Darling (2015) Horror Thriller

Darling (2015)  Darling is a thriller with some horror elements about a woman named Darling (Lauren Ashley Carter) who after being traumatized has a breakdown while caring for a socialite's infamous house in NY City. Broken into chapters, Her, Invocation, Thrills, Demon, Inferno, and The Caretaker it is a film drawing on some other famous films set in city apartments most strongly two from Roman Polanski, The Tenant and Repulsion. Shot in black and white it definitely often looks like Repulsion. Where it is a film about a character losing her mind it is going to get a lot of comparisons to that film too. From the beginning we see the tightness in in the character, clothes hair makeup perfectly constructed like she is holding herself together through her appearance. Played beautifully by Carter with just enough facial nuance to let the audience know that Darling is not all she is presenting herself to be. She carries an edginess that enhances the script and manages to emote the chaos that boils behind her characters eyes.
  Chapter 1: Her is an introduction to Darling but also to the house. We see the Madame (Sean Young) of the house telling Darling about its storied history how the last caretaker threw herself off the upper balcony, but not only that but that there is an earlier stories of house being haunted. Darling in her controlled way assures the woman that this is not a problem for her. Much of this chapter is exploring the house after the Madame leaves for the weekend. The house becomes a character as we get some great setup shots of the different rooms. Originally the locations was going to be a working class apartment more like in The Tenant but by chance a renovated former boarding school in Harlem became available so the location was changed. It is a beautiful multi floored place and we see Darling going about checking different rooms. When she settles in her room she finds a rosary in on of the bureau drawers, but also the noises start to startle her as night closes in. I have always like slow builds and even though this film is a tight 78 minutes it does not jump right into the scares. Instead we get little things like the rosary, was it owned by the last caretaker who killed herself? Then there is the room that gets to that balcony which is locked, and Darling's strange dream where she is standing on the balcony. Finally when Darling walks to the store and is really scared by a man (Brian Morvant) returning the rosary she dropped to her we see that although put together on the outside she is really terrified and not totally together on the inside.
Chapter 2: Invocation, Now the definition of the noun invocation is "the action of invoking something or someone for assistance or as an authority." and in this chapter we see that Darling while laying in her bed at night see a Latin phrase scratched into the side of the nightstand. "Abyssus Abyssum Invocat" or "One misstep leads to another" when she reads these words we go to a shot from the POV of where the nightstand is looking back at Darling. What is cool is they use this shot so we can also see the bedroom door behind her as she lays in the bed. It opens by itself until it slams into the all startling Darling. I have always like that kind of camera shot, the use of foreground and background to give an effect, it still is very cool.  We also see that not only is Darling a bit of an insomniac but that she is starting to stare into space a bit. It well done by the actress and director to build slight changes in her behavior as she heads down the road to insanity. Then we see she is also starting to obsess standing in front of the Man's apartment building watching for him to come out. Let's remember that the interaction she had was random and innocent but now she is thinking about him a lot.
Chapter 3: Thrills, Is about getting the Man to pick her up at a bar. Darling stalks and sets him up leading him to talk to her in a bar and then inviting him back to the house. The awkwardness of the conversation is wonderful and Carter really shows her chops in this setup portion portraying Darling fragility with a nuance performance. Leading to the biggest turn of the film I will leave a lot of the detail of this chapter out, but we do learn a bit more about the house. It was not just the last caretaker's death that built the reputation as a haunted house but also as we learn through the conversation of the Man there is a longer history. That same locked room at the top of the house was a place where the former owner of the house tried to conjure the Devil. Adding weight to the location beyond an earlier tragedy. When the chapter gets rolling we see Darling's mental state cross a threshold that she will not be able to come back from. I really liked all the way through the things shown to show the slippage in Darlings thought process. From the beginning each morning the Madam calls to check in with her and with each call Darling is less and less able to engage with her on the phone.
Chapter 4: Demon is about dealing with the consequences of actions taken in chapter three. Darling must sort of become a demon to do what she has to do. She is a changed character at this point and we the audience see the breakdown of her sanity first hand. Chapter 5 : Inferno is about the psychological consequences of her actions and the realization in Darling that she sees her own illness and finally Chapter 6: The Caretaker is where the outside world reenters the story and the full horror of the events are witnessed.
  Overall the film, called a tribute to the other films mentioned above is really quite derivative of those films. It plays so close to the plot of Repulsion that it could sort of be a re-imagining of that film. Director Mickey Keating obviously knows what he is doing behind the camera. Under the age of 30 he already has five features all tight and well drawn that were made on small budgets. He is sort of a director made for independent horror. I am sure it won't be long before he is hitting with a film from a large studio. There are some great filming techniques used in this film like quite cutting and strobe lights, a killer sound design and the starkness of the black and white that all come together to make this an enjoyable film to view. This film deals with the effects of earlier abuse on the antagonist so be warned that this theme is there and important to the story.   I enjoyed it and would recommend that you take a look at it.

