The ABCs of Death (2012)

First up, let's start with the facts - The ABCs of Death "was created by 26 directors from around the world. Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and asked to choose a word.

They then created a short tale of death that related to their chosen word. They had complete artistic freedom regarding the content of their segments."

It says "26 directors," but there were two on one letter, as you'll with the following:

A Is for Apocalypse - Nacho Vigalondo
B Is for Bigfoot - Adrián García Bogliano
C is for Cycle - Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
D Is for Dogfight - Marcel Sarmiento
E is for Exterminate - Angela Bettis
F is for Fart - Noboru Iguchi
G is for Gravity - Andrew Traucki
H is for Hyrdo-Electric Diffusion - Thomas Cappelen Malling
I is for Ingrown - Jorge Michel Grau

J is for Jidai-geki (Samuria Movie) - Yudai Yamaguchi
K is for Klutz - Anders Morgenthaler
L is for Libido - Timo Tjahjanto
M Is for Miscarriage - Ti West
N is for Nuptials - Banjong Pisanthanakun
O is for Orgasm - Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet
P Is for Pressure - Simon Rumley
R Is for Removed - Srdjan Spasojevic
S is for Speed - Jake West
T Is for Toilet - Lee Hardcastle
U Is for Unearthed - Ben Wheatley
V is for Vagitus (The Cry of a Newborn Baby) - Kaare Andrews
W is for WTF? - Jon Schnepp
X Is for XXL - Xavier Gens
Y Is for Youngbuck - Jason Eisener
Z is for Zetsumetsu (Extinction) - Yoshihiro Nishimura

There really is a fantastic line up here and it reads like the "who's who" of modern horror.

Here's a few of the films by a few of the directors that you should recognise:

Hobo with a Shotgun (2011), Penumbra (2011), Dead Sushi (2012), We Are What We Are (2010) (which is has an English remake in production), Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Shutter (2004), Deadgirl (2008), A Serbian Film (2010) (which is the most disturbing film I've seen to date!), Timecrimes (2007), Doghouse (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), Kill List (2011), You're Next (2011) (which we're still waiting for!), May (2002) (the actress who plays May, Angela Bettis, directs a segment), and Frontier(s) (2007).




With the amount of short stories here, it's probably one of the best anthologies you'll ever see. There was only one segment where I thought to myself "MEH!" And that was G is for Gravity. Speaking of the letter G, there's plenty of GORE (see what I did there?!) throughout to keep the blood thirsty types, like myself, very pleased.

It has it's fair share of disturbing stuff too, which surprised me. L is for Libido was probably the most sick and twisted piece, but it was also very original.

As you can imagine, M Is for Miscarriage wasn't very pleasant, although it was very simple and effective.

Y Is for Youngbuck is also worth mentioning with the previous two.


The most fun segments for me were the animated ones, K is for Klutz and T Is for Toilet. Both stories revolve around a toilet and couldn't possibly be made any better with live action and SFX!




It also offers the completely weird and wonderful. Some of it is so far out there that only fans within the genre will appreciate and get it. This includes F is for Fart, H is for Hyrdo-Electric Diffusion, W is for WTF? and Z is for Zetsumetsu.

But what segments stood out the most me? L is for Libido is definitely worth mentioning again, along with R Is for Removed, U Is for Unearthed and X Is for XXL. But there was one other that was really special...

 

For me, D Is for Dogfight stood head and shoulders above the rest. The cinematography, choreography, score and even the sounds, or lack off, made for a visually stunning and original short with a brilliant twist.

Overall, the performaces from all the actors where engaging, the SFX ranged from cheap and cheerful to extravagant, there is a hint of predictability with some of the segments, but this collection of short stories from directors around the globe makes for a very entertaining, clever, fun, bloody, brutal, disturbing and shocking watch. It has some of the most original work I've seen for years. There's certain things featured that I thought I would never see on film, so giving the directors "complete artistic freedom" was a genius idea. This anthology is a must see!

The ABCs of Death gets 9/10

Check out the trailer below...

