Drag Me to Hell: Test Screening Review

By Nick Valentine (Firstshowing)

Drag Me to Hell follows the story of an ancient evil that attaches itself to a loan officer, Christine (Alison Lohman), after the most heinous, evil, elderly gypsy of all time casts a hellish curse upon her. Accompanied by her boyfriend Clay (Justin Long), the desperate Christine relies on a seer to try and save her soul whilst the ancient demon torments her every aspect of life with the sole purpose of literally dragging her to hell. What you should be taking away from that plot summary is as follows: evil, old gypsy; hellish curse; ancient demon. With that in mind, know that this is not a film where the story is all that important. I mean, the entire conceit of the film is summed up, quite completely, in its title. But when it's Sam Raimi doing horror — the story really isn't why you're there at all.

We open in the past, where a woman battles for the soul of a young boy. She loses the battle, and the boy is drug into the very depths of hell. Then we flash-forward and meet Christine, a straight-laced professional, always looking to do the right thing, until Mrs. Ganush enters her world. After Christine denies the evil, elderly gypsy an extension on her loan payment, Mrs. Ganush attacks! In the dark parking garage after closing time, an epic battle is waged. There's a stapler involved, a projectile ruler, multiple car crashes, a set of dentures, and an excessively awesome amount of Mrs. Ganush-on-Christine gumming. Seriously. And after this physical confrontation just doesn't seem to get the job done for Mrs. Ganush, she curses Christine — who is now, officially fucked.

Drag Me to Hell played like a vintage classic in the vein of Raimi's own Evil Dead series and the inimitable Bruce Campbell vs Army of Darkness. Bucket loads of blood and gore, edge-of-your-seat, clenched-cheek suspense, and laughs, laughs, laughs. Sure, Raimi recycles gags from his previous camp classics and doesn't stray from the tone of those films either, but that's why it succeeds! It's uproarious and over-the-top. And it's absolutely terrifying and really funny — all within the same second.

Aside from the gore and dark comedy, Raimi is able to craft and hone characters you want to follow and wholly enjoy right along side characters you absolutely love to hate. And that characterization is never lost. As this was a very early screening, the effects are in dire need of improvement, but even in their unfinished form, I would STILL recommend Drag Me to Hell. Needless to say, Mr. Raimi and I have rekindled our passion for one another. A bloody, campy passion that Raimi proves he still has bubbling inside him. Damn great to have you back, Sam. Come May, you're not going to have to drag me to Drag Me to Hell.

(Continue the Trip)

Shuttle: Review

Reviewed by Tex Massacre (Bloody Disgusting)

Have you ever wandered into a supermarket late at night—no one else around—the soft ozone glow of the florescent lights above? Have you ever stepped out onto a subway platform, when no other living soul surrounds you—save the scurrying of rats in some time-forgotten subterranean cavern? Ever been the last poor soul at the airport—its haunting halls echo with an emptiness as vast as the Grand Canyon? These moments are all inherently creepy—like a land that time forgot. I’ve been in all of these places in my life and I can tell you that they are the places where monsters of the mind dwell. SHUTTLE would appear on the surface to be a horror film about the conveyances that safely take you away from these nightmare worlds. But, when you scratch beneath that simple set-up, what you wind up with is so much more.

Mel and Jules (Peyton List and Cameron Goodman) are just returning home from a Mexican vacation—one last single fling for the best friends as Mel is engaged to be married. It seems Mel is not a strong traveler and motion sickness is getting the best of her. When the airline loses Mel’s luggage the pair are stuck at the concourse with a set of guys that are hanging around trying to pick up them up—assuming of course that girls who spend their vacations at Carlos and Charlie’s are naturally sluts. When the airline informs Mel that the last flight has arrived sans her luggage, the foursome give up and head off, looking for some transportation home. The girls decide to take one shuttle over another because the driver (UNDERWORLD’S Tony Curran) offers them the ride at half the price—the guys tag along. What they don’t know is that when their feet cross the threshold of this shuttle, the gang is in for the most terrifying ride of their very short lives.

