kjjames81 Reviews

Malignant (I) (2021)

The Matrix doesn't work in a horror film.

[4/10 · 1 March 2023]

Why oh why, this is what I want to ask James Wan, why did you put Matrix style fighting in a horror film?

Now the first hour of this movie was very good and even though I sort of thought the outcome of Gabriel, I still didn't expect what he was.

Then this film goes downhill so fast and gets spoilt, I sat there scratching my head thinking to myself why did James Wan choose this over The Conjuring 3.

Then we come to the police station scene, this is where the movie gets a two star rating, it was awful. They used Matrix style fighting throughout Ruthie scene and it didn't work, in fact it spoilt the movie to much for me to enjoy the rest of it as I had in the first hour.

Then there was the cgi scenes, I hate cgi in movies, I wish film directors realised that it doesn't work, people are meant to have bones in their bodies. Okay it wasn't used much here but it still stood out and didn't fit the movie.

Yeah still don't understand why James Wan went for style over substance, he could have had a really good movie in his hands, n stead he had half horror and half comedy.

A disappointing movie overall, shame really.

The Reading (I) (2023)

What went wrong?

[3/10 · 24 February 2023]

The start of the movie where we get the home invasion was well done and a great opener to the movie.

Then we have the clairvoyant, this was also not a bad addition to the movie.

When you find out the little twist, we'll that was good as well.

Then the film went out of the window, what happened?

The last thirty minutes were stupid, this is where the movie lost all logical ideas.

It struggled to last the full run time, in fact I kept on looking to see how much of the movie was left to watch, this is of course a bad sign with any movie.

If the script writer had stuck to the movies theme from the first hour then this would have been a must movie to watch but it's not.

On a last note, do not believe any reviews and ratings that have this movie over four stars, again these are from individuals associated with the movie.

Re/Member (2022)

One of the worst films I have ever seen.

[2/10 · 19 February 2023]

Okay first things first, anyone who is rating this above a four has never really watched horror films and not watched eastern horror films.

This was one of the worst from the categories from above.

Firstly it didn't know what it wanted to be, did this movie want to be a horror film, did it want to be a Japanese rom com, a comedy or what? You will leave this film as confused as I did.

There was a bit of blood in the killing scenes, which was fine but in between the killings and the not so horror scenes there were scenes of comedy and rom com style film.

I have given this film a two star rating, that is being generous by the way.

Do yourself a favour, keep away from this film.

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

What did I just watch?

[3/10 · 10 February 2023]

What the heck was this crap? And it's come from M. Night. Was he having a bad couple of months or has he really had his day and now he is going to make mediocre movies? We all remember Glass right.

When this movie has the best actor in the whole film is Dave Bautista then you know okay this movie is either going to be bad or it's going to be just okay. Now this is not a go at him but when you have actors like Rupert Grint, while it was nice to see him back in a big movie, I always thought he should have gone into to bigger things, in this and a former wrestler is better then you know the kind of movie this is going to be.

Was it a total white wash, well no it wasn't, the acting from the other cast members was adequate and the child actors were passable.

I think where the film falters and fails is as other reviewers have said you know how this is going to end so when a film is like that it needs to catch the audience and this film doesn't, well not fully.

Of course we all know M. Night has always been known for his twists and be warned no matter what others say, THERE IS NO TWIST.

A staggering three out of five. Go and watch Old that was a lot better.

Plane (2023)

Does what it says on the tin

[5/10 · 5 February 2023]

As I eagerly wait for Den Of Thieves 2, I decided to give this one a watch and I came away enjoying this little movie, really it was nothing special and it never claimed to be, it was just a good old action thriller and as my review headline says 'it does what it says on the Tin'.

I know a lot of reviews have said the time dragged a bit but I found it didn't and yes the story was basic but that's what made the movie so good.

My favourite Butler films have been Gamer & Den Of Thieves.

This isn't one my all time favourite film of his but it was good enough to keep me seated and enjoy the action scenes.

Do not try and think when you ar watching this, this movie isn't that type but watch for a good old fashioned action movie and you will not be disappointed.

