Film Filter: Off - The Fourth Kind

The Fourth Kind PG-13 (2009)


Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteas, Will Patton

Film Filter: On- When Dr. Abigail Tyler's husband is mysteriously murdered, she must start to cope with the grief alongside her two children, as she continues to give therapy to her patients in Nome, Alaska.  After discovering many odd coincidences between her patients, she is forced to investigate into some non-human theories of interaction and abduction that make even her question her own sanity.  Determined to get to the bottom of the disappearances, and her patients' experiences, Dr. Tyler continues her hypnosis therapy, despite the often horrifying after-effects.  It truly is a race against logic for her to uncover the truth before she loses her credibility as a psychologist, and before more citizens turn up missing.
Things to note: Solid cast, illogical police work and rationale, story gets less believable as it continues, very good scare tactics, unique "found footage" perspective, claims to be based on actual footage.

You'll like this movie if you enjoy:

Found footage mysteries like the Blair Witch Project, 

or psycho-therapist thrillers like Gothika.

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Corri's Gory Awards: 2012

Hello again!

As promised, here is the 2012 edition.  It seems that this was a robust year and I had some difficulty making some of the decisions, which may have resulted in some ties.  Enjoy!

2012: In Review

Most fun movie to review: The Human Centipede
"If you’re visiting a person you suspect of kidnapping and possibly murder, don’t drink their roofie water.  And, when you come back with a proper search warrant, don’t stupidly burst into a room and just stand there.  There’s a gun-holding, door-kicking, flashlight-wielding protocol that even I know of from watching umpteen police dramas, and if you don’t follow it, you’ll get shot.  Der."

Least fun movie to review: Season of the Witch
"This movie is not great on its own merit for the first 80% ...  The remaining 20% is the nail in the bad-movie coffin."

Biggest surprise, for the better: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
"The feel of it is generally a mix of the aspect of everything going wrong in Meet the Parents with the humorous, gory nature of Shaun of the Dead."

Biggest surprise, for the worse: Session 9
"I'm going to try to make this as short and painless as possible, because re-hashing this film to any lengthy degree is just going to continue to frustrate me.  Con #1- There.  Was.  No.  Logical.  Plot."

Goriest: Slither
"They seem to sense human flesh, since they gravitate toward it constantly throughout the film, yet when there are hundreds of worms that explode from a body, and only 10 or so humans in the room, there are like 5 or 6 humans that don't get attacked."

Scariest: Sinister
"One of the things that this movie did very well, which in my opinion is an important staple of a good horror movie, is the scare factor.  Sure, some of the scares were cheap shots, and almost ALL of them were predictable but it didn’t change the fact that pretty much all of them were effective."

Most thought provoking: Shutter Island
"The ending.  I can't give the movie credit for that, obviously, but I can give the movie credit for the things they did well to set up for the ending.  Much like Inception, you really need to watch this movie twice to fully appreciate what has been done."

Worst all around: TIE 11-11-11 & 7 Below
"In terms of plot, this movie is about as well put together and interesting as a geriatric chess match."
"Where?- I don't know.  Some mid-western state that starts with an "M".  It could have taken place in my living room and I still wouldn't have found it entertaining."

Best all around: The Woman in Black
"I think it delivers an almost flawless recipe for horror, and leaves you constantly on the edge of your seat, wanting to know more about what's going on until the very end.  Very well done, Potter."

I really love looking back through the movies I've reviewed to re-analyze them.  Some of them are really quite good, and unfortunately I can't give due credit to all of the worthy ones in my end of year reviews, but I do encourage you to check them out in your free time.

Horrifically yours,

Corri

Corri's Gory Awards: 2011

Hello avid horror fans!

As I was perusing some of my older work, I realized that I had not, in two years, done one "Year in Review" post...how appalling.  The following is my attempt to remedy that.  Next to each category you will find: the name of the film that won the award, a link from the title of the film to my review for you to check out, and a favorite quote of mine from the review.  Happy hunting, and my apologies for not having the foresight to have done this two years ago.

2011: In Review

Most fun movie to review: Splice 
"Other than the unique story line and pseudo-interesting beginning, this movie really blows." 

Least fun movie to review: A Perfect Getaway
"...despite this movie not being that great, it's worth seeing if you've got nothing better to do."

Biggest surprise, for the better: White Noise 2: The Light 
"One of my favorite parts of having this blog is that I now watch horror movies whether I think they will suck or not, which gives me the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised every once in awhile by a diamond in the rough like this one."

Biggest surprise, for the worse: Straw Dogs
"I'm hoping the book and first movie are better, but seeing this version has inhibited me from researching this story further due to its extreme sucky-ness."

