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thomasrobbins
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Cryptid (2022)
Very solid and refreshing
Not sure what some of these reviewers are complaining about. For a low budget monster movie, the acting and cinematography are excellent.
The protagonist is very believable and, unless you only like idealized characters, is indeed likeable. His character is realistic. The other main character's acting is extraordinary. I say this considering they are relatively unknown! I found there performances easy to watch and they played off each other perfectly.
The premise is solid, and great supporting actors. The CGI is not great, but if you love solid stories and acting over big screen predictable canned action, you should enjoy this movie.
Hosts (2020)
You know it's rigged whe in gets an overall 5.1 !
Worthless trash. Like a bad dream except the monologuing would send me out of REM into a coma. HOW can this get a 5.1? I have seen cheap Indie horror that received a 4.3 or so, but was at least somewhat interesting. Who wrote it? Who edited it, some mournful psychopath who is torn between killing people by their endless drivel and incredibly fake whimpering (you have to establish a character before we feel for them good grief.)..... or smashing in heads.
Disturbingly horrible, I would rather have a fever dream.
Prisoners (2013)
How had I missed this Gem of a Movie
I won't pretend to be a critic, in fact I don't listen to critics much. That's why I take the time to review here on IMDB when I come across something special. The acting was superior, and the story was about as close to perfect for this genre as it can get. And most, but not all of the public reviews are from the heart/gut - there are a few wannabe critics here, but reading through several reviews helps me decide if the movie is worth streaming/renting, or even going out for. This one is one of those shows. You walk away still half in movie reality and half in the real world - that is what a great picture can do.
Great to see a mature Jake Gyllenhaal deliver a near flawless performance, along with the rest of the top notch cast. Hats off to the director as well, as he/she pulls of such a great job, walking that tightrope between realism and drama. Its one of those mystery/thrillers/dramas that feels so very real that it makes you heart beat that much faster, and you find your disbelief suspended and fall into the show.
If you like this genera, or even just great acting and drama, you are doing yourself a favor by taking the time out to appreciate this fantastic film.
Mulberry St (2006)
At the end of the day its if you enjoyed the film
Low budget but it does not have a indie low budget feel where the acting is bearable but not good. The acting here was above average. I would have like a bit more character development, as this is important to me. But still the characters are well defined and you can relate to each.
One of the best and well put together Zombie films I have seen in quite some time (Camera work, acting, pacing, believable characters). Effortless to watch, with quite a bit of suspense.
A touch of Dawn of the Dead, but just a pinch, as the action builds and then you are on a ride until the end.
The only issue I had, as I do with many films, was the ending, which left me feeling a bit lost. I thought perhaps they could have added a bit there, to accentuate the characters. I am sure this was by design, but still. No spoilers though.
One thing besides the very good (for the budget) close in camera work, which was, I thought, above average considering how hard it is to pull off, is the setting and atmosphere - a gritty and fairly visceral feel - but not gritty which is often overdone, and just there for the hell of it - this fit.
In the end it is enjoyable with a good amount of suspense and keeps you watching.
The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018)
Was rooting for this to be a 7, but it should have gotten a 4 but....
It had all the right elements, but it was so hastily and loosely tied together, it was really quite bad filmmaking, but somehow I still liked it???
I certainly understand jumping right in to a story, that is FINE, but then you must make the viewer feel like they have an investment in the characters. I think this movie blew it big time and could have done a much better job, having us like or feel for one of the supporting actors, let alone the protagonist! the Camera work was horrible, with no intimate close in shots, the acting was flat, the dialogue boring. I so WANTED to care for these characters, but they simply left that part of filmmaking at home.
The security guards for example; no dialogue between them to link them together or make them human. The weird looking guard's performance was soooo terribly flat, right down to when he sits in for her and they ask "want some fries" an he says, horribly slowly....sure....I guess... or when security helped to fight off the man, there should have been a lockdown on the building, and a big pause, making us feel like we reached a safe spot, but it just kind of tumbled on along. No way would they allow her to continue working on her first night after that!!! Would have been a major investigation....but the movie just stumbled on..
It was a bit better with her friend that got her the job and her "ex" but not much - the writing and time spent making them real people just was not there and should have been. You could have kept the plot that had plenty of holes (she kills to heal herself, but she needs to heal to kill???), and it would have been great.
