Nomislair Reviews

Ripper 2: Letter from Within (2004)

Not as bad as its reputation

[6/10 · 30 November 2005]

OK, OK this is far from the best horror film out there, and is definitely not as good as the first Ripper film, but its not that bad if you enjoy slasher flicks. Trust me, i've got the 'Horror Channel' here in the UK, and i've seen some very very poor horror films lately to compare this against.

Yes the 'virtual reality' part of the plot is a bit stale and the 'twist' ending is one of the oldest around, but very little in the slasher genre is new these days. However the killer looked and sounded cool, and the fact that is was in fact Mollys 'dark side' that was stalking her in virtuality was something new in my book.

The worst part of the film was the sex dungeon sequence in the nightclub, even as a bloke, and therefor a fan of T&A, it just seemed stuck on for the sake of it, and could of been heavily edited to fit the plot without coming across as gratuitous.

A personal mention goes to actress Myfanwy Waring who unfortunately gets killed early on in the film, as its good to hear a gorgeous Welsh accent in a film.

Verdict - If you liked Ripper, and like slasher films, give it a watch (if you can find it) and enjoy it for what it is. 6 out of 10

Boo (2005)

Head and shoulders above most Hollywood horrors....

[9/10 · 14 November 2005]

I watched this last night after paying a fair bit to get this on import here in the UK on the strength of the trailer alone, and wasn't disappointed. This film has to be my favourite horror film of 2005 and p****s from a great height over the majority of Hollywood "horror" films of recent years despite its low budget. I consider myself to be a horror veteran and this film creeped me out even though it contains elements from films you will have already seen (House on haunted Hill springs to mind). The location is fantastic, I think one of the characters even comments on the fact that you don't need to do much to scare people given that location, and its true, the place is scary as hell. The cast do well considering they are not the most well known actors, and you don't notice the lack of a big budget except at one point. I won't spoil any of the elements of the film further and leave it to saying that this is what horror films should be like, atmospheric, creepy, characters who react in believable (well mostly) ways and deserved to get a full theatrical release. The makers of Ghost Ship should be made to watch this film, the makers of Resident Evil should be made to watch some of the scenes in the basement and shown what those films could have been like if they'd done them properly.

Very very good horror, recommended if you can pick it up