House of Bones (2010) - Horror TV Movie

House of Bones (2010)  - Television movies and network shows have gotten good at those draw you in opening sequences, I see it a lot on shows like Supernatural where the horror opening is really scary and compelling. House of bones has such an opening with a young boy showing a couple older kids his Father's prized Babe Ruth signed baseball. The callous boys decide they want to hit the ball and unfortunately it goes all the way across the street into the yard of a spooky old house. The younger boy knowing his behind is at stake is forced to conquer his fear and go and retrieve the ball. The music is spot on as the tension grows near the old house. Not only is it old large and scary but already has a reputation as a haunted place. Close up of toys abandoned in the yard, then the reaction of the frightened boy when he sees the ball flush against the front door. He musters his resolve and moves slowly towards his prize but as he nears the front door opens with a creak and the ball rolls just a body's length into the foyer. The kid spooked tuns to leave but suddenly is again facing the ball. He tries to turn and leave again but again finds himself further onto the porch. Now stretching into the house he reaches the ball always cautious to keep his feet outside the threshold. Success and the stands and turns to leave. Then a force lifts him up and pulls him into the dark of the house, leaving only the marks of his dirty fingers on the door frame where he tried in vain to grab hold. It's a less then original opening but was well executed and there was hope that this TV movie would be something a bit better than most.
Unfortunately the rest of the film falls into used up tropes and cliches that have been around for years. The energy of the opening is quickly forgotten as the film builds the character who will later be the victims of the house. Quentin French (Corin Nemic) is the host of a haunted sites cable show that is currently hitting the skids, arrogant about its popularity he is none too pleased that from now on he will have to go on location for a more reality based exploration of ghostly mansions. Going on ahead of him are his crew, lead investigator and fx man Greg (Marcus Lyle Brown) cinematographer Simon (Collin Galyean) helper Bub (Kyle Russell Clements), Producer Tom (Ricky Wayne) and recently hired psychic Heather (Charisma Carpenter) add in young Realtor Sara (Stephanie Honore) and we have the primary players for the film. The early scenes with Quentin getting demoted and the crew setting up at the haunted house are mundane for the most part but little quirky happenings pop up just in time for cuts that obviously were meant to be used to go to commercial.
  I think the biggest problem with this film is the fact that the house, its history is the main character. What this means for the viewer is when shit starts going down and poor Bub is lost pulled into the walls of the house there is a giant need to tell us what the story of the house is and who all the previous owners were. This expository talk is always from the one cast member who has done the research explaining it to the others and in most cases is just tedious to listen to. Movies are about showing not telling and killing the pacing of a film almost always happens when you have to tell the story. Then of course is the inexplicable necessities of having a psychic to confirm the house is evil, and numerous deaths before the smart survivors come up with a one line solution to save themselves. It is not that this film is not mildly entertaining but damn the explanation of what the house is and how to deal with it are so simple and unquestioned by anyone in the place that the viewer is left thinking they are all a bunch of dopes.
  The twist ending is less than satisfying but there are some decent things about the film also. The music fits really well and the acting is quite passable. A bit television geared but hey this is a made for TV movie so its what you get. In the end I was more disappointed than entertained and probably will not revisit this one.

