Scary Movie You May Have Missed: Darkness

Forty years have passed after cult-like ritual killings occur in a rural area in Spain, Mark and his family move into a house close to his doctor father. As various bizarre events occur, resulting in the hospitalization of Mark and leaving his son Paul all bruised, it is up to Mark’s daughter Regina and her friend Carlos to solve the mystery behind the strange occurrence that surround the family house.
As much as Darkness is a sort of Pitch Black in a haunted house, it still manages to be unexpectedly entertaining. Even with the stereotypical clairvoyant little child role, it still looks pretty original. This is apparently a “scary movie”, so where are the scares? The elements are present. The performances and the story are pretty solid, the creepy gags work quite well but there just aren’t enough frights. It is all nail-biting suspense with no out-of-the-blue-jump-out-of-your-seat moment. There was at least one loud KABOOM and it was simply an “I didn’t mean to scare you” kind of a horror scare. The ending is quite clever, but it also too obvious to really be the last scream before credits ending. Rather it only raises an eyebrow at best.

I give credit where it’s due, the movie stuck to its ideas. The mood and atmosphere is befittingly dark. It’s just the right kind of darkness that works; there are many movies where all the lights are off in the house but everything inside is conveniently moonlit. Darkness really has great darkness.
Anna Paquin does a pretty good job as this movie’s scream queen. Some familiar faces make up the rest of the cast. Giancarlo Gianinni plays Dr. Rua, grandfather of “Regina” and “Paul” and Iain Glen is the troubled son of Dr. Rua. Although everybody here fits, I just find it strange that while it takes place in Spain, everyone speaks in English and all the accents sound Italian.

The cast does a decent enough job, the story is strong and the suspense is there but this “scary movie” just isn’t scary enough. Darkness may be worth a rent this coming weekend, but make sure to turn the volume up… maybe then you’ll really get scared.

Movie Review: Resident Evil Afterlife

High on action and matrix-like fight scenes makes this an action-packed film. But too short progress in the story line is somehow a let down. This is how I would summarize my review on the latest instalment of Resident Evil. It’s the fourth movie of the Resident Evil movie franchise which focuses on the developing story of the Umbrella Organization’s role in the release of the deadly T-Virus, which was responsible for the zombie outbreak.

The film begins where Resident Evil: Extinction ends, the set of Alice clones attacked the Umbrella headquarters in Tokyo and she was able to get injected with the anti-T Virus, which she believes would make her human.

“Resident Evil: Afterlife,” introduces a familiar character from the game, Chris Redfield, who now joins her sister Claire who suffered from memory loss after the Umbrella Organization put a memory loss device into them. Claire managed to meet Alice on her way to Arcadia.

Experience a New Dimension of Evil

The film was more thrilling and exciting on 3D especially the battle scene where Claire and Alice fight against the large demonic butcher with a huge clever like weapon. The scenes were really captivating.
On the other hand, the battle in the end with the Umbrella Organization’s leader was also great but I felt it was too short. Alice together with Claire and Chris managed to free Arcadia but there is still an imminent attack from the Umbrella Organization.

The film ends there and hints of the next plot for the fifth sequel. Who wouldn’t want a part five especially if Resident Evil: Afterlife topped the Weekend Box Office during its release with $26,650,264 in the United States.

Movie Review: Paranormal Activity 2

As a horror movie fan, I couldn’t help resist what Paranormal Activity had to offer.  But I was rather disappointed and I was really bored and dozing off half way of the film. I swore to myself that if ever there’s a sequel, I’m sure to be the last person to see that movie. But after watching the trailer of Paranormal Activity 2, I suddenly had a change of heart and felt like giving it a chance.

This is actually a prequel

First would be the plot. This is actually a prequel to the first film as it takes place two months before the events of the first movie. Katie’s sister, Kristi, and her family are the ones involved. The story begins with their family setting up security cameras around their house after experiencing what they thought was a series of break-ins, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more dangerous than they seem. Weird things start to happen even during day and a lot more during the night. Through the surveillance videos, they find out that they’re being haunted by an evil presence that has come for their baby. It wasn’t explained if the evil in this film has something to do with that in the first movie. However, it is implied that Kristi and Katie’s mother is to blame for drawing the attention of the demons that haunt them.

As for the acting, it’s actually a bit of a step above the first movie. Not that the acting in the first one was really bad or anything, it’s just that the acting in this movie is way much better because it really does feel like the characters are actually conversing. In the first movie, there were times that the actors were like reading off a script, but here they sound pretty natural throughout the entire film.

