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Heojil kyolshim (2022)
Quality film-making.
This film was very well put together by all involved, I feel that films with such a feeling of quality are getting fewer and further between these days so it is always a welcome enjoyment in finding one.
This film feels as though it could of been made twenty years ago and I mean that in the best way possible, nice to see this director has still got it.
Right from the start the film holds a commanding yet calming presence, things are uneasy yet also tranquil in this near dream-like mystery.
The deep atmosphere produced by the film is, I feel, a direct result of skillful and interesting camera work, great music perfectly encapsulating each scene and the cast performing at a high level. All masterfully woven together.
Definitely recommend to any fans of slow/atmospheric mystery, I find it hard to give this any lower than an 8/10.
Kim Bok-nam salinsageonui jeonmal (2010)
Overrated garbage.
Unfortunately this one is heavily over-rated. Bear in mind I typically like these revenge movies in the vein of Martyrs or Spit on your grave etc. And usually enjoy movies from this region, so was excited to see a Korean spin on the idea sort of crossed with Hills have eyes.
However what the above mentioned films do well is just lacking here. I would say the acting is fine, and it is technically sound and decently made but this doesn't make up for what is missing.
First of all we all know what's going to happen in these films before we click play so let's not pretend the story is anything groundbreaking, however I do believe the setting is a good idea for the genre if it were excecuted better.
The main problem I had is the film lacks any feeling of humanity, we just spend the first hour watching a very shallow and badly written character watch evil take place and do nothing, in-fact she even helps evil at some points. (And be prepared the film has some truly disgusting content that was not needed.) Not one character felt like a real human, not even close. The script was so incredibly ham-fisted I was truly surprised this picture has held above a 7 rating, we have seen much better from this region specifically and the genre overall, this does not deserve a 7 by any stretch of the imagination, which this film was also lacking.
So after you put up with that first hour you expect the payoff to at least feel...I don't know, satisfying or meaningful in some way right? But the revenge falls even shorter than the films failed attempts at building any tension or characters.
So in short I'd say avoid this one even if you consider yourself a fan of the genre. No need to watch this, you aren't missing anything apart from watching the dregs of humanity do evil stuff. 4/10.
Barbarian (2022)
Shockingly overrated.
I am starting to totally lose faith in modern horror movies at this point. Once again a complete and utter failure in every single aspect of "horror" while continuing the trend of every other modern horror in absolutely saturating the film in current social commentary and conditioning.
Below average on; cast, camera work, screenplay, editing, sets, design, sound & music (if you can call weird wailing sounds that). Weak characters and poor dialogue with, most importantly, NO HORROR.
Not only does this film fall flat in technical terms & creativity but it also feels the need to preach to you it's social politics message constantly. Please stop injecting this into every film.
Disappointing 3/10.
Hostiles (2017)
Excellent story telling
This film is an absolute master-class in story telling. I'm going to run out of positive adjectives to accurately describe how good this is.
The film expertly, and in un-compromising style, tells us a story of loss, pain, anger, hatred, confliction, personal growth, revenge, forgiveness, hope, friendship, respect, honor and love.
It does so through a set of authentic, realistic characters to which the perfect casting has been realised. Every character in the film feels like a real person with depth both negative and positive, not just one dimensional goals.
Every scene in this film is saturated with quality performances from the cast, high quality camera work and accompanying music. The combination of these elements makes for a very immersive & satisfying journey.
Also, it is worth commending how the film doesn't rely on over-the-top gore/violence for the sake of it while simultaniously it does not shy away from it or try to hide it either. Over all just very well done.
Top-tier "modern made western", even if you're not necessarily a fan of the genre it's worth a watch. 9/10.
Alone (2020)
Average "escape the psycho" movie
I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a little bit of a disappointing watch.
Although the film does start reasonably well in the first act, with a good start into building tension thanks to Marc Menchaca absolutely nailing his part as the psycho along with decent sound design and some good camera work setting the tone.
This however goes almost entirely out of the window once we get to the second act onwards. It's hard to say exactly why without spoiling anything but the film completely loses it's quality.
The sense of tension is pretty much lost entirely, the amount of plot holes and plain stupid character decisions are way too frequent for this type of film and I found Jessica's character pretty unlikable to begin with but I at least expected some kind of development to her character as there often is in these types of movies - no, none of that here.
A good start let down by a disappointing second & third act. Average time-waster movie, 5/10.
