Paranormal Activity

8/10

"Sometimes the things you regret the most are the chances you don't take.."-Unknown.

The above quote has nothing directly to do with "Paranormal Activity," but it is exactly how I felt after watching it. This 2007 film is one that I put off for years with the fear that I was going to hate it. I felt like it had been advertised too much, and that there was only a rave about it because of the whole "Bandwagon" thing. As I sat down to view this for the first time, my expectations were as low as could be. I had seen the positive reviews online, but I was not enthused at all. By the time this 88 minute experience was done, I was mesmerized. "Paranormal Activity" is a rare film, with its greatness being in the works of an extremely small budget. Oren Peli made all of the right choices with the film, including perfect scare techniques, a great cast, and awesome techniques as a director. I personally thought this was one of the finest horror movies of the 21st century. 

The story follows a young couple named Katie and Micah. The two of them are mildly concerned, because paranormal terrorizing has come back into Katie's life, and is starting to take the house over. Micah begins to tape their room at night, and they begin to see these occurrences happen. Right away, they call a specialist named Dr. Frederichs. Frederichs senses something wrong instantly, and suspects it may be a demon. He unveiled that the house isn't the problem, but Katie herself is being followed. Sadly, this practice is out of the man's field, but he recommends a demonologist named Dr. Avery. Micah is very against this, because he wants to take care of the problems by himself. As a result, the hauntings become worse and worse, until both of their lives become hell, and their fate becomes unknown.

The first thing that I loved about this film was the cast. Katie Featherston was very good in the role of Katie, because she made the anger and frustrations in her character come to life. Micah Sloat was awesome as Micah, because he really played a role that you could see being him in real life. He could portray a laid back coolness, or a freaked out hysteria in the matter of seconds. Mark Frederichs was good as Dr Frederichs, because he didn't make himself likable, which worked for the unreliable nature of his role. 

The movie was shot in found footage, and although I usually dislike that technique, it worked really well for this film. I thought that it gave more of the feel that what was happening was real, and added to the freakiness of scenes. I think the reason it worked in this movie was that it was shot at home, rather than in a less appropriate place like the woods. When the characters are asleep or doing casual actions(like in the film), it is much easy to keep a steady filming. In others where there is a lot of running in a big space, the camera becomes too shaky, which makes it annoying. 

As if watched the movie, I was trying to compare it to others in the supernatural genre to see what was good and bad. One of the film's that came up the most in comparison was "The Amityville Horror." This movie is not one I'm a fan of, and I felt that "Paranormal Activity" succeeded in everything that the former failed to do. Both films had a gradual increase with each occurrence to make it freakier, but the problem with "Amityville" was that it's peak was nothing spectacular at all, and it fell back to its happy go lucky nature in seconds. "Paranormal Activity" knew how to keep going with its increase until it completely shocked you, and it never went back down. I thought that this made the movie genuinely scary, because it made you wait a very long time for the payoff, but when it came it was something more than imagination could withhold. 

The DVD I bought for this film gave the option of watching two different endings to the movie. The theatrical one was perfect in my eyes, because it left a lot of mystery as to what was happening. The alternate one was much weaker in my opinion, because it went too far with its violence, and took away from the nature of the film's intended horror. I thought that it also took away any questioning as to what was occurring, because it was all on screen. I feel that the conclusion that was shown to the public was the right decision, and was part of the eventual success. 

Overall, this movie was really great. It was a smart, scary, and enjoyable film that will become a classic one day. I thought it was probably the greatest paranormal movie I've seen thus far, because of its fresh tactics in scares. I definitely recommend this to all horror fans, because it is dark and exciting, and something that you will never forget.  

Prom Night II: Hello Mary Lou Review

8/10

The 1980 film "Prom Night" had been a big success in the box office, and it set a tone for the slasher genre.  It soared Jamie Lee Curtis even farther into stardom, and was personally one if my favorites starring her.  This 1987 sequel took the series into a different direction, the paranormal...  It honestly has next to nothing with the original, yet it has still become a hit.  

The movie starts by introducing us to a character named Mary Lou Maloney.  The year is 1957, and this teenage girl confesses her grave sins to a priest.  As the penance is about to begin, she says she loved every minute of the wrongdoings, and leaves.  The film then goes to Mary's prom, where she is hails prom queen.  Her angry and jealous boyfriend Billy is angered by the fact that she is going to be heading home with another man that she likes more. Out of revenge, he decides to throw a stink bomb down on the stage by Mary.  An accident occurs, and the bomb sets fire of the poor girl. I found this beginning quite interesting, and while I think that the nature of Malone's death was a little absurd, it was still a good foreshadowing for the future plot of the movie. 