Citadel (2012)

Tommy (Aneurin Barnard) and Joanne (Amy Shiels) are ready to move out of their crummy apartment in a rundown block. Not even the elevator works correctly. Tommy heads down to load a taxi with their belongings, leaving his pregnant wife standing outside the apartment.

On the way back up, as the elevator reaches his floor the door won't open. looking through the window of the elevator door, Tommy sees three hooded youths walking towards Joanne. He keeps tapping the button to open the door, but to no avail.

Without warning, the trio of hoodies attack Joanne! Now frantically pushing the elevator button, it starts to move back down to the ground floor. When he comes to a stop, Tommy has to force the door open himself. Rushing up the stairs in an attempt to save his wife, he finds he's to late as the gang flees the scene leaving Joanne on the floor, bloody and unconscious with a needle sticking out of her stomach.


Joanne is rushed to hospital, where the baby is delivered, healthy and well, but Joanne is left in a coma. Now living in a house, but in the same area, Tommy is left distraught by the event and develops agoraphobia. The young father is seeking help though, through group therapy and the support of a nurse, Marie (Wunmi Mosaku). The months pass, but Joanne's condition only gets worse and she passes away, leaving Tommy to fend for himself and their daughter. At Joanne's funeral, Tommy is warned by the priest (James Cosmo) to leave the area saying "you know they'll come looking for her."

Tommy has already made arrangements to leave the city. After handing in the keys to the house to the local council, he heads for the bus to take his his daughter away from the horrible area. But he doesn't make it on time and misses the bus!

Now he has to make his way back to the house as it's the only place he knows he can stay for the night. Tommy forces his way in, which means that he can't lock themselves in. As the night draws in, the mysterious hooded gang makes an attempt to take the baby. To Tommy's relief, Marie pays them a visit and seeing the state he is in, she takes father and daughter to stay at her place.

Looking for answers, Tommy goes to see the priest. But the answer he receives is more than he can take in. The priest reveals the true identity of the youths that are attacking people and taking small children and introduces a young boy called Danny (Jake Wilson).

The very next day, Marie decides to help Tommy with his agoraphobia. They head out and walk down an underpass. What happens next forces Tommy to face his fear, with the help of the priest and Danny.

Citadel did the rounds at films festivals last year from the US to as far as South Korea and also picked up a number of awards, one of which was the "Audience Award" at SXSW Film Festival. It's not hard to see why.

This Irish production is a very atmospheric and creepy slow burning movie. The cinematography reflects the mood throughout. The dark feeling of the film is helped brilliantly along by a very believable performance by the lead actor, Aneurin Barnard. The film revolves around his character and the traumatic experience, which means he carries the whole thing on his back with not even a hand full of supporting cast members, but he pulls it off without any doubt.

Ciaran Foy directs from his own script and delivers in both areas. The movie is more than a horror, it also deals with loosing loved ones and tackles the very real condition of agoraphobia in a serious and well represented manner. This all helps you connect with the story and the characters within it.

Citadel is an original, unsettling and harrowing film that has real world application. It will give you something to think about afterwards. And quite frankly, it puts some of the big budget stuff to shame!

Citadel gets 8/10

Check out the trailer below...

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)

Silent Hill: Revelation picks up 6 years after the events of the first film. The young Sharon is now 18 years old and now known as Heather (Adelaide Clemens). She's been on the run since she was a child with her father Harry (Sean Bean). Heather can't remember what happened to her as a child and suffers with constant dreams of Silent Hill, even though she has no clue as to what these dreams mean.

They have both just moved into a new place and Heather is about to start a new school. But she's not the only one to be the "new kid" in class. Fellow student Vincent (Kit Harington) is also starting his first day and tries to make friends with Heather.

Things are not sitting well with Heather though, as she's being followed by a man she doesn't know. In an attempt to loose the man she heads to a shopping mall and arranges to meet her dad.


But the man catches up to her and reveals himself to be a private detective named Douglas (Martin Donovan) that's been hired to find her. He knows her by the name of Sharon though. He goes on to tell her that the people responsible for hiring her are not to be messed with and warns her to keep running. In the meantime, her Father Harry gets an uninvited guest.

