Day 305: WNUF Halloween Special (2013)

I want to start by wishing everyone in the world a very safe and Happy Halloween because the day is finally here. I was looking endlessly for something special to watch for today and I found the film. If it wasn’t for the service Shudder, I may not have found the film WNUF Halloween Special which is a found footage Horror film. Someone finds a tape from 1987 that is simply marked WNUF Halloween Special on it and it’s a special from a news station known as WNUF. The special that the station is airing features their ace reporter Frank Stewart (Paul Fahrenkopf) as he investigates paranormal activity in a house that has been abandoned for 20 years. The house was once the site of a mass murder known as the spirit board murders and Frank is there to debunk it along with some paranormal investigators. The film also stars Nicolette le Faye (Call Girl Of Cthulhu) as Veronica Stanze, Leanna Chamish (Malice) as Deborah Merritt, Richard Cutting (National Treasure: Book Of Secrets) as Gavin Gordon, Brian St. August (Reunion) as Dr. Louis Berger, Helenmary Ball (Witch’s Brew) as Claire Berger, Sabrina Taylor-Smith (Click On This) as Donna Miles, and the film was directed by Chris LaMartina with commercials in the film directed by Shawn Jones, James Branscome, Scott Maccubbin, Lonnie Martin, Matthew Menter, and Andy Schoeb. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies. 

Day 286: Hellraiser: Revelations (2011)

One of the most frightening series in my opinion was Hellraiser especially when the first film was released. The concept of the film alone freaked me out never mind that Pinhead (original was Doug Bradley) freaked me out as well. With that being said, I decided that for today’s film, I would check out the latest in the series Hellraiser: Revelations. Nico (Jay Gillespie) and Steven (Nick Eversman) are best friends that are about to runaway from home and head to Tijuana, Mexico for some unadulterated fun and pleasure. All of the fun comes to an end when they become the owners of a puzzle box that when opened brings experiences that are not know to man. The two disappear and leave their families wondering what happened until one shows up out of nowhere and all hell breaks loose. The film also stars Steven Brand (The Scorpion King) as Ross Craven, Tracey Fairway (A Hologram For The King) as Emma Craven, Sebastien Roberts (One Way) as Peter Bradley, Sanny van Heteren (Unknown) as Kate Bradley, Devon Sorvari (Gilmore Girls) as Sarah Craven, Stephan Smith Collins (NCIS: Los Angeles) as Pinhead, Jolene Andersen (Syrup) as Female Cenobite, Daniel Buran (Major Crimes) as Vagrant, and the film was directed by Víctor García (Return To House On Haunted Hill). To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies. 

Day 283: The Gallows (2015)

I was dying to watch this film The Gallows last year, but when the time for Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween came around, it was available anywhere for me to watch it. Now that I found the film available on demand, I decided to watch it for today’s film. Back in the early 1990’s, Beatrice High School attempted to put on a play called The Gallows, but tragically it claimed the life of student Charlie Grimille (Jesse Cross) when the gallow gives way and he was hung to his death. Now 20 years later and the school is trying to put the production back into work with the current crop of students. Reese Houser (Reese Mishler) is having a hard time remembering his lines for the play so he his best friend Ryan (Ryan Shoos) has the bright idea of trying to sabotage the play, but something sinister lurks as the hangman returns to claim his revenge. The film also stars Cassidy Gifford (God’s Not Dead) as Cassidy, Travis Cluff (The Measure Of A Man) as Mr. Schwendiman, Price T. Morgan (The Flip Side) as Stage Boy, Theo Burkhardt (Picture Perfect) as Rick Houser, Alexis Schneider (Con Killer) as Actress In Play, and the film was directed by Cluff and Chris Lofing (Kid HULK). To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 273: Blair Witch (2016)