A jump forward to present time takes place, and we meet Vicki Carpenter.  Vicki is a high school student, and she has just been asked to prom by her boyfriend. We also see that the principal of this high school is Billy. I like this a lot, because it gives the allowance of seeing him be haunted by the death of Mary.  

One of the problems with the film is that after the intro, there is about twenty minutes of absolute trash. The scenes are melodramatic, and they completely turned me off for some time. I thought that this movie was going to be terrible overall because of this, and I really wish that they would've been a little more careful. 

Things start to get weird as small occurrences happen around the school. Items fly around, and Vicki gets the feeling that something is wrong.  This is proven when her good friend Jess is hung by something that can't be seen.  While everyone called the death a suicide, Vicki knows this isn't true. She doesn't know exactly what is happening, but begins to get a feeling that Mary Lou has something to do with it. 

A point I'd like to emphasize is that no matter how enjoyable this movie is, it should have never been called "Prom Night 2." Originally, it was called "The Haunting of Hamilton High," but Alliance Films chose to rename it so they could feed off the success of the original.  This scam was a really dumb idea, because this movie has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the 1980 film.  I think that in naming the film as they did, it mislead people, which led to disappointment. While I still like the movie, I was quite ticked off about this.

One of the things that I really liked about this movie was the supernatural/ paranormal scenes.  Everything was done very practically, and they were a lot of fun.  One of my personal favorite parts was when Vicki got pulled into the chalkboard.  It really showcased good special effects, and while it wasn't scary, it was still intense.  I also love the way that Mary Lou really took over Vicki.  A girl that was once innocent became a promiscuous and evil girl, and she became vulgar and disgusting. I think this was a clever plot twist, because it made the movie extremely bizarre and memorable. 

Another thing that I noticed in the movie is that it made many references to horror movies like "Carrie" and "The Exorcist." I found this cool, because it gave a nostalgic feeling while I watched the movie, and it showed that the filmmakers had a real love for the genre. Some examples I saw this in were the emphasis of the locker room(Carrie), the use of telekinetic powers to harm people(Carrie), the increase in meanness(the Exorcist), the increase of erotic needs(Exorcist), the head spin(Exorcist),  etc.  

I thought that the cast in the movie was fair enough. Wendy Lyon was an obvious favorite in the role of Vicki, because she really showed a lot of depth in her skills. She started off as a modest and shy girl, but turned into a complete train wreck because of her possession, and every moment was completely convincing.  Michael Ironside was pretty cool as Billy, because he showed a lot of emotional distress as a result of Mary Lou.  Richard Monette gave one heck of a performance as Father Cooper.  The moment that I really saw his greatness was right after he heard possessed Vicki tell her sins. You could sense his anguish because of the deathly look on his face, and he didn't have to say anything at all.  The rest of the supporting cast was mediocre to good, because they did nothing super impressing, but they kept the film alive with their likable nature, or sometimes jerky personalities.

The scenes at prom were actually a little bit of an improvement from the first movie, because they are much less dated. There is a more hip feel to the dance, and the music is still somewhat relatable. I also feel that the style of the dance is more like now, because it was like a party rather than just dancing the whole time. 

The ending of the movie was absolutely phenomenal. I almost saw it as a little reference to "A Nightmare On Elm Street," because it was thought that everything was fine, but then something completely spontaneous happens and leaves you completely puzzled. This was the perfect ending, and I think it was even better than the closing to the original movie. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this film a lot. While it was flawed at parts, it was an adrenaline driving piece of chaos that really served the decade well.  I almost feel that while "Prom Night" was superior in its filmmaking, this one was equally(if not more) enjoyable. I highly recommend this movie to all fans of horror, because it is a obscure treat that is not to be missed. 

The Ghost Review

8/10

Barbara Steele is literally the queen of Italian horror, and this 1963 classic is another prime example of that point. Directed by Riccardo Freda, the film tells the story of greed, murder, and a revenge that one would have nightmares about. This movie is shocking, gruesome, and a great gem that is overlooked by many. 