After the ordeal with Douglas she escapes the mall and bumps into Vincent. Heather is now seeing things and fears for her life which is made worse by the fact that she can't get hold of her father. So she heads home with Vincent in toe, only to find that her father is gone and a bloody message with a symbol is left on the wall of the living room. She recognises the symbol and looks for a wooden box the her father kept. The box contains material about Silent Hill.

Heather decides to look for her father with Vincent's help. So they start their journey towards Silent Hill. Stopping at a motel for rest, Vincent has a secret to tell and tries to put off Heather from going to Silent Hill. But the same person who took her father turns up and hours later Heather finds herself waking up in a strange place. It doesn't take her long to realise she's already in Silent Hill! Let the nightmare begin...

Being a fan of the first film I eagerly awaited this sequel. Sadly, that eagerness was met with disappointment. The sequel was rather inept. All of things I liked about the Silent Hill was lacking in it's successor!

OK, it is worth mentioning the SFX work. However, it is the only real redeeming quality the film has. Even though the effects are good and we're introduced to new monsters, some of the creatures we saw in the first film, namely Pyramid Head and the Nurses, don't make the impact that they made in the first movie. They somehow lacked that creep factor. In fact, the movie as a whole lacked that real feel of darkness that is Silent Hill.

The film had some big names in it too. Sean Bean, who returns in the sequel was far below par compared to all his previous work. Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix franchise) and Malcolm McDowell (Halloween, Suck, Silent Night) failed to add any vigour to the project. Even Kit Harington, a relative new comer, was way under the standard of acting he's shown in the astounding Game of Thrones. Radha Mitchell makes a very brief and rather pointless appearance. So on top of all that, Adelaide Clemens has to carry the whole film on her back and unfortunately she wasn't quite strong enough.

The worse thing about the movie was the story itself and the direction. The whole thing felt rushed, like Michael J. Bassett tried to throw as much information, including flash backs, into the film as possible instead of developing the plot. It lacked depth, any twists and turns and frights, which makes me thing that this was only made [in 3D] for the effects. Added to this poor combination was the score, or rather, the constant use of the one particular track (which you can find here) that also appears on the soundtrack of the first movie. By the end, it just got annoying!

If you're a fan of the Silent Hill movie then like me, I think you'll dislike the sequel. If you didn't like Silent Hill, then I guess you'll hate this one!

Silent Hill: Revelation gets 4/10

Check out the trailer below...

Gut (2012)

Tom (Jason Vail) seems to be leading a normal life with wife Lily (Sarah Schoofs) and their daughter Katie. He lives the normal nine to five day in an office with fellow work colleague and best friend Dan (Nicholas Wilder) before heading home to have dinner with his family each week night.

While on a lunch break, Tom and Dan head to a local diner for their usual burger and fries. Dan has also taken a shine to a waitress there, Sally (Angie Bullaro). Dan invites Tom round to his place for a horror movie night and some beers like they use to when they were younger. But Tom makes an excuse saying he has plans to take his daughter to the cinema.

This doesn't deter Dan from inviting his best friend around the very next day as he has a mail order film that he found through the Internet.

Tom now agrees, so straight after work they head to Dan's place and sit down to watch the DVD. Both are in utter silence through the short film. When it's finished Dan asked Tom what he thinks of what they just saw.

Completely disgusted by the film's content's and quite freaked out by it, Tom leaves in a hurry! That night Tom can't sleep. Over the next couple of days his home life starts to suffer due to the disturbing film. While at the diner, Dan reveals he has more of these DVDs to watch, which only starts to put a wedge between their friendship.

Now Dan is left to his own devices, becoming more obsessed with the subject matter of the DVDs. As he sits alone in the diner, he finally plucks up the courage to ask Sally out on a date which works out rather well for him, at first! But when Dan starts to miss a lot of work, Tom becomes worried for his friend. Seeking to help Dan, what Tom hears and sees next is more disturbing than he could imagine. Now worried for the safety of his family, he becomes more paranoid and conscious of how the film they shared together is effecting real life. What happens next will effect his life forever!

