Unseen Terror: Day 7

Well, this was a surprise. Black Death is a historical horror/thriller set in 1349, the year that the Bubonic Plague ravaged and killed most of Europe. The plot follows Osmund, a young monk, who has fallen in love with a young woman named Averill who took refuge in their sanctuary, presumably to escape the plague. But once it starts to overtake his monastery, he sends her on her way to the forest, but vows he will see her again soon. Osmund prays that God will give him a sign, a way to be with her and a way out. Soon, he is recruited to lead a group of soldiers, who are on a mission to find a lone village unaffected by the plague, and possibly housing a necromancer, whose powers include being able to bring the dead back to life.

That's all I can really say about the plot without giving too much away. At first glance, one might dismiss this as just another medieval-themed film with swords, sorcery, and Sean Bean. While we do get a good bit of the former and lot of the latter (I won't say anything about the middle), this is more of a look back on some of the lunacy from the time where humanity was seemingly dropping like flies. It also isn't afraid to question one's beliefs in desperate times, as the conflict between what is right in accordance with "God" and what is right morally (religion or not). It's fairly bloody as well, but nothing that will outright disgust you if you've seen your fair share or horror films before.

Though it's shot rather well and does have a competent script, I do have a couple of complaints. The first one is a bit of a downer, but it just isn't very scary. Yes, it's a well done film, but it won't make you jump in your seat or leave you feeling disturbed like some of the other films I've already reviewed will. The second would be Carice Van Houten. She's a fine actress mind you, but she seemed to be going back and forth on which accent to use for her character. I guess I can forgive her since she's Dutch (and pretty attractive too...god I'm a pig), but it still irked me.

If you have an active Netflix account and/or Netflix streaming, give this one a shot. It's a fairly well done film given that it didn't look like it had a tremendous budget, and the ending was one of the more dark, but appropriate, ones I've seen so far.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna find out if it's safe to go back in the water with THE REEF.

Unseen Terror: Day 6

Ya know, we're only 6 days into this thing, but I have a strong feeling this one is going to be hard to top.





I Saw the Devil


The film's plot follows Soo-hyun, a secret agent whose pregnant fiancee is brutally murdered by a serial killer, Kyung-chul. After receiving a list of potential suspects, Soo-hyun decides to seek revenge on his own terms, and drags the killer into a deranged version of "Cat and Mouse," though he may have to be careful he doesn't become a monster in order to catch one himself.

I'll just come right out and say it: this is a very disturbing, but very moving horror/thriller. It also might be my favorite film I've seen this year, as I'm usually a sucker for anything Korean thriller/horror related. Director Kim Ji-woon might be somewhat familiar to Asian cinema fans as the director of A Tale of Two Sisters and The Good, The Bad, The Weird, but I can assure you that this film is nothing like his previous work (not knocking those films though). It's violence is plentiful, but I felt like it was in the vein of movies like Irreversible and Oldboy; realistic and ultimately unsettling, but pivotal. If I could hand out Best Actor nods, I would love to see Choi Min-Sik (also of Oldboy fame) get a nomination. His character is despicable, and downright loathsome, but in the end, still very much a human being. Lee Byung-hun (who you might recognize as Storm Shadow from the live-action G.I. Joe), who portrays Soo-hyun, is also excellent and we see the changes his character goes through throughout the film. There are times that we identify with him, and others where we fear him almost as much as our designated "villains."

I don't really have any gripes with this film, but I will warn some that it's very long (almost 2 1/2 hours) but in my opinion, it doesn't drag at all and manages to hold it's pace fine. I'd say that if the first 35-40 minutes don't hook you, then I'm not sure you'll have the patience to finish. Me? I loved nearly every second of it and highly recommend it. Hell, I'll even admit the ending almost made me tear up, which is so rare for something like this imo. Fantastic stuff.

Tomorrow, I go all medieval of your asses with BLACK DEATH.

Unseen Terror: Day 5

In 1879, several families and/or townsfolk have gone missing in the Dakota Territories, with some discoveries of what does remain being more violent than many would have expected. A small group of men is assembled to track down the missing folks and bring them back home to safety, with many believing rogue Indians being the culprits. But over time, they discover that there is much worse to fear than man in the old, open plains.

The Burrowers has been described by some as Tremors in the old west, but I think that's a bit too simple of an explanation. That, and we've already seen Tremors set in the old west (Tremors 4: The Legend Begins). Personally, I'd describe it as a mixture of Tremors, Predator, and an old western. The film makes good use of it's surroundings and timeline, being effectively creepy when it needs to be and will most likely keep you glued to the screen. The cast and characters are pretty solid, with Clancy Brown (Superman:TAS) and Karl Geary (2000's Hamlet) doing exceptional jobs. I'd say the weakest link in the acting was the actress playing Faith, a Native American woman who the group encounters towards the end who provides them with crucial information on what they're up against. She sounded like she was obviously reading her lines. Another minor complaint was about the title creatures themselves, which don't look bad by any means, but I wish I had seen a bit more practical creature effects and less CGI. But like I said, the CGI is fairly well done. Another point of praise is the score, for what little there is of it. I always tend to like scores with little to no musical score, and they know when not to distract the audience with it.

