Rated: Rated R for horror violence/gore and language.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Horror

Release Date: 2 October 2009

Runtime: 88 min

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray

In the horror comedy Zombieland focuses on two men who run into one another, who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus is a big wuss — but when you’re afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Moreover having a list or rules helps: Rule 1: Cardio, Rule 2: Beware of Bathrooms, Rule 3: Seatbelts, Rule 4: Doubletap (check out the 32 RULES) . Tallahassee is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita and Little Rock, who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

A hilarious film, clearly a hit for 2009. Zombieland is one of those movies people love because it does not require thinking, simply watching and laughing with the occasional OOHHH when a good hit is made. The movie is built around a road-trip concept loaded with stylish zombie kills and a blossoming relationship between possibly the only people left alive in Zombieland. The script itself is phenomenal, loaded with one-liners even Rodney Dangerfield would be proud of. The film includes horrific gore and is true to the genre of horror providing the audience with a reason to jump  a couple inches off their seats.

If you like zombie movies, horror comedies, or the joyously inventive massacre of the undead, I cannot recommend Zombieland enough. See it. Take a friend. Take your domesticated zombie. Just go. And 20 years from now, when you’re kids are experiencing Zombieland for the first time at a midnight showing on their college campus, you can tell them you saw it the first time around. And if the world is obliterated by a zombie apocalypse between now and then, at least you’ll have a few rules to live by.

carole Action, Adventure, Comedy, Horror

A couple of posts ago we added the summary of the movie Orphan. It read as a very interesting movie and gave me the slightest hope that there was a horror movie out that would finally get me to jump in my seat. The cherry on top of this guarantee is that I personally find thriller/horror films that include children, such as The Shinning, to be creepy enough as it is. So is Orphan the children filled horror flick that will fulfill my long time craving for mini theater heart attacks?

To get straight to the point, it was not. I felt let down once again last night, that’s not saying the movie was not done well. The best technique I felt that the director (Jaume Collet-Serra) used was the fake build up. It usually goes without saying that when someone on screen is in the bathroom with the mirror open, once they go to close it, someone shows up in the reflection unexpectedly. This type of psyching out the audience I felt was great technique because I noticed people around jump even though there was no reason to, Jaume even used the music build up that lead to nothing.

It is very natural for movie goers to become their own Sherlock Holmes at the theater and attempt to come up with the final conclusion of what is happening on screen, and I have to give credit to the writers, the final “ohhh” moment was something that I did not come up with as an explanation for the orphans behavior. All in all I would suggest you do go see the movie, especially if you scare easily.

carole Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

Rated: R

Release date: July 24, 2009

Runtime: 123 mins.

Genre: Horror, Suspense

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhman, Lorry Ayers

The film begins with a hospital scene where a woman tragically loses her unborn child. As she struggles with the devastation, her and her husband decide to adpot another child. Enter Esther [played by Isabelle Fuhman ] who might I say plays her role as a really creepy child very well, she is persuasively cold.

There hasn’t been many “killer kid” movies in a long while, there was for example The Good Son which was rated R, the kid in the film ends up killing a pet, not exactly a scary killer movie. Well in Orphan, Esther is actually a killer. Not just an evil, mean child who kills a pet, she is really a killer. She actually kills a woman with a hammer, stabs a guy to death, brains a bird, and tries to kill her siblings on several ocassions.

During the film The mom [played by Vera Farmiga] pulls up to a red light and begins daydreaming as she sees a pregnant woman walking across the street. She keeps watching for a while, and then we hear a car honk behind her. We all know this means that she’s daydreamed past the light turning to green again, so she starts driving forward. Then BAM! she narrowly misses getting side-swiped. It is then that we see the light, which is still red. The honking was unrelated. Great misdirection.

The dad [played byPeter Sarsgaard] is the one who blindly accepts Esther’s excuses for all the strange things that have been happening, leaving the mom to be alone in her suspisions. It’s the mom who ultimately discovers Esther’s secret. I won’t spoil this one for you all.. you will have to watch the film to see what exactly Esther’s secret is. Creepy film worth watching!

Jenn Horror Orphan

Rated: R

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller

Release Date: 30 May 2008

Runtime: 86mins

Director: Bryan Bertino

Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward, Laura Margolis, Kip Weeks, Glenn Howerton

I really do not know what to say about this movie other than I never wanted 86 minutes of my life back more than I did after the end of this movie. The concept is simple enough The Strangers is a 2008 American suspense-horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino. The film revolves around a young couple Kristen McKay and James Hoyt (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman), who are terrorized by three masked assailants, who break into their remote summer house and damage all means of escape.