Events happen largely as they did in Paranormal Activity, with the same development from small scares to the jump-out-of-your-seat big ones. The effects were really good especially the scene where Kristi got dragged down the stairs. That was really the most terrifying scene as it was very intense.

Paranormal Activity was a big hit only because it offered audiences something that is different from the customary horror film. Paranormal Activity 2, however, is just the same as any other unexceptional sequel but is still worth the watch on a Friday night.

Trapped with the Devil: The “Devil” Movie Review

M. Night Shyamalan is one of my favourite thriller movie directors/screenwriters. He has built a brand name that only a few were able to do in the film industry and he did it at an effortless pace. People actually wait lined-up and have respect for his films. He has started a genre in which the “twist-at-the-end” is king. Although I’m not sure what he was thinking when he decided to go out of his game with “The Last Airbender”? What’s important though is that he’s finally back with what he is known for – his supernatural stories with a shocking twist. “Devil” intrigues us better than any other film he had since “Signs” and “The Sixth Sense”. Can M. Night pull it off again and could this movie be as great or be even better than his previous works? Read on to find out what I think.

The Plot Thickens

A worker commits suicide by jumping from a building. As policemen investigate on what has happened, five strangers step onto an elevator located in the same building. The five strangers are Ben, a temporary security guard with a violent past, Vince, a mattress salesman who’s a scam artist, Jane, an elderly woman who’s actually a thief, Sarah, a gold-digging heiress and finally Tony, who served in Afghanistan. All five have dark pasts, all have been brought together to get trapped on the elevator. As strange things begin happening, it becomes clear that the devil is one of them. The question now is, who?

M. Night: The Return

“Devil” signifies what M. Night has missed as a screenplay writer for too long now. I’m very enthusiastic that he’s finally back up from the pit. First, “Devil” has a story and setting that is simple and yet it is so effective in bringing the thrills and chills. The claustrophobic nature of the elevator exaggerates this point, and the blinking elevator lights as well. Each time the lights go off, something wrong happens and the anticipation just builds up to a greater extent. This a sample of a classic Shyamalan where the twist was not forced. Everything actually feels believable and natural and it all falls into place with little or no effort at all. The ending will surely surprise you and provide more (in our case, a moral lesson to boot). None of his films could probably surpass the brilliance of Sixth Sense but nonetheless, we love this movie. “Devil” is the first film in a trilogy dubbed as “The Night Chronicles”. Given how this film has performed, I can’t wait to see the other two films already.

Watch trailer here

3 Movies That Made Me Leave the Lights On at Night

Terrifying movies are the ones that challenge your guts and force you to scream even when you have tightly held your lips not to scream. Ever thought what the most horrendous thing would happen to you? Yes? Then my list of movies is definitely for you. Even if you don’t spend your time whipping up macabre thoughts like I do, perhaps these movies could simply be a vehicle of entertainment for you. In either case, I’ve put together 3 terrifying films for you to watch at your leisure. From zombies, ghosts to ghouls, there are thousands more out there just waiting to be explored.

The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist is definitely one of the scariest movies of all time, but if you have a strong stomach and heart, you might not find it to be as horrifying as die-hard fans make it out to be. The exorcism in this film is for little Regan. At first, she complains of her bed shaking at night and eventually she turns into a terrifying little thing with little regard for things like priests and crucifixes. The conclusion? Don’t play with Ouija Boards. Also, she has bad party manners. LOL! Kidding aside, The Exorcist is petrifying in a way that only old school films are, quietly giving you goose bumps and a sense of disquiet.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

I think It’s safe to say that everybody knows about The Blair Witch Project (TBWP), and many of its fanatics call it “scarier than The Exorcist”. The movie is very basic. It was shot using a handheld camera, mostly by the three characters in the film and has a pace that picks up feverishly and climaxes to an eerie ending. TBWP has its share of terrifying moments as three people camping out in the deep woods, day and night, would come up with pockets of horror. The fact that the film was being acclaimed as a true story also added to its grisly charm.

Gin Gwai (The Eye) (2002)

Gin Gwai is so chilling you might just have sleepless nights after watching it. The story revolves around Wong Kar Mun, who was blind since she was two and eventually gets a cornea transplant. Mun soon apprehends that she can see more than just what is around her in the perceptible world; she can also see ghost, which follow her to calligraphy classes, tea shops and even the elevator. Imagine being in an elevator with a decaying ghost! Hollywood has made an adaptation of Gin Gwai starring Jessica Alba but unfortunately, it isn’t even half as terrifying as the original.