SHUTTLE is an intense film experience. It’s furious in its pacing and relentless in its action as the passengers are taken on a bus ride to hell. What makes SHUTTLE all the more impressive is that this ride has a design. This descent into unadulterated terror is a methodically executed means to an end, but not without shocking surprise to Curran’s menacing character of the Driver. And, both the film and the Driver are aiming to move their passengers at breakneck speed toward the shattering conclusion.

The performances from the cast are all around top notch, with Peyton List taking the lead role and facilitating a solid characterization past a few minor plot contrivances. Cameron Goodman is effective as the best friend in a role that was not entirely sympathetic and could have easily been little more than eye candy. She is especially successful when forced into a near catatonic state by the horrors of the night. Tony Curran who was successfully menacing in UNDERWORLD plays The Driver with a great deal more restraint than one would expect from a vicious killer. It’s a disciplined performance and one that serves the film well.

While gorehounds might not be doing back flips over the blood loss they should appreciate that Director Edward Anderson makes the kills relatively painful and wholly grounded in reality. In fact, despite some minor genre conventions (which frankly all genre films have and need) SHUTTLE could and perhaps has happened. A lot of slasher films and torture films claim to be “ripped from the headlines” but never feel as immediate and realistic as moments in SHUTTLE and that makes the film in all its pulse pounding pacing much more interesting.

In the end, SHUTTLE delivers one of the most compelling denouements of any genre film I’ve seen in the past year. It’s tragic and brutal and for eagle-eyed fans it is satisfying in that the film hints and pokes and prods the audience toward the conclusion. The ending never feels tacked on; it’s organic and completely accurate for the story. I don’t think genre fans can ask for more than that when they sit down in a darkened theater, board the SHUTTLE, and demand to be transported into a terrifying new world.

Score: 8 / 10

(Continue the Trip)

The Last House on the Left: First Preview

Masters of horror Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham revisit their landmark film that launched Craven’s directing career in 1972 and influenced decades of horror films to follow. Bringing one of the most notorious thrillers of all time to a new generation, they produce the story that explores how far two ordinary people will go to exact revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their child.

The night she arrives at the remote Collingwood lakehouse, Mari (Sara Paxton) and her friend are kidnapped by a prison escapee and his crew. Terrified and left for dead, Mari’s only hope is to make it back to parents John and Emma (Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter). Unfortunately, her attackers unknowingly seek shelter at the one place she could be safe. And when her family learns the horrifying story, they will make three strangers curse the day they came to The Last House on the Left.

The original "The Last House on the Left" itself was heavily inspired by "Jungfrukällan", a movie with a very similar plot-line but not as graphic as depicted in Craven's film. In 2005, "Chaos" was released but due to rights issues it was not labeled as a remake of either Craven's film or "Jungfrukällan", but instead self-labeled itself as an original. "Chaos" was a failure both critically and financially, thus prompting Craven to produce a remake of his original movie, which in part was also due to the success of the 2006 "The Hills Have Eyes" remake.

(Continue the Trip)

Babysitter Wanted: Review

Reviewed by Goon (Horror-Movies.ca)

Sometimes after watching a fantastic film you get that sudden rush of enjoyment and sheer excitement that the horror genre is head in the right way again. After watching Babysitter Wanted I had that feeling and I knew that the horror genre is still capable of pumping out fantastic films on a budget. This is one of those films that I am very proud to be able to review and let everyone know that this is a film that you have to keep your eye on. It is without a doubt one of the best films I have seen in the past ten years. So may this review serve as an open letter to all the horror fans, distributors and fellow horror critics hunt this movie down and watch it. You won't regret it.

Angie Albright is a young sheltered and beautiful girl who is brought up in a very devout Christian home. However she is about to head off to college to begin her studies. After traveling off to college she begins to feel as though she is being watched. As she begins to settle in with her new roommate and develop a relationship with a potential boyfriend she needs to get some money by taking on a babysitter job at the Stantons. When she is dropped off at the Stanton's home things really begin to unravel for her. The strange man that has been watching her begins to harass her with phone calls. The phone calls soon turn into a confrontation face to face and Angie must protect the Stanton's young boy who is asleep upstairs. But is everything as it seems?