Memory (I) (2022)

Neeson almost back on Taken territory

[5/10 · 5 February 2023]

Liam Neeson's films have been hit and miss the last couple of years, in fact since the original Taken movie, this film I found almost hit the mark again but not quite there but it was still good to see Liam trying to get back into the original Taken territory, the original one that is not the terrible second and third ones.

As an action thriller this movie really delivered even though I still wanted to see Neeson doing more hand to hand action as he did in the original Taken.

The problem has been that a lot of his action films lately have been rated 12 & 15 so more audiences can see then but then they have to reign in the fight scenes and that is where his other films have been not so good but thankfully they kept this as an 18 so the action scenes could be at full throttle.

A good action thriller with Neeson back in his game, a few more like these and he should be top of the action charts again, as long as the film makers make them 18's for the action.

See this one you won't be disappointed.

Play Dead (2022)

A film in different slices

[3/10 · 5 February 2023]

Saw this little movie last night and came away with the fact that the first third of the film was the best and the rest of it just ruined the movie.

So for the first twenty or so minutes, until Chole finds out what the coroner is up to was really good and I wish the movie had kept this style of movie up and it would have had ratings of six or seven but alas it went down hill from there.

Then we find out what the coroner is up to, it won't come as a surprise and this is where the tension started to leave the film.

Then we have the final act, which went from bad to worse, I guessed about the cop, so no surprise there either and the final fights were just down right laughable, the coroner moved so slow to stab Chloe in the eye I thought the movie had stopped, if you have seen this film you will know what I am on about.

This film started stood but went to the usual route instead of being something special.

Three stars for the acting.

Sick (2022)

See this sleeper hit now.

[6/10 · 1 February 2023]

Now this movie came as a shock to me at how good it actually was.

When I started watching it I didn't realise that Kevin Williamson, the I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream fame wrote this movie.

So I settled down and watched this one.

The first thing I notice was the short runtime and how the film used up the time fast and to u were not busy thinking about other things.

The acting was above par for these type of movies and the killings were great fun to see.

This movie is definitely a sleeper and it should definitely be viewed by a higher audience.

I suggest you see this movie and see what your missing.

This film is better than most bigger budget horror films of last year, see this movie now.

I will be watching it again.

See this sleeper movie now and spread the word.

Six solid stars.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)

Do not insult 1980's slashers.

[1/10 · 1 February 2023]

Firstly I will say that I am a massive horror fan, small or big budget it doesn't bother me.

Next thing I want to say is that a few of the reviews have said that this so called film is shining in a way the spotlight on 1980's slasher movies, believe me it's not in fact saying that is giving them a bad name. Most of them were of limited budget.

Another thing and IMDB need to stop this, all the 8, 9 & 10 star votes are from people associated with this car wreck of a movie in one way or another.

Now onto the movie itself, this one should be missed by everyone, why?

Well the acting didn't bother me so much as I didn't expect much from it in the first place.

This film is bad, from the story line to the 'let's get a lesbian couple in here, so people will think we are a modern film' brigade.

It could have been such a great fun film and it wasn't.

The death scenes were tiresome, the so called blood scenes were barely visible. Pooh and Piglet just looked as if two actors just went to a joke shop and bought some cheap masks.

Will this poor attempt of a film get a sequel, I suppose it will but I won't rush to see it.

Do yourself a favour and give this one a very wide berth and don't waste you time.

The Tag Along: Devil Fish (2018)

An awful attempt at horror

[3/10 · 1 February 2023]

While I had never heard of this film, usually these type of films are great in building up the tension, the creepiness and the scares but this one failed on all of them.

Firstly I liked the story and it kept me intrigued to see what was going to happen. The acting was as usual with these type of films was good but then we get to the special effects of this movie which was one of two points that totally spoilt the film for me.

The first one was the cgi and special effects were down right awful, it was so bad that it took and tension that this movie had and removed it, after the first main effects in which the girl in red scuttles across the cars and climbs up a tree, this scene was so bad I laughed out loud.

Then there was the last battle in the forest, this was so badly done I almost turned the movie off.

Any ratin GB over three stars means the person had something to do with this awful movie.

M3GAN (2022)

An enjoyable non horror movie.

