The Collector

This movie actually has a somewhat original premise: a burglar breaks into a house, but unbeknownst to him, a serial killer is already inside. People keep comparing these movies to the "Saw" movies, but really, there aren't that many similarities. So both movies feature torture, big deal, the premise for the two movies couldn't be more different. Jigsaw in the Saw movies was at least ostensibly trying to teach his victims about valuing their lives. the killer in "The Collector" doesn't give a shit what his victims take away from his killings, he does this as a hobby. A gory, nasty, disgustingly icky and creepy hobby. I won't spoil this any further. Give it a watch. It's worthwhile.

Martyrs

This movie is disturbing. I know, shocker, right? It's supposed to be disturbing. but a lot of movies that are supposed to be disturbing are just dull and annoying (with filmmakers drowning in their own smug arrogance) and this one is different. I refuse to read any interviews with the filmmakers, because if I read and find out they're a bunch of arrogant assholes I might change my mind about the movie...right now I'm teetering on the edge of "great and disturbing" and "exploitative garbage" and I don't want a push. Seriously though, some of the disgusting crap in this movie even got to me, and disgusting crap usually doesn't, so be warned if you want to see this. Unlike every other reviewer, I'm not going to give away everything that happens in the movie (I'm looking at YOU, Netflix) so you'll just have to find out for yourself.

Frozen and Winter's Bone

Movie Update

Well, I only watched 11 horror movies this year, but I had fun.

Happy Halloween everyone!

The Last Exorcism

The next person to tell me that I didn't like a movie's ending because I didn't understand it, and then proceeds to EXPLAIN it to me, is going to get my foot up his or her ass. Let's just get that out of the way right now.

I was with this movie right up until the end. I'm one of those people who sits there in a movie and comes up with endings in my head to pass the time, and sometimes I think my endings are better than the real ending once it happens. I think that happened this time. I still think the quiet little ending that I had planned in my head would have been better than the one I saw onscreen, but now that I've let it sit for awhile I am happier with the ending the way it appeared, and I'd like to say a few things.

1. I did not dislike the ending because it wasn't happy. I came into the movie not expecting it to end with rainbows and puppies and kittens, and indeed, if it HAD a happy ending, I would have felt it was a cop-out.

2. I do not need your little 18 year old self to EXPLAIN the particulars of the ending to me. I grew up in the 80s, with satanic panic and ritual abuse reports all over the media, and the McMartin trial, and if you don't kn ow what any of these things are, that's because I know more than you, not the other way around. I UNDERSTOOD what was happening in the ending perfectly well, I just don't think it was as powerful as the ending I had in my head. Yeah, I get it, and I'm ok with it now, but I was let down because I still think my ending would have been better. It's not the movie's fault, though, and I need to evaluate the movie for what it is, not piss all over it because of what it ISN'T. On those terms, it was a good little movie.

3. I most certainly do NOT think the ending is as cut and dried as some people are making it out to be. I think there are several different interpretations and ideas you can come up with from what we're shown onscreen and most of those interpretations could be perfectly valid. Whenever anyone makes a post declaring THIS IS WHAT THE ENDING MEANT AND ALL OTHER IDEAS ARE TOTALLY FALSE AND STUFF, that person just comes across looking like a pompous assdrip.

Lost Boys II: The Tribe

I totally almost typed "Lost Boys II: The TriPe" when I was typing the title of this movie, and I think that's a Freudian slip of the best kind in this case. This movie was a mess. The shower scene is the best part of the movie. I love Corey Feldman and Corey Haim and the original "Lost Boys" is one of my all-time favorite movies, but this isn't even worthy to be called a sequel.

Amusement

This movie almost seems like an anthology of scary stories at first, and each of the stories on their own, though not always the most realistic thing I've ever seen, are freaky enough to keep me totally interested in the movie. Once things tie together, again, it gets a little hard to believe, but the actors and actresses play everything totally straight so there's never a sense that anyone is just cashing a paycheck here, and in the end, I really enjoyed this movie, in spite of its flaws. Clowns freak me out, and some of the other images I won't spoil here will stick in your head, as will the killer's maniacal laugh. I recommend this one. Give it a shot. It's not perfect, but its good scenes are better than some movies I watch in their entirety, so it's totally worth the watch.