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The Afflicted (2011)
8/10
Overall well done
8 March 2014
Pretty enjoyable movie overall. The story is interesting enough and the cinematography is actually pretty good overall, especially considering the budget. The acting is well above average in this budget range, Kane Hodder makes an interesting appearance in essentially a cameo role, it would of been nice to expand more on the back story and give him more screen time but that might of been a decision made for budget reasons. The Good Overall acting - Leslie Easterbrook was really good when she wasn't way over the top, all in all a real solid performance the type that should bring her a lot more opportunities. J.D. Hart was fantastic, again some of the script called for him to be over the top but he really did a great job. Michele Grey and Sims Holland both did a great job with very challenging rolls, I expect to see more work from them in the future. Cinematography - overall very good, some real nice shots, most of the film is visually interesting. Some of the hand-held was a bit to choppy for my taste, but that's a taste issues more than anything else, overall great job. Story - the story itself is interesting. The Not so Good Nothing that will ruin the movie experience but a couple glaring problems. The Whys - why they didn't take action sooner or attempt to do something will baffle you, you might even find yourself yelling instructions at the TV as I did. More pre-production time ironing out the whys would of gone a long way. More back story - so we care more, are more invested in the characters and have a better idea of what caused everything. Again this may of been a matter of the budget restraints with some of the actors and time to shoot. All in all a good movie, a pleasant Netflix find for me. Might not be something you would watch more than once but definitely worth your time the first time around.
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Darkroom (2013 Video)
2/10
interesting idea, decent cast and good cinematography wasted here
7 March 2014
had decent expectations going into this one but was disappointed. The premise is interesting, and was sort of expecting a Saw vibe but yeah not here. The worst part is the main problems are things that could of easily been fixed before the camera started rolling. The script wasn't that great to begin with, good job from some of the actors to make the most of what they were working with. The decision working in flashbacks was a really bad one, and making the decision to provide no relatable or redeeming qualities for the main protagonist doesn't help. Everything just feels flat. The good - some of the actors showed some skills working with the limited material they were given. I wish they would of fleshed out the main protagonist more. The cinematography was actually really good for the most part, which makes the errors so much worse since they really could of had a much better film. The sound and effects were pretty good to. Really this film serves as a great example of why you should measure twice and cut once, because with better pre-production and better decision making this could of been a much better film.
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Lizzie (2012)
3/10
Interesting premise suffers from flawed execution
1 March 2014
Not the worst movie you could see, but this one suffers greatly from what appears to be execution issues. A pretty good cast is highly underutilized, the effects mostly fall under "should be good enough", the dialog is borderline awful, there are a host of continuation errors and so on. Really just seems like a good idea came up and the execution on that idea was left to chance, a good lesson on the importance of proper and thorough planning I guess. The bright spot is Shawna Waldron as Maggie who really showed talent despite what was obviously a flawed productions. She even made the poorly written dialog work and made the most and then some of what she had to work with. With the interesting premise and given cast it would be interesting to see what better execution could produce. As far as the look of the film that's more a matter of personal taste, I found it to be a bit to flat for my liking, but it doesn't take anything away from the film.
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1/10
One of the worst movies I have seen and I devour low budget horror movies
28 February 2014
This movie started with an interesting idea but that's about all it has going for it. The look is distracting at best, the acting is very flat (most likely a result of script or directing limitations and not a reflection on the actors) the movie just doesn't seem to know what it wants to be and thus goes in no direction. The whole thing seems like someone said hey lets break out the camcorders and make a movie this weekend, came up with a good title and a workable story idea and then just stopped thinking at that point. The dialog alone will probably be enough to get you to shut it off about ten minutes in, if not the poor visual execution will prevent you from making it much longer.
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Pontypool (2008)
10/10
Good idea, well acted with brilliant execution
28 February 2014
This movie was a fantastic netflix find! Rather than make the error many low budget horror movies do and attempt to make a cheaper version of a big budget horror movie these filmmakers did the right thing, they made the absolute best movie they could given the budget they had. The story itself is very interesting and should keep you interested enough to keep you engaged. The acting was fantastic and the directing was nearly flawless. A special note has to be made of the cinematography this movie is visually engaging and interesting throughout and the camera work is fantastic. In my opinion this may be one of the best movies ever shot on a Red. The cast, crew and filmmakers all deserve a lot of credit for doing an amazing job with the type of material that often is nothing more than a major let down. I would rank this as one of the best horror movies I have seen in recent years.
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