The Cutting Room review

Genre: Found Footage, Horror.
Starring: Parry Glasspool, Lucy-Jane Quinlan, Lydia Orange, TJ Herbert, Jason Rhodes, Mkaya Carrigan, Louisa Adams.
Year Of Release: 2015
Certificate: 15 (UK) PG-13 (US)
Runtime: 76 Minutes
Director: Warren Dudley

Synopsis: "College students Raz, Charlie and Jess are about to start work on their end of year Media Studies project... unaware of a malevolent force lurking deep below their sleepy town. A recent wave of apparent Cyberbullying and the disappearance of two local girls lead the group to an abandoned army barracks situated deep in the forests that surround the college. What they find there is a terrifying labyrinth of tunnels from which there seems no escape... and a dark figure hell bent on tormenting them. Hunted, frightened and lost, Raz, Charlie and Jess must now escape the barracks or suffer the unspeakable fate that awaits them." IMDB

Before I start my review, I just want to start off by informing you guys/girls I am doing a new rating scale for Horror. It came to my attention, when rereading some of my reviews, that it looks silly when I rate a film like say Grave Encounters as a 9 along with Guardians Of The Galaxy as a 9, it just doesn't seem to translate, so I will from now on, be rating my Horror films on a 1-5 scale. I just feel it looks better, if you have any feedback let us know in the comments or Twitter sorry for going off topic a bit, back to the review.

I always go in to Horror films very apprehensive, I have been burnt so many times over the years, that being said I am a huge lover of the genre especially the found-footage subgenre. So when director Warren Dudley got in touch with me on Twitter and offered me the chance to review his upcoming film of that genre I jumped on the chance. 

Firstly let me start with the story, the film was very well written, writer and director Warren Dudley did a great job at building suspense and making you feel very uneasy. I really enjoyed how there wasn't an attempt at twists and turns every so often to try and disorientate the viewer, also the use of comedy at times to keep the viewer calm really helps when the scares come. There is one scare that really stands out, that I can guarantee will leave you panting for a good few seconds. A nice combination of humour and feat leave you wanting to watch more from the team, I really hope this isn't the last Horror Mr Dudley does. From a nice slowly paced Horror in the third act, the film really kicks up a gear with a twist you will not see coming, an ending that will stick with you for a while, it was on my mind for a good few days.

The acting is so much better than I expected, no offence intended to the leading three of Parry Glasspool, Lucy-Jane Quinlan and Lydia Orange, I have just found in recent years Horror directors go for the cheapest option possible in Horror. However, all three were great in their roles, by no means are their performances say Oscar worthy, that being said, they really do get to showcase their acting talent. Especially for three people in their early 20s (educated guessing sorry), they are better than some of the more experienced people you see in the genre. Not solely down to the actors themselves the writing helped a lot, but the characters are so likeable you find yourself routing for them to survive, they were truly convincing as a group of friends

The use of gore is absolutely disgusting, but in a good way, not overly used, but when used you will scrunch up your face because it nasty but really conveys what was intended. It is great to see a film that isn't heavily reliant on gore, just uses it when they really need too. Speaking of being not reliant on modern tropes of the genre, I was pleasantly surprised at how somebody today made a Horror film without showing nudity, feels like everything in the genre is sold on boobs. This time around the director relied on his ability to write a great script and pacing it well enough to the point that you realise a lot of the modern tropes are unnecessary.

The use of locations in the film were great choices, most of us, if not all of us are familiar with the constraints of project work in school so the entire premise of the film was relatable which I loved. A fair amount of the filming took place in Newhaven Fort in the Southern part of England, the use of the fort was genius, I like many suffer from severe claustrophobia, so the dark, tight and never ending tunnels really got to me. Making the film incredibly uncomfortable, but in a great way which I do not get very often.

Overall, the film was a great watch, plus has the bonus of being British which for me adds the proud factor to the film. In recent months I have seen the likes of  "As Above, So Below" and "The Pyramid" which I imagine "The Cutting Room" was made for an absolute fraction of the price, yet manages to completely blow the two out of the water. The Cutting Room is easily one of the best British Horror films in the past 15 years, I'd personally put it up there with "Dog Soldiers", "28 Days Later" and "Eden Lake". I sincerely hope this film isn't slept on due to it being a British indie Horror, I enjoyed it more than I did a lot of the huge budget Hollywood Horrors in recent years, I implore my readers immensely to get their hands on a copy. Truly a low-budget diamond, shining in genre packed with mediocrity.  Pre-order yours NOW on Amazon here!