Babysitter Wanted runs high on all cylinders. It does everything right from putting together a well written script, casting some fantastic actors and developing a great musical score. This film manages to pull you in with a familiar babysitter story and then delivers sucker punch with a twist that you will never see coming. You may think you know what it is, but trust me you have no idea.

When it comes to the actors involved in this film they definitely did some of the best casting they could have done. Everyone involved was perfectly chosen for their role. Bill Moseley even gets in on the fun with a minor role as the local Sheriff. Even though he only makes a small appearance the director utilizes Bill to his full potential. Something that is not always done in most other films. Two other notables that I must mention is young Sarah Thompson as Angie. She really pulls off the role as a young woman heading off into the world after living a relatively sheltered life with her mother. The other actor that I must mention is Bruce Thomas who portrays Mr. Stanton. The only way I can think to describe his role is Bruce Campbell-esque.

Now unto the score, something which I always feel is what can take a movie from being great to becoming a genre classic. The folks behind this movie seem to realize that as well and had a fantastic orchestral score for the film. I also took note to the wonderful use of sound which is vastly under used in most films today. While there is plenty of on screen gore in this flick there is one scene where the simple use of sound creates much more tension then anything they could have put on the screen. Its very subtle but amazingly effective.

Overall this is easily one of the best films of this year. My hope is that everything falls into place for this film and it gets a proper theatrical release. Babysitter Wanted is just a fun film that provides everything a horror fan could want. It manages to take a small sub genre of horror and turn it on its head. So keep a close eye on this one because if everything works the way it should you will be seeing this one in a theater near you. If not this film and everyone involved has been served a terrible injustice. Grab a bucket of popcorn, an ice cold beer and get ready for one of the best films you will see all year.

(Continue the Trip)

Grace: Review

One little indie film is causing quite a stir at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and that film is Paul Solet's "Grace"! In fact, it rendered two viewers unconscious!
Producer Adam Green tells STYD, "Two [people fainted]. One outside, and one in the lobby. Egyptian [theater] owner confirmed that in 10 years it's the first time it's happened. Amazing screening!"

"Grace" is a modest budget horror film which plot is revolves like this:
Madeline Matheson is eight months pregnant and determined to deliver her unborn child, Grace, naturally. When an accident leaves Grace dead inside her, Madeline insists on carrying the baby's corpse to term. Weeks later, when Madeline delivers, the baby miraculously returns to life... With an appetite.

The film directed by Paul Solet and starred Jordan Ladd, Samantha Ferris, Gabrielle Rose, Serge Houde, Stephen Park, and Malcolm Stewart. It was based on Solet's short film with the same name which starred by Liza Weil and Brian Austin Green.

Review By: Ryan Daley (Bloody Disgusting)

When you get right down to it, infants are not for the squeamish. Following the harrowing ordeal of childbirth, the cutting of the umbilical cord, the expulsion of the placenta, and the wince-inducing episiotomy, you’ve still got to deal with breast pumps, nipple soreness, and the kid’s fontanel (always creepy); in short, childbirth is one subject that can be milked for easy shocks. Writer/director Paul Solet’s feature film debut, GRACE, is carried by a handful of potent scenes that cleverly mine our fears of early parenthood. Too bad the potency is diluted by sluggish pacing and a couple of baggy subplots.

Madeline Matheson (Jordan Ladd, CABIN FEVER) and her husband have been struggling to conceive for the past three years, resorting to fertility drugs and a fanatical adherence to holistics and health food. Finally pregnant, Madeline is determined to experience childbirth with a midwife, but her fiercely bitchy mother-in-law insists on using her own personal M.D., undermining Madeline’s personal birthing decisions every chance she gets. At 31 weeks along, a cruelly random car accident severely injures Madeline, leaving her baby stillborn inside of her. She makes the difficult decision to carry the dead baby to term, and although she gives birth to a lifeless infant in her midwife’s birthing pool, after a few moments the baby miraculously begins to breathe.