According to production notes, the film was inspired by true events from director Bryan Bertino’s childhood: a stranger came to his home asking for someone who was not there, and Bertino later found out that empty homes in the neighborhood had been broken into that night. In interviews, Bertino stated he was “very impressed” with some of the theories circulating on the Internet about the “true events” the movie is allegedly based on, but said his main inspiration was from the true crime book Helter Skelter. In my opinion I do not care what the movie is based on, it was slow and did not have enough happening on the screen to keep a viewer following. I truly found it difficult to concentrate on the movie.

SPOILER ALERT: The first 80 minutes were by far the most uninteresting parts of a movie I have seen in a LONG time, and I watch a lot of bad movies. However I must say that the last few minutes in the movie were different because when Kristen asks “why are you doing this” I thought the masked person’s answer was amazing “because you were home”. There you have it…a simple reason to go on a killing spree. The ultimate reason I liked the last few minutes of this film? Because only once in a blue moon does the happy couple end up dead.

carole Drama, Horror, Thriller

The third film in the Underworld Saga Underworld: Rise of the Lycans goes back hundreds of years to explore the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. Rise of the Lycans finally gets to the root of why the vampires and werewolves really can’t stand each other.

Viktor (Bill Nighy) the aristocratic vampire is the ruler. When a Lycan woman has a human baby boy, Viktor resists the urge to kill him. Instead Viktor names him Lucian (played by Michael Sheen) and keeps him as his pet. When Lucian grows up he begins a forbidden romance with Viktors daughter Sonia (Rhona Mitra). When Viktor discovers the truth, he takes drastic steps to ensure that Sonia will never be able to see Lucian again. Lucian retaliates with the Lycan slaves by attacking full force on Viktors kingdom.

Micheal Sheen gives a blazing solid performance as the enslaved hero of Rise of the Lycans. Lucian, you’ll recall from Undeworld the ancient leader of the Lycans. Rise of the Lycans is his origins story.

Without Len Wiseman or Kate Beckinsale attached, I was expecting a straight-to-DVD type knockoff. And, indeed, Rise of the Lycans, from director Patrick Tatopoulos (he did the special effects for the first two flicks) is considerably less stylized that Wiseman’s entries, but that actually works to its advantage. It’s not a particularly memorable film, but for fans of the first two installments of the Underworld trilogy, Rise of the Lycans embodies the same guilty pleasure.

I still enjoyed the first two installments a little more then Rise of the Lycans. Not because it wasn’t entertaining, probably only because I’m a Kate Beckinsale fan and she is not in the third film. Which makes sence, because it goes way back to before the first film.

Jenn Action, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

So I watch the TV Series True Blood on HBO. I just discovered today another vampire TV Series that premiered in 1997 and was on the air for 2 seasons. The series stems from the movie by David Bowie The Hunger. Good news if you don’t like illegal downloading, the 2 seasons are now available on DVD. Probably only online for now. I haven’t seen any of the episodes yet, but it looks really good, and it was from a 1983 movie, which apparently was really good.
I’m surprised I never heard of the movie or the show. Now that I’ve gotten into vampires I noticed every show and movie that is vampire related… all thanks to Twilight. Loved Twilight. I’ve almost finished reading the series.. on the last book more than halfway through. Then I got into True Blood, the TV Series on HBO. Which to me is such a fantastic show. I think about watching the new episodes before it airs.. I get all excited. Then I started watching older vampire movies that never used to interest me.. Dracula, Interview with the Vampire. I even downloaded a Japanese movie about Vampires, which wasn’t actually that great.
So get on it people. Google search The Hunger and check it out!

Jenn Fantasy, Horror, Thriller David Bowie, The Hunger

Release date: September 18, 2009

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody

Director: Karyn Kusama

When a gorgeous cheerleader (Megan Fox) is possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys in a small Minnesota farming town, her “plain Jane” best friend (Amanda Seyfried) must kill her, then escape from a correctional facility to go after the Satan-worshipping rock band responsible for the horrible transformation.

Hmm, this sounds interesting enough; however does anyone else see the similarities between the True Blood poster and the Jennifer’s Body poster? Who are they kidding, forget similar, it’s almost an exact replica, except the tongue is licking the other side of the mouth. Another point that a lot of folks are blabbing about is the fact that the poster for Jennifer’s Body has been out for a year. What’s with that, the movie is coming out in September.

So I’m wondering if people will go and see this movie after all. I’m thinking they will. Guys everywhere will be running to the theaters even if reviews conclude the movie as terrible. Mainly for one reason, Megan Fox is in the movie. The girl can hardly act, but she is the hottest thing out there these days, according to guys everywhere.

Well we have the whole summer to wait and see if the movie is a hit or a bomb. In the meantime check out the movie poster for Jennifer’s Body, tell me it’s not almost the same as the True Blood Poster.

