stevendedalis Reviews

Hell House LLC (2015)

Intriguing Plot Line, Scary as Hell

[10/10 · 12 February 2020]

Hell House LLC is a found-footage horror film written and directed by Stephen Cognetti. It follows the plot of a group of haunted attraction creators who set up their attraction in the haunted Abaddon Hotel. Obviously everything is going to go wrong.

As the quote on the cover of the film's artwork states, this movie is "Scary as Hell." Which is quite ironic, due to the fact the entire movie is based on satanic rituals and the basis of hell. It is easily the scariest found-footage horror film out there today. It is up there with The Blair Witch Project in plot development as well.

I feel that this movie is, however, extremely misunderstood. Many see this film as a plot-hole filled, shaky found-footage movie that leads to a anticlimactic conclusion. However, to fully understand this film you must watch the second and third movie in the trilogy. This will explain many of the plot-holes and allow the viewer (including myself) to gain comprehension of what is going on.

Overall, I absolutely loved this film. I am a huge horror film fan, and this has to be the scariest I've ever watched. This movie is extremely underrated and misunderstood, but the only thing I can say to that is watch the entire trilogy and see for yourself why Hell House LLC is the greatest found-footage horror film to date.

Precious (II) (2009)

Most Are Lucky

[10/10 · 1 June 2019]

Watching this movie was quite the rollercoaster for myself. First off I will start with the structure of the film. The movie has tremendous acting and the production is extraordinary. Nothing about the making of the film or the acting drew my attention away from the movie. Onto the emotional side of the movie. This movie showed people how lucky most people are in relation for those few at the bottom that have nothing. It also shows how those people can accept and overcome their hardships to perfect themselves and become the truly great people that they are.

This movie was perfect, and there's nothing more to say about it. 10/10

After the Dark (2013)

Intriguing, but Lacking

[6/10 · 11 April 2019]

This movie has two main planes for the audience to follow. The outer plane and the inner plane. Both are interlocked, but different. The inner plane being the scenarios the teacher puts the students through. The outer being the very last minutes of the film in which Petra, the main character, finally chooses her answer to the tests. She chooses fun over intellectual strength.

As much as this film can intrigue and make your brain function for once while watching a screen, it can be illogical and misleading at times. The ending is seemingly pointless to me. While t reveals the outer plane of the film, it misleads the audience more than once in the final moments of the movie.

This film is not bad, and I would reccommend you to watch this. The only way to watch this, however, is with the mindset that the movie can mean more than what it depicts.

The Angry Birds Movie (2016)

Great

[7/10 · 18 September 2018]

The film was amazing. Funny story. Great visuals. Great voice acting. Everything was perfect about this film.

I understand the movie is based off of the killer game Angry Birds (obviously). The anger management class scenes were absolutely hilarious especially the one where they attempt to describe how Terrence got there.

The ending was amazing, as well as the beginning. Loved almost every second of the film.

There were a few flaws I found and I'm not a big fan of child's animation films, so that downgraded the review. Other than that, loved it! 7/10

Free Birds (2013)

Great voices. Terrific animation. Bad story

[6/10 · 18 September 2018]

I am not a frequent viewer of child animation films but this will be my odd case.

The big names of the film brought me to give it a try and I do not regret it.

The voice acting was phenomenal! Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson did terrific jobs and filled their roles perfectly. Also the animation was absolutely stunning. It looked amazing.

I normally do not judge the storyline of a child's animation film but this will be my exception. It is completely unrealistic and illogical.

Other than that, great film! 6/10

Tammy (2014)

Comical but Stupid

[7/10 · 18 September 2018]

Let's start off by saying that I am NOT a fan of comedy movies. Especially stupid comedy like Tammy. In fact, I probably couldn't name five comedy movies I actually like.

With that being said, I actually enjoyed Tammy a lot. It was absolutely hilarious to me. The stupid humor amused me, and I found myself laughing throughout the whole movie. Even the serious parts I found myself laughing remembering the previous scenes of the film.

