October Horror Movie Challenge, part 4

I’m up to 17 so far.

MV5BMTk0OTM4NDEzMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTQ3Njc0MQ@@._V1_SY317_CR4,0,214,317_AL_Sublime (2009)

Somehow, without trying, I acquired two copies of this movie in my DVD collection. Hospital horror. Guy checks in for a routine colonoscopy, and never checks out. Thanks, Obamacare death panels. I see what these guys were going for, and it’s not a bad idea, but there were some issues with pacing and execution that I can’t see past. There are whole subplots that are just silly dead ends, characters that only exist as metaphors, and like the whole second act is sort of this “it was a dream the entire time” thing. That being said, certainly watchable, but not brilliant.

 

Maniacts (2001)

Oh, shit, it’s in 4×3 format. Old school. It’s like Natural Born Killers meets One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, rendered in the style of Repo Man. Not entirely devoid of good ideas, but not enough to warrant watching. Only barely qualifies as a horror movie, actually.

 

Carrie (2013)

The remake. Pretty darn good. I was suspicious of a remake, because the one with Sissy Spacek is just so iconic. But the beauty of the thing here is that you know what’s going to happen, and you see all the expectations of the characters, and it lends it a different kind of tragedy, a kind of subtext of inevitability. Julianne Moore was very good in her role as the super-religious mother. Recommended.

 

MV5BNzkwNDkyNTUxNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODY1NTE3Nw@@._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

I’ve tried to watch this movie unsuccessfully twice; I guess third time’s the charm. Kiev seems so nice in 2012; I bet it’s not so friendly a tourist spot these days. Seems like a fellow gets a whole lot of adventure for his dollars in eastern Europe. I’m looking at you, Hostel and A Serbian Film. This movie is somewhere on the continuum between Scooby Doo visits Silent Hillski, and the Russian Hills Have Eyes. Is that racist? The ending is solid.

 

Art of the Devil (2004)

Thai, with English subs. Hell hath something something woman scorned. Probate law is a whole lot different in Thailand, what with all the black magic and such. They take their death curses very seriously, it appears. A decent, but not amazing, film.