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Copshop (2021)
Had potential..
The film's premise is interesting but it's spoiled by lack of direction and poor audio - specifically mumbled dialogue at many key explanatory points.
Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021)
Unexplained Ending
I've just sat through 100 minutes to be given no explanation for the film's bizarre and confusing events, or indeed any sort of payoff at all.
BSI has hints of good things -a dark atmosphere and an interesting premise. But characters are introduced then disappear, and the story plods along without developing very much. We never actually get to find out the truth of why the things happened, or who was responsible.
As for the ending... well, without giving spoilers I will just say that it seems the writer ran out of ideas about to wrap things up, so they just didn't bother.
Wrath of Man (2021)
Alright
As a Stath fan, I found this movie was ponderous in places, dialogue heavy, confusing (the timeline jumps around a lot) and generally a bit of a letdown.
The Wretched (2019)
Good horror movie
Competent, easy viewing with a few good horror moments and a nice twist near the end. Recommended.
The final minute is clichéd but also expected in a horror movie.
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Bit Of A Plodder..
The CGI looks great in Dolby Atmos but that's about it. A stretched-out tale that doesn't really go anywhere and is quite slow paced. Not terrible by any means, but not much to recommend it, either.
The Flemish Bandits (2018)
Very Enjoyable Series
Ok it's dubbed into English, but it's well written, and the acting is good. The setting is very atmospheric and conveys the harshness of living in that time.
At one series this was about the right length, good to binge through in couple of days!
Slasher (2016)
Season 2 EPIC Television
Possible Spoiler Ahead
Really thrilling and gory series. Never gets boring. The plot twists are off the scale
The cleverest bit? The answer to the killer's identity is right there in front of the viewer the whole time, in plain sight, in many, many scenes. Look hard, look very hard, and you might just spot what's going on. High recommendation.
IO (2019)
Dreadful plodder - nothing happens
I don't know where to start. It commences promisingly enough, a survivor picking her way through the ruins of a post-apocalyptic city.
Then.... nothing of note happens for the next hour and ten minutes. Just endless boring conversations and lots of "deep and meaningful" looks between the two protagonists.
Getting a bit fed up with being fed all these duds by Netflix recently tbh.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
Slow
Series is a bit slow, not scary, plot I found confusing at times with all the "then and now" time.jumps.
Have to confess I can't see what all the high reviews and fuss are about.
Annihilation (2018)
50 Shades Of Weirdness - In Beautiful Dolby Vision
So apparently there were concerns that this film was too intellectual and challenging for the audiences - whaaa?
There is nothing particularly interesting or deep about Annihilation. We do get to see some good effects and mildly interesting mutations of plants and animals. All the while the comparison with cell mutations and self destructive tendencies is laboured to death. For what purpose, isn't ever made clear.
The performances get the job done throughout the thin script, without getting us to actually care much about any of the characters. The ending, when it comes, is a big anticlimax and doesn't wrap the preceding hours into any sort of satisfying conclusion.
It does, however, look absolutely gorgeous on an OLED TV in Dolby Vision. In fact, as a tech demo it's superb.
IT (2017)
Not Scary But Passes The Time
I went into this having never read the book so I can't judge the faithfulness of the screen adaptation.
The Clown with lots of CGI effects isn't scary at all - in fact he's a bit of a one-trick pony, if he opens his mouth and extends his teeth once he does it 20 times, there isn't much to him really. We don't get any character development or explanation as to why he is there, or for any of the things he does, killing and otherwise.
The gang of children who are being terrorised by him are OK and watchable, they mostly act logically unlike the protagonists in many of these types of movies.
I would class this film as a bit of a "ghost train" ride, it throws lots of things at the viewer and definitely passes the time, but 20 minutes before the end I was itching for it to just finish. As for the strong hint of a sequel at the closing credits.. let's just say I won't be forking out a second time around.
Westworld (2016)
Complete Yawnfest
How on earth this show currently has a rating of over 9 on IMDb is a complete mystery to me. The premise is quite interesting - a holiday park staffed by robot characters who gradually start becoming self-aware. Unfortunately this promise is never realised, at least it wasn't before I stopped watching it 8 episodes in.
Everything is so slow and strung-out. Things happen for no apparent reason. There are frequent monologues by Anthony Hopkins and some of the human personnel in the park, which serve to slow things down even more, and don't usually advance the snail-like plot much. No-one is likable, not the humans or the robots, and I ended up not caring less what happens in Westworld. What a disappointment.
Falling Skies (2011)
All Good!
What a great show. I'm so glad that I persevered beyond the first 2 episodes (which aren't the best, admittedly).
Some great characters (Pope, Weaver particularly stand out) and good acting, coupled with an engaging story line, kept me hooked early on and never let go.
Even though a couple of plot developments stretched the boundaries of credibility, it's still hugely entertaining stuff. The series cleverly keeps the interest going by developing and adding to the nature of the alien threat every season.
