We've got some great films for you this week; a ghost story, an epic revenge, a crazy Japanese cut-and-paste and a disassembled monster. We hope you enjoy.
Here are this week's BLOODY STREAMS...please enjoy...
The Innkeepers (2011)
Last week when I discussed V/H/S, I mentioned Ti West. I’m sure all of you know who Ti is, but I really can’t say enough good things about him. The man is a modern horror master, in my opinion. He’s one of us – a fan – and you can really tell. Along with Insidious, The Innkeepers is the best ghost movie to come along since probably the early 2000’s when films like The Others, The Sixth Sense, Stir of Echoes and The Ring were scaring audiences in droves. It’s a slow burn, but the payoffs are very rewarding. As someone who “hunted” ghost in my youth, the story really spoke to my love of all things ‘bump in the night’. It takes place at The Yankee Peddler, an Inn that is closing its doors after a hundred years of service. The last two employees, Claire and Luke decide to take the final weekend to investigate rumors that the Inn is haunted by the ghost of Madeline O’Malley, before it’s too late. That’s all I’ll say plot-wise. The film is a love letter to classic ghost tales. It’s a fucking blast and it will not disappoint. Turn all the lights off, crank up the sound, click play and start looking over your shoulder.
I Saw the Devil (2011)
Korea is basically kicking ass lately. This is one giant example of that fact. I Saw the Devil is an epic, epic movie. It’s also a grisly horror movie and a revenge story and a police drama and a cat and mouse thriller. This movie is not for everyone though. At 2 hours and 22 minutes and subtitled, it would be an undertaking for the average viewer to sit through, but add in the crazy torture scenes, the bloody violence, the tenseness and it becomes that much more difficult. It’s so worth it. The cinematography is gorgeous and the choreography is amazing. There’s a scene in a taxi that is just awe-inspiring. I’m including the trailer because I just want you to get a taste for yourself without having to rely on my words. Thank us later.
House (1977)
Honestly, the only reason I have a Hulu Plus account is so I can have access to the Criterion Collection library. Across the entire catalog, if it’s criterion, it’s going to be a good movie. Old, new, horror, drama, foreign; it doesn't matter. You may not enjoy a particular type of film, but if you were to give it an honest try, you’d at least enjoy whatever it was. House is no different. It’s definitely one of the craziest films in history. I once described it to someone as 90 minutes of the boat ride in Willy Wonka. It’s that crazy. Is it scary? No. I guess if little kids or phantom heads freak you out then there’d be a minor alarm, but you don’t need to watch with the lights on. It’d make for a great theme to do for a kids haunted house. I’ll be bringing you many more Hulu/Criterion and just Hulu/Horror suggestions in the near future, but this is a good place to start.
The Frankenstein Theory (2013)
As much as I want to share with everyone the movies you should watch, I also want to warn you of movies you may watch and perhaps won’t enjoy. This is one of those movies. To say that it’s slow is an understatement. Apart from travelling, absolutely nothing takes place until the last 15 minutes or so. The concept is interesting enough, but could have been handled a lot better. A secret organization similar to the illuminati was attempting to make a “super species”, combining the strength of certain animals, cell rejuvenation of certain types of wildlife, camouflaging techniques, etc. and – of course – the experiment backfired. What they created was Frankenstein. Mary Shelley heard the story and turned a “true” event into a work of fiction. Cut to modern day and a young, elitist, scholarly little twit hires a documentary film crew to accompany him to Canada where the elusive creature has been hiding all these years. Remember, he can live exponentially longer than a normal human and survive in the harshest conditions. You can guess what happens from there. The “searching for the beast, finding it, camera falling” approach to film-making was tired a long time ago and should really be banned from use. If you want to watch the movies that obviously influenced this piece of film jerky, watch 2010’s amazing Troll Hunter (HERE) or 1999’s Blair Witch Project. Where those movies excelled, on their own, this movie just falls short attempting to combine them. However, if Frankenstein is your boy or you just aren’t tired of found footage fiascos, give it a shot; just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Only two more weeks until the big night. In preparation, next week we'll be bringing you some classics that you may not know are available to stream, but that you certainly won't want to omit from this year's celebrations.
Matt, Signing Out
Comments
Post a Comment