’s online habits witnesses a murder.
The killer then taunts her as he kills her friends and family.
Thoughts: Yeah,
so it’s multiple killers. This film is an ode to snuff films and people’s lust
for real violence on the internet. Ever watch someone beheaded by ISIS? That
was a real person, you freak, and you’ve celebrated their death by watching the
video. But seriously, we’re curious people and we like to watch things that
push the envelope, even though sometimes we know we shouldn’t. This film allows
the viewer to live the life of the protagonist and watch as her voyeurism is
repaid in a bloodthirsty way. It’s like being on the internet and video chatting
with people at random, and that’s all we see for the first part of the film,
but it flows well and doesn’t get boring. Then the murder happens and everything
turns to hell. We’re reminded at the end that bad shit happens to innocent
people and when it’s filmed it becomes entertainment to an unsuspecting viewer
who hasn’t really asked the question of morality about what they are watching.
Verdict: This was
one of the better films I watched so far in its effectiveness and overall
execution. Yeah, everyone is tired of “found footage,” so much that they are
looking for any instance where the camera might be set up in an unrealistic
way. Well, that’s unfair and you need to relax and enjoy a fictional film. This
is an excellent film to let you girlfriend watch when you are working late.
Apartment 143
(2011)
Plot: A team of
parapsychologists go to an apartment to investigate the strange events
supposedly occurring and find more than they expected.
Thoughts: I like
ghost stories and have a soft spot in my heart for parapsychology. Most people
are not aware that parapsychologists have PhDs in psychology, or that parapsychology
is an actual, legitimate sub-field. Unfortunately, most ghost stories are just
that. The anomalous events that occur are sporadic, happen at random, and are
usually nothing like in the movies. This film explored poltergeist phenomena,
as well as the underlying traumatic event that caused it. It did it by the book
(the ones on parapsychology), but turned the volume up enough to make it
entertaining for film. It’s shot documentary style, just like what you would
expect from an actual parapsychologist. For the most part, this film follows
closely what would be documented in an actual investigation, although the
length of it was greatly reduced for the film. The lead parapsychologists
really knew his stuff on the psychology part and eventually figured out that
the actions of the mother that led to her death was weighing heavily on the
family and causing the stress and tension between them. There was no ghost,
just a young girl manifesting all of her anger and rage in the most magnificent
way possible. The film wrapped up beautifully, but instead of a subtle what if
(the mama ghost was also around), we’re given an exceptionally lame jump scare
with the mama ghost climbing on the ceiling and staring at the camera.
Verdict: The film
basically broke its own rules, and because of that, I took a lot of points off.
I still recommend you watch this, but I ask you that right as the
parapsychologists leave and the picture on the wall falls, to turn off the film!
You’ll enjoy it so much better without the ridiculous last 20 seconds.