As the film begins, we meet Margaret and John Hitchcock.  John is a doctor, and he is bound to his wheelchair. Margaret is having an affair with John's doctor Charles Livingstone, and she wants to get rid of John. Charles is very hesitant, but Margaret convinces him to let her go through with it. Charles then gives John a lethal injection, and he dies.  I really found this scene to be painfully sad, because John really did love Margaret, and he was completely helpless. 

As the film continues, the two lovers try to make the death of John seem as natural as possible, and we then see the will being read.  Charles and Margaret then look for the fortune of John's, but they cannot find it.  Regardless of this, the two of them believe that they're off the hook, but they were very wrong....  Even though these scenes are extremely slow, I could tell that things were really going to get good, because small occurrences started to happen occasionally.  

The actual paranormal scenes are very crazy in my opinion, and even though they're quite simple, I still found a lot of terror in them. The way that John's body comes back and haunts them was just done so well, because he had such a sluggish quality to the way he moved, and his face was cold as ice. I really feel that rather than the hauntings being physical, that the paranoia coming from the guilt of murdering him created these thoughts and images, which made them go crazy. Along with my experience of watching "An American Haunting"(which I already reviewed), I became very enlightened on what the reality of ghosts really is. 

Outside of the parts revolving around paranormal activity, there was some other scenes that contributed to the freakiness of the movie. What really gets to a viewer is the way the cinematography gets close ups of things so they become frightening. One of the greatest examples of this is the scene where Margaret is in the basement, and she sees a bunch of skulls.  The greatest virtue of what the filmmakers did was that after the shots of the skulls, the viewers get to see the reaction of only Steele's eyes, which gives a very raw depiction of fear. 

Another thing that I loved about this film was the cast. To start things off, it stars Barbara Steele, whom is slowly becoming one of my favorite actresses in the horror genre. She gives such a great performance in the sense that she can be very dark, and can give a very convincing portrayal of paranoia.  Peter Baldwin was also great as Charles Livingstone, because he was very stern, and often angry because of the darknesses in his life. "The Ghost" John Hitchcock was portrayed by Elio Jotta, and he was extremely fit for this role. His voice has such a haunting tone to it, and he went from a helpless old man to a powerful source of evil very proficiently. 

The climax of this movie was absolutely INSANE!  I couldn't believe how far things got, and the murder of a main character completely blew my mind.  The way it was done was so perfect too. Instead of just normal gore, the blood actually splattered on the screen, and there was a lot of it. I think it might have been one of the coolest kills in horror history because of its innovative technique, and the brutal emotions that were portrayed. 

The ending of the movie was very masterful and shocking. In these last few minutes, we see what really happened to Dr Hitchcock, and we see the insanity of Margaret hit a peak.  I love how sudden the ending is, because it doesn't add stupid fluff to ruin it.  It brought so many questions to my head, and I think that flow of imagination is the greatest result of a horror movie. 

PLEASE CHECK THIS MOVIE OUT FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. It is such an underrated and amazing movie, and it truly shocked me at many points. While some parts are mildly slow moving, they only do this for the build up, and I promise you that you won't be let down. 

Nightmare Castle Review

8.5/10

"Nightmare Castle"(aka "The Faceless Monster) is a 1965 Italian gothic film that was directed by Mario Caiano.  It starred horror legend Barbara Steele, and it is one of her most remembered movies. It was extremely shocking for its time, and I found it to be one of the coolest B-Movies ever.

The film starts off showing the unhappy marriage between a scientist named Dr. Steven Arrowsmith and his wife Muriel.  Muriel walks into Stephen's lab as he is working, and he becomes angry with her. The scene then skips forward a little bit, and we see the affair of Muriel and her lover. The two of them seem extremely happy, but then Steven takes them both, and a chain of brutal horrors begin.  I really feel that this beginning was fast moving, and that the supposed build up was almost immediately.  Regardless, these scenes of torture were quite shocking for their time, and there is a surprising amount of bloodshed. 

After the hearts of Muriel and her secret lover are removed from their bodies, Steven marries Jenny, this institutionalized sister of Muriel.  He does this because Muriel's will was only giving to her, and he wanted some of the money.  Jenny tries to be happy in the house of Steven, but she begins to go crazy again because of terrifying nightmares she has.  While this plot line isn't really an original, it truly gives a lot of mystery that really makes the viewer wonder about what is going to happen. 

