Horror – Page 2 – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Let The Right One In (2008)

July 12, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged 1980s, Fantasy, gore, Horror, John Ajvide Lindqvist, Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Sweden, Swedish, Tomas Alfredson, VampiresLeave a comment

Don’t bother with the Americanised version, there is no way it could out-shine this masterpiece of chilling Swedish filmmaking.

Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a young boy living with his mother in an apartment block in early 1980s Stockholm. Bullied at school, he is hopelessly lonely until he meets Eli (Lina Leandersson).

Adapted from a masterful novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and directed by Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) this is a fantasy horror made the way they should be; bleak, at times sweet, and always beautiful. None of those sparkling vampires, the sort in Lindqvist’s world are truly terrifying.

100 Word Review – The Innocents (1961)

July 5, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., FantasyTagged adaptation, Deborah Kerr, Fantasy, Gothic, Henry James, Horror, Jack Clayton, supernatural, Thriller, Truman CapoteLeave a comment

A truly chilling adaptation of Henry James’ classic gothic novel The Turn of the Screw.

Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is a young governess hired by an absent uncle to look after two young children in a large house with a mysterious past.

The trailer for this film is extraordinary (see below) but to my mind it fails to accurately capture how terrifying parts of this film are. I am a wuss, but it is full of suspense and dread.

Directed by Jack Clayton (The Great Gatsby, Room at the Top) and adapted by Truman Capote, this is skilled cinematic genius.

100 Word Review – The Cabin In The Woods (2012)

May 30, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Amy Acker, Anna Hutchison, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth, Comedy, Drew Goddard, Fran Kranz, Horror, Jesse Williams, Joss Whedon, Kristen Connolly, Richard Jenkins, Thriller, Tom Lenk1 Comment

My love of Joss Whedon is well documented and unsurprisingly this is no exception.

A group of good-looking students (Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison) decide to take a break in a remote cabin in the woods (see what they did there?) and get more than they expected.

Other members of the Whedon gang make appearances (Amy Acker, Tom Lenk) along with some other classic actors (Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins).

Written by Whedon and directed by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield and World War Z writer), this is more than your classic horror. It’s imaginative, creative and thrilling.

Under 5 Words – What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)

May 20, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in Drama, Under 5 WordsTagged 1960s, Bette Davis, Drama, Horror, Joan Crawford, Robert Aldrich, ThrillerLeave a comment

Still really scary.

“Sister, sister, oh so fair, why is there blood all over your hair?”

Reviewed by Kirsti

IMDb

100 Word Review – Fright Night (2011)

May 14, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Anton Yelchin, bizarre, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Comedy, David Tennant, Horror, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, VampiresLeave a comment

I haven’t seen the 1985 original, but if it is anything like this, it’s now the top of my to-do list.

Anton Yelchin (Star Trek (2009)) stars as a teenager who realises that his small town is being secretly ravaged by a vampire (Colin Farrell) and goes looking for a vampire hunter to help him.

David Tennant (Doctor Who), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) make up the amazing supporting cast of this bizarre and unexpected film.

Although technically a horror, its pocket aces are its sense of comic timing and penchant for the ridiculous.

100 Word Review – Braindead (1992)

May 6, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Braindead, Comedy, Dead Alive, gore, Horror, Peter Jackson, rat monkey, zombiesLeave a comment

Also known as Dead Alive, this is one of Peter Jackson’s first feature films. But don’t expect hobbits.

I don’t know what to say about the plot. There is definitely a leading man. And something about monkeys raped by rats to create killer rat-monkeys.

To be honest the whole thing is a visceral blur of severed … everything. And just when you think they must have run out of fake blood, there will be more.

I have a strong stomach when it comes to onscreen gore, but this is something else.

Equal parts hilarious, ridiculous and disgusting. You have been warned.

100 Word Review – The Wicker Man (1973)

April 11, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words...Tagged British, Edward Woodward, Horror, Hot Fuzz, Nicolas Cage, Saw, Sir Christopher Lee, SummerisleLeave a comment

Epically creepy and unnerving, do not confuse this original masterpiece with the Nicolas Cage misogynistic remake.

Sent to a remote Scottish island to investigate a missing girl, a policeman finds himself surrounded by its eccentric residents, who could be lass harmless than they seem. Edward Woodwood stars as the policeman, with the gothic master Sir Christopher Lee as the sinister island’s charismatic leader Lord Summerisle.

A seminal film in the horror genre, it has been hugely influential, inspiring the likes of Hot Fuzz (2007) and Saw (2004).

This is an eerie horror that will change your view of quaint British traditions forever.