Lisa and the Devil (1974) Horror Devil

Lisa and the Devil (1974) -"Lisa e il diavolo"
Having seen this film and the other cut of it The House of Exorcism I was excited to here that the fine folks at Deadlantern.com's The World Famous Splattercast were going to cover it. So excited in fact that I re-watched both version and listened to the audio commentary while doing so. Of course I had to avoid hearing the podcast until I finished this writing which for me is a task. I really wanted to listed but like to have formed my own opinions before being influence by the the fine commentary provided by the crew at deadLantern.  Lisa and the Devil had excellent commentary by Tim Lucas who wrote the book Mario Bava : All the Colors of the Dark as well as other genre books. Probably one of the more expensive coffee table books I have seen, and will not own. Again you want to watch the film prior to watching it with the commentary.  When sharing that commentary in this write up I will make the text whether quote or paraphrasing I will put the text in italics instead of making a separate citation each time. There was so much interesting commentary in this film that I would recommend you take a listen. Whether sharing the origins of the fresco that Lisa (Elke Sommer) looks at at the beginning of the film or the musical piece accompanying the music box or giving background on the actors, Lucas is knowledgeable and detailed adding to the depth of the film.
  Lisa is a tourist visiting an unnamed town, the first stop off the bus is a fresco of the devil carrying away souls. Bava had the fresco made for the film with the likeness of Telly Savalas who plays Leandro in this film as the devil character. It was also common for Bava to use the idea of an image of someone becoming real in his films. She is about to take a journey on the strange side and does not know it. Drawn by music in the distance she walks off on her own, finding her way to a small shop where the music,  Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto Dara Weiss is playing. It's a turning point as she is seen by Leandro (Telly Savalas) as he who she sees in flash to be the spitting image of the devil from the fresco. Frightened she hurriedly leaves the store and we can hear Leandro saying "How strange, how strange,  you'd think she'd seen the devil."
 Espartaco Santoni) and in a neat bit of editing he appears to be real. Again this calls back the image of the fresco with the devil carrying away the dead. Lisa is ready to be out of this scary situation and takes the directions from Leandro that should get her out of the back allies. Would you trust his directions? She seems a bit ensnared at this point. Coming up some stairs there is at least a view of the city but in front of her is a man coming her way. She sees it is Carlo the spitting image of the dummy Leandro was carrying. He thinks she is a woman called Elena and this makes her even more panicked. Bava has both a sister and a daughter named Elena and important name to him. When he touches her like he knows her her reaction is to push him away with dire consequences. Really this is a transition in the film where Lisa leave one world and enters another. She is a pawn in the devils diabolical plans and just does not know it yet. She is still looking for a way out but the possibly dead man at the bottom of the stairs means she is stuck. We see her shout for help and in the next instant she is still wandering in the dark. Has a lot of time passed so the sun has gone down, or is it a supernatural darkness? It really is never explained but can be an indication that she is in some kind of other worldly situation. There is a time shift that starts at the fall of carlo probably signified by the shot of his watch with its broken hands across each other. Have two time crossed and now we are in a dream world where normal rules do not apply?  Are the lights she sees her salvation or will they bring her more trouble?
   This is the beginning of a strange journey for Lisa, a surreal journey into darkness where reality seems warped. Outside the store it takes the form of a maze like city, of winding streets. She searches for the way back to the fresco but can't find it. She seeks help but can't find any. Her anxiety increases when she runs into Leandro again in a back ally square. He is carrying a dummy of Carlo (
  Here I go again writing a summary of the film instead of a review of it. It is so easy to be caught up in the details and there are so many details. I will try to be better, really I will. This first part of the film is a way of showing that the devil has ensnared Lisa. If I were to pick out reasons why it works I would say the sense of confusion that Lisa experiences is well relayed through the scenes of her wandering the narrow allies of the town and her fear captured with low angled camera shot. What I think does not work so well here is that there is really no reason for her to be caught up in the story. If you pay attention in the shop where she sees the music box you will see that the characters on the box are driven around in a circle by death. So much of this film is about death, so if we take the box as symbolic then maybe the film itself is a circle that repeats, but I am getting ahead of the film here.
When she runs into Carlo on the stairs and he recognizes her as someone else we can surmise that maybe at the beginning of the devil's cycle with these characters she does not remember who she is? Is she actually Elena? Is this Elena's private hell where she is transported into this place to feel the confusion of being lost? At any rate Lisa is a very underdeveloped character, we really don't know anything about her or the woman Elena she was mistaken for. A weakness of the film has to be that she never becomes a fully developed character and it is left for interpretation whether she actually is Elena. It may be that because Lisa is not real, she could never have depth, she is a shell that Elena is using to try to escape the devil's influence. Never does she do anything to improve or hinder her situation, she just has these events happen to her. Much like the dummy's of the characters in the film Lisa is a mannequin of the film itself she is moved place to place but it really is never of her own doing.
The second act has Lisa getting a ride in a car owned by a couple Frances (Eduardo Fajardo) and Sophia Lehar (Sylva Koscina). It is a cool scene where we see from the stares between the people in the car that Sophia is having an affair with the chauffeur George (Gabriele Tinti) and that Mr. Lehar knows of it. It is an added dynamic to what is going on in their world. The car is having problems with its hoses and sputtering and overheating. The four of them are forced to stop at a local villa so repairs can be made. This sets up the primary story of ghosts and love lost and death and rebirth. The house is owned by the blind Countess (Alida Valli) and she lives there with her son Max (Alessio Orano) with butler Leandro. Naturally they are offered the hospitality of the house and here is the rub. Lisa seeing Leandro, tries to hide in the background but is seen.  He presses her about whether she recognizes him. A telling statement of Very Little escapes me if you know what I mean." lends to the idea that he is the devil. So if all the players are in a hell world the story of the house is the horror they must relive. The story in the house is of Carlo is the husband of the Countess. Elena is engaged to Max and then has an affair with Carlo. Max being a psycho kills both Elena and Carlo for their act of betrayal. They are brought back together into this house to rediscover the horrors of their sins by the devil again and again. The betrayal of infidelity is represented not only in the back story of the occupants but in the relationship between George and the Lehers. Each time the outcome will be murder.  Another symbol of this manipulation could be the music box, a circular disc spins the six figures watched over by the death character, The Queen, King, Bride, Groom, Male outside and death representing the Countess, Max, Lehers George and Leandro they are driven in circles. There is actually a point in the movie where the group is being lead by Leandro through the grounds in the same order as the figures on the music box.
  Primarily it is Max who is seen as the psychopath of the film but he is not the only sinner here. When it all plays out we think Lisa finds a way to escape and comes out of what is now a ruined house. Years of decay showing the rubble signifying she is back in the real world. Little kids playing there call her a ghost and say that everyone knows the ruins are haunted. Lisa thinking that she has survived heads out of town, a second chance? The plane she is on seems deserted and the music lets us know that the ending will not be good for her. When she finds the rest of the cast, dead looking in the plane and runs for the cockpit we see that very little actually does escape Leandro as he turns the pilot of the plain. Ultimately the story is about the power of the spirit world to control the fate of us humans. We are the pawns in the games run by Gods or monsters and our actions condemn us but we in the end have little power in changing a fate that has been casts. Lisa when she falls against the plane wall appears to be another body dummy to be played with by the devil. As he said, very little escapes him.
  No there are a lot of things to like about this film, some interesting camera shots, like the POV of the car pulling up to the villa. Not from the point of view of the driver though but from Lisa in the passengers seat. The already mentioned low angle shots in the town. There are a number of reflection shots in a spilled bottle of wine or in any other reflective glass where the focus changes fore to background or visa versa.. On top of the camerawork by cinematographer Cecilio Paniagua is the just excellent soundtrack by Carlo Savina. Overall the pacing was relaxed but being a child of the seventies I have to say really not too slow. Its no Phase IV or Vanishing Point. Still for a younger audience the first part of this film will seem slow. Bava is one of my favorite directors and I was pleased to be able to see what he wanted to be his defining work, Still there are others I love more , The Girl Who Knew Too Much and the classic Black Sunday to name a couple. Having watched it I can listen to @rachiepants on the Splattercast podcast and see what she thought. I was equally displeased with the strange disjointed money grab this film became in the form of The House of Exorcism, a horrible trashing of this film for the sake of money.