One of the great positives of the film is the cast. Barbara Steele was truly the real deal in Italian horror films, because she had so much depth in her performances. This is shown to a great extent in this movie, because she plays both Muriel and Jenny. The thing that I really love about this is that she never failed to confuse me as to which character she was acting as.  Paul Muller was also quite amazing, because he was extremely dark, and he gave off the vibe that something was up the entire time.  Laurence Clift was very likable as Dr. Dereck Joyce, because he had the best interest of helping Jenny, and would do anything to help her figure out what is wrong. 

I love this paranormal elements of this story a lot. The taking over of bodies makes one heck of a shock, and I feel that for 1965, it was a pretty innovative plot twist.  All of the actors conveyed these possessions very well, because you almost forget that they aren't themselves, and it's very freaky. After the possessions, the actual bodies even come back, and it is quite amazing how haunting the once peaceful Steele suddenly became.  In fact, the last fifteen minutes of the film created one of the craziest endings ever, because all hell broke loose, and a plethora of outrageous and gory occurrences take place.  This is the absolute perfect climax to a horror movie, and I am utterly impressed in every way. 

I definitely recommend this film to any fan of the classics, because it has the perfect amount of shock value to make you go wild.  While some parts were arguably slow, they really help the build up for complete hell, and they're easy to look past.  There was also great performances by everyone, especially Steele, and it was just one heck of a fun movie. 

An American Haunting(2005) Review

9/10

Okay so this review marks a couple important landmarks in my writing history. This is the first article I did on a paranormal film, and it's also the first new horror flick I've reviewed. This film is extremely enjoyable in my opinion, and while it was not popular with other critics at all, I saw something special in it. This film looks fantastic, it was cast perfectly, and it is one of the best paranormal films I have ever watched.

The film starts out in a way I appreciate very much.  It shows a young girl in modern day America running away from something in the woods. This scene was filmed very well. The snow gives it a chilling feel(no pun intended), and the quick movement of the camera makes the running feel much more authentic. 

After the present time is shown for a few minutes the film goes into its main setting of 1817. Not many horror films go back this far in time, but being this one is based on an allegedly true story, they had to.  This film did a great job of bringing the viewer back two centuries. One of the best factors of it all is the costumes. Every character looks the time perfectly, and I give major props to all of the costume designers for a job well done. The scenery is also beautiful in this movie. The woods look fantastic, and the buildings look very at the time. Some of the looks remind me of the 1992 film "Last of the Mohicans," because it has a very relaxing look in some scenes. On the complete other hand, a lot of the scene were done perfectly because of the dark feeling they cause. In the end, whether it's capturing the time, or just the film itself, the movie looks fantastic in all ways possible. 

The acting in this film was pleasant for sure, mainly because of the safe picks in cast members. First of, Donald Sutherland plays the main character John Bell. Sutherland is one of those actors that can't do me wrong, and this role was just another effortlessly amazing role by him. He gives such a dark performance, because even though he is portrayed as a nice guy, the delivery of his words, and his sinister smile give a hidden persona in him. Sissy Spacek was another pick that couldn't go wrong in the role of John's wife Lucy. She does a great job in capturing the fear and tensity needed in frightening moments, and then in the next scene she can go back to being a kind and loving mother and wife.  The standout in this film for me was Rachel Hurd-Wood in the role of Betsy Bell.  She gave a better performance as the victim of paranormal torture than I have have seen in a long time. She captures so much terror and emotion in her performance, and the viewer really feels so much toward her.  The way that she shakes around and freaks out is just priceless, and I feel that she did near as good as Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."  This was such a mature performance for young actress like her, and I give humongous praise to her. 

In the past, I haven't really been a fan of paranormal films. I watched "Poltergeist" a few years ago, and I just couldn't dig it at all. About two years ago, I watched "The Exorcist," and while it was a very well made film in all standards, I just couldn't get into it fully. The problem I had was the fact that I couldn't be convinced of anything like those films happening in real life.  This film really changed my opinion for me.  I could really see a happening like this taking place, because it doesn't just depict a ghost or the devil taking over someone, but much much more. I almost feel that while curses are still mildly a part of this film, that the happenings are much more psychological, and because of past trauma or sins in life. I really feel that Betsy is having a lot of these attacks because of a horrible experience that is revealed near the end of the film.  I feel that her mind was scarred, and that she became very paranoid in life. On the other hand, I think John has attacks brought to him because of his wrongdoings of his past. I feel like that his guilt ate him up the point that he felt that these horrible things were happening to him, while in the end it is just his paranoid mind playing games with him.  So in the sense that this film is called a true story, I could totally believe that in a sense.  While I'm still skeptical on the idea of ghosts physically being real, I totally believe in the psychological aspect of it 100%.

