Tag Archives: horror

The Diabolical (2015) Review

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One from the to watch pile…
The Diabolical (2015)

The Australian Blu-ray cover of The Diabolical


Film: I love it when a movie surprises me with a plot twist or a change of direction. I don’t necessarily mean a last ten minute jaw-dropper like in an M. Night Shymalan film, but instead a gear shift part way through. The perfect example of this would be something like From Dusk Til Dawn. At first, your enjoying a total Quentin Tarantino-styled American gangster flick, and then, the clutch is pumped and the gear stick flicked into reverse and it becomes a total Robert Rodriguez Mexicano vampire film.

The Diabolical does this, but not to the extent that QT and RR’s film did. Instead, it takes elements touched on in, believe it or not, Lucio Fulci’s House By The Cemetery, and expands upon them by throwing tropes of another genre that don’t always belong in a story about the supernatural. A warning on the contents of this film could also have the disclaimer ‘may contain traces of The Butterfly Effect’.

The film is slick and well made by first time director Alistair Legrand who co-wrote this film with another first-timer Luke Harvis.

Ali Later as Madison from The Diabolical


Single mum Madison (Ali Larter) has a few problems. Not only is the eldest of her two kids, Jacob (Mx Rose) been acting violently to other kids since the death of his father, but the house they live in (with youngest child, Haley played by Chloe Perrin) is haunted by not one, and not two, but three different spectres. In addition, she may also get kicked out of her home due to unpaid bills, though salvation in this case may be coming in the form of an offer from creepy CamSet employee Austin (Patrick Fischler).

Madison has exhausted all the local priests and paranormal investigators for help with her ghost problem, but when her physicist boyfriend, Nikolai (Arjun Gupta), finds out about it, he decides to assist her in her investigation but during the course of their research, she finds out that maybe HE is a part of her problem… and maybe Austin is more involved than he seems…

What’s great about the script to this film that upon rewatching, the ‘twist’ is hinted to on several occasions, which makes the depth of the script all that more enjoyable, and doesn’t just feel like the pancake flip that From Dusk Til Dawn was.

Amonster from The Diabolical


If I am to criticise this film on anything, it’s two minor things. One, the title The Diabolical really has no reference point in this film as nothing devilish is going on at all. The other problem is the ending is a little bit soft, especially considering how strong the rest of the film is.

That aside, it’s a great film with some great performances that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Score: ****

The Diabolical Bluray title screen


Format: This Australian, region B blu-ray release of this film is in a 1.78:1 presentation, which for the most part is really sharp, but occasionally loses focus around the edge, which is quite strange. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, though, is perfect.

Score: ***1/2

Extras: The disc starts with trailers for Bus 657 and The Drownsman but the only other extras are images of the covers for the films Dark House, Pay the Ghost and Into The Grizzly Maze.

Shame, as the film was clever enough to warrant even a small making of, if just for the twist and the make up effects.

Score: *

WISIA: It’s an entertaining film and has one of my favourites Ali Larter in it so it’ll get looked at again.

Patrick Fischler in The Diabolocal

The Cabin in the Woods (2012) Review

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One from the re watch pile…
Cabin in the Woods (2012)


Film: Occasionally a film is made that adapts the tropes of an aspect of horror and creates a new fun way of making we, the movie fan, re-evaluate why we like those types of films, and maybe, like I do, revisit the older films of it type with not just the nostalgic affection, but with a wry reflection and a different appreciation.

Wes Craven’s Scream did it for me when it came out in the nineties, and my love of the slasher increased and made me seek out more. Cabin in the Woods is another of its ilk, but this time, we taste, obviously, the stories that take place in forbidden places (like cabins in the woodses) and teens who dally with forbidden objects d’evil.


Our film starts in a governmental research facility where two of the workers, Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) and Hadley (Bradley Whitford) are discussing the fact that only Japan and themselves are able to perform some unknown function after the failure of another institute.