La Casa Muda (2010) Horror Psychological

La Casa Muda (2010) - QUICK HIT!! With the English language version of this film coming out this week I thought it was appropriate to review the original before seeing the new version. Translated to "The Silent House" it is a unique flick with a couple of different features not seen all the time. The film making novelty is that it looks like one long take, so you follow the characters around without leaving real time. I remember hearing about this in reading some blog here or there but can remember if it is actually one long shot or it is edited to look like one long shot. There are certainly places in the film where cuts could have been made without breaking the appearance of being in real time. The second feature to note is the skill the writer Oscar Estevez and director/cowriter Gustavo Hernandez have at keeping the story compelling throughout and playing with the reality of what we appear to be seeing in real time.
In the early scenes I was wondering about how they were going to keep the tension but really from the time Wilson (Gustavo Alonso) heads upstairs to investigate the noise his daughter Laura (Florencia Colucci) hears, the film is compelling. Using limited lighting, strong noises and the excellent reactions of Colucci the film is quite tense. You think she is a young woman maybe in her teens. When she hears a scream and a thump as she waits for her father her terror seems really genuine. We get to live her reality as she moves around the house investigating. Her physical portrayal is excellent, holding on to the light so scared she is barely able to hold it up to see in front of her. She is compelling from the start and carries the film forward. It is her first movie credit but she pulls it off like a pro.
The way it seems that the perpetrator(s) are messing with her it seems the idea is to terrify her. She leaves the living room hears a noise behind her, as she investigates that more noises upstairs. Needing the key she investigates only to then hear noise downstairs. She find her bound and unconscious father downstairs and realizes her does not have the key to the door. He must have dropped it upstairs. I won't go through the sequence but it was heartening the way the film kept my attention. I thought I figured the film out early, and in fact to an extent did but the way the story unfolded I totally for got this conclusion by the time the reveal of the plot came. I say nicely done to "La Casa Muda" for that. Seeming to set up a ghost story but flipping the switch was an excellent distraction.
Laura finally does get out of the house she runs and reaches the road. There is this vision of the ghost girl, (Maria Salazar) we have seen throughout and it really is a clue to what is going on. Still though when the owner of the house Nestor (Abel Tripaldi) arrives she is an emotional wreck. He insists in going into the house and checking things out and again we are distracted by the idea that it is just intruders. The fact that we end up back in the house and the scenes with Nestor and Laura are excellent, the flashing of the camera flash as a way of seeing in the dark is very effective scare tactic. The story climaxes as we learn more in this sequence about what we thought the reality of the film is. I liked the way the single shot effect of the film reality interacted. I don't want to give anything away so let me stop there.
I have to say when the turn came and it is a rather disturbing turn I was glad I did not have all the answers. Laura's reality was not what we thought and the unusual reasons for this this were surprising. Well written and executed, it is not the best film but it is a very nice horror film for a quiet night at home. I hope the remake is equally as good.
Rating (5.5) 5.0 and up are recommended Rent It!

Hell Night (1981) Horror Freaks

Hell Night (1981) - This review is done in coordination with the wonderful and talented Stacie Ponder and her wonderful blog feature The Final Girl Film Club. This film with Linda Blair a decade after the highlight of her career in The Exorcist (1973)[If you don't count Savage Streets (1984 ) hee hee ] in a pretty see through horror film that lacks depth and surprises. Not that it can't be looked at with a certain amount of nostalgia, it is right in my sweet spot of years where horror films shaped me and my generation.
This somewhat forgettable film may have came and went pretty fast of course being drunk through most of the eighties I can only guess at that. This viewing left me unimpressed with a way too predictable plot, and somewhat stale acting.
The film starts with a giant out of control frat party, kids making out, beer drinking and the such. We are quickly introduced to the theme of the night. Its Hell Night the night when all the pledges to sororities and fraternities must face some mistreatment or challenge to be accepted into the clubs. On this night the head Frat guy Peter (Kevin Brophy), his accomplice Scott (Jimmy Sturtevant) and side kick girl May West (Jenny Neumann) have cooked up some real scares for the four pledges to Alpha Sigma Rho. Using the local haunted house as a place to terrify the four, they wire it up for sound and set up other frightening gags. Then when the time is right all the partiers are gathered and our pledges are locked in the grounds of the house. Still if you are attentive and listen to the haunted house story about the mongoloid children and the murder suicide then you will know exactly what is going on when all the shit hits the fan for the college students. Sleeping in the house with its sound effects and scares will be the least of their worries.
Two couples end up in the mix with our three pranksters, those pledges are Seth (Vincent Van Patten) who quickly hooks up with party girl Denise Dunsmore (Suki Goodwin) leaving good girl Marti Gaines (Linda Blair) to hang out with rich boy Jeff Reed (Peter Barton). The character development is scarce but we do get the rich boy / poor girl banter where we learn Marti is a capable mechanic and this little gem.
Jeff: What makes it so evil to be rich, and so noble to be poor?
Marti: Its just the rich capitalist feeds on the life of the downtrodden poor.
We also have a bit of dialog between Seth and Denise where they are frolicking in the bed and he does his surfing routine on her. So deep, wow just takes your breath away, his love of the waves that is. So before the killing starts this is the film, some mild character development then the pranks to be played on the pledges. This is a smart group though and they figure out the house rigging pretty easily. They quickly detach any rigs they find in the house never suspecting anything besides frat shenanigans is going on.
Peter and Scott give a bit of exposition to let us know that this house is special in that there are tons of hidden passage ways and tunnels in it and they can move around easily to perform their tricks. Still Peter and Scott have more than loud noises planned and send May off to create a diversion while they start the next prank. As she walks near the outer wall she is nervous and then suddenly arms reach out from a hole(vent?) in the ground and she is pulled below. Screaming and fighting she is pushed against a wall and her head is chopped off.
The killer is pretty obvious and once the killing starts it goes somewhat quickly through our pranksters. When a killer runs out of pranksters what is he to do? How about start in on the pledges. When Seth heads to the bathroom we know who is first poor Denise does not stand a chance. When he returns it is not Denise under the covers next to him but instead the head of May. Something I like about this film is how quickly the remaining three head for the gate. No shitting around here, Seth finds the head in the bed yells and boom the three head to the gates. With the gun given to them for emergency by Peter they shoot off the lock open the gate and escape with their lives. No wait... those are blanks in the gun, damn. So Seth has to climb over the sharp point tall gate to go get help. Will he impale himself? It is one of the few good moments of tension in the film. It is not disappointing to see him safely on the other side. He goes off to fruitlessly attempt to get some help. It is hell night after all and no matter what he says to the police about killers in the old mansion they are not going to believe him. In fact they threaten to arrest him for bothering them. He eventually has to steal a rifle from the police station (their security seems a bit lax) and car jack a car from some dude before driving back to rescue his new friends. Its a real shame though because of course it will cost him his life.
Jeff and Marti hold up in a room awaiting his return but when the killer raises from under a rug Jeff's fight or flight response kicks in and he shoves a pitchfork through the prick. The cloaked figure falls through the window into the garden and it is up to the couple to make sure it is dead. After a second encounter and sure the killer is dead they can relax. This is a horror film though and again if you were paying close attention at the house history story you know where the scythe comes from that impales Jeff.
Our final girl Marti while running from the new killer comes across all the bodies of most of the people who have been killed up to this point in the film. Its a lucky thing because she is able to pry the gate key from the cold dead hand of Peter and makes her way to the gate. She sees the stolen car waiting for her outside and clumsily gets through the gate. It is awesome to see her lock the gate behind her. After all she is being chased by a crazed killer. So often the killer is given one more shot at the final girl it is refreshing to see her get away clean. When the car won't start you know since she is a mechanic there is no problem; Awesome so no real hitches. The problem is in turning around she crashes into the gate knocking it down damn it! The final sequence commences with this opportunity for the killer to get to her. When she finally wins and collapses on the steering wheel in exhaustion we know her nightmare is finally over. She wakes to see the sun rise to officially end her Hell Night.
Rating (4.0) 5.0 and up are recommended in the Zombiegrrlz system Rent it for Nostalgia sake!