Madeline is enraptured with Grace, her miracle daughter, and although the hospital would like to investigate Grace’s resurrection with a series of blood tests, Madeline is reluctant. Alone at home with her infant, Madeline is disturbed when Grace begins to attract house flies, and, even worse, is disinterested in breast milk, only to be eagerly enraptured when Madeline’s torn nipple leaks blood into her \ newborn mouth. Yes, it seems that Grace craves blood. Madeline tries to satiate her with the excess gore squeezed from a package of supermarket steaks, but Grace continues to cry, unsatisfied. So Madeline must look elsewhere for blood…

Madeline’s cat is named “Jonesy”, a subtle reference to ALIEN, and like Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece, Solet’s movie explores the intrinsic fears of motherhood. Expanded from his 2006 short film of the same name, GRACE works best during its tight mutant baby moments, when it most strongly resembles Larry Cohen’s IT’S ALIVE! During the introspective scenes reflecting on a lesbian relationship in Madeline’s past, or the segments featuring the grieving mother-in-law acting out her maternal fantasies, GRACE grows sluggish and tiresome, bearing the stretch marks of a short film idea that has been unnecessarily expanded to feature length. Although several moments in GRACE pack a visceral punch, those scenes are shot-gunned across a poorly-paced narrative, resulting in an acceptably entertaining, if sometimes uneven, horror movie experience.

At the Sundance screening I attended, the audience whooped, hollered, and screamed, and two men reportedly fainted during the show. It’s true that Solet takes the audience on a twisted ride down a very dark birth canal, but is it dark and twisted enough? Sundance audiences may scream and faint at the likes of GRACE, but the die-hard horror fan will be merely amused by Solet’s bloodthirsty baby shenanigans. Without much of a plot driving the action, the film’s success depends solely on mood and tone, and GRACE, although diverting, isn’t quite haunting enough to make a lasting impact. At 45 minutes, GRACE would be an impressively bizarre, tightly-wound stunner, but at a swollen 94 minutes, it sticks around for too long after its due date.
Score: 6 / 10

(Continue the Trip)

Orphan: First Preview

Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga will appear in a Dark Castle Entertainment's horror titled "Orphan." Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra from House of Wax remake, the film set to be released on July 24, 2009.

In the story, Kate and John are a couple grieving over the tragic loss of their unborn child. It's taking a toll on both their marriage and Kate's fragile psyche as she is plagued by nightmares and haunted by demons from her past. Struggling to regain some semblance of normalcy in their lives, the couple decides to adopt another child. At the local orphanage, both John and Kate find themselves strangely drawn to a young girl named Esther.

Almost as soon as they welcome Esther into their home, however, an alarming series of events begins to unfold, leading Kate to believe that there's something wrong with Esther - this seemingly angelic little girl is not what she appears to be. Concerned for the safety of her family, Kate tries to get John and others to see past Esther's sweet facade. But her warnings go unheeded until it may be too late...for everyone.

(Continue the Trip)

My Bloody Valentine 3D: Review

by Matthew Razak, DC Movie Examiner

As a general rule of thumb established by my all time favorite horror film Evil Dead 2, if a slasher flick doesn't have someone's head falling off within the first ten minutes it's not going to be truly great. My Bloody Valentine 3D pretty much takes care of this in the first two minutes and then doesn't stop coating the screen in blood until... well, actually it never stops. The film knows that its job is to slaughter as many people as possible and sets about doing it as well as one can hope for.

But plenty of horror films are gore coated murder-fests and still stink, so it is impressive that Valentine, a remake of the original by the same name, is also a solid installment in the genre with a few twist and turns that elevate it above the normal dreck. Not that it truly lives up to the 1981 original's low-budget horror stylings, but it certainly lives up to the levels of blood that those early slasher films loved to throw at the screen.

Ten year's after a horrible mine accident kills five men and turns the only known survivor, Harry Warden, into a pickax wielding maniac, Tom Hanniger (Jensen Ackles) returns to the town his father's coal mine keeps alive to close said mine down for good. Unfortunatley, his return also heralds the return of Warden, who everyone thought was dead, and Hanniger gets framed for the murders with only his ex-girlfriend Sarah Palmer (Jaime King) believing that he isn't the one dressing up like a miner and slaughtering people. Then again, maybe he is. That's the real beauty of My Bloody Valentine, it's as much a mystery as it is a blood bath.

