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Movie Review: Insidious: Chapter 3

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , on 06/05/2015 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Lin Shaye, Stefanie Scott, Dermot Mulroney, Angus Simpson, Michael Reid McKay

Rated PG-13 for violence, frightening images, some language and thematic elements, 97 minutes, Horror/Thriller

Compare to: The previous Insidious films (2010, 2013), Annabelle (2014)

Oh no, the dreaded third film. It can’t be as good as the first but it’s got to make you think it’s relevant enough that you should see it. Well, it seems the director of the first two, James Wan, was too busy with Furious 7 to direct and left his writing/producing partner Leigh Whannell in charge.

And as his first time directing, I have to say that I’m looking forward to seeing him do better somewhere down the line. Because I like him, and the work he’s done previously, but this thing bored me nearly to death. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Poltergeist

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , on 05/22/2015 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, Kennedi Clements, Kyle Catlett, Saxon Sharbino, Jane Adams, Susan Heyward, Nicholas Braun

Rated PG-13 for intense frightening sequences, brief suggestive material, and some language,93 minutes, Thriller/Horror

Compare to: The Amityville Horror (2005), Fright Night (2011)

I don’t care that there’s no originality in Hollywood anymore. I really don’t. Everything has been done and if it hasn’t, it looks almost exactly like that one thing from that one time. My problem isn’t that the newest Horror movie is a remake of a film that wasn’t begging to be remade, my problem is that when I watch it, I see just about nothing to say “That was awesome!” And this is a problem since a movie should impress me. I’m not even asking for perfection.

The best I hope for at this point is to be impressed by certain effects and laugh at a couple intentionally funny moments. Poltergeist 2015 does this but I don’t get why we don’t go all out when they remake this stuff. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: It Follows

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , on 03/27/2015 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Lucardi

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language, and brief nudity, 100 minutes, Horror

Compare to: The Ring (2002), You’re Next (2013)

If you were able to cross an STD with the chain emails that tell you you’ll die if you don’t pass it along, you’ve got It Follows.

Stylish and filled with tension, there are a few things that take away from the film but enough to set it far above the majority of diluted Horror the screen is so often filled with. Continue reading →

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You Gotta See This: Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Posted in You've Gotta See This with tags , , , , , on 10/17/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Wes Craven, Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, cast and crew of the majority of The Elm Street films

Not rated though the language, gore and violence is present throughout clips of The Elm Street films, all of which are rated R. Running Time- 240 minutes, 2010, Documentary

Compare to: Behind the scenes of Horror films and the like

Available on Netflix, Hulu

A couple months ago, over the course of about five nights, I would end each with a bit of this film. It’s about four hours yet any time I had to put the computer away, I’d hate to. If you’re into Horror at at all, even if you’re not a Freddy fan, you’ll enjoy this.

Heck, if you’re just a fan of behind the scenes stuff and you don’t like Horror, this might give you a new perspective on it, becoming a fan in the process. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Dracula Untold

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , , on 10/10/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Samantha Barks, Charles Dance

Rated PG-13 for for intense sequences of warfare, vampire attacks, disturbing images, and some sensuality, Running time 92 minutes, Action/Fantasy/Drama

Compare to: Beowulf (2007), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009)

If there’s one major leap forward the screenwriters of 300 took for their fellow writers, it was rewriting history as an epic fantasy, free from constraints of the truth and backed by creative liberties. “Hey, this isn’t a documentary!” Then again, that’s what Bram Stoker did originally anyway, so I guess this isn’t that new.

Dracula Untold is an hour and a half of weaving in an out of cliches like a stone skipping on water. Sure, it’s only scratching the surface of what it pretends to be, but when you’re skipping stones, you’re doing just that; not plunging the depths. Continue reading →

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Movie Review- Tusk

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , , on 09/29/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment and Guy LaPointe

Rated R for some disturbing violence/gore, language and sexual content, Running time 102 minutes, Horror/Comedy

Compare to: The Human Centipede (2009), Red State (2011)

We don’t normally associate Kevin Smith with Horror films but it seems after his 2011 effort, Red State, and a podcast he’d done and taken the idea as far as he could, it looks like he’s going to dig a little deeper.

Though the film has made its way into theaters around the nation, it’s tough to imagine Tusk finding its way into the hearts of mainstream audiences. And if I’m to go by the excruciatingly loud Mexican family sitting behind me in my screening, the kids won’t care about it either.

Continue reading →

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You Gotta See This: Odd Thomas

Posted in You've Gotta See This with tags , , , , , , on 08/18/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Anton Yelchin, Addison Timlin, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Not rated but nothing here seemed past PG-13 due to some language, and the entire movie involving the dead and occult, Running time 97 minutes, 2014, Mystery/Comedy/Thriller

Compare to: The Frighteners (1995), Fright Night (2011)

After GI JOE: Rise of Cobra, I’d pretty much written director Stephen Sommers off. This is the guy that not only did one of the worst movies I’d ever seen, but also movies like The Mummy Returns (2001) and Van Helsing. So you get the idea- big, CGI-infested crap with no soul.

So while initially turned off to Odd Thomas in finding out that he wrote and directed it, a friend put in a good word and I checked it out. And though it’s not prefect, it’s definitely worth an hour and forty minutes of your time. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: The Purge: Anarchy

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , , , on 07/18/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, Zoë Soul, and Michael K. Williams

Rated R for strong disturbing violence, and for language Running time 130 minutes, Action/Horror/Thriller

Compare to: A Perfect Getaway (2009), You’re Next (2013)

After any movie on a three million dollar budget makes eighty nine million back, you’re bound to see a sequel regardless of quality. And though the first felt much more ambitious in idea than execution, a further explanation or examination of this masochistic future seemed possible, should the perceived mistakes of the first film be corrected.

So are the previous errors corrected? Sure, provided you can accept the premise in the first place. Once you get past your outlook on humanity, anything is possible in these movies. It’s what’s entertaining and terrible at the same time about them. Continue reading →

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Movie Review: The Quiet Ones

Posted in Reviews! with tags , , , , on 04/25/2014 by Taylor Holt

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Stars: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, sexual content, thematic material, language, and smoking throughout, Running time 90 minutes, Horror/Thriller

Compare to: The Woman in Black (2012), Devil’s Due (2014)

I had an intro but I erased it in favor of getting down to the point. If you really want to see this movie, go for it. If you were on the fence about it, don’t waste your time.

The Quiet Ones is another example of a film that has some uniqueness about it and at times draws you in to make you think it’s a better movie than it is…only to abandon you right when you think it feels like it’s going somewhere. What does that make it to you? Continue reading →

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ZRE Podcast #13: Oculus and How People Need to SHUT UP in the Theater

Posted in Podcasts, Reviews! with tags , , , , , , on 04/11/2014 by Taylor Holt

Spoilers Ahead!

Bryce and Taylor discuss the new Horror movie, Oculus. Whether or not it’s worth seeing is up to you of course but check out where we agree and disagree. Also, people need to SHUT UP in the movie. That is all. Continue reading →

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