My initially thoughts after watching this film were only elaborated by writing this review and thinking more in depth about the message it presents.

I'm sure, as horror fans, we've all seen a film that we found disturbing, that maybe we shouldn't have watched or maybe after watching it, we certainly won't be watching it again! And then there's the impression it leaves upon us, whether it's only for a short time after viewing or days and maybe even months after. The film also looks at how friendships can grow apart as we get older and how maybe our interests change in the process of becoming adults and having our own family.

That said, I think the script was well written by Elias which, along with his direction, made for a more realistic horror movie. OK, so this a what we know as a "slow burn" movie, in fact it's very slow throughout as nothing major happens till about fifty minutes in. I can see a lot of people not liking this. Hell, it wasn't till I sat down to start this review that I thought it was a good film! This is the kind of movie that you need to think about. It's not in your face. It does require you to think about what you are seeing. In the process it makes you think how something like this would effect your own life, thus giving it the realistic feel.

As for the acting, at first it seems a bit mediocre, which didn't help the pace of the film at first, but by the end of the film you feel a certain connection to the main characters, whether it be Tom, Dan or Lily. The pace of the film is helped along by a pretty eerie score and the practical effects add to the realism. It is predictable in parts, but it's worth seeing how the characters react to the situation they are in.

However, as I said before, not everyone will like this, but I would recommend this movie to film enthusiasts that have an eclectic taste in horror and that are not just your average horror fan.

Gut gets 7/10

Check out the trailer below...

A Look Back in Horror - My 2012 Review

2013 is fast approaching and behind it it leaves the ups and downs of 2012 in horror film. Another year where we saw sequels, a prequel, more found footage and a remake along with a few gems plus releases that haven't hit the United States yet and one that originally came out in 2009 but only reached the shores of America this year and a festival favourite that's not on general release till next year.

Here's a few of my personal best and worse movies... I'll start with the worst!

Straight to DVD was The Haunting of Whaley house (read my review here), the ending was decent, but what proceeded it was a complete shambles.
Then there was Airborne, although it had some potential, it needed someone special behind the camera, but that was missing. (read my review here).

Both had weak scripts and poor acting.

Hitting cinemas everywhere was Paranormal Activity 4 and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Watching PA4 was like listening to a really long joke expecting the punch line to be amazing, but alas, it turned out to be nothing more than a bad joke that I could have done without hearing.
As for ALVH, well, I hated every minute of it!


A couple more worth mentioning: 80s slasher homage The Sleeper which I found rather dull. Michael Biehn's The Victim, which I'm sure he wrote, directed and starred in just so he had an excuse to have sex with his wife on screen! And the biggest let down of the year for me was Prometheus (read my review here) It wasn't a bad film, in it's own right it was a good film, but with the connection to the Alien franchise and the fact that I'm such a fan, I was completely underwhelmed by it!

Now for the fun stuff...

Once again Kate Beckinsale donned the rubber outfit to play Selene in Underworld: Awakening. This was exactly what I was expecting, GUN BLAZING ACTION! Beckinsale slipped back into the role so easily and looked more comfortable than ever during the brilliantly choreographed fight scenes.
The Cabin in the Woods was one of the biggest releases this year and I've seen a lot of mixed reaction. I found it very entertaining. It was a roller coaster ride of fun with a mix of different sub-genres all mixed together.

Other movies worth mentioning: Fathers Day, Resident Evil: Retribution, Silent night, Detention, Cockneys vs Zombies (read my review here), The Revenant, Girls Gone Dead and Some Guy Who Kills People.


Now for the best of foreign horror...

Penumbra, Sleep Tight and [REC]³ Génesis (read my review here). All Spanish and all great films with some of the best acting this year, especially Cristina Brondo who plays the lead in Penumbra and Luis Tosar, the lead actor in Sleep Tight. If you haven't seen them, then you should!



Now for some of my favourites of the year...