Now I'm not saying that the mystery is an especially great one, but when the other option for a plot is a group of idiot teens running around from an invulnerable, lumbering, masked man almost anything is better and this mystery is way better. Still, the real strength is in the gore, which is everywhere. I'm not sure if I am impressed or horrified by the variety of ways the creators game up with killing people with a pickax, but I can tell you it's disturbingly fun to watch -- especially in 3D.

This might actually be the best 3D movie I've seen since from the recent spate of 3D films that has started to hit theaters. This is partly because the genre is perfectly set-up for the cheesiness that 3D is often associated with (stop, sticking that gun barrel right in the camera!) and partly because as a slasher film it stands on its own. Unlike films like Journy to the Center of the Earth, which have utilized the same RealD technology, Valentine is good on its own with the 3D effects being an added bonus instead of the only reason the film is enjoyable.

It's truly refreshing to see a solid American slasher film again. Too many horror films are tripping over into half hearted J-horror and sometimes one just needs some classic blood on the screen. Well here it is in glorious 3D. My Bloody Valentine is full of everything that makes B-Grade horror great: blood, blood and blood.

(Continue the Trip)

The Deadline: First Preview

"The Deadline" is a new thriller from Epic pictures that they're touting as being in the vein of "The Shinning" and "Repulsion." The film stars Brittany Murphy (Sin City), Thora Birch, Tammy Blanchard and Marc Blucas. From it MySpace official page, here is the synopsis of the film:

Alice, 32, a writer recovering from a psychological breakdown retreats to a remote Victorian house to convalesce and focus on completing her screenplay in time for a fast approaching deadline. Shortly after her arrival, mysterious noises and strange happenings cause her imagination to run wild, sending her on a twisting and terrifying pursuit to find out what is behind the endless mind games. Frightened but intrigued, Alice gathers the courage to go down into the cold, dingy basement where she finds a shoe box filled with mini-dv tapes.

Alice starts to watch the tapes and is soon drawn into the unfolding drama like a avid soap opera. The images on the tapes are of an older husband, David, lovingly but obsessively filming his new, young, beautiful wife, Lucy. At first Alice is amused by their affection towards one another. But as she continues to watch the series of tapes, she starts to notice David’s compulsive desire to always secretly film his wife during her most intimate moments.

Later in the evening while watching another tape, Alice is frustrated and angered when the tape comes to an abrupt end - just as David becomes aggressive towards his wife, physically attacking her to prevent her from leaving him. As she reaches for the last tape in the shoe box, eager to find out the next part of the story, she is disappointed to find that the mini-dv case is empty. Now desperately driven by the need to know what happened to Lucy, Alice returns to the basement and finds a mini-dv camera that had fallen inside a cardboard box and become hidden with the passage of time.

The terrifying secret that lies within the final tape will unravel Alice’s dark past.

Trailer:

(Continue the Trip)

Drag Me to Hell: First Preview

Sam Raimi's first time directing a non-Spiderman project since 2000's "The Gift" and his first attempt at horror outside of the "Evil Dead" franchise. It stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long with release date has set on May 29, 2009.

In the film, a young female loan officer denies an old woman a home extension and in retaliation a curse is placed on her. Haunted by an evil spirit, she seeks help to save her soul from eternal damnation and crosses boundaries she never thought she would to be set free.

Raimi and his brother Ivan penned the screenplay, which original saw Ellen Page (Juno) in Lohman's shoes. Page ended up dropping out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

(Continue the Trip)

The Horsemen: First Preview

The Horsemen is an upcoming 2009 thriller film directed by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund whose directorial debut was a film called Spun from 2002, which means this is his second feature film. This movie starring Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang has set by Focus Features to have a limited release on March 13, 2009.

In the film, Quaid will play as a bitter detective grieving over his wife's recent death. While investigating a case, he discovers a shocking connection between himself and the suspects in a serial killing spree linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. As Breslin grapples with each new revelation in the case, he slowly discovers a shocking connection between himself and the four suspects. Four Horsemen. Four unrelated victims. Four painful secrets. Come and See.

