Trollhunter (2011)

Another film of the "found-footage" sub genre, this Noregian entry is a real winner.  I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would.  It's funny, it's exciting and well-made.   Three documentary film makers decide to follow a man who they assume is a bear poacher.  But he's not, as the title states, he's a troll hunter and after he agrees to let them film him the story really takes off.  There's shakey camera moments and night-vision sequences that some people might not like but I'm impressed at how well-filmed it actually is.  I recommend this for anyone who likes fantasy films and enjoys clever use of mythology.  Grade: A-

The Ward (2011)

John Carpenter returns to the director chair in this mild horror film that does what Sucker Punch wish it had.  It's more of a thriller and I wouldn't say its Carpenter's best film, in fact it's not that great really but it was entertaining and did have me second guessing myself.  Nothing really worth praising but it could have been a lot worse. Grade: B.

Spoiler:  I've read some people's reviews of this film saying it copies the plot twist from a film called Identity.  I can see where their coming from but I like how this film is set in an asylum instead of a motel.  Identity felt forced to me but in this one the twist is more believable.  So what I guess I'm saying is even if it is the same plot twist I actually think it works better in this film.  Who cares who came up with it first.  I'm certain Identity wasn't the first story to use the multiple personality twist.

The Final (2009)

I don't know the purpose of this film.  It's anti-bully and at the same time seems to glamorize high-school terrorism.  A film like this made ten years after the Columbine High School shootings seems irresponsible.  I don't care how cruel these "popular" kids were to the five outcasts turned monsters in this film, their night of payback is not justified or entertaining as a horror film.   If the film had been more of a conflicting drama and less a cheaply made torture film I might see a reason for it being made.  Instead what you have here is a bad horror film that lacks any moral complexities.  A slasher flick pretending to be something else, something its makers don't even understand.  Skip this trite, predictable and worthless film.  Grade: C-

Onibaba [Demon Woman] (1966)

This is pure cinema magic, a spell binding fable with dark consequences.  The story takes place during Japan's dark ages as two women survive by ambushing samurai and selling their armor and weapons to a nearby trader.  The young woman is the wife of the older woman's son, who went to war along with a neighbor.  The neighbor returns to inform them that her son and husband was killed.  Sexual tension rises between the two youths and the older woman will do anything to stop their romance.  Enter into the picture a samurai with a freaky mask.  If you hate foreign films, especially old foreign films then stay away from this one, but if you're like me this is a story that will stay with you for many days.  I loved it and thought it had an ending to rival the best of the genre.  Grade: A

Spoilers:  Remake?  I have to admit as I was watching this I thought to myself could this same story be told as an American horror film set during the Civil war.  It might be difficult with the mask part of it but I'd love to see someone try.

Scream 3 (2000)

It took awhile but I finally finished the Scream Trilogy, and just in time to watch the fourth film that's come out on DVD.  Why the wait?  The first time I tried to watch this film, on VHS, the tape was broken and I was too lazy to get a replacement.  The second time, many years later, I was able to watch the first thirty minutes only for the DVD to skip so badly that I gave up.   Then I just forgot about it.  I'm glad I finally finished it though because this is a fun and satisfying conclusion (or so we all thought it would be) of the Scream series.  The new killer is out there trying to find Sydney who is in hiding, and to get her attention Ghost-face kills cast members for the newest Stab film.  What's interesting about these films is that they're not really horror films but comedies that pay tribute to horror films while satirizing the genre and our media obsessed culture.  Here they take on the rules of a Trilogy and its very fun.  Again what I like about these movies is that they always find a way of surprising me.  I have yet to guess who the Ghost-face is.   While the scares are never as good as the first film the comedy just gets better.  Grade: B+.

I Walked With A Zombie (1943)

More of an elegant supernatural mystery than a horror film (at least for today's standards), this film features Zombies in the Voodoo tradition.  A young nurse named Betty (played by Frances Dee, who is really memorable in this movie) travels to West Indies to care for the catatonic wife, Jennifer, of a plantation manager.  Betty uncovers that there was a love triangle set against two brothers and that the woman she's caring for might not be a live anymore. Grade: B+.

After.Life (2009)

Christina Ricci stars in a movie about a teacher who wakes up in the basement of a funeral home and is told by the funeral director, played by Liam Neeson, that she's dead.  She doesn't feel dead but the director explains to her that he has a gift where he can talk to the recently deceased and that she's like most corpses and must come to accept that her life is over.   This film has a lot of promise but gets bogged down by too many story elements.  You have the boyfriend played by Justin Long having to cope with her death and a little boy who was a student at Christina's school.  No one delivers a great performance but at the same time there's nothing really horrible about the film either.  One thing I liked about it is its message that we should all appreciate our lives more than we do.  Grade: B-.