tháng 10 2010 ~ The Larsen Film Review

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick star in the cult classic that questions people's taste in film. A musical about transexual's and the breakdown of morality. The film is almost a demonstration of how easily a "good" Christian couple just after engaged can be easily influenced to sin.

The plot starts with the couple breaking down outside of Dr. Frank-N-Furter [a play on Dr. Frankenstein], they enter the castle and are pushed around and subjected to witness a "creature" brought to life. The method taken from The Curse of Frankenstein rather than the original.

Meat Loaf has a strange cameo, and the entire film seems to be based around the only catchy song "Time Warp." Sure the song is fun but the idea of going to a midnight showing and reenacting the dances in this film is beyond me.

To each their own, I saw this a decade ago and don't remember it being this bad. I would say avoid this one, but you just have to see it to understand.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/

I haven't been able to put my finger on director Guillermo del Toro. I liked Hellboy but I did not like Pan's Labyrinth. This film apparently was one he spent years working on in the background. Costing $4.5 million and only grossing >$1 million to date I would call it a failure.

The film it seldom discussed and fans of Pan's Labyrinth that have gone back to see this one have been generally disappointed. It seems to be on the 101 Horror Movie list to fill a void of recent successes. It is a very tame horror film, almost breaching over into war or just drama.

It is a ghost story from the time of the Spanish War in the 1930's, foreign [subtitled] and not really worth your time. I gave it a 7/10 because the acting was good and I liked that the story didn't follow a cookie cutter storyline. What happens in the film through the climax and to the credits was nothing like what I expected, in a good way in some senses but the movie overall was kinda dull.

I wouldn't suggest it, but after a month full of average horror films it was better than most.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0256009/

I was very happy with the last Terence Fisher film The Curse of Frankenstein and had high expectation for this one. I rated it the same but did like Frankenstein better.

Another rewrite of the original story. Different enough to not get copyright permission, and even released in Britain (where it was made) as just "Dracula." For the US release it was changed to "Horror of" to avoid confusion with the original.

The biggest plot hole of the original Dracula is his motivation for moving to London in the first place. Re-writing the story they did an excellent job filling this void and changing the story enough that I didn't feel like I was watching a movie that I had already seen over again. The fake blood and gore is mild for what we are used to now in the genre, but at the time this was a pretty gory film. Again, worth checking out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051554/

The type of horror film that has defined our generation of horror films. A pointless slasher, focusing on gore, lacking substance, full of cheap pointless thrills, and not really making any sense.

The film starts off without really recapping the first film at all (a brilliant restart to the series by Rob Zombie). The leading lady gets chased around for the next 30 minutes with no explanation.

He start to get glimpses into Micheal's visions of a white horse and his mother telling him what to do. This is the first time in the whole series we see from his point of view, and it is not really how I envisioned it to be. I think Rob's vision just doesn't make much sense, he has failed with remakes in the past, so I would be leery to give H3 a shot when and if it ever gets a green light.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311067/

All I could this of when talking about his film is the hard rock band by the same name. Surely Rob Zombie's inspiration for a band name and maybe even his name change (he was born Robert Bartleh Cummings). Rob is now a horror film director so there must be some sort of tie there.

The movie was somewhat of an indie film back in its day. Filmed in only 11 days and on a very small budget. They were fully riding on Bela Lugosi for success. Famous for his creepy stare that is what made the movie poster. The goofy hand thing is actually how he controlled his zombies, something I've seen spoofed one or twice.

This film must have some sort of cult following because I failed to find merit in it. The pace is slow, the story isn't original, and he acting isn't very good. Probably one of my least favorite films from the 101 Horror Book so far, and difficult to find as well.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023694/

The biggest surprise of horror month for me. I never expected to enjoy a Frankenstein remake so much. I learned a lot researching this movie after watching it.

First off, the horror genre was pretty much dead when it came out (no pun intended). People just weren't making them and it was kind of assumed that the vampire, werewolf, monster movies had already been tried and warn out. Not only was this movie full of vibrant colors, but also completely re-wrote the story. Frankenstein is assembled piece-by-piece, he is created in a vat of liquid (probably the motivation behind The Rocky Horror Picture Show's creature.

This film really revived the genre, and Terence Fisher had so much success directing this one that he make another remake the next year (Dracula) with the same stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

I highly suggest this as a classic horror film. It is old but color, the same story but very original at the same time. Just an easy and fun watch.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050280/

It has now been a full year of blogging. With 334 blog posts, 1300 unique visitors, and 2600 page loads it has not been a bad year for an amateur film writer.

