Rob Zombie’s Halloween is my favorite slasher (I have not seen the original yet). I put this in my DVD player expecting a typical slasher except more aimed at baby sitters. So, hopes were low, but I like slashers, so I assumed I would like it. I didn’t like it. I loved it. Below my short review on this movie.
The beginning, in my opinion, was the scariest part of the film because there is so much suspense and seeing a kid actor do those scenes was just scary. Not the “jump from the shadows” scary, no, real horror. The horror you get from the atmosphere, the suspense, and the final action all mashed together in an adrenaline thrill ride. However, after we see him as an adult, it’s not as scary. My heart was still beating a bit hard but it shifted from an adrenaline thrill ride to just a plain slasher film which isn’t bad. Well, there a lot of build up but once he starts killing in town, it doesn’t stop. I really like slasher films just because they are the best kind of horror to me, if done right. So, the backstory is pretty solid and I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the film and it’s usually about how it differs from the John Carpenter film, which I plan on watching soon to compare the two, but if you haven’t seen the original then this is a great horror. I am split about how the film went on. I felt like after we jumped to adult Meyers, we changed all the gears into a different feel. Just seeing lil’ Mike kill was the best part of the film because it was the scariest but it wasn’t slasher. So it’s hard to say which half of the film I liked more. I would like to touch on things outside the plot and look at the technical and acting parts. The acting was pretty good, the hill-billy types seemed over the top and the “yeah, like, no way” teenage girls annoyed the hell out of me but that’s not really the acting. The looks of this film were very well done. A shaky camera done on purpose was a bit annoying and there is a single scene when Loomis is talking to the sheriff and whenever they cut to Loomis, there are these purple circle glares on top of Loomis. Then again, at that point I’m just picking at this film. Overall, the plot was good and made me care about the characters, the filming and directing were good, and just a great slasher film with a crazy suspenseful beginning. I’d give this film a 6/10. I give it six because even though it’s a great slasher film and a good horror, it’s not very new. Yes, it’s a polished slasher film but I got that with the new Friday the 13th. I don’t believe it’s the best horror by any means but it was nice for a slasher fan. If you’re not, you’ll probably just forget about this another “last ditch effort to save the slasher genre”. I’ve heard that a few times and I believe that the slasher genre is just getting started. I believe the biggest part of this film is that I’ve been a Jason fan my whole life but I do believe that Rob’s Halloween Killer tops the Machete King. I might change my mind about if they make a sequel to the remake of Friday the 13th (which I loved). So, yes, 6/10
0 Comments
During the inspection, Pablo is hiding in the room next door to the men filming the health inspector treat the injured. To everyone’s shock and dismay, Álex and the wounded officer become violent like the old lady and begin attacking the men in the room. The tenant who is an intern is bitten and the room is closed off. The health inspector starts to explains that the disease is unlike any that has been encountered and for some reason it varies on blood type to how quickly a person gets infected and turns on those around them.
Manu demands that the health inspector reveal more information, which he reluctantly tells them that the day before a dog was brought into a local veterinarian’s office with some kind of disease. The dog became horribly violent and attacked all the other pets at the clinic killing them. The BNC traced the disease from the dog back to the apartment building where it lived. Ángela asks if the name of the dog was Max, whom the inspector confirms. This new information prompts everyone turns to Jennifer and her mother who distraughtly says over and over that Jennifer only has tonsillitis. Jennifer suddenly attacks her mother in violence. Everyone panics as Jennifer hisses and runs up the stairs. Trying to help, the inspector informs the distraught victims that the infectious disease causes people to turn into bloodthirsty savages. More and more people in the building become infected, and Ángela and Pablo are forced to fight them off. They find out that some of the corpses have disappeared and soon discover that the people presumed dead are now infected and chasing them. Trying to outrun the infected, Ángela and the remaining uninfected learn that there is a key that will open the door in the apartment building workshop. Inside there is an exit through the sewer system. Unfortunately, the key is located on the third floor in the intern’s apartment. Ángela, Pablo, and Manu fight the infected residents to the third floor apartment and find the key hidden in the intern’s desk. Manu stays outside to fend the infected off yet becomes infected himself leaving Ángela and Pablo to be the only survivors. They find themselves being forced upstairs to seek refuge in the penthouse that is supposedly uninhabited. Once inside, Ángela and Pablo discover that the penthouse is a house of unspeakable horror which leaves untold horrors to decide their fate in the darkness the penthouse holds. REC was filmed using the “shaky camera” technique that gave the film an ad-hoc (i.e., documentary) feel. The camera view during the movie that we feel Pablo is behind lends the ad-hoc feeling to REC. The directors admitted to wanting their movie filmed this way since a first-person view in the movie would make the film more believable to its audience. Also they admitted that the film was made in sequences so not even the actors would know what was next in the movie’s production in order to get a more realistic acting to the events that were taking place. When you watch Ángela jump as the firemen break the door down to the apartment, she isn’t faking her reaction since the actress didn’t rehearse that scene like that. The directors decided to leave out details to their actors/actresses so that the movie would be more convincing. REC is also every bit Spanish in its details in the movie. It captures these details, which are very peculiar to the Spanish way of life as well as design from the way the fire station is laid out spaciously to the equipment the firemen use. Even the cooling lobby of the apartment building that houses the infected shows Spanish influence in its detail. This is very refreshing for the genre of horror since it gives the genre a new feel and authenticity to the audience as they watch REC. I really enjoyed this movie and found it to be more suspenseful and scary than Quaratine. In general, I would recommend it more to my audience than the remake. It should be watched in Spanish (with English subtitles) if all possible to get the feel for the film as it was intended. REC is delightfully refreshing as a horror movie in this genre and I would definitely buy it for my home collection. One of my favorite preschool series these last few years has been the Backyardigans. For me it's always been about the music with their mini-musicals in a variety of musical styles. But, alas, he Backyardigan's run has come to an end. So, imagine, my delight when I read a recent Nickelodian press release and learned the creative team behind my favorite show is behind a new show. Yeah, I was doing the Happy Dance. The Bubble Guppies looks like it will be a delightful new addition to Nickelodeon. This new interactive, CG-animated preschool series is going to make a "splash, " at least according to the press release. I think they may be right. From the artwork I've seen, Bubble Guppies looks bright and playful. The episodes are bill as musical comedies that take place in a under-the-sea environment. The characters range from little mermaid (and merboy) types to a variety of "fishy" characters -- and all are super, super cute. At the core Bubble Guppies is a preschool show that intends to focus on kindergarten readiness including: math, literacy, the arts, science and socio-emotional development. “Bubble Guppies’ unique mix of comedy, music, adventure and important lessons exemplify Nickelodeon’s ongoing commitment to creating entertaining and educational preschool programming,” said Brown Johnson, President, Animation, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids & Family Group. “Kids will love singing, dancing, playing and interacting with these adorable characters as they go on exciting underwater adventures.” The creative team behind the new Bubble Guppies includes creators and executive producers Jonny Belt and Robert Scull and co-executive producer Janice Burgess, the Emmy Award-winning team behind the hit Nickelodeon series’ The Backyardigans and Little Bill. In addition to fun story lines and catchy pop-inspired music, this new kids TV show from Nick will be backed up by a companion website filled with lots of activites around the Bubble Guppies cast of characters. |
AuthorRobert Nations is a creator of this blog and author of articles. He was born on November 23, 1983, in Los Angeles in family of film makers. He went on to study at Stanford University. Robert organizes training programms for producers. He is also a guest writer at Edusson. ArchivesCategories |