Howl (2015)

Summary 
When passengers on a train are attacked by a creature, they must band together in order to survive until morning.

Genre : Horror
Country : UK

Cast : 
Ed Speleers : Joe

Holly Weston :  Ellen
Shauna Macdonald : Kate

Director : Paul Hyett

My opinion 

Read the title of this horror and you know already what it's about anyway. Nothing like a good werewolf movie from time to time. Although there's still a certain shortage of decent films when it comes to this genre. The last (for me personally) successful werewolf movie that I watched, was "Wer". On the other hand you'll see some abominably bad attempts like "Wolves" and "Night Wolf". "Howl", a movie from the UK, may not be as good as "An American Werewolf in London", but still managed to surprise me. And although it's a low-budget film, you can say that the look of the creatures terrorizing the passengers of the stranded train was successful. Probably the used anatomy will ensure a bit of protest by the followers of the genre, because it seemed like a mix of a wolf and the creature from "Splice." But that first attack with a bloody close-up took my breath away. Brilliant makeup and special effects. They looked at least less ridiculous than the furry creatures of "Late Phases" (a movie in which the acting impressed) with their ears decorated with tassels.

The progress of "Howl" is well considered and balanced. First a comprehensive introduction of all the characters. The middle section with the threatening situation they find themselves in. Followed by the final confrontation with the necessary victims and a predictable turn. Don't be surprised when some of the individuals make some stupid decisions again. However, the end might be a little surprising. Unfortunately, the look of the night creatures, when you can admire them in full regalia, isn't so convincing or frightening. To be honest they looked like individuals who returned from some kind of masked ball. But believe me, the first confrontation was bloody and ruthless. Sheer aggression focused on the terrible creature that struck in a deadly and gruesome way shortly before.

Not only the suspense and tension was a positive element in this film. The performances were enjoyable. A collection of colorful characters displaying that typical reserved British attitude. It surprised me they weren't having a tea break while being attacked by those animals. First, there's Joe (Ed Speleers), an undervalued train guard, whose life is an accumulation of setbacks and adversities. He is despised by colleagues and passengers see him as an incapable figure. His colleague Ellen (Holly Weston) ignores his romantic moves. Kate (Shauna Macdonald) hated Joe the first instance after she had to pay for a new ticket. Adrian (Elliot Cowan) is a cocky guy who in the end just tries to save his own neck. Nina (Rosie Day) is a spoiled brat. And then there's this elderly couple, who won't hide their outrage about the delay, a nerd-like young boy (Amit Shah), an engineer in the making (Sam Gittins) and an obese, lazy football player (Calvin Dean). The introduction sometimes is comical and highly recognizable.

Not only the werewolves provide for the eerie atmosphere. But also the location where the train gets stuck with its dark woods and the typical English fog banks, create a creepy mood. The origin of the creatures isn't explained in detail. Only the older man is aware of other mythical stories about broken down trains and passengers disappearing or being found in a pitiful state. But otherwise, you can only guess where these fast-paced, immensely strong and bloodthirsty creatures come from. Despite being a typical B-movie and the fact that I thought Paul Hyett's film "The seasoning house" was slightly better, this film is worthwhile to give it a try. It's not a top film with werewolves as subject, but it certainly is a movie that can compete with the better ones in this genre.

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Come back to me (2014)

Summary 
Sarah and Josh are married suburbanites. After a car accident, Sarah suffers blackouts. As her life spirals she hides a camera in her home and unlocks a horrific secret with far-reaching consequences.

Genre : Horror/Mystery
Country : USA

Cast : 
Katie Walder : Sarah

Nathan Keyes : Dale
Matt Passmore : Josh

Director : Paul Leyden

My opinion

“Why would God give a Christlike gift tot the very Devil  himself …”

"Come back to me" is an indie horror with a fascinating and original basic idea, but the repetitive nature in the middle was a bit to much. The opening scene, where you're witnessing domestic violence with a rather bloody ending, was a masterful move by the creators of this strange film. The change of scenery, from the murder scene in Reno to a sleeping suburb in Las Vegas, was rather abrupt and confusing. But later in the film, you'll know that the seemingly emotionless boy from Reno is the same person who lives in that quiet suburb and lives opposite Josh (Matt Passmore) and Sarah (Katie Walder). His name is Dale (Nathan Keyes). A strange behaving, concluded guy who acts pretty retarded and exhibits a kind of fascination for Sarah at the first encounter.