(Continue the Trip)

Voices (Horrorfest): Review

This South Korean thriller also known as "Someone Behind You" or "Du Saramida (Two People)".

In the film, Ka-in (Yun Jin-seo, Old Boy) is a high school student, adept at fencing, with loving parents, a pretty younger sister and a hunky med-student boyfriend (Yi Ki-woo, Tale of Cinema). Everything seems to be perfect, until one day her aunt suffers a terrible accident on her wedding day. She is then graphically stabbed to death by another aunt while hospitalized. Reeling from shock, Ka-in soon finds herself the target of the inexplicable murderous rage of her friends and even family members. To figure out what is going on, she enlists the help of a creepy classmate Seok-min (Park Ki-woong, The Art of Fighting).

"Someone Behind You" is based on a comic book by Kang Kyung-ok, which apparently is a straightforward supernatural thriller, attributing the cause of Ka-in's horrendous situation to a family curse (naturally, the curse descends down through the agnatic lineage, this being a Korean one). The movie version dabbles with that premise, then abandons it altogether and turns itself into a far-fetched murder mystery, finally resolving into a yet another rip-off of Tale of Two Sisters, with a chunk bitten off from Death Note thrown in for a good measure.

To put it charitably, Someone's screenplay is a mess. Penned by five scribes including the director, Lee Shin-ae, who previously wrote Fox Stairs, and Lee Hyo-chul, responsible for Hanbando (?!), it is a dreadful mishmash of different agendas and styles, without any coherent sense of what it's groping for. Adding insult to injury is Oh Ki-hwan's (Last Present, shudder…) lugubrious direction, which tiredly follows one set-up after another. Particularly harebrained is the character of Min-seok: the last-minute revelation regarding him is totally predictable but is nonetheless a hoot. I can easily imagine Korean moviegoers rolling their eyes and hurling insults at the close-up of him grinning sinisterly in that eyebrow-obscuring gappa hairstyle.

Nearly wasted are two excellent actresses, Yun Jin-seo as Ka-in and Kim So-eun (The Show Must Go On) as her sister. Yun is basically given an impossible role to play, a young girl against whom the whole world has turned murderous, but she pulls it off without ever relying on histrionics, even under the overtly melodramatic direction given by director Oh. Kim is ridiculously cute but shows a lot of potential. The interactions between these two actresses are frankly the only believable part of the movie. While Someone gets a few goodwill points by staying away from long-haired Sadako clones, as a thriller or horror film it is simply lame, not even unintentionally funny to qualify as camp entertainment. Should be of interest only for those fans of Yun Jin-seo and Kim So-eun who don't mind their favorite actresses put through the wringer in almost sadistically unimaginative ways.

Reviewed by Kyu Hyun Kim (Koreanfilm.org)

(Continue the Trip)

The Descent 2: First Preview

This British horror film is a sequel to the commercial and critical success 2006 "The Descent," it will follows where the original left off. Filming began in May 2008 at Ealing Studios in London. Ealing Studios was featured on BBC London in June 2008 going behind the scenes of the filming of 'Descent 2'. In that broadcast it was confirmed that Shauna MacDonald would be returning to play her character Sarah. Neil Marshall, the producer and director of the original is back only as the executive producer and the director job is handed to Jon Harris.

This sequel will continue the story of Sarah, who as the only survivor of an all-female caving expedition gone horrifically wrong, suffers severe psychological trauma. Unable to speak, she accompanies a rescue team back to the cave, but events once again take a sinister turn.

"The Descent 2" picks up immediately after the events depicted in The Descent. Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) emerges alone from a cave system following an expedition with her five friends in the Appalachian mountains. Distraught, injured and covered in the blood of her missing companions, Sarah is incoherent and half-wild with fear. Skeptical about her account of events and convinced Sarah's psychosis hides far darker secrets, Sheriff Vaines forces her back into the caves to help locate the rest of the group, and to maybe rescue Juno. Trapped by falling rocks, the rescue party are driven deep into the caverns, and as one by one the fate of the missing girls is revealed, Sarah is forced to confront her deepest fears.

(Continue the Trip)