Category: Horror

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2019

scary stories 2019

The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark trilogy was one of my favorite collections of horror growing up and as I’ve gotten older, my appreciation has only grown. After seeing what became of Goosebumps (2015) , I was dreading this movie but after the trailers I was pretty excited to see these stories that haunted me as a child come to life.

Stella and her friends are normal kids growing up in the late 60’s, celebrating there last Halloween as kids. While running from a group of bullies, they meet a dude at a drive in they befriend and go off to investigate the town’s resident haunted house. Inside the house they find a sinister looking book that tells horrific stories that come to life, and they are the victims. Can Stella and her friends solve the mystery of the book before it claims there lives for it’s scary stories?

First things first, I have to give huge props to the effects team for bringing the book’s iconic pictures to life in pretty awesome and freaky ways. The setpieces are really well designed and there are some creepy ass scenes. The characters are solid and likable enough to carry what would be a generic enough story. There are some jump scares but only one that’s truly cheap without a payoff. There are a few pacing issues I had and I wish we had a bit more of the source material on screen than we got. In the end, Scary Stories is a surprisingly solid horror movie I’d recommend checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Ring

the ring

Recently, I have just turned 29 and it’s the year 2020 so I can say I feel freaking old. When this movie originally came out, the hype through my middle school was real. This was the movie that kicked off the trend of American remakes of Asian horror films: The Grudge, Shutter, and The Eye just to name a few. The trend then annoyed me so I avoided this movie like the plague, but 18 years later was I wrong?

Rachael is a young mom who is wrapped up in her journalistic work, frequently neglecting her intelligent, quiet, and self sufficient son Aden. When Aden’s best friend and cousin Katie dies under mysterious circumstances all of a sudden, Rachael looks into the only clue she can find: a videotape. Legend has it that anyone who watches will die seven days later; Rachael watches it and now the race is on to uncover the cryptic mystery of the tape before Rachael and her son die from a malevolent force, Samara.

Not knowing anything about the basic premise going in, I wished I paid this movie a watch back then. The movie looks damn good visually and I must admit, the tape is unsettling and the effects hold up surprisingly well nearly two decades later. The main actors do a good job and it’s easy to relate to the characters, including the villain Samara who has a tragic backstory. The lore behind the tape was my favorite part besides the false ending. The only real complaint I have is sometimes the acting in certain scenes feels clunky and having images from the tape flash at you for a jump scare has effective moments, it starts to get old, especially if it ain’t your first viewing. In the end, I think it’s a pretty damn good horror movie that’s gladly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

New Resident Evil 3 Remake Screenshots Surface, And They Are Terrifying

For those looking for more Resident Evil 3 fun my friend Apex has written a great article you can find a link to below. He also does a lot of other stuff for the series fans will love (some of which I will be sharing later on in the week) So if like myself you are looking forward to this one go check it out along with some screenshots, tell him Savior sent you, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

https://apexshadowdesigns.com/?p=487

The Final Destination (4)

fd 4

So, for all of those wondering, no The Final Destination is not in fact the final movie and why the hell putting “The” before Final Destination would indicate it’s the fourth movie is beyond me. So 3D and more teens getting killed in hilarious ways controlled by the grim reaper, what’s not to love? Nick and his friends are attending a car race that he gets the premonitions will end in disaster so they evade the mayhem only to get  killed one by one.

Final Destination 4 is pretty much what anyone who’s seen one of these movies should come to expect from this series. If you want genuine scares, look elsewhere, but if you want camp and gore than stick around. There are some pretty decent kills  and the two main leads are likable enough so you are ok with rooting for them. The 3D feels pretty wasted sadly unlike in Final Destination 3 where it was more prominent. The other issue I have is how generic it all feels, there is nothing special about this movie but it is quick. In the end it’s not bad or great but an alright sequel to an alright franchise. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

