Tuesday, 9 October 2012

The IMDB October Challenge: Day 6

Another successful night.  Once again I watched a masterpiece and my second viewing wasn't too bad either.

Grave Encounters (2007)

I don't really watch a lot of found footage/documentary style horror movies.  It's not because I dislike them (I've enjoyed most of them) but I always find myself just not in the mood to watch them on a regular basis.  I guess it's because I don't get scared ever, so the realism they try and portray does nothing for me except entertain me for 90 mins.  The one documentary style movie I love is The Last Exorcism but it's because of the incredible ending.  After reading so many good reviews about this one I thought maybe I was going to find my next found footage love.  I didn't.  Now, don't get me wrong, it was good but the slow burn could have been just a tad faster and when it exploded, it should have kept upping the ante.  With ghost stories, I want something that gets well and truly demented.  Insidious & The Innkeepers were slow burn masterpieces with some really messed adrenaline fulled finales, but not this.  Sure, it had it's moments but they just felt quite tame.  The ideas I have in my head as to how this would have been better would have made this a masterpiece.  When stuff happened it was good, but they should have kept throwing it at us and showed us a little bit more.  I mean, the villain was a surgeon.  Why not have him put a drill through someones head?  Or have a ghost chopping someone to pieces on a surgical table?  I just watched this wanting stuff that wasn't going to happen to happen.  I want more fucked up moments from movies like this in general.  Overall, it was a good movie.  It's been done before, but it's well executed and does everything right.  This would scare people who weren't sick, demented freaks like me.  7/10

Book of Blood (2009)

Pfft.  Typical.  Just another masterpiece adaptation of a Clive Barker story.  When will they stop with these incredible pieces of cinema?  Never I hope and if any good filmmaker is reading this I have a request - PLEASE MAKE EVERY CLIVE BARKER STORY INTO A STUNNING MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Just like Hellraiser, Lord of Illusions, Nightbreed and Midnight Meat Train, I've fell in love with yet another Clive Barker story (Dread is my next watch).  May I also add that I really enjoy the terrible Underworld flick from the 80's that is of far inferior quality to any other Barker movie.  Anyway, on to Book of Blood.  I was hooked on this from the start until the finish.  From the very first scene I was gripped.  This was so original and just had the right amount of everything when needed (gore, sex, mystery, ghosts..).  I understand this is quite a criticised movie; some reviews have called it generic, etc but I say ignore them.  This movie has moments that will stick with you for the rest of your life.  It's a great story full of imagination brought to screen in a visually stunning way with scenes that you watch with shivers up your spine and joy in your eyes. 9/10

1 comment:

  1. I liked both of these enough to add to my collection, I plan on buying grave encounters 2 as well but sadly its not as good as the first one

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