The story is weird and in my opinion depicts every average Americans actions when things go wrong. Run away from your problems, and drink your money away.

I will most likely never rate a comedy movie this high again. Thanks for the laughs Tammy! 7/10

The Nun (2005)

Bad Acting, Great Story. What else...?

[3/10 · 18 September 2018]

I just want to start off by saying the storyline is terrific. Even though I don't believe in the majority of what is said including spirits and stuff, this is a terrific story. The spirit of the nun who was killed was released when the pond of holy water she was buried in was drained. She then begins to appear to her murderers and kills them. The interesting part, however, is the character's names which are all saints names, and they are killed as the saints they were named after were killed. Amazing.

The ending I could completely live without. I've seen too many movies try to pull the, "It was her the whole time" routine, and quite frankly, I hate it. The Nun was the daughter the whole time. Give me a break.

The acting was awful. I understand the movie was dubbed from Spanish to English but even the Spanish version acting was "God Awful."

The priest in training love story was pointless. Just used to fill time gaps needed to make the movie longer. Useless character and bad actor as well.

The people you wanted to die from the very beginning of the film are the sole survivors which irritated me.

Did I already mention the acting is awful?

Also this movie was executed horrendously. The idea of the movie was amazing, however, the execution and acting made the movie agonizing to witness.

The only reason I gave 3/10 stars instead of 1/10 is because of the story, other than that, don't waste your money or time watching this flick.

Viral (I) (2016)

Realistic but Boring Attempt at a new Pandemic...

[4/10 · 8 September 2018]

This film may be one of the most realistic apocalyptic horror films I may have ever seen. Although the parasitic approach was a bit stupid in my opinion, the execution and the work of the government to contain it would most likely happen if this event were true.

The government would seal off the area and not allow anyone in or out, and if it got too bad or if everyone died or turned into a parasitic abomoniation, they would blow the place up.

Also the film stayed true to how parasites work. How to get rid of them, how to feed them, etc. Although the parasites depicted in the film were unrealistic, the way they acted and worked was the opposite.

Don't let the first three paragraphs fool you however. This film may be realistic, but it is extremely boring and at times just plain dumb.

No truly interesting events happen until the last forty minutes of them film, and the stuff that does happen is just a typical attempt to frighten the viewer in any way possible. The execution of the horror aspects of the film was horrible.

The characters are constantly doing stupid and unrealistic things that no right-minded human would ever do. Such as going out to a party after being told not too and frightened by the news, government, and their father.

Overall, the movie was just too boring for myself. Although slightly more realistic than most horror films, it is for sure more boring than most as well. 4/10

The Beaver (2011)

Depression and Puppets

[5/10 · 6 September 2018]

Unique. The one word I would use to describe the entire film is unique. It is full of questions never answered, the ending is, in my honest opinion, bad, and the main character is a puppet.

Wow that is a lot of unique ideas being poured into a serious drama about depression. The main character (Mel Gibson) is depressed and his wife (Jodie Foster) kicks him out. He finds a beaver puppet in the dumpster and turns that into his second personality to help save him from his depression. It works surprisingly. Then he goes back to the dumps. Then he is back again. And then the movie is over.

Terrible ending in my opinion. The movie left so much unfinished and unanswered questions that still lie in my mind. Such as his job, his sanity/health, and his family as a whole. They could easily make a second movie like this, but please don't.

As much as the movie is interesting, unique, creative, and playful, it is equally as annoying, bad, and simply confusing and dumb at parts.

Overall, this unique film has a lot of elements that are good and a lot that are bad so it falls at a lovely 5/5 rating.

The Grudge (2004)

Let me see if I got this right:

[4/10 · 4 September 2018]

So basically we have a man who finds out his wife is pervertedly cheating on him with an American professor and he kills her, the cat, and their child in return. Apparently in Japan, when you kill someone in an act of rage, a curse is put open the place and everyone that comes in there will die.

Wow! Just wow. The thought is scary enough. Wait no, that's not the right word. Maybe it is stupid?