The site will be adding a new feature this year, starting with How To Train Your Dragon. There is now a 2nd rating on kids/animated films. I call it the KSF, or Kid's Scare Factor. The rating will be on a 5 point scale. 1 being along the lines of Elmo, Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse, and Dora. 5 being on the scale of Bambi's mother dying. It is hard to know what a kid will be afraid of, but as my daughter gets old enough to watch television I want to remind myself through this blog of what I might need to skip through.

Below are the best and worst of the year, the hyperlinks will take you directly to the blog posts. Enjoy!

Best of the Year:
1. The Blind Side
2. Star Trek*
3. Avatar
4. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
5. Food, Inc.
6. The Girl Who Played with Fire
7. The Proposal
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. Shutter Island
10. How To Train Your Dragon
11. A Prophet
12. Extraordinary Measures
13. The Cove
14. Up in the Air
15. Mary and Max
16. Moon
17. The Soloist
18. The Informant!
19. The Princess and the Frog
20. The Secret in Their Eyes

Worst of the Year
1. Leap Year
2. Jennifer's Body
3. The Milk of Sorrow
4. From Paris with Love
5. Gamer
6. The Back-up Plan
7. Hot Tub Time Machine
8. Pirate Radio
9. Land of the Lost
10. Old Dogs

(* on Star Trek because I watched it the week I started the LFR but did not write a review, the link is to the short blurb on the LFR 100)

I've been about 50/50 on these horror movie restarts. The remade Friday the 13th... not good, remade Halloween... good but not the sequel, so I was hoping for the best here.

It made me nervous that it was given to Samuel Bayer to direct, since he doesn't really have much of a resume. Produced by Michael Bay so you know we are due for an explosion or two even if the storyline doesn't call for one.

The thing about this series is that he really has had the weakest storyline over the numerous films... but that is not why we tuned in. We tuned in because we loved Freddy Krueger and replacing Robert Englund is no easy task. This is the critical piece to the series reboot. They ended up going with Jackie Earle Haley, (George from Shutter Island, Rorschach from Watchmen, Ronnie from Little Children) who to me is just a creepy dude, but not in a funny way like Englund. He plays a mentally disturbed molester in his role as Ronnie, so the resume was there.

The thing about the movie is it just fell flat. First off, if you are going to reboot a series you have to start with a good first film that gives a nice prequel to give a full background. Take a lesson from Batman Begins or Halloween, both did an excellent job with this. Instead they are so vague that someone who doesn't know about Freddy doesn't really learn about him until the last 20 minutes of the movie, to me this unfolded all wrong. Haley didn't have enough cheesy jokes, and the audience doesn't have any remorse for Freddy. If your villain is going to talk we have to have some sort of conflict and desire to side with him a little. Seriously how many horror villains talk? Especially in slasher films. This could and SHOULD have been better.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179056/

It is sad that this is a remake, because I haven't seen the original and after watching this I doubt I'll ever give it a shot. Basically we learning in the first 10 minutes of the movie that this serial killer find a family, moves in, then kills them all.

Problem with this movie is not that it is completely unrealistic. Unrealistic because there is no motive for all of these murders. He doesn't gain anything out of this, there is no calling card, there is no monetary benefit, it just doesn't make sense. He is also really bad at it, which makes his survival questionable. He forgets to silence a cell phone of someone he kills? Really? But he instantly knows how to text with said phone? He forgets his running lie with the current family about his widow and daughter.

I don't like movies that aren't at least plausible unless they are instantly classified as a fantasy and this is expected. When it tries to pass as realistic I call these plot holes. This movie was full of them. The eye candy girlfriend, Amber Heard, is the same girl from room "406" in Zombieland. The leading actor Dylan Walsh, "The Stepfather," should stick to tv.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814335/

Starring Odette Yustman and featuring Gary Oldman as a Rabbi... yeah, a Rabbi. The premise of the film is that Odette's character killed her brother while they were both still in their mother's womb (her umbilical cord strangled him). The brother now wants to be born and has haunting her.

The film uses a lot of scare tactics. Unnecessary events that make the audience jump... cheap effects. It also uses effects stolen from The Grudge, you know, the twisted limb thing were people walk like spiders with an arched back and head twisted 180 degrees.