One thing that initially irked me was the ending, but after thinking about it, it's actually quite fitting consider the film's nature towards the changing of times back in the late 1800s. Two of the film's main characters are African American and Irish, and there is a large feeling of uncertainty towards Native Americans (who are also treated as just as much of a threat than the title creatures), especially from a US Cavalry that we encounter twice in the film.

I dug the hell out of this film. A good script, good use of it's budget, and a pretty unique (though not completely original) concept. Recommended if you're looking for a solid horror film set outside of the 20th Century.

Tomorrow, I revisit an old friend in Kim Ji-woon, and check out I SAW THE DEVIL.

Unseen Terror: Day 4

Before I write this, I'd just like to talk about the most aggravating part of watching this film: Time Warner Cable's internet. Good mother of fucking goatchrist does their internet STINK. Getting kicked off twice because it craps out (and both times were during the climax too) is just inexcusable. Oh well, I rant enough regularly about how much I hate them, so let's move on.




I like the 80s for the most part, but not all of their films. I love stuff like Stand by Me and The Breakfast Club, and most of my favorite action films come from the same decade as well. Shockingly though, I had never seen "The Lost Boys," a widely loved horror film from 1987 starring both of the Coreys and Kiefer Sutherland. I figured this would be an easy addition to the list.

Even though most of you know the plot already, I still gotta describe it for the few who haven't seen it. It follows two siblings named Michael and Sam, who along with their mother, have just moved to the fictional town of Santa Carla, California. Michael falls in with a local gang, mostly due to having a "love at first sight" crush on Star, one of the females in the group. His increasingly shady and eratic behavior causes Sam to become suspicious. With the investigation and advise of so-called "vampire experts" The Frog Brothers, Sam becomes determined to save his brother and prevent him from becoming a true bloodsucking fiend.

I've heard many friends of mine say they love the film, others...not so much. Me? I'm kind of on the fence. There were certainly parts where it excels as an awesome vampire film (the last 30 minutes) and others where it made me scoff at it's 80s silliness (the first 20 minutes film, which are just painful). The acting's a bit hit or miss, but then again, most of the characters are kind of paper thin. The only vampire who I thought was even remotely well written was Kiefer Sutherland, who despite looking like a late 80s WCW reject, was pretty awesome as David, the head vampire. I gotta say though, I dug the hell out of the Frog Brothers, for as little as we saw of them. They remind of some of the weirdos and geeks I'd hang out with, save for maybe their choice in comic books.

I didn't love the film, but I didn't hate it at all. Every time I though it would lose me, it pulled me back in. But then it'd lose me again. And pull me back in. And although I think the end twist was kind of clever, the very last scene was a bit on the "oh come ON" side of things. An okay film, but nothing more. I don't see how or why they made TWO sequels to this.

Come back tomorrow as I go underground with THE BURROWERS.

Unseen Terror: Day 3

I...am the way...



The way to mediocrity I suppose.

Well, I guess that's my intro to...



I must confess, I had never seen the third Hellraiser film, but HAVE seen the first, second and the fourth. This is what many consider to be the point in the franchise where it just starts to get silly. And I can't really disagree.

The main plot follows a young reporter named Joey, who one day witnesses a club goer from a popular nightclub ripped to shreds in a hospital, clearly work of the demonic puzzlebox (though she obviously has yet to discover this). She questions the young lady Terri, who came to the hospital with the kid as to what it is that just happened, and some evidence points to said owner of the nightclub, spoiled millionaire J.P. Monroe. Monroe has coincidentally, purchased a rather familiar looking pillar that we may have seen at the end of Hellbound: Hellraiser 2. Soon, we discover that Pinhead wishes to break free from his pillar, with aspirations to take over the world (since apparently, he's been separated into two different entities following the end of #2, one with no sense of order, and the other being his once human side...not kidding).