House of Darkness (2022)
What a let down
What sounded like an interesting enough premise for a little horror/comedy was unfortunately let down by it's very poor excecution.
I am usually a fan of Justin Long and I do think he is well suited to horror/comedy but here it felt there was nothing he could have done to save the script & it's characters' awful dialogue.
The bad dialogue along with bad lighting; which was noticably bad in almost every scene. The poor acting from the three sisters was just tiring to say the least. The pacing was absolutely off, I can't call it a "slow-burn" because it never heated up, it just wandered about for 70 minutes followed by the most predictable and down-right lazy ending I could have possibly imagined.
These things wouldn't even be so much of an issue if the movie actually had any comedy to speak of, seriously don't get why it's tagged as "horror, comedy". This just wasn't it.
It wasn't deliberately bad in order to be funny, it was just bad. There was no comedic dialogue what-so-ever or any chemistry between any of the cast. Literally just felt like almost every piece of dialogue was the tired old "All men bad blah blah blah". Honestly tired of this crap being in modern movies so I will call it out.
2/10 pointless garbage.
Speak No Evil (2022)
Just plain terrible.
Absolutely terrible film on almost all fronts, I rarely feel the need to write a negative review and will only do so if a film leaves me with a truly negative response.
Let me pre-fix this "review" by saying I often enjoy indie/low-budget/b-movies etc. And was looking forward to this as it seemed to be my kind of film. I have not read any other reviews before watching or writing this.
I struggle to even put into words how bad the plot is here without spoilers so I'll put it like this - You know when you watch a bad movie and question some decisions of characters? You will question every single decision made in this film by not only the characters but also the film makers/director & writer. The dialogue is god-awful and that is what 90% of this film consists of in it's honestly poor attempt at building tension. Slow burn is fine if your plot is good enough but one hour of nothing, and i mean literally nothing happening is just awful to watch. No character building, little to no setting the scene just no connection to our main cast what-so-ever in the first two acts. It somehow manages to take it's time when it shouldn't while also rushing when it shouldn't. Just very poor pacing.
After taking an hour to get started but at the same time feeling like nothing has happened at all, we get to the third and final act of the film, which I wont spoil here but you ain't missing much. This is where the "slow-build" of these types of films typically pays off, yet here we are met with tragic dissapointment once more. Not only does the film go in the exact direction you will have guessed about half an hour in, but it does so in the most flat, un-inspired, un-original and simply un-satisfying way.
The ending here is maybe the most perfect example of "falling flat on it's face" but this film was barely moving to begin with.
Even technically the directing/acting/sound/shots/editing all sub-par at best.
I can only give this a 2/10, terribly dissapointing.
Crush the Skull (2015)
Surprisingly good.
Pleasantly surprised with this decent horror/thriller-comedy.
While it may seem low budget to begin with, stick with it as this movie is not hindered by this.
The cast is great with some proper funny dialogue, but the film still manages to keep a level of tension throughout. The story is nothing groundbreaking but takes a couple of twists & turns you might not expect.
Altogether a well made, enjoyable movie. 7/10.
Rang song (2021)
Excellent pure horror.
Everything this film does, is done to a very high standard. While it may not be the most original idea, it is rare to find horror of this genre executed so well. Also it's nice to see a film that just knows what it's doing and doesn't rush it.
Great cast, visuals and audio were quality.
Definitely a must see for any horror fans. 9/10.
I onde dager (2021)
Positively surprised!
An awesome, well made comedy-thriller with real laugh out loud moments AND some brutal scenes.
Great story for this genre, I thought it was well executed with a good cast. Definitely worth a watch, easy 7/10.
Blood Red Sky (2021)
Awesome horror / thriller!
Very well made horror/thriller with a unique story, the less you know before watching the better. Great performances from the cast.
One of the better horror films for this year.
Easily an 8/10.
Scare Me (2020)
Enjoyable comedy-horror anthology.
Yes it's a low budget "B-movie", but what this film does with it turned out great in my opinion. Anyone who knows they can enjoy "b-movie horror" will enjoy this if you are looking for a decent comedy-horror.
The opening scene was a little off when compared to the rest of the movie, but once it gets going and the "stories" start, it gets much better.
Overall - A fun, b-movie style, comedy-horror anthology movie, a few good scares and some laughs with a decent "backgroud plot". Good cast for the most part and decent camera work, with no silly over-the-top editing, made this an enjoyable film.
5/10.