horror | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Return of the Living Dead

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Darren

Return of the Living Dead is a fairly strange beast. Something of a black comedy spin-off from George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, the film is a ridiculously campy exploration of trashy low-rent horror… and yet somehow has been picked up and embraced by popular culture. After all, this is the movie that introduced the idea that zombies weren’t just satiated by consuming large quantities of meat (most often from humans) – this was the film which introduced the idea of zombies stumbling forward, repeatedly droning “braaaaains!” It’s a concept which has been so throughly incorporated into pop culture’s definition of zombie (although it’s rarely the case, we still expect it and recognise it), so it seems strange that it came from a spoof.

No bones about it...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Dan O'Bannon, film, george romero, horror, Horror film, Living Dead, Michael Jackson, Movie, Movies, night of the living dead, non-review review, parody, popular culture, return of the living dead, review, sam raimi, schlock, zombie | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Mummy Returns

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Darren

I will confess that I enjoyed The Mummy for what it was. It wasn’t ground-breaking or revolutionary, but it was a nice attempt to resurrect the old Universal Monster Movie for modern audiences, with Raiders of the Lost Ark providing a rather clear inspiration. Perhaps part of the appeal was novelty, as we hadn’t seen an old-style monster movie like that in quite some time. I remember being somewhat disappointed on seeing the second film in cinemas, feeling like it just didn’t measure up to the solidly entertaining original. Having caught it again this weekend, I find I’m in firm agreement with my younger self.

I'll stick my neck out and admit I enjoyed the first film...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ancient Egypt, arts, brendan fraiser, British Museum, comedy, films, horror, Joe Wright, Movies, Mummy, non-review review, rachel weisz, review, the mummy, the mummy returns, United States | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Evil Dead II – Dead by Dawn

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Darren

This is a post as part of “Raimi-fest”, the event being organised by the always wonderful Bryce over at Things That Don’t Suck.

I don’t think there’s ever been a movie quite like Evil Dead II. Although you could argue that Raimi’s unique stylings are evident in the original Evil Dead, they don’t really come into their own in quite the same way that they would for the sequel. Although the movie is obviously indebted to any number of sources, the film has a crazy energy all of its own. It rockets along at such speed that the audience is caught a little off guard. It’s refreshing and more than a little zesty, which are certainly among the film’s charms.

Has Ash crossed the wrong monsters?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Ash Williams, bruce campbell, comedy, evil dead, Evil Dead II, films, horror, Horror film, looney tunes, Movies, Necronomicon, non-review review, review, sam raimi, slapstick comedy, spider man | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: The Evil Dead

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Darren

This is a post as part of “Raimi-fest”, the event being organised by the always wonderful Bryce over at Things That Don’t Suck.

Sam Raimi’s original Evil Dead is actually a pretty decent addition to the zero-budget teens-go-up-to-the-woods-today-and-are-sure-of-a-big-surprise subgenre. It’s a trashy horror which demonstrates a deeper affinity for the genre than a lot of other “video nasty” slasher films are prone to. However, while the film displays clear hints of the director’s developing skill, it still feels just a little bit too much like another random exploitation “schlock and shock” film.

Axe any questions you might have...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Ash Williams, bruce campbell, Bryce, england, evil dead, film, films, horror, Horror film, Mary Whitehouse, Movies, non-review review, review, sam raimi, schlock, shining, spider man, video nasty, wes craven | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Wake Wood

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Even though I never lived through their “golden age” of schlock horror films, I still feel a sympathetic affinity for Hammer’s House of Horror. Watching movies late into the night with my gran and grandfather was one of those treats my younger self enjoyed on returning from abroad for Summer or Christmas holidays. As such, it’s nice to see Hammer producing movies again. Let Me In was a fairly major success for the company, remarking the already-classic vampire film Let the Right One In, but it didn’t feel as deeply rooted in Hammer’s horror traditions as the Irish horror the Wake Wood does. For better or worse, the Wake Wood is pure Hammer Horror.

The truth always comes to light...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aidan Gillen, Daniel Newman, dublin, Eva Birthistle, film, Hammer Film Productions, hammer horror, hammer house of horror, horror, Horror film, jameson dublin international film festival, Movie, non-review review, review, Timothy Spall, Wake Wood | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Black Swan

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “alterna-noir” – just looking at slightly unusual choices.