The first Hellraiser was brilliant, a beautifully macabre, yet quite smart, British horror film. The sequel was nowhere near as good, but still put forth some effort to keep you intrigued. This one just feels a bit silly. The stupid parts sadly outweigh the good, and having to say "stupid" anything after the fact that the first two were so entertaining is kind of sad. The acting ranges from mediocre (Joey) to just plain bad (the actors portraying Doc and Terri). The decision to push Pinhead and the cenobites right into the forefront, whereas they were more supporting characters who weren't necessarily the villains before, is a bit of a mistake if you ask me. You know how some people say "too much of a good thing is bad?" Yeah, that applies here almost perfectly. Oh, and the new cenobites are TERRIBLE. No sense of fear this time around, just a feeling of "man, that looks fucking stupid." BTW, easily the silliest part in the film occurs at the beginning, where our previously mentioned clubgoer's head explodes, and they cut to show him flatlining. Yeah, because we obviously didn't know he died after his HEAD EXPLODED.

If it sounds like I'm doing nothing but bashing this film, don't worry. I DO have to give praise to two things here: the first being Doug Bradley. Yes, there is a bit too much Pinhead here, but he is just way too much fun to watch. Almost everything the guy says is quotable and he looks like he's having a blast as the character. The second thing is the gore/makeup. This series is always known for having some astonishingly grotesque imagery, and they do a good job with it here. The club scene, with Pinhead taking apart god knows how many people, is pretty awesome.

But overall, I really don't think I could recommend the film. I didn't find myself HATING it, but even the parts I liked didn't really save it either. It's for the best that you stick with the first Hellraiser and maybe the second one.

Tomorrow, I go all 80s and whatnot and look at THE LOST BOYS!

Unseen Terror: Day 2

Day 2 of Unseen Terror continues, and this time, we spend 90 minutes with one of horror's dearest old friends, Satan.


The film follows Samantha, played by relative newcomer Jocelin Donahue. Samantha's a college girl who needs some cash to essentially get the hell out of her messy dorm, and needs said cash to also buy a house. Something most people can relate to I bet. One day, she sees an ad on the local job board looking for a babysitter. Despite some objections from her friend Megan, she figures it couldn't hurt and takes up the offer. When she arrives to her destination (which is also the night of a full lunar eclipse), she slowly starts to discover that something is amiss with her clients.

I first heard of this mostly through word of mouth and through a couple of people I'm subscribed to on YT (i.e. BloodtypeOnline) and it has a remarkably strong word of mouth. Thankfully, the film lives up to the hype, but in a way I didn't really expect. The film is shot, and even looks like, something straight out of the mid to late 70s. It's a lot quieter and slower than what most modern horror fans might be used to, taking it's time to set up it's rather creepy and effecting final act instead of just rushing you instantly into the insanity...so to speak.

It isn't a very bloody film, save for a few parts, but it shouldn't be bothersome to some of the more open-minded horror fans. The acting is quite good too, with great performances from the previously mentioned Jocelin Donahue and Tom Noonan, who most people will recognize from Manhunter and The Monster Squad. It's shot rather well, and features a sparse, but pretty chilling soundtrack.

I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It definitely isn't for everyone, especially those who can become quickly impatient with their horror, but those of you that are, you're in for a nice treat. Kind of a shame that Ti West ended up following this up with Cabin Fever 2, but even has denounced that mess.

Tomorrow, I go back to hell (sort of) and check out Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth.

Unseen Terror: Day 1

October is one of my favorite months of the year, and not just because my birthday falls on the 11th. It's the month of Halloween, which has grown to be my favorite holiday right behind Christmas and Festivus. So I figured, hey, why not do something different for the month and take a cue from the awesome James Rolfe (a.k.a. The Angry Video Game Nerd on YT) and do 31 days of horror films. But unlike James, I'm going to be reviewing 31 films I've never seen. It'll be a mix of stuff I've been meaning to see for some time, some I'm going to regrettably watch (but moreso just to say I've seen them), and some I'm doing out of morbid curiosity. Let's start day 1 with:




The film's plot is pretty simple. A pair of medical facility employees in Louisville, Kentucky accidentally release a deadly gas into the air of the facility, which soon spreads to a nearby cemetery and reanimates the corpses in the ground. With the help of their boss Burt, the mortician of the cemetery Ernie (hardy har har), and a group of mischievous punk rockers who just so happen to be hanging out in the cemetery, they try to stop the rampaging zombies from overtaking the town, and hopefully not the world.

This is a ridiculous movie, but a real treat for anyone who acknowledges that it is such. It's humor and horror never outweigh one another, and the blood/gore is pretty well done. The acting's a bit hit or miss, but it's forgivable since the script is full of enough fun and funny dialogue to make you forget. The zombies here are pretty damn awesome too, though I imagine some purists will scoff at them running and even talking. Personally, I thought it added to the awesomeness. Another high point is the soundtrack, which is comprised of mostly punk rock/deathpunk songs, but they work pretty well. Might have to seek this out for download later.

I regret not having seen this sooner. I'd happily buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray (if it's available that is) and watch it a few times more. Highly recommended, that is, if you know what to expect.

Tomorrow, I continue with House of the Devil.