Somehow this haunting is all the Nazi's fault and she needs a exorcism. Oops... maybe I just ruined it for you, but you should avoid this one anyways. The story is bs and the acting isn't much better. One of those reviews I've been putting off because I couldn't think of anything nice to say.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139668/

A film actually completed in 2007, but through an internet publicity stunt gained national recognition. With an estimated budget of $11,000 and grossing $107 million he holds the record for ratio of budget to profit in cinema history.

The film is another mockumentary along the lines of The Blair Witch Project released a decade earlier with a similar story of internet buzz to success. Hard to remember that a decade ago watching a movie from a hand-held camera actually disoriented audiences causing people to get sick, but also making them feel like the film had a different sense of realism. After a decade of youtube, webcams, and internet video, mainstream audiences are more used to this style.

So now about the actual film. Katie and Micah are dating and living together, Katie thinks that she is being haunted and Micah decided to videotape their room while they sleep to see if they can capture what is going on. This seems to be aggravating whatever presence is in the house and we get to see just how far it goes. It was a pretty exciting film. The acting was average and the boyfriend was annoying. I liked it but didn't love it. I fear how good the sequel will be...

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/

It will be explained later in the week with the one year anniversary special post, but this is the first film to feature the "KSF" Rating. A rating for how scary kids will find the movie. I'll start by saying that with lots of dragons and fighting this one is not for the preschoolers. 4/5 is just short of Bambi's mom dying, and on the scale that you cannot simply avoid a scene or two for the little ones.

Last year saw a record number of animated feature films, expanding the Oscar field to 5 films. This year has been much slower and will only warrant 3 nominations. To me this is the front runner right now. It would be a snub not the nominated, and it is too early to say if this will win, with Toy Story 3 and Tangled left to watch.

The film is about a viking community that is at constant war with dragons. The lead character is the son of the community leader and a runt. He desperately wants to prove he is big enough to go to dragon school, after an encounter with a dragon he accidentally trapped he starts to have second thoughts about if and why dragons are the enemies.

A great story for kids, exciting, and not pandering to the 3D feature it was enabled with for the theaters. Definitely worth checking out.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892769/

The horror genre is full of "originals." It is by far the genre with the most "sub-genres." You have slasher, thriller, gore, zombie, vampire, alien, mockumentary, etc. This film was the first of it's kind... a child killer. It is a concept that has been repeated several times, The Omen, The Good Son, etc.

It is a scary concept. Children are though to be pure, that they are corrupted by bad influence or a troubled childhood. To think that a kid from a wealthy family, safe upbringing, and loving parents would be cold and heartless was unthinkable. At the same time the concept is simple, and can be looked at as such, and easily dismissed.

I found the acting of Nancy Kelly (the mother) to be authentic and touching. I found Patty McCormack to be creepy, and fantastic for a child's role. The intense piano scene was a little silly to me, but the discussions with the groundskeeper were excellent.

A very good addition to the 101 Horror Film book.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048977/

The most highly anticipated movie of horror month last year. Somehow I ran out of time and had to table it for this year. Not an easy task because it has grown a cult following and was even suggested to me by someone.

So I ventured out and watched the original cut with Norwegian audio, I'm highly apposed to dubbing films that aren't meant for a audience that SHOULD be able to read. Basically I'm only ok with Anime dubbing. Anyways, there are so few spoken lines in this film it shouldn't be the reason for stopping you. With a 90 minute runtime including credits it isn't a huge commitment, and like the Evil Dead films they are worth saying you've seen.

So a group of college kids are on winter break and decide to spend the weekend at a friend's cabin. First off this isn't like the Friday the 13th remake where they have a 4000 square foot mansion for a cabin in the woods. We are talking a two room shake with an outhouse, something that seems a lot more realistic for a group of kids to be staying at. The film opens with zombies chasing a girl through the woods, and is pretty action packed. There are also some very unique kill scenes, a zombie splits a guys head in half like cracking open an egg with a fake brain falling to the ground.

Cheesy lines, an unexplained machine gun on a snow mobile, hanging from a cliff by intestine, this film is full of cheesy kill scenes. Most of it is just bad, if you want to watch a BAD horror movie... almost so bad it is good.... check this out. I'm glad I watched it but I still have to suggest that the average person avoid it.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278340/

This film is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs and was actually remade in 2002 as Red Dragon, the title of the book it is based on. The remake stars Anthony Hopkins and Edward Norton and I gave it a 7/10, so I wasn't sure how much I would like an older film with weaker actors.