Josh and Sarah are an attractive, young couple. Josh is croupier in a casino. Sarah studies at an unknown university and works on a thesis about the influence of pornography. Still one specific problem hampers their relationship. Sarah's desire to have children isn't actually fulfilled. In fact, if you look at Josh's reaction, it seems as if he isn't really enthusiastic about it. When Sarah is being hounded by terrifying nightmares, after which she awakens in an entirely different location with sometimes strange injury and not knowing how she ended up there, and she gets blessed with an immaculate conception, everything becomes a bit of a mess. Sarah is convinced there's something fishy going on and she decides to install a camera system in her house. In this way she tries to figure out what's causing these hellish nightmare.

The cover of this film isn't really impressive, so to say. And certainly not frightening. To be honest I wasn't expecting much. A typical horror with stalker elements, I thought to myself. Ultimately, at first sight it seems not to be really special at all. But believe me, the phenomenon Sarah has to deal with, is quite a unique find. Granted, there are more movies with a weird, creepy neighbor or a lovely lady who receives nocturnal visits of unsavory characters. But I've never encountered such a phenomenon, that disturbs Sarah's sleep, in any other horror. The film contains the necessary tension and suspense. Plus there's this supernatural skill added to the story. And those surveillance cameras created an atmosphere which made me think of "Paranormal Activity" immediately. By the way, that's not one of my favorite movies.

Katie Walder is not only pleasing to the eye. She also manages to play a proper role. A vivacious and sexy blonde, whose daily rhythm gets screwed up because of some realistic, nightmarish dreams. The end-result is a hysterical and helpless young lady. It's not Oscar worthy, but it's convincing. Matt Passmore's part is limited and not so overwhelming. But that has more to do with the script than the person. The most memorable interpretation is provided by Nathan Keyes. Without a problem he turns into the strange and creepy Dale. Perhaps all this sounds a bit vague and superficial. But that's because "Come back to me" is such a type of film where it's best you know as little as possible about it. Let me just say that the excellent performances, the creepy and dark atmosphere, the haunting music and surely highly surprising (and in a certain way also most hilarious) end, turned this probably unknown film into an entertaining discovery. Definitely worth to give it a try.

My rating 7/10
Links : IMDB

They look like people (2015)

Summary 
Suspecting that people around him are turning into evil creatures, a troubled man questions whether to protect his only friend from an impending war, or from himself.

Genre : Drama/Horror
Country : USA

Cast : 
MacLeod Andrews : Wyatt

Evan Demouchel : Christian
Margaret Ying Drake : Mara

Director : Perry Blackshear

My opinion 

“You are a mountain.
You are a hundred miles high.
All that your enemies place in your way.
Betrayal, lies, poison.
You devour and become stronger.
You are invincible.
Those that try to hurt you, will turn silent and will bow down.
For what can people do, to hurt a mountain.”

When you see this one in the horror section of your VOD offer, I can already warn you. This is not a horror in the strict sense of the word. It's not a creepy or eerie film packed with demonic forces or bloody scenes where a crazy psychotic diligently swings around with a razor-sharp machete. The horror takes place in the psyche of Wyatt (MacLeod Andrews). One day he just stands on the sidewalk near Christian's (Evan Dumochel) apartment. As we learn later they used to be best friends when they were young and hung out together a lot, spending their time playing all sorts of childish games like throwing rolled up pantyhose's at each other for instance. Both are having a difficult time because of a breakup. However, Christian tries to put his life back on the right track by listening to motivational tapes, fitness intensely and trying to seduce his boss Mara (Margaret Ying Drake). In contrast Wyatt finds himself in a self-destructive spiral of insanity and disillusionment. He's convinced that humanity is slowly being eliminated by creepy aliens or monsters and gradually taking over people's identity.