We are then quickly introduced to a group of friends, Dana (Kristin Connelly), her friend, the newly blonded Jules (Anna Hutchison), her boyfriend, Curt (Chris Hemsworth), his friend, Holden (Jesse Williams) and their token stoner, Shaggy-styled buddy, Marty (Fran Kranz) who have decided to take a trip to one of Curt’s cousin’s new cabin, which happens to be in the woods.

Hence the clever name.

What they don’t realise is that conspiracy theorists are right: the government is out to get you, and in this case, the government is offering them up to… Something (which I am definitely NOt going to spoil here as its part of the fun of the film)… Something dark and evil, but why? Who is in charge… And who is REALLY in charge?


The film was written by Joss Whedon (who also produced) and Drew Goddard (who also directed), both of whom worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the light tone with touches of violence and cool monsters reflects that, though I find this film to be far better than any episode of Buffy ever made, mainly due to the cast of this film being totally likeable, and I thought most of the side kicks in Buffy were, well, dicks.

The monsters in this film are the real heroes, and there is a lot of them. If you really REALLY look closely (and explore the extras and rewatch repeatedly), you’ll see so many films being referenced, like Hellraiser, zombie films, The Strangers, The Blob, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Ring, It and others. It also references heaps of more non-cinematic beasts like goblins, and unicorns, and giants. It’s like a Guillermo Del Toro wet dream!

This film is a blast to watch, especially for horror-kids, as it was written and directed and produced by horror-kids. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Score: ****1/2


Format: The Cabin in the Woods was reviewed on a region B bluray, which also came with a digital copy of the film. The film runs for 95 minutes, and is presented in a 2.35:1 image with a Dolby DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 soundtrack, both of which are immaculate, as you would expect a modern film in a modern format to be.

Score: *****

Extras: The disc opens with trailers for Piranha 3DD, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and Lockout before taking us to the main menu, and an extravaganza of special features!

The Audio commentary is performed by Goddard and Whedon, and is a pretty thorough, fun and engaging commentary.

We Are Not Who We Are: Making The Cabin in the Woods looks at the creation and evolution of what became the film we are here to celebrate. It’s really about the process that Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard went through to get the exact look and tone for the film.

An Army of Nightmares: Makeup and Animatronic Effects looks at the monsters that feature in the film and their construction. It’s awesome to see A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Nancy, aka Heather Anderson (formally Langencamp) now well entrenched in the spfx business with her husband, David Leroy Anderson.

Primal Terror: Visual Effects flips the previous extra and now we look at all the CGI in the film.

Marty’s Stash sees actor Fran Kranz explore his character Marty’s collection of fake (one would assume) drug paraphernalia.

Hi, My Name Is Joss and I’ll Be Your Guide sees Whedon tour the set of the actual cabin in the woods, which was actually a set in a soundstage.

Wonder-con Q&A is performed with Geoff Boucher from the LA Times with Whedon and Goddard post screening of the film.

The extras are all quite thorough and go for around 20 minutes to a half hour each, so you come out of the extras line well-educated on the making of the film, and for an extras nut like me, that is well cool.

I have to also highlight just how epic the hero poster is of the film, the Rubik’s Cube Cabin, which is a striking image that really defines the film perfectly, and subliminally.

Score: *****


WISIA: You can watch this film 30 times and still not catch all the homages to other horror films, so rewatching is essential! Geoff Boucher says in the Wondercon Q and A that he wishes there were trading cards of the monsters… I agree!!!

New Rob Zombie shirts from Fright Rags!

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If you liked the Alice Cooper shirts that Fright Rags did a few months ago, you might just dig these Rob Zombie designs announced today!


Now you won’t have to dig through ditches or burn witches to get this lot, they will all be available for  $27 US (plus delivery). Some of these designs are also available as tank tops or baseball shirts.

All photos (c) Fright Rags.

Fright Rags – On Tour and Screaming!

by in Deathgasm, Fright Rags, Scream, To Watch Pile and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Well my favourite clothing company have done it again! A new bunch of shirts that will no doubt make it into my wardrobe of doom.

The first shirt is from the New Zealand film Deathgasm, and is presented as an awesome tour shirt:

The Deathgasm shirt is available now!