In The Silence of the Lambs Dr. Hannibal Lecktor is already in prison, many people that haven't seen the series think that the first is about Lecktor's capture. However, the star of the film is a man who caught Lecktor and is hired by the FBI to catch another serial killer. So much like The Silence of the Lambs, the FBI specialist leverages Lecktor in pursuit of the killer.

William Petersen, the leading actor, ruined this film for me. He is cheesy and over-the-top throughout the film. This is a very typical 80's film, with cheesy music, vivid colors, and over acting. I instantly thought when seeing Petersen... I bet this guy does cheesy detective TV shows now... sure enough he is one of the stars of CSI. I hate CSI, or I probably would have recognized him.

Pass on this one.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091474/

Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley star in this
Martin Scorsese film about a disappearance at a mental institution on Shutter Island.

I don't have a designation for "Suspense" instead of "Horror" for my genres. So let me say that this very loosely fits in this category. DiCaprio and Scorsese are a great combo, and the film did very well early in the year. It broke into the imdb top 250 for a while and still has possibilities for this years Oscars, namely for DiCaprio for Leading Actor... we'll see.

Set in the 1950's, DiCaprio and Ruffalo go to the island as U.S. Marshals. Kingsley is the lead doctor at the facility, and we learn that DiCaprio may have ulterior motives for taking this case on. I fear saying too much about this film or giving hints that might change someone's viewing experience. Let's just say it is a great storyline, good character development, and has the viewer unsure about things throughout.

One of my favorites of the year. Not really a horror month film.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1130884/

The original was actually the 8th movie I reviews on this blog almost a full year ago. (HERE) Both are Wes Craven films, the first is much different and better than this one. Kind of funny to say since that was a 6/10 and this is a 5/10.

The way Wes handles the girls in the original was much colder and more realistic. I wished he would have stuck with that. The parents were actually pretty good also Tony Goldwyn was good, and it has been a long time since I've seen Monica Potter ( Patch Adams and Without Limits).

I just didn't care for how this played out compared to the original. It was more predictable, and there was no comic relief. watch the original first.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844708/

This was definitely an era of pretty cheesy horror films. There is very little that is scary about this one, and the transformations are nothing new. I was much more impressed with the ones in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

It was interesting to me to see that this was the same leading actor that was in the Abbott and Costello film (I'm sure Lon Chaney Jr. was in this one first). Makes me think slightly higher of the Abbott and Costello movie if anything. It would be like Scary Movie actually getting the real Freddy or Jason in their film.

Back to this movie, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, and Lon Chaney Jr. were all actually pretty good, but I just wasn't thrilled about this one. It seems like it has been redone enough that a newer version would be more worth watching. I'll have to check out The Wolfman, which came out earlier this year.

The cast gets a just average, the slow and dull plot development gets an avoid watching...

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034398/

The horror genre in its infant stages really didn't have many start. So a couple stars seemed to make everything. Boris Karloff is the star of this classic.

The plot: Three friends drive through a monsoon-like storm, they take refuge at a big dark house when the road gives out. A second couple shows up a little later and they encounter a mentally handicapped relative, followed by the crazy brother that lives in the attic.

Overall a little boring, with a few scary scenes. It is hard to really get scared by an 80 year old grainy black and white film, so I'd skip it if I were you. Just ok, but not really bad...

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023293/

I can't remember how I stumbled across this independently release horror film. The independent releases tend to be more gory, and this one definitely is. The plot is simple, a crook cases a home while working for a security company. When he breaks in to steal jewelry from the safe he finds that a serial killer is already in the home with the family tied up with the house booby trapped.

It was interesting enough that I watched it in a single sitting. A cross between Saw and Halloween, the killer is creative yet still a giant indestructible man. Some pretty weak performances from an amateur cast, but still a fun watch.

If you want a good non-mainstream horror film check out this one, or The Deaths of Ian Stone.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0844479/

So this is my favorite film from this horror month. I remember it coming out, the lack of press, and really not much buzz. I had assumed it would be another crappy horror film that flopped. I was very surprised at how good the plot and screenplay were.

The acting seems authentic, and the story has depth. Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell were a good on screen couple, compelling to watch. The deputy was also really good, Joe Anderson, who has been in a number of small films over the last few years.