Wow. That was disturbing. It’s really rare to get such a strong reaction to a film, and to feel so distinctly uncomfortable. Well, it’s easy to feel distinctly uncomfortable – rent a Lars Von Trier film or The Human Centipede. However, the Black Swan feels bold and vivid and disturbing, without ever feeling cheap. It seems to be a very tough line to walk (especially given some of the sequences which could be deemed “trashy” in the hands of lesser directors), but the Black Swan manages to make the viewer squirm in their seats without ever feeling dirty.

Let's dance!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Arnold Schwarzenegger, black swan, body horror, Darren Aronofsky, Film noir, films, For the Love of Film Noir, For the Love of Film Noir blogathon, For the Love of Film Noir: The Film Preservation Blogathon, horror, Human Centipede, Movies, Natalie Portman, non-review review, review, Sound of Fury | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Wolfman

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Darren

The Wolfman was clearly intended to kickstart a relaunch of Universal’s Monster Movie franchises, updating them for a whole new generation of movie-goers. It was intended to call back to a whole generation of horror films, starring Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff and so on. However, director Joe Johnston’s attempt to update the monster movie for a new generation is a muddled affair, simple and straight-forward, but clouded with unnecessary blood, gore and CGI.

No escape claws...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Benicio del Toro, Boris Karloff, Emily Blunt, frankenstein, horror, joe johnston, Lon Chaney, monster movie, monster movies, Movies, non-review review, review, universal monster movies, universal monsters, universal studios, werewolf, wolfman | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Crazies (2010)

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Darren

The Crazies is a fairly decent little horror movie, as far as modern horror goes. It’s relatively restrained, smartly acted and generally well-directed, with the kind of horror which reflects back on modern society. It’s not perfect and it’s certainly not excellent, but it’s another above-par remake of a George A. Romero cult classic.

Timothy Olyphant lights up the screen...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: biological weapons, crazies, Dawn of the Dead, film, films, george a. romero, george romero, horror, Horror film, Movie, Movies, night of the living dead, non-review review, paranoia, review, romero, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Crazies (1973 film), Timothy Olyphant | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Land of the Dead

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Darren

Welcome to the m0vie blog’s zombie week! It’s a week of zombie-related movie discussions and reviews as we come up to Halloween, to celebrate the launch of Frank Darbont’s The Walking Dead on AMC on Halloween night. So be sure to check back all week, as we’ll be running posts on the living dead.

Zombies, man. They creep me out.

– Kaufman

Land of the Dead is something of a delayed epilogue to Romero’s “dead” trilogy. The first three films were produced roughly once every decade, with The Night of the Living Dead appearing in the sixties, Dawn of the Dead in the seventies and Day of the Dead in the eighties. There was no zombie movie from Romero during the nineties (save a remake of his original film – and even then Romero didn’t direct it – his frequent collaborator Tom Savini was behind the camera. Land of the Dead is a somewhat more controversial film than the first three films Romero produced, perhaps because it’s the first time that it feels like Romero gives his zombies more development than the human survivors. It also plays with the audience’s expectations a bit more than the first three films – and, whiel I’m not convinced that this sort of toying around with the formula works, you have to give the director credit. It isn’t as strong as the earlier films, but it still feels like a director who has something to say about the state of modern society. And that is about good enough for me.

Hopper-ed up...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: 28 weeks later, asia argento, dennis hopper, films, george a. romero, george romero, horror, john leguizamo, Land of the Dead, Living Dead, Movie, Movies, night of the living dead, simon baker, Tom Savini, zombie, zombie week!, zombies | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Darren

It’s strange. For all the huge cultural impact that George A. Romero’s The Night of the Living Dead had (and it had quite a bit), people tend to focus quite a bit on the sequel, Dawn of the Dead. Perhaps it’s because the film is in colour, or because it features a far broader tapestry than Romero’s original zombie effort, or maybe it’s simply a better film, but the sequel is arguably every bit as well known (even to those who haven’t seen it) as the original – the idea of surviving a zombie apocalypse in an American shopping mall is one now etched on public consciousness (so much so that anywhere any survivor in any film ever seeks shelter is compared in some way to that mall) and even the damn elevator music has become famous in its own way. While I will concede the film is far more ambitious than its direct predecessor (and probably contributes more to the zombie mythos), I think it can also be argued that the film has far greater weaknesses as well.