PG-13 movies

What is the deal with horror films these days.  I am sick of them always being PG-13 to appeal to a larger audience.  They are supposed to be adult movies and movie companies are ruining them by promoting them for kids.  I don’t want to go the movie theatre and have to listen to a bunch of junior high kids yelling and screaming throughout the movie.

Case 39

A social worker takes a case helping an abused young girl, but the girl might not be as innocent as she originally thought

• Cast-Renee Zellweger, Ian McShane, Bradley Cooper
• Release Date-February 22, 2008
• Director-Christian Alvart
• Rating-None

Prom Night

Remake of the original 1980 film. Donna is excited for prom, her special night, but when someone from her past she thought was gone comes back, her and her friends mustr find a way to survive, or die trying.

• Cast-Brittany Snow, Dana Davis, Scott Porter, Jonathan Schaech
• Release Date-April 11, 2008
• Director-Nelson McCormick
• Rating-PG13

The Eye

Sydny has been blind since childhood. When she receives a transplant and receives new eyes, she tries to adjust to her new life. But things change when she starts to see disturbing images. Now she must figure out what is going on and if her donor might have done something terrifying to cause this.

• Cast-Jessica Alba
• Release Date-February 1, 2008
• Director-David Moreau, Xavier Palud
• Rating-None

One Missed Call

Two of Beth’s friends die days apart, but they both received phone messages playing their death. Along with Detective Andrews, they must solve the mystery before they become next.

• Cast-Shannyn Sossamon, Ed Burns, Ed Harris, Gabriel Byrne
• Release Date-January 4, 2008
• Director-Eric Valette
• Rating-PG13

30 Days of Night

With the continuing popularity of graphic novels comes this film. Set in a small town in Alaska, many of the townsfolk leave for the month when it is dark outside. The 150 people are in for a surprise as a stranger comes to town and destroys all their means of escape and communication. Not far behind is a gang of vampires waiting to feast on the unsuspecting people. In an awesome scene of the movie you witness the vampires preying on the town, turning much of the snow red. Leaving ver quickly only a handful of survivors to fend off the vampires. While the movie has some down scenes where the survivors sit around waiting, the intense action and gore make up for some slow pacing. The best idea in the movie was to make the vampires intelligent and have their own language. Not only do they have super strengths, but they use people as bait to lure out others.

• gore 4 out 4, When snow is no longer white anywhere, the gore is jsut right
• acting quality 3 out 4, There is just something about Josh Hartnett that bothers me
• innovation 3 out of 4, offers some new things about vampires, but there is only so much that can be done that wasn’t before
• overall 3 out of 4

Army of Darkness

Another one of my favorite movies of all-time. This film follows the misadventures of Ash from Evil Dead 1 and 2, as he ends up in medievel times. This one takes more of a comedic turn than the last two films, as you can see the influence of the three stooges throughout the film. As Ash try to find the Book of Necronomican, he engages in several hilarious acts. Foremost of which is evil Ash that grows out of his own body and beats him up. The film offers several memorable lines, like “Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun” While the movie has things not plausible by normal standards, like a chemistry book that has the formula for gun powder, the world Ash is involved in is unbelievable in the first place, so that doesn’t matter.

• gore 4 out 4, fans of the first two films should expect this
• acting quality 4 out 4, Bruce Campbell, B movie actor, that gives an A performance
• innovation 4 out of 4, name another film where a guty travel back in time and fights the undead
• overall 4 out of 4

High Tension

This is a movie originally released in France (boo!!!), but was then released in the states, thank god. This was a really well put together film for the most part and offered a lot of what the title suggests. The film is about 2 girls who go to teh ones house over a break to study for classes. However, during the night a stranger comes to the house and kills the ones dad, mom, and little brother. The film then follows the main character as she tails the killer to get her kidnapped friend back. Sounds like a kick ass plot, but the one thing this film does wrong is the ending. After an exciting, intense story, the ending comes out of left field and leaves you wondering how it was possible. I won’t ruin the ending for anyone, but when you see this you’ll know what I mean. Other than that, I loved this movie.

• gore 4 out 4, shocking amounts of blood
• acting quality 4 out 4, Who said the French suck at everything
• innovation 3 out of 4,
• overall 3 1/2 out of 4, the ending could have made it made it a classic

Halloween

The classic of all classic. This is my favorite film of all time, so I’ll try to be non-bias in this review. For those that somehow don’t know what this movie is about. Michael Myers decides to kill his sister on Halloween as a child. 15 years later he escapes and seeks out his other sister Laurie while, his Doctor, Dr. Loomis is on his trail. The movie features so many classic scenes, including stabbing a guy onto the wall and then admiring his handywork, Laurie in the closet, stabbing Michael with a coat hanger, and many others. I think that everyone knows the good of the movie so lets focus on the flaws. How did Michael know how to drive? Did he get lessons in the looney bin? Wait is that it? I can’t think of anymore flaws. Thats how good the movie is.

• gore 1 out 4, but the film was not about being gory
• acting quality 4 out 4, Donald Pleasence makes any acting role good
• innovation 4 out of 4, said to have started the slasher trend of the 80′s
• overall 4 out of 4

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Remakes are never easy to pull off, especially in the land of horror films. To make matters worse Dawn of the Dead is considered a classic among horror fans, and George A. Romero is practically a god. With that said, this remake did a decent job of redoing the original. The movie kicks off quickly with tons of blood in the first five minutes, as destruction rains down everywhere, and a small group of survivors must make their way to an abandoned mall for safety. This is when the film gets really fun. Characters having to cope with the zombies, but also with each other. You know that people couldn’t just leave well enough alone and wait out survival at the mall. They tend to make horrific decisions that lead to more and more of them dying, but with out these decisions the story would not be able to progress. Overall, I liked the film, but some plot holes and bad comparisons to the original left this as just another so-so zombie movie.

• gore 4 out 4
• acting quality 3 out 4
• innovation 1 out of 4
• overall 2 1/2 out of 4