Pair this with Zombieland for a good halloween night.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/

Old of the last really old films on my 101 Horror Movie list. A film that was actually remade in the 80's, and was just as highly acclaimed. The premise behind the film is that a Serbian immigrant, Irena (played by Simone Simon) is courted by an American Oliver Smith (played by Kent Smith). They get married, and are living together, we aren't sure how long, and she tells him the story of her dissidents and how they turn into tigers when kissed.

So they are married and still haven't kissed, you can tell Oliver is sexually frustrated, and falls for a coworker. The film actually has some pretty good chilling moments. Not what I would really consider a "horror" in modern terms. Anything that gave you a scare or chill was a horror 70 years ago.

Still another "Just Average" horror film.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034587/

I find Jesse Eisenberg to be a little annoying. So you know this has to be pretty good if I consider one of his films to be worth watching.

This zombie comedy has some pretty fun special effects in the intro, and some pretty good acting from a fun cast. Woody Harrelson had a career year with this and The Messenger last year. Emma Stone ( Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Superbad ) and Abigail Breslin ( Definitely, Maybe ) made a good sister pair. With a cameo from Bill Murray that was fantastic.

This really was a good watch. Watching it pretty early in horror month made me not appreciate how good it was for a couple of weeks. But it had a good mix of scary, funny, and action throughout.

If you want a good one for Halloween that isn't really a scary horror film, this one might be for you.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1156398/

One of the worst movies that I've seen this year. Amanda Seyfried (from Mamma Mia!) and Megan Fox star in this film. Amanda plays Neddy, who we learn is inside an insane asylum. She starts telling a story about how her friend became possessed by a demon. It is pretty obvious why she is in the asylum, and everything in the movie plays out as expected.

The thing that makes this movie horrendous, and not sure a little bad, was the awful script. The one liners and excessive bad language is cheap and unnecessary. By bad one liners, there is a mom who just lost her son. At the funeral see tells some kids that they don't understand her pain, "Because my son is six feet downtown." Or a quote by Jennifer "You need a mani bad. You should find a Chinese chick to buff your situation."

The acting, plot, script were all just horrendous. Waste of time...

Vote: 1/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/

I didn't realize how common zombie films from the West Indies were. It seems like there was a transition in the 1960's from zombies being created by voodoo or evil spirits to being created by infection and results of an apocalypse.

This was one of those early films. The main character is hired in the States to be a nurse for the wife of a plantation owner in the West Indies. The wife is unemotional, and non-responsive to anything. Is she a zombie?

The plot is pretty complex, and the characters are pretty good. Overall a decent old film. I have no interest in watching it again so it falls into the just average pool.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036027/

I can't get part how annoying it is when a film becomes popular 50 years after being made because it was so artistic and people of that era were too stupid to realize how good it was.

This is one of those films. The director had a nervous breakdown because it was a flop, yet Criterion felt that it was so great it had to be restored.

This is an old German vampire film, mostly silent, but still with some talking. Very few subtitles, and some panels of text. It is VERY quiet, put you to sleep quiet.

This film has one redeeming quality, and probably the one that gets it some much recognition to this day. The exposure techniques to show shadows walking around were excellent. If I could cut out these one or two scenes, they would be the only portion worth watching. I still can't completely comprehend how they were made, but it was cool.

Not really worthy of any "top film" lists though.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023649/

The classic story of the doctor who takes the potion to become someone else. I never really understood why Dr. Jekyll wanted to be come Mr. Hyde. This was explained very well in the doctor's dissertation at the beginning of the film.

He felt that there was good and evil in everyone, and that he could split these personalities into two. Then he could remove the "evil" one.... he wasn't very clear on how he was going to conquer the evil side. So you can guess were this is going to go...

Fredric March does a fantastic job with the part. For a film made in 1931 the cinematic effects and makeup are really good. For an 80 year old film, this was actually pretty good.

I would suggest it to those looking for some good classics.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022835/

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Devil's Backbone: El espinazo del diablo (2001)

Horror of Dracula (1958)

Halloween II (2009)

White Zombie (1932)

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

One Year Anniversary: Best of the Year

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

The Stepfather (2009)

The Unborn (2009)

Paranormal Activity (2009)

How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

The Bad Seed (1956)

Dead Snow: Død snø (2009)

Manhunter (1986)

Shutter Island (2010)

The Last House on the Left (2009)

The Wolf Man (1941)

The Old Dark House (1932)

The Collector (2009)

The Crazies (2010)

Cat People (1942)

Zombieland (2009)

Jennifer's Body (2009)

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Vampyr: Not Against the Flesh (1932)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

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