There is only one day until Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween commences which means there is only 32 days left until Halloween. So, here is a horror film for all of you to enjoy. Back in 1996, The Blair Witch Project was such a phenomena that everybody in the world was ranting and raving about the film except for me. Twenty years later and there is a new film entitled Blair Witch and I decided to go for it for today’s film. James (James Allen McCune) was too young to really remember his sister Heather when she disappeared in the Black Hills Forest of Maryland back in 1996. So, along with some friends and nifty camera equipment, he ventures out in the same woods to prove that the stories were right and that hopefully his sister is still alive. The only problem is that they’ll have to survive the woods or it may just get them. The film also stars Callie Hernandez (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series) as Lisa Arlington, Corbin Reid (How To Get Away With Murder) as Ashley, Brandon Scott (What Would Dylan Do?) as Peter, Wes Robinson (Calvin and Freddie’s Cosmic Encounters) as Lane, Valorie Curry (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2) as Talia, and the film was written by Simon Barrett (What Fun We Were Having) while it was directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next). 

Now as I said above, I was not a fan of the over hyped original film, but let me tell you that this one blew me away. This has to be the best horror film to be released into the cinemas this year so far and I am being 100% honest. This is the film that the original should have been in my opinion because the writing was great, but the last half hour of the film is just creepy. There are so many suspenseful moments in the film that will keep you satisfied. Some of the suspenseful moments are practical ones and what I mean by that is stuff that would scare the crap out of anyone. For example, crawling through a tunnel and you get stuck or running through the woods with something chasing you ad the flashlights stop working. Those are mixed in with the obviously creepy moments like when you finally see what the Blair Witch looks like. The things I had a problem with is one character who whenever she walks it sounds like bones are breaking or pretzels breaking and all she has is a cut on her foot. The last time I checked cuts do not make bone crunching sounds. Then there are some characters in the film that are just annoying as hell, but other than that I loved it. I also loved the idea of time or the concept of time not being applicable after a while in the film which adds a mystery to it. The film does feature the annoying shaky camera effect, but it also features some cool new cameras like ear piece cameras or the drone camera. Go and see it because it’s worth and with that being said I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Day 56: The Visit (2015)

Back in the 1990’s, The Blair Witch Project really kicked the found footage genre into overdrive especially in the horror genre. M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense) had been in a dry spell for a while, but he returned in 2015 with The Visit. In the film, Katheryn Hahn’s (We’re The Millers) kids are making a documentary for her because they are going to visit their grandparents. The significance of it is that they’re mother hasn’t seen them in over 19 years and they want to document it for her in hopes that they can get them to shed light as to why and hopefully they can bring both parties together again. As soon as they get there, they start to notice that there grandparents are acting very weird and things don’t appear as they seem. The film stars Olivia DeJonge (The Sisterhood Of Night) as Becca, Ed Oxenbould (Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) as Tyler, Deanna Dunagan (Running Scared) as Nana, Peter McRobbie (Brokeback Mountain) as Pop Pop, Celia Keenan-Bolger (Mariachi Gringo) as Stacey, Samuel Stricklen (Mozart In The Jungle) as The Conductor, Jorge Cordova (In Plain Sight) as Miguel, and Benjamin Kanes (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)) as Dad.

As far as found footage horror films go, this is one that I could actually tolerate because there isn’t all that annoying shaky camera effect to it. You’re basically watching the documentary the kids are creating and the character of Becca is obsessed with film so you know the camera quality will be good. As far as the story is concerned, I actually enjoyed the story because it kind of keeps you on the edge of your seat. You know that something just seems terribly wrong with the grandparents even though you side with Becca and you just say, “hey their old what do you expect.” Now as far as the acting is concerned, I have to give Deanna Dunagan a lot of credit because she really does an incredible job just acting very weird. She portrays on screen what kids are scared of when it comes to old people that they don’t really know. With Peter McRobbie, you don’t really get to see how crazy his character is until, but what he does is crazy. The reveal towards the end will either shock you or it’s something you may have seen coming, but I won’t give it away. No spoilers today on the blog for you. This was a decent return for M. Night Shayamalan who in my opinion hadn’t really been making anything worth watching in a while. If you want something fun to watch that you know is Oscar worthy in any way shape or form, then check this one out. I am going to give the film a B- for a final grade.