- Horror Movie - Horror Homeroom

Posted on February 21, 2016

The Witch: Dread-Soaked Wilderness

Dawn Keetley

With The Witch, Robert Eggers has written and directed one of those rare horror films that will, without a doubt, enter the canon of important and enduring horror films. It will be loved by all kinds of fans for all kinds of reasons; and it will be talked about for years and taught in film classes. In case that puts you off, don’t let it! The Witch is also beautiful, viscerally disturbing, and downright scary. The acting is brilliant—especially Ralph Ineson as the father, William, and the luminescent Anya Taylor-Joy as his eldest daughter Thomasin. Try taking your eyes off her when she’s on the screen.

Posted on January 25, 2016

The Boy (2016) Review

Dawn Keetley

Summary: The Boy brilliantly weaves together two very different sub-genres to show how crucial loss and grief are to the horror tradition.

Directed by William Brent Bell (of The Devil Inside [2012]) and written by Stacey Menear, The Boy follows Greta Evans (Lauren Cohan—known to most of us as Maggie from AMC’s The Walking Dead) as she travels to England from the US to take a nanny position at an isolated house in the country. She finds herself in a strange position, to say the least, when she is introduced to her new charge. Brahms is a doll. After his parents (the Heelshires) leave for their first “holiday” in years (which turns out to be not quite a holiday), Greta is left alone with Brahms—told she must adhere strictly to a list of rules. She must assist Brahms through a daily schedule of eating, school work, music, bedtime reading and kisses goodnight; she must never cover his face, never take him out of the house, and never leave him alone. Needless to say, as soon as the Heelshires leave, Greta chucks Brahms on a chair, throws a blanket over him, drinks a bottle of wine, reads a magazine, and falls asleep. Before long, she’s planning a date. After all, she’s not crazy and Brahms is only a doll . . . right?

Posted on January 20, 2016

The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) Review

Gwen

2014 | R | 90min | Director: Adam Robitel | Writers: Adam Robitel & Gavin Heffernan | USA

Grade: A+

Synopsis: While working on a PhD dissertation regarding Alzheimer’s, a student and her camera crew document the long term effects of the disease on one woman. During the course of filming, the family and the crew come to discover that the degenerative disease is not the only thing wearing away Deborah Logan’s body.

Review: A smart and tense film that will keep even the seasoned horror fan on the edge of her seat!

The Nuts & Bolts: I cannot help but begin this review by stating that this was by far one of the best horror films I have seen in recent history. The Taking of Deborah Logan maintained a high level of suspense without relying on the usual tropes. The acting was stellar, especially from Jill Larson (Deborah), and Anne Ramsay (Sarah). The writing and directing was innovative and well executed. Overall The Taking of Deborah Logan will appeal to fans of a damn good story as well as fans, more specifically, of the sub-genres of found footage, ritualistic horror, possession, serial killers, as well as suspense. One might ask, how does this film incorporate such schizophrenic themes? To that, I answer…”very effectively.”

Posted on January 15, 2016

The Forest (2016) Review

Gwen

95 min | 2016 | (USA) | Jason Zada

Grade: B-

Synopsis: A young American woman named Sara Price (Dormer) travels to Japan’s Suicide Forest (Aokigahara) in search of her missing twin who has a troubled past.

Review: Slow, building horror with a cerebral bend.

If you are looking for jump scares, tons of special FX, or gore, this movie is not for you. If I had to categorize it, I would call it more of a suspenseful thriller. The Forest is like the burn in your muscles the day after a good run. While watching The Forest, it is at times difficult to tell the difference between what is real and imagined. The film’s dream-like quality leaves you as disoriented as the characters that attempt to navigate the labyrinth inside the Aokigahara Forest.

Be prepared, the Aokigahara doesn’t actually play as large of a role in the film as you might think. I won’t give away any spoilers but if you are going to enjoy this film, you have to go in with an open mind. Upon viewing trailers, one might think the whole film is about the horrors that lurk within this specific forest…not so much. The Suicide Forest is a conduit for the larger portion of the film to unfurl. In fact, I would suggest that the nebulous forest is just a means for Sara and her twin, Jess (also played by Dormer) to work out their equally ill-defined inner demons.

Posted on January 14, 2016

Silent Retreat (2016) Review

Dawn Keetley

Summary: Silent Retreat is worth watching. Great cinematography and suspenseful, well-told story, as well as its exploration of the double, elevate this film a bit above the average.

Silent Retreat is directed by Ace Jordan, written by Jordan and Heather Smith, produced by Starko Entertainment, and was released to VOD and DVD on January 12, 2016.

Shot in a beautiful location on Big Bear Lake in California, Silent Retreat follows a group of media employees who head into the woods for a weekend retreat. They soon discover that the lodge they’re staying in was, not too long ago, a psychiatric hospital. And then the retreat participants start unaccountably disappearing.

I was definitely engaged by Silent Retreat, but I have to say up front that it has some significant problems. The writing (specifically the dialogue) was not great and neither, unfortunately, was the acting, which seemed generally to be of daytime-soap-opera quality. And as much as the story itself was one of the film’s strengths, I did see the big reveal (that is, the identity of the killer) coming from at least the middle of the film.