House of Voices (2004) - Ghost Haunted House

House of Voices (2004) - Writer / Director Pascal Laugier is a current hot item for his recent torture porn film Martyrs (2008) which has the reputation to be hard to watch but not because it is poorly made but because the subject matter is relentless and unflinching. We at Soresport movies have the film but have yet to viewed it for just this reason. House of Voices, originally entitled Saint Ange is a slow burn ghost story that ends up, by its' end somewhere other than the viewer thought it would. The opening scene is deceiving in it scary setting and sudden terror. In the large Victorian house that serves as his orphanage home, a young boy Alex gets up to go to the bathroom. It is dark but armed with his flashlight he makes his way through the deserted corridors. Joined by a little girl they make it into the large bathroom and Alex proceeds to turn the knobs of a row of faucets. He mentions something about "the scared children" and how the always touch things in the bathroom. After the two head back to be we hear the water go on in the faucets and Alex heads back to turn them off. Did he see something in the mirror above the larger sink? Climbing up to look he is shocked by something he sees and falls hitting his head and from the screams of the little girl when she comes back we learn he died. It is a well done scene with excellent atmosphere and pacing and a promising start to the film.
Unfortunately the pacing then crawls and the film has a really difficult time creating the tension needed to tell the story. Its 1958 and the death has created a political witch hunt that closes the facility. The head mistress Francard (Catriona MacColl) meets cleaning woman and main character Anna ( the lovely Virginie Ledoyen)at the bus. Catriona MacColl has a storied history in horror movies having appeared in such films as, City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, and House by the Cemetary. Laugier has said in interviews he imagined House of Voice as an unconnected sequel to The Beyond, and certainly the strange other worldly shift the film makes can lend a bit of credence to that idea.
Anna arrives as the children are being loaded up in buses to head off for their new homes. Little Marie comes to Anna and whispers in her ear to be careful of the scared children. She is left at the house with the older cleaning woman Ilinca (Dirina Lazar) and her charge the slightly off her rocker Judith (Lou Doillon). The three have the task of closing down and cleaning the giant building. All is not what it seems as noises and constant stormy nights create a creepy atmosphere for young Anna. She soon discovers Judith and slowly learns that she is not quite all together in the head. Still the work and the weather and the large empty house make for a setting. Anna's strange dreams and sickness gets the viewer wondering but this is quickly dispelled. Anna is revealed to be sick because she is a young pregnant woman who is wrapping her midsection in bandages to hide her condition. That is not all though, she has scars on her back from being lashed. It is a revelation that explains some but opens up just as many questions. The time period sort of makes sense to hide and unwanted pregnancy. She has also shown a desire to hurt the child by punching her own stomach. Could the social ostracizing made her hate the fact she is pregnant? It is 1958 after all and many a young girl with child was sent to the country until their term was complete. Could the lashes on her back be from her family when they found out?
As the haunting come on with sounds of kids playing, moving items and the such, the film starts to drag a bit so we can find out Judith was one of the kids who came towards the end of World War II. Some of those kids did not survive and could be the scared kids that the Ilinca mentioned to Anna. Anna wants to know and starts a somewhat sinister plan of her own to coop Judith to get information. Ilinca has been controlling the young women with medication but Anna gets Judith to stop taking the pills. It works and after a time, too long for most viewers Anna knows a dark secret about the orphanage and why it is haunted.
She acts to go look at the secret area behind the mirror that Alex fell from in front of in the opening scene. She pushes through and starts to explore taking a dumbwaiter down to what appears to be a secret underground laboratory or hospital. This is when director Laugier goes from practical haunting story to psychological nightmare. Poor Anna is in the midst of a nervous breakdown and although the astute film viewer will recognize it the average person may be scratching their heads wondering how the film can shift in tone so drastically. The sad ending does not help this movie either and so at the end it is not very satisfying. The music and visuals are very effective in this film but the left turn can not be made up for. So in the end I can not really recommend this film.
Rating (4.7) 5.0 and up are recommended. Too slow to go! Skip It!

