Vinyan

Plot:

Paul and his wife Jeannine decide to visit Thailand and spend some of their vast fortune taking care of those who need help. When the 2005 tsunami hit, their young son disappeared, but because his body was never found, they never gave up hope. At a dinner party, they see a video of young children being held captive and Jeannine becomes convinced that she sees her son on the tape. Paul isn’t as sure, but he agrees to go off and try to locate the boy. They find a local guide, but quickly find themselves caught up in a world they don’t understand. Jeannine is obsessed with the idea that her son is just around the next bend and unwilling to give up.

Trivia:

Director Fabrice Du Welz was also responsible for the thriller Calvaire.

Thoughts:

I’m actually surprised that more people haven’t heard of Vinyan because it’s actually a fairly dark movie. I stumbled across it in the cheap bin at Big Lots and found it confusing, fascinating, annoying and sad all at the same time. The character of Jeannine wins my vote as one of the most annoying female movie characters of all time. She’s so obsessed with her own thoughts that she doesn’t notice anyone else and wrecks her relationships. Paul should have smacked her several times over the course of the movie. If you have yet to see it, take some time and you might be surprised. It’s not the typical horror movie, but it has a very dark and disturbing feel.

Desperation

Plot:

A group of random people are all arrested or attacked by a police officer in the Nevada desert. Among the trapped are a father and son and a famous writer. The cop seems a little off, talking funny and not making sense. The group realizes that he was possessed by a presence known as Tak, which came from a nearby mine shaft. Their only hope lies in one small boy and the two younger people who may know what’s going on.

Trivia:

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

Directed by Mick Garris, who also directed the King TV adaptations The Shining, The Stand and Riding the Bullet.

Steven Weber also starred in the Steven King TV adaptation of The Shining and Matt Frewer had a major role in The Stand.

Thoughts:

This one isn’t a favorite of mine because Desperation is just too long and too confusing. I read the book again not too long ago and I kept thinking that the actors in the movie just didn’t match the characters that they’re meant to play. I find it hard to picture Weber for example, as a happy go lucky guy just riding around behind a major writer. Maybe back in the day it was a good fit, but not anymore.

After Dark Horror Fest: Dark Ride

Plot:

Two twin girls venture into a dark ride attraction at a boardwalk park. They’re brutally killed by a figure that comes out of the shadows. Years later a group of college students head off on a spring break trip to New Orleans. Cathy, her on again/off again boyfriend Steve, her friend Liz, Liz’s ex-fling Jim and their friend Bill are all along. They stop and discover a flyer for the dark ride and decide to stop. After picking up a female hitchhiker, they find themselves trapped in the dark ride, with a killer on the loose.

Trivia:

Jennifer Tisdale (Liz) had roles in Ted Bundy and The Hillside Strangler.

Part of the first After Dark Horror Fest.

Trivia:

I actually like Dark Ride, though I’ve heard that quite a few other people hated it. It has some good kill scenes, like one that takes place during a blow job and a funny little fake out scene, where you think one thing happens, when something completely different happens. It also has a nice little twist ending that you might not see coming. The friend I recently watched it with, thought it was surprising and so did the boyfriend the first time he saw it. It was one of the better releases for the first After Dark set.

Saw

Plot:

Adam and Dr. Lawrence Gordon wake up in a weird bathroom, chained to the floor, with a dead body laying between them. They find a tape recorder that when played, gives them messages about what to do. Gordon realizes that it’s the work of a serial killer known as Jigsaw for the way he traps his victims in puzzles. A man holds Gordon’s wife and daughter hostage, until he’s ready to play the game. Meanwhile, a police detective is trying to track down the killer.

Trivia:

Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) appeared in all seven of the films, as did Shawnee Smith as Amanda. Cary Elwes surprised many by returning for Saw 3-D, after only appearing in the first movie.

Thoughts:

I actually saw this one in the theater, without knowing anything about it. I left, thinking it was an okay movie, but little more. Then a few days later, I realized what a good flick it was. I think on its own, Saw is still a great horror flick and it has an ending that no one saw coming. I doubt anyone thought this would become one of the best modern day horror movie franchises.

Vampires

Plot:

A group of vampire hunters tracked by the Vatican, kill a house full of vampires in New Mexico. Later, the master vampire emerges and comes to the hotel where they’re staying. He turns a prostitute sent to the hotel, as well as most of the hunters. The hunters, along with the a young priest and the prostitute who hasn’t yet turned, set about working together to kill the master before they’re all killed.

Trivia:

John Carpenter was given two scripts by two different writers, based on the same book. He used a little of both to make the final film.

Thoughts:

I always have good thoughts about this movie, but when it came time to actually sit down and watch it again, I kept putting it off. I couldn’t seem to sit down and watch the whole thing through. The movie isn’t that long, but it feels long. There’s a lack of big surprises and it tends to drag at times. The one bright spot is James Woods. Seeing him as a bad ass vampire hunter, makes it all worthwhile.