Come on! Not only is he idea of the movie stupid, the bringing forth of the film is worse. Open the door, there it is. Open another door, there the other one is! It is so repetitive, there is near no gore, no jump scares, nothing to keep me interested.

Going in to seeing this I had high hopes. I had heard good things about it. But I want to put those lies to rest. If you are reading this, don't waste your time to watch this film. I guarantee this review is more interesting and DEFINATELY more scary than The Grudge.

As Above, So Below (2014)

Here we go

[5/10 · 2 September 2018]

This movie is all over the place in both crazy, interesting, and just plain stupid.

The crazy: So here we have two characters in there early to mid-twenties. Somehow the girl has 2 Ph.Ds and speaks six languages fluently. The guy can translate languages that have been dead for hundreds of years in a matter of seconds.

The interesting: The movie is basically a symbolic runoff of Dante's Inferno. Going through the Nine Circles of Hell, going through hell to get out of hell, etc. This part is interesting, but when watching the movie for the first time it is extremely confusing. In fact, it was so confusing I had to look up what the movie was actually about.

The Stupid: The majority of the movie rests here in the stupid section. We have multiple scenes that stuck out to me in particular. Such as the car on fire. The man is dragged into the fire by nothing and then is seen only with his legs dangling while the rest of his body is underground. Yes I understand they are in hell, but this is just so stupid. Next we have the stone. A one-time use stone that can heal anything and apparently bring people back to life. And then the main character realizes that "she is the stone". Do you understand how stupid that phrase sounds?

Overall, this movie was an extremely good representation of hell. However, it is so confusing and some parts are so unrealistic and stupid that I myself was heard just laughing at the sheer stupidity of the writers.

My rating originally started at a 3/10 but I increased it to 5/10 after reading the symbolism of the movie.

Run Fatboy Run (2007)

Funny, but Stupid

[6/10 · 1 September 2018]

The film is basically a near two hour feature of a man trying to get back with a girl whom he leaves at the alter by running a marathon. And somehow it works! If I had this man's persistence and luck I would be a rich man.

The movie is extremely dull and quite frankly stupid until the end. The ending shows a lot of motivation and inspiring scenes. The story final comes truly alive and the film is enjoyable for a few minutes.

Overall, a decent film. 6/10

Cube (1997)

Interesting

[7/10 · 1 September 2018]

Cube is an interesting film.

It is very unique and has a lot of elements you would not expect from a low-budget film like this.

However, this unique aspect of the film is not a negative thing. I believe it increases the affect the film has on its audience.

Decent film. 7/10

The Bay (II) (2012)

Realistic Effect makes the film all the better!

[8/10 · 1 September 2018]

The Bay is, in my opinion, a more realistic film than most other thriller and horror movies. Realistic cameras, and even some of the events are much more possible than those of other "zombie" or "apocalyptic" films. I understand where the hate for the movie comes from. There is not much action. However, this movie is fairly informational and puts a lot of focus on current environmental issues in the world.

This film has a deeper meaning to what it looks like. It looks like a film about parasites killing an entire town. However, I believe the symbols and imagery link the film's story to current environmental issues.

Overall, not a bad film. 8/10

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)

Not understood, but great!

[10/10 · 16 August 2018]

The film is great. In fact, the majority of the franchises' movies are spectacular. The reason most people disagree is because the storyline can be hard to follow. The writers and directors understood the direction the films were heading. I watched all six movies consecutively, so it was easy to follow the story. However, most watched as the films came out, which would make for confusing cliffhangers and forgotten backstory.

Overall, this specific film is a masterpiece. Being misunderstood is not easy, especially when you are a movie.

Also many people complain about the editing and effects. "Why can't they do simple action packed scenes without shaking he camera?" First off, I have never seen an action scene without quick camera direction changes or shakiness. Second, I feel this adds to the intensity of the scene.

Most people writing these reviews look at one aspect of the film, and then criticize it harshly. Don't read the reviews in the first place. Watch the movie yourself, and judge it for your tastes, not someone else's.