Well to be honest, it's all a bit vague and it all seems rather absurd. At the beginning of the movie you can already enjoy such an absurd moment when the two friends go out one night and end up at the emergency of the local hospital with a friend of Mara. I honestly admit it. I've watched this scene with them in the waiting room several times. Not because of the importance of this fragment, but because it looked so hilarious. Then again, it's the only funny moment throughout the movie. For the rest we're only witnessing how worrying Wyatt's situation evolves and the fact that Christian could become a victim of Wyatt's paranoia without realizing it. Or Wyatt is right and part of the world has transformed into murderous demons. Are those observations and mysterious phone calls real? Or do they only exist in Wyatt's deranged fantasies? Once again, don't expect an answer to. You'll still be groping in the dark when the movie finishes.

"They look like people" is certainly not interesting because of some visual feats(these are missing completely), but because of the insane and threatening atmosphere. The interaction between the two protagonists is sublimely developed. The relationship between Christian and Wyatt evolves from reasonable distant and strange, to a newfound trust. The moment one asks the other to shave his back, you may well assume that they aren't complete strangers to each other. And although Christian instinctively feels something's wrong, the actual denouement is a strong example of faith.

This movie certainly won't be appreciated by many and it won't be a commercial high-flyer. But that's mostly the case with an indie. Limited resources but extremely high creativity and a quirky character. Maybe I was initially a little disappointed because it's more a psychological drama than a vicious horror. But ultimately it was still pretty intriguing enough. The image of a person who suffers from a psychological disorder was effectively portrayed. Now I can imagine a bit how a schizophrenic person experiences everyday life. You like a dark, pretty vague but very meticulously put together low-budget film? Then you definitely need to give "They look like people" a chance ....

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Fear Inc. (2016)

Summary 
Fear, Inc. follows a company of degenerates who can be hired for a premium to bring your greatest fears to life. But when horror junkie Joe Foster's customized scare seemingly begins, he and his friends must decide if this company is there to scare them or make them pawns in their own sick game.

Genre : Horror/Comedy
Country : USA

Cast : 
Lucas Neff : Joe

Caitlin Stasey : Lindsey
Chris Marquette : Ben
Stephanie Drake : Ashleigh

Director : Vincent Masciale

My opinion

“I just overheard you guys saying this wasn't scary enough.
If you ever wanna be really scared, just call that number.
Custom scares just for you.
I promise you will not be disappointed.”

I always had a problem when filmmakers combine horror with comedy. I thought the "Scary Movie" franchise was unspeakably bad. Although the first film was alright. A whole series of parodies on famous horror classics crammed into one movie. There were some fun chuckle-moments. But I gave up after episode two. It became a parody of itself. Never a good sign. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by "Fear Inc.", which eventually followed the same pattern, but the ending and concept was slightly different. Although at a certain point I got tired of that same routine with Joe (Lucas Neff), who reminded me of Jake Gyllenhaal a lot, thinking it's just Fear Inc. playing games with him. (Peter... That was the initial idea, dumbhead)

Joe is a typical American good-for-nothing who's living a carefree life thanks to the financial situation of his girlfriend Lindsey (Caitlin Stasey). So he spends his days with unabashedly doing nothing, solo-playing booze games and probably watching horrormovies on a huge flat screen all day. Joe is a living Wikipedia when it comes to horror and he can quote effortlessly from every horror classic and play scenes from it without hesitating. There's really nothing so to speak where he's afraid of. He gives a romanticized cinematic twist to any life-threatening situation. Until the moment a stranger gives him a calling card of "Fear Inc." during a date. It's a company that'll make your worst nightmare to come true. Custom scares so to say. And despite the warning from his best friend Ben (Chris Marquette), who came over to spend the weekend at Joe's place together with his wife Asleigh (Stephanie Drake), that the company isn't particularly reliable and the people running it have a somewhat sinister reputation, Joe can't restrain himself to contact that firm anyway.

It's therefore not surprising that from then on some disturbing situation start to occur. Before they know it, the four are attacked by masked invaders and the whole situation gets out of hand. Nevertheless, Joe continues to believe that it is all a hoax, put in motion by Fear Inc. As expected, I didn't exactly think it was a funny movie. But even though this is a low-budget film,it surprised me pleasantly. It was quite thrilling at times and the horror scenes nevertheless looked very professional. Joe wearing a Freddy Kruger outfit was perhaps the funniest part but mostly it was only bland humor. Horror fans will appreciate the references to horror classics and recognize them immediatly. Especially the "Saw" parody was extremely successful.