5/5

New trailer for Horror "The Pyramid"

Next month Fox are releasing their latest Horror, "The Pyramid" another found footage attempt, must be the millionth one surely.
"In The Pyramid, the ancient wonders of the world have long cursed explorers who’ve dared to uncover their secrets. But a team of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren’t just trapped, they are being hunted."

Into The Storm review

Genre: Action, Adventure, Disaster, Found Footage.
Starring: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Arlen Escarpeta, Jeremy Sumpter, Nathan Kress, Max Deacon, Kyle Davis, Scott Lawrence, Jon Reep, Kron Moore, Lee Whittaker, David Drumm, Brandon Ruiter, Anthony Rogers.
Year Of Release: 2014
Certificate: 12A (UK)
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Director: Steven Quale

Synopsis: "Storm trackers, thrill-seekers, and everyday townspeople document an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes touching down in the town of Silverton." IMDB

Into The Storm was very low on my expectations list, while it did bring together a pretty decent cast I wasn't that excited for the release. Maybe growing up on "Twister", "Dante's Peak" and "Deep Impact" in my honest opinion three of the better Disaster films ever, has given me higher expectations for the genre.

The film opens up with a group of high school students in a car together messing around when a huge storm is brewing around them, when the storm begins to get worse they group sees a tornado rapidly approaching. One of the girls wants to run, while one of the guys overly cocky and arrogant like 95% of teen males in movies today are decides to try recording the tornado gets back to the car just in time for the tornado to pick them and kill them all in the process. Back in the town of Silverton, Oklahoma, the local students are preparing for their graduation, whose vice-principal Gary Fuller (Armitage) has told his two sons Trey (Kress) & Donnie (Deacon) to capture messages from students for a time capsule (a convenient trope in order to add found footage).

 

Somewhere else entirely, we meet Pete (Walsh) has been attempting to intercept and film a tornado up close in his self proclaimed "Titus" which is a heavily armoured vehicle to ride out the worst of the worst storms. Hearing of the possible happenings in Silverton they head there in hopes of finding themselves some tornadoes worthy of their life long dedication to the craft. After arriving in Silverton they discover that the "cell" they had been chasing has suddenly dissipated, as the teams gets themselves together it's back again, stronger and more vicious than ever. As the team is filming the funnel inexplicably changes course head right for the school. This is when the destruction truly becomes over the top movie madness.

Overall, the film was a pretty good watch, while the acting was less than desirable throughout and there was little to no character development. This film is not really about those aspects, it is purely a popcorn flick same goes for the majority of films that fall under this category. After all the boring attempts at relating to characters is over and the true nature of the film begins the tornadoes, I began to enjoy myself, the film shifts quickly into the end of days feel you'd expect in this world. The visuals at times are fantastic other times they slip a bit, overall though they are more than adequate and do the job of portraying the destruction you want to see.

The film is not a very good film by any stretch of the imagination it is exactly what it advertises to be just a film about tornadoes with a kind of overlying story. I will say though it is a film you will either enjoy or hate, there is no middle ground, for me it is a guilty pleasure I could happily sit back, relax and watch again. The film doesn't disappoint with its tornadoes, they come fast and thick, I'd say every 15/20 minutes something HUGE weather wise happens, which may sound like a lot, but they breaks between events makes it a pretty well paced film.

It will not win awards for originality, nor with actors/actresses be getting Oscar calls anytime soon as they shouldn't. Pretty much anybody could have played the roles in the film and done an equally as good display, the saving grace is the truly over the top destruction caused by mother nature herself. The first half of the film can be slow and boring at times, but stick with it, once the action starts it doesn't stop and that's a good thing.

5/10

Grave Encounters review

Genre: Supernatural, Found Footage, Horror.
Starring: Sean Rogerson, Ashleigh Gryzko, Merwin Mondesir, Mackenzie Gray, Juan Reininger, Arthur Corber, Bob Rathie, Matthew K McBride, Ben Wilkinson, Alex Timmer, Eva Gilford, Michelle Cummins, Shawn Macdonald, Fred Keating, Max Train, Marita Eason, Luis Jamer.
Year Of Release: 2012 (UK) 2011 (US)
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Runtime: 95 Minutes
Director: The Vicious Brothers (Colin Minihan & Stuart Ortiz)

Synopsis: "For their ghost hunting reality show, a production crew locks themselves inside an abandoned mental hospital that's supposedly haunted - and it might prove to be all too true." IMDB

After recently reviewing "Extraterrestrial" which was made by The Vicious Brothers, I had to review the film that made me fall in love with their work. I know a lot of people find the whole Found Footage sub-genre to be boring and played out, however when done correctly it is terrifying, here is what I thought of the "brothers" directorial debut.