Now send your mind back to 1996 when Wes Craven saved horror from becoming the new western, and all but disappearing from cinema altogether. He created another definitive horror icon in Ghostface, and… It’s about time… His iconic Edvard Munch-ish ‘Scream’ Ghostface masked killer will be available on T shirts as of 27th July.

Honestly I don’t know how I’ve survived this long without one!


As ever there ARE other designs available button see them you need to visit Fright Rags!!

Zombi 3 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (1988) review

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One from the re watch pile…
Zombi 3 aka Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 (1988)


Film: I have a very special place in my heart for the work of Lucio Fulci. Why? Because he’s freakin’ AWESOME! I was brought up on some of his films on VHS, specifically The Beyond and City of the Living Dead, and since the advent of DVD and Bluray, I’ve been able to expand my exposure to his work, and even though there are several missteps, and a lot of nutso stuff pumped out of his factory, I have a great affection for it all.

Ok, I’ve gotten the fanboy stuff out of the way, now for the ‘professional’ review, and I’ll point out that even though I like watching his films, I am well aware of the shortcomings of some of them. This film, known as both Zombi 3 and Zombi Flesh Eaters 2, is a real item of its time. It riffs on so many films, such as Return of the Living Dead and The Crazies, but doesn’t have the budget, or talent either in front of the cameras, or tragically behind them.


This film was written by Claudio Fragasso, though IMDB mentions Rossella Drudi who wrote Troll 2, and this is such a dog’s breakfast I see no reason why that wouldn’t be true, but her involvement isn’t the only reason for this film’s confusion. Fulci had a stroke during production, and the directorial reigns were handed to both Fragasso and second unit director Bruno Mattei, who dumped some of Fulci’s 70 minute cut, taking it to 50 minutes, and added 40 minutes of their own footage.

When a toxin is stolen from a research lab, it accidentally infects the thief. The toxic dies once airborne, but when transfer from human to human, via blood, or breath (hang on, isn’t that ‘airborne’?) or saliva, or other gooey, mucusy bits, it turns the infected into a violent, zombie-like crazy.

The original thief is found and his body destroyed by the army in a crematorium, but the doctor’s inform them that this was a stupid idea as the smoke could transfer the virus… You know, airborne (as fire cause it to mutate, obviously)… and infect even more people, or…um… Birds.


*sigh*

… And yes, birds and people are indeed infected and a zombie outbreak happens, as we follow a small group of holiday-makers and on-leave soldiers as they try to survive…

Ok, so there is so much wrong with this film. The cinematography is terrible at some points, one in particular is a car hood mounted camera looking into a windscreen that has a strong reflection on it, completely obscuring the occupant of the vehicle. Some of the dialogue is either completely crap, or ‘borrowed’ directly from Return of the Living Dead, also stolen from ROTLD is the way some of the music cues are presented: actually ROTLD is a source for a lot of the film. Especially fun is the acting… Well, the over-acting. The main Doctor character acts like he is in a Power Rangers outfit: you know what I mean, hands waving around, head wobbling and you know what a William Shatner impersonation sounds like? Well he talks like that!


In spite of, or maybe (probably) because of these reasons it’s actually entertaining. I mean, your mate who loves big budget, world destroying CGI fests is not going to find much here to enjoy, but you spaghetti-loving, Italian film fans are gonna roll their eyes in ecstasy.

Be warned: this isn’t a good film, it’s a fun roller coaster!

Score: **

Format: The film was reviewed as a part of 88 Films’ ‘The Italian Collection’. It is a region B Blu-ray Disc presented in 1.66:1 widescreen with a LPCM 2.0 track, both of which are pretty good.

Score: ****

Extras: Wonderful extras live in this two disc set. The first disc gives us alternate Italian opening and closing sequences, interviews with Dell’acqua (in a piece called Veteren of the Living Dead) MacColl (in a live Q & A with terrible sound), Ring (Zombie Reflections which is more a stills gallery with a voiceover about her career played over it, nothing wrong with that but again, the audio is substandard) and Fragasso, and a trailer reel featuring Children of the Corn, Don’t Go In The Woods, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man, Mother’s Day, Slaughterhouse, Trancers and Splatter University.