[5/10 · 30 January 2023]

Let me just get this thing off my chest first, this film has been marked as a horror movie, it's not.... Nowhere near a horror film.

It's just about reaches the title of a thriller at best.

Now saying that this film is an enjoyable movie, the story was good. The acting was good and the film moved along at a fair pace so you didn't get bored by it.

Okay the fight at the end was a little bit laughable but to me it didn't really spoil the movie to much.

As I have heard they are thinking about making a sequel, I would gladly watch it.

For people who haven't seen this yet, don't expect a Chucky type film otherwise you will be sorely disappointed.

Also hearing that they may bring out the uncut version, I would definitely give that a watch as well.

Five stars.

That '90s Show (2023– )

The original cast make this series happen...otherwise it's a no.

[5/10 · 19 January 2023]

Well today I binge watched the whole first series and I thought it was okay and yes just okay.

Being a big fan of the original series I thought I would give this series a serious go and watch the whole first season before embarking on a review.

A lot of the stories have come from the original series such as the first episode was about a keg which was done in the original series, there are many more points that you will notice this throughout the new show.

Now seeing the original cast in this series was a blessing in disguise because if it wasn't for them this show would dive right down the toilet.

The new cast are okay but the acting feels very much forced and it seems as if they're trying to hard to get laughs, which is a letdown.

It's great to see an old cast member in practically every episode and this helps the show.

When it comes down to it if it wasn't for the original cast this show would bomb. They make it. Maybe they should have made a new series with just the original cast in it, who knows, will I watch another season? Only if the original cast are in it.

Watch this for the original cast, they make it.

Skinamarink (2022)

Who would I recommend this to?

[4/10 · 17 January 2023]

Having heard so much about this my partner and I sat down last night to give this one a watch, now there are flaws in this film and quite a few, no matter what the high ratings say also there were positive aspects as well.

I get what the director was trying to do, I get it, angles, if he had just done a straight horror movie then people would have jumped up and said he had just done another Paranormal Activity movie, so to cover that side of it he did angles.

Secondly the film was to long which i hate to say, it seemed in some scenes he just dragged it on a bit to much, especially the ending.

The pluses were I applaud the director for thinking outside the box and take my hat off to him.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge horror film fan and this film is not scary in one bit, yes there were two noticeable jump scares and you do sort of get a feeling of dread near the end but scary, no.

It would have been just as scary and the same type of film of he had made it using normal angles and just filmed a normal Paranormal movie.

Now the question really is, who would I recommend this movie to? Well horror fans, no I wouldn't because I know most would come back and say it's to pretentious, why doesn't he just make a normal horror film, then there are the so called movie buffs, well no either, they would not like it, why because after all the angles in this film it comes down to one thing, it's just another horror film.

Now don't get me wrong, we did enjoy this movie but I don't know who to recommend this movie to.

Altogether this film comes down to its just another horror movie but with angles.

This is just another Paranormal Activity movie, in which the director could have filmed it normally and it would have been just as good.

This movie is neither the scariest thing you will ever see nor is it worth more than four stars.

Remember when Terrifier 2 came out and the media said that that movie was one of the scariest movies out and people were fainting in the cinemas, remember it's hype by the media for us to go and watch these films.

Don't believe any hype, just go and see it if you want to.

Four stars at the most.

Soft & Quiet (2022)

No depth to this movie

[4/10 · 14 January 2023]

While I liked the real time element with this movie and the first fifteen minutes were very close the the knuckle when the women were having a meeting and talking about what most people think about what is happening in the world now, this wasn't hard to watch, just listen to what they say.

Then the whole film and the intentions of the script writer goes out the window, in fact the whole film becomes a rushed revenge thriller.

This made me think that the people responsible for this movie didn't know where to take it.

The revenge bit was all rushed and the reasons behind it was also rushed.

This film has no depth whatsoever, after watching it I came away thinking I did enjoy it but I wouldn't recommend it and I wouldn't watch it again, why?

Well the whole film felt rushed from beginning to end, such things are left unanswered such as why did it happen to the Asian woman, what happened to the husband, why was the ex prisoner so much off the handle, these are just some of the questions that don't get answered, there are a lot more, you will know what I mean if you waste your time watching this movie.