Opening up with Jerry Hartfield (Wilkinson) who is the producer of the popular "Grave Encounters" a paranormal investigation television series, he introduces us to the hose Lance Preston (Rogerson) [who to me is clearly a parody of Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans]. Hartfield goes on to tell us that the show was cancelled after its fifth episode and the footage from the sixth episode went mysteriously missing, the footage was found some time later and brought to Hartfield. The film is headlined by Lance, Sasha Parker an occult specialist, Matt White the camera guy, T.C Gibson and Houston Grey who are all set out to investigate the notoriously haunted and abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital were nearly 100,000 patients were treated.

Caretaker (Rathie) of the Hospital gives them a tour of the site, that night the crew set up their investigatory equipment and begin their overnight investigation while locked within the hospital. It is now when the truly strange things begin to occur, creepy noises, unexplained events and slamming doors. Lance notices ghostly apparitions and orbs in a picture they have taken, while retrieving their cameras to check for evidence Matt goes missing. This is when it ALL kicks off!

Overall, the film was a resounding success in my opinion, while the film is obviously not an original concept by any stretch of the imagination. The Vicious Brothers really make it their own, if you're a fan of the sub-genre or not you will struggle to find a better paranormal based Horror in the past decade in my opinion. For me it's at least on par with "Paranormal Activity" and that film completely changed the Found Footage/Paranormal genre.

The acting is pretty good considering the film is such a low budget production, acting is usually the first thing directors give up when they have no money in Horror, however the brothers seem to have cast more than capable actors/actresses for their film. The asylum they use leaves the audience feeling uncomfortable and uneasy knowing even to walk the halls in the day would be a horrific experience. The location scout on this hit the ball out the park with this location.

I highly recommend you check this film out especially if you're a fan of the sub-genre, if you are not check it out anyway I have a feeling it may sway you to becoming a believer in the sub-genre once again. While the concept is unoriginal, I GUARANTEE the scares are all original, these guys do more than just scare they make you feel like you're stuck right there with the crew. If you're looking for some scares this Halloween, this film is for you!

 

9/10

Paranormal Activity 5 gets a name and release date

Paramount Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have recently announced that the upcoming instalment in their Paranormal Activity franchise has a new name and a release date. The film from here on will now be called "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension", can anybody say 80s throwback?

The release date has date has been pushed back from October 2013 to its new date of March 13th 2015. The film is set to be directed by Gregory Plotkin and written by Jason Pagan and Andrew Stark. The next instalment is said to be focusing on a new family with two more young daughters, these guys need to shut up shop and start new.

"Skinwalker Ranch" review

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Found Footage.
Starring:  Taylor Bateman, Steve Berg, Michael Black, Erin Cahill, Carol Cal, Kyle Davis, Mike Flynn, Jon Gries, Michael Horse.
Year Of Release: 2013
Certificate: 15 (UK)
Runtime: 86 Minutes
Director: Devin McGinn

Synopsis: "A scientific research team investigates and documents the supernatural phenomena surrounding the disappearance of a cattle ranchers 10 year old son. Inspired by true events that shocked the paranormal community around the world." IMDB

Before I even start I can guarantee that majority of readers will not have seen heard of this film, it was a very small release I only came across it by accident I'm not even sure if it got a cinematic release in the UK I can't speculate on the US but at a guess I can't imagine it really if it was it was very limited.

We've seen it countless times before a film based on "true events" however, this film does take place on a widely reported paranormal and UFO hot spot whether you believe in that stuff or not, doesn't change that reports state stuff happened there and this is where the film takes place. Same can be said about "The Amittyville Horror" all be it real events, vastly twisted for cinematic reasons, "Skinwalker Ranch" does the same.

The first starts off with eight year old Cody disappearing in a flash of light outside his home on a ranch in Utah in November 2010. Less than a year later a paranormal investigation team called MDE (Modern Defense Enterprises) turns up at the ranch in order to look into unusual activity involved in the disappearance of the young boy. The boys father Hoyt (Jon Gries) allows the team to take over his property and fit it with their surveillance equipment in order to catch something paranormal. 

The equipment detects everything including lights from space, cattle being mutilated, shadows and even unaccountable vehicles, over the following weeks the events in paranormal activity increases in ways you couldn't have guessed. Leaving the MDE to to decide whether finding out this truth is really worth risking their own lives?

