Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - 2005

The Exorcism of Emily Rose was directed by Scott Derrickson and had bagged an award in both Golden Trailer Awards and MTV Movie Awards.

Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) conducted an exorcism of a young Catholic girl Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) who was suffering from Epilepsy but she died just couple of days after the incident. Though Emily's parents had given full consent to Father Moore for the exorcism, they blamed him for negligible homicide as he asked Emily to stop the medication for her epilepsy. To avoid the charges and scandal, an ambitious lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) was hired. The Court room was stormed by the battle between the religion and science.

Director Derrickson has done a really good job with the movie. The screenplay and cinematography are high class along with the direction. Acting was noteworthy especially in the role of the lawyer Erin Bruner. The movie contained good qualities of special effects, which in turn made the movie more enjoyable. The background score was added very efficiently and thus made the movie more interesting.

Watch the trailer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose.


Some screen shots/ scenes from The Exorcism of Emily Rose.




My Rating - 8/10
Learn More Here.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Cradle Of Fear - 2001

Cradle Of Fear was written and directed by Alex Chandon. This movie was made in UK but definitely lacked some British movie making class.

Detective Pete Nelson was in charge of the investigation of some bloody and gruesome series of murders, which were somehow connected to the serial killer Kemper.On the other hand, Melessa (Emily Booth) had sex with a sick man (Dani Filth) she met at the bar. The next morning she began to feel strange as is possessed by a devil. Soon she found out that she was pregnant with the sick man's offspring.

This movie is nothing more than strange mix of extreme violence and loud screams. A very amateurish camera work and direction can be easily noticed in the movie. Even the special effects and CGs are extremely bad. This flick is full of vampires, Goth cultures and gore, but sometimes these things only make the movie look funny. Nevertheless, a good attempt by the director considering the budget constraint.

Watch the trailer of Cradle of Fear.


Some screen shots/ scenes from Cradle of Fear.






My Rating - 4/10
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Population 436 - 2006

Directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren, Population 436 is a low budget, yet a decent American horror flick.

The surveyor of US Census Bureau, Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto) went to Rockwell Falls for an assignment. He was escorted by the local Deputy (Fred Durst) and the town's Mayor provided him with accommodation. Soon Steve realized that the population of the small town has unchanged every year for the last 100 years. Each year's survey report showed that the population was 436.

In spite of being a low budget flick, the movie really impresses me. The background score as well as few stunts and special effects are done really well. The storyline is good enough to keep you intact in your seat till the movie ends. Beautiful cinematography has added more flavor to this movie.

Watch the trailer of Population 436.


Some screen shots/ scenes from Population 436.





My Rating - 6/10
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Black Christmas - 1974

Black Christmas was directed by Bob Clark and undoubtedly considered as one of the few good classic horrors, which can even be remembered today.

Just before the Christmas Eve, a psycho entered the attic of a Canadian house. The girls living that the house begun to get obscene phone calls. Slowly they started disappearing one by one.

This is a classic horror-slasher movie of the 70's. The story is pretty ordinary. Acting, direction and stunts are what you need to look for in this flick. Even though the story is quite predictable, it will still give you a spine chilling experience. Few scenes are extremely graphic in nature related to violence. This movie has been recently remade with the same title. Overall, this is a watchable movie. Don't expect much from this movie except an hour and half of suspense and thrill.

Watch the trailer of Black Christmas.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Black Christmas.






My Rating - 5.5/10
Learn More Here.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Cabin Fever - 2002

Written by Eli Roth and Randy Pearlstein, Cabin Fever is a mix of blood splitting experience. Director Eli Roth won the 3rd place for this flick in the Fant-Asia Film Festival in the category of "Best Foreign Film".

A group of friends decided to take a weekend break and headed towards the mountain. They rented a cabin inside the woods. Bert went for shooting squirrels but accidentally shot a hermit (Arie Verveen) who was suffering from a deadly flesh eating disease. The injured hermit asked for Bert's help but he ran away without helping him. That night the hermit came to the cabin in a drunken condition and in a panic the group of friends killed the hermit. The hermit died in a water tank from, which Karen (Jordan Ladd) drank without knowing that the corpse of the hermit is inside that tank. Karen developed a strange contagious skin disease. Her friends made a make shift tent outside the cabin and shifted her there. But slowly, friends began to die one by one.

This movie is quite fast. The typical Eli Roth horror-gore oriented style can be easily noticed. You won't find much of content in the storyline as there is actually nothing much to tell. It is a simple, clear cut story. In this movie you would know what will happen next but only you don't know how it will happen. Direction and usage of special effects and stunts are quite noteworthy though.

Watch the trailer of Cabin Fever.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Cabin Fever.






My Rating - 4.5/10
Learn More Here.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Rope - 1948

A classic masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock, Rope is still one of most watched creations of the director. This creation of Hitchcock is the adaptation of a play by Patrick Hamilton.

Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger), both Manhattan intellectual decided to commit the "perfect murder". David, an associate became the victim of their foul play. David was chocked to death by Brandon and Phillip. They decided to display arrogance by not dumping the body secretly but to play a bigger game. The duo put David's corpse inside a giant trunk and invited all their friends and associates to a dinner party. The trunk was substituted as a table top. Food and drinks were served on top of David's grave. Brandon started to get a 'kick' out of the situation while Philip begun to feel nervous and extremely guilt ridden due to their heinous act.

This 80 minute flick is full of suspense, thrill and drama. Completely shoot inside an apartment, this movie gives an unique taste of treatment of Hitchcock. The actors have really shown great acting skills in this flick. A must watch for all "classic lovers" and Hitchcock admirers.

Watch the trailer of Rope.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Rope.






My Rating - 7/10
Learn More Here.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Chakushin Ari 2 - 2005

Chakushin Ari 2 aka One Missed Call is the sequel of the famous supernatural horror Chakushin Ari. This sequel is directed by Renpei Tsukamoto and was released just after two years of the first part.

Kyoko Okudera's (Mimura) colleagues have convinced her to visit her boyfriend Naota Sakurai (Yu Yoshizawa) in a restaurant where he worked. The owner of the restaurant Mr.Wang accidentally received a call on his daughter's cell. Just after that Mr.Wang died under mysterious circumstances inside the kitchen. Naota met a journalist friend who was investigating in that matter. Several other deaths were linked. The only connection they discovered was that every victim had received a call just before his or her death.

This movie is a big dissappointment for me, especially after the first part. The director failed to portray the story clearly and as a result it was a mess. At certain point, the story seemed to make no sense at all. Acting and sound effects are okiesh. May be this is a bad movie, or just the first part was too good.

Watch the trailer of Chakusin Ari 2.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Chakushin Ari 2.






My Rating - 3.5/10
Learn More Here.

The Others - 2001

The Others written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar is a very popular Hollywood based horror flick. It has won around 22 awards in countries like UK and US.

After the World War II, Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) shifted to a new house with her two children Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley). It was a fantabulous mansion in the middle of an island. Grace had already lost her husband in the World War II. Everything was perfect until three mysterious servants came to work. Things began to change as those servants began to unfold the dark secrets of the house and the family.

It is a brilliant movie. Excellent storyline and background scoring really makes this movie worth enjoying. Nichole Kidman did a marvelous job. Even the child artists played their role perfectly in the movie. The climax is very interesting and it will turn the whole story upside down. A highly recommended movie.

Watch the trailer of The Others.



Some screen shots/ scenes from The Others.






My Rating - 8.5/10
Learn More Here.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Rosemary's Baby - 1968

Rosemary's Baby was an intense horror film. The director Roman Polanski had really blended well bits of drama and romance in this flick too; and end result was the birth of a fantastic movie. This amazing piece of art had won 2 Oscars and 1 Golden Globe Award along with several others.

Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) shifted to an old apartment in Manhattan with her husband Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes). The apartment gave her a creepy feeling and soon she started experiencing odd things happening in her life. Her husband was enchanted with their neighbour Mr. & Mrs. Castevet (Ruth Gordon & Sydney Blackmer) whose child had committed suicide. Rosemary became pregnant after she dreamt of a strange creature making love with her. Her health began to deteriorate after that and then there was no other option left but to "pray for Rosemary's baby".

This movie is more like a drama, the horror element is mostly subtle. Polanski did an excellent job as usual along with the actors. The movie might seem much longer than usual horror movie and even at a certain point it might test your patience; but nonetheless, a good classic stuff. No blood or gore, neither unnecessary sound effects; but that's what made this flick different from others. If you like Hitchcock's stuff, definitely this movie is going to make you happy.

Watch the trailer of Rosemary's Baby.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Rosemary's Baby.






My Rating - 6/10
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Child's Play - 1988

Child's Play takes you back to the good old days of pure classic horror movies. Directed by Tim Holland, this movie has become a cult in itself during that era.

After watching a commercial, young Andy (Alex Vincent) asked her mother (Catherine Hicks) to buy him a "Good Guy" doll for his birthday. Her mom found a peddler who was selling the same doll for a cheap price. She bought it and presented it to Andy without knowing that the same doll contained the spirit of a serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif). Before dying in the gun battle with the police, Lee successfully transferred his soul into the "Good Guy". On that very night, Andy's babysitter died by falling from the 5th floor apartment. Andy knew who killed her babysitter but nobody believed Andy.

One of the milestone in the history of horror movies. Child's Play was a movie, which had every essential elements of a horror flick. The story and the screen play was excellent, so was the remarkable acting by little Andy. Considering that period, the special effects used in the movie were quite admirable. A must watch for all horror lovers.

Watch the trailer of Child's Play.



Some screen shots/ scenes from Child's Play.






My Rating - 8.5/10
Learn More Here.