The second disc, called ‘Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered’ is a collection of interviews divided into three sections: Accomplices (his cohorts in the making of his films), Peers (other Italian directors of the period), and Victims (his actors and actresses). It is a nice collection of tributes and anecdotes of the man, and something Fulci fans will enjoy.

Score: *****

WISIA: It’s dumb, but it’s fun, so yeah, even though it got a low score, I’d probably watch it again for kicks.

The VVitch (2015) Review

by in 10s, The VVitch, The Witch, To Watch Pile and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

One from the to watch pile…
The Witch (2015)


Film: My journey to see this film is an unusual one. I heard a single track of Mark Korvan’s amazing score, I can’t remember where (it was possibly on the soundtrack-centric, and well worth listening to podcast The Damn Fine Cast) and had to grab the entire soundtrack, on vinyl of course!

Korvan uses a bizarre mix of instruments, including the waterphone and the hurdy-gurdy, to create this soundscape that is bizarre and horrifying, but more importantly, intriguing. As soon as this was released on bluray, I was at my local retailer, eftPOS card at the ready!

Was I disappointed? Not at all!


Set in the early 1600s in New England, The Witch tells of a family who are kicked out of a walled town due to their religious practices differing from the rest of the town. They travel a day by horse and cart away from the town and set up a small farm just outside a large ominous forest.

The eldest daughter, Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy) is playing with the youngest child, a baby when it is snatched by something from right under her nose… literally. Her father, William (Ralph Ineson) and mother, Katherine (Kate Dickie) tell her and the other children, Caleb (Harvey Grimshaw) and twins Mercy (Ellie Granger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson) to stay away from the forest.

The isolation and the pain of the missing child start to form cracks in the family’s relationships, and when Caleb disappears, accusation of witch-hood start flying, but is the threat from within the family, or if there really something evil in the woods?


Immediately I have to compliment this film on its visuals. It feels ‘wet’ to watch, and there is this amazing, cloying, claustrophobic feeling throughout the whole film, and that’s an emotional claustrophobia as well!

The acting is all top shelf, which is a great feat considering almost half the cast are young children (I don’t count the baby as one of them, I mean, the actor just played a baby… I hope they don’t get typecast!) and they had to contend with goats, which aren’t the most compliant of animals to have in a film. Also the whole film is performed in Ye Olde English, which takes a few minutes to acclimatise to, but once you get it, you completely understand.

Writer/director Robert Eggars has created a complex film with a very deliberate pacing that is visually beautiful, audibly disturbing (with the aforementioned Korvan’s score) and leaves the viewer relieved with its freeing resolve after spending 90 minutes with a family whose religion and lifestyle is so oppressive.

Score: ***1/2

Format: The review copy was an Australian, region B bluray which also comes with an Ultraviolet copy. The film is presented in a quite beautiful 1.66:1 widescreen with an amazing DTS-HS Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack.


Score: *****

Extras: Unfortunately, none.

Score: 0


WISIA: This is a visually beautiful, complex, repeat watcher if there ever was one.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016) Review

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One from the to watch pile…
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)


Film:  

A few years ago, the cool literary thing to do was to take a classic piece of literature, mix it with elements of horror and turn it into an amusing variation on the original text. The first of these was when Quirk Books’ editor Jason Redulak approached Seth Graeme-Smith with the title and idea of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; the concept being taking Jane Austin’s public domain book and ‘remastering’ it with elements of a zombie apocalypse.

The idea took off, and a glut of like-minded sequels and imitators emerged, but this one stood out with its ability to maintain the ‘proper’ elements of Austin’s text with a refreshing tongue-in-cheekiness. It maintains the themes of the original, and the addition of the zombie apocalypse somehow fits seamlessly.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before it was adapted to the cinematic form, and what a victory it is!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is set in England in the early 1800s, after a time where the undead have returned to life. Of course, proper society must prevail, but everyone; men, women and children, are taught combative ways to defend themselves and their families against the undead.


