After Dark Horror Fest: The Hamiltons

Plot:

Francis, a teenage loner, begins filming his family and documenting them after their parents die. His older brother moves the family, including twins Wendell and Darlene, to a new town. Wendell and Darlene keep themselves away from the family. While the family seems normal, though a little dark, we’re treated to scenes of what they do, including kidnapping, torturing and killing young women and men. Francis appears to be the only normal one in the family, but the others warn him that soon he too will change and become just like them.

Trivia:

Part of the After Dark Horror Fest’s first lineup of films.

Thoughts:

In honor of Halloween, I decided to blog about a horror movie that’s not very well know, but it pretty damn good. I have a list of movies I need to write reviews for and I skipped about four that are in line, just to review this one. I saw it when the first After Dark flicks were released and promptly forgot about it. Seeing it this time was like seeing it through fresh eyes, especially since I forgot the ending. This is the kind of twist ending that you should see is coming, but doesn’t and that ending is why I recommend it. You might be surprised to learn that the family isn’t just another group of serial killers.

So I made it through my goal of reviewing one horror movie a day for the entire month of October. My new goal is to list at least 15 reviews for November. I figure that if I start off with a small goal, I might hit another review/day like I did this month…

Zombie Strippers

Plot:

A group of scientists working on improving soldiers, accidentally creates a new breed of zombies. They call in a group of elite fighters to combat the zombies, but one gets bitten and runs off. He hides in a strip club, but accidentally infects one of the dancers. She’s such a popular dancer that all the other girls decide to turn into zombies too. Suddenly the shithole strip club becomes super popular, even though the dancers are quick to bite and feed off customers.

Trivia:

Horror movie connection: Robert Englund, man that guy sure gets around!

Thoughts:

We stopped by Big Lots because I heard that the stores had a new shipment of cheap horror movies. The boyfriend picked this one up and made a joke, but I put it right in my pile. I know it’s horrible and I think that’s why I like it so much. I saw it when it first came out and had some vague memories of it, but that was nothing compared to how bad it was when I watched it this type. Despite that, it had some fun scenes and made me laugh, so I guess it can’t be all bad.

Scream

Plot:

A young girl is taunted over the phone by a slasher who later appears, kills her boyfriend and kills her. The movie then jumps to Sydney, a teenage girl who lost her mother the previous year to a presumably different killer. She’s suddenly taunted by this new killer, who also taunts her friends and begins killing them off one by one.

Trivia:

References a number of other horror movies, including A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Exorcist, Prom Night, The Howling, Halloween and Psycho.

Thoughts:

Do I really need to write a review of Scream? I’ve had the boxed set pretty much since the day it came out on DVD and I’ve seen it a dozen times at least. I’d like to call it a new classic, but that sounds kind of cheesy. I’ve also noticed that it tends to lose something over time because it just doesn’t seem as much fun and different today, as it did back then.

I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

Plot:

A group of friends play a prank at the local carnival, making guests think that the guy from the other movies is back for revenge. One of the group is accidentally killed during the prank and they decide to cover it up, rather than take responsibility for what happened. Despite keeping it a secret, the following year someone comes back, wearing the same outfit and killing off those involved. They learn that the dead boy told others of their plan and now they have more than one suspect.

Trivia:

Rumors exist that there *might* be yet another sequel to the franchise. This one is rumored to have some of the same characters and possibly the original writer back on board, or at least have some connection to the originals.

Thoughts:

There’s a nice attempt to kind of connect the movies, by explaining that what happened in the others is thought to be an urban legend. Later they explain that it actually happened, but no one in this movie was involved. What I hate is that they went overboard with the red herrings. Every time you turn around, there’s yet another person who knew about the “secret” prank and yet a new suspect. By the time it got to the actual reveal, I could care less.

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever

Plot:

Poor Paul is struggling to survive the events of Cabin Fever and even though he’s diseased, he manages to make his way out of the woods and onto the road. Unfortunately, he’s hit by a bus and killed. Our loyal cop friend Winston, makes the bus driver think he hit a moose and covers the whole thing up. Yet the bacteria filled water is already making its way around the world, or at least to neighboring towns, as a water company fills up bottles with the infected water. The water is used by a local school at its prom and of course, whacky hijinks ensue. The group of teachers and students get trapped inside the school, even as the government attempts to stop the spread of the disease.

Trivia:

Both Rider Strong and Giuseppe Andrews reprise their roles of Paul and Winston from the first movie.

Director Ti West actually asked for his name to be taken off the movie because he was so disappointed with the end result.

Thoughts:

I was excited when I heard about this movie, in part because Rider Strong, who was presumably dead at the end of the first movie, was coming back. When he died within 5-10 minutes, I had a feeling that I would end up disappointed…and I was. This movie isn’t at all what I expected. It doesn’t really fit with the original Cabin Fever and seems like it was played more for jokes, than it was for horror. The way the virus/disease spread doesn’t fit with the original and it doesn’t seem to act in the same way either. Paul’s makeup at the beginning was a little too overdone and once it started hitting others, it was almost instant. Like one girl drinks the water and in the next scene, she’s completely infected and spreading it to others. That’s one fast acting virus!

The Mist

Plot:

David Drayton lives on a lake with his wife Stephanie and son Billy. After a huge storm hits the town, he starts cleaning up and runs into his neighbor Brent. He notices a weird patch of mist coming across the lake, but shrugs it off. When he, Billy and Brent decide to head into town and stock up on groceries, they realize that there’s something in the storm. Tentacles come from the mist and weird creatures attack the store. Those who survive barricade themselves inside and hope for the best, even while a smaller group looks to the “lord” for help.

Trivia:

Based on the Stephen King story of the same name, though it has a much bleaker ending.

Horror movie connections: Thomas Jane (The Tripper, Dreamcatcher, Laurie Holden (Silent Hill), Andre Braugher (“ ‘Salem’s Lot”) and William Sadler (Devour, Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood, The Hills Run Red).

Thoughts:

I drove the boyfriend pretty much insane when we watched The Mist recently because I read the story and had it stuck in my head throughout the whole thing, so I kept telling him crap about the story. I know I was highly annoying. That said, I really like this movie. I think that the CGI stuff is a little lacking and dare I say, a little lame? That ending though, makes the whole movie. It was completely unexpected and something that stuck with me well after seeing it.

The Final Destination

Plot:

Nick and a group of friends hit the local track for a race one day. An accident on the track spirals out of control, sending debris into the crowd and killing a number of people. Bobby realizes that he just had a vision, like the other people in the other movies. He freaks out and leaves the tack and a few random people follow. Not long after, everyone he saw die in his visions, starts dying in real life and the surviving members must find a way to cheat death.

Trivia:

Despite being called The Final Destination, there’s actually a new movie coming out in the franchise.

Horror movie connections: Nick Zano (Joy Ride 2), Krista Allen (Feast) and Justin Wellborn (Dance of the Dead).

Thoughts:

Expect to see a future review of the movie from the 3-D perspective. I made the mistake of renting the basic version of the movie (rather than buying the damn thing) and basing my review on that. Less than a week later I found the disc on sale, complete with 3-D glasses, for just a few dollars more than I paid to rent the thing. Anyway, it’s the typical Final Destination movie, complete with random deaths, but it didn’t really have anything that stuck out in my head. Yeah, the pool scene was kind of gross and I liked the car wash scene, but the overall feel was fairly bland.