Growth

Plot:

Once upon a time (i.e. the 1980’s), a group of scientists worked on an experiment on a small island, hoping to make better soldiers. The experiment backfired, the experiments attacked and most of the island dwellers died. Years later, a young girl goes back to the island with her boyfriend, brother and friend. Someone wants to buy her dead uncle’s house and she needs to clear it out first. Once there, they discover that whatever happened to the original residents isn’t quite over.

Trivia:

Director Gabriel Cowan also worked on Breathing Room, while Brian Krause appeared in Sleepwalkers and on “Charmed.”

Thoughts:

I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see this one rated so low online because I actually liked it. The DVD cover art got to me first and then when I read the back, I thought it sounded interesting. The movie gets going really fast, unlike others that try to build up suspense. Within the first few minutes, you get the first death and then it just takes off from there. Growth did have a few characters I could have lived without and some of the scenes seemed convenient, but it kept me entertained.

Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes to Ashes

Plot:

A group of local townspeople discover that the mortician is giving them all the shaft. Instead of cremating people, he’s stealing organs and tossing the bodies in a swamp. They track down Haggis, a local witch and force her to call forth the spirit of Pumpkinhead. Once he’s “alive” again, he sets about killing everyone. The doctor decides to kill all the people who called him, which will make him disappear again.

Trivia:

Lance Henrikson comes back to play the same role in had in the original movie.

Horror movie connection: Doug Bradley (Hellraiser).

Thoughts:

This is another one of those movies that my boyfriend walked in on, wondered what the hell I was doing and then proceeded to watch the whole thing. I’m not exactly sure what to say about this one because it kind of came out of left field. I watched the second one recently, then jumped to this one, which completely ignores the last one. It didn’t seem to have a lot going on. I was hoping for some more gore, but I guess you shouldn’t expect too much from a television movie.

Grizzly Rage

Plot:

Four friends decide to head into a marked off area of the forest, as a way to celebrate their recent graduation from college. Wes and his girlfriend Lauren are joined by his friends Rich and Sean. They accidentally hit something, which turns out to be a bear cub and in the distance, they can hear the sounds of the momma bear. They attempt to escape, only to discover that the car is severely damaged and in need of water. It’s a battle of wills, as the bear grows closer and their numbers diminish.

Trivia:

Part of the Maneater series, which had its premier in the United States on the SyFy Channel.

Thoughts:

I’ve heard a lot of bad things about this movie and I’m going to play devil’s advocate because this is by far not the worst movie I’ve seen. It’s easily one of the more entertaining movies from the Maneater series and I think I’ve seen most of them. The problem is that it isn’t really a horror movie. You have scenes of a bear in the wild and then scenes of people running from the bear or acting scared of the bear. It kind of reminds me of a 70s flick, where they mix scenes of nature with scenes of actors. It doesn’t really work, but the actors are some nice eye candy.

Slither

Plot:

Local businessman Grant is pissed off when his much younger wife refuses to fool around and ventures out to a bar. After heading outside with another younger woman, he’s attacked by weird snake like creatures and completely changes. A few animals start turning up missing, including pets and cattle and then people disappear too. The local sheriff, who secretly crushes on the man’s wife, gets involved when everything circles back to Grant.

Trivia:

Director James Gunn also wrote Dawn of the Dead and later went on to judge the first season of “Scream Queens” on VH-1, where the winner got a part in Saw 6.

Thoughts:

I can’t even begin to explain how much I hated this movie when it first came out, I mean really hated it. I thought it was stupid, not funny and not scary either. While looking for a completely different movie at my used store, I found a copy of this for $2 and decided to try it again, mainly because I like Nathan Fillion. Much to my surprise, I discovered that I actually kind of liked the movie this time. It had enough humor in it, to cut through the horror, without ruining the movie. It definitely feels like a tribute to the cheesy horror movies of past generations, without taking itself too seriously.

The Fourth Kind

Plot:

Dr. Abbey/Abigail Tyler is an Alaskan resident, who lost her husband in a freak accident and is now raising their kids. She begins working with patients who all claim that a white owl visited them at home and that weird things are happening. After one of her patients dies and another is paralyzed, the doctor begins having odd experiences of her own. Eventually she discovers that she and her patients all went through the same thing, but that she repressed her memories and somehow it’s tied into her husband’s death.

Trivia:

The studio actually paid money to an Alaskan group because of its negative portrayal of the state.

Supposedly based on a true story, but now revealed to be based only on a few cases of disappearances in the area.

Thoughts:

I wanted to see this movie for awhile and bought it pretty cheap. The BF and I planned on watching it one night, but halfway through it he decided to go to bed, rather than wait up to finish it. I kind of wish I did the same thing. It’s not necessarily stinky, but the movie is just lame. It didn’t have anything to capture my attention and I felt my mind drifting off and thinking about other things. I think this one could have been a lot better, especially with the cast it had.