Our tale is of Elizabeth Bennett (Lily James) and her four sisters who reside on a country estate with their parents, and are well trained with gun, sword and in Chinese martial arts. Her mother has a fascination with making sure all her daughters marry well so they can be ‘taken care of’, but Elizabeth is a strong willed girl who resists.

She meets a well versed, and austere zombie killer named Colonel Darcy (Sam Riley) whom she immediately dislikes, but even more so after she meets an ex-friend of his, Lt George Wickham (Jack Hutson) who tells her tales of bastardry performed by Darcy upon him.

Wickham shows Elizabeth that the zombies aren’t all they seem, and that perhaps mankind can live alongside zombiekind, but wherever she goes, Darcy seems to show up, but is it accidental, or is he quite taken with Elizabeth?

Also, attacks by zombies seems to be coming more frequent… Is it just a coincidence, or is someone organising them to attack the living?

I must admit to having a lot of trouble reviewing this film as whilst I totally enjoy the zombie aspect of it, and it is quite funny, I wasn’t sure if it was a horror film, but instead a parody. Eventually I told my brain to shut up, and just flowed along its river.

The action and effects are great, though those who hate CGI for hates sake will probably criticise the blood splattering effects. The fighting is all well choreographed and played with great comedy timing, and the zombie make up is fantastic.

The zombie mythos within the confines of the story are a nice breath of fresh air over the usual ‘get bit and eat shit’ style. These zombies can maintain a sense of humanity, as long as they don’t eat human brains, which is a nice change from the modern day World War Z styled zombies who instantly turn into a berserk enraged hunger monster, which is just not what a proper educated zombie would do!


The casting is perfect as well, and all the girls (Bella Heathcoate, Suki Waterhouse, Millie Brady and Ellie Bamber) are played as coquettish as they should, and are all beautiful. The men are mostly square-jawed and bold, and the Bennett parents, played by Charles Dance and Sally Phillips are the perfect straight man and stooge. A special acknowledgement has to made of Lena Heady as zombie fighting heroine Lady Catherine De Bourgh who plays the tough type in the fashion she always does.


Truly the hero of the casting in that of ex-Doctor Who Matt Smith. His portrayal of the foppish Parson Collins, whom has hopes of making Elizabeth his bride,is so effeminate and precious that it would have made Hugh Grant jealous. Truly here he nailed a positively hilariously ‘English’ character.

All in all this film was a real fun and enjoyable watch, but is hardly a horror film. It really is a period drama that happens to have zombies in it.

Score: ***1/2

Format: This review was done with the Australian release, region B bluray. The image is presented in 2.40:1 with a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, and both are impeccable.

Score: *****

Extras: Heaps of extras on this disc. First, there is a blooper reel, and a few unnecessary deleted scenes, and then we get to the meat of the disc.


Creating the Unmentionables looks at the design and execution of the zombies.

From Austin to Zombies: Adapting a Classic is not just about adapting the book to the film, but also how it was completely necessary to keep the ‘Austin-ness’ to it for it to efficiently work.

Mr Collins Line-O-Rama gives Matt Smith the limelight as he delivers and re-delivers several of his lines.

The Badass Bennett Sisters looks at the development of the various fighting styles of the actresses playing the Bennett sisters.

Courtship, Class and Carnage: Meet the Cast looks at the cast choices of the film.

Score: ****

WISIA: It’s charming, so I can see myself watching it again.

Celebrate ALIENS with Fright Rags

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On the 22nd June, horror and sci-fi T shirt specialists Fright Rags are delivering us some fantastic ALIENS 30th anniversary product to celebrate our collective love for those chest-bursting bastards.

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6 different T shirt designs will be produced, including this limited to 500 box set above which comes with the version 1 T shirt, a ‘Bug-Stomper’ sticker and a set of 4 8×10 lobby cards.

01465-Aliens-V6_large

Also, there will be a baseball T available, and what I’m most excited about is ALIENS socks!!!

16058-Aliens-Socks_large

I’ll finally be able to retire my current favorite socks from Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.

I haven’t shown all the designs here because you should go to Fright Rags and check it out for yourself before it’s game over, man… GAME OVER!!!!

 

(all images Copyright (c) Fright Rags)