This movie could have been a lot better, in fact it should have been on for longer and then it could have been given more depth.

Overall the choice is yours if you want to see this movie but don't believe the high ratings, this movie is just another revenge thriller and there are better ones out there to view.

Pleasure (2021)

I thought it would have been better

[4/10 · 13 January 2023]

After reading about this film and how graphic it was I finally settled down to watch this through my fingers as I was led to believe that this was going to be another Serbian Movie, believe me it's not.

Yes the first fifteen or twenty minutes are the best in the whole movie, the actress Sofia Did very good as a porn actress trying to make it to the top and really not caring until she got to certain shoots in how she becomes famous.

The scene where she wears the strap on, I got it and how she felt and why she did it.

Overall the story became tiresome before the movie was over and the ending was a total let down.

Yes it can be classed as graphic but i wouldn't class it as that.

Overall not as good as I thought it was going to be, it felt like it ran about twenty minutes over its runtime.

Don't believe the ratings that are 7, 8 plus because this movie is not that good.

Last Ride (2011)

Or how to keep fit while making a film.

[2/10 · 10 January 2023]

I have seen so many found footage films that I have lost count how many have been really good and how many have been awful and this one is the latter.

We start off okay with a bike ride with a couple of friends which is fine as there has to be some back story and this is the only time we have one.

They stop for a rest and get attacked by an unseen attacker, which I didn't mind so much as sometimes when you see the attacker the tension leaves the movie.

The survivors split up and this is when the movie goes down hill.

We spend the rest of the film watching how to be fit when making a horror film, the survivors barley break from running around the woods for the rest of the film with the viewer getting the odd growl in the distance for the rest of the film.

No tension, no story, no point, miss this film at all costs.

They/Them (2022)

This time the rating is right.

[3/10 · 10 January 2023]

Rarely do I agree with the ratings but this time it's true.

After watching this movie I came away like other reviewers that this movie does not know what it wants to be, does it want to be a slasher flick or a teen drama? I still don't know, why? Because it failed at both.

The film started really well and I was looking forward to more killings but had to wait over twenty minutes for the second killing, in between this, the campers arrive and the boys and stay with boys and the girls with girls, go figure, this was totally wrong in the first place. Then you have the obvious macho man who belonged in the village people.

The film goes from bad to worse when they start singing and dancing, high school musical anyone.

Don't get me wrong when the killings came they were good but these were way to spread out for this film to be a horror film, do yourself a favour and avoid this at all costs.

Infliction (II) (2014)

Good but with flaws.

[4/10 · 3 January 2023]

Saw this one last night without having ever heard of it.

Now I love found footage movies, my favourite two are Grave Encounters and Hell House LLC.

Now this even though i would not put this movie in the same category as the names film above but this one was good enough for a watch.

Now a lot of people complain that a lot of found footage movies have nothing in them, let me tell you this that this film did have things happening in it.

Now I have given this four stars only because in parts of it the movie dipped in its journey such as when the audited came into the film I found the storyline and the acting went down. Then there was the shootout in the woods, I found myself rolling my eyes at this part of the film, yes it was that bad.

Apart from those scenes that I found had spoilt the film, this film is still worth a watch.

Overall a good film.

Watcher (I) (2022)

Another okay film but with flaws.

[4/10 · 1 January 2023]

This is the second movie I watched last night, on New Years Eve and I came away thinking it was slightly better than The Apology but not by much.

This is why I gave this movie the same score as the previous film.

The acting was okay, I wasn't taken by the main actress, The storyline was interesting, wish we were shown more from the serial killers point of view, this would have made the film a lot better.

The best parts in this movie were the actor who played the serial killer, sorry I cannot think of his name now but a very good roll that suited him.

The last twenty minutes were the best of the film, this is where most of the tension stayed in the movie.

Overall another okay movie ruined by a weak script.

The Apology (II) (2022)

Could have been a much higher score.

[4/10 · 1 January 2023]

Last night for New Year's Eve I watched two movies back to back, as I had just come out of hospital and had to take it easy.

