FLICK (2008)

Starring: Hugh O'Connor, Liz Smith, Michelle Ryan, Mark Benton, Julia Foster, Terence Rigby and Faye Dunaway

Directed by: David Howard

This was a fun little zombie movie. I was glad to see something shot in a different way than we always see these  types of movies shot in. Very cool zombie point of view idea. Original storyline, good FX and a good 'ol 50's/60's rockabilly soundtrack. 

the opening setup to this movie was great. Hugh O'Connor pulled off Johnny the "nice guy but kinda stalker-ish" character perfect and of course did a great job as the vengeful zombie Johnny as well.

It was a nice treat to watch Faye Dunaway act in this movie. Playing a Memphis detective with a prosthetic arm really gave the story some nice humorous moments and a bit more depth to a usually one dimensional role. Another surprise was veteran actress Liz Smith as Ma. She really nailed the crazy mother character and was a lot of fun to watch. There really wasn't a bad actor in the cast.

All together the movie is nothing I'm going to watch again right away but is definitely worth a viewing if you get a chance.

FLICK GETS 2 SKULLS!

POST-MORTEM (2010)

Post-Mortem (2010)

Starring: Mark Cray, Devin Kates, Brinke Stevens and Robert Z'Dar

Directed by: Anthony Spadaccini

A suicidal teenage boy is befriended by a sadistic serial killer, who vows to set him free of his drug-addicted family. 

To be honest there was quite a few times where I wanted to just shut this movie down and move on to the next one but I wanted to give it the best shot I could and in a way i'm glad I didn't. I don't want to spoil the scene so I won't say too much but the most horrific and unthinkable part of this film is at the same time its best and most moving. There's a few clips of very artistic mood shots where you can tell Spadaccini has an eye for film making but just couldn't capture it the whole way through and just didn't have the actors to carry it. I must say that even though the main characters acting is not great, you actually feel like you understand this kid in a way so he's doing his job and keeping you into the story. The story itself is actually a good one and hasn't been done to death yet but the kill scenes are very boring and have the most unrealistic screams of a victim ever. Brinke Stevens and Robert Z'dar give the movie some good scenes with Z'Dar delivering the best of them all every time. Overall this was a good attempt at making a disturbing serial killer movie it just missed the mark on a few crucial points. I wanted to hear a nice creepy score for this but it was all a bit stock and besides that one great scene it really fell flat.

With more good scripts like this one, maybe upgrading the camera and more experienced main actors we could see a really good horror movie from Spadaccini yet. I look forward to seeing that one.

POST-MORTEM GETS 1 SKULL!

PSYCH:9 (2010)

Starring: Sarah Foster, Cary Elwes and Michael Biehn

Directed by: Andrew Shortell

I've been really impressed with the Ghost House Underground movies and Psych:9 just continued my enthusiasm to keep viewing this series. 

Psych:9 is well written and shot like the pros. The music was very nice especially during the very cool and original opening credits sequence. Sarah Foster, Cary Elwes and Michael Biehn did a fantastic job with their parts, I really cannot think of anything in this movie that I can complain about. I enjoyed every minute of this psychological thrill ride.

PSYCH:9 GETS 5 OUT OF 5 SKULLS

I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Starring: Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson and Andrew Howard

Directed by: Steven R. Monroe

To be honest I don't really get into the rape/revenge flicks but occasionally I will see something in the trailers that looks like it could be more than some one dimensional piece of junk that I don't need to waste my time on. There are very few of these diamonds in the rough but this new take on 1978's I Spit On Your Grave really did a good job of getting you in the story and keeping you there. Once the onslaught starts you cannot wait for the poor girls horrific ordeal to be over because you're hoping that at the very least the payback will be as brutal as her attack, and in this case... it is!

The film looks as good as any big studio feature production and all the actors were cast perfectly. The special effects are awesome and serve some real high points of the movie.

I Spit On Your Grave get 3 out of 5 skulls!

Hatchet II (2010)

Starring: Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder and Tony Todd

Director: Adam Green

What can I say. If you enjoyed the first installment of Hatchet you will not be disappointed by its sequel. Adam Green's brand of horror comedy is still intact and delivers gore galore while his monster ghost tale is illustrated with even more detail.

Tony Todd reprises his role as Reverend Zombie and steals the show. Scream queen Danielle Harris takes over the role of Marybeth and the always menacing Kane Hodder is back as Victor Crowley.

The main actors are great along with a very funny cast of Louisiana swamp characters. 

The special effects are top notch with a good score to add to the terror.

Hatchet II gets 4 out of 5 skulls!

The Fourth Kind (2009)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Elias Koteus and Will Patton

Director: Olatunde Osunsanmi

The fact that there's even a debate on whether the case footage and the events in the movie are real or fake pretty much tells you the movie works. Most of the time we can watch something and tell what is rehearsed or even ad-libbed with actors and what is actually caught on tape. The creators of this movie really went the extra mile to blur the line.

The Fourth Kind is well put together and presented in a new way that we haven't seen before. Ways that help you get into the whole "this really happened" aspect of the film. At times utilizing a split screen to show you the actors version of the events and the supposed actual case footage.

There's a few things I wish they would have done differently but over all I think it is a very entertaining and at times chilling film.

Fact or fiction? You decide.

The Fourth Kind gets 3 out of 5 skulls! 

Splice (2009)

Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley and Delphine Chaneac
Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

This was not a bad movie at all. I had not heard many good things about Splice but I wanted to give it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a movie that has a smart story, great actors, some of the best CGI I've seen and Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero handling the special makeup effects.

Ok so maybe the ending wasn't that great but besides that I stayed entertained.

I wouldn't purchase this film myself but it's well worth a rental.

Splice gets 2 out of 5 skulls!