Tag Archives: horror

Little Movie Secrets, Reviews

(little movie secrets) 7 Nights of Darkness(2011) – found footage, a bit deja vu!

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Tagline for this movie says Blair Witch meets The Ring. Hmmm, I love found footage horror movies and as I watched this one for the first time, about ten years ago when it came out, I was left with the spooky feeling and loved it. Now, ten years later, it was about time to watch it again.

On April 30, 2010, six reality television show contestants spent seven nights in an abandoned and haunted asylum. The show never aired but an editor for the network was able to piece together some footage. The prize for staying all seven nights was a share of one million dollars that was to be split amongst any contestants that didn’t leave. No money prize was ever collected…

That is the story of this movie. Back to tagline. I don´t know why The Ring is stated, because there is absolutely nothing even reminding of that masterpiece. Well, marketing I suppose. Blair Witch is another story. Let us make one thing clear. This is one good found footage horror flick. Classic story, group of contestants/crew/whatever trapped in an abandoned insane asylum and lots of running, screaming, grainy camera work, reality similar horror, couple of really great situations and scenes, that little girl dancing still gives me creeps like ten years ago when I watched it for the first time. Well, there are couple of ideas taken straight from Blair Witch, like friends voices calling from the depths of the building, remember Josh calling in Blair Witch, he he? Also, remember when Mike stood with his back turned to Heather in that unforgettable Blair finale? Well, similar idea is also here. But, movie is good and recommended to all fans of the genre. Maybe it went a bit under the radar, but that is why this is such great opportunity to recommend it. Acting is okay, a bit irritating at times with screaming too loud and hysteric, but it is a decent overlooked movie.

7/10

movie, Reviews, Various

(movie) The Wind(1986)

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Do you remember eighties direct to video star Wings Hauser? Well, I do. From golden age of my every day crusade to video stores, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, I used to rent all that sci fi vhs movies and also horror cheap, but charming direct to vhs flicks and Wings Hauser starred in quite a few. I somehow missed this one, so it was time for me to correct that error. Meg Foster stars in this one, as a mystery writer Sian Anderson, who travels to distant Greek abandoned village and rents a house there in order to write her new novel and find peace with inspiration through desolate hours and strong winds that rule there. But, she finds out that things are not so peaceful there since Phil(Wings Hauser) also lives in that decrepit village. One night Sian witnesses Phil killing the landlord Elias as he buries him. Phil goes psycho and dangerous cat and mouse game starts right away. The things I like about this movie is the atmosphere of madness and total desolation with that bloody wind sometimes being too irritating and howling around that village. Wings Hauser is fantastic and creepy as psycho Phil but I would love to have heard more about his background story, because the script gives us only glimpses why he is so crazy. Also, there are some discrepancies of stupid behaviour vs real life behaviour by Sian, her husband back in LA and few other characters that appear. The ending of the movie is very bizarre and different from what I used to and left me with a question hanging above my head, was it worth it? Well, yes and no!

5/10

movie, Reviews, Various, Vaults of Hammer Horror

(movie) Dracula has risen from the grave (1968)

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Being an avid horror movie maniac and also collector, I enjoy watching movies in general, but horror is my first and greatest love. My favorite horror subgenre are golden era slasher 80-ies horror, found footage and all those Hammer Horror classics. This is one of those old school legendary house´s British horror movies featuring Christopher Lee in his most legendary role and for me being best Dracula with tight choice between Bela Lugosi and Gary Oldman, who are my top three besides Lee.

This is fourth installment in Hammer´s Dracula series and it revolves around story of a priest Monsignor Ernst who returns to Castle Dracula to perform an exorcism which would expell evil forever although Dracula is dead and gone. As it often goes, Monsignor fails, awakes Dracula who is very angry because of the cross left barring the doors of his ancestral home. Dracula wants revenge and follows priest to the town with help of disgraced local drunkard priest. Simple? Perhaps naive and thrashy? No matter, Hammer movies had charm, charisma, story and they did not depend on cgi effects like today´s horror do. Chris Lee is just fantastic and charismatic, but besides just staring and being evil, he also talks quite a lot in this sequel apart from the ones prior and after. I enjoyed the atmosphere of Transylvania, of old school horror and blood spilled from the most legendary vampire of all. The ending is kind of poetic but leaves place for further sequels. The one thing that I did not enjoy is kind of main good character, young baker Paul, portrayed by Barry Andrews, who went on my nerves with his every facial expression and sentence he said. Maybe it is just me, who knows.

6,5/10