Insidious (2010) Horror Ghost

Insidious (2010) - Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell bring this creepy not quite what you expected ghost story to the screen with mixed results. Wan the director of Saw (2004) and Dead Silence (2007) knows how to create tension in this kind of film and has some very effective bits. It is a story of a family The Lamberts who move into a house that seems haunted. Like all good haunted house stories they establish the haunting a bit at a time. It is obvious they have just moved in from the unpacked boxes. Then there is the kid, one of two young boys in the family named Dalton (Ty Simpkins) comes down to say he does not like his room. Its tough moving into a new house and the little kid is still unsure. This is the kind of start you would expect, except that pre-credit sequence started with frightening music as the camera flows through the house to the creepy faced ghost bride holding the camera. During the credits also it is very clear through the music that this will attempt to be a hair raiser. Now most haunted house stories start this way with The Amityville Horror standing out in my mind, they start with the location, the house and we spend some time with Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne) as she walks around the place. Side note: Who has a furnace in their attic, why is there a furnace that goes on in the attic? Of course the Amityville horror does not work as a example because it opens with a murder in the house and soon after the family moves in there is a scene where the priest is driven out by flies and the voice saying "Get Out!" This film by no means is so over the top. Although in the Amityville Horror there is the kid coming to the parents and saying she wants to go home even though the family are in the new house. Similarly An American Haunting (2005) starts big with an action packed scene of a teenage girl being chased by unseen forces, a terrifying dream, then the film quiets down to build up the ghost story a bit at a time.
So where have we seen the trope of the haunted house before? Well Recently there was The Others (2001),The Grudge (2004), Paranormal Activity (2007) all do the incremental haunting well. This film will take a different twist on the haunting. After its building of the creepy haunted house motif it shifts gears. A bit too fast and without enough setup. That shift is surprisingly against the norm for a haunted house film and welcomed. The bits leading up to it are great though, the false scare in the attic when Dalton falls from the ladder. Creepy sounds while everyone sleeps, and when Dalton does not wake up in the morning the panic of father Josh (Patrick Wilson) is well done. Dalton is in a coma for unknown reasons and the family brings him home to care for him in the long term. Three months has past and the doctors do not have any answers. We have to assume that nothing strange went on in the house while he was gone. When he gets back though boy the weird starts, voices over the baby monitor, faces behind curtains, horror angles of shooting low and from above. The film does a nice job having the haunting stuff primarily effect and isolate Renai, she sees the majority of the oddities. It is this reviewers wish that the scary would have been more frequent prior to the switch over to solving the problem. This also puts the focus away from Josh who plays a much larger part later.
The film gets us thinking that the problem is that Dalton is haunted and then Josh's Mom (Barbara Hershey) comes into the picture. She is the true believer with friends who believe also. I don't want to give away the twist her which makes it hard to describe the plot. A team of helpers similar to the all too famous Poltigeist (1982) arrive and we move towards the inevitable seance scene. I believe this is where the film starts to come apart, moving away from the established plot we head in a new direction and learn new information about Josh that turns the film on its side. The scares are still great because something has to happen to change the Skeptical Josh into enough of a desparate character that he will participate in the final solution.
The final third of the film really didn't work. It is a dreamscape that Josh must navigate because he also has the ability just like his son to enter the "Further", which is the most ridiculous name for limbo that I have heard. Like Orpheus entering hades for a chance to bring his wife back or like Rose Da Silva running around Silent Hill he has to go find his son.
The scary in the Further is freaky and strange with two kinds of beings, ghost who want to get back into this world and the more sinister demons that want in so they can cause everyone harm. The main demon in this film is a Lipstick demon who is all black in skin tone and smears red lipstick all over his face making him look like a lanky Darth Maul. I have to admit that the film started losing me when the psychic Elise Ranier (Lin Shaye) told us about the Further, then when they reveal the information about Josh I was like "okay, whats next", then when he goes looking for his boy and has to confront Darth Maul every is a bit over the top. "Josh follow my voice, follow my voice honey." Fuck that shit. Did the whole neighborhood see the house shaking? Oh the stupidity of those final scenes. When watching this with my daughter I looked over at the end of the final sequence and said. You know this ain't over something came back with him. That way we can all look forward to the sequel. So although there is a fair amount here that can be considered in a favorable light there is also so much more that is suspect. Although this team are correct in thinking there were many films in the horror genre that approached there plot twist but there are a few. Basket Case (1982) broaches the subject, Awake (2007) sort of touches the edges of it. Flatliners (1990) also in a way. This is certainly the best but I am not sure in the end they sold the premise. At least as not as well as Poltigeist did. A final note, whether it was a product placement or just an actors choice to do something while in a scene, Wilson putting skin cream around his eyes was so lame. Really we are now going to have guys skin care products really? So worried about those crows feet that ya gotta slather on some magic cream? Geeze Dude Man Up we all age.
Rating (5.6) 5.0 and up are recommended in the Zombiegrrlz system I would RENT IT!