Jenn Horror, Thriller Demon, Megan Fox

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama

Runtime: 60 mins per episode

Director: Alan Ball

Cast: Ana Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell

Taking a break from movies today, starting its second season this June is True Blood starring Anna Paquin as a waitress from Louisiana named Sookie Stackhouse, who can read people’s minds. I have no doubt in my mind that this show is going to be a hit. The love between a vampire and a human is all the hype these days, especially after all the hysteria of the Twilight saga.

When Sookie finds herself attracted to the 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), sookie engages in some mysterious surroundings, not unlike Bella’s surroundings in Twilight. One thing that differentiates the series True Blood from Twilight is the fact that the vampires have “come out of the coffin” and they did so on national television, they now live openly in society. Where as in Twilight the vampires are sworn to secrecy and can be executed if exposed.

When Sookie saves Bills life, sparks fly and so the love story between a normal (except for the fact that she can read minds) girl and a vampire begins.

Director Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) has set the stage with this well written series. The lead acting by Ana Paquin is fantastic, as if I wasn’t already impressed with her earlier role in The Piano. Her screen presence and chemistry with actor Stephen Moyer is magnificent.

The series based on the novels of Charlaine Harris (which I will definitely check out), has already won a Golden Globe Award for its first season. Entering its second season premiering Sunday June 14^th at 9PM on HBO, it looks like this series will be around for the long run, unlike so many other series that flop after their first season, or even the first few episodes. Vampire fanatics everywhere must check out True Blood.

Jenn Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Horror

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Release Date: May 29, 2009

Director: Sam Raimi

Cast: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao

Director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man) who’s 1992 third entry to his Evil Dead trilogy Army of Darkness was a smash hit, is back. According to horror fans it looks like Drag Me to Hell is up to par with Evil Dead.

With a story line that doesn’t include bad language or gore, Drag Me to Hell is about a loan officer named Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), who refuses to give a little old lady named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) a loan. This little old lady turns out to be a witch, and places a curse on Christine. Christine’s life is turned into a living hell, haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by her boyfriend Clay Dalton (Justin Long). She must find a way to reverse the curse, but will she be too late?

It’s hard to make a good horror film in Hollywood these days, they’re either a complete silly mess or they become a fanatical scary delight. Drag Me to Hell proves to be in the delight category. After disasters such as A Haunting in Connecticut and The Happening, I think horror fans everywhere are pleased to see something different and exciting for a change, rather than all these sequels such as Saw and remakes like The Prom.

Surprisingly the film has its funny moments as well. Overall I was content with how clever the script was done, and how excellent Alison Lohman (White Oleander) performed. I liked her in White Oleander which is a completely different genre of film, but still I find her to be a fantastic actress no matter what film she is in.

The plot of the film is straightforward, but it has a lot of unexpected twists and turns throughout the entire film, things you would not normally see in films. It’s a fantastic film for any Horror fan out there.

Jenn Horror

hisss

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

Director: Jennifer Lynch

Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Jeff Doucette, Irfan Khan

Every so often Bollywood and India throw something amazing towards the Western movie world, one prime example is Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and it is not just film, some of their most beautiful women have made it onto the Hollywood screens such as Aishwarya Rai in The Pink Panther (2009).This time around Bollywood and Hollywood have gotten together in order to produce a new feature film consisting of the mystic stories of India, mixed with the movie magic available in the west resulting in a stunning new, never before seen effect on film.

Hisss is based on a Far Eastern myth of the snake woman who is able to take on human form. The story is about the vengeance of a naagin, the Snake Woman who’s legend is said to be about 4000 years old. A ruthless American George States (Jeff Douchette), absolutely fascinated by the ancient folklore, travels to the jungles of India in 2009 and captures the mate of the naagin for the magical powers of its nagmani, a mythical gem embedded in its hood . This angers the naagin causing her to transform into a woman (Mallika Sherawat), not to mention a stunningly attractive woman, who has no idea whatsoever about contemporary civilization, or the present ways of mankind, nevertheless she ventures into the city desperately searching for her lover with revenge on her mind.

She wreaks havoc on the city, her mate’s captors, and anyone else who tries to stand in the way of their reunion. The snake woman’s desperate in her search and as a result for her need for revenge, she leads a breakneck chase leaving behind a trail of bodies and narrow escapes. This femme fatale proves to be more dangerous and frightening than Hannibal Lecter himself. The trailer to this movie shows that we ought to be expecting sensationally graphical scenes, none of this cut-to-something-else-while-someone-gets-stabbed that we usually see in films. It looks like a promising, exciting, gore filled film that I for one truly look forward to watching.

carole Fantasy, Horror, Thriller stream hiss, watch hiss online