Although Kill List and The Innkeepers were released very late in 2011, most of us got our first look at these two early 2012. Again both of them got a very mixed reaction from fans, but I enjoyed them both.

The Australian 2009 film The Loved Ones was only released in the US this year and what a gem of a film you were missing out on! The lead actress, Robin McLeavy, gave one of them most memorable performances in a very long time as the sweet and evil Lola ('Princess').
Cassadaga (read my review here) is another that was a 2011 film but got released this year to DVD in the UK. You guys in the US will have to wait till next year though!



The Woman in Black, Apartment 143 (read my review here), Midnight Son (read my review here) Excision, The Bay and V/H/S (read my review here) were also among my favourites this year.

My top two films that came out on general release this year, one in the theatre and one to DVD are Sinister (read my review here) and Lovely Molly (read my review here). They're what I consider to be the best of the mainstream and best of the independents.

So what was my most favourite? What was the best of 2012? Well, for most of you, if you're in the UK you'll have to wait till the end of January or if you're in the US, even longer! If you were lucky like me you caught this at a film festival. It is of course the Soska sister's body modification horror, AMERICAN MARY (read my review here).

The twin magic of Jen and Sylvia Soska really shines through in their second feature film, showing their true genius that flickered throughtout Dead Hooker in a Trunk and proving their leadership in the new breed of horror writers and directors. This is a must see for horror fans!

Check out the trailer below and if you watch carefully, it shows the qoutes and star rating from various sources and at 1:20 minutes this pops up: "5 stars - Horror-Movies.ca"... That's from my review!

I did miss a couple of films this year but hope to catch up soon. They were Silent Hill: Revelation, The Possession and The Collection (which hasn't been released in the UK yet!)

So there you go, that's my best and worse of 2012. What's yours? Comment below...

  

Fright Meter Awards 2012

When it comes to film awards, everyone looks towards the Oscars as the pinnacle of achievement. The only thing wrong with the Oscars? Our beloved genre of horror is often or completely overlooked! That's where the Fright Meter Awards comes into play. Along with myself, there's 25 plus committee members made up of genuine horror fans, bloggers, actors, writers, directors and producers "making the Fright Meter Awards truly the most prestigious horror award given."

From mainstream to independent, big names to newcomers, popularity or form of release, nothing is overlooked and if it's worthy of a mention, we consider it. So without further ado, here are this year's nominees...

Best Cinematography

Chris Norr - SINISTER
Danny Ruhlmann - THE RAVEN
Dariusz Wolski - PROMETHEUS
Peter Denning - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Tim Maurice-Jones - THE WOMAN IN BLACK

Best Editing

Aaron Yanes - THE BAY
Frederic Thoraval - SINISTER
Joe Gressis - V/H/S
Lisa Lassek - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Steve Ansell & Yvonne Valdez - EXCISION

Best Score

Christopher Young - SINISTER
David Julyan - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Jeff Danna & Akira Yamaoka - SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D
Marco Beltrami - THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Steve Damstra II & Mads Heldtberg - EXCISION

Best Make Up/Special Effects

EXCISION
PROMETHEUS
SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D
SINISTER
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Best Screenplay

Joseph Kahn - DETENTION
Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Mike Flanagan - ABSENTIA
Richard Bates Jr. - EXCISION
Sean Byrne - THE LOVED ONES

Best Ensemble Cast

CHAINED
(Vincent D’Onofrio, Eamon Farren, Conor Leslie)
EXCISION
(Roger Bart, Traci Lords, AnnaLynne McCord, Ariel Winter)
LOVELY MOLLY
(Gretchen Lodge, Ken Arnold, Alexandra Holden, Johnny Lewis)
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
(Amy Acker, Kristen Connolly, Tim De Zarn, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Richard Jenkins, Fran Kranz, Bradley Whitford)
THE LOVED ONES
(John Brumpton, Robin McLeavy, Jessica McNamee, Xavier Samuel, Victoria Thaine)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Alexandra Holden - LOVELY MOLLY
Jodelle Ferland - THE TALL MAN
MyAnna Buring - KILL LIST
Suzan Crowley - THE DEVIL INSIDE
Traci Lords - EXCISION