Goriest: Final Destination 5 
"The introduction was probably the coolest part in terms of 3-D effects, but the movie does a good job of inserting them without fail into most death scenes."

Scariest:The Exorcism of Emily Rose 
"You know an actor does a great job when it isn't until the fifth time you've seen the movie that you think, "Gosh, that must've been really hard PRETENDING to be possessed..." because the thought that they aren't actually possessed hadn't occurred to you."

Most thought provoking: The Secret
"Due to its unique nature, it was highly unpredictable.  This forced me to constantly be vigilant as to what was going on, so I wouldn't miss a critical moment. "

Worst all around: The Lost Tribe
"I can't find a way to wrap up this review, other than to urge you not to watch it, or at least find a way to turn it into a drinking game."

Best all around: Devil
"A good story, be it horror or other genre, does not leave loose ends and this film does a good job of fitting all of that goodness into one, tight 80 minute package.  It's about quality, not quantity, people."

I sincerely hope you check out some of these movies if you haven't done so, at least the ones with the decent reviews.  I will be posting my 2012: In Review pretty soon too, but since I have only made a whopping TWELVE posts for 2013 I have to get on watching some more movies as well.  I hope you enjoyed my insights, and look for more to come shortly!

Horrifically yours,

Corri

Film Filter: Off - Zodiac

Zodiac R (2007)

Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards

Film Filter: On- When several San Francisco newspapers receive a threatening message from a serial killer, they have a choice to print the information provided to save more people from dying, or to have blood on their hands for ignoring a murderer.  After the article gets published, several journalists and an investigator get caught up in a decades long cat and mouse chase with a killer they can't identify.  Can they conjure up enough evidence to make an arrest, or will these obsessed individuals come to the conclusion that "there's more than one way to lose your life to a killer"?
Things to note: Great acting, long movie, based on true case files, frustrating scenario, not very scary, awkward murder scenes.

This movie is okay if you're into thrillers, but is pretty 

slow paced and requires lots of focus.

You'll like this movie if you enjoy:

Murder thrillers like the Black Dahlia, or Seven.

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Film Filter: Off - House at the End of the Street

House at the End of the Street PG-13 (2012)


Jennifer Lawrence, Max Thieriot, Elisabeth Shue

Film Filter: On- When Elissa and her mother move into a nice neighborhood, she finds that many hold a disdain for the house next door to hers.  After being forced to accept a ride from the only living survivor of the horrific murders his sister committed in their house years prior, Elissa becomes intrigued with Ryan, seeing something unique about him.  Despite her mother's, and the neighborhood's words of caution, Elissa finds herself wanting to spend more time with the mysterious Ryan.  Ryan must ultimately decide whether he can trust Elissa enough to keep the secret he has been keeping from her, while Elissa will be forced to decide if the truth about Ryan's sister will get in the way of her relationship with him.
Things to note: Good character interactions, very interesting and unique story, Jennifer Lawrence delivers a strong performance, fantastic ending.

You'll like this movie if you enjoy:

Thrillers involving a house where murders occurred, like Amityville Horror, 

or movies about mentally ill antagonists, like Gothika or In Dreams

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Up & Coming Scary Movies/Ones I was Too Lazy to Watch

Hello rabid horror fans,

The following is a top five list of scary movies I want to see before 2013 is over.  Do you want to see them too?  Have you seen them already?  Feel free to leave me a comment telling me why you want to see it, or why you thought it was awesome/terrible.  I'm dying to know your thoughts.  >:-)

#5 Curse of Chucky

#4 The House at the End of the Street

#3 Mama

#2 Insidious 2

#1 Carrie

Film Filter: Off - The Conjuring

The  Conjuring (R) 2013


Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor

Film Filter: On- When the Perron family moves into a big new house, they feel incredibly lucky.  Despite the house's weird idiosyncrasies with the clocks, and Carolyn's strange unexpected bruises, the Perron family start to view it as a home, not just a house.  It isn't until some of the young daughters are spooked by unexplained happenings and sightings that Carolyn seeks out Ed and Lorraine Warren, renowned ghost hunters.  Upon entering the house, the Warrens find an unmistakable presence of not just one spirit, but several.  One of them is fiercely malevolent, and will stop at nothing to take over Carolyn and destroy her children.  The longer the spirit stays, the weaker Carolyn becomes, and the Warrens will find themselves encountering the most haunted story they will experience.
Things to note- Interesting two-dimensional story, good acting, based on a true story, really scary pop-out moments, creative twist on an overdone plot, very captivating end scene.

You'll like this movie if you enjoy:

Creepy possession stories involving a house and a family, like 

Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Insidious, or Poltergeist

Click here for Film Filter: Off