There is a great vibe you get when watching the film, that they are actually taking themselves serious, like they really want you to believe it in order to enjoy the film even more and myself I enjoyed that. That being said, the realism they are going for kind of takes away from the Found Footage aspect they were going for the nicely edited and well filmed scenes make it feel like an everyday followed opposed to thee known Found Footage genre.

Overall the film was thoroughly enjoyable watch for people who are fans of the genre, some nice CGI, a few scares and added story elements that bring the characters closer to you. The film is nothing more than a film to watch on Halloween or when you want a couple of scares, do not go into it expecting something on par with "The Exorcist", I believe it was Roger Ebert who said "If you’re looking for a neat little Halloween movie, you could do worse." and I completely agree with him, it's just a fun Halloween flick not to be taken seriously.

6/10

"As Above, So Below" red band trailer

I haven't been on the look out lately for Horror films, even though they're my favourite genre of film. They have been given a back seat due to the high amount of brilliant blockbusters we have been given, so when a friend told me about a Horror film set in the French catacombs of Paris I was intrigued to say the least.

The film stars Ben Feldman, Perdita Weeks and Edwin Hodge and they go into the French catacombs, here is the synopsis as IMDB has it;

"When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead."

"Paranormal Activity 5" is coming... Unfortunately!

  Wow, like we didn't expect this! It wasn't long after the opening weekend of "Paranormal Activity 4" that it was announced that a fifth film was coming, to the surprise of nobody ha ha. What was kind of surprising was the announcement of a Latino themed spin off, after the last spin off "Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Nights" which wasn't officially a spin off but did suck bad time according to all the reviews I've seen.

"While this weekend’s number 1 opening was the weakest of any of the four films in the Paranormal Activity franchise (for some reason, audiences weren’t bowled over by a repeat of the first three films, but this time with an X-Box!), it wasn’t quite low enough to keep from Paramount from churning out at least two more films in 2013.
In the Spring, we’ll have the Latino spin-off (hinted at in Paranormal Activity 4’s coda) dealing heavily with Catholicism and witchcraft; in October of 2013, we’ll then have the direct sequel,Paranormal Activity 5, which will hopefully be the last of these things."

I loved the first film an the second was pretty good but the third missed the mark by a wholeeeee way, but when I heard the fourth made like $50 million dollars in the opening 5 days I was impressed. But it does seem like going to watch the "Paranormal Activity" films has become some what of a trend, people only seem to be going to say "yeah I've seen it" to their friends they aren't going to enjoy the film. Kind of the way them idiots continue to wear the 3D glasses days and sometimes weeks after they've seen the films, I mean come on people!

"Paranormal Activity 4" trailer

Look I'm not even going to talk about this film, because I will get wound up an end up going on a rant so here is the trailer for the fourth instalment in the Paranormal Activity franchise.

"Paranormal Activity 4"

While there is still no news on "Paranormal Activity 4"'s plot, we have news on the first new face to join the cast. Matt Shively is the name we are hearing, I've never heard of him before but he is a new up and comer in the acting world. He has previously starred in "True Jackson, VP" and "The Troop". The only other news we have on the film is that "The River" writer/producer Zack Estrin is set to write the screenplay for Paramount.

"The Devil Inside" director taking on werewolves?

After last weeks unbelievable opening of "The Devil Inside", director William Brent Bell didn't waste any time at all before lining up new projects. He has already signed on to do "The Vatican" with Warner Bros, and he is teaming up with writer Matthew Peterman on a new horror film.

William Brent Bell on the left

The upcoming untitled horror will begin filming in Romania in April, it is being reported that film is a werewolf based film that "takes place in a police station with the suspect turning into a werewolf". Sierra/Affinity and Incentive Filmed Entertainment are financing the film. The film is set to be another "found footage" film, new information should hopefully release soon.

"Chronicle" new clip

Twentieth Century Fox have released a new clip for the upcoming Independent Sci-Fi "Chronicle", the new clip seems to show off how an when the three lads gain their powers.

"Chronicle" new clip and official still

At yesterday's 20th Century Fox's press conference they gave a sneak peak of their upcoming film "Chronicle". This film gives a dark spin on "superpowers acquired" formula used many times before, also using the very popular "found footage" method.

"A complete write-up of the day's events, including some commentary from Trank himself, is forthcoming. What I will say is that the footage was incredibly impressive. Chronicle was shot on a low budget, however, Trank, along with writer Max Landis, aspired for something with scope as they tell their tale of three high schoolers who develop telekinesis and the one loner who abuses his new found power."