I would have rated the show as a 10 but for the slightly underwhelming first few episodes. Hopefully this won't turn too many people off from giving it a chance.
Definitely worth a binge watch!
The Greasy Strangler (2016)
Gloriously bonkers film that you'll remember for a long time to come
I watched this expecting a horror film, which this isn't. There is some violence, but it's done in a completely cartoonish and non-scary way.
You can't really "get" this film from a summary or a review, you just have to watch it through for yourself.
The awkward dialogue and general repulsiveness of the two anti-heroes is a treat. So many great comedy moments, but two of the best were the scene with the pronunciation of "potato", and the disco pieces where the Dad dressed up to go out dancing with his genitalia hanging out of a spangly suit, and nobody batted an eyelid.
I will never forget this film, here's hoping for a sequel!
Collapse (2011)
Not Too Bad At All....
Perhaps a 7 out of 10 is a little generous, but I did warm to Collapse. It's certainly a low-budget production, and it shows, but the acting, props and makeup are adequate.
The camera work is very "closed" and close-up, despite the sweeping rural and small-town setting. We get to see very little of the surroundings or countryside in which the story is happening, everything is very focused on the actors themselves. It feels a little claustrophobic at times (but not in a good, "horror" way) and I wanted the camera to just pan out for a little in some of the shots, to set the scene a little better.
One other slight issue was where the main character bludgeons to death a couple of zombies and it's obvious both times that the blows (off- camera) are not connecting with anything. The gore is quite toned down for this zombie movie, and quite a lot of the violence isn't explicitly shown.
As mentioned in other reviews, there is a major plot twist at the end, and I for one loved it, didn't see it coming at all (although I should have done), and this twist alone lifts the film from being a so-so film to a good one. Don't expect too much, forgive its flaws, and there is an enjoyable zombie film here.
Contagion (2011)
A Real Plodder...
I don't understand why this film is currently scoring 6.9 on IMDb. Whilst the plot is intrinsically interesting, Contagion never really delivers any suspense, tension or drama.
The plot meanders along, and along the way we get treated to some information of how infectious diseases can spread. This was actually the most interesting part of the film.
I think one of the main reasons why it fails to grab one's interest is that the majority of scenes take place in a somewhat sanitised setting - mostly offices and laboratories. Sure, there are a few scenes of emergency hospitals and one scene of looting, but the "human" and social consequences of the outbreak are left under-explored.
Overall, disappointing and tedious.
House (2008)
Surely they couldn't use THAT ending again in a horror film....
...oh yes, they can. Yes, it's another Reeker - the main characters are already dead, but unlike Reeker this film is no fun at all.
At the start we get to see a man killing his wife in the house where most of the film takes place, but this adds nothing to the story.
Some charmless characters and resident weirdos running around a house, with seemingly random scenes interspersed with flashbacks.
It seems the makers tried to pack in too many ideas (the Devil, after death experience, ghosts. bogeyman, evil cop) but didn't expand on any of them enough to make the film anything other than a bit of a confused mess.
The Evil Woods (2007)
The Awful Woods....
So a group of young people decide to go camping in some woods. Little do they know the horror that awaits them. And that's just the script.
It may be easier to kill off unlikeable characters, but when the main character does little more than walk around shouting "Fuck!" and "Bitches!" (at the female characters) for most of the film, like some sort of deranged Tourettes sufferer, we don't so much feel antagonistic toward him, as pity him.
The desperation of the makers of this film really shows through when two of the girls decide to go topless around half way in. No particular reason, and it's not even sunny or hot.
And that's pretty much the film. Lots of pointless swearing, wandering around and acting like jerks, and some guy in a duffel coat creeping around wielding an axe, who dispatches all of them one by one, in pretty much the same way - a quick chop to the back of the skull or neck.
Oh yes, there's some guff thrown in about a ranger who died in horrific circumstances and now stalks the woods, but we never get to find out if it actually IS the ranger or not. We have a couple of suspects, an unpleasant yokel and a mysterious hiker, but it turns out it's neither of them. It doesn't seem supernatural, because at one point one of the jerks touches the guy. But then one the girls has a "vision" of the axeman whilst topless on the jetty? Nothing's really explained, and no sooner is the final young idiot dispatched, than the film abruptly ends in a highly unsatisfying way.
No plot development, no character development, dreadfully clichéd "story" and poor acting. Not even worth watching to pass the time.
Maintenance (2007)
Wooden acting
What could have been an interesting idea was spoilt by the lack of any character development. We are given no insight into why an ex-convict, freshly out of prison and having been given a new start, would throw it all away by immediately commencing random and seemingly motiveless killings within the building.
Given that there were only FOUR tenants in the whole block, wasn't it verging on the ridiculous to start killing them all off - what was he planning to do when they were all dead?
The ending was a slightly unexpected "twist", and a minor payoff for making it through to the end this poorly acted, non-scary horror film.