So really I should have rated the movie a four, as the craftsmanship was NOT THERE! But I still could not turn away, it was creepy, and I wanted a happy ending - strangest film I have seen in this genre in a long time, I should have hated it, but perhaps the atmosphere did it, or simply the creepy setting - I just don't know, it was still worth seeing despite tripping all over itself from start to finish... I really can't explain why I enjoyed it!! I could not decide on a 5 or 6, but simply could not give it a six as they paid the wrong people to make this movie, which could have been great.
Emergo (2011)
I really don't understand the poor reviews this got considering the genre
I believe this qualifies as a "found footage" movie, but it may be a different category. The production quality was EXCELLENT, The combination of characters, from the investigator team to the family were exceptional both in casting and in their acting. Especially great was the young boy and his interaction with the crew. Also, the father who really gave a very real and very consistent performance, and was very convincing as a troubled man who finds himself trying to hold it together. Even the scene at the breakfast table was excellent. So all around great casting and crew.
The deeper dive we get into the equipment used, much of it new to the generic stuff we see in most "ghost hunter" inventory, plus the combination of the professor, who although sufficiently geeky professor, also showed a very real human side, and his care for the work and the people around him were very evident. All of the characters were likeable or at least we can be sympathetic to them.
Then there were the jump scares which they made you work for, and built them up very nicely. I really liked how the professor had to be certain and then he announces "on to the next phase".
I have read some of the objections to this, and I really feel like some of these folks were expecting something not quite so dramatically well done. I loved every thing about it, and for this type of movie, and I have watched a lot of them, I give it an 8... 7 at the least.
I really find it hard sometimes to figure out what it is people are expecting. And no offense I think maybe their range of different kinds of movies is limited... which is fine, but when rating a movie I think it a good idea to keep the intent of the producers and directors and casting, and not just downgrade it because we wanted something different.
The Last Days on Mars (2013)
I am suprised by some of the low scores..
I have watched this movie probably four times now. I think in the time given, it presents quite a novel contrast between a very buttoned down tight film, that suddenly drops these creatures into their reality, just before they intend return after six months of a sterile and bizarre existence, breathing recycled air, and dealing with the threat of sudden death at all times - and then they have to deal with an organism, much like some on earth, that co opt their host in various ways in order to reproduce. It hows Mars for what it is , dead, cold and heartless - and the only life there must be equivalent to what we call evil . And we knew this about life before going to the red planet, that it will work out the most devious scheme to replicate, just to hang on to the experience of life... I love the cast, all did a great job, and the atmosphere/music is so well done for this kind of film.
Silent Retreat (2016)
OMG - I think this was written by a 15 year old sleazeball who has a chip on his or her shoulder about, well, life.
OMG,
Horrible writing by an angry, selfish, anti-everybody (especially those of faith) little child who thinks he has something to contribute to something....so sad it hurts. I hope whomever wrote or supported this film is getting some help, or perhaps someday will pick up a book. A car crash that nobody bothers to even look at....yep, that bad...
Beyond the Sky (2018)
Fantastic Fresh Take. Goes Deeper Than The Usual Controversy
I was pleasantly surprised by the acting. The debunker has a personal story that drives him, to more than he knows I believe, trying to debunk these "experiences". As a result he comes across like a bulldozer into the eventual love interests, and experiencers life.
Yet instead of the usual canned, black and white relationship, in which the debunker must be hit in the head with it before believing a word, his past and/or his concern for the female lead allows him to have more than one dimension to his personality, same goes for his counterpart.
Not the same old "rescue" movie, where one figure dominates the other, we get the slow give and take, that is required in any disagreement in any relationship, not to "resolve" an issue, but to understand the point of view of the other, and to not only accept it, but often, to grow from it, is either deliberately or by virtue of the story and acting in this film. This wisdom only took me 53 years and my trust to understand. A genuine respect for each other overcomes the bulldozer fairly quickly.
On a deeper more spiritual level, I think this film is bringing us into the age old questions of duality or non-duality with this film (materialism vs. spirit/mind separate but also a part of the natural world). Is it possible for a physical reality or "truth", to also hold a deeper, often spiritual meaning? I think the answer is, yes of course, and that we have just forgotten this basic truth for a Self-Aware conscious being, obviously brought to this point in our "evolution", or made in the "image" of God in that we are self aware and complex creators, if you prefer, for a reason.