In the last section, I talked about the ideas of paranormal activities in the film, but there is a whole different side to the plot, and that's what we see in these occurrences. The scenes of the hauntings are absolutely amazing in this film. The way the camera moves, the flashing lights, the dark nature, the screams, and just everything makes the scenes amazing. I love how the stress portrayed in the character is brought of to the audience, because it really gives us the ride of the terror, and makes the film all the more freaky. Another thing I love is that you can see how these occurrences really take a toll on people like Betsy. You see her get angry more frequently, you see her asleep in class, and you see the physical ailments coming on to her. One of the best examples of this in my opinion was when she lays down at one point, and you can see that her eyes have circles of black all around them.  This is what makes a paranormal film great, because while it isn't a quick violence movie like a slasher, they portray the terror in a much slower and chilling way. 

Overall, there really wasn't anything I could complain about in this movie. It surprised me that I enjoyed it so much, but I could honestly call it the best paranormal movie I have seen so far. It was freaky, interesting, and extremely well made.  I mentioned earlier that many critics hated this movie. Only 12% of the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes liked it. I can confidently say that I can be added to this 12% because I have become a huge fan.  This is the first horror movie I have liked from the 2000's, and it has inspired me to be more open to the genre itself, and more recent films. Definitely check this out, because you will not regret it one bit.

What Truly Makes a Movie Scary?

Horror movies have been a huge part of culture for near a century now.  They have shocked billions of people ever since the start of their existence.  Some of the films were good, some were terrible, and some of them have been able to scare the life out of people. What makes these movies scary though? Is it the themes, the violence, the music, or the villain? In this article I will tell you what I personally think makes a movie frightening.

The first thing that makes a film scary is the personality of a really good villain.  A villain that is frightening is one whom is subtle, demented, silent, and sadistic.  You can't have a villain that just kills people.  There has to be a deeper brutality in them, and maybe even a suggestion that they take pleasure from what they do.  If you look at characters like Michael Myers from "Halloween", or Buffalo Bill from "Silence of the Lambs," you can really see that they're just twisted people.  Even though Michael doesn't talk, you can really sense the insanity just by how he presents himself.  In Buffalo Bill, you are able to be frightened by the warped dialogue he speaks, and in his happiness of what he does.  In a character like Jason Voorhees, the idea that he goes after every teen in the area is pretty crazy, because you know it's a form of vengeance. The thing that will really get you with Jason is how threatening he is when he moves. 

The next thing that a scary movie needs is surprise.  A movie that just goes through killing people back and forth won't exactly scare you, because there won't be any suspense.  But if there are scenes where the audience is under the pressure of not knowing the fate of a character, then they will get much more anxious and scared.  One of the greatest examples of this is the film "Halloween."  The whole last part of the film is completely insane, because Jamie Lee Curtis is literally on the verge of being murdered the whole time, and she is in like a rush hour chase scene in her own house.  The best part of this whole entire thing is the scene where Jamie is hiding in the closet, and Michael opens it to try to find her.  This is such a tense and horrifying scene for many, because she is sitting there completely in shock, and Michael has every opportunity to find and kill her.  The fact that the scene is filmed dark, and that the closet is small makes it a very very mortifying scene.  A horror movie really only needs one scene like this, because that one increment of the whole film will mark your memory forever.

I think a good soundtrack really makes a big difference in the scary nature of a film.  The best thing to do is make a theme that will follow through the film as things happen.  Great examples; "Jaws", "Halloween", and the "ch ch ch" theme in "Friday the 13th".  These theme songs are great, because they really almost work as a way for building up tension in the film. The best thing they can do is tease you with them though, because while they usually are used when something bad is about to happen, if they're used to mess with you, it will throw off your readiness for the scary moments. 

I don't think the violence in a film is what really makes it scary. I think it can disgust the viewers, or make them shocked, but I don't find them to be what really scares them.  The really frightening things is when things are implied offscreen.  When this happens, your imagination really kicks in, and you think of all of the horrible things that might've happened.  If you hear loud noises and screaming while the screen is dark, then anything could've happened from a stabbing to torture. I feel this works well, and it will definitely freak people out more than just screen gore. 

Overall, I find that movies are scarier when messing with psychological aspects of the audience are messed with.  The gore is more for the fun or disgusting nature of the film. If you can really get a person worried, then you have a successful scary movie.   What do you all think makes a film scary?  Feel free to comment.