Ghosthouse (1988) Horror Ghost

Ghosthouse (1988) - A film that is not quite what you think, okay maybe it is but it is not half bad. The Ghosthouse in question in real life sits in the town of Scituate MA, it is the same house used for the bizarre "House by the Cemetery". Being set in Massachusetts there are some very recognizable locations in the film but lets start with the curse that begins it. In a good bit of writing the screenwriter keeps the secret of "why" a curse is formed in this house while leading the viewer in a particular direction holding back information. We do get the initial incident, a creepy music from a little girls clown doll. We hear the screech of a cat and the father searches for the sound. He is looking for his daughter Henrietta and finally enters the cellar and finds the killed cat. Henrietta is standing with scissors in one hand and the doll in the other. The father Sam Baker (Alain Smith) scolds her verbally assaulting her with religious rhetoric. Angered he tells her she must be punished and seals her in the cellar with no light. Is this girl a heartless killer? Upstairs in the kitchen the husband and wife worry about her. Then things get weird, the light bulb seem to start warping and expanding. Then it explodes, Sam starts cleaning it up, from behind him comes an ax. Has little Henrietta (Kristen Fougerousse) gotten out of the basement? Mom (Susan Muller) sees the mirror in her room warping as she stares it shatters outward and fills her face with glass. Screaming she does not even see the knife coming as it slashes her throat. Shift to a shot of the girl in the cellar. So she never got out, but what is happening here?

20 years later at Fanuil Hall Boston we watch Martha (Lara Wendel) move to a phone to call her boyfriend Paul (Greg Scott). It is a really out of place and meaningless scene but it introduces Martha and Paul. He is a ham radio operator and computer scientist and that night relays a story to her about a strange voice on his radio. We are lucky that it happens again that night while a recorder is handy. Paul insists he can figure out where the voice is from. It sounds like an emergency with the voice saying "Who are you? What do you want? For God's sake somebody help me. help. help.." Then he screams and we hear a second scream in a woman's voice. This mystery leads them to the house, the radio the message they recorded was in the attic. There is a bit of introducing characters here, Susan (Mary Sellers), Mark (Ron Houck), Jim (Martin Jay) and Tina (Kate Silver) are a group staying in a truck camper on the grounds of the house. They are on vacation the yard of the old creepy house just happens to be where they rented to stay? We also get to see the crazy grounds keeper name Valkos (Donald O'Brien) who scares Martha and then runs off into the woods. Jim is the owner of the radio and the voice in the recorded message but is clear that he did not send it. In fact he says he couldn't have because although he has the radio set up in the attic for better reception, he had yet to set up the antennae. While the guys are looking at things Martha hears that really creepy music and wanders to the cellar to find the source. The horror scene that follows is great and scary but no need to ruin it here with details. Needless to say when Martha screams everyone comes running. The group comes up with a plan to try to figure out the strange radio call and sure enough things are going to be bad. What they do is only important because it accomplishes getting the group split up. Susan, Martha and Paul are out away from the house couple miles listening to the radio while the others are back at the place. It sets it up so that in real time the recorded message can be played out. It is ghostly and we now know the original message was a premonition on tape. So with this development the idea of the supernatural events is cemented for the characters in the story. We as an audience already know the score and now just wonder why everyone keeps going back in the haunted fucking house. Both Tina (who is the scream on the recording) and Mark end up in the house during Jim's event. Valkos comes and I think it is his doberman who traps Mark upstairs while he tracks Tina down in the basement and tries to kill her with a butcher knife. She flees and is saved by Mark who got out an upper window, the crazy groundskeeper runs off and Mark pursues him only to be pitchforked in the barn. Luckily he also is saved by the returning Paul. WOW! Its not over though, Mark needs to go to the hospital and that means the group splitting yet again. This time the sedated Tina is being watched by Martha while the others take Mark to the hospital. Not to resist getting in trouble Martha just keeps going into that damn house. This time up to Henrietta's room. Searching through the toy chest she sees the creepy ass clown doll and is only saved from being choked out by it when Paul arrives back. This is some crazy shit but all needed to further the plot. You see when the police come the next day the story is about NOT believing a ghost story, but are believing the former mental patient turned grounds keeper is responsible for the shenanigans. The kids are all properly scolded and left to mourn while the cops clear out leaving the scene for the night. You would think that the cops would set a patrol car out there or something? Another night of trouble is in store as Martha and Paul race to find the resting place of the little girl and evil spirit doll. Back at the house the camper group is terrorized after the camper won't start. Each in turn are drawn back into the house and bad things follow. Without giving too much away let me say the gore factor increases as the camper group fights for survival in the Ghosthouse. Paul and Martha fight off Valkos while trying to destroy the corpse of the girl and doll. The Campers try to survive the ghostly terror of the house. We find out the origins of the curse and even get a freaky ending. Overall the acting is pretty poor in this with most of the crew having only this credit. I liked the writing and even with its many plot holes the film is a scary fun gory ride. Umberto Lenzi does a decent job directing with some great music by Piero Montari who appears to have worked mostly composing music for the porn industry. Writer Cinthia McGavin with Lenzi and dialog from Shiela Goldberg (although the dialog is the weakest part) should get some credit for telling a satisfying ghost story.
Rating (6.0) 5.0 and up are recommended in the Zombiegrrlz system I say Rent It!

Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) - Horror Ghost

Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007) - The remake House on Haunted Hill (1999) was a rethinking of the original 1959 version. but similar enough to attempt to capture the spirit of the story. With a fairly decent cast including Geoffrey Rush, Framke Janssen, Ali Larter and Taye Diggs the story followed original close enough, the one large change was the story of the house and its mechanical system that locks it down. The film was an okay but not great attempt at a remake. This new film is a poor substitute for that mediocre film. There are no actors of note and the story is contrived. In it the sister of the Ali Larter character form the 1999 version, Ariel (Amanda Righetti) and her boyfriend Paul (Tom Riley) are kidnapped by a gang of art theives lead by Desmond (Erik Pallidino) and taken to the house in search of a valuable artifact. Also at the house at the same time is Dr. Vannacutt (Jeffrey Combs) and two of his students who are also looking for the statue. The ghosts of the house very quickly lock the groups in and soon they are searching around and dying gruesome deaths. If there is value in the film it is that some of the deaths are just gross. Innards ripped out, face cut off, torn into quarters or head crushed by a refrigerator deaths are bloody good. Sure they effects can always be improved on but hey this was not bad for that.

The story ends up a real survival story with everyone trying to find a way to end the slaughter. We learn that the statue is the power of the house and the only way to get out is to somehow get it out of the house. Being locked in is a problem but our ever resourceful Ariel has a solution and really the movie is centered around which characters survive to see that solution executed. I guessed correctly about half way through. We know the main character is Ariel so at least she will survive, who else though hmmmm....

Not a very compelling film nor a particularly entertaining one this dud will leave you scratching your head. Even if you see it it probably will not satisfy.

Rating (4.1) 5.0 and up are recommended, in the Zombiegrrlz system I say Rent it for the gore.

Next Door (2010) - Horror Supernatural

Next Door (2010) - Part of Terrorthon 10 at the Somerville Theater in Somerville MA.
Anna(Christina Rondano) is a depressed accountant living and working in NYC. She is down in the dumps not wanting to socialize with her friend Evelyn (Nicole Kruex) and is looking for a change. When in an email she mysteriously wins a house in Massachusetts thing seem to be looking up. She checks out the organization and it seems legitimate so she plans a weekend up at the house to check it out.
We saw from the opening scene that the towns' people in this town has decided they need to have people living in the house for some hidden reason. We get the idea that the house may be haunted or at least some grisly events took place there.
Anna arrives and find handyman Ronald Buckman (Sal Lizard) ready to help her settle in and welcome her. Local snoop Mrs. Rosenburg (Lynn Lowry) stops in with a casserole and pries a bit before being nudged to the door. It does not take long for director Andrew Sawyer to telegraph trouble with an animated conversation among town folk outside the house while upping the creepy music, was that a take off on "The Exorcist" theme?
Unfortunately things slow down from here and sitting through the slow build was a tough watch. It was not that the acting was bad but I wonder about the script. Writer Allison Lahikainen seemed to sacrifice coherence because she feared exposition. Granted it is tough to do when there is basically one protagonist. Anna spent a lot of time being scared from scrapes and bumps in the night and then discovering pictures. There is some building for her as she sets out to find out why the house is so strange but because she has no one to bounce ideas off there is never a clear narrative about why things are happening.
The information we do get comes from the towns people and even there it is their resistence to share information that is frustrating. When Anna starts having a crazy look we know somehow the house is affecting her, through some flashes for the audience we know some grisly thing happened and we see Anna slowly losing it. Thing is we can only guess why. This reviewer was going the evil house route. She invites Evelyn up and there is finally hope to discover a plot. Unfortunately the Things get even stranger as we get to experience Anna's insanity in cut shots of things that could or could not be happening. The final night does not go well for her and even worse for Evelyn and Mrs. Rosenburg.
It seems bad and I am afraid it was but not to worry in the morning Ronald is there explain the entire movie. Well sort of and not very satisfactorily. I won't tell you because damn it if you want to know you should have to suffer through this film yourself.
When thinking about the film what was missing was a clear plot, the idea for one was there but it was poorly relayed through the script. Since it was the townspeople luring people to their deaths the supporting cast could have been written much more menacing than it was. The actors were all competent and would have been able to pull it off. Filmed on what seemed video and truly a low budget picture you really have to give credit for the execution of getting the film made. Because of time, it was really late, I could not stay for the Q & A but really wished that I had.
Rating (3.1) 5.0 and up are recommended, On the Zombiegrrlz scale I would skip it!

Paranormal Activity (2007) Horror

Paranormal Activity (2007) - After all the hype I finally got out to see this film, or should I say lost footage of someones home movies? Starring Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat the story is about a young couple experiencing paranormal activity. We see through Micah filming the progressively more frightening and violent haunting of Katie. Slowly, ever so slowly we move from quiet to loud noises, from banging doors to footprints ( I think velociraptor tracks). Then finally to the big twist. The big behind the scenes story of this movie is Oren Peli made it for very little money. Then the request a film marketing campaign for it. Well designed it unfortunately made the build up too much for this little mostly boring film to live up to. Seriously now let me ask you this question...If you are being haunted don't you invite every friend you have over to be with you? Do you really just stay with your spouse alone as things get worse and worse? I did not particularly enjoy this film, but it was a decent outing for its small budget. If you are a person who believes in hauntings, then there is something here that will probably scare you.

Rating (6.0)