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

Fran Kranz - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
John Brumpton - THE LOVED ONES
Matthew Kennedy - FATHER'S DAY
Michael Fassbender - PROMETHEUS
Richard Jenkins - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Best Actress in a Leading Role

AnnaLynne McCord - EXCISION
Elizabeth Olsen - SILENT HOUSE
Gretchen Lodge - LOVELY MOLLY
Robin McLeavy - THE LOVED ONES
Sara Paxton - THE INNKEEPERS

Best Actor In A Leading Role

Daniel Radcliffe - THE WOMAN IN BLACK
Ethan Hawke - SINISTER
John Cusack - THE RAVEN
Neil Maskell - KILL LIST
Vincent D'Onofrio - CHAINED

Best Director

Drew Goddard - THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
Joseph Kahn - DETENTION
Richard Bates Jr. - EXCISION
Sean Byrne - THE LOVED ONES
Ti West - THE INNKEEPERS

Best Horror Movie

DETENTION
EXCISION
SINISTER
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS
THE LOVED ONES

For more details about the Fright Meter Awards the full list of contenders head to the website - http://www.frightmeterawards.com

You can also find two pages on facebook here - Fright Meter Horror Movie Reviews & Awards and here - Fright Meter Awards

Cockneys vs Zombies (2012)

A JCB on a building site is digging up the ground when the operator is told to stop as it's uncovered something. What seems to be a bunker type structure has an entrance but it's been sealed, by King Charles II in 1666!

There's no prizes for guessing for what happens next!

The two builders smash there way into the sealed room to find a load of skulls and bones, suggesting that this was some kind of burial chamber. As they stumble around in the dark one of the a dead bodies, with barely any flesh on it, drags itself up and takes a bite out of both workmen.

Begin the Zombie pandemic...

After the opening scene follows a very cool title sequence with a "Frank Miller / graphic novel" (Sin City) feel to it which actually gives it a touch of class.


The story then follows brothers Andy and Terry (Harry Treadaway and Rasmus Hardiker) as they go about planning a bank robbery so they can support their grandad Ray (Alan Ford) as the retirement home he is living in is being closed down.

Teaming up with their cousin Katy (Michelle Ryan), Mental Mickey (Ashley Bashy Thomas) and Davey (Jack Doolan), they all head to do the bank job. This isn't as simple as it sounds, specially with someone called Mental Mickey tagging along! After setting off a silent alarm, the police turning up outside the bank is the last thing they need to worry about though. Their first attempt at fleeing the scene is halted by the police, but after regrouping back inside the bank, the second attempt leaves them to find the cops dead or gone. Is good fortune on their side? Maybe not, as there's now Zombies roaming around!

While the gang drive to safety, the old cockneys at the retirement home also have their hands full with the undead. But with the old hard nut Ray leading the way the well seasoned codgers fight back and barricade themselves in.

Will the bank robbing misfits get to their grandad in time to save the day and while doing so will they survive in between?

There's no surprises in this movie, it's pretty standard Zombie issue stuff. If your British, you might like it more than the Yanks. For those in the know, think Snatch (2000) crossed with Shaun of the Dead (2004) but with way lower quality acting, direction and writing.

The lead cast of Treadaway, Hardiker and Ryan gel well together and provide some decent comedy moments along with some fun Zombie killing action that's gory enough to keep blood thirsty fans happy. The stand out character for was Ashley Bashy Thomas as Mental Mickey. His name says it all!

Alan Ford still hasn't put in a better performance for me since his role in Snatch though and it was strange seeing Honor Blackman (most famous for playing Pussy Galore in the Bond film Goldfinger (1964)) but she did her fair share of Zombie beating too!

If you want a bit of fun and bloody entertainment and something to pass the time on a friday or saturday night in, then it's worth giving a go.

Cockneys vs Zombies gets a generous 6/10

Check out the trailer below...