Within the last 40 years, discoveries in the material world, through science, has reopened the door to the truly "mystical" or "spiritual" and is no longer discounting the accounts of 10's of thousands of people who have had verifiable NDE's for example. But Aliens? How do they fit? I think this film falters a tad with a quick resolution and pulling back the curtain a little to early, but the quality of this refreshing take on an older topic stands solid in my mind. And the respect it gives peoples individual experiences, treating them with dignity was also a great change of pace!
Great movie, I gave it an 8 simply because I felt it deserved it at this time in MY life. Perhaps it is a 7, but I would go no lower for films of this budget and in this genera. WELL worth the watch.
The Collector (2009)
Not sure why people rate it low, you get what is advertised
And I am a spiritual guy, a follower of Christ, but I like many horror films. Some movies are categorized as horror that, in my opinion, need an entirely new classification. Not this movie! Within what I would call a horror genre are movies like this one, that pretty much define the genre.
This is not a movie that simply relies on gruesome scenes, it adds these scenes as a necessary component of any movie that is in this category of movie.
As with any "good" horror movie, the suspense and fear of what could happen or what seems inevitable unless some character/characters outplays the psychopath, usually at his/her own game, or by turning a seeming weakness into an advantage, or with some, the antagonist turns out to be even more ruthless and cunning when put under pressure, etc. And several other unexpected turns of course. This one hits the mark with fear and horror driven suspense, and of course the need to find out what will happen!
The setting, situation, story, style, production, and atmosphere are of course also a part of a good Horror movie. Just jumping right into slaughter is, in my opinion a very poor movie. And of course we have the endgame, which often has the notorious twist as well can add to the entirity of the effect/impact.
A horror movie can be terribly suspenseful, and in my opinion, makes for the best kind. However it can qualify if it is mainly just bizarre and/or include possessions, or supernatural elements, IF it is mixed with some of the above, ugly and gruesome scenes weather directly shown, or strongly implied.
So in summary, many movies advertised as horror should be called something like a "supernatural thriller" or just plain thriller, and simply do not deliver HORROR - some have a humorous element. but this can be overdone, and the film becomes more of a spoof; a simple comic relief moment or two or ironic unforseen humorous moment can add to the feel of reality if done right.
Back to those that see this movie as a bunch of gratuitous gore/violence. That has no value. I think they simply don't understand what good horror is and should not watch without seeing the trailer first!
I have seen the same level of heartwrenching, and simply gruesome scenes in say, a historical trek into an area where the enemies are cannibals that like to skin their victims alive - i have seen worse gore on a TV series that is not full of jumps and shock.... or even in modern WWII movies we see this kind of gore and violence that makes the movie more genuine/
I believe these folks are generally looking for a scary supernatural fantasy, with possession, or a monster doing the killing, thus relieving them of the guilt at watching another human killed in horrible ways. And I like some of these movies too, especially modern war movies, that show it like it is, but for goodness sake, watch the trailer before hand, on your streaming TV, or on IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes. before watching a horror movie and then rating it low, as you are not qualified to rate it. A rating is not just "I don't like these kinds of movies".
Thing of the definition of Horror that applies to a film - in my mind it is a movie that contains very harsh/disturbing, and generally some good old blood and guts. A spooky/scary movie, can get away without this, but I feel should not be classified as Horror - at a minimum, we should think of it as brands of horror, and some people, like myself, think of Horror as including some elements that make you want to turn away or jump out of your skin, as you are fully aware of the horrible torture the victims will go through if nothing changes. But that alone does not make it horror - as I mentioned, you can have that in a WWII movie, but it is not horror - you need the psychopath who has murder and torture on his mind, the scary setting or setup, or a monster/possessed person whom inflicts serious and fatal damage on others.
I do enjoy other movies where its more of a ghost story (I loved the book Ghost Story, scary a book as they come), but I would not call it Horror - it is definitely a type of supernatural thriller - add shocking harm to victims, and you have Horror as well. This movie was an honest to goodness fear factory with all the elements of a classic modern horror movie. But what most of us enjoy the most in these movies is the other elements I described and the suspense - the horror elements are used to jack up the fear level.