A Haunted House

haunted house

Comedy is subjective as much as horror is so I can say I get why most critics hated the hell out of this movie. The critic in me thinks this is one of the stupidest movies I’ve ever seen, and that it’s a lazy ass cash grab on the Paranormal Activity craze about a decade ago. Malcolm’s girlfriend Keisha moves in with him and supernatural hi-jinks ensue, that’s pretty much it. This movie is co written and staring Marlon Wayans of Scary Movie fame so whatever your feelings were there, it’s going to be here. All of this being said, I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off at certain parts just because as far as comedy is concerned, I ain’t much older than a twelve year old. The jokes are predictable and go mostly for sex and fart jokes. Weirdly, if I’m going to recommend it, I would if you were wasted off your ass but not if you’re sober or want a real laugh. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

birds of prey

Ok, warning right here and now: this review will have some harsh language in it. Since Savior saw IT Chapter Two (Review) with me, he’ll understand why I ask then as now WHAT THE FUCK did I just watch. To paraphrase a quote my friend Ben “This movie is like dropping acid and watching fireworks go off” The man is not wrong…

The day has come ms Harley Quinn thought never would; Joker dumped her and now she’s all alone against a pissed off Gotham underworld that has a bone to pick with her now that she isn’t under his protection anymore. Reinventing herself as a mercenary (among a shitload of other traits) she finds herself caught hunting a diamond for cruel gangster Roman Sionis aka Black Mask. Aligning herself with disgruntled cop Renee Montoya, hapless club singer with a killer voice Black Canary, crossbow wielding vigilante Huntress, and young pickpocket Cassie Cain as they must come together to kick Mask’s ass.

Well, if you hated Suicide Squad  you’re going to hate this movie and even more if you were a fan of the source material. The movie is definitely fun and the fights are pretty damn cool, using the hell out of the R rating. The characters are cool and the actors are definitely having fun, especially Mcgregor as Black Mask. What gets me is the utter batshit editing and narrative structure; Harley is our narrator and going through her mind is like going on a drug trip and can be hard to follow at times.  The music, while all not bad gets annoying and is overused a lot. Besides the pop music being overused, the gratuitous language and bird references get old quick too.  While not a huge issue, I just feel like I have to say the title is misleading as hell; there is hardly any Birds of Prey in Birds of Prey and should be seen as a Harley movie first and foremost. In the end, if you wondered what would happen if you threw Suicide Squad and the Deadpool  movie in a blender, added glitter and meth with some liquid girl power and hit frappe you’d get this movie, a fun, entertaining WTF mess. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

The Mist ( book)

mist book

What can I say, Stephen King is a legend. I’ve read short stories and 1,000+ page books alike and even those I wasn’t in love with, still weren’t god awful. The Mist is a novella previously from his collection Skeleton Crew that in recent years has been made sold separately more, which is how I read it; the movie is a pretty damn good adaptation with a much more heart wrenching ending that I recommend watching, even if some of the creature effects haven’t aged well ( a mini review, look at that).

David Drayton and his family feel lucky to be alive after a massive storm tears through there lakeside home. The damage is heavy but everyone is safe; just a nasty summer storm after all. Dave and his son Billy, along with his despicable neighbor go to the local town grocery store as a fog emerges. The fog is heavy and reaches seemingly everywhere. Understandably, the store is pandemonium from the storm of like minded folks who wanted to move on with there lives. Someone emerges that there is something in the mist. It’s not long before they see a series of ungodly horrors roaming the mists and the deaths that accrue when anyone ventures out. Trapped, another threat looms from within as people turn on each and a mini cult rises claiming the end of days has come leaving David with the choice of venturing out or get sacrificed to the monsters outside…

For the most part, The Mist is a simple but effective quick horror story. It’s nice to see King switch things up and do a first person story, which he does well and I’d like to read more of from him. There wasn’t any characters I disliked and I thought they were all solid. I like the variety of monsters and the gory kills throughout the story. The biggest problem I have is the first few chapters, I’d say first 3 to be more specific drag, and the story doesn’t really pick up until a decent ways in so the story feels longer than it should. Regardless, it’s a pretty good creepy shorter story from the horror master if his gigantic works put you off and honestly, the movie was a pretty faithful adaptation as well, just with a way more bleaker ending. May the gaming gods bring you glory.