The first movie I watched was The Apology. Now only knowing the basic story line and nothing else I settled down.

The film contained roughly three actors or less at the most on screen, this can be good if there is any tension in the film.

The two main actors, Linus Roache and Anna Gunn we're excellent in this, the storyline was interesting but what let it down for a much higher score? The script, yes this is what let this film down badly.

Not even thirty minutes in and I guessed what had happened and why Roache was there, especially when he said ' I have something to tell you.' Well if you have many movies like me, you can guess the storyline straight away, having this happen so fast took most of the tension out of the film.

Overall I enjoyed it but this movie. With the right script could have been a great film.

Overall not bad to waste and hour and a half.

Prey for the Devil (2022)

Okay for a rainy night

[4/10 · 19 December 2022]

After having read the good and bad reviews of this movie I decided to watch it without watching any trailers, which I think is better as lately for most films the trailers give most of the plot and best scenes of movies away.

So I am really torn with this movie as it had its really good points and some really bad points.

For instance some bad points, the first one was the twist in the middle of the film, I saw it coming off a mile away and it kind of spoilt it for me, the second disappointing thing was the ending, I could have written a better ending on a scrap piece of paper, why can't script writers make better endings of movies.

The overall movie was good and it is worth a watch but only once.

I must admit this year has been one of the most disappointing years for horror films, let's hope next year will be better.

Smile (V) (2022)

At last the first good horror film of 2022

[5/10 · 4 December 2022]

After seeing this I must say I had my doubts as the film started as I have been let down by all the horror films I have seen this year.

But as the movie progressed I am now saying that this has to be the best horror film of this year, of course this film had flaws, it wasn't perfect in any way.

The movie had an almost two hour runtime at that didn't matter as the movie moved at a fast pace, not once was I bored of the movie.

Now the only flaw in the film was when near the end we see the demon in the mum, this took a lot of pace and tension from the film and how she was got rid of, this as well was poor.

Overall though the movie was good and well worth a watch.

The Invitation (II) (2022)

Oh dear......

[3/10 · 3 December 2022]

First let me ask this simple question, what has happened to horror movies this year, nearly everyone I have seen has been really disappointing and not lived up to the hype they carry?

Now onto this movie, it was bad and where do I start? Well firstly the story, it started off good and then about fifteen minutes into the film we are led to believe the main actress is simple and hasn't a clue about strangers on the internet, then there are the effects, these went from okay to dreadful with the fire scene near the end of the film. Then there is the ending story, it almost became a female Blade style film, this totally ruined the film for me, it went beyond stupid.

A ruined chance of a film being good but again this shows the script writer didn't know how to carry on with this movie, give it a miss, I wish I did.

The Infernal Machine (2022)

Stand and applaud Guy Pearce

[5/10 · 1 December 2022]

After seeing this movie I thought firstly how good is Guy Pearce as an actor? It seems as if doesn't mind if the movie he is doing has less of a budget, like this one or a Hollywood blockbusters he stars in, he always gives a great performance.

This movie was excellent and kept you thinking about what was going to happen next, yes I rightly guessed a few if the twists and it didn't spoil my viewing but what I didn't like about this movie was the last fifteen minutes.

Why? Well it seemed once again the script writer didn't know how to end a movie and the way a trap was set, I won't say anymore about that, watch this movie first. The ending was the weakest bit of this fine film.

It's a very slow paced film and yes Guy Pearce holds this movie together.

All the other characters were not used enough in this film but as a low budget film it was worth a watch.

Significant Other (2022)

What a let down.

[3/10 · 1 December 2022]

After finishing this film I almost laughed to myself at how bad the movie went, in fact at how daft and silly the movie became.

Do t get me wrong until the woman went into the cave the film was very good and I thought yes to is is going to be really good, a tension filled movie but no, it's like. It's like the script writer didn't know what to do with movie.

After the cave scene, the tension went out of the movie and the special effects, did they actually think they were in the terminator movie, if you have seen this film then you will know what I am on about.

Also the effects were quite bad and they stood out a mile in this film.

Totally a missed opportunity for this movie, I feel bad for the actors in this film.

A huge let down.