All in all this was a highly enjoyable film. Despite the limited resources and the brief period in which it was made, "Fear Inc." could convince. And that because of the concept, the sometimes bloody but splendid realized horror scenes and of course the cast. It's a film where you're never sure how it will eventually end up. "Fear Inc." is not really creepy enough to call it horror. And it's also not funny enough to call it comedy. But with a group of friends and drinking the same amount of alcohol as the four did in this film, it could well be an ideal film to fill a Saturday night. Lots of fun guaranteed.

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB

Oculus (2013)

Summary 
A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

Genre : Horror
Country : USA

Cast : 
Karen Gillan : Kaylie Russell

Brenton Thwaites : Tim Russell
Katee Sackhoff : Marie Russell

Director : Mike Flanagan

My opinion

Who was that lady in your office today?
Yeah, Dad, who was that lady in your office today?
What lady?
I don't know. Just some lady. 

Halloween night. All channels are stuffed with horrors to entertain you during this scary night. Unfortunately these are always the same recurring wellknown movies (I'm sure the budget of the Film Department isn't that big). Best I choose one from the seemingly endless list of never watched horror movies. And I always wanted to watch "Oculus" (despite some negative comments I've read). And I must say, I was still pleasantly surprised. Not because of the horrifying or frightening content since that part was almost missing completely. But it was because of the ingeniously interwoven storylines from the past and the present that fascinated me. Although it caused a huge muddle in the end. At some point I was so confused, I didn't even know in which time cycle the story took place.

The mirror is a very popular prop in horrors (a nice compilation of famous "mirror scares" can be found here). Personally, I really liked the way a mirror was used in the film "Candyman. In "Oculus" apparently an old, antique mirror is the source of all sorts of situations that get out of hand. Only one could ask whether or not this mirror is causing people in this particular family to see delusions. Or is it just a genetic disorder? And because of that disorder the psyche of those persons start mixing illusions with reality. And that's the sophisticated part of this movie. The intertwining of reality and illusion. Are there indeed dark forces hiding in this mirror? And are these forces encouraging an individual to commit heinous acts? Or are those personal delusions playing a major part?

Are Kaylie (Karen Gillan) and Tim Russell (Brenton "Gods of Egypt" Thwaites) both victim of the so-called "fuzzy-trace theory"? After many years, it's Kaylie who comes up with a plan to prove that her father wasn't the one who tortured and murdered their mother, but that he was manipulated by the evil mirror. Her brother Tim just spent 10 years in a psychiatric institution to get all his facts straight and heal from the trauma he experienced after putting a bullet through his father's head. Apparently that doesn't seem to bother Kaylie. She drags him back to the family home where she installed the dreaded mirror surrounded by cameras, electronic gadgets and a security system with an iron pin. She's determined to film the psychic influence of the mirror and put a halt to the infinite series of mysterious deaths by destroying the evil mirror. Tim throws in all sorts of counter arguments. Kaylie thinks it's all crap what he's saying and blames it on the years of confinement and indoctrination by the treating psychiatrists. Or is Tim healed after years of therapy and he got rid of the notorious familial mental state?

"Oculus" isn't about creepy or bloody situations. It's virtually never scary. So, there won't be any nail biting moments. And except the apple incident and a tooth extraction, this film is almost bloodless. Yet I found it exciting in some way. Two story lines from two different periods perfectly alternated, so the whole story is revealed in a slow way. As already mentioned earlier, this is somewhat exaggerated at the end, which in turn can cause confusion. In terms of performances are the teenagers Kaylie (Annalise Basso) and Tim (Garrett Ryan) the most convincing. The way they evolve from carefree youngsters into scared teens, is played beautifully. The horror on their face looks tremendously realistic. The older alter egos were rather one-dimensional. Obviously there's the tension between them as a believer and nonbeliever. "Oculus" is not really groundbreaking and certainly won't cause a stir in the horror landscape. But for horror fans it's still an enjoyable movie that rises effortlessly above the average. I even dare say it's a horror for beginners. I'm convinced that they can enjoy a peaceful night afterwards! Even if they take a look in the bathroom mirror while refreshing themselves ....

My rating 6/10
Links : IMDB